Graced To Do God's Will

@everydaygodswill

There are people who don’t mind being alone. It’s not because they don’t like people or have been hurt by people. It’s just natural for them to be loners.

As a believing loner, it’s even more of a temptation to be isolated from people. A believing loner has God and the finished works of Jesus. You don’t have people bringing you down with drama and chaos. You don’t have peer pressure to lead you into sin. You’re just living your life with God and Jesus and a few friends who understand you.

As a loner, you may be honoring God, prospering in your career and with your family. You may not feel like you need something from someone else, but here’s the thing, someone else needs something from you.

We all (loners included) have a gift or a talent that people need to see. You may feel like you’ve got yourself together, but someone else may need what you have. Use the opportunity to socialize with people to pour what you have inside of them.

The first obvious thing is to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with people. We assume most people know it, but everyone doesn’t know the truth. We can share financial wisdom with people, marital tips, career advice, or how to overcome hurt.

Don’t be selfish with your time and space. You may not feel like you need people, but there are people who need you. Be a vessel to be a blessing.

‭‭Luke‬ ‭3:11‬ ‭NLT‬‬ John replied, “If you have two shirts, give one to the poor. If you have food, share it with those who are hungry.”

#generosity #be #a #blessing #share #Jesus #shine #bright

@everydaygodswill

Psalms‬ ‭37:7‬ ‭NIV‬‬ Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes.

From our childhood to being an adult, patience is something we really don’t like to hear. We may understand its benefits when we get older, but we really don’t like waiting on something we want.

In the Kingdom of God, it’s a necessity. Hebrews 10:36 says, ‭‭patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God’s will. Then you will receive all that He has promised.

It gets more difficult to be patient when we see others getting blessed and we’re waiting with uncertainty of how long it will take. We can’t worry about someone else. We must focus on ourselves.

Galatians 6:9 says, ‭‭let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. If we continue to believe God’s word, be patient, and don’t get frustrated with God, we’ll have everything He promised. So, let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing (James 1:4).

#patience #waitforit #God #will #provide

@everydaygodswill

Galatians 6:8 NIV 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.

When people think of acts of the flesh, they usually think about sex, drugs, alcohol, and partying. You know what also is an act of the flesh? Sitting at home feeling sorry for yourself. Intentionally isolating yourself just to think about all the things that are going wrong in your life. Complaining to someone about how bad things are.

The flesh referenced in the bible means our sinful nature. Anything done from our sinful nature is referred to as the flesh. There’s no difference between a person giving into their sinful nature to have a one night stand or to have a pity party. It’s all out of the flesh and it will all lead to destruction.

Now that you understand that the flesh comes in many forms, ask yourself, are you pleasing your flesh in any way or are you actively resisting your flesh to please God? Let’s do our best to please God.

#discipline #selfcontrol #God #first

@everydaygodswill

Psalms‬ ‭32:10‬ ‭NLT‬‬ Many sorrows come to the wicked, but unfailing love surrounds those who trust the Lord.

God loves us unconditionally. His love never stops, never ends, and never runs out. His love doesn’t come and go based on our behavior. His love goes on and on and on.

God is love. That’s why He has so much to give. There are no levels or hierarchies to God’s love. God loves us just as much before we were saved as He does after we’re saved. God doesn’t love ministers more than He does a God-hating atheist. He loves us all the same.

God’s love is always available. It’s up to us to take it. We may not always feel His love, but it’s during those times we must receive it by faith. Don’t let no devil, person, or preacher tell you that God doesn’t love you. His love is unfailing and everlasting.

#Hislove #neverends #neverfails #God #greatly #loves #us

@everydaygodswill

Some of the things God instructs us to do don’t make us happy. Some things don’t make sense and go against how we feel. For our flesh, it’s extremely difficult to obey God.

God never told us to obey Him with a smile on our faces and gladness in our hearts. He simply wants us to obey Him.

As we obey Him, even if it’s reluctantly, we’re prioritizing Him above our logic, emotions, and our flesh.

Look at Jesus in Luke 22:42. He wasn’t excited to suffer and separate Himself from the Father for us. However, He pushed His emotions aside and obeyed God.

As we continue to obey God, hopefully, we’ll get to a point where our reluctancy is short-lived because fulfilling the will of God and experiencing the fruit of our obedience is magnified. Let’s obey God above anything else.

‭‭Luke‬ ‭22:42‬ ‭NLT‬‬ “Father, if you are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.”

#Hiswill #just #obey #God #first

@everydaygodswill

Being a believer requires 100% faith. Without using our five senses, we’re using our faith to believe that God exists and He sent His Son Jesus to die on the cross for the world’s sins. We obtained this information, along with so many other things, from the bible.

When it comes to the bible, there are skeptics. People think because it was written by flawed men, there could be inconsistencies or contradictions. Some feel like promoters of the bible are attempting to brainwash society and squash “free thinking.” People feel like some stories in the bible are too similar to other stories that predate the bible.

With all this skepticism surrounding the bible, it’s important to use our faith to believe the bible is inspired by God. We can’t ask the authors of each book to validate their inspiration from God. We must use our faith and completely trust that God’s word is real and true.

Don’t allow the skepticism of the world to lead you down an unbelieving path. If there are some questions, ask God and allow His Spirit to provide the answer.

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

#faith #believe #God #inspired

@everydaygodswill

Ecclesiastes‬ ‭11:4‬ ‭NLT‬‬ Farmers who wait for perfect weather never plant. If they watch every cloud, they never harvest.

A lot of us wait for perfect conditions before we do anything. We want to wait and get ourselves together before we surrender our lives to the Lord. We want to get in a better financial place before we give. We want to wait until everything is situated before we start our business. We want to have everything set up before we get married.

If we keep waiting for perfect conditions, we’ll be waiting forever. Perfect conditions are a deception from the enemy. Satan is the god of this world and he’ll always move things around until nothing feels stable.

If God gives us a desire or He instructs us to do something, do it. Don’t wait, do it. He knows the conditions are not ideal. But He knows and we should know that when we obey, His power can change circumstances in our favor. The only time we should wait is if God instructs us to wait.

Whatever God has instructed you to do, even if it seems illogical, obey God.

#follow #God #pray #trust #obey

@everydaygodswill

‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭7:21‬ ‭NLT‬ Are you a slave? Don’t let that worry you—but if you get a chance to be free, take it.

Thank God there’s no longer legal slavery where people are forced to serve others. However, there is a form of slavery some of us volunteer for. That’s debt.

Debt is modern day slavery. Our master is creditors. Whenever we buy things on credit, lack self-control in shopping, and spend more than we’re bringing in, we’re volunteering for slavery. We’re limited to what we can do because of debt. Not only are we limited to what can we do in our own lives, more importantly, we’re limited to what we can do for the Kingdom of God. Think of the amount of ground we can take for the Kingdom of God if we’re not in debt.

It’s one thing to use credit to get something we NEED. It’s another thing to be irresponsible and buy too much of what we want or what we can’t afford.

Let’s allow the Holy Spirit to help us be responsible with our finances and not voluntarily put ourselves in the slavery debt.

#stewardship #finances #money #management

@everydaygodswill

Psalms‬ ‭147:3‬ ‭NLT‬‬ He heals the brokenhearted and bandages their wounds.

A tragic childhood, failed marriages, backstabbing friends, the loss of a loved one, and other unfortunate circumstances can all potentially cause emotional pain. Some of the things we’ve been through can leave us messed up in the head.

In God’s word, He promises to heal our broken hearts. Just because it’s in the bible doesn’t mean it’s automatic. We must receive it by faith.

When the emotional pain comes and we’re feeling down, sad, or depressed, that’s when we apply our faith to this scripture as well as 1 Peter 2:24. We literally confess, “I receive the healing God made available, through Jesus Christ, for this emotional pain.” If the pain comes back again 5 minutes later, confess it again. Depending on how deep the emotional pain is, we may have to confess this 30 times a day for the next 3 years.

