We are all sinners saved by grace…

Ephesians 2:8-9 (NKJV)

^{8 (A)}For by grace you have been saved ^(B)through faith, and that not of yourselves; ^(C)it is the gift of God, ⁹ not of ^(D)works, lest anyone should ^(E)boast.

So, think for a moment…

Think about some of the sins that you’ve committed SINCE you’ve accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior.

The war of flesh and spirit doesn’t go away after you’re ‘saved’…

Galatians 5:16-18 (NKJV)

¹⁶ I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. ¹⁷ For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. ¹⁸ But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

However, when we receive the gift of His Holy Spirit are equipped to fight. You will win some battles and lose some battles, but ultimately win the war.

Galatians 5:17-23 (NKJV)

¹⁷ For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. ¹⁸ But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

¹⁹ Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: ^[a]adultery, ^[b]fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, ²⁰ idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, ²¹ envy, ^[c]murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ^23 [d]gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.

So think for a moment of some of the sins you’ve committed SINCE you’ve accepted Yeshua as Lord and Savior…

If you’ve been ‘saved’ for several years, you may realize that you’ve committed more sins SINCE you’ve been saved…

You may even notice that some of the sins you committed after you were saved were GREATER than those before you were saved. Yes, sin is sin, but some sins simply make God more angry…they’re called abominations. And these sins aren’t necessarily the freaky sexual sins that may often first come to mind. For example, pride is one of them…

Proverbs 16:5 (NKJV)

⁵ Everyone proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord;
Though they join ^[a]forces, none will go unpunished.

This is why we should NEVER take the grace of God for granted.

This is a good time to stop right now and thank God for His grace and mercy, and for not dealing with any of us as we deserve.

Psalm 103:10 (NKJV)

¹⁰ He has not dealt with us according to our sins,
Nor punished us according to our iniquities.

And, be honest with yourself. Did you really accept the Lord Jesus as Savior, or were you just looking for Him to make things better in your life. Did you really accept Him because you believe or did you just think it was the right thing to do? Were you curious? Did you do it because your parents made you?

If you’ve sinned greater since you’ve been saved, ask yourself did you come to Yeshua for the right reasons.

BE BLESSTIFIED!

One of the things about the Old Testament is that it gives us extreme examples of what God loves and what He hates. His extreme judgements explicitly gave us insight into how He feels, reacted as well as spiritual concepts and laws that are still relevant today…

1 Corinthians 10:11 (NKJV)

¹¹ Now ^[a]all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our ^[b]admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.

Romans 15:4 (NKJV)

⁴ For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the ^[a]patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.

One of those concepts is generational curses. That’s when God places a curse on an individual that continues to transfer to his or her posterity. Seems pretty unfair huh? But, it’s been that way since the Garden of Eden after Adam and his wife sinned.

When you read Deuteronomy 28 God lists the blessings of obedience and the curses of disobedience. These blessings and curses are generational…

Deuteronomy 28:45-46 (NKJV)

⁴⁵ “Moreover all these curses shall come upon you and pursue and overtake you, until you are destroyed, because you ^[a]did not obey the voice of the Lord your God, to keep His commandments and His statutes which He commanded you. ⁴⁶ And they shall be upon you for a sign and a wonder, and on your DESCENDANTS FOREVER.

Forever is a long time. Seems unfair doesn’t it?

But, there is a reason for this.

Whenever God cursed or punished His people, what was it that always removed the curse, that would have otherwise remained FOREVER?

WHEN THEY REPENTED!

Leviticus 26:40-42 (NKJV)

⁴⁰ ‘But if they confess their iniquity and the iniquity of their fathers, with their unfaithfulness in which they were unfaithful to Me, and that they also have walked contrary to Me,

⁴¹ and that I also have walked contrary to them and have brought them into the land of their enemies;

if their uncircumcised hearts are humbled, and they accept their guilt—

⁴² then I will remember My covenant with Jacob, and My covenant with Isaac and My covenant with Abraham I will remember;

I will remember the land.

1 John 1:9  (NKJV)

⁹ If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Think about your family and the attitudes, habits, thoughts and behaviors that have gone on for generations. How many of them can STOP with your generation?

If you feel your family is under the generational power of dysfunction, promiscuity, homosexuality, addiction, arrogance, pride, shame, racism, poverty, anger, witchcraft, violence, sickness etc,….

SOME OF THESE CURSES COULD STOP WITH YOUR GENERATION IF YOU CHANGE GENERATIONAL BEHAVIOR IN OTHER AREAS.

As much as parents and grandparents love their children, no one ever does everything RIGHT. God consistently reminded Israel of the ‘sins of their fathers.’

Stop and think about the things that your parents and grandparents did that were not pleasing to God, but may have continued through tradition, bad teaching or simply because ‘that’s the way we do things’.

Be bold enough to change it the way that Hezekiah did not continue in the sins of the kings before him. He TORE DOWN the alters and evil practices of those who came before him…

2 Kings 18:1-5  (NKJV)

18 Now it came to pass in the third year of Hoshea the son of Elah, king of Israel, that Hezekiah the son of Ahaz, king of Judah, began to reign. ² He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Abi^[a] the daughter of Zechariah. ³ And he did what was right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his father David had done.

⁴ He removed the ^[b]high places and broke the sacred pillars, cut down the ^[c]wooden image and broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made; for until those days the children of Israel burned incense to it, and called it ^[d]Nehushtan. ⁵ He trusted in the Lord God of Israel, so that after him was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor who were before him.

What ‘alters’ do you need to tear down in your family?

CONFESS. REPENT. and BREAK THE CURSE.

Now, read Nehemiah Chapter 9 and notice that after they were allowed by God to return from exile, they confessed not only their sins, but the sins of their ancestors. Notice in BOLD print each time the people confessed their sin…

NEHEMIAH 9 (NKJV)

9 Now on the twenty-fourth day of this month the children of Israel were assembled with fasting, in sackcloth, and with ^[a]dust on their heads. ² Then those of Israelite lineage separated themselves from all foreigners; and they stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers. ³ And they stood up in their place and read from the Book of the Law of the Lord their God for one-fourth of the day; and for another fourth they confessed and worshiped the Lord their God.

⁴ Then Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani stood on the ^[b]stairs of the Levites and cried out with a loud voice to the Lord their God. ⁵ And the Levites, Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabniah, Sherebiah, Hodijah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah, said:

“Stand up and bless the Lord your God
Forever and ever!

“Blessed be Your glorious name,
Which is exalted above all blessing and praise!

Which is exalted above all blessing and praise!
⁶ You alone are the Lord;
You have made heaven,
The heaven of heavens, with all their host,
The earth and everything on it,
The seas and all that is in them,
And You preserve them all.
The host of heaven worships You.

⁷ “You are the Lord God,
Who chose Abram,
And brought him out of Ur of the Chaldeans,
And gave him the name Abraham;
⁸ You found his heart faithful before You,
And made a covenant with him
To give the land of the Canaanites,
The Hittites, the Amorites,
The Perizzites, the Jebusites,
And the Girgashites—
To give it to his descendants.
You have performed Your words,
For You are righteous.

“You saw the affliction of our fathers in Egypt,
And heard their cry by the Red Sea.
¹⁰ You showed signs and wonders against Pharaoh,
Against all his servants,
And against all the people of his land.
For You knew that they acted ^[c]proudly against them.
So You made a name for Yourself, as it is this day.
¹¹ And You divided the sea before them,
So that they went through the midst of the sea on the dry land;
And their persecutors You threw into the deep,
As a stone into the mighty waters.
¹² Moreover You led them by day with a cloudy pillar,
And by night with a pillar of fire,
To give them light on the road
Which they should travel.

¹³ “You came down also on Mount Sinai,
And spoke with them from heaven,
And gave them just ordinances and true laws,
Good statutes and commandments.
¹⁴ You made known to them Your holy Sabbath,
And commanded them precepts, statutes and laws,
By the hand of Moses Your servant.
¹⁵ You gave them bread from heaven for their hunger,
And brought them water out of the rock for their thirst,
And told them to go in to possess the land
Which You had ^[d]sworn to give them.

“But they and our fathers acted ^[e]proudly,
Hardened^[f] their necks,
And did not heed Your commandments.
¹⁷ They refused to obey,
And they were not mindful of Your wonders
That You did among them.
But they hardened their necks,
And ^[g]in their rebellion
They appointed a leader
To return to their bondage.
But You are God,
Ready to pardon,
Gracious and merciful,
Slow to anger,
Abundant in kindness,
And did not forsake them.

¹⁸ “Even when they made a molded calf for themselves,
And said, ‘This is your god
That brought you up out of Egypt,’
And worked great provocations,
¹⁹ Yet in Your manifold mercies
You did not forsake them in the wilderness.
The pillar of the cloud did not depart from them by day,
To lead them on the road;
Nor the pillar of fire by night,
To show them light,
And the way they should go.

You also gave Your good Spirit to instruct them,
And did not withhold Your manna from their mouth,
And gave them water for their thirst.
²¹ Forty years You sustained them in the wilderness;
They lacked nothing;
Their clothes did not wear out
And their feet did not swell.

²² “Moreover You gave them kingdoms and nations,
And divided them into ^[h]districts.
So they took possession of the land of Sihon,
^[i]The land of the king of Heshbon,
And the land of Og king of Bashan.
²³ You also multiplied their children as the stars of heaven,
And brought them into the land
Which You had told their fathers
To go in and possess.
²⁴ So the ^[j]people went in
And possessed the land;
You subdued before them the inhabitants of the land,
The Canaanites,
And gave them into their hands,
With their kings
And the people of the land,
That they might do with them as they wished.

And they took strong cities and a rich land,
And possessed houses full of all goods,
Cisterns already dug, vineyards, olive groves,
And ^[k]fruit trees in abundance.
So they ate and were filled and grew fat,
And delighted themselves in Your great goodness.

²⁶ “Nevertheless they were disobedient
And rebelled against You,
Cast Your law behind their backs
And killed Your prophets, who ^[l]testified against them
To turn them to Yourself;
And they worked great provocations.
²⁷ Therefore You delivered them into the hand of their enemies,
Who oppressed them;
And in the time of their trouble,
When they cried to You,
You heard from heaven;
And according to Your abundant mercies
You gave them deliverers who saved them
From the hand of their enemies.

“But after they had rest,
They again did evil before You.
Therefore You left them in the hand of their enemies,
So that they had dominion over them;
Yet when they returned and cried out to You,
You heard from heaven;
And many times You delivered them according to Your mercies,
²⁹ And ^[m]testified against them,
That You might bring them back to Your law.
Yet they acted ^[n]proudly,
And did not heed Your commandments,
But sinned against Your judgments,
‘Which if a man does, he shall live by them.’
And they shrugged their shoulders,
^[o]Stiffened their necks,
And would not hear.
³⁰ Yet for many years You had patience with them,
And ^[p]testified against them by Your Spirit in Your prophets.
Yet they would not listen;
Therefore You gave them into the hand of the peoples of the lands.
³¹ Nevertheless in Your great mercy
You did not utterly consume them nor forsake them;
For You are God, gracious and merciful.

“Now therefore, our God,
The great, the mighty, and awesome God,
Who keeps covenant and mercy:
Do not let all the ^[q]trouble seem small before You
That has come upon us,
Our kings and our princes,
Our priests and our prophets,
Our fathers and on all Your people,
From the days of the kings of Assyria until this day.
³³ However You are just in all that has befallen us;
For You have dealt faithfully,
But we have done wickedly.
³⁴ Neither our kings nor our princes,
Our priests nor our fathers,
Have kept Your law,
Nor heeded Your commandments and Your testimonies,
With which You testified against them.
³⁵ For they have not served You in their kingdom,
Or in the many good things that You gave them,
Or in the large and rich land which You set before them;
Nor did they turn from their wicked works.

“Here we are, servants today!
And the land that You gave to our fathers,
To eat its fruit and its bounty,
Here we are, servants in it!
³⁷ And it yields much increase to the kings
You have set over us,
Because of our sins;
Also they have dominion over our bodies and our cattle
At their pleasure;
And we are in great distress.

³⁸ “And because of all this,
We make a sure covenant and write it;
Our leaders, our Levites, and our priests seal it.”

Now notice what God says to Israel in Leviticus Chapter 40 after giving them consequences of being disobedient…

Leviticus 26:40-45  (NKJV)

⁴⁰ ‘But if they confess their iniquity and the iniquity of their fathers, with their unfaithfulness in which they were unfaithful to Me, and that they also have walked contrary to Me,

⁴¹ and that I also have walked contrary to them and have brought them into the land of their enemies;

if their uncircumcised hearts are humbled, and they accept their guilt—

⁴² then I will remember My covenant with Jacob, and My covenant with Isaac and My covenant with Abraham I will remember;

I will remember the land.

⁴³ The land also shall be left empty by them, and will enjoy its sabbaths while it lies desolate without them;

they will accept their guilt, because they despised My judgments and because their soul abhorred My statutes.

⁴⁴ Yet for all that, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not cast them away, nor shall I abhor them, to utterly destroy them and break My covenant with them;

for I am the Lord their God.

⁴⁵ But for their sake I will remember the covenant of their ancestors, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the nations, that I might be their God:

I am the Lord.’ ”

What ‘sins of your fathers and mothers’ are you allowing to continue in another generation? What sins have you not rejected?

BE BLESSTIFIED!

“Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me!”

BULL!!!

We all know words hurt. Verbal insults can inflict wounds that leave behind scars that last a lifetime.

As disciples of Christ we should develop a ‘tough skin’ to minimize the pain of when people insult us, however there’s one thing we should all remember about insults.

They hurt even more when they are injected with some painful truth about us…

“I can’t stand your selfish _______!”

“You wouldn’t be so broke if you weren’t so lazy!”

“People don’t like being around you because you’re so mean!”

“You know you’re much too heavy to wear that!”

It really doesn’t matter if the insult is said to hurt you, sometimes God will use an insult to help us examine ourselves so we can change. Especially if we have people around us who always say what we want to hear.

The disciples knew that the Pharisees and religious leaders were insulted at the rebukes of Yeshua, but they were filled with truth…

Matthew 15:12-13 (NKJV)

¹² Then His disciples came and said to Him, “Do You know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?”

¹³ But He answered and said, “Every plant which My heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted.

When someone is accused of libel or slander, if what they said is true, then they are considered to be innocent.

Yes, insults are painful, but most of the time it’s the truth in some insults that make them more painful. Being honest with ourselves, even though it hurts, can help us make the necessary adjustments to achieve personal and spiritual growth.

BE BLESSTIFIED!

Luke 22:37-38  (NKJV)

37 For I say to you that this which is written must still be accomplished in Me: ‘And He was numbered with the transgressors.’[a] For the things concerning Me have an end.”

38 So they said, “Lord, look, here are two swords.”

And He said to them, “It is enough.”

As Jesus faced betrayal He stood in the company of His disciples…His armed disciples. But, not all of them were armed. As the scripture states, there were two swords. He didn’t say get rid of the them, but He also let them know two swords were enough.

Jesus didn’t say, “We need more swords”, and when Peter used one of them to cut off the ear of one of the soldiers confronting them, not only did Jesus rebuke Peter, He also made a Holy and profound statement that also holds true for guns and all weapons (since of course they had no guns then)…

Matthew 26:47-52  (NKJV)

⁴⁷ And while He was still speaking, behold, Judas, one of the twelve, with a great multitude with swords and clubs, came from the chief priests and elders of the people. ⁴⁸ Now His betrayer had given them a sign, saying, “Whomever I kiss, He is the One; seize Him.” ⁴⁹ Immediately he went up to Jesus and said, “Greetings, Rabbi!” and kissed Him. ⁵⁰ But Jesus said to him, “Friend, why have you come?” Then they came and laid hands on Jesus and took Him. ⁵¹ And suddenly, one of those who were with Jesus stretched out his hand and drew his sword, struck the servant of the high priest, and cut off his ear. ⁵² But Jesus said to him, “PUT YOUR SWORD IN IT’S PLACE, FOR ALL WHO TAKE THE SWORD WILL PERISH BY THE SWORD”.

Notice verse 52…all who take the sword will perish by it! Jesus warned of the consequence of putting too much faith and confidence in weapons. But, that’s not the only place the bible issues that warning. There’s no conjecture in saying that Jesus was exercising ‘sword control’.

Psalm 44:6  (NKJV)

⁶ For I will not trust in my bow,
Nor shall my sword save me.

Psalm 33:16-18  (NKJV)

¹⁶ No king is saved by the multitude of an army;
A mighty man is not delivered by great strength.
¹⁷ A horse is a vain hope for safety;
Neither shall it deliver any by its great strength.

¹⁸ Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him,
On those who hope in His mercy,

2 Corinthians 10:4 (NKJV)

⁴ For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds,

Ephesians 6:17 (NKJV)

¹⁷ And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;

However, Jesus also uses the illustration of a man defending His home in a parable…

Luke 11:21-22 (NKJV)

²¹ When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are in peace. ²² But when a stronger than he comes upon him and overcomes him, he takes from him all his armor in which he trusted, and divides his spoils.

So here’s the thing. Our Lord permits and expects us to defend ourselves, but He is very clear in the fact that we should never, ever, ever put OUR faith in our weapons.

People love saying that “Guns don’t kill people, people kill people.” Well, God addressed that too. He is the creator who created the person who makes the weapons as well as the heart that uses the weapons to kill, so what did He say about that?

Isaiah 54:16-17  (NKJV)

¹⁶ “Behold, I have created the blacksmith
Who blows the coals in the fire,
Who brings forth an instrument for his work;
And I have created the spoiler to destroy.
¹⁷ No weapon formed against you shall prosper,
And every tongue which rises against you in judgment
You shall condemn.
This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord,
And their righteousness is from Me,”
Says the Lord.

 I don’t care how big or powerful the weapon, God owns the fight based on what is in the heart of those involved. Who is your ultimate trust in…your God or your weapon.

Okay, for those who claim to be believers and live by the bible, go to 1 Samuel Chapter 17 and read how David, a young shepherd boy kills a trained, well-armed military giant named Goliath with a sling shot.

If you need more biblical evidence, go to 2 Chronicles Chapter 20 and read how Judah didn’t even have to fight even when they were out-numbered and ‘out-gunned’.

2 Chronicles 20:15-23  (NKJV)

¹⁵ And he said, “Listen, all you of Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem, and you, King Jehoshaphat! Thus says the Lord to you: ‘Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God’s. ¹⁶ Tomorrow go down against them. They will surely come up by the Ascent of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the brook before the Wilderness of Jeruel. ¹⁷ You will not need to fight in this battle. Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord, who is with you, O Judah and Jerusalem!’ Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them, for the Lord is with you.”

¹⁸ And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem bowed before the Lord, worshiping the Lord. ¹⁹ Then the Levites of the children of the Kohathites and of the children of the Korahites stood up to praise the Lord God of Israel with voices loud and high.

²⁰ So they rose early in the morning and went out into the Wilderness of Tekoa; and as they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Hear me, O Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem: Believe in the Lord your God, and you shall be established; believe His prophets, and you shall prosper.” ²¹ And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed those who should sing to the Lord, and who should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army and were saying:

“Praise the Lord,
For His mercy endures forever.”^[a]

²² Now when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set ambushes against the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; and they were defeated. ²³ For the people of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir to utterly kill and destroy them. And when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, they helped to destroy one another.

So, even though the bible permits weapons, it is clear that God expects our ultimate trust to be in Him.

Either you believe Him or you don’t.

Either you trust Him or you don’t.

Either you believe His word or you don’t.

Again, Jesus told His disciples two swords were enough. He permit them to have them, but it was clear that He exercised ‘sword control’ as well.

The truth is both sides of the gun control argument have merit. The issues are not mutually exclusive.  One side says, yes civilians should own weapons, but there should be limits to the type. The other side says, guns don’t kill people, so civilians should be able to purchase what they want with few to no limits.

Based on what the bible says, moving your passions and feelings out of the way, and fully putting your faith in God…where do you think Jesus stands?

BE BLESSTIFIED!

So many people today equate humility to weakness. Our society values arrogance, self-indulgence, retribution, revenge, retaliation, aggression, threats and what is perceived as loud, strong words…all of this is the fruit of pride. And, we know what pride does to our relationship with God…

James 4:6  (NKJV)

⁶ But He gives more grace. Therefore He says:

“God resists the proud,
But gives grace to the humble.”

Even in our movies, people celebrate when the so-called ‘nerd’ finally stands up to the bully and ‘knocks him out’ to the applause of everyone watching.

That’s not what happened on the cross.

Yeshua, Christ Jesus, humbled Himself to open and public humiliation for our sins…

Hebrews 12:2  (NKJV)

² looking unto Jesus, the ^[a]author and ^[b]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.

 Isaiah 53:3-12  (NKJV)

³ He is despised and ^[a]rejected by men,
A Man of ^[b]sorrows and acquainted with ^[c]grief.
And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him;
He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.

⁴ Surely He has borne our ^[d]griefs
And carried our ^[e]sorrows;
Yet we ^[f]esteemed Him stricken,
^[g]Smitten by God, and afflicted.
⁵ But He was wounded^[h] for our transgressions,
He was ^[i]bruised for our iniquities;
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
And by His stripes^[j] we are healed.
⁶ All we like sheep have gone astray;
We have turned, every one, to his own way;
And the Lord ^[k]has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.

⁷ He was oppressed and He was afflicted,
Yet He opened not His mouth;
He was led as a lamb to the slaughter,
And as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
So He opened not His mouth.
⁸ He was taken from ^[l]prison and from judgment,
And who will declare His generation?
For He was cut off from the land of the living;
For the transgressions of My people He was stricken.
⁹ And ^[m]they made His grave with the wicked—
But with the rich at His death,
Because He had done no violence,
Nor was any deceit in His mouth.

¹⁰ Yet it pleased the Lord to ^[n]bruise Him;
He has put Him to grief.
When You make His soul an offering for sin,
He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days,
And the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand.
^11 [o]He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied.
By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many,
For He shall bear their iniquities.
¹² Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great,
And He shall divide the ^[p]spoil with the strong,
Because He poured out His soul unto death,
And He was numbered with the transgressors,
And He bore the sin of many,
And made intercession for the transgressors.

 God demands humility from His children. Humility is a sign of having faith in Him and the rejection of pride.

God loves us enough sometimes to humble us when we refuse to humble ourselves…but it can be very painful and humiliating.

When God humbles us, He isn’t trying to hurt us, but He is trying to help us to develop our character and walk in His Spirit. It’s a form of discipline, similar to when…

A parent has to punish a child in front of other children,

When a teacher or coach has to reprimand a student in front of others,

Or even when we’ve passed several cars speeding only to have them catch up to us while we are pulled over by an officer.

So NEVER, and I mean NEVER ask God to humble you. Just as we are encouraged in the book of James, humble yourselves so God does not have to do it for you. Don’t worry, it comes with a beautiful promise.

James 4:10 (NKJV)

¹⁰ Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.

BE BLESSTIFIED!

I can only speak for myself, but I think we’ve all experienced it. We have prayed to God…we have made a specific supplication…we have interceded for someone else. Then, sometimes immediately, sometimes shortly after and sometimes much later we see God answer that prayer…that supplication…that intercession, just as we asked.

Sometimes it’s exactly as we asked. While others it may not be exactly as we asked but, we can still clearly see it was an answer to our prayer.

Then it happens. That emotion that reveals our true level of faith. I’m not saying an absence of faith, but the true level of our faith. Our emotional response to God answering our prayer.

SURPRISE

Have you ever been surprised when God answers your prayer? Surprised when we already know what He promised…

John 14:13-14 (NKJV)

¹³ And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. ¹⁴ If you ask^[a] anything in My name, I will do it.

Do we really believe Jesus’ promise when we pray? Now, I do know that sometimes God says “No”. For more on this read WHEN GOD USES THE ‘N-WORD’…

I do know that sometimes God answers in a manner that we totally don’t expect and I realize that even though we know that God CAN do it, we don’t know if He WILL do it.

But even at that, we should never be surprised. Be surprised if you hit the lottery. Be surprised if the team that’s the underdog wins…even be surprised if you get exactly what you want for your birthday, but we should never be surprised when God has already promised us what He will do.

Even if we know He can do it, but wonder if He will, what emotion should we feel when God answers our prayer?

AMAZEMENT

God wants you to be amazed. He wants to ‘blow your mind’. He wants to make you say, “Wow!” He wants to astound you and leave you in awe…because this is how God ‘helps our unbelief’.

Mark 9:23-24 (NKJV)

²³ Jesus said to him, “If you can believe,^[a] all things are possible to him who believes.” ²⁴ Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!”

Surprise implies that we didn’t believe. Amazement implies that we do believe.

When God answers your prayers, be AMAZED, but never SURPRISED.

BE BLESSTIFIED!

Titus 2:11-12 (NIV)

¹¹ For the grace^(A) of God has appeared^(B) that offers salvation to all people.^{(C) 12} It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions,^(D)and to live self-controlled,^(E) upright and godly lives^(F) in this present age,

“I’m only human!”

“I’m just a man!”

“I have needs!”

“God made me this way!”

These are some phrases we can find ourselves using to comfort ourselves or to explain to someone else when we have given in to sins of the flesh…especially sexual sin…

Fornication…

Adultery…

Homosexuality…

Pornography…

The bible reminds us that the ‘flesh’ wars against the ‘spirit’ and ‘spirit against the ‘flesh’. It’s a battle, therefore God knows that it’s not easy…

Galatians 5:16-18 (NKJV)

¹⁶ I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. ¹⁷ For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. ¹⁸ But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

Matthew 26:41 (NKJV)

⁴¹ Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

God designed our bodies (flesh) to have sexual desire to be enjoyed within the boundaries of Godly marriage between a man and woman.

These desires are produced and regulated by our glands and our brain.

Testicles…

Ovaries…

When we allow how we react to the hormones these glands release into our bodies to control us, we are allowing our glands to become our god.

“I just can’t help myself!”

“I just can’t say no!”

“I just can’t stay away!”

There are some people who spend most of their time and energy thinking about sex. Even within a marriage, being obsessed with sex can be unhealthy and destructive.

The fact is that much of our society is obsessed with sex. It’s in television, social media, movies, music, art, literature…SEX SALES!

So, whether married or unmarried, we must control our sexual desires and not let them rule us. Because when something rules you, it becomes a priority, and it’s easy for what we prioritize to become our idols….our gods.

That’s why the apostle Paul asserts that he brought his flesh under subjection…

1 Corinthians 9:27 (NKJV)

²⁷ But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.

Remember, lack of discipline over his flesh is what allowed Esau to give up his birthright and blessing. He surrendered it to his brother for a single meal (Genesis 25:29-34).

That’s why the exercise of fasting is so important. It’s bringing our bodies under subjection so that what our bodies ‘want’ and our cravings won’t rule us…we rule them.

Sometimes telling God YES is telling our bodies NO!

When it comes to the battle of HOLY vs. HORNY, the struggle is real.

Galatians 5:16-17 (NKJV)

¹⁶ I say then: ^(A)Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. ¹⁷ For ^(B)the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, ^(C)so that you do not do the things that you wish.

Don’t let your glands become your God!

Titus 3:3-8 (MSG)

^3-8 It wasn’t so long ago that we ourselves were stupid and stubborn, dupes of sin, ordered every which way by our glands, going around with a chip on our shoulder, hated and hating back. But when God, our kind and loving Savior God, stepped in, he saved us from all that. It was all his doing; we had nothing to do with it. He gave us a good bath, and we came out of it new people, washed inside and out by the Holy Spirit. Our Savior Jesus poured out new life so generously. God’s gift has restored our relationship with him and given us back our lives. And there’s more life to come—an eternity of life! You can count on this.

BE BLESSTIFIED!

This is word of admonition to those who call themselves to be believers.

The image of modern-day Christianity has been perverted by people who where pride as a necklace and their arrogance masquerades itself as confidence. Many of these people mean well, but they have been seduced by their passion against some obvious sins (namely abortion and homosexuality)…

1 Timothy 5:24-25 (NLT)

²⁴ Remember, the sins of some people are obvious, leading them to certain judgment. But there are others whose sins will not be revealed until later. ²⁵ In the same way, the good deeds of some people are obvious. And the good deeds done in secret will someday come to light.

…to excuse, justify and even indulge in the sins that aren’t as obvious or politicized such as pride, arrogance. They don’t share their faith in love. They are accused of hating those whose lifestyles they reject, while they themselves accuse others of hating the proud and arrogant personalities they support.

God used proud and arrogant nations ( namely Assyria and Babylon) to punish His people because of their idolatry, hypocrisy, assimilation, refusal of justice, violence and their arrogant leaders.

However, after using these clearly ungodly nations and ungodly rulers to punish His people, He later harshly punished Assyria and Babylon. Go back and read Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel through this context.

The problem with many people in America who call themselves Christians is that they never see America as Assyria or Babylon…only as either persecuted or victorious Israel.

God has made a promise to those who have succumbed to pride and arrogance…

Jeremiah 50:31-32 (NASB)

³¹ “Behold, I am against you, ^[a]arrogant one,”
Declares the Lord ^[b]God of armies,
“For your day has come,
The time ^[c]when I will punish you.
³² The ^[d]arrogant one will stumble and fall
With no one to raise him up;
And I will set fire to his cities,
And it will devour all his surroundings.”

Jeremiah 50:31-32 (NKJV)

³¹ “Behold, I am against you,
O most haughty one!” says the Lord God of hosts;
“For your day has come,
^[a]The time that I will punish you.
³² The most proud shall stumble and fall,
And no one will raise him up;
I will kindle a fire in his cities,
And it will devour all around him.”

You can’t fight against one sin by accepting and engaging in another.

Remember, pride is the first mentioned among the seven deadly sins because it is the parent sin to countless offspring sins.

Proverbs 6:16-19 (NKJV)

¹⁶ These six things the Lord hates,
Yes, seven are an abomination to ^[a]Him:
¹⁷ A^[b] proud look,
A lying tongue,
Hands that shed innocent blood,
¹⁸ A heart that devises wicked plans,
Feet that are swift in running to evil,
¹⁹ A false witness who speaks lies,
And one who sows discord among brethren.

Proverbs 16:18 (NKJV)

¹⁸ Pride goes before destruction,
And a haughty spirit before ^[a]a fall.

James 4:6 (NKJV)

⁶ But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: “God resists the proud,
But gives grace to the humble.”

Many of those who call themselves evangelicals do not represent the true image of Christ any more than the Scribes and Pharisees them. The fact is that Yeshua the Messiah, Jesus Christ warned to beware of their hypocrisy and teaching…

Luke 12:1 (NKJV)

In the meantime, when an innumerable multitude of people had gathered together, so that they trampled one another, He began to say to His disciples first of all, “Beware of the ^[a]leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.

Remember that the LORD’S scathing rebukes WERE NOT FOR THE ‘SINNERS’ but those who called themselves to be religious leaders!

Think about Jesus’ response when the woman was caught in adultery. Think about how He dined with ‘sinners’. Then think about His responses to those who called themselves to be ‘religious’…

Matthew 23:13-36 (NKJV)

¹³ “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither go in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in. ^14 [a]Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. Therefore you will receive greater condemnation.

¹⁵ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of ^[b]hell as yourselves.

¹⁶ “Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever swears by the temple, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple, he is obliged to perform it.’ ¹⁷ Fools and blind! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that ^[c]sanctifies the gold? ¹⁸ And, ‘Whoever swears by the altar, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gift that is on it, he is obliged to perform it.’ ¹⁹ Fools and blind! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that sanctifies the gift? ²⁰ Therefore he who ^[d]swears by the altar, swears by it and by all things on it. ²¹ He who swears by the temple, swears by it and by Him who ^[e]dwells in it. ²² And he who swears by heaven, swears by the throne of God and by Him who sits on it.

²³ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone. ²⁴ Blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!

²⁵ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and ^[f]self-indulgence. ²⁶ Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also.

²⁷ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. ²⁸ Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

²⁹ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because you build the tombs of the prophets and ^[g]adorn the monuments of the righteous, ³⁰ and say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.’

³¹ “Therefore you are witnesses against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. ³² Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers’ guilt. ³³ Serpents, brood^[h] of vipers! How can you escape the condemnation of hell? ³⁴ Therefore, indeed, I send you prophets, wise men, and scribes: some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to city, ³⁵ that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. ³⁶ Assuredly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.

BE BEBLESSIFIED!

We have all done it before. We asked God to forgive us, and promised Him that we wouldn’t do it again…then found ourselves right back in the same behavior again, and sometimes again and again.

Has this ever been you? Sure, we all have.

I’m going to keep this short and sweet. Whether you slipped up or carefully planned your presumptuous (premeditated sin in the 1st degree), you did NOT surprise God when you messed up.

Psalm 19:13  (NKJV)

¹³ Keep back Your servant also from PRESUMPTUOUS sins;
Let them not have dominion over me.
Then I shall be blameless,
And I shall be innocent of ^[a]great transgression.

Think about this, David was ordained King and a man after God’s own heart, God already knew that we was going to see Bathsheba bathing, lust after her, abuse his authority and have her brought to him, have sex with her, get her pregnant and then carefully plan to have her husband Uriah (who was very loyal to him) killed to conceal the sin. David did not take God by surprise.

God already knew Noah was going to get drunk after he delivered him and his family in the flood (Genesis Chapter 9).

God already knew that Abraham was going to sleep with Hagar when it was taking too long for Isaac to be born (Genesis Chapter 16).

God already knew that Jacob was going to lie to steal Esau’s blessing (Genesis Chapter 27).

Yeshua already knew when He called Peter that he would deny Him three times (John Chapter 18).

And, God already knew when you accepted His Son as Lord and Savior that you would ____________________________. ( You fill in the blank. You know what you did or are doing).

Their sin didn’t disqualify them and yours doesn’t disqualify you.

Think about this. It wasn’t David’s sexual sin that disqualified him from building a house for God, as he longed to do. It was his violence (2 Samuel Chapter 7).

Notice that David’s sin did not disqualify him from being King, He did not have to surrender his ‘thrown’.

David’s sin did not mean the Psalms that God gave us through Him could no longer be sung, read or prayed.

David’s sin did not disqualify Him from being a man after God’s own heart.

Why? Because David repented (2 Samuel Chapter 12 and Psalm 51), unlike King Saul, who he succeeded. Saul never repented and He was rejected by God and lost the throne to David (1 Samuel Chapters 15-16).

The key is repentance. Yes, you may slip up. You may even stay in that sin for a season. But, the fact that you weren’t comfortable in that sin is proof that God’s Holy Spirit was convicting you. The fact that you aren’t comfortable in that sin, if you’re in it right now, is proof that the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit) won’t allow you to have any peace right now. It proves that you are His.

You didn’t catch God by surprise. If you’re practicing a sin right now that you know hurts God…stop right now, before God stops you. If you have repented…be strong and don’t go back.

Be encouraged. God already knew everything you would do when He chose you!

Your sin didn’t or doesn’t disqualify you, as long as you truly repent…now.

ENCOURAGEMENT: YOUR FAILURES DON’T HAVE TO DISQUALIFY YOUR CALLING…

WARNING! DON’T ASK GOD TO MAKE YOU STOP_________.

YOU DON’T HAVE TO DO IT ANYMORE…

BE BLESSTIFIED!

John 4:24 (NKJV)

God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

BE BLESSTIFIED!

Have you ever noticed in Matthew Chapter 23 that the religious leaders told Yeshua, Jesus, that if they had lived in the past they would not have mistreated and killed the prophets as their ancestors did?

Many people do the same thing today. They point a self-righteous finger at the Scribes, Pharisees, Chief Priests, those who shouted CRUCIFY HIM, those who worshipped the golden calf, those who bowed to Nebuchadnezzar’s idol God, and so on. People prove on which side of history they would have stood in the past by their attitudes, actions, and behavior today.

Yeshua the Messiah, Jesus Christ, sharply rebuked the religious leaders (the system) because they claimed if they had lived in the past, they would not have participated in killing the prophets as their ancestors did. He told them that they SHARED IN THE GUILT OF THEIR ANCESTORS because of their attitudes and actions TODAY…

Matthew 23:29-32 (NKJV)

²⁹ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because you build the tombs of the prophets and^[a]adorn the monuments of the righteous, ³⁰ and say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.’

³¹ “Therefore you are witnesses against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. ³² Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers’ guilt.

Matthew 23:29-32 (NIV)

29 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous. 30 And you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ 31 So you testify against yourselves that you are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets. 32 Go ahead, then, and complete what your ancestors started!

People today claim they would have gone into the fiery furnace with the Hebrew slave boys, or lions’ den with Daniel, but prove they wouldn’t because they won’t take a stand for God at work, or conform to a sinful culture because they don’t want to lose their job.

People today claim they would have fled Sodom and Gomorrah with Lot, but prove they wouldn’t have because they support gay marriage and the gay lifestyle, when Yeshua clearly affirms that marriage is between a man and woman in Matthew Chapter 19 verses 3-9.

People today claim they wouldn’t have participated in worshipping a graven image or calling out the name of an idol, but they prove they would have by blasphemously calling a day to celebrate the resurrection of our Savior by the name of a pagan goddess (Easter, Eostre, Ishtar, Ashtoreth).

Exodus 23:13  (NKJV)

¹³ “And in all that I have said to you, be circumspect and make no mention of the name of other gods, nor let it be heard from your mouth.

People today prove where they would have stood during the American Civil Rights Movement…

People today prove if they would have considered Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to be a great man or a trouble maker…

People today prove if they would consider the peaceful protests to be a means to change or a nuisance…

People today prove whether they would have supported a system of slavery or against it by how they hold on to the symbols and paradigms of a sinful heritage of oppression, rape and separation of families because they feel it honors their ancestors.

People today prove whether they would have placed ‘traditions of man’ over the word of God (flags, statues, monunents, hazing, etc…

Matthew 15:1-8 (NKJV)

15 Then the scribes and Pharisees who were from Jerusalem came to Jesus, saying, ² “Why do Your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread.”

³ He answered and said to them, “Why do you also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition? ⁴ For God commanded, saying,‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.’⁵ But you say, ‘Whoever says to his father or mother,“Whatever profit you might have received from me isa gift to God”— ⁶ then he need not honor his father^[a]or mother.’ Thus you have made the^[b]commandment of God of no effect by your tradition. ⁷ Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying:

⁸ ‘These people ^[c]draw near to Me with their mouth,
And honor Me with their lips,
But their heart is far from Me.

How you respond to the teachings of Yeshua the Messiah today proves how you would have stood back then…

People today prove whether they would have shouted HOSANNA or CRUCIFY Him!

BE BLESSTIFIED!

SOME OF THE BIGGEST LIES WE TELL ARE…

Not intentionally (most of the time)…have any of these come from your mouth????

I love you…

I’ll pray for you…

I’ll call you back…

That’s okay…

I’m okay…

What’s wrong? “Nothing!”…

That’s hilarious…(and you don’t laugh)

Oh yeah, I remember that…

I don’t remember…

I don’t have it on me…(when asked for money)

That tastes great…

You look great…

I like that…

I’ve got your back…

I love everybody…

I don’t see color…

I’m doing this for you…

That didn’t bother me…

I don’t even care…

I’m over it…

It doesn’t matter…

Remember what Jesus said in Matthew Chapter 12…

 Matthew 12:36 (NKJV)

 36 But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment.

Take a moment and thank God for His grace and mercy for the lies we tell…intentional and unintentional.

 BE BLESSTIFIED!

When you’re pursuing your God-given purpose,

When you’re loving and forgiving,

When you’re sharing God’s love, it frustrates the devil.

But, he has absolutely no power over your life except that what God allows…

 Job 1:12 (NKJV)

 ¹² And the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your ^[a]power; only do not lay a hand on his person.”

So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.

God gets glory out of our lives when we overcome the devil, just as He did when He allowed the enemy to have temporary access to Job.

He bragged on Job, and sometimes God is bragging on you…

Job 1:8  (NKJV)

⁸ Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you ^[a]considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and ^[b]shuns evil?”

That’s why sometimes frustrations come from nowhere…

Frustrations to your health…

Frustrations to your finances…

Frustrations in your relationships…

Frustrations on your jobs…

Those aches and pains. That boil on your behind. That person who has been frustrating you in traffic for the past 20 miles. That co-worker who continues to conspire against you. Those people who are insensitive, inconsiderate and unapologetic.

The devil see’s when you’re not letting those frustrations get to you. So, he sends another frustration…and another…and another, until God tells Him, “That’s enough!”

The enemy knows He has no real power over your life, so those frustrations are just him ‘giving you the finger’…

He’s flipping you off because you’ve pissed him off.

So, don’t let him get the best of you! Keep your cool. Praise God. And, let God get glory out of your story.

More BE BLESSTIFIED articles about the devil:

7 THINGS YOU CAN DO TO PISS THE DEVIL OFF TODAY…

WHEN THE DEVIL GET’S ‘THE BEST OF YOU’…

WHY THE DEVIL IS NOT A PYROMANIAC…

DON’T ASK GOD TO LEAVE TO INVITE IN A DEMON (Short & to the Point)…

TRADITIONS FROM HELL…

BE BLESSTIFIED!

“I wouldn’t piss on you if you were of fire!”

Have you ever heard anyone say anything similar to that? Many times when someone has hurt us, we want to see them hurt. We can find ourselves daydreaming comforting ourselves with the thought of getting even with or even hurting them, just as Easu did his brother Jacob for deceiving their father Isaac out of his blessing…

Genesis 27:42  (NLT)

⁴² But Rebekah heard about Esau’s plans. So she sent for Jacob and told him, “Listen, Esau is consoling himself by plotting to kill you.

Sometimes when we see misfortune come upon someone who had mistreated us, we may take pleasure in that misfortune. And, if given an opportunity we may even gloat to their face…

“That’s what you get!”

“See, you got what you deserved!”

Or even…

“God doesn’t like ugly!”

God warns us agains gloating in our enemies calamity, even if it came from Him, and even if we feel they deserve it. This is what God warned Edom when pronouncing their punishment for their violence against Israel.

Obadiah 12-13  (NLT)

¹² “You should not have gloated
    when they exiled your relatives to distant lands.
You should not have rejoiced
    when the people of Judah suffered such misfortune.
You should not have spoken arrogantly
    in that terrible time of trouble.
¹³ You should not have plundered the land of Israel
    when they were suffering such calamity.
You should not have gloated over their destruction
    when they were suffering such calamity.
You should not have seized their wealth
    when they were suffering such calamity.

Why? Because when we arrogantly celebrate someone’s misfortune, we are in direct contradiction to the word of God…

Matthew 5:44-45 (NLT)

⁴⁴ But I say, love your enemies!^[a] Pray for those who persecute you! ⁴⁵ In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike.

Second, it’s judgement and condemnation, judging in your heart that they deserved what they got…

Matthew 7:1-2 (NLT)

7 “Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. ² For you will be treated as you treat others.^[a] The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged.^[b]

We have all hurt others and sometimes we did it without knowing. Can you think of someone who you have given a good reason to hate you? Have you ever hurt someone without intending to do so? The pain is still real. When you judge someone deserves what happened to them, according to Matthew Chapter 7 verses 1 and 2, you are pronouncing that same judgment on yourself.

Also, be careful when you lie by telling someone you’re sorry to hear about their trial or misfortune when you’re really glad in your heart. Be careful when your consolation is really a celebration.

The next time you see someone getting what you feel they deserve, stop and thank God for His grace and mercy for not giving you what you deserve. And pray that their calamity brings them closer to God.

BEFORE YOU CELEBRATE THEM ‘GETTING WHAT THEY DESERVE’…

WHEN YOU COMFORT YOURSELF DAYDREAMING OF SEEING SOMEONE HURT…

BE BLESSTIFIED!

I recently shared the picture above on a social media platform. The context was just as some entrepreneurs used to frame and display the first dollar they made, I was sharing the email that led to the first music licensing contract I acquired back in 2015 with NBC Universal on behalf of The Tonight Show.

It wasn’t my skill, talent, or connections…but God suddenly and unexpectedly allowed this opportunity to fall into my lap.

I shared this on social media to give God glory, and to give hope to others pursuing their purpose, dreams and vision.

I received several positive reactions, both LIKES 👍🏾 and LOVES ❤️ .

BUT CHECK THIS OUT…

I received a private inbox message from a fellow minister who never, ever, ever acknowledges me on social media. He told me that even though I ‘blacked out’ the name of the person who sent me the licensing email, that if you BLOW IT UP, you can still see the name.

🤔

I looked back at where I posted the picture and he didn’t click LIKE👍🏾, ❤️ LOVE, or even ANGRY 😡.

He chose to ignore the reactions and BLOW UP the picture which was very intentional. It took effort.

Sooooooo, what is his behavior saying without saying?

It’s amazing how people are unintentionally transparent.

By reading between the lines, whose behavior is transparent, his or mine?

Psalm 28:3b(NIV)

³…who speak cordially with their neighbors
but harbor malice in their hearts.^(A)

BE BLESSTIFIED!

Should you leave your faith at home when you go to work? Remember, that Yeshua the Messiah, Jesus Christ, engaged Peter, Andrew, James, John and Matthew while they were busy working on their jobs.

He could have waited until they finished for the day, but he ministered to them while they were still working.

Matthew 4:18-22 (NKJV)

¹⁸ And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. ¹⁹ Then He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” ²⁰ They immediately left their nets and followed Him.

²¹ Going on from there, He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets. He called them, ²² and immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him.

Matthew 9:9-13 (NKJV)

⁹ As Jesus passed on from there, He saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, “Follow Me.” So he arose and followed Him.

Sometimes God places disciples in the workplace to be light.

Matthew 5:14-16 (NKJV)

¹⁴ “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. ¹⁵ Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. ¹⁶ Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

BE BLESSTIFIED!

If none of us could see the color of our skin,

would it be easier to sense, what lies deep within?

Would all of our cultural differences that we base on race,

if none of us had sight, be gradually erased?

Would it suddenly take away one of the devils’ tools,

to use us against one another, just like fools?

So if we learn to close our eyes, and see with our hearts,

that’s one less thing to keep us apart.

Mark 4:11-12 (NKJV)

¹¹ And He said to them, “To you it has been given to know the ^[a]mystery of the kingdom of God; but to those who are outside, all things come in parables, ¹² so that

‘Seeing they may see and not perceive,
And hearing they may hear and not understand;
Lest they should turn,
And their sins be forgiven them.’ ”

BE BLESSTIFIED!

There are many ‘cliche’s among believers that have become almost as revered as scripture. Some are more common in different Christian subcultures. From “LET GO AND LET GOD” to “GOD CAN DO ANYTHING BUT FAIL”, those who call themselves to be a part of the Body of Christ encourage, admonish and hold one another accountable with several spiritual cliches. For example, saying “PRAYER WORKS” can reduce prayer to a gimmick. However, we must be very careful with how we use these phrases.

Two of the most popular of these phrases among many Christians are the cliches…

“SPEAK IT INTO EXISTENCE!” or “NAME IT AND CLAIM IT!”

These are popular spiritual inferences that are drawn from several scriptures such as:

Proverbs 18:21 (NKJV)

²¹ Death and life are in the power of the tongue,
And those who love it will eat its fruit.

Matthew 21:21 (NKJV)

²¹ So Jesus answered and said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but also if you say to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ it will be done.

We must be very careful when we take scriptures and ‘turn them into what we want’. The fact is that when we ‘add to’ what the bible says, it can often do more harm than good.

There are no bible verses that explicitly say we can simply say things and they will happen. And, inferring that some verses mean that we can ‘name it and claim it’ is a dangerous conjecture.

Here are 2 quick reasons why we should be careful before we say, “Speak it into existence” or “Name it and claim it..

1. IT CAN CAUSE SOMEONE TO QUESTION THEIR FAITH

Yes, Yeshua the Messiah (Jesus Christ), told us that whatsoever we ask according to His will, shall be done for us, but, we all know that no matter how many times we pray for something that isn’t according to God’s will, it will not happen. And, having intimate conversation with God in prayer isn’t the spiritual equivalent to arbitrarily saying something out loud so that it will happen. The fact is that a prayer doesn’t even have to be ‘spoken’ or verbalized because God knows when we are speaking to Him in our thoughts without words. So, if someone ‘speaks it into existence’ through prayer, and God doesn’t do it…it can cause someone to question their faith in both God and prayer.

2. ‘SPEAKING IT INTO EXISTENCE’ CAN ACTUALLY ‘SPEAK IT INTO RESISTANCE’

Remember that Satan, his fallen angels and his emissaries on earth are not omniscient nor omnipresent. They aren’t all knowing and can’t be everywhere at the same time. The devil or demons CAN’T know your thoughts unless you make them known to them.

Notice how the bible reminds us that Mary didn’t share what God had told her verbally…

Luke 2:19 (NKJV)

¹⁹ But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart.

Notice how the angel of the Lord acknowledged the spiritual resistance and battle taking place in the ‘spirit world’…

Daniel 10:12-14 (NKJV)

¹² Then he said to me, “Do not fear, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand, and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard; and I have come because of your words. ¹³ But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days; and behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left alone there with the kings of Persia. ¹⁴ Now I have come to make you understand what will happen to your people in the latter days, for the vision refers to many days yet to come.”

The angel of the Lord dispatched to Daniel met resistance from a high ranking, territorial fallen angel identified as the Prince of Persia. The angel was delayed three weeks!

When we verbalize…

Our intentions…

Our hopes…

Our dreams…

Our frustrations…

Our anger…

…God isn’t the only one who hears it. The enemy also hears it, and just the same as a human enemy can respond to undermine, frustrate or harm you based on what you make known with your mouth…so can the devil.

Many times when we arbitrarily SPEAK INTO RESISTANCE, we’re inviting SPIRITUAL RESISTANCE.

Some things are meant to be between only you and God, spoken in the spiritual language of your heart. One of the beautiful benefits of a relationship with God through Jesus Christ is the fact that His Holy Spirit, (Ruach HaKadosh), speaks for us nonverbally when we don’t know what to say.

Remember, spiritual cliches are NOT scripture.

BE BLESSTIFIED!

We have all messed up some stuff in our lives…

Money…

Marriages…

Relationships…

Credit…

Reputation…

What have you messed up in your life?

We also know that even when you’re in relationship with God, there are still real consequences for sin, bad decisions and weaknesses. And even now, many of us are living out those consequences.

It’s God’s will that we learn from our experiences, the mistakes of others, and listen to good Godly advice. We must learn those lessons of…

Repentance (Completely turning from our sins and changing our behavior. Not just asking for forgiveness, but actually changing.)

Accountability (acknowledging and owning where we need to change).

Stewardship (carefully managing the resources that God has given us).

Responsibility (owing and living up to our responsibility)

Relationships ( making sure we are doing everything we can for healthy relationships with God first, then one another)

Once we learn the lessons that God requires for our growth, even though we are living out the consequences, God can still restore all of the things we have screwed up through out mistakes, if He chooses. Time after time in the bible Israel and Judah hurt God and suffered the consequences, then after crying out, He heard them and restored what they lost….after repentance.

Check out these encouraging scriptures about restoration…

Psalm 23:3  (NKJV)

³ He restores my soul;
He leads me in the paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake.

2 Chronicles 7:14 (NKJV)

¹⁴ if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

Joel 2:25-26  (NKJV)

²⁵ “So I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten,
The crawling locust,
The consuming locust,
And the chewing locust,
My great army which I sent among you.
²⁶ You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied,
And praise the name of the Lord your God,
Who has dealt wondrously with you;
And My people shall never be put to shame.

Isaiah 1:16-19  (NKJV)

¹⁶ “Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean;
Put away the evil of your doings from before My eyes.
Cease to do evil,
¹⁷ Learn to do good;
Seek justice,
Rebuke ^[a]the oppressor;
^[b]Defend the fatherless,
Plead for the widow.

¹⁸ “Come now, and let us reason together,”
Says the Lord,
“Though your sins are like scarlet,
They shall be as white as snow;
Though they are red like crimson,
They shall be as wool.
¹⁹ If you are willing and obedient,
You shall eat the good of the land;

Isaiah 54 (NKJV)

Sing, O barren,
You who have not borne!
Break forth into singing, and cry aloud,
You who have not labored with child!
For more are the children of the desolate
Than the children of the married woman,” says the Lord.
² “Enlarge the place of your tent,
And let them stretch out the curtains of your dwellings;
Do not spare;
Lengthen your cords,
And strengthen your stakes.
³ For you shall expand to the right and to the left,
And your descendants will inherit the nations,
And make the desolate cities inhabited.

⁴ “Do not fear, for you will not be ashamed;
Neither be disgraced, for you will not be put to shame;
For you will forget the shame of your youth,
And will not remember the reproach of your widowhood anymore.
⁵ For your Maker is your husband,
The Lord of hosts is His name;
And your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel;
He is called the God of the whole earth.
⁶ For the Lord has called you
Like a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit,
Like a youthful wife when you were refused,”
Says your God.
⁷ “For a mere moment I have forsaken you,
But with great mercies I will gather you.
⁸ With a little wrath I hid My face from you for a moment;
But with everlasting kindness I will have mercy on you,”
Says the Lord, your Redeemer.

⁹ “For this is like the waters of Noah to Me;
For as I have sworn
That the waters of Noah would no longer cover the earth,
So have I sworn
That I would not be angry with you, nor rebuke you.
¹⁰ For the mountains shall depart
And the hills be removed,
But My kindness shall not depart from you,
Nor shall My covenant of peace be removed,”
Says the Lord, who has mercy on you.

¹¹ “O you afflicted one,
Tossed with tempest, and not comforted,
Behold, I will lay your stones with colorful gems,
And lay your foundations with sapphires.
¹² I will make your pinnacles of rubies,
Your gates of crystal,
And all your walls of precious stones.
¹³ All your children shall be taught by the Lord,
And great shall be the peace of your children.
¹⁴ In righteousness you shall be established;
You shall be far from oppression, for you shall not fear;
And from terror, for it shall not come near you.
¹⁵ Indeed they shall surely assemble, but not because of Me.
Whoever assembles against you shall fall for your sake.

¹⁶ “Behold, I have created the blacksmith
Who blows the coals in the fire,
Who brings forth an ^[a]instrument for his work;
And I have created the ^[b]spoiler to destroy.
¹⁷ No weapon formed against you shall prosper,
And every tongue which rises against you in judgment
You shall condemn.
This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord,
And their righteousness is from Me,”
Says the Lord.

Job 42:10 (NKJV)

¹⁰ And the Lord ^[a]restored Job’s losses when he prayed for his friends. Indeed the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before.

If you know in your heart that you have learned from your mistakes, as well as the trials that God has allowed to arise in your life, it’s okay to ask God for restoration.

God can and sometimes will…

Restore your relationship with Him…

Touch the hearts and minds of people that you’ve hurt for restoration in relationships…

Work miracles to restore money and property that you thought will never see again…

Work situations so that your credit can be restored…

Bless you with opportunities to restore your influence and reputation.

GOD CAN DO IT IF YOU TRULY TRUST HIM!

God loves you. Just like a parent who has a baby that had a horribly messy bowel movement that leaked out of the diaper and spread all over the child’s body…the parent doesn’t throw away the child. He or she gently cleans washes the child and restores it to it’s original cleanliness and beauty. That’s what God does for us.

So, begin to ask God during your regular prayer life that as you repent, learn and grow to deliver you from the consequences of you sins, bad decisions and weaknesses.

A SHORT PRAYER FOR DELIVERANCE FROM THE CONSEQUENCES OF BAD DECISIONS…

BE BLESSTIFIED!

We all make them sometimes…bad decisions. Some of those decisions are sin, but some aren’t.

We make bad decisions in our…

Finances…

Relationships…

Careers…

Choices with our education…

Raising our children…

Diets, health and how we manage our bodies…

How we take care of what God has given us…

…Which way to turn at a crossroads in our lives.

What’s a bad decision that you have made, that may not necessarily be a sin, but you can clearly see that you and possibly the one’s you love are living out the consequences of that decision?

Yes, you’ve learned the lesson, and now you’re just trying to navigate your way through the ditch you have dug for yourself until you can find a place to crawl out.

Well, God told us that we can ask whatever we desire in His name and He will answer according to His will…
1 John 5:14 (NKJV)
¹⁴ Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.

John 15:7-8 (NKJV)

⁷ If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you^[a] will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. ⁸ By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.

We also know that God is a deliverer, with a bible full of examples of Him delivering, and snatching His people out from the consequences of their sin and bad decisions…

Psalm 34:17 (NKJV)

¹⁷ The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears,
And delivers them out of all their troubles.

The fact is that some of our bad decisions are made out of our own human weaknesses. God made us all, which means He gave us both our strengths and our weaknesses.

We sometimes make mistakes and choose unwisely, even after we pray for guidance, and there are always lessons to be learned.

So, this short prayer is for those times you find yourself living out the consequences of a bad decision, and you have learned your lesson.

It’s a short prayer for two of God’s greatest benefits…mercy and deliverance.

“Our heavenly Father as I present myself to you right now please accept me in the name of our Risen Savior, Yeshua, the anointed One, Jesus Christ.

Thank you for your unfailing love and faithfulness, even when my love fails and I’m unfaithful.

I also thank you for the abundant blessing of more than enough for today.

Now, I come to you with a specific request…

Please have mercy on me and forgive me from all my sins, blot out all my transgressions, and cleanse me from all my unrighteousness. I’m so sorry for hurting you, and sometimes putting you to open shame.

Please Father, grant me wisdom from my mistakes, and please deliver me from the consequences of my bad decisions, if it be your holy will.

Please snatch me out of this painful place, bring glory to your name through my life, and anoint me to walk in the anointing, authority, influence and victory You’ve ordained for my life as a testimony of my love for You and trust in You.

I ask this specific prayer in the Name and Authority of Your Son and My Saviour, the Lamb of God, Yeshua, Christ Jesus.

Amen.”

Yes, sometimes we must live out the consequences and lie in the bed we’ve made. But, sometimes God will come and snatch us out of that bed, if we ask.

Psalm 130 (NKJV)

Out of the depths I have cried to You, O Lord;
² Lord, hear my voice!
Let Your ears be attentive
To the voice of my supplications.

³ If You, Lord, should ^[a]mark iniquities,
O Lord, who could stand?
⁴ But there is forgiveness with You,
That You may be feared.

⁵ I wait for the Lord, my soul waits,
And in His word I do hope.
⁶ My soul waits for the Lord
More than those who watch for the morning—
Yes, more than those who watch for the morning.

⁷ O Israel, hope in the Lord;
For with the Lord there is mercy,
And with Him is abundant redemption.
⁸ And He shall redeem Israel
From all his iniquities.

BE BLESSTIFIED!

One of my greatest disappointments in ‘growing up’ was realizing how much we really don’t. You can look at some adults and sometimes easily tell who was the cry baby, the know it all, the spoiled child…the one who took their toys and went home when they didn’t get their way.

You can work in an office, school, store, restaurant, or even a church and you’ll find the same thing…proof that some of us never really grow up. Many work places aren’t much different from high school…

You have the so-called…

Popular/Cool kids

Nerds

Jocks

Preps

Bullies

Loners

You have those with aggravatingly high levels of ‘school spirit’ and those who ‘smoke in the bathroom’ and could care less…those who are ‘company people’ and those who spend most of their day in the designated smoking area.

You have those who ‘remind the teacher (boss) we have a test’…those who can’t wait to remind the boss of that meeting that no one wanted to have.

You have those who are always late for class and never have their assignments…those always late for work and hold up the process, the line…progress because they haven’t done their part.

You have the teacher’s pet…those who love ‘kissing the bosses behind’ trying to get noticed or get ahead, and you see it sometimes backfire on them at work just as it did in school.

You have those who keep their ‘desk’ in perfect condition…those whose desk is an organized mess…and those whose desk is a disaster area.

School should be a place where all children can go to learn in peace and safety…be challenged and enjoy rewarding friendships.

Our workplaces should be places where we can earn a living for ourselves or our families and be respected as adults.

Does any of this sound familiar to you?

Both school and workplaces are ruined by the same things…

Selfishness

Immaturity

Over Ambition

Arrogance

Untrustworthy

Cliques

People who forget the real reason they’re at WORK.

God’s word tells us that we should always be mindful to treat others not only as we want to be treated…

Matthew 7:12 (NKJV)

¹² Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.

But, also better than ourselves…

Philippians 2:3 (NKJV)

³ Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself.

God also expects us to do whatever it takes within us to get along with others…

Romans 12:18 (NKJV)

¹⁸ If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.

The bible teaches us that God expects us to be ‘perfect’. But, perfect in the bible does not mean without fault. It means ‘mature’ (according to Strong’s Concordance Greek teleios means mature or consummated).

Matthew 5:48 (NKJV)

⁴⁸ Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect

Philippians 3:15 (NKJV)

¹⁵ Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind; and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you.

When you’re in fourth grade, you should be at that proper level of development…intellectually, emotionally, behaviorally and socially. You aren’t expected to be in the fourth grade on an eight grade level…or vice versa. If you are on your appropriate level of development, according to the bible you are ‘perfect’ or mature.

The problem is that in our workplaces…too many people remained at the ‘forth grade’ level even though they have moved to ‘high school’. God expects us to grow up.

If we take God’s work serious enough in our homes to instill it within our children, we will find our schools much better places to learn, which will create adults who make our workplaces better places to work.

God’s word will make us grow up.

BE BLESSTIFIED!