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.

Are You Confident In The Fact That God Has Given You A Blessed Assurance?

Are you sure?   To be sure means to be confident in what you think or know.   It means to have no doubt that something is right.   You have to be sure and you have to understand that God has given us a blessed assurance.   An assurance is a  promise that is intended to give you confidence.    The song says:

"Blessed Assurance

Jesus is mine

O what a foretaste of glory divine

Heir of salvation, purchased of God

Born of His Spirit, washed in His Blood"

You have to know that You know that God gave you Jesus.   He is the promise that was given to you for your salvation.   We have an assurance and we can be confident in the promises of God.    Don't allow doubt to enter in because of your circumstances.   Your circumstances does not change the fact that Jesus sacrificed His life on the cross so that we could live.  

God loves you and you can rest in the fact that Jesus died so that you could live.   Live that life to the fullest.   Live it in confidence knowing the promises of God.   Knowing that He is your healer and your provider.   Knowing that He will strengthen you and bless you.    Knowing that He has promised to take care of you.   Be confident in your knowledge of who God is and what He has promised to do in your life.

SCRIPTURE MEDITATION1 John 5:14
And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us:

Are You Understanding That Your Words "Matter"? How Are You Choosing To Use Your Words? Are You Speaking Life To Your Life and The Lives Of Others?

What are you saying?   Are you speaking words of faith or are your words lining up with doubt and fear?   Are you murmuring and complaining?   Are you lifting others up or just talking about them or against them?   Understand your words matter!   

The word matter means to be of importance and to have significance.   The words that are coming out of your mouth have significance.   The question is, will you use them for good or will you use them for evil?   Will you use them to build yourself and others up or will you use them to tear yourself and others down?    You can tear yourself down by speaking words of doubt and fear.   By continuously saying what you can't do or accomplish.    What will you do with your words?

We have to understand the power and strength that comes from declaring and decreeing God's Word over our lives and the lives of others.   Take time today to declare God's Word in faith.   SPEAK LIFE to your life and the lives of others.   Even those who have hurt you or seem to be against  you.  Declare and decree that their actions and their attitudes will change.  

Understand, you have a choice today.   You choose how to use your words.   Choose not to murmur and complain.   Choose to walk in faith and to speak words of faith and favor over your life and the lives of those around you.  

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.

Psalms 2:7
I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou [art] my Son; this day have I begotten thee.

What Are You Doing When You Encounter Roadblocks In Your Life? Are You Turning Around of Are You Pressing Forward With The Knowledge You Have Of Who God Is and What He Has Said He Will Do?

Your faith shouldn't stop the moment you hit a roadblock.   Understand a roadblock is a barrier or blockade.   It is anything that hinders you.   It is an obstruction or something that blocks your progress.    What are you doing when you encounter roadblocks in life?  

Somewhere along your road called life you may encounter roadblocks.   Things that are specifically designed by the enemy to hinder what God has called you to do and the goals that have been set to accomplish those things in life.   Does that mean you should turnaround?   Does that mean you should give up?   Does that mean you should quit?   NO!!!   You have to continue to trust God, believe His Word is true, and press forward in order to accomplish the goals and to fulfill God's plan.

Life is not always easy.   There may be times when you just can't see the way.   You may not know which way to turn or what to do next.  But understand, God knows all things.   He knows how to get you to the place where He has called you to be.   His plan is perfect.   He will help you to get through the roadblocks and He will establish His covenant in your life.  

The most essential tool you can have as you walk through this road called life is knowledge of God's Word.    You have to know the promises of God, so that You can trust God for your deliverance.   How can you trust God will deliver you if You don't know that He said in Psalm 34 that he hears our cry and will deliver us out of our troubles.    You have to know that there is power in and through the blood of Jesus.   You have to know that God is not a man and He cannot lie.   Once you know what He said, then you can put your trust in what He said.  

SCRIPTURE MEDITATION John 8:32
King James Version
And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

Are You Allowing Your Personal Experiences To Become Your Life's Lessons?

Have you ever been hurt?   Have you ever been lied to or cheated on?   Have you ever had someone tell you that they were going to spend some time with you and then they didn't show up?   Have you ever been given something and then the person takes it back?   Have you ever just waited and wanted the best for someone just to watch them make the same mistakes over and over again?    If so ... you should have some idea of how God feels. 

It hurts Him to see you hurt.   He has been lied to and cheated on.   He patiently waits for His children to come to Him and to spend time with Him.   So many people say that they are surrendering their lives to Him just to pick their sin back up again.    He wants what is best for His children but His children desire sin more than they desire Him.  

What we have to understand is the fact that personal experiences are life's lessons.   The hurt, pain, and betrayal that we feel from others should teach us how we should NOT act towards God.   God is a loving Father and one of the most hurtful things a parent can experience is pain, betrayal, and rejection from their child.    It hurts when your child fails to communicate with you.   It hurts when you are wanting to spend time with your child and your child chooses other people, places, and things over you.  

Take time with the Father.   He loves you and He is waiting and wanting what is best for you and He wants to spend time with you.

SCRIPTURE MEDITATION James 4:8
King James Version (KJV)
Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.

WORSHIP FOR TODAY ... 

"Simple Gospel" 

Ministered By United Pursuit

CITATION:   Unitedpursuitband. "Simple Gospel." YouTube. YouTube, 14 Aug. 2015. Web. 02 Nov. 2016. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DcJV7j5D3PU>.

Are You Allowing God's Love, Grace, and Mercy To Help You Walk In Forgiveness?

Are you waiting to forgive or are you contemplating whether or not you should forgive?   Are you hold a grudge?  A grudge is a persistent feeling of ill will or resentment resulting from a past insult or injury.

WHAT IF, God contemplated whether or not He should forgive you?   WHAT IF, He chose to wait before forgiving you?  Forgiveness is not always easy but it is something we must choose to do.    Understanding that some things that have happened to us in life make it difficult to forgive.  

Forgiveness is not an easy process.   It immediately requires that you lay down self and laying down self is not an easy thing to do.   We have to understand that our forgiveness is related to our ability to forgive.   The Bible says in Matthew 6 that if we don't forgive others their sins, God will not forgive us.   We can't allow unforgiveness to keep us from being forgiven.  

How often do we go to God and ask God to forgive us?   Because of God's love, grace, and mercy, He is able to forgive us and we have to learn how to extend that same love, grace, and mercy to others.

SCRIPTURE MEDITATION

 Matthew 6:14 

For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: