Many of you can testify that life is not always easy and it seems the older we get, the harder life gets. Undoubtedly, nobody has life figured out completely and nobody gets through life easily. We all have struggles. We may not have the same struggles, but we all have our own things to get through. We deal with sickness, loss of loved ones, financial problems and so many other things and it is never easy. We all have to go through school and graduate and find jobs and try to figure out what we want to do with our lives and who we want to spend it with. Unfortunately, we worry about the future and we try to predict what the future holds, but that is impossible and something that only God knows.

Here’s the good news, in Luke 1:37 we find this nugget of encouragement; “For nothing is impossible God.” The reality is that in every life situation, good or bad, we have to learn to trust God. When life is good and everything is going right, we often forget to thank God for what he is doing in our lives and giving us the good things. The moment that things take a turn for the worst and we start running into stumbling blocks, constraints, and obstacles, we go running to God asking Him for help and pleading for Him to lead our path. In lieu of running to God during difficult times, we should be running to Him at all times, no matter if they are good or bad and as you know, this will build faith and strengthen your relationship with Him.

I Peter 5:10 reminds us that, “And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.” This scripture is filled with fire and if it speaks to your situation, hold onto to this nugget of truth and do not get discouraged when times are tough. Remember, what’s impossible for you is possible God and He will get you through the hard times. Trust in Him, but recognize life’s journey may not be easy but it will definitely be worth the struggle because “God causes all things to work together for good, for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose”(Romans 8:28).

#BeStrong

#TGBTG

#Encourage

#Empower

#Inspire

#FaithMakeThingsPossible

When God sees you doing your part, developing what He has given you, then He will do His part and open doors that no man can shut and doors you don’t even have to knock on.

In the book of Acts 16:25-26 we find Paul and Silas doing exactly what they needed to be doing despite their predicament. These two verses say, “About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone’s chains came loose.”

With that said, brothers and sisters keep fighting the good fight of faith. Stop worrying and start praying, fasting, and believing! God ain’t sleep nor is He blind. He sees, knows and cares about every infinitesimal detail in your life and He is able to open doors that you don’t even have to knock on!

I Corinthians 2:9 is such a comforting and confirming passage of text and it says, But as it is written: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man, the [good] things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”

#BeStrong

#TGBTG

#Encourage

#Empower

#Inspire

#KnockKnock

Brothers and sisters, for those of us in Christ, God doesn’t show us patience based on our behavior – patience is simply who He is. After Moses completed the 2nd set of stone tablets like the first (we all know what happened to the first set), in Exodus 34:6 God said to Moses on Mt. Sinai, “I am the Lord God. I am merciful and very patient with my people.” By offering us His patience, He offers us Himself. We don’t “deserve” patience and we certainly can’t earn it. Like love, God freely gives us patience because He will never cease to be who He is. And get this: because God’s nature is immutable, He was and is and always will be patient with us. Hence, one of the many reasons the writer of Hebrews 13:8 wrote, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.”

Peter, of all people, would know God’s patience (the same Apostle that denied Jesus not once, three times): The Lord is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). A couple of verses later, Peter straight up says, “our Lord’s patience means salvation [or, redemption]” (2 Peter 3:15).

As I sit back and reflect on His patience toward me – toward us – I remember He is still patiently waiting for others. This journey of experiencing God’s patience isn’t solely for ourselves or to “learn a lesson.” Though He does show us because He loves us – of course! And also: our God has missional purposes in the glory He reveals. When we receive God’s patience, it causes a longing in our hearts to share what He mercifully extended to us with others. It compels us to extend His patience with everyone who crosses our path. We know His patience is imperative not only for our redemption story (walk) but for everyone we walk with in our lives!

#BeStrong

#TGBTG

#Encourage

#Empower

#Inspire

#Patience

There is no doubt that God sends blessings to who He can send them through! God uses ordinary people like you and me-common, ordinary, flawed people-for His glory. It never ceases to amaze me to see the ordinary people Jesus used in the Bible. From cover to cover the Bible has ordinary men and women perceived as flawed, failures, weak and lowly. But they were able to meet the needs of others, were instruments of His peace, and shared His Good News.

