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 Corinthians 8:9).

We all have let others down.

We all have hurt others.

We all have done things we are ashamed of…

We all have offended others. There are some people who feel they were better off if they hadn’t met us.

King David was a man after God’s on heart, and he killed for a man for his wife.

Paul was an apostle to the Gentiles..after he was well-known for persecuting the church and consented to the death of Christians.

You can be sure that even after they repented of their sin…even after there was far behind them, they still had people and haters who were affected by their sin.

Haters will hate, and even though they are wrong to hold a grudge, we must be sensitive to the way the feel…let’s be sensitive to the fact that we’re the source of their attitude or actions.

And, if need be we MUST seek their forgiveness. After that, it’s between them and God.

BE BLESSTIFIED!

In His darkest moment, those closest to Him abandoned Him…

Matthew 26:31(NKJV)

 Then Jesus said to them, “All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night, for it is written:

‘I will strike the Shepherd,
And the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’

But, I think that Jesus was cool with that. I know He wasn’t surprised. It was prophesied and He knew they would all scatter.

He knew Peter would follow, but far away. He knew he would deny Him three times to the point of cursing…

Matthew 26:74

Then he began to curse and swear, saying, “I do not know the Man!”

Many times, in the comfort and conveniences of our 21^st Century lifestyles, we will read about or hear in a sermon about the disciples scattering and deserting Jesus just before He went to the cross. We may even think to ourselves, “What a shame”.

We may wonder what we would have done had we been in that situation. I can quickly and confidently answer that…we would have done the same thing.

How do I know that?

Because it was God’s will that they scatter.

What could they have done to prevent Jesus’ crucifixion? Nothing…because it was God’s will.

What good would it have done if they had died with Him, because that’s exactly what would have happened had they stood with Him.

Had they stood with Jesus at that time and were crucified with Him, how would we have gotten the Gospels? Who would have told us of what they experienced while they were with Him?

He was preparing them to spread the Gospel, not to die with Him.

He was preparing them to GO….not DIE….at least not yet.

Matthew 28:19 (NKJV)

Go 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,

Think about it like this…

Jesus could have stayed here longer. He could have put off the cross until His disciples were stronger…but He didn’t.

Jesus left them while they were WEAK enough to scatter and desert Him, but STRONG enough to get it back together and continue.

I believe that Christ was glad they scattered.

So, stop worrying about those who have…

Left you…

Abandoned you…

Deserted you…

Ignored you…or

Betrayed you.

Stop and look for God in it.

The next time that someone leaves you…look for God in it.

And, remember, that sometimes we must share in His sufferings…

Romans 8:17 (NKJV)

 And if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.

Yes, they scattered and deserted Him, but that’s not how the story ended…And, that’s why I believe that Jesus was glad they left Him alone.

BE BLESSTIFIED!

The Chamber, that’s what they called the room on the 4^th floor in which the Information Technology team worked. They were intentionally shut off from the rest of the building…There were no windows. They enjoyed the privacy and freedom from interruption, but unless they left the room, they didn’t know if the sun shined or if it rained.

Unfortunately, one day something went wrong with the alarm system, and they didn’t get warning there was a fire in the building. As Jim, the Department Manager opened the door he noticed smoke coming from the stairwell designated as the fire exit. He quickly told his team they must hurry into the fire exit before it’s too late. However, rather than rush into the fire exit as Jim said, the team immediately team looked at Dorothy, who was an Analyst.

Why?

Because Dorothy was the person on the team everyone went to with their problems. She was kind. Dorothy always seemed genuinely concerned. She always listened. She always honored her commitments. She remained calm at times of crisis, and she very rarely complained. In fact, she was almost always positive in negative situations.

They liked her.

They respected her.

They trusted her.

Jim had the TITLE, but Dorothy had the INFLUENCE.

Dorothy paused a moment and deduced the fire might have actually been set in the fire exit , and she advised to take the main stairwell, which would normally be avoided. The team quickly moved on Dorothy’s advice and exited the building.

You don’t have to be the President, CEO, Governor, Mayor, General Manager, Director or Pastor to change things…all you need is influence.

When people feel you believe in them, they will believe in you.

Remember, Jesus took a rag-tag group of men, and inspired them to change the world after a shameful death.

If you inspire people, make them smile, or comfort them, they will always value you.

Use your influence to be a blessing to the Kingdom of God…

Use your influence to save souls…that’s why God gave it to you.

1 Corinthians 1:27 (NKJV)

²⁷ But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty;

BE BLESSTIFIED!

God is a Spirit…

John 4:24 (NKJV)

²⁴ God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

 God is invisible…

1 John 4:12 (NKJV)

¹² No one has seen God at any time.

God is not male or female…

Numbers 23:19 (NKJV)

¹⁹ “God is not a man, that He should lie,
Nor a son of man, that He should repent.

God does not have a face, hands, feet, arms, legs, a mouth, a heart or a brain…

God doesn’t breath…

He is a Spirit.

He’s 100% God.

The earth and universe cannot contain Him.

1 Kings 8:27 (NKJV)

²⁷ “But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain You. How much less this temple which I have built!

He does not need time…He is outside of time…He is eternal.

Jesus is THE image of and represents the invisible God bodily.

Colossians 1:15 (NKJV)

¹⁵ He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.

Colossians 2:9 (NKJV)

⁹ For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily;

He was there in the beginning. Elohim is a plural noun.

Genesis 1:26 (NKJV)

²⁶ Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness;

He appeared several times before He took the form of the Son of God…Mary’s son.

Daniel 3:25 (NKJV)

²⁵ “Look!” he answered, “I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire; and they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.”

He took on the form of sinful flesh, using a body as a male.

Romans 8:3 (NKJV)

³ For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh,

 He is 100% God and was 100% man.

Philippians 2:6 (NKJV)

⁶ who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God,

He and Yahweh (God) are ONE (Elohim).

Angels are Spiritual beings that minister to God and to saints.

Hebrews 1:14 (NKJV)

¹⁴ Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation?

They occupy different celestial bodies, but can take human form.

Isaiah 6:2 (NKJV)

² Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew.

 They are neither male nor female…just like God.

When they take human form, they HAVE to use a male or female body.

Hebrews 13:2 (NKJV)

² Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels

Your spirit/soul/essence/consciousness, or however you want to say it, is invisible.

You can’t see it.

He places it in a male or female body.

Genesis 5:2 (NKJV)

² He created them male and female, and blessed them and called them Mankind in the day they were created.

 We are placed within time, for now.

You are 100% spirit and 100% human, for now.

You can be a father or mother, son or daughter, brother or sister, manager or subordinate…all at the same time, yet be one person.

You as a father won’t relate to others in the same authority as you do as a brother, or a boss, or a coach, or a preacher. Each ‘person’ within you has a different authority, but you’re still one person.

Because we are 100% spirit and 100% human…

Aren’t we mind, body and spirit?

Because we have several authorities, or ‘persons’ within us, yet remain one person…

THEN…

It shouldn’t be so hard to understand that the authorities in ONE God can be ONE.

‘Trinity’ is just a word used to describe the essence of God.

He is not three God’s; He is one, just as we are person…

That’s what it means when He made us in His image. Not that we physically look like Him, but that we can have His essence. That we can communicate with Him. That we can feel as He feels, and LOVE as He loves.

God sometimes describes Himself to us anthropomorphically (ascribing human characteristics) for our benefit, to help us relate to Him…to help us understand Him.

The more we understand God, the easier it is for us love Him and help explain Him to others.

BE BLESSTIFIED!

If this blesses you, please share it with someone else whom you feel it will bless.

BE BLESSTIFIED!

Most of us are very busy, with many responsibilities pulling us many different ways, but God is good and has given us many means to sustain our lives. He has given us…
JOBS to sustain us financially…

FAMILIES to sustain us emotionally and with love and support…

Assemblies of The Most High to help sustain us spiritually…

But if we aren’t careful, we can allow the things that are MEANT TO SUSTAIN OUR LIVES DRAIN THE LIFE OUT OF US.
WORK/CAREER…

God has blessed us with jobs and careers to earn the money to provide for ourselves and our families. It is God’s will that we all work, as the bible says that anyone who doesn’t work shouldn’t eat (2Thessalonians 3:10). We must be very careful however to not allow our jobs and careers drain the life out of us. Yes, jobs can be demanding physically, emotionally and spiritually. We have to deal with coworkers, bosses and customers that take our patience to the edge. I know sometimes we have to work extended hours…but some choose to do so because they either want more material things or have obligated themselves with more. Not all ‘deadbeat parents’ live away from their children. Many neglect quality time with their family when they don’t have to do so. Many compromise their respect, values and sometimes Christian character trying to get promoted and ‘climb the ladder”. Many come home from work depleted, grumpy wanting to be left alone with no energy left for anything else.
FAMILY…

Families are a blessing (Psalm 68:6), meant to enrich our lives and to be the foundation of the Body of Christ, but sometimes the demands of family can drain us also. The stress of responsibilities, managing relationships, family rivalries, trying to be everything to everyone can drain us too. Home should be a place of peach and not drama. Sometimes we can bring stresses that originated outside the home, inside the home. It’s important to spend quality time with one another, but it’s also necessary to spend some quality, peaceful moments alone with just you and God, so that our family life doesn’t drain us.
CHURCH…

Yes we must even be responsible in how we allocate our WORSHIP/REST to be obedient. It is very clear that God intends for His family to fellowship together, worship together and most of all, work together for His Kingdom. He told us clearly in Hebrews 10:25 that we aren’t to forsake assembling together. However, some people have ‘established their own righteousness’ by staying in church ALL DAY LONG. Some have established a church culture going to church school early in the morning, then they have worship service which is GOOD AND SUFFICIENT…but they then regularly have another service and/or rush or rush to visit another church for an afternoon service and sometimes have an evening service later. They then start their work weeks TIRED AND DRAINED because they worshiped and had fellowship but did not rest TOO as commanded. God COMMANDED THAT WE WORSHIP AND REST. If we don’t get rest we are being disobedient. We are to refresh ourselves so we can have energy to work and do Kingdom work during the week. Yes, there is the example of Paul preaching all night in Acts Chapter 20 but that wasn’t the norm, he did that because he planned to leave the next day. God intends for church to REFRESH AND ENRICH us, not drain us.

God intends for our lives to have BALANCE…don’t allow what’s meant to SUSTAIN YOUR LIFE…DRAIN YOUR LIFE.

BE BLESSTIFIED

It’s amazing how people will ALLOW a coach to ‘cuss’ their children…how they expect a drill Sargeant to sternly say anything get the best out of a soldier…but get pissed off at the preacher for a raised, or using sharp words to reprove and rebuke…

2 Timothy 4:2 (KJV)

 2 Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and doctrine

To REPROVE is to disapprove, to chide to the face as worthy of blame, to expose, to convict.

To REBUKE is to reprimand, strongly warn, restrain.

EXHORTATION is encouragement..

Those who believe the word of God and accept the authority and hierarchy in the church understand what God expects of a Pastor.

Jesus, Yeshua, Himself spoke strong words to the religious leaders, those who were closest to Him, and those who rejected Him…

Hypocrites…( Matthew 15, Matthew 23)

Perverted…(Matthew 17)

Brood of vipers…(Matthew 12, Matthew 23)

Foolish…(Luke 24)

White-washed tombs…(Matthew 23)

And most offensive of all, He called them BASTARDS…

John 8:37-45 (NKJV)

 37 “I know that you are Abraham’s descendants, but you seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you. 38 I speak what I have seen with My Father, and you do what you have seen with[l] your father.”

39 They answered and said to Him, “Abraham is our father.”

Jesus said to them, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would do the works of Abraham. 40 But now you seek to kill Me, a Man who has told you the truth which I heard from God. Abraham did not do this. 41 You do the deeds of your father.”

Then they said to Him, “We were not born of fornication; we have one Father—God.”

42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and came from God; nor have I come of Myself, but He sent Me. 43 Why do you not understand My speech? Because you are not able to listen to My word. 44 You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it. 45 But because I tell the truth, you do not believe Me.

 Read all of John 8 for context. They got so angry at Jesus that they took up stones to kill Him.

After calling the Pharisees hypocrites, the disciples told Jesus…

Matthew 15:12 (NKJV)

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

 Remember, Jesus’ rebukes were not just for the hypocritical religious leaders, but also for those closest to Him as in Matthew 17:17.

We must be reminded that love isn’t always delicate, sugary sweet words, warm feelings and heavenly promises…sometimes it’s a reminder of Hell.

When a parent disciplines or gives a child strong correction, it doesn’t mean he or she doesn’t love them.

God will hold the preacher accountable when the people aren’t warned about sin, which sometimes applies to the preacher too.

Ezekial 33: 1-9 (NASB)

And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ² “Son of man, speak to the sons of your people and say to them, ‘If I bring a sword upon a land, and the people of the land take one man from among them and make him their watchman, ³ and he sees the sword coming upon the land and blows on the trumpet and warns the people, ⁴ then he who hears the sound of the trumpet and does not take warning, and a sword comes and takes him away, his blood will be on his own head. ⁵ He heard the sound of the trumpet but did not take warning; his blood will be on himself. But had he taken warning, he would have delivered his life. ⁶ But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet and the people are not warned, and a sword comes and takes a person from them, he is taken away ^[a]in his iniquity; but his blood I will require from the watchman’s hand.’

⁷ “Now as for you, son of man, I have ^[b]appointed you a watchman for the house of Israel; so you will hear a ^[c]message from My mouth and give them warning from Me. ⁸ When I say to the wicked, ‘O wicked man, you will surely die,’ and you do not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity, but his blood I will require from your hand. ⁹ But if you on your part warn a wicked man to turn from his way and he does not turn from his way, he will die in his iniquity, but you have delivered your life.

And, warning people about sin isn’t judging, warning isn’t condemnation, it’s helping the hearers avoid condemnation.

Let us all listen with spiritual ears, when we hear words of correction, and always measure it against the word of God and not our feelings.

BE BLESSTIFIED!

How much of yourself…your time do you give to others?
Here on earth, time is life. You can get back lost money, but you can never get back time.

When you sacrifice your time for someone, you’re giving away part of your life.

Jesus said….

John 15:13

Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

YOU DON’T HAVE TO DIE TO LAY DOWN YOUR LIFE FOR SOMEONE.

Many have given up their dreams so that someone else can pursue theirs.

There are those who spend and have spent years taking care of others…serving others. Serving others is giving up your time for someone else.

Who in your life is giving up their time for you?

Who are your sacrificing your time for?

One of the greatest measures of love is giving up what you can never get back…TIME.

BE BLESSTIFIED!

As gradual as it happens, it still can sometimes seem sudden. We slowly see ourselves moving into the roles of those who were older than us. As one generation moves on, another generation takes its place. We see ourselves begin to look like our parents or our grandparents, we may even remember when they were our age.

What’s important to us and our values begin to change… well at least they should.

I encourage everyone to value the blessing of getting older and to and embrace your new role in your family, in your church and in society.

Getting older is a blessing!

It should represent experience, wisdom and respect. Don’t let the way our Western culture’s glorification of youth, and lack of respect for getting older make you a person who doesn’t know how to embrace their age and role.

There are too many people in their twenties trying to be teenagers…

Too many thirty-somethings acting as if they’re college age…

Too many in their forties and fifties acting half their age…

And even senior citizens trying to show how ‘hip’ they are and that they ‘still got it’.

If you’re a parent…act like it.

If you’re a grandparent…act like it.

Be young at heart, but mature in mind…

Stay active, have fun, try to always look your best for your age, but make sure it’s appropriate for your age.

Ease into your next role in life with grace.

PROVERBS 16:31
A gray head is a crown of glory; It is found in the way of righteousness

BE BLESSTIFIED