Graced To Do God's Will

Psalm 88:13 But I cry to you for help, LORD; in the morning my prayer comes before you.

It’s important to commune with God at the beginning of each day. When we begin each day with God, we operate from the “First Principle”. All throughout the Bible, we see God blessing those who put Him first (Deut. 26:10; Prov. 3:9-10; Matthew 6:33).

During our morning prayer, we give glory to God Who woke us up. We thank Him for allowing us to see another day. We ask Him to lead and guide us so that we honor Him in every way. We receive His protection and covering over our household. And if we have any cares or concerns for that day, we give it to Him.

It doesn’t have to be long or theatrical. We’ll simply reap the benefits of acknowledging God at the beginning of each day.

Romans 10:17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

In order for our faith to grow and be strengthened, we must feed our faith with the Word of God. Faith is a tool we use to obtain all the promises of God.

Through Jesus Christ, we have the freedom to do and listen to anything, but what will be the most beneficial to our faith is the Word of God. It wouldn’t do us any good if we have a desperate need, but all we can think of is what happened on our favorite TV show. It would be difficult to fight sickness in our bodies if we don’t know any scriptures about how we’re healed.

Our faith is only as strong as we feed it. We can feed our faith through reading the Word of God, listening to scripture-based teachings, and hearing scripture-based songs. Daily, we need to set up some time in our busy schedules to feed our faith by hearing the Word of God.

John 17:17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.

In today’s world, there are many things that try to get our attention and claim to be the truth. We have science, knowledge of self, other religions, and consciousness. We have to have it settled in our hearts that God’s Word (The Bible) is the truth.

If God’s Word is not the absolute truth in our hearts, there will always be a place for doubt and unbelief regarding God’s Word. We’ll attempt to take care of ourselves because we doubt God’s ability to take care of us according to Isaiah 46:4. We’ll question the Bible’s validity because someone shares so-called contradictions. We’ll question life itself because some new documentary shows us convincing theories of how we’re created.

Satan wouldn’t be a good adversary if he didn’t attack the truth which is God’s Word so, let’s guard our hearts and settle it in our minds from this day forward that God’s Word is the truth.

Numbers 13:33 And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, who come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.

Overwhelming circumstances and situations we can’t control can give us the wrong reflection. Look at the Israelites. The Israelites saw themselves as grasshoppers. Where did they get this distorted view from? God never told them they were grasshoppers in the sight of the giants and none of the giants called them grasshoppers. They obtained this view of themselves because they couldn’t naturally see how they would overcome this large obstacle.

Wrong reflections of ourselves are still present today. If we don’t have a spouse, we may see ourselves as lonely. If we don’t have a lot of money in the bank, we may view ourselves as poor. If things didn’t turn out the way we’d hoped, we may see ourselves as failures. We’re looking at ourselves through the wrong mirror.

The mirror we need to view ourselves through is the Word of God. We may not have a spouse, but God said He’ll never leave us nor forsake us, therefore, we’ll never be lonely (Deut. 31:8). We may not have a lot of money at this time but, the Word of God never calls us poor, but rich (2 Cor. 8:9). Even though things didn’t turn out the way we wanted, we’re still victorious (2 Cor. 2:14).

There are two mirrors that we can view our lives through. The Word of God and what we can naturally see. In order to overcome, be positive, and maintain our hope in this life, we must view our lives through the Word of God.

A trumpet is an instrument. It sits on a stand or in a case waiting on someone to use it. It doesn’t play on its own. It just sits there waiting on our breath to make a sound.

We’re instruments for God. We have free will to do whatever we desire, but ideally, God desires for us to be led by Him through His Spirit. Like the trumpet, we shouldn’t speak unless the Spirit breathes through us and tells us what to say. We shouldn’t move unless the Spirit tells us where to go.

When we’re led by the Spirit, doing all that He’s commanded us to do, the Kingdom of God benefits greatly and we’re doing exactly what we were created to do.

Let’s stop everything we’re doing and be an instrument for God.

Ezekiel 37:7 So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a sound, and behold, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone.

Luke 7:12 As he approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried out—the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town was with her. 13 When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, “Don’t cry.”14 Then he went up and touched the bier they were carrying him on, and the bearers stood still. He said, “Young man, I say to you, get up!” 15 The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother.

Jesus shows us how to make the dead rise. The same faith Jesus used to raise this man from the dead resides within us (John 14:12).

We not only have the ability to raise people from the dead, but we can raise situations and circumstances from the dead. We may have a dream that’s been sitting on the shelves of our minds for the past 10 years. Reignite that dream and tell it to get up. It may seem like we have a life-less marriage. Let’s use our faith and declare life, love, and joy within our marriage. We may have become complacent in where we are and we’re not accomplishing our goals. We may need to tell ourselves to get up and do what God has called us to do.

