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Watch and Pray

32 But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 33 Be on guard, keep awake. For you do not know when the time will come. 34 It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his servants in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to stay awake. 35 Therefore stay awake—for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in the morning— 36 lest he come suddenly and find you asleep. 37 And what I say to you I say to all: Stay awake. ~ Mark 13:32–37

What I say to one, I say to all, “Stay awake.” In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus asked His three companions, Peter, James, and John, to stay awake and to watch and pray so that they would not be caught out and fall into temptation.

On February 3, 1943, the troopship Dorchester went down in the icy Atlantic off the tip of Greenland with heavy loss of life. The torpedoes struck around 1 o’clock in the morning. Orders were that every man was to wear his lifejacket whether awake or asleep, but many of the soldiers ignored those orders and were caught sleeping without their lifejackets on.
Through fright and confusion, there were several men still without lifejackets after all the surplus stocks were handed out. Due to this, the loss of life was very heavy.

We have such a mandate. It is to stay awake, watch and pray. Jesus is coming back soon. He had given us our independence from sin, so we wear our salvation like a lifejacket. Do not be caught in the middle of the night when the torpedoes hit without your lifejacket on.

Dear Heavenly Father. Please help me stay awake and to watch and to pray so that I will not be caught without my life jacket on. Cover me with Your protection, and teach me to listen for and to recognize Your voice. Thank You, Father, for Your love and Your salvation, in Jesus’ name, Amen.

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Proclaim Your Rain

41 And Elijah said to Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink, for there is a sound of the rushing of rain.” 42 So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Mount Carmel. And he bowed himself down on the earth and put his face between his knees. 43 And he said to his servant, “Go up now, look toward the sea.” And he went up and looked and said, “There is nothing.” And he said, “Go again,” seven times. 44 And at the seventh time he said, “Behold, a little cloud like a man’s hand is rising from the sea.” And he said, “Go up, say to Ahab, ‘Prepare your chariot and go down, lest the rain stop you.’” ~ 1 Kings 18:41-44ESV

Elijah said to Ahab, “Go, eat and drink, for there is the sound of the rushing of rain.” Before we get too far into the message, I want you to understand that the phrase eating and drinking is a metaphor for celebrating. So, Elijah told Ahab to go celebrate before there were any visible signs of a breakthrough:

  • No distant rumbling of thunder
  • No flashes of lightning
  • There were no dark clouds rolling in
  • Nothing

There were no physical signs of rain. Yet Elijah told Ahab to go and celebrate because there was the sound of the rushing of rain. What’s that called? FAITH! Elijah didn’t need to hear rumblings or see a rain cloud to have faith. Why?

1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

Hebrews 11:1

Simply stated:

Faith is being sure of what you hope for and convinced of the things you do not seen.

As in Elijah’s case: Through faith, while there were still no significant features, the man of God told the king to go and celebrate, for there is more than enough coming. I want you to take note of that, whatever you need, God can and will supply, and He will supply more than enough. You may not see it now, but if you put your faith in God, pray fervent prayers, and follow Him with all of your heart, He will reward your faith each and every time.

LORD God, give us the faith we need in order to see our prayers answered. Help us to put our faith in you so that we won’t worry about tomorrow. So that the things of this world won’t take us by surprise, but we will have full confidence that our God hears and answers our prayers. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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Lift Your Burdens

18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. ~ 1 Thessalonians 5:18

Though giving thanks in all circumstances seems impossible, God desires for us to do so for our own benefit. On one of the TED Talks I listened to, a doctor told a story about a patient saying thank you to her back pain, and after a period of time saying thank you to her back pain, it eased. Just the act of having a thankful heart, the woman got pain relief.

Let me list the 7 scientifically proven benefits of gratitude for you:

  1. Gratitude opens the door to more relationships
  2. Gratitude improves physical health
  3. Gratitude improves psychological health
  4. Gratitude enhances empathy and reduces aggression
  5. Grateful people sleep better
  6. Gratitude improves self-esteem
  7. Gratitude increases mental strength

Giving thanks can bring healing in so many ways. The enemy often tries to show us the negatives of our lives so that we can focus on the pain. So that the weight of the world hangs on our shoulders, but God desires to remove that weight. When we are thankful, especially in the hard times, the burden is lifted off of our shoulders.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Lift Your Burdens.

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Cry Out to God

48a He, [speaking of Jesus], saw the disciples straining at the oars, because the wind was against them… ~ Mark 6:48a

Let me encourage you today, Jesus sees you. He knows where you are in your storm. He sees you straining at the oars when the wind of this life is against you. The Bible tells us in

Therefore He, [referring to Jesus], is able to save completely those who come to God through Him, because He always lives to intercede for them.

Hebrews 7:25

Jesus sees you in your storm, and He is interceding for you, just like He was interceding for His disciples. You aren’t alone. Call out to God, and He will calm the storm.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Cry Out to God.

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Hold to the Faith

1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” ~ Genesis 3:1

I believe the serpent was challenging Adam, the herald for God, or at least, he was the conveyor of the Law, or the word of God “Thou shalt not eat …” In other words, he was casting doubt on the accuracy of what was passed down to Eve. “Did God actually say …?”

How do you know? You weren’t there. You didn’t actually hear God say it, Adam told you, and he could have changed it up, or left something out, or got something wrong.

You see, as I understand it, Eve wasn’t created when the Gospel was given. The law was given to the man before the woman was created. So, the Gospel, or the Law, or the word of God was handed down to the woman just as it is handed down to us. The evil one came and tried to question the reliability of the word handed down to her.

“Did God really say …? I don’t mean that your husband is a liar, but, after all, he is just a man.”

