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

My 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. 10 For 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

Then 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, because 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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Choose Life

22 When I led your ancestors out of Egypt, it was not burnt offerings and sacrifices I wanted from them. 23 This is what I told them: ‘Obey me, and I will be your God, and you will be my people. Do everything as I say, and all will be well!’” ~ Jeremiah 7:22-23

Sin now and repent later, is what a lot of us live by. Often times we feel if we try, we’ve done enough. If we intend to follow Jesus, but don’t, that’s okay He understands. Or maybe just tithe a little extra this week if we mess up. But that’s not what God wanted. From the beginning God didn’t want to establish burnt offerings and sacrifices, He wanted to establish a relationship with us. When He created Adam, He gave Him a command, not so He could control Adam, but so He could protect him from death. God didn’t come down and order Adam around, no, instead He walked and talked with him. God desired a relationship with His creation and He still does, but we demand sacrifices and burnt offerings, because we refuse to stay alive.

Through Jesus, there is life; through sin, there is death. Yet we choose death each time and then present burnt offerings and sacrifices, instead of simply accepting the ultimate sacrifice Jesus made for us on the cross. Why don’t we accept His sacrifice? Why would we rather death? Eternal Life has been bought for us and freely given to us, so why do we keep choosing death? God never wanted us to die, He even sent His one and only Son to take our punishment so that we may live. So live.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Choose Life.

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Accept Your New Life

“Again and again the Lord has sent you His servants, the prophets, but you have not listened or even paid attention. Each time the message was this: ‘Turn from the evil road you are traveling and from the evil things you are doing. Only then will I let you live in this land that the Lord gave to you and your ancestors forever. ~ Jeremiah 25:4-5

Often times we expect God to bring us into promised land while we are still living in sin. We expect God to promote us to the next level, whether it’s in life, spiritually, emotionally, in our job, when we aren’t following Him. How can we expect God to continuously bless us, when we can’t even love Him? Jesus said, “if you love me, you will keep my commands.” And yet we follow our own desires, our own way, and get mad at God when we don’t succeed. When we aren’t entering our promised land, or we can’t stay in our promised land.

Our promised land is where Jesus is, and where Jesus is there can be no sin. So how can we expect to be with Jesus while we replace Him with false gods/idols by following our own lustful/selfish desires? We expect to treat Jesus however we want and for Him to sit there and take it, while still blessing us. How many of us would allow someone to disrespect us, cheat on us, spit in our face and still give them all of our time, affection, love, money, etc.? None of us would, so why do we expect Jesus to?

Jesus isn’t trying to control us, He’s trying to protect us from ourselves. He doesn’t withhold good from us, He’s trying to protect us from the death of sin. Jesus is trying to cleanse us and make us whole. He’s trying to give us life and new more abundant life, so why don’t we accept it?

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Accept Your New Life.

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Who Do You Say He Is?

“And Jesus went on with His disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi. And on the way He asked His disciples, ‘Who do people say that I am?’ And they told Him, ‘John the Baptist; and others say, Elijah; and others, one of the prophets.’ And He asked them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’ Peter answered Him, ‘You are the Christ.’ And He strictly charged them to tell no one about Him.” ~ Mark 8:27‭-‬30

We know what our friends say who they believe Jesus is. We know what our family members, pastors, teachers, favorite celebrities, etc. say who they believe Jesus is, but who do you say He is? Sometimes we forget to take a second and really figure out who we say Jesus is. It’s easy to get caught up in what our parents believe or what our Church believes, and never really take the time to decide what we believe.

Jesus asked His disciples who they believed He was because that was important. He had them differentiate between the beliefs of the disciples and the beliefs of the people. The beliefs of your parents, friends, church, or anyone else in your life won’t be able to help you on Judgment Day. No one can stand for you. You can’t piggyback on another person’s belief. You have to decide who you believe Jesus is. Because at the end of the day it can only be your beliefs that you are judged by, not anyone else’s.

If no one else believes that Jesus is LORD in your life except for you, don’t be afraid, ashamed, or discouraged. Instead be as bold as Peter declaring that Jesus was, is, and always will be the Christ. Stand firm in your faith and Jesus will be with you as you do.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Decide Who You Say He Is.

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You’re Not Above It

13 Mordecai sent this reply to Esther: ‘Don’t think for a moment that because you’re in the palace you will escape when all other Jews are killed.’” ~ Esther 4:13

When Haman called for the genocide of the Jews, Esther was hesitant to go to the king because he hadn’t called for her in a while. But Mordecai brought her back to reality, reminding her that no matter where she was or who she was, she was not above the law. No matter if we are servants or sons (and daughters), we are not above God’s law. We must take a stand for what is right, whether we are celebrities, well-known pastors, or just regular people, God will hold us accountable for what we do.

Esther had to risk her life to do what was right. Jesus said that if you deny me before men, I’ll deny you before my Father. So, no matter who you are, own Jesus and all that He stands for regardless of the situation. When you’re confronted with choosing popularity over what is right, choose what is right. Let Esther be a good role model for you because she understood it was better to die doing what was right than to put off death for a short time and do what was wrong. Esther was queen, yet she wasn’t above the law. Don’t just stick your head in the sand, stand for what is right.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Do What Is Right.

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