Monthly Archive

John 14:26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have told you.

The Holy Spirit is the most underutilized tool for believers. We understand God, which is good. We understand the role of Jesus, which is good. But the Holy Spirit has been reduced to out of control behavior, emotional reactions, and mockery. A lot of this is based on a lack of good teaching which produces a lack of understanding of how to connect with the Holy Spirit.

When we get born-again, God’s Spirit lives in us. As we can see, He can teach us all things. Whatever questions we have, we can ask the Holy Spirit. His answers will align with God’s word and it will be accompanied with peace (Colossians 3:15). He’s not going to tell us to do anything evil or malicious. And if there’s no peace, we should avoid going down that path.

From how to diet to how to raise our children, the answer to everything is inside of us. Use the Holy Spirit in every area of life. If Jesus said we need the Holy Spirit, we should use Him appropriately.

God wants a relationship with us. He doesn’t want a religious experience. He wants relationship.

When we attempt to approach God in a religious way, we’ll never live up to its expectations because religion is never satisfied. We may have an idea to pray for 10 minutes. If we consistently pray for 10 minutes, religion will tell us God would be even more pleased if we prayed for 30 minutes. Once we get to 30 minutes, religion will tell us to pray for an hour. It’s the same way with reading the bible, fasting, and going to church. It never stops.

But when we have a relationship with God, time and our performance are irrelevant. We pray because we want to spend time with God. We’re not looking at a clock or worried if He’s pleased or not. We’re just having a good time talking with our Creator. We’re not fasting and reading so that God can be happy with us. We’re reading and fasting because we want to know Him more intimately.

Once we establish a relationship with God, we’ll talk to Him throughout the day and we’ll understand He loves us and is pleased with us whether we talk to Him for 2 minutes or 2 hours.

Mark 14:23 After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone,

Psalm 47:1 Come, everyone! Clap your hands! Shout to God with joyful praise!

Shame, embarrassment, and fear are just a few reasons why people minimize their enthusiasm for God. In church, they don’t raise their hands, they don’t sing, and they barely clap their hands. Outside the church, people don’t realize they’re saved because God is never mentioned.

After all that God has done for us, we’re highly encouraged to shout to Him with joyful praise. It said shout, not whisper. We shout for our sports teams or at concerts. So, why not shout for a wonderful God?

If God has been any kind of good to you, open up your mouth, increase your volume, and shout with praise.

After that generation died, another generation grew up who did not acknowledge the Lord or remember the mighty things he had done for Israel. The Israelites did evil in the Lord’s sight and served the images of Baal. They abandoned the Lord, the God of their ancestors, who had brought them out of Egypt. They went after other gods, worshiping the gods of the people around them. And they angered the Lord.
Judges 2:10‭-‬12 NLT

Isn’t this interesting. We kind of see this today. Our parents and grandparents acknowledged God, faithfully went to church, and read the bible. Some of us followed their example, but some of us didn’t.

A lot of today’s generation is doing what the Israelites did. They don’t acknowledge God or they’re skeptical of His existence, they’ve abandoned the church, or they’ve gone after other gods they discovered through research on the internet.

They feel like they’re being individualistic by not following what was taught to them. They feel like they’re being wise because they’ve discovered something society has hidden from them when in actuality, they’re pushing away the only One that can save, help, and deliver.

The only one influencing a person to pursue other gods or no god at all is Satan. We did not come up with this ourselves. Don’t be deceived into pushing God away. Establish a personal relationship with Him through Jesus Christ.

The angel of the Lord went up from Gilgal to Bokim and said to the Israelites, “I brought you out of Egypt into this land that I swore to give your ancestors, and I said I would never break my covenant with you.
Judges 2:1 NLT

God gave the Israelites an ultimate promise (a covenant). That covenant consisted of land. If you keep reading chapter 2, you’ll see the Israelites disobeyed God. Although they disobeyed God, He kept His covenant towards them. They may have experienced consequences for their disobedience (v. 3), but God still kept His covenant to give them land.

After Joshua sent the people away, each of the tribes left to take possession of the land allotted to them.
Judges 2:6 NLT

What does this mean for us? If you believe Jesus is your Lord and Savior, you’re under a new and a better covenant (Heb. 8:6-13). In this covenant, one promise is that our sins are not counted against us (Romans 4:8).

So, no matter what we’ve done and no matter how serious it is, our sins are not counted against us. Like the Israelites, we may have natural consequences for our sins, but our sins are not being counted against us by God. Why? Every sin we’ll ever commit was put on Jesus.

Praise God for keeping His covenant with us and we can live a life free from guilt, shame, and condemnation.

God loves you tremendously. We can’t even fathom how much God loves us. We may kind of have an idea about how much He loves us, but the love we think He has for us doesn’t compare to how much He actually loves us.

Because of His love for us, He’s implemented promises that every believer can access by faith. Because of His love for us, He wants us to live this life on earth saved, healed, delivered, stress-free, prosperous, wise, blessed, joyful, and knowing (not just feeling) we’re loved. All of these promises stem from His love towards us.

If we don’t think that He loves us, we won’t trust Him, we won’t believe Him, and we won’t obey Him. Why? Because we’re skeptical about His love towards us.

Don’t be a skeptic. Receive His love and the promises attached to His love and experience this amazing life He’s made available for us.

May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.
Ephesians 3:19 NLT

James 5:13 Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms.

We hear bad news all the time. So and so are getting a divorce, this couple lost their baby, a hurricane is coming, they got COVID, and so much more. That’s the bad news.

The good news is the more bad news we hear, the more areas we can get God involved. We get God involved through prayer, faith, declaration, and praise. After hearing bad news, we can immediately pray for that situation. Our prayer doesn’t inform God about the problem. It gets God involved with that situation. It gives Him permission to provide peace and perform the miraculous.

Don’t become depressed after hearing bad news. Change your perspective. Use that bad news as a way to get God involved into your life or the lives of others.

No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you.
John 15:15 NKJV

The bible doesn’t call us servants of God. We (believers in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior) are children of God (Galatians 4:4-7).

Understanding our position with God allows us to approach Him differently. We should be bolder when we know we’re children of God and He’s made us joint heirs with Christ (Romans 8:17; Hebrews 4:16). For instance, we usually feel more comfortable asking our parents for something rather than asking someone else. When we were young and maybe even now, we usually had no problem going into our parent’s refrigerator. Why?? Because we knew they loved us and everything they had in there was ours too.

A servant’s mindset settles for scraps and takes whatever life hands them. A son’s mindset knows what their parents have, believes it’s for them, approaches their parents to ask for it, and waits to receive it.
We are sons and daughters of God. Act like it.

No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you.
John 15:15 NKJV

As humbling as it sounds to call ourselves servants of God, we are no longer servants of God. Prior to Jesus sacrificing His life, He called us friends.

Once Jesus sacrificed Himself, our belief in His sacrifice for our sins allows us to be in the family of God. Galatians 4:4-7 says, but when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.

As we can see, we’re far from being servants. We (believers) are children of God. If Jesus doesn’t call us servants, why would I call myself a servant? Know who you are and believe you are a child of God.

Don’t let anyone think less of you because you are young. Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity.
1 Timothy 4:12 NLT

We may have some older friends or relatives who may not take what we have to say seriously because we’re younger than them. They may think their life experiences and wisdom outweighs a revelation from God.
News Flash… A young person can receive a revelation from God the same as an older person.

If God gives us something to say or something to do, follow through with it. It doesn’t matter if a person agrees with it or not or if they applaud us. We must be willing to follow God and not worry about the opinions of others.

Also, we shouldn’t discredit the younger generation. God is using them just like He’s using us. Listen to them and learn from them because God may be speaking to us through them.

Isaiah 53:5 But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed.

A lot of us run to the end and rejoice about being healed. And rightfully so, but look at what Jesus experienced before then. Wounds and bruises.

Jesus was wounded for our transgressions. He was wounded so we wouldn’t have to pay the price for every sin we’ll ever commit. He received wounds for our fornication moments, our lies and because we ate too much. He did this for you and me.

Jesus was bruised for our iniquities. He paid the price for sins we’ve inherited. Jesus was bruised so that we can have a sane mind and not end up paranoid like our great grandmother. He was beaten so that we can overcome that anger that runs in our family. He was punished so that we won’t have to pay for that sin tendency of alcoholism our family has experienced.

He wasn’t wounded and bruised so that we can continue to sin. He was wounded and beaten so that we wouldn’t have to be wounded and beaten AND so that we can overcome every temptation of sin.
Praise God for Jesus and all He’s done for us.

Mark 14:30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”

When Peter took his eyes off of Jesus, and started looking at his circumstances around him, he began to doubt and sink.

When we take our eyes off of Jesus, Who is the word of God (John 1:1-14), and start looking at how many Covid cases are in our area, the negative results of our physical, or our financial balance, we’ll begin to doubt and sink too. We can’t look at the news all day and expect to have mountain moving faith. We have to spend time in God’s word until His word overshadows what’s surrounding us.

Peter’s faith kept him afloat, but eying his circumstances put a hole in his faith. Don’t allow the circumstances to sabotage your faith. Stay afloat by focusing your eyes on the word.

Zechariah 1:4 NKJV “Do not be like your fathers, to whom the former prophets preached, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Turn now from your evil ways and your evil deeds.” ’ But they did not hear nor heed says the Lord.

Our parents, our relatives, and friends of the family have made some wise choices, but they’ve also done some dumb things as well. Learn from them.

They may not tell you not to do this or that, but look at how their decisions affected their lives. Look at if their decisions honored God or not. See if there are any overall benefits of doing it a different way.

If what they do or are doing doesn’t honor God, no matter how much we look up to them, it’s in our best interest to not follow in their footsteps. Honor God above everyone else.

1 Thessalonians 2:13 And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is indeed at work in you who believe.

When we’re believing God for something such as, healing in our bodies, a house, a promotion, etc., the devil tells us in so many ways that it’s not going to happen. Make him eat crow.

Eating crow is a colloquial idiom that means humiliation by admitting having been proven wrong after taking a strong position. We make Satan eat crow through our unwavering belief in God’s word. When we’re dogged determined to believe God’s word no matter how it looks or how impossible it seems, our desires will come to pass. And when our desires come to pass, in spite of all that talking he was doing, our faith is stronger and we further solidify him as a liar.

Don’t listen to the enemy. Believe God’s word in spite of what you see and how you feel.

Now the Lord was with Jehoshaphat, because he walked in the former ways of his father David; he did not seek the Baals, but sought the God of his father, and walked in His commandments and not according to the acts of Israel. Therefore the Lord established the kingdom in his hand; and all Judah gave presents to Jehoshaphat, and he had riches and honor in abundance.
II Chronicles 17:3‭-‬5 NKJV

When we honor God by putting Him first, walking by faith, and overcoming our fears, we position ourselves for favor.

Jehoshaphat received riches and honor in abundance for following God’s commandments. There was nothing special about him and he wasn’t perfect. If we do the same thing (under the covenant of grace), we can expect to have the same thing, if not more.

God’s not holding anything back from us (Psalm 84:11). When we align our lives with His will and remain consistent in our faith, we can have everything we desire.

Then some came and told Jehoshaphat, saying, “A great multitude is coming against you from beyond the sea, from Syria; and they are in Hazazon Tamar” (which is En Gedi). And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.
II Chronicles 20:2‭-‬3 NKJV

When we receive bad news, the first thing that attacks us is fear. We may receive bad news about our health, our children, our employment, or something else. The devil’s job is to get us to dwell on that bad news and show us all the ways it can negatively impact our lives.

When fear knocks at our door, the first thing we need to do is seek the Lord. We get God involved when we seek the Lord. We seek the Lord through prayer and/or fasting.

God will give us a plan of action. He’ll direct us to His word for peace and encouragement. He’ll have us listen to ministers speak about that subject to build our faith in Him because faith comes by hearing (Rom. 10:17). He may have us confess the opposite of what we’re experiencing. He’ll give us a plan to better the situation.

Negative events will happen. Instead of feeling sorry for yourself. Use it as an opportunity to get closer to God.

John 12:48 NLT But all who reject Me and My message will be judged on the day of judgment by the truth I have spoken.

“People don’t go to hell because of sin. People go to hell because they reject the payment of sin.”
-Pastor Creflo Dollar

God sent His Son Jesus to ultimately pay the price for sin. While He was on earth, He showed us how to live, love, and use our authority. For our sakes, He was beaten, whipped, spat on, nailed, and hung on a cross. As He hung on the cross, He took the sin burden of the whole human race upon Himself. He became sin for us (2 Corinthians 5:21).

To reject Jesus and ALL He’s done for us, we position ourselves to be judged. To reject Jesus, we position ourselves for eternal punishment (Matthew 25:46).

Don’t live life this way. Receive Jesus as Lord and accept what He’s done for us.   

We thought we would get that promotion, but it went to someone else. We thought we would have that baby this year, but it didn’t happen yet. We thought our marriage, our finances, and our health would be better, but nothing has changed.

It’s during these negative moments we must renew our minds to Who God is in our lives. When we focus on Who God is and ignore the current circumstances, we’ll have a better disposition during trying times. We won’t be so disappointed on not getting promoted because we’ll say, God is my Source. We won’t be so bummed out when we get a negative health report because we’ll have a mindset that says, God is my Healer. When our marriage is still rocky, we’ll still have relief in knowing, God is my Help.

Don’t stress because of what you’re going through. Remind yourself of Who God is and whatever you need God to be, He’ll be that.

Genesis 22:14 And Abraham called the name of the place, The-Lord-Will-Provide; as it is said to this day, “In the Mount of the Lord it shall be provided.”

With covid-19, crime, and craziness going on out here, there are people who say, “we must protect ourselves.”

They’ll protect themselves from covid by wearing 2 masks and staying home. They’ll protect themselves from crime by getting a gun. They’ll protect themselves from craziness by avoiding people entirely. This may seem wise to some, but what does the word say about our protection?

The Lord protects you; the Lord is a shelter right by your side. The Lord will protect you from all harm; he will protect your life. The Lord will protect your coming and going both now and forever.
Psalms 121:5‭, ‬7‭-‬8 CSB

As we can see, the Lord is our Protector. He never intended for us to protect ourselves. That’s His responsibility. But we have to allow Him to protect.

We can get all the masks and guns we want, but are we relying more on those things than God? If so, reevaluate and renew your mind and allow God to be your Protector. He can use different tools to protect us, but let’s allow Him to tell us which tool to use.

Philippians 4:19 And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

All our needs will be supplied. The supplying of our needs is not based on our riches. It’s based on His riches.

So, even though a person may not have a lot of money in the bank, everything they need will be supplied by God. We must believe this promise. We can’t go around worried saying, I don’t know what I’m going to do. No matter how tough the situation looks, we must believe and confess God supplies my needs.

God supplies enough for our bills, our clothes, and food. We may not be living in luxury, but thanks to God, we’ll have everything we need. Stop looking at what you can do and rely on God, and His riches to supply every one of your needs.