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James 4:3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures.
As we can see, our motives play a major factor in determining if we receive something from God. If our motives are wrong (selfish, boastful, prideful), our requests will not be granted. We may think we have the correct motives but, God knows our heart.
That’s why it’s so important to communicate and have a great relationship with God. If a desire enters our minds, we can go before the Lord and request that desire. Immediately after making our requests, we can ask God to remove any motive that’s not pleasing to Him. When we ask God to remove any displeasing motives, we’re giving God access to fulfill a promise in our lives. The promise we allow God to fulfill in our lives is the promise of God uprooting every thing (selfishness, pridefulness, etc.) He did not plant (Matthew 15:13).
By allowing God to remove unwanted motives, we position ourselves to receive everything our hearts desire and we become more Christ-like in our mindsets, attitudes, and behaviors.
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Psalms 6:9-10 The LORD has heard my supplication; The LORD will receive my prayer. Let all my enemies be ashamed and greatly troubled; Let them turn back and be ashamed suddenly.
In times of trouble, all we want to know is that God heard our cry. It doesn’t matter what we say or how we say it, the most important thing is God heard us. Because if He heard us, we have an assurance our prayers will be answered.
Thank God for hearing us. Thank God for answering our prayers. Thank God for being God over our lives.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Colossians 3:2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.
When we feel we are without something, we tend to fixate on the thing we don’t have. For instance, if we’re single, we tend to fixate on being married. When we’re married, we tend to fixate on children. When we’re in an apartment, we tend to fixate on having a house. When our finances are lower than we desire, we tend to fixate on ways to increase our finances.
God understands our tendency to fixate on the things we feel we need or desire. However, His Word advises us not to fixate on the thing(s) we desire but, to fixate on Him and His Kingdom. When we begin to set our focus on God and His ways, all the things we feel we need or desire will manifest in our lives.
Let’s prioritize God by shifting our focus on Him then, all the things we desire will flood our lives.
Matthew 6:33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
Some people seem to be uncomfortable with the concept of God loving us in spite of what we do. This discomfort is based on their own thoughts, beliefs, and conditions of love. It’s sometimes difficult for people to understand that God loves us unconditionally.
We may have certain conditions or stipulations of when to reciprocate our love but, God does not. His ways are far above our ways (Isaiah 55:9). So yes, we can break all ten of the commandments on the same day and God will continue to love us. Yes, we can choose not to believe in His Son Jesus and God will continue to love us. Yes, we can live the majority of our life in rebellion and the hour before we die, if we sincerely accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, God will love us enough to make us righteous and receive us into heaven.
We have our own thoughts and beliefs on how and when to love but, God is on another level. This love should not encourage us to sin but, it should humble us to know that in spite of what we do, God still loves us. Praise God for His continuous unconditional love.
Romans 8:39 No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Isaiah 63:7 I will tell of the kindnesses of the LORD, the deeds for which he is to be praised, according to all the LORD has done for us– yes, the many good things he has done for Israel, according to his compassion and many kindnesses.
This is the time of year where our focus should be on our thankfulness to God and all He has done for us. Instead, the world attempts to make us focus on how much we’re going to eat and the great sale prices at the stores. It’s like the world’s focus is on obtaining more instead of reflecting, and being thankful for what they have.
When we reflect on the goodness of the Lord, it allows us to have a better appreciation for Him and ALL He has done in our lives. Reflection humbles us and makes us realize we would not be where we are today if it were not for God. Most importantly, reflection inspires us to tell someone about Jesus Christ and all the wonderful benefits of salvation.
Inspire the world to reflect on the goodness of the Lord and encourage them to be thankful for all He has done.
Psalm 77:11 I will remember the deeds of the LORD; yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago.
Isaiah 46:9 “Remember the former things long past, For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is no one like Me, 10 Declaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times things which have not been done, Saying, ‘My purpose will be established, And I will accomplish all My good pleasure’;
Since God knows every experience we would go through, He has made provision for us from the beginning. God knows when we will obey and disobey His Word and He has caused grace to abound in our disobedience. God knows when some of us may be diagnosed with a disease and He has made healing available through Jesus Christ. God knows the months or years we would stray from His path and made mercy available through Jesus Christ. That’s why the Word of God boldly states, He causes all things to work together for our good because He has us covered (Rom 8:28).
