“Jesus said to him, ‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: you shall love your neighbor as yourself’ “. Matthew 22:37-39
Love God, Love Yourself, and Love Others ❤❤❤
Facing Internal and External Opposition? God Always Wins! Devotional Reading August 31, 2023
Who can control the internal battle of a sinful heart or win the external battles of strife without praying for Divine power?
Living in perilous times [2 Timothy 3] has led many believers to become distracted. We are trying to fight battles—internal and external that originate from spiritual warfare [that we cannot possibly win] without God. Human wisdom and strategies are extremely limited in fighting against the temptations and deceptions of Satan—never forget that he is a fallen angel.
Jesus’ Human Status on Earth: “You made him a little lower than the angels…” —Hebrews 2:7-8
Jesus, the Commander of Angel Armies and the Son of God was born as a human baby and was required to be tempted and suffer just like us. God also required Jesus to learn obedience to human parents and earthly laws. For Jesus to live and think as a human being, He had to give up part of His Omnipotence—Divine Power while living on this earth.
“For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.” —Hebrews 4:15
When Jesus was in heaven, His mind and will were connected and in perfect harmony with God, His Father. Once He was born as a human, Jesus had to pray constantly to seek the will of God. Obedience to God was His highest priority! Humanity always requires an Intercessor! The Holy Spirit also interceded for Jesus when He was living on this earth.
Yes, Jesus was human and divine, but in humility and surrender, He accepted and acknowledged the limitations of becoming a human being—to be tempted along with struggle to obey the will of God. Constantly seeking His Father in prayer empowered Jesus to live in total obedience to God. Even at the time of His betrayal in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus gave reverence to God, His Father.
“Are you not aware that I can call on My Father, and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve legions of angels? But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen this way?” —Matthew 26:53-54, NIV
If Jesus the Son of God openly acknowledged that He always needed to call on His Father [in His earthly life] how much more do we need God in every aspect of our lives? Throughout the Gospels [Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John] we have Scriptural proof that Jesus was in constant communication with God, His Father.
“It was at this time that He went off to the mountain to pray, and He spent the whole night in prayer to God.” —Luke 6:12
The Apostle Paul describes Jesus’ prayer life: “During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. Though He was a Son, yet, He learned obedience by the things which He suffered.” — Hebrews 5:7-8, NIV, NKJV
From Jesus, we have a Role Model who demonstrates how we must place our faith and trust in God, the Father. It is a privilege to have unlimited access to God the Father through praying.
“Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” —Hebrews 4:16
We are told to come boldly before the throne of grace in prayer. Prayer is so important to the believer’s life that the Holy Spirit intercedes by taking our prayer of misguided words and presenting them to Christ, our Heavenly Intercessor with reverence and deeper meaning.
Spiritual warfare will exist until Jesus’ Second Coming. Yes, we face temptations, but Satan is using two methods to attack our relationship with God.
Doubt: The method he used with Eve to create doubt in her mind is the same method he is using with us. Satan desires that we believe God is withholding the best from us. Without faithfully trusting in God, we will pursue our desires for success, wealth, and marriage and never pray for God’s guidance or blessings.
Division and Strife: He uses people [most often spouses, family members, friends, dating partners, and coworkers] to draw us into debates that result in division and strife. Yet, Satan has increased his game of warfare by luring many into the web of debating the Scriptures on social media.
We live in the time of a Spiritual War Zone and our minds are the battlefield! Those who fulfill the carnal desires of their hearts do not love God with all of their hearts, souls, and minds. They would rather compromise and accept Satan’s poor choices of people and tangible wealth [which always produce consequences] rather than wait for God’s perfect blessings.
The people in our lives who cause strife and incite our emotions of anger are being used by Satan. A believer who insists on having relationships with unbelievers [“Not everyone who says, Lord, Lord will enter in…” Matthew 7:21] whether they are husbands, wives, family, friends, or dating partners, sadly will lose their relationship with Christ. The believer is always the one who compromises!
Without praying for guidance from the Holy Spirit, we chase our carnal desires, make the wrong decisions, and do not have the power to control our emotions, and spoken words. A believer with a sinful spirit of disobedience or strife is in a lose-lose situation. Their focus is no longer on God, it is on self.
The Solution: In Ephesians chapter 6, we are told to put on the Whole Armor of God. We are defeated unless we stay in the presence of God through prayer and study of the Scriptures. To combat spiritual warfare, we must pray and rely on the Holy Spirit. When we surrender and ask for the Divine Strength of the Holy Spirit, we receive the wisdom and power to overcome all situations.
Praying throughout our waking hours is the key to victory. Talk to God. Not only does our relationship with Christ strengthen, but we begin to view life through spiritual eyes. Prayer enables us to receive wisdom and the Fruit of self-control. The Holy Spirit empowers us to place God’s will over our heart’s desires and amid strife either we remain silent or quote the Scriptures and walk away.
The impossible remains impossible without God. We must double or triple our prayers and begin searching, studying, and obeying the Scriptures. The spiritual battles we face can only be won when we put forth the human effort of faith, surrender, and obedience to God. We prepare ourselves to receive strength from the Holy Spirit through prayer indicating our desire for Divine Help.
God always requires us to surrender and obey first before He intervenes. When we fulfill our responsibilities to God then our Mighty Warrior God will demonstrate His Divine power and defeat every enemy we face, even our internal battles with the enemy of our carnal hearts!
Scripture Reading: 2 Chronicles 14
Prayer: “Lord, it is nothing for You to help, whether with many or with those who have no power; help us, O LORD our God, for we rest on You, and in Your name, we go against this multitude. O LORD, You are our God; do not let man prevail against You!” (2 Chronicles 14:11). Lord God, in faith, we pray the prayer of King Asa and we pray for deliverance from Satan and our earthly enemies. And we also ask for spiritual discernment and the power to fight our carnal desires. Thank You for the victory over our enemies. In Jesus’ Mighty name, we pray. Amen and Amen!
© 2023 Steps 2 Success with Spiritual Solutions and Woman, You Are Loved by God Ministries
Devotional Reading August 30 2023
The story of Joseph in Genesis chapters 37-50 reveals God’s Chosen Path every believer must travel to have steadfast faith and spiritual growth. Having faith in God gives us courage and confidence despite what our situation looks like. God is a God of impossibilities!
“But not a single sparrow can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it. And the very hairs on your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows.” —Matthew 10:29-31 (NLT)
Do we believe that we are more valuable than a bird? Sadly, we forget the promises of God to never leave us or forsake us. Jesus paid with His life to ransom humanity from the wages of sin. “…Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you” (Jeremiah 31:3).
” ‘To whom will you compare me? Or who is my equal?’ says the Holy One.” —Isaiah 40:25
Keep striving to follow God’s plan for your life. Through daily worship, we learn to hear the Voice of God. Remain faithful and focused! Maintain your relationship with Christ through much prayer and Bible study. Do not waver in your belief of God’s powerful Divine Intervention. Pray, Wait, and Be Still until the Holy Spirit reveals the answers. God always leads us on the Path to Victory!
No adversity or temptation can crush us like grapes in a winepress. We place all of our hope in God because He never fails us. If God said it, then He will do it! By remaining faithful and focused, we persevere because God’s Divine power always brings us victorious outcomes.
Scripture Reading: “I would have lost heart [courage], unless I had believed That I would see the goodness of the Lord In the land of the living. Wait on the Lord; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the Lord!” —Psalm 27:13-14
Weekly Bible Study: Genesis chapters 37-50
Prayer: God, we thank You for giving us real-life biblical accounts of faithful heroes like Joseph who remained steadfast and focused on Your Power. We desire to have a closer relationship with You. Lord, we thank You for loving us with an everlasting love. Teach us to recognize your Voice of Instruction. In Jesus’ Holy Name, we pray. Amen.
© 2023 Steps 2 Success with Spiritual Solutions and Woman, You Are Loved by God Ministries
Doxology: Praise God From Whom All Blessings Flow
“Many, O LORD my God, are the wonders You have done, and the plans You have for us—none can compare to You—if I proclaim and declare them, they are more than I can count.” —Psalm 40:5
For the past two days, I have deeply reflected on the blessings given to me by God. As I praised and prayed words of gratitude for the two most recent supernatural miraculous gifts, I know that our Father is Love. Not from an intellectual perspective, but from the depths of my heart, I understand that God is Love.
We pray for many things, yet, we must pray in faith that His will be done. God’s plans always give us victorious outcomes. But something usually happens when we receive His blessings, we focus on the blessing instead of the Giver of the blessing.
Reflection: Do we praise God every day with spoken words of adoration and appreciation for our lives? Even if we have not made thankfulness a habit, we can begin today. Our blessings are too numerous to count. Our breath of life is enough to make us shout out loud words of gratitude to our Loving, Heavenly Father!
God’s Declaration of Love: “Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you [I have been faithful and shown you mercy].” —Jeremiah 31:3
God’s Promise: “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.” —Jeremiah 29:11
Our Response: “I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. Oh, magnify the Lord with me, And let us exalt His name together.” —Psalm 34:1,3
Prayer: God, we thank You for being a loving, gracious, and merciful Heavenly Father. We give You the honor, the praise, and the glory for sustaining our lives. Forgive us for the many times that we resembled the nine lepers who never thanked Jesus for their healing. Lord, we know that You have covered our lives with Your Unconditional love. We love and thank You! In Jesus’ Worthy Name, we ask this prayer. Amen.
© 2023 Steps 2 Success with Spiritual Solutions and Woman, You Are Loved by God Ministries
The Issue with Worldviews in Choosing a Marriage Partner, Devotional Reading August 26, 2023
Copied from an FB post
When you choose someone, make sure you are choosing them for real and not because you are lonely, or need a rebound or some sort of support.
Make sure that person complements you emotionally, mentally, physically, and spiritually.
Make sure you have the same values, beliefs, and standards and are from the same school of thought.
Make sure this person is someone who fits into where you are going to and not where you presently are.
Make sure this person is someone you can look at years from now and still be happy you chose him or her.
Don’t settle in love because of what might be happening in your life right now. Be happily single till you find someone that you have no doubts about.
However, while you look for that person, be sure to work on yourself too, and make sure you are also a good fit for the kind of person you desire to attract and end up with.
Love yourself well enough that you set the bars yourself on how you want to be loved by others.
In everything you do in life, never settle for less love than you Deserve
Although this is an honest and honorable assessment of the vital concepts necessary for choosing a life partner [husband or wife], based on human wisdom, this is impossible.
We are severely limited in our knowledge of others especially when the emotion of love is involved. There is only one way to have a righteous outcome and that is to fast, pray, and ask for direction and the blessing of God before your emotions bind you to a person whom God never intended for you to marry.
Prayer: Lord, we surrender our hearts to You and ask the Holy Spirit to lead us in our earthly journey. Teach us how to hear Your voice. We ask this prayer, in Jesus’ name, Amen.
© 2023 Steps 2 Success with Spiritual Solutions and Woman, You Are Loved by God Ministries
Devotional Reading–August 24, 2023
“I will bless the LORD at all times, His praise shall continually be in my mouth.” Psalm 34:1
At some point in our lives, we will reach a crossroads from a dilemma that only God’s Supernatural power can resolve. Our response to tribulations is dependent upon our relationship with Christ. If we live with the mindset of, I can do nothing without Christ, then our steadfast faith will automatically flood our mind with the utmost confidence in God.
Living courageously is possible! We can have peaceful, happy, and healthy lives when surrender and daily worship is a lifestyle. Strive for spiritual growth and development by faithfully trusting in God in all circumstances. Seek Him in prayer several times a day and you will receive Divine strength and victory. Yes, trusting in God brings happiness to our lives.
Scripture: ” Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good, Blessed is the man who trusts in him.” Psalm 34:8
Prayer: Lord God, we are so thankful for the privilege of being able to approach you through prayer 24/7. Help us to remember that You love us with an everlasting love. We thank you for Your Divine intervention, love, grace, and mercy. In Jesus’ Holy Name, we pray, Amen.
© 2023 Steps 2 Success with Spiritual Solutions and Woman, You Are Loved by God Ministries
Staying Courageous in the Stormy Seasons—Devotional Reading, August 23, 2023
Perceiving oneself as blessed should prevent the onset of discouragement and depression when the stormy seasons enter and escalate in our lives. But our human hearts are fragile. When the rains of distress pour on us, often, we share our dilemmas with friends and family who cannot provide the answers or actions to resolve our circumstances.
Yes, we can seek emotional support during the storms [trials], but we need to bring our prayerful petitions for help to God first.
“…But those who seek the LORD will not lack any good thing.” —Psalm 34:10
Trending Social media posts state, “God is silent, He never answered my prayers.” There is a disconnect between our comprehension of seeking God and God’s definition of seeking Him. We desire a God-on-Demand who rescues us immediately from our tribulations. With little time devoted to worshipping God, we do not understand His ways, nor do we possess the willingness to suffer. So we pray once or twice and give up on God because we desire immediate cessation of the storms.
“These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” —John 16:33
Jesus gave us many warnings that we would suffer hardships throughout our earthly journey. Without a firm foundation in the strength of Christ, we easily succumb to the tribulations which bring stormy waves of sorrow and hopelessness. Yet, it is the stormy seasons that build our faith and give us courage.
Not every storm is a trial allowed by God to change our character. Depending solely on our judgment and distrusting others can lead to detrimental choices and substantial adverse consequences in our lives. We agree that busyness impacts most people. With little time left, we are too busy to pray for God’s wisdom and study the Scriptures for guidance.
The Bible is our Guidebook that we use to find out, “What decisions should I make based on the Scriptures?” So instead of feeling blessed, we are overwhelmed from attempting to navigate through life without Divine Help. Excluding God from one’s life produces spiritual unrest, and disconnects us from the Source of life.
Still, we are not in a hopeless predicament. In humility, we acknowledge our disobedience and repent if we caused the storm. Even if we are the cause of our storm, God never forsakes us. We must have steadfast courage and undoubting faith to believe in God and His promises. God is our Source, He gives us the spiritual strength to endure every storm.
Character-changing storms usually have a longer duration and feel as if they will never end. Pray and ask God to reveal the unrighteous behaviors that He is using the stormy season to purge from your character. There are four Chapters—1 Corinthians 13, Galatians 5, Ephesians 5, and James 3—that God expects for every believer to study and measure their characters against. With a prayer of surrender pray for the Divine strength to persevere and endure.
Some storms are the result of spiritual warfare, especially conflict with others. Even so, Christ gives His permission before any trials from Satan are brought into our lives. God will never allow Satan to crush the righteous! Read Job Chapter 1.
During the Stormy Seasons, Pray Often for Divine Help!
David had many troubles but wrote the steps we need to take during the seasons of hardships and also gave us wonderful words of encouragement, God always delivers the righteous!
“The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, And His ears are open to their cry.
The face of the Lord is against those who do evil, To cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.” —Psalm 34:15-16
“The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears, And delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, And saves such as have a contrite spirit.” —Psalm 34:17-18
“Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the Lord delivers him out of them all.” —Psalm 34:19
Choosing to surrender to God on a daily basis is a personal decision that demonstrates our love for Him. Jesus designed us to have a dependent relationship with Him, built on love, trust, and obedience. These spiritual qualities not only keep us connected to Christ, but also ensure that we are following God’s will.
David’s Petition: “Hear, O LORD, when I cry with my voice! Have mercy also upon me, and answer me.” —Psalm 27:7
The winds of tribulations are harsh, blowing with such force that we fall. We must cry out for Help! Who can persevere through the storm without Christ’s strength? Never forget that God’s goal is to save our souls and give us eternal life.
Spiritual maturity is demonstrated through God-reliance. No one is stronger than the one who depends on God!
Reflect on your lifestyle and make drastic changes if you do not have time to put God first! Developing a lifestyle of worship is intentional and takes concerted action on our part. When our lives are peaceful and we diligently pray and study the Bible every day, our dependency on God acts as a spiritual catalyst to immediately cry out to God when our stormy trials begin.
God knows that building our faith, trust, and confidence and changing our character into the likeness of Christ is achieved in the stormy seasons. Yes, the seasons that make us wish for Jesus to say, Peace be still, are working for our good and His glory!
Even if the intensity and duration of the storm lasts longer than we anticipated, practicing God-Reliance gives us unwavering confidence fueled by our faith and trust in God’s promises of deliverance.
Pray in faith and wait. God’s promises are Yes to which we say, Amen!
Scripture: “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him out of them all.” —Psalm 34:19
Prayer: God, we thank You for Your Divine Love. Please forgive our self-reliance and doubt. Lord, we are in a storm and need Your strength to make it through. Thank You for hearing and answering our prayer that we ask in Jesus’ name, Amen.
© 2023 Steps 2 Success with Spiritual Solutions and Woman, You Are Loved by God Ministries
“…Walk as children of light in the Lord (for the fruit of the spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth)… Ephesians 5:8-9
Praying, studying the Bible, giving tithes and offerings, and attending church demonstrates our faithfulness to God. Yet many believers do not have the Fruit of the Spirit, Galatians 5:22-23. Our character reveals the condition of our heart and whether or not we have asked the Holy Spirit for daily Spiritual Transformation.
Heaven is for those with loving hearts who faithfully obeyed God and represented the Character and Righteousness of Christ to others.
Prayer: God, we pray for a change in our hearts that we may have the righteous character of Christ. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen 🙏
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