ONE minute WORD of encouragement with BE STRONG!

Scripture Reference
2 Chronicles 20:15
Ephesians 3:20

#BeStrong

#TGBTG

#ThisBattleBelongsToGod

#NAP

Struggling doesn’t mean you’re losing the battle; rather it simply means you’re still in the fight; Your situation awaits instruction …. Your situation awaits direction and the Holy Spirit is always there to guide and lead. Undoubtedly, God will work according to the power that works in you. (Ephesians 3:20) If you have breath and can speak, your situation will be sorted. It’s not over for you!

Still need more convincing? Well, everyone thought it was over for Daniel when he was thrown into the lion’s den, but God didn’t say so. Nebuchadnezzar thought it would be over for Shedrach, Meshach and Abednego, but God said it wasn’t over. Job’s wife thought it was over and encouraged her husband to curse God and die, but the Lord didn’t say it was over. It Ain’t Over Until God Says It’s Over!

When war was surrounding his country the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jahaziel son of Zechariah and he said this to his people in 2 Chronicle 20:15, “Listen, all you people of Judah and Jerusalem! Listen, King Jehoshaphat! This is what the LORD says: Do not be afraid! Don’t be discouraged by this mighty army, for the battle is not yours, but God’s.”

That being said, I want encourage you to Keep fighting. Keep praying. Keep fasting. Keep progressing. Keep moving. Keep reading…interceding. Keep believing. Keep trusting. Keep trying. Keep travailing. Keep living. Keep giving. Keep fighting until your victory is won!

#BeStrong

#TGBTG

#TheBattleBelongsToGod

We all know nothing is free in this world however; the God who lives outside of this world has offered all of us a truly free gift that cost Him everything. Paul confirmed this truth and act of benevolence in Ephesians 2:8-9, “God saved you by His grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a [free] gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.”

I get it; we have a lot of freedom in America. Freedom of speech. Freedom to worship. Freedom to do what we believe leads to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” And those freedoms weren’t won in a lottery. They were bought with the blood of soldiers. And as mentioned above the freedom Paul spoke of was bought with the blood of our Savior.

Yes sacrifice!! That’s what true freedom looks like and you won’t find it in a snarky online social media post. Or in the rant of a “religious” leader tearing others to shreds. It won’t be at the table with gossip. Because the irony is: when we stop loving, we give up our freedom. We become entangled in our own words and hatred until we can’t breathe, can’t see, and can’t live!

Yes, July 4th is a time to celebrate an important event in history. But let’s also think about what real freedom means for us right here, right now. It’s time for us to pause and remember the highest, best freedom. Love🫶🏾!

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#TGBTG

#NAP

#Happy4th

God’s amazing grace is simply amazing because it is an undeserved and free gift. It is the exact opposite of what we deserve; there is nothing we can do to earn or merit it. While God’s grace is free to all those who trust in Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior, it was purchased at great price. This grace abounds only because of the atoning death, burial and resurrection of Jesus; He died in our place. The wrath we deserved was poured out on God’s only begotten Son in order that we might be reconciled or made acceptable to God the Father who is holy, holy, holy to the superlative. He chooses not to look on sin; but because of the sacrificial death of Jesus, God looks on His children through grace-filled lens, seeing not our sin, but the righteousness of Christ. God’s amazing grace costs us nothing, BUT this same grace cost Jesus everything.

Let’s be clear, grace is more then pardon, it is power. John Piper put it this way, “Grace is the enabling of God not to sin; grace is power, not just pardon.” As non-believers, we cannot chose not to sin because we are spiritually dead. When we are made spiritually alive in Christ Jesus, only then are we able to choose not to sin. Grace is power enabling us not to sin (Romans 6:1).

God’s grace is so amazing because it orginates from the essence of His being and simply put, God is amazing!

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#TGBTG

#NAP

#AmazingGrace

Beloved of God….hear me today!!! With God, there are no limits and no boundaries! Paul confirms this truth in his powerful benediction written in Ephesians 3:20; “Now unto him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us.”

