Category Archives: Encouragement

Day 40 Luke 17:19

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” Not By Knowledge, But by Faith”

“As Jesus continued on toward Jerusalem, he reached the border between Galilee and Samaria. As he entered a village there, ten lepers stood at a distance, crying out, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” He looked at them and said, “Go show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, their leprosy disappeared. One of them, when he saw that he was healed, came back to Jesus, shouting, “Praise God, I’m healed!” He fell face down on the ground at Jesus’ feet, thanking him for what he had done. This man was a Samaritan. Jesus asked, “Didn’t I heal ten men? Where are the other nine? Does only this foreigner return to give glory to God?” And Jesus said to the man, “Stand up and go. Your faith has made you well.” (Luke 17:-19)
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“As Jesus continued on toward Jerusalem, he reached the border between Galilee and Samaria. As he entered a village there, ten lepers stood at a distance, crying out, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” He looked at them and said, “Go show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, their leprosy disappeared.” I thank God for listening to my cries. Through every situation, the Lord has delivered me. I know for many of us, the Lord has rescued us in our time of need. Promises and prayers go up and the blessings come down. “And as they went, their leprosy disappeared. One of them, when he saw that he was healed, came back to Jesus, shouting, “Praise God, I’m healed!” He fell face down on the ground at Jesus’ feet, thanking him for what he had done.” One of the ten came back, but what happened to the other nine? Understanding that Jesus did not heal just one of ten or five of ten, he healed all ten of them, but only came back to give him sincere praise. “This man was a Samaritan. Jesus asked, “Didn’t I heal ten men? Where are the other nine? Does only this foreigner return to give glory to God?” Now, when Jesus spoke that only a foreigner came back to praise him, this in our day would be someone who has not received him as Lord as Savior! That the other nine were Jewish and understood the laws and promises of Abraham, but even with all the Word that was inside them, they did not return to give thanks to the Lord.
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“And Jesus said to the man, “Stand up and go. Your faith has made you well.” You know why Jesus loved the lost some much? Because it was not by sight or by hearing that they understood who he was, it was by Faith. See, believer in his time were the Jewish people; the ones who know of the promise of Abraham, but still they reject God’s own word. Even today, you will find Christians who are stiffed necked and believing that they are worthy of the blessing of the Lord because of works. There can never be a point where we feel we deserve the blessings that we received. Through it all we shall gave praise. We are all unworthy to receive any blessings in our life, but his Grace is sufficient. Through all situations, let us humble ourselves so that we not be so bold to receive the blessing of the Lord in vain.

Day 39 1 Corinthians 12:12-13

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“Unity in the Body”

For it is written, “Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free— we were all given the one Spirit to drink.” 1 Corinthians 12:12-13

“Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ.” I have grown to understand one thing through my Christ walk; God has made way for many to enter the Kingdom of God. I, like many others, believed so strongly in my Faith and domination that I was caught up in the ritualistic tradition of men to understand the power of the sacrifice Jesus made on the Cross. The Lord has shown me through the story of the woman at the well, that the Father seek those who will serve him with Spirit and Truth. For Jesus said, “ Believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain or Jerusalem….yet a time will come and has come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in Truth!”

We as the Body of Christ must see that the Lord is not divided in himself. “For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one Body!” God has destine every man woman and child. If you are reading this Word today, I tell you now, Gods plan for you is not death, but Life! “Whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free- we were all given the one Spirit to drink.” It is written that God is not a respecter of person and do not let anyone deceive you of these things. It is written that when you draw near to the Lord, He will draw near to you. My prayer in Jesus Name is that you seek a deeper understanding of your part in the Body of Christ. Do not measure your calling against others, it will just belittle what the Lord has called you too. Be persistent, press into the Father, seek him daily. For no man who diligently runs after the Lord shall not find Him. You are not alone, seek The Father in Spirit and Truth and He will find you.

Day 38 Jonah 1:1-3

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“Go Obedience?”

“The Lord gave this message to Jonah son of Amittai:  “Get up and go to the great city of Nineveh ! Announce my judgment against it because I have seen how wicked its people are.” But Jonah got up and went in the opposite direction in order to get away from the Lord.” (Jonah 1:1-3 NLT)
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So what did Jonah do? Instead of going to the Great City of Nineveh to announce Judgment as the Lord commanded, Jonah got up and went the opposite direction! Now, it is one to be angry with the Lord about where he is calling you to, but to receive the Word of the Lord and Decide to go the opposite direction is another thing all together. But that wasn’t the worse part of this whole situation. If you read closely, Jonah was going the over direction to get away from the Lord! So, Jonah hears the Word from the Lord and then decides, “Nah, I aint going to Nineveh and on top of that, I will try and run away from God!”
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Running away from God? Sounds silly doesn’t? I wonder how far Jonah thought he would run that God could not reach him and in that exact moment, God spoke to my Heart and said, “Exactly, how many of my children have I called to serve me like Jonah but are running away?” All I could say was Wow. We are living in a world today full of Jonah’s. Men and Women of God who have received the word of the Lord, but since they felt that Calling was too big or too much from them that they started running the opposite direction.
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I know there are many of us at some point in time when we decided to run away from God. We felt that it was easier to just fall back in the same situation that he had delivered us from, because it was to hard living up to what the Lord commissioned us to do. We all know the story of Jonah and how he ran away from God and ended up thrown off the boat and then swallowed up by a whale. For three days and nights he suffered inside the whale, but many of us have been suffering for years. It wasn’t until Jonah cried out and prayed to the Lord for Forgiveness that he was finally released from this horrible situation.
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It took Jonah being swallowed by a whale to see the errors of his ways, but what will it take for us? What kind of situation do we have to go through for us to realize that running from God is just going to put us somewhere we don’t want to be. People always think sacrifice is better than obedience and I will tell you the truth by saying that this is a lie. It was a sacrifice for Jonah to even go the opposite direction away from the Lord. But if he was obedient to the Lord’s will, he would have never had to suffer like he did. There are many of us who suffer today and the Lord is saying,” Just be obedient and you shall suffer no more.”

Day 37 Hebrews 11:1-3

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“Faith Hoped For!”

“What is faith? It is the confident assurance that what we hope for is going to happen. It is the evidence of things we cannot yet see.  God gave his approval to people in days of old because of their faith. By faith we understand that the entire universe was formed at God’s command, that what we now see did not come from anything that can be seen.” (Hebrews 11:1-3)

 Someone asked me the other day what does it truly mean to have faith? If I was to define what it means, could I find the true definition? “What is faith? It is the confident assurance that what we hope for is going to happen.”  When it comes to faith, we are all called to have confidence and assurance in what we hope. The true key to faith is not the word itself, but the word “Hope.” In these times, when you hear the word hope used, it usually means that it is not going to happen. If there is any word that is ever used out of context, it would be the Word Hope. If we look back in Hebrews 6:19, “We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure…” When you have something anchor, it isn’t moving, especially if it is firm and secure! Just think what a difference of live we would have if we were anchored to the word of the Lord, then you would understand what it means to have true hope and faith!
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“By faith we understand that the entire universe was formed at God’s command, that what we now see did not come from anything that can be seen.” Creation is the greatest gift given to us from God, because it is a constant reminder of who God is. Think about it, when you wake up, do you hope to see the sky, sun and land? Nope, we go to sleep every night having faith that the world will be the same as it was the day before.
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Now hold that thought, we sleep every night with that eternal hope that the world will be in the same in the morning. Now just think about what would happen if we had that same faith with word of God! If we prayed at night and woke the next day to see our faith manifested, Beloved it is a powerful thought, but we have a powerful and mighty God. When the word says, “Faith is the things Hoped for,” this means that when you hope, it will come to pass. Let today be the day that you believe in the Word of the Lord. Letting not things be called chance and luck, but Hope and Faith. The power of Hope will anchor you deeply into true Faith.

Day 36 1 Corinthians 6:18-20

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“Temple of The Holy Spirit!”

“Run away from sexual sin! No other sin so clearly affects the body as this one does. For sexual immorality is a sin against your own body. Or don’t you know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.” (1 Corinthians 6:18-20)

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“Run away from sexual sin!” I remember I once received an email from a young man asking me to pray. He said that he was going through some hard times in his life and was currently battling with lust. Now, I have spoken to many people who have gone through this same situation, but this time when I heard it, the Spirit of the Lord told me that he should not be battling, he should be fleeing! Time and time again, you will hear people say that they are battling with lust and rather they admit it or not, it is a losing battle they fight. “No other sin so clearly affects the body as this one does. For sexual immorality is a sin against your own body.” Now, the bible states that no other sin so clearly affects the body. With AIDS and so many other STD’s in the world, it is not hard to understand the reasoning behind why we should be fleeing and not battling. If you talk to someone and they say they are battling cancer, it means they are consumed by this disease and seeking and believing they will be healed in Jesus Name. But I find when you battle lust, in the same respects; it has consumed you and your thoughts. Run! Do not deceive yourself in believing this is a fight you will by your own strength.
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“Or don’t you know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God?” We were made to worship. We were design for the Spirit of the Lord to live within and not to be consumed by lust and other sinful acts. We must understand that when we do not flee from these things, we are favoring them over the Spirit of the Lord. Our bodies are called to host the Holy Spirit. “You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.” We are all called to a high standard living. When you Honor God with your body, you are putting into action your Faith in His Word. Righteousness not only comes through believing, but acting on what you believe. Favor The Lord with your everything and flee from those things that would bring sin into your life. Always remember, many are called, but few are chosen. Live the Life of righteousness the Lord has called you to live.

Day 35 2 Corinthians 5:6-10

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“Faith, Can’t Leave Earth Without It!”
“Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. We live by Faith, not by sight. We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So we make it our goal to please him,  whether we are at home in the body or away from it, for we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.”(2Corithians 5:6-10)
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“Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. We live by Faith, not by sight.” We must understand that this life in the flesh is one that we live by Faith. For we are away from the Lord, as you may know, Faith is the belief in things unseen. But do we understand what it truly means to be Faithless? It faith is a belief in things unseen, and then faithlessness comes by believing in what we do see. But being people of Faith, our hearts our set on heavenly aspirations. “We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.” Lord knows that we wait and seek to worship him in Heaven, but the will of God must be done here on earth.
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“So we make it our goal to please him,  whether we are at home in the body or away from it, for we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.” Beloved, let today be the day that you seek to righteousness that leads to ever increasing Faith. For we can not wait until we ascend to heaven to be true believer of the Lord, but now is the time that God has called you to your destiny. If the reward of your Faith is at the finish line of Heaven, then know that you are still running the race of righteous living.

Day 34 Ephesians 6:12

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“Division Between Us!”

“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” (Ephesians 6:12)

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For our struggle is not against flesh and blood! There is a division between us that most people do not see and understand. For we create and finance wars and spending billion upon billions of dollar to fight our enemy of flesh. Many men and women are killed in this so called fight against evil and even more, people unite against other people to combat one another in the name of righteousness. But how successful is this crusade against the flesh? I liken this to going to a puppet show and slaying the puppets for their ill will and leaving the puppeteer alive. There are two realities set before us; one is the physical world, and the other is the spiritual world. I know for most of you, this is not a new concept, but it is one we must continue to build understanding about to put in full perspective of what is really going on.
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The dark forces that work against us are not the planes that crash into buildings or the leaders and dictators who abuse. It is the spiritual forces behind these people and events that we must fight against. But how do we fight what we cannot see?  It is the same principle given to us by faith which is to Believe in things unseen but known. Our great adversary and great assets are one in the same. Belief in the unseen is the only way we as Gods’ people will survive. Understand, these things will manifest in two ways, one from the rulers on high and the second by the Faith in God. For too long, the men and women of God have seen the fruit of the evil rulers and forces; But God is calling for a time like this for our Fruits of Faith to Manifest.  The Spiritual legacy passed down through Jesus to us is greater than what we see in the world!

Day 33 Genesis 22:1-2

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“Greatest Sacrifice!”
“Later on God tested Abraham’s faith and obedience. “Abraham!” God called.”Yes,” he replied. “Here I am.”  “Take your son, your only son-yes, Isaac, whom you love so much-and go to the land of Moriah . Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains, which I will point out to you.” Genesis 22:1-2
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 “Take your son, your only son-yes, Isaac, whom you love so much….” As I was Prayer walking last night, the Lord came and spoke to my Heart. He reminded me of this story of Abraham and how he was Fatherless for many years, but the Lord spoke that he would be a Father and not only that, he would be a Father to many. It wasn’t until Abraham had Isaac that he thought God’s promised to him came to pass, but we all know that we as Christians today are the Children that Abraham was Promised. Having Isaac as his only Son, you must understand the pain he felt when God told him to kill sacrifice him as a burnt offering! Not understanding why this was so, Abraham was obedient in leading his Son up the Mountain as the Lord Commanded.
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Beloved, what is the Greatest Sacrifice in your life? For Many years for me, it was my heart. Up until recently, I had given every part of my life to the Lord, except when it came to the area of love and relationships. I found that I was fully serving him in worship, Prayer and fellowship, but when it came to my love life, the standard of being in a Godly relationship were never in place. It wasn’t until I cried out to the Lord and asked him what I was doing wrong in my life that he showed me where I lacked and how to change. It was then that I made a full commitment of my Heart, Mind, Body and Soul to the Lord. I covenanted with the Father that I gave him my Heart until I was called to covenant with my spouse.
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In this Moment, the Father is asking you what you are holding back from him? I know I have spoken with many who feel that there is so much more of God that they need to experience, but just don’t know how to get there. I know that my Prayers used to be that God send me more understanding of the things I do not know, but he quickly revealed to me that it is not that I need to understand the things I do not know, but to understand and follow the things I have already learned. There are many things God has spoken into our lives that we have not been obedient with and have overlooked. Instead of asking for more, but more accountable with what you have. It is by this that the Lord will add unto you.
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We are a part of a great movement of God and in this hour He is calling for sincere Faith and Obedience. Paul once spoke and said, “We are once Children and Pagans to the world, but the time has come to put away your old ways.” It is time that we come to the altar and lay everything at the feet of Jesus. It is said that for the fruit to come forth, the seed must go into the ground and die. But even with this death comes the Glory of resurrection of life! Hallelujah! He is worthy to be praised! For when I die to myself, Christ is raised within me! I tell you the truth, let yourself die fully, for Christ to live Holy within you. The Greatest Sacrifice Jesus ever made was himself, which is why he came to be the greatest example for us to follow today.

Day 32 1 Peter 1:13-16

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“Holiness, it’s what I long for!”

“So think clearly and exercise self-control. Look forward to the special blessings that will come to you at the return of Jesus Christ. Obey God because you are His children. Don’t slip back into your old ways of doing evil; you didn’t know any better then. But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God-who chose you to be his children-is holy. For He Himself has said, “You must be holy because I am holy.”(1 Peter 1:13-16)

“So think clearly and exercise self-control.” Beloved, never under estimate the power of obedience, especially when you hear voice of the Lord. God is calling for a people who are going to be Faithful and Diligent in the His service. “Obey God because you are His children.” As it were, when I lived in the world, I sought after worldly things making me a child of the great deceiver, but when I found the truth of the Lord and conformed to His ways, I became a Child of God. “Don’t slip back into your old ways of doing evil; you didn’t know any better then. But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God-who chose you to be his children-is holy.”
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I know for many people, living a righteous life is a struggle. To totally transform yourself to a new creation and cutting old ties that are pulling you back into a life of sin is not easy. But what is even worse is when the Lord has delivered you from a situation and you find yourself running back to it when times are tough. Just like you have built your life in the world, you have to build one in the Spirit. For when you were unsaved, you lived your life trying to satisfy the Flesh. But now God has entered into your Life, your life goals should be satisfying the things of the Spirit. “For He Himself has said, “You must be holy because I am holy.”

Day 31 Luke 13:10-13

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“Power in His Word!”
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“One Sabbath day as Jesus was teaching in a synagogue, he saw a woman who had been crippled by an evil spirit. She had been bent double for eighteen years and was unable to stand up straight. When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said, “Woman, you are healed of your sickness!” Then he touched her, and instantly she could stand straight. Oh How she praised and thanked God!”(Luke 13:10-13)
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“One Sabbath day as Jesus was teaching in a synagogue, he saw a woman who had been crippled by an evil spirit. She had been bent double for eighteen years and was unable to stand up straight.” I am reminded of a time when I myself had come under attack. It started as a minor side ache and over a period of time built into suffering and discomfort that I had for about a week. Having not brought it fully to The Lord, I thought it was due to working at a desk over a period of time. One morning, a Sister in Christ who worked with me said she had a dream. In this dream she saw me having pain on he left side of my body and I was going into surgery. She looked into my face and knows that it was something I needed to rebuke in Jesus Name because it was an attack of the enemy. That night, I read Gods word and after an two hours of praise and worship unto him, I came to the point where I said to The Lord, “It is in your word that you said it would not come back void in Jesus Name I rebuke this attack!” It was with authority and power that this was done and instantly the pain went away. I have since felt it try to come back, but every time I speak the word and promises of the Lord and have be pain free ever since! Praise His Holy Name!
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“When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said, “Woman, you are healed of your sickness!” Then he touched her, and instantly she could stand straight. How she praised and thanked God!” I tell you, when The Lord comes and heals you, how the praises will flow from your mouth! For eighteen years this woman was under attack. Most people over a period of time just accept what is happening and that’s when the enemy wins. But I am here to tell you that God is calling for you to take authority in Jesus Name and rebuke what ever sickness and disease is coming against you! We are called to bind this attack at the root which is the enemy. Believe and be healed in Jesus Name! Do not accept the lies of the devil at any point! Power and authority is what the Lord is calling us to operate in. In Jesus Name, Rebuke all sicknesses and disease and any other attacks that the enemy will try to come against you with!