life
Shine
The first four words God spoke in the book of Genesis was “Let there be light.” This was because darkness was upon the earth. Then Jesus called the multitudes, his disciples (and us) the light of the world (Matthew 5:14).
In Matthew 2:2, wise men said that they saw Jesus’ star and when they saw his star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy (Matt 2:10). What does a star do? It shines. It gives light. A star also gives guidance. It is what led the wise men to Jesus.
Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
The opposite of light is darkness, which speaks of delusion, confusion, and death. If light gives life, then darkness gives death. This is the current state of the world. They are confused and deceived by the enemy and they need us to be light.
God didn’t just call us light, but He gave us a responsibility: to shine. If a man lights a candle and put it under a bushel, the candle doesn’t lose its light, but it’s hidden. A candle will never fulfil its purpose under a bushel. It has to be on something, not under, so that everyone can see it.
My pastor once said, “You don’t hear light. You see light.” The world has heard about Jesus. Now it’s time for them to see Him – in us.
Father, forgive us for preaching, but not demonstrating Your Spirit and power.
Just as the star led the wise men to Jesus, our star (light) is going to lead others to Jesus.
Shine.
Enjoy the Ride
I can’t wait til I turn 18.
I can’t wait til I graduate from school.
I can’t wait til I get marry.
I can’t wait til I have kids.
I can’t wait til these kids leave the house.
It seems like we’re always in a rush. We never learn to enjoy the moment we are in. We never fully enjoy the life God has given us.
For the past couple months, I had been getting up late, which meant I was rushing to get out of the house and speeding to get to work.
But now I’m taking my time. I leave the house on time and I drive the speed limit. There have been a few times where a group of cars have sped past me and I unconsciously increased my speed, but then I was reminded to slow down and take my time.
I was so focused on the cars that were passing me and now ahead of me that I lost focus of my journey. I felt like I had been left behind, but there was no need to feel that way because I didn’t know where those cars were going. Maybe they were going where I couldn’t go. Maybe they were going where God didn’t send me. So, I focused on the lane I was on and I prayed the rest of the way to work.
Wherever you go or wherever God is taking you, stop trying to rush God and learn to enjoy the ride.
It’s for God’s Glory
As I was praying for someone dear to me today, the Lord revealed to me that this person had to go through what they were going through. God was not the cause of it, but He was allowing it to happen. When Jesus heard that Lazarus was sick, he said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God. When the disciples saw the man who was blind from birth, they assumed he was in that condition because either he or his parents sinned, but Jesus said he was born that way so that they could see God perform a miracle in his life.
Maybe it’s not sickness that you are facing today, but I just want you to know that whatever it is that you’re facing, it is not going to kill you. It is not going to end in DEATH. It is going to be a testimony to others of what God can and will do. It is going to give hope to those who feel hopeless. It is going to bring them LIFE.
God is going to give you grace, strength and power to endure to the end of it.
Be encouraged. It is almost over.
Third Day
As I was praying this morning, I began to pray for those who have tested positive for the coronavirus (COVID-19). I prayed that the same power that raised Jesus from the dead would raise them from their hospital bed, sick bed and death bed. I commanded those who are lying in their beds to rise up and walk. Just as God breathed into man the breath of life, I prayed that God would breathe life into those who are currently on ventilators. I rebuked premature death and I commanded the spirit of death, infirmity and fear to loose them and to let them go in Jesus’ name.
Easter/Resurrection Day is this weekend and my prayer is that many will experience a ‘third day’.
Be encouraged and have a Happy Resurrection weekend!
I Change Not
Difficult times don’t change who God is, but sometimes He allows things to happen to change us.
Who God is to you when everything is going right is who He is when everything is not going right in your life.
Despite how you may feel right now, He hasn’t changed how He feels about you or what He said about you.
He is still with you.
He is still good.
He still loves you.
He still cares for you.
And He will still do what He said.
For I am the Lord, I change not (Malachi 3:6).
Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today and forever (Hebrews 13:8).
God is not a man, that He should lie; neither the son of man that He should repent: has He said, and shall He not do it? or has He spoken and shall He not make it good (Numbers 23:19)?
God said to Moses, I AM THAT I AM (Exodus 3:14).
You’re Next
What is that thing you’ve been praying for God to do in your life and it hasn’t manifested yet?
I’m not telling you to give up or to stop believing, but change your prayer.
Pray that what you are expecting God to do for you, that He does it for someone else.
If you pray for God to do it for them, God will make sure He does it for you.
I know you’ve been watching others get the promotion or the marriage proposal or the new home and you’re wondering, When will I be next?
Although Jairus went to Jesus first and asked him to heal his daughter, he had to watch the woman with the issue of blood get what he was asking for.
What am I saying?
Don’t get discouraged if it didn’t happen for you FIRST.
Just believe that you’re NEXT!
Examine Your Prayer Life
When you read about the life of Jesus, He prayed for himself in John 17:1-5 and he prayed about his will in the garden, but you never read in the bible where he prayed for himself all the time. He prayed more for others than he did for himself.
And he never prayed for provision. He didn’t pray for wine at the wedding. He didn’t pray for money to pay the temple tax. When Jesus fed 5000 people (not including women and children), the disciples told him that they didn’t have enough food to feed all those people. But even though it wasn’t much, Jesus told them to give him what they had – five loaves of bread and two fish. There was no need for Jesus to pray for food. They already had food. He just thanked God for what he had and God multiplied it.
