His Word is not Void

"For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways," says the LORD.

"For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts. "For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, and do not return there, but water the earth, and make it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it. Isaiah 55:8-11

I love the comparison in these verses. God does not think as we do. He knows the future and He knows the plans that He has for us. His ways are not like ours. We make mistakes, He doesn't. One thing is for sure, God is faithful.

In these verses, God is telling us that what we have in mind for ourselves is nothing close to what He has in mind. He has created us with purpose and He has a plan for our lives. What we have planned for ourselves is not what God has planned for us. The methods that we use to achieve and accomplish our goals are not the methods that God uses.

He compares it to a process of nature. When it rains or snows, the water or frozen ice come from above and water the earth. In the winter that snow remains on the ground but in spring it begins to thaw and that water gets sucked into the earth. The same with the rain; the rains comes down and waters the earth and new life begins to spring forth from the ground.

God's word brings life into your spirit. Whatever He has promised you, it shall come to pass because His word does not return to Him void. He cannot lie and what He says He will do, He does. It's like the rain that waters the seeds that are planted in the ground. It nurtures the seed till it brings forth its fruit. The word that God planted in your life will bring forth its fruit!

You will be what He says you will be. You will do what He has called you to do. He will bless you and strengthen you, restore you and use you to bless others, just as He said He would. His word always has a purpose. It is not empty or without worth. His word does what He sends it to do. It does not return to Him without first accomplishing what He sent it out to do!

Isn't that awesome?! To know that no matter what your current situation is, God made you a promise and He will keep it. He does not lie!! It's not in His nature! He is a life giver and a promise keeper. His word is faithful and true and you can count on it coming to pass. His word gives life!!

Did you know that when God speaks a word into your life it gives you purpose? That word must be fulfilled! And it will because it cannot return to Him void. Be encouraged. Whatever God has spoken into your life will be because He loves you and has mercy on you. He forgave you, washed you, gave you new clothes, and transformed you into who you are now. He will finish the work He started in you. Believe it, receive it, and count on it!

God bless you!

Calling on Jesus

NAMES OF JESUS

 

ATTORNEY

My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous.

1 John 2:1

LAMB OF GOD

The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!

John 1:29

THE RESURRECTION AND THE LIFE

Jesus told her, "I am the resurrection and the life.
Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying.

John 11:25

SHEPHERD AND GUARDIAN OF SOULS

Once you were like sheep
      who wandered away.
   But now you have turned to your Shepherd,
      the Guardian of your souls.

1 Peter 2:25

JUDGE

And he ordered us to preach everywhere and to testify that Jesus is the one appointed by God to be the judge of all—the living and the dead.

Acts 10:42

LORD OF LORDS

For at just the right time Christ will be revealed from heaven by the blessed and only almighty God, the King of all kings and Lord of all lords.

1 Timothy 6:15

MAN OF SORROWS

He was despised and rejected—
      a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief.
   We turned our backs on him and looked the other way.
      He was despised, and we did not care.

Isaiah 53:3

HEAD OF THE CHURCH

For a husband is the head of his wife as Christ is the head of the church. He is the Savior of his body, the church.

Ephesians 5:23

TEACHER

Then one of the teachers of religious law said to him, "Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go."

Matthew 8:19

TRUE AND FAITHFUL WITNESS

"Write this letter to the angel of the church in Laodicea. This is the message from the one who is the Amen—the faithful and true witness, the beginning
of God's new creation."

Revelation 3:14

ROCK

And all of them drank the same spiritual water. For they drank from the spiritual rock that traveled with them, and that rock was Christ.

1 Corinthians 10:4

HIGH PRIEST

Jesus has already gone in there for us. He has become our eternal High Priest in the order of Melchizedek.

Hebrews 6:20

DOOR

Yes, I am the gate. Those who come in through me will be saved.
They will come and go freely and will find good pastures.

John 10:9

LIVING WATER

Jesus replied, "If you only knew the gift God has for you and who you are speaking to, you would ask me, and I would give you living water."

John 4:10

BREAD OF LIFE

Jesus replied, "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty."

John 6:35

ROSE OF SHARON

I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys.

Songs of Solomon 2:1

ALPHA AND OMEGA

"I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End."

Revelation 22:13

TRUE VINE

"I am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener."

John 15:1

MESSIAH

" Know therefore and understand,
      That from the going forth of the command
      To restore and build Jerusalem
      Until Messiah the Prince,
      There shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks;
      The street shall be built again, and the wall,
      Even in troublesome times."

Daniel 9:25

HOLY

Saying, "Let us alone! What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth? Did You come to destroy us? I know who You are—the Holy One of God!"

Mark 1:24

GOOD SHEPHERD

"I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep."

John 10:11

LIGHT OF THE WORLD

Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, "I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life."

John 8:12

MEDIATOR

For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus.

1 Timothy 2:5

BELOVED

To the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.

Ephesians 1:6

BRANCH

There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse,
      And a Branch shall grow out of his roots.

Isaiah 11:1

CARPENTER

Is this not the carpenter, the Son of Mary, and brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? And are not His sisters here with us?" So they were offended at Him.

Mark 6:3

IMAGE OF GOD INVISIBLE

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.

Colossians 1:15

THE WORD

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

John 1:1

CORNERSTONE

Having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone.

Ephesians 2:20

SAVIOR

For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

Luke 2:11

SERVANT

"Behold! My Servant whom I have chosen,
      My Beloved
in whom My soul is well pleased!
      I will put My Spirit upon Him,
      And He will declare justice to the Gentiles."

      Matthew 12:18

AUTHOR AND CONSUMER OF OUR FAITH

Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Hebrews 12:2

ALMIGHTY

"I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End," says the Lord, "who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty."

Revelations 1:8

ETERNAL FATHER

For unto us a Child is born,
      Unto us a Son is given;
      And the government will be upon His shoulder.
      And His name will be called
      Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
      Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Isaiah 9:6

LION OF JUDAH

But one of the elders said to me, "Do not weep. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose its seven seals."

Revelation 5:5

I AM

Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM."

John 8:58

BRIDEGROOM

And Jesus said to them, "Can the friends of the bridegroom mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast.

Matthew 9:15

KING OF KINGS

Which He will manifest in His own time, He who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords.

1 Timothy 6:15

PRINCE OF PEACE

Isaiah 9:6

ONLY BEGOTTEN SON

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

John 3:16

ADMIRABLE COUNSELOR

Isaiah 9:6

IMMANUEL

"Behold,
the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel," which is translated, "God with us."

Matthew 1:23

SON OF MAN

"Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."

Matthew 20:28

THE AMEN

Revelation 3:14

KING OF THE JEWS

And the inscription of His accusation was written above:
      THE KING OF THE JEWS.

Mark 15:26

PROPHET

So the multitudes said, "This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee."

Matthew 21:11

ANCHOR

This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil.

Hebrews 6:19

MORNING STAR

"I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things in the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star."

Revelation 22:16

THE WAY, THE TRUTH, AND THE LIFE

Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me."

John 14:6

 

 

What's in a name?

Now Jabez was more honorable than his brothers, and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, "because I bore him in pain." And Jabez called on the God of Israel saying, "Oh that you would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that Your hand would be with me, and that You would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain!" So God granted him what he requested. 1 Chronicles 4:9-10

We live in an age where we meet people with different, unique, and even strange names. Names that sound nice or are uncommon but few people take the time to investigate the meaning of that name.

In ancient Israel the name of a child was important because it had a specific meaning. You could say that the meaning of your name caused you joy or shame in those days. The Bible recounts different men and women who's names caused them shame. 1 Samuel, chapter 4, the bible tells us of a woman who gave birth during a time of tremendous stress and grief. Her husband and her brother-in-law were dead and she had just received news that killed her father-in-law - the ark of the covenant had been captured by the Philistines. When her father-in-law heard this news, he fell back and broke his neck. This poor girl, from the grief and stress of losing her family and worse yet the glory of God had been taken from Israel, she gave birth to her son whom she named Ichabod. Ichabod means "the glory of God is departed." Can you imagine going through life with a name that means that the glory of God is not with you?

Jacob in the book of Genesis was the son of Isaac. He was the father of twelve sons that later became the twelve tribes of Israel. His name means usurper or trickster. Yet when he called on the name of the Lord and consecrated himself to the God of Abraham and Isaac, the Lord changed his name to Israel. Just as the Lord changed Abram's name to Abraham - father of many nations.

In the case of Jabez, the bible describes him as more honorable than his brothers, yet his name brought him shame. His mother named him so because she may have had a very hard time delivering him or the family may have been going through some financial set backs and it was not the opportune time to have another child. Or maybe she was grieving the loss of a loved one as Ichabod's mother was, and named him in her grief. But notice what Jabez does - he knows what his name means, he probably believes that he was the cause of his mother's pain at the time of his birth, I imagine that while he was in school the other kids made fun of him because of his name, yet he calls on the God of Israel. In his shame and in his pain, he calls on the One who can change his status. He calls on the One who can change the meaning of his name or change his name altogether. The bible doesn't say that God changed his name, only that He granted his request.

Let's look at his request - "Oh that you would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that Your hand would be with me, and You would keep me from evil, so that I may not cause pain!" It was a cry for God's mercy and grace. He did not want to be what his name meant or said he was. He wanted to be a blessing! He wanted to reach others with the love of God! He wanted to please God. And here's the best part - GOD GRANTED HIM HIS REQUEST!! He enlarged his territory! He blessed his socks off! He became a blessing for others! The Lord protected him! What does this mean to us?!

We don't have to be who the world says we should be. We don't have to become our namesake. Our future does not depend on the circumstances of our birth or our upbringing! With God all things are possible! He is the lifechanger and the lifegiver! He determines our future! And when we call on Him as Jabez did, and allow Him access to our hearts and our lives, He will bless us, enlarge us, and protect us. Let us ask the Lord to bless us indeed, enlarge our territory, that His hand be with us and He keep us from evil and we WILL NOT cause pain but be blessings to others and a living testimony of the power of the Almighty God in our lives.

God bless you and be encouraged.

New Posts coming soon!

To those who have been following this blog, my apologies for the time I haven't posted. Just want to let you know that I will be posting again very soon. Thank you for your patience.

Christine

Are You Using Your Talents?

“For the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country, who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them. And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability; and immediately he went on a journey. Matthew 25:14-15

If you have not read this parable of the Talents, you can find it in Matthew 25:14-29. It is a parable of a merchant who gave his servants money to double for him. In banking terms he made an investment in his servants and expected to double his investment in return. To one he gave five talents, to the other two and to the last one he gave one, according to the abilities that he knew they had to make profit of his investment and went on his trip. When this merchant returned to settle accounts with his servants, the one he gave five to had doubled his investment. Likewise the servant whom he gave two talents to, doubled his investment, but the servant to whom he only gave one talent, hid in the ground and did nothing with it.

God gives each and every one of us a talent. It may not be an obvious talent like some but nonetheless it is a talent. A talent is something that you can do and do very well; a specialty so to speak that you may have. For example, some people have the talent of hosting. People can go to their house and they will make them feel as if they are in there own home or at a luxurious resort. That is a talent not everyone has. Some people have the talent of calming situations so they don’t escalate into something ugly. These are not very obvious talents but they are effective and necessary talents nonetheless. If they weren’t necessary why would God give them? God gives us these talents to use for His glory. If we host, we host for Him, if we pacify a situation, we pacify for Him. Whatever your talent is, you are to use it, practice getting better at it, and multiply it. How do you multiply it? By using your talent to bless others. I know a newlywed couple who have several talents and they use them all to glorify our Father, hence I have been witness to the multiplication of those talents. Not only do they sing, they host, they direct, they preach, and they lead and there are probably more talents I have seen yet in them. The point is that they are multiplying that investment that God made in them by blessing others. If you hear these two sing together or individually you will be truly blessed.

The first thing you need to do is discover your talent. Once you discover your talent, you have to develop it or put it into practice. It can be an obvious talent such as singing, preaching, or teaching, or it can be a talent that is not seen in crowds or the general public. A talent is a talent, however obvious or unobvious it may be. Is that a word?? You have to use it. As you develop your talent and become good at it, you multiply it. You cannot hide your talent and do nothing with it. God gave it to you for a reason. He gave it to you to bless others and to bless you and in so doing you are honoring the One who gave you the talent. If you allow fear and other elements to prevent you from using your talent you can lose it. Now let me be clear on what I mean about losing it – you will lose the desire, you will lose the ability to do it well, it is like a flower that receives no sunlight or water and dies. It is like a muscle that is not exercised and grows weak to the point where it is useless. A talent in monetary terms is equivalent to 10,000 shekels. In American money that would be about $1500. Jesus used the monetary example so that the people would understand but He was actually talking about those deposits that God makes in each and every one of us.

If you read the verses where he came to the last servant who he gave one talent to, you will see that the servant did nothing with his talent. He knew he had it, but he didn’t develop it and he didn’t multiply it because he was afraid. He was considered wicked and lazy by his master. Fear, insecurity, low self esteem, complexes and other elements can prevent you from discovering and developing your talent. A low self esteem will make you think that there is no way that you could have a talent but you do. Fear will say, you can’t do it, what if you fail? Insecurity will say you’re not that good, so and so can do it better, let them do it. These are all obstacles the enemy puts in your path to keep you from your full potential. You have to step over those giants and remind yourself, if God gave it to you it’s because He knew that you had the ability to do it. You see, verse 15 says “to each according to his own ability.” Not according to so and so’s ability but according to your own ability God gave you a talent or 5 talents or 10 talents or more! It is up to you to discover them, develop them, and multiply them!

I want to hear the Lord say “well done, my good and faithful servant”; how about you? Verse 29 says: ‘For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away.” If you don’t use your talents they will be taken away. Let us use those gifts God has given us to further His kingdom so that we can hear the Lord say “Well done, my good and faithful servant.”
God bless!

The Sanctity of Marriage

Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body. Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish. So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church. For we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones. “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.”
Ephesians 5:22-31

This is for those who are married and those who will get married. I don’t pretend to be an expert on marriage – far from it – but there are some things I learned in the course of my marriage to my wonderful husband that I would like to share and may help someone in need.

First – IT CAN BE DONE! The society and age we live would have us believe that marriage doesn’t work. So many people are terrified of the commitment of marriage or are hostile toward it because of past hurts or the wrong example of the marriage of someone close. The statistics of the divorce rate in the 21st century alone are scary and at the highest they’ve ever been. 50% of married couples in America end in divorce. A person who marries more than once is more likely to divorce sooner than the first time. The sanctity of marriage is no longer regarded in today’s society. It was every little girl’s dream to have a beautiful wedding and spend the rest of her life with the man waiting for her at the altar. Those dreams can still come true! It is God’s design for man and woman to live in the intimate relationship called marriage. Of course the world has a twisted and warped view of what marriage should be. It is more challenging today to marry and stay committed to that union than it was 50 years ago, even 20 years ago, but it can be done. Marriage is not a fairy tale where you marry the person of your dreams and live happily ever after. It requires an investment of time, patience, sacrifice, compromise and commitment. It is a decision to love when life is just like a fairytale and when it’s not. A decision to love when you realize your spouse is not perfect and you can not change him/her. The good news is that you can be a vessel that God uses to mold him/her. Marc and I will be celebrating our 8th wedding anniversary on June 29th, a little more than 2 months away. It has not always been easy and there have been times when one or the other wanted to throw in the towel but God continued to remind us that it can be done, we could make it work if we put Him first and build our marriage on His foundation. 8 years is a victory!!! Praise the Lord!!! I’ve noticed that each year that we’ve been married, God has taught us something new about marriage, about ourselves, and we’ve grown as individuals and as a couple. This brings me to my next point.

Ladies, WE CAN SUBMIT to our husbands. Not only can we submit but our Heavenly Father tells us to do so. Growing up and in the first couple of years of being married I had a terrible misconception of what it meant to submit to my husband and I believe many woman as well as men share this misconception. The dictionary’s definition of the word submit reads as so: to give over or yield to the power or authority of another. My understanding of submitting was different and when you grow up in a home where the woman does everything it’s hard to see yourself submitting to someone else. I thought that submitting to my husband meant that I had to be a doormat for him to walk all over and/or be his slave. So my attitude was, “no man is going to walk all over me.” As I began to grow in the Lord and as a wife, God began to teach me what submission to my husband truly is. Ladies it has absolutely nothing to do with being his slave or him telling you what to do and you have to do it. It’s about giving him the respect he deserves as a man and as the head of your home. Men yearn for respect from their wives and sadly today there aren’t many marriages where the husband is respected by his wife even in the church. When God created woman, He created her to be the helpmeet of man. He created her to help him in his walk with God, in his struggles as a husband, father, friend, brother and as a man. Of course we cannot relate to some of the things men struggle with, but we can be supportive and give them the respect they need that will encourage them to keep pressing forward. You’d be amazed at the difference it makes when you show a man respect. Your respect motivates him to do all that he can to keep your respect and your trust.

Gentleman, YOU CAN LOVE your wives. This is what you are called to do in your relationship with your wife. The woman is usually more emotional than the man so it is in her nature to love. That is why God does not tell her to love her husband because she is going to do that anyway. It’s how she is wired. That doesn’t mean that men cannot love, they just don’t show it the way women do. Women want to feel loved by their husbands. Sometimes that requires showing affection, telling her that you love her, or doing little things to make her smile that let her know you care. Some men have a hard time showing affection. They may have brought up to think that showing emotion is not manly, but gentleman we love it when our men show us how they truly feel and when God is at the center of the marriage it is so much sweeter! In the past few months, I have experienced and continue to experience the gentle side of my husband that made me fall in love with him in the first place. The side of him that lets me see how he is feeling about me and our life together; the side of him that comes out when God is the center of his life. Guys, when you allow your Heavenly Father to have His way with you or as I like to say, invade your mind, soul, and spirit, your heart is open door. He can then go in and do spring cleaning in those dusty closets inside your heart that have stuff you probably didn’t even know was there collecting dust and hindering your spiritual life! When your wife allows herself to be the vessel that God uses to mold you and you allow yourself to be molded, beautiful things happen in your marriage. Your wife has to feel loved; she needs to feel secure in your love. Without the demonstration of this element, the wife feels unloved, unwanted, and can become quite bitter. This does not mean that you don’t love her, but if you are not showing her, she will think that you don’t. The same way you men need respect, we women need to be loved.

The Bible describes the love/respect relationship between the husband and the wife as the relationship between Christ and the church. The church/the bride submits to her beloved Bridegroom/Christ. The Bridegroom/Christ loves His bride/the church. Paul said in Ephesians chapter 5 that the husband should love his wife as Christ loves the church. He goes on further to say that the husband ought to love his wife as he loves is body. The church is the body of Christ, Christ is the head of the church. The husband and wife become one flesh when they are married. The bible says that when a man marries, he will leave his mother and his father and cleave to his wife. This simply means that he becomes one with his wife.

The world would have us believe that it is okay to marry and divorce and marry again. That it is okay to have more than one spouse. That it is okay for men to marry men and women to marry women, defiling the sanctity of marriage as God intended. But the Bible is very clear on the marriage relationship. Genesis 2:24 says: “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.” The marriage relationship was meant for one man and one woman per marriage. Not one man and one man or one woman and one woman or one man and three women or one woman and three men, but one man for one woman and one woman for one man. Only a man and a woman joined in marriage can become one flesh. All other substitutes just don’t work! Those of us who know the Bible or who have understanding or know of the Word of God, let us keep the sanctity of marriage as it was meant to be; holy before God, to be fruitful and to multiply. Wives respect your husbands, husbands love your wives. Every year that you celebrate a wedding anniversary with God at the center of your marriage is a victory! God bless you!

Called to Love

As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. John 15:9

God is love. We have heard it said many times and have read it many times. The very thought alone that He would give up all He held precious to Him for us to be reconciled to Him, demonstrates that love. Jesus as a man was love in the flesh. Everything He did, He did in love. Everything He said, He said in love. Even when He got angry in the temple, He got angry but still there was love. Even when He rebuked His disciples, the Pharisees, and the scribes, He rebuked them in love. He poured out His love on the disciples and the people every time He healed, spoke to them, delivered them from demonic oppression. He taught the disciples what love is and how they should walk in love. John spoke about this love in his letters years after the crucifixion. He was the embodiment of God’s love for us and He gave His life for us because of that love.

So now that we are saved and sanctified we have to walk in that love also. The same way He loved us, and still loves us, we have to love others. Like Pastor was talking about yesterday in the message about Juan and his co-workers, only a person filled with the love of God can withstand abuse in that way because his desire is to please the Father and the Father is love! When we deal with people who have been hurt, abused, betrayed, who don’t trust anyone and have walls thicker than El Yunque in Puerto Rico, built up in their hearts to protect them from being hurt, love is the only thing that can penetrate those walls. Love is the only thing that is going to help that person trust again, open up, receive love, and give it in return. God’s love that abides in us is what penetrates those walls.

In our walk with Jesus, we will encounter many such people but if we are not walking in love they will never see Christ in us. They will only see the religious acts of going to church, praying, and reading the Bible but they will never see the transformation and renewing power of the Holy Spirit in us if we do not walk in love. We are getting ready for a new dimension in the Lord. Anytime God gets ready to move His people into another dimension in Him, He prepares them for it. God is calling us to love as He loves. God is telling us that there are those that are hurting and wounded and they will only be reached in love. God is telling us to walk in His love, abide in His love, and let His love shine in us! It is a requirement for where He is taking the church and what He is going to do and is doing.

Jesus came to mend the broken hearted, comfort the grieving, heal the sick, deliver the oppressed, release those who are in prison from their bondage; He did it because He loved us so. Now we are called to love the loveless, give hope to the hopeless, comfort the grieving, and do everything Jesus did because we are His ambassadors here on earth. He empowers us to love those we thought we could not love. He empowers us to comfort others in their pain and lead them to Him because He reveals His love to them in us. We should ask the Lord to fill us with His love daily. Let us abide in His love as He abided in the Father’s love. The Father loves Him with all that He has and all that He has He freely gave to Him. He gave His most precious to show us the true meaning of love. The Father’s love heals, restores, revives, reinstitutes, reestablishes, reaffirms. The Father’s love was all it took to bring humanity to a place where they could reconnect with Him. Because of that love Jesus gave His life to become the bridge between the Father and humanity. Praise God for His everlasting love!!

Heavenly Father,
We come before You this morning recognizing that You are love and that we need more of You. We ask You to fill us with Your love this morning so that everyone who encounters us today will feel that love and see that love. Father we ask that if anyone we come across today and everyday is sad, lonely, broken hearted, rebellious, or has walls built around their hearts to keep from feeling pain, that Your love in us would penetrate those walls, heal the broken heart, turn the sadness into joy, turn the rebelliousness to submission to You and let them know that they are not alone. Father let us be Your vessels and show us how to love the way You do. In Jesus mighty name, we thank You because You first loved us and because You showed us love, we can love You in return. Allow Your love to reflect in everything we do and say that others may feel You and come to know You through Your love in us.

In Jesus name,
Amen!

Trust God

But the LORD plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram’s wife. And Pharaoh called Abram and said, “What is this you have done to me? Why did you not tell me that she was your wife? Why did you say, ‘She is my sister’? I might have taken her as my wife. Now therefore, here is your wife; take her and go your way.” So Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him; and they sent him away, with his wife and all that he had. Genesis 12:17-20

To fully grasp these verses you would have to read the whole chapter but I don’t have room to include the whole chapter in one devotional but we will discuss the previous verses in order to better understand the ones above. The first three verses are promises from God to Abram. God called Abram to leave his country and his family and in turn he would bless him and his future generations. Abram was obedient even though he was already 75 years old without children; he believed God would bless him with a son. In verse seven, God makes yet another promise concerning the land in which He had Abram settle in. The promise is that the land would belong to his descendants.

In verses 10-20 there was a famine in the land of Canaan and Abram and his wife traveled to the land of Egypt where there was food. Here we see the display of a very human reaction and a tool that the enemy uses against Christians – fear. Abram felt fear because he saw that his wife was beautiful and feared that he would be killed by the Egyptians so that Pharoah could have his wife. So he came up with a plan to say that his wife was his sister rather than his wife, not knowing that this would cause more harm than good. Many times God speaks to our lives and makes promises to us and ask us to trust Him, yet when we experience fear, we forget that trust and act on our own survival instincts. God is not a man that He should lie, nor the son of man to change His mind. If He said He would be with you wherever you go, then He will be with you wherever you go. Abram had not yet realized the faithfulness of God in His life at that point because He did not stand on God’s promise and trusted his own instincts and lied about Sarai being his sister.

Now look at God’s faithfulness, mercy and sovereignty in this situation. Not only did he bless and prosper Abram in this land but He also protected him and his family from harm and the Pharoah’s desire for Sarai. Since Abram said that Sarai was his sister, Pharoah saw no wrong in desiring her for himself because she was beautiful, but God plagued him. Praise the Lord!!! God warns us before we make mistakes!! Pharoah did not know that he desired a married woman but the Lord took his sleep and gave him dreams to let him know not to touch her. Pharoah’s response was as we read in the above verses, to send Abram on his way with his wife. Not only that but everything that he had acquired while he was there he took with him. God blessed Abram but the blessing could have been greater had Abram trusted God to preserve his life and told the truth about Sarai being his wife.

In application to us today, we must trust God with all that we have, all that we are, and all that we will be. Sometimes we allow fear to enter our lives through situations, people, or our own emotions, our own lack of self confidence, our own lack of trust in others and in God. When we enter situations where the unknown plays a major factor in the outcome, we must trust God for our deliverance, sustenance, and everything else. We cannot and must not compromise because we are afraid! The God we serve will never leave us nor forsake us. Abram’s fear could’ve cost him his wife and the promises that God had for them both, but God did not allow that happen. Mercifully He intervened and plagued Pharoah and his house and by doing so He protected Abram, Sarai, AND Pharoah! Although Pharoah did not know the Lord, God is merciful and desires that all be saved and therefore sent warnings so that Pharoah would not sin against God and against His anointed. God gives us chances to repent and He makes a way for us when in trouble. Abram feared and did not allow God to bless him the way He wanted to while in Egypt, but He still blessed him and never left him. Praise God!!! God bless you!

Come Forth!

Then Jesus, again groaning in Himself, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it. Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of him who was dead, said to Him, “Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four days.” Jesus said to her, “Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?” Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying. And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me.” Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth!” And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with graveclothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Loose him, and let him go.” John 11:38-44

There are several points that I want to touch on in this passage. This is a very familiar passage and most know of the story of Lazarus but there are some human and divine characteristics in Jesus that are revealed in this passage that I want to point out. There are also some comparisons between Lazarus and us before and after coming to Christ that I noticed.

Jesus experienced three human emotions on His way to and at the grave of His friend Lazarus. He felt sadness for the people around who thought that He wept for His dear friend. He was sad because of their unbelief, because they could not see that the One they had waited for was before them. He felt compassion because they were like lost sheep and He being the Good Shepherd had come to find them and bring them back to the fold. He felt compassion for their physical, mental, emotional, and most importantly spiritual needs. He felt frustration because there were many that walked with Him that had not yet grasped who He really was and what He had the power to do. He was frustrated that the people would not believe in the love and mercy that brought Him to them without signs and miracles and even then, most did not receive what He came to offer.

In His divinity He could see the thoughts and intents of every heart standing there. In His divinity He knew the outcome of that scenario before He got there and He knew those who would believe and those who wouldn’t. I imagine this knowledge would bring on all three human emotions at once. After all, though He is the Son of God, He walked among men as a man. Experiencing all the emotions that men feel, experiencing pain as man feels it, yet without sin.

Jesus knew that Lazarus would not be dead long even after he was buried yet it had to happen this way to glorify the Father and so that those that would believe would have their opportunity to witness the glory of God. Martha, although she knew the Lord and believed that whatever He asked the Father was His, needed to witness this event so that she would fully understand that Jesus is the Messiah she was waiting for. That is why He tells her “if you believe, you will see the glory of God.” In this passage He reminds her of what He said in a question. Didn’t I tell you?

At the tomb, Jesus prays to the Father before calling Lazarus for the benefit of those around Him, that they would understand that the Father sent Him, that He was not just an ordinary prophet. He wanted them to understand that He was among them because He was sent from above, that He was the One the Scriptures spoke about, the Messiah.

Ever think about why Jesus called Lazarus by his name when He could’ve just said come forth and why He waited four days to do it? He called him by name because although their may have been many Lazarus’s in that time, there was only one Lazarus who knew the voice of Jesus. Had he said come forth possibly all those who walked with Him before would have risen so He specifically called him by his name. He waited four days so there would be no doubt that Lazarus was dead when Jesus resurrected him.

Now if you look at the last two verses, 43 & 44, this is where I see a comparison and at the same time the reason Jesus came into our world. The bible says that Lazarus was bound from head to foot. Think about where you were before you turned to Jesus, you were bound from head to toe in bondage and sin. Jesus called Lazarus by name just as one day He called you and I by name and set us free from our bondage. Lazarus or should I say the dead Lazarus is a type of the man without Jesus. He is bound by worldly lusts and desires, bound by the desires of his flesh. Bound by Satan’s grip, not knowing how to escape or be free. What a wonderful and marvelous thing Jesus did for us, that He came to set us free!! Praise God! Jesus told those around Him, to loose him and let him go. The same way Jesus tells Satan, when a person comes to Christ and receives salvation, “loose him and let him go.” Oh my God, my God, my God!!! How awesome is our Lord and Savior!!!!! All glory and honor belong to Him for all eternity!! He sets us free from bondage!!!! Satan has to loose us and let us go because we are now the property of Christ!!! Bought by His precious blood!!! Hallelujah!!! Oh my God! I am feeling the presence of God in such a powerful way right now that I just want to shout!

Lazarus’s resurrection had to come to pass to show us what Jesus truly came for! He came to set the captives free!!!! To save the lost, heal the sick, and deliver those captive!!!! Thank you Jesus!!! You see, when we are in sin, we are spiritually dead, we are bound as Lazarus was in graveclothes that represent the chains that had us bound, but when we receive Jesus as Lord and Savior, we are like Lazarus coming out of the grave of spiritual death and resurrecting as new creatures in Christ!! The old Lazarus did not come out of that grave but the new Lazarus who knew His Lord. Our old man is buried and our new man, our spirit man is resurrected to glorify Almighty God!!!! Santo!!! Praise the Lord!!!

If you are walking with Christ, take this moment to praise Him for His sacrifice for you and me and thank Him for setting you free. If you don’t know Christ, I ask you this – why would you want to live in chains when you can be set free and live life abundantly? Jesus is knocking on your door, will you let Him in and dine with Him or will you ignore the knocking in hopes that it will go away? Receive His free gift today because tomorrow is not promised and you may not have another opportunity. Don’t put off for tomorrow what you can do today. Jesus is calling you by name, answer Him with a “yes Lord” and allow Him to set you free. God bless you!

Experience Grace

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. Ephesians 2:8-9

But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift. Ephesians 4:7

We hear about grace all the time in sermons, in books, in songs, and in the Word. Yet what is grace?? How many of us truly know what grace is? Do we appreciate it as we should or do we simply accept it as part of the package that comes with being a Christian? Have we truly experienced grace in its purest form?

The online dictionary (dictionary.com) defines grace as such:
The freely given, unmerited favor and love of God.
The influence or spirit of God operating in humans to regenerate or strengthen them.

So if we paraphrase the above the verses according to these definitions they would read something like this:

For by the unmerited favor and love of God you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the Holy Spirit the gift of God, not of your own actions, behavior or righteousness, lest anyone should take credit for it.

But to each one of us unmerited favor was given according to the measure of Christ’s influence operating in us.

Grace is God’s love and favor lavished upon humanity to the point that He gave His only Son to allow us to receive that grace. It is because God loved us and favored us that He provided a way for us to be reconciled to Him. It is because He loved us and favored us that He chose us, called us, set us apart to do a work for His glory, sanctified us, and called us sons and daughters of the Most High God. It is because He loved us and favored us that His Holy Spirit abides in us and empowers us to continue to press forward in that which He has called us. It is because He loved and favored us that His Son died on a cross and rose again on the third day to become our Mediator, our Lord, our Savior, our Defense Attorney, our Hope, our Prince of Peace, our
Redeemer. Praise the Lord!!

It is by grace that we are saved through faith and not of ourselves. We could not save ourselves from the imminent end that would come to our lives and the eternal suffering that we would have to suffer had not Christ paid the price for us. It was and is the love of God that saved us and continues to save. It was divine favor that appointed a day in our lives in which we would meet our Savior and receive His free gift of salvation. It is because God remembered that we were perfect in our creation but sin made us imperfect therefore He made a way for us to be perfect again when we are with Him. One day, when we go home to our Father, we will be perfect. Until that day we are imperfect human beings striving towards the day that we will be made perfect again as God intended. We cannot take the credit for anything we have done or accomplished in this life because we did not accomplish anything in ourselves but the favor of God is what allows us to do anything, without Him we can do nothing.

But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift. We have been saved by grace but now we must walk in grace and live in grace as we grow in and mature in the Lord. We each have been given a gift according to the abundance of Christ. I read several versions of this verse in order to better grasp the meaning of the latter part of the verse – the measure of Christ’s gift. One version, called the Easy-to-read version (studylight.org parallel bible) reads: “Christ gave each one of us a special gift. Each person received what Christ wanted to give that person”. This verse deals specifically with the gift you’ve been given by grace according to what the Lord wanted to give you. This gift that enables you to stand out in a certain area was given to you because God loves you and showed you favor. For this reason we cannot boast about our capabilities, gifts or anything else God does through us because it is by grace that we are able to do them. It is because Christ gave us a gift that we are able to operate in a certain way, but all the credit belongs to Him.

To truly experience grace you have to experience Christ. You have to see yourself in your truest form in the eyes of God – human, fallible, sinful, desperately needing Him. Before we come to Jesus, we are a mess that has no way of undoing itself by our own strength, understanding, or power. The mess that we are only Jesus can fix. When we see ourselves in that light, small, insignificant, people capable of making a mess of our lives quite easily, we see that God’s love and unmerited favor has sustained us. We see that without Jesus our lives have no value, purpose, or direction. We experience the need for a savior, but not a human savior because though someone may be able to something better than you, they are still human, capable of making their own mess rendering themselves powerless to save anyone.

The only One with the power to save is Jesus and when you come to the conclusion where you surrender your mess to Him and let Him sort through it to bring the real you out of it, then you have experienced Christ and you have experienced grace. God bless you.

As Far As the East is From the West

He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor punished us according to our iniquities.
As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.
For He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust.
Psalm 103:10, 12 & 14

Many times since I started walking with the Lord, I have thought about where He has brought me from. Truly He has not dealt with me according to my sins. It is good to reflect on the things God has done for us, on who we were before we encountered Christ and who we are now in Him. You can’t help but be grateful and praise His name because who you or I were before did not deserve the mercy that provided a way to be reconciled to God.

The second verse in this chapter says “Bless the Lord O my soul, and forget not His benefits.” This ties into the above verses because when you remember His benefits, you remember where you were the day that mercy came running to you. You remember who you were back then, however long it’s been, and realize He has not dealt with you according to your sins or punished you according to your iniquities. There is a difference between sin and iniquity though many believe them to be the same. To sin is to miss the mark, to break the law of God. Iniquity or to be iniquitous is to deviate from God’s law or live in lawlessness. Where sin is to break the law of God, iniquity is the absence of God’s law in one’s life. We lived in the absence of God’s law in our lives before we found Jesus. Wow! Forget not His benefits.

Though some of us may have been raised in the church, it does not mean that we were not living a lawless life. If you think about it, before you actually made a commitment to accept Christ as your Lord and Savior you pretty much refrained from doing certain things because your parents taught you that it was wrong in the eyes of God. I wasn’t raised in the church and I was taught the same thing. Yet the choice is ours whether or not we will accept God’s mercy and live according to His will or continue in our iniquity. Praise the Lord that many of us have made that decision already and we are FOR Christ. But if you haven’t made that decision yet, don’t wait because tomorrow can be too late!

At the moment that we let Jesus into our hearts verse 12 says that “as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions.” Do you know what that means?! It means that our sins, our violations of His law, our life of lawlessness no longer exist to Him! Our slate is totally clean! We are knew creatures, a new Christine, a new you in Christ Jesus! Bless the Lord O my soul!!!

Verse 14 says “for He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust.” I don’t know about you but that makes me want to shout! He remembers that we are not perfect, that we are only human, and that we are prone to sin! He remembers the elements used in our creation when He created us, DUST! He remembers that because we are dust, we cannot be all that He created us to be without His help! He remembers that when He created us, He created us with free will – the right to choose – and sometimes our choices leave much to be desired. He is not our dictator so stands aside when our choices don’t include Him until we ask for help. Our frame….our body…..this flesh or shell that encases our soul and spirit, what a beautiful way to put it! God remembers that we are flesh and has mercy on His beloved creation and sends His only begotten Son as a bridge to fill the gap between Him and His creation – us! What a wonderful, merciful, loving Father we have in our God.

There is always so much to say and little time to say it but I want to leave you with this thought. Sometimes you can fall into the monotony of routine and lose sight of His many “benefits.” I know because I have found myself in that condition on more than one occasion. I have learned though that when your service to the Lord feels like a routine, a duty, a habit or anything but joy, passion, and love for our Father and the desire to please Him – think back to where you were before the day that He saved you. This is not dwelling in the past, it is remembering the wonders that God has done in your life, starting with the salvation of your soul. It is going back to the day when you first fell in love with Him and falling in love all over again! It is blessing His wonderful name despite your current situation because in your current situation He is there with you regardless of what it looks like. The world is a lonely place when you don’t have purpose, when you don’t know what you were created for but when you have Jesus, your purpose is defined and the reason you were created becomes your joy. Bless the Lord O my soul and all that is within me bless His holy name. Bless the Lord O my soul and forget not all His benefits!

If anyone reading this today does not know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of your life and have not yet experienced the joy, love, and mercy of our Heavenly Father, I invite you today to make the decision that will determine whether your life will be one with a defined purpose or one of no purpose. Jesus loves you and died a brutal death on the cross for you and for me. All you have to do is invite Him in. Confess that you are a sinner and your need for Him to transform your life, believe that He is able and willing to forgive you and wash you clean, and receive His free gift of salvation. The bible says that when believe in our hearts and confess with our mouths that Jesus Christ is Lord, we shall be saved. Experience the joy of the Lord, receive Christ today and begin the journey God predestined for you. He loves you more than you can possibly imagine. God bless you!

Are You Still Without Understanding?

So Jesus said, “Are you also still without understanding? Do you not yet understand that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and is eliminated? But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. These are the things which defile a man, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man.” Matthew 15:16-20

Let’s back up a little to understand why Jesus asks “are you still without understanding?” Jesus was with His disciples and the Pharisees approached Him accusing the disciples of “transgressing the tradition of the elders” because they did not wash their hands before they ate bread. Jesus in turn asked them a question. “Why do you also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition?” He then turns to the people who were there and speaks to them in parables concerning what defiles a man. Afterward Peter asked Him to explain the parable, and so the question “are you still without understanding?”

The disciples walked with Him, ate with Him, talked with Him, watched Him perform miracles and by that time they should have understood His language even when speaking in parables, but just because they walked, talked, and ate with Him does not mean that they were always in the Spirit. The flesh cannot understand the language of the Spirit; it can only imitate it to create a façade of being something that it’s not. (I hope that made sense.) Let me give you an example of what mean when I use the word façade. There are people who sit in churches today, who sing with us, pray with us, and listen to the word with us BUT they are not walking in the Spirit. They know the word and may even look like they live a holy life, but that’s all it is – show, a façade, what they want others to believe about them. People who walk in the Spirit can see through a façade and are not easily fooled. So back to the disciples, they were still seeing things with their natural eyes and not their spiritual eyes so Jesus had to break it down to them again, yet the question remains “are you still without understanding?”

There is a misconception in the world about what a Christian is. Many people believe that when one becomes a Christian one ceases to have fun. Not true! Others believe that when one becomes a Christian one is perfect. Definitely and absolutely not true! I would say that when you become a Christian you have more fun. Not in the sense that the world considers fun but fun in the Lord. When you become a Christian, you will not be perfect until you are in heaven with the Lord, but you strive for perfection and that is the difference. We WILL make mistakes it’s inevitable but how you react to those mistakes and whether or not you learn from it determine your stage in maturity or your stage of growth. For this reason we must be careful what we inject into our minds. What we watch, read, or listen to goes into our minds and then into our hearts. Once it is in our hearts it comes out in some kind of physical action, usually out of our mouths. The things we say. What we receive in our minds goes into our hearts and determines the kind of person or the kind of Christian we will be. Let me give you an example.

Many of you have heard this analogy before but I will use it anyway. ;) The mind is like a computer. You store information in it and save it for when you need it if you don’t need it at the moment. Half the stuff you learn in school you don’t need it at the moment but later on in life you will. So if you save junk in your computer eventually you will get a virus that will wipe out your hard drive and you will have to start all over again. Ever noticed that viruses are called worms? Some of them don’t damage your computer right away; they worm their way through and then BAM!!! Your hard drive is wiped out. It’s the same way with the mind. When you store junk in your brain, (negative comments said about you, movies that are morbidly violent, sexually explicit, or the language is too graphic, music that does not worship God, etc.) eventually you will start speaking and acting like what you watch and what you hear if not right away. My aunt always used to say (and probably still does) “garbage in, garbage out.”
On the flip side, if you fill your mind with the word of God and APPLY it or practice it, you will speak and act according to the word.

Jesus told the people and His disciples that it is not what enters a man’s mouth that defiles him; it is what comes of out the mouth that defiles a man because out of the abundance of the heart the man speaks. If your heart is full of anger, you will speak angry words and be a violent person. If your heart is filled with bitterness, you will speak misery and be a miserable person. If your heart is full of love, you will speak loving words and be a loving person. So it’s all about what you put in your mind that goes into your heart and comes out of your mouth. Jesus further explains to the disciples that what goes into the mouth goes into the stomach and is eliminated. Most people go to the bathroom not long after they have eaten; this is the body eliminating what went into the mouth and stomach. But, what comes out of the mouth comes from the heart and from the heart comes all kinds of evil and He proceeds to list these evils: evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. How do these things get into the heart??!! The mind!!!! People wake up!!!! Be careful what you allow your mind to entertain because it may lead you to sin!! It’s like the virus worm in your computer that worms its way into your thoughts and then your heart till finally BAM!! You’ve acted on it or spoken on it and it has cost you dearly. So now I ask you “are you still without understanding?”

Heavenly Father,
Help us to be ever mindful that the things that we speak would not defile us or offend You. If we have believed an evil report about ourselves from someone else and it has caused us to be bitter, angry, or hateful, heal us Father and make us whole again. Remind us of what You say about us in Your word. Father help us to take care of what we listen to – that would not lend our ear to gossip, slander, or any conversation that does not uplift Your name. That we would not lend our ear to listen to music that profanes Your name or watch anything that would invite “junk” into our minds and hearts. Help us to be aware of when that worm is trying to intrude in our thoughts and worm its way into our hearts and not allow it. Help us to pray for one another and uplift each other in the spirit of unity and the bond of peace for that is what Your word tells us to do. Bless all who read this today and remind them of Your word so that they can detect the worm when it tries to come in with negative thoughts, with lies spoken into their lives, with memories of their past. Thank you Father for all that You do, all that You’ve done, and all that You will do for Your children.

In Jesus name,
Amen

Your Body Belongs to God - Guard it!

Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.
1 Corinthians 6:18-20

There are those that say that sexual immorality is simply fornication (having sex before marriage) but it is much more than that. Before getting into that though, let’s look at why the Apostle Paul told the Corinthians to flee sexual immorality. Paul preached the Gospel during the first century after Christ and during those days there were many cultures and many pagan religions mixed in with the Hebrews. Corinth was part of the Greek Empire before the Roman Empire and now is part of Greece. Therefore a large part of the population spoke the Greek language and was of Greek descent. Although during Paul’s time the Roman Empire had taken over Corinth, the Romans adopted the gods of Greece changing only their names to Latin to differentiate between the two cultures. The Greeks/Romans had many gods and did not obey or even consider the commandments of the One True God until Paul preached the Gospel to them and they were saved. Before giving their lives to Jesus these people were sexually immoral and needed to know that they could no longer practice these habits because it is sin before God. Paul wanted to correct them as their spiritual father.

So what is sexual immorality?? It is: fornication (sexual relations before marriage), adultery (sexual relations with someone other than your spouse), homosexuality (sexual relations with someone of your same sex), prostitution (sexual relations in exchange for money), masturbation (sexual self-gratification), bestiality (sexual relations with animals), sexual perversions (acting out fantasies, role reversal, bondage, erotica), incest (sexual relations with a family member), sexual molestation (sexual advances usually to a minor), rape (forcing someone to have sex against his/her will – the victim is not included in this), orgies (sexual relations with more than one person in one session, usually done in party like atmospheres), ritualistic sex (sexual acts done in worship to demons or Satan), promiscuity (sexually enticing and known to be easily given to physical desires), pornography (sexually explicit images in magazines, or other forms of media for self gratification), and even lust. Jesus said that if a man looks at a woman with lust, he has already committed adultery with her in his heart. Why? Because with his eyes he saw the woman was attractive and with his mind he imagined himself with her. A desire will first enter your mind as a thought and when entertained enters the heart and becomes a desire.

Paul describes this particular sin as sin against the body. Sexual sin ravages the body in various ways. There are sexually transmitted diseases, unwanted pregnancies that lead to abortions or worse and fatal sexual diseases. However Paul points out the main reason for Christians to stay away from this practice – your body is no longer your own. Your body was created to be the temple of the Holy Spirit! Whether you are saved or not, your body was created for this purpose, to worship God. There is something that happens when a man and a woman join together sexually. The man becomes the giver and the woman the receptor. Whenever a man and woman are joined in this most intimate of intimacies, the woman is receiving a part of that man and the man is giving a part of himself to the woman. So using this point, if a man gives himself to ten different women in a six month period, wouldn’t you say that that man is not complete? If a woman receives from 10 different men in a six month period wouldn’t it be kind of crowded when she finally decides to settle down with one man? People need to be delivered not only from the bondage of sexual sin, but from the soul ties acquired through sexual sin. God has to come in and heal, restore, and make that person whole again whether it is the man missing pieces of himself or the woman that has too many attachments to know who she really is.

Sex was created for the marriage bed. It was created for the husband and wife to have an intimacy that as a couple or individually they could not have with anyone else. It was created for man and woman to procreate, to be fruitful and multiply as God had commanded Adam and Eve. Today it is something that people hold little regard for and use and abuse their bodies as if they could go to the store the next day and trade it for a new one.

With so much sexual perversion in this world today, Christians especially youth and single people, need to remember that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. It doesn’t belong to you!! It belongs to God!! Therefore you cannot just do whatever you want with your body. Just as you need to take care of the outside by eating right, exercising, and being clean, you need to take care of the inside by abstaining from sexual activity before you are married. Wait for that one person and save yourself for that moment when it will be all worth the wait to have done it right than to pay consequences for satisfying your flesh and doing it when you wanted to. This does not exclude the married couples. Remember that you have children who are following your example, if your marriage is united and God is at the center of it then your eyes will not wander and your hands will not touch what does not belong to you. You will not indulge in self gratification when you have a loving husband or wife who is willing to tend to your needs and you will not have to worry about your children straying from the principles of God because of your bad example because you are giving a good example. Sex and marriage go hand in hand. It is the most beautiful thing God has given a husband and a wife. The husband releases stress and the wife receives comfort in the most intimate way possible. It was only designed for the marriage bed not for just any bed with just any one. Be careful, flee sexual immorality! Stay away from people who seek to entice you and make you fall. Hold fast to your integrity and your faith. Remember that you are to glorify God in your body and your spirit because both are His. Praise God!

Weapons of Our Warfare - Love

Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
1 CORINTHIANS 13:4-7

Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘you shall love your neighbor as yourself. MATTHEW 19:19

Many waters cannot quench love, nor can the floods drown it. If a man would give for love all the wealth of his house, it would be utterly despised.
SONGS OF SOLOMON 8:7

LOVE

Love is a choice not so much a feeling. Yes there are many emotions involved with love but love in itself is a conscious decision to care, have compassion, feel concern for the welfare of another as you would your own, to think of the need of another person before you own. (My definition)

This is the last part of the weapons of our warfare series and it is about LOVE, brotherly love to be specific. Jesus told His disciples to love one another and by this they would be known as His disciples.

Where there is love, there is forgiveness and there is no room for contention or division. Peter tells us to love one another fervently because love covers a multitude of sins. It’s kind of like having a little brother or sister who is always getting into something but you can’t hold it against them because of the love you have for them. You would do anything to help them out of every mess they get into.

As a weapon, love helps to keep out derision, contention, gossip, hatred, jealousy, lack of sympathy, insincerity, indifference and many others that don’t come to mind right now. Love is the key to a successful church! To walk in love you must know love, to know love, you must know God because God is love. Love soothes, is compassionate, patient, and passionate, rejoices in the victories of others, feels the pain another feels, cries when his brother cries and laughs when his brother laughs.

Love does not seek to hurt anyone by showing out or trying to make him/herself better than anyone else. Love does not look down his/her nose at anyone regardless of their station in society or in the church. Love does not care what you were in the past, but strives to help you become who you were meant to be. Love understands when you slip and fall and need help getting up. Love is always there to help you up and help you through.

Love heals wounds. There are people in the world that are hurting but there are also people in the church who are hurting because they have not allowed love to heal there wounds. To be filled with love for others we must allow love to heal our hearts from betrayal, tragedy, and lies. We must allow God access to every closet in our hearts because He is love! When we do that His love comes rushing into us like a flood!

When I was in the world, I was broken, unloved, unwanted, and in desperate need of love. Then Jesus came and showed me that I could be loved, that I was loved, and that all I had to do was let Him into those dark corners of my heart that needed healing and so I did. Now I just love on people and I love it! There was a sister in our church who used to say that I had the ministry of hugs because I hugged everyone. I don’t know that hugging is a ministry, I highly doubt it, but giving and showing love is a commandment from God and hugging is how I show love; maybe because there was such a lack of it in my life before God that I am moved to demonstrate the love of God in this way.

A church, a Christian, full of the love of God will not allow gossip, contention and strife to take root in their lives or their church. Love will correct, love will forgive, and love will endure. There is a saying that says it is better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all. It was said in a romantic sense but we can apply it to the church as far as never loving at all. A church that does not love cannot reach new levels in the spiritual realm. A church that does not love, I dare to say, does not know God because the bible says if you do not love your brother, you do not love God, therefore you do not know God because God is love.

My beloved brethren, let us strive to walk in love. To love our neighbor as ourselves. To treat our parents with honor and respect for that pleases God. King Solomon said that many waters could not quench love or drown it! Love is profound and deep. When we make a conscious decision to love our brothers and sisters, regardless of their faults, regardless of their attitudes, regardless if they love us in return or not, we are saying that we know who our Father is and that we are filled with His love. We are telling the enemy, “you cannot come against us with hatred, envy, contention and strife and prevail because we are filled with the love of God and we WILL love our brothers and sisters, neighbors and strangers, as ourselves because our King is love itself and He alone has dominion over our lives!” We are telling the devil that we love ourselves as well as our neighbors because God loved us first! Praise God!!!!

WALK IN LOVE MY BRETHREN! USE THE WEAPONS OF OUR WARFARE THAT ARE MIGHTY THROUGH GOD TO TEAR DOWN STRONGHOLDS TO DEFEAT THE ENEMY’S PLANS FOR YOUR LIFE, YOUR FAMILY, AND YOUR CHURCH!!

God bless you!

Weapons of Our Warfare - Gifts of the Spirit

Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.
ROMANS 12:6-8

But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills.
1 CORINTHIANS 12:7-11


THE GIFTS OF THE SPIRIT

Gifts of the Spirit – distinctive, divinely originated endowments to serve the Triune God for the common benefit of His people, the church. (Baker’s Evangelical Dictionary)

The Bible speaks of nine spiritual gifts in particular, though there are others mentioned in the Bible that can be considered as gifts of grace, whatever you choose to call them, they are used for the service of our God and the edification of the church. These nine gifts are: Word of Wisdom, Word of Knowledge, Healing, Miracles, Faith, Prophecy, Discernment, Diverse Tongues, and Interpretation of Tongues.

If you are wondering why I consider these gifts of the Spirit to be a weapon in our arsenal when they are specifically used to edify the church, well that is precisely the reason why. Let me clarify, the Bible is clear on letting us know that the gifts of the Spirit are to be used to build up our brother and sisters in Christ, therefore it is a weapon against the enemy because when we build up our brothers and sisters they can stand stronger in the battle and so can we. Example: Say for instance you are going through a particular trial and you are giving service to the Lord with your brethren in Christ and God uses someone in the gift of knowledge where that person knows details about what you are going through that only you and God know and is able through the Holy Spirit to give you words of encouragement. You have been strengthened by the Spirit of God to continue to press forward because this person, led by the Holy Spirit, reminded you that God is not unaware of your situation but He is moving in your favor.

On one such occasion I was feeling discouraged about writing these reflections or devotionals, not sure what to call them anymore as they seem to get more intense every day. I know that it is not me or my word, but God and His word and all the glory belongs to Him. Praise God! Anyhow, I was wondering if they were being read, if they were reaching others, if they were ministering to anyone, even though I know that the word of God does not return to Him void. It was a vulnerable moment because as humans we want to see the fruits of our labor and sometimes we don’t see it right away, as we would like. I went to church that night and at the end of the service I approached the sister that preached that night and as she hugged me she prayed for me and began to speak to me about the writing I had been doing and told me not to give up. She did not know that these thoughts had crossed my mind several times but God knew. This gave me strength to continue in my battle against the kingdom of darkness, to reaffirm my battle stance and to again take my place on the frontlines, thank you Jesus!

Another testimony I heard involves the gift of diverse tongues. My mom used to visit a Spanish church in the Bronx and they had a missionary visiting them for several weeks. God would used this woman of God in the gift of prophecy as well and she ministered in various churches while she was in the Bronx. Not too long before she arrived, there was a sister from India visiting her family in the Bronx and she was a Christian and the only church near her was this particular Spanish church. This woman did speak or understand the Spanish language yet she went to all the services she could and someone would translate for her in English. On the day that the missionary was to preach at this church, the Indian sister was there and the Lord used the missionary in the gift of Diverse Tongues to speak to this sister from India! Praise God!! The missionary began to speak in a language she had never spoken before but when she had finished the Indian sister was in tears saying that she had spoken her language and had given her a message from the Lord! God is awesome!!!! This is why the Bible says that we should not neglect the congregation of the saints because when we fellowship the Spirit moves as He wills and uses whom He wills to give us strength, encouragement, and fresh anointing.

Sometimes we receive our calling through the gifts of the Spirit, sometimes we receive healing, sometimes we receive miracles, sometimes we receive faith that believes all things in God, yet all are given from the same Spirit as He wills and our spirits are edified. Our minds are renewed and our faith is increased. Praise God for the gifts of the Spirit. Praise God for His Holy Spirit who leads us and guides us!

The Spirit gives these gifts as He wills and when the gifts of the Spirit are used for the sole purpose of edifying the church, the church is strengthened, the church refocuses on the vision, the church receives a fresh anointing that allows them to continue in the warfare against the enemy of our souls! Many Christians do not know to ask for the gifts of the Spirit but Paul encourages us to do so! We will not all have the same gift, we will not all have just one gift, we will have the gifts the Spirit desires to give us and when we seek God in earnest and ask for those gifts, He will give them to us according to how He desires to use us.

If the church is edified, encouraged, strengthened, with a clear vision and operating in the gifts of the Spirit, the enemy cannot prevail against it! Praise God! Let us desire to please God in all that we do, using our spiritual gifts to edify each other and to overcome the enemy. God bless you!