What God Says Goes!

Chello~

Hebrews 4:12 "God means what He says. What He says goes. His powerful Word is sharp as a surgeon’s scalpel, cutting through everything...Nothing and no one is impervious to God’s Word. We can’t get away from it—no matter what."

Tuesday's DEVO ended with this prayer: "Dear Lord, What You say goes--You and no one else or nothing else has the final word in our life."

That truth is applicable to every single thing in our life. It takes precedence over what bullies say, what doctors say, what our significant others say, what our friends say, even what those with good intentions say. Let this revolutionize the way we approach life. Using the blessing from Tuesday's DEVO, how might we apply this in every day life?

When someone says, "You will never amount to anything." You say, "God has blessed me to be the head and not the tail!"

When someone says, "You will never get out of debt." You say, "The LORD will open the heavens, the storehouse of His bounty, and send rain on my land in season and bless all the work of my hands."

When someone says, "That professor who has it in for you is powerful and you will never get that unfair grade changed." You say, "The LORD will grant that the enemies who rise up against me will be defeated before me."

When someone says, "You will never have children."

You can do what my friend "L" did. She had been married for a few years and still wasn't getting pregnant. And after checking out both her and her husband, doctors could not find a reason and said to her, "Some women just will never get pregnant, and we do not know why."

Those were devastating words to hear, but thank God she came to her senses and remembered that there are promises in the Word of God that were meant for her.

Consider her prayer:

"Dear Lord, You promised that the fruit of my womb would be blessed. So far I have no fruit for You to bless, but I am asking You to put a baby in there and then bring the blessing You promised--right now!"

That's a bold prayer if I ever heard one. (Does God honor bold requests? We'll dive into that topic tomorrow).

And for the record, she boldly prayed it more than once. Month after month, in fact, and year after year, for three long years, until she did indeed get pregnant and gave birth to a beautiful healthy baby. Glory hallelujah!

What God says goes!

PRAYER: Dear Lord, Thank You for teaching us that Your Word is sharp like a surgeon's scalpel that cuts through all the nonsense and negativity and bring blessings. We receive them all, in Jesus' name, AMEN~

God Means What He Says~

Greetings :)

The topic of blessings is still weighing heavily in many of our minds. I shared how both my kids were called names when they were growing up. But it was my son, in particular, who went through a really rough period in eighth grade. Now that he is a full grown 26-year-old man, I can share this story.

One of his teachers, God bless her soul, made the mistake of calling him "Gorgeous Jorge," and this started an almost year-long tirade against him where some of the other boys would call him all sorts of names--disgusting, foul, cruel, and crude names.

On and on this taunting went. At first, Hormone didn't say anything, but one day my spidey sense started tingling, and I knew something was up.

I felt like there was a war going on. Me trying to reaffirm him so he wouldn't be traumatized; and the bullies doing their daily best to take him to a breaking point.

I was determined that my son would not--I REPEAT--would not succumb to the bullying. He would not be labeled, or have his sexuality questioned, or feel inferior.

So I pulled out the big guns. Fighting fire with fire is the human inclination. But God has a better way. A higher way. A sure-fire way to bring victory.

Hebrews 4:12 "God means what He says. What He says goes. His powerful Word is sharp as a surgeon’s scalpel, cutting through everything...Nothing and no one is impervious to God’s Word. We can’t get away from it—no matter what."

In other words, taunts and name-calling hurt those who they're aimed at. Sometimes all it takes is one insult, and we carry the sting for the rest of our life. We develop a thick skin and let no one in. But if mere human words have such a profound effect, how much more does God's Word affect us? God's Word is powerful. Nothing can get in it's way, and no one can get away from it. Not an eighth grader who is being teased and not an eighth grader who teases.

Check out this amazing portion of scripture: Deuteronomy 28:1-12

You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country. The fruit of your womb will be blessed, and the crops of your land and the young of your livestock—the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks. Your basket and your kneading trough will be blessed. You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out. The LORD will grant that the enemies who rise up against you will be defeated before you. They will come at you from one direction but flee from you in seven. The LORD will send a blessing on your barns and on everything you put your hand to. The LORD your God will bless you in the land He is giving you. Then all the peoples on earth will see that you are called by the name of the LORD, and they will fear you. The LORD will open the heavens, the storehouse of His bounty, to send rain on your land in season and to bless all the work of your hands. You will lend to many nations but will borrow from none. The LORD will make you the head, not the tail.

I am going to stop this DEVO right now and ask you all to print out the passage from Deuteronomy. Bless your family with the Word of the Lord today. If you aren't as pushy as me and can't physically put your hand on them, by all means go to their pillow and pray over them there. Go into your closet and pray for them there.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, What You say goes--You and no one else or nothing else has the final word in our life. Strengthen us today to bless those we love, and thank You that Your word will go straight to their heart and help them. In Jesus' name, AMEN~

Bless the Bullies~

May the Force, which is Jesus, be with you!

One of the reasons I love the DEVOs is because of all the stuff I learn. When I give a shout out to God to inspire me, He sometimes bangs me on the head with a powerful passage that really opens my eyes to areas where I need improvement.

For example: These past few days we have seen the importance of blessing ourselves and others, and how crucial it is to ask God to label our kids with His unending myriad of magnificent names so that all the junk thrown their way won't stick.

I think of a time when one of my children felt a little self-conscious about the size of her ears. Ooops! I guess you all know I am talking about Rayray Urgell.

It didn't help that some elementary school punkaroos called her names.

And then there was the time that a girl made fun of Jorgie way back when he had buck teeth. (See proof below) They were so bucked, in fact, that rabbit mothers regularly knocked on our door asking for us to return their son to them.

Nevertheless, Hormone responded with a worse insult--something I can not include here--and caused a ruckus that resulted in my having to meet with the school and the upset parent. Never mind that Hormone had taken a powerful hit to his self-esteem.

In both these situations it was a powerful thing to pray over my children. It was also very reassuring to them that God saw them as absolutely perfect and so precious that He lay claim to them by putting His name right on them. That they were made in His image and no one else's.

Which brings me to the whole topic of blessing someone. It's easy to bless those we love--to take the time to encourage and affirm them when they question their worth. But God has such high standards. He expects us to, "Bless those who persecute you [who are cruel in their attitude toward you]; bless and do not curse them." Romans 12:14

Really?

Yes...

And here is where God hit me between the eyes of my own self-righteousness--something I have been guilty of for a long time. He whispered this to my heart, and I trust you will accept into your own as well.

"Yenisita, when someone mistreats you, when they make fun of you, when they criticize you, when they are abrasive, when they are selfish, when they misunderstand you and make no attempt to get you, when they are downright cruel, blessing them instead of cursing them puts My powerful name on them, and that is the first start toward a changed life--a life where they themselves will turn into blessers of others and not cursers!"

People, don't you see? In the end, it is better to lay aside your anger--no matter how justified--and bless your enemies because with God's name on them their meanness will eventually turn to niceness. Their abuse will turn to gentleness. Their biting ridicule will turn into words of life.

I so wish I had thought to tell my kids that those verbal bullies needed blessing and not retaliation. What a powerful teaching moment it would have been. But moving forward we all know that blessing folks--even the persecutors--leads to a better life for them and for us.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, Give us the strength to bless those who mistreat us knowing that as we do You are changing their lives and ours for the better! In Jesus' name, AMEN~

 

 

Hassle Free

Greetings, Earthlings!

Rayray received a really thoughtful gift for her wedding from my daughter-in-law, Lis. It’s a New Bride Name Change Kit. It contains everything you need to fill out to go from “Miss to Mrs. without the hassle.”

It did not take long for our precious child, whom we lovingly raised for 23 years, to announce that she would completely eliminate the “Fernandez” from her name. She acts as if our name is infected with pustules of the plague. Her dad had hopes she would hyphenate. NOT!

But I am not upset about it; on the contrary. I am glad she has so completely embraced her role as a new wife. Plus, I think it’s beyond-words great that she complains about having to Swiffer every day, and that the“laundry is incessant.”

Besides, her new name, Rachel Janelle Urgell, has a nice alliterative sound to it. How could she have even survived without an“L” in all three of her names for so long?

The bigger question is how any of us could ever survive without God’s name on us?

We can’t and many of us don’t.

If you are in a funk, if your spouse is in a funk, if you’re child is in a funk—make it a priority to bless that person every single day. Blessing them invites God into their lives and opens them up to receive all that God offers.

The byline on the Bride Name Change Kit is, “From Miss to Mrs. Without the Hassle.” Makes it sound simple because it kind of really is. Taking a moment to bless someone so they can go from grumpy to happy, from fearful to peaceful, from tired to rested, from negative to hopeful, from sick to healthy, from broke to prosperous, from misunderstanding to understanding, from broken to whole, from danger to protection…is also hassle free. Amen!

A little side note: Sometimes it concerns us that those we love aren’t taking the time to seek God for themselves—that they have their spiritual life on the back burner. The great thing about this passage of scripture is that this blessing was spoken over the people; they did not bless themselves. Yet the Lord put His name on them anyway. That is power of prayer. We can bless others who aren’t willing to bless themselves.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, Bless us today. Take us from whatever state we are in to a better one right now. In Jesus’ name, AMEN~

What's in a Name?

TGIF Greetings~

Have you ever been labeled?  When I was a senior in high school the entire 34-member class of 1983 took a two-week field trip to visit Christian colleges and hang out at a camp called The Wilds.

It was great fun, and imagine my surprise when they were handing out awards, and I received a plaque, which was signed by all my classmates, that said, “Mouth of the South.”

I still have that plaster of paris monstrosity somewhere in my garage, and I am fond of it.

As labels go, that one was right on the money. 

However, sometimes labels aren’t very nice, and we are all guilty of putting nasty labels on others, even our own kids and certainly people we don’t like.  If I had a quarter for every time I have called someone an “idiot…”

Lord, forgive me.

But yesterday’s DEVO was all about putting the most positive label in the history of labels on others:

Numbers 6:22 “When you bless the people this way, you will place My name on the people of Israel.”

What, exactly, is God’s name?

Below is a partial list of the names of God.

ADVOCATE  ALMIGHTY   ALL IN ALL    BREAD OF LIFE   BREATH OF LIFE   BRIGHT MORNING STAR    COMFORTER    CONSUMING FIRE CORNERSTONE    COUNSELOR    CREATOR    CROWN OF BEAUTY   DELIVERER   ETERNAL LIFE    EXCELLENT    FAITHFUL & TRUE   FORTRESS FRIEND    GOOD SHEPHERD    GUIDE    HOPE    JUST ONE    KING OF KINGS    LIFE    LIGHT OF THE WORLD    LIVING WATER    LOVE LOVINGKINDNESS    MIGHTY ONE    PHYSICIAN   PRINCE OF PEACE   REWARDER   SHADE   SHIELD   STRENGTH   STRONG TOWER   TRUTH   WALL OF FIRE

The importance of blessing others is becoming clearer and clearer.  When I tell Hormone, “God bless you!” I am actually putting Hope, Guidance, Eternal Life, Comfort, Healing, Peace, Strength, Truth, Excellence and more—so much more—right onto his life.  Glory!

PRAYER: Dear Lord, Your Majestic and Powerful name represents depths of blessings we are all eager to receive.  Bless us now, in Christ’s holy name, Amen! 

Singled Out for Blessing~

Numbers 6:24-26 "God bless you and keep you, God smile on you and gift you, God look you full in the face and make you prosper."

 
These verses above, while filled with a lovely and beautiful sentiment, won't really mean much if they are never fulfilled.

 
Jump down to Numbers 6:27 "By blessing the people in this way, they will place My name on the People of Israel—I will confirm it by blessing them.”

 

God is telling you and me today that when we bless others with His words, we are putting His name on them--we are singling them out for some special treatment.  And when we do that God will confirm the truth of these words by following through with ACTION.

 

He will protect us, smile on us, which will warm our hearts and give us peace, and He will provide for us.

 

Bam! Bam! Bam! We are all marked for blessing because of the New Year’s Day DEVO.

 

I meant every word I said when I sent out that DEVO, but it was so much more than kind words.  It was an invitation to the Almighty God of Heaven and Creator of the Universe to swoop down and single each of us out for an amazing and ongoing Divine relationship.  He wants us to know that we belong to Him and that He will take care of us in every conceivable way.

 

Raise your hands toward the heavens right now and shout, "Hallelujah!"

 

God's name is on you! And while you're shouting, bless those you love today. Putting God's name on them is an awesome thing!

 

PRAYER: Dear Lord, Thank You for this powerful passage of scripture.  You have given us the ability to put Your name on ourselves and those we love.  We choose You! We want You on us, in us, around us, and beside us all the time.  We receive Your blessings and pray for Your name to be on our families as well.  In Jesus’ name, AMEN~

 

A Blessing For All~

One of my favorite blessings in the Bible is found in the Old Testament.  As we wake up this morning to a New Year filled with promise, I bless each of you with these words found in Numbers 6:24-26

"God bless you and keep you, God smile on you and gift you, God look you full in the face and make you prosper."

In His name,

Yenise~