With faith in God, all things are possible including bringing things from death to life (Mark 9:23). Let’s use that faith and tell every dead situation in our lives to get up!

Romans 3:22 We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are.

Our righteousness is not based on our behavior, the amount of times we go to church, or the amount of good deeds we do for others. Our righteousness is solely based on our belief in Jesus Christ.

When we believe that Jesus is the Son of God Who exchanged our sins for His righteousness, we are saved and in right standing with God. Nothing else matters. We may not have our behavior in order, but we’re righteous. We may not be living a perfect holy life, but we’re righteous. We may indulge in sinful acts from time to time, but we’re righteous. It’s because of Jesus we’re righteous.

Should we take advantage of Jesus’ sacrifice and continue to intentionally sin knowing that no matter what we do we’re still righteous? Of course not. But, if we recognize His sacrifice compelled by His love for us, we wouldn’t want to sin. We wouldn’t want to intentionally go against Someone Who has done so much for us.

Let’s believe and be righteous and don’t allow anyone else to tell us something different.

There are situations we face that are severely tragic to us. It may seem minor to someone else, but it’s tragic to us. We may experience a sudden death of a loved one, we may have a debilitating disease, or we may continuously have financial struggles we can’t seem to overcome.

The devil replays our situation(s) over and over in our minds until it seems hopeless and life is not worth living. It’s a lie. Whatever we’re going through, it’s not that bad. If we’re still alive, there’s hope.

Our hope is rested in God through Jesus Christ. When we trust and totally rely on God instead of trying to figure out how we, alone, will overcome this situation, things begin to look a little brighter. We begin to have hope. The pain of a loved one’s death becomes manageable (Hebrews 9:14). We begin to realize Jesus was whipped so that we can be healed of that debilitating disease (Isaiah 53:5). We receive revelation that God is our Provider and we will always have enough (Philippians 4:19).

Whatever the situations is, realize, it’s not that bad. Let’s place our hope, trust, and confidence in God.

1 Peter 5:7 Casting all your care upon him; for he cares for you.

No one thinks it’s strange to see a young high schooler practicing basketball in the gym for 2 hours every day because they have aspirations of becoming a professional basketball player. It’s not uncommon to see a football player running routes during offseason. Most people don’t think it’s weird if they hear a musician working on new music because they want to be successful.

People don’t see anything wrong with people perfecting their craft in the natural, but how often do we get criticized if we practice to obtain spiritual perfection? People, including Christians, think it’s “too deep” to ask God if we should wash our hair in the shower and people think it’s strange to consult God on what to purchase at the grocery store. Consulting God on seemingly minor tasks may seem foolish to unbelievers, but to believers, it should be the norm.

What we’re doing is practicing hearing the voice of God. If we’re disciplined enough to consult God on the minor issues, we’ll apply the same principles to major issues. How can we know to accept that business deal or marry that person if we haven’t been listening to Him any other time?

Consult God in all areas of life. Learn to recognize His voice because practice makes perfect.

John 10:27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.

Philippians 4:¹¹ I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. ¹² I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. ¹³ I can do all this through him who gives me strength.

In everything Paul went through, Paul obtained a positive perspective. This positive perspective wasn’t made possible through positive thinking. This positive perspective was filtered through Jesus Christ.

Whenever we view our lives through Christ and all He’s made available to us, we’ll always find a positive outlook in whatever we’re going through.

*We have to work later than anticipated.
Praise God we have a job, we’re receiving overtime, and/or we’re being a blessing to the company (Gen. 12:2).

*We just got into a car wreck.
Praise God He protects us, we’ll have a testimony on how God kept us, and since God is a Provider and He supplies all our needs, He’ll provide another car (Phil. 4:19).

*Don’t have enough money for a certain thing?
Praise God that if we ask Him for anything, He hears and answers our prayers (1 John 5:15).

If we can’t think of anything to be positive about regarding the situation we’re in, we can always be reminded that God works out everything for our good (Rom. 8:28).

Having a positive perspective allows us to enjoy more of life that Jesus died for and it keeps us with a positive attitude in every situation we face. Be Positive.

Deuteronomy 30:9 Then the LORD your God will make you most prosperous in all the work of your hands and in the fruit of your womb, the young of your livestock and the crops of your land. The LORD will again delight in you and make you prosperous, just as he delighted in your ancestors,

Being prosperous in all we set out to do is the product of the blessing. Initially, under the Old Covenant, this promise was for every person who obeyed every command of God. Now, under the New Covenant, this promise of prosperity is for all who believe Jesus is Lord.

A vast majority of our confidence lies within this promise. How confident would we be if we truly believed we would prosper in everything we do? We would approach life differently. We would approach projects we had no education or training in with boldness. We would walk into that promotion with a confident smile.

Let’s get this in our soul. Through Jesus Christ, we are destined to prosper in everything we do.

2 Kings 6:16 So he answered, “Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” 17 Then Elisha prayed and said, “O LORD, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.” And the LORD opened the servant’s eyes and he saw; and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.

The king of Aram wanted to capture the prophet Elisha therefore; he surrounded the city where Elisha and his servant were residing. Elisha’s servant saw the army and went back to Elisha afraid asking him, “What shall we do?” A calm Elisha told his servant, there are more with us than with them.

Looking through natural eyes, there were only two of them versus a surrounded city of soldiers. When Elisha asked God to open his servant’s spiritual eyes, the servant was able to see a host of the Lord’s horses and chariots of fire surrounding them.

There are going to be times in our lives where our natural eyes will give us a limited perspective. It will seem like there’s not enough money, it will seem as if there’s no cure for a disease, it will seem as if the situation will never get better. During those times, we have to view life through our spiritual eyes. Our spiritual eyes view life through the lens of faith and our faith is rooted in the Word of God.

When our natural eyes tell us there’s not enough, looking through our spiritual eyes will tell us God will supply all our needs (Phil. 4:19). When our natural eyes tell us our marriage is terrible, our spiritual eyes will tell us it’s blessed because we have what we say (Mark 11:24). When our natural eyes tell us we don’t deserve something because of our past, our spiritual eyes will tell us we’re righteous through Christ as we’re an heir to the promises of God (Rom. 3:22; Eph. 1:3).

Let’s start and continue viewing every part of our lives through our spiritual eyes.

2 Corinthians 12:9-10 “And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”‭

Have you ever noticed when a major problem comes into our lives that’s out of our control, we tend to go to God? The world looks at going to God during troubling times as a sign of weakness because we can’t handle the situation on our own, but the Word of God lets us know that’s when we’re at our strongest.

When we face negative situations, sicknesses, and persecution, that’s when we’re at our strongest because we’re totally relying on God. A lot of us heard the lie that “God helps those who help themselves.” God was helping us when we couldn’t help ourselves.

God didn’t create us to go through life using our limited wisdom, resources, and skills. The pattern God established since the beginning of time was for mankind to totally depend on Him. When we’re totally dependent on Him and not ourselves, we’re at our strongest because we’re using His unlimited power and infinite wisdom during times of turmoil.

Stop trying to handle life’s situations on your own. Maximize your strength by totally relying on God.

Proverbs 21:23 He who guards his mouth and his tongue, Guards his soul from troubles.

Have you ever seen a baby being somewhat destructive? Every time you pick something up, they want to drop it. When you clean up their toys in an area, they want to come behind us and mess up the area. We try to tell and show them how to clean up behind themselves, but they continue to do this because they don’t know any better or they refuse to change their ways.

The same way a baby can be destructive with their toys or in an area, is the same way some of us are destructive with our words. The bible clearly says, death and life are in the power of the tongue (Prov. 18:23), but some of us continue to be destructive with our words. Some of us just have to tell people how bad it is or how hard we have it. The bible and ministers have tried to tell us to be constructive with our words, but like a baby, some of us don’t know any better or some of us refuse to change.

Here’s another warning. We construct or destruct our world with our speech. We may not see it immediately, but every time we speak negatively over our lives, our finances, our children, and our jobs, we’re destined to have what we say.

So, begin constructing the life you desire to see by changing your speech.

Judges 7:2 And the Lord said to Gideon, “The people who are with you are too many for Me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel claim glory for itself against Me, saying, ‘My own hand has saved me.’

“Our full cupboard is often our greatest hindrance.” –Smith Wigglesworth.

Gideon and his army are about to go into battle. Gideon starts off with 32,000 men. God dwindled his army down to 10,000, then eventually to 300 men. As we can see from the scripture above, God’s objective was for Israel to totally rely on Him for the victory and not the amount of people they had.

God often puts us in situations where we have to totally rely on Him and it’s usually in our finances. Most of us are confident in giving to the Kingdom of God, attacking a project, or simply living life when we have additional finances and resources. But, what about when we have a need bigger than our bank account or a financial deadline and our finances are limited? Will we still give to the Kingdom of God or approach that project with confidence? It gets a little more difficult.

God puts us in these situations so that He gets the glory as we trust in Him instead of glorifying our resources. How much trust or reliance on God does it take when financial resources are available?

No matter how much money we have or don’t have, it’s our goal to totally rely on God. We trust in God over money. Trust God, our Source, and not in our resources.

Exodus 20:3 You shall have no other gods before Me.

A lot of people will go above and beyond the minimum to be what they deem to be successful. For singers, they’ll wait in line for days in order for judges to hear them in an audition. For athletes, they’ll wake up early, discipline themselves, and push their bodies to the limits. People will work 70 or more hours a week building their business. Unfortunately, people will also prostitute themselves, expose themselves, or engage in criminal behavior to be “successful.”

