Category Archive

This is Jesus’ declaration to the Father.

John 17:26 (AMP) and I have made Your name known to them, and will continue to make it known, so that the love with which You have loved Me may be in them [overwhelming their heart], and I [may be] in them.”

Unfortunately, the world still doesn’t acknowledge God. They still make God out to be a myth. His wonders are replaced with science, and His love is reduced to an emotion.

As believers, living Christ-like, we should imitate the ways of Jesus. We should not only make the name God known to the world, but make known the only name that can save: Jesus. Using our mouths and our social media posts, we can spread the name of Jesus to everyone across the world. We may have a circle of like-minded believers surrounding us, but we should continue to make His name known to all those who have not received Him.

We’re not introducing the world to the God of wrath, guilt, judgement, or punishment. The wrath of God, guilt, or punishment has already been paid for by Jesus. We’re introducing the world to a Savior who loved us so much until He took our place on the cross. We’re introducing them to a God who has forgiven us of our past, present, and future sins. We’re introducing the world to a God who loves us regardless of ANYTHING we’ve ever done.

People of God, it’s time to boldly introduce the world to God, through Jesus.

The thing that causes someone to contribute to society, be productive, and walk in their purpose is a solid foundation. A solid foundation begins and ends with God. If a person is built on something else, they’ll crumble whenever pressure arises. But, if they’re solidified in God, they’ll last forever.

We build contributing people by parenting according to the Word of God. As parents, it’s important to train the youth in the ways of God according to the Word of God. Even if they stray, we have a promise of their return. We can’t pick and choose parenting methods in the Word of God that make us feel the most comfortable. In order to have the promise of their return if they should stray, we must comply with the Word of God completely. That means, we may have to tell them no, physical discipline may be necessary, and restraint on our part may be needed.

The Holy Spirit will guide us in all things, including parenting, and the Holy Spirit will not deviate from the Word of God. However, the Holy Spirit instructs us to parent our children based on what is best for our children and us.

Proverbs 22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.

On Part 1 of Belief & Faith, we discovered a difference between belief and faith. Belief is in our head, but faith is the action that accompanies our belief.

We discovered one way to activate our faith is through speaking (2 Cor. 4:13). After believing God has made a promise available to us, we speak it into existence. We literally say what God says about the promise in the midst of negative circumstances.

In addition to speaking, we can activate our faith through God-appointed actions. If we desire a house, we audibly declare,  “I believe that I have received the house of my desire according to Mark 11:24.” Afterwards, God may lead us to begin packing before we get approved for the loan on the house. Another example is with a car. We believe that we’ve received the car and although we don’t have the money for the car, God may lead us to sit in and test drive the car on a weekly basis.

We must be sure an action is God-appointed because if it’s our own actions, it can appear as faith, but it’s really foolishness. A foolish action is if a person believes God for their eyesight to be healed, therefore, they take their glasses off to drive. If God didn’t tell us to do an action, He’s not obligated to manifest the miracle.

Believe AND have faith to manifest the desires of your heart.

2 Corinthians 4:13 It is written: “I believed; therefore I have spoken.” Since we have that same spirit of faith, we also believe and therefore speak,

There’s a difference between belief and faith. We can believe God has made a certain promise available to us but until we activate our faith to receive that promise, that promise will remain a belief.

A simple way we can understand the difference between belief and faith is with a chair. We can look at a chair and believe without a doubt that the chair will hold our weight. Our faith is not activated until we take a step and actually sit down in the chair.

Likewise with healing, provision, or whatever we desire from God. We can believe God has healed us or provided for us but until we activate our faith, healing or provision will remain a belief and not come to pass in our lives. Belief is in our head, but faith is the action.

2 Corinthians 4:13 says, we believe; therefore we speak. The faith or the action accompanied with belief is speaking. When we’re sick, we say “By His stripes, we are healed (Isaiah 53:5).” When our provision don’t appear available, we say, “All our needs are met (Phil. 4:19).”

Regardless of what we need or desire, let’s accompany our belief with faith.

2 Corinthians 4:13 It is written: “I believed; therefore I have spoken.” Since we have that same spirit of faith, we also believe and therefore speak,

Exodus 34:14 Do not worship any other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.

Imagine you have a child. You work hard to ensure that child has a roof over their head, food, clothes, and shoes. You even pay for and allow your child to participate in extracurricular activities. You spend your time, money, and effort to ensure your child has a bright future. All of a sudden, at the age of 13, your child internally disowns you. They’re unappreciative, they don’t want to spend time with you, and they call someone else mother or father. Wouldn’t you be a little upset? All of the sacrifices you made for that child would seem to be irrelevant.

That’s the same way some of us treat God when we put someone or something before Him. God paid an awesome price for us. God used the currency of Jesus to redeem us back to Himself. He took us back with our flaws and He literally gave us everything. We are healed, blessed, forgiven, and forever loved because of His sacrifice. We belong to God and no one else.

There should be no relationship, no amount of money, or no desire that should come before God. He is a jealous God and He is the only One Who is justified in being jealous.

Judges 6:15 “Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.” 16 The LORD answered, “I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites, leaving none alive.”

God tasked Gideon to save Israel, however, when Gideon was requested, Gideon began to make excuses as to why he couldn’t save Israel. The solution to Gideon’s excuses was the comfort in knowing God will be with him. Eventually, Gideon obeyed God and defeated the Midianites. 

This magnifies Deuteronomy 31:6 and Hebrews 13:5 which ultimately says, God will never leave us nor forsake us. Knowing that God is with us helps us to summon the courage to do whatever God has called us to do. 

At times, it may seem a little scary to step out on faith and do what God has called us to do. We may not think we have enough money to complete the task, we may think we don’t have the education, or the task itself may appear too daunting, but when we have the assurance of God being with us, the outcome is guaranteed victory.
Praise God for His presence!

Deuteronomy 31:6 Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”

Genesis 1:26 Then 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 birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

The President and CEO of Wal-Mart is Douglas McMillon. Let’s say John Brown desires to build and be a General Manager of a Wal-Mart franchise in South Florida. The Wal-Mart is opened, however, the Wal-Mart has damaged merchandise, a lack of security, and poor customer service. If a customer wanted to complain about everything that’s going on at John Brown’s Wal-Mart, who would be at fault? The answer would be John Brown. Although, Douglas McMillon is the CEO of Wal-Mart, it’s the responsibility of John Brown to make sure his store has good merchandise, great security, and great customer service.

The same way Douglas McMillon is not responsible for the events that occur at the South Florida Wal-Mart is the same way God is not responsible for the events that occur in the world. God gave us dominion over the world. We are the franchise owners of this world. Every event (good or bad) that occurs in this world is a result of what we allowed. All the wars, diseases, and violence we see are a result of our lack of action. It’s not God’s fault.

God gave us spiritual authority to decree whatever we desire, to speak life, and authority over all the power of the enemy (Job 22:28; Prov. 18:21; Luke 10:19). If we want to see a better world, we need to take spiritual action. God is the CEO of this world, but we have to manage this world to reflect heaven’s desires.

Jeremiah 17:7 “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, And whose hope is the Lord. 8 For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, Which spreads out its roots by the river, And will not fear when heat comes; But its leaf will be green, And will not be anxious in the year of drought, Nor will cease from yielding fruit.

Based on the Word of God, there are the benefits of trust.

When we place our trust in the Lord, we’re established or grounded in the Lord. We shouldn’t be moved or shaken by the issues of life. Our spirit and soul are locked into God.

Since we’re grounded in the Lord, when the trials of life come, we shouldn’t fear. We’ll continue to remain confident, healthy, and strong. When the world is in a panic about the economy, wars, or diseases, we continue to prosper financially, prosper in our health, and prosper in our well-being.

This promise if for anyone who places their trust in God. The hard part is letting go of our plans, fears, worries, and “what ifs.” Let go of everything and place your trust in God.

Hebrews 8:12 For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.

We are forgiven. God is not counting up our sins against us and He’s not waiting until judgement day to reveal all that we’ve done. We are totally and completely forgiven of all past, present, and future sins.

In the Old Covenant, God held people accountable for everything they’ve done and everything their parents had done. In this New Covenant, the sacrifice of Jesus paid for all of our sins and there is nothing left to owe.

No, God doesn’t want us to continue to engage in sinful behavior. God hates sin. But, if we should sin, God still loves us and views us as righteous. God’s righteous love is not based on our actions or behavior. His love is based on the sacrifice Jesus made on our behalf. Because Jesus paid for our sins, we are righteous.

Get rid of guilt and shame and know because of Jesus, we are the righteousness of God.

Isaiah 6:8 “Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: “Whom shall I send, And who will go for Us?” Then I said, “Here am I! Send me.”

Most believers desire to be on the receiving end of God’s hand, but how many of us are eager to be on the”Use Me List” of God?

Everyone of us can look at situations and circumstances in the world around us and desire to see a change for the better. Some of us know they’re selling drugs at the end of the block and we want better for our communities, but we won’t go to God and ask for a plan to spearhead change. Some of us know that friend needs to stop gossiping about others, but we tend to avoid confrontation and keep silent.

