No one is perfect (Romans 3:23) and just because I routinely post spiritual and uplifting devotionals doesn’t make me perfect either! I am flawed and I make mistakes everyday, but I am thankful for God in Christ Jesus because He consistently remains faithful even when I am faithless (2 Tim 2:13).

His goodness is too good not to share. Therefore, point blank and unapologetically stated, Jesus is the only cure for sin (1 John 1:9) and Jesus is the only way back home to God (John 14:6). Here’s another kicker; this Rx cure I am referring to cost us absolutely nothing (Ephesians 2:8), but it cost God everything absolutely everything (John 3:16-17).

That being said, if you are one of the 99 Jesus referred to in the parable of the lost sheep please forward this message to your one and feel free to use my testimony because like God, I don’t want anyone to perish, but all to come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9).

#BeStrong

#TGBTG

#NAP

Before God parted the Red Sea, He first appeared to Moses in the non-consuming burning bush. If you remember the story, God instructed Moses to go to Egypt to lead the Israelites out of slavery. In response, Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?” (Exodus 3:13).

God then said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you’” (Exodus 3:14).

Beloved of God, when God identified Himself as I AM WHO I AM, He was assuring Moses (as He is assuring us today) that, no matter when or where, He is there. It is similar to the New Testament expression in Revelation 1:8, “‘I am the Alpha and the Omega,’ says the Lord God, ‘who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.’” This is true of Him for all time, but it would have been especially appropriate for a message in Moses’ day to a people in slavery and who could see no way out. I AM was promising to free them, and they could count on Him!

Here’s some more good news; when used as a stand-alone description, I AM is the ultimate statement of self-sufficiency, self-existence, and immediate presence. God’s existence is not contingent upon anyone else. His plans are not contingent upon any circumstances. He promises that He will be what He will be; that is, He will be the eternally constant God. He stands, ever-present and unchangeable, completely sufficient in Himself to do what He wills to do and to accomplish what He wills to accomplish.

Hallelujah….need God say anymore….sometimes in order to move forward on what God has told us to do, the only five words we need to hear is “I AM WHO I AM!”

#BeStrong

#TGBTG

#NAP

#IAMWHOIAM

Matthew 21:22 tells us, “Whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.”🚨Spoiler Alert…God doesn’t always answers our prayers with a ‘yes’! Too often we fail to see the answer to our prayers because it doesn’t look the way we expected when it comes to us. I’ve heard it said that God answers prayers in one of three ways. God says “Yes,” and you receive what you ask for. God says “Not yet,” and you have to accept it and be patient. Or God says “No” because He has something better in mind.

I love country 🤠 music 🎵and one of my favorite artist is legendary Garth Brooks. The chorus in his song, entitled “Unanswered Prayer” says, “Remember when you’re talkin’ to the man upstairs. That just because he doesn’t answer, doesn’t mean he doesn’t care. ’Cause some of God’s greatest gifts are unanswered prayers.” Brooks suggests that God cares deeply enough to do what is best for us, even if we don’t understand at the time.

At the end of the day God knows what’s best. Therefore even if we don’t get what we think we need we should not let that impede in our prayer life. In 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, the Apostle Paul encourages us to “Pray without Ceasing.” Prayer is not a vending machine; it is a simply a conversation with God. Prayer is opening your heart to him and sharing what matters most. Prayer is seeking God’s will not our own. Undoubtedly, time spent with God changes us and it changes things. It helps us see the big picture (God’s picture). It reminds us we aren’t alone and it affirms that we are loved.

Charles Spurgeon once said of God, “[A Christian] trusts him where [he] cannot trace him.” When the dark night of the soul comes, when the tears flow over like a river after a rainstorm, and when our prayers seem to bounce off the ceiling, we can rest assured that our prayers are heard and answered not just by the God who reigns, but by the God who provides, nourishes, and promises to make all things new.

#BeStrong

#TGBTG

#NAP

#GodAnswersPrayers

There is nothing that we can do to earn salvation because a) it s a gift and b) we are saved by the blood that was poured out on Calvary’s hill. (Ephesians 2:8-9) However, James 2:14-26 reminds us that faith without works is dead! In other words we have to put our feet on the same frequency with the words that we speak! Now don’t get it twisted; James is not saying that our works make us righteous before God but that real saving faith is demonstrated by good works. Works are not the cause of salvation; works are the evidence of salvation. Faith in Christ always results in good works. The person who claims to be a Christian but lives in willful disobedience to Christ has a false or dead faith and is not saved. Paul basically says the same thing in 1 Corinthians 6:9–10. James contrasts two different types of faith—true faith that saves and false faith that is dead.

Faith without works is dead because it reveals a heart that has not been transformed by God. When we have been regenerated by the Holy Spirit, our lives will demonstrate that new life. Our works will be characterized by obedience to God. Unseen faith will become seen by the production of the fruit of the Spirit in our lives (Galatians 5:22). Christians belong to Christ, the Good Shepherd. As His sheep we hear His voice and follow Him (John 10:26–30).

Lastly, faith without works is dead because it comes from a heart that has not been regenerated by God. Empty professions of faith have no power to change lives. Those who pay lip service to faith but who do not possess the Spirit will hear Christ Himself say to them, “I never knew you. Depart from me, you evildoers” (Matthew 7:23). I can assure you that these are not the words I want to hear when I stand before God. So I am going to do my best to let my light shine before men, so that they may see my good works, and glorify our Father which is in heaven (Matthew 5:16).

#BeStrong

#TGBTG

#NAP

#FaithInAction