God’s love will make a way

Time after time God has proven to be faithful. He has shown me that He always intervenes and His plan is much better than mine. I can’t think of a time when the Lord hasn’t demonstrated His love for me. I might not have seen it when it happened but looking back I have a clear picture of His love and goodness in my life. He is the King of love and that is how I should be referring to Him first and foremost. He is the King of miracles, signs and wonders but His love is what started it all. When I zero in on how much He loves humanity, I can’t help but have hope and see a bright future. Yes, there is a pandemic. Yes, the economy around the world is affected. Yes, people are suffering but I say “No” to losing hope. I say “No” to a gloomy future and I say “No” to discouragement. Our God is too good and too faithful. He is going to pave the way for breakthroughs and deliverance. Let’s stand on His love. Let’s use His love as our cornerstone and believe that His house will never collapse. We are in His house today no matter how dismal things look in our neighborhood. I say “God’s love is going to make a way.” God’s love has made a way. God’s love is standing in the way of what’s getting in the way of our happiness. His love is like no other. God’s love will do the impossible. I have enjoyed studying and meditating on God’s love. I read about it in the Bible and I read about it in the pages of my life. His mercy and grace are so enormous that they can’t fit in a single book. We need collections of books to try to contain what His love does. I know I am missing out on His acts of love in my life from time to time. I realize that He has His hands in many areas of my life and I need to open my eyes more. You and I are here today because God’s love made a way. You might not be exactly where you wish you were but you are exactly where you should be. God gave His Son so you could stand tall today and enjoy the day. Is that a reality in your life? It is in mine when I keep it in mind. There is a shift in my thinking that needs to happen when problems arise. The problems are not the problem. My stand toward the problem is the problem when my mind sinks to low levels of discouragement. God’s love is still present and it not only visits me every day. It is here to stay. Get ahold of the truth that God’s love will always make a way in your life.Use that truth as the flashlight that illuminates your path when darkness seems to prevail and you can’t see where you are going. Where you are going is a great destination and God’s love has been there and it is leading the way. His love is a guide, a lamp, a resource, a GPS, a judge in your favor and a solution to all your problems. God’s love never fails and if you are at a point where all seems to have stopped working, go back to God’s love. Build your faith up in His love. Read the Scriptures. Work with the Holy Spirit. Pray and don’t give up. God’s love is as real today as it was on the cross of Calvary. The love that died for you and that came back to life cannot be defeated. You have love on your side. Not just any love but God’s love. His love is opening doors and windows of opportunities for you. You are blessed. You are highly favored. You are highly loved by a God who can do anything. Keep your head up. Look straight ahead. There is a clear path for you with blessings strewn all over it and God’s love is the red carpet that is paving the way. You are loved more than you know by a God who is more powerful than you will ever comprehend. Have faith in His love. Trust that He is taking care of you. God’s love will make a way. Stay encouraged! Suggested reading: Isaiah 54:10; John 3:16; 1 John 4:9-11

Our God reigns

I have been listening to songs that talk about how our God reigns. I have been reading passages in the Bible that testify to God’s supremacy. God is supreme and He reigns. I used to forget that a lot. I would go on my day-to-day business and let other things in my life reign supreme. I lived a life where “My God reigns” wasn’t always a song on my lips. I would sing “My fear reigns” or “My problem reigns.” Then I found out that God should be on a pedestal and not the negativity that is in my life. I gave too much power to all the problems, the negative thoughts, the fear and the anxiety. I wasn’t doing a good job putting God first and even though I was saved, I acted like I was lost too often. I didn’t like my Christian life. My Jesus moments were way too sporadic and inconsistent. It was because my focus wasn’t on the right things. The Bible talks about renewing our minds and I miserably failed at that but it was mainly due to my lack of knowledge on that subject. I had heard of how my spirit was made new when I accepted the Lord as my Savior but I knew almost nothing about how important it was to line up my thinking with the Word of God. I needed to sweep away the old thinking and put down a fresh coat of God’s thinking. My mind was overloaded with insignificant ideas and with thoughts that did nothing to help me in my walk with God. My heart longed to know Jesus and my mind drove me away from Him. “My God reigns” is the refrain I needed to embrace and when I did, my life changed and my mind became transformed.

“Our God reigns” is a reality to anyone who believes it. It sounds simple but it makes a lot of sense and it is something to meditate on. It is when we spend time meditating on the Word of God that we receive some powerful revelation. The revelation here is that God is stronger than anything. He reigns and that means that He is King, He rules and He gets the final say in everything. You see, when I let life events dominate my thinking and rule over my life, I took away God’s supreme status. I put God in a category that is not His. I diminished His power and I minimized His majesty. I hurt my faith. I hurt it a lot with all the wrong thinking that circulated in my head all the time. My mind was a sieve that retained all negative thoughts and that let all the positive ones go through it. I had to give God His power back. He is always powerful but He will only be as powerful as we believe He is in our minds. If our faith in Him is not activated and not elevated to a high level, we will only have faith in small things. We are dealing with a mighty and huge God and we can’t limit Him to the small miracles of life. He doesn’t reign on the small villages of our lives so to speak. He reigns on our entire world and we need to get to that level of faith and declare Him victorious all the time.

“Our God reigns” is a declaration of triumph that makes the enemy mad and that silences him. I had to rebuke the voices that were exalting themselves above my God. The negative chatter had too much influence on me and I rejected that influence. The power of the mind is real and when we use that power to stay focused on the good things of the Lord and how amazing He is, our faith increases and our circumstances change. Our God reigns, friend. Your problems are not the winners. They should not win. God wins because He reigns. He is the King of kings and the Lord of lords and that will never change. Today I am inviting you to declare that your God reigns. Shout it out. Declare it over and over again. Let your problems hear it loud and clear. Let your mind believe it and absorb it. Your God is more powerful than anything the enemy will ever throw at you. Stay strong. Nothing can dethrone your God. He is the ruler of your heart and the ruler of your life. Anything that tries to steal His seat on the throne is a lie. Today and tomorrow, our God reigns. Remember that!

Suggested reading: Psalm 47:8; Nehemiah 9:6; 1 Timothy 1:17

If you need some encouragement today

If you need some encouragement today, know that you are not dealing with your mountains alone. The Good Shepherd will take you over the mountains and down to the other side. Your current difficulties might appear to be insurmountable but the Lord is the One who is insurmountable. No one and nothing can prevail over Him and win against Him. He will always be bigger than the highest piles of trials you might face. The opposition will nail you against the wall and make you feel like nothing and no one can save you but remember, Jesus conquered the nails on the cross. The nails that are trying to pin you down in a defeated position today were overcome thousands of years ago. On that cross Jesus saw you. He saw your face and He did it all for you. He did it so you could have the victory in this life filled with battles and losses. He didn’t destroy the power of death so you would live under the yoke of death. That will not happen. Jesus died and rose again and He took you with Him. The old life is gone. You have a new life in Him where despite discouragement, there is always hope.

If you need some encouragement today, know God is the God of encouragement and He has all the words you need to hear so you come out triumphant today. The words of love and hope He wrote in His Word just for you are still vibrant with resurrecting power and with power to right all the wrongs in your life. Open His Book and dive into chapters of life. Those chapters were written with you in mind. Jesus came to earth with you in mind and He left a legacy that is beautifully presented in the Book of Life. Take courage. God knows exactly what you need to hear and when you go to His Word with a prayerful heart, He will speak volumes that negative thoughts won’t be able to silence. Stay in the Word. Stick with the Word. Abide by the Word. Live the Word. Embrace the Word. You will adopt a way of life where encouragement is always flowing and optimism is reigning.

If you need some encouragement today, know that the Spirit of the Lord is with you and that He will enlighten you and encourage you. He is the best source of encouragement you can ever find. What He loves to talk about is Jesus. He knows that Jesus is the encouragement you need today. No one comes close to Jesus and you are going to have what you need. If you are in need of a spiritual push, look to Jesus. If you are in need of an emotional boost, turn to Jesus. If you are in need of physical strength, ask Jesus. If you are in need of an awakening, rest in Jesus. Jesus will always be the answer. He was the answer yesterday and He will be the answer tomorrow and forever. All you need to make it today is Jesus. Don’t look any further, He is the key you need to open all the doors that have been locked in your life.

