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2 Timothy 1:7 NLT For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.
Deciding to no longer drive after being involved in a major car crash. Not getting married because of past hurts in relationships. Not attempting to have children because of miscarriages.
These are examples of people catering to trauma. They’re allowing fear to control different areas of their lives. No part of our lives should be governed by fear. Sure, we’ll experience unfortunate circumstances every now and then, but God’s word is still the truth and will dominate any situation.
No matter how many miscarriages a person had, God promises us, at some point, we won’t miscarry (Exodus 23:26). We may have been involved in a few accidents, but trust in the angels of God for protection as you drive (Psalm 91:11-12). Even if we’ve had difficulties in previous relationships, God will give us the desires of our hearts, including a wonderful marriage (Psalm 37:4).
Don’t allow fear to win. It’s restricting and the tool the enemy uses for destruction. Be fearless by having faith in God and live a life of freedom.
#nofear #trust #God #faith #Jesus #live #life #fully #abundantly #in #Christ
1 Corinthians 3:1-3 NLT Dear brothers and sisters, when I was with you I couldn’t talk to you as I would to spiritual people. I had to talk as though you belonged to this world or as though you were infants in Christ. I had to feed you with milk, not with solid food, because you weren’t ready for anything stronger. And you still aren’t ready, for you are still controlled by your sinful nature. You are jealous of one another and quarrel with each other. Doesn’t that prove you are controlled by your sinful nature? Aren’t you living like people of the world?
We can be saved and still act carnal. Carnal essentially means led by the senses. If a person limits themselves to what they see, hear, feel, or experience, they’re acting carnal.
If we want to fight anyone who looks at us funny, we’re acting carnal. If we get highly emotional because we didn’t get something we wanted, we’re acting carnal. If we freak out after hearing a negative report from the doctor’s office, that’s carnal too. None of these responses impact our salvation. We can love God and be appreciative of the sacrifice of Jesus, but still act carnally.
What limits or completely stops a Christian from acting carnal is being led by the Spirit and understanding what’s been freely given to us in Christ (Romans 8:9; 1 Cor. 2:12).
Listening to the Spirit of God telling us to “let it go” will keep us from getting into altercations. When we know we can have whatever we desire that aligns with godliness when we ask Him according to His will, we won’t be distraught when we don’t immediately get what we wanted (Mark 11:24; 2 Pet. 1:3; 1 John 5:14). We’ll realize it’s just a matter of His timing before it comes to pass (Gal. 6:9). That doctor’s report won’t move us because we’ll realize we’re healed through Christ (1 Pet. 2:24).
Because we live in this flesh, which always wants to oppose God, thoughts of acting carnal will always come up, but we don’t have to act on it. The more we allow ourselves to be led by the Holy Spirit and the more we know about what God provided through Christ, the easier it will be to act more spiritual in those situations instead of carnal.
#carnal #versus #Spirit #minded #know #who #weare #inChrist #life #godliness
2 Chronicles 26:8, 16 NLT
[8] The Meunites paid annual tribute to him, and his fame spread even to Egypt, for he had become very powerful.
[16] But when he had become powerful, he also became proud, which led to his downfall. He sinned against the Lord his God by entering the sanctuary of the Lord’s Temple and personally burning incense on the incense altar.
King Uzziah started off right. He honored and pleased God. As he honored God, he became more and more successful. His fame grew all over the land. The fame went to Uzziah’s head and caused him to unapologetically rebel against the Lord. He died as a leper, isolated from everyone.
As we put God first and honor Him, His word declares we’ll prosper (Joshua 1:8; Matt. 6:33). Don’t let the success and prosperity go to your head. If we’re not mindful, like Uzziah, pride will set in, and we’ll feel like it’s okay not to honor our commitment at church. We’ll intentionally disobey God or disrespect someone else. We’ll feel like “we made it” therefore, we don’t have to be as faithful as we once were. This is a demonically influenced mentality.
