Isaiah 55:11

“So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. ”

I was praying the other night and God gave me an “aha” moment. I have been seeking him concerning a few things, he used this to show me the power of his word.

We are supposed to pray according to God’s will (his word). When we do this we are given a solid foundation on which to stand, and from which to resist (James 4:7) and fight (1 Timothy 6:12) the enemy.

When we do this we have comfort in the knowledge that the power of heaven is on our side and we have the right to expect what we prayed to come to pass. We are able to “decree and declare” victory in our lives according to the word.

Hebrews 4:12 says, “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. ”

There are times when we, as believers, forget just how powerful the word of God is. The word can cut going in (situation, person, thing, etc.) and coming out, the word knows your thoughts and intentions. The word is more than enough power to handle any situation we could ever find ourselves in. We are told to keep this word in our mouth always, so we can speak it always (Jeremiah 1:9-10).

When we pray the word, we are praying Jesus. John 1:14, “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. ” Praying the word is always right.

In my “aha” moment, the Lord showed me that I have a right to call those things that be not, as though they were (Romans 4:17), because of my faith in the word of God (see Hebrews11:1).

Why? Because when God sends out his word, it will accomplish the very thing it was sent to do. Every time. You need healing, salvation, deliverance, prosperity, other miracles? The answer is in the word. When you find it in there, the pray according to it, and stand on it in faith. Trust God to do his part, and then stand in expectation, and give God the praise the whole time. Eventually, in God’s timing, you will see the manifestation of your prayers.

Yes, the enemy will fight you, and try to make you think you don’t have what you asked for, or that your prayers were not answered. But don’t listen to those thoughts, rebuke them in Jesus’ name. They are lies from the enemy. Rather stand in faith and know that God’s word will accomplish what it was sent to do.

I hope my “aha” moment is a blessing to you as well.

Mark 6:51-52

“51. And he went up unto them into the ship; and the wind ceased: and they were sore amazed in themselves beyond measure, and wondered.

52. For they considered not the miracle of the loaves: for their heart was hardened. ”

Is there any such thing as a small miracle?

Or do we just take God’s goodness for granted and esteem some blessings higher than others?

God is so very good to us. Most of the time we fail to identify things in our lives as a blessing from God. We take it for granted that certain things just “should” or “must” happen. But the truth is those things that comfort our lives can be gone in a minute.

We must recognize God’s hand in and on our lives and give him praise for the things he has done.

Looking at 5th and 6th chapters of Mark. We see Jesus working several miracles. All of which are praise worthy – he is a great God! In this instance Jesus had just fed a multitude of over five thousand people with 2 fishes and 5 loaves. After everyone had eaten there was 12 baskets of food remaining. It is interesting to note that God is a God of abundance. He does not give “just enough” he gives you more than enough. You will be equipped to be a blessing to others. Moving right into the next miracle, the people left Jesus alone and began to make their way to the next destination. So Jesus began to walk on the water, saw them rowing the boat, would have gone past them, but the people saw him and became afraid. Jesus entered the boat and the winds ceased. At this the people were in amazement.

The amazing thing is these are the same people who just witnessed Jesus feeding the five thousand. They completely forgot about that miracle. Why? Because their hearts were conditioned to just expect certain things so much so that the “miraculous” aspect was totally lost on them.

We do the same thing today. However, we must be careful to recognize God’s goodness, and to give him praise for it.

How is your heart? Have you taken God’s goodness for granted? Are you giving glory to where it is due? The job you have, the home you live in, the clothes in your closet, the food in your cabinets, the car in you driveway are all examples of God’s goodness. The list is endless. A grateful heart always sees the hand of God on the small things. The things that if they were taken away, would have a huge and possibly devastating impact on our lives.

We tend to recognize God’s hand in larger situations such as God sparing us from or during a tragedy.

But we must remember that the same God that heals and delivers, is the same God that kept the electricity, heat, water, and gas on for us.

A grateful heart is the foundation to receive even greater blessings from God. The grateful heart has eyes open to the simplest moves of God, which also places them in the path for even more blessings from God. The Bible tells us in everything give thanks for this is the will of God (1 Thessalonians 5:18).

Psalms 100 tells us “be thankful unto him, and bless his name. For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; ”

How is your heart? Are you thankful in all things? Or do you allow the goodness of God to be overshadowed by life?

I encourage you, take a look at you life daily. Consider the blessings of God. Can you recognize them? When you do, take the time to say a quick “thank you” to God. The more you do this, the more you will see God move in your life, and he will add to you because of your grateful heart.

Some food for thought…

There have been times that I have petitioned God for things or regarding things and really did not get an answer. I felt that God’s silence was an answer in the negative.

But looking at God’s silence from a different perspective, there are times when we are not prepared to hear (and receive) the answer.

Another perspective is that during the process of seeking God, we learn how to listen. We recognize the necessity of stripping away a lot of the baggage we carry that makes it challenging to effectively serve God.

Do not take God’s silence as a rebuke, rather view it as a sign to seek him all the more. To dig in deeper. The process may be hard, but the reward is great.

An entirely different perspective of God’s silence is the hunger it produces in us. This hunger will make you uncomfortable until it is satisfied. The key is not to give up, but be faithful in seeking God. Once God has accomplished his purpose in your process, you will hear the answer. More importantly, you will be ready to receive the answer and run with it. You will be in a position poised for success.

Don’t give up.

James 1:5

“5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. ”

Proverbs 4:5-7

“5 Get wisdom, get understanding: forget it not; neither decline from the words of my mouth.

6 Forsake her not, and she shall preserve thee: love her, and she shall keep thee.

7 Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding. ”

By definition, Wisdom is the qualify of having experience, knowledge, and good judgement; the quality of being wise.

God expects his children to operate wisely. So much so, that God admonished us if we are lacking, we should ask him for it. In addition to wisdom, we also need understanding. Having these tools in our arsenal is essential to successfully navigate our walk with God. There are many varied situations we must face – especially dealing with people. We always face the option of over reacting, getting angry, getting defensive, loosing our temper, the list goes on.

However, when we have wisdom and operate in it, we see how detrimental these types of actions are, not only to ourselves, but also to the people who may witness them, but especially to the people or circumstances we are dealing with. People are looking at the children of God as the barometer and thermometer of every situation.

No we are not perfect. We make mistakes and stupid choices sometimes. However, we should be ever growing, and maturing.

With growth and maturity comes the exercise of wisdom and understanding. The mistakes and stupid choices should lessen as we walk with God.

Mark 4:38-40

“38. And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish?

39. And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.

40. And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith? ”

Desperation is a mighty tool in the enemy’s arsenal. But we serve a God who instructs to see with the eyes of faith, and not to focus on the present circumstances.

If we governed our lives by looking at our current circumstances we would not even make it to starting line let alone have enough courage to even begin to run the race.

However, through faith we are able to take our mark and begin to run when we hear beginning shot. See Hebrew 11:1. Our faith takes the place of what may beck physically or tangibly missing. This we are use to, and can act accordingly.

Unfortunately there are times when our faith fails us because we took our eyes off of Jesus, and instead chose to focus on the circumstances. Every time we do this, we will fall.

Keep your eyes on Jesus. I guarantee no matter what you are going through, the God that is abiding in you, Is Not Panicking. Through faith, you must keep your eyes on him and act accordingly.

In the scripture text, Jesus was asleep with his head on a pillow. I am sure he was aware of the storm, but it did not bother him, because he knew who he IS. We have to watch him, act accordingly, have faith in who he IS. He will never fail you. Keep calm.

Sometimes you literally have to close your eyes, speak with Jesus to get your bearings. Then open your eyes, and speak to the winds and waves of your circumstances and command them, “peace, be still, in the name of Jesus!”

We are the to never give in to desperation. If you begin to feel the pressure or grip of desperation creeping on you, that is all the alert you need to exercise your faith. Talk to Jesus, then command your situation. God always causes us to triumph.

Know that Jesus is with you. If you have been living in a manner which may have caused him to take a back seat in you life, repent. Allow God to take the drivers seat, and guide your life. Then keep your eyes on him, do as he urges you, walk in faith, and strive to please him.

Be blessed.

Many people spend more time lamenting over what they would like to happen in their lives rather than taking the necessary steps to facilitate the required change.

Many people have a partial vision, but lack direction. Instead of seeking the dream giver concerning the dream, they stand still and passively wait. Many forget we serve a God who told us to diligently seek him, to pray without ceasing, to ask (and ye shall receive), to seek (and ye shall find), and to knock (the door shall be opened unto you).

God gave you the dream or vision, with the understanding that you would seek him concerning it. That you would add some works to your faith, and make a step forward toward fulfilling your dream or destiny.

What God did not intend is for your to be so scared to move, or so faithless to seek him. Then have the nerve to sit there and complain about people who are moving, wondering when your time is coming.

It’s time to get over yourself, wake up and go after God.

The words of the song is true, ‘what God has for me, it is for me’. No one can take it away, but you can certainly give it up or relinquish it.

By staying where you are, you are operating in fear. You are afraid to move forward, but also afraid to stay where you are. Afraid to see people move forward, passing you by. Understand that fear is not of God. God cannot use a coward soldier.

Get over yourself. God gave you the dream or vision because he sees something in you that you have yet to see in yourself. If God trusted you enough to give you the dream, you need to trust him enough to prepare you and to bring it to pass. This mature attitude comes through seeking him.

Through the process of seeking him in prayer, Bible study, praise and worship, we build relationship with God. We get to know him, and are able to hear his voice clearly. God is able to drop direction and encouragement in your spirit, allowing his word to be a lamp unto your feet and a light unto your pathway. Thereby illuminating the way you need to go.

Nothing is gained by you continually to ignore God.

However, if you choose to continue to ignore him, then you must also choose to stop complaining about when he is going to bring your dream or vision to pass. Get over yourself. God did his part, now you must do yours (or forever hold your peace).

Get over yourself and seek God. Believe me, if/when you do, you will find success.

Be blessed.

Mark 4:8-9

“8. And other fell on good ground, and did yield fruit that sprang up and increased; and brought forth, some thirty, and some sixty, and some an hundred.

9. And he said unto them, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. ”

Wayside = Satan comes immediately to still the word.

Stony ground = Received the word with gladness, but because you had no depth to your faith, you could not endure trials.

Thorny ground = received the word, but the cares of this life (lust of life, deceitfulness of riches), choked out the word so that it was unfruitful.

Good ground = You hear the word, receive it, and through faith allow it to become fruitful in your life (some 30, some 60, and some 100 fold).

Sometimes we are so hard on ourselves because we feel we don’t have it all together. We love the Lord, and desire to serve him. But still we find ourselves failing him over and over again.

The great thing about God is through the word (reading, hearing preaching, teaching, and bible study) he shows us ourselves. We are able to see where we are as well as where God requires us to be. Our problem is that we condemn ourselves because we know that we are not where God needs us to be. There are times we even say ‘why bother trying’ we give up and continue our evil ways.

What God wants us to know and understand is that he shows us these things so we can take the necessary actions to change. These actions are simple, recognized where you are, repent to God, and allow him to usher you to where you need to be.

Our problem is once we see the truth, we either let Satan still it immediately, or we do not have enough depth (solid foundation or relationship with God), that trials trip us up. Or we did receive the truth, but the cares of this life overshadows the word that we forget all about it. Because of this we remain as we are. Eventually guilt sets in, and we hide from God (spiritually speaking). We stop reading the Bible, or stop going to church. We begin to make excuses.

However, what you need to understand is even if you were once (or are currently) wayside, stony or thorny ground, you do not have to remain that way. Once you get good and tired of yourself, you just need to cry out to God and ask for forgiveness. Ask God to allow your heart to become good ground. Repent and seek after God.

God is faithful and just to forgive (1 John 1:9). He will help you. But ultimately everything boils down to your choices. Eventually, you must begin to make the right choices, and do so daily. Joshua 24:15, you have to choose God daily. There is always going to be opportunity to make other choices. We must strive to be consistent and choose God. We are not perfect, we will make mistakes, fail God, and fall. If and when this happens, we must remember 1 John 1:9, repent, and ask God for help. Eventually, you will find yourself falling him less. You will start to please him.

You are good ground. Receive the word with gladness. Apply the word to your life by walking according to it. Watch the fruit of God be in abundance in your life. Share this fruit with everyone God allows you to. Don’t not be ashamed when God shows you the wrong you have done or are doing. Rather take it as an opportunity to repent and do better. For that is the reason God showed you yourself.

God bless you all.

Joshua 24:14-15 ESV

14 “Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. 15 And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

Many people want to believe (subconsciously or not) that once they make their initial choice to be a follower of Christ, that the choice is forever settle. However, this is a misconception. We must choose the Lord daily.

Why? Because every day of our lives – and sometimes several times a day – we are faced with life choices that can takes in the right or the wrong direction.

Everyday we must choice Christ, everyday we must choose what is right. This sounds simple. However, must of the time doing what is wrong is easier. Many times, doing what is wrong seems to work in our favor.

Doing what is right requires integrity. It is challenging to make appropriate choices.

For a believer, choices require strong faith in God. We have to make decisions that will take us in directions that do not make sense to others. We make choices that seem like the long way around. But walking by faith rarely make a straight line, it often requires a lot of twists and turns. But the destination is always where we need to be. That is where our faith comes into play. We must allow the Lord to lead us in the path he would have us to take. To be able to successfully do this we must give the power over to God, and truly be his follower. We must choose to allow him to lead our lives.

Choices are the hallmark of being an adult. But it is also the hallmark of a believer – faith choices. We must choose to follow as the Spirit leads – always. As Joshua said above “this day” is every day. Every day, with every choice, we must choose to “serve the Lord.”

Trust me, there are choices that take us away from the Lord. Although God promised never to leave us, he did not say we couldn’t leave him. We do this by making the wrong choices, and then by choosing to live with them rather than choosing to correct our error.

If this is you, repent, and choose the Lord all over again. Then allow him to strengthen you to go through what you must because of your poor choices. For the word of God is sure, you will reap what you sow. But when God is with you, he will enable you to make it through.

What a great God we serve.

Then moving forward Make wise, godly choices which garner the favor of God.

Be blessed.

Matthew 15:23-28

“23. But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us.

24. But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

25. Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me.

26. But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it to dogs.

27. And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.

28. Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour. ”

Have you ever sought the Lord for something and did not get an answer?

Have you ever sought the Lord but felt like God was not listening to your prayer?

If you are like me, you have. Many times this lack of response would lead us to feel like we have displeased God or that we have done something wrong. Most of the time God is just testing us to see what our next move will be.

Will you give up? Will you get mad at God? Will you turn your back on him? Or will you try to go about making your own miracle? By the way, doing this usually makes matters worse.

When we are seeking God, we cannot afford to be impatient. Being impatient shows a lack of faith and leads to poor decisions. These poor decisions will place us in a place of desperation. If we are not careful desperation can cause you to have a sense of hopelessness. The foundation of all these types of emotions are a lack of faith and trust in God.

The believer must have confidence in God. We must be persuaded that “he is, and he is able…”. This confidence in God will cause us to exhibit the same perseverance as the woman with the issue of blood, and as the mother in the scripture text. In the face of what looked like rejection, she did not give up. She knew what she needed from God, and she kept after it until she received it.

Notice Jesus remained silent. He did not send her away as the disciples wanted. He allowed her to stay. His silence was more of an invitation or opportunity, if you will.

The mother seized the opportunity. She worshipped God. She the responded to Jesus’ comments, showing her faith. Jesus, knew who she was, the mother knew the Jewish customers. But she would not allow that to stop her. She knew this was her daughter’s opportunity to be delivered.

What about you? Are you having conversation with God in prayer? Where you speak and give space to God to speak? Are you listening to what he is saying? Or are your prayers one sided?

Are you worshipping God before bringing your petitions to him? Or are you rattling off what you want and getting up and moving on with your day?

Are you in a place where you have not been answered. Are you patiently waiting (passively, with no actions)? Or are you waiting in worship (persevering in faith)?

Don’t mistake silence for rejection. Continue to pursue God for what you need. Put some works with your faith.

In the end, the mother got just what she needed for her daughter. You can have a successful outcome too. As long as you don’t give up on God.

Remember, delay is not rejection. It is an opportunity to show God you are in it to win it.

Have a blessed day.

(Feel free to leave your comments below)

Matthew 15:15-20

“15. Then answered Peter and said unto him, Declare unto us this parable.

16. And Jesus said, Are ye also yet without understanding?

17. Do not ye yet understand, that whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught?

18. But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man.

19. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies:

20. These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man. ”

Responsibility is a heavy word in every sense. We must take responsibility for the things we utter from our mouth. Things don’t just “slip” out of your mouth. You said it because It was in your heart, so it had no choice but to come out.

We must be careful in what we allow to make into our hearts. The things we allow ourselves to constantly think on, obsess over, or become fascinated with – whether they are good or bad – are the things in our hearts.

The Bible tells us whatsoever things are true, honest, just, pure, lovely, are of good report, think on these things (Philippians 4:8). Things that fall into these categories will not produce harm to the hearers. They will produce life in you. But it is still your choice, your responsibility.

What you think about, you will speak about.

What you speak about will either defile you or build you (and the hearer) up.

Feed your self and your spirit things that will keep you free, make you healthy, and be a blessing to all. You are the one who chooses what you will eat. People are depending on you. What will you pour into them?

It’s your choice, your responsibility – watch what you say.