People focus on being successful to the point where it becomes an idol or a god. An idol is anything that replaces or trumps God. The same tenacity people have to become successful, is the same tenacity we should have for the things of God. 

Success is not the goal. Honoring God is our goal. When we honor God, success is a byproduct of our honor. Let’s redirect our focus and honor God. 

Psalm 23:4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff they comfort me.

“I will fear no evil: for You are with me.”

This very famous scripture in the Bible is often not applied in our lives. We know this because every day someone has a panic attack, worry is ruining people’s lives, and people are afraid for their lives in seemingly minor circumstances.

If we truly have a revelation of God ALWAYS being with us, we would never fear again. We wouldn’t fear about our finances possibly dwindling. We wouldn’t be afraid of some disease attacking our bodies. Even with a gun pointed to our heads, we wouldn’t fear because God is with us and He promised that nothing will hurt us (Luke 10:19).

Fear will attempt to invade our thoughts, but if we understand God is with us, we have no reason to fear. If God is with us and for us, who or what can be against us? Begin confessing this one verse daily to remove every fear from our lives.

What if God told you to stay at a job that you detest so that you can minister the Gospel to your co-workers? Would you put God’s agenda above your own? What if God told you to stay in a rocky marriage in the hopes that your spouse sees the love of Christ coming through you? Would you stay or would you put your personal feelings above the plan of God?

There will be times where God keeps us in places that we really don’t prefer so that His will can be accomplished. During those times, we need to push past our emotions, ask God for strength to endure, and be glad that God’s will is being accomplished.

Jesus, our example, had to get past His emotions and accomplish God’s will by sacrificing Himself on the cross for us.

Living this Christian life is not always going to be fun where everything goes the way we want it to all the time. But, we can be sure that everything will work out for our good (Rom. 8:28).

Luke 22:42 “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.”

Acts 12:5 Peter was therefore kept in prison, but constant prayer was offered to God for him by the church.

When Peter was thrown in prison, the church remained in constant prayer to God on his behalf. Prayer is good but, prayer alone is not enough. Prayer must be accompanied with belief (faith) and expectation. Mark 11:24 says, when we pray, we must believe that we have received whatever we asked for.

Although the church was in constant prayer for Peter, we can see they lacked faith. How do we know this? Because in verses 13-15, when Peter was knocking at their door, they didn’t believe Rhoda when she told them it was Peter. They didn’t believe their prayers could free Peter. They prayed but, thought he died. They didn’t believe. They were just going through the religious motions of prayer.

When we pray, it’s our assignment to believe what we’re praying for will come to pass. Whether it be a month later or ten years later, we need to believe and expect our desires to knock on the doors of our lives.

Have faith in God. Pray, Believe, and Expect.

-Inspired by Smith Wigglesworth

Matthew 26:53 Are you not aware that I can call on My Father, and He will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels?

Here’s a quick lesson from Jesus prior to Him going to the cross. Jesus could have called twelve legions (36,000) of angels to His defense against those who were arresting Him. In 2 Kings 19 we see one angel can kill 185,000 men, therefore, 36,000 angels can kill 6,660,000,000 men. Although Jesus could have destroyed everyone who was attempting to harm Him, He let them make it and allowed them to live.

There will be people who will test us in all areas in life. During those times, we don’t have to always win the battle or prove that we’re right. Sometimes, it’s in our best interest and the best interest for the Kingdom to hold our tongues and let them make it. If Jesus would have called His angels to destroy those soldiers, He would not be glorified and the Kingdom of God would be empty because we would still be lost in our sins.

Someone may want to argue and we have enough information to make them feel foolish, but is making them feel foolish honoring to the Father? Does it show the love of God or bring them closer to Christ? No. Someone may want to fight us and we know we can destroy them, but beating them up will not bring honor to God and we may have to deal with the consequences of going to jail.

Always being right and always winning is overrated. Follow the example of Jesus and let people make it.

Galatians 6:9 So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up.

We’re faithful and committed to the things of God. We get out of a comfortable bed to go to church. We sacrifice watching our favorite TV show to study the Word of God. We serve at our church and in our community. We make an effort to love everyone as we do ourselves. We’re nice to people who aren’t nice to us. We resist arguing with a fool. We help out a friend when it’s inconvenient for us.

These are all good things, but they can be draining especially, if we don’t see immediate results of our good efforts. God understands this. That’s why He encourages us to not get tired of doing good. He knows if we continue to do good, in spite of how we feel and in spite of how long it takes, we’ll reap a blessing.

The only thing stopping us from our blessings is fatigue. Don’t get tired of doing good. Suck it up, get that second wind, and keep doing good.

We just got married and we just got a promotion at our job. With that promotion, our finances doubled. With the increase in finances, we’re able to upgrade and get a nicer car. Also, with that increase we’re able to plan for a 7 day vacation. Seeing that all of these blessings have entered our lives within a year, most of us would proudly say, “God is good.”

TWO YEARS LATER…

The excitement in our marriage has dwindled and now it’s rocky. We just lost a child in a miscarriage. The promotion we got requires more responsibilities that hinders our free time. The car we got had problems which caused us to spend more money than we planned. Now, we can’t go on extravagant vacations like we used to.

The same God Who we declared was good two years ago is still good today. The enemy wants to magnify unfortunate circumstances to hinder our praise. It’s a trap. God was, is, and always will be good. If we can push past our feelings and continue to give God praise in spite of unfortunate events, we will magnify God Who promised to give us double for our trouble (Isaiah 61:7).

Don’t allow situations and circumstances to determine the amount of glory and praise we give our God.

Psalm 136:1 Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good. His love endures forever.

Hebrews 11:25 Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a time;

If we can take our spiritual hats off for a moment and be honest, we can see that sin is pleasurable. Sin satisfies our flesh. It’s pleasurable to go out all night and get drunk at the club. It’s satisfying to our flesh to get high and let lust run wild. It’s exhilarating to eat, drink, have no limits or constraints, and do whatever we desire to do.

This pleasure is what keeps some of us from surrendering our all to God. We’d rather enjoy our lives to the fullest and we don’t want to be told how to live it.

Everything is permissible, but everything is not beneficial (1 Corinthians 10:23). Romans 8:13 says, if we live according to the flesh, we will die. That’s a guarantee. We will die. It may not be immediately, but sin shortens and reduces the quality of our lives.

Because God loves us, He puts limits in His Word and He desires for us to be led by the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:13). It’s up to us to discipline our flesh and obey the promptings of the Holy Spirit. Our motivation for this permanent change is to honor a God Who’s done so much in our lives. He’s done countless things in our lives and the least we can do is sacrifice the cravings of our flesh for Him.

Galatians 5:13 You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love.

John 14:26 But the Comforter, who is the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

Unfortunate things happen to us because we’re living in a fallen world. People get laid off, people get divorced, loved ones pass away, and diseases come. Exercising our faith to prevent these things from happening is an option, but we’re not exempt from problems. 

When problems come, we have an unseen Comforter living inside of us. The Holy Spirit. He is a Comforter for a reason. His words are inspired by God. He can tell us what to do during these trying times. He can be the assurance, letting us know everything will be alright. He can give us day by day steps to get past the pain. He can do all of this and more, but we have to let Him comfort us.

If we’re stuck in our feelings, wanting to feel depressed and wanting people to feel sorry for us, there’s nothing He can do. But, if we want to get past the pain and confusion and move on with our lives, He’s there ready to comfort us.

Have faith in this great Comforter. He can change our mourning into gladness. 

God has given us the victory. Whether it looks or feels like it, we have the victory. Victory over what? Everything. We have victory over sickness, over a problematic marriage, over fear, and over everything outside of God’s will. Victory can seem elusive at times but nevertheless, we have victory.

Our victory comes through Jesus Christ. It’s not our efforts, intelligence, or connections that give us the victory. Our victory solely comes through Jesus Christ. He was the One Who overcame death, hell, and the grave. He defeated the enemy and stripped him of all his power. He was given all power by God. Jesus did all of this for us. Our belief in what He’s accomplished for us has given us the victory.

Even though it may not seem like things will change or it looks like things are getting worse, believe through Jesus Christ, we have the victory.

1 Corinthians 15:57 But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

2 Samuel 6:20 Then David returned to bless his household. And Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David, and said, “How glorious was the king of Israel today, uncovering himself today in the eyes of the maids of his servants, as one of the base fellows shamelessly uncovers himself!” 21 So David said to Michal, “It was before the Lord, who chose me instead of your father and all his house, to appoint me ruler over the people of the Lord, over Israel. Therefore I will play music before the Lord. 22 And I will be even more undignified than this, and will be humble in my own sight. But as for the maidservants of whom you have spoken, by them I will be held in honor.”

God loves us. God saved us. God healed us. God restored us. God protects us. God provides for us. God gives us the victory before we start. God blessed us. 

With all that God has done, we must be honest with ourselves and ask ourselves are we embarrassed to praise the Lord? Are we so concerned with what people think until we can’t lift our hands, yell, or jump with excitement for all that God has done? Maybe, we don’t want to be labeled a “Jesus fanatic” or maybe we don’t want to seem hypocritical or maybe we’ve been convinced “it doesn’t take all of that.” Regardless of the reason, God deserves better than a half-hearted praise and worship accompanied by pitiful hand claps.

The same way we yell when our team scores or the same way we get excited when our song comes on is the same way we should be when we’re praising God.

Don’t allow the possible looks or the possible thoughts of people to limit the praise that is due to our God.

Romans 8:25 But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.

