You're NOT going to DIE!

One of the hardest things to do is trust someone when you don’t know their intentions. Moses knew that God’s heart towards the children of Israel was nothing but good. It’s easy to assume that because they had experienced God’s protection, that they would have the faith to trust God for provision. When God is trying to disconnect you from certain things or people who have always been your source, it can be difficult to adapt. God’s people were use to having food, water, clothing, and shelter right at their finger tips. There was no need for faith for provision, it was supplied by their enemies. God is a jealous God when it comes to his children, and he refuses to allow his enemies to be what he exists to be in your life. Egypt’s culture was the norm to the children of Israel although they were slaves to it. As a result of the Egyptians increasing the burdens and intensifying the labor of God’s children, they cried to God, he heard them, and raised up a deliver. How encouraging! God will never ignore the cry of His children. It doesn’t matter the bondage, depression, oppression, sickness, sin, or condition you may be in, God is able and willing to deliver you from the enemy! Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all! God is faithful to get you OUT! I believe that this is your coming out season! You’re coming out of guilt, out of debt, out of depression, out of sickness, out of shame! You're coming out! When God’s children CRIED, he made a CALL!

**note** When God wants to get something done in the earth, he’ll find somebody!

After Moses dealt with his moment of inadequacies and approached Pharaoh numerous times about letting God’s people go, God shows his mighty power and helps his children to escape. I love that God kept instructing Moses to go to Pharaoh, that tells me that God will not give up on getting you out! God won’t give up on your freedom! I feel that today is a day of freedom for somebody who’s reading this right now. God loves you, and he wants what’s best for you! 

God brought the children of Israel out not just to bring them out, but so that they could hold a feast and worship him! The greatest response you could give God when he delivers you is worship and communion (fellowship) with the Holy Spirit. The part of this journey I want to focus in on is found in Exodus 16:3 "The Israelites said to them, 'If only we had died by the LORD's hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death.’” I can almost sympathize with the children of Israel’s anxiety because they trying to follow a God whom they do not know intimately, but Moses their leader does. Moses knows God’s intentions, but they don’t. God  has disconnected them from a system they were dependent on and now they are trying to adapt to a new system. To them this was a crisis, therefore they murmured and complained. 

Murmuring and complaining reveals 3 things:

1. You haven’t learned the heart and intentions of God toward you.
2. You need to adapt more to God’s system.
3. You’re allowing what you see/don’t see and feel to determine your response towards God when you don’t understand.

Sometimes God uses a crisis to introduce you to his system. In Egypt, they saw how things were going to be provided, in the wilderness they had to learn the heart of God to trust him by faith that he would provide everything they needed! God’s intention wasn’t that they would die, but that they would live, BY FAITH! Often when we don’t have what we need when we think we need it or can’t see where it’s coming from, it feels like we’re going to “die," like it’s the end of our world and sometimes that’s what we tell ourselves! "It’s over, I’m finished, I knew this was too good to be true, way to go God, etc." I want to encourage you today, it may feel like it, it may look like God isn’t going to come through, but just know, YOU’RE NOT GOING TO DIE! There’s a promise over your life! God ALWAYS keeps his promises!

Are you ready? Let’s take another step! Repeat after me: "God has the best in mind for me! His intentions are good, his ways are good. I choose to be adaptable and trust God for everything I need. I’m not going to die! I choose to live by faith and possess EVERY promise God has for me!

Yeah..I'm frustrated!......

Hey you! How's your journey? I hope and pray that are growing, developing, and #makingmoves that matter! You have too much in you to spend time wasting time. Your time is precious, it is a valuable tool used to help you fulfill your purpose. When we focus on the wrong things and become frustrated about things that do not matter, we abuse the tool called time. Frustration about things that don't matter eats away at our time, drains our passion, and steals our joy.

I can remember my freshmen year at Barton college, showing up to class with my oxford shoes, neatly pressed pants and dress shirt, a spiffy bowtie, and a blazer. I was all about looking the part. I wanted to look as successful as I dreamed of becoming. On the outside I was fresh, but on the inside was frustrated. Frustrated at the fact that I couldn't comprehend the information in my classes. To make matters worse, I was also fearful. It's one thing to be frustrated, but it's another to be fearful. I was so gripped by fear that even though I held the key that would aleviate my frustration, I didn't use it. I was frustrated because I couldn't grasp the concepts, methods, techniques, and information taught in my classes, but was too fearful to ask questions. See, I've learned that my fear was the result of a false reality that I had projected on myself. We call that Fear of man. Fear of people's criticism, opinions, and perception of us. As time went on, I realized that students were asking questions that i would think of in my head but was too fearful and prideful to verbalize. Eventually I began to realize that asking questions is how we gain understanding. I asked more questions and gained more understanding, now I hold a B.A. in English as a result. What I experienced, I would call good frustration. Frustration was the indictation that I was headed somewhere, towards success, but there was an obstacle in my way. It revealed what I valued, understanding! It also revealed an internal issue, fear and pride. See, It's okay to be frustrated as long as you're frustrated about things that matter. Understanding mattered to me because I knew it played a major part in me achieving success. However, I had to be willing to sacrifice my fear and pride to overcome the obstacle in my way. Good frustration is meant to be temporary, it is only there to indicate and reveal. I'd rather be frustrated about things that matter most than to be frustrated about little things that have little to no affect on my goals, dreams, destiny, and purpose.

**note** "Frustration is an indicator. It is an indication that you're either headed somewhere or headed nowhere."

People who have no goals, vision, or dreams often get frustrated over little things that don't matter most. They tend to get frustrated and upset over things that have very little to no impact on their destiny and purpose. Frustration is also a revealer, it reveals what you value, and what has your focus. What frustrates you? What you get frustrated about the most tells you what you value and what you consider worth your time dwelling on. Do you dwell on little things; gossip, tweets, facebook posts, etc or do you dwell on what matters most, success, core values, purpose, destiny? 

Are you ready? Let's take another step! Repeat after me: "I choose to focus on things that matter! Whatever frustration reveals to me and about me, I will confront it and change for the better!"

GRACE and the hard stuff..HELP!!..

Hey Everybody!! I hope everyone is doing well! It has been a while, but I’m so thankful for all that God has done in my life lately! How’s your journey? Again, I am so honored that you would allow me to be on this journey with you! We are stronger, wiser, and better when we do life together! I BELIEVE IN YOU! I have something amazing I want to share with you today! 

Let’s start by asking the question, What is God’s grace? Typically, grace is defined as “God’s unmerited (undeserved) favor.” Favor meaning kindness. We can’t do anything to earn or deserve God’s kindness towards us. Another definition of grace is “God’s divine influence upon the heart, and it is reflected through our lives. My favorite definition of grace is “to lean towards to extend a benefit or a gift.”

The beauty of grace is that God leans towards us to extend to us things we don’t even deserve. BENEFITS! Speaking of benefits, Psalm 103:1-6 says, 

“Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name.

Bless the Lord, O my soul, and FORGET NOT ALL his BENEFITS:

Who forgives all thine iniquities; who heals all thy diseases;

Who redeems your life from destruction; who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies;

Who satisfies your mouth with good things; so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.

The Lord executes righteousness and judgment for all that are oppressed.”

Even though God leans towards us to give, it’s up to us to receive what God is extending to us. 

**note** “Anything God gives, he gives by GRACE, we receive by FAITH!”

Most people talk about the hard sayings of Jesus, but most of the hard sayings of Jesus communicated “the hard stuff” to do. Things like “turn the other cheek,” “love your enemies,” “bless them that curse you”, “do not repay evil for evil,” “forgive," "be not overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good,” “do not lust in your heart,” “go the extra mile,” and so many more found in the gospels! 

Well, what does this have to do with grace, you may ask.. I was reading Matthew 5:23-26 today where it says, “Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. 25 Agree with your adversary quickly, while you are on the way with him, lest your adversary deliver you to the judge, the judge hand you over to the officer, and you be thrown into prison. 26 Assuredly, I say to you, you will by no means get out of there till you have paid the last penny.” 

When I read this, the Holy Spirit immediately began to speak to me and say “it takes HUMILITY to initiate reconciliation with a fellow brother or sister.” My mind immediately went to James 4:6, “God RESISTS the proud, but he gives GRACE to the humble.” Then my mind went to 2 Corinthians 12:9, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My STRENGTH is made perfect in weakness.” The grace of God IS the strength of God! Pride makes us grace RESISTANT. God will never ask us to do anything that doesn’t require us to humble ourselves and become dependent on his grace to empower us to do the HARD STUFF! God’s graces is for our empowerment! It empowers us to do the hard stuff, the things that truth calls us to! God’s grace gives us the courage to confront things that should be addressed and corrected. Let grace empower you to love, to forgive, and to reconcile today! God is ever leaning towards you to extend the benefit of his strength! On this journey, God will ask us to do hard things, it may not be easy, but GRACE makes it doable!

Are you ready? Let’s take another step! Repeat after me: “According to Romans 5:2, I access the grace that I need by faith! I need grace to do the hard stuff! I receive grace to do the hard stuff! I will not exalt my opinion and how I feel above truth, but I humble myself and allow God’s grace to empower me to live up to the standards of God’s word!”

Check out next week's blog as we take another step on "The Journey!"

"How's your Love life?" PT. 2

“Jesus loves you!” How often do we hear this or have you never heard it? It’s one thing to know that Jesus loves us, but it’s another to actually embrace his love for us. God desires his love for us to be beyond mere head knowledge, but that it becomes a conviction in our hearts. When his love becomes our conviction, there is a certainty, a trust, and a security that can not be shaken or taken by circumstances nor people around us. Have you ever had someone tell you something over and over, then all of sudden, one day, it just clicks? The person usually says “that’s what I’ve been trying to tell you” or “that’s what I’ve been trying to get you to see.” That’s what it’s like when you have revelation of God’s love! You are fully convinced about it, you can truly "see" it! You will play the thought in your head over and over “Jesus loves me, he really loves me.” 

Romans 5:5 “God has poured out His love into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us.” 

**note** We can not truly know or understand love of God without the Holy Spirit. 

What does he mean by “poured out His love?” The first thing to be understood is that the word “heart” in the Bible means the same thing as “soul” (mind, will, emotions). I remember the first time I read this scripture and I asked God how he pours his love into our hearts, he whispered to me “keep reading.” As I kept reading, I came across verse 8 “God demonstrates his love toward us, in that WHILE we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Immediately, the Holy Spirit spoke to me and said “The love of God is poured into the hearts of humanity by me reminding them of what Jesus has done for them, and what he has accomplished.

What did Jesus accomplish?..

-He makes us right with God (Romans 5:9)

-He gives us access to God (Hebrews 10:19-22)

-He paid the debt that makes us slaves of sin & forgives our sins (Colossians 1:14)

-He gives us eternal life (John 3:16)

-He makes us children of God (1 John 3:1)

-He became a curse so that we could become blessed (Galatians 3:13)

-He ascended so the Holy Spirit could come and live in us. (John 14:15-26)

-He restored our earthly purpose and God’s kingdom to us. (Matthew 6:33 & 28:18-20; Romans 14:17)

Jesus did all these things for us through his death, burial, and resurrection. All of these things are accessed and applied to our lives by FAITH in Jesus Christ! The love of God isn’t just knowing WHAT Jesus did, but WHY Jesus did what he did!

Are you ready? Let’s take a step! Repeat after me: “Jesus love me! Everything he did on the cross for me was enough to make me right with God, restore my purpose, and God’s kingdom to me! Holy Spirit, pour out the love of God into my heart, daily.” 

Check out the next blog as we take the next step on “The Journey!”

How's your Love life?..

How's the Journey? I pray that you are progressing, growing, forgiving, discovering who you are in Christ, finding freedom, and embracing that it's time for you to be happy! I care about your journey, because I care about you. You are valuable! You are amazing! I BELIEVE IN YOU!

Let me ask you a question: How's your love life? I'm not just talking romantically, I'm speaking in terms of loving yourself, friendships, family, and most importantly, GOD!

