Luke 4: 16-22

And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read. 

And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written,

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, 

 To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. 

 And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him. 

 And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears. 

 And all bare him witness, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth. And they said, Is not this Joseph’s son?

Have you ever went back to the place where you were brought up after you had left and started a new life?

It’s not always easy to confront or face our past or what it represented. The past has passed, whether good or bad it is over. Whatever remains from our yesterdays is only what we’ve cultivated and/or nursed in our today. Whatever you feed will breed and multiply into a greater supply than you and I can sometimes handle.

Breed defined:

• To produce (offspring) by hatching or gestation.

The offspring’s from our past can either promote failure or success. They can be the root of  either positive or negative thinking. They can be the reason for a strong vibrant happy marriage or a failing marriage. Influences from your up-bringing whether directly from the house and people you lived with or from the influences in your neighborhood, school and/or extended family, they all play a strategic part in the attitudes, mindsets and behaviors we exhibit today. Things produce after their own kind, this is a law that we read in the book of Genesis that God established from the beginning of time. Apples produce apples, fish produce fish, flowers produce flowers, evil produces evil and good produces good. In Matthew 7:18, Jesus spoke and said, “A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.”

The truth of the matter is whatever was planted in us in the place where we were brought up has  had a major impact and influence in our lives.

In the account written in Luke chapter 4, we see Jesus going back to the place where he was brought up. There Jesus had to face possibly some of His worst critics, seen and unseen. These were the people who felt like they knew Him better than anybody else because of their association with His past.

The place where we were brought up is the place where we took our first steps, the place where we attended our first school, the place where we experience our first crush and/or friendship (relationships), the place where we worked our first job, the place where we were most known by others. The place where we learned to manipulate, steal, lie and betray. The place where we learned to say please and thank you, I’m sorry and God bless you.  For these reasons along with many others this is why the place where you were brought up can be your greatest roadblock on the highway to your Divine Destiny or your greatest tool for future success. It can produce and/or breed many detours and distractions that are designed to shipwreck your course and cause divorce and separation from God’s perfect will for your life or produce tremendous favor and promotion to come your way.

Jesus knew when He went to the place where He was brought up that he would be confronted with rejection and persecution from those who claimed to know Him most however this did not stop Him. Jesus faced the tradition, culture and influences of His past and overcame the temptation to just settle and cave in to things familiar. He chose not to conform to this world but rather to stay in-line with the Father’s Kingdom principles and live victoriously. He knew that the poisonous arrow of rejection was being directed towards His heart to try to initiate spiritual palpitations. Naturally speaking a palpitation is an abnormal condition of the heart, in which the heart begins to beat extremely fast. This sudden onset of rapid beating of the heart can generally cause a great deal of anxiety and panic from the person experiencing the attack. However, Jesus resisted the attack and stood victorious in the presence of His enemies. If you are facing a situation in life that causes you to panic or be extremely anxious know that it was not sent to you by God Almighty. You can resist the attack of the enemy and stand strong just like Jesus did. God tells us in His Word, “Do not fret or have any anxiety about anything, but in every circumstance and in everything, by prayer and petition (definite requests), with thanksgiving, continue to make your wants known to God. And God’s peace [shall be yours, that tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ, and so fearing nothing from God and being content with its earthly lot of whatever sort that is, that peace] which transcends all understanding shall garrison and mount guard over your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7 AMP)

Rejections painful sting was sent to bring Jesus to a place of compromise and defeat. However the scripture records that when Jesus faced this stressful situation He did something that always brought Him victory when confronted with opposition – “And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written…”

This is God’s answer to us when we are facing seemingly impossible situations and/or crises in our lives. We need to open the Book (the Bible) and find out what God has written. When those familiar patterns of negative thinking and destructive behavior from your past life-style prior to knowing Christ resurface in your mind you need to… Open the Book and find where it is written, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” (2 Corinthians 5:17).

When those seemingly harmless old habits and vices that produced death and defeat in your past come and try to get you to yield, you need to … open the Book and find out where it is written, “Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.” (Romans 8:37)

Don’t let the familiarity of where you were brought up cause you to stumble and miss where you are going in God. God’s written Word is one of the strongest defenses against our enemy, it has been proven time and time again to be undefeatable.

Continue to study and meditate on God’s Word on a regular bases, find out what He has written about you and use His Word to stand victorious in every battle!

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John 16:23-24

And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you. Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.

Prayer is simply communicating with God. It is having living contact with our Maker. Communication is a form of contact and interaction. Contact is an element of intimacy. Words similar to intimacy are: familiarity, nearness, relationship and inseparability. Now there are different levels and facets of intimacy. We all would probably agree that words have a major part to play in intimate relationships. Words have the ability to impregnate the spirit, soul and body of man thus influencing all realms. Words are seeds that produce for good or evil. When someone’s words make contact with the soil of your heart, those words will bring forth a harvest unless they are up rooted. It is important that we be selective in who we allow to be intimate partners of communication in our lives because our heart’s has rich nutritious soil that will produce heartily what we allow to flow into it. The scriptures declare, “Keep and guard your heart with all vigilance and above all that you guard, for out of it flow the springs of life.” (Hebrews 4:23 AMP.)

Intimacy with God produces rich abundant life. Whenever we have been impregnated with words from God they will produce great things. You cannot spend quality intimate time with God and come away barren. Whatever you need, if its direction, correction, healing, deliverance, victory, battle strategies, no matter what you ask (which is prayer) according to His will He will do it (1John 5:14-15). Intimacy with God is vital for life success, without Him we can do nothing. Intimacy means contact was made because sometimes people show up but they don’t make a connection. They never seek God with their heart; they never draw near to Him from their spirit. When Jesus was on the earth many people thronged or pressed upon Him and yet they received nothing from Him even though they were near. They had no faith in God they just showed up to be a spectator.

We must purpose to press in and make contact. Now don’t misunderstand me I am not saying it is a work of the flesh or hard labor kind of press. We cannot labor in our own natural ability or strength to draw near to God. No the press is pulling away from everything that will distract you and focusing on Christ. We must seek Him with our whole heart and attention. Turn off that TV, radio, and internet and spend quality time with Him. It you are married and you want to be intimate with your spouse they would be very upset if you tried to be intimate with them and watch your favorite TV show at the same time. It just doesn’t work like that, does it? True intimacy bears fruit, producing evidence in your future that true contact was made.

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Have you ever had a pitcher of Kool-Aid sit in the fridge for a day or so, and all the sugar settles to the bottom of the pitcher? The sugar never left the container, but it was not an active part of the solution. It was there and it was available, but not particularly in use. This goes to prove that sometimes, things have to be stirred to reactivate their flavor.

Romans 5:3 

And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. 

The love of God is indeed in every Christian’s heart, but is it an active ingredient in every situation of our daily lives? Can others taste the sweet flavor of love in our speech or in our response in various circumstances? Or do they get a bland sip, similar to unsweetened Kool-Aide?

When love has lain dormant for awhile, we have to get out our big wooden spiritual spoon and stir it up again. Love will never leave us nor forsake us, but our lives must be thoroughly permeated with this love. Let us stir up the love of God today and everyday by speaking to ourselves of love, reminding ourselves of scriptures on love, and saying them out loud. Let us stir ourselves up on the plans and purposes of Love. Love must become so thoroughly mixed in our lives that we overflow everywhere, wetting the atmosphere with love that affects anyone present far or near. We are born of love, therefore we overcome the world. Come on now, stir it up! The world and those around you need a sweet taste of freedom and victory!

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1Corinthians 2:9-10 

But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by His Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.

Prepare defined :

made at an earlier time for later use : made ready in advance. : ready for something : in a suitable condition for some purpose or activity. 

Do you love God? If your answer is yes, I have good news for you. God has things He has prepared just for you. And God has already told you about them. Your spirit already has insight and divine knowledge of your destiny. And the way He has revealed them to us is by His Spirit, the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit reveals to us things God has prepared for us. Notice the scripture says the things which God hath prepared, meaning it already has been done. He also said God hath revealed them unto us, meaning He has already uncovered them to our spirit. The word reveal means; to disclose something that was unknown or secret. Listen, God is not withholding or hiding His purpose for your life from you. Your future in Christ is not a secret. Unclutter your mind and free it from anxieties and fear through the refreshing rain poured out in your daily communion in God’s Word, and you will soon rediscover a greater flow of what you already know flooding back into your soul, reigniting a zeal and passion for your God given purpose. So away with the thought, “I don’t know” and get ready to go and do, follow through, with what the Hoy Spirit has revealed to you.

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Suggestion defined: an idea or proposal put forward for consideration

Does God have a suggetstion box in heaven?

You know one of those little boxes with the slit at the top that you can slip a small piece of paper into, that has all of your opinions and suggestions on it. The kind of suggestions and opinions that surely you think God needs to successfully  run your life and the universe. Wow, how vain can a person get as to think that God, the creator of Heaven and Earth, would need a suggestion or opinion of the thing which He so wonderfully created. God created everything, seen and unseen, without the imput of anybody. God is God and He is God all by Himself. He needs nothing and no one to exist. Why would He need or even want our suggestions? Every thought or idea that we could have that is good is of God. Without Him we can do nothing. So the next time you want to give God your suggestions and opinions, think again and then ask Him to reveal to you His perfect plan.

Isaiah 55:8-9

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

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