Bread of Life, JIL

” WHEN THEY CALL ON ME, I WILL ANSWER; I WILL BE WITH THEM IN TROUBLE. I WILL RESCUE AND HONOR THEM. I WILL REWARD THEM WITH LONG LIFE AND GIVE THEM MY SALVATION.” PSALM 91:15-16

As I read and meditate upon the scripture above, I do not see words such as “may, may be, or might”. I see only words that declare and make it very clear as to how our Lord keeps his promises. He never leaves an opening for the devil to step in and apply doubt to his promises. I see the wording “I will” flowing very consistently through his message. He is strong and powerful in trying to let us know that there is no doubt in his mind what his intentions are. He is going to bless us, rescue us, and honor us. That is that! We, however, must do our part. We must go to him in prayer and conversation. We must approach him with the same attitude as he has displayed to us. We are human and may not always succeed in the way we are to approach things, but if we fail, our Lord is there to pick us up and give us another chance. We need to continue to train ourselves up to be children of our living God. He does not fail! He does not want us to fail, and we will not fail with total belief. He wants us to be successful in everything we do and speak. The only way we can do that is to believe that what our God says is going to happen. There is no doubt, worry or concerns about what he says. He is our source for life. We must believe we receive because we are plugged into our source Jesus Christ! PRAISE THE LORD IN ALL THINGS!

” BUT YOU ARE ALWAYS THE SAME; YOU WILL LIVE FOREVER. THE CHILDREN OF YOUR PEOPLE WILL LIVE IN SECURITY.” PSALM 102: 28 & 28

Our Lord God in heaven has never changed! From the very beginning he has been a loving and trusting God. As we read through the Old and New Testament, we can see clearly how his people struggled. They struggled listening to him and believing in what he said. They struggled with the same things that we struggle with today. They looked around and saw the things of the world and became involved. Even though God was clearly telling them to do one thing and they would often agree, they would become impatient with him and turn away, always giving in to their own ideas, thoughts and ways. God’s ways were to protect them, heal them, give them the strength they needed and the direction for success in their lives. God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. God has never and will never change. How he deals with each of his children may be different, but his end goal has always been the same and will always be the same. His love for his children has never lessened and will continue to be strong and faithful. The question is, where do we as his children stand in all of this? Do we involve him at all in our lives? Do we believe that we receive the promises of God or are we doubting and not totally believing? We cannot just believe God when we want to, but we must believe him in all things. Our commitment to him must be 100%! He has never and will never change! But you and I, being born into sin must change! We must change in the way we treat our Lord and how we believe him. We must surround ourselves with him in totality. He must become our one and only way of life. He will never push himself upon us. He has given us a free will in order to make our own decisions. We must surround ourselves with his word in order to overcome the things of this world and to make our decisions wise. PRAISE THE LORD IN ALL THINGS!

” PEOPLE DO NOT LIVE BY BREAD ALONE; RATHER, WE LIVE BY EVERY WORD THAT COMES FROM THE MOUTH OF THE LORD.” DEUTERONOMY 8:3

It is so very simple to become entangled within survival mode while we live in today’s world. The worldly thoughts are: ” the more material things you have in this world the better life you will have. ” There is no doubt that from a worldly point of view material things in this life become the main focal point of each day. We want the best of everything. Our thought process is that money will save us from the evil around us. I know people who think that they can do all things through the riches they have accumulated here on earth.

As a born-again Christian our focus is elsewhere. Our focus is on God’s word and how he has set his priorities for our lives. It is not through our riches that we can do all things but instead it is through Christ that we can do all things. Christ is our salvation. He is our roadmap to success. He is our strength, joy and stability. There is no other way. Jesus Christ should be first and foremost in our lives every moment of every day. We must dedicate each day unto him and follow his direction through the precious Holy Spirit. We should be dedicating our workplace to him. We should be dedicating our finances and our health to him. We must remember who our provider really is. It is not our employer. The employer is merely a tool of our living Go to help us live in this world. Our doctors are not our healers, but they are merely tools used by our Lord to heal us. Putting our focus where it is supposed to be is the most important thing. We must recognize and never forget who our provider for life in this world is, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! PRAISE THE LORD IN ALL THINGS!

” PATIENCE CAN PERSUADE A PRINCE, AND SOFT SPEECH CAN BREAK BONES.” PROVERBS 25:15

Being patient in anything is not a personality trait that I have obtained. It is a trait that the Lord is helping me to learn and to continue to learn each day. It has always been my instinct to pull the trigger on decisions that look good. If it sounded good, then do it. This was my personal business plan. This way of decision making has led me into trouble more often than not. As a young Christian the Lord began to work with me by showing me scriptures and situations throughout history where patience was not only a virtue, but a way of life, and the way our Lord God operates. He showed me very quickly that if I was going to be dealing with him then I was going to be dealing in patience. This is one of the hardest areas I have ever confronted but I have found that if I include the Lord, he will help me along the way. My Lord Jesus and I continue to deal in my issue of patience to this very day. But I have found that as I have progressed forward with my faith in Jesus, that my confidence grows little by little. As my confidence continues to grow in the Lord my ability to wait upon him has grown as well. With him as my partner I cannot go wrong. He has helped throughout the years to make wiser business decisions. He has taught me to not become angry but instead to watch my tongue and use words that are going to calm a situation instead of sparking flames of anger. Yes, I continue to learn these things with the Lord by my side. He is involved in every aspect of my life. He has become my business partner, my prayer partner, my strength in all things and the one I go to first in any situation. It is always wise to remember that you and I can do nothing on our own, but we can do all things through Jesus Christ who strengthens us. PRAISE THE LORD IN ALL THINGS!

” COMMIT EVERTHING YOU DO TO THE LORD. TRUST HIM, AND HE WILL HELP YOU.”

When we find something in life that we thoroughly enjoy we will usually commit ourselves to it. For some that may be church. For others it may be an organization, such as Kiwanis or Rotary. And, for others it may be family or work. Whatever it may be, we want to be the best at it because we love it and believe in it. God tells us in Psalm 37:5 that you and I, as children of the living God, should commit each day to our relationship with the Lord. Every day that God’s gives us is another day of blessings. Each morning when we open our eyes and take are first real breath of the newly dawned day, is a day the Lord has blessed us with. It is a new day that has been created just for us because the Lord has a mission for us to complete. We are members of God’s heavenly army, and a new day is the creation of new opportunities. Committing our way to Lord each day is more than just telling God in prayer that we are dedicating this day unto him. Dedication and commitment will take action. It takes faith and trust in the leader of our faith. It takes developing a strong relationship with Jesus. Jesus should be the first person we talk to when we wake up and the last person we talk to at night. He is our way of life, and we are to become so committed to him that he is the focal point of our everyday ways. Thank Him, Praise Him and give Him the Glory that He so richly deserves. PRAISE THE LORD IN ALL THINGS!

” THOSE WHO TRUST IN ME WILL NEVER BE PUT TO SHAME. ” ISAIAH 49:23

Isaiah 49:23 is a great promise that is many times overlooked. If we study this scripture and meditate upon it, we find that it is life giving. It is life giving because when we realize that trusting God with our smallest to our largest problems, he is always with us and always answers us. He ALWAYS answers us, he never fails us and our trust in him will only set us up for success. He sits us high above our problems where they cannot reach us unless we allow them to. This is always hard to say but we are the failures in our lives, not our Lord. Everything that we put into the arms of Jesus becomes instant success. We just need to have patience (which is much easier said than done) and continue to understand that our Lord God in heaven is in total control. It is when we don’t see immediate results in our lives, or we allow ourselves to become persuaded by those around us, that we begin to doubt and begin our own processes in search of success. When we do things on our own, success becomes very limited. However, even though our own failures can be obstacles in our way our Lord can and will rescue us. We must continue to build upon our faith and trust in God and be persistent in our prayers and praise for him. PRAISE THE LORD IN ALL THINGS!

ENTER HIS GATES WITH THANKSGIVING; GO INTO HIS COURTS WITH PRAISE. GIVE THANKS TO HIM AND PRAISE HIS NAME. FOR THE LORD IS GOOD. HIS UNFAILING LOVE CONTINUES FOREVERER, AND HIS FAITHFULNESS CONTINUES TO ALL GENERATIONS.” PSALM 100: 4 & 5

Our Lord God in heaven loves to hear praise and thanksgiving from all of his children. We should not only be praising our Lord for all of the good and great things he does for us, but we should also be giving him thanks for all of our prayers being answered and our needs being met. I still find myself going back to the Lord each day with some of the same prayer requests that I had been laying before him for days, months and sometimes years. If I keep bringing them back each day, then I must pick them up after I pray each day and take them with me. What I have learned and what I am still learning, is that if my faith is strong enough then I should believe that he has answered my prayer. I should be able to take my prayer request to him and leave with him, with complete confidence that he has followed his promise of answering our prayers. When I come into his presence again, I should be thanking and praising him for that answered prayer and not praying over and over again for the same thing. He wants to work in our lives, he wants to answer our prayers and he wants to hear our praise and thanksgiving for that answered prayer. Whether we see immediate results or delayed results, our prayers have been answered. Remember that we should be praising our Lord in and through all things. Praise him, thank him and give glory to him each and everyday! PRAISE THE LORD IN ALL THINGS!

” BUT THE LORD WILL REDEEM THOSE WHO SERVE HIM. NO ONE WHO TAKES REFUGE IN HIM WILL BE CONDEMNED.” PSALM 34:32

I have learned throughout the past number of years that as long as I stay close to my Lord and Savior, I am safe. I am comforted and surrounded with the peace, joy and unfailing love of a God who never fails me. The only time I find that I fail in what I am doing is when I stray away from my home with God and begin to dwell upon things of which I have no control. When I stray from the presence of my Lord, I find that I put myself in situations where I have no control and I am not protected under God’s shelter because I have strayed outside of his will. The longer I stay away from my shelter the worse things usually get. Situations begin to deteriorate. Doubt, worry and fear begin to creep in. Sometimes it is at the lowest points in my life that I realize I need to return to the shelter of my God in heaven. I begin to understand that my focus must change. The Lord is not my problem, but he is my Savior. My problems seem to stem from decisions I make without him. When I change my focus from the problem to the Lord my situations begin to change. Things change because I am no longer focused on the problem but focused on the answer to the problem. Our Lord God in heaven never wants us to fail. He is always there to catch us when we fall. We, however, must be willing to give up and lay down before him and surrender. We must give up our control and believe in Jesus and his mighty strength. PRAISE THE LORD IN ALL THINGS!

” CAST ALL OF YOUR CARES UPON JESUS AS HE CARES FOR YOU” 1 PETER 5:7

Our Lord has given us many great tools to help us to succeed in this world as a child of God. We must, however, trust him to a point where we are ready and willing to act upon his word. As we continue to pray and talk with him each day, we must also remember to be quiet before him and listen. We must be able to meditate upon his word and try hard to understand what he is telling us. I know that I will sometimes get ahead of myself and ahead of God. This is never a wise decision. When I begin thinking that I am wiser and smarter than my God I know that I have overstepped my boundaries. It would be very helpful if God would just stop me in my tracks and give me a good talking to. But that is not our God. He has given us his word and a free will. We must continue to train ourselves up in his word constantly. We cannot let down. If we continue to read his word, meditate upon it and pray his promises he is not only willing to help us but has promised to help and is faithful in doing so. The longer we are in God’s word, the longer we study it, pray his promises, and act upon his promises, the stronger we become in our faith and trust in him. PRAISE THE LORD IN ALL THINGS!

” TELL EVERYONE ABOUT THE THINGS HE DOES.” PSALM 96:3

” THE SHEPARDS WENT BACK TO THEIR FLOCKS, GLORIFYING AND PRAISING GOD FOR ALL THEY HAD HEARD AND SEEN. ” LUKE 2:20

We live in exciting times. We are living a time in history that has been prophesied about for centuries upon centuries. Our Lord reveals only little portions at a time because we could not withstand or handle all of the information he has to give us. The question is, what do we do with the information he gives us? Do we take it to others and spread his word? Do we go out with enthusiasm to spread his word? Do we live a life that is fruitful and displays his righteousness? Or, do we take his word and hide it under a rock waiting for just the right time to tell about it? Even the shepherds, after seeing the baby Jesus, went back to their flocks glorifying and praising God for all they had seen and heard. We are not to be hesitant about the information he is giving us but we are to be joyful and excited about it. We should be bursting at the seams to present his words to others. Time is running out. We should not care what those around us think. As long as we are within God’s great guidelines, his Holy Word, we should be confident in the actions we are taking. There are those who God puts in our paths that need his word desperately. If we miss the opportunity then someone else may be missing the chance to receive information they need. Stay strong and patient before the Lord. PRAISE THE LORD IN ALL THINGS!

” I HAVE REFINED YOU, BUT NOT AS SILVER IS REFINED. RATHER, I HAVE REFINED YOU THROUGH THE FURNACE OF SUFFERING.” ISAIAH 48:10

Trust in Jesus comes with many things. It comes with a confidence is his word. It comes with a trust so strong that we are able and willing to walk through the toughest of times for him. As we walk through our earthly days we are confronted with tests and trials that come not from God in heaven but from the devil himself. God has never told us that we would be without trials and temptations. He has, however, given us a way through all of the obstacles thrown before us. It is not whether we will have these trial but how we conduct ourselves through them. With a strong faith in our Lord God in heaven we are able to walk directly toward our problems and confront them head on, with complete trust that we have been given all of the tools we need to succeed. Jesus is sitting at the right hand of our God Almighty as our mediator. The Holy Spirit has been sent to be with us and to gently nudge us in the right direction. We must keep ourselves surrounded with the things of God because the devil will make sure we are surrounded by the things of evil. We must have the faith and confidence to act upon God’s Holy Word. Remember, we can do all thing through Christ who’s strengthens us. PRAISE THE LORD IN ALL THINGS!

” BELIEVE IN THE LORD JESUS AND YOU WILL BE SAVED, ALONG WITH EVERYONE IN YOUR HOUSEHOLD.” ACTS 16:31

Sometimes we try to make it too hard to be saved. We put our own obstacles in our way. We try to make it something that it really isn’t. The Lord has made it very simple for us to become saved. All we have to do is believe. Believe without a doubt. There is no parade or bells or whistles happening here on earth when you accept Jesus. The jailer, when he asked how he might become saved, was told to simply believe. There is no great pomp and circumstance or lavish ceremonies for becoming saved. I believe there are celebrations in heaven for every saved person. But here on earth the Lord has made it simple. So, don’t make it hard for yourself or for anyone else. Remember, just believe!

AND THEN HE TOLD THEM, ” GO INTO ALL OF THE WORLD AND PREACH THE GOOD NEWS TO EVERYONE. ANYONE WHO BELIEVES AND IS BAPTIZED WILL BE SAVED. BUT ANYONE WHO REFUSES TO BELIEVE WILL BE CONDEMED.” MARK 16:15-16

What better age, than the age we currently live in, is there to spread the word of God. We in the good old United States of America can see, without delay, what is happening around the world. With the use of social media, we can talk with those around the world. We can e-mail and text messages to each other around the world. There is no comparison in the ways the disciples were spreading the Word of God, in the days shortly after Jesus’s resurrection, to how we can do it today. We can literally reach millions of people with God’s message, and it can be done in only seconds. With all of the great technological advances that our God has helped us create, all eyes will shortly be focused only on him. Jesus is returning soon. He is right at the door. We should continue to preach the word of God and never let up. PRAISE THE LORD IN ALL SITUATIONS!

” FOR THE LORD IS GOD, AND HE CREATED THE HEAVENS AND EARTH AND PUT EVERYTHING IN PLACE. HE MADE THE EARTH TO BE LIVED IN, NOT A PLACE OF EMPTY CHAOS. ‘ I AM THE LORD,’ HE SAYS, ‘ AND THERE IS NO OTHER.'” ISAIAH 45:18

Our God in heaven is a very structured God. He has a place for everything and everyone. We all have a purpose. When we allow our thoughts and actions to get in our way and we stop listening to the Lord, then confusion and chaos in our lives begins to set in. If we allow a life of stress and confusion to take over, we will never meet our goals and live the life Jesus want us to live. We will never get things done and we may become useless in all that we do. However, even though there are many times that our lives seem chaotic, there is a solution. We need to take a step back and refocus. We need to lift our hands from the problem and again allow the Lord to take over. If you find yourself leading a life of chaos, then take a step back and recommit all to Jesus. He is always there to help. PRAISE THE LORD IN ALL THINGS!

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

You and I have uncompleted work to do here on this earth. We each have a purpose that is unfulfilled. As we go about our lives there seem to be roadblocks at every turn. There are always pressures from the outside. There may be sickness, disease, ridicule, persecution, physical harm and many other worldly and spiritual attacks thrown our way. The way we fight against this turmoil in our lives will determine how we deal with and how we finish the plan our God has set for each of us. We are told through scripture that the Spirit is willing, but the body is weak. Therefore, we must keep watch and pray. We must never give into temptation. Our lives must be full of God’s word. Jesus must be a major player in our lives. For without the Holy Spirit guiding our every step we will accomplish very little. This is a spiritual battle, and we need the strength God has given us through his Holy Spirit here on earth. We must keep up the fight and never give up! Remember, we can do all things through Christ who gives us each the strength we need to overcome. PRAISE THE LORD IN ALL THINGS!

” AND HE BECAME DEEPLY TROUBLED AND DISTRESSED. HE TOLD THEM, ” MY SOUL IS CRUSHED WITH GRIEF TO THE POINT OF DEATH.” ” MARK 14: 33 & 34

In Mark 14: 33 & 34 Jesus was talking with some of his disciples just before he was to be turned over to be crucified. Even Jesus became distressed and troubled at times. He was on this earth and was born a human just as you and me. Jesus knew his mission. He knew what was going to happen. He also knew that God, at any time, could save him. But that was not God’s will. Instead, the plan was to save us. Every situation that you and I confront is nothing in comparison to what Jesus went through. He has already walked in our footsteps and has already gone through the hurts, persecutions, sadness and all other human feelings we go through. We should never feel bad that we feel these emotions. They are a part of the way we live. However, we should not act upon them. Instead, we should trust in our Lord Jesus to go to bat for us. He knows what it is like to hurt. He knows what it is like to be ridiculed and laughed at. He wants the best for us. We should pray and thank him each day for what he has done for us. Jesus is Lord! PRAISE THE LORD IN ALL SITUATIONS!

” IF YOU MAKE THE LORD YOUR REFUGE, IF YOU MAKE THE MOST HIGH YOUR SHELTER, NO EVIL WILL CONQUER YOU; NO PLAGUE WILL COME NEAR HOME. FOR HE WILL ORDER HIS ANGELS TO PROTECT YOU WHEREVER YOU GO.” PSALM 91:9-11

The love and the protection of our Lord God in heaven is never ending. He is always with us. He has a plan for each of us that I believe was created before we were even born. As his children he wants us to be faithful and succeed in all that we do. No matter the trials or the temptations we face he is always there. When Jesus left this earth he sent the Comforter, the Holy Spirit to live with us. He talks to us; he directs us and protects us with his small still voice from within us. We must continuously be conscience of his voice. We must not only be able discern his voice, but we must be able to take directions and act upon them. If we go to him in times of need, if we live within his shelter then he promises that all will be well. No evil will overcome us, and no sickness will come near our home. We are continually in his favor. Our faith must allow to live in his shelter and our faith must allow us to go to him first when we have problems. Our faith must allow us to act upon his word. If we do, then our Lord God in heaven supplies us the tools for a safe, long and justified life here on earth. PRAISE THE LORD IN ALL THINGS!

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

The love of our Lord God in heaven is interpreted in many different ways. To some it is taken for granted. To others it just isn’t possible. And yet there are some who just don’t believe. As we continue to build faith, our trust in him becomes stronger and stronger. Although we may never realize just how much our Lord loves us, we are able to understand that his love is so magnificent that it is greater than we can ever imagine. He loves us so much that everything you and I do, outside of his will for our lives, breaks his heart. We are his children, and he doesn’t want us to be hurt or to hurt others. He doesn’t want us to need for anything or to be sad or sorrowful. He has given everything for his children just as you and I do for ours. However, his love for us is so strong that he gave his son, Jesus Christ, to save us. He allowed Jesus to go through hell on earth just for you and me. WOW! What a message of love. With faith and trust in our Lord God we can do all things because he is always with us and loves us beyond the heavens above. PRAISE THE LORD IN ALL SITUATIONS!

” EVERYONE WHO BEIEVES IN HIM IS DECLARED RIGHT WITH GOD.” ACTS 13:39

Is it possible to be right with God without belief in him? I think most of would say the answer to that question is a resounding NO! We are all sinners in this world. We all do and say things that our Lord is not happy with. However, if we have come to the point where we accept him as our Lord and Savior then we know him personally. We know that all we have to do, when we find ourselves in a sinful position, is to go to him and ask for forgiveness and our sin has been blotted out, just as if it had never happened. That gift of forgiveness is a huge part of keeping us righteous with God. Those who do not know him will fail to even think of the Lord in such circumstances. Their sins are held against them, and they will continue to act upon sin after sin. So, to believe in God is to have faith in the unseen. We must act upon that faith by stepping out and trusting our God in heaven to help us in any way he desires. We must “believe that we receive because God is our source.” PRAISE THE LORD THROUGH ALL SITUATIONS!

YES, OUR PROTECTION COMES FROM THE LORD, AND HE, THE HOLY ONE OF ISRAEL, HAS GIVEN US OUR KING.” PSALM 89:18

As we focus upon our Lord each day, we are reminded of his death on the cross and of the miracle of his rising on the third day. He rose and he walked with his disciples once again. And then, he went to set at the right hand of God in heaven. What a gift our God has given us. Through Christ we are strengthened, we are given hope of eternal life, we become faithful in things unseen and trustworthy of the one who gives us life. As we follow in his footsteps, our attempts please our God. When we make a mistake, he is right there to pick us up and make us right again with his forever forgiveness. We are able to walk through this world with our heads held high with the confidence that our Lord is always faithful. As our faith and our trust in Jesus grows, our confidence continues to grow, and we realize that we are forever victorious in him. PRAISE THE LORD IN ALL SITUATIONS!

” CAST ALL OF YOUR CARES UPON JESUS AS HE CARES FOR YOU.” 1 PETER 5:7

Any struggle we have or any mountain we must climb we have the opportunity to go to God in prayer and lay it at his feet. When we do this, we must be sure that we actually leave the problem with him. We must give him the opportunity to actually work in our life. If we pick our struggle up and take it with us upon completion of our prayer, then we are not allowing the Lord to deal with our situation. If we pick it back up and take it with us, we then once again try to solve the problem ourselves. Leave your request with the Lord and begin to praise him for the answers. He does work in our lives if we do not become obstacles and stand in his way. PRAISE THE LORD IN ALL THINGS!

” DEAR CHILDREN, IT IS VERY HARD TO ENTER THE KINGDOM OF GOD. ” MARK 10:24

” Then who in the world can be saved?” THEY ASKED. JESUS LOOKED AT THEM INTENTLY AND SAID, “humanly speaking it is impossible. But not with God. Everything is possible with God.” MARK 10: 26 & 27

Our Lord never promised that after receiving him as our Lord and Savior that our lives would be a bed of roses. Jesus could not have made it any clearer about the troubles his children would face in this life. However, there was a saving grace. His birth into this world, the persecution and the ridicule he endured while he was on this earth, his death on the cross and then his resurrection to be seated on the right hand of God in heaven. All of this took place so that you and I could overcome and live with strength, joy and peace in him. So that we could enter his Kingdom, spotless and clean, due to his forgiveness. With faith we are able to overcome our troubles. We are able to overcome every mountain that we face. But how is that possible? It is possible because Jesus has already conquered each and every one of those mountains for us. He has walked in our shoes; he was persecuted for you and I and he died a terrible death so that we would not have to die. With Jesus we have life everlasting. With God all things are possible. We must have the faith to believe this and put his many promises into action in our lives. Remember, we can do all things through Christ who gives us the strength. PRAISE THE LORD IN ALL THINGS!

” DO NOT BE AFRAID FOR I HAVE RANSOMED YOU. I HAVE CALLED YOU BY NAME; YOU ARE MINE. ” ISAIAH 43:1

Our Lord God knows everything there is to know about each of us. He knows our quirks, how many hairs are on our head, our names, our thoughts, and most of all, our hearts. As each of us go to the Lord in prayer each day, we should do so in a very personal manner. He is our personal Jesus. He is there to help each of us personally get through our struggles, daily decisions and our days in general. He provides us a shoulder to cry on. He is a person who will listen to our thoughts, words and temptations, without interruption. He will console us when we need to be consoled. He is everything we need in this world, but he is the only one who can fulfill what we need. Each of us are different people. We have different desires, needs, requests, struggles, temptations and concerns. Our Lord stands by each of us to fulfill each and every one of those issues. He knows us by name and loves us enough that he paid a price so that we each can live. All we have to do is believe and trust in him. Is this easy. NO! He never said it would be. In fact, he tells us it is very hard. But if we love him, pray to him and continue read and meditate upon his word we will begin to trust him in the small and large things in our lives. Remember, he is our personal Jesus! PRAISE THE LORD IN ALL THINGS!

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

WOW! What a wonderful gift our Lord has given us. All of our dealings with our God in heaven are on the foundation of faith. Each and everyone of us must take the time to build upon our faith. We are to make it stronger. In order to make our faith stronger we must dedicate a portion of each day to reading and meditating upon God’s Holy Word. To strengthen our faith we must begin with a renewed mind. We must display moral excellence, self control, patience, kindness and a charitable heart. Putting all of these ingredients together help us to create a strong faith. With a strong faith all of the possibilities are endless with our God. But we must believe! And to believe and not doubt we must make our faith unmovable. This is an everlasting building process. We must be persistent and never give up. We must not become discouraged but remain strong in prayer and God’s word. Remember, anything is possible with a person who believes. PRAISE THE LORD IN ALL THINGS!

” WHOEVER WANTS TO FIRST MUST TAKE LAST PLACE AND BE THE SERVANT OF EVERYONE ELSE.” MARK 9:35

We should all have a servant’s attitude. When Jesus was walking this earth, he was constantly serving others. He was always doing things that helped others. You and I, as we follow in the footsteps of Jesus, should reflect those same attitudes. We should not only reflect the attitudes of serving but we should actually serve others with joy in our hearts. To many people this comes easy but to others it can be a struggle. Serving can come in many forms. We should pray to our Lord before serving and ask his help. We should ask how we can serve. He will put serving opportunities in our paths. When we see them, we should make the most of them. Serving allows us to not only help others in a physical or financial way but also allows us a place in a person’s life and opens up opportunities to present Jesus where he is needed. We should be watchful and be sure we walk through the doors that the Lord opens for us. We may not always have the finances or the talents to help but we can always offer comfort, wise words, scriptures and so much more that our Lord has blessed us with. Always be ready to serve and to serve with joy! PRAISE THE LORD IN ALL THINGS!

” BUT YOU, O LORD, ARE A GOD OF COMPASSION AND MERCY, SLOW TO ANGER AND FILLED WITH UNFAILING LOVE AND FAITHFULNESS.” PSALM 86:15

As a human being I have done many things in my life that I am not very proud of, and I continue, at times, to stray from the path that God has set me on. Over the years there were even times that I feared the anger of the Lord after I sinned. In my mind I could not come to the realization that my God in heaven loves me so much that he could continually forgive me for the sins I committed. As I continued to build my trust in him the Lord always forgave my sins. He has provided situations in my life which he shows his compassion and mercy. He has put others in my life that have helped me to better understand how gracious he is. He has shown me that he is not an angry God but a loving God, a compassionate God and a God who is patient. His love is forever faithful. He continues to show his patience as we all wait for his return. As we strive to be better and to follow his example, we all stumble but we can all rest assured that he knows our hearts and is always there to pick us up, forgive us and set us back on his path. PRAISE THE LORD IN ALL THINGS!

“GET AWAY FROM ME SATAN, he said. YOU ARE SEEING THINGS MERELY FROM A HUMAN POINT OF VIEW, NOT FROM GOD’S. MARK 8:33

This scripture reflects Jesus talking directly to Peter after Peter had reprimanded Jesus for telling the disciples that he was going to die and be raised again in three days. Peter was not looking at the situation through the eyes of God. He was looking and believing from a human point of view. Because of this he didn’t understand why what Jesus said was going to happen. He didn’t know the final outcome. Jesus couldn’t allow doubt or fear to stand in his way. You and I are much like Peter. Sometimes we allow doubt and fear to get not only get in our way but in the Lord’s way. When we begin looking at things that happen through our worldly eyes, we see things completely different than the Lord is seeing them. We get in the way and the Lord won’t allow that to happen. When that does happen, we need to take a step back and pray. We must get back on his righteous path. We must believe in all of God’s promises! We must never allow doubt to get a foothold. As followers of Christ, we are to serve him. We cannot serve him if we are allowing our fears of this world to take over. We must stay strong in the Lord 24/7. We cannot let ourselves become vulnerable to Satan or the beliefs of this world. Stay close to God and he will stay close to you. PRAISE THE LORD IN ALL THINGS!

” BUT THOSE WHO TRUST IN THE LORD WILL FIND NEW STRENGTH. THEY WILL SOAR HIGH ON WINGS LIKE EAGLES. THEY WILL RUN AND NOT GROW WEARY. THEY WILL WALK AND NOT FAINT.” ISAIAH 40:31

The strength of our Lord God in heaven gives us so many great opportunities. He refreshes us each day with a new strength that provides us with a renewed mind and desire to satisfy him. With his wisdom and understanding he allows us to get up each morning refreshed and ready to go to work. With Jesus in our lives, we have hope and a desire to spread his word. We have a renewed desire to reach his end goal which is to bring others to Christ. We must remember that we can do all things through him who gives us strength. PRAISE THE LORD IN ALL THINGS!

” THE PERSON WHO STRAYS FROM COMMON SENSE WILL END UP IN THE COMPANY OF THE DEAD. PROVERBS 21:16

When God created each of us, he gave us a brain. The brain is a great gift. It was created to help us to learn how to speak, walk, run, work, plan, play and think. God gave us a brain to help us to communicate with him. He also gave us each a free will. We are free to think what we want to think, say what we want to say, plan what we want to plan and work where we want to work. We have choices in life, some of which are very difficult and need the help of our Lord and others that are easier and left to us whom God has created in his own image. As we grow older and live longer on this earth the common sense that God has given us grows as well. For example, we are taught along life’s journey, either by experiences or by others, that fire is hot, and we should not put our hand in it. We are taught that ice is very slick and that we should be very careful when walking or driving on it. We are taught many things by which common sense becomes very important in our decision making. I truly believe that God looks down on us at times and literally laughs and cries at some of the decisions we make in life. He has provided us with common sense. We should always use it to help make decisions in life. Sometimes we just need to take a step back, take a deep breath and take our time in making decisions. God has blessed us all with a brain, the ability to learn, and common sense. Let’s pray each day that our Lord helps us to live by using his wisdom and common sense to help us make wise decisions. PRAISE THE LORD IN ALL THINGS!

” STUDY THIS BOOK OF INSTRUCTION CONTINUALLY. MEDITATE UPON IT DAY AND NIGHT SO YOU WILL BE SURE TO OBEY EVERYTHING WRITTEN IN IT. ONLY THEN WILL YOU PROSPER AND SUCCEED IN ALL YOU DO.” JOSHUA 1:8

The word of God has been given to us so that we know the heart of our God in heaven. It is full of prophesies and promises. Our God in heaven has given us the greatest gift he could possibly give us. It begins with an explanation of how the world began and ends with a foretelling of how the world, as we know it today, will end. Along the way the Lord has provided us with guidance on how to live our lives with success in this world. It is a road map to living in peace, strength, wisdom, understanding, love and patience. It has all been set right before us. As Christians all we have to do is to read it, meditate upon it and do as it tells us to do. Seems simple, right? Well, what may seem simple may be one of the hardest things to do. It takes a huge amount of energy, faith and persistence to live a life as it is presented to us. As we pray each day we should always ask our God in heaven for guidance and understanding in our day to come. We should ask him for more wisdom and knowledge in understanding just what he is asking of us. As we read his word we should take the time to study each word carefully and with prayer. We must understand that living the word of God is much more than just reading it everyday. It is understanding what the Lord is telling us an then putting into action. The word of God should become our way of life. We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us! PRAISE THE LORD IN ALL THINGS!