"You See, Here Is Something You Might Know Already" By: Jeremiah Hildebrand

false humility = twisted arrogance ...pretending to be a wimp
false confidence = arrogance ...when one is bold about something they shouldn't be, or bold more than they should be
humility = accepting oneself As unworthy of something one is unworthy of
confidence = accepting oneself is worthy of something one is worthy of
humility + confidence = both of the previous two, something we humans, even Christians, seldom strive for, let alone achieve

By Joe Aguiar / May 17th, 2009

Joshua 3:8 - And you shall command the priests that bear the ark of the covenant, saying, When you have come to the brink of the water of Jordan, you shall stand still in Jordan.

Are you facing a situation that is like the River Jordan? The Israelites had been given the Promised Land. God had told Joshua that every place he put his feet would be his. Now all he needed to do was go put his feet on the land and claim it as his inheritance. That would seem to be a simple enough task to do, but there was just one little complication. He could not reach the land, because a raging river stood in his way.

What do you do when God has told you to do something and the way seems blocked? Perhaps you have been given a clear instruction from the Lord. You know that you heard right, and it has also been confirmed. So you step forward boldly to carry out this plan, and suddenly it looks as though the door has slammed shut in your face. You cannot go on, because of a huge obstacle that stands in your way.

If you know with a certainty that God has called you to go the way you planned, then do not for one moment entertain the idea that maybe you heard wrong. Do not think for one moment that God has changed His mind. Don't think that perhaps you have messed things up and now the Lord has cancelled the plan. On the contrary, this is a clear sign that you are going the right way. It is now that your faith is tested to the limit, and you have to rely completely on the Lord and on His Word alone.

God told Joshua to instruct the priests to take the Ark of the Covenant and to walk right into the water. They had to take a step of faith and obey God, irrespective of what the circumstances were saying. But he gave a further instruction that was very important. He told them that once they had walked into the water, they should stand still. The only action they needed to do was walk into the water. Then they had to keep standing.

Many people try to exercise their faith by praying or speaking forth the Word in boldness and confidence, but then they stop. They think that if God is going to do it, then He is going to do it. If it doesn't happen, well then either their faith wasn't right, or God is not going to answer this time. They think of the prayer of faith like the firing of a rifle bullet. Either your bullet hits the mark, or it misses.

But the prayer of faith is more like a laser beam. It needs to be concentrated on the target and kept there. It's a bit like the way you use a magnifying glass to set fire to paper. You hold it to the sun and concentrate the rays on a piece of paper. Then you hold it there until the paper begins to smoke and hopefully catch flame. There has to be continued exposure to the rays before the result is achieved.

The prayer of faith is like that. It is not a once off shot that does not need to be repeated. Many have misunderstood this principle. They think that to pray again means you did not pray in faith the first time. But the prayer of faith is not just submitting a request to the Lord. It is the releasing of the power of God into the earth through His Word. And the longer that power is held on the target, the greater the results.

So it was not enough for the priests to walk into the water. They had to remain in the water. It was not enough that the waters stopped flowing when they stepped into the river. They had to remain in the river to make sure that the waters continued to be blocked. Only once all the people had passed over, were they allowed to cross over themselves. And as they did so, the river returned in flood.

So take your stand now and go boldly into what God has told you to do. But do not think that you can rest on your laurels and stop praying in faith. The enemy will fight you all the way. But as you keep your faith out in the field, and as you continue to be a channel for the power of God, you will continue to see results. And then, when the attack is over, and you have crossed over successfully into your Promised Land, God will give you rest. You will enter into a season of refreshing, and you will know the blessing of the Lord.

Be Careful....You May Have To Ask For Forgiveness

A repentant heart is a hard thing to feel. To have to get on your knees before the Lord and ask for forgiveness, for having caused another to doubt God's Love for them, to doubt their value in Him, to doubt their extroidinary worth and value is the hardest thing I have ever felt or done!!!!

This evening I have had to cry before the Lord to ask Him to forgive me for hurting one of His children. For not thinking about my actions, for not thinking through my actions before I did them, for not considering the repercusions of my actions. And it's been the most humbling and hardest things I've had to do in my life.

It would be so easy to make up an excuse, to lie, to tell a half truth....so easy on myself. But when you care enough about a person to trust them with the things of your heart, to love them enough to respect them with the truth....the repercussions of a moment of not thinking can possibly haunt you...possibly cause you to grieve The Lord and cause you pain.

Yes I am human, yes I stumble and yes I am just like everyone else...But I should have thought things through.

I have a responsibility to the people I am around, to be thoughtful, prayerful, and to always take my actions into consideration before I do them, as the repercussions can cause that word I hate the most.....regret.

Take the time to think about the things you may do but for a moment....if you think it will cause another to hurt in even the slightest possible way...rethink doing it or you too will be on your knees asking God to forgive you for your words and actions.

For the first time in my life today, I did not take the easy way out. I did not do what was easy for me and come up with a less painful explaination. I chose to try to be the woman, I pray God wants me to be....And Today I cried and before the Lord asked that through His Grace He would forgive me for my stupidity and selfishness.

May my experience make you think but even for a moment. That is my prayer...

Life

Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming ... WOW! What a Ride!

Do you see HIM???

Today I watched a show I never watch and today I saw God.....Actually I saw Him TWICE on this show today!

...Some may have seen a blind, autistic and mentally disabled little girl....but I saw GOD!
Brittney will get up in the morning everyday and go to her piano and compose a song from start to finish. September 10th, 2001, Brittney went to her piano in the evening and played, but she stopped playing in the middle and did not finish, she got up and went to bed. According to her mother it was music they had never heard come from her and everyone in the house stopped and listened and mom went to her side and sat next to her. September 11th, 2001 was the day the world and America will never forget....it was the day our nation was attacked. Brittney didn't play that day. The next day Brittney got up and finished the song.
http://www.brittanymaier.com/
People would probably say she is just one of those "Savants"..... but I see something else....I see a little girl who talks to The Most High God, a little girl who hears The Lord whisper in her ear.....I see a little girl who may not see this world, but she see's heaven and Hears His Voice!

Akiane was four when she woke up and told her mom and dad about heaven and started drawing pictures of the dreams and visions she was having....btw....Akiane's parents were Athiests at the time, so Akiane had no reference to God. http://www.artakiane.com/home.htm
People would probably say she is just one of those "child prodogy's" "..... but I see something else....I see a little girl who talks to The Most High God, a little girl who hears The Lord whisper in her ear.....I see a little girl who see's heaven and has the opportunity people like me only dream about....to SEE Jesus!

Everyday I hope to hear God whisper in my ear and today He did and He said.....LOOK at the beauty I created in Brittney & Akiane!!!!!
Look at what some would "throw away" if they found out they were pregnant with someone's "disability’s" Brittney has. But through HER I can be seen and heard!

And all I can do is repeat what Akiane has said:
"I have been blessed by God. And if I'm blessed,
there is one reason and one reason only, and
that is to help others" -Akiane

What an AWESOME God I serve!!!!!!

Life's Luggage

By the time I was 17 and rushing to be married to someone the Lord told me not to, I had a huge array of luggage. Some were large, some were small, and while others were so heavy it seemed I couldn’t carry its weight. 17 years of age brought me small carry-on’s that were filled with self doubt, self loathing, and low self esteem. I also had large bag’s that were filled with fear and pain. The largest piece of luggage was filled with anger and abuse.

As life went on I began to carry newer, even more different size’s & colors of luggage. The giant red piece of luggage kept getting filled with more abuse and anger. The black carry on was being overstuffed with sadness to where it had to be upgraded to a larger piece of luggage, the blue 1 with self doubt and loathing. As the years went on the luggage kept getting bigger and bigger and bigger…each time being upgraded to an even larger piece.

Then 1 day….not sure exactly when…but I think its when my brother committed suicide, I lay on the floor weeping, crawling to the Thrown of God’s Grace asking Him to please help me or teach me what I am supposed to do with all of this luggage as its just too heavy now to carry. That my life is His and I believe He has a plan and a lesson in each and every situation. I lay at His Feet asking for Him to replace this luggage with His Own.

As the years have gone by and I sit here, I see His Grace with such an awe I weep.
Each piece of luggage has been or is in the process of being replaced with a very small gold satchel. A satchel so refined by fire that only by the Grace of God’s Love did I receive it. In my satchel I have jewels…..jewels I will someday lay at His Feet along with the Gold Satchel He has given me.

I still have some pieces of luggage left, but the gold satchel is filling up with jewels faster than the luggage these days.

My red trunk is being replaced with Love, Mercy and understanding.

The black luggage has been replaced with Joy and Peace.

My Blue luggage…God has given me a fine jewel gently placed in my satchel by His Love and it’s just that… His Love of who I am in Him.

Some of my other pieces of luggage I have readily handed to Him and gained wisdom, humility, compassion and a deeper understanding that only by His Grace am I who I am today…that every person I may come in contact with may have luggage they too are struggling to give up to Him.

Only God can change me to be who He wants me to be. No sermon, no judgment of others, no condemnation from others, no fear, no pain will ever be changed unless I am willing to kneel at His Feet and ask for Him to replace the luggage I carry with 1 of His jewels to put in my gold satchel.

I knelt at His Feet and because I could not make it to Him as He is too Glorious to reach on my own, He knelt down to me and met me where I am and began helping to replace the luggage of my life with His Love so I may walk from Glory to Glory with Him.

This says it ALL for me right now!!!

"Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man's sake. Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy: for, behold, your reward is great in heaven: for in the like manner did their fathers unto the prophets." (Luke 6:22-23)