It’s not uncommon to think we know all we need to know and that we know what to do to successfully progress in our earthly and spiritual pursuits. But let’s be honest, a humble heart is more beneficial than a proud heart! Proverbs 16:18 admonishment confirms, “Pride goes before destruction, and haughtiness before a fall.”

In contrast, the encouraging and humbling promise in Proverbs 3:25-26 says, “Do not be afraid of sudden terror or of the ruin of the wicked, when it comes, for the LORD will be your confidence and will keep your foot from being caught.”

The bottom line is we really never know enough until we recognize that God alone knows it all. God is our confidence and He is quite more than the confidence we put into ourselves and others. Besides, the last time I checked God is the only being that is omniscient (all-knowing).

Ultimately, all guidance both naturally and supernaturally derives from His Word in everything we do and wherever we go; He is the One who keeps us on track. God will always protect us and empower us to advance on a level that far exceeds all expectations and not to mention human comprehension. Ephesians 3:20 also confirms, “Now unto Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us.”

That being said and in closing, there should be no doubt as to why we can boldly and faithfully trust that the Lord will be our confidence in all situations and circumstances!

#BeStrong

#TGBTG

#NAP

#GodIsOurConfidence

Jamie Anderson said, “Grief, I’ve learned, is really just love. It’s all the love you want to give, but cannot. All of that unspent love gathers in the corners of your eyes, the lump in your throat, and in the hollow part of your chest. Grief is just love with no place to go.”

I can certainly relate to Jamie’s observation on grief. It has been 11 months since my embryonic twin left this earth, but it feels more like 11 plus years. However, thanks be to Jesus Christ I know our time a part grossly pales in comparison to the reunion and eternity that awaits us! Over the past 11 months I can truthfully and unequivocally say that not a day has gone by where I haven’t chatted with him, cried because I deeply miss him, smiled as I looked at his pictures and shared his memories on Facebook; and laughed at some of the fond memories we shared while you he still here with us! I still can’t believe that he is gone, but I continue to tell myself he is away on God’s business. My mind knows he is in a better place, where there is no pain. I understand that, I just wish I could fully explain it to my heart.

In God’s strength, I know we will get through this together because His word promises that He will comfort those who grieve and He is near to the broken-hearted. There is absolutely no way I could have gone this far (11 months) without the Lord on my side and for that I humbly give Him all the honor, praise, and glory that He rightfully deserves.

My beloved No-No, you will forever be missed until we can embrace each other again. The good news is I know that day is coming soon and that’s one of several reasons my heart rejoices despite the void that remains!

(I am sharing my heart to encourage others who are also presently processing grief and if that’s you, I want you to know God is with you too❤️‍🩹)

#BeStrong

#TGBTG

#NAP

#GriefSucksButGodIsGood

Paul says in Romans 11:36, “Everything comes from God; everything exists by his power; and everything is intended for his glory.” Paul encouraged the early Christians at Rome and he is encouraging us now to remember that God is the Source of ALL things!

God is the perfect and on-time Source for everything we could ever need, desire, or want. But, we have to receive Him as our one and only Source by faith. The Word of God will renew our minds, feed our faith, and get us where we need to be to receive the supply God has for us individually and collectively. If we allow it, God will be the only Source for everything we will ever need.

That being said, when we are alone, God will be our comforter. When we are nothing, God will be our everything. When we are sad and lonely, God will be our song and our joy and when we become weak and helpless, God will be the Source of our strength and assurance.

In his book, Jeremiah confirmed in Chapter 17:7 that when one places their full confidence in God as their source: “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.”

When we choose Jesus every day, we draw from the Source of all resources. He is the love we need, the joy that will motivate and renew us, and the strength that will carry us through all of our days no matter what or how much supply we require!

#BeStrong

#TGBTG

#NAP

#GodIsThePlug

A comforting and eternal promise throughout Biblical Scripture is that God will never ever leave those who are His. Hebrews 13:5 says, in part, “He Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you’” (NKJV). In a world that is so ever changing and where people are constantly leaving, whether in a family, relationship, or in death, God’s promise of never leaving is super encouraging.

The promise “I will never leave you nor forsake you” was first given to Israel and Joshua before entering the Promised Land (Deuteronomy 31:6). Encouragingly, Moses reminded Joshua that, as the succeeding leader, “the Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged” (Deuteronomy 31:8). Joshua’s task of taking the Promised Land seemed impossible, but with the Lord the task was possible, for He would not forsake Joshua.

Never will I leave you. At salvation, Christians are permanently indwelt with the Holy Spirit, who is God Himself (Acts 5:3–4). Christ affirmed that the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, would be with His followers always (John 14:16). Also, Jesus told His disciples that He would be with them “to the very end of the age”—a promise that has to include present-day believers (Matthew 28:20). The God who promised to never leave Joshua is the same Lord who says He will never leave believers today.

At the end of the day, this eternal promise should give us courage, hope, confidence, and rest because praise be to God; He will never leave or forsake us (Deuteronomy 31:8; Joshua 1:5; Hebrews 13:5). We are never ever alone, “never [ever] abandoned by God” (2 Corinthians 4:9, NLT), or ever separated from His eternal love (Romans 8:38). God is omnipresent or present everywhere. His eyes “range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him” (2 Chronicles 16:9).

#BeStrong

#TGBTG

#NAP

#NeverEverAlone

As faithful and unfortunately at times “struggling” Christians we have to be reminded that we have a peculiar and unique hope in Jesus. We undoubtedly know that Jesus was victorious over evil and will one day return to make everything right. This should encourage us to have hope in the midst of suffering or difficult times. But let’s be honest, we don’t always faithfully lean on this peculiar and unique hope during times of trials, persecution, and adversity!

Paul, the author of the letter to the Church in Rome, frequently encouraged believers in Rome not to give up amidst of their present trials, persecution, and adversity. You see, the first half of Paul’s letter corrected some of their ill-thinking, while the second half focused more on their character, actions, and response to their fiery trials, persecution, and adversity.

Paul knew that affliction(s) produces steadfast character within us. When we choose to endure through suffering, Jesus forms strength and confidence within us that we couldn’t attain otherwise. James also reminded in Chapter 1:2-4 to, “Consider it pure joy whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”

In Romans 12, Paul encouraged the believers to let love be the primary motivation for everything they do. When love is the foundation of who they are, then God can renew and transform every area of life. When they allow God to transform their character, that’s when they’re able to be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, and faithful in prayer.

So today, I encourage you to let these three things create within you a stronger character in your personal own life. Paul unpacked these three powerful principles to encourage us but more importantly to help mold and transform us into the image of Jesus who was faithfully joyful in hope, patient in suffering, and faithful in prayer. We all need to take some time to think of a few ways that we can become more like Jesus in each of these areas in our own lives!

#BeStrong

#TGBTG

#NAP

#BeJoyfulFaithfulPatient

God is our waymaker. God is always working behind the scenes in our lives and He has a good plan and a purpose for each of us. The Lord said this in Isaiah 43:19, ”For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.”

You might not see the Lord at work yet but just trust that God is making a way through the wilderness and He promises to make rivers in your desert to refresh you and sustain you. God promises to make a way through the storms of your life and to pave a pathway through the mighty waters that threaten to overwhelm you.

My brothers and sisters, I get it; trusting that God will make a way out of no way can be a hard pill to swallow when everything around you is not as it should be. However, it behooves you choose hope and continue reading your Bible because I guarantee that you will find someone that God delivered out of their situation(s), circumstance(s), and/or mess(es).

In fact, The Old Testament of the Bible is full of stories of how God rescued the Israelites from their enemies. The people of Israel weren’t always obedient to God and sometimes they forgot their love for Him. There were times that they even forgot all the miracles that God performed for them on their behalf! But God always made a way for Israel when it seemed there was no other way for them to be saved as a nation from their enemies.

God stepped into impossible situations for many people that we read throughout the Bible and He made a way for them. And just as God made a way for Israel and many others, He will make a way for each of us in our situations despite the level of intensity!

Never forget what God does for one, He will do for another because God is effectively impartial, unbiased, unprejudiced, and incorruptible. He is equally immutable, meaning He is unchanging. He is the same yesterday, today, and forevermore (Hebrews 13:8).

#BeStrong

#TGBTG

#NAP

#GodWillMakeAWay

We’ve all heard the expression, “you are what you eat.” Well, one of Solomon’s ‘word to the wise’ statements found in Proverbs 23:7 (KJV) suggest a different but related truth—that we are what we think: “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he.” Unfortunately, this translation fails to give contemporary readers a precise understanding of what “as a man thinketh, so is he” really means.

In short, the Hebrew verb translated “thinketh” in the Authorized Version of Proverbs 23:7 means “estimate” or “calculate.” The clause might more accurately be rendered “as one who calculates with himself, so is he,” or “he is like one who is inwardly calculating.”

Now to find the context of this ‘word to the wise’ statement you must read Proverbs 23:6-8. Essentially Solomon is encouraging his readers to understand the heart of a stingy (miser) person. According to most modern translations, the ninth saying of Solomon instructs seekers of wisdom to avoid greedily eating food served by a stingy man. Craving such a man’s delicacies is dangerous because his generosity is false. With a warm welcome, he says, “Eat and drink,” but his heart is not in it.

In contrast to not dining with a stingy man, this wisdom nugget can also be viewed as a form self-awareness or warning. In other words, you become what you think about. If you are constantly thinking negatively your behavior or attitude will most likely reflect or cast negativity. Look at it from this perspective, your mind is like a garden and your thoughts are like seeds. You will either do one of two things: you can either grow flowers or weeds. The decision is yours!

So, the life lesson points from today’s message is don’t eat with stingy people and make sure your not that stingy person!

#BeStrong

#TGBTG

#NAP

#ThinkAboutIt