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There are two kinds of seeds that are competing to grow in our hearts. There is the word of God seed and there are seeds contrary to the word of God. Obviously, the word of God seed comes from God’s written word. However, the seeds contrary to the word of God come from satanic thoughts solely based on our five senses.

It’s our choice what we allow to grow in the soil of our hearts. We can accept/reject the word of God seed or accept/reject the seeds contrary to the word of God. It’s up to us.

Whatever seeds we accept will grow not only in our hearts, but in our lives. Whatever we see or are experiencing in our lives are results of seeds we’ve accepted (positive or negative).

For instance, if there’s lack in our lives, that’s a seed we’ve accepted. If there’s abundance in our lives, that’s a seed we’ve accepted. Lack comes from a seed contrary to the word of God. Abundance comes from the word of God seed.

There are layers to these seeds. We can have an abundance of money which is a seed we’ve accepted from Psalms 112:3, but we could be lacking in peace which is a seed we’ve accepted from watching the news.

The good news is, with the renewing of our minds to the word of God, trees that have grown based on seeds contrary to God’s word can be uprooted and replaced. By meditating on God’s word, we can completely remove lack, sickness, insecurities, depression or any other trees contrary to God’s word from our lives. I encourage you to accept the word of God seed and reject seeds contrary to the word of God.

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭15:13‬ ‭NLT‬‬ Jesus replied, “Every plant not planted by my heavenly Father will be uprooted,

Ezekiel 34:26 NLT I will bless my people and their homes around my holy hill. And in the proper season I will send the showers they need. There will be showers of blessing.

We all want every promise of God now. We don’t want to wait or have to be patient. If we see it in God’s word, we want it immediately.

As we can see, there’s a proper season for blessings. It may not come when we want it, but God’s timing is perfect.

If we get something we’re not ready to handle, it may be detrimental to other areas of our lives. For instance, if we desire $1,000,000, but we’re not ready to handle that kind of money responsibly, that money may bring out a selfish side of us that could impact our marriage. Or, that money won’t last long due to bad investments or spending habits.

There’s nothing wrong with wanting the promises of God. Just know there’s a proper time to receive each promise.

Romans 4:20 NKJV He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God.

Romans 1:17 says, those who are declared righteous through Jesus Christ shall live by faith. Faith is a lifestyle. When we believe God’s word and don’t doubt, regardless of the circumstances, God is glorified.

Satan and sin in the earth will tempt us to give up on God’s word. They’ll make circumstances look so bad or impossible until we’d rather not believe due to fear of being disappointed. However, if we make up in our minds to believe God’s word, we’ll not only glorify God while we patiently wait, but we’ll see the manifestation of what He promised.

Praise God that our belief in God’s word brings Him glory.

We not only have the opportunity to give God glory, but through our generous giving and obedience, we’ll encourage others to give God glory.

2 Corinthians 9:12‭-‬13 NLT So two good things will result from this ministry of giving—the needs of the believers in Jerusalem will be met, and they will joyfully express their thanks to God. As a result of your ministry, they will give glory to God. For your generosity to them and to all believers will prove that you are obedient to the Good News of Christ.

Giving not only expresses our gratitude, but it positively impacts the lives of others. When we can pay someone’s bills, give them food, or help out in whatever way we can, people will understand there’s a God in heaven who loves them and will meet their needs.

Our generosity to the less fortunate will hopefully encourage them to have a relationship with God, lead them down a righteous path, and ultimately position them to be a blessing to others. Give in order for others to glorify God.

I Corinthians 6:19‭-‬20 NKJV Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.

Another way we can glorify God is with our bodies. We glorify God with our bodies by resisting the urge to be sexually immoral.

God knows our flesh desires sexual sins. For single people, it’s fornication. For married people, it’s adultery. For others, it’s homosexuality. Regardless of the temptation, when we fight against the urge to be sexually immoral, we glorify God. We’re letting God, the devil, and everyone else know that God is more important than satisfying the desires of our flesh.

We resist sexually immoral urges by renewing our minds with the word of God (Rom. 12:2). Whatever God’s word says about that thought, we agree with it regardless of how our flesh feels.

Also, when an immoral thought comes, we take authority over it and tell it to leave our minds. Then replace that thought with things that are true, noble, just, pure, lovely, a good report, virtuous, and anything worthy of praise (Phil. 4:8).

It may be difficult at times, but honor and glorify God in your bodies. Since that’s what He told us to do, that’s the best thing for us.

John 14:13 NLT You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it, so that the Son can bring glory to the Father.

How can we glorify God? Whatever changes that need to be corrected in the earth, if we ask in Jesus name, God is glorified.

This is slightly different from John 16:23 where it says, “whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you.” John 14 says whatever we ask in Jesus’s name, Jesus will do it.

The context of John 14 has to do with works such as, healing the sick, delivering people from demonic oppression, or raising the dead. John 16 has to do with personal prayer requests such as, a job, a house, or a car.

Lets continue the works of Jesus. When we see someone who has been negatively impacted by the devil in some way (sick, depressed, suicidal, fearful, dead, etc.) and pray for their deliverance in Jesus’s name, God is glorified.

There are several ways to give God glory. One way to give God glory is with our words.

Psalms 63:3 NIV Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you.

Thinking of God’s love and remembering all the wonderful things He has done, we should give God praise. Tell Him how much you love Him for sending and sacrificing His Son Jesus. Thank Him for our families, thank Him for His promises, and thank Him for His protection.

Even if things are not going as well as you want them to right now, praise Him for His power to turn our situation around. It may be a sacrifice, but give Him glory despite how you feel.

Give to God the glory that He deserves. Give Him praise.

What have you been thinking about lately? Has it been your finances, inflation, or gas prices? Has it been the increase in crime, the lack of morality, or the possibility of getting sick? Are you worried about your children or your career?

Paul lets us know in Philippians 4 that we have control over what we think.

Philippians 4:8 NLT And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.

Negative or fearful thoughts will come, but we don’t have to entertain them. We can cast them out and replace them with thoughts that align with the word of God.

Some may say they can’t help being worried or focused on problematic areas. Well, the bible says otherwise.

Get control over your thoughts. Give any and all negative thoughts to God and start thinking on thoughts found in God’s word.

Colossians 3:13 Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.

Cutting someone off when they’ve missed the mark or offended you once is not scriptural for the believer. We must make room for each other’s faults. No one has it altogether. People mess up, they make mistakes, and they have faults.

When someone misses the mark, extend grace and forgive them. The grace we need when we mess up is the same grace they need for themselves. There’s no need to have a bashing session. They usually know when they’ve dropped the ball. But if not, in love, let them know how they’ve missed the mark or how they’ve offended you. Once you’ve expressed your feelings, forgive them and move on. Bringing it back up again helps no one.

Stop prematurely ending relationships, friendships, leaving careers, or churches because of the one-time faults of someone else. Be mature enough to understand that people make mistakes and they need grace too.

Mark 3:2‭-‬3 NLT Since it was the Sabbath, Jesus’ enemies watched him closely. If he healed the man’s hand, they planned to accuse him of working on the Sabbath. Jesus said to the man with the deformed hand, “Come and stand in front of everyone.”

Jesus’ enemies watched Him closely to see if He would (not could) heal on the Sabbath so that they could accuse Him. They weren’t concerned about the health of the man. Their goal was to accuse.

Unfortunately, this is still true today. There are ministers or people who are doing their best to minister the gospel of Jesus Christ. They’re encouraging people to have a relationship with God regardless of faults, they’re motivating people to believe God for the best, and to believe God to be healed. With all the good they’re doing, there are still saved and unsaved people trying to find fault and accuse them of deception.

They’ll highlight how the person is using the scriptures inaccurately. They’ll encourage people not to listen to or support their ministry based on how they ministered the gospel or who they associate themselves with. They don’t have anything to say themselves. They simply want to bring the public figure down.

This is expected from people in the world, but this is not the will of God for a believer. People may not have a full understanding of certain scriptures, but unless they’re speaking heresy, there’s no reason to accuse them of deception or be overly critical. If they’re leading people to Christ and encouraging believers, let’s celebrate them and not cause further division in the body of Christ.

Psalms 62:7 NLT My victory and honor come from God alone. He is my refuge, a rock where no enemy can reach me.

All of our victories are from God alone. Stop giving credit to other things or people (including ourselves) for the victories in our lives. Every success is because of God.

It’s not vitamins that keep us healthy; it’s God.
It’s not our hard work that allowed us to get a promotion; it’s God.
It’s not the amount of money we make that makes us rich; it’s God.
God alone allowed us to get that job, not our connections.
God alone gave us the wisdom to parent successful children, not a book.
God alone gave us the help we needed to overcome negative emotions.
And it is God, not man, that teaches us to live godly.

Obviously, in all these scenarios, God can use other things and people as a tool, but the ultimate credit should go to Him.

For every success story, give God all the glory.

Ezekiel 14:19‭-‬20 NLT “Or suppose I were to pour out my fury by sending an epidemic into the land, and the disease killed people and animals alike. As surely as I live, says the Sovereign Lord, even if Noah, Daniel, and Job were there, they wouldn’t be able to save their own sons or daughters. They alone would be saved by their righteousness.

If God would have allowed deadly diseases into the land, the righteousness of Noah, Daniel, and Job would save them from death.

These three men believed and honored God and it was considered righteous, but based on Isaiah 64:6, their righteousness are as filthy rags. No matter how much good they’ve done, because of sin, their righteousness is corrupted. Although corrupted and filthy, God said their righteousness would still save them from a deadly disease.

Old Testament saints didn’t have the luxury of having Jesus Christ as their sacrifice for sin. Through our faith in Jesus Christ, we are made righteous (Rom. 3:22). This righteousness is incorruptible. This righteousness not only saves us from sickness and disease, but it also saves us from eternal death in hell.

Don’t worry about disease or eternal death. If you have His righteousness, we will be saved. Praise God for the incorruptible righteousness that we have through Jesus Christ.

Acts 20:24 NLT But my life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus—the work of telling others the Good News about the wonderful grace of God.

We can get married, have children, have the career we want, and get a lot of money and still feel unfulfilled. Why is that? Because there’s a greater purpose for all of us. Our purpose is to share the gospel of Jesus Christ.

There are different methods to sharing the gospel. Everyone is not called to be on street corners witnessing to people walking by. Some of us have been instructed to witness to people at our jobs or share the gospel with family members and friends. Some of us have been called to use the success in our businesses, careers, and marriages as an opportunity to minister the gospel of Christ. We can do something as small as share a post on social media that encourages people to have a relationship with God through Jesus Christ.

It’s selfish and unfulfilling to be saved and successful, knowing there are people who are lost, damaged, and broken. Be a light to Jesus Christ by allowing God to show you how to share the good news about the wonderful grace of God.

Genesis 31:12 NKJV And He said, ‘Lift your eyes now and see, all the rams which leap on the flocks are streaked, speckled, and gray-spotted; for I have seen all that Laban is doing to you.

For years, Jacob was continously being cheated by Laban. He changed Jacob’s wages which forced him to work for Laban longer than he expected. In verse 12, God lets Jacob know He’s seen all that Laban has done to him.

Some of us were cheated, abused, abandoned, misused, and overlooked. As He did with Jacob, God saw everything that was done to us; and God still gave Jacob wisdom to prosper. In spite of all that we’ve been through, God has the power to position us to prosper.

We may have had three terrible marriages or relationships, but God can make this next marriage prosper to the point where we forget about past relationships. God can use the abuse we’ve overcome as a testimony to inspire others to get out of abusive situations. Like Joyce Meyer, our story can be a platform for others to turn to Jesus and be healed and set free.

Whatever pain or misfortune we’re experiencing or have experienced, God sees it all and He’s already provided a way for us to prosper through it if we trust Him.

People are looking for solutions. They want solutions to help them sleep better, eat correctly, overcome past traumas, manage their emotions, parent their children, etc.

The answer to all our problems is God. If we go to God with our problems, He’s obligated Himself to be the solution. Psalm 62 says, our victory comes from God alone. We can replace victory with solutions.

Stop trying to figure it out on your own or find solutions outside of God. Go to Him with all your problems and let His Spirit guide you to the correct solution that you need.

Psalms 62:7 NLT My victory and honor come from God alone. He is my refuge, a rock where no enemy can reach me.

When we order something online through Amazon or another business, we usually provide a credit card number. Once the credit card information has been approved, we’ll get a confirmation email with a note informing us what date the item will be delivered. The item is already ours. We’re just waiting for it to be delivered.

God has everything we’ll ever need and want in this life. The blood of Jesus was the form of payment that purchased everything. Our needs and desires have been approved through Jesus Christ (2 Cor. 1:20). Our confirmation of payment is in the word of God (1 John 5:15). According to Mark 11:24, once we’ve prayed for what we want in faith, we’re just waiting on our delivery.

The difference between an online order and a heavenly order is if we doubt an online order is coming, there’s no consequence. However, if we doubt a heavenly order will be delivered, the order will be canceled (James1:6-7).

How and when the delivery on a heavenly order will take place is usually unknown. Don’t worry, stress, or get frustrated about it. If we maintain our belief that the order will be delivered, heaven has a 100% success rate of getting what we want to us. In most cases, it exceeds our expectations (Eph. 3:20).

Once the request has been made, wait on your delivery with a positive attitude and with praise. The desire is already ours. We’re just waiting for it to be delivered.

Romans 8:25 NLT But if we look forward to something we don’t yet have, we must wait patiently and confidently.)

Matthew 3:16‭-‬17 NIV As soon as Jesus was baptized, He went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on Him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”

Jesus didn’t die on the cross, He didn’t perform one miracle, and He didn’t heal a single person, but God still said He loved Him and He’s pleased with Him.

Religion says we need to do something in order for God to love and be pleased with us. The scriptures tell us God loved us before we had a relationship with Him (John 3:16). When we become children of God, through Jesus Christ, He not only loves us, but He’s pleased with us (Gal. 3:26).

Don’t ever think there’s a certain number of righteous acts we need to perform, behavior that must be perfected, or do any other thing in order for God to love and be pleased with us. He loves and is pleased with us because we’ve accepted His Son’s sacrifice as THE payment for our sins and we’re now part of His family.
Know you are loved and He’s pleased with you.

Psalms 50:23 NLT But giving thanks is a sacrifice that truly honors Me. If you keep to My path, I will reveal to you the salvation of God.”

A way to honor God is by thanking Him.

Thank Him for His goodness.
Thank Him for His mercy.
Thank Him for life, health, and strength.
Thank Him for His protection.
Thank Him for His many blessings.
Thank Him for sending and sacrificing Jesus.

Thanking God should be done more than just on Thanksgiving. It should be done all the time.

We may have other things we want, but thank Him for the things He’s already done.

Don’t be ungrateful. Thank God for great and small things.

When the uproar was over, Paul sent for the believers and encouraged them. Then he said good-bye and left for Macedonia. -Acts 20:1 NLT

Life can be a challenge. We’re the ones who are supposed to be nice when it’s normal for everyone else to be mean and ugly. We’re told to forgive when our flesh is telling us to hold a grudge. We’re instructed to love in a world full of hate. Internally, Satan is telling us all the reasons to feel depressed, less than, or unloved.

With all this opposition, it’s important for believers to remain encouraged, joyful, and to continue to honor God. It’s easy to curse someone out or punch someone in the face. It’s easy to give up and commit suicide. It’s a more difficult task to remain positive.

When we understand how much of a threat we are to the kingdom of darkness and when we realize how much good God has in store for us, we should be encouraged to continue on. Be a light to a fellow brother or sister. Let them know about the goodness of God. We all need to be encouraged from time to time. Let that encourager be you.

Acts 20:2‭-‬3 NLT While there, he encouraged the believers in all the towns he passed through. Then he traveled down to Greece, where he stayed for three months. He was preparing to sail back to Syria when he discovered a plot by some Jews against his life, so he decided to return through Macedonia.

Some believers today would look at Paul and say he was in fear and he didn’t have “real faith” because he chose to go to Macedonia instead of Syria. There’s no doubt Paul was led by the Spirit, he was full of faith, and he walked in his authority. But even with all of his faith and authority, Paul exercised wisdom.

Some believers understand faith and their authority, which is a good thing, but they use it foolishly. People have been killed by lions thinking their authority can protect them from going into a pride of lions. People have been injured in car accidents believing their faith will heal their vision. That’s not faith or exercising authority. That’s foolishness.

It would have been foolish for Paul to have learned about the Jews’ plot to kill him, but still go to Syria telling himself, “I’m God’s chosen one and no one can stop me.”

Allow the Holy Spirit to tell you when and where to apply your faith and authority. Until the Holy Spirit reveals that information, exercise wisdom.

Galatians 6:9 NLT So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up.

This verse informs us that fatigue is a part of being a believer. We will get tired of being nice to people who are rude to us. We will get tired of keeping our flesh in check. We will get tired of doing things the right way when everyone seems to be getting ahead doing things the wrong way.

Although there will be times of fatigue, we’ll reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t quit.

It’s a blessing to have peace in your home because you chose to follow God’s instructions regarding marriage. You may have wanted to tell your spouse about themselves, but you obeyed the Holy Spirit by holding your tongue. It’s a blessing when we work unto the Lord when everyone else is slacking off, because when that undeserving promotion comes, you’ll thank God that you didn’t quit doing good.

Quitting is easy, but it will only satisfy our flesh. Continuing to honor God will be the more difficult route, but it’s worth it.