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

"Rise & Shine"

Isaiah 60:1-3
“Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you. For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the LORD will arise upon you, and his glory will be seen upon you. And nations shall come to your light,
and kings to the brightness of your rising.”

Good morning! Rise & Shine! Today is your day. Today is the day that you allow the brilliance of the Holy Spirit Shine through you! Yes! You! Maybe you normally, just sit back chillin in your office, your class, or your workstation allowing the day to unfold as it may, but today I’m challenging you to Rise & Shine! Allow the Glory of the Lord to rise upon you. Bring a smile, peace, & joy with you, wherever you go today. When you run into negativity Arise and Shine in that dark situation or conversation like the Sun kissing you on your face on a bright summer morning! You have the power to shift your atmosphere, charging it with the very light of love, patience, joy, and positivity that you have within you. Don’t sit idly by and allow negativity to fill the atmosphere. Light shines in darkness. It trumps! Kinda like in the game rock, paper, scissors, but the great thing is that Light always wins! In the same way, Matthew 5:16 tells us “let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”

Let us Pray: Father God, Thank you for the opportunity that you have given us today to Arise and Shine and allow your glory to be seen and experienced through us today. We love you and we have accepted this challenge to allow our light to shine in darkness today. We desire to show someone the love, & patience that you show us every day. We desire to bring the light of a positive attitude and outlook into a negative atmosphere today. We invite you into our day all day long Father to shine in and on us so that we can bring you Glory in Jesus Name Amen!
Now go, and have an Amazing Day! Shining bright all day long!

DAILY INSPIRATION

“Restoration”

Restoration is the action of returning something to its original condition or better. Anyone who really knows me; knows that I love to see things and people restored. It brings joy to my heart to see a marriage or a family restored after years of being broken. My eyes light up and my heart is warmed, when I find out that someone has turned away from an addiction; and their mind, their body and their life is fully restored. I even like to see an old 1974 Lincoln Continental; painted, shined up, updated and restored. Every now and then, I will even catch a show that is based on the restoration of property that was left for destruction.

To be completely open; I think I love restoration stories, because it reminds me of my life and all that God has done for me. With that being said, there are many great restorative services, wholeness centers and remodeling agencies; but nothing and no one can compare to God when it comes to restoration. His restorative power is unmatched and He is undoubtedly the great restorer, because whatever God restores; it’s always greater than it was before it needed restoration. There are a few Bible verses that really grip my heart as it pertains to restoration and I’d like to share them with you today.

Job 42:10 – Then, the Lord restored the fortunes of Job, when he had prayed for his friends. And the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before.

1st Peter 5:10 - And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.

Luke 8: 43, 44 - A woman in the crowd had suffered for twelve years with constant bleeding, and she could find no cure. 44.Coming up behind Jesus, she touched the fringe of his robe. Immediately, the bleeding stopped.

Isaiah 43: 18,19 – But forget the past and the former things; 19.For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.

As you read and reflect on these verses; I encourage you to do THREE things: First, thank God for the many times that He has restored you or restored something significant back into your life. Second, take time in prayer to seek Him concerning a new restoration project. Third, sacrificially and unselfishly ask God to restore someone else.

God bless you and have a wonderful day. Take a moment to share this “Daily Inspiration” with someone; it might just bring them restoration.

DAILY INSPIRATION

Remember God, Our Great Deliverer!

Isaiah 51:1
"Listen to me, all who hope for deliverance--all who seek the LORD! Consider the rock from which you were cut, the quarry from which you were mined.

You were formed from Greatness! Greatness courses through your veins! Sometimes we get so wrapped up in our circumstances, and so overwhelmed with our current situation that we forget where we’ve come from. We are children of the One and Only True and Living God! We are His beloved! The Lord our God holds us in the palm of His hand and No One or No Thing can pluck us out! We are the apple of His eye!
I know that sometimes we face what we think are insurmountable situations only to find out that No thing, I mean nothing is too hard for God! He brings us out every time! When we couldn’t see our way through, and didn’t know how we would ever make it through some of the situations in life that we’ve faced; the Lord God Almighty carried us through and brought us out and we are standing here today as living proof that God is a Great Deliverer and that He loves us.
Just take a moment and think back over your life; to times when you know that the love and grace of God prevailed on your behalf. No matter what your facing right now, be encouraged and just remember, He did it then, and He’ll do it again!

DAILY INSPIRATION

"Rejoice & Be Glad"

Psalm 118:24 - This is the day the LORD has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it.

This is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it! Every day that the Lord allows us to wake up and be a part of, we must appreciate, enjoy, and embrace as a gift from God. Don’t let the frustrations from bad decisions that you made yesterday or difficult circumstances that you may be facing blind you, causing you to miss the beauty and Awesomeness of this day! Just stop right now and take a deep breath. Breathe in the glorious peace that the Lord has provided for you this day. Peace that surpasses all understanding, so no matter what comes or goes this day, remember that God has given you the gift of life, so LIVE IT and don’t let anything or anyone disturb the peace that God has given you with this day! Rejoice & Be Glad