"What Did He Say About Me" - "I Will Give You Hope"

Excerpt from my 31 Day Devotional - "What Did He Say About Me"

“Daily Scripture:

Isaiah 61: 7 AMP

Instead of your [former] shame you shall have a twofold recompense; instead of dishonor and reproach [your people] shall rejoice in their portion. Therefore in their land they shall possess double [what they had forfeited]; everlasting joy shall be theirs.

Daily Devotion:

All promises from God are great! This promise however, is absolutely my favorite!!! My pastor recently preached a sermon on hope. When he used this scripture, he defined the word forfeited. Forfeited means, something surrendered due to an offense or error I’ve made. WOW!



Hope is the expectation of good



I’ve heard great preacher’s say, well if you sin; you better watch it, because God will curse you. Yes, I’ve heard that with my own ears! Now don’t get me wrong I believe strongly in consequences to our actions! When we sin there are consequences. However, it’s not God getting you! God has set up both natural and spiritual laws within the earth. He’s given man (and woman) dominion in the earth, but all humanity is governed by these laws. Jesus became the curse for us, so we don’t walk around cursed by God. However, we choose life or death constantly. Anytime we obey God, we’ve chosen life. Just like anytime we disobey God, then we’ve chosen death. The consequences of sin bring a “death” to our life because we can’t experience God’s fullness while we are in disobedience. It’s not God withholding it from us, it is literally our inability to receive what He’s already given us! Sin causes us to have a heart of stone. When we repent, which simply means to change our minds and choose life, our heart then becomes open to God’s way! However, many times, because we feel guilty and ashamed we still are unable to receive the goodness of God! Yet, when we feel guilt and shame, we are really taking upon ourselves, what Jesus already took upon Himself! We are taking back the curse because we identify ourselves by our deeds! Jesus said right before He died, “it is finished,” yet we keep taking what was finished two thousand years ago, back!

If we’ve truly repented; changed our minds and let God into our weakness, whatever that may be, then what we need to do, is identify ourselves by the deeds of Christ. We simply need to agree with what God says!



As a child I was taught not to take the Lord’s name in vain. This was defined by the words “God, Gosh, Geez, etc.” In fact, if I said “Oh my God,” I was instructed that I was in sin and that I needed to repent! Well, years ago as I was training up my child in the way she should go, the Lord spoke to me one day and challenged me with what that commandment really meant. I was like, well God; this is what I’ve been taught. The Lord then taught me something. God spoke to me and said that what that scripture really meant was that anytime we don’t agree with what He declares, we are taking His name in vain. It made perfect sense to me. In order to see ourselves as God sees us, we need to agree with what He says! So when faced with difficulties, life challenges or decisions we must ask ourselves, what does God say about this?

 



Well we know that He says instead of our former shame we shall have a twofold recompense. That means we get double the good for the bad!! Many people will challenge that and say well this works only if someone else had taken something from you or has done something bad to you. I believe that, but that’s not the entire promise. I think it’s easy to believe that things will get restored to you if someone else is the cause, however let’s take a look at the word forfeited! Forfeited means something we caused! That means when we’re the common denominator in the mistake, we still will be restored double when we choose to agree with God! Does that not make hope come alive in your heart? Hope is the expectation of good! Expect good when you begin to agree with what God says!

Tammy L. Dahl

Copyright 2006

What Do I Believe?

The Bible instructs us on what to believe. The preacher teaches us what we should believe. However, only you can answer the question of – What do I believe?

One of my favorite scriptures in the Bible is Proverbs 4:23 NLT - Above all else, guard your heart, for it affects everything you do.

Your heart is the center of what you believe

Your heart is the center of what you believe. As a young child I did not even know this verse, let alone even think about “guarding my heart.” As a child, the Bible to me was just a cool book (I’ve always loved leather-bound books!) with a bunch of words that were hard to understand and absolutely made no sense at all with all the “thee’s” and “thou’s,” written upon its pages. Furthermore, we mustn’t forget all the “shalt not’s!” I knew what “thou shalt not kill” meant, but what the heck did “covet” mean to a 10-year old? You get my point!

One of the most frustrating, yet most factual things that I’ve known for years is what Pastor Allen Speegle has said over and over again (paraphrased) – “You attract what you are, and what you are is a result of what you believe.” We act upon what we believe. Look at the areas of your life today that are not the way you want them.


Are you broke as a joke? What do you believe about money?

Are your relationships a mess?  What do you believe about relationships?

Are you attracting the same wrong type of person you’ve always attracted?

What do you believe about love?

You get the picture here.

About a year ago, I attended a life mastery weekend workshop. I took part in an exercise that exposed what my beliefs were in the area of love. I had to answer the question – What is love? My answers were things like, “the reason for living, God, the purpose of life”….and on and on I went. As I kept answering this question, I thought I had begun to run out of answers. As I came to the end of my “conscious” answers and began tapping into my subconscious, my real belief was exposed. “Love” to me represented things like abandonment, pain, rejection, instability and the list went on. Well, if I attract what I believe (and I will!), then I will attract someone who will cause or bring about those things. Then, my faulty belief will just be reinforced as my truth again. Well, I certainly don’t want to invite any more pain and rejection into my life (do you?), especially with a life partner, so I have decided to change my truth in that area!!


There are areas of your life that you are going to attract great things, but there will also be areas of your life that you will attract…well…not-so great things! You are always attracting something! Don’t get discouraged when you see the not-so good things! Let me remind you that you are a work in progress! Jesus is your partner! When you are experiencing the not-so good things that your beliefs have attracted, embrace them! Look at them, and examine them from the perspective of “responsibility.” By taking ownership for your part, you become a victor instead of a victim! Know why? It is because confronting faulty beliefs and taking responsibility for them “is” the catalyst for change if you choose for it to be! It really is your choice! When what you really believe is exposed, you can finally deal with it – effectively!!!

I choose not to allow my faulty beliefs to stay that way! With the help of Jesus, my mentors and close friends, I begin to focus my attention on the identity of Christ. I begin making an exchange – what I believe (my view and opinion) for what HE believes (His view and opinion)! I make a conscious decision to focus on His attributes, and not mine! As I persuade my heart by focusing on Him and not me, I begin to change the subconscious part of me. Whatever area that is not lining up with what God says my life should look like becomes exposed to His truth, and not my interpretation. Don’t you think we’ve given our faulty belief systems way too much of our lives? It’s time to embrace a new identity – you have been given one by the God of the universe, who loves you more than you know! Press in to find that new identity, and make the exchange!

In His Grip, Grace, and Strength,

TDahl