As mentioned above, Paul’s theological thoughts in this powerful passage of text is everything about God is beyond us, including our expectation(s) and thought(s). He specifically highlights that there is no limit in God’s capability and capacity.

Furthermore, Paul establishes that God’s capacity, or extent, for doing far exceeds our capacity for asking or imagining. In other words, God’s capacity is not limited to our thinking capacity. “My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts.… and my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:8-9 NLT).

Hallelujah, because of God’s capability, He is able to do all and because of God’s capacity, He is able to do above all!

Pray with me!

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#TGBTG

#NAP

I know there’s a lot going on in our world, not to mention the challenges we are presently dealing with in our own personal lives. Sometimes it feels like we just can’t catch a break!!!

Well, as I was creating today’s meme, the Spirit of the Lord reminded me of the prophet Elijah’s lonely and life threatening predicament. He too wanted to throw in his towel (mantel), but God had another plan in stored.

You can read I Kings 19:1-18 to find out the details, however in verse 10 Elijah said, “I, even I only, am left.” In my opinion, Elijah wasn’t just feeling alone, he was feeling downright lonely when he spent the night in a cave on Mount Horeb. He had just defeated the false prophets of Baal in one of the most memorable showdowns ever, and instead of being celebrated, he was being hunted by Jezebel. He left his servant behind, went into the wilderness alone, and prayed he would die (talk about throwing in the towel). He then journeyed 40 days and 40 nights and sat in a deep funk wondering what difference any of his work made. He was depressed and dejected. Just when all hope seemed to be lost, God stepped in at the right time and ironically asked him the same question He asked Adam and Eve (Gen 3) when they too attempted to hide from God: “Where are you?!”

God revealed himself to Elijah—not in a great wind or earthquake or fire—but in a still, small voice (v. 12). God had been there all along, undetected by Elijah. Furthermore, God revealed that Elijah was never alone but one of a company of 7,000 who hadn’t bowed to Baal.

Elijah was blessed to have the LORD personally tell him he was not alone in his faith. But by that same token, because of its inclusion in the Bible, the Lord is telling you and I today that we are not alone in our plight and/or battles. He sends His Spirit to comfort us. He sends His unknown angels to watch and cover us. He sends encouragers to strengthen us and He sends His Word to guide us.

That being said, I don’t know what plight or battle you’re facing in this season, but what I do know is if it’s still bad God ain’t done yet because He never ends on a negative.

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#NAP

#GodAintDoneYet

Undoubtedly, God sees more than we can see. He knows more than we know. He works in ways beyond our comprehension. (Isaiah 55:8-11) And if we agree to follow Him only when we understand what He’s doing, we’ll always stop short of experiencing His inexplicable wonders.

I believe that’s exactly why Ecclesiastes 11:5 reminds us: “As you do not know the way the spirit comes to the bones in the womb of a woman with child, so you do not know the work of God who makes everything.”

Fact is, we can either let the mystery of God bolster our doubt or buoy our wonder:

Abraham praised God beneath the stars — even though he didn’t understand how he’d ever become the father of nations.

David praised God in the wilderness — even though he didn’t understand why he was running for his life instead of sitting on the throne.

The Israelites praised God with a mighty shout — even though they didn’t understand Jericho’s wall would fall without a fight.

In John 13:1-7, the disciples especially Peter clearly didn’t understand why Jesus decided to wash their feet. However, Jesus’ response to Peter’s reluctance is found in verse 7: “You don’t understand now what I am doing, but someday you will. Jesus wanted Peter despite his lack of understanding to focus on what He was doing and not why He was doing what He was doing.

Beloved of God, if you’re in a middle of a perplexing situation and you’re more focused on the why and not the what, think about this: A God of infinite majesty can’t be measured, a God who unleashes miracles can’t be contained, and a God whose love is eternal can’t be explained.

In closing, the God we serve is too big and He will never fit into our finite box of human understanding. But He will always fulfill our infinite need for a Savior. All we need is enduring faith to offer Him our praises even when we don’t understand His ways!

#BeStrong

#TGBTG

#NAP

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!

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#TGBTG

#HeartfeltMercies