Tag: #beboldbebraveandkeepyourgodfocus

DECEPTION AND DISCERNMENT

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The title of today’s episode is: Deception and Discernment

In 1 Kings Chapter 13 there is a story of a prophet of God. He was sent by God to give a message to the King Jeroboam. When he delivered the word from the Lord, the king didn’t like it. He turned and told his people to lay hold on to the prophet. When Jeroboam pointed, his direction his hand shriveled and he could not pull it back. He asked the prophet to pray for God to restore his hand and God moved on him and returned it to normal.

I Kgs.13:7-10 And the king said unto the man of God, Come home with me, and refresh thyself, and I will give thee a reward. 8 And the man of God said unto the king, If thou wilt give me half thine house, I will not go in with thee, neither will I eat bread nor drink water in this place: 9 For so was it charged me by the word of the Lord, saying, Eat no bread, nor drink water, nor turn again by the same way that thou camest. 10 So he went another way, and returned not by the way that he came to Bethel.

He was determined to listen to the word of God and not eat or drink, neither turn and go the way he came into Bethel. He told the king, even if you offered half of your kingdom.

A few verses later an old prophet came to him and asked him to return to his house and eat and drink with him. He explained that God had told him to no go back but to keep going.

I Kgs 13:18 He said unto him, I am a prophet also as thou art; and an angel spake unto me by the word of the Lord, saying, Bring him back with thee into thine house, that he may eat bread and drink water. But he lied unto him.

He believed, the old prophet and returned to his house and ate and drank. I don’t know why the old man lied to him. But if God tells you something it is important to be obedient. God would not send an angel to tell you to do something the opposite from what he told you to do. We cannot believe every word given to us by a supposed prophet. Not all of them are speaking God’s words.

While he was eating with the old prophet the word of the Lord came to him saying because he was disobedient and did the opposite of what God told him to do. That he would not be buried with his family. But his carcass would be by the wayside. He went and left the old man and started on his way. A lion came out and attacked him, killing him and leaving his body on the road. When the old prophet heard about it, he went and got him and buried him in his own sepulcher.

God doesn’t give us reasons for the things he tells us to do. Sometimes we do not understand the reasons. But if God tells us to do something he will not tell someone else to come and change it. We can learn the important lesson of being obedient from this story.

Think about it, if he had kept going, he probably would not have met the lion on the road. But because he was delayed from stopping for dinner, it lined up the timing of his meeting the lion. God knew when that lion would be there and what it took to avoid it.

1 Thes 5:11-12 Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do. 12 And we beseech you, brethren, to know them which labour among you, and are over you in the Lord, and admonish you;

I often say that it is important to have Godly people in your circle of friends and acquaintances. We are to lift up one another. Be careful about accepting the word of the Lord from just anyone because they say they are a preacher or prophet. There are many that are in the world to deceive. Unlike this prophet, they are causing people to lose their souls. With their false teachings and words from the lord that are not really from Him.

When I was thinking about his old prophet that lied. It reminded me of the serpent in the garden of Eden. When Eve told him that they could not eat of the tree. He said, “Hath God said?” He manipulated her to make her question if she understood correctly. He planted doubt in her mind.

In the past, God has shown me things about people. I knew in my gut that they were not what they appeared to be. But in my compassion and desire to not be judgmental I would ignore my discernment. I let the enemy plant doubt that I had heard from God. Every time, when they proved to be what I originally knew I would beat myself up for not listening.

I am not talking about judging someone for making a mistake or falling into a sin. There is a difference between a person that has not got a good grasp of their faith walk yet and someone who sets out to deceive others.

The word says to know them that labor among you. We can know these people by their fruit. The word says that we will know people by the fruit in their life. A well cannot bring forth both bitter and sweet water. Neither can an evil person bring forth good things.

Psalm 119:66 Teach me good judgment and knowledge: for I have believed thy commandments.

This needs to be our prayer that we learn good judgment and knowledge. That God will show us the things we need. Then ask for him to help us to be obedient to his commands.

