Who Are You?

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Today’s message from God Calling – A.J. Russell, bids us to trust Him; to know His divine power. We are to seek safety in the secret place, where His glory dwells.

I was studying Isaiah 51 this morning. Verses 12 and 13 come to mind. “I, I am he who comforts you; who are you that you are afraid of man who dies, of the son of man who is made like grass, and have forgotten the LORD, your Maker, who stretched out the heavens and laid the foundations of the earth, and you fear continually all the day
because of the wrath of the oppressor, when he sets himself to destroy?” That’s such a powerful revelation; not only about God’s power, but about who you became when you became a child of God. Did you notice how he’a asking us about being afraid of man-as if there is a differentiation between man and us (the children of God)?

When that hit my spirit, it almost knocked me over. I thought about Jesus’ words: “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life.” (John 5:24-ESV) There is no evil that can defeat us. Jesus has given us power over all the enemy; even death. Our God is an awesome God! By the way, that whole chapter in Isaiah is awesome too.

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu

It Might Just Be For Your Tomorrow

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Today’s message from God Calling – A.J. Russell reminds us that we are athletes in training. We are not running a short sprint race. We are running a much greater, and longer race than that.

We are supposed to reach the whole world, you see. That means we have a long way to go, don’t we? It’s a lifelong race, and sometimes grueling and painful. I learned something looking back over my life one day. So many things I had gone through prepared me for so many people and places I would find myself dealing with and working in, in the future. This is what God means when He says He’ll give us treasures in darkness, and rivers in dry places.

In looking back, I also discovered something else. Those wonderful play-times with my grandmother, the games and puzzles, and all those other things I loved so much, and was encouraged in, were things that played a part in my calling(s). As I’m studying out how God deals with us, how He draws us, calls us, and prepares us, I see why God puts all those little interests, gifts, and talents within us. Theses are the things He uses to draw us to the paths we are to walk in life. That’s why it’s important to foster creativity in our children, and to help them develop their interests and talents.

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu

The Child Within

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Today’s message from God Calling – A.J. Russell, reminds us that we must become as little children to enter the kingdom of Heaven. “And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”

As I said before, I’ve been studying about generational curses and how to overcome them. Humankind has lived under a generational curse since Adam and Eve disobeyed God in the Garden of Eden. In studying this out, I discovered just how much God really is in control. You see, in putting enmity between Eve’s seed (man) and Satan’s seed (unclean spirits and demons), God insured that we would be able to see the truth behind the lie. We can see the devil and the lie for exactly what they are; evil, and meant to destroy us.

Generational curses happen as a result of disobedience to God, or removal or displacement of a standard and/or boundary. “Thou shall…and Thou shall not…” When this happens, we end up with sin that rules over us. We have addictions, abuse, co-dependency, and dysfunction. We are not getting the truth that empowers us to live successfully. Thankfully, God has made it possible for us to become His children, and to re-raise, or be resurrected by Him. This is what it means to bring up a child under the admonition of the LORD/Lord. That child is the child within; your spirit. You see, it isn’t your flesh that suffers the damage of faulty and flawed parenting -not usually, anyway. It is your spirit. I read a passage just today: The LORD reigns; He is robed in majesty. The LORD is robed; He has put on strength as His belt.” (ESV) When I read this, I thought of that voice saying, “Go get me that belt!” That stuff was meant to break the bad spirit(s) off of us. But, most of the time, it breaks our spirit, doesn’t it? Remember Jesus said that the Father has given Him everything; and He, Jesus, has given it to us, in turn. That means you can read that passage of scripture this way: “I reign, I am robed in majesty. I have put on strength as my belt.” The admonition of the Lord strengthens us in our spirit, so that we can reign as kings and queens in life. The first step is to be born again.

You can do that by asking Jesus to come into your heart and be Lord of your life. If you don’t know the LORD/Lord, now’s the time – today’s the day of salvation. And Jesus will save you everyday; from all the old stuff that would hold you back or trip you up.

