Life was never meant to be easy. The truth is the older we get, the harder life gets. Nobody on this planet has life figured out completely and nobody gets through life easily. We all have struggles, heartaches, backaches, and headaches. Granted, we may not have the same struggles, but we all have our own things to get through. We deal with sickness, loss of loved ones, financial problems and so many other things and it is never easy. We all have to go through school and graduate and find jobs and try to figure out what we want to do with our lives and who we want to spend it with. We often worry about the future and we attempt to predict what the future holds, but that is impossible and something that only God knows.

The only real certainty that we have as followers of Christ is that we never fight our battles alone. Before Moses led the Israelite across the Red Sea he too had to be reminded of this fact confirmed in Exodus 14:14, “The LORD will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.”

I get it and I know that at times life’s challenges can be so dire that we come to the absolute end of ourselves, unable to see a way through. But we have a saving grace in our God, who hears our cries and is mighty to save. I Peter 5:10 reminds us that, “…after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you”

At the end of the day, in every life situation, good or bad, we have to learn to trust God. When life is good and everything is going right, we often forget to thank God for what He is doing in our lives and giving us the good things. The moment that things take a turn for the worst or we run into obstacles, we go running to God asking Him for help and pleading for Him to lead our path. Instead of doing this in difficult times, we should be running to Him at all times, no matter if they are good or bad, this will strengthen our relationship with Him. Therefore, I encourage you today not get discouraged when times are tough. Always remember that anything is possible with God, He will get you through the hard times if you let Him. Continue to trust in God and don’t forget that faith doesn’t always take you out of the problem, faith takes you through the problem!

#BeStrong

#TGBTG

#NAP

#GodIsWithYou

Father God, You are in control over everything and nothing is impossible for You. You transparently see every infinitesimal detail of my life, and You and only You can redeem every part of my earthly and heavenly stories. Holy Spirit, I freely invite You to fill me with Your limitless strength, stamina, power, and save me from my emptiness, weariness, and brokenness. Do what only You can do in me and through my life. In Jesus’ name who can do exceedingly and abundantly above all that I could ever ask or think through the matchless power that resides in me. Amen and amen!

#BeStrong

#TGBTG

#NAP

#PrayerIsOurWeaponToWin

It’s not a coincidence that listen and silent are spelled with the same letters. I heard it said that, “God gave us mouths that close and ears that don’t… that should tell us something.”

Listening for God involves quieting our minds and muting out the noise of this world so that we can give our full attention to what God wants to tell us. This reminds me of when Jesus spoke to a tumultuous storm on the Sea of Galilee. He quieted all the noise with the simple words “Quiet! Be still!” Mark 4:39 NIV.

In reality, there is no magic formula when it comes to hearing God’s voice. Listening to God’s voice comes by focusing on our relationship with Him and not the world. If we are only going to Him for answers when we are facing a crisis, or need guidance on an important decision, we may be too frustrated, angry, or flat
out exhausted to clearly hear His voice.

Now don’t get me wrong, we often seek God’s presence with our worries, our desires, and our frustrations because He expects for us to bring it all to Him. God truly wants us to lay all these things out to Him so that He can speak through our circumstances, conversations with others, our thoughts, music, books we read, beauty in nature- the list is endless. But one thing will always hold true- His voice always stands up to His word aka the Bible!

Undoubtedly, God wants us to know Him. He wants us to hear what He’s saying to us so that we can live according to the perfect plan He has for our lives. We will never understand everything God is doing or saying, but we can learn to trust Him in all circumstances by knowing that He is always trustworthy.

Because of that, we can begin to live a life in a way that enables us to hear Him, but first we must start from the presumption that He loves us and wants to communicate with us. My brothers and sisters,
thank God for choosing to make Himself known to you! Invite Him to remove the noise of this world and teach you how to hear His voice. And then wait patiently for Him to speak.

God wants your relationship with him to deepen over time. The more you approach Him, the more you will get to know Him, trust Him and recognize His voice.

#BeStrong

#TGBTG

#NAP

#WhenGodSpeaksWeListen

We all face challenging situations that should hold us back. Sometimes, what’s in front us appears bigger, taller, wider, and stronger, and it’s easy to become intimidated and live in fear, thinking that we can never overcome it! But the Scripture says and I paraphrase, “Because you belong to God, He has already defeated the enemy” (1 John 4:4).

Undoubtedly, our God is greater and what stands against us has already been defeated. God is not in the heavens fighting with the enemy, trying to free us, heal us, deliver us, promote us, elevate us, or favor us. The battle has already been won two thousand years ago. When Jesus rose from the grave, He defeated death and everything that was created by the enemy. He cleaned the slate once and once and for all. The writer of Hebrews says, “He rendered the enemy powerless” (Hebrews 2:14). Another translation says, “He brought him to naught,” which means zero. It wasn’t even close. It was a shutout and shutdown battle!

Here’s some more good news, when you know your God and what He’s done, that He’s already defeated the enemy, that He’s taken away his power, that He’s brought him to below zero, you’ll be strong, confident, and courageous. You won’t be moved by opposition, you won’t fall apart when trouble comes, you won’t give up because somebody did you wrong. You know it can’t stop your purpose or your assignment! You’ll not only possess supernatural strength, but you’ll do great exploits in the power of Christ that compels you! Believe this, you’ll take your family to a new level, break addictions that have held you back, and accomplish dreams that are bigger than you could ever imagined.

My brothers and sisters, garner this perspective: Whatever enemies you face–enemies of fear, discouragement, depression, addiction, sickness, suicide, anger, or insecurity–have already been defeated. Therefore, when the enemy comes roaring do yourself a favor; ignore the frivolous roars! Don’t believe his lies. When those thoughts starts to circulate, take them captive (I Cor 10:13) and give him the thumbs down 👎🏾sign. Remind him that he has no power over you. He has already been defeated. Because you belong to God, you will walk in victory. You will live and not die. You will prosper and succeed and you will reside in God’s presence, purpose, and peace in the midst of any storm, trial, or circumstance! God has never lost a battle and He’s not about to start with yours! His record is flawless and yes, He is undefeated!

#BeStrong

#TGBTG

#NAP

#TheEnemyIsDefeated

Beloved of God, when we enter God’s presence with praise and thanksgiving, He enters all of our circumstances with Power.
When God enters the scene, miracles happens and the greatest test of faith is when we don’t get what we want, but we’re still able to say, “Thank You Lord.”

Psalm 100:1-4 says, “Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth! Serve the LORD with gladness! Come into His presence with singing! Know that the LORD, He is God! It is He who made us, and we are His; we are His people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter His gates with thanksgiving, and His courts with praise! Give thanks to Him; bless His name! For the LORD is good; His steadfast love endures forever, and His faithfulness to all generations.”

Gratitude is an often overlooked virtue we should cultivate. If thanksgiving is how we respond to God’s goodness in our life, gratitude is what we feel in the depths of our heart even when things aren’t the way we planned. Gratitude is the well by which we can draw authentic expressions of thanksgiving.

Let us all simply thank God for carrying us through all of our worst days and our best days.

#BeStrong

#TGBTG

#NAP

#gratitude

Beloved of God, when we enter God’s presence with praise and thanksgiving, He enters all of our circumstances with Power.
When God enters the scene, miracles happens and the greatest test of faith is when we don’t get what we want, but we’re still able to say, “Thank You Lord.”

Psalm 100:1-4 says, “Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth! Serve the LORD with gladness! Come into His presence with singing! Know that the LORD, He is God! It is He who made us, and we are His; we are His people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter His gates with thanksgiving, and His courts with praise! Give thanks to Him; bless His name! For the LORD is good; His steadfast love endures forever, and His faithfulness to all generations.”

Gratitude is an often overlooked virtue we should cultivate. If thanksgiving is how we respond to God’s goodness in our life, gratitude is what we feel in the depths of our heart even when things aren’t the way we planned. Gratitude is the well by which we can draw authentic expressions of thanksgiving.

Let us all simply thank God for carrying us through all of our worst days and our best days.

#BeStrong

#TGBTG

#NAP

#gratitude

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

#TGBTG

#NAP

#GodNeverGivesUpOnUs