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Romans 8:1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,

That guilty feeling we experience after sinning is known as condemnation. Condemnation is not an act from God but, of the devil. When we sin, God releases conviction through the Holy Spirit. Conviction is something sent by God to let us know the act we’re doing is not pleasing to God. The purpose of conviction is to notify us of our wrongdoing in the hopes that we turn away from sin and return to God. Conviction stops immediately after we know what we did was wrong. Anything past the notification point is condemnation. We shouldn’t be experiencing guilt or shame a year, a month, or even a week after we sin. Our job is to realize our mistakes, ask for forgiveness, and make the adjustments to not sin again. The next time we experience guilt or sadness because of our sin, we should remind ourselves and Satan there is no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus.

Satan is known as a deceiver and one of his greatest deceptions is to make people think living a sincere Christian life is a form of bondage and rebelling against the word of God is freedom. When in actuality, living a Christian life is freedom and rebellion is bondage (Rom 6:6).

The Deception: Once we get saved, we can’t do the things we used to do to satisfy our flesh (premarital sex, get drunk, high, clubbin’, etc.). But, we can have a liberating experience if we follow our lustful impulses instead of the word of God.

I can honestly say I was deceived at one time in my life. I thought as a Christian, there was nothing to do. I felt like after truly giving my heart to God, all my “fun” was taken away. Praise God for deliverance. What Satan doesn’t tell us is, when we truly commit our lives to Christ there are endless pleasures from God we can experience. The “fun” we have as a sinner is only temporary. We will always be on the hunt for our next “high.” But, when we make a lifetime commitment to God, the pleasures of God will last forever.

Make the commitment, and choose God today.

Psalm 16:11 You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

Inspired by Pastor Creflo Dollar

Proverbs 3:6 In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths smooth.

The Bible says acknowledge God in all our ways. The word “all” includes everything. From, what to eat at night, to where we should live, to where we should work, and who we should marry. God wants to be acknowledged and included in decisions both, great and small. When we acknowledge God, we allow God to give us insight, information, and revelation knowledge in certain areas. We can save ourselves the headaches or hassles in life if we could just simply acknowledge God in all our ways. But, we have to trust Him.

Satan despises God and he despises the things of God (including us). In Hebrews it says it’s impossible to please God without faith. Romans 14:23 says, everything that does not come from faith is sin.
So, the best way Satan can get back at God is to have God’s creation (us) displeasing and sinning against God. Without faith we don’t please God, we sin against God, and we don’t experience the abundant life God provided through Jesus.
Whatever the situation is, keep the faith.

Hebrews 11:6 And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

We, Christians, tend to focus on what we need to improve on or what we need to change. By focusing on these future events, we miss one great part about the present which is: the love of God. God’s love is the glue that holds everything together.

We have goals, dreams, and desires but, without His love nothing will come to pass. Saints, God loves us so much our knowledge can’t even explain it. Even when we’re dead wrong in our sins, God loves us just the same as if we were crossing every “t” and dotting every “i” for Him. Even when we turn our backs on Him God loves us. There is nothing we can do to make Him stop loving us. Never forget and always bask in the love of God.

Romans 8:38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Titus 1:2 In hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised before the ages began;

We are promised eternity with God and He is faithful to His word (Deut. 32:4). Our faith rests on a guaranteed hope (not merely a wishing for, but a certainty of) eternity. So our faith is not one of doubt or questioning, but of assurance:

1. that through salvation we are God’s elect,
2. deemed righteous by Him,
3. and promised eternal life (beyond the physical death of this world to a spiritual existence) with Him.

Praise God for His faithfulness and the sacrifice of His Son!!  Be bold and bless others with the assurance of eternity with God (Mark 16:15).

Habakkuk 2: 4b “— but the righteous will live by his faith”

Habakkuk 3:18 yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior. (19a) The Sovereign LORD is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to go on the heights.

