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One Foot In Front Of The Other

 

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To walk is to be propelled into forward motion. We must be in constant motion in our walk with God. We must learn to walk again. How? With God and the attributes that when within us will make us a blessed set of individuals.

We must learn to walk:

In the spirit – Galatians 5:16

[16] This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.

In the newness of life – Romans 6:4

[4] Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

By faith – II Corinthians 5:7

[7] (For we walk by faith, not by sight:)

Worthy – Colossians 1:10

[10] That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God;

Circumspectly – Ephesians 5:15

[15] See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise,

In love – Ephesians 5:2

[2] And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.

In light – Ephesians 5:8

[8] For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light:

Finding Your Spiritual Identity

 

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I Corinthians 2:14-16

[14] But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
[15] But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man.
[16] For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.

This was Paul’s message to the natural person. It was the type of person that Paul was most concerned over.

A Natural person

–        Has not been born again

–        Cannot understand spiritual things

–        Thinks the spiritual things are foolish

–        Turns away from the bible with thoughts and imaginations

The destiny of the natural human being without Jesus Christ is destruction. The need that all mankind has is salvation.

Romans 3:23

[23] For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

All people are naturally lost

John 6:37

[37] All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.

All people can be saved

Once we are saved we are no longer without hope. Something amazing happens!

I Corinthians 2:11-13

[11] For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.
[12] Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.
[13] Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.

The Spiritual person

–        Was once a natural person

–        Salvation through faith in Christ has transformed them

–        Was once doomed, now delivered

–        Was once lost, now found

–        Was once bound for hell, now bound for Heaven

–        The spirit teaches the spiritual person

–        The spirit discerns (understands) all things

–        Sees the work of God in the world and in their personal lives

–        Spiritual things are not easily understood by others

Jesus warned of these things: John 15:18-20

[18] If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.
[19] If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.
[20] Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also.

V 16 – As we become spiritual we put on the mind of Christ

I Corinthians 3:1-4

[1] And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ.
[2] I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able.
[3] For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?
[4] For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal?

The Carnal person

–        Is confused

–        Knows what is right but does not do it

–        Knows the world is lost but clings to it

–        Is like Lot lingering in Sodom

–        Needs full commitment to Christ

The natural person lives for the moment. The spiritual person lays up treasures in Heaven. The carnal person tries looking in both directions. Finding the balance in your life is done successfully when the spiritual part of you leads.

Faith Breaks The Walls Down

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Joshua 3:9-17

[9] And Joshua said unto the children of Israel, Come hither, and hear the words of the LORD your God.
[10] And Joshua said, Hereby ye shall know that the living God is among you, and that he will without fail drive out from before you the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Hivites, and the Perizzites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Jebusites.
[11] Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth passeth over before you into Jordan.
[12] Now therefore take you twelve men out of the tribes of Israel, out of every tribe a man.
[13] And it shall come to pass, as soon as the soles of the feet of the priests that bear the ark of the LORD, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of Jordan, that the waters of Jordan shall be cut off from the waters that come down from above; and they shall stand upon an heap.
[14] And it came to pass, when the people removed from their tents, to pass over Jordan, and the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people;
[15] And as they that bare the ark were come unto Jordan, and the feet of the priests that bare the ark were dipped in the brim of the water, (for Jordan overfloweth all his banks all the time of harvest,)
[16] That the waters which came down from above stood and rose up upon an heap very far from the city Adam, that is beside Zaretan: and those that came down toward the sea of the plain, even the salt sea, failed, and were cut off: and the people passed over right against Jericho.
[17] And the priests that bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood firm on dry ground in the midst of Jordan, and all the Israelites passed over on dry ground, until all the people were passed clean over Jordan.

They crossed the Jordan River and were reminded of the Red Sea. This was a confirmation moment for Joshua to realize his authority in God and the favor he was given to lead the children of Israel.

Joshua 6:1-2

[1] Now Jericho was straitly shut up because of the children of Israel: none went out, and none came in.
[2] And the LORD said unto Joshua, See, I have given into thine hand Jericho, and the king thereof, and the mighty men of valour.

It was humanly clear: scale the walls, beat down the gates, and tunnel in at night. At least for our human perspective the only way to take things are by our own devised cunning strategy and force of will.

Joshua 5:13-15

[13] And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, there stood a man over against him with his sword drawn in his hand: and Joshua went unto him, and said unto him, Art thou for us, or for our adversaries?
[14] And he said, Nay; but as captain of the host of the LORD am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said unto him, What saith my lord unto his servant?
[15] And the captain of the LORD’s host said unto Joshua, Loose thy shoe from off thy foot; for the place whereon thou standest is holy. And Joshua did so.

Encounters with God empower faith.

Joshua 6:3-14

[3] And ye shall compass the city, all ye men of war, and go round about the city once. Thus shalt thou do six days.
[4] And seven priests shall bear before the ark seven trumpets of rams’ horns: and the seventh day ye shall compass the city seven times, and the priests shall blow with the trumpets.
[5] And it shall come to pass, that when they make a long blast with the ram’s horn, and when ye hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall shout with a great shout; and the wall of the city shall fall down flat, and the people shall ascend up every man straight before him.
[6] And Joshua the son of Nun called the priests, and said unto them, Take up the ark of the covenant, and let seven priests bear seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark of the LORD.
[7] And he said unto the people, Pass on, and compass the city, and let him that is armed pass on before the ark of the LORD.
[8] And it came to pass, when Joshua had spoken unto the people, that the seven priests bearing the seven trumpets of rams’ horns passed on before the LORD, and blew with the trumpets: and the ark of the covenant of the LORD followed them.
[9] And the armed men went before the priests that blew with the trumpets, and the rereward came after the ark, the priests going on, and blowing with the trumpets.
[10] And Joshua had commanded the people, saying, Ye shall not shout, nor make any noise with your voice, neither shall any word proceed out of your mouth, until the day I bid you shout; then shall ye shout.
[11] So the ark of the LORD compassed the city, going about it once: and they came into the camp, and lodged in the camp.
[12] And Joshua rose early in the morning, and the priests took up the ark of the LORD.
[13] And seven priests bearing seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark of the LORD went on continually, and blew with the trumpets: and the armed men went before them; but the rereward came after the ark of the LORD, the priests going on, and blowing with the trumpets.
[14] And the second day they compassed the city once, and returned into the camp: so they did six days.

All of God’s blessings come by faith.

Faith requires our obedience.

Faith without the works of obedience is dead.

We will reach our blessings by abiding in faith!

Just think of how foolish that it must have appeared to look to those that were residing in Jericho. God’s plan takes that appearance to the world, but if we will abide in His will and plan we will overcome!

Victory Begins With Thankfulness

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Luke 18:9-14

[9] And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others:
[10] Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.
[11] The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.
[12] I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.
[13] And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.
[14] I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.

The Pharisee was unaware of his greatest need. He started with thanks but it was the wrong kind. He was not thanking God for what grace had done for him, but for what he had done. This is the wrong attitude to possess! It was a “prayerless” prayer: he had said a prayer but did not pray any. Prayers centered on our efforts will be about what we have done and not done. You see, he needed something human effort could not get. The Pharisee was unconcerned about the publican. The difference filled him with pride and not compassion. True thanksgiving produces thankful living.

Ask ourselves, are we thankful for?

  • Love
  • Mercy
  • Compassion
  • Peace
  • Faithfulness
  • Patience
  • Kindness
  • Benevolence
  • Blessings
  • Longsuffering
  • Joy
  • Perseverance
  • Persistence
  • Boldness
  • Gladness
  • Willingness
  • Eagerness
  • Leadership
  • Salvation
  • Blood of Jesus
  • Baptism
  • Forgiveness
  • New Home In Heaven and Gone From hell
  • Life Eternal
  • Our soul will never die!

True thanksgiving changes us. Even though the Pharisee was at a good place (temple) and went with good intentions (to pray) he went out unchanged and not justified by faith. Millions of people go out unchanged from church. Strive to not make the same mistake!

Let us learn to walk as this publican. He went home forgiven and could then be truly thankful!

I No Longer Am Saul Through Jesus I Am Paul

 

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Acts 9:1-9

[1] And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest,
[2] And desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem.
[3] And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven:
[4] And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?
[5] And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.
[6] And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.
[7] And the men which journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man.
[8] And Saul arose from the earth; and when his eyes were opened, he saw no man: but they led him by the hand, and brought him into Damascus.
[9] And he was three days without sight, and neither did eat nor drink.

We open up with the last moments that we know of as Saul of Tarsus. Saul was a Pharisee that intensely pursued the destruction of the church. In his last moments we find him in business as usual on his way with letters of arrest for people that were followers of Jesus Christ, also known that time as “the way”.

We can definitely conclude that God loves all mankind, even those that were bad. God finally saw the moment to give Saul the chance of a lifetime. His life was finally ready to be converted. There is a difference between having a religious change of mind and having a real conversion. Just because you have a praying mother does not mean that you have been converted. And just because you have come to an altar before and had a preacher lead you in prayer does not necessarily mean you have been converted. For when you are converted you accept by faith Christ is Lord in your heart and then it becomes a personal experience and relationship for yourself! You begin to follow Gods will and not your own.

Paul’s opening words from his encounter with Jesus was a question that will be your evidence of the transformation that took place: Jesus, what will thou have me to do? Or more plainspoken: God, what can I do for you? And if God would have left Paul there, it would have been justified to sit in the state of blindness. However, God’s love was proven as He spoke to Ananias and led him to lay hands upon Paul to receive healing and the Holy Spirit.

 

Acts 9:10-19

[10] And there was a certain disciple at Damascus, named Ananias; and to him said the Lord in a vision, Ananias. And he said, Behold, I am here, Lord.
[11] And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the street which is called Straight, and inquire in the house of Judas for one called Saul, of Tarsus: for, behold, he prayeth,
[12] And hath seen in a vision a man named Ananias coming in, and putting his hand on him, that he might receive his sight.
[13] Then Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard by many of this man, how much evil he hath done to thy saints at Jerusalem:
[14] And here he hath authority from the chief priests to bind all that call on thy name.
[15] But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel:
[16] For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name’s sake.
[17] And Ananias went his way, and entered into the house; and putting his hands on him said, Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the way as thou camest, hath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost.
[18] And immediately there fell from his eyes as it had been scales: and he received sight forthwith, and arose, and was baptized.
[19] And when he had received meat, he was strengthened. Then was Saul certain days with the disciples which were at Damascus.

Here we find that the annihilation of his prior sins would then receive God’s love through the Holy Ghost and his eyes (as well as the unseen purpose of his life) are then opened. The letters he once walked with to destroy the church are now converted to living by the letter of love and life everlasting. They were the pages of the lamb’s book of life. Now we find that the word starts to go forth unto the Gentiles.

Acts 9:20-23

[20] And straightway he preached Christ in the synagogues, that he is the Son of God.
[21] But all that heard him were amazed, and said; Is not this he that destroyed them which called on this name in Jerusalem, and came hither for that intent, that he might bring them bound unto the chief priests?
[22] But Saul increased the more in strength, and confounded the Jews which dwelt at Damascus, proving that this is very Christ.
[23] And after that many days were fulfilled, the Jews took counsel to kill him:

And as he takes his first newborn steps we find where we are today. Empowered, yet with enemies in pursuit to continue the vengeful actions that were was left behind by Saul.

Mark 8:22-26

[22] And he cometh to Bethsaida; and they bring a blind man unto him, and besought him to touch him.
[23] And he took the blind man by the hand, and led him out of the town; and when he had spit on his eyes, and put his hands upon him, he asked him if he saw ought.
[24] And he looked up, and said, I see men as trees, walking.
[25] After that he put his hands again upon his eyes, and made him look up: and he was restored, and saw every man clearly.
[26] And he sent him away to his house, saying, Neither go into the town, nor tell it to any in the town.

Sometimes we have to be led out of what is hurting us before our vision can be healed by Jesus. He touched him once and he could see a little, but after the second time he caused him to look up. By this point it was fully restored and made whole!

If you ever know or learn anything for the rest of your life then you need to know when you have that conversion with Jesus! If you have not yet, there is hope for you to step out and receive the greatest thing that will ever happen to you!

Do You Hear God Speak?

 

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Genesis 22:1-4

[1] And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am.
[2] And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.
[3] And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him.
[4] Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off.

Never was any gold tried in so hot a fire. Who but Abraham would not have argued with God? Any that would have argued with God stand with a weak heart. Faith had taught him not to argue but to obey. He is sure that what God commands is good; that what he promises cannot be broken. Whoever consults with flesh and blood will never offer up his Isaac to God. As time passes what we see that causes us to stumble leaves us weak to have faithful follow-thru.

Genesis 22:6-9

[6] And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together.
[7] And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?
[8] And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.
[9] And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood.

Abraham, even when he was weakened through the voice of Isaac still prophesied to the promise of God. In present difficulty God wants us to not get lost on our way to where he speaks. If God wants you to do something very important, he will not only use the place that you get to but the journey on the way to understand the answers that we could get lost trying to find.

Genesis 22:11-14

[11] And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I.
[12] And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me.
[13] And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son.
[14] And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah-jireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen.

The answer begins to be revealed as we sell out completely!

Genesis 22:15-18

[15] And the angel of the LORD called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time,
[16] And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son:
[17] That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;
[18] And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.

The blessing far exceeded the natural vision, for faith when exercised defies our nature and ideals to reveal exceeding beyond what we were even promised.

Hebrews 5:11-14

[11] Of whom we have many things to say, and hard to be uttered, seeing ye are dull of hearing.
[12] For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat.
[13] For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe.
[14] But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.

Once we get to a place when we finally turn our ears to listen to God we then are taught to evolve and overcome. As we overcome through each part of the journey God speaks and keeps leading us into starting to exercise the ability to learn and discern.

Sometimes You Have To Lose To Win The Bigger Prize

When I think about all of the times that I have ever felt defeated in my life there was something within me that I could not realize at the time. Day by day after the bad times I felt so awful, longing to go back and change what had happened, making the statements like “I should have never went to begin with” or “Why do I even bother”.

Ultimately when we get stuck on the whys and whats of a problem we tend to lose the confidence that we possess within ourselves to succeed. In his walk on earth Jesus opened up something that totally went against the grain of our discouragement from not seeing or getting what we expect. Jesus began to teach with references to moving mountains speaking to peoples lack of faith from discouragement of not seeing it and boldly stated that through faith renewed in hope that you could ask and receive.

Matthew 17:20

[20] And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.

Matthew 21:21-22

[21] Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done.
[22] And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.

The bigger picture is even when you lose through hope you can still have the bigger prize. Even when I do not see the blessing with hope within I still have strength to believe in faith regardless of the conditions of the situation. This can be seen in its simplest form when you see amazing people fighting cancer within their body yet they still have the mind power of a perfectly healthy human being. The power of hope renews the hope of faith. And with faith comes the renewing of the mind. And with a renewed mind comes the sanctification of the body through temperance (self-control) to not only keep you at peace but to be disciplined to continue and believe based on what you have knew of God to have done for you in the past!

So you know what? I will gladly take a loss in this life to hope and realize the strength of the spirit and long for Heaven’s gain! As I have said many times in the past, I strive for the mark, the prize of the high calling of God. Do we know what that prize really is? It is faith through hope and belief in Jesus Christ! When you reach the prize you win the race!

 

 

 

Real Life Fruits Of The Spirit

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Galatians 2:20

[20] I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

We are crucified with Christ, yet we live!

Galatians 3:13

[13] Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:

If crucified with Christ we are then dead to the law.

Galatians 2:19

[19] For I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God.

If dead to the law we have been made alive unto God.

Galatians 5:1,13

[1] Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.

[13] For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.

If made alive unto God we have liberty through the access that was by with the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

Galatians 5:16

[16] This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.

If we have liberty from the bondage of the flesh we will live in the spirit.

Galatians 5:22-23

[22] But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
[23] Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

If we live in the spirit we will bear the fruit of the spirit.

Galatians 6:14

[14] But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.

If we bear of the fruit of the spirit we will have what we need to rejoice.

A Real Question: How Did He Honestly Not Say Anything?

If you have been through a few hard things in life you will definitely know what it feels like to believe you have the right (and need) to complain about the issues in the moment. I could not tell you how many times that I had went back and forth on this very problem. It is something that through God that I am now beginning to master Godly silence and understand that faith has its place in this.Here is the question I have for you to think on today:

How did Jesus not say something when people were making life so difficult for Him? How did He honestly “open not his mouth”?

There are a multitude of phrases that one could imagine hearing come out in some of the most crucial moments of Christ. I could imagine hearing “hey Pharisees why don’t you ease off a little bit and find something else to do” and “come on, you know I am right”. It is hard to imagine that throughout some of the most pivotal teachings that He gave is when He was facing some of the toughest hardships from people. Keep in mind some of these people did not go where Jesus was to learn but to pick it apart and find fault in Him. As a minister and assistant pastor I have came to realize a very harsh truth by experience: not much has changed since then.  It’s sad to say but there is still not a shortage of the kinds of people who are around you just to judge you!

Yet as we know, Jesus only opened His mouth to teach, lead, love and pray. How can it be done in our world and environments today? Can it be done? The quick answer is yes! The real answer is yes through Christ. A life that is being lived to the fullness of God’s purpose will have the love of Christ inside.

Here are 3 key principles that I have learned to help me grow in handling life’s tougher moments:

1) A time to be silent – I could not tell you how many times that having no response or opinion to something in the moment has saved me as a witness of God. There is not much to add to this other than to say that the best time to be silent is when you anticipate irrational behavior. You CAN develop the self-control and you do NOT have to act out on everything. Please do not be deceived there! Prayer can help you. The word of God talks about self-control by saying that you would not have more put on you than you could bear!

2) Be ye Holy in all conversations – to say Holy in this frame of mind is to say stray from or speak truth to bring separation in all conversations. To be frank about this: if you are talking with someone or something and it is not speaking in love or building something in faith or someone for help from God then generally it is possible to avoid it. It is also possible to attempt to redirect a conversation, but if you find it to be something you cannot conquer at the time part from it. There is no argument that would cost the soul of someone by them seeing a hypocrite and not a ambassador of Christ!

3) Speak life and not death – The least popular one, at least to those I campaign this or counsel for. It does not matter how much something is afflicting you negatively; it is your Godly duty to speak life (or faith) to the situation. That is what moves God, especially in a time where you would be led just to write a situation or person off in negative thinking!

Christ did it perfectly. And as we are Christ-like we can all begin to work on the way we respond to things better. Trust me, through prayer and a fervent desire to see change you will through Christ!

Hearing A Humble Prayer = Empowering

I want to ask you a very personal question: when is the last time that you (or someone else) heard you praying to God? If it has been a long time since your last communication via prayer then I encourage you with this word that is on my heart.

Hearing the sound of a humble prayer is empowering in a multitude of ways.

When people can begin to hear you crying out to God, it signifies your love and care for actually taking the time to be selfless for others. It begins to demonstrate faith and the acknowledging that you are human (and not superman/superwoman!). As we ask for forgiveness and mercy for us and others, it demonstrates that you take time to realize the things that need to change. This is very suggestive to taking the first step in dealing with any issue by just talking about it and knowing change must come. As we pray for salvation for those that need God greatly, it shows and should remind you of how blessed that you are for knowing that you have been saved and destined for a far greater place beyond this life.

I will just shoot straight with you: if your prayer is without a humble heart it may be time for some lowering of pride in our direct environment. If the amount of times you pray does at least equal or exceed when things are laid on your heart or hurts you then it simply is not enough.

Take the time to empower yourself. Take the time to pray. It will bring life to you and to your loved ones. People may just see God in you by hearing it come out of you! 😉