Although our stories may be different; one things is indisputably common to those who belong to the family of God and that common thread/chord is that we owe all to Jesus.

Now then, it’s pretty obvious that we could never repay God for what He did for us through His son( Ephesians 2:8-9). However, this declaration simply acknowledges that we are extremely grateful for God’s sacrificing love, kindness, goodness, grace and mercy!

Having said that, we acknowledge our gratefulness to God in Christ Jesus through wiling praise, worship, and service! Romans 12:1 confirms, “And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all He has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind He will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship [and praise] Him!

I don’t just owe it all to God in Jesus because of the ‘stuff’ He blesses my family and I with; I owe it all to God because He is perennially good and His mercies endures forever! (Psalm 100:5 and Psalm 136:1).

#BeStrong

#TGBTG

#IOweItAllToJesus

The truth is, we don’t know what the future holds, but when we give our lives to Jesus, He can be trusted with our future. Regardless of how difficult it feels or how many struggles we face, we can still trust Him to bring about good in our lives. Life experiences has taught me that despite the highs and lows, God promises us a bright new future (Jeremiah 29:11).

Paul said this in 2 Corinthians 4:6-10, ”For God, who said, “Let there be light in the darkness,” has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ. We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure.b This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves.
We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed. Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies.”

Here’s another truth, God’s promises are not canceled by our brokenness or hurts. Miracles are a part of His plan. When life gets ominously uncomfortable, we can often feel imprisoned by our circumstances and our choices. In this current season of uncertainty, we may feel helpless and overwhelmed. But we still have the same access to God’s mercy, grace, power, and presence.

So, if your life isn’t a bed of roses remember what is broken can be mended, what hurts can be healed, and no matter how dark it gets, Jesus is the Light of the world! God will always pour out His strength into us during our storms. He shelters us with His love, compassion, and mercy. He overcomes our brokenness and hurts with His love, peace, hope, and faithfulness. He is consistently working behind the scenes, through many hearts and lives, to strengthen us and bring us through!

#BeStrong

#TGBTG

#LightOfTheWorld

God is not only defending you in battles you don’t even know about; He is also persevering, restoring, and renewing you! Psalm 91:2 (GNT) declares that God is your defender and your protector.

Now, in order for God to defend you in these covert battles, He must first be your Defender! In other words, you have to fully depend (trust) on God to do what only God can do. In Psalm 62:5-7, David said this: “I depend on God alone; I put my hope in him. He alone protects and saves me; he is my defender, and I shall never be defeated. My salvation and honor depend on God; he is my strong protector; he is my shelter” (GNT).

Pray with me:

Father God in Heaven, I humbly choose to make you my defense. When the enemy comes with his covert attacks on my life, defend and protect like Your irrevocable word declares O’ Lord. Help me to trust in Your mighty power to make yourself known just as You did in the 42nd chapter of Job. Father God, You never said that weapons won’t form; but You did say they wouldn’t prosper. Therefore, I am leaning on solely on Your guidance, Your grace, Your mercy, and trusting in Your goodness! In Jesus name, amen and amen!

#BeStrong

#TGBTG

#GodIsOurDefender

When you are 16 years old, you can’t wait to be 21. When you are 21 years old you wish you were 16 again. When you are 30 years old you wish to be 21 again. When you are 40 you wish to be 30 again. When you turn 50, 60 and so on, you just flat out think you’re too old, out of gas, and out of wishes.

The Fact of the matter is you need to stop wishes and start living. Tomorrow isn’t promised and living in yesterday today isn’t the most effective use of your time. Isaiah 43:18-19 confirms, “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.”

My brothers and sisters, age ain’t nothing but a number, but best believe that words have the power of life or death (Proverbs 18:21). I encourage you to speak life and choose to live your life forward!

#BeStrong

#TGBTG

#LiveForward

I will be the first to testify that God is more than enough! Philippians 4:19 confirms, “And my God will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus.” I unequivocally believe there is no need that God can’t meet. However, as you and I both know when the hard knock life comes crashing in we begin to ponder if God is enough:

When a friend betrays me, is God enough?

When I need to forgive what seems unforgivable, is God enough?

When my child has issues out of my control, is God enough?

When my marriage is on the brink of destruction, is God enough?

When I am not forgiven by another, is God enough?

When my loved one is battling sickness, is God enough?

When others don’t recognize my value, is God enough?

When I struggle professionally, is God enough?

When someone I love uses words to hurt me, is God enough?

When I am in debt and don’t know how I’ll pay my bills, is God enough?

When my past haunts me, is God enough?

When my health declines, is God enough?

When I am let down and disappointed in my life, is God enough?

If you can relate to any of these ‘is God enough’ examples, I want you to know that YES HE IS! Nothing here on earth is guaranteed. If you lost everything, You’d be okay because nothing or no thing can take away God’s love for you in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:38-39). Whether you live in a mansion on a hill or a shack in the swamp, Jesus is with you! Whether the world is for you or against you, Jesus is with you! Whenever life knocks you down, get on your knees and you will find Jesus.

My brothers and sisters, when life becomes more than you think you can handle, don’t quit. And certainly don’t believe the lie God is not enough. Instead, ask yourself, “Is God enough for me? Then open your Bible and plant His Word deep in your heart so you’ll always have the ready answer, that YES HE IS!! God is not only enough, He is more than enough for you and for me!

#BeStrong

#TGBTG

#GodIsMoreThanEnough

Just imagine for a moment that in times of struggle God allowed you to peek behind the celestial firmament and visually watch Him take care of business. In other words, He allowed you to literally witness how He causes all things to work together for your good and His glory.

Undoubtedly, many if not all of us would be a little more comfortable navigating through our earthly valleys.

Unfortunately, God doesn’t always hand out backstage passes so when hard times come, it can be easy for Satan to distract us from seeing what God is doing in our lives. And in the midst of it all, the devil wants us to focus on what we can see—all of our troubles and fears in the moment—more than what God is doing on our behalf through our struggle(s) behind closed curtains.

Having said that, although we can’t always see God move with our natural eyes we can pray for God to open our spiritual eyes. Throughout his epistles the Apostle Paul talked about seeing the unseen a lot. In his letter to the Church in Ephesus, he wrote: “I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe…”(Ephesians 1:18-19 NIV).

So we have physical eyes that we use to see the world around us, but we also have spiritual eyes, or the “eyes of our heart,” that give us an awareness of spiritual things that are invisible to the natural eye. Those spiritual things are our “glorious inheritance” that Paul is talking about it.

Sadly, we are so accustomed to only believing what we see right in front of us with our natural sight. If we don’t see God doing something, then we assume He’s not doing anything. But the truth is, He’s always working, and if we’ll just believe that and keep our hope in Him, then we will see evidence of His work in His time and His way. Job 34:20 of the Message paraphrase put it this way, “……..we know God is working behind the scenes.”

I get it! It’s difficult at times to trust God more than what we see right in front of us. You might be thinking, Lowell, it’s just too much—I can’t even begin to see Him in all this. And you’re right! On our own, you’ll never be able to discern how God is working in your life.

That’s why He’s provided us with the Helper (see John 14:26-27 ESV). You see, when we accept Christ as our Savior, the Holy Spirit comes to dwell inside us—God literally gives each one of us a little piece of Himself.

My brothers and sisters, I just want to encourage you to stop and think several times a day, God is working in my life, God is working on my problem, and God is working on my loved ones. Be full of hope. And no matter what you do—no matter what you see or don’t see—always remember that God is gonna work it out, even if you can’t see Him working!

#BeStrong

#TGBTG

#GodIsWorkingItOut

Unlike Arnold Scharzenegger when JESUS said He’s coming back, you better believe He ain’t playing!

Jesus warned that the times before his return on the Last Day will be filled with many troubles. There will be wars and rumors of war. There will be famines, natural disaster, disease, and the love of most will grow cold. When terrible things like these happen, many changes can occur in our lives. Look at the changes that have happened during this current worldwide pandemic. How many things have we had to do without that we used to take for granted? People who have been through a major hurricane or earthquake or flood could say the same thing. All these events remind us that life as we know it isn’t as secure as we’d like to believe.

Jesus tells us that all these signs carry an even more important warning. The wars, disasters, diseases and increased hatred are all signs that the day of his return is approaching. In Matthew 24:44, Jesus said, “So you must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.” Jesus could come today. He could return hundreds of years from now. We don’t know when that day will come just like Noah didn’t know when the first rain droplet would fall from the heavens to earth, but that didn’t stop Him from building the ark!

#BeStrong

#TGBTG

#AreUReady

Abba Father, I thank You that You are the God of the impossible. You can do anything. I choose to trust in Your ability and not my own. Holy Spirit, teach me to see difficulties in my life from Your perspective. Help me to focus on You and Your power. Today I bring before You this difficulty in my life ​(Name a hard situation you are facing right now).​ Help me not to fear, worry, or doubt but to trust You in this situation. I declare my mustard seed of faith in Your ability to fulfill Your promises to me. You will fight for me and win the battles in my life. You are mighty, powerful, righteous, and true. In Jesus’ name. Amen and Amen!

#BeStrong

#TGBTG

#PrayWithMe