Original, daily devotionals, inspiration and more from a fresh, "Hey! I never thought about it like that before" perspective.
#encouragement
Just as some plants are only beautiful for a season, and some others flourish year round…
The glory of this life is temporary, but our eternal glory will never fade away.
Romans 8:18 (NKJV)
18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.
Isaiah 40:8 (NKJV)
8 The grass withers, the flower fades,
But the word of our God stands forever.”
BE BLESSTIFIED!
God created us to interact with one another…
God created us to observe one another…
Some interactions last longer than others….those are relationships.
Some interactions changed us…changed our lives.
Some of our interactions and observations have changed us for the better.
Even some one-time interactions/observations have changed us for the better.
When it comes to our spiritual life, if we have accepted Christ as Lord and Savior, we are all someone’s GOOD FRUIT. It could be a parent, grandparent, preacher or stranger…we’re all someone’s fruit…that’s a good change.
John 15:8 (NKJV)
8 By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.
However, some interactions have NOT been beneficial to us…they have changed us for the worse.
Can you think of someone that makes you changed for the better? When you’re honest with yourself, you’re a better person because you know them… because you knew them…because you met them…because you saw them…because you heard them.
You may have never even met them, but something they said, or did affected you…changed you for the better.
Now, can you think of someone that changed you for the worse? When you’re honest with yourself, you would have been better off if you had never known them…met them…saw them…heard them.
Here’s where it gets real. Here’s your self-check.
Whose better off if they never met, heard or saw you?
Why? How did you change them?
This is how we learn what we really need to CHANGE about ourselves.
2 Corinthians 13:5 (NKJV)
5 Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you are disqualified.
I’ve said this before…we have given some of our haters a reason to feel, ‘some kind of way’ about us.
Be careful how YOU change others.
BE BLESSTIFIED.
When the game is on the line. When he or she KNOWS the team is about to lose the game, sometimes they will call a TRICK PLAY, to totally stun the other team to secure the victory.
If the trick play works, they’re a hero and sometimes …
If it doesn’t work, everyone claims that they, ‘Don’t know what they’re doing’!
Sometimes that’s the way it goes with the vision God gave you, especially if it involves…
Some people, even those closest to you will abandon you…talk about you…or even turn on you.
Some people will lose confidence in you…will think your confused…will even think you’re a fool.
When you know in your heart that you have prayed about it…
When you know in your heart that you have fasted about it…
When you know in your heart that you weren’t being selfish…
When you know in your heart that you sincerely felt you were being led by God…
You have to ask God to give you peace with yourself and the fact that others don’t understand.
Remember, Jesus went to the cross with HIS OWN PEOPLE thinking He…
There are those today who think that His vision is taking to long to come to pass.
Jesus called a TRICK PLAY on the cross to beat the devil…
Colossians 2:15 (NKJV)
Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.
Many were expecting a military victory, but Jesus won a spiritual victory!
Are you remaining on His team? Or do you think it’s taking too long?
BE BLESSTIFIED!
God only had Israel march around a city seven times to bring the walls down…ONCE. (Joshua 6)
There was only… ONE…man who had superhuman strength through his hair. (Judges 13-16)
We only know of Jesus putting clay on the eyes of a man to heal his sight…ONCE. (John Chapter 9)
Why?
God wants us to have faith in WHO did it, not HOW He did it.
Putting faith in HOW God did it builds…
SUPERSTITION instead of FAITH.
Put your faith in THE WAY, not THE WAY He does it.
Don’t allow superstition to sneak into your faith.
John 14:6 (NKJV)
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
BE BLESSTIFIED
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
WHEN THE SAVIOR SLEPT…
DID THE LIVING WORD DREAM?
When Jesus’ eyelids grew heavy
From carrying the weight of the world…
Did He dream…
…of returning to His heavenly home?
…that everyone would accept His precious gift?
Did He fantasize about the joys of a wife and family?
Did He dream of salvation without the cross?
Or, were His nightmares that He would be left down here in this mess?
If we felt it…He felt it.
As we were tempted…He was tempted.
If we endured it…The Lord endured it.
When He submitted Himself to the weakness of our flesh…
He had to hunger.
He had to thirst.
He had to hurt.
He had to hope.
He had to dream…
What do you think the Son of God dreamed about?
You? Me? Eternity?
Hebrews 4:15 (NKJV)
15 For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all…
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We all have weaknesses, all of us. They may be different, but we all have them. Even that person that may seem to have it ‘all together’…who seems so strong, struggles with some weakness(es).
That’s why so many people seem so devastated when someone whom they looked up to had a weakness either become public, or diminish their effectiveness.
The difference in those individuals who seem to be…
So effective…
So confident…
So dependable…
So strong…
IS…
They don’t allow their weaknesses to overpower their strengths.
I live in a suburb of a city that is known for crime, Memphis TN… a huge weakness. Memphis also has several fun, interesting and historically significant attractions.
I’m aware of the national narrative about the Memphis area, and that’s why you don’t see trips to Memphis being given away on many game shows.
Now, there are other cities that have just as much, if not more crime, BUT they have other attractions and destinations that outweigh the crime when people are deciding whether or not visit their cities…these cities have not allowed their weaknesses overpower their strengths.
Actually, Memphis is a city that is enjoying a renaissance of development so that the weaknesses don’t overpower the strengths.
Sometimes as individuals, and particularly as Christians, we can allow our weaknesses to stifle us, or even make us feel that they disqualify us.
Let me quickly remind you of two of God’s greatest contributors to our faith…David and the Apostle Paul.
King David…
David didn’t surprise God when He sinned…God new it would happen when He anointed David. And, David’s sin didn’t disqualify him from being king (2 Samuel Chapter 12)…because he had a truly repentant heart.
Apostle Paul…
However, God used Paul to take the Gospel message to the Gentiles. God knew this when Paul was persecuting the church. God uses Paul to confront the worlds most powerful leader at the time (Acts Chapter 25).
Yes, you have weaknesses…
Yes, sometimes you lose battles with your weaknesses…
But, God has made the same promise to you that he made to Paul when he asked to be delivered from his weakness…
2 Corinthians 12:8-10 (NKJV)
8 Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. 9 And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
David repented…
Paul turned to God for help.
Control your weaknesses…
Strengthen them with God’s help…
But, most of all…
Capitalize on your strengths!
Make the most of THE MOST God gave you.
Don’t allow your weaknesses to overpower your strengths.
BE BLESSTIFIED!
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
BEING BORN IN SIN ISN’T AN EXCUSE FOR ANY OF OUR SINS…
From a Christian Perspective…
Having you ever noticed a child throwing a temper tantrum when it doesn’t get something that it wants? This is a natural reaction that must be overcome as the child matures. The reaction is natural…innate…the child was born with it.
The truth is that we are all born with innate desires, feelings and proclivities that we did not ask for.
Many Christians reason to excuse some behavior by saying, “I or they was or were born this way”. This doesn’t meant that God made a mistake, but the scripture clearly reminds us that we were all born in sin…
Psalm 51:5 (NKJV)
Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
We were all born with desires we didn’t ask for…that doesn’t make them ALL okay. Just because it comes naturally doesn’t make right. Some natural desires we must resist with…
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Sometimes a dream can seem so real.
The colors so vivid…
The voices so clear…
You may have even dreamed that you were asleep and WOKE UP in your dream…
Have you ever spoken or laughed out loud in your sleep because your dream seemed so real?
You think you’re conscious, but you’re not…
You think you’re experiencing life, but you’re not…
But, at some point you realize, This isn’t real… I’m dreaming.
If your dream is bad, you’re relieved…
If it’s good, you may think, “Awwwe mannn!”
Eventually, you’ll have to really WAKE UP!.
Those who are living life without the truth of God’s word through Christ are really sleepwalking.
Jesus told us to let our light shine…why?
Matthew 5:16 (NKJV)
Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.
Ephesians 5:14(NKJV)
Therefore He says:
“Awake, you who sleep,
Arise from the dead,
And Christ will give you light.”
Why? So they can see our good works…glorify God…and wake up.
Wake someone up today.
BE BLESSTIFIED!
We need more SOUL MODELS rather than ROLE MODELS.
Role models show you how to live.
Soul models show you how to live, but prepare you to die.
Role models show you how to live now.
Souls models show you how to live forever.
Role models give you tools to live by.
Soul models give you tools to live and die by.
Role models show you how to look on the outside.
Soul models show you how to look on the inside.
Role models teach us how to be a man or woman.
Soul models teach us to be GREATER than man or woman.
1 Peter 2:12 (NKJV)
12 having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation.
Titus 2:7-8 (NKJV)
7 in all things showing yourself to be a pattern of good works; in doctrine showing integrity, reverence, incorruptibility, 8 sound speech that cannot be condemned, that one who is an opponent may be ashamed, having nothing evil to say of you.
BE BLESSTIFIED!
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
WE HAVE TO CHOOSE SIDES, NOT GOD…
It’s interesting how many people quickly claim, “God’s on my side!”
Sometimes it’s people (or on a larger scale denominations) on both sides of an argument, issue, situation…how is God on everyone’s side?
Many times people will go through the bible, selfishly hand picking scriptures out of context to prove their point.This is reading or using the bible carnally.
God promises TO BE WITH US, as made perfectly clear in…
Romans 8-28-38. Verse 31 asks rhetorically, “If God is FOR US, who can be against us?”
But notice verse 28 says all things work for the good of those who are “CALLED ACCORDING TO HIS PURPOSE”.
Yes, God is with us, but that doesn’t mean that we have ‘a side’. God is WITH US when we are on HIS SIDE.
In John 15:16, Jesus tells us, “You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that…
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Prince’s music is definitely a huge part of the soundtrack of my life, especially my younger days. I enjoy the genius of his artistry..He wasn’t just a singer, but a singer/performer/entertai…
Source: HOW PRINCE INSPIRES ME AS A CHRISTIAN…
Anyone who enjoys boxing wants to see a GOOD FIGHT.
Some have even accused some matches of being FIXED. No one wants to watch or pay for a fight that isn’t good or competitive…so, if it’s fixed, it has to look like a REAL fight. In a fixed fight, the person who is going to win has already been decided, but to camouflage the arrangement, the predestined winner will APPEAR to lose a few rounds…but he or she keeps on fighting because they no that no matter how it looks to everyone else…they are promised the victory.
Those of us in Christ are in a fixed fight, we’ve just been ordained to LOSE a few rounds so that it’s a good fight.
Yes, the devil is a strong adversary that has to be taken seriously. Yes, unfortunately we’ve all lost a few rounds with him, and will lose some more…
Some we lost through concession…we just didn’t fight hard enough.
Some we lost because we weren’t properly prepared through studying the word enough…
Some we lost because we didn’t rest between rounds enough as we’ve been commanded…
Some we lost because we didn’t take our enemy serious enough…
Some we lost because we just weren’t strong enough…
Some it LOOKED like we lost, but we really didn’t (just like Jesus on the cross)
But, remember this…our victory is promised throughout the bible.
Matthew 24:13 (KJV)
13 But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.
Colossians 1:13 (NKJV)
He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love,
Galatians 6:9 (NKJV)
And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.
1 John 4:4 (NKJV)
You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.
Revelation 3:21 (NKJV)
To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.
Revelation 20:10 (NKJV)
The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
We’re guaranteed the victory…we just have to stay in the fight!
BE BLESSTIFIED!
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
TRUSTING YOUR HEART CAN GET YOU IN TROUBLE…
“Trust your heart!” “Follow your heart!” “The heart doesn’t lie!” How many times have you received or given that advice?
Jeremiah 17:9
“The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?
The fact is that we can’t always trust what lies within our hearts.
How much trouble has your heart gotten you into? Our passions, our desires, our motives, even our dreams aren’t always within God’s will.
How much trouble has ‘your heart’ gotten you into?
How many bad relationships?
How many bad purchases?
How many bad decisions?
We can’t even trust our hearts when it comes to what we do for God. Just because we have it in our hearts to do something for God doesn’t necessarily mean it’s His will for us.
David had it in His heart to build a house for God…
1 Kings 8:17-19
Now it was in the heart…
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IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
FOR WHEN YOU DON’T HATE THEM, BUT YOU DON’T LOVE THEM EITHER…
They say there’s a thin line between love and hate. It may not be that the line is so thin, but that people should be totally honest with themselves, because God knows the heart. The fact is…YOU DON’T HAVE TO HATE SOMEONE TO NOT LOVE THEM.
The enemy knows that God commanded us to love everyone….
EVERYONE means EVERYONE.
That’s why he (the enemy) manipulates situations and circumstances to provoke us to NOT LOVE someone who mistreats us, or someone we close to us. He convinces people to engage in behavior to where what we feel for them may not be HATE, but it’s definitely not LOVE.
He then he manipulates you to lie to yourself and say “I love everybody” because it’s the right thing to say, but your feelings and behavior don’t reflect love.
God didn’t tell us to LIKE everyone…but to LOVE everyone.
Just as Jesus says in
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What if God gave you unlimited financial resources…what would you do?
What good would you do?
Who would you help?
What if God gave you a voice…a platform to speak to the world?
What would you say?
What causes would you speak out for?
How responsible would you be?
What if you had unlimited free time?
No job to report to?
No clock to punch?
What would you do with your time?
How would you spend it?
You can tell what you WOULD DO THEN by WHAT YOU’RE DOING with the financial resources you have now, whether it’s little or much.
Even if you’re living paycheck to paycheck, you have the means to help someone in need…your $5 gift or meal can change someone’s world.
You can tell by what you’re doing with your platform now.
What do you say? What don’t you say. What you post or publish? Which conversations to ‘speak up’ and which do you remain silent. How responsible are you with your voice now? Do you speak or post without thinking… praying?
What you’re doing with the time you have now? Do you say you don’t have time? Or, is it that you just don’t TAKE time?
There’s much Kingdom work that takes place through people who have no more free time than you…they just make time.
More money…More influence…and more time only empowers us to be more of who we already are.
Luke 21:1-4 (NKJV)
BE BLESSTIFIED!
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
GOD THOUGHT OF EVERYTHING…
Thy Kingdom Come…
When you stop and take look, you can see God’s wisdom in everything…and I mean EVERYTHING!
God’s first institution established in His Kingdom was the family. He put man and woman together with a plan. He told us to be fruitful and multiply because God wasn’t going to continue creating men from dust or women from men’s ribs.
God gave us the gift of physical intimacy (sex) to bring children into the world, and to enhance our marriages. God wants us to enjoy one another just as much as he wants us to enjoy Him, and that’s very clear in the bible.
Proverbs 5:19 (NKJV)
As a loving deer and a graceful doe,
Let her breasts satisfy you at all times;
And always be enraptured with her love.
Hebrews 13:4 (NKJV)
4 Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled; but fornicators and adulterers God will…
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Daniel 12:4 (NKJV)
4 “But you, Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book until the time of the end; many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase.”
The bible says that in the last days there will be a great increase in knowledge.
That same knowledge that gives us the amazing technology we enjoy…
That same knowledge that gives us the wondrous advances in medicine…
That same knowledge that sends humans into space…
Is the same knowledge that is now trying to say there is no God…
Is the same knowledge that says the bible isn’t God’s word…
Is the same knowledge that says Yeshua, Jesus Christ, is not the Son of God…
Is the same knowledge that’s using the bible against itself, saying, “That’s not what it really means when it says…”
God wants intelligent Christians to “contend for the faith” as mentioned in Jude verse 3.
God wants knowledgeable Christians to reason with unbelievers and skeptics to plant good seeds.
God wants smart Christians to reason with people of other religions, so they can come to know the one true and living God.
God wants intelligent Christians to reason with other believers to bring about more unity in the Body of Christ.
We need to be able to talk to people, not just preach to them.
We need to be willing to hear what they have to say.
We need to know some of what they believe to have an intelligent conversation with them.
We need to know God’s word…history…culture…so we can intelligently share what we believe, and why we believe it.
Notice how the Apostle Paul reasoned with the Epicureans and Stoics, Jews and Gentiles with respect. (Acts 17:16-34)
Notice how the Apostle Paul reasoned with unbelievers without putting them down or disparaging what they believed. (Act 17:22-23)
Notice how not everyone, but some returned to hear more of the Gospel. (Acts 17:32)
Yes, God wants us to be anointed.
Yes, God wants us to have faith.
Yes, God wants us to be virtuous…
But He wants us to be knowledgeable too…
2 Peter 1:5-7 (NKJV)
5 But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge,
When the bible says “Study to show yourself approved…”(2 Timothy 2:15) that means study the bible and beyond so we can be INTELLIGENT BELIEVERS.
BE BLESSTIFIED!
I pray that God gives you the strength to continue hoping for better.
To rebuke the spirits doubt…
To rebuke the spirits fear…
To rebuke the spirit of complaining…
To rebuke the spirits of anxiety…
To rebuke the spirits of regret…
To rebuke the spirits of resentment…
To rebuke the spirits of depression…
To help you avoid worrying…
That He helps any area of unbelief…
To increase your faith through His Spirit and the good seeds that have been planted in you.
That He give increase to the goods seed you have planted for His name sake and for you.
To kill the bad seeds that you have planted that they do not rise up against Him or you.
That His peace guard your heart and mind,
That He protects you…covers you…and allow His angels to keep watch over you…
That He meets you at every point of need…
And, that you can be everything He called you to be in this day…
So that others can be drawn to Him through you.
In the Name and Authority of His only begotten Son, The Living Word, Yeshua, Jesus the Anointed One.
Amen!
BE BLESSTIFIED!
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT…
WHEN YOU’RE GOOD AT SOMETHING YOU DON’T LIKE…
You’re more talented than you may think, and those around you may notice…it’s hidden, but still SOOOOO OBVIOUS! So many people have jobs they don’t particularly like, or have burned out in a job they used to love. They have to work with people with whom they don’t click, or just don’t like. They have to manage their lives with not enough money or resources…but yet they still MAKE IT HAPPEN EVERY DAY.
I think it’s a greater accomplishment to be great at what you hate than to flourish at what you love.
If that’s you, stop right now and give God a praise…HALLELUJAH!!!! God gives us everything we need that pertains to life and Godliness…
2 Peter 1:3 (NKJV)
3 as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue,
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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!
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT…
We love displays of strength in our society, which is most often portrayed through aggression, profanity, fighting, overpowering others and getting even.
Many of our favorite movies are of ‘heroes’ saving the day through a fight. We love to see the guy who was ‘picked on’ finally overpower the bully.
Many times people don’t feel satisfied unless they have ‘given a piece of their mind’ to someone who has crossed them or tried to take advantage of them.
Our society doesn’t feel you have won unless you have ‘kicked their a**’).
We must be careful that we aren’t crossing over into the some of the works of the flesh listed in Galatians 5 when we are defining strength, such as hatred, contentions dissensions or outbursts of wrath.
God is more impressed by inner strength. It takes more strength to RESTRAIN than to RELEASE and lash out.
Our society calls those…
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How does it make you feel when you hear someone whining?
Whining is a total waste of energy…
It’s a verbal expression of worry…
Whining is a verbal pity party.
Whining is a form of complaining, and God hates complaining …
1 Corinthians 10:10 (NKJV)
Nor complain, as some of them also complained, and were destroyed by the destroyer.
It establishes the whiner’s perceived weakness and powerlessness.
Not one time in scripture do we find Jesus whining…
He rejoices…
Luke 10:21a (NKJV)
21 In that hour Jesus rejoiced in the Spirit and said, “I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth…
He weeps…
John 11:35 (NKJV)
35 Jesus wept.
He rebukes…
Matthew 17:8 (KJV)
8 And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very hour.
He even pleads….
Matthew 27:46
46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”[a]
But, He never whines.
Very few people want to hear you whine…
Very few times does whining change the situation….
Have you ever noticed how a group of people whining together feed into each others’ misery?
It becomes a pity party…they validate one anothers’ complaints but accomplishes nothing.
Yes, there are times that we are displeased, dismayed, overlooked, overworked, unappreciated, unhappy…
Sometimes we may even need to rebut, rebuke, protest or protect our interest…
But, do it in strength not weakness.
Don’t whine…
Turn your WHINING INTO WORSHIP
Turn your PITY PARTY INTO A PRAISE PARTY!
BE BLESSTIFIED!
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT…
JUST BECAUSE YOU MESSED UP DOESN’T MEAN YOU CAN’T SPEAK UP…
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 still kept His promises to David. Yes there were consequences for his sin, but he was still a man after God’s own heart…
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IN CASE YOU MISSED IT…
No matter how successful, everyone falls into a rut sometimes. I’m talking about beyond the financial rut we can all fall into, but also physical, emotional, relational or especially SPIRITUAL.
Ruts along our journey have their place in our overall purpose. A well-placed rut, or ditch has a way of keeping us humble…
Yeah…let’s look at our ‘rut’ as a ditch. Have you ever fallen into a ditch?…a big ditch?
You could have:
Carelessly fallen into the ditch…
Been pushed or tricked into the ditch…
Or, the ground on which you were standing could have just collapsed.
Just been in the wrong place.
Either way…you fell and you’re in a ditch.
Sometimes if you fall into a big ditch, you can’t just climb out in the same place from which you’ve fallen.
Sometimes you have to walk for a while in that ditch until you can find the right place…
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Romans 5:8 (NKJV)
But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
You can’t wait until the next time you hear his or her voice.
You spend an hour saying goodbye on the phone.
You get excited and nervous when you see they’ve sent you a text message.
You don’t care where you go or what you do as long as you’re together. Just the thought of him or her makes you smile.
You’re proud to have them by your side…falling and being in love feels great!
God wants us to fall in love with Him through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (Yeshua), just as He’s fallen in love with us.
He doesn’t want a one-sided relationship.
God wants you to look forward to and enjoy talking to Him. He wants you to get to know His heart in His word.
He wants intimate fellowship with you in worship and praise…
He wants you to long for His presence…
He wants you to gladly let the world know you belong to Him and He belongs to you.
And, He doesn’t want you to be ashamed of Him, but proud to have Him by your side.
In fact…
Jeremiah 9:24 says, “but let the one who boasts boast about this: that they have the understanding to know me, that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,” declares the LORD.
However, Jesus also says in…
Mark 8:38, “8 For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.”
Jesus didn’t just say He loves us, He proved it for dying for our sins…
REAL LOVE ISN’T JUST STATED, IT’S DEMONSTRATED!
LOVE IS STRONGEST AS A VERB!
PEOPLE DON’T KNOW YOU LOVE THEM, UNTIL YOU SHOW YOU LOVE THEM!
He put Himself to open shame for us on the cross in the face of His enemy…that’s love!
He died for people He knew would never acknowledge or accept Him.
He keeps on loving us when we ‘cheat’ on Him daily, when we willingly choose the enemy over Him!
We, however, throw people away for little or nothing…
The Lord longs to have us in His presence forever…
Matthew 17:24a
24 “Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am…”
Do you love Him?
Are you in love with Him?
Do you look forward to seeing Him when he returns?
Sometimes, after a while, couples have to fall back in love with one another.
I encourage you today, if you already haven’t, to fall in love with Jesus….
If your love has been a little ‘cold’…fall back in love with Him.
Most Christians claim to love Him, but don’t just say it…demonstrate it.
BE BLESSTIFIED!
IN CASE YOU MISSED…
Yesterday I was thirsty and craving for a soda (a good strong fountain Coke) all day long. I had water readily available and it would not only quench my thirst, but it is exactly what my body needed. But, I didn’t drink what I NEEDED because my body is CRAVING a soda…what I didn’t need. The soda is filled with sugar and acid, and it has absolutely no nutritional value to my body. In fact, I most of the time I’m still thirsty after I finish a soda. It only satisfies WHILE I’m drinking it and I usually finish a soda craving another…but the water will satisfy quench my thirst and satisfy my body’s NEED.
How many times do we do the same thing spiritually. In John 6, after Jesus had fed over 5000 people many followed Jesus, but they weren’t seeking Him for HIM, they were seeking Him because…
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IN CASE YOU MISSED IT…
Temptation, no matter what kind, is a demon asking to come into your house. Giving in is just like saying, “Welcome, come on in, God can you please step out, I’ve got company”. Don’t ask God to leave so a devil can come in. Most of the time the demon is looking for a place for him and his friends to hang out, in fact they want to move in. Walk in the Spirit, put on the whole armor of God and keep the devil out. Don’t ask God to leave for a demon to come in.
Matthew 12:43-45 (NKJV)
43 “When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none. 44 Then he says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when he comes, he finds it empty, swept, and put in order. 45 Then he goes…
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IN CASE YOU MISSED IT…
Watch out when people say, “forgiveness isn’t for them, it’s for you”. When we offend God and He forgives us, He does it for US and not HIM.
Forgiveness is a SELFLESS act that God commands us to do for one another as He does for us. It’s another way we conform to His character and His image. It releases the FORGIVEN from the guilt of the offense and releases the FORGIVER from the burden of holding on to what leads to bitterness and wrath. It is the most powerful tool available to us to maintain good relationships because that’s how God maintains His relationship with us…by continually forgiving us.
Don’t make forgiveness a SELFISH act by approaching it carnally as many well-meaning people do by saying it’s for YOU and not the offender…that’s making something selfish and perverts the Holy intent of the GIFT of forgiveness. That’s what the…
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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 not sin” Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry…”
God doesn’t expect us to get angry and stay angry.
God doesn’t expect us to get angry and lose control.
God DOES expect us to get angry sometimes though…
He just expects us to get angry at the right things.
We are to get angry enough at…
Evil…
Injustice…
Disobedience…
Poverty…
Hunger…
Racism…
Corruption…
Bullying…
Abuse…
Drugs…
Crime…
War…
Abuse…
Oppression…
Homelessness…
Hunger…
Favoritism…
Cronyism…
Atheism…
False teaching…
False prophets…
Ignorance….
We’re supposed get angry enough to do something!
Our anger should turn into PASSION that fuels ACTION.
Think about what makes you angry. And pray for wisdom to do something about it with a level head, yet walking in the Fruit of the Spirit.
Just as Christ did, we are to get angry AT sin, not angry AND sin.
BE BLESSTIFIED!
You don’t have to be superhuman to be someone’s hero today…
You don’t need x-ray vision, just an eye that can see someone in need…
You don’t need super hearing, just an ear to hear when someone pleads…
You don’t have to have super strength, just be strong enough to ease someone’s load…
You don’t have to be able to fly, just the ability to encourage and lift up a heavy soul…
You don’t have to be made of steel…
just have a loving heart that’s able to feel.
You don’t have to wear a cape…
just to look the hills to He who makes you capable.
You don’t have to be immortal,
to teach someone about life eternal.
Your sacrifice of time, attention, concern and love can save someone’s life..or soul.
You have the power to be someone’s hero today…Christ gave it to you when He died.
John 14:12
12 “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father.
