Do you ever wonder what your life would look like if fear didn't exist? For example, what if you had the confidence to pursue every passion God gave you?

Just imagine for a moment what that would look like. Well, God gives us a special gift called faith so we can do amazing things for Him. And I want to encourage you to step out of your comfort zone and exercise that gift full time.

You see, faith gives us so much potential. It motivates us to move forward in the plans God has for us. But fear is a feeling Satan uses to keep our focus inward. It makes us feel anxious, causes us to dread the future, and it can keep us from saying and doing things that would reveal more of God's love to the world.

We need to learn to interrupt fear at its onset, before it begins to settle in our spirit. The choice is to either let Satan stop us in our tracks or to go forward in faith, believing God is in control.

The good news is, when we're struggling with fear, we can turn to God's Word for an inspiring, encouraging reality check. Romans 8:31 says, "What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?" Psalm 27:1 says, "The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom will I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom will I be afraid?"

These Scriptures are basically saying that if we believe God's Word, then we have already won.

Jesus tells us in Mark 11:22 that we are to have faith in God constantly. God doesn't want you be fearful at any time. He wants you to be bold, confident, courageous and full of faith every day of your life—not just until you have a problem or until someone mistreats you. There's no until. And no one can stop God from answering a prayer that lines up with His Word and His will for our life.

This article is an excerpt from an article by Victoria Boyson entitled, "I Saw An Army of Women."  We chose to share these few paragraphs with you as they embody the spirit of our encouragement to you.  That is - to be all you were created to be by God, with Jesus Christ as your Lord, Savior and Lifestyle "likeness" model.

Victoria opines, "God did not create you to live in survival mode. He created you with the intention that you would enjoy your life and thrive – living to your fullest potential in Him. That is what He designed you for and it is His delight. He gets great joy in seeing you walk in the fullness of your potential. He enjoys your enjoyment. He has placed deep wells of potential inside you, which He intends to draw.

When the Father called you out of your shell to do the greater works (John 14:12) He planned for you to do, He anticipated everything you would need to accomplish His will. It's already inside you waiting to be harvested – to birth your dreams and manifest God's presence.

Just like Adam and Eve were convinced of their failure (Genesis 3:10), we battle the same feelings of inadequacies. Invariably, the lies sown into our roots at the beginning of our lives try desperately to hinder our growth and potential. And just like Adam and Eve, God says to you: "Who told you that you were naked?" (Genesis 3:11 NLT). God sees the lies the enemy has sown in your heart much more clearly than you do, so He calls your attention to it so you can uproot it.

The reality is: there is a war in the heavens over possession of your heart and mind. When you battle with the lies of the enemy, you will begin to see the realization of your potential. It is incredibly vital to Heaven and so very necessary to the Earth – you are that important. As you take authority over the lies of the enemy that want to rob you of your confidence, know you are not just wrestling for your own sake, but for the triumph of the Kingdom of Heaven.

As you stand in confidence to defeat destiny's thief, understand and recognize you stand in the confidence of the entire Kingdom of Heaven. So, tell that devil he has no chance against you and refuse to give him any place in your life. "Submit yourselves...to God. Resist the devil, and he WILL [literally] FLEE from you" (James 4:7 NIV emphasis mine).

God has placed wells of potential inside of you, and as you draw from it, you bring a great reward to His Kingdom. Draw near to Him and He will harvest your potential. Be confident that, "He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus" (Philippians 1:6 NIV)."

As you walk out your destiny with the Lord, you will find that He is continually pruning your life to bring forth greater fruitfulness.  The ultimate fruit that God seeks is that you would be like Christ - accomplishing the task set before you - and finishing the race.  Paulette Reed illustrates this point in her "Lessons From Lemon Trees" article.

I have two lemon trees that stand right beside my home. I enjoy watching them grow, blossom, and bear fruit. Recently, when I returned home from a trip, I was surprised to find the first tree absolutely loaded with lemons.

It's a little disconcerting and a bit sad to watch a tree beautifully blossom only to have the fruit prematurely fall to the ground. What I learned however was that it's normal for some tiny lemons to fall if the tree sets more fruit than it will be able to support.

A lemon tree actually goes through three periods of fruit drop every year. The first drop occurs when 70 to 80 percent of the flowers fall from the tree without ever setting fruit. This is followed up a week or so later by pea-sized fruit that drop from the tree as well. And then the third drop occurs in the spring when the fruit is about the size of a golf ball, due to environmental factors that can't be controlled – sudden changes in temperature and heavy rains. But no matter what causes it to happen, it is certain God brilliantly created the tree to drop fruit sometimes.

God created the lemon tree to set more fruit than it can support, knowing that there could be fruit drop along the way. There's a valuable lesson contained for us here. When we become born-again Believers, we're so on fire for God that we want to do it all for Him. Like we are making up for lost years, we begin dreaming of starting businesses, teaching, preaching, going to the nations, painting, landscaping, writing, and so much more. It seems that whatever grabs our interest, even if just for a moment, we are passionate about it and want to do it for the Lord.

But as time passes, we stand in the Son and we're nurtured and watered, maturing like the tree. We then realize that we may have more projects blossoming than we can support – surely God hasn't called us to do everything that needs to be done. We've spread ourselves so thin that it seems nothing is completed with excellence, if it even gets completed at all.

During these seasons of realization, Holy Ghost shears go into action – it's time for fruit drop to occur in our lives. Since we have taken on too much, God has to prune things out of our lives so we can do the few things He has actually called us to do with excellence.

The Gospel states the process clearly in John 15:2 when Jesus said, "Any branch in Me that does not bear fruit [that stops bearing] He cuts away (trims off, takes away); and He cleanses and repeatedly prunes every branch that continues to bear fruit, to make it bear more and richer and more excellent fruit." It is important to realize it is the Master Gardener who "repeatedly" prunes every branch.

He is Cultivating You to Bear More Fruit!

As I picked the fruit shown in the photo to the right, I knew the Lord was showing His abundance for 2015. I decree over you that 2015 is the year you will bear more fruit than you can even ask for or even imagine. But in order for you to bear good and luscious fruit, you must first experience some fruit drop in your life. Things you thought God told you to do, but you now realize were birthed out of your zeal, will fall to the ground. And the fruit that remains on the tree will continue to grow and mature, and the branches will be able to support its fruit. I know that some of you are being pruned right now and experiencing fruit drop in your lives. The winds and storms of life have caused some things to fall that could not be properly supported. But the good news is that no matter what season you're in right now, the Lord has His eye on you. He is carefully watching you, cultivating you, and making sure that none of His fruit falls to the ground. God wants the very best for you and He will guide your dreams and promises into fruition.

In these last days, we need to be certain that we're doing what we are called to do and blossoming where we are called to blossom. That way we will produce fruit that comes from the Spirit and not fruit that we have cultivated with our flesh.

God promises us in Deuteronomy 7:13, "...He will love you, bless you, and multiply you; He will also bless the fruit of your body and the fruit of your land, your grain, your new wine, and your oil, the increase of your cattle and the young of your flock in the land which He swore to your fathers to give you."

No matter what you are going through today, know that God either causes or allows fruit drop to happen in your life so you can bear more fruit for His glory. Though it may be painful at the moment, God is truly working together all things for your good (see Romans 8:28). If life gives you lemons, then make lemonade.

This video will help you understand how great your calling is in Christ Jesus.

“How do I know if it’s God speaking to me?” and “How can I hear His voice more clearly?” Our hearts were made for relationship with God, so it’s no wonder the desire in us to know His voice is so strong.   But let’s be honest—forging this relationship can be frustrating too. After all, we can’t sit down with God face to face over a cup of coffee. We can’t call Him up on the phone. We can’t shake His hand or give Him a hug. How on earth are we supposed to be certain of His voice?

Think about someone in your life whom you once didn’t have a relationship with but now are extremely close to—someone like a spouse or a best friend. When you first met, there was probably a lot of uncertainty about what the other was thinking or feeling, how one of you might react to something, what you liked or disliked. When one of you called the other on the phone, you had to identify yourself and say, “Hi, this is so and so.” After all this time though, how many of those things are you still uncertain of?

You can pick up the phone and just start talking to the voice that answers because there is no question in your mind who it is. You can probably predict the other’s reactions before they happen. Even in the age of impersonal communication methods like texting and email, I might be uncertain of someone else’s tone, but if the text is from my husband, not only can I hear his voice saying it, but I can even picture his facial expression.

This is the kind of familiarity that comes with time, intentional effort, and even some mistakes along the way. Becoming intimately familiar with God’s voice is a very similar process that we are all invited to experience.

In this video, Bill Hybels discusses Holy discontent, that thing that you can no longer stand.  He encourages you to:

1. Look for that one cause that is beyond the general discontent you might feel as you see the suffering of our world.  Your Holy discontent is that one thing that causes you great angst.
2. Search for the thing that causes that passionate burn within your heart - once discovered, you will find the same thing also burns in God's heart.
3. Feed you Holy discontent - don't medicate or hide from the discomfort - but rather let it drive you to take positive actions.
4. Let a sense of urgency cause a leadership state of mind to arise.
5. Partner with God to remediate the source of your Holy discontent.

In doing this, you will take an important step on the journey to your Godly purpose, and in doing so experience the Joy of the Lord, which will become your joy.

Have you ever wondered what proceeds vision?  What is that passion within an individual, that internal source of power, which animates people to greatness?  What frustrates a person to such a degree that they take action?  What is the thing that you see that you can not stand anymore, your place of Holy discontent?

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Be Holy as He is Holy.  Be set apart in the reverence and awe of Almighty God.  His Holy Spirit will work within you to help you be Holy and purposeful, as you live for Christ.

In these two short videos, Josh McDowell discusses the four keys to having an impactful life.

As Josh explains that four of the keys for living for Christ include:

1. Seeing as Jesus saw.
2. Feeling as Jesus felt.
3. Praying as Jesus prayed.
4. Doing as Jesus did.

The Bible says that we are made in God's image.  So who is He from whose image we are made?  Don't most people want to know about their natural birth mother and father, so that they might better understand themselves?  How much more should we desire to know our Heavenly Father?

For those alive in Christ, is it not true that we are being made each day into the image of Christ?  So what is He like?  Are we becoming like Him?

The video above provides an interesting Biblical perspective.  While human language can never fully describe God, it is a place from which to anchor your understanding, as you diligently seek Him and His likeness.

Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying: "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations."—Jeremiah 1:4-5

Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them.—Psalm 139:16

As with Jeremiah and David whose call came before entering into their mother's womb, so it is with every man and woman born. However, through the provision of free will, God has left it to each one's choosing as to whether or not that call will be lived out. Jesus said it Himself:

For many are called, but few are chosen.—Matthew 22:14

The choosing comes by the decisions we make along the way as to whether or not we are able to be a resting place for the fullness of His glory. He will not put on us that which we are not prepared to carry, lest it destroy us. Destiny calls each one of us, and it is the exercising of our free will that determines the outcome of that calling. As our hearts continually respond to the voice of our Creator, "I choose You! Above all else, I choose You!" we navigate our way through our destiny.

If we are to succeed spiritually, among all the other necessary virtues we especially will need perseverance. We will need to learn not only how to fight but how to keep going in the fight until God brings the breakthrough. I am not talking about becoming carnal in our warfare or fleshly in our aggression. I am speaking about a combination of discernment, authority and unwavering faith that needs to live within us, even while other virtues and gifts develop.

It is not enough, you see, to know about God's Kingdom – we are called to possess it. Yes, when we are born again, we are born into God's Kingdom. But the reality of being born of the Spirit means that a whole new realm of possibilities, challenges and obstacles now unfolds before us. In other words, we must overcome many things in order to function as sons and daughters of God.

The idea that the only relationship we have with Heaven is the one we experience at death is simply contrary to the Word of God. When Jesus came, He proclaimed, "The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand" (Matthew 4:17). At hand means that God's Kingdom is close enough to touch from where we are. Yet it must be fought for aggressively and attained with perseverance. "The Kingdom of Heaven suffers violence," Jesus taught, "and violent men take it by force" (Matthew 11:12).