Graced To Do God's Will

1 Thessalonians 2:4 (NLT) For we speak as messengers approved by God to be entrusted with the Good News. Our purpose is to please God, not people. He alone examines the motives of our hearts.

The main things people think about as they consider being totally sold out for God is their mistakes. People feel like they need to stop all of their sin and bad habits before totally committing themselves to God. This is a myth. If we could stop all of our sin on our own then God would have never sent Jesus. Yes, as Christians, God has called us to live holy, however, holiness is a journey. That’s why we are required to continuously renew our minds (Romans 12:2).

Every Christian is a work in progress. No one has it all together. Whether someone has been a Christian for twenty years or twenty seconds, we all are working on something.

Never feel bad about where you are in your journey or compare yourself with someone else. Continue to make an effort to please God by improving yourself one day at a time.

Matthew 6:19-21 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Around this time every year, people are shopping getting great deals for Christmas or just in general. People spend a bunch of money on something that is perishing without a problem. How is it that we can spend so much money at the stores but, we short change God?

By spending more money at the stores than the house of God, we let God and everyone else know the location of our heart. We let God know what we truly value.

For some, it’s time to readjust our thinking. It’s time to make a change. It’s time to truly show God what He means to us by giving Him one of our most precious possessions, which is money.

Romans 12:2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is–his good, pleasing and perfect will.

There comes a point in time where everyone needs to change for the better. This change should be grounded in two areas. The first area of change should be grounded in grace. God’s grace and mercy have been so prevalent in our lives until we should want to change. God blessed us with numerous amounts of things we didn’t deserve including salvation. With this type of grace that’s offered to us on a daily basis, why wouldn’t we want to change for the better to please an ever-loving God?

The second area of change should be grounded in holiness. God has called us to be holy (1 Peter 1:16). We will be required to change some areas in our life to fulfill the requirement of holiness. Once again, if holiness is required to please our ever-loving God, we should desire to change for the better.

Never forget that this life is not about us. This life is about glorifying God. As we change for the better, we better represent the Kingdom of God.

Colossians 1:16 For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him.

God created everything. He created every living creature, cell, and organism. God is also strategic in His creativity. God allowed the earth to go around the sun so that we have four seasons in a year. Every detail we see or experience in the universe, God created.

As sons and daughters of God, the same creativity that flows through God, flows through us. God created us to be creative and within our creativity is our purpose. God created us to be creative in specific areas. Some may use their creativity to sing and another may use their creativity to design. Whether we use this creativity is up to us. We can go through the motions of life working an ordinary job just to pay the bills or, we can step out on faith, tap into this God-given creativity, and satisfy our purpose in life.

Let’s step out on faith, tap into our creativity, and apply our creativity to impact the world for the glory of God.

Mark 11:24 Therefore I say unto you, whatever things you desire, when you pray, believe that you will receive them, and you shall have them.

The Word of God says we can have anything we desire when we pray. The question is how many of our desires are outside ourselves? We have no problem releasing our faith for a car, house, or career but, how many of us release our faith for the lost to be saved? How many of us desire repentance for our brothers and sisters? It takes a mature Christian to look outside themselves and desire the will of God for mankind. The will of God is that all men are saved (1 Timothy 2:3-4).

Let’s look beyond ourselves, expand our horizons, and release our faith for something that is truly important to God.

1 Timothy 2:3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior; 4 Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.

Psalm 91:5 You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, 6 nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday. 7 A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you.

God not only protects us from danger and destruction but, He doesn’t even allow the danger and destruction to get close to us. God could have just said, “ten thousand at your right hand, but it will destroy you.” However, God said, “it will not come near you.” God realized if danger and destruction got close to us, it would cause us to become nervous, worried, or fearful and we can’t operate in faith and fear at the same time. Because of the goodness of God, He doesn’t even allow danger or destruction to come near us.

Therefore, there is no need to fear any viruses, hackers of our identity, diseases, burglaries, etc. As long as we trust God to be our Protector and expect His protection in every area of our lives, we have nothing to fear.

Let’s free ourselves from fear.

Luke 8:43 Now a woman, having a flow of blood for twelve years, who had spent all her livelihood on physicians and could not be healed by any, 44 came from behind and touched the border of His garment. And immediately her flow of blood stopped.

Mark 7:34 He looked up to heaven and with a deep sigh said to him, “Ephphatha!” (which means “Be opened!”). 35 At this, the man’s ears were opened, his tongue was loosened and he began to speak plainly.

John 9:7 and said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam ” (which is translated, Sent). So he went away and washed, and came back seeing.

Notice, in all these cases, time is not a factor. These miracles occurred instantaneously. Many of us have been dependent on time as if time was in control of our breakthrough. In a way, we’ve made time our god and we submit to it. Time is not our God.

When someone gets sick, we usually accept that it takes two weeks to recover. We don’t have to submit to time. The same God Who healed people instantaneously, is the same God that exists today. If someone is in debt, we accept that it takes time for them to become debt free. Not true. Time is not in control. God has a million ways to get us debt free; we only need one instantaneous way. Time should not be a factor in any area of our lives.

Time doesn’t have the final say. Place a faith demand on the instantaneous breakthroughs. Allow God to rule over our lives rather than time.

We hear about these wonderful promises in the Bible. With every promise in the Bible, we have to place a demand on the things we desire. As blood washed believers, we’re entitled to every promise in the Word of God (2 Corinthians 1:20). We can’t sit back and hope things will happen. How can we hope for something that already belongs to us? Take it!

How do we place a demand on God’s promises?
We align our heart (belief), thoughts, and speech with what we’re standing in faith for. We cannot make a demand on God’s promises without knowledge of God’s Word. God’s Word says we’re healed but, if we don’t align our heart, thoughts, or speech on this truth then we may or may not experience the benefits of this healing. We can’t walk around saying, “we’re sick as a dog” and expect the manifestation of healing. God’s Word says we’re rich (2 Corinthians 8:9). We have to align our heart, thoughts, and speech with this promise. We can’t measure our wealth based on what’s currently in our bank account. The truth is that we are rich.

Let’s set our minds, speech, and beliefs on God’s promises and expect the best.

Numbers 23:19 God is not human, that he should lie, not a human being, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?

Acts 3:⁶ Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk. ⁷ And he took him by the right hand, and lifted him up: and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength.⁸ And he leaping up stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God.

Most people, including myself, praise God for the obvious miracle. This man was lame from birth and the power of God, through Jesus Christ, healed this man’s bones to walk. However, there was a second miracle that many don’t think about.

Who taught this man to walk? If you know anyone who has lost the function of their legs for a considerable amount of time, you would know it takes days, months, and even years to learn to walk correctly again. With this man, God not only healed his legs but, instantly He taught the man to stand, walk, and leap.

This is true for us today. God not only blesses us externally, but He provides the wisdom for us to use this blessing internally. Receive the two-fold blessing God desires for His people.

Isaiah 40:31 but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

This scripture implies there are going to be times where life will make us want to faint, give up, or quit. God’s Word informs us, as we keep our hope in the Lord, we will soar above our problems and circumstances, we will run towards our goals in the face of adversity, and we will continue to walk in the midst of turmoil. All of this will be accomplished from our hope, faith, and belief in God and His Word.

No matter what issues there are in life, keep your hope, faith, and confidence in God.

Haggai 2:9 The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former, says the LORD of hosts: and in this place will I give peace, says the LORD of hosts.

Job 42:12a So the LORD blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning:

All of us have experienced challenges, some self-inflicted, and others circumstantial. God does not cause trials and tribulations, but with his past, present, and future knowledge, He craftily created methods for all of those things meant for our demise to work together for our good (Romans 8:28). So much so, that we have the promise of better latter days than former. But, to witness the manifestation of those better days, we must remain in faith and continue trusting God. Even though trials may come, we have consistent peace and joy through Christ (John 16:33, Galatians 5:22). Choose now to spend more time with God, allowing His Spirit to navigate your path and know that it only gets better for believers!

Isaiah 43: 1b But now, this is what the Lord says…“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.  5a Do not be afraid, for I am with you;  18 “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. 19 See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.

Colossians 2:10 And you are complete in him, who is the head of all principality and power:

In Christ, we are made complete. We shouldn’t need or want anything else to make us complete because we are complete in Him. A great paying job does not make us complete. A husband or a wife does not define us as being complete. We are complete with Christ alone. With this understanding, this will stop some of us from searching the world trying to find wholeness.

If there comes a time where we feel like we’re missing something in our lives, let’s re-establish our wholeness with Christ.

1 Peter 5:6 (AMP) Therefore humble yourselves [demote, lower yourselves in your own estimation] under the mighty hand of God, that in due time He may exalt you,

There are going to be times when God will ask us to do something seemingly beneath us. He may ask us to pick up a piece of trash from the ground or give a total stranger a ride to work. Whatever God asks of us, just do it. Our humility, through our obedience, honors God, allows us to be a blessing, and provides a harvest from the seed we have sown.

John 13:3 Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; 4 so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. 5 After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.

If Jesus, the Savior of the entire world, could wash the feet of His disciples, what makes us think we can’t humble ourselves for the sake of the Kingdom?

People of God…humility.

Leviticus 20:26 You are to be holy to me because I, the LORD, am holy, and I have set you apart from the nations to be my own.

Holiness is not a popular topic however, God instructs us to be holy because He is holy. Holiness does not come automatically. Holiness is a lifelong process that requires our participation. We may exhibit holiness in our marriage but, we still need to work on holiness in our speech or our attitude.

The purpose of being holy is to be God centered and eliminate the distraction of sin in our lives. The distraction of sin keeps us from hearing the voice of God. If we can’t hear God’s voice, how do we know what to do when we don’t know what to do? How do we discover the source of our favor? How do we position ourselves to receive anything from God?

As we pursue holiness, our mind becomes God centered and we project the essence of God in our daily living.

Be holy.

Mark 3:1 Again he entered the synagogue, and a man was there with a withered hand. 2 And they watched Jesus, to see whether he would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse him. 3 And he said to the man with the withered hand, “Come here.” 4 And he said to them, “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to kill?” But they were silent. 5 And he looked around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, and said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was restored.

Instructions came out of the mouth of Jesus, however, the Word alone did not heal the man. The man’s obedience to the Word healed the man. Hearing the Word of God alone will not impact our lives. Our obedience to the Word of God will be the difference maker in our own lives (James 1:22).

The man had to be mentally tough and push past mental barriers to be healed. He had to push past the doubt, push past his logic, push past his excuses, and push past the possibility of being embarrassed. There are going to be times the Lord will instruct us to do something seemingly foolish, but as we push past our mental barriers our promise will be on the other side.

Inspired by Bishop T.D. Jakes

Matthew 17:20 He replied, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”

Matthew 19:26 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

Mark 9:23 “‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for one who believes.”

Have you ever wondered why God’s Word emphasizes God doing the impossible? It’s because God desires that we take the limits off of our minds. Romans 12:2 instructs us to renew our mind. Part of renewing our mind is taking the limits of impossibilities off our mind. Anything illogical, unreasonable, or considered unreal, God can do.

Become completely debt free in a year.
Have a healthy child at the age of 40.
Have a successful multi-billion dollar business.
Have a marriage without fights or arguments.
Never experience sickness or disease for the rest of our lives.

Everything is possible with God if we only believe.

Revelation 12:10 Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: “Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Messiah. For the accuser of our brothers and sisters, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down.

Satan constantly goes before God informing Him of our sins and shortcomings. For those who are not saved, they have no advocate to vouch for them. They are destined to receive the punishment for their sins. For every believer, we have an Advocate; His name is Jesus the Christ. Every time Satan goes before God with our sins, Jesus objects and informs God that those sins have been covered by His blood and we are forgiven.

Satan not only goes before God to remind Him of our sins but, he will remind us as well. Satan will remind us of every sin we committed (past or present). We have to remind Satan that our sins have been covered by the blood of Jesus and we are forgiven. We also must remind ourselves of this truth. If we don’t, the guilt from our shortcomings can have us feeling low, worthless, and potentially unrighteous.

Receive God’s forgiveness through the blood of Jesus Christ and move on.

Romans 8:37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.

The worst outcome in any situation we could face is death. Jesus conquered death. This same Jesus Who died and rose again, lives inside of us (Galatians 2:19-20). If death is the worst outcome in any situation, and Jesus (Who lives inside of us) defeated death, how hard would it be for us to conquer any sickness? How hard would it be for us to conquer lack in our finances? How hard would it be for us to conquer problems in our relationships?

In actuality, if Jesus has conquered all with His death and resurrection, we too have conquered everything including death. It’s already done. We just have to seek the wisdom of God and be Spirit-led to manifest our victory.

Let’s renew our minds to the truth that we have conquered every situation we will ever face.

Philemon 1:25 May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.

At times, we’ll hear someone say, “You should be ashamed of yourself.” That’s not true. That’s the basis for guilt and condemnation. Guilt and condemnation does not better the behavior or performance of a person. It only makes people feel worthless inside. For every born again believer, there is no guilt or condemnation to those who are in Christ (Romans 8:1).

Let’s free ourselves from this guilt, shame, or condemnation and receive God’s grace.

For those who are being told something like, “You should be ashamed of yourself,” simply respond by saying, “I don’t receive it, I receive God’s grace.”

For those who are or even think they’re condemning others for their behavior…stop it! There is nowhere in scripture where we are instructed to condemn others for their behavior. We are to pray for and hold others accountable but, never condemn.

Receive God’s grace!

1 Peter 5:7 (NLT) Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.

In order to have a stress free life, we have to cast our cares on the Lord. However, we can’t cast our cares on the Lord without first trusting in the Lord to handle our cares and concerns. Most of us don’t trust someone we don’t know. The same is true with God. We can’t fully trust God without knowing Who He is. We get to know God by reading His Word. We can’t believe the things written in the Bible about God without having faith in His Word. Faith doesn’t come automatically. We develop faith by continuously hearing the Word of God. The very first step of faith is believing and accepting Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. Without that initial step of faith, nothing else will work.

The root to a stress free life is hearing, receiving, and applying the Word of God in every area of our life.

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

Luke 12:31 Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and he will give you everything you need.

As we develop our relationship with God, we should get to a place where it’s not about us but, it’s about impacting the Kingdom of God for the glory of God. We shouldn’t only be approaching God with our “God give me” list. We should have the mindset of, “God, what else do You want me to do?”

When we get to this place in our spiritual maturity, God can depend on us. We have to start looking at life like a football or basketball game. God is our coach and our goal is to be His most valuable player. God should always be able to look at us and depend on us to get His assignments done in the earth. With God being our head coach, He will supply all of the necessary things we need to get His assignments completed (Philippians 4:19). And like a pro athlete, as we become more and more successful at impacting the Kingdom of God, we’ll receive all of the materialistic things we desire (Psalm 37:4).

Strive to be God’s most valuable player and impact the world.

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

The secret to our purposes, the intel of tough decisions, the roadmap of our lives, is found through relationship with God. The more we develop that communication with Him, allowing Him to direct us, the more we understand our purposes. The more we walk in our purposes, reveling in His presence, the more we remain filled with His joy. And we access eternal pleasures, those things that defy the limitations of the flesh.

Find out your path and purposes by speaking with God!

Hebrews 13:5 Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise–the fruit of lips that openly profess his name.

It’s called a sacrifice of praise for a reason. We may not feel like it or our life may not seem praiseworthy from all the turmoil we may be facing but, praise is what God expects.

As we give God our best praise, things begin to shift. First, spiritual maturity begins to develop based on the fact we’re allowing our spirit to be in control instead of our flesh. Secondly, our faith is growing based on the fact we’re not allowing our current situation to dictate our praise and expectation. Finally, praise is contagious. As we praise, it encourages the next man or woman to do the same in spite of how they feel and in spite of what they are going through.

Offer the sacrifice of praise for spiritual maturity, development of faith, and to encourage one another.

Praise Him!

Isaiah 60:1 (AMP) Arise from the depression and prostration in which circumstances have kept you—rise to a new life! Shine (be radiant with the glory of the Lord), for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you!

People of God it’s time to arise out of this state we are in. It’s time to stop going through the motions of life and taking whatever life presents. We are children of The Almighty God. It’s time to act like we know Who our Father is.

Jesus provided this wonderful life and some of us are accepting the scraps. The scraps are for the world. For His children, God has prepared a table before us (Psalm 23:5). There are wonderful promises for us and every promise we’re entitled to has been approved by God (2 Corinthians 1:20).

Shake the hurt, pain, and idleness off and live.

Luke 22:42 Saying, Father, if you be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but yours, be done.

Jesus attempted to plead His case with the Father regarding going in a different direction concerning our salvation. His flesh did not want to endure the pain and torture but more importantly, He didn’t want His Spirit to be separated from the Father.

Jesus had to catch Himself and make a “nevertheless” decision. Jesus was showing us anything outside the will of God is considered the less. Our plans will be less impactful, less effective, and less fulfilling.

Whatever God is telling us to do, even if we don’t feel like it or don’t completely understand it, make a nevertheless decision and obey the voice of God.

1 Samuel 15:23 Rebellion is as sinful as witchcraft, and stubbornness as bad as worshiping idols. So because you have rejected the command of the LORD, he has rejected you as king.”

When we think of idolatry, we usually think of serving other gods like Buddha or Ganesha however, when we choose to be stubborn and do things our way instead obeying the instructions of God, we participate in idolatry by elevating ourselves above God.

For example, if someone is being extremely rude or has an attitude with us, we have to make a decision. Either we can do what God says, which is love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us (Matthew 5:44), or elevate ourselves above God by being rude, using offensive language or starting an altercation.

Let’s remove ourselves from idolatry, obey the Spirit of the Lord, and let God be God over every area of our lives.

Inspired by Pastor F. Price

Philippians 4:19 And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

The basic hierarchy of needs for mankind is physiological, safety, love, esteem, and self-actualization.

When most of us read this scripture, we think of physiological needs such as food, clothes, and shelter. But, how many of us consider God meeting our additional needs such as love, touch, and safety? God can meet those needs as well. When we need affirmation, God can meet that need. When we need someone to comfort us, God can meet that need. When we need to feel or be protected, God can meet that need.

Do not limit God to physiological needs. Allow Him meet every need, internally and externally.

Inspired by the teachings of Dr. Johnson

Ephesians 2: 13But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off are made near by the blood of Christ. 18For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father. 22In whom you also are built together for a habitation of God through the Spirit.

Have you ever been in a service and felt the presence of God? What you felt was your soul connecting with the Spirit of God. In reality, once we become saved we have the Spirit of God. But, it is a choice to activate a relationship with the Spirit. Just as real, long-lasting relationships don’t always have that ooey-gooey feeling, our relationship with God may not always have that church-presence of God feeling. But, we do not forsake that relationship; we continue to have conversations and create time to enhance that relationship. Treat the Spirit the same way; build, grow, nurture, and maintain relationship with the Holy Spirit.

