Category Archive

John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 14a And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us

John 8: 58 “I tell you the truth,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!”

Genesis 1:27So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

God did not create us because He needed company.  Jesus, the Word, God, the Father, and the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God were in existence as well as the angels.  So, what is our purpose? 

John 4:24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

We were made in the image of God.  Since God is a spirit, so are we.  While what we see is our flesh, the real part of us, the God part of us is our spirit.  And, we were created to worship and honor God.  So, we commune with our Creator by dwelling in His Word, being filled with His Spirit, and choosing daily to honor Him with our lives.

1 Peter 1:3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to his abundant mercy has begotten us again unto a living hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fades not away, reserved in heaven for you, 5Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

Through Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, we have an inheritance that we will never lose, that will never change nor dwindle, and we are protected by God’s power. 

Because of our faith in Him who saved us, we have a divine guaranteed inheritance and the ultimate protection to cover us until we reach heaven.  Praise God for His provisions for us!!

Isaiah 43:11 I, even I, am the LORD, and apart from me there is no savior.

Some religions use this verse to demolish the fact that Jesus is our Savior. They may believe and accept God as Savior but, they don’t accept Jesus as the Christ.
We can believe Jesus as our Savior because the Bible says so. In John 10:30, Jesus declares He and God are One. This verse alone brings truth to Isaiah 43:11. Since Jesus and the Father are One, God is our Savior through Jesus.

This message was not given so that we can debate or argue with unbelievers. This message was sent to further solidify our belief as Christians. Daily, there are spiritual forces attempting to persuade Christians into unbelief. These forces use logic and rationale as their tools of persuasions. As Christians, we must hold on to our belief and not be influenced by worldly views. The only source we should believe is the Word of God. (The Holy Bible).

Be Blessed!

Habakkuk 2:3 For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false.Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay.

God desires His people to tap into His hidden wisdom. The things He knows, He desires His children to know. This wisdom is not hidden from us but, hidden for us.
Habakkuk says, God’s revelation will come at an appointed time.
Q:What revelation?
A: 2 Corinthians 2:9 says the revelation is, What eyes have not seen, what no ear has heard, what no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him”–
– God desires to reveal all He has prepared for His children.

Q: How do we receive this revelation?
A: Through God’s Spirit; the Holy Spirit.
-2 Corinthians 2:10 but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.

This is why it’s so important to receive the Holy Spirit in our lives. The Holy Spirit reveals the hidden mysteries/wisdom/knowledge of God concerning our life, our family, and our country. All those “why” questions can be revealed to us now. We don’t have to wait until we go to heaven for God to answer those questions. For those who don’t have the Holy Spirit, invite the Holy Spirit into your life to get the inside scoop in every area of your life.

John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

This past weekend, we took the time to celebrate Easter or Resurrection Sunday. People across the globe spoke on Jesus’ death, the cross, forgiveness of sins, and the resurrection. This is great stuff but, none of this would be possible if it were not for God’s love.

God’s love orchestrated a plan to reconcile the relationship between God and man through Jesus.
God’s love allows our sins to be forgiven the moment we ask.
God’s love returns mankind’s authority in the earth.
God’s love gives us access to all of God’s promises.
God’s love allows us to spend eternity with our Creator.

Our God is great!
Don’t allow God’s love to love in vain.

Romans 8: 28And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. 31What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?  37No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.

When we accept Jesus as the Son of God and our Savior, we are made children and heirs of God.  As heirs who love and live for their Father, we have security in knowing that everything that happens, no matter how great or horrid, God will work it out in our favor.  Even when it looks impossible to overcome, we are assured that the most high, God gives us all good and perfect things (Ephesians 2:8,9) and He is FOR US.    Declare it, shout it, and remind your flesh of what your spirit knows: We are MORE than conquerors; we are overcomers!

Romans 8: 34Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. 35Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 38For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Our Holy God sent His Son to redeem us so that we could be forgiven and spend eternity with Him.  Christ’s death and resurrection became the payment for our sins that made us new, clean, righteous creations.  Once we accept Jesus as God’s Son and Lord and Savior, no sin, person, experience, circumstance, nothing can separate us from a love that great!

John 20:29 Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

In today’s world, so many people want physical evidence that God exists or evidence that Jesus really is the Son of God. The Bible states, blessed are those who believe without seeing. This is not only a statement, but a law. This law applies to every promise in the word of God.
We are blessed when we believe we are healed even though we experience symptoms.
We are blessed when we believe we received the desires of our heart even though we can’t see them yet.
We are blessed when we believe we are delivered from a thing even though we still struggle with that temptation.
We don’t have to see the results to know we’re blessed. We’re blessed because we believe.

1 Timothy 4:8 “Physical training is good, but training for godliness is much better, promising benefits in this life and in the life to come.”

Our natural body needs physical training to gain natural strength. Likewise, our spiritual body needs spiritual training to gain spiritual strength.

What training does our spiritual body need? Development in the word of God. Some of us only train our spirit man once a week (Sundays). When we’re attacked by the enemy with trials and temptations our spirit man is so weak until we can’t even fight off any of these temptations or trials.

As Christians, we should read the word of God on a daily basis to build our spirit man. Faith comes by hearing the word of God. No word, no faith. We don’t have to read the entire Bible but, at least a chapter a day. If time doesn’t permit, start off with a couple of verses. As our relationship with God develops, our appetite for His word will increase.

Get strong!

Acts 3:6 Then Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.” 7: Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man’s feet and ankles became strong.

Peter had so much confidence in the name of Jesus until he reached out and grabbed the lame man’s hand to help him up. This type of confidence was free from unbelief and doubt. Peter simply displayed works with his faith in the name of Jesus by helping this man up. (James 2:17)

Can you imagine how different our lives would be if we had this type of confidence?
For example instead of waiting on God to bless us with a career we would…
1. Declare the manifestation of our career in the name of Jesus.
2. Get our resume together.
3. Apply.
4. Prepare interview questions.
5. Prepare to move if necessary.
Etc.
We would do all of this before we go on an interview because we have confidence in the name of Jesus regarding our career.

Do you have confidence in the Name? Well, take more action regarding all your desires.

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.”

Initially, God gave man authority over everything in the earth. This authority was over both natural and spiritual things. It wasn’t until sin entered the earth when man lost this authority and man experienced death, sickness, and lack. Jesus entered this world to restore man back to his place of authority. The sad thing is some of us haven’t taken advantage of this authority. Yes, the products of sin are still present but, through Jesus Christ we have authority over these things. Since God restored our authority, we shouldn’t tolerate sickness in our body. We shouldn’t put up with fear or pressure. We shouldn’t have so many insecurities.
Release these products of sin and receive the authority God has given to His people.

If a “wino” or a “drunkard” approached an unbeliever to witness to them about Jesus Christ, how likely do you think that unbeliever will become saved? Not likely at all.
The same concept applies with us. It’s going to be hard to persuade someone to Christ when they know a person is committing adultery. It will be kind of difficult to talk about the goodness of God while getting high. It will be a little unpersuasive speaking on the benefits of living for Christ when a person is broke due to bad spending habits.
I’m not saying we have to be perfect to be a witness for Jesus Christ but, we should be pursing perfection.
Be a light, to be an example, to build the Kingdom of God.

Matthew 5:16 In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.

Inspired by Pastor D Golden

Revelation 22:12 “Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done. (17b)Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life.

Salvation is free: we accept that Jesus died for our sins and rose again freeing us from the bondage of our sins. Then, we should not stop there, but choose to live for Him. One day, we will all be held accountable for what we did. Because we are saved, our sins are cleared, but the good things still count in our favor.

So, we should not stop at salvation, but choose to live for and serve God daily because it does not go unnoticed; we are rewarded here because we reap what we sow (Galatians 6:7 – 10), and we will be rewarded even more-so in Heaven. Praise God that He rewards us!!

Romans 8:1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,

That guilty feeling we experience after sinning is known as condemnation. Condemnation is not an act from God but, of the devil. When we sin, God releases conviction through the Holy Spirit. Conviction is something sent by God to let us know the act we’re doing is not pleasing to God. The purpose of conviction is to notify us of our wrongdoing in the hopes that we turn away from sin and return to God. Conviction stops immediately after we know what we did was wrong. Anything past the notification point is condemnation. We shouldn’t be experiencing guilt or shame a year, a month, or even a week after we sin. Our job is to realize our mistakes, ask for forgiveness, and make the adjustments to not sin again. The next time we experience guilt or sadness because of our sin, we should remind ourselves and Satan there is no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus.

Satan is known as a deceiver and one of his greatest deceptions is to make people think living a sincere Christian life is a form of bondage and rebelling against the word of God is freedom. When in actuality, living a Christian life is freedom and rebellion is bondage (Rom 6:6).

The Deception: Once we get saved, we can’t do the things we used to do to satisfy our flesh (premarital sex, get drunk, high, clubbin’, etc.). But, we can have a liberating experience if we follow our lustful impulses instead of the word of God.

I can honestly say I was deceived at one time in my life. I thought as a Christian, there was nothing to do. I felt like after truly giving my heart to God, all my “fun” was taken away. Praise God for deliverance. What Satan doesn’t tell us is, when we truly commit our lives to Christ there are endless pleasures from God we can experience. The “fun” we have as a sinner is only temporary. We will always be on the hunt for our next “high.” But, when we make a lifetime commitment to God, the pleasures of God will last forever.

Make the commitment, and choose God today.

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

Inspired by Pastor Creflo Dollar

Proverbs 3:6 In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths smooth.

The Bible says acknowledge God in all our ways. The word “all” includes everything. From, what to eat at night, to where we should live, to where we should work, and who we should marry. God wants to be acknowledged and included in decisions both, great and small. When we acknowledge God, we allow God to give us insight, information, and revelation knowledge in certain areas. We can save ourselves the headaches or hassles in life if we could just simply acknowledge God in all our ways. But, we have to trust Him.

Satan despises God and he despises the things of God (including us). In Hebrews it says it’s impossible to please God without faith. Romans 14:23 says, everything that does not come from faith is sin.
So, the best way Satan can get back at God is to have God’s creation (us) displeasing and sinning against God. Without faith we don’t please God, we sin against God, and we don’t experience the abundant life God provided through Jesus.
Whatever the situation is, keep the faith.

Hebrews 11:6 And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

We, Christians, tend to focus on what we need to improve on or what we need to change. By focusing on these future events, we miss one great part about the present which is: the love of God. God’s love is the glue that holds everything together.

We have goals, dreams, and desires but, without His love nothing will come to pass. Saints, God loves us so much our knowledge can’t even explain it. Even when we’re dead wrong in our sins, God loves us just the same as if we were crossing every “t” and dotting every “i” for Him. Even when we turn our backs on Him God loves us. There is nothing we can do to make Him stop loving us. Never forget and always bask in the love of God.

Romans 8:38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Titus 1:2 In hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised before the ages began;

We are promised eternity with God and He is faithful to His word (Deut. 32:4). Our faith rests on a guaranteed hope (not merely a wishing for, but a certainty of) eternity. So our faith is not one of doubt or questioning, but of assurance:

1. that through salvation we are God’s elect,
2. deemed righteous by Him,
3. and promised eternal life (beyond the physical death of this world to a spiritual existence) with Him.

Praise God for His faithfulness and the sacrifice of His Son!!  Be bold and bless others with the assurance of eternity with God (Mark 16:15).

Habakkuk 2: 4b “— but the righteous will live by his faith”

Habakkuk 3:18 yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior. (19a) The Sovereign LORD is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to go on the heights.

We are to exhibit our faith by trusting in the Lord. Others may be following their own desires, but our assurance remains with God. The word “yet” means that regardless of our circumstances we remain faithful and rejoice in God. He is our confidence, the part of us that holds us together and causes everything to work properly. Praise God that we will continue to live by faith and rejoice in His goodness and that He elevates us!!

Luke 17:12 As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance 13 and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!” 14 When he saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed.

History: By law, people who had leprosy were isolated from the general public until they were cleansed of their leprosy. In these days, the priest were the holiest people around. The priest was not to be defiled by any unholy, unclean, or unrighteous thing.

Here we have Jesus Who is not only telling the unclean lepers to re-join the general public but, to show themselves to the holy priest. It doesn’t make sense and it’s illegal. The lepers could have reasoned or questioned Jesus but, they didn’t. They obeyed Jesus and took Him at His Word. This is known as blind faith. They did not know how, when, or where they were going to be cleansed but, they knew they were going to be cleansed. With their obedience to the Son of God, they were healed.

Just think of how many things we could be healed, delivered, or set free from if we could simply obey God without question. Think about how much better off we would be if we would only obey God without rationalizing. Think about how many lives we could change if people could see us blindly obey God and be blessed for it. Be obedient in spite of what it looks like.

Hebrews 2:18 Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.

Hebrews 3:1 Therefore, holy brothers, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, the apostle and high priest whom we confess.

Mark 14: 38 Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.”

How can we overcome those things that continue to tempt us?

1. Pray because although we want to do right (our spirit), our bodies sometimes take control (our flesh)

2. Jesus understands and helps us: Jesus was made into man and experienced the range of temptation (although he did not succumb to them)

3. Fix our thoughts on Jesus. (AUDIBLY SPEAK the Word when bombarded by temptation: 1 Corinthians 10:13)

Matthew 21:21 Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done.

Previously, we focused on the importance of getting the word of God in our spirits on a consistent basis. We spoke on how Satan attempts to persuade our flesh not to get into the word of God through laziness, lack of discipline, and our feelings.

Today, our focus is believing the word of God. Once we’ve overcome our flesh and actually read the word of God, we have to believe the word of God without doubting.
Just like Satan has his tricks for us not reading the word of God, he has tricks he uses for us not to believe the word of God.

To move us in a place of unbelief Satan will use…
logic…”How is that going to work, it doesn’t even make sense.”
rationalization… “We all sin.”
and our emotions…”I’m not worthy to receive that from God.”

We must believe the Bible is absolute truth regardless of how we think, rationalize, or feel.
~“If you work His system, it will work for you.”

John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

The word of God is the most powerful weapon we have on earth because it changes situations in seconds and it literally allows us to understand the mind of Almighty God. Satan uses our flesh to dictate whether or not we obtain this revelation knowledge from the God.

Satan uses our flesh which includes…
laziness… “I’m too tired to read the Bible.”
lack of discipline… “I read the Bible yesterday.”
and, our feelings… “I don’t feel like going to church or reading the Bible.”

The greatest way to destroy Christians is by leaving them ignorant (Hosea 4:6). However, if we can overcome our flesh and find a greater appreciation for God’s word, the word of God will significantly change our lives.

Genesis 50: 20 But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive.

We have to choose to stand in faith even when it seems as though opposing circumstances or people appear to be defeating us. God is so talented that He, already knowing everything, arranged to work out what appeared to be defeating circumstances to our favor. So, instead of being trapped as slaves (as Joseph’s brothers intended), we are rulers (as Joseph became second in power only to Pharaoh).

So stand in faith, make confessions in line with faith, and await the manifestation of your elevation.

1 John 3: 9No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God.

It’s so easy to say, ‘stop sinning.’ But, how do we stop? If it was easy, those of us who love God would have stopped years ago. We would have completely overcome our flesh, and lived the abundant life, choosing God’s way even in the midst of tribulation. If we choose not to focus so much on the fruit and rather go to the root, then maybe we can ‘stop sinning’ (Luke 6:44).

We want our fruit to reflect a life submitted to God, so we choose to focus on getting closer to God. Instead of trying to overcome our sin using our will power, we concentrate on three areas:
1. disciplining ourselves to increase our time reading the Bible and devotionals everyday,
2. listening to God’s Word for some segment of time daily,
3. And, the most important, having a conversation with God everyday, where both parties have an opportunity to speak.

The more we draw near to God, the more we allow His Spirit to expand in us, and the more our soul (will, emotions, intellect) and flesh will overcome sin. But remember, that whether or not we feel worthy, we choose to continue to do the three things. God has the solution for purifying us; we just need to focus on Him.

James 4:8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

John 8:7 When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.”

Why is it that when someone sins or does something wrong people are so quick to judge or criticize but, slow to pray or lend a helping hand? As Christians, our job is not to criticize and ridicule others when they act in a way that’s not pleasing to God. Our job is to pray for people’s deliverance and be bold enough to ask if they need a helping hand in their deliverance.

So, the next time you see a homosexual, a person “shacking up,” or a person intoxicated, don’t criticize or judge but, pray and be that helping hand for that person’s deliverance.

Be a Blessing!

“It’s not over. It’s not the end. Remember Jesus died and He rose again.”

Some of our situations may appear to be dead. They may appear to be dead to our senses and to the senses of everyone else. When Jesus died, it appeared His ministry was dead but, just like Jesus, we shall rise again. Our businesses shall rise again. Our families shall rise again. Our finances shall rise again. Whatever appears to be dead in our lives shall rise again.

Praise God for His power and ability to revive any and every situation we face.

Deuteronomy 31:8 The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”

God’s presence is not limited by our emotions.  Sometimes we say we ‘feel’ God in the place, or we “feel” the Holy Spirit.  But, if we only had access to God or the Holy Spirit when we ‘feel’ them, our lives would be in lack. 

Praise God that He is with us always, whether we are pleasing Him or not, whether we feel alone or not; He’s there.  And praise God that we always have access to His Holy Spirit which leads us and guides us regardless of whether ‘we catch a feeling’ or not.

John 14:6 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever;

What does it take to be saved?

Romans 10:9 That if you shall confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, you shall be saved.

Do I need to be baptized with water to be saved?  Jesus instructed his disciples to baptize.  Therefore we should be baptized with water, but water baptism does not determine our salvation.

Matthew 28:19 Go you therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit:

Do all believers get the Holy Ghost?  All believers have a choice to accept (listen to, obey, be led by) the Holy Spirit and should do so. While we received access to the Spirit when we became saved, we are called to also be led by the Spirit.

Mark 1:8 I indeed have baptized you with water: but he shall baptize you with the Holy Spirit.

Romans 8:14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.

1 John 5:14-15 This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us–whatever we ask–we know that we have what we asked of him.

Many times we hear the phrase “if the Lord wills” when someone desires something. People use the phrase as if God’s will is a mystery. The good news is most of us have access to God’s will. God’s will for our lives is in His word. Every Bible is the printed will of God. If God’s will was a mystery to the believer, our prayers would be a gamble every time. One day we may pray His will, the next day we may not.

The point is, whatever we desire according to His will, He hears, answers, and delivers our prayers.

For those who are unsure if a certain desire is God’s will for your life, I encourage you to research the scriptures, pray, and actively seek God for an answer.