Slaves of Fear

I can’t believe I haven’t touched based with you guys since last year! Actually, it’s only been about a month but you know what I mean… Happy New Year!!! I am declaring a year of fulfilment in your life. May 2016 be a ground-breaking, bold and fearless year for all of us.

Last weekend we had an amazing Women’s event, a true Night of Encouragement. We had about 90 women; some brought their children because we offered an amazing childcare experience. And to think that this is only our second year and God has blessed us and this incredible opportunity to minister to so many women is just mind-blowing. This is only the beginning of what’s to come; we are looking forward to next year’s event on Friday, January 6, 2017. The theme of the night will be “Beauty for Ashes”. It’s going to be transformational and we invite you beautiful ladies to join us. More information will be shared as the time approaches.

 

As we settle into mid-January, I want to talk about Slaves of Fear. One of the definitions of the word slave is a person who is strongly influenced and controlled by something. When you are under the influence, you lose control of your actions. It’s a power that affects and takes over the person, thing or course of events. And for many, fear has been that stronghold. Fear has become a powerful influence; it has gained control and has dictated the course of the lives of many people. Take for example 2015; can you honestly say that you accomplished everything you had set out for? Be honest. Only a small percentage can probably say YES, the grand majority will say NO. We get answers like, “I tried but I didn’t get around it “or “I was going to but then something came up and I got discouraged”, “Maybe next year”, “I wanted to but I got scared”. And there it goes again, fear creeps up until it takes complete ownership of our lives. And what’s sad is that we begin to believe all of the lies that the enemy infiltrates in our minds. We become Slaves of Fear.

The bible declares in Romans 8:37 that we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. That’s powerful, isn’t it? His love makes us more than conquerors, His love makes us face our biggest fears, and His love assures us the victory; therefore, we shouldn’t live in fear. 1 John 4:18 tells us that “there is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear…” and that perfect love can only be found in Jesus. Last weekend, we were encouraged not only to Be Brave but despite what unforeseen challenges we may face in this year, we will declare victoriously that We Will Not Be Shaken! In order for that to come alive in your life, you have to live in complete freedom of fear! Yes, that means kicking that little sucker to the curb. John 8:36 says “so if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” As children of God, we are no longer held in bondage, we become free in Jesus. And that goes for any situation. Through Jesus Christ we are free from bondage, strongholds must come down, addictions must be broken, sinful activities must cease, and our past must be forgotten. And yes we must be free of fear. Fear can no longer control you. Is it easy? No. Will it happen overnight? Not really. Will you struggle with it? Maybe, but remember Romans 8:37! Ask Jesus today to help you and He will. Be receptive to His Word, because His Word will guide you into all truth.

When we are in Jesus, we are free, it’s not something temporary. This does not consist of being free on Sunday mornings during worship and then we become captive on Monday afternoon, I’m talking about a permanent freedom; free indeed as the bible states. Do not be captive by the lies of the enemy that try to bully you. Do not be a Slave of Fear. 2 Timothy 1:7 assures this, “for God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind”. Fear does not come from God, the only spirit that comes from God is the Holy Spirit; therefore you have the authority to cast out any fear that wants to come over you. Whatever the Lord has placed in your heart to accomplish in this New Year, I pray that the Holy Spirit guides you into completing His perfect will. Something interesting happens when you surrender your dreams for God dreams; they become a lot bigger and bolder than what you could have ever imagined. And although the dreams may seem scary at first, it just feels right. A sense of peace comes over you and the sweet whisper of God tells you, “Do not fear; I am with you, everything will be alright.” When this happens, you will begin to see how much more productive you will become in whatever you do because you just know that …God’s got this!

Be Encouraged, Be Blessed!

~landypf

Keeping up with the ...

Ever heard of keeping up with the Joneses or the grass is greener on the other side? Why do we often feel as though everyone else has it better than we do? Stop trying to keep up with the Joneses, you're going to drive yourself crazy! There is a spirit of competitiveness that binds you into slavery when you start comparing yourself to others. When you start coveting what others have and you don’t appreciate what you have is a clear indication of ungratefulness. Society has bombarded us with a message of more is better, that the more we have the happier we will be and our standards outgrow our reality. The more the merrier is a false illusion in which we set ourselves for failure. Place your feet on solid grounds and let go of the unrealistic expectations.

