God’s character

God is so precious and so amazing. He is beautiful and He is good. I am so humbled by His love and by His character. His character doesn’t change. The problem is that we represent it in so many different ways. We, people, change God’s character according to how we feel, what we believe, what we have learned and who we are. We have this massive filter that makes God look different from who He is. He is bigger and wider than what we imagine. He is stronger and better than what we think. We need to take a step back and remove our feelings, our judgment, our preconceived notions when it comes to God. We need to take Him at face value. The way He is depicted in the Bible as a God of love is the way He truly is. He is powerfully and unchangeably good.

We should be on a quest to discover who God truly is and to get closer to Him. That is my desire. That is my quest. I take a few steps forward on that journey and then I take a few steps back but I am willing to put my best foot forward and to keep going until I shed all the misconceptions that I have of God. I need to unlearn a few things in order to let the truth come in, reign in me and set me free. I am tired of seeing a God who can’t do all He can do. It’s not His fault. It’s mine. He is limitless. He is so huge and widely loving. His love is everything. His love is His character. He is love before being anything else and all that He is is based on this strong love!

God’s character is like no other and you and I can get to know it and reflect it. God is in us. As host of the Holy Spirit, we have the Lord in us. His character, His love is in us. However, there are layers of self and of ego that we have to remove so that His Spirit can emerge and we can flow with His love. Our own character can be a hindrance to God’s character in us but the good news is that we can make Him “show up” with the help of His Spirit. We can walk hand in hand with His Spirit when we die to self. Let’s prioritize God’s character and let give the world a better picture of what His love looks like. God’s character is phenomenal! May God bless you and protect you and remember that Jesus is alive and well and He will always love you!

Suggested reading: Exodus 34:6-7; Job 34:12; Nehemiah 9:31

A powerhouse of hope

People need hope. We all need hope. We all need a boost every day. We all need motivation. We all need someone or something that tells us that everything is going to work out for the best. We need that reminder that God is with us and that it doesn’t matter who or what is against us. We have God. We have Jesus. We have hope and that will never change. It will never be taken away from us. No one will ever take Jesus away from you. No one will ever take His hope away from you. You have hope galore in you. It’s time you realized that truth. It’s time you believed without a doubt that you are a powerhouse of hope. Hope lives in you. Hope is with you. Hope surrounds you. Let hope be the force in your life that it is supposed to be. Let hope be your superpower. Let hope be the strength that is behind all you. Jesus is the hope of the world and He is certainly the hope of your world. Act accordingly. Think accordingly. Walk accordingly. Talk accordingly. Speak of hope. Speak of Jesus. Speak of love. Speak of the Holy Spirit. Let hope be what comes out of you in all circumstances.

The enemy will never stop pressuring you and squeezing you with all sorts of bad situations. When the pressure is on, you find out what you are truly made of. You are made of love. You are made of faith. You are made of peace. You are made of joy and you are made of hope. Now, all the amazing fruit of the Spirit might not be your immediate reaction to life but it can be. It should be and it will be when you trust that God is permanently in you and that He has given you the power and the ammunition to deal with anything. That power like I said is hope. Hope of triumph. Hope of victory. Hope of being blessed. Hope of constantly being covered by God’s love and being protected. These things are true. You are the child of God and you are highly blessed and highly favored. Keep putting all your hope in the Lord. Let His hope rise up in you. You are a powerhouse of hope that might need to be awakened today. You have all it takes to make it every day and to bless others every day.

As a powerhouse of hope, you have a lot of hope to give. Dig into your heart. Let the fruit of the Spirit produce the good fruit of hope in your everyday life. Declare that the hope of the Lord is in you. Declare that it is your power. Declare that hope is alive and well in you. Declare that Jesus is your hope and you have nothing to worry about and nothing to fear. Declare that hope will never leave you nor forsake you. Declare that hope makes you get up every morning and it keeps you awake and alert all day. Give out that hope. Distribute it generously. Give hope to your friends and family. Give hope to strangers. Give hope wholeheartedly. People need that power that lies in you. Open your mouth and give hope. You will heal, bless and help many people in the name of Jesus. Be that powerhouse of hope that you are meant to be! May God bless you and protect you and remember that He will always love you!

Suggested reading: Isaiah 40:31; Galatians 5:22-23; 1 Peter 1:3

You can do hard things

When I was praying the other day, I heard deep down inside, “You can do hard things. You can do hard things thanks to Me.” It was an extremely encouraging message from the Lord. I had needed to hear it. God is my strength. The Lord is the power in my life. He is my Savior, my Rock and my Fortress. Thanks to Him and through Him I can do all things. He makes me an overcomer and an overachiever. I have to keep that in mind and I have to remind my spirit that it is not weak and that it can push through anything thanks to Christ who strengthens me.

