What a mighty God we serve! For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, and His truth endures to all generations (Psalm 100:5). All the honor, glory and praise belong to Him. Thank you Lord  for your inspired word that will not return void, and will prosper in the thing for which it was sent.
​
Imagine with me today that you are invited to a dinner party by a person of prominence and power to bring your dreams to fruition. Perhaps this person is an industry leader, an investor, or philanthropist who can make a decision or write a check to cause the endeavor you have been dreaming about and working on your whole life to be realized at the highest levels. Surely when you receive this invitation you have no doubt about whether you will attend. The questions that begin to run through your mind are more along the lines of, “What will I wear?” Or perhaps you wonder, “What should I bring?” And if you are honest, you may even wonder, “What did I do to deserve the honor of this invitation?” This invitation is different than a random invite to the proverbial barbecue, where the first question in your minds is, “Who all is over there?” In this scenario, I imagine that we are not concerned about who else will be there, you are too consumed with gratitude that the invitation has been extended to you.

Upon arrival at the dinner party, on this most auspicious occasion, you recognize some familiar faces. You realize that many of the guests in attendance at this dinner party are people who have created stumbling blocks to your dream. The boss that fired you is there, hoping to get his idea recognized. The ex-girlfriend or best friend that betrayed you is there hoping to catch the romantic attention of any powerful person in the room. The employee that stole from your business when you had risked it all to strike out on your own is there, now employed by your host. Just as you begin to feel the compounded weight of having all of them in the room together, your gracious host commands the attention of the room. After making welcoming comments to all in attendance, you hear your named being called to come forward and stand with the host who proceeds to laud your impressive qualities and unrecognized merits. You are then presented with the award of your dreams.
 
This scenario reminds me of King David, described in the Bible (Acts 13:22) as a man after God’s own heart. As a psalmist, David’s own words give us comforting context and direction about scenarios like this one in Psalm 23:5, which declares:

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You anoint my head with oil;
My cup runs over.

What if God made sure that the enemies of your destiny were summoned and assembled to witness the moment that He has planned to prosper you, in spite of all they did to harm you (Jeremiah 29:11, Genesis 50:20). You thought that you were one of many honored guests, but God had in mind to make you the guest of honor. While the presence of those who had opposed you in the past at first felt as if it might bring your countenance down, the encouragement of David’s words in Psalm 110:1 reminds us that God’s plan through His Son Jesus Christ, who lives in you, was always to use their offenses to raise you up:

The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit at My right hand,
Till I make Your enemies Your footstool.”

Every one of the offenses that you experienced with the people who were in company to witness your accelerated promotion prepared you and provided for you opportunities to grow and master yourself in a way that only opposition can (James 1:1-4). Your faith and trust in God to operate in the character of Christ when experiencing the trials, suffered at the hands of these people, has matured you and precipitated your promotion. The Lord promised to make your enemies your footstool. Visualize every enemy in the room to be one footstool stacked on top of the next, with you standing weightlessly on top with the light of God shining through you (Matthew 5:16).

Be encouraged today to accept your invitation to a life in Jesus Christ, the only one with all power to promote you into your God given destiny using the people who have created stumbling blocks on your journey for your good (Exodus 9:16, Romans 8:28, Matthew 28:18). Believe and do not doubt that He is preparing a table before you in the presence of your enemies.

Be Blessed!
~Nina
​

I thank God today for the power to speak His powerful promises over our lives (Proverbs 18:21). No word of God will ever fail (Luke 1:37 NIV). His word does not return void and it will prosper in the thing for which He sent it (Isaiah 55:11 NKJV). Let's be empowered today with the power of God's word in our lives to cause us to prosper and be in good health. 
I share this encouragement with you today in 3 John 1:2 AMP with a heart for holistic prosperity, healing, and success in your life. Believe and declare victory over any area of lack, lethargy, or ailment in your life with the word of God (Mark 11:24 AMP):

For this reason I am telling you, whatever things you ask for in prayer [in accordance with God’s will], believe [with confident trust] that you have received them, and they will be given to you.

