God is standing by your door

God is at the door. Do you ever think of that? I often imagine myself at the door of the Lord knocking and waiting for Him to let me in. Every time I pray or every time I just talk to Him I am standing at His door. The good thing is that His door is always open and my knock is just a formality. It is just a reminder that I need to knock, I need to pray, I need to turn to Him. He doesn’t make it complicated or ritualistic. He is right there smiling and welcoming me every single time. If you have a hard time connecting with God, I would suggest you remember that every time you knock, He answers. He said it Himself in His Word. He is not distant and He is never ignoring you. He might not answer the door the way you think He should but He always does. He always replies and He always takes care of our requests when we stay in faith. The act of knocking on His door is an act of faith. When I pray, I know for sure that He is listening. I don’t have to make up a formula or come up with a special password to hear back from Him. All I need is faith in His reply and trust that He is always available. As a kid I would think that God was too busy to bother with me. Friend, that is a lie. He is attentive and He is willing.

Now, going back to my initial statement. God is at the door. He is at the door of our lives. I read in Revelation that He is standing at the door waiting for people to let Him in. It is not just about us being let into His world, it is very much about us let Him come into our lives. His entrance into our lives should be a daily thing. We tend to answer His knock on Sunday but then the other days of the week, we don’t hear the knock because we are too busy with our lives. God is not the God of Sunday. He is the God of every single day. I made the mistake to limit my time with God to Sundays. I had great Sundays. My spirit was fed on Sunday. I had peace and joy and I felt like I could face anything on Sunday. Come Sunday night, the Monday morning blues started settling in and my defenses were down. God was nowhere to be found. I focused on Monday and the rest of the week more than I did on my Savior. Before I knew it, I had closed the door and told God I was too busy to be with Him. Little did I know that He was standing there asking me to give Him the time of day. When I changed my ways and answered the door all the time, my relationship with Him changed drastically.

“Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with Me.”* What an amazing invitation we can give the Lord! We can invite Him and make Him the host. We can invite Him and spend the day with Him. Imagine eating with the Lord every day. You can. Open the door. Open your Bible. Open your prayer session. Open your heart to Him. That is the key. The key is in your heart. By the door to your heart is where Jesus is standing. He is waiting for you to acknowledge Him. He is always speaking to us. His Spirit is always talking to us but it’s up to us to pay attention and to give in to His love and to His protection. God wants to have an intimate relationship with us every single day. His knock on our door is gentle so we need to settle down and listen carefully. I like to get into meditative prayers. They help me settle down and hear the beautiful voice of the Holy Spirit. Once I have welcomed the Lord, I sit at His table and listen to what He has to say. Friend, my prayer for you today is that you answer the door and let Jesus into your heart every day. It is truly what you need. More than anything else. Eat with Him as He feeds you His Word. Stay connected to Him. Enjoy Him! May God bless you and protect you and remember that He will always love you!

Suggested reading: Matthew 7:7; Luke 13:25; Revelation 3:20

Winning the battle of the mind

What we listen to ends up creating a framework in our minds. The more we listen to the same things, the more of a hold they have on our thinking. If we listen to negative banter all the time, we will develop a negative mindset. Negative banter comes in the form of what we actually hear out loud and in the form of the thoughts that pop into our heads. This is why we have to guard our minds and be careful what we let in. I learned that I had been too passive when it came to my thinking and it ultimately affected my belief system. I believed in God but my mind had holes in it. Holes that allowed negative thinking to seep in and to plug in the missing parts with negative parts. We have to be a lot more active in our heads. Thank God, the Lord gives us weapons to use against negative thinking. He knows the importance of what we hear and what we let grow in our minds. He clearly says in His Word that we should renew our minds. I know His encouragement is extremely crucial. God loves our faith. If our faith is tampered with and it is lacking substance, it is not solid and it is not the kind of faith that is pleasing to God. He wants us to have blind faith or total faith in Him. That kind of faith comes from hearing the message of the Bible over and over again and trusting it. We ought to make it a part of our thinking and it has to be engrained in us. The number one tool against negative thinking is positive listening. Positive listening based in the Lord. When we listen to the Word of God and we meditate on it, we go through the process of positive listening. It is active listening. Listening here is not just hearing and forgetting about what we hear. Positive active listening is listening to the Word of God, dwelling on it and giving it a chance to become a part of us. Then the Word invades our belief system and it stays inside of us.

Today I want to encourage you to watch what you listen to and make sure that the Word of God is a priority in your life. Friend, it will help you fight the negative thoughts the enemy wants you to dive into. He desires for you to drown in his oven of mental confusion. He is the king of overthinking and he uses that technique to weaken our faith and to isolate us from God. Overthinking doesn’t find constructive solutions and it keeps us in a mental jail that has no way out. Overthinking creates horrible realities that did not exist in the first place. Overthinking gives us faith in the negative and it sows deep seeds of doubt in us. It takes advantage of the fragile state of mind it promotes and uses that fertile soil of doubt for more doubt to grow. If you are battling overthinking now, distract yourself. Get out of that mindset by imposing another mindset on top of it. That mindset should be the mindset of the Lord. Get into the Word. Read encouraging passages that you have highlighted. Tear down the obsessive thinking by injecting the light of the Lord. God’s Word is a powerful light that can remove negativity. Be resilient. Keep going into the Word. Dig deep and find the strength you need. It is there for you. God will give you the power to overcome what is eating you inside. Trust Him. He will do that for you. He has what it takes. It is in His Word and it can destroy the strongholds of the enemy. The Word of God is so amazing and so strong. Stick with it and you will see a big change in your thinking. It will happen for you.

The Holy Spirit is a great ally. He will assist you in your fight against negative thinking. He will remind you of the love of the Lord and how much He takes care of you. This battle is already won. Now, you can get over the bad thinking. Get into partnership with the Spirit of God and arm yourself with His Word. Ask Him to guide you on this journey to a more positive way of thinking. The Holy Spirit always magnifies Jesus and that is a great way to conquer negative thinking. Stay focused on Jesus. Let your adoration of His majesty be a daily occurrence. Worship and praise Him more. Friend, it does work! It makes a huge difference in your mind. Praises are the gates of Heaven showing up at the threshold of your mind willing to come in and to transform you. I love getting lost in praise and worship. I come out of those beautiful sessions altered. My mind is more positive and my faith is intensified. However, I have to keep doing it. One praise session a week is not enough. Negativity doesn’t take a break so we shouldn’t take a break either. Let’s be active worshippers who listen to the Word of God as much as possible. Let’s work with the Spirit of God. Let’s be receptive to His guidance and let’s stay close to Jesus. We will win the battle of the mind when we fill our minds with the Lord. We can do this! We can win the battle of the mind in the name of Jesus! May God bless you and protect you and remember that He will always love you!
Suggested reading: Romans 12:12; 2 Corinthians 1:22; 1 Peter 1:13

Don’t give up

When God encourages us and He tells us not to give up, He truly means it. I hear that encouragement a lot in the depth of my spirit. Sometimes it sounds louder than other times but it always comes from the heart of the Lord and I love hearing it. When I am told not to give up, I meditate on those words and scan my life using the filter of the words “Don’t give up.” Where in my life should I not give up? Everywhere! I should not give up anywhere in my life. Giving up is what the enemy wants us to do. He is the king of discouragement and he doesn’t want to see any of us reach our full potential in the Lord. God has put great things in us. He has given us talents and gifts and the greatest gifts of all is the gift of Jesus. With Jesus in our lives, we have no reason to give up. Yet we lose hope very easily because the enemy convinces us and tells us that we might as well give up. He talks about God as a small god who can’t do much for us. Have you ever thought about that? Have you ever thought about how the devil talks about God to us and we buy into the lies? What we get in our heads is not always from God. I would say it is often from the enemy or from our own minds. God sits in there somewhere and we have to unearth Him and let Him dominate out thoughts. In the middle of words of despair and discouragement, the Lord tells us, “Don’t give up, child. You are going to make it. You have Me. You have nothing to worry about.” Those powerful words will always be true and today I want to remind you that you don’t have to give up because you have the One who can make anything happen. Stand the course. God is your ally.

God being our ally is such a great encouragement. The enemy and his friends are many but our One God can squash them all. I like to remind myself that the Creator of the universe, the One who was raised from the dead and who conquered death is my ally. He is my Father, my friend and my number one companion. I am never alone because God is with me. I am never alone and I am always surrounded by the best of the best, Jesus Himself. Your best friend is on your side telling you not to give up. He is not just suggesting it. He is telling you that you can’t give up. You have all the power from Heaven backing you up so you can’t give up. You could choose to give up but you would do yourself a major disservice by ignoring God’s encouragement. Like I said His encouragement is not void and it is not in vain. He knows that your potential is extraordinary and if you hold on tight and you keep going, something very good is going to come out of your effort. You are going to be able to accomplish whatever you are endeavoring to do now and more. There is no limit to what you can do in the name of Jesus. Don’t give up! The name above all names is giving you license to win. God is on the throne as we speak and He is on the throne when you are doing well and when you want to give up. He is unchangeable but He can change you!

When you are ready to give up, give your concerns and your worries to the Lord. He will assist you and He will transform you. He is an expert at creating faith warriors who go to battle and who stand strong. You are one of those faith warriors. That is how God sees you. He wants you to see His reflection in you. Him being in you allows you to do the impossible. You are going to make it without a doubt. You just might need a reminder from time to time but the song is still the same. The Lord is still singing over you saying how much He loves you and how much you can do through Him. Giving up is not in His vocabulary. When Jesus faced the grave, He kept going until He did what needed to be done so that you and I could conquer life every time problems might arise. Your idea of giving up is certainly a problem but you can defeat it. Rest assured that God will see you through it all. If you want to give up because you don’t see the end in sight, refocus your vision and position your mind on Jesus. He is the end in sight. He is the solution to every problem. He is the peace for every turmoil and the joy for every sorrow. Great days are coming ahead. Don’t give up. You will see that God has been faithful the whole time and you don’t have to worry about a thing. Stay encouraged! May God bless you and protect you and remember that He will always love you!
Suggested reading: 1 Corinthians 9:24; James 1:12 2 Timothy 4:7

God’s light

When I got eye surgery, my life completely changed. I went from having to wear contacts or glasses all the time to be being able to see all the time without any assistance. It was like night and day. I never thought that I could ever see that clearly without glasses. It was as if I had stepped into a new dimension. Everything looked so real and so true. It is hard to explain but what I can say is that it was one of the best moments of my life in terms of transformation. However, the best moment of my life, hands down, was when I got saved. It was a similar experience but on a much higher level. I went from being spiritually blind to being able to see the light. I had lived in darkness for a while. I had had glimpses of hope and glimpses of who the Lord was all about but those glimpses didn’t compare to the real thing. They were nice previews that gave me a reason to pursue Jesus. Those insights into who the Lord was were like contacts and lenses that allowed me to see the truth for a short time. When I got saved, the light became permanent and I was able to see what I had been missing my whole life. The light of the Lord is such a powerful tool in our lives and we should never underestimate it. We should cherish God’s light and His truth and keep walking in it with our spiritual eyes wide open.

The Word of God is a lamp into our feet. His Word is the lamp that can guide us into all things. We can never stay in the dark when we follow the lamp of the Lord. We should actually spend a lot of time in His Word so we can be enlightened and filled with wisdom. The amount of darkness that is in the world is huge and we need to work against so many principalities and powers. The power to counteract those evil forces is only found in the Lord and His Word gives us instructions on how to stay in His light and how to avoid the traps of darkness. When I read the Word of God, it is like a light is turned on and I can see into some of the mysteries of God. This happens when I read and study the Word prayerfully. When I get in sync with the Spirit of God, His Word comes alive and I dive into the wonderful world of our Savior. I love spending time in the Word especially when the world is so chaotic. I find peace and I find joy when I am in the Word. I strongly encourage you to make it a habit to turn on the light of the Lord and to stay under the rays of His great love. His light will refresh you and invigorate you. It will open your eyes and it will close the doors to the darkness that tries to mislead you. God’s light is the truth that you need to be set free so embrace His light, embrace His Word.

When someone turns on a light, darkness scatters. Some people would say that darkness disappears and I love that idea as well. God, the light, can make your darkness disappear when you turn on His light. Your enemies, your fears and your doubts will scatter when you turn on the light of the Lord. How do you turn it on? Like I mentioned earlier, the Word of God is the light you need and being familiar with it is crucial. Making sure that the Word of God has an important part in your life is extremely helpful. Jesus brings light and He is the light so daily communion with Him also allows you to turn on the light that will always set you free. Jesus will not only give you insights into who He is and how He made you but He will teach you how to live a fulfilling life in Him. He is the light that keeps on giving more light so don’t expect Him to ever be extinguished in your life. He is always on. You might have to adjust how you connect with Him but He is always on and always ready to shine in your life. He is like that permanent contact lens that enables you to see clearly at all times. Jesus will help you deal with all forms of spiritual blindness so stick to Him and stay close to Him. He is the best light you will ever find. May God bless you and protect you and remember that He will always love you!
Suggested reading:Psalm 119:105; Proverbs 6:23; 2 Peter 1:19

Amazing God

On Saturday night when I was praying, I kept talking about how amazing God was. I made a list of all the amazing things He does all the time and all the wonderful traits He has. I thanked God for His amazing ways. I said “Thank You Lord for Your amazing love, Your amazing peace, Your amazing joy.” I thanked Him for being amazing at everything He does and for sharing His amazing grace with all of us. I spent time focusing on our amazing God and no one else and nothing else. I think we don’t do that often. We talk about what we need more than we talk about the One who can give us all we need. We ought to talk more about His amazing presence and His amazing faithfulness. God is amazing in all His ways. He is not like any human beings. He is not like any event or any place we know. He is above it all. He is more amazing than historical events and facts. He is more amazing than humans’ biggest achievements. He is in a category of His own and He should be celebrated for being amazing and good. He is an incredible Lord and today I want to encourage you to celebrate how amazing God is.

God has amazing love for all of us. When we look at the definition of the word amazing, we find that it is something or someone that causes great surprise or wonder. God is the God of all wonders. He is wonderful in everything and He causes us to marvel at His greatness. Do you ever find yourself in wonder and in awe before God? If it doesn’t happen often, I invite you to discover the wonders of God. You can find them in His Word and you can locate them in your life. God is amazing at making our lives good even when things don’t look good. We need to take the time to look at our lives and see the amazing things that the Lord has placed in us and around us. Our amazing God has put some amazing attributes in us through the alliance between His Spirit and our spirits. When we give in to the Holy Spirit, amazing traits show up and we become imitators of the Lord. It is truly an amazing experience that can be a daily occurrence.

God has amazing peace and amazing joy for all of us. Peace and joy are two things that many of us pursue. We can have peace and joy through the world or we can have them through the Lord. I will always opt for the Lord’s amazing peace and love. Why are they amazing? They are amazing because they depend on God and not on our circumstances. God gives us peace and joy regardless of what is going on in our lives. He is the One who is going on in our lives and His presence alone trumps the misery and the pain that trials and tribulations can bring. God has amazing peace for you today, friend. His peace is much bigger than the strongest darts of the enemy. The fiery attacks of the enemy are not match for God’s amazing peace and joy. Start meditating on that truth. There is amazing peace for you that is invincible. No one can conquer the Lord and that makes Him amazing. Nothing can trample the Lord and that makes Him amazing. Nothing can prevail against the Lord and that makes Him amazing. You have an amazing Lord. Tell Him how amazing He is to you. Say it to yourself. Build a fortress of confidence in you of how amazing God is. May God bless you and protect you and remember that He will always love you!
Suggested reading: Nehemiah 1:5; Psalm 68:35; Romans 8:28

God can do it

A few weeks ago I was talking to my boss about all the things I had to accomplish that day. She told me she would help me and take care one of my errands. She said “I can do it for you.” I was shocked and I politely turned down the offer. The errand had nothing to do with work. I really appreciated her help and it made me think about how when we turn to God with our list of errands and things we have to take care of He tells us “I can do it for you.” He can do all things and nothing is too big for Him. This message has been recurring in my writing because it is crucial for the body of Christ. We need to understand that whatever we need, God can do it for us. He knows best. He always knows what is best for us. Our goal is to get on the same page and to accept that what God is telling us we need is truly what we should embrace. A lot of what God desires for us can be found in His Word. Other things can be discovered through a precious relationship with the Spirit of Jesus. The Lord can give us dreams based on His Word and on what should take place in our lives. Once He puts the dreams in our hearts, He also tells us that He can do it for us. He can always do it but at times we miss that message. We get the dream but we don’t hear the promise that goes with it or we don’t trust in the provision behind the dream. God would never give us a dream without backing it up with His ability to make the dream come true. Today I want to encourage you to find out what God wants for you and to believe that He can do it. Declare it every day. Tell your mind and your spirit that whatever God promises, He can do it for you. Believe that no hurdles are too big for God and He can do the impossible for you.

When you get up in the morning and you are in prayer, remind yourself that the Lord is telling you “I can do it for you.” Whatever is going to come your way that day is not intimidating to God. If obstacles arise, God still says that He can get you out of your problems and you will overcome the obstacles. Let His powerfully declaration be the promise that stays with you all day. Life will tell you all sorts of things that go against what the Lord says. The enemy will lie to you and tell you that you can’t make it and that you will drown in your problems. That is not true. You always have Someone who tells you that He can do it for you. When you are faced with a laundry lists of things that need to be taken care of, give the list to the Lord. Put everything in His hands. Let Him give you a hand. Give it to Him in prayer. Give it to Him with the hands of faith. He will gladly take it off your hands. Show Him that you can’t make it without Him. Tell Him how you depend on Him and you know that He is almighty and nothing is too difficult for Him. Look ahead with hope. Look ahead without the heaviness of fear. Look ahead with faith in God. Enjoy the now with hope as well. What you need to accomplish today will get done in the name of Jesus.

If you are not convinced that you will be able to deal with the problems that will crawl into your life this week, don’t panic. You know what to do and you know what to say. You know that God can do it. Now it’s time you put that truth into practice. Prepare yourself by warming up your heart with the promise of the Lord. The more you run it through your mind and let it drop into your heart, the more confidence you will have in God’s power. He is so powerful. Do we think about that enough? He needs to be big in us. We need to remind ourselves that greater is the One who is in us than the devil that is in this world. Jesus in you is greater. Jesus in you is better. Jesus in you can do all things. It’s not your ability. It’s His. It’s His power and it is His promise. Rest assured that He keeps His word. He can do it for you, friend. He won’t let you down. God can do everything you think can’t be done. Everything that the world presents to you as impossible is not a challenge for your Lord. Keep that in mind. You will need that encouragement more than once. Trust God. He will always deliver. May God bless you and protect you and remember that He will always love you!
Suggested reading: Genesis 18:14; Hebrews 6:18; Titus 1:2

10 nuggets of wisdom for your Saturday (Part 181)

Seek the Lord with all your heart. Wait patiently before Him. He will speak to you. He will engage with you. Enjoy His wisdom and cherish His presence. He will never leave you!

You will always find protection with the Lord. He is your shield and your fortress. Don’t fear and don’t worry. You are in good hands, in God’s hands. Trust that He is protecting you wherever you go!

Even when you feel sick and lousy, God is strong and mighty. Get your strength from Him. Focus on His power over your sickness. Hang on to the Lord in the middle of your tough moments. He heals all wounds. Stay strong. God is about to do something great for you!

The Lord will make today better. You don’t have to wait until tomorrow to experience peace and joy. Clap your hands and celebrate Jesus and you will have a better day. Praise the Lord and He will open the gates of Heaven today. Lift up the Lord and enjoy today!

Purposefully invite the Holy Spirit into your day every day. Make Him the host of your day. Revolve around Him and be sure to give Him first place all the time. The Holy Spirit will help you conquer the day when you let Him be the biggest part of your day!

Live in union with Jesus so much that your circumstances are not conditioned by your emotions. Let Him be the condition that moderates your actions and your decisions.

God will give you peace that surpasses all understanding. It will take you by surprise and it will show you that God is still in control. Ask for His peace and expect. It will remove all anxiety, fear and doubts!

You are going to make it. God will make sure of it. Your current trials are not too big for God. You are going to get through all tribulations and difficulties in the name of Jesus. Stay in faith. Great blessings are coming!

Fear not! God is with you. Do not worry about anything because the Lord can take care of everything. Destroy your doubts with the power of the Word of God. Fear not! God will always protect you!

It doesn’t matter if you don’t know how God is going to provide. Just trust that He can and He will. He is the provider who is faithful and who is true to His Word. Put all your faith in Jesus. He will never let you down!

Suggested reading: Proverbs 3:5-6; Psalm 37:4-5; Isaiah 12:2

Pray about it

How many times have we said “I will pray about it” but we actually didn’t? How many times have we said “I am praying for you” and we are actually not? That empty promise was a pet peeve of mine. I disliked saying I was going to pray without being true to my word. I rectified that behavior a few years ago. I made up my mind and decided that I would always mean it when I said it. If I didn’t mean it, I wouldn’t say it. That change was great. It improved my prayer life and it got me closer to the Lord. He wants us to mean what we say especially when it comes to Him and to spiritual matters. Our words have power and they should be used wisely. Saying that we are going to pray and we don’t know it is not spiritually uplifting and it doesn’t take us anywhere far in our prayer life. It is like making empty promises.

Saying we will pray sounds great. It sounds holy. It comforts people. It comforts us but it hurts us at the same time. Why? Because we believe in it. We sometimes believe that saying it is good enough but that is not what the Lords expects from us. He wants us to speak and use our words with honor and boldness. Imagine all the prayers we would say if we actually prayed every time we said we would! It is not too late. You and I can talk about praying and actually do it. We can pray about anything and everything. The Bible tells us to pray all the time. We should be praying without ceasing. Are you going through a tough time right now? Do you have financial needs? Are you at a loss about what to do with your life? Pray about it. Tell yourself you will and do it. Pray!

About 8 years ago, I was talking to a friend who strongly encouraged me to pray. She told me that prayer is everything because sustained prayer is an established relationship with Jesus and there is nothing better in our lives than having that relationship. It is more vital than we know. Prayer is more vital than we know. When I first read in the Bible about praying without ceasing, I felt a lot of pressure. I used to find prayer burdensome and the idea of people being prayer warriors was intimidating to me. I thought I could never become a prayer warrior. Prayer was a short recitation that was very robotic and that didn’t carry any weight. Then I set time aside to praise the Lord. Those praise sessions would always lead to prayer.

Prayer quickly became my favorite thing. It was a lot more colorful than the grey skies that it used to protect in my mind. Prayer was a great conversation with God that made me feel closer to Him and that made me feel better in general. One of the messages I kept getting during prayer was to pray about anything. The Holy Spirit always invites us to pray. He doesn’t desire for us to be passive. He wants us to take action and to be bold in prayer. No matter what happens to us, we should pray about it. We should go past the stage where we are mesmerized by our bad circumstances. It is normal to contemplate our trials and tribulations but we shouldn’t give them the power to prevent us from praying.

My message to you today is a loud and clear “Pray about it.” Whatever you have going on, don’t despair. Pray. You can’t give up before you pray about it and give it to the Lord. When you do, He will take over and help you through it all. Pray about your needs and pray about other people’s needs. Mean your “I will pray for you.” Don’t make a spectacle about it but let people know you are genuinely praying for them. Fill your prayers with people’s requests. Just pray for people to be blessed. If you don’t know what to pray about, pray for blessings.

Pray for your family and friends to experience breakthroughs. Pray for people to know Jesus. Pray about big things and about small things. As long as you pray, you are doing God’s will. Mean what you say and say what you mean and pray. Your prayers are heard. Your prayers sound beautiful to the Lord. Your prayers can be great conversations with the Lord. Someone out there needs your prayers. Your prayers can change your world. Pray, friend and don’t get tired of praying. Great things can happen when you actually pray. May God love you and protect you and remember that He will always love you!

Suggested reading: Matthew 6:9-13; Matthew 26:40-41; 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Hope in the Lord

The hope that is in God is out of this world. Our Lord and Savior Jesus is out of this world so when we turn to Him and we trust Him we should expect to have experiences out of this world. I don’t believe that Jesus is only found in such experiences but we should be open to them. Hope! God’s hope like I said is out of this world. When we connect with it and we engage with it, our hope is exponentially bigger than the hope of the world. We don’t hope in the things of the world, things that will disappear and that are fickle. We hope in the Lord who will never die and never disappear. We hope in the creator of the universe, the One who can do all things. Hope in the Lord is hope is the impossible made possible. It’s hope in what people don’t believe can happen. When things are not going well and we see no way out, hope in the Lord sees many ways out. It shows you that there are multiple  opportunities for blessings and for joy. Hope in the Lord takes our problems and transform them into experiences where we get to know the glory of God a little more. Every problem gets us inches closer to the glory of God. We get to see God in action. Hope in the Lord brings God into the scene and gives Him control over what seemed to be an issue. Hope in the Lord deals with every issue that arises and puts it down. Hope in the Lord is hope in the very best life has to offer and more specifically the very best the Lord has to offer in this life.

Today you are invited to hold on to hope in the Lord. Today you are encouraged to find the courage that comes from hope in the Lord. Today you are shown that there is always hope in Jesus and His hope is unparalleled. Hope in the Lord will get you through anything so hope in Him. Give up on the things of the world you have been putting your hope in. Stare at Jesus and expect Him to get you to your destination. Every journey with Him is phenomenal and it doesn’t ignore obstacles but it is not bothered by them. When you have hope in the Lord it doesn’t mean that you won’t have problems and that the enemy will leave you alone. Hope in the Lord rises above the attacks of the enemy and it gives you power to face trials and tribulations. Hope is more than a wish. It is a foundation in the Almighty God and you can’t be shaken when you stand on Him. His hope is more powerful than any doubt, any fear and anything negative you might feel. Hope in the Lord is not a feeling and it not an emotion. It is real and strong and it changes your thinking and your state of being. His hope removes the emotions that try to bring you down. His hope crushes the feelings that try to drag you down.

Hope in the Lord is hope in His Word. It is trusting that His Word is supreme and that it has authority over your life. You have hope in the Gospel and you believe that Jesus came to give good news, to save the lost and to mend the broken-hearted. Hope in the Word of God is hope in miracles, in love, in joy, in faith, in patience and in all the great attributes of the Holy Spirit. Hope in the Lord is hope in the Holy Spirit. It is having a relationship with the Holy Spirit and letting Him show you Jesus and give you a heart of praise for Jesus. Hope in the Lord will lead you to praise and worship Him even in the worst situations. Hope in the Lord doesn’t care about your circumstances. It cares about Jesus and how amazing and good He is. We all need hope. We all need Jesus and having hope in Jesus is having the best solutions, the best outlook on life and the best assurance in the world. The world will make you waver and fear but the Lord will make you hope and stand strong. God will fill you with hope and joy when you rely on Him in everything so rely on His hope. Rest in Him and let Him take care of everything. May God bless you and protect you and remember that He will always love you!

Suggested reading: Romans 12:12; Romans 15:4; 2 Corinthians 4:18

No complaints

There are a lot of challenges on social media. Some of them I don’t really understand. I guess they are really entertaining for some people who get a kick out of them. Some challenges are quite interesting and they bring a lot to the people who take them. I like to challenge myself. I don’t do it in a competition against others but I challenge myself against myself. I have started praying for direction about some challenges that I should take for my spiritual growth. The one the Holy Spirit suggested recently was the “no complaint” challenge. The Lord inspired me to spend a week without complaining about anything. He put it in my heart to be complaint-free for a whole week in my actions and in my words. The goal is for that week to eventually turn into a month and to turn this whole thing into a lifestyle. A life with no complaints is a life well-lived to the glory of God. We complain so much. Complaining is part of our DNA and it comes naturally to a lot of us. Complaints take on different forms and they are hard to perceive at times. We don’t call complaining by its right name when it is so ingrained in us. God wants us to be honest with ourselves and to call a spade a spade. Today I want to invite you to take the “no complaint” challenge with me. Decide that from now on you will pay attention to your complaining and you will work on eliminating it from your life. It is a process and it takes work and effort but it produces great fruit. Jesus calls us not to complain but to rejoice in all things and to keep a grateful heart.

The other day after my morning prayer, I went over the things I needed to take care of that day. I had quite a few errands to run and a meeting to attend. Then the invigorating thought that I had nothing to complain about came to mind. I had a lot to do but in reality none of it was bad. None of it made my life difficult. None of it made me miserable unless I chose to be miserable. None of if was negative in itself. It might have been tedious but a lot of people would love to have the tedious tasks I had. I needed to see them as blessings and not as annoyances. I was blessed to be so busy. I was blessed to have a full schedule. The Lord was whispering to my heart that I had nothing to complain about. I could choose to complain but if I did I would be choosing to do something that the Lord doesn’t want me to do. I would be going against His will and I would be magnifying my flesh instead of letting my spirit take over. My spirit wants to embrace the fruit of the Spirit because I am saved. Your spirit, friend, wants to feed on the fruit of the Spirit and express those wonderful nine traits. Love is at the top of the (spiritual) fruit pyramid. Love doesn’t complain. Love doesn’t focus on what’s wrong. Love sees the good and rejoices over the goodness of the Lord even when things are not going well. Love rejects complaining and that is what I need to adopt in my life. The love attitude is everything!

The “no complaint” challenge consists in simply not complaining about anything. Complaints can be verbal or physical. Our bodies know how to express complaints very well. Look around and observe people and you will notice how body language speaks negatively very easily. The “no complaint” challenge encourages us to not speak about anything negatively and to no complain about anything including small little things. We can do it. We can make sure we don’t say anything that puts the Lord down. Complaining is actually undermining the Lord. When we complain we tell Him what He gives us is not good enough. We tell Him the people in our lives are not good enough. The Bible tells us to watch what we say and to not give way to negative talk. Complaining is negative talk. You might feel better when you complain but it hurts you more than you know spiritually. It creates holes in the fruit of the Spirit that are trying to grow in your life. You end up with half of the apple of love and half of the strawberry of patience so to speak. Our fruit in the Lord should be complete and negativity causes things to decay and fall apart in no time. Complaining is a sport for some of us and we ought to give it up and take on more positive challenges. Love is the best challenge we can take on and when we walk in love we definitely walk in God’s will. Spend the next week focusing on what you say and banish complaints from your life. You will see some very positive changes every day. Stay positive. Stay with Jesus. May God bless you and protect you and remember that He will always love you!
Suggested reading: Ephesians 4:29; Philippians 2:1-18; James 5:9