Does this mean we can do whatever we want to do because God has us covered? Of course not. But, this covering gives us peace and confidence during troubling situations.
Be assured that God knows everything we’ve gone through, everything we’re going through, and everything we will go through and He has made provision for us.
Put your faith in that.
Inspired by Pastor C. Dollar
We far too often base life’s decisions with money in mind. We may choose not to go back to school, not get married, or not to treat ourselves to a vacation because of the expense. On the other hand, we may buy clothes, shoes, or electronics based on a great sale price. It’s almost as if money is our god, having the final say in our investments.
We are to live by faith and allow the Holy Spirit to guide and direct our decisions (Rom 1:17; John 16:13). We should stand in faith for our desires even if the money in our bank accounts insinuates that it can’t be done. And if we have the money, we should still allow the Holy Spirit to guide us in our purchases.
Don’t allow money to make life’s decisions for you. Trust in the God Who created money. Allow God to be god over your finances. Have faith that God (not money) is responsible for manifesting our desires and trust that every purchase or non-purchase is for our good.
Matthew 6:24 “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.
Psalms 4:5 Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, And put your trust in the LORD.
It’s a sacrifice living a lifestyle pleasing to God in such a tempting world. It’s a sacrifice to say “no” when our flesh is screaming yes. It’s a sacrifice not to yield to the lustful desires of our old nature.
However, when we offer a sacrifice of righteousness, we inform God we trust His plans above our own. We trust that God’s pleasures are far greater than any pleasure the world could provide. The great thing about this sacrifice is for today’s believer, we have been made righteous. When we know and believe we’re righteous through the blood of Jesus Christ, it makes it easier to offer a sacrifice to a loving forgiving Savior.
Yield not to temptation but, let’s offer our lives up to God.
Psalms 3:1 – 4 LORD, how they have increased who trouble me! Many are they who rise up against me. Many are they who say of me, “ There is no help for him in God.” Selah But You, O LORD, are a shield for me, My glory and the One who lifts up my head. I cried to the LORD with my voice, And He heard me from His holy hill. Selah
Unfortunately, there are some people in the world who still believe God will or will not hear us based on our behavior. This kind of thinking is untrue. In Romans 8:31-39, the Word of God says, nothing can separate us from the love of God. This includes our behavior, our attitude, and our thoughts. NOTHING can separate us from the love of God. Well, if God loves us in spite of what we do, why would His ear stop hearing our prayers?
Like David, we have to know for ourselves, believing God loves us and hears every word. We have to know and believe that, in spite of everything we’re facing, God loves us, He hears us, and His blessing is upon us (v.8).
In this life we will have trouble but, we have to know and believe God loves and hears us.
Be encouraged.
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Genesis 12:2 “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.”
Genesis 12:2 is a very familiar verse to most believers. God blessed us to be a blessing. Notice, it does not say we are only to be blessings to our friends, family, and church members. It simply says we are to be a blessing without limitations or conditions.
This means, we are to be a blessing to the crack head, to the homeless, to the complete stranger, and even to our enemies. It may seem foolish to be a blessing and give to the following individuals but, as we obey the promptings of the Holy Spirit, we display our faithfulness and trust to God. Also, being a blessing does not always include money. Time, attention, and effort are other ways we can be a blessing.
Don’t limit the blessing to only people you know. Be sensitive to hear and obey the voice of the Holy Spirit in order to be a blessing everywhere you go.
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Matthew 9:20 (AMP) And behold, a woman who had suffered from a flow of blood for twelve years came up behind Him and touched the fringe of His garment; 21 For she kept saying to herself, If I only touch His garment, I shall be restored to health. 22 Jesus turned around and, seeing her, He said, Take courage, daughter! Your faith has made you well. And at once the woman was restored to health.
After the woman heard about Jesus being in the area, she continuously said to herself, “If I can only touch His garment, I shall be restored to health.”
When we have faith in God and continuously confess His Word over our situation, we accomplish three things.
1. We build our faith. Faith comes by hearing (Rom 10:17). As we continuously confess God’s Word, our faith in strengthened in God’s ability to do the impossible.
2. We focus on our Solution. Continuously confessing God’s Word forces us to focus on our Solution instead of the problem.
3. We intrigue and encourage others. People may hear our continuous confession of God’s Word over our situation. When what we confessed comes to pass, this will encourage others to place their faith and trust in God over their own situation(s).
Whatever situation we’re facing, continuously confess the Word of God over that situation and expect God to do exactly what He said.
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Mark 5:25 And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. 26 She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. 27 When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak,
This woman with the issue of blood released her faith to be healed ONLY after hearing about Jesus being in the area. She would have never gotten healed if she didn’t hear someone talk about the greatness of Jesus Christ.
Today, how many people are missing out on an opportunity to be healed, delivered, and loved because we don’t mention anything about our Savior? How many testimonies are we keeping to ourselves? We are living advertisements for Jesus Christ. Romans 10:17 says, faith comes by hearing. How can people have faith in something they never heard? How else will people know about the awesomeness of God if we don’t tell them?
Allow the power of God to manifest itself with believers and unbelievers by spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ and all the benefits (healing, prosperity, deliverance, etc.) that go along with it.
Romans 8:37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
If we’re more than conquerors, we are victorious in everything we do. There is no failure in what we do. We conquer everything from rejections of possible spouses to shortcomings we’ve been battling for years.
When we have the mentality of being more than a conqueror, a victorious attitude should follow. No longer should we walk in a place with our head down and full of fear. We should walk in a place with confidence because we are more than conquerors. This applies to job interviews, school, hospital visits, and deadlines at the job.
No matter what comes our way, the Word of God says we are more than conquerors. If the Word of God says it, that means it’s so.
John 8:28 So Jesus said, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he and that I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me.
What would the world look like if every born-again believer only did what the Father instructed them to do? I am convinced the world would be a better place.
The divorce rate would decrease because people would be led by the Spirit of God instead of their emotions. The poverty level would decrease because believers would be led to owning multimillion dollar businesses and the excess of those businesses would help the needy. The amount of believers in the world would increase because people would fearlessly and boldly spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The Kingdom of God would be a dominant force because people would be using their gifts and talents for the Kingdom of God instead of the world.
The Word of God instructs us to be like Jesus (1 John 2:6). Since Jesus only did what the Father instructed Him to do, we should do the same. Change the world through your obedience to the Father.
Matthew 5:42 Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you.
God gave His only Son Jesus to benefit mankind. God had nothing to gain by sending His Son. God could have let everyone perish, but He loved us enough to provide redemption through His Son.
Jesus also gave to benefit mankind. Jesus gave His life. The Word of God instructs us to live as Jesus lived (1 John 2:6). How many of us are giving solely to benefit others? How many of us are giving our time, talent, and treasure expecting nothing in return?
There are hundreds of people around us that need our help. Some are homeless, some are hopeless, and some just need us to listen. Regardless of what a person needs, we should always position ourselves to benefit others.
Let’s slow down our day, look around us, and see who needs our help.
2 Thessalonians 1:3 We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is fitting, because your faith grows exceedingly, and the love of every one of you all abounds toward each other,
Faith is like a muscle, the more we exercise it, the more it will grow. It’s okay to have small faith at the beginning of our Spirit led journey. It’s okay if we can only believe God for the money to buy a used car instead of a new car. Any measure of faith (small or great) pleases God (Hebrews 11:6). As we continue this journey, our faith should continue to grow. By exercising our faith in multiple areas of our life, eventually we will be at a place where we can stand in faith for a brand new luxury car paid off in full.
We should never compare our faith level with another. We don’t know what they’ve been through or how long they’ve been exercising their faith. They may be able to boldly stand in faith for a $700,000 house. Praise God for them. But, it doesn’t mean our faith level is insignificant. Eventually, we too can stand in faith for a massive house.
The main point is to begin to exercise your faith to please God and to receive His promises for your life.
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Genesis 3:4 The serpent said to the woman, “You surely will not die! 5 “For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
Ever since the beginning, Satan made it seem like we were missing out on something better. Satan made Eve think she was missing out on being like God. Praise God we are no longer ignorant of Satan’s traps. The same trick Satan used in the Garden of Eden is the same trick he is still using today.
How many times have we desired to do or have been doing the will of God and Satan made it seem like we’re missing out on something else?
For instance, the Holy Spirit instructs us to read the Word of God. Immediately after those instructions, Satan will make it seem like we would miss out on watching a TV show.
We may have the desire to go to church on Sunday, but Satan will make it seem like we’re missing out on some much needed rest.
We may be compelled to give an over and above offering at church, but Satan will make it seem like we’re missing out on saving that money for something else.
At times, those tricks seem very logical and convincing. Our responsibility is to identify the enemy in our thoughts and realize that anything that has us going against the voice and the Word of God is a deception.
Take control of your thoughts, don’t be deceived, and do the will of God.
Before we sit in a chair, we are not stressed, worried, hoping, and wishing the chair will hold our weight. The reason why we are not stressed or worried is because…
- We tested or tried the chair.
- We realized the chair has a good track record.
- We trust the chair’s ability to hold our weight.
The same confidence we have in a chair holding our weight, is the same confidence we should have in God answering our prayers. If we’ve lived for more than a year, we’ve tested God and God has answered at least one of our prayers. There is an entire book (The Bible) and millions of people who can tell us about God’s good track record. Now, we should be at the point of trusting God to answer our prayers.
There should be no stress, worry, or confusion involved in God answering our prayers. God has already provided everything we need and desire in this life. Our faith (total trust and total belief) in His Word is how we access our answered prayers.
I am challenging everyone reading this today to trust God more than you trust a chair.
Be blessed!
1 John 5:14 This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. 15 And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him.
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2 Timothy 4:5 But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.
Mark Twain stated, “The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.” Every one of us has a specific purpose on this earth. God instructs us to fulfill our ministry. Our ministry and our purpose are synonymous.
Some of us were meant to cook and some of us were meant to teach. Some of us were meant to be in front of the stage and some of us were meant to be in the background. The problem some of us have is we are in areas where we’re not fulfilling our purpose. We are in areas where WE believe we can make enough money to fulfill the lifestyle we desire to live. If we truly say we trust God and His Word, we would fulfill the ministry He predestined for us and still enjoy the great benefits in life.
For instance, God can take a janitor who is making $10 an hour and turn him into a millionaire. That janitor can start working and in two years, God (not man) can promote him to supervisor. A few years later, that janitor could land a position where he is the head of maintenance. While he’s head of maintenance, he finds his wife. Finally, God could lead that janitor to open his own janitorial business where he’s the CEO making millions. Being a janitor is not a popular occupation for society, but if that janitor is being led by the Holy Spirit and fulfilling his ministry on earth, this life will provide that janitor, or anyone else with 100% satisfaction.
Walk in your purpose (ministry), and trust God.
Colossians 3:23 Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men,
Usually, when this verse is quoted, it’s quoted in the context of laziness or partially doing a specific responsibility. However, this verse has a dual meaning.
The scripture says work unto the Lord. This does incorporate performing a task but, this also includes overworking ourselves. Pressures from deadlines combined with the amount of work we have, may cause us to overwork ourselves. The Holy Spirit is present to guide us and tell us how much work we should be doing in a particular setting. If we’re not listening and so focused on completing the task, although we have finished our assignment(s), we still are not working unto the Lord.
God knows, just like many of us know, that overworking ourselves can be detrimental to our health and to our family. If the Holy Spirit tells us to stop at a certain time, even if we have a lot more work to do, we should trust Him enough to stop. By working unto the Lord, He anoints us to finish more quickly than we thought, cause the deadline to be extended, or cause someone to help us finish our task.
Let’s trust God to guide us with our workload and in all we do.
Graced To Do God's Will 