How do we have a merry heart?

How do we have a merry heart?

A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones.

Proverbs 17:22 (KJV)

We are told in this scripture that a merry heart is like medicine. Medicine is used to cure, stop or prevent illness. In the same way, when you keep a happy heart, it can cure, stop or prevent emotional disease such as depression and anxiety. The question is, how do we keep a merry heart?

1. Choose to have a merry heart

We can actually choose to be happy and merry, because choice is a gift that the Lord has given to each and every human being. When David was discouraged after his wives and possessions were stolen by the Amalakites, the Bible tells us that he encouraged himself in the Lord. It was David who also declared that:

This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.

Psalm 118:24 (KJV)

2. Fill your heart with the love of God

We must purpose in our lives to fill our hearts with the love of the Lord because it is the love of Christ that will fill our hearts with joy:

Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other.

Romans 12:9-10 (NLT)

3. Maintain a peaceful heart

To have a merry heart, we must cultivate the habit of letting the peace of Jesus Christ sustain and dwell in our hearts:

And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful.

Colossians 3:15 (NLT)

Prayer

Dear Lord, please help me to have a merry heart in Jesus mighty name.

How to speak of excellent things

Listen, for I will speak of excellent things, And from the opening of my lips will come right things; For my mouth will speak truth; Wickedness is an abomination to my lips. All the words of my mouth are with righteousness; Nothing crooked or perverse is in them.

Proverbs 8:6-8 (NKJV)

The words we speak are very powerful. The Bible is very clear about the kinds of words that we should speak as believers in Jesus Christ:

1. Speak words of excellence

Our words must be filled with excellence which means that we must think carefully about them, before we actually speak them. For us to speak of excellent things, we must think about things that are excellent:

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

Philippians 4:8 (NIV)

2. Speak the truth

Speaking the truth from a sincere heart is what God expects from us. It’s not always easy and there are times that we may be tempted to tell lies, however we are encouraged to speak the truth at all times:

Who may worship in your sanctuary, Lord? Who may enter your presence on your holy hill? Those who lead blameless lives and do what is right, speaking the truth from sincere hearts.

Psalm 15:1-2 (NLT)

3. Speak words of righteousness

We must speak words that are right. In other words, if we know that the words we are about to speak are not right and will not build someone up, we must avoid them all together:

The mouth of the righteous man utters wisdom, and his tongue speaks what is just.

Psalm 37:30 (NIV)

4. Avoid speaking perverse words

Perverse words are words that are crooked and twisted , and we are encouraged not to speak such words:

Avoid all perverse talk; stay away from corrupt speech.

Proverbs 4:24 (NLT)

Prayer:

Dear Lord, please help me to only speak excellent things in 2018 in Jesus΄ name.

Books

My Purpose Journal

Why I Changed My Name

How to Stop the Negative Voices in your Head

How Jesus Healed

 

God bless,

Blessing Theophilus-Israel

Spiritual Life Coach

How do you gain self-control?

How do you gain self-control?  

He will die for lack of self-control; he will be lost because of his great foolishness.

Proverbs 5:23

The passage above tells us that the  lack of self-control can lead to death. The question then is, how do we gain self-control?

1. Accept Jesus as our Lord and Saviour

We are told that one of the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit is self-control (Galatians 5:22). Therefore when we have the Holy Spirit, He will help us to control ourselves. However, we can only receive the Holy Spirit once we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour, because once we believe in Him, He seals us with the Holy Spirit:

And now you Gentiles have also heard the truth, the Good News that God saves you. And when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom he promised long ago.

Ephesians 1:13 (NLT)

2. Depend on the Holy Spirit

When we depend on the Holy Spirit, He will help us to control ourselves. He does this by convicting us of sin and helping us to live a life of righteousness:

And when He comes, He will convict the world of its sin, and of God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment.

John 16:8 (NLT)

3. Discipline ourselves

In order to have self-control, we must discipline ourselves to say no to sin and whatever pleasures we may enjoy that we know can lead to destruction and death. Jesus said that if your right eye causes you to sin pluck it out (Matthew 5:29). In other words, we should not give room to whatever will hinder us in our Christian walk to heaven. Paul also encouraged us to discipline our bodies and keep it under control, so that we may win the prize that is set before us which is eternal life:

I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others, I myself might be disqualified.

1 Corinthians 9:27 (NLT)

Prayer

Dear Lord, please help me to discipline myself so that I can win the prize of eternal life that is laid before me in Jesus name, amen.

Events

Finding Your Purpose and Overcoming Limiting Mindset and Book Launch, Friday 27 October 2017

Breaking Free Deliverance Service every Tuesday

Breakthrough to Your Purpose Retreat 2017 from 1-3 December 2017

New Books for 2017

My Purpose Journal

Why I Changed My Name

How to Stop the Negative Voices in your Head

 

God bless,

Blessing Theophilus-Israel

Spiritual Life Coach

Every promise of God is true

Behold, this day I am going the way of all the earth. And you know in all your hearts and in all your souls that not one thing has failed of all the good things which the Lord your God spoke concerning you. All have come to pass for you; not one word of them has failed.

Joshua 23:14

In his second to last address, Joshua reminded the Children of Israel of all that The Lord had done for them and how that not one thing had failed which The Lord told them, they had all come to pass. The Lord is likewise telling you that every promise He has made concerning you will also come to pass. Here is why:

1. God cannot lie

Human beings may lie however God cannot lie. Every word He has spoken concerning your life will surely come to pass:

God is not a man, so He does not lie. He is not human, so He does not change His mind. Has He ever spoken and failed to act? Has He ever promised and not carried it through?

Numbers 23:19 (NLT)

However His promises are also conditional. He will do His part if we will do our part in obeying Him and follow His commands then He will bring to pass everything He has promised:

And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the LORD thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth

Deuteronomy 28:1 (KJV)

2. God cannot fail

As human beings we are prone to fail one another however this is not so of God, He cannot fail us, His very nature is faithfulness:

If we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot disown himself.

2 Timothy 2:13 (NIV)

3. God is patient

Sometimes we as human beings think that God is slow because He doesn’t answer our prayers when we want or expect Him to respond to them however we have to remember that God’s is patient and His timing is not our timing. He is patient because He doesn’t want any of us to perish:

The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

2 Peter 3:9

Prayer

Dear Father, I thank You that every Word of Yours is true. I believe that every promise You have given concerning my life will surely come to pass in Jesus name.

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How to Find Your Purpose Workshop, 26 January 2017

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God bless,

Blessing Theophilus-Israel

Spiritual Life Coach

How can you prepare for spiritual warfare?

Last week, we learned that we are in a spiritual war, and that we must be prepared for the war. The Scripture below tells us how we can prepare ourselves to engage in the combat:

Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints.

Ephesians 6:10-18 NKJV

The Scripture above gives us 10 strategies for preparing ourselves for spiritual warfare:

1. Be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might and put on the whole armour of God:

To be strong in The Lord means that you recognise your strength does not come from you but it comes from God:

The Lord is my strength and my shield; My heart trusted in Him, and I am helped; Therefore my heart greatly rejoices, And with my song I will praise Him

Psalm 28:7

2. Stand having girded your waist with truth

The first part of the armour is the belt of truth. To wear the belt of truth means to equip yourself with the knowledge of the truth and we know that Jesus Christ who is also the Word of God is truth (John 17:17). We must know Jesus as the truth and that truth will set us free (John 8:32):

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me”

John 14:6

3. Put on the breastplate of righteousness

The breastplate protects the chest right down to the hip. Righteousness is living right with God. When you wear the protection of right living on your chest it will protect your heart and its emotions from the attacks of the enemy. You can only live right with God when you are clothed with His righteousness which we obtain through the blood of Jesus Christ:

For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him

2 Corinthians 5:21

4. Have your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace

The feet is an important but often neglected part of the body. A soldier must be able to stand in order to wage a good warfare. The Lord wants you to wear the Good News of peace to help you stand strong:

And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written:

“How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, Who bring glad tidings of good things!”

Romans 10:15

5. Above all take the shield of faith

The shield is large and is shaped like a door. It was large enough to provide full protection from attack. The shield of faith then protects the whole believer and covers the whole person in spiritual warfare.

The reason it says ‘above all’ is that faith is one weapon a Christian cannot do without in this battle to reach our promised land. We must take it everywhere we go because we never know when it will be needed, and it is faith that extinguishes or takes the fire out of the missals of the enemy (Ephesians 6:16).

Faith is confidence in God and without faith it is impossible to please Him (Hebrews 11:6).

6. Take the helmet of salvation

A helmet is a protective gear that protects your head in battle. The Lord here is telling us that we need to be assured of our salvation in Him. This assurance will protect our minds when the enemy comes in with all his accusations and discouragement. In the day of battle you need to have the assurance that The Lord is The One who will save you:

O God the Lord, the strength of my salvation, thou hast covered my head in the day of battle

Psalm 140:7

7. Take the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God

The sword of the Spirit which is the word of God is the only offensive weapon in the armour of God. In Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness it is the Word of God that He used to overpower satan. You use the Word of God offensively when you confess it to whatever situations you are facing. The Word of God is sharp and it will cut from the roots any plant (i.e. sickness, discouragement, pride, poverty etc.) that the Father has not planted (Matthew 15:13):

