The Word of God says in the New International Version of the Gospel of Matthew 4:4:

“Jesus answered, “It it written: Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.~”Matthew 4:4, NIV~

In this Scripture, Jesus was being tempted By Satan in the wilderness after fasting for forty days and forty nights. Jesus answered Satan the second time He was tempted with these words:

“Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.”~Matthew 4:7, NIV~

The third time that Jesus was tempted, He told Satan to get behind Him with these words:

~”Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.”~Matthew 4:10, NIV~

After Jesus commanded Satan to get out of him, he left Him and angels attended to Him, per the Gospel of Matthew 4:10.

There are times when we, as followers of Christ, find ourselves in a wilderness and can’t seem to find a way out. We just can’t get to the root of what is causing ourselves to be upset. We just can’t seem to escape from the tempter. That liar is Satan.

Satan tempted Jesus three times in the wilderness and Jesus escaped the temptation with Scripture He knew from His Heavenly Father God. I can relate to Jesus because there are times in my life when Satan feeds me with lies and I succumb to them rather than surrender to the Truths of Scripture that are found in the Word of God, the Bible.

Yesterday, I spoke with a very good Christian lady friend of mine, Michelle, in a phone conversation. I LOVE Michelle because she can tell a situation as it is from the Biblical perspective and not cleave to the worldly perspective(in other words, she tells it—-the situation—-as it is with dignity and Christian morale).

Yesterday, I was being tempted to do something that would damage my standing, as a Christian, and that would ultimately change my relationship with Father God and how others viewed me. I was tempted to lie. While I choose to not go into what the lie was exactly, I will say that Michelle is a good friend in that she saved me from making a horrible mistake that would change my life forever. 

Michelle told me to hold fast, speak, and declare the truths of God over my life in whatever the situation is that I am going through and that it shall be well with me, in the Name of Jesus Christ.  I took that night to think about and rest on what Michelle told me.

The next day, I wrote out Scripture from Isaiah 54, the Gospel of John, and other books of the Bible. God was certainly faithful as He spoke to me how to combat Satan with Daily Bread that comes from the Mouth of God daily, in the Name of Jesus Christ. God showed me the truth while Satan tried and tried and tried to lie to me to lie, but failed. God’s unfailing love for me, in the midst of my sin, triumphed over Satan and the lie He wanted me to believe about myself and tell others. The lie failed. Satan ultimately failed. Jesus won and wins every time.

I began to declare the truths of God’s Word (my Daily Bread) over my life and as a result, I was free. I was free from Satan and His lies. That lie does not belong to me and I bar it and ban it, in the Name of Jesus Christ.

“So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”~John 8:36, NIV~

From this day forward, I do not and will not give into lies that are not true about myself and certainly not by someone, who wants me to think of myself as less than. I refuse lies and accept the Truths of God, in Jesus’ Name. I am His Child. I am His Daughter. I am His Princess.

Let me pray for you now, dear reader:

Dear God:
Thank You for freeing me from the lie. I am not what my family wants me to think or believe about myself. Thank You that I am not my past mistakes and that You have already cleansed me from my past mistakes. I pray over each reader today and that he or she will not surrender their lives to the enemy, but rather to You, the Maker and Creator of their lives and Your Truth. You are a God of Truth and not a god of lies and confusion. Satan is that tempter and liar, and I command him to flee from any reader now, who is thinking about lying or giving into lies, in the Name of Jesus Christ. May no weapon that is formed against the minds of these readers prevail and may each reader walk in Your Truths, victory, and freedom today.  I command anything that is not of You (especially lies) to leave each reader now and that Your peace will surpass the understanding and minds of the readers today. Keep each reader enraptured in Your great and unfailing love today. I give you all of the glory, the honor, and the praise.

In Jesus’ Name,

Amen!

God bless you dear reader! ❤

 ~”No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord.”~Isaiah 54:17, KJV~

 

I hit rock bottom…..and I cried.

You got that right!! And it hurt me very much! My mistakes caused me to fall flat on my face and hit rock bottom miserably all while proving to God what a selfish and unselfless person I am. 

BUY there is hope because my past mistakes do not define me, but only my relationship that is near and dear to the God I serve, who seems so far, but is so close to me and even you, dear reader: Jesus Christ.

~”Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”~Hebrews 13:5, NIV~

I choose to give Jesus all of me in this season of my life as I ask Him to free me entirely of myself and empty out anything of me that is not of Him. I choose to praise Jesus in the midst of this storm I am facing  (even in the rain), because I AM formed me to do so just for Him. I choose to dance hard, even as I cry all the way for Heaven to hear me, so that Jesus knows I have given all of my praise to Him. I choose to praise Jesus because I AM wants me to smile and be a bright bold ray of sunshine to the lost and hurting.

My desire is only to do what God wants me to do for Him in this dry season: praise Him. I praise God for the good. I praise Him for the bad. I praise Him for making me a new creation in Jesus and that He is making me stronger than ever: A woman of His making and calling as He lavishes His great love on me: everlasting love, even as I praise Him in tears, dirt, and great sadness. This is the ministry that God has called me to and I won’t stop until Jesus Christ says, “It is finished.”

~”The Lord appeared to us in the past, saying: I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness.”~Jeremiah 31:3, NIV~

Jesus loves when I praise Him in sadness. With makeup and with no makeup, Jesus loves when I come to Him in tears, pain, and crying, so that He knows I am in total need of my gracious and Heavenly Father to forgive me.

~”Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance, perseverance character, and character hope.”~Romans 5:3-4, NIV~

I have hope as I praise God in my pain and crying because He is drying my tears as I come to Him, humble, and pray away. Jesus is already equipping me with the tools I need to see my rainbow in the sky, a sure sign of victory indeed!! 

~”This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who ho is he that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.”~1 John 5:4-5, NIV~

I will see my victory and claim my rainbow through my pain, my joy, and my crying out to my Heavenly Father, in the Name of Jesus Christ. I already see that rainbow in the sky as a sure and awesome sign of my victory and testimony, in Jesus’ Name. I declare that His rainbow is my victory now, in the Name of Jesus Christ.

How about you, dear reader? Do you see a rainbow of victory in the midst of your pain today? Let’s pray together now:

Dear Heavenly Father,

I know I have sinned. I pray and speak words of affirmation over each reader today. I pray that in the same Way you revealed all of You to me that You will do so to each son and daughter, who feels down and sad and unforgiven. Free each reader from self as He or she comes crying to You in need of Jesus Christ. Free each reader from the plots, tricks, and lies of the enemy. Free each reader into your truth today so that He or she can see his or her rainbow today at the end of that tunnel, bright and clear, and know that by faith  (not sight) mountains can moved and chains broken. Love each reader and let him or know You are love. Let each reader know that You deserve all of the glory, the honor, and the praise because of what Jesus did on the cross of Calvary and resurrection. Give each reader all of You as He or she comes broken and as they are: straight into Your extravagant heart. I give You all of the glory, the honor, and the praise today.

In Jesus’ Name,

Amen!

God bless you!! 😇

Happy Resurrection Day everyone!!
You may be reading this blog post and wondering what do I mean by when I say, “Happy Resurrection Day!” The word resurrection has many meanings. Here are the definitions of resurrection:

a. the revitalization or revival of something.

b. (in Christian belief) Christ’s rising from the dead.

c. (in Christian belief) the rising of the dead at the Last Judgment.

For purposes of this article, I am going to use the second definition of resurrection. Easter celebrates the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the God all creation and the God of my life. 

I celebrate Resurrection Day (not just calling it Easter) because I want to remember that Jesus rose from the dead for me. I want to remember that Jesus loves me and that He loved me so much that He died on a cross for me so that He could give life to my lifeless heart and spirit. Most importantly, I want to remember that Jesus is Lord of my life. ~”If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”~Romans 10:9, ESV~

I was at a gathering at church this morning and I remember how the Holy Spirit of God spoke to me by saying to me, “You don’t have to carry this burden yourself. I have already carried it for you.”

Yes, that’s right. Jesus carried all of my burdens for me. Jesus died on a cross for me. Jesus carried the weight of all of my sins for me as they were nailed to a cross all for me. What an amazing truth that is for me to ponder as I contemplate just how great the life that He gave me is. ~”Jesus answered I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”~John 14:6, NIV~

It is through Jesus Christ who is the Only Way. It is through Jesus Christ who is the Only Truth. It is through Jesus Christ who is the Only Life He died for us for that He could give us Life: the gift of eternal life. ~”For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”~

After the Holy Spirit of God spoke to me in that moment at the church service, I remember how I broke out into tears of sorrow and then burst into tears of joy, remembering and reflecting on all of the good that Jesus has done for my life. We sang, “What a Beautiful Name,” by Hillsong Worship and I just cried and cried my heart out as I counted all joy for the Lord Jesus with what the Holy Spirit of God shared with me. Praise the Lord!!

Today, I experienced a resurrection in my life: total transformation that is found only in Jesus Christ. I now encourage you to do the same, dear reader. 

I now want to take a moment to pray for you, dear reader and that you too will experience a resurrection in your life:

Dear God,

Thank you for the reader who opened up this blog post and read it. Bless each reader richly as he or she takes a moment to remember and contemplate how beautiful that You are. What You did for each reader is beautiful. What You did on the cross for each reader is beautiful. And Your resurrection and the fact that You rose from a grave on Easter Sunday is just remarkably beautiful. You are an awesome God and I pray that You will allow each reader, who is reading this blog post today, to experience a resurrection and transformation that is found only in Your Son, Jesus Christ. May each reader find out today, after reading this blog post and prayer, that there is hope in Your transformation and in Your resurrection because of the gift of eternal life that Jesus Christ provides. May each reader never ever give up the hope that is found in Jesus Christ and in His resurrection today. I give You all of the glory, the honor, and the praise.

In Jesus’ Name,

Amen!

God bless you, dear reader!! Have a restful Resurrection Day!! 🙂

~”So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”~Matthew 20:16, NIV~