Michael J Burchett Ministries

” LOOK, I HAVE GIVEN YOU AUTHORITY OVER ALL THE POWER OF THE ENEMY. ” LUKE 10:19

When our God in heaven sacrificed his one and only son Jesus Christ, he provided to each of us the opportunity to not only receive his salvation for our lives, his healing in our lives, and his forgiveness for our sins, but also to receive power in our lives here on this earth. The power in the blood of Jesus in beyond comprehension. With the name of Jesus, we have the power to defeat the devil and all of his army. We have the power given to us to defeat all of our problems, our doubts and fears. We have been given the power to defeat fear, anger and rage. Our God in heaven has given us all of the tools necessary to live a successful and joyful life right here on this earth. We must, however, trust him with all of our strength, mind and soul. We cannot, even for an instant, allow the enemy to control our thoughts and actions. It is important to live in the shelter of our Lord. It is important to be faithful in our actions on his behalf. We should stay focused on him and not on the things around us. We should listen to him and not to those around us. We should be able to talk with him 24/7 without hesitation. We must walk with the confidence of God and not the arrogance of this world. Our faith in Jesus must be solid and non-wavering. We must believe that we receive because God is our Source. If we have the faith to do these things, we will then be able to stand against the evil that comes against us and live a wholesome life for Christ until his return! PRAISE THE LORD IN ALL THINGS!

” SO, BE STRONG AND COURAGEOUS! DO NOT BE AFRAID AND DO NOT PANIC BEFORE THEM. FOR THE LORD YOUR GOD WILL PERSONALLY GO AHEAD OF YOU. HE WILL NEITHER FAIL YOU NOR ABANDON YOU.” DEUTERONOMY 31:6

When I grew up, I was always trying to be someone I wasn’t. I would intently watch others and do what they did. I carried this trait into the early stages of my adult life, and I will tell you from experience, that I was miserable. The Lord has made it very clear to me on many occasions, that he has uniquely made each of us for a purpose in our lives. When I was trying to alter my personality or change the way I said or performed in front of others, I was outside of his will and the way he wanted me to be. He had given me a certain personality because he had duties for me to perform that needed my personality. I was never and I still am not the most outgoing person you will ever meet, but the Lord has shown me that he is always with me, always by my side. If the Lord puts me in a situation where I feel uncomfortable, his is faithful to remind me of his presence in my life. He always goes ahead of me. He prepares the way. I don’t have to change the way he made me in order to perform my work for him. All I have to do is love him, believe in him and trust him to go before me. I am reminded all of the time that I can do all things with him but without him I can do nothing. PRASIE THE LORD IN ALL THINGS!

“WHO CAN LIST THE GLORIOUS MIRACLES OF THE LORD? WHO CAN EVER PRAISE HIM ENOUGH?” PSALM 106:2

The mighty miracles of God are all around me. As I continue to read and meditate upon God’s Word each day, I become so blessed by his presence in my life. As I begin to meditate and read his Word, I am always reminded of miracles happening around me. The sun rises each morning, and the moon is seen each evening. Every breath I take each day is a miracle of God. Every snowflake in the winter that falls and every flower in the summer that grows, is a miracle of God. Every step I am able to take each day, every word I am able to speak, every color I see and every thought that I have are miracles of our God in heaven. Without my mighty God in heaven, I would not exist and would not be able to enjoy the great family and friends he has surrounded me with. I am reminded every morning that I should praise him for all of the simplest of things in my life. Things that I take for granted should not be. They should be recognized as wonders of our mighty God. Our faith, our salvation, our healings, the forgiveness of our sins and his love for us should all be recognized as miracles of God. We should never lack in our praise for him and to him. Without him we are nothing. Without him we can do nothing. WE SHOULD PRAISE THE LORD IN AND THROUGH ALL THINGS IN OUR LIVES. HE LOVES EACH AND EVERYONE OF US AND WE WHOULD LOVE HIM BACK!

” THIS GOOD NEWS TELLS US HOW GOD MAKES US RIGHT IN HIS SIGHT. THIS IS ACCOMPLISHED FROM START TO FINISH BY FAITH. AS THE SCRIPTURES SAY, ‘ IT IS THROUGH FAITH THAT A RIGHTEOUS PERSON HAS LIFE.’ ” ROMANS 1:17

Faith in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is where it all starts. Without complete faith in him, in his actions and in his promises, I have no future and no hope. I have found that the stronger my faith is in his purpose the more trust I have gained in what my Lord God can do in my life. When I awake each day, I thank the Lord for what he has accomplished in my life. I acknowledge him first and foremost to begin my day. It is like having a good breakfast to get my body ready for the day. It needs nourishment and refueling every morning. My Spirit is no different. It needs nourishment and refueling each day. My Spirit needs to be refreshed with God’s Word. It needs to be surrounded with the promises from and praises for my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The first thing I need to do is talk with him each morning by praising him and praying to him. I meditate upon his word and listen carefully to his Holy Spirit for instructions for my day. In my life he has to be first in every aspect of what I do. He helps me to keep the faith that I have and to build more faith as I go out into the world each day. Every moment in my life is capable of bringing surprises. Some are good and some are not so good. However, by beginning my day at the Lord’s breakfast table prepares me for whatever those surprises are. PRAISE THE LORD IN ALL THINGS!

” IF ANY OF YOU WANTS TO BE MY FOLLOWER, YOU MUST TURN FROM YOUR SELFISH WAYS, TAKE UP YOUR CROSS DAILY AND FOLLOW ME.” LUKE 9:23

Everyday that I am able to open my eyes and observe this beautiful creation called earth I know that my day will probably not be perfect. As a follower of Christ I will have difficulties in my life. I was not promised, that once I became a follower of Jesus, my life would become perfect and without challenges. In fact it is quite the opposite. I must always remember that my faith needs to be constantly reinforced and my trust in my Father should be made of great strength and knowledge received from him. Just as Jesus had a cross to carry for me on the day he died, I also have a cross to carry each day. I have problems and mountains to climb. I have valleys that I need desperately to climb out of. I cannot do all of this on my own. My faith in Jesus and my trust in his promises are my foundation for a sweeter life on this earth. I must always remember that with the Lord by my side that there is nothing that can overcome me but that I am the overcomer. With every breath that I take I must remember to praise him each day for the answers to my prayers and for his help in carrying my cross. I must surround myself with his holy word and magnificent promise in my life. And, I must continue to pray to him for all things. He is my life and my soul and my every breath I take! PRAISE THE LORD IN ALL THINGS!

” AND YOU MUST LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL OF YOUR HEART, SOUL AND STRENGTH.” DEUTERONOMY 6:5

As I come before my Lord each day, I have learned that it is most beneficial that I come with praise and thanksgiving. My Lord loves my praises, and he wants to hear my gratitude for his presence in my life. Praise is such a vital part of my prayer time because it allows me to get close to God. As I praise him, I can just relax knowing that I am in his presence. Tears of joy may flow or just the loving comfort of his harms wrapped around me may help me to be reassured that he is with me and always will be. He loves me with all of his might, and I should love him with all of my heart, soul and strength. My prayer time is more than taking my problems to him, although that is a part, but it is showing my love and gratitude to him. It is showing that I trust him and have faith that he will guide me through trials, temptations, over mountains and through deep valleys. He is my Lord and I love him with all of my heart, soul and strength! PRAISE THE LORD IN ALL THINGS!

” LET THEM TURN TO THE LORD THAT HE MAY HAVE MERCY ON THEM. YES, TURN TO OUR GOD, FOR HE WILL FORGIVE GENEROUSLY.” ISAIAH 55:7

It doesn’t matter how unfaithful we become or how far away we run from the Lord our God he is forever faithful. If we just turn around and run back to him for forgiveness of our sins, we will be forgiven. We can never run too far or run too fast to get away from God. He is always there waiting for us to turn our attention to him. He understands that we will eventually get tired and realize that there is no other way through our problems. His forgiveness is there for us when we finally come to our senses. He is all powerful and has all of the answers. Yes, we can be stubborn and run in the opposite direction from our God for a long time. But it doesn’t make any difference. When we turn and bow down to him, asking him to save us and forgive us he is faithful. Isaiah 55:7 tells us that he forgives generously. We have a wonderful, caring and loving God. He understands us better than we understand ourselves. He loves us more than we love ourselves. PRAISE THE LORD IN AND THROUGH ALL THINGS!

” THE LORD IS COMPASSIONATE AND MERCIFUL, SLOW TO GET ANGRY AND FILLED WITH UNFAILING LOVE.” PSALM 103:8

I thank the Lord everyday for his love and compassion in my life. I can truly testify that I am a prime example of those who love the Lord but often times strays from his word. I find myself saying things and thinking in ways that are far from the truths of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is very easy to become negative in our thoughts, words and deeds. He reminds me that he is my Lord and that I should always stay focused in his loving and compassionate word. It is not easy. However, fortunately he has a love and a compassion for me and my life, that I as a human, will never understand. I must totally trust in him to pick me up each time I fall. I have no strength without him. I am nothing without him. However, I am everything with him. Jesus is my Lord and my Savior. No matter how far I fall he is always there to pick up the pieces and put me back together. PRAISE THE LORD IN ALL THINGS!

” THE LORD DIRECTS THE STEPS OF THE GODLY. HE DELIGHTS IN EVERY DETAIL OF THEIR LIVES. THOUGH THEY SHOULD STUMBLE THEY WILL NEVER FALL, FOR THE LORD HOLDS THEM BY THE HAND.” PSALM 37:23-24

As we continue to build our faith, we continue to trust our Lord more faithfully in all areas of our life. We can walk freely through each day with the confidence that the Lord is with us in every step that we take. If we should hit a bump along the way, the Lord will stop us from falling. Our Lord has our interest at heart. If we trust him, he will not allow us to fall but instead will stop us before we fall flat on our face. He loves us and will help us in every little detail of our Life. No matter the size, large or small, he is there. You and I must do our part by staying completely focused on him and nothing else. We should not try to do things on our own or try to figure out why this or that happened, but instead, turn every detail over to him. He will direct our every step if we just allow him to. PRAISE THE LORD IN ALL THINGS!

” THE LORD TAKES PLEASURE IN ALL THINGS HE HAS MADE.” PSALM 104:31

Our Lord God in heaven created the heavens and the earth for a distinct reason. He created you and me for fellowship with him. He loves us and wants us to succeed in everything we do. He is our Father and wants to be involved in all things that we do in life. He wants to talk with us and talk to us. He is a caring, loving and an exceptionally giving God. However, he does not and never will force you and me to do anything against our will. He has given us a free will and we have the option to accept him or deny him. He loves us and cares for us very much, but he only wants those who truly love him and truly want to be with him. Our Lord created us for his pleasure. He wants not only to be involved in our lives, but he also wants the praise that he so richly deserves. He wants to be glorified and given credit for his grace and gifts in our lives. We should not be doing good in this world in order to reach heaven, but instead, we should be doing good as a result of accepting Jesus as our Lord and Savior, and therefore, leading a life that truly represents him. Let us praise our Lord God and give him the glory he so richly deserves. We shouldn’t be fearful of him but instead trust him in our lives and be a pleasure to him. PRAISE THE LORD IN ALL THINGS!

” MY THOUGHTS ARE NOTHING LIKE YOUR THOUGHTS, says the Lord. AND MY WAYS ARE FAR BEYOND ANYTHING YOU COULD IMAGINE.” ISAIAH 55:8

” FOR AS THE HEAVENS ARE HIGHER THAN THE EARTH, SO MY WAYS ARE HIGHER THAN YOUR WAYS AND MY THOUGHTS HIGHER THAN YOUR THOUGHTS.” ISAIAH 55:9

WOW! What explanation points our Lord God in heaven has put on how wide and far his thoughts and ways expand. There is no end. He has blessed each of us with a brain that is beyond comprehension. It is believed that most of us have never and never will use all of the capacity the Lord has provided to us through this tool. However, even the brightest of those in this world have no chance against God. There is no way we can imagine what God is thinking and what he is doing. The only way we have any ideas is by what he has told us through his holy word. We can rest assured that what he has revealed to us is just a very small fraction of his thoughts, ways and strengths. Our God is in complete control. He knows exactly what he is doing. He has a plan in place that has been in place for thousands of years. He has a plan for each of us and one that we may or may not have had revealed to us. No matter, we must be patient before him and let him work. We cannot try to outguess him. We should instead spend our time reading and meditating upon his word, asking him to reveal to us our purpose in his plan. We should continue to be in prayer and to praise him everyday for his many ways and his great love for each of us. PRAISE THE LORD IN ALL SITUATIONS!

” SEEK THE LORD WHILE YOU CAN FIND HIM. CALL ON HIM NOW WHILE HE IS NEAR.” ISAIAH 55:6

As troubled times continue to surround us, we can rest assured that our Lord God is still very close. Jesus continues to set at God’s right hand continuing to plead our case before him. He has sent his precious Holy Spirit to live within us. The Holy Spirit directs our ways and leads us to those who need our help. We must listen to him very closely as his voice is very gentle and sweet. He has no intentions of forcing himself upon us. He is our God, and he loves us, but he has given each and every one of us a free will to do as we choose. If we are not listening to our Lord, and what he tells us, then we are opening the door for the evil one to plead his case in our ear. Our focus will be on the evil ways of this world and what it can give us. We are human and cannot resist the devil on our own. We need help. We need the spiritual help that the Holy Spirit is sent to give us. We must, however, focus on the things of God and not the things of this world. We must be consistent in our reading of the bible. We must be consistent in meditating on what he telling us. We must be consistent in praying to our Lord on a regular basis and we must be consistent in our praise time for our Lord in heaven. It is up to you and me as to how we live our lives. We have a choice. On one hand we have Jesus who loves us, cares for us and wants to save us. On the other hand we have a relentless evil that is constantly in our ear and pushing us to the brink hell. Let’s make the right choice while there is still time. The windows of Christ are still open but our time is getting short. Love him, choose him and do as he asks! PRASIE THE LORD IN ALL THINGS!

” THE LORD IS LIKE A FATHER TO HIS CHILDREN, TENDER AND COMMPASSIONATE TO THOSE WHO FEAR HIM.” PSALM 103:13

Our God in heaven provides you and me many promises throughout his holy word. In order for us to be beneficiaries of his promises we must believe and then receive. Many times, we seem to read right through them, not understanding or taking the time to meditate upon them. As we push them aside, we are willingly not acting upon his promises. He is faithful in all that provides. He is faithful in all of his promises. We, however, must do our part. We must believe and receive. We must, many times, step out in faith in order to be able to receive from God. To accomplish that we need to feed our faith on a daily basis and starve any fear and doubt we might have. Fear and doubt will do nothing except to steal our gifts from God. We must be doers of his word and not hearers only. Let’s continue to strengthen our faith on a daily basis and not allow doubt or fear to enter! PRAISE THE LORD IN ALL THINGS!

” WHAT YOU SAY FLOWS FROM WHAT IS IN YOUR HEART.” LUKE 6:45

The words that we speak are extremely powerful. The bible tells us that our tongue is like a double edge sword. It can speak evil as well as good. Of all the lessons to be learned the taming of the tongue is the hardest. You and I cannot tame our tongues without help. We have that help right at our fingertips. Our Lord! If we surround ourselves with the word of God and surround ourselves with his righteousness, we will begin to see others and situations through the eyes of our loving God. When we are surrounded by his love daily, we will begin to practice it in our lives and our hearts will begin to fill up with his love. When his love becomes a way of life it, in turn, helps our language reflect our life in Christ. It is so true that we speak what we think and believe. If we are living our lives in this world alone and putting ourselves out there without protection, then we are going to be filling up with thoughts of evil, immorality, doubt, fear, worry, sickness and disease, just to name a few. Our lives must change after accepting Jesus as Lord and Savior, so that our thoughts and desires will become fruitful in our words. Let us all surround ourselves with the love of Jesus and let our lives and words reflect our life within him! PRAISE THE LORD IN ALL THINGS!

LET ALL THAT I AM PRAISE THE LORD.” PSALM 104:1

We all go through difficult times in our lives. Unfortunately, we sometimes stray from the path in which our Lord has intended for us. It is very easy to get down in the mouth and begin to feel sorry for ourselves. It is easy to take out our frustrations on those around us. Is this what Jesus wants us to do? I know not! No matter what each of us is going through or how serious it is the Lord reminds us that he is with us in all situations. He has given us the ability, as born again Christians, to recognize good from bad. We often times, when going through these situations, know exactly what we are doing. But we also recognize that we are the children of the living, breathing God in heaven. Whether the devil is attacking us or whether we are letting ourselves, our emotions and feelings get in our way, our Lord is right there beside us. He is there to remind us to re-focus, get back on the path set before us and lead our lives in joy and not unhappiness. It doesn’t matter where we find ourselves in life we must be able to recognize and then take action. We must be able to praise the lord in all and through all situations. We must be able to do these things with everything we are. We must be able to do this with every breath we take. We must give it all in praise to the Lord our God in heaven. PRAISE THE LORD IN ALL THINGS!

” BUT THE HOLY SPIRIT GIVES BIRTH TO THE SPIRITUAL LIFE.” JOHN 3:6

The Holy Spirit is the third person of our God almighty: God the Father, God the Son and the precious Holy Spirit of God. John 3:6 plainly tells us that the Holy Spirit gives birth to the Spiritual life. You and I are spiritual beings living on the earth in a non-spiritual environment. All things that go on in this world are driven from the spiritual realm and not our earthly environment. There has been and continues to be a great spiritual war happening between good and evil and the end is very near. In order for us to live a strong life of faith we must understand or at least try to understand the spiritual nature of the happenings of this world. As we see things happening through our earthly lenses we don’t see fully and don’t understand the nature of why things happen the way they do. However, if we listen to the Holy Spirit and begin looking at things through the lenses of our God, we can take heart and continue to build upon our faith with the confidence and strength that our Lord has provided to us. We live in a busy world. We must be able to take the time to be silent before the Lord and listen to what he is telling us. As we meditate upon his word and pray, we must also listen to him. It is so easy to get involved in this world and forget with what faith and effort we must live our lives with Christ. Take the time and listen carefully and let the Holy Spirit minister to you. Praise the Lord with every breath you take. Continue to trust in him and do as he ask you to do. PRAISE THE LORD IN ALL THINGS!

” 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!