Tag: God Focus

EPISODE 293 ARISE OUT OF SLEEP

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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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BOUNDARIES

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WELCOME TO GOD FOCUS THIS MORNING

The title of today’s episode is: BOUNDARIES

When I was in elementary school, I got really upset with my parents because they would not allow me to go home with a friend after school. She had been to my house a few times, and my parents didn’t mind. I didn’t understand, why my parents would set that boundary. They knew something I didn’t know, her mom was a drug dealer. I can only imagine the dangers I could have been in if they had let me go to her house. As an adult, it is actually a scary thought. I am sad to say that she didn’t have boundaries that she passed away at least ten years ago. I wonder if she would have still been here, if her mother had set boundaries for her.

I am glad I grew up with boundaries. Many children today do not have parents that care to set boundaries for them. The parents are too self-absorbed with their own lives and leave the smart phones to educate and entertain their children. They are allowed to do whatever they want, without boundaries.

We have laws and rules in our society to keep people safe. For example: People put fences and signs around their swimming pools to protect neighborhood kids from drowning. But to the kids that just seems like they are being mean to them.

God gave Adam and Eve one boundary. Do not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. In his wisdom and understanding, he knew what would happen. They were disobedient and broke God’s boundaries. Sin and chaos came into the world. They were innocent in their understanding. They had no idea how dangerous it would be to eat the fruit of that tree. But God did.

The world thinks they are having a good time, running around doing all sorts of sinful things. They think that God is either being unfair because he doesn’t want them to have any fun or he just wants to be a dictator.

Like my parents, God gives us boundaries out of love for us. He knows the price of sin and that it is extremely high. The price of sin was to watch as Jesus suffered a brutal beating and crucifixion. This price he paid to restore the boundaries lost by Adam and Eve. Jesus’ blood put us back on the innocent side of the equation. If we do not accept God’s work of the cross and continue down the road of sin, we will pay with our souls. That is an extremely high price to pay for a moment of sin.

Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

We can set boundaries for ourselves. If we struggle in an area of life, we may add an extra layer of protection. But we have to be careful not to make that layer a religion. Not everyone will need that extra layer you choose to place on yourself. Religion is one of the biggest tools of the enemy. Religion divides God’s people when we get wrapped up in traditions of men.

I often say that we need to be careful who we allow in our inner circle or sphere of influence. Life is about boundaries. We need them and it is ok to set them. If you have someone in your life who is dragging you down, it is ok to distance yourself from them. Some people are like a vampire, sucking all the joy and energy from your life. Pray for them and love them from a distance, unless God leads you differently.

Prov 13:20 He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed.

If we surround ourselves with wise people, we will become wise. People that dig into the word of God for guidance and wisdom. If we are surrounded with corrupt people that do not live within the boundaries of God’s word. We will be influenced to go down a wrong road eventually.

Prov. 27:17 Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.

When we walk the road of life with wise people, we will be able to smooth off the edges of the others like an iron file does a blade. This process will sharpen the knife, and smooth down the file. Both will be changed. The knife will be ready to use for the purpose it was created. The same goes for us. Walking within the boundaries of God’s plan will help us to be ready to do what he created us to do. Having true friends will make the journey sweeter. They will tell us the truth, even when it hurts. This will help us to stay within our boundaries.

So do not despise the boundaries that God has set for us in his word. In his wisdom, he does know what is best for us, even when we don’t see it.

Until next time,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

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DECEPTION AND DISCERNMENT

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WELCOME TO GOD FOCUS THIS MORNING

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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EPISODE 128–BETTER TO OBEY

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We can count on the Lord to fulfill all of our petitions, as long as we pray according to his will. There is divine timing for everything. We often talk about how God said to stand still and see his salvation. It is like the children of Israel that I keep going back to, they were trapped, when God told them to stand still and see his salvation. But when the sea parted, they had something to do. They had to move forward.

If they had not moved when the God gave them the answer, they would have been overtaken by the enemy. They would not have seen God destroy their enemy. But as soon as the water parted, they crossed on dry land. God not only made a way of escape, but he knew that their carts and wagons would get stuck easily in mud, so he made the seabed dry.

Psalm 20:5-6 We will rejoice in thy salvation, and in the name of our God we will set up our banners: the Lord fulfil all thy petitions. 6 Now know I that the Lord saveth his anointed; he will hear him from his holy heaven with the saving strength of his right hand.

God is there to save us out of our troubles. But often there are things we need to do. We need to be ready to move, when God says move. God sometimes will ask things of us that will make a huge impact on our future.

Think about the story of Elisha. The king of Syria had a servant named, Naaman. He had leprosy and he travelled a long distance to Elisha. But Elisha didn’t come out and anoint him with oil. He didn’t pray for hours over him. Elisha sent his servant to tell him to go and wash in the Jordan River, seven times.

2 Kgs 5:10-12 And Elisha sent a messenger unto him, saying, Go and wash in Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean. 11 But Naaman was wroth, and went away, and said, Behold, I thought, He will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of the Lord his God, and strike his hand over the place, and recover the leper. 12 Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? may I not wash in them, and be clean? So he turned and went away in a rage.

Sometimes, we get the answer we are seeking from God. But if it doesn’t come in the form we thought, we can get into our emotions and miss it. God was trying to remove some of his arrogance by making him humble himself and wash in the dirty river.

He almost missed his miracle because he didn’t want to wash in that river. Often God doesn’t ask great big things of us. He will ask small things. But he still expects our obedience.

2 Kgs 5:13-14 And his servants came near, and spake unto him, and said, My father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it? how much rather then, when he saith to thee, Wash, and be clean? 14 Then went he down, and dipped himself seven times in Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God: and his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.

Naaman was excited and returned to Elisha to give him gifts. But Elisha refused and sent him on his way. What if Naaman had not listened to his servant? What if he had not dipped in the river? He would not have been made whole. Sometimes we have to set aside our ideas about how God will move and just stand still and let him move.

I love the point the servant makes to him, if he had asked something difficult for you to do, would you not do it? How many times do we do this to God? He leads us to do something, and we complain, because it doesn’t fit into our box of what we think he would ask of us.

Our faith walk is all about timing. Witnessing to the lost is all about timing, God’s timing. That is why we need to be led by the Spirit. God will sometimes tell us to wait. But when he says move, we need to not hesitate.

When going for a walk with my dog, Scout has been trained that when I say Hold, he will most of the time sit at my feet and wait. All the time, he looks up at me to give the command. When I say Ok…go, he knows it means to run across the road to the other side. He never hesitates to run when I say OK..go. Although I have a harness and leash on him, for his protection, it is easier when he is obedient.

God has control of our situations, too. But he expects us to Hold and wait on Him. He expects us to listen for his command of OK. We should be ready to run with whatever we have been given to do when God says Go. Scout never complains about me telling him OK…go. He never questioned why I decided to go at that particular moment. He is just obedient.

The body of Christ is in a hold pattern right now, the church is at a Red Sea moment. God is telling us to stand still and see his salvation. But soon it will be go time and we will have to run into the fields to harvest souls. God is in control, it doesn’t matter how scary things appear. He will protect his people from the enemy.

Psalm 20:7-8 Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the Lord our God. 8 They are brought down and fallen: but we are risen, and stand upright.

The enemy will be brought down, but we are risen and stand upright. Why are we standing upright? We are ready to run when the Lord says to move. It is important that we know his voice. We will only listen to his command and not the command of the enemy.

I Sam15:1-3 Samuel also said unto Saul, The Lord sent me to anoint thee to be king over his people, over Israel: now therefore hearken thou unto the voice of the words of the Lord. 2 Thus saith the Lord of hosts, I remember that which Amalek did to Israel, how he laid wait for him in the way, when he came up from Egypt. 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.

Saul took an army and went against Amalek. But he didn’t obey the word of the Lord. He saved the king and some of the animals. After God telling him that they were not to spare anything, not even the animals.

I Sam 15:9 But Saul and the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep, and of the oxen, and of the fatlings, and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them: but every thing that was vile and refuse, that they destroyed utterly.

I Sam 15:22-24 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. 24 And Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned: for I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord, and thy words: because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice.

When Samuel the prophet questioned King Saul, he said he didn’t destroy them because he feared the people. How many times do people today disobey God because they fear man above God. We need to pray and search ourselves to make sure that we are strong enough to stand before men and refuse to not put their opinion above God.

It was at that moment that he lost the anointing to be King. God ripped it from his hand. He sat in the seat for a long time after that, but the anointing was gone and he could not any longer operate the way God chose him too.

We too can lose our anointing if we allow people to stand in our way. We have to know that we hear God’s voice and most of all be obedient to His voice. Samuel told Saul it is better to obey God than to sacrifice.

It is time for us to search our lives and ask, “Am I being obedient to the voice of God? Do I follow his word?”

I will leave you this with verse:

Psalm 128:1 Blessed is every one that feareth the Lord; that walketh in his ways.

Until next time,

Be Bold, Be Brave and Keep Your God Focus

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EPISODE 118 — SEARCHING THE HEART

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WELCOME TO GOD FOCUS THIS MORNING

The title of today’s episode is: SEARCHING THE HEART

King David’s writing is my go-to for encouragement. The Psalms are full of his humanity and humility. He was not perfect; he made a lot of mistakes like we all do. But what he lacked in making good decisions he made up for in heart. He had a heart of worship.

Some believe your works will save you and they go about doing good. They work in soup kitchens and raise money for homeless shelters. It is nice to do all sorts of things like this, some are called to that work by God. Others are called to work in nursing homes to take care of our elders. But no good deed will save you.

We have access to God’s spirit and rebirth only through and by the blood of Jesus. But that doesn’t mean that once we are born again that we can sit down and do nothing until Jesus comes. He will lead us to our calling. We are created for a purpose; we must walk in our purpose. We are all supposed to go out and lead the lost to Christ.

Psalms 139:23-24 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.

David asked God to search his heart. This is something we need to do from time to time. Because things happen over time that we hang on to and don’t even realize it. We can develop envy, jealousy, hurt feelings or offense and bitterness. Often, we do not even realize that we are holding onto offense.

All of these things can get in the way of us being fully effective in our callings. It is good to take inventory from time to time and ask God to search our hearts. Tell him to expose any root of bitterness, hate, jealousy. The Proverbs are full of what happens when we are not wise in our faith walk.

Heb 12:15 Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled;

One example of the root of bitterness is the story of Cain and Abel. If Cain had not let bitterness take root in him. Then it would not have festered and turned into hate and then to murder of his own brother.

Cain had several opportunities to turn from his bitterness. God wanted Cain to surrender to him. Cain believed that God loved Abel more, because he accepted his offering. God loved Cain as much as he did Abel. He blessed Abel for his faithfulness. He would have blessed Cain too if he had surrendered to God. But instead, he held onto offense until it became bitterness. Many carry things for a long time until they don’t even realize they are jealous, envious, bitter or are carrying hate. Sometimes we carry the heaviness so long it becomes a part of us.

This is why we have to look diligently and search our lives to make sure we are not carrying things we were not designed to carry. Think of it this way. The maximum capacity of weight you can carry is one hundred pounds. If you are carrying forty pounds of bitterness and thirty pounds of jealousy you only have thirty pounds of capacity left to carry everything else, joy, responsibilities of everyday life, your family obligations and last but not least your calling of God. If we can get rid of the bitterness and jealousy, that leaves more room to carry the good things.

There are things that God wishes to give us, but our hands are not open to receive. Our hands are full of all these things we need to release. Many need to release man’s religion to make room for God’s plan and relationship. We need to ask God to empty our lives of anything that is not pleasing to Him. So he can fill us up to capacity with his love and light.

Sickness can be caused by lots of things. Sometimes, however, it is caused by the physical manifestation of what is inside; our pain and bitterness. These emotions can be powerful and will make us sick if we cannot learn to let go.

Bitterness ties us to a situation like being unforgiving keeps us chained to a situation. Being bitter and angry can have long term effects on our health. When God tells us to put away bitterness, anger and unforgiveness, it is for our good.

This is where we have to ask God to give us the strength and power to lay down what is potentially harming us. I often pray “Empty me of me and fill me with more of you.” As we walk in the fruit of the spirit and not in our flesh we will find true freedom. If we can learn to search our hearts.

Until next time,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

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EPISODE 116 — I SURRENDER ALL

WELCOME TO GOD FOCUS THIS MORNING

The title of today’s episode is: I SURRENDER ALL

There is much to be said about the lyrics of old hymns. These words were inspired by God and peoples relationship with Him. We sing, “I surrender all.” My question is do we really surrender all or are we holding back. This song was written by a man in the late 1800’s. His name was Judson Van DeVenter. He had a passion for art and a passion for God. He was called to preach and wrestled with what to do. One night he came to the conclusion that he had to leave the art world behind and preach the gospel. He wrote the lyrics to “I surrender all.”

This old song and many others have been sang among congregations for years. But do we actually listen to the words. “I surrender all” other phrases like “all to him I freely give”. What are we surrendering? What are we giving him? Are we singing words or do we mean them? Do we fully surrender to Him?

I think at times we do fully surrender. But then over time we take back pieces of ourselves from God. It is a daily decision to do the right thing. It is a daily surrender.

Luke 9: 23 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.

If we surrender to the will of God each morning and ask for his leading our day will turn out differently than if we get up and allow our flesh to dictate our day. We are sacrificing our fleshly desires for the cause of Christ. That doesn’t necessarily mean sin. Maybe we really want to sleep instead of going to church. Maybe we want to watch Netflix instead of reading our Bible. But we crucify those things and do what will strengthen our spirit man. It will make us more useful to encourage someone else.

For example, what if a friend needs a word of encouragement but by skipping that reading for a clean movie you don’t have the right words.

Other song titles come to mind like Amazing Grace. We know that his grace is beyond anything that we could imagine. Therefore his grace that he gives is amazing.

Many come from the scriptures. Like “His Eye Is On The Sparrow.” It reminds us that God will take care of us. He takes care of the small sparrow, how much more should we trust Him to take care of us.

At Calvary, teaches us to not make light of the great gift of the cross. His mercy was given freely to us. We found freedom at Calvary.

Because He Lives we can face tomorrow. If he had not risen, we would have no hope. Because of the work of the cross we do not have a reason to fear.

We all know that it takes prayer and communication with God to stay on the right path. But how many of us look at prayer like the song, “Sweet Hour Of Prayer”. How many even pray for an hour anymore? I have been guilty of drive by prayers. Those are the ones we say to God in passing. The emergency room prayers, we pray only when there is a desperate need. God wants us to sit in his presence and listen for his voice as well as make known our requests.

In His presence is where we find the strength to face each day. I Surrender All, because of his Amazing Grace. I know that His Eye Is On The Sparrow because of what was done At Calvary. We have Blessed Assurance that Jesus is our Lord.

When life throws us hard things and it seems like everything is crumbling to the ground we can call on Jesus. We know he is greater than the hard things we face. It seems like trouble always comes in bunches. I don’t know if that is true or if we are more sensitive to the things going on because of the stress of the biggest problem.

Jesus has the answer, but it seems like he is not going to share the answer at times. We have to remember he is the master of perfect timing. Think about all the pieces he has to move to make your miracle happen. Sometimes it takes time for all the pieces to fall into place.

He will work it all out in his time. It is our job to surrender all to him. Lord, I surrender this issue to you. Lord, I surrender my will to you. Lord, I surrender my fear of how things will work out. (That is a Big One). We give God something, then we turn around and worry about it. Let me remind you, worry is not faith.

But His mercy is new every day. He anxiously waits for us to wake and talk with him. He wants our fellowship. He is our faithful friend and will not allow the enemy to overtake us. As long as we stand and do not wave the white flag of surrender to the enemy. They only way satan wins is for us to give up. If we stand strong and resist the devil he will have to flee.

We cannot be fully surrendered to God if we are walking by our flesh. It is when we get into our human nature that we get into trouble. If we are not careful, we will find ourselves listening to the whispering of the enemy. This is why it is important to surrender fully to Christ Jesus.

I choose today to serve Jesus and follow him. Every day is a new day, a clean slate to start fresh. If we messed up yesterday, we ask for his awesome forgiveness and press on today.

Heb12:2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Thinking about the work of the cross and what a price Jesus paid for each of us. We should all be saying with conviction and purpose, “I Surrender All To You Jesus.”

Until next time,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

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EPISODE 115 – GOD IS NOT SQUARE

CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO VERSION: https://rumble.com/v5126z7-god-focus-this-morning-episode-115-god-is-not-square.html

WELCOME TO GOD FOCUS THIS MORNING

The title of today’s episode is: GOD IS NOT SQUARE

God is not square or rectangular, therefore he will not fit into a box. God is so big that he can hold the universe in his hand. But he is so small that he can fit inside the smallest heart. But he is not square.

Slang in the 1970’s the word square was used to mean not cool, boring, conventional. Not up with modern times.

Those who would say that God or serving God is not cool are not doing it right. It is exciting to serve God, every day is an adventure. Christians that are yielded to Christ never know what miracle He may work through them that day. God is bigger than any box we could put him into, but religion tries.

Religion says, God only works one way. Religion says there are no more miracles. It says that you cannot go out and witness unless you go through “our program” to learn how. Religion has divided God’s people.

Jesus came to set people free from religion. The Jews had religion, but they didn’t have freedom to enjoy life and really know the heart of God. We have that opportunity because of Christ. Jesus didn’t come to start a religion, he came to start a relationship with mankind.

From the time Adam sinned God had few that he had a real relationship with, most went by man’s ideas of God. He had such love for us, he desired for us to know him, that he came and died for us. All so we would know his heart for mankind.

The body of Christ needs religion broken off of it. Religion says, there are no more prophets. I am here to tell you that there are prophets today. But not everyone that says they are a prophet of God is the real deal. As a matter of fact, many more that claim to be prophets are not true prophets.

How do we know the difference? The word of God says that the Holy Ghost will lead and guide you into all truth. Our Spirit will bear witness to what they are saying. It will always line up with the word of God; Always, no exception.

But people fear the deep things of God. Therefore, religion says God doesn’t talk to people like that today. But then will turn around and say that God told them to go pray for someone. They will say God laid something on their heart to do or say, but cannot stretch their minds to accept that God still has people that operate in the office of the prophet.

Eph 4:11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;

These are offices in which the ministry works. There are still apostles today. They have a special task of planting churches. They are the ones God uses to unite his body.

The Prophets hear from God. They discern the heart of God and hear what he is saying to His Body as a whole. We willing accept the prophecy in the written word. Why would we not accept prophecy from God through a prophet of God? As long as it lines up with the word of God.

We accept that there are evangelist today. These are ministers that are used by God to travel between the churches to be an encouragement, to preach salvation and help bring unity to the body. They can preach the word without apprehension because they do not know people in the congregation as personally as the pastor.

Evangelist most of the time do not hold positions of pastor. They can be pastors short term. A pastor is one that is set over a congregation to be there to help the people to walk closer to God. He is there encourager, their friend, their guide. He is there to warn them if they are making a wrong choice. A pastor is one that feeds the flock and guides them toward Christ.

Then there is the office of teacher. Some ministers are called to dig into the deep things of God. They want to know the little gems hidden in the word of God. They take these revelations and share them with the saint of God. This is so all can come to a deeper knowledge of God.

Eph 4:12-13 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: 13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:

Why did God set the five offices of ministry into the church? For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry and to edify or build up the body of Christ. So we can come into unity of faith and understanding of the Son of God. These different ministries work together as a full ministry to create a strong body that has the fulness of Christ.

I know that some of you will not agree with me. All I ask is that you pray about it. God is trying to break religion of man off of his body. If you have the Holy Ghost allow him to lead you into the fullness of God.

I was raised in a denomination that there were miracles, signs and wonders. But not any denomination is completely right. I have had to break free from a lot of religion myself. I pray every day for God to empty me of me and man’s ideas of him and fill me with only what he wants me to know about Him.

I believe that God is getting ready to start showing up in these miracle ways again. I don’t want people to be too afraid of the move of God that they miss him. My greatest fear is that many people will be too religious to see God. They will be like the Pharisees and not know Jesus, because he doesn’t fit into their religious box.

When people would ask me why I didn’t do certain things I used to tell them it was against my religion. (Shame on me). Now I say it is against the word of God and I try to walk according to the word. I no longer want anything to do with religion, but I do desire a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ.

Religion is the worship of a deity. Many worship false gods and gold statues. But many Christians are not fully following the Real Jesus. They are only following an idea of who he is, one that has been filtered through the lens of religion. Mans ideas and traditions of who he is and not the full picture of the one who loves us so much that he died to have a relationship with us.

I want to end with a prayer today: Dear Lord Jesus, I pray you break the bondage of religion. Bring unity to your body. Help us all to not be so stuck in religion that we miss you. Help us to draw closer to you and really truly know you. Help us to share your heart for the lost and the broken. Help us be the body and not a group of people that say we are the body. Help us to not to try to put you in a box of religion.

Thanks for watching,

Until next time,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

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EPISODE 114 –JUDGMENT BEGINS AT THE HOUSE OF GOD

CLICK HERE FOR THE VIDEO VERSION: https://rumble.com/v50urg6-god-focus-this-morning-episode-114-judgment-begins-at-the-house-of-god.html

WELCOME TO GOD FOCUS THIS MORNING

The title of today’s episode is: “JUDGMENT BEGINS AT THE HOUSE OF GOD ”

I am going to talk to you today about wheat and chaff and wheat and tares. The chaff are people who enjoy the rituals of having faith. They look at church like a social club and not a place to gather and learn of God. They go through the motions but are not fruitful. They never grow fruit. They are an empty shell. The wheat farmers used to toss wheat into the air and the wind would blow away the chaff or husk.

Wheat represents those that have produced full fruit. It is that fruit that is harvested. The rest is thrown away. As we grow in wisdom and knowledge of God’s will and plan, we too become full of fruit. It is a good thing to be growing in the will of God. If you don’t grow, you become stagnate and empty. A husk without fruit.

Then they came to the threshing floor, in ancient times, there was not machinery to separate the wheat fruit from the rest of the plant that had grown. The wheat was extracted from the rest of the plant by beating it on a hard surface that was flat. This was known as the threshing floor. Sometimes they would have oxen pull carts across the wheat to separate the fruit from the chaff.

The threshing floor symbolizes judgment in both the old and new testaments. The prophet Hosea prophesied that God’s judgment would be on Israel because they went after false idols. Hosea said that God’s judgment would scatter them in the wind like the chaff is scattered on the threshing floor.

We all go through persecutions, troubles and trials. God allows each one to make us stronger. He protects us from a lot of stuff we do not even know about, but the things he allows in our lives is to make us more fruitful or spiritual.

We are in fast changing times, God is allowing things to happen that will separate the wheat and the tares. Only the ones with fruit will be left standing. Only those with fruit will be able to be a light and hope to the lost.

I Peter 4:16-19 Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf. 17 For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? 18 And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear? 19 Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator.

We will not be able to bring in a large harvest as long as we are a divided body. There is a harvest that needs us to be who we were created to be by God. Notice verse 17 For the time is come that the judgment must begin at the house of God. He is weary with the preachers that have the fake smile and are only out for their gain. They tell people lies and half truths, because people want a feel good message.

Do we remember the crucifixion? It was not pretty. It was horrible. Jesus didn’t die to give us an ear tickling message every week. Those messages do not transform lives they are like a pacifier. It gives people a sense of comfort, but there is no food to live on and their soul dies a little more every week.

This is not fruitful. The first chapter of the Psalms is all about being fruitful. As we grow in our faith walk, we will produce fruit. Verse Three says we will be like a tree planted by the water and will bring forth fruit in his season. As we bring forth fruit, whatsoever we do will prosper. Verse Four is the opposite of verse three. Verse four is all about how the ungodly are like chaff which is blown away in the wind. We want to be the fruit and not the chaff.

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Another way to look at the church as compared to wheat is when the bible discusses the wheat and tares.

God says let them grow together. In the early stages of the wheat, it doesn’t look much different than the tares. God warned that we may pull up wheat by mistake, but to let them grow together and He will separate them. The tares looks like young wheat that has not produced buds yet.

We are not to judge anyone. We will see soon enough if God’s fruit is produced in their lives. If they have the endurance to fight adversity and trials sent by the enemy. Troubles have a way of separating the wheat from the tares. Many that say they are wheat will turn from God at the first sign on trouble.

Matt 7:15 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.

Enemy comes in our churches often as false teachers and preachers and tries to deceive God’s children. This is why it is important to have God’s word in our hearts. So we will not be deceived. Tares will sow discord and cause trouble.

Matt 13:24-30 Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field: 25 But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way. 26 But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also. 27 So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares? 28 He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up? 29 But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.

This is Jesus’ way of saying. We need to plant good seed. Then when the tares appear we are to leave them alone and pray for the ultimate judge to take care of the situation. In the end, they will be tossed into hell. The wheat will be gathered into the storehouse.

This is why we are to produce spiritual fruit. It is the easiest way for harvesters to tell the difference between wheat and tares. Remember that judgment is coming to the house of God. It is my prayer that we all produce fruit and walk in God’s love.

It is not God’s will that any perish, but they will have to yield unto God or be left behind.

Until next time,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

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EPISODE 42 – IT’S ALL IN THE PERSPECTIVE

Click here for the video version: https://youtu.be/pSS5eU-GQPM

Hello My Friends,

The title of today’s episode is: “It’s All In The Perspective”

1Cor 1:18 For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.

Most things in life come down to perspective. We judge things by our experience and comfort levels. I used to look at a guy I worked with and tell him he was crazy because he would ride a bicycle on a narrow, dangerous mountain path. I am talking this path is six inches wide in some spots on the top of a mountain. If he missed the path, he would fall hundreds of feet to the bottom. Because I am not comfortable doing it, I feel it is crazy. But if I was comfortable riding that trail, then I would think he was normal. I would call it an extreme sport or even fun. It is all in the perspective.

To Christians, the preaching of the cross is life and strength. It is peace and salvation. It is healing for our souls and bodies. But to those who are lost, they look at us as if we are crazy. Because they do not understand. They do not understand from our perspective. They will not understand until they get out of their comfort zone and let Jesus open their understanding. He is the only one who can give them a new perspective.

We need God’s perspective on life. I want to look at a few scriptures that may give some a little perspective.

John 16:32-33 32 Behold, the hour cometh, yea, is now come, that ye shall be scattered, every man to his own, and shall leave me alone: and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me. 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.

Jesus spoke to his disciples of his upcoming arrest and crucifixion. Verse 33 is still true for today. We can have peace in Jesus. The world doesn’t understand how we can have peace when our lives appear from the outside to be burning to the ground. Everything could be going wrong and falling apart, but if we truly walk with Jesus, we will have peace. Because our focus is not on our lives burning down but on Jesus, who has the power to fix things and restore them.

When we do not walk with Jesus, it is said that we are in the world. If we do not have God’s leading, we will not have peace but tribulation. Christians are not immune from bad things happening. We still lose loved ones, we still lose jobs, and we still have things happen that most people feel are bad. The difference between a Christian and the world is that we have Jesus to help us cope with our situations. He will give us His perspective and His solution of how to deal with the issues.

Christians walk by faith, not by sight. The world doesn’t have this kind of faith, so they have no choice but to walk by sight. We have faith that God will see us through anything we face. So, when things happen that appear scary or bad, we can lean on our faith perspective, not our sight and emotions of the situation.

Our five physical senses can be deceived by past experiences. If we truly hear from God and allow His perspective, we cannot go wrong.

Deuteronomy 31:8 – The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.

He is telling us not to be discouraged, which tells me we have some control over the situation. We can rise above the emotions of situations and look at them from God’s perspective. God goes before us and will be with us through all of our fears, tears, disappointments, failures, and times we feel depressed or defeated. It is not wrong to feel the emotions. I am not saying if you are a Christian, you will not feel the emotions. It is even ok to be in the emotion for a small length of time. Then, we have to gain control of the situation by giving up our control to God. He will lead us to the right perspective.

Don’t be discouraged if people don’t understand you. Some may even think you are crazy. But if we walk our lives out daily, being led by the Spirit of God within us. We will have the right perspective. Continue to walk in God’s love and show others the way to the cross. It is the only hope they have, even if they do not see it yet.

UNTIL NEXT TIME

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

NEW SHOES- A NEW LEVEL OF YOUR FAITH WALK

CLICK HERE FOR THE VIDEO VERSION: https://youtu.be/vIX-b_FSKmk

Hello My Friends,

The title of today’s episode is: “NEW SHOES, NEW LEVEL OF OUR FAITH WALK”

We often are told to not judge someone but to try walking a mile in their shoes. In other words, we do not understand how difficult things are until we are in the same situation. Often, the things we think we would not do under the same circumstances, we find ourselves doing when we end up walking the same road. This is why we are told to not judge one another only God knows all and is qualified to judge.

We are not meant to walk in anyone’s shoes but our own. Just like a child that goes through the house wearing their parent’s shoes. They scuff along, dragging the shoes that are obviously like giant shoes to their tiny feet. God designs our lives in many different seasons. Sometimes, the shoes we are wearing must change with the seasons. For example, we wouldn’t want to wear sandals in the middle of winter. They would not provide the protections we need. But they are much needed in the hot summer months to keep our feet from getting too hot.’We are not meant to walk in anyone’s shoes but our own. Just like a child that goes through the house wearing their parents shoes. They scuff along, dragging the shoes that are obviously like giant shoes to their tiny feet. God designs our lives in many different seasons. Sometimes, the shoes we are wearing must change with the seasons. For example, we wouldn’t want to wear sandals in the middle of winter. They would not provide the protections we need. But they are much needed in the hot summer months to keep our feet from getting too hot.

When we are born, we are given baby shoes to wear. Because we do not know how to walk, these often do not even get dirty on the bottoms. As we grow, we learn to walk and have outgrown the first shoes. The new shoes help us balance and take our first steps.

Then we grow from toddler to child, we get other shoes. During the course of childhood to adulthood, we will wear many shoes. Some are just regular shoes, some for athletics, maybe even tap or ballet. Dress shoes for the first school dance, our first set of high heels, or hunting boots.

Our spiritual lives can also come with lots of shoes for different seasons of life. I mentioned trying to walk in our parent’s shoes. God never meant for our experiences to be exactly like those of our parents, grandparents, brothers, or sisters. God has specific shoes made for us because of the path that he is taking us down. He has created us to have our own “faith” walk.

We often feel pressure when our parents have walked their “faith” walk well. We do not feel equipped to live up to their reputation. In some cases, their expectations. If we are not careful, we will run in the opposite direction from where we need to be because fear causes us to take the wrong path. Suddenly, satan is giving us shoes. He will take us to a place where the terrain is not made for us. We may end up on a rocky terrain in flip-flops. Walking in his shoes will cause cuts and painful blisters because the shoes don’t fit.

We cannot ever let other people’s opinions of where we need to be in life change what God is doing in our lives. No one else is wise enough to create just the perfect size shoes for the size of our current “faith” walk.

I want to share a little story with you. I call it tennis shoe wisdom. When I was a child, just learning to tie my shoes. Dad told me I couldn’t go to the store with him unless I tied my own shoes. I struggled with it for a little while then I did what any kid would do, I went to someone older and wiser. I asked my grandpa to tie my shoes. But if I had not let go of the strings, he could not have tied the shoes.

Often, we try to do things on our own, struggling. Then we decide to take it to God to handle for us. But now comes the hard part, we must let go of the strings. He cannot tie our shoes and move us into the next phase of life if we are holding onto the strings. We must trust that He knows what He is doing and will take care of the problem.

Proverbs 16:9 – The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps. God puts things on our hearts sometimes and we feel strongly that we need to step out in faith. We make our plans and start walking. But for those plans to be established, we have to commit them to the Lord and make sure they align with His plan for our lives.

In order to walk things out in faith, we have to trust His plan and His timing.

Proverbs 16:3 – Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established.

Eph 2:10 “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.”

God has ordained our steps. What does ordain mean? To decree, command, order, fix or establish. This shows us that our lives are his craft, he has created with skill His plan. Workmanship is the sign of someone with skills to design or create something, a craftsman.

This verse is saying that we are his creation, created in Christ Jesus to do good works that he has skillfully planned and established. We need to put on our shoes, allow God to tie them and walk this “faith” walk with the courage to know that he has established our path.

It is my prayer for you that you find yourself growing in your “faith” walk and that God will decide that you need a new level in him. When He does, you will get new shoes.

Until next time,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS