Let’s fall in love with the Word of God.

Then act accordingly.

Have a blessed Saturday morning!!

Psalms 16:11

“Thou wilt shew me the path of life:

in thy presence is fulness of joy;

at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore. ”

Have you ever felt the need to just sit in God’s presence?

It’s not that you need anything in particular. Or even going through some great heavy storm. It’s just because he is my father, he loves me, and he knows me better than anybody. It is impossible to articulate what I need, but I do know that it is in his presence.

That’s how I feel tonight, right now.

It is wonderful to know that I don’t have to travel any great distance to find him. He is ever present with me. I can go to my “secret place” and just meditate on him. Worship for him fills my heart, my mind, and then spills out of my mouth.

Our God is a great God!

If you are up and reading this post, I encourage you to take some time to spend with God. Just you and him. Forget about everything, let it go for a few moments, and have a sweet communion with God. For in his presence is fullness of joy, and at his right hand there are pleasures for evermore.

Afterward, I guarantee that even though your situation may not have changed, but your attitude toward it will have changed. The Bible “says as a man thinketh so is he.” So once you change your attitude toward what you are dealing with or going through, you will have also positioned yourself for the victory. Everything you need is in God’s presence.

Find your victory in God!

1 John 4:17-18

“17. Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.

18. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.”

It’s all about love.

Every thing we do or say should be motivated by, and come from a place of love. Even if the people we are dealing with are hard to love, the God we love is not.

Whatever steps we take or moves we make should all be done unto the Lord. With this attitude we can always operate in love to people who maybe mean, hurtful or even cruel.

This is how the love of God is perfected in us. Because as he is (God is love), in this world so are we.

We are the way people will see the love of God in action.

Go forth and show the world what we are made of!!

Be Encouraged!!

1 John 3:18

“Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth ”

If you talk the talk, it is now time to walk the walk!

My mother-in-law would always say “a pair of lips will say anything.” This is so true. We are quick to talk the religious cliche’ talk we have learned over the years. But there comes a time when we have to make a choice. Do we live the words of faith we speak? Or are we just a bunch of words with no power?

I know this sounds harsh, but hold on, it’s is not. It is totally appropriate to speak words of faith without having been tried by them. This is where every believer starts. During this stage of growth we are like new babes, learning the ways of faith, learning scripture, learning how to exercise our faith in small doses.

However, there comes a time when we must grow up and mature. We do this by being tried by the words we have been speaking.

God loves us so much that he allows us to be tried. He does this through tests of faith. Where we have to exercise our faith, testing those words that we have been talking. This is where rubber meets road.

These tests are not to destroy you, but to make you.

The love that we profess must not just be in word, but MUST be in action. If you say you trust God. There is a test coming where you will have the opportunity to show (through your faith action) that you do, or you don’t.

That time as babes was precious. The Bible tells us we must grow from faith to faith. At every level there is a test we need to pass before we can graduate to the next. Sort of like spiritual school.

At school, we are tested to make sure we have learned what was taught, and are able to properly apply this information to life. The same is true with God. He already knows where we are. The tests are for us. We need to know where we are, so we understand what our strengths and weaknesses are. So we can understand where we need to ask God for help.

It’s all about love. Put that Love of God in action. Don’t just speak it, live it.

Show your love for people through sharing, caring, and giving. Share your time, your faith, your gifts, and your finances. Not just inside the church, for you are most impactful outside of the four walls. Let God use you where he most needs you.

It’s time to ask God where he needs you to be. Then occupy that space til he comes.

Charity. Give the love of God to the people who need it the most. You may feel you don’t have much (time, resources, patience, desire to do, etc). But if you give the little you do have in faith, God will bless and increase it. Giving you more, so that you have more to give.

It’s all about love. Trust God, and go for it. Share it today.

The Power of Hope

1 John 3:2-3

“2. Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.

3. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.”

By definition, hope is a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen.

What are you expecting?

The Bible says in John 6:63, “It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.”

To quicken is to give or restore life to something.

When your hope lies is God, his Spirit breathes life into that thing you are hoping for. God inspires you to do all that you can to reach for, and work towards your goal. He will cause you to triumph. Because your hope is rooted in the words that God has spoken. Those words that are full of life.

Romans 5:1-5

“1. Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: 2. By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3. And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; 4. And patience, experience; and experience, hope: 5. And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.”

Hope is anchored in peace – the peace of God. We can celebrate in this great expectation we have of God. We don’t fear or dread facing the challenges we will meet on the way because we know that these challenges will only sharpen us. They will develop patience and experience in us. And we will need these important elements because they strengthen our hope. Our strong hope prepares us to boldly stand before all.

1 Corinthians 15:19

“If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.”

We must understand that our hope should expand beyond this life. Yes we want to have a blessed and successful life, but our ultimate hope or expectation is beyond this life. The believer’s goal is to please God, and then see his face in peace. Heaven is the ultimate expectation. As Titus 2:13 says, “Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;”

For this reason, as it says in 1 John 3:3, Everyman that has this hope IN HIM purifieth himself, because the God we serve is pure.

This requires action on our part. But it is God inspired action. There are some things we know to do, and to be (and stay) clean from. The rest – ask God to help you to clean. Because we need him to. There are somethings that only God can deliver us from.

The power of hope in God is that our expectations are rooted and grounded in Him. God breaths life into (fuels) our hope. He inspires use to reach for greatness. The unction of the Holy Ghost makes the things hoped for seem tangible even before we have it.

Hope is not a thing that people can steal or crush, because they have nothing to do with it. They cannot see it or handle it. It is something deep on the inside that drives the believer. It is a God-given tool. Use it skillfully!

What are you expecting?

Are you preparing yourself for it?

Are you excited about what God is doing?

Purify yourself and rejoice in hope. For there IS power in hope!

By definition, Potential is having or showing the capacity to become or develop into something in the future.

The danger of potential is (1) Not recognizing it, and (2) Not knowing what to do with it.

The first hurdle is simple – understand your passion. If God gave you a passion for a thing or things, then you have the potential to be great in them. The second hurdle- once you embrace your passion, then educate yourself. Learn all you can about them, watch people who are you excelling in them. Surround yourself with positive people.

People with potential have no limits on what they can achieve. Except for their own drive or motivation to take that first step, and keep it moving.

By definition, Faith is complete trust or confidence in someone or something.

For the believer, our faith is in God, completely!

The Bible has much to say about faith. It tells us that faith can move mountains, The just shall live by faith. Without faith it is impossible to please God, etc. There are hundreds of scriptures on faith.

The Bible also provides a multitude of examples of believers, and how their success was achieved through faith. See Moses, Joshua, Esther, Daniel, etc. The list is very long.

The common denominator of all these people of faith – action. They put their faith in action.

The bridge between potential and faith is Works. This Bible says that faith without works is dead.

There is a formula that is unbeatable: potential + faith * works = accomplishment.

Potential alone is kind of sad. Picture the person who recognizes all they he or she could be or do, but lacks the wherewithal to make a move towards it. Instead, they find excuse after excuse as to why they didn’t or couldn’t, and settle for a lesser life,

Faith alone is sad too. Picture the person who say they believe God for this or that, but they sit and wait for something to happen. This person does not have enough faith (or sense) to move toward the very thing they need from God.

Now picture works. This is all about action. Works are activated by passion (potential), but is fueled (and directed) by faith.

When the formula is properly applied, the sky is the limit. Why? Because now God has something to work with. Something he can put his hand on and bless. Something he can steer in the direction he needs it to go. Something he can increase and strengthen.

Don’t worry if your work is a wrong move. It is still something. God can prune and correct, sending it in the right direction.

Your wrong move is still faith in action. Man may look on the outside to judge, but God knows the intentions of your heart (Hebrews 4:12). If your intentions were pure, your wrong move is not the end.

As the formula states, your potential added to your faith, multiplied by works, will guarantee you accomplish what you are called to do.

Galatians 1:4-5

“who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.“

We live in the “self help” era. There are all kinds of tools and assistance companies out there which offer help and/or advice about most situations. However, we know that every good gift and every perfect gift comes from God (James 1:17).

If we are not careful we will give the glory that should go to God, to someone or something else.

The Bible tells use that God is a Jealous God and he will not share his glory with another. The Bible also tells us that we overcome by the word of our testimony (Revelation 12:11). When we ask God for help/deliverance we are to give our testimony so that someone else can hear and be strengthened.

In this day of self help we feel so empowered that we can fool ourselves to believe that whatever progress we have made was done on our own. When the fact of the matter is our great God directed us to the place/person/thing that was instrumental in bringing about our liberty.

Yes, tell your story. People need to know that you overcame adversity. And if you overcame, then so can they. But don’t forget God. Tell how God was the catalyst in your victory.

To God be the glory for the things he has done.

In all of your boasting, don’t forget to give God his due praise.

Judges 16: 16,17, 20

“16. And it came to pass, when she pressed him daily with her words, and urged him, so that his soul was vexed unto death;

17.. That he told her all his heart, and said unto her, There hath not come a razor upon mine head; for I have been a Nazarite unto God from my mother’s womb: if I be shaven, then my strength will go from me, and I shall become weak, and be like any other man.

20. And she said, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he awoke out of his sleep, and said, I will go out as at other times before, and shake myself. And he wist not that the Lord was departed from him.”

1 Thessalonians 4:11

“And that ye study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you;”

Most people long for someone to talk to. Every one wants a real true friend. But there are times when we need to keep quiet and do our own business.

Samson chose to play with fire. He had to know that Delilah was not true to him in any way. Instead of keeping his own secret, he chose to tell her, and put himself in Jeopardy.

Nothing is worth risking our salvation over.

Samson deluded himself to believe that no matter what, he would always be stronger than his enemy. That he would always be victorious. In the end, in his death we was victorious. However, because he could not keep his own secrets, he put himself in the fire, so to speak.

God has designed us to be victorious, to always triumph. But when our flesh gets involved, we tend to make poor or bad decisions. Just like Samson.

We don’t have to wait for the enemy to figure things out. We just open our mouth and tell him wants going on in our lives. When the fire comes, we wonder what happened. The truth is we trusted the wrong person with our hearts secrets. Now they are no longer secrets. Just as Samson became entertainment for the Philistines, are secrets are entertaining others.

Who is to blame? We are. If we cannot keep our own secret, why do we expect others to?

Jesus is a true friend and I can tell him anything. There are things that I can only tell him. God has blessed me with a couple great friends. I know that if I tell them something, that information is secure. Even still, there are somethings that God wants you to hold on to yourself.

God desires to have true relationship with us – true fellowship and communion. He wants to be our friend. He wants us to recognize and accept him as such. And believe me, there is not a friend like Jesus!

God wants your trust. Trust him enough confide your secrets. Then watch him work on your behalf. When he blesses you, he will do so in front of everyone- especially our enemies. That is the time to open our mouths and tell of the goodness of the Lord.

Instead of trying to find another person, trust God. Cast your care on him for he cares for you (1 Peter 5:7).

Give it a try. I guarantee you will not regret it.

Judges 14:17

“And she wept before him the seven days, while their feast lasted: and it came to pass on the seventh day, that he told her, because she lay sore upon him: and she told the riddle to the children of her people “

Maya Angelou gave us a very important life lesson, “When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time. ”

I believe she took this very sound advice from the Bible. Looking at the story of Samson, it is an example of this very thing.

We all know that Samson’s life unfolded as it did because God’s will needed to be done to deliver Israel from the Philistines. However, there is also important information we can use to govern our daily lives.

One such lesson is interpersonal relationship dynamics.

In Judges, it tells the story of the woman that Samson wanted for his wife. We see that Samson saw her and asked his parents to get her for his wife. We see everything from Samson’s point of view. We do not know if the woman cared for or even wanted Samson as her husband. All we know is that Samson’s parents got her for him.

When Samson put forth a riddle to the children of Philistine, the wife is the one they came to for assistance when they could not figure it out.

She showed Samson just who she was. She got his secret from him, then shared it with her people.

When Samson saw Delilah, his experience was the same.

We all have had situations where we were hurt, wounded, or betrayed by people who were close to us. Instead of learning from this lesson, we continually open ourselves for repeat behaviors.

That is not to say that we should close ourselves off from people and never be willing to trust again. In fact, it is just the opposite. We need people, just as people need us. Any relationship requires us to be open, honest, and show a certain level of vulnerability.

However, life experience should teach us lessons. Lessons that provide knowledge that we can apply to future interpersonal relationships.

After being stung by a bee before, the next time I see a bee flying in my direction I know to keep out of its way. This does not mean that I hate bees. It does mean that I have had an encounter with one before, and walked away from that encounter with some important information. Now, whenever I encounter another bee I put that learned information into practice.

We should learn from the past, and use that knowledge to govern our present. When you encounter another such person, guard yourself WITHOUT casting the new person in the same role as the other. Just recognize the behavior that seems the same (or similar), and prepare yourself.

Matthew 10:16, tells us “Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves. Be ye therefore wise as serpents and harmless as doves.”

Even though the waters are treacherous, we are still out in them to be fishers of men. Love is the key! Everything we do should be motivated by love. It is impossible to show love without opening ourselves up to people. With this comes the possibility of being hurt. However, if you use the lessons you have learned correctly, you will be willing to put yourself out there, AND protect yourself (to a certain degree) as well.

Do not let anything (big or small) keep you from doing what God has called you to. Learn your lesson, apply it to your life, and keep it moving!

Definitions:

Desire: a strong feeling of wanting to have something or wishing for something to happen.

Lust: a passionate desire for something.

Psalms 37:4

“Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.”

In Judges 14:1-4, Samson sees a daughter of the Philistines, and asked his parents to get her for his wife. In verse 4 we see that even though the relationship was not pleasing to his parents, it was the will of God. God needed an occasion to usher in the deliverance of Israel.

Where does desire come from?

According to Psychology Today, “Psychology in general leans towards the former possibility: It’s all been somehow pre-implanted, and only activation is needed.” (Shorter, Ph D, Edward, Where Does Desire Come From?, 7/15/15).

I would expand on this belief…

In a nutshell, man is born with a desire toward God. This desire is cultivated through life experiences. At some point we come into contact with God (by attending church, or a testimony from a believer, by hearing the word preached/taught on internet or radio, by reading an article, etc.). We then have a choice to make, either acceptance or rejection. With acceptance (or activation) should come relationship. With relationship we are to be (or should be) lead by God.

From this point, even our desires should be in line with the will of God.

This is why we must also deal with lust.

The Bible says that we face temptation because of lust. James 1:14, “But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.” Notice how the scripture says “his own lust.” This is not something from God. This is your own hang ups that pulls you away from God. This is not something from God or even of God. This lust is all about you.

Even so, God is faithful, because with every temptation he makes a way of escape. This let’s us know that God understands us. He does not approve of or support our sinful desires. However, he does love us enough to provide us a way to escape the sinful desire.

What a great God we serve!

Understanding Desire

Now, when we are in God’s will, even the things we desire should be God given or inspired. This is where that psychology “pre-implanted” thought comes into play. God has a plan for our lives. Everyone has a purpose, a calling, a specialized gift or talent. We are to use these to bring glory to God. So when you have a strong feeling of wanting to have something (desire), that is God inspired as well.

So move forward, understand that your desire is not lust. God has your back, stay in his will. Because you delight your self in God, he will continue to give you the desires of your heart. How? Because Hebrews 4:12 tells us that the word of God is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. You may know know or even understand everything that is in your heart, but God does. That is why he is able to give us what we need. Because he knows (even before we do) what is in our heart. You may not know why you lean towards certain things or ideas, but God does.

For you, The Ordinary Just Won’t Do

There is a purpose behind you wanting the things you do. Continue to seek God for those things. Take the necessary steps to achieve your goals, giving glory to God along the way.

Understand that,

-There is purpose in your pain.

-There is strength in stretching your faith.

-There is victory in striving for excellence.

-There is nothing wrong with ordinary. But understand that there are times when the ordinary just won’t do.

-Do not settle for ordinary if God is pushing you to greater. Focus on achieving greater.

He knows how to bless us just right!