Your environment matters. The law of environment matters. It states that WHERE you are is just as important is WHO you are. WHERE you are matters. God gave many instructions in scripture that were geographical. ‘I want you to leave here....and go there’. There are far too many examples to mention. In one example, He told Jeremiah to go down to the potter ‘s house, because He was going to show him a lesson that Jeremiah could only learn THERE. Jesus was the Son of God, but there were some places that He was unable to work miracles because of their unbelief. WHO He was never changed, but even He was limited by WHERE He was. Environment matters. It is important that you make sure that you are not only doing what God has called you to do, and working WITH God in all He is doing in you, but that you are WHERE you are supposed to be. Recognize the strengths and the weaknesses of your environment. If you intend to wrestle with a shark, it is best that you do it on dry land. This ferocious creature is powerless outside of his natural environment. Don’t let circumstances pull you out of an environment where you excel. Protect your environment by what you see and what you hear. Protect it by who you choose to engage in conversation. If God has given you an instruction to GO, THERE...then He is only authorizing blessing in your...THERE. Find the place where you were designed to flourish and when you have found it, you must protect it!

Often we let resistance defeat persistence. Let us not miss the promises and blessings of God because there was an obstacle in the way, and we gave up too soon. Quitting can become a habit. Our lives will prove where our passion lies. It will be found in what we pursue. There is a noticeable and discernable difference between things we would like and things that we need. If you are in desperation the level of your pursuit will be different. Is it possible that there is something about our desperation that gets the attention of God? What happens when all your options have been exhausted and there is no other answer but touching God? Do you know what it means to diligently pursue God with all your passion? Don’t be content with average in your life. Don’t be content with a minimal relationship with God. Be diligent in the pursuit of your passion. Mediocre is an enemy. Go for every blessing. Go for every promise. A.S.K....Ask...Seek...Knock...don’t stop! in the pursuit of your passion, mediocre is an enemy. Go for every blessing. Go for every promise. If you diligently seek God, you will find Him.

It takes courage to be diligent. True change comes by choice and then courage. It takes the choice to make it and then the courage to see it to fruition. We live in a mob mentality culture. It is easier than ever to create a crowd, especially if there is a common enemy. People can become angry with people in social media that they have never even met. You can incite a riot more quickly than ever before. It seems that personal fuses are shorter that they have ever been before. It takes courage to have an opinion and to express it. When you decide that you are going to be everything that God created you to be, it will never be an overnight process. You may make the decision in a moment, but you will have to diligently hold on to the choice you have made. Courage. Pray over everyone you love. God told Joshua, “Be strong and of good courage!” Just because it doesn’t happen overnight, it doesn’t mean that the reward is not coming. Delays are not denials. Prove that your mind is made up. You are proving that your goal is worth the decisions and the steps you must make. Don’t take the easy way out. Don’t follow the crowd as it roars by you. Be unique. Hold on to your calling. Keep reaching for your destiny. Find the courage, tenacity and diligence to be all God intends for you to be. Whatever The Lord has asked you to do, be faithful and in due season you will be rewarded!

It is so easy to quit. Our society has made it both easy and acceptable to quit anything that is uncomfortable. Quitting can become a habit. Sometimes it is necessary, but if you have something that you truly believe in, don’t be so quick to give it up. People love to hear about the potential for change. We all want change, but we don’t necessarily want to hear about how we are going to implement those changes. To make change is a decision, to make changes takes determination. In our current culture, you can quit school, quit jobs, quit on relationships, and even quit on God, in pursuit of instant gratification. If you want something badly enough, you must be willing to stay with it. If it means something to you, it will require that you be faithful when it feels good and faithful when it doesn’t. Be faithful in seed time and your harvest. God called Noah to build something that the world had never seen. God asked him to build something he had never seen before, because He was going to send something Noah had never seen. RAIN. It must have been so frustrating to keep building for years and see no results. Whatever God has called you to do, stick with it. Be diligent, because the God who has begun a good work in you will complete it. He will be faithful to His word! Stay focused, remain steadfast, because you are one day closer to the fulfillment of the promise!

You were created WITH a purpose, ON purpose and FOR a for purpose. There has never been, and will never be, another you. There is an assignment that only you can fulfill. Discover your purpose, and when you have, stay loyal to it. Stay faithful to it. Remain diligent. It is easy to make empty promises. New Years resolutions are not wrong, but they don’t cost a great deal. Resolutions are inexpensive, but resilience is costly. It doesn’t cost anything to make a statement, but it could cost you everything to keep your word. Some tenacity will be necessary if you are going to make your resolutions your reality. Change is a wonderful notion, but you will have to cooperate with the concept in order to to make real in your life. To decide that you want change is good, but the diligence required to make the change is profitable. That is where you find the reward. Stick with your statements. Jacob wrestled with the angel all night long and said, ‘I will not let you go until you bless me!’. If God has promised you something, be prepared to grab hold of it and not let go!

Diligence is almost a lost word in our culture. We are so used to accessing almost anything, instantly. Things that used to have to cook for hours can be ready in minutes. We can access information from Google or Siri with a touch of a few buttons or a voice request. The advancements in technology are astonishing and for the most part, beneficial. There is something about diligence, however that builds your character. Diligence can be defined as doing a little thing for a long time, until something big happens. This is a tough sell in our modern culture. Don’t you appreciate the people in your life who have remained faithful despite the setbacks and challenges, time and time again? Have you asked God to build patience and perseverance within you? Galatians chapter 6 verse 9 says, “Let us not be weary in well doing, for in due seasons, we will reap if we faint not!” There is something to be said for one more push or one more try. Stay focused. Stay faithful. Stay diligent and you will reap in your season.

The Kingdom of God is often an upside down Kingdom. God rarely does anything that makes sense to the natural mind. You would think that the birth of Jesus would be surrounded by fanfare, pomp and circumstance. Jesus was NOT born out in the open in a regal setting. He was found wrapped and hidden in a manger. Scripture teaches that our lives are hidden like treasure in Christ. God is not playing games with us, but it does seem that He rewards a diligent seeker. He tells us that we will find Him, if we seek Him with our WHOLE heart. There are things that are hidden in plain sight. If you will open the eyes of your heart and earnestly look for Him, you will find that He was there ALL THE TIME.

The angel said to Mary, " You shall CALL His name, Jesus..." She and Joseph were not permitted to NAME Him. The ability to name something or someone goes all the way back to the garden of Eden. It was a sign of dominion when you were given the right to assign a name. In actuality, the angel was telling them that they would never have dominion over Him. He would have dominion over ALL things. Jesus had been given His name by God The Father. The instruction meant that they could call Him, what He had already been named. No situation in your life has greater authority than His name. That's good news! Call on His name. He will live up to it!

In the Old Testament, God's presence was conditional. Keep the law. Be obedient and He would show up. If not, than separation between God and man was inevitable. God Himself was not satisfied with this arrangement. He knew we could never be good enough to get to Him, so He crossed over into our world, and became flesh, so that we could become One with Him. You may be wondering if God is really FOR you. One of His names is Emmanuel. It means 'God WITH us.' He is not watching from a distance. Today, you can enjoy the presence of God. You are never alone, rejected, or abandoned. Open your heart to Him. This Christmas, let Him give you the PRESENT of His Presence. Merry Christmas! God bless you. We love you!

God is not random. He has never been never will be, bound by circumstance. He does everything with purpose. When Jesus was born, they wrapped Him in swaddling clothes. It has been said that those rags were often used as burial cloths. Random? I don't think so. He was laid in a feeding trough for animals. He was called the " bread of life". Random? I don't think so. Jesus was never meant to be considered, He was meant to be consumed. From the moment He was born, He was being prepared for His death, burial and resurrection. He was born to be the very sustenance of life. Random? I don't think so!