Posts

Showing posts from May, 2010

May 25, 2010, "Compassionate Embrace Revealed by Jesus"

Image
Triumphant Victorious Reminders Inspired by the Holy Spirit Written by: Teresa Criswell Matthew 9 Embracing people for the glory of God is what we are called to, not the embracing of what the world has to offer. What the world has to offer for us to embrace is like embracing a castle made of sand...it will crumble and fall and the only thing that remains is just that...remains...no substance, no life. The Light reveals our God. Jesus is the Light who revealed His Father God. We have the Light that reveals the Father, but what has stopped the majority of us to shine forth the light? It's concern for the things we 'believe' or have been convinced we should be concerned with. We are concerned with who has what 'anointing', what book we should be influenced by, what this part of the church isn't doing. Before you know it, it becomes about us all over again...the vicious cycle of humanism. When we get back to the letters in Red; that Precious Book called, The

March 24, 2010, "Reflecting Back to One Year Ago"

Reflecting back to something I wrote one year ago...I needed this today Lord..thank you! Triumphant Victorious Reminders Inspired by the Holy Spirit By: Teresa Criswell "Let your character or moral disposition be free from love of money [including greed...lust, and craving for earthly possessions] and be satisfied with your present [circumstances and with what you have]; for He [God] Himself has said, 'I will not in any way fail you nor give you up nor leave you without support. [I will] not, [I will] not, [I will] not in any degree leave you helpless nor forsake not let [you] down (relax My hold on you)! [Assuredly not!]'" ~ Hebrews 13:5 ~ Amplified Version "No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will not fail you or forsake you." ~ Joshua 1:5 ~ Amplified Version Reading these scripture verses, God's promises of not leaving us is more than amazing. I know so many times we reflec

May 24, 2010, "God Is Perfect Peace"

Image
Triumphant Victorious Reminders Inspired by the Holy Spirit Written by: Teresa Criswell "You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed [on You], because he trusts in You." ~ Isaiah 26:3 ~ Lord, I pray Your Perfect Peace that surpasses all understanding over so many that are in the midst of overwhelming storms. Lord, I pray their desperation would lead them to their minds to be desperately stayed on You, as we finally trust You! Trusting you during the beautiful moments and the moments that are dark and dreary. Father God, I am reminded that the overwhelming storms are nothing in comparison to You! God, You are the Rushing River of Refreshment! You are as the Mighty Waterfalls that cascade so violently upon the waters below. Lord, as I pray Your perfect peace over many, I know Father that You ARE Perfect Peace! Lord, I pray for Salvation Who is Jesus, to be received by the many who are looking for salvation elsewhere. I am reminded this morning Lord that You are Per

May 23, 2010, "Gates and Courts"

"Enter into His gates with thanksgiving and a thank offering and into His courts with praise! Be thankful and say so to Him, bless and affectionately praise His name! For the Lord is good; His mercy and loving-kindness are everlasting, His faithfulness and truth endure to all generations." ~ Psalm 100:4-5 Amplified~ There are times I love to pray the scripture from Psalm 100, but then I forget which one comes first...courts or gates....haahaa! Then today, I got this great visual as I went to the Word and prayed this out. I believe the Lord gave me this analogy, "Teresa, before you can enter someone's gated property, you must first go through the open gates. As you proceed through the entrance of the gates, you are grateful that they let you in. As you enter in with gratefulness, you are able to enter into their courts. "Father God, In the Name of Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit, I am thankful You have allowed me into your beautiful gates. Lord, as

May 22, 2010, "Reflecting back to one year ago"

Triumphant Victorious Reminders Inspired by the Holy Spirit By: Teresa Criswell (May 21, 2009) Be blessed by this reminder as it was written one year and one day ago today... "He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall remain stable and fixed under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, "He is my Refuge and my Fortress, my God; on Him I lean and rely, and in Him I trust..." ~ Psalm 91 ~ Tired as I had just come home from working out, yet anticipating to see my parents, I heard the knock at the door. As I unlocked and opened the door there stood my awesome dad. As I invited him inside my dog who is a smooth fox terrier darted out the door. The dog paused for a moment as he heard my husband and I yelling for him, screaming out, "Jaaaacccck! Jaaaacccck!" I was tired yet as I chased Jack suddenly a burst of energy went right through me. Running after him I realized that he would stop and mark his territory on almost ever tree along his wa

May 20, 2010, "Overwhelming Needs met by an Overwhelming Awesome God"

Image
Triumphant Victorious Reminders Inspired by the Holy Spirit Written by: Teresa Criswell II Timothy 4:2 The needs are profound. There are many who are seeing the hard times come upon them as two great walls that are slowly coming together, crushing all hope, giving up with no life left. I am amazed to see the ones who have the Lord, they have great hope in Him. They are hoping for a great result, but it seems that even in the midst of great hopelessness and no matter the result, their eyes are steadfastly stayed on Jesus Christ, the Hope of Glory. As I am thinking of the several families that are going through these times I am being reminded at this moment that while in the store, school, place of business and we see a need that must be met, then I believe we aren't there by coincidence, but by God's divine appointment. I am reminded that it may not always be about the financial need, but the investment of our time, a word in due season, an embrace, a touch on the hand, or pra

May 18, 2010, "The Comforter...He Provides What He is!

