Hope is a feeling of what is wanted will happen or desire accompanied by expectation. What is the main thing you hope for?  Be real with yourself; what is your deepest desire? I can answer it for a lot of you and to tell you the truth it use to be one of my deepest desires. The desire to have no more money troubles or to do even better, to be rich.I’ve heard so many people say if I could just win the lottery my troubles would be over. Don’t get me wrong a nice sum of money would help out a whole lot but it wouldn’t end all my woes. Wanting money is not wrong but desiring it above all else is. Okay we got the main thing out of the way lets move on to your spouse or significant other, your children, job, or some other personal thing in your life. Is a lot your hope in these? I’m not telling you not to have expectations because that is a normal part of life. You should expect good things but placing all your hope in things of this world is not good at all.

Have you been let down by some big expectation in your life? How did you handle it? Maybe you are part of the ones that have your hope in the right thing or maybe you haven’t been let down hard enough yet. Do you ever wonder why drunks, drug heads, sex addicts, violence lovers, career criminals and other like these are in the shape they are in? No true eternal hope is the answer. The worst outcome of having no true eternal hope is suicide. So many people take their lives because they feel like they don’t have anything to live for. But only if they open up their eyes and see whats real and dependable. Think about what you do when the going get a little tough. Do you humble yourself before God and start praying and faithfully wait for a solution to the situation or do you turn to alcohol, drugs, sex, violence or something else like these to make you feel better? If you do your hope is in the wrong place. You don’t have to be an addict but needing these things to relieve stress show where your hope lies.

Our main hope or expectation is to have an eternal home with God. If you set that as your main focus your life will change for the better. Once you get your mind set you’re going to start seeking Christ, because the only way to God is through Jesus Christ. Something down on the inside of you is going to change and the people around you will notice that change. As long as you do the things you need to you will endure this life with some peace and joy. I’m not saying as soon as you receive Jesus as your Savior things are going to be great everyday but you will have something to sustain you in tough times and really rejoice about in good times.

So many things in this life are going to let you down. In order to survive with any victory you will have to be anchored to something reliable. Speaking for myself  if God don’t do another thing for me He’s already done enough. He sent Jesus so I could be saved. At the end of this earthly life I can go home to live with God and have eternal life. Revelation 21:3&4 says, “And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, no sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for former things have passed away.”

Prayer

Father God we rejoice at the thought of You. You are truly the Almighty. Forgive us for placing trust in worldly things. We have been deceived to believe that we need only the things of this world to survive. In this deception we are being let down. Lead us in a closer walk with You so we can sample a bit of the joy You have for us on the other side where there is unspeakable joy. We reach out to You right now. In Jesus name we pray. Amen

James 1:14, 15 says, “But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death.” We are all tempted at one time or another and I’m not primarily talking about sexual attraction. There are other temptations such as alcohol, drugs, the temptation to lie, cheat, steal, become angry and other like these. We are bothered by things like these daily and from time to time some of us give in to them.

What I want to talk about are the things that lead us to sin. I’m going to call these things triggers. A trigger put something into action. Like I said before we all are tempted but we don’t sin until we act out our temptation. What is it that really triggers or pushes you into your sin? Is it frustration, sadness, loneliness, jealousy, envy, fear or something else. We use these triggers to justify why we do sin. For instance we say things like; If they wouldn’t have did that to me I wouldn’t have cursed them out or you lie because the truth will get you in trouble. Even though there are reasons we give in to temptation, there are still no good reasons to sin. Ok let me get this out of the way, we all sin in one way or another but we shouldn’t do it intentionally. I know the enemy set traps to make you fall into temptation and that same trap has been working for a long time, but you still can over come it. First you need to truly repent and this means to turn back from the sin with the honest desire not to return to it. Some of us confuse repenting with lamenting. To lament is to feel bad about the wrong you are doing but not really turning away from the sin. Ask God reveal all the things that trigger you to sin and pray for help in these areas daily as many times as needed. If you fall get back up and try again. 1 Corinthians 10:13 says,” No temptation has over taken you such as common to man; and God is faithful, who will not let you be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide a way of escape also that you will able to endure it.” Reading this we know we have a way of escape, but for some reason we don’t always take it. I know you have been in a moment where you are going to get mad and go off and something in your spirit told you to walk away or shut up its not worth it, but you went off anyway doing more harm than good. A lot of the time if we just walk away from that thing that is tempting us, that strong urge to fall into that temptation sooner or later will pass.

Resisting the urge to act out your temptations take having Jesus in your life and discipline. You have to practice resisting everyday. Some days are not going to be good at all but if you hang in there, you will have more good days than bad days. So every time you get tempted to sin, take time to remember God has provided a way out.

I’m going to leave you with Proverb 26:11. It says, “A dog returns to his vomit, a fool repeats his folly.” Don’t be a fool.

Prayer

Father God how awesome You are. You are the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End. Father God this world offers us so many things we shouldn’t have and this flesh urges us to do things we shouldn’t do. We ask for strength right now, in the name of Jesus, to endure temptation. We are going to do our part by studying Your word, meditating on good things, and worshiping You. Keep us Father. In Jesus name we pray. Amen

Are you for me or against me? Do you ask that question or want to ask someone that question? Sometimes it seems the ones that should be for you are against you. You can tell who is really for you by the way they act when you are going through something. To tell you the truth I respect my enemies who let me know who they are than the ones that pretend to be friendly but are busy talking behind my back. The ones that show their true face from the beginning are easier to forgive.

Do the people close to you make you a better person or do they drive you in the other direction? I know there may be certain people in your life you hate to see coming and they are always bringing up something you don’t want to hear. Maybe this person is a truth teller and you know how we don’t always want to hear the truth. It may seem like they are meddling in your business and need to mind their own but maybe its their business to let you know about yours. You know how we put off issues that should have been dealt with from the beginning. So be very careful before you side step these people, they may tell you something you need to hear. Whenever you listen to anyone, take in what you need to hear and disregard the rest. Now lets get to the part you need to hear. You must first be humble and open to receive and you must know what truth is. In John 14:6 Jesus says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” Since Jesus is the truth where do we start learning of Him. The Bible the Word of God, is where we start. John 1:1 says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” You know in this scripture the Word and Jesus are the same. So read and study you will discern what’s true and what’s not. Those of you who know what the truth is and are still not willing to receive from a truth teller, you may have a pride issue and you already know what the Bible says that pride comes before a fall.

Now lets get back to the ones that live with you or close family or friends that don’t. If you let the truth open up your eyes some of these people are not for you. I’m not talking about having an argument every now and then, that’s pretty normal. I’m talking about you feel like these people are choking the life out of you. If you don’t have God in your life you better receive Him because you’re going to need Him, I promise.

My brothers and sisters don’t let anyone drag you down to the point of losing your mind. Mothers I know you love your kids but you have to put them in God’s hands. Let me put it this way, put all your cares in God’s hands. 1 Peter 5:6&7 says, “Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.”

Prayer

Hallelujah Father God we give You the highest praise. We humble ourselves before You asking You to help us deal with the difficult people in our lives. If we are one of the difficult people help us have a closer relationship with You and create a humble spirit in us. Father God we are already counting it done. In Jesus name we pray. Amen

     Do you feel angry alot? Sometimes you might have a reason but sometimes you get mad at everything that goes wrong. Maybe you are bitter towards someone or something. Some really tough life circumstance really affected you and made you bitter.

     Bitterness is an intense feeling of dislike or disgust. Bitterness is deep and it can and will effect your attitude and the decisions you make on a daily basis. It destroys relationships between husbands and wives, siblings, parent and child, family members, friends, business relationships and so on. When you are bitter you don’t always do what thus says the Lord, you do what you feel. You sometimes feel like nothing matters. You have feelings of revenge, disgust, hatred and other feelings like these. If you are a christian you really can’t hear from God because you are really walking in the flesh. Galatians 5:15&16 speaks of the Spirit and the flesh being against one another. This tells me you can be in the Spirit or the flesh, not both.

     So how do we deal with this bitterness. First of all we have to find the root cause. This is the tricky part because you get mad about so many things. But its one thing you may be in denial about. You have to get still before the Lord and ask Him what it is. This may take a while because you are not willing to accept the answer you get. When you do get the answer, let Jesus come into that area of your life. Matthew 11:28-30 says “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me , for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” God wants us to have peace and there is no peace in bitterness.

     After we find out why we are bitter and ask Jesus to come and help us release it, we have to be willing to let it go. A lot of you have been bitter for so long it has become part of you. It has become your personality and if you let it go you’re probably afraid you won’t have an identity. Let Jesus come in and create a new you.

     Forgiveness has to be part of this process. If someone wronged you whether dead or alive, you need to forgive them and you need to ask God for forgiveness for how you responded. Matthew 6:14&15 says, “For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.”

     My brothers and sisters bitterness is a blessing blocker, prayer hinderer, and a life destroyer. I’m not saying that this is a simple process and some of you may need some type of counceling. What I’m asking you to do is give it a real honest to God try and if it doesn’t seem like its working, keep trying until it does. I’ve been bitter and I tell you it was a bad experience. Find the root cause of your bitterness and please deal with it.

Prayer

Father God You are Master and King. We give You all the glory and praise. Lord some where along the way we have let the seed of bitterness take root in our heart. In the name of Jesus we ask You to come in and remove that joy destroying bitterness. Show us what to do because we can’t do it without You. We thank You in advance for what You are going to do in our lives. In Jesus name we pray. Amen

     Are you going through anything? In this life I’m guessing you are one way or another. It may not be as bad as someone else’s struggle but its still somewhat of a battle. What about the trials that seem to be hopeless? Maybe you caused the problem in your life or someone else did but it doesn’t matter now because its there none the less. In John 16:33 Jesus says “I have told you these things’ so that in Me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” Jesus says with Him you can overcome anything. Mark 35-40 tells of a situation Jesus went through with His disciples. It reads, “On the day when evening came He said to them “Let us go over to the other side.” Leaving the crowd, they took Him along with them in the boat, just as He was; and the other boats were with Him. And there arose a fierce gale of wind, and the waves were breaking over the boat so much that the boat was already filling up. Jesus Himself was in the stern, asleep on a cushion; and they woke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” And He got up and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Hush, be still.” And the wind died down and it became perfectly calm. And He said to them, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?” These scriptures here are so very awesome. When Jesus said, Let us go over to the other side,” everybody should have kicked back and relaxed. One thing you should get in your mind and never forget, when Jesus says something its a done deal. Now lets go back to John 16:33 where Jesus says “…that in me you will have peace…” , meaning you shouldn’t be constantly depressed or panicky with Jesus truly in your life. Now lets go back to the disciples in the boat. They actually had Jesus in physical form and still panicked. They really didn’t have their full trust in Him because it showed when they doubted. Does this sound familiar? Is this happening in your life or the life of someone you know? You may not have His physical presence but He’s there in Spirit. Look at the scripture where He said, Why are you afraid do you still have no faith?” Take a look at yourself and your circumstances and ask yourself; Do I really have faith? Sometimes you may get caught off guard but remember what the disciples did when things got out of control, they called on Jesus. Are any storms in your life that need to be quieted? Do you want Jesus to say “Hush be still” to your situation? Get Him on board the boat of your life.

     Some of you may be saved and still have doubts of making it. In the storms of life there is pain, fear, and doubt. Those times in your life when things seem to be overwhelming and you feel like you are about to lose your mind, call on Jesus like the disciples did. Remember what I’m about to say because its very important. IN ORDER TO GET REAL PEACE ABOUT YOUR TROUBLES, YOU MUST TOTALLY TRUST GOD THROUGH JESUS CHRIST! Turn everything over to Jesus and I mean everything. Your finances, spouse or significant other, children, job, family members, health, church and anything else thats important to you, put them all in the Lord’s hands.

     Before I close I want to show you where one of the disciples that was real fearful on the boat was filled with peace in a dificult situation. Acts 12:5&6 says; “So Peter was kept in prison, but prayer was made fervently by the church to God. On the very night Herod was about to bring Him foward, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and guards in the front of the door was watching over the prison.” Can you see the change in Peter sleeping with the possibility of death the next day. Peter got this way by spending time with God. The more time we spend with God, the more our faith increases.

     The next time you feel yourself sinking and you think you are not going to make it, call on Jesus and He will see you through.

Prayer

Father You are the one and only true God. In You alone we trust and believe. Father God sometimes it gets hard in this life. Sometimes we do things to make our lives difficult and at other times they just happen. But through it all we need you to be there to get us from point A to point B. Have your way in our lives. In Jesus name we pray. Amen  

     I want to share some passages of scripture with you I’ve read many times and thought I really understood them until I watched fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, people in the world and even myself and realized how true these scriptures are. The Apostle Paul says in Roman 7:15-25, “For what I’m doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate. But if I do the very thing I do not want to do, I agree with the law, confessing that the law is good. So now, no longer am I the one doing it, but the sin that dwells in me. For I know that nothing  good dwells in me, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of good is not. For the good I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil I do not want. But if I’m doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. I find the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good. For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man, but I see a different law in my members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!”  

     Can you relat to these scriptures? The Apostle Paul, a man whom God spoke through to write a good portion of the New Testament, spoke these things. This goes to show even the holy and unholy of us has a battle going on within.

     Have you ever promised yourself, someone else or God you were going to change for the good or treat someone better, but some where along the way someone got too far under your skin and you went off worse than you ever did. Or may be that you woke up in a bad mood and there you go getting someone told. Let me use another situation. Men and some women too, but especially men, God placed in us a desire for the opposite sex (you noticed I said opposite). Our eyes have a tendency to wonder. Not just that one time but quite a few . We may not say anything directly to that person but our mind is having its way. Sometimes we really want to stop, but sooner or later those eyes go wandering again. In Matthews 5:28 Jesus says “But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already commited adultry with her in his heart.” You may say there is nothing wrong with looking and it isn’t, as long as its just a look.

     My brothers and sisters I know its your intention to always do right but the sin nature is present in all of us. Romans 5:19 says “For as through one mans disobedience (Adam) the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One (Christ) the many will be made righteous.” Thank God that through Jesus Christ we are forgiven and covered by His grace (unearned favor) and His mercy (multiple chances). Ephesians 2:4-7 says “But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions (sins), it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that the coming ages that He might show the incomparable riches of His grace, expressed in His kindness to us in Christ Jesus.” So true saints of God don’t worry when you sometimes fall short. We are made righteous through Jesus Christ. Let me add this. Don’t sin on purpose knowing God is going to forgive you. That’s called tempting God and He’s not going to be taken for granted. Remember to ask for forgiveness and repent. God has your sin nature covered. 

Prayer

Glory to Your name Father God. Thank You for being such an awesome Father, perfect in all Your ways. Lord in our minds we want to do what’s right but this flesh of ours continues to get us into trouble. Jesus we Thank You, because through you we are made righteous. God right now all we can do is praise You for everything including covering our sins in spite of our sin nature. Your grace and mercy is so much appreciated. In Jesus name we pray. Amen                                                                          

     One day I was meditating, thinking about my brothers and sisters in Christ and even myself and wondering about true salvation. Some of us have been saved for quite a while still struggling with the sins we commited before we got saved. When we receive our salvation some sins fall off right away but some may take longer to bring under control with the help of Jesus. But how long does it take to bring some sinful activities under subjection? It’s according to how much God you want in your life. Some so called christians think that going to church every Sunday is enough but the rest of their life during the week doesn’t represent too much about Christ. These are the people I am talking about. I want to ask a question; Do you think you are really saved and on your way to heaven? Maybe you think so because God used or is using you to do some good things. Maybe you hold some position in church or you might do a lot of volunteer work or some other good works. But does this make you saved? In Numbers chapter 22 God used a donkey to do His will. In this chapter a man was hired to prophesy against God’s people. While he rode his donkey toward his assignment an Angel of the Lord with a drawn sword stood before him and the donkey but the donkey was the only one that could see the Angel. As he rode, the donkey turned to the side every time the Angel appeared before her and each time she turned the man struck her. Soon the donkey laid down and the man was ready to hit her again, that’s when the Lord opened the donkey’s mouth and she began to speak asking the man why was he hitting her. The Angel of the Lord later spoke up telling the man if the donkey would have continued He would have killed him. So if  God can use a donkey he can use you without being saved. I’m not saying this stuff to insult anybody, I just want all of us to walk the best we can before God. You are not going to be perfect but you should strive to do your very best. So examine your way of life before and after you received Jesus as your Savior. Are you moving closer to God each day or are you still doing pretty much the same things you did before you got saved? Doing churchy things don’t make you saved. Do you have a heart for God and try to live the way He wants you to live everyday? If you do it will show without you even trying, you can’t fake it and if you do it will show sooner or later. Study your Bible and find out what true salvation is and ask God in the name of Jesus to help you live that way. When you feel the Holy Spirit let Him guide you, don’t ignore Him. Don’t be a donkey be a tool for God all the time. 

    Prayer

Father God You truly are an awesome Master . Thank You for using us whether we want to be used or not. Please lead us into true salvation so we can be used because we want to. Right now we commit our lives over into Your hands to do with us whatever You want. Your will be done not ours. In Jesus name we pray. AMEN

GOD BLESS 

I know you have heard something like be careful what you do it will come back on you or you will reap what you sow meaning you will receive what you plant. Believe it or not its true whether you are a christian or not. Common sense should tell you if you continue to do bad things, bad things are going to happen to you. For example if you continue to cheat and steal you are eventually going to get caught and suffer the consequences. On the flip side of that, if you do good things, good things are going to happen to you.
Now lets see what the word of God says about it. Job 4:8 says “According to what I have seen, those who plow iniquity and those who sow trouble harvest it.” Galatians 6:7,8 says “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. For one who sow to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.” There are more scriptures concerning reaping and sowing but I chose these.
Think about your life as it is now, whether its good, bad or so so and look back at your past. I guarantee you certain decisions you made back then had an impact on where you are now. I know some things happened that was beyond your control but still the decision created your present situation. Speaking for myself things were happening that I just couldn’t understand. I had been praying and pleading for God to give me something I really needed. I’m talking about really needing. At that time I felt like I had repented of all my sins and trying to do what God said, but still my situation didn’t change. Things were seeming to get worse. Then one day while I was meditating God put it in my spirit that I was reaping what I sowed. He showed me some bad decisions I had made and how they are effecting me now. He also showed me I still had certain sins in my life that I really didn’t repent of. When this hit me I was stunned. This is when I really repented. He also laid in my spirit that what is happening is going to have to run its course. That’s the part we don’t want to hear, we want God to deliver us now. Don’t get me wrong Jesus is still going to comfort and bless you in other areas of your life, but that bad seed you sowed is going to have to grow and die out. What you need to do now is start doing the right thing everyday. Even when the right thing seem to be making things worse. Don’t compromise, cut corners or do any thing else negative. Ask God to show you all the sin in your life and ask for forgiveness with the true intentions of not returning to your sin or sins. Continue to trust God because God is not a man that He should lie(Numbers 23;19).
Before I close I want to share a few more scriptures with you. 2 Corinthians 9:6-8 says, “Now this I say, he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and and he who sows bountifilly will also reap bountifully. Each one must do what he purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance in every good deed.” In other words if you give a little, you will receive a little. And if you give alot you will receive alot. When you give, do it because you want to. God will provide all your needs and more. Galatians 6:9 says, “And let us not be weary in well doing; for in due season we will reap ,if we faint not.” So don’t faint or give up.

Ecclesiates 7;16 says “Do not be excessively righteous and do not be overly wise” 2 Timothy 3:1-5 says “But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, haters of good, trecherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to the form of godliness although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these.”
I started off with these scriptures to ask this question: Will the real men and women of God please stand up? Asking you to stand up is asking you to be real. Alot of us have this showy religion. We lift up holy hands in church, use religious slang, quote scripture, we join ourselves to certain denominations thinking they are more powerful than the other. We do so many things to show that we are religious but where is the evidence that you really represent God? Yes we have the form of godliness but are you really positively effecting the people around you? We have the big churches and the super spiritual ministries but do they have any impact on the community? I want you to really think about yourself personally: Are you being a good example and are you ready to give a word of encouragement when the time is right? Do you show the fruit of the spirit which is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control as stated in Galations 5:22? Or do you show mostly the characteristics shown in the scriptures I mentioned in the beginning?
To have a true positive influence we must be saved. Don’t get me wrong, you still can have a positive influence on someone and not be saved but to really know true love, we must have received Jesus Christ as our personal Savior.
This is a call to wake up and do what God called us to do. We have to press to love, be kind and do all the rest of the fruit of the spirit even we don’t fell like it. Most of all we have to love on purpose, even the ones that seem unlovable. My brothers and sisters the harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few (Luke 10:2). The harvest is going bad meaning people are dying and killing themselves without really being encouraged. Do you want that blood on your hands knowing you could have helped knowing you could have helped someone and didn’t. Don’t be one of those so called Christians, BE REAL!