Being Thankful/Grateful 
At this time of the year many may be tempted to rush around trying to buy gifts for friends, family, co-workers, etc. to show love and appreciation. But this is also the perfect time to check in and examine just how good God has been to us, and simply say “thank you.” Sincerely.

The word of God says it like this…

Psalms 100:4-5

4. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.

5. For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.

Now is the perfect time to acknowledge his goodness and mercy toward us. To help us do this effectively, let us look at what these words mean.

The dictionary provides the following definitions:

Thankful: 

pleased and relieved.

“they were thankful that the war was finally over”

synonyms: grateful, appreciative, filled with gratitude, relieved

“she was thankful that the evening was over”

Grateful:

 an appreciation of kindness; thankful.

“I’m very grateful to you for all your help”

synonyms: thankful, appreciative; More

I have heard people say, “what have I got to be thankful/grateful for?” They then take time to list all the bad things (tragedy, losses, problems, hardships, etc.) that have happened to them along the way just to prove their point. This is easy to do, because many people find it easy to focus on the negatives of their life. By doing this, they magnify the lack and losses of their life. Thereby causing themselves stay in lack and loss even longer. They become crippled by their negative vision.

However, I challenge you to change your perspective and look at the positives of your life. Take some time to list the good things, (blessings, mercies, solutions, encouragements, etc.) that has also happened along the journey of your life. When your focus is on how good God has been, your faith is increased to receive even more from God. 

How is this possible? Just like our parents, when we express gratitude to them for all that they do for us as their children, they are then encouraged to do even more. When we come to God correctly, “Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name” (Psalms 100:4), God then wants to bless us even more.

It is up to us. We can be thankful and grateful with what God has already done, or we can be upset because we do not have all that we desire. If nothing else, God has allowed us all to see a new day full of new opportunities. A change of your perspective from negative to positive is the beginning of a blessed life. 

This is in your control. You can chose to be thankful and grateful. Choose happiness over misery. 

*** I hope this has blessed you and encouraged you to express thanksgiving to God. As always, I look forward to your comments. Be blessed by the word.

Luke 11:9
And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.

Jesus encouraged his disciples to ask, seek,  and find because it is his will to give us everything. However, he requires our faith to receive, he wants us to trust and believe him for everything.

When we have enough faith and imagination to ask him for [the impossible] things it makes him smile. And puts us in the right position to receive a miracle.

Just as the disciples, Jesus wants us to ask, seek,  and find. Go ahead, make him smile – stretch your faith. Ask God, seek God, find God.

*** I hope you are blessed by the word. Look forward to more challenges. I also look forward to your responses. God bless.

Luke 11:9

And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.

Question: Why did Jesus encourage his disciples to ask, seek, and find?

** Please answer in the comment section below. I look forward to hearing from you. God bless.

Prepare yourself – Not Everyone Believes in Your Dreams!
Jude 1:17-20

“17. But, beloved, remember ye the words which were spoken before of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ; 18. How that they told you there should be mockers in the last time, who should walk after their own ungodly lusts. 19. These be they who separate themselves, sensual, having not the Spirit. 20. But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost,”

The word of God is so awesome and all encompassing. I love the word of God because no matter what the situation, God’s word has something that can help us to overcome.

Most of us toil under the belief that everyone who says kind words to us, actually want what is best for us. This is not true. People can fall into two categories when it comes to providing discouragement. 1.) they truly mean to wound you so you do not succeed, or 2.) they want to give you what they believe is a realistic opinion. The later is not meant to hurt you per say, but rather to prepare you for the failure for which they believe you are heading.

We must do what is necessary to protect our vision, and (our sometime fragile) faith. There are times when, in order to protect ourselves, we must be very careful who we share the details of our vision with. Even well meaning advice from those closest to us, or those “so called” experts, can be damaging to our faith. 

Jude reminds us of the apostles previous warning – that there would be mockers. People specifically sent to discourage, belittle, and down right make fun of the things that God has promised us, or the things that God spoke into your spirit. These are the people who have no desire to please God, so they do not want to see you please him either. Or people who have no desire to accomplishing anything meaningful for society at large, and they do not want to see you do it either. Many call this type of person a hater.

These people walk they way they want, and do the things they want with no regard to others. Do not expect to receive encouragement from them. They do not want to see others saved, set free, or delivered from bondage. We must pray for them, but keep it moving. Do not allow them to hinder you.

But God is faithful. He tells us to rather “build up yourselves on your most holy faith” and he then gives direction in how this should be done – “praying in the Holy Ghost.” 

We have to pave our way to success by prayer, and the word of God. Romans 10:17 says “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” 

But remember faith without works is dead (James 2:20). So we must put our faith in action by doing what the word says. Then we must stand on the word of God by faith, until you see the fruit of your faithful labor. 

Be encouraged and know that God has your back, but he still requires action from you.

*** I hope this has blessed you. As always, we welcome your comments. Please feel free to share. God bless.

Are you STRONG?
Ephesians 6:10

“Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.”

What is strong? 

The dictionary provides the following definition and example:

strong – /adjective

able to withstand great force or pressure.

“cotton is strong, hard-wearing, and easy to handle”

synonyms: secure, well built, indestructible, well fortified, well protected, impregnable, solid.

I find this very intriguing, especially when you consider the definition along with the scripture. “Finally, my brethren be [able to withstand great force or pressure] in the Lord, and in the power of his might.”

No matter where you are in the Lord (stage or level), one thing that unites us all – we are required to be strong in the Lord. This may look different in every believer’s life, but strength is a inherent quality in us all. It is important to understand that it is not Your own strength, but His. The scripture says “My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:8). 

We are to exchange our strength for his. When we can successfully do this we can truly be able to withstand great force or pressure in the Lord.

Our problem is we tend to rely on our own strength, and remove God from the equation (or decision-making process). Choosing instead to believe we can do things on own. But real strength comes from understanding that in this flesh dwells no good thing. Making decisions without God, is like starting out with 2 strikes already against you – it leaves no margin for error. 

It takes real strength to step back, stand still, and seek God’s face. Deciding not to move until God speaks can be very challenging. The temptation to rely on you own knowledge can be relentless, especially when your patience is low. However, pushing beyond this temptation is rewarding, and requires real strength. 

Let us look at the scripture again, but focusing instead on “power”….

Power is defined as “the ability to do something or act in a particular way, especially as a faculty or quality. “the power of speech”

synonyms: ability, capacity, capability, potential, faculty, competence. 

The scripture can be viewed as…

“Finally, my brethren be [able to withstand great force or pressure] in the Lord, and in the [ability, capacity, capability, potential, faculty, competence] of his might.”

God has given the Holy Ghost filled believer authority in Him, and he expects us to actually take dominion. This is to be done by applying the word to our lives, then standing on that word even as the enemy comes along to attack our faith.

Ephesians 6:10 is not a question, it is a command “be strong in the Lord! Be strong in the power of his might!” 

It time to live up to what God called us to be. We must exchange our weakness for his strength. When we can do this, we will truly become strong – in Him. This same strength is referred to in Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” There will nothing you cannot accomplish in and for the Lord.It is important to grab hold of this strength now because you will need it as you proceed throughout your walk with the Lord.

*** I hope you find this topic helpful and pray that you continue to study it in your private devotional time. Please feel free to leave a comment, question or concern below. God bless.

Stand Therefore…
Ephesians 6: 13-14

“13. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 14. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;”

Just a note to encourage you. Many of us are fighting the good fight of faith everyday. Some struggles are harder than others, but understand God causes us to triumph – Always. 

It is the believers job to stand on the word of God – Always. It is our responsibility to do this from the position of faith. As the scripture says in Habakkuk, Romans, Galatians, and Hebrews “for the just shall live by faith.” This phrase is mentioned so many times in the bible because we need to be reminded continually. The believer’s life is indeed a walk of faith – in all things. If/when our faith weakens and wavers, it can lead us into doubt and eventually unbelief. This seriously impairs our ability to live in the triumph that wants God for us. 

Faith does not allow us to be moved by what we see (or by what people say). Faith takes the stance that the word of God is truth even when everything looks to the contrary. 

For those of us who are trying to go to the next level (spiritually and naturally), it is especially important to have your mind/vision focused on the word. Anything else can lead to doubt. It is the enemy’s job to keep us distracted from receiving what God has for us. It is our job not to fall victim to the variety of distractions the enemy uses against us. 

Understand that distractions come in many different forms. The major (and arguably) the most successful is logic. For example, a distraction can be when a well meaning friend or loved one tells you “it just isn’t logical to expect you’d get the job, they will give it to someone more qualified, with more education.” God defies logic on a daily basis. If God placed the unction in your spirit to apply that means it is His desire that you have it. It then becomes your responsibility to stand by faith. 

Fight the good fight of faith, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore… Be encouraged, you can do it. God is in your corner. Keep your mind/vision focused on the word.

*** I pray this post is a blessing in your life. It has been to me. Please drop by our page and leave a comment. We would love to hear from you.