EPISODE 311 THERE IS HOPE

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The title of today’s episode: THERE IS HOPE

As I sit quietly in my office awaiting God’s inspiration for another day. I often pray for what you need to hear. How can I bring encouragement today? At times I feel like I keep saying the same things over and over, but some things need to be repeated.

Let me start by saying there is hope for every situation. God is our hope and we can depend on him to see us through whatever we have facing us. Grief is a powerful thing. Many get angry with God when they lose a loved one. But when I lost my husband of thiry-two years, I realized that he was God’s child too and for whatever reason God did what was best for him. He empowered me to walk through all the days since that awful day. But I still have hope in the Lord.

All around us people are suffering. I have had prayer requests this week about people trying to commit suicide. For those who do not know my story. I understand depression and suicidal thoughts from the enemy. I suffered from depression in my late twenties. Satan will come at us and get us to keep looking within, telling ourselves all the lies. I am miserable, I am worthless, no one would care if I wasn’t here. Nothing will ever get better. I am trapped and feel like the darkness is swallowing me up. The more we listen to that voice of the enemy the further down we spiral.

We were never meant to look within and analyze too much. We were not meant to isolate from others around us. God created us to be part of a community. He created us to connect with him and with others. Along with anxiety and depression the enemy has really amped up his fear game. Wanting people to be scared of everything.

All of this is contrary to the word of God.

2 Tim 1:7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

Fear is from the enemy. God will empower us if we can push past the darkness and ask for his help. Unless you have been in the deep pit of depression where no light and little air exists you would not understand. It is a place void of all hope. There is no peace there. All that you hear is all the negative things you tell yourself.

Soon you feel like there is no hope. Then we decide that only way out, the only way to make the total despair stop is suicide. That is a lie from the pit of hell. But God says there is a better way. He came that we could have life and have it more abundantly.

I fully believe if I had not had a good foundation of biblical teaching and a praying family I would not be here today. Once we hit rock bottom there is only three things to do. I had decided to not end it all. So I could wallow there the rest of my life in misery or I could start climbing out. It takes great strength to climb out. It is about changing our focus.

You may say, I am not strong enough. But you don’t have to have all the strength to do it all at once. Start with today, I am going to do something I didn’t do yesterday. Maybe it is getting out of bed. The next day maybe you take a shower and get dressed. Continue to build each day on your progress. Ask God for help. Do not isolate yourself from everyone. Especially those you know really care about you.

It is a long journey, but one worth the climb. I would have missed out on so much joy. I thank God everyday for my life. Do not feel like you are alone, email me and I will have my group of intercessors pray for you. Ask God for help. You have to fight and never give up.

It is all about changing your focus. God was always meant to be the center of our lives. When he is in his proper place everything else will fall into place. Do not be discouraged when the enemy throws things at you that appear to be bad. God is waiting to give you a breakthrough.

I John 5:14 And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us:

We know it is not God’s will that we suffer from depression. If we ask for help and do what we can to get out, he will empower us to be set free.

Lam 3:22-23 It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. 23 They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.

God gives us new mercies, new strength, new joy we can be renewed each day. We only need to find the strength for today and tomorrow will take care of itself. This is why I encourage you to keep your God focus. If I had kept my God focus, I would not have ended up in depression in the first place.

I am very grateful for my time in the pit of despair. It taught me a lot of valuable lessons and shaped me in ways that it took years to understand. God got me through that he can get me through anything. I have hope in Jesus.

Romans 15:13 Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.

You can find strength and hope, so don’t give up. Stay strong. If you have someone suffering from depression in your life. Just love them, pray for them and encourage them when you can, but never tell them to just snap out of it. That is not helpful. If they could just snap out of it, they would. Jesus is our answer to every situation in life.

Until next time,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

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EPISODE 310 ILLUSION OR TRUTH ?

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WELCOME TO GOD FOCUS THIS MORNING

The title of today’s episode: ILLUSIONS OR TRUTH

My mind wandered today to the scene in The Wizard of Oz where the wizard was discovered for who he really was, just a man. The little dog pulled back the curtain and all the booming voice, smoke and mirrors were just illusion. The powerful Oz was just a man. These people had been ruled by him and lived in fear of him for a long time. He even made one last attempt to hold onto his illusion, “Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.” The fake voice boomed.

