Tag: #beboldbebraveandkeepyourgodfocus

TAKE IT BACK

My friend Bonnie and I recently took a drive looking at fall leaves and ended up in a beautiful town in West Virginia.  I was surprised at all the witchcraft and demonic stuff that was in that town.  I am not talking about Halloween decorations. (Although, that is another topic. God doesn’t want us to celebrate evil or put horror movies before our eyes to get into our spirits) I am talking about the items for sale in the bookstore, for example. We asked if they sold bibles, and the clerk informed us there may be one in the religious section. In that entire section of 4 racks of books, there were 3 small shelves about 3 feet long with Christian literature.  These books were placed with the back to the back of the shelves so that the front of the books was facing outward. And there was one watered-down version of the bible.

The rest of the religious section was all about the occult and witchcraft. These books were on the shelves with only the spines exposed because they had so many different ones. They had tarot cards and all sorts of demonic things. We cannot fully blame the bookstore because stores just stock what sells. They are all about profit. But I blame the church. We have let down and allowed the enemy to get strongholds in places.  People turn to witchcraft because they want power to not feel helpless.  They want the power to not feel worthless. In the absence of truth, they turn to the lies of the enemy. He tells them that they can control their lives and have power if they do this spell or that incantation.  He tells them that there is a difference between a white witch and the dark ones who do evil. I tell you, it is all evil.

Gal 5:19-21 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, (20) Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,  (21) Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

The enemy will always try to copy what God is doing. But God has power he will pour out on his children to equip us to feel strong in our weakness. We are strong in him. Power to walk out a life of victory and not defeat.  They need someone to show them that the only real power is the power of God, that lives in us. Then show them that they can have that same power too. But they are going to have to see us walking in victory.

It is possible for the church to turn this around, but we have to walk in the authority and power that God has given us. We have to be the church God created us to be for this time period. God knew how evil would abound. He is not shocked. He has a plan; we just have to trust in him.

We can take back our towns, city, state, country, and even the world through intercessory prayer. Our weapons are mighty through God. He empowers us to pull down the strongholds.

2 Cor 10:4-5 4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) 5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

GOOD BONES

I enjoy watching home improvement shows. I love to watch them take something that looks like it needs to be lit on fire and in the magic of television, within an hour, it is beautiful again. These old houses that need to be reclaimed and refurbished are often said to have good bones. As long as they have a solid foundation, there is nothing that cannot be fixed.

The church has been in a state of disarray. It looked like it was all over and sin was going to abound until it was destroyed.  But a fire is coming, not to burn the church to the ground but to get rid of all that is not of God.  It is time for “THE CHURCH” to be on fire for God. 

I often think about the valley of dry bones and how Ezekiel was told to prophesy to the dry bones. He prophesied to the bones and they lived again.  God is gathering the winds of change and will raise up his bride to be glorious, it is time for her to become without spot and wrinkle. We have to start speaking not about how bad things appear but about how God wants them to be in this time in which we live.

Do not believe everything you see; the enemy is out to deceive us into believing his agenda.  But I have read the back of the book and satan loses.  Tim Sheets calls him the “forever loser.” I often smile when I think about that phrase. It doesn’t matter what the enemy tries; he loses.  How frustrating it must be for him when one that he thinks would never turn to God suddenly breaks down in tears, under the presence of God and they cry out to Jesus. “Jesus save me from myself, save me from my sin, save me from the powers of evil.”

The defeated one, the forever loser, I am sure, gets angry every time he loses another one.  It is up to each of us to reach out and pull people out of his hand through intercessory prayer. We are called to reach the lost. The harvest is ready, it is time to go to battle.  Is your whole armor on? Are you asking the commander-in-chief about the battle plan? Are you ready to fight for the souls that are hanging in the balance?

II Cor 10:4-5  (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) 5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;

Where do we stand on a personal level? Each of us has to talk to the master builder and make sure we have good bones. When we ask him to refurbish our lives, he will take out everything that needs to be replaced and will make us new again.

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

WHAT IS INSIDE?

If I have a pitcher full of tea, it is impossible to pour out fruit juice. Just like our spiritual life. If our heart is full of good, then we can only pour out good to others. The opposite is true also; if our heart is full of evil, we will be able to pour out evil on others.

A Tree Is Known by Its Fruit; you don’t go to an apple grove and get oranges. The type of fruit is determined by the type of tree. What kind of tree do you want to be?

Mat 12:33  Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit. 

We are judged by our fruit, our kindness, our love, and our compassion. We are also judged very harshly when we fall down. It may not be fair, but it is how the world sees us.

Mat 12:34  O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.  Mat 12:35  A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things. 

This says once again what I said before: It has to be in our hearts before it can come out. I want you to notice out of the abundance or fullness of the heart, the mouth speaks.  If our heart is full of evil. We will speak evil.  If our heart is full of love, we will speak with love.

Psalm 119:10  With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments. 

Psalm 119:11 Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee. 

Hiding the word in our hearts will always give us a stored-up treasure to draw from when needed.  Like a savings account. I cannot tell you the times I came up against a situation, and God would bring just the right scripture to mind.  If it had not been in my heart already, I could not have drawn from it.

If we take a coffee cup and fill it as full as it can get, what happens when we add a drop. At least a drop of water will splash out because it is to capacity. If our heart is full, we will only have love to give. 

Every treasure needs a treasure map. In the old cliché pirate movies, X marks the spot. The pirate even hides his map to keep someone from searching for his treasure. This is where we differ from pirates. We want to share our treasure map (our bible). There is plenty of treasure for everyone. Our treasure map is the bible. It is God’s word that will lead us to the ultimate destination where there are treasures beyond our imagination.

1Cor 2:9  But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. 

The word talks about heaven having a street paved with gold.  Walls of jasper and gates of pearl. There is plenty of treasure for everyone.

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

CHURCH COME FORTH

Lazarus had died, and the mourners were with the family. In a normal situation, this would be 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. We were in a coma, allowing sin to enter the church and lull us into a deep sleep.  Jesus is calling us to come forth. He is calling for the warriors to arise and be the army we are supposed to be in this day. Every day, we need to put on our armor and go to battle.  Satan is after the body of Christ.  If he can keep us depressed and stressed, we will not be able to focus on our tasks. He is trying to cause us to not stand for the truth of God’s word.

We can be the church that the world needs by each being fully focused on God and what he asks us to do. We all have a job to do in the body of Christ. The task of seeing that the harvest is gathered before the night comes when no one will be able to work it is up to each of us. We need to do all we can to bring in the harvest before the rapture takes place on the earth.

We are at the stage where we need someone to help remove the napkin from our faces and set us free of our grave clothes. We can be the ones that help the body of Christ to arise and go forth in power. It is time for us to unite against our adversary, the devil.  People’s lives and souls depend on our ability to learn to get along and bind together in prayer and power. There is no greater purpose than to walk in our purpose and see souls saved.

Many souls are hanging in the balance; will they be saved? Will someone go out of their way to reach them? Will someone pray for them to be saved? Will that someone be you?

Until next time,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

LESSONS FROM DAVID

Part of our daily walk is to make sure we keep our focus fully on God.  In a world that is fighting every second for our attention, it is harder than ever to stay focused. David is one of my favorite people in the bible.  His heart that is revealed in the Psalms is inspiring. He understood most of the time how to keep his focus.  

He talks to God about his worries and the fears of his enemy’s coming against him.  Like we often tell God when we have troubles and feel like everyone is against us. Life can press in causing tremendous pressure.

David also understood the difference between thanksgiving and praise. Thanksgiving is thanking God for what he has done. We praise Him simply because He is God.

Psalm 100:4 Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.

David’s life as a shepherd prepared him to be king. The shepherd provides for the sheep in many ways. They make sure they are on land that has food and water. Shepherds protect them from predators. They anoint them with oil to keep away harmful flies that can lay eggs in their noses.

God is our protector. He protects us from the smallest microscopic thing to something huge that could destroy us. He is our provider; our source for all we need. Because He is our shepherd and He loves us.

God gives us times that he isolates us and gives us peaceful time to reflect. In the isolated times he is helping us to grow and prepare us for a new level. We don’t always understand the isolation, but God doesn’t do anything without a reason. We have to trust His plan.

Isaiah 55:8-9     8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. 9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Other times, He gently nudges us to the outside world where we are supposed to make a difference. We are supposed to all be a light to those who are in darkness. It doesn’t matter what we are dealing with or what phase of life we are in we need to look to Him.

I Chr. 16:11 Seek the Lord and his strength, seek his face continually.

Notice this says continually, not when things are bad. Not when we slow down or our lives are falling apart.  It says continually. We need him at all times, not just when things look bad. It doesn’t matter the phase of life we find ourselves in, as His sheep, we know he will take care of it all. We just have to be strong and follow where He leads. He gives us light to shine into the darkness of this world.

Psalm 18:28 For thou wilt light my candle: the Lord my God will enlighten my darkness.

As we start a new work week, take your light and go light your part of the world.  It is needed now more than ever before in history.

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

YouTube Channel Announcement

Good Evening, my friends. I am excited to share news of my new adventure with you. For the longest time, I talked about doing a podcast. I may still do that sometime in the future. But for now, God has led me in the direction of a YouTube Channel.

My plan is to start posting short devotional videos, Mon to Fri. I should be able to start posting them in early November 2023. I feel God has given me a ministry to enlighten and encourage the body of Christ to fully focus on him. My blog is called God Focus. The YouTube devotionals will be called God Focus This Morning. I will be sharing longer videos containing bible studies, testimonies and encouraging words as God leads.

You can watch my first video by clicking on the picture above. Like, Share and Subscribe to my channel so you do not miss what the Lord is doing in and through my life. I will keep you updated. Until next time, BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS.

Why Does God Allow Evil?

As I sat watching a small sparrow flutter about in a tree, I thought about the verse that says God takes care of the sparrows.  He is so amazing; He also wants what is best for us. Many people question how such a good God can allow such evil to go on in the world.

When He made man, everything was perfect.  Then, sin entered the world through disobedience.  It is in that disobedience that all the evil we see entered the world. Because God is long-suffering and good, he wants to give everyone a chance to be restored. He wants nothing more than for them to repent and change their ways. He watches from above with sadness at the evil.

When He is pushed beyond the longsuffering and He has given people their last chance to change, He moves quickly to cut off evil. Sometimes, bad things happen to cause us to rise up in just anger and make changes or to push for changes in our government.

We cannot blame God for what is wrong in the world when we are not willing to be obedient to Him. God wants us to look to Him and trust that He will move quickly. He will bring justice to each and every one of us. Through the blood, we are justified.  Through sin, we are condemned by not allowing God to purify us by His blood.

Things appear scary as prophecy is being fulfilled before our eyes. At least, they appear scary to the average person.  But to those of us who trust in God, it is a sign that God is shaking loose the evil to set free His people.

God needs his warriors to arise and be strong.  We are to be the light, we are called to be in this world. Light is often thought of in the scriptures as enlightenment.

 Psalm 119:105 Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.

But light also exposes what is hidden in the dark. Luke 12:2-3 2 For there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; neither hid, that shall not be known.  3 Therefore whatsoever ye have spoken in darkness shall be heard in the light; and that which ye have spoken in the ear in closets shall be proclaimed upon the housetops.

Luke 8:17-18 KJV  For nothing is secret, that shall not be made manifest; neither any thing hid, that shall not be known and come abroad.

God will bring every evil to light. Nothing that has been hidden will stay hidden. Now is the time to pray for his light to expose any darkness within us.  Ask him to help his body to get rid of everything holding us back from doing his will.

Now is the time to make everything, everything right before God. He will only tarry so long. The time of judgment is coming soon. If you don’t know Jesus, get to know Him.  If you are already a child of God ask him to search your heart. 

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

Make sure you are on the right side of the line God is drawing. Choose this day who you will serve. God is tired of “Christians” who are worldly and Christian in name only. He wants us to be strong and stand for what is right. He wants us to have integrity and walk every moment as if someone is watching.

I want God to look down on me and look at my life with a smile and say, She is the real deal. If everyone who claimed with their lips that they were a Christian would walk that way, we could take this world by storm. The harvest would be gathered without one grain dropped to the ground.

“Why does God allow bad things to happen? Why doesn’t He stop the evil?”  He is waiting for His body to rise up and be the prayer warriors we are called to be; only a body of believers who have the heart to be intercessors (prayer warriors) will be able to call down the power to stop this evil.

Bringing Down Walls

I’ve often read the story of the walls of Jerico. It was always a miracle that the walls fell. But until recently, I didn’t realize that the walls were so thick that chariots raced on top of the wall at least three wide. Now it seems even more amazing just how awesome our God is. I used to wonder why the men on top of the wall didn’t attack those who rode around. They would have been easy to pick off, just marching in circles. But God had told them to be silent and just march. The only answer I can come up with is that the people of Jerico didn’t feel threatened by them marching around. It wasn’t until the last time they circled that they shouted. When they did, God brought down the walls of the city of Jerico and God’s people were triumphant.

 Joshua 6:20  So the people shouted when the priests blew with the trumpets: and it came to pass, when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city.

In 1982, Pastor Christian Fuhrer of Leipzig’s St Nicholas Church started a weekly prayer meeting to pray for peace and deliverance from the communist regime in East Germany. Although the authorities watched everyone closely, including churches. They didn’t pay any attention to the pastor or his church because not many showed up to prayer meetings.

After consistently having prayer meetings, the number of people grew, and on Oct 9, 1989, an estimated 70,000 people showed up for a protest. A month later, the Berlin Wall fell, and they were free. This wall fell by prayer and people standing up for the right thing.

Today, we have walls of a different kind. They are not actually made of brick or stone.  Some are personal walls of fear, anxiety, jealousy, negativity, sin, hate, anger or depression, for a few examples. Others are walls of political and economic policies of our government. These walls can only be brought down by God.  Like the walls of Jerico, these things are often massive borders that prevent us from living in victory.

The only way we can see these walls crumble to the ground is through prayer. The only way deliverance will come is through prayer. We can speak words of victory. We can shout to the Lord and cry out for freedom.  He is there to deliver us and help us to tear down the things that are in our way.  Victory can be ours if we do what God tells us. He will cause the walls to crumble. God will transform our walls into victory if we will just shout out to him.

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

LEARNING TO WALK

When a baby is learning to walk, a parent doesn’t say anything about how many times they fall down. It is a process of learning to walk. But they rejoice over the steps that the child takes. God rejoices over us. He delights in the steps of the righteous and forgives them when they fall.

Sometimes, the children can push themselves back up when they fall. Other times, their parents have to pick them up. It is a great comfort to know that God is with us and will never leave us. Sometimes, we fall down, but we can get back up.  Other times, we need God to step in and set us back upright. There are many in the scriptures that have written about feeling the same as we often do. Like God is far from us because we have made yet another mistake.

Learning to walk out our spiritual walk is not always easy.  We are waiting for God to lead us in a direction. He will come through and show us the way.  Other times, we have to step out in faith and see if what we have on our minds is God’s plan. Walking in that plan just a small amount of time, we will know if it’s God’s will for us.

Parents not only help their babies learn to walk and talk but also protect them and keep them safe. Our safety comes from the Lord. He is our strength and our deliverer. We have nothing to fear. Our enemy is under our feet.

Do we trust Jesus enough to pick us up when we fall? Do we trust him to be our guide and teach us how to walk like a follower of Christ? Do we trust him to be our father and protect us when the enemy attacks?

Ps 84:11 For the Lord God is a sun and shield: the Lord will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.

No good thing will he withhold from us as long as we walk upright.

Psalm 92:12 The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree: he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon.

Uprightness is often used in scripture to describe our Christian walk. David, in Psalm 92, referred to the righteous like a palm tree. There are two Hebrew words that are used to mean uprightness; “yashar”and “tam.”  “Yashar” means straightness, while “tam” is perfection or completion.

When the word tells us to walk upright, it is telling us to stay on the straight path and walk in perfection or completion. How do we walk in perfection and completion?  There is only one way; we are only complete and perfect in Jesus.  Because when we make mistakes and ask for his forgiveness, he gives us a clean slate to go forward wiser and more complete.

The old path of following in Jesus’ footsteps will teach us how to walk. This is what life is all about, “learning to walk” like Him.

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

FOCUS ABOVE

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

Now more than ever before, we need to set our minds and our attention on heavenly things. The things of this earth will soon pass away. In fifty years, if the Lord tarries, most of the things we have focused on will not even matter. If we are young enough to still be alive.

The things we do for God are forever, eternal, never-ending. They will matter in fifty years, a hundred, five hundred for all eternity. Every soul we win for Christ will have a lasting impact on growing the family of God.

There is a saying that I don’t know who said it, but it comes to mind as I write.  “Only one life will soon be passed, and only what was done for Christ will last.” Our status on earth, how much money we had, what kind of car we drove, none of it matters.

Every lesson we taught in Sunday school to a group of five-year-olds. They have made an impact on eternity. Every prayer prayed, and every time we invest time to worship, all of it impacts the eternal. It stands to reason that we should spend more time listening to God’s direction.

Worship will help us to set our affections on the things above. Worship is a powerful thing. It can get our minds and hearts to focus. As we try to become more like Christ, we can remember the above verse and be devoted to keeping our minds on things above.

Have a good weekend!

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