It’s inevitable in life for us to second guess God’s plan, will, and purpose. I strongly believe that God chuckles every time we make a feeble attempt to predict His actions based on what we believe He is supposed to do. So, when we hear God say in Isaiah 55:8, “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways.” It behooves us to remember that our way of thinking is extremely different from God’s way of thinking.

Often, we live in a way that is so different from how God wants us to live. In our minds, we frequently create an unreal God, made in our own image and likeness, instead of realizing we are made in His likeness and His image. We forget that He is the eternal Creator whose ways and works are beyond our human comprehension. We tend to ignore that God is infinite and we are finite.

Undoubtedly, it’s very risky and not to mention foolish to act as if we know what God is thinking and planning. Rather than trying to fit God’s plans into our finite boxes, we should make ourselves fit into His infinite box!

I get it, it’s disheartening, frustrating and disappointing when God’s plans fail to meet our expectations, but we must remind ourselves that God has a higher purpose in mind for us. When my beloved embryo twin brother transition into the gates of heaven my world was devastated! However, through God tender love and kindness He helped me to remember that As His children, we are a part of His eternal plan aka big picture and that his heavenly transition was an end; it was only the beginning!!

Unmistakenly, the Lord works in ways that are mysterious to us but are known to Him. He is sovereign and doesn’t have to let us in on every detail but those who are called according to His purpose will always be blessed by His thoughts, plans, ways, and works.

#BeStrong

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#NAP

#Godswaysarehigher

After Jesus and His disciples fed 5,000 plus people listen to what He told them to do in Mark 6:31: “Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.”

People of God, sometimes we just need to get some rest: physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, and relational.

If one of these categories apply to your situation today I invite you to pray with me:

Father God, You alone are my Shepherd and all-powerful God. Although I have a lot to do, and a lot to worry about, You are always awake, always working, and in perfect control. I trust You to handle what I can’t and I bless You for giving me the strength to handle what I can. I pray that You refresh my weary soul today as I abide in You and rest in Your love. Free my mind from all the worldly activities so that I can focus on my daily walk with You. In Jesus’s restoring and refreshing name I pray. Amen.

#BeStrong

#TGBTG

#NAP

#RestInTheLord

In the Psalms, Proverbs, and many other books of the Bible, we find commands to wait on the Lord” like this one: “Wait on the LORD: Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen thine heart: Wait, I say, on the LORD” (Psalm 27:14, KJV).

In an ever increasing instant gratuitous world, patience is the last thing people want to put in their microwaves or instant pots! However, patience is not only a virtue it’s also a fruit of God’s Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23).

Patient, confident trust in the Lord is the central idea of the exhortation to wait on the Lord. The entire Psalm 27 is a prayer to God for help. It beautifully illustrates the meaning of waiting on the Lord. Throughout the psalm’s eloquent lines, David expresses authentic faith and courageous trust in God, based on his confident expectation that the Lord will rescue and save him in his time of trouble.

Simply put, waiting on the Lord requires that we trust God with everything. All of our confidence must be cemented in believing that God will see us through whatever trial, circumstance or valley that we are facing. David expressed great confidence in the Lord, who was his light, salvation, and stronghold (Psalm 27:1–2). His unwavering and dynamic trust dispelled fear and despair: “When the wicked advance against me to devour me, it is my enemies and my foes who will stumble and fall. Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then I will be confident” (verses 2–3).

The other ways we can wait on the Lord is through the reading of His word and prayer! David said this in Psalm 27:4, “One thing I ask from the LORD, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in His temple.”

Waiting on the Lord involves the unequivocal confident expectation of a positive result in which we place a great hope. This expectation is based on knowledge of and trust in God. Those who do not know the Lord will not wait on Him; neither will those who fail to trust Him. We must be confident of who God is and what He is capable of doing. Those who wait on the Lord do not lose heart in their prayers: “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, He hears us” (1 John 5:14).

Let me be the first to admit that I am probably one of the most impatient person you’ll ever meet, but I know that God is working on me in this area. So if you can relate to this message, I invite you to smash the share button and share this message with someone that might be encouraged to know they too are not alone!

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#NAP

#WaitOnTheLord

Psalm 121:1-8 says this, “I look up to the mountains does my help come from there? My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth! He will not let you stumble; the one who watches over you will not slumber. Indeed, He who watches over Israel never slumbers or sleeps. The LORD Himself watches over you! The LORD stands beside in you as your protective shade. The sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon at night. The LORD keeps you from all harm and watches over your life. The LORD keeps watch over you as you come and go, both now and forever.”

Hallelujah, God is most certainly watching over our brothers and sisters in Israel during this time of war and conflict. However, I ask that you join me in this prayer for their continued safety, protection, resilience, restoration, and deliverance.

PRAY WITH ME:

O’Heavenly Father, thank You for being our shield and strong tower in our time of need. Thank You for always keeping watch and never slumbering when it comes to protecting and preserving Your people from hurt, harm, and danger.

Father God, as we stand before You, we humbly ask that You hear the cries of your people Israel. Please send them complete deliverance from the enemies who seek to kill, steal, and destroy their lives, freedoms, and democracy. As You know, those who seek to devour Your people are evil murders who curse Your name and seek to destroy Your holy city Jerusalem. Holy Spirit, please continue to watch over Your people as they are the apple of Your eye. May every enemy that opposes Israel fear You O’ mighty GOD and turn their wicked hearts over to Jesus, the only true Messiah and Savior of mankind.

Father God, grant Israel and those who have already experienced loss Your unlimited grace and unyielding mercy; bring each of them from distress to comfort, from darkness to light, from slavery to redemption, now, swiftly, and soon. All victory belongs to You O’GodI, in JESUS’ victorious name, amen and amen!

#BeStrong

#TGBTG

#NAP

#PrayersForIsrael

Here’s some good news for you to chew on today found in Numbers 23:19, “God is not a man, so He does not lie. He is not human, so He does not change His mind. Has He ever spoken and failed to act? Has He ever promised and not carried it through?”

This passage of text reminds us that what God has blessed and ordained, no one can curse. Here’s another truth, no one can ever block the blessings that God has for you, not even the adversary that roams around seeking what blessings he can steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10) .

Here’s the deal, people or the adversary may try to hinder you from receiving all that God has for you but what they cannot do is stop the blessings that God has for you. All the forces of darkness cannot stop what God has Ordained. Isaiah 14:27 confirms, “For the LORD Almighty has purposed, and who can thwart Him? His hand is stretched out, and who can turn it back?”

I hope this message is speaking to at least one person today and if that’s you, never forget that what God has for you, is for you. Therfore, don’t just expect a few of God’s blessings…expect ALL of God’s BLESSINGS in your life today!

#BeStrong

#TGBTG

#NAP

#GodWantsToBlessYou

I once read that, “Pride is the poison of hell.” I know that’s a pretty alarming statement, considering how ‘pride’ is such a celebrated characteristic in today’s culture. However, pride establishes an identity in a source other than God. Have you ever experienced a toddler putting something in their mouth they weren’t supposed to, and then vigorously yelling, ‘GET THAT OUT OF YOUR MOUTH…!’ ‘SPIT IT OUT…!’ Undoubtedly, you would very quickly react due to the danger of the hazardous thing they were attempting to ingest. Although pride may look delicious and appetizing; it’s venomous like a baby copperhead snake.

I believe that Peter could relate to the nasty venomous aftermath of a pride-filled heart and that’s why he wrote in I Peter 5:5, “…’God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.” The term resist, is a very striking term. To be proud and prideful are synonymous. This scripture clearly states, “God resists the proud.” This sounds very familiar to the command God gives us towards the devil; “…Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” (James 4:7 NKJV). Pride converted Lucifer from the worship leader of Heaven, into Satan the ring leader of Hell. Pride corrupts the authenticity of any character with evil toxicity. Pride is the nature of the devil. God is not against us, but He is against pride. The most dangerous thing about pride is that it is the hardest thing to see in yourself. It’s extremely easy to identify pride in others, but extremely hard to identify pride in yourself, because pride blinds you of your sins, iniquities, and transgressions. Pride is self-righteousness, self-justification, and self-sufficiency. All of those characteristics render the power Gospel ineffective in an individual’s life.

Inarguably, there is a distinct difference between pride and humility. The major difference between these two terms is that pride blinds you from your identity and humility reveals your identity. Humility is the bridge of surrender to your heart, which allows God’s grace to enter in. Grace is God’s ability and humility is the conduit of God’s grace. Pride is a conscious decision to trust in your own ability. Pride is confidence in yourself as your source, whereas humility is confidence that God is your source. Pride is like cancer, it spreads to every place in your life, until you deal with it. The only way to extract pride from your life is to cultivate humility. Jesus was the ultimate example of humility, Jesus proclaimed He could do nothing of Himself, He was completely dependent upon the Father. (John 5:30 NLT). Humility is the pure canvas, where God can paint the masterpiece of your divine destiny. Humility is willingness to be corrected, servanthood, and confidence in God.

At the end of the day, the bible tells us in the book of Proverbs 11:2, ” When pride comes, then comes shame; But with the humble is wisdom.” Look at it this way, sometimes we have to eat our words, starve our ego, swallow our pride, and accept our mistakes. It’s not called giving up rather, it’s called growing up! A humble heart is God’s favorite platform to empower, encourage and inspire!

#BeStrong

#TGBTG

#NAP

#HumilityRendersPridePowerless

In John 8:36 Jesus makes a wonderful statement of victory. He says, “So if the Son sets you free you will be free indeed.” These are powerful, inspiring, empowering, and encouraging words and I want to issue you a big congratulations, if you have accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior, because you are free. Having said that, I want to ask you, have you ever taken the time to consider what you are freed from?

In Greek the word ‘free’ can mean to liberate or to exempt from liability. That means the above passage of text could read whom the son liberates or exempts from liability will be really liberated and exempted from liability. Because of this definition, when you consider this verse in its full context, there are two conclusions I want you to consider. First, there are things Christ has freed you from. Second, there are things Christ has freed you to.

Let’s consider both sides of this coin because they are both critical to living the full and abundant life that Christ wants us all to live.

The ‘heads’ side of the coin reveals that we are freed from the bondage of sin. When we were born again, something beautiful happened – God gave us a new nature and more importantly filled us with His Holy Spirit so now we are no longer under the control of our sinful nature – we have been set free. Paul summed it up in 2 Corinthians 3:17 “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.”

The ‘tails’ side of the coin reveals that we have the inalienable right to live. One of the reasons it’s so important to understand that you are free from the bondage, penalty and guilt of sin is because it now increases your capacity, through Jesus, to love, to have joy, to experience peace, and to enjoy life. God doesn’t want us holding on to our past guilt and shame. I love what Jesus said in John 10:10, “… I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”

Here’s some more good news, the bonus side of that coin is that in Christ we have the freedom to serve. Ephesians 2:10 says “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Christ freed us so that we could accomplish God’s plan for our lives! He knew that it would difficult if not impossible to achieve this plan if we had to run around with a guilty conscience. We would be literally more focus on trying to prove ourselves or win the approval of others.

Lastly, the Webster defined freedom as the power or right to act, speak, or think without hindrance or restraint. This definition completely wraps up everything Christ has done for you and me. My brothers and sisters there is only one thing left for for us to do; LIVE!!! Paul said it best in Galatians 5:1, “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.”

Enjoy your freedom … live the life Christ has freed you to live.

#BeStrong

#TGBTG

#NAP

#FreedomInChrist

I believe somebody needs to hear this message today! So let’s jump right in….

Metaphorically, the Bible speaks about doors we may encounter throughout our lives as opportunities for blessing and growth. For example, in 1 Corinthians 16:9, Paul tells the believers at Corinth that a “door of opportunity” has been opened to them by God. He encourages them to use it because “when he closes doors, no one will be able to open them” (Isaiah 22:22).

It’s important that we remind ourselves the doors that God opens and closes in our lives are simply testing our faith. In 2 Corinthians 2:12–13, for example, Paul talks about how God “opens a door of faith” when He leads us into unfamiliar situations. This can be a difficult test because what appears like a ‘closed’ door is actually an ‘open’ door that challenges our trust in Him, but it also offers us an opportunity to grow in our faith and deepen our relationship with Him.

That being said, if you have been in an open but closed door season, I want you to know that God is about to start opening new doors for you. In fact, He is placing you in position to buy the building! Don’t doubt what God can or can’t do! Isaiah 45:2 says, “I will go before you and make the crooked places straight; I will break the gates of bronze in pieces and cut the iron bars. God’s has the power to open doors that seem impossible. Therefore, if God is on your side, then nothing can stand in the way of His plan for you.

My brothers and sisters, the reason God is opening these new doors is to bring the purpose He planned for our lives to pass. God plans for us are far greater than we could ever imagine (Ephesians 3:20–21). Unquestionably, God works in mysterious ways and He is always faithful to His promises. When God opens a door, He has the perfect timing for us to step through it into the new place that He prepared before the beginning of time.

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#NAP

#OpenDoors

Going through a difficult season? Well, let me be the first to let you in on a little secret; you’re not alone. You see, when we go through a difficult season, we can find much peace in these words: God already has it figured out. Many times we will find ourselves at a place where there seems no escape from the plight, pressure or pain. Yet when we let those words sink into our spirits, we find the courage to move forward.

Make note, believing that God’s got our tough times figured out frees us from anxious thoughts (Proverbs 3:5-6). We no longer have to stay up late or wake up early working trying to plan everything out because God can take our hard places, and difficult seasons and turn them for our good (Romans 8:28).

My brothers and sisters, when we constantly meditate on His promises and walk in obedience to His word, we have the ability to rest in Him. I get it, there will be the temptation to worry, and our enemy will constantly throw shade our way, but we can breakthrough these snares as we take steps in faith in spite of our situation.

We must be intentional to focus our attention on Him and not our situation. This walk of faith is going to have wonderful times of joy and uncomfortable times of sorrow. Somehow in God’s sovereign power, He takes this confusing mixture of life and works it out for our good and His glory (Romans 8:28).

At the end of the day, God love and reward those who diligently seek Him (Hebrews 11:6), but we must be willing to walk according to His calling on our lives, even when we are tested in our faith (James 1:1-4). God got us whether or not our deliverance comes quickly or sometime in the future. Our testimony isn’t just what He did but how He kept us in our difficult seasons.

#BeStrong

#TGBTG

#NAP

#GodIsAGameChanger