by Tracy | Bad Day Blues, Tuesdays With Tracy
“People do not despise a thief if he steals to satisfy himself when he is starving. Yet when he is found, he must restore sevenfold; He may have to give up all the substance of his house.” Proverbs 6:30-31
Spiritually speaking, the enemy is a thief that continually tries to steal from God’s people. In the verse above it states that we will not despise a thief who steals to satisfy himself when he is starving, but trust me when I tell you that the devil is not starving! Therefore, according to our scripture above, the devil has to restore back to you sevenfold what he has stolen from your life. Maybe he has stolen the innocence of your childhood, your bank account or your peace of mind, but no matter what he has stolen from you, he must give it back in abundance!
We serve a God of total restoration and no one can steal God’s dream for your life. I believe from the bottom of my heart, that whenever it seems that God is withholding something good from us, He is only setting us up to be blessed. He takes what the enemy meant to destroy us and uses it to propel us into our destiny.
I want to encourage you today to never give up on God’s dream for your life. It may look impossible, but ALL things are possible with God. It may appear that the enemy has won, BUT God isn’t finished yet! Hold on because your greatest days are yet ahead.
Prayer:
“Lord, I acknowledge that the devil has stolen from my life and I declare “no more” in Jesus Name! I rebuke the devourer and command that he must give back sevenfold what he has stolen from me. I declare that I will never give up on my dreams. God will bring them to pass as I trust in Him. I wait expectantly for vindication, restoration and promotion. I ask for God’s Spirit to blow through my life this day. Amen.”
Check this out: “Tips With Tracy” airs every Monday morning at 11:45 on The Dottie Coffman Show For Women, 1300 AM or on the Internet: www.bigstickradio.com
by Tracy | Tuesdays With Tracy, Warfare
“Why am I discouraged? Why so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise him again – my Savior and my God!” Psalm 42:11, NLT
Has your life ever seemed to be going smoothly, but then out of nowhere a circumstance arises and you are suddenly full of fear? Fear is something all of us battle at one time or another. I have learned over the years when fear emerges that somehow, somewhere, I began to place my hope in something or someone other than God.
Take our economy for instance. If we place our hope in the housing market right now, we are going to battle fear and anxiety. And what about the Presidential election today? If we place our hope in our nominee and he is not chosen, what then? If your choice for 2008 is not elected, you may be tempted to give into overwhelming fear. But if we place our hope in God -Who reigns over the housing market and Who reigns over America’s choice for President in 2008, we can remain in perfect peace!
So let me ask you, to what or whom is your hope placed in today? Is your hope placed in man, your bank account, beauty, performance or children? If your hope is placed in anything of this world, you will be gravely disappointed. But if your hope is in Jesus Christ, then everything will be a-okay and you can rest in His perfect peace.
If you are battling fear and discouragement today, I encourage you to place your hope in God. Begin to rehearse all that He has done for you. Let thanksgiving take over your worried mind. No matter what you are going through, God is for you and fighting on your behalf. Psalm 44:8 tells us to give glory to God all day long and constantly praise His name. It’s time for us to once again receive God’s love and give Him glory all day long. God is faithful and He will never let us down.
Remember to cast your vote today – but again, no matter who wins this election, you can remain in perfect peace. God knew who would be President in 2008 before you were in your mother’s womb. God has not given you a spirit of fear, but of power, of love and of a sound mind. Whoever wins today, we are called by God to uphold him in prayer. It does not matter what we think or what party we are affiliated with. God is in control and we are to rest in His will for the United States of America and for us.
Prayer:
Lord, I give you all my fears this day. Forgive me for placing my hope in anything other than You. You are my God and You reign over every situation in my life. I declare faith to arise within my spirit. I rebuke every attack of the enemy and ask according to Psalm 37:14-15, that when the wicked draws their sword at me, they will in return be stabbed through the heart with their own swords and their bows will be broken in Jesus Name. No weapon formed against me shall prosper. And I make a decision today that no matter who is elected President, I will not fear and I will respect this man of authority through prayer. Amen.”
by Tracy | Inspirational, Tuesdays With Tracy
“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me – watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.” Matthew 11:28, The Message
There is not enough room on my website to share with you how prayer has changed my life, but I would like to share a few examples of how prayer has impacted me personally.
During my teenage years I was lost in depression and low self-esteem, but several of my family members prayed for me. I gave my life to Jesus just a few years later and my life turned around 360 degrees! Do not give up on your lost family members and friends – Prayer changes things. During my senior year of college I was diagnosed with liver failure and my doctors were concerned about keeping me alive. I was placed on Asbury College’s prayer list and I was miraculously healed. Stand fast in praying for those who are sick, Jesus still heals – Prayer changes things. I lost my voice the day of a speaking engagement and my friends covered me in prayer. When I went up to the platform my voice returned and I was able to tell of God’s goodness. My voice immediately left after I was done speaking. God cares about you and He loves to bless you – Prayer changes things.
If you are reading this right now, then rest assured that I am praying for you. I am agreeing with you for God to move in your circumstances. I don’t know how God does it, but He takes what the enemy meant to destroy us and He turns it around for our good!
We serve an amazing God who is always looking out for us. He is longing to move in your life today, the question is will you let Him? Will you believe that prayer changes things? I encourage you to pray (talk to God) and tell Him everything on your heart. Ask Jesus to carry your burdens and allow you to rest in His perfect peace. No matter what is going on around you, you can rest assured that prayer changes things!
Prayer:
“Lord, I am so thankful that prayer changes things because I could use some assistance in my circumstances today! I run to You today with every burden and care. I am so grateful that You hear my prayers and that prayer changes things! I will no longer worry or allow fear in my life, but instead I begin to thank you for making what the enemy meant to destroy me and declare that today You are turning it around for my good. Amen.”
Check this out: I will be on ATL LIVE (channel 57, WATC) this Thursday night at 7:00 p.m. with National Speaker & Author, Shelley Hendrix.
by Tracy | Inspirational, Tuesdays With Tracy
“My souls finds rest in God alone, my salvation comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation, he is my fortress, I will never be shaken.” Psalm 62:1-2 NIV
When you are discouraged and don’t know what to do: Run to God. When you are not able to pay your bills and you cannot figure out how you are going to make it another day: Run to God. When you are battling in your body or mind and you feel utterly alone: Run to God. When the economy is tanking and you are full of fear: Run to God. When you find yourself angry and irritated at those you thought you could trust: Run to God.
No matter what is going on in your life at this time, I can tell you in confidence that your answer is always to Run to God. He is the One who holds every solution within His hands. God is our healer, friend, protector, provider, wisdom, counselor, advocate, vindicator, lover and everything we need.
When times are good, we need to run to God with our thanksgiving and praise. When times are bad, we need to run to God for direction and thank Him in advance for moving on our behalf. Lets run to God today and know that with Him on our side, everything will be a-okay!
Prayer:”Lord, I choose to run to you this day. I give you all my fears, worries and concerns and place them at the Cross. You are my solution and I run to You! I give thanks in advance for making steams in my desert and making every crooked place straight. You are an awesome God and I will always run to You! Amen.”
by Tracy | Bad Day Blues, Tuesdays With Tracy
“Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, And He shall bring it to pass. He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light, And your justice as the noonday.” Psalm 37:5-6
Have you ever received the cold shoulder or silent treatment from a friend and had no idea why? When someone you care about behaves this way, we have a few choices to make. We can either chose to not let their behavior affect us, accept that this is probably their issue and not ours, or we can try to figure out why they are treating us this way. No matter your response, I have found that when people mistreat us, we simply need to hold on because our God will exonerate us in due time!
I will never forget a precious woman walking up to me after I shared my testimony in church one morning. She proceeded to tell me that she needed to ask me for forgiveness. I was perplexed with her request because as far as I knew she was a friend of mine. I immediately said, “yes, I forgive you” without even knowing why. Then she told me that someone in the church had spoken badly of me and that she believed what they said to be true, yet now she realized they had their own agenda at hand and it was untrue (I will add here that this news really hurt my feelings because I had been nothing but nice to the women who spoke wrongly of me, but I chose to forgive and trusted God to exonerate me).
As a counselor, I am quick to tell my clients that 2% of the population just won’t like you! Isn’t that a burden lifting fact? For no apparent reason, 2% of the people you meet throughout your life will not like you. Period. But, let me ask you the same question: Do you like everyone you meet? Selah (pause and think about that for a moment.
We serve a God who will exonerate us in due time. The truth is, I didn’t even know the issue above existed, but God did and He exonerated me! A nugget I want us to chew on today is that God is always moving on our behalf. All we need to do is be who God created us to be and He will take care of the rest.
Today, let’s grab onto good and shun evil. Speak life and not death. Let’s choose to forgive and not hold offence. And let’s trust that God will always exonerate us in due time!
Prayer:
“Lord, I rest in the fact that You will always exonerate me. I don’t have to try and prove my worth or value to anyone because I am accepted in You. You love me so much that You went to the cross on my behalf. I choose to bless those who have cursed me. I ask for Your grace to follow me all the days of my life. Amen.”
