Category Archives: English

Now you shall see!

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by DP

And the Lord Said to Moses, “Has the LORD’s arm been shortened? Now you shall see whether what I say will happen to you or not.” Numbers 11:23

Moses had people complaining, lot’s of people. God had provided day after day for the children of Israel while in the desert, but know they wanted meat. They craved for the delicacies that they had in Egypt. They said: “but now our whole being is dried up; there is nothing at all except this manna before our eyes!” (v 6). They did not appreciate the provision God gave them which they had before them, right in their eyes! The complaining spread among the people like powder. Scripture says that Moses heard the people weeping at the door of their tents.(v 10) The situation was so intense that even Moses questioned God. The response: you will eat meat for a whole month!

How intense is your day? Is it so intense that you get frustrated and even question God’s purpose in your life and His might? If you are going through a desert in your life, it is easy to get discouraged, I know, I’ve been there. We might even question or doubt the very thing we affirmed the day before.

God is providing every day all of our needs and sometimes we don’t realize it. We neglect the miracle He is doing right now in our lives, even when we see it before our eyes! Trust His word, seek Him. His arm has not shortened, his might is strong. He is God Our Provider, The God that is more than enough, The Beginning and the End, the I AM.

The sun he created still shines down on us at 186,000 (thousand) miles per second, since the day He said, “let there be light”. So don’t get discouraged, press on, look up and you will see that what He said, will happen. Quails came flying towards them and they were fed and satisfied. Your blessing, your deliverance, will come to you. Your God, my God, has not become weak. His arm has not shortened! So today, open your eyes because now you shall see!

“BREATHE expectantly, LIVE confidently and MOVE Boldly”

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© Copyright DP, 2006

Growing!

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by DP

Jesus grew in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and all the people. Luke 2:52

Jesus prompted a search for him after Joseph and Mary had left him behind in Jerusalem. He was only 12 years old. Three days he went missing until finally they found him in the temple, where he said those famous words, “But why did you need to search?” he asked. “Didn’t you know that I must be in my Father’s house?” Luke 2:49. After this nothing else is known about Jesus until he is 30 years of age. Eighteen years of silence, or where they?

A very successful and talented friend, which by the way has impacted thousands of people this year alone, told me that he was at a meeting where he saw some old acquaintances. When they greeted him they asked, “What have you been doing? It seems that we haven’t heard or seen anything from you lately. You have been silent”. My friend, very politely replied, “I have been doing a couple of things,” and he changed the subject knowing deep down inside that he has been fulfilling his purpose and his calling.

When we spoke about it, I reminded him about the “apparent” silent times in our lives, and how the perception of those around us will try to sidetrack and discourage us from our vision and our mission. I asked him, Do you know what happened between the years 2 to 12 and from 12 to 30 of Jesus life? These were silent years. Years where we know little or nothing about Him. In those silent years, Jesus grew.

You might be going through rough and unexplainable times. You might wonder if the problem or the issue is you. It might be, but it might also be that during these silent or quiet days, months and even years, God is helping you do one thing; to grow. Every process, every change is poised to make us grow and to let God do great and wonderful things in us. It might not be clear today, but you will see it in due time: You are growing.

Maybe we view these times as waisted because there is no exposure or busyness. But if we appreciate these years and we look intently, we will grow to our biggest potential and discover God’s work in us. We will be prepared for our assignment. Because all God’s work is handcrafted, never mass-produced.

So remember, when your are presented with discouragement or doubt, whisper to yourself, “It’s not stagnation, It’s growth!”.

“BREATHE expectantly, LIVE confidently and MOVE Boldly”

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© Copyright DP, 2011

What is written in your Staff?

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by DP

Then he took his staff in his hand, chose five smooth stones from the stream, put them in the pouch of his shepherd’s bag and, with his sling in his hand, approached the Philistine. 1 Samuel 17:40

Ever wonder why David took his staff with him to fight Goliath? Why did he need a stick, when he was going to use the sling and the stones? Was he just keeping his options open? One would argue that he had thought, “If the rocks don’t work, I’ll use the staff”.

It is my understanding that the staff was not only a walking stick, but it was also used as a reminder of all of the wonders and blessings of God. You see, if there was no other place to write on, they carved on the staff. David, I can imagine, could had carved on his staff the day he killed the lion, the day he killed the bear while watching the flock. So David went running towards the giant, with all of the deliverance’s of God written in his staff and he was armed with all of God’s past blessings, as reminders of His power and deliverance that day.

There is a lot of power in our thoughts, so take time to write all of God’s blessings in your life. Carve your heart with His word and when the giant comes menacing, you will remember what He has done in the past and say, “You come to me with a sword, with spear, and with javelin. But I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you” (v45-46) Don’t bring to memory failures. If He supplied in the past, He will continue to do so today. If He healed you in the past, He can certainly do it in the present and in the future.

So take your staff, pick up your stones, ready your sling, and run towards the giant! Great deliverance awaits to those that remember his blessings. I ask you this question: What is written in your Staff?

“BREATHE expectantly, LIVE confidently and MOVE Boldly”

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© Copyright DP, 2006

Water in the Valley

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by DP

For thus says the LORD: ‘You shall not see wind, nor shall you see rain; yet that valley shall be filled with water, so that you, your cattle, and your animals may drink‘. 2 Kings 3:17

Three kings made a pact to fight against the Moabites. They had to cross a desert, and after seven days of walking, found themselves without water. Can you imagine a huge army in the desert without water? Needless to say, they cried out for an answer, and the kings themselves went to see a prophet, Elisha. The answer they received was extraordinaire!

How often we are in situations that are similar to the desert, and when we think that things can’t go more wrong, they do! Do we negate our beliefs, our Father, our Lord? Do we desperately focus our attention to the lack of resources, ideas, health, or even friends? In verse 18 the scripture says, ‘And this is a simple matter in the sight of the LORD;’

Why do you look at your circumstances? Don’t you realize that this is a simple matter in his sight? Can’t you see that you serve the Almighty God?  He wants to do extraordinary things in you and through you, so that your dependence in Him grows stronger and stronger. You will see His amazing deliverance, when you praise Him, act in obedience, and give Him your personal offering. You will realize that this is a simple matter for God and you will then see, Water in the Valley. 

“BREATHE expectantly, LIVE confidently and MOVE Boldly”

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© Copyright DP, 2006

Whom shall I fear?

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by DP

The Lord is my light and my salvation— whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life— of whom shall I be afraid? Psalms 27:1

This is a bold declaration of the confidence King David had in God. My attention goes particularly to the declaration that the Lord is his light and his salvation and the strength of his life. Guidance, rest, confidence, endurance, are many of the attributes that these words might mean to any particular situation. But one should not ignore that light is necessary in the dark.

So this affirmation that King David was voicing was done from a dark place in his life, or from the experience of a dark place. Not a desirable place to be. It should also tell us that these times will certainly come upon us. And it is in that particular moment or season of our existence, that guidance is most precious. So the question is, who or what is guiding you? Are the situations of your daily ordinariness dictating your path? Are you walking in life like if you were feeling your way around in the dark? We all have had moments or even seasons like these. These moments instill upon us fear, anguish and sometimes desperation of the unknown. These are very vulnerable moments.

Are you in a dark place? Today the affirmation that He is your light and your salvation, and the strength of your life should flourish from your heart. Amidst of the situation that you may be confronting today, He will guide and strengthen you to walk with a firm path, even in this dark moment. It is not time to develop your own strategies, solutions and answers. Probably you are in this place know, because you did it your way. Or maybe not, because we all experience dark places in our lives at some point and those situations will make us grow. Nevertheless, it is time to seek Him and ask that His light be upon you. To guide you, to assure you. His light will shine out of darkness, and you will be afraid of no one because you are founded in firm ground.

He has given us authority over all things through Jesus, and even when you might feel extremely vulnerable today, He is your light, He is your salvation, He is the strength of your life. He is El Shaddai, The God that is more that enough. He is your more than enough. It is this truth that makes us affirm in a bold manner: WHOM SHALL I FEAR? OF WHOM SHALL I BE AFRAID?

“BREATHE expectantly, LIVE confidently and MOVE Boldly”

No more sour grapes!

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by DP

THE WORD of the Lord came to me again, saying, What do you mean by using this proverb concerning the land of Israel, The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge? As I live, says the Lord God, you shall not have occasion any more to use this proverb in Israel. Ezekiel 18:1-3

God spoke to the prophet, about a constant proverb that had been circulating among the people. It was so ingrained into their hearts that it has spread all throughout the land. In essence, it meant that because their ancestors, their parents had sinned, they were doomed and cursed. The proverb made their hearts to simply give up on life and to settle for what had been laid up for them as “fate”.

The proverb was not a fallacy, or an urban legend. It was indeed a recount of the past and a reminder of what had happened. The problem with this proverb is that instead of a reminder of what not to do, it was setting the stage for the israelites of what to do. It was marking their future. It was grappling their hopes and setting them to a dull and stoke future.

How many times we have’d put down ourselves saying, “I was not born in the right home, I don’t live in the right place, my parents did this or that to me, I am here because of what they or someone else did”? How many times have you let the past dictate where, why, when or what your future has is store for you? How many times you have said, that because of the choices someone else, or even yourself have made, you have no hope and you have to settle for was is laid before you?

God certainly heard the proverb and had a answer for his children “As I live, says the Lord God, you shall not have occasion any more to use this proverb in Israel” (v.3). So, it doesn’t matter where you are, it doesn’t matter where you’ve been, it doesn’t matter who you are, He has said, no more. No more disillusion, no more watered down dreams, no more grappling or being controlled by the past. He has made a new day. He has plans for your future, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” (Jeremiah 29:11), and as long as He lives, there will be no more sour grapes.

“BREATHE expectantly, LIVE confidently and MOVE Boldly”

Restored to life again

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by DP

You have allowed me to suffer much hardship, but you will restore me to life again and lift me up from the depths of the earth. You will restore me to even greater honor and comfort me once again. Psalms 71:20-21

The psalmist, aware that he was aging and his strength was failing, called on to God to walk with him as he entered this period of his life. His prior experiences told him that God would continue to be faithful. The psalmist’s is acknowledging the place and circumstances he’s currentlyin. He is not reproaching or reclaiming anything from God, but even in this moment of despair and of apparent solitude, he says that he will praise God more and more (v14) in spite of his predicament. His statement is profound since he remembers what God has done for him in the past, and affirms that he will do the same today and in the future. In spite of all, his strength moves him to say that no matter the hardship, he looks for the restoration from its present state of humiliation and will continue to speak of the righteousness of the Lord, His saving power, His mighty deeds and tell everyone, that only God is just. Wow, what a strong statement!

You might be in a dire predicament today. It may have come unexpected or maybe it was created by your own deeds. All of the circumstances around you are shaking, tumbling and unstable. You have been questioning everything that you believe, even your faith. The moment is so hard that your vision is blurry. Your faith, your marriage, your health, your job, your friends, your country; it has all been shaken and rattled. What to do? What to believe? Who to believe? The writer being in a vulnerable place recalled the greatness of the power of the Lord, his deeds and his righteousness. But he did something else, something unconventional to the human mind. He praised God.

There is something special when you praise God, specially in the trying times. It brings back to heart everything He has done in your life. It will spark a flame that will rekindle your hope and will comfort your soul. God is working on your behalf, never doubt that. Hardship is part of life, but it can be used to prepare you for a greater assignment. More often than not, God uses our brokenness to show his glory and for you to become what you where meant to be.

Who can compare to God? He has done such wonderful things. Trust him, he has never lost a battle, he has never stopped loving you. The honer you will see will be greater, you will reach a new level and you will see that He will restore you to life, again.

“BREATHE expectantly, LIVE confidently and MOVE Boldly”

Dropping of the stones

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by DP

Then Jesus stood up again and said to the woman, “Where are your accusers? Didn’t even one of them condemn you?” “No, Lord,” she said. And Jesus said, “Neither do I. Go and sin no more.” John 8:10-11 NLT

She got up that day to sin and make someone else fall. But she was caught in the act and she was going to die for it. Her day was not going well. Her accusers made a mockery of her and brought her in front of a crowd gathered to hear Jesus. Her accusers were religious leaders with ample knowledge. Men that could boast of what they knew, but not of what they lived. They came with the accused, the verdict and the stones. Yet in the precise moment that all would end for her, Jesus made a simple statement: ”Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” And as they realized their own lives, one by one left the scene dropping their stones.

How amazing it is to know that just as Jesus forgave this woman from her accusers, he still does the same for us every day. We should always remember that we were forgiven by his sacrifice at the cross and our acceptance in our hearts of that sacrifice by the son. We are called to accept the forgiveness for our sins, regardless of what it has been. Your forgiveness, my forgiveness, was bought on the cross by Jesus himself.

We live in a fallen world, filled with sin that haunts us at every moment. We are prone to fail, to fall and to sin. But the Grace of God overflows and restores us, time and time again. It is not that we will have a consequence free life and a license to sin badge. We will have consequences, and we are told to sin no more if we want to have a life with significance. A restored life. So even when men won’t forget our sins because they are many, He has made it clear that He does not condemn you. He is always looking for ways to draw you near to him, because he loves you. He loves you so much that he gave his life for you sins at the cross so that no one could throw a stone at you, no matter what they have been.

You might be in a difficult situation today. You might have sinned, exposed, accused, declared guilty and people are lining up with stones in hand to throw them at you. But don’t be afraid, Jesus will be at your side and confront your accusers. You will hear the clashing of the dropping of the stones and will lift your eyes and see their backs disappearing in the sun.

“BREATHE expectantly, LIVE confidently and MOVE Boldly”