The more successful we become, the more disciplined we’ll have to be to keep God first. It’s easy to have a relationship with God when you need something from Him. But when everything is going well, it can be tempting to dishonor God.
No matter where you are in life, value the presence of God and prioritize Him.
#keep #God #first #honor #reverence #commune
Isaiah 57:20-21 NLT “But those who still reject me are like the restless sea, which is never still but continually churns up mud and dirt. There is no peace for the wicked,” says my God.
For various reasons, people reject God. They may see the horrific events in the world and think, “There is no God.” They may have gone through traumatic experiences as a child and think if God was real, why didn’t He save me from that. They may think God isn’t real because science hasn’t proven His existence.
The rejection of God leaves people without peace. They may have $1 billion, but they don’t have peace. They always feel like something is missing from their lives. They’re never satisfied. Ultimately, their rejection of God will leave them in a place eternally separated from God.
The reason why they don’t have peace and they’re never satisfied is God made us to need Him (Acts 17:25). The rejection of God leaves people with a void in their spirits.
To have ultimate peace and satisfaction, accept God and accept His Son (Jesus). Accept the sacrifice His Son made for mankind and accept His forgiveness forever.
#realpeace #need #God #receive #Jesus #walk #in #peace #freedom #joy
Psalms 78:11 NLT They forgot what He had done— the great wonders He had shown them,
The scripture says the Israelites forgot what God had done for them. I submit that they didn’t literally forget, but the significance of what He had done diminished.
When God does amazing things like, giving us the resources to pay our bills, instantly healing our bodies, or allowing us to get the job, we’re initially grateful and in awe of what He’s done and how He did it. But over time, and as more things come up, the significance of what He’s done dwindles. We experienced the pressure because we had to have that breakthrough 2 years ago, but now, 2 years later, it doesn’t seem like such big of a deal.
When the significance of what God has done goes away, our reverence can follow. The sensitivity to hear from God may decrease. We may be slow to respond to His requests. And we may devalue quality time with Him.
Let yourself go back to that time when you needed God the most, and He showed up. Remember how He made you feel when your faith in Him paid off. Remember those wonderful things and keep your zeal for God.
#remember #goodness #of #God #bestill #and #know
Matthew 23:25 NLT “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are so careful to clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside you are filthy—full of greed and self-indulgence!
From the platform to the floor, be mindful of hypocrites. They’ll say one thing, but do another.
They’ll tell us not to fornicate but have romantic relationships on the side. They’ll tell us not to drink alcohol, but they have hidden liquor cabinets in their houses. They’ll even state we should feel guilty about a sin for a period of time. Meanwhile, they’re attempting to shake the guilt off for something they’ve done as quickly as possible.
These hypocrites make people not want to honor God. People see their deception and realize the phoniness of it all and create their own truth.
Let God’s word be the standard instead of actions of mankind.
Proverbs 3:6 GNBUK Remember the LORD in everything you do, and he will show you the right way.
Prioritizing God above everything else is more beneficial to us than Him. He doesn’t need us to pray, study His word, or worship Him to still be God. He’ll still be God even if we don’t do any of those things. But, our participation in maintaining a good relationship with Him will significantly benefit us.
Prioritizing God will remind us how much He loves and cares for us when we’re facing difficult times. It will remind us of His promises when it doesn’t seem like they will come to pass in the natural. Prioritizing God allows Him to communicate and reveal things to us. Prioritizing God will maintain our joy during sad times.
Prioritizing God may feel like a chore to our flesh, but it’s highly beneficial to our spirits. And what benefits our spirits will positively impact our lives.
#spiritual #benefits #make #keep #God #first #prioritize #time #with #Jesus
Adult responsibilities include work, cooking, cleaning, grocery shopping, spending time with family, investing in our children’s education, and going to our children’s practices, games, and events.
The desires of our flesh don’t have to necessarily be sinful, but they distract us from the things of God. Our desires include watching our favorite show, hanging out with friends, scrolling through social media, shopping, playing games, reading books, and fishing.