How many times have we cowered to satan thinking he was this big scary thing. We give him way to much credit. There are times we think he is all knowing, but he is not, he doesn’t know who he will end up with when it is all said and done. He only knows his time is getting short. He has had centuries to try to destroy God’s plan. He has deceived many into throwing away their opportunities to find freedom in Jesus.

He is flashy and larger than life with all of his smoke and mirrors. He can create an amazing illusion. We have to be wise enough to stay away from his plans for our lives. He often will play into our desires. He knows if we want a certain job, a career, a spouse or children. He will try to create the perfect illusion.

Phil 4:6-7 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. 7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

We need to not be too excited that things may look like they are working out, we need to pray about them. If the opportunity is not God’s plan, then we need to leave it alone. The enemy will often offer us just what we have been wanting, just before our breakthrough. God will give us above anything we could ever imagine. We have to be sure that we are not falling for an illusion.

When entering a situation, do not allow emotions to override discernment. I am reminded of a time when I saw red flags about a situation. But because my husband seemed to want to take a certain route, we made a large purchase. We ended up in a mess. When I finally said to him, I only bought it because I thought you wanted it. He said I only bought it because I thought you wanted it. It caused us and our families a lot of unnecessary stress. We realized in our young marriage that we needed to be bluntly honest about things from that point on; lesson learned.

The word says the truth will set you free. That is true on so many levels. The truth is not always what we want to hear, but it is what we need. People do not want to believe the truth of God’s word. They would rather have their illusion behind the curtain. Their fake life that looks like they want, instead of the real one that they could have in Christ.

But someday, all will be revealed. Just like the little dog pulled back the curtain. There will be no more hiding behind the illusion. When the truth is made known many will be shocked. Because this great big boogie man that we have been avoiding and hiding from, turns out to be nothing.

Isaiah 14:12-17 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! 13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: 14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. 15 Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit. 16 They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms; 17 That made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof; that opened not the house of his prisoners?

Pay attention to verse 16 it says They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms; They will see him at that moment for who he really is, he may have some power in the earth today, but it is nothing compared to the power of God which lives within us.

It’s time we look at him for what he is, just a weak version of himself. Hiding behind the curtain.

Luke 10:19 Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.

When fear tries to attack, we need to tell the enemy he is under our feet. The word says that nothing shall by any means hurt you. God has not given us fear; he is the God of peace. Fear comes from the bag of illusions the enemy carries with him.

Do not fall for his illusions, stand strong, be bold, tell him he has no place in your home, your mind or your life. He will not take your family or anything that pertains to you.

We will prevail as long as we hold onto Jesus and not fall for the illusion of a lie that is the enemy. Ask God for discernment when situations arise, we know that things are not always as they appear. God will never lead us astray but will give us a solid foundation on which to stand. He is our truth.

Until next time,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

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EPISODE 309 LEAVING COMPLACENCY BEHIND

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The title of today’s episode: LEAVING COMPLACENCY BEHIND

Everything is determined by bloodlines. Slaves were slaves for generations, because of their bloodlines. From the time a young prince is born he is raised to be king, because he is the son of the current king.

Have you ever thought about how God’s people went from being God’s people to being slaves in Egypt? God sent them there to escape famine. But he didn’t send them there to be slaves. They forgot who they were and slowly over time they ended up in bondage.

God showed Abraham favor and gave him Issac, Issac’s son was named Jacob. He wanted to be the head of the family so badly that he stole it from his brother Essau. He tricked him into giving him his birth right for a bowl of beans. That opened the door for him to trick Issac into giving him the place of being in charge of the family, when Issac passed away.

Jacob’s youngest son was highly favored out of all of his sons. Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers, over jealousy. He faced many ups and downs in his lifetime. But eventually, he was elevated by God to be second in command over all of Egypt. God sent the children of Israel to Egypt, to the place Joseph was to escape a famine.

But they didn’t return home when the famine was over. Many chose to stay because they had grown accustomed to the ways of Egypt. Many mixed the worship of the gods of Egypt with the worship of the one true God. They took great wealth into Egypt, but over the course of generations, they were taxed out of their wealth. Soon they were stuck and couldn’t afford to return to the land of their fathers.

They were at the mercy of Egypt. Over the course of time, they became slaves. Until a generation grew up that didn’t know Joseph. By this time, they were living like slaves and were raising their children to be slaves. They would cry out to God for help and freedom. But they would still go about their lives mixing the cultures to some extent.

