Here are eighteen little truths you need to remember about the God we serve. 1.) God knows you! 2.) God Chose you! 3.) God loves you! 4.) God restores you! 5.) God sustains you! 6.) God helps you! 7.)God rescues you! 8.) God shields you! 9.) God heals you! 10.) God provides for you! 11.) God reconciled you! 12.) God delivered you! 13.) God forgave you! 14.) God sealed you! 15.) God redeemed you! 16.) God predestined you! 17.) God justified you! 18.) God in Christ died for you, rose for you, and have prepared a place for you! This is a short list compared to the vastness of God’s love for us in Christ Jesus! When you really sit back and reflect on how good God is and how good He has been to us, our hearts should be overflowing with immense joy! There is a scripture to support each of these truths, but I am not going to list each of them; you can look them up for yourself! My point in this message is to remind you and myself that a spirit of gratitude will positively impact our attitudes despite our circumstances! If the joy Jesus promises are real and we believe Him, there’s no circumstance that can truly steal our joy!! So today, remember these truths and “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18).

Trust simply means to have a firm belief in the reliability, truth, ability, or strength of someone or something. With that said, we trust in God for a few reasons. 1.) We trust God just because of who He is! 2.) We trust God because of our faith in Him. 3.) We trust in God because of what He has done in our personal lives or in the lives of other people! Proverbs 3:5 reminds us to, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not to our own understanding…..” Hence the dilemma! I believe we don’t have a problem trusting God when we can articulate every fine detail of the where, what, why, when, and how. But, let an ounce of obscurity blind our vision; we are quick to start leaning and relying on our own understanding! The blunt truth is that we can’t always fathom the unfathomable and God programmed it that way (Isaiah 55:8-9). Trust is more acutely focused on total reliance on something greater than what we can mentally articulate! So; we trust in the Lord because He and He alone is truly trustworthy. His Word is trustworthy (Psalm 93:5; 111:7; Titus 1:9), His nature is faithful and true (Deuteronomy 7:9; Psalm 25:10; 145:13; 146:6), and His plans for us are perfect and purposeful (Jeremiah 29:11). Although life’s circumstances may knock the wind out of faith and we may stumble, but “though we stumble, we will not fall, for the LORD upholds us with His mighty hand” (Psalm 37:24). Here’s the good news; when we are faithless (trust-less), He remains faithful (trust-full) because He can not deny Himself (2 Tim 2:13)!

Today is the day the Lord has made so, we will rejoice and be glad in it (Psalm 118:24)!! Having said that, I have a challenge for you! Would you like to know what it is? Find a reason to smile! If you can’t find at least one reason then get a bigger shovel and start digging! Your smile is the wall that safeguards you from all the negativity that circulates in the world and percolates in your head!! Make note, I’m not talking about a cheesy fake smile rather, a genuine smile that reflects a genuine heart of happiness! Proverbs 15:30 “A cheerful look brings joy to the heart; good news makes for good health.” I get it!! There’s really not much to smile about however, smiling through adversity does have a few health advantages like lowering your blood pressure, it relieves stress, lessens pain, and strengthens your immune system. I will submit to you that smiling is more contagious than the COVID-19 and it might aid in flattening the curve😇!! Proverbs 17:22 says, “A joyful heart is good medicine, but depression drains one’s strength.” Therefore, if all you have to smile about today is the fact you’re living and breathing that’s all you need! Proverbs 15:13-15 reminds us that, “A glad heart makes a happy face; a broken heart crushes the spirit. A wise person is hungry for knowledge, while the fool feeds on trash. For the despondent, every day brings trouble; for the happy heart, life is a continual feast.” Look at this way, the most beautiful smile is the one that struggles through fears and tears!

#SmileToday

#BeEncouraged

#GodDontEndOnNegatives

#InTheEndJesusWins

“There is a demonic exploitation of the coronavirus:

1. Shutting down churches.
2. Stopping worship gatherings
3. Stopping essential conferences
4. Slowing mission outreach
5. Spreading fear and panic
6. Amplifying greed, hoarding and exploitation
7. Making democratic governments seem weak and foolish.
8. Making dictatorships look good and wise.
9. Making the aged and disabled seem totally disposable.
10. A spirit of death that comes to steal, kill and destroy.

Therefore I choose to pray the following warfare prayer:

I call on the Throne of God to rebuke, bind and judge, all powers, principalities, thrones, dominions and demons behind COVID-19 and its spread.

I call on God, in the name of Jesus, to shut down this virus, to disable and forbid all its evil effects, and to cast out all spirits of fear, panic, greed, anger, infirmity, murder, and control.

I call on God to protect the weak, the elderly, the infirm, the homeless, the poor and the vulnerable from COVID-19.

In the name of Jesus, I ask God to remove the control of human hearts and minds that these spirits have and declare that creative solutions will be found and will be implemented and will not be hindered in any way. There will be no more mistakes, no more confusion, and no more errors in the way the outbreak is managed.

Wisdom, love, reason and kindness shall prevail. Governments, doctors, nurses, scientists and researches shall be given the wisdom of God in abundance, freely and without rebuke. Churches will be given the courage of God. The Holy Spirit will show us how to pray and the Throne of Grace and Mercy shall be opened to us at this time for a world that is need of the Lord! Amen.”🙏🏾

(Repost)

What God is going to do through you is already living inside of you! God has equipped you with everything you need to fulfill your destiny through His word! Henceforth, you are more than able to do what He has called you to do (Romans 8:37)! Therefore, you will accomplish your goals and fulfill your dreams! You have the ideas, creativity, and God given talent to be successful! I am speaking life into someone that wants to quit the assignment God gave them because they don’t believe they can do it and/or they can not overcome the obstacle presently standing in their pathway!! Hear me clearly, “DO NOT QUIT THE ASSIGNMENT GOD GAVE YOU BECAUSE YOU HAVE BEEN ARMED AND EQUIPPED WITH STRENGTH TO WIN EVERY BATTLE IN YOUR LIFE!” So, stay focused on who you are becoming in Christ and God will get you where you need to be! In Jeremiah 1:5 God tells Jeremiah that before he was born God set him apart and appointed him as a prophet to the nations and he still faced some challenges. However, God will never ask you to do something He has not already equipped you to do! So, stop focusing on the obstacles and start speaking life over your life. You have been pre-built/pre-wired with a manual on how God designed you to operate and only God himself can help you understand how to operate in your gifting, your purpose, and your destiny!

#WontHeDoIt

Father God, loving and merciful God, we worship and adore You. In faith, we come before You asking for mercy and forgiveness for our sins against You and Your creation. Father God, in this time of fear, anxiety, ambiguity, and distress, we lift up to You the COVID-19 outbreak that is creating national and international HAVOC-2020 across your world! Abba Father, we beg You to halt the spread of this virus and to grant healing and comfort to those adversely afflicted. Please cover everyone with the Precious Blood of Your Son, Jesus and protect all of us, especially those in the medical field and all first responders from any contamination, infection, and harm. Lord Jesus, we beseech You to grace government leaders and medical experts with wisdom and knowledge to combat the spread of COVID-19 and to find a serum antidote! Holy Spirit Lord, please breathe comfort, peace, strength, and hope into your people during this time of great uncertainty. Help us to discern that a PANDEMIC is not necessarily a call for us to PANIC! God You are acutely aware of what’s going on and you are working out a plan far greater than our minds can comprehend! Father, In the meantime grace us with a strong sense of social responsibility to do the necessary, and to be prudent and considerate in our actions. Bless all people to work together as one family of God and to be compassionate to one another. Lord Jesus, we believe in You and we place all our hope in You. You are our strength and our shield; in You our hearts trust; so we are helped, and our hearts exult, and with our song we exalt and give thanks to You. Father God, because we know nothing is impossible for You to do, we choose to PRAISE You in advance of the cure, remedy, or antidote and we declare that is already done in the all life delivering and restoring name of Jesus, the King of kings and Lord of lords, the One who was, who is, and who is to come, amen and amen and amen!!

Why are you holding on to a debt that God has already pardoned? Listen, I’m not only referring to sin(s) you have committed but also sin(s) that were committed against you. Oftentimes, we cleave to an offense because the pain we caused and/or received is unforgettable. I’ve heard people say, “Well, I forgive you but I will never forget what you did to me!” Well, that’s not ‘complete forgiveness’. Imagine for a minute what would happen if God fostered that same disposition…..Thank goodness His ways and thoughts are higher than ours because Isaiah 43:25 confirms that He blots out our transgressions and He chooses to forget our sins! You might still be saying, “Lowell, that’s easier said than done” and my response would be you’re correct. However, we can do all things through Christ (Phil 4:13). To forgive like God you must first remember Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross for our past, present, and future sins was a one-and-done event (Hebrews 10) and we should never call something unclean that God has made cleansed (Acts 10:15). Why did Jesus choose Peter, an uncultured man prone to failure, as a foundation on which to build his church? Peter, like most Christ followers are all heart but sometimes we act irrationally (be honest)! Beloved, ‘complete forgiveness’ is not rocket science! Forgive and then forget no matter the extent of the offense. God pardoned you and He also pardons the offender at confession (1John 1:9). When we embrace the ‘complete forgiveness’ of God in Christ, we can join King Hezekiah in praising our Redeemer: “You have put all my sins behind your back” (Isaiah 38:17) and like Paul, we too can forget what is behind and “press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called [us] heavenward in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13).

We have more than just a friend in Jesus; we have a loving and forgiving Savior. He loved us so much that after His spectacular ascension, He sent us a Helper to comfort, abide, teach, convict, and mold us into His image. The Holy Spirit connects us to God in the most intimate and powerful ways possible. Here are just a few things to commit to memory: The Holy Spirit is all inclusive and dwells within us at all times. The Holy Spirit gives us hope and peace during difficult times. The Holy Spirit provides power over temptation and gives us strength and endurance during fiery trials. The Holy Spirit plants in us the desires of God and grows within us the fruits of the Spirit found in Galatians 5:22-23. In other words, the Holy Spirit is our lifeline to spiritual maturity, freedom from sin and eternal death! As believers in Jesus Christ, we have the Spirit of God living on the inside to change how we view and live life on the outside. If the disciples couldn’t do it without God’s Spirit, then we certainly can’t do it either!! I don’t care how much liquidity you possess or how vast your earthly influence is on this planet; it’s fundamentally and literally impossible for anyone to truly live their ‘bless (aka best)’ life without the presence of God’s Spirit living inside of them! Therefore, choose to listen to that still small voice today and remember to always engage the Holy Spirit as your Counselor, Advocate, Intercessor, Strengthener, and Standby.

Whatever you’re chasing today, ask yourself, “Is this it really what God wants me pursuing?!” Many people today are living in an artificial/superficial world. They have either seen some images online or social media and they are charging full speed ahead in pursuit of this false reality. In Genesis we find that Adam and Eve were content with what God had given them….until they first allowed their minds and then their hearts to consider the forbidden fruit. Once tempted with the idea, they began to assume they could get close to the fire of achieving their plan without getting burned but boy did they take a big ole ‘L’!!! Here’s the deal, we are no different! Hence my question above👆🏾! I’m not just referring to sin but also personal gain, status, and affirmation from a world that sees through the same dim lens as we view life through! Unfortunately, the flesh has a way of driving us away from God’s plan while the Holy Spirit gently leads to fulfilling God’s plan. Therefore, it is imperative that we, “Fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 12:2) The mission Jesus came to fulfill was not His own nor was it artificial. It was the greatest reality known in the history of man’s existence. There is nothing more real than the cross where Jesus gave His life in pursuit to save us in order to fulfill God’s kingdom agenda! So,if you have been chasing the wind and coming up empty 🤦🏾‍♂️ try pursing it God’s way this time and I guarantee you on thing, you will have more energy to achieve greater victory in your life! Repeat after me: “Lord, not my will but your will be done!” (Luke 22:42).

Hold on to God’s unchanging and unfailing hands until you experience your God ordained and orchestrated breakthrough! Ephesians 3:20-21 reminds us that “God is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that you could ever ask or think through the power that dwells in you, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever.” Today, I want to encourage you to look to God with great expectancy because He is working out a plan for your life. Don’t just read God’s promises — believe them and speak them out loud because your ears need to hear them. Your ears have probably already heard words that are not as supportive as God’s Word, so speak His words of life out loud over yourself and your circumstances. Let those words wash over your mind as you proclaim, “God is working in me, and He’s working a plan for me. And He’s doing all of it exceeding abundantly above all I can ask or think. Thank God for His mighty work!”