James 4: 7a Submit yourselves therefore to God. 8a Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.

1 Corinthians 2: 9But as it is written, Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God has prepared for them that love him. 12Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.

Speak with God throughout the day (this does not have to be a formal structured prayer), then give Him the opportunity to respond. When He responds you may ‘hear’ Him, or you may have a peace about a decision; listen and obey. Just as we would willingly give advice to someone who is receptive to it, we should adhere to the guidance of the Spirit. If you’re not sure if you heard Him correctly, ask Him to reiterate or confirm His instructions. The Spirit not only guides us, but makes our prayers more effective.

It’s time to grow, through insight from the One who guides us knowing our past, present, and future, and to manifest the abundantly more that God called us to!

Romans 8: 26Likewise the Spirit also helps our weakness: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought but the Spirit himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. 28And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

Psalm 139:1 You have searched me, Lord, and you know me. 2You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar.

As well as God knows us, how well do we know Him? Relationships are most valuable when two people know each other well and treat one another accordingly.

God has supplied us with the opportunity to know Him well. The Spirit of God knows the thoughts of God. Through Jesus’s resurrection, we were given the opportunity to commune with the Spirit of God. Just as you would invest time and conversations into getting to know a person, the Spirit is the Person of God; invest into that relationship. The more we get to know someone, the better the opportunity we have to understand how to best communicate with them.

Start talking!

1 Corinthians 2: 10But God has revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searches all things, yea, the deep things of God. 11For what man knows the things of a man, except the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knows no man, but the Spirit of God.

There is a song called “I Give Myself Away” by William McDowell. We know the song and we sing it, but do we live out what that song means? For those who don’t know, the song simply says, “I give myself away so You (God) can use me.”

We say we want God to use us but anytime it conflicts with our schedule, we shy away from being used. We want to be used when it’s convenient for us. It wasn’t convenient for Jesus to separate Himself from the Father, die on the cross, and go to hell for people who rejected Him, but He did it anyway.

It’s time to live out this song. Be used by getting involved in your church. Be used by sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ with others. Be used by knowing and fulfilling your assignment for the Kingdom of God.

It’s time saints.

Luke 22:42 Saying, Father, if you be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but yours, be done.

1 Peter 5:7 Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.

God’s Word tells us to cast our cares on the Lord. Most people usually cast or make the attempt to cast their cares on the Lord to avoid the stress of worrying about them. However, there are some people who have the tendency to pick their cares back up again. We may cast our cares on the Lord one day, but two weeks later, we’re worried about the same thing we supposedly gave to God. Leave them out there. Anytime we feel we’re picking our cares back up again, we have to remind ourselves that there is no one better qualified to handle our problems than the Lord.

Let’s leave our cares on the Lord to maximize on this abundant, stress free life that Jesus provided for us.

Matthew 5:16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

As a body of believers, what good works are we displaying so that God can be glorified? Are we serving in our church (usher, choir, children’s ministry, etc.)? Are we giving of our time to help the poor? Are we making disciples as it says in Mathew 28:19? Are we ministering to the unsaved? Are we making a difference in someone’s life?

These are the good works that this scripture is referring to. If all we’re doing is making sure all of our needs and desires are met and we’re not doing any good to glorify God, then we become what 2 Timothy 3:2 calls a lover of ourselves.

Display the good works so that God can be glorified.

The most important thing a parent can give a child is love. Love is something a child will remember throughout their lifetime. Love is being involved in our children’s lives. It’s not just sending money or working so much until our children never sees us.

God owns everything. Initially, God could have given us all of the wealth in the world. Instead, He got involved in our lives and demonstrated His love when He sent His only Son Jesus to die for our sins. With this demonstration, we are now worthy to be called sons and daughters of the Most High.

Let’s imitate God and demonstrate our love towards our children.

Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Psalm 130:5 I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits, and in his word I put my hope. 6 I wait for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning.

