Tag: God

Two Simple Letters…N-O!

Author, Nicole L. Ross1 Comment

NO

Learning how to say no is one of the most difficult but most powerful lessons one can learn in life.  It’s funny because on the flip side, hearing no can also be one of the most difficult but most powerful things to hear.  This goes for children and adults.  We have a tendency to want what we want, when we want it.  As a parent, what I would call that is being spoiled. The desire to have is not always bad, but you have to know that everything you want is not necessary what you need.  God taught me this about a year after I graduated with my undergrad degree.  I got a job that I thought I had always wanted and ended up being so miserable.  He gave me what I wanted to show me that it was not what I needed.  If we would learn this concept, then I think it would be easier to receive it when someone tells you no.  I can also remember praying on multiple occasions asking God for this or that and when I did not get it, I would actually get angry because I did not understand why He was telling me no.  In fact, God wasn’t even telling me no, it was more of a not right now.  My inability to see beyond my present situation caused me to want something I thought was good, when God had great waiting for me around the corner.  Stop letting two simple letters make you feel like is the end of the world.  Whether you hear no from God or from man, take it in stride and learn from it.

We also have a tendency to shy away from telling people no.  Yes, we should help people.  Yes, we should bless them.  And yes, there are some times when we will have to be willing to say no.  It’s as simple as that.  Some times your no is what people need to hear because they have been told yes their whole entire life.  Every time they have ever asked for anything, they have gotten accustomed to getting what they want.  Saying no is a way to humble them.   It brings them back to reality.  Not to mention the fact that saying no gives your ‘yes’ that much more power.  If you say yes all the time, how powerful is it really?  A lot of times this could even cause you to be taken for granted.    Why are we so afraid to tell folks no?  I keep thinking about it and even as I write this I still do not know.  Is it because we are afraid to hurt their feelings or disappoint them?  Is it because we want to please people?  Is it because we feel as thought they will reject us?  Are we afraid of what the response will be?  I’m sure there are several reasons.  Nevertheless, I’ve learned that when we say yes to everyone all the time, there are instances when we could possibly be rejecting our self.  It is ok to bless others as I’ve mentioned before.  Selfless service is always great.  On the other hand, what’s not so great is doing so much for others that you completely forget about yourself.  If something happens to you, then what?

Just my thoughts that I wanted to share.  I hope you will truly think about them.  Ask God to increase your spirit of discernment as well as to open your spiritual ears so that when you are pulled on by others to do this or that, you will know which direction you should be going on instead of allowing kindness to get the best of us.  Never allow your kindness to be mistaken for a weakness.  We allow our emotions to get the best of us and put us in situations at times that we were never meant to be in.  If we are truly in tune with the spirit and the voice of God and our discernment is heightened we will know how to not only react but respond to people accordingly.  All in all, if you think about it, two simple letters N-O can truly be empowering.  I am not saying tell everybody no from now on.  I am saying when you say yes to others, make sure you are not saying no to yourself.  More importantly, make sure you are listening to the voice of your Father and being lead by His spirit and not your emotions. #iDeclare #twosimpleletters…N-O!

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Prayer:

Heavenly Father, I thank you God for the power you are showing me behind these two simple letters.  Please God help me to say yes when and only when it is according to your will.  Give me the strength to say no when I should and not concern myself with how other people will respond.  I decree and declare that my spiritual ears are opening and my discernment is growing day by day.  I will not tell someone yes unless I am sure I am being lead by the Holy Spirit.  Thank you Jesus for hearing my prayer, in Jesus Name. Amen.

 

Scripture Reference:

Ephesians 5:15-16 NLT “So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days.

Proverbs 16:3 NIV “Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and he will establish your plans.”

Matthew 6:33 KJV “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”

Blessed To Be A Blessing

Author, Nicole L. Ross3 Comments

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            Have you ever stopped to think about just how blessed you truly are?  I know I do and I just get so overjoyed because I know that God does not have to do anything for me.  Lord knows I truly do not deserve it but He does it because He loves me so much.  The unmerited love that He shows to His people is simply amazing.  In the same way, we should love others and bless them just the same.  God has blessed us beyond our wildest dreams because He loves us so much.  He wants us to reciprocate the love He shows to us.  The way we can do this is by of course loving Him, but there really isn’t anything tangible we can give to God.  We would never be able to even half way compare to God’s giving.  He wants us to reciprocate His giving by giving to other people.

When I say blessing, I am not only talking about tangible things such as money, or food.  A blessing can also be your time, a listening ear, a phone call, a text message, an email, a hug or even a smile.  All of these are ways in which you can bless other people.  I know it always blesses me when I am walking in a store or anywhere really and the person walking past smiles.  Normally people just put their head down or look in another direction to avoid speaking, but a simple smile never hurt anyone.

Random acts of kindness.  What an awesome way to not only make someone’s day, but to truly show them the love of God.  Have you ever paid for the person’s food behind you at the drive thru?  Purchased the person in line next to you at the grocery store’s groceries?  Paid for gas for a stranger at the gas pump next to you who happened to be there at the same time you were?  These are all random acts of kindness and I would love to see more of it and I’m sure God would too.  After all kindness is contagious and that’s something we could really stand to see spread around the world.

So my point today is this, invest in someone.  We invest in businesses, stocks, bonds and everything else so why not invest in people.  These other things are material and can be easily replaced, but souls are eternal.  Your kind word or deed may be the seed that God uses to bring someone to Christ.  God is working in and through us every day all day.  Remember, to whom much is given, much is required.  God has entrusted us with much with the expectation that we bless others the same way we have been blessed.  Therefore our aim should be to bless others by sharing the resources and knowledge that we have with whomever is in need.   I challenge you all to make a cognizant effort and go out of your way to bless someone else today.  Matter fact not just someone else but a complete stranger.  Spread the love and I guarantee as you give to others, blessings will continue to flow your way.  #iDeclare #blessedtobeablessing

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Prayer:

Father God in the name of Jesus, I thank you for blessing me.  I decree and declare that I will be a blessing to others.  I will perform random acts of kindness and sow seeds of love as often as I can.  I understand that I am blessed to be a blessing and I will be just that.  In Jesus Name, Amen.

Scripture Reference:

Hebrews 13:16 NIV “And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.”

Genesis 12:2 NLT “I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others.”

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Make The Most of It

Author, Nicole L. Ross2 Comments

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Lately, I’ve been thinking about how our environment can effect our state of mind.  I was thinking of this because I was reminiscing on how it was when I first moved to Germany.  Coming from Atlanta, Georgia, this moved literally flipped my world upside down.  I absolutely despised it when I got here.  I did not want to come in the first place because I had never been so far away from my family.  Then when I got here the weather was cold, we are in a small country area where there really isn’t much around, it is cold, I did not like the food, I did not understand the language and did I mention it was very, very cold.  It took me about a year to really adapt and accept the fact that I was living in Germany.  In that year of adjustment I was not a very happy camper.  I did not want to go anywhere.  I did meet a few nice people but within a few months they all slowly started moving back to the states.  It was just a very tough transition for me.  I said all of that to say this, I was in a new environment and even though I did not like it, I allowed it to control me in a sense that it changed my entire outlook on life.  I allowed it to stop me and slow me down from truly operating in the full purpose of me being here.  I knew that God had sent me over here for a reason, and oddly enough I even had a strong spirit of expectation coming over.  I was expecting great things, but I was so stuck on me and being selfish that God could not begin to work in me like He wanted to.  Instead of me making the most of this new country I was living in, I chose to be miserable.  That’s right, I made a decision.  Therefore I was unable to be very effective because I was so stuck in my unhappy living situation.

How do we still fulfill our purpose and make the most out of situations where we are unhappy?  This is a tough question to answer.  I think it all goes back to perspective and not allowing your environment, or even people you surround yourself with to hold you back.  We have to accept life as it is handed to us and decide to make the most of it.  No matter who, what, when or where.

I’ve also noticed when talking with a few people about their job lately, they’ve mentioned how the environment at their job has had a negative impact on them.  I can see this happening, mainly because your workplace is somewhere you typically go on a regular basis.  This is no different from when children go to school and their behavior begins to rub off on each other.  For Christians however, having your own, individual, personal relationship with God is how this can be avoided. When you have your own special relationship with Him, you realize more and more about who He is, but you also realize more and more about who you are in Him.  When you know who you are in Christ, you have a confidence about yourself.  You go places knowing you have the power and authority to shift the atmosphere.  So whether it is work, school, or the grocery store, you take God with you.  Instead of the folks around you having a negative impact on you, you begin to have a positive impact on them.  The roles are reversed.

Learning how to take the good, the bad and the ugly and truly optimize the moment is the purpose of this message.  In order for us to fully be used at our utmost potential by God, we have to make a choice to do so.  When we make the choice, we should not allow anything, including our environment to stop us from moving forward and walking in our destiny.  #iDeclare #makethemostofit

 

Prayer:

Father God, in the name of Jesus.  I thank you for pushing me towards my destiny.  Forgive me for times when I allow the things going on around me to hinder me from moving forward.  Thank you for loving me and desiring a personal relationship with me.  As I draw closer to you, please help me to learn more about you and about myself.  Help me to walk in the knowledge of who I am in Christ at all times God.  I decree and declare that no matter what my environment is, I will make the most of it.  I will shift the atmosphere for the glory of God.  I will be a leader and not a follower.  Instead of me conforming to the ways of the world, I decree and declare that I have been transformed by the renewing of my mind in Christ Jesus.  Thank you God for hearing my prayer, In Jesus Name.  Amen.

Scripture References:

Romans 12:2 ESV “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

Philippians 2:5 KJV “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:”