For every desire we have, patience is required. Delay at times seems like it’s enemy driven but at times, it’s necessary for our spiritual development. Delay matures the believer and it causes us to confirm if what we’re asking for is what we really want.

James 1:4 says, but let patience have her perfect work, that you may be perfect and entire, lacking in nothing. As we wait on our desires, we are being perfected. We’re learning to trust in God even when we can’t see where He’s leading us. We’re learning to worship Him while waiting. We’re learning to rely on Him because we don’t have all the answers.

If children immediately received what they requested from their parents all the time, they would be viewed as spoiled. God is not trying to raise spoiled children. He desires for us to grow in maturity, have an intimate relationship with Him, and appropriately handle delay.

Be patient. It’s coming.

Exodus 18:8 And Moses told his father-in-law all that the Lord had done to Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for Israel’s sake, all the hardship that had come upon them on the way, and how the Lord had delivered them.

When God does something good in our lives, how many of us actually tell someone else of His goodness? How many of us actually give credit to God for doing something good in our lives instead of saying, we were fortunate or it’s a blessing?

People have done a great job in promoting a false sense of humility and modesty. So much so until some of us feel bad about telling someone else about what the Lord has done. We don’t want to appear boastful. If we’re praising God correctly, we’re not boasting about what we’ve done. We’re giving all the credit to God. Psalm 44:8 tells us to boast in God continually.

Another reason we’re silent is because we don’t want to make another person to feel bad if they’re in an unfortunate predicament at the time. We can’t control how another person feels, but we can control Who we give credit to. For those who will receive our testimony appropriately, our testimony can encourage them to place or keep their faith in God.

How else will people know what the Lord can do if we’re keeping it to ourselves? Let’s open our mouths and tell the world what God has done.

Exodus 18:23 If you do this thing, and God so commands you, then you will be able to endure, and all this people will also go to their place in peace.”

Jethro, the father-in-law of Moses, is giving Moses some advice regarding managing the Israelites so that Moses won’t get exhausted. Jethro tells Moses to group the Israelites and provide God-fearing leaders over each group. If the Israelites had a minor issue, they could go to their group leader; however, if it was a major issue, they would come to Moses.

This appears to be sound wisdom from Jethro to Moses managing over a million people. Although the wisdom is sound, Jethro adds one important point that we should take notice of. Jethro tells Moses if he follows his advice and God so commands, then he will be able to endure and the people will be in peace.

It doesn’t matter if we think of or receive sound advice that appears to be logical. We must ask ourselves, is this what God wants us to do? Unlike Moses, we have the Spirit of God to guide us in all our decisions (Rom. 8:14). He will be the One to inform us if we should do this or that. Colossians 3:15 tells us after bringing our idea before God, if we have peace about our idea then, that’s what we should do; however, nothing should be done if there is no peace.

Accompany sound logic with the approval of God. Then, watch all our plans succeed.

Psalm 107:2 Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, whom he has redeemed from the hand of the enemy;

Redemption means to buy back or to pay off. God loved us enough to send and sacrifice His Son Jesus to pay off our debts and buy us back from the enemy. For those of us who are redeemed, we need to let the world know by saying so.

Not only have we been redeemed from the enemy, but we’ve been redeemed from the enemy’s plans for our lives. We were destined to live a sick miserable life. Praise God we’ve been redeemed and now we can live a healed abundant life (Isaiah 53:5; John 10:10). We were destined to spend eternity in hell. We have been redeemed now; we can spend eternity with the Father (John 3:16).

Finally, we’ve been redeemed from the curse of the Law (Gal. 3:13). The Law was filled with over 600 do’s and don’ts that no one could keep. If we broke one law, we were guilty of breaking the entire law (James 2:10). The curses for breaking the law ranged from sickness in our bodies to being stoned to death. The only person that could keep the Law was Jesus. By our belief in Him, we’ve received redemption from every curse that has or ever will exist.

Let the world know of the total redemption that we’ve obtained through Jesus Christ.

Matthew 5:11 Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. 12 Rejoice and celebrate, because great is your reward in heaven; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets before you.

Whether we’re on a platform or just getting started in life, someone will have something negative to say about us. Regardless of the negative things they say, we must be convinced that it’s not true. If we meditate on the things they’ve said, the enemy will try to convince us that what they’ve said is true. If it’s not edifying, it’s a lie. The truth about us is in God’s Word. God’s Word says we’re righteous, we’re victorious, and we’re complete (2 Cor. 5:21; Rom. 8:37; Col. 2:10).

When people insult us, we should consider ourselves blessed. A quick definition of the word blessed means, empowered to prosper. Each negative word they say is a building block for our prosperity. We can use their words as motivation to continue on to our destiny. We can use their words as an opportunity to express love to the ones who are persecuting us.

Don’t get frustrated or defensive because people are talking about us. Allow God to fight the battle and consider it to be a blessing. They talked about Jesus and other prophets in the past, therefore, it’s a real possibility they will talk about us too. 

Zechariah 4:10 Do not despise these small beginnings, for the LORD rejoices to see the work begin, to see the plumb line in Zerubbabel’s hand.” (The seven lamps represent the eyes of the LORD that search all around the world.)

At times, we have a tendency to despise where we are and desire more. If we have a starter house, some have a tendency to mentally minimize that house and desire a 4000 square foot house. If we’re at an entry level job, some have a tendency to be disappointed in that job, and desire a better career. If we have a used car, some will literally be disgusted with their car because they so long for a new car. 

What God is telling us is we shouldn’t despise our small beginnings. By not despising small beginnings, we perfect our gratitude. Be thankful for that entry level job or that used car. Someone else wished they had what some of us are despising. Also, by not despising small beginnings, we are more inclined to exercise faithfulness. We’re more inclined to not be good stewards over what’s small or half do a job when we despise where we are, but if we exercise faithfulness, it won’t be small for long.  

The good news about this scripture is it’s only the beginning (small beginnings). When we handle our small beginnings appropriately, we’re promised more. Matthew 25:23 says, if we’re faithful over a few things, we can be trusted with many things. 

Be grateful and thankful in the time of small beginnings. It’s a process to go from small beginnings to a great ending. Be faithful. 

Adam, the representative of mankind, sinned when he ate the fruit from the forbidden tree (Genesis 3:6). Romans 6:23 tells us the punishment of sin is death, therefore, everyone who would come after Adam was destined to eternal death. Since God has foreknowledge and He knew Adam would sin, before the world was created, God orchestrated a plan to redeem mankind (Revelations 13:8). God’s love for us compelled Him to send His only Son (John 3:16). God sent His pure Seed in the flesh of a woman (Mary) and she gave birth to Jesus (Matthew 1:18).

Jesus lived a holy life, fulfilling all the demands of the Law, and accomplishing the will of God (Matthew 5:17). Once again, the punishment of sin is death, therefore, someone had to die for mankind’s sins. Jesus, an innocent man, Who knew no sin, took on all of mankind’s sins and sacrificed His life for us (2 Corinthians 5:21). Jesus’ blood for mankind was presented to God and God accepted His sacrifice (Hebrews 9:12).

Now, everyone who believes that Jesus is the Son of God and He died on our behalf will be saved (Romans 10:9). There’s no effort or sacrifices on our part in order to be saved. We have to simply believe in the One Who did it all (Acts 16:31).

*If you know anyone who is an unbeliever or unsure about the Truth of Christianity, send this message to them and encourage them to believe.

Romans 10:9 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

Matthew 3:17 And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with Him I am well pleased.”

God told the people present at the baptism of Jesus that Jesus was His Son in whom He is well pleased. Prior to this public statement, Jesus hadn’t healed the sick, performed a miracle, or even preached a sermon, but God said He was loved and well pleased with His Son.

A lot of us have this longing desire to please God. That’s good and all, but we’re attempting to accomplish something that already exists. 2 Corinthians 5:17 tells us when we’re born again, we’re new creations in Christ. Seeing that we’re in Christ and God is well pleased with Him, God is well pleased with us. Like Jesus, we don’t have to perform certain tasks in order for God to be well pleased with us. He is pleased because we’re in Christ.

Some of us associate our actions (good or bad) with pleasing or displeasing God. God may not be pleased with certain actions we commit, but through Christ, He separates us from our actions. This separation leaves us in a well pleased state with God.

Praise God for Jesus. It’s because of Him that God is and forever will be well pleased with us.

A part of 1 Corinthians 10:13 says, God will not let us be tempted beyond what we can bear. When most of us read this verse, we usually think of temptations such as, lustful temptations or temptations to abuse drugs or alcohol. But, these temptations also include subtle temptations such as wealth.

As we see from the millions of people playing the lottery around the world, a lot of us desire to be wealthy. We would love to make a $100 million and retire at 40. But God, Who is so rich in love and knows us better than we know ourselves, will not allow us to be tempted beyond what we can bear. We may think we’ll give a few million to the church and a million to help out those in need, but God knows our inner workings. He knows we’ll be tempted to invest in an illegal trade to make more money. He knows we’ll have a boastful spirit that will turn people away from Him. He knows we’ll stop coming to church because we think we have all we need.

Let’s be clear. There’s nothing wrong with wealth. We simply need to make sure we’re spiritually mature enough to handle the responsibilities of wealth. If we desire wealth, we need to ask God to show us what we need to work on to make ourselves ready to receive wealth. Part of our spiritual maturity is to put God first and be led by the Spirit with every dollar we have now. If we’re faithful with little, He’ll make us rulers over much (Matthew 25:23).

Galatians 4:1 Think of it this way. If a father dies and leaves an inheritance for his young children, those children are not much better off than slaves until they grow up, even though they actually own everything their father had.

