thoughts by Sylvia Gunter Archives - Page 10 of 11 - Daily Devotionals by Thoughts about God

Published July 8, 2011

Sons/Daughters in the Father Heart of God

Listen to the Word of God for you in Romans 8:14. “Those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.”

Your heavenly Father blesses you with true biblical sonship. He wants you to receive it. Be blessed as he calls you to life, nurture, and enlargement. He is the source of your biblical manhood or womanhood and of the abundant life of generational blessing that is laid up for you. Be blessed with the most profound blessing that you need to receive. Receive the Father-heart of God. Rejoice in his special creation of you, his kind intention toward you, his matchless love for you, and his glory revealed in you. Be blessed with God re-parenting you in ways your earthly mother and father may not have been capable of doing. Be blessed to receive his healing in your soul’s wounded fathering. Be blessed as he completely fills your daddy holes. Be blessed with your heavenly Father giving you all the father’s blessing that you craved from your earthly father.

Be blessed with life-changing encounters with the Father-heart of God. Be blessed with your Father-God’s best healing work in restoring your heart and soul according to his design that he had for you before the foundations of the world were laid. Be blessed with knowing your Father’s heart nurturing belonging, inclusion, and worth. He can bring forth your true birthright, to be all he wants you to be. God can heal you to wholeness, and from that place of wholeness he will send you forth to do all that he designed you to do. Be blessed to be strengthened to implement the will of the Father in your life.

Spirit, be blessed with measurable growth in your being as a son- growth that is mental, spiritual, emotional, and relational. Jesus, the Father’s beloved Son, grew in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and men (Luke 2:52). He lives presently in you with all the power of his Sonship relating to his Father. Be blessed with the Spirit of truth reveals to you the lies you have believed, your fears, your wounds, the nurture you never received, the judgments and vows you made about relationships, the places in you that were not called to maturity, the agreements you made with the enemy, and other things in a fallen world.

That same Spirit of truth bears witness in you of his Spirit of sonship living in you to cover all your deficits. Be blessed with fully realizing the life-changing truth of the Spirit of sonship in you, living in you to possess your birthright as your Father’s beloved son. Be blessed with a rich gold mine of identity and legitimacy from which to live out your birthright and destiny confidently and purposefully.

Be blessed with God’s exquisite fathering, and receive it as a special true son or daughter. Be blessed to know his Spirit speaking to you, beloved one, that you are a delight to him. Be blessed to know without doubt that your Father is extending his favor toward you, assuring you of release into the full rights of your true identity and legitimacy.

Be blessed with knowing this new grace place with your Father. This is the time of your Father’s favor, a time of release of the life of sonship, as foretold in Malachi 4:5-6, “See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes. He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers.” Be blessed with the alignment with a father’s love that you have been seeking.

Be blessed in the name of your Father to the fatherless (Psalm 68:5).

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Thoughts by All thoughts by Sylvia Gunter

Published June 6, 2011

Refreshment

by Sylvia Gunter

Hear God’s word for you in Isaiah 40:31. “Those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”

You may be exhausted and at the edge of your endurance from running the race of life. You may be weary and weighed down by demands and tensions. You may need strengthening and refreshment with God’s holy strength to receive his enabling grace for each day. Be blessed as you are lifted into your Abba’s presence to receive his love. Lift your eyes to him, and receive his eye-to-eye, face-to-face fresh touch of his love in all its fullness. He sets the godly ones apart for himself. He committed himself to you as your Abba, and he will meet all your needs today, because those who seek him will not lack any good thing. He has covenanted to heal and strengthen you spirit, soul, and body. He pledges to defeat Satan’s plans of attack in physical and emotional areas that are vulnerable.

Receive his Spirit of revelation, wisdom and understanding, so that you take only his yoke and do the things that fulfill his divine purposes. You can be confident in his ability and presence at work in your life in everything that touches you. You have his favor and blessing as a shield.

Remember your God-given place in his scheme of things. See the cross and run there and hide from all stresses and pressures. His resurrection power and his ascended authority and glory outshine all the plans of the enemy to oppress you. He will lighten your steps as you mount up with wings as an eagle, as you run and do not grow weary, as you walk and do not faint. That’s his sure word to those who wait on him. Be still inside, and look to him and receive a fresh touch of the power of the Holy Spirit. Let him refill and rejuvenate you so that you will have a full supply from which to water others. Hear God speaking to you as you draw close to him.

God gives you grace for today, and then tomorrow he gives a whole new supply of himself. Receive his sweet presence each moment, and rest in feeling secure in him. When you don’t know the outcome of your situation, it is safe not to know, because he is good. Be blessed to open up to new trust in your Father. It is his will and design that you take your full God-given authority, evicting all fear and doubt and discouragement, because his perfect love casts out your fear.

