Charged
Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually! 1 Chronicles 16:11, ESV
Every morning when I wake up, I head to my prayer room. I immediately put my phone on the charger because during the night I let scriptures play and my battery is usually pretty low. I can’t tell you how many times I drop that phone on the charger and think “Okay God, I am ready to get charged!”
It’s interesting how God has designed us. Our bodies need to recharge so that we can function throughout the day. Some people can go a couple of days without sleep, but the body eventually shuts down. It’s the same with our spiritual charge. We cannot expect to be prepared to serve God with His unconditional love for others when we have not given ourselves the spiritual charge we need in order to be the best servants.
I have a regular standing appointment with God daily at 5:00p.m. My spirit knows that it will receive a fresh anointing and strength for whatever is next. I look forward to that quiet time. There are days, however, when I have conflicts and miss the appointment, but I will say a prayer at that time and ask God to help me because I know myself. I need the overflow of the Holy Spirit to keep me going. When we don’t get our spirit charged, we are just like a cell phone with low battery. We are of no use to God. Scripture says to meditate on God’s word day and night, so that you know what to do. His word is our instruction manual. Blessing comes to those who make sure they are charged daily by it. If your charge is too low, you will miss your blessing because you do not have the discernment to hear the Holy Spirit and recognize a blessing right in front of you.
Listen, one evening the Holy Spirit said, “Let’s go take a walk”. He told me that I did not need my purse, but we were going to walk to a coffee shop and get a drink. I remember thinking, “God, am I hearing you right, don’t carry my purse?” I was so tempted to carry it or put money in my pocket, but I obeyed His voice. When I got to the coffee shop, they were promoting a new drink and the manager offered to make me one for free! Had I not been spending time getting charged, I would have missed my blessing. Be encouraged, stay charged!
Affirmations: Matthew 10:20; Luke 24:32; Ephesians 6:19, Isaiah 55:11
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Enslaved
“…people are slaves to whatever masters them” (2 Peter 2:19, NIV).
Slave: a person who is the legal property of another and is forced to obey them. synonym: bondman, bondwoman, bondservant, bondslave, serf, vassal, thrall
When I hear the word slave, immediately my mind goes to the brutal mistreatment that my ancestors suffered because of the color of their skin. When I looked up the definition of slavery on the internet, pictures of auction blocks depicting the way my ancestors would have been treated were displayed. My heart aches with pain because of the complete and utter brokenness that was in this country at that time. Slavery was a result of a deceptive and destructive spiritual scheme led by Satan himself. The saddest part is that few people recognized or understood that Satan was and still is the ruler behind this awful atrocity.
Scripture says, "Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me” (Psalm 51:5, KJV). From birth we were all enslaved to Satan and he is constantly devising plans to set us up to destroy ourselves and each other. He is the lord of all evil. He moves around like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. We would never think of ourselves as enslaved by anyone because we cannot see Satan in the flesh. Satan knows we think with our natural carnal mind instead of with our spiritual mind, therefore it gives him the advantage to keep us in bondage. He deceives many into believing that since we cannot see him, he must not be real; therefore, we direct our revenge at the wrong enemy.
In America, everyone believes we are free. Earlier this month, we celebrated our Independence Day. Many people put American flags on their homes and all kinds of fireworks were set off to commemorate this occasion. Satan keeps us focused on the natural things which are passing away so we will continue to be enslaved to him.
However, all is not lost, for we have a choice of whom or what will master us. Scripture teaches that Jesus came to the earth, lived a sinless life and died on the cross for our sin. He paid the price to give us a choice of a new master. The choice is up to us, we can be mastered by Satan, the lord of all evil or Jesus Christ, the Lord of lords who gives eternal life. Any other choice besides Jesus Christ is a choice of Satan. Romans 10:9 says, “If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”
We are all enslaved but because of Jesus Christ we have a choice.
Father,
Thank you for giving us a choice to live eternally with you, we know that your yoke is easy and your burdens are light. According to Romans 10:9, if we declare with our mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in our heart that God raised him from the dead, we will be saved. We ask you to become the master ruler over our lives.
Affirmations: Matthew 10:20; Luke 24:32; Ephesians 6:19, Isaiah 55:11
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Sitting
For as the rain cometh down and the snow from the heaven, and retuneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater. Isaiah 55:10, KJV
I sat with the Holy Spirit this morning. He was extremely quiet and I found my mind wondering all over the place. I finally said, “Holy Spirit, my mind is going all over the place. What should I be doing? Do you want me to read the Bible or listen to some music because I cannot hear you.”
He said these words to me: “When you sit quietly, I am strengthening your roots. They are growing deeper. When you sit here, your roots are being watered.” He reminded me of this scripture: For as the rain cometh down and the snow from the heaven, and retuneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater (Isaiah 55:10, KJV).
When we sit quietly in God’s presence we have entered into the Holy of Holies. We are sitting in the third heaven with Him. Our spirit has moved to the supernatural and change is taking place on the inside of us. I said to the Holy Spirit, “There are times I just want to come to you and sit and give you praise without requesting anything.” He was pleased with my request, but told me it is impossible for me not to receive anything because every time we are with Him we get all that He is!
I said, “Well, what about when my mind sometimes runs all over the place?” He reminded me that Satan is always trying to distract us from Him, but it is also a reminder to us that we are in the right place doing the right thing. Warfare always comes when we are where God wants us to be. He reminded me that I was in the perfect place to lay everything that comes to my mind on the altar! I remember hearing a pastor say, “Satan only comes when you have something for him to steal.” I encourage you to take some time to just sit with God. Let your roots go deep so that you can bring forth much fruit for the kingdom! Amen
Affirmations: Matthew 10:20; Luke 24:32; Ephesians 6:19, Isaiah 55:11
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Blessed are the Forgiven
During my time of prayer with God I was seeking a word to feed my soul. As I was thinking about what to read, the Holy Spirit led me to a verse I had written in my journal…
How joyful is the person whose sins are forgiven, whose sin is covered (never seen). How joyful is the one who the Lord does not charge with iniquity and in whose spirit is no deceit. Psalm 32:1-2
As I thought about that scripture, I wanted to know the backstory of why David wrote this psalm. I found that as I read more of the psalm it explains David’s heart. He had not confessed the sins he had committed. He found that as long as he held on to it, it would eat away at him, and all of his strength would leave him. He says in v3-4…
For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer.
When we continue in our sin and do not repent to God it will leave us heavy and broken. I remember when I was doing my own thing - sleeping around, running to parties, hanging out, trying to be cool. But when the next morning came there was this feeling of complete guilt. Though I knew right from wrong I wanted to live on my own terms. I can relate to David saying that day and night your hand was heavy on me. I would try and push away the promptings of conviction from God. He would not allow those convictions to go away (praise God!) which eventually led me to repentance. The hardest thing for me was asking for forgiveness, because I knew I was going against God’s word.
Satan tempts us into a life of sin, then lays a heavy guilt on us when we desire to turn to God for forgiveness. That is why David says pray to God immediately while He can be found. Because if we linger too long we will learn to ignore God’s promptings of convictions and will find ourselves washed away in the great flood of waters.
That is why David starts this psalms with how blessed are those whose sins are forgiven! There is no record of our sin when we ask for forgiveness. We are blameless. Satan can no longer eat at our hearts about our sin and cannot take it to God to condemn us! Hallelujah!!!
Father,
Thank you for just your unconditional love. Thank you for consistently moving our hearts toward change. We are ever grateful that you love us so much, and that even in our sin you work to draw us nearer to you. Hallelujah our King! To you be glory and praise!
Affirmations: Matthew 10:20; Luke 24:32; Ephesians 6:19, Isaiah 55:11
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Adopted
Although my father and my mother have forsaken me, yet the Lord will take me up [adopt me as His child]. Psalm 27:10
Sometimes parents just fail their children. It is not usually on purpose, as they normally want the best for them. But what we fail to understand is that parents are perfectly imperfect people who, in trying to be perfect themselves, make mistakes. Parents don’t always have the best relationship with God and therefore miss His instruction on how to deal with the precious creations He’s given them.
I find it so interesting how our minds seem to only go back to the things our parents did wrong. Rarely do we focus on the things they did right. I know I can name situation after situation in which my parents did things that made me feel unprotected, uncared for and unfairly treated. As I am sitting here writing, I realize those moments take up space in my mind, space I could use for remembering all the good they did for me.
Now as a parent, I can understand the challenges my parents had with raising me and my siblings. I can now see where they were coming from based on their upbringing. This knowledge has softened my heart and caused me to be gracious and understanding about those difficult times. It does not always make it better but I can comprehend it better now. The scripture above says that although our father and mother may forsake us, God will never forsake us because He adopts us as His own.
I find that comforting. God will clean up all of the messes our parents made in our lives if we let Him. When He adopts us as His own children, He does not leave us the way we are. He moves us into a healing process to rid us of our old hurts and pains, things that have been hidden away in our hearts. It means that He may challenge us to face those difficult and often hurtful situations from our past to get us to our best future. God is calling me to talk with my parents about some difficult stuff, and while I am not excited about it, I know it is for my good. We can’t move into the greatness He has for us until we walk with Him through those buried pasts. When those demons are gone, we can be all that He ordained us to be! Amen!
Affirmations: Matthew 10:20; Luke 24:32; Ephesians 6:19, Isaiah 55:11
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Dwelling
One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple. Psalm 27:4
The scripture above is my heart's desire. David penned it in a psalm but it is the deepest desire in my heart. I am sitting in a hotel room in the early morning hours seeking God. It seems like I am just so far away from Him. I know that is not true, and I know that I have all of God’s love but at times those distant feelings are hard to beat down.
I love that David said the one thing he asked the Lord. He asked God if he could seek to dwell in God’s house all the days of his life. He told God he was willing to do the work if He would allow him to dwell there forever. David wanted to be in God’s house all his life, but my heart settled on seeking God. I started with the word “seek”…
Seek: to go in search or quest (a long or arduous search for something), hunt, pursuit, to try to find or discover by searching and questioning.
When we seek something we are constantly looking for it. When I think about how I search for God, He truly makes it pretty easy to find Him. The answers are right in front of us, we just miss them. My heart is overwhelmed as I am writing this. God showed me that our emotions are from Him. I knew that, but the fact that I can cry and breathe and feel like I am missing Him are emotions that came from Him and through Him to me. He allows us to feel. We can find God right where we are by just realizing that He is in everything.
Let your mind sit for just a moment and say “God, I am seeking you”. As you wait, He will direct your spirit. Be patient. The more you sit in this place seeking Him, the more He will open up your heart and reveal Himself to you. It is just like with a detective looking for an answer to a problem, they start with the obvious things they can see and those clues lead them deep into details.
When we start with just the thing right in front of us and sit with it, God will use that thing to guide us into a more in-depth relationship with Him.
Affirmations: Matthew 10:20; Luke 24:32; Ephesians 6:19, Isaiah 55:11
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He Heals
He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. Psalm 147:3, ESV
I had prayed to God but yet I could not figure out how to get rid of the pain I was feeling inside. I felt like because of the decisions that were made by my husband and the way he responded to me, my opinion was not valued. Satan will get into any of us at any time and prompt us to behave in a way that causes others pain. He is very good at making us feel justified in our decisions.
When I spoke to my husband about how I felt it was clear this situation was not going to change. I could not stop thinking about the situation. It got to the point where my heart and chest were hurting. I knew it was an attack by Satan but I could not seem to shake it. I went to God in prayer and just sobbed. I told Him I know this is an attack from Satan but I can't get rid of what I am feeling inside. I said God please take this, I am giving this to you, Jehovah Rapha my healer. Please help me not to pick this back up again. I don’t know how to let this go. The pain still sat in my heart.
God spoke to me in the gentlest voice when He said, “The person who hurt you cannot heal you.” He said that we always look to the person who hurt us to do something to make things better. But ultimately, they can’t heal our hearts. I sat for a long time meditating on those words. I began to pray for all of us who have been hurt by someone and for those we have hurt. In truth we can always apologize, but that does not heal the pain. God is the pain healer. It took several days before my husband came and apologized but God had already healed me. It was nice to get his apology but his words could never bring me the healing I needed.
God told me that all of us go through pain, hurt, brokenness - it's just part of the journey. But we need to always look to Him for healing. While God was walking me through this journey of healing in my heart, He showed me how we always want something from the person who hurt us but they can never give us what we truly need. And this is why God tells us to bring everything to him! Amen.
Affirmations: Matthew 10:20; Luke 24:32; Ephesians 6:19, Isaiah 55:11
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Hallelujah! He is Alive!
He is not here, but has risen…Luke 24:6, ESV
This morning when I went in to pray, the song “Hallelujah” was in my heart. I did not realize it at the beginning, but the words kept coming and I found myself just sitting and praying the words of that song. It was such a wonderful time of worship.
I love how when we give over to God, He directs our way. The Scripture teaches us to trust in the Lord with all our heart and not to lean on our own understanding. It also directs us to acknowledge Him in all our ways and He then promises to direct our paths. When I was awakened, I did not have that song in my heart. It was not until I came into the room and got on my knees to pray that the words to the song started to come. It was as such that I could not ignore the words even though I wanted to start off praying in my usual way.
God is always speaking but we have to be attentive to his voice. When we are attentive to Him we can hear Him directing our paths. I learned this morning that God wanted worship from me. He wanted to remind me through this worship song that although our world seems all gloom and doom, I can be encouraged because He has conquered the world. He has risen and all power is in His hand. He is alive. He knows exactly what is going on in the earth. He sees everything. He is God and He is with us.
Our God has risen. He is alive. Our God is risen. He reigns on high! Hallelujah, You have won the victory. Hallelujah, You have won it all for me. Death could not hold You down; You are the risen king, seated in majesty. You are the risen king. Hallelujah.
I have listed the words of the song below: Be encouraged!
Hallelujah
You have won the victory, Hallelujah You have won it all for me Death could not hold you down You are the risen king Seated in majesty You are the risen king By his stripes we are healed By his nail-pierced hands we're free By his blood, we're washed clean Now we have the victory The power of sin is broken Jesus overcame it all He has won our freedom Jesus has won it all Our God is risen He is alive He's won the victory He reigns on high
Read more: Todd Dulaney - The Anthem Lyrics | MetroLyrics
Affirmations: Matthew 10:20; Luke 24:32; Ephesians 6:19, Isaiah 55:11
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Confident Trust
“Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompense of reward.”
Hebrews 10:35, KJV
“So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded.” Hebrews 10:35, NIV
Did you know that we can throw away our confidence? Our confidence is our faith in God. Satan sits and nags at us with his lies to get us to throw our trust in God away. When things don’t happen like we think they should Satan is right there to wear us down with lies so that we will not trust God.
For example, we pray for God to heal our bodies and even though we have many scriptures that tell us God hears and answers our prayers (1 John 5:14, Matthew 7:8, Luke 11:9) because we do not see, or feel the healing in our timing, we began to doubt God. Scripture tells us to not be moved by what we see because we walk by faith and not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7) Just because we do not see the immediate healing does not mean Go did not answer our prayer.
When we doubt God, we are throwing away our confident trust in him along with our rewards. Our rewards may consist of healing, refuge, provisions, supply, abundance and all that we have asked God for and more. But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him (Hebrews 11:6, KJV )
We must remember that we are in a war and the battlefield is in our mind. God sent his Spirit, the Holy Spirit, our most trusted advisor to guide us through these battles and to assist us with anything we need. Satan is a spirit who is consistently strategizing ways to deceive us into throwing away our confident trust in God. If we are not careful we cannot only lay down our trust in God and lose all of our great rewards, but we can even lay down our salvation and that would be a terrible tragedy! Satan cannot take away our faith or our confidence in God, he can only suggest that we throw it away.
Father,
Thank you that no one can take away our faith and confident trust in you! We praise you for the authority over the enemy! Thank you for the Holy Spirit our most trusted advisor who guides us through each battle. Amen!
Affirmations: Matthew 10:20; Luke 24:32; Ephesians 6:19, Isaiah 55:11
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Consequences of Disobedience
“Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you?” Luke 6:46, ESV
If we do not obey the instructions our parents give us, we receive the punishment for our disobedience. When we refuse to follow the instructions or directions given to us at our job, we can be dismissed. Why do we expect God to be any different? He gives us instructions and when we don’t obey, we suffer the circumstances of our behavior.
When we are disobedient, we are not rewarded with good things but with the consequences for our behavior. When we are seeking God for a miracle in our life and it does not seem to happen it is important to check and see if we are in obedience to His will. He says, “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you?” Luke 6:46, ESV “And if you faithfully obey the voice of the Lord your God, being careful to do all his commandments that I command you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the voice of the Lord your God.” Deuteronomy 28:1-2, ESV Our God expects us to be obedient and partial obedience is not obedience.
“And when the Lord your God brings you into the land that he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give you—with great and good cities that you did not build, and houses full of all good things that you did not fill, and cisterns that you did not dig, and vineyards and olive trees that you did not plant—and when you eat and are full, then take care lest you forget the Lord, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. It is the Lord your God you shall fear. Him you shall serve and by his name you shall swear. You shall not go after other gods, the gods of the peoples who are around you— for the Lord your God in your midst is a jealous God—lest the anger of the Lord your God be kindled against you, and he destroy you from off the face of the earth.” Deuteronomy 6:10-15, ESV
God warned the people not to forget him, least they turn to other gods…which ultimately would lead to disobedience. When we move into disobedience we have allowed ourselves to be subject to witchcraft and lawlessness. The behavior of disobedience can cause God’s anger to be kindled against us, to the point that he will destroy us from the face of the earth! We serve a loving, kind and gracious God but He is serious about following his instructions. His has great blessings and miraculous miracles for His people but we have to choose to obey him instructions, otherwise we miss all that he has ordained for us. Amen.
Father,
We thank you for you love and faithfulness, we praise you that you are a just and loving God. We seek forgiveness for our disobedience and we thank you God that your word says if we confess our sins, you are faithful and just to forgive us of our sins and to cleans us from all unrighteousness. We thank you and we praise you in Jesus name. Amen.
Affirmations: Matthew 10:20; Luke 24:32; Ephesians 6:19, Isaiah 55:11
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Right in Front of You
Renaldo and I were in Bellagio, Italy on Lake Como for vacation. We rented an Airbnb and after getting our villa we went to dinner. On our way back from dinner we got lost looking for our little villa. In Bellagio they have all of these beautiful cobblestone alleyways that go in all different directions and we took the wrong one. After walking around different alleys and getting lost a couple of times, we decided to put the address in Google Maps. We finally arrived at the location in Maps, but we didn't see our little villa.
There was a shop outside right where we were standing and instead of wandering around again we asked the owner if he could direct us to our place. He comes out, stands in front of us and says “You are here!” pointing to the door. We were literally standing right in front of the door and did not recognize it. We had the keys and everything we needed to get in but we did not even know we were there. We had walked past this shop at least twice which means we had passed by our place several times.
The Holy Spirit showed me that this is how we can be with Him. He has given us the keys and everything we need but because we do not recognize the area, we think we don’t have what we asked for. Many times we pray to God for something and He gives it to us but because it does not come wrapped up the way we think it should, we don’t realize our request has been answered.
For example, I prayed for healing of my blood pressure. The numbers kept getting higher even with medication. When we would find a medication that worked I would experience side effects and we would have to try something different. To me, healing looked like me never having to take blood pressure medicine again. But as I continued to pray God gave my doctor wisdom as to what would work for my body and now my blood pressure is normal. I take the medication every evening and I have no problems with blood pressure. Now I could say I am waiting for God to heal me so I won’t have to take any medicine. But the truth is as long as I take the medication I am healed of high blood pressure. Our Bishop always says God works both ways, through medication and miraculously. We must be willing to accept them both.
If you can’t see what you have prayed to God for, ask Him to open your eyes so you can see His answer. It may just be staring you right in the face, waiting for you to open the door.
Affirmations: Matthew 10:20; Luke 24:32; Ephesians 6:19, Isaiah 55:11
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Revelation
The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; whom shall I be afraid? Psalm 27:1, ESV
The Lord is David’s revelation; he was in darkness but God revealed to him the light (what he could not see). Now that he sees, he understands that God is his deliverance and because of that who should he be afraid of? No matter what comes, why should he be alarmed? But also, the other part of that fear word is to stand in awe, to give reverence. Now that David has the light, he is saying “Who else should I revere? Who should I have deep respect for and be in awe of?”
He is saying “God is my fortified place, my fortress, my defense, my strength of my whole life” and then, once again he asks, “What am I going to be afraid of? meaning, to be startled by or in reverence of.
David makes it clear in just these two statements that there is nothing to fear but all to reverence. When I think about my life there has been so much that I feared. I let fear stop me not because God left me but because I chose not to believe in Him. Fear is the opposite of faith. God is consistently telling us not to fear and that He is with us. He does not want us to miss the blessing that fear is trying to stop us from receiving.
When I was younger I was afraid of saying anything wrong or of asking questions the wrong way so I would say nothing at all.
When I did that I missed my opportunity to be educated. I miss my opportunity to receive the abundant blessing and wisdom. See, if I had asked questions or said something I could have received the wisdom and understanding of that thing from someone who had already been through what I wanted to know. So I would have not only received the information, but the understanding of it and how to apply the knowledge in the right way. Satan’s plan is always to hinder us.
Shakespeare said, “Our doubts are traitors, and they make us lose what we often might win, by fearing to attempt.” What would you attempt in life if you were sure you couldn’t fail? Before you answer, read these words of David: “When I cry out to You…my enemies will turn back…I know, because God is for me” (Ps 56:9 NKJV). Believe that God is on your side today, then step out and attempt the thing you’re afraid to do! You’ll never be the same again—you’ll be liberated.
Affirmations: Matthew 10:20; Luke 24:32; Ephesians 6:19, Isaiah 55:11
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Plug-in (2)
Listen carefully: I have given you authority [that you now possess] to tread on serpents and scorpions, and [the ability to exercise authority] over all the power of the enemy (Satan); and nothing will [in any way] harm you. Luke 10:19, CSB
In a previous devotional I shared with you how my lamp had stopped working and I did not realize all the important functions that it offered until after it stopped working. It was not until I had a problem did I do research to find out how to resolve the problem that I found all of its attributes.
In the scripture above Jesus tells us that He has given us authority over all the power of the enemy(any sin, challenge, and temptation, etc. we will face in our Christian walk). And He says nothing will harm us. When we believe in Him and understand His word we have authority over our problems. The more we study and understand God’s word we can see how to walk in this authority He has given us.
I used to be very afraid of the power of the enemy. I wanted to have nothing to do with Satan, even though I knew through scripture we had the power over Him. I had seen so many things that showed the evil of him that I did not want to ever have to face Satan head on. What I did not realize it that I was facing him everyday with all the problems I was dealing with. Satan just approach me differently so I did not recognize him the way I had seen him behave before.
The problem I also had was that I did not know how to use the power God had given me. It was not until God sent me a book to read (Pigs In the Parlor) that I understood how to use this power. I had no idea that I was allowing Satan to make me feel like He was over me when in all truth I had the power over him! Can you imagine working on a job for someone who sends you through hell for years only later you find out that you are the owner of the company through family genealogy? That is exactly what it is like with Satan and all of his demons!
