Praise Is What We (SHOULD) Do!

Persistence Pays Dividends!

Persistence: To continue firmly despite obstacles

Giving up and quitting is so prevalent in our society today, mostly because we are in this microwave generation, where we want everything right now. It's crucial that we learn to slow down, stay focused and continue firmly toward whatever it is that we are after. This rush-rush thing is our way, but not necessarily God's way. Sure, He can do whatever it is that we are asking - right now - if He wants to, but that’s not always the case; that not always what He wants for us. If He gave us everything we wanted exactly when we want it, how would we ever grow?

The Lord allows obstacles to cross our paths to see if we are going to be persistent or if we are just going to rollover and let the obstacles crush us. For instance, once upon a time, I wanted a job at a bank. I had no banking experience and that was one of their primary requirements, but I didn’t let that deter me - I filled out the application anyway. When I submitted the application, the hiring manager told me that it would be hard, because I had no prior experience, but I started calling her once a week. You know what? My persistence eventually paid off. Even though it took three months, I got the call I had been waiting for and I worked there for almost thirteen years. What if I had quit after the first few no's? Or even after the first month of calling?? Persistence pays big dividends, so don’t quit!

Look at the Shunammite woman in II Kings 4:20, her son was dead but she did not let that obstacle stop her. Instead of telling her husband that their Son was dead, she told him it shall be well, and she pressed her way to the man of God and fell at his feet. After telling him the situation he was going to send his servant, but she said, "As the Lord liveth, and as they soul liveth, I will not leave thee." And he arose, and followed her. He raised her son from the dead. What if she had not been persistent?!

I’m sure there are so many things we have asked the Lord for, but because we didn't get them when we thought we should have them - we stopped asking, we stopped being thankful for it and we simply lost focus. Remember my friends; patience is another aspect of persistence, whether we are asking for something naturally or spiritually. We must never give up; we must never quit - we must continue to persist firmly despite any obstacle that might cross our path!!

With all that said, let the Church say amen… and Amen!

When Fear Knocks, Open With Faith!

Fear:  Anxiety caused by approaching danger

It’s amazing the things we fear in this life. Some people fear that they are not loved; others fear poverty, sickness, and/or rejection. Some of us fear things that will never happen. 2 Timothy 1:7 tells us, "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." This scripture reminds us that our God is not in the things we fear. Friends, fear will keep you up at night and distracted during the day, so when those fearful thoughts set in, speak the positive words of God. 

In Job 3:25, Job said; "for the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid of is come unto me." Job is letting us know that we must not live in fear, or act in it, "...because fear has torment." (1 John 4:18). Sometimes we torment ourselves worrying about things that might go wrong. Did you know that if we dwell on those things long enough, they are more likely to go wrong? As it says in Proverb 23:7, "For as he thinketh in his heart so is he," with that in mind, just know that we can't let our guard down - we must have the sword of the spirit - which is the word of God going on in our hearts and minds continually.

When fear comes knocking on our door, let's open the door with faith! Don’t allow fear to come inside and take a seat; stop it right there at the front door. Fill that fear up with the word of God; tell it "I’m blessed and highly favored by the Lord," "No weapon formed against me shall prosper," "I’m too blessed to be stressed," or any other positive saying that reminds you that God is on the throne and that He is not a God of fear! Keep in mind what Jeremiah 29:11 says, "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thought’s of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end."

We must stand against fear and be firm in faith - just as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego did. King Nebuchadnezzar tried to instill fear in them by telling them that if they did not serve his gods or worship the golden image, they would be put into the midst of the fiery furnace. Those young men didn't allow fear to set in, instead, they spoke words of faith - "If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand O king. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up" (Daniel 3:17-18). After they were put into the fiery furnace, the king said, "Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the mist of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God" (Daniel 3:25). Those young men chose to disobey the worldly king and to stand with their spiritual King; they did not bow down to fear and the Lord was right there with them!

That’s the kind of God we serve - when we take a firm stand against fear and speak powerful words of faith, our God is right there to deliver.  Oh, what an awesome God we serve! Friends,when fear knocks at your door, open it with faith!

With all that said, let the Church say amen... and AMEN!

Let's Keep A Thankful Heart!

Thankful: Being glad that something or someone exists, etc.

We know that when we want to keep something safe that it's our job to protect it, guard it, and preserve it, right? Well, we need to do the same thing with our hearts. There is so much going on in the world; in our cities; in our homes - and that stuff is trying to keep us SO busy that we won’t have time to have a thankful heart. But what a blessing it is to have a mind to keep a thankful heart! As I Thessalonians 5:16-18 reminds us, "Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you."

We should not mark just a single day to be thankful - being thankful should be an environment we live in; a state of mind - and it should be something that we carry with us daily. If it’s raining outside - we have an umbrella of Thanksgiving. On the other side of that coin, if the sun is shining too bright - we still have that umbrella of Thanksgiving! If the road is too crowded, we have our own lane of Thanksgiving. It’s that environment of thankfulness that we carry around!

You might be wondering - how do we keep a thankful heart? Well, like we talked about earlier, we have to build an environment around it and make a point to be thankful every single day! 

When we get up in the morning and we turn the faucet on and water comes out - we need to be thankful that we have running water! When go to brush our teeth, if we open the drawer and there is toothpaste waiting there for us - we need to be thankful! By doing that, we are creating an environment of being thankful for everything, whether it’s big or it's small AND regardless of whether it makes us happy or sad. 

Now, if you turn the faucet on and the water isn't getting hot fast enough for us and we let out a sigh of disgust or we open that drawer and the toothpaste that's waiting for us isn't the kind we want and we turn around and complain, what kind of environment are we creating?? Let me tell you, we are creating an ungrateful environment all around us. When we get in our car and it doesn’t start right away - especially when we are in a hurry - what do we do? Most of us start complaining, and when we do - what are we creating? A climate of ingratitude, that's what!

Let me share a little story with you a out someone who turned a negative situation into a positive one. There was once a man who was robbed by a thief, but he guarded his heart by being thankful. Instead of complications, he simply said, "I've never been robbed before, and although that thief took my money, he didn't take my life! And while he took all I had on me, it wasn't that much. I'm thankful because it was I that was robbed and not I who robbed someone else." I don't know about you, but I'm not sure that I would have been able to have the same perspective if I were in that gentleman's situation!

What did the scripture tell us in I Thessalonians 5:18?  To give thanks in everything! Imagine if we started to practice that kind of thankfulness.

What an awesome and powerful way to start each day - with a mighty attitude of Thanksgiving!

With all that said, let the church say amen... and AMEN!