Waiting on The Lord is not a replacement for operating in faith. Remaining in faith is how we wait on The Lord. We remain in faith when speak life over our situation, when we act on the Word of God, and when we live in expectation. That is our way of saying, we trust in You, God, and we know that your promises to us will manifest.

Romans 1:17 For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”

Revelations 4:1 (AMP) After this I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven! And the first voice which I had heard addressing me like [the calling of] a war trumpet said, Come up here, and I will show you what must take place in the future. 2 At once I came under the [Holy] Spirit’s power, and behold, a throne stood in heaven, with One seated on the throne!

Notice, John was unable to see the vision without the power of the Holy Spirit.
God has some visions and dreams He wants to show us however, if we’re not sensitive to the Spirit, we’ll miss some of these great things. Not only will He show us these visions but, He’ll give us the steps to receive these visions.

We become sensitive to the Holy Spirit by constantly interacting with Him in all our affairs. From what clothes we should wear to who we should marry, let’s allow the Holy Spirit to direct us in our daily lives.

Establish or continue to develop a closer relationship with the Holy Spirit.

Genesis 1:26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

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.

If we’re experiencing negative circumstances in our lives or we’re unsure about the events happening in our lives we’ll say, “God is in control.” It’s easier to give it to God, however, the responsibility has been given to us.

If we don’t like what’s going on in our lives, it’s up to us to change it. Control and authority has been given to us by God. If we don’t like our financial status, we should release our faith, speak to our finances, and declare them to change for the better. If we don’t like the current state of our health, let’s release our faith, speak to our body, and declare by the stripes of Jesus we’re healed.

Anything we want changed, we have the authority and ability to change them by releasing our faith, speaking to that specific thing, and declaring the will of God over that thing.

Your turn.

Philippians 2:14 Do all things without complaining and disputing,

There are a lot of areas where we have the opportunity to complain. We can complain about traffic, we can complain about the decisions made at work, or we can complain about things that occur in the world. There is one thing that holds true. Complaints don’t create change.

What does create change is our praise. Anytime we feel like complaining we should substitute our complaints with praise. Praise God traffic flows smoothly and we’re not in an accident. Praise God we have employment and all decisions work for our good. Praise God that He supplies our needs and whatever is happening in the world won’t affect us or our family.

Think of how much glory God will receive, and how less stressed we will be by giving God praise instead of complaining.

2 Chronicles 20:22 As they began to sing and praise, the Lord set ambushes against the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir who were invading Judah, and they were defeated.

This is Jesus speaking.

Revelations 2:9a (AMP) I know your affliction and distress and pressing trouble and your poverty—but you are rich!

Jesus lets us know not to consider our afflictions, distress, and trouble because we are rich. We are not only rich in our finances but, we are rich in victory, we are rich in health, and we are rich in peace.

It does us no good if Jesus provided wealth, victory, and peace but, we can’t reap the benefits of these blessings in our lifetime. Our responsibility is to tap into the wisdom that Jesus also provided to receive the manifestation of these things. We are to be Holy Spirit led in the direction He wants us to go. As we follow His instructions, He will lead and guide us to the place of manifestation.

Word- hear and receive God’s written or audible Word into our lives. (Romans 10:17)

Faith- acting on the Word of God through speech and action. (Hebrews 4:2; James 2:17)

Things- after hearing and acting on the Word, the manifestation of the things we desire comes to pass. (Mark 11:22-26)

This is the core of the faith process. This is the only thing God wants us to focus on when releasing our faith. Everything else is not needed. Details cause doubt. When we start thinking about how these seemingly impossible things will come to pass and when these things will manifest themselves, doubt (from the devil) begins to set in. It doesn’t matter how or when, just know it will be done.

Hear and receive the Word of God, have faith in the word of God, and expect to receive the manifestations of the Word of God.

Matthew 21:21 Jesus replied, “Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done. 22 If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”

Inspired by the teachings of Pastor B. Winston