CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO VERSION: https://rumble.com/v68r55p-god-focus-this-morning-ep261-spiritual-strength.html

SPIRITUAL STRENGTH

I often talk about having faith and strength. But where do we get strength when we can’t seem to find it. New Age philosophies would say to look within. But the only way we can find it from within is if we look to God who is in us.

Strength can be defined as a state of being strong. There are all sorts of ways a person can be strong. Physical strength means that we can lift heavy objects or work doing physical labor for long periods of time. Mental strength is having an ability to remember large amounts of facts. Someone mentally strong may be good at solving puzzles or problems. Then there is strength of spirit, this is the essence of who we are. To be spiritually strong it means we have faith in God to see us through. All of our strength and ability comes from Him. What we do with it, what we give back to him is our gift to Him.

2 Sam 22:33 God is my strength and power: and he maketh my way perfect.

The word says he is our strength and power, he makes our way perfect. The way doesn’t always seem perfect, especially in the rough spots.  It is in the troubled times that we know really how much strength we have been given to overcome.

When life is easy, we do not need much strength. We may lose track of God is our strength if we never need to access strength. He gives us amazing overcoming power. But we would never know if we didn’t face things to overcome.

1Chr 16:11 Seek the LORD and his strength, seek his face continually.

This verse says to seek the Lord and his strength. In order to have strength we need to ask God for it. We need to seek him in the good times and bad; continually.

Many considered David strong for going against Goliath. It did take a certain amount of strength of character to be bold enough to go. However, David had put in the prayer time. He had spent countless hours building his relationship with God. He knew God would not let him down. He had proven to protect him and allow him to overcome the bear and the lion.

David gained strength from knowing how God had protected him and allowed him to overcome in earlier trials. This one was just a little taller with an attitude.

Goliath’s first mistake was mocking the God of Israel. God is patient and longsuffering but make no mistake you are on dangerous ground when you mock God.

Any battle we win, any trial we overcome will give us understanding and strength for the next battle. In this way, life can be like a lot of video games. As you clear a level, the next one gets more challenging. But with each level you overcome, you reap the rewards of climbing higher. Every time we overcome; we draw closer to God.

Psalms 28:7-8 The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him. 8 The LORD is their strength, and he is the saving strength of his anointed.

He is our strength to fight and stand for what is right, but at the same time he is our defender, protector, and help. We can trust him because he only wants what is best for us. He works everything for our good even when we don’t think anything can ever be right again.

Look at the story of Sampson. He was known for his strength. The Philistines wanted to know where his strength came from, so they paid Delilah to find out.

Sampson in his strength killed a lion and left its carcass on the ground. Honeybees built a nest inside of the bones of the lion. Sampson came along in his weakness and ate honey out of the carcass.

There are many lessons in the story of Sampson, but the theme of his story is all about strength. Three main things to take away from it are: One-Never toy with the enemy like Sampson did with Delilah and the Philistines. He will get the upper hand and deplete your strength.  Two-The things we have overcome will nourish us when we are weary. Like the honey in the lion’s carcass. Three-Even in our weakest state, if we ask God, he will give us strength to overcome the enemy.

I want to encourage you that even when you feel weak, God is there waiting for you to ask him for strength.

Until next time

Be bold, be brave and keep your God Focus

Like share and subscribe for more encouragement.

CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO VERSION: https://rumble.com/v67qbga-god-focus-this-morning-ep260-speak-life.html

WELCOME TO GOD FOCUS THIS MORNING

The title of today’s episode: Speak Life

I often speak of how our words have power in our lives. We often say things that we are pronouncing trouble and afflictions on ourselves. We have the ability to speak life or death over our future. Some think this is not true, others call it speaking things into the universe to manifest what they desire. The whole universe manifesting thing is satan’s way of trying to counterfeit the real power of God.

As his children, we have the God of all creation inside of us. How we walk and how we talk matters. Think about Jesus cursing the fig tree and it died. That same power is within us. But our human nature wants to speak things to get sympathy. We talk negative, because our attitude is not right.

Spending time in the word of God and in prayer helps us to not walk in our flesh. If we can walk in the Spirit and not our flesh, we will have a better chance of taming our tongue.

James 3:2-5 For in many things we offend all. If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body. 3 Behold, we put bits in the horses’ mouths, that they may obey us; and we turn about their whole body. 4 Behold also the ships, which though they be so great, and are driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a very small helm, whithersoever the governor listeth. 5 Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth!

Ships are turned by a small rudder. A horse is turned by a bit in their mouth. Our lives can be turned by our words. We have to speak life into our situations. How many were snared by the words of their mouth in the bible. One example that comes to mind is in Acts chapter 5. The story of Ananias and Sapphira, these people lied to the prophet of God and they fell down dead. Things would have been different if they had just spoken the truth.

When we speak truth in love it is life to the soul. I know certain religious people that jump on people and tell them they are going to hell if they don’t repent and change their lives. Then with a superior attitude they will say, “Well, I told them the truth.” Technically, they did tell them the truth. But if the delivery of the truth is not accompanied by love, the message will not be received. When this happens, normally, that person will only harden their heart against God.

We must learn how to deliver the message of God’s great love with compassion and non-judgmental attitudes. As long as we walk the earth we are at risk of our flesh allowing our tongue to say things that are negative. Only God can teach us to speak good things, life, health, peace and love.

When things in this life appears to be going wrong we need to get into the word of God and speak his promises. If we are sick, we speak healing. If we have financial difficulties, we don’t talk about how broke we are, but we speak that God is our provider, and we have abundance. God will provide, he will heal, he will save and deliver. We speak faith and God will move the mountains in our lives. But if we stand staring at the mountain speaking about how big it is, we will fall into fear.

Look at the children of Israel. They sent spies to spy out the promised land. Two spoke positively, we are more than able to take the land. Joshua and Caleb saw the giants, they were not ignorant of the obstacles. But they also knew how big their God was, this was how they could say, we are more than able to take the land. Physically, without God, they may not have been able to take it. But they knew God had promised them that land and God does what he promises.

They wandered for forty years in the desert because of their words of negativity. How long do we stay in situations when we do not need to because of the words of our mouth.

Think about the situations of your life. Are you speaking life, or are you speaking things that will keep you bound.

Prov 18:21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.

Are you going to speak life and faith or death and fear? Something to pray about because we always want to be found speaking life.

Until next time,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

LIKE SHARE AND SUBSCRIBE FOR MORE ENCOURAGEMENT

CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO VERSION: https://rumble.com/v67d91p-god-focus-this-morning-ep259-safe-in-his-hands.html

WELCOME TO GOD FOCUS THIS MORNING

The title of today’s episode: SAFE IN HIS HAND

As winter storms blow through my area, thoughts of safety is on everyone’s mind. But as a child of God. I am reminded that our safety is always in the Lord. He only knows the times he has protected us and saved our lives.

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

God loves us so much that he has created beings, just to watch over his children. We have no reason to fear the storm. When I say storm, I mean literal or spiritual. God has promised to keep us safe and watch over us.

We have no reason to fear the storms of life. The enemy will come along and try to cause us to fear when things have gone wrong. He tries to cause us to fall into fear because he knows that if we are fearful, we are not trusting. Fear is the enemy of our faith.

Trusting God is having faith that he will take care of us. It doesn’t matter what we face; the enemy will not win. Anytime the enemy tries to attack with fear, read Psalms 91. It is so encouraging and reminds us that God watches over us.

Isaiah 25:4: For thou hast been a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shadow from the heat, when the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall.

Isaiah says the Lord has been a strength to the poor. He will provide whatever we need to live. A strength to the needy, he has promised to supply our needs. He is a refuge from the storm. He is a safe place to run when life gets to be more than we can handle. Often, life throws us things we don’t think we will be able to survive. But the Lord is our shelter. We can run to him with our pain and grief from the storms. He is there to shelter us and give us strength to keep going.

