Are You Taking God's Word As Final Authority and Are You Reminding Him Of His Promises?

There may be times when you feel all alone but you have to know that God said that He is with you at all times.   He has promised to never leave you and to never forsake you.    To leave means to go away from someone or something whether temporarily or permanently.   It means to depart.   God has already said that He is not going to go away from us.   He said that there is nothing that could ever separate us from His love.  

We have to learn how to trust God and to take God at His Word.    If God said it in His Word, we have to learn how to take His Word as final authority.   We also have to learn how to remind God of His Word.   He said in the book of Isaiah, to plead your cause and to put Him in remembrance of His promises.    We have to settle in our mind that "it is so" if God said it and everything that is coming up in your heart and mind "is not so" if it goes against what God has said.

The Bible is filled with the promises of God.   We have to lay hold of those promises and trust and believe in what God has already said.    Our faith has to be anchored on the promises of God.

SCRIPTURE MEDITATION

Romans 10:17

So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

What Are You Highlighting About Your Life and Are You Trusting God To Work Everything In Your Life Together For Your Good?

What will you choose to highlight about your life?  Will  you choose to highlight the good by giving God praise so that He will get the glory or will you choose to highlight the bad by murmuring and complaining?   The choice is yours.    We choose what we want people to see.   

Even when we choose to highlight the bad, we can still choose to highlight it in a way that says that we trust God and we believe God.    We ought to highlight our lives as one that is totally surrendered.   As one that trusts God "no matter what".    One of the things we must all learn how to do is what the Bible says in Philippians 4:12.   We must learn how to be abase and how to abound.  

When you are abase, you are of a humble and of a lower rank.   You may be in a place where others may try to degrade you but it doesn't affect you because you know God is with you just as He is with you when you abound with blessings.    When you have learned how to be abase and how to abound, it doesn't change your trust and belief in God no matter which state you are in.  

We have to understand that it is not just our good moments that God will use in our lives.   We have to know that His Word says that He will work everything in our lives together for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.   You have to know that you are called according to God's purpose and you have to know that no matter what is happening in your life right now, God will take it and work it together for your good.  

SCRIPTURE MEDITATION

Philippians 4:12

I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.

Are You Walking In Confidence Knowing That God Will Do What He Said He Would Do?

Are you sure?   To be sure means to be confident in what you think and what you know.   It means to have no doubt?   Understand, in order to walk in faith, you have to be sure.  

You have to be sure of who God is and who you are in Him.   You have to know that You are His child and that He is watching over you.   You have to know that He will keep you, shield you, provide for you, and protect you.   You have to be to sure.

In order to be sure, you have to constantly and consistently cast down fear.   You have to undergird yourself with the Word of God because it is the promises of God.    Again, you have to be sure.   

SCRIPTURE MEDITATION

1 John 5:13

These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.

Are You Looking At Your Brokenness or Are You Looking At The Healer? Knowing That God Will Make Beauty Out Of What You See As The Ashes Of Your Life ...

As I sit here looking out the window, I see where most of the leaves have fallen off the trees.   I see the birds flying and I can see the sun coming up and the light from the sun is shining in the midst of the trees.   Even though the trees have lost their leaves, they still stand strong and beautiful.   Even though its not Spring or Summer, there are still birds flying around and making their abode in the trees and even though the season has changed and there are no longer green leaves on the trees, the sun is still shining. 

What are you seeing as you look out of your window of life?   Are you just seeing and saying what you don't have anymore.   Are you caught on what you feel is missing or have you learned to look at the beauty of what is still there.   There may be people who are no longer walking with you but understand, God has never left you.    There may be things you used to have in life that you count as lost but understand, God is able to restore what has been lost and give you more.    There may be areas in your life where you feel broken and in so much pain but understand, the Bible says that the "Sun of Righteousness" shall arise with healing in His wings and He will take away the brokenness, heal you, and deliver you.

You have to see your life as God sees it.   You have to stop looking at the brokenness and look at the Healer.   You have to know that He is well able to take care of you and that He will make beauty out of what you see as the ashes of your life.   

SCRIPTURE MEDITATION

Malachi 4:2

King James Version (KJV)

But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall.

Isaiah 61:1-3

King James Version (KJV)

61 The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;

² To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;

³ To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified.

Are You Choosing To Trust God and To Follow Him?

What's next?   The choice is yours.   You choose which way you will go from here.   Will you follow God?   Will you commit fully to His Word and His Will for your life?   Will you be the vessel He created you to be or will you live your life to please others?

We are at the end of 2016 and it is the time where people actually starting thinking about the changes they want to make in life.  We don't have to wait to the end of any year to start making changes.  This very moment is a new moment given to you by God and it is a divine opportunity to make any necessary changes you need to make in life.

God loves you.   He cares for you.   He watches over you and it is His desire to bless you beyond measure but He has left everything up to you.   He has given  you the power and the ability to choose Him first.   He wants you to love Him as He unconditionally loves you.   He wants you to care about Him.   When you care for someone or something, you attach importance to it.    It becomes more a priority to you.  

So what will you do next?   Will you follow God?   Will you trust Him?   Will you exalt His name in the earth?   Will you live your life in a way that is pleasing to Him?   Again, the choice is yours.

SCRIPTURE MEDITATION

Joshua 24:15

King James Version (KJV)

And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.

What Are You Doing The Other 364 Days In The Year ... Are You Magnifying and Celebrating The Savior Every Day?

There are 365 days in a year and today is the day that the world celebrates as Christmas.   The question is, what are you doing the other 364 days in the year.   Are you walking in faith or are you abiding in fear?   Are you lifting Jesus up or are you magnifying your problems?    Are you giving the gift of love or are people around you constantly feeling your hurt, pain, and disappointment.    We have to understand that Christ did not come for one day.   The whole purpose behind the birth of Christ is for us to have eternal life.  

Let's not get caught up in the one day celebration.   Let's understand that every day is a gift.   Every day is filled with God's love, grace, and mercy.   Every day is an opportunity that we have been given to reflect who God is and to share what He has done in our lives.   Again, the question is, what are we doing with each day we have been given.

God's love is unending.   It surpasses all we could ever hope for and it never changes.   God doesn't love us one day and hate us the next.   His love looks beyond our sin and it covers us, keeps us, shields us, and protect us.

It was because of God's love for us that He sent His Son to die for us.   There is no greater love and there is no greater gift that have ever or will ever be given.    We should make sure that our celebration of Christ goes beyond one day in the year.    Every day that we live, breathe, and have our being, should be a celebration of who Christ is and what He has done for us.

SCRIPTURE MEDITATION 

 Isaiah 9:6

King James Version (KJV)

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

Are You Constantly Looking At The Old Scars From What Was An Open Wound In Your Life or Are You Allowing God To Heal The Hurt Of Your Past?

Old scars from open wounds.   That is what some of us are looking at.   We still see the scar that came from an open wound.   An open wound is a result of an injury that is caused by an external or internal break.    When something breaks, it causes an interruption and it separates into pieces as a result of a blow, shock, or strain.

Sometimes our lives can take hard blows.   There are times when we will experience shock and there are times when things will be strenuous.   It all boils down to how do we handle the pressures of life.   How do we handle the hard blows?   Those things that are unexpected and that seem to take the life out of us.   How do we handle the strain and the pressure that comes with sickness, disease, and lack?   Are we entering into a place of peace knowing that God has promised to take care of us or are we walking in worry, doubt, and disbelief?    How are we handling losing loved ones or people turning their back on us?   Are we truly surrendering all to God or are we allowing these situations in our lives to break us and to inflict us to the point where we have open wounds?   

The thing about some wounds is that even after the wound has healed, there is a scar that is a constant reminder of the hurt and the pain that you experienced.   A scar is a mark or indicator that something has happened.    It "marks the spot" and reminds you of the situation.   

In the natural, there are creams and remedies that can be applied to try to reduce the appearance of a scar.   We have to understand that in order for us to heal without scars from the hurt in our lives, we have to apply God's Word.   We have to trust Him to heal us completely and to take away the constant reminders of our pain.   

SCRIPTURE MEDITATION 

Psalms 71:20-21

 You who have made me see many troubles and calamities will revive me again; from the depths of the earth you will bring me up again. You will increase my greatness and comfort me again

Are You Being Strong In The Lord and The Power Of His Might? Are You Standing and Staying In Faith Regardless Of How Things Appear To Be?

Faith says God is able.   Fear says it may not happen.   What are you walking in?   Are you walking in faith or are you walking in fear?  

We have to make sure we are staying in faith.   It is easy to look at the world and to begin to walk in fear.   But you have to know that you know that you know that God is in control.   God told us in His Word to fear not.   He told us to have faith in Him.   He said to trust Him.  

If you are going to trust God, you must first believe His Word is true.   You must believe that He is well able to do all that He has said He would do.  You have to know that God is faithful and all He wants is for you to be full of faith.    Jesus said in the book of Mark that we are to have faith in God and the book of Luke says with God, nothing shall be impossible.  

So now is the time for us to be strong in the Lord and the power of His might.   We have to stand and stay in faith no matter how things appear to be.   We have to know that God hears us and He knows every need of our lives.   We have to believe that because God knows every need of our lives, He will honor His Word and be faithful and just to provide us with those things we have need of.  

SCRIPTURE MEDITATION 

Psalms 46:10 

Be still, and know that I [am] God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.

Do You Have Intermittent Trust or Are You Trusting God Through and With Every Part Of Your Life?

Will you choose to trust God?   No matter what is going on in your life, WILL YOU TRUST HIM?    When your body is sick, will you trust Him?   When you don't have the money that you feel you need, will you trust Him?   When friends turn their back on you, will you trust Him?   When you lose a loved one, will you trust Him?    

Are you picking and choosing your times of trust or are you trusting God with and through it all?    There should not be intermittent times of trust.   The word intermittent means to occur on irregular intervals.   It is something that is not continuous or steady.   It is broken and fragmented.    When something is fragmented, it is broken and incomplete.  

God wants you to have complete trust and reliance in Him.   When your complete trust and reliance is in and on God, your life will be complete.   Your hope will be in Him.   Your peace will be in what He has said to be true.   So when issues come up in your life like the need for healing or financial needs, you will automatically turn things over to God and trust Him to work everything out for your good.  

Choose to trust God.   Choose to believe that by Jesus stripes you are healed.   Choose to trust God to bring forth the financial provision you have need of.   Trust that He is with you when everyone else abandons you.  

SCRIPTURE MEDITATION 

Romans 4:18-21

King James Version (KJV)

18 Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be.

19 And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah's womb:

20 He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God;

21 And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.   

Are You Making The Choice To Stay In Faith and To Respond Based On Your Knowledge Of Who God Is?

Don't be dismayed.  When you are dismayed, you are dismayed, you are shocked and disheartened.   When you are disheartened, you lose your determination and your confidence.    Never lose your confidence in God.    You have to understand, when situations come up in your life, God is still God.   God is all-powerful and all-knowing.   He is well able to work out every situation in your life. 

Dismayal comes to steal away your faith.   It comes to change your action and to cause you to react rather than respond.    When things happen in our lives, we have a choice to either react or we can respond.    Remember, we react based on emotion and we respond based on knowledge.   We have to choose to respond based on our knowledge of who God is and what we know He will do for us, in us, and through us.  

Make the choice today to stay in faith.   Make the choice to respond based on your knowledge of who God is and what you KNOW He will do.   Make the choice today remain hopeful and to be confident.  Make the choice today to trust God no matter what is going on in your life.  

SCRIPTURE MEDITATIONIsaiah 41:10
King James Version (KJV)
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.

Are You Staying Focused On The One That Does Not Change and Yet He Can Change All Things?

What are you looking at and what are you focused on?   It's good to see all that is going on around you but at the same time you have to see it in the right perspective.   Your perspective is your point of view.   It is your attitude or your way of regarding something.    What we tend to do is look at people, places, and things and we form an opinion based on what we see.    We have to stop doing that.   We have to begin to form our opinions based on what God said and not what we see.

What we have to understand is the fact that what we see is subject to change.   During the course of a day, our surroundings change from daylight to nighttime.    In the process of cooking a meal, food changes from being raw to being well done.   UNDERSTAND ... THINGS CHANGE.   Situations change and we have to keep our eyes on the One that does not change and yet He is able to change all things.   God and His Word NEVER changes.   Yet His promise in His Word is that He would work all things together in our lives for our good.  He has the ability to change what what we see as bad and make something good come out of it.

Keep your eyes on God and stay focused on what He has said in His Word.   When you are focused on something, you pay particular attention to it.   One definition of focus is adapt to the prevailing level of light and become able to see clearly.    God wants you to see this world and your life clearly through the light of His Word.

SCRIPTURE MEDITATION

1 Corinthians 13:11-13

King James Version (KJV)

11 When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.

12 For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.

13 And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.

What Are You Counting As Impossible In Your Life ... You Have To Understand That Nothing Is Impossible For God!

What is it that you are counting as impossible?   What is it that is going on in your life that you just don't know how to handle?   Have you considered the fact that with God, ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE?   Have you learned how to surrender all to Him?    Have you invited Him into your situation and are you trusting Him to work everything together for your good?    Or are you just walking in the fear of the unknown?    

Understand, God is God all by Himself.   He is all powerful and all knowing.   He can do all things and all He wants from you is to see Him, hear Him, obey Him, and trust Him.   Where is your faith?   Is your faith in your ability or in the ability of God?

It's time to fully trust God.   It's time to hear His voice and to obey His Word.   It's time to be still and to know that He is God all by Himself and He is well able to work every situation in your life together for your good.   It's time to wait on Him and to have complete faith in Him.

SCRIPTURE MEDITATION

Psalm 46:10

King James Version (KJV)

10 Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.

It's Time To Stop Designating What You Think Is A God Problem Compared To What You Think You Can Handle Yourself. It's Time To Surrender All...

Are you carrying the weight of worry?  When you worry, it means that you "give way" to anxiety or unease?  The definition also says that you "allow" your mind to dwell on difficulty or trouble.    It is interesting to see that in order for us to walk in worry, we first have to "give way" to it and "allow" our minds to dwell on it.    Instead of walking in worry, we must learn how to cast "all" of our care on God because He "cares" or should I say "takes care" of us.  

Worry brings with it tension, stress, nervousness, and fear.    Everything that is the opposite of faith and the peace of God.    We have to remember that the Bible tells us to fear not.   It says to rest in God.   It says to be anxious for nothing and it says to have faith in God.    We have to start doing what the Bible says and stop "giving way" for the enemy to work in our minds so that we can dwell on our difficulties and troubles instead of trusting God to deliver us.  

Make up your mind today to cast your care on God.   It all comes with surrendering all.   When you learn how to surrender all, you quit holding on to "stuff".   You quit trying to designate what is "a God problem" and what you think you can "handle yourself".    You learn how to give it all to God (withholding nothing).  

SCRIPTURE MEDITATION 1 Peter 5:7
King James Version (KJV)
7 Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.

Are You Allowing People To Dictate Your Emotions or Are You Staying Linked To The Word of God?

Are you allowing what others do to dictate your day?   Are you allowing your emotions to be tied to another persons actions?   It's hard not to but you have to begin to "link" your emotions to the Word of God.    Let your joy be based on what God has said.   The Bible says the joy of the Lord is our strength and we can't allow what others do or say to take away our strength in God.

The thing is, people will be people.   They will do and say what they want to do and say and in most cases, they don't care how it affects the people around them.   In some cases, the actions of others are done specifically to "spite" others.  The word "spite" is defined as  a desire to hurt, annoy, or offend someone.  So understand, there are times when others desire to hurt you, annoy you, or to offend you. The questions is, will you be moved and/or motivated by their actions.

God is love and everything that He does is based on the fact that He loves us.   With God's love comes peace, joy, and strength.   God does not do things out of spitefulness.   His motivation comes from who and what He is and that is love.     A link is a relationship between two things or situations, especially where one thing affects the other.  We have to stay linked to God's Word and allow it to affect our attitude, actions, and response to the situations in our lives especially when it comes to the actions of others.  

Stay focused on God and let Him be the motivating factor in your life.

SCRIPTURE MEDITATIONColossians 3:23
And whatsoever ye do, do [it] heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;

Are You Allowing The Situations In Your Life To Speak So Loud That They Are Overriding The Voice Of God?

What happens when life gets loud?   When all you can think about is what is going on in your life and you hardly have time to think about God.   Understand, you have to override the thoughts of fear and worry with thoughts of peace based on your knowledge of God's power.  

It's easy to be overtaken by life.  It's easy to look at things from our perspective instead of taking God's view or should I say, a Godly view.    When we look at things from our perspective, we tend to think about what "we" can or cannot accomplish but when you look at things from a Godly perspective, you know, see, and realize that God is in control of whatever you feel is out of control.

You have to start seeing God in the midst of whatever you are encountering in life.   If you are encountering sickness and disease, you have to see Him as your healer.   If you are experiencing lack, you have to see Him as your provider.   If you have lost your joy, you have to find joy in the Word and will of God and know that the joy of the Lord is your strength.   

Never allow the situations in your life to get so loud that they override the voice of God in your life.   Remember, God is the still small voice but His voice and His Word should override everything and everyone that is speaking into your life.  

SCRIPTURE MEDITATION 

1 Kings 19:11-12

 King James Version (KJV)

¹¹ And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the Lord. And, behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake:

¹² And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.

Are You Seeking and Trusting God All The Time or Just In The Tough Times?

Are you trusting God with a little or are you trusting Him with the whole lot?  A lot is defined as a particular group, collection, or set of people or things.   What we tend to do is divide our lives into "lots".   The things we think we can handle and the things that we think we need God's help on.  What we have to understand is that we need God's help in every area of our lives.  

We have to make up in our minds that we are going to trust God in all things and with everything.   We have to understand that there is nothing that we can do without Him.   He is the very air that we breathe.     He's not just God in the "tough times".   He is God "all the time".  

The thing is, life brings with it trials, temptations, and sometimes, sickness and disease.    But God is our strength, our source, our healer, and our deliverer.   Even when there are things in our lives that we feel that we are capable of handling on our own, we still have to trust God for direction.   If He doesn't show us how to handle situations, there is always the possibility of us messing up or the temptation of of depending on ourselves instead of Him.

God is God all by Himself and He is well able to take care of every need in our lives.

SCRIPTURE MEDITATION    Isaiah 12:2
Behold, God [is] my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the LORD JEHOVAH [is] my strength and [my] song; He also is become my salvation.

Are You Accepting Defeat or Are You Reminding God Of His Promises To You?

What if all the time you were growing up, you watched your father work day in and day out to leave an inheritance for you and your siblings and when it came time for you to receive your inheritance, you were told that you couldn't have it.   Understand, the whole time you were growing up, your father what he had stored up for you and that it would be yours as long as you stayed in place to receive it.    What would you do if you knew that you had been obedient and had done everything your father had told you in order to receive your inheritance.   Would you just walk away from it because someone said you couldn't have it or would you take a stand for what you know your father sacrificed for you to have? 

It is the same with God.    God has said that we are joint heirs with Christ.   There is an inheritance that comes with being a child of God.    What are you doing and what are you saying when the enemy comes in like a flood and hinders you from receiving what Christ died for you to have?   Are you accepting defeat or are you standing on God's Word and reminding Him of His promises to you?  

It's time to STOP giving up.   It's time to STOP accepting defeat.   It's time to stand on God's Word and to speak for His promises.    It's time to walk in obedience so that you can receive your inheritance.

SCRIPTURE MEDITATIONIsaiah 43:26
King James Version (KJV)
Put me in remembrance: let us plead together: declare thou, that thou mayest be justified.

Are You Covering Up God's Goodness, Grace, Love, and Mercy By Failing To Tell Your Testimony?

How many times have you failed to tell your testimony because of fear of what others might think?   Whether you are testifying of what you have been through or whether you are testifying of what God has done for you.    Sometimes we get so conscious of what others think about us that we fail to share what God is doing for us, in us, and through us.

It's time to understand the purpose of our testimony.  God gives us a testimony so that we can testify.   It doesn't matter how others critique our testimony.  What matters is that we are testifying of God's goodness, grace, love, peace, and deliverance.  

Why hold in what God is doing for you?   Why cover up His goodness, grace, love, and mercy?   When someone critiques something, they review it and provide "their" analysis and their commentary on it.    They begin to walk in judgement of what God has done and is doing for you.   Understand, man is not qualified to judge you.   The Bible tells us to judge not, lest we be judged.  

It's time to walk in the fullness of what God has done for you.   It's time to share your testimony of deliverance.   Understand, there may be someone who is going through what you have been through and all they need to hear is about how God delivered you in order for them to know that He will deliver them also.    It's time to share how God is blessing you and restoring what has been lost.   There are many people who experience loss every day and all they need to hear is how God will restore and give them the exceedingly, abundantly, above all that they can think or ask.  

It's time to tell the world about God's goodness, love, grace, and mercy.   You should never be ashamed of what God is doing in you, through you, or for you.    

SCRIPTURE MEDITATIONPsalm 71:15-16

Amplified Bible (AMP)
15
My mouth shall tell of Your righteousness
And of Your [deeds of] salvation all day long,
For their number is more than I know.
16
I will come with the mighty acts of the Lord God [and in His strength];
I will make mention of Your righteousness, Yours alone.

What Are You Allowing To Motivate You and To Peak Your Curiosity? Your Desire For God Has To Be Stronger Than Your Desire For The Things In This World ...

What motivates you?   To motivate means to stimulate your interest or to cause you to be enthusiastic.   What is it that is stimulating your interest?   What is it that is causing you to be enthusiastic?   

Are you motivated by the Word and the will or God or are you stimulated by outside influences?    How much of what you do is based on what God has said and how much is based on what the world is doing and saying?  

You need to be God motivated.   Don't allow outside influences to stimulate your interests to the point that you override God's Word and will and begin to walk in disobedience.   Everything in the world is designed to peak your interest.   The houses, the cars, and the people are all presented in a way to intrigue you.   When you are intrigued, you become fascinated and full of curiosity.   When you are curious about something, you have a strong desire to know more about it.

The question then becomes, what is it that you are curious about?   Are you curious about the things of God?   Are you seeking to learn more about Him, His Word, and His Ways or are you curious about what is going on around you in the world?  

It's okay to be curious but you can't allow you curiosity to take you into disobedience.   The very thing that got Adam and Eve out of the will of God was that they allowed an outside voice (influence) peak their curiosity.   That outside influence intrigued them to the point of influencing them to step outside of the will of God into disobedience.  

SCRIPTURE MEDITATION 

Matthew 6:33

King James Version (KJV)

33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

Where Is Your Focus? Are You Dividing Your Attention Between The Ways of Man and The Word of God?

Are you feeling weak right now?   Are you feeling like you just can't go on or do you feel like you just don't know which way to go at this point?   Understand, God said in your weakness, He is strong.  He is ready to lead you, guide you, and show you the way that He has ordained for your life.  

Have you ever tried to complete a task when your weren't truly focused on what you were doing?   Where your thoughts were scattered and you had to keep repeating the same step over and over again.   That's how we tend to do with God.   We get scattered.   Our attention gets divided and we have to keep repeating the same steps of obedience over and over again.

That's not God's desire for us.   He doesn't want us to stay on the same level of faith forever.   He wants us to grow in faith.   He wants us to trust Him unconditionally.   He wants to to learn how to be still and to know that He is God.   But we can only do those things when we stay focused on who He is and what He has said.

Understand, God wants to strengthen you.   He wants to bless you and He wants to keep you.   He wants you to experience His peace and His power like never before.   All you have to do is stay focused by trusting Him and walking in obedience to His Word and His will for your life.  

SCRIPTURE MEDITATION 

Deuteronomy 5:33

Ye shall walk in all the ways which the Lord your God hath commanded you, that ye may live, and that it may be well with you, and that ye may prolong your days in the land which ye shall possess.

When Trials Come Up In Your Life, Which Way Does Your Mind Tend To Go?

How great is our God?   We tend to look at situations in our lives as impossible and the question is how great is our God?  

We have to remember that God "is" GREAT and God "is" GOOD!   There are no limitations with and in God.   He is well able to do whatever we need done in and through our lives. We have to remember that He is our Healer, our Deliverer, our Strength and our Portion.

Life may get hard sometimes and things may happen that we just don't understand but we have to remember that God is still God.   He is still on the throne but we have to allow Him to rule and reign in our hearts and minds.

When trials come up in your life, what is the first thing that you think about?   Do you think about what God has said or do you think  "how am I going to make it"?   When we ask the question, how we are going to make it, we are actually imparting doubt into our situation.   We have to have confidence and trust in the promises of God.  

Don't question God's ability by asking the question how.   Instead, have faith in His ability by standing on His Word and by waiting in expectation for Him to fulfill His promises in your life.

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

Are You Letting Today Be A Day Of Praise, Thanksgiving, and Expectation?

Let today be a day of praise.   A day where you worship God and you praise Him.   A day of thanksgiving.   Thanking Him for what He has done and is doing in and through your life.

Let today be a day where you walk in forgiveness so that you can be freed from the hurt of your past.    Let today be a day of triumph, where you walk in the victory you have been given.  

Let today be a day of expectation.   A day where you expect to see the promises of God come to pass in your life.

The word let means to not prevent or forbid.   It means to allow something to take place.    What is it that you have been preventing from taking place in your life?   Are you preventing yourself from walking in faith because you are constantly walking in fear?   Are you preventing healing from taking place because you are still walking in unforgiveness because of the things that others have done to you?   

It's time to let go and to let God have His way.    It's time to stop "forbidding" the blessings of God from coming into our lives.  Again, to forbid means to refuse to allow something to happen.  

God gave us this day and He filled it with His love, grace, and mercy.   What will you let this day be like in your life?   Will you praise God?   Will you thank Him?   Will you walk in forgiveness?   Will you wall triumphantly in the victory you have been given?   Will you walk in expectation of God promises being fulfilled in your life?    The choice is yours.

SCRIPTURE MEDITATION 

Psalm 37:7-9

⁷ Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass.

⁸ Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil.

⁹ For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the earth.

Are You Letting Your Faith Be Rooted and Grounded In God's Promises So That You Won't Walk In Doubt and Unbelief? Instead Of Saying "Time Will Tell", We Should Be Saying "Faith Will Tell" ...

Have you ever heard the expression "time will tell"?   Are you sitting and waiting on time to tell you the outcome of your situation?   What are you doing while you are sitting and waiting?   Are you trusting and believing or are you allowing doubt to enter into your thoughts?

Understand, it does matter what you do in the midst.  When you are in the midst of something, you are in the middle of it.   It matters what you do from the time you say you are trusting and believing God for something until the time it manifests.    You can't move off of your faith.   You can't stop trusting and believing.   You can't speak words of doubt.   You have to learn how to trust, believe, and wait on God through the entire process.  

Instead of saying time will tell, we need to say "faith will tell".   Let your faith tell the story of what you are believing God for.   Let your faith be rooted and grounded in the promises of God so that no matter what is going on around you, it won't push into the place where you begin to walk in doubt and unbelief.  

SCRIPTURE MEDITATION 

Mark 11:22

“And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God.” 

Understanding It's Time To Stop Walking In Fear and Doubt and To Move Forward With God ...

This is it!   Today is the day!   Today is the day for you to walk fully in faith.  Today is the day for you to fear not and to doubt not.   Today is the day for You to trust God and to yield to Him completely.   Today is the day!

It's time to move forward with God.   It's time to stop walking in fear and in doubt.   It's time to yield and it's time to trust God for every need in your life.  

God has said for us to fear not because He is with us.   He has said to trust in Him and to believe in Him.   He has said for us to have faith and to doubt not.   It is time for us to take God at His Word.  

You are God's divine creation.   Understand, no one knows better than the creation how his creation should work.   No one knows the intricate details and specific parts that the creator placed inside of his creation to make it work at its maximum potential accept the creator discloses it.    GOD IS OUR CREATOR and He has disclosed through His Word what it will take for us to live for Him and to glorify Him here in the earth.  

Make it a point to step out on faith today.   Make it a point to take God at His Word.   Make it a point to cast down doubt and fear.    Make it a point to glorify God in all that you do and say today and everyday!  

SCRIPTURE MEDITATION Matthew 6:25-34
25 Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?
26 Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?
27 Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?
28 And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:
29 And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
30 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, [shall he] not much more [clothe] you, O ye of little faith?
31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day [is] the evil thereof.

Are You Resting In The Assurance Of God's Promises or Are You Allowing Life To Hit You To The Point That You Don't Know What To Do?

It's time to rest assured.   To rest means to cease work or movement in order to relax, refresh oneself, or recover strength.  When you are assured of something, you are confident and secure.    God wants you to enter into His rest and He wants you to walk in complete confidence concerning His Word and His will. 

Sometimes we just don't know how to handle the situations we encounter in life.   Sometimes life hits us so hard that we don't have much time to think about how to respond.   God wants you to begin to "rest assured".   When life hits you, He wants you to be still and to know that He is God.   He wants you to know that in your weakness, He is strong.   He wants you to be confident in knowing that He has promised to take care of you and He wants you to have security in and through His Word. 

In order to rest assured, you can't be a reactionary person.   A person who reacts in most cases is acting based on emotions.   God wants you to be a person who responds to the situations in your life.   He wants you to respond based on your knowledge of who He is and what He has promised to do in you, for you, and through you.    

It's time to rest assured.   It's time to wait on God and to watch God do His perfect work in and through you.   

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.” 

Letting Go Of Something or Someone You Hold Dear Is Not Always Easy But It May Be A Requirement

Are you willing to make the sacrifice in order to receive the blessing?   There are so many things that we want in life.  Things we say that we need God to do but the question is, what are you willing to do in order to see God's hand at work in your life and your situation?   Are you willing to let go and let God?   Are you willing to give up something in order to get what God wants you to have?   The choice is yours.

Sacrifice is not always easy.   Letting go of something that you hold dear is not an easy thing to do but it may be a requirement. It may be the very thing that God is asking of you so that He can bless your life.  

Abraham left all that he knew and Jesus sacrificed His life so that the blessings of God would be accessible to us.    We have to  understand that we are Abraham's seed and because of Jesus, we now have eternal life.   It is because of their sacrifices, we now have open doors and access to the Father.   The question is, what are you willing to sacrifice in your life understanding that your sacrifice is exactly what will open up doors and bring forth blessings for you, your household, and others around you.

SCRIPTURE MEDITATION Acts 20:24
But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God.

What Do You Think Happens When We Have A Spiritual Outage? Is Your Response To Life Based On The Word Of God or The Appearance Of Your Situation?

What do you do when you don't know what to do?   What is your next step in life?   When you feel lost and confused, are you turning to your friends or are you turning to the Father?   God has already told us to seek Him first.    

What is your reaction when it comes to encountering sad things or bad things in life?    Are you reacting based on  your pain or are you responding based on God's Word?    Do you understand that God never said our lives would be easy but He did say that He would be with us no matter where we go in life.

It's time to stop giving up and quitting on God.    Understand the affect of a temporary outage.   An outage is defined as a stoppage or failure in the supply of power.   If we have a power outage in our home, it can leave us totally in the dark.   It limits our ability to function.   It also, can cause things to perish. 

What do you think happens when we have a spiritual outage?   We have to understand, the power stops and failure begins to set in.    It stops up our ability to walk in faith and to trust and believe in the power of God to move and manifest in our lives.    It limits our ability to function as a Kingdom child.    It also brings with it spiritual death.    

Don't allow life's encounters to cause You to react rather than to respond.   Let your response to life always be based on the Word of God and not the appearance of your situation.    

SCRIPTURE MEDITATION
1 Peter 4:12-19
King James Version (KJV)
12 Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:
13 But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.

Understanding That God Is God Alone and He Is Well Able To Meet Every Need In Our Lives ...

What is it that you want God to do?   Are you wanting Him to make a way where there appears to be no way?   Are you wanting Him to give you peace in the midst of the storm that you are going through?   Are you wanting God to heal you or to deliver you?    Are you wanting Him to strengthen you and to provide for you?   What is it that you want and need God to do for you?

Understand God is God alone and He is well able to do whatever needs to be done in our lives.   God  doesn't need our help to open up doors in our lives.    When you think about what a gentleman does, He opens up doors.  He is courteous, honorable, and He treats others in a way that is right.   That's God.   God is just, kind, and merciful.   His actions are honorable and His motivation is always based on His love for us.  

It is God's desire to do in us and for us what only He can do.   However, we must trust Him and believe Him.   We must trust what He has said and believe that He will honor His Word in our lives.  

As you think about what you want or need God to do for you, remember He is a waymaker.   He will make a way where there appears to be no way.   Remember, He is Jehovah Shalom (the God of Peace).   Remember, He is Jehovah Rapha, our Healer and let the testimonies of others strengthen you as you trust and believe Him for your healing.    Remember, there are no limitations on what God can and will do in and through the lives of His children.

SCRIPTURE MEDITATION

Isaiah 43:16-19

 King James Version (KJV)

¹⁶ Thus saith the Lord, which maketh a way in the sea, and a path in the mighty waters;

¹⁷ Which bringeth forth the chariot and horse, the army and the power; they shall lie down together, they shall not rise: they are extinct, they are quenched as tow.

¹⁸ Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old.

¹⁹ Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.

How Are You Treading? Are You Walking In Fear of Offending The Enemy or Are You Treading and Stomping Out The Fiery Darts Of The Enemy?

Where are you treading?   Better yet, how are you treading?   Tread is defined as "the manner or sound of someone walking".   The manner in which something is done is the way in which it is done.   Are you walking lightly so that you don't disturb the way people think or the things that they do or are you walking with and in the authority that you have been given and stomping out the arrows and fiery darts that have been set ablaze in the world today?  It's okay to tread lightly and to not be offensive but it's not okay to allow the enemy to win in your life.    We must be sure that we are telling and walking in the truths of God in love AND we can't be afraid of letting the world see and know what we believe and why.

God is very specific in His Word.   He distinguishes right from wrong.   He separates good from evil.   He even tells us to tread on serpents and He also tells us He has given us the power over the enemy.   We have to stop walking as though we are defeated.  We have to stop walking in fear of what others may think about what we believe.  We have to begin to walk in the authority that God has given us.    He told the children of Israel that "every place" the soles of their feet shall tread, that has He given them and they walked boldly in that truth. 

The children of Israel walked in the authority and the knowledge of the fact that God was with them and He had already ordained for them to be victorious.   They walked boldly and confidently.    How are you walking?   Are you walking in the knowledge of the fact that you have a Godly heritage?   Are you walking boldly and confidently knowing that God is with you wherever you go?    Are you treading upon the head of the enemy and are you quenching the fiery darts of the enemy?    Are you walking fully in faith and letting go of all fear?  In order to walk fully in faith and not in fear, you have to know who goes before you and you have to know who has your back!   

SCRIPTURE MEDITATION

Joshua 1:3 

King James Version 

“Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses.”

Are You Trusting God When The Unexpected Happens In Your Life?

How often do we feel in our Spirit that we shouldn't do something and  yet we do it anyway and then we come back and say something told me not to do that?   We have to start listening to the voice of God.   We have to begin to trust our inward witness.   

Every day we are confronted with different encounters in life.   An encounter is an unexpected experience.   The question is, "how are you handling the unexpected"?    When something shows up in your life that is outside of the norm or what is desirable to you.   How are you handling it?   Are you flowing with the "current" of the situation or are you staying on the path God has set you on?  God's path is the path of faith, hope, and trust.   Understand, a current is a  steady flow or stream that is going in a definite direction.    You have to make sure that you are continuously flowing with God.

When situations come up in your life, you have to know what to accept and what to reject.   You have to know what is of God and what is coming against the knowledge of God in your life.   If things are happening that are not in line with what you know God has said, REJECT IT.   Don't lay down your faith and begin to walk in fear.   Begin to speak faith filled words over what is not in line with the Word of God for your life.   

Encounters will happen and they will always bring the unexpected but you have to trust God no matter what.   You have to follow Him by listening to the Holy Spirit which is your inward witness.   If there is doubt as to whether you should do something, DON'T DO IT.   If what you are about to do is out of line with God's Word and His will, DON'T DO IT.  

You have to learn how to trust God and allow His Word and His witness to lead you in every aspect of your life.

SCRIPTURE MEDITATION

Romans 8:14-16 

King James Version (KJV)

¹⁴ For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
¹⁵ For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.
¹⁶ The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:

Are You Taking What You Have and Sharing It? Your Testimony Is Meant To Be Shared ...

Are you taking what you have and "sharing" it?   You may think you have nothing but you have to understand, you have a testimony.   A testimony is evidence or proof that is provided by the existence or appearance of something.   YOU ARE a living testimony of God's goodness, grace, love, and mercy. 

You have to know and understand that God gave you a testimony for a reason.   He didn't give it to you to keep it all to your self.   He gave it to you so that you can share it.   It's just like when you share your food with someone.  It is a source of strength and nourishment not only for you but it becomes strength and nourishment for other to.  

Your testimony is meant to help encourage and strengthen others around you.   It is meant to be proof and evidence of the fact that God is real and that He is a deliverer.   Your testimony should never be a point of shame.   How can you be shameful of the glory of God?   No matter what circumstance He delivered you from, THE POINT IS ... He delivered you.

Take time today to encourage someone in your circle of influence.   Let them know that God is real and that He is good.   Let them know that He is not a respecter of person and if He delivered you, He can deliver them to.   Let them know that all they have to do is surrender their lives to Him and help lead them to that point of surrender if you can.  

SCRIPTURE MEDITATION 2 Corinthians 3:1-3
King James Version (KJV)
3 Do we begin again to commend ourselves? or need we, as some others, epistles of commendation to you, or letters of commendation from you?
2 Ye are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men:
3 Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart.

Understanding God Is Not Limited In Power or Ability and His Timing Is Perfect

Do you remember when God healed your body?   Do you remember when He made a way where there appeared to be no way?   Do you remember when He opened up doors that had previously been closed?   Do you remember when He gave you peace in the midst of the storm you were going through in life?   REMEMBER WHEN ...

If you remember when God did those things, why doubt now?   Why wonder if God is going to come through now?   God is the same yesterday, today, and forever.   He changes not.   What He did for you then ... He can still do for you today even if He has to repeat Himself.

Understand, God is forever faithful.   He is not limited in power or ability.   His timing is perfect.  
He knows what we need, when we need it.    We just have to remember what He has done and trust Him to do it again if necessary.  

SCRIPTURE MEDITATIONEphesians 1:3
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:

Are You Allowing Life's Experiences To Cause You To Walk In Worry and Doubt or Have You Learned How To Keep God In The Forefront Of Your Life?

It's not about where you have been or even where you are at.   It's all about where you are going in and with God.  Everyone's route is different.  The experiences we have on this road called life is different for each of us.    Even if we go through the same things, in most cases each of us handle it differently.   However, the one unchanging variable in every situation we encounter in life is God.   God is still God and He is well able to deliver us no matter what we are going through.

Understand, life brings with it many experiences.   The question is, how are you handling each of those experiences.   Are you allowing life's experiences to cause you to walk in worry and doubt or are you learning how to rest in God no matter what life brings.

Resting in God is not always an easy thing to do but it is something we must learn to do.   We must learn how to keep God in forefront of our lives.   When something is in the forefront, it is in the leading and most important position.   No matter what we are going through in life, we need to always be following God and trusting Him to take care of us .    We need to always remember that He goes before us and that He will make our crooked path straight.  

We also need to remember that God is Jehovah Rapha, our Healer; Jehovah Jireh, our Provider; and Jehovah Shalom, our Peace.   There is nothing to hard for our God.   So no matter what comes our way in life, we have to always remember that we are overcomers for greater is He that is in us than anything coming up against us in this world.  

SCRIPTURE MEDITATIONIsaiah 45:2
I will go before thee, and make the crooked places straight: I will break in pieces the gates of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron:

What Do You Have The Tendency To Do When You Are Going Through The Tests Of Life? Have You Realized That There Is No Substitute For God?

There are no substitutes for God.   There is no one and no thing that can ever take His place.   The word substitute is defined as a person or thing acting or serving in place of another.  It can also be defined as something you use or add in the place of something else.  

Are you trying to find a substitute for God?   Are you feeling down because you feel as though you need another person in your life?   Are you seeking other people to be a resource for you or are you trusting God to be your resource and to bring the provision to you?   It is easy to get stuck in emotion.   It's easy to look for those things we can see instead of trusting and having faith in what we cannot see.   Emotions cause us to act and to do things that we would not normally do.    We have to learn to stay in faith, no matter what our emotions are inclining us to do.  

When you are inclined to do something, that means you have a tendency to do it.    What is your tendency?   What is your behavior when it comes to you feeling sick or you having a financial need?   Is your automatic tendency to go into prayer or are you automatically thinking about who you can get to help you in this natural realm?  

We have to learn how to trust God.   We have to believe that His Word is true.   He said that He is our Healer.   That doesn't mean don't go to the doctor.   That means to go to God first.   To lay your need out before Him.  To pray and to plead the blood of Jesus over your life.   To ask God to give the doctors wisdom concerning your condition, so that He perfect prescription can be implemented in your life.  

Again ... God is still God and there is no one and no thing that can ever be a substitute for Him.  

SCRIPTURE MEDITATIONPsalm 46:10
Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.

Are You Willing To Make The Necessary Sacrifices In Your Life In Order To Please God?

Are you willing to let go?   Are you willing to make the necessary sacrifices in your life in order to please God?   Are you willing to not only be a light for God, but to also shine bright for Him?   What is it that you are willing to do and to what extent will you go in order to get it done?  

Giving up what you have or what you want is not always the easiest thing to do.  It is not always easy to let go and let God have control.     Letting go of something means you no longer have the ability to control it.    What we tend to do is hold on to people, places, or things until we actually lose our grip on them.  

We have to stop trying to hold on to the things that God has told us to surrender to Him.   We have to begin to surrender things in prayer.     We have to give not only our lives over to God, we have to give our families, friends, churches, jobs, bills, and everything else in our lives over to Him.   It's time to surrender all.

SCRIPTURE MEDITATIONRomans 12:1
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

Are You Allowing Your Disappointment In People To Cause You To Become Discontent?

Not everyone is going to understand.   Not everyone is going to understand why you believe the way you believe, trust the way you trust, say what you say, and do what you do.    But you have to understand that it is okay.

