​This summer has been packed full of many adventures, challenges and exciting times. I have learned so much in the Lord, recalled verses and things He has spoken to me many times before and held fast to His Words. I have been awed by His love for me and the above and beyond guidance He has lead with. I know I say this a lot but it is so true that my life with the Lord has been amazing the last few months. I am seeking deeper encounters, revelation and wisdom from Him. I am learning to let go of things and trust Him without limits. I know that when I get too busy or distracted it hinders my relationship with Him. I thank Him for each new day, each new season. His ways are exciting and surprising. New a dull moment with the Lord.
 
One thing He continues to remind me of lately are verses I have known since a child but don’t always live by and hold fast in my heart. Here is a few I hear in my heart almost every day.
“I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.” John 15:5 NKJV
 
“I am the sprouting vine and you’re my branches.  As you live in union with Me as your source, fruitfulness will stream from within you--but when you live separated from me you are powerless.” John 15:5 Passion Bible
 
That verse above says the same thing as an Old Testament verse in Psalms - another favorite.
“Blessed, happy, fortunate, prosperous, and enviable is the man who walks and lives not in the counsel of the ungodly - following their advice, their plans and purposes, nor stands submissive and inactive in the path where sinners walk, nor sits down to relax and rest where the scornful and the mockers gather. But his delight and desire are in the law of the Lord, and on His law, the precepts, the instructions, the teachings of God he habitually meditates, ponders and studies by day and by night. And he shall be like a tree firmly planted and tended by the streams of water, ready to bring forth its fruit in its season; its leaf also shall not fade or wither; and everything he does shall prosper and come to maturity.” Psalm 1:1-3
 
Let’s look at these verses closely:
How can we assure we will be prosperous and mature and not separated from Him and powerless?
          When we don’t walk with the ungodly and listen to their wisdom.
          When we don’t listen to the advice, plans, purposes and wisdom of the ungodly-the world.
          When we don’t stand in submission or inactive where the ungodly – worldly stand
          When we don’t sit, relax, rest where the ungodly do. 
 
When we let Him guide and lead us we are:
          In union with the Lord as our source and fruitful
          Blessed, happy, fortunate, prosperous, and enviable
          Our delight and desire are in His Word, precepts, instruction, and the teachings of Christ.
          We continuously mediate, ponder and study His word day and night.
          We are planted firmly and watered by streams of Living Water
          Our lives are a fruitful
          No matter the circumstances we will not wilt, quit, give in
          Everything we do shall prosper and come to maturity.
 
Here are a couple more powerful verses. “I have strength for all things in Christ Who empowers me, I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him Who infuses inner strength into me; I am self-sufficient in Christ’s sufficiency.”
Philippians 4:13 Amplified Bible
 
“Most blessed is the man who believes in, trusts in, and relies on the Lord, and whose hope and confidence the Lord is. For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters that spreads out its roots by the river; and it shall not see and fear when heat comes; but its leaf shall be green. It shall not be anxious and full of care in the year of drought, nor shall it cease yielding fruit.” Jeremiah 17:7-8 Amplified Bible
 
With Him, in His strength, in union with Him I can do ALL things that He asks me to do and I desire to do in Him. There is no list of exceptions! Many times I let my mind think otherwise and I am immediately defeated. These are the times I am thinking thoughts that are limiting Him, I am over committed, overwhelmed, not meditating on His Word day and night, distracted, not taking time for a close, intimate relationship with Him, not believing how much I am loved and valued by my Father and have a heart full of fear and doubt. That’s actually the same list that hinders all our earthly relationships too. But when my heart, thoughts and words of my mouth are lifting up words of hope, love, healing and wisdom, when my words agree with His Word, when I learn to listen with a heart of compassion, when I am worshipping and honoring Him and know how much He loves me and acknowledge the extravagant price He paid to give me a life filled with everything from Him – then every situation will bear fruit in my life. When I am in union and close relationship with my Jesus every journey will always lead me beyond myself. As I delight myself in Him I become of a fountain of living water. I will be able to love and minister to others in ways beyond me and let His love, strength, grace and power flow through me to this hurting world who have no hope without Him. I never have to feel like I am dry and weary when He promises that I will be planted by Living Water, never fading or wilting when I seek Him above all things and let Him guide my life.
 
I am learning to expect to hear His voice and to feel His touch every day of my life. I want to make every moment count as I delight in Him and honor Him above all things. I expect His love to stir my heart and that I will live a Ephesians 3:20 life. “Never doubt God’s mighty power to work in you and accomplish all this. He will achieve infinitely more than your greatest request, your most unbelievable dream, and exceed your wildest imagination! He will outdo them all, for his miraculous power constantly energizes you.”
Ephesians 3:20 Passion Bible I have Him inside me, He’s a never-ending source of love and grace. I have absolutely no reason whatsoever to live a defeated, unfruitful, boring life. I refuse to believe my circumstances and live defeated, as a prisoner, discouraged and dry when I have my Savior Who is the refreshing water that never runs dry – so I won’t run dry either. I am learning to fasten my thoughts to and speak words of love and truth of His faithfulness, power and limitless ways.
 
I believe I was created for a purpose and so were you. I believe He will guide me in all my ways to fulfill the call He has created me for and He will do that for you too. I want to make every moment count in my life and seize every day. I don’t like wasting His time dwelling in self-pity or defeat when He promised me exceedingly, abundantly. I expect to experience His amazing love in my life as I believe in who He’s created me to be. When I have the times of feeling dry, irritable, moody, fearful and unloved – it is time to change my focus!!It is up to me to make this choice of changing my mind. He loves spending time with me but I have to make the choice to be with Him. I cannot lean on my own or the world’s understanding EVER and expect to hear from Him. I will close all these thoughts with another favorite verse. Ponder these verses this week and let Him rise within you. You will be amazed and unstoppable! “Trust in the Lord completely, and do not rely on your own opinions. With all your heart rely on Him to guide you, and He will lead you in every decision you make. Become intimate with Him in whatever you do, and He will lead you wherever you go. Don’t think for a moment that you know it all.” Proverbs 3:5-6 Passion Bible
 

“This is the very day of the Lord that brings gladness and joy, filling our hearts with glee.” Psalm 118:24 What a glorious time it is! Each day I wake up and thank Him for all He has given me and rejoice in every opportunity I have to praise Him, share His love and follow His ways.
 
On Thursday nights we have been going through the book, Don’t Limit God, Imagine Yourself Successful. It has been a great reminder of all He has given us and what we have in Him. EVERYTHING!!! I have really enjoyed being reminded of His truths and my heart has been in a place of receiving and hearing it all in a different way. Limiting the Lord is such an easy trap to fall into. We don’t think we do limit Him until we stop to imagine what putting NO limits on Him looks like. That’s when I know I have many limits on the Lord. “Beloved friends, what should be our proper response to God’s marvelous mercies? I encourage you to surrender yourselves to God to be his sacred, living sacrifices. And live in holiness, experiencing all that delights his heart. For this becomes your genuine expression of worship. Stop imitating the ideals and opinions of the culture around you, but be inwardly transformed by the Holy Spirit through a total reformation of how you think. This will empower you to discern God’s will as you live a beautiful life, satisfying and perfect in his eyes.” Romans 12:1-2
 
“Stop imitating the ideals and opinions of the culture around you, but be inwardly transformed by the Holy Spirit through a total reformation of how you think.”
Romans 12:1b Passion Bible “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind,” Romans 12:1b NKJV
 
When we think like the rest of the world we are being conformed to this world and our thoughts will be limited and we will limit God in our lives. I have prayed and meditated on these verses so much the last 6 months as we prepared for the conference. In my mind this was impossible but as I let my mind be renewed in Him and His ways I knew it was so possible with Him and would be a blessing beyond what I thought or imagined. Being conformed to this world brings so much fear and confusion. My imaginations and my fears become a reality in my life and I wonder what went wrong and where is the Lord?  When I renew my mind to Who He is in me there is such peace, joy and belief beyond what I ever thought I could believe. As I renew my mind – put new thoughts and imaginations in my heart and mind, my heart is softened. A soft heart towards God is a thankful heart and full of the Word. A renewed mind meditates on the Word, glorifies Him and follows His ways. My mind will be focused on Him and His finished work of the cross. I won’t be focused on myself, my fears and my beliefs. Whatever we focus and imagine becomes alive in our lives. I want His truths to come alive as I focus on Him and His ways.
 
Tony and Rosa Rivera are with us today. We have known them for over 20 years and been so blessed by their love and dedication to the Lord and His ways. They are an example of Romans 12:1-2.  I have seen them with thankful and grateful hearts, full of His Word, humble and seeking to go His way and listen to Him. “You will keep in perfect and constant peace the one whose mind is steadfast - that is, committed and focused on You—in both inclination and character, Because he trusts and takes refuge in You with hope and confident expectation.” Isaiah 26:3
 
“So with the wisdom given to me from the Lord I say: You should not live like the unbelievers around you who walk in their empty delusions.” Ephesians 4:17 Passion Bible
 
“This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart.” Ephesians 4:17-18 NKJV
 
When we are thinking and living like the rest of the world thinks and believes we cannot live a limitless life in the Lord. I spent most of 2017 working on softening and preparing the condition of my heart so that I could once again, take the limits off Him and not limit Him. The ways of this world, the hurts, the expectations, the perceptions of myself and how others saw me had caused me to have a hardened heart in areas and walk in empty delusions a lot. To do and be all God made me to be I had to change some beliefs in my heart and let Him prepare me to do what He called me to do.  The World Conference could not have been the success it was if our hearts seeing it touching so many lives and actually saw it successful.
 
That is also how I see Tony and Rosa. They are not worried about the cares of this world and how and what the world thinks and does. They have a vision in their heart from the Lord and they are going for it. Just a few months ago Tony saw a church building and now a new home for the children and elderly and they have worked endless hours to make that imagine a reality. What an example they are to me. They don’t give up but they keep the image the Lord has given them before their eyes and continue to go towards it. “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, But when the desire comes, it is a tree of life.” Proverbs 13:12
 
“Now faith brings our hopes into reality and becomes the foundation needed to acquire the things we long for. It is all the evidence required to prove what is still unseen.” Hebrews 11:1 Hope – the earnest expectation of good. When we hope we earnestly expect. What are you earnestly expecting? “The Lord earnestly waits expecting, looking and longing to be gracious to you.” Isaiah 10:18 As a child and adult many of us are taught to not get our hopes up. Someone was trying to protect our hearts from being broken when we were told that but how can you have faith if you don’t have hope – if you don’t have something to have faith for?  “Faith brings our hopes into reality.”
 
Our hopes should be out of this world! We should be hoping and believing beyond what we think possible. This comes from a mind that has been renewed in Him not the mind who is dwelling on the things of this world. “Never doubt God’s mighty power to work in you and accomplish all this. He will achieve infinitely more than your greatest request, your most unbelievable dream, and exceed your wildest imagination! He will outdo them all, for his miraculous power constantly energizes you.” Ephesians 3:20 Passion Bible
 
“Now to Him who is able to carry out His purpose and do superabundantly more than all that we dare ask or think infinitely beyond our greatest prayers, hopes, or dreams, according to His power that is at work within us.” Ephesians 3:20 Amp.
 
This is my desire to fill my heart and imaginations – my mind with His ways and have hope beyond whatever I can imagine. This is the example Tony and Rosa have lived and I am so thankful for the courage, strength, trust, hope and compassion they have because the Lord is in them and the Holy Spirit is working mightily through them.
 
What are your dreams, visions, hopes that the Lord has placed inside you? Hold fast to them and go forward with them. Don’t let the cares of this world steal all you have been given. (Read Mark 4:13-20). Set your mind and thoughts on Him and watch your life excel and soar above and beyond your wildest thoughts. “You will keep in perfect and constant peace the one whose mind is steadfast - that is, committed and focused on You—in both inclination and character, Because he trusts and takes refuge in You with hope and confident expectation.” Isaiah 26:3 This should be the normal for every Believer! Let’s go for it! I’ve made a decision I don’t want the old way of the world anymore.

​Thank you Tony and Rosa for living your dreams, believing when it was beyond belief and being an example to us. Thank you for not quitting but renewing your heart and mind to go beyond even when you are in your 70’s! Love you and appreciate you so much!!!