Encouraging Notes

When Israel became a nation, the countdown to the end started ticking. With technology expanding at breakneck speed and nations aligning according to what the Bible has declared, we can know that the time is short. Oh Yes – This lets us know that we are getting close to the return of Christ!

After Jesus returns and takes away those that are his to be with him, darkness and chaos will overtake the earth for a season. But after a period of time, God will bring the chaos and destruction to an end by creating a new heaven and a new earth. Yes, there is coming a day when all that we know will change dramatically! We think that our nuclear bombs are powerful, but they pale compared to the day when the universe will get an extreme makeover. Look at how Peter describes it:

2 Peter 3:10-13 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare. Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. But in keeping with his promise, we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.

When I see everything going on in the world, I know that our time is short! You may ask– so how do I get ready? The single most important way for you to be prepared for what’s coming upon the earth is to focus your efforts on resting on the finished work of Jesus. Faith in God’s grace and his provision of love through Jesus Christ is the only thing that will bring true preparedness! Please understand that God wants you to experience his love and grace even more than you want it for yourself! Through Christ, God has already provided a way for you to be righteous and ready for eternity! Your job is to rest in what he has provided!

Those who believe God are those through whom God can accomplish his divine plan to reconcile the world to himself. Interestingly, when people are reconciled to God, they also get an extreme makeover! As you rest in Christ, God’s love and truth will flow through you, and the kingdom of God will advance! Setting your mind on what God has done for you will bring rest to your soul and cause you to dream His beautiful dreams for your life.

I want to make sure you understand this vital point. Setting your mind (your minute by minute thoughts) on God’s precious thoughts towards you (the word of God) is what produces faith! This simple yet most important key will step you into the life of living inside of God’s power and therefore fulfilling his will on earth.

It is time to go deeper into the extraordinary life God has for you! We are entering into the most intense and most exciting days of our existence as believers. Get ready because God wants to display his beauty and power through you before this world gets an…

EXTREME MAKEOVER

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One of the most beautiful things that have ever graced my mind is that right standing with God or righteousness does not depend on me! It is indeed all about Christ! Every demonic power in the universe is Eminently against this because it destroys the self-righteous plan they gave to Adam and because it is The Real Truth!

Titus 3:4-7 When God our Savior revealed His kindness and love, he saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit. He generously poured out the Spirit upon us through Jesus Christ, our Savior. Because of His grace, he declared us righteous and gave us confidence that we will inherit eternal life. (NLT)

Wow! Mercy and kindness beyond belief! Amazing! This is The Real Truth! The love and grace of God are beyond ever fully comprehending! Yes – I believe we will spend eternity growing in the knowledge and experience of His incredible love! The Bible lets us know that God knew our flesh was not redeemable and that there’s nothing we can do to earn oneness with him. Because of His great love for us, God sent Jesus Christ to die on the cross for our sin, and we were crucified with him. Wow! What an incredible God we serve! We are incredibly favored and immensely blessed!

Today is your day for a breakthrough! Give up all trying to earn a right relationship with God and step into the life that Jesus paid for. Don’t wait until you think you’re doing a good enough! You will never be good enough to deserve him! Take the time right now to look into his beautiful eyes of love and receive what he has declared you to be – Righteous! Oh yes, my dear friend, may today be a day where you put your trust in God alone! May the days of trying to be good enough to deserve him be over, it’s and may you fully step into the glorious freedom that is yours! May today be a day for you to go deeper into…

THE REAL TRUTH!

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Have you ever been frustrated by someone who seemed committed for one minute, and the next minute they’ve decided to quit, or they promised to help you out, but at the last moment, they bailed because of something else they felt like doing. I want you to know, the most important person you could ever have on your side is not like that!

He who is the Glory of Israel does not lie or change his mind; for he is not a man, that he should change his mind.” 1 Samuel 15:29

I am so grateful for our unwavering, unchanging God! He is faithful and will fulfill everything he has spoken to you!

Joshua 21:45 Not one of all the LORD’s good promises to the house of Israel failed; every one was fulfilled.

When no one else is there, God is, and he will always be your rock of refuge and strength!

Psalm 18:1-2 I love you, Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield b and the horn c of my salvation, my stronghold.

I want to assure you today that God is forever faithful! Though he made those promises to the Jews, I want you to know that you also are a Jew and his eyes.

Romans 2:28-29 A person is not a Jew who is one only outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. 29No, a person is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a person’s praise is not from other people but from God.

Today is your opportunity to put your trust in God! Oh, that we would trust God more!

Please pray this with me today…

Father, I put my whole trust in you today– I know you’re faithful and will fulfill all your good promises to me! I receive that I am right with you because of the blood of Jesus and therefore confidently receive your grace and protection for my life. I am forever grateful and forever yours! Today I am fully assured that if...

YOU SAID IT; YOU WILL DO IT!

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What should normal Christianity look like? What does the Bible declare as normal relationship with God? By the time you’re done reading this Encouraging Note, I believe it will become clear to you! The following Scripture is what Moses encouraged the children of Israel to do in regards to their relationship with God.

And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up. Tie them to your hands and wear them on your forehead as reminders. Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. Deuteronomy 6:6-9 (NLT)

This is an excellent picture of what a relationship with God should look like. It reminds me of the timely word apostle Paul gave to the Thessalonian church.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus. (NLT)

Should we be talking to God all the time? Yes! Relationship with God should be at the top of our priority list no matter where we are or what we are doing! I remember what my football coach used to say, “Either get in the game or go out for cheerleading.” Christianity is not something we can add to our life; it must be our life! When someone gets a true revelation of what Christ has done for them, they feel so loved, forgiven, approved of, adored, and highly valued that their natural response is to give him everything. We can only give away what we possess. Our dominant thoughts determine what we are filled with and what we are filled with determines what we are possessed by.

Proverbs 4:20 says, “Above all else, guard your heart, for from it will flow all the issues of life.”

If the love of God possesses our minds, then everything we do will be affected by that love! To the one who has experienced the goodness of God, there is nothing better in all the world than to talk to Him and talk about Him! It’s like a runner running in the Olympics; he doesn’t just want to cross the finish line; he wants to cross it first! Oh yes! This is how we must approach our relationship with God and our purpose in God!

1 Corinthians 9:24-27 Do you not know that in a race, all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. 25 Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. 26 Therefore, I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. 27 No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.

Above, apostle Paul declares that we are all in the race! Are you running to win? Are you focused and determined to fulfill what God has called you to do? Let’s not allow halfhearted Christianity to infiltrate how we live! God has great things for you to accomplish! He will be with you every step of the way! It is time to go all out for God! That is what it looks like to live what the Bible declares as…

THE NORMAL CHRISTIAN LIFE

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What you allow to rule your thoughts is what will determine your future! Isn’t it interesting that when people decide to surrender to the love of God and live by his grace, their life begins to be blessed, their marriage begins to be healed, and their children begin to serve the Lord? When people choose to fully surrender to the fact that God is no longer counting their sins against them (2Cor 5:19), heaven invades their life.

King Jotham chose to walk steadfastly before God and was therefore blessed by God! Jotham grew powerful because he walked steadfastly before the LORD his God. 2Chronicles 27:6 NLT So, what exactly does that mean? It means that his mind was given over to thinking and acting upon God’s word! This is the key to life!

Through Moses, the Holy Spirit gave us what we now know as the blessings and curses of the law. Those blessings and curses let us know what would happen to those who would fully obey the law and those who wouldn’t.

Deuteronomy 28:1-6 (NIV) If you fully obey the LORD your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations on earth. 2 All these blessings will come upon you and accompany you if you obey the LORD your God: 3 You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country. 4 The fruit of your womb will be blessed, and the crops of your land and the young of your livestock--the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks. 5 Your basket and your kneading trough will be blessed. 6 You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go Jotham.

It is important to note that this is an Old Testament Scripture, and God is now looking for the obedience that comes from faith, not will-power or self-attained righteousness. Because of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, it is of utmost importance that we seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, not our own! Matthew 6:33

Just as no one drives their car without fuel, so we must not live our lives without being fueled daily with the word of God and prayer! Spending time with God and meditating on his truth is the best way to experience His righteousness living in you and flowing through you. What you set your mind on determines your future. King Jotham was blessed because he walked steadfastly with God! He chose to set his mind upon what God said was true.

The New Testament makes it abundantly clear that faith is what releases God’s favor, not our works! God knows that without him living through us, we cannot live righteously! Therefore, right believing always proceeds right living!

Colossians 3:1-4 “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

Your thoughts are the key to your future! You must set your mind on things above! “The me I see is the me I’ll be.” What you do with your thoughts today will determine where your life will be tomorrow!

Are your thoughts given over to God and his ways? I pray that this Encouraging Note inspires you to consider how important your thoughts are and that you will choose to set your mind on…

THINGS ABOVE

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When you take time to meditate on all that God is, what are your deepest and most honest thoughts? I’m talking about when you are all alone and being truly honest about your feelings and thoughts. How do you see him? Does he love you? Is he for you? Does he look at you with pleasure, or do you perceive him as frustrated with you?

The more I study the word, the more I see God’s heart towards us. What I have found out is that he indeed is in love with us! His greatest passion is to bless us with all that he is! Convinced of God’s heart to bless him, David wrote the following Scripture.

Psalms 5:12 For surely, O Lord, you bless the righteous; you surround them with your favor as with a shield.

King David was sure in his heart that God wanted to bless him! We see God blessing those who are his all throughout Scripture. God not only blessed them in a spiritual sense, but he also blessed them with natural wealth.

Genesis 24:1 Abraham was now old and well advanced in years, and the Lord had blessed him in every way.

Look at what God spoke through apostle Paul to the Corinthian believers.

2 Corinthians 9:10-11 Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us, your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.

When we say God loves us, what do we mean? Is his type of love some weird love that wants us to obey but doesn’t want to do good things for us? Of course, the greatest blessing God can give us is not money or material things! Without question, our greatest blessing is God himself! We must also note, though, that according to the Bible, God longs to bless us in every way; spiritually, physically, financially, socially, and in every other way! Faith pleases God the most (Hebrews 11:6) because it alone is what taps us into all that God wants to bless us with! Having this kind of relationship with God requires accepting his incredible love as declared by the shed blood of Jesus Christ at the cross!

We must believe that the love God has for us is the kind of love that wants to bless us in every way! Look at what Jesus said.

Matthew 7:11 If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!

Believing God is the only way to access the incredible goodness of God! Faith is the connection between heaven and earth!

I pray that this Encouraging Note inspires you to consider God’s precious thoughts towards you. His love for you is true, genuine, secure, and best of all, not based upon your works! Please take time to consider and surrender to the amazing love of God because he longs for you to be…

BLESSED IN EVERY WAY

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