Graced To Do God's Will

with this message: People of Israel, I am the holy Lord God, the one who rescues you. For your own good, I teach you, and I lead you along the right path. How I wish that you had obeyed my commands! Your success and good fortune would then have overflowed like a flooding river. -Isaiah 48:17‭-‬18 CEV

During the days of the Law of Moses, obedience was the only thing that brought blessings on people’s lives. Although we’re no longer under the law, obedience still plays an important role in the believer’s life.

Grace, through Jesus Christ, has made all of God’s promises available to us. Our faith claims what grace has made available. Our obedience to the commands under grace and the Spirit of God position us to receive what grace has made available.

Sometimes, our disobedience is the thing that’s stopping God from manifesting overflowing blessings and wonders in our lives. He may tell us to forgive, read His word more, or stop behaving in a certain way. As we remain in faith and obey, we’re actively submitting our will to His. That’s what’s going to open the door for us to tangibly receive His promises in our lives.

Don’t let disobedience block you from getting what God has promised you.

So Abraham left the land of the Chaldeans and lived in Haran until his father died. Then God brought him here to the land where you now live. “But God gave him no inheritance here, not even one square foot of land. God did promise, however, that eventually the whole land would belong to Abraham and his descendants—even though he had no children yet.
Acts 7:4‭-‬5

When we obey God, a lot of us want immediate blessings. We obeyed God yesterday so, we want our blessings today.

As we can see with Abraham, there will be times where we’ll obey God but we’ll have to wait on the promise. Abraham obeyed God, but he didn’t receive what God promised until later.

Just because there’s a delay after we obey doesn’t mean the promise isn’t coming. It will come to pass. While we wait, let’s renew our mind to the truth in God’s word instead of looking at the circumstances. Let’s consistently confess what we desire to see instead of talking about what’s not happening. And let’s praise and worship God as an act of faith to remind ourselves where all our blessings come from.

The promise may not come immediately. Be patient, it’s on its way.

Luke 4:32 And they were astonished at His teaching, for His word was with authority.

Luke 4:36 Then they were all amazed and spoke among themselves, saying, “What a word this is! For with authority and power He commands the unclean spirits, and they come out.”

People were impressed by Jesus because of the authority He displayed. There’s an air of confidence a person has when they’re in a position of authority. They walk, talk, and think differently.

We can see this by looking at a relationship between a good parent and a young child. A good parent, who has authority over their child, is not going to allow their child to talk back to them, break things, or do what they want to do. They’re going to use their authority to correct the situation.

God gave us several avenues of authority. We (believers) have authority to use the name of Jesus to send demons packing (Mark 16:17) and get whatever we desire (John 14:13). In Luke 10:19, we have authority over all the power of the enemy. Psalm 8:5 lets us know God has made us a little lower than Him. God has given us authority in the earth, and we control what happens in our life through our speech (Gen. 1:26; Prov. 18:21). Once we truly believe this about ourselves, that confidence Jesus had because of His authority, we should have too. We shouldn’t be scared of some virus, worry or stress about our finances, or panic. Anytime something doesn’t look right, like that good parent, we can use our authority to correct the situation.

Mark 11:23-24 I tell you the truth, you can say to this mountain, ‘May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and it will happen. But you must really believe it will happen and have no doubt in your heart. I tell you, you can pray for anything, and if you believe that you’ve received it, it will be yours.

Some people don’t want to ask God for much because it seems too greedy. They’ll ask for a few important things like being kept safe, food on the table, clothes on their backs, and a roof over their heads, but not much more.

Between these two verses where we can command things to go and ask God for whatever we desire, we have an unlimited list.

Our list can include, commanding roaches and ants to leave our home, declaring gas prices to go down, an item to go on sale, commanding appliances in our houses to function correctly, a parking spot, a healthy environment at our children’s school and so much more. We’re only limited to what we can believe.

Don’t let someone tell you not to ask God for a lot or tell you it’s wrong to ask God for nonessential things. That’s not scriptural. Get that list together and tell Him (God) what you want.

John 10:9 I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.

Salvation is amazing. It reconciles us back to God, it makes us children of God, it guarantees we’ll spend eternity with the Father.