I believe the foundation of Love is knowing who loved first. Growing up and the more I matured, I came into the understanding that Jesus really DOES love me! Knowing that God loves you, makes it easier to love yourself. Knowing that God loves you also makes it easier to love others. He says to love your neighbor AS yourself, but how can I love my neighbor as myself, if i don't even love myself? Loving yourself starts with loving God. If you really love yourself, then you'll love God more than you love yourself. Jesus says in Luke 14:26, "Who ever doesn't hate his father or mother, even their own life, is not worthy to be my disciple." I know what you're probably thinking, wait...hate?? Hate by greek definition in the New Testament means "to love less." It means loving God more than we love ourselves and the people around us. Remember, it makes it easier for us to loves ourselves as well as others. God loved FIRST. GOD LOVED. "For God so LOVED," Past tense. He loved before we could try to make him us, he loved us before we could try to perform and earn his love. One of biggest lies of religion is that after we're saved, we have to do more just so God will continue to love us and love us more. It's too late to even try to earn his love, HE LOVES YOU NOW!

1 John 1:19 says "we love him BECAUSE he FIRST loved us." Jesus says if you love me, keep my commandments. To keep means to obey. Obedience isn't our proof of love to God, he knows our hearts, rather, it is our expression of love to God. Obedience to God isn't out of obligation or religious duties, but out of pure Love. He's not slave master that forces us to obey him, but through love he grants us the opportunity to repent of our sins and have a radical relationship with him. God's love and our love for him is our motivation to obey him!

Jesus introduces a new commandment: John 13:14 says "love one another AS I have loved you!" It was not a rule, it was a commandment. There's a difference between rules and commandments. With rules, you have to obey them just because, but with commandments there are benefits and commandments of God will always point down the path where there's LIFE! Rules are put in place to keep you safe, but commandments are given to keep you ALIVE!

THE SAME LOVE -"AS i have loved you." "AS" is the most important word. You won't know HOW to love others until you know HOW God loves you! 1 John 4:7 says "He that loves is born of God." Born of God means i now have God's nature and God is Love. That means I become LOVE! Love is his DNA AND HE's my father and i have his DNA, that means i am love. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 13:2 "if i do all these things and have not love, I AM nothing!" Love is the identity of the believer! Love is what gives us substance and makes us significant! LOVE!

Are you ready? Let's take another step! Repeat after me: Jesus loves me! He loves me, He loves me, He loves me! I will seek to know how he loves me so that I know how to truly love myself and others. His love for me isn't reflected by those who have wronged me, walked out on me, or were never there for me. Knowing he loves me empowers me to love or love again! Jesus, you love me, and I love you! Overwhelm me with the reality of you Love!

Check out next week's blog as we take another step on "The Journey!"

Jesus, I need you -By John Wilds

"Jesus, I need you.."

This is something that I say quite frequently. It’s not an empty phrase, but a heartfelt confession and prayer. Jesus is literally my lifeline and I can do nothing without Him. However, I’ve been guilty of trying to.

I can remember being so busy that I hadn’t even realized how distant I had become in my relationship with God. I was doing a lot FOR Him but couldn't see that I wasn’t doing much WITH Him. I allowed myself to slip into a spiritual coma; my heart was beating, I was breathing, but there wasn’t much life….AND I’M IN MINISTRY! I wasn’t backslidden but I was living life backwards.

I don’t know if you can handle my transparency but I know there are many who can relate to this issue. Maybe you’re not in ministry but how much of your life is being lived without God? Sure, He’s always there but is He always included? Do you allow Him to be involved in every aspect of your life? It amazes me how many people have come to me about situations in their life or in their ministry. I often ask “have you prayed about it yet?” and more often than not, the answer is no. I can’t help but think “what can I do about your situation that God can’t do?!” Am I saying that I don't want people coming to me when they’re in trouble or when they need advice? Not at all. What I’m saying is don’t come to me before you’ve taken it to the One who is full of all wisdom! Again, I was guilty of this.

John 15 says “apart from me, you can do nothing”. That's exactly what I was doing; a whole lot of NOTHING. I was busy working, leading and striving, but accomplishing nothing. This only led to great frustration. I quickly realized that I wasn’t smart enough, strong enough, or wise enough to do anything on my own and I needed Jesus to help me. I didn’t want to live my life without Him. I’ve learned that my life and ministry has the greatest impact when He’s breathing on it, and His breath does so much more than I could ever strive to do. So before I lead worship, before I head into a battle, before giving anyone advice, before leading my family, and in the middle of a storm, I simply say “Jesus, I need You” and I pray about it all. He gives me peace, strength, wisdom, and grace to do His will.

So what’s frustrating you? What issue in life has you tangled up in anxiety? Is there a problem wearing you down? Say this… “Jesus, I need You.”

John Wilds is the Worship & Arts Pastor of Calvary Christian Center in Ormond Beach, FL. Thank you sharing your heart with us!

Check out next week's blog as we take another step on "The Journey!"

You've Got What It Takes!

Hey YOU! How's the journey? I want you to know that I am proud of you! I BELIEVE IN YOU! Destiny is never easy, yet the rewards are worth every sacrifice and anything you leave behind. Remember, life happens, change is inevitable, most times things don't always go as planned, but as long as you're willing to be adaptable and resilient, you will win and succeed. 

I am going to be vulnerable today.. I want to help you overcome something that has plagued my life over the last few weeks that I have never struggled with until recently, and that is INADEQUACY; the feeling or mindset of not being good enough, or not having what it takes. I have yearned to share with you how I have overcome inadequacy in the past few days! Have you ever felt like you weren't good enough for something or someone? Have you ever had a huge dream in your heart, but you felt like you didn't have what it takes, so you settled or gave up on the idea of it? How about that dance studio you wanted to open or the coffee shop, the company, the ministry you were suppose to start, the invention you were suppose to patent and turn into a product, or the sports team you wanted to join? 

Have you told yourself or believed the lie that you aren't good enough, and you don't have what it takes? When we feel or think that we are inadequate, we lower our expectations. We don't expect to be or do great things, because we don't feel as if we're worth it. The danger in having these low expectations is that we will make decisions on the basis of those expectations that cause us to settle and miss out some amazing things in life. 

**note** Your perception of yourself affects the decisions you make!

I love that the Bible isn't filled with perfect people, who have perfect circumstances. I love the fact that I can find stories and situations that I can relate to. It gives me comfort to know that I'm not the first to have a weakness and a struggle that can be overcome through the power of God. 

God is all knowing. God knows everything there is to know about us. Most times, God believes in us more than we believe in ourselves, because he knows more about us than we know about ourselves. This reality often creates conflict! Have you ever been conflicted between what God says about and what you think about yourself? Well... You're not alone, so have I! But here's the good news, there's someone in the Bible who's also dealt with feelings and thoughts of inadequacy, Moses!

In Exodus 3:11, Moses asks God "Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?" God responds "I will be WITH YOU." Moses felt inadequate; why? his perspective of himself in his eyes, and where he placed his confidence.

-Embrace the perception and the perspective God projects about you through what he says. 

-Place your confidence in God and the reality he will never send you somewhere, and he not go with you! YOU CAN BECAUSE HE CAN THROUGH YOU!

Exodus 4:10-13 is the passage where Moses feels inadequate because of his speech. In verse 10 it says "And Moses said unto the LORD, O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant: but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue." Moses begins to disqualify himself because of ONE thing he feels he doesn't have, eloquent speech. Have you disqualified yourself because of ONE THING? Don't you think God knew about Moses' speech problem before he even called and chose him? God eventually became angry, but he provided a spokesman for Moses. You want to make God angry? Tell him why you can't do something, or how inadequate you think you are, tell God you're not the guy or the girl for the job.. Moses felt inadequate which led to disqualifying himself; Why? because of ONE THING!

-Never let ONE THING be the reason you think you can't do anything! 

-God will send someone, something, or become what you think you may lack. 

Are you ready? Let's take another step! Repeat after me: "I'VE GOT WHAT IT TAKES!"

Check out next week's blog as we take another step on "The Journey!"

Giving me life!

Hey! What's up everybody!? How's the journey? I hope that you are enjoying it and learning to adapt when things don't go as you expect. I have a major truth to share with you today that I know will help you along the way! So let's dive in!...

Embrace this reality! Anything God gives, it is given by grace, we receive it by faith. Not only am I thankful for what God gives us, but I'm also thankful for what God doesn't give us. He will never give us anything that we don't need. Anything God gives us is an asset to our existence. Part of James 1:17 says "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights." Gifts from God can't be earned or else that would be compensation. God is so eager to give us gifts, and we should be just as eager to receive them.

When God created us with a tongue, a gift came with it. The gift is, power. Proverbs 18:21 says "Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof." The word power in this verse also means "ability". Your tongue has the ability to produce life or death. What the tongue produces is the result of what the heart has projected. Jesus says in Luke 6:45, "for out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks." Your words express the ideas you agree with in your heart. What's in your heart is usually the result of things or voices that influence your life. Therefore, who and what you listen to, matters!

Life: Jesus says "my words are spirit and they are life" he also says "let my words remain IN you." To speak life is to speak the words of God that we have hidden in our hearts. It is like in Genesis chapter 1 when God said "Let there be light," and there was light. How? The Holy Spirit! The Holy Spirit moves on the word of God! The creative ability of the Holy Spirit brings to pass the will of God! When God's words are spoken out of our mouths, we agree with the Holy Spirit's assignment, and life is produced.

Death: Death in the Bible doesn't just mean the absence of life, but it also means separation. Many things come into your heart and mind that oppose the reality of what God said about you, your purpose, your destiny, your family, your finances, or whatever matters to you. To speak death is to speak anything apart from the reality of what God said.

What matters is what God said! You know what the doctor said, you know what your family and friends said, you know what the bank said, but what did God say? You should be saying what God said! In fact, confession is an expression of your faith. Romans 10:17 says "faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." Faith is God's persuasion! If you are persuaded by the negativity that comes to influence your life, you will speak death. If you are persuaded by what God says, you will speak life.

**note** If you change your words, you can change your world!

Hebrews 11:3 says "Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God." If God can frame the world around us through his word, imagine what it can do in your world that may be falling apart. God has a word to fix the frame of your life that may have been affected by unfortunate circumstances. God has the best in mind for you, and he's given you the ability to either choose life or death, a world without structure, or a world with a frame. I don't know about you, but I choose life, and I choose to let the word of God frame my world.

Are you ready? Let's take another step! Repeat after me: "My words have power. My words are a reflection of what I agree with in my heart. Today I choose life. The kind of life God has for me. I will set boundaries, so that only godly and positive voices are the loudest in my life. Today I am no longer an enemy to my destiny through speaking negativity. I SPEAK LIFE! Life to my dreams, my vision, my purpose, my family, ministry, finances, and my future!

Check out next week's blog as we take another step on "The Journey!"

Think AGAIN..

What's up everybody! Let me start by saying that I am honored that you would allow me to be apart of your journey! I'm a firm believer that life isn't meant to be done alone, neither can purpose be fulfilled alone. We need each other! We live in a diverse society, and we are all unique. We have different gifts, skills, talents, and abilities, and that's what gives the world its flavor.  What am I saying?.. We need you to be YOU!

There's one word that explains common purpose, MINISTRY!  Ministry simply means service. We were born to serve humanity. God has given us different measures of grace according the measure of the gift, but we will discuss on that in a later post. What I want to focus on today is IDENTITY! Life happens, but what happens or has happened to you doesn't define you. How do you perceive yourself? Who do you perceive yourself to be? Do you consider yourself to be what a family member or a teacher called you when you were younger? Have you labeled yourself as someone no one wants because your dad may have walked out on your family or your mom may have given you up when you were a baby? Maybe you allowed the neighborhood kids when you were younger or your peers dictate who you think you are? Well???... No matter who we are, our life experiences impact the way see ourselves at some level. I've got great news! TODAY is the day that you take a step towards embracing who you are!

**note** "Ministry without an identity is a tragedy!

Life is filled with moments of uncertainty. However, in order to successfully fulfill your purpose, you must be certain of your identity. You have to know who you are, and own it! You have to get the right ideas about yourself.

 Matthew 3:16,17 says "And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him:And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."

-That's what happens when you receive Jesus, our heavenly Father speaks over you and affirms your identity as his child. In the next chapter Jesus is tempted by Satan in his identity. Satan tries to get him to prove that he's the son of God by DOING certain things. When you are uncertain of your identity, you will try to prove to people who you think you are by what you do. When you are certain of your identity, there is no pressure to try to prove anything!

Romans 8:16 says "The Spirit itself bears witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God."

-The holy spirit is God in us! He reminds us every day of who we are. 

Proverbs 23:7 says "For as he thinks in his heart, so is he:"

-Again, who do you perceive yourself to be? Who you think you are determines what you manifest to the people around you.

Now, LET'S WIN! The word confess by greek definition means "to agree." The reason your words have so much power is because they bring life or death to your purpose. What voices have you been agreeing with? The voices of your past, the voices of your bad experiences, rejection, abuse, shame or the voice of the Holy Spirit, and the word of God? The loudest voices in your life have the greatest influence on the way you think. Remember, what you think, you manifest. You can break agreement with the voices of your past by simply confessing daily what God says about you in his word. You can embrace your true identity, with certainty, by your initiative, and effort to win your in mind! No initiative, no victory...

Are you ready? Let's take another step! Repeat after me: "I am a child of God! My past doesn't define me, nor does circumstances define me. My words have power. Whatever I confess, I agree with. I break any agreement/contract that I've made with anything that has happened to me or what someone has spoken about me that contradicts my purpose and Gods heart for me. I will learn and confess scripture so that I speak life to my purpose and most importantly, get the right ideas about who I am. Lord, I agree with you, and your word!

Remember, your words have power! Let's talk about it! Check out next week's blog as we take another step on "The Journey!"

#MAKINGMOVES

Well..??.. How's your journey? Do you have a greater sense of purpose? Have you embraced why you're on this earth? Do YOU have a PROBLEM on this earth that you're passionate about solving? You're not on this earth for no reason! You were created and called to change something! I BELIEVE IN YOU, AND YOU SHOULD TOO! Come on..let's keep moving!

One thing I've learned is that life is ever changing. We can either fight against it or embrace it. To fight against change is painful. Not all change is within our ability to control. When we fight against change, we attempt to maintain or regain control of what we will never have control of again. We all need a healthy perspective about change in order to successfully fulfill purpose! Purpose is never fulfilled within the confines of your comfort. Therefore, change is not your enemy, change is your friend that helps you to learn adaptability.

Change is expressed in many ways, through loss, growth, birth, construction, temperature, etc. One major change that purpose demands is SEPARATION.  When God reveals purpose to you, not only are you called to be separated from something, but separated for your purpose. As human beings we are social and emotional individuals. We were created to interact with one another, we have feelings, and we become attached. When purpose calls for separation, the dynamics of certain friendships, relationships, and connections must change. 

**note** Purpose is uncomfortable, yet rewarding!

In my experiences, I have found that there can be 2 types of separation: distance, and disconnection.

Distance: Acts 13:2 says "as they were worshiping the Lord, and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, 'separate for me Barnabas and Saul for the work I've called them to."

 -Purpose is specific and sometimes calls for a change in location or environment. It's not always that the people you are around aren't good for you, it's just that you're needed else where! You are still connected to those people via phone, social media, writing a letter, or any other means of communication, it's just that the dynamics of the relationship have changed. The work sets you apart!

Disconnection: 2 Corinthians 6:17 says "come out from them, and be SEPARATE says the Lord, touch no unclean thing, and i will receive you." 

-I would be lying if I told you separating from certain people and environments has always been easy. It's hardly ever easy, but always necessary! Every connection supplies something to your life, and takes us space in your life. Disconnection is a withdrawal of your commitment  to certain people's lives, agendas, and environments. The danger of not disconnecting from certain people and environments is that you could waste time committing to things and people that afford you the opportunities to function, yet are distractions and pollution to your purpose! When you know your purpose, you are INTENTIONAL about who and what you commit to! 

Are you ready? Let's take another step! Repeat after me: "I have a purpose! I accept that life is ever changing! I embrace change! Purpose demands separation. Separation may not be easy, but it's necessary! Purpose is uncomfortable, yet rewarding! I choose today, to MAKE MOVES!

Check out next week's blog as we take another step on "The Journey"!