Are You In Need of Cleansing? Archives

October 29, 2020May 23, 2024

Two Sons

“²⁸What do you think? A man had two sons. And he went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’ ²⁹And he answered, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he changed his mind and went. ³⁰And he went to the other son and said the same. And he answered, ‘I go, sir,’ but did not go. ³¹Which of the two did the will of his father?” ~ Matthew 21:28-31a

The first son had no intention of working in the vineyard but changed his mind and did as his father asked. The second son, however, had all the intention in the world but either couldn’t spare the time or completely forgot because of distractions. Be very careful of distractions that cause you to neglect your promises, especially to God and to your family. Like the proverb says, “Good intentions pave the way to Hell.” Keep your promises even if it hurts, finish what you started, and stop putting off until tomorrow what you can do today because that tomorrow may never come.

Our Heavenly Father, please help us in this area. First, do not put off salvation, for today is the day of repentance; tomorrow is promised to no man. Second, not to put off telling someone else of the Good News so that they too may live and not die. Thirdly to keep all the promises we swore we would keep, for You take no pleasure in fools. Lastly, the plans and God-given creative ideas that formulate in our minds for businesses and new inventions and ministries that never get acted upon because of procrastination or fear of failure. Would you rebuke the spirit of procrastination and please help us to put these ideas into action. For we ask it all in Jesus’ name, amen.

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Be Unoffended

“⁴And Jesus answered them, ‘Go and tell John what you hear and see: ⁵the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them. ⁶And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.’” ~ Matthew 11:4-6

Blessed is the one who is not offended by me. It’s hard to believe that people would be offended by Jesus. I mean He’s doing all these miracles, healing the sick, the blind, the deaf, the mute, He even raises the dead, how can people be offended by Him?

But people are offended by Him today as well. People are offended by anyone who calls out their sin. People are offended by anyone who can do things they cannot. People are offended by anyone who is righteous if they are not. People are offended by others who are blessed, financially and favorably. People are offended by things they do not understand. God said the fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge. Therefore how can they understand Jesus, when they have no knowledge because they have no fear. They have no regard for the things of God, so they are offended by those who do.

We are also offended by the amount of time that we are in trials and tribulations because we don’t deserve this. We’re good Christians. Here’s the thing. John the Baptist was a great prophet, what does this have to do with anything? This was when John was imprisoned in Galilee, during that time, Jesus was preaching in Galilee, but He never released John from his cell. In fact, John was eventually beheaded by the same man that put him in prison. Jesus is also saying here, don’t be offended by what I do. Trial and tribulation comes, but the Son of Man is not to always intervene. We will receive our reward after the trial, whether on Earth or in Eternity. Which is why He says, “Blessed is the one who is not offended by me.” It’s a hard pill to swallow, but when it goes down, great things happen.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Be Unoffended.

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Clear The Room

“²³And when Jesus came to the ruler’s house and saw the flute players and the crowd making a commotion, ²⁴he said, ‘Go away, for the girl is not dead but sleeping.’ And they laughed at him. ²⁵But when the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took her by the hand, and the girl arose. ²⁶And the report of this went through all that district.” ~ Matthew 9:23-26

Even Jesus needed to remove the naysayers in the room. Even the Son of God needed to have the room cleared of all doubters. If Jesus needed it, why don’t we? Why don’t we clear the doubters from the rooms? Why do we allow them to stay, slowly feeding on their doubt, until we have started to doubt, ourselves?

We expect a miracle to happen, but we are without faith. We want it to happen, but we don’t truly believe it will happen. Our faith is weak, and our doubt is strong. We hold to things that don’t help us when God is saying just clear the room. Don’t look at the current circumstance, look at what could be.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Clear the Room.

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Be Humble

“⁶Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time He may exalt you, ⁷casting all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you.” ~ 1 Peter 5:6-7

This is why we don’t see what we think we deserve at a certain time. We think we deserve it now, we even try to make it for ourselves and wonder why it hasn’t happened yet. We as Christians, who want to move on and go to the next step the next level must first humble ourselves. If we can’t be humble with the minor things how will we be able to be humble with the major things? We wonder why it takes so long to get to a certain point, sometimes it’s because we are not ready.

When a door is closed, we don’t need to become angry or discouraged or take it into our own hands. We don’t need to try to kick it down or pick the lock ourselves, instead, we need to take a look in the mirror and see why we’re still stuck in this hallway. It’s almost like you are walking through a hallway and every time you get to an open door, to exit the hallway, the door closes. It’s like those Cheez-It commercials you can’t go on until you have matured enough to pass the test before you. Sometimes that takes years, sometimes it takes months, but it will never be rushed. Perfection cannot be rushed, it is a tedious and sometimes slow process. Abraham had to wait 14 years before he got his promised son, Isaac. Could it be that God wanted to get Abraham to a place where he would hold nothing back from God because he trusted and loved God so much?

