Tag: #godfocus

EP315 MIDNIGHT WATCH

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The title of today’s episode: MIDNIGHT WATCH

Midnight is the pivot point between night and day. At 12:01 AM it is morning, even though it is still pitch-black outside, it is the beginning. If we are wrapped up in worry or stress, we may not even notice the change. Things still look the same outside. Spiritually, we have to be in tune with the flow of God’s Spirit, or we may miss our midnight moment.

There are times we have to spiritually walk through that which seems dark. The enemy will press in and try to bind us up. I was reminded of this when I was reading the sixteenth chapter of Acts. It is the story of Paul and Silas in prison. There are so many lessons in this story. How many times are we in a situation that it seems like things are dark. Others will see those times and it will give them strength to face their situations.

Acts 16:16-18 And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying: 17 The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most high God, which shew unto us the way of salvation. 18 And this did she many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour.

They did what God sent them out to do. It was their command to set the captive free. There was a woman who followed them for days. She had a spirit of divination. The words she said as she followed them were true. The enemy will tell the truth sometimes. But it was to distract people instead of encouraging them to listen to Paul and Silas. Paul grew tired of her and cast out the evil spirit.

That would appear on the surface to be a good thing. But to those who were evil and exploiting her by making money from her soothsaying. It was not good for them. They went and complained to the magistrates and had Paul and Silas punished. First, they were beaten and then thrown into jail. This is where it gets interesting.

Their choice of attitude determined the fate of the jailor and his family. If they had complained and whined about their beating and being thrown in jail. They would not have had an attitude of worship. Which invited the presence of God into their circumstances. They rested in his presence, and he sent an earthquake and an angel to set them free.

Acts 16:25-26 And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them. 26 And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one’s bands were loosed.

This caused the jailor to wake up and see that he needed the god they preached, that he needed Jesus. He fell down at their feet and asked what he needed to do to be saved.

Acts 16:32-34 And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house. 33 And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway. 34 And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house.

What if at the pivotal moment at midnight, when things were about to change, instead of singing praises and trusting God they had a pity party? One would look at the other, My back really hurts from the beating. The other would say, Did you see the size of the guy that hit me? I don’t know if it’s God’s will for us to be doing this preaching thing. In their moment of pity party, the opportunity passed by to be a light to the people in that jail.

How many times do we miss our midnight hour miracles? How often do we not realize that the time has changed and it is a new day? We can be sure not to miss our opportunities by learning to praise in the good times and praise in the bad times. Our circumstances should not dictate our level of praise.

The level of darkness around us should not affect our level of trust. I am sure that not everyone in the jail was happy because they were singing. But they sang anyway. Because our miracle may be just what is needed to wake up the jailor and set him free.

Until next time,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

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EPISODE 314 MAINTAINING TRUST

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WELCOME TO GOD FOCUS THIS MORNING

The title of today’s episode is: MAINTAINING TRUST

It is true that nothing happens to us that God does not allow. But when it comes to others in our lives, God will do what is best for them also. Grief is an interesting thing; everyone handles it differently. Job was overcome with grief at the reports of his lost family. He was sick in body and had lost all he had for a season. The enemy was allowed to tempt him and lie to him. Yet he never cursed God.

JOB 13:15 Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways before him.

Even though everything appeared to be going wrong, Job trusted God. He didn’t allow his circumstances to change his relationship. This is a lesson we must take away from the story of Job. We too cannot let the things happening to us to change our relationship with God.

If we trust him, we will walk through the tough things, knowing He will deliver us. We often wonder when he will move. Many do not doubt God’s ability, but we often grow battle weary. We often wonder when he will move. We may feel like he has forgotten about our situation.

There is nothing wrong with his memory. Just keep telling Him that you trust that he will see you through. Take things one day at a time. If necessary, one hour at a time or one minute at a time.

I am sure when Job was in pain from all the open boils on his body, he didn’t think God would ever move. I am sure the enemy fed his mind with lies about God’s love and compassion. If he really loved you, he would take away your pain. The enemy whispered.

But God knows what we have need of, and sometimes what he is growing in us spiritually is far greater than our situation. God is greater than our pain. It is not that he is trying to be mean. He takes no pleasure in our suffering. He will unlock the door as soon as possible. But we have to trust Him until that time.

Grab hold of the promises of God and do not let go. He is the giver of our peace. He is our healer, deliverer and the savior of our soul. Many want to acknowledge him as savior, but few want to surrender their lives fully to make him Lord.

Many down through the ages have asked when Lord, how long will you tarry? How long will my enemy appear to have the upper hand? How long will I be sick until I am healed?

Psalm 13:1-5 How long wilt thou forget me, O Lord? for ever? how long wilt thou hide thy face from me? 2 How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart daily? how long shall mine enemy be exalted over me? 3 Consider and hear me, O Lord my God: lighten mine eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death; 4 Lest mine enemy say, I have prevailed against him; and those that trouble me rejoice when I am moved. 5 But I have trusted in thy mercy; my heart shall rejoice in thy salvation.

David also asked how long. I want you to notice verse five, but I have trusted in thy mercy, my heart shall rejoice in thy salvation. It doesn’t matter what we are going through right now; we know that God is in control. There is an expiration date; these circumstances will not last forever. Think back over your life. I am sure that there have been things that at the time were the hardest things you’ve ever walked through. Now they are a distant memory.

Stay strong, God has not forgotten you. He knows you are facing tough things. He is the one with the key to set you free. Just hold on, keep breathing, keep trusting, your miracle is on the way.

Until next time,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

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EPISODE 313 DUCK AND COVER

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WELCOME TO GOD FOCUS THIS MORNING

The title of today’s episode: DUCK AND COVER

The first thing to do when you are being attacked is to duck and cover. Think about someone throwing rocks at you, you want to find a place of protection. The phrase duck and cover was made popular during the 1950s as schools and people all over did safety drills. It means you get under something solid, like a table or desk, and cover your head.

While the enemy bombarded my mind with all sorts of attacks today. I had to duck and cover. In other words, I made sure I was under the shadow of his wings, and I prayed against the attacks of the enemy. I had to worship my way through his attack.

We all have days when the enemy tries everything possible to wear us down or wear us out. I only ducked for cover for a few minutes. Then it was my turn to wage war. After crying out to God, I took my place on the offensive. I started sending “God shells” back to the enemy in the form of scripture. He really hates it when we quote the word.

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

Devil, God’s word says if I submit to God, which I just did, then it says if I resist you, you must flee. It is time for you to go.

Psalm 84:11 For the Lord God is a sun and shield: the Lord will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.

Devil the word says that God is my sun and shield. In other words, He is my light and protection. He will not withhold anything good thing from me.

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.

Devil, no weapon you can create will accomplish your agenda. The word says no weapon formed against me will prosper. This is my promise from the Lord, God Almighty.

I took the authority that God has given me and told him to leave my presence. He would not win. He only wins when we give in and start speaking negatively out of our mouths. When we feel defeated and tell ourselves there is no use in trying. And we voice those thoughts out loud.

2 Cor. 5:7 We walk by faith and not by sight.

It is in this verse that I often find strength. The enemy will attack us by how things may appear at the moment. But we have to open our mouths and say what God says,

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.

Nothing shall harm us, because God is on our side. We cannot allow the enemy to attack us with fear. When he tries, we need to duck and cover. Duck down to our knees and cover our lives with prayer. God is there and will not allow us to be overtaken.

The entire Bible is about standing strong against our enemy. It is all about God’s covering. We are covered by the blood, baptized in His Spirit, and the enemy doesn’t have a chance as long as we remember who we are in Christ.

Romans 8:37-39 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. 38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, 39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

We have nothing to fear. We belong to the King of kings who has all power. We are his, and he will not allow the enemy to overtake us. We need to be encouraged and stay strong. We need to say we are strong even when we feel weak.

It is a good thing to tell God that we feel weak and ask him to reinforce our strength. But we cannot show any weakness toward our enemy. When the enemy looks at us, he needs to see fierce warriors ready for battle.

His time is near; he is about to lose control of this world for a harvest season. We need to be ready for the harvest is ready. I feel it is one of my missions in life to encourage you to be strong. It is my prayer that you will be encouraged to stand strong. Find the warrior God put within you, and stand tall against our enemy. Do not let him gain ground in your mind. Because that is where he often wins his battles. Then we spend a lot of time and energy taking back ground that we gave up. When we should have reached down deep and resisted the enemy.

Be encouraged, it is never too late to put him in his place. It is never too late to rise up. Because anytime we go into the duck and cover prayer. Look out, devil, when we rise up, because we do not rise alone. Our God shows up to back us up.

Until next time,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

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EPISODE 312 THE SCARLET THREAD

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WELCOME TO GOD FOCUS THIS MORNING

The title of today’s episode: SCARLET THREAD

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Until next time,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

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EPISODE 311 THERE IS HOPE

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WELCOME TO GOD FOCUS THIS MORNING

The title of today’s episode: THERE IS HOPE

As I sit quietly in my office awaiting God’s inspiration for another day. I often pray for what you need to hear. How can I bring encouragement today? At times I feel like I keep saying the same things over and over, but some things need to be repeated.

Let me start by saying there is hope for every situation. God is our hope and we can depend on him to see us through whatever we have facing us. Grief is a powerful thing. Many get angry with God when they lose a loved one. But when I lost my husband of thiry-two years, I realized that he was God’s child too and for whatever reason God did what was best for him. He empowered me to walk through all the days since that awful day. But I still have hope in the Lord.

All around us people are suffering. I have had prayer requests this week about people trying to commit suicide. For those who do not know my story. I understand depression and suicidal thoughts from the enemy. I suffered from depression in my late twenties. Satan will come at us and get us to keep looking within, telling ourselves all the lies. I am miserable, I am worthless, no one would care if I wasn’t here. Nothing will ever get better. I am trapped and feel like the darkness is swallowing me up. The more we listen to that voice of the enemy the further down we spiral.

We were never meant to look within and analyze too much. We were not meant to isolate from others around us. God created us to be part of a community. He created us to connect with him and with others. Along with anxiety and depression the enemy has really amped up his fear game. Wanting people to be scared of everything.

All of this is contrary to the word of God.

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

Fear is from the enemy. God will empower us if we can push past the darkness and ask for his help. Unless you have been in the deep pit of depression where no light and little air exists you would not understand. It is a place void of all hope. There is no peace there. All that you hear is all the negative things you tell yourself.

Soon you feel like there is no hope. Then we decide that only way out, the only way to make the total despair stop is suicide. That is a lie from the pit of hell. But God says there is a better way. He came that we could have life and have it more abundantly.

I fully believe if I had not had a good foundation of biblical teaching and a praying family I would not be here today. Once we hit rock bottom there is only three things to do. I had decided to not end it all. So I could wallow there the rest of my life in misery or I could start climbing out. It takes great strength to climb out. It is about changing our focus.

You may say, I am not strong enough. But you don’t have to have all the strength to do it all at once. Start with today, I am going to do something I didn’t do yesterday. Maybe it is getting out of bed. The next day maybe you take a shower and get dressed. Continue to build each day on your progress. Ask God for help. Do not isolate yourself from everyone. Especially those you know really care about you.

It is a long journey, but one worth the climb. I would have missed out on so much joy. I thank God everyday for my life. Do not feel like you are alone, email me and I will have my group of intercessors pray for you. Ask God for help. You have to fight and never give up.

It is all about changing your focus. God was always meant to be the center of our lives. When he is in his proper place everything else will fall into place. Do not be discouraged when the enemy throws things at you that appear to be bad. God is waiting to give you a breakthrough.

I John 5:14 And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us:

We know it is not God’s will that we suffer from depression. If we ask for help and do what we can to get out, he will empower us to be set free.

Lam 3:22-23 It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. 23 They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.

God gives us new mercies, new strength, new joy we can be renewed each day. We only need to find the strength for today and tomorrow will take care of itself. This is why I encourage you to keep your God focus. If I had kept my God focus, I would not have ended up in depression in the first place.

I am very grateful for my time in the pit of despair. It taught me a lot of valuable lessons and shaped me in ways that it took years to understand. God got me through that he can get me through anything. I have hope in Jesus.

Romans 15:13 Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.

You can find strength and hope, so don’t give up. Stay strong. If you have someone suffering from depression in your life. Just love them, pray for them and encourage them when you can, but never tell them to just snap out of it. That is not helpful. If they could just snap out of it, they would. Jesus is our answer to every situation in life.

Until next time,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

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EPISODE 310 ILLUSION OR TRUTH ?

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WELCOME TO GOD FOCUS THIS MORNING

The title of today’s episode: ILLUSIONS OR TRUTH

My mind wandered today to the scene in The Wizard of Oz where the wizard was discovered for who he really was, just a man. The little dog pulled back the curtain and all the booming voice, smoke and mirrors were just illusion. The powerful Oz was just a man. These people had been ruled by him and lived in fear of him for a long time. He even made one last attempt to hold onto his illusion, “Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.” The fake voice boomed.

How many times have we cowered to satan thinking he was this big scary thing. We give him way to much credit. There are times we think he is all knowing, but he is not, he doesn’t know who he will end up with when it is all said and done. He only knows his time is getting short. He has had centuries to try to destroy God’s plan. He has deceived many into throwing away their opportunities to find freedom in Jesus.

He is flashy and larger than life with all of his smoke and mirrors. He can create an amazing illusion. We have to be wise enough to stay away from his plans for our lives. He often will play into our desires. He knows if we want a certain job, a career, a spouse or children. He will try to create the perfect illusion.

Phil 4:6-7 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. 7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

We need to not be too excited that things may look like they are working out, we need to pray about them. If the opportunity is not God’s plan, then we need to leave it alone. The enemy will often offer us just what we have been wanting, just before our breakthrough. God will give us above anything we could ever imagine. We have to be sure that we are not falling for an illusion.

When entering a situation, do not allow emotions to override discernment. I am reminded of a time when I saw red flags about a situation. But because my husband seemed to want to take a certain route, we made a large purchase. We ended up in a mess. When I finally said to him, I only bought it because I thought you wanted it. He said I only bought it because I thought you wanted it. It caused us and our families a lot of unnecessary stress. We realized in our young marriage that we needed to be bluntly honest about things from that point on; lesson learned.

The word says the truth will set you free. That is true on so many levels. The truth is not always what we want to hear, but it is what we need. People do not want to believe the truth of God’s word. They would rather have their illusion behind the curtain. Their fake life that looks like they want, instead of the real one that they could have in Christ.

But someday, all will be revealed. Just like the little dog pulled back the curtain. There will be no more hiding behind the illusion. When the truth is made known many will be shocked. Because this great big boogie man that we have been avoiding and hiding from, turns out to be nothing.

Isaiah 14:12-17 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! 13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: 14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. 15 Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit. 16 They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms; 17 That made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof; that opened not the house of his prisoners?

Pay attention to verse 16 it says They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms; They will see him at that moment for who he really is, he may have some power in the earth today, but it is nothing compared to the power of God which lives within us.

It’s time we look at him for what he is, just a weak version of himself. Hiding behind the curtain.

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.

When fear tries to attack, we need to tell the enemy he is under our feet. The word says that nothing shall by any means hurt you. God has not given us fear; he is the God of peace. Fear comes from the bag of illusions the enemy carries with him.

Do not fall for his illusions, stand strong, be bold, tell him he has no place in your home, your mind or your life. He will not take your family or anything that pertains to you.

We will prevail as long as we hold onto Jesus and not fall for the illusion of a lie that is the enemy. Ask God for discernment when situations arise, we know that things are not always as they appear. God will never lead us astray but will give us a solid foundation on which to stand. He is our truth.

Until next time,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

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EPISODE 309 LEAVING COMPLACENCY BEHIND

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The title of today’s episode: LEAVING COMPLACENCY BEHIND

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Until next time,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

LIKE SHARE AND SUBSCRIBE FOR MORE ENCOURAGEMENT

EPISODE 307 WHAT IS IT WORTH TO YOU?

CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO VERSION: https://rumble.com/v6r5uzw-god-focus-this-morning-ep307-what-is-it-worth-to-you.html

WELCOME TO GOD FOCUS THIS MORNING

The title of today’s episode: WHAT IS IT WORTH TO YOU?

Did you ever notice how when you buy a new car you treat it like it has value? It is washed every week. You park away from other cars, so it doesn’t get scratched. You make a rule that no one is to eat in the car. Which lasts about two weeks. As the newness wears off you start parking closer to the store, telling yourself it will be fine. What changed? It is still the same car. But the newness has worn off. You start taking it for granted. Quickly, it becomes just transportation.

How often do we do the same thing to God? When we are born again it is like getting that new car. Suddenly we have a new life. Everything is shiny and exciting. We tell ourselves we are going to be the perfect Christian. We make rules for ourselves, almost rituals about how much we will read our bibles and do all the Christian things.

As time goes on, we either wear ourselves out trying to be perfect within ourselves or we grow weary and slack off of spending time with God. What changed, He is still the same God.

Then I am reminded of Essau that sold his birthright for a bowl of beans. This has often puzzled me. Those must have been some amazing beans. He gave up all that he was to inherit and his place in standing as the head of the family. He didn’t value his place in the family.

We sometimes take for granted our place in God’s family. We get neglectful of the value of our salvation. It is almost like we become desensitized to the amazing gift that we have been given.

Heb 2:1-4 Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip. 2 For if the word spoken by angels was stedfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompence of reward; 3 How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him; 4 God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will?

We cannot neglect our gift of salvation. We have to treat it with value, because it is the most valuable gift we could ever be given. There is nothing in this life worth trading the gifts that God has given us.

What has value to us will be valued by others. How many times do people go out and buy something because someone acts like it is the greatest thing on the market. It is time we walk out our faith giving God his proper place. If we act like our salvation is important, others will think that their salvation is important.

I Tim 4:14-16 Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery. 15 Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all.16 Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.

Paul told Timothy to not neglect the Holy Ghost that was in him. He is to meditate on the things of God. If we prioritize the things of God, he will use them to be a light to others around us.

What is your salvation worth to you? Are you willing to give up everything? Are you willing to focus on God? By focusing on him and his word, we will find that place of value. We will no longer treat our salvation like a bowl of beans.

Until next time,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

LIKE SHARE AND SUBSCRIBE FOR MORE ENCOURAGEMENT

EPISODE 306 -GOD OF THE BREAKTHROUGH

CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO VERSION: https://rumble.com/v6r41mg-god-focus-this-morning-ep306-god-of-the-breakthrough.html

WELCOME TO GOD FOCUS THIS MORNING

The title of today’s episode: GOD OF THE BREAKTHROUGH

He is the God of the breakthrough. When things seem like they are going wrong we realize we need a breakthrough. We need God’s anointing to break whatever is holding us. It takes God’s anointing to break our chains that hold us bound. Worship will bring the flow of anointing.

Isaiah 10:27 And it shall come to pass in that day, that his burden shall be taken away from off thy shoulder, and his yoke from off thy neck, and the yoke shall be destroyed because of the anointing.

One definition of “Break Through” is to succeed in forcing your way through something. I think about breaking down a wall. We often do not want to worship when needing a breakthrough. When we worship, we make a deeper connection to God. Worship helps to get us in a position of breakthrough, because our focus shifts when we worship. It goes from us and our problems to just how big, wonderful, helpful, loving and amazing our God. His intervention on our behalf brings about the transformation of events. We achieve victory in the moment that we feel like we cannot hold on one more second.

Many examples in the word of God show the moments of breakthrough. The Red Sea parting. The falling of the walls of Jericho. When God shut the mouths of the lions for Daniel. The thud when the stone from David’s sling hit Goliath in the one spot he didn’t have armor.

All it takes for a breakthrough is circumstances to look like there is no way things could possible work out for our good. Then God says stand still and watch what I will do.

Luke 1:37 For with God nothing shall be impossible.

We have to hold on to this verse. When things look like they are not going to work out and we are down for the count. God will raise us up and put us back onto our feet. Once we are back on our feet we have the ability to walk out our faith. We have the ability to encourage others.

It is almost impossible to keep our minds on God all the time. Many things are in our lives to distract. I don’t even mean the enemy. But the responsibilities of this life. He will help us to focus on the things that matter if we look to him for all the answers concerning our lives.

Our first real breakthrough is when we are born again or brought from death to life.

We will always get breakthrough when our challenging circumstances meets God’s intervention. How do we know we are on the verge of getting our breakthrough. The enemy will throw everything he can at once at us to get us to give up or speak negativity out of our mouths. He wants us to say that we cannot go on. We will never make it. There will be numerous obstacles and an overwhelming feeling of being stuck.

The enemy will send toxic people to encourage us to give up. Saying things like maybe it’s not God’s will. They will spew negativity and if we are not careful, we will find ourselves agreeing with them. But God says, We are his children and he will take care of us, no matter what the need may be.

God will send us real encouragement, if we pay attention. Maybe it’s a song, a verse of scripture, or someone to speak life into our situations. He will not let us down or leave us all alone to fight for ourselves. Even when we go through times, we do not feel his presence. He is not far from us, as long as we have not allowed sin to creep in and separate us from him.

Jeremiah 33:3 Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.

Be encouraged, when life seems like it will never change, you are on the edge of your breakthrough.

Until next time,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

LIKE SHARE AND SUBSCRIBE FOR MORE ENCOURAGEMENT

EPISODEN 305

Below is the link to the video for the Thursday blog, “Facing the Fire.” I had computer and internet issues all weekend. Hopefully, I will be able to get back on track. Have a great day!

https://rumble.com/v6r3ya8-god-focus-this-morning-ep305-facing-the-fire.html