Please let this message soak in today. With the widespread of so much negativity, it’s kind of difficult to be a source of encouragement in a world filled with some much discouragement.

The overarching reality is that we need each other. In other words, people need people! The Bible says this in Proverbs 27:17, “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.” Look at this way, you never know the true impact you have on those around you. You never know how much someone needed that simple smile you offered as a sign of kindness. You never know how one act of kindness turned someone’s life around. You never how much someone needed that long hug or deep conversation. Sometimes the smallest act of kindness can have the greatest impact in someone’s life.

So don’t wait to be kind. Don’t wait for others to be kind first. You take the reigns and the proverbial bull by the horns! Don’t wait for better circumstances or for someone to change. Just be kind, because you never really know the depths of someone’s pain unless you walk a mile in their shoes.

Operating in the spirit of kindness is a reflection of one of God’s fruit living in you. Galatians 5:22-23 confirms, “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.”

#BeStrong

#TGBTG

#Kindness

Undoubtedly, spending quality time in God’s presence is essential to our Christian journey. Think about it for a moment, how can you truly know someone if you don’t spend time with them? Well, the same is held true with your relationship with God. If you don’t spend time with God, then how do you expect to know Him.

When Paul said, “That I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformable unto His death” in Philippians 3:10, he desired to know Jesus. He wanted to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and sacrifice his life if need be. Paul’s fervent desire was birthed from his unyielding dedication in spending time with the Lord. The more and more Paul spent with the Lord, the more God revealed to him. But, he knew the only way to have that experience was to remain in God’s presence (Philippians 3:10).

Just so you know; according to the Baker’s Biblical dictionary, the most common Hebrew term for ‘presence’ is panim, which is also translated ‘face,’ implying a close and personal encounter with the Lord.

Paul like many others wanted to maintain that close and personal encounter with God because they intimately understood that one moment in the presence of God can heal a lifetime of failure, heartache, and pain. 2 Corinthians 3:17 confirms, “Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.” Liberty means freedom. In God’s presence, you are free. You are free over everything that binds you. In God’s presence, you are made whole.

Beloved of God, in His presence, there is fullness of joy. All scripture reminds us that we will have everlasting joy and joy supersedes happiness because happiness is fleeting. You can be happy today but sad in five minutes. However, when you have joy, your house could be burning down to the ground, but you still have joy! You may have more liabilities than assets, but you still have joy! Your marriage may be on the rocks, but you still have joy! You may have a received a bad doctor’s report, but you still have joy! This type of joy only comes from God because we have a Father who is able to do exceeding abundantly above all we ask or think according to the power that worketh in us (Ephesians 3:20).

When we desire to be in the presence of the Lord, He will draw closer to us. When we prioritize drawing closer to God, God will draw closer to us. His promises are true. But in order to receive the blessing, we have to stay in His presence. (James 4:8, KJV)

Simply put, there is divine covering, healing, peace, deliverance, spiritual growth, and favor in God’s presence.

I invite you to open your Bible today because it’s time for your intimate face-to-face (panim) encounter with God!!

#BeStrong

#TGBTG

#ThePresenceOfGod

Every prayer is heard by God! The quiet prayers, the loud prayers, the cry out loud prayers, the voiceless prayers, the reluctant prayers, the murmuring prayers, the quiet tear drop prayers, and every intercessory prayer are all heard by God!

I Thessalonians 5:16 commands and encourages all believers to pray without ceasing because fervent prayers possess great power to prevail (James 5:16). In fact, prayer is the most powerful weapon against worry, stress, doubt, anxiety, and fear!

Our prayers connect us with God, strengthen us for the fight, and keep us spiritually grounded. They open a dialogue with Him and reveal things to us we can only learn from Him. “Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not” (Jeremiah 33:3). When we’re wrestling with something and feel like we’ve reached a dead end, prayer brings us into the presence of the one who makes a way when there is no way.

The enemy wants to put a muzzle over your mouth because he knows when you open your mouth those audible and non audible words contain the power that will cancel his assignments and destroy every one of his malicious plots and/or schemes!

My brothers and sisters, God has giving us unlimited 10G access to communicate directly to Him. Therefore, don’t let anything or anyone prevent you from speaking out to God and never forget that prayer is the only weapon that anchors you in the place of victory!

#BeStrong

#TGBTG

#Prayer=Victory

John 3:8 says, “The wind blows where it wills, and you can hear the sound it makes, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes; so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

Ruah which is pronounced in Hebrew Ruach, is the Hebrew word translated as God’s Spirit. However, the word is also translated as breath, air, and wind throughout several Scriptures. The breath of God should remind each of us of God’s creative authorship and presence in our world. Genesis 2:7 confirms, “Then the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground. He breathed the breath (Ruah) of life into the man’s nostrils, and the man became a living person.”

It’s is this very same breath (Ruah) that positively impacts our lives even when we don’t have the breath to express our pain and sufferings to God. We can find encouragement in Romans 8:26-27: “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit [Ruah] Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And He who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit [Ruah] intercedes for the saints according to the will of God”

Wow, when we can not utter what’s pains our soul, the Spirit (Ruah) knows what is there and He intercedes-breathes it out-Himself on our behalf! I don’t know about you, but that’s some good news to me!