Sometimes we have to wait because our hearts aren’t in the right place. Sometimes God keeps us in the hallway so that He can fix us because where He’s taking us will be difficult or impossible to overcome in our current condition. Don’t be discouraged by the closed door, in due time it will be opened for you. In due time that prayer will be answered. In due time that God-given dream will be handed to you, but your heart has to be in the right place. You have to be humble, meaning that your desires are to build the Kingdom, not yourself.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Be Humble.

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Let Your Light Shine

“And the child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the wilderness until the day of his public appearance to Israel.” ~ Luke 1:80

“He was in the wilderness until he made his public appearance to Israel.” John wasn’t in the world hanging out with everyone, filling his head with distractions and temptations, but instead, he was in the wilderness being prepared for his public appearance. John knew exactly what his calling was, and he chased after it. He sought after it. He lived for it. How many of us can say we do that? Then again many of us don’t even know what our calling is… so let me rephrase, how many of us can say we daily seek God and ask for Him to not only show us His will for our life but also guide us so that we can achieve it to the best of His abilities?

How many of us do that? I know I don’t. But imagine if we did. Imagine if we put away all our distractions, and focused on God and His plan. Imagine how much easier life would be for us. How much more people we would reach. And no, I’m not implying that God has called us all to be pastors, missionaries, group leaders, etc. But He did call us all to be witnesses to the lost sheep. To be an example to them, so that when they see our good deeds, our good works, our good fruits, they will praise our Father in Heaven. Jesus said, “you don’t light a lamp and then cover it up, but instead you let it shine.”

Imagine if we put away all the worldly foolishness and just lived for God wholeheartedly like John did. Imagine if we just separated from the world, until we were ready to go out into the world and fulfill our calling. Imagine if we just let our light shine. Imagine what would happen. We have to prepare before we enter our calling so that we have light to shine to show the world the way to Jesus. If we don’t prepare, our little light will be very easily dimmed.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Shine.

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He’s Not a Tame Lion

“Then their father Israel said to them, ‘If it must be so, then do this: take some of the choice fruits of the land in your bags, and carry a present down to the man, a little balm and a little honey, gum, myrrh, pistachio nuts, and almonds.’” ~ Genesis 43:11

This was a mere man that these men were going before, yet they brought him the best they could of what they had. Why don’t we do this with God? I mean we bring half offerings to God all the time: half prayers, half worship, 1-minute conversations, etc. Why? Why don’t we fear God the way they feared Joseph? I guess it’s because we constantly talk about how good God is and how merciful.

Though He is all of these things, we have forgotten that He is not safe. Let me explain… in the movie Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, Susan asked if Aslan was safe and Mr. Beaver responded with “Safe? Who said anything about safe? He’s not safe… he is good.” Again at the end of the movie when Aslan goes away, Mr. Thomnas looks at Lucy and says, “You have to remember He’s not a tame lion.”

We don’t serve a tame or safe God. We need to bring back the fear of God. Until Isaac died when Jacob spoke about who God was He would say “The God of my Father Abraham. The Fear of my Father Isaac.” Why? Because Isaac feared the LORD, it kept his paths straight. It kept him in the favor of the LORD. What would happen if we stopped making excuses like, ‘God understands,’ ‘God will have mercy,’ ‘God forgives,’ ‘God loves me.’

Yes, God does all of these things, but don’t get it twisted if you live your life only giving half of you, half of what you are capable of, half of your beliefs, God will NOT forgive you on Judgement day. Stop making excuses. Stop living in deceit. Stop lying to yourself. What would happen if we stopped these things and just surrendered our all to Him? What would happen to the Church? What would happen to our relationships? What would happen to our jobs? What would happen to our lives? What would happen to our relationship with God?

Peace. Love. Go forth and Fear the LORD.

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Check Your Desires

“¹What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? ²You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. ³You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. ⁴You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore, whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.” ~ James 4:1-4

This begins by addressing that our passions and our desires are at war within us because we want what the world is offering, yet still want what God is offering. Then when our desires feel overwhelming, we put God to the side and go after our desires. We do anything to achieve the desires of our heart when in reality God will give you the desires of your heart if you ask correctly.

We have this idea that God will change His law to appease our desires, but that is not the case. We want worldly things to satisfy our flesh. It’s like you’re thirsty and instead of asking for water we ask for poison. God is saying that we are wasting our prayers and our time on worldly things that will not last. We ask for things out of envy and jealousy, we must have what they have, just better. God is saying that’s silly, we should be proud and happy for them. Every day our flesh and Spirit are in conflict, they’re at war, but we must crucify our Flesh every day. Genesis 4:7 tells us, “If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it.”

We have to separate ourselves from the world so that our desires will not be of the world. So that our desires will be of God. So that our desires will follow God’s plan. Yes, we are supposed to go out into the world and witness and make disciples, but we aren’t supposed to become a part of the world. Why? Because we are the salt of the Earth, and what good is salt if it loses its saltiness? Jesus said in John 15:19, “If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.” We aren’t of the world because we were chosen out of the world, we can’t act as the world acts. We have to check our desires so that our desires don’t lead us astray, but instead, lead us closer to God.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Check Your Desires.

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What Your Name Be?

“Thus Joseph, who was also called by the apostles Barnabas (which means son of encouragement), a Levite, a native of Cyprus,” ~ Acts 4:36

Imagine if your friends renamed you by your character what would be? Which of the seven dwarfs would they call you? This man had to be quite encouraging and uplifting for the apostles to rename him, Son of Encouragement. What’d your name be?

Would you be called, Son of Encouragement, or would you be, Lustful Lucy? Dangerous Dan? Angry Aaron? How do your everyday actions define who you are? Do you strive to be more than just another complainer? Just another liar? Just another Debby Downer? Or do you strive to be an encourager? Do you strive to bless? Do you strive to uplift? Do you strive to be a comforter? Do you strive to be a peacemaker?

We have to learn to reprogram our way of thinking. Why? Because that is the only way we can fulfill what Paul tells us to do in Romans 12:2, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” We must display good fruit, so that others may see who we are and give glory to our Father in Heaven. And the only way to do that is by reprogramming our thoughts, for our thoughts control the rest of our body. Whatever we think, is what we become. As we live our day to day lives, I pray we all develop the fruits of the spirit so that when people look at us, there would only be good fruit to name us after.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Determine Your Name.

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Abide In His Love

“⁹My heart is broken because of the false prophets, and my bones tremble. I stagger like a drunkard, like someone overcome by wine, because of the holy words the Lord has spoken against them. ¹⁰For the land is full of adultery, and it lies under a curse. The land itself is in mourning— its wilderness pastures are dried up. For they all do evil and abuse what power they have. ¹¹‘Even the priests and prophets are ungodly, wicked men. I have seen their despicable acts right here in my own Temple,’ says the Lord.” ~ Jeremiah 23:9-11

During the time of Jeremiah, not even the prophets and priests, the holy men of God, were living their lives according to God’s Law. They not only lived in sin, but they led others to live in sin as well. They led the nation of Israel away from God. They justified their sins and the sins of the people with reassuring Scriptures that they took out of context. They painted God as a God of only peace, patience, love, and mercy, instead of a God of righteousness, holiness, and justice. They taught a version of God that justified sin, instead of the God who demands His people flee from sin, so that they would not corrupt themselves and their land. Because of this, their punishment was severe.

Today, we are following in the same paths of these false prophets and priests. We no longer call sin, sin, but instead, we justify sin by saying, “God understands,” “My Jesus loves everyone,” “You cannot judge, only God can judge.” We no longer stand for what is right, but instead, we fall into the demands of culture, falling prey to their beliefs and their feelings. We no longer hold to the morality that God set, but instead, we have created our own morality. Yes, God loves everyone, yes, God is a God of mercy, but God is also a God of righteousness.

God’s underlying love that He has for all of creation can only do so much for you. Just as a father cannot stop his son from being jailed for his crime because the son didn’t call the father who could pay his bail, our Heavenly Father cannot pay our bail, our fine, our debt, because we have yet to come to Him and ask. So, the love of our Heavenly Father can only do so much if we refuse to abide in His love.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Abide in His Love.

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Rekindle The Flame

“⁶Then Moses gave an order and they sent this word throughout the camp: ‘No man or woman is to make anything else as an offering for the sanctuary.’ And so the people were restrained from bringing more, ⁷because what they already had was more than enough to do all the work.” ~ Exodus 36:6-7

While building the Sanctuary, the people were told that if they were willing, they should bring freewill offerings of gold, silver, bronze, fine linen, different colored yarn, etc. This was not too long after they had been struck with a plague because of their worship of a golden calf, but it helped them remember who their God was. That passion that they had allowed to die while waiting for Moses to return with the Stone Tablets, was rekindled when God displayed His might, His power, and His glory shown upon Moses face.

We the Church are currently like the people of Israel in the Wilderness. God has delivered us out of our sin, yet we complain. We desire to return to our sin, our slavery that God has delivered us out of. The passion that we felt at the beginning when we first received Salvation has slowly died, what’s it going to take to kindle the flame? During this time of confinement to our homes, have we finally made time for God? Or are we still lusting after the slavery we were once in? Have we rekindled the flame, or have we strayed farther away?

Now is the time to rekindle the flame. Now is the time to seek the face of God Almighty, for tomorrow is promised to no man or woman. No one is guaranteed a long life, so let’s seek God, while He can still be found. While Jesus is still knocking at the door, let us answer Him. Let us rekindle the passion that we once had. Let’s remember our first love.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Rekindle The Flame.

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Category: Are You In Need of Cleansing?

Two Sons

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