The Helper

"In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans." ~ Romans 8:26

In the beginning, God gave Adam a helper in the form of Eve. But when Jesus came, we all gained a helper in the form of the Holy Spirit.

You are not alone in this world. If you are a believer, God has implanted Himself in you through His Holy Spirit. Help is available. His whole purpose is to help lead and guide you even when you don't know how to lead and guide yourself. 

The question is, are you tapping into this power? In Proverbs 3:5, God promises to direct our path. But there is a caveat. That is, we have to trust and acknowledge Him. In other words, we have to let Him lead.

Are you letting the Holy Spirit lead your life today? If not, you probably aren't really living your best life.

God bless,

J.W. 

Who Wan Come Test?

"'And try Me now in this,' says the LORD of hosts, 'If I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it." ~ Malachi 3:10

I know it's often times hard to believe in what you can't see. You think something is supposed to be happening in your life and nothing does. Or you're waiting for a sign from God to show you that He exist and He cares.

But God is looking for you to take the first step. He says "try Me now in this and see if I will not open up windows in heaven for you." God is waiting for YOU to exercise your faith. As soon as you're willing to step out of the boat and trust Him (Matthew 14:28-31), that's when He'll show up in your life.

God bless,
J.W.

The Holy Spirit

"And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever - the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you." ~ John 14:16-17

While many Christian denominations deny the existence and/or significance of the Holy Spirit, this scripture proves otherwise. When we get saved - that is, when we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior - God gives us a Gift to help us face the everyday trials of life. It's up to us to either accept or reject that Gift. But either way, He's there and He's real. He lives inside of us. He is our direct connection to God. He's there to help us, to teach us, to guide us, to remind us, to counsel us, and to lead us.

If you find yourself failing to tap into this tremendous resource that God gives to His children, you are missing out on one of the most powerful benefits of being a Christian.

When we become believers, God gives us all the tools we need to be successful. The difference between our success and failure in life is the manner in which we use those tools.

God bless,
J.W.

Living According to the Spirit

 

"For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace." ~ Romans 8:5-6

There's nothing worse than a carnal Christian - people who claim Christ, are saved, and know the Gospel, but refuse to truly allow God to transform their lives because of fear and apathy. In short, they continue to live their lives according to the flesh. They curse, they fornicate, they sin. They often have bad attitudes and a poor outlook on life, and ultimately end up lonely because their actions drive everyone they love away.

Please don't end up like these people. Nobody's perfect and everyone makes mistakes, but God has called us to live according to the Spirit of God, not according to the desires of our flesh.

I know it gets hard sometimes to do the right thing. We all struggle to do so. But God never promised us it would be easy. In fact, He promised the opposite. In order to live a transformed life, you've got to do the hard work that it takes to be transformed. God promised a life of great blessing and triumph as a result.

So, if you've never been filled by the Spirit of God or done the hard work that it takes to crucify your earthly, fleshly desires, ask Him to come in your heart today. He's waiting for the invitation.

God bless,
J.W.

The Spirit

"So he said to me, "This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: 'Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,' says the LORD Almighty." ~ Zechariah 4:6

As believers, we are called to walk not by our own might or power, but by the Spirit of the Lord.

Whose power are you walking by today?

God bless,
J.W.

Wise In Your Own Eyes

This morning, on the Steve Harvey Morning Show, the “Strawberry Letter” was from a woman who had been living with a man for 26 years unmarried, and wanted to know if she should leave. In response to the woman’s letter, guest host, sports columnist Stephen A. Smith, claimed that the woman was lying to herself by saying she wants to leave. He said that, apparently, the man was doing something right for her to stay with him for 26 years, and insinuated that the woman stop focusing on getting married and worry about just being happy.
While, to the untrained ear, the advice might sound good, there are two problems with this response.

First of all, it’s not biblical. No matter what our society tells us, men and women should not have sexual relations with each other outside the context of marriage. It’s called FORNICATION and it’s expressly called out in the Bible for being against God’s will.

The second problem with this response is that it doesn’t address the woman’s main problem, which is that this woman has a serious lack of respect and esteem for herself. She clearly wants to be married to this man. That is why she is now contemplating whether she should leave. But, if marriage was really her original goal, she went about it all the wrong way.

Ladies, please know that guys will likely NOT MARRY YOU unless there’s some sort of incentive to. The old expression “why would he buy the cow when he can get the milk for free” holds true. Guys are hunters. We are goal oriented. And if we really like or want you, we will do whatever we must do to get you.

So, if you want to be married, please hold out until you are. If a man can’t wait for you and won’t make a commitment to you, then he wasn’t really right for you anyway.

But more importantly, Stephen A. Smith’s advice/opinion on the situation concerns me. As Christians, we must remember that we are called not to live according to our own wisdom, knowledge, understanding, and opinions, but rather that of God.

I don’t know whether Mr. Smith is a Christian or not, but what I do know is that he clearly didn’t consult with God or His word before giving his response. God gives us the Holy Spirit for exactly that purpose – so that we can decipher His will for our lives. So, when you’re giving advice to someone, please make sure it’s Godly advice and NOT just your own opinion.

God bless,
J.W.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil.” ~ Proverbs 3:5-7