Category: Daily Bread

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Sow To The Spirit

8 For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.

Paul adds to Jesus’ warning of what you stole you shall reap. Jesus left the statement very general, but Paul got specific by bringing in the flesh and the spirit. What does it mean?

Well, Paul is explaining that living to gratify the sinful nature:

  • Lust
  • Selfishness
  • Laziness
  • Impurity
  • Pride
  • Sexual immorality
  • Along with others

You will only reap corruption. Which means: Decay, ruin, death. Not just future judgment, but present spiritual deterioration as well.

But there is a better way. Sow to the spirit, which means living in step with God’s Holy Spirit and doing what pleases God.

Then you will reap the blessings of God and experience the abundant life…life everlasting. You will have a hope and a future.

What are we talking about? We’re talking about living your life in such a way that you do not grow weary.

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Do Good

10 So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith. ~ Galatians 6:10

Doors of opportunity are always opening and closing. We must seize the God-given moment before the chance is gone. If God has given you a blessing to give to someone else, you do not want to be caught in possession of someone else’s blessings. So, you had better give it to them.

Then it says, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith. … do good … is a broad command that includes:

  • Acts of kindness
  • Performance of service
  • Generosity
  • And love

To whom? Unto all men. Christian love or charity is not exclusive, but it reaches beyond church walls and into the community that we serve. But the thing is, it must be prioritized to place your spiritual family, or the Church, first in your good works, as Paul indicated when he wrote, … especially to those who are of the household of faith …

We must understand that this is the outward expression of Spirit-led living: We sow good deeds consistently, not just inwardly or spiritually, but practically and relationally. Christian love is universal. We are called to bless all people, fellow believers first, but also to those not of the Church. Therefore, we should be a lighthouse, a model of generosity, encouragement, and service.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Do Good.

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Watch What You Sow

7 Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. ~ Galatians 6:7

Paul is giving the Galatians a warning. The devil will slither in and tell you all kinds of lies. “Oh, the Church only wants your money.” And in some cases, it’s true, some do preach the Word for profit, but that does not negate our obligation to support our local church leaders, or whoever is spiritually feeding you. And it’s easy to get caught up in the rhetoric, and Paul knows that. So, he writes a warning—don’t let yourself be misled or fall into false thinking.

The Church, as a whole, is not after your money. Look, Paul wrote: “God is not mocked,” which literally means, “He is not to be sneered at or turned up the nose at.” You can’t fool or bypass Him. So, you can’t treat God’s commands lightly or flippantly. God will hold you accountable.

And here is the consequence: for whatever one sows, that he will also reap. It is a universal spiritual law. Every action (seed) will produce a corresponding result (harvest), whether good or evil. In other words, what you plant determines what you harvest. This applies to how we use:

  • Our time
  • Our money
  • Our influence
  • Our obedience
  • And even our words

You can’t sow apathy and expect to reap a spiritual breakthrough. Therefore, sow wisely.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Watch What You Sow.

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Teach The Next Generation

5 Then I set before the Rechabites pitchers full of wine, and cups, and I said to them, “Drink wine.” 6 But they answered, “We will drink no wine, for Jonadab the son of Rechab, our father, commanded us, ‘You shall not drink wine, neither you nor your sons forever. 7 You shall not build a house; you shall not sow seed; you shall not plant or have a vineyard; but you shall live in tents all your days, that you may live many days in the land where you sojourn.’ 8 We have obeyed the voice of Jonadab the son of Rechab, our father, in all that he commanded us, to drink no wine all our days, ourselves, our wives, our sons, or our daughters, 9 and not to build houses to dwell in. We have no vineyard or field or seed, 10 but we have lived in tents and have obeyed and done all that Jonadab our father commanded us. 11 But when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against the land, we said, ‘Come, and let us go to Jerusalem for fear of the army of the Chaldeans and the army of the Syrians.’ So we are living in Jerusalem.”

12 Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: 13 “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Go and say to the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, Will you not receive instruction and listen to my words? declares the Lord. 14 The command that Jonadab the son of Rechab gave to his sons, to drink no wine, has been kept, and they drink none to this day, for they have obeyed their father’s command. I have spoken to you persistently, but you have not listened to me. 15 I have sent to you all my servants the prophets, sending them persistently, saying, ‘Turn now every one of you from his evil way, and amend your deeds, and do not go after other gods to serve them, and then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to you and your fathers.’ But you did not incline your ear or listen to me. ~ Jeremiah 35:5-15

Jonadab had given his children clear, godly instructions—but it wasn’t just about wine, but about how to live, how to remain set apart, and how to honor the LORD with their lifestyle. These commands were not arbitrary. Jonadab’s instructions kept his family separate from the idolatrous, indulgent culture of Israel, which was steeped in Baal worship and moral decay.

By living simply and staying mobile, the Rechabites remained a distinct people, loyal to God’s values in a world pulling them away from Him. Today’s fathers face a similar challenge—to lead their families in holiness amidst a culture that often opposes God’s truth.

He wasn’t around anymore. By now, Jonadab had been dead for centuries. And yet, his words lived on. His children and their children after them, not only remembered what he taught—they obeyed it! Fathers, your words matter. Mothers, your words matter. Teachers. Leaders. Mentors. Your example matters. What you teach, how you live, and the standard you set can echo for generations.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Teach The Next Generation.

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Strive For Perfection Every Day

24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. ~ Galatians 5:24

I recently saw a video of a well known gospel artist explaining that he wasn’t a perfect man. That he wasn’t God, even though he loves God. That he wasn’t Jesus, even though he follows Jesus, so when he gets upset, he’s gonna cuss. When he gets angry, he’s gonna throw hands (throw a punch) because he isn’t perfect and the overly religious people judge him for it. All I could think was, how sad of a statement is this.

Now, this isn’t a new Christian. This isn’t a baby Christian. This is a Gospel artist that has been making Gospel music for over 3 decades. This is a man that is supposed to be leading the others into the presence of God with his music yet doesn’t have any self-control. I think what made me the saddest about this, is that this is the very temperature of the Church. The Church today doesn’t want to be corrected. They don’t want to have to correct or crucify their flesh. Why? Because it’s hard and they don’t want hard.

We are called to a higher standard than the world. We aren’t called to give into every emotion. Yes, we will trip up. Yes, we will have slips. Yes, we will make mistakes but we strive for perfection, we don’t hide behind excuses.

If we would simply get back to spending time with the LORD and less time in the world and the things of the world, our flesh wouldn’t be so difficult to overcome. Our spirit man would be much stronger. We would be able to follow Jesus. Jesus said if we love Him, we would keep His commands. Jesus said we would know the Church by the fruit. What fruit? The fruit of the Spirit. Jesus even went as far as to say that if we don’t bear the fruit of the Spirit, we would be cut off and thrown into Hell.

Just because we are not Jesus, doesn’t mean that we are not called to a higher standard because we represent Jesus to the world. It’s no longer us who live but Christ who lives through us. Therefore, let us stop making excuses and start making moves forward towards the perfect we are called to.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Strive For Perfection Every Day.

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Depend On God

9 My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. ~ 2 Corinthians 12:9NIV

We often try to hide our weaknesses, thinking they disqualify us from being used by God. But Paul reminds us that it’s in our weakness that God’s strength is most visible. Instead of striving to appear strong, we’re invited to lean on His grace. God doesn’t need our perfection—He works powerfully through our dependence on Him.

Simply humble yourself before Him. Remove all the masks and disguises you keep on for the world, and let God hold you and heal you.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Depend On God.

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Find His Way

John 3:16-17

[16]  For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. [17] For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him.

Something that I recently realized, that I hadn’t before is that many people have an issue with Christianity because they have an issue with forgiveness. I’ve heard many people point out that in Christianity anyone can be forgiven no matter how evil or wicked they are. They could spend their whole lives being a cruel and truly evil person but of they repent and follow Jesus, then they’re good. This upsets or puts off many people from Christianity because they see it as wrong and unjust, but here’s the thing, no one deserves salvation that’s why it is a free gift from God given to us by grace.

See, this will only be a turn-off to you if you don’t understand that you are just as lost and just as evil as the entire world. We are all born with sin. Filled with sin and deserving of Hell. But God in His infinite wisdom and love made a way for us through His Son Jesus Christ, so that we might all have an opportunity to be saved.

See, when Jesus died on the cross and killed sin, He didn’t just take away some of the sin, He took away all of the sin. He didn’t pick and choose ones that He felt were worthy of forgiveness because no sin is worthy of forgiveness. If we sin in one area we are guilty of sinning in every area. God doesn’t measure evil the way we do. He isn’t bound by our human finite understanding. His ways are greater than our ways and His thoughts are greater than our thoughts.

If we would remove our own self-righteous pride and look at ourselves through the eyes of God we would be able to see that we are all tainted and consumed by sin, unworthy of His mercy and grace, but because we are all His creation and we are all loved by Him, He gives each of us an opportunity to be forgiven and washed clean of our sin.

It’s like a loving parent. No matter what your child has done, you will love them. You’ll try to find a way to forgive them. A way to make things right again. Why? Love. Love will find a way, and if there is none, it will make one.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Find His Way.

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Build The Temple of God

3 Then the word of the LORD came by the hand of Haggai the prophet, 4 “Is it a time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, while this house lies in ruins?” ~ Haggai 1:3-4

In the days of Haggai there was no longer a Temple in Jerusalem to go up to to offer sacrifices and to meet with God. They weren’t focused on rebuilding the Temple, instead they were focused on building homes and lives for themselves. Today’s Church is not much different. We are now the temple of the Holy Spirit yet building the Temple isn’t a big part of our lives.

See, Jesus explained that an hour was coming when there would be no need to worship the Father on their mountain nor in Jerusalem, but the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth (John 4:21-24). Paul further explains this in his letter to the Corinthians (1 Corinthians 3:16-17).

Paul makes it abundantly clear that we are now God’s temple, therefore, we must glorify God in our bodies. So, if Haggai was in our day, he would prophesy the same thing to us. Because we schedule other activities in place of our worship time. Our quiet time with the LORD is sacrificed for things that could actually wait. We are distracted when we are at church with life’s demands. Even our time of prayer and fasting is not honored. We prioritize other things less important. We give little attention to God when it is His time. Our prayers are rushed. We cut our worship short to accommodate things we deem more important.

God wants us to succeed and be prosperous, but not at the expense of building His temple, which is our body. God expects us to build His temple as a priority, not treat it as an inconvenience. We are His Temple, therefore, build His Temple that His presence my dwell in your life.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Build The Temple of God.

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Hold Fast To His Plans

11 “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” ~ Jeremiah 29:11NIV

When I was a kid, I had a teacher, at a Christian school, once tell me that God doesn’t desire to save everyone. Some people He created simply for Hell because He didn’t want them. When I quoted Jeremiah 29:11, she said that that verse is only for the exiled Jews. She then refused to let me respond and just continued speaking over me.

But I want you to think about this for a second Peter tells us in 2 Peter 3:9

9 The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.

Therefore, that teacher wasn’t just wrong but blasphemous as she told such a bold-face lie on God. So, then is Jeremiah 29:11 also for us today? Yes, of course it is. Does God not have plans for us? Does He not want to prosper us? Does He not want to withhold harm from us? Does He not have plans to give us hope and a future? Of course He does. These are our promises as well.

Yes, they were spoken to the people of Judah when they went into the Babylonian exile, but we, as God’s people, can claim them as well because no good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly (Psalms 84:11b).

In his message from God, Peter assured us that God does not show partiality to any people, what He has for one, He has for all. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither male nor female when it comes to God’s great promises, and access to Him (Colossians 3:11). We are all the same. With the same opportunities. The same blessings. The same plans. There is no: This is for one but not the other.

The Jews were under the same erroneous understanding. They thought that salvation was only for the Jews, and God’s great promises were for them alone, since the promises were given to them. Paul also corrected that misunderstanding when he iterated the very same thing in Romans 2:11. Listen to me, God loves us. He wants what’s best for us. He will never leave us nor forsake us. God is our defender and our provider. We all have a call and plan for our lives. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Hold Fast To His Plans.

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Be Present

15 And when he [Jehu] departed from there, he met Jehonadab the son of Rechab coming to meet him. And he greeted him and said to him, “Is your heart true to my heart as mine is to yours?” And Jehonadab answered, “It is.” Jehu said, “If it is, give me your hand.” So he gave him his hand. And Jehu took him up with him into the chariot. 16 And he said, “Come with me, and see my zeal for the LORD.” So he had him ride in his chariot. 17 And when he came to Samaria, he struck down all who remained to Ahab in Samaria, till he had wiped them out, according to the word of the LORD that He spoke to Elijah. ~ 2 Kings 10:15-17

Rechab left behind a legacy of honor and obedience. One that today’s world rarely sees. He wasn’t out there using his money or influence to incite riots … and fund violent protests to further an agenda that only hurts our nation and enriches the already wealthy and powerful. That kind of behavior only weakens our nation rather than strengthens it. It serves only to divide instead of unite.

And that’s why today’s culture is reaping the consequences of fatherlessness with:

  • Rising crime
  • Depression and anxiety in youth
  • Broken families
  • Moral confusion
  • Lack of direction or discipline in children
  • Because those who should be protecting us are not!

Look, these are not random problems. They are consequences of planned foundational breakdowns, especially the absence of godly fathers, strong moral leadership, and firm spiritual conviction in the home and society… We lack those things.

With weak leadership and moral compromise in the highest places, it is our children who suffer the most.

Their whole environment is working against them; in fact, the whole system is stacked against them from the get-go. Children today are growing up in a world that’s working against them, rather than for them. It’s not neutral.

The music, the movies, the education system, the legislation—it’s all pushing them away from God and into confusion. They have no idea of true morality, and truth, period.

That’s why fathers matter now more than ever.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Be Present.

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