Do You Love God Enough?

God love you.   He love you with an unending love.   His love is not forgetful and it is not determined by how you treat Him.   He loves you beyond your faults and your fears.   The question is, do you love Him?  Are you willing to give Him first place in your life?    Are you willing to surrender the things that appeal to your flesh so that you can live a life that is pleasing unto God?   Do you love God enough?   Enough to surrender all to Him for Him.    

IT'S TIME TO DETOXIFY PHYSICALLY AND SPIRITUALLY - October 23, 2015

God was talking to me this morning about detoxifying.    Then when I opened up my Facebook, one of my friends who is a worshipper was talking about the same thing.    Detoxification means to remove toxic substances or qualities.    When your remove something, you take something away or off of the position that it has occupied.    We have to understand, there are times when we have to detoxify physically and spiritually.   Physically, there are things we have put in our bodies that we know are not healthy for us and spiritually there are thoughts and actions that we have been ruled and reigned by that we know are not right for us.   So we need to detoxify both physically and spiritually.  

Detoxification is a cleansing.   To cleanse means to wash something thoroughly and to disinfect.    One synonym for disinfect is the word purify.    We have to disinfect our lives.    When you break down the word disinfect, you see that “dis” means to take away or to negate.    Then you have the word infect.   When something is infected, it is contaminated and contamination spreads.  So the word disinfect means to take away the contamination.    

The thing we must understand is that infection comes from exposure to something.  What are you exposing your life to?   What are you consuming physically and spiritually?   In other words, what are you allowing to come through the gate of your mouth physically and what are you allowing to come through your eye and ear gates spiritually?   You have to make sure you are exposing your life to the right things.    Don’t allow your life to breakdown based on what you are eating physically or spiritually.    Make sure you are consuming what is healthy for you.  To consume means to eat, drink, or ingest.   Make sure you are eating, drinking, and ingesting the right foods physically and make sure you are drinking from the water of God’s Word spiritually.

WORSHIP FOR TODAY ...

"Renew Me"

Ministered By Martha Munizzi

 

REFERENCE/CITATION:  

Martha Munizzi - Renew Me - LIVE (@marthamunizzi). (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cB8xorl9rBU

Are You Still Trusting God For Peace In The Middle Of Your Hard Situation? (September 13, 2015)

What makes you think that you can do it alone?   Why are you not seeking God and waiting for His directions?   You have to learn how to have peace in the “midst” of the storm.  In other words, even when you are right in the middle of a hard situation, you have to learn how to still have peace.   We have to understand what Jesus said in John 14.   He said that He left us “His” peace and the peace of God goes beyond our understanding.  

When we are walking in faith, we cannot allow the emotions of fear to override our stand of faith.   Fear is defined as a basic natural instinct, whereas, faith is defined as having complete trust in someone  or something.   You have to allow your trust in God to override how you feel even when what you feel can be substantiated.   In other words, even though you have a reason to fear, you have to let your trust and belief in God and His Word override your emotions.    You have to allow God’s Word to give you peace within.   So even though there is turmoil going on all around your life, you can still have peace within knowing that God is the Creator and Keeper of all things … even your life.    

WORSHIP FOR TODAY ...

"I'm At Peace"

Ministered By Vicki Yohe

Vicki Yohe - I'm at Peace. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XgboHdURmIk

 

 

Are You Holding On To What You Can See or To What God Has Said? (September 10, 2015)

What are you holding on to?   Are you holding on to God’s promises or are you  holding on to what you can see in this natural world?   We have to understand that God’s promises are more valid than what we see in this natural realm.    When something is valid, it is viable, defensible, and justifiable.    We have to understand the viability of God’s Word.   Meaning His Word is always capable of living and producing success in our lives.   It is only through disobedience that we incapacitate the Word of God.     When something is incapacitated, it is deprived the its ability and strength to function the way it was created to function.    

My original questions was “what” are you holding on to? In other words, what is it or where is it that you have placed your faith and trust?  Is it in God and His Word or is it in what you can see, touch, feel, or do?    God’s Word is true.   It does NOT and can NOT change.   God’s Word is established.   When something is established, it is set and fixed.    Never let your hope and faith rest upon what you can see.   Always put your hope and faith in what God has said.    

WORSHIP FOR TODAY ... 

"I Stand On Your Word"

Ministered By Jonathan Butler

Jonathan Butler - I Stand On Your Word [Official Video]. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYB8CLcv7pU

 

How are You Handling Rejection? Are You Still Walking In The Word, Will, and Plan of God?

So often in life we say we won't get mad, we won't get upset, and it won't bother us and yet it does.   Deep inside the wheels are still turning.  We still feel the hurt, the pain, and the disappointment.   We still feel the rejection.   No matter how hard we try not to feel it, the feeling is still there and we have to learn how to deal with rejection from others.    None of us want to be rejected because we are God's vessels of love.  So often we do our best to allow God's love to flow through us to all people and yet there are times when others reject the love of God.  They feel as though they are rejecting us personally and in essence they are rejecting the love of God.  

It is at those times that we have to remember what Romans 8:28 says about knowing that all things work together for our good.  We have to "know" that even though we experience rejection while doing the word, will, and work of God, that rejection is working for our good in our lives.   To be rejected means to be refused, declined, or turned down.  It's hard to believe that people will refuse God's love, turn down God's love, and decline God's love but they do.  Jesus experienced rejection throughout His life here on earth and so shall we.   The thing is, Jesus knew how to respond when He was rejected.    The Bible says in John 1:11 that He came to His own, and yet they rejected Him.   So we shouldn't be surprised when we experience rejection.   The rejection Jesus experienced did not cause Him to stop walking in and fulfilling the will of God.  So just because you experience rejection, it is not an excuse for you to stop doing what God has told you to do.  

Worship For Today ... 

"I Will Run"

Ministered By Freddy Rodriguez

I Will Run - Freddy Rodriguez. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTNjM3UnX3I

   

It's Time To Be Weaned From The Ways of The World and To Walk In Spiritual Awareness (August 30, 2015)

There are times when you have to quiet your mind, your will, and your emotions.    We have to wean ourselves from the things we have been dependent upon in the world and we have to attach ourselves to the things of God.   To wean means to detach from a source of dependence.   What is it that you have been dependent upon?    What or who has been your source of support?   Has it been God or is your reliance in what you can see, feel, touch and taste.  Those things that are based on your physical senses rather thank your spiritual awareness of God's Word and will for your life.   

Just as a baby switches over from nursing or a bottle to actual food, it's time for us to make the switch.   It's time for us to let go of the things of the world and to lean and rely on God and His Word.   It's time to be weaned and its time to allow our lives to be quieted and comforted by water of God's Word.  

SCRIPTURE MEDITATION
Psalm 131
King James Version (KJV)

131 Lord, my heart is not haughty, nor mine eyes lofty: neither do I exercise myself in great matters, or in things too high for me.

2 Surely I have behaved and quieted myself, as a child that is weaned of his mother: my soul is even as a weaned child.

3 Let Israel hope in the Lord from henceforth and for ever.

WORSHIP FOR TODAY ...

"Let Go Let God"

Ministered By Dwayne Woods

 

What Are You Contemplating, Planning, Aiming, and Purposing In Your Heart? (August 28, 2015)

What is your heart's intent?  What is it that you are intending to do in your heart?   To intend means to contemplate, plan, aim, and purpose.   What are you purposing in your heart?  What is it that you are contemplating?  The book of Jeremiah talks about the heart being deceitful.   When something is deceitful, it is misleading and being misled causes you to go astray.   To seek after and to sometimes lust after things that are not truly a part of God's plan for your life.    We have to be like David and ask God to cleanse our heart and to renew a right spirit within us.      We have to stay in God's Word and understand that it is quick, powerful, and sharper than a two-edged sword.    We have to let God's Word discern our thoughts and our intentions.   

Jeremiah 17:9 - The heart [is] deceitful above all [things], and desperately wicked: who can know it?

Psalms 51:10 - Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.

Hebrews 4:12 - For the word of God [is] quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and [is] a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

So don't be led by what you think or what you feel.  Be led by God and His Word.   Have faith in God's Word and not your feelings.   Line your thoughts up with God's God's Word and not Your personal desires.

