Cedric Dukes's Blog, page 3

Meaning of Success

The word success is a word that has multiple meanings in the eye of the beholder. It can mean having a great job in the corner office or having a booming 401K or even making more money with your job. Success is not all monetary. True success is becoming obedient in what God asks you to do. Success to God may be giving food to the homeless. Success may be helping others in their time of need. Success is having God to heal all your vices that could possibly destroy you. God’s success and world success have different meanings. One will benefit you and your current situation and the other benefit Him and your eternity.  Which one do you want? The success that God gives is not only material but will develop you in the type of person that God wants you to be. 

Isaiah 1:19 –  If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land;

Luke 11:28  – But He said, “More than that, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it!”

James 1:22-23 –  But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror;

Prayer – Father, I ask for your success, not mine. Holy Spirit direct me to walk into a real success that will change. I declare that I will be a doer of His word. Thank you in Jesus name, Amen.

Free Gift for Life

God’s salvation is for you and me. It it is not only to be saved from eternal hell but also to be saved from danger, saved from trials and saved from death. The Greek word for salvation is sótéria which means welfare, prosperity, deliverance, preservation, salvation, and safety. When we go to God and ask for salvation, we are asking us to deliver us from hell and to place us in a place of prosperity and deliverance that will further our future. To get delivered we must accept that Jesus as God’s son and believe that He died on the cross and confess that we are not the master of our fate. 

God who is the author and finisher of our life. He wants to deliver us from the eternal damnation so we can live with Him forever. Secondly He wants to deliver us from the earthly problems and have success being a representative for Him. We can do exactly that when we accept believe and confess who He is. Some of you reading this book may have questions about God and why scriptures are so interwoven with these topics. He never meant for us to walk this life alone. He is with us every step of the way. The situation that you are in is because He has appointed you to there. The pain that you have – He has allowed that to happen. He wants from you a relationship. The only rules that he has is to love Him and others around you.

To receive Jesus as Lord – repeat this. 

Dear Lord, I accept you as Lord of my life. I thank you for dying for me and giving me life here and the after life. I ask that I walk according to your will and I thank you that I am forgiven of all my sins and mistakes. Thank you now that I have your Holy Spirit and walk in the fullness of life. IAmen.

For those who accept , keep walking in his newness and receiving His spirit to lead you. If not keep asking God questions and He will give you answers.

John 3:5 Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.

Romans 10:9 –  that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 
Ephesians  2:8-9 – For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,  not of works, lest anyone should boast.

Healing sadness

Sadness, unfortunately, is a part of life that everyone will experience. It is a grief process that has stages until you get whole again. God understands that sadness will come upon us, humans. It is apart of our DNA. It is ok to be sad but God does not want us to stay there long. It is ok to have your pity party, you are human but get up again. Though you can’t see, feel or hear him, He is still there with you throughout. He sees the anguish and tears. He hears the scream and whimpers. He is waiting for you to finish so he can fill you up with His word.  For your sadness, he will put a new song in your heart. Believe me, he hears our wants and needs. His timing is far more important than ours. No matter what is going on, He will never ever leave you. Though it feels like at times, He is far away and doesn’t hear, He is preparing you for one of the greatest victories in your life.

Psalm 34:18 – The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves such as have a contrite spirit.

Psalm 147:3 – He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.

Romans 8:38-39 –  For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Prayer – Father, please take the sadness from me and heal me. I ask for your joy and strength to make through this situation. Help me to see the goodness in my issue. Help my attitude and my mind in Jesus name, Amen.

Alive again

God’s resurrection power is inside of you. That same power that raised Lazarus from the dead is in you. The same power that healed the woman with the issue of blood is inside of you. God can raise dead relationships in your family. God can resurrect your career. He can resurrect your finances and family like he did Job. The final word on your situation is not final until God says it is final. The finality of a thing does not happen until the purpose is complete. Jonah thought is life was over when he was swallowed by the whale. Moses never thought Pharaoh was going to stop torturing the Israelites but God had the final word. 

Our Father is in the business of raising dead things in our lives. You are never too old to be restored. He does it so that His glory can shine through you to other people. You are His representative on earth. Keep praying, believing and watering your faith until life comes back. 

John 11:25 –  Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.

Romans 6:4 – Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

John 6:54 – Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.

Prayer – Father, I thank you that the resurrection is in me as it was in Jesus. So increase my spirit man so that I may follow you and walk in the same newness of life. Your resurrection in me is for my good to do the very thing that you desire for me to do, in Jesus name Amen.

Stop what you are doing

Rest is hard for a person who is always on the go trying to make things work.  He or she has a list of goals or tasks to achieve for that day. They are busy at life doing stuff that they think will matter which is not bad but they have not stopped to evaluate life. Life is not boiled down to do list and goals; life is not the first one making to the mountain top. We are put here to do what we can do and allow God to the rest while we rest.

Rest is not easy because you literally have to stop the process of being a boss and take a break from those problems. God wants your solve your money problems; He wants to rescue without you helping. He has no plan for us to do this by ourselves. God is the potter and we are the clay. The potter puts his hands on the clay and shapes us to become pliable and not resist from being reshaped. When he shapes us, we receive restoration which is renewing of yourself to total balance in mind, body, and spirit.  In final, our rest is a rest from the “gotta do it “ or performance-based results that will bring us into total restoration of our mind, body, and soul. 

Exodus 33:14 – And He said, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”

Psalm 4:8 -I will both lie down in peace, and sleep; for You alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.

Psalm 127:2 – It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows; for so He gives His beloved sleep.

Prayer – Father thank you for trading your peace for my issues so I can get to rest and complete restoration. Let your presence be continuous with me and allow me to know where I should rest from all of my work so you can begin to work on my issues. In Jesus name, Amen.

Sow your seeds

Prayer is like farming. It is the sowing of your thoughts, declarations, and petitions to God. Once it is sown,  faith comes next to water it. Watering is the showering of praise thanking God it is already done. It takes patience for a seed to grow; similarity it takes patience for God to answer your prayers. Every day the farmer goes out by faith – pulling up weeds around the seed so it does not choke it. He ensures that animals are not digging up the seed(s). He continues to water it until it goes into full bloom. Our prayers are like seed(s) until they manifest. We don’t know when the answer will come.  God hears your prayers. It is not going up in the sky somewhere. Your prayers have been answered the first time He heard it.

1 Chronicles 4:10 – And Jabez called on the God of Israel saying, “Oh, that You would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that Your hand would be with me, and that You would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain!” So God granted him what he requested.

Ecclesiastes 11:4-6 –  He who observes the wind will not sow,  and he who regards the clouds will not reap. As you do not know what is the way of the wind, or how the bones grow in the womb of her who is with child, so you do not know the works of God who makes everything. In the morning sow your seed, and in the evening do not withhold your hand; for you do not know which will prosper, either this or that, or whether both alike will be good.

Matthew 16:19  – And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.

Prayer – Father, thank you for allowing me to pray to you.  I thank you for the works of God manifest itself as I pray. I thank you are loosing blessings on me as it is your will in heaven and are binding and stopping curses upon me. You hear my prayer in Jesus name, Amen.

Promise Kept!

Promises are a covenant between at least two persons. The one person promises to do something for another while the others do something in return. It is similar to a legal contract without a formal signature. At some point in the contract, promises are broken for some reasons. Hence mistrust happens. It is not so with God. His promises have been written and stood for over 2000 years. We don’t have to get into a contract or shake his hand or agree to a deal. All we have to do is pick up a Bible and start reading and act upon what it says. His promises are not vague but specific to you. God’s promises to you will never tire out, never short cut you but will give you the hope when no one else can.

2 Corinthians 1:20 –  For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us.

Hebrews 13:8 – Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. 

Romans 15:8  –  Now I say that Jesus Christ has become a servant to the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made to the fathers, 

Prayer – I thank you for your promises in my life. You never go back on your promise as they have stood the test of time. The same promise that you gave to Abraham and to the saints of old is available to me. You never go back on your promise. I thank you for them. In Jesus name, Amen.

Praise Time!

We praise people, we praise our favorite team on Sunday. We praise our spouses and children. We praise our bosses and inanimate objects. The one who wants our praise and adoration more than anything else  is God. He is the author of our life. He is the one who blesses us with our career, family and everyday substances. He does it so much that we don’t recognize what small things that He has done. Just think, without Him where would we be. He is in every aspect of our life regardless of us not acknowledging him. He is listening to our prayers and seeing what we do in every decision rooting us on. All He wants from us is to thank and praise Him for what He has done and what He is going to do. 

Praising God opens us opportunities that we would ever imagine. Jesus fed five thousand with 2 fishes and 5 loaves of bread just by thanking God what we had in his hands. It multiplied beyond belief.  Our thankfulness can open up opportunities for more than we think. 

Psalm 100:1-5 – Make a joyful shout to the Lord, all you lands!  Serve the Lord with gladness; come before His presence with singing. Know that the Lord, He is God; it is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; we are His people and the sheep of His pasture. Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, and His truth endures to all generations.

Psalm 150:6  Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!

Colossians 3:16 –  Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.

Prayer – Father, thank you for allowing me to praise you. Thank you for what you are doing with me today and in the future. For your grace over me is unparalleled to any material thing in Jesus name, Amen.

Redeem your time

Every day we have opportunities – some good and others are not so good. Opportunities can be given as trials. It is up to us what we are going to do with it. God gives us opportunities to learn from our previous lessons when we failed the last one. Any opportunity is a trying of your faith. The opportunity to do good is what we should all strive for each day. Opportunities will come at you fast and the decision that you make will cause a lifetime impact. Prepare for the opportunity ahead of time, you never know when it will come. 

Colossians 4:5 –   Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming the time.

Galatians 5:13 –  For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.

Galatians 6:10 –  Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith.

Prayer – Lord, open up opportunities for me to serve you and your people in Jesus name, Amen.

Which is better – negative or positive?

I know that negativity is the thing of the day. I have found that being negative is far easier than being positive. Try being positive in a tough situation and watch your mouth curl up when talking.  At all cost while going through your situation, keep silent as possible. I know it is hard but I believe that the Lord moves quickly to get you out of a situation. The Israelites wandered in the promised land for 40 years versus 11 days was due to disobedience, negativity, and lack of faith.

There is power in silence. There is power in not saying anything. I have observed that not saying anything worked out for me better than saying something at all. When negativity coming from our month, we can exacerbate  the impact of the words. Let’s try something different for once and turn the situation around with our words. 

Philippians 2:14 – Do all things without murmurings and disputings.

1 Corinthians 10: 9 – 11 – Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents. Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer. Now all these things happened unto them for examples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.

1 Thessalonians 5:18 – In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

Prayer  – Holy Spirit, please help me remove all negative talk from my mouth so I don’t embarrass myself. Father help me to uplift others to become a blessing by speaking words of positivity in their life. In Jesus name, Amen.