Life's Happening Devotional

IT WILL TAKE YOU!

It Will Take You! Today’s Scripture: Psalms 1:3 NIV God is not going to do it for us; it will take us to get the blessings and the things God promises. It is very clear in Scripture. Nothing happens in the kingdom or in our lives without us. God says he will favor us, but it still requires us, our participation, our getting up and doing the work. God's promises are not in isolation from our participation. He said: Deuteronomy 28:12 NIV The Lord will open the heavens, the storehouse of his bounty, to send rain on your land in season and to bless all the work of your hands. You will lend to many nations but will borrow from none. Let's not miss this, he is sending rain, he's opening the heavens, and storehouse of his bounty in season to bless all the WORK of your hands. The work of your hands means it will take your involvement. If there's no work of your hand then there is nothing for God to bless or rain down on because we haven't put the work in yet. Family, Believing is not just saying you trust or agree with something—it’s acting on that belief. Faith and work go hand in hand. Faith is trusting God, and works are the steps you take to show you trust Him. If you trust him you must get involved, and do the things required to get to that next level in your life. Here are a few examples from the Scriptures of Faith in Action: 1. Noah (Genesis 6:9-22) Noah believed God’s warning about the flood, but his faith was shown in action by building the ark according to God’s instructions, even when it didn’t make sense. 2. Abraham (Genesis 12:1-4) Abraham believed God’s promise to make him a great nation. His faith was active when he left his home, stepping into the unknown, and trusting God to guide him. 3. Moses (Exodus 14:15-16) When the Israelites faced the Red Sea, Moses believed God would deliver them, but he had to lift his staff and stretch his hand over the sea for it to part. 4. The Woman with the Issue of Blood (Mark 5:25-34) She believed Jesus could heal her, but her faith moved her to push through the crowd and touch the hem of His garment. 5. Peter Walking on Water (Matthew 14:28-31) Peter believed Jesus could enable him to walk on water, but it wasn’t until he stepped out of the boat that his faith became action. Without a shadow of a doubt, it will take you. Get involved and you will evolve and become that which God promises in your life. God bless you. Please share this episode with someone else and be blessed. Please see the links below to support us financially. God bless you. Life’s Happening Devotional Book is available for Purchase at Amazon: https://a.co/d/4VWvg9Z Get your Life's Happening Podcast Swag Clothing at https://gi-apparels.printify.me/products Please email us at lifeshappeningdevotional@gmail.com. Please visit our website to purchase your Copy of our 30-Day Devotional Book: https://lifeshappeningdevotional.com/books/ Check out our YouTube Podcast Channel and Subscribe and share it with others: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0qn_Yy0bxWHRrEdWCzQqlw Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/lifeshappening/support

Results PREY

Today’s Scripture: Psalms 27:4 NIV One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple. Focus: I pray for results, and if those results don't show up, I stop praying, instead of praying to God for God meaning that I pray from a place of love for God and to God. I pray for results. I'm a results prey. I've become a prey to results, I'm a victim to results. If the results never show up then I stop praying. My prayers are results based not relationship based. So, God has to perform for me to pray, God has to do a particular thing for me to pray and remain faithful in prayer. So my prayer life becomes conditional instead of a conviction. There's no conviction to pray because it is not relational it is conditional. When this happens we have become results prey, and God doesn't move because God wants to be first in our lives he's not trying to be our genie in a bottle that we rub 3 times and make a wish and results come based on what we asked for. He's too big for that. He wants a relationship, not a "result ship" we've become results prey. The enemy can have his way with us because we are inconsistent in our prayer life because God doesn't respond to results prayers he responds to relationship prayers. Point 1: Relationship vs Result-ship Matthew 6:33 (NIV) "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." This verse emphasizes the priority of seeking God above all else. It reminds us that our focus should be on God’s kingdom and righteousness rather than the results or "things" we desire. The results come as a byproduct of our genuine pursuit of Him. Point 2: Conviction vs Conditional Psalm 27:4 (NIV) "One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple." This verse highlights a heart posture of seeking God simply to enjoy His presence and beauty, not for any specific outcomes. It’s a great example of loving God for who He is. Point 3: Consistency vs Inconsistency Jeremiah 29:13 (NIV) "You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart." A reminder that wholehearted pursuit of God leads to finding Him, not just the results we want. Family, this is consistency. God is telling us that when it comes to seeking him we must remain consistent which is seeking him with all our hearts. This is where our treasure is, he wants to become our treasure. Inconsistency comes when we seek him for results and not for him. The Challenge Today is: We need to evaluate our prayer life—Are they result-focused or God-focused? Here are some questions: “When you pray, is your focus primarily on asking God for things you need or want?” “Do you feel frustrated or disappointed when your prayers don’t seem to ‘work’?” “How often do you pray simply to connect with God without an agenda?” Family, let's shift our prayers from being results-driven to being relationship-driven: Ultimately, the purpose of prayer is to connect with God, know Him more deeply, and align with His will. Please share this episode with someone else and be blessed. Please see the links below to support us financially. God bless you. Life’s Happening Devotional Book is available for Purchase at Amazon: https://a.co/d/4VWvg9Z Get your Life's Happening Podcast Swag Clothing at https://gi-apparels.printify.me/products Please email us at lifeshappeningdevotional@gmail.com. Please visit our website to purchase your Copy of our 30-Day Devotional Book: https://lifeshappeningdevotional.com/books/ Check out our YouTube Podcast Channel and Subscribe and share it with others: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0qn_Yy0bxWHRrEdWCzQqlw

God Sees You

Text: Genesis 16:13 NIV [13] She gave this name to the Lord who spoke to her: “You are the God who sees me,” for she said, “I have now seen the One who sees me.” Points: 1. God sees us even when things are dark When we are dealing with situations that are too hard to bear and just overwhelming And we think that God is not there Today he wants you to know that he sees you. Hagar was going through the wilderness, a storm, a situation that could take her out and would take her out but God saw her and because he saw her she acknowledge him as El Roi, that is " The God Who Sees". Today, I want you to know that God sees you in your wilderness of decisions, pain, suffering, stress, he sees you and he says to you today, I see you and I'm with you. You can trust me. I am God, the God who brought the children of Israel out of Egypt, turned water into wine, healed the blind, raised the dead man Lazarus, there's nothing too hard for me. I See You! It might be very dark right now in your life, but do you know that God see you in the dark? Yes he does. 2. God sees us when we can't see him There are times when our situations clouds our vision to the point where we can't see God. Have you ever experienced a situation where all you're seeing is just dark and cloudy, nothing seems to be clear in your life? In these moments we must trust God and rely on His Grace and Mercy. We must rely on his reputation, the thing she has done before in our lives. Remember when you had that car accident and almost died but the Lord saved you, even the emergency responders clips not believe that you were the one that was in the car! God sees you! You might not be able to see him because you are going through a difficult season of life, but God sees you. 3. God sees us when we feel alone and Afraid Hagar was afraid, and she felt all alone in the wilderness of decisions and darkness. She wondered and wondered does God see e, does he even care. If he does why am I dealing with this divorce, why am I dealing with this miscarriage,.why am I dealing with this cancer, why am I dealing with this sickness and depression. Please share this episode with someone else and be blessed. Please see the links below to support us financially. God bless you. Life’s Happening Devotional Book is available for Purchase at Amazon: https://a.co/d/4VWvg9Z Get your Life's Happening Podcast Swag Clothing at https://gi-apparels.printify.me/products Please email us at lifeshappeningdevotional@gmail.com. Please visit our website to purchase your Copy of our 30-Day Devotional Book: https://lifeshappeningdevotional.com/books/ Check out our YouTube Podcast Channel and Subscribe and share it with others: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0qn_Yy0bxWHRrEdWCzQqlw

Under Construction

Philippians 3:12 NIV Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Let’s Look at 5 points that Take Place While we are Under Construction by God. 1. Change Change is hard. Construction can be uncomfortable, change is uncomfortable because we are creatures of routine, repetition, so when changes are introduced into our lives we get out of sorts because it disrupts our norm, the system that we've put in place. For example, construction on our route to work, a very familiar route can be very disruptive and uncomfortable for us. Why?...because it changes everything that is our norm, our routine. It can make us late for work and frustrate us because it doesn't lend itself to our norm. 2. Growing Growth never happens in stagnation or routine, it never happens where there's no disruption. Change is inevitable for growth. Most of us want to grow but do not want the disruption growth brings. Pregnant Mothers: Babies never enter this world without changes to the mother's life. They never come without disputing our norms and routines. As the baby grows within the mother's womb, the baby causes changes in the mother that are disruptive and painful at times. When we are under God's construction and development, it will be painful because it comes with changes and growth, and the two are interconnected. 3. Gaining Weight In your growth, you always gain weight. When God's developing us, we often get uncomfortable because again, like the pregnant mothers the baby is growing and developing within her and it causes her to gain weight. The weight gain is a sign that growth is taking place. It is a sign that you are being equipped to carry that which God has gifted you with and trusted you to do. 4. Grace Construction is disruptive but it's really God's mercy at work in our lives. The Bible says whom the Lord loves he corrects. Most of the time construction is always to improve and make better. God's construction in our lives is a sign of his grace and mercy towards us. Embrace his grace for the season of construction in your life. You are under construction and it is your development process to bring about your Greatness. Grace is the unmerited favor that strengthens us when we fall short. It’s God’s assurance that His power works best in our weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9). 5. Guidance Construction comes with new signs, on the highway when there's construction, it always has lots of signs to guide us in the midst of the disruption. Sometimes they give us another route to take, sometimes they change the speed limit to a slower speed. Sometimes it says narrow lanes, or stay in your lane, it also says, detour and it gives you another route that you might not be familiar with. However, all of these signs are for us to get to where we were going in the first place. They are there to guide us. It's guidance. Construction is guidance, family. We are under construction. Our entire life is one big construction project for God. Embrace it and become all that God has created you to be. Please share this episode with someone else and be blessed. Please see the links below to support us financially. God bless you. Life’s Happening Devotional Book is Availble for Purchase at Amazon: https://a.co/d/4VWvg9Z Get your Life's Happening Podcast Swag Clothing at https://gi-apparels.printify.me/products Please email us at lifeshappeningdevotional@gmail.com. Please visit our website to purchase your Copy of our 30-Day Devotional Book: https://lifeshappeningdevotional.com/books/ Check out our YouTube Podcast Channel and Subscribe and share it with others: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0qn_Yy0bxWHRrEdWCzQqlw

A CHRISTMAS MESS

Scripture: Luke 2:7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger because no guest room was available for them. But the first Christmas was also filled with doubt, relational conflict, danger, and grief — all under the sovereign watch of Father God. Yet these conditions make Jesus' arrival so hopeful and relatable. The blessing of the first Christmas wasn't in perfect circumstances — it was in God's kingdom! I would have expected everything to be nice and neat, and you would have too, this was Jesus! The Son of God being born into the world. I expected trumpets to be echoing loud angels flying all around and sweet music while Jesus was ushered into the world. But instead... He came into a messy situation, but this was intentional because if he had come the way I expected or imagined, we would have missed God's presence in our messy situations. Christmas includes stress and conflict for everybody. It can feel heavy as you process pain and loss. The pain of not being with family. The Loss of a loved one. Children are not able to come home for Christmas because they are deployed. Not having enough money to get the things you wanted or to give the type of gifts you wanted. Disappointed because you are alone for Christmas because family is far or left in another country. The List goes on and on... we are dealing with real messy situations, but the great thing here is that Jesus is not a stranger to this becuase for this cause he came into the world, yet when he came, he came into a mess. His coming wasn't perfection it was chaotic but nontheless he came. This shhould give us the confidence to know that even when Christmas get messy and become overwheling for us, we can lean on Jesus and take refuge and find hope in him. He came to bring us peace and joy, the bible says it was peace on earht and joy, he came in a mess yet there was peace and joy on earth because he came , he is our hope this Christmas. I encourage us to return our focus and our gaze on Jesus who came to be with us and to bring us hope, joy, and peace, glad tidings all around because he is our hope. Christmas should always remind us that Jesus is in our mess with us and give us hope for a future that is brighter and better, he is the light of the world and he is with us, Emanuel God with us. You are not alone, your mess is not new to Jesus, he is in it with you and he is never going to leave you not forsake you. Shake off the pain and enjoy your Christmas because after all it is about Jesus's birth, though messy brought us hope and eternal life. Please share this episode with someone else and be blessed. Please see the links below to support us financially. God bless you. Life’s Happening Devotional Book is Availble for Purchase at Amazon: https://a.co/d/4VWvg9Z Get your Life's Happening Podcast Swag Clothing at https://gi-apparels.printify.me/products Please email us at lifeshappeningdevotional@gmail.com. Please visit our website to purchase your Copy of our 30-Day Devotional Book: https://lifeshappeningdevotional.com/books/ Check out our YouTube Podcast Channel and Subscribe and share it with others: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0qn_Yy0bxWHRrEdWCzQqlw This Christmas, It's important to not simply "act happy" while suppressing your emotions. Getting honest about your experience with someone you trust and can open up to will help you open your heart to seek Jesus' healing, care, and comfort. This helps you shift your perspective off of yourself and focus on his presence and goodness in everything — even the hardships of the holidays and life. Remember that God is working all things for your good. Jesus was born in chaos, in imperfection. We cannot expect that because we are believers that life will be perfect, or that Christmas won't be a mess. But there's hope in our Christmas Mess ... why? because Jesus, Emanuel has come and he's God with us.