Wait On The Promise

Faith is sometimes waiting in the Promise and doing something against what the World seems best or is even best for you, to instead do something else that could be best to help someone else.  

Today God showed me that what looked like an immediate answer to my families prayers with everything lining up perfectly wasn’t all there was to the story. He prompted me to make a call which opened up another conversation and presented another possibility and alternative that helps someone else and answers their prayers immediately.  

I would have missed the answer and this opportunity to be obedient to God had I not read His Word or made the calls when the Spirit promoted me.  

God then told me to go back and keep reading. I almost didn’t because of time crunches and knew that I was now to do the opposite of what we thought we should do, but the Spirit told me to go back and keep reading. So I stomped back to my farm table and continued to read His Word and that is where He clearly confirmed in His Word what was opposite of the choice we thought or the World thinks we should have made was what we were to make.   

Emotional and Mind blown how awesome God works and this time running late and an emotional mess-I felt His Peace flood over me by His confirmation in His Word that this choice was a choice of simply being obedient to His Word that goes against everything else and that is what builds our faith.   

I knew that I could continue to wait in the Promise longer now that my waiting allowed someone else to get an immediate answer. 

I want to encourage everyone. Keep reading! Keep reading His Word. Don’t stop when you think you have the answer. Don’t base your choice or make a decision just because everything is lining up and the voice of reason or the World tells you to take the deal- God could be asking you to wait longer in your Promise so someone else can have their answer to their Promise and prayers now. 

                     ~ XXOO Michelle Bollom 

No In-Between

  
Our job is not to judge whether His Word is right or wrong but to obey it.  

We are not to question and certainly not to give our opinions, for none of that changes truth. 

 He is Truth.  

He knows what He’s doing.  

We know nothing.  

We either believe all of Him, or we believe none of Him.  

There is no in-between.  

Thank you, God, for knowing.  

Thank you for correcting us as a loving parent should.

💙 Stephanie Gable 

Mine Eye

  
Eye see one half of the earth 

One half of the pain

One half of your heart

One tear on your face

Yet when Eye 

  
Close mine Eye 

Eye can see forever there

Being led by my Father’s Eye

Everything’s within my site

Further than mortal man can see

When Eye trust in thee Oh Lord

This single visioned man

Can see all things very clear

Eye see less of me 

Now

Literally

Light my path so

Eye won’t stumble

Hold my hand so

Eye won’t fall

Lead me Lord 

And Eye will follow

Speak my name

Eye’ll heed Your call

Eye hath not seen

Nor ear heard

But Eye will Lord

Looking to Your Word.

               ~Krystal Lynne 

All The Time

  

Now God has us where He wants us, with all the time in this world and the next to shower grace and kindness upon us in Christ Jesus. Saving is all His idea, and all His work. All we do is trust Him enough to let Him do it. It’s God’s gift from start to finish! We don’t play the major role. If we did, we’d probably go around bragging that we’d done the whole thing! No, we neither make nor save ourselves. God does both the making and saving. He creates each of us by Christ Jesus to join Him in the work He does, the good work He has gotten ready for us to do, work we had better be doing. ~Ephesians 2:8-10The Message (MSG)

Great verse in the message translation.  Share your favorite translation with us in the comments below.  

God is Good All The Time; All The Time God is Good!  ~XXOO Michelle Bollom 

A Gift of Awakening



Weariness is overtaking me.                  Surrendering to this force of darkness                   Is a temptation I may not resist.                              I long to find some sense of strength.

This cloud is hovering much too low. 

Do I dare take a step forward,

Lest I fall into a blur of hopelessness?

Oh, to have not lost the desire to dream.

The sting of failure is too much to bear. 

Falling, tumbling, spiraling into the pit

Is inevitable as the world closes in around me. 

The thought of being snatched up in time is no longer.

As I hit the bottom, Your presence overtakes me.

The sound of Your voice extinguishes despair.

Your words lift me to a place of no resistance.

Your brilliant light brings me renewed strength.

The sky is clear and my spirit weightless. 

I am made new as I rise with You.

To succumb to darkness, You allow me not.

With dreams You fill me as a gift of awakening.

The stench of fear no longer suffocates me.

In my failure, You stand in my place. 

Victorious not in my own right,

I call you Abba Father, Daddy God.

You are my cloud of strength, and I dream of no other.

Amen.

S. Gable 2/24/15

Alive & Powerful

I believe the word of God is alive and powerful. I have used God’s word throughout different situations and it has been the only thing that fully transformed or restored me and the different areas of my life.

Each Wednesday I will be bringing you a new Bible Verse and a Scripture Picture.

I hope you will leave your thoughts in the comments each week with what the verses mean to you or how you have used them in your own life.

Be sure to follow @RestoredPeople on Twitter and # your own favorite verses each week using #WordofGodWednesday

There is nothing we can’t overcome by the Promise of God’s Word and The Power of the Holy Spirit! ~ XXOO Michelle Bollom

For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires. ~ Hebrews 4:12 NLT

“The Holy Scriptures are the word of God. When God sets it home by His Spirit, it convinces powerfully, converts powerfully, and comforts powerfully. It makes a soul that has long been proud to be humble; and a perverse spirit, to be meek and obedient. Sinful habits, that have become as it were natural to the soul, and rooted deeply in it, are separated and cut off by this sword. It will uncover in men their thoughts and purposes, the vileness of many, the bad principles they are moved by, the sinful ends they pursue. The word will show the sinner all that is in his heart. Let us hold fast the doctrines of Christian faith in our heads, it’s enlivening principles in our hearts, the open profession of it in our lips, and be subject to it in our lives.” ~Matthew Henry Concise Commentary Hebrews 4:12

Worthy Words

Let no foul or polluting language, nor evil word nor unwholesome or worthless talk [ever] come out of your mouth, but only such [speech] as is good and beneficial to the spiritual progress of others, as is fitting to the need and the occasion, that it may be a blessing and give grace (God’s favor) to those who hear it. ~ Ephesians 4:29 AMP

Foul adj.adjective – Morally detestable; wicked. Of a vulgar or obscene nature. Very disagreeable or displeasing; horrid. Bad or unfavorable. Offensive to the senses; revolting

Evil adj.adjective -Morally bad or wrong; wicked. Causing ruin, injury, or pain; harmful. Characterized by or indicating future misfortune; ominous. Bad or blameworthy by report; infamous. Characterized by anger or spite; malicious

Good adj.adjective-Worthy of respect; honorable .Attractive; handsome. Beneficial to health; salutary. Valid or true. Genuine; Pleasant; enjoyable. Of moral excellence; upright. Benevolent; kind .Loyal; staunch. Well-behaved; obedient.

Beneficial adj.adjective-Producing or promoting a favorable result; advantageous. Enhance wellbeing

Last year I tweeted up twitter world with #MarchMouthMonth. I was convicted that I and my family needed to speak Worthier Words. I used this verse above as our kick off verse for that challenge. I had never given much thought to my words. I used to cuss like a sailor and to be honest, I still can easily pick up a word a little too colorful to describe something and sometimes the words “Oh Snap”, just don’t fully describe the situation or make me feel better so I just let the old cuss words fly. I feel better only momentarily, than I realize, my kiddos or others have had a front row seat to my unworthy words. I grew up with a grandmother that saw everything with a critical and judgmental eye and she wasn’t afraid to tell you what she thought. She was a big time screamer and would rage with lots of harsh words. I thought that was normal behavior growing up. I wanted so desperately for my kiddos to unlearn some of the bad habits that the broken, pre-transformed me had displayed to them. I am so thankful that God so lovingly works with us transforming, renewing, renovating, and restoring us and when we do fall short His grace covers us along our imperfect journeys. With God’s help we all made big improvements with our mouths. I was almost finished with this Devotion for you on Worthy Words when just this past week I heard an awesome message on Words by Melody Barker. God used her and that message to take my challenge on words even deeper. She referenced the verse Matthew 12:36 “But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the Day of Judgment.” OUCH! Then I looked it up in the message translation…“It’s your heart, not the dictionary that gives meaning to your words. A good person produces good deeds and words season after season. An evil person is a blight on the orchard. Let me tell you something: Every one of these careless words is going to come back to haunt you. There will be a time of Reckoning. Words are powerful; take them seriously. Words can be your salvation. Words can also be your damnation.”            DOUBLE OUCH!

Idle – of no real worth, importance, or significance. Empty, trifling, vain, useless. Rumors or Gossip.

Think of that definition of Idle. On a given day how many idle words do we speak that are not building anyone or anything up?

My back hurts, idiot drivers, turds, I am tired, I hate when this or that happens, I hate the car rider line, traffic stinks, you never listen, did you hear about so and so, I dread the grocery store, I don’t want to wake up, the weather is too hot, too cold, I hate my job, is it the weekend yet, Ugh, I don’t want to exercise, Weirdo, this is so slow…

Words make deposits into our souls. The words we speak to ourselves and the words spoken by others to us; make huge deposits into our soul. Unfortunately we too can make lots of bad deposits into people’s souls by the words we speak. It is not just those self- defeating demeaning words, the curse words, the negative critical or judgmental words, but all unworthy or idle words can wither a soul up quick. God knew the importance of choosing our words wisely. God knew that the tongue had the power of life or death. He knows a truly transformed mouth must be exercised Season after Season, not just for a month.

May we all be challenged to speak Worthier Words.   ~   XXOO   Michelle Bollom

Still not convinced our words are powerful?  Click here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EIOx7i7MkY8

Let It Go

Are You Having Trouble Letting Something Go?

When we are bound up in the past or past events – we cannot fully live in the present. Before you can really start to move forward in your divine destiny with the Lord – you will first have to learn how to let your past fully go.

Grab a hold of these great Promises!

I do not consider, brethren, that I have captured and made it my own [yet]; but one thing I do [it is my one aspiration]: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead…~Philippians 3:13 (AMP)

Jesus has said that He has come to set the captives free – and one of the main areas that we all have to be set free from is our wrong thinking that may have arisen out of some of the things that have occurred in our past.

The Spirit of the Lord GOD is on me. The Lord has chosen me to tell good news to the poor and to comfort those who are sad. He sent me to tell the captives and prisoners that they have been set free. He sent me to announce that the time has come for the Lord to show his kindness, when our God will also punish evil people. He has sent me to comfort those who are sad, those in Zion who mourn. I will take away the ashes on their head, and I will give them a crown. I will take away their sadness, and I will give them the oil of happiness. I will take away their sorrow, and I will give them celebration clothes. He sent me to name them ‘Good Trees’ and ‘The Lord’S Wonderful Plant.’ (Isaiah 61:1-3 ERV)

God never leaves us in the pit… He is always working for our good!

For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.

Philippians 1:6 (NASB)

God will guide you, you have to let Him have control!

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Proverbs 3:5-6 ESV

God has a way better future for you!

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Jeremiah 29:11

He is the great restorer… He will bring you back to good times!

Yes, we will be happy because the Lord did a great thing for us. So, Lord, bring back the good times, like a desert stream filled again with flowing water. Then those who were sad when they planted will be happy when they gather the harvest! (Psalms 126:3-5 ERV)

It may feel like you are drowning in the process, but God has you!

Lord, the ocean roars. The mighty ocean sounds like thunder as the waves crash on the shore. The crashing waves of the sea are loud and powerful, but the Lord above is even more powerful. (Psalms 93:3, 4 ERV)

Do not be ashamed, God takes away our shame of the past when we release it to Him.

All who look to Him will be radiant. Their faces will never be covered with shame. (Psalms 34:5 GW)

Lastly Turn away & slam the door on the past!! Let it Go!!   ~ XXOO Michelle Bollom            

   Turn up the volume & Play the “frozen” song! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0MK7qz13bU&feature=youtu.be

God’s Promises

For every one of God’s promises is “Yes” in Him. Therefore, the “Amen” is also spoken through Him by us for God’s glory.

~ 2 Corinthians 1:20 HCSB

 

Promise-n. A declaration assuring that one will or will not do something; a vow. Something promised. Indication of something favorable to come; expectation. v. To make a declaration assuring that something will or will not be done. To afford a basis for expectation

 

I have been intrigued by this verse and the statement that all of God’s promises are Yes & Amen. I know that God’s Promises are His word, and so if His promises are Yes & Amen, then I thought I better brush up and know what exactly God’s Promises are so I can make sure I am praying that way. I like to read the Bible in many translations. I love to see the different scriptures speak to me and I know that there is so much power in His word. I have seen not only my own life, but many friends and family transformed by God’s word and the power of prayer. Last year I read the book “The Circle Maker” by Mark Batterson. I loved the concept of putting my prayer requests in a circle and just like Honi in the book I refuse to move till I see God moving or answering in an area. It has helped me pray bolder prayers. In November last year I began praying and declaring God’s promises over my cousin Earl, “Bubba” as we call him, after he was in a serious car accident and spent almost 2 months in a coma. Some of the doctors thought there was no chance he would awaken or even walk. I knew that God answers prayers and I started praying much bolder and harder than I have ever prayed in my life. I started declaring God’s promises over Bubba’s life.

 

Some of God’s Promises I declared were: By His stripes Bubba is healed.-Isaiah 53:5, He will surely live and will not die. –Ezekiel 18:21 Get up resume the journey and lead the people. –Deuteronomy 10:11, God will restore his health and heal his wounds. – Jeremiah 30:17, The orchards and fields of my people will yield bumper crops, and everyone will live in safety. God has broken their chains of slavery and rescued them from those who enslaved them, then they will know that I am the LORD. –Ezekiel 34:27, Arise, Go and walk through the land in every direction, for I am giving it to you. –Genesis 13:17.

 

I also wore out the song by Tasha Cobbs, Break Every Chain and Jehovah Rapha & The Great Physician by Sarah Hart Pearsons. Then I heard an amazing singer and her song has become my favorite song for months now. It is “I speak to the Mountain” by Bethany Martin. The lyrics say “I speak to the mountain, and I say move. Do you know how big my God is? , Do you know how great my God is? I say to the sick one, be healed, do you know how big my God is? Do you know how great my God is? He’s a Mighty warrior savior, healer, seated in the heavens all things under His feet, there’s no one greater, full of power, He reigns forever, He is the King of all Kings!” Every day I circled the mountain! Every day I spoke to that mountain! I declared God’s Promises over my cousin’s life. I was not the only mighty prayer warrior doing this. Tons of people were praying and God answered our prayers. God awakened him, restored him, and continues to heal him more and more each day. I continue to praise and pray many more promises over Bubba’s life still today.

 

I want to propose a challenge to you all. Each day commit to reading one chapter of God’s word so you can start to know His promises. You can get a free app on your phone or pick up a bible anywhere. If you need a bible, I will be glad to mail you one, just send me a message. Start to uncover the promises and power available to you. Begin to speak to the mountains in your life, Declare God’s promises over your situation and see God transform your situations and your life. God’s promises are Yes & Amen! ~XXOO Michelle Bollom

Great Song by Bethany Martin “I speak to the Mountain”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VeW2jIZZh5Y

Bubba & Me 4.27.2014

What’s in Your Tank? Are You Filled To Satisfaction?

A sated man loathes honey, But to a famished man any bitter thing is sweet. ~Proverbs 27:7 NASB

 

For I have satiated the weary soul, and I have replenished every sorrowful soul. ~ Jeremiah 31:25 KJV

 

Sated-having one’s appetite completely satisfied
Satiate-to satisfy (an appetite or desire) fully. To satisfy to excess. Filled to satisfaction.
Satiety- the state of being satiated. Replenish- to supply fully. To fill or build up again.
Satisfy- to cause (someone) to be happy or pleased: to provide, do, or have what is required
Indolence-an inclination not to do work or engage in activities; Laziness

 

Recently the Lord has been giving me the word “Satiate” It was one of those crazy downloads He likes to do lately, so I write the word down, then I held onto it for weeks. Then He tries to get my attention with scripture verses I see, books I am reading, or hearing someone say “Satiate”, so I know it is time to UNWRAP the word and verses.

 

The verse in Proverbs, listed above, caught my eye because of the word sated, which I knew right away, was off my “God Word” Satiate. I was confused by why a sated man would loathe honey? So I decided to dig deeper. I found this description of the verse in the Pulpit Commentary. “Self-restraint increases enjoyment; over-indulgence produces satiety, fatigue, and indolence.” Well here I was thinking Satiate was a good thing, but in this commentary it describes over-indulgence produces satiety. So if Satiate is to satisfy, and to satisfy is to cause someone to be happy or pleased, then I knew satiate could be used in a good way or in a bad way. It was all about the balance. Sort of like what kind of gas are you filling up in your tank? They can both fill it, but which is best or most beneficial for you. When stress comes and you turn to the cake (cheap gas) instead of God, (good gas) which is going to give you lasting results? Which choice benefits us and our waistlines in the long haul? And then I noticed satiety was grouped with fatigue and indolence. I knew what fatigue was, but indolence. Well I had to look that up and found it is just a fancy word for lazy.

 

So to over indulge in something can satisfy in excess (satiety), keep us tired (fatigued) or just keep us lazy (indolence); so I knew God was speaking to me. The balance and boundaries are important as well as our choices. As it says “Self-Restraint” increases our enjoyment. In the moment it does not seem enjoyable because we aren’t comfortable denying ourselves anything and face it, we sometimes can be quite rebellious and disobedient when it comes to our choices and setting boundaries or exhibiting self-restraint. The next verse in Jeremiah spoke to me and I knew that God was weaving all this to remind me of my “Sated” journey and to share it with you.

 

As far back as I can remember, as a child, once we ate a meal we would need to have something sweet afterwards. We were all about the dessert! Then after the dessert, I would say “I need a meaty after my sweetie.” It was funny as a child, but when we get to be an adult and our metabolism slows and that vicious cycle of never being “Satiated” really is an addictive cycle of trying to fill ourselves up with something other than what God designed or had in mind, it loses its humor. For years I stuffed my stomach to feel satiated. I over-indulged and was on the wrong side of the satiate scale. I was putting the cheap dirty gas (alcohol, cigarettes, food, shopping, approval, work, achievements, people pleasing, etc.) In to my tank. It was not running very well. When I begin to let God fill and replenish me, things really changed. I was first awakened to this connection to emotional stuffing and my need for God to fill those voids (those bad gas items) about 7 years ago.

 

My dear friend Annie Haydock told me about the book “When Food is your Best Friend & Worst Enemy” by Jan Johnson. That book was life altering for me. We are also ministry partners since 2009 and have a local ministry called Conquering Overeating. We have seen many people come and go each week over the years, and many that continue to keep coming back to work the steps of recovery and find support and fellowship on this journey to fill ourselves with more of God instead of food. I have not reached perfection nor conquered this area. We are continuously conquering until we get to Heaven. Our verse is Romans 8:37. “But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.” Emphasis Through Him. I know now that it is only when we allow God to fill us; instead of food or whatever other bad gas items that we get on the right and good side of Satiate.

 

That “Meaty vs Sweetie” and addictive cycle is a Soul Destroying Routine. We keep looking for something to satisfy us when God is always there and calling to us to put down the Cheetos, the new purse, to stop eyeballing the dessert case, learn to say no, and to simply come to Him. To trust Him enough to allow Him alone to satiate us. His word promises us that. Jesus replied, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. ~ John 6:35 NLT I want to hunger for more of God, instead of food or people or things or approvals or whatever compulsion it is that keeps me hopping to and fro looking to be filled or “Satiated” by the bad gas. I want to trust God that the good gas is what I need. I don’t want to hunger after those things anymore. I only want to hunger after God and the things He has for me. Friends, a “Satiated Soul” is never hungry. The only thing that can replenish our weary and sorrowful soul is Jesus. When our souls are so full of God’s presence and His word, we will be so full that we can’t do anything but pour out that goodness and love on others. Let us choose the Good Gas to fill our tanks with! ~ XXOO Michelle Bollom