Category Archive

Nehemiah 9:21 For forty years you sustained them in the wilderness; they lacked nothing, their clothes did not wear out nor did their feet become swollen.

These were the children of Israel who had to wander in the wilderness for forty years because of their disobedience, unfaithfulness, and sin. Their behavior should have immediately cost them their lives and yet, God in His abundance of grace and mercy sustained them.

We are under a better covenant. We have the sacrifice of Jesus. We have God living inside of us but, some of us are so concerned with how we’re going to make it. If God chose to sustain and meet the needs of a disobedient bunch of people for years, why would we think He would pass us over?

God is loving and kind and is willing to bless anyone who believes that He’s able. Let’s not try to make it on our own. Let’s look to and rely on God to meet every one of our needs.

Numbers 14:11 The Lord said to Moses, “How long will these people treat me with contempt? How long will they refuse to believe in me, in spite of all the signs I have performed among them?

The difference between receiving God’s promises and not receiving His promises is belief.
After all God had done for the children of Israel, (freeing them from bondage, parting the Red Sea, and destroying the Egyptians), they still didn’t believe He was able to help them possess the Promised Land. They looked at their situation, saw the giants in the land, and

For their unbelief, they all died in the wilderness and didn’t experience the Promised Land. Only their children and the two who did believe in God’s ability (Joshua and Caleb) were able to enter the land.

We may shake our heads at the children of Israel but, after all God has done for us, some of us still doubt God’s ability when faced with challenges. We may think His ability limited, the task is too big, or we try to conquer the situation on our own.

Never get overwhelmed by the (great or small) obstacle in front of us. Always remember to turn to the God Who is able to do exceeding, abundantly above all we could ever ask or think (Ephesians 3:20).

Luke 8:11 Now this is the meaning of the parable: The seed is the word of God.

Anytime we plant a seed in the ground, we expect something to grow.

The Word of God is a seed. When we plant the Word in different areas of our lives, we should expect something to grow. We plant the Word with our mouths. When we confess His Word over our lives and believe, we’re sowing supernatural seed in our lives.

For instance, if we have symptoms of sickness in our bodies, when we plant the Word of “with His stripes, we are healed” into our lives, we should expect the harvest of divine health. If we have a financial shortage, we can plant the Word of “my God shall supply our needs” in our lives and expect just that.

No matter how big or small the situation we’re facing is, we can plant God’s Word in our lives and expect that situation to change for the better.

When we’re in church or studying the Bible, we’ll boldly confess the Word of God because we know the benefits to our confession. We’ll declare we’re healed, we’re successful, and we’re victorious in every area of our lives, but when someone asks how we’re doing, our responses may be different from our confession.

We may respond by saying “it’s rough right now” or “I don’t know how I’m going to make it.” We think we’re being honest in our responses but, we’re actually contradicting our confession. We’ll confess one thing but, we’ll respond with what we truly believe.

Our confession and responses in conversations need to line up. It may seem weird or over the top to some to speak with positive bold authority over our situation but it’s either appearing weird or delaying the progress of our breakthrough.

Let’s confess the Word of God privately and promote our confession publicly through our responses.

Luke 6:45 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart[a] brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.

Inspired by I.V. Hilliard

Numbers 14:19 Pardon the iniquity of this people, I pray, according to the greatness of Your mercy, just as You have forgiven this people, from Egypt even until now.” 20 Then the Lord said: “I have pardoned, according to your word; 21 but truly, as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord—

When Moses prayed that God would spare His people, God heard his request and spared them based on Moses’ request alone. God doesn’t show partiality (Rom. 2:11). If He did it for Moses, He has to do it for us too.

We may have a child, a family member, or a close friend who’s made bad decisions in their lives and we know they deserve severe consequences. Instead of being troubled by the type of consequences they’ll receive, we can activate our faith and request His mercy be poured out of them.

Moses’ prayer may have spared the children of Israel from death but, because of their actions, God still didn’t let them experience the promised land. Consequences will happen based on people’s choices, however, the severity of those consequences can be lightened based on our prayer.

So, think about that person who has done something wrong (even if it’s ourselves) and pray that God’s mercy be activated and let’s praise God that His mercy endures forever (Psalm 136).

Philippians 2:13 for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.

Some of us work so hard, in our own strength, to do everything right in the sight of God. We make sure we pray as much as we can, be kind to everyone, don’t miss a church event, and we try not to make a mistake. The bad part about using self-effort is the minute we miss the mark, we’re discouraged and we have an overwhelming sense of guilt.

Using will power to please God is futile. The children of Israel attempted to use will power to keep the Law and they failed miserably. As born-again believers, God’s in us showing us what to do to please Him. It’s still our choice but, it’s not forced using our own strength. He’ll tell us when to apologize, when to help someone out, or if we should attend a church event. And if we miss the mark, God’s grace abounds (Rom. 5:20).

Let’s not use self-effort to force a holy life. Let God work in you to do what pleases Him.

1 Timothy 1:12 And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has enabled me, because He counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry.

We all have something in our history that’s not squeaky clean. Some of us were promiscuous, some of us had addictions, some of us were liars, and some of us were self-righteous. Based on our history, some of us have disqualified ourselves from ministry in the Kingdom of God.

We’ve magnified what man said about us above what God said. God said we’re righteous, holy, and complete through Jesus Christ (Rom. 3:22; Heb. 10:10; Col. 2:10). With that understanding, there’s a ministry for everyone in the Kingdom of God.

You may have thought because you’re a single mom, you can’t be used but, God can use you to minister to other single moms. You may have thought prison time ruined your chances at being successful but now that you’re a success, you can empower others to be successful who have gone through the same situation.

Regardless of what you’ve been through; don’t allow the past or the statements of man stop you from fulfilling your ministry assignment for the Kingdom of God. God counts us faithful and that’s all that matters.

Genesis 39:2 The Lord was with Joseph, and he was a successful man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian.

5 So it was, from the time that he had made him overseer of his house and all that he had, that the Lord blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake; and the blessing of the Lord was on all that he had in the house and in the field.

As a born-again believer, God is within us. With that understanding, like Joseph, wherever we go and whatever we do, God will prosper us and that place because of us.

We could be working for a company that may be suffering financially, but because God’s presence is within us, that company can miraculously start increasing in profit. We could be in a line of work that could be seen as dangerous, but because of God’s presence we and the people around us are protected. We may be learning something that’s typically hard for people to understand, but because of God’s presence within us, we grasp the concepts quickly. It’s not a coincidence. It’s the presence of God.

Don’t fear or fret in any environment. Recognize the presence of God within us and expect to prosper wherever you are and wherever you go.

Isaiah 6:3 And they were calling to one another: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of His glory.”

Have you ever wondered why part of the earth experiences daylight while the other half of the earth experiences the night instead of everyone experiencing day and night at the same time?

The late great Dr. Myles Munroe believes the reason why God fashioned the earth this way is so that God is being glorified by an alert someone somewhere 24 hours a day. It’s unknown if Dr. Munroe’s theory is true, but this theory could contribute to the earth being filled with God’s glory.

God doesn’t need our glory to be God, but He provides us the opportunity to give Him glory. We glorify God through our actions. When we admire His creation, express love to others, or honor God with our lifestyle, we’re continuously filling the earth with His glory.

So, while we’re at work, at the house, at church, or driving from one place to another, let’s take the opportunity to admire His glory and give God glory for Who He is and for the things He’s done.

Psalm 121:4 Behold, He who keeps Israel Will neither slumber nor sleep.

Some of us wait until Sunday to have an experience with God, not realizing we can have an experience with God any time we desire.

God never sleeps nor slumbers. At any point in the day or night, we can directly access God. It doesn’t matter if we’re in the car, at our jobs, or in the gym, He’ll be there to listen and provide solutions to every problem we face.

We don’t need a minister, music, or oil to usher in the presence of God. If we’re a born-again believer, He’s always with us and accessible to us.

Contact God any time to not only help in the time of need but, so that we can continuously have open lines of communication with the Father.

Suppose you received some news that your grandmother has or had left you $1,000,000. Most of us would be ecstatic. We would praise God and appreciate our grandmother. It would be foolish to receive that news and decline the $1,000,000.

Unfortunately, like the foolish people who would decline $1,000,000, there are some who see the offer of salvation on the table and reject it. Most reject salvation, through Jesus Christ, because people find it too difficult to keep the Law and the traditions of men. They may have heard they would have to stop doing this, they can’t go there, or they have to do this in order for God to accept them.

First of all, all the laws that we supposedly have to keep have been fulfilled by Jesus and our belief that He’s fulfilled those laws has removed the mandatory requirement for us to keep the law. Secondly, the traditions of men such as, you must go to church weekly, pray daily, and fast monthly are not requirements for us to be accepted by God. They’re beneficial, but not mandatory.

The only requirement we have is to believe that Jesus is the Son of God and His sacrifice has made us righteous enough to be accepted by God. If we died today believing that, we would wake up in the presence of the Lord. Don’t reject this beautiful offer. Receive Jesus.

Acts 16:31 They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, you and your household.”

We’re busy. We have jobs, a family, social gatherings, and tasks we have to perform. Our busy schedule often leaves little time to spend with God. For some, it may just be 5 minutes out of a 24 hour day. And when we do come to God, we ask Him for our desires, guidance, and protection.

When we make time to come into the presence of God, let’s recognize Who He is. Don’t just give Him your wish list. He is God and besides Him there is no other. He stands outside the universe and at the same time, within the universe. He’s the Creator of all. He’s everything we need and more. With that understanding, worship Him.

Literally get down on your knees (if you can) and worship Him. Let Him know what He means to you. Let Him know how grateful you are for His presence. Pray in the Holy Spirit. Play your favorite worship song. Do whatever that needs to be done that will inspire you to worship. This is not a suggestion it’s a command.

So, in the car, at the house, or in the shower, worship the Lord.

Psalm 99:5 Exalt the LORD our God and worship at His footstool; He is holy.

Psalm 23:1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. 3 He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake.

Do you see a common theme in these three verses? The theme is God does the work. He makes us lie down in a prosperous place, He restores us, and He leads us. If we continue on, we’ll see this same theme all throughout this chapter.

Some of us are so stressed out trying to figure it out all on our own. We try to make our own provision. We’re emotionally exhausted trying to get over past pains and failures using will power. We try to be righteous only to be disappointed when we fall short. That’s not God’s plan for our lives.

God wants to do everything in us and for us. He doesn’t want us to figure life out on our own. His ultimate desire is for us to humble ourselves, realize we can’t make it without Him, and submit every area of our lives to Him. He wants to be our God. It’s God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure (Phil. 2:13).

Stop doing life without Him. Let Him be God over every area of your life.

Satan has done a good job to distract people into thinking that this other idea or religion, outside of Christianity, is the “real” way to believe. He’s also diluted Christianity to be based on a book of fairy tales.

Let’s be honest. History tells us a man named Jesus existed, however, there’s no physical evidence He was born from a virgin, He died for our sins, and He rose from the dead to intercede on our behalf. That lack of evidence is where Satan works. That’s why we’re instructed to walk by faith (belief alone) and not by sight (physical senses) (2 Cor. 5:7). If we take the time to truly study the Bible, in context, and understand the magnitude of God’s love for us, we’ll have an experience that won’t sway us from one belief to another.

If we’re not convinced that the Word of God is the final authority, we’ll always be inquisitive about some new idea, doctrine, or religion that’s discovered and we’ll never be fully rooted in the Word of God. If we’re not convinced that all of God’s Word is beneficial, we won’t be able to maximize the benefits in God’s Word. If we’re not convinced, none of this will work.

Make God’s Word the final authority in your life and reap the benefits of His love.

2 Timothy 3:16 (NLT) All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.

Proverbs 6:6 Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise! 7 It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, 8 yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest.

In today’s society, it’s so easy to get caught up in having the designer clothes, driving luxury vehicles, and living in the best area. There’s nothing wrong with having the best but, if the best is going to cause us financial frustration in the future, is it really worth it?

God desires that we be financially wise with our resources (Prov. 21:20). If we always feel the need to buy the latest things and not store up for our future or for our family’s future, we’re not exercising wisdom.

Be mindful of what and how you spend. Before every purchase, ask God if or when to buy that item. When we allow God to be our ultimate financial advisor, He guarantees that we’ll have all we need, including our desires and more than enough to financially bless our grandchildren (Phil. 4:19; Psalm 37:4; Prov. 13:22).

Psalm 46:1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

When problems arise, society will tell us to “get dirty” and handle the situation ourselves. Religious people will tell us to help ourselves because, “God helps those who help themselves.” Neither solution will be successful. The first person we should contact is God.

We should expect God to do it all. We should expect God to give us a solution to our problems, a plan of action for that solution, people to help us along the pathway to that solution, AND comfort/peace as we wait on the manifestation of our solution. It’s not one or the other. If we can’t rely on God to be our everything, how can we truly call Him our Father, our Comforter, and The Way?

In whatever situation we face, look to God, believe, and expect ALL the help we need to come from Him.

1 Corinthians 10:14 Therefore, my dear friends, flee from idolatry.

We’re instructed to flee from idolatry. In order to flee from idolatry, we have to have an understanding of idolatry. Idolatry is not always bowing down to some big statue and worshipping objects. Idolatry is anything that takes God out of first place in our lives.

Idolatry can be that TV show we can’t seem to turn off when God prompts us to pray. It can be our family when God wants one on one time with us. It can be working extra hours when God wants us to study His scriptures. Anything that takes God’s place is idolatry.

From now on, let’s be certain that nothing takes God’s place in our lives. He has and should always be #1 in our lives.

Mark 5:6 When he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and worshiped Him. 7 And he cried out with a loud voice and said, “What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I implore You by God that You do not torment me.”

When Jesus arrived and saw the deranged man, who was filled with thousands of demons, the first thing the demons within the man did was bow down and begged Jesus not to torment them.

Unfortunately, horror movies have created an image of fear behind demons that totally contradict the Word of God. If some of us were in this same situation as Jesus, we would run or pray that they wouldn’t hurt us when instead, we should operate in our authority and understand they need to be afraid of us.

Believe it or not, we’ve seen demonically influenced people in our lives. They may not have been cutting themselves, but they’re demonically influenced. The abusive husband, the jealous wife, that killer on the news who said the devil made me do it are all demonically influenced. Instead of being afraid of what they’ll do to us or someone else, we should understand nothing can hurt us without our permission and we have power over all demonic forces (Luke 10:19).

Because we’ve been so inundated with fear regarding demons, the confidence to overcome demonic forces may not happen overnight. We may have to spend time meditating on the Word of God and allowing God to show us how to overcome these forces.

So, don’t be afraid of devils, demons, or witches. Let them be afraid of us.

1 Corinthians 13:4 Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; 5 does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; 6 does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth;

If we have problematic experiences in our relationships with our spouses, children, and others we claim to love, we have to ask ourselves are we operating in the biblical definition of love.

If we’re rude, inconsiderate, manipulative, and self-seeking towards someone, but we say we love them, we’re lying to ourselves. We may like what they can do for us from time to time, but we don’t meet the real qualifications of love.

The action associated with love is giving. Love is always giving and it never expects anything in return. Biblical love doesn’t wait on someone to do something for us before showing love. In spite of the other person’s actions and in spite of how we feel, make the mature choice to love.

Relational problems can’t exist when true love is represented.

Genesis 1:26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and 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.

How many of us would be bold enough to call God ugly, fat, or skinny? How many of us would tell God that His nose was too big or His hair was terrible? Not a lot of us. If we wouldn’t tell God these things, and we’re made in His image, why would we say negative things about our appearance or the appearance of someone else? Every time we call ourselves these names, we’re essentially calling God these names because we look like Him.

Not only that, but we’re judging His creation. God created us. He allowed our head to be a certain size, our eyes to be a certain color, and our hair to be a certain texture. Just because society deems a certain thing better doesn’t make it true. What God says is true. Every intricate detail about our appearance, He created and called it good and that’s all that matters.

Just know you are beautiful/handsome and we should like and love the creation God created.

Psalm 139:13 For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb. 14 I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well.

Psalm 138:8 The LORD will perfect that which concerns me: your mercy, O LORD, endures forever: forsake not the works of your own hands.

God said He’ll perfect everything that concerns us. It would’ve been nice if He said that He’ll make our concerns a little better or He’ll work our concerns out in due time. No, He said that He’ll perfect (make perfect) everything that concerns us.

So, our children’s low grades in school, He’ll perfect. Concerns in our marriage, He’ll perfect. Feeling uncomfortable about our finances? He’ll perfect those too. If we give our cares and concerns to God, He’ll perfect them all.

Now, if we really want to apply our faith to the situation, we can look at our concerns and declare they’re perfected now. We don’t have to wait until we see change to declare they’re perfected.

Praise God for His perfection in everything that concerns us.

Ephesians 1:3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.

This scripture tells us God has (past tense) blessed us with every spiritual blessing in Christ. This means, everything we’ll ever need or want in this lifetime has already been prepared. Everything from children, to a car, to deliverance from an addiction, to a boat has already been prepared through Christ.

With that understanding, it’s not God will make a way, it’s God has made a way. It’s not God will heal me, it’s God has healed me. It’s not God will provide, it’s God already provided. Our belief in what God has already done through Jesus Christ allows us to receive the manifestation of whatever we need or desire.

Let’s restructure our speech to align with God’s Word. If He’s already done it, let’s believe, speak, and act like it’s so.

Matthew 7:1 Do not judge, or you will be judged.

When most of us read this scripture, we have an understanding not to judge others, which is true. But, there’s one thing. This scripture doesn’t specify who not to judge. It simply says, don’t judge. The one thing most of us tend to overlook is we shouldn’t judge ourselves.

When we say we’re ugly, we have a bad temper, or we’re broke we’re actually judging ourselves. Not only are we judging ourselves, we’re speaking what we say into existence over our lives. Mark 11:23 says, we shall have whatever we say.

No wonder it’s so difficult for some of us to have confidence in our image, change our attitude, or increase our finances. It’s because we’re judging ourselves and speaking negatively into our lives.

Let’s stop judging ourselves. It will make our lives easier and it will make it easier not to judge others.

James 4:7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

When people are not submitted to God, it creates problems in their lives. Submission to God ultimately leads to the devil fleeing our lives. Likewise, the lack of submitting to God keeps the devil and his influences in our lives.

Here’s how it works. When we don’t submit ourselves to God, we go in a direction and make decisions that seem right to us. Well according to Proverbs 14:12, there’s a way that seems right to us, but it eventually leads to death. We have to undo mindsets and dig ourselves out of holes we could have avoided if we initially submitted ourselves to God.

Also, the lack of submission keeps the influences of Satan around and increases our chances of being deceived. We’ll have thoughts, ideas, and suggestions in our minds thinking they’re wisdom, but ultimately, they’re demonic. These demonic thoughts acted out ultimately lead to fulfilling the devil’s role in John 10:10. We could miss out on a blessing (steal), put our lives in jeopardy (kill), and the destruction of a relationship (destroy).

Let’s keep ourselves from these problems by submitting to God and only doing what He tells us to do.

Galatians 3:26 So, in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith,

Isaiah 54:5 For your Maker is your husband, The Lord of hosts is His name; And your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel; He is called the God of the whole earth.

John 15:15 I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.

It’s apparent, God desires relationship with us and not religion. God made us His children, His bride, and His friend all at the same time. These three things encompass all the forms of an intimate relationship.

God doesn’t want a bunch of people following rules in an attempt to please God. That’s religion and religion means bondage. He wants intimate relationship with us. He wants to spend time with us, He wants to know how we feel about certain things, He wants to be involved in our decisions, He wants us to know Him more. Based on a good relationship with God and understanding the magnitude of what He’s done for us, it should be our pleasure to follow His commandments.

Religion hinders our relationship with God. Get to know God and let Him get to know you. Let’s grow in our relationship with God.

Luke 2:26 And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. 27 So he came by the Spirit into the temple. And when the parents brought in the Child Jesus, to do for Him according to the custom of the law, 28 he took Him up in his arms and blessed God and said: 29 “Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace, According to Your word; 30 For my eyes have seen Your salvation

God promised Simeon that he wouldn’t die until he saw the Christ. The Holy Spirit led Simeon into the temple. When it was revealed to Simeon that Jesus was the Christ, Simeon was overjoyed because God fulfilled His promise.

It’s important to be led by the Spirit. If Simeon wasn’t sensitive to the Holy Spirit, Simeon could have missed out on His promise. The Holy Spirit positions us in the will of God. As we’re in the will of God, the Holy Spirit can lead us to be a blessing to someone else or God can compel someone else to be a blessing to us.

For instance, the Holy Spirit can tell us to go to a specific restaurant. At that restaurant, the Holy Spirit may tell us to pay for a person’s meal or the Holy Spirit may prompt someone else to pay for our meal. Regardless of the scenario, we could miss out on being blessed or being a blessing if we’re not sensitive to the Holy Spirit.

So, let’s allow ourselves to be positioned by the Spirit.

John 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

We don’t need a Ph.D to understand the way to receive everlasting life is to believe in Him (Jesus).

It’s not believe in Him and go to church every week.
It’s not believe in Him and give our tithes.
It’s not believe in Him and live a perfect life.

It only says to believe in Him. Romans 10:9 give specifics of what we should do to believe in Him. It says if we confess with our mouths the Lord Jesus and believe in our hearts that God has raised Him from the dead, we will be saved. So, believing God raised our Lord and His Son Jesus from the dead will give us everlasting life.

When we have a full understanding of what Jesus did for us, we’ll want to go to His church, we’ll want to give 10% of our increase to God out of gratitude, and we’ll want to honor God with our lives. That’s what grateful people do.

Don’t let anyone make salvation complicated. Believe God raised our Lord Jesus from the dead and you will be saved.

Luke 2:20 Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told them.

In Luke 2:10-14, an angel told shepherds in a field that Christ our Savior was born. When the shepherds heard what the angel told them, they rejoiced and gave glory to God.

Let’s look at this naturally: nothing in the shepherds’ lives had changed. They weren’t saved from their sins, they didn’t become prosperous, and they didn’t become healed from all their ailments. However, they gave glory to God based on what they heard.

When we hear or read a promise in the Bible, we too can rejoice over the thing we heard or read. Nothing may have changed in the natural, but based on God’s Word, we can give glory to God. We can give glory to God that we are rich (2 Cor. 8:9), we’re healed (Isaiah 53:5), and we’re victorious in everything we do (1 Cor. 15:57).

Give glory to God for His Word because if He said it, it will come to pass.

Too often we wait on external situations to change before we change internally. For instance, we may desire new employment for a better financial situation, better living conditions, peace in our marriages, etc. Because of this desire for external change, internally, we may be moody, sad, anxious, or depressed.

Our internal change should be based on the One Who is always present in our lives. That’s God. With God, there should be an understanding that we have everything we need and desire and it’s a matter of time before our desires manifest. In the meantime, by faith, we can receive the joy, peace, and contentment He provides us in spite of not having our desires. Daily, we can confess we have joy, peace, and we’re content. It’s an ongoing process because Satan will dangle our desires in front of us making us feel like we can’t be happy unless our desires manifest. Eventually, we’ll get to a place where nothing may have externally changed, but internally, we’re joyful and at peace.

Don’t wait on things to change prior to receiving joy. Know that God is with us and He can provide joy in the meantime and He promised to give us the desires of our hearts (Psalm 37:4).

Hebrews 12:2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Proverbs 27:2 Let another praise you, and not your own mouth; A stranger, and not your own lips.

There’s nothing wrong with being good at something, looking great, or being successful in a certain field. The problem occurs when we boast about our successes without mentioning God.

In the age of social media, some of us have the tendency to boast about how much weight we lost, the cars we have, and/or the house we purchased. We may not say anything about how great we are in our posts, but internally we’re looking to boast about our accomplishments.

Once again, there’s nothing wrong with being pleased with our accomplishments, but give God glory for all that He’s done and let another person praise us and not we ourselves.

1 Corinthians 1:31 Therefore, as it is written: “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.”

Ephesians 5:1-2 Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. And walk in love, as Christ also loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.

Look at the demand on these scriptures. These scriptures can make even the most mature Christian want to look the other way. These scriptures command us to imitate God and walk in Christ-like love.

Imitating God means to use our God-given authority, be holy, and show unconditional love to all. If we look through the scriptures, Christ-like love opposes the flesh in every area of life. Jesus was a blessing to those who didn’t believe in Him. Jesus forgave those who abused Him. Jesus loved those who hated Him. All of this is expected of us.

God is not expecting us to do this using will power. He sent the Holy Spirit to assist us along the way. It’s a process. We may not be walking in unconditional love yet but, we can start off by being nice to people. We may not have forgiven everyone who has wronged us but, we can start off by forgiving one person at a time. Just say, “Holy Spirit, help me to _______.”

Instead of not doing any of what God said because it’s seemingly too difficult, allow the Holy Spirit to help and let’s start working our way towards this holy lifestyle.

Genesis 22:12 He said, “Do not stretch out your hand against the lad, and do nothing to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.” 13 Then Abraham raised his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him a ram caught in the thicket by his horns; and Abraham went and took the ram and offered him up for a burnt offering in the place of his son.

There are some people who don’t mind change and there are some who hate change. When it comes to God directing our lives, we need to be ready for change.

Abraham had it set in his mind that he was going to sacrifice Isaac unto God. Gratefully, at the last moment, God changed the type of sacrifice and put the ram in the bush. Look at Moses in Exodus 2. After Moses fled from Egypt, Moses went to Midian, got married and had a son, but God changed his course of life and had Moses go back to Egypt to set His people free. This change may have initially been uncomfortable, but it caused Moses to save the lives of millions.

We may have had it set in our minds to be in one profession or to marry a certain person, but God had other plans for our lives. Realize this, just like Abraham and Moses, the change God has for us will always work out for our good and for the good of others (Rom. 8:28). Also, Psalm 84:11 says, no good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly which means, the change God is pushing us towards will be better than the status quo we’re trying to hold on to. So, don’t be resistant. Be ready for change.

Matthew 16:17 And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; 18 they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

During this time of year, some people declare this “cold and flu season”. Because of this proclamation, people tend to get flu shots and double up on the hand sanitizer to avoid getting sick. Did God say it’s “cold and flu season”? Is that in the Word? I don’t think so.

Some of us have more faith in the contagiousness of the sickness than the healing power of God. Here’s a thought. Instead of avoiding contact with people who are sick or be worried about getting sick, let’s release our faith to heal every person who crosses our paths. Instead of being worried about being infected with sickness, let’s operate in our God-given authority and infect someone with divine health. Let’s proclaim every person who shakes our hand doesn’t get us sick, but we get them well. Let’s believe nothing shall hurt us (Luke 10:19). All of this IS POSSIBLE.

No matter how many people who are sick around us, it doesn’t have to infect us. We can change our environment by laying our hands on the sick and they shall recover.

When we have children and look into their innocent eyes and create a bond with them, we make a vow within ourselves to do everything we can to make sure their lives are wonderful. There’s only one problem with that vow. Our children’s well-being, happiness, and safety are not our responsibility. At the end of the day, our children belong to God and that responsibility belongs to God.

Isaiah 54:13 “All your sons will be taught of the LORD; And the well-being of your sons will be great.

Our responsibility as earthly parents is to point our children to Father God. We’ll let them know God is our provider, God is our peace, God is our help, and God is our everything.

As new parents, we need to trust God to do His job, through us, with our children. This means being led by the Spirit in parenting. Sometimes we see our children in certain predicaments and fear attempts to creep in. Our response to fear has us worrying, not sleeping, and attempting to handle the situation without asking for God’s guidance. This shows a lack of trust in God.

We should trust God in every area of our lives including, raising our children through us.

Psalm 127:2 In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat– for he grants sleep to those he loves.

A lot of us spend our nights planning the next day, wondering how we’re going to make it, how we’re going to get our business to excel, or how we can better manage our workload. This is pointless. When we do this, we limit the amount of sleep we need and more importantly, we eliminate God.

God grants and desires for us to get sweet sleep. He doesn’t want us up all night worrying about tomorrow (Matt. 6:34). That’s why He ensures us that He’ll perfect everything that concerns us (Psalm 138:3). When we’re worrying and planning our future without God’s guidance, we’re pushing God to the side and saying, “I love You, but I don’t trust You.”

Let’s be believers who truly place all our trust in God. Let’s give our cares to God (Psalm 55:22) and release our faith for sweet sleep every night.

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

We’re commanded to be a blessing to others. We can be a blessing by doing what we can with what we have now.

It may be our ultimate goal to pay off someone’s mortgage or car note, but we may not be at that place financially yet. If we can’t pay off someone’s mortgage, help them pay their electricity bill. If that’s outside of the budget, help clean their house. We all have the ability to do something.

Also, we don’t have to know a person to be a blessing to a person. Another list to bless someone we don’t know includes, paying for a person’s gas, paying for a meal, picking up trash out of our neighbors’ yards, etc.

They may not thank us and some may look at us strangely, but we’re being a blessing and shining our lights in a darkened world and our acts of kindness may be the seed that turns a person’s life around for the better.

Ephesians 6:16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.

Have you ever been moody, anxious, facing bouts of depression, or felt emotionally unstable? That’s spiritual warfare. It’s an attack by Satan where he throws negative thoughts into our minds to make us feel some kind of way. Those thoughts could be related to where we are not in life, the issues at our jobs, or the negative things we’ve experienced in our marriage. If we’re not mindful, we’ll take out our sadness, anger, and frustration on someone else and the cycle will continue.

When those negative thoughts enter our minds, this is not the time to keep quiet and let those thoughts beat us up. We counter those thoughts with God-based speech. We declare we’re prosperous, we’re declare we’re healed, we declare our marriage is made whole, and we declare all our needs are met. Whatever negative thoughts enter our minds, we counter them by speaking the Word of God.

Ephesians 6:8 knowing that whatever good anyone does, he will receive the same from the Lord, whether he is a slave or free.

When we do good for others or for the Kingdom of God, we can expect good to come to us if we let it.

When we’ve sown good in our lives, the time will come when good will be offered back to us. Like anything else in this world, we have the choice to receive or reject something. If we’re too proud, we’ll reject the good God is trying to offer us.

This good can come in the form of rest from our labors, a gift card, or a free meal. Pride will try to convince us we can’t accept the gift card or free meal, and there’s too much work that needs to be done to rest. If we’re not mindful of this pride-pitfall, we’ll eventually end up burnt out or feeling unappreciated in the long run, not realizing we’ve rejected our own rewards.

Don’t fall for these proud moments. Receive the good God has offered.

Luke 24:45 Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures.

Reading the Bible is not something we do to earn brownie points with God. Studying, not reading, the Word of God is meant for our understanding. The Word of God gives us better understanding of Who Christ is for us. It gives us understanding of Who we are in Christ, and God’s purpose for our lives.

Since God is His Word according to John 1 and there’s no end to God, there’s infinite revelation in the Word of God. We can get new revelation from scriptures we’ve read since we were children. There’s no end to our understanding. The Word helps us in our daily lives. There’s nothing new under the sun and the Word gives us answers to all our problems.

Even if it’s one verse a day, start studying the Word and receive God’s wisdom, revelation, and His solutions.

Jeremiah 17:5 “Cursed is the man who trusts in man And makes flesh his strength, Whose heart departs from the Lord.

As we can see, there’s no profit in trusting man. This includes political figures, religious leaders, our spouses, and even ourselves. If we’re trusting in flesh of any kind, we’ll never be truly satisfied.

We can’t look to a president as our hope, we can’t look to a minister to be our savior, and we shouldn’t trust ourselves to overcome any situation. Placing our trust in man, will leave us disappointed.

There’s a degree of trust we give to man in order to function in this world, but all our trust, hope, and confidence should be given to God. Give God your trust.