Tag: #keepyourgodfocus

EPISODE 346- UNFINISHED

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The title of today’s episode: UNFINISHED

If I were to ask you if you have any unfinished tasks, I am sure each of you would say yes. Some of our tasks we cannot accomplish alone and need a friend to help. For other tasks, we need more information about how to complete the task. We may lack supplies or money to pay for the help or supplies necessary. The big factor is timing. We underestimate how long it will take to complete a task and run out of time.

Doing things for God is no different. Sometimes we need someone to come into agreement with our prayers and help us to accomplish our tasks. We could lack knowledge of how to deal with a situation. We then would have to leave things undone for a time until we get leading from God. Other tasks we may need equipment or supplies to carry out our tasks.

Leaving things undone can be irritating to the person that likes to check off the tasks and move on to the next. But people and soul-winning are not a to do list. We have to invest time in people. They need to be prayed for, encouraged, witnessed to and even taught about God. It is about building a relationship.

I would never attempt to do electrical work in my home. I need an expert, someone who understands how electricity travels. But I will take on some home improvement tasks that I feel qualified to handle. When it comes to people, we have to leave a lot undone until God says it is the right time. He is the only expert on perfect timing. We may do something that we can handle when it comes to helping others. Then God will send someone else along to provide something that they are qualified to do to help that same person. We are not meant to be everything to one person; we are meant to do all we can to help as many people as we can. God will never leave anything undone concerning his children. Unlike us, he will finish what he started.

Phil 1:6 Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.

There are times that God starts something in our lives, then it’s like he hits the brakes, and we are left at a standstill. We sometimes question if God really wants us to do certain things. Because to us, it seems like we have been at a standstill way too long. But in his great wisdom, he is waiting for everything to align with perfect precision. He will work things out at the proper time.

He often will give us a vision to do things long before the time for it to come to pass. I believe there are different reasons for his leadership. We need time to get used to certain ideas and believe we can do what God is asking. Other times it is because we need to research how to do things or enlist help.

We can be sure he will never ask us to do anything he will not empower us to do. God is a God of perfect order; he will not leave anything undone forever. We can be sure he has a plan.

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.

He gives us an expected end. Whose expectations? Probably not ours, but he knows what to expect from us. He will never expect more than we can deliver. But in the process of doing his will, we will also grow in trust and wisdom. We have to pray and he will answer. He desires for us to seek him with our whole heart. If we can encourage others to search for him with all their heart, then they will find what they need, because they will find Jesus.

Job 12:13 With him is wisdom and strength he hath counsel and understanding.

When we stand before him one day, he will be able to say, “well done”. The only thing that will prevent us from completing what he has started is if we choose to walk in our flesh and not yield to his leading.

Matt 25:23 His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.

We have to trust God’s timing. Learning to walk out our faith walk with his leading. Sometimes we decide what needs to be done, and then God will reroute our day. The task we had planned remains undone. But if we can accomplish daily what God wants us to do, then we have done the right thing with our time. There will be another opportunity to finish what we started, some other day. The main thing is that we never miss our opportunity to be obedient to the leading of God’s Spirit. Because when it comes to his children, God will never leave anything unfinished.

Until next time,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

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EPISODE 345 HEAR MY HEART

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WELCOME TO GOD FOCUS THIS MORNING

The title of today’s episode: HEAR MY HEART

There is a beautiful song by Sherri Easter, it is about dealing with feeling like the trials are going to overtake her. One portion says, “I’ll be quiet, so you can hear my heart.” Sitting alone in quiet meditating to God, we sometimes feel like it doesn’t accomplish anything. Revelation may not come before we end our quiet time. We lack direction and want answers. But God leads us to sit quietly in his presence.

As someone who is a multi-tasker sitting and doing nothing is difficult. God is teaching me that when we spend time listening for his still small voice, it is not time wasted. It is not sitting and doing nothing, but it is growing our connection to his Spirit.

The enemy will try to throw guilt into the mix. He will make you think about the large pile of laundry, the unpaid bills, the fact that there is a large list of things that need to be done. I am learning to give myself permission to let the laundry go for a few hours or until the next day. That will not change my future as much as listening for the voice of God.

It is in the quiet times with God that he may pour into us strength to face the next trial. We are building a connection with God that will empower us to reach the lost. We can crawl up into his lap and take a break from the troubles of life. When we don’t have words to say, we can let him listen to our hearts. He knows all about our concerns, stresses and cares. He has the answers to all of our questions.

A family member recently told me a story of their elderly aunt; she craved the company of family. Every time her nephew would stop by and visit, she would hide his jacket so he would come back soon. That started me to think about God wanting our company. Instead of hiding our jackets, maybe he will allow certain things to come into our lives to draw us to him.

Psalm 16:11 Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.

How can he show us the path of life if we never spend time with him? We cannot follow him if we don’t hear his voice. He says his sheep hear his voice and a stranger they will not follow. He cannot lead us if we don’t spend enough time with him to know his voice.

Spending time with God will give us joy. The joy of the Lord is our strength.

Getting to know God is a process. We have to be willing to sacrifice what we want to do in order to spend time with him getting to know his voice.

Romans 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

In order to put God in his proper place in our lives we have to be willing to spend time with him. I question myself when I have allowed life to crowd out my quiet time with God. Does that mean he is in his proper place? In order to not commit idolatry, we have to make sure God has the number one place in our lives.

God knows us better than we know ourselves. He understands our concerns and questions better than we could even imagine. Trying to put into words in a prayer sometimes how we feel may seem impossible to us. We end up frustrated, but God knows all about it. He will make the answers known at just the perfect time.

When we think about tests, flashbacks of high school often come to mind. When teachers tested us, it was to see what we had learned. God allows tests not so he can understand what we have learned, but to show us our strengths. We often do not know how strong our faith is in a certain area until we are tested. Then we understand and grow from the knowledge that the test reveals to us.

Faith was there all along, but we didn’t necessarily know it was there. Not until we had to dig deep and hold on to God when things spun out of control. Do not be discouraged if you are going through a time of trial. God is just revealing to you that he has placed something new in you. Something that he can grow in our quiet time with him.

Take some time to sit quietly and allow him to hear your heart.

Until next time,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

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VIDEO LINK TO THE SONG HEAR MY HEART : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7mltTaIdUU

EPISODE 344 WHAT A FRIEND WE HAVE IN JESUS

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WELCOME TO GOD FOCUS THIS MORNING

The title of today’s episode: What a friend we have in Jesus!

A friend is someone who will stand by you in the good and the bad of life. Especially, in the bad. Knowing that you have someone in your corner when many others walk away is a wonderful feeling. Jesus is our friend who will stand by us when everyone else walks away.

There are lyrics to an old hymn that goes, “What a friend we have in Jesus. All our sins and griefs to bear, what a privilege it is to carry everything to God in prayer.” Do we look at prayer as a privilege? Do we feel blessed that we can carry our burdens to God in prayer? What about the burdens of those around us?

I am reminded of a story in Luke; Jesus was in a house preaching. A large crowd was gathered there at the house. They were all pressed in and it was impossible to get from the back of the crowd to Jesus.

Luke 5:17-19 And it came to pass on a certain day, as he was teaching, that there were Pharisees and doctors of the law sitting by, which were come out of every town of Galilee, and Judaea, and Jerusalem: and the power of the Lord was present to heal them. 18 And, behold, men brought in a bed a man which was taken with a palsy: and they sought means to bring him in, and to lay him before him. 19 And when they could not find by what way they might bring him in because of the multitude, they went upon the housetop, and let him down through the tiling with his couch into the midst before Jesus.

This man was very sick. These men were determined to get their friend to Jesus. They believed that He could heal him. Sometimes it takes determination to get a prayer answered. Sometimes it takes peeling back a few roof tiles to see things accomplished. How far are we willing to go to see someone get what they need from God?

Do we really pray when asked to do so, or do we say a couple of quick sentences in passing? Dear Lord, help so and so receive their healing. Amen.

There are times when it takes our faith to push a prayer through. There are times we have to take on their cause as if it were our own. If we were in the position of that man, needing healing and could not get to Jesus, wouldn’t we want someone to go the extra mile with us?

Luke 5:20-25 And when he saw their faith, he said unto him, Man, thy sins are forgiven thee. 21 And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, Who is this which speaketh blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone? 22 But when Jesus perceived their thoughts, he answering said unto them, What reason ye in your hearts? 23 Whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Rise up and walk? 24 But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power upon earth to forgive sins, (he said unto the sick of the palsy,) I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy couch, and go into thine house. 25 And immediately he rose up before them, and took up that whereon he lay, and departed to his own house, glorifying God.

When the Pharisees saw what had taken place, there was little that they could say, because the man was healed. Jesus honored the faith of that man’s friends. It was a good day for everyone but the self-righteous religious people.

We have to be willing to sacrifice and stand in the gap for those who cannot reach Jesus on their own. Today, there could be many reasons a person may not be able to reach Jesus. They could be too weak physically. They could be bound in a prison of guilt and drug or alcohol addiction. They may feel they are unworthy to pray. The enemy loves to tell people that they have gone too far for God to ever forgive them.

The reason is not as important as what we need to do to help. God will lead us to those we are supposed to help. We must be willing to peel back the roof if necessary and get them to Jesus. He has already done the hard part, he died for us all. They can be set free, as long as we are faithful and lead them to Jesus.

I am thankful for the friends that I have in my inner circle. I am thankful, for my wonderful family. But I am most thankful, that I know a man called Jesus, who will be with me to the end.

Thanks for watching,

Until next time,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

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EPISODE 343 GOD WILL MEET YOU

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WELCOME TO GOD FOCUS THIS MORNING

The title of today’s episode: GOD WILL MEET YOU

Paul and Silas found themselves in prison. This wasn’t one of those white-collar country clubs, but more of a damp smelly dungeon type prison. They could have given up. They could have chosen to whine about their circumstances, but instead they sang praises to God. And at the midnight hour, which is the dawning of a new day, an earthquake shook the prison and opened the doors for all the prisoners.

We often go through things that help set others free from their prisons. When you have overcome something, you have power to help others overcome too. God didn’t care that they were in prison, he met them where they were and shined his light into the darkness. All too often, instead of us praising God in our prisons, we complain and beg for him to get us out. Sometimes we are there to learn a lesson. Other times we are there to show someone else that they can be set free.

The woman at the well came to gather water in the middle of the day. The other women gathered early in the morning when it was cooler. The other women shunned her and treated her badly. They didn’t like or trust her because she had been married four times and was currently living with a man. Jesus understood her more than anyone else. The others judged her for her choices. Jesus came and met her in her circumstances, and she became a follower of Christ. Jesus understood that she was not intentionally evil, but her choices were made out of her emptiness. Remember what I said yesterday, All excess comes from emptiness. She needed living water and God’s unconditional love. Jesus met her where she was at, she didn’t have to try to be perfect before God would help her, he lifted her out of her mess.

Gideon was about to fight in a great battle. He was nervous but God allowed him to hear what the enemy was saying. Even though Gideon was apprehensive about the fight, he trusted God. God told him to send everyone home but 300 men. To the natural mind this seemed crazy, they would be severely outnumbered. But God was about to meet them in their need and let them see that If God Be For Us, Who Can Stand Against Us. Gideon’s army with the help of Almighty God won the battle without even fighting. The enemy ran when they broke the clay pots and let their light shine.

Sometimes our earthen vessels have to get into a position of brokenness before our light can truly shine. It is not about who has it all together. It is not about who appears the most righteous or wears the nicest clothes. We do not want to be like the Pharisees and look the part on the outside, but inside we are dead and dark.

Our light shines best when we are just human beings trying to do the right thing. It is about His grace and Him meeting us in our circumstances. Whatever our situations of life we need to be like Apostle Paul.

Phil 4:12 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.

Paul wrote to the Philippians to be content in whatever state they find themselves. We can have inner peace through Jesus, even when our situations seem helpless and hopeless. We can abound in our relationship with God, while we may have needs in the natural world.

No one could have been in worse shape than Lazarus. Jesus didn’t say, He is not dressed right, so I can’t help him. What will someone think if I help him? He didn’t say that Lazarus was attending that church down the road, they will have to pray for him. No, Jesus went to where he was, in the tomb. He met him where was at, in the middle of his horrible circumstances. He called his name and told him to arise and come out of the grave.

He is God when we are sick. He is still God when we need a job or financial blessing. He is still God when we walk the floors at night praying for our lost family, when it looks like they will never see. He is still God when we feel battle-weary and want to give up. It doesn’t matter the situations we find ourselves in, one thing you can be sure of is that Jesus will meet us in our circumstances and he will deliver us out of them all. Our job is to simply trust that he will do what he has promised. He will take care of us.

Until next time,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

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EPISODE 342 SELFISHNESS IS NOT FRUIT

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WELCOME TO GOD FOCUS THIS MORNING

The title of today’s episode: SELFISHNESS IS NOT FRUIT

I think you would be hard pressed to find any sin that is not rooted in selfishness. When we become self-centered, we can fall easily into things that are the opposite of self-control. The enemy will try to encourage us in our selfishness. When we are looking at ourselves and what we want, we take our eyes off of God. His will for our lives is unimportant at that point.

All excess is rooted in emptiness. When we live a sinful life, we are searching for something we are missing. We look for that fulfillment in many places other than God. He is the only one who can give us the fulfilment we seek. Not having any fruit in our lives will cause us to be excessive in our pursuit of the wrong things or rotten fruit. It may look good at first glance, but once you bite into it, you find out that it is rotten, moldy, and bitter. However, the fruit that God gives is pure and perfectly balanced. Selfishness is the opposite of self-control.

God’s word teaches us to be selfless and walk in love toward others. When we become filled with the Spirit of God, our lives will start to develop fruit. We will walk less in our self-centeredness and more in our love and compassion for others. It is impossible to be Jesus’ hands and feet in the earth while maintaining a self-centered attitude.

Gal 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

As children of the Most High God, learning how to allow God to create fruit in our lives is important. Our flesh is weak and wants the quick fix, what is comfortable and appealing in the moment. The growth process is anything but quick and comfortable. We have to learn to wait on God to do his work.

The process is a little easier because we know we can trust him with our lives. He knows what is best for us, and he has our best interests at heart. God sees who we need to be in the future and develops strength in areas we are going to walk.

Allowing Jesus to penetrate our hearts will prevent us from betraying him with selfish motives. Not everyone who attends church is on the right path. Some are there to network and grow their businesses. Others are there to deceive and manipulate people into bad relationships. Some are there for monetary gain in other ways.

We cannot fully trust people until they prove their fruit. Every one of us has a measure of discernment. Some develop their discernment, and others choose to ignore it because they do not want to think badly about someone. Learning to be led by God and listening to our discernment will keep us out of trouble.

The perfect example in the Word of God was Judas. God allowed him to walk with them. He was selfish and sold out Jesus for a little bit of silver. But until that point, he could have gone either way. He could have resisted temptation and done the right thing. But his selfish greed outweighed his need to do the right thing.

We often think about Judas’ actions as something that was meant to be, but if he had not betrayed Jesus, the Pharisees would have found another way. Jesus would still have chosen to die for mankind.

God knows something we have to learn. We must allow people to make their choices good or bad. We never know when God will change those people and cause them to develop fruit. Not everyone grows fruit at the same pace. In order for anyone to grow the fruit of the Spirit, they must first receive the Spirit of God. It is the Holy Ghost that causes us to develop fruit. The more we surrender to the leading of God’s Spirit, the more fruit will grow in our lives.

It is almost like self-control is needed to develop the other fruit. We have to control our impulses to do selfish things for ourselves at the expense of others. Having self-control will cause us to walk in love, joy, peace and grow in Christ.

Gal 5:16 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.

If we walk in the Spirit, we will not be selfish wanting to do what our flesh say, but we will have enough self-control to keep our focus on God. We will desire to do what God tells us to do, not what we desire.

Until next time,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

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EPISODE 340 VICTIM OR VICTOR?

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WELCOME TO GOD FOCUS THIS MORNING

The title of today’s episode: VICTIM OR VICTOR

Are you a victim or are you victorious? Even if you have been a victim, you don’t have to stay a victim. The enemy wants nothing more than to destroy us. But we can have victory through our faith in Jesus. We can pray all we want but if we don’t have faith to believe God for what we are asking it is just noise going into the air. The word says faith without works is dead. Before some of you get excited. Works only will not accomplish anything either. It is like running on a treadmill; it expels energy but will not get you anywhere. But us working with God and believing for him to do what we have asked can accomplish great things.

It is time we look at the situations of life through our faith. We cannot see the Goliath’s of life, through our natural eyes. We have to always see our giants in comparison to our God. We cannot compare them to our own fleshly weakness.

It is easy to get nervous and anxious about situations in life. When we walk in our flesh, we can become anxious. But when we walk by faith, we are strong and bold. The strength comes from the Lord.

Phil 4:6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.

God doesn’t want us to be anxious about anything. The enemy loves to cause us to be anxious. Anxiety is one of his many tools. If we are anxious, we are not walking in faith. Our own emotions are in control of the situation. But when we pray, we can turn that anxiety over to Jesus and he will return to us the strength needed to walk by faith.

Phil 4:7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

God will take our anxiety and give us peace as long as we are willing to surrender it to him. But we cannot speak words out of our mouths about how anxious we are, or the enemy will have a stronghold.

Take some time and ask yourself if you are holding on to things that make you anxious. Maybe someone said something that made you feel inadequate. Maybe something happened to you that caused you to be afraid. It is not wrong to feel these feelings. We would not be human if we didn’t experience emotion. But it is what we choose to do with those emotions that makes us victims or victorious. If we walk by our flesh and pet those emotions and start feeling sorry for ourselves, we can end up in full-blown depression. But if we rise up against the emotions and ask God for help to overcome, we will be victorious.

How many times do we tell the stories of old: David and Goliath, the three Hebrew men in the fiery furnace, the parting of the Red Sea, and other miracles. Each situation came down to faith over fear.

Moses had faith that God would see him through, after he had a God encounter. No bush had ever burned like that before, but it took him experiencing the fire of God to increase his faith. He knew that God would not bring them halfway out of bondage. Moses trusted that God would do what he had promised.

But because of unbelief, those who were in bondage were never fully free. They were made to wander the desert for forty years. Only those born in the process got to see the promised land.

We are the same way, God finds us in bondage to sin. He starts the process of bringing us out. But our flesh will never get to the promised land. But only what is born in the process, our spirit man will ever cross over to the promised land. We will only cross over if we learn to walk by faith.

Faith is seeing with our spiritual eyes what we are asking God for, when in the flesh it has not shown up yet. But it is crucial to see it with our faith and know God will bring it to pass in the right season.

Many times, we ask God to open doors for us. We may be at the right door, but if we walk through too soon, we may not be ready for what we find behind the door. God, in his wisdom, knows just the right time to open the door.

Until the door opens, we have to have faith in the hallway. We have to continue to see with our spirit the things we have asked for that are behind the door. At just the right moment, God will take out his key and unlock that door. He will gently push it open, revealing what your belief and faith have built behind the door.

We have to know that God didn’t create us to be victims but to be victorious. Even when we have walked through seasons of being victims to the enemy. We will come out victorious, God is with us.

Be encouraged, keep walking by faith, do not be discouraged, God holds us in his arms. We are safe, forgiven, strengthened and empowered for what the new day will bring. We must remember that we always have the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Until next time,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

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EPISODE 335 BATTLE FOR HOLINESS

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WELCOME TO GOD FOCUS THIS MORNING

The title of today’s episode: BATTLE FOR HOLINESS

The enemy will try to get us to fall into sin. He will lay every trap he can to trip us up. If he can cause us to sin, it opens the door for him to sneak past our armor. Then he can really cause us problems. The only way to make sure he doesn’t get a foothold is to be aware of what is happening in our lives. We need to pay attention and ask God to make us aware of anything that is in our lives that is an attack of satan.

Living a life of holiness will give us the strength to combat the enemy. But we cannot live this life fully on our own.

Matt 26:41 Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.

This verse tells us that the weakness is in our flesh. That is why the word tells us to walk in the Spirit. We will not fall into sin as long as we stay in the spirit. I know that statement may sound simple, but as long as we are in these fleshly bodies it is anything but simple. That is why God is faithful to forgive when we repent and why he gives us his amazing grace.

We should all aspire to be able to say what Timothy said at the end of his life.

2 Tim 4:7-8 I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: 8 Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.

How do we fight a good fight of faith? As with every spiritual battle. First, we have to know that we have protection from the enemy.

Eph 6:10-13 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. 11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. 13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

This passage tells us to put on the whole armor of God. The complete covering of protection. This is the only way we will be able to stand against the enemy. Verse twelve tells us that this is not a physical battle. We wrestle with principalities, powers, darkness and evil in high places. If we keep on the whole armor of God, we will be able to withstand the enemy. This is the only way we will be able to take a spiritual stand against the enemy.

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

This verse tells us that the weapons of our warfare are not carnal. We have to fight this battle with spiritual weapons. We can pull down the strongholds of the enemy with God’s power.

We can win the battles one at a time, by the power of God that is within us. We can have victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. We cannot win if we do not look the Lord. The enemy is stronger than our flesh. But with the Holy Ghost on the inside of us, our flesh is reinforced and strong enough to stand against the enemy.

Learning to walk in the Spirit is a lifelong journey. Overcoming our flesh is one of the biggest challenges we have as Christians.

Gal 5:16 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.

As children of faith, we have to understand the weapons we have in our arsenal.

Eph 6:18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;

Prayer is one of our most effective weapons against the enemy. We fight our battles on our knees. But also, we can do like Jesus did in the wilderness and use the word of God. It is our sword. To combat the enemy’s words in our minds. When he tells us lies, we need to say the scriptures that combat the lie.

Just as Jesus told satan to get behind him, we have the authority to resist him and tell him to leave.

But if we have sin in our lives, that leaves an opening for the enemy. This is why I called this episode the battle for holiness. The whole bible is about making the right choices and choosing to be holy. If we can walk in the spirit of holiness, we will not leave a foothold for the enemy.

Eph 4:23-27 And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; 24 And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. 25 Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another. 26 Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: 27 Neither give place to the devil.

We renew our minds with the word of God. When we are saved, we put on the new man, one created in righteousness. This tells us to not give place to the devil. It is so important to cut off his attacks immediately. When those thoughts come into our minds, this is why we need to take them captive and cast them down.

Stay alert, looking for his attacks, stay strong by building up your faith through prayer. He may be roaming to find someone to devour, make sure it is not you.

Until next time,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

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EPISODE 334 KEEP WATCH FOR THE ENEMY

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WELCOME TO GOD FOCUS THIS MORNING

The title of today’s episode: KEEP WATCH FOR THE ENEMY

If we look at the world with natural eyes only, we miss a large part of what is going on around us. Every day, spiritual battles are being waged. People often do not even know when they have been oppressed by an evil spirit. The enemy will send many our way to distract, deceive, and destroy us.

We have to have godly wisdom and discernment. Camouflage is often worn by armies in order to blend in with their surroundings. Sometimes soldiers even put on face paint to blend into their surroundings.

Our enemy will often come to us disguised as a good person. Many people have been taken down by people that were possessed or oppressed by the spirit of Jezebel. Many people at church have been hurt by those whom they believed were good people. Only to find out they were soldiers in the enemy’s army, who were planted in the church by satan.

Look at when satan tempted Jesus, he first questioned his identity. The enemy will often make us question if we are truly a Christian, he will attack our belief in our salvation. He questioned Jesus’ sonship. He will use others to pick at little things that mean nothing, to plant a seed of doubt in our identity as a Christian.

If he cannot get us to question our identity. He will move on to his next tactic. The second temptation of Jesus. He tried to get Jesus to prove that God’s angels would protect him if he threw himself off the high pinnacle. Again, Jesus quoted Scriptures to him. I am sure everyone has had a random thought go through their head. Something that would cause harm. The enemy will keep those thoughts coming, if he can make you feel unworthy and like you will never measure up.

He offered Jesus power and status on the earth. A short cut to what Jesus would have after his mission on earth was complete. Satan will often offer people money, status, powers of influence, in exchange for their denying God. It is sad to say a lot of preachers have fallen into this category. This is only one reason we need to pray for those in the ministry, they are attacked in ways we cannot even imagine sometimes.

Satan attacked Jesus after he had reached a point of baptism and God declaring how pleased he was with Jesus. It was an act of God giving Jesus authority. According to Jewish tradition, when a son gets to be at a certain level of maturity and age the father will declare that he is pleased with his son and that he has authority to speak for the family. That is what happened when God’s voice came out of the clouds on the day Jesus was baptized.

We cannot be ignorant of the enemy’s tactics. There are too many lives hanging in the balance. We have to be wise enough to see through a person’s actions and recognize that they are actions of someone being lead by our enemy.

Many people avoid the subjects of spiritual warfare because they do not want to believe it exists. They are afraid they will have to confront the enemy. The lessons that we need to know today are not being taught in our churches. The enemy is real, witchcraft is real, demons and satanism is real. These things have power, but God has given us more power. If the power of the Holy Ghost lives within us, we have power over the powers of the enemy. We will be able to pray, and God will respond.

We have to be wise enough to know when the enemy is trying to tempt us. Jesus knew he was dealing with his enemy. Often, we do not recognize until it is too late that we are dealing with an attack from our enemy.

The only way we are ever going to know when the enemy is trying to cause us trouble is to have discernment. This only comes by building up our faith in prayer. We can ask God for discernment to know when things are not of God. He has promised he will be with us and will lead and guide us.

The hard part for us often is that we ignore that still small voice that is telling us that something is not right. The enemy with his camouflage will sneak up on us. Most people do not get bitten by the snakes they see. Most of the time it is the snake that is hidden in tall grass or under a rock that they don’t see, until it is too late.

Being vigilant to watch out for the enemy is very important when it comes to combat. If the enemy can’t sneak up on you the less likely you are to be hurt by his weapons. Stay strong, be spiritually awake and vigilant, we will win the battle if we faint not.

Until next time,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

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EPISODE 333 ANTICIPATION

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WELCOME TO GOD FOCUS THIS MORNING

The title of today’s episode: ANTICIPATION

The word anticipation means to be expectant, have hope, be ready for an event. Some synonyms include suspense, excitement, and hopefulness.

The church has much to be in anticipation about in our modern age. This is the best time in all of history to be alive. We wake each morning with the expectation that soon we are going to see the next great awakening. God is going to flood the earth with his spirit. We will see things that generations before us have only desired to see.

We should be hopeful, even though things may appear to be smothering and dark. The enemy is on the prowl to cause fear, anxiety and depression. He wants to paralyze the believers with these things. He is also using fatigue and illness like never before to distract the body of Christ.

But we have hope. Our hope is in Jesus. We can be excited and have anticipation about the good things to come on the other side of the darkness. I have often thought about the early church after the day of Pentecost. They added three thousand souls to the body of Christ in one day. What an amazing thing it will be to have a great revival and add several souls.

Once the gospel has been preached to all the world and everyone has had an opportunity to be saved. Then comes the end. Jesus will come and gather up his bride.

Most women can remember how excited they were on their wedding day. Many hours and some even months and years went into planning the perfect day. The morning, they were to walk down the aisle, the anticipation was almost unbearable.

The bride of Christ is in this waiting place a short time before the rapture. I understand that the word rapture is not in the bible. However, it says we will be caught up into the air with him. The anticipation is getting real.

Now is not the time to be distracted by the things of this life. We cannot allow life to overwhelm us. Often the way to manage large tasks is to break them down into smaller ones. We have a period of time before this revival sweeps the land. If the anticipation and pressure of the enemy gets overwhelming, we can break it down to one day at a time. We can concentrate on the tasks we have to get done for that day.

Anticipation is a theme of the Bible to live in hope and readiness of God fulfilling his promises. There are different places in the word that God’s people acted with anticipation and hope of God fulfilling his word.

Instead of the anxiety that the enemy tries to give us, we need to cast it down and accept God’s anticipation. He has amazing things for his body. We have that hope to cling to with fervent excitement and anticipation.

The things we focus on will shape the course of our lives. If we focus on the evening news and how bad they tell you things are, it is easy to get down and depressed. Negative thoughts and words can get us in a position of being paralyzed.

When our enemy is about to lose his grip, he will throw everything at us at once. We have to know how to navigate the storm. But the great thing about the enemy’s storm is that God is above it. We will be elevated above the storm, because our God will lift us up.

What do we do to prepare for the storm? The best thing we can do is pray and ask for God to give us wisdom to navigate the upcoming days. We will ride out the storm because we are sheltered under God’s wings. It comes back to us getting in the secret place of the Most High God.

Psalm 91:1-3 He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. 2 I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust. 3 Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence.

If we dwell in the secret place of the Most High, we will be protected under his shadow. He is our fortress, which is a safe place that has been reinforced against the enemy. God will deliver us from the traps and snares of the enemy and from pestilences, which are diseases.

Psalm 91:4-8 He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler. 5 Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day; 6 Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday. 7 A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee. 8 Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked.

The key to being protected and covered is to get into the secret place with God. I read this out loud over my home almost every night.

Psalm 91:9-12 Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation; 10 There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling. 11 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.

Because thou hast made the Lord thy habitation, no evil will befall thee. He has angels that watch over us and protect us. Think about hiding under God’s wings, the enemy will not be able to touch us. Because of this, we have no reason to fear.

In summary, it is good to anticipate our future; God will show up with his glory. The enemy will not win. Do not be discouraged, do not allow anxiety to overtake you. We are living in a great time to be alive, and we have to hold onto our hope and anticipation of what our God will do.

Until next time,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

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EPISODE 328 STANDING IN THE GAP

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WELCOME TO GOD FOCUS THIS MORNING

The title of today’s episode: STANDING IN THE GAP

All through the Bible we find stories of people who stood in the gap for their nation, people, and family. Standing in the gap means we fill the void space between those who are in need of God to reach God. Jesus is the ultimate example, without him standing in the gap for our sins, we would not even have a right to ask for God’s help. The largest gap ever created was the one Adam and Eve made when they sinned. Jesus came and filled in that gap.

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

Moses interceded on behalf of the children of Israel several times. Asking God to give them mercy when they deserved punishment. Many times God was weary of their idolatry and disobedience, but Moses prayed for God’s mercy.

Esther called a fast and prayed for God to save her people from Haman’s evil agenda to kill all of her people. Once the time of fasting and prayer was over she went to the king at risk of death. She asked for her people to be given into her hand to do as she wished. When his plot had been revealed to the king. Evil Haman was hung on a gallows he had prepared for Mordecai a Jew that would not bow to him. God’s people were spared because of Esther and her call for prayer.

Nehemiah was grieved by the news that the walls of Jerusalem lay in ruins. Because of his intercession and excitement of rebuilding the wall. Others got on board. Nehemiah stood in the gap and the people were lead into a time of repentance and renewal. The walls were fortified and once again Jerusalem was a strong city.

Sometimes all it takes is for one person to get excited about something. Their vision can become the vision of others. Nehemiah wanted to rebuild the walls, but it took a group of people to accomplish it.

Abraham pleaded with God to spare Sodom and Gomorrah. He asked God to spare it if he could find fifty righteous. He did not. Abraham kept bargaining down to ten people who were righteous. God could not even find ten in all the city that was righteous.

After Lot, his wife and his daughters left the city, fire and brimstone started falling from the sky on the evil. God told them to not look back, but Lot’s wife turned and looked back, she was turned into a pillar of salt.

It is safe to say that God spared Lot and his daughters because of Abraham’s prayers.

For years, there has been a movement in our country of intercessors who have prayed for our country and the world to be free from evil rulers. Many have cried out to God for mercy on our country, our states and local areas.

Being an intercessor takes time and energy. It means going beyond the words and feeling the emotion of the weight of where our country is spiritually. We have been taken over by evil agendas and the worship of satan.

I am sure that the only thing that has spared America is the large group of God’s people that feel compelled to intercede. Now more than ever we need for God to reveal the evil, make know satan’s agenda. God will spare our country, but we have something to do, we need to intercede.

I am sure we all have someone in our lives that needs us to stand in the gap of intercession for them. They are bound in sin and need God to intervene on their behalf. There are people that are dying of sickness and bad choices that need God.

We cannot be the church of recent years where we look at these situations and say a surface prayer and go on about our lives. Now is the time to get serious and get down to business. We need to allow our prayers to penetrate heaven. Many prayers never leave the earth. The difference one is saying a prayer. “Lord help that situation. Amen.” The other is getting on our face before God and praying until we feel like we cannot pray any longer. We need to P.U.S.H, Pray Until Something Happens.

Are you willing to stand in the gap for that loved one or friend? Are you willing to invest time in crying out for our country? God is needing us to keep pushing and praying. We are so close to our breakthrough but we need to keep going. Keep walking by faith.

Heb 4:14-16 Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. 15 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. 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 what Jesus has done for us, we can come boldly to the throne of God and petition for mercy and grace. We can be bold in our prayers and intercession for those in need of God’s intervention.

Until next time,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

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