If you need some encouragement today, know that help is on the way. The minute your heart sinks, the minute your mind drowns, the Lord is on the way. Why? He hears the cries of your heart. He sees the thoughts in your mind. There is an army of angels that will come to your rescue. The Lord won’t let you hurt your foot on a stone. Angels are ministering spirits sent to serve you, the heir of salvation. Keep your hopes up. You are surrounded by more than you know and loved much more than you will ever know. The Lord holds you dearly in His heart and with every beat there is a shout of joy because He rejoices over you.

If you need some encouragement today, know that God’s grace and mercy are making a way for you. Out of nowhere, peace and bliss will come. Don’t lose hope. God is going to do something amazing for you and you are going to come back from a long way down in the pits of misery. You are not going to stay in those pits. You don’t belong there. God has a new place for you to enjoy where all the bad things that happened in the trenches of life will be forgotten. You are going to enter into a season of God’s favor and all the attacks of the enemy will be erased from your memory. Jesus conquered the world and He conquered all of your problems. If you need some encouragement today, praise the Lord. His hope is here to stay!

Suggested reading: Psalm 34:7; Psalm 91:11-12; Hebrews 1:14

How to follow Go throughout the day

I want to follow God anywhere and everywhere. I want to be dedicated and walk with Him hand in hand all day. It sounds ideal and it is feasible. Do I do it every day? I do what I can. Some days are easier than others but knowing how amazing and how good the Lord is, it is hard for me to stay away from Him for long or to disconnect from Him. When the world becomes overwhelming and I am more influenced or impacted by the world, I know that something is wrong. People talk about balance. In this case I don’t believe in balance. I believe the scale should tilt in God’s direction. The scale should indicate that we are more of God than the world. We are vessels and we can be filled with God or with the world. We are filled with both. The question is, what is dominant in our lives? We are vessels that sail on the sea of the world and we hit icebergs and obstacles that give us holes and the sea of the world starts drowning us on the inside. We can’t stay afloat because the weight of the world is too much. However, we can stay in the Lord and we can be filled with more of Him when we make a conscious effort to stay in Him. Today I want to talk about staying filled with God, remaining in Him and following Him all day.

I love how Jesus declared “Remain in Me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in Me.”* His encouragement is very powerful. He is not telling us to do something impossible. We can remain in Him. The key is to find all the strategies and techniques that allow us to stay in Him. As soon as we leave our prayer time in the morning, the world is ready to assail us and to take over our attention. I wish I could stay in my prayer closet all day but it is not physically possible. What I can do is stay in prayer throughout the day by doing a series of things that keep me in prayer. I first had to remind myself for a while that the Lord heard the prayers of the heart and I didn’t have to say anything out loud for me to be heard. I have inner prayers throughout the day. What is the connection between prayer and following God? The obvious answer is that Jesus prayed when He was on earth and He says we should pray. We should pray without ceasing. When we are in prayer, we are very aware of God’s presence. Prayer is communicating with God and it means that He talks to us as well. It’s a two-way street.  When we pray throughout the day, we get messages, bits of information and comforting words. I have found that my inner prayers give me inner strength and they calm me down when I need it. They alert me to what the Lord wants me to do and I can follow His directions when I am tuned in. To be tuned in, it is important to have frequent prayer sessions. Find the best way you can have those recurring inner prayers and you will see how much easier it is to follow God.

Following God implies letting Him lead the way. We can’t follow someone who is behind us. We need to put ourselves in the position of the follower and trust that God knows where He is taking us and that He is a perfect leader. I have to admit that sometimes I get ahead of God and I act as if He should be following me. I fall flat on my face and realize that I can’t be in control. I am a follower and He is the head. We, Christians are part of the body but we can’t keep acting like the head. We have a role to play and when we wait for directions faithfully and act on them, we fulfill our part. I have noticed that what we see, what we hear, what we say and what we feel can interfere with our following the Lord. We can’t help most of those things but we can prevent them or we can react to them with God’s help. I try to see the Word as much as I can. I try to avoid any tv shows or tv programs that can hinder my faith or that can stall my walk with the Lord. I also make sure I read things that are connecting me to God. I would say we need to choose what we hear and see carefully and that includes music. Some songs are derailments and hurdles that prevent us from following God because they get to our core and churn emotions and feelings that dissociate us from God. Choose the music you listen to wisely and make that a strategy that helps you follow the Lord.

