by Kelli Sanders | Apr 8, 2014 | Encouragement, Faith and Family, Help for Moms, Motherhood, Spiritual Growth
So, my son has recently learned a new word, and what’s so interesting is that I believe he learned it from a Bible App that’s made for little ones. The app is interactive, and it tells the story of creation, the fall, the birth of Christ, and a few other major story lines from the Bible. The depiction of the fall of man is played out complete with background music, sound effects, and narration. We see Eve, the serpent beguiling her, and Adam following suit. Adam and Eve hide in fear and shame when they hear God, and when God calls Adam to the carpet for eating of the fruit of the tree, Adam looks at him with a blank stare, says, “Huh?” and he points to Eve. (This is where the blame game started my friends!)
Well, my precious 2 year old will now use this word when I tell him to do something that he doesn’t particularly care to do.
It goes something like this:
“Don’t touch that, please. It could break, and mommy doesn’t want you to get hurt.” – “Huh?”
Then, looking right in his eyes, I repeat, “Don’t touch that, please. It could break, and mommy doesn’t want you to get hurt.” – “Huh?”
I might repeat it one more time, and then I look at him, and I say, “You know what I said.”
When Your Children Won’t Listen
Did you know that anyone who teaches people about the word of God gets the best illustrations by watching their own children! You may think I am going to now head into a discourse on toddler behavior problems, but I’m not. These several verbal exchanges with my son have brought to light scriptural truth, and you might get some answers here for yourself if you have been wondering why God doesn’t seem to be answering your prayers, or why it seems hard to hear His voice these days.
Just as your children sometimes have selective hearing, God’s children can also sometimes look at God with a blank stare, and say, “Huh?” when it comes to doing something they don’t particularly want to do. Oh, yes, God will be gracious and merciful, and He will repeat what He told you in case you didn’t quite get it the first time, but there comes a point that He says, “You know what I said.”
Most of us are enlightened far beyond the level of our obedience, or in other words, God has shown us things we must do, but we’re not doing them. Many times when we are seeking direction, answers, solutions to problems, or wisdom for the future, and it seems that heaven is silent, we need to go back and check to see whether we are doing the things that God has already directed us to do.
I can tell you right now, if I spoke to my son and told him that we were going to drive to the store and get some ice cream, he would emphatically say, “Let’s go!” and proceed to the door before I could even put his shoes on. This same child, in the same moment, could get another directive, “…but you have to clean your room first,” and to this he might say, “Huh?”
How can the same child, with the same ears, listening to the same voice, hear one directive so clearly, and be so dull of hearing with another?
Many times we pray, “God, show me what to do. God, I’ll do anything, I’ll go anywhere. God, I need wisdom. God, I need answers.” Then God prompts you to go to someone and apologize for something, or to forgive another for a wrong committed against you. He may lead you to give of your finances to a person or project, or to give of your time doing something that will require sacrifice. HE IS SPEAKING, but we pretend not to hear. Internally we say, “Huh?” and we convince ourselves that God is choosing to be silent for some mysterious reason. Do you see that our receiving correction is connected to our receiving direction? Our receiving answers is connected to our obedience? That DOING is connected to HEARING?
I believe the Apostle James had something to say about this:
“But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” ~ James 1:22
When we hear and we don’t do, we can become capable of deceiving ourselves. Deception simply means to be led astray. When we don’t do what we know to do, we don’t walk in the light we’ve been given, and we begin to walk in darkness. That’s why people become confused about the will of God, the direction of God, the lack of solutions to their problems, and a number of other areas of life.
How about you? Are you in a place today where you feel that you can’t hear God’s voice? Does it seem that you’ve been seeking answers, and you aren’t getting them? Are there areas of your life that you seem to be navigating blindly – areas that leave you feeling confused and frustrated? I want to encourage you to go to God with a willing and open heart, asking Him to show you whether there is something that He has already directed you to do that you are not doing. God is so merciful, so patient, and He so desires to give you the answers and direction that you are seeking!
In one moment of honesty and surrender, the Holy Spirit can pinpoint an action that can be taken TODAY, that will bring clarity and light where you have been experiencing darkness and confusion.
You can start by praying this prayer in faith,
“God, I am asking you today to show me whether there is anything you have directed me to do that I am not doing. If you’ve given me light and revealed to me things, and I have not obeyed, I am asking for mercy, Lord. Show me again, and I purpose in my heart to do those things that you tell me to do, even if it’s hard. I am asking you for the truth, Lord, and I am willing to see, and I am willing to hear, and I am willing to DO. I believe, by faith, that you hear me, and that my prayer is pleasing to you, and I believe that you will answer. Amen”
by Kelli Sanders | Mar 5, 2014 | Encouragement, Faith and Family, Spirit Food, Spiritual Growth
Having trouble finding & fulfilling your purpose? Stick around and you’ll be one step closer to your destiny!
If you have accepted Christ, and Jesus is now your personal Lord and Savior, then you have been called & chosen for a very specific assignment from God! That is exciting news!
Not all believers are called to be pastors, teachers, evangelists and the like, but we are all called to do something! I know from my own personal experience there came a time that I wasn’t satisfied anymore to just go to church, hear a message and go home. There was something stirring inside of me, communicating to me that there were gifts, talents and abilities that God placed inside of me that were not for my benefit only, but to benefit the body of Christ!
You may be experiencing that same stirring in your heart whether you have been walking with God for a short time or for many, many years! Maybe you felt that you were walking in that divine calling for many years, but life took you in another direction for a season and now you are asking God again, “What do you want me to do?”
Wherever you are in the journey, I believe this message will help you to find and fulfill your purpose. I served under Mike Keyes Ministries International (MKMI) while overseas and consider Apostle Mike to be a spiritual father to me! He’s the real deal (and real funny too). Give God the time to speak into your life today through him, and I believe you will receive answers, direction, and insight for the “next step” in your faith walk! I pray you are as blessed as I was in hearing this word!
WBS 2-17-14 Mike Keyes from Rhema Videos on Vimeo.
by Kelli Sanders | Feb 1, 2014 | Encouragement, Faith and Family, Help for Moms, Spiritual Growth
OK ladies, whether you are reading this as my mom, my sister, a friend, a co-worker, or someone I don’t even know – LET’S GET REAL! Let’s think about what we have thought about! Let’s talk about comparison and all of the ways it robs from us when we give it any place in our lives. Have you ever thought something like this…
“She sure seems to have it all together.”
“She lost her baby weight faster than I did.” “She lost her baby weight.”
“She’s such a good cook, I can’t even pull off a good plate of spaghetti!”
“Her skin is so perfect.” “Her house is so nicely decorated, why doesn’t mine look like that?”
“Her boobs are bigger” “Her butt is smaller”
“Her hair is nicer”
“Her kids seem to behave better than mine do.”
“Where does she get all of those designer clothes?”
“Where does she find time to do all of that?”
“Her baby is talking sooner, walking sooner, reading sooner, potty trained sooner than mine is.”
“She’s more spiritual than I am.”
“She prays more, serves more, does more for God.” “She’s a better mom.”
“She’s a better wife.” “She lives a better life.”
“She’s more beautiful.”
“She’s more everything!”
STOP!
Stop the madness! Stop comparing yourselves among yourselves – it is not wise! Now, some of us are better at getting rid of those thoughts when they come, but they come to us all. If you say you’ve never had a thought like that, you need to repent and ask for forgiveness because you’re not being honest with yourself.
WHY do we have these kinds of thoughts? The enemy of our souls would love for us to grab hold of them and allow them to defeat us, discourage us, dis-empower us, and dishearten us. He uses lies to get us in a trap, and the comparison trap is one of his go-to weapons with women!
You are unique, beautiful, amazingly talented, and gifted, and strong! You are perfect – a masterpiece in God’s eyes because He already sees you as a finished work! PLEASE get your daughters if you have them, get your girlfriends and listen to this short video below. Listen to it every morning if you need to and BELIEVE that you are AWESOME!
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by Kelli Sanders | Jan 27, 2014 | Encouragement, Faith and Family, Help for Moms, Spirit Food, Spiritual Growth
“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” – Joshua 1:9
This is one of my favorite pictures from my time in the Philippines. We held 3 days of meetings on the island of Camiguin off the northern coast of Mindanao. We flooded the area inviting people to come and hear the word of God, and to bring the sick because God is still the Healer today! We would preach salvation, pray with the people to receive Jesus, and then teach about healing and invite them to receive healing for their bodies. This woman came forward for prayer with her dear husband, had hands laid on her, and then came to testify of her healing.
Our pastors encouraged her, as an act of faith, to rise up out of her wheelchair, and to do something that she couldn’t do before (like standing on her legs). Her precious husband looked so terribly concerned for her. I’d even say there was some fear there that she would fall, but she chose to be strong and rise up out of that chair. As she took that step of faith and put weight on her legs, God answered that faith and strengthened her legs enough to bear her weight. Someone on our team happened to capture the heart of that moment in this picture! Glory to God!
Over 30 times we are COMMANDED to be strong in the King James Version of the Bible! We are told to be strong, be courageous, to not be afraid, to “act like men” and fight! We are told to be strong and do the work of the Lord because He will not fail us or forsake us! We are told to be strong for the battle because God has the power to help us and save us! We are told to be strong in the Lord, and to be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus! Are we getting the message??? BE STRONG!
It took strength for this woman to receive what God was ready to give her. If she had chosen to give way to fear, she may have remained bound by her infirmity forever!
God is calling each and every one of us to complete an assignment for Him. Most likely, to carry out that assignment, we will be required to be strong, to have faith, to resist the devil, to “act like men” and fight (or in my case, “fight like a girl,” and I mean that in a very GOOD way!) Why am I so passionate about this? Because I have been on both sides of the fence. There have been times when I courageously obeyed God, and times that I have given way to fear.
Recently I was giving way to fear as God has been really stretching my faith, but when I got quiet with Him I did not get a “pep talk.” I got corrected – firmly corrected. God commands us to be strong – if we choose to be cowards we are disobeying that command! He expects us to get in the word, to pray, to exercise our authority in Jesus’ name. The devil does not exit our affairs because we politely ask him to leave. We must THROW HIM OUT with great conviction – trusting that God is at our back authorizing us to do just that!
I’m telling you, when you tell fear to take a hike, and tell God you are choosing to STAND on His word until you see His promises come to pass in your life, it won’t be long until you see your faith become sight!
Since YOU are reading this, let me ask you, what are YOU afraid of? What is the greatest fear you have in your life right now? Think about it. Now, BE STRONG, take authority over that fear right now! Choose to trust God, to resist the devil, to fight the good fight of faith. Don’t lay down and cry. Rise up and rejoice! God is looking for faith in the earth because He is so eager to show Himself strong in the lives of His people.
I pray that this word today meets you right where you need it and changes your situation. Be strong my friends. Be courageous. God is with us. He is for us. Don’t be afraid. Get some backbone and fight! Ha! With God, you will win every time!
by Kelli Sanders | Jan 16, 2014 | Faith and Family, Help for Moms, Motherhood, Spiritual Growth, Teaching Tools, Toddler Years
In our home the vacuum has been the dreaded foe of my two year old for as long as I can remember. I don’t know when it happened, but I have a feeling that it was when we were in a public restroom and someone used the hand dryer while I was changing my son’s diaper. I didn’t even realize he was screaming in terror because of the deafening volume of this thing, but the noise must have left a lasting impression on him because every time I would vacuum, the noise would have him running away crying!
Well, even though it was humorous at first we didn’t want him holding on to this fear, so every time we talked about the vacuum we started to teach him to say, “I’m not scared. I’m brave.” Over and over, we would say this every time we talked about the vacuum, but he would still cry and run away or hide in a corner when we got out the beast!
Fast forward to this afternoon, and I am contemplating some things that God has had us step out to do in the last few weeks. There are sometimes temptations to fear when God has you do something that stretches your faith. I happened to be contemplating these things while I was vacuuming! I was lost in thought so I hadn’t noticed that William was standing right there by me with a scrunched up face and a hint of fear still in his eyes, but he was saying out loud as he inched closer, “I’m brave. I’m brave. I’m brave. I’m brave.” He was saying it hard and fast! “I’m not scared. I’m brave. I’m not scared. I’m brave.”
Don’t you love those moments when God teaches you out of the mouth of babes? What great faith was in those words! It may not seem like it on the surface, but this was a deeply spiritual moment! William went with me from room to room and soon he was turning the vacuum on for me (he still high-tailed it out of there when it came on, but then he would return!) Ha!
At the end of our vacuuming hour he was hanging out with the vacuum like it was his old buddy. He even took the attachments and used them like sword and sheath and spent the next 20 minutes relishing in the fact that he had conquered this fear!
William’s new friend!
Moms, don’t ever underestimate the value and importance of your place in your child’s life. What a great privilege and responsibility we have to teach our children to live by faith, and to BE the strong, brave, and bold children God created them to be! You can influence your child’s little spirit even in the daily chores of life!
How about you? Is there something you fear in your life right now? Is it leaving a job? Moving somewhere far away? Making some changes that are going to be hard? Cutting off a relationship? Whatever it might be start saying, “I am not afraid! I’m brave!” If it works for a 2 year old, it will work for you too!
by Kelli Sanders | Jan 10, 2014 | Bible Studies, Faith and Family, Help for Moms, Spirit Food, Spiritual Growth
Have you ever prayed for wisdom? There are many areas of life that require wisdom. You need wisdom in raising your children, making business decisions, knowing what direction to take in life, or who to marry. You need wisdom for many every day decisions, as well as life’s major, destiny altering decisions. The Book of Proverbs is full of wisdom, and one of it’s major pieces of advice is GET WISDOM! Obviously God thinks it is important for us to have the kind of wisdom that He desires to give us.
There are two different kinds of wisdom that the Bible talks ab0ut in James 3:13-18. There is earthly wisdom and heavenly wisdom. This passage is a great litmus test to see what type of wisdom you are operating in with some of the choices you are making or have yet to make. You can ask yourself a few questions from this passage. Let’s look at how The Message Bible renders it here:
13-16 Do you want to be counted wise, to build a reputation for wisdom? Here’s what you do: Live well, live wisely, live humbly. It’s the way you live, not the way you talk, that counts. Mean-spirited ambition isn’t wisdom. Boasting that you are wise isn’t wisdom. Twisting the truth to make yourselves sound wise isn’t wisdom. It’s the furthest thing from wisdom—it’s animal cunning, devilish conniving. Whenever you’re trying to look better than others or get the better of others, things fall apart and everyone ends up at the others’ throats.
17-18 Real wisdom, God’s wisdom, begins with a holy life and is characterized by getting along with others. It is gentle and reasonable, overflowing with mercy and blessings, not hot one day and cold the next, not two-faced. You can develop a healthy, robust community that lives right with God and enjoy its results only if you do the hard work of getting along with each other, treating each other with dignity and honor.
The word of God is so simple and clear cut isn’t it? We usually only find ourselves confused when we are trying to twist God’s word to justify self-serving or self-preserving choices, but if you read this passage at face value, it will shed light on your situation.
MOTIVES
The longer you walk with God and learn His character, you will find that His kingdom is all about the heart. It’s not about pretense. It’s not about looks. It’s not about appearing spiritual or checking a box when you do the right thing. Having the right heart in your decision making is of the utmost importance. So let’s say you need wisdom in making a decision. Maybe you are facing a decision right now and you don’t know what to do. Put your heart to the test. If you look inside, one choice may be the fruit of a self-serving or self-preserving motive, while the other is the fruit of a selfless, merciful and loving motive that desires to bless and honor.
I know. It’s difficult to be honest with yourself sometimes. It’s difficult to do and say the right thing sometimes. It’s much easier to twist the truth a bit to make yourself appear wise than it is to actually just BE wise, but remember what Solomon advises in Proverbs: GET WISDOM. Don’t get earthly wisdom, get godly wisdom, real wisdom, the kind that is gentle and reasonable, overflowing with mercy and blessings.
God knows where you are at. He knows what you are facing. He knows walking in His wisdom doesn’t always make sense, and it may require faith and trust. He’s also pretty smart. Smarter than we are! He is giving you wisdom through His people and through His word. When you look in your heart you’ll know the right thing to do. The only thing left after that is to act on that wisdom and leave the rest to God.
For more faith in having wisdom and understanding of God’s word check out our Confessions of Faith Series: Wisdom & Revelation
