Pastor Quincy Barnwell

Many people today are living lies. They’re trying to be people they are not. But God made you to be you. He didn’t make you to be what your parents want you to be. He didn’t make you to be what your spouse, boss, or friends want you to be. God wants you to be exactly who He created you to be. That means you have to refuse to be defined by others. You will find yourself less stressed and depressed when just learn how to be who God has called you to be.

Whatever big goal God has put in front of you today respond with faith and not fear! Remember God is there to help you!

Eating a lot of junk food is not really all that good for your body. Likewise, hours of soap operas, cable news, social media, and binge watching is the equivalent of mental junk food. It’s not healthy for you. As a matter of fact, it’s poison and it’s wearing down your ability to live a life of purpose. You have a choice and every day you must choose to feed your mind with the best thoughts. Philippians 4:8 gets specific about the kinds of thoughts that are best for your mental, emotional, and spiritual health: “Brothers and sisters, 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.” (NIV) Due to our sinful nature, we don’t think about these things, so you have to train your mind to think thoughts that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy. How do you do that? By practicing filling your mind with these things by reading the Bible, meditating on it and memorizing it. Start craving that kale and broccoli and ease up on those chips and crackers and you'll see a big difference in your emotional, mental and spiritual well-being.

Relax! When no one understands you, you can rest assure that God understands you.

Stop trying to be the perfect parent, grandparent, spouse, etc. There's GRACE at the cross!

Be careful what you allow to enter into your mind. You can either feed yourself with three options: poison, junk food, or health food. Poison is stuff that poisons your system. Stay away from anything poisonous because it will harm you. Junk food on the other hand, is neither good nor bad. It has no nutritional value to it. Most of the stuff you see on TV is not evil. It’s just junk food. The problem with filling yourself with junk food all the time is you can fill yourself up with so much junk food, that you have no hunger for truth. For example, if all you are watching is junk on TV for several hours a day, your mind will become full of empty calories that don’t help your body or your mind. The other option is health food. Health food has some nutritional value. Health food is going to help you grow and maintain your health. Truth is the health food for your mind, so the wise person feeds on truth. Trust me, it will make you wiser in your relationships, your time, your money, your business, your parenting, your marriage, and every other area of your life. If you want to become wise, the first thing you have to do is feed yourself with God’s Word every day. Proverbs 2:6 says, “It is the Lord who gives wisdom; from him come knowledge and understanding.” You don’t get wisdom from watching too much junk. Wisdom comes from God.

God did not put you on earth just to live for yourself. He wants you to make the world a better place while you are here. God did not put you on earth just for you to take up space, but He wants you to make your job a better place, make your neighborhood a better place to live in, make your church better, raise God-fearing children who will also make this world a better place. That’s why I believe that every Christian is called to be a minister. Not every Christian is called to be a pastor. Not every Christian is called to stand in a pulpit every Sunday, but every Christian should be a minister of the good news of Jesus Christ. That means use your talents and gifts to make a contribution in life wherever God leads you. Be a giver, not a taker.

If your goal is to be wise, it would be wise to hang around wise people. You really don’t need a lot of friends. You just need a few good friends who will build you up and not tear you down. As a matter of fact, people who pull you down and tear you down are not your true friends. Real friends pull you up. Real friends encourage you. They may have to say some hard truths that you might not want to hear in the moment, but they are saying those things to you for your good. Real friends have your best interest at heart. It’s like the old saying: “If you want to soar with the eagles, you can’t run with the turkeys.” “If you lie down with dogs, you will get up with fleas.” Be careful of the company you keep. It can make you or break you. Proverbs 13:20 says, “Spend time with the wise and you will become wise, but the friends of fools will suffer.”

If you are looking for truth today, you can find it in Jesus. John 14:6 says “I am the way, the truth, and the life...” I encourage you to believe in Jesus today! Don’t put it off any longer. He loves you!

