7: Rekindling the Fire Through Faith!!

By Faye Savage

I remember the day I accepted the Lord as my Savior. The day darkness was stripped of its power over me. The day that hope restrained hopelessness, destiny devoured despair and death gave up the ghost to eternal life.

It was a day Ill never forget; it was the beginning of a beautiful relationship. I loved the Lord with all my heart, soul and mind and yet somewhere along the way I got distracted and before I knew I was disconnected. It began so subtly that I was caught unaware and before I knew I was lost and alone. I had to find my way back to Jesus!

7 begins with me bound in doubt, discouragement, and despair struggling to regain my relationship with the Lord. The road ahead of me is filled with twists and turns that will require dedication, commitment and perseverance. My adversary is cunning and skillful in his attacks. When he strikes the blows are devastating. He has one goal and that is to destroy my relationship with the Lord. His success or defeat will depend upon one thing



Let the journey begin!

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Aug 31, 2017
• ISBN: 9781546206866

Faye Savage

I was born and raised in Louisiana where I spent my childhood. My family relocated to California as I was embarking upon my teenage years. I have now been a native Californian for the past 40 years. California is where I met and married my husband and gave birth to a beautiful baby girl, Kwanisha Herald, who has since blessed me with the most handsome grandson you’ve ever seen, Carter Armani Jahnell Davis Herald. I’m a widow, student, author, entrepreneur and more importantly a follower of Christ. I’ve been a follower of Christ for 15 years and to say He has brought me a mighty long way is an understatement. I’ve overcome obstacles, trials and tribulations that were meant to destroy me only because of His love for me. I am who I am because of who lives in me.

Book preview

© 2017 Faye Savage. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse   08/31/2017

ISBN: 978-1-5462-0685-9 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5462-0686-6 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2017913474

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Amplified Bible (AMP)

Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631. All rights reserved.

New King James Version (NKJV)

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

King James Version (KJV)

Public Domain

New International Version (NIV)

Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Contents

Dedications & Acknowledgements

Foreword

Fallen State A Need For Revival And

Restoration Introduction

The Journey Begins

Before The Beginning

In The Beginning

I Remember

It Was Me That Changed

Time Management

Will You Be Able To Stand?

Transformation And Obedience Introduction

The Next Step

Confession Is Good For The Soul!!

Sins Revealed

Subject, Submit, Surrender

Ask Seek And Knock

Consistency

It’s Better To Give Than To Receive!

From Distraction To Destiny Introduction

Don’t Let Anything Detour You!

Have You Been Molested?

Temptations That Lead To Distraction

Deadly Distractions

Condemnation

The Ministry Of Prayer

Anticipation

Preparing For Battle Introduction

Becoming A Conqueror

Seeking Wise Counsel

Watch, Fight And Pray

Stay Alert!!

Redirected

The Whole Armor Of God

The Battle Is Not Yours

The Strategy For Victory Introduction

Start With The Man In The Mirror!

Stop Being Judgmental

Pride And Arrogance

Stop The Blame Game

It’s Time To Let Go!!

From Faith To Faith

Hiding His Word In Your Heart

The Goal Introduction

Know Your Why!

Is There A Paul In You?

Life Comes Through Death

Solider — Where Is Your Focus?

Frustrating Grace

Gratefulness …Because I’m Grateful Someone Cares For Me!

It’s All About Jesus

Victory Introduction

Write Your Story!

The Blood Restoreth My Soul

I Choose You-

The Presence Of The Lord Is Here!!

Loose Her, And Let Her Go.

My Testimony

My Mind’s Eye

Epilogue

Author Biography

DEDICATIONS & ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This book is sincerely dedicated to those that have helped me along the way. I thank God for His divine connections. I truly would not be where I am today without them.

When God plants you somewhere it’s because He knows you’ll be able to thrive there. He already knows that those He’s given charge over you are equipped and willing to teach, guide and nurture you. To the Bishops of my soul I appreciate you more than you’ll ever know. Pastor Derrick Fluker and Minster Ruth Wilson-Banks

I have been blessed with an incredible family that supports, encourages and celebrates me in all that I do. My daughter Kwanisha Herald is my best friend, my grandson Carter Armani Jahnell Davis-Herald is the absolute joy of my life, my brothers Michael Savage, Henry Savage, Donald Colbert and Limon Edwards are my protectors, my niece Stephanie Buggs is my inspiration to dare to dream, my nephews Nathaniel Washington, Brian Drivers, and Robert Glover are always there when I call and my sister Bernardine Colbert is my right hand and shoulder to lean on in good times and bad.

And then there’s my sister Minister Stephanie Edwards for whom there are no words eloquent enough to express what she means to me. You have been my mother, advisor, friend and confidant. When things go wrong just you being there make it better. You have prayed for me without ceasing. You love me with an unselfish unconditional love that rivals the love Christ has for me and I am in awe of you at times. It is with great honor and gratitude I dedicate this book to you because without you it never would’ve happened. I thank God for your willingness to help me make my dream a reality. I am honored to call you my sister and more importantly my friend. I love you more than words can say.

And last but certainly not least to my mother Mrs. Cornelia Louise Savage who’s watching over me from heaven thank for continuing to be there. I love you always. Also remembering my brothers Gary Savage, Michael Terry, Larry Brown and Robert Glover my own private cheering section in heaven.

With My Whole Heart

Thank You

Faye Savage

FOREWORD

7 Refreshing, Alive and Real! This devotional is full of GRACE, MERCY, POWER, and LOVE of God, the Father. It is a strategic plan to draw a person closer to our Father in Heaven, that He may be able to use them mightily on earth.

