Author: angied

EPISODE 327 DON’T BREAK THE FLOWER POTS

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The title of today’s episode: DON’T BREAK THE FLOWER POTS

Why did the father in the story of the prodigal son run to his son? We often think it is because he missed him and was glad to see him. Which I am sure would be true, but there is so much more to the story. It is hidden in Jewish customs that most do not know about unless you study their customs.

When a Jewish son would take his inheritance and go off and waste it among gentiles living wildly, against the customs of his people. The whole village would take a clay pot and set it aside for his return. At first, this sounds like they would be happy about his return. However, the custom of Kezazah is a ceremony in which the neighborhood surrounds this person and tosses the clay pot down. The breaking of the pots meant that this person was severed from the community. The ceremony of excommunication or cutting off. This meant that the person would never have any standing in the community.

The prodigal son, was planning on going to his father’s house and being a servant or slave in his house. He knew he had done wrong and wasted his future on wild parties. When he was slopping the pigs he came to himself and realized that even the servants of his father had good food and shelter. He was preparing to be a servant in the house of his father if he would allow him.

I always thought the father was watching because he desperately wanted his son to come home. But instead, he was watching to be able to get to his son and forgive him, before the people could cut him off from the community. The father saved his son from a life of slavery or servitude and restored him to a place of sonship. He ran and embraced him. He had them kill the fatted calf, and he put a robe and ring on his son. The very people who were going to cut him off were probably invited to his welcome home party.

Without the father running to him, they would have gotten to him and cut him off from their village. He would have had no rights of sonship. This is why we cannot stand in the way of others with judgment. Only God is the judge.

When I heard about the ceremony of Kezazah. I found the story of the prodigal son even more amazing. The people of the church are often like the community, ready to judge and cut ties with those who have done wrong. But our Lord, being our heavenly father, runs to greet them with open arms. His love cancels any judgment of people trying to cut off ties.

The church needs to throw away their clay pots or plant flowers in them and do something nice with them, instead of casting down the clay pots in judgment. We will never win people if we treat them like they have a plague.

We will never win the lost and backslider to Christ, by treating them badly. I know there are places in the word that says not to be unequally yoked with people that are living a sinful life. We are not to have fellowship with unfruitful works of darkness. This does not mean that we are to avoid them completely.

I know of several preachers who tells you to cut off all ties with those who do not believe in God. They are afraid that if you are around people that they will cause you to fall into sin. However, what if you stand firm on what you believe, you can be a light to those people.

We are called to love the sinners and hate the sin. There has to be a separation in our minds that they are a soul that needs Jesus. We do not approve of their choices, but we have to love them the same.

I personally struggled with a choice a family member of mine made a few years ago. It took me a little bit of time to separate the fact that she needed me to be kind and loving toward her, even if she did wrong. It is not always easy to not throw the clay pot or, as in Jesus’ day, the stone.

But we all have come short and deserved the stone to be thrown. The word teaches that if you are guilty of one sin you are guilty of all. We cannot judge therefore that someone else is worse than we were, before we gave our lives to Christ. The ground is level and there is no room for judging. We all deserved to be cut off from the father or eternity. But instead, when we came to Him he openly embraced us.

Luke 15:7-10 I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance. 8 Either what woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, doth not light a candle, and sweep the house, and seek diligently till she find it? 9 And when she hath found it, she calleth her friends and her neighbours together, saying, Rejoice with me; for I have found the piece which I had lost. 10 Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.

If the angels rejoice over one lost soul repenting. How much more should we embrace them? It is time to set aside judgmental shunning of those who are not perfect. It is time for the body to pour out love on the prodigals and allow them a safe place to return to Christ. It is time to check the one in the mirror for any flaws. Make sure the one looking back is on the straight and narrow. Then go plant flowers of love in the flowerpot, instead of breaking it in judgment.

