NO FAVORITES

2 Chr 16:9

For the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.

  
   Children of God, rise up and take your place!  Take the authority and power invested in you through Christ, and in all areas of your life break the hold of the enemy.  The power of God always prevails, so take your place and loose his power in your life and in the earth.  Go forth and conquer by his living Spirit, and win the hearts and souls of the people.  Renounce the works of the enemy, and bind his influence.  Give the enemy no quarter, no mercy, no place in you.  Let the Spirit of God in you sweep away the enemy's strongholds.  See, look, and listen to what the word of God has plainly given to you.  Learn what belongs to you in the heavenly realms.  And as you wage war against the enemy and take your place, then the will of God shall be wrought in your life and his word come to pass.
    His word has opened your eyes, and you have light where once there was darkness.  With the Lord on your side, you will never know defeat.  Christ has already destroyed the dark powers and made an open mockery of them by conquering death, sin, and hell.  Such power guarantees your victory; it guarantees your success.  So take your place in him.  Take whatever you need.  Follow in the steps of the Savior, who though he was greater than all, lowered himself as a servant of all.  Be like Joshua, who was nothing more than a simple servant to Moses.  But when the time came, Joshua took his place as leader of the nation of Israel.  Be faithful in little, and he will give you much!  Fear not to take your place in him and speak forth his word, reminding yourself always of his promises to you, and you shall go from glory to glory, leading the way for others, so they might find their place in him.
    Have faith in his love for you.  This is where you will find strength in times of trial.  Have faith in the work he's done in you.  Do not rely on yourself, but rely on what he's given you.  The enemy will always try you and test you, to see if you believe what you say, but the child of God who has chosen and made up his mind and has willed in his heart to follow Jesus, the enemy can do nothing to this one.  The enemy has no power to make you turn back.  The Lord's desire is for you to know that it's his work in you, not your works, that will stand the test of time.  You can rely on the good work he has begun in you, for he will complete it.
    Rejoice, count it all joy when you fall into temptations and trials, submit to God's way, resist the devil, and you will come through shouting the victory.  No matter how long it takes, you will come through.  Behold, and see how Job came through great trial, and afterwards received more than he had ever hoped to see.  Observe, and see how long Caleb waited to receive his inheritance, the promise which had been made to him.  Be strong in faith, and you will grow stronger every day.  You can even grow stronger physically by faith, as well as spiritually, for as the Lord preserved Caleb's strength those forty years in the wilderness, and as the Lord extended Job's lifespan, even after Job had given up all hope of living, so our mighty God will preserve those who love him and cling to his promises.
    There is no end to the joy of those who open their heart to the Lord, so do not close your heart to him.  As Jesus becomes your closest friend, your joy will never end.  You will know him in ways that mere men will never fathom, even if you were to tell them of it.  Come away, beloved of the Lord, and learn of him, for he is meek and lowly in heart, and he will be to you better than ten thousand other loves.  Only let your heart be his garden retreat, his holy resting place, his sanctuary, his home, and his throne.  For you the joy shall never cease, when the Lord becomes your one desire.  For knowing him, you will discover the secret key to the knowledge of God.  The secret to which nothing else compares.  So bow your ear and be attentive to his voice.  Open your heart, and you will feel what he feels, and know as he knows.  Love the Lord diligently with your whole being, and he will show you his countenance and glory.  This is how you find your place in him, and when you find your place in him, your reward will be evident to all.  Your life will beam with his glory.
    The presence of God has the power of life.  Joy flows as a river from his throne.  Go to him and drink deeply, and you will live in total satisfaction all of your days.  His presence will always be near, as you open up your heart to him.  He longs to take your burdens from you.  He longs to hear your voice, and hear you tell him of your day.  He longs for you to talk to him, as you would talk with a good friend.  What better friend could you have?  What more compassionate and caring friend is there?  So unburden your soul, and let him lighten your load, and make the heavy burden easy to bear.  For his joy is your strength, and in his presence is an abundance of joy.
    Our Lord has the ability to do anything.  He has the ability to give us the ability to do anything he asks.  He has the ability to give us the quality of life we desire.  He has the ability to enable us to accomplish anything.  But do you believe he has the ability to do it for you?  Your only limitation is that which you place upon yourself by your lack of vision; your lack of belief in what God can do through you.  In actuality, there is nothing God can't do for you, if you'll let him.  Was there ever anything impossible to those who trusted in God?  The sun stopped moving because someone believed God could do it.  Iron swam in water because someone believed God.  Men walked through fire because they trusted in God.  An entire nation walked through the sea because they put their faith in God.  And best of all, Jesus achieved immortality because he trusted in the power of God.
    Who was Joseph, if not just another man?  And not even a man, but a mere child.  Yet he had dreams.  Where did those dreams come from?  Did Joseph see the future under his own inspiration?  Or was God with him?  Did Joseph have an easy life?  Was he given any special favor or advantage?  Wasn't he persecuted, tormented, envied, hated, despised, afflicted, wrongly accused, rejected, forsaken, forgotten, and imprisoned?  But God was with him.  Joseph had the faith of his fathers.  He trusted in God, in spite of his limitations and setbacks and sufferings.  Who was Joseph, but a man who knew what God could do?
    The Lord has no favorite children.  He shows no partiality.  He will do for you what he has done for others.  Solomon was only a man, and he asked for wisdom, and God gave it to him.  You can have the wisdom of Solomon and Daniel combined.  You can endure any suffering, and still have the joy of Paul and The Apostles.  Your life can be beautified with love all the time, if your trust is in him.  You can have the strength of Samson, the patience of Joseph and Job, the faith of Abraham, the song of David, the courage of Caleb, the success of Joshua, the leadership of Moses, the prosperity of Isaac, the power of Elijah, the determination of Ruth, the boldness of Peter, and time would fail to tell of all that God could do for you, if you simply had the faith to ask.  Why would God reveal these things to the prophets, if he didn't want us to have them?  Why would he have shown us what is to come, if he didn't want us to know what awaits us in the future?  Why don't you take the joy and gladness God offers to those who trust in him?  Learn the secret of faith, and take the limit off of what God can do for you.
    Jesus said we can have whatever we desire, if we believe God will give us that desire.  What is it you desire?  Is it your desire to have all that God wants for you?  Faith springs out of right desires.  If we desire to have things to use only for our own satisfaction, can we have faith in God?  When we know our desires aren't right, and we know God can see what is in our heart, then we really can't say we believe God will give us those desires.  If we know we desire only what God wants for us, then we shall have the necessary faith to obtain our desires.  God is not in the business of making everybody a millionaire, although we'd all like to be millionaires.  God is in the business of making us rich in things which really matter; things like love, joy, and peace.  It's better to eat bologna with a happy heart, than to eat steak with a sad heart.  When God sees our desires are right, he'll give us more than enough to meet our every need.  If he can stop the world from turning because someone asked him to, how hard is it for him to meet the simple needs of one of his children who asks him in faith?  If your desires aren't what they should be, start by asking the Lord to give you the right desires.  Your very life and strength for living comes from him, and he can give you all the faith you need.  "According to your faith be it unto you," the Lord said.  Whatever you can believe for, he will do it.  Even for you.  Only believe.