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“Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow.”James‬ ‭1:17‬ ‭ We are all so quick to say, "I got lucky", instead we got blessed. The Bible says that all good things come from above. Your blessings didn't find you by "luck" they found you because God sent them to you. Luck has nothing to do with what God does for us. It's like if you were to write a song and someone gets up on a stage and sings it and takes the credit for your work, it would really upset you. When we say luck instead of giving God the credit it hurts Him. God thinks ahead of time to give us the things that we not only need but things we want. You don't need to pass the credit for what God gave you to something or someone else. You are called by God and in everything He does for you He truly puts His heart into it so that you have joy. You have to be careful with your wo...

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.”Hebrews‬ ‭13:8‬ ‭ We all have read about the miraculous stories in the Bible of the miracles, signs, and wonders God has done. We oftentimes are discouraged by how life is going and how we have seen God work in the Bible. The Bible says that God was the same yesterday, today, and forever! You don't have to look at the Bible and wonder if God can do now what He could do then. You are more than able to have the same miracles, signs, and wonders from God today as they did in the Bible. Don't doubt in worry, stress, and discouragement the things you know God can do in your faith. Your faith is stronger than the emotions you feel. Your faith is what makes the things you need and want to happen. Think of the story in the Bible of the woman who touched Jesus' robe and was healed because of her faith. That still exists today, Jesus is not here in human form, His spirit is with us every day, everywhere we go. Jesus is no longe...

“The smallest family will become a thousand people, and the tiniest group will become a mighty nation. At the right time, I, the Lord, will make it happen.”” ‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭60:22‬  ‭Have you ever rushed into something and realized it just isn't for you and not what you truly wanted? I think we all have whether it is buying a house, or car, taking a job, or jumping into a relationship. I've always heard the expression, "Good things take time." God's timing is never early and never late. When God does something in His timing He makes everything align perfectly into their places. If we choose to make things happen in our own time then we are never truly going to have things as they are meant to be. You have to learn to sit back and wait until it is your perfect time to get what you're praying for. Your time hasn't come yet, and that's okay because, when you sit back, and let God work it out that is when everything you could ever ask for plus more happens for ...

“Purify me from my sins, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.” ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭51:7‬ ‭ Don't spend so much time looking at your past when your future is what is ahead. The enemy wants you to be completely distraught by the thought of your past and use that as a way to get into your head, but that isn't the case with God. God knew you would make mistakes and would sin, that is why He sent His one and only Son to cleanse us of those sins and to be washed clean. I love the saying, "Don't look back, you're not going that way." It's true, that isn't where you're headed. What's ahead of you is so much better than what is behind you. It doesn't talk about this in the Bible but imagine how Adam and Eve felt even years later after making the mistake of eating from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil after God told them not to. They had a heavy past as do most people in the Bible even and everyone almost today. No one is perfec...

“In the same way, there is joy in the presence of God’s angels when even one sinner repents.”” Luke‬ ‭15:10‬ ‭ God has given us each a way to use our talents for good, that is what we are called to do for our ministry. Having a ministry isn't about making money, becoming well-known, or even about what others think of you. What it is about is helping save even just one soul. One of the sweetest stories in the Bible to me is the story of the one sheep that got away while the ninety-nine stayed, and He left the ninety-nine to find the one. The Bible also says that heaven rejoices over one saved soul. See it doesn't matter if you feel like your ministry isn't doing anything, it is. If you've helped one person find God or find their way back then you are doing exactly what you are called to do. You helping one soul is what it's all about, you cannot stress over what isn't happening for your ministry instead rejoice in what is happening for your ministry. Today, use y...

“Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.”Matthew‬ ‭6:33‬ ‭ I hear a lot of people say, "But first coffee." Drinking coffee isn't a sin or something I'm saying is, but the first thing we should do in the mornings is pray. It should be but first Jesus. See when we start our day with God, keep Him in the middle of our day, and finish our day with God that shows that God is our priority. In today's day and age, the world wants us to fill ourselves with worldly things to the point of us forgetting that we need God until things aren't good in life. A relationship with God isn't praying when you need something from Him, He is our friend and our Father, He is not a genie. If our friends only wanted something to do with us when they needed something from us or needed something in general then they wouldn't be very good friends, that isn't the kind of friend anyone wants to have around. God does...

“You can make many plans, but the Lord’s purpose will prevail.” Proverbs‬ ‭19:21‬  God's plan doesn't just lead you to good things, blessings, joy, and hope most of all it leads you to your purpose. Look at the story of Joesph who got sold but later became second in command, Esther who became queen and saved all the Jews, Jonah in the belly of the whale who then saved all of Ninvah, and even Jesus who saved us from death. All of those stories show that sometimes you have to go through hard times to get to your purpose but you have to hold on to faith and hold on to letting God lead the way for you to get there. Nothing in life comes easy is what I've always heard but as I've thought more on it oftentimes it's true. God doesn't make our lives perfect but He is always with us, always strengthens us, and always gives us a way out. He has a plan and a purpose for us. Never doubt that. When you need a reminder of it look in the Bible and read about those who struggle...

“When Jesus woke up, he rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Silence! Be still!” Suddenly the wind stopped, and there was a great calm.” Mark‬ ‭4:39‬ ‭ Life often makes us think that God is not in control. That is precisely what the enemy wants you to believe, He wants you to spiral on things and worry yourself sick over them. If you need a reminder that God is in full control, then think of the story of the storm when they were on the sea, while Jesus was sleeping. He woke up and calmed the storm immediately at the sound of His voice. Then think of the story of Esther, it took courage and faith for her to ask the king to save her people, but the king did so. Think of Daniel in the lion's den, God shut the mouths of the hungry lions. Think of Jonah in the belly of the whale. Even think of Noah and his family who God saved from the flood over the whole earth. There are so many stories in the Bible that show us the truth of how things are, how God truly cares for us and doesn...

“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.” Philippians‬ ‭4:6‬ ‭ When we are praying for a situation to change but we don't see anything happening sometimes it's because God is trying to change us. I prayed a long time ago about a situation and God told me, "Maybe I'm not going to change the situation but instead I'm going to change your heart." That is exactly what God has done for me, He changed my heart and I healed from what I was praying about. I didn't get the exact thing I was praying for but God gave me something better for me. See when God doesn't give us the things we pray for He either changes things and we don't need it or He changes our hearts and we end up with something better. Don't be so discouraged over things that you cannot seem to understand, God didn't forget you and He never will. Pray and ask God sincerely to change your heart if what your p...

“Jesus replied, “All who love me will do what I say. My Father will love them, and we will come and make our home with each of them.” John‬ ‭14:23‬ ‭ Have you ever heard the saying that someone or something feels like home? That is exactly how God makes us feel. See the feeling of home is often considered as peace, joy, and fulfillment. That is all the things we feel when we are close to God plus some more good feelings. At times we do leave God to follow our own selfish desires but God isn't the kind of God that pushes us away, instead, He is the God that always comforts us. God is the God of second chances, forgiveness, and compassion. God can get angry but the Bible says His anger only lasts a moment, but His joy lasts a lifetime. If you've been searching for the feeling of "home", try getting closer to God and putting effort into your relationship with Him. That is where your life will begin to feel fully put together. It's like when we do something that we th...

“Anyone who belongs to God listens gladly to the words of God. But you don’t listen because you don’t belong to God.”” John‬ ‭8:47‬ ‭ The voice that needs to be the most clear to you is God's voice, because what He says is what matters. It doesn't matter what your friends have to say, what your co-workers have to say, what your significant other has to say, or what anyone else in this world has to say because what God says is final. The person that you're to answer to and listen to at all times is God. God is the one person in this world who will never intentionally or unintentionally lead you astray. God is the only person who knows what the future holds because He is the one who holds it. Your time spent listening to God will never lead you to disappointment. God prepares us for what He calls us to do. It's hard to hear God when you have the wrong voices echoing in your ear and all around you, that is why it is so important to choose your friends wisely. You can be a ...

“Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But not with God. Everything is possible with God.””‭‭ Mark‬ ‭10:27‬ ‭ One of the best things about God is that He takes impossible situations and makes them possible. God doesn't look at things and say, "How am I going to fix this?" Instead, He looks at things and says, "I will fix this and this is how." Your problems aren't too big for our God. Our God is never failing and never gives up. The Bible says, "What is impossible with man, is possible with God." Things that you face are things that God saw coming before you did. Life can throw you curve balls, but God saw the ball before it was even thrown. Never let the view of what you're going through change your view of God and what He can do. The enemy wants you to think that God cannot do it, and you to believe it because the Bible says that through faith we can move mountains. With no faith, the things you face wou...

“Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves.” ‭‭Philippians‬ ‭2:3‬ ‭ You can be an expert in everything in life but if you don't love others it means nothing. You can be the best at everything but what others respect is when you're kind and loving to them.  See being everything, and knowing everything means nothing if you're not loving towards others. No one wants to be around a know it all because it makes them feel less. If you're great in everything and act like it then it isn't right, the Bible says that we should think of others as better than ourselves. It's okay to know we're good at something but it is a different story to act like we're good at everything. It's okay to not be good at everything. What God calls you to do you will be good at but you need to be humble with it. Jesus was not only good at everything He also knew everything, literally. He didn't tell everyone that He ...

“We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps.” Proverbs‬ ‭16:9‬ ‭ Stop trying to take the pen away from God. He is the one writing your story. He knows everything that is happening in your life. The Bible says, "We make our plans but the Lord directs our steps." You can plans to go to the college you want, the school you want, buy the house you want, get the job you want, and marry the person you want but unless you include God in each of those things and ask if it is His plan for your life then it will never be your blessing. We can make mistakes and choose the wrong path, God knows that and He is longsuffering and forgiving to us, but we have a free will to ask God for help on what to decide and the path we choose to take. Making big decisions or small decisions is still important to God. Today, make sure that your dreams that are becoming plans are a part of God's will for your life and not something the enemy has planted to pull you away from the plan God...

“Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.” ‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭3:20‬ ‭ God's plans exceed your expectations. Faith is believing without seeing, but God knows we cannot imagine the beautiful things He has planned for us. The Bible says His thoughts are not our thoughts. He knows that our expectations are minimal compared to His plan for us. It doesn't matter how we imagine it to turn out, what matters is that we trust God to make it right. We can only expect so much with our human minds, and that's okay, but we have to have enough faith that God will do exceedingly and abundantly more than we ask or think as the Bible says. Stop letting your expectations make you doubt what you know God can and will do for you. The time you spend focused on what you know to be true, what God is going to do is never a waste of time. If you put everything that you're praying for in a notebook eventual...

“There are “friends” who destroy each other, but a real friend sticks closer than a brother.” Proverbs‬ ‭18:24‬ ‭ We spend so much time trying to find the place that we fit into, we try to find the friends to fit in with, the best co-workers to fit in with and the best crowd to fit in with. We need to remind ourselves that we aren't meant to fit into this world, we are meant to fit into the kingdom of God! Why you can't find where you fit into is because you've not looked in the right places yet, when you start to surround yourself with people who have the same views as you do in God that's when you'll fit in with other people. I spent so much of my life trying to fit in with the wrong crowd that I didn't try to fit into the right crowd. In high school, we try to be around the coolest kids and the most popular but being popular among people is irrelevant to being popular to God. Today, set your mind on trying to fit into the right crowd, those you are searching ...

“Don’t team up with those who are unbelievers. How can righteousness be a partner with wickedness? How can light live with darkness?” 2 Corinthians‬ ‭6:14‬ ‭ Whether you're single or dating someone, this can relate to you. When you find the person who is meant for you they will make you love Jesus even more. The Bible talks a lot about marriage two of the things that stood out to me for this blog were don't be unequally yoked, and the husband should love like Jesus loves the church. If you're in a relationship with someone that pulls you into the world instead of pulling you closer to God then maybe they aren't for you. The person God has for you will never pull you into the world, because they are meant to pull you closer to God and closer to your purpose. It's okay to have standards and to expect someone to make you love Jesus more by their actions and faith. The person that God has for you will be more than able to love you in the right way and in the Godly way. ...

“In his kindness God called you to share in his eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. So after you have suffered a little while, he will restore, support, and strengthen you, and he will place you on a firm foundation.” 1 Peter‬ ‭5:10‬ ‭ When we break something often it never works and looks the same again. We try to restore it to the best of our ability, but sometimes it's not like it was initially. It's like breaking a plate and trying to glue it back together, it's never going to be the same, even if we try. See when God restores us He doesn't glue us back together like a shattered plate, instead, He restores us like it never happened. When God restored Job, He didn't only restore him The Bible says that God gave Him back double what He had before. Don't spend so much time wondering if what you lose is better than what God has next for you, God doesn't take us from the pit to put us in another one, He takes us from the pit to the palace like with Joesph...

““Love your enemies! Do good to them. Lend to them without expecting to be repaid. Then your reward from heaven will be very great, and you will truly be acting as children of the Most High, for he is kind to those who are unthankful and wicked.” Luke‬ ‭6:35‬ ‭ You love others differently when you know God. See before God you would think to love others means to love those who are good to you and hate those who hurt you, but when you know God you know that it means to love others and forgive them like you want to be loved and forgiven. See loving others when you're in the world is easy, but when you're in a relationship with God you love without measure. You love those you have hurt, betrayed, and broke you what loving others when you have a relationship with God is to love where and when it is difficult to. God doesn't expect us to stay around those who hurt us and betray us but He does expect us to love and forgive them beyond all measures. You are called to love at all ti...

“For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime! Weeping may last through the night, but joy comes with the morning.” Psalms‬ ‭30:5‬ ‭ Stop focusing on the pain that you're facing right now and focus on the joy that is coming. The Bible says that pain may last through the night but joy will come in the morning. Your night might feel like it's been lasting for a while but remind yourself that joy is soon to come. Joy is something that we can only find in God, because joy from the world only last a moment, but joy from God asks for a lifetime. Joy is something that we all seek to have even in good times, we want to feel joy. Joy is not something that we can find through things in life, for a moment we might feel happiness due to a new job, a new car, a relationship, or anything else but to have the kind of joy that last is to find it in your faith in God. Today, make sure that you're seeking lasting joy the kind of joy that never runs out through any stage ...

“Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end.” Ecclesiastes‬ ‭3:11‬ ‭ I'm sure you've heard the expression "trust the process." If you haven't it's like when you're baking a cake the mixture doesn't look like a cake, but the ending turns out beautiful. See, when we trust God through the process of things that we face and that we can't see yet, we will eventually realize that just because things looked scattered, they were coming together in reality. You cannot look at a puzzle when the pieces are all scattered around and expect to see the full picture, that's why faith is such a big part of our relationship with God. We can't see the whole picture of what God is doing from beginning to end the Bible says. The good thing is we can trust that God will take care of whatever it is that we worry over. Just be...

“Work with enthusiasm, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people.” Ephesians‬ ‭6:7‬ ‭ If you're in the waiting do what waiters do and serve. Serving comes in so many different forms, such as caring for a friend who is facing tough times, caring for and helping those in need, cleaning your church up, helping the community, and anything that is a representation of Jesus' love for the world. We are here to be the example and set the example for others. Waiting on a promise from God can be upsetting, draining, and even saddening at times but while you're waiting you can be productive. Use your time in the waiting as a time to show God how dedicated you are to not only Him but also to use your gifts for good. God loves to see when we are fully working for Him and doing all that we can do to show His love to others through us. Use the waiting room as a room for working for Him. Don't waste your time in the waiting worrying about when it's coming, time...

“But God removed Saul and replaced him with David, a man about whom God said, ‘I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart. He will do everything I want him to do.’” Acts of the Apostles‬ ‭13:22‬ ‭ When God chose David to be king He didn't look at the amount of money he had, how many possessions he had, or what his enemies, friends, or family thought of him, instead the Bible says that God looked at his heart. See David was a man after God's own heart, he wasn't chasing money, fame, satisfaction, pleasure, happiness, love, or anything else in this world instead he was chasing God. I read a quote once that said, "Chase God and the right person for you will catch up because they will be chasing Him as much as you are."  That's how it is in any situation in life, chase God until the job you need finds you, until the right friends catch up, the money you need, the car you need, or anything else that you need. When you spend your time chasing God, the...

“Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are?”‭‭Matthew‬ ‭6:26‬  ‭Be a warrior, not a worrier. The Bible says so many times to not worry about things, I have always been the one to stress myself out over something before it even happens. I have learned over time that when you stress yourself out over things that aren't even happening yet that God always comes through and works it out so why even worry? Often times we stress over things like what will we eat, what will we drink, how will something work out, and so many more things in life. The Bible tells us in these verses of how a bird doesn't have a storehouse of food stored up but God still provides food for them, so cerentily won't He feed and care for us? The things that you're letting yourself worry over are nothing in the eyes of God, there is no need to sit around stressing out over it. Your prob...

“For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven.” Ecclesiastes‬ ‭3:1‬ ‭ Time goes by so fast that we can barely comprehend the things happening in our lives. I always see moms say they watch their children grow up quickly and it happens in the blink of an eye, but that isn't how it is for God when He sees us, His children. The Bible says that a day for the Lord is like a thousand years and a thousand years to the Lord is like a day. His timing is not the same as ours, but His timing is perfect. See sometimes things in our life happen so quickly or not quickly enough but that doesn't mean that it isn't the perfect timing. Timing can be a strange thing we often times say that we need to wait to do something that God has called us to do at the perfect timing, but I have learned lately that when God does something in your life and calls you to do something it automatically is the perfect timing. God wouldn't call you to do something if it wasn'...

“You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people.” Genesis‬ ‭50:20‬ ‭ Even those who betray and hurt you are a part of the plan. The plan was for us to never have hurt, pain, betrayal, or anything like that, but when Adam and Eve made the mistake in the garden it became the reality of how life would be and continues to be. See it's not a part of God's plan for us to be hurt by others because the Bible tells us to do to others as we want them to do to us, and that would mean we would all be nice if that's how everyone actually lived their lives, but back to Adam and Eve we have a free will and so do others. See God takes what the enemy means for evil and uses it for good, what others don't know is they are only being a puppet by the enemy to hurt those who live for God by their actions and choices. Even Jesus was betrayed by one of His closest friends and was hurt by it I'm sure. See a...

“So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law.” Galatians‬ ‭5:1‬ ‭ Freedom is something we all desperately search for, and living in America we are known as the country of freedom. There are rules and things we have to go by but compared to most countries we live freely. We celebrate today, the birthday of America, we spend our day grilling hot dogs and hamburgers, wearing our patriotic colors red white, and blue, spending time with our families, and shooting fireworks. We as the American country are free because of what our soldiers have fought for us to have, we are free spiritually and from sin free because of Jesus. In the way our soldiers risk their lives for our freedom, Jesus came and sacrificed His life for our eternity. The Bible says, "So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don't get tied up into slavery of the law." We are sinfully free thanks to Jesus, He ca...

““I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb. Before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as my prophet to the nations.”” Jeremiah‬ ‭1:5‬ ‭ God has made you just how you are to impact everyone where He has placed you at now. You are more than able to be a witness to those around you, but you have to want to do that. We each have a choice to use what we have and who we are for God or use it for the world. You might use who you are to please this world while you're here on Earth and it is okay and not bother you but I can promise you the time on Earth will amount to nothing in the time of eternity you spend regretting it. Each of us is created for a purpose that God knew before we were born, He knew you before He formed you in your mother's womb. God didn't make a mistake by making you. You are here for a purpose but how you use that purpose is completely up to you and how you want to use it. It's like this you could have the most beautiful singing vo...

“And if God cares so wonderfully for flowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith?” Luke‬ ‭12:28‬ ‭ You are the apple of God's eye. God made many things in this world, including the animals, the trees, the waters all that swims and lives in the ocean, the sky, and all that is in it, all the plants and things that grow, and when He finished making all of these things He said, "it was good", but when He made humans and He finished making us He said, "it was very good." God was proud of how He created us. Next time you feel as though you aren't enough, or you have too many flaws to be all that God has called you to be remind yourself that when God finished making everything about you including the things you hate most about yourself He said, "It was very good." Think about this, as a kid we drew things that people couldn't even recognize and they would say it was bea...

 “And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul?” Mark‬ ‭8‬:‭36‬ ‭ Don't let your fire burn out for God just because of the water the enemy hands to you. The enemy doesn't want the fire that you have for God to continue, he will hand you water in the form of doubt, hurt, brokenness, betrayal, lies, deceit, insecurities and so many more things. You can let the enemy burn that fire out with you but it will destroy your soul. I watched a video of someone telling how they gave their life to God, the person said, "My worst day with God is better than my best day in the world." Don't let the enemy fool you with his lies, he has been trying to take our souls since the beginning of time when he tempted Eve into eating from the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil. He wants you to fall away from God and live for the world so that one day your eternity can be as miserable as he is in hell today. One day Jesus will return and take the keys away and...

“And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.” Hebrews‬ ‭10:25‬ ‭ Today's world teaches us that it's okay to not show up at church just because we are tired, don't feel the very best, don't feel like going, because it's a holiday weekend and we could have other plans,  the weather isn't perfect or we just aren't in the mood. That isn't how it's always been though, when Jesus walked the earth in His human form crowds came from all over just to be around Him, such as the woman with the blood issue that found Jesus and knew if she only touched His robe she would be healed. We can still feel that presence and touch the hem of His robe if we try to show up for Him. I'm not saying you have to be in church to be a Christian or to feel His presence but it is good to be a part of a church community to uplift, inspire and build you, it also makes our ho...