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Acts 8:15 And they came down and prayed for them that the Samaritans might receive the Holy Spirit; 16 For He had not yet fallen upon any of them, but they had only been baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus.17 Then [the apostles] laid their hands on them one by one, and they received the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit is the third part of the trinity, the Spirit of God living inside of us, and the being we receive the moment of salvation (Ephesians 1:13). There is no Holy Spirit without the acceptance of Christ as Savior. The Holy Spirit gives us boldness to speak the Word of God (Acts 4:31). The Holy Spirit gives us wisdom (Acts 6:10). The Holy Spirit is gives us power (Acts 1:8). The Holy Spirit allows us to speak in tongues (Acts 2:4). The Holy Spirit compels us to do something (Acts 20:22). The Holy Spirit gives us revelation (1 Corinthians 2:10).

Although the Holy Spirit is present in our lives, the things mentioned above won’t automatically intrude and take control of our lives. That’s a violation of our free will. Every day we must submit our will to the will of the Spirit (Romans 8:5). We must acknowledge His presences and accept His guidance. His guidance may not always be logical but, it’s always correct.

Acts 2:38 Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Inspired by Pastor D @ thencfc.com

Believers have the choice to be filled with the Spirit of God. What’s the difference between having and being filled with the Spirit? Imagine a glass. There’s some water in it. That’s like being a believer who has the Spirit of God. The moment that believer asks to be filled with the Spirit of God, it’s like putting supernatural on that water, and the water continuously keeps filling the glass such that it overflows.

Asking to be filled with the Spirit is choosing to be led by the Spirit. It’s applying the super to our natural and allowing God to speak to and personally tailor His Word and direction for our lives. So, are you ready for the abundant, Spirit-filled, Spirit-led life? Just ask.

Luke 11: 13“If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?”

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

Colossians 1: 9For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;

1 John 4:10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

1 John 4:19 We love because he first loved us.

Romans 5:8 But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

God loves us in spite of what we do. He doesn’t loves us when we’re doing right and take away His love when we’ve done wrong. He loves us in our good times and in our bad times.

When we internalize God’s love for us, we can eliminate depression, low self esteem, and doubt. We’re not depressed because of the situations surrounding us because we know God, Who loves us, can change any situation and provide the strength we need to get through any situation. Low self esteem won’t have a chance to dwell in our lives because we know God, Who loves us, perfectly made us and we don’t need the approval of anyone else. Doubt in God’s ability would vanish. Since God loved us enough to sacrifice His Son, how much more would He freely give us all things (Rom 8:32)? No good thing will He withhold to those who walk uprightly (Psalm 84:11).

Receive His love and never let it go.

Matthew 21:20 Seeing this, the disciples were amazed and asked, “How did the fig tree wither all at once?” 21 And Jesus answered and said to them, “Truly I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ it will happen.

When a farmer plants a seed and does the necessary things to help that seed grow (watering the seed), he does not dig up that seed to make sure it’s growing the next day. In the right environment during the right season, the farmer expects that seed to grow. It would puzzle the farmer if that seed didn’t grow.

It works the same way with our faith. When we release our faith into the atmosphere for something we desire then, do the necessary things to receive what we desire (confessing the Word of God for what we desire and believe without doubt), we should expect for our desire to come to pass. It should puzzle us if we don’t receive our desire. Don’t be anxious for the desire because anxiety leads to doubt and doubt destroys faith. From a house, to a car, to a healthy marriage, to great parking spaces, we should receive everything we desire.

Have faith and live in expectation.

Proverbs 28:20 A faithful person will be richly blessed, but one eager to get rich will not go unpunished.

Faithfulness is one of the prerequisites for everything we desire in life. If we desire better for our lives, we have to be faithful with the things we have currently (Luke 16:10).

If we desire a new car, we should be faithful with our current car. This means we keep it clean and do regular maintenance on our current vehicle. If we want a new house, we should be faithful with our apartment or current house. This means we keep our residence clean and maintained. If something is broken, we fix the problem instead leaving it broken for years. If we want a husband or a wife, we should be faithful with others and with ourselves. This means we consistently treat people with kindness and respect. How can God provide us with a husband or a wife if we have a track record of criticizing and treating others poorly? We should love ourselves (Mark 12:31). How can we love someone else if it’s difficult to love ourselves? If we can’t pamper ourselves, how can we expect to pamper our spouse?

The journey to our desires starts with us.

It’s time to Be Faithful.

John 19:30 When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

Some of us believe Jesus is the Son of God and we stop right there. We can’t stop there. That’s just the foundation. We must believe and receive all of the finished works of Jesus.

Jesus is the Son of God and He died for our past, present, and future sins (Matthew 26:28). So we don’t need to confess our sins every second of every day. We are forgiven (past tense).

Jesus completely healed our body (1 Peter 2:24). In spite of how we feel, we’re not going to be healed; we are healed.

Jesus made us righteous (2 Corinthians 5:21). We’re not working to become righteous. Through Jesus, we are righteous.

Jesus made us heirs of God’s promise (Galatians 3:29). We are entitled to all of God’s promises and we don’t have to work to receive them. Just have faith.

Jesus made us kings and priest (Revelation 5:10). We don’t need to go through a priest and confess our faults to a priest. We personally have 24-hour access to God.

This is just a short list of what Jesus has accomplished for us. We must believe and receive all of what Jesus has accomplished and what He accomplished was just for us.

Isaiah 54:9 “For this is like the waters of Noah to Me; For as I have sworn That the waters of Noah would no longer cover the earth, So have I sworn That I would not be angry with you, nor rebuke you.

Some of us just used foul language against someone else and some of us just committed an adulterous act. No matter what we have done, God is not angry.
Some of us have not prayed in a week or more and some of us have not given an offering to God in a while. No matter what we have done, God is not angry.
Some of us have treated our loved ones badly and some of us are addicted to something we know is not pleasing to God. No matter what we have done, God is not angry.

Does this mean we can continue in our sin? Absolutely not (Romans 6:1, 2). We simply have an assurance that God is not mad at us because He has poured His wrath out on Jesus Christ (1 Thessalonians 5:9).

As far as our behavior is concerned, we allow the Holy Spirit to direct and guide us in the areas where we need improvement (Romans 8:14). Always remember to take it one issue at a time.

Jesus used spit and dirt to heal a blind man (John 9:6).
Jesus went to a man’s house and brought his daughter back to life (Matthew 9:18,25).
A woman touched the hem of his garment and she was healed (Matthew 9:20, 22).
Jesus healed a blind man with a command for him to go (Matthew 10:51, 52)

From spit to a word to just a touch, Jesus healed in many different ways. Why? For our benefit, so that we can understand the need to believe Him first, seek and follow His directions, and receive our manifestation. Healing is for every believer. Have faith and believe, and seek Him for your next steps.

Isaiah 53:5 But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed.

Mark 7:20 He (Jesus) went on: “What comes out of a person is what defiles them.

What’s coming out of you? Evaluate yourself.
Are you the person who complains about the task that is set before them at their job or do you work unto the Lord without grumbling or complaining?
Are you the man recalling your past bragging about how many women you slept with or are you forgetting those things that are behind you and embracing your new creation?
Are you the woman attempting to start drama and strife or are you the woman who removes gossip, discontentment, and self-pity from your mouth?
Are you the person speaking death and negativity into situations or are you speaking life into every situation?
Are you condemning others who may not be on the same level as yourself or are you praying for people’s deliverance and understanding?

If there is anything negative coming out of our mouths, we’re negatively defiling ourselves. Let’s renew our minds to speak, think, and act in a God-honoring way.

Matthew 6:6 But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

There’s a saying that says, “Rome was not built in day.” What this saying means is that it took time to build Rome. I want to go a step further and say, the plans for Rome were not established in a day. It takes time to establish a plan for a city. If it takes time to establish plans for a city, surely it takes time to hear, know, and establish the plans for the Kingdom of God. Unfortunately, we have filled our lives up with our careers, families, and entertainment and have limited God to a couple of minutes a day. Entering the presence of God allows us to know the plans He has for us and our families. The presence of God shows the areas where we need improvement. The presence of God reveals the source of our favor. This is just a short list of the benefits the presence of God provides.

Let’s make an effort to spend more time with God each and every day.

Luke 10:38-42 Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching. But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”

We can watch a two and a half hour movie without complaining because the movie appeals to our flesh. Movies don’t benefit us in any way. The thing that greatly benefits us like, entering the presence of God, seems like a chore because our flesh is fighting our spirit. But, how many of us get into the presence of God for two and a half hours? Our holiness is not based on the amount of time we spend in the presence of God but, we should want to spend some time with our Creator, Provider, and Father. We’re talking about a God Who knows the future and knows the plans He has for us. A few minutes a day doesn’t seem that significant with a God Who has done so much for us.

Let’s make an effort to spend a considerable amount of time with God every day.

Hosea 4:6a My people are being destroyed because they don’t know me.

If the lack of knowledge causes destruction, then an abundance of knowledge causes construction or a building of one’s life.

As we continue to know more and more about God through Jesus Christ, the more God will reveal in our lives. The more God reveals, the more revelation knowledge we can put into action in the earth. God may reveal an idea we can use to be successful in our career. He may reveal our spouse. God may reveal instructions that will better the Kingdom of God at our local church.

The more knowledge we obtain of our God, the closer our relationship will be with Him, a greater impact will be felt in the world, and the quality of our life will greatly increase.

2 Peter 1:2 Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.

2 Chronicles 20: 3 And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.

Whenever we’re in a situation that has the potential to cause fear or panic, our first response should be to seek the Lord. If we meditate on the thing that we fear, we introduce worry, stress, and disease into our lives. By seeking the Lord, we’re receiving wisdom, ideas, and strategies on what to do when we don’t know what to do.

When our limited mind has reached its end, let’s rely on the wisdom of God to see us through.

Be blessed!

Mark 5: 25And a certain woman, who had an issue of blood twelve years, 26And had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was no better, but rather grew worse, 27When she had heard of Jesus, came in the crowd behind, and touched his garment. 28For she said, If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole. 29And immediately the fountain of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of that disease. 34And he said unto her, Daughter, your faith has made you whole; go in peace, and be whole of your disease.

Some of us try everything in our power, which may cost us, before we try Jesus. The woman with the issue of blood, spent all of her money expecting to be healed but to no avail. But, when she heard about Jesus, she expected that He could heal her and He did.

As believers, we should come to God expecting the miraculous, rather than trying to fix things in our own power first. We know that God can and will manifest the impossible for us, and it’s not worth the cost of trying to make it happen through our own power before submitting it to God. So, let’s stop relying on our own resources and qualifications, and let’s trust God first.

It happened after this that David inquired of the Lord, saying, “Shall I go up to any of the cities of Judah?” And the Lord said to him, “Go up.” David said, “Where shall I go up?” And He said, “To Hebron.” (II Samuel 2:1 NKJV)

David inquired of the Lord regarding his next step in life and God responded.

If our desire is to do the will of the Father and advance the Kingdom of God, we must inquire of the Lord. We inquire of the Lord by way of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is within every born again believer. When we seek His guidance regarding our decisions in life, we humble ourselves and replace our will with the will of the Father.

Always remember, it’s not about our will but, it’s about allowing the Father’s will to be done on earth as it is in heaven through us.

Matthew 6:10 Your kingdom come. Your will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

Deuteronomy 8:18 But you shall remember the LORD your God: for it is he that gives you power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he swore unto your fathers, as it is this day.

God has given us the power to get wealth. The definition of wealth is a great quantity or store of money, valuable possessions, property, or other riches.
Since God is not a respecter of persons (Acts 10:34) and we have the promise to receive anything we desire including wealth (Mark 11:24), why is it that some believers do not have wealth?

1. We lack the tool we need to receive wealth. The tool is faith. Accompanying faith is patience. Some may start strong in faith but, after time has passed, some believers begin to doubt. Doubt contaminates faith. (Hebrews 6:12; James 1:6)

2. Wrong motives. James 4:3 When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures. Our motives should be to advance the Kingdom of God and impact the world.

3. Unfaithfulness in little. If we are not faithful in what we have now, how can we expect God to dispense an abundance of wealth in our lives. Our test is passed when we’re faithful in little. (Luke 16:10)

Let’s renew our minds on the changes we need to make to receive our inheritance to advance the Kingdom of God, impact the world, and enhance the quality of our lives.

Luke 21:¹⁸ But not a hair of your head shall perish.

In this chapter, Jesus lets us know about the things to come. He lets us know about the wars, unusual disasters, and the panic that will be filled in the world.

In spite of all that’s going on, the believer has a promise. Jesus promised not a hair on our head will perish. That’s awesome to know. Not only will we be protected from the calamity in the world but, the calamity won’t even get close to us.

Don’t allow the negative issues in the world to override our promises from God. Receive God’s protection and walk in peace.

Ecclesiastes 4:12 Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

Jesus Christ must be Lord in order for success to be established and maintained in marriage. If Jesus Christ is not at the helm, a marriage would consist of two people attempting to live life together without an ever-present help.

That ever-present help is the Holy Spirit. Jesus Christ gave us the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit will direct and guide each of us within our marriage. He will inform us how to love our spouse, when/how to hold our spouse, when/how to complement our spouse, and when/how to give to our spouse.

Let’s trump the negative statistics and allow success, through Jesus Christ, to be a part of our marriages.

Luke 12:53 They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”

News Flash! We are living in the last days. For those who haven’t noticed children are against their parents, stocks are falling, homosexuals are applauded, and wars are continuous. These situations will affect everyone in the world but, not the believer.

For those who have placed their entire trust in God, they will continue to live the blessed abundant life in spite of all of the things surrounding them. The separation between the believer and the world will be so evident until the world will have to pay attention to the God we serve.

Think about it. The world will be in panic, lack, and confusion but, the promise of life, peace, and prosperity to the believer will still be in effect.

Don’t be moved by what you see. Continue to place your entire trust in God.

Mark 7:5 So the Pharisees and teachers of the law asked Jesus, “Why don’t your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders instead of eating their food with defiled hands?”

Only praying on bended knees, wearing long dresses, shouting at church every Sunday, same order of service every week, no makeup, and standing to read God’s Word.

These are some traditions some believers keep but, for what reason? Can we not pray at anytime in any way? Can we come to church comfortable as we are? Does keeping tradition make us holy?

Tradition doesn’t make anyone holier or better than another. In fact, tradition limits the flexibility of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit may have a person do something traditionally one day but, the next day, He may have them doing something totally different. God looks at the motives in mankind. If traditions are present but, our heart is impure, our traditions are in vain.

Don’t hold on so tightly to tradition. Let’s allow the Holy Spirit to direct and guide our lives.

2 Peter 1: 3According as his divine power has given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who has called us to glory and virtue: 4By which are given unto us exceedingly great and precious promises: that by these you might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

How do we access all that God has for us? It is through the knowledge of Him. The more that we seek Him through studying (not just reading, but intently pouring over) His Word, listening to sound, bible-based teaching, and communicating with Him regularly, the more that we enable Him to reveal to us. As revelation occurs, we walk in the manifestation of possessing all things that pertain to life and godliness, having all of our needs met, and living in the abundantly more life. So, Believers, it’s time for us to become consistently, diligent about seeking God.

Psalm 119: 105 Your word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.
Jeremiah 33: 3 Call unto Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you know not.

John 9:4 “We must work the works of Him who sent Me as long as it is day; night is coming when no one can work.

1 Peter 2:24 “He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.”

Everything Jesus did on the earth was for someone outside Himself. Jesus either suffered and died for us or performed marvelous acts for the glory of God. If we are to walk in the ways of Christ like 1 John 2:6 tells us to, we should be living our lives to be a blessing to others and for the glory of God.

Status Check: Recently, what have you done for someone else? What have you done solely for the glory of God?……If you can’t recall, it’s been too long.

Let’s be a blessing and give God glory in all we do.

Colossians 3:9 (AMP) Do not lie to one another, for you have stripped off the old (unregenerate) self with its evil practices,10 And have clothed yourselves with the new [spiritual self], which is [ever in the process of being] renewed and remolded into [fuller and more perfect knowledge upon] knowledge after the image (the likeness) of Him Who created it.

Our daily challenge is to grow in the likeness of God. We should always be in a constant state of growth. When we first get saved, we may be a liar, fornicator, an abuser, or all three but, as time progresses, we should be reflecting the image of God. This is a lifelong process and there is no end.

Our responsibility is to allow the Holy Spirit to reveal the areas where we need improvement and receive the Holy Spirit’s guidance on how to improve in those areas.

Luke 8:30 Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” “Legion,” he replied, because many demons had gone into him. 31 And they begged Jesus repeatedly not to order them to go into the Abyss.
~Here, we see the demons afraid and pleading with Jesus not to order them into the Abyss.

Acts 19:13 Some Jews who went around driving out evil spirits tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who were demon-possessed. They would say, “In the name of the Jesus whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out.”
15 And the evil spirit answered and said to them, “I recognize Jesus, and I know about Paul, but who are you?” 16 And the man, in whom was the evil spirit, leaped on them and subdued all of them and overpowered them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded
~Here, we see the demons unafraid and attacking the men who attempted to drive them out.

How is it that in one scenario the demons were afraid but, in the other the demons were unafraid and attacked? It’s because Jesus understood His authority. When we understand our authority through Jesus Christ, we can do anything (Phil 4:13). The problem is we think the devil is some big bad scary being but, in reality he is a defeated foe and we have authority over him and all his attacks. If there is anything devilish in our life, our finances, our marriage, or in our career use this God-given authority to drive the devil out.

Luke 10:19 Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.

Matthew 5:16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

How do we let our light shine? We let our light shine when we walk in the ways of God. What are the ways of God? Walking in love, walking in forgiveness, and being a blessing.

When reading this scripture, we must understand that this is not optional. This is something God calls us to do. Without our light shining, how else do we expect to attract people out of darkness? Our light gives people hope in humanity.

Walk in the ways of God and let your light shine.

Jesus waited patiently for the right timing to fulfill the purpose that God called Him to. There are times when we are in the waiting stage. It may be that we feel that there’s more for us, but we just don’t know what it is yet. Or, it may be that that we know the calling, but we don’t yet know how or when it will manifest. Jesus is our example.

Jesus probably knew He had a great call on His life, and yet He waited for God’s timing to begin His ministry. We can be used in childhood, as adolescents, in our twenties, and beyond, and yet Jesus waited for years, until He was around 30, because He submitted Himself to God’s will. So, we should not lose hope on what God has designated for us, but continue prioritizing God as we submit to His infinite knowledge, impeccable timing, and perfect will.

Luke 3: 21Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass, that when Jesus also was baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened, 22And the Holy Spirit descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, You are my beloved Son; in you I am well pleased. 23And Jesus himself was about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph…