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Category: From The Word

To be Fisher’s of Men

To be Fisher’s of Men

Your calling is to follow Jesus.

Your duty is to seek the LORD.

Your ministry is to worship Him in Spirit & in Truth.

And your overflow is what God will use in serving others.

When Jesus called to Peter and his brother Andrew He said:

“Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” – Matthew 4:19 

When they came to him, He did not immediately send them out to become fishermen, but instead WALKED with them in communion. 

He led them as their Good shepherd 

He taught them as their Rabbi

He comforted them as their Friend 

& He made himself known to them as their God.

And near the end of 3 years He finally sent them out saying,

NOW GO and MAKE FISHERMAN 

And they went knowing 

That they were vessels,

They were His hands and feet, 

His vehicles for miracles,

They were the instruments for His word

But they were first His. 

YOU ARE FIRST HIS

He WANTS YOU

not JUST what you can do for him. 

More Discipline

Those who set goals but keep falling short. Those who start strong but lose momentum. Those who feel like quitting because everything seems stacked against them.

First, hear me: you are not a failure.

Second, discipline is hard—but you are capable of doing hard things.

Discipline requires sacrifice, endurance, and commitment to seeing things through.

The shift begins with a simple mindset change:
“I am able to do this.”
“I will not quit until I accomplish this.”

To become more disciplined, become the kind of person who is obedient and can endure. It’s not about forcing yourself through a to-do list—it’s about aligning your daily actions with the person you want to become and then showing up every day.

And in the daily when it gets hard, remember why you started.

 

From Seed to Fruit: Insights from Galatians

From Seed to Fruit: Insights from Galatians

God has been teaching me a lot from Galatians over the last couple of weeks, and I wanted to share some insights with you. Specifically, I have been reflecting on Galatians 5:22-23, which says:

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.”

As I was reading these verses, the LORD led me to focus on just the first four words: “THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT.”

He highlighted this to me: “Fruit is cultivated in seeded seasons.”

Every good fruit comes from a good seed. You can’t produce the fruit of the Spirit without the planted seed of God’s word. Many people desire fruitfulness but don’t want the planting and growing seasons of the seed. They want good fruit but do not have a desire to abide in the LORD. They desire the highest quality but are unwilling to pay the costly price it takes to obtain it.

The reality is: in order for any seed to grow fruit, it has to go through seeded seasons where it is buried, watered, stretched, heated, crushed, and pruned. The same process happens to us believers as the fruit of the Spirit is being cultivated in us.

When we consume God’s word, we are burying the seed of His word in our hearts and waiting for Him as He cultivates the fruit of His Spirit. Often, cultivating spiritual fruit requires tearing away fleshly weeds. This means we have to give up sins that are detrimental to our spiritual growth. We have to go through those painful and weary growing seasons, but with this understanding: God is working everything for our good!

I love what Philippians 1:6 says: “For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.”

You can’t have joy if all you do is complain. You can’t cultivate peace if you are constantly in turmoil. We have to be steadfast and know that in the midst of seeded seasons, God is working for our good in growing, pruning, and tending to what He has placed in us.

Fruitfulness is the result of seeded seasons, and seeded seasons come from abiding in the Word and the Word abiding in us.

In this instant gratification culture we are in, it’s easy to forget that true growth takes time and effort. But remember, fruitfulness is the result of those seeded seasons. Let us embrace them, knowing that God is at work, cultivating His Spirit within us.

His Grace is sufficient

His Grace is sufficient

His kindness is what leads to repentance.

His never ending grace that comes after us when we are crippled with our guilt and shame 

2 Corinthians 12:9

“And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.”

When we are weak God works through us to bring about what He desires of us.

Not because He cannot work with our strength, but because He desires humility from us.

Humility that leads to pure worship… in Spirit and in Truth…

Humility that allows Him to grow our Character and not our own fame.

When our weakness is sin, illness, suffering, disease, heartache, pain….

His power is through a savior who conquered it all and a Spirit that is now able to comfort us through it all.

Yield to him in your weakness for in due time He will…

Mount you up with wings like eagles, help you run and not get tired and make you walk and not become weary.

The Transformative Power of Forgiveness

The Transformative Power of Forgiveness

12/5/23 | Journal Thoughts

When God nudges us to forgive, it’s not an excuse for what was done to us, but a chance to break free from the suffocating grip of unforgiveness.

Picture unforgiveness as this sneaky poison—that starts as a tiny seed of offense, and then grows into this giant tree of bitterness. That’s the kicker: it doesn’t really care about the person who did you wrong. Nope, unforgiveness, is hunting for vessels to dump its venom into.

In Mark 11:25, Jesus says; “And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.”

In other words, forgiveness is actually more so for you than it is for the other person who hurt you.

See, when you forgive others you are extending the forgiveness of Jesus on your behalf.

As He hung on the cross, nailed by the very people he came to save…

Jesus uttered words that would make jaws drop on the floor in todays cancel culture.

“Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” (Luke 23:34)

A.W. Tozer said in his book  Preparing for Jesus’ Return: Daily Live the Blessed Hope,

"If man had his way, the plan of redemption would be an endless and bloody conflict. In reality, salvation was bought not by Jesus' fist, but by His nail-pierced hands; not by muscle but by love; not by vengeance but by forgiveness; not by force but by sacrifice. Jesus Christ our Lord surrendered in order that He might win; He destroyed His enemies by dying for them and conquered death by allowing death to conquer Him."

If you have unforgivness in your heart, I have some good news for you….

Jesus sees the pain you went through and or are currently going through and not only does He see what you have gone through or are going through,

He wants to free you from that pain that is holding on to you. 

He wants to deliver you and comfort you as you heal and become restored in His love.

A PRAYER OF FORGIVENESS TO GUIDE YOU

Father, I trust you and I know that your plan is to prosper me not harm me. You want to heal every single ache and pain within me and you want to get to the parts of me that have been hurt by others. Father, I understand that forgiveness is for me, as much as it is for others. It’s a gift available because of the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. So today, I surrender the hurt that I am holding on to and I forgive _________ (him, her, them) for____________( what they did). Father, I also forgive myself for the feeling guilt, shame and for blame.

I know that you are not only a Merciful God, but you are Just God and you will fight my battles on my behalf.

I rest in that today, In Jesus name I pray,

Amen.