In addition to salvation, the children of God will find pasture. Pasture is defined as land covered with grass and other low plants suitable for grazing animals, especially cattle or sheep. Throughout the bible, we are called sheep and Jesus is our Shepherd (John 10:11).

So, in addition to salvation we’ll have a place where we’re always abundantly supplied with everything we need and we are protected. The pasture represents everything we need to survive and Jesus is our Protector.

Praise God there is more than avoiding hell with this salvation package. Through Jesus, we are protected and abundantly supplied.

Acts 7:51 NLT “You stubborn people! You are heathen at heart and deaf to the truth. Must you forever resist the Holy Spirit? That’s what your ancestors did, and so do you!

The Holy Spirit was sent to help, guide, and empower us. Stop ignoring Him and let Him help with your life.

He will talk to us about our future, tell us what’s best, and see us through our darkest times.

The world and some ignorant Christians may laugh at or minimize the Holy Spirit, but He’s a necessity to live a victorious life.

Our words are weapons. They can either destroy us or better our situation. Choose to use them for your benefit.

We can say we’re healed, blessed, prosperous, a blessing, wealthy, wise, and more. If what we say aligns with God’s word and we believe what we’re saying, those words have to come to pass.

Our words have the power to destroy the toughest situations. If we had a terrible marriage for the last 3 years, we can say, “my marriage is wonderful and my spouse and I love each other.” That must happen. If our children are acting a fool, we can say, “my children honor their mother and father” and that has to happen.

We’re not saying the facts don’t exist, but we’re ignoring the facts and magnifying and speaking the truth in God’s word.

Proverbs 18:4 The words of a man’s mouth are deep waters; The wellspring of wisdom is a flowing brook.

“David found favor with God and asked for the privilege of building a permanent Temple for the God of Jacob. But it was Solomon who actually built it.
Acts 7:46‭-‬47 NLT

The reason why Solomon built the temple of God was because David, his father, was so passionate about God until it spilled over on his son.

When we publicly talk about, magnify, and have a passion for God, it will overflow onto our children. They’ll see us and understand that God is our strength, our help, and our everything.

When our children truly get a revelation of Who God is, based on the foundation we’ve established, they will do greater things than us for God’s Kingdom. We may have an idea, but they will see it through. If the cycle continues, our grandchildren will have a passion for and do far more for the Kingdom than we could imagine.

Start establishing a legacy that will glorify God and advance His Kingdom.

When the people saw how long it was taking Moses to come back down the mountain, they gathered around Aaron. “Come on,” they said, “make us some gods who can lead us. We don’t know what happened to this fellow Moses, who brought us here from the land of Egypt.” So Aaron said, “Take the gold rings from the ears of your wives and sons and daughters, and bring them to me.” All the people took the gold rings from their ears and brought them to Aaron. Then Aaron took the gold, melted it down, and molded it into the shape of a calf. When the people saw it, they exclaimed, “O Israel, these are the gods who brought you out of the land of Egypt!”
Exodus 32:1‭-‬4 NLT

Aaron was Moses’ brother and right hand man. He saw and even participated in all the miracles, wonders, and plagues that God performed.

Now, after the Israelites have been freed from Egypt, he’s experiencing pressure to please people. He desires to please the people so much until he forgets all the major wonders God performed and builds a calf for them. One would think after seeing God destroy Egypt first hand, you would want to do right by Him.

From taking a shot, to spending the night at his or her house, to unwisely spending budgeted money on a vacation with your friends, there are going to be temptations to please people rather than pleasing God.

Pleasing God should be our priority. We may lose some friends or the approval of people, but pleasing God should be the goal. Don’t get pressured to please others. Please God instead.

1 Peter 2:24 He personally carried our sins in his body on the cross so that we can be dead to sin and live for what is right. By his wounds you are healed.

When most of us read this scripture, we think of being healed of sickness, disease, broken bones, and cancer. Which is true. We are healed of all of this, but there’s more.

The wounds of Jesus can heal us of emotional pain. We can be healed of the pain of losing our child and going through that nasty divorce. We can be healed of being molested and abused. We can be healed of not being loved by our parents.

Like anything else in God’s word, this healing is not automatic. We must apply our faith to be emotionally healed.

Our Confession: “God, Your word says, by His wounds I am healed. So, I decree I am healed of __.”

As we say this confession daily and every time we feel the sting of the incident, we’ll get to a point where we’ll remember the incident, but the pain associated with the incident is gone.

Praise God we can be totally healed of everything through the wounds of Jesus.

Psalm 105:37 He also brought them out with silver and gold, And there was none feeble among His tribes.

The children of Israel were not born-again or righteous (in right standing with God) because Jesus had not come yet. If God brought the children of Israel out of Egypt healthy and wealthy, how healthy and wealthy should we be, seeing that we are born-again and in right standing with God?

Our health and wealth are not only for us, but for the following:

1. Advancing The Kingdom
2. Building His Temple
3. Restoring Communities, Cities, and Nations

Advancing The Kingdom – To advance the Kingdom, it takes money. It takes money to travel around the world and preach the gospel. It takes money to air the gospel on TV.

Building His Temple – We are the temple of God. The more people we have who are healthy to advance the Kingdom, the greater the impact we can have on destroying the kingdom of darkness.

Restoring Communities, Cities, and Nations – It takes money and able-bodied people to restore communities and nations.

To further enjoy this abundant life Jesus provided for us, it’s beneficial to have wealth and health. To do what God has called us to do, wealth and health are a necessity. By faith, receive them both.

Revelation 5:12 saying with a loud voice: “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain To receive power and riches and wisdom, And strength and honor and glory and blessing!”

Romans 8:17 says, now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.

Every born-again believer is a joint heir with Christ. Whatever Christ has, we have access to it too. That means, we share in His power, riches, wisdom, strength, honor, glory, and blessing. Think about that. At every believer’s disposal, there’s power, riches, wisdom, strength, honor, glory, and blessing.

With all of this, there’s no way we should be spiritually or physically weak, broke, ignorant, or can’t do what God has called us to do. So, how do we access all of this? By faith.

Before a project or in the middle of the circumstances, open your mouth and believe that you’ve received the wisdom, riches, power, etc. to get the job done or to overcome (Mark 11:24).

These things are our born-again birthright brought to us by Jesus. Thank God for Jesus. Use them to win.

Inspired by Bill Winston

As we totally submit our lives to God, appropriately apply our faith to the desires God placed in us, and allow the Holy Spirit to lead us, things will happen. Not just small things. But major things. Things that will leave other people in awe.

As we boldly lay our hands on the sick, they shall recover, and their recovery will amaze others. As we give generously, we’ll experience a great financial increase that will shock our family members. As we obey the plan of God, the success of our business will leave other business owners scratching their heads.

These great things are not only meant to highlight us, but to highlight the God in us. When people ask how we did this or that, we can point them to God. Hopefully, us pointing them to God will inspire them to establish a relationship with God or encourage them to totally rely on God. Do what needs to be done to leave them in awe.

Jonah 1:16 (NLT) The sailors were awestruck by the Lord’s great power, and they offered him a sacrifice and vowed to serve him.

Matthew 6:1 “Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven.

In the age of social media, people post about everything. What they eat, drink, where they sleep, and where they go. That’s fine and all, but when it comes to posting ourselves giving to or serving the poor, we need to be mindful of our motives.

Videoing ourselves giving to or serving the poor can inspire others to do the same. It can remind people that there are other people out there who need our help. However, if our motives are to show how much extra money we have or we’re trying to impress others by showing how charitable we are, we’ll miss our reward.

God’s reward is far better than the applause of people. Take this into consideration as we serve those in need.

1 Peter 4:12 Dear friends, don’t be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through, as if something strange were happening to you.

When believers go through tough times, the first thing some of us want to do is question if we’ve done something wrong. We’ll question if we’re being punished because we were unkind to someone. We’ll question if we spoke something negative over our lives that caused this chaos. We’ll question if it’s because we didn’t pray long enough. On top of that, you’ll have other believers co-signing with these thoughts.
Stop the questions!!!  

Sometimes we can create negative events in our lives with our mouths or reap what we sow, but other times it’s just life. It’s not strange or abnormal for believers to face difficulties. In fact, Jesus said in this life we’ll have tribulation (John 16:33). Trials are associated with life.

If we handle these trials correctly, meaning, we remain in faith, meditate on God’s word, and maintain our thoughts to agree with God’s will, we’ll come out stronger than ever. Go through trials knowing victory is guaranteed.

Jonah 2:9 but as for me, I will sacrifice to you with a voice of thanksgiving. I will fulfill what I have vowed. Salvation belongs to the Lord.

In our lowest moments, we may be tired, angry, hurt, stressed, or confused. The last thing our flesh wants to do is praise and thank God. Our flesh wants to sit and sulk. But our flesh shouldn’t be running our lives. Our spirits, which are connected to God (for those who are born-again), should be governing our lives. And as we can see from Jonah’s life, we should offer a sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving.

In Jonah’s lowest moments, he offered a sacrifice of thanksgiving. He didn’t want to give thanks, but he sacrificed how he felt and did it anyway. He didn’t know how his life would turn out, but even facing death, he praised and thanked God. Through his praise and repentance, God gave him a second chance.

When we’re feeling down, begin to praise God. Our praise will remind us Who we’re relying on.

Jonah 2:1 (CEV) From inside the fish, Jonah prayed to the Lord his God: 2 When I was in trouble, Lord, I prayed to you, and you listened to me. From deep in the world of the dead, I begged for your help, and you answered my prayer.

In our lowest moments, when we’re down and out after days, months, or years of disobedience, we can pray to God and He’ll hear us. We don’t have to wait for an invitation or an alter call. We can come to God where we are (jail, homeless, in divorce court, etc.).

The devil is quick to tell us that God wants nothing to do with us, but he’s a liar. God is always available. He’ll accept us back with all our baggage, hang-ups, and unholy ways. He just wants us to return to Him.

If you ever find yourself in a bad spot, don’t forget to call on the Lord. Next, listen to His voice and do what He says. He’s there and waiting on you.

Psalm 118:24 This is the day the Lord has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it.

Regardless of what’s going on in our lives, we must make an intentional decision to have a good day. We may have to focus on commonly overlooked things like breath in our lungs, employment, or a beautiful sunset to be excited, but if that’s what’s going to cause us to have a good day, let’s do it.

In the morning, there are two reasons to be excited about another day.

1. We can be excited about what we can do for God.
When our focus is to please God, we can get excited every morning to see what we can do to make Him happy. He may tell us to compliment someone, call someone we haven’t talked to in a long time or give to a ministry or charity. When we obey His instructions, we can pat ourselves on the back because we pleased God.

2. We can be excited about what God’s going to do for us.
Throughout the day, we should be in expectation of God doing something for us. We may finally get that call for that job we’ve been wanting, get a promotion, or finally find that perfect house. Again, it may not always be major, but getting to work without getting into an accident or our children coming home without colds or viruses are reasons to glorify God.

Let’s change our mindset and perspective and have a good day.       

James 2:8 You will do all right, if you obey the most important law in the Scriptures. It is the law that commands us to love others as much as we love ourselves. 9 But if you treat some people better than others, you have done wrong, and the Scriptures teach that you have sinned.

The man on the corner begging for money should be treated no differently than the richest man in the world. The star quarterback of your favorite team is no better than the janitor who cleans the stadium. The drug addict should be respected just like the police officer.

As believers, we’re called to love and treat everyone equally. Just because one person has more money or fame than another doesn’t mean we should treat them differently. Each person deservers honor.

There’s a temptation to show favoritism because we think about what they can do for us. We think about how it makes us look to be seen with that person or what we can gain by being with the “in crowd.” If we’re not mindful, we’ll have an attitude of if someone can’t do anything for us, they’re beneath us.

Don’t let the wealth or notoriety of another person go to your head. Everyone deserves to be equally loved and respected.

Jonah 1:3 But Jonah got up and went in the opposite direction to get away from the Lord. He went down to the port of Joppa, where he found a ship leaving for Tarshish. He bought a ticket and went on board, hoping to escape from the Lord by sailing to Tarshish.

God has called everyone to do something. That something God called us to do may not be popular or financially lucrative on the surface. That something may take a lot of effort or seem burdensome. Because that something may not seem amazing in our minds, we run.

