EPISODE 302 DO NOT FEAR

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The title of today’s episode: DO NOT FEAR

I want to ask all of you to say a prayer for the victims of these crazy storms that have been in our nation for the past couple of days. Which brings me to my topic, things right now look scary. It is impossible not to feel emotions at the loss of life and everything people have worked their whole lives to build. But we cannot let the enemy cause us to fall into fear. Fear is the opposite of faith.

I want to talk to you about fear and those who try to cause it. In this world there are a group of people that have sold out to satan. They do anything and every evil thing for their fake god. Just as there are those who are preaching the truth of God’s word there are those who are purposely twisting it to cause people to fall into fear and even into sin.

There is a woman on social media that is telling everyone that we need to shut ourselves into our houses and block our windows so that no light can escape. If we do not do this then evil beings will come and destroy us. When I heard this I knew it was not from God. God did shut the children of Israel in for a night while the death angel passed, that is true. But it wasn’t to cause them fear. And nothing harmed them because the blood was over their door.

When we become children of God, his blood is on the door post of our heart. He has taken on the task of being our protector. All through the word of God before judgment was sent, God’s people were safe. Noah and his family were locked in the ark before the floods came. Lot and his family God sent them out of Sodom and Gomorra before the fire started falling.

It comes down to trust, how much do we trust God. If we cannot trust him to take care of us in this life, then why worry about the life to come. We have to trust and not fear. We cannot give into the lies of the enemy. The God of the mountain that saved Israel from Egypt lives inside of us.

Get alone with him, spend time in his word. Thank him for his protection, for peace in the middle of chaos, safety when the world is out of control. But do not fall into fear or allow someone on the internet to spread propaganda and lies to cause fear. Fear is not faith. It is ok to not know the details of what tomorrow, because we know who holds our tomorrows in the palm of him hand. He did not create us to cower in fear. He created us to stand strong and be warriors.

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.

We have to stay strong in the middle of our transition. God is getting ready to abundantly bless his people. We have no reason to fear.

Isaiah 41:10 Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.

He has promised us strength, help and that he will uphold us not allowing us to fall. We just have to trust and walk by faith. We cannot go by our natural eyes and the things the enemy wants us to see.

Ps 23:4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

I will not fear evil, because God is with me. His staff to guide me and keep me in the right path, his rod to protect us from the dangerous wolves of this life. The enemy will not prevail as long as we stick close to our shepherd.

Praise and worship is important at this time. The enemy cannot stand praise. When we sing worship songs to God, it draws us closer to God and his presence. The enemy cannot stick around with all his lies, it causes him to run. So put on the garment of praise and the heaviness of your heart will lift.

I know things feel hard right now. Like if one more feather is added to the pile of things you are carrying will break you. Remember that is when we are in the position for breakthrough.

We will prevail as long as we allow God to lead and guide us and not fall into fear.

Until next time,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

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EPISODE 301 QUICK TURN AROUND

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The title of today’s episode: QUICK TURN AROUND

Have you ever heard someone say, just hold on you are on the brink of a miracle. Like things could change at any second. I was thinking about the story of Esther and a few others today. Most of the time they waited a long time for their breakthrough. Suddenly, it was the day that God saved his people, the enemy lost, but God’s people won.

Take the children of Israel, for example. One day they were slaves the next they were marching out of Egypt with great wealth and God had healed their bodies. The things the enemy used to hold them, no longer held them back. God used the salvation of Israel to destroy Egypt because of their worship of false gods and the way they had treated God’s people.

Look at Haman in the story of Esther. He was second in command next to the king. He was prideful. That pride became his downfall. He tricked the king into making a decree that the Jews would be killed on a certain day. He thought that he would get rid of Mordecai, because he hated him. Mordecai refused to bow to Haman, it made him angry.

The story goes that Esther approached the king to save her people from being killed. Even though approaching the king without him asking for her could have meant her death. But when she boldly approached him, he asked for her petition. But instead of asking right there she asked him to come to a banquet and bring Haman.

Haman was feeling important at this point. Dinner with the king and queen. No one else had been invited. When the king asked her what she wanted she asked them to return to dinner the next night and she would ask him.

That night, Haman went home feeling pretty good about himself but couldn’t stop obsessing over Mordecai. His wife suggested he build a gallows for Mordecai. That is what he did all night. He built a fifty-five-cubit-high gallows. That is seventy-five feet in the air. He wanted the whole city to see Mordecai on the gallows.

The king couldn’t sleep that night, when he called for records to be read, he discovered that Mordecai had overheard a plot to kill the king. He discovered that Mordecai had not been rewarded for letting someone know about the plot. The king was pondering the next morning about how to reward him.

When Haman arrived at the palace, the king asked him what he should do to honor someone. Haman with all his pride, thought the king meant him. He thought up his best scenario. He said this person should be placed on the kings horse with the kings robe and crown and paraded through the street with someone yelling this is the man whom the king desires to honor. Deep down Haman wanted to be the king.

Wouldn’t you love to have seen the look on Haman’s face when the king told him to go and do that to Mordecai. Evil Haman had to go through the street yelling this is the man that the king desires to honor. I am sure his blood was boiling.

While Haman plotted evil, God planned good things for his people. That night was Esther’s second banquet. When the trap sprung and Haman was exposed for his evil. He hung on his gallows for the whole city to see. God saved his people, through the boldness of Esther.

Haman went from being at the queen’s banquet to losing out completely. Just as quickly things looked bad for the Jews and Esther went boldly before the king and God saved the Jews.

Anytime we face the enemy and things look bad, we are sitting in a good position for things to turn around quickly. We just have to be strong and hold on until God gets things in position to tear down the enemy while he elevates us.

Heb 4:16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

Hold on my friends when things seem hard. Remember the stories in the word of God. There are many things that seemed hopeless, then God showed up. This is why we walk by faith and not by sight. Things look bad, but God will turn it around quickly. Once everything is in place. The old saying goes, it is always darkest before the dawn. So hold on, your miracle is on the way. God will never forsake his people.

Until next time,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

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EPISODE 300 TIME TO ARISE FROM THE ASHES

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The title of today’s episode: TIME TO ARISE FROM THE ASHES

There are several places in the word of God that speaks about sackcloth and ashes. I decided to look it up and see exactly what it was, it is a black cloth made of goat’s hair. They would put on this hot, itchy material and put wood ashes on them as an outward sign of the mourning inside. It was a sign of repentance and prayer for deliverance.

The people of Ninevah wore sackcloth and ashes as a sign of their repentance. This was normally done while praying and fasting. It was a sign of mourning both for their nation and personal.

Like Job when the lying witnesses told him that all he had was gone. Job sat in sackcloth and ashes. He believed the report of the enemy and it put him into a state of grief. Many things happened to Job, but he stood strong on his belief that God had a reason for everything he had allowed in his life. Even when those around him were miserable comfort.

David sat in sackcloth and ashes when he lost his first-born child. After a period of mourning, these people have to eventually arise and get on with their lives.

2 Sam 12:20 Then David arose from the earth, and washed, and anointed himself, and changed his apparel, and came into the house of the LORD, and worshipped: then he came to his own house; and when he required, they set bread before him, and he did eat.

Mordecai in the book of Esther sat at the king’s gate in sackcloth and ashes, mourning for the Jewish people that were about to be killed because of a decree of an evil man that had tricked the king.

I started thinking about the story of Esther and how there could be some comparisons to the church of today. In her story is an evil man named Haman. He was determined to destroy a group of people because one man would not bow to him.

Mordecai refused to bow to him. I believe the reason that it bothered him so badly was because deep down he knew he didn’t deserve to be where he was as second in command.

Compare the church of today to Esther. The enemy has put out a plan to destroy us. We as the church have been sitting in the ashes of our mourning. Too long we have been grieving for what is behind. People say all the time, “Church is not like it used to be…” they get nostalgic for the things of the past. But God is getting ready to do a new thing. We have only a short time to gather the harvest. He is getting ready to pour out his Spirit in ways we cannot even imagine.

Esther 5:1 Now it came to pass on the third day, that Esther put on her royal apparel, and stood in the inner court of the king’s house, over against the king’s house: and the king sat upon his royal throne in the royal house, over against the gate of the house.

We cannot be stuck sitting in our ashes of mourning. It is time we arise like Esther and put on our royal apparel and go before the king and petition for the change we want to see. Evil Haman ended up hanging on his own gallows he had built for Mordecai. It is time satan was put in his place. Although we cannot get him hung on his own gallows, we can pray and break his hold on the church. We have power through and by the blood of Jesus. He has given us power over the enemy. We just need to find some holy boldness.

Isaiah 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.

It is time we gave our fears, worried, insecurities, past regrets, ideas about the way things need to be and embraced what God is going to do. It is time we traded all those old garments that we have been wearing for the one God is getting ready to give us. But we cannot praise him if we are in mourning. It is time to arise from our ashes and let God build a glorious church to gather the end time harvest.

Until next time,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

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EPISODE 299 AVOIDING FALSE ASSUMPTIONS

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The title of today’s episode: AVOIDING FALSE ASSUMPTIONS

Every division in the body of believers in Christ started somewhere. Two people didn’t see eye to eye, so they split and started their own thing. Now, we have too many denominations to count and too many translations of the Bible.

What if I told you that a group of evil people paid pastors to cause confusion. They didn’t want God’s people to stand strong. They created a church culture that allowed people to have an eased conscience without having to sacrifice. They created versions of the word that sounded good but left out the true meaning of the gospel.

I was raised in church. Saved at the age of fifteen. I spent some time in the world doing things I shouldn’t have done. I then returned to the church and tried to do what I thought was expected of me. But when I really got serious about my faith walk. I decided to question everything I had ever been taught. It bothered me that there were all these different denominations of Christians. But the word said we were one body. I questioned how we could be one body with all the different ideas. Many would die for their denomination before they would die for Christ. It is so ingrained in them that they are right that their minds are closed to the revelation of what God’s word actually says.

I didn’t want to be narrow-minded, but knew that the grand philosophy of all roads lead to heaven was way too open minded. There has to be a balance between the two. When two people do not agree, they both cannot be right. But they both can be wrong. They are both wrong if the discussion becomes about who is right and not what is right, even if one of them has the correct answer. I am all for open discussion and an exchange of ideas, this is how we learn. But when it turns into an argument, then it is wrong.

That being said, I want to encourage you to sit down and pray for God to reveal his word to you. He will not withhold the truth from someone who seeks it. We cannot be so arrogant to assume we know it all. The more I learn the more I realize I don’t know everything. My grandfather after studying the bible for more than seventy years, would say he didn’t know it all either. He also would smile and say, it is what you learn after you know it all that counts. In other words when we get to the end of ourselves and learn what God is trying to say, that is what counts.

Are you knocking on the door of understanding and revelation? Are you seeking God’s wisdom and truth? Or are you blindly following a preacher because he is a good speaker and has a nice smile?

God has promised to give us wisdom. If we ask for it.

James 1:5-8 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. 6 But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. 7 For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. 8 A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.

We need to ask and God will not withhold it from us. If we ask in faith and are not wishy washy about it. We cannot be double minded, because we will not have a solid foundation if we are double minded.

He has promised if we seek, we will find.

Matt 7:7-8 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: 8 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.

God knows the sincerity of our hearts. If we seek answers and pray for his wisdom he will open it to us. He also warns us not to throw our pearls before swine. In other words, do not argue about doctrine, if someone just wants to argue for the sake of argument. It is a waste of time.

I want to warn you that today there are many that their whole purpose is to deceive God’s people. They will come with a bible and a smile, but be careful. The word says by their fruit you will know them. Many false prophets and teachers know the scriptures better than a lot of saints. Pray about everything.

2 Tim 3:10-12 But thou hast fully known my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, charity, patience, 11 Persecutions, afflictions, which came unto me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra; what persecutions I endured: but out of them all the Lord delivered me. 12 Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.

2 Tim 3:13 But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived. 14 But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them;

It is important to know the life of the person that is ministering to you. Do they walk the walk or just talk the talk on TV and live a wicked life the rest of the time?

2Tim 3:15-17 And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. 16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: 17 That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.

We have our bibles to make sure that we have the correct ideas about God, life, love and salvation. That we may be perfect and thoroughly equipped to do the good works of God.

I want to encourage you to ask God, Seek God, Pray for wisdom, Pray for understanding. He will never let you down. He will not allow us to be deceived if we depend on him.

Until next time,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

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EPISODE 298 TREES IN A STORM

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The title of today’s episode: TREES IN A STORM

No one wants to deal with adversity. We all would like life to be exactly as we want it to be without the storms of adversity. But without the storms we wouldn’t recognize the sunshine.

I was thinking about the winds of adversity. When strong winds blow against a tree there are four different things that can happen to the tree.

It can fall over, pulling the roots out of the ground. This means that the tree grew too fast for the roots to develop and grow deep. Deep roots will allow the tree to stay grounded.

Christians sometimes jump into the church culture. They do all the Christian things, but do not take the time to get grounded in the word. Learning what God’s word says will give us the root system we need to help us to grow and stay grounded when the winds of false doctrines blow through our land. If you are not grounded in God’s word you may fall for anything that sounds good. This is how people end up in cults. They are willing to accept what some so called preacher or prophet tells them, instead of knowing the word for themselves. On a side note, If a person is a true prophet of God, what they say will always, always line up with the Bible.

Sometimes a tree grows too many leaves and branches and becomes top heavy without having a strong trunk. During the storms this type of tree will break into at least two pieces. But if the trunk of the tree has strong roots it will soon send out shoots to produce a new tree. All is not lost as long as the roots are strong and run deep.

Christians who fall into this category may face something that causes them to break. It may shake their faith to their very foundation. It may be so bad that everyone wonders if they will come back from it. Many go through periods of depression and grief. But if their roots are deep, they will rely on their faith foundation to help them to pick up what is left of their lives and try once again to grow toward heaven. Finding new ways to reach for the sky.

Having a strong but flexible trunk will give them the ability to bend when hit with heavy winds, but to remain true to their purpose. As soon as the wind stops blowing, they are standing tall and as strong as ever. I pictured the palm trees during a hurricane. When thinking about a tree being flexible.

Christians that are flexible have been through a few storms. When a tree is young and flexible it will be more pliable. Saplings that face strong winds will develop small cracks in their structure. The tree will repair those places in the tree’s fibers causing it to be stronger. It is through facing the wind that it actually becomes strong. Just as we grow stronger when we are facing the winds of adversity.

A tree might stand strong when the winds blow. This is the tree that has a strong root system. It is not top heavy. And has the right amount of flexibility to withstand the storms.

Christians that are like these trees have grown and are mature. They have had the right environment to grow in and flourish. They have deep roots. They are not top-heavy with a bunch of things they do not need to be dealing with, traditions of men, gossip, and trying to measure up to society’s standards. Worry about things we cannot control. Fear, anxiety. All the things the enemy wants us to carry in our minds so that we cannot deal with what is happening in the moment. It is the enemy’s number one trick to try to distract us with run away thoughts. He always causes us to go to worst case scenario before we know the facts.

Psalm 1:3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

People that have learned to set aside the weights that try to distract us are ones that are growing and are becoming mature Christians. Only mature trees grow fruit. A young tree that doesn’t have to face the wind will never grow a strong trunk. It is in our adversities that we gain a strong core. Helping us to produce fruit.

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

God allows the storms to make us stronger. Adversity causes us to grow deeper roots. The more we set aside our ideas, wishes and traditions the more room we have for God’s will and word. Making us mature enough to start developing the fruit of the Spirit. Listed in Gal 5.

Psalm 92:13-15 Those that be planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God. 14 They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat and flourishing; 15 To shew that the Lord is upright: he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.

Learning to fully trust and rely on God will help us to be that flourishing tree even when the wind blows.

Jer. 17:7-8 Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is. 8 For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.

The next time you face adversity, remember the storms are there to make you stronger or clear a path to your next level of growth. It is in the storms, we realize more than ever that we need our savior. Only in him do we have the strength to face the storm.

Until next time,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

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EPISODE 297 REGAINING FOCUS

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The title of today’s episode: REGAINING FOCUS

In the world we are living in there are many things that are going on that the average person doesn’t know about. The truth is slowly coming out and some of the stories are hard to wrap our minds around. The cruelty done to innocent children is beyond the scope of imagination.

I heard one such story today, it shattered my heart into a million pieces. It grieved my Spirit; it took me several hours to pray my way through it. As a child of God, it would be impossible to not be moved by all of the things going on, but I was reminded that we cannot dwell on the evil. We cannot do anything about it except pray and let God deal with it.

He is the God of justice; he is the God that will punish those who are evil and refuse to repent. His word says Vengeance is mine, I will repay. God is in control; I had to change my focus. I started thinking on God and his amazing grace.

I realized that I had allowed my God focus to become unfocused. I had to pray for an adjustment to my lenses. For God to help me focus on what I could control and let him handle everything in his scope of control. We have to be ever-vigilant to keep our minds focused on Jesus.

Col 3:2 Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.

As we lean into the vastness and glory of our God, it will give us a sense of peace. It helps us to realize even though we are small and in many ways weak, we are still mighty through the power of his Spirit that lives within us.

Phil 4:8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

Our God is an awesome God. He has got the entire universe in his hand. Focusing on him will always give us peace. In a world where peace is hard to find outside of God. It may not even exist outside of God. But we can sit in his presence and feel surrounded by a calm tranquility that can only come from him. As he ministers to our souls.

Being in his presence and gaining our focus on him will lighten the heaviness that comes from knowing the evil that exists in the world. Some of it is closer than we ever thought possible.

We are human and it is easy to allow our focus to be swayed to things other than our God. But he is there to remind us as soon as life gets to be overwhelming. He is the same God that delivered a nation from Egypt. He is the same God that delivered the three Hebrew men from the fiery furnace. The one that caused the walls of Jerico to fall, giving his people access to take the city. He is the same God that sent his son to die for our sins. He created each of us with a purpose. But we will never fulfill our purpose until we get our focus on him and allow him to move in our lives.

When you find yourself discouraged or see something that breaks your heart, he is there to pick you up and give you peace. It all comes down to our ability to keep our God focus and allow him to do a work in us.

Until next time,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

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EPISODE 296 KEEPING FOCUS ON GOD’S VOICE

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The title of today’s episode: KEEPING FOCUS ON THE VOICE OF GOD

I try to always come to you with positive and encouraging content. All day yesterday however, I kept feeling a warning in my spirit, a call to obedience. It is time that people quit trying to straddle the fence as we often say in Christian circles. It means you say with your mouth you are a Christian, but often your actions do not align with your words.

Then there are those whom God gives positions of authority. Sometimes, it is to test them and see if they will love power and status more than they love him. They have the potential to be mighty in the kingdom of God, but there is also potential for a big fall. It all depends on where their focus lies. Are they listening to what God is saying, or are they following their own path.

We can never let our position in the kingdom become our life. God is our life. Following his lead is crucial. Many in the fivefold ministry have been taken down by the enemy because they lost their focus on who was in control. They allowed the enemy to steal their anointing or God’s glory from their life. They became too caught up in the work or sometimes the world, to see that his anointing had lifted from their lives.

Like Sampson, he played with the devil too long and lost his strength. He didn’t even know it was gone until it was too late. His story should be a warning to us all not to play around with the enemy.

People in positions of authority in the church have an even greater responsibility to walk close and not give room to the enemy. Many are looking to them for guidance.

Eph 4:22-27 That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; 23 And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; 24 And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. 25 Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another. 26 Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: 27 Neither give place to the devil.

There is a lot in these few verses. We need to make sure to renew our mind that we do not read things into what is happening but allow God to lead us. We cannot open the door to the enemy and expect God to bless us.

Eli’s sons were wicked, he didn’t call them on it but allowed their wickedness to continue. They defiled the temple of the Lord. God will give everyone warnings and then after a space of time, to turn from their evil he will remove them from their positions of authority in the body.

Just like the ark of the covenant, in Israel’s hands, it went before them and God blessed them and gave them victories over their enemies. But that same ark when stolen by someone who is not permitted to have it, it became a curse to the Philistines.

We cannot treat God’s anointing and glory with carless attitudes. We do not want to lose out on what God has for us. We all have work to do for the Lord. We need to approach it as a privilege and try to honor God in everything we do.

Heb 10:22-23 Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)

Hold fast to our faith without wavering; without being double -minded or unstable in the way we conduct our faith walk. We need to keep hold tight to our faith, not allowing the enemy to cause us to doubt. When we are faced with decisions, we need to pray for God’s voice to be the only one we hear. That the voice of truth will tell us the story, the way God wants it to play out in our lives. Pray that we do not allow our desires or our own understanding to cause us to falter. One verse even tells us to trust God and not our own understanding.

The choices we make may not even, on the surface, appear to be something sinful or prideful. It could be that we see a space and think God wants us to step in when it was something that was meant for someone else. The place that God was going to give them to shine.

We cannot be paralyzed by fear and not make any moves to step out and try to do something for God. But we need to know that it is his voice we hear. If we are willing to listen, he has promised to lead and guide us. We have to be willing to follow even if it is not what we think is best. Listen for the voice of truth, that still small voice that is God’s Spirit within, he is there to be our guide. He will help us walk in obedience.

I Sam. 15:3 Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.

God told Saul to go and smite Amalek and utterly destroy every living thing. But Saul was disobedient for whatever reason. He allowed flesh to dictate his outcome. He said he feared the people. We cannot allow people to get in the way of our obedience to God.

I Sam 15:14-18 And Samuel said, What meaneth then this bleating of the sheep in mine ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear? 15 And Saul said, They have brought them from the Amalekites: for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen, to sacrifice unto the Lord thy God; and the rest we have utterly destroyed. 16 Then Samuel said unto Saul, Stay, and I will tell thee what the Lord hath said to me this night. And he said unto him, Say on. 17 And Samuel said, When thou wast little in thine own sight, wast thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel, and the Lord anointed thee king over Israel? 18 And the Lord sent thee on a journey, and said, Go and utterly destroy the sinners the Amalekites, and fight against them until they be consumed.

I Sam 15:19-20 Wherefore then didst thou not obey the voice of the Lord, but didst fly upon the spoil, and didst evil in the sight of the Lord? 20 And Saul said unto Samuel, Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the Lord, and have gone the way which the Lord sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites.

I Sam 15: 21-23 But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice unto the Lord thy God in Gilgal. 22 And Samuel said, Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. 23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, he hath also rejected thee from being king.

I pray that I am not rebellious or stubborn when God tells me to do something. I do not want to fail in this way. We are human and God does give us grace. But expects us to walk in obedience.

Until next time,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

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EPISODE 295 DEFINING MOMENTS

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WELCOME TO GOD FOCUS THIS MORNING

The title of today’s episode: DEFINING MOMENTS

Life is full of defining moments. The moments we take our first steps or on our first day of school, graduation. Many other defining moments of our earthly life. We also have defining moments in our spiritual lives. The day we give our lives to Christ. Many things define who we are, but none more than how we handle adversity as children of God.

A situation arises in our lives and our first reaction is to allow our emotions to rule. The enemy will attack us with fear, anxiety, stress, worry and all the emotions to get us to fall apart. Our natural instincts about situations often go against us. If we belonged in the natural world then those instincts would probably be right. But this world is not our home, we are just passing through. We cannot allow fear and worry to overtake us.

Now is the time to make a conscious decision to stand and fight against the attacks of the enemy. God wins! Nowhere in the word does it say that satan will win. It says he has no power against God. He cannot win against the power of God.

I want to remind you that the Lord is on our side. It doesn’t matter the pain, fear and stress. The situations that seem impossible in our lives to cause us to worry, are no match for our Lord Jesus Christ.

This is when we have to hit our knees in order to stand on his promises. He has promised he will take care of us. We need to dig in and fight for what is right. In most of the stories we use for inspiration there comes one defining moment. Like the moment Esther pushed open the doors of the court and approached the king. Because of her courage, evil Haman was hanged on his own gallows. Our enemy will be caught and will be stopped by our King Jesus.

At another defining moment David threw down Saul’s armor and decided to go against Goliath without it. That seemed crazy to the natural mind. You are going to battle against someone twice your size and you have no protection. At least to the natural mind he seemed to not have any protection. But he went in the name of the Lord. And God showed up at just the right moment and guided his stone. Then the enemy’s weapon was used against him to cut off his head.

Genesis 50:19-21 And Joseph said unto them, Fear not: for am I in the place of God? 20 But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive. 21 Now therefore fear ye not: I will nourish you, and your little ones. And he comforted them, and spake kindly unto them.

Joseph’s brothers sold him into slavery. He went through many things before the Pharaoh made him second in command in Egypt. Every elevation got him closer to God’s will. But he had to spend time in unpleasant situations. We have to walk through situations to elevate us to the place that God can use us.

What the enemy meant to destroy us; God will use to elevate us. But God is completely in control. He will not allow us to be destroyed. We may get a little uncomfortable when situations arise. But we have to remember that God will not allow us to be overtaken. Uncomfortable is a part of life, we are in a fight and warriors do not always have a comfortable life.

We can gain perspective by worship. Worship creates an atmosphere that gives us joy and strength. As the coming days play out, we need to stay strong and keep our focus on God through worship. He will see us through. We never face our giants alone. We are close to our defining moments. Will we stand, or will we allow the enemy to get the upper hand because we have lost heart? God will give us strength if we faint not; he will make sure that we have what we need to overcome in our defining moments.

One final thing to think about today, who do you want defining you? The enemy is never right when trying to define who we are, but God says we are blessed, chosen and his. If we depend on God, we will never fail. We will see our way clearly through those defining moments.

Until next time,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

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EPISODE 294 FULLY TRUSTING GOD

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The title of today’s episode: FULLY TRUSTING GOD

Not everyone assigned to a task will find God’s will. Sometimes, our flesh can get in the way. Moses sent twelve spies into the promised land to check it out. God had already told them the land belonged to them. But ten men got into the flesh and allowed what they saw to cause them to fear. Walking in fear will always take us the wrong direction.

How often do we fall into fear? God says he will take care of us. He promises us that he is with us and will never leave us. He has given his angels charge over us to protect us. He promises that he will restore what the enemy has stolen. Yet we find ourselves bound up with worry and fear. Who’s report do we believe? God’s or our flesh that is being lied to by satan.

We need to have the strength of Joshua and Caleb. They saw everything the other ten saw. The difference was in their reaction. They decided not to allow fear to overtake them, they decided to get some grapes and bring them back to show the people. They had proof they actually went into the land. The other ten only brought words of fear and negativity.

When God promises us something, there is not time for negativity. If he brings us to it, he will make a way to get rid of the giant obstacles that are in the way of us getting to where he wants us to go. There is not a mountain too high or a giant too big that can intimidate our God. He is endless, boundless, everlasting the Almighty God that made everything.

Joshua and Caleb embraced God’s steadfast, unwavering promises. The rest were not trusting enough in God’s word. It is often when we are met with what seems to us to be insurmountable odds, that God’s hand really shines through with a mighty miracle.

America is teetering on the edge; we are needing God’s mighty hand to restore and give us back what the enemy has stolen. Satan has tried to steal the next generations from God, by offering shiny, distractions. We know that not everything that glitters is not gold. Especially today, many glittering things are made from cheap plastic. We cannot fall for the temporary substitute of cheap peace. It is a trap of the enemy.

When only true peace is found in Jesus. He is the one with real joy and satisfaction. The enemy cannot match in any way. But people fall into legalism, feeling like they cannot serve God, because it is too hard. They listen to the enemy when he tells them that the things he offers are to make them happy. But once inside the trap, people realize it is a cheap substitute for God’s love and peace.

I know I want to be like Caleb and Joshua, I want the boldness of God to arise in me when faced with decisions like they were facing. I want to say, yes there are giants, but our God is still bigger than them. Have you seen the size of the grapes. There is much fruit to be had in the promises of God if we are willing to reach out in spite of our fears and gather it.

If the Spirit of God dwells within us, we will have the fruit. When faced with seemingly insurmountable odds we can be strong and allow what God has grown within us to give us the strength to face adversity.

Pause and think about God. Think about this sentence. “OUR GOD NEVER FAILS”. Why do we worry, why do we fear, if he has promised so much to us?

Allow the boldness of God and the fruit that is within you to give you strength to face down the giants. You will not go alone, God is with you. You can make it, it you believe.

Gal 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

I don’t see fear, doubt, negativity, being argumentative, being double-minded on the list of the fruit of the spirit. This is why we must walk in the boldness of God, keeping in mind his peace, joy, goodness and the rest of the fruit. It is our fruit that separates us from the nonbeliever.

We grow our faith by speaking God’s promises, not by speaking negativity. Allow God’s boldness to arise within you. Stand up and look the enemy in the eye and tell him he is under your feet. You are not listening to him anymore.

May the peace of God surround you today. May the Joy of the Lord give you strength. Hold on and stand strong, God has got us in the palm of his hand. He will keep his promises we can depend on his word.

Until next time,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

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EPISODE 293 ARISE OUT OF SLEEP

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WELCOME TO GOD FOCUS THIS MORNING

The title of today’s episode: ARISE OUT OF SLEEP

Being a servant of God is not always an easy road. Sometimes in the middle of the night you find yourself awakened by the needs of others. God will wake us up to pray. After an hour or so of intercession you feel the release to go back to sleep, only to be awakened in a couple of hours with an urgent thought running through your mind. By the time the computer boots up, the thought is gone. Then you sit with one eye open, trying to think about what you should be writing. (At least that is what happened to me last week.)

God will sometimes stretch us out of our comfort zones to make us more moldable clay. It is sort of like the process of getting out all the air bubbles. The potter beats the clay, not because he is angry or out of a twisted sense of revenge, but because if the air bubbles are not removed, the pottery will explode in the fire.

God is preparing us to be on fire for him. A great army of warriors that will be the ones to witness, persuade, encourage the final harvest of souls. It will not be a snap of the fingers, and we are done kind of task. Although God goes with us and will work on them to make their heart ready to hear the word. We will still have to speak the word.

Warriors endure great hardship for the sake of king and country. We need to think about our willingness to sacrifice when God asks us to step out of our comfort zone. How willing are we to push back our plates and fast a meal? How willing are we to spend an extra fifteen minutes sitting quietly waiting for God to speak to us? How willing are we to sacrifice to see a soul saved?

It is my prayer that God will find me a worthy vessel for his use and that I am strong enough to do his will.

Matt 26:40-41And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour? 41 Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.

Our flesh is the enemy at times. This is why we must make it uncomfortable in order to carry out God’s plan. Because our mission is greater than we are.

Joshua 5:2 At that time the Lord said unto Joshua, Make thee sharp knives, and circumcise again the children of Israel the second time.

All the men that came out of Egypt had died over the 40 years except Joshua and Caleb. God was getting ready to take them to the promised land. But first, they cut away the flesh in order to renew their covenant with God.

It is time the church got back to the business of truly being the church. It is time we cut away the flesh. I am not saying we need to cut ourselves with actual knives. But the Old Testament is the type and shadows of the new. It stands to reason that if they had to cut away the flesh to regain covenant that we would have to remove the desires of our flesh and cut away parts of the way things were done. It is time we strengthen our determination to follow Jesus.

Luke 9:23-24 And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. 24 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.

When we take up our cross it will not always be pretty. Attending church service and enjoying ourselves. Sometimes it is driving for an hour and sitting with a friend that is at the hospital with a loved one that is dying. Sometimes it is loving and serving others. It means sacrificing our will to what God needs us to do in that moment.

How do we show we are the disciples of Christ?

John 13:35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

We could have love, for them and instead of praying or going to that hospital we go back to bed and pet our flesh. Then send a sorry I couldn’t be there card. When we know we should have sacrificed our time.

I could have a million dollars to give you, but if I never made effort to let you know or take it to you, you could starve to death. We have to show that love and give it to others.

I guess this is a long way of saying, it is time the church woke up and got outside the walls. No agenda, just people loving people with God’s help, encouragement and strength. Showing them God’s incredible love for us all.

It is time to leave religion in the desert and step into the new, just simply living a life sold out to Christ. Cutting away traditions of men and denominational boundaries set by men unable to reason together. It is time for the church to wake up.

Until next time,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

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