Category Archive

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.

There are several misconceptions about God. Some misconceptions are shared by believers and unbelievers. These misconceptions can prevent a person from establishing or furthering relationship with God.

One of those misconceptions is sickness. There are people who believe that God causes us to get sick. If we did something wrong He’ll cause us to get sick or the sickness is teaching us a lesson. Let’s look at this realistically. Who would want to put their trust in and have a relationship with a person who makes them sick? No one. So why do some believe that a loving God, Who sent His Son to earth to be whipped so that we can be healed, would also make us sick? That’s a contradiction. If we really believe that God wants us sick, then why go to the doctor and take medicine? That would be fighting against God’s will.

Sickness is a byproduct of a fallen world. These attacks on our bodies are a result of sin in the earth. We’re living in a fallen imperfect world and sickness may come. For the believer, there’s hope. Our hope is in Jesus Christ. When we place our faith in the finished works of Jesus, we are guaranteed divine healing.

Just know, God doesn’t make us sick, but He made a way for us to receive healing from all sickness.

1 Peter 2:24 “He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.”

John 1:12 But to all who did receive Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God— 13 children born not of blood, nor of the desire or will of man, but born of God.

As good as it sounds to say everyone is a child of God, that’s just not true. As we can see, there’s a prerequisite to be a child of God. That prerequisite is to receive Jesus. When we receive Jesus as Lord and Savior then, we become children of God.

As children of God, we have a blood covenant right to the things of God. Just like we receive an inheritance of our earthly parents, we have an inheritance with our Heavenly Father. Our inheritance includes, divine health, prosperity, wholeness, and more. Everything God promises us in His Word, we have access to because of the sacrifice of Jesus. But, we first must receive Jesus.

Receive Jesus today and officially become a child of God.

***Spread this message to everyone.***

1 Corinthians 12: For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ.
14 For in fact the body is not one member but many.
18 But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased.

Have you ever noticed how one church or group of believers seem to focus on one area more than another? There may be a church that focuses on missionary work in foreign countries while another church focuses on feeding the homeless in their city. That’s because God placed different desires within each of us in the body of Christ as it pleased Him.

There’s no need to criticize someone or a church because you feel like they should be doing more in a certain area. We all have different functions. Just because you feel like the church should be doing more evangelizing rather than hosting gospel concerts doesn’t mean your thoughts for the church is the correct way for the church as a whole. That’s just your function.

If we can learn to respect our functions in the body of Christ and applaud the impact each function makes in this world, we can be a positive light in so many areas.

Hebrews 4:2 For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.

The only way to see real profit from the bible is mixing what’s written in it with our faith.

Temptations of unbelief enter our minds when reality contradict the scriptures. We may read and believe by His stripes we’re healed in Isaiah 53 but, we still have fever. Temptations of unbelief also enter our minds when the scriptures go against our intellect. Reading about Lazarus being raised from the dead after 4 days or reading about Jesus flying on a cloud to heaven goes against our logic. It makes us seem like we’re believing in fairy tales. Finally, temptations of unbelief enter our minds when it contradicts our feelings. We may read where it says we’re forgiven of our sins, unconditionally loved, and protected but, we don’t feel forgiven, loved, and protected. For some, if they don’t feel forgiven, they can’t believe they’re forgiven.

To truly benefit from the Word of God, we have to nonsensically throw away our logic, our feelings, and what our senses tell us and believe God’s Word. It may seem foolish to put all our eggs in one basket but, that’s how we benefit. God doesn’t want partial belief and partial skepticism. He wants 100% belief in His Word.

Believe in God and believe in His Word.

Hebrews 4:2 For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.

People may have the bible on their nightstand or in their cars, but having it in our possession is not enough. We can read the bible and know all the stories and characters, but having head knowledge of the bible won’t do it. Scholars claim the bible has some good moral points and ideas, but that’s all. People have this great book, but they’re not seeing real benefit from this book.

The only way to see real benefit from the bible is mixing what is written in it with our faith. We can read by His stripes we’re healed in Isaiah 53:5 or my God shall supply all my needs in Philippians 4:19, but if we don’t believe that, we’ll never experience the supernatural in our lives. Also, context matters. If we’re reading the scriptures out of context, it makes it difficult to believe.

So, read the bible and let these scriptures profit you by mixing it with faith. Believe it to be the Word of God. Believe what these scriptures say about you and apply these scriptures mixed with faith to your life.

Psalm 51:14 Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God, The God of my salvation, And my tongue shall sing aloud of Your righteousness.
*David is speaking to God after he had the husband of Bathsheba killed in battle to take her for himself.

If we have a heart for God, the sin we knowingly commit will leave us feeling guilty and ashamed. If we’re not mindful, this guilt can weigh us down and leave us in depression. If this guilt is not checked, it can ultimately have us running from God instead of running to God.

We deal with the guilt by acknowledging God’s righteousness. God’s righteousness is only through Jesus Christ. It’s because of Him and Him alone that we are righteous. Jesus’ sacrifice has made us righteous from our past, present, and future sin. Our acknowledgement of our righteousness will cleanse our conscious from guilt and shame. If we sin, immediately, we can operate in God’s righteousness. We declare, “Father, I thank You for my righteousness through the blood of Jesus. I am forgiven. It’s because of His blood that I am cleansed from the guilt of my past, present, and future sins.” From that point on, we continue to live our life as if we’ve never done anything wrong. There’s no time of penance. There’s only receiving our righteousness through Christ.

David didn’t have the chance to experience the righteousness we have today. He only had temporary moments of righteousness through burnt sacrifices. We, on the other hand, have everlasting righteousness through Jesus Christ. Praise God for Jesus.

Psalm 105:5 Remember the wonders he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced,

It’s important to remember the things God has done for us. Why? Because the devil will attempt to magnify everything we don’t have and minimize everything God has done. He’ll use our limited memory to make us forget all that God has done.

Based on his attack, it can be beneficial to keep a record of all the significant things God has done in our lives. Write down that job God blessed us with, that money we didn’t expect, or that house we didn’t think we would get. Write the date it happened and a summary surrounding the blessing.

This record will help us appreciate God even more and help us never forget all that He has done.

Matthew 6:13 And lead (bring) us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

The word amen is not just something we say at the end of a prayer just to say it. It has significance. The word amen means, “so let that be” or “let that be done.”

Imagine a king giving commands to his staff. They may say, let there be a statue of me in the courtyard or plant trees around the castle. After the request, they expect their staff to get that done.

Well, we are kings in this earth and faith is our servant (Rev. 1:6; Luke 17:5-10). When we make a request to God (prayer) and finish it with amen, we’re telling faith to go to the heavenly realm and get what we requested. We may request a house, a spouse, or better employment and we should expect that to be done by our servant (faith).

It’s important to understand why we say amen. We’re using our God-given authority combined with the power of our speech to declare our requests be done in this earth.

A good mechanic will tell us how to get the best out of our vehicles. They’ll tell us to change our oil every 3000 miles, rotate our tires every so often, change our fluids, and get a vehicle inspection after so many miles. We have no problem following the instructions of the mechanic because we believe they know what’s best for our vehicles based on their expertise and experience.

But, when God gives us instructions/commands on how to best live our lives, some of us will question God’s every command. Some of us will do the opposite, thinking that we know what is best for us. Like the mechanic, God is not giving us instructions for the sake of giving instructions. He’s giving us instructions so that we can maximize this life. He’s not trying to be mean or stop our fun, but the Creator knows what’s best for His creation.

Let’s change our perspective on God’s commands. He’s only trying to help us. Let’s obey His written and audible Word.

Isaiah 48:17 This is what the Lord says—your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: “I am the Lord your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go.

Love your enemies (Matt. 5:44). No sex before marriage (1 Cor. 6:18). Forgive others (Matt 6:14-15). Don’t use foul language (Eph. 4:29). Do good to those who persecute you (Luke 6:27-36).

These commands from God seem foreign, outdated, and seemingly impossible to achieve in the times we’re living in today. Times may have changed, but God and His commands have not.

So, how do we accomplish God’s commands when temptation seems stronger now, than ever before? One thing we must remember is, God is not asking us to follow these commands in our own strength. He’s asking us to rely on His strength. God knows in our own ability, we’ll fall short every time. When we have a willing heart to follow God’s commands, His Word says, He’ll give us the power to do what pleases Him. This is a win-win situation. We can please God by using His power.

Honor God enough to rely on His strength to do what pleases Him.

Philippians 2:13 For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases Him.

Luke 10:38 Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house. 39 And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word. 40 But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me.” 41 And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. 42 But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.”

Jesus, God in the flesh, was inside the house of Martha. Despite having this great presence in her home, Martha was busy working and making preparations. Meanwhile, Mary realizes she’s in the presence of greatness and she’s soaking up Jesus’ every word. Martha valued preparations more than His presence, but Mary valued being in the presence of God.

Do you find yourself so busy with life until it seems too difficult to be in the presence of God? We may have work, chores, athletics for our children and we can’t seem to make time to go to church, have quiet time with God, or even read a devotional. If all our time is spent outside the presence of God, we’ve become like Martha. We’re missing out on great opportunities to spend with God. This time can provide us with plans for our future, ways to balance our lives, or investment ideas. However, if we’re always busy, we’re like a person in a rocking chair. We’re moving, but we’re not going anywhere.

Let’s start valuing our time with God. Those other things will get done. If they don’t get done this week, it’s okay. It’s not the end of the world. But, God’s presence can positively impact our world.

Inspired by Brie Davis

If we say we trust in a big God Who has an infinite supply for all of our needs, then why do some of us having a hoarding mentality towards money? Why do some of us hold onto money as if it’s running out?

If we trust in God, like we say we do, our views on money should change. We should view money like a continuously flowing river instead of a pie that’s eventually going to run out each time we use it. When we realize God gives us the power to get wealth, gives back whatever we give out in abundance, and always gives seed to the sower, we’ll never look at money the same. We’ll give to those in need knowing that God is going to give back to us. We’ll give our tithes and offering not worried about what the church is doing with the money. We can be a blessing to others.

I’m not saying we should be reckless with money, but knowing Who our God is and His promises towards us, we won’t ever fear it running out.

Deuteronomy 8:18 But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your ancestors, as it is today.

Luke 6:38 Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”

2 Corinthians 9:10 For God is the one who provides seed for the farmer and then bread to eat. In the same way, he will provide and increase your resources and then produce a great harvest of generosity in you. Yes, you will be enriched in every way so that you can always be generous. And when we take your gifts to those who need them, they will thank God.

Deuteronomy 11:18 “Therefore you shall lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul, and bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 19 You shall teach them to your children, speaking of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.

As we can see, it’s important to teach our children the Word of God, but we can’t teach something we don’t know or learn ourselves. This means, we have to study God’s Word and get a revelation from the scriptures for ourselves in order to teach it to our children.

We see the importance of our children reading, doing math, or learning a second language at an early age, but what about the Word of God?

Instead of allowing our children to watch their favorite TV show every night, why don’t we spend family time teaching them the Word of God. It’s THE most important foundation we could ever provide for them.

Proverbs 29:23 A man’s pride will bring him low, But the humble in spirit will retain honor.

How do we think God’s going to materialize a blessing in our lives? It’s not going to drop out the sky. It’s not going to grow on a tree. It’s going to come through a person.

Whatever need or desire is going to come through a person. God’s going to raise up somebody, somewhere, to use their power and their ability to help us. However, if we’re full of pride, we’ll miss God’s blessing every time.

Someone may want to pay for our groceries. A prideful person may say, “that’s okay, I’ll pay for it myself.” The money we could have saved by allowing someone to pay for our groceries could be a missed opportunity to build our savings account. Someone may offer us a ride to work. A prideful person may deny the offer. That conversation we could have had with the person offering us a ride to work could be the wisdom (blessing) we need to open our desired business.

Don’t miss out on God’s blessing by being prideful towards another person. Let pride go and experience God’s best.

Isaiah 54:17 No weapon formed against you shallprosper, And every tongue which rises against you in judgment You shall condemn.
This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, And their righteousness is from Me,” Says the Lord.

We hear this verse all the time, but if we truly internalized it, we’d be free from worry, fear, and anxiety.

We would realize that whatever we’re facing is only temporary and it won’t end up as the worse case scenario. We may be facing sickness, but that sickness won’t kill us or permanently cause damage. We would understand that our financial shortages won’t be the story of our lives. We would realize the crazy behavior of our child today won’t be the end product.

When God says no weapon will prosper, that means no weapon whatsoever. So, don’t freak out about what comes in our lives today, it’s only temporary.

Psalm 105:37 He brought them forth also with silver and gold: and there was not one feeble person among their tribes.

Surprise! Surprise! We’re getting older. Although we’re getting older, we don’t have to accept everything that comes along with getting older according to the world. The world will say, “I’m getting older so, my back is tight, my legs are sore, and I can’t move like I used to.” You can believe that if you want, but I choose to believe the Word of God.

God brought over 3 million people out of Egypt and not one of them was lacking physical strength. When Moses was 120 years old, he still was strong and had great vision (Deut. 34:7). If God can do it for them, He can do it for us (Acts 10:34). Psalm 91:16 says, with long life He will satisfy us. How satisfied would any of us be if we’re senile, sickly, and weak in our old age? What kind of quality of life would that be?

Age is just a number. As we get older the quality of our lives doesn’t have to change. With our faith in God’s Word, we can enjoy a healthy pain-free quality of life with all of our mental faculties.

Proverbs 4:20-23 (AMP) My son, attend to my words; consent and submit to my sayings. Let them not depart from your sight; keep them in the center of your heart. For they are life to those who find them, healing and health to all their flesh. Keep and guard your heart with all vigilance and above all that you guard, for out of it flow the springs of life.

Consistency in the Word of God is the key to a long-lasting healthy productive life. The Word of God is alive and not void of power. It has the power to change any situation for the better. The Word is also a seed for our desires. That seed must grow (not optional). If we consistently hear the Word on healing, divine health must enter and remain in our lives. If we hear the Word of God on forgiveness, we’ll develop a heart to forgive. The more Word we hear, the more beneficial it will be to our lives.

On the other hand, if we hear the Word only once a week or read it as if we’re doing God a favor, the impact it has on our lives is limited. Faith comes by hearing, therefore, limited exposure to the Word limits the strength of our faith (Rom 10:17).

Throughout the day, let’s get a healthy dose of the Word to experience God’s best in our lives.

Mark 4:30 Then He said, “To what shall we liken the kingdom of God? Or with what parable shall we picture it? 31 It is like a mustard seed which, when it is sown on the ground, is smaller than all the seeds on earth; 32 but when it is sown, it grows up and becomes greater than all herbs, and shoots out large branches, so that the birds of the air may nest under its shade.”

When we read or hear the Word of God, it may not seem like it’s doing much. It may seem counterproductive because our situation hasn’t changed yet. It may even seem repetitive due to the fact we’ve been taught to continuously confess the Word over every situation. It may not seem beneficial.

But just like a natural seed, give the Word some time to work. Give it some time to develop. It may seem like nothing’s happening at the moment, but that Word is producing a harvest in our lives bigger than we can imagine. That Word is doing exceedingly abundantly above all that we can ask or think (Eph. 3:10). That Word is changing our situation for our good (Rom. 8:28).

Time spent in the Word may seem insignificant or even boring, but it’s the most important and impactful thing we can ever do. Let’s increase our time reading and hearing the Word of God.

1 Corinthians 15:33 Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character.”

We should get to a place where we have a desire to do good, change our ways, and to please God. However, the company we keep can impact our spiritual development. If we keep friends around who oppose the idea of change or have no desire to change themselves, we’re the ones who will become corrupted. It’s not a possibility, it’s a guarantee.

We may want to be a loyal friend or not appear high and mighty as we go deeper with God, but at some point we may have to make a decision. We may have to love our friends from afar until we get ourselves together. We may have to distance ourselves from naysayers or friends behaving in dishonorable ways. Sure, they may call us fake or “self-righteous” and we may even lose a few, but having God on our side is better than any person who won’t support our spiritual development.

Let’s keep a circle of friends who will support, uplift, and motivate us to better ourselves.

Judges 7:7 The Lord said to Gideon, “With the three hundred men that lapped I will save you and give the Midianites into your hands. Let all the others go home.”

Gideon is about to go to war with a great number of men. God instructs him to reduce his number of men from 32,000 to 300.

Human logic says, the more people you have, the more chance there is to secure the victory. As usual, God went against human logic to do the supernatural. God wanted the credit for the victory. At the end of the chapter, without losing a soul, God gave them the victory.

The things God requires of us may seem strange and illogical, but by complying with His requests, we’re guaranteed the victory. He may have us look at houses, knowing we don’t have the money or good credit yet, but when we obey, the miraculous could happen. He may have us buy our boss a gift, knowing they recently gave us a bad evaluation, but when we obey, that same boss could be a good reference to promote us within the company. God may have us apply for a position where we don’t qualify, but when we obey, His favor could get us the job.

It may not always be as smooth of a victory like we see in Gideon’s story, but at the end of the day, God gets the glory and God’s promises are ours.

Romans 8:13 For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.

Every single day, some part of our flesh wants to rise up and take over our lives. The flesh includes lust, greed, fear, or anxiety. Daily, if not hourly, we need to destroy the desires of the flesh. Why? In our flesh dwells no good thing and from our flesh we cannot please God (Rom. 7:18; 8:8).

If we tolerate those fleshly desires, it may take over and potentially ruin our lives. The next thing we know, some of us may have a 10-year addiction to pornography or we’ve become a mean bitter person because we refused to keep negative comments to ourselves. Or, we’ll become a nervous wreck because we allowed fear to take over our lives.

If we die to those cravings of the flesh and resist the temptation to sin, we’ll experience a better quality of life.