Bread of Life, JIL

” YOUR UNFAILING LOVE, O LORD, IS AS VAST AS THE HEAVENS; YOUR FAITHFULNESS REACHES BEYOND THE CLOUDS.” PSALM 36:5

God’s faithfulness to each of us is way beyond our comprehension. There are so many times in life where we do things that make us feel so undeserving of God’s blessings and love. As a matter of fact, we are undeserving. However, our God has such a love for us that he sacrificed his son, Jesus Christ, so that our sins are forgiven, and we can accept his faithful actions, blessings and miracles in our lives. Because of our human nature it is difficult to re-train ourselves to be deserving. But re-train our thoughts and actions in life is exactly what we have to do. We have to surround ourselves with the ideas, thoughts, and the holy word of our Lord God. We must learn the ways of the Lord. We must be doers of the ways of the Lord. We must become good listeners and we must continue to build our faith. Our trust in him must become second to nothing. Strengthening our faith and trust in the Lord is hard work. It is not easy. The devil is at every turn. Many times, we get in our own way and cause our own problems. The work we must put in for Jesus is worth everything in our lives. It is nothing in comparison to what Jesus did for us. Our Lord must be first in our lives. His faithfulness to us reaches beyond the clouds. It is everlasting. Believe, receive and live your life in Him. PRAISE THE LORD IN ALL SITUATIONS!

” THE RIGHTEOUS PERSON FACES MANY TROUBLES, BUT THE LORD COMES TO THE RESCUE EACH TIME.” PSALM 34:19

” BE STILL IN THE PRESENCE OF THE LORD AND WAIT PATIENTLY FOR HIM TO ACT.” PSALM 37:7

When we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior we are not promised or guaranteed that our lives will be trouble free. Actually, the opposite will happen if we are truly following our Lord Jesus. The enemy will fight us to the bitter end when we are living a life in Christ. The devil hates our Lord and everything he stands for. However, when troubles do come, we have a rescuer. We have a Savior. Our Lord promises us that he will be with us and go before us. He will get us through any and every situation we confront. We must, however, do our part. We must believe that we receive from him, trust his promises and wait patiently for him to act. Too many times we get impatient and try to do things on our own. Through personal experience I have found that when I try to supersede my God in heaven that I create even more problems that need to be fixed. Jesus loves us more than we will ever understand while we are on this earth. Our faith must stay strong. We must continue to keep it strong by meditation in his word and praying every chance we get. We must always remember that Jesus is our Lord and Savior! PRAISE THE LORD IN ALL THINGS!

“LOOKING STRAIGHT AT HIM, PAUL REALIZED HE HAD THE FAITH TO BE HEALED.” ACTS 14:9

Our faith is the foundation of believing and receiving from our Lord Jesus Christ. Without a strong faith it is impossible to receive from our God. Without faith we leave ourselves open to the attacks from the devil and the world around us. We begin to live our lives believing that we can do all things and that we are the ones who are in charge of our lives. We begin to look to ourselves and to others for the answers to our problems. Without a strong faith in God, we see no light at the end of the tunnel when things begin to go wrong, and we have no answers. However, with a strong faith in the Lord we have all of the answers we need. We have the ability to go to him with confidence and leave our problems at his feet. We have the confidence that he will strengthen us with his wisdom and understanding. We will have the confidence that we can get through all struggles because our Lord has promised us that he is with us always. He has given us the Holy Spirit to live in us. We can live with joy and peace of mind because we know through faith that we can do all things through Christ who gives us the strength. We should continue to build our faith each moment of each day. We should never let down but always pray to him, praise him and believe that we receive from him! Jesus is Lord! He is our Savior! PRAISE THE LORD IN ALL THINGS!

” GO INTO ALL OF THE WORLD AND PREACH THE GOOD NEWS TO EVERYONE.” MARK 16:15

I truly believe that our God has a reason and purpose for everything. You and I have been created for this moment in time for a reason. He tells us to go into all of the world and preach the Good News of Jesus Christ. We live in an age where the devil’s time is running short. He is pulling out all of the stops. Lying, cheating and all evil seems to be on the increase. You and I are a member of our God’s army, and we are in a battle everyday. We have to be ready for each battle and never back down. We must stay strong in the Word of God. He promises that he will be with us and never leave us. If we know his promises, stand upon his promises, and then put his promises into action, we will not and cannot fail. Our God in heaven has chosen to work through each of us. We must be ready and willing. We must be open to the direction he sends us and the message he wants us to spread. We must keep our eyes on him and not what is happening around us. We are safe and know the outcome. However, there are those in this world who do not know our Lord and are not safe. We must work hard each day to get his message out to all, hopefully reaching those who have not yet humbled themselves before God. PRAISE THE LORD IN ALL THINGS!

” THE LORD SAYS, ‘ I WILL RESCUE THOSE WHO LOVE ME. I WILL PROTECT THOSE WHO TRUST IN MY NAME. WHEN THEY CALL ON ME, I WILL ANSWER. I WILL BE WITH THEM IN TROUBLE. I WILL RESCUE AND HONOR THEM WITH LONG LIFE AND GIVE THEM MY SALVATION.’ ” PSALM 91: 14-16

Psalm 91 is full of God’s promises. When we read Pslam 91: 14-16 we can see some of those very important promises. He will rescue us, protect us, answer us, honor us with long life and salvation. These are all promises that we should be striving to obtain from our Lord. However, there are some things we must do in order to receive the results of these promises. We must LOVE Him, TRUST Him, CALL on Him. We must be doers of his word and not hearers only. We must include him in our lives to a point that he becomes our life. In order to love him, trust him and call on him, we must have great faith. We must meditate upon his word daily, pray and praise him daily and involve him in every decision we make. He is our Father! He is our Savior! He is our healer! He is our forgiver! He should be our whole life. He should be the beginning of our day and the end of our day and everything in between. Let us all build upon our faith and go before him with confidence and assurance of his everlasting love and strength. PRAISE THE LORD IN ALL THINGS!

” REMEMBER THE LORD YOUR GOD. HE IS THE ONE WHO GIVES YOU POWER TO BE SUCCESSFUL.” DEUTERONOMY 8:18

As I take time to reflect back upon my life, I can see that my God in heaven has been involved in the things I have done since I was a kid. He provided me and surrounded me with a great family while growing up. He was with me through all of the experiences I endured, even before I accepted him as my Lord and Savior. How did I ever get through some of them? The only answer is my God in heaven. He has gifted me a great family with a wife of 55+ years, 4 great kids and 13 grandchildren. He has led me from a teaching career to a banking career of over 38 years. Even after I accepted Christ many years ago, he had to take me by the hand, and sometimes the scuff of the neck, to lead me and make me listen. I have been a slow learner throughout the years but with Jesus in my life I have been able to get through things that I would never have survived without him. I am still learning from him today and will until I meet him face to face in heaven. I think that we all can relate our experiences throughout the years with God looking over us. Sometimes we just need to take a step back and reflect upon what we have done and what we are doing in our lives. We must remember who is in charge of our lives. We have to remember who gives us the power to be who we are and to accomplish the successes in our lives. We must remember who gives us the power to get out of our trials and tribulations and overcome our fears, doubts and worries. It is our Lord God in heaven! He loves each of us so much that he sent his son Jesus Christ to die on the cross for us. He died for our sins, our salvation and our healings. He sent his Holy Spirit to live within each of us to guide us and help us. He is with us in everything and through everything and has promised to never leave us. We should praise our Lord God in heaven everyday with thanksgiving. We should remember him in all situations. Let us all take time from our busy schedules to reflect upon our lives and for all of the good and great gifts he provides to us each day! PRAISE THE LORD IN ALL SITUATIONS!

“TRUST IN THE LORD WITH ALL OF HEART AND LEAN NOT TO YOUR OWN UNDERSTANDING, BUT IN ALL OF YOUR WAYS ACKNOWLEDGE HIM AND HE SHALL DIRECT YOUR PATHS.”

As we build upon our faith it allows us to ask Jesus to become a part of our daily lives. When this happens, we can feel secure that he is with us and will help us in everything we encounter each day. It doesn’t matter how large or small the problem, he will help us through. He will help us to be successful and not fail. He will help us to be strong and not weak. He will give us wisdom and understanding whether we are climbing a mountain or flying high over our successes. It is important that we always remember to trust the Lord with all of our heart. Our first thought in every trial or temptation should gravitate to our Lord. We should converse with him in prayer and praise him with every ounce of energy we have. Our faith in him must be strong enough for us to acknowledge him in every situation. If we do, he assures us that he will direct our ways and that we will be successful. We must not look to our own worldly understanding but only to Him. PRAISE THE LORD IN ALL SITUATIONS!

“KEEP WATCH AND PRAY, SO THAT YOU WILL NOT GIVE IN TO TEMPTATION. FOR THE SPIRIT IS WILLING BUT THE BODY IS WEAK.” MARK 14:38

The devil works 24/7. He and his fallen angels never sleep. They are looking for any and every opportunity to slip into any situation where weakness is shown. They will cause fear, doubt, worry, confusion, anger and any other evil they can muster up. Mark 14:38 tells us that we must keep alert. We must pray consistently and stay strong in God’s mighty word. The Holy Spirit who lives in us is very willing to resist temptations, but the bodies are weak and are not so willing. There are times where we know exactly what we should do but we just cannot get up the energy to do it. We know right from wrong, but we may lay back and say, “well maybe just this one time.” Our bodies and minds are constantly being attacked. We sometimes focus on the things going on around us and forget to focus on the end result, Jesus. We must stay on our toes, make ourselves aware of the things going on around us, pray at all times and listen very carefully to what the Lord is telling us. If there is anything we are about to do that is not in line with what God’s word says, then we should back away from it. We should go to the bible and see what it says to do. Our Lord loves us so much that he has given us warnings about how to handle temptation. LET US GIVE PRAISE AND THANKGIVING TO OUR LORD GOD IN HEAVEN IN ALL SITUATIONS!

” SO FEAR THE LORD AND SERVE HIM WHOEHEARTEDLY.” JOSHUA 24:14

The term “wholeheartedly” means to do something with complete sincerity and commitment. Joshua 24:14 tells us that we are to fear the lord and to serve him with complete sincerity and commitment. Every once in a while, it is wise that we each slowdown in our lives and take a step back so that we can re-assess where we are in our life. Just how are we living our life? Have we sold out to the Lord, or do we have one foot in the world and one with our Lord? We cannot split our time. It is necessary that we completely sell out to Jesus. We need to be totally committed to his ways and when we are then we will live in his ways. In a world of confusion and evil it is necessary to stay focused on the end result. It is important to never allow an opening for the devil to step in. We should always believe that we receive and never doubt. Our Lord wants us to trust totally in him. In order for us to do this we must have strong faith. We need to stay in his word daily, confess his word in our life, and put his word into action! We are to be his servant and to do as he asks. We are not to serve the world in any capacity. PRAISE THE LORD INALL SITUATIONS!

” TRUE HUMILITY AND FEAR OF THE LORD LEAD TO RICHES, HONOR, AND LONG LIFE.” PROVERBS 22:4

As we go before our God each day is it important that we truly humble ourselves before his mighty presence in our lives. We should go to him, not only in prayer, but also with praise and thanksgiving. We should let him know each day that we love him, that we are grateful to him, and that we appreciate his mighty presence in our lives. We should remember to thank him for all the good and great things he has done in our lives. Without him we are nothing. Without him, getting up in the morning is worthless. But with him we have great strength, understanding and wisdom. All we have to do is ask. He is our Lord God. He wants to be involved in our lives everyday. We, however, must remember to humble ourselves before him and ask for his involvement. When we do then our lives become easier to live. He takes on our problems. We should leave them at his feet and never pick them up again. Leaving our life’s problems with the Lord will allow more time for joy and happiness and the ability to live our lives for Him. Thankyou Jesus! PRAISE THE LORD IN ALL SITUATIONS!

” YOUR UNFAILING LOVE WILL LAST FOREVER. YOUR FAITHFULNESS IS AS ENDURING AS THE HEAVENS.” PSALM 89:2

Our God’s love for us in never-ending. That is sometimes hard for us to understand. It doesn’t matter what our situation is or how we initially react to a situation, our God is always faithful and true. He does tell us that for those who love him, trust him and who ask for his help, he will answer. Because of the Holy Spirit, he has so graciously given us, he lives in us. He is with us at all times and goes ahead of us into all situations, if we just allow him to. However, we must be willing to continue to build our faith and our trust and be faithful in going to him in prayer and asking. We must have enough faith to act upon what he has promised us and believe that he has answered us. PRAISE THE LORD IN ALL SITUATIONS!

” UNDERSTAND, THEREFORE, THAT THE LORD YOUR GOD IS INDEED GOD. HE IS THE FAITHFUL GOD WHO KEEPS HIS COVENANT FOR A THOUSAND GENERATIONS AND LAVISHES HIS UNFAILING LOVE ON THOSE WHO LOVE HIM AND OBEY HIS COMMAND.” DEUTERONOMY 7:9

Our God in heaven is the only God. There is no other! There is, however, an imitation god out there who is running around trying to imitate our true and living God. Instead of saving souls he is running rampant in trying to destroy souls. He works very hard at tricking all of those who say they know God but really do not. He is good at fooling all of those who are skin deep in their beliefs in Jesus. For us to be overcomers and testimonies for our Lord we must have roots that grow down deep in the soil of our Lord. We must read and meditate upon his word. We must know his scriptures well. I can tell you that the devil knows God’s scriptures and is more than willing to use them against us. He will twist them in ways so suttle, that unless we know God’s word well, his lies are easy to believe and follow. We are to be watchful. We are to be careful. We are to know right from wrong no matter how creative the devil gets. The bible tells us that even the devil’s demons believe in Jesus and bow to his name. So, why then is it so hard for us to stand up and be counted and live our lives truly for Christ. Our God is the true God. Our God is the mighty God. Our God is the loving God. Let us not be fooled but instead let us be strong in his word and mighty in the way we live. PRAISE THE LORD IN ALL THINGS!

” THE LORD SAYS, I WILL RESCUE THOSE WHO LOVE ME. I WILL PROTECT THOSE WHO TRUST IN MY NAME.” PSALM 91:14

” WHENEVER THE UNCLEAN SPIRITS SAW HIM, THEY WOULD FALL DOWN BEFORE HIM AND SHOUT, ‘YOU ARE THE SON OF GOD.’ MARK 3:11

Strong faith, belief and complete trust in our God in heaven is the only answer you and I have as we live in a time when our Lord in about to return. We all will have trials and temptations that need to be overcome. We all will have mountains to climb over and valleys to climb out of. Without complete and unwavering faith our lives in this world today will be hard and unbearable. However, with a strong faith in our God in heaven and a belief in all of his promises we are and will always be overcomers. We have absolutely no reason to fear. We have no reason to worry about anything. Our God tells us that he is with us always. He will always be there to protect us and to rescue us. Even the unclean spirits knew who Jesus was. When they saw him, they bowed down before. Our God is a triune God. He is the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. He is with us by living in us through the Holy Spirit. We should welcome him and listen carefully to him. He is our Lord and our Savior! PRAISE THE LORD IN ALL THINGS!

” HAVE FAITH IN GOD. I TELL YOU THE TRUTH, YOU CAN SAY TO THIS MOUNTAIN, ‘ MAY YOU BE LIFTED UP AND THROWN INTO THE SEA AND IT WILL HAPPEN.” BUT YOU MUST REALLY BELIEVE IT WILL HAPPEN AND HAVE NO DOUBT IN YOUR HEART.” MARK 11:22-23

Faith and doubt cannot exist together. You either truly believe with your faith or you allow doubt to take over and faith flees from you. What is your mountain today? These words from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ are true. Too many times our faith is by spoken word only and we never really live it. If we are not applying our faith to our lives, then are we really believing God will answer our prayer? The Holy Spirit gives us the boldness we need to stand up and to claim our true faith in Christ along with all of his mighty promises. Our God is the same yesterday, today and will be the same tomorrow. He has never changed, and he will never change. Have you sold out to Christ, or do you still have one foot in the world? We cannot have both. We are either with Jesus or against him. How are you living your life? PRAISE THE LORD IN ALL THINGS!

” STOP BEING ANGRY! TURN FROM YOUR RAGE! DO NOT LOSE YOUR TEMPER IT ONLY LEADS TO HARM.” PSALM 37:8

” WATCH YOUR TONGUE AND KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT, AND YOU WILL STAY OUT OF TROUBLE.” PROVERBS 21:23

Controlling our tongues is one of the hardest things we have to do. I know I have had a hard time with this issue. I sometimes lose my temper when, instead, I should be walking away from the situation. I should be putting my focus on Jesus and not my raging anger. Losing our tempers and saying things we don’t mean can destroy relationships. The devil is doing nothing short of trying to destroy and separate relationships. He continues to test us each day with roadblocks in our lives that can create disruptive and destructive situations. These situations can cause us to fall into the temptation of becoming angry and saying things we should not say. If the words that are coming out of our mouths are not building someone up, then we should say nothing. We should walk away and pray that we handle the situation in the way the Lord wants us to handle it. The words that we speak come from the heart. What are we allowing ourselves to accept? Are we accepting the things of this world or are we accepting the ways of Jesus? We are all a work in progress. God’s forgiveness is everlasting if we are truthfully sorry and repent. Our God in heaven loves us, forgives us and has given us the Holy Spirit to guide and help us along the way. PRAISE THE LORD IN ALL SITUATIONS!

” JUSTICE IS A JOY TO THE GODLY, BUT IT TERRIFIES EVIL DOERS.” PROVERBS 21:15

Let us each live a life that reflects the joy of Jesus. A joy that is refreshing and peaceful to those who love the Lord our God in heaven. A joy that is terrifying and repulsive to those who do evil. Let us live a life of strength, peace and hope in a world that surrounds us with fear, doubt and worry. PRAISE THE LORD IN ALL THINGS!

” FEAR OF THE LORD LEADS TO LIFE, BRINGING SECURITY AND PROTECTION FROM HARM.” PROVERBS 19:23

The kind of faith that we need to live in this world today is not and cannot be built in a day. It takes time and, unfortunately many failures, for us to build up our faith and trust in our Lord. Each and every one of us is given a measure of faith, but those of us who have little faith, can and will do little for Christ in this life. When we make mistakes, we must ask for forgiveness, get up from our stumble, dust ourselves off and keep moving forward. We must always learn from our falls and mistakes. As we do, we are applying new bricks of faith to our faith building process. I am sure you have all heard the phrase, “Rome was not built in a day.” Well, so it is with our faith. We have to become sure footed in the little things before we can trust God for larger things. Our God loves us and there is no problem too small or too large for him. If we cannot trust God to help us in the little struggles we have then how can we possibly trust him for our large and complicated struggles? We have to continue to build each day one “faith brick” at a time. We have all been given a free will to make decisions in our lives. Because of this free will each of us have different levels of faith. Some of us have begun to build our faith earlier than others. We each have built our trust in God on different time schedules. Our Lord has supplied us with the tools we need, but it is up to us to build the faith and trust we need in order to successfully use his tools. Our faith building is everlasting and never ending. It should become a natural part of our lives. Fear of the Lord leads to life. As our faith building is never ending, we must remember that God’s love for us is never ending. Keep building, keep trusting and never give up! PRAISE THE LORD IN ALL THINGS!

“FOR EVERYTHING THAT IS HIDDEN WILL EVENTUALLY BE BROUGHT INTO THE OPEN AND EVERY SECRET WILL BE BROUGHT TO LIGHT.” MARK 4:22

You and I, as born-again believers of Christ, are just touching the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the vast knowledge of our God in heaven. His great expanse of abilities and knowledge are way beyond what you and I could ever comprehend. The Lord tells us that one day all of the hidden things will be brought into the open for all to see. This not only includes the unsavory things that we as humans try to do without God’s knowledge, which is impossible, but also the things of our God. He tells us plainly that we will not understand all things while we live upon this earth. Our God has had a plan from the beginning and has watched it play out over thousands of years, with the culmination being, his return to take his children home with him and his eventual defeat of the devil and all evil. Our Lord wants us to live lives that reflect his standards. He wants us to live lives that testify to his purpose. We cannot do this without a solid faith. We must be able to believe in him in all situations. We must be able to build our faith each day to make it stronger and stronger. If we do, our lives will reflect the peace of God and the joy he gives us each day, no matter the situations we are going through. We must take our eyes off of the world around us and focus on Jesus. We must pay close attention to the Holy Spirit and what he is saying to us. We must always remember that our God in heaven is our source of power and not the world around us! He has the answers and for the time being we must trust him and believe in him! PRAISE THE LORD IN ALL THINGS!

” SEARCH FOR THE LORD AND HIS STRENGTH; CONTINUALLY SEEK HIM.” PSALM 105:4

We have been blessed with life upon this earth. The Lord our God in heaven has a plan in place for each of us. We must be patient and wait for him. We must use our time on this earth to be fruitful for Jesus. Our actions should reflect our time in seeking the Lord in all situations. You and I have been given a choice. We have the ability to follow Jesus or to not follow Jesus. Our God has made it very simple for us. He has sent his Holy Spirit to live in us. He is right there with us in every turn we make. He is with us in every word that we speak. All we have to do is call on him. If we decide to not follow the Lord and to use our lives for our own gain, then we will not have the services he so graciously provides to us. Scripture is very plain in telling us to seek him continually. We should never take our eyes off of Him. He should be our focus, our strength and our hope. He should be the first to come to mind in every situation. All of our actions should be fruitful and producing the goodness of our God in heaven. Pray always. Seek continually. Keep you focus on Him! PRAISE THE LORD IN ALL SITUATIONS!

” ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE IF A PERSON BELIEVES ” MARK 9:23

” BUT YOU DEAR FRIENDS MUST BUILD EACH OTHER UP IN YOUR MOST HOLY FAITH AND PRAY IN THE HOLY SPIRIT.” JUDE 1:20

” AND YOU MUST SHOW MERCY TO THOSE WHOSE FAITH IS WAVERING.” JUDE 1:22

Keeping our faith is the most important thing that we can do in our Christian lives. Without faith there is no security, no peace of mind, and no light at the end of the tunnel. If we allow the devil to steal away our faith in the Lord, then our lives will go nowhere. We will be stuck in the mud of evil, doubt, fear, unforgiveness and bitterness. We will continue to spin our wheels as we try to move forward with nowhere to go and with no future in sight. Mark 9:23 tells us that anything is possible if a person believes. To believe we must have a strong faith. The stronger our faith becomes the harder the devil fights to steal it away. As Christian brothers and sisters we are to help each other by praying in the Spirit and assisting in the building of faith in our lives. We are to show mercy to those whose faith needs to become stronger. You and I are not just one person fighting the devil and his schemes. We are an army fighting in unison to not only win the battle but to win the war. We all belong to the army of Christ, and we are armed with his mighty tools. With strong faith we are able to overcome anything the devil puts before us. We must, however, continue to build upon our faith and never lose our focus on Jesus! PRAISE THE LORD IN ALL SITUATIONS!

” FOR THE LORD IS GOOD. HIS UNFAILING LOVE CONTINUES FOREVER, AND HIS FAITHFULNESS CONTINUES TO EACH GENERATION.” PSALM 100:5

Have you ever heard someone say that “you are behind the times and that you must change to be successful?” Or, have you heard, ” this generation is so much different, and we must change our ways in order to live successfully in this day and age?” I have heard these statements made many times and to very honest, if I were strictly living in this world and in this age then I would need to change my thinking. Many changes have occurred over the past 50 years. The way we used to do many things are no longer the way we do them today. However, as followers of Jesus the way we live today should reflect exactly how Jesus lived over 2000 years ago. Our God is the same today as he was when he created this world on day one. He has not changed, and we are not to change. The way we believe should not change to fit today’s beliefs, but today’s beliefs should change to continue to fit into the ways of our Lord. Our God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. He makes it easy for us. He doesn’t throw us any curve balls expecting us to change on a whim. His word and his authority has always been the same. His goal has always been the same. His salvation message has always been the same. The precious Word of God has not changed. He loves us today as he loved us yesterday. You and I are to live his message also, loving others as we would want them to love us. We are to spread his word and his salvation message so that we are able to help him accomplish his goal. Let us all stay in tune with Jesus. Let us all listen carefully to the Holy Spirit and his direction for our life. Let us never change but always be true and faithful to our God in heaven. Let always measure what we are doing each day in our lives to God’s Holy Word. If we measure up, then we must continue to move forward but if we do not measure up then we must take a step back and begin to make changes to conform with our Lord God in heaven. PRAISE THE LORD IN ALL THINGS!

” THE LORD DIRECTS OUR STEPS, SO WHY TRY TO UNDERSTAND EVERYTHING ALONG THE WAY?” PROVERBS 20:24

Our journey each day can be either very joyous or it can be one of fear and doubt. It all depends upon you and me. We have a choice. We can either trust our Lord to direct our path each day and walk in his sweet holiness or we can concern ourselves with what is going on in this world. We all can be 100% confident that, if we allow Him, the Lord will direct our ways each day. He will make our troubles crumble before our eyes and our faith to grow stronger. All we have to do is believe. We must pray to him, praise him and meditate upon his word daily. Our Lord God in Heaven will never fail us and will never leave us. We must trust His plan for our lives and know that if we follow him, our lives will become fruitful. PRAISE THE LORD IN ALL THINGS!

” LET ALL THAT I AM PRAISE THE LORD; MAY I NEVER FORGET THE GOOD THINGS HE DOES FOR ME. HE FORGIVES MY SINS AND HEALS MY DISEASES. HE REDEEMS ME FROM DEATH AND CROWNS ME WITH LOVE AND TENDER MERCIES.” PSALM 103:2-4

Too often we concentrate upon the hurts and defeats around us. We don’t take the time to remember and meditate upon what our Lord has done and how he is moving in our lives. Our God never sleeps. Our God never leaves us. Our Lord is with us at all times working in our lives because he lives in us. It is so easy to concentrate upon the hurts that we have and the disappointments that surround us. Our Lord God in heaven is not a negative God. He is a loving and caring God. He does not want us to suffer or be hurt by the things of this world. He gave his only son, Jesus, to die for our sins, salvation and healings. If we take our time and concentrate on Him and what he accomplishes in our lives every day, then our lives will be richer for it. The Lord will bless us and have mercy upon us. Our Lord God must become REAL to us. He is not a fictional character that lives off in some magical kingdom. He is our REAL loving and caring Lord. He works in our lives each day. He performs miracles everyday. If we are not in tune with our Lord, then we may be subject to miss what is really happening in our lives. We can miss what he is telling us. We can miss miracles happening around us. We can miss our assignments that he has given to each of us. We must apply our focus on our real life, our spiritual life. We much concentrate on Jesus, meditate on his Holy Word and listen to the Holy Spirit. If we do, our lives will be much richer, and we will be become much happier. We are able to accomplish and overcome all things through Christ Jesus!!! We must keep our focus on the end result, which is, everlasting life! PRAISE THE LORD IN ALL THINGS!

” SO, OBEY THE COMMANDS OF THE LORD YOUR GOD BY WALKING IN HIS WAYS AND FEARING HIM.” DEUTERONOMY 8:6

” DEAR CHILDREN, KEEP AWAY FROM ANYTHING THAT MIGHT TAKE GOD’S PLACE IN YOUR HEARTS.” 1 JOHN 5:21

Doing anything the Lord asks us to do requires an action from us. It requires us to step out in faith. He tells us to walk in his ways and to fear him. Those are very easy words to read and say but they become very difficult when putting them into action. Our eyes are to be laser focused on our God in heaven. We are to be completely involved in his ways and how he wants his children to live in the world. He wants us to love him and honor him. He wants us to believe in Him and receive from Him. However, to accomplish the things of our Lord we must stay away from the things of this world. We live in this world, but we are not of this world. We should not be involved with or in anything that is going to take God’s place in our hearts. Do we put our money before our God? Do we put our TV shows before God? Do we put our own needs and wants before those of our Lord? If we do, we should take the time to pray to our God and ask for his forgiveness. We should ask Him for his help in restoring our love and faith in Him. Our God in heaven should have first place in our hearts. Nothing should replace His position in our lives. Whether we are going through struggles or whether we are living in extremely good times, our Lord should be first in every thought we have and in every action we take. Our government is not our God. Our money is not our God. Our satisfactions are not our God. We must take our eyes off of the things going on around us and re-focus them on our Lord. He is our source and our strength in our good times and in every struggle we might have. PRAISE THE LORD IN ALL SITUATIONS!

” BY HIS WOUNDS YOU ARE HEALED.” 1 PETER 2:24

” DO NOT TREMBLE OR BE DISMAYED, FOR THE LORD YOUR GOD IS WITH YOU WHEREVER YOU GO.” JOSHUA 1:9

It is so easy for us to quickly lose our joy in Jesus as we go through our trials and temptations. Each of us has a cross to bear. Our Lord never said that we would go through life untouched or without problems. It is how we maneuver through these problems that matter. As we go through our pain, whether it be physical, mental or spiritual, it is so important to keep our focus on the Lord. Our faith in him will help us through anything we are going through. We must keep in mind that we can do anything with Him in charge. We must also remember that without him the devil will have a day of celebration giving us the problems of doubt, worry and fear. The evil one will control us until we can handle it no more. Our Lord never promised us that it would be easy getting through our trials. We are in a dog fight with the evil of this world. Without Jesus in control and in our thoughts daily, we will lose. However, there is great hope. When we are going through our problems, we should keep our minds on Jesus and remember his troubles when he walked this earth. Remember the humiliating death he went through so that you and I as believers can live a life of joy, love, peace, understanding and wisdom. Remember that he loves us and will never leave us. Remember that he has given us his complete toolbox so that we have the ability to overcome anything that is attacking us. We must stay focused on our faith and not the problem. He is with us always! PRAISE THE LORD IN ALL SITUATIONS!

“BUT THE PEOPLE WHO BELONG TO THIS WORLD DO NOT RECOGNIZE THAT WE ARE GOD’S CHILDREN, BECAUSE THEY DO NOT KNOW HIM.” 1 JOHN 3:1

” DEAR CHILDREN, LET’S NOT MERELY SAY THAT WE LOVE EACH OTHER; LET US SHOW THE TRUTH BY OUR ACTIONS.” 1 JOHN 3:18

We are living testimonies for our Lord Jesus Christ. As we walk in this world others do not understand the love and compassion that our Lord provides us through His Holy Spirit. They have not had that personal relationship with him that provides the strength, wisdom and understanding he so graciously provides to us. They see things through the eyes of the world while we see things through the perspective of our Lord and Savior. However, we must not only be able to confess the ways of Jesus, but we must actually have the faith to live his ways. We must live in his promises. We must live one day at a time with each step we take being a step toward our focus of everlasting life. As we live our lives through Christ others will actually see how we believe. Yes, there will be those who scoff and call us names and may even try to harm us for our beliefs. Persecution was nothing new for Jesus when he walked this earth, and it should be nothing new for us. We must be consistent in prayer, praise, and meditation in His Holy Word. If we are we will stay focused, and our faith will continue to grow stronger and stronger each day. We must have the faith, believe our faith and live our faith. PRAISE THE LORD IN ALL THINGS!

” BUT I CALLED ON YOUR NAME LORD, FROM DEEP WITHIN THE PIT. YOU HEARD ME WHEN I CRIED, ‘LISTEN TO MY PLEADING! HEAR MY CRY FOR HELP.’ YES, YOU CAME WHEN I CALLED; YOU TOLD ME, ‘ DO NOT FEAR‘. “ LAMENTATIONS 3: 55-57

Have you ever been in a deep pit in your life? Have you ever felt alone and without the support or help of anyone around you? I know I have. It is at those times that I have to remember that the Lord is always right there. All I have to do is call upon him. When I do, He never let’s be down. He is always faithful. The fear, doubt and worry seem to vanish like smoke in the air. I must, however, keep my focus on Him. I must remember to call on him and ask him for his help. He is a consistent God. He is there to help and guide us. We must listen carefully and be willing to step out in our faith. PRAISE THE LORD IN ALL SITUATIONS!

” DAUGHTER, YOUR FAITH HAS MADE YOU WELL. GO IN PEACE. YOUR SUFFERING IS OVER.” MARK 5:34

” DON’T BE AFRAID, JUST HAVE FAITH.” MARK 5:36

Our Lord is the same yesterday, today and forever. Our Lord Jesus when he walked this earth showed time and again that with faith in him, there was power. Even as he walked this earth in a human body there were those who didn’t believe. There were those who scoffed, made fun and laughed at him. Others became angry and would plan and succeed in putting him to death. Our Lord has not changed. It doesn’t matter what our circumstances are or what troubles we are going through. He is here to help us. He provided us with the Holy Spirit who helps us live a life of goodness and strength. But what we have to do is believe. We must have a faith that is so strong that we can stand against anything and know that we will be victorious. Things may not always turn out the way we want them to but with faith in Jesus we know that things will turn out for our best. Our Lord heals in response to faith. Our faith must be put into action. We must step out and take that first step of faith. When we do, we will find that bodies and relationships will be healed. We will discover that our lives will become stronger and that our walk with the Lord will be much more satisfying. If He responds to faith, then we must have the faith for Him to respond to. How strong is your faith? Are you continually making it stronger each day? Remember, Jesus heals in response to faith. PRAISE THE LORD IN ALL THINGS!

” THE FAITHFUL LOVE OF THE LORD NEVER ENDS. HIS MERCIES NEVER CEASE. GREAT IS HIS FAITHFULNESS; HIS MERCIES BEGIN FRESH EACH MORNING.” LAMENTATIONS 3:22 & 23

Each morning is the beginning of a brand-new experience in our Lord Jesus Christ. Each morning is the beginning of a brand-new day with a fresh start and a new beginning. The love of our God in heaven is endless. You and I cannot really comprehend the depth of his love. We can see it and we can experience it, but we have a hard time in understanding it. His love is never ending. It is available to us to experience day after day after day. It doesn’t matter whether we are celebrating a victory in Christ or whether we are going through trials and temptations, He is always faithful. His mercies never cease, they are fresh and new each morning. We must continue to believe and trust in his ways and his promises in our lives. We must continue build upon our existing faith each day. We should know his promises and shout them out each day. His love for us and his Holy protection, never ends and his mercies are fresh each day. PRAISE THE LORD IN EVERY AND ALL SITUATIONS!

” GOD IS LIGHT AND THERE IS NO DARKNESS IN HIM AT ALL. SO, WE ARE LYING IF WE SAY WE HAVE FELLOWSHIP WITH GOD BUT GO ON LIVING IN SPIRITUAL DARKNESS. WE ARE NOT PRACTICING THE TRUTH.” 1 JOHN 1:5&6

As true followers of our Lord and Savior we are to live a life of peace and joy. Our beliefs in all of his promises are to be on display at all times. If we are truly living within his brightness, then our lives will reflect those promises. Our faith must be so strong in him and never wavering. It is very hard when we live in a world of confusion, doubt, worry and negativism to build our faith to that point. However, the Lord has provided to us His precious Holy Spirit to live within us and help us to wipe out all of the distractions around us. I can testify to the fact that if you take your mind off of the Lord for only a moment the devil is right there to steal away your faith and belief. Our focus must stay true. We must listen as the Holy Spirit speaks to us. We must continually read God’s Holy Word and meditate on every word. We must learn the promises of our God and never hesitate to put his promises into action in our lives. What may seem to be a lost battle in our lives is not. What may look like a hopeless situation is not. The Lord has given us every tool in his tool chest to make our lives worth living. We all have a job to do. No matter what it looks like around us or what others are saying we are to focus on our Lord. We are to keep moving ahead and fighting with every tool he has given us. We must smile and keep positive. We must be doers of his word and not hearers only. There is no benefit to hearing his word and then turning around to live our lives with doubt, worry and fear. We must confess his promises, live his promises and believe his promises. PRAISE THE LORD EVEN IF IT SEEMS USELESS! PRAISE HIM, LOVE HIM AND BELIEVE HIM IN ALL THINGS!