A lot of times when we pray for God to move it isn’t instantaneous. Most of the time God isn’t in a hurry to bring about his purpose. He is always moving, but is moving us on a journey to strengthen our faith. We stand on the Bible concerning the promises God has made to us. When we believe, our faith latches on to the promises of God. And the way in which we live our lives should be that “just because God didn’t answer my prayer immediately doesn’t mean I am going to get discouraged in my faith.” God is working beyond what I know. I know God is doing things in my life that are beyond my knowledge because just as much as he wants to heal me and answer my prayer, he is just as concerned with the journey and the work he is doing in me. Sometimes he is preparing me for things that I don’t understand yet. It’s not until I walk the journey of faith and pursue God that I find out what God is doing in me. Sometimes even more important than my healing or deliverance or moment of breakthrough is my journey getting to that breakthrough.
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 Pastor Dean - February 20, 2008: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Changing is the most difficult thing in the world. Changing my attitude and my behavior. Changing how I see and perceive things. Changing the filter through which I see things and that defines my world view and how I live my life. Changing these things is one of the hardest things you will ever do.

The filter or prism that we look through defines how we see life and can change how we see God. If you were raised to believe that God is angry with you, that is how you will view God and it will affect your actions. If you were raised in an abusive home, that will affect how you see - and possibly treat your own family. The Bible gives us an amazing way to change how we see things. It doesn’t really matter how we see things because many times our prism is not reality. It’s our perception. We see certain things and they become our reality. But when I change the way I see things, I can discover God’s reality - discover the truth and discover how God sees. To start out this new year, we are going to shift the prism we look through and stop living in an environment that never allows us to tap in to what God has for us.
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 Pastor Dean - January 6, 2008: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download