We are to exhibit our faith by trusting in the Lord. Others may be following their own desires, but our assurance remains with God. The word “yet” means that regardless of our circumstances we remain faithful and rejoice in God. He is our confidence, the part of us that holds us together and causes everything to work properly. Praise God that we will continue to live by faith and rejoice in His goodness and that He elevates us!!

Luke 17:12 As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance 13 and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!” 14 When he saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed.

History: By law, people who had leprosy were isolated from the general public until they were cleansed of their leprosy. In these days, the priest were the holiest people around. The priest was not to be defiled by any unholy, unclean, or unrighteous thing.

Here we have Jesus Who is not only telling the unclean lepers to re-join the general public but, to show themselves to the holy priest. It doesn’t make sense and it’s illegal. The lepers could have reasoned or questioned Jesus but, they didn’t. They obeyed Jesus and took Him at His Word. This is known as blind faith. They did not know how, when, or where they were going to be cleansed but, they knew they were going to be cleansed. With their obedience to the Son of God, they were healed.

Just think of how many things we could be healed, delivered, or set free from if we could simply obey God without question. Think about how much better off we would be if we would only obey God without rationalizing. Think about how many lives we could change if people could see us blindly obey God and be blessed for it. Be obedient in spite of what it looks like.

Hebrews 2:18 Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.

Hebrews 3:1 Therefore, holy brothers, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, the apostle and high priest whom we confess.

Mark 14: 38 Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.”

How can we overcome those things that continue to tempt us?

1. Pray because although we want to do right (our spirit), our bodies sometimes take control (our flesh)

2. Jesus understands and helps us: Jesus was made into man and experienced the range of temptation (although he did not succumb to them)

3. Fix our thoughts on Jesus. (AUDIBLY SPEAK the Word when bombarded by temptation: 1 Corinthians 10:13)

Matthew 21:21 Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done.

Previously, we focused on the importance of getting the word of God in our spirits on a consistent basis. We spoke on how Satan attempts to persuade our flesh not to get into the word of God through laziness, lack of discipline, and our feelings.

Today, our focus is believing the word of God. Once we’ve overcome our flesh and actually read the word of God, we have to believe the word of God without doubting.
Just like Satan has his tricks for us not reading the word of God, he has tricks he uses for us not to believe the word of God.

To move us in a place of unbelief Satan will use…
logic…”How is that going to work, it doesn’t even make sense.”
rationalization… “We all sin.”
and our emotions…”I’m not worthy to receive that from God.”

We must believe the Bible is absolute truth regardless of how we think, rationalize, or feel.
~“If you work His system, it will work for you.”

John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

The word of God is the most powerful weapon we have on earth because it changes situations in seconds and it literally allows us to understand the mind of Almighty God. Satan uses our flesh to dictate whether or not we obtain this revelation knowledge from the God.

Satan uses our flesh which includes…
laziness… “I’m too tired to read the Bible.”
lack of discipline… “I read the Bible yesterday.”
and, our feelings… “I don’t feel like going to church or reading the Bible.”

The greatest way to destroy Christians is by leaving them ignorant (Hosea 4:6). However, if we can overcome our flesh and find a greater appreciation for God’s word, the word of God will significantly change our lives.

Genesis 50: 20 But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive.

We have to choose to stand in faith even when it seems as though opposing circumstances or people appear to be defeating us. God is so talented that He, already knowing everything, arranged to work out what appeared to be defeating circumstances to our favor. So, instead of being trapped as slaves (as Joseph’s brothers intended), we are rulers (as Joseph became second in power only to Pharaoh).

So stand in faith, make confessions in line with faith, and await the manifestation of your elevation.

1 John 3: 9No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God.

It’s so easy to say, ‘stop sinning.’ But, how do we stop? If it was easy, those of us who love God would have stopped years ago. We would have completely overcome our flesh, and lived the abundant life, choosing God’s way even in the midst of tribulation. If we choose not to focus so much on the fruit and rather go to the root, then maybe we can ‘stop sinning’ (Luke 6:44).

We want our fruit to reflect a life submitted to God, so we choose to focus on getting closer to God. Instead of trying to overcome our sin using our will power, we concentrate on three areas:
1. disciplining ourselves to increase our time reading the Bible and devotionals everyday,
2. listening to God’s Word for some segment of time daily,
3. And, the most important, having a conversation with God everyday, where both parties have an opportunity to speak.

The more we draw near to God, the more we allow His Spirit to expand in us, and the more our soul (will, emotions, intellect) and flesh will overcome sin. But remember, that whether or not we feel worthy, we choose to continue to do the three things. God has the solution for purifying us; we just need to focus on Him.

James 4:8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

John 8:7 When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.”

Why is it that when someone sins or does something wrong people are so quick to judge or criticize but, slow to pray or lend a helping hand? As Christians, our job is not to criticize and ridicule others when they act in a way that’s not pleasing to God. Our job is to pray for people’s deliverance and be bold enough to ask if they need a helping hand in their deliverance.

So, the next time you see a homosexual, a person “shacking up,” or a person intoxicated, don’t criticize or judge but, pray and be that helping hand for that person’s deliverance.

Be a Blessing!

“It’s not over. It’s not the end. Remember Jesus died and He rose again.”

Some of our situations may appear to be dead. They may appear to be dead to our senses and to the senses of everyone else. When Jesus died, it appeared His ministry was dead but, just like Jesus, we shall rise again. Our businesses shall rise again. Our families shall rise again. Our finances shall rise again. Whatever appears to be dead in our lives shall rise again.

Praise God for His power and ability to revive any and every situation we face.

Deuteronomy 31:8 The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”

God’s presence is not limited by our emotions.  Sometimes we say we ‘feel’ God in the place, or we “feel” the Holy Spirit.  But, if we only had access to God or the Holy Spirit when we ‘feel’ them, our lives would be in lack. 

Praise God that He is with us always, whether we are pleasing Him or not, whether we feel alone or not; He’s there.  And praise God that we always have access to His Holy Spirit which leads us and guides us regardless of whether ‘we catch a feeling’ or not.

John 14:6 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever;

What does it take to be saved?

Romans 10:9 That if you shall confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, you shall be saved.

Do I need to be baptized with water to be saved?  Jesus instructed his disciples to baptize.  Therefore we should be baptized with water, but water baptism does not determine our salvation.

Matthew 28:19 Go you therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit:

Do all believers get the Holy Ghost?  All believers have a choice to accept (listen to, obey, be led by) the Holy Spirit and should do so. While we received access to the Spirit when we became saved, we are called to also be led by the Spirit.

Mark 1:8 I indeed have baptized you with water: but he shall baptize you with the Holy Spirit.

Romans 8:14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.

1 John 5:14-15 This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us–whatever we ask–we know that we have what we asked of him.

Many times we hear the phrase “if the Lord wills” when someone desires something. People use the phrase as if God’s will is a mystery. The good news is most of us have access to God’s will. God’s will for our lives is in His word. Every Bible is the printed will of God. If God’s will was a mystery to the believer, our prayers would be a gamble every time. One day we may pray His will, the next day we may not.

The point is, whatever we desire according to His will, He hears, answers, and delivers our prayers.

For those who are unsure if a certain desire is God’s will for your life, I encourage you to research the scriptures, pray, and actively seek God for an answer.

Proverbs 10:24 What the wicked dreads will overtake him; what the righteous desire will be granted.

Once again, we see righteous living has its benefits. Whatever we desire that is pleasing to the Lord will be granted to the righteous. Just because the promise is in the Bible doesn’t mean we’re going to automatically get it without any opposition. We have to receive that promise by faith and opposition is a part of the process.

Satan will attempt to magnify the negative things in our life in the hopes that we minimize God and His word. But, if we continue to magnify and place our faith in God and His word in spite of the opposition, our desires will come to pass. That’s why it’s called the good fight of faith (1 Timothy 6:12). It’s a good fight because with faith in God, we always win.

It’s a promise from God and God can’t lie.

One of the hardest things to do is to love the ones who hurt us. The natural instinct of a human is to dislike and remove one’s self from pain and go towards pleasure.
God requires that we go beyond our natural instinct by loving and forgiving the ones who hurt us.
What God requires takes more than human effort. This requires supernatural help from above. God is not asking us to love and forgive our enemies with our strength alone. Just like everything else, God is there to help and guide us along the way. If God can love and forgive us, who are we to say we can’t do the same for others?

Next level living requires, next level loving.

Luke 6:35 But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.

Colossians 2:6So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, 3:1b set your hearts on things above… 2a Set your minds on things above 9b you have taken off your old self with its practices 10a and have put on the new self

As believers (we have accepted Jesus as Lord & Savior), we now live in Him. We have an intimate union with Him. Our roots are in Him and we continue to grow in Him.

Part of this growth relationship or the ‘new self’ is accepting and obeying the Holy Spirit and setting our hearts and minds on Him [so our whole thought process is shifted and focused on Him].  An outward expression of this is that we continuously put off those things which are not of Him [we’re not perfect, so we keep trying]. 

But, in our attempts to honor Him, we must remember the root of that desire is a love for Him, not attempting to earn righteousness with our works.

Righteousness starts with the heart, not our works. ~ Pastor Derrick Golden, Romans 5:19, 1 Timothy 1:9

It’s hard for some people to totally submit themselves to God because submission requires trust. Some people’s trust has disintegrated due to an absence of a father figure in their life. We are supposed to experience a level of protection or security in our earthly fathers but, if he is not around, how will we know?

This is a deception from the enemy. The deception is to make us believe if we can’t trust our earthly father (who we can see), how can we trust our Heavenly Father (Who we can’t see)? Satan’s attempt is to have us have partial to no trust in God’s plan, ability, or purpose for our lives.

There is One Father Who will never leave us nor forsake us. There is One Father Who will never disown us nor hurt us in any kind of way. Our Father is God Almighty and there is none like Him!

Romans 8:15 For you have not received The Spirit of bondage again to fear, but you have received The Spirit of the adoption of children by whom we cry, “Father, our Father.”

1 Kings 3:3 And Solomon loved the LORD, walking in the statutes of David his father: only he sacrificed and burnt incense in high places  5 In Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night: and God said, Ask what I shall give you.

Solomon sacrificed because he loved God.  Because of that, God rewarded him.  Do we sacrifice our flesh because we love God, or do we sacrifice because we know He rewards those that diligently seek Him (Hebrews 11:6)?

Acts 16:25 And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises to God: and the prisoners heard them.26 And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one’s bands were loosed.

Paul and Silas prayed and praised in the midst of a trying situation because they loved God.  Do we pray and praise because we love God, or because we want the breakthrough?

We must evaluate our motives.  Yes the righteous are blessed (Psalm 112:2), and God provides the needs of those who seek Him first (Matthew 6:33), and there is power in praise, but God searches the heart.  At the heart of all of our giving, sacrificing, praying, and praising, is there an earnest love for God that says, even if He wouldn’t manifest what I desire, I would not cease because I love Him that much?

Remember, He causes all things to work to the good of those who love Him (Romans 8:28).

Inspired by Dr. Creflo Dollar

Proverbs 11:10 When the righteous prosper, the city rejoices; when the wicked perish, there are shouts of joy.

Notice the verse says “When the righteous prosper” not, “If the righteous prosper.” According to 2 Corinthians 5:21 anyone who receives Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior is made righteous. This means whatever obstacle the righteous face, we are guaranteed victory by God Almighty. 3 John 1:2 says we are to prosper in all things such as our health, finances, relationships, family, and careers.

Even if it looks like we’re not prospering in a certain area now, be patient and keep the faith and hold on to God’s promise of prosperity.

Be Blessed and Prosper!