From the desk of Steve Shultz:
If you need your HOPE built up and increased, this word is for YOU! Victoria Boyson is a talented, prolific writer...and truly writes from her heart. She wrote this years ago and just resent it... it's a great reminder for us today.
Here's an exhortation from her: The world says, "Don't get your hopes up!" Well, that stinks and you know it! God is all about HOPE and FAITH, and if we don't get our hopes up, we cannot please Him, and I do so want to please Him and I know you do too. "Hope deferred make the heart sick" (Proverbs 13:12). That is why we must encourage one another with words of faith and HOPE!!!
Now, get your hopes up for the things of God, and read this word by Victoria Boyson...enjoy!
Steve
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Victoria Boyson:
Hope Builders - You are the Target of God's Love
Our world is a world at war and hungry for hope. It's starving for good news and the hope we have in Jesus Christ and of the love of God and that friendship with Him is available to them.
As His children, we must return our focus to becoming hope builders and turn again to the simple truths of His faith, hope and love, and releasing the power of God into the lives of others. As hope builders, we are the answer to the hopeless, sharing with them that, truly, all things are possible through God.
Hope builders live their lives to build the hope of others, fighting against doubt, fear and unbelief with all their might. Faith in God breaks through the cage of reason and believes for the impossible to be possible.
God is building us into great men and women of faith – a strong tower that others can run into and find safety, strength and compassion. The enemy's job or assignment is to throw absolutely anything at us – any lie or deception that would destroy, diminish or extinguish our faith in God. Satan is terrified of faith. He knows, even better than we do, what great power is in our faith.
The truth is: faith + favor = fulfillment!!!
Knowing that we have favor with God leads to our faith in Him which explodes into our seeing God pour His blessings into our lives and the fulfillment of more than we could ever dream. This is a powerful truth, one on which our whole life and happiness is built.
What Will We Believe, God or Humanity?
It seems to me that God has a much better view from where He is sitting than the person who thinks they know all about everything here on earth. The faithless or naturally minded man sees us from a flat, one dimensional view, but God sees our heart and judges us accordingly.
If God loves us and thinks we can do the impossible, what does it matter what anyone else thinks. He knows our heart, our past and our future. People in the natural are filled with their own wisdom and are bound by the spirit of this world. Without faith the very best they can give us is their own opinion, but if it does not line up with what God says about us, then it is a lie.
IF we are truly going to be like Christ we must, indeed, have faith above all else. But the reason Jesus had faith in God was because He was more than a God to Him, He was His Daddy – His very loving, personal Daddy – and He knew that He loved Him and He knew that He could count on Him to bless Him and back Him up. He knew that if His Father was going to bless anyone, it would be Him, His most loved and favored Son.
Yes, Jesus suffered and died, but that was not the end for Him. He suffered for a little while and He was able to do it because He knew the purpose of His suffering, and His love for His Father and for us carried Him through it. Now He does not suffer, for He reigns over all and there is nothing His Father wouldn't give Him. Gone are the days of His shame and torment. Now He walks in power! Now He lives as a conqueror and He has given us His victory and power to be more than conquerors – to rule and reign with Him – to call those things that be not as thought they were! (Romans 4:17)
That is where you and I come in! We must continually build our faith and trust in God and not listen to the lies of satan's "wisdom". God is real and He loves us more than anyone else. If He is going to bless someone, why not us? We are His kids and He loves us so much. He is waiting for us just to ask Him for something; to believe Him for anything or for any soul; to bless us!
The world says, "Don't get your hopes up!" Well, that stinks and you know it! God is all about HOPE and FAITH, and if we don't get our hopes up, we cannot please Him, and I do so want to please Him and I know you do too. "Hope deferred make the heart sick" (Proverbs 13:12). That is why we must encourage one another with words of faith and HOPE!!!
Many times when others have shared "words of encouragement" with me, it has actually discouraged me. Of course they did not mean to discourage me, but their belief of what God will do for me and what I can accomplish through Christ are based on their level of faith. But, I believe that "I can do ALL things through Christ" (Philippians 4:13). That means ALL THINGS!!!
Who Do You Believe You Are?
Simply, you can believe what the Word of God says you can do and be: that you will go into all the world and preach the Gospel and set the captives free (see Matthew 28:19 and Isaiah 61:1). You are the light of the world and the salt of the earth (see Matthew 5:13-14). You are special to God and He has an amazing purpose and plan for your life (see Jeremiah 29:11). Believing His truth gives you strength of purpose. Indeed, God has incredible plans for your life, if you will believe what His Word says about you.
Don't you love it when people tell you you can't do something? It's not fun to hear their low opinion of your ability, but take their discouraging words and use the words as a challenge – something to fight against – a target to aim at. If they say you can't do something God has called you to, then be stubborn enough to do it.
I have seen God do amazing things in my life. He has blessed me with many seemingly impossible blessings. The Word of God says we must fix our mind on the victories He's given us! If we focus on our past shame, we will continue to carry it into our future which will destroy our faith and destiny.
The enemy fights against our attempts to believe God with shock-waves of disappointment that look like the opposite of what we have asked for. If we believe satan, we will lose heart and believe the lie that we would be better off not to get our hopes up. But that is were the patience of faith works great miracles. Let the enemy scream out your destruction, because faith is patient and powerful.
Cling to the love you have found in your Daddy who you know wants to bless you. Choose to hold on to God and let the fires of doubt and fear pass over you. And in the end, your faith will become stronger if you do not give up!
So basically, friends, we are clinging to the love of God. Those He loves, He favors and that is YOU! He favors you because you have touched His heart. You give Him great joy!
Victoria Boyson
Speaking Life Ministries
Email: victoria@boyson.org
Website: victoriaboyson.com
Victoria Boyson met Jesus at the age of seven. At thirteen, she started ministering using music as a platform to tell others about Jesus. She and her husband, Steve, ministered as pastors in the mid-west, but in 1999, the Lord told them to move to work for Francis Frangipane, who was extremely influential in their development as Christians and as ministers.
Victoria is a powerful prophetic voice to this generation and co-founder of Speaking Life Ministries. Based out of the Houston, Texas area, she is called to awaken and prepare the Bride of Christ for the end-time harvest and compel His Church to embrace a passionate relationship with their Heavenly Father. She is the author of The Birth of Your Destiny and His Passionate Pursuit.