It seems like a lot, but the alternative is to live with depression and the negative impact sadness has on our bodies and the effect it has on other relationships. When we use our faith in God’s word to combat negative emotions, we’re guaranteed victory (1 John 5:4).

Since God promises to heal our broken hearts and healing has been made available through Jesus, apply your faith to God’s word and allow Him to mend your broken heart.

#broken #hurt #abused #healing #restoration #redemption #in #Christ #God #heals #loves #restores

@everydaygodswill

‭‭Acts ‭20:21‬ NLT‬‬ I have had one message for Jews and Greeks alike—the necessity of repenting from sin and turning to God, and of having faith in our Lord Jesus.

There’s only one message for everyone in the world.

1. Repent of sin.
2. Turn to God.
3. Have faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.

This message is THE foundational message for everyone to establish a relationship with God through Jesus Christ. Once we believe, this message will allow us to maintain a relationship with God. This message will renew our minds to the word of God. This message will allow us to see and experience all that God has promised us. This message will soften our hearts in order to share this same message with others.

This message is simple. Don’t over complicate it with rules and traditions that aren’t mentioned.

Receive this message and share this message with someone else.

#repent #receive #forgiveness #have #faith #in #Jesus

@everydaygodswill

Some of us had an unfortunate upbringing. Our parents, the people we’re supposed to trust and depend on, let us down. They may not have been there, they didn’t care, or they violated our trust in some way. At the same time, we may not have received a good foundation to value God’s word.

We get older and attempt to find trust in earthly relationships. Unfortunately, because of our upbringing, some of us have trust issues. Those trust issues sabotage these relationships or people take advantage of our trust.

With all that some of us have been through, we’re told to put all our trust in an invisible God who loves us. That’s a difficult task for some, but it’s worth it.

Depending on our situation, start trusting God a little bit at a time. The goal is to put all our trust in Him, but start with a portion of our trust. The first and most important thing to trust God with is our eternity. We may not trust God with our relationships or finances, but trust that He sent Jesus to die for our sins.

Once we’ve solidified our salvation, start trusting God in other areas like our protection. Find a scripture where God promises to protect us (Psalm 23:4), start confessing that scripture, and expect His protection in every situation. Eventually, we’ll move on to trusting God in our relationships, in our health, with our finances, etc.

Don’t allow an unfortunate upbringing and broken relationships to stop your trust in God. Our trust in God is THE only thing we can count on that will remove the pain of our past and positively impact our future. Trust in God.

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭9:10‬ ‭NLT‬‬ Those who know your name trust in You, for You, O Lord, do not abandon those who search for You.

#insecure #hopeless #broken #hurt #trust #God #protected #loved #valued #restored #byGod

@everydaygodswill

John‬ ‭17:23‬ ‭NLT‬‬ I am in them and you are in me. May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me.

If there’s anyone who got all their prayers answered by God, it would be Jesus. In this verse, Jesus prayed that we know God loves us just as much as He loves Him. That’s awesome. God loves us just as much as He loves Jesus.

We don’t live a perfect life. We didn’t die or even go through a little suffering for Him. But still, God loves us just as much as He loves Jesus.

There’s no stipulations with God’s love. We don’t have to sacrifice everything or earn His love. His love is freely given. He loved us tremendously before Jesus prayed this prayer and He certainly loves us because Jesus prayed this prayer.

Understand how much God loves you. Even though you didn’t do all that Jesus did, He loves you and I just as much as He loves Jesus. Receive His love.

#God #loves #people

@everydaygodswill

Jude‬ ‭1:23‬ ‭NLT‬‬ Rescue others by snatching them from the flames of judgment. Show mercy to still others, but do so with great caution, hating the sins that contaminate their lives.

Unfortunately, there are people who are still misrepresenting God. They’ll say, God hates homosexuals, God hates liars, God hates baby killers, or God hates adulterers. That’s NOT true. God hates sin, not the sinner.

God hates sin because He knows the destruction it causes. It destroys our lives, our mindsets, our marriages, and our families. God doesn’t hate the people committing the sin. He loves us. Notice I say “us” because we all sin and no sin is greater than another. He hates sin itself.

We’re instructed to hate sin as well. So much so until we become vessels for God, informing others of the damage it causes.

If you ever read an online post or a sign on the street that says, God hates the people committing a particular sin, understand that they’re misinformed. God hates sin, not the sinner.

#godloves #godislove #loved #by #god

@everydaygodswill

Psalms‬ ‭78:19‭-‬22‬ ‭NLT‬‬ They even spoke against God Himself, saying, “God can’t give us food in the wilderness. Yes, He can strike a rock so water gushes out, but He can’t give His people bread and meat.” When the Lord heard them, He was furious. The fire of His wrath burned against Jacob. Yes, His anger rose against Israel, for they did not believe God or trust Him to care for them.

How many times do you think we’ve angered God because of our unbelief? Like the children of Israel, some of us put God in a box.

We’ve told ourselves He can do this, but I don’t know if He can do that. He’s decreased the pain in my leg, but I don’t think the pain will completely go away. He’s provided me with a job, but I’ll never make over $100,000 annually. Thank God my child is no longer failing their classes, but I think my child will always be a “C” student.

Thoughts and statements like these have to frustrate God. The only thing stopping Him from doing what He really wants to do is our unbelief. We may not see or know how God can change the situation, but we don’t have to. Our responsibility is to believe.

Trust and believe that God can do the impossible and that He’ll take care of you. Even if it’s farfetched, our belief in His power can make it happen.

#trust #believe #relyon #God #anything #is #possible

@everydaygodswill

Romans‬ ‭8:12‭-‬13‬ ‭NLT‬‬ Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, you have no obligation to do what your sinful nature urges you to do. For if you live by its dictates, you will die. But if through the power of the Spirit you put to death the deeds of your sinful nature, you will live.

In the flesh or sinful nature dwells greed, lust, fear, addictions, uncontrollable anger, perversions, worry, misery, depression, lack of empathy, etc. In our flesh dwells no good thing (Rom. 7:8).

Every single day we must keep our flesh in check. If not, we’ll go down a wrong path that doesn’t honor God and we’ll reap the consequences of our actions. We’ll end up hurting ourselves, someone else, and negatively impacting our future.

It’s a chore to keep our flesh in check because our flesh wants to dominate our lives. But as we focus on Him, we’ll release the strength to overcome our flesh.

#empowered #by #the #Spirit

@everydaygodswill

Acts of the Apostles‬ ‭20:20‬ ‭NLT‬‬ I never shrank back from telling you what you needed to hear, either publicly or in your homes.

Everything God tells us to say is not always going to be rainbows and butterflies. Some of the things He’ll tell us to say may sting.

For instance, if we have a friend who’s doing things contrary to God’s word, God may instruct us to tell that person (in love; not judgment) about their behavior. We have a choice to make. We can do what God says and tell them or, shrink back because we don’t want to offend them or lose a friend. It’s better to obey God and plant a seed of repentance rather than watching our friend’s life spiral out control. If we love them, we’ll tell the truth in love (Eph. 4:15).

Fear may come after getting instructions from God, but don’t shrink back. Be bold enough to say whatever God instructs you to say.

#bebold #conquerfear #trust #God

@everydaygodswill

Acts 3:16‬ ‭NLT‬‬ “Through faith in the name of Jesus, this man was healed—and you know how crippled he was before. Faith in Jesus’ name has healed him before your very eyes.

It wasn’t how much he gave to the church that got this man healed. It wasn’t how righteous he was. It wasn’t the amount of good deeds that got him healed. It was faith in the name of Jesus that got this man healed.

