god – Page 21 – Transformed at the WELL Devotional Ministry

Good Morning Sunshine! You Will Understand It Better, By And By!

2 Corinthians 4:16-18 AMP ~ “Therefore we do not become discouraged [spiritless, disappointed, or afraid]. Though our outer self is [progressively] wasting away, yet our inner self is being [progressively] renewed day by day. [17] For our momentary, light distress [this passing trouble] is producing for us an eternal weight of glory [a fullness] beyond all measure [surpassing all comparisons, a transcendent splendor and an endless blessedness]! [18] So we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are unseen; for the things which are visible are temporal [just brief and fleeting], but the things which are invisible are everlasting and imperishable.”

I can count the times over the past four years that I have duplicated a devotional before; but this one right here, is one that I believe we all need, might not be today, but tomorrow is coming! And you will understand it better by and by!

Yesterday morning in Prayer my friend Prophetess Kenita, said you will understand it better by and by! I immediately thought about my grandmother and what she used to tell me when I felt like I was going through a thing, she’d say, “You will understand it better by and by!” Now, I had no idea what she meant then, but my God, oh how I understand it now! So today, I want you to be encouraged, do not let what troubles or trials that are present in your life now drain you of the eternal hope that comes from the indwelling of the Holy Spirit! “Acquaint now thyself with him and be at peace: Thereby good shall come unto thee.” Job‬ ‭22‬:‭21‬ ‭KJV‬‬! It’s in the By and By time that you need to be and done got acquainted with Jesus! (Yes, I know I used incorrect grammar, it was on purpose!)

The troubles that you are walking through should not cause you to lose your faith or hope in your eternal God, but you should recognize that there is purpose in your pain! It was necessary! Those trials of life are designed to remind you of Jesus Christ suffering, (and you are to take up your cross daily, Luke 9:23); it keeps you humble and away from pride, (because pride comes before fall, Proverbs 16:18) and it shows you how short this life can be, here today, gone today (James 4:12) and it keeps you silent, (James 1:19) it teaches you when to speak and when to listen and it gives God the freedom to show off His Power through your life and weakness (Isaiah 40:29)!

We all know that there is something going on, on every hand, and you might not quite understand it yet, and that’s okay, because everything is designed by God to lead you to the Promise Land, His Eternal Glory, and He is with you, He promised to never leave or forsake you, Deuteronomy 31:8! See your troubles as opportunities for God to be seen in you! Your faith must go beyond the pain that you visibly see, to remind you of the invisible that you don’t see, and to know that God is working on everything for your good, Romans 8:28! Draw your strength from the Word of God, knowing that He knows all things and He’s in control of everything! Get acquainted with your Father and His Word, it’s your oxygen that you need to keep breathing and living!

There is a song written by Charles Albert Tindley, in 1851, “We’ll Understand It Better By and By!”

“By and by, when the morning comes, All the saints of God are gathered home, We will tell the story how we’ve overcome, And we’ll understand it better by and by; Trials dark on every hand, And we may not understand, All the ways that God would lead us, To that blessed promised land, But he’ll guide us with his eyes; And we’ll follow ’til we die, And we’ll understand it better by and by; Temptation, hidden snares, Often take us unawares, And our hearts are made to bleed, For a thoughtless word or deed, And we wonder why the test, When we try to do our best, But we will understand it better by and by; Chorus: By and by, when the morning comes), Oh, yeah, when the morning comes, All the saints of God are gathered home , (All the saints of God are gathered home), We gonna tell the story how we’ll overcome, And we’ll understand it better by and by…”

I know that you want God to answer you right now, but He will not move on your timeline, you have to wait, and no one knows how long, but God does, and sometimes you just have to wait until the break of dawn comes in the morning! Oh, but there is a better way! Approach the issue with a light touch by viewing it through God’s Revealing Light! And put some space between you and your concerns so that you can see God’s view, His perspective! Because sometimes your sight can be off, and when this happens you can misinterpret the whole thing, so don’t lose sight of God! Everything that is above you is beneath God! So, in the words of my friend, blink twice and look again! And you will understand it better by and by, just hold on to God’s unchanging hands!

Let’s Pray:
Father, Abba Father, Thank You for the morning! Father, keep my eyes on You and not what surrounds me, which so easily besets me because of what I see. Help me to see everything through Your eyes and to know that You are with me through every trial, tragedy, and temptation and to know that everything that I walk through on this side is for purpose. Father, help me to always remember that I live by faith and not by sight. Father, help me to rise above life’s visible issues to the invisible that is made known to me through Your Word, 2 Corinthians 4:18! Father, help me to persevere through my personal hardships that I may gain an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. In the Name of Jesus Christ. Amen!

Blessings…
Minister Jean

Good Morning Sunshine! The Vinedresser Did It!

John 15:1,3-5 AMP ~ “I am the true Vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. [3] You are already clean because of the word which I have given you [the teachings which I have discussed with you]. [4] Remain in Me, and I [will remain] in you. Just as no branch can bear fruit by itself without remaining in the vine, neither can you [bear fruit, producing evidence of your faith] unless you remain in Me. [5] I am the Vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in Me and I in him bears much fruit, for [otherwise] apart from Me [that is, cut off from vital union with Me] you can do nothing.”

Does your life feel like God has been doing some repositioning in your life? Does it feel like painful pruning is taking place? Remember you are in the loving hands of your Father. Don’t lose sight of the end because the beginning is painful! It’s all rooted and done out of the love He has for you! It was the Vine and Vinedresser that is doing it to you and for you!

