Hold Fast, Stand Firm

Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;) And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.
Hebrews 10:23 – 25

This is an awesome word! We all know (or at least I hope we do) that we are living in the last days and that Christ is coming sooner than we imagine. Many things will rise up to shake our faith. When we look at the news everything is about death, violence, misery and lack. Quite depressing, I don’t even like watching the news, but we have to stay current with what’s going on around us. These things can shake our faith. There will be those who will try to provoke you and take you out of character and still other wiles of the enemy that will try to seduce you back into the pit God pulled you out of. HOLD FAST THE PROFESSION OF YOUR FAITH! GOD IS FAITHFUL!! Do not be deceived by what is going on in the world, what the enemy tries to bombard you with, or what he tries to seduce you with. These things do not mean your demise, but his! When we look at what’s going on in the world, it’s sad, but it brings us ever closer to being caught up with our Lord! That is exciting!! Yes I am excited this morning when I think about. This may be a little longer than usual but I want to point something out about all this.

One thing the enemy uses against the church is division. A church can only be divided when they don’t walk in love. Brothers and sisters, we must walk in the love of God as Jesus walked in it to be a united church. The Scripture says: Consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together. Do you know what that means? Of course you do, I was just asking to see if you’re awake. To consider one another to provoke love, is to pray for one another, fellowship with another, pray together, encourage one another, get to know one another and LOVE one another. When we love one another we look out for one another and we don’t let anything come between us. We fight for one another in the spirit realm. We protect one another. That is why it is so important to congregate! I confess that sometimes it has been hard for me to love. I am not proud of it, but I ask God everyday to give me more love so I can love like He does. We all should pray this way because there are some people we will meet that we will have a hard time showing the love of God to. Not that we don’t want to but God has to deal with us. Speaking specifically for myself, He has to deal with me. But the congregating of saints is a beautiful thing when the church walks in love, there is strength among the brethren. The church is like the emergency room. When you get there, you have something broken, something cut, or just a splinter but when you allow God’s love to minister to you through His vessels under the anointing of the Holy Spirit, you will come out healed and restored. You will realize that there are people who have gone through what you’re going through and are still standing!! They are standing because God brought them through and this will encourage you and strengthen you to hold fast to your faith because God will bring you through too! Praise God!!! As the day approaches, when our Lord will come for us, let Him not find us lacking. Let Him find us walking in love and all of His fullness till we see Him face to face.


Heavenly Father,
Bless my brothers and sisters this morning. Show us what it is to truly love and lay down our lives for our friends. Father fill us with your love more and more everyday so that we may love as You do. Unconditionally, compassionately, with no prejudice, so that we will be found without blemish when You come for us. Your word says that love covers a multitude of sin, as Your love covered our sin when you gave Your life for us, let our love cover the hurting, wounded, and dying, that You may bring restoration, healing, and wholeness through Your children. Thank you Father for loving us.
In Jesus name,
Amen

In the Eye of the Storm Part 2

The LORD is your keeper; The LORD is your shade at your right hand. The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. The LORD shall preserve you from all evil; He shall preserve your soul. The LORD shall preserve your going out and your coming in from this time forth, and even forevermore. Psalm 121:5-8


When we are walking in the desert, that place where many lessons are learned and loneliness seems to be our constant companion, the Lord is our keeper. He walks with us in that dry place, He holds us close, He keeps us no matter what. In the dry place, where there seems to be no refreshing for our souls, the sun does not scorch us or strike us in the high noon and the moon does not bother us at night. In that desert, snakes and scorpions cannot touch us, vultures will encircle us but never taste our flesh because though we are going through a painful season and there seems to be no end, he does not allow any evil to touch us. We are the apples of His eye and no matter what we go through, we must keep in mind that He allowed it for a reason. The reason may be to teach us to depend on Him. It may be to show us how to endure and be joyful. It may be to take us to the next level in what He has planned for us. But whatever the reason, He has allowed it and He will bring us through. He preserves our soul. He preserves our going out and our coming in. Wherever we go, He preserves us, He watches over us, He makes sure no harm comes to us that would try to destroy us. The awesome part is that He promises to preserve our goings and comings today and forevermore!! Praise the Lord!! Let us remember who keeps us when we are going through situations we don’t understand and would seem to tear us apart. Remember that He will preserve us from all evil because He has our backs and He is our Father. No matter what you go through, trust God to be there with you through it all and to make a way for you in the midst of it.

In the Eye of the Storm Part 1

I will lift up my eyes to the hills—from whence comes my help? My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth. He will not allow your foot to be moved; He who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, He who keeps Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. Psalm 121:1-4


During the hardest and darkest times of my life since walking with the Lord, these verses have reminded me constantly of where my help comes from. In times of sheer desperation these verses have given me comfort and strength. There are times where all you will be able to do is look up and call on the Lord. Moments where the pain is so immense and so intense that you have no choice but to cry out to God in order to get through it. What’s so comforting about that is that He hears you, comforts you, and strengthens you. He will not give you more than you can bear because he knows what you can handle even when you don’t. He knows what you’re made of and He knows that when you come out of the trial that you will stronger, better, wiser. You will be in a position for Him to take you to another level and use you in a way you never thought possible. He does not sleep and He watches over you and keeps you in the palm of His hand especially in the trial and pain. When you are going through a desperate situation, remember that He who keeps Israel, He who keeps you does not slumber nor sleep. He is well aware of your situation. As a matter of fact, He is right there with you in the midst of the trial and He will bring you out of it ready to do things you couldn’t do before this time. Praise Him in the stormy trials, praise Him in the heat of the fire, praise Him when the waters try to drown you because though you go through the fire, the flames will not scorch you; though you go through the flood, the waters will not drown you and in the stormiest of storms He is the only One who can calm the storm and bring peace.

If You Believe

Jesus said to her, “Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?” John 11:40

Those are powerful words! This question which is more like a statement was asked of Martha after her brother Lazarus died. Prior to this question, Jesus had told Martha that her brother would live and naturally she assumed that He was talking about the resurrection of the saints. She had not fully understood that her brother’s death was to glorify God and bring others to faith in Jesus Christ. She did not know that Jesus was talking about literally resurrecting her brother at that moment. It must have blown her mind to see her brother walk out of that tomb very much alive!

There is nothing impossible for God; the key is to believe it. Do you believe?
Let me tell you a short story that will motivate you to believe the impossible is possible if you just believe. Recently, I received answers to two very important petitions I had before the Lord. One of them was to one day see the son I had given up 19 years ago and the other was for the salvation of my husband. Over the years I had imagined how things would play out. I knew that I would see my son and that my husband would be saved. I believed it with all my heart. What I didn’t know was when and how it would happen. In August of this year I got the double whammy! The double portion, the double blessing, two gifts at once, however you want to call it, I got it! My son, who had been looking for me, found me, received me, and is now home with us, and my husband had a true encounter with the Lord and received salvation. A week prior to my son contacting me, my husband took a step of faith and gave his life to the Lord and it is his testimony that the way that God orchestrated the reunion between my son and I, has reaffirmed his faith. He saw the glory of God in how it came about. It is amazing just thinking about how it all happened but the point of this story is that if you believe you will see the glory of God! Praise the Lord!!

There are times when doubt will try to infiltrate our minds and hearts when we are believing God for the impossible or what seems to be the impossible. Doubt will try to weasel its way into our minds when we are believing God for something we’ve been waiting a long time for but when that happens, when that weasel tries to make you falter in your faith, reject and rebuke those doubtful thoughts and remember that if you believe, you will see the glory of God.

Heavenly Father,
We thank You for the many blessings You have bestowed upon us. We ask You Lord to strengthen our faith and help us to believe the impossible so that we would see Your glory. Jesus help us to overcome when fear and doubt attack our lives and try to make us waver in our faith. Help us to stand firm and hold fast to our faith that we may be like the palm tree that bends but is never uprooted in the storm. Let us see Your glory Lord.
In Jesus mighty name,
Amen

Don't get Discouraged, God is with you!

Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.
Joshua 1:9


This is my all time favorite verse of the Bible. It amazes me how God reminds us that He is with us wherever we go. When we are headed in the wrong direction, He gently lets know. So how can we be strong and of good courage when we go through dark times? He reminds us that He is with us wherever we go, even in those dark places where we think He is not with us. Praise God! That is comforting to know especially when you are in a desert season and you think God doesn’t hear you or that you are alone. The devil would have you think that you are alone, and things are going to get worse before they get better; but he is a liar and the father of lies and God’s word is true and He is faithful. If He says that He will be with us wherever we go then you can be sure that He is there in the middle of the dry desert with you. Let us walk today in courage, encouraged, and let us not be afraid of what is ahead because God is with us and He prepares the way. Be strengthened in the Lord this morning and know that all things work for good to them that love the Lord and are called according to His purpose. He is with you wherever you go.

The Lord has spoken to me through this verse on many occasions and I have been truly blessed by it. I hope you are too.

Heavenly Father,
If anyone reading this is struggling with loneliness, anxiety, fear, doubt, or depression. If anyone reading this is going through a battle they think they cannot win, Lord let them know that You are always with them. Let them know that You are with those whom You call, those whom are called Your children. Father let them feel Your loving arms around them that they may know that You are closer than they can possibly imagine. Father strengthen them and deliver them from the whatever is tormenting them that makes them think that You are not aware of their situations. Lord I ask You to bless them as only You can and give them peace.
In Jesus mighty name,
Amen

Healing for Spiritual Leprosy

When he was come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed him. And, behold, there came a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. Matthew 8:1-3


I don’t know how many times I’ve read this account of Jesus healing the leper and I can’t remember when I’ve read it and didn’t see it as God’s way of showing us His healing power. A couple of days ago I read this passage and received something else from this word. We all know that everyday God reveals something in His word and Monday night when I was reading this passage, I not only saw God’s healing power but also God’s saving power through the blood of Jesus. I will explain – how many of us know what leprosy is? We probably all have an idea of what it is from the biblical accounts and anybody who’s studied medicine knows what it is in the medical field. Leprosy is a disease that attacks the flesh and the nervous system. Lepers as they were called in the Bible had no sense of feeling in some parts of their bodies, the skin would ulcerate, and the flesh would rot. In biblical times lepers were considered outcasts, they could not live among the people because they were considered unclean, apart from the fact that it is contagious. These people lived in parts of the city or country designated for lepers; most of the time they had to beg to survive because they could not work, and they could not live with their families. So what am I getting at? From the saving perspective, I reflected on what the soul looks like when we come to Jesus. Our souls were rotting, our hearts had no feeling, our minds, emotions, hearts, and souls were ulcerated. And one day someone told us that we could be healed, we could be saved, we could be saved through Jesus Christ and our leprosy would be healed. When we come to Jesus and receive Him in our hearts we are saying Lord if you will, you can make me clean. And He will say I will, and come in and make us new. But there’s another thing I understood from these verses. Sometimes we become spiritually sick. We get caught up in things, people hurt us and we don’t give it up completely to the Lord, or there are issues within us that we are not necessarily aware of or ignore and they cause us to be stagnant or stuck in one place with no growth. This is a form of spiritual leprosy. The spirit is ulcerated and if we don’t ask the Lord for healing or allow Him to heal us, our spirits lose the nerve endings that cause us to feel and our hearts grow cold and hard and soon it reflects on the outside and we begin to rot from spiritual leprosy. But Jesus is still the Healer of our souls, spirits, bodies, and mind! If we ask Him, He will say, I will! And He will heal that leprosy in our spirits and make us whole! Praise God for He is awesome! At first I only saw the aspect of when we first come to Christ full of sin, but even when we walk with Christ, anytime there is a foothold for the enemy to grab on to and there is room for sin we are in danger of spiritual leprosy. Let us guard our hearts from unforgiveness, envy, pride and other things that can desensitize our hearts and make us spiritual lepers. Don’t let things said or done to you penetrate your heart to where a root of bitterness can grow. Always give it to Jesus who restores all things and heals us completely and makes us whole.

Stand United

I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. Ephesians 4:1-6


Why do we forget that we are one body? Why do we forget that the very same Spirit that dwells in me, dwells in you? We are not all on the same level in our walk with the Lord, but we are all serving the same God, we share the same faith, and the Spirit that abides in one, abides in all who believe in Jesus Christ and have given their lives to Him. You see, the day that you opened your heart to God with all sincerity and asked Him to come in, was the day that you received the love of God in your life. It was the day that you experienced love on a whole new level. Real love. Whatever you thought was love before Christ does not compare to what love is in Christ. God is love therefore we must be humble, gentle, patient, bear each other's burdens in love. We have to be united and be peaceable. Jesus said that a house divided could not stand. He's talking about a family divided cannot stand. A church divided cannot stand. A ministry divided cannot stand. We all have to be on one accord. He has not called the church to be divided. What purpose would we serve in division?? Division is a tool the enemy uses to tear apart lives and we should not allow him to come into our home, our church, our ministry, our jobs, and try to divide what God has called to stand united! When Paul talks about bearing each others burdens in love, he is not talking about being in each others business. He is talking about helping each other during the difficult seasons of our lives with love and patience. I can tell you it is not easy dealing with different characters and emotions on a daily basis. It is not easy to deal with people when they are going through the process that God puts us through and resist. It can get downright ugly! But God has called each of us to be at peace with each other. To help each other lovingly, not with attitude or misgivings. "Well I'm going to help her because the Bible says I should but I really don't want to." God does not honor that attitude. Even though you are doing what the Bible says, you are not doing it in love and God cannot honor it. Bearing each others burdens in love involves praying and interceding for each other. It involves ignoring sarcastic remarks, and pressing forward to help someone even when it seems they don't want your help. It involves encouraging others when you feel you need encouragement yourself. How can you do these things? I can tell that on your own accord you will not be able to do it because your old self will not allow you to, but the Spirit of God empowers you to love, forget, ignore hurtful words, and press forward and not give up on others. We need to stand united in these last days because the devil is working overtime and doubletime to distract the church and divide the church because he knows his time is short and he wants to take as many as he can to where he is going for all eternity - the lake of fire. We cannot give him room or allow him to sneak his way into our lives, our families, and our churches.

Father,
We give You glory, honor, and praise for Your word today. Your word that exhorts us today to stand united and to bear each others burdens in love. We ask You today, Lord, that You would give us the strength to stand united in You and that You would fill us with Your love on a daily basis because love covers a multitude of sin. Love suffers all things and bears all things. That we would be the church, the families, the people, You have called us to be and that Your love would shine through us as we stand united. In Jesus name we thank You Lord.
Amen.

Reconciling Differences

Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye. Matthew 7:5

There are times when we are offended by something someone said or did and we focus on the offense and don’t realize that our reaction to the offense may be more offensive or just as offensive and we hurt that person with our words and with our actions. I have been guilty of this on several occasions. The worst part of it is that I feel justified in my behavior because as we used to say when we were children “He/She started it!” or “He/She hurt me first!” Those reactions are just that, childish. It is not easy to admit when we are wrong even when someone else has hurt us. I would say especially so. I have learned though, that if you allow the Holy Spirit to guide you, you will realize your error and attempt to correct it if in fact you want to be obedient and are repentant about your behavior. I thank God for His Holy Spirit who convicts us when we are wrong and gently nudges back in the right direction. For some of us it takes a little more than nudging because we don’t want to admit we are wrong or we simply don’t realize that we did or said anything wrong and that is dangerous. When you offend someone and that person brings it to your attention and you disregard it simply because you don’t feel you did anything wrong, or you don’t like the person’s approach about it, you hurt that person more. Now the offended feels that you don’t care how they feel and retaliate in a worse manner. This verse was spoken by Jesus to the Pharisees, who criticized and thought they were better than the common Jew because they did not have to beg to eat, and they were “religious leaders”, they were so called “high society” who treated people poorly and criticized others because they didn’t have, not caring how they made these people feel. What do you think happens when you offend someone and don’t correct it or ask their forgiveness even when you don’t think you did anything wrong? You leave the door open for gossip, slander, anger, discord, and chaos, because now that person is upset and will talk to others about your behavior. This affects your testimony as a Christian as well as the offended person’s because you failed to show love and reconcile the situation rather than let it get out of hand. Both are trying to remove a speck from the other’s eye yet still have a plank in their own. You have to step back, look at the situation and remove the plank from your own eye first so that then you can go to the offended person and ask their forgiveness and by doing so you remove the speck out of their eye. We must try to live as examples to others. We are not perfect and won’t be perfect until we are in glory, but with the Holy Spirit guiding us and helping us, we can overcome and be victorious. I hope I made sense in this devotional, know that God first ministered to me through this word and I know it will minister to you.

Heavenly Father,
I pray that this word would minister to every soul that reads it. I thank You because it has ministered to me and I ask You to keep me as well those reading this, sensitive to your Holy Spirit and sensitive to others. That we would be mindful of what we say, how we say it, and how we approach others. Bless all those who will read this today Lord, and if they are going through a similar situation, give them the strength and the love to reconcile whatever differences they may be experiencing. Lord I thank You for Your word and the priviledge to share it with others. Fill us with Your love everyday that we are on this earth so that we can love others as we love ourselves. In Jesus name.

Amen

Preparation

“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” says the LORD. Isaiah 55:8


Human beings do not and cannot understand God. Even Christians cannot claim to understand God. Man was created with a mind that can think, reason, create, and solve problems. However, though it is an intricate part of the creation of man and was formed beautifully by the Master, it is finite, which means it is limited. God’s mind on the other hand is infinite. It has no limits. The thoughts that He has for us, we cannot begin to imagine or comprehend. His way of doing things is far better than our way because He knows all things and we don’t. When we think that things aren’t going to get any better, God thinks they can ONLY get better. When our situation looks like a dead end and we think there’s no way out, God thinks there IS a way out. When we think we can’t do something because we’re not sure of ourselves, God thinks you CAN do it because I have given you what you need to do it and I will help you. When we think we are alone, God thinks you are NOT alone because I am always with you. Do you see how contrary our thoughts are compared to God’s? We cannot pretend to know God’s thoughts but we do know that His thoughts for us are good. We do know that He wants the best for us. As only a father can want the best for his children so God, our Father, wants the best for us. Our Father planned our future before we were even thought of by our natural parents and everything that we ever experienced, are experiencing, and will experience is preparation for that future. The future doesn’t end when you get married and have children, no; it’s just the beginning because children are part of your training for those who have them, part of your preparation. For those who don’t have them, that is part of your training too. When negative thoughts come to mind and you can’t see the light at the end of the tunnel. When you can’t think straight and don’t see how things are going to get better or how things are going to change. When you can’t see past the pain you feel and think there is no end to it and nothing good will come out of it, remember that God’s thoughts are not your thoughts, and your ways are not His ways. Remember that He has a future planned out for you and that whatever your situation it is just part of your PREPARATION for your future in Him. Praise God for His infinite mind, His infinite love, and His infinite mercy.