Eve answered with full confidence, relying on the accuracy of what was handed down to her. She said, “God did say …”

Although Eve didn’t quote Adam word for word, she actually added in “… nor touch it,” Eve was confident that her husband heard directly from God. How confident are you that the authors of the Bible heard directly from God? How confident are you that the Word of God is God-breathed? Your faith will be tested at some point in time if it hasn’t already, but you have to be confident in your beliefs and not give in to any doubt as Eve did. Because if you conquer, you will receive everlasting life with Christ Jesus.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Hold to the Faith.

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Focus on Your Relationship With God

16 As the ark of the Lord came into the city of David, Michal the daughter of Saul looked out of the window and saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord, and she despised him in her heart. 20 And David returned to bless his household. But Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David and said, “How the king of Israel honored himself today, uncovering himself today before the eyes of his servants’ female servants, as one of the vulgar fellows shamelessly uncovers himself!” ~ 2 Samuel 6:16, 20

Bullying has always been and will probably always be. There are those who will hate you and say all manner of evil about you because of that hate. There are others who are jealous of what you have, whether it is earthly possessions, or your family-love, (your home life).

They will hate you because of your relationship with Jesus. There are all sorts of reasons that will cause them to bully you, and even spread all sorts of rumors about you. But it’s not unique here in America, it’s all over the world. We all fight the same demons.

These were the words of David’s wife. Words that she intended to destroy him with. I’m sure David’s feelings were hurt, and his ego bruised. I’m also pretty sure that at the very least, it made him feel small and embarrassed.

David’s wife, Michal, saw David as less than royal. Remember, she was a spoiled princess who got everything her little heart desired. All the latest gadgets, and all the latest phones, laptops, you name it, and she had it. She had it all. But she didn’t have a worshipping spirit like David did. So, she lashed out at him, but David didn’t let it get the best of him. He looked to God. He focused on His relationship with God. This is what we have to do when people try to bully us. We have to overcome evil with good by looking at our relationship with God.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Focus on Your Relationship With God.

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Trust God In Difficult Times

5 Lifting up his eyes, then, and seeing that a large crowd was coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?” 6 He said this to test him, for He Himself knew what He would do. ~ John 6:5–6

Jesus knew exactly what He was going to do. He was only testing Philip. Remember that Philip was the one that Jesus called, and he went and told his brother, Nathanael, who doubted that asked, can anything good come out of Nazareth. (John 1:43-46)

 21 Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails.

Proverbs 19:21

What I mean is this, God doesn’t force people to do what is right, neither does He prevent them from doing evil. Everyone has free will, and everyone is free to choose and refuse, but God will work everything out for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.

Everyone has free will in the world, and bad things will happen, but God is always in control, and He is always working things out for the good of His people. Stay strong and trust in Him during the lowest times of your life.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Trust God In Difficult Times.

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Where Do You Worship?

5Through you we push down our foes; through your name we tread down those who rise up against us. ~ Psalms 44:5

Worship is for God and God alone. Only worshipping God can get us out of our tough times. Only worshipping God can bring us to the other side. But sometimes, other things in our lives try to take that place of worship. I remember one time when I was still in the military, I was at a nightclub called the Pussy Cat, and a live band was playing. They called for everyone to come up to the front of the stage. I went up with everyone else.

Then they wanted everyone to kneel. And everyone started kneeling. I was tempted to as well. But even in my drunken state, I realized that was way too much like worship. I wasn’t saved. I wasn’t even going to church. I wasn’t even thinking about God or church, but I knew worship when I saw it. And I wanted no part of worshipping man.

So, what did I do? I turned around and left. That band wasn’t that good. That is what is happening today. A new altar of worship is being created at these concerts. They aren’t always as blatant as this, but they are there. We have to keep our eyes open. We have to be careful who we listen to and what we do so that no one other than God is getting our worship.

LORD God, please open our eyes that we can see the deceitful tricks of the enemy. Help us to see past his disguise so that we never bend our knee to anyone but You, oh LORD God. Help us to never put anyone above You. In the name of Jesus, I pray, amen.

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Delight Yourself In the LORD

4 Delight yourself in the LORD and He will give you the desires of your heart. ~ Psalms 37:4

Why must we delight ourselves in the LORD? The word delight means “to give great joy or pleasure to.” In other words, you have, or you get great inward joy out of worshiping the LORD. It is not a chore; it is a pleasure, and when it becomes a source of joy. Then God will give you the desires of your heart.

The word desires mean:

1. To wish or long for; crave; covet
2. To ask for; request

God is saying, “If serving Me brings you pleasure and is a source of great joy to you, then answering your prayers will bring Me great joy and will give Me great pleasure to give you what you ask for.”

We have to desire to love the LORD. We have to desire to serve the LORD. We have to desire the LORD above everything. That’s when our desires begin to be given to us because our desires begin to be for good, not evil. We begin to change.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Delight Yourself In The LORD.

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Indulge In Life

24 But to the rest of you in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who have not learned what some call the deep things of Satan, to you I say, I do not lay on you any other burden. ~ Revelation 2:24

In the Garden of Eden, the Serpent lured Eve with the promise of unknown knowledge. No more restraints. Total freedom from God and from limitation. And in return for this knowledge, I believe it was their souls that Satan, that Ancient Serpent bought.

Today nothing has changed. Satan is still selling forbidden knowledge, and people are still exchanging their souls for it. Sometimes it’s not even forbidden knowledge that he’s offering, but just a shortcut to that knowledge. When we replace God with our job, it’s like we are giving our soul up in order to move forward in our job.

We can’t allow ourselves to put anything above our God. We can’t seek the rewards of the world above the things of God. There are still two trees planted in front of us. Which one will you wat from?

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Indulge In Life.

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