Lifeline #2: You Will Not Miss It!

The will of the Lord will not miss you!

You will not miss God’s will for your life. You are not that powerful.

This is a message the Holy Spirit has spoken to me repeatedly for the past two years. I don’t know every desire of your heart, but I do know God’s plans for you are good, Jeremiah 29:11. Today, I’m speaking the same words He gave me over you!

The Lord’s purpose for your life will stand as you actively listen for/to His voice and heed His instruction. And for all the moments when you get it wrong, He gives grace, forgiveness, and fills in the gaps in the places where you’ve simply missed it.

Do not skip being obedient, but also don’t lose sight of His grace. In Jesus’ name, you will see the goodness of the Lord in full measure! Psalm 27:13

Confidently know that God is all-powerful. Jeremiah 32:17

Where your understanding stops, His continues. Psalm 147:5

Just as I shared last week, His sheep know His voice. When you follow the Shepherd, there’s no way you can miss the promise. Speak death to all fear, guilt and shame and faithfully trust Him!

Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.

Proverbs 19:21 NIV

Instead of shame and dishonor, you will enjoy a double share of honor. You will possess a double portion of prosperity in your land, and everlasting joy will be yours. Isaiah 61:7 NLT

Officially,

Lena 💛

Lifeline #1: Do you recognize His voice?

If God was speaking, would you know it was Him?

(I initially wrote this December 14, 2022. It's taken me some time to make room in my day to post it. 😩 Thank you so much for reading! Click here for a brief audio message.)

I have found myself on numerous occasions asking myself, “God, am I hearing your voice? Is this just me talking or is the Devil trying to lead me astray? In 2020, I was listening to Lana Vawser teach and she said something that caused a light bulb to turn on inside of me. She said, “His sheep know His voice.”

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. John 10:27

Something about the simplicity of Lana saying, “His sheep know his voice” gave me an inward confidence that I could indeed identify the voice of God. You can too.

Last week, I was reading about Mary Magdalene’s encounter with Jesus at the tomb. It reminded me of every part of John 10:27. Firstly, Mary heard the voice of Jesus. Secondly, He knew her by name. Thirdly, sheep need a shepherd to follow, so her recognition of Jesus as “Teacher” speaks to His position as the Shepherd.

14 At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.

15 He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?”

Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.”

16 Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”). John 20:14-16 NIV

What’s interesting to me is Mary doesn’t recognize Jesus when she sees Him. Even when He speaks initially, she hears Him but doesn’t yet know it was Him. Once He mentions her name, she then recognizes it is indeed her Shepherd. I can relate to her in that way and I’m sure you can too.

Sometimes we may not immediately recognize when God is speaking to us, but a part of the blessing of our relationship with Jesus is knowing He knows exactly how to speak to us to get our attention. Regardless of the things that you may be seeking God about in this season, I am praying that you find rest in knowing God will speak to you and when He does, you will know it was indeed Him you heard. I pray we all follow!

Officially,

Lena 💛

p.s. Let me know if this message spoke to you! I’m often trying to determine what’s most beneficial to share from my talks with God and what you may need in this season. Thanks for growing with me! 🙏🏾

Highlight Conversations: Bible Study, pt. 3

I have a lot to share this December, but I first want to begin by ending the conversation I began on Bible study. If you haven’t checked out the first two parts of this series, please do. I understand some folks who receive this in their inbox or who see this directly on the site may already have an established method of studying scripture. That’s wonderful! This is primarily geared to those who have struggled to find Bible reading enjoyable or those who don’t know where to start when they open the Good Book. If you know someone who may find what I’ve shared helpful, please pass this along or allow what I’ve written to guide you in your own conversations with others.

After hosting the Bible Study Facebook live in August (viewable on Youtube or Facebook), someone contacted me and asked the question below.

How do I study the Bible? I have different translations, but I’m not sure where to start.

This led to a great two hour-long conversation. Today, my goal is to be more brief than I was during that phone call, because I already know if I say too much y’all will stop reading. 😆

Here are the highlights!

• Lena’s Three R’s—Read, Reflect, and Respond
• I’m sure someone else in life has said something similar or has a similar concept, but this is literally how I process my time with God. After you read a passage, reflect on what you gathered from it, and then ask the Lord how to respond to what He’s shown you.

• Comprehension: It’s okay to spend one hour on a single chapter or even an hour on a single scripture. If you find yourself getting lost as you’re reading, ask yourself what you’re not understanding. Do you need a different translation for easier readability? Would your study time be a bit smoother with a Study Bible? The goal is not to walk away feeling confused. If you are confused, come back to it and keep digging. Get understanding! Proverbs 4:7

• Google is your friend—Use search engines: We live in an age of technology y’all! There are so many times when I’ve jumped on Google to look up a word. This may sound super basic, but it’s so helpful. Let’s say you’re looking to build your faith in God, then try Googling “faith scriptures.” You also can use a concordance, dictionaries, and commentaries. Check out part 2 for my other recommendations.

• Determine the type of study: You could choose a topic (ex: faith), a person, a place, a book of the Bible, reading chronologically, front to back, New Testament to Old Testament or vice versa. Honestly, there is not a wrong way, but there is a way that could be most effective for you. That’s important to identify. I personally like to unpack all the details in stories so I blend everything I just shared. If you’ve ever had a conversation with me, then you may know I will tell you a story that goes all over the place and somehow I’ll bring it back to my original point. That’s so fun for me 🤗, but it’s also what I’ve found to be effective and engaging as I study scripture. Find what works for you!

• Consistency: Spend time with God daily and go beyond the surface. Let me frame this point with a question. If your time spent in the Word replaced all the natural foods you consume daily, would you live or starve to death? Matthew 4:4, John 4:14

I'll highlight an example to pull this all together.👇🏾

Let’s say “faith” is your topic since I mentioned that earlier. If you use either a concordance in the back of your Bible or Google, you’re sure to find something on faith derived from Hebrews 11. As you read it, maybe you start to reflect on the promises God gave to Noah, Abraham or Joseph. Let’s say you specifically zoom into Abraham. If you were in his shoes, how do you think you would respond to faith challenges? What lessons can you apply to your life by examining his journey? If you have a Bible that gives you reference scriptures or other comments in the margins, what else can you learn from what you’ve read? Take a moment to think about this example and how you can use similar questions to fit your study needs.

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This topic is so near to my heart because it’s a reflection of many conversations I’ve had through the years, and often with people who have known the Lord for years. With that said, please don’t hesitate to contact me if I can serve you in some capacity as you journey in growing with God or if you just want to let me know you read this today, info@carlenaprophet.com. The next post will be shorter and stylistically different from this Highlight Conversation.

Also, thank you to those who joined me in November for the Songs of Thanksgiving Lighthouse gathering! I love finding ways to intertwine my love for music, ministry and people. It was an honor and I’m so encouraged.

Love you guys so much!!!

Officially,

Lena 💛

p.s. If we visualize that God literally FILLS US with so much LIFE when we consume the Word, it would completely change us! The same God who fulfilled and is STILL fulfilling the promise He gave to Abraham (Galations 3:8) is the same God who will respond to your faith.