Take Hold of the Dream

“…despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.”
(Romans 8:37, NLT)

Many people struggle with letting go of past hurts and failures. They get caught up in how unfair their situation is. And the whole time, their dreams are lying dormant and unfulfilled. It’s time to realize that in order for a new door to open, you must let old ones close behind you. Maybe you got off to a rough start in life. You may have had more than your share of setbacks. Let me encourage you. It’s not how you start but how you finish that counts.

It may seem like your dreams have died, but God can bring them back to life. Your future is not determined by your past. But holding on to the past will keep you from moving forward. God has already given you the victory. He wants you to take hold of the dreams He’s given you. He will see to it that they come to pass as you obey Him and give Him your whole heart.

You can go beyond where you are today. Your best days are not behind you, they are in front of you. Shake off past discouragements, and take a step toward your dreams. Choose today to stop looking back, and fix your eyes forward on the new beginning God has for you.

By Way of Remembrance

“I think it right, as long as I am in this tabernacle (tent, body), to stir you up by way of remembrance”
(II Peter 1:13, AMP)

Do you know that when we dwell on the wrong things, it affects our moods? We get down, discouraged, and lose our hope. Some people today don’t have the joy and the enthusiasm God wants them to have because they are constantly dwelling on negative things.

But if we want to be in the position to take hold of all that God has in store for us, we have to stir ourselves up by changing our thinking. Instead of dwelling on and remembering all the bad things that have happened in life, you have to remember all the good things God has done for you. Every time you give God praise, every time you sing a song of victory, you are acknowledging and remembering His goodness. You are causing your mind to focus on what He’s done for you. And, I’m convinced one reason the scripture tells us to bless the Lord at all times is because you can’t praise and complain at the same time!

I encourage you today, stay proactive. Don’t become passive in your thought life. Don’t let your guard down. Keep stirring yourself up by remembering His faithfulness and watch what He will do on your behalf!

Boast on God’s grace

Boast In God’s Grace For You

“He who glories, let him glory in the Lord.” 1 Corinthians 1:31

If someone asks you, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” you would probably tell him, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved,” wouldn’t you?

Well, a rich, young ruler asked Jesus the same question, but instead of telling him to believe in Him, Jesus gave him the law. (Mark 10:17–22). Jesus saw that the young ruler lived his life taking pride in his ability to keep the law to earn salvation and the favor of God. But because of His love for the man, Jesus had to show him that those who live by the law must realize that their self-efforts cannot save them. He therefore reminded him, “You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery… ‘Do not steal… ‘Honor your father and your mother.'” The young ruler showed that his trust was in his law-keeping when he replied, “Teacher, all these things I have kept from my youth.” So Jesus had to tell him, “One thing you lack… sell whatever you have and give to the poor… and come… and follow Me.” When the young ruler heard that, he walked away sorrowful.

When we boast of having kept the law, it will always point out something we lack or have failed to obey. The law is so holy and perfect that if we don’t keep even one iota of it, it has no choice but to judge and curse us. (Galatians 3:10) That is what the law was designed to do.

God does not want us to boast in our abilities to keep the law. If we are to have confidence in anything at all, if we are to boast in anything at all, it is in the grace of God. Only His grace can completely keep, save, heal, deliver and bless us. So let’s not boast in what we have done or are able to do, but boast in His grace for us — that He is our strength, health, favor, prosperity, wisdom, hope, salvation and glory. That is how we will see ourselves enjoying our inheritance of abundant life!

Let Your Dreams Take Root

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. ”
(Hebrews 11:1, NKJVT)

Are you expecting your dreams to come true? It’s important to look beyond present circumstances and believe for God’s best. Someone battling sickness may say, “I could never be healthy.” Or, “This report from the doctor says too many things are wrong with me.” What they don’t realize is their lack of faith is holding them back from receiving God’s best. They allow adversities to keep them from moving forward. And that’s just what the enemy wants, to keep your dreams from taking root and being fulfilled.

Our God-given dreams are like seeds planted deep within our hearts. For those dreams to grow, they must take root. Having faith for your dream means you believe it on the inside before it takes place on the outside. In other words, you’ve got to see those dreams coming to pass no matter what’s going on around you.

Get a vision on the inside of what God wants for you. He wants you to accomplish the plans He’s put in your heart. Look out through eyes of faith and see your dreams coming to pass. See yourself walking in abundance in every area of life!

God Helps The Helpless

Because You have been my help, therefore in the shadow of Your wings I will rejoice – Psalm 63:7

I have had people tell me, “Pastor, please pray for me. I can’t see a way out of the mess I am in. I know that this whole thing is my fault. Right now, I don’t even know whether God will hear my prayers.”If you think about it, a whole lot of our troubles are of our own making. But it is when we deserve the punishment and not the blessing that we can receive grace — the undeserved favor and unmerited help of God!

When we stop trying to be deserving of God’s help, we find God more than willing to be our Savior. But when we continue to try to work things out, we are trying to be our own saviors. God will say, “Save yourself because I can’t help you when you don’t need My help.”  You might be thinking, “But Pastor, don’t you know, God helps those who help themselves?”

Contrary to popular belief, this saying that “God helps those who help themselves” is not in the Bible! God does not help those who help themselves. He helps those who are helpless and dependent on Him. He helps those who look to Him as their only source of help for their problem. If you say, “My problem is that I am weak.” God says, “That is not a problem. I am your strength.” If you say, “Lord, my face is the problem. I am ugly.” God says, “My face will shine on yours. I am your glory.” If you say, “Lord, I am the problem. I am a nobody.” God says, “I will make you a somebody.”

Unfortunately, many of us are still trying to help ourselves, thinking that for certain matters, we don’t really need God. But God says, “Without Me, you can do nothing.” (John 15:5) Do we really believe that? Or do we believe that without Him, we can still do some things to help ourselves?

Only when we realize that we can do nothing, and are nothing in and of ourselves, can we do all things through Christ who strengthens us! (Philippians 4:13) Then, we will see the undeserved, unmerited help and favor of God deliver us from every evil!