by admin | Nov 27, 2018 | Uncategorized
Last week was Thanksgiving, and we were able to at some point reflect on all of the things we were thankful for. But I wonder, at any point in your life have you ever truly thanked God for yourself?
Have you thanked God for creating you, and all of the things that make you who you are?
Have you thanked God for the color of your hair?
Have you thanked God for the sound of your laugh, or your voice when you sing?
Have you thanked God for the talents, abilities, and skills He placed in you to compliment the calling on your life?
Have you thanked God for your ability to love, and see the world that He does?
Have you thanked God for your sense of humor, or the desires in your heart?
Have you thanked God for you?
You see, out of all God’s creations in the entire span of time, you are His favorite. God put more time, more detail, and more attention into creating every part of you that makes you who you are than we could ever imagine.
God gave you your hair color, skin tone, and eye color because He thought that they would be the perfect compliment for who you are.
God gave you your laugh, your quirks, and your abilities because He knew that they are what would make you complete.
God filled your heart with desires, ambitions, abilities, and capabilities because His vision of what the final product of who you are wouldn’t be complete without them.
God made you special. God gave you everything, and every part of who you are for a reason. And without any part of what God gave you, you wouldn’t be complete.
So the next time you sing, catch a glimpse of yourself in the mirror, or accomplish a great task… thank God for it!
The next time your mind is able to solve a problem… thank God for it!
The next time you design an art piece that blows you away… thank God for it!
The next time you are able to run up a mountain or lift a higher weight… thank God for it!
Thank God for creating you exactly the way that you are.
Thank God for dreaming of a world that had you in it, and then moving Heaven and Earth to see you be born into a world that He knows you have the capability to be a blessing to.
Thank God for yourself, not out of pride, but out of pure thanksgiving and love for our Father that loves us so much.
by admin | Nov 20, 2018 | Uncategorized
“And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” ~ Colossians 3:17
Thanksgiving is just a few days away, and I am sure I am not the only one thinking about what it means to be thankful. As we know, Thanksgiving is more than just a meal once a year. Thanksgiving should be a lifestyle. We should live Thanksgiving, consume (or eat) Thanksgiving, and give (or breath) Thanksgiving every day of our lives!
You see, we can live thanksgiving in our lives through action and acts of worship. When I am thankful to my wife, I show her in ways such as cleaning up after eating a delicious meal she made me. Or I go out of my way to acknowledge my gratitude for her through an act of thanksgiving. It is the same for our relationship with others, and with God. When we are thankful towards others, we should make the time to say “thank you” in ways such as a phone call, a letter, or an act of service. Even more importantly, when we are thankful to God we should show Him by showing His love to others, praising Him, and giving thanks to Him in Worship. Our lifestyle can be one of worship and thanksgiving to God just in what ideals we uphold in our lives, and striving to follow His Will and Word.
It may sound weird to say that we should be “eating thanksgiving”, but what I mean by this is that we should surround ourselves with influences that are thankful and grateful. What comes into us is what eventually comes out of us, so if we consume thoughts and ideas of thanksgiving then that is what is going to come out of us. For example, if I were to only watch and listen to movies and music that fed me feelings, thoughts, and attitudes of hatred or fear, then that is what is going to come out of me: hatred and fear. So by watching what we intake into our lives and that what we consume is pleasing and in worship to God, then that is what is going to come out of us: pleasing thoughts and actions that are in worship to God.
And finally, we should give, or breathe out, Thanksgiving every day in our lives. This ties into living a life of Thanksgiving, but instead of just living a life of Thanksgiving through our actions we should be sure to live a life of Thanksgiving with what comes out of our mouths as well. We should be constantly speaking words of thanksgiving, positivity, love, and hope. We should be uplifting others, and using our words to please God rather than to uplift our problems or worries.
By living, consuming, and giving Thanksgiving in our lives it will do more than just bless ourselves and bless God, it will bless those around us and create an atmosphere in our lives for God to move!
I pray that you have a wonderful thanksgiving with your families, and that if you are traveling that God’s supernatural protection will follow you wherever you go.
Happy Thanksgiving,
Mikel
by admin | Nov 13, 2018 | Uncategorized
When there are so many needs in the world, how is it possible to help each one?
This is something that I struggle with in my everyday life greatly. I see my family, loved ones, friends, and even strangers that are in need and immediately have the great desire to help them. But as I have found, whenever I try to help every person I come across, it is a very good way to burn myself out.
This brings us back to my first question, when there are so many needs in the world, how is it possible to help each one?
When looking at the full picture of each problem our world has, or even the people in our lives have, it can be overwhelming. But it makes me think of how God must have felt right before He sent Jesus to earth. God didn’t look at the world and see one big problem, He looked at the world and saw each problem in each individual persons lives. You see, every problem matters to God. God cares about everything we are going through, and that compassion and love is what drove Him to send His only Son to die on the cross for us to be relieved from the problems associated with sin. He didn’t send Jesus to solve one big problem, but rather to help with each and every problem we will all ever face on earth in our lifetimes.
Yes, the biggest problem Jesus took care of on the cross was sin. But beneath sin lies a whole root system of the causes and effects of sin such as temptation, sickness, and lack.
I think this is important to understand because it relieves the burdon from our shoulders to relieve every problem we see. Understand, it is not our job to solve every person’s problems. Jesus already provided each person their solution and their salvation from any problem they will ever face. Our job is to point people to their solution: Jesus.
I’m not writing this to tell you that you don’t have to care about people, but rather I am writing to tell you to care about people enough to show them the love of God and give them the answers found in Jesus.
How freeing it is to know that other people’s hopes don’t rest on our shoulders! Instead they can be brought to the feet of Jesus, and never have to plague us again!
This holiday season you will encounter many needs. But don’t let it discourage you! God has already provided the answer to every one of the needs our world is facing, it is just up to us to take hold of each answer and give our problems to God!
by admin | Nov 6, 2018 | Uncategorized
It is odd to me that most people are afraid of success. They are afraid of the unknown, of the new, and of change. Yet, God is always setting us up for new successes and changes every day. A big part of Christianity is giving up our rights to fear, for the trade of trusting God and His plan for our lives.
God’s original intention for mankind is his ultimate intention for mankind. He doesn’t want us living in fear, He desires for us to fellowship in love with Him. He desires to see us living our best, victorious, and successful lives. But this success isn’t built on our own abilities; it is built off of the abilities He gives us His victories. He has already won. As soon as mankind set itself onto the path of fear and death, God had a plan to save us, which he revealed first in Genesis 3:15 as a prophesy for coming of Christ. It wasn’t through our own acts that we were saved, but rather the acts of Christ.
The remedy of fear is knowledge. Knowledge of who God is, His love, and who we are in Him. During Christ’s ministry on Earth, we see him first as a teacher. He teaches about perfect love, and how to live in it. 1 John 4:18 tells us, “ There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.” We don’t need to be afraid of failure or of success because we have the knowledge that neither are based on our own abilities, and the knowledge that Christ has already won us the victories and successes we need to live victorious lives.
You can’t live in in fear while living in perfect love. The more you learn about love, and how to live in it, the less fear will take presence in your life. Fear is the internal conclusion in our minds that there is something to be afraid of, that there is something to worry about, and that we don’t have what it takes for the situation. When we learn and experience God’s love, we know that there is absolutely nothing to be afraid of or worry about. We know that God supplies our every need, and we only have to believe to receive.
I encourage you to take control of your thought life and renew your mind in the knowledge of God’s love, casting out any thought that goes against it! God’s provided you with everything you need to live out your life’s calling in His perfect love, peace, protection and everything that comes with it. Now is your time to claim it!
Don’t be afraid of greatness, rather embrace it! Christ’s gift to us is living new, better, and ever increasing lives. Don’t waste it because of fear, but rather claim it by faith instead!
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