Category: Daily Bread

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Make Yourself Uncomfortable

16 So the people went out and brought them and made booths for themselves, each on his roof, and in their courts and in the courts of the house of God, and in the square at the Water Gate and in the square at the Gate of Ephraim. 17 And all the assembly of those who had returned from the captivity made booths and lived in the booths, for from the days of Joshua the son of Nun to that day the people of Israel had not done so. And there was very great rejoicing. ~ Nehemiah 8:16-17

I want you to fully understand what Nehemiah is saying here. From the days of Joshua until Nehemiah’s time the Feast of Booths hadn’t been kept. That means not Joshua who spoke with the LORD God Himself. Nor Samuel who was audibly called by God and spoke to Him. Not David a man after God’s own heart. Not Solomon who received unmatched wisdom. Not Isaiah. Not Jeremiah. The people did not keep the Feast of Booths during all of that time. That is roughly 900 years. Let that sink in real quick. For roughly 900 years they didn’t dwell in booths for seven days to keep the feast the LORD God commanded. Not just any feast either. This was a mandatory pilgrimage feast. One God said was mandatory to come to Jerusalem to keep. One of three.

Let me put this even into more perspective for you. King Solomon had everyone in Jerusalem for the dedicating of the Temple during the Feast of Booths, but didn’t have them actually keep the feast. Let that sink in. He had bring sacrifices for each day but not dwell in booths, but he refused to dwell in booths for just seven days as the LORD commanded. Why? He, just like those who had come before him, would not make themselves uncomfortable for God. They didn’t see the point.

Solomon and those in his kingdom were so wealthy that silver nothing during his days (1 Kings 10:21). When he dedicated the Temple he sacrificed so much it couldn’t be numbered or counted. He was willing to and did make sacrifice after sacrifice but nothing that would make him uncomfortable. None of them did. Not a single one.

And it’s easy for us to look at that and judge them. To say how ridiculous they were all while not realizing that we are exactly like them. We’ll give offerings at church, join the worship team, teach Sunday School, even tithe, but we’re not gonna make ourselves uncomfortable for God. If we pray it’s just a quick prayer. If we go to church it better not be too long or on the same day as a big game. If we fast our bodies can’t feel hunger or discomfort and we can’t miss out on sports, TV, movies, or social media for it. We expect so much from God but we wanna give so little to Him in return.

We want miracles, healing, signs, wonders, divine intervention, deliverance, justice, and most importantly salvation, but we refuse to make ourselves uncomfortable for Him. The prophet Samuel checked King Saul when he sacrificed instead obeying:

22 And Samuel said, “Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams.”

1 Samuel 15:22 (ESV)

When we think that if we can give enough stuff to God we can remain comfortable in our sin, in our relationship with Him, in our walk with Him, in our faith, we are deceiving only ourselves. We become worst that those of the past. They were commanded to celebrate these feasts without full understanding. Without full revelation. Today we know why we pray, fast, go to church, worship, etc. We know what’s at stake. We know what’s in store for those on the earth at the time of Jesus’ return. We know the warnings of the Last Days. And we know what we are looking forward to. None of that is hidden from us. None of that is a secret. It’s all written down for us, so how can we still act as those without understanding and judge them at the exact same time?

God’s commands aren’t for controlling us. It’s every Law and Command is for our benefit. They are divine wisdom trying to lead us in the ways of righteousness. Guide us through that straight and narrow path so that we might be welcomed into eternity with Him. It’s Him revealing Himself to us. His desire for us. His plan for our lives.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Make Yourself Uncomfortable.

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Wait For The Right Time

1 Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes, the leaders of the fathers’ houses of the people of Israel, before King Solomon in Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the covenant of the LORD out of the city of David, which is Zion. 2 And all the men of Israel assembled to King Solomon at the feast in the month Ethanim, which is the seventh month. 3 And all the elders of Israel came, and the priests took up the ark. 4 And they brought up the ark of the LORD, the tent of meeting, and all the holy vessels that were in the tent; the priests and the Levites brought them up. 5 And King Solomon and all the congregation of Israel, who had assembled before him, were with him before the ark, sacrificing so many sheep and oxen that they could not be counted or numbered. 6 Then the priests brought the ark of the covenant of the LORD to its place in the inner sanctuary of the house, in the Most Holy Place, underneath the wings of the cherubim. 7 For the cherubim spread out their wings over the place of the ark, so that the cherubim overshadowed the ark and its poles. 8 And the poles were so long that the ends of the poles were seen from the Holy Place before the inner sanctuary; but they could not be seen from outside. And they are there to this day. 9 There was nothing in the ark except the two tablets of stone that Moses put there at Horeb, where the LORD made a covenant with the people of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt. 10 And when the priests came out of the Holy Place, a cloud filled the house of the LORD, 11 so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the LORD filled the house of the LORD. ~ 1 Kings 8:1-11

It was during Sukkot (the Feast of Booths) that Solomon brought the Ark of the Covenant into the Holy of Holies in the newly built Temple. According to 1 Kings 6:38, the Temple of Solomon was finished in the eighth month. That means that King Solomon waited an entire year (eleven months to be exact) to bring the Ark of the Covenant into the Temple. Why? I think it was symbolic of the fact that the Feast of Booths foreshadowed not only the Millennial Reign of Christ but would be fulfilled in the LORD dwelling on Earth for all eternity with His people after creating a New Earth for His people to dwell with Him on.

No longer would the LORD dwell in just a tent, as the people of Israel had dwelt in tents as they wandered; now the LORD had a permanent dwelling place on Earth to be with His people. How beautiful is that? King Solomon waited for just the right moment to bring the Ark of the LORD, which symbolized the presence of the LORD, into the newly built Temple. There was no rushing. No, we gotta get this done now. No, the Temple is built; bring it in. No, King Solomon willingly waited almost an entire year before bringing the Ark of the Covenant into the Temple.

Could he have just brought it in when it was completed? Yes. Would it have been a sin? No. It would’ve been good, but it was better to wait. There are things in life that would be good to do now, but better to wait. So, don’t rush anything you do. Do all things to the glory of God and let it be done in His timing.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Wait For The Right Time.

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Live For An Eternal Dwelling

6 On that day there shall be no light, cold, or frost. 7 And there shall be a unique day, which is known to the LORD, neither day nor night, but at evening time there shall be light. 8 On that day living waters shall flow out from Jerusalem, half of them to the eastern sea and half of them to the western sea. It shall continue in summer as in winter. 9 And the LORD will be King over all the earth. On that day the LORD will be one and His name one. ~ Zechariah 14:6-9

Last night started the seven days of the Feast of Booths. And today, when the Jewish people meet to read their Scriptures together in unison, as one people, they will read Zechariah 14. And for me, personally, that blows my mind. I’ve been thinking about it since I found out about it. Why? Why is it plaguing my thoughts? Because Zechariah 14 is a Messianic Prophecy.

Zechariah isn’t talking about God the Father. He isn’t prophesying the return of God the Father. Zechariah is prophesying the Second Coming of Jesus, as well as His coming to reign on this earth for a thousand years. John saw this same event and recorded it in his book (Revelation 20:1-6).

Every single time they read Zechariah 14, they are reading of the Messiah. They are reading of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the World, whom they have rejected. Whom they have denied, whom they do not want nor acknowledge. That, to me, is mind-blowing. In other words, they are saying, “Come, LORD Jesus, come,” and they have no idea. They may be saying, “Come, Father God”; that may be their intention, but their intention cannot override God’s meaning of that Word. Their intention can’t just override the promise.

Many are the plans of man, but it is God’s plan that will come to fruition. It is God’s plan that will be fulfilled in the end. Even though they don’t acknowledge the LORD Jesus, even though they don’t believe that He is the Messiah, that He is the Almighty, even though they do not hold that belief, every time they read that verse, pray for it to be fulfilled, cling to it in hope, speak it out over their land, they are declaring and calling for the LORD Jesus to come. For the LORD Jesus to take His rightful place as King of the World.

That is what we, Christians, are looking forward to as well. But we say, “Come, LORD Jesus, Come.” We say it knowing what it means. Our eyes are no longer veiled when we read the Law and the Prophets. We can see Jesus in it. We can see the LORD Jesus clearly throughout Scripture. Therefore, how much more should we, at the very least, remember and look forward to the fulfillment of the Feasts God has given. The Feasts that prophesied our God fully and completely redeeming us from all unrighteousness. That we should be excited for. We should be praying for. We should be seeking out. These feasts aren’t just for Jews. They read and see with veiled eyes. Without understanding. Without fully grasping all that God has for us.

They keep these feasts and look for a fulfillment, especially the Feast of Booths. A Feast most of us Christians have never heard of, let alone sought to see it fulfilled one day. They don’t fully understand what they are seeking in its fulfillment, yet they do it. Each and every year. But we who know. Who have no veil. Who have the very Spirit of God dwelling in us overlook them. We don’t even know what they are, let alone what they look forward to. Shame on us for taking our religion, our faith, so lightly.

Therefore, this Feast of Booths. These next seven days, starting today, seek out the LORD. Make your heart ready for His return. Make sure that you are ready for His return so that when He comes back to get His people, you are one of them. So, you will be called up to be with Him forever. So that you might get to enjoy and see the fulfillment of the Feast of Booths. For one thousand years the LORD Jesus will reign on earth. And then after those thousand years, the Judgment will take place, and He will create a new earth. A new eternal home. No longer will we be dwelling in temporary tents but in eternal dwelling places.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Live For An Eternal Dwelling.

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Search To Better Understand

42 You shall dwell in booths for seven days. All native Israelites shall dwell in booths, 43 that your generations may know that I made the people of Israel dwell in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God. ~ Leviticus 23:42-43

Tonight, at sunset, Sukkot (The Feast of Booths) will begin. A feast that looks back at Israel’s 40-year wandering in the wilderness after leaving the land of Egypt. Why were they wandering in the wilderness? So that none of those twenty and up who had seen the glory of God and His signs in Egypt and the wilderness yet still put Him to the test (ten times) and did not obey His voice would not see the Promised Land (Numbers 14:20-38). The children of those men and women, however, would enter the Promised Land after the forty years. For forty years they were to bear their iniquities. But for those who were zealous for God, such as Joshua and Caleb, their strength didn’t weaken; not even their clothes or shoes withered. He preserved them so that they might see His Promised Land.

This wasn’t just for no reason. This was foreshadowing a future event. The Millennial Reign of Christ. For one thousand years, the LORD Jesus Himself will reign on the Earth in all of His Glory after the Wrath of God is poured out on the World (Revelation 20), and all who did not die during His Wrath will come each year to Him to celebrate the Feast of Booths (Zechariah 14). So, what if the Millennial Reign is the opportunity for the children of those who went through the Wrath of God to come to Christ? To have an opportunity to enter His Promised Land, the New Earth?

The Old Testament isn’t just completed and done away with. It directly impacts us today. Christians shouldn’t just ignore the Old Testament because we’re under a New and Better Covenant. No. We should be studying the Old Testament to better understand our promises from the LORD God Himself. For the Law was just a shadow of the good things to come (Hebrews 8:5 & Hebrews 10:1). A shadow of the promises to the Children of God. Those who have faith in Him and are obedient to Him. Therefore, search the Law. Search the Prophets. Search the Old Testament that you might see more of the promises and better understand all that is to come.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Search To Better Understand.

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Ignore Intent

21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits. ~ Proverbs 18:21

King Solomon said that death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat of its fruits. Those who love their tongue, who use it, who speak, they will eat the fruit of whatever it is they have spoken. Whether blessing or curse. Life or death. Healing or sickness. It doesn’t matter. And here’s the thing: death and life aren’t bound to the life of the person who speaks it.

I was recently talking with a loved one, and they kept speaking words of death on America, her people, and me. And after each word they spoke, I, in turn, looked up to heaven and canceled their words in the name of Jesus. See, they weren’t speaking out of hatred towards America, her people, or me. They were speaking out of hopelessness and ignorance. Their words weren’t intended to be words of malice or death, but their intention is irrelevant.

Our intention may not be for wickedness, but our actions are not bound by our intention. Intent is irrelevant; what has been done is what matters. Our words are powerful. People’s words are powerful. They have the power to impact our lives if we let them. I could’ve just brushed it off as drunken talk and just moved on. But why take that chance? Why let those words linger in the atmosphere? What good would that do? None. So, I canceled those words in the name of Jesus. I brought them into submission to Christ. I didn’t allow the enemy a single foothold into my life or the outcome of my country or her people.

It’s time that Christians begin to stand up and cancel words of death and replace them with words of life. It’s time to stop overlooking words spoken and begin to take that proverb seriously. It’s time we stand up and take our rightful place as watchmen of our lives, homes, communities, and nations. It’s time to take back the power from the enemy and fight back in this war.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Ignore Intent.

