Sunday, October 25, 2009

They That Wait

by Audrea Winbush Lott
EnlightenedPath@comcast.net


Isaiah 30:18
18 And therefore the Lord [earnestly] waits [expecting, looking, and longing] to be gracious to you; and therefore He lifts Himself up, that He may have mercy on you and show loving-kindness to you. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed (happy, fortunate, to be envied) are all those who [earnestly] wait for Him, who expect and look and long for Him [for His victory, His favor, His love, His peace, His joy, and His matchless, unbroken companionship]! [John 14:3,27; 2 Cor 12:9; Heb 12:2; 1 John 3:16; Rev 3:5.] AMP

Isaiah 40:31
31 But those who wait for the Lord [who expect, look for, and hope in Him] shall change and renew their strength and power; they shall lift their wings and mount up [close to God] as eagles [mount up to the sun]; they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint or become tired. [Heb 12:1-3.] AMP


I wonder if you ever realized that God is actually waiting to be gracious towards you. His desire is to bless His children mightily; therefore He makes Himself known through His mercy that He bestows towards us. He lifts HIMSELF up just so He can show us mercy and loving-kindness! We are indeed to be envied by those who are not a part of the body of Christ; we have access to a Heavenly Father that loves us with an everlasting love. Our desire should be to long for a relationship with Him that is incomparable to any relationship we have with any human being. He is to be first place in our lives. We should and look for the victory, favor, love, peace, joy, and unconditional love that only He can offer.

You may be standing in expectation, waiting for something that seemingly is taking forever to manifest. Be encouraged. Know that the breakthrough is breaking through the erroneous picture that the enemy is presenting to you. If you but wait upon the Lord, with all of your hope, faith, and trust in Him, you will be renewed even as you wait. Continue to run the race and walk the path laid out for you, knowing that with every step, rather than tiring, your strength is increasing rather than decreasing. Isn’t that something that only God can promise and then make it happen? Now is not the time to give up. Now is not the time to cave in. Now is not the time to lose sight of your goal, your vision, your destiny. Now is the time to stand firmly on the promises that you have found in the Word of God knowing that He watches over His Word to perform it and that His Word does not return to Him void. Speak the Word as you wait, and watch and see your God show up and show out on your behalf. Remember, He is in expectation just as you are in expectation. He is longing to shower you with Himself.

Prayer: “Father, I am so excited to know that you wait expecting, longing for, and looking to shower me with Your grace and loving-kindness. I commit to wait assured of the fact that my strength is indeed being renewed as I am in expectation of You. Amen"

The Enlightened Path Weekly Nugget
Week of October 25, 2009

They That Wait
by Audrea Winbush Lott

© 2009 Audrea Winbush Lott

Please feel free to copy or forward this to anyone you feel might benefit from a dose of the Word!







Sunday, October 18, 2009

Thanking Him For Mercy

by Audrea Winbush Lott
EnlightenedPath@comcast.net



1 Timothy 1:12-14

12 I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me faithful, appointing me to his service. 13 Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. 14 The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. NIV


In this passage Paul is taking time to point out that despite what he was, who he was, what he was doing in his past, God saw fit to not only rescue/save him, but to put him to work on behalf of the Kingdom of God. At times, the enemy will attempt to play with our minds and remind us of how awful our past was. We see here that Paul acknowledges that he had done some awful things in ignorance, but now the same God against whom he was working in the past is the same God who entrusted him with the awesome responsibility of teaching, training, nurturing, encouraging, and building the early church.

Don’t allow your past to haunt you. Instead, when thoughts arise about what took place in the past, take time to have a personal, private “thank you session” acknowledging God’s mercy and grace that has been shown towards you. Use your past to benefit the kingdom. Because we have been shown so much mercy and grace, we should readily reach out to others and tell them of the redemption plan God has for their lives. We don’t even have to worry about what to say or how to say it. We can just tell others what He’s done for us. God needs our voices. He needs us to be willing to be used as instruments through which He can work to bring others to Him. People will listen to those to whom they can relate.

God has strengthened you to be a witness for Him. His grace, faith, and love have been poured out upon you in abundance. How can you contain it? How can you keep it to yourself? Instead of dwelling on the past in a negative, nonproductive way, thank God for mercy and allow it to compel you to go win others for Him. What an awesome way to thank Him for His mercy… Bringing others to Him!

Prayer: “Father, thank you for the abundance of mercy that you have shown me. Help me use what you have done for me to compel others to come to You. Amen”

The Enlightened Path Weekly Nugget
Week of October 18, 2009

Thanking Him For Mercy
by Audrea Winbush Lott

© 2009 Audrea Winbush Lott

Please feel free to copy or forward this to anyone you feel might benefit from a dose of the Word!

Sunday, October 11, 2009

Don't Let Your Fire Go Out

by Audrea Winbush Lott
EnlightenedPath@comcast.net



Rev 2:3-5

3 You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary.
4 Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love.
5 Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent… NIV


Rev 2:3-5

3 I know you are enduring patiently and are bearing up for My name's sake, and you have not fainted or become exhausted or grown weary.
4 But I have this [one charge to make] against you: that you have left (abandoned) the love that you had at first [you have deserted Me, your first love].
5 Remember then from what heights you have fallen. Repent (change the inner man to meet God's will) and do the works you did previously [when first you knew the Lord]… AMP


It is so easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of everyday life and lose sight of the things that are most important. Though we push, press, persevere, and stay true to the things of God, if we are not cautious, that intense love and excitement that we once had can wane and our fire can start to die down.

Take time to go back and remember how excited you were, how determined you were, and how relieved you were when you realized that our Heavenly Father, the Creator of the universe loved you like nobody else could! You were washed, cleansed, forgiven, restored, reconciled, and loved unconditionally. What excitement! What joy! We would practically move mountains to get in place to be able to hear more, to learn more, and to grow more in the things of God. Some of us wanted to tell everyone what we found. Some of us just allowed the “newness” to shine through us allowing others to see the difference.

You have not wearied of staying the course no matter what has come your way. You have been through many situations and have not forsaken God. However, pay close attention. Check your flame. Check and see if that fire is burning as hot as it was initially. If not, fan that flame, stir up those embers deep within, return to your first love. It’s not about a feeling, but it is about an intense realization that nothing or no one can do for you what God has done for you. Therefore nothing or no one can be the recipient of that love, affection, attention, and reverence that He alone deserves.

If other things have crept into your “first love’s” spot, it is now time to rearrange your schedule, your priorities, your goals, and your affections. Put things in the proper order. Invest the time, effort, and energy that are necessary to keep that fire hot, intense relationship fresh with your first love.

Prayer: “Father, forgive me for allowing our special relationship to be crowded out by other things, other pursuits, other interests. I repent and run back to you, my first love. Amen”

The Enlightened Path Weekly Nugget
Week of October 11, 2009

Don’t Let Your Fire Go Out
by Audrea Winbush Lott


© 2009 Audrea Winbush Lott

Please feel free to copy or forward this to anyone you feel might benefit from a dose of the Word!


Sunday, October 4, 2009

He Hears and He Delivers

by Audrea Winbush Lott
EnlightenedPath@comcast.net


Psalm 34:17-19
17 When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears, and delivers them out of all their distress and troubles.
18 The Lord is close to those who are of a broken heart and saves such as are crushed with sorrow for sin and are humbly and thoroughly penitent.
19 Many evils confront the [consistently] righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all. AMP



No matter what you are facing… No matter how bleak it may seem… No matter how long it seems to be taking… No matter how intense the squeeze feels… No matter how much your heart may seem to be breaking… Your God has a track record of not only hearing the call of the consistently, persistently, habitually, determined righteous, but He then delivers us out of all of the situations that the enemy uses to try to distract and derail us. Do not let situations and circumstances cause you to waver, falter, stumble, lose heart, or shut down.

Get busy educating yourself about how awesome God’s track record is concerning fighting the battles on behalf of His children. You research and study everything else. Check out what awesome feats God has performed that prove He has an everlasting love for His children. Realize that those incidents were documented for our benefit. We have to become more knowledgeable and more expectant that the same God that heard, delivered, and rescued those about whom we read, is ready, willing, able, and eager to do the same thing for us. He loves to prove Himself on the behalf of His children.

We must set the atmosphere with faith and expectation so that we can see the Word work in our situations. Begin to speak what is going to happen. Begin to rejoice now, in the midst of the situation. Begin to expect things to turn. Remain steadfast and focused knowing that the end will be great. Our God hears and He delivers.

Prayer: “Father, thank you for reminding me that you hear and deliver. I am determined to do my part to set the atmosphere, to set the stage for victory. I will not falter or faint. I celebrate NOW! Amen”

The Enlightened Path Weekly Nugget
Week of October 4, 2009

He Hears and He Delivers
by Audrea Winbush Lott

© 2009 Audrea Winbush Lott

Please feel free to copy or forward this to anyone you feel might benefit from a dose of the Word!