You Better Give God Glory! #TGBTG –

I am the Lord: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images (Isa 42:8)~ We pledge allegiance to flags and commemorate statues to respect the people and memories of those long past. We idolize people and live our lives in the examples of political figures, military leaders, athletics, entertainers, popular culture and lifestyle. What used to be an extreme has now become the norm – dedicating allegiances to each other and our ideologies – giving honor and glory to every sort and version of all walks of life.

But where is the glory to Him that spoke life into existence with His very words? How do we honor the One that by His desire set the balance of the universe? Where is the allegiance to the God of eternity with an uncompromising promise? Let us give to God those honors, praises and glories which are absolutely and solely His; taking heed that we do not serve the creature more than the Creator.

TO GOD BE THE GLORY

What Foundation Do You #Stand On? ~

Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it. (Matt 7:24-27)~~

The lives of believers and unbelievers are actually very similar; the key difference is in the Word on which the believer stands. Some build their hopes upon worldly prosperity; others upon an outward profession of religion. Upon these they venture; but they are all sand, too weak to bear such a fabric as our hopes of heaven. Some key points to consider: ALL; both believers and unbelievers are being exposed to the Word, but the believer stands on it and applies it to life. Just as the sun rises and sets for both good and evil people, the rains also fall on the just and unjust (Matt 5:45). We ALL will encounter trials; for man born of a woman is of few days and full of trouble (Job 14:1).

The unbeliever sees no light from the sun because they live for darkness, they flee the rain and succumb to trials, while the believer’s way is shown by the light, they are nourished and washed by the rains and they stand on a firm foundation in Christ in a trial. There is a storm coming that will try every man’s work. When God takes away the soul, where is the hope of the hypocrite? On what does the unbeliever stand? The house fell in the storm, when the builder had most need of it, and expected it would be a shelter to him. It fell when it was too late to build another. We must hear and do the sayings of the Lord Jesus: though some may seem hard to flesh and blood, but they must be done. What is your house built upon? May the Lord make us wise builders for eternity!

Stand!

#GodIs Enough! ~

When you don’t know how you’ll make it, God is enough to get you through.

When you don’t know how the finances will come, God is enough to supply your needs.

When you don’t have the wisdom you need, God is enough to direct your paths.

When you feel hopeless, God is enough to restore your faith.

God is enough for every situation you will ever go through.

He will not abandon you when times get hard, but rather He will guide you through them, providing along the way.

You don’t need to rely on your own wisdom and abilities — God is enough! 

Rely on God in every area of your life.

God is enough to meet the needs for all of them.

“But my God shall supply your every need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:19). 

Your #Calling ~ God’s Will ~ God’s Purpose ~ God’s Way! ~

Leaders in the Bible struggled with their specific callings as well as with one-time acts of obedience. Moses protested God’s call—even while he knelt barefoot as God spoke to him out of the burning bush. He didn’t want to confront Pharaoh. He told God he wasn’t a good speaker. Jonah ran from God’s call. He didn’t want to preach to the Ninevites. He knew that if they repented, God would forgive them, and he didn’t want that. He spent three days in the depths of misery before he said yes to God, and even then he continued to be angry with God (Jonah 4:1-2). Jeremiah didn’t want to be God’s spokesman. He told God he was too young to speak (Jeremiah 1:6). The rich young ruler didn’t want to sell his possessions and give to the poor (Matthew 19:22). Even Jesus, in a moment of humanity struggled with the reality of His calling as He prayed “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me.”(Luke 22:42).

Surrender means that we give up control, that we deny self and relinquish things like needing to be in charge, needing to have all the answers in advance, needing to look good or to be famous. It means walking with God, often into the unknown. Trusting God to lead and provide. Trusting God to come through. Stepping away from what WE would do and following what we realize God would have us do. When we heed His calling, we are always called into this obedience because His will MUST be done His way in order to remain absolutely perfect. Imagine these scenarios and how they may have played out if these people had done things their own way. God’s thoughts are higher than our thoughts, His ways are higher than our ways. The submission He calls us to is to get us out of our own thinking and habits so that what He intends to do in us and through us will not be challenged.

Again, imagine the scenarios… some great things happened as the called of God acted in submission to God. We have to let go.. even of who we see ourselves to be and allow Him to be who He is in us. God gives each of us a cup of His calling. As you prepare to drink from that cup, know that it may taste bitter and you can’t sweeten it with your own thoughts, habits and ways. You have to surrender to His will and His ways… and sometimes it will be a little tough to swallow but the end result will be the sweet taste of victory in Him!

Taste and see that the Lord is good!!

There Are No Spectators In This Battle! #Fight ~

Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses (1 Tim 6:12) ~ The enemy is a master of trickery and will have you believing that your wrong decision is everything right… He’ll having you ‘trusting your instincts’; He’ll have you justifying it because you’ll be feeling like it’s right for you! You’re saying: “I know the Bible says ‘this’ but things are different today…” Just like he did Adam and Eve in the Garden…(What? You thought this was a NEW thing?) Yes, they knew what God said and even the devil acknowledged that…(the devil doesn’t disagree with God, he simply twists it to his own purpose)… having them thinking they could make their own decisions regardless of what God said! He will have us trusting what we see rather than God.

Soon we’re caught up in a crooked path…going straight in the wrong direction of this rejection and unbelief of God’s Will! Like it or not, we are at war within ourselves fighting reality (truth) against perception (our way of seeing it). The enemy will attack us and try to deceive us into passivity and apathy concerning the war at hand. We get desensitized to things we KNOW are wrong and we start to become accepting, tolerant and even allowing of the wrong things as if they were… Right!!! The enemy wants us to believe that we should take certain paths (make certain “laws”, decisions and moves) that may be anything other than ‘straight’. Once we’ve fallen to this trickery we’ll eventually realize the truth and it hits us like a ton of bricks and yes, we feel the guilt!

But to soften THAT blow, now the enemy shows us some false hopes by “things” he will put in front of us to make us “feel good about our decisions”. He will have us believing that while evil has won in our lives and that we are failures and that SINCE we are going ‘down’ we might as well go ‘with a bang’…one bad decision after another! Now we’re really spiraling out of control! BUT… Yes!!!! The devil is a liar! Because when Jesus died on the cross to pay the penalty for the sins Satan deceptively introduced into the world, Satan’s fate was sealed.

With the payment of death no longer required of us for sin, Satan lost his only chance at victory. God revealed to the apostle John (and others) the great and glorious victory He wins in the future (Revelation 20:10). It comes down to this: Though the “battle” still rages, the outcome of the “war” has already been determined. God wins. Satan loses. That’s IT!!! And that’s what the enemy doesn’t want you to know or remember.. Trust me, he ain’t going down like that without a major fight! He knows he’s defeated and destined for destruction and he’s “dead” set on taking you with him!

Like I said, even the enemy knows the truth! But see, something happens when we trust God, God will give His mighty, powerful, TRUTH KNOWING warrior angels charge over us. And knowing that truth, they don’t let you get stagnant in life where you will fall to the enemy, but will “keep you moving” down the “straight” path while the obstacles of this life come at you…terror, arrows of the enemy, pestilence, harm, disaster, evil, bad decisions; all while reminding you of the truth of God’s grace, mercy and salvation; keeping you from the harm of the enemy as you fight the good fight to its glorious end. Trust in God to deliver on His promise to restore creation to its sinless, no-evil state. And rejoice because He will! That’s right, step on that devil’s head!

Trust in God to give His angels charge over you. To keep you in all your ways. Know that ‘trust in’ God is not a passive trust. You don’t trust and hope He does something wondering if He might…that’s fear! You have to walk in faith and expectation that He has already taken care of it, even though you can’t see the fullness of it…yet! Trusting that God will take care of everything while we sit on the sidelines and watch is like faith without works – dead. There are no spectators in the spiritual war between God and evil. We must choose a side and gear up. We do so by choosing which type of trust we will have: trust that if we do this we’ll have that and what we see tells us what to believe in, or ‘trust that’ God will “do” it and we’ll reap the benefit of ‘trust in’ God as we live our lives and we WALK the walk of faith and FIGHT the good fight of faith… in the care of the angels He’s given charge over us! For He shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone. (Ps 91:11-12).

Fight The Good Fight … of Faith!

Your Faith Will Light the Way! ~ #Shine ~

“ And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.” (John‬ ‭1:5‬) ~ Now is the time in all of our lives when we need faith. Now is the time when we can’t see what’s ahead but we must go anyway. It’s in that darkness where we must trust our inner Light. It’s in that darkness where God makes us grow. It’s in that darkness where we become the person we were born to be. Just because we can’t see what God is doing doesn’t mean He’s not working!

Faith always happens in the place where one cannot see. A faith walk is like a blind walk, it’s dark. You have to keep pushing forward with the belief that everything will work out in your favor. While in the situation, your thoughts will shape the darkness. If you allow yourself to be consumed by the darkness, it will stop you. But if you shift your thoughts to those of powerful assertions, made by the Light of Christ within , you’ll illuminate the darkness and you will come out on the other side like brand new.

We’re going through rough seasons in our lives. We’re getting tested from every angle. You have to know that it isn’t meant to break you, but to build you. Yes, you want to give in and give up but instead you have to decide to shift your thoughts. Begin to think about the peace in the midst of the storm. Begin to think about the other side of defeat. Illuminate the darkness and your days will begin to change. Out of nowhere your breakthrough will come. The adversary will flee because you will resist him and beat him down. Your trials will become triumphs and your life will open up.

In faith claim victory in the midst of challenge until you receive victory. Your thoughts can shift the atmosphere. I urge you today to keep walking on through that dark tunnel. You may not see the light at the end, but know that it’s there. Let the light inside of you, guide you! Illuminate the darkness with your thoughts and you will see things begin to change. Don’t give in. Don’t give up. There’s only one way out and that’s forward…in Faith!

Amen Lights!

Don’t Look Back! #MoveOn ~

Looking back and living in the past constantly is a clear indication you believe your treasures are still buried there. A woman in the Bible only went by the title of Lot’s wife, and her heart was so caught up in the treasures of this world she could not see the grand future God had planned out for her. I’m sure you have heard of Sodom and Gomorrah and the destruction of fire and brimstone that rained down and ruined them. Lot’s wife lived there with her family, and though it was a place of much immorality and disgraces, her heart was very much tied to it. But because of the prayers of Abraham God would save Lot and his family from the devastation. God allowed them enough time to escape with this instruction,

“Do not look behind you nor stay anywhere in the plain.” (Genesis 19:17 NIV).

Lot’s wife looked back… and we know what happened. When consider my life, I am so thankful that God brought me out of many situations that would have only resulted in my destruction had I looked back and my heart stayed there. In the moment of having to leave behind people, possessions, mindsets and relationships we hold close and dear to us may seem like the most challenging thing to do. But when you put your trust in the One who knows best; the present pain will eventually turn into the greatest gain in life. Lot’s wife’s treasures were so buried in the city she had to leave behind that she was not willing to trust God with the future. The truth about looking back constantly and living in the past is that it will drain the very life from you. Let us heed the warning of God and make sure our heart is following Him.

Forward

Want a Good #Relationship With God? BE in it! ~

But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper (Ps 1:2-3)~

Getting to KNOW the Lord is not done by just going to church on Sunday and reciting our prayers over meals and at bedtime. But the person who studies the Word “day and night” is the person that knows the benefit of having the Word in them. As surely as we need food for our bodies, and air for our lungs, we need the Word constantly feeding and giving refreshing breath to our souls. To focus on the Word is to focus on God; is to focus on becoming what He purposes for us. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God (John 1:1), so to study and know the Word and meditate on it is to do so with God and he who meditates (thinks deeply) on the Word (God) has that Word (God) become part of Him…For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he (Prov 23:7). This person knows that without the Word (God) they have no provision and in the Word (God) they live, move and have being!

Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me (John15:4). There are those that think of you as some “strange being, wierdo or freak” for spending so much time in God but they clearly don’t understand or haven’t experienced the benefit of abiding in the Word, and having it abide in them. I see people all the time complaining about how their relationships are failing. But then I see them doing all kinds of things apart from the ‘relationship’ – claiming they need to ‘get away’ and spend time with themselves or their friends or doing other things!!

Ponder the question: if you’re married but you spend all of your time doing everything but putting into that marriage, how can that marriage thrive?? If you had an interest in a significant other, wouldn’t you spend time with them, getting to know them better each day; to have a good relationship with them? Then why not God from whom all good things flow?

You feel like you need to get closer to God so you plan on going to church Sunday – # of days from now! What about praying today? What about studying the Word now? What about turning off rap and reality TV and spending time in Revelation? The point? That I may KNOW Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformable unto His death; If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead (Phil 3:10-11). You know who God is and you believe in Him and even love Him, but do you KNOW Him?

Participation Matters

The #PROCESS Is Painful But It Is Necessary! ~

Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof: and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit; Say not thou, What is the cause that the former days were better than these? for thou dost not enquire wisely concerning this (Ecc 7:8,10)~~

In our discontent, confusion and sometimes even our selfishness, we find ourselves apt to quarrel with God Himself and cry out upon the badness of our times, the hardships we have to go through and the waiting we have to endure to get to our blessings; when we have more reason to cry out for the badness of our own hearts; and even in these times we enjoy many mercies. We long for the goodness of past gone times; as if we didn’t have like things to complain of (that we did). We find ourselves quoting even Christ to say “Lord if you would let this cup pass from me…”. Anything would be better than having to go through something bad just to get to the good!

It’s a fact though, that our own impatience in going through… makes our trials harder for us than they need to be. See, in quoting Christ, WE leave out the part that says “Nevertheless, not my will but THY will!” (see Matt 26:39). If we would only understand the necessity of the “PROCESS”. We have to remember that weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning (Ps 30:5) – that’s a PROCESS. In fact, every blessing that God has ever delivered came as the result of a PROCESS. He could have instantly restored mankind after the fall in the Garden of Eden, but He took creation through a PROCESS for the next few thousand years until the coming of His son Jesus! He could have simply ‘smote’ Pharaoh and the Egyptians and freed the Israelites but He took them through a PROCESS of crossing the Red Sea. As we go through the “PROCESS” we will find at the end that the event of our trials and difficulties is often ended better than we thought at first… we just need to not be weary in our well doing…because in due season (after the process) God’s promise will be delivered!

Don’t tap out in the PROCESS but wait it out…endure it…run it with patience! And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise (Heb 6:15). Friend, God’s Word tells us over and over and over again…Believe It! If you have PATIENCE in the PROCESS, the PAYOFF is His PROMISE! Focus on your Faith and it will get you to the Finish!

“You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.” ‭‭(James‬ ‭5:8‬ )

Don’t Be A Fool! #GodIS ~

The fool has said in his heart “There is no God” (Ps 14:1); The earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein. For He hath founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the floods. Who shall ascend into the Hill of the Lord? Or who shall stand in His holy place? (Ps 24:1-3)~~

In the beginning, God began the beginning. He did not begin WITH the beginning, He IS the beginning; He BEGAN the beginning; God existed before the beginning began and when the end is over, He will still be God! He is Alpha and Omega – He exists on both ends of eternity – everything starts with Him and nothing ends without Him; and everything in between, He did. He never had to consult with you or I in His creation or when He put the sun, moon and stars in the sky. He didn’t need our permission to determine where to put grass or water or mountains; yet they are all perfect! He didn’t need our advice on how to create our bodies and make us unique; yet we all function and contain more intelligence, greatness and un-duplicatable specialty than the greatest human mind could possibly imagine or understand. Yet in all these things we as His ‘creation’ have the audacity to question His authenticity as our creator! We look to things that man has ‘crafted’…from the creations of God (by the way)… and with our “God-given” talents we dishonor Him.

We have the unmitigated GALL to question His EXISTENCE because He didn’t answer the way WE thought He should!!! We take a negative situation to use as ammunition to question the very presence of God and we seek answers to our curiosity as if looking to disprove His existence and we play around with intelligence and then credit ourselves with the creation of life itself. Our own efforts become our source and salvation. Ultimately, We as the ‘creation’ put more emphasis on serving the ‘created’ rather than the ‘creator’! We have elevated ourselves to be the gods of our own lives. Some of these ‘unbelievers’ even constantly ponder and challenge ‘us’ with the question: “Who is this God? What if you’re all wrong and after this life on Earth, that’s IT? What if all of this focus and attention on God is part of the longest running scam in history and that all of our focus and guiding our lives with this ‘faith’ and ‘integrity’ and ‘nature of goodness’ does nothing more than rob of us what could be while we have time? Why should I believe in Him?”

Okay, so looking at that point, if God doesn’t exist; if living your life under guidelines and decent Godly principles means you’ve wasted your life because when it’s over, it’s over.. then the loss is yours. If that were the case, then your life is what you make it. But here is my question: what if the unbeliever is wrong? What if God’s promises “are” real, what if there “is” a beautiful eternity prepared for us but we decided not to believe? For the unbeliever, nothing changes…when life ends on Earth, it’s over and for eternity there will be nothing for them but separation from God…but for the believer, there is God and all He has promised…forever.

Whether it’s true or not, we have not seen and could say we really don’t know, but my faith says yes and that’s what I believe! An unbeliever may think I’m “insane” but I’d rather risk being insane in faith and having my eternity than righteous as a self made god to myself that is counting down to my end. And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve… as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord!

No Fools Here!