Between adult responsibilities and desires of our flesh, we must make an intentional effort to put God first. In a sense, we have to go get God and put Him in front of the line of our mind.
Don’t allow adult responsibilities and the distractions of our flesh to minimize your relationship with God. On a daily basis, make an effort to spend time in His word, communicate with Him through prayer, and praise and worship Him.
Psalms 86:12 NLT With all my heart I will praise you, O Lord my God. I will give glory to your name forever,
#make #God #first #priorities #use #your #time #wisely
Matthew 7:15-16 NLT “Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep but are really vicious wolves. You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act. Can you pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?
Some believers are quick to call a person a false prophet. There are some false prophets out there, but most of the time, these people call ministers false prophets who don’t meet the biblical definition of a false prophet.
They usually call ministers false prophets when they don’t agree with their interpretation of scripture or some of their decisions. Some ministers are being labeled false prophets because they have a lot of money, they go to secular concerts and movies, or because they’ve sinned publicly. Jesus and Paul give us biblical criteria of a false prophet.
When a person interprets scripture out of context with the intent to deceive for their own interests, that person is a false prophet (see Matthew 24:11; Romans 16:17-18; Acts 20:29-30; 2 Peter 3:16). This is a big one. Most of us don’t know the intent of the minister interpreting scripture. They could be attempting to deceive, or they’re unintentionally teaching in error. We shouldn’t be so quick to call them a false prophet because of their interpretation of scripture. Let the Holy Spirit reveal if a person is a false prophet or not.
We can see in Matthew 7:15-16 that if a person’s actions consistently contradict God’s word, they’re a false prophet. We also see in Matthew 7:21-23, where Jesus says if a person’s heart is far from God, even though they perform miracles, they’re a false prophet.
1 John 4:1-3 advises that a false prophet is a person who doesn’t acknowledge that Jesus Christ came in a real body.
In Acts 13:6-8, Bar-Jesus is a false prophet. What made him a false prophet? He was trying to stop the governor from believing in Jesus (v.8).
In Mark 13:21-22, Jesus lets us know a person is a false prophet if they claim another is the Messiah.
1 John 4:3 says, “But if someone claims to be a prophet and doesn’t acknowledge the truth about Jesus, that person is not from God. Such a person has the spirit of the Antichrist, which you heard is coming into the world and indeed is already here.”
The scriptures above and other scriptures like this are what make a person a false prophet. It’s not because they have a large congregation, a lot of money, a few questionable interpretations of scriptures, or a public sin. Some people think they’re trying to help, but quickly calling people false prophets without biblical grounds is causing division in the body of Christ.
#falseprophets
Psalms 119:165 TPT There is such a great peace and well-being that comes to the lovers of your Word, and they will never be offended.
The word of God helps us to not be offended. When we study God’s word and understand the benefits that come with our faith in Jesus Christ, it makes it difficult for us to be offended.
If someone rejects us, we don’t have to take it personally. We can read how they rejected Jesus, and the word prepares us to be rejected too (Luke 10:16; Matthew 10:22). Simultaneously, the word comforts us by letting us know we’re 100% accepted by our Father (Romans 15:7).
If someone talks bad about us, spreading lies about us, the word helps us understand why. We’ll see that these individuals are demonically influenced, and they’re deceived by the devil (Ephesians 6:12; Revelation 12:9). So, instead of being offended at them, we can use our God-given authority, which is found in the word, to rebuke the demonic influences and have compassion for people who are deceived (Luke 10:19; Ephesians 4:32).
Any offense that may attempt to ignite in our lives can be extinguished with the word. Use the power of the word to overcome any offense.
#the #Word #is #power
Colossians 3:23-24 AMPC Whatever may be your task, work at it heartily (from the soul), as [something done] for the Lord and not for men, Knowing [with all certainty] that it is from the Lord [and not from men] that you will receive the inheritance which is your [real] reward. [The One Whom] you are actually serving [is] the Lord Christ (the Messiah).
