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“For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.” Philippians‬ ‭2‬:‭13‬ ‭ Let God work in you and through you to do the plans He has for you! The plans God has for us is always the best plan for our life. Have you ever been in a spot where you feel like you are at a fork in the road and don't know which way to turn? If that is where you are now or in time to come then relax, and ask God what to do. If God is working in you He can give you the desire to follow the path He has planned for you. The best thing about God is He continues to work on us even when we aren't the best versions of ourselves. I was listening to music today and the song said, "Being broken down to be made new again." If you feel like this past year has broken you down, constant battles and feeling like you can't win for losing maybe like nothing has gone right for you then know this year was for finding strength in God. You have planted seeds of faith over...

“The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. May the grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.” Romans‬ ‭16‬:‭20‬ ‭ We can live in hope knowing that whatever the enemy throws at us is only for a moment, God’s protection is for a lifetime. The Bible clearly teaches us that the nothing the enemy forms against us will prosper. Although the weapon that is formed against us won’t prosper God never said the weapon wouldn’t form. See the enemy can form lies in our minds, feelings in us, and even form things against us but God has told us they will not prosper and that He will give us a way out of temptation. Today whatever the enemy is throwing at you, if it’s doubt, fear, anxiety, depression, broken-ness, lies, betrayal, hopelessness, shame, your past, or even just trying to get you to sin know that God is bigger than anything that you’re facing today. You might not can see a way out, but God can. There is light at the end of the tunnel, there is still hope when all seems hopeless. Yo...

“For we live by believing and not by seeing.” ‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭5‬:‭7‬ ‭ If we based everything that we do on what we can see to believe in then we’d never get anywhere in life. Things that we are able to believe in and that are most important are unseen. Happiness is a key factor in each of our lives, we all want it and need it, but see you can’t see happiness for it self only in forms. Often a smile when you pass a stranger, a hug when you see someone after a while, and even a laugh with others. Happiness is something we all search and dream to feel in the sad moments, although it is unseen we believe that it is there. That is exactly how God is, although we cannot see Him completely we can see him in forms. When a stranger opens a door, when someone says “God bless you”, when you’re at your lowest and someone comes to you with kindness, when someone hugs you when you’re sad, a smile at the sadness moments and even an invite to church. God is all around us although He is not seen. Yo...

“Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world.” James‬ ‭4‬:‭8‬ ‭ We all go through times in our walk with God where we feel as though there is a distances, a wall between you and God. It’s as if we’re in a dry land in our relationship with God. The only way to fix this is to feed ourselves spirituality, and to work to spend time with God. I have came to realize that my relationship with God is at its strongest when I take time away from the world and everyone at night to spend time with Him. Around 9 to 10 everyday when everyone is in bed I then can pray, worship, read my Bible and have that one on one connection with God with no distractions. The more I begin to do this the more my soul hungers for God and the more my soul is on fire again for Him. We tend to forget that when our spirits are down and we’re in that rut in our relationships with God that it has absolutely nothin...

“You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies. You honor me by anointing my head with oil. My cup overflows with blessings.”Psalms‬ ‭23:5‬ ‭In the world today we look to feel secure in our lives, finances, belongings, friendships and even our relationships but we tend to forget the real secure feelings, joy and comfort is only found in Jesus. We can do everything that we can possibly thing of to keep ourselves out of harms way, but the real way that we can feel secure and safe in any circumstance is through Jesus and His Spirit that lives in and through us. When Jesus lives in us we begin to feel peace in situations that would normally send us spiraling, we feel hope in those dry lands because we know He can even make dry bones come alive, we feel joy in the moments that we use to feel sadness knowing if something is lost better will be found, we feel love because He is love, we feel forgiveness knowing that He came to redeem us from the sins we were yet to commit. The true...

“She gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no lodging available for them.” Luke‬ ‭2:7‬ ‭ As I listened to Christmas music, and as I listened to music the lyrics stated something that we hear a million times around this time of year, but it hit me differently than ever before. The song said, "as He was wrapped up and placed in the manger." At the time I was cleaning around the tree, and I began to think that the best gift of all will never be found under a tree. The very best gift of all was born 2000 years ago to save us from all sins, He came down and was placed in a manger where the sheep would eat from, but He didn't care because He didn't come for himself, He came for me and you. He came to give us eternal life through Him and to give us the grace that we don't deserve. This year as you open gifts think about the best gift of all that was wrapped in cloth and placed in a manger. T...

“But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, are only a small village among all the people of Judah. Yet a ruler of Israel, whose origins are in the distant past, will come from you on my behalf.” Micah‬ ‭5:2‬ ‭ Although this prophecy was made many years before Jesus was born, Mary didn't plan to have Jesus in the town Bethlehem, but God knew that is where He would be born when He spoke those words to the prophet. Mary and Joesph were living in Nazareth, and they had to travel to Bethlehem in Judea where Joesph originated from for a census. Joesph took Mary, His fiance at the time with him, she was pregnant with Jesus at that time. As they arrived at Bethlehem the time came for Jesus to be born. They tried to find somewhere to stay but everywhere was full someone offered them a stable with a manger in it, which is what the sheep and cows ate hay out of back then. The KJV Bible says "She wrapped him in swaddling cloths", that is what they use to wrap baby lambs in when they were born....

“Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy.”‭James‬ ‭1:2‬ ‭ One of the saddest days of the year for me is the day after Christmas, it's like all the joy has left and everyone is back to their lives, and jobs and becomes rushed and unhappy again. The joy of Christmas is Jesus, and when we give our lives to God then we will realize that His joy lives in our hearts all year round. Although Christmas is technically over today, His joy will always be in our hearts and will flow through us and around us for the entire year. The reason for Christmas is to celebrate the birth of Jesus, and He has birthed His spirit and joy into us. Today slow down before you go back to work, the rush and stress, take a moment to remember and focus on the joy of Jesus that lives in your heart after this holiday season. Jesus lives in you, and He loves you so much. He wants to give you that joy, if only you will give your life and future to H...

“At that time there was a man in Jerusalem named Simeon. He was righteous and devout and was eagerly waiting for the Messiah to come and rescue Israel. The Holy Spirit was upon him” Luke‬ ‭2:25‬ ‭ Have you ever thought about this verse? See he waited his entire life to see Jesus, and he never gave up on God's promise all though there was no proof that the promise would come to pass he stood by the words God spoke to him. Imagine waiting years for Jesus to be born not knowing when or who would have Him but knowing He would come. That is faith. Simeon knew that God was true to His word, he knew that he had no reason to worry because what God spoke to him years ago God would do at the right time! We need to have faith like him, knowing that what God speaks God will do. The joy that he felt over meeting Jesus is the same joy we can get every day by having Jesus in our hearts. We never have to worry about when Jesus will come through for us because all that matters is He said He will, a...

“I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them.” 1 Timothy‬ ‭2:1‬ ‭ This Christmas focus rather on who is around the tree and not so much on what is under the tree. We spend so much of Christmas worried about what we are getting from other people and what we are giving others that we forget to focus on those that we have to spend it with. The best parts and memories of all the past Christmas' are the people I spent it with and made memories with, I barely remember ten gifts I got over the years. Don't take me wrong it is good to give gifts and to receive them and you will be grateful for them but the people you've been blessed to have in life are even better. As I got older and people that were at my Christmas' as a child who is no longer here on earth as I look back, I now realize those memories are the best because I got to spend time with people I was blessed to have in my life. The people ...

"Don't think of them as enemies, but earn them as you would a brother or sister." 2 Thessalonians 3:15 How many times have we looked at those who live in sin or don't have the same belief that we do and we look at them as enemies rather than being a good person and telling them of Jesus and warning them about things that they can change? I know we are not perfect and we all make mistakes, so who are we to judge? We should think of it like this if we were the ones living in sin and not living as we should, wouldn't we want someone to warn us? Sharing the Good News of Jesus most defiantly can be scary because we fear people being offended, but Jesus didn't live in fear of offending those around Him, He shared the Good News with everyone He met. We should share with those around us knowing that the only way to heaven is through Jesus, and we want those we love to experience His grace and His love and to also experience eternal life just as we will as Christians. ...

“Joseph, to whom she was engaged, was a righteous man and did not want to disgrace her publicly, so he decided to break the engagement quietly.” Matthew‬ ‭1:19‬ ‭ The love Mary had for Jesus was like any other mother who has a child, but have you ever thought about the love Joseph had for Jesus although it wasn't his biological child? As I read the story in my devotional the other night I soon realized that Joseph thought of leaving Mary because as we can imagine it would be quite a shock for your fiancé to come in and announce she is pregnant all though she is a virgin, knowing that it isn't your child. I can imagine he was completely shocked and confused about how she was pregnant and thought she had cheated. That is when God sent an angel to Joesph in a vision to tell Him all these things that were yet to come and to explain the situation, then the Bible says that He took Mary and made her his wife. Joesph knew it wasn't his biological child but he chose to marry Mary an...

“If his good deeds had made him acceptable to God, he would have had something to boast about. But that was not God’s way.” Romans‬ ‭4:2‬ ‭ If we were cleansed from our sins by all the good things that we do and say, then we could walk around bragging about how much of a great person we are to be saved but that is why Jesus didn’t do it that way. The Bible clearly teaches us that Jesus died for us while we were still sinners, therefore we were still living in sin when He went on the cross to die for us. He didn’t die for the best versions of ourselves He died for our sinful nature to be freed in Him through His crucifixion. We can boast all we want about God‘s mercy because that is the true reason that we are saved from all of our sins and our sins become white as snow. We have no room to be bragging about how we are saved by our good deeds because our good deeds have nothing to do with it, it’s called grace. The best part about God is He never runs out of grace for us no matter how fa...

"But the person who loves God is the one whom God recognizes." 1 Corinthians 8:3 When we love God fully that is when He recognizes us. We can't give God half of our hearts, or half of our attention and expect to be as close to God as we need to be. We have to give ourselves fully to God with faith and love for Him only. As I grew older I came to realize that if I expect to have a relationship with God then I have to give Him all of me the good, the bad, and the ugly, all of it! God doesn't get mad when we bring out the anxious, sad, depressed, or broken parts of us, actually, that is what He wants most. He wants us to bring those parts to Him so that He can heal them and make us new in Him. I use to be ashamed to give those parts of me to God out of fear that I would disappoint Him, but He opened my eyes and showed me that it's something He can use to transform me and to use me in His kingdom for His glory. Today give all of you to God, the parts you're ashame...

“but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people.” Luke‬ ‭2:10‬ ‭ Christmas time has became so fast paste and so rushed, we forget to stop and remember the true reason of this season. As I have got older it's became less exciting for Christmas, I love the meaning of it and the movies but it feels so rushed and like I have so much to do. This year I had to stop for a second from the rush and worry of not getting everything done and remember this isn't about the gifts for others, it's about remembering Jesus' birth. If we all stopped for a moment and remembered the true meaning the joy of Christmas comes back. It's great to give gifts, to enjoy all the movies, to decorate everything in our homes but its even better to stop for a moment and read Luke chapter two, bringing the joy back in our hearts. I know holidays can be sad after losing loved ones and sometimes even dreadful to come around famil...

“I tell you, you can pray for anything, and if you believe that you’ve received it, it will be yours.”Mark‬ ‭11:24‬ ‭ We all have stuff that we are praying for, but the question is when we are praying for it do we truly believe God can and will make it happen? Are we praying with faith and speaking that it will come to pass or letting doubt drown us? We have to believe completely with our hearts and minds that Jesus can and will do anything that we ask of Him if we have faith. Is your faith speaking loud enough to drown out the doubt? We have to have faith that is over our fears, our doubts and that we speak the things we are praying for. God was really dealing with me about speaking things into existence that I’m praying for. I started to speak hope into my circumstances and pray for God to change them, and they changed. I learned that just praying for God to do something and not having the faith that He will can cause things to not happen for me. Today speak hope into your life. The ...

“The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.” 1 Corinthians‬ ‭10:13‬ ‭ Have you ever heard the phrase “Sin will take you further than you want to go?” I sat and thought on it today, I’ve heard it all of my life but have I truly understood it? As I began to think on it, I came to realize it’s deeper than words, it’s our reality of the world today. The world has lost its view on morals and on keeping God in the center of them. What started as something small went to something bigger, they have taken God out of our schools and some of our jobs. We have let them brainwash us on things that we should believe and things we shouldn’t. We shouldn’t let the enemy take us or this world any further. We think us giving in to something small such as not praying in public because it might embarrass us will not lea...

“The wicked think, “God isn’t watching us! He has closed his eyes and won’t even see what we do!”” Psalms‬ ‭10:11‬ ‭ Do you ever feel like you’re doing all that you can do to be the best person, Christian, friend, parent, sibling, child, girlfriend, boyfriend, husband or wife and no one around you notices? See we think no one looks at our progress or the things we’ve changed to be better in ourselves, but that is a lie. God sees all the things we do good or bad. He watches us constantly checking in on us to see if we need anything, if we are wanting to talk to Him, if we are hurting and sad, if we’ve made a mistake or if we’re progressing. We never go unnoticed. I know being a Christian causes us to stand out to the world, and it feels as though at times that we stand out but are also unnoticed for our beliefs, but God doesn’t ever forget us. He always is checking in. He wants us to talk to Him and communicate. As a child we were taught we had to be good for Santa to get presents, but ...

“My future is in your hands. Rescue me from those who hunt me down relentlessly.” Psalms‬ ‭31:15‬ ‭ We always think that what defends us from is things that we know about, but often times God saves us from things we don't even know about. The battles are often things God blocks before we can even see them, we don't even see them after He blocks them sometimes. We look at things from a first-person point of view, while God sees the whole point of view. We can't see what is ahead and that use to scare me, but I soon realized that the One who created me is also the One who holds my future also. We never have to fear what is next because God is over the future and He will never let the enemy win against us or take our future away from us. Our futures are promised to be good if we put our hope in God alone. We can be free from fear of the future if we remind ourselves who holds our future. We are free from the enemies lies in the name of Jesus, and he has no hold on us. Today, e...

“Dear brothers and sisters, I want you to understand that the gospel message I preach is not based on mere human reasoning.” Galatians‬ ‭1:11‬ ‭ We as Christians should always be ready to tell others about Jesus, even strangers. We should bring Him up in every conversation that we have the chance to do so. How often are you spreading the Gospel? We tend to forget that we don't have as much time here on earth as we would like, we have to make the most of every moment. I know it can be scary to share His word with a complete stranger, but imagine if it was you who was lost in this world and didn't know about Jesus would you want someone to tell you? We always think that it is by choice that someone isn't following Jesus, but the truth is some people have never been taught about Him. I was blessed to be raised in a church and taught about Jesus, but not everyone has or has had that privilege. We should invite people to church with us, invite them to a bible study, host a bible...

“I have given them your word. And the world hates them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world.” John‬ ‭17:14‬ ‭ Be unique, it’s okay to not fit in with the standards of the world. We aren’t made to fit in with everyone because if that were how it’s really meant to be then we would have to live like the world does in sin. The reason we are created to stand out is to be a set example to the world as we should live. I use to think that standing out was a bad thing, but the older I’ve got I have came to realize that me standing out to the world, is me being just as God created me to be in the first place. If you feel like you don’t fit it, that’s okay, because around the right people you will fit in. Spend time with those who understand you, but not only that those who understand your calling in God! Once you surround yourself with those who fit what you’re meant to be in God then you’re around the right people. You can’t make everyone see your callin...

"This is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But before the marriage took place, while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant through the Holy Spirit." Matthew 18:1 Something came to me the other day, Mary was the one person in this world that knew Jesus was a miracle and was the Savior of the world without a doubt in her mind. She had no way of being pregnant but the Holy Spirit made her pregnant. She was the one person in the world that was more shocked than even us. One of my favorite Christmas songs is 'Mary Did You Know?' If you think of the lyrics where it says, "Did you know that your baby boy Has walked where angels trod? When you kiss your little baby you kiss the face of God" it's something so deep to think about. Imagine trying to comprehend that you not only had an unexpected child and a complete miracle but that you carried for nine months and hold each day is God in the flesh. Mary is ...

““Well,” you may say, “those branches were broken off to make room for me.”” Romans‬ ‭11:19‬ ‭ Make room for what you're praying for. God has already started putting the pieces together and is working behind the scenes for you! If you've been praying for a miracle, hold on tight because God is already at work. See often times we pray for something and say we are ready for it but in reality, we have not done anything to prepare for it. It's like praying and asking God to let you get a dog but you don't have anywhere for one to sleep. If you're praying for something new you must make room for it. If you want God to do the impossible in your life you must expect the impossible to happen for you. God doesn't do all the work for us although He can do it, He expects us to do some of the work also. I'm not saying God can't give you what you're praying for without room for it, but He wants our hearts and lives prepared to accept what we are praying for. We m...

“Peter finally came to his senses. “It’s really true!” he said. “The Lord has sent his angel and saved me from Herod and from what the Jewish leaders had planned to do to me!”” Acts of the Apostles‬ ‭12:11‬ ‭ Have you ever been in a place you felt like you would never make it through in life and all of a sudden the clouds separated and the sun began to shine again? That was God. I went though a really difficult time one time and I felt that God sent me an Angel, within a week my entire problem has disappeared and I had been freed from the things I was going though. God can do that in any of our lives at any given moment. The Bible says “ask and you will receive.” Whatever you’re struggling with or going through go to God in prayer, ask Him to fix the things that you can’t, and in His time He will do it! The problem is at times we pray for deliverance or a breakthrough and we think God has forgotten us because He didn’t answer in the time that we wanted Him to, but in reality He has bet...

““But he knows where I am going. And when he tests me, I will come out as pure as gold.” Job‬ ‭23:10‬ ‭ Have you ever thought that all that you're going through at this moment might be your biggest testimony? You might feel as though you're alone, but someone else could be going through what you are one day and you're what helps them. We tend to forget that God always takes what the enemy means for evil and turns it for good. The Bible teaches us that God works all things together for the good. What you're going through could be what grows your relationship with God and your faith, or what you're going through God will turn for your good. In the book of Job, he goes through so much pain and loss in his life, but in the end, God restores him and gives him back double what he had before. That is what God will do for you, He will take your loss in life and turn it for good, then give you back double what you had before. Take time today to remember that the pain you...

““For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” John‬ ‭3:16‬ ‭ I know we all have different pictures in our minds of the cross and when Jesus was raised from the dead, we all picture it differently and think of different thinks in our minds because that is how we were created to be. I heard a christian song the other day, it said, "Lead me to the cross where His love poured out." It brought me to tears, as I thought about how He didn't only die for our sins and to the flesh, He also died for us because He truly loves us. Imaging someone loving you so much to pay off all your debt in life, pay off your cars, phone bills, light bills, and any bills you have not for a month, but for eternity. That is what Jesus done, but He paid off something much deeper than our earthly bills, He paid off our sins and death. We might die to the flesh but we have hope knowing that we will live a...

“As they sailed across, Jesus settled down for a nap. But soon a fierce storm came down on the lake. The boat was filling with water, and they were in real danger.” Luke‬ ‭8:23‬ ‭ How many times in life do we not let the storms bother us? How many times do we sit back and say “We trust in Jesus!” See when the storm was headed for Jesus He knew it was coming, He didn’t let it phase Him because He knew the power in Jesus Name! We have to remind ourselves when the storms come that Jesus is with us though it all, when it feels like He’s sleeping not hearing our tears, cries, pain, troubles, anxieties and our feelings know at the right time He will calm the storm! He will save us! He will tell the storm “peace be still!” Know that whatever storm is in your life right now that the enemy has no more time than Jesus let’s it. The enemy might throw a few dodge balls at us, might let the storm rise but when Jesus stands for us nothing in all of creation can win! God is fighting your battles, He ...

“John himself was not the light; he was simply a witness to tell about the light.” John‬ ‭1:8‬ ‭ We as Christians should be merry and bright all year round, we should become as bright as a Christmas tree with a smile on our faces and remember the joy that has been placed in our hearts. We are joyful because we have the joy of God. Remember in Sunday school as a kid we would all sing, "I've got the joy, joy, joy down in my heart." As we would sing we would all smile from ear to ear. That's the kind of happiness we should show from Jesus. The Bible teaches we must become like a child to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. We should become like a child with that joy for Jesus just as we use to be. I know life is difficult, and things bring us down and make us sad, and that's okay, but we have to remember that when life isn't good, God still is good! We have His love around us all the time. This Christmas season, be merry and bright to others, give to the homeless, and b...

““Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means ‘God is with us.’”” Matthew‬ ‭1:23‬ ‭ The name Immanuel means; "God with us". When God sent His one and only Son down, He was also called Immanuel. God sent Jesus to break the barrier between humanity and God all though God was already with us. Jesus came in the human form, since Jesus came we no longer have to make sacrificial offerings, Jesus was the sacrifice for each of our sins. Jesus came down to be born in a manger, to save us from all sins we were yet to commit. God is within us, all thanks to our wonderful Savior for coming down to earth to be born in the manager of that lonely night. Today remember God is with us, His Spirit flows through us all day, and thank Jesus for being so kind to come down and bring us forgiveness forever. “All right then, the Lord himself will give you the sign. Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a ...

“For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah‬ ‭29:11‬ ‭ We always tend to think it's over when something bad happens. If you get laid off, God will send you a better job. If you get broken up with, God has someone better for you. If you lose that friend you thought was forever, God knew He could give you a better friend to fit your future. Anything that we think is a loss God is using to prepare us and give us better. Sometimes we have to lose what we think we need for the things we actually need. God doesn't look at things the way that we do, we see from street view, and He sees from the eagle's point of view. We view things closely and look at the now, but God thinks of the future. Have you ever lost something and later in life look back and think "Wow! God really saved me from that it wouldn't fit my life the way that it turned out."? We think of things as a n...

“but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people.”Luke‬ ‭2:10‬ ‭ Today is December the first, as Christmas approaches us very quickly we need to stop and remember what Christmas is all about! Christmas isn’t only about Santa, toys, snow, lights and trees. The real meaning of Christmas is about our Savior coming down. The tree and all the other things do represent that but it’s not all that Christmas is about. As I’ve got older I had felt less inspired and excited for Christmas, but this year God reminded me what it’s about. It’s not about earthly things, but more about heavenly things. The Angel came to the shepherds and he said, “Do not be afraid! I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people ” Jesus wasn’t only born on Christmas Day all those years ago, He’s born in each of our hearts the day we accept Him! We can have that same joy that we felt as a child everyday if we put our hope and trust in...