Pastor Tim said something key last night. He said, "don't focus on what you don't have." When Jesus told his disciples to feed the crowd they exclaimed they didn’t have anything to offer that many people. Jesus assured them they had enough for God to work with. The result was an overabundance of food after every man, woman, and child was fed and well.

If you focus on what you lack the enemy can easily bring anxiety, discouragement, and defeat into your situation. Instead trust in God and watch God work through your willingness to have a yielded heart.

If you are struggling with relational issues, health problems, or another form of brokenness, I encourage you to look at what you have:

You have God!

“He will have no fear of bad news; his heart is steadfast trusting in the Lord. His heart is secure, he will have no fear; in the end he will look in triumph on his foes.” Psalm 112:7-8

“What then shall we say to [all] this? If God is for us, who [can be] against us? [Who can be our foe, if God is on our side?] He who did not withhold or spare [even] His own Son but gave Him up for us all, will He not also with Him freely and graciously give us all [other] things?” (Romans 8:31-32 Amplified)

You have His Word!

Every word of God is tried and purified; He is a shield to those who trust and take refuge in Him. Proverbs 30: 5

For the Word that God speaks is alive and full of power [making it active, operative, energizing, and effective]; it is sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating to the dividing line of the breath of life (soul) and [the immortal] spirit, and of joints and marrow [of the deepest parts of our nature], exposing and sifting and analyzing and judging the very thoughts and purposes of the heart. Hebrews 4: 12

So get rid of all uncleanness and the rampant outgrowth of wickedness, and in a humble (gentle, modest) spirit receive and welcome the Word which implanted and rooted [in your hearts] contains the power to save your souls. James 1: 21

You have previous experiences where God showed up!

Psalm 46
1 God is our refuge and strength,
always ready to help in times of trouble.
2 So we will not fear when earthquakes come
and the mountains crumble into the sea.
3 Let the oceans roar and foam.
Let the mountains tremble as the waters surge!
Interlude
4 A river brings joy to the city of our God,
the sacred home of the Most High.
5 God dwells in that city; it cannot be destroyed.
From the very break of day, God will protect it.
6 The nations are in chaos,
and their kingdoms crumble!
God’s voice thunders,
and the earth melts!
7 The Lord of Heaven’s Armies is here among us;
the God of Israel is our fortress.
Interlude
8 Come, see the glorious works of the Lord:
See how he brings destruction upon the world.
9 He causes wars to end throughout the earth.
He breaks the bow and snaps the spear;
he burns the shields with fire.
10 “Be still, and know that I am God!
I will be honored by every nation.
I will be honored throughout the world.”
11 The Lord of Heaven’s Armies is here among us;
the God of Israel is our fortress.


I’m sure there are many more things that you have and I encourage you to meditate on them! So no matter what giants you are facing today remember to focus on Jesus instead of the mountain!

One of my favorite quotes comes from Hinds Feet in High Places-
One morning during the daily Bible reading on our mission compound in Palestine, our little Arab nurse read from Daily Light a quotation from the Song of Songs, "The voice of my Beloved! Behold, he cometh leaping upon the mountains, skipping upon the hills" (Song of solomon 2:8). When asked what the verse meant, she looked up with a very happy smile of understanding and said, "It means there are no obstacles which our Savior's love cannot overcome, and that to Him, mountains of difficulty are as easy as an asphalt road."

Mark 11:22-25
22"Have faith in God," Jesus answered. 23"I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. 24Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. 25And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins."

What a blessing it is to come away from a movie being uplifted and blessed by the Lord!



Ryan and I just finished watching "Faith Like Potatoes."

It's a true story about an ordinary african farmer who was transformed by God. His wild passion for God was fertile ground for Kingdom building! Through his trust in the Lord he saw many miracles happen thus drawing more people to God's Kingdom. It is a truly inspirational story, and we recommend it as a quality piece of entertainment/ministry.

1. (Exodus 15:26 NKJV) and said, "If you diligently heed the voice of the LORD your God and do what is right in His sight, give ear to His commandments and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have brought on the Egyptians. For I am the LORD who heals you."

2. (Deuteronomy 32:39 NKJV) 'Now see that I, even I, am He, And there is no God besides Me; I kill and I make alive; I wound and I heal; Nor is there any who can deliver from My hand.

3. (2 Chronicles 7:14 NKJV) "If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

4. (Psalms 30:2 NKJV) O LORD my God, I cried out to You, And You healed me.

5. (Psalms 6:2 NKJV) Have mercy on me, O LORD, for I am weak; O LORD, heal me, for my bones are troubled.

6. (Psalms 103:1-4 NKJV) Bless the LORD, O my soul; And all that is within me, bless His holy name! {2} Bless the LORD, O my soul, And forget not all His benefits: {3} Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases, {4} Who redeems your life from destruction, Who crowns you with loving kindness and tender mercies,

7. (Psalms 107:20 NKJV) He sent His word and healed them, And delivered them from their destructions.

8. (Psalms 147:3 NKJV) He heals the brokenhearted And binds up their wounds.

9. (Proverbs 3:7-8 NKJV) Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the LORD and depart from evil. {8} It will be health to your flesh, And strength to your bones.

10. (Proverbs 4:20-22 NKJV) My son, give attention to my words; Incline your ear to my sayings. {21} Do not let them depart from your eyes; Keep them in the midst of your heart; {22} For they are life to those who find them, And health to all their flesh.

11. (Isaiah 53:5 NKJV) But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed.

12. (Isaiah 58:8 NKJV) Then your light shall break forth like the morning, Your healing shall spring forth speedily, And your righteousness shall go before you; The glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard.

13. (Isaiah 61:1 NKJV) "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;

14. (Jeremiah 3:22 NKJV) "Return, you backsliding children, And I will heal your backslidings." "Indeed we do come to You, For You are the LORD our God.

15. (Jeremiah 17:14 NKJV) Heal me, O LORD, and I shall be healed; Save me, and I shall be saved, For You are my praise.

16. (Jeremiah 30:17 NKJV) For I will restore health to you And heal you of your wounds,' says the LORD, 'Because they called you an outcast saying: "This is Zion; No one seeks her."'

17. (Jeremiah 33:6 NKJV) 'Behold, I will bring it health and healing; I will heal them and reveal to them the abundance of peace and truth.

18. (Hosea 6:1 NKJV) Come, and let us return to the LORD; For He has torn, but He will heal us; He has stricken, but He will bind us up.

19. (Hosea 14:4 NKJV) "I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely, For My anger has turned away from him.

20. (Malachi 4:2 NKJV) But to you who fear My name The Sun of Righteousness shall arise With healing in His wings; And you shall go out And grow fat like stall-fed calves.

21. (Matthew 4:23 NKJV) And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people.

22. (Matthew 8:13 NKJV) Then Jesus said to the centurion, "Go your way; and as you have believed, so let it be done for you." And his servant was healed that same hour.

23. (Matthew 8:16 NKJV) When evening had come, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed. And He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick,

24. (Matthew 9:35 NKJV) Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.

25. (Matthew 10:1 NKJV) And when He had called His twelve disciples to Him, He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease.

26. (Matthew 10:8 NKJV) "Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.

27. (Matthew 12:22 NKJV) Then one was brought to Him who was demon-possessed, blind and mute; and He healed him, so that the blind and mute man both spoke and saw.

28. (Matthew 14:14 NKJV) And when Jesus went out He saw a great multitude; and He was moved with compassion for them, and healed their sick.

29. (Luke 6:19 NKJV) And the whole multitude sought to touch Him, for power went out from Him and healed them all.

30. (Luke 9:6 NKJV) So they departed and went through the towns, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere.(The twelve are sent out)

31. (Luke 10:8-9 NKJV) "Whatever city you enter, and they receive you, eat such things as are set before you. {9} "And heal the sick there, and say to them, 'The kingdom of God has come near to you.'(The seventy are sent out)

32. (Luke 17:15 NKJV) And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned, and with a loud voice glorified God,(The story of the ten lepers)

33. (Acts 3:12 NKJV) So when Peter saw it, he responded to the people: "Men of Israel, why do you marvel at this? Or why look so intently at us, as though by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk?

34. (Healing of the lame man at the Gate Beautiful) (Acts 4:29-31 NKJV) "Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word, {30} "by stretching out Your hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of Your holy Servant Jesus." {31} And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.

35. (1 Corinthians 12:9 NKJV) to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit,

36. (James 5:14-16 NKJV) Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. {15} And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. {16} Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.

37. (Luke 8:47 NKJV) Now when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling; and falling down before Him, she declared to Him in the presence of all the people the reason she had touched Him and how she was healed immediately.

38. (Luke 8:48 NKJV) And He said to her, "Daughter, be of good cheer; your faith has made you well. Go in peace."

39. (Luke 5:17 NKJV) Now it happened on a certain day, as He was teaching, that there were Pharisees and teachers of the law sitting by, who had come out of every town of Galilee, Judea, and Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was present to heal them.

The Lord's healing power becomes more evident as our faith grows, persistence develops, and our understanding of His character deepens. The Lord gave many people around the world, including myself, compassion for this 11 year old boy named Robbie, who was infected with a viral disease back in December. My act of obedience was to fast and pray for him one day a week until I saw progress with his ability to speak and walk again. Well, Robbie is speaking and here is a video of him taking his first steps. God is good!
http://web.me.com/yakshack/Site/First_St...

Be prepared to see blessings as you make efforts to put Christ first in your life. We have seen the Lord work mightily as our wedding day quickly approaches. Within the planning period, the printing of our invitations were a third of the price we had thought, we were given a gift certificate to the Royal Park Hotel, Camie's wedding dress was conveniently affordable, and we were given our honeymoon trip as a gift.

CamieLee had a conviction to give up coffee a few months ago, so she decided to act in obedience. She had a fear of bad headaches coming over her because she had experienced them in the past due to lack of caffeine. This time she gave it to the Lord, and she has been headache free for 3 days.

Only the love of Christ is so deep that it has the ability to draw you out of times of complete despair. I witnessed, at a funeral, this past weekend a family who has now lost a father and a daughter to a horrible disease in the past few years. We don't always understand the "whys" in life, but I am beginning to understand that only our Creator has the supernatural power to comfort us during these times. It was a blessing to witness the miracle of "holding tightly to one's faith" as the earthly ground shook beneath this family's feet. Thank you for showing me how to praise the Lord amidst the storms in life!