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Philippians 2:6-7 NLT Though He was God, He did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, He gave up His divine privileges; He took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form,
Some people think Jesus operated as God while He was here on earth. They think the reason He could perform all these miracles like stopping the storm, raising the dead, and healing the sick was because He was God. That’s not the case.
Jesus gave up ALL His divine privileges and operated like a human being. Meaning, He got tired, hungry, and He was tempted to sin just like us.
The primary reason He became human was to perfectly fulfill the Law of Moses and sacrifice Himself for our sins.
A second reason He became a human was to give us authority and show us how to use it. Luke 10:19 says, 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. In Matthew 10:8 He tells us to heal the sick, raise the dead, cure those with leprosy, and cast out demons. In John 14:12, Jesus says, “I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in Me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father. So, all these miracles Jesus has done, we’ve been given this same ability.
When a problem presents itself in the form of demonic influences in a person, sickness, or even premature death, use your Jesus-given authority to provide a solution.
#power #authority #Christ #heal #cure #command
Psalms 50:8-14 NLT I have no complaint about your sacrifices or the burnt offerings you constantly offer. But I do not need the bulls from your barns or the goats from your pens. For all the animals of the forest are mine, and I own the cattle on a thousand hills. I know every bird on the mountains, and all the animals of the field are mine. If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for all the world is mine and everything in it. Do I eat the meat of bulls? Do I drink the blood of goats? Make thankfulness your sacrifice to God, and keep the vows you made to the Most High.
We no longer offer blood sacrifices as an offering to God thanks to Jesus. For new covenant believers, our sacrificial offering is usually in the form of money.
Once we overcome that hurdle of distrusting God with our money and consistently give, it’s important that we don’t just go through the motions of giving. As we see from above, God didn’t need their animal sacrifices and He certainly doesn’t need our money. He owns it all. What God desires is thankful hearts.
When we give a portion of our increase as an offering to God, we should give with a heart of gratitude. We should think about all that He has done and when it’s time to press that button to give, or put that money in the bucket, we should simultaneously say thank you.
A thankful heart will always be important to God. As we give with a thankful heart, He’ll entrust us with more. Be thankful.
Psalms 50:23 NLT But giving thanks is a sacrifice that truly honors me. If you keep to my path, I will reveal to you the salvation of God.”
#thankful #grateful #blessed #thankfulness
Psalm 76:11 GNT Give the Lord your God what you promised Him; bring gifts to Him, all you nearby nations. God makes everyone fear Him;
In some desperate season of our lives, we make promises to God. We could be drunk, sick, financially strapped, or having a tough time in our marriages and we make a promise to Him. It usually goes like this…” God, if you help me, I promise I’ll _________ (fill in the blank).”
Whether we know it or not, God takes note of these promises. When, if not before, the situation changes, He expects us to honor our vows. He expects us to do what we say we’ll do.
Once we honor our commitment to Him, an offering should be brought. It doesn’t always have to be money. We can offer our time serving in a ministry. We can offer our singing, cooking, organizing, etc. talents towards the Kingdom of God. The offering we bring in the Kingdom of God is designed to positively impact our local community AND plant a seed in our own lives. Our offering we’ll be repaid by God in an overflowing manner (Luke 6:38).
Do what you told God you were going to do and bring an offering to positively impact the Kingdom of God and enhance the quality of your life.
#promises #God #is #faithful #good #keeps #promise
Romans 8:35 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?
37 No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.
Some people look at the success or lack of success as a reference of God’s love for them. They think if everything is going well in their lives, God loves them, however if things are not going so well, God has turned His back on them and took away His love.
Despite what we go through, God loves us. His love never stops, never ends, and is always present. He can’t help but to love us. Love is God’s nature.
Don’t ever think that God’s love is based on our performance or the blessings we experience. His love remains constant and it’s because of this love that we have the victory.
#loved #God #is #love #victory #in #Christ
Matthew 25:45 NLT “And He will answer, ‘I tell you the truth, when you refused to help the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were refusing to help me.’
Everyone needs help in some way. There are the poor who need our help with food, clothes, and shelter. Yea, but if we keep giving handouts to the poor, they’ll never take responsibility for themselves.
First of all, what they do after receiving our help has nothing to do with us. GOD instructed us to help. That’s all we need to focus on. Our help is not only being a blessing to them, but it’s blessing God who will ultimately bless us.
Secondly, if we feel like they’ll accept our handouts, but never really change, take another step by helping them change. Everyone hasn’t been taught about responsibility, being disciplined, or work ethic. Give people the tools to be successful.
Finally, and most importantly, allow the Holy Spirit to tell you who to help. There are some people who take advantage of our kindness. If we let the Holy Spirit tell us who to help, we can feel good knowing we’re doing God’s work, being a blessing, and sowing a seed in our own lives which will ultimately yield a harvest.
Don’t be afraid to help, thinking everyone who is poor is lazy or a scam artist. Be a blessing and help someone.
#help #someone #be #the #change #make #a #difference
Psalms 34:9-10 NLT Fear the Lord, you his godly people, for those who fear him will have all they need. Even strong young lions sometimes go hungry, but those who trust in the Lord will lack no good thing.
Everything that we’ll ever need has been supplied by God through Jesus Christ. Every financial need, good employees for our business, and even a kidney has already been supplied by God through Jesus Christ.
All we have to do is trust Him and believe our needs have been made available through Him. These needs are not going to happen; they’ve already been made available through Jesus Christ.
Submitting ourselves to God and making the effort to do God’s will in every area of our lives amplifies the voice of God. Hearing and obeying His voice will direct us on how those needs have been met.
Don’t worry or stress on how your needs will be supplied. Trust that God has already supplied your needs. Now, use your faith to obtain what God has made available.
#every #promise #available #through #Christ #Holy #Spirit #listen #obey #trust #God #loves #me
1 Timothy 6:3 NLT Some people may contradict our teaching, but these are the wholesome teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ. These teachings promote a godly life.
Are you tired of knowingly doing wrong? Are you tired of your flesh being in control? Do you want to do things God’s way? Well, renew your mind to the word of God by listening to wholesome teachings of Jesus.
The scripture says, wholesome teachings of Jesus promote a godly life. When we make time for these teachings, we’re setting ourselves up for success.
Find a minister who is teaching Christ. Make time to listen to it at least 30 minutes a day. Understanding what Christ has done and who we are in Christ will minimize, if not destroy the desire to sin. Ultimately, our lives will reflect what we’re being taught.
Watching sports, talk shows, and Netflix is fine to a point, but in order to live godly, let’s make time to hear the teachings of Christ every single day.
#listen #meditate #Jesus #Word #life
What if hell was visible? What if you literally saw your friends, family, and people you know be tortured, abused, and in pain by demons and fire for eternity? If there’s an ounce of compassion in us, hopefully that would make us want to minister the gospel of Jesus Christ more aggressively to the people who are still alive.
Unfortunately, a lot of believers are satisfied that they and their immediate family are saved. We’re usually not too concerned about others. We got our tickets to heaven and that’s all that matters.
Wrong!! That’s not all that matters. People matter to God, therefore, people should matter to us. We can’t see hell, but it’s real and people are going there daily. We can do something to prevent them from going there. We can minister to random people we see, ensure close friends and family members are saved, post Romans 10:9 on social media, or where a Jesus loves you t-shirt.
We can do something, but first, we must have love in our hearts for people. If we don’t, we wouldn’t care if they went to hell or not.
Imagine people dying and being separated from God for eternity. Let’s do our part to make sure people have heard the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Acts 1:8 NLT But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be My witnesses, telling people about Me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
#tell #everyone #about #Jesus #God #is #love #loves #us
1 Timothy 6:10 NLT For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.
1 Timothy 6:17 NLT Teach those who are rich in this world not to be proud and not to trust in their money, which is so unreliable. Their trust should be in God, who richly gives us all we need for our enjoyment.
Some Christians read these two verses and use it as an crutch to stay poor. Or, they use these verses to criticize other believers who have riches.
They’re reading these verses out of context. Having riches is not the issue. The context is loving and trusting in money and riches.
KEEP READING…
1 Timothy 6:18 NLT Tell them to use their money to do good. They should be rich in good works and generous to those in need, always being ready to share with others.
If God had a problem with believers having money, He wouldn’t have provided instructions on what to do with our money. God’s word specifically tells us what to do with our wealth.
For those who feel it’s God’s will for believers to stay poor or live beneath their means, that’s not scriptural. Living beneath our means will be different for different people. With the right heart and the right motives, the more wealth we have, the more we can do for God’s Kingdom and people.
#give #share #kingdom #generosity
2 Timothy 2:2 NLT You have heard me teach things that have been confirmed by many reliable witnesses. Now teach these truths to other trustworthy people who will be able to pass them on to others.
We don’t have to be an ordained minister or have gone to seminary in order to be qualified to teach God’s word. We don’t have to have one of the five ministry gifts or be a deacon in order to teach God’s word.
Any revelation we received from God’s word, we can teach. If all we know is Jesus is the Son of God who died on the cross for our sins, teach it to others. There’s someone who needs to hear that from you. They may not receive that message from anyone else, but you.
Of course, be sure what you learn and ultimately teach is in context with God’s word. If not, we can unknowingly spread a lie.
On the other end, if you know the Greek and Hebrew versions of the bible, teach it to others. There’s someone who needs to learn that in order to grow in their understanding of Christ.
We often like to put the burden of sharing the gospel on ministers, however, God has qualified all of us to teach something. We may not have a congregation, but if we can teach a coworker or a friend about Christ or prayer, we’re doing our part for the Kingdom of God.
Be bold and unashamed to teach others what you know. And if you don’t know something, don’t be ashamed to say “I don’t know.”
#teach #share #Jesus
Psalms 143:8 NLT Let me hear of your unfailing love each morning, for I am trusting you. Show me where to walk, for I give myself to you.
