Be You!
Luke 12:2 “You can’t keep your true self hidden forever; before long you’ll be exposed. You can’t hide behind a religious mask forever; sooner or later the mask will slip and your true face will be known.” (MSG)
Wearing a mask can be draining and discouraging. Even the nose mask that we had to wear for protection during the Coronavirus pandemic was uncomfortable. Yes, we tried to make it fashionable. But by the time you have had it on it all day, after a while what happens? Read the rest of this entry
In Truth
Philippians 4:8 “Keep your thoughts continually fixed on all that is authentic and real, honourable and admirable, beautiful and respectful, pure and holy, merciful and kind. And fasten your thoughts on every glorious work of God, praising him always.” (TPT)
The number one purpose for your life cannot be for you to love God. You cannot begin to love God if you do not know what it is for God to love you. And it is because our love for God is a response to God’s love for us. 1 John 4:19 “We love Him because He first loved us.” (NKJV). Read the rest of this entry
Receive It
Jeremiah 31:3 “The Lord has appeared of old to me, saying: “Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you” (NKJV)
Yesterday we began to look at the first of Paul’s seven secrets to defeating discouragement contained in 2 Corinthians 4. And the first secret to defeating discouragement is Never Forget How Much God Loves You. When we focus on how merciful, loving, and kind God is to us, it drives away discouragement. Read the rest of this entry
Lovingkindness
Psalm 16:8 “I know the Lord is always with me. I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me.”
2 Corinthians 11:24-28 “Five different times the Jewish leaders gave me thirty-nine lashes. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked. Once I spent a whole night and a day adrift at sea. I have travelled on many long journeys. I have faced danger from rivers and from robbers. I have faced danger from my own people, the Jews, as well as from the Gentiles. I have faced danger in the cities, in the deserts, and on the seas. And I have faced danger from men who claim to be believers but are not. I have worked hard and long, enduring many sleepless nights. I have been hungry and thirsty and have often gone without food. I have shivered in the cold, without enough clothing to keep me warm. Then, besides all this, I have the daily burden of my concern for all the churches.” Read the rest of this entry
Redirect
Psalm 42:5 “Why are you discouraged, my soul? Why are you so restless? Put your hope in God, because I will still praise him. He is my saviour and my God.” (GW)
I get asked quite often, ‘Pastor, how do I defeat discouragement?’ Discouragement can be a very tricky thing. If we do not tackle and overcome discouragement, it can actually be a huge setback. Read the rest of this entry
Deep Breaths
1 Kings 19:1-3 “…Ahab… told Jezebel everything Elijah had done. including the way he had killed all the prophets of Baal. So Jezebel sent this message to Elijah: “May the gods strike me and even kill me if by this time tomorrow I have not killed you…” Elijah was afraid and fled for his life…”
The name Elijah means my God is my breath. How close is your breath? So, since God was with Elijah, what would have happened if he stood? Where will God be? Right there with him. Jezebel would not have been able to overpower him or even kill him because God is right there with him. Read the rest of this entry
Close Enough
Isaiah 30:21 “Your own ears will hear him. Right behind you a voice will say, “This is the way you should go,” whether to the right or to the left.”
For someone to speak into your ears, the person has to be close to you. And if the person is speaking into your ear, most likely, he or she will not be shouting. God whispers because He is always close. God is closer and more intimate than you think. Read the rest of this entry
Why Whisper?
Job 4:12 “A word came to me in secret—a mere whisper of a word, but I heard it clearly.” (MSG)
Beginning today, we will be diving into how God began to engage with Elijah. Read the rest of this entry
In The Name
Philippians 4:6-7 “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds…”
Jezebel needed those false prophets to uphold her tyranny and her manipulations. Jezebel needed to surround herself with those eight hundred and fifty false prophets to be who she was. The false prophets were Jezebel’s backbone and Elijah took all of them out. Read the rest of this entry
Never Forget
Psalm 89:1-2 “I will sing of the Lord’s unfailing love forever! Young and old will hear of your faithfulness. Your unfailing love will last forever. Your faithfulness is as enduring as the heavens.”
Have you experienced God’s faithfulness? The truth is that many of us have experienced God’s faithfulness at different levels. However, we go through challenges and those challenges try to make us see the enemy as bigger than our God. Read the rest of this entry