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Take The Job Initiative

8 Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil?” 9 So Satan answered the Lord and said, “Does Job fear God for nothing? 10 Have You not made a hedge around him, around his household, and around all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. 11 But now, stretch out Your hand and touch all that he has, and he will surely curse You to Your face!” 12 And the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your power; only do not lay a hand on his person.” So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD. ~ Job 1:8-12NKJV

As Christians, we go through a lot of trials, tribulations, and hardships. Not because God isn’t faithful, or even because the World hates us or Satan is out to get us, but because we ourselves are not faithful. Job was a righteous, blameless man. Not because he never sinned or was perfect in every single thing he did, but because he never forgot God. He was weary of sin and would make sacrifices to the LORD, continually cleansing himself and his family. He’d do so, not just because he knew they’d sin, but just in case they did. So, would he do any less for himself? No. This is the reason for Satan’s complaint.

God didn’t build up a hedge of protection around Job just because He loved Job above all others. He did it because He honored Job’s sacrifices and diligence to do what is right. As Christians, we don’t believe we have anything to do with our own Salvation, let alone our own trials and tribulations. Paul, however, wrote to work out your Salvation with much fear and trembling. He wrote that he would afflict his flesh so that he might not be disqualified from this race after preaching and teaching to so many. We are in a Spiritual Battle, a long-distance marathon, racing against an enemy seeking to destroy us.

How many times a day do we take the time to pray for the forgiveness of our sins, the protection of our lives, and the protection of our family and all that we have? The enemy doesn’t just try to hurt us by going after us alone. It’s our family, specifically our children and spouses; it’s our finances, our jobs, and investments. It’s our homes and our cars. It’s everything. If I can just distract you from praying, worshipping, reading your Bible, then I can get a foothold in your life and then build that into a stronghold; then I’ve won. I’ve now gotten control in your life.

So, what are we to do? Take Job’s initiative. We go before God humbly, offering sacrifices of praise, Thanksgiving, worship, and fasting. And we couple that with prayer as we dedicate all that we have to Christ. And we build that spiritual wall of protection around ourselves, our family, and our finances. We build that hedge of protection around all that is ours, so that we are not the cause of any of our hardships. Any of our trials and tribulations. So that the enemy has no foothold in our lives.

Peace. Love. GO Forth and Take The Job Initiative.

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Stay Regardless Of Words

24 And the LORD’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, 25 correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, 26 and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will. ~ 2 Timothy 2:24-26ESV

I was recently speaking to someone who said to me, “Yo, sometimes I need a break from you cause you’re intense.” What made me intense? I correct him when he misquotes, misuses, or conflates Scriptures. I don’t let it slide. I correct it. He’ll send four to six voice messages at one time, each lasting between 30 seconds to 1 ½ minutes. Some can last up to 2 ½ minutes. In each message, he takes a random Scripture either out of context, misquoted, or poorly translated. So, I’ll go through each claim he’s made and correct it. The message I sent is one message that is about 4 minutes long (3 minutes and 55 seconds). This is what he claims is intense. But what is he really saying?

It’s too much Truth right now, and I can’t defend my belief, so I can’t handle much more. He once told me he could never leave his wife alone with me for a long period of time, lest I convert her to Christianity. His words were derogatory. You’re too intense to be around all the time, man. But his meaning was, you know too much Bible and can correct me, expose the flaws of the beliefs I refuse to let go of, so I need a break lest you convert me to Christianity and I am forced to change. He meant it as derogatory and a way to get me to back down a bit, but I took it as a victory. A sign that my words have been digging into him. That they’ve been working on him. That his conscience has been thinking about all that we’ve been discussing. Most importantly, he’s feeling conviction that he isn’t living his life the way God has called him to live.

The enemy will try to use the tongue of others in order to deflate you, make you feel some type of way, downcast, self-conscious, but that is a last resort for him. That means he’s losing his grip on that person. He’s losing his hold on them, and the blinders he’s placed on them are beginning to fall off. So, what’s left? What now? We pray. We go to spiritual war on their behalf. We bring them before the LORD night and day until that stronghold is broken. Until that light can break through and they can see the Truth.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Stay Regardless Of Words.

