Category Archive

Tell Aaron everything I command you, and Aaron must command Pharaoh to let the people of Israel leave his country. But I will make Pharaoh’s heart stubborn so I can multiply my miraculous signs and wonders in the land of Egypt. Even then Pharaoh will refuse to listen to you. So I will bring down my fist on Egypt. Then I will rescue my forces—my people, the Israelites—from the land of Egypt with great acts of judgment. -Exodus 7:2‭-‬4 NLT

When we are in close relationship with God, He may (not always) tell us things to come. It may not always be positive, but He may provide detailed facts. When Pharaoh hardened his heart, it wasn’t a surprise to Moses because God already forewarned him.

As we spend quality time with God, He may provide details on how things will work out. He may tell us we’ll close on the current business deal, but after this deal closes, we’ll have a year without another deal. He may tell us to get more involved with our children’s homework in order for them to be successful. He may tell us why we’re going through this season where we feel like we’re stuck.

Spend time with God and open your spiritual ears and allow Him the opportunity to speak and let you know things to come.

Revelation 1:6 He has made us a Kingdom of priests for God his Father. All glory and power to him forever and ever! Amen.

When we get born-again, we become kings and priests. Here’s something you may not have thought of. Until our children get to an age where they can hear God’s voice for themselves, we are their temporary priests.

There’s no one better than us to be our children’s priest. Before our children are born, they know our voices, they trust us, and should listen to us. For young children, since they can’t discern God’s voice, we must become God’s voice.

We become God’s voice by telling them what God said in His word. We tell them God is always with them according to Deuteronomy 31:6. We tell them don’t be afraid according to Isaiah 43:1. We tell them God is our Protector (Psalm 18:2). We show them how much God loves them (Rom. 8:31-39).

As they grow up and begin to pray for themselves, they’ll have this foundation of God’s word and the voice of God’s word in their spirits because we did our jobs as priests. So, parents and guardians, step into your priestly duties.

Matthew 21:21 “Truly I tell you,” Jesus replied, “if you have faith and do not doubt, not only will you do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ it will happen.

Faith shouldn’t be limited to the major things in our lives. Faith can be applied to everything.

By faith, we can declare that noise in our cars to stop. We can use our faith to command the minor aches in our bodies to be healed. We can declare our babies to sleep through the night. Faith can cause us to reach certain goals in our exercises.

Nothing should be off limits when applying your faith.

1. Make a list of major and minor things you want to see changed.
2. Consistently release your faith for the change by confessing the change daily.
3. Expect for that situation to line up with your confession.

That prompting or feeling we get when we don’t feel like doing something that’s beneficial for us is a sign from the Holy Spirit. Follow these promptings. These promptings let us know that’s the path we need to be on.

The Holy Spirit will prompt us in several areas.
He’ll tell us to work out when we don’t feel like working out. During our favorite show, He’ll tell us to pray rather than watch another episode. He’ll tell us to go to church instead of sleeping in. He’ll tell us to apologize even though we don’t feel like we’re in the wrong.

Don’t ignore or disregard these signs. It’s the Holy Spirit leading us down a beneficial path. Follow His promptings and live a Spirit-led life.

Acts 20:22 (CEV) I don’t know what will happen to me in Jerusalem, but I must obey God’s Spirit and go there.

Luke 1:5 There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the division of Abijah. His wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. 6 And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. 7 But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both well advanced in years. 8 So it was, that while he was serving as priest before God in the order of his division,

When people don’t get what they want from God, they usually get upset. Their anger or frustration may cause them to distance themselves from God. They stop talking to God, stop coming to church, and stop hearing the word.

But look at this passage of scripture. We have a couple continuing to serve God even though they’re childless. Their commitment to God was not based on what they can get from God. Their commitment to God was based on their love of God. They may have felt frustrated at times, but they didn’t stop their commitment to God. They continued to serve God. Their commitment eventually led them to give birth to one of the greatest prophets ever, John the Baptist (Luke 1:57).

When things get tough and it seems like your prayers aren’t getting answered, don’t run from God. Keep that relationship with God strong and keep serving His Kingdom. Our faith and commitment to God will eventually lead to a great breakthrough.   

Galatians 1:7 which is not just another account; but there are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ.

Although there are numerous scriptures that let us know about the gospel of Christ, there are still some people who distort the gospel of Christ.

