John 16:1“All this I have told you so that you will not fall away. 2They will put you out of the synagogue; in fact, the time is coming when anyone who kills you will think they are offering a service to God. 3They will do such things because they have not known the Father or me. 

Hitler, the Ku Klux Klan, and witch burners were just a few individuals and organizations who shed innocent blood thinking they were doing a service to God.

Jesus warned us about the deceived minds of these individuals. Jesus warned us about this so we won’t fall away or fall into doubt thinking that God doesn’t love us, or that He doesn’t care, or that He can’t protect us when we experience things that are unjust. 

Although there still may be some unjust things occurring in the world today, Jesus finishes John 16 with the following verse: John 16:33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

It’s comforting to know we have a Savior who has overcome every situation we’ll ever face. Even if we can’t see a way out, Jesus has handled the situation. By knowing that Jesus has handled everything we’ll face, we can have peace. So instead of worrying about the unjust things happening in society, choose peace because Jesus has overcome the world. 

2 Timothy 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,

There are people who doubt that the Bible is the Word of God. They ask, how do we know the Bible was written by God? The more “educated” ones state, the Bible was written by man to enslave the minds of mankind. The doubters eventually begin to do more research in their quest for the “truth”. The funny thing about the doubters is they find books, written by man, that attempt to contradict the Word of God.

At the end of the day we, the believers, don’t have any physical evidence to show that the Bible was written by God. True believers simply act on faith. We believe the Bible is the Word of God because it says all scripture is inspired by God. Unfortunately, doubters tend to reject the actual Truth. They place their faith in historical facts, science, or another religion.

The enemy’s responsibility is to deceive the minds of mankind (Revelation 12:9). Every day, people are hearing, reading, or finding more things to negate the Word of God. Our responsibility is to stand boldly, declare what God’s Word says, and pray that people’s hearts receive the Truth.

Let God and His Word be true, and every man a liar.

Psalms 94:21-22 They gather together against the life of the righteous, And condemn innocent blood. But the LORD has been my defense, And my God the rock of my refuge. 

Recently, there have been physical and spiritual attacks against the righteous. Physically, a man attempted to start a race war by murdering nine innocent people in a church. Spiritually, believers are being attacked or mocked based on our beliefs regarding homosexuality. Our beliefs towards homosexuality are being viewed as hatred towards those who choose to live that way, which is untrue.

As we can see, attacks against the righteous have going on since the Bible days. Our hope and our peace is knowing God is our defense. Regardless of the attacks against us, God is our defense. He ensures justice is served. He rights every wrong. We don’t have to do anything in our own strength or walk around with a bad attitude. Continue to walk in love, continue to share the truth in the Word of God, and know that God has got our backs.

Righteous people…don’t be afraid. 

Society has taken on a Babylonian mindset. A Babylonian mindset is a demonic mindset that is rebellious against God and His ways which consequently lead to the removal of God and His ways. Initially, Babylon was a city but, it soon became a mindset. 

We see this mindset in different aspects of life. For instance, in families, instead of marriage consisting of a man and a woman, which is the way God intended it to be, people have perverted marriage. They’ve removed God and His ways from the equation and now, people are engaged in and support same sex marriage. Another area is in our employment. If we believe we’ve obtained a great paying job using our education, our experience, and our connections then who needs God? Why go to church to give Him thanks and give Him a financial offering for all He’s done? Society, through science, is even using cloning to remove God from the equation regarding birth. 

Now that this Babylonian mindset has been revealed to us, I want to encourage every believer to take a stand against it. Wherever you see God being forced out, using the power of your words, declare His presence back in that situation and declare every demonic influence out, in Jesus name, Amen. 

Revelation 18:21 Then a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying, “Thus with violence the great city Babylon shall be thrown down, and shall not be found anymore. 

Throughout history, Satan attempted to prevent the will of God from coming to pass by perverting the Word of God.

Starting from the beginning, the Word of God told Adam and Eve don’t eat of the tree of knowledge or you will surely die (Genesis 2:17). Satan prevents the will of God by perverting the Word of God and saying, you won’t surely die, but be like God (Genesis 3:4-5). During Jesus’ 40 day fast, Satan perverted the Word of God by using the Word improperly (Matthew 4). 

Unfortunately, Satan is still preventing the will of God through perversion today. For instance in marriage, Satan has taken God’s design of marriage, perverted its design and deceived the minds of people. Now anyone, same sex included, feels it’s their right to be married. Satan has perverted God’s creation of sex. Sex was originally designed to be meant for a husband (male) and wife (female) in holy matrimony. Now, sex has been perverted and anyone at anytime (married or not) feels like sex before marriage is justified. 

God shows us these parallels so that we’re not ignorant of Satan’s tricks of deception. Let’s open our eyes to these tricks, rebuke Satan’s plans, and declare God’s will in the earth. 
2 Corinthians 2:11 so that Satan will not outsmart us. For we are familiar with his evil schemes.

After my wife and I got married, one of the next questions people asked was, when are we having children. Our initial response was after five years of marriage. Some people would say, you can’t control when that’s going to happen. The more religious people would say, you can’t control what God’s going to do. 

Gratefully, we believe the Word of God. We knew that God will give us the desires of OUR hearts. (Psalms 37:4). Our desire was to wait after five years of marriage to have children. We knew whatever we asked for in prayer, when we believe that we’ve received it, it will be ours (Mark 11:24). That whatever includes the timing of children. We knew that we didn’t have to accept what life throws at us because God gave us dominion over the earth and the free will of choice (Gen. 1:26 & Deut. 30:19).

The point of this testimony is to let everyone know that you don’t have to accept the norms of society and the experiences of others. Without our permission, other people can’t dictate how your life is going to be, demons can’t negatively impact your life, and God doesn’t control our lives or else He would be violating our free will. God established life so that the only person who controls your destiny is you.  Walk in your God-ordained power (Luke 10:19). 

If I were to tell you I have a successful, argument-free marriage, some may think I’m not telling the truth. But as God as my witness, I do. It’s difficult for some of you to believe that because you’ve never seen nor heard of it being done before. In fact, I’ve heard people say a couple can’t have a successful marriage unless they argue. Why? Who made this rule? Where is that in the Bible?

If we choose to believe the Word of God and the Word of God alone, we can have what we say. Prior to being married, my wife and I made a decision to never argue. It was okay to disagree, but we will never argue.

For that desire, we stood on the following scriptures: Matthew 18:19 “Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them by My Father who is in heaven. Mark 11:24 Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. Matthew 19:26 But Jesus looked at them and said to them, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

This testimony was shared not to boast or brag, but to encourage every believer to actually believe the Word of God. Whatever pertains to life and godliness, we can have it (2 Peter 1:3). We must choose to believe the Word of God over everything we’ve heard or experienced.

Have you seen a blind person, such as Stevie Wonder, walk out on stage? Every time he walks around, he has a guide because he can’t see. That guide is there to lead him in the correct direction without injuring him.

Let’s face it, we can’t see into the future. We may think we know what’s going to happen, but we don’t know for sure. Gratefully, for the believer, God’s Spirit lives within us. If we give Him permission, God’s Spirit will guide us in the correct direction without any failures every single time.

He’ll walk us through the correct employment door that was specifically designed just for us. He’ll lead us to our spouse. He’ll guide us towards the best investment opportunities.

As long as we’re walking without His Spirit, we’re bound to make mistakes and stumble, but if we allow His Spirit to lead us, we’ll experience an abundance of success.

Psalms 143:10 Teach me to do your will, for you are my God; may your good Spirit lead me on level ground.

James 4:6 But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.”

As we see, because of Jesus, there is a certain level of grace already on our lives. However, when we humble ourselves, God gives us additional grace on top of the grace we already have.

Humbling ourselves means we realize we need God in every situation. We forgo attempting to handle anything in our own strength, knowledge, or will power. We lean, depend, and totally rely on God to handle everything (big or small).

It doesn’t matter if we have a master’s degree in accounting, we humble ourselves and allow God to guide us in our finances. It doesn’t matter if we’ve been at the same job for the past 15 years, we humble ourselves and allow God to tell us what to do on that job on a daily basis.

Another word for grace is the undeserved favor of God. As we humble ourselves, we’ll experience additional undeserved favor of God. Things that may have taken a week to complete on that job, may take only 3 days. The finances we’re trying to save using our own knowledge may be doubled when we humble ourselves.

From now on, we humble ourselves and experience more grace.

Genesis 2:22-24 Then the rib which the LORD God had taken from man He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man. And Adam said: “This is now bone of my bones And flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman, Because she was taken out of Man.” Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.

 
The order of priority in a marriage is:

1) Relationship with God (this is not church or volunteer service, but one on one and two on one (husband and wife) time with God and being led by God).

 
2) Spouse: this includes spending time together, having conversations with one another, asking each other for ways to improve as that person’s mate and not getting upset at their response, keeping dating one another and sex with each other as high functioning in the marriage, and every other way God leads you to be with and prioritize each other.

 
3) Children who are minors: God has entrusted you with the gift of parenting, but your role is to raise children to be godly, loving, purpose-fulfilled, independent adults. You are not the person who makes their adult choices, or runs their lives. And whether they’re minors or adults, they do not come before your godly spouse.

 
4) Fulfilling your God-ordained purposes, work, church, friends, and whatever else He leads you to prioritize.

Ephesians‬ ‭5‬:‭22-24, 33 Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body. Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything. Nevertheless let each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.

God’s design is for us to trust Him. When we trust Him, He will show us who to marry and how to be a great spouse. For a wife it’s easy to submit to a man who submits to God because he has no problem admitting if he was wrong or standing firm in what God is leading him to do. For a husband it’s easy to balance cherishing and leading a wife who trusts God because she’ll trust Him even if she doesn’t agree with her husband.

For example, the wife may say, “let’s turn right” and the husband may respond, “I’m going left.” The wife can then say, “okay” (submission, no argument necessary). Then, the husband may turn right, and whether or not he tells his wife, she knows that God told him what to do, and because he hears from and submits to God, he did it.

Women: Don’t marry the man who does everything you tell him to do; marry the one who hears from and submits to God.

Wives: Pray that your husbands submit themselves to and are led by God in everything.

Ephesians‬ ‭5‬:‭25-33 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish. So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church. For we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones. “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church. Nevertheless let each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.

Genesis‬ ‭2‬:‭24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. 25 And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.

This passage of scripture reveals multiple components of how God intended marriage to be:

3.) Verse 24 – Intimacy: Husbands need their wives to prioritize physical intimacy and wives need their husbands to be affectionate without expectation of sex. Both husband and wife need communication and emotional support from one another.

4.) Verse 25 – Transparency: Both the husband and the wife need to have the freedom to be honest, open, and accepted. It is important for husband and wife to be difficult to offend so that they can be honest about their needs, desires, and dreams without being afraid to hurt the other’s feelings or get hurt.

Happily ever afters do exist, but the root of that existence is keeping God as the head and center of our lives and our relationships. Tune in tomorrow for Keys to Marital Success.

Genesis‬ ‭2‬:‭22 Then the rib which the LORD God had taken from man He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man. 23 And Adam said: “This is now bone of my bones And flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman, Because she was taken out of Man.” 

This passage of scripture reveals multiple components of how God intended marriage to be:
1.) Verse 22 – Being Yolked: A man and wife are meant to be yolked by God. Getting married in a church or by a minister does not make a godly yoke. Being yolked by God includes the man and woman each having an ongoing relationship with God. 

2.) Verse 23 – Partnership: Husband and wife are meant to live life together not as individuals, but as a pair supporting and serving one another without keeping record of the other’s service and support.

Happily ever afters do exist, but the root of that existence is keeping God as the head and center of our lives and our relationships. Tune in tomorrow for the addition to this mini-series.

If Dr. Oz or another famous TV doctor states that a certain food helps prevent cancer, a lot of us will immediately start incorporating that food into our diet. If they say a certain vitamin will clear up our skin or help our hair grow, a lot of us will purchase that vitamin. The majority of us don’t research the food or vitamin ourselves to ensure the doctor’s facts were correct. Most of us will simply take their word for it because of who they are and where we’ve obtained the information.

God has been around forever. His unchanged Word has been in book form for at least 1,000 years. Why is it so easy for us to accept new medical facts from TV doctors, but we question in unbelief God’s Word? It seems we have more faith in what “people of importance” say over God’s Word.

We’ll change our eating habits to improve our health, but we won’t change our behavior to improve our relationship with God. We’ll buy a $20.00 bottle of vitamins because we believe it will improve our health, but we won’t give $20.00 in church because it’s difficult for us to believe our giving will improve our quality of life.

We all have faith. It’s just that for some of us, our faith is misplaced. Let’s place our faith in God’s Word and believe that whatever is said in God’s Word, will come to pass in our lives.

Isaiah 55:11 So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; It will not return to Me empty, Without accomplishing what I desire, And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.

Psalms 91:10 No evil shall befall you, Nor shall any plague come near your dwelling;

We have a promise in God’s Word that states, no plague or sickness will come near our dwelling.

Cancer is a sickness. Acne is a sickness. Kidney failure is a sickness. Diabetes is a sickness. The list can go on and on. If we believe and receive this promise, we can live a disease-free life. For a believer of this promise, a common cold will be uncommon.

For some, it may be hard to grasp living the rest of your life in divine health, but that’s what God’s Word declares. Receive this Word by faith and enjoy the rest of your life.

1 John 3:8 The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.

Jesus’ mission was to destroy the works of the devil. He gave us this ability to destroy the works of the devil also. Luke 10:19 states, Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.

With this authority, while in prayer, instead of going down our laundry list of our needs and desires, why don’t we continue the work of Jesus by destroying the work of the devil in someone else’s life.

We all know people whose decisions and mindset have been influenced by the evil one. There are people we know who drink too much, are involved in fornication or homosexuality, or are living in fear. We can’t control another person’s decisions, but we can control the demonic influences that impact a person’s mind.

So, bind and rebuke every demonic influence of fear in your friend’s life. Cast down those lustful desires in your cousin. Declare that mean spirit to leave your spouse. Whatever ungodly influence that’s within us or in another, be a part of the destruction crew and destroy that influence.

Psalms 125:1 Those who trust in the LORD Are like Mount Zion, Which cannot be moved, but abides forever. 

Our trust in God goes a long way. It should cover every area of our lives. As the scripture states, when we trust in God, we become immovable. Therefore, those who don’t trust in God are shakable or easily moved. One of the hardest areas to trust God in is our finances. 

For instance, those who don’t completely trust in God in their finances become easily moved when the economy is doing poorly or if a big expense suddenly occurs. Instead of confidently declaring all my needs are met, they panic and do as much as they can to manage their finances. Trust in God.

When churches ask believers to give, shakable people become threatened thinking the pastor is after their money. Immovable people trust in God’s plan of sowing and reaping. They realize God can do more with 90% of our finances than we can with 100% of our finances. 

The Kingdom of God needs our finances in order to expand. Begin or continue to trust God in all areas of your life. 

Ephesians‬ ‭3‬:‭19-20‬ to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, 

Receiving God’s Love is attached to activating the Power within us. John 3:16 says that God loved the world (not just believers) so much that He gave us His Son. He loved us before we received the gift of salvation, so that love doesn’t wane based on our performance. His Gift (Son) gave us the opportunity to be made righteous in the sight of God and have access to every finished work (healing, fruits of the spirit, abundant living, and more). That means that we are Loved as we are, fleshly flaws and all. 

So, with the continued revelation of God’s unconditional Love for us, is the exceedingly abundantly more. When we realize how much He loves us (not based on our works, Ephesians 2:8-9), we can experience the fullness of His Love for us, His power within us, and the abundantly more He’s already reserved for us.

Luke‬ ‭15‬:‭17-18 “But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, 

When the prodigal son was at his lowest point in life, he came to himself, and realized he had more than enough provision in his father’s house. 

We all have faced difficult times in our lives. Some of us are going through a difficult time right now. In those times, there should be a point where we come to ourselves. Today we would say, “get a grip.” We have to stop the self pity, the doubt, and depression. We have to realize Who our Father is. 

We have to realize our Father is The Source of everything we would ever need. Our Father is the Wisdom we need to go through every situation. Our Father is our Encouragement. Regardless of the difficulty, Our Father, through Jesus Christ, has given us the victory. The more we study His Word and read His promises, the more quickly we can come to ourselves. 

Shake loose, get a grip, and rely on our Father. 

Luke‬ ‭15‬:‭27-28‬ And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and because he has received him safe and sound, your father has killed the fatted calf.’ “But he was angry and would not go in. Therefore his father came out and pleaded with him. 

The prodigal son returned from his riotous living, and the father wanted to celebrate his return. Instead of the brother being glad for his brother’s return, he was angry. He was angry because he served his father faithfully and he was never celebrated, however, his wayward brother was celebrated upon his return.

This mentality was very common with religious people in the church. People who lived “holy” wanted to be praised, meanwhile, they wanted people who returned back to Christ to feel guilty or ashamed for what they’d done. Although heaven’s angels rejoice over a person’s repentance, the religious felt the need to condemn.  

What God’s Word is showing us is that we are to celebrate those who return back Christ. We should let them know God’s not angry with them, He still loves them, and He desires the best for their lives. Even if the same person is repenting week after week, that person should be celebrated. 

For those who need to repent (change by aligning your mentality with God’s Word), I encourage you to do so. Heaven and myself rejoice with you. For those who feel compelled to be religious and make someone feel guilty about their past, stop it and repent. As long as we’re living, grace through Jesus Christ is available. 

2 Timothy 2:24-26 And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.

We’re living in a time where people, who feel like doing whatever they please, like to say, “you can’t judge me.” We’re not judging anyone but with gentleness and love, we’re informing our brothers and sisters about their unholy ways. 

If we’re driving 70mph in a 50mph zone, we may get pulled over by an officer for exceeding the speed limit. That officer is not judging us. They’re simply informing us (verbally or with a citation) the error in our ways. 

With God leading us, we should inform our brothers and sisters regarding the error in their ways. We should inform them it’s not okay to sleep with women they’re not married to and it’s not okay to gossip about another person. 

Now, a religious person would feel comfortable stopping at this point. They would feel good about telling someone else about their faults, but we must inform them about the whole truth. We must inform them that although they’ve slept with numerous women or gossiped about others, God still loves them, He’s not angry with them, and the blood Jesus has forgiven them. We should let them know a holy lifestyle has far more benefits than an unholy lifestyle. 
Let’s be honest informants by telling them the complete truth in love.  

God established a simple cycle for us to follow in life. The cycle revolves around Him and it includes seeking Him, entering His presence, and enjoying His pleasures.

Matthew 6:33 is a familiar verse that encourages us to seek God in everything we do. As we seek God in every situation, great or small, we constantly gain access to His presence.

In His presence, God reveals ideas, concepts, and strategies so that we can continue to build the Kingdom of God and experience His joy and pleasures (Psalms 16:11). As we obtain these pleasures, God then reveals what we need to do so that He is glorified, the Kingdom is magnified, and we’re satisfied.

The experience of pleasing God and being satisfied compels us to seek Him once again. Eventually, we’ll have parallel cycles operating in our lives. We may be in the seeking phase in our finances, in His presence phase regarding raising our children, and the pleasure phase in our employment.

Start operating in the cycles God established. Seek Him, enter His presence, and receive His pleasures.

Psalms 16:11 You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

Mathew 11:28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.

God’s original plan, since the beginning, was for all of us to rest and live an enjoyable life while He provides.

If we look at Adam and Eve, in the Garden of Eden, God provided all that mankind needed (Genesis 2:8-25). If we look at Moses, when he was leading the Israelites, God told Moses to strike a rock to receive water (Exodus 17:6). Moses didn’t have to dig a well or search for a pool. He simply had to strike a rock. Later on, God made it even easier for Moses to receive water. God instructed Moses to speak to the rock to receive water (Numbers 20:8). Unfortunately, Moses disobeyed and struck the rock instead of speaking to the rock.

Even through Jesus, God established a life of rest and enjoyment. We could have been living by the strict requirements of the law, but God sent Jesus to fulfill the law (Galatians 3:13). Now, we can experience an abundant life and not be concerned about the curse of the law.

Let’s examine our lives. If we’re overworking ourselves attempting to establish or maintain a “successful” life, we’re not operating in the plan of God. Rely on God in every situation. Look to Him as our ONLY source and rest.

‭I Chronicles‬ ‭4‬:‭10‬ And Jabez called on the God of Israel saying, “Oh, that You would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that Your hand would be with me, and that You would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain!” So God granted him what he requested.

Much attention has been given to the first part of Jabez’s prayer, but the end of it is perhaps the more unexpected part. After Jabez petitions the Lord for more land and wealth, it’s as though he understands the power that comes along with that and chooses to ask for spiritual boundaries. He wants to continue to honor God, probably for two reasons: so as not to hurt himself or others. 

 As we petition God for that new degree or career, or better vehicle, or more wealth or children, or a spouse, or any increase, we should also pray that with that increase we honor God. As we keep Him first, we keep ourselves from messing up our increase, and we continue to attract others to the God of our increase by demonstrating His love to them. So, pray for and receive your enlarged territory, as well as for continuing to prioritize God and heeding to His guidance.

Matthew 5:13 You are the salt of the earth: but if the salt has lost its savor, how shall it be salted? it is thereafter good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. 14 You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid. 16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.

Based on these scriptures, it seems that God wants a distinction between us and the world. He desires for His people to be bright, flavorful, and exalted. Not so we can boast or brag within ourselves, but so we can attract others and lead them to Christ.

But…how are we supposed to attract the world if we’re broke and busted and think it’s okay? How can we attract others if we only socialize with those within the four walls of the church? How do we compel unbelievers to know Christ without demonstrating signs and wonders that can only be done by God through us? We can’t.

Christianity is not a cult or a clique. Christianity is a group of believers who agreed to be living billboards for the Kingdom of God. If our relationship with God is private, we’re actually going against the Word of God. Our relationship with God should be public and on display. Go!…and represent the Kingdom of God.

Luke‬ ‭14‬:‭16-18‬ Then He said to him, “A certain man gave a great supper and invited many, and sent his servant at supper time to say to those who were invited, ‘Come, for all things are now ready.’ But they all with one accord began to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a piece of ground, and I must go and see it. I ask you to have me excused.’

On the earth the Kingdom of God can only operate through mankind. The Kingdom of God is ready for souls to be saved, ready for bodies to be healed, ready for the poor and homeless to be satisfied, and ready for God to be glorified in everything we do, however, some of us make excuses. 
We’ll make excuses as to why we can’t serve in the Kingdom of God. Some will say they have to work, their children participate in sports, or they don’t feel like it. The people who serve in the Kingdom of God have to work and their children may participate in sports. The difference between the person who serves and the person who makes excuses is, the person who serves prioritizes the Kingdom of God over everything else. 

Do you think that preacher felt like preaching when he extended the opportunity for you to receive salvation? Do you think that friend or family member felt like listening to your problems and frequently praying for you? They probably did not, but they were willing to serve something greater than themselves. 
Remove the excuses and be consistent in serving somewhere in the Kingdom of God. 

Psalms 89:21 With whom My hand shall be established; Also My arm shall strengthen him. 22 The enemy shall not outwit him, Nor the son of wickedness afflict him.
24 “But My faithfulness and My mercy shall be with him, And in My name his horn shall be exalted. 

These promises, along with some additional promises in Psalms 89, were made by God to David. Jesus is a descendant of David (Romans 1:3). According to Ephesians 2:10, we are in Christ, therefore, these same promises belong to us. Praise God!

Also, in Psalms 89:31-32 it says, “If they break My statutes And do not keep My commandments, Then I will punish their transgression with the rod, And their iniquity with stripes.” Since Jesus fulfilled the law and kept the commandments of God, and we’re in Christ, we don’t have to suffer punishment from God. Praise God!

In conclusion, because of Jesus, we are blessed to receive all the promises of God, but none of the punishment. Praise God for Jesus! 

Psalms 89:16 In Your name they rejoice all day long, And in Your righteousness they are exalted. 

Our righteousness is made possible through Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21). Through His righteousness, we shall be exalted. 

Self-righteousness, righteousness based on our performance or our good works, has a way of perverting exaltation. When we can say we did this good work or that good work, we tend to pat ourselves on the back and exalt ourselves over everyone who is not doing a good work. However, when we realize our best performance is like filthy rags in the eyes of God (Isaiah 64:6), we’ll learn to operate through the righteousness of Jesus Christ.  

We’re not exalted based on our righteous performances or our good works. We’re exalted through the only righteousness God accepts; the righteousness of Jesus Christ. 

Luke 12:7 But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. 
Luke 12:24 Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap, which have neither storehouse nor barn; and God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds? 

God calls us valuable. We may not think much of ourselves, but God finds us amazing. Our families may have disowned us or called us a mistake, but God declares we’re marvelous. How do we know this?  

First of all, He sent His only Son to reconcile us back to Himself. God didn’t have to send His Son to die in our place. He would still be God without reconciliation. God sent His Son to have His highest creation (mankind) returned back to Him.

Secondly, He’s focused on the intricate details of our lives to make sure we’re well taken care of. He and only He is concerned about each strand of our hair.

Thirdly, He finds us so valuable until He takes pleasure in meeting all of our needs. Some may have a little faith and some may have a lot of faith, but even when we had no faith, God managed to make sure all of our needs were met. He could let us struggle, but it pleases Him to please us (Psalms 35:27).

Recognize you are valuable. You’re not valuable based on what people said about you and you’re not valuable based on the materialistic possessions you have. We’re valuable because God called us valuable, and anyone who says otherwise is a lie and remains contrary to God’s Word.

Luke 11:2 And he said unto them, When you pray, say, Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done, as in heaven, so on earth.

In Genesis 1:26, God gave man dominion in the earth. If anything is going to be done in the earth, including God’s will, it has to be done through mankind.

The will of God is not automatic. If the will of God was automatic, everyone one would be saved, healed, and everyone’s needs would be met. That’s why Jesus instructed us to pray that the will of God be done in the earth because without our prayer and authority, the will of God cannot be accomplished in the earth.

When we pray, thy will be done on earth, we’re releasing angelic forces to obey the voice of God’s Word for a particular area (Psalms 103:20). We’re allowing the power of God to destroy demonic strongholds and to encourage ministers of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We’re allowing a heavenly lifestyle to manifest itself on the earth.

The will of God can only be accomplished through the dominion of mankind. Exercise your dominion and declare His will be done today.

As soon as we get a little distance from our former selves, some of us want to judge or criticize others for where they are. The same grace that was available for us in our time of need is the same grace that’s available for everyone who may not have it all together.

One responsibility of every believer is to extend grace to those who need it. People already know some of the things they’re doing may not be pleasing to God. They don’t need us to further beat them down with guilt and condemnation. They need us to let them know God still loves them, His forgiveness is available, and His mercy is new every morning.

Our example, Jesus, showed us how to extend grace with the woman who was caught in the act of adultery. Jesus was the only One Who was justified to stone the woman who was caught in the act of adultery, however, He extended grace and encouraged her to sin no more (John 8:1-11).

When people experience the genuine grace of God, the grace of God will compel them to live a life that’s pleasing to God (Titus 2:11-12). Starting today, extend the grace of God because we ALL need it.

2 Corinthians 5:14 For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. 15 And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.

When we obtain a managerial position with a pay increase of $30,000 a year without any previous experience, that’s the blessing of the Lord operating in our lives. When we understand information easily and quickly and we don’t have to study as long to obtain the information, that’s the blessing of the Lord operating in our lives. When we can lose weight or gain muscle without going overboard in our workout regimen all while still enjoying great tasting meals, that’s the blessing of the Lord operating in our lives.

Notice, in all of these examples, we didn’t have to work extremely hard to receive our desired results. The blessing is designed for us to maximize our enjoyment in life. It’s designed for us to keep our focus on God’s plan and not our own agenda. The blessing of the Lord is there for us to live a blessed, stress-free life.

While others feel the need to work 3 jobs to stay ahead in their finances or starve themselves to maintain weight loss, we have the blessing operating in our lives.

Believe, receive, and declare the blessing of the Lord operating in every area of your life.

Have you ever wanted something so bad until you would do almost anything to get it? That’s idolization. 

John 7:38 Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.”

A river is never stagnant. It’s constantly flowing, bringing fresh water and nutrients into the area.

When we made the decision to accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, new ideas and concepts should flow through our spirits. Fresh revelation of God’s Word should flow through our thoughts, speech, and behavior. We shouldn’t want to be stagnant, thinking we know it all and unwilling to change when the truth is in front of us.

A river not only impacts one area, but it impacts other areas by emptying itself into lakes and streams. Like a river, those fresh ideas and passion for Jesus Christ should not only benefit our lives, but benefit the lives of others, causing them to be refreshed, rejuvenated, and energized.

Allow that river inside us to flow freely impacting the Kingdom of God, impacting our lives, and impacting the lives of others.

Who wants to read the Bible when the game is on? I’ll pray a little bit later, there are things I have to do. Sunday is really the only day I get to sleep in…These are things our flesh will tell us on a daily basis.

Flesh is defined as all parts of the body dominated by sin. Unfortunately, due to Adam’s sin, our flesh is governed by the devil. Although our flesh is governed by the devil, for those in Christ, Jesus gave us the power to overcome and resist the devil (Luke 10:19; James 4:7).

There is daily struggle between our spirit and our flesh. Our spirit desires to grow in the things of God by spending time in His presence, reading His Word, and building our faith, but our flesh desires to do whatever feels good. Everyone’s flesh is different. Some people’s flesh desires to “get high,” while another person’s flesh desires to be idle.

In order to maximize our relationship with God, we have to fight our flesh. This fight will occur every day of our lives. We have to make a conscious decision to do what God says instead of doing what feels good. At times it may be difficult, but the benefits of defeating our flesh and honoring God are well worth the fight. Continue to fight and never give up.

Romans 7:18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwells no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.

Galatians 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.

As we continue to develop our relationship with God, the fruit of the Spirit should begin to manifest. The manifestation of the fruit of the Spirit will occur when we begin to make some adjustments in our lives. The spark for those adjustments takes place when we spend time in the presence of God and become doers of the Word.

Physical fruit doesn’t develop overnight and neither will our Spirit fruit. Don’t allow guilt and condemnation to weigh you down if you don’t respond with the proper fruit. Instead of focusing on the negative, praise God for the growth made.

We previously may have responded with hostility when someone cut us off while drivin, but we now respond with the fruit of self-control because we’ve made some adjustments. We may have responded with depression after not receiving what we desired when we desired it, but we now respond with joy because we’ve made some adjustments.

Whether it is small or great, make some adjustments to be a better representative of the Kingdom of God and to enhance the quality of your life.

Romans 11:29 For the gifts and calling of God are unchangeable.

From the time we were born, we had a calling or purpose for our lives. Regardless of how old we are, that calling has never changed. Everyone’s calling is uniquely different. No calling is the same.

Some of us are called to the same field, but our roles in that field will be different. Unfortunately, the world has magnified the responsibilities and salary within that field, but minimized the purpose. For instance, someone may be a lawyer making over $100,000 a year, but every day of work is miserable and they feel like something is missing in their lives. It’s because they’re not walking in their God-assigned purpose.

Some of us may already know our purpose, but we feel like it won’t produce the lifestyle we desire. We must realize our purpose is not responsible for our provision. That responsibility belongs to God. When we walk in our purpose, our purpose will allow us to make a greater impact in this world and allow us to live a life of fulfillment.

Discover your God-assigned purpose and boldly walk in it.

Romans 12:2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is–his good, pleasing and perfect will.

The Bible tells us we can be transformed by the renewing of our minds. What does it mean to renew our minds?

The renewing of our minds means we change the way we think and believe. We allow our thoughts and beliefs to line up with the Word of God. We replace all earthly knowledge, wisdom, and experiences with the Word of God.

Since the Word of God says all things are possible with God (Matthew 19:26), we remove every limitation from our thoughts and beliefs. Since the Word of God says we are healed (1 Peter 2:24), we receive our healing, and remove sickness/disease from our thoughts, beliefs, and vocabulary. Since the Word of God says we’re forgiven (Hebrews 10:12), we receive our forgiveness, and remove thoughts of guilt, shame, and condemnation.

Renewing our minds is a lifelong process. Every situation we face, small or great, will cause us to make a choice. We can either believe and accept what we see or replace what we see with the promises in the Word of God. Let’s renew our minds with the Word of God.