Change starts with you. Be the change that you desire to see!
You have the ability to frame your world. Follow these simple steps to get the results you want.
Meditate on things that are in alignment with your overall vision and goals.
Find a scripture that supports your vision or goals.
Say the scripture every day, multiple times a day. Then, speak that which you wish to see.
Believe that you already have that which you ask for!
Begin to operate as if it is already in existence. If you desire a mate or family, start setting the table daily. If you’re believing for a new job, get up early and get dressed as though you already have the job or business you wish to start. If you are looking to step out on faith as an entrepreneur, do your research. Believing that you can’t make something out of nothing is not God’s word. His word states greater works we shall accomplish! We have the master Creator living within us. It’s in our DNA to create something out of nothing! See it. Speak the word over it. Believe it! Know it! Be it! Your miracle begins with you.
I know it’s been a while since you’ve heard from me. But my inspiration usually comes from things that happen throughout life. My son just completed an awesome season of track. He ran many races, but the most important thing was that he finished them all. In some, he placed high enough to get medals. But in others, he still didn’t finish last. The key is that he finished, no matter how tired he was. He ran PAST the finish line.
Today, be encouraged to keep running. I know it may not look like it’s going to happen. Keep running. It may not look like the money is there. Keep running. You may not have anyone on the sideline cheering you on along the way. Keep running!
When I ran track, I usually finished last. It wasn’t until I ran cross-country, a sport where you need to pace yourself more, that I began to win medals. But no matter what, my coach, as mad as he may have been, was at the finish line yelling, “Finish!” So, whatever you started, don’t stop running until you finish the race you started!
On today, my prayer for you is that the struggle be over. And if we know anything about struggles, we know that the struggle really begins in the mind, and that is where we will end it today. No more will we see ourselves in lack, having not enough, struggling financially, struggling emotionally, struggling in our friendships, struggling in our families, struggling in our marriages, struggling in our churches and struggling on our jobs. The struggle ends when you speak to that thing that has you twisted, tied up and locked up, and you cast it down. I know you, but I may not know everything in which you struggle. But it is time for the struggle to be over! You’ve sat in enough empowerment sessions, enough sermons, enough women’s/men’s conferences to know that this is a battle of the mind and nothing more. If the enemy can transform your mind, he has already won. But we know, that we are MORE than conquerors through Christ Jesus, who resides in us day by day. And we also know that ALL things are working for the good of them that love the Lord and are called according to His purpose. I know you love the Lord, and I know he called you for purpose. That means you. Yes, you! This is the time to see yourself in the future and start making strides, steps, strolls to get to the place you want to see yourself in the next 2 weeks, 2 months, 2 years, 2 decades. I pray that you will not settle with just mere existence, but that you would begin to live. There’s a big difference. By faith, according to His word and His will, the struggle is over in your life. Walk it out. Dream it out. Act it out. Love it out! Live it out!
It’s 2013! How much closer are you to your dreams this very moment than you were this time last year? Find out what it takes to not only put your visions and dreams into action, but find out what it takes to make them fully come alive by the end of the year. Put a date on it. If it doesn’t have a birth date, it doesn’t exist. Maybe you need to make a phone call. Maybe all it takes is starting a new blog. Some people need to print business cards, promo cards and design a website to get going. Do whatever it takes to get your dreams in action this season. When someone is coming to get you for an event and they’re running late, you may call and ask, “What’s your ETA (estimated time of arrival)?” So I ask you, what is the ETA for your business? What is the ETA for your book? What is the ETA for your dream to become a reality? Put things into action and move forward. The time is now.
It’s 2013. If I haven’t spoken to you personally, Happy New Year! If you’re still reading this, I am sure you had your share of challenges in 2012. The year is only nine days in and if you are anything like me, you’ve encountered some type of storm already. Yes, already. I’m reminded of the story in the bible where a storm came while Jesus and his disciples were in a boat. The familiar passage is below.
Jesus got into a boat, and his disciples went with him. Suddenly a fierce storm hit the lake, and the boat was in danger of sinking. But Jesus was asleep. The disciples went to him and woke him up. “Save us, Lord!” they said. “We are about to die!”
“Why are you so frightened?” Jesus answered. “What little faith you have!” Then he got up and ordered the winds and the waves to stop, and there was a great calm.
Many things in this passage stand out to me. The first thing is that Jesus was in the boat with them. Though we can’t see Him, He is with us too in every boat we hop into. Secondly, a storm hit the boat and it was in DANGER of sinking. It doesn’t say that it sank. It just says it was in danger, or at risk, of sinking. We know that all things work for the good of those who love the Lord and are called according to His purpose. So even though you may look like you are in danger of sinking, hold on. Help is on the way. Weapons may form, but they won’t prosper. Third, it says a storm hit the boat, but Jesus was sleep! LOL! I had to stop right there. That means nothing shakes Him, nothing moves Him, He is not taken aback or surprised. He is always at a state of rest. He knows He is in control of all things, even the storm you don’t see how you’re coming out of. Yes, even this. He is still cool, calm and resting. Fourth, the disciples woke Him up and said save us, we’re about to die. Now, be real. How many times are we in situations that we truly believe will kill us? It feels like we are not coming out? It feels like this will be this way always. But even still, Jesus is still cool. He even asks them a rhetorical question of why they were so frightened. He didn’t wait for an answer. He already knew. In other words, He was telling them to increase their faith beyond what it looks like. All power belongs to God. So if you’re on a boat where Jesus is, and He is cool, you should be cool.
Today, I don’t know where you are. I don’t know the storms that have hit your home, your finances, your family. But I can only trust all of the Word of God, or none of it. Do not be frightened. Increase your faith. Rest in the fact that God says it’s all working for your good in the end, even if you can’t see it now. So…just be cool.
This past weekend, I traveled to Peoria, IL for a speaking engagement. While en route, I received a text message from a coworker that my seat was being moved–from the middle of the floor into my own office. I had been asking and praying for this for month’s since I have worked at this job. Then, when we got to the hotel in Peoria, the man at the front desk told us he was upgrading us to a 2-bedroom, 2-bath suite with a full kitchen. We didn’t ask for it nor did we pay any extra for it.
The thing I love about God is that he goes above and beyond our thoughts and our asking of Him. Today I pray that God would upgrade some things in your life. Upgrade your finances. Upgrade your faith. Upgrade your health. Upgrade your business. Two things are for certain: When you upgrade, you are no longer on the same level as you once were and you have to go back and dream, pray or even ask for something different.
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We all have some measure of faith. There are just some things we expect to happen or work a certain way because of the way they are created. If you sit in a chair, you expect it to hold you up. You don’t expect it to break. When you walk on the concrete, you expect to walk on solid ground. You don’t expect it to crumble or buckle, allowing you to fall through the earth. Every morning, we get up and attempt to start our cars and start our day. Now granted there are days when the “check engine” light comes on and we either take it to a dealership or if you’re like me, you call your husband! But we know there is something wrong that we can’t fix so we have to take it to higher authority. Not only do we take it to higher authority, but we take it to someone we are more than certain can handle the task at hand. We don’t call them and ask them if they can fix it. We more than likely ask when and how much it will be to get the problem fixed, but we usually tell them we need them to fix it.
If you’ve lived any length of time, you have encountered hard times, hardships and times of uncertainty. But even in times when your spiritual “check engine” light comes on, remember to give it to the proper authority. Not everybody can fix the problem at hand, but there is always The One who can fix all problems. It may not be in your timing, and it may cost you tremendously. But He is more than well able to fix the problem with your “check engine” light. He may have to tow you through some things. He may have to perform a diagnostic on you to see exactly where the problem is. He may even have to change some “parts” in order to get you back running to optimum performance. But one thing is certain: You will be back up and running smoothly soon. In the meantime, wait patiently in the customer waiting room.
No one promised that life would be perfect or that challenges would never come. But if you ever find yourself struggling to appreciate YOUR blessings, then try living without them–and PRAY for God’s continued guidance, grace & mercy. BE GRATEFUL. Enough said.
For more information on Mark’s debut book, The Gospel According to Mark, please email him at pippen.mark@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter at MarkLPippen. Also connect with him on Facebook at Mark L. Pippen.
