Greg Durante Podcast

As one family in Christ, we must exercise the ability to pray for one another. And not just to pray but to aspire for the best for our brethren. Because God prepared the best for us, we must learn not to focus too much on ourselves but lift one another so that people may see the huge difference between people coming from every walk of life and walking on the same path in faith.

When we were born again, we took on a new identity in Christ. Our old selves were gone. We are now ambassadors of Christ. We represent Him in every place we go, all the time because Christ is now living in us. And people should see Him through us, not just in our words but also in our actions. We must make every effort to make Him known, just as we have known Him when we had an encounter with Him through the people or circumstances we met.

A household of faith is maintained and sustained by God. When you make Jesus the center of your family, everything falls into place. The foundation is firm and stable, so storms of life, trials, and problems cannot and will not destroy the household. It may come, but the household will be more than ready to triumph. Put Jesus in the center and see the difference.

The book of James wants to convey that we should also be doers of the Word and not just hearers. We cannot learn fully a thing if we haven't done it yet. In school, theories are tested in the laboratory. Swimming is not learned by acquaintance. And muscles are not built sitting down. So is faith. We cannot learn much of what God wants us to be by just sitting in the church pew once a week, maybe one or two hours, listening. God wants us to apply it once we stand after the Message was brought forth 

In all that we do and say, let it reflect and give the glory back to God. We have the strength, the will, and the drive to do everything we do because God has given us the chance, the breath, and the life so we can do it. If we were to count every second of our breath just as many times we have to be thankful to God, we are in great debt. Give back the glory to God always. It is He who wills us to move, and breath, and live, in the very first place.

Believe! It is one of the things required to gain salvation freely, as given to us by God. If you have seen the universe and all in it, you will know that there is a Creator greater than all you see with your eye. He does not have to defend Himself because His creations can attest to His power and nature. There are numerous things, seen by the naked eye or not, which can serve as clear evidence of a great God, so that at the end of the day, no one will have an excuse to not believe in Him. 

Regardless of where you are today, if you believe and belong to God, you are a child of God and a citizen of His Kingdom. And to be a citizen of the Kingdom of God means that we may be living in the physical world but our focus is not on this world but on eternal things, of things God is doing and His plans for us. So whatever happens around us, we know that God is in control of the lives of His citizens, wherever they are.   

There is no denying that there is no better place than in the presence of God, especially when you're in trouble. To be with God and truly know who He is, is to be assured of the good things that will happen no matter the circumstances because He holds our future. We might not see it for the time being, but definitely, it is secured and will come to pass.

We have been given a potent tool against the enemy, prayer, in the name of Jesus. It is our ready access to the throne of God for mercy, favor, blessing, healing, and all things good. Let us always involve ourselves in intense prayers for our requests and intercessions so the supernatural can move in our lives and this world. 

Problems and setbacks in life are part of life itself. To never have experienced such means never learning something. So, these problems, setbacks, trials, disappointments, difficulties, blows, misfortunes, impediments, troubles, delays, obstacles, whatever they may be called, may put us down or may launch us higher. With God, these are all opportunities to stir up a hunger in us to seek Him more, to find Him more, and to know Him more, to rest and regain our strength.

We are called to be like Christ. Have you ever wondered why, some people, despite having everything, still are not satisfied? Because we have replaced the important with the necessary. The Bible says, seek ye first the kingdom of God and all these things shall be added unto you. See Him, His face, His life. And even though you walk life with problems thrown upon you every step of the way, just like Christ, you will not be shaken up because each step you take is always on solid ground.

God's love wants us to be with Him. But sin separated us. Nevertheless, His great love made a way through Jesus Christ. And now it is Jesus' prayer that we would believe Him as the way, the truth and the life. Jesus is always interceding for us, even now. Praying for us to be like Him, to follow His example, to trust only in the Father, and therefore, inherit the inheritance assigned to us from the very beginning.  

But for the obedience of Jesus Christ on the cross, we would not be saved and redeemed. It is only by Jesus that we can come boldly to the Father. The greatest gift we receive, freely, that is salvation, which comes with a promise of eternal life, a gift worth more than anything on earth could offer. So how could you not serve your King Jesus, who made you free from everything that would hold eternal life for you?

The promises of God, His Word, are all yes and amen. When you agree and have faith that it will be done so, it will be done so. Because our God is a God of covenant. He is the other part of the covenant. All you have to do is agree and have faith, and it will be done so. 

With the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross, we have been redeemed. And we are made co-heirs with Jesus. He said, what He did, we can do also. We have been given, too, the power and the authority in Jesus Christ. Don't let the devil tell you so. 

What's inside of you will eventually show on the outside. No matter how we cover up whatever is needed to cover up, it will find its way out. So fill your life with God's Words, so that when tragedy or trial or problems seem to be knocking you off of your feet, even if you stumble and fall, you'll spill what you have inside. God's Words, His promises, His life, His goodness and faithfulness. You spill because you are full of it and is overflowing. You cannot spill anything from an empty cup. So fill it up. Read the Bible and pray for understanding.

We may be experiencing hardships in our lives. But God said in 2 Corinthians 4:8-12, "We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body." We have hope, that at the end of it all, there is One who is waiting for us, cheering for us, believing in us. 

For we are saved by grace through faith. It's all about the grace of God, that we triumph over every problem, that we conquer every mountain, that we move from strength to strength and from glory to glory. In there, our faith develops, growing ever bigger and deeper as we trust that God holds everything about our life in His hands, where grace also is ever present, abounding and overflowing. And when these two meet, the grace of God and our faith, supernatural will be evident in our lives.

By acknowledging our dependence on God, we also acknowledge His sovereignty and guidance in our lives. We do not let our efforts or our plans take the lead in our lives. We wait for His instructions and therefore, we gain this sense of independence from what the world normally does. To the world now, we may look very independent but as Christians, we understand that we are guided by God's power which is beyond our own understanding.

As much as we say that we know ourselves and we know what we need, we sometimes are blindsided by the situation we have at hand. And there are a lot of factors we have to consider but in the height of the problem or situation, we neglect some important aspects we should focus on. That is why, Christians who pray, with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, is a powerful offensive and defensive force against life's troubles. Why? Because the Holy Spirit is in him and the Holy Spirit, who knows the will of God in your life, will tell you what and how to pray for in your life's situation. So pray, in the power of the Holy Spirit.