Devotion: You Are Not A Failure

Do you ever feel like you are a failure or think of yourself as a failure?  What if we were to tell you that you are not a failure, would you believe us?  Well, let us tell you just that, you are not a failure.  And you should believe us.  Just because you think your lifestyle may be less than what it should be or you think your past may be less than respectable or even unredeemable, you are not a failure.  Just because you think your family situation may be less than ideal or even if you have been through a divorce, you are not a failure.  Just because you think your financial situation is not be headed in the direction you think it should or even if you have filed for bankruptcy, you are not a failure.  Just because society may have deemed you a failure, God does not see you as a failure.

Failure is considered “to be a lack of success.”  We want you to know that “God want you to succeed and not fail.”  You were not created for failure, no matter what has happened to you in your past, what is happening to you right now, or what you expect to happen in the not too distant future.  God wants you to know that he loves you like no one else can.  And because of this love, God wants to you be successful in this life.

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” (Jeremiah 29:11 NIV).

God has a plan for you, a plan for good and not evil.  God has a plan to prosper you and not harm you.  God has a plan to give you hope and a future.  God has all of this planned for you but there is a part that you have to play in all of this.

“We can make our own plans, but the Lord gives the right answer.  People may be pure in their own eyes, but the Lord examines their motives.  Commit your actions to the Lord, and your plans will succeed” (Proverbs 16 NLT).

Yes, we make plans all the time and think that what we are doing is always the right thing.  In our eyes, those things appear to be the right thing, but this is not the case when it comes to God.  God always looks at our motives.  If we want our plans to succeed, we have to commit our actions to the Lord.  And once committed, he will always give us the right answers for our plans to succeed.

“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10).  “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ (Philippians 1:6).

We are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works and to do good things.  God planned for us to walk in these good works and in good things as the way to live our lives.  When we commit our actions to God, we can be confident, that the one who began a good work in us will continue that good work until the day of Christ Jesus.  Because God sees our potential, he does not consider us a failure.  Now, we need to see our potential.  Now maybe you will believe us when we say, “you are not a failure.”  God does not see you as a failure and neither should you.

May today’s inspirational message abundantly bless you and greatly inform you.  We pray that you will be the better for having read this message.  If blessed by today’s message, please share so that others may be blessed as well.  Amen.

Enjoy your blessings - KW

Devotion: Repentance

Many believe that in order for someone “to repent” meant for them “to turn from his or her sinful ways.”  This is not exactly what “to repent” means.  According to the Strong’s Concordance, “to repent” actually means, “to change one’s mind.”  It was John the Baptist who was in the wilderness preaching “the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins” (Mark 1:4).  He was in the wilderness “calling for people to be baptized to show that they were changing their hearts and lives and wanted God to forgive their sins” (CEB).

“And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel” (Mark 1:15).

John the Baptist was telling everyone that the kingdom of God was at hand; that it was near or soon to come, but now was the time for them to change their hearts, now was the time for them to change their minds.  He was telling them that now was the time for them to change their thinking and to believe in this gospel, the good news that he was preaching.  He was calling for them to change their minds about what they thought of God and turn back to him.

Paul, formally known as Saul, was explaining to King Agrippa, the son of King Herod, what had happened on his last mission.  On his way to Damascus, armed with the full authority and commission of the chief priests, to round up those who believed in Jesus Christ, Paul was blinded by a very bright light from heaven.  He heard the voice of the Lord, who told him that he had been appointed as the Lord’s servant and as a witness of what he had seen and what the Lord would later show him.  He was told that he was being sent to the very people he would be delivered from, his own people and the Gentiles, for one purpose.

“To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.  Whereupon, O king Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision:  but showed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judaea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance” (Acts 26:18-20).

Paul was being sent out to open the eyes of the people and to open their minds.  He was to change their way of thinking so that they would turn from the darkness and the power of Satan to the light and to the power of God.  He was to change their thinking about God.  As Paul explained his actions to King Agrippa, he said, “I wasn’t disobedient to that heavenly vision.  Instead, I proclaimed first to those in Damascus and Jerusalem, then to the whole region of Judea and to the Gentiles.  My message was that they should change their hearts and lives and turn to God, and that they should demonstrate this change in their behavior” (Acts 26:19-20 CEB).

