Force of vision

This past week, my mom shared on Cindy Dennis Ministries a word of encouragement on breaking free. It touched my heart to hear how she faithfully gets up each and every morning (see Psalm 63:1), to pray, study His Word, and seek His face. The force of her vision to experience breakthrough is what propels her to not give up. She believes without a doubt that God is her waymaker, miracle worker and promise keeper. Her faith fills her with hope that with God all things are possible and she is at the right age, time, and place for Him to move on her behalf. And He will direct her steps and bring her closer to His divine destiny for her life. (See Proverbs 20:24)

My mom has had her share of challenges with a husband in home hospice and being quarantined indoors. When you look at her circumstances from outward appearances, her future does not look all that promising but my mom is not deterred. She is planning to live the life of her dreams. She has chosen not to blame her circumstances, or make excuses. She is pressing on in faith knowing she can do all things through Christ who is empowering her to fulfill her purpose. She is ready for anything through Jesus who infuses her with inner strength and confident peace. She is self-sufficient in Christ's sufficiency! (See Philippians 4:13). 

The Bible tells us that God shows no favoritism. (See Romans 2:11). He has plans to prosper you. Plans to give you a future filled with hope. (See Jeremiah 29:11). He has seeded these plans in each of our hearts and He is wanting us to take responsibility for cultivating and stewarting them. 

Within your heart you can make plans for your future, but the Lord chooses the steps you take to get there.--Proverbs 16:9 TPT

It might mean taking charge of our life here and now by writing out our vision and putting into words the dreams of our heart. It might mean getting up early at the start of our day to draw near to Him to receive divine guidance and counsel on what next steps to take. And when we are bothered by troubles, we can be confident that we are never defeated. We just need to get back up and continue pressing onward. (See Proverbs 24:17)

I challenge you to declare to the Lord today, "Open my eyes of my heart. Open my ears to hear. May everything You have promised come true. I am willing to be used. I am willing to obey." (See Luke 1:38) 

Let your vision become the force to take you to destiny that God has for you.

Where there is no vision, the people perish...--Proverbs 29:18 BRG

Blessings,

Cindy

What if Jesus came over to your house?

We’ve all had company come over to the house. We get out the best silverware and the best throw pillows. Think about during a holiday and how much cleanup and work goes into getting the house ready for people to come over.

How would your preparations be different if you heard that a family was coming over that were former criminals? Most likely, you wouldn’t put too much effort in your dinner.

But what would you do if Jesus was coming over to your house? Would you get out the old leftovers from last week and heat them up in the microwave for him? Of course not, you would get out your very best food and make your famous apple pie.

Every person that we invite into our lives is like inviting Jesus over to our house. No matter what position of life your visitors are, they deserve the very best.

What does the Bible have to say about this? Jesus’ words were always focused on treating people with dignity and respect. Even people that our society looks down on- Jesus would have invited them over for dinner and fellowshipped with them

Jesus tells a parable about a king that comes back to visit his kingdom. He comes to separate the wicked from the righteous. The religious leaders always thought that they were the ones in the center of God‘s favor. But Jesus was constantly chastising them for their lack of mercy and compassion toward outsiders- those on the fringes of society.

“For I was hungry and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you took care of Me; I was in prison and you visited Me.’ “Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You something to drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or without clothes and clothe You?

“And the King will answer them, ‘I assure you: Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of Mine, you did for Me.’”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭25:35-38, 40‬ ‭

You see- we can talk all the right ways, and look all the right ways- but we can miss the very heart of Jesus with our actions and thoughts. I challenge you this week to invite someone over to your house and break bread with someone that you normally wouldn’t hang out with. Get to know them as people and invite them into your life. Jesus‘s ministry was solely focused on helping the hurting and going after “the one” that was far from Him.

Reimagine Your Future

We should make plans—counting on God to direct us. –Proverbs 16:9 TLB

This past week was my annual “GG* Camp” with three of the five grandchildren who are now ranging from four to nine years of age. Over the years the camp has expanded into an innovative experience to not only teach them Bible lessons but create opportunities for them to discover who they are in Christ and to ignite a deeper relationship with the Lord. Our purpose as grandparents is to be their models, mentors and memory-makers. Our goal is to help inspire positive attitudes and values, plus spend one on one time with each of them.

This “GG Camp” concept began when I was a young mother of two. I had heard a Focus on the Family radio broadcast inspiring parents to be visionaries looking at creative and innovative ways to raise our children, and to help pass that legacy on to the someday grandchildren. So over 35 years ago the seed of inspiration to create memories with our future grandchildren was planted, and it continues to grow and expand today as I seek God for direction and insight.

You might be wondering why take time off from work and put the effort, and energy into this. For me, it is because of my own grandparents. Though they lived miles away growing up, they made the effort and took the time to model, mentor and create memories with me and my sister, Christina. They were instrumental in leading us into a personal relationship with the Lord and their words of wisdom and insight still inspire me today long after they have left this earth.

Maybe it is time to reimagine your future. Vision allows you to be able to see where your life can potentially go. When you “give God the right to direct your life, and as you trust Him along the way you’ll find He pulled it off perfectly!” (Psalm 37:5 TPT)

As you reimagine your future, don’t consider your present circumstances, instead focus on the possibilities. Proverbs 29:18 reminds us that, “Where there is no vision, you perish.” Visionaries look hopeful to their future and when you put your faith and trust in God to direct your steps and empower and equip you to do what He reveals to you to accomplish, anything is possible.

So, take time today to ask God to help you reimagine your future. Ask to be “filled with a divine spirit of wisdom, and understanding, and knowledge, to invent in every work” (Exodus 31:3 BST). Envision the unique purpose and plans He is empowering you to accomplish and don’t allow your current circumstances and perspective to muddle the possibilities that await in your future.

Blessings,

Cindy

*My grandchildren nickname