You are currently browsing the monthly archive for April 2025.
Romans 8:14 NLT For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.
The Holy Spirit is our best help in life. He teaches us all things (John 14:26). We’ll be empowered by Him (Acts 1:8). If we’re wise, we’ll allow Him to make all our decisions for us.
He’ll show us how to make life more enjoyable. He’ll keep us free from exhaustion. He’ll stop us from making a mistake. He’ll make major tasks seem effortless. He’ll help us with our parenting and our finances. Whatever we need Him for, He’s there to help us. Even something minor like what to wear for an event.
Let’s train our ear on discerning the voice of the Holy Spirit. Since Jesus gifted us the Holy Spirit, surely we need him every day.
John 14:16-17 NLT And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you.
#Holy #Spirit #advocate #counselor #helper #wisdom #guidance #direction #advice #leader #mind #of #Christ #God #life #more #abundantly
Ecclesiastes 3:1 NLT For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven.
There is a time and a season for everything. The chapter goes on to list examples such as, a time to tear down and a time to build up, a time to cry and a time to laugh, and a time to grieve and a time to dance.
Once again, there’s a time and a season for everything. Here are more examples that aren’t mentioned but are beneficial in our daily lives.
There’s a time to work and a time to call it quits for the day. There’s a time to clean up and a time to rest. A time to take on another responsibility and a time to say, “No.” There’s a time to give and a time to save.
The only consistent one that can help us with these times is the Holy Spirit. It may seem logical to keep working, but the Holy Spirit knows that our children need our undivided attention. It may seem noble to take on another responsibility, but the Holy Spirit knows how to keep us from being burnt out. It may seem wise to save money by not buying those shoes, but the Holy Spirit helps us enjoy the fruit of our labor.
Every single day, consult the Holy Spirit on when, where, and how to do something.
#Holy #Spirit #advocate #counselor #helper #wisdom #guidance #direction #advice #leader #mind #of #Christ #God #life #more #abundantly
Romans 8:35-37 NLT Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? (As the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.”) No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.
Negative circumstances have a tendency to make us question God’s love for us. He may have done some wonderful things for us over the past 2 years, but as soon as trouble comes, questions about God’s love for us may enter our minds.
First of all, these questions are demonically influenced. Satan will use anything to get us into doubt and unbelief. If he can make us doubt God’s love, it’s like a domino effect. Nothing else will work.
Secondly, our circumstances have nothing to do with God’s love for us. In fact, if we face circumstances, this is evidence of God’s love for us. How? With every circumstance we face, He’s preordained victory. As we believe He’s already given us the victory over thoughts of depression, being laid off, or family problems, this should reenforce His love for us.
Despite what we face, God loves us. He loves us when things are going well, and He loves us when we face challenges. Don’t ever doubt God’s love for you.
#God #loves #us #irrevocably #undeniably #immensely #eternally
Jeremiah 1:19 NLT They will fight you, but they will fail. For I am with you, and I will take care of you. I, the Lord, have spoken!”
Most, if not all of our fights, will be faith fights. Situations will come against us. It may be financial situations, health issues, lack of sleep, unfair treatment at our jobs, or problems in our marriages. Whatever fight that comes to us, it will fail. As long as we keep our faith, hope, and dependence on God’s word, God will take care of it, and it will not succeed against us.
Now, if we see the problems bigger than God or if we try to go at it without Him, the situation could get worse, but here’s the good news. Even if we dig ourselves in a deeper hole through doubt, self-effort, or unbelief, as soon as we turn and depend on God, He’ll take care of it all.
With God by our sides, we will never fail. Trust and depend on Him.
#trust #depend #rely #on #God #He #will #take #care #of #you
James 1:22 NLT But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.
Implementation is the process of putting a decision or plan into effect; execution.
We can hear the word of God, read the word, and talk about the word daily, but if we don’t implement it in our lives, it does us no good.
To get the best results, we must implement all of God’s word in our lives. What good does it do us if we implement the word we know we can do in our own strength but not do the word that seems impossible or foolish to us? This includes loving someone who just disrespected us, giving to receive, and having joy when everything in us wants to be sad or depressed.
If God’s word says we have something, we can do something, or we can resist something it’s time to implement His word in our lives.
Implement God’s word in every area of your lives.
#implement #do #the #Word #through #Jesus #empowered #to #please #God
“If it ain’t one thing, it’s another.”
This statement is a negative perspective that magnifies the problems we’re experiencing. Instead of magnifying the problem, highlight our God in the solution.
Change your perspective and say the following:
It’s another opportunity for God to show Himself mighty.
It’s another opportunity to experience the favor of God.
It’s another opportunity to see God provide.
It’s another opportunity to experience God’s healing power.
Negative things will happen, but our response to those negative things will determine who we trust.
Psalms 68:28 CEB Summon your strength, God! Show how strong you are, God, just as you’ve done for us before,
#God #is #good #faithful #perspective #shift #trust #Jesus #Christ
Proverbs 13:15 KJV Good understanding giveth favour: But the way of transgressors is hard.
Life has difficulties on its own, but sometimes, we make our lives harder than necessary. The bible promises a hard life when we knowingly and intentionally go against God’s word just to satisfy the flesh. We may think we’re having “fun,” but we’re actually making our lives more difficult.
Intentionally going against God’s word creates health issues, financial problems, bad habits we can’t seem to stop, and relationship issues. People have been deceived into thinking these negative events are a part of life, but they are not. They’re natural consequences for going against the word of God. All of these things can be minimized, if not eradicated, just by making a decision to honor God with our lives. We’ll never be perfect, but our efforts to honor God are applauded, and if we do miss the mark, His grace abounds (Rom. 5:20).
Life can be so much easier and enjoyable by doing things God’s way. Give God’s way a try, and He guarantees you’ll be living the abundant life Jesus wants you to have (John 10:10).
#trust #God #with #all #your #heart #follow #Christ
Exodus 3:15 NLT God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel: Yahweh, the God of your ancestors—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you. This is my eternal name, my name to remember for all generations.
Abraham was called by God, and he had a covenant with God. He obeyed God, and he was willing to sacrifice his Son Isaac for God.
Isaac relied on, honored, and worshipped God (Genesis 26:24-25). Because he was the son of Abraham, he also had a covenant with God.
Jacob, on the other hand, was a trickster. He deceived his poor sighted father into giving him his older brother’s blessing. In spite of Jacob’s deceptive ways, God chose to honor the blessing that was passed down from Isaac. God eventually gave Jacob land, descendants, protection, and a supernatural business (Genesis 28-30).
Some of us may not have been as honorable as Abraham and Isaac. Some of us have a past similar to Jacob. We may have lied, cheated, and deceived, but guess what? God made a covenant with Abraham and Jesus (Gal. 3:16). Our faith in Jesus allows us to reap the benefits of this covenant. So, even though we’ve done wrong, our faith in Christ allows us to have protection, provision, blessings, etc. Regardless of what we’ve done, because God honors His covenant, He still chooses to be our God.
Thank God He’s not using our behavior to determine how good He’ll be to us. Praise God He is also the God of Jacob.
#as #Jesus #is #so #are #we
Some people look at themselves and think they’re undeserving of God’s love, grace, mercy, and blessings. They look at themselves and see a work in progress. They see their imperfections, shortcomings, and sins. They even compare their “good behavior” with someone else, but God’s not comparing us against each other. He’s comparing us to His holy standards. And if we fail in one area, we’re guilty of breaking them all (James 2:10).
Here’s good news. Anyone who hasn’t met God’s perfect holy standards is qualified for His grace. The fact that we don’t have it altogether qualifies us to receive the best of God. He’s not looking at our righteous ways. He’s looking at the righteousness of Christ. When our faith is in Christ, God treats us as if we’ve kept His law perfectly. And no, it’s not a mixture of our righteousness and Jesus’s righteousness. It’s all of Christ and none of us.
When we recognize that our righteousness is pathetic and our only hope is to rely on Jesus, who perfectly kept God’s standards on our behalf, then we’re qualified for everything God has for us.
Romans 3:22-24 NLT We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are. For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins.
#Jesus #paiditall #God #so #loved #us #perfectplan #is #Christ #salvation #righteousness #hope #peace #joy
Luke 10:19 NLT Look, I have given you authority over all the power of the enemy, and you can walk among snakes and scorpions and crush them. Nothing will injure you.
Jesus has given us authority of all the power over the enemy. Satan can’t just walk down the street and put cancer on him, dementia on her, panic attacks on them, and syphilis on us. He can’t do that. The power has been given to us.
At the same time, whatever we allow in our lives will be allowed. Whatever we forbid in our lives will be forbidden (Matthew 18:18). Since we live in a fallen world, negative things will naturally happen. If we don’t use our authority, negative things will remain.
When we’re experiencing something we don’t like, WE have the power to literally remove it from our lives. It’s not God’s responsibility. It’s ours.
Don’t just allow life to happen to you. Use the authority to change any outcome.
#use #your #authority #in #Christ
John 12:3 NLT Then Mary took a twelve-ounce jar of expensive perfume made from essence of nard, and she anointed Jesus’ feet with it, wiping his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance.
Mary was so moved by who Jesus was and what He’s done for her until the common “thank you” wasn’t enough. Mary’s gratefulness led her to worship Jesus in an unusual way. Mary took this expensive perfume and wiped the feet of Jesus with her hair and tears.
When we know God and only God has done great things, our worship should match our gratefulness. We shouldn’t limit our worship to raising our hands and shedding a few tears. We can go beyond that. Like Mary, we can worship Him by freely giving something of value towards His Kingdom. We can commit to getting up 30 minutes earlier every day just to worship Him. If you paint, worship Him through painting. Worship Him while you workout. We can do whatever He puts in our hearts to show our appreciation.
Our worship shouldn’t be limited to a Sunday experience. Worship Him out of your gratitude. Worship Him because you love Him. Worship Him because He’s good. Worship Him in your own way.
#praise #posture #worship #God #daily #ineverything #givethanks
Psalms 71:15-18 NLT I will tell everyone about your righteousness. All day long I will proclaim your saving power, though I am not skilled with words. I will praise your mighty deeds, O Sovereign Lord. I will tell everyone that you alone are just. O God, you have taught me from my earliest childhood, and I constantly tell others about the wonderful things you do. Now that I am old and gray, do not abandon me, O God. Let me proclaim your power to this new generation, your mighty miracles to all who come after me.
It has become very popular to talk about our struggles. Counseling is common, and in the body of Christ, we’ve developed small groups to discuss the challenges in life. This is a good thing and it’s very beneficial.
At the same time, discussing the goodness of God is being pushed to the back. No one really talks about our victories and the good things God has done. In some circles, it’s seen as the sin of boasting.
This shouldn’t be. Anything God has done in our lives is for His glory. We may have gotten the new job, a new house, or a baby, but God gets the glory. We shouldn’t be ashamed or silenced for what He’s done just because others are experiencing His blessings. If anything, our testimony should encourage them to go all in and totally rely on God.
It’s important to talk about our temptations, but also the testimonies. Don’t forget the miraculous things that God has done because He gets the glory.
Inspired by Pastor Jackie Groves
#testify #testimony #God #is #good #share #goodnews
Psalms 50:14 NLT Make thankfulness your sacrifice to God, and keep the vows you made to the Most High.
In this chapter, God let His people know He didn’t need the sacrifices of bulls and goats. Instead, He wanted thankfulness to be their sacrifice.
Thankfulness is not something we do only on Thanksgiving. Thankfulness should be our lifestyle. Thank Him for making it home safely. Thank Him for having a home. Thank Him for the necessities. Thank Him for family and friends. Thank God for sending Jesus to sacrifice Himself for the sins of the world. Thank Him for adopting us into His family. Every time our heart beats or we inhale is an opportunity to be thankful. Thank God for EVERYTHING.
Our gratitude to God will keep us focused on the wonderful things He’s doing. Thankfulness keeps sadness, fear, and depression away. Thankfulness is what He desires. So if you want something to do for God, even though He doesn’t require it in the new covenant, make a sacrifice of thankfulness.
#begrateful #thankful #say #thankyou #meditate #on #goodness #of #God
Proverbs 4:20-22 KJV My son, attend to my words; Incline thine ear unto my sayings. Let them not depart from thine eyes; Keep them in the midst of thine heart. For they are life unto those that find them, And health to all their flesh.
Notice what it didn’t say. It didn’t say only the healing scriptures are health to all our flesh. It said God’s Word is health to all our flesh.
That means our health is maintained by reading the story of David and Goliath, the book of Revelation, and the Song of Songs. Whatever we read and meditate on in the Word of God is health to our bodies.
So, whether we have minor aches and pains or stage four cancer, all of God’s Words provide health to all of our bodies.
Inspired by Joseph Prince
#meditate #on #scripture #be #healed #Word #has #power
Psalms 107:20 NLT He sent out His word and healed them, snatching them from the door of death.
For every negative circumstance that we could imagine, God’s word has been made available for us to hold on to. If we can hold on to His word without letting go, we’ll have what it says.
It doesn’t matter if the problem is financial, health related, a lust problem, an eating problem, or problems with our children, God’s word is available for us to use. Whatever the problem is, a solution can be found and applied in His word.
God’s word has been made available for everyone. Take the word by faith and read it, study it, and meditate on it and receive what it has to offer.
#Inthebeginning #wasthe #Word #Jesus #is #life #more #abundantly #freedom #healing #joy #peace
Isaiah 40:29 NLT He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless.
Pick up the kids, go to work, cook, grocery shopping, clean up the house, cut the grass, and serve at church. All of these adult responsibilities can be exhausting.
When we’re tired, look to God and receive His strength that He’s made available through Jesus Christ. Simply say, “God, I receive Your strength to get through this day.”
Now, we also have to have corresponding actions to our faith. We should go to bed at a decent time and eat well.
Don’t get overwhelmed by the responsibilities. Rely on the supply of our Heavenly Father to strengthen us each and every day.
#strength #to #conquer #each #day
Hebrews 4:11 NLT So let us do our best to enter that rest. But if we disobey God, as the people of Israel did, we will fall.
God’s word instructs us to labor to enter that rest. What this means is that we rest when everything in us wants to do something about the natural problem.
We rest, trusting that God has already worked it out if we’re feeling anxious because we’re not seeing a change in our financial status. We rest, receiving His peace, when our marriages are not working out the way we thought they should. We rest, trusting that God healed us, when the doctor gives us a negative report.
Whatever we think we can handle on our own, in our flesh, don’t do it. Trust God’s word and His timing and rest until the situation is worked out or until He tells us to move.
#trust #God #and #rest
Luke 15:1 NLT Tax collectors and other notorious sinners often came to listen to Jesus teach.
Sometimes, people who may be considered second-class citizens to others don’t feel welcomed in the house of God. Like the Pharisees, other believers don’t make them feel welcomed for whatever reason. They move away from them because they smell like smoke or alcohol. They look at them funny because they walk in the church with t-shirts and tattoos. This shouldn’t be.
Believers, we should make everyone feel welcomed. Just because we’ve been saved for a few years doesn’t make us better than anyone else. We all need His grace.
For those who desire to get right with God, just come. Like the sinners in this verse, come without caring what anyone else thinks. Come because you desire a relationship with God. Come because you want a better life. Come to be healed and delivered. Don’t let the opinions of others stop you from getting what God gas for you.
Come.
#comeasyouare #to #Jesus #loves #saves #heals #mends #forgives
Jeremiah 33:3 AMPC Call to Me and I will answer you and show you great and mighty things, fenced in and hidden, which you do not know (do not distinguish and recognize, have knowledge of and understand).
Anytime we call on God, we’re liable to have a supernatural experience. We’re not twisting God’s arm or begging Him to show us amazing things. He obligated Himself to show us mighty things.
When we call Him, He’ll show us a better way to do our taxes. Call Him, and He’ll show us a healthier eating plan. Seek Him, and He’ll show us where to invest. Call Him, and He’ll show us how to be a great parent to all of our children.
Name the topic, have patience, and stick with Him, and He’ll show us great and mighty things.
#God #gives #wisdom #insight #favor #understanding #resources #health #LOVE
Hebrews 6:12 NIV We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.
God’s word works. In any situation under any circumstance, God’s word works.
God’s word says we can lay hands on the sick and they shall recover (Mark 16:18). We can cast out demons (Mark 16:17). We forbid or permit things in the earth (Matt 18:18). We can have what we say (Mark 11:23). We can live a long and satisfying life (Psalm 91:16).
The thing that usually causes us to doubt God’s word is delay. When we lay hands on the sick and nothing happens. When we speak to our situation for a week and nothing appears to have changed. These are the things that tempt us to doubt the power in God’s word.
The key is to stay with the word of God. If we stay with the word regardless of the delays and what we see, God’s word will come to pass. Have faith and patience and God’s word will come to pass.
#faith #and #patience #trust #and #believe #Word #of #God #will #come #to #pass
Psalm 23:4 GNT Even if I go through the deepest darkness, I will not be afraid, Lord, for you are with me. Your shepherd’s rod and staff protect me.
Most of us don’t thank God for the things that didn’t happen. We don’t thank Him because we’re not aware of what He protected us from.
Having a nervous breakdown, being paralyzed in a car crash, being robbed at gunpoint, being abducted and sexualy trafficked, getting diagnosed with an “incurable” disease, getting a limb cut off in a freak accident, or dying.
These are things we may not have gone through. Be grateful that these things didn’t happen.
And if you did experience these things, be grateful that you’re alive, thinking soundly, to tell your story of how God kept you.
Every now and then, we should take some time and thank God for the things that didn’t happen in our lives.
God, we’re grateful.
#grateful #God #loves #restores #keeps #His #children
Romans 7:17 PEV So really, it’s not us that does those bad things. It’s that bad part of us that is inside us.
We are spirits. We have a soul, and we live in a body. When we get born-again, our spirits are the only thing that changes. Our bodies, which are prone to sin and opposed to God (the flesh), can never be redeemed. Our souls, which consist of our mind, will, and emotions, can be transformed by the word of God or negatively influenced by our flesh.
Our sinful behavior is the result of our flesh getting its way due to an unrenewed mind. When we find ourselves engaging in sinful behavior, don’t identify with it. It’s not us. Remember, we are born-again spirits, which mean we’re righteous, holy, and sanctified in Christ Jesus. There’s no amount of sin that can make us unrighteous. So, even if we have a sinful binge, we can look ourselves in the mirror and say we’re righteous.
When we identify who we really are (the righteousness of God) and renew our minds with the word of God, our actions will line up with our true identity (2 Cor. 5:21).
#right #through #Christ #Jesus #only #righteous
Graced To Do God's Will 