Jesus admonished and forewarned us in John 10:10 with this truth, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. According to these words of Jesus, the thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy everything good in your life. He wants to destroy your job, your joy, your happiness, your health, your finances, your marriage, and your kids. The thief simply wants to ruin anything he can get his hands on!

Here’s some rabbit hole trivia: The word “thief” comes from the Greek word klepto, which means to steal. It illustrates a picture of a bandit, pickpocket, or thief who is so artful in the way he steals that his exploits of thievery are nearly undetectable.

Jesus used this word to let us know the devil is very cunning in the way he steals from people. He knows that if he does it outright, his actions will be recognized; therefore, he steals from people in such a deceptive and covert way that he often accomplishes his evil goal before they even know he has stolen from them!

Check out this transliteration of John 10:10:

“The thief wants to get his hands into every good thing in your life. In fact, this pickpocket is looking for any opportunity to wiggle his way so deeply into your personal affairs that he can walk off with everything you hold precious and dear. And that’s not all — when he’s finished stealing all your goods and possessions, he’ll take his plan to rob you blind to the next level. He’ll create conditions and situations so horrible that you’ll see no way to solve the problem except to sacrifice everything that remains from his previous attacks. The goal of this thief is to totally waste and devastate your life. If nothing stops him, he’ll leave you insolvent, flat broke, and cleaned out in every area of your life. You’ll end up feeling as if you are finished and out of business! Make no mistake — the enemy’s ultimate aim is to obliterate you….”

My dear brothers and sisters, the purpose and premise of this message is not to create fear but awareness! The good news written in that same passage of text is that Jesus went on to say, “…I am come that they [you] might have life, and that they [you] might have it more abundantly” (John 10:10). The words “they might have” are from the Greek tense that means to have and to continually possess. The “life” Jesus offers us is zoe, which suggests a life that is filled with vitality. The word “abundantly” is from the Greek word periossos, and it means to be above, beyond what is regular, extraordinary, or even exceeding. This is not just abundance; it is super-abundance.

The enemy, adversary, and/or devil always fights the hardest when he knows that God has something abundantly awesome in stored for you. Therefore, never forget that your greatest blessings are always in front of you and never behind you so be bless on purpose and be strong!

#BeStrong

#TGBTG

#NAP

#abundantlife

I wanted to remind someone today that when people give up on you, and even when you give up on yourself, God will never turn His back on you. Psalm 86:15 reminds us that, “God is full of compassion, and gracious, longsuffering and abundant in mercy and truth.” Unequivocally, God’s arms are wide open to receive you, freely forgive you, heal you, and restore you!

If you every doubted God’s love for you, I personally invite you to pay attention to the spirit by which the father in Jesus’ parable of the prodigal son welcomed his wayward son home—“Bring forth the best robe! Put a ring on his hand! Put shoes on his feet! Kill the fatted calf! Let’s celebrate! My son was lost and now he’s found” (Luke 15:22–24). The father didn’t say not a single word about his son wasting his wealth on prodigal living. The father was just overwhelmingly overjoyed that his son came back home!

In the same way, God has not given up nor will He ever give up on you. The moment you take a step toward Him, you will find Him running toward you to embrace you. Think about this for a moment; when the world seemed hopelessly, irretrievably lost, God did not “give up” on us; He sent the Savior: “God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

My beloved brothers and sisters, there is absolutely no way God will never give up on you. So don’t ever forget that we all have this promise over our lives: “And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue His work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns” (Philippians 1:6).

#BeStrong

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#NAP

#GodNeverGivesUpOnUs

God is faithful to His Word, the Bible. All of His 7,487 promises made to humankind are trustworthy and unlike us, God always does what He says and He always keeps every promise He made in His Word. Here’s another kicker, not only will He not deny Himself, He cannot deny Himself. 2 Timothy 2:13 confirms this fact, “If we are faithless He remains faithful. He cannot deny Himself.”

Undoubtedly, we live on the basis of God’s promises; we pray on the basis of God’s promises; and we serve on the basis of God’s promises. Of course, His faithfulness and promises will always bring us blessing but, most of all, they bring glory and praise to God Himself.

Today, I am writing about God’s faithfulness because somebody (including myself) needs to be reminded that God is faithful to His plans and purposes and that God can never be defeated, distracted or disappointed. What He plans…He accomplishes and what He starts He finishes (Phil 1:6). He never gives up and according to Ephesians 1:11 He “works all things according to the counsel of His will”. He knows and “declares the end from the beginning (Isaiah 46:10). He knows what He is going to do and He does it. And we can see this faithfulness vividly exemplified in the life and ministry of the Lord Jesus Who could say, “I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do” (John 17:4).

On a side bar, I believe God sincerely enjoys showing up and showing out especially when His faithfulness is being opposed, ridiculed, or tested (see the entire Bible). I could keep going but, I am let that sit right there.

My beloved brothers and sisters, God will always be faithful to you, to the promises He has given you and He will enable you to do what He has called you to do as part of His plan. Don’t let your situation or circumstance convince you of anything otherwise! Bottom line, we must be patience and diligent when waiting for God to fulfill His promises to us.

Charles H. Spurgeon said this, “The promises of God are to the believer an ‘inexhaustible mine of wealth’. Happy is it for him if he knows how to search out their secret veins and enrich himself with their hidden treasures. They are an ‘armory’, containing all manner of offensive and defensive weapons. Blessed is he who has learned to enter into the sacred arsenal, to put on the breastplate and the helmet, and to lay his hand to the spear and to the sword. They are a ‘pharmacy’, in which the believer will find all manner of restoratives and blessed elixirs …Blessed is he who is well skilled in heavenly pharmacy and knows how to lay hold on the healing virtues of the promises of God.”

#BeStrong

#TGBTG

#NAP

#GodisfaithfultoHispromises

Jesus spoke these words in Luke 9:26, “For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.”

What a sobering, bold and convicting statement!

My message this morning is short: Consider Jesus’ worth; instead of devaluing His glory, make much of it. Think on His authority; instead of rejecting His lordship, submit to it. Notice again His heart; instead of neglecting His salvation, receive it. Jesus is absolutely not ashamed of people like you and me. He not only calls us by name, He also sits at the right hand of a flawless and perfect God interceding on our behalf(John 8:34).

Jesus is definitely not ashamed of us and He knows even the darkest secrets!


#BeStrong

#TGBTG

#NAP

#GoPublicWithYourFaith

“I wait for the LORD, my whole being waits, and in His word I put my HOPE.” Psalm 130:5

This passage of text reminds us to trust God in the various waiting seasons! Did you know waiting is another way to praise the Lord?! To be honest, back in the day, I never associated waiting on God with praising God. The wait factor for me back then only meant that God was moving too slow!

Later in life, I found that waiting was actually an attitude and a posture. The attitude is not negative rather it’s an expectation of hope and the posture reflects an attitude of trust. Psalm 130:5 highligts that the attitude and posture of waiting involves one’s whole being eagerly longing – expectantly and hopefully. It involves tarrying and trust. The well-known waiting in Isaiah 40:31 points to a continual waiting upon the Lord. The prophet said, “But those who trust [wait] in the LORD will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.”

My brothers and sisters, there will be tough days, we will get tired. But we must trust and hope in His ways and His perfect timing. Our blessings are coming. And while we are waiting remebwr that our prayers can make a big difference. Waiting is a place of trust and hope, not anquish and defeat.

I don’t know if you are in a season of wait like me and so many, but I invite you to pray with me today:

Father God, Son and Holy Spirit, we praise and thank You that You hear us when we cry out of the depths to You. As you know the deep calls the deep! Almighty Father, we thank You that You are totally trustworthy and that You are all-knowing. You know when we rise and when we sit down. You know the beginning and the end of all things – including the unsettling, troublesome and worrisome things happening in our lives and world today. In our stillness, quietness, hope, and trust we choose to praise You now and over these next days, weeks, and months by waiting upon. For you are Lord. You are the Almighty One. We gratefully and humbly come through Jesus’ precious blood to sit at Your feet in the Most Holy Place (Heb 10:19). Like David, we choose in this place to have our whole being wait upon You and unequivocally choose to do this expectantly, joyfully and hopefully!! In Jesus; He is always on time and it’s worth the wait name, amen, amen, and amen!

#BeStrong

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#NAP

#PrayWaitTrustBreakthrough

There is absolutely no doubt that God listens to His beloved people all the time. “He hears their cry for help,” David tells us in Psalm 34:15b that God hears our petitions, and He understands our needs before we ask.

So let’s be honest, far too often we pray without really expecting God to answer. This is why we naively take matters into our own hands even when we do pray. We just aren’t completly sure if God will actually intercede on our behalf.

The problem is that we’re looking for God to do things our way. We’re looking for ‘the’ answer, instead of looking for ‘Him’. Then, when God changes gears and does things different than we expect, we miss His faithful intervention and wonder why God ignored our prayer request(s) in the first place.

However, this is far from the truth! The Bible says it’s not God who has the hearing problem—it’s us. In Mark 8:18, Jesus asks the disciples, “Having eyes do you not see, and having ears do you not hear?” This is why Jesus warns over and over, “If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear” (Mark 4:23).

My brothers and sisters, while we’re waiting for God to say ‘yes’ to us, God’s waiting for us to say ‘yes’ to Him. Isn’t that funny….we are waiting on each other!! You see, while we’re begging God to show up, God is patiently waiting for us to realize He’s already there in the middle of our mess, heartaches, confusion, circumstances, and pain!

Proverbs 15:29 says God “hears the prayers of the righteous.” By grace through faith in Jesus Christ, that’s us family. God didn’t save us by the blood of the Lamb so that He can just ignore us—God’s saved us so much that we can enjoy Him. There is nothing more satisfying than being in the presence of God, Amen!!

Here’s the good news, God hears the tired mama and papa’s prayers and the I-don’t-know-what-to-do prayers. He hears the prayers of the dissatisfied wife and the husband who just wants to help and also needs help! He hears the groans of the suffering and the aches of the one who doesn’t even know what to pray. He hears the lonely and the lost and those longing for love. He hears the I’m-completely-exhausted morning prayers, I am at my whit’s end prayers, and He’s already anticipating the middle of the afternoon I-don’t-think-I’m-going-to-make-it will through prayers. And not to mention the late midnight and wee in the morning hour prayers? Those are special to Him as well. So keep praying child of God, because God hears, sees and cares for you. God’s listening right now, and He’ll still be listening tomorrow and the days after that……can I get a witness?!

#BeStrong

#TGBTG

#NAP

#GodListens

In the natural some things are just humanly impossible, but with God, all things are possible, especially with the words “But God.” Sometimes the smallest words are the most powerful. Take the phrase “But God,” if ignored in the Bible passages, it would cause a misunderstanding of those passages.

These two words are used to summarize a statement, and can be defined as “the past participle,” of “to mean” which is the intent of a: 1. Particular purpose or a 2. Particular destination

These two words are the “cornerstone of the gospel.” In Ephesians 2:4-10, we’re shown God’s response to man’s sin, where mankind is taken from ‘sin and brought to salvation’.

I say this because the word “but,” is a contrasting discourse, whereas the debt of spiritual death, is transformed into the marvel of redemption.

These two words, “But God,” are the only message that holds our hope for “the individual” and a “world” that’s dead in trespasses and sins (Ephesians 2:4-5).

Here’s the good news; God selflessly placed a ‘but’ (you and me) before His name so that our condition would not be hopeless ‘but’ be completely changed through the intervention of a merciful, faithful, and gracious God. Therefore, because of the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross, we have God’s “good news,” wrapped up in two wonderful words, “But God!”

In closing, American Gospel Singer Larnelle Harris penned these words, “But God sees some way, when miracles are well beyond our view. His love saves the day, when fear would tell us there is just no use. You can look the whole world over for the meaning of it all – for the purpose that mankind has always sought. In the end you’ll discover, there is no other answer “But God.”

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#ButGod

Ps..It doesn’t matter what circumstances you’re facing today because when you end it with “BUT GOD” everything before these two words are cancelled!!!!! AMEN and AMEN!!

The Bible teaches us about the power of gratitude. An attitude of thanksgiving to God will consistently fill us with peace, joy and fulfillment. The apostle Paul is well known for writing Scriptures about being thankful. Some of the most well-known and often quoted passages are focused on gratitude, including but not limited to giving thanks for all things, in all circumstances (Ephesians 5:20; 1 Thessalonians 5:18), being thankful even in suffering (Romans 5:3-5; James 1:1-4), and to do everything in the name of Jesus out of a spirit of gratefulness (Colossians 3:17).

That being said, if being grateful is one of the most important aspects for peace, joy and fulfillment why is it so difficult for some of us to be grateful? In my humble opinion, it’s because of regret and anxiety.

I’ve learned that no amount of regret changes the past and no amount of anxiety changes the future. But any amount of of gratitude changes the present. Hence the reason we are commanded to be thankful in “all” circumstances.

I’ve also found that gratitude on the deepest level is a reflection, acknowledgment, and acceptance of our worth – to God and other people. When we choose gratitude over regret and anxiety, we accept ourselves as worthy and give ourselves permission to be loved by God and to share love with others.

My brothers and sisters, it behooves us ‘all’ to shift our perspectives to one of deep gratitude, awareness and acceptance of our value to God and other people. It is only at this deepest level that gratitude can lift us from depression, restore relationships, and bridge peace, joy, and fulfillment.

#BeStrong

#TGBTG

#NAP

#gratefulheart