Category Archive

Jonah 2:1 (CEV) From inside the fish, Jonah prayed to the Lord his God: 2 When I was in trouble, Lord, I prayed to you, and you listened to me. From deep in the world of the dead, I begged for your help, and you answered my prayer.

In our lowest moments, when we’re down and out after days, months, or years of disobedience, we can pray to God and He’ll hear us. We don’t have to wait for an invitation or an alter call. We can come to God where we are (jail, homeless, in divorce court, etc.).

The devil is quick to tell us that God wants nothing to do with us, but he’s a liar. God is always available. He’ll accept us back with all our baggage, hang-ups, and unholy ways. He just wants us to return to Him.

If you ever find yourself in a bad spot, don’t forget to call on the Lord. Next, listen to His voice and do what He says. He’s there and waiting on you.

Psalm 118:24 This is the day the Lord has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it.

Regardless of what’s going on in our lives, we must make an intentional decision to have a good day. We may have to focus on commonly overlooked things like breath in our lungs, employment, or a beautiful sunset to be excited, but if that’s what’s going to cause us to have a good day, let’s do it.

In the morning, there are two reasons to be excited about another day.

1. We can be excited about what we can do for God.
When our focus is to please God, we can get excited every morning to see what we can do to make Him happy. He may tell us to compliment someone, call someone we haven’t talked to in a long time or give to a ministry or charity. When we obey His instructions, we can pat ourselves on the back because we pleased God.

2. We can be excited about what God’s going to do for us.
Throughout the day, we should be in expectation of God doing something for us. We may finally get that call for that job we’ve been wanting, get a promotion, or finally find that perfect house. Again, it may not always be major, but getting to work without getting into an accident or our children coming home without colds or viruses are reasons to glorify God.

Let’s change our mindset and perspective and have a good day.       

James 2:8 You will do all right, if you obey the most important law in the Scriptures. It is the law that commands us to love others as much as we love ourselves. 9 But if you treat some people better than others, you have done wrong, and the Scriptures teach that you have sinned.

The man on the corner begging for money should be treated no differently than the richest man in the world. The star quarterback of your favorite team is no better than the janitor who cleans the stadium. The drug addict should be respected just like the police officer.

As believers, we’re called to love and treat everyone equally. Just because one person has more money or fame than another doesn’t mean we should treat them differently. Each person deservers honor.

There’s a temptation to show favoritism because we think about what they can do for us. We think about how it makes us look to be seen with that person or what we can gain by being with the “in crowd.” If we’re not mindful, we’ll have an attitude of if someone can’t do anything for us, they’re beneath us.

Don’t let the wealth or notoriety of another person go to your head. Everyone deserves to be equally loved and respected.

Jonah 1:3 But Jonah got up and went in the opposite direction to get away from the Lord. He went down to the port of Joppa, where he found a ship leaving for Tarshish. He bought a ticket and went on board, hoping to escape from the Lord by sailing to Tarshish.

God has called everyone to do something. That something God called us to do may not be popular or financially lucrative on the surface. That something may take a lot of effort or seem burdensome. Because that something may not seem amazing in our minds, we run.

Some of us run to something that’s going to make us popular or rich. Others run to something that seems secure (job security). We can run and ignore His calling, but there may be consequences. Running from God’s calling may make our lives more complicated. We may experience multiple layoffs, unfulfillment, demotions, or stress.

Don’t add unwarranted trouble in your life.
1. Seek God on what He’s called you to do.
2. Look past the effort, finances, and popularity and obey God.
3. As you obey, trust that He’ll provide fulfillment and give you everything you desire.

Matthew 6:21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

If a person spends a lot of time and money buying and listening to music, anyone can see that their heart is focused on music. If a person spends a lot of time and money searching for and buying expensive sneakers, we can determine their heart is geared towards fashion or appearances. If a person has a bar stocked with a variety of alcohol choices, we can see that person is into drinking.

On the other hand, if a person doesn’t spend their time and money on music, shoes, and alcohol, we can conclude that person is not interested in those things.  

The same is true with God. With God, a person can say how much they love and appreciate Him, but they or anyone else can see how true that is by how much time and money they spend on Him. A lot of time and money means a great deal of appreciation towards God. A little time and money mean you appreciate other things above God.  

Our time and money expose our hearts. If you say you really love and appreciate God, then give Him quality time and the money He requested (tithes and offering).

A green elephant. A Green elephant. A GREEN Elephant A green Elephant. A Green Elephant. A GREEN ELEPHANT.  

As you read the sentences above, you probably imagined a green elephant. Thinking about a green elephant is harmless, but the devil continuously throws harmful thoughts in our minds throughout the day. His thoughts are harmful because his goal is to get us to worry, stress, and not trust God. It may be thoughts about the same subject or a variety of subjects. He’ll throw one thought after another.

The Devil: Your child is sick. What if it’s something severe? What if it never gets better? What if the sickness spreads to a sibling?

When the devil bombards our minds thoughts of worry, we need to capture those thoughts and declare the truth of God’s word.

Us: My child is healed. I decree divine health over my child. I cast my cares about my child’s health on God. My child is healed.

Don’t allow the devil’s seeds of worry to grow in your mind. Uproot his thoughts and replace them with the word of God.

2 Corinthians 10:5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

Luke 4:13 Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time. 14 Then Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news of Him went out through all the surrounding region.

After we’ve fasted, we shouldn’t have a sigh of relief and go back to our normal way of living. Like Jesus, we should be empowered by the Holy Ghost.

If you read the entire chapter of Luke 4, you’ll see after Jesus fasted, He taught with authority, He avoided being killed prematurely, He cleansed people of demons, and He healed the sick.

We have this same power too (John 14:12). After we’ve fasted, we should have better clarity and revelation on God’s word and what God wants us to do. We should be healing the sick and we should be speaking over situations and events in our lives with faith-filled authority.

Our flesh may be craving to go back to our normal routine, but our spirits should be ready to take over the world for the glory of God.

and to esteem them very highly in love for their work’s sake. Be at peace among yourselves.
I Thessalonians 5:13 NKJV

With so much division in the world, believers should stand out. We should be at peace with everyone even though we may have different political beliefs, different skin color, different lifestyle choices, and different ideas.

Unfortunately, everyone who calls themselves believers are not at peace with others. Why? Like everyone else in the world, believers too must grow up and mature.

It takes God to be at peace with everyone. We can’t have this kind of peace in our own strength. We obtain this peace by receiving it by faith. If God said we can be at peace with everyone, receive it. Secondly, we must feed on the word of God instead of feeding on the news, social media opinions, etc. Finally, we must activate the God kind of love. When we make the decision to love someone else, peace has to follow.

Let’s be the difference makers in society by being at peace with everyone. We may not agree with everything someone else is doing, but we can still be at peace with them.

Luke 5:4 When Jesus had finished speaking, He said to Simon, “Put out into deep water and let down your nets for a catch.” 5 “Master,” Simon replied, “we have worked hard all night without catching anything. But because You say so, I will let down the nets.” 6 When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to tear. 

They’re tired, they’re disappointed, and they’re hungry. Now, the Son of God wants them to put out their nets one more time.

Putting the net out again goes against all logic because it’s more advantageous to fish at night and it goes against how they felt because they were tired. But as we can see, when they moved past their logic and feelings and were obedient, they experienced an overwhelming harvest.

Don’t allow logic or feelings to take over. Trust and obey God. Our obedience could lead us to the biggest breakthrough we’ve seen in our lives.

Matthew 14:30 But when he saw the strong wind and the waves, he was terrified and began to sink. “Save me, Lord!” he shouted.

When Peter took His eyes off Jesus and started looking at the circumstances around him, he started to sink. The same is true with us, when we take our eyes off of God, our circumstances will begin to swallow us up.

We don’t have a physical Jesus to focus on like Peter, but we can focus on something just as powerful. We can focus on God’s word. John 1:1 lets us know that God and His word are one. When we focus on the word, we focus on God.

When sickness invades our bodies, we don’t focus on the sickness, we focus on the word which says, by His stripes we are healed (Isaiah53:5). When we don’t know how a promise will come to pass, we don’t focus on how impossible it seems, we focus God’s word saying, with God all things are possible (Matt. 19:26).

Magnify and focus on God. As we focus on Him, supernatural things will begin to occur in our lives.

Isaiah 26:3 You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in You.

We will be kept in perfect peace if we keep our minds on God. Does that mean we’ll be kept in peace if we imagine our own version of God as some large being dressed in white with a beard sitting on a throne? No. We’re kept in perfect peace when we keep our minds on God’s word.

John 1:1 lets us know God and His word are one. When we focus on His word, we’ll be kept in peace. If we’re tempted to be worried about something, we should keep our minds focused on Psalm 138:8 which says He’ll perfect everything that concerns us. If we’re tempted to be afraid, we should keep our minds on Deuteronomy 3:22 that tells us not to fear. Anything that attempts to disrupt our peace can be canceled when we keep our minds on God’s word.

Let’s focus on God’s word and maintain perfect peace.

2 Corinthians 2:11 lest Satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices.

Satan attacks us in our thoughts. His goal is to drive us to the point of unbelief by bombarding our minds, with statistics, facts, logic, and thoughts of impossibilities.

Today, we’re going to look at a few examples of Satan’s attacks.
-If it’s really God’s will for you to have it, why is it taking so long?
-You can’t have a baby at that age.
-You’re not qualified for that job.
-You’ll never have the money to do or have that.
-You’ll always be dealing with that pain or sickness.
-It’s too late for them.
-That will never work out.

We can’t stop Satan’s thoughts from coming, but we can combat and drown out these thoughts by confessing the word of God. Keep feeding on the word of God daily and consistently verbalize your beliefs and you’ll experience victory over his attacks.

When people mess up, they’ll say, “I’m only human.” And that’s understandable because we have flaws, but let’s look at the other side of humans. Psalm 8:4-5 lets us know our authority and dominion given to us by God.

Psalm 8:4 What is man that You are mindful of him, And the son of [earthborn] man that You care for him? 5 Yet You have made him a little lower than God, And You have crowned him with glory and honor. 6 You made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet,

We are a little lower than God, we’ve been crowned with glory and honor, made to have dominion over the works of God’s hands, and all things have been put under our feet.

When we truly understand who we are as humans, we’ll have a whole new outlook on life. We’ll understand no demonic power can touch us without our consent. We’ll realize we’re destined for success and nothing can stop us. We’ll have an attitude of taking over instead of being traumatized. And by studying God’s word and truly embracing our identity, we’ll gain authority over those temptations that keep tripping us up.

You’re only human. Now, embrace the entirety of who you are.  

Mark 1:35 Early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up and slipped out to a solitary place to pray.

Spending time with God consists of praying, studying God’s word, meditating, worship, etc. There are some who think the best and only time to spend with God is in the morning. Some try to make others feel ashamed for not spending time with God first thing in the morning. There’s nothing wrong with spending time with God in the morning but the fact is, everyone’s not a morning person.

If God desires our best, our best may not be in the morning. It makes no sense to come to God in the morning if we’re sluggish, unenthused, and falling asleep. Our best may be in the evening or night.

Look at Jesus in Matthew 26:37. Jesus says to His disciples “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” Jesus spent time with God at night (Matthew 26:31).

Nothing in the bible mentions when we should spend time with God. It simply instructs us to spend time with God. It doesn’t matter if it’s morning or night, we simply need to have quality time with God.

Matthew 14:23 After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone,  

That “no” we experience from one situation to the next can be difficult to swallow. Although it may not seem like it at the time, that “no” can’t harm us.

Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

When we trust in the plan of God, we have hope. Our hope is that in spite of all the things that come against us and all the rejection we face, God’s plan hasn’t changed. God still plans to prosper us.

When we get a negative health report telling us that the disease hasn’t left, God still plans to prosper our health. When we get a rejection letter telling us we didn’t get the job, God still plans to prosper our career. When the pregnancy test still shows we’re not pregnant, God still plans to prosper our family.

Demonic forces may attempt to harm us, but when our faith, hope, and trust is in God, they can’t stop His plans for our lives. We can never lose.

Psalm 119:30 I have chosen to be faithful; I have determined to live by your regulations. 31 I cling to your laws. LORD, don’t let me be put to shame! 32 I will pursue your commands, for you expand my understanding. 33 Teach me your decrees, O LORD; I will keep them to the end. 34 Give me understanding and I will obey your instructions; I will put them into practice with all my heart. 35 Make me walk along the path of your commands, for that is where my happiness is found.

God has our best interests at heart. He doesn’t instruct us to do or not do certain things to control our lives. He, being the Creator of us, knows what’s best for us. He knows what our bodies can handle. He knows what’s best for our lives. He knows what we need to do to overcome any opposition that comes our way.

If He knows all and He’s our Creator, wouldn’t it be wise for us to follow His instructions? If we had mentors that could help us out with our family, our business, or how to handle stress, we would follow their advice. So, let’s do the same with God.

We have free will. Let’s use our free will to follow God’s instructions because He unconditionally loves us and truly wants the best for us.

Proverbs 18:20 (AMP) A man’s moral self shall be filled with the fruit of his mouth; and with the consequence of his words he must be satisfied whether good or evil.

Our words have the power to create whatever we say whether good or evil.

If we speak negatively and say what we can’t do or what we’ll never have, we’ll experience the consequences of what we say. On the other hand, if we speak positively and cause our speech to agree with the word of God, we experience the consequences of what we say. It’s just that simple.

Unfortunately, a lot of us have been deceived into thinking our words have no power and they’re only used to express how we’re feeling. That’s not true. Our words are used to shape and create our world. If you don’t like the way your life is looking, discipline your mouth and change your speech. You’ll be satisfied with the results of your effort.

If we’re going to stand in faith for what God has promised in our lives, there are 3 things that must change.

1. Our Belief
Our belief must change. We must believe, without doubt, that God’s word is true and it will come to pass. Statistically it may look like it’s not going to happen or it may not have happened before, but if God said it, we must believe it.

2. Our Speech
If we believe God’s word, our speech must change to agree with God’s word. We can’t say we believe God’s word and our speech totally contradicts what we say we believe. We must say we’re healed, all our needs are met, or we expect promotion in spite of how it looks.

3. Our Attitude
Our attitude must change. Our attitude should be joyous and positive because we know it’s only a matter of time before God’s promise will come to pass. We’ve asked for it and God’s word says He heard us (1 John 5:15), we continued to believe, and we’ve maintained our confession, therefore, our attitude should reflect what we believe is about to come to pass. We shouldn’t be nervous, sulking, or short tempered if we say we believe God.

As we apply these 3 things in our lives, we can confirm we’re truly walking by faith.

Hebrews 4:14 (NLT) So then, since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe.

“Beware that you do not forget the Lord your God by not keeping His commandments, His judgments, and His statutes which I command you today, lest—when you have eaten and are full, and have built beautiful houses and dwell in them; and when your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver and your gold are multiplied, and all that you have is multiplied; when your heart is lifted up, and you forget the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage;
Deuteronomy 8:11‭-‬14 NKJV

BOOM! Manifestation happens. Everything you desired comes to pass. Your finances are good, your family is well, you’re loving life, your body feels good, and you have enough to be a blessing.

When everything’s going well, don’t forget to thank God and continue to follow His commands. In the new covenant, His commands are to love and follow the leading of the Holy Spirit. Don’t stop praying, listening to the word, or being kind, and then become callous towards the Holy Spirit. Keep that zeal going.

Our continuous obedience and a heart of gratitude will be the faithfulnes that God sees to access even more of His promises.

We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; 2 Corinthians 4:8 NKJV

God instructs us or allows us to go through things that have us perplexed. They are perplexing because they don’t make sense.

Perplexing situations include getting laid off of a job, being instructed to quit a good paying job, seeing our children go through sicknesses, getting passed up on a promotion, or getting denied for a loan for a house or business.

When these things happen, we become perplexed. Why would God allow that? Why would He tell me to do something so illogical?

Although perplexed, we’re not in despair. We’re not in despair because we know the faithfulnes of God. If you’ve been in a relationship with God for at least a year, you know everything He allows or instructs us to do works in our favor (Rom. 8:28). It may not make sense and it may leave us perplexed, but it usually works out better and more elaborate than we could have imagined.

Don’t stay in a perplexed state. Trust and believe God has everything worked out.

Mike Tyson has a quote that says, “everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.” Spiritually, for most believers, we can say, “everyone has faith until they’re faced with difficulties.”

Unfortunate events have a tendency to reveal what we’re really made of. We can see if a person truly believes God’s word or if they’re simply quoting it with the rest of the congregation.

Self Evaluation:
How do you respond when difficulties knock at your door? Do you panic, stress, worry, or entertain the “it’s not going to get better” lies of Satan?
Or, do you combat stress and Satan’s lies by confessing the word of God that’s already deposited in your heart while truly expecting things to change?

It’s important to study, believe, and confess God’s word until we’re totally convinced that God’s word has to come to pass in our lives. Don’t get rocked when difficulties come. Use your faith in the word of God to align that situation with God’s will.

Matthew 13:22 (CEV) The seeds that fell among the thornbushes are also people who hear the message. But they start worrying about the needs of this life and are fooled by the desire to get rich. So the message gets choked out, and they never produce anything.

Psalm 16:11 You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

One of the biggest luxuries we have as believers is being in the presence of God. He’s always with us, and at any moment, we can turn our attention towards Him and be in His presence.

There are several benefits of being in the presence of God. Being in His presence provides revelation. God will reveal or show us what’s ahead. Being in His presence awards us joy. It’s hard to be down and depressed when we get in His presence and think of His goodness. We have access to things that bring us pleasure. What’s pleasurable for you may be different from what’s pleasurable for me. It may please you to be close to your family while I may be pleased by traveling the world.

The point is, we have access to all these things when we get in the presence of God. Don’t allow distractions, cares, work, or other issues in life to prevent you from being in the presence of God.

Deuteronomy 8:10 When you have eaten and are full, then you shall bless the Lord your God for the good land which He has given you.

When we’ve received what we desired from God, don’t forget to be thankful and bless the Lord.

It should be more than a quick “thank you God” after receiving what God has promised. When that prayer gets answered or that promise manifests, take a moment to truly focus on God and bless Him. Think about how you were feeling the first time you asked Him for that desire. Think about how God encouraged you to keep the faith for that desire when you wanted to quit. Think about how miraculous God answered that prayer. When we think about all those things, we should lift our hands, open our mouths, and bless the Lord.

Romans 4:19 And not being weak in faith, he did not consider his own body, already dead (since he was about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah’s womb.

When we don’t consider our own abilities and shortcomings and focus on the abilities of God, all things become possible.

We no longer need to consider how much education or lack of education when applying for that job.We no longer need to consider our criminal history. We don’t need to consider our credit score when we’re in the process of buying a house. We no longer need to consider the diseases in our family tree as we get older.

Instead, we need to focus on God and His process to receive our promises. When we believe the promises of God, meditate on the promises of God, and speak the promises of God, they must come to pass. How it happens is irrelevant.

God may have someone give us a chance at a job in spite of our education or criminal history. God may allow us to get approved for a loan in spite of our credit score. God may wipe every trace of that disease that runs in our family from our bodies.

If we only consider ourselves and what we can do and see in the natural, we’ll always be limited. But if we believe in God, Who specializes in the impossible, then His Word will manifest in our lives.

Romans 8:5 Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.

Romans 12:2 And do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of the mind, for you to prove what is the good and well-pleasing and perfect will of God.

1 Peter 1:13 Therefore prepare your minds for action. Be sober-minded. Set your hope fully on the grace to be given you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

Between these scriptures, we can see the mind plays a major role in our lives. What we allow to settle in our minds starts a chain reaction. What settles in our minds is what we begin to meditate on. What we meditate on is what we’ll believe or justify. What we believe is what we speak. And because our words have the power to create, what we speak is what will come to pass.

It doesn’t matter if the thought is holy and spiritual or full of sin. What settles in our minds will come to pass.

That’s why it’s so important to perform daily maintenance on our minds. We must ask ourselves, what have we allowed to settle in our minds? Is it something we “okayed” knowing it goes against the word of God? Have we settled for less than God’s best in one or more areas of our lives? Is it fear?

If the things that are settled in our minds don’t agree with the word of God, they must go. They can leave the same way they came. We find out what God’s word says about those thoughts. We meditate on His word. We choose to believe His word. And we speak His Word.

We can’t stop a thought from coming, but we can avoid allowing it to settle in our minds. Take some time and do some maintenance on your mind.

Google’s definition of inventory is a complete list of items such as property, goods in stock, or the contents of a building. As believers, every so often, we should take inventory of all the things God has done for us.

God blessed us with His Son Jesus, He allowed for us to see another day, He allowed us to have a sound mind, He got us through school, He blessed some of us with a spouse and children, we have shelter, most of us have employment, we’ve received promotions, He supplies everything we need. The list can go on and on.

The purpose of taking inventory is to reflect on the goodness of God. The devil will always make our current desires seem like they won’t come to pass. Our inventory will remind us of how much God has already done. As we look back on the goodness of God and see all that He’s done, we’ll be inspired to have faith for our current desires. We can boldly say, “If He did it before, He can do it again. Same God right now, same God back then.”

Psalm 31:19 Oh, how abundant is your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you and worked for those who take refuge in you, in the sight of the children of mankind!

Proverbs 15:5 Only a fool despises a parent’s discipline; whoever learns from correction is wise.

Proverbs 20:3 Avoiding a fight is a mark of honor; only fools insist on quarreling.

Proverbs 18:2 Fools have no interest in understanding; they only want to air their own opinions.

So, despising discipline, desiring to fight or quarrel, and rejecting understanding are just a few biblical definitions of a fool.

Let’s be honest with ourselves. Have we been foolish in one or more of these areas? Have we disregarded what our parents were trying to tell us for one reason or another? Are some of us always ready to pick a fight with our spouse, a coworker, or a sibling because we haven’t dealt with some internal issues in our past? Are some of us not listening to another person’s point of view because we feel our beliefs and ways are the only correct ways?

If we’ve answered yes to any of those questions, we must renew our minds (Romans 12:2). We need to allow our thoughts to align with God’s word. It may take time, but the more we do the work to renew our minds, the further we get away from foolishness. Don’t be a fool.

Ecclesiastes 10:3 You can identify fools just by the way they walk down the street!

And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ “But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet.
Luke 15:21‭-‬22 NKJV

If we return to God, after doing things we know were wrong, God doesn’t even acknowledge our wrongdoing. Because of the sacrifice of Jesus, He simply welcomes us back.

He’s not going to make us pay a penance and He doesn’t require us to read a list, out loud, of everything we’ve done wrong. He loves us, accepts us, and looks for ways to bless us.

Don’t let guilt hold you back from establishing a relationship with God or rededicating your life back to God. He’s waiting on you and there’s no guilt, shame, or condemnation to those in Christ (Romans 8:1).

Don’t leave me Lord.
Come by here my Lord.
Don’t take Your Spirit from me.
Don’t take Your presence from us.
God, fill the atmosphere.

These are just a few statements and lyrics believers have made throughout the years. The problem is they’re unscriptual. These statements all have God coming and going. The scripture says, I will never leave you nor forsake you (Deuteronomy 31:8). Jesus lets us know He will be with us always (Matt. 28:20).

God’s not coming or going based on what we do or don’t do. He’ll always be with us because that’s His promise to us.

It doesn’t matter how much wrong we’ve done or how far we’ve strayed, God promised to be with us forever. As you’re reading this, God is with you right now. Recognize His presence and know He’s never going to leave you.

Deuteronomy 31:8 And the Lord, He is the One who goes before you. He will be with you, He will not leave you nor forsake you; do not fear nor be dismayed.”

Isaiah 55:11 It is the same with my word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it.

“The devil’s main goal is to get you to believe that God’s word won’t come to pass.”-Creflo Dollar

The devil continuously tells us it won’t work, you’ll never be married, children are not in God’s plan for you, etc. He doesn’t tell us these things when everything is working. He tells us during times of crisis, delay, or pain.

The devil is a liar!!! -(John 8:44)

As we can see, anything in God’s word must come to pass. It’s not a maybe or a possibly. It’s a guarantee. If we can find it in God’s word or if we know that God told us through our spirits, it has to happen. The only thing that stops it from happening is our unbelief. But if we’re willing to look past the circumstances, the delays, and the symptoms and believe God’s word, nothing can stop God’s word from coming to pass.

Study the word, find a promise, and believe (without doubt) that promise will manifest in your life.

Matthew 4:3 And the tempter came and said to Him, If You are God’s Son, command these stones to be made loaves of bread. 4 But He replied, It has been written, Man shall not live and be upheld and sustained by bread alone, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.

Jesus was being tempted by the devil. Every time the devil had something to say, Jesus responded with the truth of God’s word.

The devil is still testing us today. How will you respond? Will you agree with him and his lies or agree with and respond with God’s word?

He’ll tell us, it (whatever it is) won’t happen. You’ll have this issue for the rest of your life. Or, no one really cares. We can believe his lies or replace his lies with the truth. The truth is God’s word will come to pass (Isaiah 55:11), we are healed (1 Pet. 2:23), and God cares for us (1 Pet. 5:7).

The devil is always talking. Let’s respond by opening our mouths and speaking the truth in God’s word. 

Romans 10:4 (NIV) For Christ has already accomplished the purpose for which the law was given. As a result, all who believe in Him are made right with God.

In the Old Covenant, the law was over 600 rules that mankind had to keep in order to be accepted by God. If a person messed up in one area, they were guilty of breaking them all (James 2:10).

By God’s design, no one could or can keep the law. So, God implemented a plan to send Jesus. Jesus kept the law and became the ultimate sacrifice for all sin for mankind.

Our belief in Him keeping the law and being the sacrifice for us makes us righteous. We no longer have to keep the law and it’s not a combination of keeping the law and believing in the sacrifice of Jesus. We are righteous when we believe Jesus fulfilled the law and was the sacrifice for all sin.

To be saved, what if I told you all you have to do is believe and confess that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and He died for all your sins?

Romans 10:9 -10 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

What if I told you that you can still drink alcohol and be saved? What if I told you that you can still watch R-rated movies and be saved? What if I told you that you can still curse and be saved? What if I told you that you can smoke and be saved?

This is unpopular in religious circles. Some people think certain behaviors will affect our salvation. They don’t. Now, they definitely 100% will impact the quality of our lives and God may not want us to behave a certain way, but they won’t hinder our salvation. (Read Ephesians 2:8-9).

This flawless mindset from religious folks hinders so many people from coming to Christ. People think they have to change their entire lives around to become a Christian and that’s too difficult for some. More importantly, that’s not a requirement. Our requirement is to totally rely on what Jesus accomplished (Rom. 10:4).

As we develop our relationship with God and discover His goodness, we may not want drink, curse, or smoke, but even if we do, God still loves and accepts us as His own.

Wherever you are and whatever you’re doing, accept Jesus as Lord and come into the family of God.

God desires that we live the abundant life. He desires that we remain healed in our bodies, our families are prosperous, and we get the desires of our hearts.

At the same time, God also wants the unsaved to be saved. Since He’s not preaching sermons Himself in the earth, He needs willing participants to lead the unsaved to Christ.

It may not always be a sermon we preach to them. It may be us sharing our testimony. It may be us being a kind non-judgmental friend. It may be us being a blessing to them in their time of need. It may be us prioritizing praying for the lost.

Although God wants the best for us, let’s remember, He also wants the lost to be found.

1 Timothy 2:3 This is good, and pleases God our Savior, 4 who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.

Every year we have a birthday. Some of us look forward to our birthdays while others could care less. Regardless of how we feel about our birthday, we expect to have a birthday.

The same way we believe and expect to have a birthday every year is the same way we should believe and expect to receive a promise from God. It doesn’t matter if it’s healing in our bodies, deliverance for our children, or a new job, we should expect our desires to come to pass. We may not know when, but we should expect to receive them.

Don’t hope and wish God’s promises will come to pass. Believe and expect them to manifest soon.

Acts 3:5 And he began to give heed to them, expecting to receive something from them.

Matthew 17:20 He replied, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”

To get things done without toil or exhaustion, it takes faith. There are different levels of faith (small, great, etc.), but if we have a small portion of unshakable faith, we can do great and mighty things. We can do great things in our homes, for the Kingdom of God, and for people.

Not only can we do great things with our faith, but we can do things that are considered impossible in the world’s eyes. We can come up with the next big revolutionary idea, we can become a millionaire with only a high school education, and although we came from a dysfunctional family, we can have a successful prosperous family without any baggage.

Talk with God and find out your deepest desires. Next, study God’s word to see what it says about those desires. Finally, release your faith for those desires by believing what God’s word says and confessing it daily.

Genesis 12:2 “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.

Being a blessing sounds honorable and noble, but it’s not always easy.

We may have had a hard week and all we want to do is relax on the weekend, but on Friday, a friend asks if we can help them move. It sounds like a nice thing to do, but that can be difficult to our flesh. Or, we may have set aside some money to go shopping and go out to eat, but a relative asked if they can borrow some money to pay their bills. Here’s an opportunity to be a blessing, but it can be hard to think beyond our desires and think of someone else’s need.  

Although it’s not always easy, let’s not allow our feelings to dictate what we do for someone else. Consult God and if He tells us to be a blessing, let’s be a blessing. Remember, when we’re a blessing to others, God vows to bless us.

Ephesians 6:8 (NIV) because you know that the Lord will reward each one for whatever good they do, whether they are slave or free.

At McDonald’s, there are around three managers at each store. They’re responsible for the supplies, ordering food, hiring employees, repairs, and updates to the facility. If a customer has a problem, the manager is contacted to settle the dispute. The owner of McDonald’s corporation is never responsible for what occurs at one store.

We understand this concept with businesses, but when it comes to the world, a lot of people want to blame the Owner (God).

Genesis 1:26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

Psalm 115:16 Heaven belongs to the Lord, but he gave the earth to people.

Looking at these two scriptures, the earth is under direct management of people. We are responsible for what occurs on the earth (good or bad). God is the Owner, but we are the managers. So, if you don’t like what you see, use your God-given authority to change it.

Unlike McDonald’s managers, we have direct access to the Owner of the earth. We can get Him involved to change what we see. We change our world through prayer, declarations, and faith. We see the best in God’s word and align our faith and our speech to change any situation.

This is our world and it’s up to us (not God) to change negative situations into positive outcomes.

Isaiah 48:17 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. 18 How I wish that you had obeyed my commands! Your success and good fortune would then have overflowed like a flooding river.

In most push start cars, we must place our foot on the brake to start the car. There’s usually a sign that instructs us to place our foot on the brake. If we disregard those instructions, the car won’t start. We can press the start button a million times, but if we don’t press the brake, the car won’t start, and we won’t get to our destination.

It’s the same way with God. God has instructions in His word and through the Holy Spirit. His word tells us to love, forgive, ask in faith, and don’t doubt. If we disregard those instructions, how can we expect to receive God’s promises? It’s not God withholding things from us or the devil stopping our blessings from coming. It could be our disobedience. Our disobedience (under grace) could be the thing stopping God from performing miraculous wonders in our lives.

Let’s be sure we’re doing what God instructs us to do so that we can experience success and good fortune overflowing like a river.

You should only declare a specific time for manifestation as the Holy Spirit leads you. Spend time with God. If the Holy Spirit said 7 days, 2 months, or 2 hours for a thing to come to pass, that’s what you decree. If He doesn’t give you a specific date/time, just believe in the manifestation of your promise at the God-appointed time.

The devil will tempt you to back off of your belief and confession about the time God gave you. He’ll let you know how unlikely it will manifest in that short period of time. But if you believe God said it, declare it regardless of how it looks.

The Holy Spirit knows the level of your faith. He knows if you need 6 weeks, 7 months, or 2 years to believe for the manifestation of a certain promise. Don’t try to think you’re at another level when you’re not. Don’t think you’re at a 2 week manifestation level when He’s told you you’re at a 2 year level. That only leads to self-inflicted disappointment.

The Holy Spirit knows the level of your faith.
He knows what you need so that He can help you decree things that are within the framework of what God can do for you because of where you are in your belief.

Spend time with God about a certain promise. If He gives you a time when that thing will manifest,  declare it, but if He doesn’t, continue to believe that you’ve received it until it manifests.

Ecclesiastes 3:1 There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.