We see that John the Baptist and Paul preached the same message of repentance.  Both were telling people to change their mind, to change their thinking about God and to turn back to God.  And while many will continue to believe that true repentance means “to turn from one’s sinful ways,” you now know the truth.  Repent means “to change one’s heart and one’s mind; to change the way one thinks.”  It is the actual act “of turning back to God” that actually causes people to change their sinful ways.  Think about it this way, if it was possible for us to change or turn from our sinful ways, there would be no need for us to turn back to God for his help.  It is because of God, through the sacrificial blood of Jesus Christ, that we have available to us the power to break from the darkness, to break from the power of sin, and to break from the power of Satan.  But first, we must change our heart towards God and change our thinking towards God.  True repentance will result in a change of actions, but it is “the change in our heart, the change in our thinking” that results in a change in our actions.

As a footnote to Paul’s story, when he was testifying before King Agrippa, we see the King making this statement to Paul; “You almost persuade me to become a Christian” (Acts 26:28 NKJV).  Paul had almost changed the thinking of this King.  So, if you have not changed your heart toward God, changed your thinking towards God, and changed your thoughts toward the light, then you need to “repent” now, for the kingdom of God is near and at hand.  Turn to God and free yourself from the darkness, free yourself for the power of sin, and free yourself from the power of Satan.

We pray that today’s inspirational message will give you a new perspective on what it means “to repent and turn to God.”  We also pray that this message will bless you, inform you, and that you will be the better for having read it.  If blessed by this message, please share so that others may be blessed as well.  Amen.

Enjoy your blessings. - KW

Devotion: Put God First

Most of us claim to love God and put him first in our heart, or at least this is what we believe to be true.

“Master, which is the great commandment in the law?  Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.  This is the first and great commandment” (Matthew 22:26-38).

Jesus tells us that loving God with all our heart and with all our soul and with all our mind is the first and the greatest commandment.  But did you know that you could love God with all of these things, your heart, your soul, and your mind, and still not put God first in your heart?  Yes, it is truly possible to do both.  So many believers love God with all their heart, soul, and mind, yet God does not have first place in their life.  We find the reason for this explained in “The Parable Of The Sower.”

“And he taught them many things by parables, and said unto them in his doctrine, ‘Hearken; Behold, there went out a sower to sow: and it came to pass, as he sowed, some fell by the way side, and the fowls of the air came and devoured it up.  And some fell on stony ground, where it had not much earth; and immediately it sprang up, because it had no depth of earth: but when the sun was up, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away.  And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up, and choked it, and it yielded no fruit.  And other fell on good ground, and did yield fruit that sprang up and increased; and brought forth, some thirty, and some sixty, and some a hundred’” (Mark 4:2-8).

The sower sows seed, which according to scripture is “the word of God” (Mark 4:14), into the hearts of the believer, who faithfully receive it, but then they “allow the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things to enter in their heart” (Mark 4:19).  It is these things that believers tend to give first place to in their hearts instead of the things of God.  It happens day in and day out.  This does not mean that these people love God any less or are doing sinful things; it just means that they have focused their attention on other things and have no longer put God first in their hearts, so the word of God is choked from their hearts.

“Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee” (Isaiah 26:3).  “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he” (Proverbs 23:7).  “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life” (Proverbs 4:23).

Instead of “keeping our mind stayed upon God, which will keep us in perfect peace,” as is stated in scripture, we keep our mind stayed upon the things of the world, the things that everyday living brings about.  We focus our attention on family, friends, and work, in no particular order and tend to put God “on the back burner or in the back seat.”  We tend to think about this situation and that situation going on in our life, we focus on this tragedy and that tragedy, and we get caught up in this daily struggle and that daily struggle, eventually meditating on these things day and night, which ultimately produces doubt, fear, discouragement, and unbelief.  These are the things that we now give first place and because we think on these things in our heart.  These are the things that we become because “as a man thinks in his heart, so is he.”  We become depressed become we think on depressing things.  We are fearful, because we think on fearful things.  We are discouraged because we think on discouraging things.  We have doubt and unbelief because we allow them to come into our hearts and then we think on them, “for out of the heart come the issues of life and it determines the course of your life.”

“And now, brothers, as I close this letter, let me say this one more thing: Fix your thoughts on what is true and good and right.  Think about things that are pure and lovely, and dwell on the fine, good things in others.  Think about all you can praise God for and be glad about” (Philippians 4:8).  “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need” (Matthew 6:33 NLT).

Finally, we are to think on these things instead, those things that are true, honorable, right and just.  We should think on those things that are pure, lovely, admirable, and are of good report.  Think on those things of virtue, things that are excellent and worthy of praise.  And about all, think on those things that you can praise God for and give praise to God for them.  We are to seek first the kingdom of God, putting his work first, above all other things that we may do.  We are to live righteous, doing all that God wants us to do.  And when we have done these things, all of the other things will be ours as well, for God will give us everything else we need.  When we think on these things and seek first the kingdom of God, we put God first in our heart, we keep our mind stayed on him, and we guard our heart with all diligence, which keeps us in perfect peace.

We pray that today’s inspirational message will give you a new perspective on what it means to “put God first.”  We also pray that this message will bless you, inform you, and that you will be the better for having read it.  If blessed by this message, please share so that others may be blessed as well.  Amen.

Enjoy your blessings - KW

Devotion: Delay Is Not Denial

There has always been some question in the minds of most believers as to how God answers our prayers.  We have been taught that God is always faithful to answer our prayers, but we have been told that God answers some prayers with a “Yes,” some prayers with a “No” or so it seems sometimes, and other prayers with a “Wait.”  Is this really how God answers our prayers?  Does he really tell us “No” or to “to wait” or is this something that has been created by man to console ourselves when we do not get that immediate, desired answer from God?

For the answer to these questions, let us turn to a prayer by Daniel, who was seeking wisdom on a prophesy that Jeremiah had given to the children of Israel that said they would be held in captivity for seventy years (Jeremiah 25:11-12; 29:10).  The time had passed and it looked like the prophesy was not going to come true so Daniel prayed seeking revelation from God.

“And whiles I was speaking, and praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the Lord my God for the holy mountain of my God; yea, whiles I was speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening oblation.  And he informed me, and talked with me, and said, O Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding.  At the beginning of thy supplications the commandment came forth, and I am come to show thee; for thou art greatly beloved: therefore understand the matter, and consider the vision” (Daniel 9:20-23).

We see from this passage that while Daniel was still praying, the answer to his prayer was so immediate that it interrupted his prayer.  God had sent forth the angel Gabriel to deliver the answer to Daniel’s prayer.  Besides giving Daniel the answer to his prayer, we also note that Gabriel explained to Daniel that when he first began to pray, the commandment came forth for Gabriel to come forth and show him the answer to his request.  We see from the onset of Daniel’s prayer, God immediately answered his prayer and within a matter of minutes, the answer manifested itself in the form of the angel Gabriel.  By the way, the answer was seventy weeks of years or seven times seventy years (490 years in all) (Daniel 9:24).  But Daniel had a second prayer, but with this prayer, Daniel prayed and fasted for three full weeks (Daniel 10:1-2).  Why was such a delay in God answering this prayer?  Had he somehow told Daniel to “wait?”

“And, behold, an hand touched me, which set me upon my knees and upon the palms of my hands.  And he said unto me, O Daniel, a man greatly beloved, understand the words that I speak unto thee, and stand upright: for unto thee am I now sent.  And when he had spoken this word unto me, I stood trembling.  Then said he unto me, Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words.  But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia.  Now I am come to make thee understand what shall befall thy people in the latter days: for yet the vision is for many days” (Daniel 10:10-14).

We see from this passage that while Daniel prayed this time for three full weeks, the angel told him that from the first day that he had set his heart to understand, God heard his prayer and the commandment came forth for this angel to come forth and show him the answer to his request.  We see from the onset of Daniel’s prayer, God immediately answered his prayer, but for some reason this answer took three weeks to manifest.  Why was there a delay of three weeks for this prayer and manifestation for the previous prayer received immediately?  According to the angel, it the prince of the kingdom of Persia or a demonic entity that delayed him one and twenty days or three weeks and it was not until the angel Gabriel came to help him that he was able to get free and come to make Daniel understand what would befall the children of Israel.  From this, we see from this prayer that the delay was not of God but of a demonic force.

“And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: and if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him” (I John 5:14-15).  “For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us” (II Corinthians 1:20).

Scripture tells us that we can now have this confidence in knowing that if we ask any thing according to his will, he hears us and knowing that he hears any request that is according to his will, whatever the request, we have the petitions that we have asked of him.  But here is the icing on the cake, all of the promises of God and any thing based on the word of God are “Yes” and “Amen.”  God simply does not answer “No” to our prayers, however, he just doesn’t answer, honor, or listen to any request that is not in his will.  As for the delays being or not being denials, we see that had Daniel not stood on his faith and on the promise of God for three weeks, waiting for the manifestation, “the delay” may have been seen as “a denial.”  But now that you know the truth, knowing that God answers all prayers that are according to his will, immediately, how will this knowledge change the way you view prayer?  Will you now preserve one and twenty days or one and twenty years?

We pray that this inspirational message will be a blessing to you as well as informative.  If blessed by this message, please share so that others may be blessed as well.  Amen.

Enjoy your blessings - KW

Devotion: Prayer Strengthens You

Prayer is always an interesting subject because of the many aspects associated with the process.  We know from previous discussions, prayer is nothing more than how we communicate with God.  We now know that prayer will also strengthen us.

“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything; tell God your needs, and don’t forget to thank him for his answers.  If you do this, you will experience God’s peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand.  His peace will keep your thoughts and your hearts quiet and at rest as you trust in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7 TLB).

Worrying causes stress and stress can causes all kinds of other issues, mainly issues that can affect our health.  Instead of worrying about things, we are told to pray about everything.  And when we pray, we will experience God’s peace, which will keep our thoughts and our heart quiet and at rest.

“Pray without ceasing.  In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you” (I Thessalonians 5:17-18).

We are told to pray without ceasing.  As we know, prayer is just a conversation between God and us, so basically God is telling us to “communicate with him without ceasing.”  God is telling us that we should not cease to be in constant contact with him, constantly having a conversation with him, which will allow us to experience his peace.

“Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer” (Romans 12:12 NIV)

Prayer should always be our first response to everything and never used as our last resort because we have become desperate and run out of options.  We should devote ourselves to prayer and to being in constant communication with God.  Prayer, that constant communication with God can actually strengthen your faith.

“But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength.  They shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint” (Isaiah 40:31 TLB).

We should never underestimate the power of prayer, especially when we do it the way God wants us to do it.  Prayer can renew our strength.  Cease not to pray.  Cease not to constantly communicate with God.  Prayer, constant communication with God, will strengthen us.

We pray that this inspirational message will be a blessing to you as well as informative.  If blessed by this message, please share so that others may be blessed as well.  Amen./span>

Enjoy your blessings - KW

Devotion: If You Don’t Know What To Believe

Each day we struggle with what to believe, questioning whether what we hear is of God or of the devil.  While there appears to be some ambiguity in the minds of many about God, we wanted to know who this God is that so many claim to serve.  Since we were tired of being tossed back and forth, going this way and that, turned about by every wind of doctrine and teaching of man (Ephesians 4:14), we decided to search the scriptures for ourselves to see what God has said about himself.  We found that the God we are supposed to serve tells us to put our trust in him.

“Thus saith the Lord; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord.  For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited.  Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is.  For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit” (Jeremiah 17:5-8).

Because we do not know who God is, then our faith and our trust ends up being misplaced.  We place more trust in mortal man, who can turn our hearts away from God than we place in trusting the actual word of God.  God tells us to “study to show thyself approved” so that we can “rightly dividing the word of truth” (II Timothy 2:15).  Scripture tells us that this “word of truth is given to tell you what to believe (for doctrine), what is wrong (for reproof), how to correct wrong (for correction), how to live (for instruction in righteousness).  You are to rely on the word of truth because it includes everything needed to grow in maturity, to be perfect (meaning proficient or capable), and to do what God wants” (II Timothy 3:16-17).

What must we do if we don’t know what to believe?  If you don’t know what to believe, then we suggest that you find out the truth for yourself.  Search the scriptures for yourself because the word of truth contains all you need, so that you will know what to believe and what not to believe.  We pray that today’s inspirational message will bless you and that you will share it so that others may be blessed as well.  Amen.

Enjoy your blessings - KW

Devotion: Fight The Good Fight Of Faith

One of the biggest enemy’s in “fighting the good fight of faith” is what is called “sense-knowledge.”  “Sense-knowledge” is the kind of knowledge that is based on physical evidence.  This enemy forces us to concentrate only on those things that can be perceived by our five senses.  We only believe those things that we can see, taste, smell, hear, or touch.  “Sense-knowledge” requires us to rely upon physical evidence as the motivator for our belief system, which in turn drives our faith in God.  By allowing this enemy to grow within us, we in turn, place our trust only in “the witness of the senses or what the senses are telling us.”  But is this the kind of faith that God requires of us?

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1).

We know from scripture that faith actually provides substance or assurance and then evidence.  There is not a lot of difference between assurance and evidence other than the qualifiers for each of them, which involves hope and realities that are unseen, respectively.  Everything in our life that we have learned has come through our five senses or through “sense-knowledge.”  However, “the God kind of faith” is not at all perceived by the senses.  Faith is actually the evidence of the thing hoped for, the evidence that the thing exists but it is not the thing itself.  Faith is the substance or the tangibility of hope.  While hope cannot change your circumstances, it can change your attitude about the circumstances.  Hope is a goal setter and faith is the way to achieve the goal.  You see, we do not need evidence to believe in something that we can physically see, taste, smell, hear, or touch.  The thing itself provides the evidence of the thing’s existence.  Faith is the evidence that something does exists regardless of the witness of the senses or what the senses are telling us.  Again, “the God kind of faith” is not perceived by any of the senses.

“For we walk by faith, not by sight” (II Corinthians 5:7).  “While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal” (II Corinthians 4:18).

In order to walk by faith, we must leave the world of the senses.  As we walk by faith, we leave behind what our senses are telling us and completely trust God.  This is key component to “the God kind of faith,” completely trusting in him.  When we take up this walking by faith, our mind is not focused on the things that can be seen.  Our mind is not focused on the troubles around us.  The things that are seen or perceived by our senses are temporary in nature and can only be seen for a time.  When we walk by faith, our mind should be focused on those things that cannot be seen, for the things that are not seen or perceived by our senses are eternal and everlasting.  Some people will disagree with this assessment because their faith is based one hundred percent on their “sense-knowledge” or what some would call “head faith.”  Again, this type of faith requires one to rely upon physical evidence as the motivator for his or her belief system, which in turn drives his or her faith in God.  When we walk by faith, we are not walking by our senses when it comes to the things of God.  This is the kind of faith that God requires of us, this is that “God kind of faith.”

“Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses” (I Timothy 6:12).

In all of this, we see that faith contingent upon “sense-knowledge” or “head faith” has several limitations and can become a hindrance to our faith.  Focusing our mind on only those things that we can see, taste, smell, hear, or touch or physical evidence will limit or hinder our faith and is just another one of the many enemies to our faith that we need to overcome in our efforts to “fight the good fight of faith.”

Today’s inspirational message just might give you a new perspective on what it means to “fight the good fight of faith.”  We pray that this message will bless you, inform you, and that you will be the better for having read it.  If blessed by this message, please share so that others may be blessed as well.  Amen.

Enjoy your blessings. - KW