I took that message to heart and I carried it all day. I repeated it to myself and I thanked the Lord for being my strength. I thanked Him for making anything possible. He is the strength that I need to accomplish everything every day. When I look ahead and think about all the things I have to take care of, it can be overwhelming. I can get stressed and anxiety joins the party. Now, I know that I can do all things through Christ who is in me. I can do simple things and I can do hard things. He gives me the confidence to tackle any task and to achieve my daily goals. I am not in this alone. He backs me up and He helps me all day long.

Friend, the same goes for you. In Christ and through Christ you can do hard things. You can take care of your everyday business and you can excel. Nothing is too hard for you because of the One who is in you. Trust Him. Follow His lead. He is leading you in the right direction. In the direction of success. You can do everything that your heart sets out to do as long as you rely on the Lord. Lean on Him. He is going to help you do everything. Nothing is impossible to Him and nothing is too hard for you because you have Him. Stay strong and stay encouraged in Him. You can do hard things in the name of Jesus. May God bless you and protect you and remember that Jesus is alive and well and He will always love you!

Suggested reading: Isaiah 41:10; Philippians 4:13; Colossians 1:11

10 nuggets of wisdom for your Saturday (Part 323)

Jesus is the best solution. Jesus is the solution that solves every problem of your life. Turn to Jesus and you will turn to the best answer you can get!

Don’t give up. God is on your side. God is on your team. God is the leader of your team and He is going to lead you to victory! Don’t give up!

When you trust God, He gives you all the spiritual food you need so you can be filled with joy, love, peace and faith!

Do not let your heart be troubled. Keep your mind focused on Jesus and your heart will be at peace!

At your lowest God is still at His highest so expect a breakthrough in the middle of your breakdown!

Don’t be afraid of the future. The Lord is already there. He knows how He is going to bless you and assist you. Stay encouraged!

You are covered by the Lord! This means that wherever you go, you have protection. He is your shield and your shelter. Praise Him for His protection!

Thank God for His peace. His peace settles all the matters of the heart and all the arguments in the mind. Let God’s peace be your reset button in times of chaos and confusion!

Don’t settle for less. Settle for God’s best. Expect His best. Pray and expect God to take care of the rest!

God loves your prayers. He listens to every single one of them, even the ones you can’t say. He sees your heart. He knows your heart. He blesses your heart. Keep praying out of your heart!

Suggested reading: Psalm 32:6; Psalm 39:12; Job 22:27

Drawing close to God

When you stay in the Word  and you keep connecting to God through prayer, praise and thanksgiving, the Lord builds you up. He makes you stronger. He gives you spirit power. He helps you grow spiritually and He helps you grow in the knowledge of His love. When you draw closer to God, He draws closer to you. When you keep your eyes on Jesus, you become more aware of how He keeps His eyes on you. It’s all about standing on the promises of God and not moving from there. It is all about paying attention to what God says in His Word and accepting it as the ultimate truth. We need to stay close to God. We need to keep communicating with God and have daily communion with Him. That is how we will soar like eagles and fly above pain, confusion, doubt and worry. The closer we get to God, the further we are from the deceit of the enemy and from fear and anxiety.

Friend, keep getting close to God. Keep seeking His face. Keep seeking His kingdom. Keep running after God and you will catch up with peace, love, joy and blessings you never thought existed.  The enemy will do anything he can to push us away from God. He will bombard us with negative thoughts and fill us with feelings that separate us from God. We need to be diligent and to keep on going. It doesn’t matter how we feel. What matters is the One we know. We should grow in the knowledge of who He is. It makes a huge difference. When I started pursuing God with all my heart, it didn’t take long before I found Him. When I did, I discovered a whole new world where Jesus is King and where nothing is impossible. He opened my eyes to His grace and mercy and I saw a new side to life. A side where I was a child of God. A child who is loved every day. A child who is forgiven and who is covered by the blood of the Lamb. A child who is always welcome at the table of the Lord. A child who has the right to be close to God and who can enjoy His amazing presence.

Drawing close to God requires work on our part but it is good work. It is a worthwhile pursuit. It is a journey of discovery of the truth and of self-discovery. When you go after God’s heart, you learn who you are in Christ. You are taught how to be a follower of love, a follower of faith and a follower of freedom. I find my freedom in Christ. He is my salvation, my peace and my liberty. There is so much joy in Him and basking in His truth is extremely liberating. My prayer for you is that you keep drawing closer to God so you can be as close as possible to the One who will never leave you nor forsake. Keep pursuing God. Your pursuit is never in vain. May God bless you and protect you and remember that Jesus is alive and well and He will always love you!

Suggested reading: 1 Chronicles 16:11; Acts 17:27; Hebrews 11:6

Trust God no matter what

Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Trust that He holds you in the palm of His hand. Trust that He knows what He is doing. Trust that He has your best interest in mind. Trust He loves you all the time. Trust that He can help you and rescue you. Trust that He is God all the time even when life seems complicated and hard. Trust that God gave His one and only Son for you so you could have eternal life. Trust that His Word is supreme and that He stays true to His Word.

 Trust that God is with you and that He will never leave you nor forsake you. Trust that God watches over you and He always cares about you. Trust that there is no one above your God and you can always count on Him. Trust that nothing absolutely nothing can separate you from God’s love. Trust that no one can keep you from receiving God’s best. Trust that the enemy was defeated and Jesus always gives you the victory. Trust God. Trust God all the time. You have a King who is always good and who always wins. Trust God no matter what!

Blind faith is not easy. Trusting God in all circumstances is not easy. Trusting God when your bank account is being depleted because you have a lot of bills is not easy. However, God wants us to trust Him with an unshakable faith. He wouldn’t ask us to do that if we couldn’t. If He knew that it was impossible for us, He would not expect us to have this kind of faith. Trust is powerful. Trust connects us to someone else with a confidence that the other person won’t let us down. God won’t let us down. God will never let you down, friend. What you need to do is allow the net of faith to back you up and to catch you in every situation. 

I have been there many times. I have been in situations where I needed to trust God blindly. I have had to walk by faith and not by sight a lot. It’s not the most comfortable walk but it is a great walk. Every time we walk by faith and we trust God completely, we get closer to God. We get stronger in our faith. We build muscles of faith that will be there to help us in the next situation. I love that spiritual workout. It is satisfying. It is empowering. It is transformative. It is always worth it.

I encourage you to keep trusting God. Keep believing that He is going to get you through your worst trials and tribulations. Keep trusting that He is going to supply your needs with His riches in glory. Keep trusting that He is God all the time and that He reigns even when the enemy is blowing lies into your life and his smoke of deceit is contaminating your environment. Keep trusting God because your fervent faith will always, always produce great results. You have nothing to worry about. You have everything to gain when you trust God. He is not going to abandon you. He has not abandoned you. He is working behind the scenes and getting your next breakthrough and your next blessing all set up. Trust Him no matter what! May God bless you and protect you and remember that He will always love you!

Suggested reading: Numbers 14:6-9; Joshua 1:7-9; John 14:27

He understands

The pain you have experienced, the suffering you are facing and the problems you will be dealing with are no surprises to God. He has seen it all. He has experienced it all. He has lived it all. He knows exactly how you are feeling. He knows what it’s like to be you. He knows how you think, how you talk and how you act. He knows your deepest thoughts. He knows what you have in your heart. He has heard the words that you wouldn’t utter. He has heard the pain you have been hiding. He knows what triggers you and He knows what helps you. He knows everything there is to know about you. He knows you better than you know yourself. He saw you, all of you, before you were born. He has been in your head. He has been in your heart. He has been in your spirit. There is nothing you can tell God that He doesn’t already know. There is nothing you can share with God that would shock Him. There is nothing you can confess to God that would make Him stay away from you. He understands what you go through. He understands you. He always understands.

I used to think that God was part of an elite that was way above me and that did not want to have anything to do with me. Every time I was aware of a sin, I felt judged, rejected and punished by God. If something bad happened to me, I thought it was a punishment for something wrong that I had done. Then I found out more about Jesus. I found out about love, grace and mercy. I found out that He forgave me and that He cared about me a lot more than I had been told. God cares about you more than you will ever know. He understands that you are doing what you can and He wants you to know that He loves you with a love that comes with no fury and anger. He understands why you have been sad. He understands why you have been hurt. He understands why you have been distant. He also understands that you need Him and you can find peace in Him. He has what you need to deal with anything and everything. He has this unconditional love that heals, that restores and that comforts you.

God is not ignoring your suffering. He is not taking you for granted. He doesn’t minimize your pain. He doesn’t turn a blind eye when your faith is blurred by the trials and the tribulations you are facing. He loves you and He wants to help you.  When you can’t sleep at night, He is awake with you, right there with you. He loves your company and He has amazingly beautiful words of encouragement for you. He is telling you today that He understands your pain and He has a cure for it. He is telling you today that He understands why you have turned your back from Him and He welcomes you back. He will welcome you back a million times if that’s necessary. He understands your frustration and He can trade it for peace and joy. He died on the cross so you could have a better life. He felt you on that cross. He felt everything you will ever experience and He took care of it all. Thank God for understanding and for loving us all so much! God will get you through anything. He understands your life and He has a wonderful plan for it! May God bless you and protect you and remember that Jesus is alive and well and He will always love you!

Suggested reading: Psalm 139; Mark 1:13; Matthew 26:38

God will make your dreams happen

God puts dreams in our hearts for a reason. Every dream He puts in us is backed up by His love and by His power. There is nothing too big for Him so if your dream seems too huge, remember that it comes from God. He gives you inspiration and aspiration. He puts hope in your heart and He wants you to water it every day with words that align with His Word. God’s dreams are seeds of hope that need daily nourishment. You should feed them all the time. Your words and your attitude can make the dreams come true or they can kill the dreams.

Faith plays a major role. Your faith is the dominant factor here. It plays the role of the fertilizer that is needed for the dreams to grow and for them to come to pass. Your main thought and belief should be that God will make it happen. Let your words go hand in hand with that truth. Let your actions work with that truth. Make it a daily declaration. Declare that God will make it happen. Despite your circumstances, despite your feelings, despite negative thoughts, God will make it happen. He will make your dreams come true. He will bring them to pass. Your job is to water the seeds of hope and to not give up. Your faith in God is never in vain!

God will make your wildest dreams happen. I remember as a child I had some great dreams about traveling the world and God has faithfully made that happen. I know that He is not done yet and the dreams He put in my heart as a nineteen year old man are yet to take place. I am patiently waiting for them to come true and I know that His timing is perfect. For me to be able to share His messages with a vast audience like I do every day is one of those dreams. I never thought I could write the way I do every day. I give Him the glory for that. He made it happen. He continues to blow my mind every day. I continue to declare that He is the God who makes things happen. Do the same thing. Don’t give up. Keep believing and keep showing up for God with your faith. God will make it happen. You have seen nothing yet! May God bless you and protect you and remember that Jesus is alive and well and He will always love you!

Suggested reading: Isaiah 60:22; Habakkuk 2:3; Hebrews 10:36

10 nuggets of wisdom for your Saturday (Part 322)

You, Lord, are strong. You, Lord, are loving. Nothing will ever change that. Nothing will ever change Your strength and Your love for Your people. Thank You, Lord, for being my strong tower of love and power.

God is worth more than all the money in the world. He is worth more than all the riches in the universe. He is a treasure of blessings that never runs dry. He will supply your needs according to His infinite riches in glory!

Be an overflowing public fountain of joy, peace, love and patience. Be a source of God’s goodness for everyone.

Provision from Heaven is real. The Lord will supply your needs according to His riches in glory. Expect blessings from God that surpass your expectations!

You are not meant to be a vessel of worry. You are meant to be a vessel of worship. Worship the Lord above everything and your worries will go away.

“Lord, Your love is a river of joy that keeps me strong. Thank You for being my everything.”

God has already confirmed in His Word that He would take care of you. Take His Word for it!

Trust and praise and glorify the Lord. Trust Him in everything. Praise Him through everything. Glorify Him and exalt Him above everything!

God gives peace and His peace sets us free. It sets us free from worry and fear. Ask for peace and you will receive a weapon against the attacks of the enemy!

You are more than a conqueror in Jesus’ name. Don’t you forget it. Remind yourself and remind the enemy of the power that lives in you. Jesus is always in you, with you and for you!

Suggested reading: Romans 8:37; 1 Corinthians 15:57; 1 John 4:4

You are still loved

God loves you all the time. He loves you even when you don’t love yourself. He loves you when no one seems to love you. His love is a river that never ends. You can’t see where it starts and you can’t see where it ends. It is a long stream of hope and blessings that flows with power and that can’t be stopped. No one can stop God from loving you. No circumstances can stop God from loving you. No one has the power to quench that river of joy. The enemy himself does not have the power to separate you from the love of God. No powers on earth can separate you from His love.

However, your thoughts and your perception of God can get in the way so you have to constantly work on them so you can be on the love wavelength and understand that God’s love for you will never end. His love is the anchor that can get you through anything. Stay planted in God’s love. Hold on to the anchor that gives you peace and that gives you all you need. I need to put the love of God in front of me no matter what I am going through. I need to remove the lies and the hatred of the enemy and put God in front of your spiritual eyes because His love is a barrier that keeps me safe and my mind needs to be tuned to that reality all the time.

You too should put God’s love in front of you. No matter what you face, face it with God’s love. Talk about His amazing love for you. Talk about His never ending love for you. Put His love on a pedestal and let the hate of the enemy crumble and fall. God has a love that can open doors that no one can shut. God’s love is the river I mention and it turns into oceans of bliss and blessings. You can’t see where it ends like I said. It never stops and it is extremely powerful. I thank God for His love as often as I can. We should make it a habit to thank God for His love. His love is truly all we need. It keeps us going. It keeps us strong. It keeps us afloat even when the waters of our life are troubled. Today you need to remember that you are still loved by God. You might not feel it but it is the truth and as you meditate on it, it will set you free. Thank the Lord for His love!  May God bless you and protect you and remember that Jesus is alive and well and He will always love you!

Suggested reading: Zephaniah 3:17; John 3:16; John 15:13