When we have faith (acting on what we believe) in the powerful name of Jesus, we too can experience healing like no other. We’re not depending on ourselves. We’re depending on the name of Jesus.

Philippians 2:9-10 says, God exalted Jesus to the highest place and gave Him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth.

When we believe that the name of Jesus is more powerful than cancer, ebola, arthritis, and mental illness, we’ll experience deliverance once and for all. Have faith in the name of Jesus.

#faith #healing #believe #Jesus

@everydaygodswill

You’ve told yourself you needed to smoke a little bit to calm your nerves.
You’ve told yourself you need a drink to take the edge off or loosen up.
You’ve told yourself you’re no good until you’ve had your cup of coffee in the morning.
You’ve told yourself you won’t be happy until you get a man/woman.
You’ve told yourself you won’t be satisfied until you make a certain amount of money.

Some of us have told ourselves a lot of different things. There’s only one question. Where are these things in the bible? If it’s not in the bible, why are you telling yourself these things?

What we’re doing when we tell ourselves these things is placing limitations in our lives. Unknowingly, we’re using the power of words to construct a mindset that’s not backed by scripture.

Let God be the Source for our joy, satisfaction, happiness, peace, and fun. Secondly, stop telling yourself you need certain things to “function.” Finally, don’t replace God with things that are only going to temporarily satisfy the flesh.

You have everything you need in God, through Christ.

‭‭Colossians‬ ‭2:10‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.

#complete #in #Christ

@everydaygodswill

2 Corinthians‬ ‭3:18‬ ‭NLT‬‬ So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like Him as we are changed into His glorious image.

How you are now is not how you’ll always be. God is an image changer. We may have insecurities, mental health issues, anger issues, or low self-esteem. Spending time with the Lord and understanding how He created us has the potential to change our image. It’s a potential image changer because it’s up to us to receive and accept what God said about us.

For those who accept all the things God said about them such as, being the righteousness of God, fearfully and wonderfully made, and totally forgiven, will change the carnal image of ourselves into His glorious image.

Get in God’s word and understand what He said about us and allow His word to change your image.

#righteous #wonderfully #made #forgiven #free #empowered #strengthened #loved #inChrist #imageupdate

@everydaygodswill

Psalms‬ ‭107:6‬ ‭NLT‬‬ “Lord, help!” they cried in their trouble, and He rescued them from their distress.

We’re only one cry away from getting all the help we need in any situation. It doesn’t matter if it’s financial help, mental help, help in our families and marriages, or help in our careers. God can even help with small matters like cooking a turkey for Thanksgiving.

If there’s anything that causes us the slightest bit of stress, call on God and He’ll come to our rescue with a plan that will ease our soul.

We don’t need to have a 6 month track record of holiness in order for God to respond to our cry. If we’ve turned our backs on God for 10 years, the moment we sincerely call for help, He’ll immediately respond with a helping hand.

Praise God that He’s always there to help us in a time of trouble and when there’s no trouble at all. God is our helper.

#helper #counselor #friend #provider #peace #wisdom #guide #joy #allin #Christ #Jesus

@everydaygodswill

2 Corinthians‬ ‭3:2‭-‬3‬ ‭NLT‬‬ The only letter of recommendation we need is you yourselves. Your lives are a letter written in our hearts; everyone can read it and recognize our good work among you. Clearly, you are a letter from Christ showing the result of our ministry among you. This “letter” is written not with pen and ink, but with the Spirit of the living God. It is carved not on tablets of stone, but on human hearts.

Our lives may be the only bible a person reads. When they see us saved, knowing who we are in Christ, healed, delivered from sins, walking in love, and prosperous, they’re seeing the word of God alive in front of their eyes.

As we communicate with the lost or those who have gone astray (as we should), we can let them know our testimony and the One (Jesus) who changed our lives. Hopefully the sharing of the gospel and our personal testimony will intrigue enough to make a change.

Whether you know it or not, people are watching. Make sure what they’re seeing is an accurate representation of the word of God.

#represent #God #reflect #Christ #livingexample