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Don’t Do Nothing

26 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 27 “Now on the tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement. It shall be for you a time of holy convocation, and you shall afflict yourselves and present a food offering to the Lord. 28 And you shall not do any work on that very day, for it is a Day of Atonement, to make atonement for you before the Lord your God. 29 For whoever is not afflicted on that very day shall be cut off from his people. 30 And whoever does any work on that very day, that person I will destroy from among his people. 31 You shall not do any work. It is a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwelling places. 32 It shall be to you a Sabbath of solemn rest, and you shall afflict yourselves. On the ninth day of the month beginning at evening, from evening to evening shall you keep your Sabbath.” ~ Leviticus 23:26-32

24 For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. 25 Nor was it to offer Himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not His own, 26 for then He would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, He has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. 27 And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, 28 so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for Him. ~ Hebrews 9:24-28

I was reading a Christian blog explaining the Jewish feasts, and they explained the Day of Atonement as a ‘Do-Nothing Day’ for Christians because Jesus did it all for us when it comes to atonement. Jesus did it all with regard to our salvation being purchased for us and establishing a new covenant, but there is much for us to do on this day. The Day of Atonement was the most Holiest of feasts the LORD God established. It was the one day a year the High Priest could enter into the Holy of Holies where the Presence of the LORD would come down on the Mercy Seat. Jesus, our High Priest, went behind the curtain in Heaven and made the final sacrifice for our sin. He gave His own blood.

Here’s what I’m getting at: this feast should be just as holy, if not holier, to us than to the Jews. Why? Our God sacrificed His own blood to purchase our salvation. To give us freedom in Him, yet we still give in to temptation. Yet we still continue our lives as if He didn’t. We make claims like ‘we have nothing to do with our salvation.’ We choose the world over Him. TV instead of prayer. Games instead of worship. Social Media instead of reading our Bibles. We should be spending this day on our knees begging for His forgiveness. Begging for His mercy. Begging for His grace. We should spend the day humbling ourselves before our God, our Savior.

This isn’t the biggest ‘Do-Nothing Day’ for Christians. This is the biggest cry-out-to-Jesus day for Christians. The biggest day of reflection. The biggest day of repentance. Don’t waste this day.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Don’t Do Nothing.

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Renew Yourself

23 Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! 24 And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting! ~ Psalms 139:23-24ESV

Tomorrow is the Day of Atonement. It is the most holiest of days for the Jewish people. Why? Because it was the one day a year that the High Priest could go behind the curtain into the Holy of Holies, where the LORD would come down in the cloud to meet him. The High Priest would then make Atonement for the sins of Israel. Today, the curtain is torn. Our High Priest has made a final Atonement for us, and no longer do we bring the blood of bulls and goats; instead, we bring ourselves.

We say, here I am, LORD, use me. Search me, O God; is there any wickedness in me? Cleanse me from all unrighteousness. Fill my heart with an abundance of good so that my mouth might speak life and not death. Am I living in Your call, Your will for my life, so that when You come back for me, I’m doing what it is that You have called me to do? Am I a Light to the World, or has my Light dimmed, and darkness can no longer see it?

Let tomorrow, the Day of Atonement, be a day of reflection. Let it be a day that you search yourself. Let it be a day that you renew your faith in Christ.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Renew Yourself.

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Uproot The Bitter Root

15 See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled; ~ Hebrews 12:15ESV

It wasn’t until recently that I realized, or truly understood, what a Root of Bitterness was that the author of Hebrews was warning us about. I thought that it was a root of bitterness in regard to feeling bitter towards someone or something. Unforgiveness that had turned to dislike or disdain for someone. But the Root of Bitterness isn’t that at all; it’s unchecked grief.

It’s Job losing everything and cursing the day he was born. It’s Naomi losing her husband and two sons, and renaming herself Mara. It’s a root of hopelessness that says this is it. There is no more hope. There is no way out. There is nothing more for you here. It is a destructive root that speaks death instead of life. The Root of Bitterness corrupts faith because it takes away hope. Without hope, you cannot have faith.

This is the reason Paul emphatically said, “Give thanks in all circumstances.” Not for all circumstances, but in all circumstances. In everything, we give thanks to God. We give thanks for the life we still have, the sun that is still shining, the hope that we still cling to. We give thanks in every circumstance, regardless of how hard or difficult they are. We give thanks to our God.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Uproot The Bitter Root.

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