Monthly Archive

James 5:16 Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.

When we truly understand that every prayer we pray that aligns with the Word of God will come to pass regardless of how long it takes, we become unstoppable. It’s literally a super power.

We can just go around praying over anything. We can pray that our finances increase, our hair grows longer, and our strength is revived. This is a good time to intercede on the behalf of others. We can pray for their unborn baby to be blessed, we can pray that they get a revelation of who they are in Christ, and we can pray they’re disciplined in their finances. Don’t just limit this power to people. Nothing’s off limits. We can pray that a dying tree comes back to life, we can rebuke insects from entering our house, and we can declare no issues with the car.

Use this power throughout the day and expect to see positive results in your environment.

Ezra 8:21 Then I proclaimed a fast there at the river Ahava, so that we might humble ourselves before our God to seek from Him a safe journey for us, our children, and all our possessions.

Have you ever been in that confused place and you don’t know what to do next? When clarity is needed, start a fast. A fast is not the most popular solution for clarity, but if done correctly, it can be the most impactful.

As we see in this scripture, a fast requires humility before God and a seeking of God. During a fast, we must approach God with a “You’re my only option” mindset. We strip away things that appeal to our flesh (food, TV, social media, etc.) and actively pursue the voice of God. A fast benefits our lives, our children’s lives, and it accomplishes God’s will in the earth.

We don’t have to wait to be prompted by our church to fast. We can fast whenever we need clarity.

Psalm 84:11 For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless.

Romans 8:28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

These scriptures go hand in hand. The common theme in these verses is “good.”

Everything God does or doesn’t do is for our good. When we immediately get what we prayed for, it’s for our good. When there’s a delay in the manifestation of our desires, it’s for our good. When we didn’t get what we wanted, it’s for our good. Everything God does is for our good.

When we understand the wisdom behind God’s timing, we’ll go through those times where it seems like nothing’s happening with joy. We’ll realize God’s not being unkind or punishing us. He’s simply waiting for the most opportune time to display His goodness in our lives.

He wants good for us and don’t you forget it.

Psalm 1:3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.

We get excited about prosperity, however there are seasons to prosperity. Every season is not the season of prosperity. Ecclesiastes 3:1 says, there is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.

There are seasons of reaping a harvest (prosperity), but there’s also a season of sowing which includes: learning, investing our time without immediate results, and simply being patient and waiting. We celebrate the season of prosperity, but we discredit the season of sowing. There’s real benefit in the season of sowing.

The things we obtain during the season of sowing are everlasting. The things we learn can last for a lifetime. The time we invest in being a blessing to others can have an everlasting impact. The time we spend waiting on our harvest is a time we can deepen our relationship with God.

Let’s not discredit the season of sowing. It can greatly impact our lives.

Galatians 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

One fruit of the Spirit is self-control. Self-control is needed in a lot of areas.

For a healthy body, we need to have self-control regarding our eating. For a productive work day, we must control ourselves with the amount of TV we watch at night. To have a healthy relationship with our children, we need to control ourselves with how often we discipline our children.

Luke 16:10-11 says, “Whoever is faithful with very little will also be faithful with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. If, then, you have not been faithful with worldly wealth, who will entrust you with true riches?”

When we pair self-control with faithfulness, we can see how it impacts our future. If we don’t have self-control regarding our spending habits now, how can God entrust us with that great financial increase we’ve been praying for? If we overwork ourselves because we don’t know when to stop, how can we be faithful to that spouse we’ve been believing God for? A lack of self-control can hinder the manifestation of our prayers.

Receive everything God has promised by being led by the Spirit and practicing self-control.

Hosea 6:3 Let us know, Let us pursue the knowledge of the Lord . His going forth is established as the morning; He will come to us like the rain, Like the latter and former rain to the earth.

As believers, our ultimate pursuit in life is to deepen our relationship with God by growing in the knowledge of God.

Knowing God is a provider, healer, deliverer, forgiver, etc. minimizes thoughts of doubt. We don’t question if He can, but by spending time with Him, we know He can and He will.

We all have busy lives, but it’s important to set aside a portion of our day to get to know God a little bit more.

The bills are overdue, the car is about to be repossessed, the children seem to be sick every other week, fatigue has set in, and it seems like there’s no end in sight. What do we do? One thing we can do is thank God.

From a natural perspective, it seems foolish to thank God because it seems like everything is going wrong. But from a spiritual perspective, it’s beneficial to thank God during tough seasons.

We’re not thanking God for problems. We’re thanking God while we’re going through the problems. We thank God for a healthy body to work to pay a portion of our bills. We thank God for the funds to pay for the bus if our car gets repossessed. Thank God the children don’t have a terminal disease. We thank God for His strength that got us through the day. If we can’t find anything to be thankful for, we can thank God for Jesus.

Our thankfulness in troubling situations changes our perspective. Instead of focusing on everything that’s wrong, it reminds us of all the good God has done in our lives.

So, in every season, be thankful.

1 Thessalonians 5:18 In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

2 Peter 1:2 Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. 3 as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue,

8 For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The best way to better any relationship is getting to know the other person. It’s no different when bettering our relationship with God. How do we better our relationship with God? By getting to know every part of Him (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) through intimate time in His Word and conversing with Him.

There are several benefits through our knowledge of God. As we see, an abundance of grace and peace can be obtained through the knowledge God and Jesus. Wisdom and revelation comes through the knowledge of Him (Eph. 1:17).  Finally, all things (needs / desires) that pertain to life and godliness come through the knowledge of Him. Obviously, getting to know God is important.

Let’s stop all the theatrics and religious duties and build an intimate relationship with God by getting to know Him more.

1 Samuel 2:1 “My heart rejoices in the Lord; My horn is exalted in the Lord. I smile at my enemies, Because I rejoice in Your salvation.

Hannah could smile in the face of her enemies because of her expectancy in the salvation of the Lord.

When we face various attacks from the enemy (Satan), we should smile. We don’t smile because the attacks are fun and exciting. We smile because there’s an opportunity to experience the salvation of the Lord.

We get to see how God’s going to save us from certain situations. We get to see how God will provide for us. We get the see the miracle working power of God.

Although it’s natural to get upset or frustrated with problematic events in our lives, don’t get frustrated. Change your perspective and smile and expect to see the salvation of the Lord.

Judges 15:15 Finding a fresh jawbone of a donkey, he grabbed it and struck down a thousand men.

18 Because he was very thirsty, he cried out to the Lord, “You have given your servant this great victory. Must I now die of thirst and fall into the hands of the uncircumcised?” 19 Then God opened up the hollow place in Lehi, and water came out of it. When Samson drank, his strength returned and he revived. So the spring was called En Hakkore, and it is still there in Lehi.

After Samson killed 1000 men with the jawbone of a donkey, he was thirsty. Once he communed with God and drank from the water God provided, Samson’s strength returned and he was revived.

In our own lives, we will have to fight. We’re not fighting physically like Samson, but we will have to fight spiritually. Like Samson had to destroy 1000 men, we may have to destroy 1000 demonic thoughts a day (2 Cor. 10:5). One thought may be a thought of worry about how we’re going to pay our bills. Another thought may be a thought of lust. They’ll come one after another. After fighting for so long, we may be mentally exhausted.

In the scriptures, one metaphor for water represents the Word of God (Eph. 5:26). When we commune with God and spend time in His Word, we too can be strengthened and revived. We’ll get the strength to continue on from day to day until we get what God has promised.

So, if you’re feeling mentally, spiritually, or even physically fatigued, spend time with God and His Word and expect your spirit, soul, and body to be strengthened and revived.

Psalm 91:5 You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, Nor of the arrow that flies by day, 6 Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, Nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday.

There’s a lot of reasons to fear. We can fear someone harming us, we can fear getting sick, we can fear going broke, we can fear failure, etc. With all these reasons to fear standing before us, it’s still a choice to be afraid.

With God on our side, there’s a lot of reason not to fear. Throughout His Word, He’s told us numerous times to not be afraid. He’s told us He’s with us, He protects us, He’ll fight for us. With all these promises from God, some of us still choose to fear. Either we’re going to believe in His promises or be afraid that His promises won’t pan out.

Make the decision today that you’re not going to be afraid of ANYTHING anymore.

1 Peter 5:7 Casting all your care upon Him; for He cares for you.

There’s an old hip-hop saying that says, “Wave your hands in the air and wave them like you just don’t care.” Although it originated in hip-hop, there are some spiritual components with that saying.

When we don’t care about our problems, struggles, issues or concerns because we’ve given them to God, we don’t have cares weighing us down. We become free to lift our hands, wave them in the air, and praise our great God.

We’re praising God because He’s handling everything we gave Him. He’s handling every concern about our children, every uncertainty with our health, and every issue with our finances. He will perfect everything that concerns us (Psalm 138:8).

Don’t wait to be prompted by music. When we give our cares to God, we can wave our hands in the air (in praise) and wave them because we just don’t care.

Matthew 14:29 (AMP) He said, “Come!” So Peter got out of the boat, and walked on the water and came toward Jesus.

Peter was frightened, confused, and unsure during this time in his life, but his fears and uncertainty was cleared as he went towards Jesus.

When we have fear or uncertainty in our own lives, it’s best that we come towards Jesus. It’s best that we spend time with Him. It’s best we read His Word and tell Him all about our fears and uncertainties. It’s best that we see Him as our Savior.

As we come towards Jesus, all our fears will be transformed into faith and our confusion will turn into clarity. And like Peter walking on water, as we come towards Jesus, we’ll do extraordinary things.

Go towards Jesus.

Romans 15:13 Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.

Throughout God’s Word, it tells us that we have joy however, there are times we don’t feel joyful. But, just because we can’t feel joy doesn’t mean it’s not there. With healing, there are times we don’t feel healed, but it doesn’t change the truth in God’s Word that says, “we’re healed.” It’s the same way with the feeling of joy or any other promise from God.

Like any promise of God, the feeling of joy must be received by faith. The feeling of joy may not always be there, but since His Word says we have joy, we should use our authority to command the feeling of joy into our lives.

God gave us joy. The devil attempts to steal it from us. We must hold on to the feeling of joy with our faith.

Confession: “I believe God gave me joy and I declare the feeling of joy in my life, in the name of Jesus.”

We may have to make our confessions multiple times throughout the day, but as we fight the feelings of heaviness, sadness, or depression, the feeling of joy must reveal itself.

1 Peter 5:6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:

Most of us don’t have a problem with humbling ourselves. With a little motivation, we’re willing to let go and let God direct our lives. None of us have a problem with exaltation. We’re happy to be lifted, promoted, or increased. The problem most of us have is with “due time.”

We’ll humble ourselves for a couple of months, but after that, we’re ready for exaltation. Unfortunately, there’s not a time table for exaltation. It could be a couple of weeks, but it could be 3 years. We don’t know.

Regardless of how long it takes, our role is to remain humble by doing the things God has instructed us to do. We may not know when, but there’s a guarantee of exaltation if we humble ourselves. Don’t worry about the time because every delay works in our favor.

1 Corinthians 9:27 But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.

Q: What does a body without self-control like?

A: Eating sweet, salty, savory things in large quantities.
A: Lusting over attractive people that are not our spouse.
A: Sitting around and not exercising.
A: Getting drunk or high on drugs.
A: Not sleeping or sleeping too much.

As we mature, we need to discipline our bodies (flesh) to do things that honor God and that are going to be beneficial to our health. A good way to discipline our flesh is with a fast.

When we fast, we intentionally take the keys away from our flesh and sensitize ourselves to hear God’s voice. He may tell us to exercise, read more, or limit the amount of sweets we eat. Whatever He tells us is going to bring Him glory and be beneficial for us.

Take control over your bodies.

Philippians 1:6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

Whatever God called us to do, He is able to see us through.

God called some of us to go back to school, but due to our finances or other circumstances we stopped our pursuit of getting our degree. If He called us to do it, He’s able to see us through it.

God told some of us to start exercising. We started, but due to minor ailments or the feeling of fatigue we stopped. If He called us to do it, He’s able to see us through it.

God told some of us to start a business. We started it, but looking at how hard it’s going to be we stopped our business to remain at a “safe” 9 to 5 job.

Whatever He told us to do, He’s able to see us through. He’s not concerned about our finances, how we feel, or how hard it is. He knows that we can’t do it within ourselves. All He’s requiring is our belief in His ability and our participation with His plan. Know that through Him (Jesus), we can finish God’s plan (Phil 4:13).

Romans 12:3 For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you.

We’re living in a time where we’re glorified by how much money we have, what type of house we have, what type of cars we drive, and what type of vacations we go on. When we have all of that, we want to post it on social media.

The amount of likes we get from our posts makes some of us feel important. We want to keep that image up so that we can appear successful.

As we can see, the Bible tells us not to think of ourselves more highly than we should. The amount of likes we get can go to our heads. Don’t let the likes go to your head.

We are important because we’re blessed and made in the image of God. Continue to remain humble.

1 Samuel 17:40 Then he took his staff in his hand, chose five smooth stones from the stream, put them in the pouch of his shepherd’s bag and, with his sling in his hand, approached the Philistine.

As David was preparing for battle with Goliath, he gathered five smooth stones for his slingshot. With God at his side, he only needed one stone.

Like David, we often feel like we need more than we actually do to succeed. We feel like we need a degree, with a good grade point average, and connections to get that desired job. All we need is God and His favor will open up doors of opportunity. We feel like we need, good credit, a certain amount of money in the bank, and a certain amount of income to get our desired house. With our trust in God, we can get a house with one or none of those things.

We feel like we need these extra things because we’ve been convinced by the world that these other factors will make us successful. Let’s shift our confidence. Instead of having confidence in grade point averages and credit scores, let’s put our confidence in God. Now, if He tells us to get those additional things, so be it. But, let’s not solely depend on that.

Seek God, and you’ll find out you won’t need as much as you think you need to succeed.

Psalm 119:130 The entrance of Your words gives light; It gives understanding to the simple.

Reading the Bible is not something we do just to say we did it and it shouldn’t be a chore. The Bible is the written Word of God. It’s not just a book to be read, but it’s God’s Word that should be studied (2 Tim. 2:15).

God’s Word gives, revelation, wisdom, and understanding. We can study the Word of God and get an answer to a dilemma we’re having at our job. Studying the Word of God can improve our marriage. Studying the Word of God can increase our business. A lot of us have this great book, but it’s only read at church.

Start taking the time to study a verse, a chapter, or a book and expect revelation, wisdom, and understanding to upload into our minds.