Jesus is bigger

Jesus is bigger than your problems. Jesus is bigger than your enemies. Jesus is bigger than your trials. Jesus is bigger than your tribulations. Jesus is bigger than your circumstances. Jesus is bigger than anything that is negative in your life. Jesus is bigger than sin. Jesus is bigger than your mistakes. Jesus is bigger than whatever is trying to steal your joy and your peace. Jesus is bigger than anything. As you start this new week, I want you to remember that Jesus is bigger than anything that will come your way and anything that might be in the way of your happiness right now. There is no one and nothing bigger than the Lord. You have nothing to worry about and nothing to fear because greater is the One that is in you than the devil that is in the world. You have all you need to make it this week. You have all you need to overcome and to challenge the challenges of the enemy!

Jesus died on the cross and conquered sin, death and the enemy. He conquered everything that belongs in the kingdom of evil and death. Now, that includes any problem and any difficulty you will ever encounter. It doesn’t mean that your life is going to be free of problems but it means that for every problem Jesus has a solution. For anything bad that happens to you, God has a cure, an answer and He has the power to change your circumstances for the better. Sometimes He will do it in a split second and sometimes it will be a process but don’t get lost in the details of that process. Trust the Lord every step of the way. Don’t doubt how He is taking care of your situation. Don’t panic when things are going slow. Pray for patience and pray for peace. Jesus is bigger than anything that is trying to destroy you and He will not let you down. He will get you out of the worst situations and He will be with you in the trenches while you are fighting the good fight of faith. Jesus can do anything!

Jesus is bigger than sin. How blessed we are to have a Lord who sacrificed Himself and who paid the price for our sins and our trespasses. This doesn’t give us a license to sin but when we do sin, we can ask for forgiveness. As we walk the Christian walk and we do our best to walk as close to the Lord as possible, we won’t like to sin. We will be tempted and the Holy Spirit will convict us. The fight against sin is a daily fight and no one is perfect but we have to remember that Jesus is bigger than our sins and we can walk close to Him knowing that through His blood we are made whiter than snow. Ask Him to help you deal with sins and transgressions. Whatever you have to deal with in that department is not bigger than Jesus. Keep that in mind!

When problems arise in my life, and they often do, one of the first things I say to myself is that Jesus is bigger than anything. I pump myself up with that truth. I meditate on it and I brandish it against any thought that is attempting to bring me down. Jesus is King. Jesus never fails. Jesus already took care of everything. Jesus is peace. Jesus is joy. Jesus is my victory. He is bigger than failure. He heals me. He restores me. He builds me up. He strengthens me. He supports me. He helps me. He blesses me and He saves me every time. Jesus does all these things for you as well, friend. Invite Him into every circumstance. Talk to Him about anything and everything and He will answer you. See Him as the amazing and powerful King that He is. He is going to bless you tremendously this week. He is going to show you that He still reigns. He is going to pour His love into your life and keep you safe. Stay strong and stay courageous. May God bless you and protect you and remember that He will always love you!

Suggested reading: 1 Chronicles 16:11; Psalm 73:26; 2 Thessalonians 3:3

10 nuggets of wisdom for your Saturday (Part 237)

Trust God, friend. His love endures forever. Trust God, friend. His power to bless and to heal will last forever. Trust God, friend. His Son will reign forever. Trust God, friend. He is your Refuge and your Fortress forever!

Jesus loves you all the time. He loves you every day and He loves you no matter what you say or do. You are highly loved and highly blessed because your Savior adores you. Rely on His love!

God will shatter the dreams the enemy has for your life. Stay in faith!

Today’s trials and tribulations are no indication that tomorrow is going to be bad. Jesus conquered the world and He holds your tomorrow in the palm of His hand. Your future is bright. Stay encouraged!

Thank God in advance for His miracles. Thank God in advance for your next breakthrough. Thank God in advance for your new blessings. Thank God all the time because He loves you all the time!

Jesus has the final say. He said that nothing was impossible to God. That is final and that is what you need to say to yourself. Keep your hopes up. The Lord is up to something good!