Triumphant Victorious Reminders Inspired by the Holy Spirit Written by: Teresa Criswell ~ Isaiah 61:1-3 ~ Isaiah the prophet speaking by the power of the Holy Spirit of God revealing Jesus Christ hundreds of years before Jesus came to the earth! The people in that time caught only a glimpse of what would be manifested upon the earth hundreds of years later as Isaiah spoke of this Indescribable Liberator and Freedom Fighter revealing Triumphant Victory! And now thousands of years later, we are able to experience that which the people could not comprehend experiencing for one moment. The imagination of the people could only take them so far in attempting to imagine such a beautiful freedom. Have you allowed Jesus Christ to become your Savior and Lord? Is He Your Savior, your Rescuer? Did you allow Him to rescue you? Are you in awe of how He revealed the Father God as He walked this earth? Do you know that we have the power to reveal the Son of God, because of the Holy Spirit who revea

May 15, 2010, "Boldness"

Triumphant Victorious Reminders Inspired by the Holy Spirit Written by: Teresa Criswell Acts 4:13,29, 31 II Corinthians 3:12, 7:4 Ephesians 3:12 Philippians 1:20 I Timothy 3:13 Hebrews 10:19 I John 4:17 "Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgement; because as He is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. We love Him because He first loved us." ~ I John 4:17-19 ~ At one time I related being bold, as to being overbearing and someone who was rude and abrasive. Yet, as I have been studying the Word of God, I realize that boldness is Who God is...He is Love. Boldness is an amazing attribute that reveals God's glorious grace as to how we love and speak forth His Word. I am reminded today that boldness is a tool against the fear of rejection; fearing, "What will they say if I talk about the Lord

May 14, 2010, "The Rock"

Triumphant Victorious Reminders Inspired by the Holy Spirit Written By: Teresa Criswell "...I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me." ~ John 5:24-30 ~ Romanticizing thoughts of My Savior is overwhelmingly beautiful. I am so amazed beyond amazement that I have been rescued by my Savior Jesus Christ. My spirit yearned for something more than the wisdom of the world could offer. My heart said, "Yes" to His glorious, mighty hands as He reached out and said, "Will you follow me?" Will I follow this Amazing Savior who could have said, "Look at me! Look what I have done. Look what I can do." Yet, instead as recorded in John 5:30, he says, "I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me." I am most amazed by one of the storie

May 13, 2010 "Perfection?"

Triumphant Victorious Reminders Inspired by the Holy Spirit Written By: Teresa Criswell "[As for] God, His way [is] perfect; The word of the LORD is proven; He [is] a shield to all who trust in Him." ~ Psalm 18:30 ~ I sigh with great satisfaction. Today, my dear friend Jennifer and I received a massive God Kiss as we were able to fellowship with one another. Our fellowships consist of giggling, trading back massages and more than anything basking in the amazing testimonies of our Awesome God! I love my 'God kisses' when I am with her especially...the experience is even richer. It reminds me of the principle of agreement in scripture where two or more are gathered in His name, there He is in the midst of them! When Jennifer and I get together, many times it is an experience of God's beautiful embrace upon His daughters. While Jennifer and I were laughing about our struggles and the healing that God is bringing us through, especially in regards to obsessing wit

May 11, 2010, "Reflecting back to May 11, 2009"

Triumphant Victorious Reminders Inspired by the Holy Spirit Written By: Teresa Criswell Today's reminder is from one year ago today...I pray you are blessed as I was. "And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him and let it drop (leave it, let it go), in order that your Father Who is in heaven may also forgive you your [own] failings and shortcomings and let them drop." ~ Mark 11:25 ~ Amplified Version The thoughts of how her friend spoke to her rehearsed in her mind like a broken record. The more she 'nurtured' the pain, the more her face revealed pain and anger; unknowingly she fed bitterness. Surrounded with beauty of her children and the love of her husband she would rather not give place to because her mind was so consumed with how she felt she was wronged. Legitimately, she had a 'right' to be angry, however, that right infringed on her joy from the Lord. It infringed on enjoying her beautiful blessings. Her life

May 10, 2010, "This Is Where The Healing Begins..."

Triumphant Victorious Reminders Inspired by the Holy Spirit Written By: Teresa Criswell "As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us." ~ Psalm 103:12 NKJV ~ For many who know me, please pray before reading this. I pray that you will not look at me with eyes of shame; instead I pray you see the transforming power of Almighty God over a woman's life who went against everything she knew and had been taught. The life I had lived was of great selfishness and vanity, a life with great void, making the intentional choice to walk away from God. "I woke up late. I had RSVP'ed for the event that I was to be attending at 10 am. It was now 9:45 am and I wasn't even close to ready. The anxious thoughts of, "How are you going to get there without being beyond late?" "The drive alone is 15 minutes."  I thought,"Well, I'm not going then, I can't show up late." Yet, the pull on my

May 10, 2010, "A Year Ago Today"

Triumphant Victorious Reminders Inspired by the Holy Spirit Written by: Teresa Criswell The following post was written a year ago today...'Mother's Day'...I know today is Monday, but please be blessed by this message as I was. If you know anyone who would find this as an embrace from the Lord, please forward it on... "Her children rise up and call her blessed (happy, fortunate, and to be envied); and her husband boasts of and praises her [saying], "Many daughters have done virtuously, nobly, and well [with the strength of character that is steadfast in goodness], but you excel them all." ~ Proverbs 31:28 ~ This is to honor every woman who is a mother. Especially the one's who have endured miscarriages. Just know that just because you may not have carried that precious child in your arms, your womb carried what your arms could not embrace. The precious child heard your heartbeat of love on their behalf. They knew as their mother you wanted more for them t

May 9, 2010, "Mother's Day"

Triumphant Victorious Reminders Inspired by the Holy Spirit Written By: Teresa Criswell Let your father and your mother be glad, and let her who bore you rejoice. ~ Proverbs 23:25 ~ "He grants the barren woman a home, Like a joyful mother of children. Praise the LORD!" ~ Psalm 113:9 ~ "As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us." ~ Psalm 103:12 ~ I sit here on my bed, with the laptop, watching my daughter sleep. Her little nose congested and her throat sore. I pray the healing of God that is already available to be made manifest on her little body in Jesus name. This leads me to the reminder of the privilege and the opportunity to pray for this sweet spirit that I get to call, 'my' daughter. I am led to my definition of 'mother' with inspiration from Lisa Bevere. The world and the church need less mentors and more mothers. "A mentor duplicates themselves, however, a mother is someone who desires mor

May 7, 2010, "Truth"

Triumphant Victorious Reminders Inspired by the Holy Spirit Written by: Teresa Stevens Criswell Jesus, thank You that You never placated sin and pride. You are Truth. Truth is Truth. A lie mingled with truth is still a lie. And You are NOT a lie! With You Jesus there is no mingling of anything...You are Straight Up Righteous and Just! Hallelujah! I praise You Father for The Truth! Your Truth leads and guides us as we trust in Truth! As there are many names that describe You; I so love You Jesus that You are Truth! You are Freedom! You are The Word of God made flesh! You are Life! You are The Resurrection! You are The Death Conqueror! You are Victory! You are Triumph! You are Power! You are! You are Majesty! You are not just awesome...You are The Awesome! Thank You Lord that we can rejoice in Who You are!!!!! Thank You! Thank You!

May 5, 2010, "Almighty Father!"

Triumphant Victorious Reminders Inspired by the Holy Spirit Written By: Teresa Criswell Psalm 8 How great, how awesome, how amazing you are God! You are King of kings and Lord of lords! You are King of all, as you need no advisors! You are Lord of all, as You not only own everything, but You created everything! You are The Bright and Morning Star! The Alpha and The Omega! I love that Alpha is the beginning of the Greek Alphabet and Omega is the last of the Greek Alphabet! The Beginning and The End...Yet You have no beginning nor will you ever end. You do not fail, nor do You have ability to Fail. You are Father, every attribute of Who You Are is Father. You Holy Father Provide, Protect and Heal. You not only have the ability to do this; but You are Provision, Protection and You are The Almighty Physician...you not only restore the body, but also the mind and the spirit! Beyond this life is the life to come in Your Holy Presence in ways our mortal minds could never imagine, unless w

May 1, 2010, "Jesus, The Word"

Matthew 13 My husband and I were reading Matthew 13 together. It is a passage that we have read, been taught and many times are taught in relation to finances. I have to say, although the principles of God cover every aspect of our life; as we read this passage, I wanted to read it from the perspective of Jesus teaching. I didn't want to read it from an angle to benefit agendas that we want to see fulfilled in our own lives; whether it be with our family, jobs, 'church', leadership, finances, and choices in general. As we sat reading together, my husband said, "Teresa, who is the Word?" I said, "The Word is Jesus (John 1)!" He said, "Ok, because He is the Word, let's read verses 18 through 23 with the name of Jesus in place of the word, "word" in the text." As I started to read, here is how it read and my spirit jumped with great joy: "When anyone hears Jesus of the Kingdom, and does not understand Him, then the wicked