Too Busy for God

Christmas, a day in which we celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, is less than 2 weeks away! Most consider this to be one of the busiest times of the year! During this time, people are rushing to close out yearly goals, planning for the upcoming year, attending holiday celebrations, traveling to visit family, decluttering the house for items to donate, and shopping for the perfect Christmas gifts. Amid all these activities, sometimes the true essence of who we are celebrating is lost.

Here's a question...Have you spent any personal time with Jesus lately? For some Christians, the only time spent with God is when they attend church on Sunday morning. Hopefully, that attendance is truly to spend time in the presence of God with like-minded believers and not just for tradition and formality. Spending time with God through church attendance is good but how can you truly develop a relationship with someone you only talk with once a week. You can converse with God as you do with any other person in your life you love. Here are some examples of how you can start the conversation and spend time celebrating His life:

1. Reflect over the year 2021 and thank Him for all the blessings He bestowed on you, your family, and your friends.

2. Realize that you haven't always made the perfect decisions, yet He remained faithful...Thank Him for that.

3. Visualize the future He has in store for you, your family, and friends and praise Him for choosing to use all of you.

4. Provide God a moment to talk back to you...The foundation of a relationship is communication (the exchange of information) and trust.

My prayer is that you will not allow the business of the holiday season to steal time away from who the season is all about, Jesus. Be the example at teaching your children how to value and place what should be first in their lives...Christ. I pray that through your personal time with the Father, He will build your trust in who He is. I pray that He will unveil to you His power and glory that was given to you by Jesus Christ. Through His power my you reign in places you never thought you would reign, may you be who you never thought you would be, may every God-given dream one day become your reality.

Prayer for the Journey

Father, you are truly the reason for the season. I have been so busy that I haven't had time to spend with you. Today, I make a decision to put you first. Help me to make you a part of my day. I need you God! It is in you I live, I move, and I have my being (Acts 17:28). I choose to prioritize my day and make you first. In Jesus name, Amen!

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New Year, New Start?

We are getting ready to enter a new year! Before I learned the true meaning of grace, I viewed the new year as a time to start over with trying to live a somewhat perfect life to deserve, earn, and experience God's favor. It is so refreshing to know that I don't have to wait until the new year to start over again. You and I had a new start once we confessed Christ as our Lord and Savior. Through the confession of Christ, He became the sin offering that made us forgiven of all our sins: past, present, and future!

Accept by faith that you are the righteousness of God (Romans 3:21-26 NLT). You don't have to wait until the new year to start over! The bible reads in Lamentations 3:22-23 NASB, "The Lord’s acts of mercy indeed do not end, For His compassions do not fail. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness." Every day is another opportunity to live for the Lord. Some may ask, what is the purpose of confessing my sins to Christ if they have been forgiven? Confession is an acknowledgment of the ways God has revealed to you that are not aligned with His will. It is very important to understand that confession of the wrong that was done doesn't bring about forgiveness. You were forgiven of all sin the day you accepted Christ. Confession of the sins you commit:

1. Brings about an awareness of being imperfect and a need for a savior to remain in right standing with God.

2. Helps you acknowledge the ways that are displeasing to God so that you can be renewed in your mind to no longer walk in a way that is not aligned with His character.

3. Reminds you to be thankful for the sacrifice of Jesus who took the punishment for sin.

When you confess any sin to God, remember you are forgiven. Praise God for the sacrifice of Jesus who paid the price for mistakes. You will have to accept your forgiveness by faith! You may not feel righteous or worthy of God's mercy. Forgiveness is not based upon feelings but based upon the truth of God's Word! As you confess the truth of being forgiven over your life, feelings of condemnation will begin to subside and align to this gospel of truth.

Knowing and understanding your righteousness is a key to boldly walking in the plans God has ordained for your life. When one doesn't believe God is with them or for them, they will doubt the success they will have in the assignments pursued. Be confident in knowing that whatever God has asked of you to do, you are empowered to do because He is with you and He is for you.

Prayer for the Journey

Father, thank you for Jesus! Because of Jesus, I have a new start of living life on purpose for you! As I go into this new year, help me to remember that the sins I committed are forgiven and washed away by my belief in your death, burial, and resurrection. This year I declare I will fully rely on your grace to empower me to reach every destined place. In Jesus name, Amen!

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Discipline Not Abuse

It is impossible to reach your destiny in life without Godly correction and discipline. When you have the wrong perspective of God, discipline and correction are viewed as tools God uses to MAKE us yield and obey His will. Submission will always be by choice. God, who loves us unconditionally, uses discipline and correction to conform our hearts with purpose and responsibility. Discipline is not God using abuse or pouring out wrath upon those He loves, yet it is His way of confronting the evil in our hearts with a better way of life.

Discipline often comes as a still voice leading us to operate in love and the consequences we experience in life. Consequences are the results of our actions that give us space in time to reexamine our ways and bring about correction. Remember, God is not the source of the bad that happens in our lives! There are natural laws on the earth, that if broken produce effects here on earth. God uses those moments to help us get back on a path in which He knows will help us fulfill destiny.

People who have not dealt with their own issues in life abuse discipline and for this reason, there is a negative connotation associated with this word. Hebrews 12:7-11 TPT 7 Fully embrace God’s correction as part of your training, for he is doing what any loving father does for his children. For who has ever heard of a child who never had to be corrected? 8 We all should welcome God’s discipline as the validation of authentic sonship. For if we have never once endured his correction it only proves we are strangers and not sons. 9 And isn’t it true that we respect our earthly fathers even though they corrected and disciplined us? Then we should demonstrate an even greater respect for God, our spiritual Father, as we submit to his life-giving discipline. 10 Our parents corrected us for the short time of our childhood as it seemed good to them. But God corrects us throughout our lives for our own good, giving us an invitation to share His holiness. 11 Now all discipline seems to be painful at the time, yet later it will produce a transformation of character, bringing a harvest of righteousness and peace to those who yield to it.

There is a great task that God has destined for you to fulfill and you will not reach that destined place without God's loving discipline in your life.

Prayer for the Journey

Father thank you for loving me enough to correct the ways in my heart that will lead me down a path of destruction. Thank you for reminding me that the bad I experience as a result of poor decisions doesn't come from you. Jesus took the punishment for my sin but I realize my choices do have consequences. Thank you for using these consequences to give me space in time to shape my heart for fulfillment of your will. I need your correction to help me fulfill the plans you have destined for my life. Thank you for not giving up on but yet choosing to correct me.

In Jesus name, Amen!