4GIVEN

Try this: Pray then let it go. Don’t try to manipulate or force the outcome. Trust God to open the right door at the right time. When we shift our confidence off of our own abilities and onto God, then we will find the strength we need to get through the storms and trials that life often brings our way. I am convinced that if we could fulfill our divine purpose without trials then God would never let a single one of us hurt—not even for a moment. Adversity was never in his original plan and the only reason he exposes us to any is so that we (and others) can know his strength. Let us look at few folks in the Bible and then let’s ‘remove’ their challenges. How important would Abraham be if he had Isaac early in his life? What would most of the Psalms read like if David’s life had been easy? Ruth would not be so much of an inspiration if she had never known hardship. How much consolation would the book of Job give if he never suffered? What about Paul, how much encouragement would his Epistles offer us if he did not experience anything that you and I go through? And where would we be without the cross that Jesus endured? Adversity can be a good thing because God cause all good things to come from it (Romans 8:28). So just remember, although God may not be behind everything that is upsetting you, he is working it out for your good. What appears hard will benefit you if you trust him (John 13:7) God is good, God is powerful, and God knows what he is doing and he is always on time!

Many people believe the “SOS” distress signal is an abbreviation for “save our souls” or “save our ship.” But in reality, these are considered backronyms, and the “SOS” letters are just a continuous Morse code string of three dots, three dashes, and three dots all run together with no spaces or full stops (…—…). Since three dots form the letter “S” and three dashes form an “O” according to Int’l Morse code, the signal came to be called an “SOS”. Let me lift this up! Song writers, Jason Ingram, Paul Mabury, & Lauren Daigle lyrically penned a powerful song entitled Rescue. In referring to God’s ability to hear our silent “SOS” distress calls they wrote the following verse, “I hear you whisper underneath your breath. I hear your SOS, your SOS. I will send out an army to find you in the middle of the darkest night. [Yes], it’s true, I will rescue you. I will never stop marching to reach you in the middle of the hardest fight. [Yes], it’s true, I will rescue you.” All I can say is, “WOW”!! Psalm 54:7 confirms, “For you have rescued me from my troubles and helped me to triumph over my enemies” and 2 Corinthians 1:10 affirms, “And he did rescue us from mortal danger, and he will rescue us again. We have placed our confidence in him, and he will continue to rescue us.” Isn’t it amazing that God would send out an army in the middle our darkest night to rescue and deliver us from all forms of hurt, harm, and danger?! Amazingly, God takes our “SOS” and turns them into a “PTL”!

I declare that God is getting ready to restore everything the devil has stolen and everything this world has taken away from you in 2019! BTW, you don’t have to wait to start shouting…you have my permission to start PRAISING Him RIGHT NOW for what He has done, what He is doing right now, and what He is getting ready to do in and through your life! In JESUS name, AMEN!!

I have given God a million plus one reason not to love me and none of them has ever changed His mind. The Bible is clear: “Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight” (Hebrews 4:13). Even if I am decent and good as I can possibly be, I am still guilty before God. I John 1:8 confirms that, “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.” I have learn that Psalm 139:23-24 is a guiding post to remind myself to ask God to, “Search me, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”Now have I taken the everlasting way, every time? No, but why would a righteous and flawless God continue to choose to love a flawed and unrighteous person like me? That’s because God is love (1 John 4:8). Love is the very essence of who God is and through Christ we see God’s demonstrative, incomprehensible, and incorruptible love through His birth, death, burial, and resurrection (Romans 5:8). You see, the gap between who I am and who I should be is large, gaping, unmissable and unmistakable. But God’s love for me and us is far greater than our imperfections, mistakes, failures, and flaws! I humbly submit to you that, I am an imperfect person loved by a perfect God because He sees me perfected in Christ!

Excellent read from my twin brother and it’s available for free on pdf. Details and link below!!

Have you ever sat in a pew and thought the pastor, reverend, or priest was talking directly to you? Have you ever had a conversation with a stranger and acquired a sense of direction that you spiritually needed? Have you ever woke up early in the morning and clicked on the TV and a televangelist’s words were very compelling and convicting? If your answer is yes to any of these questions, then you will find this book not only interesting but also revealing. The contents scribed within the front and back covers you are holding accentuates the spiritual and mental processes that lead Christians, like you, to a place of serenity and contentment. The Christian’s primary objective is to worship God because it is recorded in John 4:24 that, God is a Spirit and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.” I pray that the Lord, our God, provides you the spiritual discernment, revelation, confirmation, conviction, and assimilation required to worship Him in spirit and truth. We can no longer live a life of mediocrity because He has called us to a greater purpose. He has predestined us to be conformed into the image of His son, Jesus Christ. Everything we have on earth and will have in Heaven is because of Him. Can you ever imagine life…Had it not been for Him?”

Free pdf below via Dropbox.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/9j0s19o58i65x07/Had%20it%20Not%20Been%20for%20Him.pdf?dl=0

We all face times where it’s more convenient to trust in our fears and worry rather than to trust in our God. The path of least resistance becomes an attractive option when we fail to see the light of God illuminating the spiritual answers to our carnal dilemmas. Imminent danger arouses our flight or fight responses and this physiological reaction is sometimes birthed from our false perceptions. Unexpected trouble exposing the holes in our faith (Matt 6:30). Simply put, if we trust in our worries more than we trust in our God we simply miss the mark(sin). Through the redemptive blood of Jesus Christ, God has guaranteed us the richness and fullness of His constant abiding love, presence, and protection. I know at times it came be difficult but, in lieu of fighting or fleeing we should opt to turn our ambiguities into gratitude and remember all the times God has seen us through difficult situations. Worries flee before a spirit of gratitude. I Peter 5:7 reminds us to, “Cast all our anxieties on him because He cares for us.” During times of testing, I have learned that meditating on these biblical truths will help drive the ominous clouds of fear and worry away!

God says remember this: I will make a way for you (Isaiah 41:10) I will fight your battles (Exodus 14:14), prayer is the best Rx (1 Thess 5:16-18), and always trust in my timing (Ps 18:2). God will do what he says he will do PERIODT!! God is immutable which means he never changes! God said in Malachi 3:6, “I am the Lord, I change not” and Hebrews 13:8 confirms, “He is the same today, tomorrow, and forever.” All that being said, you can depend/trust God to heal you, deliver you, provide for you, and defend you in all circumstances—-nothing is exempt! Make note, this has nothing to do with the prosperity movement. These facts are biblical truths that we must remind ourselves to overcome the lies we hear from within ourselves about God’s capacity to do what only he can do in and through our lives! YES!!! We can trust God to be who He says He is. God is not going to suddenly stop loving us or suddenly stop being just. In a world where the only constant is change, GOD remains UNCHANGED. We can rely on Him to be our solid foundation in our time of need!

#GodUnchangedMovement

I strongly agree with Joel Osteen, “What has come up against us hasn’t been random. These are strategic attacks for one reason, because of what’s in us: God’s purpose, destiny, and greatness. If we stay in faith and keep moving forward—not bitter because of what happened, not upset because of what we didn’t get, not discouraged by the bad break—we will step into what the enemy didn’t want us to see: levels of favor, influence, promise, and opportunity that we’ve never dreamed. God is taking us where we can’t go on our own.” Beloved, there is a sovereign move of His Spirit upon us that is bringing unprecedented restoration. The Lord is putting a stop to what has been continually coming against us by giving us the strategies to know how to overcome. 1 Peter 5:10-11 reminds us, “And then, after your brief suffering, the God of all loving grace, who has called you to share in his eternal glory in Christ, will personally and powerfully restore you and make you stronger than ever. Yes, he will set you firmly in place and build you up. And He has all the power needed to do this – forever! Amen.” Whether we believe it or not; the power of God is strengthening us and fortifying us. This major breakthrough of encounter with His power is going to bring such a tremendous shift into our lives and the next time the enemy comes against us to whisper his lies, to cause fear, to cause oppression, and to whisper false predictions, decrees, and deceit, it won’t even phase us because of the reigning power of God that lives in us!

The only reason I’ve made it this far is because of God Almighty!! He gets all the (credit) glory! There is no truer statement than this! I cannot begin to fathom where or who I would be right now if I believed God was some unreachable Spirit in the sky. Through good and bad times, God has never once let met me down! He has always listened to my prayers, He has been countlessly patient, He has healed my wounds, He has fought my battles (and won), He has vindicated me before my enemies, He has restored my souls, He has given me favor over my adversaries, relationships, and finances. He has advocated for me, He has preserved my family, He has humbled me, He has delivered me from the hand of the enemy and undeservingly, even when I was at fault i/l/o of judgment and wrath, He showed me grace and mercy. Joshua 14:10 says, “Now look at me: God has kept me alive, as he promised. It is now forty-five years since God spoke this word to Moses, years in which Israel wandered in the wilderness. And here I am today, eighty-five years old!” Simply put, God is a promise Keeper and He has kept me from falling so to present me before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy. I am immovably confident of this, that He who began a good work in me will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus (Phil 1:6). Thankfully, God is impartial and He has no favorites. Therefore, what He has done for me, I’m certain He has also done the same for you!

What-a-blessing God gave our world! He sent His one and only son to reconcile us back to himself! God gave us Jesus to pay our debt, to rid us of our sins, and allow us a way to spend eternity with the Trinity. God in Christ replaced our infected hearts when we receive the gift of salvation and this gift wasn’t wrapped in a beautiful box with a bow on top. This Gift was mocked, publicly flogged, crowned with thorns, railroad nails driven in both his wrists & feet, shanked in the side with a spear from which blood and water poured out, and given sour wine to drank. Some say it took approx 6 hours before Christ said, “Tetelestai” and release His spirt (John 19:28-30) but yet he graciously allows us a lifetime for us to die to our flesh!! My point today is to highlight our need to be mindful of the greatest sacrifice known to man and to appreciate the life He offers us to live in Christ. Jesus did not take any shortcuts on the way to our redemption. At the cross, He drank the wine of his Father’s wrath down to the very last drop and He did so for us—that we might enjoy the wine of his Father’s love, join him at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb, and live redeemed forever in the glorious presence of the one who took no shortcuts in saving us. This alone is enough to give Him all the praise, honor, and glory He rightfully and unequivocally deserves! Will you join me?!