Graced To Do God's Will

James 1:20 (GNT) Human anger does not achieve God’s righteous purpose.

Emotional control regarding our anger is very important for any person. If we’re not in control of the emotion of anger, we can do something that can negatively impact our lives forever.

There are people who have gotten divorces because they couldn’t control their anger. Some of us have lost jobs because we couldn’t control anger. Some people turn to drugs and alcohol because they don’t know how to deal with anger. And unfortunately, some people have died due to a lack of control of their anger.

We control all our emotions by giving our cares, worries, concerns, and anxieties to God. Situations are going to come. When we let God handle our situations, we gain control over our emotions. Our flesh may want to abruptly leave, curse, punch, or even shoot, but by suppressing our anger and letting God handle those situations, He’ll perfect those situations and cause them to work out for our good (Psalm 138:8; Rom. 8:29).

Let’s do ourselves a favor and keep our emotions in check. It will benefit us for a lifetime.

Psalm 37:7 Be still in the presence of the LORD, and wait patiently for him to act. Don’t worry about evil people who prosper or fret about their wicked schemes.

One of the hardest things we have to do is patiently wait on the manifestation of God’s promises. We see God’s promise in the bible or He told us it was coming to pass, but now we have to wait.

Most of us want God to speed it up, but He knows what’s best for us. He knows what we can currently handle, He knows our maturity level, and He knows how responsible we are. He’s not going to give us something too quickly and then we lose it or it destroys us. No, He’s going to make sure we’re ready for the promise and everything associated with the promise.

While we wait, the best thing we can do is to continue to thank God for the promise and position ourselves to be a good steward of the promise. We can read and make ourselves knowledgeable of the promise, we can seek wise counsel on how to maintain that promise, and we can meditate and see ourselves with that promise.

Don’t get discouraged. The promise will manifest. We just need to do our part and position ourselves for the promise.

Psalm 34:10 The young lions lack and suffer hunger; But those who seek the LORD shall not lack any good thing.

Seeking the Lord has its advantages. As we can see, when we seek the Lord, we’ll have no lack. There’s no lack in our needs, no lack in our finances, no lack in the number of children we desire, no lack in the number of clients we want at our business, etc. If it’s a good thing for us, God promises that we’ll have no lack if we seek the Lord.

So how do we seek the Lord? We go after Him. We submit to Him, we spend time studying His Word, we spend time listening to His Word through a good teacher, we spend time with Him in prayer, we make adjustments in our lives that honor Him.

Once we make the effort to seek Him, lack in our lives will be a thing of the past. It’s never too late. Seek Him today.

The easiest and hardest thing to do is totally submit our lives to God.

Prior to our submission, the thought of surrendering ourselves to God seems difficult. We feel like it’s too difficult to follow God’s commands and it seems like we’ll miss out on a lot of fun. You know who’s behind these thoughts? You guessed it, the devil. He’ll make it seem like total submission is a death sentence to our freedom and joy. That couldn’t be further from the truth.

For those who have submitted themselves to God, we realize it’s one of the easiest things we could do. What makes it so easy? God’s benefits. God makes sure our submission is not in vain. He makes sure we’re well compensated for our efforts. He knows some of things He requires will be difficult to our flesh, but as we consistently submit to Him, His benefits far outweigh the initial discomfort. The more we submit to Him, the easier it becomes.

Don’t listen to the lies of Satan. Submit every aspect of your life to God and reap the benefits of submission.

James 4:7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

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.

1 John 1:2 Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers.

For whatever reason, there are certain people who have a problem with the “prosperity message.” They feel like it focuses too much on materialistic possessions and not enough on holiness and worship.

It’s not just a message. As we see from these two verses, it’s God’s plan and desire for us. He wants us to be prosperous in every area of our lives. He wants us to be prosperous in our minds, in our health, with our families, with our finances, and more. This prosperity is not just for us. It’s so that we can be a blessing to others (Gen. 12:2). How can we help someone if we don’t have it ourselves?

For those who feel like it takes away from holiness or worship, why can’t we do it all? We can live a holy life worshipping God while we prosper. Don’t get mad at preachers or believers who desire to be prosperous. We’re simply aligning ourselves with God’s plan.

There are certain people who have a false sense of humility. They like to tell themselves that they’re nothing, but a worm that’s no good. They think God is pleased with them letting themselves and others know how low they are. Well, God doesn’t think so.

We are God’s creation, therefore, we’re fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14). And when we make Jesus our Lord, we become a child of God (Ephesians 1:5). What good father wants to hear their child say how unworthy they are? It doesn’t matter what we’ve done or how far we’ve strayed, God still loves and wants the best for us.

Negative thinking about ourselves ruins our confidence. If our confidence is ruined, it stops us from receiving promises from God (Hebrews 10:35,36). Let’s destroy every negative thought we have about ourselves and replace it with what God says about us.

Luke 15:20 So he got up and went to his father. But while he was still in the distance, his father saw him and was filled with compassion. He ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him. 21The son declared, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ 22But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet.

Job 22:22 Receive, please, instruction from His mouth, And lay up His words in your heart.

When we ask God for something, He may miraculously send it to us. However, it’s more likely He’ll give us instructions and a plan to get the thing.

When God gives us instructions, it’s beneficial that we follow them precisely. Following His instructions positions us to receive His promises and our desires. If He tells us on Monday to apply for a certain job on Wednesday at 2:00 PM, then we need to follow those instructions. We may get the job but even if we don’t, we’re displaying our faithfulness to be obedient to His plan.

Don’t allow fear, doubt, uncertainty, and logic to cloud your judgement. Obey His instructions and position yourself to receive God’s blessings.

Colossians 3:23 Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people.

Working unto the Lord doesn’t automatically mean working long and hard. Working unto the Lord means allowing the Spirit of God to show us how to work.

There will be times He’ll tell us to put our phone down and get off the internet and work. Other times, He may tell us to take a 10-minute mental break after every 2 hours of work. One day He may have us work 2 hours later. The next day, He may tell us to go home on time knowing, we have 2 hours of work that should be done. It’s all about obeying Him as we work.

Let’s not work ourselves to deliriousness thinking we’re working unto the Lord. Allow Him to lead us in when, where, and how we should work.

1 Corinthians 6:19 Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;

We like knowing we’re God’s property when it comes down to protection and blessings, but God’s property has another side. When we say we’re God’s property, we’re saying we don’t belong to ourselves anymore. We can’t do any and everything we want to do. We have to seek His approval.

Last year, we may have gotten drunk for our birthday, but knowing we’re God’s property, we don’t want to abuse His property with excessive alcohol. We may have been working long hours with little sleep to get an extra paycheck, but we don’t want to deprive His property of sleep. When we worry about something instead of giving it to Him, we’re mentally abusing His property.

Every born-again believer is the property of God. Be sure you’re doing whatever He tells you to do with His property.

Proverbs 19:20 Listen to counsel and accept discipline, that you may be wise the rest of your days.

One thing that stops us from receiving all that God has for us is obedience. Some of us don’t like being told what to do. God gives us instructions and He’ll use people in the earth to give us instruction, but because of pride and stubbornness, we do what we want to do. Our flesh makes it seem like it’s a badge of honor to succeed without any help. We thought of the idea, we executed the idea, and the idea was successful. By the grace of God that may work sometimes, but in order to have consistent success, we need to obey God’s instructions.

When we make Jesus Lord, we make God the boss of our lives. Our lives don’t belong to us anymore. They belong to Him. We do what He tells us to do. That may seem unappealing and like slavery at first, but it’s beneficial in the end. The beauty of being in Christ is when we surrender ourselves to God and give up our control, we gain freedom.

Be successful and free by obeying God’s instructions.

Romans 6:16 Do you not know that when you offer yourselves as obedient slaves, you are slaves to the one you obey, whether you are slaves to sin leading to death, or to obedience leading to righteousness?

God cares for us. He cares about every aspect of our lives. He cares about how we feel, He cares about our children, He cares about our finances, and He cares about our health. God cares about everything.

The devil will attempt to make us feel like God doesn’t care, but he’s a liar. God cares. God cares about big things like our company going under during this pandemic to a hangnail on our toe. God cares.

Take any and every care or concern to Him and expect Him to perfect it or expect Him to give us the wisdom and strategy to resolve the issue. No matter how good or not so good life gets and if nobody seems like they care, remember, God cares for you.

Isaiah 41:10 So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Matthew 20:28 Even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

We have victory through Jesus (1 Corinthians 15:57).
We can do all things through Christ (Philippians 4:13).
We can live guilt-free in Christ (Romans 8:1).
We’ve been reconciled back to God through Jesus (1 Peter 2:24)
We are healed by the stripes of Jesus Christ (1 Peter 2:24).
We have authority over all the power of the enemy (Luke 10:19).
We have salvation in Christ Jesus (Romans 10:9).

This is a short list of all the things Jesus has done for us. We didn’t earn it and we didn’t deserve it, but out of His love, He did it anyway.

Show a little gratitude and keep His sacrifice in mind to the One who made this abundant life possible for us. Thank you Jesus the Christ.

Luke 17:15 When one of them saw that he was healed, he came back, praising God in a loud voice. 16 He fell facedown at Jesus’ feet in thanksgiving to Him—and he was a Samaritan.

Every believer has experienced God do some amazing things. Some of us have been miraculously healed, debts were cancelled, surprised by a financial increase, experienced supernatural protection, and more. When these amazing things happen to us, it’s important to praise God.

Don’t praise God in secret to avoid embarrassment, but like one of the lepers, publicly praise God with a loud voice. He didn’t care who saw him or how he looked. He was just grateful to be healed of leprosy.

When we praise God, we’re reminding ourselves and letting others know where our help came from. Our loud praise may attract others to know about the God Who heals, delivers, and sets free. Our praise may be the ticket to someone else’s breakthrough.

So, don’t be ashamed or ‘too cool’ to praise God. We loudly cheer at sporting events and graduations so, do the same for God’s blessings.

2 Kings 6:16 “Do not be afraid,” Elisha answered, “for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” 17 Then Elisha prayed, “O LORD, please open his eyes that he may see.” And the LORD opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw that the hills were full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.

When we see or face difficult circumstances, we must close our natural eyes and open our spiritual eyes to see all God has prepared for us.

So, how do we open our spiritual eyes? We meditate on God’s Word until we see ourselves with God’s provision. If there’s lack, we need to meditate on Philippians 4:19 which says, God will supply all our needs. If we feel unprotected, it’s time to meditate on Psalm 28:7 which says, the LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him, and I am helped. If there’s a desire we have, but we don’t know how we’re going to get it, meditate on Ephesians 3:20 that says, God is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.

We meditate on this Word until we see ourselves with God’s promise of provision, protection, and peace. We meditate on God’s Word until our mood changes. We meditate on it until we believe it.

Don’t be deceived by the limitations in the natural. Open those spiritual eyes and see all that God has in store for us.

2 Kings 6:16 “Do not be afraid,” Elisha answered, “for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” 17 Then Elisha prayed, “O LORD, please open his eyes that he may see.” And the LORD opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw that the hills were full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.

When fear entered the heart of Elisha’s servant because they were surrounded, Elisha prayed for his servant’s eyes to be opened. He wasn’t referring to his natural eyes, but his spiritual eyes. After Elisha’s prayer, the servant saw heaven’s army surrounding their enemy.

Our natural eyes can deceive us into thinking we’re limited. We may think there’s limited protection, limited finances, limited jobs, limited spouses, etc. That’s not true. When we partner with God, there is no lack. There is more with us than we can naturally see. Using our spiritual eyes, we’re limitless.

If we only see $250 in our bank account, fear may enter our minds knowing we have bills due. It’s at that moment we need to open our spiritual eyes and see $250,000 in our account or our bills paid. If we see crime in our neighborhood, let’s open our spiritual eyes and see ourselves and our property protected. If we see everyone getting married, sadness may enter in, but by opening our spiritual eyes we can see ourselves happily married.

Have we lost it? Are we being delusional? No. We’re simply using our second set of eyes where there’s no lack and all things are possible with God (Matt 19:26). Carnally minded people and people in the world won’t get it, but when we place our faith in God’s resources, we’ll always have enough of everything.

Isaiah 55:10 For just as rain and snow fall from heaven and do not return without watering the earth, making it bud and sprout, and providing seed to sow and food to eat, 11 so My word that proceeds from My mouth will not return to Me empty, but it will accomplish what I please, and it will prosper where I send it.

Whatever God told you will come to pass. It doesn’t matter if He told you in private, through a dream, or through a person, it will come to pass.

There’s no need to be frustrated or impatient about the manifestation of that promise. We simply must believe (without doubt) it will come to pass. Satan will try his best to make us think it’s not coming, however if we negate His attacks in our minds with the Word of God, we’ll experience God’s promises in our lives.

That job, spouse, health, child, or house will all come to pass. Just believe and don’t doubt.

1 Timothy 2:1 First of all, then, I urge that petitions, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgiving be offered on behalf of all men 2 for kings and all those in authority, so that we may lead tranquil and quiet lives in all godliness and dignity.

The bible instructs us to pray for all. There’s no one left out of all. This includes people we don’t like, people who’ve hurt us, and people that were never there for us. All means all. It may be difficult, but not impossible. We pray that they submit to God, we pray that they repent and turn from their evil ways, and we pray the powers of darkness be removed from their minds.

These verses specifically instruct us to pray for leaders and those in authority. We pray for them because they’re the ones making decisions that will impact the rest of us. If the devil was going to attack anyone, he’ll probably go for leaders first because if he can successfully corrupt the top, everything else will most likely fall.

Let’s put our personal feelings aside and pray for everyone. When we do what God instructs us to do, we position ourselves to be successful (Isaiah 1:19).

Matthew 16:18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.

Jesus says, “on this rock I will build My church.” He didn’t say He would build “churches,” but church (singular). He also didn’t say He would build denominations, but one church.

The devil has done a fantastic job separating believers. Believers have separated because they disagreed about the interpretation of one scripture. Instead of agreeing to disagree and continuing to do the Lord’s work together, they allowed Satan to divide them.

It’s interesting how we can disagree in marriages, friendships, and working relationships and still make it work. However, when it comes to a disagreement on sometimes minor scriptures or trivial matters, we allow that to separate us.

How powerful would Jesus’ church be if we were all on one accord? Think of what we could do and the impact we could make. But as long as we’re divided, we’ll make minimal impact. A house divided against itself cannot stand (Mark 3:25). So, let’s drop thoughts that keep us divided. If we love Jesus and want to see His work continue on the earth, let’s put away our differences and come together as one church.

1 John 5:21 (NKJV) Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.

1 John 5:21 (NLT) Dear children, keep away from anything that might take God’s place in your hearts.

When we think of idolatry, we may think of people worshipping statues of Thor, Ganesha, or Buddha, which is true, but idolatry is also anything we put above God.

With that information, we can see how our work, our children and their activities, or the pursuit of money can be our idol. There’s nothing wrong with work, our children, and increasing financially, but when these things consume our lives, we’ve made them idols. It’s our responsibility to keep ourselves away from anything that might take God’s place in our hearts.

Examine your life. Have you’ve been allowing anything to take the place of God? If so, remove that thing as a top priority and let God be first in your life.

Philippians 3:13 Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize of God’s heavenly calling in Christ Jesus.

For every negative, hurtful, abusive thing that happened to us, it’s in our best interest to forget it. It does us no good remembering the pain of our past. Yes, we can learn from our mistakes, but we don’t have to stay in that place of guilt, shame, or hurt.

When negative experiences or the foolish things we’ve done enter our minds, we replace those thoughts by speaking the Word of God. If the thought of a hurtful experience enters our minds, we open our mouths to declare, “the blood of Jesus has removed the pain of my past according to Hebrews 9:14.” If the thought of guilt or embarrassment enters our minds based on some foolish thing we did, we must declare, “I’m free from guilt and shame because there’s no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus according to Romans 8:1.”

We may think it’s beneficial to hold on to our past, but it’s not. Make a conscious effort to forget every negative or hurtful thing in our past to enjoy this wonderful life God has for us.

Luke 4:3 The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.”

Satan tried to question Jesus’ identity by saying, “If you are the Son of God.” Satan attempts to do the same thing with us. He uses thoughts, ideas, and suggestions to make us question our own identity. Some of these identity issues have invaded the church.

Some believers like to say, “I’m an old sinner saved by grace.” That’s not what God’s Word says. That’s an idea that came from Satan. God’s Word says, once we accept Jesus Christ as Lord, we’re saved (Rom. 10:9). That’s it. Our identity has been changed. We may still sin, but that doesn’t make us sinners.

Another belief that some like to proudly say is, “I’m a servant of God.” It sounds good, but that’s not true. Galatians 4:7 says, “Therefore you are no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.” We are children of God. We can still serve God through righteous actions, but that doesn’t make us servants.

If we don’t know our identity, Satan can stop us from being all that God called us to be and he can stop us from receiving all that God has for us.

Our identity is found in the Word of God. Study the Word to know who you are in Christ. Any identity outside the Word is a lie.

1 John 4:11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

This scripture speaks for itself.

Ephesians 4:26 “Be angry, and do not sin”: do not let the sun go down on your wrath,

It’s okay to be angry, frustrated, and hurt because of what’s going on in society, but don’t let your anger turn into sin. Don’t let your anger turn into violence, looting, or hate towards another person’s race or occupation.

Instead, turn your anger towards the one behind all the madness. Turn your anger towards Satan. Satan is the one who influences people to do horrific things. He uses thoughts, ideas, and suggestions in the minds of people to implement his plan. These ideas are contrary to the Word of God. He deceives people into thinking they came up with the thought themselves. The longer a person entertains Satan’s thoughts, the more logical it becomes to them.

That’s why it’s important to consistently pray for presidents, politicians, police officers, or anyone who has authority. Demonic thoughts are always being thrown at them because they’re in a position of power. With the ability God has given to believers, we can cast out Satan’s influences in every person who appears to be doing or saying things contrary to the Word of God (Luke 10:19).

It’s okay to be angry. Just be angry at the right person.

Psalm 54:4 Surely God is my help; the Lord is the one who sustains me.  

Today, being independent is like a badge of honor. It feels good to say, “I bought my house, my car, and finished school without any help.” For some, they look for ways to be even more independent. They decline help even though it would be advantageous to meeting their goals.

This independent mindset can hinder our relationship with God and limit God’s ability in our lives. God desires for us to depend on Him, but if we’re so used to doing things ourselves, we’ll never reach out and rely on Him. We’ll try to handle our finances ourselves, get ourselves out of situations, get that job ourselves, and work out marital problems ourselves. God never intended for us to do life without Him. He wants us trust, lean on, and totally rely on Him.

Examine yourselves. If this independent mindset has altered your thinking, it’s time to make a change. It may be a process, but start shifting your mindset from independent existing to dependent living.

Psalm 127:1 Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the guards stand watch in vain.

1 John 2:6 He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.

For those of us who claim to be believers or followers of Christ, there’s a criterion we must maintain. That’s to walk as Jesus walked. To understand how Jesus walked, we must turn to the four gospels to see how He conducted Himself and how He teaches us how to conduct ourselves.

The two things He tells us to do is love God and love people (Matthew 22:37-40). Based on this genuine love we have towards God and each other, every other commandment is fulfilled. Paul confirms this in Galatians 5:14.

Now that we know how Jesus walked, we must ask ourselves are we following His footsteps or are we allowing our emotions, our feelings, or thoughts totally contrary to the Word to direct us? If it’s anything but the Word of God, it’s time to reset.

Jesus is loving, kind, merciful, gracious, compassionate, and He sacrificed for others. Let’s take some time to study God’s Word to imitate His ways.

The limits we place on our minds limit God’s ability.

Another issue that small-thinking people have is the issue of greed. Some of us have been conditioned to think believing for big is a mindset of greed, a lack of humility, and materialistic. We’ve been taught we should only ask God for the bare necessities. Technically, that’s selfish.

In Psalm 35:17, it says God has pleasure in the prosperity of His servant. If it pleases God to prosper His servant under the Old Covenant, how much more does He desire to prosper His sons and daughters, who have been washed in the blood of the Lamb under the New Covenant?

It’s not greed if we can be in faith that we have more than enough finances to pay our bills and someone else’s bills. It’s not materialistic to believe God for a new car to give away the old car to a family in need.

Read God’s Word. He wants to bless us so that we can be a blessing (Gen. 12:2). Take the limits off of God so that He can bless your life to the point where we can be a blessing to others.

Ephesians 3:20 Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us,

The limits we place on our minds limit God’s ability.

If we think and believe small, small is what we’ll receive. If we think and believe big, big is what we’ll receive. It’s that simple.

Some people have a problem thinking big because they can’t fathom how to obtain it. They think they have to do it all on their own. What those people fail to realize is we (believers) are in partnership with God and since there are no limits to God, there are no limits to what we can have or what we can do.

Take the limits off of God. Unleash Him to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we can ask, think, or imagine.

Ephesians 3:20 Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us,

Matthew 19:26 But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.

Notice what this scripture DOES NOT say. It doesn’t say, without God, nothing is possible. This means, some things are possible without God.

This is where some of us get in trouble. We may experience some victories and successes and we think we got it because of our hard work or connections. That’s just God’s grace (unmerited favor) operating in our lives. The next time we go after something or take a risk, it may not be as successful as it was before. We’ll end up going through life experiencing some failures and some successes.

Why go through life taking a 50/50 chance on success when we can simply include God for a 100% guarantee?

With God ALL things are possible. Include Him to make it possible for your life today.

1 Peter 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walks about, seeking whom he may devour:

There is only one adversary or enemy. That’s the devil.

It’s not white people or black people. It’s not Muslims. It’s not the police and it’s not the government. It’s the devil.

He’s the one influencing people with thoughts, ideas, and suggestions. He’s the one telling certain people how to treat people of another race or gender. He’s the one telling people do harm to someone else. He’s the one telling people to abuse their spouse. He’s the one.

So, stop getting mad at people. Take all your frustrations out on the devil by using your God-given authority to rebuke his power over people, situations, and governments.

It’s our responsibility to validate every statement we hear to ensure it lines up with the Word of God.

The reason why we want to validate statements in the Word of God for confirmation is to know where our faith should lie. If we hear a statement that sounds good, but not biblically accurate, we’ll believe something that’s untrue.

For instance, if we believe sickness is the will of God, we’ll suffer in life not knowing it’s God’s will that we be and remain healed and whole (Isaiah 53:5; Luke 17:19). God doesn’t want us to suffer, but to have an abundant life (John 10:10).

If we believe God took our loved one, that may bring some of us comfort, but for others, that same statement can make someone else upset with God. God doesn’t take or kill His children. By being led by the Spirit, we’re meant to have a long satisfying life (Psalm 91:16). Just FYI… a long life is 120 years (Genesis 6:3).

Don’t waste time and energy believing something that’s not true. Look in the Word of God for yourself to ensure statements made by any believer or minister is true.

1 Thessalonians 5:21 but test everything that is said. Hold on to what is good.

“God Helps Those who Help Themselves.”
“When You Die, God Gains Another Angel.”
“Cleanliness is Next to Godliness.”
“It was God’s will for that negative thing to happen.”
“God is In Control.”

We hear ministers and believers make statements like this. Some statements sound good and encouraging, but we need to validate them with the Word of God. If it’s not literally or contextually in the Bible, it’s not true.

Look at the statement of “God helps those who help themselves.” This can’t be true because God helped us before we could help ourselves by sending His Son Jesus.

Negative things happening to us can’t be God’s will based on the fact He gave us promises to believe and confess to counter these negative things.

The biggest statement we hear is “God is in control.” If God is in control, He’s doing a poor job in the earth. There’s violence, sickness, and abrupt death daily. So, obviously God is not in control. God gave mankind dominion in the earth and He put us in control (Gen. 1:26). What we see is a result of mankind’s decisions operating with a free will.