I, for one, am very blessed to be surrounded by a group of intercessors who pray with passion. They are my encouragers, and we keep each other in check. I trust that they have my best interest at heart. But I want to be found faithful to what God says, even it no one else understands. He has a path for each of us. Sometimes that means going and doing things that others may not understand. We may not fully understand, but we can trust that God will always do the right thing. We can put our full confidence and trust in Him.

Be careful, my friends; satan is like a lion out there trying to deceive; he is seeking someone to devour. Make sure it is not you.

Until next time,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

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OUR SWORD

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The title of today’s episode is: OUR SWORD

I have been thinking about war today. Our adversary has infiltrated every area of our society. He is trying to destroy the very fabric of our lives. The things that pass for entertainment today are simply demonic. Even children’s movies are filled with evil things to program them to believe that it is ok.

As I was thinking about battle, I started thinking about the weapons of our warfare.

2 Cor. 10:4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)

The world wars with natural weapons. But Christ is our king. He will fight our battles if we trust him. We fight our battles in prayer and worship. The best weapon we have against the enemy that we fight is the sword of the Spirit.

The whole armor of God is listed in Eph. 6

Eph 6:10-19 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. 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. 13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; 15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: 18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;

Have you ever thought about these weapons? They are all defensive weapons except the one, the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. The sword can be both defensive and offensive.

If someone comes at you on a battlefield with a sword, you can protect yourself with a shield or hold up the sword to deflect the attack. This is what Jesus did to satan, when he tried to get him to turn stones into bread after a forty day fast. Jesus used the scriptures against him. Quoting the word.

Satan offered him a short cut around the cross. Revelations says that Jesus will rule and rein on the earth. Satan offered him all the kingdoms if he would bow down and worship him. That would have bypassed the cross and no one would have power over the enemy.

Because Jesus was victorious, we are victorious also. Because he fights our battles for us. We just have to Stand still, pray and wait for him to move.

Then my mind wandered to the story of Saul and how he fell on his sword because he feared the enemy. He would rather die at his own hand than be taken by the enemy. We should never fear our enemy. He was defeated by Jesus over two thousand years ago.

But I do believe that we need to take the sword and study it. Any good soldier knows how to use his weapon. We need to fall on our sword so to speak and allow it to kill everything that is in us that is not of God.

Heb 4:12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

We cannot hide anything from God. He knows the thoughts and intents of our hearts better than we do. The word will bring to light the things that are in our flesh that we need to get rid of from our lives.

There is a phrase, “the best defense is a good offense.” I always heard it applied to football or basketball. In fact, the notion that the best defense is a good offense originates not in sport, but rather has been attributed to George Washington, who in 1799 wrote, “… make them believe, that offensive operations, often times, is the surest, if not the only means of defense”. In other words, we should not be sitting around in fear waiting for the enemy to attack so we can defend ourselves. We need to take the word of God and storm the enemy’s camp.

We have to be proactive about our faith walk. We have to come boldly to the throne and make our request made known to God. We can take the sword of the Spirit and storm the enemy’s camp. We can take back what he has stolen from us. Just like David and his men did in Ziklag.

Be alert, be vigiliant, be prepared for battle, study your sword. Know your sword front to back, back to front. It will give us the words we need to stand on, when the enemy attacks. The word of God never fails because he is the word.

John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

Until next time,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

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BEING PERFECT

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The title of today’s episode is: BEING PERFECT

Matt 5:48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.

Many judgmental people that attend church often use scriptures like Matt 5:48 as a club. They use it to basically say, if you make a mistake, you are not perfect. Therefore, God is going to pour out judgment on you because you are not perfect.

If we trace this word perfect to the original text the word is teleios. It means complete in various applications of labor, growth, mental and moral character.

This particular verse is saying to be complete in our labor of the cross. Be complete in our growth of understanding about God’s will. To be complete in our mental and moral character.

We often feel like the word, perfect means without mistakes. But it means as good as possible. When we apply this to our Christian walk we are not saying that we will never make a mistake. We will not fall down. But when we do, God’s grace is there to make up for our short comings. But we are to strive to walk as close to God as possible.

Phil 3:13-15 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, 14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. 15 Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you.

Paul was telling them that one thing that he does it to not get wrapped up in the things that are behind. He says he forgets what is behind. Then he reaches forward and tries to grasp the things that are in front of us. He presses on toward doing the will of God. Then he is saying if we are complete we will be like minded. That we are to forget what is gone and press forward to God’s will for the day ahead.

It is all about being complete in him. We are completed by him, when we are born again, his Spirit within us will give us all we need to walk out our faith walk.

Col 2:8-10 Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. 9 For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. 10 And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:

Col 2:8 Is a warning like the one I have felt compelled to keep reinforcing. Do get caught up in basic knowledge of the world. But we are to follow Christ. Because in him is the fullness or completeness of the Godhead. We are complete or perfected in him.

Do not let judgmental people with their legalistic rules put weights on you that you were never meant to carry. Christ died to set us free from legalism. The Pharisees were so full of rules and legalism. They created hundreds of rules to help them keep the ten commandments. One was that a man and woman could not walk on the same side of the road. Therefore that would prevent him from lusting after her. Although it is a good idea to wash our hands before eating, it is not a requirement from God. But they made that a rule also. Then they brought it up to Jesus when they noticed that his disciples ate without the ritual washing of their hands.

Jesus told them if wasn’t what went into a man, but what came out of a man that defiled him. He was telling them that the venom they spewed over their legalism and rules was much more harmful than his disciples eating without washing their hands.

Ecclesiastes 12:13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.

Jesus summed up our duty as: Love the Lord Thy God With All Your Heart, Soul and Mind and thy neighbor as thyself.

If we can focus on walking in the Love and Fear of God. And we love others as we are called to do. We will walk in completeness or perfection. Then all of the small mistakes we make along the way, God’s grace will cover them with the blood of Christ. Do not be intimidated about not being perfect, we can be through the blood of Jesus Christ.

Until next time,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

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SPIRITUAL INVENTORY

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The title of today’s episode is: SPIRITUAL INVENTORY

It is good to take a long look at our lives from time to time. I have been doing spiritual inventory. It is good to look and see where your feet are planted. Are they on a firm foundation? It is easy to get wrapped up in the things of this life. Take notice if you are wearing your armor. It is necessary for battle.

There are probably not too many people that attended church that have not been the victims of church hurt. This was not the plan of Jesus. He told his disciples to love one another. To come together with reason and talk about their issues. If two people do not see eye to eye at least one of them is wrong. Both could be wrong. This is when it is a good idea to pray for God’s revelation. His opinion is the only one that counts.

We cannot allow what imperfect people do or say, in judgment, to get in our way. Their opinions and traditions of men should not affect our walk with Jesus. He is the one we will answer to; He is the one we need to please. People pleasing is a trap of the enemy. Many of us get wrapped up in people pleasing. This is a bad place to be, because unlike God, people change. Some people change depending on who is in the room. It is time we worry about pleasing God, he is always in the room. No one else matters.

It doesn’t take spiritual discernment to see that this world is a powder keg. Things are scary if we look at the world stage. There is not a single politician that can save our country. Only God can and will turn things around. People are running scared over the mark of the beast and the great tribulation. It is not quite time for those things yet. First comes the harvest.

As we enter into the harvest season, we have to be ready to do the will of God. Now is not the time to be stuck in the hurts of the past. We need to give the hurt to Jesus. He will trade us healing for our pain.

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

Things in this life will consume us to the point that nothing is left. We can get wrapped up in the past full of regrets and pain. Others are consumed with the past because it was better than where they currently find themselves. We need to let go of the past and live today to the best of our ability. Find joy in the small things. Set our focus on the things of God and His plan for our day. Set our focus on God’s work and will for the day.

Things on the earth can sidetrack us from doing God’s will. It is easy to get wrapped up in the cares and responsibilities of this life. Many places in the scriptures encourage us to keep our focus on spiritual things.

We have to trust that God will work things out for our good. We have to fully trust in him. Each day is a chance to trust a little more than we did yesterday. Eleanor Roosevelt said, “With the new day comes new strength and new thoughts.” When I saw that quote the other day. I was reminded that this is why we need to renew our minds with God’s word. Because each day will bring things our way, some good and some bad. We need to know how to deal with them.

If we are renewed every day, we will be ready for the attacks of the enemy. One of the responsibilities of a good soldier is to not be caught off guard by the enemy. So stay strong, be vigilant about your faith. Do not allow the enemy to catch you off guard.

This reminds me of something my grandfather used to say, “Christians are like bananas, you get one away from the bunch and they get peeled.” If we get away from the body of Christ, and we get caught up in the things of this life. We can get weak and end up peeled by the enemy. God wants us in bunches because he is calling for unity in his body.

Spiritual inventory is necessary to keep us focused on God. The enemy will often try to creep in with some hurt or offense. Being vigilant about spiritual inventory will give us awareness of our readiness for battle. God will give us the power to overcome and not be destroyed by the enemy.

Spiritual inventory will clean out space in our lives to make us more open to the new things that God wants to do in our lives. He is a God who opens doors when we least expect it.

Until next time,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

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CHOOSING YOUR MOUNTAIN

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The title of today’s episode is: CHOSING YOUR MOUNTAIN

Imagine how life was for the Jewish people after the day of Pentecost. More specifically the Jewish disciples. They had been taught the Law of Moses their whole lives. Now there was a new way. Some rituals and things no longer needed to be done because Christ fulfilled the law. The Messiah had already been on the earth and was crucified. While on earth, he taught his disciples what the new church would look like, then they went and prayed until God’s Spirit fell and the church was born.

But we see in different places that there were things that they disagreed on, some felt like the Gentile males should be circumcised as they had been under the law. It took time to unlearn the things that they had been taught. Some were God’s commands to the Jewish people; others were laws added by the religious people to supposedly help them keep the original ten commandments.

Every denomination has traditions of men that they were taught. Like I spoke of a few days ago about the church that always closed one of the window blinds. They did that for years before every service, as part of their routine. But no one knew why, it had always been done. The new pastor finally asked an elderly lady in the congregation, and she explained it kept glare off of the sheet music. The pastor looked at the piano and questioned how that would help. She laughed, well the piano used to sit in the other corner.

It is high time for there to be unity in the body of Christ. It is time for us to take a hard look at what we do and what we really believe. Do we believe it because that is what the word of God really says and really means? Do we believe it because we have always been taught certain things?

People are willing to fight and die on a mountain they were never meant to stand on. These same people will overlook the real deep things of God and the mountains that we are supposed to stand firm on and not be wishy washy.

I know a woman that believes it is a sin for women to wear pants. It is a mountain she has chosen to plant her flag, acting like that is the worst thing in the world. She and those like her will run sinners off, before they can get them saved by listing their rules. They are bound by legalism. However, this same person goes around the entire congregation gossiping and sowing discord. She is judgmental about everything everyone else is doing and says to the point of spreading lies to make her point. This is where I choose to plant my flag. Spreading lies, rumors and gossip is all talked about at length in the word of God. One verse goes as far as saying the liar shall have their place in the lake of fire. In light of these things, which mountain should we plant our flag? One of man’s opinion that doesn’t mean anything. The other is serious.

I hope she has the best of intentions, like the early Jews trying to circumcise the new Gentile converts. This is something she really believes to be God’s plan. However, she is so wrapped up in that one thing, she is missing the bigger things. One is man’s traditions, and the other is what God calls a sin. I don’t want to miss the move of God because I am stuck in my traditions or my ideas.

It is like when Jesus told them to remove the beam from their own eye before trying to remove a splinter from their neighbors eye. If you see me doing something that you believe is wrong, don’t gossip about it. Pray about it. Ask God to show me that I am wrong. If I am praying, like I have been for God to search my heart, then He will show me. That way we can prevent hurt and the dimming of our light.

Our journey should be all about shining our light for the world to see. It is about the cross of calvary. It is about walking in the Spirit and not our flesh. It is about showing the world love and respect. We will never win anyone from the stance of judgment. I have people in my life that I don’t agree with and pray they change their ways. But me being all judgmental and in their face about it, will not change them or help them find God.

I understand we cannot adopt the do what you want, live any way, all roads and all gods lead to heaven. That is a liberal fairytale and is contrary to the word of God. That is a completely different subject.

But if someone new comes in, just starting their faith walk and is trying to live for the Lord we cannot put too many rules on them. It is like a heavy yoke on a young ox. They will break under pressure. It is a balance; we have to live holy and as right as is within our power. But we have to remember the grace of God. We didn’t start out as instant perfect Christian. I am still not perfect. But I have grown by leaps and bounds from where I started. We need to give people room for God to grow them too.

This post today is a long way of saying, If we do all we can to walk in the ways of the Lord. If we desire above all to do His will and be what He created us to be and ask him to show us the next step on our journey, God will not hide the truth from us. Ask him for HIS Truth, not man’s truth. Not traditions of a denomination. God’s truth. Because he is the only one coming back someday. The only one returning for a unified body. I want to be ready according to His ways.

Until next time,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

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LETTING GO

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The title of today’s episode is: LETTING GO

I am going to share something with you. It is possible to carry things in our lives that we do not even know we are carrying. Over time we experience things that we are not sure how to process or are too painful to deal with at the time. We bury them deep in our hearts.

I felt like I had suffered an offense over thirty years ago. I didn’t really think about it, until something happened, and my feelings came flooding out of my mouth. I was shocked that I had been carrying that bitterness for over thirty years.

Recently, I have been asking God to really search me and get rid of everything that is not of him. I want to be free of bitterness, offense and anything else that will get in my way of doing what God wants me to do.

The word bitterness means: disappointment and resentment at being treated unfairly.

Jesus was treated more unfairly than anyone, yet he had enough love to say, father forgive them they know not what they do. We need to ask God to remove our weights and fill the space with his love.

I often say that we are only capable of carrying so much. For example: If you were only capable of carrying ten pounds. You carry five pounds of bitterness. Three pounds of hurt and offense. Two pounds of all of your responsibilities of life. There is not any room left for anything that God wants to give you to carry. We need to empty our life of unnecessary weight. Then we will be down to the two pounds of responsibilities of everyday life. That leaves eight pounds of room for the things God wants to give to us to carry.

We have to empty our hands so we can lift them up for him to fill. In the days in which we are living, we have to be free to run the race that he needs for us to run. If everyone was bogged down with things that cause offense, bitterness none of us would have room to do the will of God.

Eph 4:31-32 Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: 32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.

Striving to forgive others sometimes is not easy. In the case of my situation from yesterday. I feel like I have been able to release it to God. I have asked him to cleanse me of the bitterness and offence.

In some cases, the weight of hurt and offense can even cause us to have physical sickness in our bodies. Unforgiveness and bitterness can be like venom or poison to our souls. This has been scientifically proven. Feelings and emotions can show up in physical ways. We cannot show God’s love if we are bitter. To truly walk in God’s love, we have to be fully free.

I am so grateful that God revealed this resentment and bitterness so that I could get rid of it. If someone would have told me that I was carrying that much bitterness and resentment. I would have had to give it serious thought, then would have probably said, No I am fine. These things are buried deep most of the time. It takes God to bring them to light.

Ask yourself, do I have any unforgiveness or bitterness? Is there anything in me that I need to ask God to remove. He can and will set us free, we just have to be willing to ask him for his help to forgive and let go.

We all have a race to run; time is short. We cannot be held back by these emotions; we need to be able to carry what God has for us; souls depend on us running our race well.

Until next time,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

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GET FOCUSED

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The title of today’s episode is: GET FOCUSED

We all need reminded from time to time, just how good our God is to us. We often take for granted our relationship with him. When the days flow seamlessly into one another and there are no major things going on, we get comfortable. We begin to lose our focus on God.

Sometimes God allows trials to strengthen us, other times it is to wake us up and remind us he is there. We get into a routine or our comfort zone. It is easy to get distracted by the things of life. This is why I am always encouraging you to keep your God focus. When we focus on him, we are aligning our hearts with the heart of God. Suddenly, we start to think like him about things. We will call sin, sin and not sugar coat the truth of God. We will want to tell people the truth of God’s word to help them find their walk with him.

Encouraging them to align with God and focus on him, will give them the direction that they need to find everything from forgiveness of sin to an abundant life in Christ.

Psalm 97:9 For thou, Lord, art high above all the earth: thou art exalted far above all gods.

We need to have our God Focus on the one true and living God. The earth is full of gods and idols. But there is only one Jesus. He is the only one that died for our sins. He is the only one worthy of being worshipped.

Psalm 97:10 Ye that love the Lord, hate evil: he preserveth the souls of his saints; he delivereth them out of the hand of the wicked.

If we love the Lord, we will hate evil. We are to hate the sin but have compassion on the souls of those who commit sin. However, people come to a place with God that he no longer tries to draw them to him. He will call and call for them to yield to his authority. But after so many rejections, God will give up on them.

He will keep safe the souls of his saints. He will deliver us out of our troubles. He will deliver us out of the hand of the wicked. It doesn’t matter how many are against us, if God is for us.

Psalm 97:11 Light is sown for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart. 12 Rejoice in the Lord, ye righteous; and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness.

We need to give thanks to the Lord when we remember what a holy God we serve. If we can just keep our God Focus. Everything else will work out. Focus on how good God is and what he has done for us. He has a way of leading us right where we need to be, when we focus on him.

It is time for the body of Christ to gain some focus on the important things and get rid of the religion. Get rid of legalism in the church. Religion and legalism puts us in the same category as the Pharisees. They missed Jesus because they were so wrapped up in legalism and religion.

I love chapter six of Isaiah, he had a vision of he Lord. I often think about this and try to picture it in my mind. It is about God cleansing his people. It touches me to think about the angels flying and singing, “Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.”

Worship goes a long way to help us focus on God. When we lift up our hands in praise, we are drawing closer to God. Worship sets the atmosphere for God to touch our spirits and lift us up. Praise and worship are the way we can move into the flow of the Spirit of God to be refreshed in Him.

It’s all about the cross, it’s all about his precious blood that he shed. It is about how he fills us with his Spirit and makes us new. He will keep us on the right path, if we keep our focus on him.

In the times we are living, much evil is out in the world. We need to be even more focused on God and his will. We have a harvest to gather before it’s too late. It will never be gathered if we cannot keep our God Focus.

Until next time,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

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CLOSER WALK

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WELCOME TO GOD FOCUS THIS MORNING

The title of today’s episode is: CLOSER WALK

I am stirred in my spirit as I try to write out what I want to share with you today. The old hymn, “Just A Closer Walk With Thee,” has been going through my mind most of the evening. I feel like God is trying to get his people’s attention. He’s saying come up a little higher. Dig a little deeper. Learn of me, know me.

When it is all said and done, he is not going to ask you if you attended a fancy church with stained glass windows. He won’t ask if you pastored a church with 500 or 5000 people in Sunday school. He won’t care how many good deeds and kindnesses we shared. It is not about quantity, it’s about quality time with God. It is about a relationship.

John 8:22-24 Then said the Jews, Will he kill himself? because he saith, Whither I go, ye cannot come. 23 And he said unto them, Ye are from beneath; I am from above: ye are of this world; I am not of this world. 24 I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins.

What will matter is what we believed about Jesus, that we know he is God. Not head knowledge, but heart knowledge and understanding. What will matter is that we are born again of the water and the spirit.

John 3:3-5 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. 4 Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born? 5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

I am often reminded of people in the bible that did out of the box things to get to Jesus. Blind Bartimaeus cried out for him. Everyone one else was quiet, and his loud desperation made them uncomfortable. But sometimes we are in the middle of our struggles we need to cry loudly to Jesus. In spite of what anyone thinks.

The woman with the issue of blood didn’t let people get in her way. She pressed into the crowd to just reach the hem of his garment. She was desperate for healing. He was her only hope.

The problem with the modern-day church is that we are too dignified to cry out to Jesus. Many are afraid of what others think. “My God in Heaven, I pray that the body of Christ can break free from people pleasing.” It is not about other people. It is a personal relationship. If your church and your relationships do not encourage you to dig deeper into the word and draw closer to Jesus Christ. Run, run as if your soul depends on it. Because it very well could. I say this often, surround yourself with people that makes you hungry for God. People who encourage your faith walk.

God gives us a new day, what we give back to him will determine our destiny. “Just a closer walk with thee.” The song writer who wrote those words, was desiring a deeper relationship with God. If we are his children, we should desire a closer walk with him. God could be saying the same thing. He desires a close walk with us too.

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.

We want clean hands and a pure heart. We are not to be double-minded or stuck between two opinions. Today is the day to make up our minds to draw closer to Jesus.

God desired a relationship so much that he came and died on a cross for us. He ascended into heaven and came back in the form of the Holy Ghost to live and dwell within us. If he is in us, how can we get any closer? It is not physically possible, but spiritually feeling that connection to God sometimes is difficult. This is when we start quietly saying, “I want just a closer walk with thee. Grant it Jesus is my plea.” We can have a daily walk that is close, but we have to invest in the relationship. It is about being sold out to the cause of Christ. It is about being willing to step out in faith and not care about what others think.

Are you willing to leave your comfort zone to see someone set free? Are you willing to be rejected by people when you tell them the truth? Until we can set aside our fears, we cannot walk in faith. It is time to say goodbye to the comfort zone.

A closer walk and new adventures of faith are awaiting those who are bold and brave enough to take the next step. Are you one who is brave enough? I am trying to be, I don’t want to miss anything God has for me.

Until next time,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

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ARE WE SO DIFFERENT

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WELCOME TO GOD FOCUS THIS MORNING

The title of today’s episode is: ARE WE SO DIFFERENT?

It is easy to sit in judgement of others if we are not careful. I often read the story of the Children of Israel and shake my head in amazement. God delivered them out of the hand of the enemy and a short time later, they want a golden calf.

They wanted to trade the one true God, Jehovah for a statue with no power. Because they were comfortable with the false God. How often are we comfortable with traditions or things that are not real? We do certain things because it has always been done.

There is a story of a church that always closed one of the blinds on a window before the service started. No one really knew why, but it was part of the routine, before the service that one blind was always closed.

The church got a new pastor, he was young and notice this behavior over several weeks. He started to make inquiries as to why they always closed that one window blind. No one knew, yet each service was closed. They would all say, I don’t know, it’s always been done. Finally, he asked an elderly woman in the church if she knew why.

She said, it was because the sun would reflect through the window and the piano player could not see the sheet music. He looked at the placement of the piano and back the woman. I am not sure how that is possible. She laughed, well the piano used to sit in the other corner.

This illustration is funny because anyone can see that closing the blind with no reason to do it any longer is crazy. But how many things do we do because it has always been done and there is not any biblical reason for us to do them. These traditions people would stand up and fight for, because we have always done them a certain way. The traditions of men become an idol in the believer’s life. When Jesus is the only one qualified to sit on the throne of our lives.

Acts 7:38-41 This is he, that was in the church in the wilderness with the angel which spake to him in the mount Sina, and with our fathers: who received the lively oracles to give unto us: 39 To whom our fathers would not obey, but thrust him from them, and in their hearts turned back again into Egypt, 40 Saying unto Aaron, Make us gods to go before us: for as for this Moses, which brought us out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him. 41 And they made a calf in those days, and offered sacrifice unto the idol, and rejoiced in the works of their own hands.

We are no different today. How often do we rejoice in the work of our own hands. We all have put something or someone before God in our life. This is idolatry, although most of us are not bowing to a golden calf. We still have all put something before God in our lives.

When faced with anything uncomfortable, they wanted to turn around and go back to what was familiar. How quickly they forgot that God had delivered them from bondage. I said all of this to say this, we cannot get too comfortable. We have to be diligent and watchful of our lives.

We cannot allow anything to become more important in our lives than God. We cannot even allow the things we do for God to be more important than the relationship.

Matt 7:21-24 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. 24 Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:

We can do all the right religious things and end up lost. It is about the relationship with the one true God. Take some time to think about the things you do and why you do them. Are you putting God first or are you closing blinds because that is what has always been done. I don’t want to be like the children of Israel, building idols in my life, because I want to stay in my comfort zone. My prayer is that God will help me to get out of the comfort zone and do what he asks of me, even if it is scary. What about you?

Until next time,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

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WALKING IN LOVE

CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO VERSION: https://rumble.com/v59ea25-god-focus-this-morning-ep-152-walking-in-love.html

WELCOME TO GOD FOCUS THIS MORNING

The title of today’s episode is: WALKING IN LOVE

Jesus said, John 14:15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.

As we try to walk out our faith walk, we are to walk in Love. But what does that mean? The church today is full of misconceptions about what it means to walk in love. Many believe that if we are Christians that we are supposed to let others walk all over us and we are to take it. We are supposed to let them trample all over the word of God in the name of love and compassion. Others believe that we are supposed to be door mats and keep quiet about politics and current events because we don’t want to appear difficult and God forbid we offend someone, by telling them the truth. God is a god of justice. It is because of his tender mercies that lightening didn’t strike them all dead in Paris the other evening.

It is ok to be angry over an injustice or people misusing the house of God for evil. Even Jesus ran the money changers out of the temple. We just cannot allow ourselves to be consumed with anger.

Many were going sideways this week over the opening of the Olympics. Some said it wasn’t supposed to be the last supper. Others said it was supposed to be something else. Although those people have souls and we are to have compassion for them, we must tell them the truth. The truth is showing them love. They may not get it, but we are showing them love by telling them the truth.

However, before you think I am being weak minded, Jesus is my life, and it hurts deeply that people would mock him. He endured enough of that when he was on his way to crucifixion. We do not need to allow people to openly mock him and not stand for him.

Gal 6:7-9 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. 8 For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. 9 And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.

God sees all and allows people to only go so far before he steps in and allows people to reap what they sow. When we sow to our flesh, we will reap in many ways hard things that are painful. We will eventually reap an eternity in hell.

If we sow to the spirit and walk in the ways of God, we will reap many blessings and eternal life. Notice it says, God is not mocked. We cannot stand by and allow evil to control our world without at least saying something against it.

But we cannot fall into bitterness, anger, rage, unforgiveness and fear. We have to stand strong and always rebuke with love and compassion. Like I said, those people need God. We have all been guilty of idolatry and sin.

Are you walking in hatred? I am walking in the hatred of the sin. But I do not walk in the hatred of those people. They need prayer that God speaks to them. The very thing they need they are afraid of and mock.

As you get ready for your weekend, think about where you stand. Think about your choices, are you walking in God’s love? Are you walking in bitterness and anger? Do you believe God wants you to be a doormat?

If God didn’t expect us to fight the good fight of faith, why did he give us a sword of his word? It is what we have to use to judge how we react to every situation of life. We are to live godly and walk in love toward all mankind. This is written in the word.

Every verse gives us understanding to be more like God. As we come to the crossroads of God doing something huge in the world, we all have decisions to make about our lives. God is drawing lines and asking which side we are all on, today is the day to chose to be on the Lord’s side. Today is the day of salvation. Tomorrow may be too late. So hold your head high, stand strong, keep fighting the good fight of faith, and always walk in love, telling people the truth.

Until next time,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

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