This is why the fulfillment of God’s promise depends entirely on trusting God and his way, and then simply embracing him and what he does. God’s promise arrives as pure gift. That’s the only way everyone can be sure to get in on it, those who keep the religious traditions and those who have never heard of them. For Abraham is father of us all. He is not our racial father—that’s reading the story backward. He is our faith father. Romans 4:16 MSG

I love the way this is written! God’s promise arrives as pure gift, it’s not based on what I’ve done wrong or what I’ve done right, it’s simply a promise that if we believe it, we will have it.

When God first called Abraham to leave his family, he was a pagan. They didn’t know God or have relationship with God. Read it for yourself from Genesis 12:1-6:

God told Abram: “Leave your country, your family, and your father’s home for a land that I will show you. I’ll make you a great nation and bless you. I’ll make you famous; you’ll be a blessing. I’ll bless those who bless you; those who curse you I’ll curse. All the families of the Earth will be blessed through you.”

So Abram left just as God said, and Lot left with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran. Abram took his wife Sarai and his nephew Lot with him, along with all the possessions and people they had gotten in Haran, and set out for the land of Canaan and arrived safe and sound.

At age 75 he made a decision to trust a God he did not see but only heard and in that moment, he became the father of faith. His example showed us how to listen, trust and obey. There was no, “First confess your sins because you’re a heathen. Then you need to sacrifice a lamb to cover your sin.” No! Because just like today, God will use anyone who is willing to leave and do His instructions.

I don’t care what you think of our current president, to me he is just another Abram. A 72 year old man who left the comforts of his own home to save a nation and bring them back to the knowledge of what our country was founded on-God. He is a breath of fresh air over all the other corrupt politicians who had their own agenda for this nation and did not seek the face of God or have Godly men and women as advisors.

I wonder how many of us have heard God’s call to leave mother and father to follow Him into the unknown? I wonder how few have done as He’s asked? One act of obedience can shake your current safe foundation and bring you to new and exciting open doors. God has always had plans for you but He can’t do anything until you move.

Thank You Father for yet another reminder that Your plans are higher than ours and so much better. We ask forgiveness for our lack of faith and trust in You and we ask you give us another chance to walk on the water with You. It’s by faith in Jesus, Amen.

Be still in the presence of the Lord and wait patiently for him to act. Psalm 37:7

Two very difficult things for me; be still and wait patiently. Why is that? Do you have the same issue? Maybe it’s a personality trait! I don’t know but I can tell you this, when I become anxious over something I’ve asked for, it’s not a great place to be.

Yet when I sit in the presence of the Lord, such peace and contentment. I simply must begin my day in the stillness of His presence. To hear His sweet voice whisper, ‘Good morning, daughter!’ It makes my heart leap with joy. One word from Him changes everything.

I lived for years jumping out of bed, grabbing a shower, getting the family up and ready for work and school, packing lunches, throwing in laundry, going to work, coming home, catching up with the kids, fixing dinner, cleaning up, doing more laundry, only to get up in the morning and do it all again. Time for God was probably a desire but definitely not a reality.

It’s not that I never prayed, I did. But to create a time for God alone every day, to carve out a half hour to feed my spirit on a daily basis, I just didn’t have the time. Then one day I decided I had to change my priorities and put God first not just in my finances, but with my time. It started with just 10 minutes. Doesn’t sound like a lot, but what a difference it made.

The first thing I noticed was I was more focused, and I seemed to hear Gods voice clearer. I also began to notice that my trust in Him grew and my time with him went from 10 minutes to an all day exchange. I noticed Him opening doors for me to minister to people without fear of rejection or intimidation.

My mind remains in this place of stillness today even as my duties at my job threaten to steal my peace. Every evil report simply gets submitted to His capable hands and I rest in His presence waiting for Him.

And Father, may You find me here again each morning, listening, waiting patiently for You to act. Thank You for taking care of all my drama. It’s in Jesus’ name, Amen.

“Come to the Lord, the living stone rejected by people as worthless but chosen by God as valuable. Come as living stones, and let yourselves be used in building the spiritual temple, where you will serve as holy priests to offer spiritual and acceptable sacrifices to God through Jesus Christ.” I Peter 2:4,5 GNT

Everything built on the Rock will remain unshaken. Everything built on the sand will fall. Unless we begin to measure everything in our lives against the living Word of God, we build our foundation of faith on deception.

Stop accepting everything people say as truth! Don’t be that gullible! The only truth is in the Word of God. If I say something that doesn’t line up with the Word, don’t listen to what I say. There has to be accountability to the Word of God!

Each of us is responsible for our own salvation. It’s something we walk out hand in hand with the Lord and his written Word. You can’t go through me to God, you must go through Jesus, he is the author and finisher of our faith. What I post is merely to instill hunger in you for relationship with God and for his Word.

When you face your giant, I won’t be there to fight it with you. You must face that battle with the Lord and His Word. You can’t cheat, it must be in you and be your very foundation. Start feeding your spirit so that in the days ahead when you face fear, sickness, lack or any other enemy, the Word that’s in you will work as the weapon it was designed for. 

Some of us have been exposed to some seriously perverted word and if we were to hold it under the light of Gods Word, it wouldn’t even come close to truth. Some of us speak so much like the world that we aren’t even aware we constantly speak death and sickness. “Thats sick!” “You kill me!” WHAT?

We are to come apart, be separate, touch NOT the unclean things. We’re not to sound like the world, look like the world or be like the world. We are living stones! Life speakers, love speakers, light in a dark place, salt in a tasteless world.

Father, forgive me! When I stand before You, I want the only thing that remains to be Your Word. May I be full of Your Word and not full of my words. They are much smaller than Yours and have no value apart from You. Give me wisdom and understanding that I may 

Then Peter said, “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.” Acts 3:6

You know, I personally don’t have a lot of money or investments, but I do know how to do good. Jesus went around doing good and healing everyone. It was in his nature to do good because he came from the Father.

We also come from our Father if we have confessed Jesus as lord of our lives and received his sacrifice for our sins, so we too should be following his example and doing good. We have the same Spirit in us that He did. It quickens, or makes alive our mortal bodies, not so that we can live a nice comfortable life, but that we might do good.

Start by being more aware of those that enter your realm. Neighbors, people at the grocery store, people walking by you, people you work with, go to church with, those you pass at the park.  Let’s work today on being sensitive to the Spirit in us and minister to those we meet along the way.

Just be nice! Smile and say hello. Offer to help carry their groceries. Don’t be in such a hurry to get where you need to be. Smile at the cashier and tell them to have a nice day. It’s not all about you, make it about others.

May the boldness of the Spirit of God rise up in us as we go through our day. May we be sensitive to the needs of those around us and be do-gooders just as Jesus was. Let’s keep it going and aim to be like Him in the earth.

“The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who arranged a marriage for his son, ³ and sent out his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding; and they were not willing to come.” Matthew 22:2-4

It’s amazing to me how many excuses we can think up when asked to do something. Here’s just a few:

1. My health isn’t that good
2. I’m too old
3. I live alone
4. I’m not good at anything
5. I’ve failed too many times
6. I don’t know anyone
7. I’m too tired
8. I work full time
9. I don’t have the money

The truth is, no one is in perfect health. We’re all older then we were yesterday. We didn’t want to when we weren’t alone. We are all good at something. Everyone has failed, that’s what determines we’re still alive! We all know someone, the waitress at the place we just ate, the cashier at the store, the person we sat next to in church and our neighbors all around us. We’re not too tired to do what we want to do. Working full time just widens your sphere of influence. Take the little you have and trust God to multiply it.

Sorry, I’m the wrong person to tell your excuses to because that is no place to settle. To be a part of something takes effort, it means pushing excuses away and getting up, getting out, getting over yourself and making an effort to focus on others.

God has invited you to participate in the greatest event in history; the final harvest. You can’t just sit at the table eating the good God has provided you. Remember the great commission began with the word ‘go’. Jesus sent his followers out. You’ve been equipped, not to go to church and rub elbows with fellow Christians, but to use what you know to reach the lost! Don’t miss out on the most exciting part of your life because it’s not comfortable. Leave Excuseville behind and see what awaits you outside those city limits.

Father, forgive my laziness, my excuses and my busyness. I have come into Your Kingdom for such a time as this and I want to be alert, ready and willing to go and do what you need me to do. You didn’t call me to easy, every day is a challenge, but You are forever Faithful as my Provider, Healer, Strength and I will participate where and when You need me to. It’s in Jesus’ name, Amen.

But if we confess our sins, God will forgive us. We can trust God to do this. He always does what is right. He will make us clean from all the wrong things we have done. 1 John 1:9 ERV

Have you ever done something bad, I mean real bad? You know you shouldn’t have done it but you did it anyway and it felt good when you did it, but afterwards. Afterwards it haunted you. It could have been something you did as a child and you’re still thinking about it.

Sometimes the hardest thing in life is to stop obsessing over mistakes made in the past. Guilt and condemnation are twin sisters birthed by the devil himself and he constantly uses them against us, leading us to believe that if we remember, God must too! Well let me dispel this lie once and forever so that you have some ammunition the next time Satan comes to you with your past.

First and foremost to remember is that according to Hebrews 8:12, God won’t even remember your sins! The blood of Jesus was such a perfect sacrifice that it didn’t just cover sins in the past, but also in the present and future. It works outside of time and is complete in all it accomplished on Calvary.

Psalm 103:12 says that as far as the east is from the west, that’s how far He removed our sin from us.  Why should we pay for a debt that was settled? You can’t do that because it’s already been canceled. Stop trying to pay for what you no longer owe! Instead, be thankful and move on.

Brothers and sisters, I know that I still have a long way to go. But there is one thing I do: I forget what is in the past and try as hard as I can to reach the goal before me. Philippians 3:13 ERV

The past will always try to keep you separated from your future. At some point in time you must forgive yourself, shut the door on whats behind and fix your eyes on Jesus, the one who took care of it all for you. Like Paul, we’re not perfect and we’ve a long way to go, but we’ll never get there staring in the rear view mirror. Forgive yourself and move on! There’s far too much in you that God needs to use to help others for you to sit on the sidelines being a watcher.

Every time you hear someone whisper to you about your past, tell them you don’t live there anymore.  Ask God to forgive you and believe that He has. Begin to focus forward and let God deal once and for all with your past.  When He looks at you, He only sees the blood of Jesus, not who you were, but who you are-His child!

Father, once again I just want to thank You for complete forgiveness from my past. Even when the devil tries to remind me of what I did, I feel Your loving arms around me, sheltering me from the memories and assuring me of the depth of Your love. I will never understand how You do it, but if You don’t remember, I’m not going to either. It’s in Jesus’ name and all for Your glory, Amen.

The harvest you reap reveals the seed that was planted. If you plant the corrupt seeds of self – life into this natural realm, you can expect to experience a harvest of corruption. If you plant the good seeds of Spirit-life you will reap the beautiful fruits that grow from the everlasting life of the Spirit. And don’t allow yourselves to be weary or disheartened in planting good seeds, for the season of reaping the wonderful harvest you’ve planted is coming! Galatians 6:8-9 TPT

When I was young, my mom and dad would take us out in the woods up north to find wild blackberries that grew along the trails. They were everywhere! So sweet and delicious that I ate more than I picked. To this day one of my favorite flavors is blackberries in any form.

As I read this passage, I thought of how some plants just keep reproducing every year, yielding more and more without anyone doing a thing to them. I believe it’s like that in our lives. We were made to produce love so that others can know that same love and desire the fruit of it.

In Galatians 5:22-23 it says: But the fruit produced by the Holy Spirit within you is divine love in all its varied expressions: joy that overflows, peace that subdues, patience that endures, kindness in action, a life full of virtue, faith that prevails, gentleness of heart, and strength of spirit. Never set the law above these qualities, for they are meant to be limitless.

The things we produce in our lives should all be from the seed of Love planted in our hearts by God Himself. It should just naturally be what flows from us so that others can take nourishment from it. Today, lets see how many expressions we can be to the world around us. In our jobs, our errands, our neighborhoods, wherever we go. Allow people to  enjoy the fruit of the Spirit in us.

Father, help me to have joy today, the kind that’s contagious. Help me to stay in peace, to be gentle in my responses and to be strong in doing what is right. May others indulge themselves of the fruit they find in me. It’s in Jesus’ name, Amen.

Quiet your heart in his presence and pray; keep hope alive as you long for God to come through for you. And don’t think for a moment that the wicked in their prosperity
are better off than you. Psalm 37:7 TPT

I’m sure I’m not the only person in the world that has gone through a prolonged battle. I’m pretty sure that most of us have faced situations where we’ve called out to God for a breakthrough, a miracle for something, right? Have you ever wondered if He plays favorites? If maybe while you were screwing up somewhere, He sent your answer and you missed it?

These are the times I read me some Psalms because I’m pretty sure that there is nothing I’ve faced or am facing that David hasn’t experienced himself. As a boy he was not his fathers favorite, in fact when the prophet Samuel called for all his sons to be gathered, he didn’t bother calling for David. No value there! It wasn’t until the prophet tried the rest of his boys that he finally admitted he had one more.

I thank God that at least my mom and dad didn’t forget me or think less of me. Perhaps they wondered what I’d end up being or doing, but thinking how it could have been stirs my hope up in the Lord.

I’m pretty sure that when he took the head off Goliath, he wasn’t thinking that it would be the cause of jealousy and he’d be running for his life, stuck with a bunch of disgruntled people as his followers.

His own children turned on him and tried to take over the kingdom. He didn’t know how to be a father, he just repeated what he’d learned from his own. It gives me hope that my children haven’t tried to kill me or run me out of my home. My point is, it could be worse!

He committed adultery. He murdered. He cried out to God and repented and even before Jesus came and shed his blood, God forgave him and blessed him. Regardless of how long it takes, I will put my hope in the Lord. As David said throughout the Psalms, He’s my strong tower, my fortress, my help in time of trouble. My enemies may be many, but my God is bigger and He will never leave me nor forsake me.

My hope is in You oh God! I will trust in You as my source, my supply, my help, my deliverer. In Your presence is fullness of joy. You’re the peace to my storm, my daily bread when I’m hungry, my living water when I thirst. My heart pants for You, desperate for the sweet sound of Your voice. I will be still in Your presence and quiet my soul as I wait for the answer, for my breakthrough. You will not disappoint. I will hope in You. Amen

From the beginning I revealed to you what would happen. These words came out of my mouth, and I made them known. Suddenly, I acted, and they happened. Isa 48:3.

Why should we be surprised when what God said actually happens? I think sometimes we get hung up on the timing of it all rather than the fact that it happens. Truth is, we can’t see further then the hand in front of our face. Anything past the ‘now’ is out of our sight line.

When we see a problem, we think it needs to be fixed now. But when God sees that same problem, He sees the purpose for it later on. We’re anxious for it to be done with instead of allowing the process to work things out of us, to learn and grow through it.

Remember that pressure on coal creates diamonds inside. Pressure on olives exposes the oil inside. Pressure on us also exposes what’s in us. It should thrust us into the arms of our Father who sees all, knows all and understands all. It should build our character, refine our peace and cause joy to overflow because we trust in the God who loves us.

Remember the saying, ‘A watched pot never boils’? Stop looking for it to happen and trust that God has it all planned out. Continue your journey with your eyes fixed on Father, He sees everything you don’t. He knows the pitfalls, the traps and schemes and if you’re following Him, you’ll avoid all of that.

Don’t think for a moment that God won’t do what He said He would. It’s only a matter of time before you see it. Distractions WILL come and try to get you to quit but DON’T DO IT! I’m here today to encourage you. Regardless of how bleak the horizon looks, the storm you see can be blown away in an instant. Stop staring in fear at what is in front of you! Look past it to your big God who is just beyond that.

Father, thank you that whatever I go through today you have purpose for it. I won’t allow my feelings to get hurt or to even entertain the idea that You just don’t care, because I know that is a big fat lie from the pit of hell. You said that if I know the truth it will set me free, so thank You for revealing Your truth to me. I give You thanks and Your praise will ever be on my lips. It’s in Jesus’ name and for Your glory, Amen.

“You have minds like a snake pit! How do you suppose what you say is worth anything when you are so foul-minded? It’s your heart, not the dictionary, that gives meaning to your words. A good person produces good deeds and words season after season. An evil person is a blight on the orchard. Let me tell you something: Every one of these careless words is going to come back to haunt you. There will be a time of Reckoning. Words are powerful; take them seriously. Words can be your salvation. Words can also be your damnation.” Matthew 12:34-37

Jesus sure did say it like he saw it, didn’t he? The whole ‘minds like a snake pit’ and ‘foul-minded’ is such a visual reference. It shows how easy it is to allow the evil one access to our thought life and cause us to speak those thoughts out loud, creating destructive pathways away from God and His purposes.

The King James version says; for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. If your heart is fearful, you will speak fear. If your heart is full of unbelief, your words will reflect that. The sad fact is that if words produced a garden, many of us would have weeds or poisonous plants in abundance.

If we know that Satans strategy is to steal our blessing, kill our dreams and destroy our hope and future by corrupting our thought life so that we spew opposite words than what God desires us to think and say, wouldn’t we guard our minds and hearts?

Regardless of what your enemy has planned for you, the only way you give him power is with your mouth. Know this, God’s plans are to prosper you and give you great success. He is for you not against you. Turn a deaf ear to the lies of your adversary and speak in agreement with God’s Word. It never fails!

Father, help me to guard my mind against thoughts that would try to oppose what You’ve said. May I place the truth of Your Word above all else that I may not sin against You. Put Your hand over my mouth before I utter things that would bring you shame. It’s in Jesus’ name, Amen.