The blood of Jesus heals where there is pain and hurt. His hands hold the answer in the situations closest to your heart, the ones that have wearied you the most. Know that God holds the key for every person and circumstance that has claim upon your spiritual, emotional, and practical responsibility. God’s reconciling grace is ready for all relationships to enjoy his unity and the sweet fellowship of his presence. Exchange your strength for his. Be blessed in the power and the glory of his great strength.

Be blessed in the name of the Lord who is your strength and your song
(Isaiah 12:2).

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Published May 29, 2011

Christ My Life

by Sylvia Gunter

“Although He was a son, He learned obedience from what He suffered and, once made perfect, He became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey Him..” Hebrews 5:8-9

What is our source? What sustains us? What do we have or what do we do that we cannot lose without stripping us of identity: ministry, family, job, good opinion of others, success, possessions, etc.? What determines whether we are up or down? Can we say, “Jesus, you’re all the world to me.” Or does something else have our hearts? If everything else were stripped away and I was left with only Jesus, would that be heaven? Would he be enough?

Christ My Life

Christ for sickness, Christ for health,
Christ for poverty, Christ for wealth,
Christ for joy, Christ for sorrow,
Christ today, and Christ tomorrow;

Christ my life, and Christ my light,
Christ for morning, noon, and night;
Christ when all around gives way,
Christ my everlasting stay;

Christ my rest, Christ my food,
Christ above my highest good;
Christ my well beloved, my Friend,
Christ my pleasure without end;

Christ my Savior, Christ my Lord,
Christ my Portion, Christ my God,
Christ my Shepherd, I His sheep,
Christ Himself my soul does keep.

Christ my Leader, Christ my Peace,
Christ has brought my soul’s release;
Christ my Righteousness divine,
Christ for me, for He is mine;

Christ my Wisdom, Christ my meat,
Christ restores my wandering feet,
Christ my Advocate and my Priest,
Christ who never forgets the least;

Christ my Teacher, Christ my Guide,
Christ my Rock, in Christ I hide;
Christ the everlasting Bread,
Christ His precious blood has shed;

Christ has brought us near to God,
Christ the everlasting Word,
Christ my Master, Christ my Head,
Christ who for my sins has bled;

Christ my Glory, Christ my Crown,
Christ the Plant of great Renown,
Christ my Comforter on high,
Christ my Hope draws ever nigh.

Attributed to St. Patrick

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Published May 20, 2011

Mighty Men of Prayer for Spiritual Leaders

by Sylvia Gunter

In a typical year, thousands of Christian leaders leave the ministry. Our “professional” staff is increasingly beat up, discouraged, burned out, frustrated, tired, isolated, and running on empty. Their wives are usually hurting as badly or worse. This ought not to be. All of them could be far more victorious and fruitful for the kingdom if they had the effectual fervent intercession of their people.

Spiritual leaders should be our most prayed-for people. Without prayer, spiritual leaders will accomplish only what they can do in the power of their flesh, which is our tendency with a talented, energetic, educated, well-funded, and well-staffed organization. But with prayer, God will do what He can do. Each leader needs a support-base of trained, seasoned intercessors, who will be committed to lifting up his or her needs each day. As long as Moses held up his hands, God’s side prevailed in the battle for the kingdom in the valley below. When he tired, Aaron and Hur came alongside to hold his hands up until the victory was won.

David knew the power of surrounding himself with battle-seasoned fighters whom he called his “mighty men.” (Using this Scriptural term does not exclude women who are mighty women of prayer.) They were faithful to guard him from danger, to defend him, and to win battles for him. They were covenantally committed to him. This translates today to effective, serious intercessors who are called of God and who faithfully pray for spiritual leadership.

Study the brave and victorious actions of David’s mighty men in 2 Samuel 23:8-39. Study their exploits on David’s behalf and especially their character in 1 Chronicles 11:10-12:40. They were brave warriors who strengthened themselves in the Lord with David. They lived and fought in close fellowship with David. They were experienced soldiers, helpers in war. They were ready for battle, fully armed with every weapon and skill. They stationed themselves in their place at all costs, united in purpose and undivided in loyalty. They were courageous, fearless, and faithful men who strongly supported their leader. They willingly took risks for him, persevering against impossible odds. They got God’s assignments, acted in the power of the Spirit, understood the times, and listened to God to know what to do (1 Chronicles 12:18,32).

Unfortunately, today the body of Christ is usually a very disjointed army of God. You as a member of the body are called to be mighty man of prayer for your spiritual leaders. Pray that your spiritual leader with lead your fellowship of believers to have a sense of the possibility of God. Pray that you will be a fellowship of men and women who seek God, love him, and follow him with the anointing of Spirit that produces vitality in body life.

Pray diligently that your spiritual leadership will be an example of how to seek God, will demonstrate how they follow the Holy Spirit, will challenge you with the word that God has for the church, will equip you by teaching you how to apply the Word, and will release you to serve in the power of the Holy Spirit. People in this kind of spiritual community can best live in the vitality of the anointing of the Spirit and be right with God to do the work of Jesus in the world

to preach Good News to the poor,
to proclaim freedom for prisoners
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to release the oppressed,
to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.
Luke 4:18-19.

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Published March 4, 2011

Jehovah-M’Kaddesh

by Sylvia Gunter

Listen with your spirit to God’s Word in Leviticus 20:8. “I am the Lord, who makes you holy.” And Isaiah 41:16 “You will rejoice in the Lord and glory in the Holy One of Israel.” And Isaiah 12:6 “Shout aloud and sing for joy, people of Zion, for great is the Holy One of Israel among you.“

God’s holiness is not what he does. Holy is who he is, the Holy One. He is without spot or blemish. His eyes are too pure to look on sin. Yet his plan of redemption called for Jesus to take our sins on himself and die to make us holy in him. We cannot make ourselves holy, no matter how hard we try or how perfectly we live. Our perfection is not holiness. Jesus was the only perfect one. The Hebrew word qadhash implies being pure, devoted to God, set apart for a special task or the worship of God.

Beloved one, I bless you with knowing your holy Father. I bless you with knowing how the holiness of Jesus is counted to your credit in his death on the cross. I bless you with knowing that nothing you ever do can make him love you less or love you more. I bless you with freedom from your perfectionism and the perfectionism of others, because through your Father’s eyes he sees you as perfect in his perfect and beloved Son. I bless you with joy in God’s holiness and your own. Our culture does not associate joy with holiness, but God says that joyful shouting and singing are part of celebration of who he is. I bless you with celebrating the beauty of his holiness and the glory of your Holy One who accepts you completely and calls forth the best in you.

Listen to Isaiah 43:1-3. “This is what the Lord says… ‘Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.’ ”

Beloved one, your Father treats you with special care because you are set apart to him for his purposes, for his pleasure, and to his glory. I bless you with knowing deeply in your spirit that you are clean, you are dedicated, you are consecrated to God. I bless you with freedom from anything that would make you unusable for your Father’s glory. I bless you with being reserved exclusively for heart’s devotion and life’s affection for your holy Father. I bless you with appreciation that your Father knows you by name and will change the course of rivers and the nature of flames, if necessary, to keep his holy promises to you to be with you. I bless you with freedom from fear because of his guarantee that nothing can destroy you. I bless you with the power and authority of his names by which he identifies himself as your God, your Holy One, and your Savior.

I bless you in the name of Jehovah-M’Kaddesh.

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Thoughts by All thoughts by Sylvia Gunter Thoughts by Women

Published January 9, 2011

Sound of Heaven

Beloved, listen with your spirit to God’s Word in:
1 Samuel 3:10.
“The LORD came and stood there, calling as at the other times, ‘Samuel! Samuel!’ Then Samuel said, ‘Speak, for your servant is listening.’ “

I bless you with awakening your spirit to the voice of God and tuning your spiritual ears to him. I bless you with being fully engaged with listening as a deliberate choice you make, a training you practice, and a process. Ask God to cleanse and alert your ears so that what you hear will not be dull or defiled. I bless you with fine-tuned ears to hear, so that the sound of heaven will open the heavenly spirit realm to you.

I bless you with quieting your soul in order to hear more clearly with your spirit ears. Your listening is very active, not passive. God speaks to you in many creative ways, and I bless you with setting your spiritual ears to his frequency to hear his voice in all its manifestations. I bless you with hearing the Father of your spirit in his Word, by faith, through revelation, by his Holy Spirit, through others, through his creation, etc. The heavens declare the glory of the Lord, and I bless you with hearing their declaration.

I bless you with willingness of spirit that makes you ready to hear every word from God. I bless you with focused spiritual attention on God, so that you are tuned to him. I bless you with clearing out the static and interference so that you have clear reception. I bless you with a hearing spirit and an understanding heart to discern between good and evil, but also to discern between good, better, and best.

Enlightened spiritual hearing is vital to your spirit life, service, spiritual warfare, and worship. From the very beginning Israel was called to listen. “Hear, O Israel, the LORD your God is One.” I bless you with listening on the inside with commitment to obey. God has called every generation to hear him and act on what he says, from the children of Israel gathered to receive the Ten Commandments, to the voice of the prophets crying in the wilderness, “Prepare the way of the Lord,” to the words of our Lord Jesus in Revelation, “He who has ears, let him hear.” God will honor your spirit’s commitment to hear and to respond obediently and positively to the Holy Spirit.

I bless you with worship that is an echo of the sounds of heaven. I bless you with resonating in the same key, with keeping time with heavenly rhythm. There are new songs to sing to the Lord, songs of deliverance, songs of victory, sweet love songs from your Bridegroom, songs of comfort, songs of joy, songs of praise, and songs the Lord sings over you. I bless you with open heavens to hear and respond. Hearing leads you into deeper and sweeter intimacy and more responsiveness to him.

I bless you with a warrior’s keen hearing in your spirit. In times of spiritual battle, it is crucial to hear your commander. I bless you with active and accurate listening for deliverance, for freedom, for victory, for direction, for comfort. Through listening with your spirit, I bless you to possess your birthright, to understand your legitimacy, to receive affirmation, to know your Father’s time, timing, and seasons. I bless you with satisfaction of your longing to hear him say, “This is my child in whom I am well pleased.” I bless you in the name of the Father of your spirit (Hebrews 12:9).

By Sylvia Gunter

To learn more about Sylvia Gunter: www.thefathersbusiness.com

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Thoughts by All thoughts by Sylvia Gunter Thoughts by Women

Published December 27, 2010

Widow’s Oil

by Sylvia Gunter

Listen to God’s Word in 2 Kings 4:1-7. “The wife of a man from the company of the prophets cried out to Elisha, ‘Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that he revered the LORD. But now his creditor is coming to take my two boys as his slaves.’ Elisha replied to her, ‘How can I help you? Tell me, what do you have in your house?’

‘Your servant has nothing there at all,’ she said, ‘except a little oil.’ Elisha said, ‘Go around and ask all your neighbors for empty jars. Don’t ask for just a few. Then go inside and shut the door behind you and your sons. Pour oil into all the jars, and as each is filled, put it to one side.’

She left him and afterward shut the door behind her and her sons. They brought the jars to her and she kept pouring. When all the jars were full, she said to her son, ‘Bring me another one.‘ But he replied, ‘There is not a jar left.’
Then the oil stopped flowing. She went and told the man of God, and he said, ‘Go, sell the oil and pay your debts. You and your sons can live on what is left.’ ”

At the place where you have nothing at all, in your desperation, look and see the “little oil” that you have, not what you don’t have. It may be financial need, or the grace to handle a difficult person, or the courage to try something new. Your identity may be at stake, because in the Old Testament world when a woman’s husband died, she lost her identity and standing in the community. Do not major on your inadequacy or lack. Don’t bind yourself with vows like “I can’t...” “It’s impossible...” “I’ll never be able to…”

Look into the face of God, listen for his voice, and follow his instruction. Whatever he says, do it quickly and thoroughly. Gather “empty jars,” as many as he says. Behind closed doors, in your prayer closet, present the vessels to him in the secret place. The widow poured oil into each one until it was full. Keep doing whatever God says. The oil flowed until all the vessels were filled, as many as the widow presented to God. Today be blessed to know that whatever “jars” of your emptiness you present, God will fill them full with provision for today and for the future.

Watch over this process of obedience to him. The widow did not tell the neighbors what she was doing. Some people cannot understand your journey. Everyone does not see what you see or have the relationship with God that you have. You are uniquely in process with him. Others may try to talk you out of your faith, or discourage you, or make you feel inadequate and unworthy. Listen to God and protect his communication with you by knowing when to speak and when to be silent.

Be confident that your Father takes good care of what is his. Sparrows find nesting places, and panting deer find water. You are more valuable than all of these (Matthew 6:26). He numbers the hairs on your head, and he knows your needs (Matthew 6:32). He promises to feed you with the finest wheat and satisfy you with honey from the rock (Psalm 81:16). He himself is your provision. Be blessed in his daily blessings, answered prayers, and undeserved favors.

Be blessed in the name of the Eternal God,
whose everlasting arms uphold you (Deuteronomy 33:27).

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Thoughts by All thoughts by Sylvia Gunter Thoughts by Women

Published December 11, 2010

Praying the Beatitudes – 2

by Sylvia Gunter
After “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,” the Beatitudes turn outward toward our relationship with others.

Blessed are the merciful. Matthew 5:7
Help me open my heart to others. Through me, show them the mercy they need, setting off a chain reaction of grace. I choose to forgive in the measure as I have been forgiven, because Jesus lives in me with His infinite forgiveness. Your promise is, “Give, and it will be given to you.” You have already poured out to me overflowing mercy. Keep before me that by the same measure I use, it will be measured to me (Luke 6:38).

Blessed are the pure in heart. Matthew 5:8
Wash me with Your holiness, holy God. Burn out the impurities with Your refining fire. I present my hands and my heart for sweet daily cleansing from the pollution and guilt of sin (Psalm 24:3-4). Separate the precious from the dross, the worthless, insincere, and unholy (Philippians 1:9).

Blessed are the peacemakers. Matthew 5:9
Prince of peace, I renounce jealousy and competition. I am content with who I am before You. I receive Your peace in my heart. I choose to be at peace with everybody in all circumstances. As much as I can, I will make peace where there is discord. As a peacemaker, I will sow in peace and reap a harvest of righteousness (James 3:13-18). I am an ambassador of reconciliation.

Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake. Matthew 5:10
Help me to suffer for the right reason, for Jesus’ sake, for God-likeness and commitment to Him, not for self-pity or petty sensitivity. In the past I have tried to create my own righteousness; it is futile. Jesus is the righteous One. I will stand strong when opposed for pursuing Jesus, and I will fall deeper into His arms. I am a citizen of another kingdom, and I bow only to God’s rightful claims on my life by His Spirit.

What does blessed mean? It means happy, to be envied and spiritually prosperous, with life, satisfaction in God’s favor and salvation, regardless of outward conditions. It means joy produced by the revelation of His matchless grace. It means living in God’s kingdom in our heart, so that our satisfaction comes from God, not from favorable circumstances.

Thank God for these promises of the blessings of His kingdom: His relentless mercy, seeing His face, being conformed to the family likeness as His child, and more of heaven’s reign here on earth.

Ask God how to intercede for others using the Beatitudes as the model of the character of Jesus that He wants to work in them. Pray for Jesus to fulfill all His blessings in their lives.

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Thoughts by All thoughts by Sylvia Gunter Thoughts by Women

Published November 15, 2010

Time

by Sylvia Gunter

Beloved child of God, listen to God’s Word for you in Ecclesiastes 3:1. “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven. “And, in Ephesians 5:15-16 (NKJV). “See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time.”

Your Father loves you so much that he has given great thought and care to the days and times of your life. He planned you in his mind before the foundation of the world. He has recorded all your days in his book, and then he spoke you into existence. In the instant of your conception, he said, “Let there be you!” He placed you in this place and in this time to display his heart and his purposes in your generation. Be blessed to know that he determined for you an appointed place, time, and purpose (Acts 17:26).

God is outside time as we know it on earth. He is the eternal I AM. The past, present, and future are all the same to him (Hebrews 13:8). God’s reality is a present-tense now. But we live in the chronology of time and history. There are some things that only make sense in the convergence of events and people in this particular time. If they had happened or been spoken or written at any other time, they would not have the same meaning as they have now. Be blessed as God causes these things to come into alignment in this precise window of time. God is synchronizing and aligning your spirit, soul, and body with time, space, matter, energy, light, and revelation. God will redeem time. Receive the significance of his alignment of time.

Jesus said in Luke 4, “The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me… to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor...” The favor of the Lord in this time is your rightful spiritual inheritance in Jesus. It is the fruit of his incarnation into earth time and existence. Be blessed in God’s appointed time for you. He chose for his Son to live in you in this time. Receive and agree with the seasons of God. Be blessed as God’s favor permeates his time for you. God invites you to see with your eyes, to hear with your ears, and to understand the time of his favor.

Recognize the time, seize the moment of God’s favor, and open the door for yourself and others. Expect and receive the acceptable time of his favor. This is a time of sowing and a time of reaping. Sow to the spirit to reap the things of the Spirit. Be blessed in the law of Spirit and life, not the law of sin and death. Be blessed with sowing some things that others will reap. Be blessed with a harvesting time for which you have not sown, as you reap what your righteous ancestors have sowed. Be blessed to reclaim the righteous deposit of your godly ancestors.

Be blessed with the full purposes of God, which he planned before time, to be released to you in this time, in this season. Be blessed with anticipation, active participation with him, and hope of fulfillment. Be blessed in the dawning of greater light within you that is a union of you and the Spirit of God. Be blessed as his light radiates and shines forth from you in this time.

Be blessed in the name of the eternal I AM (Exodus 3:14).

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Thoughts by All thoughts by Sylvia Gunter Thoughts by Women

Published October 28, 2010

Fruit of Patience

by Sylvia Gunter

< Beloved child of God, listen to your Father’s heart and his ways for you in Galatians 5:22-23,25. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control… Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.”

Paul said in 1 Timothy 1:16. “I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life.”

Be blessed to know that your Father’s patience toward you is his mercy flowing to you. He is a God of second chances, for you and others. He welcomes you back to the Father’s house after the most outrageous violations of his covenant (Luke 15:20-24&32). He remembers your frame, and he knows you are dust. Be blessed to know that you are a work in progress, and he is not finished with you yet. He doesn’t give up on you, and he intends for you to mirror the likeness of Jesus.

In the gospels we see examples of the patience of Jesus with people in every circumstance of life…
…with the woman caught in the act of adultery and with her accusers (John 8:2-11). “Let him who is without sin cast the first stone. Woman, neither do I condemn you.” What restraint produced by patience!

…with his disciples, when they provoked him to cry out “O you of little faith!” or “Have I been so long with you and you don’t know me?”

…with his three closest companions whom he took into the garden in the hour of his greatest agony, only to find them sleeping. He gently and patiently said, “Can you not keep watch with me for one hour? The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.”

You come to One who was like you in every way, so that he might become your merciful and faithful High Priest before God. Since he himself has gone through suffering and temptation, he understands your weaknesses. He can patiently help you (Hebrews 2:17-18). Be blessed with the unlimited patience that Jesus displayed, because he lives in you to show you his patience to you and through you. Let him work his patience in you to bring about his purposes and plans.

Be blessed with long-suffering, not just tolerance, and with grace and compassion with yourself and others. Be blessed with knowing that God is working patience in you, especially when others are trying you. Be blessed with his patient endurance and encouragement in long battles. Be blessed with a holy infusion of your Father’s patience when yours has run out. Patience is a marathon, not a sprint. Be blessed to keep the marathon of patience, even when your legs feel like lead and your lungs are screaming for relief.

Be blessed with the fruit of patience that the Holy Spirit produces in you, your grateful response to his patience (Galatians 5:22).

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Thoughts by All thoughts by Sylvia Gunter Thoughts by Women

Published October 18, 2010

Alignment of Your Times

by Sylvia Gunter

Hear God’s Word for you in Psalm 31:15. “My times are in your hands.” In Daniel 7:25. “He will speak against the Most High and oppress his saints and try to change the set times and the laws.” In Revelation 1:8. “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”

Let God bring your spirit, soul, and body into alignment with his divine time. Choose to stay in the present tense of God’s time. Be blessed as you understand the wiles of the enemy to change God’s times (Daniel 7:25). Ask God to deal with all warping of your time. Be blessed in every part of your spirit to be in harmony with God’s time. Ask him about time, timeliness, and bringing time into alignment, so that you stand in his victories and the breakthroughs already won.

Be blessed with lining up with your birthright and with God’s divine time, so that no portion of your being or spiritual identity or inheritance is out of kilter. God who is out of time can keep your spirit, soul, and body in right relationship to the flow of his days for you. Anticipate his timing on your coming and going. Be blessed to see his fingerprints upon everything that concerns you. If it concerns you, it concerns him. Look for and receive his nurture, and grow and increase and be strong in all that your Father has for you to receive. You have worked hard over time to overcome brokenness. Trust God to propel you forward, because he is nurturing your whole being. Fragmentation is a thing of the past as God brings all of you to full stature, as Jesus grew in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and man. Be blessed with being whole in every part: spirit, soul, and body.

Be blessed to know the fullest dimensions of what God has placed inside you. Be blessed in the perfect harmony of all his gifts, all singing the same tune in the same key of music. One may sing the lead at times, and then another, but none will overpower the beauty of all the gifts together in divine symphony. Be blessed with knowing your identity in Christ for such a time as this. Understand what your Father designed you to do and how he wants to implement your gifts to accomplish that work with authenticity. He is mentoring and coaching you in the completeness of Christ’s likeness. Be blessed with receiving that spiritual deposit now. You have a powerful destiny and purpose. He is guiding and equipping you to demonstrate his magnificence.

Recognize that God’s hand is on every circumstance of your life, as he gives you opportunity to learn and to express all of himself in you. Be blessed as you accept the giftedness he has placed in you, and know that you are a gift from him to all the people in your circle of influence. Be blessed today in God’s redeemed time. He made everything beautiful in his time.

Be blessed in the name of the Alpha and Omega,
with whom time has no beginning or end (Revelations 1:8).

You can comment on this devotional online at:
https://thoughts-about-god.com/blog/2010/10/18/sg_alignment-of-your-times/

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Thoughts by All thoughts by Sylvia Gunter Thoughts by Women

Published September 1, 2010

Possess Your Freedom

by Sylvia Gunter

Beloved one, listen to God’s Word for you in Galatians 5:1. “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.”

Be released into your full freedom in Christ to be entirely whole in your spirit, soul, and body. Receive ministry from your Father until your inner being knows exactly who you are and is strong, as he takes all hindrances and baggage and replaces them with the life of his authority, grace, and freedom in you. You are not meant just to survive. You are meant to thrive and be whole, and free, and complete.

Right where God has placed you, there are things that he has put in you that you don’t know now and fruits in your character that he is building in you in this season and treasures in you that he has not yet revealed. Be released from all yokes of bondage to be the man/woman after God’s own heart that you are. Be blessed to possess your freedom to which he has called you.

Receive the tender correction of your Shepherd. Sometimes he uses his rod and staff to guide you, lest you stray from his care in paths of righteousness, but your soul resists. Welcome your Shepherd’s discipline for your good. He guides you to persevere into full freedom in himself that is your right in him. Persist and stand firm in him. Be blessed with all the liberty of the Lord. It’s yours, because Jesus set you free at the cross, and today he sets you free. Be blessed in his purpose for you to live free in full confidence in him.

Be blessed in the name of your Deliverer (Jeremiah 15:11).

You can comment on this devotional online at:
https://thoughts-about-god.com/blog/2010/09/01/sg_possess-your-freedom/

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Published August 3, 2010

Be Enlarged by the Love of God

by Sylvia Gunter

Listen to the Word of God for you in Song of Solomon 7:6. “How beautiful you are and how pleasing, O love, with your delights!”

Set your spiritual compass heading to these words of God to you. You are his precious one, and he takes pleasure in you. Be blessed to be enlarged with his deep love. Be blessed with knowing that you delight his heart.

Listen as the Love of your life tells you again from the Song of Solomon 4:1,9-10 that you are his beautiful one. “How beautiful you are, my beloved! Oh, how beautiful! All beautiful you are, my beloved; there is no flaw in you. You have ravished my heart, my sister, my bride with one look of your eyes… How fair is your love, my sister, my bride! How much better than wine is your love, and the scent of your perfumes is better than all spices!”

Now is the time for you to receive how deeply God cares for you. Listen to his words to you in Song of Solomon 2:11-13. “See! The winter is past; the rains are over and gone. Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come, the cooing of doves is heard in our land. The fig tree forms its early fruit; the blossoming vines spread their fragrance. Arise, come, my darling; my beautiful one, come with me, for your voice is sweet, and your face is lovely.”

You have faithfully endured the hardship of winter. Even in winter months, the earth is not completely dormant. The process of life continues. And now the spring has come. Let go of any fear or unbelief and fully embrace the spring. Rejoice! Sing! Breathe in the fragrance of new life. It is time to put the winter behind and arise in the new abundance that this season has for you.

You are the object of heaven’s fiery love. He calls you precious one, his beautiful one. His love for you can never diminish, because he is the eternal I AM. He loves you freely with unchanging love (Hosea 14:4). How can you doubt God’s love for you? He doesn’t give you some of his love; he is love, and he gives you himself (1 John 4:16). You have all of him, so you have all of his love at all times. Receive his love, just because you are his. His great love for you is bathed in rich mercy (Micah 7:18; Ephesians 2:4). What more can God do to prove his love than by giving you his Son in exchange for your life (Galatians 2:20; Ephesians 5:25)? Be blessed in the wonder of such an amazing love story.

Be blessed in the name of the God of love who is with you
(2 Corinthians 13:11).

You can comment on this devotional online at:
https://thoughts-about-god.com/blog/2010/08/03/sg_love-of-god/

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Thoughts by All thoughts by Sylvia Gunter Thoughts by Women

Published July 28, 2010

Enjoy God’s Purposes in Creation

by Sylvia Gunter

You may be packing your bags and heading out on vacation to the beach or the mountains for one last summer get-away. As you travel and even if you are staying in your own backyard, be intentional to see, hear, smell, taste, and sense the ways that God makes himself known through creation.

Listen with your spirit to Romans 1:19-20. “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made…”

God has plainly made himself known in creation. Be blessed with gratitude for beauty around you, for the strength it offers, for the peace it brings. Appreciate creation as never before. Be blessed to hear creation sing of your Father’s love. Be sensitive to alignment of his creation with him. Be blessed to welcome and appreciate the identity, the purpose, and the product of land. Be blessed with empathy for land that is out of alignment with God’s purposes because of man’s misuse.

Be blessed in that place in your essence that loves the sea, that can hear the heartbeat of creation as the tides ebb and flow, as the sun rises and sets, as the stars dance at night in the expanse of the dark sky, as birds swoop and dive, as fish jump, as the sun shimmers on the water, and in the smell of the air. Be blessed to watch a wild thunderstorm with flashes of lightning lighting up the sky better than a fireworks show. Be blessed to feel the wind and lift your face to the rain to let it caress your face. Be blessed to say, “Something in this electrified air calls forth deep unto deep inside me.”

Be blessed in that place in your inner being that leaps at the sight of majestic mountains, that soars in response to their peaks, that hears them breathe and sigh as the wind blows across them, that tunes in to the music the water sings as it falls over rocks in keys of music that no man can create. Bless the birds, to affirm their glory in their Creator. Celebrate their place in his creation as their birdsong praises him on your land or in your neighborhood according to his righteous intention.

Be blessed in the name of the Most High over all the earth (Psalm. 97:9).

You can comment on this devotional online at:
https://thoughts-about-god.com/blog/2010/07/28/sg_enjoy-gods-purposes/

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Thoughts by All thoughts by Sylvia Gunter Thoughts by Women

Published June 26, 2010

Dry Bones Praying

by Sylvia Gunter

You may be standing in a desperate situation in the battle of a lifetime. You may feel that you are in the darkest storm of your life. You may be the parent of an out-of-control child, and it seems that everything in your world is out of your control. Good news! It is! But God is still in control. El Roi, the God who sees, knows it all and has a plan that he is working out. God will change your prodigal inside out, not just clean up his act.

Once my heart cried with a friend for her wayward young prodigal. My friend said, “We were in a new place of desperation of soul that could only squeak ‘Jesus‘ or ‘God, help me‘ or ‘God, do something.’ These are incredibly powerful squeaks because of the desperation that throws itself entirely on God.” This is the cry from a parent’s desperate heart for God to do what only God can do.

God gave the vision of the valley of dry bones to his prophet Jeremiah because his heart weeps over the dry bones of his people, as Jesus wept over the city of Jerusalem. The Spirit of God wants to breathe new life into vast areas of spiritual dryness, barrenness, and deadness. I identified with the need of that family and prayed for the barrenness in that young life through Ezekiel’s word picture in Ezekiel 37.

This passage can be intensely personal. Take strength and comfort from these prayers. Re-center yourself on God’s purposes and promises, and take up new prayer weapons to fight the real enemy, not the person. Ask for a weeping heart of mercy, not judgment, to carry the gift of discernment for repentance. Until you can put your tears and your life on the line for the person, marriage, family, church, city, or nation that needs God, you are not in the position of having the heart and mind of Jesus for them. Open your Bible to Ezekiel 37 and read the verses, crying out to God for your own “dry bones” situations in your family.

Ezekiel 37

37:1 Father, your hand is upon us in Spirit-led intercession for _______. Purify our hearts by your Spirit and deposit your burden of prayer in us, unmixed with unsanctified sympathies, anger, bitterness, or human judgments. We are trusting you to bring us through the valley of the shadow of death, as you promised. Lead us to pray as large, deep, and wide as your providence in this situation. Give us a heart of wisdom and mercy that rejoices against judgment for ________.

37:2 We trust that you have gone before and are working, even when we don’t see your purposes. Spirit of the Lord, lead us to rightly discern the real condition of _________, not just react to what we think or have been told. You see the dry bones of barrenness and desolation. You know the entrances that ______ has given the kingdom of evil. _______ is oppressed, fragmented, miserable and unhappy, alienated from your blessing, morally compromised with sin and deception, rebelling against their parents and your Word, and in great danger. Their present condition is not hopeless to you. In darkness, you are light.

37:3 Spirit of counsel, you know everything. You don’t need us to inform you. You want from us restful, trusting communion and absolute surrender to your will, your ways, and your timing. We humbly acknowledge our total dependence on you for faith to stand, for knowledge and counsel, for comfort and security, for direction and outcome. Let us speak only your prayers. Let us not accept as final the circumstances of wickedness and iniquity that our eyes see. You alone know the end from the beginning, and you are the God of the impossible.

37:4 Say to deaf ears, “Hear the word of the Lord!” At your direction, let us discern and pray your purposes for ______ and the entire family. Speak your words to them and cause them to respond obediently to you. Enable us to pray your prayers for the dry bones of ______’s body and soul (heart, mind, will, and emotions). Holy Spirit, call forth your purposes and the future and hope that you have planned for _________.

37:5-6 Sovereign Lord, speak your creative and restoring miracle to the barrenness in ________’s life with the same resurrection power that brought Jesus to life from the dead. Breathe new life into them by your Spirit. Set everything in place in working order in their life, so that ________ will know that you are Lord, Sovereign Ruler, rightfully due their loyalty and obedient service.

37:7 By faith, we believe you, obey you, and pray as you command. Answer by your Spirit and open a way where there seems to be no way. You go before, for you are the God of break-through. Give us a sign of encouragement. Let us hear the “rattling bones” coming together as you make ______ who you intend them to be: healthy, whole, functioning, life-giving. By your blood, Lord Jesus, regenerate life in them and cause the marrow of their inner being to begin to sustain life.

37:8 Thank you for every sign of Your goodness we see, no matter how small. You are answering, and we ask You to do it thoroughly. Superficial answers, cleaning up their act, and looking functional are not enough! Stop short of nothing less than a new heart, a new spirit, a new life. Enable us to reach deeper into Your heart to pray Your promises until Your full purposes are accomplished in all the family.

37:9 Sovereign Lord, call forth from the north, the south, the east, and the west the breath of life for ________. You formed them in their mother’s womb, and as you breathed in them the first breath of their life, breathe into them the new life of the Spirit in all your favor and purpose. Restore them to wholeness. Speak to them, “Choose wisdom, choose righteousness, choose freedom, choose life!”

37:10-11 No situation is hopeless to you. Sovereign Lord, break off the shackles of captivity. Cause _______ to stand up in all the fullness of your redeeming power. Make _______ mighty in your Spirit. Deliver them as an effectual weapon in your hand. Set into them your spiritual gifts and calling among their generation of yet-to-be evangelists, preachers, disciplers, and world-changers that Satan is working overtime to annihilate. Let us see your glory in these things that were intended for evil.

37:12 You have the keys to open the prison doors of sin, bondage, and the pit of destruction. Bring this captive out into all their true inheritance in you. Restore them to the family and the family of God.

37:13-14 Father, act in such a way that ________’s transformation will be a testimony to your redemptive power. What you are doing, do quickly. In Jesus’ name, amen.

You can comment on this devotional online at:
https://thoughts-about-god.com/blog/2010/06/26/sg_dry-bones-praying/
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