MISSIONS UPDATE: Yesterday the team had a busy day. They visited Paixbouche to hand out food and pray for children and the elderly. They participated in a program where the life of a person turning 100 years old was celebrated. Isabella was given an opportunity to participate in the program. She gave the lady a gift from RIPMinistries.
By the favor of God, while at the ceremony, Isabella had the opportunity to meet and interact with the President of Dominica. His Excellency Charles Savarin.
Here is a link to some of the pictures from yesterday: https://goo.gl/JWq5Ln.
A special thanks, once again, to all our partners and supporters. To those who would like to donate, please do so via: http://ripministries.org/donate.
Here are a few ways to stay updated:
Missions page on the website: http://ripministries.org/missions/missions.
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rickpina/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ripministries/
Now let’s get into the Word.
This morning we continue our series entitled, “Refined Focus”, by continuing with our new mini-series entitled, “Focusing on Dying To Self”. I feel led to go back to a scripture we look at for weeks. It is something Jesus said. Let’s take a look at it.
Jesus said: “Any of you who want to be my follower must stop thinking about yourself and what you want. You must be willing to carry the cross that is given to you for following me. Any of you who try to save the life you have will lose it. But you who give up your life for me and for the Good News will save it.” (Mark 8:34,35 ERV). We know the Bible commands us to live by faith (see Hab 2:4, Rom 1:17, Gal 3:11, and Heb 10:38), and I have been teaching on “Dying to Self” for a while. This morning as I prayed over what to share with you the Lord highlighted to me the connection between living by faith and dying to self. You cannot truly live by faith until you die to both your desires and your limits.
So what does this mean to you today? A few things.
- Faith makes the impossibilities of heaven possible in the earth.
- Faith agrees with a realm of no limits.
- Faith is the vehicle through which humanity is able to access divinity.
- God’s best is freely made available by His unearned and amazing grace. The only way to access this God’s grace is with our faith.
- You cannot live by a faith that accesses a realm of no limits if you have a mentality that only sees limits.
- Truly dying to the limits of humanity is the only way you will be in position to release your faith for the supernatural power of divinity.
- Faith is not you attempting to convince God. Faith is what happens when you die to self and self-limits, and you get convinced of God. When God convinces you, and you know what He wants to do in your life — even though what He has called you to do is FAR GREATER than anything you could ever do on your own — you then begin to LIVE BY FAITH, with your complete trust and confidence in God and His limitless power.
Closing Confession: Father, this is a season of refined focus for me. I bring my life into focus in 2016 by dying to self. I have been called and commanded to walk and live by faith. Living by faith means I live off of a different reality. My daily focus is on You, Your realm, Your reality, Your power, Your strength, and Your will for me each day. No matter what I face, I face it looking through the lens of faith. I face it speaking words of faith. I face it performing actions of faith. Your will shall be done, on earth, as it is in heaven, THROUGH ME, because my faith gives me access to Your grace. My faith makes the supernatural natural to me. My faith makes the impossible possible for me. My faith says, “YES” to Your limitless power and I become a human conduit of the divine! I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
This is Today’s Word! Apply it and Prosper.