For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

Hebrews 4:12

8. Pray always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit

The Bible says we should pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17). To pray in The Spirit is to pray the heart and mind of God. His heart and mind can be found in the Bible and when you pray in tongues you are also praying in the Spirit:

For he who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God, for no one understands him; however, in the spirit he speaks mysteries

1 Corinthians 14:2

9. Be watchful to the end

We are given a charge to be watchful. A soldier on the battlefront knows that he or she cannot afford to sleep or slumber because the enemy could attack at any time. Likewise as Soldiers in the army of God we are charged to be watchful and not to sleep because we do not know when our Lord is coming (Matthew 24:42) however we are also warned to be sober and vigilant because we have an enemy who prowls around like a lion seeking someone to destroy:

Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour

1 Peter 5:8

10. Persevere and make supplication for all saints

The final charge is that we must be patient or persevere and make supplication for all saints. We are told to persevere because the race is not for the swift (Ecclesiastes 9:11) but it takes endurance (2 Timothy 2:12).

Just to recap, this is how we can prepare for war:

1. Be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might and put on the whole armour of God
2. Stand having girded your waist with truth
3. Put on the breastplate of righteousness
4. Have your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace
5. Above all take the shield of faith
6. Take the helmet of salvation
7. Take the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God
8. Pray always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit
9. Be watchful to the end
10. Persevere and make supplication for all saints.

Prayer:

Dear Lord, I thank You for Your Word. Please help me to daily put on the whole armour of God that I may be able to withstand in the evil day and having done all to stand. I stand therefore, having girded my waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod my feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which I will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And I take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints in Jesus name, amen.

Listen to Message

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLhWXMcl6NE

Do you know God’s purpose for your life? If not, please download your free book: How to Discover Your Life’s Purpose Through Dreams

What Are The Hallmarks of A Great Leader?

Joshua, son of Nun, and all the people were camped at Acacia. Joshua sent out two spies. No one knew that Joshua sent out these men. Joshua said to them, “Go and look at the land, especially the city of Jericho.”

So the men went to the city of Jericho and stayed at the house of a prostitute named Rahab.

(Joshua 2:1 ERV)

When Joshua was leading the Children of Israel into the promised land, the first city they had to conquer was Jericho. Joshua, the new leader decided to send out two spies to go and assess the land, to see how best they could capture the city.

Joshua did not broadcast the news to the people that he was sending out the spies. No one knew that he had sent out these men. From this story we can learn several hallmarks about a great leader:

1. A Great Leader Knows When to Speak

There is a time and a season for everything, including a time to speak and a time to be silent (Ecclesiastes 3:7). When an injustice is taking place a great leader knows that they must speak to defend the poor and the needy:

Speak up for people who cannot speak for themselves. Help people who are in trouble. Stand up for what you know is right, and judge all people fairly. Protect the rights of the poor and those who need help.

(Proverbs 31:8-9 ERV)

2. A Great Leader Knows When Not to Speak

A great leader knows that there is a time to be silent. This is especially true when your enemies are mocking you, you don’t always have to defend yourself; a great leader will leave it to God to defend them.

When the Assyrians invaded Judah and Senneacherib king of Assyria sent his commander to go and talk to the three officials from Jerusalem, the commander was mocking the God of Israel and told the people of Judah not to believe Hezekiah when he said that God would deliver them.

But King Hezekiah instructed his officials and the people to be silent and not to say anything, instead they took their troubles to the Lord:

But the people were silent. They did not say a word to the commander, because King Hezekiah had commanded them, “Don’t say anything to him.”

Isaiah 36:21 (ERV)

3. A Great Leader Knows That You Have to Study

A great leader knows that even though God may give you an assignment, you don’t just jump into it straightaway. Like Joshua and Moses before him, you have to spy out the land, or in our modern day parlance, carry out a thorough research. Research will ensure that you know what you are going into so that you can be better prepared to carry out whatever assignment is ahead of you. God tells us to study to increase our skill:

Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth

(2 Timothy 2:15 KJV)

So What Are the Hallmarks of a Great Leader?

1. A great leader knows when to speak.
2. A great leader knows when not to speak.
3. A great leader knows that you have to study.

There are other hallmarks of a great leader so watch out for Part 2 as we continue our study in the Book of Joshua.

Prayer:

Dear Lord, please help me to be a great leader. Help me to know when to speak and when to be silent. Please help me to know when to study and when to act in Jesus name, amen.

Listen to Message

You can also listen to this message on YouTube here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YBGqB6a8iSU

Do you know God’s purpose for your life? If not, please download your free book: How to Discover Your Life’s Purpose Through Dreams