For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth 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:

So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.    -  Isaiah 55:8-11

Jesus said, “...men ought always to pray, and not to faint.”  Luke 18:1

"If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land."    -2 Chronicles 7:14

Praise is a weapon on mass destruction in the mouth of the Believer.

Problems will demand your attention, but how you approach them is the pivotal turning point that makes the difference between thriving and struggling.

“With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.”  Isaiah 26:9

When used as God intended, praise is a weapon that invokes the very presence of God.

Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Matthew 11:28

When our desires and wants are placed before and above the will of God, we sat ourselves up for failure.

If my people, which are called by My Name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.        -2 Chronicles 7:14

Life brings change for everyone.  To navigate and thrive amid life's uncertainties, it’s important that you hold on to God's unchanging Word.

Psalm 34:8-9

The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them.  O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.  O fear the Lord, ye his saints: for there is no want to them that fear him.

The righteous person may have many troubles,
but the Lord delivers him from them all;   - Psalm 34:18-19 (NIV)

If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.  -2 Chronicles 7:14 

If change for a beter tomorrow is your hope, then go where God leads.  

Today, you might not feel the closeness of God's presence, nor hear His voice, but I want you to know, God sees and He hears.

You did not take a breath today, that God didn't know about.  Not a bird falls to the ground without God knowing it.  He knows the number of hairs on your head.

If it concerns you, it concerns God.

"I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.  Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and He shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord."    - Psalm 27:13-14

Woe to them that go down to Egypt for help; and stay on horses, and trust in chariots, because they are many; and in horsemen, because they are very strong; but they look not unto the Holy One of Israel, neither seek the LORD!   Isaiah 31:1

Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the Name of the LORD our God.  Psalm 20:7

But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness into His marvellous light;

But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up.

Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.      - Matthew 24:42-44

It is time to move beyond the basic teachings about Christ; not to forget them, but on to maturity in our understanding.    

11. Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called “uncircumcised” by those who call themselves “the circumcision” (which is done in the body by human hands)—   12. remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world.   13. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.   14 .For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, 

You can never be an overcomer without first embracing change. 

The breastplate deflects blows from the enemy. 

Encourage yourself in the LORD.  Don’t let negativity and depressing thoughts set up resident in your mind.

 In the Book of Job, chapter one, the Lord questions Satan as to his whereabouts.  

And Satan answered, “…From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.”  -Job 1:7

 Apart from Jesus we can’t do anything.  All our efforts are fruitless without Him.

A pacesetter is a runner or competitor who set the pace at the beginning of a race.  Jesus is the author of our faith.
          “In the beginning God…”. Genesis 1:1

Before we were...Jesus was already here.  
          He has set the standards of achievement for us.
          He came that we might have life and that more abundantly.
          Following Jesus leads to abundant living.

 It is only through true discipleship that the light of God is us will move away the darkness that seeks to envelop us.

Following Jesus requires stepping out on blind faith.  Our trust in Him must be with unwavering belief.

Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:   Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.    

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.    - Psalm 23:5-6

If you sat and listen attentively, you will hear the instructions of the Master Teacher.

Our trials are not designed to destroy us but to refine us.
Be still…God is molding you into an image of Himself.

It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.  They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.  Lamentations 3:22-23

-       1 Thessalonians 5:18

The sufficiency of God's grace is truly amazing.  

• Who are we that God is mindful of us? 
• What is it about us, that makes God think about us?
• Why is God concerned about us?

Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in 

heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy and my

burden is light.”  (Matthew 11:28-30 (NIV))

Gabriel, the angel of the Lord, told Mary that grace, love and favor had been summoned by God to rest upon her.  What a salutation!

Regardless of the rejection and the pain you might be experiencing.    In spite of the unpleasantness surrounding your life,  God wants you to know, you are blessed and highly favored, 

God wants you to know that He cares.

Destructive, discouraging, and demeaning words feeds the devil. 

• When we change our focus, we change our circumstance.  
• Don’t get distracted by deadly distractions

May this day be a day of great blessings and prosperity!!

God has chosen to use your hands to help shape and mold the world.

The Bible tells us to raise up a child in the way that they should go, and when they come to maturity, they will not depart from it.

All things: the good that has been, and the bad due of lack of judgment; God will use to work together for your good and His glory.

   Psalm 18:10

• The things that we do and the words that we speak, ought to glory God.
• For this cause, we were and are created.  See Isaiah 43:7

Knowing the will of God for your life, and doing God’s will, is the key to opening the door to your destiny.   Great things await those who put their trust in the LORD.

 It is not by our strength that we prevail; but it is through and by God that we get the victory.

I was stunned.  I had believed I did know His Name.  I had studied my Bible.  I attended Seminary.  What did God mean by saying I didn’t “even” know His Name?

He did not just say, “I didn’t know His Name.” He inserted the adverb, “even” to emphasize my lack of knowledge.  That in all my learning and getting, I still did not know Him.

 The presence of God is seen and experienced only when we come to the end of self.

 Your peace, your prosperity, and your strength are predicated upon you wholly following Jesus.

    Trouble gets our attention.

 Brokenness is God’s Requirement for our uttermost usefulness.

·      God will not use us until we have been broken.

·      The sacrifices of God are a broken and repentant spirit.

“Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy: when I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, the Lord shall be a light unto me.”   -  Micah 7:8 

Calamity visits everyone at one time or another.  Do not faint because of the trouble that has come your way. No one is immune from adversity. 

Yet sometimes our struggles are the result of the bad choices we made.

 Nevertheless, if we turn back to God, He will forgive us our sins and heal the land.

God is a light to the humble and contrite in spirit.

God dwells in the praises of His people.  And because He dwells there, praise becomes a weapon of defense in the mouth of God’s faithful.

Like a two-edged sword, praise has the power to inflict punishment upon the heads of our enemies.

The strength of praise can bind kings with chains and dignitaries with iron shackles.  

Praise will bring restitution to the afflicted.

When you praise God in the midst of your trials and struggles, your walls of opposition will crumble and fall down.

Praise the LORD!!!

• This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.
• For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
• Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,
• Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;
• Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.                                  -2 Timothy  3:1-5

Our accomplishments have no value if God is absent from our lives.   
Like a fading flower, that which you worked so hard for, will cease to flourish.  

Unless the LORD builds the house, your labor is in vain. 

For what does it benefit someone to gain the whole world and yet lose his life?
-  Mark 8:36 (CSB)

The Lord will perfect that which concerneth me: thy mercy, O Lord, endureth for ever: forsake not the works of thine own hands.  -Psalm 138:7-8

Life changing moments are unavoidable.  They can be exceedingly challenging to endure.  Intense trials have a way of knocking us off our feet...the pain and  loss can be agonizing.

However, the LORD will not abandon the works of HIs hand.  God will uphold you.

Don't despise the day of small beginnings.  God is up to something!!!

The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear”. 
The LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?   -Psalm 27:1

The stars are always shining, but they are only visible to us when the night is most dark.

 And, sometimes God’s Presence is most vivid to us during our moments of darkness, during those times of struggles.  

 There are some things in life that God teaches only in the dark classrooms of life.

Being in the dark about God’s purposes for your life will keep you forever living beneath your means.

In 2 Samuel 9, we have the story about a man name Mephibosheth, who was the grandson of King Saul, living in a lowly estate, in a place called Lodebar.  He was serving people who should have been serving him, because he didn’t know whose he was.  It was only after King David revealed unto him his real identity that he began to enjoy the privileges of kingdom living.

Doing what you believe is right will become plain as to what you are really doing, when what you are doing is seen in the light of God’s Word. 

We see through a limited mindset.  We believe in only what we know.  We see in part, and we know in part, but when Jesus is come, we shall know fully.

As high as the heavens are above the earth, so are God’s ways and thoughts higher than ours.  It is only when we take what we know and bring it into the light of God’s Son: His Word, do we see our flaws.

Jesus came that we might enjoy the abundant life; a life overflowing with His goodness.  

Like rocks in a riverbed, made smooth by the continuous pressure of water, so are we changed by the continuous washing by the Word of God.

We are God’s workmanship; created in His image, after His likeness (Genesis 1:26) and for His glory.

God has a plan and a purpose for your life.  You are not in existence because of happenstance.   Your beginning has no impact on your ending unless you permit it to.

In life, you might be innocence, yet because of the wickedness of the nation in which you live, or the neighborhood around you, or even the home environment in which you abide; you, too, can suffer the fallout of God’s wrath.  

Sin is far reaching.  What we do can affect those around us.

Nevertheless; what you are going through will work out for your good, and God's glory.
Nothing good will God ever withhold from you.  

Trust Him. This too, shall pass.

Why do the righteous suffer and the ungodly oppress those who fear the LORD?

Everyone at one time or another experiences undeserved suffering.  The Bible tells us that the afflictions of the righteous are many, yet God will deliver us if we put our trust in Him.

Weeping may endure for a night, but those who trust in the LORD will be delivered.

• Let His Word be your judge.  
• Have you submitted to God that He might use you for His glory?

Every Christian has been called into the ministry of reconciliation. 

Our mandate from God is that we submit ourselves unto Him that He might live through us, and draw people from every nation unto Himself.

Are you ashamed of the Gospel?

• We can handle any opposition;  endure any affliction; and overcome any problem... with patience...when our focus is on God.  

"Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the LORD with you..."  - 2 Chronicles 20:17

How we respond, determines the culture in which we live.  
          Be it for good or for evil.

Whatever spirit is predominant; our response is to either feed it…or starve it. 

It is written, "... Resist the devil and he will flee from you."  -James 4:7

Being a mother is not something God called you to do alone.  Do not despair.  God is with you, and He has heard your cry.  

He sees your child, and if you abide in Him, and His Word abides in you, God will abide with your child, too.

And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord doth man live.  - Deuteronomy 8:3

Don't despise the day of small beginnings.

As fine jewelry enhances the wardrobe,  let mercy and truth adorn you.
Live life so that the world might be drawn to the priceless treasure of Christ in you.

Favor and good understanding is the product of mercy and truth.

• Jesus is the Resurrection!

Plants make seeds that can grow into new plants, but if the seeds just fall to the ground under the parent plant, they might not get enough sun, water or nutrients from the soil. 

Therefore, God created other means of transportation for these seeds, called dispersal…some plants are moved or dispersed by the storms that we have:  such as wind, fire,  and explosions.

The next time you are in a stormy, fiery, or explosive situation, Put a Seed in the Ground...      

• Allow the Word of God to renew your mindset.  
• Set a watch at your mind.

• Open your eyes to the wonders of truth.
• Our good is not good enough.  
• Unless we allow Jesus in, all of our labor is in vain.