Daily Inspiration

Journey to your open door

We live in a day and age where everything is expected to be done quickly. Most people want things done on demand, without having to wait at all. We want our internet faster, our phones faster, our education faster, our promotions faster and some people even want their Church service done faster. Of course; we want our food delivered faster. We even have the nerve to monitor and get upset if another customer gets their food faster.

Listen, I understand that we live in a society that has spoiled us and given us great technology benefits that allow us to move more efficiently and have things quicker. I have no problem with that at all; but I honestly believe that we’ve allowed for this microwave mentality to bleed into our relationships and other key areas of our lives. This “Got to have it now” “Got to have it right away” mentality is causing us to miss the joy and the beauty within the journey. When you avoid the journey; you also avoid life lessons and wisdom that can only be gained during the process of waiting. See, there is so much value in waiting; but in the moment, we feel like the only value is in the thing that we are waiting for. But that’s not true, because waiting takes you on a journey with yourself; where you begin to find true value. You begin to discover, how patient you really are; how loyal you really are; how tenacious you really are and how strong you really are. Going through the journey, allows you to master your strengths; while at the same time highlighting your weakness so that you can become a better person.

Here’s the other thing: When we do things at warp speed, sometimes we get warped results. For example: there are some foods that were never meant to be inside of a microwave. Some foods become more delicious the longer it takes to cook. I know that it doesn’t sound fun to wait on food; but after the first bite; your taste buds will inform you; that it was well worth the wait. What about prayer? Let’s talk about it. Have you ever asked God for something and you got frustrated or worried because it didn’t happen in the time that you wanted it to? Well, have you ever considered that maybe God answered your prayer immediately; but he used the journey and the waiting period to prepare you for the manifestation of your answered prayer?

I could go on and on about the joy, the beauty, the benefits and the character that is built during the journey; but I’ll leave you with this for the day. Don’t be tricked into thinking that faster is always better. Instead, enjoy the journey and learn as much as you can; so that you are fully equipped and prepared to flourish when you walk through your open door.

DAILY INSPIRATION

“Thank you, Prayer"

Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for waking us up this morning and giving us brand new mercies with this bran new beautiful day. Thank you Father for giving us purpose and giving us the honor of being called your children. Thank you for being our provider, our healer, our deliverer, our savior and the lover of our souls. Thank you for protecting us from dangers seen and the dangers that we had no idea were there. Thank you for never giving up on us, even when we gave up on ourselves. Thank you for teaching us how to love, how to serve, how to sacrifice and how to bless other people. Thank you for your unmatched and undeserved favor. Thank you for saying NO to the things that could have harmed us or our families. Thank you for giving us a second chance, a third chance and so much more. Thank you for the correction and the adjustments that you’ve made in our lives. Thank you for giving us food, shelter and provision to increase our income. Thank you for renewing our minds and giving us wisdom that will benefit us; and future generations. Thank you for giving us the ability to use technology to inspire, encourage, educate and empower people from all walks of life. Thank you for giving us the platform to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ all around the world.

Oh Lord, there are many things that we have all submitted to you in prayer; and we believe that your Will shall be done in our lives. But in the meantime, We want to tell you THANK YOU in advance for all the things that are about to happen.

We thank you in advance for setting all our homes in order. We thank you for our children being saved and walking in the plan and purpose that you have for their life. We thank you for great increase and financial breakthrough, for those who are experiencing lack. We thank you for removing sickness from our bodies. We thank you in advance for touching those family members and friends who have asked for prayer. We thank you for removing depression, worry, doubt, indecisiveness and fear from the person listening to this prayer. We thank you in advance for bringing men back home and back to Church so that they can be the loving, sacrificial, bold, humble, and spiritual leaders that you’ve called for them to be. We thank you for healing and restoring the women who’ve had to deal with sexual abuse. Thank you for making them free and giving them a fresh start. Thank you in advance for reuniting families filling up the Churches that are genuinely representing you. Thank you for giving us everything that we need to be successful. Thank you for giving us life and life more abundantly. Thank you for loving us so so very much! Thank you for what you’ve done, what you’re doing and what you’re getting ready to do. In Jesus name. Amen.

DAILY INSPIRATION

“Let God Open YOUR Eyes”

2nd Kings 6:17 - And Elisha prayed, "Open his eyes, LORD, so that he may see." Then the LORD opened the servant's eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.

What we see is important, but how we see things is of even greater value. How we see ourselves, how we see our family and how we see our finances really matter. Our general perception of life is tremendously important and a critical part of our success. Sometimes we overlook the things that matter the most; and we waste our energy and our time on things that are NOT as significant. A lot of times, we focus on everything that’s going wrong instead of embracing the beauty of all the things that are going right. Well today, I want to encourage you to let God open your eyes, so that you can see what He wants you to see. Not just what you want to see, and not what you think you should see; but what God wants you to see.

In our key verse today, Elisha prayed for God to open the eyes of the servant that was with Him. He asked God to open His eyes; because all the servant could see was the enemy’s army surrounding them. He didn’t realize that God’s army was already surrounding the army of the enemy. That’s what I want you to receive today: sometimes, what you see is NOT really all that’s there. So, from now on; when you are in the midst of a troubling situation or a difficult circumstance: simply ask God to open your eyes. Ask God to feed your faith and starve your doubts so that you can overcome the F.E.A.R (False Evidence Appearing Real).

I pray that God would open your eyes so that you can see the victory, freedom and deliverance in your family. Open your eyes so that you can see healing and clarity in your mind. Open your eyes so that you can see success and breakthrough in your finances. Open your eyes so that you can see peace and prosperity in your soul. I pray that your spiritual eyes would be open on a much greater level than your natural eyes. Amen.

Have a wonderful day everyone and don’t forget to share this “Daily Inspiration” with others. God bless you and may the Lord open up your eyes.

DAILY INSPIRATION

“Christians do have Fun”

Proverbs 17:22 says, “A cheerful heart is good medicine; but a crushed spirit dries up the bones”..... I love a good laugh. My favorite time of laughing is when something is so funny; that tears start coming down my face. Fellowship, fun and laughter is good medicine; sometimes better than what the doctor prescribes. One of the biggest misconceptions in and outside the Christian Faith; is that believers don’t have fun. Many people think that being spiritual means being deep, philosophical and serious all the time. This is NOT true at all. As Christians, we should laugh, dance, play games, sing, eat delicious food and have an all-out blast. We should take time to celebrate each other and NOT wait until someone passes away to give them honor. We should even find or create opportunities to smile and rejoice.

Our greatest example in this Christian life, is Jesus; and He enjoyed life to the fullest! Some people assume that Jesus was stoic, rigid and detached from His feelings: but that assumption couldn’t be any further from the truth. Jesus was full of all sorts of emotions; He just didn’t allow those emotions to control Him or derail His divine assignment given to Him from God the Father. With that being said, we mostly only focus on the side of Jesus that deals with miracles, stories, instruction and correction: but we leave out how much joy and wonderful fellowship He shared with those whom He encountered.

Jesus had so much fun and engaging fellowship, that the religious leaders accused Him of being a drunk and a glutton. On one occasion, He turned water into wine to keep the party going at a wedding feast. Jesus was cheerful and He understood the value of laughter: Even during the sermon on the Mount; He gave a promise to those who were weeping that one day they will laugh. Jesus even Barbecued: John 21:9 lets us know that He had prepared hot coals, fresh fish and bread for the disciples to eat with Him. My point is this: Jesus was tremendously focused and submitted to the Will of God the Father; but He had joyful and loving fellowship in the process. As a matter of fact; that was a part of His assignment.

I’ll leave you with this for the day: Being a Christian doesn’t mean being boring; it just means, as we are having fun, laughing and enjoying life; we do our best to honor God in all that we do. Have a blessed day and don't be boring. #SmileAndHaveFun

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Daily Inspiration

“Self-Examination”

One of the most difficult things to do; is to examine yourself and admit that something is wrong. Although it’s hard to acknowledge your flaws; it’s always worth it. The beauty of healthy transparency; is that it leaves the door wide open for light to crush any darkness in your life. All throughout the Bible; God teaches us to examine ourselves and confess our faults so that He can restore us. 1st John 1:9 says, If, we confess our sins; God is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins and will cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Proverbs 28:13 says, “People who conceal their sins will not prosper, but if they confess and turn from them, they will receive mercy”. These are powerful promises; but they are not effective if we never admit when we are wrong. A part of self-examination is when the Holy Spirit gives us a nudge and sometimes a push; to let us know that something is out of order. It’s our job to respond with a humble heart; to change or to seek help concerning whatever is out of order.

Here is a book excerpt from my friend Pastor Jason Perry: If you are ever on an airplane, you will hear the flight attendants give a number of safety instructions. One of those instructions is, “In the event of an emergency, put your oxygen mask on first before helping someone else.” There are a lot of reasons for this directive, the simplest being that you cannot help someone if you are dead or incapacitated yourself. This is also true in life: In order to be in a position to help someone else, you need to first pay attention to your own condition. This does not mean that having personal issues disqualifies you from helping others. In fact, the opposite is true. When you take the time to look at your own life and begin to move towards health and healing, you put yourself in a position; to be able to help others do the same thing.

I want to encourage every Christian, every Parent, every husband, every wife, every child and every friend. I want to encourage every person listening or reading this “Daily Inspiration”. Don’t let fear keep you from being honest with yourself, don’t let embarrassment keep you from self-examination, don’t let pride keep you from seeking help and don’t let your past keep you from moving forward. Your freedom, healing and wholeness is not just about you; but it’s connected to your family, your friends and every person that God has called you to minister to.

God bless you and have a wonderful day!

DAILY INSPIRATION: “The Will of God”

Luke 22:42 says - "Father, if you are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine."

I love this passage, because even though Jesus is suffering within; He is also having an intimate conversation with His Father and He’s being honest about how He feels and what the human side of Him wants to do. Jesus is in the midst of one of the most uncomfortable times of His life, but He’s still talking to His Father. Why? Because He had relationship and He was making sure, that the voice of suffering was not louder than the voice of His Father. Wow! This is such an AMAZING moment because Jesus concludes the matter by saying, “Not my will, but YOUR WILL be done”. He made it clear, that He would rather face unimaginable discomfort; than to be outside of the WILL of His Father.

One of the most common questions people ask me is, “What is the Will of God for my life”. Normally the conversation starts off with a question about direction and then a statement that expresses a sincere desire to know what’s next. When the person realizes that I’m not going to give them specific details or tell them exactly what’s going to happen next; the conversation normally begins to morph into a prayer request. At this point, he or she is basically asking me to pray for God to reveal what HIS Will is for their life. Although, this is a noble prayer request and I normally seek God on that person’s behalf; it is NOT the way that God desires for His Will to be revealed to His Children. Here is the key: Direction without relationship is just a GPS; and God is so much more than a compass or a map. God’s desire is for us to learn what His Will is by getting to know Him. As a Pastor, I am honored and thankful for the opportunity to share wisdom and knowledge with others; but my greatest insight could NEVER compare to what a person receives when they develop an intimate relationship with God for themselves. As you passionately pursue a strong relationship with God; you will undoubtedly begin to see His WILL clearer than ever before. God bless you and have a wonderful day!


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DAILY INSPIRATION

“Refined through Suffering”

To refine something; is to remove impurities, unwanted elements and anything that would hinder a product or a person from fully flourishing. Isaiah 48:10 says, “I have refined you, but not as silver is refined. Rather, I have refined you in the furnace of suffering”. I want to encourage you today and be a voice of refreshing for you this morning. I want to encourage you during your time of refining or whatever hard situation you may be facing. First of all, know that no matter what you’re facing right now; God is with you. He is with you; even in the midst of the hard thing. Yes, even when it doesn’t feel like it; He is right there.

I know it may be difficult to accept, but it is the hard times that we face in life; that cause us to “straighten up and fly right”. Our trials ultimately build our character and play a major role in making us better people. In John 17:15, Jesus prayed “I’m not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one”. The truth is, we face many trials and storms in this life that we wish would disappear; but Jesus never intended for us to be exempt from suffering but that we are NOT overtaken with evil. Jesus has a purpose and a plan for our lives and He knows exactly what he’s doing, whether we understand it or not. The storms that we face were never intended to kill us but to refine us. To be real, most of the time; our pain helps to redirect us. If doing the wrong thing didn’t cause us pain, we would probably continue in that way because it felt good. God loves us so much, that He doesn’t allow us to feel comfortable in our sin and bad habits. He will even use our suffering to redirect us back into His Will and back into His loving arms. In Psalm 119:71; King David says these words, “My suffering was good for me, for it taught me to pay attention to your decrees”. Wow, what an amazing revelation. He was able to see power in his pain and give praise for his progress.

I’ll leave you with this: From this day forward; begin to see your trials and suffering in a whole new way. See them as just another opportunity to grow, develop and be closer to Jesus. When you allow God to refine you; it may look like you are losing but you are actually winning!