Worship For Today ...

"Create In Me A Clean Heart"

Ministered By Misty Edwards and Lauren Holmes

Misty Edwards & Lauren Holmes - Create In Me A Clean Heart. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_6QyIEWpGA

Are You Walking In Contingent Obedience or Is Your Obedience Based On Your Love For God and Not Just Having Your Wants Fulfilled?

Do you have contingent obedience?   When something is contingent, it is dependent on something else.  Are you telling God if he does something for you, you will obey Him or you will follow Him completely.   Our obedience should not be contingent upon God's blessing.   Understand, God will bless our obedience but we should not be making His blessings are requirement for us to obey.    For some reason, we get it confused.   We go to God and ask things of God and we tell Him if He will do it, what we will do.   Whereas, we should be obeying Him JUST BECAUSE HE IS GOD.   

To obey means to comply with the command, direction, and request of someone.   It means to submit to authority.   It's time for us to surrender and to submit.   When you surrender, you stop resisting.   You accept and cooperate with the Word and the will of God.    In other words, you begin to work with God which opens up the door for God to bless your life.  

So don't walk in contingent obedience.   Obey God because you love Him.   Obey God because you trust Him.   Obey God just because He is God.  

WORSHIP FOR TODAY ...

"I Will Obey"

Ministered By Shekinah Glory

Prophetic Song, "I Will Obey". (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aMkIzCJyZxw

Understanding God Is Our Advocate and His Grace Is Sufficient For Us (August 23, 2015)

God's grace is sufficient.   The word sufficient means enough and adequate.    In other words, it meets the need of your situation.   We have to understand that God's grace is His unmerited favor towards man.  In other words, we don't deserve His grace and yet He extends His grace to us anyway.     How sweet it is to be loved by God!

In life we get bogged down with accomplishments and accolades.   We work on jobs trying to accomplish and exceed our goals so that we can recognized or acknowledged  by man and when they don't recognize us or promote us, we get upset wondering how they could overlook us.   It's not that way with God.  We don't have to earn His grace because He extends His grace to us and His mercy is renewed for us every day.   

As we walk in obedience to God's Word and His will, we have to understand that His grace IS sufficient.   Another word for favor is advocate.   Understand, God is your advocate and He will support you.   A support is something that bears the weight of something else and keeps it upright.    So as you walk in the grace of God, learn how to lean on Him and let Him bear the weight of your situation so that You can remain upright in Him.  

Ephesians 2:8-9 (KJV)

⁸ For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
⁹ Not of works, lest any man should boast.

WORSHIP FOR TODAY ...

"Grace and Mercy"

Ministered By Mississippi Mass Choir 

REFERENCE/CITATION:  

"Grace And Mercy" - Mississippi Mass Choir. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mxz-c8MLAoU&list=PLDl2UIhDEkEtFvO5tEAUH5Jrm1tP6nXhK

Faith Says God Will and It Stands, Trusts, and Continues To Trust In God's Word No Matter How The Situation Is Looking ... It's Time To Stop Walking In Optional Faith (August 20, 2015)

Make it a point to not use the word "but" as you stand and stay in faith today.   We have a tendency to add on to our words of faith.   We will say, "God will do it" and then we tack on the word "but" and say "but if He doesn't it will be okay".   Learn how to leave your declaration of faith at the point of saying God will do it.   The word but gives an option and we should not have optional faith.  Let your trust, hope, and belief be totally and fully in God.   If for some reason your situation turns out differently than what you are believing God for, just know that God has a plan and His plan is working it all together for your good.  

The word faith means to have complete trust and confidence in someone or something.   When we walk in faith, we need to be completely trusting and relying on the God's power and His ability to do what He has said.   One thing we need to always remember is that our faith should always be in line with God's Word.   We have to understand that God moves based on who He is and what He has said in His Word.   God's Word reveals to us His will and everything that we are trusting and believing God for, should be in line with His Word and His Will. 

SCRIPTURE MEDITATION
Mark 11:22
And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God.

WORSHIP FOR TODAY...

"Give Me Faith"

Ministered By Elevation Worship 

Have You Surrendered or Have You Made God Your Opponent By Resisting His Authority? - August 18, 2015

Have you surrendered?   Have you given it all to God?   To surrender means to cease resistance to an enemy or opponent and to submit to authority.    The first thing we must realize is that God is not our enemy and He is not our opponent.  An opponent is someone who opposes you.   We tend to make God our opponent because of our desire to walk according our flesh and not according to His Spirit.   We have to learn how to cease and to resist.    To cease means to stop and to resist means to withstand the effect of something.    In other words, to endure and to stand.  

It's time to surrender and to submit.   It's time to start following the desires of the Spirit and not the lusts of our flesh.   A desire is a strong feeling of wanting something.    It is the desire of the Spirit to please the Father and it is the desire of the flesh to please self.   We have to stop being self motivated or should we say selfish.   It's time to be God motivated.   It's time to completely surrender.   In other words, it's time to stop resisting God so that we can submit completely and fully to His authority.   

SCRIPTURE MEDITATION

Galatians 5:16-17

¹⁶ [This] I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.
¹⁷ For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.

WORSHIP FOR TODAY ...

"I Give Myself Away"

Ministered By William McDowell 

 

Are You Trying To Do It On Your Own or Are You Allowing God To Lead You Through The Processes of Life?

What are you "trying" to do?    To try means to make an effort to accomplish something.  What is it that you are trying to accomplish?  Are you trying to do it on your own or are you allowing God to lead you through the processes of life.   A process is a series of actions or steps that are taken to accomplish a particular result or end.    What result are you looking for?   Are you looking to glorify, magnify, and to please the Father or are you looking for self satisfaction and gratification?   

It matters!  Everything we do matters to God.   He sees all and He knows all.   He loves us.   Understand, when you love someone, you care about what they do and the outcome of their situations.    God loves us!  So know and understand, everything that we have been through and are going through matters to God.  Stop thinking He doesn't care because you are going through because He does.    He is faithful and He is our deliverer.   It is His desire to do things for us, in us, and through us but it's up to us to yield to Him and to surrender to Him.  It's up to us to follow Him and to wait on Him.    We have to stop trying to do things on our own.   We belong to God and it is His desire to lead us through every process in our lives.

SCRIPTURE MEDITATION

Psalm 25:5 

King James Version (KJV)

⁵ Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day.

WORSHIP FOR TODAY ... 

"Lead Me"

Ministered By Sanctus Real

Sanctus Real - Lead Me (Official Music Video). (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLr6G8Xy5uc

Are You Standing Still and Staying In Faith or Are You Cowering in Fear?

What if it doesn't happen?  What if it doesn't work out the way "you" have planned?    Will you still trust God and believe God?  Will you still stand and stay in faith or will you cower and give up?   To cower means to crunch down in fear.   We have to learn how to stand on and under the word of God.   We have to realize that the word of God is a strong foundation and a shield of protection.   

Understand ... LIFE HAPPENS and in life we will encounter both good and bad.   We have to learn how to respond to life instead of reacting to it.   Reactions are based on feelings and emotions.  Whereas, responses are based on knowledge and understanding.    We have to learn how to respond based on our knowledge and understanding of who God is and what He has said.    Our emotions fluctuate, which in turn can cause our faith to fluctuate if we are living a reactionary life.   

It's time to trust God and to believe God.   We have to stay in God's Word so that we can be full of His Word, so that when situations come against our lives, we will already have knowledge and understanding and be able to give a word response to our situation and not cower in fear.    

SCRIPTURE MEDITATION
Isaiah 41:10
Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.

Worship For Today ...

"I Will Stand"

Ministered By New Creation Church

 

REFERENCE:   I Stand In Worship (with lyrics) - New Creation Church. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=11&v=iAiNeaH4_8o

Learning How To Exchange Our Fear for Faith Because God Has Not Given Us A Spirit of Fear

It's easy to "say" what you won't do but following up your words with the appropriate actions is sometimes a challenge.   Peter was a prime example in the Bible.   He told Jesus that He would never deny Him and yet He did.   It wasn't because he didn't love Jesus because he did.   It wasn't because he didn't know Jesus because he did.   He just allowed fear to influence his decision.    

Fear comes from feeling threatened or intimidated.    We always have to remember that God said that He did not give us a spirit of fear.  So if "He" did not give us the spirit of fear, we know where fear comes from.   We have to take the knowledge that God has given us in saying what He has not done and couple it with the fact that we are to cast down everything that exalts itself against the knowledge of God and begin to cast down fear.  

God said in His Word for us to be still and to know that He is God.    So no matter what is coming against your life, remember God is still God and He cannot be defeated.   Convert your fear to faith.   When something is converted, an exchange takes place.   We have to learn how to exchange our fear for faith.  Fear is rooted in doubt and faith is rooted in trusting and believing that God will honor His Word.

2 Timothy 1:7
For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.  

Isaiah 41:10
Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. 

2 Corinthians 10:5
Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;

WORSHIP FOR TODAY ...

 "Whom Shall I Fear"

Ministered By Chris Tomlin

REFERENCE:  

Whom Shall I Fear [God of Angel Armies] [Lyrics]. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOkImV2cJDg

Are You Speaking To The Situations In Your Life "On Purpose With Purpose"?

You have to learn how to speak peace to the storms in your life.    It's not about waiting until you can't handle it anymore and then calling on God.   It's about knowing the power and the authority that He has placed within you.   It's about knowing the indwelling of His Spirit that is inside of you.   It's time to start speaking.    To speak means talk to in order to reprove or advise.   What are you reproving in your life?   When you reprove something, you reprimand it and you rebuke it.   You speak with authority.    We have to understand the power of our words. 

So often in life we use words randomly and carelessly.   When you do something randomly, you don't have a specific aim, pattern, or purpose to what you are doing.   We have to stop being careless with our words.   When we are careless, we are doing things without giving heed or thought to what we are doing.    God wants us to speak "on purpose with purpose".   We need to know what we are saying and why we are saying it.   We need to know the power that is backing our words of faith.   When you begin to speak on purpose with purpose, you will begin to see things change.   Start speaking in faith, knowing that God's power is backing your words that are in line with His Word.  

SCRIPTURE MEDITATION

Job 22:28
Thou shalt also decree a thing, and it shall be established unto thee: and the light shall shine upon thy ways.

Worship For Today ...

"Words"

Ministered By Hawk Nelson

Hawk Nelson: Words (Official Lyric Video). (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anVweXDcxhA

Learning How To Rest In God Even While Enduring Hardness ...

Sometimes its hard.   It's hard to stand still.   It's hard to believe when everything seems to be going in the opposite direction of what you have been praying for.   It's hard when you feel as though you are being hit on every side.   But we are to endure hardness.   To endure means to suffer patiently.  It means to persist and to survive.  The only way that we can go through suffering patiently is if we have hope.  Romans 5:5 tells us that hope does not make us ashamed.   So when you suffer patiently in hope for God to move in your life, God will not let you be put to shame.   

It's time to stand strong in God and His Word.   For He said in our weakness, He is strong.  God said in that He would increase our strength when we are  tired.    We can't keep letting go and giving up when we are weary.  We have to stay in position and learn how to "rest" in God.   When you think about an arm "rest", you understand it is an object that is used to support your arm.   We have to take "resting" to that level and understand that God and His Word are there to "support" us.   To support means to bear all or part of the weight of something and to hold it up.   Learn how to "rest" in and on God and His Word.   Let Him bear the weight of your burden and let Him hold you up.  

2 Timothy 2:3

Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.

Isaiah 40:29 

He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength.

Worship For Today ...

"You Are My Hiding Place"

Ministered By Marantha

 REFERENCE:   You Are My Hiding Place - Maranatha! (Cover) with Lyrics. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4UlkrMh9RAc

Understanding That God Is Not Limited To What We Think ... Understanding That He Has Not Changed for What He Did For His People In The Bible, He Will Still Do For You ...

It's not about what you thought.   It's all about what God said.   So often in life we "think" we know what our outcome will be and then we get disappointed when we don't see what we thought.   We have to understand that God is not limited to doing things the way we think they should be done.   God is not limited to our timetable nor our way of doing things.   He is an all powerful, supernatural God.   He specializes in doing the unexpected in our lives.   He makes a point of going beyond our thoughts and our expectations.    So we have to stop limiting our limitless God.  

Take time to expand your perception of who God is.   Meditate on His Word.   Grab hold of the scriptures that reveal His supernatural ability.   Scriptures that show that He can do exceedingly and abundantly above all we can think or ask.   Understanding that our thoughts are limited.   We can only think on what we know.   Knowledge is developed through observation and information.  Take time to observe who God is.  Take time in His Word to learn more about what He has done so that you can have an understanding for what He can and will do.    Meditate on the scriptures where He healed, set free, delivered, and provided for His people.  Understand, God has NOT changed.    What He did for His people in the Bible, He will still do for you.   He is not a respecter of persons.  He loves us all and He specializes in deliverance.    Trust Him, Believe Him, and walk in obedience to His Word.    

WORSHIP FOR TODAY ...

"How He Loves Us"

Ministered By Kim Walker-Smith Jesus Culture 

CITATION/REFERENCE:   

How He Loves Us - Jesus Culture & Kim Walker Smith w/ Lyrics. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=23&v=XjgSMNYy2RI

Understanding God's Timetable Is Not Based On Our Emotions ...

God's ways are not our ways and His timing is not our timing.   God's plan is perfect and we have to settle that in our minds, our will, and our emotions.  We get so caught up in what we think about things, what we want to do in certain situations, and how we feel that we fail to realize that God's plan is not based on any of those things.    God's plan was set in place before the foundation of the world.   We have to understand that a plan is a detailed proposal for doing or achieving something.    Isn't it awesome to know that God chose You to be a part of His plan for achieving His purpose here on earth.     He specifically wrote you into His plan and that should alleviate any questions you may have about why you are here.

Understand God's timetable.   His timing is based on His timetable and not our emotions or our distress.   The word distress is defined as extreme anxiety or pain.    Because God knows the beginning to the end, you can rest assured that He has set everything you will ever  need in life in place but it is according to His timetable and not when we think we need it.   He knows what is best for us and He has promised to work everything in our lives together for our good.  So learn how to wait, trust, and believe that God will come through for you and deliver you at His perfect time.

WORSHIP FOR TODAY ...

"I Know The Plans"

Ministered By Martha Munizzi

REFERENCE:  

I KNOW THE PLANS - Martha Munizzi / Powerful Worship Songs. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EE8ZhgutlJo

 

  

Are You Trusting In The Fact That God Is Fully Committed To Helping You Through Every Phase Of Your Life?

Life does not always bring with it what you want or what you expect.    There are many twists and turns that come with life but you have to trust God.   You have to trust God to make a way where there appears to be no way.   You have to trust God to work it out.   You have to trust God to honor His Word in Your life.   

Commitment is a hard thing.   We make commitments to people.  We commit to go places.   We even commit to things.   However, commitment is not always easy.   To be committed means to be dedicated and devoted regardless of the restrictions it imposes.     It means to be loyal and to be faithful.    A lot of times in life, we start off fully committed and lose our sense of commitment as time goes by but not God.   God is fully committed to us and we need to be fully committed to Him and we need to be committed to the people, places, and things that "He" has placed in our lives.    

If you have messed up and failed to be totally and completely committed to God and the people, places, and things that He has placed in your life, ask for forgiveness.   Remember His mercy is renewed every day!    You can't change your past.   You can't change how you have handled the situations in your life.   But you can ask God to strengthen you and to help you to know what is right, to do what is right, and to commit to what is right from this day forward.   

Again, life is not always easy and it does not always bring what is expected but God is always faithful.   He knows all, sees all, and knows your response beforehand.    Yet He loves you, cares for you, and is ready and willing to help you because He is committed to helping you through every phase of your life.  

WORSHIP FOR TODAY ... 

"Forgive Me"

Ministered By Nicole C. Mullen

REFERENCE:  

Forgive Me - Nicole C Mullen (Lyrics). (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=14&v=QjrNhi36vLU

Are You Pressing Beyond The Pressures and The Pleasures of Life In Order To Move Forward With God? (August 2, 2015)

There are so many things in life that will try to stop you.  Whether it be people, places, or things, you have to make up in your mind that you are going to press beyond the pressures and "pleasures" of life in order to move forward with God.   

Pressure can be defined as the use of persuasion, influence, or intimidation to make someone do something.  What's pressuring you?   What is persuading and influencing you to seek "alternatives" outside of God's Word and His will.    To be intimidated means to be filled with fear.   Who or what is causing you to walk in fear of not doing something instead of in faith and doing what God has said?

When we look at the word pleasure, we understand that pleasure is a happy feeling of satisfaction and enjoyment.   The Bible says that God has pleasure in the prosperity of His people.  We have to understand that prosperity goes far beyond money.   The Bible speaks of "whole life" prosperity.  Wellness in every area of our lives.  The word prosperous is defined as strong and healthy in growth.   We need to have a prosperous thought life, a prosperous body, and a prosperous spiritual life.   We need to be strong and healthy in every part of our lives.   So we have to stop seeking pleasure and peace by means of money, people, places, or things.   It does no good to have money and to be sick in your body.   It does no good to have money and not know who you are in God.   It does no good to have money and to be dead spiritually.    The same holds true with people, places, and things.   True and everlasting satisfaction and joy can only come from God.

So don't get stopped or stuck by the pressures or the pleasures of life.  MOVE FORWARD WITH GOD!   Amen 

WORSHIP FOR TODAY ...

"You Are My Hiding Place"

Ministered By Selah

REFERENCE:  

You Are My Hiding Place - Selah ( With Lyrics). (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dR0H0tAYT8

It's Time To Step Out Of Preconceptions and To Trust God Fully ... (August 1, 2015)

Stepping out is not always easy to do.   When you step out, it means you are going outside of your preconceived borders.   When something is preconceived, it is an opinion or idea that has been formed before having the evidence for its truth or usefulness.    It is based on assumption.   How often do we assume that we have safety in people, places, and things and eventually end up disappointed or confused when what we see as a safety net fails to be so?

It's time to step out of our preconceptions and to trust God completely and totally with our lives.   It's time to step out and walk in faith concerning every aspect of our lives.    It's time to move forward in life and to stop allowing our past outcomes to keep us restrained in our thinking, acting, and trusting.   Our thinking has to be based on God's Word for us to step out fully and confidently.  We have to know that He said for us to keep our minds stayed on Him and He will keep us in perfect peace.    We have to know that everything we do in word or deed, we are to do all of it in the name of Jesus.   We also have to know that we are to trust God completely and fully and we are not to lean to our own understanding.  

SCRIPTURE MEDITATION

Isaiah 26:3

Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.

Colossians 3:17 

And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by Him.  

Proverbs 3:5-6

⁵ Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

⁶ In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

WORSHIP FOR TODAY ...

"I Believe"

Ministered By James Fortune & FIYA

REFERENCE:  

"I Believe" - James Fortune & FIYA featuring Zacardi Cortez & Shawn McLemore.flv. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KwmnHNuwsjs

Are You Stopping The Right Thing ... NEVER Stop Believing, Hoping, and Trusting In God!

What does it mean to stop?   To stop means to halt, end, finish, and to come to a standstill.    The real question is what are you stopping.  Have you stopped trusting God?   Have you stopped believing?   Have you stopped seeking His will, His purpose, and His plan?   What exactly have you stopped? Have you stopped going outside of God's Word to find fulfillment?   Have you stopped telling untruths?  The real question is, "what have you stopped"?

Stopping is not a bad thing.  There are many things in life that we need to stop doing but the question is, are we stopping the right things.   So often in life when things don't go the way we plan, our first tendency is to question God.   We ask God why and then when we don't understand, the first thing we do is let go of our faith, hope, and trust in Him.   We have to understand that God is the one unchanging factor in our lives.   Even when our lives appear to be constantly changing, God does not change.   We should never stop believing, hoping, and trusting in God and His Word! 

WORSHIP FOR TODAY ...

"Don't Ever Stop"

Ministered By Israel & New Breed

REFERENCE: 

Israel Houghton - Don't Ever Stop @ Lakewood Church. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TrWE4C2w4U0