In the book John chapter 11, we read about Lazarus, who was deathly ill, and how Jesus apparently delayed His journey to reach his beloved friend.

John 11:5-6 says, “Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So when He heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days.”

Inevitably, Lazarus dies, and when Jesus finally arrives, those around Him raise a deep question:

But some of them said, “Could not He who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?” (John 11:37).

Certainly, these people had previously witnessed Jesus’ miracles, but the tomb that was before them created questions about God’s plan for His friend Lazarus. If we are honest with ourselves, how many times have we felt the same, that God does not answer us or that He has delayed in coming to help us?

Waiting on God is not only difficult; sometimes it seems impossible. I’ll be the first to submit to you that in the meantimes and in between times I struggle with waiting on God to take action.

Let’s be honest, we all want things to happen in our own timing, according to our plans. However, God doesn’t operate on our schedules, and expecting that He will sets one up for disappointment.

Mary, Martha, and the host of onlookers discovered that God’s timing was impeccable when Lazarus walked out of that tomb. For those who didn’t know, the Lazarus story was a precursor to Jesus’ story in terms of His death, burial, abd resurrection.

Patiently waiting on God is not for the faint at heart, but One divine attribute that will enable us to patiently wait on God is His sovereignty. We can have complete confidence in His total, independent control over every creature, event, and circumstance at every moment in history. Subject to none, influenced by none, and absolutely independent, God does what He pleases, only as He pleases, and always as He pleases. Nothing can stay His hand: “I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say: My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please” (Isaiah 46:10). Once we better understand God’s sovereignty, coupled with His goodness, waiting for God to act becomes a matter of a child trusting in his father’s faithfulness, sure of his father’s strength. Don’t wait on God, rather wait in God; in His strength, in His timing, in His assurance, and in His peace!!

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#PatientlyWaitingInGod

Today, we reflect, remember, and honor those who selflessly died sacrificing their lives for our freedom. When many of us ran for protection, these men (He-roes) and women (She-roes) ran into the fire! Our flag does not fly because the wind moves it. It flies with the last breath of each soldier who died defending and protecting what the flag represents; it’s people. What cost us nothing cost these brave men and women everything. Jesus said this in John 15:13, “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.”

My brothers and sisters, Memorial Day is not a celebration, rather it is a solemn contemplation over the cost of our freedom. I pray that every American across our great nation will take a few minutes (out of the next 12 waking hours) to reflect on the importance of freedom and the value of the sacrifices made by those who died defending it. Though we may not know them all, we certainly owe them all!

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#MD2023 🫡🇺🇸

To wait on the Lord simply means to stand firm on what God has already spoken to you. To wait on God’s answer, voice, or promise in prayer is an essential part of our earthly walk with God.

However, for many, the deepest pain of waiting on the God lies in the sense that God, who once seemed so near, now feels so far away. Oftentimes we may find ourselves saying with David, “How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?” (Psalm 13:1). The heavens were once a window; now they seem more like a wall.

Remarkably, Israel’s psalmists and prophets did not take God’s felt absence as reason to doubt and turn away from Him. In their waiting, they kept a fundamentally God-upward posture: their knees bent and their prayers and eyes lifted to the God they could not see. The minor prophet said this in Micah 7:7, “As for me, I will look to the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me.”

So what do you do in the proverbial wait?? Well, the short answer is to faithfully look forward to God’s promises to manifest. With God’s past faithfulness fresh in our minds, we can dare to the look toward the future with hope. We can take our stand like a watchman on the walls, and say with unshakable faith, “I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I hope” (Psalm 130:5). God’s promise now no longer seems like an empty word, a fragile wish: it will come as surely as the dawn (Psalm 130:6).

My brothers and sisters, God is not just found in our blessings, answered prayers, and miracles. God is also found in the waiting. He’s in our moments of silence. He’s in the seeking, asking, and surrendering. He’s also in the hard and in between times. Even if we don’t see or feel it, the Lord is with us and He will never leave us nor forsake us (Deut 31:6) and He will never change.

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#GodIsInTheWaiting

If you haven’t noticed people are at their breaking point. People are just flat out mean, mad, and intolerant. We can see this in the rising number of road rage incidents. But it’s not just on our streets and highways. We also see it on airplanes where air-rage incidents have become commonplace. There have been attacks on health care workers and school board members. Students are attacking teachers. Bathrooms are routinely trashed and the list goes on and on!

David Brooks in the Times said, “Something darker and deeper” is afflicting our society. Too many Americans no longer care for the health and well-being of others. People’s patience for each has grown increasingly thin.

Jesus put it this way when describing the signs of the end times in Matthew 24:12-14, “Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.”

My brother and sisters, I encourage all to stand firm in love as Jesus instructed His disciples in the above passage of text! If you remember the first Ghostbusters movie then you remember it was Jackie Wilson’s song entitled, ‘ Your Love Has Lifted me’ that destroyed the evil blob that was spreading across NYC. If you’re too young to reference this point….watch it on YouTube or any other streaming device…this movie is a classic!

At the end of the day, we have to stay postive and remember that with God on our side, we will get through this together. There is no doubt that we can make a positive difference in our world by being the reason someone feels authentically welcomed, seen, heard, valued, understood, and loved despite of the declining world around us.

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#YourLoveHasLiftedMeHigher

https://youtu.be/DEiR0DubZWo

When God scans the earth for potential leaders, He is not on a search for angels in the flesh. He is certainly not looking for perfect people, since there are none. He is searching for men and women like you and me, mere people made up of flesh. But He is also looking for people who share the same qualities He found in David. God is looking for men and women “after His own heart” (1 Samuel 13:14).

So, what does it mean to be a person after God’s own heart? It means your life is in harmony and in sync with the Lord. What is important to Him is important to you. What burdens Him burdens you. What breaks His heart, breaks yours. When He says, “Go to the right,” you go to the right. When He says, “Stop that in your life,” you stop it. When He says, “This is wrong and I want you to change,” you come to terms with it because you have a heart for God. That’s the bottom-line, biblical Christianity aka becoming sanctified.

My beloved brothers and sisters, God is looking for men and women whose hearts are His—completely and entirely. That means there are no locked closets. Nothing’s been brushed under the rugs. That means that when you do wrong, you admit it and come to terms with it. You long to please Him in your actions. You care deeply about the motivations behind your actions. God is not looking for magnificent specimens of humanity. He’s looking for deeply spiritual, genuinely humble, honest-to-the-core servants who possess a heart like David.

We live in a world that says, in many ways, “If you just make a good impression, that’s all that matters.” But you will never be a man or woman of God if that’s your philosophy. Never. You can’t fake and make it with the Almighty. You must face it until you ace it! He is not impressed with externals. He always focuses on the inward qualities, like the character of the heart . . . those things that take time, dedication, commitment, and discipline to cultivate.

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#AfterHisOwnHeart

With God on our side we will get through these challenging times together. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a global crisis or a personal struggle, it’s important to remember that we are not alone, God is with us (Deuteronomy 31:8)!

My brothers and sisters, we can fully place our trust in God and rely on Him to what we can’t do and then by faith continue to do things we can do. Relying on God is the process of telling ourselves that we don’t have all the answers and committing ourselves to prayer when faced with frustrating situations. It requires trusting that God not only cares but also is real and able to make a tangible difference in our perspective lives.

We can find hope in this word of encouragement found in Jeremiah 17:7-8, “But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.”

This passage of text describes an awe inspiring life. Jeremiah gives us three positive benefits to being God-reliant: courage, confidence, and change. Undoubtedly, during seasons of drought, disappointment, and despair we need to employ all three!

At the end of the day when we live God-reliant lives, we will always have a secure source of confidence and courage, just as a tree sends out its roots to find an overwhelming plentiful source of water. We can be confident that God can change any situation, at any given moment and all we have to do is remember that with God all things are possible and we will get through this together!

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#RelyingOnGod

Our modern day culture puts a lot of stock in credentials. It makes sense in a workplace setting because whenever we hire someone for a job, we want to know they’re capable of doing the work. If we ask someone for advice, we want to know they’re familiar with the subject matter. The more titles, diplomas, and achievements a person has to their name, the more we’re inclined to trust them. Generally, this is a prudent attitude for approaching the world, but God has a way of turning our preconceptions upside-down, especially when we try to apply them to Him.

While ascertaining these various scholastic accomplishments are commendable and impressive in man’s eyes, to God they’re not as important. In fact, I Corinthians 1:27 (AMP) says, “But God has selected [for His purpose] the foolish things of the world to shame the wise [revealing their ignorance], and God has selected [for His purpose] the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong [revealing their frailty].

Believe it or not, God loves unqualified Christians and the Bible is filled with unlikely ordinary people God used to do extraordinary things. Look at Moses, a murderer and an outlaw who fled for his life to Midian where he became a lowly shepherd. Look at David, an adulterer who arranged for the murder of his lover’s husband, and disobeyed God’s direction. Look at Mary, a young woman with no experience beyond her own faith. Look at Peter, an outspoken and impulsive person who cut off a man’s ear and who had the chance to defend Jesus, but he chose to vehemently denied him 3 times. Look at Matthew, a despised tax collector and pariah (outcast) in his own community. Look at Paul, a zealot who was actively persecuting believers for their faith. Undoubtedly, God looked past all these people’s perceivable shortcomings, sins, and faults and saw great faith and trust in their hearts.

If this message speaks to you and you’ve been standing on the sidelines or sitting in the bleachers, I want you to know God wants to use you. God wants the world to know His great love for each of us. He wants all to know that salvation comes through His plan alone; not by any efforts on our part. So, if for whatever reason you feel unqualified or unworthy, you are the perfect candidate God is looking for because He is able take one ordinary and unqualified believer and use him or her to extraordinarily change the world.

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#GetInTheGame

I struggled with this message because I know there is so many people (including myself) struggling in our world today. It’s funny because as I was preparing this word of encouragement at 3AM this morning Ephesians 3:20 popped in my mind, but due to uncertainty I went back to bed to marinate on it a little more. When I woke back up to continue writing this word of encouragement that same scripture popped back up.

My brothers and sisters, take a look at what Ephesians 3:20-21 reminds us in the midst of our struggles; ”Now unto Him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.”

In the book of Job, when Job had everything, he prayed. When everything he loved and owned was taken from him (including his health), he still prayed. Prayer isn’t about your circumstance, it’s about who God is!

If He did it for Job and everyone else throughout scripture, He will do it for you and me! All we have to do is give him the glory, praise, honor, and worship that He rightfully deserves in advance. Our plight, situation, or circumstance doesn’t call God into action; it is our faith in prayer that moves Him!

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#NowUntoHim