Tag: god

GOD FOCUS THIS MORNING EP450 VESSELS OF USE

GOD FOCUS THIS MORNING EP450 VESSELS OF USE

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WELCOME TO GOD FOCUS THIS MORNING

THE TITLE FOR TODAY’S EPISODE:  VESSEL OF USE

God chooses the ordinary with something special inside. He looks for those who will be vessels that he can use. Think about Jesus’ disciples, he chose fishermen, a tax collector, a physician, and one that was a scam artist. Each one had a job to do. Each one was different in their upbringing and abilities. 

Over time he molded and shaped their lives. He took them from ordinary vessels to extraordinary vessels. All that growth happened during the firing process.  They learned to have faith while Jesus walked with them, but that faith was tested in the furnace of life after Jesus ascended.

We often talk about the three Hebrew men that were thrown into the fiery furnace. It had been turned up seven times hotter than normal. We walked into the middle of their story. We didn’t see all that happened in their lives to give them the strength to say, we are vessels of use to Jehovah.  We will not bow to an idol; we don’t care if it is the law of the land. We don’t care that it can mean death.  We only worship Jehovah.

How many trials had they walked through previously that gave them that boldness. They were individuals that had consecrated their lives to live for Jehovah. They would not betray him just because the politician in charge, the king said so.

How do we get to be vessels God uses? We prove that we are worthy to be used by getting to know the God of the universe.  He created each of us for a purpose.  Many never fulfill that purpose because they choose to not follow God or his path for them. But we have chosen to follow him.  He will not allow us to sit on the shelf too long. 

Is 43:2 When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.

He has promised to be with us and to not allow us to be overtaken. We can be sure he will go with us and not allow the enemy to prevail. All he asks of us is to be willing vessels of honor and integrity. Ones that will follow him and not bow to the world.

2 Tim 2:20-22 But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour.  21 If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master’s use, and prepared unto every good work.  22 Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.

It doesn’t matter what the vessel looks like what matters is the heart.  Is the heart pure and willing to be obedient? Because God cannot use a vessel that wants to do their own thing. Imagine a pitcher telling the potter, you cannot use me right now to serve iced tea, I plan on holding water and some flowers.  There is nothing wrong with either thing. But by wanting to hold water and flowers, the pitcher is not doing what the designer chooses (it is being disobedient).

Until next time,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

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GOD FOCUS THIS MORNING EP423 GOD’S DESIRES

GOD FOCUS THIS MORNING EP423 GOD’S DESIRES

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WELCOME TO GOD FOCUS THIS MORNING

THE TITLE FOR TODAY’S EPISODE:  GOD’S DESIRES

Human beings have an overwhelming desire and thirst for knowledge. History has judged Eve too harshly. She made a bad choice and trusted the wrong voice. If we are honest, I don’t believe one of us could say that we haven’t been taken in by someone who was manipulative.

But I want to discuss with you today the garden itself. God gave them everything they needed. There was peace in the garden. It was a place that God came down and talked to Adam and Eve. He desired people to commune with and he wanted to be their God.

When given a chance to be thankful for what God had done for them, they were disobedient. It should not have mattered the amount of knowledge that the tree would give them if their friend asked them to not eat of that tree. Even the threat of death didn’t stop them from seeking knowlege.

Adam can blame Eve all he wants, but he knew they were being disobedient. That is why God kicked them both out of the garden. That didn’t stop God’s desire to communicate with mankind.

He made a better way. He sent Jesus to die for our sins, so that his spirit could dwell within us and commune with us. God is still wanting someone to talk with, just as he came down to the garden and talked with Adam and Eve, he wants to talk to us.

Prayer time should not just be a quick thank you for what you have done, here is my wish list, thank you, Amem. Prayer time should be us quietly worshipping until he speaks to us. Now more than ever before we need to know his voice. We need to not be deceived by the sneeky snake.

Just as Adam and Eve got kicked out of the place God created, many church leaders have listened to the enemy and have eaten the forbidden fruit. These evil pastors have large followings, because they give people a feel good fifteen minutes. He never tells them to choose life and not death. The best way to know if what is being preached at your church is God’s truth, is to know the word for yourself and ask God himself for direction.

John 16:13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.

God gave the church his spirit, not just so that we could witness, as some say. But he gave us his Spirit so that we can be connected to God. He didn’t fill us with His Spirit just so we could speak in tongues and rejoice, but so that we could be empowered by God to do his will. So that we could be led by His Spirit.  If we will listen to the leading of the Holy Ghost we will not be misled by the snakes of this world.

The Holy Ghost is not given to us so that we can become self-righteous and judgmental. He came so that we could have a connection to God. One that will lead us to fulfillment. God’s desire is to have a relationship with us. His Spirit will show us things to come. If we take the time to sit quietly and wait up on him to speak to us through that still small voice.

God desires for us to worship him in Spirit and Truth. He doesn’t want us going through the motions. He wants us to be led by His Spirit and not our will.

Until next time,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

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GOD FOCUS THIS MORNING –EP419–DIGGING OUT THE WELLS

GOD FOCUS THIS MORNING –EP419–DIGGING OUT THE WELLS

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I grew up near an artesian well. As a kid it was amazing to go get a drink out of the fountain that didn’t need a pump. There was not a handle to turn it off and on, it ran all the time. As an adult, I understand that it has to do with pressure in the water table. To a kid it seemed almost like it was magic. Even on hot days it was ice cold, which made it more magical.

Other wells, like the one my grandfather had, was a big hole in the ground that water flowed into and stayed until it was dipped out with a bucket. This is how the wells were in the bible times. In order to stop the flow of water these types of wells must be filled with dirt or rocks.

After Abraham’s death his enemy the Philistines stopped up his wells. Issac came along and dug them out again. Each time he fought with the enemy over the wells. He would walk away and try the next well until he came to a place that the enemy gave up. That well he called Rehoboth which meant the Lord has made room.

At the well of living water God too has made room. He wants us to share the living water with everyone. God has made room for everyone who is thirsty to come and be filled with is Spirit or living water.

It is impossible for an artesian to become stagnated. Water becomes stagnated when it quits flowing. This allows decaying leaves and other things to build up and contaminate the water. Our spiritual lives can be like either type of water.  If it is like the artesian well, we are living close to God allowing the things he wants to pour into our lives to flow. If our living water becomes still and doesn’t flow out of us, we can become contaminated by the world and become stagnate.        

John 7:37-39  In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.  38 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.  39 (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)

Out of our bellies will flow rivers of living water. We need God’s spiritual water to be an artesian well springing up in our lives. The spiritual water (Holy Ghost) will continuously flow and keep out impurities. As long as we stay in the flow of the Spirit of God we will not become stagnate.

But more than having enough God in us to keep us on the right path and not stagnate, we have to share the water. Some want to share God’s Spirit according to church by laws or man’s traditions. Some want to share him on their own terms. But there is only one way.

John 14:6- Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

Are you ready to be one of God’s wells that will pour out his living water to the lost and thirsty souls? God needs us to be ready to spread the gospel to the lost. He pours into us and gives us wisdom and understanding for us to take and share with those who are dying to know God’s ways. The world is in desperate need of a savior, now more than ever. We can be that well that springs up and shares Jesus with them before they die lost.

Prov 10:11-12 The mouth of a righteous man is a well of life: but violence covereth the mouth of the wicked. 12 Hatred stirreth up strifes: but love covereth all sins.

I always think of the woman at the well when I think about God’s living water. Jesus was telling her that He was God and man and Holy Spirit all in one.  He was telling her that even though she had been disappointed in people that he would not disappoint her.  All she wanted was someone to love her and accept her. But instead, she was left with an unsatisfied life, going from relationship to relationship. To make matters worse, everyone treated her badly because of her choices. Instead of having compassion and showing her God’s love. She had been hurt and judged by the religious self-righteous people of her day. I know many who have been judged harshly by self-righteous people. These judgmental people need more of God’s living water inside of them.

The enemy will do all he can to keep the flow of the Holy Ghost from accomplishing a good work. We are the earth that can get in the way of that flow. Today, I want you to think about how much earthly flesh you allow to stand in the way of the flow of God’s Spirit. We don’t want a trickle or small stream of God’s living water in our lives. We need the artesian well, so that there is room for everyone to have a drink. The word tells us to not quench the Spirit. How many times do unintentionally do that very thing?

Until Next Time,

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BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

GOD FOCUS THIS MORNING — EP400– GOD’S HANDS

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WELCOME TO GOD FOCUS THIS MORNING

THE TITLE FOR TODAY’S EPISODE:  GOD’S HAND

As children of God we often say that we are in his hands.  There is safety and strength in God’s hands. Today I want to take you through the scriptures and share more about God’s hands.

When I think about being in his hands I think of safety. Being in his hands means we are protected from the storms of life. One verse says we are under the shadow of his wings. We are safe when we put ourselves in his hands.

Because it is a choice, and we have free will, we can choose to leave the safety of his hands and choose to walk away. Nothing can take us out of God’s hands. There is nothing or no one bigger and more powerful.

Jer 18:6   O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the Lord. Behold, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel.

We are in his hands so that he can shape our lives, like a potter does clay. He knows how long to allow us to be fired in the kiln of trials and adversity. In the times of fiery trials we become who God wants to make us.

Is 64:8 But now, O Lord, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand.

God spoke everything into existence, but he formed man with his own hands. Like a master potter, he forms us and molds us into the people we need to become. As long as we are moldable clay. As long as we yield to the way he tries to shape our lives. We can become usable vessels. Vessels that can be used to pour out the goodness of God in witness to the lost. We can pour our encouragement to those who are hurting.

If we do not yield to God and are not moldable clay in His hands. We will never become the vessels that God can use for his glory.

Is 41:13 For I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee.

We have every reason to trust that he will help us. We are not to fear, he has promised to help us. His hand is not too short that he cannot reach us. It doesn’t matter how far we fall, he will pick us up.

Until next time,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

GOD FOCUS THIS MORNING–EP399–EMPTY TO OVERFLOW

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WELCOME TO GOD FOCUS THIS MORNING, I AM THRILLED TO BE BACK AND HAVE EVERYTHING WORKING AGAIN.

THE TITLE FOR TODAY’S EPISODE:  EMPTY TO OVERFLOW

I often think about Peter fishing all night without a catch. He was ready to give up. Peter had used his equipment and experience, all that he had within his power to catch fish. We too can do everything in our power to get a good outcome, sometimes, but in spite of our best efforts we fail. Then Jesus came by and said go out and cast your net on the other side. I am sure the last thing Peter wanted to do was go back out after a long night. But he listened to Jesus and went back out. He was obedient.

The first time he was out he was fishing in his own strength and wisdom. The second time he went on Jesus’ word. He caught so many fish; he had to call for another boat to help him. We may accomplish thing on our own. But it is always more profitable to listen to the leading of God.

When we are obedient, we go from an empty vessel to one that is overflowing. When we are obedient, not only will God bless us, but he will bless those around us. It doesn’t say, but I think it is safe to assume that the boat which came to help Peter had fished all night too without much to show for it.

The blessing that God gives us will always overflow onto others. He pours into us so that we can pour out to others. He fills us with encouragement so that we can encourage others. The hope he gives us to give us something to share with others. He gives us faith to share the good news of salvation.

When we are tired of trying, like Peter was that morning, remember God has a plan. We may be empty like the boat Peter was in, but God can fill us up to overflowing. We just have to cast our net on the other side.  If we follow God’s instructions and are obedient, we will be blessed and many around us.

Now is not the time to sit in the empty boat feeling tired and frustrated. The world is depending on us to try again. We need to keep fishing, keep trying to win the lost to Jesus.  Now is the time to look for answers, listen for God’s direction. He will not leave us empty handed but will tell us to launch out into the deep.

Until next time,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

EPISODE 397 –LOOKING FOR A CLOUD

EPISODE 397 –LOOKING FOR A CLOUD

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The title of today’s episode: LOOKING FOR THE CLOUD

I want to encourage you today with a thought God gave me while driving home from work yesterday. The enemy will hold on with everything he has to try to destroy us. It’s like on TV you see the person hanging over the side of a building by their fingertips. They do everything in their power to hang on, but when the time comes that they can’t hold on, they fall. Satan too will have to let go, he knows he cannot hold on to us forever. The stronghold he may have built, will crumble if we turn it over to Jesus. The battle always gets the most intense right before the enemy falls.

We have to be encouraged and determined not to give up. When we turn it over to God, he will give us what we need for our battle-weary souls. It takes us being just as determined to hold onto God and his promises.

I Kgs 18:41-43 And Elijah said unto Ahab, Get thee up, eat and drink; for there is a sound of abundance of rain. 42 So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he cast himself down upon the earth, and put his face between his knees, 43 And said to his servant, Go up now, look toward the sea. And he went up, and looked, and said, There is nothing. And he said, Go again seven times.

What if Elijah was like a lot of us. He sent his servant, and he came back and said there was not a cloud. Most of us would complain or say, “well I don’t know if there is any use to keep praying or not.” But Elijah was not shaken by how things appeared; he simply told him to go look again. This happened seven times.

He would pray and send his servant. I am sure by the sixth trip the servant was starting to wonder if Elijah was just trying to run him ragged. Elijah didn’t give up, but knew God would answer in his perfect time.

I Kgs 18:44 And it came to pass at the seventh time, that he said, Behold, there ariseth a little cloud out of the sea, like a man’s hand. And he said, Go up, say unto Ahab, Prepare thy chariot, and get thee down that the rain stop thee not.

The seventh time the servant saw a little cloud come up out of the sea.  The cloud represents God’s presence.  We have to hold on and keep praying until we see God’s hand in our situations.

Think about the tent of the tabernacle that was a place God designed, and the children of Israel built. It was a place of worship. When God’s presence would come down and rest upon the tabernacle, it would be overshadowed by a cloud. It is interesting how His presence shows up in a cloud.

We need to keep our focus on God and look for him in every situation. He is not far from us when we seek him. He will answer. Sometimes we have to pray several times before we see his hand, like Elijah. But we cannot give up.  Breakthrough comes from persistence and prayer.

Keep looking up, don’t give up, you will reap great things if you keep looking for God’s hand in every situation.

Until next time,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

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EPISODE 183 HIDDEN TREASURE

EPISODE 183 HIDDEN TREASURE

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WELCOME TO GOD FOCUS THIS MORNING

The title of today’s episode: HIDDEN TREASURE

Prov 2:4  If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures;

Prov 2:5  Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God.  

This is encouraging to me and should be to you too.  We are on our way to gaining wisdom and understanding, when we search for it. God wants to give his people so much, but we are not ready.  We are not wise enough or mature enough to carry the weight of what he wants to share with us. Because we have allowed for too long a watered down message to be prevalent in our pulpits.

God will give us what we can handle; if we seek wisdom and understanding. This chapter says if we look for it as a hidden treasure, then he will give us knowledge and understanding.

When I hear the phrase hidden treasure, I think about it being something that has to be searched for by studying our guide or map to find it. Then once the spot is located, there is a lot of digging to get to the pearl of wisdom or the treasure chest of understanding.

Verse 7 says he is a buckler.  When the bible was written that was a common word everyone understood. Today many people would look at you strange if you said God, was your buckler.  Part of digging for that treasure is understanding the time in which the text was written. A good bible dictionary is one of our best tools.

A buckler was a small shield worn normally on the left arm to protect not only the upper body but the sword hand from enemy attack. Our bible is our sword. As we use our sword, God will be our shield, to protect our work. To keep us from falling prey to the enemy. When the enemy starts throwing his darts, God is our defense.

Psalm 91: 4-7 He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler. 5 Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day; 6 Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday. 7 A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee.

It does not matter the size of the enemy. Look at David and Goliath. God doesn’t care how big our enemy is, because he is bigger and far more powerful. Another place in the word says he is our our defender. It doesn’t matter how bad things appear, he will protect his people. He loves us so much that he sends his angels to protect us.

Psalm 91: 11-12 For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. 12 They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.

He will keep us on the right path if we seek him and allow him to guide us. He will shine a light on our path. That will help us to find the hidden treasures of wisdom and understanding.

How have you improved your understanding lately? Are you studying his word and asking for wisdom? The word says if we seek we will find, if we knock it will be opened to us.  What plan can be put in place today to help you find what you seek? There are several tools: daily devotionals, bible studies, bible journaling and scripture writing, listening to mid-week podcasts. None of it should be done without asking God for his understanding to flow.

1Peter 3:15But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:                                            

We cannot tell anyone else about the great treasure we have found, if we lack understanding about what we have found. The hope we have even when the storms of life rage, the hope we have when we are standing at a loved ones grave the hope that when we leave this life, heaven is waiting for us. Our hope comes from the Lord and understanding his promises in his word.

In other words, we cannot be an effective witness, if we do not know the word of the Lord. In digging for the hidden treasures inside the pages of our sacred book, we find God and learn about his character. We learn to look at ourselves through the lens of the scriptures.

I have found the more I dig into the word, the deeper my faith and hope grows. I understand that many of the hidden treasures written there are not hidden deep. God wants us to find them and he wants us to truly know Him. In prayer and study, we can be transformed from who we are in the world to who we are in Christ.

Ponder the hidden gems of God’s wisdom, then get out your road map and start looking for direction.

Until next time,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

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EPISODE 118 — SEARCHING THE HEART

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 71–SPIRITUAL STORMS

EPISODE 71–SPIRITUAL STORMS

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WELCOME TO GOD FOCUS THIS MORNING

The title of today’s episode is: “ SPIRITUAL STORMS”

The recent storm that ripped through my surrounding community knocked out our power and internet. I stood on my front porch one minute and went inside the house. I heard hard rain hitting the roof. As I looked through my window, I could see the rain, I could hear the thunder. All was ok at my house.

My family lives half a mile away. They got high winds, and there was lots of storm damage near them, including downed trees and power lines. It may take a week to get through all the damage. It reminded me of the Derecho of 2012. That time, my home had all sorts of wind damage and trees on my roof. My neighbors looked like they had been through a rainstorm.

Spiritual storms in our lives can come out of nowhere. Things we don’t expect can throw our lives into chaos. The enemy loves to create chaos. He tries to get us to doubt how big our God is by making our situations seem out of proportion. If he can get us to fall into fear, he is closer to getting the upper hand.

Many scriptures tell us to not be afraid. I have to admit when that Derecho was tossing treetops on my roof, I was a little scared. Just as quickly as the storm came up it was gone. The whole thing was over in about three minutes, except for some rain.

When it comes to the spiritual storms we all face, we have to remember that we have some control over the situation. We can call on Jesus. He will help us to endure the short time it takes for it to blow through our lives.

Faith is what helps us to stay on course in a storm. Without faith we cannot stand firm on God’s word. It takes that deep belief in the power of God to stand strong when the wind is blowing.

The enemy would like nothing more than to send a storm to destroy us. He will try all sorts of things to distract us from our mission. But we must stay on course for the sake of those we are on earth to reach.

We never know when a spiritual storm may arise. We do not always know when someone else is in the middle of a storm. They may be fighting a battle that has hit them like a Derechos.

As children of God, it is our responsibility to help those that find themselves in a spiritual storm. Pray for them. Our country needs prayer to survive the spiritual storms that are coming. But be encouraged, Jesus is in our boat and will speak “Peace Be Still” to our storms.

Finding peace in the middle of the storms is not always easy. Our emotions want to get in our way. Fear will overtake us if we allow it. Fear is the opposite of peace. Allowing fear in our storms only gives power to the enemy. He then will bombard our minds with more scenarios. Your boat is going sink you will drown. He will try to put so many what if’s in our thoughts that we begin to believe them.

But our God is there waiting and watching, to see if we can walk on faith like Peter walked on water or if we are going to sink by losing faith. Do not be discouraged, sinking happens to everyone. It wouldn’t be a storm if it wasn’t something to overcome. It wouldn’t be a storm if it wasn’t scary.

God is close by to see how we handle our storms. But if we are His child you can be sure He is not far and will lift us above the storms. As the old song says there is shelter in the arms of God. To quote it, “I will have no fear for Jesus walks beside me. Sheltered safe within the arms of God.”

Until next time,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

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FAITH

Heb 11:1  Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Faith is seeing light with our hearts when our eyes see only darkness.  Often, situations look bad in this life, so it looks dark.  But if we believe that God will work it out for our good, then there is hope.  Hope creates a small pinpoint of light. God takes that small pinpoint and starts chipping away at the darkness until it disappears.  Having faith is knowing he will see us through any situation. 

We don’t have to see things with our eyes to know that God is going to move in our situations. This is what it means to walk by faith. Believing that God will take care of our situations even when they seem impossible. It is about having hope that God will deliver on his promises even when we don’t see it.

God wants us to have pure faith, not mixed with any doubt.

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS