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The title of today’s episode: SOMETIMES VICTORY IS IN THE SHOUT

There is no substitute for true praise. Worship is not always a person sitting quietly with their hands folded in their laps with their eyes shut. Sometimes it is shouts, tears and displays of emotion. God wants us to give him worship from our hearts and not lip service.

 I was reading Luke 19 today and came across the account of Jesus riding a colt into Jerusalem.

Luke 19:33-38 And as they were loosing the colt, the owners thereof said unto them, Why loose ye the colt? 34 And they said, The Lord hath need of him. 35 And they brought him to Jesus: and they cast their garments upon the colt, and they set Jesus thereon. 36 And as he went, they spread their clothes in the way. 37 And when he was come nigh, even now at the descent of the mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen; 38 Saying, Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord: peace in heaven, and glory in the highest.

They were not quiet, they were singing, rejoicing and praising with a loud voice for all the mighty works. Sometimes God is so good that we cannot contain the praise. It is not undignified to be loud, if someone is doing it for attention then God knows that too. I don’t know where the church got the idea that everything had to be silent all the time. I can’t find it in the bible. When the church lost their shout, they also lost their praise, which led to the loss of joy and strength. Soon the churches became social clubs and not places of worship. It is time we lost our dignified ways and gave God exuberant praise from our hearts. If everyone was doing this no one would have time to look at one another with judgment.

Luke 19:39-40 And some of the Pharisees from among the multitude said unto him, Master, rebuke thy disciples. 40 And he answered and said unto them, I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out.

The religious people didn’t want them praising God in a manner that didn’t fit their theology. And of course, they didn’t believe that Jesus was the son of God. They didn’t think he should be praised. There are many Pharisees today in all walks of life.

Worship is not about candles, long robes and silence. These people have a form and a fashion but deny the power of God. Because when God shows up for church it will wreck your theology.  It is about a heart connection to the one that saved our souls. If we really allowed that to sink in about where he has bought us from, we would remember the reason he deserves praise and worship.

I then think about Jerico. The Israelites marched for days around the city. They were quiet and didn’t provoke their enemy. It didn’t cause anything to happen. But on the last day God told them to shout, and the walls fell. The shout of triumph can make our enemy scared and bring down the walls the enemy has built.

Jesus would have walked past Bartemaeus, but he cried with a loud voice. The people around him tried to silence him, but he cried out anyway. When we want to receive something from God, sometimes it takes a shout. Jesus answered him and gave him his sight. Think about how close he came to missing his miracle. If he had listened to the crowd, he would have remained blind.

Many people are spiritually blind today. It is up to us to lead them to Jesus. We cannot stand in their way and tell them to be dignified and quiet. We need to tell them to cry out to Jesus for his soul cleansing, never ending, healing power. Time is short and we need to cry out and let our voices be heard. Many are needing to meet Jesus. We cannot let the Pharisees of today, those who wish for us to be silent, stop us from telling people about Jesus.

It is time we left our comfort zones. It is time we got serious about our witness to the world. I don’t want rocks crying out for me in praise or witness. I don’t want to come before God and him say, you should have told others about me. I want to hear him say, Well Done.

Until next time,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

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The title of today’s episode: UNAPOLOGETIC WORSHIP

Today I want to talk to you about keeping your focus on Jesus. We need to worship him unapologetically. There is a story in the gospel of Luke of a woman that was determined to worship Jesus. This woman brought an alabaster box of expensive oils, and anointed Jesus.

The Pharisees sat in judgment.

Luke 7:36-38 And one of the Pharisees desired him that he would eat with him. And he went into the Pharisee’s house, and sat down to meat. 37 And, behold, a woman in the city, which was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at meat in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster box of ointment, 38 And stood at his feet behind him weeping, and began to wash his feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment.

The Pharisee was uncomfortable with her open worship of Jesus. Because he didn’t believe Jesus deserved worship. He didn’t see him as anything more than maybe a prophet. The Pharisee questioned if he was even a prophet. He thought it was wrong of him to allow her to continue.

Luke 7:39 Now when the Pharisee which had bidden him saw it, he spake within himself, saying, This man, if he were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth him: for she is a sinner.

He questioned Jesus’ status by saying if he were a prophet, like he wasn’t even worthy to be a prophet. Then he judged the woman, saying she is a sinner. Like there was no hope for her.

Luke 7:40-43 And Jesus answering said unto him, Simon, I have somewhat to say unto thee. And he saith, Master, say on. 41 There was a certain creditor which had two debtors: the one owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty. 42 And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me therefore, which of them will love him most? 43 Simon answered and said, I suppose that he, to whom he forgave most. And he said unto him, Thou hast rightly judged.

Jesus understood the heart of the woman. He knew all about her circumstances and didn’t judge her for the past. She had lived a sinful life and needed much forgiveness, but she showed her gratitude toward Jesus by interrupting their dinner to sit at his feet and worship.

Luke 7:44-46 And he turned to the woman, and said unto Simon, Seest thou this woman? I entered into thine house, thou gavest me no water for my feet: but she hath washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head. 45 Thou gavest me no kiss: but this woman since the time I came in hath not ceased to kiss my feet. 46 My head with oil thou didst not anoint: but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment.

Luke 7:47-50 Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little. 48 And he said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven. 49 And they that sat at meat with him began to say within themselves, Who is this that forgiveth sins also? 50 And he said to the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace.

No where does it say the woman defended her interaction with Jesus. She didn’t care that the religious leader (the Pharisee) was watching her.  An account in another of the gospels says that the disciples said she could have sold the ointment and given the money to the poor. Like they thought it was a waste.

Anything we give to Jesus is never wasted. Our time, our praise, our tears, the substance of our finances. We could learn a lesson from this woman and continue to pour out our hearts in praise as the woman poured out the oil. She didn’t see anyone but Jesus, she was focused completely on him. She didn’t apologize that they were judging her for her behavior.

One of the biggest lessons we can take away is that true worship from the heart and a life lived fully sold out to Jesus will draw criticism from those who are not comfortable with that level of openness to the Lord.

I don’t care how perfect you walk as a Christian there will be those with a judgmental spirit that will criticize. Sometimes out of jealousy because they really want to be free enough to worship openly, showing their heart. But they are afraid of being judged.

We need to focus on our worship of Jesus and let them say whatever they want, their opinion doesn’t matter. Only the opinion of the one who died for us matters. Unapologetic worship allows us to connect with the heart of God. Get out of that comfort zone, ignore people and love openly our Lord Jesus Christ.

Until next time,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

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WELCOME TO GOD FOCUS THIS MORNING

The title of today’s episode: THIS SAME JESUS

The great I AM our Lord Jesus Christ is the same, he never changes. I started to think about how he has proven himself to every generation. All through the bible the people would stray, and he would draw them back to him. What triggered this thought was the verse in the first chapter of Acts.

Let me create the setting for you. Jesus had walked for forty days with the disciples after he was raised from the dead. They went up to the mount and he was taken up in the clouds to heaven.

Acts 1:9-11 And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. 10 And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel;  11 Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.

This same Jesus is the phrase I want to focus on. This same Jesus that walked on water. This same Jesus that raised the dead. This same Jesus that died for us. This same Jesus that went away is coming again.

God has always blessed and protected his people. This same Jesus we serve will be our comfort, our strength, our peace, our hope, our joy. This same Jesus will never fail us.

It is good to have people we know we can depend on when we need help. But even friends and family cannot or will not go with us as far as Jesus does and will go. This is why I encourage you to keep your focus on God. This is why I encourage you to dig into the word. The more we study the deeper our understanding.

There are many great mysteries in the word. Some of the prophets have written things that are hard to unravel. It will take God to reveal the meaning to us. Just because we do not understand everything, doesn’t mean we should give up. A lot of the bible is written like a story. Other parts, God will reveal when we need the understanding. Then there is Leviticus in a class all by itself. Every time, I have to read it or scribe it, I am so thankful for Jesus and his work on the cross. Because he fulfilled the law, I no longer have to keep up with my sin and how many animals I have to take to the priest to atone for them. This same Jesus was the ultimate sacrifice so that I could live.

God was referred to in the Old Testament as Jehovah, Yahweh, the Great I AM. This same God that rescued the children of Israel will rescue us from the Pharaohs of today. He will slay our giants and part the troubled waters. He will set us free and lead us to our promised land of heaven.

We can easily get sidetracked by all the “Christian things” and forget to just walk everyday the best we can, looking to our Lord and Savior to see us through whatever is facing us that day.

We only need enough of his grace and mercy for that one day, because his mercies are new each morning. We get a blank page to start fresh everyday to be all that we can be for the cause of Christ.

This same Jesus will open doors in walls that have no doors. He will do amazing things for us that love him. Learning to be obedient and trust him is some of mankind’s largest obstacles. Most of us feel we can do things on our own. That is when we find out the hard way that we cannot make it without him.  

He will often let us try our wings because we ask him to, he knows we cannot fly but will applaud our efforts. And just like a mama bird, he will not let us hit the ground but will swoop down and catch us in just the nick of time.

This same Jesus has not lost any power. He can still heal the sick and raise the dead. The issue is that the church; his disciples today are not the same. It is time we returned our hearts to the dedication of our ancestors.  People will say they don’t have time to pray and read their Bibles. I get it, I was one of those people. But we can watch three or four hours of TV in the evenings or scroll social media for hours. We make time for the important things. This same Jesus that went away wants to walk with us and talk with us. He wants to share every aspect of our lives. This same Jesus that went away, is coming back soon. Make sure you are ready to see him.

Until next time,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

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WELCOME TO GOD FOCUS THIS MORNING

The title of today’s episode: SHELTERED SAFE IN THE ARMS OF GOD

For several days the words to an old hymn have been running through my mind. “Sheltered In The Arms of God” is a song written by Dottie Rambo in 1969. She was walking along a beach in Florida after a storm. Weaving her way along amont the drift wood and sea weed that had washed up on shore. Dottie wrote the words to this beautiful song. She was talking to the Lord about some storms in her own life, a betrayal of a good friend. Out of that storm came inspiration that would encourage people for decades. God doesn’t waste our storms, but he will not allow them to over take us either.

As I thought about what it means to be sheltered in his arms. My thoughts immediately went to Psalm 91 since I read and declare it over my home almost every night before bed.

Psalm 91 He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. 

This is the first key to unlocking the door to breakthrough. We have to learn how to dwell in the secret place of the most High. Finding that place to have quiet alone time with him is critical to our faith walk. Then we must abide or stay in his presence to be under the shadow of the Almighty. Think about a shadow, the only way to be in someone’s shadow is if we are close to them.

We can depend on him to be our refuge and place of safety even in the most fierce storms imaginable. He is our safe place. We can trust him. But we have to get into that secret place before the storm hits. It is a lot harder to get into his presence when life is falling apart.

Psalm 91:2-4 I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.  3 Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence. 4 He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.

The song goes, “Let the storms rage high, the dark clouds rise, they won’t worry me, for I’m sheltered safe within the arms of God. He walks with me and none of earth shall harm me.”

This was her way of saying, I am under the shadow of his wings, he is my covering and I will be safe. It doesn’t matter how dark the clouds, how much the wind howls, how many trees are falling. We will be safe under the shadow of his wings.

If we draw close to God and use the keys, he has given us in his word we will have nothing to fear. Fear is caused when we get into a weak moment and listen to the enemy. He is all too ready to spread fear.

Psalm 91:5 Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day;

The whole chapter of Psalm 91 is an awesome chapter to commit to memory. It is a Psalm for dangerous times. And we are in dangerous times if we look at the storm. But if we keep ourselves in the secret place of the almighty, we will only see him and not the storms of life.

We sometimes come up against something in life and the harder we try to make sense of it the more complicated it gets, until we get frustrated. Some doors are not meant for us to walk through because God has other doors, better ones. If we try to move in our understanding, we often make things worse.

But waiting on the Lord, we shall be strengthened when we find that place of rest under his wings. We are sheltered and protected from the fiery darts of the enemy. When we wait upon God to unlock the door, then we will know he has checked things out and it is safe for us to enter.

Psalm 91:9-10 Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation;  10 There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.

If we spend time in the shadow of his wings, sheltered safe, because he is our habitation. The word habitation means to occupy, reside, a place we live like a home.

We can pray against sickness coming near our dwelling. As the world spins out of control with all the talk of viruses and disease today, we can ask for God’s protection from these harmful things that are being unleashed. If we stay within his shadow, sheltered in his arms he will send his angels to protect us.

Psalm 91:11 For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. 12 They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.

As we go forward, we have to remember that it doesn’t matter what the enemy tries to do to us. It doesn’t matter how scary the storm sounds; we can make the choice to be sheltered safe within the arms of God.

Until next time,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

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WELCOME TO GOD FOCUS THIS MORNING

I want to apologize for missing a couple of post. We had a storm blow through and I didn’t have any internet. Pray for the people in the path of this storm, there is flooding and damage all over the place. Some even died in Kentucky and around. So pray for those families.

The title of today’s episode: DRAWING CLOSER

Ask any Christian if they think they need to draw closer to God and most will tell you yes. Now is the time that God is drawing his people to him. For us to be effective as the body of Christ we have to be in a position to hear God’s voice.

James 4:8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.

The body of Christ is needed in this day and age to be a light. We cannot be a light if we are not close enough to God to reflect His light. It is time the church, caught on fire.

We are to present our bodies a living sacrifice to God. We cannot have the stench of sin in our lives. We have to keep our sins under the blood. In drawing closer to Christ, the more we will be a sweet savor to God.

Eph 5:2 And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.

We are to present our bodies a living sacrifice. Which means we kill the desires we have and only have the desires God wants for us. We put aside the things of this life and take up our cross and follow Jesus. By doing this we will draw closer to God and be in a position He can use us.

The objective of God is to save as many people as possible. He didn’t design hell for mankind. But if we do not use our free will to choose him then that will be our destination. But we cannot simply repent and be saved.

I Cor 15:31 I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.

Every day we have a choice, do we do what we want to do, or do we follow Christ? By choosing to die out to ourselves, we accept what God’s plan is for us, for that day. We have to ask him daily to forgive us of our choices that we make that are sinful.

God is getting ready to set the church on fire. He will have a body of believers. We have to make sure that we are part of that body of believers. People who are willing to stand for the truth even if it costs us our lives. That used to cause fear in me when I thought about having to die for the gospel. I wondered if I would be strong enough. But I now know that if it came to that, the Spirit of God within me would rise up and give me strength. As long as I walk every day as close as I can to his presence.

I have walked through some things I never thought I would have to walk through. But with each hard thing that came my way God was there to see me through it. He was there to show me how to take one breath at a time. He will show you too.

John 15:7  If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.

The word abide means to dwell, remain, stay, or continue in a state or relationship. We cannot wait until the moment that our world is falling apart to pray and expect that God will always move. We must create an atmosphere where God’s presence is welcome around us. Then when the trials of life come to burn us to the ground, we will be on fire for God and it will be a controlled burn.

Just like firefighters will often set smaller fires to stop a bigger one. They want to use up all the fuel so the large fire will not have anything to burn. We too have to have God’s holy fire in our lives to get rid of anything that the enemy could use as fuel to burn down our lives.

We get this fire, by drawing closer to God. Everyday this should be our prayer, Dear Lord, draw me closer to you. Breathe in me your breath of life and make me more like you.

I am sure some are probably tired of me saying read the word. Don’t just carry it around with you. Read it. It is life and strength to our spirit man. Talk with God, ask him what he wants for your life. He will answer, because he only wants what is best for his children. He wants us to draw closer to him, so that our relationship can be full and blossoming.

Romans 14:17 For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.

The kingdom of God is not in carnal things, but in righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost. We gain, peace, joy and righteousness by drawing closer to God. By living a life dedicated to what God want for us, not what we desire.

Until next time,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

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