We often forget that Satan is prowling around looking for anyone, and I do mean anyone, whom he can devour.  He does not want any child of God to live in victory so he makes sure that Believers are constantly tempted to sin and become powerless.  Satan is afraid of the powerful Believer who is living a godly life because the light that they shine dispels his darkness.

The 22nd chapter of Luke tells us how Satan desired to have Simon Peter but Jesus told Simon that he had prayed for him that his fail would not fail.  We know that in this life we will have trouble but we have our Lord and Savior sitting at the right hand of God interceding for us.  Could we ask for anything more?  Many of us spend our prayer time giving God our wish list but realize that Jesus is praying for our faith.  We all have been given a measure of faith, but in times of trouble, it is our faith that decides whether we win or lose.  If our faith is strong, it will pull us through our trials and tribulations.  As long as we are on this earth, we are in a battle – a spiritual battle and somethings we might become weak as Simon Peter did, but when we fail, we must get back up and strengthen our brothers.  We all need encouragement and we will learn valuable life lessons that need to be passed along to others so they will know how we overcame and our testimony will give them hope.

We are being sifted to strengthen; we are to move forward and help our fellowman as much as possible.  Your pain is not for you alone, but for all those who will come into your life that are also fighting battles of their own. God has a purpose and a plan for your life and His plans do not change because you have to go through hard times.  God has everything under control and you are to rest in that.  Jesus prayed that your faith would not fail because it is your faith that will propel you to push forward no matter what.  So don’t be surprised when trouble comes, just remember that that is the time that you seek the presence of God and rely on your faith to take you to the next level. As you have been strengthen, you are to strengthen others.

Not many people embrace  change.  They are so use to the way things are that they fail to realize that some changes are good and will only make their lives better.  Communication changes have been constant and will continue to change to take us into the future.  No longer do we have to go out of town to visit a loved one.  Now we can post a note to them on Facebook or see them via Skype, and who knows how we will communicate in the next decade, but it is certain that it will be different than it is right now.

Christians must also change and the word of God is there to direct you.  The Bible tells us that a wise man will see danger and avoid it (change) but a foolish man will not change and that man will suffer for it. (Proverbs 27:12). Stupidity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different result.  Do not fear change because change is the answer to taking you from one undesireable place to the place God has planned for you.  You should pray that God gives you the wisdom and courage to not only recognize that a change is needed, but the courage to make that change no matter what it is.

Sometimes changes are made because of brokenness.  God will not despise a broken heart or a contrite spirit.  He loves it when His children come to him and ask for His help, thus you will become totally dependent upon Him.  Change will also cause humility.  If you humble yourself before the Lord, He will exalt you.  Pride comes before a fall but God gives grace to the humble.  Change will come if you are honest with yourself to recognize that what you are doing is no longer working.  That might be hard but it will propel you to move forward.

While going through changes in your life, hold on to your faith.  Continue to hope; continue to trust Almighty God and believe that He is working everything out for your good.  Do not be afraid to let go of the past.  Some things are best left in the past so that you do not move into the future carrying old things that will weigh you down.  If you trust God, you will find yourself in a position to accept the decisions He makes regardless if you agree with those decisions or not.  Finally, be grateful for what you have.  God has promised never to leave you, and it is His grace that is keeping you.  You might not have everything that you have prayed for but you do have your life.  Do not take it for granted.  Daily thank the Lord for His goodness and kindness towards you.

Let this be your prayer:

God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change: the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.

There are so many ways to get someone’s attention.  Babies sometimes cry just to have someone pick them up.  Young people may chose to dress a little out of the ordinary just to get attention.  Single adults do a number of things to get the attention of the opposite sex.  We all have done something at one time or another to get the attention of someone but God also wants to get our attention.  God knows each of us better than any one else and He knows exactly what to do to make us stop and really see Him.  He knows how to shine a spot light on us.  God wants to stop us in our tracts so that He can speak to us; so that He can redirect us and most of all, so we can get to know Him in a more intimate way.

The Bible tells us about Saul’s conversion on the road to Damascus.  God let a light shine from Heaven down upon him and Saul immediately knew that it was the Lord.  After God got Saul’s attention, Saul became the Apostle Paul and wrote most of the New Testament.  Saul became a changed man for the better.  Saul was once a persecutor of the church and then became one of the most profound leaders of the church.  No one can have an encounter with God and remain the same.  God changes the heart of a person and after that, we are able to fulfill God’s purpose for us.  We might think that we are doing ok for ourselves, but it’s possible that God has a different plan for us and the only way to turn us around is to get our attention first.  Doing the will of God makes all the difference in our lives.

Has God gotten your attention yet?  Are you fulfilling the will of God for your life in the way that God intended?  Maybe you are still searching for something to fill the void in your life.  If you are in the middle of challenging circumstances, consider the fact that God wants you to draw close to Him so that you can hear Him speak to you.  God’s ways are not our ways; His thoughts are not our thoughts.  You might even be in a good place right now but be open to the fact that there could be more – much more and the only way you will reach the next level is to pay attention to that still small voice within you.  Focus on the light and let the light lead you to your promise land.

The tomb is empty.  Hallelujah!  Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, is alive and because He is alive, Christians around the world have reason to celebrate today. If Jesus were not alive; if the tomb was not empty, nothing else really matters.  We would have no hope; we would still be living in our sins and we would leave this earth going into a lost eternity.  The fact that Jesus was resurrected three days after being crucified for the forgiveness of our sins, we are assured that those who die in Christ will also rise again when Jesus Christ comes back to get His children.  The Bible is true and God has promised us that those who have confessed with their mouths and believed in their hearts that Jesus died and rose again, will spend eternity with Him.

Today is a good day to ask Jesus into your heart and receive the forgiveness of your sins and the gift of eternal life.  What more could you ask for?  Jesus Christ went to Calvary so that we all could be saved and the Bible tells us that “whosoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”  All you have to do is respond to that still small voice speaking to you, calling you to come near to God and if you do, He will accept you.  He will forgive you, and He will put within you the power of His spirit to be more than a conqueror.  You can then resist the devil and sin less and become more and more like Christ.  Call out to Him and you will never be the same.  If you have already answered His call and are walking in the newness of life, make it a point to re-dedicate and commit your time, talents and resources to bring others into the kingdom of God.

God is good. God is faithful.  God is and will always be the one who will never leave you or forsake you.  His love is unconditional and available to everyone.  Don’t let the blood of Jesus go without taking advantage of everything it affords you – love, peace and a life with Almighty God. Happy Easter to every one who has eaten the bread and drank the cup that Jesus is offering as a token of His Father’s love and forgiveness for you!

Gardens by nature are beautiful.  They are not only beautiful to look at, but many gardens provide the nutrients necessary to sustain life.  There is one garden, the Garden of Gethsemane, that was the place of sorrow and comfort for our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Jesus went to the Garden with a heavy heart because He knew that He was going to suffer betrayal that would lead to his death on the cross.  The Garden was a lonely place for Him but in the midst of it, He prayed to God asking if ‘this cup could pass from Him.’ Jesus stayed in that Garden until He was able to lay down His will and carry out the will of His Father.  Jesus was a weak man when He entered the Garden but He left the Garden totally submitted to God in spite of the fact that it would mean His death.  Prayer was the key that transformed Jesus into our Savior, and the price He paid for the forgiveness of our sins was great and we should not take it for granted.  Where would we be if it wasn’t for Calvary?  We would be lost and would die without any hope of eternal life.

The Garden was crucial to Jesus yielding to God’s will, and it is also crucial to us today.  At some point in your life you will have to make a decision as to whether or not you will obey God and your decision will affect the rest of your life.   Your journey on earth will contain many trials and tribulations as Jesus told us, so you must be prepared when those times come.  You will be successful if you have a transparent relationship with your heavenly Father.  The flesh is weak but the spirit is strong, and it is the spirit of God within you that will enable you say ‘not my will but your will be done.’  You might feel alone at times but remember Jesus promised that He would never leave nor forsake you.  Believe that.  Trust in that.

If you do not already have one, prepare a garden of your own.  Let it be the one place that is special to you and God.  Open yourself up to God and He will be there to give you exactly what you need when you need it.  Take your burdens to the Lord and leave them in your garden.  I promise you that God will always provide the nourishment and nutrients you need to survive.

Have you received a promise from God that has not yet been fulfilled and you are wondering whether or not God has forgotten His promise?  I’m here to tell you that God does not forget.  God remembers everything, and He will do what He said He will do in His time and in His way.

You must learn to wait upon the Lord, and you do that by being obedient, by having faith and by being patient.  You must do what God has told you to do and until He speaks to you again, you must hold steady and do nothing else.  Waiting on the Lord will require that you trust God and believe in His faithfulness.  Whatever God has told you, it will come to pass.  He is not like man and has no need to lie.  Once God makes a promise, the ball is in your court and you must believe in Him and His word.

One of the hardest things we will ever have to do is to be patient.  Patience is not easy.  We live in a society where we want and expect everything instantly.  We are not patient while we drive.  We are not patient when we are standing in the check out line, and it’s sad that we are not even patient with our own family and friends.  God will make you wait but there is a purpose in the waiting.  If you are in a hurry, the longer it will take before you see what God has promised you.  God will make sure that you learn that He is in control and not you.  When we become anxious, we are telling God that He is taking too long and that will certainly not please Him.

God has not forgotten you.  There are many examples in the Bible where we see the faithfulness of Almighty God.  He remembered Abraham and Sarah and gave them Isaac.  God remembered Joseph after many years and promoted him in the land of Egypt.  God remembered Job and gave him twice as much as he had after losing it all.  God remembered that He had promised David the role of King but David had to wait until God thought he was ready.  God never forgets, nor does He sleep, and you can be confident that what He has promised you, He is faithful and just and will keep His promise as He has done to the saints before you.

God has everything under His control, so while you are waiting begin to offer your thanks to the One who has promised never to leave or forsake you.

