Tag: #beboldbebraveandkeepyourgodfocus

EPISODE 312 THE SCARLET THREAD

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The title of today’s episode: SCARLET THREAD

A tapestry is a piece of cloth that is used for rugs, curtains or blankets. They have intricate designs created by weaving different colors of thread into the cloth. These colors make pictures or beautiful abstract designs.

Our lives are often like a tapestry. If we stand back and look at it as a whole, we will see the masterpiece that God is creating. But up close, often we do not see the whole picture. We may feel at times we have failed or fell. That failure is a dark thread that we would like to remove from our lives. Maybe, when the white thread was used, we became too self-righteous. But it takes all the colors to create a picture.

Jer 29:11-13 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. 12 Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. 13 And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.

Not just anyone can sit down at a weaving loom and make intricate patterns. It takes someone who has practiced the art of weaving. Just like God has so lovingly planned out each thread of our lives. He has even allowed for the times that we have strayed and will put us back on track as if nothing happened. He has a plan and just wants us to say, “I trust you Lord.”

It is time we let go of the way we look at our lives. Jesus only cares that there is a crimson thread that shows we are his child. That crimson thread says we have given the tapestry of our lives over to the master planner and creator.

Thinking about a red string reminded me of the story of Rahab. She didn’t live a perfect life. She was known as Rahab the harlot. But after God saved her family from destruction, she married into the lineage of Jesus. Talking about a transformation.

The story goes that Joshua sent two spies into Jericho to see the strengths and weaknesses of the city. Jericho was in the area that God promised to Israel. They were going to take the city. The spies entered into the house of Rahab. As the soldiers of Jericho started to search for the spies, she hid them and helped them to escape.

She told them that she had faith in their God and asked that they spare her and her household. The spies told her to hang a red cord out the window. It would be a sign to the soldiers not destroy her or her household. They told her to get everyone inside and they would be spared. Those outside of the covering would be on their own. The cord was a mark of protection.

We too have a scarlet thread of protection, called the blood of Jesus. By accepting Christ, we defy the ruler of this world. Just like Rahab defied or betrayed the king over Jericho. When they went to battle, no harm came to Rahab or her family.

This too is a reminder of the Passover lamb that the Israelites put blood over the door of their house. Any house with the blood of the lamb, the death angel passed over and spared all inside. Just as Jesus’ blood is our covering from the enemy being able to destroy us.

We sometimes look at things in our life with regret. I am sure that everyone at some point has wished they had made different choices. We cannot go back and pull-out threads from the tapestry of our lives. There is no going backwards only forward. All that matters is the scarlet thread running through the fabric of our life. That gives us access to God’s forgiveness and grace.

God has many plans for us, he just needs our surrender. When we give our lives completely to him, he can turn an average weaving into a beautiful tapestry. When we live our lives to bring him glory, others will want to bring him glory also. We each have more influence than we know.

The scarlet thread is the symbol of atonement found through out the entire bible. If God has you in a season of reflection and sitting quietly with him. He is allowing you a moment to catch up and ask him to take you deeper into what he has for you. The quiet prayer season is not a time to pick at the threads of life. It is not a time to look back with regret at the mistakes. It is time to say, “I trust you Lord, I do not know what the end result will look like, but I trust that you will make my life a beautiful picture of your mercy and grace.”

Psalm 19:1 The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.

Look around us at the beauty of the world. The landscapes, sunrise and the seas. He created everything with amazing beauty and it will all be destroyed one day. How much more time and planning do he give each of us? He wants only what is best for us. He allows different seasons to shape us into the person we need to be to accomplish the life he has chosen for us.

Prov 24:16 For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief.

We all fall and fail when we lose our God Focus. The lesson is not always in the falling, but in the rising up again. It takes courage sometimes to get back up. But Jesus is there to give us a hand and pull us up, all we have to do it reach out and take hold of his hand.

Until next time,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

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EPISODE 309 LEAVING COMPLACENCY BEHIND

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WELCOME TO GOD FOCUS THIS MORNING

The title of today’s episode: LEAVING COMPLACENCY BEHIND

Everything is determined by bloodlines. Slaves were slaves for generations, because of their bloodlines. From the time a young prince is born he is raised to be king, because he is the son of the current king.

Have you ever thought about how God’s people went from being God’s people to being slaves in Egypt? God sent them there to escape famine. But he didn’t send them there to be slaves. They forgot who they were and slowly over time they ended up in bondage.

God showed Abraham favor and gave him Issac, Issac’s son was named Jacob. He wanted to be the head of the family so badly that he stole it from his brother Essau. He tricked him into giving him his birth right for a bowl of beans. That opened the door for him to trick Issac into giving him the place of being in charge of the family, when Issac passed away.

Jacob’s youngest son was highly favored out of all of his sons. Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers, over jealousy. He faced many ups and downs in his lifetime. But eventually, he was elevated by God to be second in command over all of Egypt. God sent the children of Israel to Egypt, to the place Joseph was to escape a famine.

But they didn’t return home when the famine was over. Many chose to stay because they had grown accustomed to the ways of Egypt. Many mixed the worship of the gods of Egypt with the worship of the one true God. They took great wealth into Egypt, but over the course of generations, they were taxed out of their wealth. Soon they were stuck and couldn’t afford to return to the land of their fathers.

They were at the mercy of Egypt. Over the course of time, they became slaves. Until a generation grew up that didn’t know Joseph. By this time, they were living like slaves and were raising their children to be slaves. They would cry out to God for help and freedom. But they would still go about their lives mixing the cultures to some extent.

We can learn several lessons from this portion of the scripture. One when God sends you somewhere, make sure you know how long he wants you to stay. Many people have gotten into trouble by staying too long. Not everyone we come in contact within this life is meant to be in our lives forever. Sometimes we are only meant to be there long enough to help them through a specific thing. Then we are to move on. Other times, God gives us lifelong friends that will walk this path of life with us through all the versions of ourselves.

When God sends us somewhere we cannot allow the culture to affect us. We are meant to have an affect on the people we meet. If we stay too long and get comfortable, we can end up in bondage.

Complacency is a tool of the enemy. He wants us to look at sin and say this little thing or that little thing will not matter. God is loving and forgiving. Then we end up bound by the enemy. Complacency kills.

We right now are in a moment of decision. Will we choose to follow Jesus and not stay stuck in complacency. Will we stay where we are and allow the enemy to bind us up with mediocrity. Being battle weary will lead us to be complacent. It is a fight we have to fight daily.

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

God wants to do great things with and for his children in our time. We cannot faint and become weak. We have to stay where God can give us strength. He is waiting for us to choose sides. The complacent cannot go where God is getting ready to take the church. He is getting ready to remove from the bride, our spots and wrinkles of manmade religion and rituals.

Right now, the bride has wrinkles of division. She is not fully adorned with the fruit of the spirit. He is coming after a bride that has made herself ready. We have to do all that we can to walk upright and live holy. We cannot compromise on what the word of God says. The harvest is ready, and it is time the church stepped up.

The bride is incomplete right now there are many that need to be saved. There is much work to be done. But we cannot do the work needed if we are sitting in our complacency waiting for the rapture of the church. The church has allowed the enemy to come along and over generations he has put us in a bad position. It is time for us to rise up and get out of the bondage of man-made religion. It is time to get outside the walls of the buildings we call churches and just be the church. It is time for the bride to adorn herself with the things of God. Think about it, soon we will be called away to a royal wedding. Because of Jesus’ blood, we are of the bloodline. O what a glorious day that will be when we see Jesus.

Until next time,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

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EPISODE 302 DO NOT FEAR

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WELCOME TO GOD FOCUS THIS MORNING

The title of today’s episode: DO NOT FEAR

I want to ask all of you to say a prayer for the victims of these crazy storms that have been in our nation for the past couple of days. Which brings me to my topic, things right now look scary. It is impossible not to feel emotions at the loss of life and everything people have worked their whole lives to build. But we cannot let the enemy cause us to fall into fear. Fear is the opposite of faith.

I want to talk to you about fear and those who try to cause it. In this world there are a group of people that have sold out to satan. They do anything and every evil thing for their fake god. Just as there are those who are preaching the truth of God’s word there are those who are purposely twisting it to cause people to fall into fear and even into sin.

There is a woman on social media that is telling everyone that we need to shut ourselves into our houses and block our windows so that no light can escape. If we do not do this then evil beings will come and destroy us. When I heard this I knew it was not from God. God did shut the children of Israel in for a night while the death angel passed, that is true. But it wasn’t to cause them fear. And nothing harmed them because the blood was over their door.

When we become children of God, his blood is on the door post of our heart. He has taken on the task of being our protector. All through the word of God before judgment was sent, God’s people were safe. Noah and his family were locked in the ark before the floods came. Lot and his family God sent them out of Sodom and Gomorra before the fire started falling.

It comes down to trust, how much do we trust God. If we cannot trust him to take care of us in this life, then why worry about the life to come. We have to trust and not fear. We cannot give into the lies of the enemy. The God of the mountain that saved Israel from Egypt lives inside of us.

Get alone with him, spend time in his word. Thank him for his protection, for peace in the middle of chaos, safety when the world is out of control. But do not fall into fear or allow someone on the internet to spread propaganda and lies to cause fear. Fear is not faith. It is ok to not know the details of what tomorrow, because we know who holds our tomorrows in the palm of him hand. He did not create us to cower in fear. He created us to stand strong and be warriors.

2 Tim 1:7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

We have to stay strong in the middle of our transition. God is getting ready to abundantly bless his people. We have no reason to fear.

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.

He has promised us strength, help and that he will uphold us not allowing us to fall. We just have to trust and walk by faith. We cannot go by our natural eyes and the things the enemy wants us to see.

Ps 23:4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

I will not fear evil, because God is with me. His staff to guide me and keep me in the right path, his rod to protect us from the dangerous wolves of this life. The enemy will not prevail as long as we stick close to our shepherd.

Praise and worship is important at this time. The enemy cannot stand praise. When we sing worship songs to God, it draws us closer to God and his presence. The enemy cannot stick around with all his lies, it causes him to run. So put on the garment of praise and the heaviness of your heart will lift.

I know things feel hard right now. Like if one more feather is added to the pile of things you are carrying will break you. Remember that is when we are in the position for breakthrough.

We will prevail as long as we allow God to lead and guide us and not fall into fear.

Until next time,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

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EPISODE 300 TIME TO ARISE FROM THE ASHES

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WELCOME TO GOD FOCUS THIS MORNING

The title of today’s episode: TIME TO ARISE FROM THE ASHES

There are several places in the word of God that speaks about sackcloth and ashes. I decided to look it up and see exactly what it was, it is a black cloth made of goat’s hair. They would put on this hot, itchy material and put wood ashes on them as an outward sign of the mourning inside. It was a sign of repentance and prayer for deliverance.

The people of Ninevah wore sackcloth and ashes as a sign of their repentance. This was normally done while praying and fasting. It was a sign of mourning both for their nation and personal.

Like Job when the lying witnesses told him that all he had was gone. Job sat in sackcloth and ashes. He believed the report of the enemy and it put him into a state of grief. Many things happened to Job, but he stood strong on his belief that God had a reason for everything he had allowed in his life. Even when those around him were miserable comfort.

David sat in sackcloth and ashes when he lost his first-born child. After a period of mourning, these people have to eventually arise and get on with their lives.

2 Sam 12:20 Then David arose from the earth, and washed, and anointed himself, and changed his apparel, and came into the house of the LORD, and worshipped: then he came to his own house; and when he required, they set bread before him, and he did eat.

Mordecai in the book of Esther sat at the king’s gate in sackcloth and ashes, mourning for the Jewish people that were about to be killed because of a decree of an evil man that had tricked the king.

I started thinking about the story of Esther and how there could be some comparisons to the church of today. In her story is an evil man named Haman. He was determined to destroy a group of people because one man would not bow to him.

Mordecai refused to bow to him. I believe the reason that it bothered him so badly was because deep down he knew he didn’t deserve to be where he was as second in command.

Compare the church of today to Esther. The enemy has put out a plan to destroy us. We as the church have been sitting in the ashes of our mourning. Too long we have been grieving for what is behind. People say all the time, “Church is not like it used to be…” they get nostalgic for the things of the past. But God is getting ready to do a new thing. We have only a short time to gather the harvest. He is getting ready to pour out his Spirit in ways we cannot even imagine.

Esther 5:1 Now it came to pass on the third day, that Esther put on her royal apparel, and stood in the inner court of the king’s house, over against the king’s house: and the king sat upon his royal throne in the royal house, over against the gate of the house.

We cannot be stuck sitting in our ashes of mourning. It is time we arise like Esther and put on our royal apparel and go before the king and petition for the change we want to see. Evil Haman ended up hanging on his own gallows he had built for Mordecai. It is time satan was put in his place. Although we cannot get him hung on his own gallows, we can pray and break his hold on the church. We have power through and by the blood of Jesus. He has given us power over the enemy. We just need to find some holy boldness.

Isaiah 61:3 To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified.

It is time we gave our fears, worried, insecurities, past regrets, ideas about the way things need to be and embraced what God is going to do. It is time we traded all those old garments that we have been wearing for the one God is getting ready to give us. But we cannot praise him if we are in mourning. It is time to arise from our ashes and let God build a glorious church to gather the end time harvest.

Until next time,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

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EPISODE 296 KEEPING FOCUS ON GOD’S VOICE

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WELCOME TO GOD FOCUS THIS MORNING

The title of today’s episode: KEEPING FOCUS ON THE VOICE OF GOD

I try to always come to you with positive and encouraging content. All day yesterday however, I kept feeling a warning in my spirit, a call to obedience. It is time that people quit trying to straddle the fence as we often say in Christian circles. It means you say with your mouth you are a Christian, but often your actions do not align with your words.

Then there are those whom God gives positions of authority. Sometimes, it is to test them and see if they will love power and status more than they love him. They have the potential to be mighty in the kingdom of God, but there is also potential for a big fall. It all depends on where their focus lies. Are they listening to what God is saying, or are they following their own path.

We can never let our position in the kingdom become our life. God is our life. Following his lead is crucial. Many in the fivefold ministry have been taken down by the enemy because they lost their focus on who was in control. They allowed the enemy to steal their anointing or God’s glory from their life. They became too caught up in the work or sometimes the world, to see that his anointing had lifted from their lives.

Like Sampson, he played with the devil too long and lost his strength. He didn’t even know it was gone until it was too late. His story should be a warning to us all not to play around with the enemy.

People in positions of authority in the church have an even greater responsibility to walk close and not give room to the enemy. Many are looking to them for guidance.

Eph 4:22-27 That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; 23 And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; 24 And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. 25 Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another. 26 Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: 27 Neither give place to the devil.

There is a lot in these few verses. We need to make sure to renew our mind that we do not read things into what is happening but allow God to lead us. We cannot open the door to the enemy and expect God to bless us.

Eli’s sons were wicked, he didn’t call them on it but allowed their wickedness to continue. They defiled the temple of the Lord. God will give everyone warnings and then after a space of time, to turn from their evil he will remove them from their positions of authority in the body.

Just like the ark of the covenant, in Israel’s hands, it went before them and God blessed them and gave them victories over their enemies. But that same ark when stolen by someone who is not permitted to have it, it became a curse to the Philistines.

We cannot treat God’s anointing and glory with carless attitudes. We do not want to lose out on what God has for us. We all have work to do for the Lord. We need to approach it as a privilege and try to honor God in everything we do.

Heb 10:22-23 Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)

Hold fast to our faith without wavering; without being double -minded or unstable in the way we conduct our faith walk. We need to keep hold tight to our faith, not allowing the enemy to cause us to doubt. When we are faced with decisions, we need to pray for God’s voice to be the only one we hear. That the voice of truth will tell us the story, the way God wants it to play out in our lives. Pray that we do not allow our desires or our own understanding to cause us to falter. One verse even tells us to trust God and not our own understanding.

The choices we make may not even, on the surface, appear to be something sinful or prideful. It could be that we see a space and think God wants us to step in when it was something that was meant for someone else. The place that God was going to give them to shine.

We cannot be paralyzed by fear and not make any moves to step out and try to do something for God. But we need to know that it is his voice we hear. If we are willing to listen, he has promised to lead and guide us. We have to be willing to follow even if it is not what we think is best. Listen for the voice of truth, that still small voice that is God’s Spirit within, he is there to be our guide. He will help us walk in obedience.

I Sam. 15:3 Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.

God told Saul to go and smite Amalek and utterly destroy every living thing. But Saul was disobedient for whatever reason. He allowed flesh to dictate his outcome. He said he feared the people. We cannot allow people to get in the way of our obedience to God.

I Sam 15:14-18 And Samuel said, What meaneth then this bleating of the sheep in mine ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear? 15 And Saul said, They have brought them from the Amalekites: for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen, to sacrifice unto the Lord thy God; and the rest we have utterly destroyed. 16 Then Samuel said unto Saul, Stay, and I will tell thee what the Lord hath said to me this night. And he said unto him, Say on. 17 And Samuel said, When thou wast little in thine own sight, wast thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel, and the Lord anointed thee king over Israel? 18 And the Lord sent thee on a journey, and said, Go and utterly destroy the sinners the Amalekites, and fight against them until they be consumed.

I Sam 15:19-20 Wherefore then didst thou not obey the voice of the Lord, but didst fly upon the spoil, and didst evil in the sight of the Lord? 20 And Saul said unto Samuel, Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the Lord, and have gone the way which the Lord sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites.

I Sam 15: 21-23 But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice unto the Lord thy God in Gilgal. 22 And Samuel said, Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. 23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, he hath also rejected thee from being king.

I pray that I am not rebellious or stubborn when God tells me to do something. I do not want to fail in this way. We are human and God does give us grace. But expects us to walk in obedience.

Until next time,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

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EPISODE 295 DEFINING MOMENTS

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WELCOME TO GOD FOCUS THIS MORNING

The title of today’s episode: DEFINING MOMENTS

Life is full of defining moments. The moments we take our first steps or on our first day of school, graduation. Many other defining moments of our earthly life. We also have defining moments in our spiritual lives. The day we give our lives to Christ. Many things define who we are, but none more than how we handle adversity as children of God.

A situation arises in our lives and our first reaction is to allow our emotions to rule. The enemy will attack us with fear, anxiety, stress, worry and all the emotions to get us to fall apart. Our natural instincts about situations often go against us. If we belonged in the natural world then those instincts would probably be right. But this world is not our home, we are just passing through. We cannot allow fear and worry to overtake us.

Now is the time to make a conscious decision to stand and fight against the attacks of the enemy. God wins! Nowhere in the word does it say that satan will win. It says he has no power against God. He cannot win against the power of God.

I want to remind you that the Lord is on our side. It doesn’t matter the pain, fear and stress. The situations that seem impossible in our lives to cause us to worry, are no match for our Lord Jesus Christ.

This is when we have to hit our knees in order to stand on his promises. He has promised he will take care of us. We need to dig in and fight for what is right. In most of the stories we use for inspiration there comes one defining moment. Like the moment Esther pushed open the doors of the court and approached the king. Because of her courage, evil Haman was hanged on his own gallows. Our enemy will be caught and will be stopped by our King Jesus.

At another defining moment David threw down Saul’s armor and decided to go against Goliath without it. That seemed crazy to the natural mind. You are going to battle against someone twice your size and you have no protection. At least to the natural mind he seemed to not have any protection. But he went in the name of the Lord. And God showed up at just the right moment and guided his stone. Then the enemy’s weapon was used against him to cut off his head.

Genesis 50:19-21 And Joseph said unto them, Fear not: for am I in the place of God? 20 But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive. 21 Now therefore fear ye not: I will nourish you, and your little ones. And he comforted them, and spake kindly unto them.

Joseph’s brothers sold him into slavery. He went through many things before the Pharaoh made him second in command in Egypt. Every elevation got him closer to God’s will. But he had to spend time in unpleasant situations. We have to walk through situations to elevate us to the place that God can use us.

What the enemy meant to destroy us; God will use to elevate us. But God is completely in control. He will not allow us to be destroyed. We may get a little uncomfortable when situations arise. But we have to remember that God will not allow us to be overtaken. Uncomfortable is a part of life, we are in a fight and warriors do not always have a comfortable life.

We can gain perspective by worship. Worship creates an atmosphere that gives us joy and strength. As the coming days play out, we need to stay strong and keep our focus on God through worship. He will see us through. We never face our giants alone. We are close to our defining moments. Will we stand, or will we allow the enemy to get the upper hand because we have lost heart? God will give us strength if we faint not; he will make sure that we have what we need to overcome in our defining moments.

One final thing to think about today, who do you want defining you? The enemy is never right when trying to define who we are, but God says we are blessed, chosen and his. If we depend on God, we will never fail. We will see our way clearly through those defining moments.

Until next time,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

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EPISODE 294 FULLY TRUSTING GOD

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The title of today’s episode: FULLY TRUSTING GOD

Not everyone assigned to a task will find God’s will. Sometimes, our flesh can get in the way. Moses sent twelve spies into the promised land to check it out. God had already told them the land belonged to them. But ten men got into the flesh and allowed what they saw to cause them to fear. Walking in fear will always take us the wrong direction.

How often do we fall into fear? God says he will take care of us. He promises us that he is with us and will never leave us. He has given his angels charge over us to protect us. He promises that he will restore what the enemy has stolen. Yet we find ourselves bound up with worry and fear. Who’s report do we believe? God’s or our flesh that is being lied to by satan.

We need to have the strength of Joshua and Caleb. They saw everything the other ten saw. The difference was in their reaction. They decided not to allow fear to overtake them, they decided to get some grapes and bring them back to show the people. They had proof they actually went into the land. The other ten only brought words of fear and negativity.

When God promises us something, there is not time for negativity. If he brings us to it, he will make a way to get rid of the giant obstacles that are in the way of us getting to where he wants us to go. There is not a mountain too high or a giant too big that can intimidate our God. He is endless, boundless, everlasting the Almighty God that made everything.

Joshua and Caleb embraced God’s steadfast, unwavering promises. The rest were not trusting enough in God’s word. It is often when we are met with what seems to us to be insurmountable odds, that God’s hand really shines through with a mighty miracle.

America is teetering on the edge; we are needing God’s mighty hand to restore and give us back what the enemy has stolen. Satan has tried to steal the next generations from God, by offering shiny, distractions. We know that not everything that glitters is not gold. Especially today, many glittering things are made from cheap plastic. We cannot fall for the temporary substitute of cheap peace. It is a trap of the enemy.

When only true peace is found in Jesus. He is the one with real joy and satisfaction. The enemy cannot match in any way. But people fall into legalism, feeling like they cannot serve God, because it is too hard. They listen to the enemy when he tells them that the things he offers are to make them happy. But once inside the trap, people realize it is a cheap substitute for God’s love and peace.

I know I want to be like Caleb and Joshua, I want the boldness of God to arise in me when faced with decisions like they were facing. I want to say, yes there are giants, but our God is still bigger than them. Have you seen the size of the grapes. There is much fruit to be had in the promises of God if we are willing to reach out in spite of our fears and gather it.

If the Spirit of God dwells within us, we will have the fruit. When faced with seemingly insurmountable odds we can be strong and allow what God has grown within us to give us the strength to face adversity.

Pause and think about God. Think about this sentence. “OUR GOD NEVER FAILS”. Why do we worry, why do we fear, if he has promised so much to us?

Allow the boldness of God and the fruit that is within you to give you strength to face down the giants. You will not go alone, God is with you. You can make it, it you believe.

Gal 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

I don’t see fear, doubt, negativity, being argumentative, being double-minded on the list of the fruit of the spirit. This is why we must walk in the boldness of God, keeping in mind his peace, joy, goodness and the rest of the fruit. It is our fruit that separates us from the nonbeliever.

We grow our faith by speaking God’s promises, not by speaking negativity. Allow God’s boldness to arise within you. Stand up and look the enemy in the eye and tell him he is under your feet. You are not listening to him anymore.

May the peace of God surround you today. May the Joy of the Lord give you strength. Hold on and stand strong, God has got us in the palm of his hand. He will keep his promises we can depend on his word.

Until next time,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

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EPISODE 293 ARISE OUT OF SLEEP

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WELCOME TO GOD FOCUS THIS MORNING

The title of today’s episode: ARISE OUT OF SLEEP

Being a servant of God is not always an easy road. Sometimes in the middle of the night you find yourself awakened by the needs of others. God will wake us up to pray. After an hour or so of intercession you feel the release to go back to sleep, only to be awakened in a couple of hours with an urgent thought running through your mind. By the time the computer boots up, the thought is gone. Then you sit with one eye open, trying to think about what you should be writing. (At least that is what happened to me last week.)

God will sometimes stretch us out of our comfort zones to make us more moldable clay. It is sort of like the process of getting out all the air bubbles. The potter beats the clay, not because he is angry or out of a twisted sense of revenge, but because if the air bubbles are not removed, the pottery will explode in the fire.

