Michael J Burchett Ministries

“ MY CHILD, DON’T LOSE SIGHT OF COMMON SENSE AND DISCERNMENT. HANG ONTO THEM FOR THEY WILL REFRESH YOUR SOUL.” PROVERBS 3:21-22

Our God created each of us with a brain. He has given us the abilities to figure things out and do things on our own. We are able to communicate with others and make decisions. We all have learned the basic right from wrong. He wants us to be able to live our lives in freedom. He has distinguished us from the other animals with the way we think and communicate. He has given us of the gift of the brain. Some of us use it well while others of us, not so much. Even with all of the promises he provides to us we still have the ability to decide against God. He is not a forceful God but a loving and kind God. He wants us to follow him because we have a desire to follow him. He wants us to “want” to be near him. He cares for us and wants what is best for each of us. As we continue to fellowship with him, that desire for more of him becomes a part of us. Our lives become successful and fulfilling because of his actions. He loves us and wants what is best for us. PRAISE THE LORD IN ALL THINGS!

“ GET UP AND PRAY, SO THAT YOU WILL NOT GIVE IN TO TEMPTATION.” LUKE 23:46

Jesus told this to his disciples just before he was turned over to the authorities. He is telling us to do the same thing today. It is so important that we stay in prayer with our God in heaven. We are being attacked constantly during our days and nights. Without having our Lord by our side, it is impossible to overcome these attacks. To keep our faith at its strongest, it is necessary we stay plugged into our source. Our source for our faith is our Lord God in heaven. We must talk with him everyday. We must train ourselves up to talk with him on every situation we encounter. We should be praising him for all good and great things in our lives and be praying and accepting answers to our prayers in times of need. He is our strength. Without faith in his support we are nothing. However, we can do all things with him. PRAISE THE LORD IN ALL THINGS!

“THE LORD IS FOR ME. SO I WILL HAVE NO FEAR. WHAT CAN MERE PEOPLE DO TO ME? PSALM 118:6

I understand that I have the opportunity to freely make decisions in my life. I have the choice to do anything I want to. God has given me a free will. However, one day he knocked at my door, and I invited him in. I accepted him as my Lord and Savior. My life has been changed since that time. I no longer have a desire to do things that are in opposition to my Lord. I recognize when I do something that is not in his will, because the Holy Spirit lives within me and convicts my heart. Whether we have accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior or not, our God in heaven is cheering for us. He loves us all and wants us all to choose right from wrong. He wants us all to be his children. He wants, however, for us to desire to come to him. He will not force us into his kingdom. When we accept Jesus, our lives don’t instantly become easier to live. But, with the love, trust and confidence in all of his promises we should have no fear. He is God. If he is for us who can be against us? When our Lord is by our side it is impossible to be fearful. It is when we start to drift from our Lord and believe the world that fear begins to creep back in. I pray that all on earth accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior. I pray that everyone trust in his Word and all of his promises. When we do, fear runs away! PRAISE THE LORD IN ALL THINGS!

“GOD PAID A HIGH PRICE FOR YOU, SO DON’T BE ENSLAVED BY THE WORLD.” 1 COR. 7:23

Sometimes we need to take a step back from our lives in this world and take an inventory of all of the actions we take everyday. As we do, we need to take a hard look at how much we involve our Lord in our everyday lives. Do we remember him during the day or just at the times that we pray to him? Do we get involved in the worldly things and not even think about God? Do we only go to him when things go wrong and he is our last resort? You and I are of great value to our God in heaven. We are so valuable to him that he sent his one and only son to die a terrible death just so we could live. How many of us would do what God did? We are of such great value to him that he has provide us the tools to live a successful life in a very complex and hateful world. He has made himself available to us 24/7. He has provided to us, not only his mighty word, but strength, wisdom, understanding and peace of mind. Our God in heaven, is true, honorable and right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent and worthy of our praise. We need to take the time each day to make sure we are involving him in our lives. We cannot just sit back and expect him help us without our asking. He is not that kind of God. He is a loving and respectful God who wants to help us but only if we desire his presence in our lives. We should praise him and thank him for being our Lord and Savior. We should always be in tune with him and know his desires and wants for our lives. Remember, we can do all things through him! PRAISE THE LORD IN ALL THINGS!

” FEARING PEOPLE IS A DANGEROUS TRAP, BUT TRUSTING THE LORD MEANS SAFETY.” PROVERBS 29:25

” FEAR OF THE LORD IS THE FOUNDATION OF TRUE KNOWLEDGE.” PROVERBS 1:7

You and I live in an age of great technology. Anyone and everyone can put out information for all to see. Today’s main theme through our mainstream media is the message of fear and lies. We have to be very careful to be able to better understand the truth. There are many lies, and misunderstandings being thrown around in our society today. Fear is one of those areas that seems to be prominent. Fear is the opposite of faith. If we are in fear of the things going on around us, then we are not in faith of our God in heaven. Fear has been spread regarding diseases, guns and anything else that our current government can use to control each and everyone of us. There is only one God who has control. That God is not our government but our Lord God in heaven. We have to put him first and believe in him in order to be able to dodge the many untruths of the world. We as Christians must realize that this is not just a game being played with one side against another, the Republicans vs. the Democrats. This is life and death being played out right before our eyes. Decisions are being made that influence how we live and what we do. It is important that we pray each day that our Lord take control of the happenings in this world and to continue to protect those who trust him. He has never and will never fail on a promise. He has promised to be with us and to help us. We must have a faith that believes and never allows doubt or fear to enter. We must pray, believe and then receive. PRAISE THE LORD IN ALL THINGS!

” IF YOU CONFESS WITH YOUR MOUTH THAT JESUS IS LORD AND BELIEVE WITH YOUR HEART THAT GOD RAISED HIM FROM THE DEAD, YOU WILL BE SAVED.”

OUR PRAYER:

Dear Lord,

“I come to you at this moment and invite you into my heart. I believe that you died on that cross and was raised from the dead for my sins and I accept you as my Lord and Savior. I love you and praise you. Thank you, Lord. In Jesus Name Amen. “

If you prayed this prayer, then you have been accepted into the kingdom of our great Lord and Savior. Your life is just beginning and will become an exceptional experience with Jesus by your side. It does not matter the extent of your sins or how bad you think they are; the Lord has forgiven you. Your sins have been wiped from the slate and you are a new person in the eyes of our God in heaven. The angels in heaven are celebrating today your re-birth in Jesus! If you haven’t already, I would suggest you find a church that truly celebrates the meaning of the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus for support and continued teaching. PRAISE THE LORD IN ALL THINGS!

” DON’T LET EVIL CONQUER YOU, BUT CONQUER EVIL BY DOING GOOD.” ROMANS 12:21

It is not easy following Jesus. It isn’t hard to tell others that I am a follower of Jesus, but it is hard to live the life that is expected of me. Things happen all day long that try to keep me from following him. The devil is in constant attack mode. He tries to make me afraid, make me worry about even the little things, use words of fear and not faith, depend upon the world and not the promises I have received from the Lord, and tries very hard to confuse me in everything. If I don’t continually build upon my faith in Jesus, I have a great opportunity of becoming overwhelmed by everything happening in today’s world. I cannot imagine living in today’s world without having the Holy Spirit by my side. Being overwhelmed and consumed by all of today’s evil in the world is something that a lot of people are overcome by. It is important that I continue to move forward in Christ. I must continue to make a habit of praying to him daily. I must make a habit of talking with him at every opportunity. I must make a habit of involving him in all parts of my life. It is extremely important that I continue to move forward in Jesus so that the evil of the world will not consume me and dominate me. I must ” believe that I receive because my God in heaven is my source.” With Jesus on my side there is nothing I cannot handle. I am responsible for living my life in Jesus so that others may see him and have the chance to also accept him. Jesus is my Lord and my Savior! Glory be to God in Heaven. PRAISE THE LORD IN ALL THINGS!

“FOR THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS NOT JUST A LOT OF TALK; IT IS LIVING BY GOD’S POWER.”

Our Lord God in heaven has not put us upon this earth to be ruled by the world. He has given us power in the name of Jesus. With the tools he has given us we are able to overcome each trial and problem set before us. Living in his power and trusting the tools he has given is not an easy task. We must be well grounded in his word and willing to step out in faith. We must understand that he gives to those who ask. It is important that we ask that he help us and then are willing and able to receive it by faith. It is one thing to quote scriptures and read his word, but it another thing to live our lives by those scriptures. The actions we take in our lives will reap consequences. The Lord never said that we wouldn’t be ridiculed or made fun of. He did not say that because we have accepted him as our Lord and Savior, we would live a life free of problems or harsh words. It is actually quite the opposite. God’s people are attacked every day and all day. We can, however, withstand all of those attacks because we have help. We have the Lord beside us. He has told us that he will go before us, and he has. We need to ask, trust, receive and then talk about his great and wonderful presence. We should never waiver or back away from his promises. We should instead stay strong in him and live our life in his power. PRAISE THE LORD IN ALL THINGS!

“ HE SAID TO THEM, ‘ THE SCRIPTURES DECLARE, MY TEMPLE WILL BE A HOUSE OF PRAYER, BUT YOU HAVE TURNED IT INTO A DEN OF THIEVES.’ ” LUKE 19:46

” DON’T YOU REALIZE THAT ALL OF YOU TOGETHER ARE THE TEMPLE OF GOD AND THAT THE SPIRIT OF GOD LIVES IN YOU? GOD WILL DESTROY ANYONE WHO DESTROYS THIS TEMPLE. FOR GOD’S TEMPLE IS HOLY, AND YOU ARE THAT TEMPLE.” 1 COR. 3: 16-17

You and I are the temple of God. He sent to us his Holy Spirit and he lives within each and everyone of us as Christians. How are we maintaining his temple? Are we respecting it as he instructed? Are we keeping it clean and free from evil and immoral ways. Are we living our lives as he instructs us to through his Holy Word? Our Lord is very serious about his temple. We as caretakers must do our best to follow his ways and keep it in order. It is important that we do nothing to hinder his work or his temple. As followers of Jesus we should be growing in our faith. We should take the Holy Spirit seriously and listen carefully to his instructions for our actions. The Holy Spirit does not use a microphone to announce his instructions for our life. He uses a very soft voice. This voice may appear as a gut feeling or we may hear it very plainly, but we must pay attention and take him seriously. We live in his temple. We need to clean it every day. We need to fill it with objects from reading his word and praying to him. We need to keep evil thoughts out and the temple clean. The devil will always be trying to break down the door to get in. If we fall God’s forgiveness is always there for us. But with prayer and meditation in God’s word we will be able to continue to sweep clean the temple of our living God. When others look at you how do you look to them? Are you showing them the temple of God or the temple of sin? We must be careful and do as the Holy Spirit instructs. Keep his temple clean. PRAISE THE LORD IN ALL THINGS!

” THIS IS THE DAY THE LORD HAS MADE. WE WILL BE REJOICE AND BE GLAD IN IT.” PSALM 118:24

Father God in Heaven,

We come unto you this morning with much praise and thanksgiving. We praise you for your understanding in our lives and continue to give you glory for who you are. We love you Lord God and ask that you continue to be present in our lives. We ask that you help us by guiding us in the right direction each and every day. We thank you for your healing power in our lives and for our salvation and forgiveness of sins. You, Father God, are responsible for our very existence. We ask that you help us each day to represent you well. We pray that every word we speak, every thought that we have and every action that we take is representative of you. Please catch us when we fall and straighten our path. Help us to keep our focus on our only hope, Jesus Christ.

In the name of Jesus Christ our Lord and God,

AMEN.

” IF YOU HAD EVEN THE FAITH AS SMALL AS A MUSTARD SEED, YOU COULD SAY TO THIS MULBERRY TREE, ‘MAY YOU BE UPROOTED AND THROWN INTO THE SEA’, AND IT WOULD OBEY YOU.” LUKE 17:6

” TRUST HIM AND HE WILL HELP YOU.” PSALM 37:5

Faith is larger than we can even imagine. It is the tool by which we can defeat the devil and his evil ways. Even the smallest amount of faith is way too much for the devil. Faith is so valuable that the devil tries to steal it from us at every turn. He is always in our ear or putting things in our way that create fear and doubt. It is important to understand that faith and fear and doubt cannot co-exist. We will either have one or the other in our life. One is easy to allow in our lives and the other is hard. Faith is not easy. With faith we are trusting God to act on something that he promises but that we have not seen. We have to work hard to help it to work in our lives. We have to re-train our bodies and minds to accept it and act upon it. We must be able to overcome doubt and fear constantly. Doubt and fear are a part of the world we live in. People control people because of it. Our God in heaven has given each of us a measure of faith. We cannot allow it to be taken from us. We must confess it each day and act upon our confession. We must become a doer of his word and not a hearer only. We must build upon the measure of faith that has been given to us. What are your actions representing? Are you acting on fear and doubt or are you acting on your confession of faith? If we trust our God in heaven, he will help us! PRAISE THE LORD IN ALL THINGS!

” THE LORD PROTECTS THOSE OF CHILDLIKE FAITH.” PSALM 37:5

” LET THE CHILDREN COME TO ME. DON’T STOP THEM. FOR THE KINGDOM OF GOD BELONGS TO THOSE WHO ARE LIKE THESE CHILDREN. I TELL YOU THE TRUTH, ANYONE WHO DOESN’T RECEIVE THE KINGDOM OF GOD LIKE A CHILD NEVER ENTERS IT.” LUKE 18: 16-17

It took me a long time to understand what the Lord was really telling me here, but it really is very simple. As adults we have a tendency to clog our thoughts up with things of this world. We learn to believe by seeing proof. If we can’t feel it or see it for ourselves then we will many times not believe. Faith in our Lord is just the opposite. A child believes because they keep things simple. They hear what mom and dad say they believe and learn from their words. They haven’t had the time to get out into the world and receive any of its influences. I continue to allow my education to mess up my faith. All the Lord is asking me to do is to believe and trust in him. The problem is that I have to take a step back into my childhood and believe just as I did then. That is not an easy process to accomplish. However, as I continue to study God’s word and continue to visit with him in prayer, he helps me to strengthen my faith. He forgives me when I stumble and picks me up when we fall. The words that he brings forth in the bible are his true and faithful words and the more I hear them the more they become real in my life. I have to take the first steps in order to activate my faith life. When I step out into faith and trust God, he then answers me and gives me confidence that I can continue to build upon. You and I must believe that we receive because God is our source and not the world. We must unclog our minds and believe as a child. We must trust and be faithful to our Lord God in heaven! PRAISE THE LORD IN ALL THINGS!

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

Each day that we are able to get out of bed we have been blessed by the Lord. We are able to see the sun come up in the east and go down in the west. We are able to see all of the beautiful flowers around us and smell the fresh air that God has created. However, we are not lacking in struggles each day. Scripture tells us that the person who lives for the Lord Jesus will have many troubles. There will be many struggles whether they are mental, physical, financial or spiritual in nature they will find us. But the Lord has sent us the powerful and loving Holy Spirit. He is beside us in all situations and moving us in the right direction. He is giving us the words to say and the actions to take. However, we must listen and be a doer of his word. We must pay close attention and not be afraid to step out in faith. We must not look to those around us or listen to what they are telling us, but we must stay completely focused on the Lord our God in heaven. When we do, he will provide the answers. Often times, we miss his answers because we are so involved in our daily lives. We have taken our eyes off of Jesus and put them somewhere else. We must re-focus and listen carefully. Our Lord loves us and wants to help. We have to be sure that we allow him to help. PRAISE THE LORD IN ALL THINGS!

” I PRAY THAT GOD THE SOURCE OF HOPE, WILL FILL YOU COMPLETELY WITH JOY AND PEACE, BECAUSE YOU TRUST IN HIM. THEN YOU WILL OVERFLOW WITH CONFIDENT HOPE THROUGH THE POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.” ROMANS 15:13

Let’s all take just a moment and reflect upon our lives in the world today. The world is in utter chaos. There are things happening that we cannot explain. Gas prices are going through the roof. Prices of everything we want and need are inflated. America is no longer looked upon as a strength on the world’s stage. There are shootings and killings going on all around us everyday. I could go on and on. Where is our hope today? Are we hoping that our elected leaders will suddenly come to their senses and make wiser decisions? Are we hoping that our Whitehouse will suddenly become a strength again and begin to make decisions that will help our land to get back on track? If this is where our hope is then we have a long and dreadful wait. Romans 15:13 tells us that our source of hope is in our God in heaven. Our Lord is our only way out. When we begin to put our complete hope in him and faithfully trust him then our hearts and minds will begin to be filled with joy and peace. As we trust our Lord our confidence will begin to grow each day. The power of the Holy Spirit will move in us and show us the way, give us the strength and the wisdom we need to live the lives he has planned for us. We need to put God first in our lives and not the things of the world. The world will fail us but our Lord God in heaven never fails. PRAISE THE LORD IN ALL THINGS!

” THE MESSAGE IS VERY CLOSE AT HAND; IT IS ON YOUR LIPS AND IN YOUR HEART.” ROMANS 10:8

The message of our Lord Jesus is with us in every situation we face. Romans 10:8 tells us that it is on our lips and in our hearts. Each day as we continue to meditate upon the Lord’s word his roots continue to grow deeper and deeper into our lives. Each day as we grow, he becomes more and more of an influence. As he becomes more a part of our lives, we begin, to not only live a life that reflects his characteristics, but our words also become more Christ like. We begin to reflect his message in our lives and in our speech. Others observe us closely. They watch how we respond to difficult situations and how we speak our words. We are always on display. His promises are there for the taking. In order to receive them we must know them, and we must believe and take action upon them. when we do our lives become much more powerful. PRAISE THE LORD IN ALL THINGS!

” FOR EVERYTHING COMES FROM HIM AND EXISTS BY HIS POWER AND IS INTENDED FOR HIS GLORY. ALL GLORY TO HIM FOREVER! AMEN. ” ROMANS 11:36

I have thought many times how things would be better in my life if things had gone in a different way. If things had just gone the way I had wanted them to, then things would have turned out much better. Have you ever had thoughts like that? As I read Romans 11:36 I see that my God has a master plan. If I believe in his plan and I listen carefully to him things always turn out for the best. It is when I don’t pay attention to what he is telling me that I get into situations that are uncomfortable. I think back to a time when I was teaching school. One evening I received a phone call from the President of the local bank. He told me that they had a cashier’s position opening up and wanted me to consider applying for the position. Wow. I didn’t know what to think. I didn’t know the President of the bank and I was terrible in math. Me working in a bank? That didn’t even sound reasonable. I prayed and prayed. Finally I decided that I would give it a try and see what happened. I could always go back to teaching. Teaching was something that I liked very much. I missed it and continue to miss the rewards from being able to teach the children. However, the Lord had other ideas for my life. After 38+ years I retired from a successful banking career. I had met people who I would never had met had I stayed in teaching. I had personal growth experiences that I would never have had if I had stayed in teaching. Oh, there were many times I thought about going back into education but something always blocked my way. The bottom line is that our God has control of our lives. If we just listen and do as he tells us things will always work out. If we do things our way then things will usually become entangled with confusion, unhappiness, doubt and fear. Always keep your thoughts on Jesus. PRAISE THE LORD IN ALL THINGS!

” REJOICE IN OUR CONFIDENT HOPE. BE PATIENT IN TROUBLE AND KEEP PRAYING.” ROMANS 12:12

Trouble always seems to find us. It doesn’t matter where we are or what we are doing, evil seems to be right around the corner. The devil seems to be right behind us at every turn. We, however, have the power to not only confuse him but also to defeat him. We have a hope in Jesus. We should be rejoicing in this hope everyday. Romans tell us that we should have a confident hope. There should be absolutely no doubt about it. When bad times come we should be trained to go to our Lord in prayer before anything else. We should take the time to go to him in prayer and ask for his divine help. There is no better place to be in times of need than in prayer. We must then believe that we have received even if we may not see the results immediately. Our Lord has promised to be with us in every situation. He has promised to go before us and pave the way. We must remember that HE never fails us. He has never failed on a promise and he never will. That is the confident hope that we need. We may not always get the result that we think we should get but the Lord has the overall picture and the correct answers. 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

Just as our cars and trucks run on fuel to keep them going, so too, do our bodies run on fuel. It is necessary that we eat the right foods to make our bodies healthy, therefore, we able to keep moving properly each day. Without properly feeding our bodies we would not be able to focus well each day. So, we have to make sure we are feeding our body good fuel and not bad fuel each morning. It is important for us to remember that we were created a spiritual being. It is through our spirit being that we communicate and do as our Lord tells us. In order for our spirits to be alert we must also feed it on a daily basis. It needs spiritual food only received by reading and meditating on the word of God. It needs to be built up by praying and talking to the Lord each day. Without our daily intake of his word and our close relationship of communication with the Lord, our spirits will starve. It is easy to forget that our spirits need strength just like our physical bodies. We must train ourselves up to keep our spirits strong in the Lord. We must remember that we live by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. PRAISE THE LORD IN ALL THINGS!

” AND YOU MUST COMMIT YOURSELVES WHOLEHEARTEDLY TO THE COMMANDS THAT I AM GIVING YOU TODAY. REPEAT THEM AGAIN AND AGAIN TO YOUR CHILDREN. TALK ABOUT THEM WHEN YOU ARE AT HOME AND WHEN YOU ARE ON THE ROAD, WHEN YOU ARE GOING TO BED AND WHEN YOU ARE GETTING UP. TIE THEM TO YOUR HANDS AND WEAR THEM ON YOUR FOREHEAD AS REMEINDERS. WRITE THEM ON THE DOORPOSTS OF YOUR HOUSE AND ON YOUR GATES.” DEUTERONOMY 6: 4-8

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

The Lord our God is as close as we allow him to be. We are living in some very trying times. We need to get and stay as close to our Lord as we can. We need to wrap ourselves with his blanket of comfort. We need to wrap ourselves with his promises and always be reminded that he is by our side in every circumstance. It is easy to get involved in the wickedness of this world. We are surrounded all day long with what the world believes and how the world works. Because we live in this world, we must strengthen our faith in God. We must remind ourselves of his commandments for our lives and we must remind ourselves of his mighty promises. We must stay in constant communication with our Lord. We must involve him in everything we do. We must talk with him and listen to him. He must be the first and the last person we talk and listen to each day. He is our source and not the world. As this world becomes more and more frightening, we have the comfort of our Lord at our fingertips. He is beside us, in us, and with us everywhere we go. We must believe and receive from him and be doers and not just hearers. PRAISE THE LORD IN ALL THINGS!

” EVERY WORD OF GOD PROVES TRUE. HE IS A SHIELD TO ALL WHO COME TO HIM FOR PROTECTION.” PROVERBS 30:5

Our Lord God in heaven is truth! His holy word provides us with his truth each day as we read it and meditate upon it. It is very hard for me to sometimes believe the truths of God. When I am going through rocky times it is hard for me to understand that the Lord is by my side and that he is protecting me all along the way. But God’s word is true, honorable and right. If I read his word for what it is, the truthful word of my living God in heaven, then I can do nothing but believe what he says. My faith allows me to be strong in him. I have learned that I must take my time and absorb all of the wisdom and understanding the Lord has given me. With his strength I can do all things. I can climb the highest mountains. I can crawl out of the deepest caverns of my life. I can rise above all of the sadness, doubts, worries and fears that try to overcome me. I have had to train myself up in his word to a point where he is the first person I go to in times of trouble. I have to believe that he is the only one who can get me through all of my troubles in this world. This training is an ongoing practice that never ends. It takes strength and courage to be able to do this. Much prayer and praise are required. But if we come to him, he is our shield and our protector. He will lift us up and make us stronger. He is our one and only Lord! PRAISE THE LORD IN ALL THINGS!

” HIS FAITHFUL PROMISES ARE YOUR ARMOR AND PROTECTION.” PSALM 91:4

Violence in our great nation has become a norm rather than an exception. The children in our schools as well as those of us who merely walk down the aisles of Walmart are open to the relentless evil that lurks at every turn. It is an absolute terrible day when a child cannot go to school and be safe in doing so. I was an elementary school teacher for 5 years and yesterday’s massacre of 18 people in an elementary school in Texas hits me close to home. Our children are carefree with the faith in us as adults to protect them. This country made a decision many years ago to take God out of our schools. When we did that, we left our children open for things to happen just as it happened yesterday. I hear all of the talking heads on the news talking about gun control and armed guards at our schools, but I hear nothing about what has happened to our society since we as a country have withdrawn from our God in heaven. There is a greater push today, than ever before, for us to walk away from our God. Psalm 91:4 makes it very clear that it is the promises of God that are our armor and protection. We must believe in him. We must begin to put him back into our lives, our schools, our business, our government and even our churches. It is time to begin to realize what the real problem is. We, as a country, have turned our backs on God. We follow our own hearts and do what we think is right. We have turned away from the Christian principles by which this country was founded. We have decided to be like the rest of the world and allow our government to run our lives. You and I need to bow down before our God on this day and ask his forgiveness. We need to truly pray for our country, our schools, our children and our leaders. We have no choice. The Lord is the only way out of this mess we have created. We still live in a time of Grace. We need to take advantage of that and ask our God in heaven for mercy upon this great country before we lose it forever. PRAISE THE LORD IN ALL THINGS.

” AND WE KNOW THAT GOD CAUSES EVERYTHING TO WORK TOGETHER FOR THE GOOD OF THOSE WHO LOVE GOD AND ARE CALLED ACCORDING TO HIS PURPOSE FOR THEM.” ROMANS 8:25

As a human being living in this world, I have had my share of problems in life, just as everyone has. However, I have learned throughout the years that I have had to surround myself with God’s word and promises. Through some pretty harsh circumstances, I have learned that my Lord God in heaven has always been there for me. I have learned that God has a plan for my life and that he is doing everything he can to be sure it is fulfilled. Because of some of my actions and disobedience at times, it has taken me longer to reach the goals the Lord has set for me. As long as I live on this earth I will continue to strive to listen and do as the Holy Spirit tells me. That is not easy. I am continually surrounded with the ways of this world. I am continually bombarded with lies and other falsehoods put forth by this world. But because I have a strong faith in what God tells me through his scriptures, I been blessed to always end up where the Lord wants me. Through all of my mistakes God has caused everything to work together for my good because I love him. We all make mistakes and always will while living in the world. God knows this and is always there to pick us up and put us back on the path he has set for each of us. We must always be faithful and believe that our Lord God never fails! He is always faithful no matter what the circumstances are. PRAISE THE LORD IN ALL THINGS!

” SEEK THE KINGDOM OF GOD ABOVE ALL ELSE AND HE WILL GIVE YOU THE DESIRES OF YOUR HEART.” LUKE 12:31

When I stay focused on God’s word, I find that my life seems to flow in the right direction. As I walk through my day, I know that I must stay focused on my Lord at all times. Even when I come to a road block my focus on the Lord allows me to think of him first which allows me to ask Jesus to help me with my problem. When I do this, he is always there to help me. However, if for one moment I take my focus from him and put it on the problem the problem becomes larger and often times unbearable. I have learned that I must continue to train myself up in the Lord. I must always involve Jesus in my problems. Struggles are a part of life. We will have disappointments and failures that try to take us down. But if we allow Jesus to help us through, there is nothing we can’t do. It is only when we take our eyes off of him that we fail. We must continue to build up our faith each and every day. PRAISE THE LORD IN ALL THINGS!

” LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD, WALK IN HIS WAYS, OBEY HIS COMMANDS, HOLD FIRMLY TO HIM, AND SERVE HIM WITH ALL YOUR HEART AND ALL YOUR SOUL.” JOSHUA 22:5

As I continue to live in God I continue to learn. I’ve learned that what I think I know I really don’t know. I know that from Joshua I have to walk in the Lord’s ways, hold firmly to him and I must serve him with all of my heart and soul. Before I can do any of these commands, I must know what his commands are for my life. As I pray and meditate upon his word every day, it seems the Lord reveals a new revelation in my life. The problem that I have is that I don’t always listen and do as he instructs me to do. As I live my life in this world I seemingly live it by becoming a part of the world. I do worldly things and I continue to think in worldly ways. In order for me to overcome the world and it’s ways I have to be able to live in the spirit. My God is a spirit and he created me a spirit. I am a spirit living in a world of reality. The Lord has shown me that reality in my life is not what I see and hear from others, but instead, it is what my God tells me and shows me through his Spirit. I must retrain myself to live in God, to live in the spirit realm. It is important that I am able to shut out the world and it’s ways when I am meditating upon his word. It is important that I look at things through God’s eyes and not my own. When I am able to do this I am able to better understand his commands, his ways and to hold firmly to him. I am better prepared to serve him with all of my heart and soul. I must stay focused on the Lord and keep him near my heart everyday. I must be able to hear and believe him and not the world. He is my God and I serve only Him! PRAISE THE LORD IN ALL THINGS!

” HE CALMED THE STORM TO A WHISPER AND STILLED THE WAVES.” PSALM 107:29

It doesn’t seem possible to walk through a complete day without some kind of problem rising up to defeat me. I rise each morning thanking my Lord God in heaven for another day on this earth. I thank him and praise him for the many gifts he gives me each day. He supplies me all of my needs physically, mentally, financially, emotionally and spiritually. He is with me throughout all of the day and gives me the strength to take each step. Whenever a storm cloud rises over head, he is there to help me. Whenever the problems of life begin to overcome me, he is there to calm them. It doesn’t make a difference whether my problems are large or small he is always there to comfort me. He is always there to take me by the hand and lead me through the fire. He is always there for me to talk to. His mighty presence is always right beside me. All I have to do is ask and he answers. He is my comfort, my peace and my guiding light. Without him I am nothing but with him I am everything! PRAISE THE LORD IN ALL THINGS!

“AND YET, O LORD, YOU ARE OUR FATHER. WE ARE THE CLAY, AND YOU ARE THE POTTER. WE ARE ALL FORMED BY YOUR HAND.” ISAIAH 64:8

Each of us was individually formed by the hand of God. We each have our own characteristics, our own beauty and our own distinguished look. When the Lord created us, he sent us into this world. Because of the sin of Adam, we all entered this world as sinners. It doesn’t matter what we looked like we are all sinners. Because of Adam we are sinners, but because of Jesus we can become redeemed. God is not finished molding us into what he wants us to become. Accepting Jesus into our lives is just the beginning of our journey. The Lord wants us all to become strong in him. It is actually very necessary that we become strong in Him. The devil fights extremely hard to keep us as sinners within his grasp. He doesn’t want our faith to grow or want us to trust in our loving God in heaven. He wants us to fail and become parts of his army of evil, doubt, fear, anger and unbelief. Our Lord wants the opposite. We must, however, decide on our own where we stand. The Lord gives us a free will to choose right from wrong. He wants only those who are dedicated to him. He wants us to trust him in all areas of our lives. He wants to keep molding us into who he needs us to be. When we fall, he wants us to come to him for protection, encouragement and love. He wants us to spread that message to all of those around us. Yes, we are all sinners but through our potter’s great hand we will become what He wants us to be! PRAISE THE LORD IN ALL THINGS!

” HE WAS HANDED OVER TO DIE BECAUSE OF OUR SINS, AND HE WAS RAISED TO LIFE TO MAKE US RIGHT WITH GOD.” ROMANS 4:25

I often set and ponder why my Lord Jesus would go to the cross and die such a terrible death. Each time I begin to think of this the Lord reminds me that he loves me unconditionally. I can sin but if I am truly sorry and repent of my sins then he is there to forgive me. I am human and was born with a sinful nature. I cannot overcome that nature without the help of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I must stay focused on him each and everyday. I must remember that he died, went to hell and was raised to life on my behalf. I must remember that I am human and will continue to make mistakes but Jesus is always there to pick me up. If I am truly sorry for my sin then he is there to forgive it. I cannot do anything without him. When he rose on that third day he made you and me right with God. He fulfilled all of the requirements necessary for us to get to heaven. We must, however, continue to believe and trust in our Lord. We cannot try to do things on our own or we will fail miserably. Jesus loves us and we must continue to believe that, no matter the circumstances. PRAISE THE LORD IN ALL THINGS!

” ABRAHAM NEVER WAVERED IN BELIEVING GOD’S PROMISE. IN FACT, HIS FAITH GREW STRONGER, AND IN THIS HE BROUGHT GLORY TO GOD. HE WAS FULLY CONVINCED THAT GOD IS ABLE TO DO WHATEVER HE PROMISES.” ROMANS 4: 20-21

” AND BECAUSE OF ABRAHAM’S FAITH, GOD COUNTED HIM AS RIGHTEOUS.” ROMANS 4:22

It is very easy for me to say that I believe in all of God’s promises. It is easy until the time that I need to see the results of his promises, but they have yet to be revealed in my life. As I search through God’s Word, I have found that many of those who believed whole heartedly in the promises of God never lived to see the results of his promises. They never lived to see the results of their faith in God. Whether I live to see the results of his promises in my life really doesn’t matter. If the Lord is ready to take me home before I see the results of my faith, then I am happy. I have found that my faith in what God says and does in my life is so important because of his righteousness. There are many times that I stumble along the way, but he restores me, and puts be back on track. When this happens, I only become stronger in my faith because of his faith in me. Anyone who knows me well knows that I love baseball. I heard a young player tell a reporter the other night that he is doing one of two things in the game he loves and plays everyday. He and his team are either winning or they are learning. As I step back and look at the game of life I can truly say that I am either winning each day with Jesus by my side or I am continuing to learn by making mistakes with the Lord by my side correcting me. Building faith is a matter of learning each day through the lessons of life. However, we must learn through the mistakes we make and continue to build our faith. PRAISE THE LORD IN ALL THINGS!

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

” TAKE REST ALL YOU WHO PRAY TO THE LORD. ” ISAIAH 62:6

I know that in my life I have troubles and struggles each day. Some are mental and others are physical. Some are caused by the enemy who is fighting me because of my belief in Jesus, some is caused by self-inflicted wounds and others are caused by the things going on around me. I really believe that since becoming a Christian I have endured more issues than I did when I was living a life of sin. This is understandable since the devil doesn’t want me following Jesus. Some may ask then why try so hard to follow Jesus if it only causes you problems? My answer is twofold. First, he is the way and the only way to salvation, to everlasting life and a peace of mind. He loves me and the more I meditate upon his word the more I understand that. The second reason is that the Lord has prepared me for this moment in time. He has given me all of the tools I need in order to be successful. He has provided me with the Holy Spirit who lives in me, he has provided me with a praying attitude, and he has provided many promises in his word that explain to me that he is always in control. He has a master plan, and I am a part of it. No matter the size of my role in his plan it is huge in the eyes of the Lord. He loves me and will never allow me to fail. I must, however, be totally committed to him in all areas of my life. This has not always been easy and continues to be a struggle at times, but He assures me that I will never fail with him in charge. Each and every one of us have the same Jesus in our lives. We have the same promises and the same tools. I pray that each and every one will continue to pray and believe no matter the struggles and problems you are having. With complete faith and trust in our Lord Jesus Christ we cannot and will not fail. We will always be successful. PRAISE THE LORD IN ALL THINGS!

” AND SO, I TELL YOU KEEP ON ASKING, AND YOU WILL RECEIVE WHAT YOU ASK FOR. KEEP ON SEEKING AND YOU WILL FIND. KEEP ON KNOCKING AND THE DOOR WILL BE OPENED TO YOU. FOR EVERYONE WHO ASKS, RECEIVES. EVERYONE WHO SEEKS, FINDS. AND TO EVERYONE WHO KNOCKS, THE DOOR WILL BE OPENED.” LUKE 11:9-10

I have found that being persistent in my prayer life is vital to communicating with my Lord God. Not only do I need to present my prayer request to him, but I also need to continue to thank him for the answer he has so graciously given. With faith I believe that he has answered my prayer and that it has been executed in my life. I may not see the result right away, but I have the trust in my Lord Jesus that it is answered, and the results are on the way. I must remember the promise that my Lord God has given to me. Whatever I ask for I receive and whatever I seek I will find. I must be persistent in my prayer request and persistent in my praise and thanks to him who gives to me so generously. Jesus never fails! It is not a sin to remind him of his promises. My Lord God in heaven wants me to know his word and all of the promises for my life. If I know his promises and pray his promises, then I must believe that I will receive his promises. PRAISE THE LORD IN ALL THINGS!