"It is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure." Philippians 2:13

God does not see us in ourselves - He sees us in Christ. He does not see us, He sees Christ in us. If we really believed that, we would be delivered from ourselves and would indeed be triumphant Christians.

WE ARE NOT DEFINED BY OUR PAST

We must develop the mind-set that -- we are not defined by our past, what people think of us, or our circumstances...

The decisions we make, the places we go, the things we say -- create images in our subconscious. First, we think a thought; then we rehearse it until it begins to formulate an image. Finally, our words speak things into existence and our actions set dynamics into motion. We are to present and display the Kingdom of God that dwells within us, releasing it in powerful demonstrations. We are not called to simply exist, but to be CONDUITS that manifest a flow of God's PRESENCE and POWER onto every circumstance...

Luke 4:18,19 - "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because He has anointed me;
He has sent me to announce good news to the poor,
to proclaim release for prisioners and recovery of sight for the blind,
to let the broken victims go free,
to proclaim the year of the Lords favor."

Jesus' concern for mankind was applauded. His Humility was revered, but it was the anointing that released the supernatural. And it was the supernatural invasion of God Himself...

In His Presence Are the Answers That You Seek.

Wear the crown of glory that He would have you wear uprightly. Lay down any identity that man would come with. Man would come and try to push His crown off your head, and put upon it a counterfeit identity.

Lay down all these things that rush into your mind – to where you cannot even come into His presence, because your mind, your spirit, is somewhere else.

Call everything that would command you to give...

Worship is the spiritual equivalent of the power of magnification. When you begin to worship, you ascend to join the Object of your adoration. If you are soaking in His presence, then you are looking down on your problems.

"Oh, magnify the Lord with me." - Psalm 34:3

Times of difficulty give us an occasion we don't have otherwise, and that is the opening to demonstrate sacrificial love to Him by ministering to him instead of attending to our pressing needs....