How Your

        Character

       Affects Your

         Miracles!

     Jeanne Alcott
 

   You know how it is…!  We have so many needs in our lives that we want to hear messages about how to get those needs met.  So when someone says they have a word about developing character, our tendency is to tune them out.  Yet!  Our character is the very thing that can keep us from having our challenges met.  We can miss the way God wants to take us for the answers we need therefore miss our miracles.

   Think of the times when you feel like losing it in your emotions and thoughts.  But we don’t have to give in to that.  In fact, if we don’t give in to it, and we keep our emotions and thoughts together, that’s when it’s amazing what God can do.  The results are good.  Think of it this way: if you don’t fall apart when bad things are happening, your miracle won’t fall apart.  If you keep it together, you keep your miracle together.  You keep it coming into your life.

   That’s why Satan tries so hard to get us to fall apart inside and not keep what we know is right and best.  One of those areas where he hits Christians so hard is to try to get us to the point we don’t keep our character.  In other words, the problems or temptations or challenges come to try to shake apart our spirit, our moral fiber, our spiritual nature—the very character of God in us.  The devil wants to see that weakened.

When we don’t feel like acting or talking like a saint.

   So if you’re going to keep it together to experience miracles, you have to keep your character.  God’s Word addresses our character and how we walk it out every day.  When things go wrong and they aren’t the way we want them, that’s when the character of Christ should rise to the top.  Instead of going to the bottom.  I know when bad things happen, we don’t feel like acting out of patience or peace.  We don’t feel like saying, “Praise God.”  There are other kinds of words that we’re tempted to say.  We don’t want to act or talk as a saint.

   There was a young boy who decided to watch to see if a minister would do this.  This minister was outside doing some repairs on his home.  So the boy walked over and began watching him very carefully.  Finally the minister wanted to know why he was watching him.  He asked, “Are you getting some pointers on how to repair things?”  But the boy said, “No sir.  I’m just waiting to see what a preacher says when he smashes his thumb with a hammer.”

   People are watching, aren’t they?  Will we as a Christian keep our character even when we “smash our finger with a hammer” so to speak?  When the bad things happen?  When we’re upset or concerned or worried?  When we feel as if our finger has been smashed with a hammer will our character come out the way we desire?  Or will we say things and do things that we really don’t want to be in our character.

Keep your character; win a tremendous victory.

   When we’ve been hurt, or the pressure is, or we want out of the conditions we’re facing, will good character rise to the top?  You know, when we keep our character, we are winning a tremendous victory.  Even if it’s in minor circumstances.  Because when we do it in those minor times, those come together in a major way to create who we are in Christ.

   Here’s something good to do.

   Just for today for instance, observe your actions and your words.  Does what you see and hear reflect the character that you want to reflect?  Are you being everything that you really desire to be for God?  Watching yourself for a day can really help you catch what you’re doing.  Then you can align some attitudes or motives that may not be what you want in your character.

   You know, you sort of have to “catch yourself.”  People say, “I caught myself doing that and I didn’t even realize it.”  That happens!  Years ago, when I was teaching on the fruit of the Spirit, this happened to me.  I had just taught on the fruit of love.  That scripture talks about how love is patient.  Well, about the same time I had been teaching the series, John and I were in the ministry office working under some tight time limits.  Which for the most part that’s how it is.  We have to meet the dates when the broadcast goes out to the networks, the videos are posted, the mailings are printed, the letters are written to the Partners, we pray, we intercede, and then all the other general office work that piles up.  So I was “feeling it” that day.  As we were working, I realized my voice was getting impatient and hurried.  Not pleasant.

   Then I noticed that—which that’s what I’m suggesting you do—start noticing what you’re doing and saying.  So when I noticed that, I just stopped everything right there.  I remembered my teaching and stopped and said, “Love is patient.”  Then John and I just busted out laughing.  From that moment on, in spite of the hard conditions, I began to change my tone of voice.  I was calm and confident.  In other words, I was working to keep my character the way it should be and do what would please God at that moment.

   Now the fact that I changed myself inside didn’t change the reality that what we were doing still had to be done right away.  But you know what it did?  It changed the atmosphere in the office.  So we could be at peace and think well and work even faster.

   I tell you, God blesses that.  When we keep our character, He blesses it.  So we are rewarded.  We can get our work done faster.  Or we can see our family be at more peace.  We can see our coworkers have greater favor on us.  We make better judgments in our relationships and in our finances and our choices.  So many good things start coming when we keep our character.

Don’t let your character be eaten away.

   If we allow Satan to eat away our character bit by bit, one day we wake up and realize it isn’t what we want it to be.  Isn’t that what happened to the man, Samson?  One day he woke up, and conditions had changed around him.  Samson had been going to Delilah’s place, having the wrong type of relationship with her.  That’s when Satan entered in and began eating away at his character.  He knew Samson was doing a great work for God in judging the Israelites.

   So he wanted to put a stop to it.  He didn’t care about Samson; he just cared about stopping God’s work.  That’s why he comes after us.  He doesn’t want us to show people how good our God is and how we can trust Him.  And he doesn’t want us to experience blessings and rewards.

   He knew he had to get Samson to reveal the secret of his great strength to Delilah.  If he did that, he could strip him of his strength and everything God could do by him and for him.  So one day Samson didn’t keep it together.  He gave his secret to this woman and she gave it to the enemy.  All she had to do was cut his hair, which was a symbol of his strength from God to defeat the enemy of the Israelites.

   That day after he woke up from a nap at her place, his hair had been cut and the enemy rushed in to overcome him.  As we said, if we allow Satan to eat away at our character, one day we wake up and he’s overcome us.  So the enemy took Samson as their captive.  (Ref. Judges 13-16.)  The good news is his character began to rise to the top again.  Hebrews chapter 11 mentions him as a man of faith.  He was able to avenge himself and the nation of Israel before he died.  He defeated the enemy.  God is merciful and He is good, and that’s why He works with us to help us keep it together and enter into what He has for us.

   No matter how Satan comes in and tries to take your character, God will override him when you reach out for help.  Don’t try to do it on your own.  Recognize that God is your strength.  Reach out for HIM.  He is the One that can help you pull life together when Satan is trying to pull it apart.

   Ephesians 4:24 tells us to have a life renewed from the inside and working itself into your conduct as God accurately reproduces His character in you.  So there is the secret right there.  Character has to start on the inside.  We have to be renewed by God’s Spirit and His Word.  Then that starts working on the inside of us and works itself into our conduct, how we act.  That’s when God can reproduce His character in us.  We keep our life together by allowing God’s Spirit to work inside us and develop our character.

It isn’t any big mystery.

   We just call out to Him and say, “Lord, help me today.  I’m facing some tough challenges.  Some temptations are coming my way.  Work inside me now.  Produce Your character in me.  And help me keep that character so I can keep my life together.  I want Your blessing today.”  Do you think God will ignore that kind of prayer?  No, His Spirit will be jumping up and down because you prayed that.  He will send every resource you need to help you.

   So when things are going wrong, God will make them right.  He’ll work in you so His character comes out of you.  It will rise to the top.  That’s when you can keep your character and therefore keep your life together in a good way.

 

A PRAYER FOR YOU.

    Thank You, God, that You sent Your Son to us, not to condemn us, but to help us.  To save us.  As Your children, it’s Your desire to develop Your character in us.  That’s our desire also, Lord.  We want to see come out of us everything that reflects who You are in us.

    But sometimes it’s tough.  The pressure is on.  Bad events are happening.  People come against us to harm us.  That’s when fear and anger and sadness try to rise up in us.

     So today in whatever way my friend is affected, I pray that You minister to them at this moment.  Give them confidence that their spirit has been made by You.  And they are filled with everything good they need to make it.

    Yes, they will come out of this even better than they were.  The devil will not be able to shake out of them what You’ve put in them.  So Your gift of peace, Your gift of blessing and mercy and goodness—those gifts are being poured into them at this time.  They will be able to operate in those.  My friend is going to walk straight into what their heart desires.  By Your help, everything good will come together.  We praise You for this.  In the name of Jesus.  Amen.

 

Tell us how we can intercede for you!

    I pray you can feel God’s heart being poured out to you at this moment.  He knows about everything that has come to pull you apart inside, and He’s putting it all back together.  His gifts will enable you to walk in His goodness.

 

     Now, we’re going to continue to fight against what Satan is sending to harm you or just to bother you.  We’ll get rid of those because we’re keeping our character.  Our character of trust and faith.  That’s why John and I are here.  We’re called by God to pray for you.  So get in touch with us right away.

      Tell us how we can intercede for you.  Then expect to receive a letter from us.  That’s because God gives us revelation from His Spirit to impart to you.  So we can wait to hear from you.  Just click here now to share with us and it will come directly to us.  Jeanne and John           

 

SPECIAL NOTE: How to produce a harvest!

     Now, God wants you to know that as you put seed in the ground of His Word, He will rain on that seed and cause it to grow.  Isaiah chapter 30 says this: He will send rain for the seed you sow in the ground and the food that comes from the harvest will be rich and plentiful.  (Ref. Isaiah 30:23 NIV.)  That’s His promise.

      When you put financial seed in the ground of God’s work, it doesn’t just stay there dormant.  He rains on it with His power and blessing.  And that produces a harvest that’s rich and plentiful.  There’s more than enough for everyone.  That means the people who receive His Word from this ministry are helped and restored and taken out of rough hard conditions.  God is able to defeat the enemy out of their lives.

     Then He keeps raining on that seed so you also receive the rich and plentiful response from Him.  As you give now, as John and I are doing, believe for the rain to fall.  Expect there to be a rich response from God and experience plenty in every area of your life.  Amen.

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All scriptures are taken from the Amplified Bible, Classic Edition unless otherwise indicated.

 

 

 

           
        God Knows

        When Time

        Is Running

             Out!

     Jeanne Alcott
 

 

    Have you ever asked yourself when you’re facing an unknown outcome, “Where does this end?”  You wonder what the ending will be.  Where’s it going?  How will it end up?  As a human we can’t always see that.  In fact, it seems most of the time, we don’t know the answer to those questions.  Thank goodness we serve a God who DOES.

    He tells us in His Word in Isaiah 46 that He knows the end from the beginning.  He knows the result or the outcome from the very beginning of when anything started.  So when He speaks a word to you, He is speaking from a position of knowledge and authority.

    That’s why in Isaiah 46 He says, For I am God—I only—and there is no other like Me who can tell you what is going to happen.  All I say will come to pass, for I do whatever I wish.  (Ref. Isaiah 46:9, 10 TLB.)  No one else, not another person or being can tell you what’s going to happen as God can.  He knows the end from the beginning.

    Before anything ever gets started, He already knows where it’s going and where it will end.  Because of that you can trust Him when He gives you direction of the way to take.  You can trust Him in His guidance of you each day.  You can trust His Word and what He’s doing in your life.

    So when you are wondering where something is going to end, know that God knows.  And because He knows, He is the safest One to whom you can go.  You can rely on Him when you need something to happen.  God knows when time is running out.

    When you need to have direction or help or something to change, and there isn’t much time remaining.  You’re not sure where this is going to end.  But you can rest assured because you know that God knows what to do when time is running out and He knows how this is going to end.  Rest assured He will make something happen before it’s too late.  You don’t have to wring your hands or walk the floor or stay awake at night thinking about it.  Hey!  God knows where this is going to end and you can trust Him to help you even when it seems you’re in the final moments of needing a miracle.

 

Don’t have to sweat it.

    I think of a couple who are Partners with us and they had requested that we pray for her brother.  He was facing the inability to make his house payment and so he had gotten behind on it.  Now he was running out of time.  He wasn’t sure where this was going to end.  Would he lose his home and everything he held dear or what?

    So we prayed and interceded because we knew when time is running out God knows it.  And He will intervene.  So I just received a note from them that says, “We have some praise reports.  God was right on time to help my brother with paying his house payment, which was several months behind.”  The funds came in before time ran out, he was able to make the house payment!   Then they went on to say that also since we had been praying for their finances, they have increased!

    We don’t have to sweat it.  We don’t have to sweat not knowing the ending.  That man was behind on his house payment and he couldn’t see where it would all end.  His sister and her husband couldn’t see how their finances could increase.  But God knew!  And He knew time was running out.  So as prayer and intercession went up to Him, He didn’t say, “Yeah, I know where this is going.  I know how bad it can get.  Wish I could help you.”

    We need to see God the way He is, not the way Satan tries to make Him out to be.  Satan would have us think that God is unknowing, and even if He did know what was going on He doesn’t have time for us, and He just doesn’t do those things.  Just doesn’t do those things!  I don’t think so.  God’s Word says something different.

    He does tremendous and wonderful and amazing miracles for us.  He takes care of us and watches over us.  We have a special place in His heart and He wants to have a special place in our heart.  He wants a one-on-one relationship where we realize He knows absolutely everything about us, and He knows where every circumstance and desire will end.

    So when it seems time is running out in order to see something happen, God knows it.  And we can go to Him and get a positive response.  We can get some action!

 

Will God do something about it?

    This is what the man in the Bible David found out when he was running out of time.  Would God see his dilemma?  Would He know what was happening?  And would He do something about it?  Same questions we have today.  Does God see what I’m facing?  Will He know what’s happening to me?  Most important, will He do something about it?

    This would be put to the test when David was facing a difficult place.  He was just minding his business trying to fulfill God’s will for him when he came under attack.  We’ve all been there.  In fact, there isn’t anything Satan hates worse than to see us fulfilling God’s will.  That’s when he comes to disrupt it.

    For David, God’s will was for him to become the next king of Israel.  But the current King, Saul, was against him and so he saw just one way to stop this from happening.  He would take him out.  Destroy David and make sure he couldn’t ever assume the position.

    But when you are meant to assume a position, Satan cannot take you out.  I’m talking about any kind of position.  Just as that man was in his home and Satan tried to take him out of it because he couldn’t make the payment.  Maybe he has tried to take you out of the position of health or in your job, a place you know you’re supposed to be, take you out of the position of a good marriage or good family life, take you out of a position of success in what you’re endeavoring.  And he puts you up against a hard place so it appears time is running out and you must give up God’s will for you.

    He did a great job of this with David.  It happened when David and the men who were following him, knowing he would be king one day, were in desert hideouts and in the hills.  Day after day, Saul was searching for him.  But here’s an interesting part of that scripture.  It says even though Saul was doing that, God never turned David over to him.  (Ref. I Samuel 23:14 TLB.)   God did not give him into his hands.

    My friend, God will never turn you over to the plans of the enemy.  He won’t give you into the hands of that what the devil is trying.  Because he knows where Satan is going with his plans, he puts a stop to them.

    That’s what He did for David.  Some townspeople, who had seen David, reported to Saul where he was hiding.  They went so far as to promise the king that they would hand him over to him if he came down there to get him.  But David heard that Saul was on his way.  You see, Satan may have his spies, but God knows more than his spies know.  He knows where everything is going and what we must do to avoid a bad outcome.

 

God moves in and makes the enemy move out.

    So when David heard that Saul was on his way, he and his men went further into the wilderness of the desert.  There, they found a mountain and he hid on one side of it.  But Saul and his men got nearer and nearer.  They got to the point that they were just on the opposite side of the mountain.  They became aggressive and started to move in on David and his group.  That’s when you feel time is running out.  And in the natural it is.

    The bad report says you don’t have much time.  The job says you don’t have much more time to work there.  The bank, the company, something or someone says you’re running out of time.  The marriage advisor, the attorney, the doctor.  But when you’re given that news, that isn’t the first time God heard it.  He knows when time is running out.  He knows the end from the beginning.  So trust it into His hands.

    When Saul began to move in on David, he tried his best to escape but it seemed there wasn’t any way out.  Oh that horrible feeling.  When it doesn’t seem there is any way out.  Time is running out and you have nowhere to go.  Now you know how David felt.  But just before the hands of Satan could shut in on David and God’s purpose for him, God moved in.

    You see, when the devil moves in, God moves in.  Oh hallelujah!  He knows his every move.  He knows when the time has run down and Satan is moving in for the final capture of something in your life.  And that’s when He moves in and makes the devil move out.

    So what was God going to make happen?  How could He get David and his men out of such a tight spot.  How can He get YOU out of that tight spot.  I mean it’s tight.  Meaning there isn’t much more time, there isn’t any other avenue that you can see to take, you don’t have the resources or the help or support.  Or maybe you just don’t have the energy or hope anymore.  You’re in a tight spot.  So what will God do?

    He’ll do the same thing for you He did for David.  The Philistines who were the enemies of Israel began to raid their towns.  If Saul and his troops stayed there to get David, they would forfeit much of his kingdom to the enemy.  So they had to GO!  Oh, it feels so good when the devil has to go!  When he has to relinquish his hands from interfering in your life.  He has to beat a track out of there because God has moved in.  You see, the devil makes it seem as if time is running out on you, but in reality, time is running out on him.  God is stepping in to make sure he can go no more.

    So Saul had to beat a track out of there and return to fight the Philistines.  He quit the chase.  You see when God moves in and does His work, Satan has to quit the chase.  He has to stop going after that thing in your life.  And that’s when you’re good to go.  Time did not run out.  God made sure the ending was good.

    Because He did this for David, he named that place where they were, “The Rock of Escape.”  Another version of the Bible updates the name to what we would call it today.  It’s called, “Narrow Escape.”  (Ref. I Samuel 23:29 MSG.)

    You may feel you’re up against something tough.  But God knows the time.  Even if it appears to be a narrow escape, you WILL make it.  Go to the One who knows the end from the beginning and rely on Him.  Rely on Him to step in and move in.  Don’t you like the sound of that!  God is stepping in and moving in to take care of you.

    God can make sure the ending is good!

 

A PRAYER FOR YOU.

   Oh God, how great You are.  You know everything about my friend and what they’re facing right now.  You know about the tight spot they’re in.  So right now, this very moment, we’re coming to You with trust in our hearts.  We know You will not allow time to run out.  You will show them the good You have planned.

    For truly the enemy has an ending planned that is bad.  But he will not get the right to fulfill it.  YOUR will will be fulfilled.  They’re going to see a good ending.  Thank You, God, they have a good ending coming.  You are moving in and moving out the efforts of the enemy.

     In fact, You’re showing me that You’re moving in miracle goodness.  Mercy and grace.  Such spiritual energy is going into their conditions at this moment, it’s amazing.  They will see the AMAZING done.  Much will be accomplished for them because the enemy will have to turn and go.  He’ll have to beat a track out of their life.  He can do no more.  Instead of time running out on them, time has run out on the devil.  No more.  So we thank You for the great victory they’re seeing in the end.  In the name of Jesus.  Amen.

 

Peace and trust in your heart!

     God spoke such powerful and good words to you in that prayer.  So allow them to give you peace and trust in your heart.  He’s also called us here to continue praying over you and be in agreement against what the enemy is doing.

     So it’s important right away that you contact us.  Tell us what you’re facing.  We will believe for God to show you the good ending by His power.  We’re also going to write to you and share words from His Spirit to help you.  So get in touch soon by clicking here and what you share will come directly to us.  Jeanne and John           

 

SPECIAL NOTE: Get the blessings started!

      One of the most important ways we can follow God is in our giving.  God is a giving God, and He wants us to be His giving people.  Ones who will take the funds that He has put in our lives and give a portion to Him.

      Why is this so important to Him?  Because He knows two big results that will come because of our giving.  First, we will cause His work to be done in the lives of people by our gifts.  We make a big impact on the spiritual realm when we give.

     Second, He desires us to give because He wants to give back to us.  So His Word is filled with promises of all the great blessings and help we’ll receive when we give to Him.  We encourage you to follow His ways today and join John and me as we give into Alcott Ministries. Then we’ll send you a letter that will talk about all that God has for your life and what’s happening in the ministry.  So let us hear from you.  Get these blessing from God started!  (Ref. I Corinthians 9.)

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All scriptures are taken from the Amplified Bible, Classic Edition unless otherwise indicated.

 

 

 

           
        Celebrate

         What Is

        Coming!

     Jeanne Alcott

 

     It’s time to celebrate.  You may feel that’s impossible right now.  I know it can be tough to relate to celebrating when you’re facing some circumstances.  The upcoming events or experience you’re having is not something you look forward to.  But you have to face them.  You’re dealing with what’s in your life that is not what you desire.  You may just want things to be different in your life.

     A while back, the thought of what I was facing rushed in on me.  You know how that can happen.  Dread began to fill my spirit.  At that moment, I wasn’t sure about the future, and fear was trying to take over.  But the Lord came to me in that moment and said, “You should be celebrating.”  Celebrating?  At a time like this?  But God was saying that I should be celebrating because of what was coming up.  He was going to make the difference.

Get to where the party is.

     In spite of the challenges, we can rejoice because this is not the end of the story.  The outcome can be different if we will use our faith to celebrate before the Lord.  That shows Him that we believe Him.  We’re standing on His Word even when things are not the way we want.  Maybe we don’t have the favor or the blessing or the strength we want.  So when we are told to rejoice, we want to say, “Are you kidding.”  But that’s the true mark of faith, and faith is what’s going to get us beyond what we’re facing to the place where the party is—God’s answer and goodness for us.  Who wants to be left out of the party!  Therefore we need to start celebrating now and show our faith for what is to come.

     So how do you celebrate?  When you’d rather be frustrated or fed up, you want to cry or you’re angry or depressed, what in the world is there to give you joy at a time like that?  That’s when we need to celebrate the good news coming.  When the bad news hits, just say, “I’m going to celebrate for the good news that is coming.”  Give the bad news you’ve received over to God.  Just release it to Him.  That frees up your hand to start reaching out to receive the better news that He has.  See how that works?

     You have to release the bad news that you’re experiencing.  Give it to God to deal with.  Then that will free you up to be able to reach out with your mind and heart and take hold of the good news He’s preparing for you.  Things may have started in a bad way, but believe before the story is over, you’ll experience good.

Christianity started with bad news.

     You know the spread of Christianity began with the bad news of the death of Jesus.  I mean, could you have worse news?  The disciples certainly didn’t want to celebrate.  They were having to deal with dread and fear since Jesus was crucified.  That cold dark tomb appeared so final.  It was over.  But the good news was coming!  Jesus had told them He would be raised up and they would have love and power and the blessing of God.

     That how our whole life is.  It appears that the bad news is the final word, but we can celebrate because good news is coming.  We can know that as believers.  That’s one of the wonderful things about serving God.
 

The natives had a party.

     I think about a group of people who were nonbelievers because they had never heard the story of Jesus.  When they received bad news in their lives they didn’t know that good news was on the way.  They were a tribe in the jungles of East Asia and didn’t know that because of Jesus we can have good news come into every area of our life.

     So missionaries came to their area and showed them the Jesus film.  You’ve probably heard of that film that reenacts the life, death, and resurrection of the Lord.  Many of the people had never heard of Jesus and they had never seen a motion picture.  I cannot imagine what they were experiencing as the film began.

     They saw the story of a good Man, Jesus, who healed the sick.  Children loved Him.  But then He was unjustly brought before the authorities.  They saw Him beaten, and the soldiers do mean and horrible things to Him.  As these East Asian tribal people were watching this, they came unglued.  They stood up and began to shout at the men on the screen.  This thing must be stopped!  What was happening must be stopped!  But of course they didn’t understand that it was a film.  So the film continued going and that made them angry so they attacked the missionary running the projector.  That’s when he stopped it and explained to them what was happening.  The story wasn’t over.  If they could just hold on for a while, they would see the end of it.  There was more to come.

     They sat back down and the film started again.  Then came the crucifixion!  Oh, that was more than they could stand.  The whole group of people began to cry out loud in despair of what was happening.  So the missionary stopped the film once more and explained that the story still wasn’t over.  He got them to calm down again and he restarted the film.

     What happened next?  The resurrection!  The good news came.  The group of people erupted into a party.  They celebrated.  The missionary said the noise was so loud it was deafening.  They danced around.  Slapped each other on the back.  You see, if they had understood that the bad news would be over and good news was coming, they would have handled it differently in the beginning.  They could have been rejoicing in their spirit even in the worst part of the story because they would have known what was coming.

     That’s where you are, My Friend.  You are there.  You’re in the time when it’s hard to see what is happening.  Sometimes despair or disappointment tries to sweep over you.  You may feel tired of the whole thing.  But you would respond differently if you could know the ending from the beginning.  Remember this is not the end of the story.  There’s a better ending.  Good news is coming.  Celebrate before the Lord now.  Don’t wait to dance and rejoice after you see what happens at the end.  By faith celebrate before Him.  Show Him that you believe.  You believe He will change things and you will see better days.

But what about the bad news?

     “But,” you say, “Jeanne, I just got a bad report and you’re telling me to celebrate?  That’s heartless.”  Look past this time that you’re going through right now and believe for the time that you will receive a good report.  Don’t despair but celebrate in your spirit for the good that’s coming.  Tell God that’s how much you believe that He’s already moving to change things.

     When those minus signs keep showing up in your checking account or business or budget, give the bad news to God and believe He will turn it to good.  When you watch that child distance themselves from you or from God, inside, celebrate the day when they will embrace you and walk in God’s ways.

     Let me tell you what to do when you see bad news.  Take the bad-news note that you received concerning the circumstances and spread it out before God and ask Him to show you His power in taking care of things.

     That’s what the man named Hezekiah did.  (Ref. II Kings 19.)  He received a note that the King of Assyria was coming to wipe out Judah just as this army had done to everybody else in the land.  They were so powerful and relentless.  When he heard the news, Hezekiah rent his clothes and put ash cloth on his head.  Today we would say that he flipped out.  He felt desperate because of the bad news.

     But he decided to go to God.  Smart move.  That’s where the answers are.  That’s where the power is that can turn around the circumstances.  He took the note that the King of Assyria had sent to him reminding him that everyone he had gone after had been defeated.  Which, of course, is what the devil tries to tell us also—that everybody that he’s going after is going to be defeated.

     But the Bible says Hezekiah spread that bad-news note before God.  In essence he said to God, “Oh Lord, read this.  Everything it says is true.  They have defeated all those other people who served false gods.  This is a day of extreme danger.  They’re even taking bets that they can defeat us.  But save us by Your hand so that everyone will know You are the true God.”

     Then the Lord sent word to Hezekiah through His prophet Isaiah and said not to be afraid of the bad news that he had heard.  Good news was on the way.  They could celebrate!  Have faith.  He was going to defend the city and save it.

     Overnight, the answer came.  The Angel of the Lord went among the Assyrian soldiers and 185,000 of them were destroyed that night.  The King of Assyria departed!  Israel prospered and was blessed.

     Today take the bad-news note you’ve received in some area.  Then spread it out before the Lord.  Take a piece of paper that represents the bad news—the circumstances that are before you that try to create dread and go into prayer before God.  Spread that paper out before Him.  In spite of how you feel, celebrate before Him the answer that is coming.

     Believe that the bad-news note will be turned into good news.  It’s coming.  We believe Him for it.  We raise our hands before the Lord and bless Him and rejoice in what He is doing against the enemy of our circumstances.  Yes, we celebrate the good news coming!

 

A PRAYER FOR YOU.

Oh Lord, how excited we are!  That the bad news is on its way out.  You see the suffering my friend is going through.  The anguish, the dread that has tried to take over.  But we hand that all over to You today and instead of reading the bad-news note, we read good news from You.  We know You are changing things even though we can’t see it.  So we praise You for what You’re doing.  We celebrate by our faith that we will see the good news come from Your hand.  In the name of Jesus.  Amen

 

It’s tremendous what God can do!

We are here to pray with you.  We join my faith with the faith that you have according to God’s Word.  That’s what He tells us to do so that we can see His will done in your situation.  That’s why we encourage you to share with us what’s happening right now.  As soon as we hear from you, we’ll pray according to God’s will.  Then we want to send you a letter that’s filled with His Word that can speak to your heart.  So let us hear from you soon by clicking here.  Jeanne and John           

 

SPECIAL NOTE: God has already designated the people who are going to be touched by your giving!

John and I celebrate what God is doing through your giving.  Great and marvelous things are happening for precious people.  You see, there are people whom God has designated for your gift to touch.

So know that every time you release a gift from your hand into Alcott Ministries, you’re releasing it into God’s hands.  He takes it and ministers to thousands of people.  Then He also ministers to you because of your faithfulness to give.  Receive that from Him.  So we praise God for the work that is being done as you join us in our giving.

 

DONATE NOW.

All scriptures are taken from the Amplified Bible, Classic Edition unless otherwise indicated.

 

 

 

           
           Rest

         About It!

     Jeanne Alcott

 

 

    In a service one night, a minister was teaching on the scripture Matthew 11:28.  When he came to the words from Jesus, “Come unto to Me,” he felt the presence of God in such a great way that all he could keep saying was, “Come unto Me.”  Finally, he stopped and looked at the people in the audience and asked, “What does that mean?”  What does, “Come unto Me” mean?”

    No one said anything until a girl who was sitting on the front row raised her hand.  When the minister saw her, he decided to see what she had to say so he asked her, “Okay, what do you think Jesus meant when He said, ‘Come unto Me’?”  And she answered, “It means that He wants me.”

    No one could add anything to it.  That was it right there.  Spoken from a child, Jesus made known that when He says, “Come unto Me,” it means “He wants me.”

    Matthew 11:28 says, Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy-laden and overburdened, and I will cause you to rest.  [I will ease and relieve and refresh your souls].  The Lord is showing us that we can rest in Him.  We can come away from worry or concerns or stress and be refreshed.  The weight can be eased.

Take a load off.

    When we’re overburdened and laboring against the problems and responsibilities of life, we can go to Him and take a load off!  That’s how you rest in God.  You take a load off!  That’s what trust does.

    When you trust in God for what you’re facing, it takes that load of care and performance off you.  You weren’t designed to carry around what’s too heavy.  You were designed to rest in God, trust Him and be at peace.  To do that, you have to come to Him.  Then notice in that scripture, once you do that, He says, “I will cause you to rest.”

    It didn’t say that when you go to God you might be able to find some relief or He will see what He can do to help you.  It’s a much stronger action that He’s describing.  When you go to Him in your trust, that sets into action all that God can do for you.  He goes deep into your spirit and He causes you to rest.  The reason He can cause you to rest is because now you’ve made Him your foundation.  Instead of relying on yourself, He is your foundation and therefore you are not carrying the load now.  You’ve given it to Him.  Once you’ve rested in Him and you’ve taken the load off, that’s when you can see tremendous answers.

When we rest, that’s when blessing comes.

    I think of the dear friend and Partner who wrote to us and described so well how this whole process works.  She said “I am learning to ‘rest’ in [God] in the face of negative circumstances.  I used to get upset about the negative things and pray for God’s help and try to relax and trust Him—not doing a very good job of it.”  We all know how that is.  We try to go to God and give it over to Him but we don’t seem to be able to do a good job of it.

    So she goes on and describes how she came to a place where her car had to have some extensive work done on it and she didn’t have the funds.  That’s when God began to speak to her about resting in Him and trusting Him for everything.  So she did.

    When she rested in God, you know what happened?  He was able to work just as we talked about.  She received a financial gift that paid for the work on her car, plus she had enough to give to others, and still some left over.

    That’s how it works.  What a difference it made when she stopped having that load on her and did what Matthew 11 says: “Come unto Me.”  She went to God and rested in Him.  That’s when everything was taken care of, plus she had more blessing than she expected.  When she found rest, she found blessing.  THAT’S WHAT HAPPENS WHEN WE REST IN GOD.  WE FIND REST AND THEREFORE WE FIND BLESSING.

    That’s because we’re seeking Him first and then all these things are added to us.  We know that scripture in Matthew 6.  Instead of being overburdened and trying to carry the heaviness of what’s happening in our lives, we recognize that God wants us to come to Him.  So we go to Him and start trusting and handing everything over to Him and that’s when He causes us to rest.  We’re eased and refreshed.  We take a load off.

 

Rest the whole weight of your life on Him.

    Here’s a good way to picture this.  There was a man who had the job of translating the Bible for a South Seas island tribe.  His name was John Paton.  But as he was working on the Bible, he was having problems finding a word in their language that could mean trust.  One day as he was working on this, one of the natives came to visit the missionary.  He was tired from working so hard, so he threw himself into a big comfortable chair that the missionary had, and he said, “It’s good to rest my whole weight on this chair.”

    Right then John knew he had the meaning to describe the word trust in their Bible.  It’s resting one’s whole weight on God just as that native was resting his whole weight on that chair.

    God wants us to come to Him, put ourselves into the big comfortable arms He has waiting for us and rest the whole weight of our life on Him.  Take a load off.  That’s how we need to envision resting in God.

    We trust Him so much that we put our entire being into His hands.  When we do, He is now able to cause us to rest.  That doesn’t mean we’re not doing anything.  We continue to work and pray and be disciplined—all those things that we do in order to have a better life.  But we don’t carry the heaviness of those.  We trust God with the outcome and the results of what we’re doing.  Our actions and words and efforts.  We put everything into His hands.

    Otherwise, things become too heavy and we get crushed.  Most of us know how that feels.  We forget to “come unto Jesus” and give Him the weight of our burdens and concerns.  So we find ourselves getting agitated because things don’t go right or we say things we’re sorry for later or we feel as though we can’t go on.  You know all the things people do when we’re stressed or under a heavy burden.

When you see those signs coming out of you.

    When we see those signs start coming out of us, we need to remember, “Come unto Me, I will give you rest.”  The Lord wants us.  It’s only as we rest in Him that He can take the load off us.  He removes the weight of it and teaches us to trust Him so we can see His deliverance.  If we will reach that state—the state where we don’t take on things in our human strength and we rely on Him—then we can see a much easier way.  We will be refreshed to see greater things happen.

    This is what Wallace Johnson discovered.  He’s the man who was the founder of the hotel chain, Holiday Inn.  You may have stayed at a Holiday Inn when you have traveled.  Johnson was born into a poor family in Mississippi and worked at everything from picking cotton to being a carpenter.  Then one day he borrowed $250 and went into homebuilding and became very successful.

    About that time, he joined with a business partner and they built the first Holiday Inn, from there, it grew into one of the largest hotel chains in the world.  Johnson was a Christian and he is quoted as saying, “I am totally dependent on God for help in everything I do.  Otherwise I honestly believe I would start to fall apart in months.”

    Even though Johnson had abilities and blessings, he found that he must take the load off himself and rest in God.  Otherwise, he would fall apart under the weight of care and concern. 

Now it becomes possible.

    God does not want to see you crushed under the weight of what you’re experiencing.  Come to Him.  Rest in Him.  That will help you endure and be able to see God’s will come to pass for you.  What seems impossible because it’s so heavy on you will be possible now.  That’s because the weight will be on God instead of you.  So take a load off today and experience the ease and refreshing God has for you.  That’s when great things can happen.

 

A PRAYER FOR YOU.

    Lord, we accept Your invitation to come unto You.  We release the weight of burdens and care and responsibilities into Your arms.  Heaviness and frustration are going.  We feel light as a feather.  And now this is opening new doors of opportunity for my dear friend.  They can see greater things happen.  They will not be crushed but they are raised up.  Your power is flowing in their behalf.  We expect answers and blessings to come in the name of Jesus.  Amen.
 

Good things can happen in a prayer relationship.  Let us pray with you.  Also, give us updates!

     If you’re experiencing heaviness or frustration, let us pray with you.  As we go into prayer, you can rest in God.  Then that’s when God’s power begins to move in a greater way.

     So let’s get our faith going together.  Be sure you share with John and me what is trying to weigh heavy on you.  As we pray with you, we believe the load will be removed and that’s when circumstances can change.  So let us hear from you right away.  Then we pray, we want to send you some powerful words from God’s Word.

    Also, for those of you who have contacted us to pray with you, be sure that you give us updates of what’s happening now.  This is a prayer relationship we have with God so let us know how things are progressing.  And we will pray according to God’s will for you.  Let us hear from you today by clicking here.  Jeanne and John           

 

SPECIAL NOTE: It’s refreshing to be Partners with someone like you!

       Now, John and I want to express to you what a joy you are to us and to God.  Your sacrificial giving shows that you have learned how to rest in Him with your finances.  You trust Him that when you give to Him, He will take care of you.

     You will experience the blessing of knowing that because you’ve obeyed Him with your finances, He can do a great work in people who come to this ministry for help and growth.

      In a time when the world is hurting to know God, it’s refreshing to be Partners with someone such as you.  You recognize the power of giving and we believe that as you give now, that power will be used to keep Word of Power teachings going out and all we do in this work.  It can also open up the doors of blessing for your own life.  Amen
 

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All scriptures are taken from the Amplified Bible, Classic Edition unless otherwise indicated.

 

                                                                

 

 

 

       You Can Be

      Free of That!

     Jeanne Alcott

 

 

     God wants to set us free of those things that bind us or bothers us.  Just think of something in your life today that you could say, "What I wouldn't give to be set free of that today!"  Then know that God is coming to you at this moment to show you how to get a miracle that will do just that!

     When you're able to be delivered from something that has bothered you or bound you for a long time, it's a tremendous feeling of freedom and power.  Well, we have the miracle power of God available to us so that we can get rid of those things.  Those things that bother or bound us.

     It may be something that others have forced into our lives, or it may be something for which we have a weakness.  But either way, God's mercy and love and goodness are extended to us.  He doesn't want to see us suffer but rather be set free.

We can suffer or be set free.

     I know which one I have chosen.  And I want to see it in every area of my life.  This is a continual thing with us.  We may have our spirit set free on the day of our salvation, but that's not the last time that God has to deliver us.  We know that all too well.  Just because we became a Christian doesn't mean that everybody in the world was stopped from coming against us.  Nor does it mean that our flesh nature was stopped from being able to tempt us to give into desires and weaknesses.  We need to be set free on a regular basis.

First example: being set free from something that has bound or bothered you.

     A good example of this is when Peter was placed in prison for believing in Jesus.  Acts chapter 12 talks about when Herod the king was oppressing the early church.  He had just killed James, the brother of John, and many of the enemies of the church liked that so Herod was really on a roll.  He decided to imprison Peter and the next day he was going to bring him up to trial.  Of course, he had already decided what the verdict was going to be before the trial ever took place.  He couldn't wait to get his hands on Peter.

     Now, I would say that is definitely a time you want to believe in the miraculous.  Don't give up when circumstances try to imprison you and hold you back from all that God has for you.  Don't let them do that.  Believe for divine intervention.  Even though the enemy, the devil has already decided what the verdict is going to be for you, you remember he's not the final judge. God is the One who decides the outcome of your deliverance when you look to Him.  He is the One who has the power and the desire to see you set free.  Don't give in to the pressure or force of other people or conditions.  If you're in a tough position, believe for a miracle.

     Clearly, Peter was in a tough position.  The Bible says, So Peter was kept in prison, but fervent prayer for him was persistently made to God by the church (assembly). The very night before Herod was about to bring him forth, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, fastened with two chains, and sentries before the door were guarding the prison.

     There he was chained between soldiers.  But suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared standing beside him.  Then he struck Peter sharply on the side to awaken him because he had fallen asleep.  The angel told Peter to, "Get up quickly," and the chains fell off his hands.

     Then he told him to get up and get going.  So Peter followed him out into the street,  past the iron gates and guards unhindered.  I tell you, when God brings a miracle, you will walk out of that situation UNHINDERED.  We must understand that there is no problem or force that can come against us that can hinder the power of God when we have faith in Him.

     We will walk right through the barriers that have been set up against us and be set free, whether it's spiritually, physically, emotionally, or in our finances or family or work, or when we have a situation of any kind existing in our life.

     When that miracle comes, we're going to get up and walk out of the circumstances unhindered.  We must believe in miracles.  It doesn't matter if there is an angel that smites us on the side.  Or if God uses natural occurrences to bring it about.  Let's simply receive it and go for it.

     You know, sometimes when a supernatural intervention comes our way, we are like Peter was.  He was not even conscious that what was being done was real.  He thought it was a vision.  Finally, when he got out in the street and he realized that he had been set free, he knew that a miracle had happened.  He said, Now I really know and am sure that the Lord has sent His angel and delivered me from the hand of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were expecting [to do to me]  (Ref. acts 12:11.)

     Sometimes God has to wake us up to realize that He is working in our behalf.  I mean, the miracle is happening right before our eyes yet we're having problems seeing it.  That's why we need to be in expectation of it.  There have been times when God set me free from circumstances and after it happened I heard myself say, "I can't believe that!"  Then I quickly corrected myself and said, “Yes, I do believe that happened!"

     We have to be looking for it and then believe the miracle when we receive it!  God can get rid of anything that is bothering us and He also gets rid of what binds us.  Now in Peter's case that imprisonment was forced upon him.  But sometimes it's of our own making.  We give in to a weakness and then we find ourselves struggling with something that we want to be rid of.

Second example: being set free from something that has bound or bothered you.

     Have you ever heard of the book called My Big Fat Greek Diet?  A man by the name of Dr. Nick wrote that book after he lost 270 pounds in 18 months.  He had weighed 470 pounds and kept telling his patients, "Do as I say, not as I do."  But then God began to speak to him about being a better steward of his body.

     Dr. Nick said, "Here I had been healed of cancer and yet I was eating myself to death and committing suicide at the dining room table and going to fast-food places.  I was overwhelmed with the conviction that my personal health was a God-given gift with which I had to honor Him in the way that I cared for that gift."  That's when he started on a spiritual, physical and emotional journey to be set free from what was binding him.  After he lost the weight, he founded a ministry focused on health and wrote the book My Big Fat Greek Diet.

     It may not be 270 pounds that you need to lose, but you may be in bondage to eating the wrong way.  You know that God wants you to be a good steward of your body and keep it healthy so that you can do all He wants you to do and be blessed by Him.  You want to say to God, “Help me honor You and take care of the gift of health You’ve given me.”

     Or it may be some other kind of situation that you're dealing with from which you want to be set free.  Maybe it's anger or impatience.  Perhaps it’s jealousy or pride or timidity.  It can be a lack of organization in your life which keeps you in a state of flux so that you can’t get things done and flow with the Spirit's direction in your life.

Third example: being set free from something that has bound or bothered you.

     There was a man who used to chew tobacco.  He knew that it could cause cancer of the mouth and is bad for your heart not to mention your breath.  But the tobacco gave him a little buzz and helped him relax so he continued using it.

     He tried to stop by going to websites and looking at the statistics about the health risks associated with it.  He even printed them out and placed them on his desk where he could read them when he was tempted.  But it didn't help.  Every other time he would gas up his car, he would buy a can of the stuff.

     After a year had gone by of doing this, he was listening to the radio one afternoon and he heard a voice that sounded very distorted.  It turned out to be a man who had had half of his jaw removed and had no lower lip and his face was deformed, all because he had used smokeless tobacco.  Once he heard that man speak, and got that image in his mind, he never used tobacco again.  God had set him free miraculously.

     Now, some may say that wasn't miraculous, but oh yes, it was divine intervention that he turned the radio on that day and heard that other person suffering from the effects of tobacco chewing.  I know a young man who has been healed from cancer of the tongue and he now gives his testimony to all his tobacco chewing buddies about how it's not worth it.  He is still cancer free today.

     Oh thank God that He wants to set us free.  It doesn't matter if we brought it on ourselves or something has tried to shackle us.  Whatever is binding or bothering us, God is there to deliver us from it.

 

A PRAYER FOR YOU.

     Lord, we believe for a miracle.  Whatever is trying to bind or bother this person, we command it to be broken in the name of Jesus.  There is nothing that is greater than Your miraculous power.  Therefore, we apply that power toward the hard position in which they find themselves.  And we surround them with the supernatural.

     Oh yes, the natural may look very strong around you right now, My Friend.  But you look beyond that.  Look beyond what's happening to you.  See that the supernatural which is surrounding you is much greater than those natural circumstances.  And that supernatural contains the miraculous.  God is divinely intervening into your situation and setting you free.

     Thank You, Lord.  They are set free now in the name of Jesus.  Amen.    

 

We’re not going to allow the circumstances to win over you.  Let’s stay in prayer and faith.

     I thank God for what He is doing in your life.  Make sure that you contact us so we can join our faith together and keep battling what is trying to bother and bind you.  God has set you free and we're not going to allow those circumstances to win over you.

      We want to continue praying with you and write you a word from God's Word that will encourage your life.  Let us hear from you today by clicking here.  Jeanne and John           

 

SPECIAL NOTE: It’s surrounding you!

       Now, I pray God's blessings on you.  I know God is surrounding you with His supernatural power.  It pleases Him so much when we obey and give into His work.

       I encourage you to become a Partner if you are not one yet.  INVEST YOUR LIFE into what God is doing in other people's lives through this ministry.  Then watch God invest His power and love and blessing into your own life.  Let us hear from you soon so that we can continue the Word of Power radio broadcast.  John and I appreciate all that you do and we look so forward to hearing from you.  Join us in giving now.

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All scriptures are taken from the Amplified Bible, Classic Edition unless otherwise indicated.