Are you salty is your light shining?

Tuesday Inspiration

Are you salty or bitter? Are you walking in your blessings?

Matt 5:3-16

We are called to be the salt of the earth (Matt 5-13). Salt adds flavor, it comes from the Greek word halas. It is also a preserver. Salt prevents food from breaking down, decaying or spoiling. Salt also has healing powers. Salt provides relief against infections, pains, and virus. When we think about that spiritually we must think of the trust Jesus has in us. He said when we have lost our flavor we are not good for anything. Since salt can heal, prevent decay without it there death. When we lose our flavor the world and everything around us dies. If there was no light only darkness would prevail and the land would decay, the cost of sin is death. Jesus has given us the power through him to change our environment.

Can you imagine sprinkling salt on your food and it was tasteless? We would most likely toss it out. Through Christ we can do all things and Christ has called us to be the salt of the earth. He called us to prevent the world from spoilage, decay, corruption, spiritual infections, and virus through him. If we are standing by and allowing the world to crumble because we fail to pray, to hunger and thirst after righteousness, to have mercy, to be peacemakers, to have a pure heart, to rejoice when persecuted when persecuted then we have lost our flavor (Matt 5:3-12). When we gossip, backbit, curse one another we are causing spiritual infections. When we fail to stand for righteousness and give in to the way of the world, we put out our light and allow darkness to spread like a virus attacking anyone in its path, particularly the spiritually blind. We are to be as stop signs in darkness. We are too put up roadblocks; we are to stop the infections through Christ.

We are called to be the light in dark places. Light can only shine in darkness. We should not become concerned when we see the world becoming darker. That gives us more opportunities to shine brighter. Light travels 669,600,000 miles in an hour. If that is true for natural light what more than the light of Christ Jesus that we have in us. That is the impact we will have if we let our light shine and do not hide it under a basket or a bushel. We cannot become discouraged by what we see, we have to continue to trust and believe in the Lord so he may show himself strong. God said if my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. It is so simple we are the light, we are the salt, we are his people (2 Chron 7:14). This land would be healed if we would walk in what Jesus has called us to walk in.

We are battling things all around us that Jesus didn’t call us to battle. He called us to walk in the light, maintain our flavor, and pray. If God said it he meant it. God is not a man that he should lie neither the son of man that he should repent. He clearly states he will heal the land if we would turn from wickedness, pray and seek him.

When we seek Jesus we find him. He opens our mind to his word, which is his thoughts, he allows the Holy Spirit to guide us to all truth and understanding. We will live an abundant life when we realize that we may be lied on, persecuted, talked about and mistreated, but we have peace knowing that our rewards are in heaven. When we are in our carnal selves we cannot receive that. When we have an experience with the Lord he will give us peace in the storm because we are holding on to the ultimate life saver.

Trust in the Lord lean not to our own understanding and he will direct our path. Be the light, be salty, be blessed.

Jesus loves you. He is absolutely crazy about you!! You are blessed, walk in your blessings. May God bless you and your family in Jesus name I pray.

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Seek God First!!

Thursday's Awakening

Seek The Lord in All Things

Joshua 7

Often when God has delivered us out of many battles we believe we can handle the small battles on our own. That can lead to us worshiping ourselves and believing that we don’t need Jesus for all things. Sometimes we even believe we have built up enough credit that we don’t even have to seek God for everything and he will surely deliver us out of all things. God is Sovereign. Some synonyms related to sovereignty are independent, self-governing, dominant, supreme, and autonomous. Jesus doesn’t owe us anything at all; we were purchased with a price. God operates independently. He loves us but he doesn’t owe us. He has given us so much and when we do not consult him before we make decisions we put ourselves at risk. He is not going to automatically do for us because we think we have an extended credit line if he does nothing else he has done enough. There are some places, people and things he doesn’t want for us but we want for us. The only way we can be sure we are operating in his will and not our will is to seek him first.

Matt 6:33 says seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness and all these things will be added to you. The text does not say seek God after we have done an assessment. It doesn’t say seek God only for big issues. It says to seek him first. After you seek him wait Psa 27:14. Jesus knows what is best for us and we have to trust him for the big and the little. We are as dust, he created us, and we need to walk under his covering in everything.

Joshua experienced God’s many wonders. He witnessed the parting of the red sea as a child, he witnessed God parting the Jordan (Jos 3) and the fall of Jericho (Jos 6). When Joshua sent men to spy on Ai and his spies advised him to go in to battle with minimal forces he agreed (Jos 7:2-3). The text does not say he consulted the Lord. We are soldiers of the Lord and any battle we fight we must arm ourselves with the favor of the Lord regardless of the size of the battle.

We will often seek God when we are going into battle on our jobs or with people we have no control over. We seem reluctant to seek God when we are dealing with our loved ones. We tend to believe those battles are small and we can handle them on our own. Battles are spiritual. The enemy will use anyone that will allow him, and he will use them to attack us. Every time we go into battle we must consult the Lord. The big battles we may consider to be our “Philistine battles” that David had to fight and he always sought the Lord.  The Amalekites battles are the ones that fight us when we are not looking, when our backs are turned, they come after our children and the spiritually vulnerable (1Sam 30-1-3). We have to seek God and acknowledge him in all things and he will direct our paths (Prov 3:6). When he directs our paths our backs are not turned, our eyes are focused, we are aware of any impending threats to our household, our mind, or our spirit and we are prepared everywhere we go.

When Joshua’s men went into battle they were defeated. Immediately Joshua fell to his face and cried out to the Lord (Josh 7:4-9). Joshua should have consulted the Lord first and he would have known that someone in his camp had sinned against God. If he would have consulted God he would have ensured his house was right before God, before battling anyone else. We are in some battles today and we are wondering why things aren’t changing. It could be that we haven’t consulted Jesus in our actions or we haven’t repented before the Lord. We see that sin can keep us defeated.  There are so many consequences to sin and we often don’t see the connection. Jesus sees the connection; he knows the damage of sin.  Before we go into battle we should check ourselves, repent, ask and wait for direction.

Society tells us to grow up and be independent. Jesus wants us to come as little children and depend on him (Mark 10:15). We have to believe the report of the Lord and trust in him. Every time you think about doing anything on your own think of the little toddler that doesn’t want any help but is too little and doesn’t understand the consequences. As adults we laugh at them and help them any way. That is how the Lord looks at us, he knows we can’t handle it on our own and often helps us anyway but seek him first.

Just like in this video. The Lord is saying give it to me.

  http://youtu.be/h63BmK1LcSo

Jesus wants us totally dependent on him. Seek him before battle, before you start your day, before you make a decision, before you engage your family, friends, enemies, or workday. Acknowledge God, seek is face and allow him to direct your path.

God bless you and your family! Jesus is crazy about you he loves you dearly. He died just for you.

Pray

Most holy and righteous father, Creator of the heaven and earth. You are the only true sovereign King. In you we put our trust. We repent today for taking matters into our own hands. Forgive us for failing to seek you first in all things. Forgive us for failing to acknowledge you in everything so you could direct us. Teach us how to grow dependent on you. Teach us how to be obedient after you have given us instruction. We thank you Lord Jesus for all you do for us. I thank you for shedding your blood on Calvary and coming back for me. Help us to do your will in all things. We love you and we thank you for all your continued blessings.  

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Calling For Prayer......Staggering World Stats..Prayer Still Works!

Calling For Prayer

World Stats
38M Abortions This Year
36M AIDS/HIV Infected People
1.5 M Deaths AIDS/HIV This Year
7.5M Deaths by Cancer This Year
4.6M Deaths Caused by Smoking
2.3M Deaths Caused By Alcohol

Please pray the prayer below or your own prayer. We are called to pray for one another. Praise, Repent, Ask, Yield.

Most holy and powerful God, who produces fruit in barrenness, provides shelter and shade, judges and reigns in righteousness, heals the sick and the broken hearted. You are faithful in your love and protection. You are sovereign, majestic, omnipresent, zealous and exalted above all. There is no one greater or higher than you. We thank you that we serve the most high God.

We repent for the sins we have committed knowingly and unknowingly. Only you can understand our faults, cleanse us from our secret faults. Keep us back from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over us. Cleanse us from all unrighteousness. We repent for the land and ask that you forgive us oh Lord. We stand in the gap praying for those that are in need of you today.

Father there were over 38 million abortions, forgive us for destroying what you have given to us. Help us to receive your gifts. Father bless each and every mother that felt they needed to make that decision. We ask that you forgive them and be with them. Please help in family planning to ensure every life you give will be a life that is received. We know all abortions aren’t by choice some are spontaneous and we asked that you heal those that suffered through spontaneous, and traumatic abortions. Jesus please heal all those impacted by abortions.

 

Jesus we ask that you heal all manner of sickness. Heal those suffering from HIV/AIDS, Cancer, Malaria and all other sicknesses that are plaguing your people. We ask that you heal those suffering from mental and emotional illness. We ask that you comfort the bereaved and the orphans today. We ask that you heal as only you can Jesus.

We ask that you heal those suffering with additions. We know you are the master of intervention. We ask that you meet them where they are and remove the taste of alcohol, cigarettes, drugs and any other addition that is destroying the vessel that you have given us. Help us to honor what you have given us. Restore them to righteousness. Help them to become whole again free from additions.

Lastly, we pray for salvation for everyone in the world. We pray that everyone would come to know you as their savior. We ask that you go with the missionaries that are preaching and teaching your gospel abroad and protect, lead, and guide them to those who are lost and are in need of a savior. We ask that you send your gospel to those places where only prayer can go and save those that are in need of you. I ask that you bless each and every person that reads this prayer. I ask that you bless them from the crown of their head to the sole of their feet. I ask that you pour out a blessing they don’t have room enough to receive. I ask that you bless their homes and their family. Please save each and every member of their family. I ask that the person that is reading this would be encouraged for praying for others. I ask that you bless them with that secret request they have been seeking you for in Jesus name. Help our ways to line up with your ways so you would hear from heaven and answer our prayer.

We yield our heart and mind to you and only you. Help us to be what you have called us to be. Help us to walk in the gifts you have given us. Help us to love one another and extend compassion to one another as you have extended to us.

Let the word of our mouths and the meditation of our heart be acceptable in your sight, or Lord our strength and our redeemer. In Jesus name and for your glory Amen

God Bless you and yours!
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Blessing Blockers! Take Inventory.....

Monday Motivation

Topic: Identifying Blessing Blocker

Joshua 7

God has called us to be obedient to his instructions. Unfortunately our disobedience rarely only impacts us. Our disobedience usually has a domino effect. It usually impacts those around us. We have to be obedient even when we don’t understand the purpose.

We are not in this world alone. We are all connected to each other. We can think about some sinful acts in our past and how affected those around us or even our present. Even those things we felt that only God knew impacted someone inadvertently.

We pay a premium for our disobedience. It can cost us receiving God’s promises. God gives us grace & mercy but he is not in the habit of continually blessing disobedience. There are many definitions for grace and one of them is time. When we sin and we do not know any better God gives us time, he gives us grace to get it right. He favors and protects us during our grace period. He covers our sins because he has mercy on us. Jesus has compassion on us, which is why we must repent and ask for forgiveness.

We find multiple examples in the bible of disobedience/sins that impacted others. Moses and almost an entire generation were kept out of the Promised Land due to sin and disobedience. Mankind fell for disobeying God in the Garden of Eden. Two cities Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed due to sin. Sin is contagious. Once we begin, we bring others along and the cycle continues. Then it spreads like a fast moving cancer destroying everything in its path.

Think of this minor example of sin similar to speeding and breaking the speed limit. When we are in our cars, speeding the very competitive person next to us is encouraged to speed as well. The person that is in front of us feels pressure to increase their speed because we are behind them speedily approaching their bumper. We have then influenced at least two other drivers to break the speed limit. The first few times we may receive grace, we may not get pulled over by the authorities. Suddenly we begin receiving camera speeding tickets in the mail. Spiritually we have speeding tickets coming in the mail. Those things we shouldn’t do and we haven’t felt the full effects of our actions but the Lord is warning us. Then we are pulled over by authorities, ordered to pay a fine and given points against our license.  We are given multiple chances to reduce our speeding and if our behavior doesn’t change we lose our license and our ability to drive.

Disobedience is the ultimate blessing blocker! God has things he wants to get to us but we are blocking our blessings due to disobedience. God delivered the children of Israel out of the wilderness to the other side of the Jordan to the Promised Land. When they arrived, God turned the city over to them, he specifically instructed them not to take anything from the land for themselves as it was cursed (Jos 6:18-21). Later they went up for a minor battle and lost (Jos 7:1-5). Joshua prayed to the Lord asking why he didn’t save them, why did he bring them across the Jordan without protection (Jos 7:6-9). Joshua prayed to the Lord and the Lord informed him someone in his camp had disobeyed his command and had taken that which was cursed, which he instructed against (Jos 7:10-13). One man’s disobedience put an entire nation at risk. Our sin is not our own. We take others with us.

Sometimes we are praying and doing what God has called us to do but we have some blessing blockers in our home that are sinning against God. Some of them we can remove or manage and some we have to continually offer up prayers on their behalf. Either way we have to recognize it, pray and seek the Lord for guidance. We have to be careful who and what we allow in our homes or into our space. There are blessings the Lord has for us but cannot get to us because we have some blessing blockers that we are trying to satisfy and make comfortable in our space. The blessing blocker is usually us.

God is gracious and merciful and he never gives us what we deserve for the wages of sin is death (Rom 6:23). He gives us mercy and he always he gives us a way out. He gives us the opportunity to repent. There is still time to repent, ask forgiveness and obey. There are things the Lord has instructed us to do that we have repeatedly disobeyed. There are people around us, which are influencing us to disobey God, and we continually allow ourselves to be influenced. We need to seek the Holy Spirit for assistance to resist and obey.

The Lord wants the absolute best for us and he cannot give it all to us if we are disobedient. He can’t give us a new car if our license is suspended. He can’t bless us with health if we continue to eat fatty foods and refuse to exercise. He can’t give us joy if we won’t let go of those things he instructed us to release. There is no lack in Jesus there is only lack in us. If we find ourselves not receiving what God has promised us we need to take an inventory of ourselves and our space. We need to determine what our blessing blockers are, pray and seek the Holy Spirit for guidance.

Pray

Most Holy and Sovereign God. You are the Most High God. Creator of the heavens and the earth. You are a strong tower and in you we run and find protection. You are the only one that upholds the kingdom and each of us with your right hand of righteousness. You are wonderful in all your works of wonder and glory. You and you alone are exalted, lifted up and praised for your wonders abound. We repent today for being disobedient and causing those around us to disobey your will. We ask for forgiveness for allowing ourselves to be influenced and for when we influenced others to disobey your will. We thank you for covering our sins. We ask that you give us the will and the strength to obey. Teach us to lift you up when sin and doubt assail us. Help us to walk ever sensitive to your upholding hand. Open our heart to you and flow inside us. In Jesus name we pray. Amen

God Bless you and yours!
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Scrub Till You Love! Forgive

Tuesday Inspiration

Topic: Forgive

It is good to understand where we are in our life. There are several notable events that take place in the bible that relate to our lives. I noticed I am finishing a 7 year cycle in my life and it prompted me to go over each of the seven year cycles of my life to see if there was a pattern of completeness as it is in the bible. I learned that every year is a period of 7 cycles of 7. It begins with the birthday + 52 days ending the day before the next birthday. When I look back over my life and plot out each 7 year cycle, I can name each cycle. One was the dark ages a period of trial and tribulations when I did not know Jesus, another was 7 years of new beginnings and the list goes on. I have been very excited about my future. Although I do not know what my future holds I am looking forward to doing the work of the Lord.

 

I now know I will enter into a fresh cycle of 7 years in about 5 months. If you have time look over your life,  plot out where you have been over each 7 year cycle by creating a personal timeline. It is a good way of writing down where God has brought us from and where he is taking us along this journey of life. We often think we are not where we want to be in life or we should be achieving more at this point. Plotting a personal timeline helps us to see God’s grace and will help us to forgive and have patience with others as Jesus had and is still having with us.

God’s creation was completed in 6 days on the seventh day he rested, completing the cycle. There are several accounts of a completed work in sevens from creation in Genesis to the many sevens in Revelation.  God works in sevens, frequently illustrated throughout the bible in healing (2King 5:14), salvation ( Lev 16:14, Heb 9:12), feasting (Lev23:1-44, John 6:1-14),  and deliverance (Jos 6:12-16). Another seven speaks about forgiveness. Jesus deals with forgiveness in sevens as well.

When asked how many times we should forgive, Jesus replies seventy times seven (Matt 18:21-22). Seven represent completeness and if we forgive seventy times seven we would have completely forgiven the person. Jesus uses those numbers to inform us to forgive until we have completely forgiven. It is not meant to imply to forgive 490 (70x7) times it is meant for us to understand that seven represents complete. 70 represents 7 cycles of completeness (10x7) and multiplying 70 times 7 is the equivalent of completely forgiving a person to the point you love them.  We would have completely forgiven them until there is nothing left in our hearts for them but love. When we clean out hatred, anger, hurt, pain etc all we have is love. Jesus wants us to scrub till we love.! He doesn't want us to forgive so we can tolerate, he wants to forgive to the point we love our neighbor as our self (Matt 22:38-39).

When we completely forgive, it opens the door to allow God to forgive us (Matt 6:14). Jesus is always molding and shaping us. He wants our sins forgiven but our unforgiveness blocks his forgiveness (Matt 6:15). Think of unforgiveness as a dirty pot, filled with gunk that represents anger, hatred etc. When God sees us and we ask for forgiveness, he sees all the filth in the pot. When we have completely forgiven our enemies (70 times 7) it is equivalent to soaking that pot in bleach scrubbing it clean until no one knows what was in the pot originally. That is when we come before the Lord with a clean heart. When we remove malice, hatred and anger from our hearts and allow Jesus to enter those places and fill our pot with his love and forgiveness. He cannot fill our pot if it is already filled with unforgiveness, anger, and hatred. There isn’t any room for him in the pot. Turn it over to him. We have to give it to him, we have to cast our cares to Jesus (1Pet 5:7). He can't heal what hasn't been given to him. He can't remove what hasn't been turned over to him. When the trash collector picks up  our trash, we have to first put it out of our house. They are not going to come in and remove the trash.  We have to bag the trash, then put it on the curb on in the dumpster. After the trash is removed the house can be cleaned. We cannot clean a house that is filled with trash. Jesus cannot clean us until we decide to remove the trash.

We have to let God in and allow him to take those things that we have allowed to stick to out pot keeping our pot dirty. Let us bathe in his precious blood and allow him to remove all unrighteousness. His blood is as bleach cleansing us and making us white as snow (Psa 51:2, 1John 1:9).

We are running this race in faith. Our past is our past, leave it there. Take the time to look back where God has brought you from, notice the grace he has extended to you. Allow yourself time to forgive and move on. The longer you hold on the longer it takes for God to fill you and complete you.

 

God Bless you and yours!
Jesus Loves You! Are you in need of salvation? Take the first step. Click here

Pray Psa 51 GNT

Be merciful to me, O God, because of your constant love.
Because of your great mercy wipe away my sins! Wash away all my evil and make me clean from my sin! I recognize my faults; I am always conscious of my sins. I have sinned against you—only against you and done what you consider evil. So you are right in judging me; you are justified in condemning me.  I have been evil from the day I was born; from the time I was conceived, I have been sinful. Sincerity and truth are what you require; fill my mind with your wisdom. Remove my sin, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. Let me hear the sounds of joy and gladness; and though you have crushed me and broken me, I will be happy once again. Close your eyes to my sins and wipe out all my evil.  Create a pure heart in me, O God, and put a new and loyal spirit in me.
Do not banish me from your presence; do not take your holy spirit away from me. Give me again the joy that comes from your salvation, and make me willing to obey you. Then I will teach sinners your commands, and they will turn back to you. Spare my life, O God, and save me, and I will gladly proclaim your righteousness. Help me to speak, Lord, and I will praise you. You do not want sacrifices, or I would offer them; you are not pleased with burnt offerings. My sacrifice is a humble spirit, O God; you will not reject a humble and repentant heart. O God, be kind to Zion and help her;
rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. Then you will be pleased with proper sacrifices and with our burnt offerings; and bulls will be sacrificed on your altar.



Are your angels unemployed? Lower the unemployment rate, employ your angels!

Saturday Light

Topic: Are your angels unemployed? Lower the unemployment rate, employ your angels.

I was blessed by hearing there is also an unemployment line for angels. I was so excited when I heard that word that I was eager to share it with you. The Lord has just released me to share it and hopefully you will be blessed and begin to employ your angels.

If you have ever worked on a project they often have a project manager (PM) and various experts on the team to ensure the success of the project. In that environment there aren’t necessarily a hierarchy just different people, with different expertise, assigned to different duties, to ensure the success of the project. The project manager is employed by the organization and answers to senior leadership. Consider our project manager to be the Holy Spirit answering to Jesus (John 14:16) and we are the project.

We are a constant, continual work in progress. We are perpetually going through different phases in our lives. As one phase end another phase begins. During each phase we should look at it as a project. Our PM is the Holy Spirit and there are several members on our project to ensure we succeed. Each project begins with a budget, plan, and scope. Sometimes we wonder why certain times in our lives we are financially restrained and other times we are financially free. Every project has a budget, how we use our funds in each phase will impact our next phase. We may not always know the budget, plan, and scope but we do have a dynamic PM that does. Our PM guides us and comforts us and if we decide to go rouge, we will incur some unplanned cost and face threats that could derail or destroy the project. The children of Israel stayed in the wilderness for 40 years because they went rouge and destroyed their chances of entering into the Promised Land.

Remember we are the project and our executive sponsor (Jesus) has assigned a certain number of consultants (angels) to our project. The PM can only guide and suggest, it is up to us to utilize the angels, our consultants that have been assigned to our project.

Consultants are paid a premium to provide their expertise, to help troubleshoot, implement, and/or develop etc. It is very frustrating to a consultant when they are not being utilized. Consultants have high work ethics, they desire challenge and they want to increase their experience so they can provide better service on their next project.

During each phase of our lives the goal is for us to successfully move through the phase so we can become closer to our father. We have been given a dynamic PM the Holy Spirit, and we have been assigned consultants our angels to help us along. Every project has unknown and known risk and threats. The PM is responsible for accounting for them and ensuring we have the support we need to help us mitigate some of them.

When the Holy Spirit guides us and we do not listen we potentially face unknown threats that have not been accounted for in the project plan. Our known threats have angels assigned to them. The angels do not automatically work unless we assign them. We do this when we are obedient to the Spirit.

When God was going to destroy Sodom & Gomorrah (Gen 18:16-33) Abraham prayed to the Lord to save the city as he knew his nephew and his family were there. The Lord sent angels to rescue his Abraham’s family because Abraham opened his mouth and prayed to the Lord.

Some of us are going through a phase and our loved ones are in a dangerous place, if we do not open our mouths and pray to the Lord those angels will not be released. When we know we should pray but we do not, we have Angels waiting in full armor ready for combat, ready to be dispatched, but are not being deployed.   

Moses gives an account of when they cried to the Lord and he heard their voice and sent and angel that brought them out of Egypt (Num 20:16). Hezekiah recognized that he was in a battle and the enemy had men but he had help from the Lord. Hezekiah and Isaiah prayed and cried to heaven to employ their Angels and the Lord released an angel which cut off all the mighty men of valor, the leaders and the captains of their enemies (2Chr 32:8,21).

We have to open our mouths when we are coming under attack, when we find ourselves in a precarious predicament, we have to pray. We have to cry out and pray to the Lord to release and employ our angels. We cannot do it in our own strength our project was not planned for us to take it on ourselves. We have a PM to guide us, we have angels to protect us, but we have to utilize them. God sends his angels to protect us, but his name is in them, and if we disobey them, they will not protect us, and will not have mercy on us (Ex23:20-22). For an example we love and adore our mother or father and they ask us to go help their friend we obey. When we arrive to help their friend, their friend is speaking against our parent(s) and we heard their friend assaulted our parent(s). Not only will we refuse to help their friend, we most likely will go in rage and deal with that person aggressively. This is why when we open our mouths, pray and cry out to the Lord we have to believe that he is and he will protect us. We cannot begin praying and when our prayers aren’t answered immediately begin speaking against God and charging him foolishly.

Daniel fasted and prayed to the Lord for 3 weeks. God answered his prayer on the first day and deployed an angel. The angel fell into a spiritual battle on his way to reach Daniel and had to call on the Archangel Michael who is over all the angels for the people of God for help (Dan 10:12-13). If Daniel would have stopped praying the angel would have never reached him. Some of us have been praying and believing God for some things and are beginning to lose faith. We are in a spiritual war and some of our angels have called for backup and they are fighting to give us our blessing. Our prayers keep them strong and in battle to reach us.

Backup can only be called if we are faithful and continuing in prayer. With all that we face we cannot afford to have an unemployed angels. There isn’t an angel shortage and they aren’t on strike, there is a prayer shortage. Our PM has placed a deliverable next to our name and its prayer; he knows that is the only way our angels will be released. Our project cannot move forward until use all of our resources. Our angels are asking the Lord to reassign them to other projects because they are not being released on our project. They are standing in line waiting, anticipating.  

Lower the unemployment rate, employ your angels.

God Bless you and yours!

Pray

Most Holy and righteous Father. You are the King of kings and the Lord of lords. You are holy in word and in deed. You are excellent in all your works. Forgive us for the sins we have committed knowingly and unknowingly. We repent for not using all the resources you have given us. We repent for disobedience that has derailed our project. We bless your name forever. We magnify you in all things and thank you for the gifts you have given us. Help us to be obedient to the Holy Spirit, so you will deploy your angels. In Jesus Name Amen
 

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Stop Wasting Time!

Tuesday Inspiration

Topic: Don’t put off tomorrow what you can do today.

James 4:6-10

When I was younger in elementary school I wrote a poem about tomorrow.

When I think of tomorrow I think of my grandmother who never reached it.

Now I think tomorrow is just myth or an illusion

in the minds of those who dare to consider it.

Tomorrow eluded the prophets the wise men the scholar.

Tomorrow is a prize that has never been won.

A time is space which never seems to come.

So live life to its fullest and don’t miss the fun.

For if you leave it until tomorrow….it will be left undone.

God gives us a certain amount of time on our clock. No one knows when their time will be over but we often spend our time wasting our time.

We waste our time with things of this world that never fulfill us. We aren’t fulfilled because our time is being spent on things of this world when we are not from this world. We fill our lives with material things or fleshly desires that only satisfy us temporally or not at all.

We have to stop wasting time. Time wasters are things that keep us from the Lord. We live it every day. Its equivalent to seeing our car keys, but going to our car, cutting a hole in the floor, and using our feet to drive the car instead of the engine (wasting time) or taking the wheels off our bicycle and holding in our hand and running to our destination (wasting time). It sounds silly but that is what our life is like every day when we choose to ignore the one who created us, who is the key to our engine.

Some of us are doing a lot of good things but we are not spending time with the Lord. Our clock is ticking and when our time is up and we stand before the Lord, will he say “I never knew you” (Matt 7:23). All those things we put before him are going to seem completely irrelevant in the end. Today may be the end. We hear the whisper in our ear. We feel the tug on our heart. Yet we continue to “put off tomorrow what we could do today”.  The Lord promises that we will eat the good of the land (Isa 1:19). He said he will exalt us and cause us to ride upon the high places when we delight in him (Isa 58:14).

 When we do not delight in the Lord we give into temptation. When temptation comes and it will, we must resist the devil and he will flee (Jam4:7). He has no choice but to flee, he has no power. God has given us power, love and sound mind. He gives us the power to resist, he gives us the mind to resist, we just have to want to and stop wasting time. When we play and dance with the devil we are wasting time. We are playing Russian roulette with our lives. When we praise God in one breath and give into temptation in the same instance we are double minded, we are unstable, and we are wasting time.

God does not tempt us. We can only be tempted if we have a desire outside the will of God. If we draw near to God he will draw near to us (Jam4:8). Meaning we will have the mind of Christ, he will abide in us and we will desire those things of the Lord and we will no longer waste time or give into temptation.

Temptation begins with a thought, that leads to a desire, that leads to sin, that leads to death (Jam 1:13-15). We face spiritual death daily because we are wasting our time thinking on things of this world and not on things that are above that are pure (Col 3:2, Phi 4:8).

Let us use our time wisely. We are promised blessings when we remain steadfast under trials (Jam 1:12). The secret to enduring during trails is to draw near to God. He will give us peace that surpasses all understanding. Peace that surpasses all understanding is when it doesn’t make sense. It means peace when we are up and peace when we are down. It means peace when we hear bad news. It means peace when things aren’t going our way. It is crazy peace that we can only receive if we stop wasting time and start using our time for what the Lord wills (Jam 4:15).

Let today be the last day we waste time. Let us cleanse our hands and purify our hearts (Jam 4:8). Let us have one mind, the mind of Christ. Remember every time we are tempted is due to a desire. If we chase after the Lord our desire will be of the Lord any other desires are areas we have not turned over to him. The devil can only tempt us with things we desire. Desires come from a thought and if we keep our thoughts centered on Christ we will be immovable and unshakable (1Cor 15:58). Don’t be a shaky building swaying back and forth with loose foundation ready to crumble and fall with the next wind. Abide in the strong tower (Psa 61:3, Pro 18:10). Stand on the Rock, take refuge in the Lord (2Sam 22:2-3).

Try God today, he is faithful and can be trusted. Stop wasting time and begin enjoying your time. Jesus is knocking on the door, please let him in. Most of us have those things we need every day, exercise, coffee, shower, etc. What we need most is the Lord. We cannot afford to waste any more time. Seek and you will find the time (Matt 7:7, Jer 29:13).

God Bless you and yours!

Jesus Loves You! Are you in need of salvation? Take the first step. Click here

 

Pray

Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
Your Kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins,
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom,
the power and the glory are yours.
Now and for ever.

Amen.

 

 

No Matter how high the waves..Jesus can take you through!

Monday motivation
Topics: New beginnings, Memorial

Joshua 3, Psa 114:3

When leaving an old place, going into a new place we often encounter obstacles. Some are large some are small. Those obstacles are placed there for a memorial. Obstacles give us an opportunity to see God’s majesty. Obstacles give us an opportunity to increase our faith. A physical obstacle course is used for training soldiers, testing their speed and endurance. A spiritual obstacle is used to test our spiritual endurance and our faith.
Obstacles are opportunities for God to show his Majesty. If we approach obstacles with faith and not fear our only obligation is to show up and the Lord will guide us through. If we approach our obstacles with fear we will often circumvent God’s blessing. When fear grips us, we don’t follow through, we give up, we procrastinate, and we unfortunately stop progressing . God cannot advance us to the next level if we are going in the wrong direction or not moving at all. Jesus cannot advance us if we have decided to stand still. When Joshua was leading the nation out of the wilderness into the Promised Land he faced some obstacles. One obstacle was the Jordan River. When we walk with God we should never see obstacles. We should get excited because it's another opportunity to see Jesus in his glory. The Lord took them through the Jordan River during a season when the waters were overflowing, the waters were crashing with accelerated speeds and no one had a surf board to ride the waves. There wasn’t a cruise ship to protect them and get them to the other side (Jos 3:13-17).
Since there weren’t any surf boards or cruise ships they relied on the Lord. God's Ark of the Covenant went before the people, carried by the priests. Once the priest soles touched the water the river parted creating a wall on dry land giving a safe passage for an entire nation. Joshua didn’t try to become Noah and build an ark to carry the people over. He didn’t try to work out a back-up plan in case God didn’t deliver. God instructed him to be strong and very courageous and he obeyed and waited for further instruction. If God said it is time to move, go and wait for instruction. It may be rough waters but go and wait on the Lord.

Can you imagine 27 rapids and cascades crashing 1000 feet, swelling on every side? Making thunderous sounds as the waves crashed against each other. Then suddenly like a faucet the Lord shuts the water off. The water didn’t disappear. The water just stopped flowing, it stopped crashing. It says the waters from above that was a waterfall rose up and stood back (Jos 3:16). How great is our God!

 

We may have something in our lives that seems impossible to pass, that has 70ft waves, but when we place it at the Master’s feet it will step back. Jesus will take us through, on dry ground. The Lord made a point to let us know they passed through the river on dry ground. Normal potting soil takes about a week to dry once it has been flushed, an entire riverbed dried instantly under the authority of God's presence. He let us know when he takes us through we won't slip and slide in mud. We won't sink in quick sand. We will stand firm and walk on dry ground. How many of us are facing raging waters or an obstacle that in our minds require a ship to pass? If we obey and believe, he will part the water and allow us to pass on dry ground.  We can’t get to the other side if we don’t want to face our Jordan. We can’t get to the other side if we have turned back to the wilderness. We have to show up so God can show out!

Some of us keep waiting for God to show up with a boat or a cruise ship to take us over the Jordan and he wants to take us through the Jordan. He wants us to conquer our Jordan.

Sometimes we think God isn’t moving they way he did back in Joshua days. We think he isn’t parting waters anymore. We think if God would do that again we would believe him. He isn’t showing up like that anymore because we are not in the physical wilderness anymore. We are in spiritual wildernesses and we need him to part our spiritual Jordan’s. He gives us what we need when we need it.

The Jordan River was an obstacle they had to get through to get them closer to receiving the Promised Land. They still had to acquire the land. The Lord will place obstacles in our path to increase our faith and create a memorial for us to remember his majesty. It gives us a reference point when we face new challenges helping us to remember what God can do and how he can work it out. After the nation passed the Lord instructed Joshua to create a memorial with 12 stones so all who passed by would remember what the Lord did forever (Jos 4:7).

When the Lord takes you through and your enemies rise up and to step back create a memorial. When your troubles to dry up and they are under your feet, create a memorial. When your problems separate and are no longer blocking your path; create a memorial.

God Bless you and yours!

Pray

My Father, Holy Redeemer, The Great I Am. Forgive me for failing to remember your splendor. Forgive me for forgetting all the times you brought me through and protected me. Help me to commemorate the things you have done for me. Help me to memorialize your greatness. Give me the strength to face the Joradans in my life. Help me to make it to the other side. In Jesus name and for your glory. Amen

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Repeat After The Lord...If He said it believe it!

TGIF’s Word

Topic: Say What God Says

Joshua Chapter 1

Life sometimes takes us down different roads. Some are straight, some are winding, some are steep, some are bumpy, some are dead ends, some are never ending, and some are smooth. Whichever road we travel we should always go with Jesus. Always travel with the Lord as our guide. The Lord will make the crooked way straight.

It is important that we say what God says and believe what the Lord tells us. We know if God says it, it is true. We know that God is not a man that he should lie (Num 23:19). All we have to do is say what God says believe, and stand on his word. When our road is smooth and we are singing God’s praises, people are watching, wishing, and hoping they could walk in faith as we walk in faith. What happens when the road gets bumpy are we still singing God’s praises? Are we still standing on his word? Are we still saying what God says?

Joshua was about to leave the land he lived in for 40 years. His mentor Moses just died and he was left to be the leader of an entire nation. He was left to lead them into a new land, a land of abundance (Jos 1:1-3). We are often in a position where God has spoken to us and he wants to take us to a greater place. We have to make the decision to leave our comfortable place. The Lord is not going to pick us up and take us to the new place, we have to do our part and believe that he is going to bless us and act on his promises.

When the Lord spoke to Joshua he gave him a few important instructions. The Lord first reassured him, and affirmed him. The Lord knew he needed to lead a nation and conquer a new place, he told Joshua “No one will be able to stand against you as long as you live. For I will be with you ( Jos1:5).” The Lord is telling us no one will overtake us. He is with us.

Then the Lord tells him “Be strong and of a good courage (Jos 1:6)”. The Lord may have sensed some uncertainty in Joshua as he senses in us far too often. In the very next verse he says “be thou strong and very courageous (Jos 1:7)”. The Lord also tells Joshua he is going to be prosperous everywhere he goes.

God is saying to us don’t worry, I will protect you, this road isn’t as smooth as the previous road but I will be with you. We will need to be very courageous and stay close to the Lord and we will be prosperous.

The Lord tells him to take the word with him and he will have success. I am certain that even when God gives us the command we don’t always have the faith to take the steps to claim what the Lord has for us. Joshua must have exhibited those very same qualities. After God reassures him, pumps him up, pats him on the back, God makes a command. He knows Joshua will obey a command. He says: This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” (Jos 1:6 NLT).

If God says it is ours, we have to believe it is ours. In order to obtain it we have to be strong, be courageous, don’t be afraid, don’t be discouraged, and know that the Lord our God is with us everywhere we go. The Lord knows when he takes us off the smooth road we need strength. We have to believe God’s word. He told Joshua no man will ever stand against him as long as he lives. He had to believe it.  God said take my word with you and you will have good success. We have to take Jesus everywhere we go. We have to believe God’s word and he will always be with us. He told Joshua he will never fail or leave him. That word works for us. We have to profess that word over our lives and say what God says. When the road looks dismal say “The Lord my God is with me and will not fail me or leave me” repeat it till you believe it.

Joshua sent spies to scope out the land (Jos 2:1)”. This is called research. God has told some of us that it is time for us to move, start a business, develop, begin or end a project and we have not done our part. We have not done our research. When Joshua gave the command, the men said what God said be strong and of a good courage (Jos 1:18). Joshua was strong and of good courage and did conquer the land by being obedient to the Lord.

Some of us have reached the end of our current road and the Lord is ready to take us into a new territory. The Lord told Joshua three times to be strong and of a good courage and his men told him once. The Lord told him to keep the word with him and he would be successful. I am telling you today be strong and of a good courage, don’t be afraid, don’t give up, take Jesus with you and the Holy Spirit will guide you.

God bless you and yours!

Pray

Holy redeemer you are the true and living God. Promotion comes from you and you only. Forgive us for lacking strength and courage and allowing fear and procrastination to set in. Forgive us for not walking on faith and believing your word. Help us to carry your word in our heart and meditate on it day and night that we might have great success. Help us to be strong and receive all that you have for us.  Thank you for always being with us and never abandoning us in time of need. Please hear from heaven and accept our prayer, In Jesus name we pray.

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Calling For Prayer, Please Join in! We need your prayers!

Calling for Prayer
Topic: Prayer for All

Stats

2,300 people go missing each day in US

1 in 4 adults suffer from mental illness

7.1 Billion People in The World
Literacy over 796 Mill people in the world are illiterate

 

 Please pray the prayer below on your own prayer.

 

Holy Emmanuel you are the true and living God we bless your holy and precious name. You are majestic and righteous, holy in word and in deed. Your words are holy, your acts are holy. We worship you and lift your name on high. We love to sing your praises. You are the guardian of our soul and our shield of protection. Forgive us when we stray from your presence. Forgive us when we forget to praise you in all things. Forgive us for the sins we have committed knowingly and unknowingly. We repent on behalf of our enemies and all those that are walking around with their eyes wide shut.

 

We pray for salvation of the world. There are over 7.1 Billion people in the world. We are praying that your gospel quickly reaches each and every one. We pray for salvation and submission to you that we would live more abundantly. We pray that your kingdom come and your will be done in each one of our lives. Save us from ourselves that we may forever worship and praise you.

 

We pray for the missing men, women, and children nationally and globally. We pray for their safe return and protection from their captives. We pray that your angels of protection would lead and guide them to a successful escape. We come against people trafficking in the name of Jesus. We pray for the safe return of Avonte Oquendo and all other children that are missing.

 

We pray for those with mental illness. We pray that you would heal them as only you can. We apply your blood as it still has power. It still works and we thank you for your precious blood your shed on Calvary.  You are the ultimate healer and we pray for healing both mentally and physically in the name of Jesus.

 

We pray for literacy in the world. Being illiterate is another form of bondage and we pray for freedom to learn and grow. We pray for education across the world that no one would be left behind. We pray for organizations that are reaching and teaching across the world, that they would receive funding and protection. We pray for all those that are carrying out your will throughout the world. We know prayer changes things and our prayers are not in vain. We thank  you for hearing our prayers. We stand on faith believing those things we have prayed. I pray for each person that has read this prayer that they would receive a double blessing today for interceding on behalf of your people. I pray that you bless their homes, loved ones, their health and finances. I pray that they would continue to grow spiritually in you and you would reveal yourself to them in a way they have not known you.

 

In Jesus name I pray for your name and your glory. Amen


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What is in your grocery cart? Who made your shopping list?

Monday’s Motivation

Topic: What is in your grocery Cart?
Eph 2, Eph 4:18, Gal 5:22

 I am reminded of a song How Sweet it is to be loved by you! To experience the love of Christ is to experience the “greatest love of all”! If you have not experienced his love I invite you to trust God and watch him turn your life around. We often fill our lives with things, people, doctrine, anger or anything to help us feel whole. To experience true love we have to open our minds to accept God’s love (Rom 12:2).

 When we self reflect, we must ask ourselves who do we follow? Do we follow Jesus or do we follow the prince of the power of the air (Eph 2:2). We know Satan was kicked out of heaven and denied the chance of a body. He can only move through people. When we follow Satan we are dead in sin. When we follow Jesus we are saved by grace seated with him in heavenly places (Eph 2:5-6).

 Here are a couple of items on our grocery list to tell us if we are following the prince of air. If we walk down the aisle and see something we like and don’t think twice about the consequences and pick up a bag of lusts of our flesh we are following the prince of air. If we decide to do something and we haven’t consulted God and we know it isn’t right but we have the power and the mind to do it, we just filled our cart with desires of the flesh and mind (Eph 2:3). If our cart is full and we keep adding more causing it to overflow, we have just added greediness. If we walk down aisle 8, that holds painful memories and we put 10lb bag of bitterness, a 5lb bag of wrath and a 25lb of anger in our cart we are following Mr. Air. Bitterness, anger, and wrath have all different flavors and different sizes to keep us addicted.

 

 Aisle 8 has exotic spices called evil speaking and malice that adds extra flavor (Eph 4:31). We can’t forget aisle 6 which has the sticky jars of fornication and other sexual immoralities. Aisle 10 has plenty of dark candies, it full of idols, it has mirrors (they come in life size and minis) that speak to us and tell us we are the greatest and our achievements are by the work of our hands. It has pictures of celebrities that we can take to bow down to and pick up a kit that has all of their favorite things so we can dress like them, talk like them, and act like them. It also has pictures of our neighbors that have more than us so we can pick up a sugary jar of jealousy and envy. There is also a bank in the grocery store. It gives out pay day loans, it lures us with empty words giving us the money to pay for all those things in the cart but doesn’t tell us fine print (Eph 5:6).

 

 When we fill our carts with some or all of those things we are following the prince of air and are dead in sin. We are walking around as zombies and he is leading us and we are unaware of what is going on. He gives us belief in ourselves as the serpent gave Eve when he told her she would be like God having knowledge of good and evil. We are walking around under hypnosis under his control and he is laughing. We must snap out of it and wake up, rise from the dead and allow Christ to shine on us (Eph 5:14).

We need shop at “Shop Light” where there is fresh Fruit! It has fresh Fruit of the Spirit. Ripe fruits of love. They have tender fruits of joy. Angels are standing by with samples of peace hot out the oven. The bakery has a beautiful aroma that dances in our nostrils of gentleness and goodness. It’s always great to pick up a couple dozen of them to take to work to give out to our co-workers. Aisle 3 always looks empty but smells so good. It doesn’t have a floor to walk on but there is a light that is bright and welcoming. Most walk by this aisle and very few walk down, it’s filled with mustard seeds so tiny and small but once they are in the cart, the cart expands giving more room for the things we need (Matt 17:20).

 

 

Only then can we go down aisle 7 that has the wonderful fat burner called longsuffering. Longsuffering is an opportunity to build patience, endurance, and perseverance. Everything we will get in aisle 7 is needed when we face the prince of air. Aisle 7 allows us to be a mean, lean, Jesus fighting machines; it helps build our spiritual muscles. Longsuffering are spiritual pushups that give of pecks of righteousness and sit-ups that give us a six pack of faith. It removes the plaque build-up of anger and wrath. It strengthens forgiveness and patient muscles. Aisle 7 isn’t punishment it’s just training to help us endure in battle (Eph 6:10-18). It’s nothing like being prepared. It’s that moment when you tell temptation to go have a seat. It’s when you tell un-forgiveness goodbye. It’s when you hand vengeance over to the Lord. Being prepared is that moment when fear is absent and faith is present and we are no longer blinded by the prince of air.

 

You may be in battle today or you are just tired of your current employer Mr. Air and you want to be loved; go shop at Shop Light over on love drive and ask to speak to the owner, he is always there. He usually has bag of mercy in one hand and grace in another, it is a gift you will immediately receive. His name is Jesus; he is waiting for you and can’t wait to see you. You can’t shop in the store unless you see him first to sign up and receive your membership card. He will give you a warm comforter that will help guide you down the aisles, ensuring you stay on budget and pick up the right items. He will also give you a lifetime “Shop Light Love membership card so you can return and shop at Shop Light as much as you like (Jn 14:26).

Pray

Our Father, which art in heaven,
Hallowed be thy Name.
Thy Kingdom come.
Thy will be done in earth,
As it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
As we forgive them that trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
But deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom, The power, and the glory, For ever and ever. Amen.

God Bless You and Yours!


Jesus Loves You! Are you in need of salvation? Take the first step. Click here