Monthly Archive

Psalm 27:5 For in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion; In the secret place of His tabernacle He shall hide me; He shall set me high upon a rock. 6 And now my head shall be lifted up above my enemies all around me; Therefore I will offer sacrifices of joy in His tabernacle; I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the Lord.

There are a few things we can learn from these two verses. The first thing we can learn is there will be a time of trouble. Regardless if a person has been saved for 20 years or 20 minutes, we all will experience a time of trouble.

However, in the time of trouble, there is hope. For the believer, God Himself hides us and sets us up on high places. Due to the fact that God has set us up on high places, we are lifted above our troubles. We have to believe this truth. We can’t stare at our problems and circumstances surrounding us and think they will eventually affect us. We have to believe that although our problems are present, they will not negatively impact our lives.

Finally, because we’re lifted above our troubles, a sacrifice of joy and praise to God should flow through our lips. We’re praising God for keeping us above our troubles; we’re praising God for honoring His Word, and we’re praising God that all things (troubles included) will work for our good.

As we approach the New Year, many of us will have resolutions that range from working out to deepening our relationship with God. Both are beneficial, but the latter is more important.

When we start our journey in deepening our relationship with God, we start off good by going to church weekly, reading a chapter a day in our Bibles, and praying more often. However, by the middle of the year, we start losing our focus. We become distracted; we start making excuses as to why we can’t go to church, and the time we once allotted for praying and reading the Bible seems to disappear. In actuality, we start placing other things before God. We start prioritizing our schedules, activities, and vacations above the Kingdom of God. By the end of the year, we count it as a loss and say, “I’ll start next year.” This is a trap set by the enemy.

Now that we are aware of this trap, let’s not make the same mistake in 2015. Our relationship with God can be as deep as we want it to be. Let’s stay consistent in the things of God all year-long. Our consistency or faithfulness in the things of God, allows us to be sensitive to His Spirit to receive direction, overcome internal challenges, and be more of a blessing to others.

Why wait until 2015? Start today!

1 Corinthians 15:58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.

Colossians 4:2 Continue in prayer, and watch in it with thanksgiving;

When we pray, we should not just “go through the motions” by saying, “bless this person and bless that person.” When we pray, we should believe, realize, and know that what we say, will manifest itself.

Prayer is not just speaking words to God with no confidence. Real prayer is truly believing that what we say, will manifest itself. Secondly, we should be listening to what God has to say to us. When listening to God, He will direct us to the manifestation of our prayer.

Let’s stop trying to check the box with prayer. Let’s believe that what we say, will come to pass and God is continuously giving us instructions for our next steps.

Let’s pray.

Psalms 23:5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over.

If we would allow God to lead, guide, and direct our lives, we would realize that God has prepared everything we will ever need for this life. It’s not going to be prepared, it’s already prepared.

Many times, people want to prepare a table for themselves. They want to pick the college they want to go to because of its notoriety instead of going to the college God has prepared for them. They want to work at a certain job because of the high salary instead of having a career God has prepared for them. They want to be in a relationship with someone because of how it makes them look instead of being with the person God has prepared for them. We want to prepare a table for ourselves, but have God bless it. It doesn’t work that way.

The things that God has prepared for us are attached to our purpose. When we receive what God has prepared, we walk in our purpose and when we’re walking in our purpose, God is pleased. Stop working so hard to prepare something that’s already prepared. Rest and Receive what God has prepared and eat well.

Luke 2:10-11 Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

The greatest gift to mankind is Jesus Christ. God sent His Son to be more than “fire insurance” preventing us from going to hell. Jesus is everything to mankind.

Through Jesus, we have the opportunity to receive salvation. Through Jesus, we are exempt from physical and spiritual death. Through Jesus, we are healed from every sickness, disease, or pain in our bodies. Through Jesus, we are delivered from the curse of the law. Through Jesus, we are forgiven from all our sins. Through Jesus, we can have a personal relationship with God. Through Jesus, we have an Advocate and an Intercessor. Through Jesus, we are heirs according to the promise of God. Through Jesus, we have Spiritual Guide. Through Jesus, we can have everything we will ever need or desire. Through Jesus, the grace of God, the love of God, and the mercy of God was released on mankind.

As we celebrate the birth of Jesus the Christ, just remember, everything we have is because of Jesus.

As we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ into this world, we should also celebrate His accomplishments. Jesus suffered and endured unimaginable pains while taking our place at Calvary.

The following verses in Psalms 22 gives us a glimpse of what Jesus endured:
-I am poured out like water, And all My bones are out of joint; My heart is like wax; It has melted within Me. (‭Psalms‬ ‭22‬:‭14‬)
-My strength is dried up like a potsherd, And My tongue clings to My jaws; You have brought Me to the dust of death. (‭Psalms‬ ‭22‬:‭15‬)
-I can count all My bones. They look and stare at Me. (‭Psalms‬ ‭22‬:‭17‬)

As we can see Jesus was ridiculed, tortured, and in great pain. God sent His Son Jesus into the earth to endure these sufferings and accomplish this goal just for us. Praise God for Jesus Who was not only born but, endured great suffering so that we can become the righteousness of God.

Psalm 17:4 Concerning the works of men, By the word of Your lips, I have kept away from the paths of the destroyer.

The enemy is out to destroy us. Like Job, the enemy is out to destroy our lives, our families, and our businesses. However, when we confess the Word that came forth from the mouth of God, we strengthen our faith to know we are protected from the destroyer.

These are just a few scriptures we can stand on to reassure ourselves that we are protected by God Almighty:
-Psalm 121:7 LORD will keep you from all harm– he will watch over your life;
-Psalm 91:10 no harm will overtake you, no disaster will come near your tent.
-Psalm 41:2 The LORD protects and preserves them– they are counted among the blessed in the land– he does not give them over to the desire of their foes.

Continue to confess the Word of God regarding His protection and live a fear-free life.

Hebrews 4:11 Let us labor therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.

It takes a conscious effort to rest in the finished works of Jesus Christ. We see the promises of health, deliverance, wealth, etc. in the Word of God but at this time, we may not be experiencing the manifestation of those promises. Due to not seeing certain promises, our flesh feels like it needs something to do to speed up the process.

On the spiritual side, to speed up the manifestation of our promises, some may feel like they need to read the Word of God more, pray more, or fast. Praying and reading are fine but, if our mentality is to pray and read to speed up the delivery of our promises, we’re operating out of the flesh.
In the natural, to speed up the manifestation of our promises, our flesh may be compelled to do additional things that God did not instruct us to do. For instance, if someone is believing for healing in their body, they may be compelled to take extra vitamins, drink popularized tonics, or go to the doctor multiple times. Or, if someone desires to speed up the promise of wealth, their flesh may be compelled to work longer hours or invest in a “get rich quick” pyramid scheme. If the Spirit of God did not instruct us to do these things, we’re operating out of the flesh.

Once again, it takes effort to rest in the finished works of Jesus Christ. Whatever we’re standing in faith for, believe it and receive it. After that, whatever the Spirit of God instructs us to do, do that and no more.

Inspired by the teachings of Pastor C. Dollar

Psalm 16:7 I will bless the LORD who has given me counsel; My heart also instructs me in the night seasons.

In life, there are some major and minor decisions we have to make. Many of us seek counsel from close friends or family members. Seeking counsel from our friends and family members is fine but, God desires to be included on our list. In fact, according to Matthew 6:33, He desires to be first on our list.

Some of us may have a difficult time discerning God’s voice from our own. We eliminate this difficulty by forcing ourselves to spend time with God. We force ourselves to spend time with God by detaching ourselves from the world (technology, TV, etc.). The more we make an effort to spend time with God, the easier it becomes to hear His voice.

It’s very important to develop our relationship and communication skills with God. God has every answer we need, for every decision in life. Start seeking God; the best Counselor.

Mark 11:24 “Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted you.

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.

As we can see from these three verses, we can expect to receive everything we desire from God. The corresponding action to expectation is preparation.

For instance, if a couple prayed for a child, the corresponding action to their prayer, prior to going to the doctor, should be decorating the baby’s room with a crib, buying bottles, and diapers. Another example includes if a person prayed for employment. Prior to obtaining employment, the corresponding action to their prayer should be buying the necessary clothes for the job, adjusting their body to wake up early by setting an alarm for 6:30am, and going to bed at a decent hour.

If we truly believe that God hears and answers our prayers, we need to prepare ourselves for the manifestation of that prayer. A lot of the times, believers pray and they’re hoping (crossing their fingers) their prayers get answered. Then, if the prayer gets answered, they’re excited and surprised when, in actuality, they should have been excited the moment they prayed.

Don’t allow doubt to enter your hearts by delay. Whatever you believed God for, prepare yourself to receive that desire.

Ecclesiastes 3:1 To everything there is a season, and a time for every matter or purpose under heaven:

Unfortunately, we live in this impatient society where we have to get answers, obtain solutions, or discover the next step immediately. This impatience sometimes trickles into receiving the promises of God. Before we can completely thank God for one promise, we’re looking for the next one. We may have received a degree, now we immediately want to know when and where we’ll be hired. We may have just gotten married, now we’re immediately looking for our dream house.

Patience is the key. One thing we must realize is, when God blesses us, He has more than us in mind. It’s all in the timing. For instance, we may be looking for a career in one city/state but, God has opened up a career opportunity for us in another location in order to be a blessing in the lives of people we haven’t even met.

Let’s take our time and truly enjoy the blessings God has poured into our lives. Let’s not be so hasty to move on to the next thing. God operates on a different schedule. Let’s be in tune with His schedule to maximize the blessings in our lives and in the lives of others.

1 Corinthians 10:13 No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.

Whatever obstacle we’re facing, God enabled us (past tense) to overcome it. To overcome the obstacle in front of us, we have to use the authority God has given us. Our authority is our faith.

Jesus showed us how to use our authority in Luke 8. In Luke 8:23-24, an obstacle in the form of a storm was in front of Jesus. Jesus used His authority and by faith He rebuked and overcame the storm. Some people may say He was able to rebuke the storm because He’s Jesus, the Son of God. However in verse 25, after rebuking the storm, Jesus looked at His panic-stricken disciples and asked “Where is your faith?” In other words, Jesus asked, how come you didn’t use your faith to rebuke the storm?

It doesn’t matter if it’s a storm, a troubled marriage, low finances, or rebellious children. Whatever obstacles we face, God has enabled us to overcome it. Exercise your authority and overcome that obstacle.

Lately, the message in the body of Christ is about grace and its wonderful benefits. Praise God for grace because without it, we would all be lost. In order to get a full understanding of grace, we have to look at grace’s prerequisite. The prerequisite of grace is mercy.

Ephesians 2:4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,

After Adam sinned, mankind was destined and justified for hell. God loved us enough to have mercy on us. Mercy says, although we’re wrong and should be punished, another chance will be granted. Since God knew we couldn’t achieve perfection on our own, He sent the embodiment of grace, Jesus Christ, to save mankind. Because of God’s mercy, everyone has the opportunity to experience His grace.

Praise God for His mercy! Without His mercy, grace would not exist.

Matthew 9:29 Then he touched their eyes and said, “According to your faith let it be done to you”;

Whatever we need or desire is going to be according to our faith and our faith alone (what we believe).
Notice, this scripture does not say it’s according to our finances.
It’s not according to our education.
It’s not according to our employment experience.
It’s not according to our criminal history.
It’s not according to who we know.

Everything we need or desire is going to be according to our faith.

Also, it’s not according to your mother’s faith or your pastor’s faith. Your needs/desires are according to YOUR FAITH.

Faith is believing every need or desire has been (past tense) made available to us (the believers) through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Even though we can’t observe the need/desire with our five senses, we believe it’s available to us.

Receive your needs and desires by exercising your faith and removing all the “limitations” the world has placed in your mind.

Inspired by Pastor B. Winston

Ephesians 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:

When some of us think of blessings, we think of a house, car, or money however, there is much more to a blessing besides materialistic things. A blessing can positively impact the character of a person.

The following blessings are in heavenly places:

There is a delivered smoker, alcoholic, or drug user in heavenly places. There is a saved and set free son or daughter in heavenly places. There is a fearless representative of God in heavenly places. There is a minister in heavenly places. There are people doing God’s will in heavenly places.

Never be discouraged about what you see in yourself or what you see in a person. All these blessings and more that impact the character of a person are in heavenly places. Our faith in what Jesus has accomplished releases those blessing into the physical world.

Remember, the blessings in heavenly places mean more than materialistic things. The blessings in heavenly places include people’s lives.

1 Peter 4:10 Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms.

In the past, believers have defined grace as unmerited favor. The unmerited favor definition of grace is true but, there are so many more areas of grace.

Grace to Bless: 2 Corinthians 9:8 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all-sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed;

The grace of God is available to supply us with everything we need in this life. When we rely on God’s grace, we don’t have to be worried or afraid of not having because the grace of God supplies all of our needs.

Grace to Overcome: 2 Corinthians 12:9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.

Paul was going through a difficult time in his life. God spoke to Paul and informed him that His grace was enough to help him get through this difficult time. When we rely on God’s grace, God’s grace will help us get through our difficult times.

Grace to Save: Ephesians 2:8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith–and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.

This is the most important area of grace. Salvation is not something that happened automatically. It was a gift that was given to mankind through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. When we rely on God’s grace and not our self-effort, the grace of God allows anyone to receive salvation.

Grace has various forms. Understand and apply each form of God’s grace in your life.

Mark‬ ‭4‬:‭37-40 And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?” Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace, be still!” And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. But He said to them, “Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?”

With His faith, Jesus changed the atmosphere. Jesus caused a stormy situation to turn into a peaceful situation. The storm did not obey Jesus because He was the Son of God. The storm obeyed Jesus because Jesus had faith and He understood the authority mankind has in the earth (Genesis 1:26). Jesus understood that the magnitude of His faith can move mountains and change the atmosphere (Matthew 21:21).

We too can operate in the same type of faith that Jesus operated in. In fact, the Word of God says, we can do even greater works than Jesus did (John 14:12). With this in mind, wherever a stormy situation is, our faith can change the atmosphere.
If we or someone else is in an abusive situation, our faith can change the atmosphere for the better.
If we or someone else is being mistreated, our faith can change the atmosphere for the better.
If our neighborhood is filled with drug dealers, prostitutes, and violence, our faith can change the atmosphere.
If our nation is under attack by terrorism, racism, and poverty, our faith can change the atmosphere.

This is our world. God gave us dominion over this world. If we want to see a change in our lives and in the world, our faith is going to be a catapult for that change.

Work your faith.

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Genesis‬ ‭1‬:‭26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

Contrary to popular belief, God is NOT in control. Mankind is in control. As we can see from the scripture above, God gave mankind dominion over everything in the earth. Psalm 8:6 says, God gave mankind dominion over everything He created. We see mankind’s control in the earth in the life and death of Jesus. Jesus pushed His Godhead aside, operated in this earth as a man, and died as a man to redeem mankind.

Another way we know mankind is in control is through the concept of prayer. If God was in control, why would Luke 18:1 instruct us to pray? If God was in control, He wouldn’t need us to pray. He would do whatever He wanted whenever He wanted. The reason we pray is to allow God’s power to operate in this earth through us. Everything God does in this earth has to be done through a person.

Religion will tell us, God is in control. That sounds comforting until something goes wrong. Then, people want to blame and lose their faith in God for allowing a tragic event to happen. Everything that happens in this earth (good or bad) is because of a man.

What does this mean for us? This means we need to start using the authority Jesus gave us in Luke 10:19 and change the world. Renew your mind to this truth…God gave mankind control over everything (the weather, finances, death, etc.). Besides the will of another person, God has given us dominion over everything. Use this dominion to change your world.

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On part 1 of Bounce Back, we mentioned how it’s important to overcome the problems we bring upon ourselves. We must realize whatever we’ve done or will do, God has forgiven us and He still desires to bless us with an abundant life beyond what we can imagine.

Today we’ll mention the problems brought on by the enemy. The enemy himself has no power (Colossians 2:15). The only thing he can do is promote bad behavior with thoughts, ideas, and suggestions. At times, people are influenced by his suggestions and they end up emotionally and/or physically hurting us. For instance, some people may be influenced to cheat on their wife or intentionally disrespect and belittle their husband. In trying times like those we have two options: 1. We can become depressed, sulk in our miseries, hurt others because we’ve been hurt, or never trust again. OR 2. We can trust God and know He sees everything we’ve been through. We can continue to love and forgive the people who hurt us. We can believe that our latter days will be greater than our past.

The choice is up to us. It’s time for believers to fulfill the promises God has for us. God wants us to let our lights shine. We can’t let our lights shine by living a bitter miserable life. Bounce back from the hurt. Bounce back from the pain. Bounce back from everything that attempted to detour you from the blessed life God wants you to have. Bounce Back!

Psalm 46:10 “Be still, and know that I am God! I will be honored by every nation. I will be honored throughout the world.” 11 The LORD of Heaven’s Armies is here among us; the God of Israel is our fortress.

The Word of God informs us we will have trials and tribulations in this life. The trouble in our lives may be self-inflicted or it may be the work of the enemy. Regardless of how the trouble arrives in our lives, we have to be resilient. We have to be able to stand firm in our faith receiving God’s deliverance over our troubles. We have to renew our minds and bounce back from those trials. We have to trust that the blessing of God is operating in our lives versus magnifying the secondary effects of the trouble.

For instance, someone may have been a rebellious person when they were younger. As a result of their rebellion, they received a felony that will be on their record for the rest of their lives. That person has two options:
1. They can give up, start hustling, live a mediocre lifestyle, and work at a dead end job.
OR
2. They can trust that the blessing is operating in their lives regardless of what they’ve done and they can believe ALL things work together for their good.

The choice is totally up to them. The choice is totally up to us. Don’t allow troubles, failures, mistakes, and problems to get in the way of the life God promised for you. God promised us this abundant life and nothing (no sin, no problem, or mistake) will remove that promise.
Bounce Back!

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” (‭Joshua‬ ‭1‬:‭9‬ NKJV)

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In Overriding Facts Part 1, we discussed the importance of believing God’s Word over other people’s experiences, opinions, and logic. Today, we’re discussing how to successfully override those facts.

People often state things as facts based on personal experiences or what they’ve seen in the lives of others. Going back to our previous example, many people believe marriage is difficult and the first year of marriage is the toughest. Someone may have heard this several times from several sources. The more a person hears comments like these, the more that person may believe it to be true because faith comes by hearing. However, no matter who says the statement and how many other people say the same thing, if it’s not grounded in the Word of God, it’s untrue.

With this in mind, we have to be mindful of what we’re hearing. We have to replace untrue statements with the Word of God. If the majority of the things we’re hearing are death, destruction, doom and gloom, and life is hard, that’s what we’ll believe and expect. However, if we replace untrue statements by continuously listening to and confessing the Word of God over every situation, our faith will be established in the Word of God and our faith will override facts.

Begin to override the facts in your life by placing your faith in God’s Word alone.

Romans 10:17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

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Matthew 19:26 With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

We may know and quote this verse but, some of us truly don’t believe this verse. For the believer, this verse is literal and can be implemented in every area of our lives. The reason why some of us don’t believe this verse is because we have more faith in what we hear from our family, friends, or “experts” in the world versus the Word of God.

For instance, many have heard from family members and friends that the first year of marriage is the hardest year of marriage. This may have been a fact for them but, this is not the truth for us. The truth is found in the Word of God. The truth is, we will have what we say (Mark 11:23). So, if we believe we shall have what we say and we believe with God all things are possible, every day of our marriage can be enjoyable.
Additional untrue statements:
-The first 6 months of parenthood are the hardest because the parents have a lack of sleep.
-Companies want someone with 2 years experience before they can become a manager.
-There is no cure for AIDS.

The Word of God will override all of these facts and more if, we only believe. Let’s place our faith in God’s Word instead someone else’s experiences, opinion, or logic because with God, ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE.

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Psalms‬ ‭9‬:‭10 And those who know Your name will put their trust in You; For You, LORD, have not forsaken those who seek You.

There are some tragic events that occur in people’s lives. Some people have been physically abused, robbed, or sexually assaulted. The tragedies that occurred have reduced some people’s trust in God. The belief is still present but, their trust has diminished. The mentality is, if God couldn’t protect/help me then, how can I trust Him to handle a certain situation in another area in my life?

Unfortunately, when our trust is diminished, our faith is tainted with doubt. How can we have faith in someone we don’t fully trust? This is the reason why some of us have not experienced manifestations in our lives. We can’t expect to receive anything from God if we have doubt in our hearts. Then, if the things we desire don’t come in a timely manner, our faith is further tainted. We can get to a point where our trust is diminished and our faith is tainted with doubt.

There are many reasons why people experience tragedies in their lives. Honestly, I can’t explain them all. Don’t allow previous experiences to destroy the future God has promised. Whatever situations you’ve been through, I’m encouraging you to fully trust God again. If we can give another chance to a relationship after being hurt, or to food after getting food poisoning, or to cars after being in an accident, why not give our Heavenly Father another chance? Trust God to protect you, heal you, restore you, love you, and manifest His promises in your life.

People of God, trust God again.

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