Pastor, Speaker, Author, Counselor
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When God's people pray the impossible becomes possible, the chains of bondage are broken and the captives are set free.
Prayer is powerful, prayer needs to be purposeful, prayer is our connection to God, prayer should be continual, prayer shows how much we depend on God and how much we trust and love God. Sadly we tend to use prayer as nothing more than an emergency call to God. Too often we only pray when we need or want something from God, we cold call Him, as if we just rubbed a genie lamp. We pray too little, we want to be self-sufficient, free to make our own decisions, free to live our lives as we want. We want to prove to ourselves and others we can make it on our own, we don't want to depend on God. When the Jewish people would pray, they had a different view then we do, prayer to them was not a time when they asked God for things, prayer was a time when they would examine themselves. You see the Hebrew word for prayer ”Tefillah ”means to "self evaluate”. And that is how they prayed, comparing, their attitude and behavior with God’s holiness. Our English word for prayer means to ask, see the difference! Self Evaluation or Asking? Should we self evaluate when we pray? Yes! Should we ask God for everything? Yes! I believe the answer is both, we should examine our motives behind our prayers, are they selfish, self-promoting, for our glory, or are our prayers for God's glory, His truth to break free others who are bound, or break the bondage we are in? We serve a mighty God creator of all things, He searches our hearts, He knows our struggles, He knows our pain, our hurts, our sorrows, He is our joy, our peace, our strength, when we approach Him in prayer He focuses on what we ask and speaks to us individually because He is God our Father and He loves us, He wants to be the desire of our hearts and give us all we need. Gods word says this; “He also said to them: “Suppose one of you has a friend and goes to him at midnight and says to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, because a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I don’t have anything to offer him.’ Then he will answer from inside and say, ‘Don’t bother me! The door is already locked, and my children and I have gone to bed. I can’t get up to give you anything.’ I tell you, even though he won’t get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his friend’s shameless boldness, he will get up and give him as much as he needs. “So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead of a fish? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?”Luke 11:5-13 CSB “When Herod was about to bring him out for trial, that very night Peter, bound with two chains, was sleeping between two soldiers, while the sentries in front of the door guarded the prison. Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared, and a light shone in the cell. Striking Peter on the side, he woke him up and said, “Quick, get up!” And the chains fell off his wrists. “Get dressed,” the angel told him, “and put on your sandals.” And he did. “Wrap your cloak around you,” he told him, “and follow me.” So he went out and followed, and he did not know that what the angel did was really happening, but he thought he was seeing a vision. After they passed the first and second guards, they came to the iron gate that leads into the city, which opened to them by itself. They went outside and passed one street, and suddenly the angel left him. When Peter came to himself, he said, “Now I know for certain that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from Herod’s grasp and from all that the Jewish people expected.” As soon as he realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John Mark, where many had assembled and were praying.” Acts 12:6-12 CSB “What is the source of wars and fights among you? Don’t they come from your passions that wage war within you? You desire and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and wage war. You do not have because you do not ask. You ask and don’t receive because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures. You adulterous people! Don’t you know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? So whoever wants to be the friend of the world becomes the enemy of God. Or do you think it’s without reason that the Scripture says: The spirit he made to dwell in us envies intensely? But he gives greater grace. Therefore he says: God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Therefore, submit to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” James 4:1-7 CSB
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We choose how we embrace life, and death, we can live faithfully with our creator or we can hide fearfully, from our enemies.
Either way, this life is temporary, and eternity awaits us all. Why would we not grasp all God has given us in life and in death? Everyone here now will face death someday unless the Lord comes and takes us home, it is only a matter of time. It's not the day we're born or the day we die we celebrate rather it is the life we live. God our Creator is not just the God of the past, He is not just God of the future, He is the not just the God of the present, He is the God of the ages. He is the ruler of the universe, He has always been and always will be, His name is I Am; NOT I was. The past we cannot change, the future we don't know, and today is still happening as it absorbs us at the moment. We forget God is not bound by time, He has always existed and always will, He is not created nor can He be destroyed. Since God wants to dwell in us and extend to us eternity with Him, why don't we reach out and take His hands as He leads us day by day? Why don't we faithfully follow Him? Why is it so hard for us to grasp the sovereignty, the majesty, the glory of God and what He wills in our lives? God’s “sovereignty” is this He has absolute authority, He is unrestricted in His providence. Even in God’s permissive everything that happens He is over, this doesn't mean these are the things He wants, but what others mean for evil, God uses for good. God allows mankind to make free choices, this is part of God's true sovereignty. He is able to enact His will, however, whenever, wherever He chooses. Since we are living now let's live for the Lord, and when we die, let us die for the Lord, we can trust Him to help us do both well if we surrender our all of to Him. Gods’ word says this: “How countless are your works, Lord! In wisdom you have made them all; the earth is full of your creatures. Here is the sea, vast and wide, teeming with creatures beyond number — living things both large and small. There the ships move about, and Leviathan, which you formed to play there. All of them wait for you to give them their food at the right time. When you give it to them, they gather it; when you open your hand, they are satisfied with good things. When you hide your face, they are terrified; when you take away their breath, they die and return to the dust. When you send your breath, they are created, and you renew the surface of the ground. May the glory of the Lord endure forever; may the Lord rejoice in his works. He looks at the earth, and it trembles; he touches the mountains, and they pour out smoke. I will sing to the Lord all my life; I will sing praise to my God while I live. May my meditation be pleasing to him; I will rejoice in the Lord. May sinners vanish from the earth and wicked people be no more. My soul, bless the Lord! Hallelujah!”Psalms 104:24-35 CSB “This is what God, the Lord, says — who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and what comes from it, who gives breath to the people on it and spirit to those who walk on it — “I am the Lord. I have called you for a righteous purpose, and I will hold you by your hand. I will watch over you, and I will appoint you to be a covenant for the people and a light to the nations, in order to open blind eyes, to bring out prisoners from the dungeon, and those sitting in darkness from the prison house. I am the Lord. That is my name, and I will not give my glory to another or my praise to idols. The past events have indeed happened. Now I declare new events; I announce them to you before they occur.” Isaiah 42:5-9 CSB “You are my witnesses” — this is the Lord’s declaration — “and my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. No god was formed before me, and there will be none after me. I — I am the Lord. Besides me, there is no Savior. I alone declared, saved, and proclaimed — and not some foreign god among you. So you are my witnesses” — this is the Lord’s declaration — “and I am God. Also, from today on I am he alone, and none can rescue from my power. I act, and who can reverse it?” Isaiah 43:10-13 CSB “We know that we have passed from death to life because we love our brothers and sisters. The one who does not love remains in death.” 1 John 3:14 CSB “For none of us lives for himself, and no one dies for himself. If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. Christ died and returned to life for this: that he might be Lord over both the dead and the living.Romans 14:7-9 CSB Let's face it living a Christian life is neither hard or easy, it's impossible!
That is, it is impossible without the help and guidance of the Holy Spirit. Most people never discover they cannot live the Christian life under their own power any more than they could get right with God on their own merit and gift themselves salvation. God says this living a Christ-like life is the work of the Holy Spirit in us as He fills our life with truth and power, He enables us to live and walk in victory. The Christian life is easy and hard at the same time, it is a constant state of motion as our will learns to surrender to God the Father, just as Jesus did. If you're struggling in your faith, if you feel defeated day after day, if you're feeling hopeless, then stop living life on your terms, it is time to surrender your will to God's and see how He directs your path. Christ came to heal the sick, give sight to the blind, raise the dead, and set the captives free, don't get bound up in religion, start walking in a relationship with Christ today. Gods’ word says this: “Then Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread throughout the entire vicinity. He was teaching in their synagogues, being praised by everyone. He came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. As usual, he entered the synagogue on the Sabbath day and stood up to read. The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him, and unrolling the scroll, he found the place where it was written: The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” Luke 4:14-19 CSB “I will not leave you as orphans; I am coming to you. In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me. Because I live, you will live too. On that day you will know that I am in my Father, you are in me, and I am in you. The one who has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. And the one who loves me will be loved by my Father. I also will love him and will reveal myself to him.” Judas (not Iscariot) said to him, “Lord, how is it you’re going to reveal yourself to us and not to the world?” Jesus answered, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. The one who doesn’t love me will not keep my words. The word that you hear is not mine but is from the Father who sent me. “I have spoken these things to you while I remain with you. But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and remind you of everything I have told you.”John 14:18-26 CSB “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. Every branch in me that does not produce fruit he removes, and he prunes every branch that produces fruit so that it will produce more fruit. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, and I in you. Just as a branch is unable to produce fruit by itself unless it remains on the vine, neither can you unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in me and I in him produces much fruit, because you can do nothing without me. If anyone does not remain in me, he is thrown aside like a branch and he withers. They gather them, throw them into the fire, and they are burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you want and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this: that you produce much fruit and prove to be my disciples.” John 15:1-8 CSB “The Spirit himself testifies together with our spirit that we are God’s children, and if children, also heirs — heirs of God and coheirs with Christ — if indeed we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him. Not only that, but we ourselves who have the Spirit as the firstfruits — we also groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for adoption, the redemption of our bodies. Now in this hope we were saved, but hope that is seen is not hope, because who hopes for what he sees? Now if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with patience. In the same way the Spirit also helps us in our weakness, because we do not know what to pray for as we should, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with unspoken groanings. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because he intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.”Romans 8:16-17, 23-27 CSB In the end, love doesn't win, Love has already won. We must decide if we will live in victory or die in defeat.
The war is over! Yes, the battles still rage, but the war Jesus said." It is finished " and it is, God has established His Kingdom in those that belong to Him. Sadly not everyone will receive Christ, as Lord and Savior. Many will live in rebellion, doing things their own way, denying Christ in their lifestyle instead of denying themselves worldly and fleshly pleasures. One day every knee will bow and tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, but then it will be too late for those who rejected Him and chose death over life. Victory only belongs to those who surrender to the King of kings and Lord of lords. We can live by faith and walk with Christ, or live in our flesh and walk with the world. Many may say they are His, but few are, the title Christian is claimed by about seventy-five percent of people in America, but less than twenty percent are. My heart breaks for those who reject Christ, my prayer is for all to come to Him and bow their knees to Him this side of heaven. I wish no one to perish as a lost soul. Gods’ word is clear: “Enter through the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who go through it. How narrow is the gate and difficult the road that leads to life, and few find it. “Be on your guard against false prophets who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravaging wolves. You’ll recognize them by their fruit. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes or figs from thistles? In the same way, every good tree produces good fruit, but a bad tree produces bad fruit. A good tree can’t produce bad fruit; neither can a bad tree produce good fruit. Every tree that doesn’t produce good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. So you’ll recognize them by their fruit. “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in your name, drive out demons in your name, and do many miracles in your name?’ Then I will announce to them, ‘I never knew you. Depart from me, you lawbreakers! ” Matthew 7:13-23 CSB “Little children, let us not love in word or speech, but in action and in truth. This is how we will know that we belong to the truth and will reassure our hearts before him whenever our hearts condemn us; for God is greater than our hearts, and he knows all things. Dear friends, if our hearts don’t condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive whatever we ask from him because we keep his commands and do what is pleasing in his sight. Now, this is his command: that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another as he commanded us. The one who keeps his commands remains in him, and he in him. And the way we know that he remains in us is from the Spirit he has given us.”1 John 3:18-24 CSB “You are from God, little children, and you have conquered them because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. They are from the world. Therefore what they say is from the world, and the world listens to them. We are from God. Anyone who knows God listens to us; anyone who is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of deception. Dear friends, let us love one another, because love is from God, and everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, because God is love. God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his one and only Son into the world so that we might live through him. Love consists in this: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, if God loved us in this way, we also must love one another. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God — God remains in him and he in God. And we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and the one who remains in love remains in God, and God remains in him. In this, love is made complete with us so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment, because as he is, so also are we in this world. There is no fear in love; instead, perfect love drives out fear, because fear involves punishment. So the one who fears is not complete in love. We love because he first loved us. If anyone says, “I love God,” and yet hates his brother or sister, he is a liar. For the person who does not love his brother or sister whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. And we have this command from him: The one who loves God must also love his brother and sister.”1 John 4:4-11, 15-21 CSB “For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Anyone who believes in him is not condemned, but anyone who does not believe is already condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the one and only Son of God.” John 3:16-18 CSB “If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. Christ died and returned to life for this: that he might be Lord over both the dead and the living. But you, why do you judge your brother or sister? Or you, why do you despise your brother or sister? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God. For it is written, As I live, says the Lord, every knee will bow to me, and every tongue will give praise to God. So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God.”Romans 14:8-12 CSB The enemy is constantly reminding me of who I was every day, like a TV commercial my sins and failures are being played in my mind and whispered it into my life by them, but Jesus reminds me of His victory at the cross, and that all my sins are forgiven He has nailed them to the cross and my life in Him is free from the bondage they wish to ensnare me with.
The devil and his army are liars, they are merciless, unscrupulous, murders, thieves, they will do whatever possible to destroy our lives, our character, our family, our walk with Christ and others, but they have limited power, still, they are stronger than us, but not Christ in us. I thank God He found me on my journey, He rescued me, saved me and started working in me, and He is not done with me yet. Salvation is not an end all to our problems, it is the beginning of our relationship with God the Father, it is a step into a whole new world, where we come to realize we are in a battle, we always were we just never knew it. The battle changes once we are saved and intensifies, but we don't fight this battle, we turn it over to God, for He has won it already. We need to understand how much we need God for everything, we don’t get rich, healed, and trouble-free as we get up off our knees, from the point of salvation, but we will have peace and joy, and we start to see all He has done for us up to this point in our lives, and know He will see us all the way through. We need to learn to live by the Spirit, by surrendering our all to Jesus Christ. We need to live in the power of God, His armor always on, and His presence always known, by asking in prayer, and living in obedience we walk in victory. The enemy will laugh at us as he battles against us, as we are trying to die to our flesh and live in the Spirit, we must learn to cast all our cares, our worries, our fears, our trials, our weaknesses, our failures along with our joy, our happiness, our success, our prosperity, our experiences, all that we have, all that we are to Christ. We need to surrender our all to Jesus. When we submit to the authority of Christ, we get to live in His authority, and that makes us more than conquerors. We have to do our part, start by renewing our minds daily in His word. Is the Bible your lifeline, your go-to book when you struggle, do you call upon the name of Jesus or do you turn on Oprah, Dr. Phil or Dr. Oz? Do we love Christ? Then obey Him is what He says! Are we making a conscious decision to follow the Holy Spirit every day? Our enemies are real, the battle is real, our Lord is greater than any of this, today is the day to surrender all to Jesus and start living a life of victory over sin and death. Gods' word says this: “If you love me, you will keep my commands. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever. He is the Spirit of truth. The world is unable to receive him because it doesn’t see him or know him. But you do know him, because he remains with you and will be in you. “I will not leave you as orphans; I am coming to you. In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me. Because I live, you will live too.” John 14:15-19 CSB “What then are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He did not even spare his own Son but offered him up for us all. How will he not also with him grant us everything? Who can bring an accusation against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies. Who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is the one who died, but even more, has been raised; he also is at the right hand of God and intercedes for us. Who can separate us from the love of Christ? Can affliction or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: Because of you we are being put to death all day long; we are counted as sheep to be slaughtered. No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”Romans 8:31-39 CSB “Finally, be strengthened by the Lord and by his vast strength. Put on the full armor of God so that you can stand against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this darkness, against evil, spiritual forces in the heavens. For this reason take up the full armor of God, so that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having prepared everything, to take your stand. Stand, therefore, with truth like a belt around your waist, righteousness like armor on your chest, and your feet sandaled with readiness for the gospel of peace. In every situation take up the shield of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit — which is the word of God. Pray at all times in the Spirit with every prayer and request, and stay alert with all perseverance and intercession for all the saints.” Ephesians 6:10-18 CSB “For although we live in the flesh, we do not wage war according to the flesh, since the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but are powerful through God for the demolition of strongholds. We demolish arguments and every proud thing that is raised up against the knowledge of God, and we take every thought captive to obey Christ.” 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 CSB The headlines of each day are simply talking points for political grandstanding, we must understand we’re only being fed what they want us to know.
Mankind is in league with the devil to replace God with government, knowingly or unknowingly is not the focus for as long as the devil can keep us focused on all the lies and half-truths, he is winning the battle, the antichrist system has always been in the background, waiting to separate the weak from the herd and pounce on them before they know what or who has them. His success has never been closer than now, he smells blood and can see the end is near, each generation has moved further away from God and we are dangerously close to losing the next generation, which is on a secular diet of false information and influence, who know no morality, and have little desire to know God or His ways. There is coming a day of persecution, the strong man is being bound, the house is divided and those who refuse to see the truth are blinded by their own lust for self, power, and greed, now God is turning them over to their lust to be like Him. The problem is we are all Sinners, but this isn’t being talked about, because no one wants to offend anyone, the solution to our sin problem is repentance, turning to God for salvation, and walking in obedience with Jesus Christ, only God can change the heart, only His children can speak His truths. We have far too many people talking about the problems, we need more of us talking about the solution. We must ask ourselves are we living the truth to a lost world, pointing them to Christ through the power of His word, or are we spouting off the latest talking points and living a lie with the lost, leading them further astray. We can’t do both. God’s word says this: “The righteousness of God is through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe, since there is no distinction. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. They are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. God presented him as an atoning sacrifice in his blood, received through faith, to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his restraint God passed over the sins previously committed. God presented him to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time so that he would be righteous and declare righteous the one who has faith in Jesus.”Romans 3:22-26 CSB “Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, in this way death spread to all people, because all sinned. In fact, sin was in the world before the law, but sin is not charged to a person’s account when there is no law. Nevertheless, death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who did not sin in the likeness of Adam’s transgression. He is a type of the Coming One. But the gift is not like the trespass. For if by the one man’s trespass the many died, how much more have the grace of God and the gift which comes through the grace of the one man Jesus Christ overflowed to the many. And the gift is not like the one man’s sin, because from one sin came the judgment, resulting in condemnation, but from many trespasses came the gift, resulting in justification. Since by the one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive the overflow of grace and the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.”Romans 5:12-17 CSB “But now, since you have been set free from sin and have become enslaved to God, you have your fruit, which results in sanctification — and the outcome is eternal life! For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”Romans 6:22-23 CSB “On the contrary, what does it say? The message is near you, in your mouth and in your heart. This is the message of faith that we proclaim: If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. One believes with the heart, resulting in righteousness, and one confesses with the mouth, resulting in salvation. For the Scripture says, Everyone who believes on him will not be put to shame, since there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, because the same Lord of all richly blesses all who call on him. For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. How, then, can they call on him they have not believed in? And how can they believe without hearing about him? And how can they hear without a preacher? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news. But not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, Lord, who has believed our message? So faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the message about Christ.”Romans 10:8-17 CSB “Children, it is the last hour. And as you have heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. By this we know that it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they did not belong to us; for if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us. However, they went out so that it might be made clear that none of them belongs to us. But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth. I have not written to you because you don’t know the truth, but because you do know it, and because no lie comes from the truth. Who is the liar, if not the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This one is the antichrist: the one who denies the Father and the Son. No one who denies the Son has the Father; he who confesses the Son has the Father as well.”1 John 2:18-23 CSB “The one who commits sin is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God was revealed for this purpose: to destroy the devil’s works. Everyone who has been born of God does not sin, because his seed remains in him; he is not able to sin, because he has been born of God. This is how God’s children and the devil’s children become obvious. Whoever does not do what is right is not of God, especially the one who does not love his brother or sister. For this is the message you have heard from the beginning: We should love one another, unlike Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his deeds were evil, and his brother’s were righteous. Do not be surprised, brothers and sisters, if the world hates you. We know that we have passed from death to life because we love our brothers and sisters. The one who does not love remains in death. Everyone who hates his brother or sister is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him.”1 John 3:8-15 CSB Your life may feel like total chaos right now making no sense to you, maybe you're looking for explanations or a way out of a situation, maybe you're trying to find a purpose or you just need hope! We will never find the answers we're looking for in mankind. We have to understand life is not a problem to be solved, it is a mystery to be lived, and only God knows the end from the beginning, we have to trust God, as He works His will in our lives and those around us, we are in His hands. Only God can change a heart, and the heart of the issue with our world is this, everyone believes they can do life without God and therefore they live as they please believing they won't answer to anyone except themselves for their behavior. When we learn to pray about everything more than we complain, when we learn to trust God's wisdom, mercy, and love for us, when we ask God for wisdom, provision, and protection, we will have better spouses, better children, better bosses, better Pastors, better Government , yes if we pray more than we complain then God will change all of our hearts as our will lines up with His. Why would we trust ourselves over God? He sees the end from the beginning, He is over everything and everyone, who wants to leave their life to chance when we can leave our lives in God’s hands. We use prayer as nothing more than an emergency call to God, when prayer should be constantly on our hearts and lips, taking all things to God for His help and direction. I have great peace and gather great strength daily, knowing The Holy Spirit is praying for me when I can't and Jesus is interceding for me at the throne of His Father, this gives me hope to press on, a purpose to live for Him. It is easier to cope in this world, knowing Christ is with me, is looking out for me, and that I am safe in Him, there is no greater or safer place than His hands, my hope, my life, my family, my friends are all in His hands, I have learned to leave them there, pray over them all and watch God do great things in us all. God’s word says this: “Trust in the Lord and do what is good; dwell in the land and live securely. Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you your heart’s desires. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act, making your righteousness shine like the dawn, your justice like the noonday. Be silent before the Lord and wait expectantly for him; do not be agitated by one who prospers in his way, by the person who carries out evil plans. Refrain from anger and give up your rage; do not be agitated — it can only bring harm. For evildoers will be destroyed, but those who put their hope in the Lord will inherit the land.” Psalms 37:3-9 CSB A person’s steps are established by the Lord, and he takes pleasure in his way. Though he falls, he will not be overwhelmed, because the Lord supports him with his hand. I have been young and now I am old, yet I have not seen the righteous abandoned or his children begging for bread. He is always generous, always lending, and his children are a blessing. Turn away from evil, do what is good, and settle permanently. For the Lord loves justice and will not abandon his faithful ones. They are kept safe forever, but the children of the wicked will be destroyed.” Psalms 37:23-28 CSB “Remember this and be brave; take it to heart, you transgressors! Remember what happened long ago, for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and no one is like me. I declare the end from the beginning, and from long ago what is not yet done, saying: my plan will take place, and I will do all my will.”Isaiah 46:8-10 CSB “For it is God who is working in you both to will and to work according to his good purpose. Do everything without grumbling and arguing, so that you may be blameless and pure, children of God who are faultless in a crooked and perverted generation, among whom you shine like stars in the world,” Philippians 2:13-15 CSB “And we exhort you, brothers and sisters: warn those who are idle, comfort the discouraged, help the weak, be patient with everyone. See to it that no one repays evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue what is good for one another and for all. Rejoice always, pray constantly, give thanks in everything; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. Don’t stifle the Spirit.” 1 Thessalonians 5:14-19 CSB I have always believed in God but I never understood who He really is, the truth is I knew enough about God to get me into Hell.
I served in the church as a young man, I lead worship, directed our choir and was president of our youth group, but I had no relationship with God the Father or Christ Jesus, I knew the right things to say and do, but I never knew God the Father or Jesus. I saw terrible things happen as a young adult someone I truly cared about was killed on their 18th birthday in a car accident, in a way that was horrible and tragic, other friends died at young ages, people I cared about deeply, and then others I thought were my friends seemed far away and that’s kind of how I saw God He was far away and I was on my own. I couldn’t wait to get farther away from a God who was already distant, a God who made rules and told me how to live, a God who didn’t care about what I cared about. Don’t get me wrong I had plenty of people who talked about Jesus in my life, my mom is a great example of living what she knows and believes, and she still is today I had Sunday school teachers, youth leaders and friends who taught me the truth, and on the flip side I had many who said one thing and lived another. I refused to see the truth about Jesus because I wanted to be mad at God for all the cruel things in my life, I wanted to be mad at God for all the people He took from me who were far better than me, I wanted to live the way I wanted too, I wanted to be mad at God because I didn’t know Him. It was later in life at the age of 33 I heard God‘s call on my life and He spoke to me in an audible voice in my heart and my mind, I was overcome with His presence and when the evangelist said if you left here tonight and died, where would you spend eternity? heaven or hell I heard God say BRIAN you know you would be in hell for you do not know me, I could not get up fast enough to come to Him. I was done running, I had everything the world could offer, but I was empty, broken and hopeless. A relationship with God is truly a relationship like no other, both He and we must participate, God already did everything for us, He created us, He made a way for us to have a relationship with Him through Jesus, He forgives of our sin, He pursues us when we are lost, He finds us, and then He equips us but we must believe in Him, confess Him as our Lord and Savior, lay aside our pride and turn everything over to Him. There is no other relationship that is comparable to our relationship with Christ. My walk with Christ has not been perfect but He is perfect He guides me daily even when I start to stray He pulls me back in because He is good, He is my Friend, He is my Lord and Savior I treasure my relationship with Him, I love Him, I pray that all my family and my friends come to that relationship with Christ Jesus, and learn to live in the power of the Holy Spirit. There are no words that can describe the joy, the peace, the life that I have in Him each day knowing Jesus Christ is with me, that He has my wife, He has our children, our family, our home, all that we are and have, and He always has and always will. I no longer am self-sufficient but totally dependent on Christ. I know there are many out there who are distant from God because they believe He is distant from them but He is as close as your next breath that I promise, I know that there are questions that will never be answered, things that we can explain, pain that seems it will never go away, I know that one day, all the things we thought about, or worried about no longer will matter, for we will see Him face to face, and all these things will subside because of His presence, until then we must renew our minds, our hearts, our souls each day, asking Jesus for His mercy,grace, and help, clearing our hearts as He guards us spiritually physically emotionally He wants to be first in our lives, and He alone deserves no less. Do you know Christ Jesus? Do you have a relationship with Him? Why or why not? God’s word says this: “You believe that God is one. Good! Even the demons believe — and they shudder.”James 2:19 CSB “We all went astray like sheep; we all have turned to our own way; and the Lord has punished him for the iniquity of us all.” Isaiah 53:6 CSB “See to it that you don’t despise one of these little ones, because I tell you that in heaven their angels continually view the face of my Father in heaven. “See to it that you don’t despise one of these little ones, because I tell you that in heaven their angels continually view the face of my Father in heaven.What do you think? If someone has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, won’t he leave the ninety-nine on the hillside and go and search for the stray? And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he rejoices over that sheep more than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray. In the same way, it is not the will of your Father in heaven that one of these little ones perish.”Matthew 18:10-14 CSB “The righteousness of God is through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe, since there is no distinction. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. They are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. God presented him as an atoning sacrifice in his blood, received through faith, to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his restraint God passed over the sins previously committed. God presented him to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so that he would be righteous and declare righteous the one who has faith in Jesus.”Romans 3:22-26 CSB “Therefore, since we know the fear of the Lord, we try to persuade people. What we are is plain to God, and I hope it is also plain to your consciences. We are not commending ourselves to you again, but giving you an opportunity to be proud of us, so that you may have a reply for those who take pride in outward appearance rather than in the heart. For if we are out of our mind, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you. For the love of Christ compels us, since we have reached this conclusion: If one died for all, then all died. And he died for all so that those who live should no longer live for themselves, but for the one who died for them and was raised. From now on, then, we do not know anyone from a worldly perspective. Even if we have known Christ from a worldly perspective, yet now we no longer know him in this way. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, and see, the new has come! Everything is from God, who has reconciled us to himself through Christ and has given us the ministry of reconciliation. That is, in Christ, God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and he has committed the message of reconciliation to us. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us. We plead on Christ’s behalf: “Be reconciled to God.” He made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” 2 Corinthians 5:11-21 CSB Some people believe I am naïve and others doubt when I say that every request I take to the Lord in prayer, I take to Him knowing He will answer me, I believe God knows my request before I speak it, and already has it worked it.
I am not saying God answers my request the way I ask Him each time, but He teaches me through His answers that He is right always, He sees the end from the beginning and knows the outcome for each prayer, for us all. When I come to the Lord in prayer, I am not double minded in my asking, I do not doubt God will answer or that God’s answer is the best answer. I simply ask and believe in faith that God’s ways are perfect. I ask God for healing, for help, for hope, peace, wisdom, strength to make a clear path for the day, for protection and provision for abundance in life because God is our creator and sustainer, He is our healer, our provider, our strength, our wisdom, our deliverer, He is our everything, He is our LORD. I do come boldly to His throne, I do not come demanding or dictating to God how to answer my prayer, I ask my Father in faith and trust Him. That is what faith is, believing that whatever God says and does in our lives is right, we might not like our present condition, or the events going on around us, but we can trust God to give us the grace to see us through, to hold us up when we are weak, keep us humble when we are strong, too carry us when we can go no further. Let us not waiver in our faith, let us ask of God for wisdom to help us through each moment of every day, let us boldly approach His throne in confidence knowing God is for us. Let us walk in complete faith in our Lord and Savior, and not waiver as we press on, let us stand firm and not be tossed upon the waves of life, ask God to increase our faith and help us in our unbelief God has already given us everything, we must learn to give everything back to Him, trust Him always, and let Him lead us through this life into eternity. God’s word says; “He also said to them: “Suppose one of you has a friend and goes to him at midnight and says to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, because a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I don’t have anything to offer him.’ Then he will answer from inside and say, ‘Don’t bother me! The door is already locked, and my children and I have gone to bed. I can’t get up to give you anything.’ I tell you, even though he won’t get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his friend’s shameless boldness, he will get up and give him as much as he needs. “So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead of a fish? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?”Luke 11:5-13 CSB “Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens — Jesus the Son of God — let us hold fast to our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in every way as we are, yet without sin. Therefore, let us approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in time of need.” Hebrews 4:14-16 CSB “Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God — who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly — and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith without doubting. For the doubter is like the surging sea, driven and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord, being double-minded and unstable in all his ways.”James 1:5-8 CSB Pride is the one thing that stands in the way of each of us from walking in obedience to God.
We must lay aside our thoughts, our desires, our ways and submit them all to God, for us to advance His kingdom we must abandon ours, we have to die to ourselves and live for Him. The church is filled with Spiritual pride today, messages are preached without Christ, without truth, the gospel is watered down to appease the world, worship is hyped to make people feel an emotional attachment without experiencing the presence of God, and prayers are prayed with our own agenda instead of the Fathers will. We must turn from our ways and back to Him, if there is too be any hope for us, our families, friends, neighbors, nation or world, it will only be found in Christ. Don’t let our pride stand in God’s way, or He will break us just as He did Israel. We need to start with repentance and prayer, pray what was written years ago in the word of God, for God’s word is perfect and powerful. God’s word says: “If then there is any encouragement in Christ, if any consolation of love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, make my joy complete by thinking the same way, having the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility consider others as more important than yourselves. Everyone should look out not only for his own interests but also for the interests of others. Adopt the same attitude as that of Christ Jesus, who, existing in the form of God, did not consider equality with God as something to be exploited. Instead, he emptied himself by assuming the form of a servant, taking on the likeness of humanity. And when he had come as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death — even to death on a cross. For this reason, God highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow — in heaven and on earth and under the earth — and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”Philippians 2:1-11 CSB “Pursue peace with everyone, and holiness — without it, no one will see the Lord. Make sure that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no root of bitterness springs up, causing trouble and defiling many. And make sure that there isn’t any immoral or irreverent person like Esau, who sold his birthright in exchange for a single meal. For you know that later when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, even though he sought it with tears because he didn’t find any opportunity for repentance. For you have not come to what could be touched, to a blazing fire, to darkness, gloom, and storm, to the blast of a trumpet, and the sound of words. Those who heard it begged that not another word be spoken to them, for they could not bear what was commanded: If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned. The appearance was so terrifying that Moses said, I am trembling with fear. Instead, you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God (the heavenly Jerusalem), to myriads of angels, a festive gathering, to the assembly of the firstborn whose names have been written in heaven, to a Judge, who is God of all, to the spirits of righteous people made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood, which says better things than the blood of Abel. See to it that you do not reject the one who speaks. For if they did not escape when they rejected him who warned them on earth, even less will we if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven. His voice shook the earth at that time, but now he has promised, Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens. This expression, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of what can be shaken — that is, created things — so that what is not shaken might remain. Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful. By it, we may serve God acceptably, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.”Hebrews 12:14-29 CSB We need to learn to live in and by the grace of God every day, this means that we must acknowledge our whole life story, the dark side of our lives, and the light side.
Our dark side should only remind us of who we are without God, it in no way defines who we are now, our light side shows us who we are now in Christ, and how much we need the grace of God. If you are reading this I can tell you God has spared you and brought you this far, He is leading you from the darkness to the light, whether you realize this yet or not, I don’t know, but I pray God opens your heart and mind to see what He is up to. I know this because of my own journey from darkness to light, and the journeys of thousands of others I have spoken with, may we never forget where we came from or where we are going. We are not prisoners of our past, don’t dwell there and don’t let the devil hold you captive, let it go, if you’re in Christ you’re a new person, the old you is no longer alive, our past should only compel us to talk more about who we are today in Christ, our best days are today and every day with Christ as we learn to receive and live in His grace. Our struggles with God come when we want to be master of our own lives, peace with God and the peace of God comes when we surrender everything and everyone to Him. God’s word says this: “And some of you used to be like this. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. “Everything is permissible for me,” but not everything is beneficial. “Everything is permissible for me,” but I will not be mastered by anything.” 1 Corinthians 6:11-12 CSB “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, and see, the new has come! Everything is from God, who has reconciled us to himself through Christ and has given us the ministry of reconciliation. That is, in Christ, God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and he has committed the message of reconciliation to us. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us. We plead on Christ’s behalf: “Be reconciled to God.” He made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” 2 Corinthians 5:17-21 CSB “But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is perfected in weakness.” Therefore, I will most gladly boast all the more about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may reside in me. So I take pleasure in weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and in difficulties, for the sake of Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 CSB “Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say, The salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have now come, because the accuser of our brothers and sisters, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been thrown down. They conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; for they did not love their lives to the point of death. Therefore rejoice, you heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has come down to you with great fury, because he knows his time is short.”Revelation 12:10-12 CSB God has chosen the days in which we live, the place we live, the amount of time we live, He has said to us; now choose how you shall live, sadly most people only exist and do not know how to live.
He knows our days before we are born, for He has made everything and everyone in their time. God has made what is foolish, the very objects of man's folly, for man, loves what is foolish and despises what is true and good. We live far beneath the privilege and power God has given us, until we realize whose authority we live under, we will foolishly follow the wrong way, we must realize we are no longer bound by the chains of the flesh but led by the Spirit of God giving us unchained freedom to live our lives for Him. This freedom molds the way we think, the jobs we take, the words we say, the places we go the things we do, the friends we have, the books we read, the entertainment we watch, and how we spend our money, this freedom we have affects every aspect of our lives. You won't find this freedom in religion or man-made temples, it can only be revealed to you through the power of the Holy Spirit, He alone is the key. He is closer to you than you know, call out to Him today and find the freedom God has created and called you to. This freedom in Christ not only changes our lives but the lives of those around us, and this freedom once obtained in Christ is unchangeable, unremovable, and is ever before us. God’s word says: “There is an occasion for everything, and a time for every activity under heaven: a time to give birth and a time to die; a time to plant and a time to uproot; a time to kill and a time to heal; a time to tear down and a time to build; a time to weep and a time to laugh; a time to mourn and a time to dance; a time to throw stones and a time to gather stones; a time to embrace and a time to avoid embracing; a time to search and a time to count as lost; a time to keep and a time to throw away; a time to tear and a time to sew; a time to be silent and a time to speak; a time to love and a time to hate; a time for war and a time for peace. What does the worker gain from his struggles? I have seen the task that God has given the children of Adam to keep them occupied. He has made everything appropriate in its time. He has also put eternity in their hearts, but no one can discover the work God has done from beginning to end. I know that there is nothing better for them than to rejoice and enjoy the good life. It is also the gift of God whenever anyone eats, drinks, and enjoys all his efforts. I know that everything God does will last forever; there is no adding to it or taking from it. God works so that people will be in awe of him. Whatever is, has already been, and whatever will be, already is. However, God seeks justice for the persecuted.” Ecclesiastes 3:1-15 CSB “For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but it is the power of God to us who are being saved. For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and I will set aside the intelligence of the intelligent. Where is the one who is wise? Where is the teacher of the law? Where is the debater of this age? Hasn’t God made the world’s wisdom foolish? For since, in God’s wisdom, the world did not know God through wisdom, God was pleased to save those who believe through the foolishness of what is preached. For the Jews ask for signs and the Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to the Jews and foolishness to the Gentiles. Yet to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God, because God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength. Brothers and sisters, consider your calling: Not many were wise from a human perspective, not many powerful, not many of noble birth. Instead, God has chosen what is foolish in the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen what is weak in the world to shame the strong. God has chosen what is insignificant and despised in the world — what is viewed as nothing — to bring to nothing what is viewed as something, so that no one may boast in his presence. It is from him that you are in Christ Jesus, who became wisdom from God for us — our righteousness, sanctification, and redemption, in order that, as it is written: Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.” 1 Corinthians 1:18-31 CSB “Paul stood in the middle of the Areopagus and said: “People of Athens! I see that you are extremely religious in every respect. For as I was passing through and observing the objects of your worship, I even found an altar on which was inscribed: ‘To an Unknown God.’ Therefore, what you worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you. The God who made the world and everything in it — he is Lord of heaven and earth — does not live in shrines made by hands. Neither is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives everyone life and breath and all things. From one man he has made every nationality to live over the whole earth and has determined their appointed times and the boundaries of where they live. He did this so that they might seek God, and perhaps they might reach out and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. For in him we live and move and have our being, as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also his offspring.’ Since we are God’s offspring then, we shouldn’t think that the divine nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image fashioned by human art and imagination. “Therefore, having overlooked the times of ignorance, God now commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has set a day when he is going to judge the world in righteousness by the man he has appointed. He has provided proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead.”Acts 17:22-31 CSB There are things we will never understand, and there are things we want to ask God when we see Him, like why do the wicked seem to prosper, why do people hurt people, why did my loved one die so young, why do I have cancer,? and the list could go on but why does it seem evil prospers, while good struggles?
In reality, I believe these questions will not matter once we are standing before God for we will be face to face with our Creator. We are all born the same, we all live in the same world, we all feel the curse of sin on our lives, people die because of sins curse, people become sick because of sins curse, people hurt others, we lie, steal, cheat, live immorally, we act this way and these things happen because of sin, sin separates us from God, from perfection, from His righteousness, His perfect way and will for our lives, now does this ease the pain of life? No, not really, but when we turn back to God we have His promise that He is with us, and that brings us peace and gives us the strength to carry on. I think we all have doubts and questions like Thomas did when Jesus was resurrected, and said he wouldn't believe until he touched Him, we fear what we do not know, we fear being made a fool of, we fear to be wrong. I have learned that no matter what even if my questions are not answered now, they will be. I do not know your trials or fears but there are none that are new or far from God, He does care about what is going on, His way may not seem like the best but it is. It's okay to have questions, it's okay to ask God these questions, but in the end, we should have the attitude Jesus did before He was crucified when He said. ”Father, if You are willing, take this cup away from Me — nevertheless, not My will, but Yours, be done.” Luke 22:42 Trusting God is a choice each of us must make, you may be saying that is easy for you to say, but you don't know what I am going through, and I would answer you this way; you're right, but you, in turn, do not know what I am going through. I can say in complete confidence God will always take care of me and I can trust Him, He has delivered me from evil, saved me from death, provided in ways only He could, spiritually, physically, financially. He saved my family, kept me out of jail and gave me multiple opportunities to come to Him. What we need to know and what we get to know are up to God who reveals truth and answers as He sees fit, this might not be the answers we want to hear but it is the truth. Life is to short to dwell on the things we do not control, let's dwell on Christ, love others as we are loved by Him and help others break free from the curse of sin and death by living like Jesus with His help daily. I think we will be like Thomas when we see God we will just fall down before Him and declare my Lord and God for He is worthy to be praised. God’s word says: “The wicked say, “How can God know? Does the Most High know everything?” Look at them — the wicked! They are always at ease, and they increase their wealth. Did I purify my heart and wash my hands in innocence for nothing? For I am afflicted all day long and punished every morning. If I had decided to say these things aloud, I would have betrayed your people. When I tried to understand all this, it seemed hopeless until I entered God’s sanctuary. Then I understood their destiny. Indeed, you put them in slippery places; you make them fall into ruin. How suddenly they become a desolation! They come to an end, swept away by terrors. Like one waking from a dream, Lord, when arising, you will despise their image.”Psalms 73:11-20 CSB “You have heard that it was said, Love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven. For he causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward will you have? Don’t even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what are you doing out of the ordinary? Don’t even the Gentiles do the same? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”Matthew 5:43-48 CSB “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus, because the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death.” Romans 8:1-2 CSB “See what great love the Father has given us that we should be called God’s children — and we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it didn’t know him. Dear friends, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet been revealed. We know that when he appears, we will be like him because we will see him as he is. And everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself just as he is pure.”1 John 3:1-3 CSB There are way too many people that live today religiously correct, but spiritually wrong, they possess great head knowledge of the scriptures, knowing right from wrong, but do not have God in them, they are spiritually empty, loving knowledge and power but not God, yes well trained, well versed, but venomous, vile and perverse.
John Wesley said, “Give me one hundred men who fear nothing but sin and desire nothing but God, and I care not whether they be clergyman or laymen, they alone will shake the gates of Hell and set up the kingdom of Heaven upon the earth.” I believe we can see the heart of God in those who serve Him, they understand the high call of God on their lives and are satisfied in Him alone, they serve Him where they are, they do not seek fame or fortune but only to make the name of Christ Jesus known in all they do. Others who are religious are never satisfied they seek what they feel they deserve, power, wealth, admiration, and contentment in things, not God, saying to God look what I bring to you, they prey on the unsuspecting and weak and mock God with their lives. Woe to those who lead others astray, by deceitful words or by tickling their ears with false doctrine telling them they can live as they choose regardless of what God’s word says. Self-check ourselves by asking, who do we love more, ourselves or Christ Jesus? Have you personally met Christ Jesus? If not, why? If you have, what are you doing to make His name known in your area of influence? We should live humbly as Christ has called us, we should have the same attitude as Christ does, one of serving God and others, and not waiting on God and others to serve us. Every person who comes to Christ can only come through a personal encounter, none of us are saved corporately, or through our families bloodline, or because we are part of a church, we are personally saved through Christ alone, this alone should compel us to speak of His grace, love, forgiveness, redemption, and salvation, we need to understand the high call and cost of discipleship, Jesus Christ said we must deny our flesh and take up our cross and follow Him, we serve Him by loving others by speaking truth out of love, by loving those who hate us, no matter the personal cost. God’s word says this: “Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone wants to follow after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of me will find it. For what will it benefit someone if he gains the whole world yet loses his life? Or what will anyone give in exchange for his life? For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will reward each according to what he has done. Truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”Matthew 16:24-28 CSB “Now about food sacrificed to idols: We know that “we all have knowledge.” Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. If anyone thinks he knows anything, he does not yet know it as he ought to know it. But if anyone loves God, he is known by him. About eating food sacrificed to idols, then, we know that “an idol is nothing in the world,” and that “there is no God but one.” For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth — as there are many “gods” and many “lords” — yet for us there is one God, the Father. All things are from him, and we exist for him. And there is one Lord, Jesus Christ. All things are through him, and we exist through him.”1 Corinthians 8:1-6 CSB “May grace and peace be multiplied to you through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. His divine power has given us everything required for life and godliness through the knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. By these he has given us very great and precious promises, so that through them you may share in the divine nature, escaping the corruption that is in the world because of evil desire. For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with goodness, goodness with knowledge, knowledge with self-control, self-control with endurance, endurance with godliness, godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being useless or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. The person who lacks these things is blind and shortsighted and has forgotten the cleansing from his past sins. Therefore, brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your calling and election, because if you do these things you will never stumble. For in this way, entry into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be richly provided for you. Therefore I will always remind you about these things, even though you know them and are established in the truth you now have.” 2 Peter 1:2-12 CSB “But know this: Hard times will come in the last days. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, proud, demeaning, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, without love for what is good, traitors, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to the form of godliness but denying its power. Avoid these people. For among them are those who worm their way into households and deceive gullible women overwhelmed by sins and led astray by a variety of passions, always learning and never able to come to a knowledge of the truth. Just as Jannes and Jambres resisted Moses, so these also resist the truth. They are men who are corrupt in mind and worthless in regard to the faith.”2 Timothy 3:1-8 CSB All of us are born into a fallen sinful broken world, a world filled with sickness, disease, famine, poverty, hate, and death, it is filled with lost men and women whose greed and desires drive them to wicked demonic behavior of which we used to be.
Sin and death reign over mankind and do all they can to destroy our lives from the moment of conception until our last breath. Make no mistake we are in a battle. The battle is real, the war is raging and we have to decide which side we will stand with. We can give into the lies, the fears, we can focus on the fallen world around us and fret over sickness, sin, and death, for these things easily snare us and get our attention they are talked about 24hrs a day 7 days a week, or we can focus on God's grace mercy and love, choose life and renew our hearts and minds in His word daily. When we put our eyes and heart on God we will see His grace in the face of a child or a baby, we will see His grace in the morning sunrise, or evening sunset, we can feel His grace lead us as we learn to walk with Him and trust Him, every day. God calls us to holiness; that is a life separated from the world. He delivers us from evil, leads us from temptation, provides our daily needs, He has forgiven those who repent and He speaks to us through His word, through fellowship, through prayer every day. We must choose to either focus on the beauty of a Christ-centered life or the ugliness of self-centered life, we must choose life or death, grace or the grave. God gives His grace daily to us, like manna to the Israelites in the wilderness He gives us each what we need to sustain our lives, we must choose to receive what God is giving to us. I choose grace, I choose life, I choose not to dwell on the things around me, for all things are in God's hands, not mine, He is in control He alone is God, I am not. When death takes my family or friends, when sickness slows me down or stops me from pressing on, when others provoke me to anger, when I see hate and wickedness, I pray, I pray for God's mercy and grace in my heart and for those around me. We get to choose how we will respond, so I ask if God answered our prayers our way, would those prayers change our world and bring glory to Him, or just give us our best life now? Living in God’s grace is not about getting our way, rather it is about seeing others as God does, knowing Christ died for all of mankind, not just us, knowing our lives are not our own. As for me, I choose life, I choose God's grace. God’s word says this: “All things were created through him, and apart from him not one thing was created that has been created. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. That light shines in the darkness, and yet the darkness did not overcome it. But to all who did receive him, he gave them the right to be children of God, to those who believe in his name, who were born, not of natural descent, or of the will of the flesh, or of the will of man, but of God. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. We observed his glory, the glory as the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John testified concerning him and exclaimed, “This was the one of whom I said, ‘The one coming after me ranks ahead of me, because he existed before me.’”) Indeed, we have all received grace upon grace from his fullness, for the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.”John 1:3-5, 12-17 CSB “Therefore, brothers and sisters, in view of the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your true worship. Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God. For by the grace given to me, I tell everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he should think. Instead, think sensibly, as God has distributed a measure of faith to each one. Let love be without hypocrisy. Detest evil; cling to what is good. Love one another deeply as brothers and sisters. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not lack diligence in zeal; be fervent in the Spirit; serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope; be patient in affliction; be persistent in prayer.”Romans 12:1-3, 9-12 CSB “But know this: Hard times will come in the last days. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, proud, demeaning, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, without love for what is good, traitors, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to the form of godliness but denying its power. Avoid these people. For among them are those who worm their way into households and deceive gullible women overwhelmed by sins and led astray by a variety of passions, always learning and never able to come to a knowledge of the truth. But you have followed my teaching, conduct, purpose, faith, patience, love, and endurance, along with the persecutions and sufferings that came to me in Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra. What persecutions I endured — and yet the Lord rescued me from them all. In fact, all who want to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. Evil people and impostors will become worse, deceiving and being deceived. But as for you, continue in what you have learned and firmly believed. You know those who taught you, and you know that from infancy you have known the sacred Scriptures, which are able to give you wisdom for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”2 Timothy 3:1-7, 10-17 CSB “For if I want to boast, I wouldn’t be a fool, because I would be telling the truth. But I will spare you, so that no one can credit me with something beyond what he sees in me or hears from me, especially because of the extraordinary revelations. Therefore, so that I would not exalt myself, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to torment me so that I would not exalt myself. Concerning this, I pleaded with the Lord three times that it would leave me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is perfected in weakness.” Therefore, I will most gladly boast all the more about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may reside in me. So I take pleasure in weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and in difficulties, for the sake of Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”2 Corinthians 12:6-10 CSB |
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