The gospel of Christ is the gospel of grace. It’s mankind receiving redemption through our belief in the works of Christ Jesus. It’s mankind believing that Jesus fulfilled the Mosaic law and died for all of our sins.

Some distort the gospel by adding works and self effort. They think our works in addition to Christ gives us salvation. They think we have to be holy or faultless 95% of the time, for at least a year, in order to be saved. Ephesians 2:8 says, “God saved you by His grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God.”

The gospel of Christ lets us know all we have to do is believe in what Jesus accomplished for us and receive His sacrifice as the payment for our sins. That’s it! Anything else added to that distorts the gospel.

1 John 1:5 (AMPC) Beloved, it is a fine and faithful work that you are doing when you give any service to the [Christian] brethren, and [especially when they are] strangers. 6 They have testified before the church of your love and friendship. You will do well to forward them on their journey [and you will please do so] in a way worthy of God’s [service].

It’s fine to desire things for ourselves and want to fulfill our purpose, but let’s not forget about others. The scripture says, it’s a fine and faithful work when we serve others.

Serving others includes, reaching out to people to genuinely see how they’re doing. It also includes, sending someone a just because gift, inviting a friend somewhere, and praying for a relative. As we can see, these acts are not only meant for people we know, but these acts should include strangers. In line, pay for a stranger’s meal, give them a compliment, or ask if they need prayer for anything.

Let the Spirit lead you on how you should serve someone else.  

Mark 1:30 But Simon’s wife’s mother lay sick with a fever, and they told Him about her at once. 31 So He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and immediately the fever left her. And she served them.

As soon as Simon’s mother-in-law experienced a miracle of healing in her body, she began to serve Jesus.

Most of us experienced the greatest miracle ever. The greatest miracle ever is an opportunity to be born again. Not only have we experienced the miracle of being born again, we can honestly say God healed us, delivered us from things or people attempting to destroy our lives, provided for us, and so much more.

With all that God has done, we should follow Simon’s mother-in-law’s example and serve Him. We can serve God by volunteering at our church, feed the homeless, and minister the gospel to friends, family, and strangers. We can serve Him by living a lifestyle honorable to God. Nowadays, we can serve Him by consistently acknowledging Him on social media. Starting today, begin to serve God, increase your service to God, or encourage others to serve God.

Nahum 1:7 The Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in Him,

There are some who have a misconception of trouble. Some think because we’re Christians, we won’t face problems and difficulties. Everyone (Christians and non-Christians) will experience trouble. The big difference is, Christians have a promise of deliverance. Any problematic situation we face, God promises to deliver us from them all (Ps. 34:19).

This deliverance is not automatic because we’re Christians. Our deliverance is made possible when we place our faith in His word for deliverance. In the middle of that tough situation, we must believe for and expect deliverance based on His word. Our logical minds may not know how we’re going to get out of that situation, but our faith in God’s word will bring us out.

Every promise hinges on our faith in God’s word. Release your faith for deliverance out of any and every problem.   

Romans 8:33 Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. 34 Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.

As we grow in our relationship with God, there are some people, who we left behind, that try to make us feel bad for the things we’ve done in the past. They like to tell the “I remember when” stories to snuff out our joy of maturing and being in a real relationship with God. Ultimately, they want to keep our minds stuck in the past, so we won’t think we’re better than them.  

We may have done some dumb things in our past, but that’s the past. We are a new creation in Christ. We’ve been forgiven, God has justified us, and we shouldn’t allow anyone to condemn us. The blood of Jesus has cleansed us of every wrong thing we’ve done or will ever do.

Don’t allow anyone to hold your future hostage by digging up skeletons in your past. We’re brand new. Continue to grow in your relationship with God and if someone tries to condemn you of your past, use it as a testimony to give God glory for how far you’ve come.

Most, if not all, of church hurt comes from people trusting in, relying on, and valuing the approval of imperfect people.

You got hurt when you found out the pastor, who you looked up to, was cheating on his wife. Now you feel foolish. You got hurt when you realized some of the members, who are supposed to love unconditionally, judged you because you had an abortion. You got upset when the members seemed unappreciative of your efforts.

Once again, the church is made up of imperfect believers. They may not all get it right and some are downright mean. However, if we focus on establishing and developing a personal relationship with Jesus, church hurt will be a thing of the past.

We won’t be looking to the church for validation, love, and support because we’ll experience that through Jesus. We’ll have a better understanding of grace when we or others miss the mark. We won’t place our trust in pastors because our trust will be in God. We won’t be sad when church friends turn their backs on us because we have a friend in Jesus.

If you’ve experienced church hurt, examine your life. There’s possibly an area where you’ve trusted in people. Take that previous hurt to God and begin to establish, maintain, and develop your relationship with God through Jesus Christ.

Psalm 146:3 Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help.

Ephesians 1:5 having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, 6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved. 7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace

There are some of us who seek acceptance from outside sources, not realizing we’ve already been accepted by God through Christ. Because of negative events in our lives and because we haven’t received God’s acceptance, we’ll seek a perverted form of acceptance. We’ll join gangs, stay in toxic relationships, or intentionally have a baby just to be accepted by someone.

Once we truly get an understanding of our God-given acceptance, we’ll never need to force someone to accept us or work tirelessly to get people to like us. We’ll realize His acceptance is enough.

Meditate on these scriptures continuously until you’re convinced that God has accepted you and His acceptance is enough.

Romans 10:17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

We don’t listen to the word of God so that God is pleased with us and we don’t listen to the word to check some religious box. We listen to the word to build and strengthen our faith.

The more word we hear, the stronger our faith. If we listen to the word on healing, we’ll have strong faith to know we are healed. If we hear the word of God on prosperity, we’ll have faith for prosperity.

We need our faith to be strong because we have an enemy who wants to destroy us. He doesn’t want to see us saved, healthy, blessed, or at peace. Our faith can counterattack his thoughts,  ideas, and suggestions. Also, negative situations in life will come and having faith in the word of God helps us look beyond those situations and focus on God’s promises. 

If you want to live a defeated life, don’t listen to the word. However, if you want to live a victorious life, get a daily dose of word. Remember, it’s not for God. It’s for you to be equipped with the neccessary tools to win.

Jonah 2:1 Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from inside the fish.

Jonah 2:10 Then the Lord ordered the fish to spit Jonah out onto the beach.

Whatever predicament we’ve placed ourselves in, God can hear us and help.

We may be in the bed with someone else’s spouse and God will hear us. We may have gotten ourselves deep in debt through disobedience and God will help when we cry out. We may have turned our backs on God, but He’s still available when we turn towards Him.

No matter what we’ve done or how far we’ve strayed, when we call out to God, He’ll hear us and help us.

If you were unsaved, what would draw you into Christianity? Would it be the message of the cross? Would it be eternal life? Or, would it be abundant life?

All of these are awesome reasons to give your life to the Lord, but one of these can be currently displayed. The message of the cross is awesome, but we reap the benefits of Jesus’s sacrifice after we transition. Eternal life is good, but how can that benefit us now? What can be displayed now is abundant life.

Abundant life can be displayed in multiple ways. It can be displayed in our attitude. It can be displayed in our giving. It can be displayed in our marriages. It can be displayed with luxury living. When unsaved people see this kind of living, they’ll want Jesus now. It’s hard for some to believe that Jesus saved them from hell and we’ll live forever, but they can easily see Jesus providing an abundant life.

Why would anyone want to be in God’s family full of broke grouchy people with toxic marriages? They wouldn’t. We don’t have to be perfect, but let’s understand, access, and believe for the abundant life Jesus provided so that we can display it for the unsaved world.

John 10:10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.

God has some difficult commands in His word. Let’s look at a few.

Matthew 5:44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,

Psalm 37:1 Don’t be angry because of those who do evil, do not be jealous because of those who commit iniquity.

Ephesians 4:32 And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.

Depending on the circumstance, these are some difficult things to do on a consistent basis. It’s pretty hard to truly love someone who’s hurt us to the core or not be envious of someone’s success, knowing how they treated others.

We were never meant to fulfill these commands in our own strength. We were always meant to rely on the help of the Holy Spirit.

When a crooked boss looks over all our hard work and promotes someone else, we need to look to God and ask for help to love that person. When an ex-spouse is attempting to defame our character in front of our children, we need to ask God for help on being kind to them.

Nothing will successfully be done for an extended period of time without the help of the Holy Spirit. Look to God for help in difficult situations.

John 14:26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.

Romans 8:25 But if we look forward to something we don’t yet have, we must wait patiently and confidently.

You may not have the big paying career yet but be patient my friend.
You may not have a painless body but be patient.
You may not be married with children yet but be patient.

Every promise of God requires some type of patience. There are several things we can learn while being patient. We learn to wait with a positive attitude. If we’re waiting on a house or car, we can learn all the details on how to best manage and maintain that house or car. If we’re waiting on better employment, we can learn what we need to learn to be an outstanding employee. If we’re waiting on a spouse and children, we can learn how to better ourselves to be the best spouse and parent.

On the other side of our patience is our breakthrough. Don’t stop believing because it’s taking too long. Know that it’s available and it will manifest in our lives.

Imagine God blessing you with your greatest desire. It’s something you wanted for a long time. Imagine holding that desire in your hands or seeing it with your eyes. Imagine yourself praising God for that desire. Imagine yourself crying, raising your hands, and worshipping
God because somehow some way He made it happen. Imagine yourself telling God how good He is and how you love Him and thank Him. Just imagine.

Now… that praise and worship you just imagined yourself doing… do it now. Praise Him now. We can praise Him now with the same intensity we imagined because of 1 John 5:14-15 which says, this is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us–whatever we ask–we know that we have what we asked of him. We can and should sincerely praise Him now because we know we have whatever we asked for. It may not have materialized yet, but we have it. It’s only a matter of time and a constant belief in God’s word before what we imagine will come to pass.

This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him. 1 John 5:14‭-‬15 NIV

Acts 17:11 (NLT) And the people of Berea were more open-minded than those in Thessalonica, and they listened eagerly to Paul’s message. They searched the Scriptures day after day to see if Paul and Silas were teaching the truth.

There are some of us who listen to ministers speak on a regular. It’s important to listen to them and search the scriptures to confirm what they’re saying is true and in context.

For instance, a minister may read Matthew 6:15 which says, if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins. That minister may tell us we won’t be forgiven if we don’t forgive others. Well, that’s not true. In Matthew 6, Jesus was speaking to disciples living under the law. A minister saying something like that can bring fear and condemnation. Under the new covenant, Ephesians 4:32 says, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you. It’s important to forgive, but our forgiveness from God is not dependent upon our forgiveness to others. Through Christ, we’ve been forgiven. It’s already done.

Don’t take anyone’s word for truth. Validate what they’re saying with the Word of God.

2 Corinthians 9:6 Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.

Sowing and reaping is a law that God established in the earth. Whatever we give (small or large), will be given back to us (Luke 6:38). It’s no different than Newton’s third law of motion that states; “what goes up must come down.” It has to happen.

That’s why it’s so important to give as God instructs us to give. He’s encouraging us to activate this law. A benefit to giving as God leads us to give is He obligates Himself on our return. God’s return is always greater than what we’ve given. In Luke 6:38 it tells us when we give, it shall be given back in an overflowing manner.

So, whether God’s prompting us to give a few dollars to a homeless person, give to a friend, or give to the church, do it and expect God to return what we’ve given in abundance.

1 Thessalonians 5:18 (NLT) Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.

A lot of us spend a lot of time playing the “If I” game with ourselves. We make statements such as, if I had more money, I can buy nicer things for my family. If I had a better house, I wouldn’t hear the neighbors next door. If I had a better job, I could have more opportunities for promotion. These statements may be factual, but this game leads to ingratitude.

We may not have all the money we want, but at least we can pay our bills and have the necessities. We may not have the house we want, but praise God, we have a roof over our heads. We may not be working where we ultimately desire, but we’re employed.

There’s nothing wrong with having desires, but don’t let those desires minimize or belittle what God has currently provided. Be grateful.

In order to truly follow the plan of God, we have to keep an open mind. We can’t bind ourselves with specific rules from the day before. We must be fluid and flexible with what He instructs us to do today.

What God tells us to do today may be different from what He told us to do yesterday. Yesterday, He may have told us to take medicine for a cold. Today, He may tell us to only drink orange juice. It seems illogical, but do it. On interviews in the past, He may have told us to tell our life’s story and we got the job. Just because it worked last time doesn’t mean we need to do the same thing again. On our upcoming interview, He may tell us to keep our answers short and brief.

Following the plan of God may be different from one day to the next. Keep an open mind and be flexible to make the appropriate adjustments.

Genesis 22:2 “Take your son,” God said, “your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah. Offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains, which I will show you.”

Instruction Change:
12 “Do not lay a hand on the boy or do anything to him,” said the angel, “for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your only son from me.”

Psalm 118:8 It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man.

Psalm 146:3 Do not put your trust in princes, in human beings, who cannot save.

As we see, we’re not meant to completely trust any human. There’s no exception to any human. That includes ministers.

Unfortunately, there are some not so great ministers out there. Because of their title and position, some of us trust them entirely. We trust they hear from God and believe they have our best interest at heart, but that’s not always the case. Some of these so called ministers provide poor unscriptual advice, tell all our business after we’ve confided in them, and don’t practice what they preach. And if our trust is betrayed, we don’t want anything to do with the church or God. God never intended for us to live this way. 

This all could be avoided if we remembered to place our trust in God and not man. As God leads, we can give a portion of our trust to a person, but always remembering they’re a person who intentionally or unintentionally will miss the mark. Place your trust in God.

Psalm 118:8 It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man.

Psalm 146:3 Do not put your trust in princes, in human beings, who cannot save.

A lot of us have experienced hurt mainly because we’ve placed our entire trust in people. Some of us have been hurt by our parents, ministers, politicians, spouses, and children.

We can avoid all this hurt by trusting in the only One who cannot change. Place your trust in God. God won’t let us down. He has no hidden agenda and He’s not manipulative. He only wants what’s best for us.

As for people, God will tell us who we can give a portion of our trust to. He’ll tell us who we need to keep an eye on. He’ll even reveal some things about a person, through discernment, that were never spoken.

As much as we’d like to trust in the people closest to us, in the back of our minds we must remember that they’re humans living in a fallen world and cannot be trusted completely.

Mark 16:14 Later He appeared to the eleven as they sat at the table; and He rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen.

If Jesus was displeased with the unbelief of the disciples regarding His resurrection, how disappointed is He is with those who choose not to believe other promises that He obtained for us?

His sacrifice provided us with salvation, healing, deliverance, authority, desires, and so much more. All He asks is that we believe. He’s not asking us to work for it or buy it. Just internalize His promises and believe.

Don’t let His sacrifice be in vain and don’t allow His promises to go unclaimed. Believe and receive everything He promised you.

There were also women looking on from afar, among whom were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the Less and of Joses, and Salome, who also followed Him and ministered to Him when He was in Galilee, and many other women who came up with Him to Jerusalem.
Mark 15:40‭-‬41

Unfortunately, there are certain denominations in the body of Christ that minimize women. Even in the bible, because of the time period, they were rarely mentioned. Although women were rarely mentioned, we still have some beneficial scriptures that should encourage and inform others about women’s roles in the body of Christ.

As we can see from the scripture above, there were women disciples. Not only did they follow Jesus, they ministered to Him. Yes, they ministered to the Son of God. How awesome is that? I can’t think of anyone else who ministered to Jesus.

So, if anyone has a problem with women and their ministerial roles in the church, direct them to these scriptures. And women, if God has called you to minister, go with God and let Him deal with your adversaries.

Galatians 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

As we can see, one of the gifts of the Spirit is self-control. Self-control should be applied in multiple areas such as eating, sleeping, and parenting. One of the biggest areas where self-control is truly needed is self-control in our spending.

Some of us have a bad habit of spending our hard-earned money on the newest, latest, and greatest items. There’s a feeling like we’ve got to have it now (whatever it is). That’s a lack of self-control. People are going into debt because they can’t control their spending. That debt impacts their credit where they can’t make major purchases like a house or obtain the financial backing to start a business.

If we desire something, go to the Holy Spirit. Ask Him if it’s okay to buy the item. He’ll tell us to stand in faith for the item, yes, or not now. That desire may change in a couple of months. Don’t buy stuff to be with the cool crowd. Buy it because you like it and the Holy Spirit has given you permission. Have self-control.

Psalm 9:1 (AMP) I WILL praise You, O Lord, with my whole heart; I will show forth (recount and tell aloud) all Your marvelous works and wonderful deeds!

There are those who feel like sharing what God has done for them is boastful. They feel like it’s a lack of humility and you’re rubbing the less fortunate’s nose in it.

As we can see, with the right motives, we’re expected to show and tell others all the marvelous things God has done. It didn’t specify the type of person. They can be older or younger, richer or poorer, or believer or unbeliever. God’s word simply tells us to share what God has done in our lives with others.

Trying not to show or share what God has done doesn’t bring God any glory. Hopefully, our testimony will encourage others to trust God to fulfill their desires. Share your story.

If you had $500, and had to let someone keep it for the day, would you give it to someone you didn’t know, or would you give it to your spouse? Most of us would give it to our spouse because we trust them. We’ve developed trust by getting to know them over time.

When we first get saved, we don’t trust God in every area. We may trust Him to save us from hell, but we don’t trust Him with our money, in raising our children, or our careers. Like our spouses or anyone else close to us, we develop our trust in God by spending time with God. We spend time with God through worship, prayer, meditation, studying His word, and having conversations with Him throughout the day. Eventually, we’ll know God to the point where we’ll trust Him in every area of our lives.

The more time we spend with God, the more we’ll trust Him. Once we’ve spent quality time with God, we won’t be intimidated with scriptures that tell us to trust God with all our hearts or give God 10% of our paycheck. Why? Because we know Him which allows us to truly trust Him.

Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding;

Inspired by Apostle Hilliard

Can you understand the mysteries surrounding God All-Powerful? They are higher than the heavens and deeper than the grave. So what can you do when you know so little, and these mysteries outreach the earth and the ocean?
Job 11:7‭-‬9 CEV

God is different. His ways are often illogical. He tells us to love the people who hate us. He tells us to give to get. He tells us humble ourselves to be honored. These are just illogical commands found in scripture.

Through the Holy Spirit, He’ll tell us to do uncommon things like buy land when it’s a seller’s market, open a business without all the necessary business plans, or wait another year to marry the person you’re in love with.

As He requests something illogical, we must trust Him. It may not make sense and it may go against everything we were taught, but we must believe His way is best. Understand He’s different, but trusting His different ways will lead us to a prosperous stress-free life.

When military personnel are out in their uniforms, people will approach them and thank them for their service. They’re thanking them for positioning themselves in harm’s way to guard, defend, and protect our freedoms.

Jesus wasn’t the first soldier, but He was the ultimate soldier. He positioned Himself to fight on our behalf. Instead of the enemy attacking us, they attacked Him. He was beaten, tormented, and separated from the One He’s known for all eternity. He fought for us all the way to the point of death and won.

If a military officer can be thanked, surely we can thank our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for His service. Every time we see a cross, we should thank Jesus for His services to us.

Thank you Jesus for going over and above the call of duty so that we can be saved.

Colossians 2:15 (CEV) There Christ defeated all powers and forces. He let the whole world see them being led away as prisoners when he celebrated his victory.

Colossians 3:15 (AMP) And let the peace (soul harmony which comes) from Christ rule (act as umpire continually) in your hearts [deciding and settling with finality all questions that arise in your minds, in that peaceful state] to which as [members of Christ’s] one body you were also called [to live]. And be thankful (appreciative), [giving praise to God always].

Poor decisions can affect our current state and our future. It can impact our children and even our grandchildren. Poor decisions can slow down what God desires to do in our lives. What may normally take a couple of years to do may take ten years to complete because of our poor decisions.

Before we make any decision, we must complete the following steps:

1. Confirm our decisions align with the word of God.
2. Let peace be the determining factor if it’s not directly mentioned in the bible.
3. Be directed by the Holy Spirit on when, where, and how a certain thing should done.

As we make good decisions, we can live a stress-free life knowing we consulted God in everything.

Proverbs 17:22 (AMP) A happy heart is good medicine and a cheerful mind works healing, but a broken spirit dries up the bones.

We experience and maintain happiness through God’s Word.

When we see all that God’s done for us through Jesus and see all the promises He has for us, we can’t help but be happy. We’re happy because we know He’s going to take care of us, supply everything we need, protect us, and give us the desires of our hearts. We’re happy because no circumstance can change His promises.

Our happiness can fade when we start to doubt. When we believe things won’t change or doubt God’s word will come to pass, our happiness is hindered. We’ll only have happy moments instead of staying in a constant state of happiness.

Keep that medicine of happiness flowing in your hearts by believing God’s word.

Psalm 115:13-14 He will bless those who fear the Lord, Both small and great. May the Lord give you increase more and more, You and your children.

God’s desire for our lives are blessings and increase. Whatever prosperous thing we can think of, He wants to give it to us. He not only wants to bless and increase us, but our children too.

Don’t let anyone tell you that God wants you poor or He wants you to have just enough to make it through life. Don’t let anyone tell you that increase is worldly and not the true heart of God.

From these scriptures, we can clearly see God desires for us to have blessings and increase. Receive it today.

Psalm 27:13 I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.

We don’t have to wait until we get to heaven to experience God’s goodness. We can experience God’s goodness now.

There are so many of us who are looking forward to heaven because we’ll experience a blissful stress-free life with no pain and more than we could ever ask or think. Jesus made this life available to us now. How? By faith.

As we confidently believe (without doubt) that the promises of God were made available to us through Jesus, we can have abundant life now (John 10:10). Because we live in a fallen world, things will happen that will attack the abundant life Jesus provided for us. But, as we remain in faith and use our God-given authority to cancel the attacks, we’ll experience the goodness of the Lord.

Don’t wait until you die. Release your faith to experience a good enjoyable life today.  

Psalm 27:3 (CEV) Armies may surround me, but I won’t be afraid; war may break out, but I will trust you.

It may seem like hell is breaking loose everywhere in your life. It’s during these times, we must learn from David. David’s trust was not in what He naturally saw around him. His trust was in the Lord. By spending time with the Lord and developing intimacy with Him, David was confident in knowing God was NOT going to let the enemy take him out.

When sickness attempts to invade our bodies, when divorce is on the horizon, or when stress infiltrates multiple areas of our lives, that’s when we need to look to the Lord and His word. His word says we are healed (Isaiah 53:5). We’re privileged to have prosperity in every area of our lives, including our marriage (3 John 1:2). We get the honor to give our cares to God so that He can perfect them for our good (1 Pet. 5:7; Ps. 138:8; Rom. 8:28).

Knowing and being confident in His word allows us to not be moved when circumstances don’t look the best. Trust God and His word.

John 8:2 Now early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people came to Him; and He sat down and taught them.

It may not have been the most convenient time for Jesus to teach the people early in the morning, but He taught them anyway.

There may be opportunities in our lives when doing something for others may be inconvenient. It’s during those times we need to think of Jesus. If He was willing to put on flesh to help us, we should help someone else as the Spirit leads.

Access the love of God in your hearts and do something for others even if it’s inconvenient.

Proverbs 13:15 Good understanding giveth favour: but the way of transgressors is hard.

Due to Adam’s sin, life is more complicated than God originally intended. Let’s not compound the complications of life corrupted by sin by intentionally and knowingly adding transgressions to it.

We internally know certain things are wrong based on God’s word. Like theft, committing adultery, or just being mean to people. When we knowingly engage in activities that dishonor God and don’t care, we make life harder on ourselves.

A hard life causes us to age quickly, have health issues, or remain in poverty. God is not making our lives hard. Our decisions are causing more complications in our lives.

It’s one thing to miss the mark every now and then (thank God for grace). But when we’re consistently dishonoring God with our disrespectful decisions, difficulties are ahead. Live a honorable life unto God.

Our faith is placed somewhere. It’s either placed in the word of God or in what we see in the world.

If we want a baby, we can either place our faith in God’s word that says, none will miscarry or be barren (Ex. 23:26) or place our faith in the word of the doctor who says because of your medical issues, having a baby is slim. If we want an enjoyable job, we can believe Isaiah 65:22 that says, we will long enjoy the work of our hands or we can look at our education and conclude we’ll be stuck at a job we hate. It’s up to us.

Any situation we face has a word option or a world option. Let’s place our faith in God’s word and in His word alone.

Romans 10:17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

Then the king interviewed them, and among them all none was found like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah; therefore they served before the king. And in all matters of wisdom and understanding about which the king examined them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers who were in all his realm. Daniel 1:19‭-‬20 NKJV

There was a great distinction between Daniel Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. Daniel and his friends were not only better than everyone else. Because they honored God and put Him first, they were 10 times better.

There should be some distinction between believers and the rest of the world. In our field, we should be 10 times better than everyone else. Ideas should easily flow, our problem solving skills should be impeccable, and our efficiency should be excellent. Why? We serve a God who can fill us with this wisdom at our request (read James 1:5).

Let’s communicate with God and make ourselves distinctive by being 10 times better than the rest.