Triumphant Victorious Reminders

Triumphant Victorious Reminders Inspired by the Holy Spirit Written by: Teresa Criswell "...By His (Jesus') stripes we are and were healed." ~ Isaiah 53:5 & I Peter 2:24 ~ I imagine in time past a little girl many years ago looking up at the blue sky, the wind blowing in her hair and the clouds moving slowly above her. Like reflection in water, you can see the skies moving through her awestruck eyes; so moved by the majesty of the heavens that declare the Holiness and Glory of God. The dreams that roll through her mind at that very moment are as a dance of beauty and romance. Who will I marry one day? What will my children look like? I will be the best mom ever! As time passed through her; the excitement of marriage, the joys of children suddenly seemed to stand still. The rough edges of adulthood as a result of life, concealed the smooth surface of beauty and innocence of a child. The beauty of a child, seeing through eyes of faith and powerful, immovable lo

Proverbs 19:11, Micah 6:8, Isaiah 61:3 I do not know where to begin. What I will say though is I am blown away by the faithfulness of God! This is a follow up of the testimony of God and what He did and showed me after the accusation that I wrote about in my last post . The things I received after writing the devotional were these words: * "I Am your Defender" * Protocol, learning to represent as a daughter of the Most High God and King * Opportunity to pray for the accuser * Don't ask, "Why me, Lord?" Declare, "What can I learn from this? Thanking God for the opportunity for growth." As I prayed that evening for the accuser, I realized it was like a balm to my soul, my mind. In the midst of the prayer; the compassion of God came over me. The next morning I awoke with a heaviness; despairing over the words spoken. I was out of bed and with great fervency, I lifted up my arms and said, "Lord, I need encouragement from You! Lord, from You! I d

Triumphant Victorious Reminders Inspired by the Holy Spirit Written by: Teresa Criswell "No weapon formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue which rises against you in judgement You shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is from Me," says the Lord." ~ Isaiah 54:17 ~ Have you ever been broadsided with a hurtful accusation that was not true? How did you respond? Notice...I didn't ask how did you 'feel'? But how did you respond? Without giving too much detail, I received a text from a number I did not recognize. The text accused me of remaining friends with this person's ex-husband via 'facebook' even after their divorce. This woman is someone who visits our fellowship. I had forgotten he was even a friend on my 'facebook' as I never kept up with him. It was strange because for about two months I felt that I needed to deactivate my 'facebook', but prolonged the deacti

Excerpt from post written on June 26, 2009 (One year ago today) Triumphant Victorious Reminders Inspired by the Holy Spirit By: Teresa Criswell "The LORD [is] their strength, And He [is] the saving refuge of His anointed." ~ Psalm 28:8 ~ The stars and the moon illuminate the dark sky. The wind softly blowing as the sand moves effortlessly in the wind. The men and women move with caution as their feet are dressed in black combat boots. Their heavy boots sink into the deep sandy ground as they advanced towards the enemy. Suddenly the leader of the group signals to the rest of his men and women who see through their night vision goggles to stop. At this very moment halfway around the world, an intercessor awakes from her sleep as she is immediately led to pray. The words uttered out of her mouth flow like a river out of her belly. This is a moment she will never forget. Her mind cannot comprehend what she is praying for. The only thing she is sure of is that the Lord has awoke h

Triumphant Victorious Reminders Inspired by the Holy Spirit Written by: Teresa Criswell "For Ezra had prepared and set his heart to seek the Law of the Lord [to inquire for it and of it, to require and yearn for it], and to do and teach in Israel its statutes and its ordinances." ~ Ezra 7:10 Amplified ~ As we continue on in the Book of Ezra, we see the miraculous giving and provisions to build the Temple and then suddenly the enemy comes in. The enemy being the Samaritans. They bullied and terrified the people. But it didn't stop there; they even hired 'terrorists or bullies' against the people of Israel to frustrate their purpose and plans all the days that King Cyrus reigned. The money being poured into frustrating the purposes and plans of the people; I can not imagine the cost both financially but more than that...the cost of going against the people of God. The Book of Ezra is not detailed in what exactly happened but in chapter four we realize that the co

Triumphant Victorious Reminders Inspired by the Holy Spirit Written by: Teresa Criswell ~ The Book Of Ezra ~ I began to yearn, thirst and hunger for more as Buddy spoke a message yesterday in regards to Nehemiah. I was amazed to find that Nehemiah's heart and yearning was to give glory to God in all that he did. This hunger and thirst to have a heart like Nehemiah, led me to pray to God for a glimpse of His insight, in which I was led to first read Ezra. Have you ever read the Book of Ezra? I admit, I had not but just here and there. One thing I am learning is that the Bible is not for casual readers (as my husband says). It can be easy to take things out of context or to grab that which makes us feel good to appease that self-help humanistic ego that we tend to gravitate to by default. I want to share as the Lord leads in parts of what I learned today. I know every moment we read this amazing written Word, which is only a tiny glimpse, we receive more and more of the amazin

Triumphant Victorious Reminders Inspired by the Holy Spirit Written By: Teresa Criswell "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope." ~ Jeremiah 29:11 ~ The 'buzzing' sounds of life all around me as I hear the many people talking amongst themselves. I walk by many people; each one a someone, a spirit made by God. They are someone that God foreknew before they were formed in their mother's womb. I stand in that moment with great conviction as I hear the question, "Do you know what I have planned for her?" "Do you know what I have planned for him?" I ponder in amazement that the Lord would allow me to catch a glimpse of His thoughts toward the many people. I do not know their names. I do not know where they live. I do not know their dreams that have been fulfilled or dreams that seem or have been broken. The glimpsing thoughts in just that moment are

Triumphant Victorious Reminders Inspired by the Holy Spirit Written by: Teresa Criswell "And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son in your hearts, crying out, "Abba, Father!" ~ Galatians 4:6 ~ Father God, You are my delight. I realize my need for you even more when my wants will not satisfy this insatiable appetite. The cravings within me only get stronger for Your glorious presence to manifest. I yearn for Your Glorious Face to shine upon who I am so that I may reveal You to those who unknowingly desire You. I know that my flesh cannot survive your Holy presence. My flesh would melt away by Your All Consuming Glorious Fire; there's a cry on the inside O God, I need You. I need You, I want You, I desire You. I desire for Your love to penetrate the hearts of the many whose spirits long for You, even though their minds do not know the desire of their spirit that cries out for Your Holy Spirit. I desire Your powerful testimony of grace to be

Triumphant Victorious Reminders Inspired by the Holy Spirit Voice: Teresa Criswell Before watching the "Overflowing Vessel" video, please press 'pause' on my playlist which is on the bottom of the page. "Jesus answered and said to her, " If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, 'Give Me a drink,' you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water ." ~ John 4:10 ~

This is a bit lengthy...but please pray for my amazing dad! He is truly my and my sister's amazing example of a glimpse of our Amazing Father God! In regards to my dad, I am sending out a request of fervent prayer unto our Awesome God on my daddy's behalf. It is really difficult to watch your dad, so strong, who can literally do 'anything' be subject to pain that hinders him in ways that I never thought possible. It began on Tuesday early evening when he was trimming the small bushes outside. As he bent over, his back literally gave out causing him to be face down on the ground. He was on the ground for an hour and a half and no one knew. My mom was at bible study and no one found him until a person in the neighborhood, walking their dog found my dad. He was in so much pain that the person was unable to assist him in getting up. What the kind person was able to do was get some ibuprofen and water and give it to my dad, for some relief. My dad eventually was

Triumphant Victorious Reminders Inspired by the Holy Spirit Written By: Teresa Criswell "And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number believed and turned to the Lord. Then news of these things came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent out Barnabas to go as far as Antioch. When he came and had seen the grace of God, he was glad, and encouraged them all that with purpose of heart they should continue with the Lord." ~ Acts 11:22-25 NKJV ~ God is so awesome! His love is never ending, nor His grace and mercy! Let us never mistaken however, that He is worthy to be praised. His mercies should never be mistaken to take for granted nor take advantage of. His forgiveness is overwhelming, yet we must be reminded that His grace allows us to rise above sin! I love that everything He calls us to; He never calls us to do His purposeful plans on our own. He has equipped us with His matchless grace! Notice that self-reliance is never something God has calle

Triumphant Victorious Reminders Inspired by the Holy Spirit Written By: Teresa Criswell ~ Acts 2:1-12; Acts 8:1-24 ~ I love the Book of Acts. Reading it this morning after praying for wisdom and understanding of our God, I noticed something quite interesting. After the Holy Spirit came upon the Jews in Jerusalem, the manifestation was that they could speak in other 'tongues' or known languages (Acts 2:4-12). The purpose of this manifestation is quite clear in Acts 2; to share the Gospel of the Infallible Truth of God through Jesus. Jesus said that they were to go into all the parts of the earth to proclaim the gospel...and they were equipped to do so. For some reason it had not occurred to me the depth of God's equipping power. A part of His equipping power was to overcome a big obstacle between the human race...language barriers. I am reminded yet again that we know that God has His perfect purpose for His gifts. They are not to be utilized with carelessness but wit

Triumphant Victorious Reminders Inspired by the Holy Spirit Written by: Teresa Criswell ~ Matthew 28:19-20 ~ Yesterday, the following plea came out of my spirit..."Lord, I no longer want to reveal myself to others...I only want to reveal You." As I thought about this seemingly impossible plea that was not my own, I was reminded that my Rescuer does not want me to reveal the rescued one (me); but He longs for me to reveal Him, The Rescuer. The story of my rescue is not my testimony but God's and His alone! I have heard some say with great intentions, "Teresa, your heart for others is lovely." But I am reminded that it is not my heart for others; it is the heart of our awesome God that is compassionate, longing to touch, embrace, heal, transform, deliver and resurrect! I am longing to get back to the powerful basics of the mandate that is on each of our lives...to spread the Gospel of our God through Jesus Christ by the power and boldness of the Holy Spirit. T

Triumphant Victorious Reminders Inspired by the Holy Spirit Written by: Teresa Criswell Numbers 13 & 14 What I have written is a bit lengthy...but please read...I believe you will be blessed as I was. As I was preparing to teach the children on Sunday, I was inspired as I read Numbers 13 & 14. I have heard and read the message of the twelve scouts many times. However, little did I know what I was about to learn! Before preparing, I was outside listening to the 'music' of nature as I heard the birds singing. I sat at my picnic table on the back patio, and went to the Lord in humble adoration. I prayed for His insight and a glimpse of what He wanted me to learn. As I prayed this prayer, I was beyond blessed to catch another glimpse of our glorious God and his servant, Moses. First of all, Moses by the leading of God, directed the 12 scouts to the following instructions (The twelve scouts that were appointed were the heads of each of their tribes, Moses called Joshua whi