Hebrews 13:16 says, “And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.” Brothers and Sisters, God didn’t add another day to your life because you needed it. He did so because someone out there needs you!

Jesus intimately understood this concept. He said Matthew 20:28, “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Jesus came to serve and as such we were create to serve.

I encourage you to look for opportunities to bless someone today. The more we seek to bless others, God will provide for us and open more doors to accomplish His will. Steve Maraboli said, “A kind gesture can reach a wound that only compassion can heal.”

#BeStrong

#TGBTG

#Encourage

#Empower

#Inspire

#BlessSomeoneToday

Our boldness and confidence rests solely upon the ‘YES’ and ‘AMEN’ promises of our all-powerful God (2 Cor 1:20), who reminds us throughout His Word, that He is the Almighty, Sovereign Ruler of the universe (known and unknown), and He has given us His assurance that no weapon… whether physical or spiritual, will prosper against His eternal blood-bought children (Isaiah 54:17).

Unquestionably, our trust is in the God of our salvation for He has given us His assurance that every accusing tongue will be silenced, and every judgemental charge against us shall be condemned – and God has aligned His inherent, immutable, infallible, and incorruptible Word with His Holy name.

Here’s the deal, the enemy doesn’t want you to know that the God delights to bless His children and the theme in Isaiah 54:17 is literally about God’s never-failing love for His chosen people. God acts like a faithful husband, who not only forgives his unfaithful wife, but restores her to a place of blessed fellowship with himself while giving her full and complete protection from all or anything that would assail her.

With that said, I want to encourage you as well as myself to always depend on the Word of truth for God’s protection from all dangers, knowing that a host angels encamps around all who belong to Him. Therefore, let us not fret or worry, but rest on the assurances of His presence in every one of life’s difficulties, knowing that no thing or no one is greater than our God! Equally said, let us also remain confident in His superlative promises of grace, which are the heritage of the saints – for the tongues that rise up in accusation against the people of God will be silenced forever when they stand before His Great White throne of judgement, “and they will know that I [God] have loved you.”

Join me in this prayer:

Thank You, Father God, that there is nothing in the physical or spiritual realm that can triumph over You. Therefore, I am unequivocally secured in Christ, and I faithfully believe that every ill ridden accusation from people or the enemy will be condemned. Holy Spirit, help me never to fear those that seek to harm me in word or in deed, but elevate me to be a faithful witness of Your steadfast grace in the place where You have hidden me. Thank You for Your impenetrable covering and incessant protection over my life and the lives of my family and friends. In Jesus Christ’s name, I humbly and boldly pray, amen and amen!!

#BeStrong

#TGBTG

God is sovereign, meaning He is the supreme authority and all things are under His control. God’s will runs contiguous with His sovereignty. Therefore, God ultimately determines what He will or will not allow to come to pass!

With that said, when we specifically ask God for certain things and we don’t get what we want doesn’t imply that God is incapable, rather it implies that God is sovereign (has something better in stored). However, don’t get it twisted; there’s absolutely nothing that our God can’t do and the two things He won’t do is lie or fail!

God’s Word is powerful, able to remove obstacles, darkness, and barriers in our lives. God possess sovereign authority to cause us to experience His Presence, removes spiritual blindness, and heal our mortal bodies. So, I ask you—What is impossible for God? To what power can equal the name of Jesus? The short answer to Q1 is nothing and Q2 is none. In Genesis 18:14 God responds to Abraham regarding Sarah’s sarcasm with a reheorical question, “Is anything too hard for the LORD? I will return to you at the appointed time next year, and Sarah will have a son.”

Whoop, there He said it….’I will’. I don’t know what ‘I will’ declaration you are waiting for God to bring to pass, but whatever it is, you can bet the farm that if it lines up with His sovereign inherent infallible will…. it will come to pass!

