Discover the Good Life You Were Born to Live

September 30, 2012 by Olga 21 Comments

Discover the Good Life You Were Born to Live

This past summer, our family took a road trip from our home in Vancouver, through the Rocky Mountains to Alberta, and back to BC. It was so much fun – especially to see the ways we are each so different in how we prepare for a journey. My husband studies the maps, planning out every detail – including the exact distance, the travel time from place to place and where we will be sleeping. Similar to his father, our son likes to research our destinations and plan things to do.

On the other hand, I have the motto: “Let’s do it.” I love the excitement of starting out and seeing where the road leads. For me, if we follow a rabbit trail here and there, it only adds to the adventure of the trip. Our trip reminded me that life is similar to a road trip.

Life Is Similar To A Road Trip

There are many roads that can take us from where we are to where we want to be. It is the choices and decisions that we make along the way which determine how quickly we progress to our desired destination or maybe arriving there at all!

We all know that God has a plan for our life. He has our “road trip” mapped out. It began at our birth and He is there to help us discover the life we were born to live. If you have read this blog for any time at all, you know that is why I write. My purpose is to help you discover the life you were born to live and then ignite your passion to do it.

Unfortunately, many people never find purpose in their life. They become confused, sidetracked and bewildered about their own destiny in God. Some even choose routes that lead them away from God.

Are You In A Season Of Questioning?

Perhaps you are in a season of questioning your purpose in life. You are asking yourself where you fit in and where you belong. I am here to encourage you to know, without a doubt, that you were born with a great purpose in mind. There is no one in the entire world who can fulfill the destiny God has planned for you. But you’ll never know that destiny until you make a conscious decision to discover His will for your life.

Make a choice to believe that God has a wonderful, pre-planned journey for you. And the fulfilment of that plan will equip you with everything you need: the anointing, prosperity, healing and wisdom to get the job done. You need only take the first step to get back on the road to your purpose.

Why Not Get Back On That Road Right Now?

Begin by renewing your mind (Romans 12:2). Our mind is a battlefield and what we allow to happen there determines our destiny. In practical terms, this means to turn your thoughts towards the things of God. If you want to keep your thoughts in line with God’s good things, you need to be prepared. When your thoughts take a negative turn, purposely bring them back to God’s good things by thinking on things that are “true, noble, right, pure, lovely and of good report” (Philippians 4:8).

When you understand that your thoughts control your life, you can begin to shape your destiny. It is of highest importance to choose thoughts that enhance your purpose. It is a fact that you will take action on whatever you habitually think about. Directing and controlling your thoughts will keep you on track with God’s will for your life.

Although I can’t tell you your purpose in life, there are many Bible promises that tell you it will lead to greater joy, peace, success and blessings. The word “bless” means “to empower to prosper.” And the word “prosper” means “to excel in every area of life.” Everybody likes that, right? But knowing that you need to get on with your purpose and knowing how to do it are two different things.

Two Things You Need To Know

Maybe you’re still not sure what to do to pursue your purpose. You may feel that you have been off track for so long, you’ll never be able to get back on the road to your destiny. Stick with me. I want to show you that in God there is hope. It is not easy to follow a plan that you don’t quite understand and is not fully revealed. That is where we need to rely on our faith and trust God.

1. Allow this truth to occupy your thoughts for a while: God has your best interest at the forefront of His mind. Remember, God loves you more than you can comprehend. You are not an afterthought or an accident. He created you as His workmanship, His handiwork.

And why did God recreate you in Christ Jesus? So you can do the good things He planned for you long ago. He predestined you to take paths which He prepared ahead of time in order for you to live the good life which He made ready for you to live (Ephesians 2:10).

Please don’t just skim through these words. Meditate on God’s love and purpose for you and your life will be transformed!

2. Purpose in your heart to stand strong in Him and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit (Joshua 1:6-7; John 14:26-27). How? Get in the Word and allow it to transform your way of thinking. Ask God to help you align your inner image with how He sees you – destined for the good life.

There is absolutely no reason for you to fear what God has planned for you. He is the master coordinator between the things to be done here on earth and your unique personal profile. He will cause your path to intersect with those things that both serve His purposes and give you fulfilment You will experience that sense of purpose that you have been looking for. When we are living out God’s purpose for us, we are living a full and abundant life.

You And I Were Created To Live Full And Abundant Lives

Our lives are designed to be filled with righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost on a daily basis (Romans 14:17). I love that scripture because it is the foundation of our purpose.

It is exciting to see that God has a plan for our lives (Ephesians 2:10). And He has planned a good and full life for us. A good life means that we live under His full protection. He has provided all things for us including health, wealth and wholeness in every area of our life. Abundance in all things so we can be a blessing to those around us.

Fullness and abundance are the fulfilment of God’s covenant with Abraham (Genesis 12:3). So when you see the goodness of God manifest itself on the job, at home or in other areas of your life, and people tell you that your promotion, prosperity, good health and peace of mind are just a coincidence, don’t accept it!

Be firm in your conviction, look them straight in the eye and say, “This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvellous in our eyes!” (Psalm 118:23).

Filed Under: 6 Your Destiny Tagged With: a road trip, choice, choices, choices and decisions, Christian, decisions, destination, destiny, discover, God, life, live, Make a choice, Olga Hermans, plan, purpose, the Good Life, Things You Need To Know, thoughts, you were born, your purpose in life

Four Ways to Embrace Your Purpose

September 12, 2012 by Olga 14 Comments

Four Ways to Embrace Your Purpose

What is purpose?

Purpose is why God placed each of us here on earth. Our purpose is always related to serving others. If we are in service, we must be in faith that we are in the right place at the right time. In other words, we must be aware that we are strategically placed. And that’s why we should see our circumstances, no matter where we find ourselves today, as an opportunity for God’s purposes to be revealed. Here are four ways to build your faith about your God-given purpose.

1. See yourself as strategically placed

Strategy is a plan or a method to accomplish a desired end. As Believers, we have the privilege of taking part in God’s strategic plan. The Book of Esther is a perfect illustration of how one woman’s individual purpose was woven into God’s eternal strategy. Esther was strategically placed. And her cousin Mordecai reminded Esther of this truth when he said, “And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this “(Esther 4:14).

Others may have thought she became the king’s wife because of her beauty. They may have thought she came to be queen because of her cousin’s connections with the king’s chamberlain. But Esther realized that God placed her in her circumstances for a greater purpose than attaining high status, living in beautiful surroundings, and wearing pretty clothes. She understood that she was strategically positioned to do something others couldn’t.

And you? Are there things that others can’t do for God, because they’re not in your place? Others may look at you and think you are where you are because of your education, intelligence or connections. But that’s not how our God works. You are able to do what others can’t, because they are not in your place. And that leads us to the second point: Purpose can’t wait for you to get where you think you should be. Purpose is now.

2. Connect your purpose to where you are today

You’ll never be a person of purpose if you’re just passing through. God has specifically positioned you to take part in His strategy. Whatever you’re doing right now, that’s success waiting to happen. In the story of Esther, we read that at the hour of her purpose, the king had not summoned Esther for 30 days.

Although Esther had a position in the court, for whatever reason, she was not in day-to-day contact with the king. From her perspective, her position was not perfect. It could have been better if she had been in more recent contact with the king. But she had a position – she was still queen. Esther didn’t try to wriggle out of her mission and wait for a better time. Because she was connected to God’s purpose of saving the Jewish people, risking her life, she approached the king at just the right time. Let’s now consider our third point: Purpose will sometimes require us to take risks.

3. Be willing to risk everything

Today most Christians don’t live in cultures, as Esther did, that call for them to put their lives on the line. But we do face the loss of our reputations, rejection, and failure.

Esther could have lost her life by approaching the king without an invitation. Short of losing her life, she could have been banished from the king’s presence for her misconduct of approaching him uninvited. That would have meant a loss of reputation. Although not comparable to the loss of life, the loss of our good name can be particularly distressing when it’s unjust and beyond our control. For example, your purpose may be to home school your children and your friends don’t approve. You have lost your standing with them. Of course, loss of reputation is often inter-twined with rejection by others.

The king could have rejected Esther. Being rejected because of our purpose may be the most unnerving of all the risks. Have you ever talked yourself out of sharing the Gospel, applying for a job, or undertaking an educational program because you feared being rejected? You may have even experienced a physical sensation of extreme discomfort. We must overcome the risk of rejection to experience our purpose. The looming possibility of failure is another risk we must be willing to take.

From Esther’s limited perspective, failure was a possibility. The king could have sided with his advisors and had the Jews put to death. Whether we fail publicly or privately it’s unsettling. If we have been open and visible in our purpose, failure may even feel like the death of our purpose. But God is bigger than our failures. Our purposes are central to His will. He causes all things to work together for good. Sometimes it’s only a matter of timing.

4. Be willing to wait for the appointed time

Be aware that some aspects of purpose are not revealed until God’s appointed time. Esther was not in the limelight at her appointed time. She had been sequestered with the rest of the king’s wives, going about her daily routine. Have you ever been in the wilderness of the day-to-day grind wondering what in the world God has in store for you? Don’t give up and think you have it all wrong! Stay steady and confident that as God’s strategy unfolds, your purpose will be further revealed. And now to summarize:

The Book of Esther contains mystery, intrigue, and romance, but most importantly it demonstrates what we must do to embrace our God-given purpose:

• See yourself as strategically placed
• Connect your purpose to where you are today
• Be willing to risk everything
• Be willing to wait for the appointed time

What step will you take today to embrace your purpose? Esther saved a nation. Rouse yourself to embrace your position and purpose in God’s eternal strategy.

You can subscribe to The Daily Choice which is a SPIRITUAL Devotion that helps you to make the right choices in your life by clicking here

Filed Under: 6 Your Destiny Tagged With: embrace, four ways, God, God’s purposes, opportunity, passion, purpose, service, strategically, Strategy, the appointed time, The Book of Esther, the right place at the right time, What is purpose?, your purpose

What Is Your Focus?

September 3, 2012 by Olga 3 Comments

What Is Your Focus?

by Olga Hermans

As we go through life, it is very important that we choose our focus. Choosing a positive approach keeps us connected to the reliable lifeline of hope God has placed in each of us. In some instances, we focus on our circumstances such as our health concerns or our financial situation.

For example, when the doctor gives us a bad report, we start to worry and begin to place our focus on the news that just has been given to us. What we should do is having our focus on the truth of God’s Word. God says that you are healed.

So when the doctor’s report differs from the authentic report God has given us, we have to choose to focus on God’s Word. Even through the most tedious moments in life, we have to muster up the courage to activate our faith by believing His Word.

A Positive Outlook

Focusing on positive solutions and possible alternatives during difficult times helps us to maintain a positive outlook on life even when circumstances seem hopeless. By exercising our faith, we stretch and position ourselves to experience the miracles God has in store for us.

Some circumstances that occur in our lives have a way of dimming the positive aspects in our life. It’s not that positive things don’t exist after negative situations have occurred; rather, it is the shift in our thinking that causes us to give more attention to that which is negative and less to that which is positive. As a result, the positive can rarely be seen and enjoyed. It is like the old cliché, we can’t see the forest for the trees.

Focus On The Positive

Staying positive in a negative world is not easy, but it can be done. In fact, it must be done if we want our faith to continually increase. To live a positive life, we must intentionally focus our attention on good things. The Bible urges us to fix our thoughts on things that are true and of good report.

God never asked us to focus on the economy, our bank accounts, or other challenges we face. He knows those things will discourage us and cause us to cave in and quit.

Your bank account balance may not be where you need it to be right now. Your job security may seem a bit shaky, and your marriage may not be as fulfilling as you desire. But it doesn’t help to focus on the negative aspects of your situation.

These things are temporal, which means they are subject to change. Instead, thank God that you have a bank account, job, or marriage. Seek Him for the answers you need and allow Him to direct your path.

Focus More On God

The key to having a positive outlook on life is to focus more on God and less on the challenges we face. He is the only One who can sustain us while we’re going through the rough spots in our life and bring us out better than we were before.

There are times when focusing on the positive is a lot harder to accomplish than those around us might imagine. Very few people know the impact negative emotions can sometimes have in our lives. And every now and then, they may tell us to “get over it!”

While getting over it is what we want to do, it is much easier said than done. Sometimes life shocks us in such a way that it leaves us completely numb! I’ve been there. When my parents passed away, I simply wasn’t prepared. Nobody in our life had seen that coming, but even if we had, dealing with their absence in our life would have been less painful.

Other People Need Us

You too might have experienced some form of loss: the death of a loved one, divorce, or job layoff. Perhaps you’re dealing with a setback related to a relationship, your health, or finances. There are people who struggle with deeply rooted issues that sometimes lead to feelings of low self-esteem and hopelessness.

Unforgettable events such as physical, verbal, and mental abuse, abortion, alcoholism, drug addiction, prostitution, and even incarceration can be overwhelming. The truth of the matter is that despite the origin of the negative or unjust circumstances we encounter, God is always with us. In Him alone we find the strength to grow and the courage to move forward.

Maybe none of these examples quite fit your current or past circumstances, but chances are, you know someone in your family, community, or workplace who is dealing with one of these or similar situations. Although you may not be completely aware of the challenges the person is enduring, your positive attitude can have a tremendous impact on their recovery.

Just as we want others to be sensitive toward us, we must also be sensitive toward them. We may never know why a person thinks or behaves the way he or she does, but we can be the positive force in their lives by demonstrating love, compassion, and respect.

Filed Under: 6 Your Destiny Tagged With: abortion, alcoholism, circumstances, compassion, connected, death of a loved one, demonstrating love, divorce, drug addiction, emotions, finances, financial situation, focus, focus on God, Focus On The Positive, health, incarceration, job layoff, low self-esteem hopelessness. physical abuse, mental abuse, miracles, need people, negative emotions, outlook on life, Positive Outlook, positive solutions, prostitution, relationship, report, respect, verbal abuse, what is your focus

Your Season Can Shift With One CHOICE

July 29, 2012 by Olga 54 Comments

Your Season Can Shift With One CHOICE

by Olga Hermans

Sometimes it feels like we need a shift in our life, we are in the middle of the wilderness, that there are no roads or even signs that lead anywhere. Even if you would have a choice, you are not expecting anything good; nothing exciting at all. I’d like to share a few things with you that might change your way of thinking; a powerful insight about understanding your own times and seasons.

We all know that God loves us and that He wants the very best for us no matter what. His desire for us is that we prosper in every area of our life. We want His will to come into our life because that is the very best for us. He created us and placed our gifts and talents on the inside of us and in a way that makes us dependable upon God. By the way, God likes that and it helps us if we like that.

God is all-powerful and unstoppable and holds our times and seasons in His hands. But the thing is that many people relegate the season they are in to God’s sovereignty. Oops! Big mistake! They give everything into God’s hands as if He made us a robot. They leave the breakthrough in their life, or getting their life to a better place up to God. It’s all up to God to heal them whenever He wants it to happen and then they wait for it. They think God wants to teach them a lesson.

Others have said concerning the call that’s on their lives, “When God wants to open a door for me or use me in a certain way, it will just happen.” And they sit and wait and wait and wait.

We are more involved in our destiny and the season and times that we are living in than we realize. You remember when Jesus came to the well and met the Samaritan woman “by accident”? Her life was all messed up and bound in immorality; she knew no way out any more. Here she was, just going about doing her daily tasks like any other day. Here she is at the well and meets this man who knew everything about her life and still wants to talk to her. That was very rare for her. From that day forward her whole life was changed around.

You see, this woman was open to a change in her life and seized the moment so to speak. Her messed-up circumstances made her desperate and longing for a change. Her eyes were opened to who Jesus was and went and told it to everyone in her town. Her season was shifted in one single moment.

There are so many stories and situations in the Bible that show us that when Jesus shows up, things drastically change. I remember in my own life when my husband and I went through a very difficult time in our marriage and we thought that the only way out was a divorce. We were meant for each other, but circumstances and family situations had brought too many hardships, and we just wanted to give up.

But Jesus showed up at a moment we didn’t even know Him yet, but He turned the whole situation around in 1 moment on 1 day. After that, the word “divorce” went out the window which was the best decision we ever made.

Your season can shift with one CHOICE! You see, sometimes we need another person to speak into our life for our life will move forward. But WE have to be willing and we have to be open!

In order to make the right decision that can change your entire life and launch you into your new season, you have to have faith that is produced by clarity of vision. Every fear, every doubt and every distraction must be thrown out of your heart. You must learn to trust yourself and gain confidence and the way you do that is by living out of your spirit, not your soul.

Our emotions, our will and our mind make up our soul; our emotions can drive us away from the path that we need to go. Our thoughts can keep us captive in fear and doubt. Our will can be so passive that we don’t even want to make a choice. That is a bad situation waiting for a disaster to happen. You need to be able to take your will and change gears and tell yourself to get up and create a change in your life.

Engage your will in what YOU want to do and bring all your feelings and stinky thoughts under submission to your will and if you have your will submitted to the will of God; good things are going to happen. God WANTS you to prosper, so whatever you are confident in doing, start doing it! Our will is a powerful thing. If we don’t want to yield to the will of God, nothing is going to happen.

So many people are soul-driven, while God is calling us to be Spirit-led. God speaks into our spirit; He gives us ideas and witty inventions to create wealth. He has empowered us to create wealth. So, let’s engage our will and step up to the plate and do it! Will you do that?

You can subscribe to The Daily Choice which brings an encouraging message 5 days a week to your inbox by clicking here

Filed Under: 6 Your Destiny Tagged With: a choice, a shift, choice, choices, Christianity, decision making, destiny, Faith, friends, God, How to Choose, life choices, Olga Hermans, One CHOICE, passion, personal development, purpose, quotes, season, the best decision, the Samaritan woman, young living essential oil, your life, Your Season

Don’t Be Controlled and Manipulated

July 25, 2012 by Olga 30 Comments

Don’t Be Controlled and Manipulated

by Olga Hermans

God has placed a divine destiny on your life. As you begin to walk in this destiny, you will not only have to deny yourself, you’ll also have to say “no” to others when the demands they place on you are in conflict with how the Holy Spirit is leading you.

If we are overly committed and caught up in meeting other people’s needs, it may be an indicator that something is out of balance. Our first priority is to seek wisdom regarding any commitment. For a season, the Holy Spirit may lead us to give sacrificially of our time and ourselves. But God is our source and we need to always stay connected to Him with our spirit, soul and body.

Taking proper care of ourselves is not selfish when it’s for the purpose of being a fit vessel. How can we be of service when we are depleted spiritually, physically, mentally, and emotionally? It is possible to carry this idea too far and become preoccupied with our own interests at the expense of serving others. That’s not what I’m suggesting. But I am saying that we cannot be continually responsible for others’ poor choices.

Many believers take on burdens and responsibilities that they were never intended to bear. We think we must meet every need we encounter. For some, it’s very easy to habitually take on others’ responsibilities. Those habits, left unchecked, can lead to believing that it is our job to keep everybody happy. It is one thing to be used of God as a source and it’s entirely another to take on others’ responsibilities to the extent that WE become their source.

And those who have no intention of carrying their own burdens, or of being responsible for their own choices, seem to have a sixth sense as to who are these hyper-responsible Christians. They seek them out like a heat-seeking missile, ready to offload their own God-given destinies and responsibilities on these willing burden bearers. Although they may not be aware of it, these people want to manipulate and control you. The truth is that some people don’t want to be helped; they don’t want to change. They like the attention their problems bring them. If we seek the Holy Spirit about our commitments, He will guide us as to whether to become involved or not.

It’s upsetting, frustrating, and discouraging when we find that we’ve made a wrong choice of taking on way too much responsibility for someone who won’t do what is right. Being responsible for someone else’s lifestyle choices and happiness is a heavy load.

It is not God’s intent for us to be controlled and manipulated by people who refuse to make good choices. We cannot be responsible for anyone else’s happiness. Even Jesus did not promise to give us happiness – no questions asked. Instead, His Word instructs in the way that leads to joy. If others are controlling us, it’s not their fault; it’s our own. We must be led by the Spirit to set appropriate boundaries. For example, don’t allow people to call at all hours of the day and night to dump their problems on you.

My oldest sister, who is mentally ill, still lives in The Netherlands. I don’t know how she did it, but she could make me feel so guilty whenever I didn’t do whatever she wanted. A few years ago, I would call her every day at the same time to speak scriptures over her life. She really enjoyed it and seemed to be doing so much better.

At some point, my husband and I scheduled a conference in Dallas. My sister expressed how afraid she was to have to miss our daily calls, so I agreed to call her every day while we were in Dallas. I disrupted my schedule and my focus on the conference to call her at our agreed upon time, but she wasn’t in. She had gone to a movie. I finally realized that even though she is mentally ill, I had to respond differently to the expectations she placed on me. My decision to set boundaries with her was very hard on me, but I had to do it.

Quit trying to be the keeper of the universe. That is not your job. Of course, it is not easy at first. God calls us to be givers and care for each other. But there is a big difference between caring and giving and allowing somebody to control you and make you feel guilty until you do what they want.

Will you choose to free yourself from being a people-pleaser and give those people to God?

You can subscribe to The Daily Choice which brings an encouraging message 5 days a week to your inbox by clicking here

Filed Under: 6 Your Destiny Tagged With: choice, choices, Christians, Controlled, decision making, destiny, divine destiny, Don’t Be, God, good choices, happiness, Jesus, lifestyle choices, make choices, Manipulated, people, poor choices, the Holy Spirit, The truth

Grow Up and Be Free to Fulfill Your Destiny

April 9, 2012 by Olga 1 Comment

Grow Up and Be Free to Fulfill Your Destiny

by Olga Hermans

Most Christians desire to fulfill the will of God. They know that they have a covenant with God and that all the promises in that covenant belong to them. Then there is the world on the other side that tries to talk them out of their covenant rights and privileges, especially the promises about prosperity and financial provision.

God has prepared a wonderful inheritance for you and me and those who are mature, responsible and faithful will receive it. Gal.4:1-2 shows us that although this inheritance belongs to us, childlike tendencies will hinder us to receive them.

Do you think that, that is unfair? I love my children very much, but I wouldn’t give them something if they weren’t old enough or mature enough to handle it. I wouldn’t give my son a motorcycle, if I knew he was way too young for it. I wouldn’t give my daughter a sewing machine for instance, if she was way too young for it.

Likewise, our heavenly Father loves us too much to give us things we can’t handle. Therefore it’s important that we understand what’s needed to walk in the abundant life. People grow in different areas in a different way, but God expects to grow all areas of our lives-spiritually, mentally, emotionally, physically and financially.

We can make the growth process easier by desiring more of God’s Word. “As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby” (1 Peter 2:2). That means, when we are thirsty for the Word, we put a demand on the Holy Spirit Who causes us to grow. “But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18).

First Corinthians 13:11 says, “When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.” Child of God, if you’re still carrying a chip on your shoulder because of something that happened in the past, get over it and move on!

Stop being jealous when some of your friends gets promoted; instead rejoice with them for what the Lord has done for them and know that you might be next in line. Don’t think about what other people might think of you. One of the biggest things that we need to be set free from is the fear of man; we need to fear the Lord instead!

Put away childish behavior so you can walk in your inheritance. Eph. 4:14-15 Grow up and be free from your old ways in order to fulfill your destiny. If what people think about you moves you more than what God says about you, then God isn’t the Lord of your life. God cannot do anything for you when all you’re concerned about is popular opinion.

We need to get our priorities straight. It is very simple when we keep our eyes on what God says and not what Joe and Annie say about us. We should live to please God; our destiny is in His hands; He created us and has all the answers to all our questions.
Isaiah 51:12 NLT says: “I, yes I, am the One who comforts you. So why are you afraid of mere humans, who wither like the grass and disappear?

Instead of listening to criticism and sarcasm, we should be focusing on God. Listening to critic and sarcastic remarks will cost you your healing, provision and the salvation of family members if you allow it to affect you. You see, it’s not only about you. God wants to bless you so that you can bless others (Gen. 12:2-3).

You really have to be on the alert, because satan will bring people into your life that tell you all the details about how selfish it would be for you to prosper and be blessed. But you and I know that he is the father of lies, he cannot do anything else. John 8:44 He will try to bring shame on you and talk you out of what rightfully belongs to you.

So, rise up and be humble before God, but be bold enough to apply the Word of God to your life and receive His blessings with a thankful heart. You really shouldn’t think twice about who disagrees with what you are believing for. Be free and walk in complete liberty from people and their opinions so you can possess all the Father has for you.

If you are born again, Jesus Christ has made you free from the bondage of opinions so you can glorify God, free from poverty so you can be rich, and free from sickness and disease so you can be healed. He made you free to walk in liberty.

Like any loving father, God wants us all to grow up and become mature. He has prepared a great inheritance for us. Make a quality decision to obtain wisdom through His Word and spend quality time in His presence. Before you know it you’ll be walking in His freedom…and in His blessings continuously.

You can subscribe to The Daily Choice which is a SPIRITUAL Devotion that helps you to make the right choices in your life!

Filed Under: 6 Your Destiny Tagged With: 2012, a home run, answer, answers, breakthrough, choice, choices, Christianity, decision, destiny, discipline, disciplined life, discover, dream, driven life, effective, excerpt of book, for such a time as this, future, God, God knew you before you were born., home run, how to live a life, how to live life, ignite, increase, Jesus, joy, life, life choices, lifestyle, live a life, live life, money, passion, Prayer, profit, prophecies, prophecy, purpose, Restoration, Right Place, Right Time, self control, step up to the plate, stress, supernatural, the answer, the calling, the choice, the life, the power, this is your life, to live, trouble, vision, What

You are a River of Living Water

March 19, 2012 by Olga 13 Comments

You are a River of Living Water

by Olga Hermans

On the day of Pentecost, fifty days after Passover, Jesus poured out His Spirit on believers in the upper room, and they began speaking in a new language. Rivers of living water flowed out of them, and they prophesied. This experience – the baptism of the Holy Spirit – is available to every born-again believer.