Unless we take the time to understand God’s word completely and spend time in the word reading and seeking God for clarity we will never know what power we have and how to use that power. I knew I had a lamp but I did not know how to use all of its power because I did not read the instruction manual. Have you taken time to sit with the owner of your manual and get clarity on what power you have and how to use it?
Affirmations: Matthew 10:20; Luke 24:32; Ephesians 6:19, Isaiah 55:11
You can also follow me at JCCMinistriestv:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMoEcr3koSqRbqVma5EGWgA/videos
My recently published books are now available at:https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Life%27s+Journey+volume+2+Jacqueline+Crooks&language=en_US&ref=nb_sb_noss
Plug-in
I have this amazing lamp that sits on my cabinet beside my chair which gives great light in the early morning hours, allowing me to read. I loved getting up every morning, going into the prayer room when it’s dark and turning on this lamp.
Several days ago the lamp just stopped working. I mean literally, it would not light up. At first I thought the light bulb had blown out. But after some investigation I discovered that the connector that plugs into the base of the lamp, which plugs into the wall, was bad. It was not until trying to find out why the light stopped working did I realize how valuable this desk lamp was.
I had this lamp for at least a year and I did not know all the resources it had available to me. I did not read the instructions, I just took the lamp out of the box, plugged it in and that was that. What I discovered was that the lamp had more useful features. First, I was not using the lamp to its fullest potential. What I thought was a shade was actually a cover to protect the lamp and should have been removed. Second, the base of the lamp was a phone charger!
What a lesson God used to teach me about Him and His word. First, if we do not stay charged to the base we cannot give any light to the world. My lamp still sits on my cabinet waiting for its charger but it cannot do anything for me. It cannot bear its fruit. It is a lamp and it can give light but unless it is charged I can’t receive any fruit from it. God said: Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. John 15:4-7, ESV
It is life transforming when we accept Jesus Christ as our personal savior! Yes, indeed we have received eternal life with Him but that is just the beginning of all we have in Him. This is like me with the lamp only taking advantage of the one part. If we just accept Him and move on with our life we are missing the most important part of why He died for us! He came most importantly so we could have relationship with Him. He wanted us to be able to abide in Him and share His light with the world! The lamp was offering me more than I had tapped into.
It does not matter if you find reading the Bible boring, just go sit with Him. I mean put away your phone and anything that will distract you and go sit with Him. Sit in a room, a closet, your car, whatever is available to you that gives you some privacy and He will talk with you. He cannot develop a relationship with you when other things have your attention. Just give Him your attention, plug into Him. I cannot receive from my lamp because it has no source. We cannot receive from God all that is available to us if we do not plug in. You will be so strengthened when you leave that time with Him that you will wonder how you ever moved in life without it.
Affirmations: Matthew 10:20; Luke 24:32; Ephesians 6:19, Isaiah 55:11
You can also follow me at JCCMinistriestv:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMoEcr3koSqRbqVma5EGWgA/videos
My recently published books are now available at:https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Life%27s+Journey+volume+2+Jacqueline+Crooks&language=en_US&ref=nb_sb_noss
Miracle
And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day. Genesis 1:5, KJV
I know that every day is a miracle, but for the past few days when the Holy Spirit has awakened me I hear Him say in my spirit, “Today is a miracle!”
Miracle: a surprising and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore considered to be the work of a divine agency. A highly improbable or extraordinary event, development, or accomplishment that brings very welcome consequences.
Miracle in Hebrew is mopheth: wonder, sign; portent. The word signifies a divine act or a special display of divine power
4592 Miracle in Greek is Semeion: a manifest deed, having in itself an explanation of something hidden and secret; a sign, a mark, indication, token.
Most of us have gotten so accustomed to waking up and seeing another day that we forget it is a divine act. We have no control over whether a new day happens or not, but we make plans and expect to see the new day. In the Bible we read where Jesus performed many miracles for the people so they would know that He was the son of God. Many of us don’t see those kinds of miracles today but everyday God speaks to us in miracles.
As I sat with God meditating and writing this devotional, I kept thinking about the word “miracle”. It came to me that my body and all its functions are miracles. We can eat all the right foods and do regular exercise but there is no guarantee that when we wake in the morning our body will function as it has done before.
I have lived sixty-one years of life and for most of my life I exercised regularly and tried to eat the right foods. In my late fifties I was told I had high blood pressure. I was shocked by the information and I began to look at ways to keep my blood pressure down. I had done nothing different to this body but all of a sudden it needed help to function correctly. I prayed for a miracle healing and after some years I began to take the blood pressure medicine.
All those previous years I took for granted that my body worked just fine. It never occurred to me that it was divinely designed to work and there was not much it needed from me. I realized later as I began to take the medication, even the medication was a miracle. God had given man the divine intellectual knowledge and wisdom to comprehend how to put substances together that could help a body He divinely made to function correctly. We may not see the miracles like they were in the Bible but if we ask God, He will show us his miracles everyday!
Father, we are distracted towards believing that you are not doing the same miracles today as we have read in the Bible. But that is so not true! You have given man so much wisdom to solve problems that we forget the wisdom comes from YOU! The knowledge that you download in man is a miracle and we miss seeing you. Please open our eyes to see your miraculous miracles, for they are all around us. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.
Affirmations: Matthew 10:20; Luke 24:32; Ephesians 6:19, Isaiah 55:11
You can also follow me at JCCMinistriestv:
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My recently published books are now available at:https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Life%27s+Journey+volume+2+Jacqueline+Crooks&language=en_US&ref=nb_sb_noss
Love Walk
Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Philippians 2:3, ESV
God said to write on love. I had no idea what I was going to write. I had been studying love and as I learned more about it, the harder I prayed. We all know 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 speaks to what love is: Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.
But God started to deal with me on how I implement love and become full of love. Our God is love and He has called us to become just like Him. As I started the research, God led me to Philippians 2 which goes into great detail on how we are to walk out love. I was overwhelmed by the instructions. In this devotional I am just going to focus on this one scripture: Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. The word “significant” socked me in the gut. I thought, “Let me look this scripture up in the King James Version to see what it says.” Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than themselves. Then the word esteem just lingered in my heart. So I did what I always do. I looked up both words.
significant: sufficiently great or important to be worthy of attention; noteworthy; having or likely to have influence or effect; important
esteem: respect and admiration, typically for a person. to set a high value on : regard highly and prize accordingly
I thought as I read the first part of the scripture that I was doing okay, but when I focused on count others more significant than myself, I just instantly began to pray. I knew there was much work that needed to be done in my heart. My mind reflected on our trip to Italy. There was this woman on the street begging for money and she was really rude. She actually hit my daughter with her stick because we would not give her money. We had been warned to watch out for pickpockets and so we were really guarded. I said to God, “You want me to esteem these people who are deliberately going against your word?” I heard the Holy Spirit say, “How else are they going to see my love?”
It is never about how we are treated by others; it is God’s job to take care of us. God’s concern is how we treat others, and are they seeing God’s love in their sin. We are made in the image of God so when others interact or see us, they should see God. As I meditated on what the Holy Spirit had put in my mind, God reminded me how much sin I was in and how He had others show me His love when I did not deserve it.
Self righteousness loves to visit us and make us think we are good. In truth the only thing separating us from sinners is Jesus Christ. Scripture says all of our acts of righteousness are as filthy rags. Love starts with humility (definition: a modest or low view of one's own importance; humbleness) and when we allow the Holy Spirit to do a work on humbling us, our spirit is ready to embrace the work of loving.
Father,
Thank you for love. We ask you to humble us as you are the shepherd over us, your sheep. Humble us so we can be the perfect image of you. We want to express your love wherever you send us. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Affirmations: Matthew 10:20; Luke 24:32; Ephesians 6:19, Isaiah 55:11
You can also follow me at JCCMinistriestv:
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My recently published books are now available at:https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Life%27s+Journey+volume+2+Jacqueline+Crooks&language=en_US&ref=nb_sb_noss
Relationship
When you come looking for me, you’ll find me. “Yes, when you get serious about finding me and want it more than anything else, I’ll make sure you won’t be disappointed.” God’s Decree. “I’ll turn things around for you… Jeremiah 29:13
My husband and I can be working in different rooms of the house getting chores or other things completed and after a few hours he will come to me and say, “Do you miss me? I miss you. Let’s do something together!” I look at him and I respond, “How can you miss me? I have been right here in the house with you!”
What my husband meant is that although we are in each other’s presence, we are not spending time together and he wants to experience that fellowship. God is the same way. Although He tells us that He will never leave us nor forsake us, He wants that intimate relationship with us. It is true that we are always in God’s presence, but scripture tells us that if we draw near to God, He will draw near to us.
It is one thing to have someone around us all the time, but it is completely different to engage that individual in a relationship. I have been at events where I have been around individuals for hours and no one bothers to even speak to me. I would try to engage them and get very little response, so I would move on. That experience never left me feeling good, but as I walked away I would say, “Your loss not mine.” How much more of a loss do we have when we don’t engage our God, the creator of the world?
The people at the event could probably care less if I left and they would probably never feel the impact of not engaging me. However, if we don’t engage God, that is a whole different consequence. We will miss all the great things that He has for each of us individually. I love that God has special things just for me! When we spend time engaging Him we learn more about Him and more about ourselves. We receive all the amazing blessings that He has predestined for us individually.
My words of encouragement for you: develop a relationship with our Father. You will never regret it!
Affirmations: Matthew 10:20; Luke 24:32; Ephesians 6:19, Isaiah 55:11
You can also follow me at JCCMinistriestv:
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My recently published book Life’s Journey is now available at: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08VYJKJ9K/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_6Z95ANB487AMDF3VTDP9
Love Cost
Love never fails. 1 Corinthians 13:8, NIV
I remember being so excited when I was dating my husband. We had a lot of fun just hanging out and getting to know one another. When he asked me to marry him I could hardly wait to start our new life together. My mind could only focus on all the wonderful times we would have.
We have been married now for 36 years and I am more in love with him now than I could have ever been when we first got married! I cannot imagine my life without him! Even as I am writing this devotional there is this big smile on my face. I love him dearly. However, the years in between our first and 36th anniversary have had some pain, suffering, brokenness, hurt, disappointment and some of everything that love is not!
The world’s definition of love only speaks to our emotions. That definition will never carry anyone through 36 years of marriage, friendship, etc. Jesus wants us to know that when we sign up to love someone in a marriage, it is each of our responsibilities to love one another as we love ourselves. When we say I love you we are making a contract like Jesus made with us. He did not require us to change for Him to love us, but love cost him something… “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us,” Romans 5:8, NIV.
The 36-year journey with my husband required us both to change and it cost us each we had to sacrifice. We both endured things we never wanted to experience along the way, but the love we have now is indescribable! We must remember that love will cost us something! But like the scripture above says, love never fails when we are walking in the love of God. For the true definition of love read 1 Corinthians 13:4-8, NIV: Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.
Affirmations: Matthew 10:20; Luke 24:32; Ephesians 6:19, Isaiah 55:11
You can also follow me at JCCMinistriestv:
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My recently published books are now available at:https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Life%27s+Journey+volume+2+Jacqueline+Crooks&language=en_US&ref=nb_sb_noss
Freedom
So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. John 8:36, NIV
Today my husband decided he was going to preach a message to me about freedom. It was so funny listening to him tell me about the word. He can be so serious, yet very funny at the same time. We had both listened to something he found on YouTube about prisoners who had come to know Christ while in prison.
There were several prisoners giving their testimony about how they came to know Christ. All of them had done serious crimes in their youth and were all serving life sentences. They cannot change their circumstances, but they were so thankful that Jesus died for them! One of them said that he may be locked up in prison, but he was free in Jesus Christ!
As my husband and I reflected on the testimonies given by these men of God, my husband in his preaching voice repeated what one of them said: “Just because you are locked up does not mean you cannot be free. If you don’t have Christ as your personal savior, you are locked up in sin, even though you are not locked up in jail. You are not truly free!” A very powerful message!
Affirmations: Matthew 10:20; Luke 24:32; Ephesians 6:19, Isaiah 55:11
You can also follow me at JCCMinistriestv:
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My recently published book Life’s Journey is now available at: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08VYJKJ9K/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_6Z95ANB487AMDF3VTDP9
DEEP
Deep calls to deep at the roar of your waterfalls; all your breakers and your waves have gone over me. Psalm 42:7, ESV
God has been sending me messages after messages after messages to be still and know. I was becoming frustrated because I thought I was being still when I had stopped doing all the activities He had given me. But I later learned just because you stop doing something does not mean that you are still
The Holy Spirit led me back to my garden. I had been sitting there for a couple of days when God reminded me of why I decided to start a garden in the first place. I wanted to hear God talk to me like He spoke to Adam and Eve. I had prepared my garden and planted all the things I wanted to put in it but I had not sat with God out there.
The constant messages from Him drove me to the quiet place where I could hear God speaking to me differently. I would hear Him telling me what to do throughout the day but this was different. He wanted to give me the answer to my prayers. See, I had prayed and asked God if I could just operate in the miraculous realm daily. I was asking to walk in the deep waters but I did not know how to do that.
Well, when I finally sat still long enough (several days in my garden, hours of just being quiet) I heard God say to me, “This is what being in the deep is like.” I was like, what??? I immediately jumped on my computer and looked up “being in the deep”. I learned that you can’t see in the deep ocean when you are moving, you have to be still and let what is in the deep come to you.
When I am sitting still with my mind and body, everything is quiet. I can hear and see God’s message and words. Everything comes to me. I do not have to run after it. Everything that came to me did not change my position. I stayed in the deep.
The deep is the calmest, quietest, precious place. I love being submerged in the deep with God.
Affirmations: Matthew 10:20; Luke 24:32; Ephesians 6:19, Isaiah 55:11
You can also follow me at JCCMinistriestv:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMoEcr3koSqRbqVma5EGWgA/videos
My recently published books are now available at:https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Life%27s+Journey+volume+2+Jacqueline+Crooks&language=en_US&ref=nb_sb_noss