Now, if you are dealing with a deep debilitating pain, I invite you to pray this short prayer with me and allow God’s Ruah to radically to change your situation:

Merciful God, breathe into every area in my life. Heal and restore all of my broken pieces. In Jesus name, amen!

#BeStrong

#TGBTG

#BreathOfGod

Ironically, as I lay here battling my own bout of insomnia the word of encouragement the Lord put on my heart to share which was literally utter by my wife before she drifted off into her sweet slumber is rest; go figure!

Unfortunately, our culture basks in busyness, wearing stress and lack of sleep like a badge of honor. Sandra Dalton Smith, M.D. said, “If you’re waking up (after sleeping) and still exhausted, the issue probably isn’t sleep. It’s likely a rest deficit.” As the news regularly reports, more than half of Americans don’t use their allotted vacation days and are likely to bring work with them when they do take a vacation. Work provides our identity with busyness assuring our status. Stimulants like caffeine and sugar provide the means to get moving in the morning while sleeping pills, alcohol, and herbal remedies enable us to forcibly shut down our bodies and minds to get fitful sleep before starting it all over again because, as the adage says, “You can sleep when you are dead.”

My beloved brothers and sisters, God honors a good day’s work, but He never intended for His creation to work themselves to death. God Himself who doesn’t grow tired or weary (Isaiah 40:28) chose to rest after manufacturing creation on the seventh day (Gen 2:2-3).

In biblical context, rest is more than the absence of work (Matthew 11:28-30). Rest demonstrates where we place our trust for provision, identity, purpose, and importance. Rest is both a regular rhythm to our day and our week as well as a promise with fuller future fulfillment, “So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from His” (Hebrews 4:9-10).

At the end of the day, we can’t do it all. We can’t get it all done, even with 24 hours a day and seven days a week. Therefore, it behooves us to completely relinquish our attempts at earning an identity through our works and rest in the identity God provides as we are loved by Him and free to rest in His provision and care. This desire for autonomy through self-definition forms the basis for the Fall and continues to plague our functioning in relationship to God and others today.

Lastly, vocational rest is not the only thing we need to balance in our every evolving and constantly changing lives. There are 7 other types of rest we need to actually feel recharged and for the sake of time I will list them below and for validation purposes I invite you to biblically research them on your own:

Mental Rest
Physical Rest
Sensory Rest
Social Rest
Creative Rest
Emotional Rest
Spiritual Rest

Like my twin brother likes to say, “The enemy is focused on busyness, but God is focused on business and the only difference between the two is the “I” in the middle of it all!

#BeStrong

#TGBTG

#Rest

I don’t know about you, but I am so relieved that my life does not depend solely on me. Grit is a good thing but my own grit runs dry eventually. God’s power, love, compassion, and goodness never run out. Philippians 2:13 reminds us that, “God is working in us, giving us the desire and the power to do what pleases Him.”

God is the will behind every activity of good works. God influences our activities and our will to bring about our working in our salvation. We do good works because of God’s amazing grace in our lives. The more we know God, the more we will desire to walk in God’s ways and obey His rules. Ephesians 2:8-10 confirms, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”

Beloved of God, trust and believe that God is doing a work in you which is bringing about good fruit in your life. God is working in all of us and changing our lives by increasing in the knowledge of God. When we surrender to Him, He gets to work, molding, and forming us to be more like Him. He gives us the desire and power to please Him.

#BeStrong

#TGBTG

#GodIsWorkingInUs

Unfortunately, many want to quit or throw in the towel due to various situations and trials they are facing in their life. However, God wants to bless you and if you don’t quit you will see His promises manifest and come to fruition in your life.

Today, I’m speaking to those who are in a hopeless situation at the moment. Hopeless situation, because of what your circumstances is saying. Let me remind you that a bad day doesn’t equal a bad life and a hopeless situation does not mean that God has left you. Just because things don’t work out exactly how we planned them does not mean that God is not at work in your life. No matter what your situation is saying, I can tell you that God is at work in your life at the moment. It is not over until God says it is over. Ephesians declares, “God is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us.”

Let’s take it back to the OT. The 37th chapter in the book of Ezekiel symbolizes people whose hope had died, and had been dead for a long time. This was a situation where there was no future, just bones, no bodies, just bones, and no signs of life, just bones!! The Lord asked him a question that perhaps God is asking you today about your situation – CAN THESE DRY BONES LIVE?

Ezekiel looks at the bones and saw no possibility of resuscitation. Ezekiel said, “Lord you know”. In other words, he was really saying, “I don’t, but God you do.” Why did he say that? The prophet knew this situation was beyond human application and comprehension. It’s only God that knows if you are going to make it or not. I know you don’t know, but God knows there are some situations we face in which human solutions will not work. The only thing that works is hearing from God!

My brothers and sisters, 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!

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

#ItAintOver