Atara Ishah

Loving the Unlovely

He who has a generous eye will be blessed, for he gives of his bread to the poor. —Proverbs 22:9 NKJV

While it’s wonderful to practice generosity toward your friends and relatives, it’s much more profound to extend God’s love, forgiveness, and favor to those who have mistreated you.

Solomon describes this well: “If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat; and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink; for so you will heap coals of fire on his head, and the Lord will reward you” (Proverbs 25:21-22 NKJV).

Notice the wonderful result set in motion when you practice such generosity toward your enemies, in addition to your friends and family: “The Lord will reward you.”

Pause for a few minutes now to pray and ask Him to show you ways you can be more generous—even toward those who have wronged you.

Clay to the Potter's Hand

🎶Take me, and mold me
Use me, fill me
I give my life to the Potter's hands
Hold me, You guide me
Lead me, walk beside me
I give my life to the Potter's hand 🎶

Seeing the beautiful in life requires us to stay moldable by God. We don’t want to be too fragile or too rigid. If we’re too fragile, the fear of being broken, crushed and hurt again will make us want to fight the process. If we are too rigid, those sharp and strong edges may feel like they protect us, but in reality, they just prevent the transformative work of God in us. It’s only in trusting the gentle but powerful hands of the Potter and allowing Him to remold and remake us that those hurts are able to be shaped into something beautiful.

ctto LT

The Authority of Faith over Fear!

Two powerful forces that have in common, both can't be seen and unknown, and have the power to influence and take over lives.

We are now standing in the arena where these two forces are coaching individuals. Their powers are visible responses of their influenced.

Although both have the power to control yet the byproduct of each is dinstict and can't be the same.

Fear causes its influenced to response not to response; to be paralyzed and not to become productive, to initiates self-destruction and contribute more fear to its surrounding.

Faith is far beyond from this shameful results, its power energizes individuals to act with fearless action, to believe that all things are possible, unstoppable, and it fuels them more, empowers and equips! It gives life and builds life to whoever it touches!

The first has nothing to do to those who has the latter, yet the latter can overcome the first!

For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. (1 Timothy 1:7nkjv)

The One who has given us this power is the One who has the authority overall:

And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.

Whose power is unstoppable to mobilize His people:

Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you;

Who assured to be with us and see us through 'till the end:

and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen (Matthew 28:18-20 nkjv)

The One who has equipped us to overcome fear and its sting!

"Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you. (Luke 10:19 nkjv),

God has equipped and empowered us with the authority in the name of Jesus, that Right is in our hands!

Seeing the Invisible Visible!

Reference:
2 Corinthians 4:16-18, NKJV 16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. 17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, 18 while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.

2 Corinthians 4:16-18, NLT 16 That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. 17 For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! 18 So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.

Insights:
Beyond being optimistic is being visionary. It would be common to hear for the unspiritual person not to believe in spiritual things or may have the difficulty of believing something unseen or invisible.
But not in the case of Apostle Thomas, he was with the Lord Jesus in His earthly ministry and have witnessed the signs and wonders Jesus in their midst, yet Apostle Thomas has the personal perquisite before he believes, in John 20:24-28. Thus, after seeing the evidence, the Lord Jesus said in John 20:29 Jesus said to him, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

In many occasions, the present struggles in life hindrance a person to see beyond the circumstances, especially when suffering is real. Our flesh dictates, the old nature dominates, it clouded the vision of a person to see beyond. But as the scripture says:

2 Corinthians 4:16-18, NKJV 16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. 17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, 18 while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.

2 Corinthians 4:16-18, NLT 16 That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. 17 For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! 18 So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.
v.16a: This passage is not telling us to ignore our present situation, rather it is very honest to acknowledge our present sufferings but it tells us “not to lose heart, never give up!”