They say you should be a go getter. The Lord wants you to be a go giver. Go and give love to the world. Go and give hope to the world. Go and give Jesus to the world!

Do not worry about anything but thank God in everything. Thank Him when all is well. Thank Him when all is bad. Thank God at all times and He will make everything better!

Your problems are trying to steal your peace and your joy. Jesus came to give you peace and joy. Hand your problems over to Him and you will see how He changes your situation. Stay in faith!

Don’t take the world’s “No” for an answer. Take Jesus’ yes and Amen for the foundation of your faith. Yes, He can do it and Amen to that!

Suggested reading: Psalm 118:8; Hebrews 11:6; Hebrews 13:8

Into the ring of fire

When trials and tribulations are all around you, you might feel like you are in a ring of fire. You might feel like everything is burning around you and you have. No way of getting out. You might think that all the good things in your life are going up in flames. Have you ever been in that ring of fire? I am pretty sure that the answer is yes. I have been in that fire many times and the truth is that I am going to be there again. I am not being pessimistic. I am quoting the Bible. In Psalm 34:19, we are told that “Many are the afflictions of the righteous.” Jesus Himself said that in this life we would have many tribulations. We are righteous and we are children of God and we are not immune to problems. That ring of fire is real but it doesn’t mean that we are going to burn up. It doesn’t mean that there won’t be relief and we won’t come out of it.

What we need to do is bring Jesus into that ring of fire. You are probably thinking that Jesus is always with us and He is but our faith has to reach out to Him and help us connect to Him. Many are the afflictions of the righteous but the Lord delivers him from them all. It is because we believe that the Lord delivers us. We can easily load up our thinking with all sorts of negative thoughts that distance us from Jesus who is right there with us. We can easily go with the fire and let our hope burn and crash. We have to bring Jesus into that ring of fire and declare that our Lord won’t let us burn. Our Lord is going to deliver us from that fire and we are going to make it. Jesus said that He had conquered the world. That is the truth we need to bring into that fire. That is the wind of change we should expect.

When the three Hebrews were in the fire, the Lord was with them. They didn’t burn. They didn’t perish. There were four people in the fire and not three. Friend, you are not alone in the fire. There are two of you. You are in the ring of fire with the Lord. Bring praise into that ring of fire. Start dancing in the fire. Start celebrating Jesus. There is no better place than wherever you are to celebrate the Lord. Lift up your hands in the middle of the fire. Sing praises and give thanks to the Lord even in the fire. That ring of fire will go away. The fire will stop burning. Your problems will get resolved. You are not going to be in that ring of fire forever but be sure to bring all your A game into it. By “A game” I mean the powerful combination of prayer, praise and thanksgiving. Don’t be intimidated by the fire. Hold on to Jesus in the fire. Hold on to the promise that the Lord is your refuge and an ever present help in times of trouble. That ring of fire is a time of trouble. The Lord is protecting you. Stay strong. Stay in faith. You are going to come out of the fire. May God bless you and protect you and remember that He will always love you!

Suggested reading: Psalm 34:17; 2 Corinthians 4:17; 1 Peter 4:12-13

10 nuggets of wisdom for your Saturday (Part 236)

There is a love that transcends all understanding. A love that is unconditional and unrestricted. It is the love of God and it is for you today and every day. God loves you without limits!

Trust God in all yours ways. He will never let you down. He will carry you and help you. He will keep you safe and keep you well. Put all your trust in Him!

Take heart! Jesus has overcome the world. Your trials and your tribulations are not too difficult for Him. He already won. Let faith, peace and patience bring the victory to you.

God won’t leave when life gets hard so stay with Him. He will hold your hand. He will hug you with peace and He will shower you with His love. Don’t give up!

Don’t visit prayer from time to time. Live where prayer is. Dwell in the house of the Lord. Talk to Him and you will hear Him all the time. That is what God meant when He said you should pray without ceasing!

Don’t let yourself be exploited by fear. Fight back with the Word of God. It is a weapon that tears down fear, doubt and worry. Keep it close to your heart and fill your mind with it.

God can do the impossible. He is not limited by human understanding and by physical restrictions. He can do anything anytime. Believe in the God of the impossible!

There is going to be restoration in your life. God is going to fix what is broken, mend your heart and wipe your tears away. A new day is coming. Stay encouraged. God is going to do something amazing for you!

Jesus is glorious. Jesus is Lord. Jesus is King and yet He loves you and He treats you like a prince and a princess. Praise Him!!!!

Desire more of God. Want more of God. Seek God more. Talk to God more. Listen to God more. Spend more time with God. Follow God more and you will have more peace!

Suggested reading: Luke 6:38; John 1:16; 3 John 1:2

Your strength in your weakness

Some days we are stronger than other days. We all have moments of weakness. We are human and it is normal to go through weak times. For me it is when I haven’t slept enough or when I haven’t eaten enough that I experience moments of weakness. When it happens, there seems to be holes in my faith and it is easier for me to bend under pressure. However, God says that in our weakness He is our strength. Take a moment to meditate on what that means to you. Every time you are weak, God is still strong. Every time you have holes in your faith, God is still God. Our weak moments don’t change God. God changes us during those moments. He remains steadfast and He remains faithful. God is God all the time. It is a very simple and yet a very powerful reminder. Your God is God almighty 24/7. If you are experiencing weakness today, I want you to remember that God is your strength. Your weakness doesn’t define who you are. You are still a child of God and God defines who you are. You have all the strength you need to face today. You have all the strength you need to stand and to keep going. Don’t look at how weak you are feeling. Look at how strong the Lord is. 

Stand on 2 Corinthians 2:10. It says “That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” Paul wrote this chapter and he was under a lot of pressure. He was persecuted and he faced a lot of adversity. He knew what trials and tribulations were all about. He had problems and difficulties all the time. Yet he knew that when he was weak, he was strong because Jesus was his strength. Jesus was the power behind him. Jesus was the fuel that kept his engine going. Jesus was the cornerstone on which he was built. Jesus was the Savior that gave power to the powerless. Paul wasn’t strong because he had a special power. He was strong because he had Jesus and during those hard times, Jesus was still with him. You have Jesus, friend. He is your strength when you are weak. Just like Paul, declare that when you are weak you are strong. Declare that Jesus is all the power you need. Declare that you are going to make it. Declare that you are made strong by the One who can do anything. 

Problems can make us sick and they can make us sad. Problems can take your peace away and give you internal turmoil. Problems can weaken your faith and leave you empty. You are not going to be able to avoid problems but what you can do is face them with Jesus. Face your difficulties with the problem solver. Hand your problems to Him right away. Don’t stay in a state of perpetual wondering and doubt. Don’t let your weakness get the best of you. Give your weakness to the Lord and He will make things better. Keep turning it over to God. Do it multiple times. Keep doing it until your faith in His strength is stronger. He is there with you and in you. His strength is there. What you need to do is unearth it and let it take over. Let it take over your mind and take over your heart. You have the power of God in you and trust me, His power is sufficient. His grace is sufficient. His love is sufficient. I declare that Jesus is my strength when I am weak. Make the same declaration. Don’t let the enemy dominate your thinking with his lies. You know the truth. The truth is that when you are weak, God is still strong and He keeps you strong. You are blessed and you are favored, friend. This hard season will pass and you will go through it with the power of God. Stay strong! May God bless you and protect you and remember that He will always love you!

Suggested reading: Exodus 15:2; Isaiah 41:10; 2 Corinthians 12

Thanksgiving is the best way to go

“Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise: be thankful unto Him, and bless His name.”* How do we get into the presence of God? A good way to do it is with thanksgiving. Thanksgiving ushers us into the presence of the Lord. God is in His praises as well. Thanksgiving and praise together make a powerful combo that gives us access to the Lord on a higher level. When I first started being more serious about my relationship with Jesus, I was instructed to start my prayers with thanksgiving and praise. I discovered that I could have church in the privacy of my home. I would start with many thanks and then sing to the Lord. The presence was out of this world and to this day it is the best thing I experience every day. Enter God’s gates with thanksgiving, friend. If you have never done it or if you don’t do it on a regular basis, I strongly encourage you to start. It will change your day. It will change you. It will change your relationship with Jesus. It is the best habit you can have. Thanksgiving is always the best way to go.

If you are not sure how to pray or how to connect with God, start with thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is the key that opens the gates of blessings and the gates of Heaven. Thanksgiving is a punch in the face of the enemy. It is a rejection of negative thoughts and a determined move towards positivity. It is acknowledging that God is supreme and putting Him on a pedestal. It is a declaration of love and it is a declaration of victory. Thanksgiving is an expression of faith and a burst of joy. Thanksgiving is telling Jesus that you adore Him and telling the enemy that your God is worthy of your praise and more powerful than the adversity. Thanksgiving is how you should start any conversation with Jesus. It is how you should start your day and how you should end your day. Thanksgiving releases the power of the Holy Spirit in your life. The Holy Spirit promotes Jesus and always points to Jesus. His power is unleashed when you also point to Jesus and lift Him up.

Every day I can choose to praise the Lord or I can choose to stay in my head and let negative and disruptive thoughts brew in my mind. Giving thanks to Jesus is always the best idea. It actually helps me deter negative thoughts. When those thoughts come to me, I go into thanksgiving mode. Try it. It will change the way you handle your thoughts. It will give you a reason to rejoice and it will show you how much beauty and hope there is in the Lord. That beauty and hope can be brought into your life when you give thanks every day. Heaven joins you when you give thanks. You can also say that you join Heaven when you give thanks. Heaven is the best place to be spiritually at all times. When we complain, whine or entertain negative thoughts and words, we step outside of Heaven and hang out in the places of misery and doubt. Those places are dead ends that don’t lead anywhere. Thanksgiving is the best way to go because it will always put us in a better place. The gates of Heaven open up when we give thanks and we are in the right place. Make thanksgiving a habit, friend. Praise Jesus as much as you can and thank Him as much as you can. It is going to change your spiritual life and embellish your life in general. May God bless you and protect you and remember that He will always love you!

Suggested reading: Psalm 100:4*; 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18; Colossians 2:6-7

Keep your hopes up

“Keep your hopes up” is what I told a friend yesterday after her flight home got canceled. It is not the kind of thing we like to hear when something bad happens. When something bad seems final, we don’t think that anything good can come out of the situation. There is no hope on the horizon and all we think about doing is packing our stuff and going home so to speak. When Jesus died on the cross, His suffering and His death seemed final. There was no hope in sight. All that could be done was bury Him. He was put in a tomb but the tomb could not stop Him. Death could not stop Him. Jesus came to give a message of love, of hope and of salvation. His message is still alive today. No one and nothing can stop it. His message says “Keep your hopes up.” It is not a direct message but it is implied. When all seems lost, keep your hopes up. It is not the end. The tomb can’t keep your breakthrough, your blessing and your miracle from coming to life. Keep your hopes up, friend. Something great, something better is coming.

Jesus preached to huge crowds talking about His Father, talking about love and giving every person in attendance hope. He declared that salvation was here. He called Himself the Son of God. The One who can save the world. He also talked about how nothing was impossible to the one who believes in God. You are saved and you believe in God. Nothing is impossible. God can do the impossible for you. Even when your circumstances are telling you to give up, you should continue to hope. Keep your hopes up and let your faith do the talking. Talk back to the doubts. Talk back to the circumstances. Claim your blessings in the name of Jesus. Speak hope into every situation. Jesus was not defeated on the cross. You are a believer in Jesus so you are not defeated. Speak hope against failure. Maintain a healthy level of hope in your everyday life. Hope works with faith. It is not bothered by circumstances. It relies on Jesus the author of our faith and according to Him, hope is alive and well.

