What is overflowing in your life? Look at what Paul said, “[For my determined purpose is] that I may know Him…and that I may in that same way come to know the power of outflowing from His resurrection…” (Phil. 3:10, AMP)

Do you want Jesus’ resurrection power to flow in your life? You will when you are standing beside the bed of a loved one who is sick and needs healing. You will when your child or adult child needs a miracle. You will when the phone call comes advising of the negative report. We must be like Joshua and Caleb, choosing to stay in agreement with God, and declare, “We are well able” because of Jesus and His resurrection power.

Do you want the resurrection power of Jesus to flow in your life now? Then take time to get to know Him! The more you spend time in His Presence and fellowship with Him, the more you’re going to look like Him, act like Him and talk like Him.

Think about it for a moment. When you spend time with strong believers, you begin to take on their way of talking, and sometimes their mannerisms. When you spend time with Jesus by reading His Word and being still—sitting in quiet times in fellowship—listening and reflecting, you will become more like Jesus.

If you spend too much time watching secular television, or even watching the news—doubt, unbelief, and negative speaking will show up in your language and reactions. You may very well end up being like the world and find yourself living in fear instead of faith!

Make a decision to know God—to become more intimately acquainted with Him. I am not talking about ministry meetings, church, classes, or doing things with God—I am talking about spending quality time in His Presence one-on-one. While connecting with other believers will encourage you and are great ways to be ignited, I am talking about digging into the Word of God for yourself on a daily basis.

Spending time with Jesus brings increase of His anointing in your life. You may need that when someone close to you is facing death, your child needs healing, or you need a breakthrough in any area. Make a quality decision today—make changes to spend time with people who are on-fire for God and stop listening to naysayers. More importantly, set aside a time on a daily basis to spend time in God’s Word. Read the Bible and get it inside heart—so that it becomes part of the very fabric of your being.

Your future is stored up in your heart. Remember, what you give attention to is what will be on the inside of you. Then, it will overflow!

Jesus said in Matthew 12:34-35, “You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him” (NIV). What is stored up in you?

As Christians, we grieve the Holy Spirit by not obeying Him. This will give us greater reason to guard our hearts from wrong influences. Spend time with Jesus daily and experience His anointing overflowing to others and bringing change in your personal life as well.

Dr. Deborah Starczewski

BE STILL

Have you ever tried to watch a movie and actually hear what is being said while others are talking? It’s almost impossible to hear what is being said. Have you tried to have a conversation with your spouse or friend and they are so consumed with their phone, they haven’t heard a word you’ve said? We must learn to be still and listen for God.

BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD. What does that mean? Have you ever heard anyone say, “Be still my heart?” I have heard that phrase repeatedly over the last few weeks. The Hebrew for “be still” can also be translated “let go,” or quit holding on to things that keep you from exalting God and giving Him His proper place in your life.

The power and ability to face adversities and the uncertainties of this life are found in God. God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Psalm 46 expresses trust and confidence in God during a time of insecurity and instability.

“Refuge” pictures a place of shelter away from danger, revealing to us that God is our true security in all the storms of life.

“Strength” refers to God’s might when battling the enemy and includes His power that works in us (Colossians 1:29) and enables us to overcome obstacles in life. You may have received the news you have cancer, your spouse may have abandoned you after thirty years, BUT GOD is with you. He is “a very present help in trouble.”

At other times in life, when you feel all alone, it is time to look inward and experience the amazing love of God and sense His warm embrace. It’s a time to look up to God, for all good things come from Him. Nothing that has happened to you will stop God’s plan for your life. Draw near to God by being still in His Presence. 

God desires that we find a place to be still and reflect upon Him and His amazing love. It is in the quiet where we sense His calming presence and where He gives us divine wisdom and insight. He delights in us when we come to Him with a pure heart and in childlike faith.

“There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the most High.” (Psalm 46:4). God’s river is the continual flow of His amazing grace, glory, and His power in the midst of His faithful people. Keep your trust in God because the river of God, this pure life-giving river flows from God the Father (see Jeremiah 2:13), God the Son (John 4:14), and God the Holy Spirit (John 7:38-39). His river brings refreshing to us as believers in Jesus Christ and we experience a knowing in our hearts that God is with us and will never leave us nor forsake us.

When we are still and surrendered to God, we find peace even with the earth gives way. What an amazing way to live—fully knowing that God cares for you and desires to be in relationship with you. You will experience a relationship with God when you move past religion and experience His great love, fully knowing He will go before you to make every crooked place straight.

Run to Him and fall into His arms. Take time to be still where you can hear the Spirit of God speaking to you. Make it a daily practice—find a place to be still and know God. When you choose to come to Him and leave all the cares of the world each day, you are standing on holy ground. God delivers His own! There is no place so painful, no valley too deep, and no situation too hopeless for God.

It is imperative that we learn to rely on the Holy Spirit’s sustaining power because even though our sins have been forgiven in Christ as believers, our flesh will want to rise up and act out.

God’s goal for us is a lifestyle of sensitivity so we can hear Him in both calm and noisy situations. Practicing a time of being still will help you learn to listen for God’s still small voice and when He speaks through His Word. Since listening is critical for ensuring that our hearts are soft and open to divine guidance in every situation, it is imperative we learn to be still in God’s presence.

We must ask the Lord to teach us to hear Him and then work at having a quiet heart and attitude in life.

“Be still and know that I am God.”

DEBORAH STARCZEWSKI

Halloween is a time for kids and occasionally big kids to walk the streets to receive candy from neighbors. It is a time of festivities and fall festivals, with many having costume parties and a time of visiting friends and family. We have friends that love to decorate for all the holidays throughout the year—they choose to celebrate life! Life must be celebrated on a daily basis—in good times and not so good times.

Arriving at the door of a home for candy dressed in any form of costume can be a trick or a treat. It is not the devil’s day unless we give it to him. Halloween as found on Wikipedia means: a contraction of “All Hallows’ Evening’, also known as Allhalloween, All Hallows’ Eve, or All Saints’ Eve, is a yearly celebration observed in a number of countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Hallows’ Day.

It is also thought to have originated with the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, when people would light bonfires and wear costumes to ward off roaming ghosts. While I am fully aware there are angelic beings—both good and evil, we must know our authority in God by understanding the power in His Name and not live in fear of familiar spirits and evil.

In the eighth century, Pope Gregory III designated November 1^st to honor all saints and martyrs; the holiday “All Saints Day” and incorporated some of the traditions of Samhain. Over time, Halloween evolved into a secular, community event to bring children together to go to doors and receive candy and say “Trick or Treat.”

Halloween can either be a celebration or superstition. I am sure if you have lived long enough, you know that good and evil exist in life—from bullying, false accusations, false witnesses, to all sort of horrendous crimes. Enough said about that—so let’s get to the funny story.

Something happened that was quite funny a few days ago. Someone we know got caught with his hand in the cookie jar taking a cookie when he was off of sweets for a few days (no it wasn’t my husband), stole his kids donuts, and when trying to snatch his wife’s donut—well, you guessed it. He got caught.

I thought it was a great reminder for parents not to take their kids candy—but definitely check it. By the way, don’t use the excuse you are only checking their candy when you get caught eating a piece or two. Make sure to go to places where you know the people, and that all candy is properly wrapped and has been bought from a store, rather than trusting the lives of our children and grandkids to evil tricks and any unfortunate problems.

A few weeks ago, a group of us were fasting and praying for America and I was sitting in a restaurant when I heard the Holy Spirit speak to me that the man we will not name was wanting sweets right then so I sent a text to his wife to advise. She later called me to share that they were walking out of a local mall and he had just asked her if the cinnamon-sugar pretzels would be considered a dessert.  Too funny, don’t you think? God has amazing ways of letting us all know He sees and reveals all hidden truth. He also goes to extreme measures to teach us that we are hearing Him so that when it is something of great importance, we believe immediately.

The highest form of wisdom comes from God and gives us the capacity to see things from God’s perspective; then we move to obey God through following biblical truths.

The Bible tells us that the Holy Spirit reveals all hidden truth and shows us things to come (take time to read John 14-16 chapters.) We need to hear God in the small things and the big things.

God uses daily life to train us to hear Him when we turn to Him to learn—and we choose to live by the Holy Spirit. The Gospel of Jesus Christ works in the time of crisis, when you don’t know what to do, when it seems all hell has been assigned against you, and when you receive that call of a bad medical report. God’s Word works in times of blessings, in peaceful times, in times of war, in all times. The divine guidance of God also works in making sure your kids are safe on Halloween.

Instead of living in fear, remember to honor God and His name. Let His Name be hallowed. What does that mean? It means roughly the same thing “let your kingdom come” and “let your will be done” as the first “Hallowed be thy Name.” God honoring His Name means making the holiness of the name known to the nations. Take time to read Ezekiel 36:22-24:

Therefore, say to the house of Israel, Thus says the LORD GOD: It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for the sake of My Holy Name, which you have profaned among the nations to which you come. I will sanctify [hallow] My great name, which has been profaned among the nations, and which you have profaned among them; and the nations shall know that I am the LORD, says the LORD GOD, when through you I display My holiness before their eyes. I will take you from the nations, and gather you from all the countries, and bring you into your own land. (NRSV).

God’s Word works in the small and great, in your home to the nations!

DEBORAH STARCZEWSKI