When Boredom Strikes

When boredom strikes destructivity often begins.

Destruction does not have to mean physical demise it can include mental demise, emotional demise, relational demise and so forth. If you think back to the times you felt most lonely, it was typically when no one could be accessed and you were unable to find anything else to distract you. Another uncommonly recognized moment of loneliness is when one is in a room full of people and still feels by their self. Understand that distractions are not limited to people they may include things, jobs, etc and for the moment may appear fulfilling but ultimately leads to an overwhelming feeling of lowliness. We often recognize this sense of lowliness when we are bored, resulting in feelings of sadness and an all of a sudden bout of emotional imbalance.When all this surfaces what happens next???

Watch how subtly destruction strikes!

Typically the next thing we do after we realize we are bored is find something to do, right? Whether its go through our phone contacts and call a whole bunch of randoms, or pick up the phone for endless hours of Candy Crush or our game of choice, Instagram, Facebook, gossip sites, etc, deciding to dwell on the negative, and so forth the enemy delights himself in  invading our head space when we are bored, and using various distractions to nurse our negative emotions.

Defeat the enemy by calling on the strength of God to channel that energy in another direction; begin to deposit uplifting material into your spirit. Speak to your boredom and find something constrictive to do with your time. Start working on your passion or the business idea you have been putting off, pick up some inspirational material to help you reach your goals or that encourages you to deal with past hurts. The Bible is also a great resource for godly living. Work outside yourself by picking up some volunteer opportunities, or become involved in a ministry in your area. Ministry is not limited to a church buildings: homeless shelters, battered women’s programs, food banks etc are all active ministries that need your talents. Don’t allow the enemy to have a field day in your mind; there are positive alternatives to engage in when boredom strikes.

Its backed in the Word

1 Timothy 5:13 Ephesians 6: 11-18 1 Corinthians 9:24-27

Lord I Need a Career

God is so faithful, not only in your life but in the lives of those around you-- friends & family alike. Understand that God is not limited to only healing or helping us make the best decisions. He can do more for you than get you out of a rut when you mess up, He far more influential in every part of your life! With that, begin to acknowledge God as the ruler of employment, thank Him for providing employment for your friends & family. The on'es who have jobs, are looking for jobs, or about to leave or be let go from a job.

 Regardless if you are employed or not, celebrate the employment of others. Watch how God works on your behalf as you switch the focus from yourself and your job/career, to uplifting those around you in their job/career. Pray that  all your family & friends have the privilege of recognizing their purpose TODAY, and immediately begin working at what God has called them to do, ultimately fulfilling His plan for their lives; Pray that those connected to you are allowed to have careers and not just mere jobs. Thank God for the true fulfillment that comes from Him in regards to employment.

~And that's it....watch Him work!

It's backed in the Word 

Romans 12 (esp v.15) Ephesians 2:10 Galatians 5:13-15

How to Spend Time with Your Lover

Christ is the lover of our soul yet He is probably the one person that we most inconsistently spend our time with. Now if you are pretty diligent in your QT (quality time) with God, BRAVO……. this devotional just serves as a reminder to continue spending time with the Father daily. If your one on one time with God looks like this: in and out, up and down, high and low, be encouraged all it takes is a decision to do better that will put you on the right path to being consistent with Christ. For my newbie’s in Christ I recommend finding a great devotional and begin committing to reading it before your day beings…(such as this one). Each devotional has some scriptures included; make a effort after you read the devotional to read those scriptures as outlined. As this becomes normal practice venture out and read the whole chapter of each scripture provided. For example if the scripture included in the devotional is Psalms 12:3, do not only read the 3^rd verse of Psalms 12, expand your relationships by reading the 12^th chapter instead. This way you are constantly feeding your spirit with positive words from on high, and allowing yourself to know more about Christ. I would suggest following this regime until you become comfortable navigating through the Bible and desire to want to know more about Christ. In order to do so it requires some element of discipline, if you are undisciplined it’s ok. Set an alarm to remind you, use sticky notes, make a commitment not to eat breakfast, lunch, etc until after you have read your scriptures to help discipline yourself.

We are always reminded to say our prayers and everyone’s prayer life is reflective of their relationship with God. However I do want to address this……. What is the number one issue in most relationships…..communication! Prayer is your form of communication with God. The more you pray to God, the more you share and are transparent with Him, the more open you are to constructive criticism and reproach the better your relationship with God will be. How does it feel to be in a relationship with someone who always talks about them self and never listens to what you have to say, never cares much about your feelings or your day, they just talk, talk, talk about themselves their problems, their hang-ups etc. Well be careful not to be that person to God. Prayer is not one sided, where you talk God’s ear off about your problems and what you need, prayer is a time for communication between you and God. The way God speaks differs from person to person; sometimes His voice is audible to some(typically to those who are really fixated on the things of God or those who spend an abundant amount of time with Him), for some He speaks through circumstances, or various confirmations etc. The only way to determine if God is speaking to you is your ability to backup what was said in the Word. God will not tell you to move back in with a man or woman you are unmarried to, it simply goes against His value system. The best outline for prayer that I have read is to start with thanksgiving following with prayer for others, and ending with prayer for yourself. This way you are sure to cover the all the bases. All of your prayers don’t have to follow this outline, actually you never have to follow this outline if you don’t desire to, however it just helps keep your prayer life in prescriptive so that it is not one-sided.

Lastly gospel music. Some gospel music is crap and has nothing to do with God; I can boldly say that because I have been blessed with the ability to hear and the desire to seek God….by simply listening to the lyrics of the song I can say, its crap. Be careful the gospel music you listen to, the more you spend time with Christ the more you will be able to decipher what’s quality gospel music and what’s not. There is a difference. I know some people that say they hate gospel music but we live in a new era where there are some really great gospel artists that have up to date beats and relatable lyrics. My best suggestion for newbie’s is to get in where you fit in. We pump all that other junk into our systems via music, tv, etc so we can make a sacrifice to listen to uplifting music that worships Christ through song an hour or so a day. My best resource for that is Pandora. I choose a gospel artist and listen to that station while I work. Whether you are paying attention or not that positive music is being deposited in you and it really changes things. Another best practice is to listen to gospel music every morning on your way to work. I promise you it sets the tone for your day. You can start with a gospel station on the radio or take some time with your music selection and create a cd or mp3 playlist and listen in your car as you ride. All of these are ways to boost your relationship with Christ and enhance the quality of your life. There is no strategic method to spending time with Christ, just start somewhere. The more you spend time with Him the more He will direct your path and encourage a deeper relationship with Him.

It backed in the Word

Hebrews 4:12-14 2 Timothy 3:16-17 Matthew 12:22 Philippians 4:6-7 Joshua 1:6-9 John 1:1-5 Ephesians 6:10-17 Matthew 6:5-16 Mark 7:6-23 Hebrews 11:6 

Celebrate the Closed Doors

There is nothing worse than having a door slammed in your face. For whatever reason it ignites the inner gangster in us, and no matter who you are or where you come from the universal feeling of defeat, disrespect, and anger submerges and if not controlled properly your next move may not be your best move. Automatically we blame the devil for trying to put a stumbling block in our way, or holding us back from reaching out next level. We get into a panic, often times throwing a fit outside of the closed door in hopes that our reaction will have the power to pry that sucker open, so we can go about our scheduled plan. But what happens when God closes a door? How can you tell if the closed door is God or the enemy? 

Well let’s start with a sure truth; the devil cannot do anything unless he gets clearance from Christ. Look at Job, an upright, and the Bible even calls Him a perfect man. God asked the devil if he had considered his servant Job to tempt. So God literally petitioned the enemy to slam the door in Job’s face! We all know Job’s story.....a long bout of death, defeat, and illness (and if we’d all be honest we probably would have died under pressure) but Job endured the disrespect, experienced the defeat and anger but never let go of God’s hand. God had a plan for Job, He has a plan for you too. A failed relationship, a loss of a job, an estranged friendship, a string of bad news, a slammed door in your face is not symbolic of the end! God has a way of doing things that is beyond our understanding but always for our good. I challenge you when facing a closed door to shout right there in front of it. Not so that the walls would come tumbling down, but so God can be gloried and you can show Him your undeniable trust in His plan for your life. Celebrate the closed doors!

Its backed in the Word

Job 1:8 The entire book of Job 1-41

Are You Living Life to the Fullest

Let your life be a reflection of the things above. It is easy to become caught in the nonsense that can redirect you away from the original-God intent- for your life into a pattern of self destructive habits whose ultimate goal is to destroy you. When in doubt pray, when tempted seek Christ, rearrange your responses in a way that is God dependent instead of self dependent. Left to your own merit you are liable to do anything, often times ungodly and destructive things, with Christ you can do anything as well. However with Him the things you do are more positive and rewarding. Today I challenge you to reflect on the patterns of your life? Are you living your life in a way that is pleasing to God? The challenge is simple; use your findings to make some positive changes to ensure that you are living in God’s most perfect will for YOU. You are alive, so it’s clear you have been given life, so use your life for something positive, something worth living, let your life honor the One who gave you life so you can enjoy it more abundantly and everlasting!

It's backed in the Word

Matthew 5:1-16

The Good Wife....Have You Found Her?

This Proverbs 31 woman is a beast isn’t she? I mean the first verse beings with quote “who can find a virtuous and capable wife"? While God has revealed the ideal woman to the world, as a counteractive approach the world has resorted to glorying a woman totally opposite in an attempt to overshadow the essence of the Proverbs 31 woman. In its attempt, many have resorted to praising and worshipping women completely and totally opposite of God’s design (which is indicative of the enemy) -anything opposite of God is the devil- and sadly its victims are falling prey to the enemy’s deadly trap. The bible is really specific about women and clearly separates the good ones from the bad ones. Careful not deem a particular individual good or bad simply by their actions, we must not forget the most important attribute, their relationship with Christ alongside their character. I will venture to place her actions last, but the combination is necessary.

Women who are pursing virtue I want to encourage you ever the more. Sure I am just a woman empowering the next woman to continue to set standards and live by them, but I am also influenced by Christ who created a clear blueprint for women to strive after, promising His validation and acceptance as their rear reward. The only acceptance that truly matters, let’s not get it twisted!  Men I challenge you to set aside any insecurity that empower you to chase after the “baddest” woman or women  because you are fearful of another man’s opinions or to mask childhood pains that are associated with past attacks towards your physical appearance. The baddest woman can indeed be the baddest person for you who will ultimately brings you to complete and total ruin- remember when you play in the enemy’s territory you reap his rear reward--its one reward or the other. There is no combination of the things of God and the thing of the enemy. Don’t allow the devil’s attempt to captivate you, lure you into the master plan of destroying you.

·    Obviously it’s hard to find a virtuous and capable wife, but good women are out here. Ladies continue to strive to be God’s best and men continue to seek God for His best for you! 

It's Backed in the Word

Proverbs 31:10-31 Proverbs 23:26-35 Proverbs 6:23-29

The Race Is Not Won by the Strong One, but to the Person who Endures!

The race is not given to the swift or the strong but to the one who can endure!

Life has a way doesn’t it……to break you down, trun you around, or politely sit you down. Then what do you do? What do you do when you know there is a gift inside you that has yet to flourish, you have tried everything in your power to make it happen and still you get nowhere? When you’ve prayed and cried  until your eyes were bloody red and your head hurt from the combination of emotions, worry, and confusion. When you see your peers take off in their career or an enemy succeed, what do you do?

 Do you give up, say forget the whole thing and try something new. Isn’t it funny when you take that approach you find yourself right back where you were, working hard to fulfill your dreams.  Do you relinquish your efforts to please God and fall back into sin because its comfortable….yeah God has a way of correcting that behavior as well, and brings you right back to that place, that place where you are supposed to be, not necessarily where you want to be, but where you should. I want to acknowledge your pain, your anguish, and your breaking point today. Its real and you are not alone, however I want to remind you that this race is not given to the swift or to the strong. Its not won by the tortoise or the enemy…..this race is won by the person who can endure!!!! The person that perseveres during every storm  and season, on every kind of terrain and can literally operate with what they started with...the clothes on their back and shoes on their feet. The person who can set their mind on things above, trusting that the God of the universe will not leave or forsake the.

 Keep at it my friend, Keep Going. Your best has yet to come!

Be Encouraged

Its Backed in the Word

Ecclesiastes 9 Hebrews 10:36 Romans 12:12 James 5:11 Galatians 5:19-21 Isaiah 26:3-4

                                                                                                                                                                            

Make Your Next Move Your Best Move

Wait I say on the Lord and be of good cheer!!!! We live in a time where everything is so fast paced and we often confuse God’s timing with our  own timing, and in the natural it makes sense. With the increase in demands, added stress to make a move, and the seemingly overnight success for others its easy to find yourself inspired to go hard and work relentlessly to reach your goals. Your ability to "making it happen" serves as a great attempt, but God makes it that clear apart from Him we can do nothing. Did you get that…NOTHING. So why you ask, can others who don’t even acknowledge Him manage to make it happen and in return get so far in life?

Let’s start with an honest truth, #1 that isn’t any of our business. Their relationship and walk with God has nothing to do with us and warrants zero comparison. If you desire to introduce them to Christ that’s one thing, but if you opt to lust after their life you are merely suggesting that God shows favoritism, a character trait He abhors.  Secondly fame, money, promotion, and even relationships are not the limits of God blessings. A person can have all of the above, live an empty life, and an even emptier life after they have died and gone to Hell. Our focus should not be on what someone else is doing, on the ticking time clocks in our minds, the due dates of man-made tasks, assignments, or the “by now you should have's….” of this worlds standard but on Christ. He is able to do more than you can ever imagine. So I challenge you to stop moving, isolate yourself with the spirit of God, and wait on him to speak, wait on him to tell you what to do next! Let Him guide your next move!

It's Backed in the Word

Psalms 27:14 John 15:1-17 Romans 2:5-11 Timothy 3:1-17 Isaiah 30:19-24