A Mighty Leap of Faith

A mighty leap of faith is what we need to take so many times in this life and yet fear of the unknown will shut us down every time! This is the enemy's biggest weapon....FEAR. Fear is powerful. It will stop you in your tracks. It will keep you from thinking rationally. Fear can cause actual physical manifestations such as a heart attack. And fear is Satan's biggest weapon against Christians in particular, for it challenges our trust and everyday walk with God.


In the bible there is a story of the widow of Zarephath. In 1 kings 17: 13-16 Elijah encountered the widow while she was out gathering sticks. He asked her for some water. And when she started to go and get him some water, he said, "Oh, by the way, could you bring me a morsel of bread too." Well, she and her son were struggling and really had nothing to eat and she told this to Elijah. She said that in fact she was just about to prepare a final meal for her son and herself. She said that she planned to use the meal that was left at the bottom of her meal barrel and the little oil that she had left to bake a cake which she and her son would eat before they died.

She, in her natural eyes, could see no way out. All she knew for certain was that starvation meant death and she had given in and had accepted her and her sons fate as she saw it. But Elijah had brought more than a thirst with him. He had brought her a word from God himself. He said to her, "Fear not; go and do as thou hast said; but make me thereof a little cake first, and bring it unto me, and after make for thee and for thy son. For thus saith the Lord God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the Lord sendeth rain upon the earth. And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah'; and she, and he, and her house, did eat many days. And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the Lord which he spake by Elijah."

She took a leap of faith and listened to a word of God delivered by a total stranger. To me her leap of faith was particularly brave because we must always be on guard and not let just anyone speak into or over our lives. We must make sure that we are listening to those that we know are anointed of God. However, and although these words are NOT in the bible, God does work in mysterious ways.

A few years ago the third and final chapter of the Indiana Jones movies came out. This one had Indy chasing the Holy Grail. At the end of the movie when the Grail was at hand, he had to go through a test that all others who had tried had failed. However, instead of just walking through this obstacle course as described on the map, he actually did all the physical moves in the prayer on the map and was spared being killed where others that had tried failed . He did just wonderful and was feeling quite proud of himself and thought that his trial had turned into a cake walk. He became almost smug as he continued, to what he was now sure was an easy path, to the Holy Grail. He was not even watching where he was walking anymore. Suddenly he was walking out an opening and he heard rock grinding against rock and stopped short just before falling to his death over a cliff that lead to a cavern so deep that he could not even see the bottom of when he leaned over and looked. When he looked behind him, the opening that he had come out of had closed and would not open. He was frozen by fear. His hand shook as he raised he map, and prayer it contained ,to his face. He was horrified as he read the words, YOU MUST TAKE A LEAP OF FAITH! Oh boy. To leap off this cliff would mean a sure death. But he looked back at how far he was brought safely by the prayer and suddenly knew that he had to continue to be obedient. He took that leap and found himself on a ledge that could not be seen from where he was standing on the cliff about 3 feet higher. That scene in that movie changed my life. I would never fear taking a leap of faith with my God ever again. When God enters your life you will still face adversity and hardship. But God will make a way where there seems no way. And He will stretch your faith to the point that when God finally does intercede in your situation, you will know that there was no way that you could have seen that solution from where you were and that it was God who brought you through and you will give Him all the glory for your deliverance. So take that next leap of faith needed in your life. When you walk with God, what do you have to fear except the tool of the devil which is fear itself.

Forgiving is a MUST!

Forgiving is a must. (Col 3:13 NKJV) Bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another, even as Christ forgave you, so you also MUST do.

We will do many hard things in this life, but forgiving is perhaps the hardest thing that we will ever do.  I have heard all the excuses people use to justify their unforgiveness and yes, I have used many of them myself.  That is until something so terrifying happened to me to drive the "MUST FORGIVE"  home once and for all. 

I was sitting in church and my Pastor was preaching on forgiveness.  I was very angry with someone at the time and the more that Pastor preached the more bitter I became toward a person that had deeply hurt me but was not even there in church at the time.  I was becoming more and more angry and for a moment I thought that I was just going to get up and leave rather than sit and listen to another word about forgiveness.  My Pastor knew nothing of the circumstances.  If he knew what this person had done to me after I had been nothing less than a selfless best friend to them, he would be seeing things my way.  He would feel hatred and unforgiveness too.  And then Pastor read the above scripture.  Uh-oh.  It wasn't Pastor telling me to forgive.  It was the apostle Paul reminding the earliest followers of Christ that just as Jesus had forgiven every one of their (and our) sins on the cross, so must we forgive in order to be forgiven.  Everything became clear to me.  If Jesus went to the cross and forgave me so that I may return to my relationship with my heavenly Father and  if Jesus was that wonderful to forgive even those that had not been born yet, then was I saying in actuality that my judgment of others was above that of Christ?  He had forgiven ALL my sins.  So who was I not to forgive?  I suddenly had a vision.  Everything going on around me in church seemed to dim.  I saw a line of people waiting to see Jesus.  I heard Him say to each one he embraced, "I forgave you for everything when I died and you accepted my sacrifice for you and in doing so became like me.  Welcome home my good and faithful servant.  Enter into my Father's house." . Then suddenly I was in line.  I was next to speak to my beloved Jesus.  I was on the verge of tears.  The person in front of me stepped away and I rushed toward my Savior.  But I stopped short as if I had been stabbed.  The one person that I most wanted to see happy to see me stopped smiling the minute I approached.  Not only did He stop but He frowned and said to me, "You could not find it in your heart to forgive even after I forgave you. You will pay for your unforgiveness with my unforgiveness.  Depart from me.".  With this He turned His back on me.  Absolute terror filled me.  It felt so real that it drove the importance of forgiveness home to me for all time.  When I snapped out of it, I was actually standing up right there in my pew in the middle of the service.  It had seemed so real.  After service I went directly to a phone and called the person that I was angry at.  I blurted out my forgiveness the minute they said hello.  As it turned out the person did not really care if I forgave them or not.  But I knew that I had done what Jesus had done for me and forgave.  I no longer was saying that my agenda was above that of our Savior, Jesus Christ.  It is simple.  In order to be forgiven, we MUST forgive. 

Are you in unforgiveness today?  Hatred and anger only hurts you.  The person that you are harboring all this toward cannot feel what you are thinking about them and may not even care.  Therefore the only one being subjected to all your anger and hatred is you.  Whatever it is, turn it over to God, forgive and go on.  Whatever it is, it is not worth losing sleep, OUR YOUR SOUL over.  Remember, you CAN do all things through Christ who strengthens you! (Philippians 4:13)  FORGIVE!

He is an ON TIME God

He is an ON TIME God!  I have found in my walk with Jesus that God may not show up when I THINK He should, but He always shows up just ON TIME. (Isaiah 30:18 KJV) 

When I was saved, I thought that the blessings of God were just going to pour in.  I was struggling then and really needed my life to change.  But nothing happened!  I got angry and said to God, "If this is what being a Christian is all about then I am done already.  Things are not better, in fact, for me they are worse!"  This was the first time that God spoke to my heart.  I was amazed because I was so busy thinking and talking and griping, that I am surprised that God could get a word in at all.  God told me while driving to look at a homeless person that I was driving by.  He told me that this person had been on the street for many years and had learned all that was necessary to survive on the streets.  He had learned to steal, lie and cheat to get whatever he needed to survive just one more day.  He also told me that if I were to stop and pick this guy up and take him home and tell him that he would become a part of my family and have all the rights and benefits that everyone in my home had, that he would be as grateful to me as I was to Him when I was saved and welcomed into the body of Christ and the Kingdom of God.  BUT, with this person in my home and having brought all his bad habits along with him, would I really totally and without any guidelines, open my home to him right away?  Would I give him a key to come and go as he pleased?  Would I want his friends from his old lifestyle in my home?  Would I leave the keys to my car and my purse out in the open for him to have access to?  Or would I want to help the person adjust to this new life.  Would I have to point out his old ways and how they were no longer acceptable or needed?  Would I offer to get him counseling?  Would I make sure that he was eating properly and not the way he did on the street.  Would I allow him to continue to use drugs and alcohol in my home and around my children?  Then it dawned on me.  He, although using the homeless person as an example, was talking about me.  And it all made sense.  My Spirit man was awakened and new and pure.  However, my carnal man was a total mess and God had to clean me up before he could bless me.

You may be going through a time like this.  We all do.  Even after we have been saved for a long time, we still are corrected and educated by God.  But he will always give you the strength to endure your "learning curve" . (Isaiah 40:31 KJV).  This scripture says: "But those who wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint." 

So put on your Nike's today and enter the best marathon you will ever run.  You will never tire of it and the blessing along the route will bless and amaze you as you experience the wisdom and the goodness of your heavenly Father.  You don't even have to pay an entry fee, Jesus did that on Calvary!

Don't Worry Be Happy!

Don't worry be happy is the name I gave Matthew chapter 6.

Our everyday lives here on earth can be filled with stress and challenges that make us feel isolated and so far away from God.  But we have assurance that He is with us and that He will never leave us or forsake us (Hebrew 13:5 KJV).  But somehow the heavy burdens we face make it all but impossible to feel His presence in our life.  The world will tell you that when you are facing a crisis or dying, that you can be in a crowd and be totally alone.  Sounds like something the devil would whisper in your ear to me.  Get this fact deep into your spirit and call on it whenever you need it.  I AM NEVER ALONE.  And even if you have caused the mess you are currently in you have assurance that God will make what the enemy intended for evil, work for the good for those that love Him and have called to unto His purpose.(Romans 8:28 KJV)  If you are "born again" (have accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior) then you will be okay.  God did not promise us that we would not be subject to the things of the world, He just assures us to take His hand and know that we are never alone even in our darkest hours.  There is always an end to any trial or circumstance.  The end will come and there will be joy again. (Psalm 30:5 KJV)  So if you are facing a dark hour today, be encouraged.  Take some time to get into the scriptures for your comfort.  Try on Matthew chapter 6 for size and you will find that it is the right fit for anyone, but especially  for YOU.

Praise Him

Praise Him everyday! Let everything that has breath PRAISE THE LORD! (Psalm
150:6) KJV

When we Praise and Worship our Father in heaven we enter into his presence.
His loving presence enables us to seek Him personally for guidance and
wisdom and fellowship. God is our Father and He loves our company. So many
of us just think of Him as this mighty being with a long white robe and
flowing white hair and beard. Somewhere up in heaven. Someone make believe
and far, far away. God is not a fairy tale. He is our Father. He is real
and He created us so that we may share with Him all that He created. He
gives us strength to face each day. (Psalm 28:7) If you seek your heavenly
Father and communicate with Him daily, He will change you into the person He
created you to be. We get so caught up in the world and worldly things,
that we forget that we are here for a purpose. To discover your purpose,
you must seek God and He will show you why you were born with certain
talents to be used in the, and for the, Kingdom of God, which is right here
on earth, right now. And once you are filled with this knowledge, you can
go out and further the Kingdom by showing others their strengths and
introducing them to Jesus and thus bringing them to their heavenly Father.
Getting to know your creator and coming to love Him above all else is the
most fulfilling thing that will ever happen to you and you will naturally
find yourself wanting to share this knowledge with others on a daily basis.
And remember that Jesus died so that we may have life and have it more
abundantly, John 10:10) and that meant giving you back your connection with
your heavenly Father, God himself. Go out today and share the Kingdom and
all it's wonders with someone. A simple comment like, "Smile, Jesus loves
you!" is a very good place to start.

So smile, Jesus loves YOU! He proved it when YOU were the last thought on
His mind before he died!

I can do all things through Christ that strengthens me

I can do all things through Christ that strengthens me. Philippians 4:13
(KJV)

I realized, once I was born again, that I became the recipient of this
promise. There was no stopping me. This one line of the bible is so profound
and so powerful. It does not state that I "might" be able, but it clearly
states that I "can" do all things if I go through Christ who strengthens me.
When we pray to the Father, we go through Jesus and his shed blood in order
to do so. So many of us take this privilege for granted. Those that are not
saved by giving their lives to Christ, can talk to God all day long and God
hears nothing. It sounds cruel doesn't it? But when Adam and Eve broke their
covenant with God in the garden of Eden, they broke that covenant for all
mankind for all time. God said that he would no longer have fellowship with
man and cast man out of the garden. (Genesis 3:17) But God also immediately
developed the blood sacrifice of animals in order for early man to regain
his contact with God. God also knew that man's carnal nature would never
change. He, out of love of His creation , performed the ultimate sacrifice
of His only Son, Jesus Christ. It is only by the blood sacrifice of God's
only Son, that we are free to communicate with our Father once again. Christ
strengthening us does not mean that he gives us some kind of spiritual
steroid shot, but what it does mean is that he empowers us to go to our
Father. And Jesus said that if we ask anything of the Father through Him, it
would be given unto us. (John 15:16, John 16:23, Matthew 7:11)) Of course
God's wisdom regarding what we need verses what we sometimes want will come
into play here. Remember, sometimes the answer will be no. But if you keep
your eyes and ears and spirit open, the explanation of your answer will be
made clear in God's time. Be glad that God is faithful to his own word. Be
thankful for God's perfect integrity. Without it the universe itself would
die. All we have to do is accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, confess our
sins and we once again have total access to the Father. Through Jesus, we
have it all and can do all things. Once we receive Christ, it is God's
PLEASURE to give us what we ask for. Go to Jesus today with prayer and
supplication and get the strength you need to face your day with confidence.

More Wisdom from Carol Manzo.....

I have printed words of wisdom from my dear friend Carol Manzo before and I
know that you have enjoyed them. Carol has a unique ministry. She can pick
up any item that you find in a store and come up with a scripture that goes
with it. She then prints out the scripture on a card and attaches it to the
item she bought and will give it to someone the Lord has told her is in need
of that message. Most recently, she gave me a little Valentine basket with
a little music box inside that played "Beautiful Dreamer". Part of my
giftings from God is my being a Seer. God gives me Dreams and Visions that
I interpret and I do the same for friends and family. But when she heard
the music, she thought of me. Also in the basket was a deck of cards.
Attached was the following and I hope that you will enjoy it as much as I
did and will think of it the next time you play cards. You can share this
wisdom with your friends too.

Her attached cards read:

ACE...There is only one God.
TWO...Represents the two parts of the Bible, Old and New Testaments.
THREE...Represents the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit.
FOUR...Stands for the Four Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John
FIVE...Is for the five virgins that were ten but only five of them were
glorified.
SIX...Is for the six days it took God to create the Heavens and the Earth.
SEVEN...Is for the day God rested after making His Creation.
EIGHT...Is for the family of Noah and his wife, their three sons and their
wives. Eight people God spared from the flood that destroyed the Earth.
NINE...Is for the lepers that Jesus cleansed of leprosy. He cleansed ten,
but nine never thanked Him.
TEN...Represents the Ten Commandments that God handed down to Moses on
tablets made of stone.
JACK...Is a reminder of Satan, one of God's first angels, but he got kicked
out of Heaven and is now the joker of eternal hell.
Queen...Represents Mary the Mother of God.
KING...Represents Jesus who bought back the keys to HIS kingdom by His death
and resurrection. He took the keys to death, hell and the grave back from
Satan.
THE RED SUITS...Remind us of the precious Blood of Jesus, shed for our
salvation and that cleanses us from the BLACKNESS of sin.

The FOUR SUITS...Represent the four seasons given by God; Winter, Spring,
Summer and Fall.
Each suit has THIRTEEN CARDS...this is the exact number of weeks in each
season.

So the next time you look at a deck of cards you will remember a little more
wisdom from Carol Manzo....Patti