Category Archive

God loves you tremendously. We can’t even fathom how much God loves us. We may kind of have an idea about how much He loves us, but the love we think He has for us doesn’t compare to how much He actually loves us.

Because of His love for us, He’s implemented promises that every believer can access by faith. Because of His love for us, He wants us to live this life on earth saved, healed, delivered, stress-free, prosperous, wise, blessed, joyful, and knowing (not just feeling) we’re loved. All of these promises stem from His love towards us.

If we don’t think that He loves us, we won’t trust Him, we won’t believe Him, and we won’t obey Him. Why? Because we’re skeptical about His love towards us.

Don’t be a skeptic. Receive His love and the promises attached to His love and experience this amazing life He’s made available for us.

May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.
Ephesians 3:19 NLT

James 5:13 Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms.

We hear bad news all the time. So and so are getting a divorce, this couple lost their baby, a hurricane is coming, they got COVID, and so much more. That’s the bad news.

The good news is the more bad news we hear, the more areas we can get God involved. We get God involved through prayer, faith, declaration, and praise. After hearing bad news, we can immediately pray for that situation. Our prayer doesn’t inform God about the problem. It gets God involved with that situation. It gives Him permission to provide peace and perform the miraculous.

Don’t become depressed after hearing bad news. Change your perspective. Use that bad news as a way to get God involved into your life or the lives of others.

No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you.
John 15:15 NKJV

The bible doesn’t call us servants of God. We (believers in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior) are children of God (Galatians 4:4-7).

Understanding our position with God allows us to approach Him differently. We should be bolder when we know we’re children of God and He’s made us joint heirs with Christ (Romans 8:17; Hebrews 4:16). For instance, we usually feel more comfortable asking our parents for something rather than asking someone else. When we were young and maybe even now, we usually had no problem going into our parent’s refrigerator. Why?? Because we knew they loved us and everything they had in there was ours too.

A servant’s mindset settles for scraps and takes whatever life hands them. A son’s mindset knows what their parents have, believes it’s for them, approaches their parents to ask for it, and waits to receive it.
We are sons and daughters of God. Act like it.

No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you.
John 15:15 NKJV

As humbling as it sounds to call ourselves servants of God, we are no longer servants of God. Prior to Jesus sacrificing His life, He called us friends.

Once Jesus sacrificed Himself, our belief in His sacrifice for our sins allows us to be in the family of God. Galatians 4:4-7 says, but when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.

As we can see, we’re far from being servants. We (believers) are children of God. If Jesus doesn’t call us servants, why would I call myself a servant? Know who you are and believe you are a child of God.

Don’t let anyone think less of you because you are young. Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity.
1 Timothy 4:12 NLT

We may have some older friends or relatives who may not take what we have to say seriously because we’re younger than them. They may think their life experiences and wisdom outweighs a revelation from God.
News Flash… A young person can receive a revelation from God the same as an older person.

If God gives us something to say or something to do, follow through with it. It doesn’t matter if a person agrees with it or not or if they applaud us. We must be willing to follow God and not worry about the opinions of others.

Also, we shouldn’t discredit the younger generation. God is using them just like He’s using us. Listen to them and learn from them because God may be speaking to us through them.

Isaiah 53:5 But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed.

A lot of us run to the end and rejoice about being healed. And rightfully so, but look at what Jesus experienced before then. Wounds and bruises.

Jesus was wounded for our transgressions. He was wounded so we wouldn’t have to pay the price for every sin we’ll ever commit. He received wounds for our fornication moments, our lies and because we ate too much. He did this for you and me.

Jesus was bruised for our iniquities. He paid the price for sins we’ve inherited. Jesus was bruised so that we can have a sane mind and not end up paranoid like our great grandmother. He was beaten so that we can overcome that anger that runs in our family. He was punished so that we won’t have to pay for that sin tendency of alcoholism our family has experienced.

He wasn’t wounded and bruised so that we can continue to sin. He was wounded and beaten so that we wouldn’t have to be wounded and beaten AND so that we can overcome every temptation of sin.
Praise God for Jesus and all He’s done for us.

Mark 14:30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”

When Peter took his eyes off of Jesus, and started looking at his circumstances around him, he began to doubt and sink.

When we take our eyes off of Jesus, Who is the word of God (John 1:1-14), and start looking at how many Covid cases are in our area, the negative results of our physical, or our financial balance, we’ll begin to doubt and sink too. We can’t look at the news all day and expect to have mountain moving faith. We have to spend time in God’s word until His word overshadows what’s surrounding us.

