Focus

"The only reason we fail in life is broken focus ...something else introduced to us as an option that we choose to accept."
-Mike Murdock

Spoke volumes for me. There should be no "Plan B" for your life ...only THE plan; that which God has designed for you. Oooooooooo, I just love Jesus for being so customizable and perfect for each of us! Ha! Love y'all!
As we are inundated with several "options" daily, even good options, it's my prayer that I, we, stay focused on the RIGHT option.

Pursuing Truth,
D.

“Everything that I am, is because of Jesus Christ. All that I ever do, I do it only to bring Him glory.”

Grace Personified

There is a beautiful picture of Jesus hidden in the Old Testament. God knew it was impossible for the children of Israel to keep the law so they were permitted to bring a sheep without blemish, wrinkle, or spot to the priest. If the sheep was indeed perfect, the sinner would lay hands on the sheep as an act of transferring sins to the innocent sheep. At the same time the innocence of the perfection of the sheep would be transferred to the person. The sheep is killed and the person at liberty walks away with cleared conscious and sin-debt free.

The person of Jesus is a picture of the perfect Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. Often our thought life or actions condemn us in the flesh. But thanks be unto God that our flesh is not our identity ...Jesus is! The 8th chapter of Romans starts with "no condemnation" and ends with "nothing shall separate me from the love of Christ!! He.loves.us. This love is what draws us closer, causes us to flee sin and fall totally in love with Him. Condemnation causes us to be sin-conscious (law) and strengthens sin.

When we start our day by occupying our minds with Jesus, becoming Jesus-conscious, every struggle, fear, and bondage that we are entangled with will lose its evil grasp on us!! This is the hope of II Corinthians 10:5 ...bringing into captivity the obedience of Christ. What is His obedience? Romans 5:19 ...His obedience on the cross has made us righteous!! I.am.the.righteousness.of.God with a new identity in Jesus! The priest in the Old Testament represents God ...He doesn't examine us ...He examines Jesus! What a beautiful picture of God's abundant and lavish grace.

If God isn't examining us today, why do we still struggle in self-occupation relentlessly examining our own thoughts, emotions, failures, and shortcomings? No more self-introspection!! Let's look to Jesus. His innocence is our innocence. His perfection is my perfection. His righteousness is my righteousness. Occupied with Jesus and transformed from the inside out! I love y'all!! #freedom

Pursuing Truth,
D.

 “Everything that I am, is because of Jesus Christ. All that I ever do, I do it only to bring Him glory.”

Identity Crisis

I love y'all so much!! Seriously!! Just wanted to encourage you this lovely morning ...God is with you, always.

Today, in a world where God has been cast aside to pursue money, identity, education, and purpose void of Him, let's choose to make Him the priority in our lives. Intellect, pride, and self-promotion can often drive us to rely on our understanding of life. Yet the Bible tells us that without Him, we can do nothing (John 15:5). In the end, all of the daily pursuits, lusts, and cares of this world will mean nothing without Jesus Christ.

I'm learning daily how to die to who I think I should be, who I'd like to be, or who I think I am and pursue the heart of God to be who He wants me to be. My hurt, my past, my disappointments , and guilt all went away when I chose to completely rest in Jesus. My life is no longer my own ...The choice to lay down my life and follow Christ doesn't make me righteous; yet me accepting His love and recognizing the work He did on cross makes me righteous.

What are you pursuing today? When we really know how much God loves us, that's what gives us the hope to allow Him to love us and be in relationship with Him. Void of God, life is a struggle and we often look to money, people, food, lust, pride in our intelligence, and identity in our success to fill the void. Yet, Jesus is the only answer. We'll never be able to figure it out on our own.

Today, choose who you will pursue and keep your eyes on. It's better to trust in The Lord than put confidence in anyone else (Psalm 118:8). He's my joy, my hope, my love, and perfect peace. Mannnnnn JESUS LOVES YOU ...and He cares. Have.faith.in.God.

Pursuing Truth,
D.

 “Everything that I am, is because of Jesus Christ. All that I ever do, I do it only to bring Him glory.”

THE BLESSING of the Lord

Restoring THE BLESSING: Galatians 3:8 ..."And the scripture forseeing that God would justify the Gentiles in consequence of faith, proclaimed the Gospel (fortelling the glad tidings of the Savior long beforehand) to Abraham in the promise, saying, in you shall the nations be blessed".

The Gospel is complete: It not only recognizes the purpose of Jesus to redeem us from sin but also recognizes the perfect plan of restoration of the THE BLESSING God intended for His creation. If He called Abraham the "heir of the world", what does that make us as believers who are Abraham's seed, according to the promise? Furthermore, what is our angle of identity and how are we thinking? God's original plan for us points back to the promise He spoke in the beginning..(Genesis 1:28).

How then do we see ourselves? As a sinner saved by grace or as a redeemed HEIR? Sin-consciousness gives power to sin ...Christ-consciousness glorifies Jesus and gives us authority to overcome sin. When Adam and Eve disobeyed God, God's response ("Where are you?") was Jesus-consciousness ...the redemptive plan was already in place and set in motion. That's the message that must be preached ...a message of hope/life/excitement that will direct people to the person of Jesus. This takes the pressure off in all circumstances ...no need to carry His cross ...His dying for our sins is the means to an end ...and the end is the promise spoken to Adam (Genesis 1:28) Noah (Genesis 9:1), Abraham (Genesis 12:2) ...restoration of THE BLESSING (God empowers us to be fruitful, multiply, and have dominion: Genesis 1:28) ...The completed work!!! ...it.is.finished.

Now, is there ANYTHING too hard for God? My two bits on satan...He.has.no.power...

period...tell him to shut up!!!...that's all the letters he will get in this text...Are we trying to figure things out? Accepting barely making it? Or are you ruling and reigning?? Ayyyyeeeee!!!! 

#freedom #authority #power #joy #love #peace #self control #patience #gentleness #goodfruit

Pursuing Truth,
 D.


“Everything that I am, is because of Jesus Christ. All that I ever do, I do it only to bring Him glory.”

Unmerited Favor

Friends,

My Lakers are finally playing good ball, the cold weather is shipping out, and Jesus is still Lord!! ...makes for a great Saturday!! ;)

I've been on a reading binge lately and can't help but talk about the latest book I've been reading: Unmerited Favor. WOW!!

This book gives incredible insight into God's love for us and His desire to see us conquer, live, and succeed in every area of our lives. I'll keep this post brief by simply posting a quote from the book ...powerful!

"There are many times where the lowest points in your life are actually the launching pads to God's greatest promotion in your life. It was so for Joseph! If Joseph had not been betrayed by his brothers, he would not have been sold as a slave. If he had not been sold as a slave, he would not have been in Potiphar's house. If he was not in Potiphar's house, he would not have been thrown into an Egyptian prison meant specifically for the king's prisoners. If he was not in that specific prison, he would not have interpreted the dreams of Pharaoh's officers. If he had not interpreted their dreams, he would not have been summoned to interpret Pharaoh's dream two years alter. If he had not interpreted Pharaoh's dream, Pharaoh would not have promoted Joseph to become his prime minister over the entire Egyptian empire!!"

"Your lowest points are launching pads to God's greatest promotions."

Pursuing Truth,

 D.

 “Everything that I am, is because of Jesus Christ. All that I ever do, I do it only to bring Him glory.”

To Know Him...

'Making last minute preparations for tomorrow before heading to bed and I just can't stop thinking about the love of God ...seriously ... I don't always "feel" Him but there's something about KNOWING that He's always with me ...

As I approach my 32nd birthday, I reflect on the last 32 years of my life ...I've grown, I've struggled, I've laughed, I've cried, I've taken large steps, fear has paralyzed me, His Word has moved me ...I've gone off course ...and I've been guided back on course ...I've gained friends, I've lost some, and I've let some go ...but in the end, God has remained faithful ...

So today, I'm thankful for the journey, and the desire to KNOW HIM!! I'm thankful for a heart that seeks truth and one that desires the fullness of God's purity and love. Today, I'm overwhelmed by God's patience and LOVE for me. Thanks be unto God whose love isn't predicated on my performance ...

To KNOW Christ in the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings means to be willing to experience weakness, to suffer loss, to be misunderstood --- but to also experience victory, peace, and the manifestation of God's power in my life --- to be willing to die on a daily basis, be willing to be used by God, willing to be persecuted, be willing to take a stance, be willing to be broken, and made conformable ...To know Him is to know PEACE, to have ASSURANCE, and to experience FREEDOM ... LIFE in Jesus ...
 
This is my heart's desire ...

"That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;" (Philippians 3:10).


Pursuing Truth,

D.

“Everything that I am, is because of Jesus Christ. All that I ever do, I do it only to bring Him glory.”

The New Age Message

...'just finished watching a clip of Oprah's Life Class ...unfortunately Oprah, teaching something to a creation by attempting to invalidate the Creator, in fact, invalidates you!! ...friends, please heed to sound advice/doctrine ...please don't be fooled by these New Age messages that attempt to reinvent a doctrine void of God ...they aren't even authentic ...just a hodge podge of ideals, with hints of large words and rhetoric that "sound" good and "okay" ...if scripture doesn't validate it, it's just as true/real as a purple unicorn ...we're living in a time where "messengers" will attempt to take the place of God ...and they'll use enablers (famous people: preachers, entertainers, etc.) to validate their lies ...we can do nothing without the God of Genesis 1:1 (John 15:5)... The Bible speaks about these end times, people becoming lovers of themselves (II Timothy 3:2), doing whatever they want to do, seeking God's glory! The "New Age" message is a message that provides the liberty to live a life without boundaries ...anything goes ...but in the end, there will be destruction ...God never signed off on "anything goes" ...He's a God of order who has given us instructions for life ...to do things His way ...and anyone speaking on how to live this life should reference and give credit to Him! ...they do it in secular research ALLLLL the time ...give credit to THE source ....go with the Lord ...please, go with Jesus! ...smh ...Happy Friday!!! ...

Pursuing Truth,

D.

“Everything that I am, is because of Jesus Christ. All that I ever do, I do it only to bring Him glory.”