Until next time,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

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EPISODE 326 SPEAK LIFE, SPEAK LOVE, SPEAK JESUS

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WELCOME TO GOD FOCUS THIS MORNING

The title of today’s episode: SPEAK LIFE, SPEAK LOVE, SPEAK JESUS

Many in our world today are blind to the truth. They follow their own way. They follow false religions created to worship evil spirits. Then there are those who have chosen to follow satan. I recently saw an unbaptism ceremony on social media. These people who were once baptized decided to follow satan. They were denouncing their ties to the one true God and all that baptism means. It saddened my heart.

Being baptized, as a follower of Christ, is to take on the family name. It is sort of our adoption papers. It shows that we have been buried with Christ and raised to a new life. To denounce that baptism is to say, I do not want the life that Christ died to give me. I want back my old life or a life of spiritual death.

As children of God, we cannot even imagine what happened to these people to get them to make such extreme moves. Did they suffer from church hurt? Because being treated badly by other believers is the leading cause of people leaving the church. It is not just being drawn away through sin as most believe. Many are hurt by someone they trust in the church.

I have come to realize that church hurt is hard to recover from, however we have to keep going for Jesus no matter what happens. We cannot allow others to stand in the way of us being who God created us to be.

I am guilty of spending a long period of time away from church, because of church hurt. I know now that allowing that hurt to keep me from worship was wrong on my part. But I lost all faith in people that called themselves Christians. In the early 90’s my husband and I attended a large church. Several small things happened that I didn’t agree with, but I just prayed about it and pressed on.

There was a woman who attended services. She tried to commit suicide and was in the hospital for a week or two. When she returned to services, everyone should have rallied around her and been supportive. They should have said things like “I am sorry, I didn’t know that things were that bad.” Things like “I am here in the future if you need someone to talk to or pray with.” But none of the supportive things happened. Five people in the congregation talked to her that day. The rest avoided her like a plague. Their reasons for avoiding her were all different, I am sure. But sometimes we have to push through the difficult situations to be what God needs us to be. It is easy to get caught up in our own issues and not see what is going on with other people. We need to pray for God to open our eyes to the hurt of others.

As the body, we should all feel that pain. We should all know what it feels like to be in such dark despair. The word says if one hurts, we all hurt. Today is the day to start fresh and press outside of our comfort zone.

Many people are hurting, this world is a dark and cruel place sometimes. They are needing the love of Christ. Compassion is their desire. But instead at a lot of congregations they receive judgment and no compassion for their pain.

If we are going to gather the large harvest of souls in a short time. We who are in the body are going to have to spend time praying for restoration of those who have been hurt.

Some of those people were not ready to follow Jesus, they didn’t want to give up some form of sin. They were lukewarm and used church hurt as an excuse. But still these people need Jesus.

Prov 18:19-21 A brother offended is harder to be won than a strong city: and their contentions are like the bars of a castle. 20 A man’s belly shall be satisfied with the fruit of his mouth; and with the increase of his lips shall he be filled. 21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.

It is not impossible to restore those who are offended. But it is difficult. It will take much love, compassion and prayer. We do not realize the power of our words sometimes.

I saw a science experiment with water that I found to be amazing. In one room, people spoke negatively and hate to water. In another room people spoke positive words of love to water from the same source as the other water. The only difference was the words spoken over that water. Then after a period of time the water was frozen. The water that had positive words of love froze into beautiful snowflake-like patterns. While the other water that had all the hate and negativity spewed in its direction froze in strange blob patterns.

If our words have that kind of effect on water, then how much more do we affect others and ourselves with the words of our mouth? Speak life. Speak healing. Speak love to those you meet, you never know how close they are to the edge of the darkness. We can reach this world, one kind word or deed at a time. The kindest thing we can do is to speak Jesus.

