God With Us!

“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 1:21 NKJV)

As we celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior, remember it is not about the gifts we give to others, but about The Gift He gave to us. And we know that the 25th of December is not the day He was born and it really doesn’t matter. What’s important is that He was born, He lived, He died, He rose and now sits at the right hand of His Father–interceding for us, watching over us, empowering us with His Spirit to accomplish all things and live the abundant life He promised us! Let’s celebrate Him and be thankful for all we have in Him and through Him!

Merry Christmas Everyone!

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Can We Hear?

“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” (Revelation 2:29 NKJV)

This admonition is repeated seven times in this Revelation to John by Holy Spirit–and if we believe that seven is the symbolic representation of completion, it is a finished work–the Revelation–and we must hear in order to get ready for His return.

Why do we need to hear? Because in the revealed work–we are reminded of the seven types of churches–their character traits, their strengths and their weaknesses. Regardless of what denomination we proclaim to have an affiliation with, we all fit into one of these types that persist. God knows from the beginning to the end, what we will do and when we will hear and change, which is why is mercy and compassion is so important to us–He gives us room to repent and turn to Him, time after time, but there will come a day, when we will no longer have time to change, so we must make that change–now!

Throughout this book, we are reminded of all these things that the prophets (and all who God used) have said and as Solomon reminds us Ecclesiastes, there is nothing new under the sun.God has used people, those chosen by Him to remind mankind throughout our history to choose to do right–His right–and forsake all those things that do not honor Him.

Some of us–as in times past–have selective hearing. We have read The Word, we have heard The Word, and many know when Holy Spirit speaks, but yet we do not hear and obey. When we selectively choose which parts of the message we will hear, we put ourselves into position to miss God and eventually, we will enticed to believe that other spirit, rather than Holy Spirit because that other spirit–manipulates and deceives and tries to make things “sound” like God when they are not.

Engage in conversation with The Lord today and hear what Holy Spirit has to say about everything around us and when you hear–obey for “obedience is better than sacrifice.”

Going to church–a good thing when The Word is being taught–does not mean a person has a relationship with God. Memorizing scripture–though a good thing–does not mean we have a relationship with God. We need to know what He said, believe that He is and will be, and obey His commands to love. When we do this, we establish a right relationship with Him and then we can praise Him no matter what happens in our lives because we know–in the end, we win!

Getting To The Father!

Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me. (John 14:6 NLT).

One would think that after being with Jesus for a while, the disciples would know Jesus rather well. When Thomas responded to Jesus by telling Him know they didn’t know where He was going so they couldn’t know the way, Jesus let him have it. And then went on to let them know, if they had truly known Him, they would have known the Father. But then, He let know–because you have seen me, you have seen the Father. Awesome!

There are a number of concepts one could conclude from this passage of scripture.

The first is in understanding the sixth verse.  Jesus is the way to receiving salvation. There is no one else by whom man can be saved. He is the only way one can reconcile a relationship with God, after repenting and accepting the work on the cross.

He is the truth–and He said in other places that He does not speak for Himself, but only what the Father says to Him. In other words, He didn’t change anything the Father said “before He appeared” on the earth, but explained and demonstrated what the Father meant for us to understand.

He is the life–without Him–there is nothing that we have to bring us joy so we might have life and that more abundantly. There is no “living” without Him.

And for all who think they will have access to the Father without Jesus, He lets us know–not so. “No one can come to the Father except through me.” So, if we’re not willing to accept the Son, we can forget about pleasing God and entering into heaven–it’s not going to happen.

Now, granted there are many who will not believe this, but let me take expand on this thought for a moment. With all of the “religious material” ever written, which was recorded first? We know that the writer of the Koran read the Old Testament writings and then proceeded in writing the Koran–this is documented by the similarities in the Koran. We know that other denominations read and changed some of significant words in order to establish a new religion. The point I’m making here is that--none of the written material is going to get us anywhere–“it is having a relationship with God and hearing Him for ourselves” that will make a difference in our lives.

Once we “know Him” we’ll know how to use “the written Word” as a foundation and confirmation for what we hear Him say. God is Love and He would not encourage anyone to “hate” a person or people, but to “hate” sin only. That’s a loving God–like loving parents who only want the best for their children. Until we see God in this manner, we may never be in a position to receive all He has in store for us.

Jesus is–the way, the truth, and the life–we should exemplify so all will know–how to get to The Father!

Lies and Liars Exposed (Part II)

A “natural perspective” can be understood as well for those who “have a right relationship with God” and know His purpose for creating mankind from the beginning. It is obvious—from those proclaiming that same-sex marriage does not offend God that they have no relationship with God. What they may have is a religious spirit that is guided by Satan and they have been blinded to the Truth.

The Truth—Jesus Christ—clearly said (when speaking to the woman supposedly caught in adultery) to go and “sin no more.” He did not say—don’t commit adultery any more. He used the term sin to be inclusive of all sin—not just one or two. When we have a right relationship with God, we can rightly discern understanding from His Word by seeking Him and hearing Him. Admittedly, one needs to be willing to hear what God says and many are not, because they do not want to hear what God says. It would infringe upon their quests to fulfill the lusts of their flesh.

To be perfectly clear—those who say same sex marriage is okay in the eyes of God—do not know God or understand His Word. They have been deceived by the one who is a master of deception. He has deceived mankind for a long time and it looks as if he’s not finished yet. When will he be finished? When mankind is destroyed and ceases to exist.

True Christians—know we are to love unconditionally—and I do love unconditionally. I love so much that I am constantly praying for those who are out of fellowship with God to seek Him, while He may be found. I pray that they will be willing to receive God’s love to the degree that it overflows and shatter the scales of deceit so they may see, truth clearly and learn to live a godly life. I pray that they will understand the difference between having a relationship with God and simply being religious. I pray that the enemy’s hold on them will be broken, so they will know true freedom to love (without lust) all of mankind. I pray they will get an understanding of love—brotherly (rea), and the God kind of love (agape) that keeps us all in relationship with Him, and in the love between a man and woman (erotica) that should result in a God-anointed relationship.

There will come a time when God will hold all of those who have been in positions of authority, leadership and in the spotlight (celebrities) accountable for misusing His Word and causing the masses to be deceived, leading them in error.

Of course—copious examples of Satan’s influence can be found in the writings of many—and many are listed on the Internet:

But after Alfred Kinsey published his famous book, Sexual Behavior in the Human Male in 1948, a few writers began to take a second look at the relationship between David and Jonathan. While still much in the minority, these writers have been able to influence the way that some people read and interpret the text:

David Mace (Hebrew Marriage, 1953)
Wrote that the relationship was an example of “the comparatively harmless homosexual attachments of adolescence”

George Henry (1955)
Wrote that David and Jonathan were homosexual lovers, although he apparently realized that the Biblical evidence of later wives and children speaks against this possibility, so he maintained that their homosexuality was only a passing phase

Of course what one must remember is this: anyone can say anything they want in a book and attempt to make it a truth. Only God’s truth will stand the test of time and all the works of man that were not built on the foundation of God’s Word—will be burned and destroyed.

Even though there are those who believe that the “Bible is just a book,” those who have a relationship with God know that the Bible is not just a book. Relationship with God brings understanding of God and by God—not just the words in a book. I believe God because of my relationship with Him, not because I read a “book” as many will attempt to assert.

My motivation—to see that everyone is in position to receive God’s best for their lives right here on earth. The only way we can receive anything from God is to live according to His Word—not our feelings.  Of course the carnal nature cannot understand the spiritual nature because they are polar opposites. I’d rather have the relationship with God guiding me through all things than allowing my flesh to dictate anything. It is a matter of choice and I choose Him!

 

Who Has Bewitched You? (Part 1)

This explication is for those preachers who deny the Truth of God’s Word!

I have recently heard that a number of notable, out-there-in-the-public-eye preachers are now attempting to justify homosexuality by saying they can’t find anything in the bible about it.  Liars! If they have been truly called of God, they know what’s in there—descriptions of the acts that God is opposed to—no matter what name it is called.  God called “the act” sin.  In the following scriptures, the description of the act seems pretty clear to me.

“ ’Do not have sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman; that is detestable (Leviticus 18:22 NIV).

“ ’If a man has sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They are to be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads” (Leviticus 20:13).

            I already know how some will attempt to refute what was said under the law since we’re not there.  Understand the Spirit of what is being said and if you have the Spirit of God living in you, you cannot ignore the intent. “And Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived (misled into believing a lie) and became a sinner” (I Timothy 2:14 NIV). Don’t believe the lie the enemy tells you and promote sin, trust God and know that He loves you and only wants the best for you.

Of course, the enemy loves to cause confusion and twist what God has said to make sure he appears to be credible.  Let’s go back to The Garden.  When the serpent enticed Eve to eat of the fruit of the garden that God had told “them” not to touch, he twisted what God said to suit his own purposes. Think about the conversation that took place and how the serpent (the enemy in disguise) took advantage of the situation.

“Now the serpent was more crafty (cunning and deceitful) than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”

The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’ ”

“You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman.” For God knows, that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” (Genesis 3:1-5 NIV).

The enemy deliberately twisted God’s instructions to make it seem like He didn’t mean what he said.  Sound familiar.  How many people and groups are saying the same thing?  “Yeah, that’s what the bible says, but that’s not what God meant.”  About a number of issues and the first thing they will say is—“we’re not under the law; we’re under grace.” That is so true, but being under grace does not give us the liberty to sin and then try to say, what we do “is not sin.”

Run Me Over!

“And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you if you obey The Lord, your God” (Deuteronomy 28:2).

Whenever I think of this passage of scripture, I think about an 18-wheeler, running me down and overtaking me on the highway and being left standing, more blessed than I could handle.  You may not have the imagination I have when you read this, but just think about it for a minute.  If we just obey God, His blessings will come upon us and overtake us! Wow!

Now, what are the blessings?  All those listed throughout the next 11 verses, are our blessings to expect when we are obedient.  His promises to us:  we’ll be blessed no matter where we live, our children will be blessed and anything we produce will be blessed, whatever we put our hands to (constructively) will be blessed, we’ll be blessed going into places and coming out of places, our enemies will be defeated in front of us, people will know we belong to the Lord by our actions and welcome us into their presence, we will be blessed with abundant prosperity, we’ll be the head and not the tail (start businesses and not just be the last hired)–if we pay attention to what The Lord has said and are not deterred by what men say, God will bless everything we do when we are obedient to Him.

When we don’t obey or just ignore His commands and become more concerned about what man has said, we open ourselves to the curses–a much longer list in the same passage of scripture.  Beat down by curses or run over with blessings? It is our choice.

I don’t know about you, but I want God’s blessings to run me over and never stop!  Now, I have something to do.

Lord, keep me focused on what You have said and help me to obey and to remind others of Your goodness, daily.  In Jesus’ name, I pray and thank You, Amen!

He Is Good!

“You are good, and what you do is good; teach me your decrees” (Psalm 119:68 NIV).

People may say a lot of things about David (some good, some not so good), but in this verse (as in the entire Psalm), we see acknowledgement of who God is and what God does.  Consider everything David went through, before coming King and during his reign.  Even though he was hailed a hero, he was betrayed and had to run for his life.  Even though he knew God, he committed a horrific act in manipulating a man’s death and using his wife.  Even though his children, were not the best children in the world, he still understood God’s goodness.  Even when he was dying, he was glad he had known God’s goodness. And God, even though David was not perfect, saw him as a “man after my own heart”. Wow!  And because God was so good to David, David was always imploring God–to “teach him” more about Him and He did.

We don’t have to be perfect to receive from God, but we must know and understand how God operates.  Everything He does or allows, is for our good.  Even the trials we face, are designed to make us stronger.  Those who hate us–provide us a reason to communicate with God, daily.  Those children who won’t follow our directions, remind us of how God still loves us, even when we don’t follow His directions.

So, the phrase that has become so popular and prevalent over the last few decades, “God is good all the time and all the time, God is good” didn’t start with one church or one preacher in the 20th Century.  The fact that God is good was acknowledged a long time ago and since He is God, He can be nothing else but good.  He is good–He was then, He is now, and He will forever be who He is and do what He does.  Now that we know that much, are we imploring Him to teach us more about Him?

Lord, thank You for being so good to us, even when we have not been so good to You.  Thank You for loving us enough to give us chance, after chance to get living for You right.  Teach us daily, O Lord, how we are live and treat others, to Your glory.  In Jesus name, I pray, Amen!

Everyday People!

“I am using an example from everyday life because of your human limitations” (Romans 6:19a NIV).

I cannot begin to explain how many times I have heard some people say, “the bible has no relevance for us today.  That was then, this is now.” If they really understood, having a heart open to God, they would know that just as “everyday” was for that time, “everyday” is still the same for us today.

When Paul was writing to the Church in Rome, he was very concerned about how the people in the church were selectively choosing which rules to live by.  Some wanted to hold people to the letter of law, while he was trying to explain the difference between the spirit of the law and the wonders of grace–to everyday people.

In this passage of scripture (please read the entire chapter), he is specifically talking about people who commit sin, what grace has done, and why we should not continue to sin.  God’s grace, His unmerited, we can’t earn favor, does not mean we continue to commit sin or encourage others to do so.  Paul reminds the everyday people that once in our lives before knowing and understanding the work of the cross, we did commit sin, but now that we know better, we should not participate.  And he used, examples from everyday life (as it was did and is applicable now), to illustrate what he said.  The strong language–“once slaves to sin” still applies to many today.  Many everyday people are slaves to–drugs, porn, fornication, adultery, alcohol, stealing, lying, manipulating, favoritism, complacency (“I’d rather you were hot or cold instead of lukewarm”), etc., hence the use of everyday examples (relevant now), about everyday people.

I think it was Sly and The Family Stones who wrote the song, Everyday People, (if I have the wrong artist, feel free to correct me).  God does not expect us to live like people in ancient times, but He does expect us to adhere to righteousness, using everyday life examples.  He gave us His Word as a guideline because of our human limitations (unwillingness to hear The Spirit of the Lord) so we would be without excuse.

O God, help us–everyday people, to live  every day in righteousness, to your glory.

Time to Let Go!

There are times in everyone’s life that things happen–some we caused, some we did not control, some we could not control–that will cause us hurt.  That’s life–stuff happens.  What happens after the “stuff happens” depends upon our response to the events.  We can hold on to hurts and allow the hurt to direct our lives and decisions or we can let it go and allow God to heal the hurt and trust Him to direct us along a path to happiness.  It is our choice.  For those who are hurting and cannot go back in time to change anything, it is time to let go.  Forgive self, parents, friends, enemies, predators, teachers, siblings, children, spouses, former spouses, bosses, former bosses, anyone or anything that has caused you to hurt–it’s time to forgive, let it go and let God do all that He has promised to do in your life.

Father, in the name of Jesus,

You promised that whatever we asked for in Your Son’s name, it would be given to us.  I am praying for everyone who is holding on to hurt–give them the courage to let it go and be healed.  No matter what the hurt is, no matter who or what caused the hurt, give them insight–let them see how the hurt can turn their lives down paths that You had no desire for them to travel.  O God, help them to forgive self and others for decisions that led to the hurt, but cannot be changed.  Help them to move forward and to not dwell in a pit of pity.  Move upon their hearts that You may soften their hardened hearts.  Help them O God to let go of the past and leave it there.  And when they let go of the hurt, keep them focused on Your love and all the many benefits that come with receiving Your love in their lives.  I thank You for hearing and answering prayer in the hearts of all who are willing to receive that bountiful blessing of peace today, right now!  I declare it is done, according to Your Word, Amen!

Ashamed No More!

“For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ:  for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jews (the chosen nation) first and then to the Greeks (those who chose to believe by faith)” (Romans 1:16 paraphrased).

This declaration made by Paul lets us know that even though he had been a persecutor of those who believed in Jesus and those who promoted the good news, once Jesus revealed himself to him, he became a believer and a promoter of the good news, openly.  Paul understood the law and knew that God had chosen the nation of Israel for His own, but when they chose to reject Him, He opened the door to any who chose to believe Him and abide by His commandments.  First God chose, then we chose–He has always given us the power of choice.

God revealed Himself to the nation of Israel in mighty works so they would know how much He loved them.  He reveals Himself to us, still by doing mighty works in our lives when we allow Him to do so.

I remember a time when I persecuted anyone who tried to get me to believe in the Bible.  I challenged them to explain how they “knew” whether or not the words were interpreted accurately, who was the witness that could confirm it, and on and on.  When I reached a place in my life where I had nothing else to read in my house, but the Bible, I read it.  I have always been an avid reader of almost anything, but at the time I read my bible, I was in financial straits and could not purchase books the way I once had.  I worked hours that curtailed my ability to get to a library and so here I was–wanting something to read and the Bible was there.  It took me two months to read (starting with the Gospel of John) through the New Testament and then I worked my way back through the Old Testament to get a better understanding of what was said in the New.  God’s plan worked!  I now understood why things had happened the way they did.  When I received the gift of salvation and speaking in tongues, I knew I had been wrong and was so ashamed, I wished I could go back and find those people I had taunted.  But God in His infinite wisdom (and sense of humor) used me to promote the Gospel by encouraging people to read the bible for themselves and then open themselves to hear Him, revealing understanding of His Word.

Though I never had anyone tortured for their beliefs, I can certainly relate to Paul’s words.  I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ because it is the power to renew life, retain joy in the midst of trials, the avenue to having a personal relationship with God and ability to have communication on a brand new level.  I am ashamed of my behavior and conduct to those I once taunted for their beliefs, but I am not ashamed of who I am or whose I am and I will tell it–from the valley to the mountain-tops–and if people do not receive it; that is not my responsibility.  My job is to tell it, their job is make a choice to receive what I say or not, the end result is on God!  Hallelujah!