Restoration

Joel 2:25 speaks of God restoring the years. Automatically, people think of the things they've lost over the years such as cars, houses, and so forth. But there's another restoration to be sought. The restoration of faith in God, commitment to God, etc. In other words, there must be restoration IN us before there can be restoration TO us.

Sometimes, we wonder why there are delays in seeing the manifestation of God's goodness. There's no problem on God's side. It's on our side. Perhaps there is "stuff" or "junk" in us that needs to be removed. Then God can restore the "goods" IN us. Subsequently, the "goods" can be restored TO us.

God wants us to win. We have to do our part. Junk out, God in. Filth out, Word in. Hatred out, love in. You get where I'm going with this? We've got to go higher in God. We can't do it with the "mess" that holds us back.

Let us all seek real restoration, to the glory of God!

Are You In Position?

Many of us are waiting for a manifestation of God, in some form or fashion. But are we truly ready for it? We have to be in position, as it were. For example, if we're expecting a financial blessing, are we faithful tithers? Or do we pay tithes every once in a while. Technically, that is NOT tithing.

Tithe means "tenth". Therefore, we are paying at least 10% of our income/increase. Before taxes. The gross is what you actually made. Taxes and other deductions come out before your "take home" pay. Many believe in tithing off of the "net", not the "gross". But the Bible says tithe from your increase. That's the "gross".

Proverbs 3:9 says to honor the Lord with the "firstfruits" of all your increase. The "gross" is the "firstfruits" before taxes and other deductions are taken from your pay.

Furthermore, we shouldn't be looking for excuses not to bless the Lord and the kingdom of God. God has been too good to be stingy with Him. Just make a decision to be generous and God will bless you! Obedience to the Word of God puts you in position for the blessings of God.

It's Time To Dance!

I don't know what has you down, but it's time to get up and dance before the Lord! Psalm 30 speaks of God turning our mourning into dancing. So, what are you waiting for?

Put on your dancing shoes, turn on the CD player if you have to, and bless the Lord! The devil wants you down in the dumps, as it were. It's time to dance and praise the Lord! God has given you the victory, whether you see it yet or not.

Show God you believe Him, that you believe His Word. Show the devil you believe God. What are you waiting for? Get to dancing and praising God!

It' Going To Be Alright

Somehow, someway, it's going to be alright. If you trust God, it's going to be alright. God wants to help you. Hebrews 13 speaks of God being our Helper.

You can say this boldly when you're totally committed to the Lord. This requires confidence in God.

How do you build such confidence? Thru the Word of God. Have more confidence in the Word than you do in someone's experience. Make your own God-experience. Know in your heart it's going to be alright. Be encouraged.

Somehow, someway, it's going to be alright.

Resting in the Lord

It's God's desire that we work but it's also His desire that we get rest. That is, rest physically but also rest for your soul. Matthew 11:28-30 speaks to this. Many are going about, weighed down with the cares of this life. There is relief in the Lord.

Why bear the burden when you can cast your cares over upon the Lord? It starts with understanding that God loves you. That's the foundation. If there is no understanding of God's love for you, it makes it difficult to walk out the victory already given to us.

Make a decision to rest in the Lord with everything within you. Don't listen to the devil. He'll make you think that there is no hope. That things will not get better. He's a liar. God's Word is truth!

Cast your cares upon the Lord right now. Acknowledge Him as your Strength and your Helper. Let God be your Helper. Let Him handle it, as it were. Rest in the Lord.

Don't Move!

Don't move off of the Word of God. Dig in. Anchor yourself. Now, ATTACK! Be aggressive in your praise and worship. Be aggressive in speaking to the mountain that's in your way.

Don't quit on God. Romans 8:37 says we're more than conquerors thru Him who loves us. Ps. 46:1 says the Lord is a very present help in trouble. Do you believe it?

Make a decision NOW that your're not moving unless God tells you to move. Acts 20:24 says none of these things move me.

Finish your course, in Jesus' Name. Don't quit. Don't move unless God tells you to move.

Are You Grateful?

Want to be blessed of the Lord? Learn to be grateful. Learn to praise God for the great and small blessings. If we would praise Him more, we couldn't imagine all that He has in store for us.

I, for one, could stand to praise God more. God has been so faithful and so good. I can't forget His goodness.

He's shown me so much mercy and grace. The very least I can do is show Him how grateful I am. I'm grateful for Jesus. I do my best show God how grateful I am by living for Him.

Do your best to show the Lord how grateful you are.

No Longer Business As Usual

There are times when we have to understand that it's no longer business as usual. It's human nature to get in a rut, as it were. God does not dwell in the ruts. Even though He's the same and does not change (Mal. 3:6), He's always on the move. He gives fresh bread. He's alive.

He's consistent but He's a God of variety. For example, He supplies our needs. But He doesn't do it the same way everytime. The object of relationship with God is to trust Him. We don't want to ever get to a point that we don't need God.

Therefore, we remain in a position to follow His guidance. That's why God doesn't reveal the total plan to us. If He did, we'd get the first few words and think we could just run off without God. He doesn't operate that way.

It's important to understand it's no longer business as usual. God is doing new things. We have to be ready to "move with the cloud", as it were. The children of Israel only moved when God moved. If God is not moving you, don't budge. If He is moving you, don't delay, be on point. That's where the blessings are.

If you're in a rut, get up and get moving. God is on the move. Don't get left out of what He's doing. Make it your business to be in His business.

God Loves You!

God loves you! In case you haven't heard it recently, God loves you. It doesn't matter what you've done or who you did it with. God loves you.

Don't let anybody tell you anything different. Don't believe anything different. He gave us His best in Jesus. He was God's gift to us from the heart. Don't ever forget that.

God loves you! That's all I wanted to say.

Who To Blame

Who to blame? Got a mirror handy? Who do you see? In most cases, this is who we should blame. All too often, people want to blame this person or that person. Blame their upbringing or present circumstances. Playing the blame-game.

Well, in MOST cases, you need look no further than the person you see in the mirror. That's the God's-honest-truth. If we'll start taking responsibility for our own failures, this is the first step towards success in life.

For example, if you're in a hole, you can't get out of the hole until you acknowledge where you are. Then you can begin to devise a plan to get out of the hole. You don't have to dwell on how you got in the hole. Think about how you got there long enough not to get back in there again.

Acknowledge that you're your own worst enemy. It's true. You need to watch out for YOU twice as much as you watch out for others. If you'll do that, you're on the road to a better life.

Withdraw from the blame-game. To try to win that game makes you a loser every time.

Divine Protection

I call you divinely protected, in Jesus' Name! Psalm 91 is one of my favorite Psalms. It's loaded with all kinds of good stuff. But the guarantee of divine protection is one of the great points the psalmist makes.

I have a continual confession that my family and I are divinely directed and divinely protected. I thank God that He has honored that. He'll honor His Word in your life if you'll believe it with all of your heart.

God promised to never leave us nor forsake us. Truly, He gives His angel charge over us, to keep us in all of our ways. That's provided you're not doing something dumb to put God to a foolish test. Don't go around picking up snakes and stuff on purpose, unless you're a professional and that's your job!

Just know that when you trust and follow God, you have full, comprehensive coverage. To God be the glory!

Merciful

Our God is so merciful! You don't believe it? The Bible says the Lord's mercies are new every morning in Lamentatons 3:23. I thank God they are available when we need them most. Praise God we've not received what we deserve, apart from the blood of Jesus.

The blood of Jesus is the Great Eraser. Mercy allows for grace to manifest. Judgment would desire to have its way, but Mercy says, "NO!" Mercy allows Justification to wipe the slate clean.

If you've been "skating on thin ice", just know that God's mercy kept you from falling through to disaster. Don't mess around and take mercy for granted. If you're going down the wrong path, turn right and keep straight. Yield not to temptation.

Stay mindful that mercy should be a spare tire, not the four tires you rely upon all of the time. Lamentations 3:22 says it's because of the Lord's mercies that we're not consumed. Keep that it mind. Your so called good looks don't have anything to do it. Remember that the next time you think that you're all that. Mercy, my friend. God's mercy is all that!

Promotion

Promotion comes from the Lord. True promotion. His grace and favor bring about promotion in life. Unfortunately, many backstab, scheme, and conive their way into "promotion". When God has anything to do with it, it's done the right way.

That requires faithfulness, doing what you're suppose to. People are watching, but so is God. When people are not watching, God is still watching.

One major key is trusting God's timing in your life. It's perfect. Everytime. How long can you wait on God? If things don't happen as quickly as you would like, are you going to quit on God? Many have. Are you going to endure what you have to endure? Only you can answer those questions.

In the end, it's always worth it to do things God's way. The Bible says to humble yourself under the mighty hand of God and He'll exalt (promote) you in due time (the right time).

I believe I'll let God promote me. That ensures His presence in my affairs.

Smell The Coffee

There are times in life when we have to wake up and smell the coffee. We have to stand flat-footed and say, "That's enough." Especially in spiritual things.

Our enemy, the devil, is counting on us to walk in ignorance. He expects for us to be gullible. But remember that the Bible says that he's a liar. The truth is no where to be found in him. Why believe a liar?

John 8:44 states that the devil is the father of lies. That means don't believe anything that he says. Ever met someone who lies all of the time? It's like the old saying, "Can't trust them no farther than I can throw them." There's alot of truth in that statement.

Stop taking junk off the devil. Stand firmly on the Word of God. In James 4:7, it states we are to submit ourselves to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. We must be doers of the Word, not hearers only. If we'll obey the Word, we'll get the results we desire.

If we'll follow the Lord, He'll keep us from being duped by the devil. Paul prayed for a spirit of wisdom and revelation. We need God's help, as much as we can get. He'll help us to see the devil coming down the road. Smell the coffee yet?

Don't Try to Figure It Out By Yourself

Stop trying to figure things out on your own. God is a very present Help, according to Psalm 46:1. The problem is that people are so determined to leave God out. It's like saying, "God, you can come into the house, but don't come looking in my back rooms. Just stay in the foyer."

God is such a gentleman that He'll stay right there in the "foyer" of your life. He's not like your nosy friends who might say, "I wonder what they are hiding in the back rooms. I sure wish I could get a peek." The Lord is not like that. He'll honor your wishes to the point of allowing you to go to hell, if that's what you want.

Proverbs 3:5,6 speaks of trusting in the Lord with all of your heart. Don't lean on your own understanding. Acknowledge His presence and He'll show you how great a God He is. In other words, don't try to figure it all out, especially without God. Your ego may be that big, but not your brain.

Let God be God in your life and flow with Him. He's qualified to be God, not you, not me. I believe I'll let God help me now so He doesn't have to bail me out later.

Praise God!!!

Praise God now and forever!

He's worthy, isn't He? Well, He is. I can't think of anyone worthy of all of the praise, glory, and honor. Praise Him just because. Not for anything He's done. Just because of Who He is. King of kings. Lord of lords. The Most High God. The Eternal God. Need I say more?

Praise the Lord our God, from everlasting to everlasting! I dare you...

Smarter Than God

Do you know that some people are smarter than God? Or so they think. How do you live anyway you want and think you're not going to be accountable to God? If fact, that's just plain dumb. Yep, I said it. Dumb.

God has given us His Word as the way to live. Don't like it? Fine. You know where you can go, right? Don't go there. God has a way that you can't go over, go under, nor go around. You have to do it His way.

For example, the Bible states that the rod of correction drives foolishness away from the heart of a child. In other words, discipline and correction. I received my share of spankings and I came out fine. It helped me to honor my parents and authority. Abuse is totally different. God even says to not spare for their much crying, because it will not hurt them. But all of a sudden, we as a society have gotten so smart to think we shouldn't discipline our children. Dumb.

Look at the results in society today. It's just dumb. If you haven't figured it out yet, God knows what He's doing. He doesn't waste words. What He says, He says for a reason. The smart thing to do is to obey God's Word. There are consequences for disobeying God's Word.

The bottom line is: Don't try to be smarter than God. Do what He says. It may not make sense initially, but it will in time.

True Freedom

In two days, we as a nation will be celebrating the "liberty" we have as a country. Unfortunately, for many people, July 4th is just another time to have a cookout, picnic, and have a good time. That's fine but let us be mindful of not only our founding fathers but the men and women of the Armed Forces. They have given their lives to protect the liberties and freedoms we enjoy in this country.

Yet, there's a higher liberty to be mindful of. That's the liberty that's in Christ Jesus. Just as there are people who would love to erase many of our freedoms in this country, the same applies spiritually. We have to understand that Jesus gave His life so that we can walk free of sin and darkness. Still, it's a choice to walk in freedom in Christ. It's the same for those freedoms we have in this country.

God won't force us to walk in freedom. He's provided it for us but it's still our choice. Old habits, vices, and so forth. We don't have to go down that road over and over again. We have to choose to be free. Then you ask God to help you and walk it out by His grace. In fact, we should get tired of being in bondage. It's called getting sick and tired of being sick and tired.

So my question is, "Had enough yet?" If so, make a gut-level decision that enough is enough. It's time to walk and live like God says you should. It's time to live life to the fullest in Jesus. It's time for true freedom, the kind that only Jesus gives.

Hallelujah Anyhow!

Sometimes, that's all you can say. Hallelujah anyhow!!! But you know, there is power in those words. Your enemy thinks he's got you. He thinks you're down and out for the count. When you allow those words to come out of your insides, as it were, your enemy will take notice. In fact, understand that you must put your enemy, the devil, on notice.

You let him know it's over for him, not you! Remind yourself that you belong to God. Remind yourself that God is on your side. Remind yourself that you're the winner, all because of Jesus.

Pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and get back in the fight. God is already there. Where are you? Make up your mind that regardless of what has happened to this point, you're going to say, "Hallelujah anyhow" and keep on moving. Keep fighting. Keep praising God and giving Him the glory. It's time to win, in Jesus' Name!!!

It's Your Choice

This is the day that the Lord has made...I will to rejoice and be glad in it. My will is to bless the Lord for His goodness, grace and mercy. Can't nobody do me like Jesus! I have a choice: I can complain or I can bless the Lord. My will is to bless Him, my choice is to praise Him.

Too many people look for anything to complain about. Don't do it. God has been too good to go down that road. Open your mouth and praise Him for His goodness. He's been faithful, you know. I dare you to praise instead of complain. I double-dare you.

Praise His today, and every day. He deserves it, we need to do it.