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Mike Strickland

@stricmg45

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A brand new creation. Innocent, righteous, holy and complete in Christ Jesus. He did it all.

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It doesn’t work. It simply doesn’t work.

When your focus is off, nothing works. When your focus is off, your perspective is off. And when your perspective is off, your expectations go in the tank.

Your expectations are how you think in your heart. And according to Proverbs 23:7, tanked expectations don’t bode well for you.

Proverbs 23:7 is right.

Peter walked on the water. Then he didn’t (Matthew 14:28-32). The water didn’t change. Peter was the same man when he walked on water as he was when he didn’t.

His focus changed.

When Peter’s attention was on Jesus, he did that which could not be done. When his attention returned to his surroundings, he became ordinary.

But Peter didn’t fail. He got out of the boat. And he walked on the water.

You can’t walk on water until you get out of the boat.

Get your focus back on Jesus where it belongs. Then, don’t lower your expectations; RAISE THEM!

And if you can get your expectations high enough, well — He’ll still outperform them (Ephesians 3:20). Every time.

You have His word on it.

Be blessed! by @stricmg45

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8 hours ago

The Lord’s mercy and compassion are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. (Lamentations 3:23)

If God loves us and has unlimited resources, why do we experience lack?

There is no end to His goodness, and He wants us to have everything. But He never forces Himself on us; He honors the free will He gave us.

Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us… (Ephesians 3:20)

What’s the power that works in us? Faith. Faith that accesses His grace.

As you have believed, so let it be done for you. (Matthew 8:13)

Jesus told us in Mark 9:23, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.”

Give it a try. Take Him at His word today. Acknowledge what He says is true. Then, let Him love you.

Receive.

“I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance; to the full, till it overflows.” (John 10:10 AMP) by @stricmg45

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19 hours ago

I didn’t know what unconditional love was. It’s not that I wasn’t loved. Maybe I simply wasn’t receptive to it.

It doesn’t matter. Today matters. Love matters. God’s love.

God’s love has nothing to do with my performance. At all. Ever.
It has everything to do with His performance. Period. Forever.

It’s hard sometimes getting used to God’s love. It’s not something you can learn. You can learn Him; you can learn His ways. But His love? No way. You can only experience it. Again and again and again.

This is personal. And it’s beyond anything your imagination can come up with.

His love is not passive. It’s alive and active. It changed everything in the Person of Jesus. And He continues to change me.

He’ll do the same with you.

This is not cause and effect. This is God’s love. And it’s different. Thank God, it’s different!

And today, I’m different, too. by @stricmg45

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2 days ago

Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who trusts in Him! (Psalms 34:8)

And those who know Your name will put their trust in You; for You, Lord, have not forsaken those who seek You. (Psalms 9:10)

You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with your whole heart. (Jeremiah 29:13)

But let him who glories, glory in this: that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord, exercising lovingkindness, judgment and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight, says the Lord. (Jeremiah 9:24)

But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. (Matthew 6:33)

It all begins with one taste.

“Come to Me.”

Rise. He is calling you! by @stricmg45

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2 days ago

I’ve been thinking about children this week.

God has a soft spot for children, and that certainly works in our favor.

“But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name.” (John 1:12)

Children.
Little children.
Converted little children.

“Assuredly I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 18:3)

What is it about children that makes them so special? Yes, they tend to love easier and therefore trust easier. And their default state tends to be one of happiness.

But we’re to be converted.

What if it’s not something that children have that adults lack? What if, instead, it’s something missing in children that’s present in adults?

What about pride?

“God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” (James 4:6)

God hates pride (Proverbs 6:16-17). And until we can receive His word with meekness - pride’s polar opposite - our mind and soul cannot be renewed (James 1:21).

Don’t swallow your pride. Take it to Jesus. He’s the only one who can do something with it. It’s Him who converts you. (John 5:39-40)

Be converted. Become the little child He says you must be. Exercise the right He gave you to become a child of God.

“Come to Me.” by @stricmg45

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2 days ago

If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.” (John 15:7)

How bout we decide to believe Jesus today? How bout we decide what He says is true, no hidden agenda, no obscured meaning?

What if we consider He is The Way, The Truth, and The Life? What if Jesus really is Lord?

Abide is a committed connection. It’s seeking FIRST God’s kingdom and righteousness. And then, rather than putting Him on a shelf as we muddle through the day, it’s resting in Him continually; it’s depending on what He has accomplished as sufficient and complete; it’s relying on the integrity of His words when all visible evidence contradicts it. It’s looking to Him.

Speaking of His words, they are both life and health to you. They carry God’s infinite power and ability in seed form. And they do exactly what they are supposed to do (Isaiah 55:11, John 6:63).

He didn’t say to figure it out. He said “Come to Me.”

Choose to take Jesus at His word. Choose to believe. It’s not for the wimpy; it’s for His children.

It’s for you. by @stricmg45

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3 days ago

This child to me appears ready to receive, wanting to expect, and hoping beyond hope that her trust is warranted.

What are you believing for?

“If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.” (Mark 9:23)

A friend today asked for prayer that she would be cleared for surgery. I prayed. She is cleared. She believes God can heal her - she was healed of Lupus previously - but for whatever reason she believes surgery is her path to restored health this time. And God loves her. Deeply.

“As you have believed, so let it be done for you.” (Matthew 8:13)

It’s our choice. And regardless of what we choose, He’s there. He never leaves (Matthew 28:20). And the kicker? He doesn’t get mad. At all. Ever.

“This is like the waters of Noah to Me; for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah would no longer cover the earth, so have I sworn that I would not be angry with you, nor rebuke you.” (Isaiah 54:9)

This is love. And it’s fascinating.

Be blessed. by @stricmg45

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3 days ago

He didn’t leave us here to struggle. He left us here to conquer. In plain sight of all. And to proclaim why and how it happened.

For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world - our faith. (1 John 5:4)

I am not a sinner. I’m not even a sinner saved by grace. I WAS a sinner, but I was saved by grace. By grace, I choose to believe that; I choose to put my faith in that truth. And that makes me something different; something that did not previously exist.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. (2 Corinthians 5:17)

I am a holy child of God. I am the result of the union of God and man.

Tribulation comes to us so others may see and believe (John 16:33). We don’t struggle to defeat the devil. Jesus already did that. And we rejoice, because He declared His victory to us.

We’re here to expose the darkness of unbelief, and to eliminate it. We eliminate darkness by shining our light, who is Christ is us. We eliminate the lies of unbelief with Truth; believing it, speaking it, and living it out.

Right here. In the middle of unbelief. And the Father draws the others to Jesus through us. Just like a magnet.

Stop speaking sin. Stop speaking lies. Speak righteousness. Speak innocence. Speak truth.

Speak Jesus.

The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound. (Isaiah 61:1) by @stricmg45

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4 days ago

Sometimes “Wow” is the only response you can muster. And even that may not be audible.

Confidence. The world says you gotta have it. “You gotta believe in yourself!” And I was always on the outside looking in. I can’t really say I’ve struggled with confidence all my life, because I think you have to have some before you can struggle with it.

I never had confidence for more than a few minutes at a time. So I pretended. I pretended to be self-confident; and when you do that, it comes across as arrogance.

Arrogance is worse. Arrogance is first kin to pride, and pride is self- centeredness.

By pride comes nothing but strife (Proverbs 13:10). Want a life filled with strife? Live a self-centered existence.

Anyway, back to confidence.

I called the Lord, and He answered. He always does. I asked Him about this confidence thing, and He said a self-confident person is a fool (Proverbs 14:16).

So what’s the answer? I think you know what’s coming.

Proverbs 14:26 says “In the fear of the Lord there is strong confidence, and His children will have a place of refuge.”

Confidence in the Lord is real confidence. And all I have to do is exalt Him above self and everything else not-god; WAY above!

Forget self. In fact, crucify it. Then, look to Jesus, and only to Him. That’s your right.

Jesus did that. by @stricmg45

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4 days ago

Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. (Ephesians 5:16)

Being critical is not redeeming the time. Being critical is walking in darkness (Ephesians 5:11). He woke me up this morning showing me this.

I’ve been especially critical of late. Not so much vocally, but in my thoughts. And I have to claim them as my thoughts, because when they occurred to me, I entertained them. Boy, did I ever entertain them! I’m not much of a host, but this has been an absolute bash! And I hated it. I have repented by His grace, and today already looks promising.

It’s not been widespread criticism. I’ve been critical of the church I attend and of the way a former job of mine is being performed.

Yesterday I was really thankful. And THAT’s what He showed me this morning - you can’t be critical and thankful at the same time. The two are incompatible.

In July, a woman I had not known said to me, “No more judging; just preach.” I slipped back into it. Being critical is judging.

God already knows. I can talk to Him about anything, of course, and I do. But I am supposed to enter His gates with thanksgiving, His courts with praise (Psalms 100:4). That’s for my benefit. It causes me to align with Him, and that makes my prayers - my conversations with Him - incredibly effective.

Jesus gave me His Spirit to enable me to align with Him. And when I’m aligned with Him, He flows through me effectively to impact those around me and my surroundings.

Today, by His grace and the power of the Holy Spirit in me, I set myself in agreement with Ephesians 4:29 in order to perform it. Today, I will not criticize - I’ll let no corrupt word proceed from my mouth - but only what is good for necessary edification, that it might impart grace to the hearers.

Today, I submit to God. So when critical thoughts come to me, I’ll use the authority Jesus gave me - His name - and send em right back to the pit they came from.

Rejoice always! by @stricmg45

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5 days ago

I sat outside and watched a squirrel this afternoon. He was awfully skinny for this time of year, I thought to the Lord. But He knows everything about that squirrel and wasn’t at all concerned. Father knows best.

In general, squirrels aren’t the least bit perturbed by my presence. That, for me, is a gift from God. I like the little creatures. They’re fascinating.

The Lord brought an uplifting memory to mind a short while ago. It was many years ago, and we were in a church fellowship hall at a non-church meeting. A man was relating how something he’d been told had helped to turn his life around, but he couldn’t remember who told him. For one of the few times in my life, I had no reaction. Inwardly, however, I was filled with gratitude. I was the person he couldn’t remember. And to now be anonymous showed me that for once, I’d opened my mouth and God spoke. I’ve never forgotten that, and so far I’ve never not appreciated it.

I still complain. Not as much as in the past, but I still do. I don’t like complaining since He taught me it’s not being “open and honest,” it’s speaking the devil’s language.

The Lord has brought me a long way.

Today has been a day of thankfulness. Some are. Just some? Yeah, but that’s a huge improvement. There were none of them for many years. Many years. Many saved years. Saved but not surrendered. But today they exist. And I truly love em.

Jesus did that.

Let everything with breath praise the Lord! by @stricmg45

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5 days ago

“You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.” (John 15:3)

The word Jesus spoke made us clean. That same word killed a fig tree.

Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit. (Proverbs 18:21)

The fig tree represents the perversion from which we have been freed.

In Mark 11 and Matthew 21 we find the account of the fig tree that died when Jesus spoke to it. He’s showing us the power of words, of course; but why pick on a fig tree?

He wasn’t picking on it. The tree was a perversion of what He created; it looked like the original, but it had been soiled by and was under the influence of evil, making it an enemy of God. And anything that’s an enemy of God is an enemy of His children.

Everything God created was very good (Genesis 1:31). We have to know if what we’re encountering is His creation or a shadowy replica.

An enemy must be identified, and its identity is in the detail.

It wasn’t the season for figs, so of course the tree was not bearing fruit yet. But it was created to bear fruit and leaves AT THE SAME TIME. The Creator knew that, so He eliminated the perversion.

He’s told us to do the same thing (Luke 10:19).

Test all things; hold fast what is good. (1 Thessalonians 5:21)

1 Thessalonians 5:21 is a reminder to not rely on our own understanding, but to lean on the Holy Spirit’s perfect knowledge.

Submit to God. That means yield to Him. Then, He’ll show you what’s evil so you can resist it. Resisting evil is to speak to it directly in Jesus’ name, commanding it to die. And it will. You have His word on it.

On earth as in heaven. by @stricmg45

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6 days ago