4GIVEN

Faith that can’t be tested can’t be trusted!! Ironically, faith has very little to do with what we can achieve rather, it is all about to whom we believe. By placing our faith in God and in the truth of His Word, we are victorious according to His perfect will irrespective of the magnitude or complexity of our situation. Faith helps us to align ourselves with God’s perspective for our lives. Don’t ever forget that according to the word of God we are: Loved. Redeemed. Embraced. Healed. Satisfied. Sustained. Delivered. Carried. Strengthened. Free. Therefore, we really have no excuses not to step out by faith despite lurking opposition! One of the greatest benefits of our challenges is that it enables us to develop our faith. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow (James 1:3). As we face obstacles, it is an opportunity for us to trust and believe in God more and more. As tempting as it may be to try to take matters into our own hands, it is essential that we choose to surrender our cares into God’s Hands and keep our focus fixed on Him. When we keep our focus fixed on God, we are magnifying Him over and above our needs and desires. Jesus said in Mark 9:23, “Everything is possible for Him who believes!” You might be saying, “Lowell, I don’t have much faith” and my response would be to start making deposits into your praise account because in order to grow in our faith we must learn to live a lifestyle of praise; for praise releases faith. That being said, don’t allow anything or anyone to stand in your way; do something today that’ll required activating your faith and witness the power of God show up in your situation!

If you would truly appraise your life and what God has done for you—you will always find a reason to praise Him! Psalm 113:1-3 (MSG) put it this way, “Hallelujah! You who serve GOD, praise GOD! Just to speak his name is praise! Just to remember GOD is a blessing— now and tomorrow and always. From east to west, from dawn to dusk, keep lifting all your praises to GOD!” Put your problem down and begin to start lifting up praises to God! Look at it this way, the walls of Jericho didn’t fall until the people started shouting!! You don’t have to wait till Sunday morning to praise God for what he has done for you every morning!!

If you are at the end of your rope, don’t let go! Simply ask God for more rope! When we can’t take anymore the first thing we want to do is walk away and for some run away! We want to throw in the towel or throw the towel at someone! So what should you do when you need God to show up in specific situation? Well, check out David’s response to his measure of persecution in Psalm 143:7-10 (MSG), “Hurry with your answer, GOD! I’m nearly at the end of my rope. Don’t turn away; don’t ignore me! That would be certain death. If you wake me each morning with the sound of your loving voice, I’ll go to sleep each night trusting in you. Point out the road I must travel; I’m all ears, all eyes before you. Save me from my enemies, GOD — you’re my only hope [rope]! Teach me how to live to please you, because you’re my God. Lead me by your blessed Spirit into cleared and level pastureland.” David pled for God’s presence, guidance, refuge, and a desire to do God’s will. Notice that he didn’t asked for an elaborate vacation, a new life, a new job, a new marriage, a new family, or a day at the spa! David is not any different than any of us. He was 100% man but in many cases throughout his life he chose to place 100% of his trust in God. We are only 16 days in the start of this new century but, if you are at the end of your rope, tie a knot, hold on, and just ask God for more rope [hope] and continue climbing!!

No earthly being was present when God fatten the universe. No one heard Him speak nor form all things into existence. So how do we know that it was God that did it? Hebrews 11:3 give us the answer; “By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.” Now, place you’re hand in front of your mouth (not too close) and repeat after me, “BY FAITH”. You heard your voice but what did you feel? If you spoke loud enough, you felt breath behind those words, right? When God spoke, breath also followed and I am of the conviction that life inspiring words produce life much like oxygen. We all know that we breath in oxygen and release carbon dioxide. The difference between these two elements is one produce life and the other produces waste. Now then, when we speak with words that promotes faith, we release life producing oxygen into our circumstance and situation. My point is your words will either produce life or death. Proverbs 18:21 reminds us that, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue…” I believe that when God fatten the planet, He also filled it with oxygen (His word) because He knew that we would need it to sustain our life!

Today’s Prayer by Noel Pinnock:

Dear Heavenly Father, give us vision to see the opportunities You place before us to bless others and to share Your gospel of grace with them. Give us wisdom to learn from past mistakes so that we don’t stumble over the same things that made us fall. Grant us humility to endure pain and infliction as well as trust so that we lean not on our own understanding but in every way acknowledge You so that You will direct our paths. Patience is oh so important in waiting for what we need or want, give us a double portion in these last days. Finally Lord, teach us values as You guide us through the consequences of poor decisions and unselfishness as we learn “how” to deal with difficult people that we need to be at peace with just as You demonstrated during Your walk and ministry on earth. All these attributes: patience, trust, vision, value, wisdom, humility and unselfishness are transformative and will guide us in conforming into the image of Jesus Christ, as your Apostle Paul wrote to the church in Rome. We heed this clarion call to be like Christ and integrate and will not separate from the body of believers when we do…in Jesus’ name, we pray…conform us so that we may the first among many brethren…because those You have predestined, You have also called; and those You called, You have also justified; and those You have justified, You will also glorify, so what can we say about these things….if God is for us, who can be against us. He who didn’t spare His own son but delivered Him up for us…how can He with Him not freely give us all things…in Jesus’ name…amen.

Prayer written by Noël Pinnock

Today’s Prayer

Father in Heaven, thank You for Your grace. Precious Lord and Savior, thank You for Your willing sacrifice for my sins. Holy Spirit, thank you for your transforming work in our lives. May our life on earth never be an affront to the grace given to us, the sacrifice made for us, and the Spirit who lives within us. Work in us the blessing that can be a blessing to those around us. When we have the power to change the trajectory of someone’s life by making a call, standing up, or being deliberate about given public support despite public opinion…may we not hesitate to render aid, word, or coin. You demonstrated how we should do this through Jesus Christ’s life, death, and resurrection. We will not ever be all we can be if we don’t pour into those that need us to help them be all they can be! But he was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the punishment that made us whole, and by his bruises we are healed. We receive this gift of forgiveness and extend it to everyone, everywhere, everyday… no matter what. After all, we are extensions of Your love, grace, and mercy. Here us this day O Lord…we can and will never do anything apart from Your divine and perfect will and we decree upon Your command that everything that the enemy has stolen (joy, peace, wealth, image, etc.) will be returned unto us seven fold and the chains of the wicked whose hearts have turned away from the righteous will be broken…no matter who, what position he, she, or it holds, or dwelling place he, she, or it resides…all will be in the mighty grip of the Lord…in Jesus’ name, we pray with faith and with no exceptions, turning everything over to You…amen.

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!