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Do More in a Minute Than You Could in Your Lifetime

Gary Keesee • Sep 26, 2017

When you trust God, He can do more in one minute than you can even imagine in your lifetime.
Look at 1 Kings 17.

In Elijah’s time, there was a drought in the land because Israel was in rebellion against God. Elijah was the prophet calling Israel to repentance. He was living by a brook and ravens were bringing him food everyday.

And they weren’t just bringing him worms and berries; they were bringing him bread and meat in the mornings and bread and meat in the evenings.

*Because God always funds His assignments.*

But because there had been no rain in the land, eventually the brook dried up.
1 Kings 17:8-9 says, “Then the word of the Lord came to him: ‘Go at once to Zarephath in the region of Sidon and stay there. I have directed a widow there to supply you with food.’”

Now, if you don’t know this story, your first thought might be that God sent Elijah to this particular widow in Zarephath to get food because she must have a vast storehouse of food, right?

Wrong.

Read this:
>*So he went to Zarephath. When he came to the town gate, a widow was there gathering sticks. He called to her and asked, “Would you bring me a little water in a jar so I may have a drink?” As she was going to get it, he called, “And bring me, please, a piece of bread.”*

>*“As surely as the Lord your God lives,” she replied, “I don’t have any bread—only a handful of flour in a jar and a little olive oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it—and die.”*

>*Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small loaf of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son. For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord sends rain on the land.’”*

>*She went away and did as Elijah had told her. So there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family. For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the Lord spoken by Elijah.*

So, not only did the widow not have a storehouse of food—she had only ONE meal left. *One.*

In the natural, it looked like it was her last meal. It looked like making Elijah some bread was going to cost her everything.

But God wasn’t trying to take something *from* her; He was trying to get something *to* her.

Think about it. Why was that widow chosen to help Elijah over all of the people in Israel?

Because she had the confidence, the faith, and the courage to step out and do what God said. She was sold out.

I’ve seen God do this so many times. It doesn’t always make sense, and fear may try to come, and you may want to hold back. But when you trust God, He can do more in one minute than you can even imagine in your lifetime.

*There’s your answer.*

It’s not the formula of giving that works; it’s the complete dependence on God. It’s about being sold out to God, sold out to the Kingdom, and generous. Because generosity is an expression of God’s very character. He’s in the people business. He’s *generous*, and He wants to touch people. So, if you want God to get involved in your situation, you need to impact people for Him. Even if it looks like it may take everything you have.

Trust Him.

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How Your Words Can Wreck Your Life More Than Anything Else

By Gary Keesee • 11 Sep, 2024
Reading Time 3 mins 22 secs – “These people are killing me!” “We can’t afford that.” “I have such a hard time losing weight.” “My husband doesn’t want to do anything.” “I’m so sick and tired of this.” How many of those statements sound familiar? Think about it. How often do you hear things like that said by someone on television, by a coworker, or by a family member? How often do words like that come out of YOUR mouth? Take a few minutes to really think about everything that has come out of your mouth in just the last 24 hours. Either make a mental note of all the things you’ve been saying or actually write them down. Then, come right back to this blog, because you have to know how important this is. Your words are setting the course for your life. What have you been saying, friend? Maybe you’re thinking: But, Gary, I REALLY don’t mean those things when I say them. Maybe you’re like the guy I was flying with one time who started cussing left and right as soon as we took off. There I was in the jump seat hearing everything. When he remembered I was there, he covered his mouth and said, “Oh, I’m sorry. Excuse my French.” He said he didn’t mean to say that. Oh, but he did. Because here’s the thing: You can’t fool your heart. Romans 10:10 (NIV) says, “ For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess and are saved. ” You can go to church on the weekend and sing songs about your authority and say, “In Jesus’s name” all you want, and play the religious game, but what is really in your heart will be what comes out of your mouth. It may not come out every day, but it will come out eventually. And whatever you believe in your heart and say with your mouth is what you’ll have— good or bad . Proverbs 18:21 says that YOUR words have the power of life and death. Your mouth is literally releasing life or death with Every. Word. You. Speak. That’s where so many people are messing up. So many people want to win in life, but they’re killing God’s promises and their futures with their own words. Jesus showed us this in Mark 11 when He cursed the fig tree and it died. Your words are just as binding as Jesus’s words. In Matthew 18:18 (NIV), He said, “ Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. ” You HAVE to be careful about what you’re saying. You will walk in EXACTLY what you decree. Don’t say, “Well, I’ve tried that ‘faith stuff,’ but it hasn’t worked.” Don’t say you don’t trust God or you aren’t seeing results. What have you been decreeing over your life? What is really in your heart? Are you saying what you really believe or just saying what you think you’re supposed to say? What comes out of your mouth when the pressure hits? What are you saying in the middle of the night when you couldn’t pay your electric bill and you know they’re coming the next day to shut it off? What are you saying when the pain or the sickness seems downright unbearable? What are you saying when the picture you see doesn’t yet match the promise? God gave YOU the keys. The authority is in YOUR hands. James 3 tells us that we are setting the course of our lives with our words , but most people have no clue how this works. They’re trying to get to one place and end up somewhere else, and they wonder why. It’s like setting out for London and ending up in the Philippines. Friend, you’re the one steering the ship. What are you saying? Make it only good things! Say “yes” and “amen” to every promise! Decree provision, healing, direction, wisdom, and health over your life! Use your words wisely.

“I Just Thought…”: Why What You Think Matters More Than You Know

By Gary Keesee • 13 Aug, 2024
Reading Time 3 mins 19 secs – We’ve all heard stories about people making questionable decisions. What makes a person have an affair? Why would someone who was created as a man decide he wants to be a woman? Why are people putting their Bibles down and walking away from church? What causes any person to be willing to do something they know could destroy their reputation, their family, or their business?  The answer is deception. To be deceived means to believe what is false to be true, to be misled, or to be ensnared. We’ve all heard more than a few stories of deception—the woman who found out her husband had another family, the politician who got caught in a web of lies, or the older neighbor couple who was cheated out of thousands of dollars by a contractor. But did you know that the Bible says that we can deceive ourselves? I bet you don’t know of anyone sharing those stories. We can easily deceive ourselves. It just takes a thought. See, thoughts are not innocent. They’re seeds. They’re pictures. What you listen to, what you look at, the things you do, and the friends you hang around all produce thoughts—pictures—in your mind, whether you realize it or not. When you begin to concentrate on those pictures, they produce desire, and desire can get you into trouble. The Bible says that desire drags us. It produces a plan to get what it wants, and that plan can take you to a place you never thought you’d be. Don’t get me wrong—that’s a good thing if you’re thinking about good things. Your good desires can drag you to succeed and to win. The problem is that your heart can’t tell the difference between a good desire and an evil desire. That’s where you have to get a handle on things because this is nothing to play with. It’s life and death. So, what do you do? How can you figure out if you’re deceiving yourself when deceived people don’t usually even know they’re deceived? You start by being careful about what you look at, what you listen to, and who you talk to. This is what the Bible calls “guarding your heart.” Then you decide to choose what you’re thinking about. Yes, you can choose what you think about. No matter what pops into your head, the Bible says that we must take every thought captive to make it obedient to Christ. Plain and simple, your brain does not have the authority to think anything it wants. You can choose what you think about. So, test every thought you have against God’s will for you. How do you know His will? Read your Bible. Measure everything against what God says. Umpire your thoughts. If they don’t align with what God says, get them out—replace them with the right thoughts. How do you know what the right thought is to think? Read your Bible. This is why I say that memory verses aren’t just for kids; they’re for everyone. If you memorize some Scriptures, you’ll have them ready and waiting to replace those negative thoughts. When you analyze what happens in stories of real change in people’s lives, you’ll almost always find the same scenarios. They decided to change their thoughts. They took the time to make a change. They turned the TV off. They started reading their Bibles. They elevated God’s Word above the other voices in their lives and set their hearts on it. Are you ready for real change in your life? Then, make a decision to change your thoughts, to change your pictures. Ask yourself: What have I been looking at? What have I been watching? How much time have I spent in the Word of God this week? Who am I listening to? Who is giving me advice? Is it someone who has failed or someone who has walked it out and can show me which way to go? What am I focusing on? What am I thinking? Ask yourself these questions, and you’ll see your future.

Your Spouse Feeling Like Your Enemy? 13 Surefire Ways to Build Unity.

By Drenda Keesee • 10 Jul, 2024
Reading Time 4 mins 26 secs – By Drenda Keesee “I’m so tired of picking up your laundry!” “You overspent again!” “You never make time for me!” How many times have you said something like that to your spouse?
Or wanted to say something like that to them? How often do you allow yourself to get into a pattern of bickering with your spouse over things like money, household responsibilities, how often you talk to your mother (yes, I wrote that), how often you have sex (yes, I wrote that too), or other issues? If you’ve ever fallen into a pattern of bickering with your spouse, you know how easy it is to stay there. And that’s just what the enemy wants. Because he knows that if he can keep you fighting over the dirty laundry, who’s on bath duty, who spends more money, or anything else, then he can keep you out of unity and away from your inheritance in the Kingdom of God. The enemy’s greatest goal is to divide and conquer; and too often, we let him into our marriages. Ephesians 6:12 reminds us that our fight is not against human enemies but against the rulers of the darkness of this world. Why do we forget that? Why are we willing to practically wage war with the person we’re supposed to love the most over the most insignificant things? Are the petty things like him not emptying the trash or her buying that extra pair of earrings really worth you missing out on the promises of God? No! So, how do you stop looking at your spouse as your enemy and build unity in your marriage? Here are my top 13 tips: 1. Make sure there’s no sin in your life.
 Sin destroys unity—not just between you and your spouse but between you and God. Confess it, and eliminate it from your life. 2. Don’t compare yourself or your spouse to others.
 No couple is perfect, and no person is perfect. Don’t be deceived into believing the grass is greener anywhere else. Remember, you only see people’s public faces, not their private struggles. 3. Focus on the positive in your spouse.
 We ALL have faults. Sadly, it’s human nature to hide our own faults but to point out the weaknesses in others. God sees both you and your spouse as valuable. Try looking at your spouse the same way. Find positive things to focus on and things to be grateful for. 4. Pay attention to what you’re saying.
 Use your words to build up, not tear down. Your words are seeds that will produce fruit. Don’t say things like, “You never …” or “You always ….” Realize how much power your words have to build unity in your marriage or destroy it. 5. Pray together. If you’ve never prayed together, or if it’s been awhile, it WILL be awkward and uncomfortable. Do it anyway. 6. Learn more about the differences between you and your spouse as a man and a woman.
 It’s not hard to see that we communicate differently. The more you understand that, and work on it, the less communication breakdowns will occur in your marriage. 7. Squash selfishness. Really think about whether you’re placing your needs over those of your spouse. Selfishness can easily squash any hopes of unity. Squash it first. 8. Forgive. Holding onto an offense or hurt does nothing to help you. It only turns into bitterness. I love this quote from Ruth Bell Graham: “A happy marriage is the union of two good forgivers.” 9. Apologize. Say you’re sorry first. Being too prideful to admit when you’re wrong only builds walls of separation in your relationship. 10. Work at being a good friend. This is a big one. All too often, we work more at being a good friend to our friends, but we stink at being a good friend to our spouse. Change that. Figure out your spouse’s love language and communicate it. Make plans to do something fun together. Be the friend to your spouse that you want him/her to be to you . 11. Set goals together and accomplish them as a team. Many of us show ourselves as valuable team members at work, in class, and in sports, but we’d be downright embarrassed if those same people saw how we work ( or don’t work ) together with our spouses. Change! 12. Have sex! It’s sad that I even need to include this, but it’s an issue that impacts the unity of so many marriages! Remember that the marriage bed is the healing oil that makes the two one flesh. 13. Commit, or recommit , your marriage to God. Last, but definitely not least, this is the most important tip . God can help you recognize when your marriage is under attack, free you from any insecurities or failures that are preventing you from being one in your relationship, and give you an understanding of His design for marriage. Marriage isn’t always sunshine and butterflies. There will be bumps in the road. There will be times when all you want to do is give up. But as someone who has been married for more than 41 years, I can tell you that working through your differences and fighting for your marriage is well worth the effort. The reward is so much greater than the struggles. Make the decision to apply these tips to your marriage regardless of whether your spouse reciprocates or is accepting of the change in you. It’s YOUR actions that will win his/her heart over.
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