1 John 1:5-7

“5. This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 

6. If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: 

7. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.”

I appreciate the mercy and grace that God extends to his people. I could not exist without it. However, my goal is to do better, to be a better person- someone who brings glory and honor to him. My goal is to live my life in a manner that pleases God.

In him is no darkness at all. I cannot call myself his child and walk in darkness at the same time. I am striving to do better. Doing all I know to do to walk in the light – the word of God.

Having said that, I am not perfect. I make mistakes, I get angry, and even do other people wrong. It is during these times that I appreciate the mercy (God’s willingness to spare or to forgive) of God. 

But a part of waking in the light is to examine yourself, identify your ugliness (wrong), and make the effort to change you behaviors (attitudes). Doing things better. 

The great thing about walking in the light is that we don’t have to do this on our own. We have supernatural help from the Father to do better. After a time of practicing walking in the light we will find that we are better. We have made significant changes – all because of God’s goodness, grace, and mercy. His light being in us, drove out the darkness that was once deeply ingrained within.

But it all starts with the desire to do better, to be better than we are. Faith without works is dead. We must put that desire into action – we must start to do better. Then stand back and watch God move in us and for us.

*** l pray that you are encouraged to do better. As always your comments are welcome. Be blessed. 

Matthew 9:28 – 29

“28 And when he was come into the house, the blind men came to him: and Jesus saith unto them, Believe ye that I am able to do this? They said unto him, Yea, Lord. 

29 Then touched he their eyes, saying, According to your faith be it unto you.”

The 9th chapter of Matthew has 5 different miracles performed by Jesus.  What they have in common is those who were seeking Him were effective in getting Jesus’ attention. 

The Ruler used worship, the woman with the issue of blood used her faith, and the 2 blind men were persistent. The man sick with palsy, Jesus was moved by the faith of those who brought him, and to show the scribes who he was. The devil cast out of the dumb man caused all the people to marvel.

For us, these all serve as examples about receiving from God. It requires our worship, faith, and persistence. Once we have God’s attention, we can then ask Him for anything. But be prepared for Jesus’ response “Believe ye that I am able to do this?

Before you answer this question carefully consider your response. Why? Because he already knows the truth. God knows your level of faith. Not to discourage you – for God can do anything. However, we can only receive from God according to our level of faith. 

Jesus responded, “According to your faith be it into you.”  Your faith level will determine what you ask for. It will also determine what you shall receive. 

…Ask and ye shall receive…ye have not, because ye ask not.  Asking God is important and necessary. We must do this. But we must also exercise, and grow our faith  (faith without works is dead). We must stretch our faith and refuse to put limits on God. Ephesians 3:20 “Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,”

According to your faith (level) you will receive. If you can believe God is able, he will do it for you. If you are struggling in your faith, you must get into the word of God, exercise your faith, and put it to work (in action). 

It is God’s desire to work for you, but you must ask him in faith.

*** I hope this has encouraged your faith. As always your comments are welcome and appreciated. Be blessed.

Romans 12:3

“For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.”

Food for thought…

Don’t look down on people who are at a different faith level than you are. We all have different assignments in the body of Christ. Don’t think your self above someone who seems to have less faith than you do. Pray for them. 

Rather, you continue to step out on faith to accomplish what God has required of you. Work on increasing your faith (Romans 10:17), so you can accomplish even greater works. Eventually, people will see your example and seek to do better. Somethings you cannot teach, verbally. But people are always watching. The most effective lesson you can teach is done through the life you live. Study the Word and lead by example.

Luke 21:19

“In your patience possess ye your souls.”

They say patience is a virtue. I have found this to be so very true today. Waiting in line to vote for well over 2 hours, made me realize the importance of this virtue. It would have been so easy to give up and walk away. Or easier still, to be so intimidated by the size of the line – to just avoid joining it altogether. But the promise of something better kept me there.

The same is true in regards to our walk with God. The promise of something better should encourage us to keep holding on. To join the good fight of faith. 

They say anything worth having is worth working for. This is a true saying. We have to determine how we value the things God has promised. If you value it enough then you must be willing to patiently wait for it. Don’t be intimidated by what you see, or too lazy to even fight for it. If you are willing to put in the work, your victory is assured.

Remember, to wait patiently also involves actively pursuing what God has promised. You wait, but pray. You wait, but prepare. You wait, but study, etc. So when God gives the command to possess your land you have all that you need. You are ready.

In patience possess ye your soul. 

*** Be blessed by the word of a God. As always your comments are welcomed.

Psalms 118:24

“This is the day which the Lord hath made;

we will rejoice and be glad in it.”

Today is a blessing, a gift from God. It is a fresh opportunity to reach goals and become who/what God has ordained for us to be. 

Let go of the past along with its failures or past accomplishments. Shake the dust off and press forward.

Today is a great day, a gift from God. Revel in it, enjoy it, but also use it wisely. It is a great day to please God and bring glory to his name. Start by seeking him – then move forward.

Have a wonderful, blessed day!

Psalms 100:4

“Enter into his gates with thanksgiving,

and into his courts with praise:

be thankful unto him, and bless his name.”

…Just the way I am feeling today.

Have a vey blessed day!!

Ephesians 6:10

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

There is a song founded on this scripture that says, “be strong in the Lord, and the power of his might. Know in your heart all your battles he will fight.” 

We are to find comfort in the fact that God has our back. All he requires of us is to show up at the battle without fear. He will do the rest. 

To each of us God has given territory to watch over, conquer, and govern. God has given us all we need to be successful. What he requires from us is to trust him and take a leap of faith- moving toward the goal. He will then place provision in our path.

What he does not need are coward soldiers. Those who are afraid to pursue in battle. 2 Timothy 1:7 says, “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” God needs soldiers who are willing to take him at his word, and accomplish what he has placed before them.

You are strong and courageous because God has created you that way. You (we all) just need to walk in it. Stand your ground, go forth and conquer!

*** I hope you are encouraged to accomplish great things today. That is what God has designed you to do. As always, your comments are welcomed. Be blessed.

Galatians 6:9

“And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.”

Just a word of encouragement – don’t give up, you can make it. Continue to do what God gave you, continue to be who God you called you, and continue to say what God told you.

Be blessed.

Romans 12:3

“For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.”

Luke 12:48

“But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.”

Walking in the favor and blessings of God is an awesome and wonderful way of life. More importantly, it is what God desires for all of his people. However, walking in the favor of God also comes with responsibility. 

God is so good, and his blessings tend to overtake us so much so, that our cup truly runs over (Deuteronomy 28:2, Psalms 23:5). But in the midst of all of these rich blessings, God cautions us not to let the blessings control us, rather we are to control the blessings. Remember, the same God that giveth is indeed the same God who taketh away (Job 1:21). When we have the proper attitude about “things” God has given us, we can share Job’s out look. But when the “things” control us, we find it extremely challenging to be without them.

I speak to your spirit, 2016 is going to be a year of blessings, a year of possessing your promised land. This will be a year of abundance. But God is warning us, that we must be in the place to properly handle the blessings, the increase. Yes, this includes material blessings, but more importantly, it is speaking to spiritual blessings. We must be able to walk in the level of anointing and ministry that God desires to pour into us.

As God uses you to do his wonders, understand that it is not about you, but rather it is about the God in you. Stay humble as you walk in this great anointing. Remember, to whom much is given, much is also required. It is time to go to a higher level. And along with this new elevation, comes a higher level of demonic forces to deal with. But God has called you because he knows you can handle this mantle. But to do so will require a higher level of commitment to God, underscored by a new level of fasting and prayer.

Be encouraged, for God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7); and we can do all thing through Christ because he makes us strong (Phillipians 4:13). Possess your land and bear plenty of Fruit. This is your year.

*** I hope you have been encouraged today. As always, your comments are always welcomed. Be blessed by the Word of God.

Jonah 1:17, 2:1, 10

“17. Now the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights. 

2:1. Then Jonah prayed unto the Lord his God out of the fish’s belly,

10. And the Lord spake unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land.”

The story of Jonah is very familiar to many, so much so that focus is placed on the fact If a fish could even swallow something as large as a full grown man. The unbeliever totally misses the beginning where it says “God prepared a great fish.” With God, all thing are possible. He personally prepared the fish for Jonah. That brings us to our topic for today…God prepares, just for us.
God is very deliberate. He speaks a word and expects us to follow. He is gracious enough to allow us time to come to grips with the commission given. However, when we make a choice to run from it, he has a way of manipulating circumstances to help us come around to his way of thinking. This is what happened to Jonah. It also happens to us as well.
Think about the course of your life. We may disguise our running away in terms of “I am not ready yet”, or “I am waiting for God to line everything up”, or even “I hear you Lord, but I just don’t want to do that.” When you are dealing with a true call from God, you will eventually follow the same course as Jonah, cry out to God in the midst of your fish, repent, and resign yourself to the fact that you must do the will of God. Many call this coming full circle.
My husband and I moved almost 2000 miles away from where we grew up. In preparing to leave, God gave us specific instructions. For the most part we were obedient. However, there were a few things we messed up on, knowing God said not to do them. Needless to say, it took a few years of us reaping things God did not intend for us. Eventually we came to realize we were disobedient and cried out to God in repentance. This brought us back full circle, right where God needed us to be. But God in his great grace, prepared a place just for us to help us see where our disobedience had taken us to.
Just as Jonah, the place our disobedience took us to was very uncomfortable, and cause us to suffer much loss. However, it was the perfect place for us to cry out to God, it was like hitting rock bottom, so to speak. No where to go but up. We were able to see ourselves better, and what we saw was disturbing. We saw how much we had let God down. But this point was where God needed us to be. We learned how much we needed to depend on him, and not on our own wisdom, knowledge, or strength. We repented.
Then the most wonderful thing happened, God spoke in the midst of the situation, and it had to let us go. Why? Because we were determined to do the will of God. 
Now we are walking into the things that God has for us, and not fretting about the call. Instead, we are preparing for it, and pursuing it whole heartedly. I refuse to think about all the wasted time we spent in disobedience. Rather, I embrace the plans that God has for us.
My words of comfort to you is not despise where you are right now. More than likely you are in the place God has prepared just for you. In this place you will begin to see yourself, which will lead to repentance, and hopefully a changed heart. Go through the process, victory is on the other side.
*** I hope this has blessed you. As always your comments are welcome and encouraged. God bless.