A Lifetime of Praise

Have you ever been there, or maybe that’s where you are right now, finding it hard to just breathe because the weight of the world seems to be piled on top of you? And it never seems to let up! You do your best to clear out one big pile of heartache and draining demands only to find two more like it taking its place. You think if you could just find that one secret ingredient that’s missing from your life, everything in all its wonder and potential would open up before you. Well, there is no such state where anyone ever lives completely carefree. But there is a state of life that you can experience that enables you to live high above the hope bursting and energy sapping effects of the very things that once weighted you down and constantly squeezed the life out of you due to the pressure they placed on you. And that key ingredient is the grace Jesus Christ injections daily into our lives. Troubles come and go, but the promised help and supply of God’s grace never diminishes and it always provides more than what we need. David knew this ever so well and spoke of the power of grace in His life in these terms:  This poor man cried to the Lord—and the Lord heard him and saved him out of his troubles. (Psalm 34:6 Living Bible) The good man does not escape all troubles—he has them too. But the Lord helps him in each and every one. (Psalm 34:19 Living Bible) In life, none of us are ever exempt from trouble. But when we depend on Jesus to bring us through them, and by that, I mean not just coming through them barely surviving but thriving; becoming stronger because of them, He always piles His grace on us. And He does it again and again, grace on top of grace! As Paul put it in in John 1:16, For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.[a] (English Standard Version), this is the promised favor God bestows upon those believing in Christ. In faith, trust Him to do just that for you.

Piling On Grace On Top Of Grace

When someone tells you they’re going to do something for you, and then they don’t follow through on their commitment, well, it’s certainly a trust buster! Confidence goes down the tube fast whenever this happens. You find it harder and harder to expect anything good happening in your life based on what someone says they will do and how that has played out time and time again. Are you tired of being hurt and feeling shorted due to credibility issues? Have you had your fill of empty promises and wondering if a loyal friend even exists; someone you can always count on doing exactly what they said? If this is where you’re at, then you’re standing at a threshold of discovery that can erase all your doubts about the reality of a faithful friend. For there is One who has never failed to deliver on every single promise He ever made. And His Name Is Jesus! By penning your trust on Him, you can be sure of this: Now we can look forward to the salvation God has promised us. There is no longer any room for doubt, and we can tell others that salvation is ours, for there is no question that he will do what he says. (Hebrews 10:23 The Living Bible) You can count on Jesus fulfilling every promise He’s ever made. He always does what He says and He has pledged Himself to bless and help you. If you are one that has heard what others have said, only to be let down by their failure to follow through, then listen closely to this promise Jesus makes to you: “I’ll never let you down, never walk off and leave you,” (Hebrews 13:5b The Message Translation), then take hold of it in faith, and you’ll find that you have a Friend in Him like no other; One who is always faithful!

10/15/2021

For I Know My Lord Is Always Faithful

Do you feel trapped? Like you’ve been lured into an inescapable life of pain and constant let downs. A life that at first seemed to promise you everything, only to find, it’s left you feeling robbed of all your hopes and dreams. If this is where you are, you can be sprung from the snare life has you in. It’s not ironclad! You can live free and happy, even with false representations of life prowling all around you, seeking to have you bite into the mirages they claim to offer. How can this be? Simply give Jesus the reins of your heart, and trust Him to do extraordinary things to bless and help you. Place your confidence in Him, and the same One that conquered death and the grave, will not fail in doing miracles for you to establish you in His promised “newness of life”! (Romans 6:4)

I Believe In Miracles

If you got up this morning it wasn’t by accident. God in His mercy and grace, is the sole reason you are alive and reading this song description. Yes, every person on earth having breath in their lungs, have it so, because God has filled them and caused them to function in sustaining their lives. You are alive right now not because of anything you have done to extend your life or to safeguard your physical health, but as a result of God’s benevolent and merciful involvements carried out in your behalf to bring you safely to this point. 

Whether your present state is filled with one unexpected positive experience after another, or you are being pushed to the limits of your human endurance, you are a ready recipient of opportunities to experience life at its fullest possible level. You have been given the precious gift of time to experience life that’s not detrimental in its affects upon you, but instrumental in causing you to realize life as it was meant to be; steeped in fulfillment, purpose, reward and lasting satisfaction. Acknowledge God as the only One responsible for your destiny, and “Let him have all your worries and cares, for he is always thinking about you and watching everything that concerns you.” (1 Peter 5:7 The Living Bible) So much good awaits you! But you must come to the place in your life where you realize how bad things would be if it were not for God working ever faithfully in your behalf, and saying with all conviction of heart to Him: How sad things would be for me dear Lord, if not for You!

If Not For You

Do you feel like life has stopped you dead in your tracks? Does each day seem more monotonous than the previous one? Do you begin your days with anxiety and despair squeezing any chance of change right out of you because you’ve come to expect being held somehow in an inescapable déjà vu experience where you’re always frustrated and tired of the way things are? Then you need to know that you can break out of that vicious depressing cycle of life into a lifestyle that is never devoid of welcomed refreshing and renewing change. Your life can become brand new! How you may ask? By simply turning to Jesus Christ in faith and asking Him to turn things around for you; to free you from the drudgery of living one day after the other lacking fulfillment and satisfaction, to experiencing life that never ceases to amaze you with its newness and sense of worth. Just acknowledge your desperate need of Jesus to alter your present undesired state, and He will make you NEW, through and through.

If Not For You

Pastor Jakes