Category: BLOG

TRANSFORMATION

Be transformed by the renewing of your mind. How do we renew our minds? We pray for God to keep us strong and to fill our lives with the things that he needs us to know. We must study the word of God. You can never have too much of the word in you. They can’t confiscate what’s in your heart. That’s why we need to hide the word.

I got wrapped up in a project and missed writing a blog. What I am working on will be of great benefit to the ministry that God has given me to do. I am excited to be turning a spare bedroom into an office/prayer room. I cannot wait until it is finished. When I told one friend, they said, “Oh, a war room.” I loved that way of thinking.

I have started to study the Psalms. I used to think it was all about praise, which a large portion is about worship. Worship is important to the life of a believer. That is how we make a connection to God. The Psalms are filled with David’s regrets, concerns and possible fears. However, he looks to the Lord in good times and bad. When life is good and when he is surrounded by his enemies. We can learn a lot from David. The more I study God’s word, the stronger I feel in the spirit realm. We need to be transformed so that we can be strong enough to stand for righteousness in the times that we live.

Have a blessed rest of your weekend. Thanks for your patience and support.

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

Saying Yes

God sometimes asks us to do things that to us seems impossible. Often, it seems like a monumental task. And we often feel that we’re too small to accomplish what he’s asked us to do. There’s nothing impossible for him. We need to learn to lean and trust him, even when he’s asked us to do something that to us seems impossible. He knows us better than we know ourselves.

It’s possible with him because he will open the doors to make a way. He qualifies those he calls. Whatever he’s called you to do, he will give you the tools necessary to accomplish it. Because why would he set us up for failure? He wants what is best for us. God is a loving God and he wants us to accomplish great things.

We ask him for miracles every day. But when he asks us to step out of our comfort zone, we hesitate. We ask God, do you really want me to do that? Do you really want me to go there? Do you really want me to talk to that person? God gently nudges and pushes. Think about all he has done for us. Why do we hesitate? He will make a way and he will open doors for us to accomplish what he has asked us to do. But here we go again, back to the key thing. Learning to lean and learning to trust. God honors the bold.

I don’t want to be measured and found lacking. I don’t want to run from the task he has asked ( like Jonah) only to end up in a mess. Then we end up doing it anyway. I want to be able to simply say, “Yes.”

There is a big world full of spiritually dead people who need us to be a light in their darkness. What will we do? Will we run? Will we tell God not yet? Will the answer be “Yes, I will go.”

BE BOLD, BE BLESSED AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

LET PRAISE GO BEFORE YOU

Lazarus had died, the mourners were with the family. In a normal situation, this was the end. He had been buried. But Jesus came on the scene. He didn’t make a big production. Jesus asked that they roll away the stone that sealed the cave where Lazarus was placed. He simply said a prayer for the sake of the crowd that had gathered, then said, “Lazarus, come forth.” Soon, Lazarus came walking out of the tomb. He was still bound in his grave clothes and had his face covered with a napkin. It took others to set him free of his grave clothes.

To look at the modern church, one might say we were all but buried. Jesus is calling us to come forth. He is calling for the warriors to arise. He is calling for the army to be who we must be in this day. Every day, we need to put on our whole armor and go to battle. Satan is after the body of Christ. If he can keep us depressed and stressed, we cannot focus on our task.

Many are still bound by their grave clothes. It is up to us to help set them free. We can overcome and set them free if we get down to the business of serious prayer. The enemy is not going to be defeated with a ten-minute prayer in the morning and a ten-minute prayer at night. These are serious times, and it is going to take serious warriors.

Are you a prayer warrior? It doesn’t take any special skill to pray. It just takes an investment of prayer in a quiet place. The biggest enemy of a full prayer life is distraction. The enemy will do all he can to distract us. But we will not be defeated. We will overcome because the power of God is within us.

Take time to be an encourager, reaching out to someone struggling and helping them get free of the grave clothes of fear, anxiety, depression, distraction and being overly busy. We can win the battle if we go to fight. All God requires is for us to show up with worship and prayer.

I often use the story of Jehosophat. He was in a horrible predicament. He had three armies coming against him at one time. It looked like, in the natural there was no way he could win. But God told him to go out to fight and that the Lord would fight for them. Jehosophat sent his worshippers in the front to go before them with praise.

We can fight the enemy better, if we enter into God’s presence with praise and worship. This will get God’s attention and he will fight our battles. He only wants us to lean on Him.

2 Chr 20:15-18 And he said, Hearken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou king Jehoshaphat, Thus saith the Lord unto you, Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God’s. 16 Tomorrow go ye down against them: behold, they come up by the cliff of Ziz; and ye shall find them at the end of the brook, before the wilderness of Jeruel. 17 Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the Lord with you, O Judah and Jerusalem: fear not, nor be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them: for the Lord will be with you. 18 And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground: and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell before the Lord, worshipping the Lord.

I love this story because it shows how good our God is to deliver those who trust Him. We, too can trust Jesus to deliver us from the things the enemy has planned. We have to stand strong, stay in the word and pray like we have never prayed before now. It is almost time to march out against the enemy. Make sure you go to battle with your praise and worship in the forefront.

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

WAIT

What to do in the transition? This is a major question many Christians find themselves asking often of the Lord. If you have been a Christian any period of time, more than likely, you have been through a transition. The big question is, what do we do in the wait? This is the hard part to walk through. One door has closed, but the next one has not opened. We find ourselves in a hallway with several possibilities and we ask God, which door?

He answers, wait. That is a word we do not want to hear. But in God’s amazing timing, He is working out all the details behind the door, he will eventually unlock for us. I read a quote that says, “If God shuts a door, praise him in the hallway.” That is a good place to start. Prayer and praise is something we need to do every day, even in the waiting.

It is in the “wait” that we learn to trust. We learn to stand still and know that God works things out for our good. We gain strength in our Christian walk when we “wait” on the Lord. The main thing to remember is to keep talking to God about it.

Phil 4:6-7 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

God is not nervous about our situations in life. If we can get to the place where we fully and completely trust him, we will not be nervous either. God will give us peace that is beyond anything we can comprehend if we learn to lean on him in the “wait.”

LEAVEN

Paul wrote letters to many different churches. The church in Galatia was one of them. Each church had its own issues. The church in Galatia was having problems with legalism and false teaching. Paul wrote that there is only one gospel.

Gal 1:6-9 I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: 7 Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. 8 But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. 9 As we said before, so say I now again, if any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.

How do we know what is right? How would those followers have known?

Gal 1:11-12 But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man. 12 For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ.

There is only one gospel, one body, one Lord, one Faith and one baptism. Man has, through ignorance or blatant deception, twisted the gospel into what the church looks like today. For us to be effective, we will have to find unity in the Word. If we would all sincerely ask for God to search our hearts and our theology, we may find that God would start removing some things from our ideas of what it means to serve Him.

I pray often, “Empty me of me and the ideas that I have which are not from you Lord. Fill me with the things I need to know. Guide me to do what you have created me to do.”

Gal 5:9 A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump. When baking bread from scratch, you need to make sure you have the right ingredients. There has to be yeast to get the bread to rise. Paul used this analogy to explain a little bit of false teaching can change the whole body of Christ.

In Mark 8:15 Jesus warned them to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of Hearod. In other words their false teachings and ideas. Jesus came to change the world. Just as a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump of dough, what we would consider a tiny sin or little bit of false teaching can have an extensive influence.

If we walk in the Spirit, He will lead us into all truth. Then, we will be wise enough to not fall for false teachings. He went on to explain that we will reap what we sow. That is an entire study alone. But in summary, if we sow good things and follow God’s word, we will reap good things.

It is up to each of us to study to know the word and understand our role as Christians. II Tim 2:15-Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

It is our responsibility to pray for guidance to walk in God’s love. We are in times when lines are being drawn in the sand. We need to be sure that we stand for the truth of God’s word. Do not allow the leaven of the world to ruin what we need to be for the cause of Christ.

God’s Desire

There are days when the words flow so quickly that I cannot type fast enough. God inspires me in the smallest ways. Other days, like today, I stare at a blank page and ask God for revelation. I always depend on him to pour into me, something that will bring you encouragement. Sometimes, I stare for a while, like today. I have had random thoughts and do not see the connection. Nothing I read in the Word today inspired an article. I sat with worship music in the background quietly. It is a sweet melody. I recognize and think of the words in my head.

Jesus are you there? Are you going to give me inspiration? I feel him say not yet. I ask why Lord, you know I am doing this all for you? He says, “Your fellowship right now is more important than what you do.” So, I sat quietly in worship. “Open the floodgates of heaven…let it rain.” His presence filled the room, and I was refreshed. He is never far away. But He wants our undivided attention. More than anything, we say or do for him. He just wants us to love Him. To slow down and sit with Him.

In the quiet, I was reminded how much he loves me and wants only good for me. He reminded me, as I often do you, to keep my God focus. I am a very goal-oriented, to-do list kind of person. It is hard for me to slow down and sit quietly. In the quiet, we realize how much we need His sweet presence. It is awesome to worship with our church family. But there is something special about the one-on-one time.

Matt 5:6-Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.

If we hunger and thirst for righteousness, we are actually wanting God. Because He is righteous.

I Chr. 16:10-11 10 Glory ye in his holy name: let the heart of them rejoice that seek the Lord. 11 Seek the Lord and his strength, seek his face continually.

Without God’s anointing, anything we attempt is just our ability. Any message, song, lesson, any type of ministry is just earthly understanding. But God can take our effort, add a little anointing and that same lesson, song etc. can change the world.

I heard a preacher say that when God fills your cup, it’s for you. But, when it overflows, it is for others. May the overflow of my quiet time today (that you will read tomorrow) fill your day with inspiration to sit quietly and listen. He wants to tell you he loves you, too. I ask that you take today’s lesson of remembrance to heart and find quiet time to just love Him and listen for his thoughts concerning you. May we never get too busy to stop and have alone time with our Heavenly Father.

Until next time, BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

ARE YOU IN THE BOOK

Many of us have a treasure box of things from our past. Trophies from a contest or sporting event that we won. Grade cards and awards from school. Tiny things that were given to us by friends or a first love. A seashell we picked up on our first beach trip. More important than any of these treasures, we have friends and family that we can really truly rely on to be there in times of crisis. (If your family is not like that, I am truly sorry; I know some aren’t.) But the family of God should be that way. We are to treasure one another.

There is a treasure that far exceeds any memory or knowing how much you are loved by close friends and family. The biggest treasure is to be a child of God. Many say, “We are all God’s children.” Referring to mankind, but that is not true. We do not become his children until we are born again and have received His Spirit. The work He did on the cross gives us the right to be called the “children of God or sons of God.” But unless we accept what he did to redeem us. He will say, “I never knew you.”

It is nice to go to class reunions and relive our youth’s “glory” days. Looking through old photos and treasure boxes can be fun. Looking at our old yearbooks and seeing who all signed it is always bittersweet. But the best treasure is to know that our names are written in the “Lamb’s Book Of Life.”

Have you ever thought about the name of the book, “Lamb’s Book Of Life.” It is a book that lists all those who are born into the kingdom, those who have passed from death of sin to life in Christ. That is one book to make sure our names appear, the book that the Lamb of God owns that lists all who are alive in Him.

Luke 10:19-20 Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you. ²⁰Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.

We need to be determined to see that the book doesn’t have any space left to write one more name. The harvest is ready. Jesus has the ink pen ready to write the names, all we have to do is go out and share his words.

BE BOLD. BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

RIGHT WORDS

It’s hard sometimes to sit back and watch people struggle with situations and problems when you have the answer. But we must be careful about how we deliver that answer. Yeah, Jesus is the answer to every problem. But, if it’s the wrong timing or said in the wrong way, we can do more harm than good.

Prov 25:11 -A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver.

Which means that timing is everything. You can tell people the right thing and be right. It still could be wrong. What if you say it like you are a know-it-all all and you have the answer? What if your attitude is off by coming across as being self-righteous? People are going to be hurt or put off by the judgmental tone.

We must be loving with our words, even though we’re right and there’s nothing wrong with the sentiment. There’s nothing wrong with telling people that God is the answer. But it’s how we say it. We can be compassionate, “I know you’re really struggling with the situation. I understand because I’ve been through similar things. Or I understand that you’re really bothered about this and you’re hurt by your situation. I’ve been through things in my life that have really hurt me. I’ve found that Christ is the answer.”

The people will become more accepting of what you’re saying. But still, if that’s not at the right time, it may plant a seed. It may open the door a little bit. I’m not telling you not to ever tell anybody Jesus is the answer unless you think it’s perfect timing. Because we are called to witness to others. It’s just all a matter of timing.

Praying for God’s guidance will help us to know the right timing of everything. Because God’s time is always perfect. Nothing is impossible and we need to be willing to step out and talk to people.

But again, we can’t be aristocratic about it like we know it all. We have to be humble. God wants us to be humble. We can say, “Let me help you out here. Let me give you some advice.” God will use that to make an impact in somebody’s life. And that’s why we’re here. We’re here to see the lost saved.

Someone witnessed us or we wouldn’t be where we are today. Someone stepped out of their comfort zone and taught us about Jesus, or we wouldn’t know anything about him.

If we depend on the media, they are very anti-religious and very anti-God and most of them consider themselves atheist or agnostic. And many of them, it’s because they’ve been hurt by church people. They said there can’t be a God or I wouldn’t have got hurt like I did. The enemy uses offense. It’s one of his greatest tools. If he can cause us to be offended by something and take that to heart, he can use that hurt and grow it into all sorts of things. He could grow in anxiety, fear, and stress. The enemy will grow it into a hatred for a person or hatred for a church. He even turns it into hate for God himself, to the point that people say, “I don’t believe there is a God.” And it’s just because they’ve been hurt.

It is not enough to have the right answer. It is important that we share the answer in the right way at the right time. We will know about God’s timing because he will lead us to speak. We cannot be effective unless we are close enough to God to hear his voice.

Staying in the Word and praying for His guidance is important. If we do these things, we can be assured he will give us the right words at the right time. Don’t be afraid to share the good news; just be careful how you do it.

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

GOD IS NOT SURPRISED

You know, sometimes we feel like that, we are one mistake away from God doing a facepalm and saying, “Uh, I’m so done with them. They just make too many mistakes. They fall down too many times. They’re just not what I thought.” Because that’s how we get with people sometimes.

People often test our limits and we’re like, “I just can’t deal with them anymore. Not one more thing can I deal with, when it comes to them.” Then we have a tendency to walk away from people that gets us to the point of being so exasperated that we just can’t take one more thing.

But God never feels that way about us. He sees the potential of what we can be. He sees our worth is far greater than we can see in ourselves. He never shakes his head and goes, “I just don’t know what I’m gonna do with them. I just can’t believe they did that.” Again, He’s not surprised by anything. He knows everything. He knows why we make the choices we make. It’s because of some trauma or experience in our past. Most of the time, we have a tendency to react instead of stopping and thinking about what we should do. It is easy to just react. But sometimes, we lack self-control when those situations arise. But God has never been surprised. Nothing we do shocks him. And you know He says, if we are His child, “I will never leave you, forsake you or fail you.”

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

He will not fail or forsake us; He wants us to put on the whole armor of God. (Eph 6) Then, we are equipped to stand strong and be courageous. Fear is the opposite of how we should react to situations. The God who created everything is our Father and he will send angels to protect us. He will move mountains for us if we just stand strong and believe.

Heb 13:5 6 Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the Lord thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.

My encouraging words to you today are: Do not fear. Do not get hung up on the past; if you have repented, then move on. He doesn’t expect us to wallow in self-loathing and self-bashing. He has already blotted out your mistakes, sins and shortcomings. We can be encouraged because He is with us.

He didn’t come to punish us or make us feel bad. Jesus died to set us free. He took all of our punishment because we were not able to bear it. Instead of repenting over and over for the same thing, we are already forgiven. Try thanking Him for what he did on the cross to set us free. Then, BE FREE from the past. Remember, Jesus loves you.

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

GET RID OF THE EMPTY

All of my life, I have heard the phrase, being filled with God. Having a life full of God’s presence. To be filled with God’s Spirit. If you walk in the Spirit, you will not fulfill the desires of the flesh. This morning, I woke up with thoughts of what it means to be filled. If we take a water bottle and run water into it under a tap until there is only water inside, we say it is full. I had an incredible thought this morning. To be filled means to get rid of all the empty space. Before the water went into the bottle, it was full of air, but we considered the vessel to be empty.

I pray, God fill all the emptiness. Don’t leave one small portion without him. I used to pray, “Empty me of me and fill me with more of you.” God is going to do amazing things. We all walk through seasons when we feel that God is far away. We feel empty. It is in this time that we must trust. Learning to wait for him to show us the next step can be a lonely place. If we wait on Him, He will speak and guide us.

When we are filled with God’s Spirit, we will be full. As Christians, we must be so full of God that others can feel his presence. They should be able to see Christ in us without us saying, “I am a Christian or I believe in Jesus.” They should know, even if we are not wearing our Christian t-shirts and ballcaps. (Not that I have an issue with t-shirts; I own several.)

I Cor. 3:16 16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If God’s Spirit dwells within us, we will be filled. It will take over all the empty spaces within us.

When Moses had been in the presence of God, he glowed. How many people do you know that glow with God’s presence? I pray that God helps us to not just let our light shine but that we will glow with his presence and love. Gal 5:16 16 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. We have to have his Spirit in order to walk in the Spirit. (Let our light shine)

Most Christians I know are dealing with serious things at this time. I am not saying we should wear a fake smile and pretend all is fine. It is ok to be who we are and allow those closest to us to know our struggles. The word says to confess our faults to one another. I also think that can be true of our struggles, pain, and the battles we are fighting. But be careful who you share those things with; not everyone who acts concerned will do the right thing and pray. Some are waiting to gossip and tear you down. Now more than ever, we need to have discernment about the events in the world and other people. God will show us who is not going to have our back, but who will shove a knife into it. These people know the right things to say. But they are not full of God, they will not have God’s glow.

Being full means there is no lack. Everything we need we already have in our hands. I have said this before; if our Lord Jesus Christ dwells within you, you have everything you will ever need. When we need something, it will rise to the surface. If we need strength, it will rise up. If we need encouragement, it will rise up. If we need his healing power, it too, will rise up within us to bring deliverance.

Healing sometimes comes in miraculous ways; instantaneously. But other times, healing comes in stages. God knows what is best for us. Sometimes, when he works in those instant right now kind of ways, it is to increase our faith or show someone around us that he is God. Other times, when we have to walk out our healing, it is to teach us to lean on Jesus.

Christians are not exempt from troubles, we have the same trials of life that sinners do. But we have someone who is with us and will help us. I pray, Lord never let any type of pain or disappointment be for no reason. Help me learn from it, so that I can help others to be encouraged.