The origin of the rivers written about in John 7:38, is the river that flows from the throne of God. It is the life of God Himself. As we worship God, His river flows. As we speak in other tongues, His river flows. As we prophesy, His river flows. As we speak the Word, His river flows up and out of us.

Notice that Jesus didn’t say that rivers of living water will flow once in a while from those who believe in Him. He said these rivers of living water will flow continuously. That living water is the Holy Spirit. In this passage, Jesus talks about the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, which we have received if we have accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior – the Person and the power of the Holy Spirit in us.

The river of living water flows within you and me. It is not supposed to be stopped up, but it is to bubble up within us and flow out of us. Many people have never experienced the baptism of the Holy Spirit. They have never let the rivers flow out of them. This experience was foreign to me as I was growing up, because I was raised in the Catholic Church. They also spoke a language that I couldn’t understand – Latin.

I remember very well the day that I got baptised in the Holy Spirit. Although I told people that I desired to speak in tongues, nobody told to me that I could receive this gift any time. My ideas about how spiritual things worked came from my upbringing in the Catholic Church. So I thought that I had to go to a certain service to receive this baptism. Knowing this, God told me to go to a certain meeting that was a two-hour drive away.

At the end of the meeting, they asked if there was anyone who wanted to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit. I did, and received it gloriously, fluently speaking a language that I had never heard before. I jumped in, and that language suddenly came alive. I loved it.

When you receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit, you are filled with a power that affects your entire being. To walk in victory, you must release the refreshing rivers of the life of God that have been deposited inside of you.

In John 7:37-38 Jesus says, “If you’re thirsty, come and drink and I will cause rivers of living water to flow out of your innermost being.” You see, Jesus was talking about rivers and not just one river.

There are many, many rivers flowing inside of you. One of those rivers is the river of reconciliation which actually is a ministry and is entrusted to every believer.

This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to Himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to Him. For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And He gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. 2Cor. 5:17-19

There are 3 things in this passage.

You have been made a new creation
You have a new ministry
You have a new message fit for a new creation. You definitely have become a new creation; something profound has happened to you.

I want to share a secret with you that my pastor shared with us. If you like to know more about this you can buy his book.
The more you yield to the river that is most prominent within your spirit, the more it will make exit from within your spirit for others in your life.

There are rivers of prayer, rivers of your destiny, rivers of full things that the womb of your spirit is pregnant with from Heaven; and when you begin to yield yourself over to the ministry of reconciliation, it will become the doorway to the destiny that God has for your life.

Isn’t that awesome? So, when you start to reconcile people to God, that river starts to flow on the inside of you to them and that river opens up other rivers on the inside of you and the door of your destiny will open up before you.

I like to encourage you to yield to that river of reconciliation. That river is on the inside of every believer, and this river is a river of life. You have life on the inside of you to give.

It is good to yield to the Spirit of God, to yield to that grace, and allow the Holy Spirit to control us. Have you ever experienced that God touched your heart in spite of you being hardened or stubborn? Maybe you realized that there was a change in your heart and that’s why you were able to respond to God? That was because of the grace of God that went into your heart.

The grace of God lives on the inside of you; in your heart and when you let it bubble up from within you, it will influence the rest of your life and your whole being and then is tangible for people around you to see it. THAT is your destiny!

You can subscribe to The Daily Choice which is a SPIRITUAL Devotion that helps you to make the right choices in your life!

This is Your Year of Increase

March 8, 2012 by Olga 5 Comments

This is Your Year of Increase

Do you know people who are stuck in a rut; it is a season in your life where you almost don’t expect anything to happen; you don’t grow and there is nothing in you that wants to move forward. Negative thoughts keep bombarding you and you think you have reached your limit and that you will never accomplish the dreams that are on the inside of you.

Those are lies from the devil and you know it. God is a God of increase; he desires for you to increase in every area of your life. He never wants us to go backward; only forward. He wants us to grow and go from faith to faith and from Glory to Glory.

Of course there always will be seasons when we don’t see a lot of growth, seasons where we have to dig our heels in and fight for what we believe God has put on the inside of us.

God’s plan for us is increase. Has your heart been calling for increase? I hope so, because that is what I believe for you. I believe I am writing to the right people. I believe that every spiritually healthy believer is hungry for increase these days.

People who are on fire desire to increase spiritually to rise up to higher places and shine for God wherever they are. They want to increase to live effectively and bear more fruit for the Lord and His Kingdom. Increase in overcoming things in their own life and gain the victory not just spiritually but physically, financially, and in every other area of their lives.

That is a good thing, but it is meant to be so, it is a God thing. He has put those desires on the inside of you; it is His will for you to increase on every side! When we increase, God gets more glory and His Kingdom advances.