God is preparing us to be on fire for him. A great army of warriors that will be the ones to witness, persuade, encourage the final harvest of souls. It will not be a snap of the fingers, and we are done kind of task. Although God goes with us and will work on them to make their heart ready to hear the word. We will still have to speak the word.

Warriors endure great hardship for the sake of king and country. We need to think about our willingness to sacrifice when God asks us to step out of our comfort zone. How willing are we to push back our plates and fast a meal? How willing are we to spend an extra fifteen minutes sitting quietly waiting for God to speak to us? How willing are we to sacrifice to see a soul saved?

It is my prayer that God will find me a worthy vessel for his use and that I am strong enough to do his will.

Matt 26:40-41And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour? 41 Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.

Our flesh is the enemy at times. This is why we must make it uncomfortable in order to carry out God’s plan. Because our mission is greater than we are.

Joshua 5:2 At that time the Lord said unto Joshua, Make thee sharp knives, and circumcise again the children of Israel the second time.

All the men that came out of Egypt had died over the 40 years except Joshua and Caleb. God was getting ready to take them to the promised land. But first, they cut away the flesh in order to renew their covenant with God.

It is time the church got back to the business of truly being the church. It is time we cut away the flesh. I am not saying we need to cut ourselves with actual knives. But the Old Testament is the type and shadows of the new. It stands to reason that if they had to cut away the flesh to regain covenant that we would have to remove the desires of our flesh and cut away parts of the way things were done. It is time we strengthen our determination to follow Jesus.

Luke 9:23-24 And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. 24 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.

When we take up our cross it will not always be pretty. Attending church service and enjoying ourselves. Sometimes it is driving for an hour and sitting with a friend that is at the hospital with a loved one that is dying. Sometimes it is loving and serving others. It means sacrificing our will to what God needs us to do in that moment.

How do we show we are the disciples of Christ?

John 13:35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

We could have love, for them and instead of praying or going to that hospital we go back to bed and pet our flesh. Then send a sorry I couldn’t be there card. When we know we should have sacrificed our time.

I could have a million dollars to give you, but if I never made effort to let you know or take it to you, you could starve to death. We have to show that love and give it to others.

I guess this is a long way of saying, it is time the church woke up and got outside the walls. No agenda, just people loving people with God’s help, encouragement and strength. Showing them God’s incredible love for us all.

It is time to leave religion in the desert and step into the new, just simply living a life sold out to Christ. Cutting away traditions of men and denominational boundaries set by men unable to reason together. It is time for the church to wake up.

Until next time,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

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EPISODE 292 – POWER IN THE BLOOD/ PLEADING THE BLOOD OF JESUS

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WELCOME TO GOD FOCUS THIS MORNING

The title of today’s episode: POWER IN THE BLOOD /PLEADING THE BLOOD OF JESUS

Most people know that in Ephesians chapter six it speaks of the whole armor of God. We have a shield of faith. Our faith is what makes us strong. Our faith protects us from attacks of the enemy. Faith is how we receive our blood covering, by faith we believe on God for salvation.

Eph 6:11-12 11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

In the story of the Children of Israel, God told Moses to tell the people to kill a lamb and place the blood on the door posts. This was a sign to the death angel that would pass over that house. All the houses in Egypt that didn’t have the blood over the door, would have a death of its first born. This is a foreshadowing of Christ and how his blood is placed over the door of our heart. The placement of the blood prevented death. Christ’s blood on our lives prevents spiritual death.

This event was a life-changing moment in the lives of everyone on both sides. It was the beginning of freedom to God’s people. The enemy was seeing that they were no match for the One True God.

I don’t think it was a coincidence that they passed through the Red Sea. I believe the name of the sea is prophetic and represents the blood line. God’s people went through, but Egypt could not follow. They could not because God had drawn the blood line. He said to the tormentors, you will not trouble my people any longer, you can go no further.

Jesus always brought freedom to the hurting and sick. He brought joy and understanding to those that lacked the education of the Pharisees. To the arrogant and elite, he brought fear and trepidation. They were afraid of his popularity, because they didn’t want to lose their standing in the community.

As people who are blood bought, spirit filled Children of the most high God, we too have been set apart. Because the blood of Jesus has been applied to our lives, we have victory in our Lord Jesus Christ. There is not a devil in hell that can come through the blood.

There is power in the name of Jesus. The blood has transforming power. There is nothing the enemy can throw at us that can overpower the blood of Jesus. We cannot fear what the enemy is doing or going to try next. We need to plead the blood against it.

For those of you who are new to Christianity the phrase “plead the blood” means we ask God for his blood covering against the situation. Since the enemy cannot cross the blood line, then we can plead the blood for protection. In other words, we are asking for God to draw a blood line around us to keep us from the enemy. Many illnesses are demonic attacks, whether you want to believe it or not. They are spirits that are on assignment to distract us from our assignment by causing us to have pain and symptoms of disease. When we plead the blood of Jesus against these attacks, we are asking for a blood line that the enemy cannot cross.

Before you say the blood is not for healing, Jesus took stripes for our healing. Not only our spiritual healing, but emotional and physical healing as well. He wants us to be completely whole, body, mind and spirit. Jesus is the only way to achieve this balance. Having this balance or wholeness is the best way to be effective in the world around us. If we are out of balance in any area it can keep us from running our race effectively.

Faith in Jesus Christ is our shield, the blood is our covering. We often are told to check our hearts to make sure all of our sins are under the blood of Jesus. We do this by repenting immediately if we know we have slipped up. But it is good to also ask for forgiveness for the things we do not realize we have done.

As we move forward, our country is in need of prayer. There has never been a time that it needs prayer more than now. Fear and fearmongering are trying to take control of our society. We need to stand strong and not allow fear to get a toe hold. I am sure things looked scary for the children of Israel. God parted a sea for them, he can do exceedingly, abundantly more than we ask or think to take care of his people today.

Eph 3:20 Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,

The power of the Holy Ghost within us will give us the strength and power to face whatever the enemy tries to throw our way. Walk in Love, Encourage One Another, Pray for God’s Peace Against Fear. We will make it as long as we stay under the blood covering of our Lord Jesus Christ. Remember; There is power in the blood.

Until next time,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

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EPISODE 256 GRAND AND GLORIOUS DAY

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WELCOME TO GOD FOCUS THIS MORNING

The title of today’s episode: GRAND AND GLORIOUS DAY

The word glorious means: deserving praise, honor and great admiration.

Psalm 72:19 And blessed be his glorious name for ever: and let the whole earth be filled with his glory; Amen, and Amen.

Our God is worthy of all Praise for what he has done for us. His name deserves honor and praise. Stop for a moment and focus on the things he has done for us. Each day is an amazing gift. He gives us a chance each day to do better than the day before.

I used to attend church with a semi-retired preacher and his prayer warrior wife. They walked through some horrible things during their life time from cancer, tuberculosis, heart issues to the loss of their daughter. They often shared their stories with the younger couples in the church. He would get up to sing during our church services, he would more often than not say, it’s a grand and glorious day. Every day we are given we need to approach with a positive attitude and a thankful posture.

I was humming an old hymn today, “What a day that will be”. To those who are not familiar with the song. Some of the lyrics say, “what a day that will be when my Jesus I will see. When I look up his face, the one who saved me by his grace,” My mind started wandering to what it will be like when we are finally in heaven. I thought, That will be a grand and glorious day. Which reminded me of the preacher and his precious wife.

Matt 25:21 His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.

Think back to when you were a child, the wonderful feeling of a parent telling you, that you did a great job. Imagine how we will feel to hear him say, well done. He has created a great opportunity for us, he has made it easy for us to succeed. Because his mercy is new each day and he will wipe out our fault, shortcomings and sin if we ask him. It makes all that we walk through in this life worth it. Knowing that our rough situations, even if they seem to go on forever, are still only temporary compared to eternity.

I have great respect for people who walk through long drawn out trials with grace. It is easy to get into our human emotions and act impulsively. Sometimes we lash out in anger. But if we can learn to give it all to God and keep our focus on him, he can teach us to have grace under pressure.

There is a line in a song made popular by Casting Crowns, it says, “Living he loved me, dying he saved me, buried he carried my sins far away, risising he justified freely forever, one day He’s coming oh glorious day.”

While he was living, he loved us enough to not ask for deliverance from the cross. He willingly died for us and through his blood we are justified. What a glorious day when we meet him face to face.

Just something to think about today as you meditate on the goodness of God.

Thanks for watching,

Until next time,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

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