By Cyndi

Last week we had a wonderful night of worship. We sang some encouraging songs and some uplifting prophetic words came forth. In the midst of it God was speaking to me and I kept hearing the verse that says He has given us all things that pertain to life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3). Then I heard, “You have everything in your toolbox.” My toolbox? What is that supposed to mean?

In a flash the Holy Spirit revealed to me a picture of a toolbox behind me with everything I needed. It is like this: if I come upon something that needs to be cut, I get a saw out of my toolbox. If I have a plumbing problem, I pull out the wrenches and PVC pipes that I need. Other problems might just need to be hammered down or screwed in tight with the appropriate apparatus. Now, of course, I am not referring to actual problems in the natural, but in the spiritual realm.

In the days that we are living in, we are all facing challenges from many directions, but what the Lord was encouraging me with is the fact that we already have all that we need to face them. We already have every “tool” necessary to overcome, He has given them to us—His divine power has given them to us, the verse says. It is our job to unpack them, to open up our toolboxes and take them out. This may take some discernment as we do not want to bring a sledgehammer to work on a computer virus; or a needle and thread for cutting a tree down. But this is our part, taking the time to listen and find out what resource we need to accomplish the task and get the job done.

These tools may be used as weapons against the enemy, or ways we can stay encouraged, or even ways we can find a solution to the problem—look for a strategy and find a gadget tool for it. In addition, do not forget that the Word is one of the best devices we have. Jesus says in John 16:33, “In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” It is no surprise that we have troubles. However, He has given us everything we need to overcome. Therefore, open up your toolbox and see what you have.

By Cyndi

Forgetting the past. Can it be done? Do you have some skeletons in the closet that you’d just as soon stay there locked up forever? Many of us are not proud of our pasts. We want our past to be just that-the past. The Apostle Paul writes, in Philippians 3:13, that he wants to forget those things which are behind and reach forth towards things ahead. He recommends forgetting the past and looking to the future. Sometimes this is easier said than done.

Our memories cannot be changed; we can’t change the past. What’s done is done and it’s imprinted in our brains. Maybe the memory can’t be erased, but the emotional pain connected to it can be. All the fears, anxieties, and emotional scars from our past can be healed, erased away. God is our healer in every sense of the word. He wants the pain we carry from our past, that heavy emotional weight we have on our back, to be lifted off us so that we are able to focus on the future.

Paul writes in Philippians 3:14, “I run straight toward the goal in order to win the prize, which is God’s call through Christ Jesus to the life above.” Again, he encourages us to look ahead and not back. If you ever watch a race at a track meet, you’ll notice that the runners never look behind them to see what’s going on.  They only look straight ahead toward the goal. I saw a photograph in Runner’s World of Usain Bolt winning the 100 meters in the Olympics with his shoe untied. I doubt he even noticed it. He was totally focused on his goal-to win. And what do we as believers win? We win that place of life above-life above our circumstances, above all the negative news reports. We win that life with Jesus where we can have joy in the midst of sorrow and peace in the midst of fear.

It is only through the Lord that we are able to leave all the pain from our past behind and pursue a better future. The world is full of pain and sorrow, but He is able to heal us and restore us to a place where we don’t spend our time dwelling on what did or didn’t happen to us. We can pull out all the skeletons and throw them away. When we’re healed, they can’t scare us anymore. There’s a higher calling ahead of us, my friends, so don’t look back.

(Good News Translation used in verses above)

A Climate of Fear

The article I am linking to today, “Don’t Believe the Hype“, gives a unique perspective to the climate of fear we are currently living in. I believe this is a real tactic of the enemy seeking to shut us down. A phrase the Bible repeats probably more than any other is to “fear not”.

I have checked some of the facts in this article and they do seem to be accurate. I searched quite a bit for the final retail sales figures for the ‘08 holiday season and could not find any. There were plenty of stories that made all types of doom and gloom claims but I could not find any hard data telling what sales were this year and last year. Does this mean there is nothing to worry about? I believe it is truly a time to press in and walk in faith, yet, how we communicate that is very important.

A Punative God

So often the “prophets” of doom communicate to us a punitive God and all the stuff we had better be doing if we are to have any hope of escaping His punishment. Personally, I believe we are coming into the most exciting season the body of Christ has ever seen. I believe miracles will be way more prevalent financially, physically and emotionally. I believe God’s presence will be accessible like never before and people will find answers in God in just hours, days and weeks where it used to take years. God is not punitive; He is helping us to see a way above so we might depart from low level living!

Past Examples

In 1991, Larry Burkett said, “I felt that our national debt and annual deficit were out of control and would eventually bring our economy to its knees, creating an economic collapse of historic proportions”. Instead, President Clinton balanced the budget. Larry Burkett, Pat Robertson and others jumped on the “Y2K bug” bandwagon in the late 1990′s making huge profits selling their books by propagating fear. My feeling is that these authors should give back the money they made on their books and repent to the body of Christ at large for all the fear they caused. Perfect love casts out fear!

This article, “Prophetic Words for 2009″ is by Loren Sanford whom I would consider to be a much more balanced prophetic voice. http://www.newsongfellowship.org/propheticmoments18.html

Article where Burkett seeks to restate his position after so clearly prophesying wrongly: http://www.crown.org/Library/ViewArticle.aspx?ArticleId=587

Burkett, Catastrophic Warnings http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larry_Burkett (Scroll down to “Catastrophic Warnings”