Until next time,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

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EPISODE 325 JESUS MY ROCK

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The title of today’s episode: JESUS MY ROCK

We have always heard the phrase, “Solid as a rock.” Meaning a person is dependable and can be counted on even under pressure. Jesus is our rock. He is that solid foundation we can rely on, starting with the cross. Jesus’ sacrifice was the beginning of our foundation.

Now as children of God there is not a storm too big that we cannot withstand it as long as we cling to our solid rock. He is the one we can depend on for our protection from the storms in life. Our faith in him is what is going to carry us through whatever we have facing us.

There is not a demon in this world that can overtake us as long as we hold onto Jesus. The enemy may try different tactics, but he will fail in every attempt. We have been set apart by God all mighty. He is our protector against anything the enemy wants to try.

Psalm 62:1-2 Truly my soul waiteth upon God: from him cometh my salvation. 2 He only is my rock and my salvation; he is my defence; I shall not be greatly moved.

Do you have confidence in your foundation? Do you believe that Jesus will see you through whatever will come your way?

We can have confidence in our foundation. We have a hope in Jesus that we do not ever face anything alone. He has promised to never leave us nor forsake us. Even when the dark clouds roll in and we can no longer see his face. We know he is there, even when we don’t see him.

We can rest in the fact that during the storms of life, he covers us with his hand. We are his and he has promised to protect us. As we face the uncertainty of life, we can be sure that no matter how things appear to our natural eyes, God has got us.

2 Thes 3:3 But the Lord is faithful, who shall stablish you, and keep you from evil.

Stablish is the Old English form of the word establish, which means make firm or secure. The Lord is faithful to make you secure and keep you from evil. He makes our foundation firm, beneath our feet.

Deut 31:6 Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the Lord thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.

The children of Israel had to learn to trust God. Their enemy pursued them, and they immediately fell into fear. Their foundation was not solid. They did not stand on the promises of God. He had delivered them from the death angel and all the other plagues. Then delivered them from the Egyptian’s in the desert. But yet they did not understand who God was, they were on sinking sand. They decided to build them a gold calf.

God will bring steadiness to the chaos of life. He wants to be involved in our lives and not a spectator. In order to build our lives on the solid rock that is Jesus; we are going to have to learn to lean on him. We need to trust that he will watch over us.

We can have peace, even in the midst of a storm, when we have Jesus as our foundation. If he is not our foundation we will be tossed by the winds of the storm and never find true peace.

As the world is shaken, we need to be sure we are anchored to the solid rock. He will never let us down. Like the words of the old hymn says, “On Christ the Solid Rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand.

Until next time,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

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EPISODE 324 JESUS MY KING

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WELCOME TO GOD FOCUS THIS MORNING

The title of today’s episode: JESUS MY KING

I am proud to declare that Jesus is my King. I want to break down a couple of things I have been thinking about over the last few days. About how and why he is king.

During Easter week, we often concentrate a little more on the story of the crucifixion. I was thinking about the crown of thorns they placed on his head. When a crown is placed on the head it means you are a king. You are the government over the people. When the Roman soldiers thought they were mocking Jesus, instead they were crowning him with a curse. The curse of sin.

Think about Adam and Eve, how they had sinned, and God put them out of the garden of Eden.

Gen 3:17-19 And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; 18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; 19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.

When Adam fell, sin entered the world. When God cursed the ground, he said it would grow thorns and thistles. Without sin, there would not have been any thorns for Jesus’ crown. Without sin, there would not have been a need for Jesus to die.

The phrase “to crown” is used to refer to the act of formally declaring that the reign of one king is ending, and the one being crowned is beginning his reign. Jesus was crowned with the curse of the earth. He took on the crown of sin; it was a sign that the old leadership was about to lose its power.

While Jesus’ body lay in the tomb, he went to hell and took back the authority that Adam had given to satan. He came out with the keys of authority over the earth. Jesus gave the church some of the keys of authority.

Matt. 18:18-20 Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. 19 Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. 20 For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.