If we are worrying about things, it is either because we don’t know/understand what we have or we don’t know how to receive what He has already given.
As a small child, I never worried about what I was going to eat or what I was going to wear. I just knew that my father would take care of me. My prayer is that we will all trust our Heavenly Father the same way I trusted my earthly father. May we understand that even though we can’t see Him, He is not far from us. He is very near, but we must get closer to Him through prayer and reading His word.
This is a relationship.
Just as your Heavenly Father is responsible for you, you have a responsibility to Him as His sons and daughters. Your duty is to listen and to obey Him.
Get to know HIM. Seek Him and not just what you want from Him. Know that what you need has already been provided. Know that when you talk to God, He hears you. Know that before you called, He answered. Don’t worry about when this is going to happen or how that is going to happen. Just believe that it will happen.
Examine your prayer life today. What do you pray about the most? If you really believe that God cares for you, then what you’ve been praying for or praying about should change. If God is your Provider, you’re not lacking in resources. Maybe you’re just lacking in wisdom or understanding about what He has already provided.
Just as my earthly father cares about me, our Heavenly Father cares about us – and even more.
How Much Time Do You Think You Have Left?
As of today, I have lived approximately 23,101,457 minutes, 385,024 hours, 527 months, 2,291 weeks, and 16,042 days, but when I began to evaluate how I manage my time, I realized that I really haven’t been living.
How much time do you think you have left?
The days of our lives are seventy years, and if by reason of strength, they are eighty years (Psalm 90:10, NKJV).
You have determined the length of my days, and my life is nothing compared to You. Even the longest life is only a breath (Psalm 39:5, VOICE).
We have been given 24 hours, 1,440 minutes and 86, 400 seconds in a day.
Take a moment and answer these questions:
How many hours do you sleep in a day?
How many hours do you work a day?
How many hours do you talk on the phone a day?
How many hours you do spend on social media a day?
How many hours do you watch television a day?
How many hours do you spend doing nothing (idle)?
Examine the last ten years of your life. Maybe you could have had two college degrees by now. Maybe you could have been a homeowner by now. Maybe you could have written a book by now. If you had put aside $100 every pay period for the last ten years (if you’re paid biweekly), you would have saved $26,000 by now.
You can’t get those years back. They are gone, but can you see the value of time? Do you remember those times you were awaken out of your sleep? You could have read, worked on something God told you to do or prayed, but instead you rolled over to go back to sleep. Look at how much time you gave to people that you knew wasn’t even worth your time. Look at how long you were angry with someone. Think about all the times you said you were bored.
Have you ever noticed that the words we use to describe how we use our time are the same words we use to describe how we use money? We talk about spending time, losing time, wasting time, etc. Paul even tells us to buy back time. Redeeming the time, because the days are evil (Ephesians 5:16). When people invest their money, they invest in hopes of receiving a return or gaining a profit. They also expect the return to be greater than the investment. We are to invest our time for the Lord and invest in others the same way we invest our money.
I will never be able to stand before the Lord and tell Him that He never gave me time or a chance. Time and chance happens to them ALL (Ecclesiastes 9:11). Didn’t God give Jezebel space to repent (Revelation 2:21)? When Hezekiah was sick unto death, didn’t God send Isaiah to tell him what he should do. Set your house in order, for you shall die and not live (Isaiah 38:1). The moment Hezekiah repented (Isaiah 38:2), God told Isaiah to tell him that He heard him, He saw his tears and He added 15 years to his life. AND I will deliver you and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria and I will defend this city (Isaiah 38: 6). For some of us, the answer to our problem is just one word – repentance. All it takes is turning from what we were doing to what God wants us to do. Redeem the time.
Do not spend whatever time you have left on this earth angry, sad or feeling sorry for yourself. Make the best use of your time. Making the very most of your time on earth, recognizing and taking advantage of each opportunity and using it with wisdom and diligence, because the days are filled with evil (Ephesians 5:16, AMP).
For what is your life? It is even vapour that appear for a little time, and then vanish away (James 4:14).
For all flesh is as grass…the grass withers (1 Peter 1:24).
You don’t have as much time as you think you do. I’m sure the five foolish virgins who spent their time sleeping rather than preparing for the bridegroom thought they had plenty of time until his arrival (Matthew 25:1-13). Or what about the lord who put his servant in charge of everything (Luke 12:35-40)? He gave him a job. He gave him purpose. To every thing there is a season and a time to every purpose under the heaven (Ecclesiastes 3:1). He gave him time and chance. He gave him something to do for HIS servants – not for himself – until he returned.
God doesn’t want us to stand idle in these last days (Matthew 20:6). Below are just a few things we ought to do until the return of Christ.
Grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (2 Peter 3:18).
Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven (Matthew 5:16).
Walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise (Ephesians 5:15).
Love one another, as I have loved you (John 15:12).
Speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15).
You have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that you should go and bring forth fruit (John 15:16).
As believers, we have plenty of work to do. The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few (Matthew 9:37). Not only has God given us work to do, but He has given us enough time to do it. We don’t have time to waste. Time is precious and fleeting. I pray that we all become good stewards of the time God has given us. May we use every moment and opportunity to do what we were placed on this earth to do – before it’s too late.
Lord, remind me how brief my time on earth will be. Remind me that my days are numbered— how fleeting my life is (Psalm 39:4, NLT).
themeonnblog 