Your freedom begins when you surrender your desires to God and become content with what you have. Don't misunderstand me now, I am a firm believer that we should all strive for the best and never settle for less. BUT when you are content with what you presently have you can live and enjoy the moment while you work hard and strive for better. We miss "the moment" all too often, we never really enjoy the present because we're either stuck in the past or too busy making plans for the future.  Take some time and savor your "now" moment. Many people put forth too much energy on what what they do not have rather than focus on the blessings they do have. Remember this; before God can bless you with the more, you have to be faithful, content and appreciative with the less.

Thank God for what you have and for what you do not have. If you don't have it, it's simply because you don't need it. Sometimes we confuse need with want where we think we need something when in reality we don’t.

God has given you everything you need in order to accomplish your task. Yes, someone will always be better than you, someone will always have more than you, someone's life will seem more appealing than yours but it will not faze you because you've learned that nothing in this world can make you happy but God. The stronger and closer your relationship is with God, the more content you become with what you have. Why? Because you have placed your trust in the Source- in your provider who will supply all of your needs according to His riches and glory. God’s grace is sufficient- it's really more than enough. When we learn to be content in whatever our circumstances are then we are able to live life fully. His grace will fill in the gaps; his grace will provide fullness, a fullness that will over exceed your expectations.                                                                                                    {Read Philippians 4:11-13,19 and 2 Corinthians 4:9}

Next time you look to your neighbor and desire to have what they have or desire to do what they do, think of God's grace! He's given you the wisdom, capacity, talents and resources to achieve God's purpose in your life. Whatever you lack, his grace fulfills. Grace meets yours needs!

So stop hopping onto your neibors grass thinking it’s greener than yours to only find dead weeds. Stop keeping up with the Kardashians who have their own issues!!  Stop keeping up with the Joneses and every other families you see that are “doing well”. Keep up with the Holy Spirit, that’s who we should all strive to keep up with.

The Holy Spirit will release His grace upon your life and that is more than enough to make you a conquerer  and obtain victory. When you're in need, His grace will never fail and will never run out.  And the beauty of all of this is that we can ALL keep up with the Holy Spirit without feeling threatened because His grace is more than enough for each and every one of us.  He is ready to pour out grace until it overflows. Who are you keeping up with?

 

Be Encouraged, Be Blessed!

Landy Perez-Feliciano ♥

There is purpose {Speak Life}

Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and they who indulge in it shall eat the fruit of it [for death or life]. Proverbs 18:21

We have been given an incredible tool which is our mouth and what comes out of our mouth is powerful. And what we speak holds great responsibility. We are accountable not only for our actions but for our words as well.  The bible says that death and life are in the power of the tongue.  What you say is powerful and every word pronounced has a purpose.  What are you declaring, death or life?

 

Sometimes it’s better to just stay quiet, right?  We’ve all heard the saying: If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.  If your criticism is not constructive and if its purpose is not to build but to destroy, is it really worth saying? There has to be purpose in what you speak! What about my problems Landy?  You have no idea what I am going through? Some may say that but I want to tell you that even in the mist of your troubled times, you can still control what comes out of your mouth.  With the help of the Holy Spirit, you can overcome any situation.  If you do what you can do, God will certainly do what you cannot do.  

Do not allow your problems and disappointments to overcome your thoughts which will later translate into words.  Acknowledge them but do not dwell on them, focus your attention on declaring purposeful words over your life. Fuel your mind with the goodness that God has in store for you.  Remember, your trials too shall pass, they have an expiration date. [Hallelujah!]  So, start rejoicing in the joy of the Lord and be in a ‘great expectation’ state of mind, expect that something great is about to happen.  Fill your mouth with God’s promises and declare His blessings over your life and you will see that as your praises go up; blessings will began to come down. 

Take a moment and give yourself a pep-talk and say: (Insert your name) I refuse to continue to live a life of fear, depression, anger and bitterness! I am better than that and I will no longer continue to feed into the lies of the enemy.  I have been given a powerful weapon and I will start to use it correctly and immediately.  I speak life into my life and into my family.  Whatever struggles I am facing that apparently are dead (no solution, impossible) I speak the powerful words of life over it. I receive God’s acceptance, His joy and His blessings.  I will change my vocabulary and I will speak life and in abundance because my words have purpose.

Trust God to give you the strength you need in anything and everything you do and say.

Be Encouraged, Be Blessed      

Landy Perez-Feliciano ♥