Some of us run to something that’s going to make us popular or rich. Others run to something that seems secure (job security). We can run and ignore His calling, but there may be consequences. Running from God’s calling may make our lives more complicated. We may experience multiple layoffs, unfulfillment, demotions, or stress.

Don’t add unwarranted trouble in your life.
1. Seek God on what He’s called you to do.
2. Look past the effort, finances, and popularity and obey God.
3. As you obey, trust that He’ll provide fulfillment and give you everything you desire.

Matthew 6:21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

If a person spends a lot of time and money buying and listening to music, anyone can see that their heart is focused on music. If a person spends a lot of time and money searching for and buying expensive sneakers, we can determine their heart is geared towards fashion or appearances. If a person has a bar stocked with a variety of alcohol choices, we can see that person is into drinking.

On the other hand, if a person doesn’t spend their time and money on music, shoes, and alcohol, we can conclude that person is not interested in those things.  

The same is true with God. With God, a person can say how much they love and appreciate Him, but they or anyone else can see how true that is by how much time and money they spend on Him. A lot of time and money means a great deal of appreciation towards God. A little time and money mean you appreciate other things above God.  

Our time and money expose our hearts. If you say you really love and appreciate God, then give Him quality time and the money He requested (tithes and offering).

A green elephant. A Green elephant. A GREEN Elephant A green Elephant. A Green Elephant. A GREEN ELEPHANT.  

As you read the sentences above, you probably imagined a green elephant. Thinking about a green elephant is harmless, but the devil continuously throws harmful thoughts in our minds throughout the day. His thoughts are harmful because his goal is to get us to worry, stress, and not trust God. It may be thoughts about the same subject or a variety of subjects. He’ll throw one thought after another.

The Devil: Your child is sick. What if it’s something severe? What if it never gets better? What if the sickness spreads to a sibling?

When the devil bombards our minds thoughts of worry, we need to capture those thoughts and declare the truth of God’s word.

Us: My child is healed. I decree divine health over my child. I cast my cares about my child’s health on God. My child is healed.

Don’t allow the devil’s seeds of worry to grow in your mind. Uproot his thoughts and replace them with the word of God.

2 Corinthians 10:5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

Luke 4:13 Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time. 14 Then Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news of Him went out through all the surrounding region.

After we’ve fasted, we shouldn’t have a sigh of relief and go back to our normal way of living. Like Jesus, we should be empowered by the Holy Ghost.

If you read the entire chapter of Luke 4, you’ll see after Jesus fasted, He taught with authority, He avoided being killed prematurely, He cleansed people of demons, and He healed the sick.

We have this same power too (John 14:12). After we’ve fasted, we should have better clarity and revelation on God’s word and what God wants us to do. We should be healing the sick and we should be speaking over situations and events in our lives with faith-filled authority.

Our flesh may be craving to go back to our normal routine, but our spirits should be ready to take over the world for the glory of God.

and to esteem them very highly in love for their work’s sake. Be at peace among yourselves.
I Thessalonians 5:13 NKJV

With so much division in the world, believers should stand out. We should be at peace with everyone even though we may have different political beliefs, different skin color, different lifestyle choices, and different ideas.

Unfortunately, everyone who calls themselves believers are not at peace with others. Why? Like everyone else in the world, believers too must grow up and mature.

It takes God to be at peace with everyone. We can’t have this kind of peace in our own strength. We obtain this peace by receiving it by faith. If God said we can be at peace with everyone, receive it. Secondly, we must feed on the word of God instead of feeding on the news, social media opinions, etc. Finally, we must activate the God kind of love. When we make the decision to love someone else, peace has to follow.

Let’s be the difference makers in society by being at peace with everyone. We may not agree with everything someone else is doing, but we can still be at peace with them.

Luke 5:4 When Jesus had finished speaking, He said to Simon, “Put out into deep water and let down your nets for a catch.” 5 “Master,” Simon replied, “we have worked hard all night without catching anything. But because You say so, I will let down the nets.” 6 When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to tear. 

They’re tired, they’re disappointed, and they’re hungry. Now, the Son of God wants them to put out their nets one more time.

Putting the net out again goes against all logic because it’s more advantageous to fish at night and it goes against how they felt because they were tired. But as we can see, when they moved past their logic and feelings and were obedient, they experienced an overwhelming harvest.

Don’t allow logic or feelings to take over. Trust and obey God. Our obedience could lead us to the biggest breakthrough we’ve seen in our lives.

Matthew 14:30 But when he saw the strong wind and the waves, he was terrified and began to sink. “Save me, Lord!” he shouted.

When Peter took His eyes off Jesus and started looking at the circumstances around him, he started to sink. The same is true with us, when we take our eyes off of God, our circumstances will begin to swallow us up.

We don’t have a physical Jesus to focus on like Peter, but we can focus on something just as powerful. We can focus on God’s word. John 1:1 lets us know that God and His word are one. When we focus on the word, we focus on God.

When sickness invades our bodies, we don’t focus on the sickness, we focus on the word which says, by His stripes we are healed (Isaiah53:5). When we don’t know how a promise will come to pass, we don’t focus on how impossible it seems, we focus God’s word saying, with God all things are possible (Matt. 19:26).

Magnify and focus on God. As we focus on Him, supernatural things will begin to occur in our lives.

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

We will be kept in perfect peace if we keep our minds on God. Does that mean we’ll be kept in peace if we imagine our own version of God as some large being dressed in white with a beard sitting on a throne? No. We’re kept in perfect peace when we keep our minds on God’s word.

John 1:1 lets us know God and His word are one. When we focus on His word, we’ll be kept in peace. If we’re tempted to be worried about something, we should keep our minds focused on Psalm 138:8 which says He’ll perfect everything that concerns us. If we’re tempted to be afraid, we should keep our minds on Deuteronomy 3:22 that tells us not to fear. Anything that attempts to disrupt our peace can be canceled when we keep our minds on God’s word.

Let’s focus on God’s word and maintain perfect peace.

2 Corinthians 2:11 lest Satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices.

Satan attacks us in our thoughts. His goal is to drive us to the point of unbelief by bombarding our minds, with statistics, facts, logic, and thoughts of impossibilities.

Today, we’re going to look at a few examples of Satan’s attacks.
-If it’s really God’s will for you to have it, why is it taking so long?
-You can’t have a baby at that age.
-You’re not qualified for that job.
-You’ll never have the money to do or have that.
-You’ll always be dealing with that pain or sickness.
-It’s too late for them.
-That will never work out.

We can’t stop Satan’s thoughts from coming, but we can combat and drown out these thoughts by confessing the word of God. Keep feeding on the word of God daily and consistently verbalize your beliefs and you’ll experience victory over his attacks.

When people mess up, they’ll say, “I’m only human.” And that’s understandable because we have flaws, but let’s look at the other side of humans. Psalm 8:4-5 lets us know our authority and dominion given to us by God.

Psalm 8:4 What is man that You are mindful of him, And the son of [earthborn] man that You care for him? 5 Yet You have made him a little lower than God, And You have crowned him with glory and honor. 6 You made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet,

We are a little lower than God, we’ve been crowned with glory and honor, made to have dominion over the works of God’s hands, and all things have been put under our feet.

When we truly understand who we are as humans, we’ll have a whole new outlook on life. We’ll understand no demonic power can touch us without our consent. We’ll realize we’re destined for success and nothing can stop us. We’ll have an attitude of taking over instead of being traumatized. And by studying God’s word and truly embracing our identity, we’ll gain authority over those temptations that keep tripping us up.

You’re only human. Now, embrace the entirety of who you are.  

Mark 1:35 Early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up and slipped out to a solitary place to pray.

Spending time with God consists of praying, studying God’s word, meditating, worship, etc. There are some who think the best and only time to spend with God is in the morning. Some try to make others feel ashamed for not spending time with God first thing in the morning. There’s nothing wrong with spending time with God in the morning but the fact is, everyone’s not a morning person.

If God desires our best, our best may not be in the morning. It makes no sense to come to God in the morning if we’re sluggish, unenthused, and falling asleep. Our best may be in the evening or night.

Look at Jesus in Matthew 26:37. Jesus says to His disciples “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” Jesus spent time with God at night (Matthew 26:31).

Nothing in the bible mentions when we should spend time with God. It simply instructs us to spend time with God. It doesn’t matter if it’s morning or night, we simply need to have quality time with God.

Matthew 14:23 After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone,  

That “no” we experience from one situation to the next can be difficult to swallow. Although it may not seem like it at the time, that “no” can’t harm us.

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

When we trust in the plan of God, we have hope. Our hope is that in spite of all the things that come against us and all the rejection we face, God’s plan hasn’t changed. God still plans to prosper us.

When we get a negative health report telling us that the disease hasn’t left, God still plans to prosper our health. When we get a rejection letter telling us we didn’t get the job, God still plans to prosper our career. When the pregnancy test still shows we’re not pregnant, God still plans to prosper our family.

Demonic forces may attempt to harm us, but when our faith, hope, and trust is in God, they can’t stop His plans for our lives. We can never lose.

Psalm 119:30 I have chosen to be faithful; I have determined to live by your regulations. 31 I cling to your laws. LORD, don’t let me be put to shame! 32 I will pursue your commands, for you expand my understanding. 33 Teach me your decrees, O LORD; I will keep them to the end. 34 Give me understanding and I will obey your instructions; I will put them into practice with all my heart. 35 Make me walk along the path of your commands, for that is where my happiness is found.

God has our best interests at heart. He doesn’t instruct us to do or not do certain things to control our lives. He, being the Creator of us, knows what’s best for us. He knows what our bodies can handle. He knows what’s best for our lives. He knows what we need to do to overcome any opposition that comes our way.

If He knows all and He’s our Creator, wouldn’t it be wise for us to follow His instructions? If we had mentors that could help us out with our family, our business, or how to handle stress, we would follow their advice. So, let’s do the same with God.

We have free will. Let’s use our free will to follow God’s instructions because He unconditionally loves us and truly wants the best for us.

Proverbs 18:20 (AMP) A man’s moral self shall be filled with the fruit of his mouth; and with the consequence of his words he must be satisfied whether good or evil.

Our words have the power to create whatever we say whether good or evil.

If we speak negatively and say what we can’t do or what we’ll never have, we’ll experience the consequences of what we say. On the other hand, if we speak positively and cause our speech to agree with the word of God, we experience the consequences of what we say. It’s just that simple.

Unfortunately, a lot of us have been deceived into thinking our words have no power and they’re only used to express how we’re feeling. That’s not true. Our words are used to shape and create our world. If you don’t like the way your life is looking, discipline your mouth and change your speech. You’ll be satisfied with the results of your effort.

If we’re going to stand in faith for what God has promised in our lives, there are 3 things that must change.

1. Our Belief
Our belief must change. We must believe, without doubt, that God’s word is true and it will come to pass. Statistically it may look like it’s not going to happen or it may not have happened before, but if God said it, we must believe it.

2. Our Speech
If we believe God’s word, our speech must change to agree with God’s word. We can’t say we believe God’s word and our speech totally contradicts what we say we believe. We must say we’re healed, all our needs are met, or we expect promotion in spite of how it looks.

3. Our Attitude
Our attitude must change. Our attitude should be joyous and positive because we know it’s only a matter of time before God’s promise will come to pass. We’ve asked for it and God’s word says He heard us (1 John 5:15), we continued to believe, and we’ve maintained our confession, therefore, our attitude should reflect what we believe is about to come to pass. We shouldn’t be nervous, sulking, or short tempered if we say we believe God.

As we apply these 3 things in our lives, we can confirm we’re truly walking by faith.

Hebrews 4:14 (NLT) So then, since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe.

“Beware that you do not forget the Lord your God by not keeping His commandments, His judgments, and His statutes which I command you today, lest—when you have eaten and are full, and have built beautiful houses and dwell in them; and when your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver and your gold are multiplied, and all that you have is multiplied; when your heart is lifted up, and you forget the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage;
Deuteronomy 8:11‭-‬14 NKJV

BOOM! Manifestation happens. Everything you desired comes to pass. Your finances are good, your family is well, you’re loving life, your body feels good, and you have enough to be a blessing.

When everything’s going well, don’t forget to thank God and continue to follow His commands. In the new covenant, His commands are to love and follow the leading of the Holy Spirit. Don’t stop praying, listening to the word, or being kind, and then become callous towards the Holy Spirit. Keep that zeal going.

Our continuous obedience and a heart of gratitude will be the faithfulnes that God sees to access even more of His promises.

We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; 2 Corinthians 4:8 NKJV

God instructs us or allows us to go through things that have us perplexed. They are perplexing because they don’t make sense.

Perplexing situations include getting laid off of a job, being instructed to quit a good paying job, seeing our children go through sicknesses, getting passed up on a promotion, or getting denied for a loan for a house or business.

When these things happen, we become perplexed. Why would God allow that? Why would He tell me to do something so illogical?

Although perplexed, we’re not in despair. We’re not in despair because we know the faithfulnes of God. If you’ve been in a relationship with God for at least a year, you know everything He allows or instructs us to do works in our favor (Rom. 8:28). It may not make sense and it may leave us perplexed, but it usually works out better and more elaborate than we could have imagined.

Don’t stay in a perplexed state. Trust and believe God has everything worked out.

Mike Tyson has a quote that says, “everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.” Spiritually, for most believers, we can say, “everyone has faith until they’re faced with difficulties.”

Unfortunate events have a tendency to reveal what we’re really made of. We can see if a person truly believes God’s word or if they’re simply quoting it with the rest of the congregation.

Self Evaluation:
How do you respond when difficulties knock at your door? Do you panic, stress, worry, or entertain the “it’s not going to get better” lies of Satan?
Or, do you combat stress and Satan’s lies by confessing the word of God that’s already deposited in your heart while truly expecting things to change?

It’s important to study, believe, and confess God’s word until we’re totally convinced that God’s word has to come to pass in our lives. Don’t get rocked when difficulties come. Use your faith in the word of God to align that situation with God’s will.

Matthew 13:22 (CEV) The seeds that fell among the thornbushes are also people who hear the message. But they start worrying about the needs of this life and are fooled by the desire to get rich. So the message gets choked out, and they never produce anything.

Psalm 16:11 You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

One of the biggest luxuries we have as believers is being in the presence of God. He’s always with us, and at any moment, we can turn our attention towards Him and be in His presence.

There are several benefits of being in the presence of God. Being in His presence provides revelation. God will reveal or show us what’s ahead. Being in His presence awards us joy. It’s hard to be down and depressed when we get in His presence and think of His goodness. We have access to things that bring us pleasure. What’s pleasurable for you may be different from what’s pleasurable for me. It may please you to be close to your family while I may be pleased by traveling the world.

The point is, we have access to all these things when we get in the presence of God. Don’t allow distractions, cares, work, or other issues in life to prevent you from being in the presence of God.

Deuteronomy 8:10 When you have eaten and are full, then you shall bless the Lord your God for the good land which He has given you.

When we’ve received what we desired from God, don’t forget to be thankful and bless the Lord.

It should be more than a quick “thank you God” after receiving what God has promised. When that prayer gets answered or that promise manifests, take a moment to truly focus on God and bless Him. Think about how you were feeling the first time you asked Him for that desire. Think about how God encouraged you to keep the faith for that desire when you wanted to quit. Think about how miraculous God answered that prayer. When we think about all those things, we should lift our hands, open our mouths, and bless the Lord.

Romans 4:19 And not being weak in faith, he did not consider his own body, already dead (since he was about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah’s womb.

When we don’t consider our own abilities and shortcomings and focus on the abilities of God, all things become possible.

We no longer need to consider how much education or lack of education when applying for that job.We no longer need to consider our criminal history. We don’t need to consider our credit score when we’re in the process of buying a house. We no longer need to consider the diseases in our family tree as we get older.

Instead, we need to focus on God and His process to receive our promises. When we believe the promises of God, meditate on the promises of God, and speak the promises of God, they must come to pass. How it happens is irrelevant.

God may have someone give us a chance at a job in spite of our education or criminal history. God may allow us to get approved for a loan in spite of our credit score. God may wipe every trace of that disease that runs in our family from our bodies.

If we only consider ourselves and what we can do and see in the natural, we’ll always be limited. But if we believe in God, Who specializes in the impossible, then His Word will manifest in our lives.