Build an Ark

                Steven Furtick said, “You’ve gotta build an ark when you’ve never seen rain.” This was so profound to me. What does that mean? It means you’ve got to have the faith to do it even if it’s never been done before. You’ve got to have faith even if you’ve never done it before. You’ve got to believe that when God tells you to do something he will give you the strength to do it. You’ve got to believe that God has a purpose and a will for your life. Believe God. Build an ark.

                What is the ark in your life? What is God telling you to build? Is it a stronger marriage? Is it a better relationship with your kids? Is it communicating with your boss? He’s telling me to build a road to being a better leader. I cannot take my old mindset into my new blessings. I need to change the way I do things. All the things that led me to here were meant for that time but now it’s time to mature and grow in leadership. I have to do this for a time such as this because I will be leading thousands and if I can’t lead four people then I can’t lead a thousand people. God is giving me an opportunity to be a good steward of little so I can be a good steward of much. What is God calling you to be a good steward of?

                Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. Luke 16:10 NIV

                I’ll leave you with this thought. Believe God is for you not against you. Believe he will equip you to do what he’s called you to do. Step out in faith even if you don’t know where that step will take you. Take one step at a time. He is faithful in all things.

                What’s your ark?

                What is God calling you to be a good steward of?

                I’m here.

                I’m listening.

                Genuinely Yours,

                Amy Z

What To Do When God Gives You Lemons

                Have you ever heard the saying when life gives you lemons make lemonade? Well what do you do when God gives you lemons? I believe God gives us lemons to test and strengthen our character. I believe he wants to see what’s left of him in us when we get to the end of us. What I mean is what will be left of our character when we have trials? Will Jesus shine through us? Will we walk in Jesus authority and show people how he’s working in our lives and who he is or will we succumb to the trail and give up?

                I personally don’t want to give up. I want to see if I’m going to let Jesus shine through me.

                God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. 2 Timothy 1:7 KJV

                I so need this verse right now because I’ve been so fearful lately. I’m afraid of the unknown. My pastor says to think of the unknown as above and beyond what God is going to do in my life. I know that the trials that I face, the lemons, are to refine me and equip me to be a better solider in Christ’s army.

                So what can we do when God gives us lemons? We can praise him. We can worship him. We can seek his guidance and will for our lives. We can appreciate what he’s done for us. A heart of gratitude goes a long way.

So are you in a season of your life where God is giving you lemons?

Will you share it with me?

I just encourage you to not give up. God’s word says,

So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up. Galatians 6:9 NLT

                Do you see that? Right around the corner of your trial is a blessing. And not just one blessing it’s a harvest of blessing. I don’t know about you but I want to see that harvest of blessing come through in my own life. I know that God has big things headed my way. So too does he have big things headed your way. Don’t give up dear readers and just know there is a crowd of witnesses up in heaven watching our progress.

                Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. Hebrews 12:1 NLT

                Don’t give up. Don’t give in. Endure the trials for there is such a huge blessing on the other side of your trial. Keep persevering. Keep praying. Keep serving. Keep on keeping on. You can do this. Keep turning to God.

                I’m here.

                I’m listening.

                Genuinely Yours,

                Amy Z

Heartbeat of God

            The people of God are the pulse of the heartbeat of God. Being the pulse of the heartbeat of God is an outward showing of an inward change. God’s people shine the light of Christ into people’s lives. God’s people show who God is by praying, serving, loving, being. God’s desire is for people to know about his son Jesus. Our desire is for people to know Jesus therefore we are at the pulse of the heartbeat of God. Our hearts beat with the same desire. What are your desires dear reader? A heartbeat shows that there is life within the soul that carries that heartbeat. Let’s look at what God’s word says:

For I will set My eyes on them for good, and I will bring them back to this land; I will build them and not pull them down, and I will plant them and not pluck them up. ⁷ Then I will give them a heart to know Me, that I am the Lord; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God, for they shall return to Me with their whole heart. Jeremiah 24:6-7

God has given us a heart to know him. He moved upon our hearts and by faith we are saved and have come to know Christ as our Lord and Savior. Now let us go out into the world and share that saving faith.

Dear readers I have been away from blogging for 2 weeks. I haven’t been reading my bible. I haven’t been studying myself worthy of the calling he’s placed on my life. I just ask that you pray for me to get back into spending time with God before work. I thank you for being here dear readers. I’ve missed being her and missed hearing from you. Have a blessed day!

I’m here.

I’m listening.

Genuinely Yours,

Amy Z

Mighty Woman of Valor

             Dear reader I want to talk to you today of your potential. God has put inside you the heart of a warrior. You are a mighty man or woman of valor. God calls you as you are at the deepest point of your personality. He sees your future. Therefore, he calls you as you will be not as you are. He gives you the hope of you being greater than you already are. He wants to bring that warrior out of your heart so that you will guide lost souls to his kingdom. Now we have a great example of what God can do in people’s heart in the character of Gideon in the bible. I encourage you to read Judges 6-8. Because of Israel’s disobedience God had given them up to the Midianites. The Lord heard their cry of anguish and decided to deliver them. Now Gideon was hiding in the winepress threshing wheat because the Midianites were taking all the food from the Israelites. He is visited by an angel of the Lord look and see what the angel said:

Now the Angel of the Lord came and sat under the terebinth tree which was in Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, while his son Gideon threshed wheat in the winepress, in order to hide it from the Midianites. And the Angel of the Lord appeared to him, and said to him, “The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valor!” Judges 6:11-12

Gideon’s response is:

Gideon said to Him, “O my lord, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all His miracles which our fathers told us about, saying, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the Lord has forsaken us and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites.” Then the Lord turned to him and said, “Go in this might of yours, and you shall save Israel from the hand of the Midianites. Have I not sent you?” So he said to Him, “O my Lord, how can I save Israel? Indeed my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.” Judges 6:13-15

Gideon tells God of his shortcomings. So often do we too tell him of why we aren’t qualified to do what God has called us to do. The angel declares him a mighty man of valor. The angel speaks to the future of Gideon’s potential. God pays no mind to Gideon being the least in his household. God speaks of who he is and that he will be with him. Gideon asks for a sign from God and tests him. He puts a fleece out and asks God to cover it with dew and leave the ground dry. God does this and Gideon asks him for a second test to cover the ground with dew and leave the fleece dry. God doesn’t mind the test. God even performs the second test so that Gideon is assured that God is with him and has given the Midianites into his hand. God did not send Gideon blindly. He gave Gideon a sign that Israel would be saved by his hand.

God tested Gideon’s devotion by telling him to tear down an idol’s altar and build an altar to the Lord and give him two sacrifices. God wanted to strengthen Gideon’s character before the battle he would face. God wanted to strengthen his devotion to the Lord so God tested him. So too does God want to strengthen your character dear reader.

What can you do this week to show your devotion to God?

God is doing this for me right now. He’s proving my devotion to him right now by putting it on my heart to spend more time in his word and with him. He’s strengthening my character. I am so close to my next blessing. I can feel it and I’m so excited about it. It’s ok to test God’s word to you when you’re not sure what he’s telling you to do. Sometimes you’ll be like Gideon and lay out a fleece just to be sure and God understands that. He will answer on his timing.

By strengthening Gideon’s character, he prepared him for the battle and put it on his heart to do as he commanded and not deviate from what God had said. God showed him that he could win the battle with just a few because God was with him. Again God didn’t speak to who Gideon was. He spoke to who Gideon would become. God didn’t reassure him that he could do it in his own effort, he reassured him that God would be with him.

What battle is God calling you to face?

Will you let him speak to your potential and walk out in faith in the calling that he’s placed on your life?

I’m here.

I’m listening.

Genuinely Yours,

Amy Z

There’s a Cross in Every Crown

            Dear readers my friend mentioned the title of this blog to me and it really intrigued me and got me thinking. What it means to me is every blessing comes with a price.

God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him. James 1:12 NLT

My biggest cross or trial was when I was suicidal and in a cult. I thought I was headed for hell and there was no consoling me. I wanted to die but God was not finished with me yet. He used my captors to set me free and I wound up in a psych ward for 5 days. The crown God gave me during this time was the choice to choose life instead of death. 7 years later he gave me another crown for this cross and that is my book Set Free Through Christ Who Strengthens Me is being published. God has shown me it will touch the lives of many and bring them to Christ. So the cross I bore is a blessing that will bring glory to God and bring many to his kingdom. This crown is bigger than I can fathom. It’s like when Joseph told his brothers:

But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive. Genesis 50:20

My situation is exactly like this. My roommates tried to destroy me, but God meant it for good to save many lives. There are many stories like mine out there, but not many people go public with it. This is a unique story that will touch the lives of many. I can’t wait to see what God is going to do! This crown is far reaching into eternity and I can’t wait to see the fruits of my cross when I get to heaven one day. I’ll see all the lives my testimony has touched. So the cross is a trial and the crown is the blessing at the end of that trial.

What cross are you bearing today?

Share it with me.

I’m here.

I’m listening.

Genuinely Yours,

Amy Z

The Light of the World

            So I asked the question of my bible study group: What do you need to forget to move forward with Christ? It was inspired by this scripture:

Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before. Philippians 3:13

I need to forget the anxiety. Forget the shame. Forget the fear. Fear lives in the dark and Christ has shined his glorious light into my darkest places and revealed them as mere vapors. They hold no tangible weight all fear does is whisper lies. It holds no power when Christ’s light shines on it. It is shown to be a lie of the past collecting dust.

What is the light of Christ when it comes to darkness?

                        For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. 2 Corinthians 4:6

The light brings knowledge to our hearts. A knowledge of who God is through Christ. Jesus brings us before the foot of the throne. Before our Father. His blood covers all our sins so that God can look upon us and welcome us into his kingdom.

Who is the light of the world?

                        Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. John 8:12

Jesus says we will not walk in darkness, therefore, walking in fear in the dark is contrary to my character and my walk with Christ.

So the knowledge in our hearts and through the guidance of our Savior we will walk in the light. Therefore, the darkness has no power over us. God gives us a choice between death and life.

See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil; In that I command thee this day to love the Lord thy God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgments, that thou mayest live and multiply: and the Lord thy God shall bless thee in the land whither thou goest to possess it. Deuteronomy 30:15-16

This says to walk in his ways. You have a choice dear reader. Life and light or death and darkness. God does not force this choice upon us. For me I have a choice life and light or death and darkness and fear. I choose life and light. I made that choice 7 years ago when I was suicidal in a psychiatric ward. However, I hadn’t thought about the fear that was still attached to my heart, this unwanted hitchhiker. Fear is so often motivating my choices. I want to be motivated by God. I want to choose him in all that I do. My God I have the light of the world in my heart. Who am I to ignore Jesus? He’s called us out of darkness into his marvelous light.

He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and brake their bands in sunder. Psalm 107:14

Jesus and the light wins. The darkness will not prevail against it. Therefore, I need to just look to Jesus to be that light in my life.

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it. John 1:5 NLT

What do you need to do today dear reader to allow Christ’s light to shine in your heart? I know it all starts with seeing your need for a savior. It starts with giving your heart to Christ. If you haven’t already what are you waiting for? Christ will bring peace to your heart and will bring you salvation if you but turn to him. The next step is prayer. Talk it out with God. Let him hear your voice. I need to take my own advice to not allow fear to touch my heart. Fear is but a vapor and Christ is right there reaching out his hand if we would but take it and let him remove all the darkness from our hearts.

Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me. John 14:6 NLT

Let’s just turn to Jesus today and let him heal our hearts and remove all anxiety, fear and doubt. What can you do to have more of Jesus in your life today?

I’m here.

I’m listening.

Genuinely Yours,

Amy Z

Stand Still in the Battle

               Dear readers, I had to do a lot of waiting today. I’m having minor surgery, no worries I won’t even be put under for it, but I’ve had to go through hoops because it’s being done at a hospital. So months ago I went for an EKG and a Chest X-ray. Well because it’s been so long ago I had to do them again and I just found out this morning that I had to do the Chest X-ray again so I was very frustrated about this. I had to wait an hour and a half for the X-ray. At first I was frustrated but then I started to kind of really like the fact that I was waiting and couldn’t do anything but wait. It got me thinking about God’s word that says, “Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the heathen. I will be exalted in the earth,” Psalm 46:10. This is ultimately telling us that God will be known even among the unbelievers. His glory will be revealed to everyone. So Psalm 46 is very meaty and I believe God is actually talking about being still in the battle. I would love to go through the whole Psalm because it’s so good. I encourage you to read it and think about the fact that God is fighting for you. So here’s some of the verses:

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; Psalm 46:1-2

So when there are wars or battles raging in our lives God is right there besides us and we can run to him and be sheltered by him. During this time there were battles and the psalmist is reminding himself and his readers that God is our refuge and strength. We need not fear because he is with us.

He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth; he breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder, he burneth the chariot in the fire. Psalm 46:9

So here we see that God fights the battle for us. He protects us no matter what we are going through. After this I got to thinking about Moses and the people of Israel and one of the toughest things they had to go through, and that was when they fled the Egyptians by crossing the Red Sea. Look what God tells his people through Moses:

And Moses said unto the people, fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will shew you today: for the Egyptians you have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever. Exodus 14:13

The Lord shall fight for you and ye shall hold your peace. Exodus 14:14

It is after this that the Lord tells Moses to stretch his hand over the sea to divide it. So what battle are you facing today? In what way can you stand still and let the Lord fight for you?

I’m so used to thinking that I can fight my own battles. This is a challenge for me. To just stand still, do nothing and wait is unheard of for me. However, I fully believe the Lord has me in a waiting period and is teaching me how to be still. That’s what I had to be for most my morning and you know what it actually was a blessing to have to do these tests again because it ultimately led me to the thoughts for this blog which in turn led me to you dear reader.

One last thought:

Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day; nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday. A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee. Psalm 91:5-7

This is so a call to stand still. Nothing will harm you. Let the Lord fight for you.

So will you share your battles with me dear reader?

I’m here.

I’m listening.

Genuinely Yours,

Amy Z