A hope and a future

Posted on May 12, 2011 by Danny Maldonado

by DP

“For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” – Jeremiah 29:11

In the movie, Narnia, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, Reepicheep a little mouse, tells Eustace, the boy converted to dragon, that his current state was happening to him, so he could fulfill his destiny; “Extraordinary things only happen to extraordinary people. Maybe it’s a sign that you have an extraordinary destiny. Something greater than you can have ever imagined.” he said. His countenance was not feeling that extraordinary at that time, but he ultimately saved the day.

We all have situations that don’t make sense and our days start to come too slow and seem to end without a hope in hand. But it might be that these things are not happening to you, but more likely they are happening for you. In the midst of the storm, the conflict, and the uncertainty, it is only natural that you will feel uneasy, but this moment in time could be the your defining moment. It can break you or you can choose to break it. You can choose to learn and to grow. You can choose to despair or to hope.

I know, it is easier said than done. But in reality what is the alternative? You can choose to stay where you are and not take hold of God’s promises in your life. You can choose not to forgive, to live in the past and not realign your way of thinking. What will happen is that days will become weeks, weeks will become months and months will become years and you will be in the same place you are today. And If you get the epiphany, to the point that you realize that time has gone by, you will then see that you have just repeated one day, one week, one month or one year, many times over.

But that is not God’s plan for your life. He wants you to thrive and to become all that he has planted in your life for you to become. Those dreams, visions, ideas will come forth and change your life and all of those around you. He wants you to achieve your full potential. A life full of hope, a life filled with His love, direction and purpose. It’s your choice today; make it happen.

God’s plans for your life are good. He has given you a hope and a future.

“BREATHE expectantly, LIVE confidently and MOVE Boldly”

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© Copyright DP, 2011

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

One more battle

Posted on May 3, 2011 by Danny Maldonado

by DP

“So give me the hill country that the Lord promised me. You will remember that as scouts we found the descendants of Anak living there in great, walled towns. But if the Lord is with me, I will drive them out of the land, just as the Lord said.” So Joshua blessed Caleb son of Jephunneh and gave Hebron to him as his portion of land. Joshua 14:12-13

It took 45 years for him to receive his promised land, and God made good on his promise. It is so amazing to see that a man at his eighty-five years, when the time seemed to be a time of rest and a time of slowing down, he chose to fight a last battle; he chose to conquer and drive the descendents of Anak out of their own land. And these where not usual people.

Can you imagine, this man at his eighty-five years of age, entering the land and ordering them to leave. What went through their minds? They might have said, “Who is this little old man? Who does he think he is? Let’s just crush him and show him who we are.” The peculiar characteristic of these inhabitants of Hebron, was their might and their height; they were giants. But this was not new to Caleb, because forty-five years earlier his report back to Moses and the people of Israel was, “they are bread for us, do not fear.” That spirit was still in Caleb, the spirit of a conqueror, a dreamer and a giant defeater. That day he had seen what he wanted.

It may take years of work and preparation but the promise God has made to you, will come to pass. Probably you thought of a different timeframe, but it will come at the precise moment that it will be needed. Caleb, waited for many years and in order to live his dream he fought another battle. And the story says that the land rested from war, because what God gives, brings peace. So time had passed and the reward season was up. He walked in the land of giants, and when you walk among giants, your life will never be the same.

Stand up, another battle might still be ahead. But be of good cheer, because if God promised it, it will come to pass, and there will be no might, height, wall or threat that will keep you from your promise. So when the fight is over and the dust settles your name will be known to have lived in the land of the giants. And it will only take, one more battle.

You will not stop, nor stumble

Posted on May 2, 2011 by Danny Maldonado

by DP

When you walk, you won’t be held back; when you run, you won’t stumble. – Proverbs 4:12

Have you ever wonder why you go through so many issues? It seems that every time you open your mouth, something wrong happens. Or what about the business endeavors? Every time you get into one, you come out bruised emotionally and hurting financially. It’s tough, I know, been there, done that, got the t-shirt. A constant rolling of thoughts that could lead you to despair.

God knew our propensity to miss the mark. To trust in our own senses and not seek a higher opinion of how to live this life. Salomon knew it very well and had experienced the do’s and don’ts of life and discovered that when our hearts surrender to God’s love and his wisdom is applied to our life, we will walk without distractions and run with confidence. This is the promised made to those who embrace wisdom and it is actually, practical advice.

