Be Bold: Don't Be Afriad to Speak

The spirit of fear and lack of boldness is a major issue for many young (in age) Christians. Youth are often inundated with peer pressure and to go with the flow; to conform to the ways of the world. Many young people are so consumed with how people look at them and perceive them instead of realizing that the only person who can affirm them is their Creator. Yet we are called to something great and that is to tell the world that God is real, that He gave His only Son as a sacrifice so that our debts and sins could be forgiven. God wants us to speak. He wants us to do that which He has called us to. In Acts 18:9-10, God spoke to Paul and said:

…Be not afraid, but speak, and hold not thy peace:

¹⁰For I am with thee, and no man shall set on thee to hurt thee: for I have much people in this city.

¹¹And he continued there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.

If God has called us to speak then He has made heavenly arrangement to ensure that we glorify His name. God asks that we “not hold our peace, for He is with us”. He said that He would be with us. He is telling us that if we just trust that He will fill our mouths and stand by us and His Word, we shouldn’t be afraid to speak. We should feel free to open our mouths and tell of His mercy, love and grace. God also promises that no one would harm us. If God is for us, who can be against us? I know we all have heard it before but do we really understand and believe it? We should constantly remind ourselves that Christ said He would not leave us as orphans. We will not need to fend for ourselves and protect ourselves from all the wolves in the world. No, He is going to protect us. He will make sure that we are kept and preserved. Then God says something beautiful, He said that He has many people in the city. I wonder, do we ever stop and think about the fact that God has strategically placed many of us in a particular city for a particular reason? I know that my God just doesn’t throw ideas in the air and see if they stick? No, He is a thoughtful God that orchestrates all things for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. God has set His people in cities to be an encouragement, protectors, watchers, and a cup of cold water. He has not forgotten us. If He has called us He will take care of us and that also means situating His saints in various places.

God will also give you the words to speak. Isaiah 50:4 reads,

4 “ The Lord GOD has given Me

The tongue of the learned,

That I should know how to speak

A word in season to him who is weary.

He awakens Me morning by morning,

He awakens My ear

To hear as the learned.

And while the previous passage speaks of Christ, we have been commissioned to do His Works on the earth. So if Jesus wants us to do that which He did, wouldn’t it only be fitting that we too will have the tongue of the learned? We would have a word in season for those who are weary? Bottom line, when He calls you He equips you. You never have to worry or wonder what to speak. God will give you the words, He will provide protection, He will be with you, He will provide people in the faith as a comfort for you and so much more.

Dare to be different for the Lord. I know it can be hard dealing with people’s perceptions of you, wanting to be liked by classmates and co-workers, but we need to understand we only need to be approved by One’ person” and that is God! We are in the world but we are not of the world. We need to remember what Jesus said about us in His prayer before being led away to be tried and crucified. My music ministry director mentioned something to us once. He said that God mounts us on wings as eagles and as many of you may know, eagles soar to new heights and when the wind is troublesome they don’t stop flying they just rise higher. He said that eagles don’t flock. That simple phrase really changed my outlook on how I see myself through the eyes of the world. It doesn’t matter if we are ostracized because eagles don’t flock anyway. Let us not seek approval or comfort from the world, but rather know that we can speak boldly because the Holy Spirit lives in us and guides us. So wherever you are, if God is calling you to stay and speak, then you do just that. Know that He is with you and that He loves you. Know that He has put His Word on the line. Also realize that you can do nothing in the flesh. God’s Spirit does the work and gets the glory. You are a vessel and a partaker but you are not the author or the recipient. Allow God to use you for the saving of souls. Don’t be afraid to speak and don’t be afraid to be different.

I pray that God delivers you from fear and baptizes you in love and boldness.

No Need to Fear

Psalm 27: 1 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?

Fear is defined as an emotional response to a perceived threat. We often fear physical things, such as heights, snakes, spiders and the like. But for many Christians we tend to sometimes fear that which is unseen. We fear the very things that our faith instructs us not to fear, mainly, the devil. We fear him because we can’t see him and often times we are afraid that he is doing everything in his power to ruin our walk with God. I am writing to remind you that there is no fear with God. Because Jesus Christ has conquered death and shame on the cross and defeated the devil we are now victorious. We have been set free from the fear of the enemy. If Jesus resides in our hearts and in our lives then His very existence in us causes us to be victorious. We are no longer slaves to fear, sin and shame; we have been made whole and victorious by the Blood of Jesus Christ.

1 Corinthians 15:57 says; “But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

In His name there is victory, in His blood and in His presence there is victory. I remember as a child, when I would have a bad dream, my mother would tell me, that if I ever got scared in my dream that I should say out loud, “In the name of Jesus, all bad dreams go away.” As a child I started to understand the awesome power that is found in saying the name of Jesus. He is mighty to deliver us from all fear and restore us to a right frame of mind. 2 Timothy 1:7 states, “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” We have power through Jesus residing in our hearts, the love of God in our life and a sound mind that rests on our firm foundation which is our faith. God has given us that which we need to combat fear.

· Power

· Love

· Sound mind

All of the above mentioned things are found in Jesus Christ. So if we have Jesus we can and should be fearless.

1 John 5:4 says, “For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.” Through our faith we are victorious and we need not fear, fret nor worry. God is our light and our salvation whom shall we fear? He is our light in the darkness. While we were still in the dark wallowing in our sin, He was the Light in the world that brought us salvation that we did not deserve. If God was and is the Light that conquered our sin He was and is the light that pierces through our fears and delivers us from the “terror of night” (Psalm 91:5).

He is the strength of our life, whom shall we fear? We should never forget what a mighty God we serve. If we believe that we serve the one true living God; the God that:

· Stood in the fire with the 3 Hebrew boys and saved them from the furnace

· Delivered Jericho into the hands of the Israelites without weapons

· Parted the Red Sea for the Israelites to cross over while Pharaoh was behind them

· Defeated death and sin by nailing His only Son to the a cross

· Slayed a giant by using a young Sheppard boy

· Opening jail cells for Peter

· Shut the mouth of the lions for Daniel as he sat in a den of lions

What then do we ever need to be afraid of? The aforementioned examples aren’t even the half of what God has done, but serve as a testament to what He is doing and will do in times to come. Our God is strong beyond measure. He is awesome and the scriptures say, “If God is for us, who canbe against us? (Romans 8:31) What should we ever fear? Our God is our strength. When we are weak, He lifts our head, He sustains us and fights our battles for us. He is matchless in all His ways.

I hope that this encourages you. Put all fear where it belongs, under the nail pierced feet of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. There is no need to fear, for God is on our side. He is mighty to save us from any form of attack. Walk in victory always and don’t fall victim to fear. Remember, through His blood, we are no longer victims but victors! Lay claim to this truth and watch your heart and mind transform as you release fear and embrace the freedom of God.

The 8 Prayer Watches: The 1st Watch

At the beginning of the year I wrote a post called The Revelations of Matthew 14: 22-33: The 8 Prayer Watches, that mentioned the 8 prayer watches. Since this month is about defeating the enemy, this will aid you into knowing what to pray for when you are being attacked. For the next 8 weeks I will briefly touch on each prayer watch. This will give you some guidance to grow and be impact full in your prayer life

1st Watch: 6pm -9pm The First Watch of the Night (The Evening Watch):

• During these hours, we regroup from the days activities like work, school and etc. This is the time to be still in front of the Lord, away from the world. In Psalms 46:10 it reads "Be still, and know that I am God;...."


• Mediate and release your anxieties to the Lord in prayer. Issac went out to the field in the evening to mediate. (Gen 24:63 "And Isaac went out to meditate in the field in the evening; ...")
  
• This is the time to focus, The Lord uses the evening to purge your fears and anxieties that would keep you from advancing in His perfect plan.


• This is also the time to pray and silence all the voices (curses) of the enemies on your life, family, church, city and nation. Read Psalms 59 During this time the enemy returns to steal your blessings and take hold of the gates of the day. Psalms 59:6 reads, " At evening they return, They growl like a dog, And go all around the city."


• Isaiah 17:12-14 tells us we have the evening tide and it is time to pray that the Lord pass judgement on the wicked and those you would harm our family, community, church and nation.


• Pray for the re newel of the Covenant with God. This is the time when Jesus broke bread between God and Israel (us). Appropriate the provisions in the Blood Covenant and that every covenant you have with God is renewed at this time.
  

I pray that this was helpful and gives you more insight of what to pray for at this time. To learn more about the 1st watch visit the website The National Prayer Watch.

The Revelations of Matthew 14: 22-33: Keeping your eyes on Christ

This is the third message that the Holy Spirit has led me to discover in this passage. Leading up to this post, I learned this week that I am not skilled to understand God’s will or plan. My flesh will not allow me to go beyond what my brain can comprehend. The Lord revealed this to me through daily words from my pastor and friends. I know that I have written about this before but the Lord has to continue to remind me that I do not dictate what He is going to do in my life.
Towards the end of this message Peter is now walking on water and heading towards Jesus. In verse 30, as he is walking towards his Savior, he started to pay attention to the wind that was gushing around him. “But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink -”(KJV). Because of all the distractions and horrible conditions, Peter becomes afraid and started to sink. He cries out for the Lord to save him and Jesus immediately picks him back up. Jesus than says to Peter in verse 31 “Oh you of little faith, why did you doubt?”

Peter started to drown into the sea because he lost focus. Instead of having that faith he had when he stepped out of the boat, he let his circumstances get the best of him. He should have kept his eyes on the Lord and not be concern about his surroundings. We Christians are guilty of doing the same thing. When God gives you a word, promise, blessing or direction; you must hold on to that no matter what. God told us He would never leave us nor forsake us. So if fear or doubt starts to cross your mind, than you are calling God a lair. And we know that God is not like man that He should lie.
Speaking to my friends about our current situations and receiving a word from them really encouraged me. One of my friends received a word from the Lord that her family will receive salvation. Even though things look grim and are getting worse, she is still holding on to the promise. She is not going to question God why it has not happened yet or when. She is going to keep her eyes on Christ and continue to trust in His plan.
When she was talking to me, the Holy Spirit reminded me about Noah. Noah obeyed the word of God and built an ark to house his family and a pair of every land animal to protect them from the flood. He built this ark for over 100 years by faith. It had never rained on the earth before, people around him were calling him crazy but Noah trusted in God’s plan. He stayed focused and completed his task. This is the type of faith, I am praying for. It's that spiritual faith that is passed human understanding. It is the faith that doesn’t care what is going on around you. If God is faithful and continue to give us mercy and grace than why can’t we praise him through our problems?
I pray that we all keep our eyes on Jesus and continue to trust Him through the storm.

No Worries!

In this time of economic crisis and rampant fear, God has given us many promises in His Word. God promises to take care of us through all things. So there is no need to worry or fear what is going on around you. You have a Mighty God! Your strength, your guide, your joy! He will always be there for you. There have been several suicides due to the economic downturn and many people who have placed their faith in money and belongings (mammon) and not God, find themselves lost, because what they once believed in, is now gone. You know something that they don't. You know the saving grace and mercy of Jesus Christ. Please pray for people you know and don't know that may be lost in this time of turmoil. Share with them these promises, and tell them the good news of Jesus Christ! Remember, there is no need to worry, He is mighty to save!

Philippians 4: 6-7
6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:19

19 And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

2 Corinthians 4: 8-9

8 We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed

Matthew 6:25 - 34

25"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 26Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life[a]? 28"And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 32For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Lord, I pray that You will bind the spirit of worrying in Your people. Let us remember that You are our portion, our ever present help! You are everything to us. You are our God and we are Your people. You provide all our needs and for that we are grateful to You and give you all the praise and all the glory! Lord we ask that You please use us to share Your grace with others. Let us remember to keep Your Words close to our hearts and share it with others in due season. Amen.