Whatever gifts God has given us or skills we’ve aquired should be used to benefit, advance, and expand the Kingdom of God. These gifts and skills aren’t limited to ministering or singing. It could be any gift or skill we have.
If we have the talent to fix things, we should find opportunities to fix things in a church or for a Christian-based organization. If we easily understand finances and how money works, we should be teaching financial literacy to the citizens in the Kingdom of God. If we enjoy law enforcement related activities, we should use those skills to protect individuals who come into the house of God.
This doesn’t mean we can’t use our gifts and talents in the world, but we should also be using them to benefit the Kingdom of God. Let the Holy Spirit show you what area to be in and do it for the Kingdom.
#gifted #gifts #talents #use #for #kingdom #advancement #serve #grow #bea #blessing
Acts 16:27-28 NKJV And the keeper of the prison, awaking from sleep and seeing the prison doors open, supposing the prisoners had fled, drew his sword and was about to kill himself. But Paul called with a loud voice, saying, “Do yourself no harm, for we are all here.”
When the jailer thought he was in a terrible situation by letting the prisoners escape, he was about to end his life. Miraculously, after the prison doors were opened, Paul saved the jailer’s life by letting him know no one escaped.
Unfortunately, there are some people who left this earth prematurely because they believed they were in a hopeless situation. There are some people reading this who have contemplated ending their life due to being in a terrible predicament.
For anyone who has felt this way, I’ll echo the words of Paul. “DO YOURSELF NO HARM.”
Just like the jailer, God can perform the miraculous and make terrible situations seem insignificant. He can level mountains and make crooked places straight.
Give God a chance. Don’t make a permanent decision based on a temporary circumstance. Don’t believe the lies of the enemy telling you it will never get better. No matter what you’ve done or what you’re going through, God’s grace will change you and your situation. Trust Him and live.
#life #freedom #found #in #Christ #live
Psalms 119:60 NLT I will hurry, without delay, to obey your commands.
God has given all of us a task. This task is part of our God-given assignment and purpose. Our purpose could be a great homemaker, starting a business, or promoting at our company. It doesn’t even have to be life altering. It could be taking out the trash, eating an apple twice a day, or washing the car.
Whatever God instructs us to do, it’s important to obey without delay. Our obedience is attached to something greater. Our children may see us being great homemakers, and that will influence them to do the same. Someone may benefit from our business, and it could change their lives. Eating that apple twice a day could have health benefits as we age.
If we delay obeying God’s instructions or disobey them altogether, we’re stopping God’s will from being accomplished, we’re minimizing God’s blessings in our lives, and we’re not being a blessing to others.
Our obedience has more impact than we know. Let’s obey God so that He’s glorified, we obtain His promises, and we can be a blessing.
#obey #without #delay #God #is #faithful #listen #Holy #Spirit #leads #us #Jesus #loves
Mark 4:16-17 NIV Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away.
When we receive the word of God in our hearts, we should expect opposition. It could be a word regarding finances, health to our bodies, sweet sleep, or deliverance for our children. Whatever word we’ve received, we should expect opposition. Satan is not going to sit back and let us receive God’s promises without a fight.
Satan’s ultimate goal is to steal the word from our hearts (John 10:10). For instance, if we’re believing for our children to have a relationship with God based on Isaiah 54:13, Satan may influence them to be more disrespectful. He wants us to look at our children acting out and doubt that God’s word can change their behavior. It’s the same method when we’re believing God for increased finances, better health, etc. He’s going to allow us to see or experience something contrary to what we’re believing for. However, if we stay with God’s word and we’re not moved by what we see or experience, God’s word will prevail.
Understand, any negative situation is designed to steal the word from our hearts. Don’t let it. Stay with the word no matter what you see, hear, or experience.
#plant #the #Word #and #let #it #grow #trust #believe #rely #on #God #Jesus
Job 1:6 NLT One day the members of the heavenly court came to present themselves before the Lord, and the Accuser, Satan, came with them.
Satan is the accuser. That’s one of his job titles. Daily, he accuses us of the wrong we’ve done. Even if our sin is minimal, in his accusations, he attempts to make us feel guilty for what we didn’t do.
For instance, Satan will use scripture to try to make us feel guilty. He’ll point out Matthew 22:37, where it says, “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’” If we’ve studied the word for 2 hours, he’ll accuse us of not doing 4. If we’ve fed 500 people, he’ll accuse us for not feeding 600. If we listen to his accusations, we’ll literally drive ourselves crazy trying to “please God.”
We must realize through Christ, God is already pleased with us. There’s nothing more we can do to get God to love us more. Through Christ, He’s 100% pleased with us, and no amount of wrong or works will change that.
Simultaneously, while Satan is accusing, the Holy Spirit is advocating for people who made Jesus Christ, Lord.
John 14:16 NLT And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you.
An advocate is someone who publicly recommends or supports something or someone. In the courts of heaven, the Holy Spirit is informing the Judge of our righteousness through Jesus Christ. He’s letting everyone know we’re delivered, righteous, and saved. No matter what we do on earth (good or not so good), He’s advocating for us.
He’s personally letting us know how righteous we are, how much God loves us, and the power we have to overcome any situation. When Satan attempts to make us feel bad for not doing something, the Holy Spirit reminds us of who we are in Christ.
Now, who will you be listening to? The accuser or the Advocate? The choice is up to you.
#voices #listen #to #Holy #Spirit #through #Christ #Jesus #God #greatly #loves #us
Luke 8:11 NLT “This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is God’s word.
The seed of faith is where we take the word of God (in scripture) and plant it in our hearts (our spirits). We plant it in our hearts through unwavering belief. We water that seed by meditating on God’s word, imagine that word coming to pass, and using the power of our words to confess God’s word over our lives. We do this until the manifestation of God’s word comes to pass.
Planting the seed of doubt is similar in practice. It’s where we take anything that opposes God’s word and plant it in our hearts. We plant it in our hearts through unbelief. We water the seed of doubt by meditating on what God didn’t say (worry), we imagine what God didn’t say coming to pass (fear), and we say what God didn’t say.
In every situation, both seeds will be present. It’s up to us to determine what we’ll plant in our hearts. It’s important to know God’s word. That way, we’re not inadvertently planting seeds of doubt in our hearts.
#know #Word #of God #plant #it #Christ #Jesus #loves #us
Isaiah 46:4 AMPC Even to your old age I am He, and even to hair white with age will I carry you. I have made, and I will bear; yes, I will carry and will save you.
As we get older, we don’t need to worry about how we’re going to make it, who’s going to take care of us, and where we’ll be living. God took the responsibility to take care of us even in old age.
The same way He took care us when we were younger is the same way He’ll take care of us in old age. We don’t need to rely on our relatives, social security, or the government to take care of us. All we need to do is rely on God to be God in old age.
We may retire from working for a paycheck, but God still vows to supply all of our needs.
#well #supplied #by God #through #Christ #Jesus #loves #us
Psalms 100:5 TPT For Yahweh is always good and ready to receive you. He’s so loving that it will amaze you— so kind that it will astound you! And He is famous for his faithfulness toward all. Everyone knows our God can be trusted, for He keeps His promises to every generation!
We must be mindful not to think God’s mercy and man’s (mankind) mercy are similar. They’re not. They’re not even close.
Man’s mercy, at the max, may only have three strikes. If we wronged someone three times, they’ll usually cut us off or attempt to punish us in some way. Most people won’t give you three strikes. They’ll unfriend you after one conflict.
If we think God’s mercy is like man’s mercy, we’ll think He has a cut-off point. We’ll think after so many mess ups, He’ll cut us off, leave us to fend for ourselves, won’t protect us, or punish us. None of these things are true. In our humanity, we can’t conceive the mercy of God. We can’t comprehend the amount of times God genuinely forgives us. Do you realize we can intentionally go against God 275,000 times in a row, and God’s grace, mercy, love, and forgiveness are still available as if we’ve done nothing wrong? That’s mind-boggling.
God’s mercy is only available because of Jesus. Jesus took God’s punishment for every mistake, mess up, and wrongdoing we would ever do. He was punished for ALL of humanities’ past and future sins (Isaiah 53:10-11).
If you’ve messed up in the same area multiple times and feel like God has abandoned you or He’s not going to bless you, you’re believing a lie. The wrath of God was poured out on Jesus. He has no other punishment to give. His grace and mercy are available for you forever.
Receive it.
#God #LOVES #us #immensely #and #irrevocably #His #love #never #fails #Jesus #saves #redeems #makes #new
Jeremiah 29:11 NIV For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
This should be a familiar verse to us. We tend to focus on the “plans to prosper you” part, but God also promised to give us hope. Hope is the goal setter. If we’re not hearing any goals for ourselves, we’re lacking communication with the One who gives hope.
Hope is having something to look forward to. As we consistently spend time with God, He’ll give us something to look forward to. It could be a business, a new house, children, a spouse, or even losing weight. With hope, God will give us something to look forward to.
Are you just going through the motions in life of work home work home? If so, get with God and He’ll give you some hope. He’ll give you something to look forward to. Then, apply your faith to obtain the desire you hope for (Heb. 11:1).
#hope #commune #with #faithful #God #keeps #promises #live #faith #believe #through #Jesus #Christ #Spirit #love #new #goodness #grow #scripture #Word #devotional #devo #growth
Matthew 4:23-24 NLT Jesus traveled throughout the region of Galilee, teaching in the synagogues and announcing the Good News about the Kingdom. And he healed every kind of disease and illness. News about him spread as far as Syria, and people soon began bringing to him all who were sick. And whatever their sickness or disease, or if they were demon possessed or epileptic or paralyzed—he healed them all.
We may hear people say, “I want to experience the supernatural.” If we’re born again, we experience the supernatural daily. Every time we pray to God, we’re experiencing the supernatural. Every time we hear instructions from God, we’re experiencing the supernatural. When faith comes after hearing God’s word, we’re experiencing the supernatural.
When people say they want to experience the supernatural, what they really mean is they want to experience the spectacular. They want to receive a $10,000 check in the mail. They want that chronic pain they’ve been dealing with to suddenly be gone. They want their wayward child to return, wanting salvation. These things may not happen daily.
Don’t devalue the supernatural by always looking for the spectacular. If we value the supernatural occurrences we receive on a daily basis, we’ll eventually experience more and more of the spectacular.
#nothing #is #impossible #through #Christ #just #believe #trust #God #expect #the #miraculous
Galatians 3:11 ESV Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for “The righteous shall live by faith.”
Romans 10:17 says, faith comes by hearing the word of God. What good is it to hear the word of God daily, go to Christian conferences, and read your bible consistently if we’re never going to apply our faith to our lives.
Let’s say someone has read about and heard messages on healing for months. Two weeks later, the doctor tells them they have a disease where they would have to take a lot of medication and there’s no guarantee that the disease will go away. This is their time to apply their faith. But the choice is still up to them. They can choose to believe the doctor’s report or apply their faith for divine healing in their bodies.
Some people don’t want to apply their faith to anything because they don’t want to be embarrassed, feel disappointed, or possibly get rejected. These are demonic thoughts thrown in our minds.
Faith has to come to pass. The only way it won’t work is if WE quit. Delay and situations worsening, usually get us to quit. But if we apply our faith to any situation without quitting, we’ll see what we desire come to pass.
Stop stalling and apply your faith to unfortunate facts.
#by #faith #all #things #are #possible #to #those #who #believe #and #trust #God #through #Jesus #Christ #scripture #devotional
Graced To Do God's Will 