There are seasons in life that we would like to run through but they are meant to be walked. Seasons where delicate issues arise and we have to ponder very carefully what we say and what we do. These are seasons that have the potential to show us a great deal and at the same time help us grow as individuals; we are to learn with every step we take. It can be times where your health, your children, your marriage, your work or your relationships are being tested, transformed or challenged. These seasons are to be walked. Then comes the time where we need to apply what was learned while we were walking. Time to execute and to bring to life the dreams birthed in our hearts. A time to run.

The book of Proverbs tells us that when wisdom is harnessed, in the walking season we would not be held back. Our pace will be strong, steady and confident. The world will see that there is something different about our stance, even when the situation we are in is not the best. Wisdom is on our side. And the time will come when you will be able to run and where there will be no apparent obstacle in your path and the road will be clear. It would seem to you that it is so, but you’re actually running in the midst of uncertain times and even then you will not stumble a bit; because Wisdom is at your side.

Wisdom is given by God for our good to all that ask for it. And when you do so, you will walk, you won’t be held back and when you run, you won’t stumble.

“BREATHE expectantly, LIVE confidently and MOVE Boldly”

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© Copyright DP, 2011

Dreamspired!

Posted on May 1, 2011 by Danny Maldonado

by DP

…Humanly speaking, it is impossible, but not with God: Everything is possible with God Mark 10:27 NLT

This expression was given by Jesus after telling his disciples that is was easier to pass a camel through the eye of a needle than a rich man to enter the kingdom of God, so they asked, who then could be saved? Jesus pressed on to say and assured that our reward would be great in this life and the one to come. But this expression states a powerful truth. Everything is possible with God.

Dreams, inspiration, restoration, influence, provision, and many more themes are those that have defined my life and perhaps yours. Very bright and clear moments and many dark and dull days. I will not say that my experience is better or worse than yours. To me, the dark days where very dark and the bright ones were very bright. But it was those moments in which I was pressed more that defined how I think and how I live.

In many ways our lives are the same; yours and mine. We want to dream and we want to be inspired. Dream bigger things and be inspired to pursue and live those dreams. Dreams bigger than ourselves, and bigger than life! And then to all us, life happens. And we kill our dreams in the name of reality, as we often call it. But what really has happened is that life has hurt us and has stung us. We have been stung with the venom of fear and we don’t have or can’t find the antidote. Fear is irrational, it’s paralyzing and it’s demeaning. It makes you do and not do things at the same time. It makes you run away from your destiny making safe decisions that will not inflict any more fear or hurt and in doing so it also makes you not do what you were born to be.

Dreaming will open the door for possibilities. It will open the doors of your heart in ways that will make you vulnerable. And we don’t like to feel that way. We want to feel in control. And if we are open enough, we would agree with one simple truth: control is an illusion we have created to shield our fear.

I will admit it, dreaming is not safe. But dreaming is in all of us, and you have to admit that.Is it possible to dream and to live inspired in spite of everything? I believe so. I know so, I have lived my life that way. And while I say that, I will tell you that the experiences I mentioned before have crafted the story of my life and I believe yours too, in a way that will awaken the dreams for a better life and the inspiration to walk through the dark and dull moments and the renewed dreams for the bright and clear ones. They have been birthed in many ways and in many of those moments I mentioned. Pressing moments.

Everything can be taken away from you, but not your dreams. I trust you will find the inspiration to achieve them. Dream and be inspired; thus the word Dreamspired! These are powerful words, not because I wrote them, but because they come from the source of all things, God Almighty himself. His word is powerful and changes our lives, even when we won’t admit it at times. Your vision should never be limited to who you are or what you think you can do. So be prepared to dream and to be inspired. Jesus said it and affirmed it, Everything is possible with God.

Think big, think higher, Live Dreamspired!

“BREATHE expectantly, LIVE confidently and MOVE Boldly”

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© Copyright DP, 2010

Leave the brook

Posted on April 30, 2011 by Danny Maldonado

By DP

“Go and live in the village of Zarephath, near the city of Sidon. I have instructed a widow there to feed you.” – 1 Kings 17:9

Elijah hitherto unknown, with no recommendations, no historical background, without physical qualities or dynamics, confronts King Ahab and tells him that it would not rain until he said so. Immediately he went by the brook Kerith as ordered by God Himself. There he was sustained for some time drinking from the brook and sending ravens with bread and meat for him to eat every day. A scene of supernatural provision. But because of the absence of rain, the river began to dry up. Elijah at the time, was in a safe place, with provision and tranquility. Moreover, God himself had ordered him to go to the brook. So how could one explain that the brook was drying? How could he be in a place without provision? How to get out from there if the king was seeking to kill him?

