Tag: #godfocus

EPISODE 75–PRESSING TOWARD THE GOAL

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A goal can be defined as an objective or a desired result. A point we reach when trying to accomplish something. In a foot race it is the finish line. What is your goal in life? If you ask this question some say they want to be an Olympic athlete. Others go to school for years to be doctors or engineers. Too often when thinking about life’s goals people think only of their careers. Others long for the day they can have their retirement home on the beach.

As children of God, we often do not think about pressing on to the goal of finishing this life’s race. The things we do in this life are temporary. The word says we need to occupy until he comes to get the bride. That is why we can have goals in this life for whatever we wish to do.

It is a good thing to have goals about the direction of our lives. However, we need to remember that only what we do for the cause of Christ lasts. Only following Jesus and doing what he has told us to do will matter. He has told us to go out and make disciples.

Phil 3:12-13 Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. 13 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,

Paul says He hasn’t arrived at his goal, neither is He perfect, but he follows after Christ that He may reach perfection. Then He goes on to say to forget the things which are behind. There is no reason to look back. We cannot change the past.

Phil 3:14-15 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. 15 Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you.

He keeps pressing on toward his goal, the prize of the high calling of God. He will reveal to us what we need to do on our journey for the next step toward our goal.

Phil 3:16 Nevertheless, whereto we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us mind the same thing. 17 Brethren, be followers together of me, and mark them which walk so as ye have us for an ensample.

We are to walk in the light we have been given while searching for the next level of understanding. As we walk in the light we are given, He will shine more light on our path. Paul told them to follow him and to mark them that walk as he did as an example.

Phil 3:18-19 (For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: 19 Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.)

Paul warns that many walk as enemies of the cross. He warns of their destruction. They seek after what satisfies their appetite for sin. They boast and glory in their evil. Because they desire the earthly things. Even though we are to live and occupy until he comes, we must keep our eyes on the prize of finishing this race strong.

Phil 3:20-21 For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: 21 Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.

Our goal and focus should be on doing the will of God. Christ is able to subdue or bring under control all things.

Psalm 126:6 He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.

Our goal as God’s children is to gather the harvest. Keep pressing on to learn the deep things of God. As a part of the body, it is our responsibility to gather the harvest and wait patiently for the day He comes to get His Bride.

Until Next Time,

Be Bold, Be Brave and Keep Your God Focus

EPISODE 74–FRET NOT, TRUST AND COMMIT

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Hello My Friends:

Welcome to God Focus this morning. The title of today’s episode is “Fret Not, Trust And Commit.”

In the first part of Psalms 37 is a lot of wisdom. As our country faces major issues, we should not fear what the enemy is doing.

Psalm 37:1-9 Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity.

This word tells us to not be afraid of evildoers. God is our protector and will take care of us. We are not supposed to be envious of those who are doing evil. Several synonyms for envious: Jealous, resentful, spiteful, covetous, bitter.

We are not to be jealous that they have wealth and power. We are not to be resentful that things seem to be going their way for now. We cannot allow hate to take root in our hearts toward them. We cannot covet what they have or be bitter toward them, even though they are doing evil. Because God will deal with them.

Psalm 37:2 For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb.

God will only allow evil to seem to have the upper hand so long. Once He has exhausted everything to get them to turn from their evil, he will cut them off. Look at Pharoah, God gave him at least ten chances when he sent the plagues, to change and stop his evil against the children of Israel. But he did not change, so God drown him and his army in the Red Sea.

Psalm 37:3 Trust in the Lord, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.

We are told not to worry, fear or fret over these things. We are to Trust and Do Good. We need to believe God. When he tells us he will deliver us from the enemy we need to trust that word. We are to go about our lives and keep doing good. Not allowing the fear that the enemy would like to put on us to overtake us. If we trust and do good, we will be taken care of and will have what we need.

Psalm 37:4 Delight thyself also in the Lord: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.

Many think this is a blank check for what they want. False preachers will tell you God will give you all sorts of monetary wealth and the things money can buy. But God is not a genie in a bottle to grant us expensive cars and material things. They skip the first part that says to delight in the Lord. Delight means to please someone, take joy, find happiness. If we find happiness and joy of being in God’s presence, that is to take delight. If we delight in the Lord, he will give us the desires of our hearts, because our hearts will align with God’s will for our lives. He can and will provide what we need. It is all about aligning our desires with the heart of God.

Psalm 37:5 Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.

He wants us to commit ourselves to Him. When we commit ourselves to God it means we pledge, devote or dedicate our lives to following His leading. We bind our life to Him. If we are truly following Him, He will bring to pass good things in our lives.

Psalm 37:6-7 And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday. 7 Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass.

These two verses summarize the above verses. He tells us to be patient and not worry or fear. We are to not be shaken by what the enemy is doing. Because at the right time, God will bring down the evil.

Psalm37:8-9 Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil. 9 For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the earth.

Do not be angry or in any way do evil. We are to walk upright and wait on the Lord. He will take care of his people, no matter how things appear. The enemy will not win as long as we Fret Not, Trust In God and Commit our way to him.

I suggest you read the entire chapter of Psalm 37. It is full of encouragement to know God is on our side and will take care of His people. For time’s sake, I am going to skip to the last two verses of the chapter, verses 39 -40.

Psalm 37:39-40 But the salvation of the righteous is of the Lord: he is their strength in the time of trouble. 40 And the Lord shall help them, and deliver them: he shall deliver them from the wicked, and save them, because they trust in him.

Why does He deliver us? Because we trust in Him. If we truly trust Him, we will commit our lives to following Him and will not fear what the enemy will do. Be strong and have faith that our God will do what He has promised. He is not a man who can lie. If He says it will happen, it is going to happen.

Until next time,

Be Bold, Be Brave, and Keep Your God Focus.

Have a wonderful day.

EPISODE 73 -WARRIORS ARE OVERCOMERS

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Hello My Friends, Welcome to God Focus This Morning. The title of today’s episode is, “Warriors Are Overcomers.”

Many authors have experienced the blank page stare. That is, you sit looking at a blank sheet, not knowing what to write. An idea will come, and it is just a stray thought. Then, you sit wondering how to expound the idea into an article or a book.

I sometimes find it hard to find things to share with all of you. The word of God is so full of stories that make good points. How many ways can I tell you how wonderful the Lord God Almighty is before I repeat myself? There are times I feel like I share the same things over and over again. But I have been given the task to encourage you to walk as close as you can to God.

I walked through some dark times with depression. God truly delivered me and set me free. I feel like the best days are ahead. I know our country is getting ready to walk through some dark times, but Jesus is our light, and we will find our comfort and safety in Him. I am not naïve enough to believe there will not be trials and troubles. However, I believe in Jesus enough to know that he will carry me through whatever I face.

There is no one more reliable than our Lord. He is not a man that he can lie. When he says something will happen, it will. When he says He is going to do something, He will. We need to find enough strength and faith to know that there is nothing that we could face that Jesus will not be there to see us through. He is the calm in the eye of our spiritual storms. He is our rest and peace when the chaos surrounds us. Every day we need to learn to lean a little more, trust a little harder and love a little deeper.

The random thought today was about being a warrior in God’s army. Do you know you are a warrior? A problem that ancients warriors didn’t have, they knew who they were and trusted their abilities. They trained hard and understood what they were capable of doing. They trusted their king and put their lives on the line for the cause of the king.

Today, we fight battles in the spiritual realm, but often, we do not know who we are in Christ. We do not fully trust our king. We often give our enemy more credit than he deserves. The Psalms are full of David’s concerns, fears and prayers as he faced battle. But he didn’t lose heart, he kept leaning on His God. David trusted God with his whole heart. The Psalms reflect the heart of David. He trusted God and did not allow himself to fear.

There are many soldiers in God’s army, but not all will become warriors. A warrior will face the battles and sometimes end up with scars. But they stood boldly when the battle raged against them and looked to their God to fight with them. Soldiers have training and are brave. A warrior is someone who has faced the enemy head on and stayed strong. They continued to fight when most would have given up.

Anything you overcome; you have power over it. In my case, I overcame depression. I now have power over it. Does that mean that the enemy doesn’t try to come back and tell me the lies to get me in that place? No. But I know his tricks when it comes to that area of life and know how God helped me conquer it the first time.

We can take every new thing that we face and apply a measure of faith. God helped me to overcome that battle. I can conquer the new thing the enemy is trying. If we keep focused on our King, we will be strong in battle, because he has given us the equipment we need to overcome the enemy.

Psalm 24:8-10 Who is this King of gloryThe Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle. 9 Lift up your heads, O ye gates; even lift them up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in. 10 Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, he is the King of glory. Selah.

The King of Glory is the Lord strong and mighty. There is nothing we will face today that will overtake him or surprise him. He will give us new strength for each new day. We overcome evil by the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony. We need to open our mouths and share what the Lord has done for us.

Until next time,

Be Bold, Be Brave and Keep Your God Focus

Have a great day!!

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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EPISODE 68–GAINING GODLY WISDOM

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I have been doing a study of James, it is full of wisdom. It is about Christian character. James encourages us to be intentional in our faith walk. He reminds us to be thankful for the gifts we have been given. One verse tells us to not be double minded. Another explains how damaging our words can be if we don’t guard our tongue.

Wisdom is defined as having experience and knowledge about a subject. It is an understanding that comes from knowing and learning from living something. Example: A farmer has farm wisdom; he understands by his experience and instincts how to go about farming.

Christians gain godly wisdom as we walk out our faith. The more we experience in our faith walk the stronger we become and we learn what to do and what to not do.

James 1:5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.

Gaining wisdom comes from God. He has shared a lot of wisdom in his word. The book of Proverbs is known as the wisdom book. It is full of practical wisdom. Today I want to focus on James 3:13-17

James 3:13 Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom. If you have true wisdom it comes from God and will be meek. Our words will not harm but bring forth healing. Our understanding of God’s ways and how to live a Christian life is Godly wisdom. We will not be arrogant acting like we know everything. Wisdom is understanding we will never know everything, but we can learn every day.

James 3:14-16 But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth. 15 This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. 16 For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work.

There is another type of wisdom that is not from God. This wisdom is the wisdom of the world. It is earthly, sensual and devilish. It doesn’t bring peace and healing but envy and strife. It causes confusion. Verse 14 tells us to lie not against the truth. In other words, this is a warning to the hypocrite trying to say they are a Christian but are walking in the wisdom of the world. This is why the word of God tells us to come out from among those that are worldly. Because we do not want our wisdom to become the wisdom of the things of the world. The wisdom of the world is sensual or about physical gratification. The wisdom of the world is devilish. Which means that we walk in the ways of evil.

James 3:17 But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. Wisdom from above will give us traits that make us soul winners. Godly wisdom is pure. It is peaceable, gentle, easy to implore or plead with someone, full of mercy and good fruit. If we have true wisdom, we will walk with the fruit of the spirit being at the forefront of our lives.

God will give us wisdom to be witnesses of his plan for mankind. The word says He that wins souls is wise. We need to lean on God’s leading. He will show us who we need to tell the story of His love. He will lead us to the souls that are ready to receive His wisdom.

James 1:27 Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.

Unspotted from the world is a difficult state for some people. It means to not allow ourselves to be tainted by the world. Do not be influenced by sinners or sin. We are supposed to be an influence on them.

When we became a follower of Jesus part of our purpose in life became winning souls. Part of the reason we have been given the Holy Ghost is to go out and make disciples. We are to help those that are spotted by the world to find peace. We do this by being wise and not pushing them but by leading them to Jesus.

Prov11:30 The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise.

We need to use a gentle approach with most people. We cannot put them on the defensive or they will not hear our words. We must be wise and patient. But more than anything else we need to listen to the leading of the Holy Ghost. He will give us what to say. Then we too can be wise and win souls to the kingdom.

Prov 9:10The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding. True wisdom comes from our reverence of the Lord. He is all wise and all knowing. As his children he has promised to lead us into all truth. He will give us wisdom and understanding.

I Kgs 3:5 In Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night: and God said, Ask what I shall give thee. Feeling the weight of responsibility of ruling such a large multitude of people he asked for wisdom. God honored his request and blessed him to build the temple that his father could not build.

Two prostitutes came before Solomon. Each had a newborn baby only a few days apart. One died, so they each argued that the living baby was theirs. Each told Solomon their story and how the baby was their child. Solomon had been given wisdom from God and said, Divide the child in half and give half to each. One spoke and said, No, give her the child do not harm it. The other was ok with dividing it. Solomon knew that the real mother would love the child enough to give it up to save it. He granted the correct mother custody. When word of this story spread throughout the land everyone marveled at the wisdom of Solomon.

We may never have the wisdom of King Solomon, but God can give us wisdom in how to handle things of this life. He will give us godly wisdom to be able to discern the truth in any situation.

Thanks for watching,

Until next time,

Be Bold, Be Brave and Keep Your God Focus

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EPISODE 67–NARROW ROAD

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WELCOME TO GOD FOCUS THIS MORNING

The title of today’s episode is: “NARROW WAY”

MATT 7:13-14 Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: 14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

The world is full of people who are bold about their disobedience to God. Then there are people who are sincere about their worship but choose the wrong god. These are normally people that were trained from childhood to worship these false gods. The third group says they believe in Jesus but do not walk in his truth and ways. They give him lip service but have never had an encounter at the foot of the cross. These people will be lost. They are part of the broad way that leads to the wide gate of destruction.

Then, there is a remnant (a small group of people) that is sold out to the cause of Christ. They follow Him closely and desire to walk in the narrow path. We often use the words straight and crooked. Straight meaning a direct line between two points. Crooked meaning a curvy or zigzag path. Evil walks on the crooked path.

However, our verse says strait, as in a narrow passage in between two land masses in a body of water. The narrow way is a path many choose to not walk. It is too difficult to walk the narrow path, they will say. They don’t want to sacrifice their time, their will, their emotions, or their resources.

Luke 13:24-27 Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able. 25 When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are: 26 Then shall ye begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets. 27 But he shall say, I tell you, I know you not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity.

The Pharisees believed they could earn their way into heaven. If they kept all the law and all their added rules they would be saved. They didn’t even know the Messiah when he was standing in front of them. Jesus explained that many would strive to enter but would not enter because of their self-righteousness and judgmental attitudes. Their broad way was more important to them than setting aside their religion and following the Messiah.

Prov 14:12 There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. The way that seems right to some is the broad way. It leads to destruction.

Which path are you on? Are you on the broad road? Allowing man’s ideas and made-up religion to guide you down the wrong path. Are you on the narrow way? The one that leads to heaven. The road that says you are sold out to the cause of Christ.

Every Christian denomination has some elements of God’s truth. They all have many well-intentioned people. No denomination is fully right about everything. Until the Body of Christ comes into alignment with our head which is Christ Jesus, we will never reach our full potential.

We all need revelation, a deeper, more meaningful walk with God. James 4:8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. This says if we draw close to God He will draw close to us. We need to be led by the Spirit and not allow our understanding to lead us. Prov 3:5-6 Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. 6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. He has promised to direct our path. We just have to listen. If we can hear that still small voice, he will lead us on the narrow path. Take time to examine the path that you are on if you are on the wrong one, it’s not too late for a course correction.

Until next time,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

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EPISODE 66 –BEAUTY OF GOD’S POWER

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WELCOME TO GOD FOCUS THIS MORNING

The title of today’s episode is: “Beauty of God’s Power”

God is all-powerful. He spoke the world into existence. He worked out all the complicated physics and created atoms, protons, electrons and neutrons. He gave things balance and allowed birds to defy gravity and fly. While he was working out the complicated science of the universe, he cared enough to make it beautiful.

The sunrise in the morning, the sunset at night, a meadow strewn with wildflowers of all colors and shapes. Don’t even get me started on the beach. It is amazing to stand on the water’s edge and see nothing but water for as far as our eyes can see. But he gave the ocean boundaries and told the waves how far they could cover the sand of shore. The way he paints the sky each night and morning should be enough proof that there is a God. Because only God could create something so beautiful.

He separated day from night and gave us billions of stars to look at twinkling down on us. He took the darkness and declared let there be light. The darkness disappeared and light bounced off of everything. Showing God’s handiwork. But he wasn’t satisfied with just the earth and the animals that he created uniquely.

He created mankind and gave him the ability to create art, music, poetry, and stories. It is in this creative process that I often feel the closest to God. To me, creating and painting is almost an act of worship.

No human will ever be able to create beauty like God. But there is a peaceful solace in being able to paint our version of God’s beauty.

In his written word, we find a lot of beauty. Normally, each beautiful, moving thing is accompanied by something painful. Look at the beauty of Jesus’s sacrifice. That is the single most selfless, passionate, loving thing that could be done for you and me.

Accompanied by the fact that he freely laid down his life for us. Was the fact that he knew what he would suffer. He knew the prophecies; he knew how the Romans brutalized those they punished. They would go above and beyond the normal punishment for Jesus. He freely chose to do it anyway.

There is such beauty in his selfless love for us. He cared enough about mankind that he was willing to die for us.

There is beauty in the power of the cross. Jesus gave us power to overcome our obstacles. He gave us power to become the sons of God. The power we have within us goes beyond anything we can imagine. But we limit God with our words and our lack of faith at times.

If we could truly realize that the same power that raised Jesus from the dead lives within us. We have power in the name of Jesus. We are free from bondage because of that beauty of God’s power. He made a way, when we didn’t deserve a way. He gave us freedom when we deserved punishment.

Our sins separated us from God. He desired a relationship with us so much that he came, bled and died to set us free. How is it that we cannot pray for more than five minutes? How is it that we find it hard to work him into our schedules? He asked so little in return for what he gave to us.

We have the power to stand up and overcome whatever we face. It is like having electricity to your house. It is turned on, but the breaker box is shut off. All it takes to access the power is to flip the switch.

We need to get serious about our faith walk. It is time we flip the switch and access the power of God that is within us. We cannot overcome the enemy if we do not walk in the power of victory that is given us through Christ.

Rev 12: 11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.

He takes the ashes of our broken lives and gives us beauty in all forms, from the sunrises to peace in our soul.

Isaiah 61:1-3 The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;

2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; 3 To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified.

God’s beauty shines in our lives as we go forth shining the light He has given us. Just as the stars twinkle at night and the sun shines each day. He gives us light to go into people’s darkness and give them hope. That is the beauty of God’s power. When he gave us power to become the son’s of God. He poured into us the ability to go forth and help people out of their darkness. To show them the freedom we have in Jesus Christ.

The crucifixion was not a pretty sight to behold. I cannot even imagine how those who witnessed it felt. But the work of the cross is the greatest act of love ever witnessed.

I Cor 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.

We have to share Jesus to the world, where they are in their hurt and pain. Many will not come looking for Him because they do not know they need Him. The preaching of the cross and redemption means nothing to them. Until we show them his beautiful light. The light that is the beauty of God’s power.

