Have you ever had a pitcher of Kool-Aid sit in the fridge for a day or so, and all the sugar settles to the bottom of the pitcher? The sugar never left the container, but it was not an active part of the solution. It was there and it was available, but not particularly in use. This goes to prove that sometimes, things have to be stirred to reactivate their flavor.

Romans 5:3 

And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. 

The love of God is indeed in every Christian’s heart, but is it an active ingredient in every situation of our daily lives? Can others taste the sweet flavor of love in our speech or in our response in various circumstances? Or do they get a bland sip, similar to unsweetened Kool-Aide?

When love has lain dormant for awhile, we have to get out our big wooden spiritual spoon and stir it up again. Love will never leave us nor forsake us, but our lives must be thoroughly permeated with this love. Let us stir up the love of God today and everyday by speaking to ourselves of love, reminding ourselves of scriptures on love, and saying them out loud. Let us stir ourselves up on the plans and purposes of Love. Love must become so thoroughly mixed in our lives that we overflow everywhere, wetting the atmosphere with love that affects anyone present far or near. We are born of love, therefore we overcome the world. Come on now, stir it up! The world and those around you need a sweet taste of freedom and victory!

Visit our website www.harrisministriesint.com, www.detoxifyingthesoul.com www.nurturingnuggets.net, www.themarriagemanual.net, www.beyondyourweight.com, and www.fellasofgod.com

Luke 4: 16-22

And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read. 

And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written,

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, 

 To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. 

 And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him. 

 And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears. 

 And all bare him witness, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth. And they said, Is not this Joseph’s son?

Have you ever went back to the place where you were brought up after you had left and started a new life?

It’s not always easy to confront or face our past or what it represented. The past has passed, whether good or bad it is over. Whatever remains from our yesterdays is only what we’ve cultivated and/or nursed in our today. Whatever you feed will breed and multiply into a greater supply than you and I can sometimes handle.

Breed defined:

• To produce (offspring) by hatching or gestation.

The offspring’s from our past can either promote failure or success. They can be the root of  either positive or negative thinking. They can be the reason for a strong vibrant happy marriage or a failing marriage. Influences from your up-bringing whether directly from the house and people you lived with or from the influences in your neighborhood, school and/or extended family, they all play a strategic part in the attitudes, mindsets and behaviors we exhibit today. Things produce after their own kind, this is a law that we read in the book of Genesis that God established from the beginning of time. Apples produce apples, fish produce fish, flowers produce flowers, evil produces evil and good produces good. In Matthew 7:18, Jesus spoke and said, “A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.”

The truth of the matter is whatever was planted in us in the place where we were brought up has  had a major impact and influence in our lives.

In the account written in Luke chapter 4, we see Jesus going back to the place where he was brought up. There Jesus had to face possibly some of His worst critics, seen and unseen. These were the people who felt like they knew Him better than anybody else because of their association with His past.

The place where we were brought up is the place where we took our first steps, the place where we attended our first school, the place where we experience our first crush and/or friendship (relationships), the place where we worked our first job, the place where we were most known by others. The place where we learned to manipulate, steal, lie and betray. The place where we learned to say please and thank you, I’m sorry and God bless you.  For these reasons along with many others this is why the place where you were brought up can be your greatest roadblock on the highway to your Divine Destiny or your greatest tool for future success. It can produce and/or breed many detours and distractions that are designed to shipwreck your course and cause divorce and separation from God’s perfect will for your life or produce tremendous favor and promotion to come your way.

Jesus knew when He went to the place where He was brought up that he would be confronted with rejection and persecution from those who claimed to know Him most however this did not stop Him. Jesus faced the tradition, culture and influences of His past and overcame the temptation to just settle and cave in to things familiar. He chose not to conform to this world but rather to stay in-line with the Father’s Kingdom principles and live victoriously. He knew that the poisonous arrow of rejection was being directed towards His heart to try to initiate spiritual palpitations. Naturally speaking a palpitation is an abnormal condition of the heart, in which the heart begins to beat extremely fast. This sudden onset of rapid beating of the heart can generally cause a great deal of anxiety and panic from the person experiencing the attack. However, Jesus resisted the attack and stood victorious in the presence of His enemies. If you are facing a situation in life that causes you to panic or be extremely anxious know that it was not sent to you by God Almighty. You can resist the attack of the enemy and stand strong just like Jesus did. God tells us in His Word, “Do not fret or have any anxiety about anything, but in every circumstance and in everything, by prayer and petition (definite requests), with thanksgiving, continue to make your wants known to God. And God’s peace [shall be yours, that tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ, and so fearing nothing from God and being content with its earthly lot of whatever sort that is, that peace] which transcends all understanding shall garrison and mount guard over your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7 AMP)

Rejections painful sting was sent to bring Jesus to a place of compromise and defeat. However the scripture records that when Jesus faced this stressful situation He did something that always brought Him victory when confronted with opposition – “And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written…”

This is God’s answer to us when we are facing seemingly impossible situations and/or crises in our lives. We need to open the Book (the Bible) and find out what God has written. When those familiar patterns of negative thinking and destructive behavior from your past life-style prior to knowing Christ resurface in your mind you need to… Open the Book and find where it is written, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” (2 Corinthians 5:17).

When those seemingly harmless old habits and vices that produced death and defeat in your past come and try to get you to yield, you need to … open the Book and find out where it is written, “Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.” (Romans 8:37)

Don’t let the familiarity of where you were brought up cause you to stumble and miss where you are going in God. God’s written Word is one of the strongest defenses against our enemy, it has been proven time and time again to be undefeatable.

Continue to study and meditate on God’s Word on a regular bases, find out what He has written about you and use His Word to stand victorious in every battle!
Visit our website www.harrisministriesint.com, www.detoxifyingthesoul.com www.nurturingnuggets.net, www.themarriagemanual.net, www.beyondyourweight.com, and www.fellasofgod.com

There are many buttons on a computer keyboard that have different functions. There are buttons that take you forward and buttons that take you backwards. There are buttons that can delete and buttons whereby you can escape.

On our earth journey there are many buttons we can push to help us go forward or take us backwards. For instance when we live by faith n God, we always make tremendous progress toward our destinies end. Paul tells us in his writing that he fought a good fight, that fight was a fight of faith and he finished his course. This proves to us that faith in God will cause you to go forward. However we can opt. to press the fear button which will always take you backwards. Fear is a hindrance to our faith in God. If you choose to allow fear in your life it will ensnare you and cause you to lose courage and shrink back in terror. God did not call us to be soldiers so that we could just hide out in the fox holes of life. God wants us to be bold and courageous, on the front lines, marching in step and on time with His plans.

There are also delete and escape buttons in life. Many times when people don’t want to deal with hard situations, fiery darts from the wicked and storms of life they try to escape. They fill their lives with amusements and various entertainments to try an forget the problem. Sometimes people try to escape through drugs, alcohol. sex, food, gambling or other different vices. However the escape button never can get rid of the problem it only builds a smoke screen so that the problem is temporarily hidden from your view. When the smoke evaporates the problems is still there, sometime worse than before. The scripture says,”How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him;” Hebrews 2:3.

The only true terminator of life’s troubles is the Word of God. God has provided for us everything we need to have good success in this life however it is our responsibility not to neglect our help.

Life is short, so make sure you push the right buttons, so that you will end up, at the right place, at the right time and fulfill your God given destiny!

Visit our website www.harrisministriesint.com, www.detoxifyingthesoul.com www.nurturingnuggets.net, www.themarriagemanual.net, www.beyondyourweight.com, and www.fellasofgod.com

Suggestion defined: an idea or proposal put forward for consideration

Does God have a suggetstion box in heaven?

You know one of those little boxes with the slit at the top that you can slip a small piece of paper into, that has all of your opinions and suggestions on it. The kind of suggestions and opinions that surely you think God needs to successfully  run your life and the universe. Wow, how vain can a person get as to think that God, the creator of Heaven and Earth, would need a suggestion or opinion of the thing which He so wonderfully created. God created everything, seen and unseen, without the imput of anybody. God is God and He is God all by Himself. He needs nothing and no one to exist. Why would He need or even want our suggestions? Every thought or idea that we could have that is good is of God. Without Him we can do nothing. So the next time you want to give God your suggestions and opinions, think again and then ask Him to reveal to you His perfect plan.

Isaiah 55:8-9

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Visit our website www.harrisministriesint.com, www.detoxifyingthesoul.com www.nurturingnuggets.net, www.themarriagemanual.net, www.beyondyourweight.com, and www.fellasofgod.com

1 Timothy 4:12 (AMP)

Let no one despise or think less of you because of your youth, but be an example (pattern) for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, and in purity.

Example defined:

• A person, action, or thing taken as a model to be copied or avoided by others.

• Something that is representative by virtue of having typical features of the thing it represents.

Christians are to be representatives of heaven. We are Ambassadors for the Kingdom of God. Our life should be patterned according to the standards revealed to us in God’s Word. We should seek to live a life that someone else would want to emulate.

Paul instructed Timothy in the scripture above to be an example in five areas;

• Speech

• Conduct

• Love

• Faith

• Purity

All of these things can be visibly seen or heard by other believers and unbelievers. People are watching the way you live and they should. We are the Light of the World. Jesus invested too much for our light to be hid under a bushel.

The example you live before others can affect people’s lives for generations. Let us briefly examine our lives in the five areas mentioned above.

Speech – What am I saying from my mouth in front of others that I would want them to repeat?

Conduct– What behaviors, attitudes, or habits do I consistently display before others and am I willing to mentor others in these same behaviors, attitudes and habits?

Love– Is my life an example of the love of God for others to see and hear?

Faith– The scripture mentions on a number of occasions that Jesus saw people’s faith. Can your faith be seen and followed by others as an example of true faith in God.

Purity– Is your life an example of Godly purity?

Someone is watching you. What do they see? Whose mirror will you be? Endeavor to live a life that you would want to see imitated in the people most precious to you.

Visit our website www.harrisministriesint.com, www.detoxifyingthesoul.com www.nurturingnuggets.net, www.themarriagemanual.net, www.beyondyourweight.com, and www.fellasofgod.com

Mark 11:1-3

And when they came nigh to Jerusalem, unto Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount of Olives, he sendeth forth two of his disciples, And saith unto them, Go your way into the village over against you: and as soon as ye be entered into it, ye shall find a colt tied, whereon never man sat; loose him, and bring him. And if any man say unto you, Why do ye this? say ye that the Lord hath need of him; and straightway he will send him hither.

I want you to see this picture in your mind, there sat a colt tied probably to a tree or something strong enough to keep it from getting away. There was probably nothing special about the way he looked, the color of his hair, the shape of his body, the way he walked, he was just a normal, average everyday colt, ………to the untrained eye. However, Jesus knew he was there, Jesus knew that that colt had a divine purpose. That colt had a part to play in God’s plan and no part of His plan, not even the smallest detail is insignificant to God. That colt was getting ready to fulfill destiny. He was getting ready to walk into what he was born for. The scripture said no one had ever even sat on this colt, Glory to God! He was just sitting there all tied up until Jesus spoke and said loose him and bring him to Me. Without God’s voice life is meaningless and mundane, it is fruitless and stagnant, it is wasteful and dry. That kind of reminds me of our lives before we were born again, there we sat in darkness all tied up until Jesus called our name and set our Divine Destiny into motion. He called us out of darkness into the marvelous light; He established our going and gave us understanding of our purpose. Jesus made it plain, He said if any man say unto you, “why do ye this?” say the Lord hath need of him. Did you not know that when God calls you unto Himself, He has need of you. You were not called into the Kingdom of God just to sit and look pretty/handsome; the Lord hath need of you. God needs the gifts and anointings He has put inside of you for the fulfillment of His plan. You are vital and strategically placed in the body of Christ; you have a part to play, you have been loosed for the Masters use. God knows the treasure that He has placed inside of you and He wants it to be in full operation for all to profit.

Many time people don’t benefit from others gifts and talents because they are too busy looking at the outward man. They don’t value the treasure God has placed in each and every one of His children therefore they forfeit the blessing that persons gift could have added to their life. Jesus valued the colts God given assignment and loosed him to fulfill it.

Competitive jealousy and fleshly comparisons bring division and destruction to what could have been a wonderful union of divine relationships. Divine relationships always bring an element of, “I have need of you and you have need of me.” There is a peaceful understanding that God brought us together to help one another fulfill His will. I like something that Paul said in 1 Corinthians 3:6-8, “I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase. Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour.”

The rope that uses to keep you tied to the fence of “I can’t” is broken; you have been loosed by God to fulfill His purpose. So jump to it, you can do it, in Christ Jesus. Remember the Master have need of YOU!

Visit our website www.harrisministriesint.com, www.detoxifyingthesoul.com www.nurturingnuggets.net, www.themarriagemanual.net, www.beyondyourweight.com, and www.fellasofgod.com

Psalms 27: 1  The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid. 

God has not given you a spirit of fear, as we know from 2 Timothy 1:7. Fear is a tormenting force that comes from the kingdom of darkness to rob you of your salvation. God is not the author of fear but rather of faith.

Fear speaks of failure and inadequacies, but faith speaks strength and divine life. Whenever the devil whispers to you that you’re nothing but a failure, look him right in the face with your faith and let him know, you’re not in control fear, my faith is in control.

I have strength for all things in Christ Who empowers me. (I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him Who infuses inner strength into me; I am sufficient in Christ’s sufficiency). Philippians 4:13 amp.

Rejoice child of God and let your God given faith win every battle for you.

Visit our website www.harrisministriesint.com, www.detoxifyingthesoul.com www.nurturingnuggets.net, www.themarriagemanual.net, www.beyondyourweight.com, and www.fellasofgod.com

Jeremiah 29:11 (AMP)

For I know the thoughts and plans that I have for you, says the Lord, thoughts and plans for welfare and peace and not for evil, to give you hope in your final outcome.

Most plans are made with earnest expectation to be fulfilled. The plan can be for good or for evil.

Plan defined:

• A method of doing something that is worked out in advance.

Plans are most generally pre-meditated, something that has been thought out. Even when people plot to do harm to others it is conceived from something they have been meditating on. People make plans to cheat, steal, commit adultery, kill and perform various kinds of ill will. But on the other hand people maKe plans to help, protect, build, encourage and cultivate, bringing blessing and increase to many.

The scripture above reveals to us that God has a plan for our lives and that He has been thinking or meditating on them. God never haphazardly does anything He is very focused and direct in His operations. The plans that God has for your life were not just something He thought of on the spur of the moment. God knows every detail and specific part of His plan for you. God’s plans are good and not evil, they are for peace.

So make every effort to press in and pursue with passion the plans and purposes God has for you. You will never regret the final outcome!

Visit our website www.harrisministriesint.com, www.detoxifyingthesoul.com www.nurturingnuggets.net, www.themarriagemanual.net, www.beyondyourweight.com, and www.fellasofgod.com

Proverbs 3:5-6 (AMP)

Lean on, trust in, and be confident in the Lord with all your heart and mind and do not rely on your own insight or understanding. In all your ways know, recognize, and acknowledge Him, and He will direct and make straight and plain your paths.

Many times when traveling on a familiar road we tend not to pay attention to the road signs because we have been down that particular road before. We casually glance at the signs as we confidently go our way assuring ourselves we know where we are going. How many times do we tell others, “Oh I’ve been there so many times I could get there with my eyes closed. But how many times have you been on a familiar road but your exit was different because you were going to another place that day and you almost missed your exit because you were so used to going to that familiar place.

Sometimes we can miss vital Divine directions in our lives because of routine familiarity. We begin to assume we know exacting what God is going to tell us to do, so much so that we stop asking Him for direction because we think we already know the answer and the way. We reason within ourselves from our own lifes experiences that we know what is ahead. But God said in His Word that He would give us daily bread. The bread may look the same as yesterday’s bread, it may feel the same, it may even taste the same but if it was prepared for today than it is today’s bread not yesterday’s bread.

Sometimes we can also lose value and direction in relationships with others because we assume we know that person so well just because we have been around them for years. You can lose the initial respect and purpose God brought you together with that person for. Even though that person may have changed in many ways you still see them as your little girl or boy, or our high school sweetheart, or that’s just my parents etc.

Hearing from God daily is so vitally important to life success. Today is a new day, a day we have never seen before. Everything in your day may look exactly like it looked yesterday but today is not yesterday it is today. Don’t assume you know today just because you made it through yesterday. Take time to find out what God has for you today because even though it may look like yesterday in all actuality you have never seen today before. So trust God to guide you every day in every way, fully trusting and depending on Him to lead the way.

Visit our website www.harrisministriesint.com, www.detoxifyingthesoul.com www.nurturingnuggets.net, www.themarriagemanual.net, www.beyondyourweight.com, and www.fellasofgod.com

1Corinthians 2:9-10 But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by His Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.

Do you love God?

If your answer is yes, I have good news for you. God has things He has prepared just for you. And God has already told you about them. Your spirit already has insight and divine knowledge of your destiny. And the way He has revealed them to us is by His Spirit, the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit reveals to us things God has prepared for us. Notice the scripture says the things which God hath prepared, meaning it already has been done. He also said God hath revealed them unto us, meaning He has already uncovered them to our spirit. The word reveal means; to disclose something that was unknown or secret.

Listen, God is not withholding or hiding His purpose for your life from you. Your future in Christ is not a secret. Unclutter your mind and free it from anxieties and fear through the refreshing rain poured out in your daily communion in God’s Word, and you will soon rediscover a greater flow of what you already know flooding back into your soul, reigniting a zeal and passion for your God given purpose. So away with the thought, “I don’t know” and get ready to go and do, follow through, with what the Hoy Spirit has revealed to you, IN JESUS NAME!

Visit our website www.harrisministriesint.com, www.detoxifyingthesoul.com www.nurturingnuggets.net, www.themarriagemanual.net, www.beyondyourweight.com, and www.fellasofgod.com