I have read and heard the story of crucifixion all my life, but I had never given a lot of thought about the crown of thorns. It was just part of the list of cruel, painful things that they did to him. Accepting that crown, he was submitting to the process of taking on the sin of mankind.

After a coronation, the king has his authority. When we think of a coronation, we think of a celebration. We think of a glamorous ceremony with a robe being placed on the would-be king. They also placed a robe on him and mocked him. The enemy was the one celebrating at that moment. But satan’s celebration was short lived when Jesus rose from the dead.

Right now, satan has been stripped of his authority. But God gave mankind free will. We can allow the enemy to have authority in our lives. If we do, he will be our king. We will sin and do evil.

Only by denouncing the authority of satan in our lives and asking Jesus to be our king will we ever escape the curse of Adam. We submit our will and authority to King Jesus. When we make a promise to allow Jesus to be our king, He will seal our relationship with an engagement ring called his spirit.

2 Cor. 1:20-22 For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us. 21Now he which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God; 22Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.

Notice verse twenty-two says He has given us the earnest of His Spirit I our hearts. When we are born again, we receive a down payment, which is what earnest means, a small portion of the whole. He gives us a small part of His Spirit as a seal or promise that we belong to him.

Being under His authority, He has promised to watch over us, protect us, and provide for us. He will lead and guide us in every way that we submit to him. He wore a crown of thorns to save us from the evil curse of sin in our world.

Until next time,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

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EPISODE 323 GETTING TO KNOW THE SHEPHERD

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The title of today’s episode: GETTING TO KNOW THE SHEPHERD

It is easy to look at a younger generation and shake our heads in amazement at their lack of responsibility. I am sure the generation before me felt the same way about my generation.

In the church today, so many people want everything spoon-fed to them. They beg for prayer but are not willing to pray for themselves. They want easy religion but not a faith walk that requires something. We are the fast-food, convenience generations. This life is about walking through tough things sometimes.

If we are not willing to put in the work, we will not reap the rewards. The word says many things about reaping what we sow. That is seeds of good and seeds of evil. Whatever we sow will grow.

Gal 6:5-8 For every man shall bear his own burden. 6 Let him that is taught in the word communicate unto him that teacheth in all good things. 7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. 8 For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.

These people want someone to search out the scriptures for them and just give them the CliffsNotes. But if we do not dig into the word for ourselves, we are vulnerable to deception. It is hard enough to walk in truth when you are digging in the Word every day.

We are each responsible for our own souls. We cannot base our salvation on what someone else says. We have to compare what is being said to the written word of God. See if what they are saying lines up with what God’s word says.

It is time we take responsibility and grow up. God needs a mature church in order for us to reach the lost world. Because we have the freedom of religion in America, some people are under the misconception that any religion will do. We do not need religion; we need a faith walk with the one and only real God of the universe, our Lord Jesus Christ.

Col 3:23-25 And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; 24 Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ. 25 But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done: and there is no respect of persons.

It is time to get down to business and dig in our heels. It is time to get serious about our faith walk. This world is shaking and things are about to change. We can either get on board or be left behind. I don’t want to be left behind.

When Jesus comes to get his bride, I want to be found faithfully doing what he has asked of me. I want to be found faithful.

Matt 7:21-23 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

I believe that these are the saddest words in the bible. These people will come before him with their Christian lists of things that they have done. But they were too busy doing all this stuff to develop a real and true relationship with him. He says I never knew you.

John 10:27-28 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: 28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.

Jesus said if we are his sheep we will hear his voice and he will know us. If we hear his voice, we will follow him. It is time we get serious about hearing the voice of God. It is either hear him now and follow or hear those awful words, Depart from me, I never knew you.

If we are truly his sheep, we will hear, Well Done!! That sounds so much better.

Until next time,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

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EPISODE 322 ARISE OUT OF SLEEP AND FIGHT

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WELCOME TO GOD FOCUS THIS MORNING

The title of today’s episode: Arise Out Of Sleep And Fight

Almost everyone I talk to is struggling with fatigue, stress, anxiety, fear of the unknown. The enemy is trying to wear us out, but we have to fight. We are on the edge of something happening that will change the world as we know it. God is going to begin to pour himself out in the churches that are ready to accept him.

Some churches, as I have said many times, are social clubs. They are happy with the status quo. They do not want God’s presence in their midst. If he were to show up, they would have to measure up.

Other congregations of people are starving for fresh bread of God’s anointing. They desire a closer walk with him. They want to know him, not just know about him. Not in word or deed, but truly know him. These are the people that he is going to visit. He wants to be welcome in the buildings that bear his name. He longs to communicate with us and give us direction and a better understanding of what he wishes to do with us.

Far too long, the harvest field has been ready, and the church has been asleep. It is time to wake up and arise out of sleep. The Pharisees of today have bound up God’s people for too long. God doesn’t give us a checklist and expect us to live by it.

By this list, you will know you are my disciples. Don’t do this; you can’t do that, and on and on. No, the words says, we are his if we have love one to another. If we love him, we will do what his word says, but we do not get salvation by works. It all comes down to a personal relationship. How much time do you spend with him? How often do you think about God and his wonderful mercy outside of church services?

Today is a grand and glorious day. It is an opportunity to change things for the better. Today is the day to get serious, arise out of sleep, and press forward. Do not allow the enemy to wear you out. He is trying to make everyone battle-weary.

But we do not have to allow satan to wear us out. We can praise our way through. Praise will break the heaviness. Praise helps us power through whatever the enemy is trying to do in our lives to wear us down. If he can get us to fall into fatigue, depression, or fear, he knows we will not have the energy to fight him. He knows we will become weary of trying to witness to the world.

But we can break through and break out of the chains he is trying to bind us up in by praising the Lord. There is not one thing the enemy can do to us if we can keep our God Focus.

When we feel weak, we are strong in the Lord. He draws near to the humble and the weak. He will see us through whatever comes our way. We cannot give up; we have to stand strong and fight. The enemy will not win unless we give up. Let the boldness of the Lord arise in you and stand strong. Look to the Lord, and He will restore our peace.

I want to leave you with a verse for the day.

Gal.6:9 And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.

Until next time,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

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EPISODE 321 GIVE ME FIRE

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The title of today’s episode: GIVE ME FIRE

There has to be toe-stomping preaching in order to save our souls. I long for the days when preachers were full of fire and not afraid to preach the word. I love for a message to step on my toes, because it makes me better and stronger. Today, too many churches have motivational speakers. But we need powerful messages that make us grow and not always the fluff of living our best lives. Sometimes life is hard. Jesus told the disciples that they would face hard things. It is not different for us today. But in those hard things, we grow and become stronger. With our new level of faith, we can be a beacon of hope in a dying world.

Unbelief is the new norm; people do not know how to have faith. The ministry has to start preaching with fire the things the church needs to hear about growing faith. They need to hear that it takes prayer and a lot of prayer to grow your relationship with God. People need to be told and understand that they are signing up for a life of service and sacrifice. Everything will not always be wonderful. Being a Christian is not about having a pampered, cushy life. People need to be taught that there is a difference in saying a prayer to check off a to do list for the day of Christian things and getting down to business and pouring your heart out to God in prayer. One is saying a prayer, and one is praying a prayer.

When we desire sermons that get on our toes, it means we want to grow in strength and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. The truth sets us free. The truth is hard to swallow sometimes. But it is always best for us in the long run.

The truth is like a medicine, bitter to swallow, but it will give you strength and make you stronger. I don’t know when it became the norm to not tell the truth, especially behind the pulpit. Be encouraged, there are real ministers of God out there and they are standing tall to proclaim the truth of God. If you know such a preacher, stand behind them, encourage them and back them in anyway you can.

We need the fire to be restored to the pulpit in order for it to be restored to the body. Our God is a consuming fire. The word consume means to destroy, ingest, swallow up, use, or utilize. Our God will destroy the things of our flesh. He will swallow up who we are and make us better vessels for his use. We have to be on fire, too, for the world to know we are different. In order for us to be a usable vessel for God.

Just like the burning bush in the desert. What made Moses go see what was going on, because it was on fire. The only one God spoke out of was the bush that was on fire. The only people today that God will truly use are those who are on fire for him.

We are the temple of the Holy Ghost; God’s fire lives within us. Only by allowing His fire to burn on the altar of our hearts, can we learn to walk in the light of his fire.

The Children of Israel had a pillar of fire that was a buffer between them and their enemy. If we keep the fire burning bright, it will keep away the evil of this world. They will not be able to look at us for the light of God that is within us.

People will know we are different and will be drawn to the warmth of the fire of God within us. We will be able to lead them to Jesus, the only one who can save them from the evil of this world and the evil inside of them.

God’s holy fire is important. The fire of truth will help us to understand the word of God. It will help us to know what God is calling us to do in this life. But if the fire has gone out in the church, then the people will starve. Their bones will become cold, and they will die.

Keeping the fire of God in our lives is crucial to our spiritual walk. It is also crucial to all those we will meet along the way that we are supposed to share Jesus. Pray for him to stoke the fire in your life. Pray for the body of Christ to catch on fire. It is the only way we will reach the world. Just like the burning bush, if we are on fire, they will come to see what God has to say through us. And through that word of God, many will be delivered and saved.

Until next time,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

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EPISODE 320 OVERCOMING UNBELIEF

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The title of today’s episode: OVERCOMING UNBELIEF

Unbelief is a plague in the church today. Everything is by and through faith, so how do we grow faith?

Sometimes we can draw on past experiences where God has shown up in those moments we desperately needed him. We can be sure He will show up again. When I am sick and need healing, I remember all the times God has healed me. I will remember the times he healed others.

Growing up in a faith that believes in the laying on of hands. I have seen many miracles over the years. I watched my dad’s leg grow together one time when he had a bad cut. There is no doubt in my mind it was so deep that it needed stitches. But we battled through about thirty minutes of prayer. God came through with a healing miracle.

Other times we have to dig into the word of God and find inspiration.

There is a story for every situation that we face in life. The word of God has scriptures that will build us up and bring encouragement to our souls. There is nothing we face that others have not gone through and God brought them through it. Job’s story alone covers most everything anyone could suffer. But if we stay faithful and look to God, he will bless us for our faith in Him.

We can build our faith through prayer. Start with praise and transition into acknowledging what He has already done. Petition God for what you need. Then start thanking Him for it. We have to get into a spirit of prayer. This means really pouring out your heart to God and not just saying a few words halfheartedly.

Jude 20 But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost,

It comes down to trust. How much do we trust God? Do we know in our hearts as well as our minds that he will answer our prayers? Many people will say he is able, but how many know without a doubt he will come through? If you know, you have faith, then it is just a matter of waiting until you see with your eyes what you know in your spirit. Faith is seeing light when your natural eyes see only darkness.

Think of it this way. Say you want to be a master piano player. You can study everything about all the people who were master piano players. You can study how the piano is made. You can study how many keys and how much a baby grand weighs, you can even learn to read sheet music. But if you do not put into practice what you know, you will never be a master piano player.

The same goes for our faith in God. We can read and study all about God. We can have knowledge about walking by faith. But until we try to walk by faith, we will never learn how to do it.

We must be firm in our belief that God will do what he has promised.

Prov 3: 5-6 Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. 6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

The word says for us to trust in the Lord with all our heart. This is what it means to fully trust. There is not a shadow of a doubt that God will do what he has promised. You know it with all your being. We cannot try to reason things out in our minds. God rarely answers the way we think. But he does answer. If we acknowledge him in all our ways, he will guide us.

Heb 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

Merriam Webster dictionary defines – Diligently – a manner involving great or constant activity. With great determination, intensely.

We have to keep at it and stay focused on God and not our problems. The more we focus on him the stronger we will grow in our faith.

Let’s recap.

We can draw on past experiences to encourage us.
We have to dig into the word of God and find inspiration.
We can build our faith through prayer.
Practice- until we try to walk by faith, we will never learn how to do it.
We must be firm in our belief that God will do what he has promised.

I hope this has been an encouragement to you to hold on if you are believing God for something. Remember everything happens in God’s will and his perfect timing.

Until next time,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

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EPISODE 319 REMOVING THE CANCER FROM THE CHURCH

CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO VERSION: https://rumble.com/v6rw8kb-god-focus-this-morning-ep319-removing-the-cancer-from-the-church.html

WELCOME TO GOD FOCUS THIS MORNING

The title of today’s episode: REMOVING THE CANCER FROM THE CHURCH

I attended a church for several years that I loved. The people were genuine and really cared about others. We were the spiritual emergency room for the town and surrounding areas. We did our best to meet the needs. If they were hungry, we got them food. If their babies needed diapers or milk, we provided. It was a place that those who were broken by life could come for encouragement and to find healing through Jesus.

In today’s society, there are so many hurt and broken people. They will come to the church looking for compassion and help. It is our job to love them and help them to find healing for their body and soul.

However, too many churches are plagued by the cancer of legalism and judgment. They end up hurting those who Jesus called them to help heal. We have to be loving toward those who are unlovable. We are called to lead people to Jesus. If they come into a church then half of the battle is over, they are inside the building. Our buildings, we call churches, should be a place of hope for those that are lost.

Instead of loving and helping them, the “Bertha better than you’s” of the church with their judgmental attitudes end up hurting those people. They react to people with almost hatred. Many are driven by the jezebel spirit; they don’t want to give up their control. These hurt people end up going back to the world because at least some people in the world are accepting them.

Matt 5:44-48 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; 45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so?48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.

The word perfect in this verse means complete. We are complete in Jesus and by doing good to the hurting world. Jesus was explaining to the disciples that it is easy to love those like you. But it is harder to love those that seem unlovable. Even the publicans and sinners honor and love those that are like them.

It is time to get outside the four walls and love them like Jesus. We are called by God to share God’s love with the world. Many have forgotten and got wrapped up in having a bigger building or a larger worship team than the church on the corner. We are in competition and still not accomplishing our mission?

These buildings and all that we build on earth will burn up. All that matters is that we point people to Jesus. So that they may find rest and salvation for their souls. Jesus didn’t come and die to give us a better way, only to have us to return to legalism and divisions.

JOHN 13:34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.

Nowhere in that verse does it say to hurt people by rejecting them. I know a wonderful woman of God that used to be involved in witchcraft as a teen. She when to three different denominational churches in her town. She was wearing black makeup and was dressed in all black. She went in and sat quietly and didn’t cause any kind of disruption, she was asked to leave and come back when she changed her clothes and washed off her makeup. This was a teenager that needed love and compassion. She needed those people to rally around her and to pour healing compassion out on her. Instead, they made her feel more rejected and alone. She felt like Jesus didn’t love her either.

By the grace of God, she found a woman that was a friend to her. A woman that loved her and prayed with her. Thank God she had a praying grandmother. But what happens to those who do not have a praying grandmother. Their soul ends up lost because the so-called church doesn’t like how they look. It is not all in the clothes it is all in the heart.

1 John 4:7 Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.

By this verse, I have to question if some of these churches even know God. There is no love except the love they have for their little social group. God is getting ready to separate the wheat and tares. This type of behavior is a cancer to the body of Christ. It is causing spiritual sin sickness to continue, and this cannot be if the body of Christ is going to gather the end time harvest.

I know I talk about this a lot. I feel it is very important. There are many souls hanging in the balance. So many will be lost if we do not get rid of the judgmental, religious, legalistic, ways of doing things. Let us set aside religion and just love God and love people.

Until next time,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

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EPISODE 318 PRAISE HIM IN THE FIRE

CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO VERSION: https://rumble.com/v6ruq9b-god-focus-this-morning-ep318-praise-him-in-the-fire.html

WELCOME TO GOD FOCUS THIS MORNING

The title of today’s episode: PRAISE HIM IN THE FIRE

When the fiery trials of life come to turn your world to ashes. God is there in your fire. He is not afraid of the fire, because our God is a consuming fire. He will not let the enemy win. We have to stand strong on the promises of God. He promised to never leave us.

Ex 14: 14 The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace.

What the enemy meant for destruction God will turn it around. Now is not the time to give up. We are in the fiery furnace moment. The enemy has turned up the heat, but we will not be destroyed. We need to have faith that he is going to burn off the ropes and set us free.

It seems everyone I’ve talked to in the last few days has serious things going on in their lives. The enemy knows we are on the verge of Jesus showing up in our fiery furnace. He is coming to set us free. But we cannot give in to the flames and allow fear, anxiety and worry to overtake us. We cannot allow the fatigue of being battle weary to cause our faith to falter. We have to stand strong.

What the enemy meant to burn down our lives, God will use to elevate us. Look at Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. They were in the fiery furnace it was turned up seven times hotter. What were they doing? They were praising the Lord. I was in the middle of writing last night to film today’s video. I shared with a friend that I was battle weary. It seems like the enemy has turned up the intensity of his pressure to destroy God’s people.

She said God had been dealing with her to write about the intensity of the fire. She reminded me that the hotter the fire, the more we need to praise God. I wanted to share this fact with you.

When the enemy wants to turn your life into ashes, remind him that he has no authority over your life. God will quicken us, which means he will make us alive or revive us.

There is power in prayer. This is a Christian sentence we say a lot. But the statement is very true. Prayer clears the cobwebs that the enemy is trying to build in our minds. But Satan will not have his way as long as we stand against the enemy.

Praise is what invites the presence of God. The enemy wants to get us so downtrodden we do not have energy to pray or praise. But if we can find the energy to worship, the heaviness of the atmosphere will lift.

Is 61: 3 To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified.

He takes the ashes that are left after the enemy burns down things in our lives and uses those ashes to give us beauty. He gives us joy for mourning and will lift the spirit of heaviness the enemy has tried to put on us. He will give us a garment of praise to clothe us.

Saul was tormented by evil spirits, but while music in praise to God was played, they left him alone. The enemy cannot stand it when we praise God. It is torment to him.

I know sometimes it is hard to face the fiery furnace. We have to remember that God is not afraid of the fire, and he will show up. He will remove our bondage and set us free. He will take our tragedy and turn it into victory.

When the three Hebrew men came out of the fiery furnace they received a promotion. They were elevated to be over the providences of Babylon. Hang on during these fiery trials, God is working on your elevation.

We are learning to lean and trust. Every level is about fighting the devil in a new way. He would love to tell us that we are defeated, that God doesn’t hear our prayers. God doesn’t care. But he has come along to late in the game to tell me that my God is not real. If God is real then all the promises in the Bible are real.

He promised to never leave us, he promised to lift us up, he promised to protect us from the enemy. Our God is real and there is no other like him. He can be fire when we need fire. He can be living water to quench our dry and parched soul when we need it.

We have to guard our peace and protect our joy right now. Because the darkness will overtake us quickly with its smothering oppression, if we do not stand strong and praise him in our storms.

Until next time,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

LIKE SHARE AND SUBSCRIBE FOR MORE ENCOURAGEMENT