You can't keep living your life based on what others think about you or how they support you.   To support means to bear all or part of the weight of something.    You have to remember that God is your support.   He has already told you to cast your care on Him because He cares for you.    He has told you to lean not to your own understanding.   He has said to lay aside every weight and sin that so easily besets us.    These are His words from His Word and you have to trust and believe that He is your support system.  

It is easy to get caught up and emotional about what others are not doing that you feel that they should be doing.   It is easy to become discouraged and discontent.   When you are discontent, you have bad feelings and resentment.    Don't allow discontentment to settle in based on your expectations from people.   God is your burden bearer and you should let your expectation be from God alone.  Expect Him to honor His Word in your life.  

SCRIPTURE MEDITATION 1 Peter 5:7
Casting all your care upon Him; for He careth for you.

Are You Believing God's Word For Others and Lacking Faith When It Comes To Believing It For You?

You can stop right here, you can give up and you can quit OR you can press on.   You can trust God and you can believe God's Word is true for you.   What we tend to do is believe God's Word for others but lack faith when it comes to believing God's Word for ourselves.  

Understand, God is not a man and He cannot lie.   Not only that, God is not a respecter of persons.   What He has done for someone else, He can also do for you.    We have to stop trying to predetermine what kind of blessings we think God will give us and begin to just trust God to bless us according to His will, purpose, and plan.

We have to trust God to bring what we need, when we need it.   We can only do that when we realize that His timing is perfect.    We have to believe that He is well able to supply whatever it is we need.   We have to know that He is the divine Creator and if what we need does not exist, He has the ability to create it.  

It's time to stop giving up in the process.   It's time to press forward with expectancy.   It's time to trust God "all of the way" and not midway.  We have to trust that God will do what He said that He would do.   He has promised to never leave us and to never forsake us.   He has promised to watch over us, shield us, and to protect us.   He has promised to heal us and to provide for us.   These are the promises that He has given us in His Word and His Word is true.  

SCRIPTURE MEDITATION

John 17:17

King James Version (KJV)

Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.

Are You Feeling Closed In and Surrounded To The Point That You Don't Know The Way Out? Understand, God Has Already Made A Way Of Escape ...

Have you ever felt surrounded?   Surrounded by people, places, and things.    Have you ever been so closed in that you can't even press your way through or out of the crowd?    That is how life will sometimes make you feel.   It will make you feel closed in and surrounded to the point that you don't feel as though there is a way out.   But understand, God has already pinpointed your circumstance and situation and He has already made a way of escape.   You just have to trust Him and follow Him.

The question is, would you follow a stranger especially if you don't know where he is going?   The answer is probably NO.   That is why you have to get to know God.   You have to know His attributes and His character.   You have to know Him so that you will trust Him and follow Him.  

Make sure you are spending time in God's Word.   Make sure you are taking out time to pray.   Understand, prayer should not be a formality.   Prayer should be you having a conversation with God.  Make sure you are worshiping God and giving Him praise.    Make sure you are putting Him first in your life.    

When you get to know God, you can't help but follow Him.    When you follow God, He will lead you out of that place where you feel all closed in to a place of freedom in Him.  

SCRIPTURE MEDITATION1 Corinthians 11:2
“Now I praise you, brethren, that ye remember me in all things, and keep the ordinances, as I delivered them to you.”

What Do You Do When You Feel The Process Is Being Prolonged? Do You Ask God Why or When?

Have you ever felt like God is prolonging the process?  Prolong means to drag out or to extend.    Have you ever felt like the process is taking too long?    I think we all have at some time or another.   We have all said "when" God or "why" God.    

We have to learn how to trust in God's sovereignty.   God's sovereignty says that He has dominion, power, control, authority, and influence over our lives.    When we allow God to be sovereign in our lives, we allow Him to have dominion, power, control, authority, and influence over every aspect of our lives.   We no longer seek to be in control.  We instead surrender our control over to God.    We learn how to patiently wait on Him and how to trust in Him.  

It's not about asking God why or when.   It's all about trusting that His timing is perfect and knowing that He is working what you don't understand together for your good.  

SCRIPTURE MEDITATIONRomans 8:28
King James Version (KJV)
28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

Have You Set Your Faith In Motion For What You Need God To Do or Are You Walking In Fear Of Failure Thinking God Has Forsaken You?

Are you activating  your faith?   To activate means to start up, initiate, and set in motion.   Has your faith been lying dormant.   When something is dormant, it is alive but not actively growing.   It is inactive.     God has planted in each of us a seed of faith.  Is your faith growing?   Are you trusting God and believing that He is working everything together for your good?   Are you seeking Him and expecting Him to answer you or are you walking in fear of failure while thinking that God has forsaken you?

It's time to activate your faith.   Faith says that you trust God.   It says that you believe that God is working on your behalf.   It says that you are watching and waiting with earnest expectation for doors to open, for you body to be healed, and for deliverance to come.  

Don't let your faith become stagnant or should I say motionless.  Don't allow fear to fill up your heart and mind to the point that you are so caught up in how you feel and what you think that you are failing to trust God with the "next" moments in your life.     With your next step, next breath, and next encounter.   Understand, God already knows what next but you have to trust Him to bring you to it and through it no matter what it is.

Faith requires you to say what you are needing and expecting God to do.   It also requires you to wait on God and it requires you to trust God.  

SCRIPTURE MEDITATION 

James 2:17-18

17 Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.

18 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.

Are You Allowing Things That Confuse You To Cause You To Be Unhappy, Disappointed, and Worried or Are You Keeping Your Hope and Expectation In God?

What's upsetting you?   Did God not say that He would take the foolish things of this world to confound the wise.   The word confound means to amaze and astonish.   It means to cause someone to be surprised by acting against what they expect.  We have to start expecting God to use those things which seem foolish to us.    

When someone is upset, they are unhappy, disappointed, and worried.   Being upset usually comes when things don't happen the way you expect them to.   We have to change our expectation.   Expectation is based on hope.   We have to always let our hope be based in God.   When our hope is based in God, we know that He knows all things.   We know that He has a plan.   We know that He will work everything in our lives together for our good.    We know that He sees beyond our peripheral vision into the unseen.   God sees our past, our present, and our future.   Nothing is hidden from Him.

Understand, God is still God.   He is not limited by time, space, or power.    We have to trust that He knows what is best for us even when we are confused by what is going on in our lives.   We have to trust that He is using our lives as a testimony of goodness, grace, love, and mercy.    

SCRIPTURE MEDITATION1 Corinthians 1:27
King James Version (KJV)
But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;

Are You Living Out Your Days Saying "What If" or Are You Standing and Staying In Faith?

What if today was just another day?   What if today was exactly the same as yesterday?   What if nothing ever changed?   What if you encountered the same situations that you encountered yesterday?  What if?

Thankfully, we don't live on "what if".   Thankfully, today is a new day filled with God's love, grace, and mercy.   Thankfully, yesterday is gone and today is a day that God has filled with opportunity.   Opportunity is defined as a set of circumstances that make it possible for us to do something.   We have to understand that each new day is a divine opportunity given to us by God.  

With opportunity comes hope and vision.   With opportunity comes peace of mind.    When your mind is at peace, you don't dwell on the things that didn't go right yesterday.   Instead, you look forward with expectancy for things to go right ... right now.  

Don't fill you thoughts and day with "if" moments.    Fill them with faith moments.   Fill them with hope and expectation.   Understand, God is "well able" to change those things that you felt were failures yesterday into areas of success today.   Have faith in God and wait in expectation for Him to bless your life beyond measure.  

SCRIPTURE MEDITATION Psalms 62:5
King James Version
My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation [is] from Him.

Getting Back To The Basics and Understanding That There Is No Person On Earth That Can Stop What God Wants To Do In The Lives Of His People ...

For such a time as this!   Do you believe that God has prepared you for such a time as this?   We have to believe that all the Word and the wisdom that He has placed inside of us is for such a time as this.  It's easy to get caught up in what others are saying about what is going on in the world but you have to remember what God has already said.   He said that perilous times would come.    Why are we acting surprised?  

It's time to get back to the basics.   It's time that we take a holy and righteous stand.   It's time that we act like we know what God has said.   It's time that we stand in faith, trusting and believing God.   The time is now.  

It's not about who is in the presidential office.   It's about who is reigning on the throne of your heart.   It's about serving the King of kings and Lord of lords.    If we look back to biblical times, God noted in the Bible those that were good kings and served Him and those that were not.   But either way, it did not stop what He wanted to do for His people.    That still holds true today.  There is no person on earth that can stop what God sets forth to do in the lives of His people.

So don't get caught up in the talk.   Instead of murmuring and complaining about what is going on in the world, remember your assignment.   Your assignment is to pray without ceasing.    Your assignment is to be an intercessor.   Your assignment is to worship and to serve the one, the only, living God.  

SCRIPTURE MEDITATION2 Timothy 3:1-4
But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: 2 For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, 4 traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,

Are You Taking God At His Word Despite Your Situation?

What are you doing when it comes to worshiping God?   Are you worshiping Him in spirit and in truth?   Are you expediting your worship or are you waiting to worship?   We have to get to the place where worship is what we do.

When worship is what you do, you are not moved by what is going on around you.   You live based on your internal knowledge of who God is and not based on what is happening externally.    The world is constantly changing.   People are changing, seasons are changing, situations are constantly changing.   The one thing that never changes is God and we have to worship Him and give Him praise based on what He has done and what we know He will do in our lives.  

God is faithful.   God's Word is true.    There is nothing in heaven or earth that has the ability to override what God has said.   God said that He would watch over you, shield you, protect you, and provide for you.   He said that He is your healer.   We have to take God as His Word despite the appearance of our situation.   We have to trust what He said when He said He will cause things to work in our favor and that He will turn things around for our good.  

In order to truly worship God, you must first trust Him.   You must believe that His Word is true.   You can never take God at His Word if you fail to trust and believe His Word.   You have to remember that God is not a man and He cannot lie.   What God has said, He will do and He created us to worship Him and to give Him praise.   His intent for our lives has not changed.   God purposed us on purpose.   Yet it is up to us to fulfill the purpose He intended for our lives.   It is up to us to give Him praise.

SCRIPTURE MEDITATION
Proverbs 12:2
A good man obtaineth favour of the Lord: but a man of wicked devices will he condemn.

Are You Pressing Through The Fear Of Failure and Trusting God Through The Trials Of Life?

The word that is coming up in my Spirit today is "endurance".  Endurance is the ability or strength that God has given you to continue and to last despite fatigue, stress, and adverse conditions.   It is easy to give up and it is easy to quit midstream, but God said in His Word that he that endures shall be saved. 

We have to learn how to press on even when its hard.   The thing about pressing that you have to understand is that it requires strength and force.    Think about being in a crowd that you have to press through.   You would never get through the crowd by standing still.  In some cases, the crowd would overtake you.  We can't stand still and allow the situations in our lives to overtake us.   We have to press on in faith and prayer.   We have to press into God's Word and trust Him to honor it in  our lives.  

We have to get to the point where giving up is not an option.  We have to say to ourselves that we will endure to the end.   We have to draw on the strength, power, and ability that God has endowed us with and continue on despite how tired we are, how stressed we are, and no matter what conditions we see in the natural.  

We have to know that God is with us and that we can, shall, and will make it.   We have to trust and believe that God will honor His promises in our lives as long as we press through the fear of failure and trust Him through the trials of life.

SCRIPTURE MEDITATIONHebrews 12:1-3
King James Version (KJV)
Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,
2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
3 For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.

You Have To Empty Your Mind Of The "Stuff" So That Your Mind Can Be Free From The Weight Of Worry ...

How often do you get into a place where you don't know what to do or which way to turn?   The place where you feel bombarded with the issues of life.   The place where you are filled will worry instead of resting in God's peace.   It's not God's will that we live out our lives in confusion, stress, worry, and doubt.   We have to know how to surrender and shift when we get to those places in life.

To surrender means to stop and to yield.   It means to give up.   We have to learn how to stop holding on to the things we need to be giving over to God.   We need to yield to Him and we need to give over every worry and every doubt to Him.     The thing is, when we carry something, it might start off as a light load but as we continue to add to the load, it becomes weighty.    Have you ever been to that where where your mind is so full of "stuff" that the weight of worry is overtaking your every thought?   God doesn't want us weighted down with worry.   He wants us to cast our care on Him.  

Once we learn how to surrender, we must then learn how to shift.   To shift means to  make a slight change in position, direction, or tendency.   We need to change the way we tend to do things.    Sometimes we need to change the direction we have been going and re-position ourselves to receive God's promises.

We can't be so comfortable in our way of doing things that we fail to surrender "all" to God and to make the necessary changes in our lives so that we can receive the fullness of His promises.  

SCRIPTURE MEDITATION1 Peter 5:7
Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.

Are You Living Based On The Accusations Of Others or The Forgiveness Of God?

Are you going by what you have told or by what God has said?   People will tell you that you are not good enough.   People will tell you what you will never be able to do.   People will base what they say on what they have seen in your past and not on what God has said in His Word.    You have to go on what God has said about you and not what people are saying.

You first have to understand that God has said that He loves you and that He is just and ready to forgive you.   If you surrender your life, repent of your wrong, and ask God for forgiveness, He will forgive you but you still have receive that forgiveness.   Understand, there is a reaction that comes with forgiveness.   A reaction is an action that comes based on something that has happened.   The question is, how are you acting once you receive God's forgiveness?   Are you acting as it is so?   Are you thankful? Are you still living based on people's accusations or are you even accusing yourself?

Understand, an accusation is a claim that you have done something wrong.   It is where someone has been charged with an offense.   When God forgives, He forgives you of the wrong that you have done.   But understand, you have to receive His forgiveness and not allow people, places, things, or even your own mind keep you in a place of conviction.   A conviction is a formal declaration of wrong doing.   What you have to do is formally declare and decree your freedom and forgiveness that has been given to you by and through the blood of Jesus.  Don't live out your life based on peoples opinions of who you are and what they feel you can or cannot do.   Live your life based on what God has said about you in His Word and know that you can do all things through Christ which strengthens you.  

SCRIPTURE MEDITATIONIsaiah 43:25
I, [even] I, [am] He that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins.