Insights For Spiritual Strength

Our Help Comes From The Lord

A relationship with God is the most important relationship we can ever have! I heard someone say, PRAYER is wireless access to God with no roaming fee.” But, we live in a hurried society! And, with all of our busyness, excitement, travel, adventure, and dizzying schedules, many times we leave out the most important piece of life’s puzzle: our alone time with God each day. We even forget sometimes, the effectiveness of a whispered prayer while on the go… simply to let GOD know how thankful and appreciative we are for His grace… and for His provision in our lives. Yet, prayer is not a drive-thru service. We don't get to "place our order" and then "drive forward" for fulfillment. GOD does not work in that way. But, all day… throughout the day, we should find ourselves having the presence of mind like the psalmist in Psalm 121, saying: “I will lift up my eyes to the hills— From whence comes my help. My help comes from the Lord, Who made heaven and earth.” Today, no matter what kind of a moment you find yourself in… share it with GOD. "Happy moments, praise God. Difficult moments, seek God. Quiet moments, worship God. Painful moments, trust God. Every moment, thank God."

Have Faith

No matter how much we laugh or smile; no matter how good our job and the pay is; no matter how well we dress or the fine things we might possess; no matter how many nice things people say about us or how loud they sing our praises...if we don't feel those same things for ourselves within our heart, then, we will never truly be happy. The struggle against the enemy will remain as long as we live. That is the bitter truth! But when trouble comes, God is with us. We must always pray for God’s protection again and again; though, so we can overcome every evil temptation that comes against us in this life. God is our help... therefore we should never worry or despair, because He knows exactly what we need and He is willing and able to provide for us.

God Will Provide

Fear. Worries. Restlessness. These are three of the biggest thieves that the enemy use to steal from us. Doubt is their boss! They work for him by inviting themselves into our minds and entering our thoughts to rob us of our dreams; and to cause us to think we have no future. But, answer this... Do you need or enjoy fear, worries and restlessness? If not, then there is no need to keep inviting these unwanted guests into your mind? It's better to use the tools GOD gives us to defeat the enemy - Prayer, Faith, Hope, and Focus. Just as the wind causes waves to arise in the sea... restless thoughts are the winds that bring the waves of fear and the storms of worry into our mind to produce doubt. But, GOD's way is better! True peace of mind is not dependent on circumstances. It comes from the inside. "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?" Trust GOD! If He provides for those who don't love Him... who actually hate Him, then, surely He will provide for His own.

Why Are We Here

Why are we here? Is it just to enjoy life? Is it just to have fun... then, set aside a few hours of worship to GOD one day a week? Do we really love GOD? Here's what's happening behind the scenes. There is a battle between GOD and Satan for the eternal destiny of mankind and of planet earth, and it involves all of our everday moral decisions. It involves the submission of ourselves to GOD’s will. We have choices to make and the real question we have to ask ourselves is, will we allow Satan to win this, or is GOD going to win it? Will we be loyal to Satan or will we be loyal to God? That’s really what’s life is about. So it’s not just about hearing deep sermons or hearing great singing, or even sheding a few tears in worship... even though all those things are good. No, it involves mankind on this earth, and God’s purposes and plans for him, and how we, individually, are going to fight this? We are simply here to choose sides. GOD or Satan! That's what life is all about. We have to submit to GOD's will... and then we can truly live... that is how we will win; through the blood of the Lamb

Helping Our Children

Teaching children is one of the greatest challenges facing parents and the church today. Unfortunately, whether we teach them or not, they will still learn...even if it's not what we want them to learn. Children watch and listen to us, even when we don't realize it. Therefore, we must always be careful what we say, who we say it about, and how we say it; because they will grow up mimicking the exact same things they have watched us do...

Access to God Through Prayer

Prayer is an open line to heaven! In a world that shows preferential treatment to the wealthy, the famous, and the influential; it's encouraging to know that every child of God has equal access to our Father in Heaven. The psalmist said, "The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth" (Psalm 145:18). With that assurance, we can "come boldly to the throne of grace" in prayer, knowing that our loving God will never turn us away.

The Divine Call

We often say, "God has a calling on my life", and that's certainly true; But so does Satan! God's call is to repentance for everlasting life. Satan's call, however, is to self-righteousness and pride that leads to destruction - eternally. We must be careful at all times with the choices we make, then, because one bad decision - even when it seems right - can cause a chain reaction of ungodly choices that could leave us spinning out of control. So, pray about everything and let God have the final say so!

It’s A New Day

Today is the day for a fresh start! All of the disappointments you've experienced, it's all in the past. There's no need to look back and focus on those things you can't change. Look ahead! There's new life...a new you waiting to be discovered. All of your great dreams of success; WAKE THEM UP! Make it happen. God's says you're a winner. And all of us know…God cannot lie.

Our Helper

The struggle against the enemy will remain as long as we live. That is the bitter truth! But when trouble comes, God is with us. We must always pray for God’s protection again and again; though, so we can overcome every evil temptation that comes against us in this life. God is our help...therefore we should never worry or despair, because He knows exactly what we need and He is willing and able to provide for us.

Keep Going

We have to see life the same way we did when we were first learning to walk. Though we repeatedly fell...we got back up. We cried at times.... but, we still got back up. Eventually, after trying day and night...we learned to walk without falling. It’s the same way life is. We may fail some days and cry on other days, but we must keep going. There's no need to give up at the onset of a storm, because it's the only way we can grow. If we continue to keep going, we will ultimately reach whatever it is we are striving to accomplish.

You Can Win

Turn the volume down on that voice inside you that's blasting your mind with negative self-talk. No matter how much it says you can't... you must believe YOU CAN! Although life may get a rather burdensome at times – never give up. Believe in yourself! God has already declared.... YOU ARE A WINNER!

Godly Prayer

It matters very little what form of prayer we adopt or how many words we use, what really matters most is the faith behind it, because that is what touches the heart of God.... Who knew us long before we came to Him. Genuine prayer is never based solely on fancy words, “good works”, an exercise or a pious attitude, but it is always the prayer of sincerity and reverence to our Father - Jesus!

Enjoy Life

All of those dreadful things that the enemy tried to trick you into believing would happen to you today...and none of it happen. You're still here! Don't let tomorrow be the same thing...because it takes up so much precious time. Spend your time on more useful things; exercise more faith in God and believe that no matter what situation arises, God can and will handle it. So, stop worrying and enjoy your life.

Faith In God

The worst thing we can do is to have faith and yet no faith: to believe and yet not really believe; to claim a Savior and yet not expect anything of Him; to speak of God before whom all knees must bow, and yet worry that the devil is mightier than He is – and because of that...to lack courage and confidence in asking for what we have been promised. We are only as strong as our faith is! But, individually...we must determine to trust God for everything or nothing at all.

God Gets The Glory

Those of us who are instrumental in teaching the gospel, have the great honor of being of service to the Creator and King - Jesus! Though we labor...and sometimes become well known and esteemed among men and women, we must not - under no circumstance - receive honor that is due unto God or walk with a sense of pride and haughtiness. All glory goes to God! Therefore, we should always remember that we are not here to be served, but to be servants of the Majestic King!

Let It Go

No matter how much we laugh or smile; no matter how good our job and the pay is; no matter how well we dress or the fine things we might possess; no matter how many nice things people say about us or how often they sing our praises...if we have something that we are harboring within our heart that we can't let go of, we will never truly be happy. God will not work in - or through - a vessel that has an unforgiving spirit. It's time to let go and move on...no need to waste precious time.

What Really Matters In Life

Apart from loving God, nothing else matters. We think that health matters, that freedom matters, or that having wealth and fame matters. True, those things are important, but God is all that matters! Therefore, only what we do for God is important in the end. God should matter to us because, we are all that matter to Him... He has invested so much in us by giving His life so that we may live eternally. Sometimes, we tend to give preferential treatment to someone who has outward beauty, even if they have a heart of coal. Jesus, however, works in the opposite direction. He works in our lives best if we have inner beauty and outward stains in the form of shortcomings…. Or situations that cause us to fall short; as long as we are striving for perfection and happen to make mistakes along the way. All that matters to Him, is if we love Him with all our heart.

Learning To Share

Whatever we get from God, is not solely for our own personal enjoyment. He blesses us to make us a blessing to others. We get more blessing when we use more blessing.

Trust God

Faith: Long before you ever see the outcome or the results, it will give you hope. Even when the things you pray for seem impossible, you still know God is able - in spite of. When we say we fully trust God, there is no room for doubt. "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."