Believe it’s possible

February 6, 2021 Gaspar Anastasi

Making positive change, Overcoming depression, Rejection

I believe the one problem that hinders us most from enjoying successful lives today is a lack of belief in ourselves. Sure, most of us have great confidence in God. We believe He is who He says He is and that He is capable of doing great things. However, the problem isn’t with Him…it’s with ourselves.

We don’t believe that God could or even wants to accomplish great things for us. Yet the truth is: No matter what great things God does on earth, He does them through earthen vessels like you and me.

You were created to succeed

In fact, He tells us in 2 Corinthians 4:7 (I’m paraphrasing here) “God’s greatness has been deposited in all of us who know Him as our Lord and Savior.” This means that God has invested His potential for greatness in every one of us. You and I have been given the power to become very successful in our life-time so we can glorify Him on this earth.

So why do the majority of us believe God can’t great things for (or through) me? Bottom line: We’re holding on to a poor self-image.

We let our past (and present) mistakes haunt us. Our failures continually remind us that we are not worthy of God’s blessings and provisions. Thus, your history becomes your destiny.

Don’t be a cheap copy

The consequence of that faulty thinking is that we try to be like somebody else, someone we think God is proud of. We eventually become cheap copies of great originals, never realizing our full potential in Jesus Christ.

God never meant for us to be like anyone else. In spite of our wrong choices and failures, He didn’t make a mistake when He created you and me. He knew the worst thing you would ever do before you did it, yet He still created you and redeemed you for such a time as this.

You need to start believing in yourself! And why not? God believes in you! Choose to believe it’s possible that God wants to and will do extraordinary things through you and in your life-time. He has made a great investment in you.

Don’t believe a lie

So don’t waste your life away, believing the lie that it’s too late for you; that you are too far gone; you have made too many mistakes and so God is finished with you.

The truth is: God is waiting for you to believe it’s possible. In Philippians 4:13 the Apostle Paul says, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Notice the “I can” part. It takes our cooperation to believe that it is possible for God’s greatness to work in and through us.

God is waiting for you—not the other way around. Start today to believe that it is possible no matter what “it” is, and let God bring you into the great destiny He has planned!…

Go and get it back!

October 10, 2020 Gaspar Anastasi

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Making positive change, Overcoming depression, Success & victory

Too many of us have settled for what we have instead of what God has promised us. The seeds of discouragement and hopelessness through the many disappointments of this past year have clouded our hearts and minds. Many of us have given up on expecting more than what we already have from God.

If this describes you, here are a few simple things you can do this New Year to jump-start your faith again.

Jump-start your faith

1. Remind yourself that God’s delay is not His denial. He has set an appointed time for every promise that you believe Him for to be fulfilled. Notice I said believe Him for. All of God’s promises are yes and so be it. But the only way to receive them is to believe that His promises are yours, even though you can’t see them at this moment. Keep on believing and expecting, for the best is yet to come!

2. Guard your spirit from hopelessness and discouragement. As your born again spirit goes, so goes your destiny. God starts and finishes all of His works in your life inside your spirit. Unfortunately, most of us pay very little attention to what goes on in our spirit. Proverbs 4:23 says (I am paraphrasing): “if you don’t guard with all diligence what enters your spirit, it will hinder how much God is able to work His miracle power in your life.”

Jesus said the gates of hell will not prevail against you. God has your blessing in storage, waiting for you to receive it. God’s promise this New Year is: “You’re going to get it back!”

Allowing seeds of hopelessness and discouragement to enter your spirit-man (or spirit-woman) will weaken you and hinder what God wants to do in you. As your spirit goes, so goes your life. The enemy is always looking to sow fear, hopelessness and discouragement into your spirit. In this New Year, make it your priority to guard your spirit by being aware of what you and other people are sowing into it. Remember, as your spirit goes so goes your life.

3. Refuse to write off your losses. When David was watching his father’s sheep, a lion attacked the flock and carried off one of the lambs in his mouth. David went after the lion (1 Samuel 17:35). He didn’t just say, “Oh well, that lion probably has torn the lamb to shreds. It’s too late.”

God is for you!

Yes, it’s Satan’s intention to steal, kill and destroy, but God held the lion’s mouth closed so David was able to kill him and rescue the lamb. Just because it’s out of your sight and in the lion’s mouth doesn’t mean it’s lost!

Jesus said the gates of hell will not prevail against you. That means God has your blessing in storage, waiting for you to receive it. God’s promise is: “You’re going to get it back!”

Some of you will get a job restored or a marriage renewed. Some will get a chance to go back to school. For others, your children will be set free from the enemy’s grip.

Two things to remember

First, one chapter of your life doesn’t write your whole story. The best is still yet to come!

Second, THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT THE BAD NEWS IS WRONG!

Keep pursuing God’s promises for your life. You won’t be disappointed, and you will recover all.…

Discover the Cure for Loneliness

September 26, 2020 Gaspar Anastasi

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Making positive change, Overcoming depression, Success & victory

You don’t have to be single to be lonely. I know quite a few married folk who are extremely lonely. God created each of us for an intimate, personal relationship with Himself first and then with one another. When that doesn’t occur, it brings emptiness inside our spirit, producing feelings of loneliness.

When we spiritually and emotionally connect to our Creator and other humans, we feel fulfilled and whole and are strengthened to handle our problems with greater success. By and large, lonely people don’t handle stress well and are more prone to break down emotionally. They are also more susceptible to depression, suicidal thoughts and sickness. But, married or single, loneliness doesn’t have to be your plight.

Here are some things to help cure loneliness:

Stop looking for another person make you happy and fulfilled. That’s too much pressure for any one person to bear. Look to God. He alone gives true fulfillment, joy and happiness. He will use other people, but He is the source of life and the antidote for loneliness. Many married couples suffer severe loneliness because they look to each other for what only God can supply!
Recognize that you are valuable all by yourself. Too many singles look for affirmation through anyone who’s available. In their quest for acceptance and personal value, they make poor choices in friends and soul mates. Two wounded, unfulfilled individuals don’t make a whole relationship. Quite the contrary!

God wants you to connect with other people. However, you will never conquer feelings of loneliness until you first connect with your creator God and recognize how valuable you are as an individual in Him.

Instead, find your identity in Jesus Christ. Know that when He made you He didn’t make junk. Connect with His plans for you by giving Him access to your heart. That connection comes from reading His word daily and believing what He says about you. For instance, Ephesians 3:20 says: “Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us.” The power that works in us is faith in God’s word. I recommend you search for scriptures that tell you who you are in Christ and all you can accomplish in Him. Philippians 4:19 says: “I can do all things through Jesus Christ who strengthens me”.

Take the pressure off those you’re relying on to fill your void. Release them right now and place your eyes, trust and hope in God.
Take inventory and count your blessings. Too often, we focus on what we don’t have, instead of what we do have. Taking inventory of all God has given you will make you realize how much He loves you.
Finally, take dominion over your thought life. Loneliness is produced by a series of thoughts about your past, present and future. Don’t let the devil play with your mind. As a man thinks in his heart, so is he (Proverbs 23:7). Decide today to make Jesus Lord over your thoughts.

Every time feelings of loneliness overtake you, stop and realize that the problem is in your mind. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you the thoughts that are plaguing you. Then, with His help, tear them down and replace them with God’s thoughts (His word).

God wants you to connect with other people. However, you will never conquer feelings of loneliness until you first connect with your creator God and recognize how valuable you are as an individual in Him.…

Your purpose will outdistance your mistakes

June 13, 2020 Gaspar Anastasi

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Finding significance in life, Getting past the past, Making positive change, Overcoming depression, Success & victory

Everyone makes mistakes in life. If we didn’t, we wouldn’t be human. But our mistakes are really not the problem. The problem is that we let our mistakes blind us to our God-given purpose. Then depression sets in, and we lose sight of what God has planned for us. We begin to see ourselves and our future the way the enemy wants us to instead of the way God sees us.

Matthew 6:22 and 23 says that if our heart (imagination) sees nothing but failure and defeat, every aspect of our spiritual, emotional and physical life will be negatively affected.

Proverbs 13:12 puts it this way: “Hope deferred makes the heart sick.” Hopelessness is a negative, devastating force. It always depresses and always makes your spirit sick. That’s important because, as your spirit goes, so goes your whole life!

But depression hides. Many people don’t realize that they are depressed and spiritually sick. Worse yet, they do know it, but instead of treating the root of their depression, they treat the symptoms with solutions that can’t offer permanent relief. We have to deal with the roots to get free from its fruits. Take pointers from someone who was bound by depression and is now set free—me.

You have God’s nature inside you and, when it flows out, it will change your world.

Stay focused on the reason you’re still here. Fight the temptation to think it’s too late for you. God has kept you for such a time as this! You’re not disqualified from fulfilling His purpose for your life in spite of what you feel, have done or been through. You have God’s nature inside you and, when it flows out, it will change your world.

Get God’s vision up and running again in your thoughts and imagination. It takes courage to believe God’s big plans for you, but start to dream again. God uses your dreams to accomplish His plan. He has not changed his mind about what He wants to do in and through you.

Depression is an enemy that has already been defeated by Jesus. You don’t have to live in hopelessness and despair. And don’t dare accept it as your life sentence.

Your mistakes never disqualify you from God’s purpose. Some people never get over their past failures, and they are consumed by them. God specializes in impossibilities! Dismantle the false boundaries you’ve erected in your mind because of your past. You are never beyond God’s reach.

Finally, place your hope in His promises—not the circumstances or the natural boundaries that surround you. God is not limited by temporary circumstances or even natural law.

Dream BIG. Hopelessness often comes because we have set our sights too low. God’s purposes are incredible! If your dream is attainable by your natural efforts, then it isn’t from God. Why? Because He reaches way beyond the normal and the attainable into the impossible and supernatural!

Break the spirit of depression today by daring to dream BIG. Let hope arise in your heart. Your past mistakes can never cancel God’s awesome purposes for your life. Start living your dream today!…

How to overcome anxiety, pt. 2

March 21, 2020 Gaspar Anastasi

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Faith, Making positive change, Overcoming depression, Success & victory

See good.

If you have a negative neural pathway, even the good that you hear or receive you interpret as negative. We can blame the doctors, blame the virus, blame God. But, how much time do you spend with God. Pray like David, “Search me Lord, try me. See if there is any wicked way in me and lead me in the way everlasting.”

We all need more of God’s presence in our life. God can come in and give you right alignment. We are called to be disciplined Disciples. Ask yourself, how big is my God? You’ve got to know your God. Remember what He has done in the past. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. If he was great yesterday, He is great today and will still be great tomorrow. And don’t just listen to Christian music. Most of the worship songs today are more soiling than sanctifying. Disciple, discipline yourself to get into the word. Let’s take our focus off the wrong things.

Jezebel just spoke words to Elijah “I’m gonna kill you tomorrow.” Then I Kings 19:3 says, “And when he saw that, he arose and ran for his life…” The Bible says Elijah saw what Jezebel said.He didn’t just hear it he saw it. Her words became visual to him. He pictured the negative thing and he got up and ran. He lost focus of what God had done just days ago.

How big is your God?

But, pastor, you don’t know what they’ve been saying. Are we disconnected from the truth? If you see it you can have it. Once we begin to picture evil and wickedness we can’t receive from God. Anxiety has reached maximum capacity.

Elijah was in a bad place, but not because of where he was physically situated. It’s because of where his mind was. A cave can be a grave where you die, or it can be a womb for rebirth. God called Elijah out of the cave just shows off to remind Elijah of all he could do.

Then He said, “Go out, and stand on the mountain before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice. (I Kings 19: 11, 12)

God wasn’t in the wind, the fire or the earthquake. He was in the still, small voice. That’s the same place where we’ll find Him when we search for Him, when we get into the Word of God. Don’t do something permanently foolish because you’re temporarily anxious or upset. Instead, search the scriptures and get into the wisdom of God’s Word.

Keys to overcoming temporary anxiety

Fill yourself with God’s Word. As I’ve already covered, fill yourself with God’s Word. Spend time with Him.
Look inside. Take inventory of what’s in your heart as King David asked God to do for him. It’s the things we’re most devoted to that cause fear and anxiety. Anxiety is a sin. It’s an open door for Satan to come into your life.
Let go. Live with an open hand. We often take God’s gifts and make them idols. Release them. Don’t keep your eyes on the wrong things. Let them go and don’t let them keep coming back
Be diligent to understand the message behind everything you hear. Don’t just listen or read superficially. Go deep. Jesus says in Mark 4:24, The Passion Translation:
“…Be diligent to understand the meaning behind everything you hear, for as you do, more understanding will be given to you. And according to the depth of your longing to understand, much more will be added to you.” (Mark 4:24, TPT)
Let joy unspeakable and full of glory overtake you. Be devoted to God and nothing else. Have the confidence that everything’s going to be okay. Give the things you’re worried about to God and refuse to take them back.

God is asking, “Where are you, Joe…Mary…Susan,…Gaspar? What are you doing here?” Go back to the place God called you to in the beginning. Return to your first love. Be diligent to keep your shalom. Go back and make sure your mindset is right and positive. That’s how you overcome anxiety. …

How to overcome anxiety, pt. 1

March 14, 2020 Gaspar Anastasi

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Faith, Making positive change, Overcoming depression, Success & victory

How big is your God? If you’ve followed me for any length of time, you’ve heard that question many times. I ask because—depending on the circumstances we’re facing at this moment— the God we say we trust may not be up to the challenge, leaving us filled with anxiety, envy and hatred. We’re apt to focus on people and circumstances rather than the Prince of Peace we claim to trust. It happens to all of us.

Even the great prophet Elijah once found himself filled with anxiety and hiding in a cave. You see, he had boldly slain the prophets of Baal— a tremendous victory— and now Jezebel the queen had put out a contract on his life. She said, “May the gods deal with me, be it ever so severely, if by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like that of one of them,” (I Kings 19:2).

Anxiety is about tomorrow.

It’s always tomorrow that the enemy has plans for. However, just like in Elijah’s case, most of our enemy’s “tomorrows” never come. We just worry needlessly and allow anxiety to steal our precious peace. He had just called down fire from heaven and now he’s running for his life because Jezebel said. So when the Lord comes to the man of God and asks him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” (v. 9) he blames all of Israel and their idol worship for his circumstances.

The question I want to ask you today is “How big is your God?” Oh, you may hear a good Word on Sunday, but do you really believe it? Is He bigger than the threats of the enemy? Is He bigger than Corona Virus? And what do you really believe about Him? If you and I want to triumph over the enemies in our lives, we must spend more time in God’s Word than in the social media wisdom of this age. We Christians must be wise.

What are you full of?

Here’s another question to consider: What are you full of? The news of the day or the Word of God? Anxiety? There’s more to anxiety than meets the eye. It opens the door for sickness, disease and all kinds of negative things. It causes us to filter everything through a negative lens. Like Elijah, the great King David started out blaming his enemies before he came to the real crux of the matter. He asked God to search his heart and deal with his “anxious thoughts”.

Psalm 139:19-24 says “If only you, God, would slay the wicked! Away from me, you who are bloodthirsty!…I have nothing but hatred for them; I count them my enemies.”

Then suddenly in verses 23 and 24, David shifts his focus.

“Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me,and lead me in the way everlasting.”

Suddenly, David stopped blaming other people and looked inside himself. He asked God to fix what was broken inside his heart. [Continued next week]…