Another powerful strategy is to contradict the world all day long. Whatever is negative and bad, can be very counterproductive to your walk with God. When you hear pessimism and negative ideas and thoughts, contradict them and challenge them with God’s Word. For every negative word, say two or three positive words. For every ounce of doubt, add a pound of faith and hope. Refuse to agree with all the negativity. Be the voice of positivity. Be a voice for the Lord. Be the voice of hope you are designed to be. The Lord is the vine and we are the branches. Let’s be the strong branches that can uphold the hope of the Lord wherever we go and walk in love every day. That is the best way to follow God!

Suggested reading: *John 15:4-5; Galatians 2:20; 1 John 2:6

The power of resting in the Lord

“Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” (Matthew 11:29 NIV). A yoke is a device designed to pair animals together. It is a type of harness. It is not a pleasant object. It encloses the heads of the animals. A yoke is also something that keeps people in bondage and that forces them to live in a difficult or unhappy state. In Matthew 11:29, Jesus is not talking about oppression or bondage. He is talking about the opposite. He doesn’t give the way the world does. What He has to offer is light, freeing and liberating. His yoke is rest, peace and relief. When you take up His yoke, you are attached to Him and you are enclosed with Him. Imagine how powerful that is. You are bound to the Savior and you are attached to the Lord Almighty. He is the King of freedom so freedom is what you can expect. He will give you rest and peace when you tie yourself to Him. When you make Him the source of everything in your life, He gives you everything you need including rest. It is hard to make things happen on our own. There is very little peace in this world and when we turn to the Prince of peace, we are thrown into a series of peaceful episodes that bring serenity and freedom. I can’t rest on my own understanding and on my own strength. I need the Word of God and I need the power of God. Because of my human limitations, I can only go so far. Today I want to encourage you to rest in the Lord and to take up His yoke. Find rest and peace in Him. Plug into the source of all peace and you will have restful moments that will challenge the chaos and the uneasy feelings that are crippling the world.

The Lord is gentle and humble in heart. It is something to ponder and reflect upon. God is not agitated, easily irritated and proud. He is a good God and His kindness can tear down all the evil and the hatred in this world. I have found refuge in His kindness many times when the world seemed mean and hostile. People like to get into conflicts for no apparent reason and they can pick a fight with innocent people. Harsh words and gratuitous hate are rampant and they are spreading like wildfire. When I turn to the Lord, I find myself in the presence of love and I can forget for a moment that the world can be a very ugly place. I choose to be where the Lord is and I choose to meet Him where He abides. I flee the evil ways of the world and put myself at the mercy of kindness and love. That is where I can rest. That is where I am surrounded by peace. I need to part from the world and join the Lord. If I don’t do that on a regular basis, I can’t rest well and I am in a state of turmoil after a while. Spiritual rest is important. Physical rest is crucial. Why? When we are tired it is not easy to be sensitive to the Lord and to His Spirit. When we are tired, the flesh takes over and our spirit is given a backseat. If I don’t get any rest, I don’t get enough Jesus time and if I don’t get enough Jesus time, I can easily feel disconnected from God.

There is power in resting in the Lord because we renew our strength and we are given new wings. Wings that allow us to fly above worry, fear and concerns. Have you noticed that it is easier to deal with problems when you are well-rested? It is physically, emotionally and spiritually true. The amount of rest you get will allow you to face the day and you will be ready to fight the fight of faith. Little rest will not give you the boldness and the confidence you need. When I sleep enough, I wake up refreshed and my morning prayer session is phenomenal. Prayer is a great way to get some rest spiritually. Prayer enables you to lean on the Holy Spirit and to power up. Prayer is you resting in the Lord’s arms and gaining the assurance that everything is taken care of and that the Lord is on your side. After praying at night, I picture myself resting in the arms of the Lord and I fall asleep very quickly. I thank Him for His peace and for the rest He provides all the time. The power of resting in the Lord is a little underrated. Resting in the Lord is very powerful because it is an act of surrender and an act of obedience. I pray that you take up the yoke of the Lord and that you trust He can give you rest. Rest in Him and you will be able to do things you never thought possible. You will find rest for your soul. This means that your emotions and your feelings will be more under control and you will have more peace and more joy. Don’t underestimate the power of resting in the Lord!

Suggested reading: Psalm 116:7; John 15;10-14; 1 Peter 2:21-23

10 nuggets of wisdom for your Saturday (Part 138)

Peace. Jesus has it. Love. Jesus has it. Truth. Jesus has it. Joy. Jesus has it. Freedom. Jesus has it. Hope. Jesus has it. Power. Jesus has it. Healing. Jesus has it. Deliverance. Jesus has it. Everything. Jesus has it. Jesus has everything you need and more!

You will conquer the fear of the world when you give into the peace of the Lord. Let the Lord’s peace enter the core of your belief system. His peace will chase away fear and anxiety. Ask for peace and you will get it in Jesus’ name!

There is only one king and His name is Jesus. Everyone should bow at His name. Every problem, every trial should bow at His name. Don’t be intimidated by how stubborn your tribulations are. Stay in faith and you will see them bow down before the King. No one and nothing is stronger than the Lord.

The fruit of the Spirit is like a necklace you wear around your spiritual neck. Every bead is a powerful fruit. Your necklace is complete. The bead of love is the biggest bead. It always activates the necklace. Wear the necklace of the Lord with pride!

The Lord is the world that your world needs. Let Him become your world. Let Him define your world. Let Him transform your world. Let the Lord be your world!

Evacuate the worry zone. Don’t linger in the fear house. Escape from the stress cabin. Run to the house of the Lord. Dwell in His house. Inhabit the premises of His love. Reside in His presence.

God speaks in a language that defies hate speech. One word from God and darkness dissipates. One verse from God and the enemy flees. One song from God and fear and worry get confused. Speak the language of the Lord and your world will hear love, peace, joy, freedom and salvation!

The enemy’s lies try to bury the truth of the Lord but like a Phoenix coming ouf of the ashes, the truth will emerge. God’s truth is bigger than the enemy’s lies. Stick with the truth and the lies will flee!

Sometimes the best way to describe Jesus is through our lifestyles, our actions and our deeds. Words don’t need to be spoken. Actions need to be spoken. Our lifestyles and our love for others speak louder than words.

There are times when what you want is not what God has planned for you. Let Him decide. Let Him plan your life. God always knows best!

Suggested reading: Psalm 119:114; Hebrews 10:24-25; 1 Thessalonians 2:11-12

Powerful prayers you can say

Isn’t it interesting that Jesus prayed when He came to earth? You would think that since He was the Son of God He wouldn’t need to pray but He prayed to the Father when He was here. He isolated Himself and communicated with God. He prayed a lot. He prayed for people. He prayed for the world. He prayed that the Father would forgive those who were going to kill Him. Prayer is part of His language and He encourages us to pray. I have noticed that the Holy Spirit inspires me to pray all the time. I have my “set” prayer sessions but I find myself praying for random things during the day. Lately He has been putting a burden on my heart to pray for others. It is not the kind of burden that weighs you down. It is a burden that is more like a nudge or an encouragement that doesn’t leave. It goes away once the prayer has taken place. He has been showing me that praying for others is very important in the Body of Christ. Not just praying for other believers but praying for anyone we know or we hear of. Jesus said it is not those who are well that need a doctor. When you think about it, prayers can touch anyone because God is no respecter of persons and He is not limited to a certain type of people. He is for everyone and loves everyone. How unfair would it have been if Jesus had to ask people if they were believers before He could minister healing to them and they then did it only if they believed in God? He never did that. He never discriminated and He never reserved His healing power for the chosen few. Anyone on His path qualified for healing and deliverance.

Anyone in your life qualifies for blessings from God and for deliverance from whatever is keeping them captive. God can set people free from any problem, trial and tribulation and we are the vessels that can help make this liberation happen. We should get into prayer mode for others more than we get into backbiting mode or whining mode. It is easy to complain about people or to dismiss them. Praying for them is not as natural and as innate but it is in our spiritual DNA. The Spirit of God wants to guide us through the process but we have to first be open to listening to the needs of the world. We ought to be more empathetic and more compassionate. There are many lessons about compassion that I have learned from children who enjoy playing with other kids that are different from them. I am talking about little children who don’t know any better than to just share and engage with other kids no matter how different they are from them. The power of compassion leads to the power of prayer. Without compassion and empathy our prayers can remain very self-centered and that is not the main goal of prayers. Prayer should work with love and love looks out for others first. Love says “God, bless them before You bless me.” Love and prayer are a dynamic duo. I want to hang out with them all the time and learn more about compassion and empathy.

“Pray without ceasing” is an encouragement from God. Put it in the context of placing others first and you realize that praying without ceasing for others is strongly encouraged. Some people will never have anyone pray for them. You could be the one who blesses their lives with prayers that make a difference. God listens to the prayers of the fervent believers. Have faith that God listens to you. Have faith that your prayers are going to produce some good fruit in someone else’s life. Be the living prayer that God can use to touch someone’s life. Make yourself available when you pray. Be available to do whatever the Lord shows you to do for others. When you are led by love, compassion and empathy your prayers will be loaded with messages for the people you are praying for. A message can be as simple as telling them a few positive words. Stay open to the flow of the Holy Spirit when you pray for people. All the Lord desires is a willing heart. Start praying for people around you. Ask the Holy Spirit to make you aware of the needs around you and stay in prayer for the people He points out to you. Be that vessel of love that keeps pouring hope and peace in people’s lives. God will use you. Praise Him for the needs He is going to meet as you spend time on your knees bridging the gap for others.  The prayers you say for others are powerful prayers because they demonstrate that you share the heart of the Lord. Keep praying those powerful prayers and watch how God blesses people, heals them and delivers them!

Suggested reading: Job 42:10; Luke 18:1; 1 Timothy 2:1

Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever

One of the verses that still blows my mind every time I read it or I think about it is “Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever.” I can’t believe how powerful it is. I can read it ten times in a row and it still feels mighty and overwhelmingly encouraging. When I look at how Jesus is depicted in His Word and I know that He hasn’t changed, I have hope. I have hope for today and hope for tomorrow. Jesus has not changed. The world has changed but He hasn’t. He is still the King of kings and the Lord of lords. Many kings have come and gone since He walked the earth but His majesty is still alive and well. He has not lost any of His power, His love and His peace. If you need Jesus today, know that He is just the same He was in the Bible. Jesus still delivers, heals, loves, cares, and delivers good news. I am in love with Him and I am so honored to be able to develop my relationship with Him.

 No one is greater and no one is better than Jesus. Jesus is King and I want to focus more and more on how He hasn’t changed. Think about what this means to you. Think about how Jesus is still doing what He did before. Not only is He the same but He has also given us His Spirit so we can be closer to Him and experience the same Jesus. I used to wish I had lived in the times when Jesus was on earth. The truth is I am living in those times. His Spirit is present every day and He brings me into the presence of the Lord. What I am doing is studying who Jesus is and letting His Spirit guide me through my findings. Jesus is absolutely amazing and I don’t want to lose the awe and the respect I have for Him. Today I want to invite you to discover more of Jesus. I want to encourage you to see Him as He is. He is not the Jesus who can’t keep up with the times as some people describe Him. He changes the times.

When I read about Jesus in the Bible, I find that He brought hope everywhere He went. He is the first One to deliver and execute great news that would impact the world. He was always hopeful and always sure of what He said. He spoke with authority and He spoke with love. He went around and left a trail of hope everywhere. People heard of Him and expected hope to visit their towns. His powerful message of hope preceded Him. The anticipation and the joy of some people were intense. Imagine hearing about someone who could heal you and who could change your life. You hear about it and then you find out that He will be coming to your city. You would lose sleep over the good news. When was the last time you got excited about Jesus? Not about Him coming to town but about Him being in town. He is in town today. He is in your house. His Spirit is with you. Jesus is visiting your town every single day. Think about that. He is here to stay. It’s time to get pumped up in case you have lost your enthusiasm and your excitement. 

Get into revival mode. Let His Spirit revolutionize your life. Get shaken up by His love. He is still walking around doing good and spreading love. Allow Him to walk down the streets of your life. Give Him permission to heal the areas that are hurting and that are in pain. There is a whole village with needs and issues living inside of you and Jesus the healer can restore it and give you a new and better life. He can still do the impossible and there is nothing that can stand in His way. If you are going through a rough patch and you are lost, remember that the good Shepherd can lead to a great destination where you will enjoy peace, joy and a flow of love on a regular basis. The Healer will still heal tomorrow and when you maintain a relationship with Him, you have the privilege to stay in His presence and have freedom and liberation every day.

Jesus did what no one was able to do at the time. This is still true today. He still does more than anyone else and He does it all better. How come we are not seeing miracles and healings more often then? Like I mentioned before in one of my messages, it is because our faith for it has not grown enough. We don’t hear about miracles enough and we have a lot of faith in the natural and in the world with its limitations and its restrictions. Jesus’ miracle working power has no limits and that is a truth that I hope will be widespread soon. People need to hear about the miracles, see them and believe in them. At times the Jesus of 2020 is too limited. He doesn’t look like the Jesus of the Bible. That is where the problem lies. I know of people who do understand Jesus and have an impressive connection with Him but it is not the norm. There is a big movement in the world that promotes a Jesus who is weaker and diminished compared to the real Jesus who is the same yesterday, today and forever. I want to get to know Him. I don’t have all the answers about Him but I have His Word and I love how He is presented. He died on the cross for us and His sacrifice is still relevant today. He died for your sins and for mine. Trust that Jesus is still the same today. He can bless your present and prosper your future!

Suggested reading: Malachi 3:16;  Hebrews 13:8; Revelation 1:8

Before you go to bed tonight

For years as a child I was told never to go to bed angry. It was almost like a superstition in my mind that if I did go to bed upset and angry at someone, something bad would happen to me. Did it stop me from being upset? Not always. Sometimes the fury, the frustration and the anger were too strong. I don’t get mad easily but just like anyone else there are things that push my buttons and once those buttons have been messed around with I can’t contain the anger. I should say that it is much more manageable now and I have learned a few things along the way that have helped me deal with negative feelings at the end of the day. Anything negative should be dealt with before bed and I am going to tell you why it is so important.

Anger, frustration and irritation are not from God. They are operators from the enemy that try to discredit the Lord in us by making us act against His way of being and by dragging us into a path of negativity where unrest is prevalent and where one negative step leads to another. Each of one of those steps aim at driving us away from the Lord. If anger is what we let in and feed our hearts every day, a door will form that will keep the Lord outside. Eventually that door will turn into a wall that will become a stronghold that will be hard to get rid of. This goes for any negative feeling. Anything that is the opposite of the fruit of the Spirit will cause destruction and chaos in us. They can torment us and keep us in a state of perpetual confusion. Now, if any of those negative feelings are with us before we go to bed, they will find a fertile ground at night to grow roots in and they will stay with us longer. They can easily take over when they are left standing there at night. They can also get in the way of our bedtime prayers and they can keep us awake for a long time. Our minds are powerful and when they are bombarded with negativity, they fester more negativity because overthinking is a trap in which we can fall easily. Release any negative feelings before you go to bed.

I find the time before bed to be sacred. It is the time when I can unwind and when I can tell the Lord how much I appreciate all He did during the day. I try not to end the day on a sour note. Gratitude and thankfulness are what we should end the day with. They should be with us all day but I see the importance of having them tuck us into bed. They always make us more receptive to the things of the Lord. A grateful heart is a heart that knows God’s value and that doesn’t take Him for granted. Imagine how little gratitude there is in our hearts when we go to bed angry or filled with negative thoughts. It is hard to be grateful when we are bitter. It is also hard to be bitter when we are filled with gratitude. When you get overwhelmed by feelings that are distancing you from the Lord, make sure you cleanse yourself of those feelings. Attack them with praise. Attack them with prayers of gratitude. You don’t have to be mundane. Just tell the Lord how much you love Him and how much you adore Him. Just say it in your own words. Fill the atmosphere with gratitude. Fill the atmosphere with hope. Rebuke the negativity. Make yourself a bed of peace when you stay focused on Jesus before bed.

Paul addresses the revelation that it is not good to go to bed angry. He specifies that going to bed angry will make room for evil. Evil can get through the cracks of our vulnerability and make itself comfortable. Before you go to bed, face the music and make it stop. Face the negative chatter and silence it. Get into the Word of God. Do something nice, something positive for someone else. Talk to Jesus. Lift Him up. Fill your mind with His positive words. Renounce the feelings that are causing you to be angry. If you need to forgive someone, don’t wait until tomorrow. Forgive them before you go to bed. Keep your mind clear and keep your spirit open to love. When you do, you allow the Holy Spirit to flow freely. Stay on His wavelength. Keep walking in love. Stay grateful and let your last words, your last thoughts and your last actions of the day be a manifestation of your gratitude to the Lord. Before you go to bed, spend time with the Lord.

Suggested reading: Psalm 4:4; Ephesians 4:26; James 1:19

Getting rid of fear and its family on a daily basis

I see fear, worry, anxiety, stress and angst as one bundle. They stick together, they work together and they live together. As one dysfunctional family they function well in our lives and not in a good way. They have found their niche in our minds and they fill our hearts easily. They are like a pack that travels together. One of them might be influencing us more than the others at some point but they are united and they help each other create havoc in our day-to-day lives. If you scan your thoughts throughout the day you might notice that the negative pack has infiltrated itself in there somehow. The Lord tells us not to fear and not to be afraid. He is not giving us an impossible command. He knows that He can help us fend off the evil pack. He has the power to put that negative family back in its place and He can lock them in a place where they can’t do any harm. It takes work on our part and continued faith. We ought to develop faith in God’s ability to put up a hedge of protection around our minds, our hearts, our feelings and our emotions. That wall of protection can be built and it can stand strong as we put layer after layer and brick after brick around us in the name of Jesus. As this new week starts, I want to encourage you to build that wall of protection. Do your part and God will put in place the hedge of protection that will keep you positive and strong.

I remember when I first realized that fear did not have a strong grip on me anymore. It was after a few weeks of delving in the Word and of having a praise and prayer routine. Once I established that routine and my mind knew to expect it and my heart was on board every day, fear and its family became less powerful in my life. It wasn’t something I was looking for intentionally. It was more of a benefit from living a life rooted in praise and adoration of Jesus. He was my focus and He was the One I communicated with the most. The more I praised Him, the bigger He appeared to me. I had songs I sang every day that got me pumped up. I believe that was a major key; getting excited for the Lord was a game changer for me. Praise punched fear in the face. It put worry in an arm lock and it chased away anxiety. It became my number one remedy. It has been my daily medicine and it is still working wonders today. What I was doing without knowing was evicting the dysfunctional family that had settled in my temple, in my house, in my mind. I had not been aware that they were squatters. To me they had always been there and parting from them did not seem to be an option. It is more than an option. It should be our way of living and operating. The Lord has a very well-functioning and positive family for us. It is the family we should be living with and it is the one group we should be interacting with on a daily basis.

Peace, joy, love, faith, patience, selflessness, long suffering are among the fruit of the Spirit. They form a very positive bunch. They are a family that is always in harmony and that always makes people feel great and be in sync with the Lord. The Holy Spirit generously shares this family with us when we are open to welcoming them. They are the family that never fights and never argues. All they want to do is lift up the Lord and spread the peace and the love that He has for everyone. My praise and prayer sessions were strongly impacted by the fruit of the Spirit. I would come out of the sessions with more love than I had ever felt and more peace than I had experienced. The Holy Spirit is present and manifests Himself when we praise and pray. Doing it every day truly changes our lives and our minds. Add gratitude and Bible study to them and you have a powerful combo. It is the package that can get rid of the negative pack of fear. Load up on the fruit of the Spirit and the weeds of the enemy will be uprooted from your life. Fear, worry and stress will be replaced by peace. You will discover a whole new world where God is more dominant and the family of the enemy is under submission and underpowered. There is a solution for the daily angst. There is a key to solving the problems that come with fear and worry. There is deliverance from anxiety and angst. They can all be found in Jesus. Worship Him, pray to Him, be thankful to Him, study His Word and you will be free from the negative family that has been keeping you captive for too long. I have kept up with my praise and prayer habits and they are continuing to bless my days, to renew my mind and to fill my heart with peace and love. Praise the Lord there is freedom indeed in Him!

Suggested reading: Psalm 34:4-5; Isaiah 41:13; Luke 14:27