Nahum 1:3: “The LORD is slow to anger, and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked: the LORD hath his way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet.”

When life’s storms blow into our lives, God will not waste it.  He will use it to draw us closer to him. The whole purpose of our life’s journey is learning to love God and rely on him. To learn how to walk in his love and show others love.

We are safe in the hollow of his hand. He is our strong tower that we can run to when life gets rough.

When the storms of life rage, we take shelter under the shadow of God’s wings. He has promised to never leave us or forsake us. We can count on him to keep all of his promises.

We often in the natural get weather forecasts that tell us of pending storms. When it is a huge storm, people prepare for it. They board up their windows and gather emergency supplies. When spiritual storms are coming our way, God often warns us by his Spirit that is within us. With the spiritual storm on the horizon, we can start praying for God to help us be strong when it hits us. He will be our shelter if we go to him. There is no safer place to be than in the arms of a loving God.

When we know a storm is coming, we should prepare as much as we can, making sure that our faith is not overtaken by fear.  Then pray for God to take control and have faith that he will see us through.

Until next time,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

LIKE SHARE AND SUBSCRIBE FOR MORE ENCOURAGEMENT

CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO VERSION: https://rumble.com/v66zn7j-god-focus-this-morning-ep258-god-is-our-deliverer.html

WELCOME TO GOD FOCUS THIS MORNING

The title of today’s episode: GOD IS OUR DELIVERER

How often do things look like there is no hope? How many bible stories look like the battle is lost, then God shows up. When God is on the move, hold on to your hat, things are going to turn around.

The children of Israel at the red sea are a good example. They were trapped and looked like they had no hope, then God showed up and told Moses what to do, and Moses said stand still and see the salvation of the Lord.

There are times that we need to stand still and allow God to do what he does best. Standing still is hard to do. But while we stand, there are two things we can do, pray and praise. If we praise God, it helps us focus. We are making and keeping the God connection in our lives. Then, pray for strength to stand. Pray for God’s will to be done in our country.

For several years we have been fighting an intense battle for the soul of our nation. God has heard our many prayers. We have to believe that he will do what he has promised. We are at that moment when things are starting to appear scary, but as we stand strong in this moment, we will see the deliverance of the Lord.

Is 41:10 Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.

God often tells us to not fear. I love this verse because He says do not fear because I am your God. That statement alone should be enough. Do not fear, I am your God. That switches the burden of us carrying everything to making it his responsibility. Then he says he will give us strength and will help us. When we feel we cannot go on, remember he is there and will give us strength. He says he will uphold us.

God is not surprised by anything that satan and those who he controls will do. If you know what the enemy is going to do, you know what to do to take them down. God is in control.

Psalms 46:1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

Many scriptures tell us that God is our strength. Others say the joy of the Lord is our strength. In order to have the Joy of the Lord, we need to spend time with him.

Psalm 46:2 Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; 3 Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. Selah.

It doesn’t matter how scary the red sea looks. It doesn’t matter that the enemy is closing in around us. We have to remember that God is with us, and he will take care of his people.

Fear is a strong emotion. It can be paralyzing if we allow it to, but we can overcome fear with faith. Our faith needs to be stronger and bigger than our fear. We often think about the cross when we think of salvation. When we say that God will save us in every way possible. He is our long-term plan for our soul. But he is the short-term plan for our lives here on earth as well.

We just have to keep standing while God is holding us upright. We will not fail, and we will not fall. God is with us, and he will save us from all our fear.

Psalm 34:4 I sought the Lord, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears. It doesn’t say a few of our fears, but all of them. Victory will be ours as long as we can stand strong.

Until next time,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

LIKE SHARE AND SUBSCRIBE FOR MORE ENCOURAGEMENT

CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO VERSION: https://rumble.com/v65e8wg-god-focus-this-morning-ep255-steadfast-in-the-storms.html

WELCOME TO GOD FOCUS THIS MORNING

The title of today’s episode: STEADFAST IN THE STORMS

Often, as Christians, we are told we need to have deep roots. When the storms of life come, we will not be able to survive unless we do. Now is the time to make sure our roots are strong. We are facing a storm and when it comes, we will stand strong if our roots are deep. If we are not deeply planted on a solid foundation, we risk being blown over or damaged by the storms.

It is easy to be optimistic when the sun is shining, but when the rains come, and the sky is dark it is more difficult. We, however, can overcome anything we face with God by our side.  I was thinking today about how far God has brought me. I have walked through some hard things. I am sure all of you have walked through some serious storms. But be encouraged, we are still standing.

Gal. 5:1 Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.

Jesus made us free; we need to stand fast or be strong and determined to hold onto that freedom. The word tells us to not be entangled again with the yoke of bondage. It means to not allow ourselves, to give up in a weak moment and fall into sin. If we can stay focused on God and stand strong, it is impossible to fall into sin. It is when we allow ourselves to lose focus on God that we could end up in the bondage of sin.

Standing strong is easy as long as we keep our eyes on Jesus. It is when the tragedies of life happen, when the storms of life blow in, that it is easy to lose focus. In those moments, we are most vulnerable to the enemy.

1 Cor. 15:58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.

We should never feel like anything we have done for the kingdom is in vain. There are times that things do not work out like we planned or expected. This is often because the enemy has got his hands in the mix. But God can take even the things we perceive as mistakes and use them for His Glory. God doesn’t waste anything, but uses it to build us and grow us.

The word tells us to be steadfast and unmovable. Steadfast means to be constant, firmly loyal or unwavering. We need to be solid and strong in our faith, not allowing our circumstances to move us.

James 1:6-8 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.

If we are steadfast and unmovable, we will not waiver. Allowing our circumstances to move us, we risk becoming double-minded. The word tells us that it makes us unstable in all our ways. We do not want our circumstances to dictate our faith. We want our faith to dictate how we handle our circumstances.

People often say, Don’t tell God how big your mountain is, but tell the mountain how big your God is, I say to you, don’t tell God how big and scary your circumstances are, but tell your circumstances how big your God is.

Just as God took the animals to Adam to see what he would call them, sometimes God is waiting to see what we call our circumstances. The words we say, will determine out outcome and how long we are stuck in the circumstances.

Stand strong; you do not stand alone. God goes before us, is with us and will fight for us. We have no reason to fear.

Until next time,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

LIKE SHARE AND SUBSCRIBE FOR MORE ENCOURAGEMENT

CLICK HERE FOR THE VIDEO VERSION: https://rumble.com/v651bas-god-focus-this-morning-ep254-the-light-will-shine-again.html

WELCOME TO GOD FOCUS THIS MORNING

The title of today’s episode: The Light Will Shine Again

The new year always brings thoughts of being better organized. I always have a long list of things I want to get done. As the cold darkness of winter sets in, I normally allow procrastination to give me excuses to just sit quietly in my recliner with a cup of tea and something to read.

As children of God we cannot allow the enemy to whisper excuses to us. He will tell us there is time to read our Bible’s later. He will whisper, it’s cold outside, it won’t hurt to miss one church service. The more we listen the darker and colder it gets. Just like winter, the light verses darkness ratio is unbalanced. We find ourselves longing for warmer and brighter days. But things will not change unless there is more light. When the earth is in alignment with the sun to shine on our area more, the days will be brighter and longer.

Spiritually we are in a place of darkness. Which means, we are in a time when there is an absence of light in a lot of places. We are at the breaking of day, in the darkness before the dawn. The short period ahead will soon give way to brighter days.  The things in the world appear scary. It is easy to want to hide away from it all. But God didn’t design us to hide from evil. He created us to let our light shine. We are made to be warriors and those who stand strong. He is looking for those who will not hide from the giant but will be willing to stand and boldly proclaim, “I come to you in the name of the Lord.”

Now is the time for those who are willing to stand, to take a stand. Where are the Joshuas and Calebs. Where are the Davids and even the Esthers and Deborahs? We, too, have that kind of fire within us if we can just access it. We do that by not giving in to the enemy when he whispers his distractions.

We sometimes forget that we have been bought with a price. We have God’s fire within us to shine a light into the darkness. We have a choice to make; will we curl up and hide? Will we run into the battle and say, We are more than able to take the territory that God has given us. Because we do not battle alone. If he goes with us we are guaranteed to win the battle.

Romans 8:31-33 What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? 32 He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? 33 Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth.

If God be for us, then who can be against us? Jesus already gave us his all when he died on that cross. He has nothing left to give us. Everything we need is within us, because His Spirit dwells within us. We just have to learn to trust, believe and surrender to the leading of the Spirit.

I understand that it is so easy and so difficult at the same time. It takes us a long time to learn to lean on him. He wants us to be like little children. God wants us to depend on him for everything. Because He is our everything.

When the days ahead appear dark, know that Spring will soon be here. The more we do to let our light shine, the sooner the tables will turn and God’s light will be shared all over the world.

Go out and let your light shine; you can make a difference in someone’s life. It is up to us to destroy the darkness.

Until next time,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

LIKE SHARE AND SUBSCRIBE FOR MORE ENCOURAGEMENT

CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO VERSION: https://rumble.com/v64fbfp-god-focus-this-morning-ep252-rear-view-mirror.html

WELCOME TO GOD FOCUS THIS MORNING

The title of today’s episode: REAR VIEW MIRROR

It is often said the reason our rear-view mirror is smaller than our windshield is because we are not supposed to spend too much time looking back. As 2024 comes to a close, I will spend the day, as I always do on Dec 31, reflecting.

It is good to look back and think about the lessons we have learned. It is good to think about what we could have done to make our walk with God better. I often think about the story of Lot and how when his wife looked back to Sodom and Gomorrah she turned into salt.

She was punished because she looked longingly to the place of sin that they left. We can look back in a way that is productive. When we draw on past experiences to sympathize with someone who is stuck in the same trap you were rescued from by Jesus. There is nothing wrong with thinking about how far we have grown. But if we are looking longingly at our old life of sin, then we are going to end up in trouble, like Lot’s wife.

One year ago, after wrestling with God for months, I started my video devotional channel. I do not have a large following, but the ones that I do have are faithful to check in. There are some things I have planned for this channel in 2025. But I am waiting for the right time to start.

Time is a curious thing, we can do the right thing, and if it is not in God’s timing, it is normally a wasted effort. Praying for God’s timing in the upcoming year will be more crucial than ever. Our world is on the verge of some major changes. It is most important for us to stay strong and hold onto our Faith. God has amazing things in store for his people. I would not want to be found in the shoes of those who defy God and fight against his will.

For those who have shown an interest in scripture writing, I am working on a project that I should have completed soon. I will share more about that later. Let me know what you think about a Bible Trivia question on Monday and an answer on Friday. If it is something you would enjoy, let me know. But if you are going to google the answer, you would be cheating yourself out of leaning more. It is all about getting to know the word of God as well as we know our TV trivia or sports trivia.

At the beginning of each year, many pick a word as their word for the year, for example, faith, meaning they want to increase their faith. It is good to reassess our goals for the upcoming year. Figuring out where we are weak and trying to do better is a good thing, especially when it comes to the things of God.

We cannot change the past, so there is no use worrying and wishing it were different. There is no reason to look back, except to draw perspective and strength or to remember something or someone who is not a part of our present day.

We can only make the most of each day that God blesses us with; what can I do today that will prepare me to be a stronger Christian tomorrow.

We can only look with hope to tomorrow, that no matter what we face, God is there, and he will take care of his people. We cannot allow the things we see to cause us to get battle-weary. We need to be strong like David and believe that we never go to battle alone.

Take some time to reflect on the good. Try to let go of the bad. One thing we can always count on, God is in control as long as we yield to him, and he will see us through whatever 2025 brings.

Until next time,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

LIKE SHARE AND SUBSCRIBE FOR MORE ENCOURAGEMENT

Have a wonderful New Year’s Eve!