Tag Archive | bondage

Give Thanks

Nov23

happy-turkey-day_give-thanksAh, the wonderful time of Thanksgiving. Sitting around the table with family and friends. Enjoying each other’s company filled with happiness and laughter. And, we certainly can’t forget about all the turkey, trimmings and pumpkin pie. What a glorious day to enjoy each year. The wonderful aromas filling the air.

But, have you ever taken a moment to look at the word, Thanksgiving. Do you realize that it can be broken down into two words? THANKS and GIVING!

When I think of Thanksgiving…sure, I remember all the wonderful memories of the years gone by. Cooking in the kitchen, enjoying the laughter, and watching football on TV. It is an amazing time for all to be had.

Have you ever realized that it could and should be a daily occurrence? Every time we wake up, we should THANK THE LORD for a new day. We should be thankful and grateful for the amazing day He has in store for us. It doesn’t matter what our circumstances look like at the moment. He has the answers and His ways are far beyond ours…so, we should be thankful that He will provide, heal, strengthen, and guide our steps.

We should also wake up each morning and be on the lookout of GIVING to someone in need. Giving is not just financial. You can GIVE a smile. You can GIVE time. You can GIVE kindness. You can GIVE a helping hand. There are so many ways to GIVE to our fellow man without breaking the bank. We just need to keep our eyes open and be ready to move when God shows us the way. It can be something as small as opening a door for someone. The key here is not to miss a moment; for giving is a beautiful way of living. You never know what that person is going through and you just might be God’s answer to them.

Let’s take a quick glance at what the Bible says about “Thanksgiving”:

  • 1 Thessalonians 5:18  “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”
  • Psalm 107:1 “Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!”
  • Philippians 4:6 “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”
  • Luke 6:38 “Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.”

See, every day is filled with opportunity. It can be filled with anger and depression or it can be filled with love and laughter. We all have a choice to make every time we wake up in the morning. So, from now on, how will you treat Thanksgiving? For me and my house, I will serve the Lord and continuously be thankful in all things and give wherever He leads me.

happy-turkey-day-2015

NOTE: Please disregard any advertisements you might see on this website as the author does not endorse them. Thank you.

Be Bold

Oct25

be-braveDid you know as soon as you start standing on God’s Word and believing God for big things to happen in your life, the first thing the enemy will do is bring opposition in your life. The enemy wants to do everything he can to make you go into another direction. He doesn’t want to see God working in your life, he wants you to stay broke, busted and disgusted. The enemy will do everything he can to make you give up.

I can tell you from experience that the enemy will come against you extremely hard when you are paying your tithes, your offerings or doing something good towards others. The enemy will attempt to make you sicker or he’ll make sure you get a terrible diagnosis from the doctor when you are standing on God’s Word for healing your body. He’ll attack your finances when you are paying your tithes and First Fruit offerings; making you doubt if you should continue. All of a sudden you’ll find yourself having extra expenses because your car, your air conditioner, your roof or something else will breakdown. Maybe you’ve prayed that God opens doors that no man can close only to find yourself suddenly unemployed with no direction. There are many, many ways that the devil may attempt to get you to go in another direction and the negative voices that sabotage you the most will be within yourself or those closest to you.

But I’m here today to tell you “THE DEVIL IS A LIAR!”

Mark 5:35-36, 39: 35 While He was still speaking, some people came from the synagogue official’s house, saying [to Jairus], “Your daughter has died; why bother the Teacher any longer?” 36 Overhearing what was being said, Jesus said to the synagogue official, “Do not be afraid; only keep on believing [in Me and my power].” 39And when he had entered, he said to them, “Why are you making a commotion and weeping? The child is not dead but sleeping.”

In Mark 5:35, Jairus had gone to Jesus asking Him to heal His daughter. Jesus was on His way to help but those closest to Jairus came with bad news. Jairus’ daughter died before Jesus got there, so they were telling him not to bother Jesus anymore. They were telling him that it was no longer needed, that it was too late and that it was impossible now. However, Jesus saw the situation completely different. Mark 5:36 shows us that Jesus told Jairus “Do not be afraid and keep believing.”

What was Jesus saying? When everyone else is telling you that your situation, your finances, your health is impossible to turnaround, you have an Almighty God that says IGNORE WHAT THEY SAY BECAUSE NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE TO THOSE WHO WILL KEEP BELIEVING!

Yes your pain and suffering is real. Your circumstances are real. BUT…don’t look at your circumstances. Don’t look at your checkbook. Don’t look at your unemployment. Don’t look at your diagnosis. Don’t listen to those negative voices and doubt surrounding you. Don’t look at anything but OUR HEAVENLY FATHER who wants to help you. He is anticipating and knows what you need. You don’t need to concern yourself with the “how”…God is filled with resurrecting power no matter what is happening in your life.

God says to believe in Him and Him alone! He can do the impossible! God is more than enough in every situation. He can and will do more than you can ever imagine. Don’t get stuck when the enemy attacks you. Don’t listen to the negative voices surrounding you. Don’t doubt when you are so close to seeing your promised land. Believe in your Heavenly Father who is capable to do exceedingly and more abundantly than you can ever dream! Be Bold in the midst of your adversity and fight the good fight of faith. For just like the Bible says in Mark 5:39, your situation is not dead but is sleeping. He will raise you up far greater than before. Keep believing and you too will see your circumstances come alive, birthed to newer heights. God will make a way when there isn’t any. He will make you the head and not the tail, above and not below! He will cause your frown to turn upside down with His power, His love, His provision and His healing power!

be-brave_god-is-bigger

For further studies, I encourage you to watch this amazing teaching from Pastor Steven Furtick called “Why Bother”. It will help you feed your faith and stand strong in the midst of your battle. God bless!

Note: Please disregard any advertisement you may encounter under this posting as the author does not endorse them. Thank you.

Perspective Is Everything

Oct4

Faith_HearingWhat is going on in your life right now? Are your finances dried up? Are you unemployed? Have you lost friends or family members? Have you found yourself battling sickness, depression or loneliness? Do addictions have control over you? What circumstances do you find yourself in?

I bet everyone reading those questions came up with a long list of things that are happening in their lives right now that they would like changed. What’s worse is how quickly those things popped into your head, right?!?! I’m guessing you didn’t have to think too hard on those questions before coming up with the list.

Have you ever noticed how easy it is to focus on the problems than on the solutions? Why is that, do you think? Mainly because when we find ourselves battling the “issues” of life, we seem to focus on them non-stop until we figure out how to solve them. But what if I could show you that there was an easier way? Would you be willing to give it a try?

Well the good news is that there is an easier way! God tells us in Romans 10:17 that our faith comes from hearing. That is a very powerful statement if you really stop to think about it! Why should we need to grow our faith? What is faith really?

Let’s say you lost your job and are about to lose your home. What do you do? You are probably sending out your resume and talking with every person you know in trying to land a job that will provide enough funds to keep your home. Right?!?!? Not only that but you are probably under tremendous stress, worry and on the verge of being sick because of the pressure. If you don’t land a job with a high enough salary, you will lose your home. Then it will snowball to where am I going to live, how will I survive, what will I eat and on, and on, and on. Trust me I know…I’ve been there and it’s a terrible, stressful and unhappy situation to be in.

See the thing I learned throughout my difficult situations is to listen to the Word more. Building your faith is the most crucial and most important thing you could ever do when things are up against you. When you build your faith and remain strong in the Word, it won’t matter what the outcome is because you will still have the victory. Your perspective changes.

Hebrews 11:1 “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”

winner

When we change our perspective, we might start to realize that God is asking us to let go of something. He may be trying to change our circumstances but we have to allow things be released in order to get there. See, God knows exactly what we need, when we need it and how to get it to us. When we focus on His word it will tell us the exact opposite of the difficult situations we’re facing.

It’s all about perception! Think about it this way…

  • If you are broke…the Bible says you are prosperous!
  • If you are sick…the Bible says you are healed by His stripes!
  • If you recently buried a loved one…the Bible says they are asleep and you will be reunited in heaven.

The whole key here is to saturate yourself in the Word and get the right perspective. Listen to what God says, not what you see! You might not see the answer yet, you might not feel your healing yet…BUT whatever “it” is, I can tell you…YOU WIN!!!

And that’s the perspective you must hold onto at all times!

 

Note: Please disregard any advertisement you may encounter under this posting as the author does not endorse them. Thank you.

Are You Being Pruned?

Sep6

pruning1Have you ever wondered why people, jobs, homes or other things come and go in your life? Maybe at one point you thought you had it all…great life, fantastic friends, wonderful family, more than enough to spare and share only to see it all disintegrate in front of your eyes? Have you ever thought that it might not have been meant to hurt you but to promote you?

God’s wisdom is much higher than ours. He can use our most painful situations as a pruning process. But why?

Well basically, God uses the painful process of difficult situations to prune things from our lives that are no longer useful or to promote us higher than we see ourselves. It’s not because He wants to harm us or have us go through pain, it’s simply because he wants to strengthen us to fulfill the richest, fullest and most fruitful life He has in store for us. See, sometimes we simply hold onto “things or people” too tightly. Maybe because of the “fear of the unknown” or the memories attached; but whatever the reason, we simply won’t let go even when we know we should or even when God is prompting us to let go.

God always has a bigger purpose in mind and the only way we can see our destinies come to fruition is to let go of things or people God wants us to let go of.  It’s like a parent teaching a child to ride a bicycle. As a parent, you know that when you let go of the bike there’s a very good chance that your child is going to fall. You also know that it is a vital part of the learning process and you’ll be there when they do. God is our ultimate parent. He sees things in a much different light than we do and He also knows what’s best for His children. Let’s look at a few reasons why God may start the pruning process in our lives:

  • Sometimes things are hindering our growth. Maybe the very thing we insist holding onto is keeping us from growing further. Have you ever thought that maybe just maybe if you let go, God’s love and grace would fill the void? Is it possible that something you see as a tragedy is actually a blessing in disguise filled with the very opportunities God wishes to shower you with His goodness? If we could see things from God’s wisdom and of eternity, we might interpret these difficulties as a catapult to a higher level since God promises not to withhold any good thing from those who walk uprightly. (Psalm 84:11)
  • Sometimes God can use a difficulty to prune you from a habit, dependency or a thought that is no longer useful. Just as parents allow a child to make their own mistakes while vowing to be there when they fall…Is it possible that God allowed the difficulty to cause you to look upward towards heaven for solutions to your problems?
  • God knows we need to “die to ourselves and desires” in order for Him to use us for His purposes. We need to let go of egos, greed, selfishness, pride and many other issues before He can trust us with His great works. Sometimes difficulties can come into our lives in order for us purge ourselves and to see what we truly need…God and God alone.
  • Jesus knew that persecution and adversity would come against all believers. When you are faced with undeniable difficulties with no solutions, where do you turn? Do you seek the one who knows all? Do you ask Him for endurance to withstand the tests and hardship? Do you seek His answers above all else? Adversity comes and we need to be able to withstand them and that only comes from above. God has to be everything and in first place in your life if you truly want to be used for His purposes.
  • Sometimes hardships happen to see how the Lord will turn our grief into joy…The great Shepherd said, “I tell you the truth, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy.” (John 16:20) God hears your cries and feels your sorrows, however He also promises to turn your tears into joy if you will let Him.
  • Sometimes things will get worse before they get better. It’s not because God doesn’t love you. Actually, it’s just the opposite. He loves you so much that He wants you to learn how to assume greater responsibilities. If He can trust you with little then He can trust you with much more. (Luke 16:10)
  • Sometimes difficulties or tragedies might happen in order to accomplish the greater purposes of God. Maybe God wants to “show off” in your life to have others see your situation and wonder how in the world are they making it through all this; and they end up being drawn into God’s presence from your difficult situation. “Neither this blind man sinned nor his parents sinned, but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.” (John 9:4)
  • Misunderstandings, betrayals or difficulties can be used to prune people out of your life. Sometimes God will allow a difficulty to happen so you can determine who your real friends are. People that stick by you through the hardest of times are people you wish to surround yourself with. However on the flip side…individuals who say they would be there but aren’t are certainly people who you need to be grateful for your time together but let go so God can multiply you with better, caring friends.

It’s never easy going through a pruning phase in life. It is downright painful, filled with tears and just zaps the joy from you. But does it have to be? If you can allow yourself to see the greater purpose of the pruning process, you just might allow God to “prune away” and praise Him in the process. I know it’s difficult but if you will allow it to happen to the fullest degree, you will walk away with something more amazing and more precious than you could ever have imagined. God has good things in store for you. Embrace the pruning process to see God’s possibilities come to life!

 

pruning3

Note: Please disregard any advertisement you may encounter under this posting as the author does not endorse them. Thank you.