BE PATIENT AND FOLLOW HIM

Sometimes, the hardest thing to do is wait. This is especially true when it's a fleshy desire. But God's plan does not always happen in the way we would like or at the time of our own choosing. So our task, as thoughtful men and women who trust in the benevolent all-knowing Father, is to wait patiently for God to reveal Himself. Humans know precisely what we want(or so we think), and we want it now. But God has a far better plan for each of us. He has created a world that unfolds according to His timetable, not ours, thank goodness! So we must wait patiently for the Lord, so our lives can work in harmony with His plan.

Remember that person you just had to have, you even prayed for, but when you see them now, you understand why God said NO. Or we know what we want in a relationship moving fast without waiting for Him, and six or seven months down the road, the first thing that comes to mind "I should have waited.

Father, let us rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, and be constant in prayer. Lord, help us understand that You're not slow in keeping Your promise, as some understand slowness. Instead, You are patient with us, not wanting us to perish, but we all come to repentance. So, help us be still and wait on you to not miss Your purpose or promise. Father, we know You long to be gracious to us; Your unworthy servants fill us with the things of the Spirit that help us be submissive to You. And let us not forget this one thing: dear friends: With the Lord, a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day." So, somewhere in our Father's day, He will keep His promise, in Jesus' name Amen 

DON'T GET HELD BACK

Proverbs 4:12 Nothing will hold you back; you will not be overwhelmed 13 Always remember what you have been taught, and don't let go of it. Keep all you have learned; it is the most crucial thing in life.14 Don't follow the ways of the wicked; don't do what evil people do

God knows we have a problem (drinking, addiction, gambling, finances, marriage, housing, car, children, etc.). He remembers we made an effort to quit or fix the problem. But, we did not change our atmosphere habits or make Him our partner. So, the lesson we were to learn passed us. We can't move forward because we are still unprepared to receive our blessings. Every blessing comes with a task, and we can't move forward if we miss the lesson. For example: "If we don't study in school, participate in the process, and practice what we've learned, we are held back. The blessings are waiting, but we haven't done the footwork to receive them, so it's held back. 

Dear God, we understand that You usually bless people and make them rich by Your grace; we also want to enjoy the same benefits. Therefore, we are determined to be Your faithful children. Lord, we ask You to hold our hand and help us stay on the path of righteousness. So, we confess our faith in Your Son, Jesus Christ, accepting Him as our personal Lord and Savior. Lord, we thank You for pulling us out of the pit of darkness, restoring us to You. Lord, use us as vessels to represent You to those that need to see. Lord, open our hearts and minds to You and help us receive the lessons that help us mature Spiritual and prepare us for our blessings, purpose, walk, and ministry, so we are not held back. In Jesus' name Amen 

PRAISING GOD WILL SHIFT OUR ATMOSPHERE

Psalms 28:7 The Lord is our strength and our shield; our hearts trust in Him, and He helps us. Our hearts leap for joy, and with our song, we praise Him.

Praising God keeps our focus off our problems and on His promise. Praising God affects everything and everyone around us. Praying God increases our joy and peace when feeling down or defeated. Praising God strengthens our faith and gives us eyes that see; He is more significant than our problems. Nothing negative can survive long in an atmosphere of praise. If we want to see a difference in our walk and lives, start and end our days with praise, prayer, and worship. We have to have an attitude of praise, even when things seem dark and hopeless.

Father, we praise You for declaring our need and dependence on Your Son. Lord, we praise You during our day-to-day struggles and long-sufferings; because it keeps our focus on You.  Lord, when fear and doubt creep in, we praise You to shift our atmosphere to strength and courage. Lord, let our praise elevate our emotions, bring correction to our lives, teach us how to breathe, and bring honor to You. Lord, we praise You for being the same yesterday, today, and forever. Lord, we praise You for life, health, and being in our right minds. Lord, we praise You for Your faithfulness to Your unworthy servants. In Jesus' name, we praise. AMEN 

FORGIVENESS AND ACCEPTANCE

Hate is the most powerful source of imprisonment. When we feel hate for someone, we often spend time fixating on our anger, contempt, or dislike of that person. Which stagnates our Spiritual growth, peace, and happiness. Hate is also bad for our health; bottling up emotions like hatred releases stress hormones which, over time, leads to increased inflammation throughout the body.

Proverbs 6:16-19 There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers.

Lord, when we let hate into our hearts, it sits there and festers inside us. Father, help us understand that when we allow hatred to take over, we allow darkness to enter us. It clouds our judgment and makes us more negative. Father, baptize us in the Spirit that gives us a heart that overrides hate and replaces it with forgiveness and acceptance. Lord, we bring all unforgiveness to the Altar with the faith of a mustard seed, which gives us a chance to get the light back into our hearts. Father, help us unite and dismantle all forms of racism. Father, fill these that hate people for the color of their skin with love and compassion for all and unite our hearts with understanding. Lord, we ask You to intervene in our lives to help us overcome this hatred. Lord, You warned us that hate will fester and destroy us mentally and physically. So, help us love each other with the love of Christ. Father, You forgive us all for our sins, so how can we say "we love You" but hate and not forgive others. Lord, the only thing we should hate is sin, so thank You for offering up Your grace when we fail. In Jesus' name Amen 

PRAY FOR AND TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR OUR CHILDREN

When we become parents, we take on a row like never before. Nothing thoroughly prepares us for parenthood, not babysitting, being a great auntie, or big sister. We are our children's first teachers, friends, and role models. But, keep in mind we don’t own our children; God does; we are to raise them in His way; we have to attend to their physical and spiritual needs and their education.

Psalm 127:3-5 “Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one’s youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them!”

Father, give birth to Your purpose in our children and our children's children's lives.  Lord, help us teach our children the way to go to have guidance and protection through this Valley of death.  Father, help us manage our time to balance our Spiritual time with You, our children, and our day-to-day lives.  Lord, we speak life into our children, in the name of Jesus, that will keep them away from people who are walking 🚶‍♂️in idleness, addiction, and darkness. Lord, baptize our children 🙏in the Holy Spirit that cleanses us from bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and slander. Be put away from them, along with all malice. Lord, fill them with compassion and kindness, so they will do good, be tenderhearted, and forgive one another, as God in Christ forgave us. In Jesus' name Amen 

WE CAN LOVE ANYONE THROUGH CHRIST

1 Cor 13:4-8 love does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things. Love never ends.

Love makes everything easier. When we love our Church, we are eager to attend and participate. When we love our spouse, we can't wait to get home. Whatever we love we spend time with, our primary goal is to please and care for what we love.  Love is visible without speech because love is something we do.

Father, the creator of all that is good, open our hearts and minds to Your love, so we will love each other. Lord, help us see that Your way, the way of love and peace, is the way to our fulfillment.  Lord, let us be Your beacon of light that helps lead those in the dark to You. Lord, deliver us from the daily temptations of this dark world 🌎 and make us aware that we belong to You.  So, no weapon formed against us shall prosper.  Lord, help us understand that we cannot love You and hate Your children, or the love us blemished, and we are liars.  Father, we cannot have forgiving love without You. So, baptize us in the Holy Spirit that empowers us to love those that wronged our enemies and us.  Lord, let us experience the great rewards of love through Christ and the release of freedom from forgiveness. Father, let the love of Christ increase and overflow in us and everyone that harbor hates in their hearts.  In Jesus' name Amen

TAkE RESPONSIBILITY

Galatians 6: 5-18 each will have to bear his own load. One who is taught the Word must share all good things with the one who teaches. Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. And let us not grow weary of doing good, for, in due season, we will reap if we do not give up.

Going to school won't make us wise if we don't study and do the work.

A cook who wants to become a Chef must follow the recipe

Having a trainer can't help us lose weight if we don't change our eating habits and exercise
If we don't take responsibility for our actions, we will accomplish nothing

Blessed be the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any pain, with the ease with which we are comforted by, God. Lord, let us take responsibility for our actions, let the Word baptize us in the Holy Spirit, to fill us with the Fruit of the Spirit that helps us be submissive to You and true to ourselves. Father, reprogram us with Your Word and help us receive the wisdom and knowledge of implementing You in our daily lives. Continue working in and through us to become inward changed men and women, not religious fanatics. Lord, open our hearts and minds when we study to receive the Truth and all that's good. Thank You, Lord, for Salvation. Thank You for pulling us out of this dark pit and walking with us, our children, and our children's children, through this Valley of death. Lord, help us be the people You created us to be, so we come with a clean heart and mind to give You room to move. Lord, You know the plans for our lives, so help us be diligent in the Word that leads to abundance,  prosperity, and peace. In
Jesus name Amen

RAISE OUR STANDARDS

Matthew 6:24 “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. 

God wants us to raise our standards from our flesh to our Spirit. He wants us to walk and talk differently. He wants His thoughts to be our thoughts. When we follow Christ, nothing, not even money, should take our focus off of Him.  God is Spirit, and we who worship and follow Him must worship and follow in Spirit. So, we have to raise our standards; so, we must die daily to our flesh, so we can mature in Spirit.

Lord, help us raise our standards, rid us of our fleshly desires: sexually immoral, adultery, greed, pride, drunkenness, and all sins that keep us from inheriting Your kingdom. Father, baptize us in the Holy Spirit that empowers us to be submissive to You.  So, all our worldly desires of the flesh and the desires of our eyes are no longer pleasing to us. Which gives You room to move in our lives powerfully. Lord, let our actions and speech reflect You in us, let Your light shine through us, for the world to see. Father, thank You for forgiveness, mercy, peace, and favor. Thank You for raising our standards and helping us forgive. Lord, thank You for blessings us and expanding our criteria, so we can be a blessing. Thank You for submitting our standards to be doers of the word, not just hearers. In Jesus name Amen