It’s our responsibility to validate every statement we hear to ensure it lines up with the Word of God. If it doesn’t, we don’t have to accept or receive it.

1 Thessalonians 5:21 but test everything that is said. Hold on to what is good.

Unfortunately, we live in a world where bad news is constantly on display. The news tells us about deaths, crimes, and diseases, social media repeats the news, and we have conversations with friends and family members telling us about personal problems.

Fortunately, as believers, we can do something with this bad news. We can use our God-given authority to counter bad news.

If we found out our company is suffering financially because of coronavirus, we can declare the demonic influences over our company’s finances be removed and command a great financial increase for the company. If we hear about someone abusing a spouse, we can declare demonic influences be removed from that person’s mind and declare peace in that home. Every issue has a spiritual root. We’ve been given authority, through Jesus Christ, over spiritual matters in the earth. Therefore, we can declare the will of God in any negative situation.

Instead of spreading gossip or inciting fear in the next individual, use your authority to change bad situations for the better.

Matthew 16:19 And I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven. Whatever you forbid on earth will be forbidden in heaven, and whatever you permit on earth will be permitted in heaven.”

Luke 10:19 Look, I have given you authority over all the power of the enemy, and you can walk among snakes and scorpions and crush them. Nothing will injure you.

1 John 4:3 (AMP) What we have seen and ourselves heard, we are also telling you, so that you too may realize and enjoy fellowship as partners and partakers with us. And this fellowship that we have, which is a distinguishing mark of Christians, is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ the Messiah. 4 And we are now writing these things to you so that our joy in seeing you included may be full and your joy may be complete.

There are people who are multimillionaires who could buy anything they desire, but they feel like they’re missing something. There are people who appear to be living out their dreams, but still feel incomplete. Some of us may feel this way.

That missing piece or incomplete part is a relationship with God through Jesus Christ. Not just knowing about God or going to church, but an every day relationship with Him. That means, communicating with Him (through the Holy Spirit) daily, knowing His nature, getting His advice on major and minor decisions, and allowing Him to comfort and lead us.

By establishing this relationship with Him, our joy is complete. We can have all the money in the world and/or have gone to church for years, but without that relationship, our joy is incomplete. Establish and build a relationship with God to maximize complete joy in this life.

Ephesians 6:10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power.

Strength to overcome the temptations and influences of the devil does not come through our will power. It comes by relying on the strength of God.

Satan will use anything to tempt us to disobey God. He’ll use situations that happen in our family to tempt us to gossip. He’ll use the negative attitude of our spouse to tempt us to start an argument. He’ll even tempt us with that delicious cookie knowing we’re full.

Being strong in the Lord means relying on the power in His Word. If God said it, we can overcome. We can resist, renew our minds, and rely on God to give us a plan to overcome. Don’t try to do it yourself. Be strong in the Lord.

2 Peter 3:9 The Lord does not delay and is not tardy or slow about what He promises, according to some people’s conception of slowness, but He is long-suffering (extraordinarily patient) toward you, not desiring that any should perish, but that all should turn to repentance.

Seeing or experiencing hatred, bitterness, poverty, sickness, and death continuously can have some of us become anxious for the Lord’s return. Because we’re saved and those closest to us are saved, we’re ready for the return of Jesus to deliver us from all this madness. That’s selfish.

God has more than current Christians on His mind. He sent His Son to save the world (John 3:16). God desires that everyone repent and be saved. While we wait on Jesus’ return, we can do our part to fulfill God’s desire.

As Christians, our responsibility is to lead others to Christ. We can talk to random people about Christ, write bible-based blogs, or share the Gospel of Jesus Christ on all social media platforms.

Don’t selfishly wait in your comfortable Christian status for Jesus’ return. Let others know about establishing a relationship with God through Jesus Christ.

