Dori's Mustard Seed

Faith. What a huge five-letter word. F A I T H

The bible says "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." Hebrews 11:1. Now I understand that to mean that faith is the foundation of all that I hope for and that I believe, without a shadow of doubt, in what I cannot yet see.

I believe that faith is the very essence of our Christian walk. It is by faith that we believe in God and the Bible as the God-breathed Word of truth. It is by faith that we believe in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. By faith we believe that we are saved by the Blood of the Lamb and are assured a home in Heaven after this life is done. And I have faith in these things to the very core of my being. You could not change my mind about them, not ever.

I got the big stuff down pat. But every day normal faith can be hard for me. As soon as something doesn't go the way I think it should go, my faith gets a little shaken. When I want to go north and everything starts to go south, then my faith starts to shake, rattle and roll. I have questioned my faith. I'm not ashamed to admit it either. Why do I question? Because I lose sight of God's purpose. Especially when God has said A and everything around me says Z.

But true faith is that un-wavering belief in God's plan for your life, no matter what is happening around you. Faith says "I know what God has said. I know what I see and hear and it doesn't matter because I know what God has said." THAT IS HARD!

The enemy knows it's hard and he is working overtime to keep you to focused on what you see and hear with your natural eyes and ears; NOT what God has spoken over your life or what you know to be true in Spirit. He figures if he gets you to question, gets you to lose faith, you'll give up on God and His plan.

Well the enemy can't take from God. The Lord gave each of us a measure of faith. So no matter how shaky your faith gets, you will always have that measure. It's that measure that tells you to get up and keep it moving.

Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you." Matthew 17:20

I get knocked down and I get back up. That's faith. I get disappointed and remain hopeful. That's faith. I get angry at God and get on my knees to tell Him so. That's faith. I am consumed by sadness but keep praying. That is faith.

I don't know where the road is going but I keep walking anyway. That's faith.

Not my will, God, but Your will be done. That's faith.

It doesn't matter if things don't look like they are working out. God is making a way. All you have to do is....

z

Doesn't matter what it looks like, feels likes, tastes like or smells like right now. Just keep going. Keep praying. Keep praising. Keep worshipping. Keep reading. Keep believing.

Just keep swimming, in faith.

"We live by faith, not by sight." 2 Corinthians 5:7

In love,

Mona

Liar Liar Pants on Fire

There's no cute story today. Just some hard truth-telling. Pray for me, because the enemy does not like to be exposed. But here it is...

#1 The devil is a liar. There, I said it. He is and the sooner we admit it the better off we'll be. My mom says, "Tell the truth and shame the devil." Well it's time.

"He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native tongue, for he is a liar and the father of lies." John 8:44

The enemy has had me bound and I didn't even know it. I thought that because I go to church, and worship and pray that the enemy could not have his hands on me. Boy was I wrong. He was so slick about it that I didn't even notice it. Imagine that every negative human emotion we feel is like a piece of string. Every time I felt a negative emotion the enemy would tie together a piece of string. Every bout of anger, resentment, frustration, hatred, apathy, sadness, self-pity, disgust or doubt made my bits of string into twine. Then into rope. Then into chains. And it was with those chains that he entangled me within myself. All the while telling me that I was never going to be free. That I was never going to get the desires of my heart. That God wasn't listening.

#2 The devil is a thief. He wants to take everything that you have.

"The thief comes only to steal, kill and destroy." John 10:10

I have always known that he wanted to steal my joy. I've heard that time and time again. But I didn't notice that he was also trying to steal my peace, my sanity, my trust, my faith, my family, my relationships, my mind and my soul.

And the worst part about it is that I didn't even realize what was happening. All this time I had been praying for all kinds of things. I had put my problems on the altar so many times. I had asked God to have His way in my situation. I had given myself over to God's will rather than my own. I had repented often and asked for forgiveness plenty, but I never once asked God to break the chains and heal the wounds. How could I have? I didn't know they were there! Sure I had spoken about not letting me be angry or resentful and stuff anymore. But I had no idea about the long-term affects of these feelings from the past.

Thankfully God revealed to me that the next stage of my growth and development relied on seeing this truth and acting on it. I had to ask God to unlock the chains and to remove the enemies hold on my mind. But I also had to ask him to heal the many, many wounds that created the chains in the first place. All of that old crap that I've been holding on to. Every hurt words spoken to me, every pain inflicted by someone else, every betrayal and broken trust - all created the chains that held me down. Silent chains of animosity and resentment kept me from moving forward in true freedom.

Now that the chains are breaking and the wounds are healing. It's time to get back my stuff from the enemy. Ty Tribbet says it best "I want it all back. Everything that you took from me, I want it!" And I will get it back. God put a provision in the bible for someone stealing from me.

"Yet, if he is caught, he must pay sevenfold, though it costs him all the wealth of his house." Proverbs 6:31

So when I am restored, I will have seven times more peace, seven times more love, seven times a stronger marriage, seven times more joy and I'll love seven times stronger and longer! Perhaps my prayer life will be seven times more effective and I'll forgive seven times faster. I will have seven times the faith and trust and maybe...just maybe, I'll end up seven times saner.

Oh, one last truth...

#3 The devil is defeated.

"And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever." Revelations 20:10

But until that time, dig deep and expose the wounds that created the chains you have. Seek the healing of the Lord. Confront the enemy's lies and expose him. Then go about getting back all that he has stolen from you. Your innocence, your trust, your childhood, your children, whatever.... Get it back, sevenfold.

Ty also said something else that I love...

"Devil, if you only knew what I was gonna be after the storm, you wouldn't have even bothered me. But now I'm stronger and I've got more power. I'm a little bit wiser and I've got more strength. I got the anointing. Got God's favor and I'M STILL STANDING and I want everything back!

I'M still standing.
I'm STILL standing.
I'm still STANDING!

Where's my stuff?

In love,
Mona