​I give God glory today for His infallible word, His everlasting love, and his mercy that endures forever (Isaiah 40:8, Jeremiah 31:3, 1 Chronicles 16:34). This is the day that the Lord has made, and I am rejoicing and glad (Psalm 118:24). Today I am focused on walking in my God given authority. I am believing and declaring the word of God in Proverbs 29:2 over my life. “When the righteous are in authority and become great, the people rejoice. But when the wicked man rules, the people groan and sigh.” It is God operating within us that empowers us to truly become great (1 John 4:4). There are many people who have great titles or occupy celebrated roles that imply greatness. But they operate in the scope of their own desires and self-appointed authority (Psalm 75:6-7). We know that this is the case when the people who are subject to their influence feel tortured. We know this is the case when the products of their influence are detrimental to humanity (Matthew 7:16 TLB). We know this is the case when others suffer or die because of their decisions (Esther 3:4-6). We are each gifted and called by God to be and fully become whom He has predestined us to be, and to fulfill the roles that we have been assigned for our lives to move humanity forward (Romans 8:29-30). When we choose not to do so we abandon the post ordained by God for us in His Kingdom. This leaves room for the ungodly to occupy our position which interrupts the purpose of God for our lives and inflicts torture upon humanity in minor and major ways (Romans 8:18-22). But when the righteous people of God accept and avail themselves to operate in the roles to which they have been called, there is prosperity in the land and in the hearts and lives of the people they influence (Esther 4:13-15). 
The path to greatness is littered with opposition. There will be obstacles and formidable opponents on the road to your God given destiny. But be not dismayed. I encourage you today to remember that if God is for you no one and nothing can succeed against you (Romans 8:31). By operating in the authority given to us by God, we move through the path to greatness with the authority to trample on any move of the enemy that seeks to hurt or disarm us (Luke 10:19). Operating in our God given authority gives us power that makes us able to produce results that are above and beyond this world (Ephesians 3:20). Stepping into the calling of God for our lives requires us to be faithful and trustworthy in the sight of God in our day to day lives and minor assignments before we are promoted at the appointed time to the role that will pronounce and put on display the greatness and glory of God in us (Luke 19:17, Habakkuk 2:3). Not only do we wait and serve with patience for God to do this, but we must understand and accept that we will war on the path to our destiny (James 5:7, Deuteronomy 20:1). Just know in your soul that you have the victory in Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:54-57).
Move forward in your God given authority, and fully utilize your gifts for the calling of God on your life. This will make you great great!
Be Blessed!
~Nina
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For many of us, the passage of scripture that encourages us to be 'hearers AND doers' of the word in James 1:22 is pretty familiar. I've always likened this phrase to a common cultural saying, "Don't just talk about it, be about it." Meaning, let your actions reflect the words that you use to describe what you believe. 

Hearing the word of God is essential to our faith. Romans 10:17 declares, "So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." When we hear God's word we are experiencing perfection. God's word is perfect and infallible; no word from God will ever fail (Luke 1:37).  Receiving the word of God into our hearts builds our faith by reminding us of what to trust as true in our lives. It plants seeds of hope and confidence in the unseen (Hebrews 11:1). When the word of God is received as truth in our hearts with understanding  for our lives, it produces fruit (Matthew 13:23). Receiving the word of God builds our faith. But let us remember the declaration of God's word in James 2:17 AMP:
So too, faith, if it does not have works [to back it up], is by itself dead [inoperative and ineffective].
As we strive daily to live our blessed lives, let's take direction from our focus scripture today on what it takes to be blessed. Let's be encouraged today to live our faith by operating our lives as a demonstration of the word of God, being not just hearers but also doers of the word. Let us receive the word in our hearts with understanding, and by faith do works that produce good fruit by what we do. Here are 5 ways to do this:

1. Listen to God's word
2. Study God's word
3. Make it a habit to hear and study God's word
4. Memorize God's word by meditating on it
5. Do it!

Be Blessed!
​~Nina

Giving all honor and glory to God, it is my privilege and pleasure to share encouragement today that I pray will give life. What an awesome God we serve! He is mighty and worthy to be praised. Let’s be reminded today of the word of God in John 14:13, “And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.” With this word in our hearts we recognize the power of accepting Jesus Christ in our lives as Lord and Savior. We should never ask people, or the culture, for permission to live in fullness and freedom. For the Bible says in John 10:10 AMP, the focus scripture for this message, “The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. [Jesus] came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance [to the full, till it overflows].” So why do we ask the proverbial question, “Can I Live,” when we feel that our ability to enjoy life is being hindered? Why are we asking permission from creation to enjoy the benefits provided by our Creator, by way of Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ?

When we feel hindered or infringed upon, let us remember to go to God in prayer for what we need to live in the fullness of our abundant lives in Christ.

Philippians 4:6-7
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

My encouragement for you today is simply to live the abundant life that the sacrifice of Jesus Christ affords us. Be not dismayed by the weights and worries of this world that the enemy wants you to be caught up in (Proverbs 29:25). Give no power to the people in your life whose words and actions seek to steal and kill and destroy your peace and fulfillment according to God’s will for you (Isaiah 2:22).

Let’s meditate today on the wisdom of the passage of scripture in Hebrews 1:1-2 NKJV:

Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Be Blessed!
~Nina
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