Tag: God’s provision.

JOY AND HAPPINESS

Phil 4:8-9   Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.   9 Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.

We often tell our friends that we only wish for them to be happy.  But actually, we should wish for them to be joyful instead.  Happiness depends on outside factors. If we have the right romantic relationship, if we have the right job, if we have material things that make us comfortable. All these things affect our happiness.

Joy is something we carry on the inside.  It is a sense of contentment or peace.  It does not dependent on material things, friends, family or the right romantic partner. Joy is a state of being that comes from God.  If we are His people, he will give us joy.  Inner joy can help us to let our light shine in difficulties. Adversity can affect our happiness.  It doesn’t affect our joy.

We can have our backs against the wall and feel like we have no escape from the things that come against us in life. These things can steal our sense of happiness, but they cannot steal our joy, as long as we look to Jesus to help us overcome our fiery trials.

Happiness is about pleasing ourselves, while joy comes when we please others.  Being content is a choice that we will not allow the enemy to make us feel down if we don’t have the material things, we wish we had in our possession. God will provide all we need.  If we have what we need today, tomorrow will take care of itself. When it arrives, we will again evaluate if we have all we need.

Phil 4:10-12 But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at the last your care of me hath flourished again; wherein ye were also careful, but ye lacked opportunity.   11 Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.  12 I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.

We may face rough times, but learning to be content is a way to allow the Holy Ghost to take control of our lives.  He will lead us exactly where we need to be and will provide what we need. If we can learn to be content, we will be a greater light to the world.

Joy is a fruit of the spirit and comes from the Lord. The longer we walk on this Christian journey the more our fruit should grow. We should walk in Love as well as Joy, letting our light shine before the world.

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

HEALING

Isaiah 53:5 – But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. 

He was wounded for our sins. Jesus’ death brought healing opportunities for our souls.  But he also took stripes for our physical healing. Jesus heals us today. We can anoint one another with oil and pray for healing.  God will heal us if we have faith.

Some say I don’t believe it; miracles don’t exist today. To those I would say don’t waste your time praying if you don’t believe it. If you don’t believe you won’t receive it. If God is not able to heal these bodies, he has created, then how can we trust him for our salvation from hell? That is a bigger miracle than healing our bodies.

James 5:14-15 Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: 15 And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.

I have a unique perspective; I was raised to know the power of God. My grandpa had the gift of healing and miracles.  I used to travel in the summers with him and my grandmother to revivals all over the upper east coast. I have seen things that God has done. I have experienced healing of my own.  I recently was sick and had pain in my side after a few minutes of my parents praying for me I got better.  I claim the blood Jesus shed for me.  I am blessed to be his child. He healed me of chronic sinus headaches many years ago. He delivered me from depression and constant anxiety. Many more things that I cannot even remember. 

Our lives as Christians are based on faith. Heb 11:6 -But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. The God of the universe lives within us, we have all power.  We just have to access it by faith.

As Jesus was being beaten, bruised and crushed something happened, his anointing flowed.  Just as olive oil flows from crushed and bruised olives.  That process released anointing. That same anointing lives within us. This is why we can pray and ask for healing, and he will deliver us.

3 JOHN 1:2 Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth. If we expect to receive things from the Lord, we need to have a relationship with him. We need to walk by faith and not by sight. As we grow in our relationship with God we gain power. The power we gain is to be used for the glory of God and to help others.

James 1 3-8  (3) Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. 4 But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. 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. 6 But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. 7 For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. 8 A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.

It comes down to what I wrote about a few blogs ago. Who’s report are your going to believe?  Are you going to trust God or trust man. Do we have faith? Do we not have faith?  We have to have this matter settled concerning these things before the enemy attacks.  We have to have a made-up mind that no matter what comes our way we will walk by faith.  That is what it means to be a child of God.  We have to be determined that on this day, I will trust the Lord for all of my needs, physically, spiritually and financially. He is the God that cannot fail. When our eyes pop open tomorrow we need to say, “I trust you Lord to supply all my needs and take care of me. I will do all I can to be the light and witness you have called me to be on the earth.”

The time is drawing close that God is going to divide those who fully trust from those who partially trust. We are about to see the church rise up in the power and anointing that it once had many years ago.  How else will we show the unbelievers the way to Jesus? Evil is all around us, but do not fear Lord Jesus is near.

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

A LESSON FROM JEHOSHAPHAT

Rejoice, for victory is ours. Just as in the days of Jehoshaphat, we can sometimes find ourselves surrounded by the enemy.  He did something that, to the natural world, looks stupid.  He put worshippers out in front of the army.

2 Chronicles 20: 1- It came to pass after this also, that the children of Moab, and the children of Ammon and with them other beside the Ammonites, came against Jehoshaphat to battle.

He received word that many others were plotting to come against him from beyond the sea.  He feared and he started seeking God.  He declared a fast throughout all of Judah. The people prayed and God honored their prayers.

God told them to go down before their enemy.

In verse 17 Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still and see the salvation of the Lord with you, O Judah and Jerusalem: fear not, not be dismayed; tomorrow go our against them: for the Lord will be with you.

They worshipped the Lord for what he had said to them. The next morning, they rose early to start the march to the wilderness.  Jehoshaphat stood before them and said (verse 20) ….Believe in the Lord your God, so shall be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper.

21 And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed singers unto the Lord, and that should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army, and to say, Praise the Lord; for his mercy endureth for ever.   22 And when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set ambushments against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, which were come against Judah; and they were smitten.     23 For the children of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of mount Seir, utterly to slay and destroy them: and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, every one helped to destroy another.  24 And when Judah came toward the watch tower in the wilderness, they looked unto the multitude, and, behold, they were dead bodies fallen to the earth, and none escaped.   25 And when Jehoshaphat and his people came to take away the spoil of them, they found among them in abundance both riches with the dead bodies, and precious jewels, which they stripped off for themselves, more than they could carry away: and they were three days in gathering of the spoil, it was so much.

God took the enemies of his people and turned them against each other.  By the time they arrived, the enemies had destroyed one another.  All that was left for Jehoshaphat’s army was to collect all the spoils of war.  It took them three days to gather all the riches of the enemy.

God will take what the enemy tried to use against us and give us a blessing while destroying our enemy. Today we have an enemy that is determined to destroy us.  He hates us because God loves us. He wants to take each of us to hell.  He cannot harm us if we keep our focus on God.  God has made promises to his people today just as he did in the Old Testament.  He wants to prosper us and bless us.  He will go before us and fight for us.

We need to remember how Jehoshaphat put his worshippers out front before the battle.  In the natural, that seems like a ridiculous idea.  They would be mowed down by the enemy without protection.  But God told them to march, but they would not have to fight. Worship invites God’s presence. The word says he inhabits the praise of his people.

He will go before us and fight for us. We need to go to war on our knees. We need to first invite God’s presence to us through worship. Then we pray for God to destroy the evil in our country. America needs to be saved from an enemy that is not a country but satan himself.  The pure evil that is consuming and taking over everything.

By faith, we can reach out and pull down the enemy’s strongholds in the land.  By faith, we can ask God to allow the evil to be revealed so that it can be destroyed. We will not have to fight if we have prepared for battle with prayer and worship. God is calling for his prayer warriors to go to battle on their knees.  He is asking for his worshippers to arise.

He will fight our battles if we keep our eyes on him.  He is craving a relationship with us.  He wants us to get back to the place where he is the center of our lives.  He wants to have his rightful place and that is first. If we keep our God Focus, we have nothing to fear.

Have a good week, my friends.

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

Strongholds

2 Cor. 10:4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds)

How often do we have a place where the enemy has dug in and will not let go? This is referred to as a stronghold. Then we try to fight the enemy with our willpower and our strength.

No one has ever overcome Satan’s strongholds by sheer will and strength. It takes God to help us.

Strongholds are lies we tell ourselves that keep us bound. Until we accept God’s truth about the situation we will stay bound. It is when we quit telling ourselves we are stuck that we truly find freedom.

If Christians could learn to not listen to the lies of the enemy, we would be free from ever falling into a situation that is a stronghold in the first place.

So, identify the strongholds and ask God to help you to tear down the strongholds of the enemy.

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS.