Tag: be encouraged

OPENING DOORS TO A NEW SEASON

CLICK HERE FOR THE VIDEO VERSION: https://youtu.be/9q1Bs5v_QF4

Yesterday, I talked about how we close doors on the enemy to prevent him from creating havoc in our lives. Today, I want to talk to you about opening doors that are shut. God opens doors during different times and seasons. Right now, the door of salvation is standing wide open. Everyone has an opportunity to be born again. This is a door that only God controls when it is open and shut. Just like the door to Noah’s Ark. Once God shut it, no one could get inside. If you don’t know Jesus as your savior, do not wait too long before entering the door of opportunity.

Some feel that all roads lead to heaven. But Jesus is the only way to receive salvation. He is the door to salvation. John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

Rev 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. This refers to the door of our heart. That is one door that we have the power to open or shut. God has given us free will. He wants us to accept Him and allow Him into our life. But we have to make the choice to open the door and invite him to come into our hearts.

There are also smaller doors that open during different seasons. God sometimes calls us to step out in faith and do a ministry. (Not all ministries are about standing behind a pulpit and speaking.) Many have ministries and never speak to a crowd. You may feel like God is calling you to gather blankets for the homeless or start a food pantry. But every time you think about how to do this thing you feel like you are called to do, something gets in the way. God often gives us a vision for something long before he opens the door for us to actually do it.

Many times, we have to do research and see how to go about doing what we are called to do. Like for the food pantry idea. Maybe you would want to visit a pantry, ask them how they determine who to help. Find out about how to collect food and store it so that nothing goes to waste. Do you have to have permits in your city? Once that is done you may still need to pray for the project. It will come together when it is God’s timing. He will open the doors to use the ministry to bless many.

Sometimes doors are open before us and we have to ask God, is this a door I am supposed to walk through. The enemy will often offer us a shortcut to where we want to go. But his shortcuts will lead us down the wrong road every time. It will take twice as long to get back on track and to find where we belong. The enemy’s main function, if he realizes he can’t stop us, is to distract us.

There are seasons when God opens a door for us. We dwell within that season. But there are times when he wants to elevate us to a new season of life. When this happens, he will open a new door and lead us to shut the old door. We cannot reach our potential if we stay stuck in the doorway of the completed work.

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.

The best way to get doors to open is through prayer. If we seek direction, He will always guide us and open the right doors. We can trust him that he will lead us to the right one. I often pray for God to open the doors I need to walk through and to make sure to shut the doors that I don’t need to walk through. Seeking God’s direction is always the right move.

We need to always be encouraging of others when they are in transitional seasons. We can lift them up in prayer that God will guide them and open the right door. As I covered yesterday, we also need to pray for God to help us shut any door that will give the enemy a toehold and cause us to sin.

As you open the door to new beginnings, remember that anything worth doing requires hard work and sacrifice. Pray about the seasons in life and live each day with a servant’s heart, knowing that God is there to guide you.

Until next time, be bold, be brave and keep your God

EPISODE 29–CLOSING OPEN DOORS

CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO VERSION: https://youtu.be/E0-zmftqKFg

Hello My Friends

The title of today’s episode is “Closing Open Doors”

ASK YOURSELF, Do you have open doors?

The enemy will walk through doors that are left open. There are certain areas that we need to be mindful of in order to shut the doors on the enemy. We can have beliefs that are in opposition to the word of God. We reject the ideas or morals that are of God. When we reject the ideas of the word, we leave the door open to unbelief. Unbelief will give the enemy a foothold to cause us to sin. We cannot adopt the ideas and beliefs of the world. The world is always in opposition to God’s way.

How do we close this door? We need to study the word of God. We need to find out what God thinks. Then, pray for God to help our thoughts to align with God’s thoughts. Romans 12:2 2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

Only God can transform our thoughts and help them to align with what he finds acceptable. We renew our minds by prayer and studying God’s word. If we pray, he will help us to align to His thoughts.

The second door that is left open is often things that came into our lives through willful sin. God had forgiven us, and then we opened that door to temptation. By willful sin, we allow Satan a stronghold that is hard to get away from, and that door is hard to shut. But we have the power to close that door and ask God to forgive us and close the door to that temptation. When we open that door, we allow ourselves to be shackled into slavery again to that thing that held us captive before.

To be set free and close the door to satan, we must speak out of our mouths a confession of sin. We need to renounce the hold it has on our lives. Being set free comes through repentance. Staying free comes from the resistance of the enemy.

James 4:7 “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”

Unforgiveness is another door that leaves room for the enemy. Matt 6:14-15 14 For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: 15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. When we hold onto unforgiveness, we are holding onto grief and pain. We are hurting ourselves because we are keeping God from forgiving us. If we can learn to forgive others, we are not saying they didn’t do us wrong. We are not saying they didn’t cause us pain and loss.

We are saying, Because Jesus forgives our trespasses against Him, I can forgive this thing that was done to me. Sometimes, this takes prayer to overcome. Letting go of offense will close the door to the enemy to grow hatred and strife in our lives. Forgiving others sets us free, not our offender.

There is a door that is left open that we have had little to do with it. Our ancestors can leave doors open to generational curses. Alcoholism is one example. Many times, a parent who is bound by alcohol will have children bound by the same spirit. There are many things that can be generational curses in our lives and make us susceptible to attacks from the enemy.

We can close the door of generational curses through prayer. We need to renounce the covenants our ancestors have made with these spirits. God will set us free if we ask him for that freedom. Tell the enemy you are closing the door to the generational curses of your bloodline. Remind Satan that you are grafted into the family of God and that you have a heavenly bloodline that is stronger than your earthly bloodline. It is important that we close every door to the enemy. Do not give him even the smallest of cracks to get a toe-hold. Because toe holds turn to strongholds. The generational curses you break will not be passed on to your children, who will have to fight.

I know this was a little heavier message than most, but I felt like we needed to take a serious look at the doors that were open in our lives. Pray on this subject, Search your life, and ask yourself if you have left a door open to the enemy. Ask God to show you any open doors. Ask Him to close the doors to the enemy.

THANKS FOR WATCHING

UNTIL NEXT TIME BE BOLD BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

EPISODE 26 — GENERATIONAL BLESSINGS

CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO VERSION: https://youtu.be/IwaETEn2Y1A

Hello my friends

TODAY’S EPISODE IS TITLED “GENERATIONAL BLESSINGS”

Prov 20:7 The just man walketh in his integrity: his children are blessed after him.

This is a message for parents: if you love your children, you want them to have a good start in life. The best thing you can do is to love God first. Get yourself right with God. Because the things you do will train your children to do the same.

Have you ever watched a little boy sitting on the couch with his dad? The dad may be reading the paper and so the little boy picks up a piece of the newspaper and pretends to read. If the dad crosses his legs the little boy crosses his leg. They learn early on to imitate their parents. They may be watching a football game and the dad yells that his team got a touchdown. The little boy will jump up and down in excitement, even if he doesn’t even understand what a touchdown is in context.

Just as Issac and Jacob were blessed because of Abraham, we, too, are blessed if our parents serve the Lord. But that doesn’t give anyone a free pass. God doesn’t have grandchildren. We all must serve the Lord for ourselves. Issac and Jacob had to learn to live for God themselves. But it was easier to make that transition because Abraham had equipped Issac, and Issac did Jacob.

Good or bad, children often end up living like their parents. This is a good thing if they serve the Lord. But if they spent their whole lives not wanting anything to do with Jesus, that would make it harder for their children to follow him. But not impossible. We all must learn to love and serve the Lord for ourselves. We must teach the next generation to love and serve the Lord. If we don’t, the world will teach them to deny He even exists.

There are generational curses that stay with families, as well as generational blessings. For example, Many people end up being alcoholics because they watched their parents run to a bottle of liquor every time something went wrong and every time they needed to celebrate. Although alcoholism is a spirit, few get free from its grip unless they give it to God; it is not impossible to be set free.

Sin is not the only generational curse. Judgmental attitudes and self-righteous religion can be as harmful as any sin. The spirit of religion can also stay with families. Jesus didn’t come to start a religion. He came to save the lost, the broken and the sinner. If a parent is overly religious, it can go one of two ways. The child will grow up to be just like them, religious and full of rules. Judging others for their mistakes when their judgment is just as harmful as any sin. Their children will be miserable in their own self-righteousness. Or they will run because the judgmental attitudes they grew up with will give them the lesson that they cannot ever do enough to please God. They will see him as an overlord waiting to zap them when they step out of line. They will feel like there is not a reason to try, so they run to the world. They run toward satan because he seems like the only option. They feel it is too hard for anyone to be a Christian.

I have not always walked perfectly, but I have had a blessed life because of my great-grandparents, grandparents, and parents. Has everything always been perfect? No. I have had hard circumstances, but I have learned by example that we walk by faith and not by sight. The things I know is because I was given a solid foundation.

If you were not blessed to have that foundation, you could be the first person to start it in your bloodline. Your children and future generations will be blessed because of the choices you make today.

2 Tim 1:4-5 Greatly desiring to see thee, being mindful of thy tears, that I may be filled with joy; 5 When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also.

Apostle Paul wrote to Timothy that the unfeigned faith he had was because of his mother and grandmother. Don’t let the enemy keep the next generation bound. Teach them about the God of the Bible, the one true God, and how much he loves each and every one of us.

Today is a new day, a blank page in your story. If you are not fully dedicated to following Jesus. Let today be the day you choose to step out on faith and receive all he has for you. Accept your generational blessings or be the generation that starts generational blessings in your family. Being a Christian is not a bunch of legalistic rules. It is about a relationship with Jesus Christ. Be blessed all of your days.

UNTIL NEXT TIME

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

EPISODE 24 CONDEMNATION VS CONVICTION

CHECK OUT THE VIDEO VERSION: https://youtu.be/FDKzCXD9JQU

Hello my friends

The title of today’s episode is: “Condemnation verses Conviction.”

After a recent discussion with one of my friends who was under attack from some legalistic people, it dawned on me that there is a difference in conviction and condemnation. One is good and one is a lie from satan.

Conviction is something we feel when the Holy Ghost is telling us we did something wrong. Conviction comes with the possibility of redemption. When we have fallen into temptation and committed a sin, as children of God, we are convicted by God’s spirit within us. This gives us the opportunity to ask for forgiveness and get that sin under the blood covering of Jesus.

When we come to Jesus as sinners and ask for his blood covering, we are asking that all the things we are guilty for be washed away. We are no longer deserving of punishment for those things. God has erased them with the work on the cross, through and by the blood of Jesus.

The word condemn; where we get the word condemnation from has two meanings. One, when someone expresses disapproval, normally in a group setting, they will attack or degrade someone they don’t agree. Shunning is a good example of this practice.

When I was about twenty-three, I briefly attended a church that was bound by religious legalism. The pressure to measure up was overwhelming. The pastor’s wife always made you feel like you were guilty of something and not good enough to be called a Christian. There was a woman that attended church with us, this woman was about my age. She tried to commit suicide. Instead of them rallying around her when she got out of the hospital and pouring love and concern on her, all of them acted like she didn’t exist. There were only three or four of us that would talk to her.

That was when I decided that I was ready to look for another church. After discussing it with my husband we left there. I would like to say I didn’t look back, but it bothered me for a long time, how people can be so bound up. Jesus did not die to set us free, only to bind us up with legalism.

This brings me to the second definition of condemnation. Assign guilt, blame, or implicate in a crime. If someone commits a crime that is punishable by death and is caught, the judge can order that the death penalty be carried out. Everyone of us have sinned against God’s laws. Every one of us deserved the punishment of spiritual death and punishment of hell for eternity.

However, God made a way that we could wipe our records clean and get another chance to be free. It is through the blood of Jesus.

Romans 8 1-2 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.

If we have asked for forgiveness, we are no longer condemned or deserve punishment for those sins. Jesus’ blood gives us a pardon. But notice this verse says we are not condemned if we walk not after the flesh (or the will of our flesh) but after the Spirit (or after God’s will for our lives). Once forgiven we have to live the best life we can. We have to try to walk in God’s way. But if we fail, we can ask forgiveness and he will forgive us. This means we have no condemnation; we are not guilty.

When we feel bad for something, we need to ask, do I feel bad because the Holy Ghost is showing me I’ve done something wrong. This is conviction. The Spirit within us will make us feel bad for something we have done. He does this so that we can do all we can to make it right and ask for forgiveness. Conviction is about a course correction.

If you feel bad because others are trying to impose their standards on you, this is condemnation. This comes from the enemy in the form of an accusing spirit. Satan will use people who have a religious judgmental spirit to accuse you of doing things that are wrong, even if it is not a big deal.

One example of this would be in Matthew Chapter 12, I won’t read it for time sake, but go read it. When Jesus healed the man on the sabbath, the religious people said it was unlawful to heal on the sabbath. It was wrong according to the laws they created, but it was not a sin. We know Jesus had no sin. But he was judged by the condemning self-righteous to be a horrible sinner because he healed the man on the sabbath.

Life is hard enough without creating things to make it more difficult. There is freedom in the blood and the name of Jesus. When someone is new to their walk in Christ, the last thing they need is people adding to their already hard battle. They are learning how to walk in faith and in the Spirit of God. The flesh versus spirit battle is hard enough without adding more condemnation.

Think about the freedom we have as children of God. The next time you feel bad about something, ask if it is conviction or condemnation from people.

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

EPISODE 23–GIVE US FLESH

CLICK THE LINK FOR THE VIDEO VERSION: https://youtu.be/zJmUqeNppbs

Hello my friends

The title of today’s episode is: “Give us flesh”

NUMBERS 11 is a story of the Children of Israel and how they were tired of manna. Think about what manna represents. It is food from heaven. It contained everything their bodies needed to stay strong. God gave them plenty. They didn’t have to search for food. Without the manna, they could not have survived in the desert.

Numbers 11:7-8 And the manna was as coriander seed, and the colour thereof as the colour of bdellium. Verse 8 And the people went about, and gathered it, and ground it in mills, or beat it in a mortar, and baked it in pans, and made cakes of it: and the taste of it was as the taste of fresh oil.

They wanted flesh, they said they used to have all the fish they wanted in Egypt. They asked for flesh.

How fickle are we? Would we be like the children of Israel? Before we judge them too harshly think about it. We are a lot like them. We take God for granted and all the many blessings he gives us each day.

The taste of the manna was that of fresh oil. Oil in the bible is a representation of the Holy Ghost. So we could taste of God’s spirit with fresh anointing daily or we could have flesh.

Some people follow a preacher. They go wherever they go. Because they want the flesh. They do not realize that without God’s anointing man or woman could not preach or teach as well as they do, but yet some ministers are treated like rock stars. Normally, these are the ones who have let down the truth of God. The people who are all about their flesh, building their kingdom, they will sell out the message of God for fame, fortune, and cold, hard cash.

The people could have fresh manna, the bread of life from heaven. We can get manna from God directly in our prayer and worship time. We can get that food that sustains our spirit from the word. We don’t have to wait for a minister to spoon-feed us the word. This is when we rely too much on flesh.

Don’t get me wrong. The Bible says that God has placed in the body the ministry for the perfecting of the saint. We need preachers. But we don’t need ones who are full of flesh and want to water down the gospel. These preachers feed those who want to walk in the flesh and not in the spirit. They want the name of being a Christian without truly following Christ.

Moses got upset with the people and asked God why he had burdened him with so much. God told him to gather seventy men to be leaders, and he would put some of the burden on them. Then, God gave the people what they wanted.

Numbers 11:18-20 And say thou unto the people, Sanctify yourselves against to morrow, and ye shall eat flesh: for ye have wept in the ears of the Lord, saying, Who shall give us flesh to eat? for it was well with us in Egypt: therefore the Lord will give you flesh, and ye shall eat. 19 Ye shall not eat one day, nor two days, nor five days, neither ten days, nor twenty days; 20 But even a whole month, until it come out at your nostrils, and it be loathsome unto you: because that ye have despised the Lord which is among you, and have wept before him, saying, Why came we forth out of Egypt?

The church got tired of trying to live by God’s standards and wanted to walk in the flesh. They wanted to return to their bondage instead of following the Lord. So God withdrew the manna and allowed us to have the flesh. The church is just starting to wake up and realize that we need a genuine move of God. We need fresh manna. We need HIM and not a specific preacher or teacher. We need to make room for all of God’s ministers who are preaching the truth of his word.

The modern church is not going to look like many think. But as long as God is there, we will have the manna we need to sustain us until we reach our promised land of heaven.

Let me leave you with this thought. Are you wanting a real move of God? Do you desire a closer walk with the God that made you and will give you fresh anointing (or manna) daily?

Gal 5:16 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.

Thanks for watching,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

EPISODE 21-GLEANING GOD’S WORD

CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO VERSION: https://youtu.be/9dJdIM5lLuM

Hello my friends

The title of today’s episode is: “Gleaning God’s Word”

The story of Ruth is a tale of three widows. Naomi, the mother-in-law, and two daughters-in-law. They all lost their husbands. Naomi told them she wanted them to return to their families. Because she didn’t have any more sons for them to marry.

The one returned to her family. But Ruth didn’t want to leave Naomi.

Ruth 1:15-17 And she said, Behold, thy sister in law is gone back unto her people, and unto her gods: return thou after thy sister in law. 16 And Ruth said, Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God: 17 Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: the Lord do so to me, and more also, if ought but death part thee and me.

Naomi saw that Ruth was determined to go with her. She allowed her to travel back to Bethlehem. People were happy to see Naomi because she had been gone for about ten years. It was harvest time when they arrived. Naomi told Ruth it was ok to go and glean in the fields of Boaz. On the first day, he told Ruth not to go to any other field but to stay with his maidens and glean.

In Bible times, farmers would leave the corners of their fields for the poor to harvest. It was part of their belief system under the law. They still do this today. In essence, the fruit of their labor to grow the crops is being left for someone else to reap the benefits.

We often read and glean a little something extra when we study God’s word. It is good to take the time to look up the meaning of words. Even if you think you know what they mean. By doing this, we often get a little something extra. The dictionary defines gleaning as gathering slowly and laboriously bit by bit. To learn, discover, or find out by study and research. It could be said that every time we research and study the word, we are gleaning. We can read a scripture and take it for face value of what we think it means. But if we start digging into the meaning of words in the original Hebrew and Greek, we find that we can glean a deeper meaning from God’s word.

Boaz told his workers to leave a little extra for Ruth. She impressed him because she was such a hard worker and she had sacrificed everything to accompany Naomi. He found that to be honorable. God will honor our efforts with enlightenment and wisdom. If we just invest the time to study.

Just like those who glean the fields that someone else planted. We, too, can benefit from what others have labored to dig out of the word of God. Ministers who aren’t afraid to stand for the truth can share the hidden bits of knowledge with us to help OUR FAITH WALK.

But we don’t have to wait until the next sermon, we can do a little gleaning of our own. God is waiting to give us understanding if we just ask him for it. Some don’t want to spend the time to study on their own. They are satisfied with living on what other people have invested the time to research. Many people are deceived because they are not willing to dig deep into the word of God for themselves.

James 1:5 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. Upbraideth means to rebuke, criticize or find fault) In other words God will give us understanding without being critical that we do not already know what he is trying to share.

God’s word is all about sowing and reaping. How often do we plant a seed in someone’s life, only to have someone else say just the right thing, causing it to produce fruit? That fruit will give strength and nourishment to a weary soul. People often pick and choose who they think will be saved. They try to harvest who they choose. But we never know when God is dealing with the heart of another. We need to glean the harvest field and make sure no one is left behind.

I am sure that Ruth could not have imagined the plan God had for her when she ended up widowed. There is no way for her to know that she would be part of the lineage of Christ.

We never know what God has planned for our lives. We just have to be determined to follow Jesus and to keep gleaning the word for direction. He is writing our story. It may not be as amazing as being the great-grandmother to King David but be assured God has a plan.

I encourage you to get into the word of God. Search it out and glean its deep secrets. We need to know when someone is preaching the word of God that what they are saying is true.

Prov 16:25 “There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.” Many false teachers and preachers are in our land. We need to be able to discern who is true and who is speaking the truth. We will not know if we don’t study the word and pray for God’s guidance.

Just a nugget to think on today as you go about your routine.

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

LIKE SHARE AND SUBSCRIBE FOR MORE ENCOURAGMENT

EPISODE 20 — DECLUTTER AND REMODEL

CHECK OUT THE VIDEO VERSION: https://youtu.be/veg13mSvipk

Hello my friends:

The title of today’s episode is: “DECLUTTERING AND REMODELING”

Our spiritual lives are all about God removing things we accumulate and making them new. God doesn’t want to make over just one room. He wants to re-do the entire house of our heart. When we become Christians, Jesus makes our hearts over by painting the walls with his blood and removing all of our sins from the past.

This episode was inspired by the transition I was in during this time of my life. I have been doing a major decluttering of my home. I recently remodeled a spare bedroom and turned it into an office/prayer room. During this process, I do not know what I would have done without my helpful family. They all have special skills that helped me to complete the task.

I am going to share some lessons I have learned: if a room is not perfectly square, everything is a challenge. In other words, if our lives are not up to specifications, there will be challenges. God’s word lays out the blueprint for our lives, but if it is not applied correctly, it can cause all sorts of issues.

When doing a miter cut on trim, sometimes there is a small space that needs to be filled with wood filler. Sometimes, spiritually, where we are and where we need to be leaves a gap. God is there to be the filler; he makes everything come together the way it should.

I watched probably twenty videos with organizing and decluttering tips. I don’t remember which one said the following phrase or I would give them credit. But it has changed my thinking about a lot of items in my home. It is obvious that some things have sentimental value. But outside of these items, she said to ask, “How does this add value to my life?” If it doesn’t add value right now, then it is time to give away, throw away or sell. We need to give ourselves permission to say that certain things are not working for us and its ok to let it go.

I took this and have applied it to my spiritual walk. I ask how certain attitudes and tasks add value to my life. Only when it comes to spiritual things, have I added another question? ‘How does this add value to someone else’s life? Could I possibly share something that gives someone else values in their Christian walk?

The more expensive the item, the harder it is to let go of; we feel guilty for the money we spend on it. But it is ok to let it go. In the same manner, the hardest walked through trials are often the hardest to pour into the life of someone else. But if we don’t share the value we have gained in the struggle, it will have been for nothing. I often pray for God to use my battle with depression and other things in my life to be a help to someone else. I want the price I paid to give them value for their journey.

As we walk out of our faith daily, sometimes things happen that cause us to be hurt. Sometimes, we face battles we do not understand. God allows things in our lives to remodel and make us over better. Clutter can pile up in our homes; our spiritual house is no different. There are times we allow offense or other things to take hold in our spirit. Sometimes, it is a small amount of unbelief. Other times, it could be just going through the motions and not focusing on God. We need to ask ourselves, what can I declutter my spiritual life and let go of things that are not edifying our Christian Walk.

Remember to keep your words kind, because once said, you can’t take them back. Apologies will only smooth the surface, but the hole remains. Like driving a nail in a board, you may take the nail back, but the nail hole is still in the wood. The only thing that you can do at this point is to fill it with wood filler and paint over it. If some unkind things have been said, then God is the only one who can fill that hole that is left behind and paint over it with his blood. This is how we accomplish forgiveness.

God asks us to forgive for us. Forgiveness adds value to our lives. It releases us from the spirit of offense. Does it mean that we allow people to walk over us again? No, forgiveness is a release for us. But we do not have to go around those people and be hurt by them again. Every situation is different.

Ephesians 4:32: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.

When situations arise in your life, ask yourself how it adds value to your life. Sometimes, things occur to teach us a lesson. Sometimes, it is to teach someone else. Prayer will open the answers we need to show us what to do. Jesus is there waiting to give us the answers. He will come along and make over our lives if we allow him. He will show us how to walk by faith and not by sight. He will show us how to walk in the Spirit and deny our flesh. He will help the fruit of the spirit to grow in our lives.

Think about the things you do and say. Do they add value to your life or others?

Thanks for watching,

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

EPISODE 19 — MY FAILURE /GOD’S FAILURE

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE VIDEO VERSION : https://youtu.be/UOnGliUObaI

Hello my friends

The title of today’s episode is: “MY FAILURE / GOD’S FAILURE”

By the title, I am sure some of you wonder if I have lost my sense of direction. If you have been serving God for any amount of time, you will have heard that God cannot fail. He is the God of the impossible and will do what he has promised. This is true, so we have established that God cannot fail. If there is any failure, it is on our part.

Deuteronomy 31:8 And the LORD, he it is that doth go before thee; he will be with thee, he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed.

If we attempt something and fail, we often get down on ourselves. Other’s opinions make us not want to try again. What will they think? They will make fun of me. Pushing past other people’s opinions is one of the biggest obstacles to getting to your destiny.

Sometimes, we fail because God steps in and intervenes. Failure often comes because if we were successful in what we chose to do, we would get stuck there. It would be like settling for Ishmael and never seeing our Issac.

Failure often happens when God has something better. But we want to hold onto our Ishmael. Failure doesn’t define us. It is just something that happens to us. However, when we try to create success ahead of God’s plan, we end up with an Ishmael and not the Issac he had planned for us. In studying this story, we need to take away from it to be patient with the Lord, and he will bring success. He will fulfill his promises.

Often, what we call failure is just God closing a door to force us to move on. Most of the time, it is just the push we need to step into our new season. Fear of failure can keep us frozen. But God doesn’t give us fear. He gives us the power to overcome our fears.

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.

There is a quote that says if you are not making mistakes, you are not doing anything. I see a lot of truth in this statement. It is almost impossible to start something new and be perfect at it. It takes time to build up experience and to become comfortable with doing something new.

Failure is the opportunity to begin again with an idea of what not to do. We can never underestimate our abilities to be determined to try again.

I feel one of the biggest failures of Peter and so many of us is that we let fear cause us to deny Christ. Most of us, at some point, have allowed people to influence our walk with Christ. But God took Peter’s failure and turned him into a mighty man of God. Who boldly proclaimed the gospel for many years. But Peter didn’t allow his moment of failure to define him. We cannot either.

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

I encourage you today to step out of your failures and insecurities and be bold enough to try again. God is there to help guide you.

Thanks for starting your day with me.

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

EPISODE 18 — WHERE IS JESUS?

CHECK OUT THE VIDEO VERSION OF THIS BLOG: https://youtu.be/86zlExW01Bs

Hello my friends

The title of today’s episode is: “Where is Jesus?”

Psalm 10:1 Why standest thou afar off, O Lord? Why hidest thou thyself in times of trouble?

David felt like we often do. When things in life get rough, we sometimes feel all alone. He felt like God was far away from him. He felt like he was all alone in his time of trouble. Others have felt that way too or the author would not have written the poem, “Footprints in the sand.” In the troubled times when we only see one set of footprints, Jesus did not leave us, He was carrying us.

God often carries us at our worst moments when we feel all alone. Other times, we have walked away from Him. Not completely or intentionally in an I am done trying to be a Christian, kind of way. But we sometimes start looking within to figure out things that are troubling us and we neglect our bible study and prayer time. Before long, we find ourselves asking, “Where are you, God? Why are you so far away from me?”

When we come to a place where we feel like God is far away. We need to pray and worship. Ask him to draw close to us. It is up to us to return to where we left him. Look at the story when Jesus was a child. Mary and Joseph went to Jerusalem for Passover. When it was over, they started traveling. They assumed that Jesus was traveling with the rest of their group.

They went on a day’s journey before they realized they couldn’t find him. They turned around and went back to the last place they had seen him, Jerusalem. It took them three days to find him in the temple. He was sitting with the scholars and was asking questions that showed them He was special. He was teaching them things about the Word because He was the Word made flesh.

Mary and Joseph found him right where they left him. We can, too. If God feels far away while we are in a season of trouble. We need to turn around and look for Him. He will be found right where we left Him. He has said he would never leave us.

Hebrews 13: 5-6 Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee

Life can sometimes cause us to be wary. Troubles and trials can be distractions in our lives. The distractions do not have to be temptations and sin. It can just be a large to-do list or a time of walking through a trial of sickness or other issues. It doesn’t take long to realize that we have been neglectful with our time and have not given Jesus the attention he deserves. We suddenly feel like we are in a dry place.

Psa 63:1 A Psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Judah. O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is; Psa 63:2 To see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary. Psa 63:3 Because thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee.

We have all walked through spiritual deserts in which we feel like we are alone. We feel like God is not there. Being in the desert gave David a good perspective. Our bodies desire water; we cannot function without it. But just as our flesh needs water, our soul needs God’s living water.

I want to take time to remind those who feel like they are in a spiritual desert that God is there and will not leave you. He has promised he will never leave us or forsake us. Just when we think we cannot go one more step, he sends a refreshing to our soul. O Lord, how our souls thirst for your presence. Fill us up Lord. God is with us, even if we cannot feel his presence.

Thanks for watching today.

If you have a prayer request, it can be sent to my email angela@godfocus.net

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

EPISODE 17–FEEL GOOD QUOTES THAT ARE NOT BIBLICAL

CHECK OUT THE VIDEO VERSION: https://youtu.be/Lm_HptTBRhM

Hello my friends:

The title of today’s episode is: “FEEL GOOD QUOTES THAT ARE NOT BIBLICAL”

Our society has a variety of sayings that are on t-shirts, notebooks, mugs etc. People say them all the time. We often say things without thinking about them.

(1)

The first one is “Follow your heart.” At first, this sounds like good advice. Often, when making a decision, we need to know how we feel about it. But more importantly, we need to know what God feels about it. God doesn’t say follow your heart. He says, follow me. If we follow him, we will never go wrong. He has promised to lead and guide us.

The word says, Jer. 17:9-10 (9) The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? (10) I the Lord search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.

The word says the heart is deceitful. We don’t want to follow our hearts for this reason.

Matt 15:18 But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man. 19 For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies:

Now, knowing the things that come from the heart, do we really want to follow our heart? Every one of those things will lead us down a bad road to troubles and destruction in this life and the life to come.

(2)

The second one is, “If you believe its true then its true for you.” This is one of the worst attitudes that has been planted into our society. What makes it worse is it has taken root in some congregations across America. Have we forgotten the meaning of the word truth or true. The definition of truth is “that which is true or in accordance with fact or reality, actual fact.” The statement “If you believe it’s true then it’s true for you.” doesn’t really make sense. Things are fact or they are fiction. What I think about it doesn’t change it to fact if it is not a fact. On the other hand, if it is a fact, my thinking about it, what I feel will not make it fiction.

A friend of mine recently met a guy with this attitude. He said Satan wasn’t real because he didn’t believe it; it wasn’t part of his truth. I pray he changes his mind and makes things right with God or he will find out the hard way that the devil is real.

(3) The third quote is a new-age thing that has worked its way into our culture, “Karma will come around and bite you.” Karma is the way the new age explains the good and bad that happens in our lives. There is not a thing in the universe that controls the good and bad. God’s word, however, says, “We reap what we sow.” God makes the rain fall on the just and the unjust.

(4) “God will not put more on you than you can bear.” How many times have you hear Christian’s say this: This is man made scripture that worked it’s way into the church culture. The verse says, 1 Cor 10:13 13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: 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. It says God will not allow us to be tempted above what we can stand. He will make a way for us to escape.

(5) “You Only Live Once.” This buys into a you may as well do what you want and enjoy your life, even if it is sinful. Because you only live once. But this is not true; we only have one life to walk in this flesh. But after it comes the judgment and eternity in one of two places: heaven or hell. Where you go depends on how you use the life you are given. So don’t buy into the You only live once attitude.

I want to change the meaning of this one and say you only live once, so you have to get it right. Only a life lived for Jesus Christ is a life worth living.

The words we speak have power in our lives. Think about what you are saying, are you speaking life and positivity or are you speaking negatively? We will have to do an in-depth study about the power of our words. Are your statements popular quotes or are they truth?

Take time to watch what you say,

Until next time,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS