Category Archive

Job 1:5 And when the days of feasting were over, Job would send for his children to purify them, rising early in the morning to offer burnt offerings for all of them. For Job thought, “Perhaps my children have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.” This was Job’s regular practice.

Job didn’t sacrifice to the Lord because he was grateful for all He had done. Job sacrificed to the Lord out of fear of his children’s sin. If we’re not mindful, we can give, serve, or pray from a place of fear.

A fear based prayer usually comes as a result of numerous demonic thoughts entering our minds. If the devil has been placing thoughts in our minds that our children are going to die prematurely, we may fret and pray, “Lord please don’t let my children die early.” Or, if thoughts of financial lack are constantly entering our minds, we may pray with a worried mindset, “Lord protect my finances.”

These are fear based prayers and there’s no guarantee that God will answer that prayer.

We must pray in faith (Matt. 21:21-22). We must believe what we said will come to pass. Instead of saying, “Lord please don’t let my children die early,” we should say “God, Your Word says, with long life you will satisfy us, therefore, my children won’t die early.” Instead of protect my finances, we can say, “according to Philippians 4:19, all my needs are met.”

We moved from entertaining fear to activating faith. Let your prayers be faith based and not fear based.

God gave us an imagination for multiple reasons. One of those reasons is to see what we say. God gave us power in our speech. What we say, positive or negative, will come to pass. When we understand the power we have, we can use our imagination to see what we said.

For instance, when we declare sickness to leave our bodies, we should use our imagination to see a blob of sickness coming out of our bodies and going back to hell. When we declare our finances to increase, we should imagine the number in our bank account with three extra zeros. When we declare demonic influences be removed from a person, we should envision an ugly creature coming out the person and being destroyed.

These are the types of things that will solidify our faith in what we say. Negative thoughts and current circumstances will attempt to make us lose sight of what we’ve imagined. But, if we hold on and continue to see what we said, what we said will manifest into reality.

God having Abraham use his imagination.

Genesis 15:5 He took him outside and said, “Look up at the sky and count the stars–if indeed you can count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”

When situations arise, our flesh wants to turn to other outlets outside of God. There are positive and negative outlets. Positive outlets include, exercise for stress, therapy for depression, or a financial adviser for our finances. Negative outlets include, drugs for stress, self-harm for depression, or investing in a get-rich-quick scheme to ease our financial troubles.

Regardless if the outlets are positive or negative, relying solely on these outlets pushes God out. Prioritizing something else above God is called idolatry.

God knew we would face negative situations in our lives and between His Word, His Spirit, and the finished works of Jesus, God’s already provided our help. God may direct us to some of these positive outlets. but He doesn’t want us to rely solely on them.

Let’s not push God out of our problems and reach towards our outlets. Let God be THE only Outlet in our lives.

1 Corinthians 10:13 No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.

Revelations 12:11 And they have defeated him by the blood of the Lamb and by their testimony. And they did not love their lives so much that they were afraid to die.

We’ve all gone through some difficult situations. Some of us have overcome abuse, addictions, and endured tragic events. Regardless of what we’ve gone through, it’s beneficial to share our story with someone else.

When we share our story, it can help someone else in a few ways. They can relate. They’ll say within themselves if they overcame, I can overcome. Or, they’ll minimize. They’ll say, I am going through problems but, it’s not as bad as what they’ve gone through. Or, they’ll find an outlet in us. Since we shared our story, they may feel comfortable sharing their process with us.

It’s also beneficial to share how we overcame. We know it’s God Who delivered us but, between our negative event and our deliverance, there are several steps we should share. Those steps may be practical as well as spiritual. Those steps may include counseling, daily confessions, physical exercise, or meditating on the Word of God.

When the opportunity presents itself, don’t be ashamed to share your story. Your story may save someone’s life.

Luke 12:25 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life?

What if it doesn’t work? What if my spouse is having an affair? What if we can’t pay the bills? What if it doesn’t get better? What if I don’t get the promotion? What if my business is not successful? What if the sadness never goes away?

Negative what if questions are forms of worry from Satan. Worry is a form of fear. Satan’s goal is to make us lose faith in God. He’s wanting us to believe the lie of God’s Word won’t come to pass in our lives.

When negative forms of what if questions enter our minds, minimize the questions and counter them with the Word of God.
What if my spouse is having an affair?…I rebuke fear. My spouse loves me the way Christ loves the church (Eph. 5:25).
What if it doesn’t get better?….Never mind, I’ve been healed by the stripes of Jesus (1 Peter 2:24).
What if I don’t get the promotion?…Oh well, no good thing will God withhold from me (Psalm 84:11)

Don’t entertain Satan’s thoughts, ideas, or suggestions any longer. Counter them with the Truth.

There’s power in consistency. The thing that will benefit us the most is our unchanging faith in God.

Negative circumstances will come. How we respond to those circumstances determines the level of our faith. Enduring faith, a short burst of faith, and no faith are our options.

Example: You and your family are standing in faith for a new house.
Negative Circumstance: Your spouse gets laid off which forces the household finances to be cut in half.
Option 1: You continue to stand in faith for the house. You continue to look at floor plans, make confessions, and watch HGTV for ideas.
Option 2: You remain in faith until the bills are due and you realize you barely have enough to pay the current bills. After a month, your faith for a house is tainted with doubt and you slowly stop believing.
Option 3: You immediately stop believing because you can’t logically see how buying a house now is going to happen.

God can work around any negative circumstance if we continue to believe.

We must make a decision. Will we doubt, lose hope, and give up on God’s promises or will we stand firm and wait on the promises of God? Regardless of the circumstance, have unchanging faith and believe in God.

Jeremiah 17:7 But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is Him. 8 He will be like a tree planted by the waters that sends out its roots toward the stream. It does not fear when the heat comes, and its leaves are always green. It will not worry in a year of drought or cease producing fruit.

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.

People like consistency. We like consistency in our relationships. We want our spouse’s attitude to remain the same. Not, happy in the morning then angry in the evening. We like consistency from our supervisors. We want a supervisor to treat everyone the same. We like consistency from our children in school. Not, one semester making straight A’s then the next semester C’s and D’s.

God understands our desire for consistency. When someone is consistent, it makes it easier for us to put our trust in them. God reassures us that He’ll remain consistent through His Word. He told us that He’s the same yesterday, today, and forever. If He did it before, He’ll do it again. That’s awesome.

Some of us know God is consistent, but certain situations attempt to scare us into thinking God won’t fulfill His Word. Don’t give into fear. If He said it, He meant it. He is and He’ll always remain consistent. Put your faith, hope, and confidence in God’s Word.

Malachi 3:6 “Because I, the LORD, do not change, you descendants of Jacob have not been destroyed.

Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

Satan’s plan is to influence our minds with his ideas. His schemes are so clever until they seem like our own thoughts. They appear logical and intelligent.

Revelation 12:9 says, Satan deceives the whole world. To be deceived means a person thinks they’re right but, they’re actually wrong. Since Satan is the master deceiver, he’s deceived the most intellectual people into thinking God doesn’t exist. A combination of Satan’s deception and facts provides great arguments as to why God doesn’t exist.

Since certain people are viewed as intelligent, they have a following. If we were the devil, wouldn’t it make sense to deceive intellectual people who can influence others? Those people learn deceptive arguments from intellectuals that can influence others.

At the end of the day, it’s all about what we choose to believe. We can be deceived into believing books as to why God doesn’t exist. These books give us no hope for our future. We just cease to exist when we die. Or, we can believe the book (The Bible) that shows us the way to get to God.

Don’t be deceived. Believe the Word of God.

Revelations 12:9 So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

It’s important to know our enemy, the devil (2 Cor. 2:11). Satan’s only attack is to influence our minds with his ideas. His schemes are so clever until they seem like our own thoughts.

Another thing Satan has convinced a lot of people of is satanically influenced free will/free choice. We’re living in a time where people are encouraged to do whatever feels good to them. If people want to get high, that’s okay. If people want 20 sexual partners, that’s fine. If people want to spend all their money on clothes, do what makes you happy. And if anyone criticizes these behaviors, they’re in the wrong.

God’s Word is clear about these subjects but, satanic influence of free will often overrides God’s will. God didn’t make these rules for the sake of making up rules. He’s our Creator and knows what’s best for our lives. He knows these behaviors can destroy our lives, destroy His design for family, and destroy our future.

Don’t allow Satan to destroy what God has planned for you. Strive to obey God’s Word. He knows what is best for every part of our lives.

Revelations 12:9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, who deceives the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

It’s important to know our enemy, the devil (2 Cor. 2:11). Satan’s only attack is to influence our minds with his ideas. His schemes are so clever until they seem like our own thoughts. They appear logical and intelligent.

One thing Satan has convinced some of is his lack of existence. People believe Satan is not real and he’s not making people do bad things. People do bad things from their own decisions.

How clever is that? He’s convinced some that he doesn’t exist meanwhile, they’re unknowingly doing his will, but thinking it’s their own ideas. Those people are partially correct. He’s not making us do anything, but his influences can be so strong until it seems like our ideas.

People are spreading hatred, but thinking they’re just being honest. Their relationships are crumbling, but they’re thinking they’re just acting on how they feel. Impulse decisions are being made but, they’re thinking they were acting out of wisdom.

Satan is real. His influential thoughts that seem like our own or like good ideas are meant to destroy our lives. Before acting on any decision, consult God three times, if necessary, to confirm if it’s His will or not.

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.

2 Corinthians 2:11 in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes.

In war, a country uses spies to provide intelligence about their enemy. In sports, a team views film to know the strengths and weakness of their opponent. If knowing an enemy or opponent is important in the natural, one would think it would be very important to know our ultimate enemy: the devil.

The devil can’t just invade our lives without our consent. He can’t just freely possess our bodies like in the movie The Exorcist. The devil’s only attack is to bombard our thoughts with ideas and suggestions contrary to God’s Word and His will.

He’ll tell us we can’t make it. Life is not worth living. We’ll never have that type of money.
He’ll tell us to cheat on our spouse. Cheat on our taxes. No one will know.
He’ll tell us to stay where we are for job security when we know God called us to bigger and better things.

If we act on those ideas or internalize those lies, we’re being influenced by the devil.

Get to know God’s Word and His will for your life. Submit to God’s will and resist the influences of the devil and he will flee (James 4:7).

2 Chronicles 20:3 And Jehoshaphat feared, and set his face to seek the LORD, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.

13 And all Judah stood before the LORD, with their little ones, their wives, and their children.

The Ammonites came to battle Jehoshaphat. Jehoshaphat didn’t know what to do. As king, Jehoshaphat proclaimed a fast to seek the Lord throughout Judah. Everyone, including children, sought the Lord for an answer. As they sought the Lord, the Spirit of the Lord came upon an ordinary person (Jahaziel). Jahaziel gave the king a plan of action that ultimately gave Jehoshaphat the victory (v. 14-18). Jehoshaphat proclaimed the fast, but Jahaziel provided the answer.

As heads of our households, if a problem arises and we don’t know what to do, have the family seek the Lord through a fast. A fast amplifies the voice of God. Like Jehoshaphat, the answer may come through someone else. It may come through our spouse or even our children. Some mistakenly assume that because children are young, they can’t hear the voice of God. Let’s not forget Joel 2:28 which says, our sons and daughters will prophesy. This concept also works with believers at work. Proclaim a fast to improve productivity or provide a solution to an unanswered problem at our places of employment.

So, fast and be in tune as we seek the Lord.

2 Chronicles 20:12 O our God, will You not judge them? For we have no power against this great multitude that is coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are upon You.”

When we don’t know what to do. Look to God. Life can be so troubling and confusing until we don’t know what to do. That’s when it’s most beneficial to look to God.

Look to Him through His Word. Read His Word regarding what He’s promised us despite what our circumstances say.

Look to Him through prayer. Communicate with God. Tell Him all that you’re going through and expect Him to talk back. He’ll provide a daily plan on how to maintain your sanity and how to overcome those circumstances.

Look to Him through fasting. One day, two days, or ten days. It doesn’t matter. Fasting silences the things within us and around us and amplifies God’s voice.

No matter if the problem is great or small, this is how we overcome. Look to God and get your answer.

Proverbs 17:22 A merry heart does good, like medicine, But a broken spirit dries the bones.

A born-again believer who is filled with the Holy Spirit can laugh. It may shock some people, but we can enjoy ourselves too. It’s not a sin.

We don’t have to be this deep somber person with only spiritual things on our minds. Through Christ, we have the freedom to laugh and have a good time (Rom. 8:1-4; Gal. 5:1). We can see entertaining movies, play games, go to a comedy show and more.

Just know, we don’t have to limit ourselves to reading the Bible, listening to only Christian music, and watching only Christian TV. That’s extremely beneficial for us but, it’s not the only thing we can do. We can be holy and have fun.

If we’re not in control of our emotions, our emotions can lead us down the wrong direction. We all know about negative emotions such as, depression, anger, and hatred. These emotions can lead us to suicide, imprisonment, and becoming a bitter person. We focus on negative emotions but, “positive emotions” can lead us down the wrong path as well.

We may have the positive emotion of excitement to make an impulse purchase. That excitement will eventually fade but, we’re stuck with debt or an item we really don’t use. We may have happy feelings in a relationship that will have us marrying a person too soon. After a year into the marriage, we may see the true side of our spouse and not be satisfied with our decision.

We were never meant to be controlled by our emotions. We are to be led by the Spirit of God. He will tell us how to handle that situation when we get angry. He will also show us how to calm down and make a wise decision. Let’s control our emotions and allow the Spirit of God to direct us in all our ways.

Galatians 5:16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.

Inspired by Creflo Dollar

Galatians 3:13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole.”

For every born-again believer, Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law. Cursed means, empowered to fail. The curse is still operational and being felt by the world but we, the believers, have been rescued from the curse and placed into the blessing.

The curse of the law can be found in Deuteronomy 28:15-63. Some of those curses include cursed in our bodies, in our careers, and in our families.

Our redemption from the curse is good news for the believer. If we see something in our lives that appears cursed, we can use our God-given authority to declare that thing line up with the blessing. If it seems like our bodies are constantly being attacked with sickness, we tell our sickness we’ve been redeemed from the curse and we tell our bodies to line up with the blessing. If we’re being attacked with feelings of depression, we tell depression we’ve been redeemed from the curse and we tell our mind to line up with the blessing.

Whatever the situation is, reverse the curse and release the blessing. This is our covenant right we have in Christ. Use it!

Matthew 13:58 Now He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief.

God can do nothing apart from our belief. It’s simple. If we can believe it and it aligns with God’s Word, we can have it. But, if we allow doubt and unbelief to enter our hearts, we won’t receive a thing.

It’s the enemy’s job to fill our heads up with doubt and unbelief. He’ll use family members, friends, statistics, and logic to lead us down the path of unbelief. Thoughts of unbelief may come, but, we don’t have to accept them. We reject those thoughts with the Word of God.

The enemy may say, we won’t get that house, job, or healing because of…..whatever. We reject those thoughts by declaring the Word of God. We believe that we received our needs and/or desires met in Jesus name.

From the most basic need to the most out of the box desire, allow God to manifest it through your belief.

Romans 8:25 But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.

There are so many promises God has for us and a lot of us want them all immediately. God operates in wisdom and it would be unwise to give a maturing believer every promise at once. We would destroy ourselves and potentially forsake God. We must be patient and practice contentment.

Let’s be patient with ourselves. We’re still naturally maturing. We have to give ourselves time to grow in wisdom. It would make no sense for God to give us $1,000,000 if we’re still making bad investments with $100.

Secondly, we’re still spiritually maturing. In our maturing process, we should ask ourselves, why we want these promises. Is it so that we can boast about having the best? Or, is it so that we can have resources to impact the lives of others? We can do both, but if our motive is to boast, we still have some maturing to do.

Finally, be patient with God’s timing. When God blesses us, He has more on His mind than us. The timing of our manifested blessing will not only impact our lives but it could impact someone else at the same time.

Don’t be anxious. Be patient and continue to prepare yourselves for the expected promises of God.

Mark 10:47 When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” 48 Many people admonished him to be silent, but he cried out all the louder, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” 49 Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” So they called the blind man. “Take courage!” they said. “Get up! He is calling for you.”

Some have made it a sign of weakness to go to the church for assistance or go to God for help. They’ll say, since we can’t handle our problems ourselves, we have to resort to God. This concept is untrue.

As we can see from this story, people may try to make us feel ashamed for going to God for help but, God won’t. They tried to silence blind Bartimaeus from getting help from Jesus. They tried to shame him into thinking he was inconveniencing Jesus. Bartimaeus’ situation was bad enough for him to put his shame aside, reject all the naysayers, and find a solution in Jesus. We should do the same.

Don’t allow the words, giggles, or stares from others to stop us from going to God. Even if people are looking, if we have to whisper confessions to ourselves to prevent us from losing our minds, so be it. If we have to look crazy for going to our cars during our lunch break to have a moment of worship to prevent a moment of breakdown, oh well. If we need to go to the front of the church for prayer every Sunday, we have to do what we have to do.

God never created us to handle any problem ourselves. He always wants to be included. Never be ashamed to go to God and implement His plan for our solution.

Hebrews 10:26 For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins,

If someone were to take this scripture out of context, they may assume there’s no sacrifice or forgiveness for a person if they knowingly and intentionally do what’s wrong. They may conclude there’s no forgiveness for the homosexual, adulterer, or the habitual liar because they knowingly live a life contrary to God’s will. That’s NOT TRUE because every sin we commit is knowingly and intentionally.

This scripture is referring to the sin of unbelief. If a person has heard the genuine Gospel of Jesus Christ and still chooses not to believe in Him as Lord, there remains no sacrifice for their sins. There’s no sacrifice/forgiveness for their sins because they rejected the payment (Jesus) for sins.

When we accept the payment of Jesus as Lord, we receive full coverage for sins (Rom. 6:10). Every sin that we’ll ever commit has been covered by this payment. There’s not one thing we can do that’s not covered. This is not a license to sin but, this is an assurance that if we sin, forgiveness has already been made available for us.

Don’t allow condemnation to set in your hearts. God’s forgiveness encompasses all.

Romans 6:10 The death He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life He lives, He lives to God. 11 So you too must count yourselves dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.

Psalm 149:3 Let them praise his name with dancing and make music to him with timbrel and harp. 4 For the LORD takes delight in his people; he crowns the humble with victory. 5 Let his faithful people rejoice in this honor and sing for joy on their beds. 6 May the praise of God be in their mouths and a double-edged sword in their hands, 7 to inflict vengeance on the nations and punishment on the peoples, 8 to bind their kings with fetters, their nobles with shackles of iron, 9 to carry out the sentence written against them— this is the glory of all his faithful people. Praise the LORD.

A lot of times before battle, God would instruct His people to praise Him. This praise would remind them of where their help, strength, and protection comes from. In one instance, praise was all they had to do. When they praised God, their enemy turned against themselves and started killing one another (2 Chron. 20:21-23). As we can see, praise is a weapon.

We may not face physical battles but, we all will face spiritual battles. Mental exhaustion, low self-esteem, doubt, fear, etc. are all forms of spiritual battles. These battles are designed to separate us from God. It’s during these attacks we should use our weapon of praise. Like physical battles, we praise God to remind ourselves where our help, strength, and protection comes from. Under this New Covenant, we also praise God because we have a guarantee of victory over every situation (2 Cor. 2:14).

Whatever we’re going through and no matter how we feel, don’t forget to praise our great God.

Hebrews 10:35 Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward.

Our confidence is attached to the promises of God.

The troubles of life are meant to separate us from our confidence in God. If we lose our job, get a divorce, or go through sickness, how will we respond? Will we maintain our confidence in God’s Word or throw our confidence away and make up some excuse as to why God’s Word won’t come to pass in our lives?

If we’re not confident is God’s ability to do what He said, we leave the door open for doubt. A person who doubts can’t expect to receive anything from God (James 1:6-7). However, if we maintain our confidence in God, we’ll have the faith for God’s promises that will eventually manifest in our lives (Romans 4:16).

If you have confidence in God’s Word, keep it. If you threw your confidence away for whatever reason, go get it and go get what God has for you.

Proverbs 4:18 The path of the righteous is like the morning sun, shining ever brighter till the full light of day.

When we make Jesus our Lord, we become the just or the righteous. One promise for the righteous is a bright future.

Like any promise of God, this promise must be received by faith. Our belief in this promise will unlock wisdom in areas of ignorance, doors of opportunities will open, and people of influence will be placed in our lives.

Our future may not look so bright currently but, keep believing and standing on God’s promise. Eventually, every area of our lives will begin to brighten up.

Philippians 2:3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.

In a world where everyone seems to be looking out for themselves, we forget to think of others. People may seem like they have it altogether but people are hurting. They put on a brave face but inside, they’re going through depression, financial struggles, or marital issues.

This is where the believer steps in and sincerely uplifts the person. This uplifting may take longer than a day and it may not be as convenient as we would like but, we’re putting others before ourselves. We should reach out to people and genuinely ask how they’re doing. We should see if they need things like a babysitter so they can work on their marriage. We should see if they need prayer for anything. And if we’re the ones going through it, we need to be honest with ourselves and others about our difficulties and receive that helping hand.

Let’s shift our thinking from focusing only on our affairs and establish a mindset that uplifts people too.

Psalm 74:20 Have respect to the covenant; For the dark places of the earth are full of the haunts of cruelty.

Background: David is experiencing oppression, destruction, and despair from his enemies. Due to his problems, he tells God to respect the covenant He made with him. Essentially, he’s saying, fulfill Your end of the deal God.

Wow! This is bold talk from an ordinary man to an all supreme God.

David can speak like this to God because of his personal and intimate relationship with God. David spent years in the field developing a close relationship with God. Now that trouble has come, he’s requesting God to fulfill His end of the promise.

If someone were this bold today, some religious people may say “How dare you talk to God like that!” Honestly, this type of boldness is what God desires of us. He doesn’t want us to be afraid to talk to Him on a personal level. When we’re angry or sad, He wants us to come to Him with our anger or sadness. Whatever the issue we’re facing, He told us to come boldly to Him (Heb. 4:16). Not only that, He wants us to remind Him of the covenant promise He made with us (Isaiah 43:26).

Note: We can’t remind Him of his covenant with us if we don’t know our covenant (Read His Word).

Regardless of the situation, be honest and bold with God. Remind Him of what He promised towards us. If the situation doesn’t look like our covenant promise, declare it be changed according to God’s Word.

Ezra 3:3 Though fear had come upon them because of the people of those countries, they set the altar on its bases; and they offered burnt offerings on it to the Lord, both the morning and evening burnt offerings.

Although fear had come upon them, they pushed past their fears and worshipped the Lord.

What fears do you have in your life that you need to push past? Is it openly worshipping God without worrying about what someone else may say? Is it opening yourself up to a potential spouse? Is it freely giving your tithes and offering to God without fearing what the church is doing with the money?

Fear is designed to keep us stagnant. Whatever fear that’s in our way, we have two options. We can allow fear to keep us in a place of bondage or we can push past and experience the joys of life.

It takes courage to go beyond our fears. On the other side of fear is a sense of freedom, accomplishment, and the potential for prosperity. Don’t allow fear to hold you hostage. Push past it and enjoy your life even more.

2 Timothy 1:7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

Some say, there’s nothing wrong with a little bit of healthy fear. People will begin to exercise because they fear getting decrepit or children may work harder in school because they fear getting left behind. The concept of exercising and working harder is good, but the motivation behind this concept (fear) is not.

As we can see, God didn’t give us any version of fear. If God didn’t give us fear, we can conclude fear is from Satan himself. If we’re allowing fear to dictate what we do or don’t do, we’re being influenced by Satan.

Any type of fear is designed to separate us from God. It may start “healthy” but, fear will end up ruling our lives. If fear is our motivator, where does God come in? Shouldn’t He be our guide and motivator? Being led by the Spirit should be our guide. Every decision we make should go through Him.

Don’t entertain one drop of fear (healthy or unhealthy). God didn’t design us to live that way. Fear will present itself, but we don’t have to live our lives by it.

Church hurt is tough to face. It’s difficult to experience because the church (body of believers) is supposed to consist of love, peace, forgiveness, and relief. Unfortunately, some churches consist of condemnation, judgement, and guilt.

A lot of times, the church is the last place people go before giving up on life. People come in feeling bad about the choices they’ve made. As they sit there, they have to experience disapproval stares based on their dress attire, they have to hear condemning sermons from ministers, and they have to hear the possibility of going to hell coming from a pulpit. That’s hurtful. No wonder so many people are leaving the church and finding other ways to be “spiritual.”

The church is meant to uplift and empower people. It’s there to inform people God still loves them and all their sins are forgiven. It’s there to be a blessing to their community. It’s there to teach people the Word of God in context.

For those who left the church because of church hurt, I encourage you to rediscover church because there’s great benefit in a church. Even if it’s 5 people meeting a Starbucks once a week, that’s still a church. If the church is not doing what’s listed above, that’s not the church for you.

No church is perfect but if we allow the Spirit to guide us, He’ll show us the best church for us.

1 John 1:3 We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And this fellowship of ours is with the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ.

A brownie point is an imaginary award given to someone who does good deeds or tries to please. Some of us think we can earn brownie points with God. We think if we pray long enough, read so many chapters in our bibles, or attend so many church services, we’ll earn so many points with God to receive our desires.

God doesn’t operate on a brownie point system. He operates on one system: faith. Faith is the only currency in heaven. Faith is the only way to receive our heart’s desire. We make our request to God, believe that we receive that request, and wait in expectation for that request to manifest. There will be thoughts from delay and circumstances that will tempt us to doubt but if we maintain our belief, we’ll have what we desire.

Prayer, reading the bible, and attending church services are good for developing our relationship with God but to receive God’s promises in our lives, we must operate by faith.

Mark 11:24 Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.

Some people view God’s love from an “if” or “when” perspective. They tell themselves, if I do this or when I do that then God’s love will manifest itself in my life. The problem with this perspective is it’s conditional. They’re hoping their works or behavior will further qualify them for God’s love.

What people fail to grasp is God’s love is unconditional. He’s not going to love us any more than He already does now. It doesn’t matter how often we read our bibles or how many times we went to church. He loves us with 100% of His love. On the other hand, it doesn’t matter how many times we mess up and miss the mark, God’s not going to love us any less.

When we understand God’s unchanging love for us, we can navigate through life from a “because” perspective. We learn more about God by reading our bibles because God loves us. Because God loves us, we attend church. We’re not doing anything to increase God’s love for us, we’re living a dedicated life because of God’s love for us.

1 John 4:16 And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.

Ephesians 6:12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.

There are unseen forces that influence people to do things contrary to the Word and will of God. A lot of us want to get mad at the person, but it’s actually demonic forces behind the scenes.

In Luke 10:19, Jesus gave every believer authority over these demonic influences. We have power over all the works of the enemy.

So, when we see our children consistently misbehaving, don’t get mad at them. They’re unknowingly being influenced to be disobedient. We can use our authority to rebuke every demonic force influencing our children’s minds. When our spouse seems to have an unpleasant disposition, don’t start an argument or tell them to fix their attitude. They may not know. They’re under demonic influence. We break every stronghold from their minds by declaring every demonic influence be removed from our spouse’s minds in the name of Jesus. For every unsaved person, there’s a demonic hold that convinces them they don’t need Jesus. We have an opportunity to use our authority to remove that stronghold from their minds in order for them to be open to receive Jesus as Lord.

Don’t just look at the surface. There’s a deeper force behind the scenes pulling the strings. Let’s cut those ties by using our God-given authority over the enemy.

There are some who believe Jesus came into this world with all the knowledge of God. They think because He was the Son of God, He didn’t have to spiritually mature. That’s not true according to scripture.

According to John 8:28, Jesus was taught by God. He was taught by God by separating Himself from everything else and communing with God (Matt. 14:23). Jesus wasn’t immune to temptation. He was tempted to do sinful things too according to Hebrews 4:15, but He resisted temptation and learned to obey (Heb. 5:8). Finally, according to Luke 4:16, Jesus customarily read scripture.

Separating Himself to be taught by God, resisting temptation and obeying God, and studying the scriptures of God. These are the tools Jesus used to fulfill His purpose in the earth.

If Jesus utilized these tools to fulfill His purpose, we too need to utilize these tools to fulfill our purpose.

Let’s utilize these tools accompanied with our faith to do everything God has called us to do.

John 4:34 Jesus explained, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to finish His work.

Inspired by Kenneth Copeland

2 Corinthians 11:3 But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ.

There’s a big trap that a lot of people are falling for today.

Some traps include the following:
-People reading the words of or hear scientists who appeal to their logic which ultimately convinces them God doesn’t exist.
-People believing in self instead of this “imaginary” God.
-Historians “disproving” Christianity with so-called ancient texts.
-African Americans/Black people being led astray after being convinced Christianity is the “white man’s religion.”

These are just a few traps. These traps will ultimately separate us from God. People are being deceived. A deception is believing something is correct when in actuality, it’s incorrect. People think they’re going the right way or doing the right thing, but they’re headed in the wrong direction.

There’s nothing wrong with having questions, but we have to keep an open mind. A lot of the traps appeal to our logic. The foundation of Christianity goes against every logical bone in our bodies. If we keep an open mind and read, in context, the Bible along with accurate historical texts will define/defend itself.

Don’t be deceived and led astray by these traps. Be and stay free.

Matthew 14:23 After He had sent them away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. When evening came, He was there alone,

It’s very important to have alone time with God. He is our Source, our Strength, our Help, and our Provider. He’s our Everything. Alone time gives us access to His presence where we can obtain wisdom, grace, mercy, guidance, and ideas from day-to-day.

Jesus, the Son of God, needed alone time with God to fulfill His purpose and calling on the earth. If Jesus needed alone time, it’s definitely a necessity for us.

We can use the excuse of not having alone time with God because we’re busy managing a family, work, and a personal life. But, when we feel lost and powerless and our faith doesn’t seem as strong as it once was, we’ll know the reason why.

Spend some time with our Creator. After all He’s done for us, that’s the least He deserves.

Joshua 24:19 And Joshua said unto the people, Ye cannot serve the Lord: for he is a holy God; he is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins.

If someone were to read this, they would think God is a tough harsh God Who doesn’t forgive sins. They would think God is so holy until our mess-ups, won’t receive forgiveness. Someone else may say if it’s in the Bible, it has to be true.

That’s why it’s important to read the Word in proper context. Yes, this scripture is truly stated in the Bible but, it’s not a statement of truth. This is Joshua telling the Israelites about his beliefs of God. We know these beliefs aren’t true because all throughout the Bible, before and after Jesus, we see God forgiving people of their sins. He is still holy and wants us all to Himself, but He’s also forgiving.

2 Timothy 2:15 says, we should rightly divide the Word. If we can rightly divide the word, we can wrongly divide the word.

Take this into consideration before believing certain things in the Bible and before spreading it to someone else. Read it in context and compare what is stated with the overall nature of God.

It’s Satan’s responsibility to make us think we need this or that to be happy. When we realize we have everything we need in Jesus to be happy, we’ll overcome that sense of thinking we need something else to be happy.

Remaining in a constant state of joy is a daily battle. If we listen to the devil and let him show us all the things we don’t have that will make our lives “happier,” we’ll constantly be depressed and/or pursuing exterior things in the hopes of being happy. The problem with this pursuit is there will always be more things.

With Jesus, we have all we need. Through Him, we have every promise from God and we have every desire within our hearts. We may have to wait on certain things but, we have a guarantee that those desires will manifest. If we think long enough, we can maintain a sense of joy based on all the things He’s done in our lives up to this point.

Don’t lose your joy by listening to the devil. Meditate on the goodness of God for all the things He’s done and praise God that through the blood of Jesus we’ll eventually attain every promise of God.

Nehemiah 8:10 Nehemiah said, “Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”

The misconception between God and death can make someone hate God because they believe God “took” their loved one. Some become atheists because of death. But just like every other subject we mentioned this week, God is not responsible for death.

Yes, in the book of Job it says, “the Lord gives and the Lord takes away” but, Job was speaking under duress. God, not Job, said we have 120 years on the earth (Gen. 6:3) and we will be satisfied with long life (Psalm 91:16).”

People read the Old Testament/Covenant and see where God is “killing” people. Under the Old Covenant, death is part of the human experience because we brought it into the world ourselves (Rom 5:12). Also in the Old Covenant, the payment for sin was death (Rom 6:23). It wasn’t God killing people, it was a byproduct of sin.

Finally, people tend to forget that there’s another player in the game of life (Satan). In John 10:10 it says, Satan comes to steal, kill, and destroy. Today, Satan can’t just take us out however, he can influence us to do foolish things that will ultimately destroy ourselves or put us in harm’s way.

In the New Covenant today, Jesus paid the price for all sin which means, sin can’t cause death (Gal 3:13-15). We have a blood-bought right to live a long satisfying life. Sickness, disease, and unfortunate events may try to take us out early, but when we place our faith in God’s promise of long life, we will have it.

Believe and receive long life.

James 1:15 Then when lust has conceived, it brings forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, brings forth death.

Punishment Misconceptions:
-God’s going to get you for drinking alcohol.
-The reason why you’re sick is because you fornicated last week.
-God’s going to strike you down for lying in church.

Punishment is a misconception that mainly derived from the church. If an unfortunate event occurs, a religious person may say God is punishing us for a certain sin. This misconception makes us sin conscious and at the same time, it dismisses the sacrifice of Jesus. Why would someone want to have a relationship with a person who can punish them anytime they miss the mark?

God doesn’t use unfortunate events to punish us. If He’s going to punish us for sins, what’s the point of Jesus’ sacrifice? There are consequences for sin, but it’s not a punishment from God. If a person has challenges with gluttony, it’s not God punishing them with diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol. The consequences for their eating habits brought them to this point.

In the Old Testament, God did punish the Israelites for their sin because there had to be just retribution and the Savior had not yet come. However, with the death and resurrection of Jesus, punishment became unnecessary. Jesus died on the Cross and paid the penalty for all of our sin – past, present, and future (Hebrews 10:14, 18).

Psalm 103:10 He does not punish us as we deserve or repay us according to our sins and wrongs.

There’s a misconception about God sending people to hell. God doesn’t send people to hell. Our unbelief sends us to hell.

God told Adam not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Adam disobeyed God and brought sin into the earth. Since we’re all byproducts of Adam, when he disobeyed God and became sinful, we all were born sinful. This sin separated us from God. God loved us enough to implement a plan to redeem us back to Himself. That implementation came through Jesus. Jesus sacrificed Himself to pay the price for all past, present, and future sins. We couldn’t do it on our own, but Jesus did it for us. Our belief in what Jesus accomplished for us awards us access to eternal life with God.

For those who choose not to believe and accept Jesus’ payment for sin, there are consequences. The price for sin still has to be paid. The payment for sin is death (Rom 6:23). Since they’re not willing to accept the payment of Jesus’ blood, they will ultimately have to pay for sin with their own blood. It’s not God sending them to hell, they sent themselves to hell because of unbelief.

It has nothing to do with our behavior or performance. It has everything to do with our belief. Believe in Jesus and receive His payment for all sin.

John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.    

James 4:1 From where come wars and fightings among you? come they not from here, even of your lusts that war in your members? 2 You lust, and have not: you kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: you fight and war, yet you have not, because you ask not.

People watch the news and see killing and wars in the world and wonder why God is allowing this to happen. They make God responsible for wars. A religious person may have some ridiculous answer saying God is cleaning up the “wicked” in the earth. Looking at the verse above, it’s not God starting wars or allowing killing. Wars are birthed from our own lusts. If a person wants something and they can’t have it, they can be influenced to kill for that thing.

We can find the answer as to why God doesn’t stop the wars in Genesis 1:26 which says, “let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.” Also, God has given us free will (Deut. 30:15-19). This is our earth and God has given us free will. We’re responsible for what’s going on in the earth. Not God. Just because mankind is not doing a good job at managing what God has given to us, doesn’t mean He’s going to violate His Word and take it back (Rom 11:29).

If mankind as a whole would submit themselves to God and seek Him in all our affairs the killing and wars would stop. Let’s stop blaming God about wars and submit ourselves to Him.