Let go of your pride. If pride causes arguments and fights, then that means the opposite is true. Humility can stop arguments and fights. The cure for arguing and fighting is humility. Every time you display a humble attitude, you will get along better with your spouse, your kids, your friends, your employees, your church members and your neighbors. James 4:6 says, “God gives grace to the humble.” If you want to stop fighting and arguing in your life, then you need grace. And there’s only one way to get grace and that’s to be humble. Be blessed.

You may think it’s best to hide your weaknesses, but God wants to use them in your life. But first, you’ve got to own up and respect your limitations. Then trust in God’s power and not your own to do what God has called you to do. Here’s the reality: You’re always going to get discouraged when you try to be a superhero and do more than is humanely possible. You need a more realistic view of yourself. Realize you cannot fix everybody’s problems. You cannot be in more than one place at one time. You can’t do everything you want to do. You can’t spend money you don’t have. It’s ok to have weaknesses. You just give them to God and allow God to work through your weaknesses. In 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 Paul wrote: “But [the Lord] said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I [Paul] will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

God promises to meet all your need, not all your greed. There is a difference, of course, in what you really need and what you sometimes think you need. Thankfully, God knows the difference. He created you. He loves you and He wants to make sure you lack nothing: emotionally, physically, spiritually, relationally, and mentally. But He also wants to make sure you learn to be like Him, and He is generous. Remember during this season or any season be generous because your heavenly Father is generous. 2 Corinthians 9:7 says, “You must each decide in your heart how much to give. And don’t give reluctantly or in response to pressure. For God loves a person who gives cheerfully.” (NLT)

If you want to be a righteous woman or man of God, then you have to learn how to be resilient. That means when you stumble and it’s guaranteed that you will, you get back up. A lot of factors beyond your control can cause you to fail. But if you get back up, who knows what positive things might happen. History books are filled with stories of people who failed again and again, but they did not give up until they succeeded. By your example, you can add to history. Don’t give up. Go get it. Galatians 6:9 says, “So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we do not give up.” Stay in the game.

You might not be able to change your circumstances, fix that problem, or stop all of your problems but you can lay hold of God’s promises. As a matter of fact, there are around 5,500 promises in the Bible waiting to be claimed. Here’s one of them: “He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint” (Isaiah 40:29-31 NIV). Keep your hope in the Lord and your eyes focused on the hope of heaven, not just on the here and now.

No man, woman, boy or girl is exempt from the day to day struggles of life. Sometimes there are difficult family members, coworkers, neighbors, and colleagues to deal with. There are unexpectant circumstances and events that happen such as death, loss of job, loss of house, or loss of health. Life can be tough and challenging at times but if you have Christ in your life, God will keep you from being moved off His chosen path. Psalm 16:8 says, “I have set the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.” You don’t have to be shaken because God gotcha covered. Keep moving in the direction that God has you going, and you won’t be shaken.

Even the best of people become discouraged from time to time. Oftentimes discouragement comes in when you are trying to run someone else’s race. God doesn't want you to do someone else’s job or look like them or dress like them. Stop comparing yourself to others. No! That's a setup for disaster and discouragement. That’s not the way to go. You just stay in your lane. Focus on your assignment. Do the work that God has called you to do and watch how much happier and satisfied you will be.

With God all things are possible! Do you believe?

Keep moving forward! Forget what’s behind you!

One way you can stay out of a lot of unnecessary mess and stress is you need to Stay In The Word! "Blessed (Happy) are those who delight in the law of the Lord. And in His law they meditate day and night." (Psalm 1:2)

Good things come to those who patiently wait! Noah preached for 120 years and nobody paid him any attention. They laughed at him, mocked at him, and criticized him. Based upon other folks not believing him, he could have easily quit and threw in the towel. But Noah remained faithful to his assignment God told him to do.
What's your assignment, calling, purpose? For those of you who have thought about throwing in the towel and giving up on your dreams, ambitions, and goals, don't quit just yet! There's still time! Stick it out! Hang in there!