Not to us, O Lord, not unto us, but to Your name give glory, for Your mercy and loving-kindness and for the sake… The Lord give you increase more and more, you and your children. Psalm 115:1,14

Increase is part of our destiny. It is God’s plan for us. Have you ever wondered why God doesn’t open more doors of increase for you? We all know how frustrating this can be and kept wondering why God doesn’t open more doors of increase for us.

I remember at times that my husband and I stepped through what seemed to be an open door of opportunity with our hopes high up but then our hopes got smashed on the ground. We could see the potential for increase right in front of us, things just didn’t work out. But that is no reason to give up oon our God-given dreams of increase.

On the contrary, it’s reason to press into them with even greater fervency with prayer. We need to persist and keep working with God; we need to continue to pray without giving up and the increase that is promised us will eventually come. We have God’s Word on it!

Prayer always goes before any work of God and prepares the way. When prayer goes before us, our labors begin to prosper. That’s if we want to increase, we must always make prayer a priority in our lives. Prayer prepares the way of the Lord!

Our prayers licence the Holy Spirit to go ahead of us and get our paths ready to walk on. They fill in the pitfalls the devil has dug for us and bring down the mountainous obstacles he has piled before us on our way to increase.
I remember the time when my husband and I were ready to move back to The Netherlands to build a bible school. We were sent out by Ps. Billy Joe Daugherty. We were so excited to go and of course there was this anxiousness in us if everything would come together for us.

The first weekend in Amsterdam we felt led to go to a church we had never heard about; I sat beside somebody and started talking about why we were in Amsterdam. Long story short; this man was a graphic designer and offered us to the entire website and all our graphics that we needed to be done, our brochures and catalogue for the bible school all for FREE.

Then the pastor offered us his offices to us to have the bible school in for FREE for the 1st year. Then another friend of us offered us to have all the copy word that we needed done for FREE actually for the entire 5 years we were in The Netherlands. Then we had a place to live for FREE; we lived there for almost 3 years and after that we lived in a very cheap accommodation until he left the country again. On and on, everything was provided. We believed for 50 students to come in the 1st year; they did supernaturally.

This all was because prayer had provided the way. When prayer has done its work, the plan of God unfolds right in front of us and the glory of the Lord is revealed for everybody to see.

Paul is a great example for us in, maybe I will touch on that another time. But he didn’t make it a secret that he prayed a lot and spoke with tongues more than everybody. 1 Cor.14:18

So, let’s follow Paul’s example. Let’s send our prayer out ahead of us. Let’s wait for God’s plans to unfold in every sphere of life. It is a way that God almost always works. As much as we want Him to, He doesn’t rid us of our problems at once. He doesn’t take us from rags to riches or from utter failure to 100% success overnight.

He usually does for us what He did for the Israelites when they entered the Promised Land. He drives out the giants little by little before us so that we can increase little by little and inherit the land.

You can subscribe to The Daily Choice which is a SPIRITUAL Devotion that helps you to make the right choices in your life!

Your Destiny is Calling You

March 1, 2012 by Olga 7 Comments

Your Destiny is Calling You

by Olga Hermans

Life is beautiful isn’t it? Do you really realize that life is given to us the moment we were born? I remember the times that I lived life just as it came to me; one day at a time. I dreamed of big things, I desired to create awesome things and they were all so real to me. This of course was when I was this little girl without any idea what the future would hold for me. I only knew life as it was and the way I dreamed about it.
But then things started to happen, not all for the good. So, I had to grow up and become mature; grasping life as it was at that particular moment. My parents died when I was way too young, my two sisters got very ill and there I was, standing in the middle of my life and not knowing where to go or what to do.

I married the love of my life and we received two beautiful children; our family is quite close, we all have a heart for God and want to serve Him with passion and a purpose. What about you? Isn’t that what you want? Of course it is.

Your destiny is calling for you; are you able to hear it? Some people have drawn back from what they thought God was calling them to do, because at some time in their lives, they responded to it and things didn’t work out as they hoped. They jumped out to what they thought the Lord was drawing them to do and they ran straight into a wall.

If that’s ever happened to you, don’t worry about it. You’re in good company. Some of the greatest faith heroes of the Bible didn’t respond to God’s call exactly like He wanted them to at first.

You remember Moses? He was called to be a prophet and to serve as a deliverer for Israel. He sensed that call in his heart and wanted to get after it with everything in him and ended up murdering an Egyptian who was beating a Hebrew slave. That was of course not something that God had in mind. Moses had to be straightened out in the back of the wilderness; God helped him and everything worked out like God had it and Moses fulfilled his destiny after all.

Moses wasn’t the only one; look at Samuel. He had problems hearing the voice of the Lord; he thought he was hearing the voice of his mentor, Eli. God didn’t give up on him until he matured so fully in God that everything he said came to pass.

That is very encouraging isn’t it? It’s wonderful to know that no matter how many mistakes we make, if we will keep on responding to the leading and guidance of the Lord; He will keep working with us. God will stick with us until we get it right.

We can learn something from these two people. When you sense a direction, you have to find out from God the exact details. Don’t just go ahead and do something on your own (like Moses did) and don’t run to friends (like Samuel did) or read another book. No, draw closer to the Lord. Get His wisdom by fellowshipping with Him.

It is when we really take time to fellowship with Him that we receive the understanding of what He wants us to do. Of course, we need to be encouraged by others, but we can only get a clear picture of our destiny by coming personally into the presence of the Lord again, and again, and again.

I read somewhere that the Lord works with us almost like an artist who is painting a picture. He begins by sketching a few broad strokes on the canvas of our hearts. Initially, we might not even know what those strokes mean. But every time we get back to Him, He adds a little bit more definition.

He takes His Holy Ghost paintbrush and adds a few more details until, eventually; He has painted within us the most beautiful picture we have ever seen.

But here is what most people do; they give God a few scattered moments here and there and expect God to reveal their destiny to them. You don’t have to give Him great, massive quantities of time, but we need to give Him periods of undivided attention. Times when we focus exclusively on Him.

I have heard so many people say, “I guess if God wants me to do anything major for Him, He’ll tell me. After all, He knows where to find me.” Yeah, He knows where to find you alright: at the movies, at the football game, in front of the television or in the mall. But it is not His job to run after us and apprehend us in those places. On the contrary, it is our job to run after Him.

Will you do that? Will you take time that you are only focused on Him, will you set time apart to hear and recognize His voice? Instead of hoping and guessing that He will come running after us and saying things like: “God will get me where I need to go.” You press in to lay hold on what you know you need to do.

You press toward the goal to which God has been calling you already from the foundation of this earth. Will you do it? Of course you will let God unfold that beautiful picture of your destiny on the inside of you. There is only one way you can do that and that is to run fully after God!

What Does the Holy Spirit Want to Show You About Your Future?

February 27, 2012 by Olga 10 Comments

What Does the Holy Spirit Want to Show You
About Your Future?

by Olga Hermans

For several years I worked in the office of our bible school. One day, the office was full of people coming and going. There was an air of excitement, and everyone was chatting and laughing. Suddenly, a man in the middle of a walkie-talkie conversation came into the office. Even in the midst of the ongoing commotion of the office and static of the walkie-talkie, I recognized my husband’s voice on the other end of the walkie-talkie. I know my husband and I know his voice. That’s exactly how Christians should be attuned to hearing the voice of the Holy Spirit and receiving His ongoing guidance and direction.

Our future doesn’t need to be a mystery to us, if we remain connected to the Holy Spirit. He knows everything that is ahead of us. Jesus promised that the Spirit of the Truth, our Friend, would come and take us by the hand and guide us into all truth, telling us only what he has heard from God. He will order our steps, preparing us for what is to come.

How long has it been since you made the effort to sit down and be quiet, focusing all your thoughts toward the Father? It requires discipline to direct your thoughts toward God and ignore the random things that pop into your mind. You can be listening to God with one ear, as your mind makes a grocery list!

If we really want to hear from God, we need to focus on God, and only God, with everything that is within us. This will open our spiritual ears to hear what God has to say about our futures.

We know that God has a plan for us, a plan that is for our good. We also know that the Holy Spirit guides us into all truth (John 16:13). God knows that we need help to discern His plan for us, so He sent the Holy Spirit to dwell inside every Christian. The Holy Spirit is our Guide, our Teacher of Truth, our Counselor, and our Helper. He is also our Comforter.

God is not a respecter of persons, and He promises that we all are able to hear from God and experience the help of the Holy Spirit. He is always speaking to us, but we strain to recognize His voice because we are not familiar with it. We learn to recognize His voice in those moments that we are quiet before Him, patiently waiting.

Do you want guidance? Then be sensitive to the things that the Holy Spirit wants to show you, and then do as He says. As you learn to recognize God’s voice, you will know what to do. You will begin to act in faith as you experience the Spirit’s tug at your heart, or get an “inkling” or “knowing” about something to come.

I regularly watch the 700 Club. One of my favourite segments of the show is the testimonies of people who were Spirit-led to do something outside of their normal routines. For example, the person who is inexplicably compelled to drive a different route to work, only to discover that he missed a 10-car pile-up. Or the World Trade Center worker who sensed an inner witness to report to work late on 9/11. The Holy Spirit was protecting these people, guiding them away from danger.

The Holy Spirit has also given people hunches about making investments, and they have been supernaturally financially blessed by following through on His leading. It’s amazing to think of all the ways God wants to prepare us for our futures. But we must trust Him, step-by-step, to cover the big picture.

One of the ministries of the Holy Spirit is to guide and lead us into God’s will for each of our lives. I believe that we can release His plan for us by believing that He will let us know what to do in His perfect timing. We need discernment to do that, not mere head knowledge.
1Cor.2:14-16 tells us plainly that the natural man does not understand the spiritual man. Your spirit knows things that your head doesn’t know!

Because satan doesn’t want you to learn how to operate in the spiritual realm, he works hard to bring deception concerning these things. As a result, many people are actually afraid to believe that they can hear from God. They choose to remain in spiritual darkness rather than taking a chance on making a mistake.

Making mistakes is not the end of the world, but not learning from our mistakes is far more serious. We learn from life’s experiences as well as from the Word. Don’t be afraid of making a mistake. Be a person who has a pioneering spirit and is willing to learn.

God doesn’t always give the whole scoop of everything that we want to know, but He gives us enough information to make progress toward our destiny. He speaks in a still small voice. So I encourage you to seek God about your future. Focus on Him alone, listen and obey the leading of the Holy Spirit.

You can subscribe to The Daily Choice which brings an encouraging message 5 days a week to your inbox by clicking here