Speak directly to your need today with God's word and expect to have it filled by His faithfulness (Deuteronomy 32:4 AMP). The word of God is effective in any warfare that you are experiencing (Hebrews 4:12, 2 Corinthians 10:4-6). What victory are you believing and declaring God's word for today? Keep that word on your mind and in your heart and pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17 NKJV). Trust God who is faithful (Philippians 2:13-15 AMP). 

Be Blessed!
~Nina

This is the day that the Lord has made! Let us rejoice and be glad in it (Psalm 118:24). I want to let somebody know today that the Lord inhabits the praises of His people (Psalm 22:3 VOICE). Let us fix our mouths today to praise the Lord who causes His blessings to rain down in our lives with loving kindness and liberality (Psalm 67). Let us make a joyful noise in the earth today for our God who sees all, knows all, and with whom all things are possible (1 John 3:20, Matthew 19:26). Open your mouth and lift up the name of God! He is our Healer, our Deliverer, our Provider, the Alpha and the Omega. Let everything that has breath praise the Lord! (Psalm 150:6)

My encouragement today is simply to bless the Lord who gives you life. Keep a praise flowing off the tip of your tongue. Amplify His presence in your life with the power of praise for God who is with us (Matthew 1:23).
Let us meditate on the word of God today to remind us to praise Him. For He is faithful and worthy of our praise.

​Hallelujah to your name God!!!

Psalm 100
Make a joyful shout to the Lord, all you lands!
Serve the Lord with gladness;
Come before His presence with singing.
Know that the Lord, He is God;
It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves;
We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.
Enter into His gates with thanksgiving,
And into His courts with praise.
Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.
For the Lord is good;
His mercy is everlasting,
And His truth endures to all generations.

Be Blessed!
​~Nina
​

​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
​

This is the day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it! What a mighty God we serve. He is God, our Creator, who knew us before He formed us in our mothers' wombs (Jeremiah 1:5). He goes before us and makes crooked places straight, and rough places smooth to make a way out of no way so that we may live the lives He has planned for us (Isaiah 43:19). Knowing and thanking God for all of this, we must be cautious not to create plans and shape identities of our own making for our lives that we elevate above the plans and personality that God has set for us (Genesis 5:1-2). Our lives are not our own. We each have a unique purpose that is part of God's great plan for Mankind. According to the word of God in, Romans 11:29, God's gifts and the call on each of our lives is irrevocable. I like the definition given by Dictionary.com for irrevocable: "not to be revoked or recalled; unable to be repealed or annulled; unalterable"

We cannot change God's plan. We cannot use our God given gifts to suit our own self-determined ambitions. It is what it is. 

We live in a world that encourages us to believe in ourselves first and most. We hear messages all the time that cheer us on to dream the impossible dream and to go get it. We literally make plans and real life decisions based on the desire to have it all, and the notion that we deserve the "it" that we are chasing. The inherent failure of such plans is that our lives are not our own. No matter how shrewd we may be, and fail safe we think our best plans are, they are plans set on a framework of a life in a world that is all in God's hands. He is the Creator and we are His creation. It is simply unwise and will prove futile to create desires for ourselves that honor the ideas and illusions of this world, and ignore or dishonor the desires of the Creator. 

Romans 1:25 NIV
They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.


My encouragement today is for us all to do a heart check, to consider our ways (Haggai 1:5-6). Let's give thought to what our lives are about. What dreams are we chasing that are in conflict with the plan and personality that God has set within us? Are we hell bent on achieving what we hold up as a good life based on desires conceived for us and planted in us with the wisdom of the world, giving no consideration to the plan of God? Are these goals that we are trying to crush ones that require us to take on the selfish, proud, arrogant, immoral, lustful, envious attitudes of the culture, or does the mission for our lives thrive as we live in the wisdom and humility of Christ? I pray that every reader of this message will take time with an open heart to consider these questions today, with help from the word of God in James 3:13-17 NIV:
13 Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. 14 But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. 15 Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. 16 For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice. 17 But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. 18 Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness.

I pray today that we would each know God for ourselves and seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness (Matthew 6:33). "We are destroying sophisticated arguments and every exalted and proud thing that sets itself up against the [true] knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought and purpose captive to the obedience of Christ" (2 Corinthians 10:5 AMP). In the strong and powerful name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Be Blessed!
~Nina

I thank God today for the comfort and blessed assurance of His promises. "For all the promises of God in [Jesus Christ] are Yes and in [Jesus Christ] Amen, to the glory of God through us." (1 Corinthians 1:20) It brings so much joy to my soul to know that no word of God's will every return void,  and that His word will always succeed in the matter for which it was sent (Isaiah 55:11 AMP). I rest easy and sleep well at night knowing that while the grass withers, and the flower fades, the word of our God will stand forever (Isaiah 40:8). 

My heart is full today with the assurance of God's promise in James 1:12, the focus scripture for today's message. I am beaming with belief and barring all doubt that the current trials of life are an amazing opportunity to produce through faith the character of Christ in our lives (James 1:2-4). A life that is lived by the Spirit--mature and fruitful in faith--is one that is adorned with the crown of life, the reward for enduring trials and living in the fullness of Christ (Ephesians 4). In pursuing the crown of life our endurance through trials is essential.

James 1:2-8
2 Consider it nothing but joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you fall into various trials. 3 Be assured that the testing of your faith [through experience] produces endurance [leading to spiritual maturity, and inner peace]. 4 And let endurance have its perfect result and do a thorough work, so that you may be perfect and completely developed [in your faith], lacking in nothing. 5 If any of you lacks wisdom [to guide him through a decision or circumstance], he is to ask of [our benevolent] God, who gives to everyone generously and without rebuke or blame, and it will be given to him. 6 But he must ask [for wisdom] in faith, without doubting [God’s willingness to help], for the one who doubts is like a billowing surge of the sea that is blown about and tossed by the wind. 7 For such a person ought not to think or expect that he will receive anything [at all] from the Lord, 8 being a double-minded man, unstable and restless in all his ways [in everything he thinks, feels, or decides].

My encouragement today is simply four things we can do to run the race of endurance, keeping our focus on the crown:

1) Be Wise 
Proverbs 4:5-9 AMP
“Get [skillful and godly] wisdom! Acquire understanding [actively seek spiritual discernment, mature comprehension, and logical interpretation]! Do not forget nor turn away from the words of my mouth. “Do not turn away from her (Wisdom) and she will guard and protect you;
Love her, and she will watch over you. “The beginning of wisdom is: Get [skillful and godly] wisdom [it is preeminent]! And with all your acquiring, get understanding [actively seek spiritual discernment, mature comprehension, and logical interpretation]. “Prize wisdom [and exalt her], and she will exalt you;
She will honor you if you embrace her. “She will place on your head a garland of grace; She will present you with a crown of beauty and glory.”

2) Be Obedient 
2 Timothy 2:5 AMP
And if anyone competes as an athlete [in competitive games], he is not crowned [with the wreath of victory] unless he competes according to the rules.

3) Be In Good Company 
2 Timothy 4:7-8 AMP
I have fought the good and worthy and noble fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith [firmly guarding the gospel against error]. In the future there is reserved for me the [victor’s] crown of righteousness [for being right with God and doing right], which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that [great] day—and not to me only, but also to all those who have loved and longed for and welcomed His appearing.
1 Corinthians 15:33 AMP
Do not be deceived: “Bad company corrupts good morals.”

4) Bless The Lord
Psalm 103:2-5 AMP
Bless and affectionately praise the Lord, O my soul,
And do not forget any of His benefits;
Who forgives all your sins,
Who heals all your diseases;
Who redeems your life from the pit,
Who crowns you [lavishly] with lovingkindness and tender mercy;
Who satisfies your years with good things,
So that your youth is renewed like the [soaring] eagle.

Be wise. Be obedient. Be in good company. Bless the Lord. Let us run our race of faith with endurance with our hearts and minds fixed on the victorious intended outcome, the crown of life in Jesus Christ.

Be Blessed!
~Nina
​

I thank God today that He is God alone, who does great and wondrous things (Psalm 86:10). How great are His signs, and how mighty His wonders! His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and His dominion is from generation to generation (Daniel 4:3). It is God who has the final say in our lives. He is the one who chooses to bless, at his discretion. He will show mercy to anyone He chooses, and compassion to anyone He chooses (Romans 9:15).  

My heart is focused today on knowing that God will bless whomever He chooses. Many of us may not have reported for duty to serve God early in our lives. For many of us it has taken a lot to come to the place where we can truly say that we seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness (Matthew 6:33). Learning as we go, we surrender our hearts to God with a sincere desire to live a life that is pleasing and productive to Him. I find comfort and hope in knowing that living by faith is pleasing to God and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him (Hebrews 11:6). Let's trust God's judgement and His timing to choose us to receive His mercy, compassion, and favor. He has dominion and power over all things. Promotion comes from Him (Psalm 75:6-7).  We may not be deemed by people to be next in line or qualified for the blessing of our hearts' desires. But because we believe and live by faith with hearts that desire to please Him, God can choose to make us first to receive the greatest blessings of our lives. He can bless us without us having put in the time, done the work, or passed the tests required to receive the blessing.

His word in Deuteronomy 6:10-11 declares:
So it shall be, when the Lord your God brings you into the land of which He swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give you large and beautiful cities which you did not build, houses full of all good things, which you did not fill, hewn-out wells which you did not dig, vineyards and olive trees which you did not plant...

His word in Psalm 37:4 declares:
Delight yourself also in the Lord,
And He shall give you the desires of your heart.

My encouragement today is simply a reminder that by seeking first the Kingdom of God and all righteousness, we create lives by our faith that are pleasing to God. Making this way of life our priority get's the attention of God--Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us (Ephesians 3:20). Let's position ourselves in the heart of God to be His choice to receive unmerited mercy, compassion, and favor.

Be Blessed!
~Nina
​​

What a blessing it is to know that the blessedness of our lives did not begin with our birth. We are each an inheritance from the Lord, an extension of God's grace and favor in the lives of those who came before us, established to be blessed before we were ever conceived in our mothers' wombs (Psalm 127:3, Jeremiah 1:5).  What a mighty God we serve! The prayers uttered before God and the acts of faith performed by our ancestors, great grandparents, grandparents, and parents have allowed us to be born into a bloodline established by God to be blessed. Not one of us was an accident. We are each the answer to a prayer, and we each were born for a purpose to magnify the name of God through our lives (Romans 11:29, Proverbs 18:21). Our blessed lives are the products of people before us who declared, "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." My encouragement today is that we thank God for the prayers of those that came before us, the faith that produced through us the lives of abundance that we have the privilege of living today, and the promise of blessedness for our children and future generations. Let us stop today and consider our own contributions to the legacies of faith that we glean from. What can we do to perpetuate blessedness for our families, and future generations?

Perhaps you don't perceive that you come from a bloodline that is blessed. Maybe everyone you know that is related to you are people who have not demonstrated righteousness or who don't have a history of magnifying the name of God. Maybe you don't feel like the life you are living is blessed at all. This is all the more reason to use the power of prayer to break the cycles of blocked and unrecognized blessings. We know that the effective, fervent prayer of a righteous person avails much (James 5:16). We have the power and opportunity through prayer with hearts of righteousness and acts of faith right now to contribute to and enlarge the blessed territory of not just our own lives, but the lives of our children and their children, and beyond (Deuteronomy 19:8, Hebrews 11).
​
In the book of 1 Chronicles we find the genealogies of Israel beginning with Adam, and the covenant that God made with David to establish his house and bless it forever in 1 Chronicles 17. The blessed house of David later comes to include the life of Jesus, as God had always intended (Isaiah 11:1-3​, John 3:16). I want to encourage anyone today who may feel like they are not from a blessed bloodline to consider the mention of a man named Jabez, in 1 Chronicles 4. While the genealogical account of the family of Judah does not tell us who fathered Jabez, nor does it note his mother's name. All we know about him from the text is that "Jabez was more honorable than his brothers, and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, 'Because I bore him in pain' (1 Chronicles 4:9). I am encouraged and empowered by the report that although he was labeled by his mother as one who causes pain, Jabez called on God with a powerful prayer of faith to have the hand of God be with him and for him to not be one who causes pain, and God granted his request (1 Chronicles 4:10). We each have the power through prayer to ask God to bless our lives and overturn any negative legacies handed down to us. 

Let us pray to God in the way of Jabez...
Oh, God of Israel, I pray that You would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that Your hand would be with me, and that You would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain!

I encourage you to modify this prayer to uproot and overturn any negative legacy on your life. 

Be Blessed!
​~Nina

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