Category Archive

There are people who read scriptures such as, “be holy for I am holy” in 1 Peter 1:16 and “sanctify yourselves” in Leviticus 20:7 and automatically conclude that a “good Christian” needs to strive for perfection in all we do. Striving for perfection to please God sounds good in theory, but it’s detrimental when we realize it can’t be done.

We may start off strong reading our Bibles and consistently praying, but the first time we miss the mark, the spirit of condemnation can overtake our lives. We’ll feel guilty and feel like we deserve some type of punishment. The next time we miss the mark or marks, an attitude of “what’s the point” can enter our lives and we’ll give up on honoring God altogether.

We must realize God’s standard of perfection will never be accomplished by us. That’s why He sent Jesus. Through Jesus, our perfection was obtained. No matter what we do and no matter how many marks we miss, through Jesus, God’s sees us as perfect, holy, and righteous (Heb. 2:10-11; Heb. 10:10; Rom. 3:22). Does this mean we can do dishonorable things because we’re covered? Of course not, but if we should miss the mark, we’re forgiven and still viewed as perfect through Jesus.

Hebrews 10:14 For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.

A misconception in the body of Christ is rule following. A lot of people view Christianity as a bunch of rules one has to follow in order to be a “good Christian”. With these rules, people feel like their freedom of being themselves is being taken away. Yes, there are a set of commands for us to follow, but that’s only for our best interest, not God’s approval. Following God’s commands is no different from following instructions to assemble a table. For best results in our lives, follow His commands.

To make matter’s worse, there are people who create rules and traditions not based in the Word of God. They’ll tell a woman not to wear make-up, tell people it’s a sin to listen to secular music, or condemn someone for playing cards. That’s not scriptural.

Jesus came so that we can have freedom (John 8:36). We can be free from the 600 laws in the Law of Moses (Rom. 7:6). We can be free from the traditions of men. We are free. By having a relationship with God through Jesus, the correct way to live this life is being led by the Spirit of God (Rom. 8:14). The Spirit will tell us when to read our bibles, when to relax and watch a movie, and when to handle business.

Don’t be intimidated by Christianity by attempting to accomplish all these Old Covenant rules and traditions of men for God’s approval. Be free and enjoy life as the Spirit leads.

Romans 7:6 But now we have been released from the law, for we died to it and are no longer captive to its power. Now we can serve God, not in the old way of obeying the letter of the law, but in the new way of living in the Spirit.

Romans 6:10 The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.

Another misconception in the body of Christ is going to hell because of sin. There are so many people who still believe that if people are “living in sin” prior to death, they’re going to hell. What most people mean by this is if people are living together unmarried, doing drugs or alcohol, or doing unholy things and don’t confess their sins and/or change their behavior prior to death, they’re going to hell.

People don’t go to hell because of sin. People go to hell because they reject the payment of sin. Jesus paid for our past, present, and future sins with His blood (Rom. 6:10). If we believe that Jesus is the Son of God Who paid for our sins, we WILL NOT go to hell (Rom. 3:22; Rom. 10:9).

For those who don’t believe in Jesus and His payment, those are the ones who are technically “living in sin.” Our acts of righteousness cannot put us in heaven and our acts of unrighteousness cannot put us in hell. Our good conduct should be in appreciation towards all that Jesus has done for us, but if it’s not, the quality of our life will suffer, but we won’t go to hell.

In this misconception series, we’ll look at some of the biggest misconceptions in the body of Christ. This next misconception has to do with punishment. Many people believe if we’ve missed the mark or sin, God will punish us. This is understandable seeing the consequences people received in the Old Covenant, however, we’re under a New Covenant. 

What living under the New Covenant means for us is we’ll never experience God’s wrath or punishment for sin because all of the punishment for sin was literally put on Jesus. 1 Peter 3:18 says, Christ suffered for our sins. Romans 4:8 says, God is not charging sin to our account. Romans 6:10 says, Jesus died once and for all to sin.

Based on these New Covenant promises, God is not dishing out punishment for our sins or the sins of the world. It was poured out on Jesus. So, anytime there’s a catastrophic event that occurs in our lives or in the world, and someone says God is punishing us, we can confidently say God is not punishing us. We’re simply experiencing the trials of life that He warned us about in John 16:33. 

This understanding will prevent people from blaming and despising God for the things that occur in this world. Praise God for Jesus for taking the punishment of sin.

1 Peter 3:18 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit,

There are so many misconceptions about being a believer in the body of Christ. One of the biggest misconceptions is that believers won’t face difficulties. People become born again thinking, nothing bad will ever happen to them again. As soon as they experience a tragic event, they question the existence of God and if He’s really for them.

God never promised that we wouldn’t face difficulties. In fact, Jesus said, “In this world you will have trouble” (John 16:33). In the Old Testament it says, “The righteous person faces many troubles” (Psalm 34:19). The good news about the difficulties we face is God promised to deliver us out of all our troubles (Psalm 34:19).

Don’t give up on God because of the difficulties we face. Trust that God will bring us out of these situations and He works out everything for our good.

Psalm 34:19 A righteous person will have many troubles, but the LORD will deliver him from them all.

Proverbs 16:18 Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.

Pride is evil and destructive. Nothing good comes from pride. Pride is also deceptive because we think we’re saving ourselves from embarrassment or showing weakness, but in reality, it’s destroying our lives.

Pride will hold a happy marriage hostage. It will cause one person not to apologize because they think the other person should apologize first. If we know there’s tension in our marriage, apologize and move on. Pride ruins relationships. It causes a person to hold a grudge against their former friend because of something they did years ago. Forgive them and let it go and enjoy the friendship that once was.

Pride cancels careers. When people feel like they’re being mistreated at their jobs, instead of handling it appropriately, they want to tell their supervisor how they feel in an unruly manner. In return, they are demoted or terminated from their jobs.

A lot of us have pride in one area or another. Let’s allow God to show us in what area pride is destroying our lives and be big enough to overcome it.

Deuteronomy 31:6 Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you.”

As we can see, God promised to never leave us nor forsake us. Understanding this promise, a believer should never say they’re alone or lonely. We may not have anyone physically present with us but, God is always with us.

There will be times where we’re tempted to feel lonely. We may feel alone when we’re going through a difficult time or we may feel lonely during the holidays but, our feelings can be deceptive and unreliable. Regardless of how we feel, the truth of the matter is we’re never alone. We’ll also be tempted to think God’s presence is not enough. If we truly understood all the Lord has done for us, we’ll realize God is more than enough.

Let’s renew our minds to the truth that we’re never alone because God is always with us. This truth will keep us confident, fearless, and free from depression. Praise God we are never alone.

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

In today’s world where we have mass shootings, bombings, and an increase in crime, peace is a luxury. For the believer, we have an opportunity to access this luxury on a daily basis; however, it requires our minds to be focused on God.

When we keep our minds focused on God, we can live in a constant state of peace, but if we get like Peter, and look at all the circumstances around us, we’ll panic and sink into fear. When we focus on God being our Protector, we’ll never have to worry about the dangers in this world. When we focus on God being our Provider, we’ll never have to worry about lack. When we realize God hears us when we pray, we’ll never have to worry about our prayers not being answered.

Focusing on God is how we stay in perfect peace. It doesn’t mean our peace won’t be tested, but if we discipline ourselves to focus on God during that test, we’ll always have the luxury of peace.

Isaiah 40:17 All the nations are as nothing before Him, They are regarded by Him as less than nothing and meaningless. 18 To whom then will you liken God? Or what likeness will you compare with Him?

No matter how much success we experience in the world and no matter how much notoriety we have, we are less than nothing without God. Never get it misunderstood. It’s not because of our work ethic, our education, or our connections that we’re successful. It’s because of God.

Through His grace and mercy, God allows us to experience this success. He allows us to be alive to enjoy this abundant life. God allows our bodies to function properly. God’s angels keep death and destruction from our lives. God… God… God.

As soon as we become “I minded” where we believe that I did this or I did that and not give credit to God, we become living fools. With every success in life, realize it’s all because of God.

As we get older and our immediate family begins to grow, we have a tendency to focus inward. We become content with the fact that our family is saved, blessed, and prosperous, but meanwhile, our extended family and friends are lost and hurting.

Our immediate family is saved and going to church every week, but our cousins are being deceived into the delusion that there is no God. Our spouse brings the biggest smile on our faces, but our friend’s family is slowly being torn apart. We’re excited about our promotion, but our uncle just lost his job.

Periodically, it’s important to continue to reach out to our extended family and friends. We could speak a word of encouragement that may save someone’s life. We can see if they have any prayer requests. We can see if they need or desire something. We can be personal ministers of the Gospel to them.

Let’s not forget about our brother or sister. We are the blessing that God can work through.

Hebrews 10:25 Let us not neglect meeting together, as some have made a habit, but let us encourage one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

John 1:12 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—

There are some whose identity is built around the mistakes of their past. They were promiscuous in their past and now they see themselves as a whore. Some committed criminal acts and now society calls them and they see themselves as a “thug.”

There are some whose identity is built around their present. There are some who are and always have been an athlete. There are some who have elite status in society. If sports and status are taken away from those people, they’re lost.

Finally, there are some whose identity is based on what they will be. They’re attempting to gain wealth and status. Once they acquire the wealth and status, then they’ll see themselves as successful, but for now, they see themselves as nothing.

Our past, our present, and our future doesn’t define who we are. Our identity is found in Christ. If we’ve made Jesus Lord over our lives, we are everything God said we are regardless of our past, present, or future. We are righteous (Rom 3:22). We are holy (Heb. 10:10). We are rich (2 Cor. 8:9). We are blessed (Gal 3:14). We are victorious (1 Cor. 15:57). It’s not because of what we do or what we have. It’s because of Jesus.

Let’s look outside ourselves and our performance and look to Jesus Who did it all for us. Our identity is found in Christ.

Exodus 31:3 And I have filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship, 4 to design artistic works, to work in gold, in silver, in bronze, 5 in cutting jewels for setting, in carving wood, and to work in all manner of workmanship.

God has filled everyone with a gift, talent, and skills for His glory. Some of us know what our gift is and some of us don’t. To those that don’t, it’s important that we seek God for our gifting.

Our gifts may not seem financially lucrative on the surface, but it’s still our gift to the world. When we use our gift for the glory of God, God won’t let us go broke.

A misconception of our gift is we need to be operating in our gift full-time. That’s not necessarily the case for everyone. We can be called to work at one place full-time, but be operating in our gift during our time off.

Let’s discover and operate in our gift and when someone compliments us in our gift, give credit to God.

Psalm 88:13 But I cry to you for help, LORD; in the morning my prayer comes before you.

It’s important to commune with God at the beginning of each day. When we begin each day with God, we operate from the “First Principle”. All throughout the Bible, we see God blessing those who put Him first (Deut. 26:10; Prov. 3:9-10; Matthew 6:33).

During our morning prayer, we give glory to God Who woke us up. We thank Him for allowing us to see another day. We ask Him to lead and guide us so that we honor Him in every way. We receive His protection and covering over our household. And if we have any cares or concerns for that day, we give it to Him.

It doesn’t have to be long or theatrical. We’ll simply reap the benefits of acknowledging God at the beginning of each day.

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

In order for our faith to grow and be strengthened, we must feed our faith with the Word of God. Faith is a tool we use to obtain all the promises of God.

Through Jesus Christ, we have the freedom to do and listen to anything, but what will be the most beneficial to our faith is the Word of God. It wouldn’t do us any good if we have a desperate need, but all we can think of is what happened on our favorite TV show. It would be difficult to fight sickness in our bodies if we don’t know any scriptures about how we’re healed.

Our faith is only as strong as we feed it. We can feed our faith through reading the Word of God, listening to scripture-based teachings, and hearing scripture-based songs. Daily, we need to set up some time in our busy schedules to feed our faith by hearing the Word of God.

John 17:17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.

In today’s world, there are many things that try to get our attention and claim to be the truth. We have science, knowledge of self, other religions, and consciousness. We have to have it settled in our hearts that God’s Word (The Bible) is the truth.

If God’s Word is not the absolute truth in our hearts, there will always be a place for doubt and unbelief regarding God’s Word. We’ll attempt to take care of ourselves because we doubt God’s ability to take care of us according to Isaiah 46:4. We’ll question the Bible’s validity because someone shares so-called contradictions. We’ll question life itself because some new documentary shows us convincing theories of how we’re created.

Satan wouldn’t be a good adversary if he didn’t attack the truth which is God’s Word so, let’s guard our hearts and settle it in our minds from this day forward that God’s Word is the truth.

Numbers 13:33 And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, who come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.

Overwhelming circumstances and situations we can’t control can give us the wrong reflection. Look at the Israelites. The Israelites saw themselves as grasshoppers. Where did they get this distorted view from? God never told them they were grasshoppers in the sight of the giants and none of the giants called them grasshoppers. They obtained this view of themselves because they couldn’t naturally see how they would overcome this large obstacle.

Wrong reflections of ourselves are still present today. If we don’t have a spouse, we may see ourselves as lonely. If we don’t have a lot of money in the bank, we may view ourselves as poor. If things didn’t turn out the way we’d hoped, we may see ourselves as failures. We’re looking at ourselves through the wrong mirror.

The mirror we need to view ourselves through is the Word of God. We may not have a spouse, but God said He’ll never leave us nor forsake us, therefore, we’ll never be lonely (Deut. 31:8). We may not have a lot of money at this time but, the Word of God never calls us poor, but rich (2 Cor. 8:9). Even though things didn’t turn out the way we wanted, we’re still victorious (2 Cor. 2:14).

There are two mirrors that we can view our lives through. The Word of God and what we can naturally see. In order to overcome, be positive, and maintain our hope in this life, we must view our lives through the Word of God.

A trumpet is an instrument. It sits on a stand or in a case waiting on someone to use it. It doesn’t play on its own. It just sits there waiting on our breath to make a sound.

We’re instruments for God. We have free will to do whatever we desire, but ideally, God desires for us to be led by Him through His Spirit. Like the trumpet, we shouldn’t speak unless the Spirit breathes through us and tells us what to say. We shouldn’t move unless the Spirit tells us where to go.

When we’re led by the Spirit, doing all that He’s commanded us to do, the Kingdom of God benefits greatly and we’re doing exactly what we were created to do.

Let’s stop everything we’re doing and be an instrument for God.

Ezekiel 37:7 So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a sound, and behold, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone.

Luke 7:12 As he approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried out—the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town was with her. 13 When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, “Don’t cry.”14 Then he went up and touched the bier they were carrying him on, and the bearers stood still. He said, “Young man, I say to you, get up!” 15 The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother.

Jesus shows us how to make the dead rise. The same faith Jesus used to raise this man from the dead resides within us (John 14:12).

We not only have the ability to raise people from the dead, but we can raise situations and circumstances from the dead. We may have a dream that’s been sitting on the shelves of our minds for the past 10 years. Reignite that dream and tell it to get up. It may seem like we have a life-less marriage. Let’s use our faith and declare life, love, and joy within our marriage. We may have become complacent in where we are and we’re not accomplishing our goals. We may need to tell ourselves to get up and do what God has called us to do.

With faith in God, all things are possible including bringing things from death to life (Mark 9:23). Let’s use that faith and tell every dead situation in our lives to get up!

Romans 3:22 We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are.

Our righteousness is not based on our behavior, the amount of times we go to church, or the amount of good deeds we do for others. Our righteousness is solely based on our belief in Jesus Christ.

When we believe that Jesus is the Son of God Who exchanged our sins for His righteousness, we are saved and in right standing with God. Nothing else matters. We may not have our behavior in order, but we’re righteous. We may not be living a perfect holy life, but we’re righteous. We may indulge in sinful acts from time to time, but we’re righteous. It’s because of Jesus we’re righteous.

Should we take advantage of Jesus’ sacrifice and continue to intentionally sin knowing that no matter what we do we’re still righteous? Of course not. But, if we recognize His sacrifice compelled by His love for us, we wouldn’t want to sin. We wouldn’t want to intentionally go against Someone Who has done so much for us.

Let’s believe and be righteous and don’t allow anyone else to tell us something different.

There are situations we face that are severely tragic to us. It may seem minor to someone else, but it’s tragic to us. We may experience a sudden death of a loved one, we may have a debilitating disease, or we may continuously have financial struggles we can’t seem to overcome.

The devil replays our situation(s) over and over in our minds until it seems hopeless and life is not worth living. It’s a lie. Whatever we’re going through, it’s not that bad. If we’re still alive, there’s hope.

Our hope is rested in God through Jesus Christ. When we trust and totally rely on God instead of trying to figure out how we, alone, will overcome this situation, things begin to look a little brighter. We begin to have hope. The pain of a loved one’s death becomes manageable (Hebrews 9:14). We begin to realize Jesus was whipped so that we can be healed of that debilitating disease (Isaiah 53:5). We receive revelation that God is our Provider and we will always have enough (Philippians 4:19).

Whatever the situations is, realize, it’s not that bad. Let’s place our hope, trust, and confidence in God.

1 Peter 5:7 Casting all your care upon him; for he cares for you.

No one thinks it’s strange to see a young high schooler practicing basketball in the gym for 2 hours every day because they have aspirations of becoming a professional basketball player. It’s not uncommon to see a football player running routes during offseason. Most people don’t think it’s weird if they hear a musician working on new music because they want to be successful.

People don’t see anything wrong with people perfecting their craft in the natural, but how often do we get criticized if we practice to obtain spiritual perfection? People, including Christians, think it’s “too deep” to ask God if we should wash our hair in the shower and people think it’s strange to consult God on what to purchase at the grocery store. Consulting God on seemingly minor tasks may seem foolish to unbelievers, but to believers, it should be the norm.

What we’re doing is practicing hearing the voice of God. If we’re disciplined enough to consult God on the minor issues, we’ll apply the same principles to major issues. How can we know to accept that business deal or marry that person if we haven’t been listening to Him any other time?

Consult God in all areas of life. Learn to recognize His voice because practice makes perfect.

John 10:27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.

Philippians 4:¹¹ I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. ¹² I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. ¹³ I can do all this through him who gives me strength.

In everything Paul went through, Paul obtained a positive perspective. This positive perspective wasn’t made possible through positive thinking. This positive perspective was filtered through Jesus Christ.

Whenever we view our lives through Christ and all He’s made available to us, we’ll always find a positive outlook in whatever we’re going through.

*We have to work later than anticipated.
Praise God we have a job, we’re receiving overtime, and/or we’re being a blessing to the company (Gen. 12:2).

*We just got into a car wreck.
Praise God He protects us, we’ll have a testimony on how God kept us, and since God is a Provider and He supplies all our needs, He’ll provide another car (Phil. 4:19).

*Don’t have enough money for a certain thing?
Praise God that if we ask Him for anything, He hears and answers our prayers (1 John 5:15).

If we can’t think of anything to be positive about regarding the situation we’re in, we can always be reminded that God works out everything for our good (Rom. 8:28).

Having a positive perspective allows us to enjoy more of life that Jesus died for and it keeps us with a positive attitude in every situation we face. Be Positive.

Deuteronomy 30:9 Then the LORD your God will make you most prosperous in all the work of your hands and in the fruit of your womb, the young of your livestock and the crops of your land. The LORD will again delight in you and make you prosperous, just as he delighted in your ancestors,

Being prosperous in all we set out to do is the product of the blessing. Initially, under the Old Covenant, this promise was for every person who obeyed every command of God. Now, under the New Covenant, this promise of prosperity is for all who believe Jesus is Lord.

A vast majority of our confidence lies within this promise. How confident would we be if we truly believed we would prosper in everything we do? We would approach life differently. We would approach projects we had no education or training in with boldness. We would walk into that promotion with a confident smile.

Let’s get this in our soul. Through Jesus Christ, we are destined to prosper in everything we do.

2 Kings 6:16 So he answered, “Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” 17 Then Elisha prayed and said, “O LORD, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.” And the LORD opened the servant’s eyes and he saw; and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.

The king of Aram wanted to capture the prophet Elisha therefore; he surrounded the city where Elisha and his servant were residing. Elisha’s servant saw the army and went back to Elisha afraid asking him, “What shall we do?” A calm Elisha told his servant, there are more with us than with them.

Looking through natural eyes, there were only two of them versus a surrounded city of soldiers. When Elisha asked God to open his servant’s spiritual eyes, the servant was able to see a host of the Lord’s horses and chariots of fire surrounding them.

There are going to be times in our lives where our natural eyes will give us a limited perspective. It will seem like there’s not enough money, it will seem as if there’s no cure for a disease, it will seem as if the situation will never get better. During those times, we have to view life through our spiritual eyes. Our spiritual eyes view life through the lens of faith and our faith is rooted in the Word of God.

When our natural eyes tell us there’s not enough, looking through our spiritual eyes will tell us God will supply all our needs (Phil. 4:19). When our natural eyes tell us our marriage is terrible, our spiritual eyes will tell us it’s blessed because we have what we say (Mark 11:24). When our natural eyes tell us we don’t deserve something because of our past, our spiritual eyes will tell us we’re righteous through Christ as we’re an heir to the promises of God (Rom. 3:22; Eph. 1:3).

Let’s start and continue viewing every part of our lives through our spiritual eyes.

2 Corinthians 12:9-10 “And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”‭

Have you ever noticed when a major problem comes into our lives that’s out of our control, we tend to go to God? The world looks at going to God during troubling times as a sign of weakness because we can’t handle the situation on our own, but the Word of God lets us know that’s when we’re at our strongest.

When we face negative situations, sicknesses, and persecution, that’s when we’re at our strongest because we’re totally relying on God. A lot of us heard the lie that “God helps those who help themselves.” God was helping us when we couldn’t help ourselves.

God didn’t create us to go through life using our limited wisdom, resources, and skills. The pattern God established since the beginning of time was for mankind to totally depend on Him. When we’re totally dependent on Him and not ourselves, we’re at our strongest because we’re using His unlimited power and infinite wisdom during times of turmoil.

Stop trying to handle life’s situations on your own. Maximize your strength by totally relying on God.

Proverbs 21:23 He who guards his mouth and his tongue, Guards his soul from troubles.

Have you ever seen a baby being somewhat destructive? Every time you pick something up, they want to drop it. When you clean up their toys in an area, they want to come behind us and mess up the area. We try to tell and show them how to clean up behind themselves, but they continue to do this because they don’t know any better or they refuse to change their ways.

The same way a baby can be destructive with their toys or in an area, is the same way some of us are destructive with our words. The bible clearly says, death and life are in the power of the tongue (Prov. 18:23), but some of us continue to be destructive with our words. Some of us just have to tell people how bad it is or how hard we have it. The bible and ministers have tried to tell us to be constructive with our words, but like a baby, some of us don’t know any better or some of us refuse to change.

Here’s another warning. We construct or destruct our world with our speech. We may not see it immediately, but every time we speak negatively over our lives, our finances, our children, and our jobs, we’re destined to have what we say.

So, begin constructing the life you desire to see by changing your speech.

Judges 7:2 And the Lord said to Gideon, “The people who are with you are too many for Me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel claim glory for itself against Me, saying, ‘My own hand has saved me.’

“Our full cupboard is often our greatest hindrance.” –Smith Wigglesworth.

Gideon and his army are about to go into battle. Gideon starts off with 32,000 men. God dwindled his army down to 10,000, then eventually to 300 men. As we can see from the scripture above, God’s objective was for Israel to totally rely on Him for the victory and not the amount of people they had.

God often puts us in situations where we have to totally rely on Him and it’s usually in our finances. Most of us are confident in giving to the Kingdom of God, attacking a project, or simply living life when we have additional finances and resources. But, what about when we have a need bigger than our bank account or a financial deadline and our finances are limited? Will we still give to the Kingdom of God or approach that project with confidence? It gets a little more difficult.

God puts us in these situations so that He gets the glory as we trust in Him instead of glorifying our resources. How much trust or reliance on God does it take when financial resources are available?

No matter how much money we have or don’t have, it’s our goal to totally rely on God. We trust in God over money. Trust God, our Source, and not in our resources.

Exodus 20:3 You shall have no other gods before Me.

A lot of people will go above and beyond the minimum to be what they deem to be successful. For singers, they’ll wait in line for days in order for judges to hear them in an audition. For athletes, they’ll wake up early, discipline themselves, and push their bodies to the limits. People will work 70 or more hours a week building their business. Unfortunately, people will also prostitute themselves, expose themselves, or engage in criminal behavior to be “successful.”

People focus on being successful to the point where it becomes an idol or a god. An idol is anything that replaces or trumps God. The same tenacity people have to become successful, is the same tenacity we should have for the things of God. 

Success is not the goal. Honoring God is our goal. When we honor God, success is a byproduct of our honor. Let’s redirect our focus and honor God. 

Psalm 23:4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff they comfort me.

“I will fear no evil: for You are with me.”

This very famous scripture in the Bible is often not applied in our lives. We know this because every day someone has a panic attack, worry is ruining people’s lives, and people are afraid for their lives in seemingly minor circumstances.

If we truly have a revelation of God ALWAYS being with us, we would never fear again. We wouldn’t fear about our finances possibly dwindling. We wouldn’t be afraid of some disease attacking our bodies. Even with a gun pointed to our heads, we wouldn’t fear because God is with us and He promised that nothing will hurt us (Luke 10:19).

Fear will attempt to invade our thoughts, but if we understand God is with us, we have no reason to fear. If God is with us and for us, who or what can be against us? Begin confessing this one verse daily to remove every fear from our lives.

What if God told you to stay at a job that you detest so that you can minister the Gospel to your co-workers? Would you put God’s agenda above your own? What if God told you to stay in a rocky marriage in the hopes that your spouse sees the love of Christ coming through you? Would you stay or would you put your personal feelings above the plan of God?

There will be times where God keeps us in places that we really don’t prefer so that His will can be accomplished. During those times, we need to push past our emotions, ask God for strength to endure, and be glad that God’s will is being accomplished.

Jesus, our example, had to get past His emotions and accomplish God’s will by sacrificing Himself on the cross for us.

Living this Christian life is not always going to be fun where everything goes the way we want it to all the time. But, we can be sure that everything will work out for our good (Rom. 8:28).

Luke 22:42 “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.”

Acts 12:5 Peter was therefore kept in prison, but constant prayer was offered to God for him by the church.

When Peter was thrown in prison, the church remained in constant prayer to God on his behalf. Prayer is good but, prayer alone is not enough. Prayer must be accompanied with belief (faith) and expectation. Mark 11:24 says, when we pray, we must believe that we have received whatever we asked for.

Although the church was in constant prayer for Peter, we can see they lacked faith. How do we know this? Because in verses 13-15, when Peter was knocking at their door, they didn’t believe Rhoda when she told them it was Peter. They didn’t believe their prayers could free Peter. They prayed but, thought he died. They didn’t believe. They were just going through the religious motions of prayer.

When we pray, it’s our assignment to believe what we’re praying for will come to pass. Whether it be a month later or ten years later, we need to believe and expect our desires to knock on the doors of our lives.

Have faith in God. Pray, Believe, and Expect.

-Inspired by Smith Wigglesworth

Matthew 26:53 Are you not aware that I can call on My Father, and He will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels?

Here’s a quick lesson from Jesus prior to Him going to the cross. Jesus could have called twelve legions (36,000) of angels to His defense against those who were arresting Him. In 2 Kings 19 we see one angel can kill 185,000 men, therefore, 36,000 angels can kill 6,660,000,000 men. Although Jesus could have destroyed everyone who was attempting to harm Him, He let them make it and allowed them to live.

There will be people who will test us in all areas in life. During those times, we don’t have to always win the battle or prove that we’re right. Sometimes, it’s in our best interest and the best interest for the Kingdom to hold our tongues and let them make it. If Jesus would have called His angels to destroy those soldiers, He would not be glorified and the Kingdom of God would be empty because we would still be lost in our sins.

Someone may want to argue and we have enough information to make them feel foolish, but is making them feel foolish honoring to the Father? Does it show the love of God or bring them closer to Christ? No. Someone may want to fight us and we know we can destroy them, but beating them up will not bring honor to God and we may have to deal with the consequences of going to jail.

Always being right and always winning is overrated. Follow the example of Jesus and let people make it.

Galatians 6:9 So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up.

We’re faithful and committed to the things of God. We get out of a comfortable bed to go to church. We sacrifice watching our favorite TV show to study the Word of God. We serve at our church and in our community. We make an effort to love everyone as we do ourselves. We’re nice to people who aren’t nice to us. We resist arguing with a fool. We help out a friend when it’s inconvenient for us.

These are all good things, but they can be draining especially, if we don’t see immediate results of our good efforts. God understands this. That’s why He encourages us to not get tired of doing good. He knows if we continue to do good, in spite of how we feel and in spite of how long it takes, we’ll reap a blessing.

The only thing stopping us from our blessings is fatigue. Don’t get tired of doing good. Suck it up, get that second wind, and keep doing good.

We just got married and we just got a promotion at our job. With that promotion, our finances doubled. With the increase in finances, we’re able to upgrade and get a nicer car. Also, with that increase we’re able to plan for a 7 day vacation. Seeing that all of these blessings have entered our lives within a year, most of us would proudly say, “God is good.”

TWO YEARS LATER…

The excitement in our marriage has dwindled and now it’s rocky. We just lost a child in a miscarriage. The promotion we got requires more responsibilities that hinders our free time. The car we got had problems which caused us to spend more money than we planned. Now, we can’t go on extravagant vacations like we used to.

The same God Who we declared was good two years ago is still good today. The enemy wants to magnify unfortunate circumstances to hinder our praise. It’s a trap. God was, is, and always will be good. If we can push past our feelings and continue to give God praise in spite of unfortunate events, we will magnify God Who promised to give us double for our trouble (Isaiah 61:7).

Don’t allow situations and circumstances to determine the amount of glory and praise we give our God.

Psalm 136:1 Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good. His love endures forever.

Hebrews 11:25 Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a time;

If we can take our spiritual hats off for a moment and be honest, we can see that sin is pleasurable. Sin satisfies our flesh. It’s pleasurable to go out all night and get drunk at the club. It’s satisfying to our flesh to get high and let lust run wild. It’s exhilarating to eat, drink, have no limits or constraints, and do whatever we desire to do.

This pleasure is what keeps some of us from surrendering our all to God. We’d rather enjoy our lives to the fullest and we don’t want to be told how to live it.

Everything is permissible, but everything is not beneficial (1 Corinthians 10:23). Romans 8:13 says, if we live according to the flesh, we will die. That’s a guarantee. We will die. It may not be immediately, but sin shortens and reduces the quality of our lives.

Because God loves us, He puts limits in His Word and He desires for us to be led by the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:13). It’s up to us to discipline our flesh and obey the promptings of the Holy Spirit. Our motivation for this permanent change is to honor a God Who’s done so much in our lives. He’s done countless things in our lives and the least we can do is sacrifice the cravings of our flesh for Him.

Galatians 5:13 You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love.

John 14:26 But the Comforter, who is the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

Unfortunate things happen to us because we’re living in a fallen world. People get laid off, people get divorced, loved ones pass away, and diseases come. Exercising our faith to prevent these things from happening is an option, but we’re not exempt from problems. 

When problems come, we have an unseen Comforter living inside of us. The Holy Spirit. He is a Comforter for a reason. His words are inspired by God. He can tell us what to do during these trying times. He can be the assurance, letting us know everything will be alright. He can give us day by day steps to get past the pain. He can do all of this and more, but we have to let Him comfort us.

If we’re stuck in our feelings, wanting to feel depressed and wanting people to feel sorry for us, there’s nothing He can do. But, if we want to get past the pain and confusion and move on with our lives, He’s there ready to comfort us.

Have faith in this great Comforter. He can change our mourning into gladness. 

God has given us the victory. Whether it looks or feels like it, we have the victory. Victory over what? Everything. We have victory over sickness, over a problematic marriage, over fear, and over everything outside of God’s will. Victory can seem elusive at times but nevertheless, we have victory.

Our victory comes through Jesus Christ. It’s not our efforts, intelligence, or connections that give us the victory. Our victory solely comes through Jesus Christ. He was the One Who overcame death, hell, and the grave. He defeated the enemy and stripped him of all his power. He was given all power by God. Jesus did all of this for us. Our belief in what He’s accomplished for us has given us the victory.

Even though it may not seem like things will change or it looks like things are getting worse, believe through Jesus Christ, we have the victory.

1 Corinthians 15:57 But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

2 Samuel 6:20 Then David returned to bless his household. And Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David, and said, “How glorious was the king of Israel today, uncovering himself today in the eyes of the maids of his servants, as one of the base fellows shamelessly uncovers himself!” 21 So David said to Michal, “It was before the Lord, who chose me instead of your father and all his house, to appoint me ruler over the people of the Lord, over Israel. Therefore I will play music before the Lord. 22 And I will be even more undignified than this, and will be humble in my own sight. But as for the maidservants of whom you have spoken, by them I will be held in honor.”

God loves us. God saved us. God healed us. God restored us. God protects us. God provides for us. God gives us the victory before we start. God blessed us. 

With all that God has done, we must be honest with ourselves and ask ourselves are we embarrassed to praise the Lord? Are we so concerned with what people think until we can’t lift our hands, yell, or jump with excitement for all that God has done? Maybe, we don’t want to be labeled a “Jesus fanatic” or maybe we don’t want to seem hypocritical or maybe we’ve been convinced “it doesn’t take all of that.” Regardless of the reason, God deserves better than a half-hearted praise and worship accompanied by pitiful hand claps.

The same way we yell when our team scores or the same way we get excited when our song comes on is the same way we should be when we’re praising God.

Don’t allow the possible looks or the possible thoughts of people to limit the praise that is due to our God.

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

For every desire we have, patience is required. Delay at times seems like it’s enemy driven but at times, it’s necessary for our spiritual development. Delay matures the believer and it causes us to confirm if what we’re asking for is what we really want.

James 1:4 says, but let patience have her perfect work, that you may be perfect and entire, lacking in nothing. As we wait on our desires, we are being perfected. We’re learning to trust in God even when we can’t see where He’s leading us. We’re learning to worship Him while waiting. We’re learning to rely on Him because we don’t have all the answers.

If children immediately received what they requested from their parents all the time, they would be viewed as spoiled. God is not trying to raise spoiled children. He desires for us to grow in maturity, have an intimate relationship with Him, and appropriately handle delay.

Be patient. It’s coming.

Exodus 18:8 And Moses told his father-in-law all that the Lord had done to Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for Israel’s sake, all the hardship that had come upon them on the way, and how the Lord had delivered them.

When God does something good in our lives, how many of us actually tell someone else of His goodness? How many of us actually give credit to God for doing something good in our lives instead of saying, we were fortunate or it’s a blessing?

People have done a great job in promoting a false sense of humility and modesty. So much so until some of us feel bad about telling someone else about what the Lord has done. We don’t want to appear boastful. If we’re praising God correctly, we’re not boasting about what we’ve done. We’re giving all the credit to God. Psalm 44:8 tells us to boast in God continually.

Another reason we’re silent is because we don’t want to make another person to feel bad if they’re in an unfortunate predicament at the time. We can’t control how another person feels, but we can control Who we give credit to. For those who will receive our testimony appropriately, our testimony can encourage them to place or keep their faith in God.

How else will people know what the Lord can do if we’re keeping it to ourselves? Let’s open our mouths and tell the world what God has done.