Pray this prayer: Lord Jesus, please come into my life and be my Lord and Savior. Please forgive me for my sins; I renounce them all right now. I want to become a child of God, and learn to walk according to His Word and in His Way. Please make me yours from this moment on.

I encourage you to find a believer to pray with you, and I’ll be praying for you. Today can be the best day of your life; the turning point to a better life -everyday.

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu

Fear Not! Rather, Take My Heart!

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Today’s message from God Calling – A.J. Russell, reminds us that fear is a real temptation; an unclean spirit, actually. We are bid to attack it with the sword of the spirit, which is the Word of God.

As I’m studying about generational curses, this particular thing comes to the forefront time and time again. As children, we fear the reproach of our parents, the rejection of our friends and peers, we fear things we don’t understand. Then, depending on the parenting we had, the environment(s) we grew up in (addiction, co-dependency, abuse, etc.), that spirit of fear drives us. We fear failure, fear emotional attachment, fear loss of control, and so many other things. Sometimes, fear can actually cripple us. There are people who actually cannot leave their homes and go outside, because they are so overwhelmed by fear.

As we learn to change the words we’ve heard and the ways we’ve handled things, and replace them with God’s Words and His ways, we can overcome those fears. When we’re dealing with our children, doing this changes the entire scenario for that child. Now, instead of creating a fearful and hesitant person, we are empowering a person with self-esteem and a sense of personal power over his/her world.

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu

Oh, What A Joy It Is

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Today’s message from God Calling – A.J. Russell, bids us to put our lives into God’s hands and trust Him.

Learning to trust His will for us is not an easy thing. He has promised that His will is to prospers us, and not to harm us. I have seen, more and more, God’s will for us, in learning God’s ways with us. You see, the first step in overcoming your past, truly is to be born again. Jesus said so. When you’re born again, you become God’s baby. So, let God raise that baby.

In studying God’s Word, and learning His ways with us, we can apply those to the way in which we deal with ourselves. An example is the spilt milk. You might have had parents that got angry and yelled at you, and imputed wickedness to you – “You’re always making messes!” God’s way is much different. He sees your heart, fearful and trembling inside you, and probably ashamed for being clumsy (self-condemnation). God rushes in to save you from that fear and condemnation. He says, “That’s okay; accidents happen. Let’s clean it up.” Now, He’s helping you to clean up the spilt milk. And, when it’s over, you get a pat on the back and a high five for it. The Bible tells us that God lifts us up and sets us in a broad place. That means you have room to grow; like you just did. God empowers us to come boldly to Him for help. He empowers us to walk uprightly before Him, by making things right, or setting things aright again. He builds our spirit up-always! Isn’t that awesome?! And the more we live in His ways with us, the stronger we become within. The stronger we become within, the stronger our walk in His Way becomes.

Love you from Café du Mondieu

Until It Becomes The Air You Breathe

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Today’s message from God Calling – A. J. Russell, bids us to seek God, to commune with Him, and to dwell with Him. We are bid to dig deep into the soil of the Kingdom of Heaven.

I always pray before I read my Bible. I always have. The reason I bring it up is because I can’t imagine not doing that. But, I remember how much effort it took back in the beginning, to get into the presence of the Holy Spirit. I would get distracted by outside noise, totally thrown off by someone talking as I’m trying to praise the Lord, things like that. Sometimes it would be so hard to stay focused on even my prayers, let alone my Bible study. I’ve learned those are some of the enemy’s tricks and ploys. I’m glad I pressed on. I want to encourage you today – whoever you may be, not to give up. If it takes you three hours of praise music, do them. If you have to start your prayer over ten times, do it. Don’t let the distraction win, by causing you to stop your pursuit of the Lord’s Presence. It is all worth it in the end. The more time you spend in His Presence, the more treasures you find in the soil of the Kingdom (His Word), and vice versa. The more wisdom, peace, truth, love, that you find in that Kingdom soil, the bolder you get about going to the Lord. The easier it is to be in His Presence…just like the little child he scooped up and took onto His lap. He did say we must become as trusting and free as children are, didn’t He?

My song choice is and oldie but goody called The Air I Breathe:

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu