It’s easy to read the gospels and think, shame on the scribes, Pharisees, Saducees and religious establishment that so often confronted, questioned and even corrected Jesus. But, if we’re honest with ourselves, many of us would have done the same thing if we were living then.

How do I know? Because that’s what many of us do, sometimes unintentionally, today.

Allow me to use the wedding in Cana (John 2:1-12), you know where Jesus performed His first recorded public miracle, to give a hypothetical example.

What if there was a man or woman who planned to go to that wedding, but one of the ‘church people’ told him or her, “Well, I’m not going, and I would advise that you don’t go. I’ve heard they will be drinking there. Based on that ‘churchy’ advice, the man or woman did not go. We all know that when they ran out of…

Early in His ministry, Jesus was confronted by the enemy as recorded in Matthew 4:1-11,  He was confronted/attacked while His FLESH was weakest. He had been fasting for 40 days. The enemy tried to catch Jesus in His flesh’s most vulnerable state. But, even though Jesus’ flesh was weak, His will was strong. Jesus knows us, and He knows our flesh gets weak too, that’s why He encourages us…

Matthew 26:41  (NKJV)

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

Even though Jesus’ flesh was weak, His Spirit and resolve was still willing and strong.

Why?

Because He fought off the enemy’s attack with the WORD OF GOD. The word of God is our most powerful weapon against the enemy.

Why does God test us when He already knows what we will do?

He doesn’t have to ‘find out’ how strong we are…He already knows.

He doesn’t have to see what we will choose…He already knows.

Yes, God tests us so WE can see how strong we are…or aren’t. Just like any other assessment, tests let us know where we stand, and where we need to grow.

Tests allow others to benefit from witnessing our strength, and to learn from our mistakes…

However, there is one more reason God tests us that is so obvious in scripture, but we if we aren’t careful we’ll miss it…

God somtimes wants to prove a point to the enemy.

God knows the outcome beforehand, but the enemy doesn’t.

The enemy thinks he can tempt you to do anything he wants and put God to open shame.

God loves it when we prove the…

ENOUGH FOOD for a snack.

ENOUGH WATER to
wash your hair, car or water your lawn.

ENOUGH CLOTHES for two days.

ENOUGH SHELTER to cover yourself.

ENOUGH STRENGTH to bathe yourself.

ENOUGH SENSE to
know your name.

ENOUGH FAITH to
know God through Yeshua, Christ Jesus.

Remember that many of our worries spring from worrying about
tomorrow. If God has given you enough for today…

You’re blessed!

If you have something left over for tomorrow at the end of
the day…

Your abundantly blessed!

There are many in the world would LOVE THE LUXURY of a snack, clean water and a change of clothes for
two days.

Don’t let our society and culture of excess allow you to
become unthankful or think God is mistreating you because of what you don’t
have. Do most people you know have more than enough for one day?

I encourage you to stop and…

Okay, you were hurt. BAD!

Not only that, but you were hurt by someone who loves you. Someone who is close to you. Someone who instead of having your back, instead of scratching your back…stabbed you in it…talked about you behind it…didn’t watch it.

But, you know what the word of God says…

Matthew 18:21-22 (NKJV)

²¹ Then Peter came to Him and said, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?” ²² Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.

Plus, the relationship you have with them is important to you. It’s bigger than the betrayal. It’s bigger than the denial. It’s bigger than the pain they caused you, so you make up your mind to forgive them. And, the fact is that you know that as much as…

Let me say first that I’m not excusing adultery, fornication or any other sexual sin. These sins also result from an innate, natural desire that we don’t ask for, and people make a choice to commit these sins based on that desire.

However, there are many people who are now trying to defend homosexuality by saying that Jesus never addressed it, or forbade it. They say only the Apostle Paul addressed it, and some even try to contend that he wasn’t really talking about homosexuality.

I’m going to keep this short and sweet.

We all know there are several sins that Jesus never directly addressed…

Rape…

Incest…

Domestic Abuse…

Bestiality…

Gossip…

Jealousy…

To name a few.

Jesus didn’t even say directly that getting drunk is a sin. It was indirect.

He did address marriage, fornication adultery and divorce.
And, no one disputes that the LORD only permits sex within marriage.

STOP GIVING THE ENEMY A VICTORY HE NEVER WON!

Body of Christ, stop playing the victim! Stop giving the enemy a victory that he never won!

I often hear people lament that one of the reasons our public school systems have declined and are declining is because we have allowed prayer to be taken out of schools. I humbly submit to you today…

IF YOU’RE PRAYING AT HOME, PRAYER IS STILL IN SCHOOLS…

IF YOU PRAY OVER AND FOR YOUR CHILDREN, PRAYER IS STILL IN SCHOOLS…

IF YOU’VE TAUGHT YOUR CHILDREN TO PRAY, PRAYER IS STILL IN SCHOOLS…

I wonder how many of the people who complain about prayer being taken out of schools actually teach their children to pray, pray with their children or have family prayer at home.

God gave parents the responsibility to instill the appreciation for prayer in their children,  promote a culture of prayer in…

God is…

All-powerful!

All-knowing!

And, everywhere at the same time.

There is nothing impossible to Him, but there’s still a few things He can’t do…

He can’t die.

He can’t lie.

He can’t fail…

And, He can’t be a MOTHER.

Yes, I know we say He’s a father to the fatherless and a mother to the motherless…and He can fill those voids in our lives, but…

Notice what Psalm 68:5 says…

A father of the fatherless, a defender of widows,
Is God in His holy habitation.

It says that our loving heavenly FATHER is to the fatherless, but not a mother to the  motherless.

He’s our FATHER, but,

God gave a special role to women. He gave them honor of being the first connection to every life on this earth. To nurture every life…to introduce every person to the world, and with that role comes a special bond. There’s…

Please don’t let this world and even many of those in the church’s perverted view of the word ‘blessed’. Here are quick reasons to stop right now to stop and tell God thank you…

CLEAN WATER

There are many people in the world who have to walk for miles for access to dirty water. But, most of the people reading this today not only have access to clean water, but they have it on demand in their homes through multiple faucets. How much money do you spend on bottled water? Think about it, while some people have to dig…and dig…and dig searching for wells or have to drink the same water as their livestock, most of us have water to wash our vehicles and water our lawns.

Stop right now and thank God for the blessing of clean water.

ENOUGH FOOD FOR TODAY

God told us in His word that…

We all know that God expects us to love everyone, even our enemies. And, we also know that’s not always easy to do. Sometimes peoples’ actions can take us beyond not just liking them.

There are people who clearly don’t like us, people who don’t have the same beliefs, values and opinions. People who we feel don’t respect our traditions, heritages and cultures. Those who unapologetically work against us and try to hurt. People who hate us.

Well, the fact that God forbids us to hate people hasn’t changed, but He does allow us to hate THINGS about people. So, the next time you look at someone in such intense anger that hate begins to fill your heart, here are a few things that it’s okay to hate ABOUT people…

Their behavior…

Their attitude…

Their habits…

Their clothes…

Their taste…

Their traditions…

Their temper…

Even the organizations and institutions they…

We need to learn to replace the words ‘blame’ and ‘fault’ with ‘responsible’.

Blame and fault are negative; Responsibility is positive.

Blame shifts responsibility or refuses to accept it.

Fault encourages one to pass the buck to protect themselves.

Have you ever blamed someone else when you were responsible?

Telling someone ‘I blame you’  or ‘it’s your fault will likely make them defensive.

But, telling them ‘It’s your responsibility’ or ‘we all make mistakes’ is more will likely make them be accountable.

The enemy is always looking for opportunities to provoke us to sin so he can blame and accuse us.

Revelation 12:10 (NKJV)

¹⁰ Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, “Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down.

The enemy wants you to keep your head down. The enemy wants you silent about the Lord. The enemy wants you to sit down on your calling, anointing and purpose. He does this is by manipulating you to FOCUS ON YOUR FAILURES AND FLAWS. He wants you to feel unworthy to speak up or ‘live out loud’ for Christ. You may have made huge mistakes, FINANCIALLY, IN RELATIONSHIPS, even MORALLY…you know what haunts you.

Please notice that God continued to use David as a psalmist and leader, even after he had a man killed to take his wife, God didn’t tell him that he couldn’t continue to serve as King (2 Samuel 12:1-13).

In fact, some of David’s most powerful psalms came AFTER his greatest sin.

God already knew the sin that David would commit even when He initially anointed him. Because of his repentant heart, his sin didn’t disqualify…

No matter how many problems you have. No matter how many issues you’re struggling with. No matter how little money, influence or resources you may have. God has still given you the solution to someone else’s problem.

Even if your meal is free, God has equipped you to bring something of value to the table.

It may not have a dollar $ign…

Encouragement…

Inspiration

Entertainment

Education

Strength

Support

A shoulder…

An ear…

A voice…

To the friendship…

To the marriage.

To the team.

To the organization.

To your church.

To a stranger.

Even if you’re broke, you can be the key to someone’s breakthrough.

Not only no matter your situation, but BECAUSE of your situation, God is strategically positioning you with the people and places where you can be a blessing.

Remember this…

James 2:5(NKJV)

5 Listen, my beloved brethren: Has God not chosen the poor of this world to be

Our challenge is to love the sinner without condoning or justifying the sinful lifestyle…while we struggle with our own.

Our challenge is to call out sin and warn of it’s consequences in spite of our own imperfections, faults, failures and weaknesses.

We must remember that calling out sin, warning about it’s consequences and holding one another accountable is not judging…it’s our responsibility.

Condemnation and stating what we believe is in someone’s heart is judging.

None of us are perfect. Far from it. But, God still expects us to warn about the consequences of sin.

The truth is that none of us are never at any moment, ‘sinless’. Does that make us all hypocrites?

Nope. God justifies us and ‘views us as righteous’ only through faith our Lord and Savior Christ Jesus.

Romans 3:23  (NKJV)

²³ for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

Romans 5:1…

I often hear many of my fellow Christians say that they don’t believe in luck.  They say that since God is in control, there is no such thing as luck. They say that since they have God’s grace, they have no need for luck.

Romans 8:28  (NKJV)

²⁸ And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.

Romans 3:23-25  (NKJV)

²³ for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ²⁴ being justified ^[a]freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, ²⁵ whom God set forth as a ^[b]propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed,

But, what about those who DON’T have grace?

If grace is ONLY for the believer…

So many times we are told what we should do, but not told how to do it. It’s easy to teach and preach what the bible says, but it doesn’t do much good if you don’t give people the tools to do it.

One great example is when we’re told to love our enemies. We all know and acknowledge what Jesus teaches us…

Matthew 5:43-48 (NKJV)

43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’44 [a]But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, 45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward have…

It’s one of the oldest and most contentious discussions, interracial marriages. Marrying outside of one’s own race angers some people to the point they would kill to protect the ‘purity’ of their own. Just as with other controversial issues, people either twist, misunderstand or cherry pick bible verses to suit their purpose, agenda or desires.

So when both or all sides of an issue are using the bible as their foundation, how do you know which is in harmony with God’s truth?

I’ve officiated several interracial weddings, and this information is a part of my premarital counseling sessions. I want to give ammunition to people to defend their relationships.

Let’s look at some verses used by those who WANT God to say interracial marriage  is forbidden…

Deuteronomy 7:1-5 (NKJV)

 When the Lord your God brings you into the land which you go to possess, and has cast out many nations before…

Just say WOW instead, it takes the same number of letters.

It’s one on the most common acronyms now…OMG! The texting world has infected our day-to-day speech.

Of course you know that OMG is an acronym for “Oh My God!

These days, people very casually say “OMG” to express surprise, astonishment, amazement, shock, disbelief, etc., without any thought they are referring to God.

But, OMG isn’t just referring to God…it proclaims to “MY” God! The one true and living God!

We all know that the bible commands that we don’t take the NAME of the Lord in vain…

Exodus 20:7 (NKJV)

…but does OMG do that? It’s not like using His name when cursing, as so many people do…is it?

Well, what…

If God makes it so easy to join His organization (Romans 10:9), why do we make it so hard to join  some of ours?

I was watching a television show in which a young lady hoping to join a prestigious college band was beaten into intensive care during her initiation, and it was swept under the rug and defended by those in authority to protect their tradition.

I’ve heard many comment and reason that such behavior is just ‘part of the process’…that some initiations and inductions are just ‘part of growing up’.

I’ve heard that enduring this foolishness with others breeds loyalty, brotherhood/sisterhood, comradery, etc.

Now, I’m sure some of you reading will defend it out of loyalty to your own beloved organizations and traditions, but if you’re a Christian…if you know God’s word…if you know the character and culture of His Kingdom…and if you’re honest with yourself, you…

STOP PLAYING WITH GOD’S PRAISE…AND HIS NAME

There was a time when God’s name was referenced more. We need to be careful how we refer to God casually and not in reverence…how we let what is meant to be praise be reduced to idle words. Look at what Jesus said about idle words…

Matthew 12:36-37(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. ³⁷ For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

We must make sure that we never play with His praise. Many movies, plays and songs, have turned what is meant to be sincere praise into a joke, or cliché…

Please don’t say HALLELUJAH unless you’re really praising Him.
And, don’t play with it.

Please stop saying “HALLELUYER!”

Remember this…

JAH (YAH) is…

Have you ever noticed that many times in order to be healed physically, we must endure some pain?

Sometimes we have to have our skin PIERCED by needles.

Sometimes we must endure being CUT open with a scalpel.

How many times have you noticed an itch or irritation as a cut or sore heals?

Medicines can taste unpleasant.

Pills can be hard to swallow.

Most prescriptions have some uncomfortable side effects.

Even emotionally as we process the pain of disappointments and losses in our lives, we endure some emotional and psychological pain.

Yes, time heals wounds, but as we heal…we endure pain.

If we think about it, it’s only fair because Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, endured such great pain for us.

Isaiah 53:5

But Hewaswounded for our transgressions,

He wasbruised for our iniquities;

The chastisement for our peacewasupon Him,

AND BY HIS STRIPES…

Sometimes we have people who don’t like us, just because they don’t want to like us.
Sometimes we have people who go as far as to work against us or undermine our efforts.

Sometimes people talk about us behind our backs, whether we do good or bad.

Many of these people don’t like us, even though we have done nothing to them…we call these people HATERS.

People even pray that God give them vindication from their haters…

Psalm 25:2(NKJV)

2 O my God, I trust in You;
Let me not be ashamed;
Let not my enemies triumph over me.

But, when we’re honest with ourselves, we have given some of our HATERS as good reason to dislike us.

Yes, God expects us to be loving, and God expects us to be forgiving, but God also commands that we don’t be an offender or a ’stumbling block’ to others (Matthew 18:6,1…

How big is your vision?

God has given you vision and purpose, but He didn’t give it to you only for yourself. And, even though God gave it to you, you cannot carry it out alone.

Even Yeshua, Christ Jesus, had chosen men and women to help carry out His vision and purpose…

Matthew 28:19 (NKJV)

¹⁹ Go ^[a]therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

 Luke 8:1-3  (NKJV)

8 Now it came to pass, afterward, that He went through every city and village, preaching and ^[a]bringing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God. And the twelve were with Him, ² and certain women who had been healed of evil spirits and ^[b]infirmities—Mary called Magdalene, out of whom had come seven demons, ³ and Joanna the…

Don’t get angry AND sin; Get angry AT sin…

Matthew 21:12-13 (NKJV)

¹² Then Jesus went into the temple of God and drove out all those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. ¹³ And He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a ‘den of thieves.’”

As Jesus walked in and saw the building dedicated to God’s worship being used for commerce, He was filled with anger.

He wasn’t consumed with anger…

He wasn’t ‘mad’…

He wasn’t pissed off…

It was a controlled, righteous anger.

God’s righteous anger is noted throughout the bible, but God doesn’t angry AND sin;

He gets angry AT sin.

God tells us to get angry and sin not…

Ephesians 4:26 (NIV)

“In your anger do…

One morning back in 1999 while getting ready to go to church I received a phone call from a young friend of mine from jail…

He said, “Brother Al, I need to talk to you brother! I can’t do this! This is my third time being locked up, and I know that I will be away from my family for a very long time. I really need to talk to you!”

I responded, “Okay, I will stop by to talk to you as soon as I get out of church”.

I had ministered to this brother by phone and letters while he was in prison before. My phone would ring and I’d hear… “You have a call from ____________ at the ____________ Center for Corrections.” I would quickly respond, “Yes”.

He was very sincere, and He told me that he had been brought back to Christ while in prison. Not…

Have you ever noticed how little the bible says about being NICE?

Does God ever tell us to be nice? To the contrary, the bible says be careful when men speak well of you…thats being nice.

Luke 6:26  (NKJV)

26 Woe to you[a] when all[b] men speak well of you,
For so did their fathers to the false prophets.

The bible speaks of men flattering and blessing with their mouths but, hiding what’s in their hearts.

Psalm 5:9 (NKJV)

9 For there is no faithfulness in their mouth;
Their inward part is destruction;
Their throat is an open tomb;
They flatter with their tongue.

Psalm 62:4New King James Version (NKJV)

4 They only consult to cast him down from his high position;
They delight in lies;
They bless with their mouth,
But they curse inwardly. 

That’s being nice.

There’s a reason that being nice isn’t a fruit of…

Notice what Jesus prayed for before He went to the cross in John 17. Notice how many times He said,”ONE”.

John 17:20-23 (NKJV)

 20 “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; 21 that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. 22 And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: 23 I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.

Now, notice how many times He said I and my father are ONE.

John 10:30 (NKJV)

 ³⁰ I and My