Proverbs 3:21, NLT “My child, don’t lose sight of common sense and discernment. Hang on to them,”

Hang on to them, until we see the accomplishment of God’s purpose and desire in our lives.

v.16b: Although we may come to a point of discouragement, it says here what this discouragement may produce in us: the world may perish, but in every minute, it perishes, there should something in us coming to life. And should be day by day.

We should live daily as the Lord Jesus would like us to depend on God daily. Matthew 6:11, "Give us this day our daily bread."

v.17-18: It also assure us that the present suffering is temporary but as we triumph the eternal glory awaits! One may say why all my life is always troubles, hardship, sufferings, trials… and etc. and if I will be happy why it’s only temporary, well first of all it is a choice! Where do you look at: the temporary sufferings that won’t last and ignore the eternal glory or rejoicing knowing that we have eternal glory in spite of suffering… What are we focusing on to?

Our Lord, the Lover of our souls, would love to see our eyes focus on Him alone.

Song of Solomon 1:15, NKJV “Behold, you are fair, my love! Behold, you are fair! You have dove’s eyes.”

The interesting thing about the dove is that it has singular vision. In other words, it is only able to focus on one thing at a time. In other words, Solomon says about his beloved “she only has eyes for me!”. So let us have our eyes on Jesus our Lord.

Moving on:
How do you perceive your present life? Do you still count your past as if blaming what had happened then are the reason why you are now suffering? Or you look at the future with the eyes of the Lord so you can be a man or woman of strength today to persevere for what lies ahead?

No matter what is your situation right now, don’t look on what limitation you have but look on what possibility you can do… don’t focus on what you see in the natural, press on, the Lord Jesus is lending His eyes on us to see what He sees, let our spiritual eyes see the invisible visible. Act upon it now. As he said: “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

Prayer Focus:
• To have a steadfast heart, eyes focused on our Lord Jesus
• To be renewed each day as we come into the presence of God
•May God give us the spiritual eyes to see what is He in store for us to overcome these present sufferings in life
• To be a constant encouragement for others, seeing the invisible visible

We’re at a pivotal time on the kingdom calendar — a time to not live in fear or timidity, but a time to step up into the purposes of God.

Don’t pull back. Press on and press in!

“I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:14)

Some people put their confidence in idols and others in personality, knowledge, money, etc. All of these will pass away; they don't have the power to save the human soul. On the other hand, those who trust God shall be like Mount Zion, which cannot be removed but abides forever. Mount Zion is the dwelling place of God, so those who trust our Lord Jesus Christ will be in the presence of God, which lasts forever. If you trust God and it seems things are not going in your favor, this scripture should encourage you to hold on to your faith because God is with you and you will never be shaken or removed. Trust in God!

Jesus Christ came to preach repentance to the whole world so that mankind would turn from their wicked ways and receive the gift of salvation (Matt 4:17). The gift of salvation is eternal life, which makes us the candidates of heaven. As a candidate of heaven, you have been given an overcoming faith; thus you cannot allow the world to control you. Don’t allow sin, the pressures of the world, and the world system to influence you to live like them. Use your faith to dominate your sphere of contact; the world will submit to you when you command it to produce what you want in Jesus’ name. If you have fallen, don’t remain there; get up in faith, and move on by using the Word of God. The Word of God cannot fail, so keep applying and professing it in faith till you have what you want (Isa. 55:11). You are a victor and cannot live a mediocre life.

May you receive grace to continually overcome every obstacle in your life in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen!

Kindness is one of the ways we demonstrate love to our fellow human beings. When we forgive others of their offenses, we are showing love and kindness to them. It is very painful when we are hurt by someone, but we need to realize that we also hurt others one way or another, and they also feel the pain. Thus we need to always ask for grace to forgive immediately when we are offended so that we don’t give Satan the room to tempt us. Unforgiveness is a weapon of the enemy to cause depression, fear, diseases, vengeance, etc. Learn to forgive quickly when you are hurt in order to be a vessel for God to use and to be blessed. Remember that the more you forgive others, the more God also forgives your offenses and creates more opportunities for you (Matt 6:14–16).

There is a way to live the big of giving thanks in all things. It is this: to give thanks in this one small thing. The moments will add up.

I, too, had read it often, the oft-quoted verse:
“And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Ephesians 5:20).

And I, too, would nod and say straight-faced, “I’m thankful for everything.”

But in this counting gifts, to one thousand, more, I discover that slapping a sloppy brush of thanksgiving over everything in my life leaves me deeply thankful for very few things in my life…

If gratitude is an antidote for anxiety…
and giving thanks is a real cure for stress —
why relegate thanksgiving to a holiday when giving thanks can revolutionize our whole lives?

I do this, record the gifts, gather the moments like manna.
It’s could be this feast everyday — a Thanksgiving Feast everyday.

Thanksgiving is the lens God means for us to see joy all year round.
Why miss our lives? Why miss all the ways He loves?

What you call yourself will be exclaimed by others. The moment you became born again, you were catapulted into the Kingdom of God where there are no curses but blessings. Therefore you are blessed (Eph 1:3). Never curse yourself through the negative things you say about yourself; never say, “I’m going to fail,” etc. Instead, take note of Mary's statement, “All generations shall call me blessed,” “I’m a blessing to my generation,” “I will succeed in life,” etc. When you declare good things about yourself, the Holy Spirit brings them to pass because you are fulfilling the Word of God. Cursing yourself will make things worse in your life. God Bless You!

We are created to have fellowship with our Heavenly Father.

He loves us and desires an intimate relationship with us. He delights in our singing, praising and shouting thanksgiving to Him, BUT He also wants us to go to Him when we are hurting, upset and dismayed by life. Call on the Lord; He sees and hears you.

The truth you needed to remember about who you are. You are so much more than the sum total of your hurt, pain, insecurities and hardship… whenever you feel discourage, lost, and forgotten, declare to your soul:

“Remember who you are.”

God Can Lift You Up

Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.
—1 Peter 5:6-7 NKJV
Do you feel buried under the cares of life today? Have you been wounded by past failures or people’s unkind words?

The good news is that God can lift you up and help you overcome whatever difficult circumstances you may be going through. But Radical Humility is needed to unleash this kind of favor: “Be clothed with humility, for ‘God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble’” (1 Peter 5:5).

Notice the vivid contrast: God resists—fights, confronts, and disregards—those who are proud and have an exaggerated view of their own importance. But He grants His grace and supernatural favor to those who humbly acknowledge their dependence on Him. So remember: He’s God, and you’re not!

Really loving others means that actions are involved. It's much more than saying you love another person or saying other kind things to them. It's showing God's love through your actions, doing what is good and righteous and turning from what is bad and unrighteous. It means truly listening to another person to help them feel heard, instead of just responding. It means doing acts of kindness without seeking recognition or boasting. Let's strive to truly show the love of God with actions more than words!

THE LIST

What is the Christian life? For years I believed that in order to grow in Christ, I had to be involved in the activities that caused me to grow- the list of do’s and dont’s.

Where is Eternal Life found? In Christ.
Where is redemption found? In Christ.
Where is forgiveness of sins found? In Christ.
Where is righteousness obtained? In Christ.
Where is holiness obtained? In Christ.
Where is sanctification found? In Christ.
Where is wisdom obtained? In Christ.
Where is love found? In Christ.
Where is peace found? In Christ.
Where is joy found? In Christ.
Where is acceptance found? In Christ.
Where is self control found? In Christ.
Where is patience found? In Christ.

How? By my doing? No by His doing!

The moment you placed your faith in the Lord Jesus, you were spiritually baptized, or placed, in Christ by the Holy Spirit. Your spirit and the Spirit of Christ were joined together as One Spirit. 1 Cor 6:17.

As a result, all of the above attributes were freely given to you. How? By being in Him.

Notice that in our verse below, it is BY HIS DOING, NOT YOURS OR MINE that we have everything.

The grand deception among believers for centuries is that we do not have those things but that in order to obtain them, we must perform in order to get or maintain all of the above.

My view of the Christian life was God was “up there” watching me live my life; kind of like a judge in the Olympics- watching me perform and grading me.

Failing to perform would cause Him to shake His head in disgust. Performing well would bring an approving smile and I would take a step forward in my “spiritual growth.” And I would congratulate myself.

So I was attempting to obtain from God by my performance. It is quite common for us human beings. We all grow up in some sort of performance based acceptance. That’s human nature.

You have to perform in school to get the good grades. You have to behave yourself for your parents to stay out of trouble. Same for sports and activities. So it’s natural for us to think God deals with us the same way.

But He doesn’t.

That’s called religion; trying to get from God by earning it by good works. Go to practically any church on any given Sunday (or Saturday) and listen to the sermon. In it, there will almost always be a performance based acceptance message in there.

“God will bless you if....”
“You aren’t going to grow in Christ unless you....”
“If you call yourself a Christian, you ought to be....”
“We should be reading more, praying more, witnessing more, loving more, sinning less and less..”

When you come to realize that trying to obtain or maintain spiritual attributes will never work, and you come to know that you already have those things by the finished work of Christ Jesus, then it frees you because the work is done. We can simply enjoy life in Him, a love relationship whereby we go through each day, together.

Coming to understand these truths set me free. I am free in Christ and I love our life together. He will do the same for you. If you don’t see these things yet, ask the Holy Spirit to reveal the truth to you. He will!

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When you walk through the fire, the flame will not burn you. He is fighting for you, even now.⁣
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Often, we lose sight that the Lord has promised never to leave us nor forsake us, no matter what life may throw at us. The truth is, we are secure in Christ’s hand and have been gifted blessed assurance because of His love! The cross promised us His perfect peace and protection of our soul when our hearts and minds rest in Him. The Israelites endured years of oppression, but God! He was there to remind them of His steadfast love and promise- He was with them.⁣
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Even though today you face many trials and calamities, His protection and help are equally sure and steadfast for us all. Dear friend, you will not be shaken. You will not be burned, in Jesus’ name. Let us trust God when you walk through the fire of oppression; you will not be burned. The fiery flames may come but will not consume us, in Jesus’ name.⁣
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Even in tough circumstances God is with us to comfort and help us. So if you’re faced with difficulty, choose to focus on God. Focus on His great love for you, don’t let fear take root in your heart. Choose to walk in the comfort and peace that God provides! Have a blessed day❤❤

Lord, sometimes I don't really like how my life is playing out. But I know You are in control and Your ways are always good. Help me not miss the glory moments in the difficulties of life. I know diamonds show up best on black velvet. Help me to see Your glory on the background of dark circumstances. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

Your faith in God could heal someone today and glorify Him!

Then behold, they brought to Him a paralytic lying on a bed. WHEN JESUS SAW THEIR FAITH, He said to the paralytic, “Son, be of good cheer; your sins are forgiven you.” ...And he arose and departed to his house. Now when the multitudes saw it, they marveled and glorified God..."

This excerpt from Matthew 9:1-8 Mark (2:1–12), and Luke (5:17–26) contained a very significant account of faith in God of people for their loveone or a friend who was in a hopeless case.

You may know someone like that today, shineforth of your faith in God, reach out today and bring them to Christ. We know that God will listen and Jesus will be in our midst (Matt. 18:19-20).

Don't let anyone or any situation decide for you to act in response to what they are expecting, it will free you from all the panic-madness to control the situation and others and allow you to trust in God alone.

Upgrade to godly wisdom and words of kindness. Don't let the situation downgrade the Fruit of the Spirit God has deposited in your character.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. (Galatians 5:22-23)

Be a well known person of godly wisdom and law of kindness, then you will find yourself more understanding, loving and prayerfull because you know that it's not you but God who is in control.

God called us to Shine!

Boasting is far away different from giving all the glory to our Lord Jesus Christ, we are made to shine forth the glory of God so that other people may see His goodness in us.

The joy of giving God the pleasure of the purpose of why God created you will boost your passion to do good works to others and bring them to the kingdom of God.

It's not about the race or competition of what you can do but shining forth is to cheer others up that they can... and why not! to also shine for God's glory!

"If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!" -Matthew 7:11

Our Lord Jesus assured us that His Father can be our Father who is loving and generous One. He is willing to bless us with every good gift from above.

And it is very comforting to know the God who created the heaven and the earth could be the Father to all who seek Him.

Although we are experiencing many undesirable and upleasant things here on earth we can truly experience our Father in Heaven's generosity just keep asking, seeking, and knocking. Thank You Lord!

These days we are hearing many dishearten stories all over the world. People are in chaos and looking for the answer everywhere. As ambassadors of the Lord Jesus we are to bring them the answer through Jesus Christ...

In John 9:2, "He sent them to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick."

And as they followed the Lord they have witnessed the overflowing power and grace of God to those who are in need of it, they spread it from one place to another...

John 9:6, So they departed and went through the towns, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere.

Today, we are called and chosen by God to do thesame. We have His Name and Spirit in us to bring salvation, healing, and hope for these weary souls, He is for us and for those who are in need of Him.

You may have felt barrenness in your prayer life, that seems your request haven't heard, but as Hannah of the Bible poured out her heart to God and pressed in, God's heart was moved and opened her womb!, and brought forth a child who served as the voice of the Lord on earth.

There's no other God who can do the impossible possible!

A prayer of praise of a barren woman who received miracle from God, can also be your declaration about God today!

You develop strength and perseverance when faced with obstacles and weaknesses. Don’t be afraid of going through hardships because you will always be stronger at the end of the journey.

If you're feeling helpless today, cry out to God. He sees your tears. And, before even one of those tears escaped, He knew what was in your heart. Whatever makes you weep, makes God take notice. He's mindful of what scares, stresses, and saddens you—and He cares because He cares about you. So look to Him for comfort, and you will find it to God.

Psalm 147:3, “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.”

Yes, the God of the universe cares about you. He sees the pain you’re experiencing, and He cares about the condition of your heart.

Place your heart in God’s hands. Allow Him to reconstruct the brokenness and infuse joy into those damaged situations. God seeks to repair the injuries and fully restore function in every area of your life.

“Anxiety weighs down the heart, but a kind word cheers it up.”
‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭12:25‬

Words can ruin a day or give hope to a hurting heart. The Word of God is the very thing our anxiety filled, aching hearts need. It washes over us, filling us with comfort and peace. Bringing life in the midst of ruins.

Speak His word of life, it lifts up your heart and will encourage those around you. I know that when friends have shared scriptures that have touched them, it has always been an encouragement to me too. His word is powerful and a tremendous comfort to all that believe.

There is power in His mighty name. Speak it, Share it, Live it.

You are so very loved of our Lord Jesus.

In a broken world, where depression, hate, hopelessness and self condemnation is an ocean... God demonstrates His love for us, as deep as the deepest sea, wider than our eyes can see, higher than all of our greatest fears.

Let us all dive into His presence, where His peace and love abounds! ❤️🙌

God is so good that He doesn’t want evil to destroy His creation, especially human beings. Human beings are made in His image, and He loves them dearly; that is why He is calling everyone to salvation. Any person who takes advantage of this salvation and accepts Jesus Christ as their Lord and personal Savior is planted in His name. The good thing about being planted in Him is that you are shielded from evil and its effects (Prov 18:10). He teaches you in His Word how to continually live righteously and shun evil. The devil and his demons will do all that they can to tempt you and bring trouble, but they will never succeed. The Word of God in you and the name of Christ Jesus in which you have been planted will continually defeat them (Col 3:16). Therefore, keep meditating and using the Word of God, and you will enjoy continual victory.