#BeStrong

#TGBTG

#Encourage

#Empower

#Inspire

#TheresNothingthatGodCantDo

People of God, there’s one thing we mustn’t ever forget in the storms of life; the Lord our God is an unchanging God. The writer of Hebrews declares in chapter 13 verse 8 that, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever.” That’s right….people change, seasons change, things change, but the Lord our God remains the same!

HELLO…..who said, “Hindsight is 2020?” When I appraise my life and all the suffering, test, trials, brokenness, fiery furnaces, valley experiences, hard press areas in life that I have experienced and continue to experience, I have found one thing to be consistent and that one thing is God’s Word can always be trusted. God’s word is unequivocally true and unfailing; regardless of what I may feel, think or fear.

Truth is, pain and suffering has shown and proven to me that God is incontestably immutable! Unfortunately, when I was going through, I could not see this in the midst of the battle or storm because I allowed myself to see doubt and fear in them, but on the other side of my sufferings called “THROUGH” I now can look back and see where God strengthened my faith in those test because the purpose was not intended for my destruction, rather it was intended to prepare me for the “WHAT NEXT” that is guaranteed to come with God.

The troubles of our life is where God does His best work in and through us.

Thankfully, in times of need our God is always there for us, He is always dependable and always concerned about us and what we go through. No, He will NEVER fail us nor ‘leave or forsake us’ (Hebrews 13:5). We may not know the when or the how, but we do know the ‘WHAT NEXT’; God will do it again it!!

Lastly, Hebrews 13:6 also reminds us that we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid…..” At the end of the day and dawn of a new morning, Jesus is our stainless steel anchor that holds, keeps, and restores us over and over again; even in life’s fiercest battles and most difficult circumstances!

#BeStrong

#TGBTG

#Encourage

#Empower

#Inspire

#GodWillDoItAgain

According to one account I read, there are over 7,000 promises in the Bible. If I was to list every promise in this short devotional it would be consider book. So to that point, I will only list a few:

• God knows, sees and is aware of EVERYTHING you go through.
• God CARES about EVERYTHING you go through.
• God grieves when you hurt.
• God loves you UNCONDITIONALLY.
• God will never leave you nor forsake you (Hebrews 13:5).
• God will turn all your ashes into beauty (Isaiah 61).
• God is a way-maker, healer, miracle worker, and provider.

In 2 Corinthians 1:20 we find that Paul was eager to communicate to his readers that the message he taught about the Lord Jesus was steadfast, sure, unalterable, and reliable. He stressed that God’s promises are altogether true and His Word stands forever.

Paul wanted this gentile Church to believe God’s Word in their hearts and experience in their lives the Lord’s never-failing riches of His grace, and so he wrote: “For as many as are the promises of God, in Him they are YES! For ALL God’s promises are certain and sure in Jesus,… and so through Him we can say ‘Amen,’ to the glory of God.”

I’ve read, the word translated to “yes” in the original Greek means “sure“, and the word translated to “amen” means “firm“. In other words, Paul is saying that God’s promises (or words for that matter) are sure and firm. They are unchanging, unwavering, and unmovable.

Beloved of God, I can testify that God will do what He says He will do. Whether in blessing or in judgement, His word will absolutely never return void, but this does not release us from the conditions He has set out for us to benefit from His promises (Hebrews 11:6), in fact it binds us to them, but likewise, neither does it leave any room for doubt in His faithfulness. For the sake of His Name, He will fulfill His promises, for they are sure and firm because He is faithful and true!

We all need to believe and then invest this truth in our lives because we are all facing something. Now, I don’t know what plight you or someone you know is facing today. However, let me encourage you not to allow worry to form a root of fear and anxiety because God promises are greater than any problem you could ever face.

So if any of these message hits home for you, I encourage you to:

1. Call out to Jesus for His help – talk with Him about whats going on!
2. Remember the promises of God – remind God what He promised you!
3. Rely on the power of Jesus – on your own, you can accomplish nothing!

Lastly, I also want to encourage you to commit to memory as many of God’s promises as you possibly can. Then when you pray, you will be in position to remind God of His “Yes” and “amen” promises!

#BeStrong

#TGBTG

#YesAndAmenPromises