Peter’s faith kept him afloat, but eying his circumstances put a hole in his faith. Don’t allow the circumstances to sabotage your faith. Stay afloat by focusing your eyes on the word.

Zechariah 1:4 NKJV “Do not be like your fathers, to whom the former prophets preached, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Turn now from your evil ways and your evil deeds.” ’ But they did not hear nor heed says the Lord.

Our parents, our relatives, and friends of the family have made some wise choices, but they’ve also done some dumb things as well. Learn from them.

They may not tell you not to do this or that, but look at how their decisions affected their lives. Look at if their decisions honored God or not. See if there are any overall benefits of doing it a different way.

If what they do or are doing doesn’t honor God, no matter how much we look up to them, it’s in our best interest to not follow in their footsteps. Honor God above everyone else.

1 Thessalonians 2:13 And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is indeed at work in you who believe.

When we’re believing God for something such as, healing in our bodies, a house, a promotion, etc., the devil tells us in so many ways that it’s not going to happen. Make him eat crow.

Eating crow is a colloquial idiom that means humiliation by admitting having been proven wrong after taking a strong position. We make Satan eat crow through our unwavering belief in God’s word. When we’re dogged determined to believe God’s word no matter how it looks or how impossible it seems, our desires will come to pass. And when our desires come to pass, in spite of all that talking he was doing, our faith is stronger and we further solidify him as a liar.

Don’t listen to the enemy. Believe God’s word in spite of what you see and how you feel.

Now the Lord was with Jehoshaphat, because he walked in the former ways of his father David; he did not seek the Baals, but sought the God of his father, and walked in His commandments and not according to the acts of Israel. Therefore the Lord established the kingdom in his hand; and all Judah gave presents to Jehoshaphat, and he had riches and honor in abundance.
II Chronicles 17:3‭-‬5 NKJV

When we honor God by putting Him first, walking by faith, and overcoming our fears, we position ourselves for favor.

Jehoshaphat received riches and honor in abundance for following God’s commandments. There was nothing special about him and he wasn’t perfect. If we do the same thing (under the covenant of grace), we can expect to have the same thing, if not more.

God’s not holding anything back from us (Psalm 84:11). When we align our lives with His will and remain consistent in our faith, we can have everything we desire.

Then some came and told Jehoshaphat, saying, “A great multitude is coming against you from beyond the sea, from Syria; and they are in Hazazon Tamar” (which is En Gedi). And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.
II Chronicles 20:2‭-‬3 NKJV

When we receive bad news, the first thing that attacks us is fear. We may receive bad news about our health, our children, our employment, or something else. The devil’s job is to get us to dwell on that bad news and show us all the ways it can negatively impact our lives.

When fear knocks at our door, the first thing we need to do is seek the Lord. We get God involved when we seek the Lord. We seek the Lord through prayer and/or fasting.

God will give us a plan of action. He’ll direct us to His word for peace and encouragement. He’ll have us listen to ministers speak about that subject to build our faith in Him because faith comes by hearing (Rom. 10:17). He may have us confess the opposite of what we’re experiencing. He’ll give us a plan to better the situation.

Negative events will happen. Instead of feeling sorry for yourself. Use it as an opportunity to get closer to God.

John 12:48 NLT But all who reject Me and My message will be judged on the day of judgment by the truth I have spoken.

“People don’t go to hell because of sin. People go to hell because they reject the payment of sin.”
-Pastor Creflo Dollar

God sent His Son Jesus to ultimately pay the price for sin. While He was on earth, He showed us how to live, love, and use our authority. For our sakes, He was beaten, whipped, spat on, nailed, and hung on a cross. As He hung on the cross, He took the sin burden of the whole human race upon Himself. He became sin for us (2 Corinthians 5:21).

To reject Jesus and ALL He’s done for us, we position ourselves to be judged. To reject Jesus, we position ourselves for eternal punishment (Matthew 25:46).

Don’t live life this way. Receive Jesus as Lord and accept what He’s done for us.   

We thought we would get that promotion, but it went to someone else. We thought we would have that baby this year, but it didn’t happen yet. We thought our marriage, our finances, and our health would be better, but nothing has changed.

It’s during these negative moments we must renew our minds to Who God is in our lives. When we focus on Who God is and ignore the current circumstances, we’ll have a better disposition during trying times. We won’t be so disappointed on not getting promoted because we’ll say, God is my Source. We won’t be so bummed out when we get a negative health report because we’ll have a mindset that says, God is my Healer. When our marriage is still rocky, we’ll still have relief in knowing, God is my Help.

Don’t stress because of what you’re going through. Remind yourself of Who God is and whatever you need God to be, He’ll be that.

Genesis 22:14 And Abraham called the name of the place, The-Lord-Will-Provide; as it is said to this day, “In the Mount of the Lord it shall be provided.”

With covid-19, crime, and craziness going on out here, there are people who say, “we must protect ourselves.”

They’ll protect themselves from covid by wearing 2 masks and staying home. They’ll protect themselves from crime by getting a gun. They’ll protect themselves from craziness by avoiding people entirely. This may seem wise to some, but what does the word say about our protection?

The Lord protects you; the Lord is a shelter right by your side. The Lord will protect you from all harm; he will protect your life. The Lord will protect your coming and going both now and forever.
Psalms 121:5‭, ‬7‭-‬8 CSB

As we can see, the Lord is our Protector. He never intended for us to protect ourselves. That’s His responsibility. But we have to allow Him to protect.

We can get all the masks and guns we want, but are we relying more on those things than God? If so, reevaluate and renew your mind and allow God to be your Protector. He can use different tools to protect us, but let’s allow Him to tell us which tool to use.

Philippians 4:19 And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

All our needs will be supplied. The supplying of our needs is not based on our riches. It’s based on His riches.

So, even though a person may not have a lot of money in the bank, everything they need will be supplied by God. We must believe this promise. We can’t go around worried saying, I don’t know what I’m going to do. No matter how tough the situation looks, we must believe and confess God supplies my needs.

God supplies enough for our bills, our clothes, and food. We may not be living in luxury, but thanks to God, we’ll have everything we need. Stop looking at what you can do and rely on God, and His riches to supply every one of your needs.

John 12:42 NLT Many people did believe in Him, however, including some of the Jewish leaders. But they wouldn’t admit it for fear that the Pharisees would expel them from the synagogue. 43 For they loved human praise more than the praise of God.

There are some closet Christians out there. They secretly believe in God and the finished works of Jesus, but they don’t want to be too public with it because they fear rejection from their barely saved (if saved at all) peers.

Who’s more important? The opinion of our peers or a God, Who sent a Savior in Jesus? The answer is easy: GOD.

Let’s not hide God but value the opinion of our peers to maintain a reputation that’s worthless in the end. Let God be magnified and glorified above anything else.

1 Timothy 4:7 (NLT) Do not waste time arguing over godless ideas and old wives’ tales. Instead, train yourself to be godly.

How do we train ourselves to be godly?
By developing ourselves in the word of God.

The word of God has everything we need to be good, successful, godly people. It tells us how to treat other people, how to treat ourselves, and it gives us understanding of our spiritual authority. It tells us how to apply our faith, forgive, and position ourselves to fulfill our purpose.

As we appropriately apply what the word says to our lives, we’re guaranteed victory. Godliness has nothing to do with how we wear our hair, wearing makeup, or listening to secular music. It’s applying the word of God to our lives.
Be godly.

Hebrews 12:1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.

There are some figurative weights we need to put down. These weights slow us down from completing the purposes God has for us. A big weight we must all lay aside consistently is the weight of failure.

We’ve all experienced a version of failure. We’ve had failed relationships, failed marriages, failed businesses, failed in school, etc. If we allow them, those failures can shape the way we think. We’ll refuse to ever trust again because we had a failed relationship or marriage. We’ll refuse to step out on faith because we failed in our last business. God may be attempting to bless us with something, but if we’re still holding on to the weight of past failures, we’ll never be in the mindset to receive what He has.

Let’s take away the weight of failures by focusing on Jesus and all that He’s accomplished for us including, turning our shame of failures into glory.

Romans 12:9 NKJV Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good.

We’re living in a time where evil and good are merging. What was previously evil is considered good or acceptable.

So, what are we to do? Stick with the Word. If the Word of God says it’s evil, no matter what society says, it’s evil. The devil has done a good job with influencing people’s minds and blurring the lines. If we stick with the Word, we’ll always know what’s acceptable or not.

Don’t allow the norms of society to take you off track. Stick with the Word to know what’s evil and good.

Joshua 10:12‭-13 Then Joshua spoke to the Lord in the day when the Lord delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel: “Sun, stand still over Gibeon; And Moon, in the Valley of Aijalon.” So the sun stood still, And the moon stopped, Till the people had revenge Upon their enemies. Is this not written in the Book of Jasher? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and did not hasten to go down for about a whole day.

How nuts do you have to be to speak to the sun and moon in the middle of a battle? That’s crazy.
Obviously, after speaking to the Lord, Joshua was operating in the supernatural. We can see Joshua understood his verbal authority over all of God’s works (Ps. 8:6). He also had such an intimate relationship with God until he believed nothing is impossible with Him (Luke 1:37).

When we spend time with God and understand our purpose and embrace our authority, we’ll get a chance to operate supernaturally as well. We’ll start talking to bills and weather with an expectation for them to obey. We’ll command more customers and profit in our business. We’ll look at a picture of a wayward child and command them come to their right mind. And we won’t care how we look because we know we’re fulfilling the call of God by operating in the supernatural.

Romans 10:10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

The promise of salvation and all the other promises of God are received through our belief and confession. Maintaining our belief and confession is necessary in getting the desires of our hearts. Consistency in that area is often the Achilles heel of believers obtaining their desires. They’ll start off strong and inspired, but as time continues on, their consistency starts to wane.

During the time of delay is when consistency is most important. The devil loves to let us know how our belief and confessions are not working and it’s a waste of time, but if we can shut him up, move past how we feel and how it looks, and continue on, breakthrough is inevitable.

Get a desire, believe that you received it, confess that you received it and it will be in your possession.

For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age,
Titus 2:11‭-‬12 NIV

We all know someone or have heard stories about someone who could have done better for themselves. They may have dropped out of high school, abruptly quit their jobs because they got mad, left their spouse, or got into serious debt. I’m sure God didn’t tell them to do that. They probably just made a decision based on an emotional response.

We’re not to be led by our emotions. We’re to be led by the Spirit of God. It may be difficult at times because our emotions are screaming to do something that’s going to make us temporarily feel better. But that’s when we need to exercise self-control. That’s when we need to focus our attention and see how He wants us to respond.

Avoid having regrets by exercising self-control and seeking God with our response. When we respond how God wants us to respond, we make the best decision for our lives now and for the future.

John 14:15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.

As the father of a 2-year-old, I’m constantly telling her to follow instructions. If she doesn’t follow instructions, she’ll experience consequences, but if she follows instructions, good things will happen. These are simple instructions, but a lot of us need to heed the same advice.

The word of God is a book of instructions. When we follow these instructions in context, we’ll experience good things. However, when we choose to disregard His instructions, we can expect consequences. God’s word instructs us to love, forgive, give, be a blessing, and more. As we follow His commands, our lives will be prosperous and full of joy. If we don’t, there are several consequences we’ll experience such as, long-term emotional hurt, a distrusting spirit; we’ll miss out on financial prosperity and favor, and more.

We are to follow God’s instructions, but praise God for grace and mercy. If we miss the mark or have a stubborn moment, praise God for blessing us when we don’t deserve it (grace) and stopping us from being punished (mercy). Let’s simply follow His instructions and experience God’s best.

Christianity is about establishing a relationship with God through Jesus Christ. It’s about making Jesus Lord over our lives. It’s about getting to know all forms of God and developing intimacy with Him.

Some believers focus on the wrong things. They focus on how a person dresses, their speech, or if they still smoke or drink. Before a person can say yes to Jesus, there are some who can’t wait to get on new believers and tell them what they need to change. This is a deterrent.

We should be highlighting Jesus and all He’s done for us. Let them have an understanding of the Holy Spirit and His role in our lives. Inform them about the true nature of God. Once they have an understanding and revelation of Jesus, His love will compell them to change without assistance from image conscience believers. Let God be magnified and not our appearances.

2 Corinthians 10:7 You judge by appearances. If any of you think you are the only ones who belong to Christ, then think again. We belong to Christ as much as you do.

with this message: People of Israel, I am the holy Lord God, the one who rescues you. For your own good, I teach you, and I lead you along the right path. How I wish that you had obeyed my commands! Your success and good fortune would then have overflowed like a flooding river. -Isaiah 48:17‭-‬18 CEV

During the days of the Law of Moses, obedience was the only thing that brought blessings on people’s lives. Although we’re no longer under the law, obedience still plays an important role in the believer’s life.

Grace, through Jesus Christ, has made all of God’s promises available to us. Our faith claims what grace has made available. Our obedience to the commands under grace and the Spirit of God position us to receive what grace has made available.

Sometimes, our disobedience is the thing that’s stopping God from manifesting overflowing blessings and wonders in our lives. He may tell us to forgive, read His word more, or stop behaving in a certain way. As we remain in faith and obey, we’re actively submitting our will to His. That’s what’s going to open the door for us to tangibly receive His promises in our lives.

Don’t let disobedience block you from getting what God has promised you.

So Abraham left the land of the Chaldeans and lived in Haran until his father died. Then God brought him here to the land where you now live. “But God gave him no inheritance here, not even one square foot of land. God did promise, however, that eventually the whole land would belong to Abraham and his descendants—even though he had no children yet.
Acts 7:4‭-‬5

When we obey God, a lot of us want immediate blessings. We obeyed God yesterday so, we want our blessings today.

As we can see with Abraham, there will be times where we’ll obey God but we’ll have to wait on the promise. Abraham obeyed God, but he didn’t receive what God promised until later.

Just because there’s a delay after we obey doesn’t mean the promise isn’t coming. It will come to pass. While we wait, let’s renew our mind to the truth in God’s word instead of looking at the circumstances. Let’s consistently confess what we desire to see instead of talking about what’s not happening. And let’s praise and worship God as an act of faith to remind ourselves where all our blessings come from.

The promise may not come immediately. Be patient, it’s on its way.

Luke 4:32 And they were astonished at His teaching, for His word was with authority.

Luke 4:36 Then they were all amazed and spoke among themselves, saying, “What a word this is! For with authority and power He commands the unclean spirits, and they come out.”

People were impressed by Jesus because of the authority He displayed. There’s an air of confidence a person has when they’re in a position of authority. They walk, talk, and think differently.

We can see this by looking at a relationship between a good parent and a young child. A good parent, who has authority over their child, is not going to allow their child to talk back to them, break things, or do what they want to do. They’re going to use their authority to correct the situation.

God gave us several avenues of authority. We (believers) have authority to use the name of Jesus to send demons packing (Mark 16:17) and get whatever we desire (John 14:13). In Luke 10:19, we have authority over all the power of the enemy. Psalm 8:5 lets us know God has made us a little lower than Him. God has given us authority in the earth, and we control what happens in our life through our speech (Gen. 1:26; Prov. 18:21). Once we truly believe this about ourselves, that confidence Jesus had because of His authority, we should have too. We shouldn’t be scared of some virus, worry or stress about our finances, or panic. Anytime something doesn’t look right, like that good parent, we can use our authority to correct the situation.

Mark 11:23-24 I tell you the truth, you can say to this mountain, ‘May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and it will happen. But you must really believe it will happen and have no doubt in your heart. I tell you, you can pray for anything, and if you believe that you’ve received it, it will be yours.

Some people don’t want to ask God for much because it seems too greedy. They’ll ask for a few important things like being kept safe, food on the table, clothes on their backs, and a roof over their heads, but not much more.

Between these two verses where we can command things to go and ask God for whatever we desire, we have an unlimited list.

Our list can include, commanding roaches and ants to leave our home, declaring gas prices to go down, an item to go on sale, commanding appliances in our houses to function correctly, a parking spot, a healthy environment at our children’s school and so much more. We’re only limited to what we can believe.

Don’t let someone tell you not to ask God for a lot or tell you it’s wrong to ask God for nonessential things. That’s not scriptural. Get that list together and tell Him (God) what you want.

John 10:9 I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.

Salvation is amazing. It reconciles us back to God, it makes us children of God, it guarantees we’ll spend eternity with the Father.

In addition to salvation, the children of God will find pasture. Pasture is defined as land covered with grass and other low plants suitable for grazing animals, especially cattle or sheep. Throughout the bible, we are called sheep and Jesus is our Shepherd (John 10:11).

So, in addition to salvation we’ll have a place where we’re always abundantly supplied with everything we need and we are protected. The pasture represents everything we need to survive and Jesus is our Protector.

Praise God there is more than avoiding hell with this salvation package. Through Jesus, we are protected and abundantly supplied.

Acts 7:51 NLT “You stubborn people! You are heathen at heart and deaf to the truth. Must you forever resist the Holy Spirit? That’s what your ancestors did, and so do you!

The Holy Spirit was sent to help, guide, and empower us. Stop ignoring Him and let Him help with your life.

He will talk to us about our future, tell us what’s best, and see us through our darkest times.

The world and some ignorant Christians may laugh at or minimize the Holy Spirit, but He’s a necessity to live a victorious life.

Our words are weapons. They can either destroy us or better our situation. Choose to use them for your benefit.

We can say we’re healed, blessed, prosperous, a blessing, wealthy, wise, and more. If what we say aligns with God’s word and we believe what we’re saying, those words have to come to pass.

Our words have the power to destroy the toughest situations. If we had a terrible marriage for the last 3 years, we can say, “my marriage is wonderful and my spouse and I love each other.” That must happen. If our children are acting a fool, we can say, “my children honor their mother and father” and that has to happen.

We’re not saying the facts don’t exist, but we’re ignoring the facts and magnifying and speaking the truth in God’s word.

Proverbs 18:4 The words of a man’s mouth are deep waters; The wellspring of wisdom is a flowing brook.

“David found favor with God and asked for the privilege of building a permanent Temple for the God of Jacob. But it was Solomon who actually built it.
Acts 7:46‭-‬47 NLT

The reason why Solomon built the temple of God was because David, his father, was so passionate about God until it spilled over on his son.

When we publicly talk about, magnify, and have a passion for God, it will overflow onto our children. They’ll see us and understand that God is our strength, our help, and our everything.

When our children truly get a revelation of Who God is, based on the foundation we’ve established, they will do greater things than us for God’s Kingdom. We may have an idea, but they will see it through. If the cycle continues, our grandchildren will have a passion for and do far more for the Kingdom than we could imagine.

Start establishing a legacy that will glorify God and advance His Kingdom.

When the people saw how long it was taking Moses to come back down the mountain, they gathered around Aaron. “Come on,” they said, “make us some gods who can lead us. We don’t know what happened to this fellow Moses, who brought us here from the land of Egypt.” So Aaron said, “Take the gold rings from the ears of your wives and sons and daughters, and bring them to me.” All the people took the gold rings from their ears and brought them to Aaron. Then Aaron took the gold, melted it down, and molded it into the shape of a calf. When the people saw it, they exclaimed, “O Israel, these are the gods who brought you out of the land of Egypt!”
Exodus 32:1‭-‬4 NLT

Aaron was Moses’ brother and right hand man. He saw and even participated in all the miracles, wonders, and plagues that God performed.

Now, after the Israelites have been freed from Egypt, he’s experiencing pressure to please people. He desires to please the people so much until he forgets all the major wonders God performed and builds a calf for them. One would think after seeing God destroy Egypt first hand, you would want to do right by Him.

From taking a shot, to spending the night at his or her house, to unwisely spending budgeted money on a vacation with your friends, there are going to be temptations to please people rather than pleasing God.

Pleasing God should be our priority. We may lose some friends or the approval of people, but pleasing God should be the goal. Don’t get pressured to please others. Please God instead.

1 Peter 2:24 He personally carried our sins in his body on the cross so that we can be dead to sin and live for what is right. By his wounds you are healed.

When most of us read this scripture, we think of being healed of sickness, disease, broken bones, and cancer. Which is true. We are healed of all of this, but there’s more.

The wounds of Jesus can heal us of emotional pain. We can be healed of the pain of losing our child and going through that nasty divorce. We can be healed of being molested and abused. We can be healed of not being loved by our parents.

Like anything else in God’s word, this healing is not automatic. We must apply our faith to be emotionally healed.

Our Confession: “God, Your word says, by His wounds I am healed. So, I decree I am healed of __.”

As we say this confession daily and every time we feel the sting of the incident, we’ll get to a point where we’ll remember the incident, but the pain associated with the incident is gone.

Praise God we can be totally healed of everything through the wounds of Jesus.

Psalm 105:37 He also brought them out with silver and gold, And there was none feeble among His tribes.

The children of Israel were not born-again or righteous (in right standing with God) because Jesus had not come yet. If God brought the children of Israel out of Egypt healthy and wealthy, how healthy and wealthy should we be, seeing that we are born-again and in right standing with God?

Our health and wealth are not only for us, but for the following:

1. Advancing The Kingdom
2. Building His Temple
3. Restoring Communities, Cities, and Nations

Advancing The Kingdom – To advance the Kingdom, it takes money. It takes money to travel around the world and preach the gospel. It takes money to air the gospel on TV.

Building His Temple – We are the temple of God. The more people we have who are healthy to advance the Kingdom, the greater the impact we can have on destroying the kingdom of darkness.

Restoring Communities, Cities, and Nations – It takes money and able-bodied people to restore communities and nations.

To further enjoy this abundant life Jesus provided for us, it’s beneficial to have wealth and health. To do what God has called us to do, wealth and health are a necessity. By faith, receive them both.

Revelation 5:12 saying with a loud voice: “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain To receive power and riches and wisdom, And strength and honor and glory and blessing!”

Romans 8:17 says, now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.

Every born-again believer is a joint heir with Christ. Whatever Christ has, we have access to it too. That means, we share in His power, riches, wisdom, strength, honor, glory, and blessing. Think about that. At every believer’s disposal, there’s power, riches, wisdom, strength, honor, glory, and blessing.

With all of this, there’s no way we should be spiritually or physically weak, broke, ignorant, or can’t do what God has called us to do. So, how do we access all of this? By faith.

Before a project or in the middle of the circumstances, open your mouth and believe that you’ve received the wisdom, riches, power, etc. to get the job done or to overcome (Mark 11:24).

These things are our born-again birthright brought to us by Jesus. Thank God for Jesus. Use them to win.

Inspired by Bill Winston

As we totally submit our lives to God, appropriately apply our faith to the desires God placed in us, and allow the Holy Spirit to lead us, things will happen. Not just small things. But major things. Things that will leave other people in awe.

As we boldly lay our hands on the sick, they shall recover, and their recovery will amaze others. As we give generously, we’ll experience a great financial increase that will shock our family members. As we obey the plan of God, the success of our business will leave other business owners scratching their heads.

These great things are not only meant to highlight us, but to highlight the God in us. When people ask how we did this or that, we can point them to God. Hopefully, us pointing them to God will inspire them to establish a relationship with God or encourage them to totally rely on God. Do what needs to be done to leave them in awe.

Jonah 1:16 (NLT) The sailors were awestruck by the Lord’s great power, and they offered him a sacrifice and vowed to serve him.

Matthew 6:1 “Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven.

In the age of social media, people post about everything. What they eat, drink, where they sleep, and where they go. That’s fine and all, but when it comes to posting ourselves giving to or serving the poor, we need to be mindful of our motives.

Videoing ourselves giving to or serving the poor can inspire others to do the same. It can remind people that there are other people out there who need our help. However, if our motives are to show how much extra money we have or we’re trying to impress others by showing how charitable we are, we’ll miss our reward.

God’s reward is far better than the applause of people. Take this into consideration as we serve those in need.

1 Peter 4:12 Dear friends, don’t be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through, as if something strange were happening to you.

When believers go through tough times, the first thing some of us want to do is question if we’ve done something wrong. We’ll question if we’re being punished because we were unkind to someone. We’ll question if we spoke something negative over our lives that caused this chaos. We’ll question if it’s because we didn’t pray long enough. On top of that, you’ll have other believers co-signing with these thoughts.
Stop the questions!!!  

Sometimes we can create negative events in our lives with our mouths or reap what we sow, but other times it’s just life. It’s not strange or abnormal for believers to face difficulties. In fact, Jesus said in this life we’ll have tribulation (John 16:33). Trials are associated with life.

If we handle these trials correctly, meaning, we remain in faith, meditate on God’s word, and maintain our thoughts to agree with God’s will, we’ll come out stronger than ever. Go through trials knowing victory is guaranteed.

Jonah 2:9 but as for me, I will sacrifice to you with a voice of thanksgiving. I will fulfill what I have vowed. Salvation belongs to the Lord.

In our lowest moments, we may be tired, angry, hurt, stressed, or confused. The last thing our flesh wants to do is praise and thank God. Our flesh wants to sit and sulk. But our flesh shouldn’t be running our lives. Our spirits, which are connected to God (for those who are born-again), should be governing our lives. And as we can see from Jonah’s life, we should offer a sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving.

In Jonah’s lowest moments, he offered a sacrifice of thanksgiving. He didn’t want to give thanks, but he sacrificed how he felt and did it anyway. He didn’t know how his life would turn out, but even facing death, he praised and thanked God. Through his praise and repentance, God gave him a second chance.

When we’re feeling down, begin to praise God. Our praise will remind us Who we’re relying on.