Many of you are familiar with the gas station (or convenience store) Seven Eleven. I was reading on Wikipedia that one of their owners (or presidents) made it a priority of this company to have such good food that you and I would consider ourselves eating restaurant quality food whenever we went there. This company’s goal was to get business. So they had an aim to be a step above other companies in their market. 

Well, in Matthew’s Seven Eleven, we discover that God our Father is a step above any and every natural human father. Too many people do not recognize God as being THE GOOD FATHER that He is! 

The Bible says it is the goodness of God that leads men to repentance. If we who are God’s children do not know our good Daddy like we should, then how are we going to praise Him in a way others will desire to turn from their sins and know Him? 

We need to know that if we who are natural, imperfect beings wouldn’t give our children stones instead of bread or snakes instead of fish, then God (WHO is PERFECT and RIGHTEOUS in all He does) wouldn’t give His children bad things. No! God wants to give us what is good. His desire is for us to be blessed, not for us to go without.

Matthew 7:9-11

“If your child asks you for bread, would any of you give him a stone? Or if your child asks for a fish, would you give him a snake? Even though you're evil, you know how to give good gifts to your children. So how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him? (GOD’S WORD)

Do you believe the evil you are experiencing in your life is from God? It isn’t! Do you believe that everything that happens to you is God’s will because He is sovereign? It isn’t! God set this world in motion and He set principles in motion by which all creation operates off of. God is ruler of all, but He is not a micromanager. He shares His authority and His power with those ruling under Him. If we under His care decide we don’t want His good will for His lives, then we do not have to walk into it! 

We are the ones who must enforce God’s good will in our lives!

James 3:13-18

“Who among you is wise and understanding? By his good conduct he should show that his works are done in the gentleness that comes from wisdom. But if you have bitter envy and selfish ambition in your heart, don't boast and deny the truth. Such wisdom does not come down from above but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where there is envy and selfish ambition, there is disorder and every evil practice. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peace-loving, gentle, compliant, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without pretense. And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who cultivate peace.” (CSB)

When we receive God’s wisdom and operate our lives from that wisdom, we sow fruits of righteousness. And in doing so, we cultivate peace. This speaks volumes once you understand that peace means more than a calm state of being. The peace that you can cultivate through sowing good fruits encompasses every area of your life. It is a peace that causes nothing good to be missing from your life. It is a peace that brings wholeness into your life. Nothing that God desires for you will be missing or broken. 

When you really decide to spend time in prayer, in communion with God, you will keep on having conversations with Him that will lead you into your peace. It is when we commune with God that we receive the wisdom we need from Him. It is that wisdom that will cause us to do some very good works. And God will be able to use those works to produce for us an amazing harvest!

If you are wise and understand God’s ways, you will understand that God is always good and that you can enjoy the same rewards He has for being good by your good conduct (fruit birthed from being in a relationship with Jesus Christ)!

I love how the God’s Word translation shares James 3:18!

James 3:18

“A harvest that has God's approval comes from the peace planted by peacemakers.“ (GOD’S WORD)

Why is this so good to me? It shows us that there are harvests in our lives that have God’s approval and there are harvests in our lives that do not. Not everything we are experiencing in life is God’s will for our lives. Another way to say that is that God isn’t authorizing “the stones and the snakes.” He’s authorizing the bread and the fish! (Go back and read Matthew’s Seven Eleven) If what you are experiencing is not good, then it is not from God! Bad harvests come into our lives when yield to our flesh instead of our spirits. (See Gal. 6:8)

A friend of mine tells a story about being low on gas one day. Because it was late, the gas stations she kept driving to, one after another, were closed. She was so low on gas that she had a friend following her in case she ran out of it. After they tried unsuccessfully to find a gas station that was open, her friend told her about one that he knew would be open. He said that it was always open. And sure enough, it was. 

Can you guess what kind of gas station it was? It was a Seven Eleven. And just like that gas station was known for being reliable, we need to remember that our Father is reliable. 

Matthew’s Seven Eleven teaches us something else about our reliable Heavenly Father. It teaches us how we can get the good God desires to give us in our lives!

Here it is, Matthew’s Seven Eleven in context from the Christian Standard Bible.

Matthew 7:7-12

"‘Ask, and it will be given to you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. Who among you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him. Therefore, whatever you want others to do for you, do also the same for them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.’” (CSB)

Jesus is talking about prayer and how we can receive from God. He pauses in chapter 7 verse 11 to tell us how much God wants to give good things to His children. And then He says, “Therefore, whatever you want others to do for you, do also the same for them.” 

Do you realize that whether you follow THE GOLDEN RULE as a standard in your life determines whether God can answer your prayers and bless you?

This teaching of Jesus’ (what I am calling Matthew’s Seven Eleven) actually is a part of The Sermon on the Mount. At another place in this same message, Jesus made this bold statement: “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you.“ (Mt. 6:33 CSB)

Seven Eleven offers benefits that seek to surpass what other stores will do for you. And God our Father is so much greater than any earthly father! He is faithful to His Word and ever ready to see that we have what we need in order to produce all the peace we could ever want. 

As long as we live on this Earth, we can know that God is faithful to always be available to us. Whenever we decide to go to Him instead of trying to get our needs met elsewhere, He will be there waiting for us.

Let’s begin using the wisdom He supplies us with to produce for ourselves a better future, one that is in line with His will!

“Hallelujah! Praise God in his holy place. Praise him in his mighty heavens. Praise him for his mighty acts. Praise him for his immense greatness. Praise him with sounds from horns. Praise him with harps and lyres. Praise him with tambourines and dancing. Praise him with stringed instruments and flutes. Praise him with loud cymbals. Praise him with crashing cymbals. Let everything that breathes praise the LORD! Hallelujah!” (Ps. 150:1-6 GOD’S WORD) 

This Psalm is called by some ‘The Last Hallelujah.’ This is the last Psalm in the book of Psalms, but praise God it is not really the last Hallelujah! We have a reason to praise God today! 

God has come, and He’s been merciful to us! We need to show Him our appreciation. We need to express it in praise.

Mary said, “My soul praises the Lord’s greatness! My spirit finds its joy in God, my Savior, because he has looked favorably on me, his humble servant. ‘From now on, all people will call me blessed because the Almighty has done great things to me. His name is holy. For those who fear him, his mercy lasts throughout every generation. He displayed his mighty power. He scattered those who think too highly of themselves. He pulled strong rulers from their thrones. He honored humble people. He fed hungry people with good food. He sent rich people away with nothing. He remembered to help his servant Israel forever. This is the promise he made to our ancestors, to Abraham and his descendants.’” (Lk. 1:46-55 GOD’S WORD)

 Mary, in her day, had a hallelujah. God helped her. She didn’t look at the load that God gave her to carry as a hardship. She recognized God’s grace, and she wholeheartedly accepted his call on her life. 

Mary rejoiced in what God was doing. She saw God as helping her! She was pregnant and facing ridicule, but her eyes weren’t focused on all the hardships her perfect pregnancy would cause. Mary’s mouth was filled with praise. She was in a very precarious situation, but her heart and her mouth burned with a passion for God. She kept her eyes off any potential problems she would face, and she focused on her God. 

God had shown Mary great favor, and God is still helping all of us who are relying on Jesus today. We too get in on the blessing Abraham received. We too are blessed to such measures that we get to be a blessing to those around us today. We (like Mary) have been called to accomplish something for God. We have been offered the grace we need to accomplish what God wants us to do.

Mary’s song of praise declared that the Almighty did great things for her. God does great things! God’s greatness (those miracles He performed in the Bible days) was not reserved for those people then. His miracles are more widespread today than they were then. His miracles were and are reserved for those who fear him, “For those who fear him His mercy lasts throughout every generation.” (See Lk. 1:46-55)

Do you reverence your creator? Do you pause throughout your day to focus your attention on Him, just because you love, admire, and stand in awe of Him, because you desire to be near Him? These things are what fearing God is all about. Those who fear God will discover His greatness in their lives.

Do you reverence your Creator? Are you willing to step up to the call He has placed on your life? Do you believe in His Word more than whatever is trying to stop that Word from coming to pass? Do you have a Hallelujah?

Mary joyfully makes a comment that I, of course, love: “He fed the hungry with good food. He sent rich people away with nothing.” (See Lk. 1:46-55) Let me open those words up to you: Do you come to God with an intense need for Him and all He is ready to offer you? Or instead do you enjoy the abundance you have in this life, enjoying it to the point that you hardly notice God’s presence in this world and in your life? Are you really satisfied with the little this world can offer you? Or do you want the more that God desires to give you?  

Are you hungry for God or content without Him?

If you are hungry for Him, you will have His goodness. If you are content without Him, you will be sent away with nothing.

“The LORD is waiting to be kind to you. He rises to have compassion on you. The LORD is a God of justice. Blessed are all those who wait for him.” (Isa. 30:18 GOD’S WORD)

I’m so thankful Psalm 150 wasn’t really the last hallelujah heard on this Earth. I’m so thankful that God’s mercy is for this generation as much as any previous generation. 

I’m just not satisfied outside of God’s presence and mighty merciful truth. Nothing and no one is as good as Him. He has been so good to me.

Hallelujah!

 you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites who love to pray publicly on street corners and in the synagogues where everyone can see them. I tell you the truth, that is all the reward they will ever get. But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private. Then your Father, who sees everything, will reward you." Matthew 6:5,6 NLT

- Focus on your Heavenly Dad.

- Shut the door. Shut out distractions. 

- And talk, have a real heart to heart conversation with YOUR Father.

- Talk to the One Who sees everything. 

- And talk to the One Who will reward you.

Are you connecting with God?

Have you left everyone and everything behind to just be with Him?

Is your priority Him and His will?

Have you shut out everything? 

Have you decided He's worth your undivided attention?

Is your relationship for show? Is it real?

Have you put forth effort to know Him?

Do you realize Who you should be relating with, doing business with?

Who is this Father? 

Is He really worth laying everything aside to focus on?

Who is this Source? Who is this One Who sees all?

Who does He reward?

Are you wrapped up in This Father? Have you figured out that it is He Who is and it is He Who rewards those who diligently seek Him?

This is talking about answered prayer. 

This is talking about YOU receiving from the most wonderful and powerful being in the universe.

This is talking about us having a relationship with Him, a relationship that involves Him rewarding us, a relationship that involves Him and I really connecting, hitting it off, and enjoying being with One another. 

This is talking about us individually reaching out to God ourselves, relating to Him personally, and how us individually doing so will make all the difference in our lives.

This is talking about us individually being the center of His focus, granting us an opportunity that is "golden," one that nothing else could ever beat.

We can pull up a chair to someone so magnificent and perfect and someone Who wants to help us and even help others through us. We get to pull up a chair, and we get to reach into His wisdom, ability, and even His very heart and pull out the answers we need. We get to meet and listen to and learn from the One Who knows everything, the One Who didn't even withhold His Son from us, the One Who unnecessarily, without a cause, offers us all things, the One Who says: “you have not because you ask not, and when you ask, you ask for it with the wrong motives,” even selfishly.

God is here, in this secret place, wanting to bring us higher, wanting to give us better motives, wanting to change us from the inside out, giving us His very desires, and the information we need, and the grace we need to see those desires come to pass! Our Father is available to us. And He has adopted us, made us joint heirs with Christ Who He has given everything to. God Almighty, the All-Sufficient One is waiting, waiting on us to begin to wise up and take advantage of all He offers us. 

Do you remember the parable Jesus told of the prodigal son? The son returned home, and the father lavished him with a party and good things, and the faithful son was all upset about it. The Father was like everything I have is yours, you could have had these very things at any time, but you never took advantage of them.

Brother Hagin taught about how people new into a relationship with our Father would be able to have his faith help them receive answers from God, but how once a person had had time to grow up and should have learned how to receive from God themselves, he (Brother Hagin) wasn't able to help them. He specifically mentions a sister who he prayed for to be healed and she was and much later when she was diagnosed with another cancer, our Father let Brother Hagin know that it was time for her to receive her own answer for herself. 

There is a passage of Scripture in which God was telling the people that by this time they should be eating meat, they should have weaned themselves off of milk, but they were still unable to handle some things that God desired to talk to them about, things they needed to know. We need to realize us being weaned off of milk and ready for the beef does affect our prayer lives (and our everyday all things really are working together for our good lives)!

Have you considered the Lord's Prayer in this light? 

The Lord's Prayer is what this text leads into:

“Here I am, Father. I've shut the door. It's just you and me, and here we are. I have the time to receive from you and get the answers I need.

“You are set apart above all. You, my Heavenly Father, are worth more than all I have. Time with you is more valuable than all I do. You are the Most High El Elyon, and you are Creator and Sovereign, and here I am with you. I am honored to be in your presence, to be your son and your daughter, to just be here, I am ready to hear you, to listen, to learn.

“What kingdom business do you want to discuss today? I want to help You bring Your reign, Your rule to Earth. How can I help You? What is on the agenda for today? 

“You Who are meeting with me from Heaven, You Who sees everything and everyone and who has all resources at His fingertips, You Who are so good and merciful, what do You want to talk about today? What can I do here on Earth for you? How can I help you? What do you need me to see? 

“I want Your will not mine: Your kingdom, Your rule and reign, You moving in our midst here. Have your will in me and in my life. What is your decision? What do you want changed today? What should I proclaim, declare, and confess?

“I just need your Word on the matter, and I will speak, I will do my part in bringing Your Kingdom to Earth. Have your way in me. May I know your will so that I may act on your will?

“Thank you for directing me, for ordering me steps.

“What is going on in Heaven today?

“I focus my attention on my home land knowing you want to bring Heaven to Earth: Your rules, Your standards, Your way of accomplishing, Your healings, Your love, Your deliverances, Your peace, Your glory, Your truth, Your presence - Heaven to Earth!

“Give us my daily bread, even “our” daily bread. I need a word or a direction from you to feed me, and I need something from you to offer others. I need to be ready today to be your ambassador, to offer hope everywhere I go, to offer people a slice of you, to offer people living manna straight from you, to offer people something fresh and potent, and something that they need to hear. 

“Many can't hear You, but I can Lord, Father, and here I am for something to feed on and I'm not just thinking of myself, I'm here for “our” daily bread, something for others to feed on, and while I'm here, I might as well ask you for the natural provisions I need for today, and the resources I need so that I can be generous and show others your generosity, not “my” daily bread, “our” daily bread!

“Forgive me, Lord. Forgive them, Lord. Forgive us, Lord.”

Just like this prayer asks for our daily bread, it asks "forgive ‘us’ ‘our’ trespasses and lead ‘us’ not into temptation." Our position here, here with our Father, should be like Jesus and Stephen demonstrated as they were about to die. They didn't complain about those killing them. They plead on those people's behalf: "forgive them." And our practice should be: “Forgive us.” And when Jesus finishes this prayer here, still talking about prayer, He brings this important subject up again, the subject of forgiveness. 

“Lead us not into temptation. Deliver us from evil.

“For everything and everyone belongs to you. This is your world, It and I am your creation. Everyone ultimately belongs to you. Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory. It's all yours, forever.”

It's amazing how I've always cut off the rest of this teaching, separating it from prayer. Following this prayer, Jesus touches on many topics, but he weaves prayer in and out of them.

But while reading it consider it this way. Take the time to read it today and consider what it can teach you about your prayer life, about how everything Jesus is talking about relates you to your prayer life, to you closing the door and seeking your Father in secret. Consider how your motives can change when you meet with the Father. Consider how when you meet with Your Father you pick up on what you need to do as you live in this world.

Jesus is still talking about prayer in this passage. Read Matthew 6 and 7, relate it to prayer.

Hey friends, family! This was part of a message I intended to put in my series entitled “Prayers and Prayer Blockers.” And while I will save it there for future use. I believe I am supposed to share it now as well. Why? God spoke to me a while back: “Places to go, people to see, things to impart.” I think it’s time for me to start stepping out on those words. What I shared today is just a little of what I have to offer.  

I have multiple books out that you can check out to see what kind of teaching I bring with me: “The Thanksgiving Table,” the importance of “The Fellowship.” But I have also this message, “Prayers and Prayer Blockers,” and “The Big Picture teachings” rolling around within me. These are messages I believe we as the body of Christ will very much benefit from hearing.

If you are interested in having me share at your church, or school, or whatever, please contact me. Let me know, and we can speak about the details of setting something like that into motion.

You might not be a church leader who is able to have me come and present the Gospel, you could always support this work by your prayers, buying my books, spreading the word about them, or giving financially toward these next few steps God is leading me in. I also have a few projects going on right now, projects I could actually use help in. If anyone would prefer to volunteer their time to help me get some of these messages and curriculum completed and put into people’s hands, that too would be a blessing!

Thanks for taking the time to hear my heart today! 

This blog post is for all my single sisters out there! I ran into the Proverbs 31 woman today during my devotion time. And I saw something you might enjoy. I know I sure did! This text, which is used often during Mother’s Day sermons, is actually one I enjoy meditating on. Some might think this is strange since it strongly suggests that we women should be able to do the miraculous, all while the husband gets to sit socializing... That is not my picture of this woman. 🤣 Nor do I really think the man who gets to marry her is a “slacker.” 🥰

Today, however, I got a special thrill from God when reading this text. There are just a couple things I want to share. First, this text isn’t actually intended in order to praise the mothers among us. Although, I can see why it is used on Mother’s Day, and I am glad to share it with them. 🥳 I guess my thought on that is that this text is used so much on Mother’s Day, we singles with no children might forget that this text is also for us. We don’t have to wait until we get to be married and get to have children in order to breathe in these Words and be blessed and praised by them. 

Actually, from what I can tell… It looks like this text is meant for young men who are choosing their spouse. Is it just me, or does this not look like training a young man received in how to pick out a woman of nobility, a woman of great character and worth, to make her his wife? I admit that I could have the wrong impression about this teaching. But, since I’m not going to study this text more right now… let’s just get a realization that the woman this text talks about is the woman our godly husbands (to be) want us to be. And even more importantly, it is the woman God wants us to be.

King Lemuel and his mom really got a vision from God on what the perfect (the mature women of God) would look like, and you my friend can be her! You can be her before you ever get married and before you ever have children. 

Proverbs 31:10 says, “A woman of worth who doth find? Yea, far above rubies [is] her price.” (YLT) The Amplified says it this way: “An excellent woman [one who is spiritual, capable, intelligent, and virtuous], who is he who can find her?...” So this is what I saw this morning. This text is a text that we can determine describes us. And in making ourselves this woman, we can expect to receive the blessings that this woman gets to enjoy. 

As you read the below text from Proverbs 31 look at it in a different light. Let God show you that as you walk in His excellent character and desires, seeking to know Him and confirm to His vision of you, you get to walk into a marriage and a home; you get to walk into great provision, and you get to have children. 

What am I saying? Have you heard about conditional promises? If we do this, then we can expect to receive such-an-such. For example, “Give and it will be given back to you good measure, pressed down, shaking together, and running over…” (Lk. 6:38a) That’s a conditional promise! I know Proverbs 31 is written out that way. But I believe that if we are committed to work on ourselves, that God Himself will begin pointing us out to some good men. He’ll say, “That one right there. She’s excellent. And the only way you are going to find yourself in her life is by following me.” And I have confidence that someone is going to take Him up on that deal!

When reading this text this morning, I didn’t see it addressed to a mother in my church. And I didn’t see it addressed to a guy looking for a wife. I saw it addressed to me. It was like God was telling me that because I met some of “these conditions,” I could expect Him to deliver up some of “these goods.” There is no doubt in my mind that I am not the only one God has “qualified.” I have no doubt that many of you do as well too! I also have no doubt that God’s Word is sufficient to make those of you who don’t yet qualify, “qualified.”

According to Jesus, it is God who joins together two people in marriage. (See Mt. 19) You can trust that God is working out your marriage. As long as you follow Him, you can know that He is heading you into a beautiful and satisfying family. God sets the lonely in families. God is worth following! He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. 

One more thing. We don’t currently have a husband to “please,” but we do have an assignment. Our focus should be on the “things of the Lord.” (See 1 Cor. 7:34,35) I believe as we prove ourselves faithful, as we become excellent women, God will watch over the Word we have “activated,” and faithfully perform it in our lives.

I hope this Word blessed you today! I know it blessed me!

Jeremiah 6:16b

“Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls.” (NIV)

Life on this Earth is full of opportunities, and humanity has decision after decision to make. These decisions should not be made without God’s input. A long time ago, God told us that He had set before us life and death, but He also clarified that we should choose life. God still gives us the opportunity to choose. And He still shows us the route that He knows is best for us. 

Proverbs 14:12 tells us that “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.” (ESV) It would be wisdom if we would accept these Words as truth and recognize that we need both the guidance and help God is offering us! 

“When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.” (John 16:23 ESV) These are Jesus’ Words, Words spoken to his followers shortly before He died for us. The Spirit of truth had not yet come. But receive this good news today: He has come! He is here with us on this Earth, ready, willing, and desiring to help every one of us! 

The Holy Spirit knows what is true and what is a lie, and He desires that you too would know the truth you need to walk in. He desires that you know what lies Satan is serving up and using as a trap to mislead and trap you. The Holy Spirit wants you to experience the same freedom Jesus delivered as He walked this Earth. Look it up. Read the Gospels. Jesus reveals the God who brings people deliverance, the God who heals, provides, and protects. 

In Luke 4:18, Jesus shared His mission: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free.” (NIV) Jesus spoke here about the same Spirit of truth that is within all believers (and is now available to come directly upon all Christians): the Spirit that Galatians tells us was God’s hope for us. We’ve been redeemed from the curse of the law so that Abraham’s blessing would be upon us, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith! (See Gal. 3:13,14) 

There are things in this world that will trip us up and keep us from the good God offers us. Satan is still active in this world today. You probably hear reports of his activities all the time. His traps still need to be avoided and many, many people still need to discover Jesus’ delivering power, power that has set us free from this evil ruler who seeks to destroy all of God’s creation (that’s you and me).

Thank God that there is indeed a God in Heaven who reveals mysteries (or secrets). (See Dn. 2:28) Thank God that He promises if we will but seek Him (and seek Him first) we will find Him and have all we need! (See Jer. 29:13 + Mt. 6:33) It is those who wait upon the Lord who receives the benefits He offers to all. Let’s stop choosing our own paths and let’s take advantage of the good guidance He offers us. We need His council! We need to lean not to our own understanding. We need to acknowledge Him. We need the strength He will provide when we do so! (See Isa. 40:31 + Pr. 3:5) 

We need to stop going the bad way and reaping the negative consequences of such steps. Those steps truly cost us! We need to discover the good way! We need to pay attention to God and walk into the rest He provides! (Write down Jeremiah 6:16 and think about it today, think about it whenever you have a free moment. Consider your actions and consider where they are taking you. Talk to God. Listen to Him. Find out if you really are on the path He intends for you.)

Join with me in throwing off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. Let us (together) run with perseverance the race marked out for us. (See Heb. 12:1)

1 John 5:9-13 NKJV

“If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater; for this is the witness of God which He has testified of His Son. He who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself. . . God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.”

It is encouraging to know that we believers in the Name of Jesus, the Name that means “He saves,” have eternal life (or the God-kind of life). This is not a life that starts when we leave our bodies and depart Earth. This is a life that started the very moment we chose to give ourselves to God, believing and accepting Jesus’ Lordship over us. 

Right now, today, you and I get to enjoy a connection with God that can only improve our lives. That connection, if yielded to and depended on, has the power to drive out any sickness and disease. That connection has the power to call to us provision, protection, and the very peace that God Himself enjoys. 

You can choose to believe everything and anything you hear. Or you can choose to reject it. What you choose to believe will dramatically affect your life, for the good or for the bad. I’m going to choose to acknowledge God’s supremacy and realize that His witness is indeed greater than the witness of men. If we will choose to find out God’s truth, truth that tells us the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead lives in us and is bringing His life to us, if we choose to agree with God and proclaim that truth over our lives, then we will be able to walk in it. (See Rm. 8:11)

Mark 11:23 says, “For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.” (NKJV)

There is a very good reason that God tells us life and death is in the power of our tongues! (See Pr. 18:21) God, in His great love for us, has chosen to give us the ability to choose our own lives. He has great plans for us. But being the kind, good, and wise God that He is: He refuses to force us to follow those plans. Let’s never forget that God is good and His plans for us our good. Let’s never forget that He desires that we prosper and be in health. Let’s never forget that if we experience less than God’s best, it is not because He chose that life for us. 

No matter what you have heard recently, no matter what you heard growing up, no matter what you will hear tomorrow or in the far future: you have the right to choose to live. God has given you that right! You choose what you believe and if you choose to believe God and continually declare His truth over your life: you will have it. No matter what circumstances you face, you can change them. You can do so if you willingly follow God’s plan for your life! 

Consider these Words from Second Corinthians 4 (verses 16-18) consider them and apply them to yourself. If you will change your focus, focusing on the unseen principles found in God’s Word: you will soon find yourself believing and confessing them over yourself. And doing so will cause spiritual realities, realities that you cannot yet see in this physical realm, to manifest. Those spiritual realities will override any natural forces that stand against you.

“Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.” (2 Cor. 4:16-18 NKJV)

Hebrews 4:12 says: “For the Word of God is quick, (alive) and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” (KJV – word in parentheses mine) 

This verse pulled me to Hebrews chapter 4, which I chose to read in the New Living Translation (1996 edition). I encourage you to take the time to read it, do so with whatever translation you have available. It was when I was reading this chapter that God reminded me of His leadership skills, and how He currently allows people to disobey Him. God gives us a standard to live by, but it seems that most people (sometimes even professing Christians) choose not to heed His Words. And while one day God will settle accounts with His subjects (judging all of humanity): today, He does nothing to force us to obey Him. Oh, He has the power to do so, but He graciously allows us to choose our own paths, desiring that all of us will one day see His love (His kindness displayed in our lives and His goodness available to all) and will one day choose to leave a life filled with sorrow and defeat, and walk into His rest (the victory He has prepared for us).

Did you read Hebrews 4? If you took the time to do so, I hope you noticed the power of obeying God. No, God won’t make us obey Him. But if we choose to willingly do so we will enter into life, power, and His incredible rest. It is through obedience we enter into a living and powerful place of protection. It is when we ignore God’s Word, which not only holds life and power, but is alive and powerful, that we ignore all the help God offers us.

Jesus calls to all “Come unto me, all who are weary and carrying heavy burdens.” (See Mt. 11:28) He tells us that He will give us rest! Jesus, this One who laid down His life for us, this is who we are told to cling to and to never stop trusting. 

God declares the very Words we need in order to receive His deliverance. God declares Words that promote our well-being! God declares Words that see us through all troubling circumstances and into His glorious freedom and absolute victory! God declares Words that are necessary to our life, peace, and joy. It is His Words that promote health, wealth, and protection from calamity. Rest is available. Security is obtainable. Jesus, the Word made flesh, Who dwells among us still delivers. The Psalmist advises us that it was God’s Word that was sent to heal and deliver us from destruction. (See Ps. 107:20)

God has delivered many a person through His Words, and He still does so today! If we will truly listen to His Words, and consider them our way of escape, we will know what to do to enter the “land” God has prepared for each one of us. “Let us do our best to enter that place of rest. For anyone who disobeys God, as the people of Israel did, will fall. For the Word of God is full of living power. It is sharper than the sharpest knife, cutting deep into our innermost thoughts and desires. It exposes us for what we really are. Nothing in all creation can hide from him. Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes. This is the God to whom we must explain all we have done. This is why we have a great High Priest who has gone to heaven, Jesus the Son of God. Let us cling to him and never stop trusting him.” (Heb. 4:11-14 NLT 1996)

Isaiah 49:23

“...I am the LORD, those who hope in me will not be disappointed.” (NIV) 

The King James Version translates the end of Isaiah 49:23 as, “…thou shalt know that I am the LORD: for they shall not be ashamed that wait for me.” When we hope, we are expecting God to show up in our lives. We could be expecting an actual visit from Him or we could be expecting any one of the amazing benefits He declares is ours. There have been times in my life when I eagerly looked forward to receiving company. And there have been times in my life when I’ve been told by someone that they have sent me a package. I’ve waited for those packages with great anticipation. I knew they were on the way, so I looked forward to their arrival.

What I would like you to do right now is examine what it is you are hoping for. What are you expecting? I’m not asking you to figure out what your greatest desires are. True biblical hope isn’t wishful thinking. True biblical hope (when combined with faith and love) produces powerful results, because in it we choose to wait on the Lord to do something in us or for us. 

Hope is much more powerful than any force of nature, using it taps man into the supernatural power of God. Receiving your expectations from God and patiently waiting on Him to bring them to pass will change your life for the better. When you are in hope you have gone beyond wishing for something: you are now actually waiting for its delivery with great joy and anticipation. A person leveraging the power of hope in their life will be excited about their future and all the deliveries angels have been assigned to bring to their home.

Amazon has this great “Wish List” feature. You can scroll through all that Amazon offers and put anything and everything you want on your own personal “Wish List.” That list doesn’t represent the hope we have been talking about! But Amazon has another feature that does represent biblical hope. Once you purchase an item, that item moves from your cart to a “past order list” and you are guaranteed that item is on the way. 

Hope doesn’t purchase what you need. Faith working by love holds all spiritual purchasing power. But in order for your faith and love to bring your package to your front door, you will need to exercise hope. Hope is anticipating and waiting for the package that is on the way, the one you already know belongs to you, the one that has already been paid for in full, the one that you must decide “cannot” be denied you.

So when I say examine what you are hoping for, I am not saying take a look at your personal wish list, I’m saying you need to find out if you have anything in your life that is on a delivery truck and heading in your direction. You need to have hope. Your faith will have a hard time producing without hope backing it up. Hebrews 11:1 tells us, “Now faith is the assurance (title deed, confirmation) of things hoped for (divinely guaranteed), and the evidence of things not seen [the conviction of their reality-faith comprehends as fact what cannot be experienced by the physical senses]” (AMP) This tells us our faith and hope must work together!

Faith, hope, and love working together, will break you free from your disappointments. When you get these three things working together in your life, you will discover what it means to live life appointed, equipped for life both in this world and in the next. After all verse 2 of Hebrews 11 says it is “by this [kind of] faith the men of old gained [divine] approval.” (AMP) 

Don’t live life below God’s plans for your life. Recognize His will and realize it is man and not God (and not even Satan) who limits himself. God calls all of us to some great “appointments,” but it is we ourselves who choose if we will walk in them. 

1 Thessalonians 1:2,3

“We always remember you when we pray, and we thank God for all of you. Every time we pray to God our Father, we thank him for all that you have done because of your faith. And we thank him for the work you have done because of your love. And we thank him that you continue to be strong because of your hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.” (ERV) 

Proverbs 10:7 says, “The memory of the just is blessed...” (KJV) This Scripture speaks of us believers having a blessed memory. Now, I have not always had the best memory. It benefits me to write things down. It benefits me to set reminders on my phone.

Memorizing things didn’t come easy to me during my time at school. And while I know that Jesus’ redemption and provisions include me having a healthy mind that works properly, I have learned that it is best if I rely on the Holy Spirit residing inside my inner man instead of my mind. God is always faithful to help me accomplish what I need to get done. The Bible does say, “…greater is He that is in me than He that is in the world.” (1 Jn. 4:4b)

I have been tempted to use Proverbs 10:7 regarding my memory. But I’ve looked up this verse and to me the benefits of what this Scripture actually offers us is so much greater than a mind that retains everything I need it to. This Scripture literally means that when people remember you, they will remember you fondly!

I do not believe this means everybody is going to like me. But I still enjoy being liked. Is it possible that anybody doesn’t? Not everybody liked Jesus, and He warned His followers that we would face the same kind of persecution He did. Yet even though many were not fond of Jesus and what He had to say (which is saying it mildly): He still made a lasting impression upon people. I think He must have made the same kind of impression the church at Thessalonica made on Paul who said that He always remembered them when he prayed, that he always thanked God for them.

These people had believed on Jesus and in choosing to make Him their Lord (or Master) their faith motivated them to do some things, their love caused them to work, and their hope caused them to continue displaying how strong they were. These people were unforgettable and I believe if we will allow our faith to motivate us, our love to cause us to work, and our hope supply the strength we need to continue with God’s plans for our lives, then we will become unforgettable too!

Paul couldn’t get these people off their minds. Whenever Paul thought of them, he just started praising God. Paul was glad he knew them. 

The Bible talks about the importance of faith, hope, and love. It talks about how these three things will transcend time as we know it, and unlike many of the other things in our lives, they will always “remain.” We need to make sure these things permeate not only us but our actions. They need to permeate every part of our lives. 

Cultivating these things in us and letting these things cultivate us prepare us for not only a good ending here on Earth but the Great Adventure that awaits us as we step out of our bodies and into eternity. 

Be a person that has the kind of faith that makes you do things for God. Don’t resist His good plans for your life. Be the person that allows His love to flow through you, benefiting all those around you. Choose the gentle impressions you have to be kind to others. Resist the tendencies to yield to your flesh and express yourself in an unlovely and ungodly manner. Put God’s Word to practice in your life today. Practice it every day! Doing so will help you stay strong and fit, ready for whatever may come your way.

I began yesterday’s blog with Jeremiah 29:11 which says: “‘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.’” (NLT) Today I want to show you that verse in context. Realize that these encouraging, uplifting Words (the ones found in verse 11) were spoken to a people living in captivity. While you may not be living in physical captivity, if you are not living the good life God planned for you, you very well might be living in spiritual captivity. 

This isn’t something to worry about though! Jesus came to set the captives free. I guarantee you that if you follow Him, and I do mean really follow Him, then you will consistently walk out of more and more bondage. And one day you will find yourself completely, wonderfully, enjoyably free! (See Jn. 8:58??)

Now let’s take a look at Jeremiah 29 beginning in verse 4:

“This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says to all the captives he has exiled to Babylon from Jerusalem: ‘Build homes, and plan to stay. Plant gardens, and eat the fruit they produce. Marry and have children... And work for the peace and the prosperity of the city where I sent you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it, for its welfare will determine your welfare.’ 

“This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘Do not let your prophets and fortune-tellers who are with you in the land of Babylon trick you. Do not listen to their dreams, because they are telling lies in my name. I have not sent them,’ says the LORD.

“This is what the LORD says: ‘You will be in Babylon for seventy years. But then I will come and do for you all the good things I have promised, and I will bring you home again. For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the LORD. ‘They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. In those days when you pray, I will listen. If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me. I will be found by you,’ says the LORD. ‘I will end your captivity and restore your fortunes. I will gather you out of the nations where I sent you and will bring you home again to your own land.’” (NLT)

Babylon is used many times in the Bible to illustrate the world. And while this passage is dealing with a specific people, at a specific time, due to a specific situation they were in, there are still many things we can learn from it. And to me it looks very similar to the situation all of mankind entered into when Adam and Eve sinned and man was “exiled” from God’s presence and His incredible garden. God exiled the Israelites from their land but He always planned to bring them back. And so He has. God also very much wants to bring us back into His presence and thereby into His goodness.

Notice that God told the Israelites to “work for the peace and prosperity” of the city where they lived. He also told them to pray for it, “because their welfare will determine your welfare.”  I believe many people need to wake to the truth that our prayers enable God to bring His good into our lives - and into the lives of others. If we neglect prayer, we are neglecting the both the welfare of our community and our personal welfare. We cannot blame God for the situations we are in. We live on Earth, an Earth God gave us dominion over, both in the beginning (see Genesis) and right before Jesus departed the Earth (see Matthew 28:16-20). God lives in Heaven. Earth is a mess and Heaven is not. God rules supreme in Heaven where perfection resides. Man rules under God’s authority and direction on Earth. And it is here, not Heaven, where problems arise. God is not to blame! We must begin to pray and use the authority He has given us to bring His good will to Earth!

There is another thing I want you to see from Jeremiah. God told the Israelites not to listen to the prophets and fortune tellers who dwelled in Babylon. God said not to listen to them because He didn’t send them. Too many of us are listening to and taking advice from the wrong people. How are we ever going to end up in God’s good plans if we don’t heed the wisdom found in His Message to us? We aren’t!! I caution you to become very selective about everything you are hearing. Tune into God and base your every decision on the Truth He proclaims. If you stop listening to the nonsense the world spews, and turn a listening ear to God, you will begin to see life differently and in acting on His Truth you will walk closer and closer to His perfect will for your life.

There is one more thing you need to see from our main text. God tells them about all His good plans for them. And then He talks to them about the importance of them praying and seeking Him. Go back and read it again, God tells them that they will find Him when they seek Him and that He will end their captivity and restore their fortunes. 

Yes, God’s will for you is good, and it doesn’t include disaster. Yes, God wants to set you free from anything and everything holding you back. Yes, this is important for you to know. But it is also very important that you realize that just because God wills it for you doesn’t mean it is going to happen. If you want the good God has planned for you, you will have to obey the first and greatest commandment ever written, “...Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” (Mt. 22:37 NIV) Don’t tell me you have obeyed this commandment if you haven’t put any effort and time into seeking Him. The things that hold our affection are the things we seek.

Let’s never forget God’s plans for us our good and He tells us how to live the good life: seek Him! Let’s never forget that true goodness is never found outside of His will and presence. When we neglect God we neglect our own welfare! Seek Him today, really seek Him, and you will find He’s been waiting for you!

Many of you know Jeremiah 29:11 which says: “‘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.’” (NLT) What encouragement! What a truth to grasp and help you through the hard times in life! It reminds me of a powerful New Testament reference, James 1:16 and 17, “So don’t be misled, dear brothers and sisters. 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.” (NLT) These incredible truths remind us that God is good, always good, (lovingly, watchfully good). 

So why does evil so often invade our lives? Why does disaster strike?

I think that if we look at both of these references in context, they will show us exactly why evil exists on this earth and in our lives. Today I will look at James Chapter 1 a little closer and tomorrow I will share a little more about why Jeremiah 29:11 was proclaimed and written. 

James 1 tells us that death comes from sin. (See Verse 15) Now death doesn’t always mean what you and I think it means. When God says death will occur (or has occurred) He isn’t depicting what mankind in general would normally think of or picture when someone mentions death. 

I know this because of the famous story of Adam and Eve. God warned Adam and Eve that they would die if they ate the forbidden fruit, that they would die that very day. They ate of the fruit and they “died” but they continued “living” for many, many years. But their lives drastically changed; and they changed for the worst. 

This is why Jesus told Nicodemus in John Chapter 3 that man must be born again in order to enter the Kingdom of God. God must have still considered man dead. Again, the way God looks at death and the way many a man looks at death is completely different. 

What happened when Adam and Eve sinned? They lost their close relationship with God. They lost their home. They suddenly had to find a new job and the work they each found to do was much harder than what it had originally been. They lost an abundance of supply that had always surrounded them. They lost a peaceful habitation.

Why? Adam and Eve sinned which separated them from God and His good, prosperous plans for their lives. You need to realize that God and good are irrevocably united. If someone separates oneself from God, choosing what is wrong, they are separating themselves from all good. 

Many people get confused thinking that whatever is going on in their lives must be God’s will for them. They miserably traverse though the trials of life thinking God must have it out for them. This is not who God reveals Himself as, not in Genesis when Adam and Eve sinned, not in John 3 when the Seed God promised in Genesis shows up on the scene declaring that He came not to judge the world but that the world through Him might be saved. (See Jn. 3:17) Adam and Eve put mankind in a bad place and Jesus (God) has been actively seeking to bring man back into a good place ever since!

Again in James we see, “So don’t be misled... Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down from God...” (Jm. 1:16,17) Why would man be misled? They are misled because “death” exists and they think that the evil in their lives is because of God. But James 1 tells us differently, starting with saying: “...God is never tempted to do wrong, and he never tempts anyone else. Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away. These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death. So don’t be misled...” (Jm. 13b-16a NLT) 

Let’s stop being misled! Let’s stop allowing our own desires, desires that Satan uses as a trap to entice us, to separate us from God’s good plans (and His will) for our lives. Let’s remember that God is good and even though we’ve sinned and put ourselves into a position of captivity (much the same as the Israelites being spoken to in Jeremiah Chapter 29): God still has good plans for us, plans that don’t include anything that can harm us or keep us from the bright, incredible future being united to Him (to life, to good, to what is holy, righteous, and true) provides for us!

If you are suffering evil today (if you are sick or facing lack, if your heart is broken, if you are depressed or struggling in your relationships) this is not (and has never been) God’s plan for your life. He loves you! He created you! He wants to bring you into His presence! Open your eyes and recognize that the evil in your life is not from God.

Choose to re-unite yourself to God and you will choose to re-unite yourself to good!

”May God, the source of hope, fill you with joy and peace through your faith in him. Then you will overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” (Rm. 15:13 GOD’S WORD Translation)

Jesus ABOVE Patricia

What’s your name? Have you placed yourself under the authority of the Name of Jesus? Do you live with Him on the throne in your heart? Jesus has been positioned by God the Father to a position of absolute authority, even His very Name holds tremendous weight! It is a Name we must become familiar with and we must bow to. As Philippians 2:9-11 says: “Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (NIV) 

Have you come to the place where you realize that Jesus and His Name is above you and your name? As one minister admonished us, “Faith begins where the will of God is known.” It is God’s will that Jesus rule over you! It is God’s will that you submit to Him! It is God’s will that you not only believe in Jesus and His saving grace, His incredible love for you, love willing to die for you, but that you put His Name above yours. It is God’s will that you bow to Jesus. The above Scripture tells us that every knee should bow at the Name of Jesus. 

When you make sure Jesus’ Name is above your name, when you are humbly living in His service, that you put yourself in a position where you get to reign with Him. Second Timothy 2 tells us: “...If we die with him, we will also live with him. If we endure hardship, we will also reign with him...” (Verses 11,12 NLT) When this happens you will see not only Jesus and His Name above lack, sickness, depression, and all the other things designed to hurt and steal from you but you will see yourself seated above those things, you will find yourself ruling and reigning with Jesus! To this great position Jesus calls us all! To this great position Jesus calls you!

Ephesians 1:19b-23 NIV

“That power is the same as the mighty strength he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that a is invoked, not only in the present age but also instead one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.”

Ephesians 2:6 NIV

“And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus.” 

Jesus is Lord and I (Patricia) am your servant for His sake!