4GIVEN

There is so much negativity in our atmosphere that it is easy for anyone to contract the ‘Eeyore-Syndrome’. If you’re old enough you either remember watching the cartoon or reading the Winnie-the-Pooh books. Eeyore is most known for his witty remarks and for being pessimistic, gloomy, and depressed. Here is one of Eeyore’s witty remarks that pretty much illustrates how some of you might feel about your life today; “It’s not much of a tail, [life] but I’m sort of attached to it.” God mentioned the term ‘hope’ in 19 different passages in various locations from the OT to the NT. So to God, hope is a big deal! In fact, I Corinthians 13:13 (NLT) reminds us that hope will last forever! By definition, hope is an optimistic state of mind that is based on an expectation of positive outcomes with respect to events and circumstances in one’s life or the world at large.As a verb, its definitions include: “expect with confidence” and “to cherish a desire with anticipation.” Hebrews 11:1 says, “Faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things yet seen.” My word of encouragement is for you not to loose hope! Winnie-the-Pooh counteracted Eeyore’s pessimism with optimism. Although, the state of our union is ambiguous at the moment that doesn’t mean that God has discontinued orchestrating the affairs of this world! Our hope is not placed in humanity rather, it’s placed in the One who created humanity! Ephesians 4:4 says this, “For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future.” We do have a future in CHRIST and YES, that future is so bright, you and Eeyore will need to wear shades!

It’s always to soon to quit!! We have to continue fighting the good fight of faith. I Timothy 6:12 confirms, “Fight the good fight for the true faith. Hold tightly to the eternal life to which God has called you….” Believe me when I say, the enemy is not only trying to take you out…he also trying to kill your legacy! Therefore, we have to stand and fight for our families, our communities, cities, and our nation! The next generation is counting on us to rise up!! I get it, things go wrong. However, you don’t have to go with them! Giving up is not an option! Success is not an overnight journey, your past don’t determine your future, and beauty will always derive from ashes! 2 Chronicles 5:17 says, “But for you don’t give up, for your work will be rewarded.” Paul told us in Roman 5:3-5 that, “We should rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” Making the decision not to give up isn’t easy, but once you choose to keep-on-keeping on, you will experience God’s best even when you think or believe that things are at their worst!

Melody Beattie said, “Gratitude turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos into order, and confusion into clarity. Additionally, gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace into today, and creates vision for tomorrow.” Paul encouraged us to cultivate a spirit of gratitude. He said in Colossians 3:15, “Show yourselves thankful.” This in it of itself requires effort, time, and stamina. Paul in I Thessalonians 5:16,18 gave us yet another sobering reminder to, “Always be rejoicing. Give thanks for everything.” Beloved of God, we must not forget that lasting happiness comes not from merely saying thank you occasionally but from having a grateful disposition. There is no situation or circumstance so small or large that it is not susceptible to gratitude’s power. When we foster this mindset from the onset in turn, protects us from feelings of entitlement, envy, and resentment, which alienates us from God’s promises and robs us of our joy. Paul hit another chord! He said in Philippians 4:8, “Whatever things are true, lovable, well-spoken-of, virtuous, and praiseworthy —continue thinking about these things.” The phrase, “continue thinking about….” points yet again to our need to have a thoughtful disposition, which is the prerequisite of a grateful spirit. If you say thank you, until you mean it, you will eventually believe it.

I believe we all recognize that worry isn’t worth it’s cost in tension, poor sleep, irritability, fatigue, problems concentrating, and general unhappiness. So why is this self-perpetuating nature of ours so alluring? Ironically, on the surface worry gives us a false sense of control but, when we start to dig a little deeper we will discover they’re a few common reasons we find comfort in uncertainty. Subconsciously here are 4 lies we believe: It’s safer to worry, we show we care by worrying, worry motivates us, and worrying helps to solve our problems. The Bible teaches us that worry is a sin. In Matthew 6:25-30 Jesus commanded us not to worry and Paul encouraged us in Philippians 4:6 (MSB): “Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down…..” Depression is on the rise in our nation and with so much going on it’s easy to obey the lies we often communicate to ourselves but today is the day we mute the voice of the enemy. The only antidote to fear, worry, and anxiety is to trust God and we trust God by communicating and turning over our issues to God through prayer and supplication. Now, there are times where faith parallels with medicine. In those cases, pray and then go seek Godly counsel. We can turn our worry into gratitude by remembering that God loves us and He has an awesome plan for us in spite of the worry, anxiety and fear we encounter in our lives!

The word of God will always: speak what is true, command what is right, and provide us with what is good, and will never comfort us with a lie! 2 Timothy 3:16 reminds us that, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness” and Hebrews 4:12 says, “For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.” God’s word is incessantly under fire but yet it remains inherently and firmly fixed in the heavens ( Ps 119:89); it doesn’t change (immutable). There is no limit to its perfection (Ps 119:96); it contains nothing corrupt. All God’s righteous rules endure forever (Ps 119:160); they never get old and never wear out. In short, we should love what God loves and delight in whatever He says. God does not lay down arbitrary rules. He does not give orders so that we might be restricted and miserable. He never requires what is impure, unloving, or unwise. His demands are always noble, always just, and always righteous. In closing and as I mentioned above; we can always trust and believe the word of God will always speak what is true, command what is right, provide us with what is good, and will never comfort us with a lie!

We need not fret or worry about life’s obstacles and circumstances. I know it’s easier said than done. But, what if I told you that life circumstances are part of an angelic battle (Ephesians 6:12). On one hand the enemy uses these offsets to defeat us so that we squander our praise. Whereas, God uses them to fortify our praise! God is bringing-forth out of us the praise He pre-built in us even before the beginning of time! Yes, our praise exist in our belly but it’s up to us to release it by giving birth to it!! We can either wait for tragedy to release it or we can choose to praise God every single hour of our waking day despite our storms. In either case, we were created to praise and praise is who we are! I don’t know who I am talking to that has been walking around the city of Jericho for days on end but it’s time to blow the trumpet and watch those walls that have been blocking your promise come tumbling down (Joshua 6:2-27)!! God told the Israelites to walk around that city 7x not 8x or 9x etc!! Some of y’all didn’t hear the cue! It’s time to start praising!! If neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love….nor the power in the sky above or in the earth below can ever separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:38-39)….what in the heck are you waiting for….NOTHING….NO – THING can ever STOP God from performing radical and profound miracles in your life!! So believe it and receive it today and press forward to your destiny because God is desiring for you to bring-forth His praise, glory, and honor!

We’ve all read in the Bible where God literally changed a person’s name because the trajectory of their destiny had been redirected. But there was a minor character in the OT where God didn’t change his name but He did change the trajectory of his life. The obscure man I am referring to did not choose to be called by his name, but after a complicated birth, he was so-named by his mother and then he discovered that his name meant ‘pain’ or ‘one who causes pain’. His response to this discovery is found In 1 Chronicles 4:10, Jabaz boldly cried out; Oh, Lord, bless me indeed and expand my territory. Keep Your hand on me, and keep evil from me, that I may not cause pain!“ Jabaz name meant pain, yet he became “more honourable than all his brothers.” He took his supplication and prayed to “The God of Israel” and God responded! Yes, Jabaz was conceived in pain but delivered in victory. In the end, Jabaz turned out to be more than a minor character in a forgotten time. Instead, he is found to be a man whose prayer had a significant impact on the history of Israel. Though this story takes place over 3,000 years ago, its impact still affects us today. Therefore, as we set our sails into 2020 let us boldly pray Jabaz’s prayer over our lives believing in the power of God to radically change the trajectory of our destiny.

This ain’t no cliché! Therefore, I don’t need to get an ‘amen’ because it’s already done by God’s hand in Jesus’ all powerful name!!

#Favor

#Purpose

#IssaSonOfGod

#Vision2020

It’s easier said than done but we have to stop allowing our circumstances to get the best of us! We need to stop wavering and refrain from doubting the capacity of the God we serve to see us through! Hebrews 10:23 says, “Let us hold fast to this confession of our hope for He who promised is faithful.” And so you know; to hold fast simply means to remain tightly secured. So why is it important to hold fast, whether it is through a fiery trial or the tedium of everyday living? Faith is a gift dispensed by God and through faith we have the capacity to trust God even when we can’t see God moving in our situation. Our confession of faith is not based on any strength or determination of our own, but on the promises of God. The Westminster Confession of Faith states, “This perseverance of the saints depends not upon their own free will, but upon the immutability of the decree of election, flowing from the free and unchangeable love of God the Father; upon the efficacy of the merit and intercession of Jesus Christ, the abiding of the Spirit, and of the seed of God within them, and the nature of the covenant of grace: from all which arises also the certainty and infallibility thereof” (WCF 17:2). Beloved of God, you may be facing some heavy circumstances right now or perhaps you know someone that is going through a difficult time. Never forget that your confession of hope reveals that you’re indeed holding fast to the Son of God. He is our righteousness, He paid our debt, and we have new life in him as He is now at the right hand of the Father interceding on our behalf. So ignore what the enemy is telling you and refuse to accept defeat! Remember holding fast means to remain tightly secured to the One who holds you! The only reason we persevere is because our faithful God is preserving us in Christ through his Holy Spirit. Amen and glory to God!!