2 Corinthians 4:18 while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.

When negative events occur, ordinarily they get our attention. We tend to focus on it, tell people about it, and possibly lose sleep over it. What this verse is telling us to do is to ignore the negative events. We’re not in fantasy land pretending problems don’t exist. We’re consciously choosing to ignore the problems and focus on our desired solution.

Who do we depend on for our desired solution?
God, through the finished works of Jesus Christ.

This can be difficult because the problems are constantly trying to get our attention, but if we focus on God’s Word, see ourselves free from those problems, and thank God in advance for the solution, we’ll experience deliverance.

2 Peter 2:21 For never to have obtained a full, personal knowledge of the way of righteousness would have been better for them than, having obtained such knowledge, to turn back from the holy commandment which was verbally delivered to them. 22 There has befallen them the thing spoken of in the true proverb, The dog turns back to his own vomit, and, The sow is washed only to wallow again in the mire.

Once we’ve obtained knowledge of what’s right, we’re now held accountable to do what’s right.

For instance, in Ephesians 4:32 it tells us to forgive one another. Now that we know to forgive, it’s our responsibility to forgive everyone who wronged us. If we don’t forgive, we’ll reap the consequences of unforgiveness.

In Ephesians 5:25, it tells husbands to love their wives the way Christ loves the church. We are now held accountable to unconditionally love our wives. This goes for anything we learn in God’s Word and for anything that is taught to us by the Holy Spirit.

These instructions are not meant to condemn us, but to make us better people, make us better representations of Christianity, and improve the quality of our lives. Let’s make it easy on ourselves by doing what’s right.

2 Peter 2:9 Now if all these things are true, then be sure the Lord knows how to rescue the godly out of temptations and trials, and how to keep the ungodly under chastisement until the day of judgment and doom,

For those who are facing temptations and trials, God knows how to rescue us out of those temptations and trials, if we want to be rescued.

The most common way He’ll rescue us is by providing instructions. He’ll tell us turn off the computer/phone and go to bed if we have a pornography temptation. He’ll instruct us to touch and pray over our spouse’s clothes if we’re experiencing marital trials. He’ll give us a plan on how to eat and exercise if we have a temptation to overeat. Our flesh will resist His instructions the entire time, but if we override our flesh, God will lead us to our deliverance.

Once again, this is for those who want to be rescued. If we’re too prideful or stubborn to follow His instructions, we’ll remain in the same place. Live a life of liberty and be free of all trials and temptations.

1 Peter 5:12 (AMP) By Silvanus, a true (loyal, consistent, incorruptible) brother, as I consider him, I have written briefly to you, to counsel and urge and stimulate [you] and to declare [to you] that this is the true [account of the] grace (the undeserved favor) of God. Be steadfast and persevere in it.

Life can be difficult. There are situations that make a person want to quit, give up on God, or kill themselves. One of the greatest things we can do as believers is encourage someone else.

The entire book of First Peter was to stimulate or encourage someone else. We don’t have to send a letter like Peter (unless God instructs us to), but we can stimulate others through text messages, instant messages, or a post. When we’ve heard or read something that encourages us, it’s only right to encourage someone else.

As God prompts us, we can call someone we haven’t spoken to in a while and speak an encouraging word to them. When a person is at their lowest, and we call or text an encouraging word to them out the blue, these are the type of things that show them God’s listening and He cares. We truly become vessels for God.

Let God lead you on who you should encourage. It will glorify God, be a blessing to others, and fulfill purpose.

John 7:30 At this they tried to seize Him, but no one laid a hand on Him, because His hour had not yet come.

44 Some wanted to seize Him, but no one laid a hand on Him.

On two separate occasions, the Jews tried and wanted to seize Jesus but for whatever reason, they couldn’t. I submit to you the anointing on Jesus’ life wouldn’t allow them to touch Him.

When we’re fulfilling the will of God, being led by the Spirit of God, and have faith in God, nothing can stop us. Not a person, not a closed door, or a policy can stop us from fulfilling our purpose. We’ll experience favor, protection, and miracles to accomplish His plan for our lives.

If we know without a shadow of a doubt that God called us to do something, trust that He won’t let us fail. There may be some delays that seem like setbacks, but His purpose will be accomplished.