Let us search out and examine our ways, and turn back to the Lord. Lamentations 3:40

When I take a trip on my motorcycle, I plan in advance of where I’m going. I look on google maps for landmarks where I need to make turns and find neat attractions along the journey. When on the road, I often stop and refer to my map and notes to ensure I’m on the proper route. One time I kept going without checking the map and boy did I find myself in a long and unexpected journey to get back where I needed to be.

For the child of God, checking His roadmap is just as important. So often you think you are doing life right and things go well. Pretty soon your confidence level grows in your own abilities and you stop listening for God’s voice of direction. Before too long you find yourself in unfamiliar territory, realizing you are way off course and ask for God’s help to steer you back on track. Getting back to His will can sometimes take a while and be painfully exhausting. Trust me, I’ve been there.

My best advice I can give you, NEVER develop too much confidence in your own abilities that your voice overshadows the Lords. He has a specific plan for your life and which road to travel. If you don’t check in with Him often, you are prone to take a wrong turn and pursue something outside His will. Stay in constant contact with Him so you’ll never have to circle the wagons and backtrack! Whose got time for missed turns anyhow? Have a blessed day!

But as for you, brethren, do not grow weary in doing good. 2 Thessalonians 3:13

You ever look around and find others succeeding in life with little effort? Meanwhile you are doing all you can to support your self and family and its taking a toll on you mentally, physically and emotionally. Did I hit a nerve? I think we all go through periods of time when we give our all to achieve something, yet our neighbor is doing very little and doing quite well for themselves.  

Friend, never give up your desire to succeed in life and do right, no matter what it cost you. God portions out blessings according to His children’s strength and willingness to remain obedient to Him. Don’t compare yourself to your neighbors, friends, co-workers and people on the other side of town. Its like comparing apples to oranges…they aren’t the same, and neither are you in comparison to others. You are unique, special and God has a specific plan for your life that doesn’t compare to anyone else.

Keep up the good job of living life and doing right. You’ll never go wrong when you set your focus on God, so you can see His blessings coming your way and not what someone else has in their possession or successes. God bless!  

Vindicate me, O God, and plead my case against an ungodly nation; O deliver me from the deceitful and unjust man! Psalm 43:1

 

Injustice. It seems to be all around us these days, and when we are the victim of someone’s injustice it’s like rubbing salt into an open wound. It’s painful, causes us grief and sadly comes from those who are in our circle of close friends. We ask why, but the real question is, “God what are you doing in this moment?”

 

God often uses the bad things in life to channel us in a new direction. “Closed doors” are what I call them as we continue down the hallway of life seeking an opening. Some of the injustices we face in life can seem overwhelming, but those are the stepping stones to something better, leaving behind those injustices to allow God to deal with them according to His judgment…not ours.

 

Feeling the pains of injustice? Trust God is doing something special in your life and embrace the ride as He takes you in a new direction. It’s all good, trust me friend…God has this! Have a blessed day!

And so it was, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed; and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed. But Moses’ hands became heavy; so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it. And Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until going down of the sun. Exodus 17:11-12

Today’s passage is an excerpt from a battle between the Amlek army and God’s children, the Israelites. As long as Moses kept his arms stretched out, the Israelites would prevail, but as his arms grew tired and dropped, the Amlek army prevailed. Thankfully Aaron and Hur were there to support him and the Israelites were victorious.

During my prayer time this morning God laid upon my heart to share this message….”don’t give up the fight”. Life is work. There are good days and bad days. After years of fighting those battles to keep it together, your strength to keep going can waiver and you want to drop your arms and give up. DON’T! God did not mean for you to go at it alone. He promised to be with you, to sustain you, protect you and guide you as the days keep coming. “The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace.” Exodus 14:14

Maybe your battle is holding your marriage together, helping a child whose ways are off course and you are giving up hope, the struggle to sustain when your health is failing….its an endless list. We all face battles in life and need to rely on God and others to help support us. Lean on a friend for help, seek after God to strengthen you and sustain your faith. The battle was never meant to be fought alone, seek help today and keep the victory in sight! God bless!

¹⁶Rejoice always, ¹⁷pray continually, ¹⁸give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

 

A strong relationship is dependent upon communication. Look over your friends list…I’m sure you communicate with them throughout the day via phone calls, text messages or social media messaging. When you stop communicating, that person loses touch with what’s going on in your life and pretty soon you disappear of their radar. Communication is the key to develop strong bonds of love and beneficial friendships.

 

Our communication with God is no different. Sometimes I think the word “prayer” limits our conversations with God. With prayer, we think we have to set aside times to talk to God. Here is a thought…why not simply converse with Him throughout the day, just like you would someone who you are close to? If you are a Christian, His Spirit lives inside of you, so He is with you 24/7. It might sound strange, but I talk to Him all day, asking for wisdom when a problem arises, thanking Him when I see His blessing befall me, and asking for strength when tasked with something bigger than I can bear.

 

Your prayer life is only as good as you make God part of your day, your entire day. Pray continually and find blessings, wisdom and strength make your day better! I promise you can never go wrong when you make God your partner for life! God bless!

No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it. 1 Corinthians 10:13

As Christians, we are faced with a daily test, the test of our faith and strength to avoid falling prey to Satan’s temptations. Something I was reminded of in my morning devotion time is God only permits us exposure to temptations that are within our limits, so we can choose to turn away and remain obedient to Him. God does not allow any temptation to overwhelm you to the point you can’t resist. Re-read today’s verse.

How we overcome temptation is to keep our focus on God and draw upon His strength to help us turn our backs on those tempting moments. If you are like me, the battle to stay true to God challenges the strength of my faith at times, thus, I have to seek after God. And every time I do, He comes through and helps me avoid disaster. Don’t get me wrong, there are many times I fail, but God is gracious and merciful and forgives in my moments of weaknesses. Those are times of lessons learned and help me when the next test of my faith comes into play.

Have you passed the test? Trust in God to provide the strength and focus to navigate around those moments of temptation so you can continue to receive God’s blessings.

Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” Acts 2:38

I love receiving gifts. Its not necessarily what it is, but who the person is giving it and their time to select something special for me. It means a lot. And what really makes a gift special is the unexpected. That thing I never asked for, but they knew exactly what to get, because they know me so well.

If you are a child of God, you have a special gift, the Holy Spirit. God chose you to be a part of His family..”just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love.” Ephesians 1:4 Wow, just think about it, God knew you before He created this world in which we live. He planned your life and its purpose and with that came His gift of His Spirit. What an awesome gift!

So and next question is, are you using His Spirit to the fullest? One of the greatest things Christians battle in life is sin. Because we are aware of sin, we know between right and wrong. We can clearly see the landmines of disaster up ahead and God gives us His Spirit to help navigate around them. When we draw upon the wisdom, power and strength of His Spirit, we can do life with confidence in knowing God has our best interest in mind. He might lead you down a path that seems impossible, but to Him it’s a cake-walk.

Trust Him as you journey through life. You’ve got the best gift you could ever ask for and He gave it to you in love. Use it to the fullest and life will be more rewarding and blessed!