The common thread for the lack of initiation in Spirit-led change is fear. Some of us are afraid to get involved, afraid of getting too deep into the situation, or afraid of persecution. Remove that fear and do what God has called you to do.

As the Spirit leads, initiate the change you wish to see. If we, the believers, won’t do it, who will?

Let’s take the time to think back to when we were around 16 years old. We had the whole world in front of us. We had big dreams of becoming professional athletes, singers, or simply famous in something. We wanted wealth, maybe living in a mansion, and driving a nice car. What we dreamt came to pass for some of us but for everyone else, as we’ve gotten older, some of our dreams have either collapsed or the window to obtain that dream has narrowed.

For those who have a flicker of light left in that dream, cheer up! There’s hope! The Word of God says our youth is renewed like the eagle (Psalm 103:5).

When most people read this verse, they limit this verse to the physical body, but with God all things are possible. If we choose to believe God’s Word and have faith, the dreams and big ideas we had in our youth can also be renewed.

The only limits God has are the ones we place on Him. We’re never too old to fulfill a dream; we’re never too settled to pursue a desire, and we’re never too financially unstable to fulfill the calling God has on our lives.

Be like the eagle and allow God to renew the ideas, dreams, and visions from your youth.

Psalm 103:5 He fills my life with good things. My youth is renewed like the eagle’s!

Colossians 3:23 And whatsoever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;

There are two ways we can approach this scripture. The first way is with our flesh. Our flesh uses human effort to get the job done. The second way is working unto the Lord by the leading of the Holy Spirit.

People working unto the Lord using their flesh feel justified when they work 16 hours in one day on a project they could have completed in three days. They feel like they’re doing the Lord a service when they work in the hot sun without taking breaks or drinking water. They feel like if they work long and hard, God will be pleased. Once again, this is working unto the Lord using our flesh, but according to Romans 8:8, we cannot please God in our flesh.

God is not pleased because we’re not acknowledging Him as we work. God gave us His Spirit to be led in everything we do (Romans 8:14). He may have us work a couple of hours on a project then take a break and socialize with our co-workers. Even though we have a lot more that needs to be done, He may have us stop working on a project for the day and continue it the next day. God may have us work 16 hours in one day, but the only difference is He led us to work the 16 hours and not ourselves.

If the Holy Spirit is leading us, we’re working unto the Lord. Our long and hard hours don’t always confirm working unto the Lord. This week, let’s be led by the Spirit as we’re working unto the Lord.

1 Corinthians 15:44 It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.‭

As we can see, we have a natural body and a spiritual body. We’re more familiar with the natural body. Our natural body requires food, sleep, and it’s beneficial for it to have exercise. If we choose to neglect some of the requirements of our natural bodies, our health can deteriorate. 

Just like the natural body has some requirements to stay healthy, our spiritual bodies have some requirements as well. A healthy spiritual body needs food. Food for the spiritual body comes in the form of the Word of God. When we feed ourselves the Word of God, we starve doubt, unbelief, and fear. 

Secondly, our spiritual bodies need constant communication with God. John 4:24 tells us God is a spirit. Who better to tell us how to develop our spiritual bodies besides God? God will tell us when to fast, pray, or study the Word. 

As we feed ourselves the Word and communicate with God, God uproots everything He did not plant (Matthew 15:13). Anger, bitterness, and hatred can’t be seen, therefore, if it’s displayed in our lives, it must be associated with the spirit. As we continue to develop our spiritual bodies, God promised to uproot anything He did not plant from our lives. 

In this time where exercising seems to be popular, let’s not forsake nurturing our spiritual bodies.

Romans 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

Most of us know or have heard the “all have sinned” scripture. We tend to magnify and tell everyone that all have sinned, but not too many people know the next verse. The next verse is contextually connected to verse 23.

Verse 24 says, and all are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.

We all have sinned, but through Jesus Christ, we all are freely justified by His grace.

Telling people we’ve all sinned without telling people we’ve all been justified by grace leaves people sin conscience. It has people feeling like they’re just an old sinner hoping to make it to heaven. Knowing we’ve been freely justified through Christ leaves people liberated and free from the bondage of sin.

Regardless of the sin, through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, we’ve been justified or made righteous in the eyes of God. Praise God for Jesus who freely justified us by His grace.

Romans 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.

Inspired by Joseph Prince

Psalms 118:17 I will not die but live, and will proclaim what the LORD has done.

God’s Word promised we would live and not die. With this promise, we don’t have to worry or live in fear of terrorist attacks, airplane crashes, or dying in a foreign country. We can enjoy ourselves and live.

We’re not living so that we can satisfy our flesh or reap worldly desires. We’re living to proclaim what the Lord has done.  We are to proclaim that Jesus is Lord and the Savior of the world. We are to proclaim that Jesus has healed us. We are to proclaim that regardless of what we’ve done, God’s love is everlasting.

When we have a need or desire, we are to boldly proclaim that God will meet that need or desire. When that need or desire is met, we are to boldly proclaim that God answered our prayer. Everything we have and everything we do should bring glory to God.

Praise God He promised us life, but the reason why we’re living is to proclaim the works of the Lord.

Isaiah 3:10 Say to the righteous that it shall be well with them, For they shall eat the fruit of their doings. 

Extremists are attempting to destroy villages and terrorize cities; new viruses and diseases seem to be discovered every month, and racism is very obvious.

Regardless of what’s going on in the world, it shall be well with the righteous. Righteousness is not something we work for. Righteousness is freely given to everyone who believes in the works of Jesus Christ (2 Cor. 5:21). Through our belief, we are made righteous. 

Since we’re righteous, we have a promise of wellness. We have a promise of wellness at our jobs, in our homes, and in our daily lives. God is faithful and He will never go back on His promise. If we go through something that is attacking our wellness, we can be encouraged by reminding ourselves of this promise. 

Regardless of how it appears, all is well. 

When someone in the world observes a person praying or hears them mentioning the Word of God, they’re quick to label them as religious. As believers, we should quickly correct them from using the term “religious.”

In Christianity, religious actions are mainly done out of habit. These actions have little to no meaning. The motivation for these actions are usually incorrect and are based in condemnation. For instance, a religious idea says, “I’m going to read the Bible so that God can bless me.” For those who may adopt this idea, what we’re really saying is, our efforts are going to earn favor with God so that He can be bless us. There’s only one problem with this idea along with other religious ideas. It eliminates Jesus. 

If we can earn a blessing by reading the Bible and going to church, who needs Jesus? Someone may reply we needed Jesus to take away our sins. This is true, but through His sacrifice, we also needed Jesus to allow the blessing to come on us (Gal. 3:13-14). 
Because of all that God has done for us, we should be developing a relationship with God.

We don’t fast, pray, etc. because a preacher told us to. We do it because we desire to commune with our loving Heavenly Father. Let’s remove religion and develop relationship. 

Philippians 3:10 That I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,

OPTION 1:

-I have to go to Sunday service and weekly bible study so that God is pleased with me.

-I have to pray two hours a day so that God can bless me. 

-I have to read the Word of God two hours a night so that I can be healed.

OPTION 2:

-I get to go to Sunday service and weekly bible study to fellowship with like-minded believers and worship a risen Savior.

-Through Jesus Christ, God has blessed me, therefore, I get to pray to stay in constant communication with my God and the time I spend praying is inconsequential. 

-The stripes of Jesus Christ have already healed me, therefore, I enjoy spending time in God’s Word to fully comprehend the promises of God.

Option 1 is a religious mindset many Christians had in the past. God never intended for us to follow rules for the sake of following rules. God desires a relationship with us. He wants us to enjoy spending time with Him in prayer and in His Word. He doesn’t want it to be a chore or out of necessity. God sent Jesus to flawlessly complete all of the requirements to regain our right standing with Him so that we won’t have to. 

If we don’t make it to church, God still loves us. If we don’t read as much as we intended to read, we’re still blessed. If we haven’t fasted, we’re still healed. Once we get know God and have a true revelation of how good He’s been to us, our desire to do all those things will become automatic. Seek a relationship with God and not religious rules. 

1 John 5:20 And we know that the Son of God has come, and has given us understanding so that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life.

Philippians 4:6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

Proverbs 12:25 Anxiety in the heart of man causes depression, But a good word makes it glad.

There are desires in each and every one of us. If we’re not mindful, anxiety can enter our lives and cause depression if we reached our delay limit.

We may feel like we should have been married by now, had children by now, or gotten a higher paying position by now. If we continue to rehearse the delay in our minds, we’ll experience anxiety and if we rehearse it too much, we may experience anxiety attacks.

However, if we place our trust in God, He knows when the appointed time should be to receive our desires. Another thing we have to be mindful of is that our desires are not only designed to bless our lives; our desires can be a blessing to people we haven’t met yet.

We may feel like it’s taking too long to receive a promotion at our current job, but God has other plans. God may have us apply to another job that pays a higher salary and at that job, we meet our future spouse who will assist in having future children. That’s how God works everything out for our good (Romans 8:28).

When you can’t figure it out, trust the plan and timing of God.

Matthew 6:27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?

In the movie, Bridge of Spies, Tom Hanks plays a lawyer representing a Russian spy who was arrested in America. Throughout the movie Tom Hanks’ character would ask the Russian spy if he was worried or nervous about what was going to happen to him. The Russian spy always responded by saying, “Would it help?”

The Word of God has been teaching us this concept for years. It wouldn’t help one bit if we worried about anything. It won’t change the outcome to anything in our lives and worrying will only cause detriment to our health.

Spiritually, worrying is a lack of trust in God. It’s letting God know we don’t trust Him or His plan, therefore, we need to negatively meditate on the next best solution we can comprehend.

Release all cares, worries, and anxieties to God and trust His plan.

When a problem arises, some of us ask people to pray for our situation. There’s nothing wrong with asking for prayer as long as our motivation is only for agreement. Any additional reason is a lack of faith.

There are some people who use prayer like tickets at an amusement park. They feel like the more prayers they have going towards a certain subject, the better their chances are to get their prayers answered.

The Word of God says, God hears our prayers and our prayers are effective. It doesn’t matter if 100 people are praying for us or if it’s just our prayer. If we believe our prayers are heard and are effective, our prayers will come to pass.

It’s great to have people in agreement with our prayers, but we don’t need people to have our prayers answered. Praise God for giving us the power to have our prayers answered.

1 John 5:14 This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. 15 And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him.

James 5:16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.

We all were raised in a different environment. Some of us had a great childhood with great loving parents and others experienced great difficulty growing up. Some of us were abused, raised without one or both parents, or lived in poverty. How we were raised has a great impact on how we view life and the decisions we’ll make. 

If someone grew up without a father and they never had the needed attention from a mother, when they’re an adult, that person may desire to overload their children with the love and attention they never had or they’ll repeat the patterns of their parents.

Regardless of how we were raised or what we went through, we (the believers) have a common denominator. The common denominator is the Word of God. The Word of God promises us an abundant life (John 10:10) and God’s plans are to prosper us (Jeremiah 29:11). It doesn’t matter if we were raised like royalty or if our parents were addicted to drugs, we all can have the same promises. 

Knowing we all can have a prosperous abundant life, we don’t have to allow our past to affect our future. We can rely on the Word of God to guide us to the prosperous life God already planned for us.

Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

On part 1 of “It’s Not Their Fault” we mentioned how the actual people are not our problem, but demonic influences within a person (Ephesians 6:12). With that being known, we are not permitted to get even with the person who wronged us (Proverbs 24:29). Our responsibility is to continue to walk in love, cast out the demonic influences within the person, and allow God to seek vengeance for us (Luke 10:19). 

Although we are to remain loving to the one(s) who wronged us, God’s Word provides instructions on how to separate ourselves from the people who caused us pain. Romans 16:17 tells us to avoid those who offended us. 

We can still be the nice loving Christians without being close to the people who were influenced by our enemy. I submit that we should continue to pray for them and do whatever God says regarding their lives, but to keep ourselves from being hurt again and to keep us in the right frame of mind, let’s do ourselves a favor and avoid them. 

Romans 16:17 Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them who cause divisions and offenses contrary to the doctrine which you have learned; and avoid them.

Proverbs 24:29 “Do not say, “I will do to him just as he has done to me; I will render to the man according to his work.”

When someone does us wrong, our flesh wants to get them back. We don’t care how, but we want vengeance for the hurt they caused us. If we’re a Christian, our flesh desires God to get them back quickly so that we say, “You shouldn’t have messed with God’s child.”

The Bible clearly tells us not to seek our own vengeance against that person. In fact, it’s not their fault. Ephesians 6:12 says, for we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. This means, our enemy is not the person, but the unseen demonic influences within the person. Even if the act appears deliberate and intentional, it’s still not their fault.

Let’s use our God-given authority found in Luke 10:19 to cast out the demonic influences within that person and know what the devil meant for evil, God will turn it around for our good (Gen. 50:20; Rom. 8:28). 

Hebrews 6:12 We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.

After a couple gets married, a next big step is children. When the couple makes the decision to get pregnant, after marital relations, the woman may get a pregnancy test. If the pregnancy test is positive, she’ll get excited, tell her husband, and look forward to telling everyone else.

In the natural, nothing has changed. The wife doesn’t have a big belly and she’s not giving birth that night. The only thing that let her know a baby was on the way was her seeing a positive pregnancy test.

Faith is the same way. The only indication we know a promise from God will come to pass in our lives is reading the Word of God. When we see promises such as, healing, deliverance, wealth, or wholeness are for us, right then, we should get excited. We shouldn’t wait until we physically see the promise to be excited. Be excited now. Although we don’t see anything changing in the natural, we should be excited because we know our God is faithful to fulfill His Word.

Get excited because your faith due date is approaching.

Proverbs 22:13 “The lazy man says, “There is a lion outside! I shall be slain in the streets!”

The following is another way to view this verse: The lazy man says, “There is a lion outside! I guess I’ll die soon!”

The concept of this verse is action. The person is considered to be lazy because they don’t take action when trouble arises. As believers, we need to take action when trouble arises or we’re no different than the lazy man. 
Let’s modernize the trouble. 

The lazy man says, “The poor are starving outside! I guess they will have to suffer.” The lazy man says, “Women and children are being verbally and physically abused! I guess they will have to be tortured.” The lazy man says, “Marriages are crumbling. I guess they will have to get over their emotional pain.”

When negative news comes to our attention, the first thing we must do is pray. We need to pray the demonic influences from those situations be removed and we need to release the blessing of The Lord into those situations. While we’re praying, we need to ask God if there’s anything He wants us to do. He may have us donate to a homeless shelter, mentor a single mother, or volunteer with the youth. 

In these last days, we can’t be lazy. If believers don’t act, who will? 

It’s time to take action.

Proverbs 19:11 “The discretion of a man makes him slow to anger, And his glory is to overlook a transgression.”‭‭

It would be wise for us to pick and choose our battles. There are certain things we should stand up against and there are things we should let go. Everything doesn’t have to be a fight. The discretion we have, if used wisely, will save us a lot of figurative headaches. 

If we challenged everyone who we felt disrespected or wronged us, the results would be numerous failed relationships, failed friendships, and unsteady employment. The scripture says it’s glory to overlook transgressions. The root of these battles is fear. Some of us are afraid of being taken advantage of. But, can we really be taken advantage of when we’re doing it God’s way and allowing God to fight our battles? Of course not. 

So, let’s drop our rocks and let’s stop looking for a fight. In every situation, use discretion and consult the Spirit of God to see if something is worth fighting over.

After 20 years of living her life in the streets and going in and out of jail, Amanda submitted her life to the Lord. Amanda made Jesus the Lord over her life and she received the forgiveness of her sins. Amanda submitted her life to Christ, but how many of us know submission is a continuous act?

We are multifaceted beings. Regarding submission, we may have submitted ourselves to God in one area, but we haven’t submitted ourselves to God in another area. For instance, we can submit our lives to God, through Christ, but we may not have submitted our finances to God. We may still think the preacher is trying to take our money. Or, we may have chosen to live a celibate lifestyle for God while we’re single, but we may not have chosen to submit our attitudes to God.

Submission to God is simply saying, ‘God’s way is right.’ Whatever area God is instructing you submit to, do it to honor God, position yourselves to reap the promises of God, and keep Satan off your back.

Acts 9:6 “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.

Proverbs 18:16 “A man’s gift makes room for him, And brings him before great men.”‭‭

God has placed gifts and talents in all of us. Some of us are good with computers and some of us are good relationally with people. It doesn’t matter if our gifts are popular or not, God has given us these gifts to make room for us in the earth.

These gifts inside us are so anointed until we can literally occupy a certain area. We can be the best barber on the north side of this city. We can be the best marriage counselor, saving marriages, in this state. We can be the best comedian in the Kingdom of God. Our gifts being used at their maximum potential is the blossom of the abundant life Jesus provided.

The only person stopping us from using our gifts is us. It may not seem like the right time or it may not seem like we have enough money, but if we can push these demonic excuses aside and by faith use our gifts and talents for the glory of God, we can maximize on this abundant life.

Use the Gift

Colossians 2:15 When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him.

When Adam sinned, he gave all of mankind’s power and authority to Satan. Jesus restored everything that was lost back to mankind. Jesus stripped Satan of all his power. Satan can’t harm us, take anything from us, or destroy our lives, but did you know power can be returned to Satan through our actions? 

There are a couple of ways we can provide Satan with power. The easiest way we give Satan power is through our words. Death and life are in the power of the tongue (Proverbs 18:21). When we say things contrary to the Word of God, even jokingly, we give Satan power to activate what we say into our lives. That’s why it’s important not to make statements like, “I’m broke” or “You’re killing me.” 

Another way we give Satan power is through disobedience. God may tell us to do a certain thing that seems scary on the surface. If Satan can influence us, through fear, worry, or anxiety, not to do that thing, we gave Satan the power to govern and direct our lives. This allows Satan’s will to be done on earth instead of God’s will. Also, that fear, worry, or anxiety that we received from Satan, negatively impacts our minds and bodies leaving us with high blood pressure, panic attacks, or mental breakdowns. 

Jesus suffered too much for us to return our power back to Satan. Walk and talk in the ways of righteousness to keep the devil powerless. 

Revelations 22:13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.

God, through Jesus Christ, is the beginning of everything. He’s the beginning of our new life in Christ, He’s the beginning of our faith, and He’s the beginning of everything we desire. God, through Jesus Christ, is not only the beginning of everything, but He is the Omega, the End, the Last and He has the final say. 

New found discoveries in science will tell us there’s no cure, but God has the final say. Our lack of advanced education may have some people think we’ve limited our chances to be promoted, but God has the final say. The amount of money we make may have some people believe we can’t live in a certain neighborhood, but God has the final say. Whatever we need or desire, God has the final say. 

Don’t allow deceptions of the enemy, working through people, to make you feel inferior. Trust, lean, and rely on God and His Word to stay encouraged. 

Revelations 22:13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.

In general, God is the Alpha, the First, and the Beginning, however, when we submit ourselves to God, God shows Himself to be our personal Alpha, First, and Beginning.

God shows Himself to be our beginning in multiple ways. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! Through Jesus, our past is gone away. God gives us a new beginning. God allows everything in our lives, including us, to be made new.

Secondly, with the acceptance of Christ, Jesus becomes the Author or beginning of our faith (Hebrews 12:2). The beginning of where our faith lies is found in Jesus. In order to have the faith to be saved, healed, or have the desires of our hearts, our faith must begin and end with Jesus.

Finally, we can have confidence in God, through Christ, to be the beginning of everything we desire. We don’t have to know how certain things in our lives are going to develop because we’re relying on Him to start our business, start our families, and give us ideas to begin anything He’s placed in our hearts.

Let’s stop relying on ourselves and seek God first and allow Him to be the beginning of everything in our lives.

John 19:30 When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

Everything the believer desires from God is already done. It doesn’t matter if it’s healing, provision, or deliverance from a bad habit, it’s already done. God’s not cooking up an order as soon as we ask Him in prayer. Whatever we desire, is already done.

It was done, by Jesus, on the cross at Calvary. When Jesus said, “It is finished,” He meant that literally. Jesus went through pain, suffering, and torture to get us back in right relationship with God and to allow us to reap the benefits of that right relationship with God. A great benefit of our relationship with God is that anything we need or desire has already been made available to us through the sacrifice of Jesus.

With this knowledge, it would be incorrect to say, God I thank you that you will (future tense) bless me with a job. Our job is already available for the taking. Just because we can’t see it doesn’t mean it’s not there. The correct thing is to believe that you’ve received whatever promise you desire. Our faith, in the finished works of Jesus, obtains the promises of God. Receive it and know it’s already done.

Mark 11:24 Therefore I tell you, all the things you pray and ask for–believe that you have received them, and you will have them.

Imagine a four-year old, without a weapon, demanding everything we have. He wants our house, our cars, our money, our health, and he wants to take over our families. He wants everything. We would look at people who surrendered to a four-year old as if they were idiots, because a four-year old is no threat to us and has no authority over us.

In a way, this is what Adam did to mankind. He gave all of his/our possessions to someone beneath him. That someone was Satan. God made us (mankind) a little lower than Himself and He’s created angels to be our servants.

Psalm 8:4 says What is man that You take thought of him, And the son of man that You care for him? 5 Yet You have made him a little lower than God, And You crown him with glory and majesty!   

Hebrews 1:14 Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?

Lucifer was a fallen angel and he was to serve us. After Adam submitted to Satan and sinned, Adam gave everything over to Satan. This submission came as a result of deception created by Satan. Satan told Eve to eat of the forbidden fruit so they would be like God not knowing they were already like God.

Praise God He implemented a plan, through Jesus, to bring us back to our rightful place and restore everything that was taken, however, some of us are still being deceived regarding who we are in Christ.

Through Christ, we have authority and dominion over everything that crosses our paths. It doesn’t matter if it’s sickness, poverty, fear, or lack we have authority over everything. Operate in your God-given authority and don’t allow the deceptions of the enemy to make you feel less than who you are.

Jonah 1:1 The word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai: 2 “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.” 3 But Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish… 

Jonah was given specific instructions, by God, to preach to the wicked people of Nineveh. It’s been said that Jonah preaching to these individuals would be like a Jewish person preaching to devout Nazis. Due to fear and this task being out of Jonah’s comfort zone, Jonah decided to disobey God and go the other way. The instructions Jonah was given were clear. Jonah over analyzed these instructions and made things cloudy.

Some of us have used fear, logic, and reasoning to cloud the instructions of God. God may have instructed some of us to move to a different city, but we cloud His instructions by wondering how we’re going to sell our house or wondering about the school system for our children. If God told us to do something, the provision has already been made available. It doesn’t have to be something big. God may have clearly told some of us to apologize to a person. Instead of worrying about how it makes us look, apologize, and know the good we do will be rewarded by God (Ephesians 6:8).

There are clear instructions in God’s Word regarding how we should live our lives and there are clear instructions pertaining to our purpose. Don’t cloud up these instructions to make it fit your preferences.

Inspired by Bishop Rosie O’neal

Romans 8:38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, 39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

The motivation for everything God has done in our lives is love. God sent His only Son because He loves us. Jesus sacrificed His life because He loves us. Through the sacrifice of Jesus, the blessing is on our lives because God loves us. However, if we feel like we’re too messed up for love, we can never fully embrace the benefits of God’s love.

The enemy has done a great job making people think they’re not holy enough or too messed up to receive God’s love. One thing we have to remember is God is all-knowing. He knows every intentional decision we’ll make that goes against His Word, the amount of times we’ll walk away from His plan, and how long we’ve been away from doing His will. In spite of knowing these things, God still chose to love us and He vowed to not allow ANYTHING to separate us from His love.

If we have a tiny hint of feeling or thought that God doesn’t love us, that’s condemnation and a LIE from the enemy. Regardless of what we’ve done or what we’ll do, God vows to love us. Without questioning or even having a full understanding, receive His love today and for the rest of your life.

Galatians 6:7 Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. 8 Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. 9 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. 10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.

The promise of sowing and reaping can be applied to many areas in life. Most churches use this promise to encourage giving, however, this promise can be applied to marriages as well.

The world’s system tells us to love and serve our spouse as long as they’re loving and serving us. This is totally contrary to the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of God promotes serving in love and loving unconditionally (Galatians 5:13).

When we make an intentional decision to love and serve our spouse in spite of how they treat us, how we feel, and in spite of what we’re going through, we have a promise from God, to reap what we sow. This idea should encourage the believer knowing that our efforts within our marriage are not in vain.

What gets in the way is our flesh. Our flesh doesn’t want to serve and unconditionally love our spouse especially when the marriage is going through a difficult time. Another thing that agitates our flesh is delay. If we do decide to make the effort to love and serve unconditionally, we want to see a turnaround within our marriage in a month. The longer it takes, the more we want to give up and allow fate to control our marriage.

If we’re willing to do things God’s way, we have a promise to reap what we sow.

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

Marriages have ended, relationships have failed, and individuals have been terminated from their employment because of pride. Some of us act like we don’t care, but a lot of destruction could have been avoided if pride was out of the picture.

What are we holding on to? What benefit do we obtain by not giving in? There is none. In fact, we’ve been deceived into thinking there is some gain by feeding our pride (Obadiah 1:3). The father of deception is Satan (Revelation 12:9). By displaying and holding onto pride, in a sense, we glorify the father of deception.

The opposite of pride is humility. If pride brings destruction, humility should bring construction. A promise of humility is exaltation (Luke 14:11). If we could humble ourselves, apologize to those we’ve offended or even think we’ve offended, and accept constructive criticism, the literal and our personal world would be a better place.

Let go of pride and experience exaltation in every area of life.

Obadiah 1:3 The pride of your heart has deceived you, you who live in the clefts of the rocks and make your home on the heights, you who say to yourself, ‘Who can bring me down to the ground?

Proverbs 16:1 The preparations of the heart belong to man, But the answer of the tongue is from the Lord.

Life’s complexities force us to answer difficult questions and make difficult decisions. With the amount of education we have and the amount of answers we have access to, God, being the Answer to life’s problems, is slowly being pushed towards the back. Not only that, but some of us have highly valued the opinions of celebrities, politicians, and so-called “experts.” Meanwhile, God waits in line to answer our problems.

It’s not until the education, experts, and our own logic and reasoning have failed that we go to God. God doesn’t want to be our last source; He wants to be our first and only Source. The Word of God clearly states that He is the answer.

Whether the question or decision is easy or difficult, our answer is found in God.

Psalms 20:7 Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.

Trust is such a small word, but it covers a multitude of areas dealing with God. We can say we trust God, but it’s important to evaluate our lives to see if we truly trust God. 

For instance, some may say they trust God to protect them, meanwhile, they’re living in fear and looking over their shoulders every chance they get. Is this really trust? Someone else may say they trust that the blood of Jesus has made everything available, meanwhile, they’re reading their bibles and fasting in the efforts to get God to do something. Are we trusting in the finished works of Jesus or our own performance and abilities? 

We should take inventory to see if we’re trusting God in EVERY area of our lives. 

Are we trusting God in the areas of protection, provision, health, finances, relationships, etc.? If we’re not, let’s not condemn ourselves or give up. Let’s be led by the Holy Spirit into trusting God in that particular area. 

Trust God