Until next time,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

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EPISODE 65 — GOOD FRIDAY??

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WELCOME TO GOD FOCUS THIS MORNING

The title of today’s episode is: “GOOD FRIDAY??”

When I was a child, I wondered why the day that Jesus was brutalized and nailed to a cross was called Good Friday. I didn’t think that what happened to Jesus was good at all. I remember asking my grandpa what made Jesus different from the other two on the cross with Him. What made him special?

He explained that the other two committed crimes and that was how the Romans punished criminals. Then he said, Jesus was perfect and without sin. Yet He chose to be punished to take away our punishment so that we could be saved. I remember being a little scared that they could have put us on a cross. Still not understanding why it was Good Friday. It still seemed like a bad Friday.

I am sure the disciples that ran and hid felt like it was a bad Friday. They were in shock and allowed fear to overtake them. Can you imagine how they felt? They had walked with Jesus and saw the miracles. They knew He had power. Yet they saw Him punished. Fear had to set in a little because it looked like the Romans had power over Jesus. But Jesus gave up his authority to become the lamb of the world. He surrendered to the process for each of us.

I cannot think of the crucifixion without Day Three by Lords Song going through my mind. But it says “Day One the hill ran crimson red with blood to cleans all sin. Day Two reminds us keep the faith when the doubt sets in, what a difference one day makes from death to victory. The cross became an empty grave on Day Three.”

Good Friday is good because that was the greatest day in history. It was the day we all were given the right to be set free. It looked dark on Friday. The enemy thought he had won. Day two, the disciples were down and feeling the pain of grief. But the good news is that He rose from the dead-on Day Three, full of power and victory over the enemy.

We cannot only find encouragement in the resurrection and how it gives us the right to be saved. But the story of the cross can give us encouragement for all of our situations. Things could not have looked darker than it did on that Friday. But Sunday came and freedom came with it.

Our situations may seem bad or look dark sometimes, but we can look at Good Friday and how dark it was and remember that the light will spring forth again. Sunday was the brightest day of hope.

When we are dealing with moments it looks like the enemy is winning. We may feel like we lack strength to go on but be encouraged and hang on because victory is just around the corner.

While Jesus was in the grave, he descended into hell and took away the keys of death, hell and the grave. When He rose, He had taken back the authority that Adam lost by eating of the tree that God told Him to not eat. Jesus destroyed the plans of the enemy.

He gave us the power to become the sons of God. But if it had not been for Good Friday, there would not have been the victory of Sunday morning. Without the dark times, we could not appreciate the light of victory.

As we walk through dark times, we have to hold on, victory is just around the corner. Remember the cross became an empty grave on day three. As your enemy closes in and you feel trapped, like the children of Israel at the Red Sea. Remember, God made a way and opened the sea. He turned a scary moment into ultimate freedom.

Do not be discouraged, He is waiting to turn our dark Fridays into victorious Sundays. Take time to thank God for His work on the cross and that He has given us the right to become the sons of God. Praise him for his precious blood cleanses all sin. His blood that gives us power over the powers of the enemy.

Day One, they found him guilty, and it turned dark. Day two was full of doubt, and the enemy thought he had the upper hand. He thought he had won. Until Jesus met him face to face and took the keys of hell from him and set free the captive. He came out of the grave on Day Three victorious over death, hell and the grave. This is why we celebrate Day Three, for we have nothing to fear. Jesus, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, has risen. It is time for us to rejoice in the freedom he has given us from bondage.

Have a wonderful resurrection weekend.

Until next time,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

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EPISODE 64 –WE CANNOT HIDE

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The title of today’s episode is: “WE CANNOT HIDE”

Ostriches bury their heads in the sand to hide. But when I did a little research that is just a myth. Since they do not fly, they build their nests in the ground. Occasionally, they will stick their heads in the ground to check on their eggs. For years people have said they buried their heads when scared or threatened. If they feel they cannot run away. They actually will fall down on the ground and try to blend into the terrain, not moving.

Our enemy is on the prowl to destroy us. We cannot be like the ostrich and run or just sit still and hope the enemy will not attack. He sees us, because he is afraid of us. If he thinks we are weak or afraid he will attack.

It is like a small child covering their eyes and thinking that you do not see them. We do not have the luxury to cover our eyes. We need to pray for God to open our eyes as never before, we need to see the truth. God will open our eyes and show us the things He wants to reveal to us.

We have to have our ears open as never before to the still small voice of God. He will whisper what we need to know if we are listening. But we have to listen, or He cannot guide us. If we are too busy doing our own thing and making our plans, it will drown out God’s voice.

When I was a child, my grandma had a statue of three monkeys, one was covering its eyes, one covered its ears and one was covering its mouth. It was saying, see no evil, hear no evil and speak no evil. Too long the church has been like the monkeys. They shut their eyes and ears to evil, and stopped using their mouths against evil. We no longer have the luxury of shutting our eyes. The battle is getting real. We are fighting for the souls of our families and friends. We are fighting for the final harvest. We cannot cover our eyes and ears. We cannot cover our mouth either. We need to tell the enemy he cannot have our families, our friends or the harvest.

It is time we asked for our spiritual eyes and ears to be open. It is time we open our mouths and declare victory in all situations. We do not have the luxury of being complacent and hoping if we are still and quiet that the enemy will not attack. Our enemy is out to destroy us, our families and to destroy the harvest before we can reach it.

Heb 4:16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

Because of Jesus’ work on the cross, we can come boldly to the throne of grace. We can ask our Father for what we need. His Spirit lives within us. He will lead and guide us into all truth. If we allow Him to lead.

When I say we need our spiritual eyes to be opened. I mean that God needs to show us the things He wished for us to know. He needs to give us understanding. The church is in desperate need of spiritual discernment.

(Warning: Do not buy into the new age philosophies about seeing in the spirit realm through meditation. If you do, you will get a demon showing you things you don’t want to see. Or worse, the demon will show you things you wish to see, so you can be manipulated by the enemy. These things are real even though many close their eyes to the fact that the enemy has power. Do not fear these things, we have been given power over the powers of the enemy when we received the Holy Ghost. This was not what I meant when I said our eyes need to be open. When Christian’s meditate, we focus on the one true and living God. We focus on his word. We do not ask the universe to open our eye.)

We have to be led by the Holy Ghost. God can give his people dreams and visions today as he did in the days of old. But He can also open up our eyes of understanding and when we read His word, we will see what He is speaking to us. He can take the verses on the pages of His Word and guide us to what we need to be doing.

Many have experienced the way the word will guide us along our path. A situation will arise and we ask God for guidance. The next time we flip our Bible open and begin to read, the verses will come to life in us, and we will know what we need to do about our situation.

When I say we need our ears open to hear, I mean not hear a sound, but understand God’s leading. One definition of the word hear, is to understand or pay attention when someone speaks. When God speaks, we need to understand and pay attention. Our spiritual ears need to be open to his voice.

I have talked often about the power of our words. We not only have to be careful not to gossip or speak curses, but we cannot allow negativity to come out of our mouths. We need to speak things that edify or build up. Things may look a certain way, but we cannot speak what we see with our natural eyes, we have to speak what God would have us speak in the situations.

The children of Israel is my go to for the example of what not to do. They accused Moses of bringing them into the wilderness to die. They saw their circumstances as being bigger than their God. Then they saw the giants in the promised land as being bigger than their God even though he had destroyed Egypt, the largest superpower of that day, before their eyes. What they spoke, they received; they all died in the wilderness.

We cannot keep talking about how things appear in our country. We need to come before that throne of grace and declare before God that we believe the word. We believe God is in control. We believe He will not allow us to be overtaken by the enemy. All of the people we perceive as evil are under Satan’s control. We know that our God has more power. We must speak God’s truth and trust him to deliver His people.

Pray for the eyes, ears and mouth of our enemy to be shut. While praying for the body of Christ to be awake, watching and listening to God. Then speak victory, because God will not allow His people to be defeated. He will lift us up, He will go before us and fight our battles.

Until next time,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

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EPISODE 63 -PILLAR OF SALT VS SALT OF THE EARTH

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Are you a pillar of salt or salt of the earth?

I ask the question because I recently read the story of Lot again. I started to think about a pillar of salt versus being the salt of the earth. In the book of Genesis is a story of Lot. He was the nephew of Abraham. He had gone to Sodom and Gomorrah and started to build a life.

God found that there were not any righteous people there and was determined to destroy the city. He told Lot to take his family and leave, not looking back.

Gen 19:22 Haste thee, escape thither; for I cannot do anything till thou be come thither. Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar. 23 The sun was risen upon the earth when Lot entered into Zoar. 24 Then the Lord rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven; 25 And he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground. 26 But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.

God sent angels to warn Lot that God was going to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah. God told Lot to escape quickly because he could not do anything until he was gone from that place. God told them to go and not to look back. As they were leaving, Lots’ wife looked behind and turned into a pillar of salt.

We do not even know her name, but we know of her disobedience to God’s command. It is an example for us to not take the commandments of God lightly. We cannot be sure why she looked back. Some say it was that she was longing for the material things she left behind. Others say that she left married daughters there and was afraid for their lives. Some say she looked back just to see the destruction out of curiosity.

I guess the reason really doesn’t matter, it is the lesson we can take from Lot’s wife. Disobedience has consequences. Even if God doesn’t turn us into a pillar of salt. Sometimes the things we do in disobedience can get us stuck in a place as if we were turned into a pillar of salt. We can get so bound that we are unable to move from that spot. We cannot go forward and we cannot go backward, we are stuck in the chains of the enemy. Being set free so we can move forward takes a lot of prayer and deliverance from the shackles the enemy puts on us when we are disobedient.

Phil 3:13-14 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, 14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

Forgetting those things that are behind doesn’t mean you will not have a memory of what is behind. It means to make a conscience decision to not dwell on the past. We need to be reaching, extending our hands to take hold of what God has for us in this season of life. We can press on to the things God has in store for us. We sometimes have ideas of the way our life will work out. When it doesn’t go the way we think or wish, we need to allow the plan to fade away and look forward.

We do not want to remember the things behind us and turn around. There is no reason to turn to the past. There is no reason to look back; God has set us free. If we were happy with our sins, we would not have looked for Jesus in the first place. We do not want to be a pillar of salt, unable to move away from our sin. Jesus came and we have a better way.

Matt 5:13 Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.

Jesus says we are the salt of the earth. But if the salt has lost its flavor, it is not good for anything. Salt is a seasoning that makes everything taste better. It can also be used as a preservative.

Colossians 4:6 Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.

Jesus is what makes us the salt of the earth. We are here to share the seasoning of God’s word. It is the spiritual preservative the world needs. We can have an effect on others by being around them and allowing them to see Jesus.

He has made us light and salt to help others see they need Jesus. Imagine sitting down to dinner and the food being good but lacking salt. Once a little salt is added it tastes better. Peoples lives are like that, sometimes they just need a little salt. They need us to show a little light and share Jesus with them.

Each of us has a choice to make every day. Are we going to look forward or look back? We have to choose every day to walk in the Spirit and not fulfill the desires of the flesh. Many places, different leaders, prophetS and teachers have said “Choose this day who you will serve.” God or the things of the world, the little false gods.

So, I ask the question I started with, do you choose to be a pillar of salt or are you the salt of the earth?

UNTIL NEXT TIME,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

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