One of my favorite Bible stories as a child was the story of Joseph. (His story can be found in Genesis 37, 39-47.) His life was full of promise and victory, yet he also encountered humiliation and defeat. Little did I know as a child that his story would encourage, empower and inspire me as an adult.

At a young age, God put a dream in the heart of Joseph and then carried it through to completion. Joseph had high hopes for his life because God put dreams in his heart. At an early age, God gave him actual dreams about his future as a ruler. However, at the tender age of 17 years young, he didn’t know how it all would play out, but faithfully he knew in his heart that God had a unique plan for his future.

When you read the story of Joseph, it’s easy to forget how many years pass before God’s promise was finally realized in his life. But the truth is that everything Joseph endured prepared him for all that God had planned for his life.

Joseph endured being betrayed by his own brothers and being sold into slavery. Not to mention that he was also falsely accused and thrown into prison. And even though God gave him favor in prison and never left his side, he still had to endure a time of waiting and wondering.

Hence my point of encouragement for you today:

When God place a dream in your heart, He will bring it to pass! God works all things together for the good of those who love Him (Romans 8:28)… even the things that are difficult and don’t make sense. Our journey in life can seem overly complicated and extremely messy at times, but God is faithful to use every part of our story to bring us closer to Him!

#BeStrong

#TGBTG

#NAP

#ADreamComeTrue

In Luke 1:67-79 we find that shortly after Zechariah confirmed his son’s name (John the Baptist) he was filled with the Holy Spirit and then he spoke this prophetic message (v 67):

68 Praise the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has visited and redeemed his people.
69He has sent us a mighty Savior from the royal line of his servant David, 70 just as he promised through his holy prophets long ago. 71 Now we will be saved from our enemies and from all who hate us. He has been merciful to our ancestors by remembering his sacred covenant—73 the covenant he swore with an oath to our ancestor Abraham. 74 We have been rescued from our enemies so we can serve God without fear, 75 in holiness and righteousness
for as long as we live. 76 “And you, my little son, will be called the prophet of the Most High, because you will prepare the way for the Lord. 77 You will tell his people how to find salvation through forgiveness of their sins. 78 Because of God’s tender mercy, the morning light from heaven is about to break upon us, 79 to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, and to guide us to the path of peace.”

Outside of this beautiful prophetic message regarding his son’s would be life; the mere fact that Zechariah was verbally declaring a prophecy was a miracle all by itself. You can read about that tea in Luke 1:11-23.

In a nut shell, Zechariah was muted because after his prayer for a son was answer and Gabriel delivered the good news that God was going to bless him with a son; he failed to believe him.

This prophetic message was not only a conduit to praise God for the great work his son would do in his life, but to me it also represented God’s mercy to restore and reconcile Zechariah from his previous disbelief!

#BeStrong

#TGBTG

#HeartfeltMercies

For those of you who are waiting on a mighty move from God; I wanted to remind you there is nothing that our God can’t do and there is not a mountain that He can’t move! The angel of the Lord confirmed this declaration with Mary in Luke 1:37 (GNT). The passage of text says, “For there is nothing that God cannot do.”

When you read the account of Jesus’ life in Scripture, it’s clear that His heart was moved most of all by people’s faith. Everywhere He went He was on the lookout for those who truly believed He was the Messiah sent from God. All authority and power was His and when that power collided with genuine faith, miracles happened. It’s like the Roman Officer in Matthew 8:5-13.

I invite you to read this brief account, but if you have already read it then you know this centurion soldier had a desperate need and he came to Jesus KNOWING that Jesus could meet that need. He knew he was talking with someone who had ultimate authority and power. He knew that with just a word, Jesus could do whatever he wanted to do. His faith moved Jesus’ heart and stirred the miraculous into reality.

Unequivocally, this kind of faith should be at the heart of every believer. This kind of faith should convict and call us to remember and believe that anything is possible when Jesus is inserted into the equation.

With that said, Whatever your ‘thing’ or ‘mountain’ is standing in your way or whatever it is that imprisons you, Jesus is the one who holds the power and the keys to move the mountain and unlock the door.

My brothers and sisters, miracles are possible, healing of all kinds is possible, freedom is possible, and breakthrough is possible — in Jesus’ name.

It’s not been 60 days since my beloved and sorely missed twin brother went home to be with Lord and I’ll submit to you that I have never experienced grief the way I have over the past 40+ plus days, but even in my deepest sorrows, God reminded me of three important things. 1. Don’t grieve in your own strength. 2. Don’t grieve without hope. 3. The Cross is real! (I Thessalonians 4:13-18). These three things have kept me in some of the darkest nights in my life! My hope is grounded in the One who will never fail me!

Noël Pinnock said, “You can live 40 days without food, 4 days without water, and perhaps 4 minutes without air, but you can’t live 1 second without hope!”

There’s nothing that our God can’t do.

#BeStrong

#TGBTG

#NAP

#ThereIsNothingGodCantDo