Genesis 2:19 Out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the sky, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called a living creature, that was its name.

“God’s original intent for mankind’s mouths was for creation and not communication.” –Pastor B. Winston

God gave Adam the responsibility of naming all the animals. Whatever Adam called them, that was its name. He called this winged creature an eagle and a mooing creature a cow. Whatever Adam called it, that’s what is was going to be.

Adam is our prototype. This same design was built in us. Whatever we call the things in our lives, that’s what it’s going to be. If we call our marriage problematic, that’s what it’s going to be. If we call our children dumb or bad, that’s what they’re going to be. If we proclaim we hate our jobs, that will be our experiences. Proverbs 18:21 says, death and life are in the power of the tongue.

If we want to change our lives, we have to renew our minds (Rom. 12:2). The renewing of our minds will change our confession and our confession will change our lives. Let’s create the life we want by calling whatever we desire into existence.

Romans 4:20 Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God,

To obtain anything from God, it has to be received by faith (Mark 11:22-24). Hebrews 6:12 tells us faith requires patience. Patience lets us know waiting is involved before acquiring the promise. We may have to wait an hour or 10 years. Romans 4:20 provides a blueprint on what to do while waiting.

Waiting is not sitting back allowing time to go by. Waiting requires our participation. Romans 4:20 tells us Abraham did not waver in unbelief while waiting on the promise of a son. He was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God.

From the time we prayed, to the time we received the promise, worship needs to take place. We worship and give glory to God for Who He is, what He’s done, and what He promised. We may not have the promise in our lives, but we worship Him as if we do. The enemy will attempt to discourage us by magnifying the waiting period and attempt to convince us the promise won’t come to pass. That’s the perfect time to worship. Worship counters the attacks of the devil and it keeps us focused on God, the Source of our promise.

The key components to receive the promises of God are unwavering faith, patience, and worship.

To get anything from God, it has to be received by faith. If we want a new house, a new car, or a spouse it all has to be received by faith.

Faith can also be used to obtain intangible things from God such as positive emotions. God promised us love, joy, and peace. Those promises don’t come automatically. They too have to be received by faith. These promises must be received by faith especially when these emotions are threatened by life’s issues and we don’t feel loved, joyous, or at peace.

When we get laid off from our jobs and we don’t know where the money is coming from, by faith, we have to receive joy. When our marriage seems rocky and our children are acting up, by faith, we have to receive peace. When we’re without a spouse and we have family issues, by faith, we have to receive that we’re loved.

It doesn’t matter how we feel, by faith, we can obtain and maintain these positive emotions even in the roughest of times. Exercise that faith and receive everything from God.

Hebrews 11:17 “By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son,”

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Romans 15:13 Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Joy and peace are available to us. It’s available to everyone who believes in the finished works of Jesus. The joy and peace that God provides is not partially given. Joy and peace are given in excess.

Like anything that God provides, we can choose to accept or reject this offer. We can allow the issues of life to steal our joy and peace or we can recognize that regardless of what’s going on in our lives, we can hold on to the joy and peace God provided. It’s up to us.

Joy and peace allow us to abound in hope. Hope in what? Everything we desire from God. Hebrews 11:1 says, Now faith is the substance of things hoped for. Without joy and peace, it’s difficult to gather up the energy to hope in something. It’s difficult to go boldly before God with our desires or exercise our faith while depressed or worried. That’s why maintaining our joy and peace is so important. They are key pieces in receiving our desires.

Receive this joy and peace and don’t let it go.

You take a good friend to a fairly expensive restaurant. You allow them to order whatever they desire with no limit on cost. They order an appetizer, main entrée, and a dessert. Their portion alone cost $130.00. While you’re eating, you realize your friend only ate a few bites of the appetizer, entrée, and dessert. There’s still a lot of food left on their plate. They’re not full and they genuinely like the taste of their meal. When the waitress asks if they want to take it to-go, they decline. Most of us would be puzzled and possibly upset with our friend for leaving all of this expensive food on the table.

This is just a little taste of how Jesus may feel with some of us. Jesus paid an awesome price for us to have a prosperous abundant life. Meanwhile, some of us desire the bare minimum or we glorify poverty as if it’s a badge of humility. We leave so much on the table until it has Jesus shaking His head.

Sure, we have a house, a car, and we’re able to live comfortably, but there’s more still on the table. Wouldn’t it be great to go on more than one vacation a year without going into our savings? Wouldn’t it be nice to have enough money to pay someone else’s bills? Wouldn’t be great if we can give one of our cars away to a family in need? If we can dream it for ourselves or for someone else, Jesus paid for it.

Jesus paid too great of a price for us to be living below Kingdom standards. Live the life God wants us to have by maximizing on the benefits that God provided through Jesus. Enjoy!

Ephesians 3:20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us,