Luke 13:24
Praise God He Made You
I heard someone saying they wished they looked different. They wished they were lighter skinned like their friend who gets all the young men. Did you know that when you compare yourself to others, or wish you were like someone else, it’s like saying God just didn’t do a good enough job? It’s actually like saying, “God, why did You make me subpar? Why did You make me less than?”
I’ve got breaking news! God didn’t make anyone inferior. He didn’t make any person second class. No, you are a masterpiece! You are fully loaded and totally equipped for the race that’s been designed for you!
Today, change your mindset and say to yourself, “I may not look like someone else, or have the shape like someone else, or have the job that someone else has, but no one will ever be a better me. I’m anointed to be me. I’m equipped to be me!” Hallelujah! Remember, it’s easy to do what you are equipped to do. Don’t fall into the trap of trying to be like someone else. Praise God you are who He made you to be, and embrace the good things He has prepared for you!
“I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Your works are wonderful, I know that full well.”
(Psalm 139:14, NIV)
Pray With Me
Yahweh, thank You for making me who I am. Father, thank You for equipping me to fulfil my destiny. Today, I will be focused on what You’ve placed in my hand, knowing that as I am faithful to You, You will direct my steps. God, I bless You and praise You for making me who I am, directly from Your hand and mind of the Creator, with my own mind and DNA. Today I accept who I am, in Jesus’ Name! Amen.
Why Praying Isn’t Enough. God Wants Us to Act
In Western literature, the best-known story from The Arabian Nights (the ancient Arabian book) is arguably “Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp.”
Many of us recognize Aladdin and his lamp due to the well-received retelling of this story by Disney in 1992. Young Aladdin finds a lamp and upon rubbing it he summons the magical wish-granting genie (wonderfully played by the late Robin Williams). This story may be so popular because its theme conveys our intrinsic desire to magically be granted whatever we want. We’ve all thought about it at one time or another–especially in times of need.
It’s not hard then to understand why many believers think of God as Aladdin’s genie and imagine prayer being similar to rubbing a magic lamp in hopes of their wishes turning into reality. They often get on their knees and plead for money, health, riches, their favorite sports team’s victory, you name it! Even for more worthwhile reasons, such as preventing some of the tragedies as we’ve seen in 2019, we find ourselves opting to pray in hopes that God solves our problems, and even become resentful when we don’t see a silver lining. However, our success or failure is not determined by fate, or prayer alone; God is not deciding to intervene depending on the quality of your prayers at a particular time. We are the ones responsible for our own destiny. As Albert Einstein said, “God does not play dice with the Universe”.
If we want to succeed in an endeavor, we must work hard. “All that your hand finds to do,” says the Bible, “do with your very power.” (Ecclesiastes 9:10) It also says: “The plans of the diligent one surely makes for advantage.”–Proverbs 21:5. In the scriptures, James also warns about inaction when he says, “Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, and you say, “Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well”–but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do?” (James 2:15-16)
Would there have been a Declaration of Independence and a Revolutionary War if the colonists had felt that it was okay to continue submitting to the will of a distant king because their prayers would move God to intervene on their behalf?
Did prayer alone end slavery? Or did the lives of hundreds of thousands of soldiers and slaves and the tireless work of abolitionists have to do something with it?
The role of prayer is not to have God on our speed dial to act on our behalf, but instead to commune with God to help strengthen our resolve to act for ourselves. As believers, we understand that one of the most important gifts bestowed upon mankind is Free Will, and this is something that the bible is very clear about. Free will is the power to take our fate in our own hands and work as individuals and as a society to shape our lives. It is our responsibility not to squander this gift, and instead make the best use of it.
If we go back to the beginning with our example with Aladdin, the overall theme of the story is that infinite strength and wealth comes from within, and it is best to be yourself because poor or rich you are a “diamond in the rough”. In the original tale Aladdin, the protagonist, loses his magical genie and discovers that true identity is a buildup of character, not wealth or wishful thinking. Likewise, God has bestowed us with the tools of discovery and the free will to pursue our own goals. Prayer, like the genie in Disney’s version of the Aladdin story, only reflects the very strength within ourselves.
Are You On God’s Timetable?
The most difficult thing for me in Christianity is waiting on God. I’ve had to learn that God doesn’t always work on our timetable. He rarely does. But in a single moment, God can change your life! In the Bible, we see God instantly turning things around for His people. Scripture tells us He is the same yesterday, today and forever, which means if He did it for them, He can instantly turn things around for us, too!
Right now You may be going through a difficult trial, be encouraged because your times are in God’s hands. Trust that He has your best interests at heart. He wants to pour out His favour in your life. He wants to take you further than you dreamed possible, and work in your life in ways beyond what you have ever imagined.
Today, resist discouragement by speaking His Word over your future. Keep standing, keep hoping and keep believing, because He is working on your behalf. Have faith because your timings are in His hands, and He will lead you in the amazing life He has for you!
“My times are in Your hand”¦”
(Psalm 31:15, NASB)
Pray With Me
Yahweh, I humbly come before You giving You my all. Father, I trust that my times are in Your hands. I trust that You are working things out in my favour. God, I set my focus on You, knowing that You are working things out for my good, in Jesus’ Name! Amen
What They Did To Jesus They Will Do To You
Sometimes it’s hard to keep going in ministry, and in life, amidst criticism and gossiping. In Scripture, many times people would come against Jesus and criticise Him. Many times it says, “Jesus answered them not a word.” He simply didn’t respond to His critics. He didn’t try to convince them to change their minds. He didn’t get upset because somebody was talking about Him. No, He just ignored it.
Today, when people come against you and they’re jealous and just evil towards you and those you love, trying to make you look bad, trying to discourage you, remember what they did to Jesus! He was probably criticised and despised more than anyone else. I love the fact that He didn’t try to explain Himself. He didn’t try to make everyone understand Him. He just stayed focused on what He was called to do. He simply ran His race and stayed in His lane, prayed and moved forward. And this is how we should deal with those who criticise us and gossip about us, don’t give in to the demonic distraction, just take them to the Lord in prayer.
”¦but Jesus refused to answer.”
(Luke 23:9, NLT)
Pray With Me
Yahweh, today I release every person who has criticised me, gossiped about me, or tried to discourage me. Father, I choose to forgive them; I have decided to turn away from that distraction and move forward, refusing to react to the demonic forces that seek to bring me down. God, help me to stay focused on You and all the wonderful blessings You have in store for me, in Jesus’ Name! Amen.
The #1 Struggle Facing Christians Today
One of the greatest obstacles to becoming a committed Christian is that Christianity is challenging. The task of living a fully God-centered life is no walk in the park, as the lives of the greatest and most fully converted Christians who have ever lived–the saints–will attest. Indeed, Christianity lived to the fullest involves struggle.
Everyday, it seems society plummets further into moral decay as truth becomes relative and biblical values are pushed by the wayside. In such times, the importance of Christian higher education and the development of Christian thinkers cannot be overestimated.
I’m pretty sure I know the single biggest issue Christians grapple with. It’s not a behavior, it’s a belief. But why?
1. Not having all the answers
As Christians, we sometimes struggle with the aspects of God, faith, and Christianity that we don’t understand. To be fair, no one understands the complete, true nature of God, but everybody tries to. When people ask us questions about life, circumstances, or theology that we don’t know the answers to, it can shake our faith to a certain degree.
3. Trying not to be a hypocrite
A lot of times we know what is right and what we should do, but we don’t always do it. Knowing what to do and doing it are very different. Other times people ask us for advice in situations where we know the right thing to tell them, but we don’t necessarily do that in our own lives. Jesus doesn’t think highly of hypocrites, and some of our biggest struggles is not to be one. With that, we can struggle with judgement. We try not to judge because we know it is not our job, but at the same time its an honest battle to look at people who are doing things we don’t agree with in their life and not judge them for it. There is a difference between saying “I don’t judge” and actually practicing it in your heart.
4. The family member who opposes everything Christian
This isn’t the non-Christian, this is the anti-Christian. It seems like everyone has that one family member who completely despises anything and everything religious. Because of that, often times that relationship is fractured because we always feel like we are being attacked and talked down to in every interaction. How do we love someone who hates something that is so precious to us?
5. Questioning our faith
I’m almost certain that everyone questions why they believe what they believe at some point. A lot of times this can be frustrating because every Christian wants to have an unwavering faith, but we can struggle to get it. This can really challenge our identity because the issue we are struggling with is the very thing that defines who we are.
6. How to effectively share our faith without being over-the-top
Notice I said “effectively.” One of the key elements of Christianity is being open and willing to share our faith with others, but the practical way of doing that is a struggle. How do we do it in a way that is effective but not over the top? We can throw in all of our Jesus clichés and catchphrases in response to this, but the struggle of being an effective evangelist is real.
7. Making adequate time to spend with God
We give lip-service that God is the most important thing and we love Him more than anything, but sometimes our agendas don’t reflect it. It’s a struggle to make time in our busy lives for the most important thing and when we don’t make that time, it affects our daily life. The result is always, burnout. Everyone gets tired, but burnout isn’t just fatigue. There are those moments when we want to throw all the cards and say “I quit.” We don’t often talk about it in the moment, but there have been several times throughout my life where I’ve been so upset, depressed, and tired that I was ready to throw in the towel on Christianity. Sometimes we think because we are Christian, we shouldn’t struggle like everyone else. But that is simply not true. The only difference between Christian and non-Christian struggles is that Christians know where their help comes from.
8. How people are perceiving me
When people know you are a Christian, you no longer just represent yourself, but you represent the name of Christianity. A lot of times devout Christians struggle with the fact that they are being perceived as less than perfect, so we fall into the journey of trying to be perfect”¦and failing every time. Along this journey we tend to fall into the battle of comparison. We know we are all viewed the same in God’s eyes, but sometimes we don’t feel that way. We tend to view ourselves on a “better than/not as good as” axis. Sometimes there is that tendency to look around the room and say I’m better than _____ but not as good as _____.Notice I didn’t provide any solutions or suggestions for minimizing the struggles, but that really wasn’t the point of the blog. The point of the blog is to highlight the first step of finding the solution, which is recognizing our problems”¦ Truthfully, these are struggles that everyone, religious or not, likely face in one way or another. However, as Christians, our focus is on the one who conquered all struggles and to recognize that we don’t have to live under the burden of these struggles. As we draw nearer to Jesus, the more distance we put between us and our struggles! The closer we are to Jesus, the farther we are from the struggles of world!
10. Confusion about the Bible’s apparent contradictions
While most Christians believe the Bible lines up together perfectly, sometimes, at first glance, the scriptures can appear to contradict each other. For example, Jesus is referred to as the “Prince of Peace.” Contrary to that, the Older Testament is also filled with God bringing wrath, death, and destruction. How can God be both the “God of peace” and the “God of death?” While there are explanations for this, when we face something in Christianity that we don’t understand, it can shake our faith.
It’s Ok To Be A Christian And Go Through Tough Times
It is often in the very toughest of times and trials that God brings us to a crisis of faith, and it’s through that experience that we begin to pray. I’ve heard it said that, “when you’re swept off your feet, get on your knees.” Whatever broken conditions you are facing today – in your marriage, your home, your family, through a child that’s wandered away, or the collapse of a career?
]How many times through our pain do we discover our purpose? How many times through our pain do we discover power?
“It is so often pain that drives us to dependence upon God.”
Corinthians 12:9 reminds us that God’s grace is sufficient and that His power is made perfect through our weaknesses. With God all of your cares will be cared for. All that is His will be yours. Through prayer you can experience the delightful nearness of God and lean into His warm embrace.
Today, kneel before God in prayer until He communicates with your spirit. Surrender your weaknesses to Him and exchange them for supernatural strength. Pray this day for the power of Jesus Christ in your life to deliver you and the ones you love from temptation.
Trust in Him at all times, pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us.
Psalms 62:8 NKJV
And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
II Corinthians 12:9 NKJV
God Has Already Said Yes And Amen
Sometimes we wonder if God has heard or will answer our request. Well I’ve got good news, God has already said “yes” to His promises in your life? You don’t have to beg God to be good to you. You don’t have to plead with Him to help you. What He has promised will come to pass. God wants to help you. He wants to pour out His abundant blessings on your life according to His promises.
Today’s verse says His promises are “yes and amen.” Amen means “so be it.” In other words, it’s a done deal. All you have to do is claim His promises and make sure you are living up to your end of the bargain, which is faith and obedience. God’s love is unconditional, but many of His promises are not, so we have to obey His commands in order to see His promises come to pass, i.e. Malachi 3:10 says that we have to bring our tithe to Him in order to see the windows of heaven open. It says in Deuteronomy 5 that we are to honour our parents in order to live a long and prosperous life.
Today’s good news is that when we surrender our hearts to Him, He empowers us to fulfil every one of His commands. He equips us for every good work, because He wants to see us live a blessed life. Go out today with spiritual confidence that when you pray God’s promises by faith, and obey His Word, His response to you will always be “yes” and “amen!”
“For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us.”
(2 Corinthians 1:20, NKJV)
Pray With Me
Yahweh, thank You for Your goodness and faithfulness in my life. Father, I claim Your promises in my life today, believing that You have a great plan to pour out Your blessings and favour on me. Please God, give me strength to obey Your commands and honour You all the days of my life, in Jesus’ Name! Amen.
Fight Like Ana — Film Project: When Trajedy strikes, your Faith in God can help!
Fight Like Ana – Film Project: Watch this Video
Fight Like Ana is the story of a young woman stripped of everything, and how her faith and family gives her the strength to overcome incredible adversity. Reborn like a young child, she learns to walk again, to speak again, to navigate the difficult road to recovery.
THE INSPIRING STORY OF A YOUNG ATHLETE PLUNGED INTO DEATH, AND HER STORY OF REBIRTH. NBC Story – Ana Wakefield: Watch this Video with Ana Wakefield
Please help me get eyes on this project there seems to be fewer and fewer people these days to help just a little. Be a blessing and help a worthy cause please view the Videos. Please Share to help us find others to bless this project, that will be an inspiration to others not to give up.
Keep up with all the Updates: Be a Blessing to this Film Project – Click Here
The Story
On the morning of October 18, 2017, Ana Wakefield drove to practice, excited about her upcoming junior year of basketball at Multnomah University.
In a moment, her entire life changed when she became the victim of a hit and run. The nearly fatal crash left Ana with a traumatic brain injury, multiple fractures to her legs, a fractured eye socket, a collapsed lung, and several other injuries.
Over the past year and a half, Ana's recovery has been nothing short of a miracle. She went through death, and is alive again, beating the odds time and again as she rebuilds her life.
The Film
Fight Like Ana is the story of a young woman stripped of everything, and how her faith and family gives her the strength to overcome incredible adversity. Reborn like a young child, she learns to walk again, to speak again, to navigate the difficult road to recovery. Fight Like Ana asks the difficult question:
When part of you dies, how do you begin again?
At the beginning of June, the film crew flew in to capture interviews with Ana and the whole family, but this was only the first step in telling Ana’s story. Our next step is to edit the interview footage while raising funds to bring the film crew back to Oregon to shoot this documentary.
My Favorite Quote: "You get ahead in life by being helped along the way by others…
By you helping others along the way".
Thank you & God Bless!
God’s grace is His undeserved, unearned and unmerited favour
Have you ever wondered whether God loves you? Well I want to reassure you God does love you, and He is for you! He is for your good; He is for your success; He is for your future. He desires for you to have every blessing and every promise declared in His Word. This is what the Bible calls His favour.
We have all experienced God’s love and favour even if we don’t recognise it. It is simply His undeserved, unearned, unexplained goodness in your life. God’s favour causes you to reap where you haven’t sown. His favour protects you when you’ve caused the trouble, promotes you and opens new doors when you’re not even qualified. His favour takes you places you could never go on your own.
Today, I declare over your life that in the coming days and weeks ahead, God is going to unleash His unprecedented favour on you, favour like you’ve never seen before! The key is to stay connected to Him; stay in fellowship with Him through prayer, worship and reading His Word. Let Him direct your steps and mould and shape your character. As you pour yourself out to Him, He will pour out Himself on you! He’ll pour out His grace, mercy and supernatural, unmerited, undeserved, unearned, unexplained favour on every area of your life!
“For whoever finds me finds life, and obtains favour from the LORD.” (Proverbs 8:35, NKJV)
Pray With Me
Yahweh, thank You for Your goodness and undeserved, unearned, unexplained favour in my life. Father, I know You are working on my behalf. I accept and receive Your plans to prosper me and give me a future and a hope. God, I bless You for Your unmerited favour, and I set my mind and heart on You, and expect to see Your goodness in every area of my life, in Jesus’ Name! Amen.
You Are Always On His Mind
“God is too busy to deal with my small problems, that’s why I haven’t heard from him yet.”
Have you ever had difficulty receiving from God because you thought, “God has better things on His mind,” or “this isn’t that important to Him?” It may be tempting to let your mind wander in that direction, but the truth is that nothing is more important to God than you are! Every detail of your life matters to Him.
Scripture tells us that He even counts the very hairs on your head. He bottles your tears and holds them as precious. You are important to Him, and nothing that concerns you is too big or too small for God! If you’ve had those discouraging thoughts come to mind, replace them by declaring the truth of God’s Word. Declare, “God’s thoughts are precious toward me. I am always on God’s mind. He loves me, and I matter to Him.”
Today, begin to replace the negative thoughts with the truth of God’s Word, and what He has said about you and His love for you, and your life will begin to change. You will see a transformation in your thinking. You’ll feel His love like you never have before; you will know Him in ways you’ve never known Him before, and you’ll experience His goodness and grace all the days of your life! Hallelujah!
“How precious to me are your thoughts, God! How vast is the sum of them!”
(Psalm 139:17, NIV)
Pray With Me
Yahweh, how awesome You are! How great is Your love toward me! Father, help me to receive Your love so that I may know You more. Lord, please change my thinking, reminding me that You’re never too busy to hear from me, and my problems are never too small for You to overlook. God, thank You for perfecting everything that concerns me, as I daily cast my cares on You, in Jesus’ Name. Amen.
Luke 12:45
But suppose the servant says to himself, 'My master is taking a long time in coming,' and he then begins to beat the other servants, both men and women, and to eat and drink and get drunk.
Luke 12:45
In this parable, Christ says the steward who doesn’t trust his master’s return, will live a poor life of mistreatment of others and excess in earthly pleasures. To be ready for Christ’s return is to live a life of love, spiritual focus and self control.
Luke 12:49
Fight Like Ana – Film Project
Please help me get eyes on this as we are in the last days there are fewer and fewer people that help.
Fight Like Ana – Film Project: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2CVqIucfFo
Fight Like Ana is the story of a young woman stripped of everything, and how her faith and family gives her the strength to overcome incredible adversity. Reborn like a young child, she learns to walk again, to speak again, to navigate the difficult road to recovery.
NBC Story – Ana Wakefield: https://youtu.be/P3HgG4MQICI
https://www.gofundme.com/fight-like-ana
My Favorite Quote: "You get ahead in life by being helped along the way by others…
By you helping others along the way".
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3HgG4MQICI?wmode=opaque]THE INSPIRING STORY OF A YOUNG ATHLETE PLUNGED INTO DEATH, AND HER STORY OF REBIRTH.
The Story
On the morning of October 18, 2017, Ana Wakefield drove to practice, excited about her upcoming junior year of basketball at Multnomah University.
In a moment, her entire life changed when she became the victim of a hit and run. The nearly fatal crash left Ana with a traumatic brain injury, multiple fractures to her legs, a fractured eye socket, a collapsed lung, and several other injuries.
Over the past year and a half, Ana's recovery has been nothing short of a miracle. She went through death, and is alive again, beating the odds time and again as she rebuilds her life.
The Film
Fight Like Ana is the story of a young woman stripped of everything, and how her faith and family gives her the strength to overcome incredible adversity. Reborn like a young child, she learns to walk again, to speak again, to navigate the difficult road to recovery. Fight Like Ana asks the difficult question:
When part of you dies, how do you begin again?
At the beginning of June, the film crew flew in to capture interviews with Ana and the whole family, but this was only the first step in telling Ana’s story. Our next step is to edit the interview footage while raising funds to bring the film crew back to Oregon to shoot this documentary.
Spirit = Breath
Last night at the Southall revival in London I spoke about the Holy Spirit – the invisible breath of God. in today’s verse the word “Spirit” literally means “breath.” In the original old testament Hebrew, this Scripture is saying that the breakthroughs that are coming in your life are not going to happen just because of your talent, your connections or who you know. It’s going to happen because God breathes in your direction. God will shift those negative winds that blow, into a positive breath of healing, promotion and restoration.
You may be wondering how are you going to get well? The medical report say it’s impossible. But when God breathes on you, health, wholeness and restoration are headed toward you. How are you going to accomplish your dreams? You may not know the right people, or have enough money, or feel like you don’t have the talent. No, God is breathing and sending ideas, resources and the right connections in your direction.
Today, if you will stay faithful and keep honouring and obeying God, then suddenly things will change. Suddenly, you will come into abundance. Suddenly, your child will turn around. Suddenly, you will get well. Suddenly, the breath of God will shift things in every area of your life!
“”¦Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord Almighty.”
(Zechariah 4:6, NIV)
Pray With Me
Yahweh, thank You for breathing in my direction. Father, thank You for restoring life, peace, health and wholeness to my body and mind through Your Holy Spirit. God, I bless You today, and receive the supernatural winds of change You have prepared for me, in Jesus’ Name! Amen.
Higher Heights
God wants to take you to higher heights. However, it’s easy to get stuck in a rut and just settle for normality. Sometimes we think, “well, I’ve reached my limits. I’ve gone as far as I can go. This is as happy as I’ll ever be.” But, if we’re going to continue to increase and really experience God’s best, we have to align our thinking with God’s thinking.
In today’s Scripture, the people limited the Holy One of Israel. Think about that. You and I can actually limit the all-powerful Creator of the universe. How, you may ask? By our thinking. What we believe either opens the door for God to move, or it closes the door. God is limited in our lives by what we believe. So many people don’t even realise that it’s their own wrong thinking that keeps them in mediocrity.
Today, don’t just settle, take the limits off by choosing to believe God wants to take you to higher heights! Feed your faith by studying His Word. Keep an open heart and mind before Him. Allow God to work in your life, and watch Him open up doors of blessing that you’ve never seen before!
“They turned back and tempted God, and limited the Holy One of Israel.”
(Psalm 78:41, KJV)
Pray With Me
Yahweh, today I choose to believe that You want me to reach the next level in my life. Father, I take the limits off by trusting that You have good plans for my life now and in the future. God, I invite You to search my heart and remove anything that isn’t pleasing to You. I bless You today and always, in Jesus’ Name! Amen.
