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Psalms 18:39 NLT You have armed me with strength for the battle; you have subdued my enemies under my feet.
For most of us, our battles aren’t natural. To the ones who are fighting natural battles for our country, He’s given you strength. (Also, thank you for your service.)
For the rest of us, all of our battles are spiritual. 1 Timothy 6:12 says, “Fight the good fight of the faith” and Ephesians 6:12 says, “For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.”
God not only equipped us with strength for natural battles, but spiritual ones too. These battles include battles with depression, battles with alcohol, battles with pornography, and battles with suicide ideation. Whatever spiritual battles we’re facing, He’s equipped us with strength to fight. We don’t have to let these things dominate our lives. And if we’re committed to focusing in on God’s word and doing what it says, He’s guaranteed us the victory (2 Cor. 2:14).
Don’t let Satan keep feeding you lies. You can win, you can overcome, and through Christ, you’ve already gotten the victory.
Some believers have done an excellent job at explaining scriptures away. They’ll see a scripture, in context, and explain how that doesn’t mean what it clearly says.
For instance, some will see Isaiah 53:5 which says, “by His stripes we are healed” and say this is related to our spirit’s being healed and not our physical bodies. They see how every believer is not physically healed so, they explain how this scripture can’t mean we’re healed in our bodies.
Isaiah 53:5 is referring to being healed in our physical natural bodies. We know this because in Matthew 8:17, Jesus fulfills the prophesy of Isaiah when He heals the physical bodies of a man with leprosy, the servant of the Roman Officer, and Peter’s mother-in-law.
Another example is in 2 Corinthians 8:9 which says, “You know the generous grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty he could make you rich.” Some read this as well as Psalm 112:3 where it says, “wealth and riches are in our house” and explain that this is spiritual wealth and riches. Nothing about either of these verses have to do with spiritual riches. It’s referring to natural riches.
Just because believers aren’t experiencing what the scriptures says doesn’t mean we need to explain what it clearly means away.
It’s a fact, certain scriptures have been taken out of context, but not everything. Let’s read the scriptures, in context, and not explain it away based on what we’ve naturally seen or experienced.
2 Timothy 2:15 NLT Work hard so you can present yourself to God and receive his approval. Be a good worker, one who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly explains the word of truth.
Galatians 5:16 AMPC But I say, walk and live [habitually] in the [Holy] Spirit [responsive to and controlled and guided by the Spirit]; then you will certainly not gratify the cravings and desires of the flesh (of human nature without God).
In the world, there’s always been this do what you feel and let your flesh have its way mentality. That’s to be expected because they’re without God. However, some of that mentality has come into the body of Christ.
Despite Hebrews 10:25 where it says, “let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do,” if some don’t feel like going to church, they won’t. Although Jesus lets us know we can’t serve God and be ensalved to money, if our flesh wants to withhold our money because we’re skeptical about giving, some of us will. Even though we’re instructed to forgive in Ephesians 4:32, some of us choose to go through life with unforgiveness in our hearts.
Obviously, there is no law under Christ so, I’m not trying to condemn anyone, however some of us need to get back to a place where God’s word is more influential than how we feel. Just because our flesh desires something or we feel a certain way doesn’t mean that it’s beneficial to our lives.
We can go to heaven without stepping one foot in a church, but why wouldn’t we want to collectively worship our Savior and share our talents in His church? God will still love us even if we didn’t give a dime, but why wouldn’t we want to advance His Kingdom with our financial support? We don’t have to forgive, but studies have shown that unforgiveness negatively impacts our physical bodies.
Let’s not operate based on how we feel. If God’s word says it, we must believe that it’s good for us and it brings glory to Him.
1 Corinthians 6:12 NLT You say, “I am allowed to do anything”—but not everything is good for you. And even though “I am allowed to do anything,” I must not become a slave to anything.
Through Christ, we have the freedom to do anything. We can stay up late, eat whatever we want, go to a club, drink alcohol, or work 80 hours a week. But like the scripture says, everything is not good for us.
Staying up late gives us sleep deprivation. Eating whatever we want could cause health issues. Going to a club could cause us to engage in activities that don’t honor God. We could become dependent on alcohol to get through the day. And working 80 hours a week will cause serious fatigue which impacts our immune system.
Some of these things aren’t sinful on the surface, but they’re definitely not beneficial to our overall wellbeing. The point is, we must be mindful of the things we’re doing. We don’t want to allow our flesh to be in control and we don’t want to put anything before God.
As always, it’s best to be led by the Spirit in all situations. If He allows us to stay up late, go ahead and stay up late. But if He instructs us to go to bed (since He knows everything about us and what we’ll have to experience the next day), it’s beneficial to obey. Same thing with the club. If He allows us to go, go ahead and go, but if He tells us to stay home, please stay home. He could be protecting us from getting into an altercation.
Be led by the Spirit and don’t be deceived by the freedoms we have.
#freedom #in #Christ #Spiritled
2 Timothy 4:6 NLT As for me, my life has already been poured out as an offering to God. The time of my death is near.
Our lives should be an offering to God. How we live, how we serve, how we parent, and how we treat one another should be an offering to God.
Part of our offering should be ministering the gospel of Jesus Christ in some way. We can minister to people in person or create a social media platform where we minister the gospel.
We can be the hands and feet of Jesus by feeding the hungry, ministering to prisoners, providing shelter to the homeless, and helping the sick (Matt. 25:35-40).
We can encourage and be accountable to one another. It’s difficult for some to stay encouraged or be motivated to do the right things by themselves (1 Thess. 5:11).
Another part of our offering is denying the flesh to honor God. If we know what we’re doing or about to do dishonors God, we should choose to honor God with godly behavior.
Our offering to God will be a sacrifice. This doesn’t indicate we run ourselves ragged giving God an offering, but it may not always be convenient. Let the Holy Spirit guide you on what to offer God and when to offer it to Him.
#sacrificialliving #Spiritled #sacrifice #to #God
Religious people will say no one knows who will make it to heaven. They use sin, behavior, and lifestyle as a reason why a person may not make it to heaven.
Our salvation is not dependent upon our behavior or the sin in our lives. Our salvation is solely based on our belief in the Lord Jesus.
When we’ve made Jesus Savior and Lord over our lives, there’s a guarantee we have eternal life. It’s not because of our goodness or the lack of sin in our lives. It’s by belief only.
Don’t ever wonder if you’re going to make it to heaven or not. Just believe in the sacrifice that Jesus made for sin and we’ll have eternal life.
1 John 5:11-13 NLT And this is what God has testified: He has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have God’s Son does not have life. I have written this to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know you have eternal life.
#eternity #through #Jesus
Psalms 147:10-11 NLT He takes no pleasure in the strength of a horse or in human might. No, the Lord’s delight is in those who fear him, those who put their hope in his unfailing love.
The reason God takes no pleasure in the strength of a horse or in human might is because it pushes Him out of the picture. God wants our total dependence on Him.
Unless God directs us, He doesn’t want us working 3 or 4 jobs, He wants us to depend on Him for provision. Unless God directs us, He doesn’t want us taking a crazy amount of medication, vitamins, and visiting the doctor multiple times a year. He wants our dependence on Him for good health. He didn’t even want our efforts in keeping the Law in order to be righteous. He wants our righteousness to be based on our belief and dependence on what Jesus accomplished on our behalf.
Whether we’re building a business, desiring protection, or raising children, when we start with God, continue with Him, and end with Him, then God is pleased with our actions.
#depend #rely #trust #God #alone
John 2:1-2 NLT The next day there was a wedding celebration in the village of Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, and Jesus and his disciples were also invited to the celebration.
At the wedding celebration, Jesus turns water into wine (John 2:3-11). This was the first recorded miracle of Jesus. The miraculous wouldn’t have happened if Jesus, wasn’t invited.
For believers, we have the luxury of having another comforter and helper always with us. We have the Holy Spirit. He’s not coming and going. The way we “invite” Him to events is by acknowledging and being sensitive to His presence. Like the wedding, when we acknowledge Him and His presence, miracles could happen.
This acknowledgement and sensitivity to His presence shouldn’t be limited to church functions. The Holy Spirit’s invitation should be for every area of our lives. We could be at our child’s basketball game, but since we’re sensitive to the Holy Spirit, He could tell us to pray for a parent who is struggling financially. At the grocery store, He could tell us to lay hands on that person in a wheelchair. He could tell us to introduce Jesus to that unsaved person at work.
When going through life, be sure to acknowledge and be sensitive to the presence of the Holy Spirit.
#invite #acknowledge #HolySpirit #Helper
Habakkuk 3:17-18 NLT Even though the fig trees have no blossoms, and there are no grapes on the vines; even though the olive crop fails, and the fields lie empty and barren; even though the flocks die in the fields, and the cattle barns are empty, yet I will rejoice in the Lord! I will be joyful in the God of my salvation!
When nothing seems to be going right, we can either focus on all that’s going wrong and become sad, depressed, and feeling defeated or we can choose to be joyful because we have a great opportunity to trust God.
Unfortunately, most people, believers included, tend to focus on the negative. We magnify how bad it is instead of focusing on how good God is. A lot of us feel sorry for ourselves and want others to pity us too. People do face difficulties, but pity doesn’t help.
When things aren’t lining up the way we desire them to, we need to rejoice. We need to get in God’s word and rejoice over His promises. Rejoice that through Christ we’re healed if we’re sick. Rejoice that He supplies our needs if we’re in lack. Rejoice over the deliverance of our children if they’ve gone astray.
We can look only in the natural and feel down and depressed because of our circumstances. Or, we can look in God’s Word (which is spiritual, but can change the circumstances in the natural) and then rejoice over the upcoming changes. The choice is yours.
#rejoice #breakthrough #is #imminent
John 14:31 NLT but I will do what the Father requires of me, so that the world will know that I love the Father. Come, let’s be going.
Jesus knew His assignment. His job was to save the lost by sacrificing Himself for the sins of the world (Luke 19:10). How did He know His assignment? How did He know what’s required of Him? By spending time with God.
We all have assignments while we’re here on earth. Life is more than working at a job, having a family, then dying. There’s a purpose for us all.
To know our assignment, we must spend time with the Father. He’ll reveal what’s required of us. Once revealed, we should obey. It could be to feed the homeless, to help stop sex trafficking, to change our nation by going into politics, or to minister to young married couples.
The assignment usually is bigger than we can handle on our own. God is necessary to start, maintain, and fulfill our assignment. Our impact will last longer than our lifetime.
Get with God to see what’s required of you. It doesn’t matter if you’re older than 70 or feel like you’ve made too many mistakes in life. There’s something you can do for His glory and to advance His Kingdom.
#for #His #glory
Psalms 150:6 NLT Let everything that breathes sing praises to the Lord! Praise the Lord!
The common theme throughout Psalms is praise. We praise when things are going well, and we praise when things could be better. We praise when we’re in a happy place and we praise when depression attacks. In any situation and in any circumstance, we’ll always have the opportunity to praise the Lord.
Our flesh will not feel like it sometimes, but if we override the feelings of our flesh, we’ll find any reason to praise God.
We can praise God for sight even if we’re paralyzed in a wheelchair. We can praise Him for family even if we don’t have a dollar to our name. If the closest person to us dies, with tears in our eyes, we can praise God because they’re in the presence of our Father.
If we can breathe, we can praise. Don’t let circumstances dictate your praises. Give God glory no matter what season you’re in.
#praise #the #Lord
Psalms 149:4 NLT For the Lord delights in His people; He crowns the humble with victory.
When we think we don’t need God to handle this or that, that’s not humility. That’s stupidity. Our flesh may not like how God handles certain things or we may feel like God is taking too long, but we can’t argue with His results. Everyone benefits. He gets the glory and we get a solution.
When we feel like we know all there is to know about a subject or something, that’s not humility. Even if we’ve done something 1,000 times, we must still position ourselves to hear from God and be teachable. This is especially necessary for believers who’ve been saved for a long time. If we feel like we know something because we’ve heard it or done it before, we tend to tune out a person when God is speaking through them. There’s always new revelation in God’s word. As we listen to God, we can get another degree of wisdom.
We don’t and we won’t know it all. True humility is recognizing we need God in every area of our lives. As we learn how to continously and consistently humble ourselves, we’ll experience greater victories.
#experience #greater #listen #godly #wisdom
Psalms 148:14 NLT He has made His people strong, honoring His faithful ones— the people of Israel who are close to him. Praise the Lord!
Whether we know it or not, as God’s people, we are strong. We’re not strong because of how disciplined we are or how focused we can be. We’re strong because of Him. We have the God of the universe living inside of us and through Him, we can do all things (Phil. 4:13).
Through Him, we can overcome bad habits, we can change our personalities, and we can discipline our flesh. Using His power working through us, we can stop literal storms, change atmospheres, and raise the dead.
The only thing that holds back the strength we have is our ignorance, unbelief, and doubt.
Ignorance: If we don’t know we have certain strengths, we’ll never use them. Get in God’s word and see what type of strength and authority we have.
Unbelief: If we see ourselves as only human and don’t believe we have the strength to do something, God’s power will not flow through us. Meditate in God’s word about the strength we have in Him until unbelief becomes faith.
Doubt: Doubt is similar to unbelief. It’s faith that has been tainted. Maybe we’ve tried to use our strengths in certain areas, but for whatever reason, it didn’t work. Doubt then enters our hearts and short circuits our strength. Hear and meditate on our strengths in God’s word until convinced of our authority. Don’t let experience change the truth in God’s word.
As God’s people, we are strong. Know and exercise your strengths for God’s glory and to make this world better.
#we #are #strong #in #Christ
Psalms 147:3 NLT He heals the brokenhearted and bandages their wounds.
The transition of a loved one, a divorce, or continuous issues in life can leave us brokenhearted. We may not know where to go and we may not feel like living anymore.
It’s during these difficult times when we need to see God as a loving Father. He’s not just the God of the universe, but a loving Father who wants to care for us and help us through tough seasons.
We can tell Him everything we’re going through and everything we’re feeling. Even if we’re mad at Him, He’s able to take it.
After venting, if we rely on Him during these moments, He’ll provide comfort and give us strategies to get through each day. Eventually, we’ll get to a place where the memory of the event is there, but the pain is gone.
He’s a healer of not only our bodies, but our emotions too.
#God #heals #restores #redeems #renews
Psalms 146:3-4 NLT Don’t put your confidence in powerful people; there is no help for you there. When they breathe their last, they return to the earth, and all their plans die with them.
Presidents, Prime Ministers, kings, queens, and other politicians have made promises to people. Unfortunately, a lot of people have put their confidence in the promises and plans of these powerful people. So much so they’re willing to literally fight for their political party and in some cases, take the life of another person. This is carnal.
Psalms 146:5 But joyful are those who have the God of Israel as their helper, whose hope is in the Lord their God.
As we can see from verse 5, our hope should be in God. If the title is removed from these individuals, they’re just basic people with flaws. God has been and will always be perfect. He has no faults and He has all the best answers.
Based on that, wisdom should tell us to put our hope in God instead of people. Even if they’re currently powerful, their power is miniscule compared to God. If our hope is in people, we’re only looking in the natural, which is carnal. Our hope should remain in God.
So regardless of what a “powerful” person does or doesn’t do, we’re not shaken. We can still maintain friendships and be cordial with people regardless of their political association because our hope is in God.
#hope #trust #in #God #alone
Psalms 145:2 NLT I will praise you every day; yes, I will praise you forever.
Every single day, there’s a reason to praise the Lord. Here’s a list of the most basic reasons to praise God:
Jesus’s sacrifice
Air to breathe
Food
Clothes
Functionality of our limbs
When facing challenges, the devil tends to magnify the challenges and minimize the blessings we currently have. If we fall for this trap, it can seem difficult to praise the Lord.
There will always be a reason to praise the Lord and nothing should stop us from giving Him praise.
Every morning and throughout the day, continously praise our God.
#I #will #praise #God
Psalms 144:1 NLT Praise the Lord, who is my rock. He trains my hands for war and gives my fingers skill for battle.
It’s our decision to allow God to be our rock. A rock is stable ground that is impenetrable and can be built upon.
When everything around us is shaken, we can place our hope in the rock. We may not know where we’re going to get the money or how we’ll recover from these health issues, but we can find peace in the rock.
Everything else around us is sinking sand. The economy, the promises of politicians, the medical field are all unstable. The only thing that we can truly depend on is God Almighty.
If we find ourselves worried, stressed, or confused, it’s because we’re depending on something other than the rock. Depend on and maintain your dependence on our Father, Who is the rock.
#depend #on #God
Psalms 143:4 NLT I am losing all hope; I am paralyzed with fear.
Psalms 143:7 NLT Come quickly, Lord, and answer me, for my depression deepens. Don’t turn away from me, or I will die.
During our time with God, it’s highly beneficial to be honest, open, and transparent with our emotions. With God, we don’t have to act like we have it altogether. We can tell Him our fears, worries, and concerns. If we can’t be real with God, Who knows everything about us, who can we be real with?
We don’t just vent to God and get everything off our chests and leave. We wait and listen for His comfort and solutions.
For instance, after expressing our concerns to God about what the doctor said about our health, we wait for His comfort and solutions through the Holy Spirit. His comfort and solutions may sound something like this…
It’s okay. No need to concern yourself with what the doctor said. I have already made healing available for you through Jesus. Find and read every scripture in the Bible about healing. Do this for a week. Don’t tell anyone else about your health concerns. Just declare you’re healed.
If we’re honest with God and follow His instructions, we’ll experience peace in the midst of a difficult situation. Secondly, we must choose to not let those concerns or fears back in our lives. Every time a concern enters our minds, we must declare what the Word says about that subject. When we do what God said, we’ll experience the manifestation of what we desire.
#castcares #on #God #gain #peace
Psalms 142:2-3 NLT I pour out my complaints before Him and tell Him all my troubles. When I am overwhelmed, you alone know the way I should turn. Wherever I go, my enemies have set traps for me.
People like to say don’t tell God about your problems, but tell your problems about God. There’s a time for that, but it’s advantageous for us to initially give all our problems to God (1 Peter 5:7). We do that during our time of intimate fellowship with Him.
When life puts us to the test and we feel like we’re at our wits’ end, we can turn to God and tell Him all about it. We can tell Him our worries, cares, concerns, and fears. Once we vent and get our cares off our chest, we need to wait and listen for His guidance and direction. We can even write down His instructions.
There’s no need to complain about life to our friends or family. And unless God instructs us to, it’s unnecessary for us to go see a therapist. We can get all the help we need from God.
Maintain your peace, joy, and sanity by consistently having intimate fellowship with God where we tell Him about the problems we’re facing. But be sure to wait on His guidance and direction.
#therapy #sessions #with #God #heals
Psalms 141:5 NLT Let the godly strike me! It will be a kindness! If they correct me, it is soothing medicine. Don’t let me refuse it. But I pray constantly against the wicked and their deeds.
We’re living in a time where it seems like no one wants to be corrected. As a result of this lack of correction, some children are acting out in schools because they can’t be corrected by teachers and they rarely receive correction from their parents. Certain adults can’t keep a job because they can’t accept correction. And some marriages are ending in divorce because some view correction as an attack.
Scripturally, correction is a good thing. When our brothers and sisters correct us in love, it’s beneficial to our character. Correction is helpful to our spiritual development, it helps us be more tolerable, and helps us be more useful in the Kingdom of God.
Let’s put down our pride and ego and learn to receive correction. It only make us better.
#godlycorrection #profitable
Psalms 140:13 NLT Surely righteous people are praising your name; the godly will live in your presence.
When we get born-again by making Jesus Christ Lord and Savior, we’re made righteous (Rom. 5:1). Godliness is a way of behaving while we’re righteous. We see this in 1 Timothy 6:11 where Paul instructs Timothy to pursue righteousness and a godly life, along with faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness.
For those who are righteous, God is not only with us, but He lives in us by way of the Holy Spirit (Eph. 1:13). And He said He’ll never leave us nor forsake us (Heb.13:5). With this understanding, we can clearly see from scripture that every believer remains in the presence of God.
So, contrary to some religious teachings, God is not coming and going based on our behavior and we don’t have to get in His presence through song. For us, we get to live in His presence.
So, whatever we want or need, at anytime, we can go to God. He’s always there. If we need help in any situation, He’s there. We don’t need to wait until we’re out of options to ask for help. Be efficient with your time by going to Him first.
Praise God that every born-again believer will forever be in the presence of God.
#living #in #God #HolySpirit
Psalms 139:14 NIV I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.
We are wonderfully made by God. Our height, our hair texture, the color of our skin, the size of our lips, and the shape of our nose was wonderfully made by God.
The world may say certain looks or sizes are beautiful or handsome, but how God created us is wonderful, and we need to accept that.
If we see parts of ourselves as flawed, we’re rejecting His creation. We’re saying we would have done things better than the Creator.
So, love and accept your image. Be confident in how you look. Since He said you were wonderful, believe that, and don’t accept the lies of the enemy that tell you otherwise.
#wonderfullymade #createdbyGod
Psalms 138:3 NLT As soon as I pray, you answer me; you encourage me by giving me strength.
Every single time we pray, God answers. It doesn’t matter if the subject is regarding our marriages, finances, employment, or health. When we pray and ask God for direction, He’s there to answer. He’s not withholding any answers from us. He answers immediately.
The delay to our answers is usually because of noise. When there are a number of options and they all seem good, it can be difficult to know which answer is from God. There are two ways to deal with this noise.
1. We can let the peace of God rule in our hearts like an umpire (Col. 3:15). The decision that gives us peace in our spirits is usually God’s answers to our prayers. It may not be the most logical answer and it may seem difficult to achieve, but if it brings us peace, that’s God.
2. Fasting. When we fast, we position ourselves to hear from God with clarity. Fasting minimizes the noise and God’s voice becomes supernaturally loud and clear.
We don’t have to wonder if God heard or will answer our prayers. He heard us and His answers are available. Let’s do our part to hear from Him with clarity.
#fast #pray #listen #to #God
Psalms 137:1-4 NLT Beside the rivers of Babylon, we sat and wept as we thought of Jerusalem. We put away our harps, hanging them on the branches of poplar trees. For our captors demanded a song from us. Our tormentors insisted on a joyful hymn: “Sing us one of those songs of Jerusalem!” But how can we sing the songs of the Lord while in a pagan land?
When we go through a difficult situation, our flesh doesn’t feel like doing anything constructive. It doesn’t feel like praising God, worshipping, praying, or being a blessing to someone else. It just wants us to sit there and pout about the situation and it wants others to feel sorry for us.
It’s during these times we need recognize this demonically influenced pity party and force ourselves to do something that will lift us up. We may not feel like it, but start praising and worshipping God, start praying in the Spirit, and intentionally do something for someone else.
These things will combat the enemy’s attacks against our mind and our mood. We’re letting everyone know no matter what we’re going through, we’re not going to let it steal our joy or our hope in God.
So, cool it with the pity parties. Get out of that funk, remember what the Lord has done, and give Him praise.
#worshipGod #serveothers #hope #in #God
Psalms 136:4 NLT Give thanks to him who alone does mighty miracles. His faithful love endures forever.
God works miracles. Not too many people, Christians included, believe this, but He does. He can step into our situation and do things that defy logic and reason.
He can raise the dead, supernaturally supply all need, instantaneously heal our bodies, or bring life into a barren situation.
What causes these miracles to happen? Our faith. When we believe in the power in God’s word and act on our belief, we too can experience these miracles.
Don’t believe the lies of an unbelieving bunch who say miracles aren’t for today. Trust and believe the Word of God and its power above what you see, hear, or the experiences of others.
#trust #God #miracleshappen
Psalms 135:14 NLT For the Lord will give justice to His people and have compassion on His servants.
When things are unjust, we don’t have to fight those battles. God will give justice to His people. All who have made Jesus Christ Lord and Savior have been adopted into the family of God (Ephesians 1:5). And by default, we become His people.
So, if we were laid off from our jobs without a cause, if we were wrongly convicted of a crime, or if we experienced racism or sexism, God promised us justice. If we were mistreated by our ex-spouse, if our character was dragged through the mud by a former friend, or if we were deceived by an ex-business partner, God promises us justice.
Under grace, God’s form of justice may not be the way our flesh wants. He’s not striking them down with leprosy or sending plagues to their houses. Instead, He’ll let those who mistreated us live long enough to see God bless us (Psalms 23:5). He’ll make what the enemy meant for evil work for our good (Genesis 50:20; Roman 8:28).
Let’s give our cares to God and let Him fight for us because He is the One who provides justice.
#God #fights #for #us #victorious
Psalms 134:2 NLT Lift your hands toward the sanctuary, and praise the Lord.
Praising God is a privilege. We’re not limited to only praising Him in church. We can praise Him in the car, at the gym, at home, or at the park.
When we’re in public, when we praise God, we don’t have to be animated or put on a show, but His goodness should compel us to do something. We can lift our hands, sing out loud, dance, close our eyes, or praise Him in our heavenly language (unknown tongues).
If we’re forcing ourselves not to do something, we’re operating in the spirit of fear of what people will say or think about us. That’s not what God desires.
God has been way too good for us to allow the opinions of people to hinder our praise. So, do something when praising His holy name.
#praise #GOD
Psalm 133:1 AMPC BEHOLD, HOW good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!
Romans 12:18 says, do all that you can to live in peace with everyone. When we make a conscious effort to live in peace with everyone and be united, we’ll experience a more pleasant world.
There are people who make it their point to be divided about something. It could be the way the country is run, the way church as a whole is being operated, or how their spouse does things. Instead of finding things to be divided about, let’s focus our efforts to be united about something. Let’s find the good in something and build that up.
If there’s a difference of opinion about something, there’s a way to handle that difference without being divided.
Unity will always be stronger than division. Let’s make our nation, the church, and our families stronger by being united.
#live #in #unity #peace
Psalms 132:2-5 NLT He made a solemn promise to the Lord. He vowed to the Mighty One of Israel, “I will not go home; I will not let myself rest. I will not let my eyes sleep nor close my eyelids in slumber until I find a place to build a house for the Lord, a sanctuary for the Mighty One of Israel.”
David prioritized God over everything else. He put God above his status, his successes, and his wealth. He knew he wouldn’t have had any of those things if it wasn’t for God.
As a result of David prioritizing God, God made some promises of His own.
Psalms 132:15-17 NLT I will bless this city and make it prosperous; I will satisfy its poor with food. I will clothe its priests with godliness; its faithful servants will sing for joy. Here I will increase the power of David; my anointed one will be a light for my people.
God promised to prosper the city where David was ruling, make the priest of the city godly and joyful, and increase David’s power and influence.
We can expect similar results when we prioritize God. When we prioritize God by doing what He’s placed in our hearts, we’ll experience great things in our lives. Matthew 6:33 says our needs will be met. Job 22:21 says we’ll have peace and things will go well with us.
Whether it’s serving at church, cutting hair for the homeless, or starting a business that will benefit others, when we prioritize God and do what He instructed, we’ll make a better world and experience God’s blessings.
#God #first #experience #blessings #next
Psalms 131:1-3 NLT Lord, my heart is not proud; my eyes are not haughty. I don’t concern myself with matters too great or too awesome for me to grasp. Instead, I have calmed and quieted myself, like a weaned child who no longer cries for its mother’s milk. Yes, like a weaned child is my soul within me. O Israel, put your hope in the Lord— now and always.
There are things in life that will rattle our faith. There may have been an abrupt job loss, death of a loved one, or a messy divorce.
If these things happen, we don’t need to carry those cares. We don’t need to concern ourselves with the situation or think of things we could’ve done better. Carrying these cares and concerns brings stress and stress affects our health.
What we should do is calm ourselves by trusting in God’s word. He is the solution to every problem. He is our peace, He is our joy, He is our provider, and He is our comforter.
Whatever we’re lacking during troubled times, find what we need in God’s word, and meditate on these scriptures. As we meditate, supernatural peace and provision will manifest in our lives.
Focusing on the problem brings stress, but focusing on and trusting the truth in God’s word brings life and peace.
#focus #on #Jesus #life #peace
Psalms 130:4 NLT But you offer forgiveness, that we might learn to fear you.
In the old covenant, God offered forgiveness. For the new covenant believer, through Jesus, God offers forgiveness. As easily as He offered forgiveness is as easily as we should receive it.
We don’t have to put ourselves in timeout for a week to think about what we’ve done. We don’t have to experience guilt or beat ourselves up about the sin we’ve committed. Like taking a receipt at a grocery store, we can accept the payment for sin, take forgiveness, and move on. It’s as simple as that.
No one needs to question us about being truly sorry for what we’ve done. We can accept God’s forgiveness, thank Him, and know we’ve been forgiven.
Praise God for the forgiveness we have through Jesus Christ.
#forgiven #by #God #through #JesusChrist
Psalms 129:2 NLT From my earliest youth my enemies have persecuted me, but they have never defeated me.
Attacks against health, our character, our finances, and our families may come, but as we believe in God’s word, they will not defeat us.
As long as we trust in what God says about us, we won’t be defeated. However, if we only look at our circumstances and situations naturally, we may suffer some defeats. If we see low finances in our account and conclude we’re broke, we’ll be defeated in our finances. If we see problems in our marriage and conclude, this may not work, our marriage may suffer a defeat.
Hold on to what God said about your life and you won’t be defeated. Attacks may come, but our counterattack is maintaining our belief in the word of God.
#use #the #Word #of #God
Psalms 128:1-4 NLT How joyful are those who fear the Lord— all who follow his ways! You will enjoy the fruit of your labor. How joyful and prosperous you will be! Your wife will be like a fruitful grapevine, flourishing within your home. Your children will be like vigorous young olive trees as they sit around your table. That is the Lord’s blessing for those who fear him.
Some believers have a big problem with prosperity. I don’t know why. Prosperity is mentioned all throughout the bible. Even though it’s in the bible, if someone mentions prosperity in a sermon, some deem it as “the prosperity gospel.”
First of all, there’s no such thing as the prosperity gospel. There’s only the gospel of Jesus Christ also known as the gospel of grace (1 Cor. 15:1-10). The gospel of Jesus Christ is about the forgiveness of sins for all who will believe in Him (Col. 1:14; Rom. 10:9). Once we believe, there are benefits when joining the family of God. The benefits of our belief are health, authority, and prosperity in all areas of our lives (1 Pet. 2:24; Luke 10:19; 3 John 1:2). Prosperity is a byproduct of our belief.
Looking at the scripture above, as we trust in God by putting our belief in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for our sins, we’re promised enjoyment, prosperity, and a blessed family. God never intended for us to be saved and sick. God never intended for us to be saved and broke. God never intended for us to be saved and having marriage problems. That is NOT God’s will for His people.
It’s interesting how people negatively came up with the term “prosperity gospel” when referring to being blessed financially, but no one has negatively come up with the term “health gospel” or “family gospel” when referring to being blessed in our health and in our families. Being prosperous financially is part of the same belief benefit package as being healed.
So, if you have a problem with prosperity, you have a problem with God’s promise to the believer.
#be #prosperous #salvation #health #joy #peace #wealth
Psalms 127:2 NLT It is useless for you to work so hard from early morning until late at night, anxiously working for food to eat; for God gives rest to His loved ones.
The term grinding has become popular nowadays. It essentially means people working long hours, usually at multiple jobs, with little to no sleep, attempting to be financially successful. People say they’re grinding like it’s a badge of honor, but as we can see from scripture, the concept of grinding is useless and unwise.
Working is not a problem. In fact, God commands us to work (Gen. 2:15; 2 Thess. 3:10). The problem comes when we push God to the side and attempt to be our own provider. Where is our dependence on God if we’re working long hours to exchange time for money?
God desires rest for His people. Science has proven that there’s a number of health issues that come up due to a lack of sleep. What good is it to make $200,000 a year, but we’re not healthy enough to enjoy it?
Also, how is working long hours beneficial to our family? Yea, that person is living in that big house, driving that nice car, but they don’t know what their daughter is going through at school.
There should be balance in our lives that’s inspired by the Holy Spirit. If He tells us to pick up an extra shift or work an extra job, that’s fine. But if He doesn’t, trust that God will provide.
Rest in Him and rest in the natural. Stop trying to chase money and receive all that God has for you by faith.
#rest #rely #on #God
Psalms 126:5-6 NLT Those who plant in tears will harvest with shouts of joy. They weep as they go to plant their seed, but they sing as they return with the harvest.
Giving anything is difficult for our flesh. It’s because our flesh sees giving as a loss. This negative mindset on giving is natural. We’ll see this in a one year old shouting “mine!” They were never taught to be stingy, but they have to be taught to share. And if they’re made to share, they often cry.
Just because it feels natural doesn’t make it right. Our mindset on giving has to be renewed with the word of God (Rom. 12:2). If we want to experience God’s best, we can’t see giving as a loss. We must see it as a seed with a guaranteed harvest.
It may be extremely difficult to give, especially when we have needs of our own. But if we’re prompted by the Holy Spirit to give, just know He’s not trying to take anything from us, but He’s trying to get more to us.
Initially, it may be difficult to give our time, talents, or treasure, but the harvest on our seed makes giving well worth it.
#give #your #time #talent #treasure #gain #even #more
Psalms 125:1 NLT Those who trust in the Lord are as secure as Mount Zion; they will not be defeated but will endure forever.
As we trust in the Lord, we obtain security in every area of our lives.
We’ll be secure within ourselves. Insecurities will fade because we’ll trust what God said about us and we’ll know who we are in Christ. We’ll be secure in our finances. Our trust in God’s principles of giving causes us to be sufficient in all things and have plenty left to share with others (2 Cor. 9:1-8). Our trust in God causes us to be secure in our marriages. When we trust God’s instructions on how to be a husband or a wife and give our cares to Him to perfect, we’ll experience a wonderful marriage (Eph. 5:21-33; 1 Peter 5:7; Psalms 138:8).
The devil will try to knock us down, destroy something of ours, or take something that belongs to us, but becuase of our trust in God, he won’t be successful.
Establish and maintain complete trust in God. It will take us to great places.
#trust #God #experience #the #good #life
Psalms 124:1-3 NLT What if the Lord had not been on our side? Let all Israel repeat: What if the Lord had not been on our side when people attacked us? They would have swallowed us alive in their burning anger.
“What if” scenarios can be beneficial for the believer. It makes us appreciate God and the sacrifice of Jesus even more.
-What if God wouldn’t have saved us from that toxic relationship? We probably would have been arrested for domestic violence.
-What if God didn’t come through to provide rent money? We would have been on the streets.
-What if God didn’t heal us of that disease? We probably would have been dead.
-What if God didn’t prompt us to go outside while our children were playing? We wouldn’t have been there to tell our children to get out the street and they could have been hit by a car.
-What if we were never awakened by God, through our neighbor’s dog barking in the middle of the night? We wouldn’t have smelled the smoke in the house and we all could have died.
On the other side of some of our biggest blessings were tragic circumstances. Let’s take time to reflect on God’s goodness and mercy and thank Him through “what if” scenarios.
#thankyou #God #for #keeping #me
Psalms 123:2 NLT We keep looking to the Lord our God for His mercy, just as servants keep their eyes on their master, as a slave girl watches her mistress for the slightest signal.
Negative circumstances will come. When those circumstances come, the best thing we can do is look to the Lord.
The good news for us is, under the new covenant, every negative circumstance has already been handled through Jesus Christ. It doesn’t matter if it’s a hangnail, a loss of a job, or stage 4 cancer. It’s all been handled by Jesus. Jesus has done it all.
As we look to Jesus and His finished works, we can expect a change in our situation. We may not know how or when, but as long as we keep our eyes on Him, change will take place.
Hebrews 12:2-3 We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne. Think of all the hostility he endured from sinful people; then you won’t become weary and give up.
#change #is #coming #hope #in #Jesus #Christ
Psalms 122:6 NLT Pray for peace in Jerusalem. May all who love this city prosper.
God doesn’t show favoritism (Rom. 2:11). What He does for one, He’ll do for another. So, if they prayed for peace in Jerusalem, we can pray for peace in our city. We can pray for peace in Houston, Chicago, Washington DC, etc. Wherever we are, we can pray for peace in that city.
Verses seven through nine gives us a prayer template. All we have to do is add our cities and update the government structure.
Example:
Psalms 122:7-9 O (YOUR CITY), may there be peace within your (BORDERS) and prosperity in your (CITY HALL/GOVERNMENT BUILDINGS). For the sake of my family and friends, I will say, “May you have peace.” For the sake of the house of the Lord our God, I will seek what is best for you, O (YOUR CITY).
*For us, Jesus will do whatever we ask in His name (John 14:13). So, begin or end every prayer in the name of Jesus.
Since we have to live in the city, we might as well use our God-given authority to create its setting.
#pray #for #your #city #nation #home
Psalms 121:7 NLT The Lord keeps you from all harm and watches over your life.
Through His word, God lets us know that He keeps us from all harm and He watches over our lives. Either we’re going to believe this or not.
Doubt to believe this promise usually comes when we consider our experiences or the experiences of others. If we consider the car accident we were in or being physically assaulted, we may doubt God’s ability to keep us from all harm. We may think we’re responsible for our own safety. That’s not true.
We can live a life where we’re kept by God from all harm. The first thing we must do is to truly believe God’s Word about this promise. Doubt contaminates our faith (James 1:6-7).
Secondly, we must forget the past and focus on the truth in God’s Word. If He said He’ll keep us from all harm, we should magnify this truth over everything else.
Finally, we should know how to hear from and be led by the Holy Spirit. Learning to hear from the Holy Spirit comes from spending time with God. The Holy Spirit will always agree with God’s word. The Holy Spirit wants to keep us from harm by telling us to go this way or do things that way, but if we get in the way of the Holy Spirit’s instructions by doing what we think or feel is right, God is not obligated to keep His word.
Let’s set ourselves up to be kept from all harm by believing in God’s words despite our experiences, putting our past behind us, and being led by the Holy Spirit.
#trust #believe #God #follow #HolySpirit
Graced To Do God's Will 