There is hope, my friend. There will always be hope. I know that at times it is very difficult to keep going and to keep believing. There will always be a good reason to keep believing and to keep hoping and that reason is Jesus. When all is said and done, Jesus still has the final say. He said that nothing was impossible to God and that is final. Say it to yourself. Repeat it to yourself. Keep your hopes up. Your Savior can turn anything around. It is not over until the Lord says it’s over. Hope is here. Something great is going to take place in your life so hold on to the King of hope. Jesus will make it come to pass. Stay strong. God’s got you! Keep your hopes up! May God bless you and protect you and remember that He will always love you!

Suggested reading: Mark 16:15; Luke 4:43; Ephesians 2:8

Everyday Jesus

Keep going. Keep pushing. Keep exploring your faith. Keep going over the limitations of your imagination. You are going to make it. You have the Lord on your side. You are going to get through all the trials and tribulations. Don’t give up. Jesus paid the price so you could walk in peace and enjoy love and joy every day. Jesus is an everyday God. Remember that. Every single day He is Lord. Every single day He loves you. Every single day He reigns. Every single day He wins. Every single day He triumphs. He is the God who never fails and the God who is true to His Word. You can have the assurance that things are going to get better. You can have the confidence that you are going to succeed. God is your guarantee that you won’t fail. Just keep in mind that He is the same yesterday, today and forever. Rejoice and enjoy the everyday God. Jesus is your everyday Savior who will never leave your side so you never have to worry about anything.

Thinking that God is with us every day can be a foreign thought to some of us. We can’t fathom the depth of that truth. Why? I think mostly because we don’t engage with Him every day. We use Sunday as the “one day with God.” We see Jesus as a Sunday Lord. He is the same every day and not just Sunday. Worshiping and praying to Him only on Sunday is short circuiting our faith and giving God little credit. He is not confined to one day. He is in every second of every minute of every hour of every day. When I started considering the Lord as the God of every day, my weeks were much better. I was able to face every day in a new way. I was able to stay strong and to tackle every task with more peace and more hope. Jesus is hope every day. There is hope in every single day because there is Jesus in every day. Don’t let the enemy tell you otherwise. Hope never dies since Jesus is alive. You can always expect an answer, a solution and a breakthrough in Jesus’ name.

Every day is the perfect day to exalt Jesus and to enjoy His company. He is the best Person you can talk to and you can listen to. He is many steps ahead of you so He knows what’s on your path. He has always known your path and He is there to guide you, help you and lead you. Jesus is an ever present Lord. He doesn’t take a break from you and He doesn’t stop watching over you. There is so much He has to offer. His love for you is unrestricted and unlimited. He loves you so much that He can’t spend a second without you. It’s time you looked at Him as the every present Jesus that He is. Give Him some of your time. Spend time nurturing your relationship with Him. Let Him become your everything. Let Him be the source of your joy and the source of your peace. There is no one like Him. There is one as present and as involved as He is. He is closer than your closest friends and closer than family.

Every day should be a Jesus day. Every day can be a Jesus say. Let’s make sure to make the day about Jesus and every day will be a better day. He is full of mercy and grace and He has enough love for all of us. Every day is an adventure but we have nothing to fear and we have nothing to worry about. What we should do is praise the Lord no matter what. Give thanks to the Lord no matter what. Turn to the Lord no matter what. Love the Lord and others no matter what. Find refuge and peace in the Lord no matter what. Fill our days with Jesus no matter what. “Everyday Jesus” is very present and we can count on Him all the time. May God bless you and protect you and remember that He will always love you!

Suggested reading: Malachi 3:6; Psalm 46:1; Hebrews 13:8

10 nuggets of wisdom for your Saturday (Part 235)

God is always there. Present in every corner. In the middle, above and under. Around when no else is. Involved in every situation and loving in every circumstance.

Don’t give up. There is more to come and it is going to be amazing because the God of the amazing is your God. Trust Jesus. Rely on His love. Great things are coming. Stay encouraged!

If you express fear all the time, you pitch a tent of worry. That tent is not a refuge. It’s not a place where you can find rest. Always speak faith against the fears and you will build a stronghold of hope!

God’s beauty is all around you and He is always with you. Stay in peace. The creator of the universe is your Savior!

God is an everyday God. He doesn’t take breaks from your life. He doesn’t hide and He doesn’t ignore you. Keep your eyes on Him. You are always on His mind!

God is visible even when your faith is invisible. Your blurred vision doesn’t mean that God stops being God. Faith shows you God but remember that He doesn’t need your faith to be God!

Jesus is here to stay. Hope is here to stay. Love is here to stay. Blessings are here to stay so stay in the moment with Jesus and keep on believing Him and trusting Him. He won’t let you down!

There is nothing to worry about and there is nothing to fear when Jesus is your Savior. There is everything to rejoice over and everything to look forward to when Jesus is your Savior!

God will not break your heart. God will not hurt your feelings. God will not disappoint you. God will not tear you apart. God will always love you, soothe you, support you, heal you, help you and bless you. That is the kind of God He is!

Go out of your way to be more like Jesus in all your ways! Go out of your way to love, bless and help others. Go out of your way with Jesus who is the only way!

Suggested reading: Acts 15:11; 1 Peter 4:10; 2 Corinthians 12:9

Magnify God

It’s easy to magnify our problems. We think about them. We overthink and before we know it they are giants in our minds. They become strongholds that are hard to get rid of. They seem bigger than anything we know and they dominate our thoughts. They make us forget what is around us and we only focus on them. They make life look sad and depressing. I had strongholds that were so tenacious that God was not on my radar at all. That is what the enemy would like to see. He wants to see believers walking away from God and believing that there is no way out. He wants our problems to be monsters that we can’t overcome. All that is a lie. God is way bigger than anything we will ever face. We could combine all our problems, pile them up and create the highest mountain in the world and it would still not be higher and taller than our God. Our God is mighty and powerful and no one is stronger than He is. Today I want you to magnify the Lord. Make Him big in your mind. Remind yourself that He is bigger than anything you might be dealing with. Magnify Jesus and you will minimize your problems.

I understand if God seems very small to you now because your problems are so big. I have been there and I go there sometimes but I am learning that I have to magnify Jesus. Not just when the problems strike but as often as possible. When Jesus is magnified and we see Him as the Savior that can do all things, it doesn’t matter how big the problems are. Jesus will always be bigger. It is a question of vision and perspective. How do you see Jesus? How big is the Lord to you? Do you see Him clearly? In order to see something clearly and bigger, you need a magnifying glass at times. What is the magnifying glass that allows you to see the Lord better? Mine is praise and prayer. They ground me in the Lord and they open my mind to His greatness and to His goodness. The power that I have found in praise and prayer is out of this world. It is nothing I have seen on a human level. The praise and prayer time is communion with the Lord and it gives me a better understanding of who Jesus is. It also helps me keep my eyes on Him and when my eyes are on Him, He shows up in a big way.

I remember the first time prayer and praise brought the presence of the Lord in the dorm room when I was in grad school. It was something I had experienced before on a small scale. What made it so special was the fact that I was doing it every day without fail and I prioritized praising the Lord, worshiping Him and giving thanks to Him. It changed the spiritual atmosphere and it drew me closer to the Lord. Praise is concentrating on Jesus and lifting Him up. It is giving Him credit for who He is. It is trying to glorify Him as much as humanly possible. The Holy Spirit joins us and magnifies Jesus turning it into an experience that is unparalleled. When I spend time praising and praying, I spend less time worrying and fearing what is going on in my life. What is your magnifying glass? Do you have one that you use every day? The Word of God is another amazing magnifying glass that I use as much as I can. The Word renews my mind and it depicts an accurate picture of the majesty of the Lord. The Word magnifies Jesus’ promises, His love, His power and His sovereignty. Spend time in the Word and you will be ready to conquer the world.

Problems will always arise and they will try to be strongholds that leave you depleted. You have Jesus, friend. Magnify Him. Let Him be the stronghold in your life. Use the magnifying glass that works best for you and turn to it every day. See Jesus in His glory and in His greatness. He can do anything and He can definitely help you with any problems you might encounter. Stay strong in the Lord. May God bless you and protect you and remember that He will always love you!

Suggested reading: 1 Chronicles 11:29; Jeremiah 32:27; Luke 1:37