Do you want to know what a Vinedresser actually does? Let me tell you. Strong’s Concordance defines it as: “a worker of the soil, husbandman, farmer, farm-laborer.” “The Vinedresser takes hold of the vine and entwine it on a trellis or wires, to keep air flowing underneath it so it can bear healthy fruit.” Unlike fruit trees, a grapevine cannot stand up straight on its own. Grapevines grow downward and because of their nature, the weight of the grapes, it makes them lay on the ground and this causes them to get wet and when they get wet, they wither or produce little fruit.

One of the most important responsibilities of the vinedresser is to take a hold of the vine and entwine it on a trellis to keep air flowing underneath it so it can bear healthy fruit. Have you ever been really comfortable and then out of the blue you started to feel like you were out of place? It’s God! God in His Wisdom has decided that you need a life adjustment, a change to take place, a position change so that you can continue bearing fruit, spiritual fruit that is! And guess what your Father has the right to adjust whatever He wants in you, after all He is your Creator! He knows when it’s time for you to move!

The problem with a lot of us, is that we are trying to build permanent dwellings in places where you should have had a fold and go tent! Let me get back on track, that’s a devotional for another day! Getting back to the Vinedresser, He knows when you need an adjustment, to help you bear more fruit! So, whether you physically move or change locations, He’s moving you from a place of comfort to a place of uncertainty to help you, to teach you that you need Him! Or He could just change your circumstances to prepare you for greater productivity for His Kingdom?

The Vinedresser prunes you because He wants your life to be a reflection of His character, plain and simple! Don’t think of His pruning as painful, see it as purpose and this is pertinent to your growth and development! Remember our God is Sovereign and He knows exactly what situations to place you in to produce better fruit for His Harvest. All you have to do is remain in Jesus and He will remain in you, that’s what His Word promises!!!

Outside of being connected with Jesus Christ, The Vine, you cannot be connected to the Vine Dresser, your Father, (John 15:5 NIV, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”) In order to walk the way, you ought to, you need Him, you need His Word to be perfected in you, so that you can Abide with Him, because without the source, you can’t do anything, not even breathe! God is repositioning you for greater productivity, your Father is pruning you on purpose, He wants you to bear more fruit!

The want to be gardener in me loves this story in John 15, (spend some time studying this chapter) Jesus is the Root and the Stems of the Vine, and me and you are the branches that grow out of His roots. You see when grapevines are left untended, they will stretch out of place and produce leafy canopies (overhanging leaves). I know sometimes it looks healthy from the outside, (just like us, we know how to make our physical look good, but the inside is hollow). So, while the green leaves look healthy, they are not producing as much fruit as they can. You do know that the purpose is to produce fruit, and in order to get all of your nutrients from Him so that you might live, bloom, branch out, and produce more fruit you need pruning!

Don’t let your service into God be only lip service, no word, no faith, no works and no fruit! Matthew 7:16,19-20 NKJV, “You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? [19] Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. [20] Therefore by their fruits you will know them.” So, now you should truly understand the purpose of a The Vine (Jesus), The Vinedresser (The Father) and grapevine (you) is to produce grapes, and pruning is necessary, and only the Master Gardener can do this job! He can cut it out of you without cutting you! It’s for His Glory!

Let’s Pray:

Father, Master Gardener, I’m praising You, all the honor and glory belongs to You. Father, You knew me before I was ever a seed in my mother’s womb, and You know the plans that You made me for. You are the only One that can cut me without cutting me, thank You God for being relentless and never giving up on me. Father, forgive me for the times that I pushed back and turned away from this pruning process and went my own way, please forgive me. Father Thank You for one more day to walk and talk with You, I will not take this day for granted! Teach me how to love as You do, as we walk and talk, so that I may live and love as I ought to because I am connected to Your Vine and I want to produce fruit that is good for sustenance and that can only come from You! Thank You for pruning me, cutting the branches off my life that were hindering me from living and producing lasting fruit that brings You total Glory. In Jesus Christ Mighty Name, Amen!

Blessings…

Minister Jean

Good Morning Sunshine! You Are Being Pruned!

John 15:2 ~ “Every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.”

A good and seasoned farmer knows how to prune his fruit trees for two important reasons: first, to strengthen the healthy branches and to remove all the branches that are unproductive and not bearing fruit; secondly, to allow air and sun to get to the parts of the tree that is inaccessible, the parts that’s most vulnerable, the parts that most people don’t see, when proper pruning is not done this part becomes unmanageable! I know that sometimes you make think pruning is all about dead things, but this is not always the case.

In this season, you will experience some pruning! Yes, you are being pruned right now! The pain that you currently encountering pain, is pruning and it is going to hurt a little, don’t worry, you will be okay! Again, it’s pruning, stop fighting and seek God in prayer, ask Him to still you, while He molds and shapes you into a fruit-producing, instrument for His Glory! Thank God for Your pruning, for it is getting rid of the stuff that has hindered and stunted your growth.

God prunes to make things better, He is the Vinedresser and He, initiated this pruning process in you to refine you and to make you better. I know pruning can seem painful, maybe it can even feel like you are being punished, but I want you to know, that you are not being punished but it’s for a purpose, and your Father knows exactly what He’s doing!

Now that your pruning is completed you can reach your full potential, seek to be nourished from the main Source, so that you can recover fully and be aligned with your ordained purpose and further magnify Jesus Christ with your gifts.

Remember that during your pruning season God will never leave you are fail you, He desires for you to be consistent and faithful and use that as your source of direct access to the soil, vitamins and minerals that come from the Master Vine, to deliver the nutrients that you need to grow!

Let’s Pray:
Father, Thank You! Father, You are completely trustworthy and faithful. Father, You know what you are doing in guiding and directing my life, help me to except and believe that Your pruning is for my greater good and for Your Glory! Father, help me to hold nothing back when it comes to obeying Your will and give me the grace to submit to Your pruning, Your way! Father, I pray that I’m obedient and not distracted by what You move out of my life to make room for what You have for my life. Father, give me the endurance to complete the pruning process that my life will produce fruit that blesses others and honors You. In Jesus Christ Name. Amen!

Blessings…
Minister Jean

Good Morning Sunshine! You Need To Prime Your Pump!

James 2:17-19,24,26 NKJV ~ “Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. [18] But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. [19] You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe-and tremble! [24] You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only. [26] For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.”

I read a story about a man that was lost in the desert, and he was dying of thirst. Suddenly, he looked up and saw a small house with a well. When he got there the well was not working. Discouraged, he went into the house and there was a jar of water. There was also a note beside it that said, “do not drink this water, use it to prime the pump on the well.” Einstein said, “In the middle of every difficulty lies an opportunity.” And Thomas Edison said this, “Most people miss opportunities because it is dressed in work clothes, and it looks like work.” And nobody wants to do the work!

Jesus went about giving people opportunities to be blessed, but it took faith to act upon His Words. For instance, Jesus did many miracles that involved water, and the water was not to be drank but used to prime the pump for more! Remember, don’t drink any of the water first. Prime the pump with it and you’ll get plenty of water.” It was signed, “Desert Pete.” Faith is to prayer like water is to be priming the pump. You have to activate your faith in order to receive from the Lord. It’s like this, the more you obey God the more your faith increases!

Have you ever been around a well, sometimes they can run dry and have to be dug out again. And then there are other times when the pump is dry, and you have to pour water to prime it and get the water flowing again. Sometimes you are like that pump, and when the Water of Life is not flowing properly in you, you will run dry. You must drink from the reservoir of Living Water daily and allow the Holy Spirit to rain down on you so that you are not spiritually dried out.

You need to be primed, so that you don’t get in a rut, because sometimes you can get so caught up in past successes that you forget to prepare for the future. You have been running so hard and fast that you forgot to stop and fill up your tank and now you have nothing left in the tank, so it’s time to prime your pump! This is when you need to stop and come apart and rest awhile, get your refueling, spend some much needed time with your Father listening to Him, a good sermon, worship music, allowing God to stretch you. When you leave you to yourself you will dry out and without a disciplined life, you will produce nothing! This is when you need to let the Holy Spirit reign, which is you allowing His Spirit to prime your spirit, it’s an internal fix and there is nothing you can do to the external to fix you! You must allow the Word of God to speak to you, ask God to send people into your life to stretch you!

Find yourself a place of solitude where you can sit with your Father and be primed and ready to pump! As you spend time at reservoir with God, He will motivate you by His majesty that is all around and you will start to flow in your daily grind as He graces you for what is next. As you sit you will be reminded of what your Father has been revealing to you about Himself! It’s plain for you to see and hear! This is the priming of your pumps to see God in the unexpected and the extraordinary and it leads you to worship God. It’s in this moment that you are not worried about what anyone thinks about you, your thoughts are on God and God alone!

It’s in this place of priming that your mind is renewed, and your heart is stirred. It is your time of revival and you being are primed by tears on an altar, a kindling wood to bring fire from heaven. One life can fire up another. The problem is not the Sower or the seed, it’s the soil. If God is not birthing in you a vision, a passion, a growth, and a deeper understanding of grace, it’s not HIS fault, it’s yours. Your soil is hard and rocky, and you need to pull out the weeds, to break up the fallow ground, and water the seed so that you can participate with God in the harvest.

It is so easy to get caught up in the day-to-day routine of life and forget to stop and spend time with your Heavenly Father. For there is always something pulling at you, calling for your attention and it comes in the form of a distraction, it wants to distract you from the end goal, eternity! When you allow sin to drive your life, you are drinking from a broken cistern. In fact, the greater issue is your heart. You need to ask yourself this question, “Is my heart primed and ready to respond to God’s prompting? Am I, by my example, encouraging others to prime their pumps?” For when you are prepared for tomorrow, you allow the waters to continually flow in and through you. And when you fail to prepare for tomorrow, you will eventually dry out and have nothing to offer a lost and dying world!

You must get before God to seek the mind and will of God. You must be primed so that you can be used for His good pleasure. You must be prepared, so that through your life the living waters can flow to others. I believe any failure to prime your pump and leave something for those who are yet to come will lead to a dry church (people), dusty Bibles, and dirty lives. When people come looking for water, let’s make absolutely sure that the well called “the church” is primed and ready to offer them Living Water. This is a corporate and an individual call. We’re all responsible to leave something behind in order to prime the pump of the future and get it going after we’re gone. If you want revival, if you want to reach the next generation, you need to make sure the pump is primed, and you have water to give to a thirsty world.

Faith is to prayer like water is to priming the pump. You have to activate your faith in order to receive from the Lord. Praying takes faith, just as priming an old pump with the only water around takes faith. How do we activate the faith we have? Let’s look at these four ways.

First ~ Activating your faith starts by asking. Ask! Jesus said, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened” (Matthew 7:7-8)!

Second ~ Acknowledge God’s Word! Paul says, “And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:19)!

Third ~ Speak the Word out loud! Activated Faith says aloud, “I’m saved!” I’m rescued!” “I’m delivered!” The truth as God has spoken it to you. Romans 10:8-9: But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the message concerning faith that we proclaim: 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. The word “declare” means “to say the same thing!”

Fourth ~ Act consistent with the professed faith. Paul tells us “We walk by faith, not by sight [living our lives in a manner consistent with our confident belief in God’s promises]” (2 Corinthians 5:7 Amplified Bible). What Paul is saying is simple: Walk your Talk! Seeing God’s promises fulfilled is the result of our faith and depends entirely on faith!

Do you need to Activate your faith to prime the pump of prayer? Do you need your faith to believe for your healing or other answers to prayer? When you pray, just as you would expect water to spring up from a well once you’ve primed the pump, believe that God is going to “supply all your needs” as He promised. And He will!

Let’s Pray:

Thank You, Father, for helping me to walk in love. Because I am born again, I have been born of love. Faith works by love, so I know that if I can’t walk in love with others, there is no way faith is going to work in my life. I will walk in the Word, so that I can be protected at all times and the wicked one will not be able to touch me. Ephesians 6:16 says faith quenches all the fiery darts of the wicked one, not part of them, all of them. The devil, I refuse to give you any power in my life! I allow myself to be moved by love and compassion, so that I can be ready to fulfill anything God has called me to do. Thank You Father, for the unmerited favor of Your love. It is because of the faith You created in me that I have been saved, set apart to do Your work, and received Your grace. Through Christ, I have received grace upon grace. Father, I sometimes miss the mark and fall short of Your will. Thank You for the grace you lavish when I falter in my faith. Praise You for grace upon grace. Father, Your will is my desire. I want Your Word on my heart and mind. It is useful for all things in life. Build in me a knowledge of Your will. Make my heart’s desire Your heart’s desire, then I will rejoice in doing Your work. My trust is in You alone. I know You will use every day of my life to show everyone around me Your love and grace. I may have plans, but the plans of God will prevail. Teach me to do Your will, for You are my God. Father, forever prime the pump of my heart for You. In the Name of Christ Jesus. Amen!

Blessings…

Minister Jean

Good Morning Sunshine! You Serve A God Who Turns The Impossible Into The Possible!

Matthew 19:26 AMP ~ “But Jesus looked at them and said, “With people [as far as it depends on them] it is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

Get this in your Spirit today, “With God ALL Things Are POSSIBLE!” This is not about good anything that you can do, it’s about acknowledging God and His Omnipotence and how His Absolute Power is at work your life!

How strong is your Faith? You do know that Faith is not about your inclinations or feelings! Faith is what you believe about God! You can never have too much faith, if you are searching for something better than what you have, then you are in the right position to exercise your faith. Hebrews 11:6, “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” You must have a strong conviction of what you do not see and you have to be aware and believe with every fiber of your being that there is something greater for you! Now that is your Faith! This means you are aware that you are surrounded by an invisible kingdom, something greater, and that which is seen is not the whole picture, there’s more to your life, there are realities and blessings which you cannot see or touch right now, but they are as real as what you see right now in the natural and they are vital to your life!

I know it may feel like you have had a lot going on, but God has brought you through it, up until this very present moment! You should be saying, “Thank You, Jesus!” He has seen you through all of your troubles to a life of testimonies! God is the Master; He can turn every impossibility into a possibility with His Power! Can’t Nobody Do Your Like Jesus! Today, you are more than a conqueror and there is nothing that God cannot do for you when you move out the way and let Him have total control! There is no challenge or circumstance, no mountain or valley, and no trouble, tribulation, or temptation that God cannot work out in your favor today! Trust the Power and Process of God! Trust God for the Impossible!

I am not sure where I got this encouraging message from, that I shared with my daughter on, July 15, 2017 @ 3:27 pm, but today it is the perfect fit for you. “A young man working in the army was constantly humiliated because he believed in God. One day the captain wanted to humiliate him before the troops. He called the young man and said, “young man come here, take the key and go and park the Jeep in front.” The young man replied, I cannot drive! The captain said, “well then ask for assistance of your God! Show us that He exist!” The young man takes the key and walked to the vehicle and begins to pray. He parks the jeep at the place perfectly well as the captain wanted. The young man came out of the jeep and saw them all crying. They all said together, we want to serve your God! The young soldier was astonished, and asked what was going on? The captain crying opened the hood of the jeep by showing the young man that the car had no engine. Then the boy said: See? This is the God I serve, THE GOD OF IMPOSSIBLE, the God who gives life to what does not exist. You may think there are things still impossible But with GOD Everything is Possible! To the person reading this, I pray the Lord work A SUPER MIRACLE in your life today In Jesus Name I Pray!

So now after reading this, where is your confidence? Is it in the God that can do the possible in the impossible? Who wouldn’t want to serve a God like this? For every impossibility that you had to face this in your life, right Now it’s Possible with God on your side and in your corner! “You Are More Than A More Conqueror Today!” Romans 8:37! God has His Eyes on you and there is nothing that you can do about it, except Praise Him! God loves you and He proved it by His selfless act when He sent His only begotten son, Jesus Christ to die for you so that on Friday, so that today you can experience the Power of the Possible in your impossible and live your best life Now for His Glory!

Let’s Pray:

Father, thank You for Your gift of faith, I need You and my faith to make it! Lord increase my faith, I desire to love on You and to trust You for the things that I don’t see but I know that they are there. Lord, give me faith like a child to believe and follow and trust You every day. Father, Thank You! Thank You for seeing me through every trial, trouble, temptation, turmoil and tribulations that I went through this week. Thank You Father for doing Your “Possible” in my impossible situations, doing what only You can do! Thank you keeping me in the center of Your eyes, Father, I trust You with my whole heart! Father, today I chose You, I’m surrendered, seeking and serving You because of who you are to me. Father, I love you, use me for Your Glory! In Jesus Christ Name! Amen!!!

Blessings…

Minister Jean

Good Morning Sunshine! God Is Speaking Loud And Clear! Can You Hear Him?

Jeremiah 5:21-22 AMP ~ “Now hear this, O foolish people without heart, Who have eyes but do not see, Who have ears but do not hear. [22] Do you not fear Me?’ says the LORD. ‘Do you not tremble [in awe] in My presence? For I have placed the sand as a boundary for the sea, An eternal decree and a perpetual barrier beyond which it cannot pass. Though the waves [of the sea] toss and break, yet they cannot prevail [against the sand ordained to hold them back]; Though the waves and the billows roar, yet they cannot cross over [the barrier]. [Is not such a God to be feared?]”

I’m still pondering and thinking about yesterday’s scripture, Romans 1:18-19;25, God made the Word plain and clear for you and me to see! And He spoke the Word clearly too! But are we really listening to what He is saying! Today, I want you to pull out your Bibles again and study the Word of God! Find and write out scriptures on the hearing and seeing God’s Word. And make sure that you are writing it on your heart, that you may believe the Word of God as you see it and hear it! Start listening to what Your Creator is saying to you!

When I read this portion of the scripture, verse 22, I had to read it more than once, “For I have placed the sand as a boundary for the sea, an eternal decree and a perpetual (never ending or changing) barrier beyond which it cannot pass. Though the waves [of the sea] toss and break, yet they cannot prevail (win) [against the sand ordained to hold them back]; Though the waves and the billows roar, yet they cannot cross over [the barrier]. [Is not such a God to be feared?]” Who else but God, could do such a thing? No one else could, this has God’s Name and Hand all over it! Everything and everyone have a boundary! Stay within your limits, this is what’s best for your life!

Have you ever been talking to someone only to realize that they didn’t hear a word that you were saying? Jeremiah told the people that their eyes and ears did them no good because they refused to see or hear what God was saying to them in His Message. Even after He made it plain! The people still would not listen to what God said about His Promises to bless for obedience or the destruction that would come upon them for disobedience! When God speaks His Word through His Messengers, and you fail to hear it, you are only harming yourself when you fail to listen and obey. God will never change His Message to fit you, so if you are wanting to see or hear something different it’s not going to happen, His Word was the same yesterday, and it’s the same today and it will still be the same tomorrow, John 1:1!

So, what is your attitude when you come into God’s Presence? Do you go with fear and trembling, that is, awe and respect, for Him? I mean do you really understand the boundaries that He set for the roaring ocean and how He provides the rain. With all of that water, it still could not go past the sand! God stripped away all the benefits that the people had grown to expect from Him, so that they could recognize that they needed Him, this gave them another chance to turn back to Him, to realize that they can’t make it without Him! And God has to do this to you sometimes, strip you of your blessing to get your attention. Stop waiting until God removes your cherished resources before committing yourself to Him! He does not like doing this, but because of your willingness to be disobedient, He has to use what’s close to you to get your attention.

As I have read and reread these scriptures it has shown me just how important our time with Jesus Christ is. My time with God, and my communion with God through His Word, is not something I take for granted. Your time with God should not be taken for granted! Sometimes, you can approach God with so much pride, asking Him why this or why that? Just like when Job and His friends were trying to question God, and God asked Him where he was when He laid the foundation of the world, Job 38:4! God responded by using an analogy of a tempest sea to tell you about your lack of obedience. Pride can creep in when you refuse to admit to your sin. This is what was happening in Jeremiah’s time, Israel refused to admit their sins and to accept that God knows better, and He knows what better for you too! This is how God responded, “Do you not fear me? says the Lord; Do you not tremble before me? I placed the sand as a boundary for the sea, a perpetual barrier that it cannot pass; though the waves toss, they cannot prevail, though they roar, they cannot pass over it.” All of nature reverence God! And this should be a sign to you to show you that you need to reverence Him too!

Due to Israel’s lack of repentance, they were now on the verge of God’s judgment and yet they still were not willing to listening. Just like us, we are still not listening to Him! Do you want to know why I say this, it’s because our lifestyle shows it, because we continue to live a two-faced lifestyle, just like them, they worshipped in the temple, while offering sacrifices to idols at the same time! Does this look and sound like something that you have done or are you doing it now? You go to church, but you don’t change anything in your life, you still rather serve the creation rather than the Creator! Because of this, God used a plain illustration of the ocean and the sand to get your attention. The water pounds against the sea, it rages, and yet, there is something incredibly plain and simple about the band of sand, that causes the sea to obediently stop each time they make contact with the boundary, with God! Do you obey when you come into contact with God?

Look at how the sea stops at the sand every time, and yet you, being God’s child act like you have no limits no boundaries; you just want to do whatever you want, when and how you want to! But this sand, a malleable weak substance, which is no match for the sea, still marks a clear border to control it. Why can’t you be humble like the sea and obey the limits set by God for your life? Everything is obedient to God, the winds, the rain and the storms and yet He compares the obedience of the strong and mighty sea, with the rebellious character of His own children, (you and me) despite you being less powerful, but the sea, never breaks its boundaries, it obeys God at all times and in all its movements! But not you, the little man that God made from dust that He could crush at any time, will not be obedient! Why? Only you can answer this question.

You may think that God does not know what is best for you! But from the moment He created the universe, He had thought of you and your purpose! And He instilled wisdom within nature for you to hear and see and He makes is plain for you to understand and to know that it is Him that did these things! Listen to it, pay attention! Respect the boundaries that God has set before you, and in humility, obey His commandments, for it is God who established the whole world. When all has been said and done, this is the last word, you are to worship and reverence the one True God, and keep all of His commands, for this is what God expects of you. For God will judge every one of your actions, including what was done in secret, whether it be good or bad! Ecclesiastes 12:13-14. And just as the waves of the sea respect the band of sand laid out by your Creator, you should strive to be as humbly as they are and obey the Will and Way of God, your Creator!

Let’s Pray:

Father, Thank You! Thank You for loving me in spite of me! Father You are Lord and Savior over my life, and I pray that daily that I will never lose my respect or reverence for You. Father, You are the One, True and Living God, and there is no one else like You. Father, You alone commanded the sea and the oceans, setting its boundaries, as You have set boundaries for me, Your child. Father, may I learn daily to follow Your guidance and the lessons on how to stay within my parameters that You have set before me. Father, I pray that my life will be acceptable to You, help me to walk in the pathway that you have created for me and for me to not get off track or distracted. Help me to live a life that is pleasing to You every day that You allow me to have. Father, help me to be humble in all my ways and to reject pride at all times! I know that You know what’s best and better for me. Father, I trust You and I love You! Father, I seek to live all of my life for You and may all of the things that I desire bring Glory to You, for You are worthy of all my praise, worship, and reverence is unto You. In Jesus Christ Name! Amen!

Blessings…

Minister Jean

Good Morning Sunshine! The Truth Is Made Plain Right Before Your Eyes! Can You See It?

Romans 1:18-19,25 NIV ~ “The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, [19] since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. [25] They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator-who is forever praised. Amen.”

Today, I want you to pull out your Bibles and study the Word of God! Find and write out scriptures on the truth of God’s Word and make sure that you are writing it on your heart, that you may believe the Word of God! Stop worshipping what has been created and not the Creator.

God has revealed himself plainly in creation to you. Yet you still reject even the basic knowledge of your Creator and follow the creation instead. God has given you all the evidence to believe in Him and how to live a godly life, but since you continue to want your own way, he will not make you choose Him. So, now you have no excuse, you know the truth, and now you will have to endure the consequences of ignoring the truth!

God has revealed Himself time and time again in you, He has told you about Jesus and how, your sins can be forgiven and forgotten through Him, you can have a personal relationship with the Father. Paul’s states that no one can claim their own work as good in God’s sight, no one, not even you! All people everywhere deserve God’s condemnation for their sin. Just knowing of God is not enough, you must believe that God loves you and that he sent His Son to demonstrate that love on the Cross Romans 5:8 and you must be shown how to accept God’s forgiveness of your sins because He loves you, Romans 10:14-15!

Today, choose to believe the truth, stop substituting a lie for the truth, in order to support your own self-centered way of living. This is sin, and God cannot tolerate sin because He is holy, and has a perfect nature. He has designed the best way for you to live in harmony with Him and with each other. He cannot and will not ignore or condone willful rebellion! God wants to remove the sin and restore the sinners, Romans 3:23! You cannot reject the truth and then turn to Him for salvation, you must repent first! If you persist in going your own way, then you are pursuing the lie that sin is not serious, and you don’t need God? Sinners must trust Christ alone to deliver them from destruction and put them on the path of salvation! Stop deceiving yourself about Him to merely protect your current way of life. Devote yourself to searching for the truth, and you will find Him. Jeremiah 29:13!

You do not have any excuse for not believing in God? The Bible gives it to you plainly and God has revealed what He is like in and throughout His creation. So, either you are going to accept or reject God. It’s your choice. You do know that what is temporary will disappear right, none of that stuff will last. It’s like the grass that is here today and withers away tomorrow, Isaiah 40:8. Only what’s for and from God is eternal! When the day comes for God to judge your response to Him, there will be no excuses that you can give; for God has given you everything to help you fully believe in Him. Again, you are without excuse! Stop, rejecting the truth! Thank God as the Creator, Keeper and Sustainer! He made everything including you, your parents didn’t create you, they were just the vehicle God used to bring you here! You belong to God!

What have you made into a god? What have you been idolizing? Are you worshipping what God has made rather than God himself? Can you think of anything that you feel you can’t live without? Are any of your priorities greater than following God wholeheartedly? Do you have a dream that you would sacrifice everything to realize? Let me help you right here, to avoid idolatry from taking you over, check your heart! Your heart needs to see God’s Will and God’s Way as the measuring tool in which you evaluate everything that you do! If what you are doing does not measure up to God’s Word and standards you need to rethink it. (You can only learn this through God and His Word!) I am not saying that the other things are not important, it’s just that they are not more important than God. It just means that all of your life is viewed through God’s perspective and not your opinion!

God has filled this beautiful world with so many wonderful things for you to have and enjoy. But when you don’t have a relationship with Him; you can fall prey to it all and believe in the lies of that you hear that reinforces your own selfish beliefs! Today, more than ever, you need to be careful about the input that you allow to form your beliefs. With the things you hear and see, on the internet, conversations, commercials, music and movies, so much of it is about glorifying sinful lifestyles and values, and sometimes you can find yourself constantly being bombarded by attitudes and beliefs that are totally opposed to the Bible! Be mindful about what you hear and look at and what influences you allow to form your opinions. God gave you the Bible as the standard of truth on how to live. Evaluate all other opinions in light of it. If you haven’t already, begin today to give your devotion, attention and worship to Him and believe in His Word, it’s the Living Truth and it will teach you how to truly live in the truth!

Let’s Pray:

Thank You Father for the truth of Your Word. Father, open my ears to your Word, so when I hear it spoken aloud, I will receive it with joy. Use it to guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God who saves me, Psalm 25:5! Help me to obey your Word so I will fully understand it and be able to move on to maturity in my faith. Thank You Father for the Holy Spirit that helps me to discern and understand Your Word more clearly. Father, put Your Word in me every day so that I will know that I cannot live on bread alone, but by every Word that comes out of your mouth I need, now I can chew on the bread of God’s Word again and again, to get every bit of sustenance out of it. Matthew 4:4! Father, Thank You for ordering all of my steps according to Your Word, Psalm 119:133! Father, thank You for my firm foundation that is found in Your Word, Psalm 119:89! Father, Thank You for Your light on my path that I may walk securely, Psalm 119:105! Father, Thank You for helping me to understand Your Way and Your precepts, for I will meditate on your wondrous works, Psalm 119:27! Father, incline my heart to Your Word and not to my selfish gain. Keep me on the path for Your Word and not the world. Father, transform me, wash me and cover me in You, Psalm 119:36! Father, turn my eyes away from everything that is not You. Turn me away from looking at worthless things and give me life the way You want me to have. Father, I will set my sight on the treasure and truth of Your Word. Father I know that in Your Word all distractions can be moved, and worthless thoughts can be removed, and my mind will be fixed on what I see in Your Word, Psalm 119:37! Father, cause Your Word to permeate every moment of my day and every corner of my mind. Father, use Your Word to teach me, rebuke me, correct me, and to train me in Your righteousness so that I can be completely equipped to do every good work that You have prepared me to do, 2 Timothy 3:16-17! Father, I will embrace the truth of Your Word and I know that Your Word will cover me in all my ways! Father, I believe in You and Your Word! In The Mighty Name of Jesus Christ. Amen!

Blessings…

Minister Jean

Good Morning Sunshine! Can You Believe?

John 5:39-40 AMP ~ “You search and keep on searching and examining the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and yet it is those [very Scriptures] that testify about Me; [40] and still you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life.”

Just Believe! So many people say that they know Bible, but yet they fail to apply His Word to their lives! You say that you know what the Bible teaches, you know what the scripture says and yet you fail to see to that all the Word is pointing towards Jesus! Stop just making Him Lord and not your Savior, He’s both. When you really surrender to God, the Son of God will change your life! Don’t be so involved in practicing religion that you miss the purpose of your faith and that is to follow Jesus Christ.

In this scripture Jesus is talking about how He and God the Father is testifying who He is. The people heard John the Baptist testify about Him, and they saw what Jesus had done, and yet they still were not following Him. You study the scriptures, you know all the verses and prophecies, you know all the rules God stated and yet you are still trying to find life in other things instead of coming to Jesus for the life that you are searching for! Can you not just believe?

Open your heart to receive Jesus Christ. The Scriptures are a revelation of Jesus Himself. He is not hidden in the pages of the Bible; He is revealed in the scriptures. To know God’s written Word is the most important part of your life, but if your knowledge of it doesn’t lead you to the living Word, then you have missed the point. To read it and not see Him in them, this means that your heart is closed towards Him, it means it’s time to repent that you may see!

Times have not changed. So many people go to church Sunday after Sunday, they are a part of the worship team, and study the Bible thoroughly seeking for life and meaning in life. Yet, they do not have a relationship with Jesus, the author of life. The life that you are looking for is found in the life of Jesus Christ! You have to accept and believe in Him! He is the only one that can give you life. Outside of Jesus you are just existing and there is nothing that you can do on your own to earn salvation!

Your good deeds are not enough to earn your salvation! You cannot do it on your own. Stop trying to be good, thinking that’s enough, you will never be good enough for God. You can never earn your salvation. You will never find life outside of Jesus. Everything that you do must be based off of your belief in the salvation that Jesus Christ provided and your relationship with Him. Seek Jesus and you will find life. Jesus did not come to punish or condemn. He came to give life and that abundantly. He is the mercy and love of God to mankind. Knowing the Bible inside and out will not give you life, but the Bible points you to Jesus and your need for Him. Without Jesus all of the Scriptures become pointless, because He is the scriptures revealed to you and me! Just Believe!

Let’s Pray:
Father, thank You for the inspired Scriptures which point me to You! Father, give me wisdom and understanding, that when I read scripture, I read with understanding and that I am guided into all truth by Your Holy Spirit. Keep me from seeking to add or subtract anything from Your Word. Father, I know that eternal life is to be found by faith in Jesus Christ alone, and that I am only accepted by You because I am ‘in Christ’ and not because of anything that I could do. Father, I praise Your Holy Name, Father, draw me closer to Jesus as I read the Scriptures, day by day, for revelation of who You are! Father, I believe all of Your Words and I know that they are true! I pray today that I may see You, Jesus as the author of life and finishers of every area of my life; Father thank You again for revealing Yourself to me through Your Words, I believe, and I know that everything that You have purposed in my life will come to pass! In the Name of Jesus Christ! Amen!

Blessings…
Minister Jean

Good Morning Sunshine! God Is Your Strength!

Isaiah 12:2 ~ “Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The LORD, the LORD himself, is my strength and my defense; he has become my salvation.”

Have you ever been tired and had to lean against something or someone till you got your strength back to keep moving? Well God knows this, and He is aware of everything that has tried to overwhelm you, He knows when you are weary and weak, He knows when you are in trouble and need relief, and He knows when you need someone to lean on!

Let Go! Let God! Let it Flow! Just fall into your Father’s Everlasting Arms, He got you! Did you let go? If you did, He caught you, you are safe and secure in His Arms! You do know that His Word says that the whole world is in His Hands, (Psalm 24:1-2) so that should encourage you to know that He can catch and hold you and everything that concerns you! God got you!

Let the Word of the Lord soak into your mind, heart and spirit that you are His. God created you, formed you, redeemed you, saved you, covers you, delivers you, keeps you, sustains you, protects you, heals you, provides for you, calls you by name and kindles His spirit within you. God has you on every side, you are His and don’t forget it!

Do you feel any better? God is there to help you, He’s waiting on you to take His hand, He spoke so clearly when He said, “Wait on Him”, He’s coming to renew your strength (Isaiah 40:31) and make you whole, after leaning on God you will be able to stand, walk, run, and not be tired or weary, God is your Leaning Post, To God Be The Glory!

Lord, when I think about our Father’s Hands and Arms and how He so tenderly catches us with those strong arms, I get excited! We can just lean on our Father and you don’t have to be in a hurry, you can tarry in that place! Deuteronomy 33:27a NIV ~ “The eternal God is your dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms.”

My grandmother use to sing, I’m leaning on Jesus, and she would tell me one day, by and by that I’m going to understand it. Now in the by and by I got it! “I’m Leaning on the Everlasting Arms,” was written by Anthony Johnson Showalter in 1887.

Here are the lyrics, let’s make this our worship song and prayer today.

Can’t you hear it, “What a fellowship, what a joy divine, Leaning on the everlasting arms; What a blessedness, what a peace is mine, Leaning on the everlasting arms. You are Safe and secure from all alarms; Leaning, leaning, Leaning on the everlasting arms. Oh, how sweet to walk in this pilgrim way, Leaning on the everlasting arms; Oh, how bright the path grows from day to day, Leaning on the everlasting arms. What have I to dread, what have I to fear, Leaning on the everlasting arms? I have blessed peace with my Lord so near, Leaning on the everlasting arms!”

Today, you can just Lean on Your Father and when you do, you will be secure on your right, left, front, back, top and bottom, you are fully secure and can’t no enemy get you out of His Hands! You are secured leaning on your Heavenly Father!

Let’s Pray:

Father, Thank You. Today, I’m leaning on and in Your Everlasting Arms! Father You are my strength and in You lives everything that I need. Father, I am putting all of my trust in You. I just can’t stop thanking you! Father, Thank You, Thank You, Thank You, Thank You and Thank You! If I had 10,000 tongues it wouldn’t be enough to Thank You for all that You have done, is doing and will do for me. Father, I’m grateful and I want the world to know that I’m going to serve You till the day I die! Father, I know that as I stay in Your Word, I will always be secure in Your Arms! In the Mighty Name of Jesus Christ. Amen!

Blessings…

Minister Jean

Good Morning Sunshine! Know Your Place! Part 2!

1 Peter 4:10-11 NIV ~ “Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. [11] If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.”

As I reflected on yesterday’s devotional this thought fell into my spirit. Are you trying to elevate yourself or allowing God to magnify and elevate you?

Have you been tempted to elevate yourself? You see others that have great influence and power, and you desire it for yourself. So, you try to join in with them hoping that you will have that same influence and you can glean from their authority or get the favor that they have? You have disregarded everything that your Father has told you to do because you want to that belong to that group or person and have their level of authority or position! This authority and position came from God and God alone! Hebrews 12:1 NIV ~ “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.”

Being honored and magnified in the is not a sin, but it’s sinful when you try to covet someone else’s honor. You must be careful to guard your own hearts from elevating yourself above your calling. If you are called to be a disciple, please don’t try to be an Apostle, know your place and stay in your own lane! Be the best disciple that you can be, for it would behoove you to not get in God’s way! When you try to walk in someone else’s path that you don’t belong to, you are inviting unwanted and unnecessary warfare into your life. You must recognize the authority God has given to you is for and what belongs to someone else belongs to them, stop trying to attain what does not belong to you!

If you are to be elevated at all, if you receive any spiritual gifts or anointing, it will directly be deposited into you from God, at His command and at His timing according to His perfect Will! Do not come to God seeking honor and glory! It is God who chooses to bless you with honor and glory! It’s His gifts to give or to withhold! Learn to be content with the knowledge that you have been adopted into the family of God and made joint heir to Jesus Christ! Let your focus be on glorifying God, and you will find great peace and contentment with whatever place that you are in and in whatever God has called you to do in your life!

When you let jealous thoughts grow, when you run after the thing’s others have that you want, when you let discontentment tell you that you need more than you have, then you are pursuing the opposite of what Jesus lived and taught you. Then you are trading a life close with Christ for a life close to man’s success and recognition and now you have become just like the Pharisees! God has blessed and entrusted you with the talent, power and spiritual gifts that He wanted you to have to use to glorify Him and build His Kingdom. I know it can be hard sometimes when you look around at others and see what big things that they are doing, and you can feel like what you have to do is small; I want to encourage you that you and your gifts are needed!

The day, I realized that God didn’t give me my gifts for me, but they were gifts for Him! I repented and asked Him to forgive me, and at that moment my thinking totally shifted. I began to truly see how God had blessed me, and then I began to trust Him with my gifting and value them, no matter how they compare to the gifts or talents of others I began to do the work that He assigned me to do! Your gifts are given to you by God in order to serve those around you. As our scripture today says, you have received a gift from God, and you are required to be a good steward over what He commended you to do! God has called you to use all your gifts and talents to serve others. Fight the lie that someone else’s talents are better than yours! Fight the lie that God can’t use you for His Kingdom! That gift that you love, is meant to bless others. That gift that you are not sure is good enough, it’s meant to bless and serve others! Everything is for God and His Glory!

Take inventory of your life and pray and consider all the things that God has given to you to steward: your gifts, talents, influence, resources, and your abilities, anointing and power are all designed and meant to be used to serve others! Know that when you speak, you do so as the Word of God says! And when you serve, you do so with the strength that God provides, so that in all things God may be praised and glorified through you for Jesus Christ. It’s for His Glory and your good!

Let’s Pray:

Father, thank You for loving me pass me! Father, today I lay my heart and my desires out before You. Search my heart, know my thoughts and see if there is any grievous way in me and uproot it out of me. Show me where envy has caused me to pursue more over pursuing You. Father, realign my heart with Your will for my life! Father, I want to be content in You and You alone! Father help me to be a help to others without envying what someone else has. Father I want to serve others because that is what You want me to do. Father, today show me how to give of myself to those around me as I am in ministry, at work, at home and everywhere in between. Father, I recommit my life to You. Father, everything thing that I am and that I have belongs to You. The most important thing to me is what’s the most important things to You. Father, help me to live like this day in and day out. In the Name of Jesus Christ. Amen!

Blessings…

Minister Jean