We can learn several lessons from this portion of the scripture. One when God sends you somewhere, make sure you know how long he wants you to stay. Many people have gotten into trouble by staying too long. Not everyone we come in contact within this life is meant to be in our lives forever. Sometimes we are only meant to be there long enough to help them through a specific thing. Then we are to move on. Other times, God gives us lifelong friends that will walk this path of life with us through all the versions of ourselves.

When God sends us somewhere we cannot allow the culture to affect us. We are meant to have an affect on the people we meet. If we stay too long and get comfortable, we can end up in bondage.

Complacency is a tool of the enemy. He wants us to look at sin and say this little thing or that little thing will not matter. God is loving and forgiving. Then we end up bound by the enemy. Complacency kills.

We right now are in a moment of decision. Will we choose to follow Jesus and not stay stuck in complacency. Will we stay where we are and allow the enemy to bind us up with mediocrity. Being battle weary will lead us to be complacent. It is a fight we have to fight daily.

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

God wants to do great things with and for his children in our time. We cannot faint and become weak. We have to stay where God can give us strength. He is waiting for us to choose sides. The complacent cannot go where God is getting ready to take the church. He is getting ready to remove from the bride, our spots and wrinkles of manmade religion and rituals.

Right now, the bride has wrinkles of division. She is not fully adorned with the fruit of the spirit. He is coming after a bride that has made herself ready. We have to do all that we can to walk upright and live holy. We cannot compromise on what the word of God says. The harvest is ready, and it is time the church stepped up.

The bride is incomplete right now there are many that need to be saved. There is much work to be done. But we cannot do the work needed if we are sitting in our complacency waiting for the rapture of the church. The church has allowed the enemy to come along and over generations he has put us in a bad position. It is time for us to rise up and get out of the bondage of man-made religion. It is time to get outside the walls of the buildings we call churches and just be the church. It is time for the bride to adorn herself with the things of God. Think about it, soon we will be called away to a royal wedding. Because of Jesus’ blood, we are of the bloodline. O what a glorious day that will be when we see Jesus.

Until next time,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

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EPISODE 308 WHAT DIFFERENCE WILL IT MAKE?

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WELCOME TO GOD FOCUS THIS MORNING

The title of today’s episode: WHAT DIFFERENCE WILL IT MAKE?

I was talking to a friend the other day she was telling me that she saw a bumper sticker that said, “What difference will it make in 100 Years?” I had heard that before and after her reminding me, I pondered on it. How often do we worry about things that are not worth our time. Like the saying, “Only one life will soon be passed, and only what is done for God will last.”

Other things are important and are aggravating to us. But we cannot worry about the things that are beyond our control. Yes, they may be upsetting but we just have to try not to let our emotions get the best of us. We have to just do the best we can to handle the situations of life.

Anytime the world throws things at us, we can allow it to affect us or we can give it to God. He will see us through the trials of life and the times the enemy is trying to cause chaos. Either way, prayer is our key. It keeps us grounded and helps us to unlock the door to correct thinking.

The enemy will try to plant seeds of negativity. If we allow them to grow, they will be negative words that will produce negative fruit. Think about it. If we can take control of our negative thought seeds that the enemy is trying to plant in our lives, they will not germinate and produce negative words that cause the fruit of negativity to grow in our lives.

Our outward lives show the fruit of our spiritual lives. If our heart is evil, we will do things that are evil. If our hearts are set on doing the will of God, then our actions will be ones that are of children of God.

We cannot take credit, because God is the one to get the glory. It is him who gives us strength to stand. This is why it is so important to take control of our emotions and take them to prayer.

I Cor. 15:57-58 But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.

The things we do to build the kingdom of God will last forever. The impacts we make to encourage people to follow Jesus. The things of this life are temporary and will not matter in the future.

James 4:14 Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.

Life is short we need to use what time we have doing the things of God. Using our energy to handle what we can and not getting stressed about things we cannot control. For example: worrying about the broken down dishwasher or the fact that the lawn mower will not start. Or that the neighbor is talking bad about us. People at work are back stabbing us. All the things that can be frustrating to us, will not add anything to the eternal and will only steal our peace. Life it too short to not walk in the peace of God.

I think about how a candle smokes for just a few seconds when the fire is extinguished then the fire is no more. The things of life that causes us stress is like that smoke. We will pray about it and it will be worked out. Until the timing of the answer comes, we have to keep speaking faith. Like, “Lord I have given you this issue, I know you are working it out in your timing. Help me to leave it in your hands.” “Lord, I thank you for taking care of this situation. I refuse to let it wear me down.”

This is not easy, and takes a lot of prayer and practice. I have often looked at the older saints and they are so laid back. Jesus will take care of it all. That is their attitude. I hope to one day be completely that way. Because worrying about it is not going to fix it. It just steals our peace.

It is my prayer that you will be encouraged to give it all to Jesus. Let him work it out. Even when it seems like it is too late, he is always right on time. God holds the universe in his hand. Everything is a finely tuned clock. He will always show up right on time. So lean on him, hold on to that nail scared hand and pray for his leading in every situation.

I Thes 5:18 In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

It is hard to give thanks for our trials and troubles. But God allows them to strengthen us. They help us to be ready to help our brothers or sisters face their trials. Be strong and give your worries to God.

Until next time,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

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EPISODE 307 WHAT IS IT WORTH TO YOU?

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WELCOME TO GOD FOCUS THIS MORNING

The title of today’s episode: WHAT IS IT WORTH TO YOU?

Did you ever notice how when you buy a new car you treat it like it has value? It is washed every week. You park away from other cars, so it doesn’t get scratched. You make a rule that no one is to eat in the car. Which lasts about two weeks. As the newness wears off you start parking closer to the store, telling yourself it will be fine. What changed? It is still the same car. But the newness has worn off. You start taking it for granted. Quickly, it becomes just transportation.

How often do we do the same thing to God? When we are born again it is like getting that new car. Suddenly we have a new life. Everything is shiny and exciting. We tell ourselves we are going to be the perfect Christian. We make rules for ourselves, almost rituals about how much we will read our bibles and do all the Christian things.

As time goes on, we either wear ourselves out trying to be perfect within ourselves or we grow weary and slack off of spending time with God. What changed, He is still the same God.

Then I am reminded of Essau that sold his birthright for a bowl of beans. This has often puzzled me. Those must have been some amazing beans. He gave up all that he was to inherit and his place in standing as the head of the family. He didn’t value his place in the family.

We sometimes take for granted our place in God’s family. We get neglectful of the value of our salvation. It is almost like we become desensitized to the amazing gift that we have been given.

Heb 2:1-4 Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip. 2 For if the word spoken by angels was stedfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompence of reward; 3 How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him; 4 God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will?

We cannot neglect our gift of salvation. We have to treat it with value, because it is the most valuable gift we could ever be given. There is nothing in this life worth trading the gifts that God has given us.

What has value to us will be valued by others. How many times do people go out and buy something because someone acts like it is the greatest thing on the market. It is time we walk out our faith giving God his proper place. If we act like our salvation is important, others will think that their salvation is important.

I Tim 4:14-16 Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery. 15 Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all.16 Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.

Paul told Timothy to not neglect the Holy Ghost that was in him. He is to meditate on the things of God. If we prioritize the things of God, he will use them to be a light to others around us.

What is your salvation worth to you? Are you willing to give up everything? Are you willing to focus on God? By focusing on him and his word, we will find that place of value. We will no longer treat our salvation like a bowl of beans.

Until next time,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

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EPISODE 306 -GOD OF THE BREAKTHROUGH

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WELCOME TO GOD FOCUS THIS MORNING

The title of today’s episode: GOD OF THE BREAKTHROUGH

He is the God of the breakthrough. When things seem like they are going wrong we realize we need a breakthrough. We need God’s anointing to break whatever is holding us. It takes God’s anointing to break our chains that hold us bound. Worship will bring the flow of anointing.

Isaiah 10:27 And it shall come to pass in that day, that his burden shall be taken away from off thy shoulder, and his yoke from off thy neck, and the yoke shall be destroyed because of the anointing.

One definition of “Break Through” is to succeed in forcing your way through something. I think about breaking down a wall. We often do not want to worship when needing a breakthrough. When we worship, we make a deeper connection to God. Worship helps to get us in a position of breakthrough, because our focus shifts when we worship. It goes from us and our problems to just how big, wonderful, helpful, loving and amazing our God. His intervention on our behalf brings about the transformation of events. We achieve victory in the moment that we feel like we cannot hold on one more second.

Many examples in the word of God show the moments of breakthrough. The Red Sea parting. The falling of the walls of Jericho. When God shut the mouths of the lions for Daniel. The thud when the stone from David’s sling hit Goliath in the one spot he didn’t have armor.

All it takes for a breakthrough is circumstances to look like there is no way things could possible work out for our good. Then God says stand still and watch what I will do.

Luke 1:37 For with God nothing shall be impossible.

We have to hold on to this verse. When things look like they are not going to work out and we are down for the count. God will raise us up and put us back onto our feet. Once we are back on our feet we have the ability to walk out our faith. We have the ability to encourage others.

It is almost impossible to keep our minds on God all the time. Many things are in our lives to distract. I don’t even mean the enemy. But the responsibilities of this life. He will help us to focus on the things that matter if we look to him for all the answers concerning our lives.

Our first real breakthrough is when we are born again or brought from death to life.

We will always get breakthrough when our challenging circumstances meets God’s intervention. How do we know we are on the verge of getting our breakthrough. The enemy will throw everything he can at once at us to get us to give up or speak negativity out of our mouths. He wants us to say that we cannot go on. We will never make it. There will be numerous obstacles and an overwhelming feeling of being stuck.

The enemy will send toxic people to encourage us to give up. Saying things like maybe it’s not God’s will. They will spew negativity and if we are not careful, we will find ourselves agreeing with them. But God says, We are his children and he will take care of us, no matter what the need may be.

God will send us real encouragement, if we pay attention. Maybe it’s a song, a verse of scripture, or someone to speak life into our situations. He will not let us down or leave us all alone to fight for ourselves. Even when we go through times, we do not feel his presence. He is not far from us, as long as we have not allowed sin to creep in and separate us from him.

Jeremiah 33:3 Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.

Be encouraged, when life seems like it will never change, you are on the edge of your breakthrough.

Until next time,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

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EPISODEN 305

Below is the link to the video for the Thursday blog, “Facing the Fire.” I had computer and internet issues all weekend. Hopefully, I will be able to get back on track. Have a great day!

https://rumble.com/v6r3ya8-god-focus-this-morning-ep305-facing-the-fire.html

EPISODE 305 FACING THE FIRE

THERE WILL NOT BE A VIDEO VERSION TODAY UNTIL LATE THIS EVENING. I AM SORRY BUT I HAD SOME ISSUES WITH MY EDITING SOFTWARE.

WELCOME TO GOD FOCUS THIS MORNING

The title of today’s episode: FACING THE FIRE

Don’t waste the trials. Just as a blacksmith tempers a blade with fire, so are we tempered with fiery trials. It is in the fire that our edge can become ready to be sharpened. Until it has an edge put on it the blade is useless.

Further using the analogy of the blade, imagine you are the metal that is being pounded, stuck in a fire, stretched, dunked in cold water, then pounded again. If the metal was able to think, it may wonder why this is happening to it. Just as we often wonder. We question what we have done for things to cause us such distress. Is God disappointed in us? Many times, it is not because we have failed, but because we have set our minds on doing God’s will. The things we are dealing with we realize is an attack of the enemy and not a trial at all. Having a good prayer life will help us to discern the difference.

Trials remind us to depend on God. They drive us to our knees in prayer for a good outcome. When we are able to give our situations to God, he will give us amazing peace in the middle of the worst storms of life. In our trials our weaknesses become strengths.

Nothing can touch us without it going through God’s hand, so even when things are tough it is for our good. It is to teach us a lesson that will grow us into the best version of ourselves we can be. In becoming the best, we will be the warriors God needs us to be to gather the harvest.

There are trials that shatter us into a million pieces. We don’t even think God can find all of the pieces to put our lives back together, but he knows everything we feel, hope, dream. He knows how we hurt and how the enemy lies to us. He is the only one able to put us together. He will bind our wounds and heal our brokenness.

Romans 8:16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: 17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. 18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

Our suffering cannot compare to the spiritual gain that will be built up in us. The things of this life will someday pass. Of one thing we can be sure. Trouble comes to everyone. Just like thunderstorms come and go. But when the storm is over, the sky looks even brighter than it did before the storm. We just have to lean on God and ride out the storms of life, leaning on him. He will not allow us to be overtaken but will at some point whisper peace be still to our storms.

James 1:2-4 My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; 3 Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. 4 But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.

I can honestly say that I have never rejoice and counted it joy when trials come, none of us want to suffer. Jesus didn’t want to suffer, he asked for the cup to pass from him. But he surrendered to the will of God and went to the cross. He will never allow more in our lives than we can handle.

Sometimes trials and suffering come to grow us. Other times we suffer because of bad choices and disobedience. The only good to come from this type of suffering is to learn not to be disobedient children.

Psalm 46:1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

We as children of God can never allow the enemy to make us feel alone. We cannot allow him to put heaviness on us that we isolate from other believers. We need our brothers and sisters to pray with us and encourage us when we are fighting our way through trials of life.

Taking life one day at a time is the only way to walk through a trial. Allowing God to work in us will give us strength to see us through whatever storm we are facing. Sometimes, we need to reach out and help others through their situations. In lifting up another, we elevate ourselves out of our trials.

Through it all, we can trust that God is with us, he will never leave us. He will see us through whatever comes our way.

Until next time,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

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EP304 AVOID DISTRACTIONS

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WELCOME TO GOD FOCUS THIS MORNING

The title of today’s episode: AVOID DISTRACTIONS

Our enemy will try to offer us shiny sin. He will paint it with glitz and glitter to distract us and cause us to make a bad choice. If he can distract us with sin and we freely choose to follow the enemy, then he has us trapped.

But if we choose to follow Jesus, and are resisting the enemy’s temptations, then he will try to distract us in other ways. He will cause people that follow him to give us a hard time. He will throw things at us to distract us from what we need to be doing.

Prov 4:23-27 Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life. 24 Put away from thee a froward mouth, and perverse lips put far from thee. 25 Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee. 26 Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established. 27 Turn not to the right hand nor to the left: remove thy foot from evil.

With every new level of growth we obtain, we will be stronger. It takes new battles to continue to strengthen us. The enemy will try even bigger distractions. He will use our hope and dreams and try to give us what we really desire, but it is a trap. We need to wait on God to give us what we desire.

Psalm 37:4 Delight thyself also in the Lord: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.

If we are doing our best to delight ourselves in the Lord. We will desire to please him and delight in his ways. If we do his will, he will give us what we desire. We cannot take shortcuts offered by the enemy or we will be in a mess.

His traps often look to be exactly like the opportunity we have been waiting for, for a long time. Having discernment about God’s plans will keep us from falling into the trap.

Heb. 12:1-2 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,

2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

We have to set aside every weight and sin that distracts us. The enemy will not win if we keep our focus on Jesus. He has the final say and will give us what we need to stand against the enemy. Not only do we have the whole armor of God. But God himself has promised to be our defense.

Isaiah 54: 17 No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord.

No weapon the enemy creates to use against us will prosper as long as we allow God to lead our lives. He is our strength and our shield.

Psalm 59:1 Deliver me from mine enemies, O my God: defend me from them that rise up against me.

It doesn’t matter what distractions he tries to send our way. It doesn’t matter who he tries to use to cause us to fall into fear, anxiety, worry, sin or any other distraction, we will stand strong as long as we hold tight to our Lord.

Stand strong, my friends; the enemy may be seeking whom he may devour. But hold tight to the faith, and he will not find anyone to distract with his lies or traps.

Until next time,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

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EPISODE 303 THE DANGERS OF THE SINNER’S PRAYER

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The title of today’s episode: THE DANGERS OF THE SINNER’S PRAYER

I want to talk to you today about the dangers of the sinner’s prayer. Please listen to the end so that my point can be made clear. I know that many will take offense at my words, but I feel compelled to share them anyway. I do not want to see people lost because they lacked understanding.

I know from personal experience; I had a cousin that said the sinner’s prayer when she was around nine or ten. Then she grew up and refused to listen to anyone about her salvation. She lived a sinful life by even man’s standards. But when the subject came up, she said she was saved. She had said the sinner’s prayer when she was younger and considered herself a Christian. Even though she didn’t have any fruit of being a Christian. She died and I am ninety five percent sure that never changed and she died lost, because there was no conversion. There was no change. Although this is a beginning for some, I think it does more harm than good, on a grand scale.

Acts 3:18-19 But those things, which God before had shewed by the mouth of all his prophets, that Christ should suffer, he hath so fulfilled. 19 Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord.

Because Christ came and died, we have a right to salvation through and by the blood. Verse 18 says that Christ has fulfilled the prophecy given by the mouth of all his prophets. Verse nineteen then says, because Christ has fulfilled the prophecies and the law, we now can be saved. Then verse 19 shows the next step is to repent and be converted. Let us deep dive into what it means to repent and be converted.

Websters Dictionary online says Repent means

1: to turn from sin and dedicate oneself to the amendment of one’s life

2 A : to feel regret or contrition

B : to change one’s mind

Contrition means to be Contrite- feeling or showing sorrow and remorse for improper or objectionable behavior, actions, etc.

In summary repent means to show sorrow and remorse for our actions that break God’s law. It is not enough to say the words, we have to truly feel sorry that we have broken God’s laws. It is not enough to repent, but we need to allow God to work in our lives that we are converted or changed. This is how our sins are blotted out. So that our soul can be refreshed by the infilling the Holy Ghost.

Webster’s says converted means- to bring over from one belief, view, or party to another, to change from one form or function to another, to alter for more effective utilization.

Being converted means that we change from the person we were when living in sin. We will start looking to Christ for our direction. Does it mean we will be perfect doing this, especially at the beginning? No, that is where God’s grace comes into the picture. His grace is not a license to continue like my cousin to walk in our sins.

Many churches have adopted what the mainstream television ministries have created, it is known as the sinners prayer. They will tell them to repeat these words and then say now you are saved. When they most of the time have not even repented, let alone been converted. Then they continue to live their lives believing that they are saved. Because the preacher told them they were saved. This is a huge lie of the enemy. He wants people to be lulled into a false sense of security.

Romans 10:9-10 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

Believe in thine heart…. How can I tell if you believed in your heart or if you just have head knowledge. Who am I to tell you, you are saved? This is just simply wrong and sending a lot of people to hell with false security. Because no conversion was ever made.

I often use this for example to prove my point: When I was in elementary school we used to say the pledge of allegiance to the flag. We said the words but didn’t know what they meant, it didn’t create allegiance within me to the flag. It was just words. Just like all the nursery rhymes before we learned to quote.

Saying the sinners prayer is just words. People may be a little happy since others have told them that they are saved, but in many there is no real change. We need to stop creating a false sense of security in people. We need to explain to them that they need to just talk to God and sincerely tell him that they are sorry. They need to understand that it is a journey of repenting daily. A journey of enduring and walking out our faith.

They need guidance that true repentance in a heart thing. (Believe in thine heart) Being converted means that you no longer wish to break God’s laws, and you strive to live a life pleasing to him. You will no longer live a life of sin.

We should never tell anyone they are saved. We don’t know their heart. They need to ask God for the answers to those questions. He will not allow any to be lost that truly love him and want to live for him.

There is coming a move of God in our world that is going to shake things to the foundation. God is sick of religion and division. He will call those who truly love him to higher ground in him. He will not leave any behind that want to follow him. But it is going to take more than repeating a few words after a preacher. It is going to take us being sold out to the cause of Christ. To be so wrapped up in him that people will not be able to tell where we end, and God begins. It means walking in his spirit and not fulfilling the desires of our flesh.

I have wrestled with this for weeks. Trying to find the right words to get my point across. I understand it is hard for people to find words sometimes. But we can encourage them to pray by simply talking to God. Explain that there has to be a change, we have to change what we can and let God change the rest. But we do not say a magical bunch of words and are instantly saved. It has become a religious ritual. Jesus didn’t come to start a religion. He didn’t come to burden us with a bunch of rituals. There were already people bound by religion and religious rituals. He came to set the captive free. Those who were captive in every sense of the word. From those bound by satan to those bound by religion.

Just because you went to the altar at age six doesn’t mean you are saved for the rest of your life, and you can go out to live like the devil until you die of old age. Nothing in a life like that glorifies God. We are here to help others find God. To live a life that he is pleased with, not to be a bad light by telling people we are Christians when living what is obviously a sinful life. Please stop the religious rituals and stop telling people that by saying this magical formula that they are saved. Saying the words only will not change people. Unless those words come from their heart.

I hope my point was made clear and this was not an attack on anyone. I felt compelled to warn people to think about it. God is trying to bring up his church to a higher level. It is time we think about everything we have always done to see if it lines up with the word of God. Nowhere did Jesus send out his disciples and tell them to have someone do a religious ritual of saying certain words to be saved.

We are in end times, evil is strong in our world. The only way we will survive is if we as the body grow together and level up. It is time to be serious about our faith walk and our personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Only in being who he fully needs us to be in the earth will the church prevail over evil.

He cannot use a sick body as effectively as he can a whole healed unified body. We are each responsible for our own souls. But we have to make sure we are helping the lost and not empowering them to stay that way.

Until next time,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

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