This is a real journey taken by a woman who desperately needed to get back to the FATHER. She is honest, open, and transparent about her journey in hopes that she may be able to help you with yours.

You know like the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32) or maybe you don’t know.For those who may not know I’ll summarize the story for you. The prodigal son left the father’s house to do life his way and found that life without the father can be cruel, dark, and lonesome.

The prodigal son became homeless and destitute. When he looked around and analyzed his condition, the bible says he came to his senses and remembered being with the father. He remembered the father’s love, protection, provision and care. Why did I leave? I’m sure he asked himself that question.

At that point he made a decision to arise from that dark, empty and destitute place. The bible says he said to himself, "I will arise and go home to my father and I will say to him, father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. The bible says when he returned home the father was looking waiting for his prodigal child to return home.

Do you need to come to your senses, arise and return home? The Father is looking and waiting for YOU!

7 is a MUST read if you have fallen and need to get up. Or maybe you’ve allowed the cares of this world and the issues of life to cause you to neglect your relationship with God. Whatever the case maybe use this book to GET UP!! Run to the Father and be RENEWED, RESTORED, and REVIVED!

Sometime we can find ourselves so far from God and not even realize it until one day we look up from all the distractions and wonder what happened? What happened to my joy? What happen to my prayer life? What happened to my focus? Why do I feel so weak? Why am I so angry, frustrated and confused? And in that moment all we can say is HELP ME LORD!!

7 is that cry to the Father, the light that leads you to restoration, fellowship, and revival. Yes this book will cause you to examine your heart, renew your mind, and be true to yourself maybe for the first time. Maybe it’s the fifth, tenth or twentieth time … who cares just GET UP!!

The bible says though you may fall God will not allow you to be cast down for He Himself will uphold you with His hand (Psalms 37:24).

I have but one question to ask you and it is the same question God asked Adam in Genesis 3:9, Where are you?

Minister Stephanie Edwards

FALLEN STATE A NEED FOR REVIVAL AND RESTORATION INTRODUCTION

1. Fallen is defined as: subject to sin or depravity

2. State is defined as: the particular condition that someone or something is in at a specific time.

3. Revival is defined as: an improvement in the condition or strength of something.

4. Restoration is defined as: the action of returning something to a former owner, place, or condition

I’ve begun this section with these definitions to establish a clear understanding of the purpose and goal of this week’s journey.

In the beginning of our walk with the Lord, I like many of you I’m sure, were filled with great enthusiasm at the prospect of learning about God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. The entries that I will be sharing will be from my perspective as revealed through the Holy Spirit. Before I begin I’d like to share something that happened during one of my discipleship lessons. From this little anecdote, you will be able to gauge where I started and how far I’ve come.

I had just accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior. I’d heard of Jesus and knew him to be God’s Son, I knew God as the Father, but I’d never been taught about the Holy Spirit so in my mind I heard Spirit and immediately assumed it was like a ghost or something. This day we were learning about the Trinity (God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit). I knew tri meant three but for the life of me I couldn’t quite put it together correctly.

During the lesson, I was asked about the Holy Spirit and I kept referring to Him as it. The lesson was interrupted and I was asked why I kept saying it instead of Him and I responded because that’s what it is for lack of a better response. Eventually with a lot of patience and attention to detail I grasped the concept that the Holy Spirit is a being not a thing. He is the Spirit of the living God which lives in every believer. His purpose is to guide, encourage and empower us to do the things we’ve been commanded to do through Jesus Christ.

My point for sharing this is to let you know that we all will have different starting points. Some of us will be stronger than the next one. Some will require additional support and encouragement but no matter where you begin in the end you will be stronger than you’ve ever been in the Lord.

On this journey each of us at some point and time, whether we’ll admit it or not, have fallen along the way. We’ve gotten distracted by life, situations or by choice and now it’s time for revival and restoration. It’s like when you were a child with your earthly parents and they told you the way to go and when you went in the opposite direction. You know the last thing you wanted to do was face them after being disobedient.

The last thing you wanted to see was that look of disappointment on their face or hear that tone of disapproval in their voice. So, you did everything you could to correct the situation on your own but to no avail. Ultimately you were forced to return to them and admit that you were wrong and ask their forgiveness and guidance. That’s the way it is when we slip away from God.

We beat ourselves up; we get discouraged to the point of becoming depressed in some cases. The longer we stay the harder it is to come back. Usually it takes something traumatic to draw you back in. Then there are those who are just so hopelessly lost without their relationship (with Christ) that living has merely become survival and at that point you almost want to just give up. But I didn’t and you didn’t and that’s why we’re here.

I’m going to share with you what I went through during this stage and how easy it is to fall away. I’ll be sharing what made me realize that I needed to take actions and the actions taken. You’ll be given the opportunity after each entry to journal. Journaling will be a method to chart your growth, write out your prayers, clear your head and encourage yourself. Journaling will be your personal written communication to God. If you’ve never written in a journal before you are in for an amazing adventure and if you have you already know!

Today’s Affirmation: Lord I need You in my life. Without You I am nothing. I rededicated my life to You. Thank You for loving me.

Suggestion for Today: Prepare yourself for the journey. The first step is admitting that you are out of fellowship. Second submit to God and finally begin a bible reading plan either on your own or online.

JOURNAL ENTRY: HOW DID YOU CHANGE IN YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH THE LORD?

THE JOURNEY BEGINS

Recently I was blessed to hear a message entitled "In