Morning Voice

"In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly." (Psalm 5:3 NIV)

In the Bible, David was called a man after God’s own heart. He knew God and saw incredible miracles throughout his life. Notice how in this verse David set his tone for his whole day by spending time with the Lord every morning. It didn't matter what was going on in his life, David had his priorities set. Even though he was mistreated by his family, manipulated, made fun of, hunted down by King Saul, and even made some major mistakes on his own; David realized that each morning held the promise of new hope. Just like David, if we make spending time with God a priority in our lives, we will see Him move mightily on our behalf. We should make it a habit to seek Him first every single day. No matter what is happening, seek Him in the morning. Let Him set the tone for your day and set you on the course for victory in every area of your life.

His Mercy...

"He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit" Titus 3:5

Isn’t it good to know that no matter what happened yesterday, no matter what you said or did, God’s mercy is new for you today, without having to work for it? Mercy is empowering. It frees us to make the right choices and live in a way that is pleasing to God. We have to always remember that God isn’t condemning us. Romans tells us that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ. God wants to love us and equip us to overcome in this life. If you need new mercy today, receive it by faith. You don’t have to beg God to forgive you because he forgives you the first time you ask, but it’s up to you to receive that forgiveness. Open your heart today and receive His mercy. Let Him wash over you with His peace and joy.

Paul's Prayer For The Ephesians... And You

"I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen." Ephesians 3:16-21

In this prayer for the Ephesians, Paul says that God's love is total. It reaches every corner of our experience; that nothing and no one can surpass His love for us. It is sufficient. It is wide - it covers the width of our knowledge and reaches out to the whole world. God's love is long - it continues the length of our lives. It is high - it rises to the heights of our achievements and elation. His love is deep - it reaches to the depths of discouragement, despair, and even death. Whenever you feel shut out or isolated, remember that you can never be lost from God's love (Romans 8:38-39). God's fullness is only expressed in Christ

"For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body. So you also are complete through your union with Christ, who is the head over every ruler and authority." Colossians 2:9-10 NLT

 In this union with Christ and through His empowering Spirit, we are complete. We have all the fullness of God available to us. But we must appropriate that fullness through faith and through prayer as we live daily for Him. Paul's doxology - prayer of praise to God - for the Ephesians is also for us. We need to ask the Holy Spirit to fill every aspect of our life to the fullest!

God's Warrior..

Ephesians 6:11
“Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.”

Yes, when we are going through our struggle it may feel like its a NEVER ending battle; the bible says to be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Therefore, as we live this life.. We need to know that in God is where we find our strength, through Christ is where we find our hope.. God has given us an indispensable weapon, the bible… It was given to us not only to guide our walk with Christ but to also help us on those difficult and sluggish days… So come.. Let us fasten the belt of truth, let us put on the breastplate of righteousness, let us slip on the shoes of readiness given by the gospel of peace.. Let us pick up the shield of faith and the sword of the spirit, and let us put on the helmet of salvation… and let us walk, knowing that we are ready for whatever hardship may want to come our way.. Ready to fight.. Ready to be a warrior.. Ready to win!

The Unnamed Woman..

"One of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. And behold, a woman of the city, who was a sinner, when she learned that he was reclining at table in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment, and standing behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head and kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment. Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner.” Luke 7:36-39 ESV

Many of us are like this woman from the city; packed with sin and immorality. We walk around being judged and talked about by others. Not knowingly that those too that judge, are in our same shoes - only because you sin differently than someone does not make you better than that person... A sin is a sin, is a sin is a sin - This sinful woman came to Christ, with a heart full of love and cleansed His feet and than anointed him with perfume. The courage this woman must of had, the love, the faith; she must of had when she entered into the Pharisee's house. They knew her sinful life, everyone did, but yet she decided to enter the house anyway.
And how did Jesus react to this??
He didn't kick his feet away and commanded her to leave... What did He do?.. He sat there and allowed her to finish cleansing his feet and anointing him with the ointment. He knew the love she had in her heart for Him. Not only did she demonstrate it by cleansing and anointing him but also by not denying him and entering a house she knew she would be condemned in. You see, some of us are scared or have second thoughts about seeking God because of this, our past, things we've done. But look at how great and marvelous our Lord is... How merciful and gracious He is. After this unnamed woman finished demonstrating her love, he said to her "Your sins are forgiven."

Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.” And he said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” .... And he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” (Luke 7:47-48, 50 ESV)

I don't know about you but these verses bring joy to my heart, to know that everything that we have done, every incriminating act that we have done is forgiven when we hole heartily seek The Lord. When we go to Him with honest hearts, with hearts focused on God and God alone. When we go to Him, humbled, not caring about peoples opinion's about us and ask for forgiveness. Although this woman did not speak, her actions spoke and demonstrated what was in her heart. And if Jesus, awesome King of Kings and Lord of Lords, was able to forgive this immoral woman and transform her life by just saying "your sins are forgiven" imagine the transformation He can do for us in our lives..

Reflection..

"Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weakness, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weakness, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong."
(2 Corinthians 12:8-10)

Us as humans, in our failing nature, we tend to give someone that's already down, an extra push further down.. When a person is drowning, that person is not going to want to hear an explanation of the river and of how deep you told that person the river was. Nor is it the right time to do so. What they need is a helping hand to pick them up and help save them. If in your hearts you are struggling with what you use to be; then spend a little more time thinking about God's grace and what He has done for you now, and be renewed and made strong! Amen!

Commit to the Lord..

"A rose must remain with the sun and the rain or its lovely promise won't come true" - Ray Evans 

A rose depends on the sun & rain its what keeps it alive & well. If its not receiving sun nor water it'll wither & die & it's promise of becoming this beautiful rose won't come to pass. The same with a person walking in faith. We must remain with the Father & Son or else our promise/the plans God has for us, won't come to pass. If we become distracted or if our passion & desire for the Lord starts to deem down, it could result in us departing from the Lord & falling back into the dirty ways of this world. Which lead to nothing but devastating roads e.g., death, imprisonment, suicide. This is why our DEPENDENCY is on the Lord because without Him we would be withering away somewhere without any hope of a future. 

Psalms 37:5 KJV Commit thy way unto the Lord ; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.

God is always faithful to His word!

“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.” (Matthew 7:7, NLT)

     Sometimes, people get discouraged in life because things didn't turn out the way they hoped on the first try. Maybe they put energy into a relationship but it didn't work out. They tried that new business venture, but they are still struggling with their finances. Now they think it’s never going to happen. But, one thing we have to learn is that God honors perseverance. On the way to your “yes” you may encounter some “no’s.” You may encounter some closed doors, but that doesn't mean it’s the final answer. It just means “keep going.”

Remember, if God promised it, He’s going to bring it to pass. Scripture tells us that through faith and patience we inherit God’s promises. This is where patience comes in; this is where perseverance comes in. This is where trust comes in. Just because you don’t see things happen right away doesn't mean you should quit. No, instead, rise up and press forward. Keep believing, keep hoping, keep enduring and keep asking because our God is always faithful to His word!

Put all your trust in the Lord.

Done & done. Lord God I will put all of my trust in you; forever & ever for you are my everlasting rock!