A Christian’s journey on earth is a walk of faith.  You might be one who God has spoken to and is in the process of leaving your comfort zone and going to a place that you have never been before.  Abram heard the voice of God telling him to leave everything behind and go to a place unfamilar to himself.  He did not ask God ‘why’ or ‘where is this place?’  Abram simply obeyed God and received the blessings that God promised him.

It is important for every Believer to stop and take a moment to evaluate their relationship with their heavenly Father.  You might have accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior many years ago, but to live victoriously, you must have a present day relationship with the Lord.  It is easy to plan out your whole life – where you will go to school, who you will marry and where you will live, but ultimately, you should realize that God wants to order your steps so that you reach the destiny that He has for you. God does have a plan for you and His ways of getting you there are different than your own.  God tells us in His Word that His thoughts are not our thoughts and His ways are not our ways.  God sees the big picture and knows how things are to end.  Man can only hope that the decisions he makes will work out for his good.

A mature Christian will let God take control of his life and he will be obedient to doing what the Holy Spirit tells him to do.  Trust is the key and you must believe that God is faithful and He will always be there to guide you to victory, but many people are not willing to submit to God to that degree.  They want to do all the planning and make all the decisions.  That is risky at best, but to those who are like Abram, they leave all the decisions to God and they walk in faith every day knowing that God loves them and has a better plan than they could ever imagine.

Abram was 75 years old when he heard God speak to him and the words he heard changed not only his life, but the lives of many, many Christians to this day.  You are never too old for God to use you.  So, if you have not yet started your walk of faith, choose to do so today.  Submit your life to God and ask Him to guide you, and promise Him that you will follow Him wherever He leads you.  A walk of faith is simply taking one step at a time and leaving the details up to God.

It’s natural for anyone to be a little dismayed when they are going through difficult times, but the Apostle Paul told us over and over again that we are to rejoice always.  Philippians is a wonderful book of the Bible to read when you find yourself with your back against the wall and nothing is going the way it should be in your life.  Paul suffered numerous mishaps on his journey to Philippi.  Not only was he ship wrecked, but he was beaten harshly numerous times and thrown into prison.  While in prison, he was able to encourage the saints and tell them that the joy of the Lord was their strength.

You can possess this joy of the Lord at all times because this is joy that the world can’t give you nor can the world ever take it away from you.  This joy comes as a result of a relationship with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  It is spiritual and is not dependent upon where you are or what is going on in your life.  It is deep within and you carry it with you wherever you go.  This joy will cause you to have such peace that no one can tell when you are troubled.  It truly is amazing and is worth becoming a part of your life.

As you grow older and become physically weaker, at the same time, you should become spiritually stronger and have the ability to teach others about the joy of the Lord.  Each of us must experience this joy for ourselves, and it will not come from just hearing about it.  As you travel along your journey of life, purpose in your heart that God will become the most important person to you and you should spend a lot of time in His presence and reading His Word.  The joy of the Lord is, and will always be, the source of your strength now and for all eternity.

Every Christian’s journey here on earth is a race – a race that must be finished in such a way that they receive a prize when their race is over.  God has a purpose and a plan for your life and you must guard against becoming distracted along your way.  Having the wrong people in your life can distract you, and trying to live like the world lives is another big distraction.  Our past can distract us because it keeps us from looking ahead to what God has planned for our future.

The Bible tells us to lay aside everything that will hinder us from running our race in a manner that is pleasing to our heavenly Father.  One thing that will please God is if His children are patient and wait on the Lord in all circumstances.  Another thing that will please God is our determination to finish our race for it is not how we begin but how we end our race that is important.  Many people will faint along the way.   They become discouraged when they are called upon to go through challenges and they just give up and quit.  But quitting is not an option.  Many have gone on before you.  The Bible describes it as that great cloud of witnesses and they are cheering you on; they want you to finish just as they did.

Purpose in your heart that you are going to finish your race in a manner that is pleasing to God and is an example to others who are watching you.  Your life is a testimony and when it is all said and done, you will hear the Lord say ‘well done thy good and faithful servant.’

If you were asked the question “what is love” you would probably have a ready made answer right at your finger tips, but how does your definition of love or better yet, how does the way you love, measure up to God’s type of love?  Agape love is the highest level of love we can possess.  Agape love is sacrificial; it is not boastful, nor is it selfish and it is unconditional.  Agape love bears all things, is patient and kind, and most of all it never fails.

If we were to compare the soulish love that we normally extend to each other, we would find that it falls short of the way God wants us to love each other.  God expects His children to love as He loves us – sacrificially and unconditionally.  The Bible tells us that God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son to us so that we might have eternal life.  Selfish love is given to the degree that we receive.  As long as we are getting something out of a relationship, we give our love, but the moment we stop receiving anything we withdraw our love.  One way the world is to know who Christians are is by the way they love each other, so God’s standard is much higher than the world’s measuring stick.  Christians are to always love and expect nothing in return.  Christians are not to ask ‘what is in this for me?’  Christians are to freely give because freely they have received from their heavenly Father.

What does love look like?  It is the love God has for His children.  Agape love is healing – it heals those who give it and those who receive it.  If you would like to experience God’s type of love, open your heart to Jesus Christ today and receive Him as your Lord and Savior.  You then will experience the greatest love of all.