Category: Daily Bread

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Be Aware of Temptations By The Enemy

9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us. 1 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. ~ 1 John 1:9-2:1

I believe Repentance is an ongoing thing. We are instructed not to sin, but if we do sin, and I am not talking about deliberate sinning, the kind where we are now taking advantage of God’s grace but honest mistakes, we have Jesus as our Advocate. We confess, repent, and endeavor not to commit the same sin again and again. Otherwise, we will be crucifying the Son of God over and over again. No one who has repented, or changed their worldview, continues to willfully sin just because they feel they can repent for it later because of grace.

Grace isn’t a license to sin. It’s not an indulgence. When you get saved, a temptation will come. It will be a really good opportunity, one that you feel you cannot pass up, because it’s a chance of a lifetime, at least you feel it’s a chance of a lifetime. A chance like Joseph had to sleep with the master’s wife, but it’s a lie, DO NOT FALL FOR IT. Look out for temptations by the enemy. Be on guard.

John told us that Jesus is faithful and just to forgive anyone who asks Him to, and we can rest assured in that promise. So, we endeavor not to continue living in the flesh, or in other words, we stop willfully sinning. Why? Because you change in pursuit of dwelling forever in the presence of the LORD.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Be Aware of Temptations By The Enemy.

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Pay Attention To What You Hear

24 And He said to them, “Pay attention to what you hear: with the measure you use, it will be measured to you, and still more will be added to you. 25 For to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.” ~ Mark 4:24-25

Jesus told us to pay attention to what we hear, but why? Shouldn’t we hear all arguments and points of view before we come to our decision? Here’s what Jesus is saying. Pay attention to what you hear because the measure you use it will be measured to you, and still more will be added to you. It’s not about the general hearing but the hearing and believing that Jesus is talking about.

It’s hard to put everything into a word that you are not sure you can trust. In other words, not every word is for you. Maybe it’s not you that the LORD is prompting to sow that $1,000 seed. Maybe it’s your neighbor sitting next to you or in the opposite row from you. But if it’s you that God is speaking to, you had better obey. It is better to obey than to sacrifice.

Again, we can connect this to the servant with the five talents who turned it into ten talents. It is the fourth hearer who received a hundredfold. The flip side is this. If you receive a Rhema Word, and do not mix it with [(ho) Pistis], The Faith! And if you do not act on it, it will be taken away from you and given to him, who already has.

How long before that happens? I don’t know. Because God is a merciful and patient God, but nevertheless, from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. Whether it is in the here and now or in the Judgment, it will come to pass. For to the one who uses [(ho) Pistis], The Faith, with the measure that he is given, it will be measured back to him, and still, more will be added.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Pay Attention To What You Hear.

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Mimic Christ

21 And when he had taken counsel with the people, he appointed those who were to sing to the Lord and praise Him in holy attire, as they went before the army, and say, “Give thanks to the Lord, for His steadfast love endures forever.” 22 And when they began to sing and praise, the Lord set an ambush against the men of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah, so that they were routed. 23 For the men of Ammon and Moab rose against the inhabitants of Mount Seir, devoting them to destruction, and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, they all helped to destroy one another. ~ 2 Chronicles 20:21-23

The king did not send out spies, nor did he set up his battle lines, nor did he arrange the artillery of longbows to volley arrows. He doesn’t even set a plan B, just in case. Just in case Brother Jahaziel had gotten it wrong. What he did was; after taking counsel with the people, he appointed singers. Praise and worship leaders in holy attire to go before the army.

These were not men who were all tatted up and looking like the world with their pants hanging off. They weren’t dressed in torn-up jeans and worn-out T-shirts, nor were they dressed in Bermuda shorts and shoeless. Their toes weren’t grabbing the grass. They weren’t flipping dirt with their big toes. No, they were dressed in their Sunday best, not in their Saturday worst. It was in holy attire singing:

“Give thanks to the Lord, for His steadfast love endures forever.”

I want you to understand something. The word Judah means “Praise” or “Praise Yahweh.” Now, Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir are always associated with occult and idol worship, and they were always hostile to Judah. Judah was the tribe of singers, worshippers, and praisers. That was who they were. That’s what the LORD intended our worship leaders to be today. He didn’t intend for us to look like the world; instead, He intended for us to come out of the world. For the world to know who we are, which is why the world doesn’t accept us but hates us.

Yes, God can use all people, regardless of their outward appearance or their past. Yes, we are to come as we are, but we aren’t to stay as we are, nor are we to try to imitate the world in order to intrigue the world. We are to be a light in this dark world because we are to guide those in the darkness to the light. To God. To Jesus. We are to mimic Christ, not mimic the world.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Mimic Christ.

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Serve The LORD With Gladness of Heart

1 Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth! 2 Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into his presence with singing! ~ Psalms 100:1-2

The LORD God wants us to be celebratory in worship. He does not want long sad faces but happy, joyful faces, and elated spirits. He wants us to clap our hands enthusiastically and sing with triumphant voices, for He is good, and His love endures forever.

The LORD gives us joy and peace because He has reconciled our souls to Him. God does not take pleasure in us losing or in our sorrows but in joy and in celebrations.

So, make an effort today to say that this is the day that the LORD has made and given to me. Therefore, I will rejoice and be glad in it. I will take pleasure in serving the LORD as He takes pleasure in me serving Him.

It is a joy for the LORD to bless us in everything we do. Therefore, we will bless the LORD with our mouth, with our hands, with our feet, and with all of our strength, and with everything that is within us. Will serve Him with gladness of heart.

Heavenly Father, thank you for giving us joy. Help me to forget about today’s hurts and tomorrow’s pain. Help me to focus on you as you deliver me from the hand of the enemy so that I can rejoice and be glad. Thank you, Father, in Jesus’ name I pray, amen.

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Put Your Rhema Word Into Action

14 And the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, son of Benaiah, son of Jeiel, son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, in the midst of the assembly. 15 And he said, “Listen, all Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat: Thus says the Lord to you, ‘Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed at this great horde, for the battle is not yours but God’s. 16 Tomorrow go down against them. Behold, they will come up by the ascent of Ziz. You will find them at the end of the valley, east of the wilderness of Jeruel. 17 You will not need to fight in this battle. Stand firm, hold your position, and see the salvation of the Lord on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem.’ Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed. Tomorrow go out against them, and the Lord will be with you.” 18 Then Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before the Lord, worshiping the Lord. 19 And the Levites, of the Kohathites and the Korahites, stood up to praise the Lord, the God of Israel, with a very loud voice. 20 And they rose early in the morning and went out into the wilderness of Tekoa. And when they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Hear me, Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem! Believe in the Lord your God, and you will be established; believe His prophets, and you will succeed.” ~ 2 Chronicles 20:14-20

Please understand that a great multitude of Moabites, Ammonites, and some of the Meunites were coming up to do battle against Jehoshaphat. Jehoshaphat was terrified. So, he set his face to seek the LORD by proclaiming a fast throughout Judah. And the whole of Judah assembled to seek help from the LORD. Then Jahaziel received a Rhema word from the LORD. He said, “This is what the LORD says,” and he proceeded to say what he had just heard from the LORD.

The Rhema Word that they heard was immediately received and acted upon. They did not debate it. They did not form a committee to determine the accuracy of the Rhema. They heard it. They recognized who it came from. Because it resonated with them. They accepted it. They immediately put it into action. They began to worship. They began to praise. They began to give thanks for His deliverance.

But I want to point something out to you. Jahaziel was not a Johnny-come-lately. He was not a wishy-washy man. He was not a stranger among friends. They knew him and his daddy and daddy’s daddy and his daddy. They knew him to be a creditable man.

Therefore, the Rhema Word was received, accepted, and mixed with [(ho) Pistis], The Faith! And they celebrated it. Why? Because Jesus said, “My sheep hear my voice.” If Jahaziel was in the habit of saying, “Thus sayeth the LORD…” When the LORD had not spoken, do you think the congregation would trust his words now, in such a dire time as this? Probably not.

How did they react to the Rhema Word? Did they let the word lie dormant after receiving it? Or did they immediately put it into action? They immediately put it into action. King Jehoshaphat and all of Judah recognized what they had heard. They recognized that it came from the LORD. So, they mixed their Rhema Word with faith and put that faith into action.

Far too often, people are led astray by their own desires because they confuse them with a word from God. We have to learn to hear the Spirit of the LORD and the voice of our Good Shepherd, Jesus. When we’ve done this, we then have to believe the Rhema Word given to us and put it into action faith. Believing a Word from God is for us isn’t enough; we have to then put that faith into action, lest we make it void.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Put Your Rhema Word Into Action.

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Chase The Presence of The Almighty

1 As the hart panteth after the water brooks, So panteth my soul after thee, O God. 2 My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: When shall I come and appear before God? ~ Psalms 42:1-2KJV

The problem is that we don’t hunger nor thirst for the presence of God. We barely make it out to church, much less chase His presence. We’re too spiritually lazy to chase after the presence of Jesus, and we don’t want anyone leaving us behind, so that is why some discourage others from chasing the presence of God. They don’t want to, so they don’t want you to either.

The face or the countenance of God is the sign of His blessing and His favor. The countenance, or the presence of God, affects those with whom it comes into contact with. So then, if they are the same word, then it would stand to reason that if you are chasing the presence of God, you would have to be actively seeking the face of God, the very thing He instructed us to do.

We are instructed to seek the face of God. This is beyond dispute. No way can you argue against it. No how can you deny it. You just can’t. We are to chase the presence of Almighty God. If we remain stagnant, then we’ll never grow. If we never grow, then we’ll never produce fruit. If we never produce fruit, then the LORD will have to cut us off. We have to chase the presence of God in order to remain in His presence.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Chase The Presence of The Almighty.

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Pour Into The Next Generation

47 And all the royal officials have gone to King David and congratulated him, saying, ‘May your God make Solomon’s fame even greater than your own, and may Solomon’s reign be even greater than yours!’ Then the king bowed his head in worship as he lay in his bed, 48 and he said, ‘Praise the Lord, the God of Israel, who today has chosen a successor to sit on my throne while I am still alive to see it.’ ~ 1 Kings 1:47-48 NLT

We aren’t meant to stay in the same position forever. God raises us up and brings us into high places for a season. We aren’t immortal yet. One day every one of us will die, so God raises up another to replace us. Sometimes He raises them up before we have died so that we can pass the mantle on to them while we are still alive to so them succeed and guide them. And sometimes this is difficult to see take place.

It can be discouraging and make you feel like you’re no longer good enough or that you’re now used up. But that’s not the reason God does this. He wants you to raise up the next generation so that they might be prepared to take over when you’re gone. So that they have all of the lessons and words of wisdom that you passed down while you were in your place of authority over them. Don’t look at it as being replaced; look at it as being succeeded. Guide them, and you’ll live on through them.

One of my favorite shows ever made was Boy Meets World, and Eric, the oldest son in the show, said this to his dad:

You said to me that there would come a time when you weren’t around, and that’s not so… I remember everything you taught me, and I’m gonna turn around and teach that to my children. So you see, Dad, you’re always gonna be around.

See, when you pour out yourself and your knowledge and wisdom into someone else, you leave part of yourself with them even after you’re gone. King David understood that. He praised God that he was able to see his son succeed the throne. It’s a blessing to be able to influence and guide the next generation, so when you get the opportunity to raise up another and pass on your mantle, don’t be discouraged or disappointed. Most good things must come to an end but praise God that you got to see the beginning of the next good thing.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Pour Into The Next Generation.

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Glorify The Father

7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. ~ John 15:7-8

Jesus is making a covenant promise to us. He said all you have to do is to abide in Him and let His words abide in you, then you can ask whatever you wish, or whatever you desire, and guess what? He will do it for you just because you have asked Him. Why? Because we have a covenant relationship, and I am a covenant-keeping God.

Now I want you to notice that the granting of our prayers and petition is directly connected to bearing fruit. It is directly connected to the harvest and to the increase. Why? Because the Father is glorified every time we have answered prayer because every time we have an answered prayer, we increase and bear fruit, and it leads to the Father being glorified.

I want to challenge you to take Jesus up on His offer of you abiding in Him and His word abiding in you. Then ask whatever you desire and see the Father glorified.

LORD Jesus, please show us what it means to abide in You and Your word to abide in us. Then give us the faith to receive what we ask for in prayer, that we might glorify the Father, for it is in Your name that we pray, amen.

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Cling To The New and Better Covenant

24 and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel. ~ Hebrews 12:24

Everything has a set time, and all things happen in that set time. There was a time before the Law, during the Law, and after the Law. Before the Law was a time when lawlessness ruled, during the Law was a time when sin ruled, but now, the Law has been removed, and we are under a new and better covenant. A covenant that brings liberty to the follower and grace to the believer. A covenant built on the hope of our LORD and Savior to redeem us from our sins and this mortal body.

We have so much to be thankful for because of this new and better covenant, but because we now have a grace like never before, we take this covenant for granted. We live day to day as if we won’t be judged for the way that we live. We speak as if our words won’t be judged one day. We lie to ourselves and to others so that we can ignore the conviction that we feel deep down. This new covenant allows us to enter into the very presence of God Almighty and for Him to dwell inside of us, so why do we take it for granted? We forget all that Christ did for us so easily because we’re not as thankful and grateful as we should be.

When we’re filled with thankfulness and gratefulness, we never forget what someone has done for us. We remember it year after year after year. It stays with us. Maybe we need to learn how to be more thankful and grateful when it comes to our salvation. Our entire salvation is in our hands. Jesus already paid the price; it’s now on us whether we accept it and follow Him or turn away and say no, thank you, I’m better off alone. There’s an old song that says:

There is a man
His name- His name is Jesus
He use to live in this world we’re going through
He died and He’s gone to prepare a place for you
What more do you want Him to do?
What more do you want Him to do
To prove that He loves you-
He do
He died on the cross to save – save us all
What more do you want Him to do?

Jesus did everything that we need in order to gain salvation, yet we’re not grateful. He gave His very life so that we might be saved, yet we’re not thankful. He gave us a new and better covenant through the pouring out of His own blood, yet we continue in our sin and expect Him to accept us, refusing to change. There’s so much for us to be thankful for, so why aren’t we? I challenge each of you to start each day thanking God for at least one thing and end each day thanking God for at least one thing. Then keep adding to that list until your heart softens and you’re filled with thankfulness.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Cling To The New and Better Covenant.

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Remain Faithful To The Faithful God

19 Then, at break of day, the king arose and went in haste to the den of lions. 20 As he came near to the den where Daniel was, he cried out in a tone of anguish. The king declared to Daniel, “O Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to deliver you from the lions?” 21 Then Daniel said to the king, “O king, live forever! 22 My God sent His angel and shut the lions’ mouths, and they have not harmed me, because I was found blameless before Him; and also before you, O king, I have done no harm.” 23 Then the king was exceedingly glad, and commanded that Daniel be taken up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no kind of harm was found on him, because he had trusted in his God. ~ Daniel 6:1-5

What had happened was Daniel, a Jewish exile, was promoted to be the chief of the king of Babylon’s wise men, or chief of the magicians, according to Daniel 4:6, 9. Not that Daniel was a magician in any sense, only that he was an interpreter of dreams. A very wise man. At the end of Babylon’s reign of power, Daniel was the only one able to interpret the writing. Now, the king, Belshazzar, was so pleased, or thankful, that he made Daniel the 3rd highest ruler in the land. Which was short-lived because he was killed that very night and his kingdom was overtaken by the Medes and the Persians, and king Darius, the Mede, was made king (Daniel 5:31).

Daniel could have been discouraged. He could have been angry at God for taking away another king that he had earned great trust and favor with. Instead, Daniel remained faithful to God. He didn’t waiver in his faith, not even once. In fact, Daniel was so consistent in his faith that those who wanted to have him removed could only think to make his faith illegal. And even then, Daniel remained faithful to God. He knew the punishment. He understood the risk, but his faithfulness to God was more important than his life. Because of this, God was with him in the lions’ den.

This is the same kind of faithfulness God desires us to have. A faithfulness that no matter what may come our way, God will be there for us. That God will be with us on the mountain and in the valley. During seasons of tribulation and during seasons of prosperity. The LORD will remain faithful to those who remain faithful to Him. He is our great provider, but He is also our great deliverer.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Remain Faithful To The Faithful God.

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