 Hebrews 4:9-11 “Therefore, a Sabbath rest remains for God’s people. 10 For the person who has entered his rest has rested from his own works, just as God did from His. 11 Let us, then, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall into the same pattern of disobedience.” ~CSB
Ever worked so hard, or worked long hours, days and weeks, where you not only feel tired, but also frustrated? On days like that you are liable to say something to someone close to you that you can’t take back. How about a ‘work’ situation? You may ‘pop’ off and say something to a co-worker or supervisor that may get you in some trouble. It may even cost you your job. All because you are tired. I know we have to do what we have to do sometimes and fatigue comes with it. But as Christians we need to understand that the devil knows about our levels of frustration and he will use those levels anyway he can. He prowls and waits for you to get to that point. Then he will command your flesh to say or do something you will regret. This is why God will allow days for you to rest. Be careful, on these days of rest, because the enemy can make a hard working person think they are being lazy. But actually God has taken everything ‘doable’ away so that you have no choice but to rest. God does this because things are about to happen for you and He needs you at your strongest. Mentally and physically. The more you are aware of God’s gift of rest, the more you should embrace it. The text says, “Make every effort to enter that rest…” Take a nap, read a book, listen to that soft ‘Jazz’. Whatever you need to do to relax your Spiritual heart. Then you will be prepared for God’s work. Preparedness and awareness will be strengthened in you so that you do not fall for the tricks of the devil. The text continues, “...so that no one will fall into the same pattern of disobedience.” May God allow you the rest you need to continue your journey in good health, in Jesus’ name. Amen
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Deuteronomy 8:17-18 “You may say to yourself, ‘My power and my own ability have gained this wealth for me,’ 18 but remember that the Lord your God gives you the power to gain wealth…” ~CSB
I hear all the time, “I made all this!” “Nobody gave me nothin’!” And yeah, I see successful people doing things I pray to do someday. But I always remember that God has plans for me. Other people’s blessings are theirs, and mine are waiting for me to be strong enough to carry them. But the one thing I will not forget is that whatever comes my way, I did not get it on my own. First God tells us in Jeremiah 29:11 that He has, “...plans for us…” He goes on to say that those plans are not for disaster. They are plans for our, “...well being…to give us a future and a hope…” Again these are His plans for us. But we often get in the way of His plans by doing what we think we want, or need, or desire. But God knows what’s best for us and His plans will carry us and cover us in everything. Our plans, however, will only take us so far. For example, we may achieve wealth beyond imagination, on our own. But oftentimes we will lack joy. This wealth cannot buy us health, nor add years to our lives. But with God, we will experience a whole different type of wealth beyond our imagination. This wealth will come in all aspects of our lives, our health, our families, our futures, and our financial status. They will all be covered by the blood of Jesus Christ because God has already made plans for our ‘...well being…’ We must remember that when our children grow to be great men and women. When our legacies have strong roots that bloom into great flowers. When our lives have been lived full, it is because of God and His plans for us. Those plans for us to be prosperous in the lives He created for us to live. It is because of Him we have what we have. And it is because of the Son, we are saved! May God bless and keep you safe, healed, guided and protected as you walk your journey in Jesus’ name. Amen  Romans 8:6 “Now the mindset of the flesh is death, but the mindset of the Spirit is life and peace.” ~CSB
If you ever encounter a roundabout during your daily travels, you already know there are rules to follow. You must yield to the car already in the circle. You must make sure when you enter, you follow the direction of the arrows. But when the opportunity arises and there are no cars in the roundabout; the desire to avoid going around the entire circle, (just to turn left or right), becomes much too easy to resist. So we avoid following the rules of the ‘roundabout’. Some might say to me, “Hey Billy, it’s not that serious.” But look at it from a spiritual perspective. Maybe it is hard to follow ‘Bigger’ commands of God because we have strengthened our flesh by constantly and persistently walking in disobedience in breaking smaller rules in the world. The text says that, “...The mindset of the flesh is death…”This means that the enemy has already determined that he can control us through our flesh. The devil has made it easy to do this by commanding the flesh to make us feel comfortable in dismissing what we are directed to do. We practice and practice breaking rules. We begin to make reasonable conclusions in our minds, on why we don’t have to follow rules and commands physically. When we do this, we are unprepared to follow the rules spiritually given to us. This will eventually lead us away from God’s intent for our lives. But if we want to ‘live’, if we want to enjoy God’s love and blessings while here on earth, we need to unlearn the teachings of our flesh and practice following ‘all’ orders and rules. No matter how small. We must practice by following the smaller rules on a daily basis, like the ‘roundabout’. Following the rules of etiquette and patience when standing in a long line at the grocery store. Following all simple rules of life so that when it comes to God’s commands, the larger rules, the spirit will take over and guide us through. The Spirit will change your mindset from a “Have to…” mission of duty, to a “Want to…” heavenly position. When we become comfortable in following the commands of the Word, life will begin for us and the peace of God will heal our mood and attitude. Peace of mind will rule us on our journey. May God bless you and keep you under His umbrella of love, protection and strength as you continue to walk in Jesus’ name. Amen  Ephesians 5:19 “...speaking to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing and making music with your heart to the Lord…” ~CSB
When I was younger, I heard someone say, ‘Music is universal’. Some time after that I watched a movie called, ‘Close Encounters of the Third Kind’. In this movie, an alien spaceship was able to communicate with earth through notes played on a keyboard. You know being a kid, I couldn’t help but think that there may be some truth to the ‘saying’. As I grew older, I began to recognize that music in general would be responsible for some of the moods we get in. For example, when we fall in love, the best music would be some of the great ballads during the time we grew up. For me it would be Luther Vandross, Teddy Pendergrass or Peabo Bryson. There were songs that made you cry, hate and even fall more into depression. Music plays a role in increasing or decreasing our moods. When it comes to our relationship with God, our song choice can be completely different. We don’t have to rely on a song written, produced or even sung by someone else because God already has that song written for us. We just have to make the choice to receive it. That song is written in our hearts as we journey in this life. A song with a verse about our trials. A verse that explains our struggles. And those verses will lead to a chorus that will sing out our redemption, salvation and transformation. When this has run its course, we will sing that song out loud. It will be a praise to God on how He has delivered us from all the devil tries to take from us. That song that was uniquely written for us before our transformation, will be our testimony. And don’t get it twisted, it will be a song that chooses us. And this song will only manifest if we allow ourselves to be chosen. And after we have received that spiritual unique song in our hearts, we can go out and make disciples as the Word says we should. By sharing the praises of God to all who cross our paths. Using the situations of pain and struggle in song, mixed with God’s saving grace and power in delivering us from evil, as the text says, “...speaking to one another in Psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs…making music with our hearts to the Lord…” May God continue to keep you in His love, protection, power and healing as you journey in Jesus name. Amen |
Authors Billy & YolandaThis is the place where we share our heart through God's Word in faith that will inspire and empower you to live in peace. Archives
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