4GIVEN

Every aspect of our lives were perfectly planned out by God. However, this doesn’t mean we will live a perfect life. At some point each of us will take a few detours. Occasionally, we have the tendency to believe we know more than God. Flesh driven detours undoubtedly create unnecessary delays in completing our God ordained itinerary. There are numerous stories throughout biblical history where God by His grace used flesh driven detours to accomplish His will, plan, and purpose. Tony Evans said,”Friend, if you have bitter things in your life—things that look like they have diverted you onto a detour from your destiny, they do not have the final say. They are not the defining factors in who you are. Your detours are simply God’s perfect plan to get you exactly where He wants you to be. Trust Him, He knows the way to your destiny.”

“God has chosen what is insignificant and despised in the world—what is viewed as nothing—to bring to nothing what is viewed as something, so that no human can boast in the presence of God” (1Cor 1:28-29). God is impartial and it doesn’t matter if you are oozing riches or you smell like you haven’t bathed in 20 years, God sees everyone the same. In the above scripture Paul reminds us that God is in the humbling business. No one nor no thing will ever be greater than Him and once we understand this fact, James 4:10 says, “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will lift you up.” Biblical scholar John Gills said, “This is God’s usual way to lift up the meek, and exalt those that humble themselves; he lifts them from the dunghill, to set them among princes; he gives them a place, and a name in his house, better than sons and daughters; he adorns them with his grace; he clothes them with the righteousness of his Son, he grants them nearness to himself; and at last will introduce them into his kingdom and glory.”

Is it all worth it? I am referring to the struggle of life’s ups & downs and highs & lows! After James told us to count our pain joy, he later said in 1:12, “God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him!” Max Lucado put it this way, “God never said that the journey would be easy, but He did say that the arrival would be worthwhile.” James and Max are on the same page, I think we ought follow their tracks too! If it’s not good our good Father will cause it to work together for our good and His glory!
#CrownOfLifeThroughHisCross

You cannot lose what was never yours to begin with, if things didn’t worked out, move heart and soul towards a better place. God makes it possible for us to walk through the disappointments in life with a knowledge that His provision for us works. His grace and His comfort are ours as we find rest in Him. Psalm 62:5, “Yes, my soul, find rest in God; my hope comes from Him.”

The moment you realize the missing piece should have been you nailed to that rugged cross BUT God had different plans (Hebrews 2:17)!!!

#GLORYHALLELUJAH!!!!

#THANKYOUJESUS!!!

#PROPITIATION!!!!

Heavenly and Righteous Father, Your Word says when a thief is found he MUST restore everything that he has taken sevenfold. Satan the WORD of GOD declares you came to steal, kill and destroy, and the Holy Spirit has exposed  everything that you have taken away. Therefore, according to God’s Holy Word you are COMMANDED in  the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth to RESTORE EVERYTHING you took away SEVENFOLD.  The name of Jesus Christ commands you take your hands off of my finances, cars, jobs and my home right now in the name of Jesus.  Father, your word says that whatever we bind on earth is bound in heaven; whatever we loose on earth is loosed in heaven.  Therefore Father, in the name of Jesus, bind all the strongholds of the enemy that have been holding back our financial blessings, family unity, vocational blessings, deliverance, healing, rest, peace, and in the name of Jesus loose prosperity in every area of our lives according to your riches in glory by Christ Jesus.  Father, we call forth every blessings You reserved for us right NOW in the name of Jesus, amen and amen!!

How do you win favor and a good name in the eyes of God and man? The answer is found in Proverbs 3:3(NIV), “Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart.” Other translations use the words kindness/truth, loyalty/kindness, and truth/mercy. Jesus understood the concept of binding and loosing. He said in Matt 16:19, “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” Love and faithfulness affects every relationship we have. The Bible says it is a gift from God. When we receive Christ as Lord, the Holy Spirit indwells us and brings the blessings of love, joy, peace and faithfulness (Galatians 5:22). There is no doubt when love is bound together with faithfulness righteousness and peace have kissed each other (Ps 85:10).

Everyone has grown a little stagnant in their walk with Christ. It’s happens to me too and I am reminded of Revelation 3:15-16. My motivation to get moving isn’t so much about God’s penalty as mentioned in the reference scripture rather, it’s out of love and reverence for Christ. No matter how weary and distraught Jesus got, He never gave up on me and it’s only by the Grace of God that, I’ve made this far in my spiritual journey. “We are able to persevere only because God works within us, within our free wills. And because God is at work in us, we are certain to persevere. The decrees of God concerning election are immutable. They do not change, because He does not change. All whom He justifies He glorifies. None of the elect has ever been lost.” R.C. Sproul

Stop chasing your dreams and start chasing the ‘Dream Giver’. Jesus said in Matt 6:33, “But make His Kingdom and righteousness your chief aim, and then these things shall all be given you in addition.” I too am a dreamer. But I have learned that God is my dream. Knowing Him, loving Him, serving Him, following Him; that is the dream I must pursue first above all things. And as I draw closer to Him, as my heart longs for more of Him, I hear Him quietly whisper in my ear, “turn here”, “stop there”, and step by step, hand in hand, He leads me closer to both fulfilling His call and my heart’s desire. David said in Psalm 37:4, “Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” 

Now, I’m not trying to be a dream killer but Just like anything else in life, dreams can easily, quickly and subversively become idols, and when they do, you find that at some point along the line your dream has stopped being an aspiration and started being your master. I only have One Master and when I put him first, all other things fall into their proper place or drop out of my life! 

Your past don’t define who you are in Christ. The flesh, the world, and the enemy has a way of reminding us of our failures and mistakes. Welp, the devil is a liar. 2 Cor 5:17 declares for those in Christ are brand new in Christ. Look at it this way, when we fail, we fail forward not backwards. The only thing your past can do is remind you of the greatness and vastness of God’s grace. David said, “Blessed is the one whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the one whose sin the Lord does not count against them and in whose spirit is no deceit” (Psalm 32:1-2).No matter what kind of sinner we have been here on Earth, or how often we stumbled and fell, or how disapprovingly we’ve been looked upon by our peers, when we stand before our Creator every hint of our earthly self will have disappeared and we will finally be the perfect example of ourselves He created us to be.