At 6 and a half months pregnant, I have truly come to realize that human development is an amazing thing. Each night, I read a book that tells me how my baby is developing for that day.

 The past 6 months have felt like an eternity and the 3 more to go seem so far off. Yet with each passing day, my beautiful daughter grows and grows. From the neurons in her brain to her tiny fingernails, her health is dependent on time. Each day affords her an opportunity to become stronger and stronger so that by her due date she is ready to handle life.I remember thinking one day, imagine what things would be like if the gap between conception and birth was shorter. What would things be like if I became a mother over night and didn’t have 9 months to prepare? It was then that I realized, God affords parents-to-be time, to prepare for the baby physically, mentally and emotionally. The 9 months give the baby opportunities to grow day by day and help the parents prepare for their baby’s arrival.

The same is with us. There are lessons that God will teach us over a period of time. You may feel frustrated because you have gone through the same lesson for a long period of time and want to tackle it already. Well God may have you working through a particular lesson for a period of time so that you can be provided the optimal opportunity to overcome it. It is within that season that you will also experience maximum growth, when you let God teach you what he knows you need to learn for that season.

1 Corinthians 3:1-I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready.

Now if you are going through the same lesson, just remember that growth takes time. For you have only 1 or 2 options….

You can decide that you are tired of the lesson God is trying to teach you and you can decide to “do your own thing.” This will make you a “premature” Christian, just like a premature baby. You will not be “full term” because you have not allowed God to teach you the lessons and develop the character He needs you to have for the plan He has for your life. Instead you will not be strong and will be easily uprooted.

Ezekiel 17:9- 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Will it thrive? Will it not be uprooted and stripped of its fruit so that it withers? All its new growth will wither. It will not take a strong arm or many people to pull it up by the roots.

Your second option is to decide to commit yourself to the Lord and know that with each day that you are where God wants you to be, that is one more day that you are learning vital lessons that are all part of Gods plan for your life.You then will be strong and be able to face adversity and hold strong to the ways and lessons the Lord has taught you.

Job 17:8-10-The righteous will hold to their ways, and those with clean hands will grow stronger.

So as you commit today to remain in God’s will as he teaches you the lesson He has in store for you, be sure to remain in His Word and pray for continued guidance so that you can  be sure to be exactly where God wants you to be.

I am sad to admit that I am a reality tv junkie. I love reality tv and have grown a love for the show, the Biggest Loser. It is great to watch people work really hard and completely recreate their bodies. The irony in the show is by the time the season has ended and the contestants have lost all of their weight, they realize that it wasn’t just the weight that they shed but many of them have shed strongholds in their lives that have allowed them to break free and finally enjoy their lives. Many admit that their food addictions were only dysfunctional coping mechanisms to other fears, regrets, trauma and strongholds.

Like those on the biggest loser, we too have many pounds to lose in regard to our spiritual lives. The more pounds of junk we have on us, the harder it is for us to be pure vessels for God. Pounds of gossip, envy, jealously, bitterness, greed, fornication, gluttony, materialism, make us spiritually obese. The cure to lowering our BMI or Bad Material Index is by developing spiritual muscles. Unlike the gym you attend, you can attend Gods gym 24-7 and Jesus is always ready to be your personal trainer. Instead of an elliptical or treadmill, you will be given a Bible and as you read and meditate on the Word, you will weigh in each week and you will watch your life transform. You can also use the vitamin supplement of prayer to help with your daily workouts of meditating on the Word. Layer after layer, pound after pound, once you lose the fat, Jesus will finally be able to get to your core and then your strength training will begin. In depth studies of the Word, accountability partners and involvement in ministry will help keep you from gaining the weight back, by the development of spiritual muscles.

Like losing real weight, this will not be an overnight process but it will need to be one that you are committed to for the long haul. As time progresses and you lose the weight, you will see your life transformed. You will a sense of peace because you will be free of distraction and dead weight.

Once you have committed to the fitness regimen of God, you will never be put to shame again, because…

Instead of their shame, my people will receive a double portion,
Instead of disgrace, they will rejoice in their inheritance;
Isaiah 61:7

My husband and I recently bought a 56" Flat screen television. We were very excited to finally see what the HD "hype" is all about. The minute the tv got to our house, we plugged it into the cable box, sat on the couch and waited to be blown away by the picture quality.

Wamp Wamp Wamp! the picture was awful! We thought that there was something wrong with the television and called the distributor to send it back. When we finally spoke to a technician, they informed us that the reason our television wasn't displaying a gorgeous High Definition Quality picture was because we did not have it plugged into a High Definition Cable box...  

2 Corinthians 2:5-7:  Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! 

The problem with our television wasn't the television itself, it wasn't the size or the make or model. The problem was what the television was plugged in to. You see, many of us spend our lives trying to be the best so that we can live our lives to the fullest; to our greatest potential. Now while I do agree, personal perseverance is important and we should always strive to do best, it is essential that we understand that we first need to be plugged into Christ, to know the will of God. We can spend endless days, even our entire lives trying to change ourselves and still feel blase or still feel unfulfilled. We can spend hundreds on clothing to make us look better, doctors to make us feel better and relationships to fill the voids within our hearts but none of these actually do the job. You see the reality of it all is once we are plugged into the correct cable box, the picture of our lives will be so rich in color, in content, it will be of amazing High Definition quality...Our cable box is Christ. Just like with a tv, you can have the biggest and best quality tv but if it doesn't have the correct connection, it is useless, just as with us.  

So before you waste your time searching endless dead ends looking for that connection that will make you feel complete, connect to Christ and you will finally be able to see clearly, in High Definition, all that God has for your life.  

Jeremiah 29:11-13:  For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

I had a pop up on my computer the other day that said there were a million people who had “unclaimed” money. While I would normally disregard a pop-up, I could not resist going onto this website to find out more information, since I could always use some extra cash!

Well… Sure enough, when I went onto this website, I found out that there is in fact lots of unclaimed money, freight, income tax refunds, etc… The list goes on and on regarding unclaimed property of all kinds. In my search to learn more about unclaimed property, I even found an official National Association of Unclaimed Property website with a search engine. Now while I did not have any unclaimed property, I found it quite perplexing how many people actually had not claimed property and money that was rightfully theirs…

1 Peter 1:3-5b  Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God's power.

Now, anyone learning that people have left millions of dollars and property unclaimed would think that is insane! Well how different with our eternal salvation?! Here God has promised to us an eternal inheritance that will never perish, spoil or fade and we have too left this unclaimed. We have disregarded his blessings for our lives, his direction for our paths and his peace for our troublesome hearts. And more troubling, we have disregarded Gods tug at our hearts to turn our lives over to Him.

                             

While most of us would love to find that we have some unclaimed money or property somewhere, the reality is those material things will only us give temporal satisfaction and will eventually will waste away.

Matthew 6:18-20

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.

So just like most of you will probably want to run and search your names to see if you have any unclaimed property, I urge you to run to God and check to see if you have left anything unclaimed. Have you claimed the blessings God has for your life? How about the rest God has for your weary heart? More importantly have you claimed your eternal salvation?

Remember…. Jesus died on a cross so that you would be entitled to all God had to offer you. From His eternal Kingdom to His day to day guidance…. I urge you to go to God and claim what is yours!