Kerith means to cut off or close. It is not a permanent place. The flight of Elijah to hide in the brook does not mean that he feared Ahab or doubted that God could protect him. God sends Elijah to a specific location. So He does with us. We may not know why, but God could be demanding total obedience from us, and it may not seem to make sense at the present time. Elijah’s blessing was on the other side of his obedience. Sometimes God provides in the most unexpected and surprising ways. For Elijah the ravens were considered unclean and symbols of death, but these would bring him the daily provision. What symbolizes death, God uses it to give us life. God gives us life when death surrounds us.

It is easy to obey and hope in God when things are reasonable, but when we are asked to do something against our traditions, we question it. Why not send him to another place where there was no drought? Why did he have to suffer the same hardships that those who did not love God? Why didn’t God sent him to the king again to challenge the god Baal?

When the brook was completely dry, God ordered him to appear before a widow in Zarephath of Sidon to ask for support. Again, Elijah was forced to be patient. He knew that the widows were the first to die of starvation during a prolonged drought. But without questioning God, he obeyed unconditionally.

Why stay in the brook if where you are going, God will send rain? Moreover, you will be the instrument God will use to cause it to rain on your own situation. Why stay complaining and lamenting that the brook dried up when God has ordered you to move because He made provision for you already? Remember that your supply in not brook, God is your provision.

Elijah moved from place to place by divine order. God is calling you to action in all areas. If he sends you from place to place is because He is word, he is action. The things that God provides are not an end in themselves and not enough to rely entirely on them, but they are a means to achieve the goal of increasing our dependence on God every day. When we leave the brook will experience:

His Promise – You will find that God always does what He promises.
His Provision – He will supplement your needs. I have not seen the righteous forsaken nor his seed begging bread.
His Providence – He cares and prepares in advance. When you reach the place God sends you, you’ll see that He has already sent people to serve you. And has coordinated all the details. God is not subject to time or space.
His Power – You will see His supernatural expression in your life.

His Protection – He will take care of you, addressing each place without letting anything hurt you.
His Privilege – The favor of God is never fair. The Favor of God upon your life will be palpable, and the others will scratch their head, trying to understand why you and not them.

I ask the question again Why stay in the brook if where you are going, God will send rain? Why do you care about your future, if He has already promised that if the brook is dry, you will hear the rain falling? God is raining on you and your family and your situation. Leaving the brook means different things for each one of us. For some, a relationship that has no future, for others work, for others a country. But if obeying the voice of God for your life means walking in faith, you’re on track.

Any solution requires a leap of faith and faith is the gateway between the promise and absolute confidence. All acts of faith produce miracles. Just as God used a “unknown”, He can and wants to use to anyone who, like Elijah, has proposed to serve Him unconditionally. Us both, you and me, God is pleased to use us for His glory. So I ask you, Will you leave the brook? God tells us today: Leave the brook.

“BREATHE expectantly, LIVE confidently and MOVE Boldly”

Whom are you listening to?

Posted on April 29, 2011 by Danny Maldonado

by DP

When I heard your greeting, the baby in my womb jumped for joy. Luke 1:44

Mary had gone to visit Elizabeth days after she had received the news from the angel that she would conceive. A child that would be the son of God and that His kingdom would be like no other. Elizabeth was in her old age and had also become pregnant. The story further says that the people had signaled Elizabeth as barren and in that time that was seen as a punishment from God. At her arrival, Mary greeted Elizabeth, and at the sound of Mary’s voice, Elizabeth’s baby jumped in her womb and she was filled with the Holy Spirit. A greeting like no other. A memorable moment, an amazing story!

We all need people like this in our life. You need to be surrounded with people that will reinforce your most inner dreams. When your dreams are fading and when they seem to be silent, forgotten, distant or even impossible, you need people that will speak to the core of what has been conceived in you and make it jump, move and become alive. Your need people that at the sound of their voice, life and hope and new beginnings are stirred up within you. People that have in them the promise themselves and will build yours even with their greeting. People that celebrate your successes. People that have an empire mindset and will get in accord with you to pray with, to sustain you and to rejoice with you. People that speak the word of the living God to your spirit. The only word that can bring alive anything that is dead, even barren wombs that have rejected by society. The word of the Almighty God. The word of the same God that planted in your spirit that dream that promise for which you have been waiting and will bring forth in unexpected ways.

