Weekly Devotionals

When the Lord turned again the captivity of Zion, we were like them that dream.
– Psalm 126:1

I recently heard a word from God that wouldn’t go away. This word was to encourage the many believers that they have less than sixty days to make some major changes in order to protect their future in Christ Jesus. And while it’s certainly not their salvation in Jesus that’s in jeopardy, their place and provision here on earth may well be.

During these next sixty days, God wants you to make some enormous strides towards His plan for your life. He wants you to let go of ‘your way’ and start pursuing and obeying His perfect way so you can receive His best blessings.

Now for some, that means you’re going to receive news that you’re not sick anymore or the mortgage company is motivated to help you to keep your home. For others, it means you’ll receive a new appreciation for God’s work in your life despite the fact you’re going through hard times. Whatever your blessing is, help is on the way.

So make sure that you’re where you need to be, doing what you were told by God to do, so you can receive His very best. God has commanded His angels to obey His Word and provide help in time of need (Psalm 103:20). They have been instructed to pursue the faithful and overtake them with blessings!

So today, receive these blessings on your life by obeying God’s Word. We can’t wait to hear the tremendous testimony that will follow your prompt obedience to the Holy Spirit!

“But now the LORD declares: ‘Far be it from me! Those who honor me I will honor….”
–  I Samuel 2:30 (NIV)

People like to be respected and honored. I love to be honored on my birthday by my husband and children because it makes me feel I’m appreciated. There may even be areas today in which you’d like to receive honor and recognition for doing an excellent job.

Well, our Heavenly Father is the Most High, the Supreme, All-powerful, Omnipotent God. He deserves to be honored and wants to be honored. And the great thing is that there is a tremendous reward for your honoring God: You will also be honored. And not only that, but God is the one who will honor you in return!

Now, it’s great to be honored by people, but it’s even better to be honored by God. There are times where people should honor you, but they won’t. But now you have a guarantee: If you will honor God, He will honor you.

So how can you honor God? You can honor Him in several ways: by following His Word above your feelings, by giving to Him in tithes and offerings, by praising and worshiping Him, and by giving Him thanks for His blessings.

When you obey God, it shows your love for Him. So live your life in obedience to what the Word says and you will show God honor. Then you can look forward to being honored by God in return!

Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. -2 Corinthians 10:5

As Christians, if we renew our minds and turn away from evil private thoughts, we will see greater healings and greater works, and the Kingdom of God expanded.
Jesus came and shed His blood so that you can walk on a higher surface, free from sin. He came to give you power to live above sin. You can live above the power of sin by first taking power over your thoughts.
Your continuous faith is going to be the answer needed to turn Satan’s power off when he tries to weaken you through his consistent attacks. Though he wants you to fall into temptation, you do not have to yield to his plan(s) in your minds. Also, in doing so you will prove to God that evil is not your heart’s desire.
Notice after Satan’s temptation doesn’t work on you, he is finished.  If you will get rid of every thought that is not of God and wash it with the Word, obedience of Christ, you are going to come out and into the total-life prosperity that Christ intended for you. You will see a better life when you think better thoughts.

As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance: But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; -1 Peter 1:14-15

The Scriptures are not solely for advice. God has revealed how He expects us to live through His Word, as believers and doers of the Word. Therefore, let’s welcome this understanding.

More than sacrifice, lets begin to practice obedience. The entire Bible was made for us. God doesn’t want us to only obey some of His words, but everything from Genesis to Revelation.

Just think about someone with no direction, vision or plan. That person wandering and disobeying is not walking with the blessing of God on their lives. Make it mandatory to be blessed everywhere you go. God has given us a map (Bible), which adds clarity to His directions, vision, and plans for our lives.

Nevertheless we must no longer treat the Bible as a book of antiquated ideas. We must obey in everything we do, and as a result, be blessed the same way. It’s that simple.

God has called us to live pure lives that portray a holy fervor. His desire is that we are holy as He is holy. The blessing doesn’t manifest by accident; we are blessed as a result of our obedience to His instructions (His Word).

During your day, pay attention to what events try to sabotage your holiness. Be prepared to live in accordance with the Scriptures when the traps and temptations that will present themselves. And they will present themselves!

Take God’s call for us to be holy serious, and experience total-life prosperity. Be obedient everywhere you go and being blessed everywhere you go will become a normal way of life!

“And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed”–Genesis 12:3

Looking at all of the promises that Jesus gave us, one thing is extremely clear:  Jesus wanted us to recognize the magnitude of our words.

We have been told in the Scriptures that we will have what we say. There is a ton of power in our words. Our words are loaded. Even though we say we know this, our actions attest differently when we are quick to speak negative words over situations, other people and especially circumstances in our own lives.

Some might even use profanity and literally “curse” things that concern us. To curse doesn’t solely mean profane words or phrases; it means to say anything against, not in favor of a situation. Whether this serves as the source or cause of evil it is still considered a curse because such language will employ empowerments to fail.

Think about a toy boomerang. Because of the science behind its design, it has a 100% success rate of coming back in the direction it was tossed. The same goes for your words.

We are blessed to be a blessing, meaning when we toss a blessing out we have a 100% success rate of it coming back. The blessing’s full-time job is to make you rich, and not just in finances. God wants you “rich all over the place.”

To keep the blessing working you must refrain from doing anything to hinder or stop it. Are you in expectation of anything from God? If so, then most important thing you can do is know that you can not afford to be in certain conversations or circumstances.  Let the blessing work for you by letting the words you speak be a blessing.

“… endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ… Therefore I endure all things for the elect’s sakes, that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.” (Acts 24:16 AMP)

We all encounter hard times as a part of our Christian walk. Some were informed by wise counsel that it wouldn’t always seem easy even though we serve God. And many people where deceived into thinking that now that you chose to serve God, that there will be no more trouble on earth. That just isn’t so.

The Bible shares that many are the afflictions of the righteous (Psalms 34:19). Many? Yes, many. What a relief to know it’s not just me! To know that it’s not my having done wrong or  thinking I’m being punished because I’m encountering a hard time or season. That same passage shares another truth stating, “but the Lord delivers him out of them all.” No matter the situation, God will deliver you.

You must make the decision once and for all that you are going to go all the way with God so you can see him deliver you. Let all of heaven (and hell) know that you are not turning back or going back to the world!

The way to continue on in God is to decide to endure. The Word tells us to endure hardness. To endure means to continue on, to last, carry on, to persist, to keep on. Keep on loving God in a hard time. Persist in finishing your race and assignment in God when you become overwhelmed with the things of life. Carry on knowing that hard times don’t last always.

Be encouraged that when you endure, you prove something to yourself as well and confirm what heaven has already said about you. Rest assured that God is on your side even when it seems like you don’t feel him there. Say to yourself that no matter what I will be a “good soldier” for Jesus and I will endure. I will continue on and see the end that God has for me.

Better is the end of a thing than the beginning (Eccles. 7:8), so continue until you reach the end of what God wants from you!

Therefore I always exercise and discipline myself [mortifying my body, deadening my carnal affections, bodily appetites, and worldly desires, endeavoring in all respects] to have a clear (unshaken, blameless) conscience, void of offense toward God and toward men. (Acts 24:16 AMP)

The word discipline holds with it the very essence of why some Christians seem to live in an entirely different world with dissimilar boundaries. Not because God planned it to be this way, but because of his or her discipline. I submit to you today that being a solid believer with staying power derives from discipline.

Listen to me when I say this: When we are disciplined, we are at our best. I was born with so many challenges. I was born into a life of struggle, yet I came out of struggle through discipline. I knew, based on my meager surroundings growing up in New York City, that a disciplined life was my only hope. Without it I know exactly where I would be. Sometimes we tell people it was all grace. However, somewhere in there some level of discipline was involved. My life is what it is today largely because of discipline.

Being disciplined is biblical. It is a Jesus requirement. Jesus requested it from His twelve disciples and still commands that we carry ourselves that way today. In fact, a disciple is a disciplined one. Things are going to change drastically in you and all around you now that we are respecting our restraints. Remember, the blessing magnifies where there is discipline!

“…but he cried so much the more, Thou son of David, have mercy on me. And Jesus stood, and commanded him to be brought unto him: and when he was come near, he asked him, Saying, What wilt thou that I shall do unto thee?” ( Luke 18:39-41)

When you really need a touch from God, then is the time to cry out for mercy. That’s what happened in today’s passage. In this Scripture passage, the blind man was desperate. Not only that, he had faith in the One who could change a desperate situation into perfection. 

You must choose to come out of your normal comfort zone when you really need help right away. The blind man cried out to Jesus about his need. There was a sense of urgency when he called on Jesus. He didn’t think he could live another day unless the One who could heal would help him!

Maybe today, you need to get urgent about your request. Perhaps you shouldn’t be so relaxed about your situation. If you have an issue that has just been lingering in your life too long, cry out for mercy. 

Notice that it got Jesus’ attention above all the others when the blind man cried out for mercy. That’s when we see Jesus ask what He should do for him. 

I don’t know about you, but I definitely want Jesus to ask me what He can do for me! If you need help, put your faith in Jesus and cry out for mercy.

Do not be so deceived and misled! Evil companionships (communion, associations) corrupt and deprave good manners and morals and character. (I Corinthians 15:33 AMP)

When you were a child, at some point your mom or dad probably said they didn’t want you hanging out with Suzie Q or Jay Bob. And you probably argued with them, thinking that they didn’t know what they were talking about! You were young and you just didn’t understood what your parents did… that we’re “blessed or cursed by association.” 

The Bible tells us to choose this day, life or death, blessings or curses. The choice is yours! Your heavenly Father wants the best for you and He knows that whom we associate ourselves with will determine how long our road to the promised land will take or if we will ever make it there. 

Do you remember the story of Ruth and Naomi? The Bible tells us Ruth told her mother-in-law, “Where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge also. Your people shall be my people and your God my God.” The association blessed Ruth after she adopted all of Naomi’s customs, practices, and religion. 

Before making that decision, Ruth was fully aware that she could have gone with her sister-in-law. But she knew that if she stuck close with Naomi, she was going to be blessed because of her God. In the end, she received her king, Boaz, for she was “blessed by association.” 

Who or what are you willing to give up so you can receive your Boaz? You will only go as far as those you are around. Therefore, if you want a life that is different from those around you, make a change today!

ALSO [Jesus] told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not to turn coward (faint, lose heart, and give up).  (Luke 18:1 AMP)

As a follower of Christ, you should make up your mind to always have communication and fellowship with God. Fellowship with God is exactly what He wants from you. God wants you to spend time with Him, hear from Him, and grow into a better relationship with Him. And one way of fellowship is to continually pray. Prayer is communication with God! It’s where you talk to Him and He talks back to you.

Many believers know that they should pray. But how many make prayer a daily, regular part of their life? The Word tells us that we ought to always pray and not to faint. Don’t give up, cave in, or quit on your prayer life. Why? Because prayer is going to be where you find your answers and your way out. Even if you feel like you have already prayed, keep praying. Even if you feel like your prayer hasn’t been answered yet, keep praying.

It’s in the times where we feel like God is not answering our prayers that we may look for a new way or even a new answer. Many look to the works of their hands and what they can do about the situation instead of looking to Jesus. Many often look to their head for the answer rather than to Jesus, who is the answer. No more trying to solve your issues by yourself! Look to Jesus and always pray. He will answer.