EPISODE 123-BUILDING ON A SOLID FOUNDATION

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The title of today’s episode is: BUILDING ON A SOLID FOUNDATION

I have been working on writing a bible study of things I wish I had been told as a new Christian. There are some basic things in the bible that are the anchor points to the whole book. It is in those anchor points that we find the truth of our foundation.

Often we hear people speaking about being rooted and grounded in the gospel. We hear, you need to stand on the firm foundation. But to the person that was not raised in church some of our phrases may not mean much to them until they learn more of the word.

As believers we need to make sure, now more than ever, that we are on that firm foundation. There are many out there trying to deceive God’s people with feel good cupcake doctrines. The truth is often like a large antibiotic pill, hard to swallow, but good for your body. Sometimes, we don’t want to read or know the truth, because learning it will mean we have to measure up in some way. We may have to give up something that our flesh wants to hold onto.

Matthew Chapter Seven will give us some insight into a solid foundation.

Matt 7:24Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:

I have heard people preach about how we need to build on a firm foundation. But in this chapter of Matthew there are a few foundational points or anchors that they usually skip over and tell people to stand on the word of God.

Jesus said whosoever heareth these saying and does them is like a wise man that builds on rock. Just in chapter seven alone he tells us not to judge one another. He tells us to take the log out of our eye before trying to get the splinter out of our brother’s eye. We have no right to judge, we all have fallen short.

We are not to keep witnessing to someone that wants to argue with us. Every thing we say they want to turn it and argue with us. This is what he meant in verse 6, cast not your pearls or jewels of wisdom before people that don’t want to learn but want to argue. Ask and seek, God will give us the answers we need.

He teaches us to do unto others as we would want someone to do to us. We are to keep to the strait gate, because that is a narrow way. Few find the narrow path, it takes faith in the word of God and being obedient to find the narrow way.

Jesus warns of false prophets which come in sheep’ clothing. This would reinforce what I said the other day, there has to be real prophets, in order for their to be false ones.

We are to be like good trees and bring forth good fruit. Which is something to be shared. Gal. 5:22 lists this good fruit, Love, Joy, Peace, Longsuffering, Gentleness, Goodness, Faith, Meekness, Temperance.

These are a few of the sayings that we are to do, so that we are building on a solid foundation.

Matt 7:25 and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and sat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.

If we build our lives on the foundation of God’s word, when the trials of life or rain, floods and winds beat upon our lives, we will not fall. Because we have anchored our lives to the rock or solid foundation, which is Jesus.

Matt 7:26-27 And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: 27 and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.

It stands to reason that the foolish man that doesn’t build on the words of Christ would judge others, not walk in love by showing the fruit of the spirit. Because without the firm foundation, they would not develop the fruit of the spirit.

They would seek the broad path, maybe a feel good all roads lead to heaven message to ease their conscience. But one that is not biblically solid. They do not treat others they way they wish to be treated.

Many will hear the words spoken in the Bible, but they will not heed. They will go their own way and follow the desires of their flesh. Their choices are often the wind, rain and flood that comes against their house. But because they do not have anything to give their lives substance and stability, their house falls because there is nothing solid on which their belief system was built.

Matt 7:28-29 And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine: 29 For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.

Jesus walked in authority and power because the spirit of God lived within Him.

John 14:12 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.

If Jesus had not ascended the Holy Ghost could not have been sent to the church. But because he ascended, he sent that same spirit that was in Jesus back to the body of believers. Now we can walk in the power and authority of the Holy Ghost. Because we have that firm foundation. We are building our lives on what is written in the word of God.

Our faith comes from every word written in the book, from Genesis to Revelations. It is all relevant and necessary. I often encourage you to read the word. It is our source of information and our firm foundation.

Tomorrow, we are doing a deeper dive into the solid foundation of our authority.

Until next time,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

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EPISODE 122 — TRADITIONS OF THE ELDERS

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WELCOME TO GOD FOCUS THIS MORNING

The title of today’s episode : TRADITIONS OF THE ELDERS

We often talk about sticking to the old paths. We are taught to respect the elders of the church. The word shows us to honor those who have served God for a long time, because they can be a great help in our spiritual walk. We can glean all sorts of encouragement and wisdom from them and the old paths. But the true old path is the one found in the word of God and not in man’s ideas and doctrines.

I Cor.11:1 Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.

Paul said follow me as I follow Christ. Do not take advice from someone who doesn’t follow Christ. This is why we need to know Christ and the word of God for ourselves. This is how we discern what path to take.

In Mark Chapter 7, Jesus teaches the lesson of inner purity. A group of Pharisees came along and saw that some of the disciples were eating bread without washing their hands. They were all up in arms that the disciples were not holding the traditions of the elders.

To the Pharisees that was the most important thing, the appearance of holding to the traditions of the elders. These rules of how to live had been handed down from generation to generation. They were all created to keep them from defying the original ten commandments given to Moses. But over time even their rules watered down the original ten commandments.

Mark 7:5 Then the Pharisees and scribes asked him, Why walk not thy disciples according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashen hands?

Many are like the Pharisees today, they are caught up in traditions of the elders. Things created by man to show everyone how holy they are, or in our case what a good Christian. They were not even concerned with what God thought, they had a form of godliness, but kept man’s traditions. They prayed to be seen of men, so that they thought highly of them.

Mark 7:6 He answered and said unto them, Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.

Jesus reminded them of the scripture found in Isaiah 29:13 Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men:

We want to have a genuine fear of God. That deep respect that shows him that we honor him as our heavenly father. We don’t want to appear to have the respect for God that man’s doctrines have tried to create.

Mark 7:7-9 Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. 8 For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do. 9 And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition.

They rejected the commandment of God in order to keep their traditions. How many denominations are that way today? They would fight and die for their denomination before they would admit that they may be holding onto a tradition of the elders.

God wants unity in his body. This is a subject I cannot get away from lately. We cannot be so stuck in our “traditions of the elders” that we miss the move of God. It is time we ask God to search us and remove any man-made ideas from our belief system. I don’t want to walk in traditions of men. Man cannot save me. I don’t want to be aligning with a denomination, when aligning with God’s word is all we need.

I hope this doesn’t come across as being judgmental. The last thing I want to do is to sit in the judgement seat. That is not my job. But I see things that trouble my heart and my spirit.

I always search my heart first, when I come across something that I feel like God is giving me. I ask God to search me and help me see if I am stuck in man’s traditions. I have been guilty of going through the motions, so to speak, at worship service. We are human and sometimes things are on our mind so heavily that we cannot focus on God. Having an off day is different than being caught up in man’s ideas.

When we worship, is it just something we do? Do we give it all we have, in surrender to God? Are we going through the motions? “We have always sang three songs and then had two testimonies before the preacher speaks” What if God wants to mix things up, what if he wants you to sing the same song twice or have four songs and no testimonies. Some people would flip out about how things are not in order. What if we came together and just focused on God? What would happen? We may realize that God doesn’t fit into a box. He needs freedom to move people’s hearts. He cannot draw people to him, if people are focusing on traditions of men.

I really want you to get what I am saying, it comes down to us giving it all to God. We say we surrender all, but do we? Are we hungry for the preaching and teaching of his word? Is it life and bread to our soul? Is the message a feel-good cupcake that will not sustain us when the troubles of life come our way?

Jesus explained to the Pharisees that it wasn’t what someone ate that defiled them, but what come out of them. At another encounter with the Pharisees Jesus told them it was what was in the heart that counted.

Matthew 12:33-34 Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit. 34 O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.

Whatever we have in our hearts will come out. If we carry bitterness and other things, at the right moment it will come out. Just like evil things, wicked imaginations. They too will come out of man, if it is within him.

Matt 12:35 A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.

This is why it is so very important to hide the word of God within our hearts. This is why we pray for forgiveness and forgive others. We want to do everything we can do to have a pure heart. This is not works, this is by prayer and yielding to God.

He wants our hearts, he doesn’t want our traditions of going through the motions. He doesn’t want our lip service that we use to show man “what a good Christian I am.” It is time the body of Christ unite and yield to our head which is Jesus Christ.

When Jesus returns for his bride, I don’t want him to look at me and say, “I know you did a lot of religious things in my name. I know you gave me lip service, but your heart was far from me. Depart from me, I really don’t know you.”

We all want to hear him say, “Well done, my good and faithful servant. Enter into rest. You walked in my love and discipled many, you didn’t give me lip service, but you gave me your heart. You didn’t walk in the traditions of men, but as my servant.”

I have to ask, are you walking in the traditions of the elders? Are you just going through the motions and giving God lip service? I pray you surrender all, to him and walking in the power of His love.

Until next time,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

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EPISODE 121 — OVERCOMING WEAKNESS AND DISCOURAGEMENT

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WELCOME TO GOD FOCUS THIS MORNING

The title of today’s episode is: OVERCOMING WEAKNESS AND DISCOURAGMENT

We often come under the attack of discouragement. The enemy will try to distract us with spiritual discouragement. The google definition of discouragement is 1. a loss of confidence or enthusiasm; dispiritedness. 2. an attempt to prevent something by showing disapproval or creating difficulties; deterrent.

The enemy is out to try to get us to lose confidence in God. He will do all he can to destroy the enthusiasm of our faith walk. He will create difficulties to deter our progress. We often call them trials. As we grow in our faith walk, the enemy comes to a point where he knows he cannot stop us. Since he cannot stop us, he switches tactics to putting stumbling blocks in our way.

If we allow ourselves to become discouraged, we are not walking in the joy of the Lord. Which means we are walking in a time of weakness. The joy of the Lord is our strength. Without Joy we do not have strength. This is why depression and discouragement are two of Satan most used tools.

When the enemy tries to strip us of our joy by causing depression and discouragement, he wants to make us weak. If we are weak, we will not have the energy to press on and do God’s will. We will not be able to fight the good fight of faith against the spiritual attacks of the enemy.

Look at David at Ziklag: 1 Samuel 30—David had been at war and when he returned home to Ziklag the city had been burned to the ground and all of the soldiers families had been taken captive. The attack of their enemy was so distressing that David’s soldiers were talking about stoning him.

He felt discouraged for a moment, but then he realized that he had to encourage himself in the Lord.

I Sam 30:6 And David was greatly distressed; for the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters: but David encouraged himself in the Lord his God.

We can encourage ourselves too, by remembering all the times God delivered us. It is good to think of all the times things looked hopeless and God came through for us personally. It can be encouraging to read scriptures about how God helped others in his word. We cannot be too proud to reach out to someone we can trust for prayer.

There is no shame in having weak moments. We are human and will allow our emotions to take control from time to time. But even though we have fallen into discouragement, we have to be like David and pick ourselves up.

II Cor 12:9 — And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

One thing that is often hard to admit is when we are feeling weak. We think we have to have be strong and not show weakness. But we can find strength in our weakness. When we admit we are weak to God, He will come along side of us with the strength we need. As we learn to push through the attacks of the enemy and give God the glory we will find strength. We will be able to take the next step, walking in God’s strength.

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

There are times when we are battle-weary and discouraged. We can rise above it, and we will reap a harvest for all of our faithfulness. The key is that we cannot allow the enemy to get us so bogged down that we can’t move forward.

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.

We have nothing to fear because God is with us. We have no reason to be stressed or discouraged because he will give us strength to pick ourselves up and press on in faith.

People go to the gym to gain physical strength. They push themselves to lift a little more weight than they did the day before. This consistency gives them muscle strength. We can gain spiritual strength by exercising our faith. We can find the determination to keep going. In pressing on, we will find that God gives us the strength we need.

Until next time,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

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EPISODE 120–IN THE FACE OF ADVERSITY

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WELCOME TO GOD FOCUS THIS MORNING

THE TITLE OF TODAY’S EPISODE IS, “IN THE FACE OF ADVERSITY”

John 16:33 These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.

Jesus said there would be days like this; there will days when nothing seems to go right. Some days it seems like the whole world is coming down around your ears. There will be times that it seems like you are alone in the world. There are two ways to react to adversity. That would be with or without faith.

In the face of adversity one without faith is prone to panic. This is because without Jesus one must rely on one’s own powers to overcome. This often leads to lies and deception in order to manipulate those involved. Bullying is another popular tactic. Or they will offer some lavish reward for giving in. The big problem there is that a person often does not have the lavish reward or that once its given, you find out that reward is a white elephant.

The Devil promised Adam and Eve that their eyes would be opened. What Adam and Eve understood was that they had betrayed God and therefore could expect sorrow and shame.

You see in the face of the adversary himself, Adam and Eve reacted without faith. They trusted Satan’s tale that God did not have their best interest at heart when he denied them the Tree of Knowledge. As a result, we live in a cursed and broken world where bad things happen.

Gen 3:14 And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: Gen 3:15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. Gen 3:16 Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. Gen 3:17 And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Gen 3:18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; Gen 3:19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.

So, It will be that way until Jesus returns and makes all things new. We can expect floods, hurricanes, sickness and any other trouble that comes. That’s just the way things are. I also think that we give too much credit to Satan, as though he could create a storm that brings a flood, that spreads disease and so on. I know that some issues are a result of a spiritual battle. I also know that Satan would like to take credit for having as much power and glory as we will give him.

To react with faith is a little more work. Reacting with faith means that we believe Jesus will help us. When the storm comes, we seek shelter, (in the Rock of salvation.). When the flood waters rise we reach out for Jesus. Faith is an action word. We must be dynamic in our reaction with faith. With faith we find the way to use what resources that have been given us by God. In fact, if we believe God we will expect resources to be provided. As he promised, no matter what the circumstances.

Psa 37:3 Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed. Psa 37:4 Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Psa 37:5 Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.

Jesus leaves nothing to chance. He is with us consistently.

Matt 28:18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Matt 28:19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Matt 28:20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

With those kinds of promises it should be easy to react with faith. With faith we can rise above the floodwaters. You may not have that kind of faith that walks on the water but that doesn’t mean you couldn’t have. The same God that walked with Adam, went with David into battle and walked with Moses lives inside (us) the believer!

Acts 1:8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

With Faith we can avoid the snares of the enemy.

1Cor 10:13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common toman: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.

Ultimately, reacting with faith is believing Gods promises and looking for the next step. Then actually taking that step while trusting God with the outcome. He is able to keep us, if we mess up.

Heb 2:18 For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted.

We need to have faith during the times of trial. In the face of adversity we can have confidence, because Jesus holds us in the hollow of his hand.

John 10:27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: John 10:28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. John 10:29 My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand. John 10:30 I and my Father are one.

What have we to fear? What would hinder our faith? Reacting to any situation with fear is contrary to our promises. We don’t rely on the things of this world to see us through. We don’t need to because we have Jesus.

The next time we find ourselves facing adversity, we need to remember to look to Jesus. He will be there waiting to meet us in our faith.

Until Next Time,

Be Bold, Be Brave and Keep Your God Focus

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EPISODE 119–PRESSING FORWARD

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WELCOME TO GOD FOCUS THIS MORNING

The title of today’s episode is: PRESSING FORWARD

Yesterday, I spoke to you about letting go of bitterness. It is for our own good that we let go of bitterness, anger, envy or jealousy. It is easy to hold onto hurt and offense. I want to remind you that God has amazing things to give us but if we are holding these things there is not room for the things he has for us.

Once we let go of things that God doesn’t wish for us to carry. Then what do we do. We press on. The path is not always easy. It is not easy to set aside those things. There is freedom in the name of Jesus. Our lives should be lived in freedom.

Phil 3:12-14 Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. 13 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, 14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

Apostle Paul wrote the book of Phillipians. He wrote many encouraging words to the people in Phillipi. One thing he wrote was about pursuing Christ with all we have within us.

He encouraged them to forget the things which are behind and press on toward the prize of our calling of God. So, first we have to forget the things that have weighed us down. (I understand that you will have a memory of the things. But we can forget that it has control over our today and our future). We press toward our calling of God.

The lost are depending on us to let go of these things so we can be the light. God wants us to be fruitful trees. But our branches cannot bear fruit if we are tied down.

Just like we cannot live in more than one day at a time. We need to be able to live the day that we are in, releasing the things which have weighed us down. Jesus paid a price with his life so that we do not have to carry the things of the past. We have something to do. We have to pray for his help to release things we shouldn’t carry.

The church is under attack more than it has been for years. The enemy has turned people against the church by inserting false religions, self-righteous doctrines. This causes church hurt. That is often one of the hardest offenses to get over and let go. People walk into church with a certain expectation, that people will be kind and caring.

Often, they are met with venom over doctrines that are not even biblical. Then these people go out into the world thinking that they want nothing to do with God because He is not as advertised. It is our responsibility to show the lost, broken and hurting people that God does love them. If you are suffering from church hurt, sad to say you are not alone. Please on behalf of God’s children who do not know how to behave, I apologize for them. Remember, none of us are perfect. That is why Jesus died for all of us. Pray for them and press on.

We as the body are responsible for showing those that have been church hurt love and compassion. All churches are not created equal. Find one that sticks to the biblical teaching about how to treat one another, this is not an exception it is the rule. We are to love one another.

When things in this life gets to be too hard we have to remember that God is there to give us strength. He is our peace and he will help us through whatever we are holding onto that we need to let go of today. Relinquish it to Jesus today.

Apostle Paul also wrote another verse in Philippians I want to leave with you today; meditate on it.

Phil 4:13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

Think about what you can do today as you press on toward your calling in Christ Jesus.

Until next time,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

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EPISODE 118 — SEARCHING THE HEART

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WELCOME TO GOD FOCUS THIS MORNING

The title of today’s episode is: SEARCHING THE HEART

King David’s writing is my go-to for encouragement. The Psalms are full of his humanity and humility. He was not perfect; he made a lot of mistakes like we all do. But what he lacked in making good decisions he made up for in heart. He had a heart of worship.

Some believe your works will save you and they go about doing good. They work in soup kitchens and raise money for homeless shelters. It is nice to do all sorts of things like this, some are called to that work by God. Others are called to work in nursing homes to take care of our elders. But no good deed will save you.

We have access to God’s spirit and rebirth only through and by the blood of Jesus. But that doesn’t mean that once we are born again that we can sit down and do nothing until Jesus comes. He will lead us to our calling. We are created for a purpose; we must walk in our purpose. We are all supposed to go out and lead the lost to Christ.

Psalms 139:23-24 Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: 24 And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

David asked God to search his heart. This is something we need to do from time to time. Because things happen over time that we hang on to and don’t even realize it. We can develop envy, jealousy, hurt feelings or offense and bitterness. Often, we do not even realize that we are holding onto offense.

All of these things can get in the way of us being fully effective in our callings. It is good to take inventory from time to time and ask God to search our hearts. Tell him to expose any root of bitterness, hate, jealousy. The Proverbs are full of what happens when we are not wise in our faith walk.

Heb 12:15 Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled;

One example of the root of bitterness is the story of Cain and Abel. If Cain had not let bitterness take root in him. Then it would not have festered and turned into hate and then to murder of his own brother.

Cain had several opportunities to turn from his bitterness. God wanted Cain to surrender to him. Cain believed that God loved Abel more, because he accepted his offering. God loved Cain as much as he did Abel. He blessed Abel for his faithfulness. He would have blessed Cain too if he had surrendered to God. But instead, he held onto offense until it became bitterness. Many carry things for a long time until they don’t even realize they are jealous, envious, bitter or are carrying hate. Sometimes we carry the heaviness so long it becomes a part of us.

This is why we have to look diligently and search our lives to make sure we are not carrying things we were not designed to carry. Think of it this way. The maximum capacity of weight you can carry is one hundred pounds. If you are carrying forty pounds of bitterness and thirty pounds of jealousy you only have thirty pounds of capacity left to carry everything else, joy, responsibilities of everyday life, your family obligations and last but not least your calling of God. If we can get rid of the bitterness and jealousy, that leaves more room to carry the good things.

There are things that God wishes to give us, but our hands are not open to receive. Our hands are full of all these things we need to release. Many need to release man’s religion to make room for God’s plan and relationship. We need to ask God to empty our lives of anything that is not pleasing to Him. So he can fill us up to capacity with his love and light.

Sickness can be caused by lots of things. Sometimes, however, it is caused by the physical manifestation of what is inside; our pain and bitterness. These emotions can be powerful and will make us sick if we cannot learn to let go.

Bitterness ties us to a situation like being unforgiving keeps us chained to a situation. Being bitter and angry can have long term effects on our health. When God tells us to put away bitterness, anger and unforgiveness, it is for our good.

This is where we have to ask God to give us the strength and power to lay down what is potentially harming us. I often pray “Empty me of me and fill me with more of you.” As we walk in the fruit of the spirit and not in our flesh we will find true freedom. If we can learn to search our hearts.

Until next time,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

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EPISODE 117 — THE PEACE OF GOD

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Hello my friends

The title of today’s episode is: “THE PEACE OF GOD”

Peace can be described as the absence of fear, anxiety and depression. Only in Him can we find true peace. Just turn on the evening news; there is plenty of news to cause anxiety. But God’s children can have peace even in the middle of the worst conditions. Things in this world can cause all sorts of fear and anxiety. We are facing scary times, but we can still have peace. God will give us peace if we allow him to work. There are times that God wants us to just stand still, in the quiet of the moment and trust. Being born again or filled with His spirit gives us the peace that passes all understanding.

Many feel like they can only find peace in a quiet place such as camping neat a quiet mountain streams. I love walking the beach early in the mornings while the sun is just starting to put a soft glow on everything. There are only a few people out that time of day and all is quiet except the waves gently rolling in and out. I love to talk to God and let his peace wash over me. I feel like God is surrounding me like a big soft comforting blanket. The feeling I get praying on the beach, in the early morning, reminds me of the verse in Philippians. It says a peace that passes understanding. For me I feel like I can connect to God quicker at the beach. But God is everywhere and peace is not a place as much as it is a state of being. Even in the middle of chaos we can have peace.

Paul and Silas had every reason to be anxious. They were in prison, not sure of the outcome. They decided to praise the Lord. They sang songs and prayed. God caused an earthquake and set them free. Now they could have run away, but they chose to help someone else instead. That is what Christians do. Help others, even when you need help yourself. Why? Because they had peace and security in Christ.

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.

What does it say keeps our hearts and minds? God’s peace. When we are in a place to have God’s peace we do not have fear, anxiety or depression. It says we can have his peace by not allowing our circumstance wash over us and cause anxiety. With prayer and worship we are to make our requests known.

We can have peace even when everything is falling apart around us. I hope this encourages you to seek God’s peace. Look to him when trials and troubles come your way. He is there to listen and give you the peace which truly is beyond our understanding.

Today is flag day, and I am reminded that the reason we have peace in our country is because so many have died for our country. So happy flag day to all the active military and veterans. Thank you for all you have done for the cause of freedom.

Thanks for watching,

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BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

EPISODE 116 — I SURRENDER ALL

WELCOME TO GOD FOCUS THIS MORNING

The title of today’s episode is: I SURRENDER ALL

There is much to be said about the lyrics of old hymns. These words were inspired by God and peoples relationship with Him. We sing, “I surrender all.” My question is do we really surrender all or are we holding back. This song was written by a man in the late 1800’s. His name was Judson Van DeVenter. He had a passion for art and a passion for God. He was called to preach and wrestled with what to do. One night he came to the conclusion that he had to leave the art world behind and preach the gospel. He wrote the lyrics to “I surrender all.”

This old song and many others have been sang among congregations for years. But do we actually listen to the words. “I surrender all” other phrases like “all to him I freely give”. What are we surrendering? What are we giving him? Are we singing words or do we mean them? Do we fully surrender to Him?

I think at times we do fully surrender. But then over time we take back pieces of ourselves from God. It is a daily decision to do the right thing. It is a daily surrender.

Luke 9: 23 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.

If we surrender to the will of God each morning and ask for his leading our day will turn out differently than if we get up and allow our flesh to dictate our day. We are sacrificing our fleshly desires for the cause of Christ. That doesn’t necessarily mean sin. Maybe we really want to sleep instead of going to church. Maybe we want to watch Netflix instead of reading our Bible. But we crucify those things and do what will strengthen our spirit man. It will make us more useful to encourage someone else.

For example, what if a friend needs a word of encouragement but by skipping that reading for a clean movie you don’t have the right words.

Other song titles come to mind like Amazing Grace. We know that his grace is beyond anything that we could imagine. Therefore his grace that he gives is amazing.

Many come from the scriptures. Like “His Eye Is On The Sparrow.” It reminds us that God will take care of us. He takes care of the small sparrow, how much more should we trust Him to take care of us.

At Calvary, teaches us to not make light of the great gift of the cross. His mercy was given freely to us. We found freedom at Calvary.

Because He Lives we can face tomorrow. If he had not risen, we would have no hope. Because of the work of the cross we do not have a reason to fear.

We all know that it takes prayer and communication with God to stay on the right path. But how many of us look at prayer like the song, “Sweet Hour Of Prayer”. How many even pray for an hour anymore? I have been guilty of drive by prayers. Those are the ones we say to God in passing. The emergency room prayers, we pray only when there is a desperate need. God wants us to sit in his presence and listen for his voice as well as make known our requests.

In His presence is where we find the strength to face each day. I Surrender All, because of his Amazing Grace. I know that His Eye Is On The Sparrow because of what was done At Calvary. We have Blessed Assurance that Jesus is our Lord.

When life throws us hard things and it seems like everything is crumbling to the ground we can call on Jesus. We know he is greater than the hard things we face. It seems like trouble always comes in bunches. I don’t know if that is true or if we are more sensitive to the things going on because of the stress of the biggest problem.

Jesus has the answer, but it seems like he is not going to share the answer at times. We have to remember he is the master of perfect timing. Think about all the pieces he has to move to make your miracle happen. Sometimes it takes time for all the pieces to fall into place.

He will work it all out in his time. It is our job to surrender all to him. Lord, I surrender this issue to you. Lord, I surrender my will to you. Lord, I surrender my fear of how things will work out. (That is a Big One). We give God something, then we turn around and worry about it. Let me remind you, worry is not faith.

But His mercy is new every day. He anxiously waits for us to wake and talk with him. He wants our fellowship. He is our faithful friend and will not allow the enemy to overtake us. As long as we stand and do not wave the white flag of surrender to the enemy. They only way satan wins is for us to give up. If we stand strong and resist the devil he will have to flee.

We cannot be fully surrendered to God if we are walking by our flesh. It is when we get into our human nature that we get into trouble. If we are not careful, we will find ourselves listening to the whispering of the enemy. This is why it is important to surrender fully to Christ Jesus.

I choose today to serve Jesus and follow him. Every day is a new day, a clean slate to start fresh. If we messed up yesterday, we ask for his awesome forgiveness and press on today.

Heb12:2 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.

Thinking about the work of the cross and what a price Jesus paid for each of us. We should all be saying with conviction and purpose, “I Surrender All To You Jesus.”

Until next time,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

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EPISODE 115 – GOD IS NOT SQUARE

CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO VERSION: https://rumble.com/v5126z7-god-focus-this-morning-episode-115-god-is-not-square.html

WELCOME TO GOD FOCUS THIS MORNING

The title of today’s episode is: GOD IS NOT SQUARE

God is not square or rectangular, therefore he will not fit into a box. God is so big that he can hold the universe in his hand. But he is so small that he can fit inside the smallest heart. But he is not square.

Slang in the 1970’s the word square was used to mean not cool, boring, conventional. Not up with modern times.

Those who would say that God or serving God is not cool are not doing it right. It is exciting to serve God, every day is an adventure. Christians that are yielded to Christ never know what miracle He may work through them that day. God is bigger than any box we could put him into, but religion tries.

Religion says, God only works one way. Religion says there are no more miracles. It says that you cannot go out and witness unless you go through “our program” to learn how. Religion has divided God’s people.

Jesus came to set people free from religion. The Jews had religion, but they didn’t have freedom to enjoy life and really know the heart of God. We have that opportunity because of Christ. Jesus didn’t come to start a religion, he came to start a relationship with mankind.

From the time Adam sinned God had few that he had a real relationship with, most went by man’s ideas of God. He had such love for us, he desired for us to know him, that he came and died for us. All so we would know his heart for mankind.

The body of Christ needs religion broken off of it. Religion says, there are no more prophets. I am here to tell you that there are prophets today. But not everyone that says they are a prophet of God is the real deal. As a matter of fact, many more that claim to be prophets are not true prophets.

How do we know the difference? The word of God says that the Holy Ghost will lead and guide you into all truth. Our Spirit will bear witness to what they are saying. It will always line up with the word of God; Always, no exception.

But people fear the deep things of God. Therefore, religion says God doesn’t talk to people like that today. But then will turn around and say that God told them to go pray for someone. They will say God laid something on their heart to do or say, but cannot stretch their minds to accept that God still has people that operate in the office of the prophet.

Eph 4:11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;

These are offices in which the ministry works. There are still apostles today. They have a special task of planting churches. They are the ones God uses to unite his body.

The Prophets hear from God. They discern the heart of God and hear what he is saying to His Body as a whole. We willing accept the prophecy in the written word. Why would we not accept prophecy from God through a prophet of God? As long as it lines up with the word of God.

We accept that there are evangelist today. These are ministers that are used by God to travel between the churches to be an encouragement, to preach salvation and help bring unity to the body. They can preach the word without apprehension because they do not know people in the congregation as personally as the pastor.

Evangelist most of the time do not hold positions of pastor. They can be pastors short term. A pastor is one that is set over a congregation to be there to help the people to walk closer to God. He is there encourager, their friend, their guide. He is there to warn them if they are making a wrong choice. A pastor is one that feeds the flock and guides them toward Christ.

Then there is the office of teacher. Some ministers are called to dig into the deep things of God. They want to know the little gems hidden in the word of God. They take these revelations and share them with the saint of God. This is so all can come to a deeper knowledge of God.

Eph 4:12-13 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: 13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:

Why did God set the five offices of ministry into the church? For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry and to edify or build up the body of Christ. So we can come into unity of faith and understanding of the Son of God. These different ministries work together as a full ministry to create a strong body that has the fulness of Christ.

I know that some of you will not agree with me. All I ask is that you pray about it. God is trying to break religion of man off of his body. If you have the Holy Ghost allow him to lead you into the fullness of God.

I was raised in a denomination that there were miracles, signs and wonders. But not any denomination is completely right. I have had to break free from a lot of religion myself. I pray every day for God to empty me of me and man’s ideas of him and fill me with only what he wants me to know about Him.

I believe that God is getting ready to start showing up in these miracle ways again. I don’t want people to be too afraid of the move of God that they miss him. My greatest fear is that many people will be too religious to see God. They will be like the Pharisees and not know Jesus, because he doesn’t fit into their religious box.

When people would ask me why I didn’t do certain things I used to tell them it was against my religion. (Shame on me). Now I say it is against the word of God and I try to walk according to the word. I no longer want anything to do with religion, but I do desire a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ.

Religion is the worship of a deity. Many worship false gods and gold statues. But many Christians are not fully following the Real Jesus. They are only following an idea of who he is, one that has been filtered through the lens of religion. Mans ideas and traditions of who he is and not the full picture of the one who loves us so much that he died to have a relationship with us.

I want to end with a prayer today: Dear Lord Jesus, I pray you break the bondage of religion. Bring unity to your body. Help us all to not be so stuck in religion that we miss you. Help us to draw closer to you and really truly know you. Help us to share your heart for the lost and the broken. Help us be the body and not a group of people that say we are the body. Help us to not to try to put you in a box of religion.

Thanks for watching,

Until next time,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

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EPISODE 114 –JUDGMENT BEGINS AT THE HOUSE OF GOD

CLICK HERE FOR THE VIDEO VERSION: https://rumble.com/v50urg6-god-focus-this-morning-episode-114-judgment-begins-at-the-house-of-god.html

WELCOME TO GOD FOCUS THIS MORNING

The title of today’s episode is: “JUDGMENT BEGINS AT THE HOUSE OF GOD ”

I am going to talk to you today about wheat and chaff and wheat and tares. The chaff are people who enjoy the rituals of having faith. They look at church like a social club and not a place to gather and learn of God. They go through the motions but are not fruitful. They never grow fruit. They are an empty shell. The wheat farmers used to toss wheat into the air and the wind would blow away the chaff or husk.

Wheat represents those that have produced full fruit. It is that fruit that is harvested. The rest is thrown away. As we grow in wisdom and knowledge of God’s will and plan, we too become full of fruit. It is a good thing to be growing in the will of God. If you don’t grow, you become stagnate and empty. A husk without fruit.

Then they came to the threshing floor, in ancient times, there was not machinery to separate the wheat fruit from the rest of the plant that had grown. The wheat was extracted from the rest of the plant by beating it on a hard surface that was flat. This was known as the threshing floor. Sometimes they would have oxen pull carts across the wheat to separate the fruit from the chaff.

The threshing floor symbolizes judgment in both the old and new testaments. The prophet Hosea prophesied that God’s judgment would be on Israel because they went after false idols. Hosea said that God’s judgment would scatter them in the wind like the chaff is scattered on the threshing floor.

We all go through persecutions, troubles and trials. God allows each one to make us stronger. He protects us from a lot of stuff we do not even know about, but the things he allows in our lives is to make us more fruitful or spiritual.

We are in fast changing times, God is allowing things to happen that will separate the wheat and the tares. Only the ones with fruit will be left standing. Only those with fruit will be able to be a light and hope to the lost.

I Peter 4:16-19 Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf. 17 For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? 18 And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear? 19 Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator.

We will not be able to bring in a large harvest as long as we are a divided body. There is a harvest that needs us to be who we were created to be by God. Notice verse 17 For the time is come that the judgment must begin at the house of God. He is weary with the preachers that have the fake smile and are only out for their gain. They tell people lies and half truths, because people want a feel good message.

Do we remember the crucifixion? It was not pretty. It was horrible. Jesus didn’t die to give us an ear tickling message every week. Those messages do not transform lives they are like a pacifier. It gives people a sense of comfort, but there is no food to live on and their soul dies a little more every week.

This is not fruitful. The first chapter of the Psalms is all about being fruitful. As we grow in our faith walk, we will produce fruit. Verse Three says we will be like a tree planted by the water and will bring forth fruit in his season. As we bring forth fruit, whatsoever we do will prosper. Verse Four is the opposite of verse three. Verse four is all about how the ungodly are like chaff which is blown away in the wind. We want to be the fruit and not the chaff.

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Another way to look at the church as compared to wheat is when the bible discusses the wheat and tares.

God says let them grow together. In the early stages of the wheat, it doesn’t look much different than the tares. God warned that we may pull up wheat by mistake, but to let them grow together and He will separate them. The tares looks like young wheat that has not produced buds yet.

We are not to judge anyone. We will see soon enough if God’s fruit is produced in their lives. If they have the endurance to fight adversity and trials sent by the enemy. Troubles have a way of separating the wheat from the tares. Many that say they are wheat will turn from God at the first sign on trouble.

Matt 7:15 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.

Enemy comes in our churches often as false teachers and preachers and tries to deceive God’s children. This is why it is important to have God’s word in our hearts. So we will not be deceived. Tares will sow discord and cause trouble.

Matt 13:24-30 Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field: 25 But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way. 26 But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also. 27 So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares? 28 He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up? 29 But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.

This is Jesus’ way of saying. We need to plant good seed. Then when the tares appear we are to leave them alone and pray for the ultimate judge to take care of the situation. In the end, they will be tossed into hell. The wheat will be gathered into the storehouse.

This is why we are to produce spiritual fruit. It is the easiest way for harvesters to tell the difference between wheat and tares. Remember that judgment is coming to the house of God. It is my prayer that we all produce fruit and walk in God’s love.

It is not God’s will that any perish, but they will have to yield unto God or be left behind.

Until next time,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

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