Tag: faith

REFLECTION

Often the last day of the year, we reflect on the past 12 months. We think about the good and the bad. Some have regrets and fears over things that have happened. This year’s end I want to ask a question: Do you know anyone who is true to their word? The truth is a dying courtesy. Very few people today are true to their word.

God is always true to his word; if he says it is going to rain, get your umbrella. If He says He is going to come again for His people, He will. Learning to depend upon His word is part of our walk as Christians. I think this was easier in ways for generations gone by because most men were true to their word, unlike today, when few people are honest and walk with integrity.

I try to take a few minutes to reflect on the lessons I have learned over the past year. I try to think about where I fell short of doing what God asked of me. I spend some time praying that the year ahead will bring me to a deeper walk in Christ. I don’t make resolutions like most people because I have found that they are normally broken by February. This is why I chose to reflect. This year, I included a flip through my prayer/ bible study journal to help me reflect.

As you reflect on this year’s end, remember what God has brought you through. Remember how much he loves you. Look to the new year with hope that no matter what happens in this life, God is true to his word. He will save, heal and deliver his people. 2024 is a year to expect great things from God. Remember that it doesn’t matter how scary things look, we walk by faith. There is nothing we face that God cannot see us through.

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

SYMPTOM OR CAUSE?

We often see people and we judge them by how they appear to be. We see their actions and judge them to be evil. In reality, they have let Satan move in and guide their life. Often, what we see is the symptoms and not the cause. We try to change people’s symptoms, instead of introducing them to the one who can cure them.

Look at Mark Chapter 5. There is a story about a man that had a legion of evil spirits (sent by Satan). People judged this man by his actions. He was naked, he cut himself with stones. He had great strength because he had broken chains and fetters. The people were afraid of him.

Mark 5:15 And they come to Jesus, and see him that was possessed with the devil, and had the legion, sitting, and clothed, and in his right mind: and they were afraid.

Then they were afraid because Jesus had the power to get rid of the unclean spirits. They knew he was different because he was clothed and in his right mind, sitting calmly. Often, people try to get others to change the way they dress, speak or act. But when someone truly meets Jesus, the change that comes on the inside will show on the outside.

All the people around knew that this man was different. The big question on their minds was why and how? Once people learn how and why we are different, they will want to follow Christ, too. But we have to allow Christ to work in us to make us different from the world.

When you look at someone who needs Jesus, who is not living a moral life, don’t look at them with judgment. Look at them with compassion, knowing what you see is a symptom and not a cause. Everyone grows at their own pace, none of us are perfect. We have to allow God to do a work in us. We have to allow him to do a work in others. Be encouraged, if you have lost loved ones. Jesus can still change the cause of their symptoms.

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS.

COMING JAN 1, 2024 I am launching my YouTube channel. There will be short daily devotional videos and longer teachings as God leads. Follow the link to subscribe to my channel. https://www.youtube.com/@AngelaDempsey-xy9ny

PREPARING FOR A STORM

Mar 4:37 And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship so that it was now full. Mar 4:38 And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish? Mar 4:39 And he arose and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. Mar 4:40 And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith? Mar 4:41 And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?

I often write about peace in the middle of the storm. Because there is almost never a day that goes by without someone asking for prayer because they are in the middle of some kind of storm. All around us, people are suffering and dealing with great big problems. However, we should never think that Jesus is asleep in our boats. He is ever vigilant, always looking out for us. Just because he hasn’t answered, or calmed the storm, doesn’t mean he doesn’t care. He is waiting for the right time to calm the sea.

There are things we can do before the storm comes. Think about what people do when a Hurricane is heading to their location. They go into preparedness mode. They get batteries, bottled water, and supplies in case of power outages. They put boards over their windows to protect the glass from flying debris.

We can sense that something is brewing on the horizon. The enemy will often give himself away before he sends a massive storm. We can prepare ourselves to be ready for attack by putting on the whole armor of God. (EPH 6). We can pray for God to help us face what is ahead of us. Ask for him to make our path straight and for him to light that path. Get in the Word and allow him to prepare us to be strong. Prayer is the final step to prepare us for the storms that try to come into our lives. We can declare that the storms will not overtake us. We can declare that God is our deliverer.

Isaiah 54:17 -No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, saith the LORD.

God doesn’t want us to fear the storms that blow into our lives. Sometimes it looks really scary, like a tornado would look. But God is always there to see us through the storm. So hold on and keep believing that he will one day calm the storm. He will speak peace at just the right time.

Trust in the Lord and do not look at how things appear to be; we walk by faith. We can overcome any storm if we walk in faith; God will direct our path.

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

GARMENTS OF PRAISE

ISAIAH 61:1-3 The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; 2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; 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.

Lately, a lot of people that I know have been dealing with a spirit of heaviness. Evil seems to press in from all directions. It doesn’t take much discernment to understand what is going on. The enemy is fighting hard because he is about to lose his control over our world. The Lord is about to release the Spirit on this earth.

As Christians we are all called to witness to the world. We are to bind up the brokenhearted and proclaim freedom to the captive. We can help people be set free from the captivity of the evil one. Everyone is in prison unless you are a set free child of God. We can be the one to help them find the key to unlock their prison. Jesus is the key.

He is there to help us have peace in our troubles. JOHN 16:33 These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world. We have no reason to fear. There is nothing that we have facing us that we cannot make it through as long as we are with Him.

We cannot allow the spirit of heaviness to overtake us. It is a real thing to feel down and like the weight of the world is on our shoulders. The world is un chaos, but he is going to give us beauty for ashes. As things in this life seems to be burning down our lives, God will take the ashes and make from it something beautiful.

He will wrap us in the garments of praise to overcome the spirit of heaviness. Anytime we are pressed down and feel like the world is on our shoulders, we can start to praise and worship. As our worship invites God’s presence, he will lift that heaviness off us. He will restore joy to us. I encourage you to put on the garments of praise and have quiet, alone time with Him. He will deliver us from all our fears. Remember, we walk by faith and not by sight. It doesn’t matter how much the enemy tries to press in on us and destroy us. We have nothing to fear, because God is with us.

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

Do you have a slave mentality?

The Children of Israel that came out of Egypt numbered over 600,000 men. This was not counting women and children. The Pharaoh took his army of 600 chariots after them. Each chariot normally held one person. The word doesn’t say if there were any men on horseback. But needless to say, the Israelites seriously outnumbered the Egyptians. They could have gone to war and defended themselves.

Instead, they complained that Moses had brought them out into the desert to die. They were afraid of the Egyptians. They still had a slave mentality. They didn’t understand who they were and who had been watching over them. Even after the ten plagues of Egypt, they could not grasp that God would protect them. They had been slaves their whole lives and it wasn’t easy to realize they were free.

We have been held captive by satan. He is like the Pharaoh he doesn’t want to let us go. He is so evil he wants to take as many souls as possible to hell with him. Even though cartoons and television shows depict him as being in charge of hell, this is not biblically accurate. He will be there to be punished.

Satan has only the power we allow him to have over us. Just like Egypt used fear to control the children of Israel; satan uses fear to control us. He tries to keep us bound with fear. We have a blood covenant with God almighty, which gives us power over our oppressor.

Luke 10:19 Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.

We are given power over the enemy. God is on our side. He is our protector and savior. He will never allow the enemy to overtake us. We have the power to let our flesh overpower us and give in to the enemy. Because God gives us free will. It all comes down to us. Do we have a slave mentality? Are we going to believe in the enemy’s words or God’s? Are we going to let the flesh fear the enemy?

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

I have often heard the second part of this verse. Resist the devil and he will flee. But if we are not submitted to God, we will not have the power we need to resist the devil. The children of Israel had not learned how to submit to God. They let their fear be bigger to them than the fact that God had delivered them from the ones they feared.

We cannot allow our fear of the enemy to keep us bound. God has set us free. Freedom is scary sometimes if we have spent a long time in bondage. God will break off our shackles if we ask him to set us free. But because we have been bound so long, they have become a part of us. We have a hard time knowing who we are when we are free. Like the children of Israel, at the first sign of trouble, we want to go back to bondage.

The path of least resistance never leads anywhere worthwhile. This is why we need to stand strong and resist the devil. The understanding that we are free is a realization that every Christian needs to get a full grasp.

John 8:36 – If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.

It is time to shake off the shackles. Resist the devil. Embrace the freedom we have as God’s children. We are free because he made us free through and by the blood of Jesus. We have no reason to fear the enemy.

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

ONE MOMENT

Life would be amazing if everyone was as happy as they appear on social media. For the most part, we only post the good stuff. But it is only a snapshot of our lives. It only shows who we are in that moment. One moment is not a complete picture.

We often feel like we do not measure up to other Christians. We watch as other people do what we know we are called to do, and it is intimidating. But we need to remember first that we should not compare ourselves to others for two main reasons. One, if we see someone we aspire to be like, we will feel inadequate and never wish to try to do what we are called to do. If we feel superior, we run the risk of being self-righteous and judgmental, and not seeking God’s plan for our lives because we can do it on our own. If it is truly a calling of God, it will not be a cakewalk, especially at first. It will always be something that causes us to step out of our comfort zones.

That being said, we should never look at someone else and wonder if we will ever get to where they are because we are looking at only one moment in time. For example, I know I talk a lot about my grandfather; he was a powerful man of God. By the time I was born, he had been preaching for almost twenty years.

I never knew the man he was at twenty-two that said he couldn’t even testify. He knew he was called to preach. He said he would study a testimony, and when he stood up, he would go blank. I can sort of relate to the story. When I see the red light on a video camera, I go blank; that is why I must read everything. He said one night, he got up to testify and God took over; he was on the floor for about twenty minutes. After that, he never had any trouble with what to say. He had learned to yield to God and His plan for his life.

Walking out God’s plan is not easy. If it were easy, we could do it on our own; we wouldn’t need God. I didn’t see the young man who went to the woods with his bible and prayed for God to give him a revelation. I didn’t see the moments of hardship, moments of triumph, or any of the things he walked through to make him that powerful man of God. I only saw the result.

We can’t look at someone else and compare where we are walking right now. Who knows what our walk will look like a year from now, five years from now? Only God knows what he is going to do with our lives. Only God knows what he will allow in our lives to make us stronger.

We look at that person who is anointed to sing and we are often in awe. We think, “Oh, to sing like that,” but we are only seeing one moment. We do not see all the times they hit their knees in prayer that God would give them an anointing to stir people’s hearts. We don’t see the countless hours of practice and planning. We don’t see the work involved; we only see that one moment.

We see a prayer warrior cut loose with a prayer that gives you goosebumps, and you feel like fire is going to fall from heaven. Their words are precise and powerful. They intercede with precision. We stand in awe of such a prayer. We feel like we are puny and cannot even pray. That is only a moment in time. We do not see all the hours of prayer that gave them the ability to move heaven. We do not see the painful things that they have walked through to get them to the place where they pray with such bold authority.

On the other hand, we should not judge someone by the moment that they make a mistake. It is easy to look at them and judge them for not having better control. But we don’t know what they have endured and what made them make the choices they made. We may make the same choices under the same circumstances.

I Cor 10:12 Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.

This verse is a warning to not think that we are so perfect that we could never make a mistake. When we get to the point that we are so holy that we cannot make a mistake, God has a way of allowing satan to come in with just the right temptation to cause us to fall. I don’t ever want to be found guilty of judging someone in their one moment of weakness. Because we do not see all the times that they are strong. Judging someone for one moment in their life is like judging a book by one sentence. That one moment is not the full picture. Just like one sentence cannot give all the details of a book.

Peter denied Jesus; in the moment that he did, some would judge him to be unworthy of God’s forgiveness. But Jesus didn’t let one moment of weakness define Peter. He gave him the keys to the kingdom. Jesus called Peter a rock. Jesus knew how strong Peter was and would be in the future.

It is easy to get caught up in one moment and forget that life is a journey. We are not meant to stay stuck in a moment. But we are to make the most of every moment we have been given. We are supposed to forget the things that are behind us and press forward.

If you find yourself in the middle of a regretful moment where you’ve made a mistake. Do not let it define you. If you find yourself in the middle of trying to step into a new calling. Don’t let it hold you back. It only takes one moment of faith to propel us into the future of who we are and are becoming.

NO ONE COMPARES

I Cor 12:14-18 For the body is not one member, but many. 15 If the foot shall say, Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body; is therefore not of the body. 16 And if the ear shall say, Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body? 17 If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing? Where were the smelling? 18 But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body as it hath pleased him.

Notice verse 18 God hath set the members in the body the way he wishes. We have to accept the perfect will of God. Sometimes we look at other people’s callings and they look more glamorous than our own. But when God was creating each of us, he made us with the talent and temperament to walk in our calling.

If you compare yourself to others, it is easy to get down on yourself. Sure, everyone would like to have the perceived glamour jobs in the body. What people don’t often understand is the day-to-day, behind-the-scenes things people do. Every function in the body is important. We all needed to see this lost world saved. The harvest is ready; what if everyone wanted to drive the truck to the storage barn. No one wanted to pick the fruit of the harvest. Nothing would get accomplished.

Life is better if we just do what God has asked of us and allow everyone else to do the same. The plan will all come together because God is a master at planning. We all have a task to do for the end-time harvest. What is yours? If you know, go and do it with all your heart; souls are depending on it. If you don’t know yet, that is ok too. Seek His face and all will be revealed to you at the right time.

Comparing ourselves to others can cause harm in two different ways. One, if you feel like others are better than you, you are in danger of the enemy causing you to give up. You may feel like you will never measure up.

Two, if you feel like you are above others, you are in danger of developing a superior attitude. You may feel like you have arrived and will quit trying. This could also make you judgmental. Life is best when we are just simply who we were created to be by God.

Remember, you are fearfully and wonderfully made; there is no one like you. So don’t waste your time trying to be someone else.

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

GET UP

You know, sometimes we feel like that; we are one mistake away from God doing a facepalm and saying, “Uh, I’m so done with them. They just make too many mistakes. They fall down too many times. They’re just not what I thought.” Because that’s how we get with people sometimes.

People often test our limits, and we’re like, “I just can’t deal with them anymore. Not one more thing can I deal with when it comes to them.” Then, we tend to walk away from people, which gets us to the point of being so exasperated that we just can’t take one more thing.

But God never feels that way about us. He sees the potential of what we can be. He sees our worth as far greater than we can see in ourselves. He never shakes his head and goes, “I just don’t know what I’m gonna do with them. I just can’t believe they have done that.” Again, He’s not surprised by anything. He knows everything. He knows why we make the choices we make. It’s because of some trauma or experience in our past. Most of the time, we have a tendency to react instead of stopping and thinking about what we should do? It is easy to just react. But sometimes, we lack self-control when those situations arise.

But God has never been surprised. Nothing we do shocks him. And you know He says, if we are His child, “I will never leave you, forsake you, or fail you.”

Deut 31:6 Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the Lord thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.

Heb 13:5 6 Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the Lord thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.

I am so grateful that God shows us grace when we fail. I am so glad he doesn’t give up on me. Over the years, many people have disappointed us, hurt us, taken advantage of us, and lied to us. It is a great comfort to know that we are in good hands with Jesus. We can trust his hands because they are nail-scarred for us.

James 4:10 10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.

There is not anywhere we can end up that God is to able to save us. We cannot fall too far for him to pick us up. We often talk about how we are not supposed to judge God’s children. Have you ever stopped to think about how that includes yourself?

I have, at times, been very hard on myself. This is a trick of the enemy. If he can keep us distracted by being hard on ourselves, then we will not be doing what we need to do.

Gal 6:1-2 Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. 2 Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.

If we do what God wants us to do when others fail or fall down, we pick them back up. Then we also ought to pick ourselves back up, when we fall. God is not ready to give up on us. We should not give up either.

Zeph 3:17- 17 The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing.

He rejoices over us. He is not ready to throw in the towel and walk away as long as we try. He knows our hearts. I love this verse; it makes me think about how a parent rocks a baby to sleep. Holding them close and quietly singing over them. That singing brings peace to the child.

We have peace through Jesus Christ because He loves us. We can depend on him to be with us.

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

Why Does God Allow Evil?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

THE LESSON(S) OF ALONE

JOB 23:8-10 Behold, I go forward, but he is not there; and backward, but I cannot perceive him: (9) On the left hand, where he doth work, but I cannot behold him: he hideth himself on the right hand, that I cannot see him: (10) But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.

Lately, I have had several friends comment that they feel like God is not near to them. They say they cannot feel his presence. I have been there at times in my spiritual walk with God. I understand how it can feel like you are alone. Job probably felt this more strongly than any of us.

God allowed him to be tested by the enemy. In that test, he proved to be true and faithful. As gold tried in the fire. When gold ore is mined out of the ground, it has a lot of minerals, dirt and impurities. The ore has to be put into an extremely hot fire and melted. During the melting process, dirt and other impurities cannot withstand the fire. They burn up.

The story of the three Hebrew men who were put into the fiery furnace by King Nebuchadnezzar. This is a literal example of how we are often tested. But they did not fear the fire. They knew their God would deliver them. We must know that “OUR GOD” will deliver us out of the fire.

Zec 13:9 And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The LORD is my God.

Do not allow the trials of life or the feeling that you are all alone to cause you to fear or worry. God is right there with you. He was with the three Hebrew men in the fiery furnace; he was with Job when he felt alone; he will be with you, too.

Sometimes, like Job, we have miserable comfort. People mean well but do not have the right perspective and their advice is not always sound. We must always filter other’s advice with a bible filter. In other words, does their advice line up with God’s word? Is it sound according to what I believe God is telling me or has told me in the past.

Other times, God will isolate us from people too. This could be because of a season of transition for us. He is preparing us for the next level in him. The distraction of people will often taint this process, so God isolates us from the influence.

I Peter 1:7 That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:

There are many in-depth studies out there about gold and the way it is processed. The process is compared to our walk with God. I will not take the time to go into great detail here. However, it is something interesting to dig deeper into if you have time. I hope I have said enough about the process to encourage you that if you faint not, you will reap in faith and blessings.

Look at the story of Job; when he was done with the process, God abundantly blessed him. I think that many times, the trial is taking out something within us that will hinder our next level of God’s presence and blessing. Until it is gone, whatever it may be, we cannot level up. Embrace the times of isolation. He is there even when you don’t feel His presence or see His hand moving.

Keep on being faithful to what God has given you to do, even in times of isolation.

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