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Genesis 15:5 He took him outside and said, “Look up at the sky and count the stars—if indeed you can count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”

God reinforced Abraham’s faith by showing him the stars. He told him every star in the sky will represent his offspring.

We can reinforce our faith by getting a picture of what God promised us. It could be a picture of a happy family, a better job, more money, or a healed body. Whatever promise we’re believing God for, we can get a picture and see ourselves with that promise. Some people call it a vision board, but for the believer, it’s a faith booster.

Get whatever desire you want and put a picture of it in your phone, on the refrigerator, on your bathroom mirror, and at work. Meditate on it, see yourself with it, believe it’s yours, speak it into existence, and it shall come to pass.

The devil’s goal is to make us believe that God’s word won’t come to pass. To combat his attack, we need faith. The only way faith comes is by hearing the word of God.

We gain faith by continously hearing ourselves read/quote God’s word, hearing the teaching of God’s word, or listening to the voice of God. It’s not just a one time event. The word must be heard constantly. The more word we hear, the stronger our faith becomes.

The devil will tell us all the reasons why it won’t work or come to pass. Our hearing the word of God builds confidence in God’s word. That confidence is what’s going to manifest God’s promise.

One man usually can’t defeat an entire army by himself. He’ll need reinforcements. One coat of paint usually won’t cover the surface properly. It will take multiple coats. Hearing God’s word one time won’t keep our faith strong enough to withstand the enemy’s attacks. It will require multiple listening sessions of God’s word in that area.

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

John 11:40 Jesus said to her, “Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?”

The key to experience God’s glory is belief. What is God’s glory? Miraculous things that cannot be explained with logic, reason, and coincidences. In this case, it was God raising Lazarus up from the dead.

There will be things in our own lives that will require God’s glory. Once again, to experience that glory, it’s going to require our belief. Do you believe that God has already made a solution to this problem? Do you believe God has made this promise available to you through Jesus Christ? Do you believe anything you want or need has already been made available and is waiting on your faith? If you answered yes to all these questions, get ready to experience God’s glory at its finest.

We don’t have to do anything spooky, religious, or weird to experience the glory of God. Just believe and His glory will manifest itself in your life.

1 Peter 2:21 For God called you to do good, even if it means suffering, just as Christ suffered for you. He is your example, and you must follow in his steps.

We’ve been called to do good. It doesn’t matter what the situation looks like or how we feel, we’ve been called to do good.

If we’ve been instructed to talk to that friend dealing with the same problem we’ve given them the answer to a month ago, do good.
If that means politely talking to that customer who’s being rude, do good.
When our spouse is in the wrong, but God tells us to get them something nice, do good.
We may be ministering to people who call us hypocritical, fake, or lunatics and we want to punch them in the face, but do good.
When our children don’t deserve a thing, but God tells us to get them some ice cream, do good.

Doing good doesn’t always mean the other person deserves it or the situation warrants our goodness. But when we’re called to do good, obey and know that same goodness we’ve given will be given back to us by God.

Ephesians 6:8 knowing that whatever good anyone does, he will receive the same from the Lord, whether he is a slave or free.

Psalm 121:2 My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.

Everything God has done for mankind since the beginning of our existence was to help us.

He helped us by making us in His image, likeness, and giving us dominion over the earth (Gen. 1:26).
He helped by giving mankind His law to be our trainer until Christ came (Gal. 3:24).
He helps by being what we don’t have in the earth (Ps. 68:5).
He helps by giving us angels to protect us (Ps. 91:11).
He helped by sacrificing His own Son, Jesus, so we can be made right with Him (Rom. 5:1).
He helped by allowing us to receive healing from all sickness and physical or emotional pain through the stripes of Jesus Christ (1 Pet. 2:24).
He helps by giving us His unlimited grace, mercy, and forgiveness when we’ve missed the mark (Lam. 2:22-23; Heb. 8:12).
He helps by allowing us to have anything we want or need when we pray (Mark 11:24).
He helps by allowing His Spirit to live inside of us to lead and guide us in the most beneficial direction (Eze. 36:27).
He helped by compiling His instructions and promises in a book so that we can know our inheritance (2 Tim. 3:16).

As we can see, His mindset and ultimate goal is to help us. Allow God to be your helper in every area. He’s good at it.

Usually in a church setting, people like to say “let’s bring in the presence of God with praise and worship and thanksgiving.” They usually say this before a song. This sound nice, but it’s unscriptural.

For believers, the presence of God is always with us. The bible says His Spirit lives in us (1 John 4:13). He’s with us when we go to the gym, to the store, to the club, or sitting quietly at home. Praise and worship through song may make us more aware of His presence, but He’s been with us the entire time.

So, if you need to talk to Him or if you need answers on anything, realize He’s right there. We don’t need to break out in song or go through a whole religious experience to hear Him. God has and will always be present.

Deuteronomy 31:8 It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.”

1 John 4:13 And God has given us His Spirit as proof that we live in Him and He in us.

Matthew 25:21 CEV “Wonderful!” his master replied. “You are a good and faithful servant. I left you in charge of only a little, but now I will put you in charge of much more. Come and share in my happiness!”

A lot of people make statements saying, if they had a lot of money, they would do…then they list the good things they would do with that money. We can determine if that’s true or not by looking at what we do with the little extra finances we have now. Matthew 6:21 says, for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

The same things a person claims they would do with a lot of money is the same things they could do with a little money. It would just be on a smaller scale. Instead of a person giving $100,000 to the church, they can give $10. Instead of a person building a women’s shelter, they could donate to a women’s shelter. We can show our faithfulness with the little extra we have now.

Put your money where your mouth is. If you claim you would do all these wonderful things with great riches, do a portion of these great things with the little you have now. Be faithful.

Galatians 3:13 But Christ has rescued us from the curse pronounced by the law. When He was hung on the cross, He took upon himself the curse for our wrongdoing. For it is written in the Scriptures, “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.”

In religious circles, when people see a person abuse alcohol, cheat on their spouse, or have any other bad habits as the generations before them, they are quick to say they are under a generational curse.

That may be true for an unbeliever, but for a believer (those who have made Jesus Lord and Savior) that’s unscriptural. The generational curse thing came from a group of old covenant scriptures, under the law, where God punished children for their parent’s sins (Exodus 20:5; 34:7; Numbers 14:18; Deuteronomy 5:9). Even those scriptures never mention children destined to commit a sin because their parents committed a sin.

For believers, Christ has rescued us from the curse of the law. We have been rescued from any curse associated with sin. The fact that a person is committing similar sins of their parents is based on their exposure and desire. Believers are not bound by a sin of their choice or their parent’s choice (Romans 6:14). There is no guilt, shame, or condemnation in Christ (Romans 8:1) and God is not holding our sins against us (2 Corinthians 5:19).

So, let’s stop empowering sin in ourselves or in other people by saying we or they are under a generational curse. Christ took every curse associated with sin.

Genesis 12:2 AMPC And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you [with abundant increase of favors] and make your name famous and distinguished, and you will be a blessing [dispensing good to others].

The sole purpose for the blessing in our lives is to be a blessing. We are to dispense good to others. We can enjoy some of the things ourselves, but we’re to dispense good to others.

If we have this mindset of wanting only what God has for us or having just enough to be comfortable, we’re not in agreement with God’s plan. We can’t be a blessing to others if we don’t have surplus.

So, don’t get mad at pastors and believers because they desire more than enough. Everyone may not have the same mindset to be a blessing, but now you know we are to be a blessing with our excess.

John 14:27 NLT “I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.

In Romans 5:15 God has given us the gift of forgiveness. In Romans 6:23, He gave us the gift of eternal life. God gave us spiritual gifts (1 Peter 4:10). Now we see, He’s given us another gift through Jesus. He’s given us the gift of peace.

With all that’s going on in the world, peace is very important. It allows us to keep calm when chaos is surrounding us. It allows us to trust Him when we don’t know what He’s doing. It keeps us stress free when fear attempts to enter our hearts.

Peace is something we can’t buy or earn. It’s something we have to receive by faith. Since we see He’s left us peace in the scriptures, let’s literally open our mouths and say, “I receive the peace of God.”

Praise God we have such a gift giving Father.

In fact, we expected to die. But as a result, we stopped relying on ourselves and learned to rely only on God, who raises the dead. And He did rescue us from mortal danger, and He will rescue us again. We have placed our confidence in Him, and He will continue to rescue us.
2 Corinthians 1:9‭-‬10 NLT

Once we learn to totally rely on God instead of ourselves, meaningful things will happen in our lives.

Totally relying on God allows dreams we’ve had for years to come to pass (Gen. 37 – 41). It allows ailments in our bodies to be healed (Luke 8:44). Relying on God allows broken relationships to be mended (Genesis 45). Anything we need or desire can be obtained by relying on God.

When we rely on ourselves, we’re limited to our strengths, our knowledge, or our networking. We’ll never be strong enough, smart enough, or know enough people to truly be satisfied. But, if we rely on God, we can be satisfied as we continue to be more and more successful.

In your marriage, in raising children, in your career, and in your health, totally rely on God.

Galatians 5:4 NLT For if you are trying to make yourselves right with God by keeping the law, you have been cut off from Christ! You have fallen away from God’s grace. 5 But we who live by the Spirit eagerly wait to receive by faith the righteousness God has promised to us.

When people say a person has fallen from grace, they usually mean that person has committed a publicized sin. As we can see, the true definition of fallen from grace is a person attempting to keep the law to be made righteous.

No person can be made righteous by keeping the law. If a person attempts to keep the law to be made righteous, they’re essentially saying, they don’t need Christ. They’re rejecting God’s grace and relying on self effort to please God. Those people will fail every time.

We are made righteous by placing our faith in what Jesus has done. Jesus kept the law, Jesus was punished on our behalf, and Jesus paid the ultimate price for our sin. Our belief in what He has accomplished makes us righteous. Nothing else from us is needed.

Don’t fall from grace by keeping the law. Embrace His grace knowing the law has been fulfilled by Jesus.

We’re encouraged to bless the Lord at all times.

Easy Times
When everything is going well in life, it’s easy to praise and thank God. We can easily see all the good things He has done and show our appreciation through praise. When we’re at church, we sometimes get a good feeling during praise and worship. So, even if everything is not going well, those praise and worship leaders can encourage us to praise God.

Hard Times
There will be difficult times in our lives. We may have recently gotten a divorce, we may be struggling financially, or our health may be under attack. These difficult times may wake us up in the middle of the night and there’s not a worship leader to encourage us to praise God. It’s during these tough times we find out if we really trust God. We’re either going to allow our emotions to take over and think of all the reasons why we shouldn’t praise God or put our feelings aside and praise THE only One who can help us.

We may not be initially excited to praise God when things are going badly, but if we force ourselves to praise Him anyhow, we’ll be strengthened to get through difficult seasons in our lives.

Whether things are going well or not, let’s bless the Lord at all times.

Psalms 34:1 I will praise the Lord at all times. I will constantly speak his praises.

Romans 8:32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?

God has made everything we need or want available to us for free. Everything from a new washing machine, to a yacht, to wisdom on a test, to a lawnmower has been made available to us through Christ for free.

We don’t have to earn it by fasting for 6 months, praying for 5 hours a day, or witnessing the gospel on street corners once a week. Our belief that God made these things available to us for free through Christ is enough.

Satan will send thoughts that will try to attack our belief. Thoughts of delay, unworthiness, past failures, and thoughts of how impossible it seems are certain schemes he uses to get us into unbelief. We resist his attacks by spending time in the word, listening to faith-filled ministers, fasting to get clarity from God on what to do, and financially giving to consistently reap a harvest. These actions don’t make God’s promises come to pass, but they settle our belief in what God said in His word.

Do what the Holy Spirit tells you to do to maintain your belief in what God has made available to us for free.

2 Corinthians 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort,

Comfort has been made available to us as a promise in God’s word, however comfort won’t automatically come when we’re hurting. Like other promises in the bible, comfort has to be received by faith.

When a tragedy happens, we must place our faith in the comfort that has been made available to us by God through Christ. How do we do that? We read scriptures like 2 Corinthians 1:3 and literally say, “God I receive Your comfort from __________.” When the pain of losing a loved one, getting a divorce, or losing a job comes, we must open our mouths and say “God I receive Your comfort.” We may have to do this 30 times a day.

Otherwise, we’ll be sitting around waiting indefinitely for that painful feeling from that tragedy to go away.

The pain is not going to go away on its own. Faith is required to provide comfort during times of pain. Faith is not only to get goodies from God; it’s a lifestyle.

2 Corinthians 1:12 NLT We can say with confidence and a clear conscience that we have lived with a God-given holiness and sincerity in all our dealings. We have depended on God’s grace, not on our own human wisdom. That is how we have conducted ourselves before the world, and especially toward you.

Human wisdom will only get us so far. It’s always changing. God’s grace provides stability in our lives. How?? God’s grace is backed by a God Who has never been defeated.

Grace can be defined as “God’s favor toward the unworthy” or “God’s benevolence on the undeserving.” In His grace, God is willing to forgive us and bless us abundantly, in spite of the fact that we don’t deserve to be treated so well or dealt with so generously.

Grace is what saves us (Ephesians 2:8). Grace is the essence of the gospel (Acts 20:24). Grace gives us victory over sin (James 4:6). Grace gives us “eternal encouragement and good hope” (2 Thessalonians 2:16).

John 1:17 says, grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. Through Jesus, the grace of God was made available to all of us. Through grace, we have everything we need or desire. If you need wisdom for anything, realize grace has made wisdom available. If you need money, grace has made money available. If you need deliverance, grace has made deliverance available. Whatever you need, grace has made it available.

It may take luck and a lifetime to get the wisdom and positioning to be successful, but with grace, we have everything we need to be successful at our disposal.

I’ll never have…
I always get…
I can’t do..

These are the reasons why we’ll never, we always, and we can’t. It’s our words. What we say is what we’ll have (positive or negative).

Unfortunately, we’ve been conditioned to speak negatively over our lives. People don’t mind if we say I always get sick this time of year or I can’t seem to get ahead of these bills. That makes them feel comfortable about where they are.

However, if we speak positive, which is based in God’s word, we’ll be viewed as boastful, delusional, or a liar. If someone said, “I’m rich and very successful,” that person would probably get talked about. If someone said, “I never get sick,” that person would probably receive comments saying, “everybody gets sick.”

We must speak God’s positive words even when the circumstances don’t line up with what we’re confessing. With $20 in your account, confess “I’m rich.” People may call us liars or crazy, but faith in God’s positive words we’re confessing can change our bank accounts from $20 to $2,000,000.

If we want positive results, our words need to agree with God’s will. God doesn’t call us broke, sick, worthless, or problematic so why should we call ourselves or anyone else that? Agree with and say what God says.

Beat your plowshares into swords And your pruning hooks into spears; Let the weak say, ‘I am strong.’ ” -Joel 3:10

Psalms 105:2 NLT Sing to Him; yes, sing His praises. Tell everyone about His wonderful deeds.

While in worship, worship in song. It doesn’t matter if you can’t sing. God’s not looking for high notes and vocal runs. He’s desiring our heart. So, sing to Him. While in church, at home, or in the car, sing to the Lord.

We’re to tell everyone about His wonderful deeds. Not just to other believers, but to everyone. We’re to tell the cashier, the homeless, or that family member we haven’t spoken to in a long time. We’re not boasting of ourselves, but boasting in the Lord. Tell everyone.

Let’s sing and tell of the Lord’s goodness.

2 Corinthians 1:3 All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort.

We all face challenges. When those challenges come, we must go to God. We shouldn’t initially go to our spouse, our friends, or even our pastor. We must go to God. We shouldn’t find comfort in food, alcohol, or drugs. It must be God. As we go to God, all we have to say is HELP!!!

God is the source of our comfort. He’s going to make us feel better and give us the steps to take to overcome any challenge. He’s going to get the glory when we realize the pain is gone and we’ve overcome that challenge.

God may direct us to see a therapist or a pastor, but we’re depending on Him to lead us to them.

Allow God to be your comfort. His comfort far surpasses any comfort we can obtain ourselves.

Revelation 21:8 But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”

This is a scripture some people take out of context. Some point to this scripture and say “If you’re committing these sins, you’re going to hell.” They especially like to pull out the sexual immoral part to condemn fornicators and homosexuals. They’re basing a ticket to heaven on behavior.

If we take this scripture literally, there are only 8 sins listed that are not going to heaven. What about abusers, kidnappers, thieves, etc.? Are they safe? Of course not. So, we can’t just point out a few sins to be hell bound.

Are those 8 sins not worthy to receive God’s forgiveness, grace, and mercy? If a person committed murder, are they destined to hell regardless if they asked God for forgiveness? Of course not.

This is a category of people who are under the umbrella of unbelievers. If a person hasn’t believed and received payment (through the sacrifice of Jesus) for murder, idolatry, or any other sins, they will die in their sins (John 8:24). A murderer who hasn’t believed in the finished works of Jesus will die a murderer. A liar will die a liar.

When we believe and accept Jesus as the payment for our sins, God WILL NOT hold our sins against us. 2 Corinthians 5:19 says, For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation.

Sin won’t send us to hell. Unbelief in the payment for sin (Jesus) sends unbelievers to hell.

Galatians 5:1 NLT So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law.

Jesus freed us from the bondage of the law (Romans 7:6). This means, we no longer have to obey the law of Moses in order to be made right with God. We’re made right with God through our faith in Jesus Christ (Romans 3:22).

Although it’s written clearly in the bible, people often want to revert back to the law or create a law in order to be made righteous. There are people who still think wearing makeup, eating lobster and crabs, or dressing a certain way makes us unrighteous or unholy. If we’re listening to this kind of teaching and not studying the word of God for ourselves, we can go back into bondage. We’ll think we have to do so many things in order to be declared righteous when the truth is, it’s never enough (Isaiah 64:6).

We must understand and continue to renew our minds to the truth that it’s Christ alone who makes us righteous. It’s not how long we read the bible or how often we go to church. It’s Jesus’ sacrifice that makes us righteous. Stay free from the law.

Job 1:21 And he said: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, And naked shall I return there. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; Blessed be the name of the Lord.”

People quote this at funerals and when they’re going through a difficult time. This scripture is truly stated in the bible, but it’s not a statement of truth.

God doesn’t take from us. God doesn’t take away people, jobs, marriages, or houses from us. God is only a giver. In the Amplified version of Romans 11:29 it says, for God’s gifts and His call are irrevocable. He never withdraws them once they are given, and He does not change His mind about those to whom He gives His grace or to whom He sends His call.

Job also says in Job 23:8‭-‬9, I go east, but He is not there. I go west, but I cannot find Him. I do not see Him in the north, for He is hidden. I look to the south, but He is concealed. Are we also to say God leaves and hides from us also? Of course not. In Deuteronomy 31:6, it says He’ll never leave nor forsake us.

Whether it’s people or property, God doesn’t take them away from us. If it feels like it’s been stolen, we can blame the devil because he’s the only one responsible for stealing, killing, and destroying (John 10:10).

Matthew 11:29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

However Jesus operated in the earth, we’re to learn from Him and follow His example.

Look at all the things Jesus did:
Jesus healed the sick.
Jesus brought dead things back to life (John 11:23-44).
Jesus spoke things into existence (Mark 11:14; 21).

It’s not because He’s the Son of God that He could do all of these things. He operated in the earth as a man. The major difference between Jesus and some of us is Jesus knew His purpose and He knew His authority.

As we learn from Jesus, we can do the same things and even greater things than He did (John 14:12). Follow His example in the earth and we will have an abundant, victorious, enjoyable life.

John 14:12 Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.