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Romans 8:26‭-‬27 NLT And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will.

When we pray in the Holy Spirit, we don’t know what we’re saying. To the world and even to our own ears it sounds like gibberish. Although we don’t understand it, God understands everything coming out of our mouths (1 Cor. 14:2).

When we pray in the Holy Spirit, we’re praying the exact will of God. As we pray in the Spirit, we could be praying for our neighbor, we could be praying for a situation that happens 40 years from now, or we could be praying over our cousin who may be secretly battling depression. Praying in the Spirit could tap into those situations all at the same time. We’re also building ourselves up (Jude 1:20).

We don’t know who and what we’re praying for, but the Holy Spirit does. If someone comes to your mind while praying in the Spirit, call their name out. And since it’s a prayer, and we could unknowingly be declaring something over our lives or the life of someone else, finish praying in the Holy Spirit by saying “in Jesus name.”

The devil will try to make us feel silly for praying in the Holy Spirit, but it’s beneficial to the Kingdom of God, our own lives, and the lives of others.

That is why, when Christ came into the world, he said to God, “You did not want animal sacrifices or sin offerings. But you have given me a body to offer. You were not pleased with burnt offerings or other offerings for sin. Then I said, ‘Look, I have come to do your will, O God— as is written about me in the Scriptures.’”
Hebrews 10:5‭-‬7 NLT

Jesus was and is the sacrifice for our sin. No other offering for sin is pleasing or acceptable to God. No other offering for sin is bigger or equal to the sacrifice that Jesus made for our sin.

This includes, financial giving. Don’t ever be conned into thinking a financial seed will get us back in right standing with God after we’ve missed the mark. We never were on bad terms with God because our punishment for every sin was satisfied through Jesus.

Another offering for sin that’s not acceptable is self-abuse. When we beat ourselves up about missing the mark and allow guilt and shame to enter our minds after missing it, God is NOT pleased. He doesn’t get any glory when we abuse ourselves for something that has already been paid for. Self-abuse after sin is a spit in the face to the sacrifice of Jesus.

Know and believe Jesus’ offering for sin was enough. No other contribution from us is acceptable or pleasing to God. Receive total forgiveness through Jesus Christ.

Psalm 95:7 NLT for He is our God. We are the people He watches over, the flock under His care. If only you would listen to his voice today!

God loves and He cares for us and He has our best interests at heart. To our flesh, some of His commands may seem restricting or harsh, but as our Creator, He knows what’s best for us. He knows what we need to do and what we don’t need to do to function properly.

A lot of our problems wouldn’t be problems if we would follow His voice. Today, His voice is through the Holy Spirit. He may tell us not to eat a piece of cake or stay at home instead of going to that party. That’s no fun to our flesh, but we don’t know what He’s keeping us from. We must trust He knows all and He knows what’s for our good. There will be other times He okays a piece of cake or a party, but at that moment, we must trust Him.

From forgiveness, to ending a relationship, to asking someone out on a date, obey His voice because He cares and knows what’s best.

1 John 4:20‭-‬21 NLT If someone says, “I love God,” but hates a fellow believer, that person is a liar; for if we don’t love people we can see, how can we love God, whom we cannot see? And he has given us this command: Those who love God must also love their fellow believers.

People will say how much they love God. They’ll cry singing about how much they love Him and tell others how much they love Him. There’s a way we can confirm the authenticity of our love for God. We confirm our love for Him by how we feel about others. If we hate ANYONE, but say we love God we’re lying to Him and to ourselves.

This can be easier said than done. Some people have been molested, abused, and treated like trash. Although these can be considered valid reasons to hate, believers have been called to rise higher than hate and love.

If we want to be truthful with our love for God, ask for His help to love and forgive others. He understands it may be a process, but He’s patient and is willing to help us.

Don’t go another day lying to God and to yourself. Release any hate you have for anyone.

Luke 11:28 NLT Jesus replied, “But even more blessed are all who hear the word of God and put it into practice.”

We can go to church every Sunday, go to bible study every Wednesday, we can even listen to our favorite minister on YouTube, but it doesn’t mean anything unless we put the word we hear into practice.

It doesn’t benefit our lives if we only hear the word of God and don’t practice it. When the word tells us to forgive, if we choose not to forgive, we’ll hinder our own blessings (Matthew 5:23-24). If His word tells us to give, it doesn’t help us if we hoard (Luke 6:38). We can’t confess we’re broke, sick, and depressed and expect to be rich, healed, and joyful because God’s word says we’ll have what we say (Prov. 18:21; Mark 11:23).

Whatever it says in God’s word, we have to put it into practice. Hearing alone is not enough. Practice God’s word.

John 16:8 And when He (the Holy Spirit) comes, He will convict the world of its sin, and of God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment.

Romans 8:1 So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus.

There’s a difference between conviction and condemnation.

If we miss the mark, conviction, by way of the Holy Spirit, let’s us know what we did was wrong AND reminds us we’re forgiven through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

Condemnation, by way of Satan, lets us know what we did was wrong AND we should be ashamed of ourselves AND God is mad at us AND we deserve and should expect punishment for our sins which hopefully are forgiven.

There’s a big difference. Conviction let’s us know our behavior we displayed doesn’t align with our new nature in Christ. Condemnation brings guilt and shame. One is inspired by the Holy Spirit and the other is influenced by Satan.

Be sure to know the difference. God never intended for us to beat ourselves up about a mistake we made. Jesus was beat up enough to pay the penalty for every past, present and future sin we’ll ever commit.

Thank You God for Jesus.

1 Peter 1:2 NLT God the Father knew you and chose you long ago, and His Spirit has made you holy. As a result, you have obeyed Him and have been cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ. May God give you more and more grace and peace.

Holiness doesn’t mean we isolate ourselves from non-believers, it doesn’t mean we only listen to Christian music, it doesn’t mean we can’t watch movies, play games, or have fun.

Through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, we have been made holy by the Holy Spirit. There’s nothing we can naturally do to be made holy. Our holiness comes through Christ (Heb. 10:10).

Since we are holy, we must be or act holy. Once again, being holy doesn’t mean we pray and read the bible all day. Being holy is being led by the Holy Spirit. When we allow the Holy Spirit to lead us, we’re being holy. Galatians 5:22-23 gives a list of characteristics the Holy Spirit will lead us in (love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.) The Holy Spirit will also tell us to apologize, don’t read a particular article, or do something nice for a complete stranger. The Holy Spirit will show us how to be holy.

Don’t think we need to do things in our own effort to be holy. Don’t think a dress code, a diet, or being a part of a denomination equals holiness. Through Christ, we are holy. The Holy Spirit will show us how to be holy.

But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy. For the Scriptures say, “You must be holy because I am holy.” 1 Peter 1:15‭-‬16 NLT

Back Story: Israel and Syria are plotting to attack Judah. Their plans are intercepted by God. God instructs Isaiah to tell King Ahaz (Judah’s king) to not worry or be afraid because these plans won’t be successful.

After Isaiah told King Ahaz that Israel and Syria’s plans won’t work against them, King Ahaz had a choice. He could either believe the word of the Lord or continue to worry. Isaiah said the following:

And the head (capital) of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is Remaliah’s son [King Pekah]. If you will not believe [and trust in God and His message], be assured that you will not be established.” ’ ”
Isaiah 7:9 AMP

Daily, we have a choice. We can either believe God’s word or worry about the circumstances. God’s word says we’re healed, we can accept that or worry if we will ever get better. God’s word says He’ll supply all our needs, we can accept it or reject it. God says He’ll protect us. We can believe Him or try to protect ourselves.

If we can’t fathom, believe, or comprehend how God’s word is going to come to pass, based on the circumstances, we’ll never experience the benefits of a believer. Like Isaiah said to King Ahaz, if we will not believe and trust in God and His message, be assured that we will not be established.

1 John 4:17 NLT And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face Him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world.

Believers were never meant to be afraid of Judgment Day. Hollywood and people have made Judgment Day to be this humongous spectacle where all our sins are on display and if our bad outweighs our good, we’re going to hell.

For believers, Judgment Day is a day where we can confidently approach our Father because we lived like Jesus. That doesn’t mean we lived perfectly, but in context of this scripture, it means we lived in God and allowed God to live in us. It means we trusted in His love (v. 16). How do we trust in His love? By believing that He sent His Son to take away the sins of the world (v. 9-10).

Judgment Day has nothing to do with how good we’ve been, how many acts of kindness we’ve displayed, or how much we’ve given away. It’s a day where we can boldly say we’ve trusted in His love by accepting the sacrifice for sin (Jesus).

Psalms 139:17‭-‬18 NLT How precious are Your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered! I can’t even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand! And when I wake up, You are still with me!

If our child is not feeling well, we’re tempted to constantly think about them. On their first day of school, we think about them and hope they’re okay. If they’re with their friends, we think about them. And when they’re off in college, we think about them.

We think about them often because we love them and want the best for them. We hope the instructions we’ve given them as parents are put into practice. No matter how much we think about our children, God thinks about us more.

God knows what each of us will do before we do it and He still thinks about us. He loves us enough to devote innumerable thoughts towards us. He’s not worried about us. He simply loves us enough to set His mind on us continously.

More than two high schoolers who finally get together after liking each other for years, God constantly has us on His mind. Regardless of what we do or have done, He’ll never stop thinking about us. Praise God we have a Father Whose thoughts and plans are to prosper us in every area (Jer. 29:11).

Hebrews 10:24 NLT Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works.

There are a number of ways to serve others. We can volunteer at a homeless shelter, give to a charity, serve at our church, or pay for someone else’s meal.

With all these ways to serve others and express our love, it’s beneficial to get others involved. Let your cousins and friends know what you’re doing and ask if they want to be involved. As we motivate others to be a blessing, we can make a positive impact in our communities.

These acts of love help us overcome selfishness. Instead of always thinking about what next big thing we can get, collectively, we can start thinking about what big thing we can give. The more money we can contribute or the more volunteers we have, the bigger the impact.

As the scripture says, let’s motivate others to acts of love and good works.

Luke 10:17 When the seventy-two disciples returned, they joyfully reported to Him, “Lord, even the demons obey us when we use your name!”

The name of Jesus is the most powerful name in the earth. It has the power to heal, deliver, set free, and bring forth.

Our power is limited. We may attempt to use counseling, medical doctors, or money to change the situations around us, but those things can only go so far. The name of Jesus can get to the heart of the matter. We may not see it working immediately, but that’s when we should rely on our faith in the name of Jesus.

For some of us, the name of Jesus is the last thing we use after trying everything else. Don’t try to circumvent the name of Jesus. Use it from the time you realize you have a problem or desire. It will save you time, money and energy. The name of Jesus is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe (Proverbs 18:10).

So…
Declare you’re healed in the name of Jesus.
Declare your child is delivered from drugs in the name of Jesus.
Declare all is well in your life in the name of Jesus.
Amen

Matthew 21:22 And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.”

To have biblical faith, we must believe what God said in His Word will come to pass. God said all of the promises of God have been approved and have been made available through Christ (2 Cor. 1:20). Since all the promises of God have been made available to us through Jesus, we must use our faith to obtain these promises.

If we desire a house, we must find scriptures that are related to a house or our desires and build our faith on those scriptures. Isaiah 65:21 says, they shall build houses and inhabit them. Psalms 37:4 says, take delight in the Lord, and He will give you your heart’s desires. We must meditate on scriptures like these until we’re 100% convinced God has made a house available to us through Christ.

Next, we imagine ourselves with that house. When Abraham didn’t have a child, God told him to imagine a child of his on every star he saw (Gen. 15:5). We can do that with a house. Look at houses online or in person. See yourself in that house. This keeps our faith focused.

Finally, we must confess the house. Romans 4:17 says, God calls into being that which does not exist. Since we’re His children and have dominion in the earth and have power in our words according to Proverbs 18:21, we too can call things into existence. Daily, we can declare “I own a house.”

As we build our faith by standing on God’s word, imagine ourselves with it, and confessing it daily, it’s only a matter of time before we’ll have a house or any other desire. Use these steps to obtain any promise of God.

Hebrews 10:23 NLT Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep His promise.

God keeps His promises. Others may not have kept their promises, but God keeps every one of His promises. If He said it, it is so. That goes for a baby, a spouse, a new job, or healing in our bodies.

Since He said it, it must come to pass. Don’t worry about how it looks right now. Walk by faith and not by sight (2 Cor. 5:7). Even though you can’t see it on the horizon, it must come to pass. If we’re willing to wait forever, we won’t be waiting for long.

Know God comes through on His word. It must come to pass. Hold on and keep your faith in God’s promises.

Throughout our lives, we’ve been told something that doesn’t agree with God’s word. Some of us were told we were failures, a disappointment, or rotten. We may have been told we were slow, bad with money, or an emotional wreck. The doctor may have told some of us we’ll never be the same, we have a disease, or a body part that will never heal.

Whatever was told to you that doesn’t agree with God’s word must be substituted with the word of God.

In order to to substitute what was told to us with what God says about us takes effort. First of all, we must know what God says about us. That requires consistently reading and hearing His word.

Once we know what He says about us, we must believe it. This is easier said than done. We may have been told something negative all our lives and now we must uproot this negative image with what God says about us.

It makes it easier to uproot negative images and believe God’s word when we speak God’s word. Our words have the power to create and faith comes by hearing the word of God (Prov. 18:21; Rom. 10:17). We can produce a positive image of ourselves and faith in the word of God if we consistently speak God’s word over ourselves.

Eventually, negative images of what was told to us will be replaced with the truth in God’s word. We won’t see ourselves as sickly, but we’ll see ourselves healed (1 Pet. 2:24). We won’t see ourselves broke, but rich (2 Cor. 8:9). We’ll substitute the image of being a loser for being a winner (2 Cor. 2:14).

Matthew 15:13 And answering He said, “Every plant that My Heavenly Father has not planted will be rooted up.

How else will we know who to marry if we don’t know how to hear from God? How else do we know what job is best if we can’t hear from God? How do we know the best route to take to avoid danger if we can’t hear from God?

We can use logic or emotions to make decisions, but there’s a 50% chance of failure and disappointment. More importantly, how can God back a decision in which He wasn’t involved?

We want to hear from God to honor God by fulfilling His desires in the earth and have blessed results. Logic and emotions can only take us so far. Choose to hear and obey God.

For born-again believers, we have the Holy Spirit. God uses His Spirit within us to guide and teach us in every area we give Him access.

John 14:26 NLT But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—He will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you.

Romans 8:14 NLT For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.

Acknowledgement
We can start our life-long journey of hearing from God by acknowledging His presence. Daily, we make numerous decisions. When we acknowledge that He’s there, this will lead us to our second step, asking.

Asking
During decision time, we should ask God. Even if we think we know what we should do, ask God. This gets us out of making decisions based on logic or emotions.

Wait
Wait on God to provide an answer. Don’t be so quick to make a decision just because the answer didn’t come in half a second. Wait on God to provide an answer.

Receive Peace
God’s answers will give us a unexplained sense of peace. Colossians 3:15 (AMP) says, let the peace of Christ [the inner calm of one who walks daily with Him] be the controlling factor in your hearts [deciding and settling questions that arise]. To this peace indeed you were called as members in one body [of believers]. And be thankful [to God always]. Even if we’re scared or don’t feel like making a God decision, deep down we’ll have a sense of peace that this is the right thing to do.

Receive Grace
If we intentionally or unintentionally didn’t consult God after making a decision, receive God’s grace. No need to beat ourselves up about not consulting God. We’ll have plenty of chances to do that. Simply make the effort to acknowledge, ask, wait, and receive peace on the next decision.

Colossians 3:15 AMP Let the peace of Christ [the inner calm of one who walks daily with Him] be the controlling factor in your hearts [deciding and settling questions that arise]. To this peace indeed you were called as members in one body [of believers]. And be thankful [to God always].

Everyone would love to hear God’s audible voice provide day to day instructions. This could provide a simpler life where we won’t make as many mistakes and we could be operating in the will of God. Unfortunately, that’s not always the case. It’s the inner voice we need to listen to.

When listening for God, we must be mindful of two other voices speaking to us. The two other voices are Satan’s and our own. This can lead to a lot of confusion because when a decision needs to be made, initially, we may not know whose voice we’re hearing.

That’s why knowing God’s voice is the most important thing to do after receiving salvation. We can’t renew our minds, do what’s best, or make the appropriate decisions unless we distinctively know the voice of God.

In this three part series, we will breakdown how to hear the voice of God.

John 10:27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.

2 John 1:6 NLT Love means doing what God has commanded us, and he has commanded us to love one another, just as you heard from the beginning.

Love is often talked about, but it’s rarely demonstrated appropriately. The world has a distorted form of love. They love when it’s convenient, when they feel like it, and only if someone loves them back. Certain believers seem to love the people in the four walls of the church, but they seem disinterested in loving everyone else.

As believers, we are called to love everyone. Just like God loves everyone, we’re to love too. Our love is based on a decision. It has nothing to do with how the other person treats us, what religion they belong to, or if they love us. If we go to a store, we’re commanded to love every person in that store, no exceptions.

Expressing the God kind of love takes effort because it goes against our flesh and everything that’s taught in the world. We must immerse ourselves in teachings about His love. Once we receive it, we must take action.

We love by making people feel comfortable around us, being an unexpected blessing to a random person, being friendly, reaching out to and praying for an old friend. Anything God puts in our hearts to do for someone else is a form of love. Let’s talk about and display God’s love without excuses or exceptions.

Psalms 11:1 NLT I trust in the Lord for protection. So why do you say to me, “Fly like a bird to the mountains for safety!

Based on the news, some of us are scared to leave our homes at night, some are carrying two guns to go to the store, and some are paranoid to take the dog on a walk. This is NOT the will of God for our lives.

As the scripture says, trust in God for protection. That doesn’t mean be unwise and leave the front door open all night, but we should trust that He protects us every where we go. If we go to a gated community or to the projects, trust that God protects us and our property. This is real freedom.

Faith in His protection is not automatic. Faith in His protection comes by hearing the word of God about His protection. We can’t expect to have faith in God’s protection if we’re constantly listening to someone telling us “we’re not safe.” We must continuously hear God’s word about His love and His protection of us.

Since God loves us, He’ll protect us. Receive His protection.

Psalms 63:3‭-‬4 NLT Your unfailing love is better than life itself; how I praise you! I will praise you as long as I live, lifting up my hands to you in prayer.

We’re instructed to praise God. We don’t praise God because He needs His ego stroked. He already knows He’s awesome, amazing, mighty, wonderful, and powerful. Our praises and any other instructions given by God are for our benefit.

We praise God to remember. When we recall all of the wonderful things He’s done, we should have a sense of gratitude that motivates us to praise Him. When we reflect on His previous victories He’s given us, we become encouraged to trust Him with present circumstances. With our present circumstances, we’ll become confident we’ll get the victory. Knowing how the future will turn out, we can praise God some more.

This praise is contagious. When others see us praising God for past, present, and future victories, they’ll hopefully trust Him in their situations. And the cycle will continue.

Let’s think of the goodness of God and give Him praise.