It takes humility in order for the psalmist to say, “show me where to walk.” They realized walking without God’s guidance could be detrimental or self-serving. Instead of doing what they want to do and going where they want to go, they humbled themselves and submitted their will to God.
In our own lives, we have ideas that seem positive. But just because it’s positive doesn’t mean it’s from God. God may have us go in another direction. We just have to trust Him.
Daily, we must wake up and ask for the Holy Spirit’s guidance. Be willing to be a vessel for God to do His will and not our own. Trust that His plan will positively impact His Kingdom and simultaneously bless our lives. Let’s submit our will to His.
#make #Jesus #greater #magnify #God #first #follow #Holy #Spirit
Psalms 3:8 NKJV Salvation belongs to the Lord. Your blessing is upon Your people. Selah
Even in the old covenant, God’s blessing was on His people. If you’ve made Jesus Christ Lord, you’re under a better covenant through Jesus according to Hebrews 8:6. That means the blessing is on your life. You are not going to be blessed. You are already blessed.
We don’t need a priest or a pastor to bless us. We are already blessed. We don’t need to do a bunch of righteous things in order to be blessed. Because of our belief in His sacrifice on our behalf, we are blessed.
Blessed means an empowerment to prosper. We’re blessed in our health. We’re blessed in our finances. We’re blessed in our marriages. We’re blessed in our careers. It may not look blessed all the time, but as we place our faith in this blessing, what we see will align with the blessing.
Know, believe, and receive the truth that you’re blessed.
#irrevocably #undeniably #forever #blessed #in #Christ #Jesus #Savior #God #Father
Isaiah 46:4 NLT I will be your God throughout your lifetime— until your hair is white with age. I made you, and I will care for you. I will carry you along and save you.
God wants to be our God. That means He wants to guide, direct, and provide for us. He doesn’t want us facing life with our limited logic. He wants to be the One who clears our paths and delivers us so that He can get the credit.
God doesn’t want to be limited to being our God when times are tough. Even when we’re experiencing blessings and everything is going well in our lives, He still wants to be our God. He doesn’t want us pushing Him to the side when we become successful saying, “I’ll take it from here, God.” He wants to be our God when times are difficult and when times are prosperous.
The biggest hurdle we face is letting go and giving God full access and control. Sometimes we think we can do a better job with our lives than He can. We’re only deceiving ourselves.
Don’t deny God the opportunity to be God in every area of your life. Let Him be God in your decisions, in your finances, in parenting, and in facing conflicts. Let God be God.
#let #God #trust #rely #follow #Jesus #HolySpirit
2 Timothy 4:16-17 NLT The first time I was brought before the judge, no one came with me. Everyone abandoned me. May it not be counted against them. But the Lord stood with me and gave me strength so that I might preach the Good News in its entirety for all the Gentiles to hear. And he rescued me from certain death.
Some of us may have been abandoned. Some of our parents abandoned us, our spouse may have abandoned us, and/or our children may have abandoned us. Regardless of who’s abandoned us, God has not. He stands with us forever.
He told us that He’ll never leave us nor forsake us. He’ll be with us until the end of time. So, we don’t have to accept the label of having abandonment issues. It’s sad when people who claim they love us leave us, but that’s not God. He’s always there.
He’ll give us the strength to overcome that hurt and He’ll either reconcile that damaged relationship or replace that person with someone better. God has not nor will He ever abandon you.
#never #alone #Emmanuel #Godiswithus #God #loves #us
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.
When we honor, reverence, and wholeheartedly respect God and follow His ways, look at what He promises.
- Joy
God will reveal ways where we’ll have joy and enjoy life. Even if everything isn’t going the way we hoped, we’ll still have joy. He’ll remind us what He did in the past to incite joy. He’ll show us a promise in His Word that will cause joy. He’ll give us a vision of our future that will get us excited. He may even show us little things that bring us joy like, our child acting silly or a funny movie. - Prosperity
Prosperous means successful in material terms; flourishing financially. That’s a word many religious-minded people don’t like. They feel like wealth and too much success somehow separates us from God. If that were the case, why is God promising something that will ultimately separate us from Him? It’s not the prosperity that causes us to turn our backs on God. It’s our mindset before prosperity comes. If we truly reverence God, we’ll advance His Kingdom with our prosperity. - Fruitful
When we reverence God, He promises no barren wives. Some may know or be wives who haven’t had children. For those who haven’t had children yet, I encourage you to reverence God and put your faith in this scripture, along with the other scriptures promising a child.
What about the age or medical conditions of the wife?
With God, that doesn’t matter. We MUST believe all things are possible if we believe (Mark 9:23).
These are promises in God’s word. Read, receive, and rejoice over them. When we have faith in God’s word, they MUST come to pass.
#rejoice #God #is #faithful #good #loving #kind #generous #forus
Philippians 3:1 NLT Whatever happens, my dear brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord. I never get tired of telling you these things, and I do it to safeguard your faith.
We will face difficult situations that challenge our faith in God. There may be marital problems, difficulties on our jobs, our business not doing as well as we hoped, or our children acting out of character. Regardless of what we’re facing, rejoice in the Lord.
We’re not rejoicing because of the difficulties. We’re rejoicing because we’re grateful that God has already made a solution to the problem. He knew we would face challenges and He’s already made a way for us to escape (1 Cor. 10:13).
None of this works if we let go of our faith and quit on God. Whatever happens in life, rejoice knowing God has already worked it out.
#rejoice #God #greatly #loves #us
Some of us go to church or listen to a particular pastor online faithfully. As we listen, we’re growing in our understanding of who God is, what Jesus has done, and who we are in Christ. However, when an offering is requested, for various reasons, some of us find a reason not to give. That’s selfish. If we’re spiritually being fed by a ministry, we should financially support that ministry.
Although we’re growing spiritually, for various reasons, some of us have an issue with giving to the church. So when an offering is requested, we’ll give to another charitable organization thinking it’s all the same. That’s like going to Perry’s Steakhouse and eating a steak that we enjoyed, and when it’s time to pay, we go across the street to McDonald’s and pay them. We should give where we’re being fed.
It takes finances for the Kingdom of God to further expand and take over the kingdom of darkness. Stop finding excuses not to give towards a loving Kingdom that’s blessing you.
1 Corinthians 9:14 NLT In the same way, the Lord ordered that those who preach the Good News should be supported by those who benefit from it.
Galatians 6:6 NLT Those who are taught the word of God should provide for their teachers, sharing all good things with them.
1 Timothy 5:17 NLT Elders who do their work well should be respected and paid well, especially those who work hard at both preaching and teaching.
#Kingdom #giving #first #grow #mature #give
1 Corinthians 4:3 NLT As for me, it matters very little how I might be evaluated by you or by any human authority. I don’t even trust my own judgment on this point.
Some people have the tendency to be concerned about what people think about them. They change their hair, go into debt to keep up with an image, get implants, or run themselves ragged all because they want people to think well of them.
This is an insecurity. We shouldn’t be concerned about what people think about us. Their opinion about us doesn’t matter. If God didn’t instruct us to do something like, buy a car or go out our way for someone else, we shouldn’t do it. Now, there’s nothing wrong with buying a car or doing nice things, but if our motivation is to make people think well of us, that’s wrong.
We should only want to please God. A relationship with Him through Jesus Christ makes Him happy. And since He’s happy with us, that’s all that matters.
#God #first #Jesus #relationship #happy #joy
If you’re saved and you never gave a single dollar towards the Kingdom of God, God would still love you, you won’t be cursed, and you would still go to heaven.
If you gave all your money and assets away to the Kingdom of God, God wouldn’t love you more than the one who gave nothing, you would still go to heaven; however, your giving has activated a law in the earth. Your giving has activated the law of sowing and reaping.
When we give as God tells us to give, we’re displaying our trust in Him. We’re showing God, ourselves, and everyone else looking that we trust God. It’s one thing to say we trust God. It’s another thing to display our trust in Him.
Secondly, when we give, the law of sowing and reaping is activated. Sowing and reaping is a God-given law in the earth. It’s similar to the law of gravity. No one is exempt. It will work for anyone (saved or unsaved).
Any time we give something, especially to the Kingdom of God, we’re sowing a seed. The magnitude of our seed determines our harvest. If we sow 80% of our increase, we’ll reap a significant harvest. If we give 0.01% of our increase, we’ll still reap, but our harvest will be minimal.
Sowing and reaping is not limited to money. If we give our time and talents towards the Kingdom of God, we’ll reap a harvest of time and talents. When we give towards the expansion of the Kingdom of God, God has obligated Himself to ensure our harvest comes back to us. Not just dollar for dollar or time for time, but 30, 60, or even 100 times more than we’ve sown (Mark 4:20).
Luke 6:38 NLT Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full—pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back.”
#trust #God #Kingdom #giving #generosity #profits
Before God made human beings, He prepared everything that they would ever need. He made land, trees, fruit, animals, etc. He didn’t put humans in the earth and create things as they needed them. He thought of everything we would ever need and prepared it before our arrival.
Where were humans before everything was prepared? In God.
As we wait on promises to be prepared for us, it’s important that we remain with Christ in God. It’s important that we’re spending time in His presence and in His word focused on Him.
We don’t want to get our eyes off of Him and become anxious. We don’t want to go ahead of Him and try to make a blessing ourselves. As we remain in Him, when everything is prepared, we’ll receive something only He could have prepared. While you wait, remain in Him.
Colossians 3:1-4 NLT Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. And when Christ, who is your life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory.
#God #first
Hebrews 3:17 NLT And who made God angry for forty years? Wasn’t it the people who sinned, whose corpses lay in the wilderness? And to whom was God speaking when He took an oath that they would never enter His rest? Wasn’t it the people who disobeyed Him? So we see that because of their unbelief they were not able to enter His rest.
The children of Israel were promised a great land flowing with milk and honey. The land, however, was occupied by giants. Although God promised the land to them and He’s done major miracles for them in the past, the majority of them didn’t believe they could overtake the giants. Because of their unbelief, the children of Israel died in the wilderness not receiving what God had promised.
God has great things for you. But some of you look at how difficult it is to get these things and you quit trusting God. Even though He’s done great things for you in the past, you feel like this obstacle is too big for God.
This kind of unbelief is what caused the children of Israel to die in the wilderness. Don’t let this happen to you. Don’t die seeing happy marriages, but not believing it can happen for you. Don’t die seeing people with great wealth and believe it’s too difficult for God to make you wealthy. Don’t die in unbelief thinking it’s not God’s will for you to have children or die thinking God can’t restore a broken relationship with your children.
No matter how big or impossible the obstacle may seem, believe God for it. God has never nor will He ever fail.
Cross Reference: Numbers 13 & 14
#God #manifests #dreams #possibilities #havefaith #trust #believe #Godlovesus
Colossians 3:16 NLT Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom He gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts.
Some of us know the gospel of Jesus Christ, but for various reasons (fear, uncomfortability, embarrassment, pride, ego, etc.) we choose to keep it to ourselves.
We have friends and family who we know can benefit from hearing the good news about Christ. We see them struggling in life, making bad decisions, and are truly deceived, but for those various reasons, we’re choosing to watch them drown and not throw them a life-preserver.
Once we’ve received the gospel of Jesus Christ, it’s our responsibility to share it with others. Some may feel like they don’t know what to say or how to say it. The Holy Spirit is in us. He’ll supernaturally guide us on what to say. We don’t need to be a theologian to tell someone about Jesus and the goodness of God. We can share the gospel in our personality.
Have a one on one conversation with coworkers, post the gospel on social media, or buy a “Jesus Loves You” t-shirt. Let’s do our part to share and not hoard the gospel of Jesus Christ.
#share #Jesus #savelives
Jeremiah 17:7 NLT “But blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence.
Ephesians 1:3 NLT All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ.
Galatians 3:14 NLT Through Christ Jesus, God has blessed the Gentiles with the same blessing he promised to Abraham, so that we who are believers might receive the promised Holy Spirit through faith.
In our prayers, we have a habit of saying bless this person or bless that person. That’s nice because we truly want the best for that person, however if that person has made Jesus Christ their Lord and Savior, they’re already blessed.
Before the cross, we see a lot of people in the bible speaking a blessing over someone else. To my knowledge, after the cross, no one is speaking a blessing over anyone. That’s because through Jesus, we’ve been blessed.
We can still speak a blessing over a person’s finances, health, or ministry, but a saved person has already been blessed through the sacrifice of Jesus.
Once again, Jesus’ sacrifice did something that we couldn’t do ourselves. Jesus’ sacrifice blessed us and this blessing is for everyone who believes and it will last forever. Thank God that we are blessed!
#blessed
Psalms 20:3 NKJV May He remember all your offerings, And accept your burnt sacrifice. Selah
We no longer burn sacrifices unto God, however we still give offerings and make personal sacrifices for the Kingdom of God.
Any financial contribution we give to the church or a minister is an offering. When we’re led by God to give to someone in need, that’s an offering. If we give over and above what we normally give, that’s a sacrifice. When we’re truly inconvenienced to be a blessing to a ministry or to someone else, that’s a sacrifice.
God remembers all our offerings and sacrifices. We may have forgotten about them, but God remembers them all. And please believe, God is not in the habit of owing us anything. We’ll receive a harvest from every offering we gave and every sacrifice we made.
When we give our time, talent, or money as an offering or a sacrifice for the Kingdom of God, God remembers them and will honor our offerings and sacrifices.
#time #talent #money #give #be #a #blessing
Psalms 96:3 NLT Publish His glorious deeds among the nations. Tell everyone about the amazing things he does.
This the greatest time to publish something about our amazing Father and the gospel of Jesus Christ. We don’t need to own a newspaper or magazine company. We have a free platform in social media to share the gospel.
We can post a scripture, share a snippet of a sermon, share a testimony, or post a picture of the abundant life Jesus provided through His sacrifice. In every post, we have an opportunity to give God glory.
Sports are cool and sharing our opinion about trending topics is fine, but God is better. If all of us can publish at least one thing a day about the love, grace, or goodness of God, we can be a light for everyone to see.
#be #a #light #up #the #world #share #Jesus #grace #goodness #peace #joy #love #Word
Philippians 4:19 NLT And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from His glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.
A lot of believers love to quote this scripture. We automatically believe God will supply all our needs just because we’re saved. That’s not the case.
Reading this scripture in context, Paul is writing to the church at Philippi, thanking them for their financial help as he preached the gospel of Jesus Christ. Paul states because of their giving, their reward is God supplying all of their needs.
All of our needs being met by God, doesn’t come without financial support towards the Kingdom of God.
To ensure a carefree life, knowing all your needs being met, regardless of the circumstances, the economy, or the political party in power, start consistently giving to the Kingdom of God.
Philippians 4:15-19 NLT As you know, you Philippians were the only ones who gave me financial help when I first brought you the Good News and then traveled on from Macedonia. No other church did this. Even when I was in Thessalonica you sent help more than once. I don’t say this because I want a gift from you. Rather, I want you to receive a reward for your kindness. At the moment I have all I need—and more! I am generously supplied with the gifts you sent me with Epaphroditus. They are a sweet-smelling sacrifice that is acceptable and pleasing to God. And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.
Cross Reference: 2 Corinthians 9:6-8
#supplied #provision #covering #Kingdom #wealth #promise #giving
2 Timothy 2:24 NLT A servant of the Lord must not quarrel but must be kind to everyone, be able to teach, and be patient with difficult people.
People automatically accept that arguments are a part of marriage. Who told you that? Where is that in the bible?
We usually don’t argue if we have a disagreement at work. We handle those disagreements with dignity. But when it comes to marriage, some of us can’t imagine marriage without arguing. They normalize yelling, cursing, or breaking things. This lets me know that arguing is a choice.
There will always be disagreements, but disagreements don’t have turn into arguments. Collectively, bring the disagreement to God in prayer. After praying, as we go throughout the day, be sensitive to the Holy Spirit regarding a solution. He may change your mind to agree with your spouse. He may change your spouse’s mind to agree with you. Or, He may provide an entire new solution that both of you can agree on.
The point is, we don’t have to argue. We are instructed not to quarrel and to be kind to everyone. This includes our spouses.
#love #and #marriage #works #dont #argue #nofuss #no #fighting #peaceful #joyful #relationships
Matthew 19:16-17 NLT Someone came to Jesus with this question: “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?” “Why ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. But to answer your question—if you want to receive eternal life, keep the commandments.”
Some believers read this and think in order to have eternal life, they must “keep the commandments.”
That can be confusing because in 1 John 5:13 it says, “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.”
So which one gives us eternal life? Keeping the commandments or believing in the name of Jesus?
Most Christians choose both. They’ll believe in Jesus and attempt to keep all the commandments. That seems noble, but what most believers don’t know is there are actually 613 commandments given. That’s way more than the famous ten most of us are familiar with. And if we break one commandment, we’re guilty of breaking them all (James 2:10). There’s no “A” for effort. It’s either we keep them all or we’re guilty.
So, what should we do?
We should always remember any instructions Jesus gives before His death, are instructions given under the Old Covenant.
Under the Old Covenant, keeping the commandments was required as the way to have good standing with God. Under the New Covenant, good standing with God is a gift which comes with believing on Jesus Christ (Romans 5:17-18, 2 Corinthians 5:21).
Eternal life is not gained under the New Covenant by “keeping commandments” but as a gift. This is why Jesus came, to bring in a New Covenant established on better promises.
To be saved and have eternal life, believe that Jesus died for our sins and He kept all 613 commandments for us.
1 John 5:13 NLT 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.
#old #new #covenant #Jesus #paid #it #all
1 Chronicles 16:15 CEV We must never forget His agreement and His promises, not in thousands of years.
“Never Forget” has been associated with negative events such as, Pearl Harbor or 9/11. Here we see God saying, “never forget” in a positive light regarding His covenant or agreement and promises.
God has made an awesome covenant with us. This covenant is full of promises such as, past and future sins forgiven, being made right with God by faith alone, being healed by the stripes of Jesus, and being filled with the Holy Spirit.
If God told people under the old covenant to not forget His agreement, how much more should we remember this new and better covenant we’re under according to Hebrews 8:6?
If you’re a believer, read and understand your new covenant rights that you have with God through Jesus and never forget it.
***Note: The new covenant is any promises made by God after the death of Jesus Christ.
#new #covenant #promises #through #Jesus #faithful #God
2 Samuel 2:1 NLT After this, David asked the Lord, “Should I move back to one of the towns of Judah?” “Yes,” the Lord replied. Then David asked, “Which town should I go to?” “To Hebron,” the Lord answered.
Some of us want to move to a different city because of money, employment opportunity, or just to have a different setting. But how many of us actually seek the Lord’s guidance on when and where to move?
It’s important to allow Him, and not anything else, to lead us on where we should go. If money is our motivation, money becomes our master. If advancement in our career is our motivation, our career becomes our master. Whatever’s the driving force in our decisions becomes our master.
If there’s a desire to move for any reason (career, finances, family, etc.), ask God if that move is right for you. If He says it’s okay, go ahead and move. If He says no, trust there’s a great reason why He wants you to stay. You could be a better witness for the Kingdom of God where you are. You could avoid being in a dangerous situation. God could bring the spouse that you desire where you are. There’s a number of reasons why He wants us to stay where we are. Trust Him.
Trust that His plan is perfect for us.
#perfect #plans #peace #in #Christ #God
Isaiah 40:29 NLT He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless.
Fatigue is real. We have work, managing a family, cleaning and maintaining a home, extracurricular activities for our children, serving at church, and if possible, socializing. It seems we have more responsibilities than hours in a day.
When we become tired and it seems like our strength is gone, we need to receive the power God has provided through His word. Say, “God, I receive the power and strength you’ve made available for me to get through this day.” Once you’ve made your declaration, begin to thank Him for His strength and power. Now, it’s time to get up and continue to handle your responsibilities with an expectation to receive the strength and power to do what needs to be done.
Let’s not give up, have anxiety attacks, or become depressed because of our many responsibilities. By faith, receive the strength and power God made available through His word to get through the day.
#anxious #overwhelmed #stressed #depressed
#by #faith #receive #strength #power
Deuteronomy 7:17 NLT Perhaps you will think to yourselves, ‘How can we ever conquer these nations that are so much more powerful than we are?’
Have you ever asked yourself how God is going to do something in your life? You’re believing for it, but you still wonder how He’s going to bring it to pass.
To overcome asking yourself how and never getting an answer, do what the children of Israel did. Begin to remember God’s goodness.
Deuteronomy 7:18-19 NLT But don’t be afraid of them! Just remember what the Lord your God did to Pharaoh and to all the land of Egypt. Remember the great terrors the Lord your God sent against them. You saw it all with your own eyes! And remember the miraculous signs and wonders, and the strong hand and powerful arm with which he brought you out of Egypt. The Lord your God will use this same power against all the people you fear.
When we remember how God opened doors, saved our lives, or blessed us in the past, we can get excited about Him bringing to pass what we currently desire. We don’t have to freak out just because we can’t see how He’s going to do it.
If we could just think of a time where we didn’t know how He was going to do it, but somehow He did, we’ll be confident in knowing He’ll do it again. We still won’t know how He’s going to do it now, but if He did it once, He can do it again. GOD has a million ways to bring whatever we need or desire to pass. All we need is enough faith to manifest one.
#just #believe #have #faith #trust #God
“God will use sickness to teach you something.”
Then what do we need a devil for?
God DOES NOT use sickness, car accidents, or poverty to teach us a lesson. His Word and His Spirit are the teachers.
2 Timothy 3:16 NLT All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.
John 14:26 NLT But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you.
It’s the enemy’s job to deceive us into thinking negative circumstances are God’s way of teaching us something. We can learn something from anything, but it doesn’t mean God authored the negative events to teach us a lesson.
We can learn everything we need to know through His word and His Spirit. As we follow their instructions, we won’t need to have everything taken from us in order to learn gratefulness. God’s word will tell us to be grateful and His Spirit will show us areas where we can be more appreciative. As we listen to our teachers, we won’t have to accept sickness this time of year, every year. We can be taught in Exodus 23:25 NLT how God protects us from illness. The Holy Spirit will guide us on what foods we need to eat or not eat and where we need to go or not go in order to maintain that protection.
God has not nor will He temporarily employ Satan to teach us a lesson. He’s already got that covered. His word and His Spirit are the teachers.
#teachers #lessons #HolySpirit #Word #Bible #God #loves #us
Isaiah 12:1 NLT In that day you will sing: “I will praise You, O Lord! You were angry with me, but not anymore. Now You comfort me.
This is a prophesy from Isaiah about a day in the future. That day is today. God’s not angry with us.
God, being a just Judge, had every right to be angry with us before the cross. We were separated from God because of sin and we all were unrighteous.
Jesus fulfilled the law, led a sinless life, and died an innocent death. He did all of this for mankind. Our belief in what Jesus did for us, puts us in right standing with God. Therefore, God is no longer angry with us.
If anyone attempts to guilt you into believing God is angry with you because unfortunate events have taken place or a promise hasn’t came to pass yet, tell them they’re a liar. God hasn’t been mad at us since before the cross and He’ll never be mad at us again.
Thank you Jesus for removing God’s anger from us!
#Jesus #paid #it #all
#debtfree #nocondemnation #righteous #brandnew
Deuteronomy 6:25 NLT For we will be counted as righteous when we obey all the commands the Lord our God has given us.’
Romans 5:17 NLT For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and His gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one man, Jesus Christ.
In Deuteronomy, righteousness is earned when we obey all of God’s commands. In Romans, righteousness is freely given as a gift to everyone who believes in Jesus.
At first glance, it looks like a contradiction, but it’s not. In Deuteronomy, God gave flawed mankind the impossible task of keeping all of His commands in order to be righteous. He knew it was impossible which is why He sent Jesus.
Because Jesus’ seed was not corrupted with sin, He was able to live a perfect sinless life and He was able to keep the entire law of Moses. Since He was sinless, He was innocent. However, that innocent sinless man was sentenced to death. The death of an innocent man who fulfilled the law was THE payment for sin.
Our belief in Jesus fulfilling the law for us and innocently dying for our sin awarded us a free gift. That gift was righteousness (right standing with God).
Nothing we could ever do could make us righteous. Only our belief in Jesus makes us righteous.
Inspired by Creflo Dollar
#righteous #through #Christ #right #with #God #righteousness
Ecclesiastes 5:19 NLT And it is a good thing to receive wealth from God and the good health to enjoy it. To enjoy your work and accept your lot in life—this is indeed a gift from God.
So many believers take issue with other believers having wealth. They think it leads people to being materialistic or worldly. Somehow, they think believers should have just enough finances to cover a “moderate” lifestyle. Anything after that is excessive and could lead us astray.
This scripture debunks that mindset. God’s word says it’s a good thing to receive wealth from God. The two important words in that statement are “from God.” Getting wealth through deceptive schemes or hustling could lead someone astray, but getting wealth from God is a good thing.
If God gives us wealth, that means we can be trusted with it. We’re not hoarding all of it for ourselves and only for our desires. We’re being a blessing with it. We’re giving it to missions, we’re helping the poor, and we’re expanding the Kingdom of God. We’re doing all of this as well as enjoying life.
As we can see, there’s nothing wrong with having God-given wealth. Just be sure you have the right mindset when you get it and you’re being led by the Spirit on what to do with it.
#finances #wealth #kingdom #mindset #God #first
Proverbs 3:24 NLT You can go to bed without fear; you will lie down and sleep soundly.
As we can see, God promises us sweet sound peaceful sleep. So if we unexpectedly wake up, way before our alarm, that usually means one of two reasons. Either God wants to communicate with us and/or give us some instructions or Satan is attempting to steal our sleep.
We’ll know the difference as soon as we wake up. If we wake up with thoughts tempting us to worry, be afraid, feel guilty, or feel sad, that’s Satan.
Instead of silently taking his attacks in the middle of the night, fight back. With every thought that contradicts the word of God, whisper (if others are asleep) the truth of the word of God. If he says we’re coming down with a cold, declare God protects us from illness (Exodus 23:25). If he attempts to make us believe a promise won’t come to pass, declare what God says about that promise.
Also, we should give our cares, concerns, and worries to God (1 Peter 5:7). Satan wants us to be stressed and fatigued in the morning because we were thinking about what might happen. Give all that junk to God.
Finally, we can build our faith by reading and listening to the word God. Put in some headphones and listen to God’s word. Our faith is built on listening to the word of God (Romans 10:17).
If Satan is going to wake us up, don’t just take it. Make him pay.
#sweetsleep #nofear #castcares #meditate #on #God #Word
Matthew 13:20-21 NLT The seed on the rocky soil represents those who hear the message and immediately receive it with joy. But since they don’t have deep roots, they don’t last long. They fall away as soon as they have problems or are persecuted for believing God’s word.
Some of us hear the word and are quickly inspired. With boldness, we declare we’re healed, we’re set free, we’re wealthy, or we’re not afraid. Around our spiritual friends, we say “I’m too blessed to be stressed” and “I’m the head and not the tail.”
But when everyone’s gone and we’re by ourselves, we’re worried after seeing our bank account, we’re stressed about the economy, or we cry because we don’t know what to do. That’s phony faith. We say one thing in public, but privately, we’re not convinced that the word will work.
Don’t try to say one thing in public to make yourself seem more spiritual. If you’re struggling with doubt and unbelief, let a fellow believer know. Hopefully, that believer will pray with you, encourage you, and help you build legitimate faith. If you don’t know anyone who could help, continue to hear the word so that faith can come (Rom. 10:17). Eventually, your faith will be 100% legitimate and you will see what God said.
Inspired by Jerry Savelle
#grow #your #faith #believe #trust #God
John 3:18 NLT “There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son.
God’s judgment is not because we didn’t go to church, it’s not because we didn’t dress a certain way, and it’s not because we didn’t behave flawlessly. The only way to experience God’s judgment is through unbelief of His Son Jesus.
When we choose to not believe in the existence of Jesus or the price He paid for us, we are under God’s judgment.
The beginning and ending of salvation is our belief in the sacrifice of Jesus. It’s important to live right and do good things, but our salvation is not being judged by how we behave. Our salvation is being judged by our belief.
Don’t overcomplicate things. Believe in Jesus and believe that He sacrificed Himself for our sins. Through our belief, we are saved and won’t experience God’s judgment.
#just #believe #God
Romans 8:34 NLT Who then will condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and He is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us.
Do you see how many times “for us” is written in this verse? Everything Jesus did and is currently doing, is for us.
The only benefit God had in sending and sacrificing Jesus is a relationship with us. God sent Jesus through all this torture, separation, and suffering just so that we can have a right relationship with Him.
Don’t ever question the love that God has for you. He sent Jesus and established a plan for God to fix it all. We don’t have to do anything, except believe.
Praise God for a loving God who sent His only Son to die, be raised, and to plead for us.
#reallove #God #loves #us
Graced To Do God's Will 