Who do you surround yourself with? Stay away from those that don’t speak life to you. Those that will talk you down or talk you out of your dream. That dream has been conceived right from God’s heart, so get rid of those naysayers. You need to have people that will stir up what is growing inside of you. People that when you talk to them will inspire and impulse you to your purpose. These are the people that will stir up all of that is being formed in your spirit and will change your destiny.

Choose well who talks into your life. If your spirit stirs up, if your face turns to God, if what you hear makes you want to be closer to the Creator, it’s a good voice. A voice that will draw attention to the One, not to the voice itself.

“Because the people that you listen to, are a preview of the future you.” – Jeff Henderson

Who are you listening to?

“BREATHE expectantly, LIVE confidently and MOVE Boldly”

The son of the judge

Posted on April 28, 2011 by Danny Maldonado

by DP

My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous. He himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins—and not only our sins but the sins of all the world. 1 John 2:1-2 NLT

How unnerving it is to be accused of anything, specially if you are guilty of what you are being accused of. It feels like you are at the mercy of those that are surrounding you. Everything you have done is on display and you need to defend your case. It is imperative that you explain what happened because consequences will be following if you are guilty, and you know you deserve it.

The same holds true for us. We have been accused by the world, and your own sins got you trapped. It seemed good at the time to do what you did, it felt right but it payed you back wrong and now you are facing judgement. At our side is Jesus, our brother who happens to also be our lawyer. An advocate who defends our case to the Judge.

So He stands before the Judge and the first thing he does without speaking a word, is that he shows his pierced hands, he goes on to lift his garment and shows his wounded side, and then inclines himself to take off his sandals and show his tortured feet. And then an interesting development occurs; Jesus for the first time opens his mouth and says, “Father”. Wait a minute, that means that Jesus is the son of the judge! Our brother is at our side defending our case, that the wrong we have done, has been amended. Bail has been placed for us in the cross enough for any crime and fault we have ever done.

And then the judge in an unprecedented move, without even hearing the accusers arguments, stands up and says, “Your sins are forgiven” and then it is heard the resound of his gavel.

It is refreshing to know that you will win a battle or a circumstance because He, Jesus, already has paid the ransom. He already paid the bail needed to set you free. No word will be needed to be said by our a lawyer, the evidence is overwhelming, and as Peter said: “He did not retaliate when he was insulted, nor threaten revenge when he suffered. He left his case in the hands of God, who always judges fairly” because he knew that the Judge, His Father, your Father, is a just judge and would confirm that the debt has been covered.

And you will walk out in front of your accuser with a redeemed heart, confident, grateful and relieved, knowing that no fault has been found in you. And with his hand over your shoulder by your side is the son of the Judge.

The Lord stirred up his spirit

Posted on April 27, 2011 by Danny Maldonado

by DP

Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and also put it in writing, saying,… Ezra 1:1

Cyrus king of Persia, ruled over all the kingdoms of the earth. A pagan king, yet the scripture says that his spirit was stirred up by God himself. God actually spoke to and used an unbeliever to bless his children. The commandment: to build Him a house.

God works in ways we cannot imagine or understand. He stirred up the spirit of a man that did not know him, in order to tell his children to build God’s house. He also made certain that there was provision for those who were to be left behind. He made king Cyrus a blessing to the children of Israel.

It calls my attention, that the proclamation was to take care of the most important issue, God’s house, everything else would be taken care of. That’s why when God calls us, God will provide all of our needs, He is a God of order. The profound calling in this story, is to build the place of worship, our heart. To choose Him above everything. He will then use whichever means He so pleases to, in order to accomplish the purpose and plan in our lives. He will turn around your circumstances and change what might seem impossible. He might use powerful people, or the most insignificant to the human understanding. He is God, Creator of the Universe, Beginning and The End, why then we question so much? If He has no beginning and no end, why we limit Him?

Don’t water down your faith, don’t be discouraged, He will move the heart and spirit of those that will be a blessing to your life. Be prepared, seek Him with all your being, and build him a place of worship. It might happen that the Lord will stir up your spirit and do powerful things in you and through you.

BREATHE expectantly, LIVE confidently and MOVE boldly

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