We can believe the Bible and The Word of God as it is preached, but we do not always see the results of that truth  experientially. Is there something that we can do to activate this truth in our lives? The Word of God needs to be more than just something that is a part of our belief system. This series will deal with the practical measures and steps that we can take to move from head knowledge to results. How do we activate The Word? This is more important now than ever before because we are being constantly bombarded with incoming data. The ability to hear and recognize truth is more critical than it has ever been before. Scripture teaches us that faith comes by hearing and hearing by The Word of God. How do we activate faith in our lives, so that we are not just hearers of The Word, rather we become doers of The Word? There was a time in scripture when God spoke, but some thought it was thunder. Others heard His voice. This means that you must be tuned into His frequency. This requires relationship with Him. Jesus said,” My sheep hear my voice and another’s voice they will not follow.” Discerning the voice of God is something we can do, and we must do. Pastor Scott digs deeply into this life changing truth. You do not want to miss a day! God bless you!

You can be a different person due to your faith in Christ but never use your faith make a difference. All throughout the New Testament, we see Jesus making a difference in the environment. For instance, Jesus didn’t sermonize at the wedding, when His mother told Him that they had run out of wine.  She asked Him to do something about it, and He did. There was a need and she asked Him to meet it. Likewise, our assignment is to make a difference in the world. Jesus instructs us to go, teach, and make disciples. Do it on your job, at home, and in business without preaching a word. We are salt and light not sermon outlines. Faith without works is dead. We have to put our faith in practice. We were never meant to stay hidden behind church steeples and stained glass windows. Choose to be a witness and not just tell witnessing. We are salt and light. When we show up, there should be a difference for the better in people’s lives.

The day that you accept Christ, you become a new creation. You become different. As you grow up in Him and put into practice the principles, you are not just worshiping the teacher, but you are practicing His teachings. Now, you are no longer just different, you are equipped to make a difference. Jesus didn’t tell the disciples go tell others about Him, rather, He commissioned them to preach the good news of the gospel and make disciples, telling them of the things He had taught them. Upon being born again, God recreated you into a new species of being. As believers, when we implement His words on a daily basis, then we become difference makers. We become the light and the salt wherever we go. We change the atmosphere. Our prayer should not be just that we become saved, but that we walk in our salvation experience. We want to be transformed into His image. It is a supernatural, spiritual metamorphosis. Don’t settle for just being different. Earnestly strive to grow to be a difference maker. How does your presence influence others?  We are not saved to just be full scripture and data. People who spend time with us should recognize that we have spent time with Jesus.

Psalms 118 vs, 24. This is the day that The Lord has made, we will rejoice and be glad in it. Memorize this verse! Before you woke up this morning, God had ordered this day. You did not make this day. God did. Your choices did not make this day. Your enemies did not make this day. If you are living this day, it is because God ordained it to be so. God is the creator of every moment in time and space.  As human beings, it is natural for us to want to avoid loss. Nobody wants to lose relationships, time, money, possessions or anything else we may deem valuable.  While loss is not comfortable, we can lose some things and still discover that we can be okay. We can lose money but find that God will still provide. We can lose friends and it will hurt, but we can discover new friends. You may lose a job or position and find yourself redirected into something else that you never knew that you would enjoy. The one thing that you cannot afford to lose is time. You cannot go back in time. Don’t waste it on resources that are not that important. Time is currency. God is a very present Being.  Scripture teaches us that He is a very PRESENT help in time of trouble. Aren’t you glad that we don’t serve a futuristic God or the God who did something long ago and is no longer around? Don’t wait until the day is over. Rejoice in the God of your salvation. He is still a saving, healing and delivering God. Take a praise break right now!

Our souls are comprised of three major components - the mind, the will and the emotions. Another way to say it is, our intellect, our feelings and our decision-making process. It is an active choice to rejoice. Psalms 118 vs 24 declares, ‘This is the day that The Lord has made, we will rejoice and be glad in it.” We are consciously telling our situation that we refuse to wait to see the outcome before we choose to rejoice and be glad. We will not wait until we feel like it or until it makes sense. If we wait until we feel like it, then our emotions are driving our decisions. Have you ever reviewed your life in your rear view mirror and recognized after the fact that were based on a feeling at the moment?  We were never meant to be people void of emotions. We are not automatons. Just don’t let your emotions drive your “bus.” You may not feel the same way in twenty-four hours. The last thing you want to do is to become a hostage to a choice you made out of an emotional response. I may not feel like rejoicing. It may not make sense to be glad in this day, but I am going to do it anyway, because I choose to be lead by my spirit. Let your choices be determined not by what you have done, rather by what God has done for you. Wherever you are today, take a breath. Live in the moment. Make a difference! There is something about praising, thanksgiving and rejoicing that gets the attention of God!

Psalms 118 vs 24 declares,” This is the day that the lord has made we will rejoice and be glad in it.”  Previously in Spot On segments, we discussed what our part is in the Christian walk. What can we do to cause God’s word to be activated and accelerated in our lives? God has the biggest part obviously, but we also have a part to play.  In the aforementioned verse we see this in action. This is the day that God made. He made it. Our part is too rejoice and be glad in it. We must make the choice to do our part. WE WILL REJOICE! If God is faithful to give us another twenty-four hours to live then shouldn’t we be faithful to have praise be our response?  We can choose to complain about everything that is wrong in this day or we can choose to rejoice! Sometimes when the pressure is turned up, we think that praise will be what we do when there is relief. The Psalmist didn’t say we will rejoice and be glad AFTER it, or at the end of it. He said we will rejoice and be glad IN it! Things may not be going in your life the way that you hoped it would go or thought it would go. The trajectory of your life can change if you choose to rejoice regardless of your circumstances.  We can rejoice, simply because it is the day that God made. In the midst of whatever is occurring in your life, find time to take a praise break! If I am in the day, I am still alive and breathing. Let everything that hath breath PRAISE THE LORD!!!

Do you remember the Bible story of Jonah and the whale? God tells Jonah to go to Nineveh and he rebels. He gets on a ship headed in the opposite direction. A terrible storm arises and the crew determines it is because of Jonah, so they throw him overboard and the storm stops. Are you in some storms because you are travelling with some relationships that are in rebellion to God?  If you have an assignment and you allow someone who is running from God to become attached to you, there may be storms that you have to fight (consequences) that were not meant for you. You may have to tell some of them to get off your boat. You may be losing your mind because someone who is attached to you is robbing you of your peace, joy or even your sanity. Don’t let people who carry storms with them crash your boat! Don’t be afraid to tell people who are running from God that they can run with you at the same time! You can still love them, but they need to get off your boat!

Have you considered which relationships in your life feed you? Do they feed your problems or your potential? Are they reminding you of your mistakes or believing with you for your miracles? Are they keeping you trapped in your identity of yesterday or releasing you into your future blessing? It is your responsibility to observe, identify and then practice appropriate self care. People will come as far into your life experience as you choose to allow them. Many friends may have access to the living room of your house, but certainly not your bedroom. The same level of discretion should apply to your personal and spiritual relationships. Everyone is not welcome everywhere. If you invite an adversary into the power center of your life, they will feed your weakness and drain your faith. When you feed what inspires you, then the noise of your past becomes faint. When you feed on the promises of God for your life, your problems won’t scream as loudly. When you feed faith, futility withers. I choose to put myself in the right environment, with the right people. I choose to deny equal access to anyone or anything that does not feed my faith. What will you choose?

A wise person knows how to accurately identify who deserves access into his or her life. Everyone should not have equal access to what is most precious to you. They may not handle what you value with the same amount of respect. When you discern this, distancing yourself is responsible self care. An adversary will feed your weakness.  It may be an individual or a situation that feeds your anger or your restlessness, for example. It can be identified as anything that does not feed the best in you.  It will always be up to you to create the appropriate boundary. Whatever you feed will become stronger. Whatever you feed lives, and conversely whatever you starve will die. Romans 13 tells us that, “We are to put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh.” In other words, DON’T FEED THE ANIMAL! If you have issues with anger, uncontrolled temper or compulsive behaviors and you keep indulging them, in time they will overtake you. Anything that feeds your weaknesses you must avoid! In the well known story of Sampson and Delilah, scripture never speaks of her seductive beauty at all. The only thing we know about her is that she breathed life into Sampson’s weakness. Don’t allow anything close to you, which can potentially sabotage your well being or the call of God on your life!

The relationships that you forge in this life are critical to your success or your failure. Both God and Satan influence people. Some are vessels used to bless others and some are used as emissaries of destruction. There is a difference between being suspicions and being discerning. Scripture teaches us that bad company can corrupt good morals. You can have the best of intentions, but if you are surrounded by people who do not want the best for you or do not want to allow you to see yourself growing and prospering, it can cause you to be defeated. The sooner you recognize what the objectives or agendas are, you will be able to still love, while determining the degree of safe access. You must be aware so that the toxic behavior of others does not pollute your good intentions. It is good to give people the benefit of the doubt, but don’t be naive. When you love people, you will be vulnerable. You will at some point be hurt. There is no getting around it. You can however, spare yourself unnecessary hurt, by taking charge of your atmosphere. Negative people can corrupt your good ideas and intentions. Let’s be a part of building others up and not tearing them down.