Tag: Are You In Need of Cleansing?

¹¹ And he said, “There was a man who had two sons. ¹² And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me.’ And he divided his property between them. ¹³ Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in reckless living. ¹⁴ And when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in that country, and he began to be in need. ¹⁵ So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. ¹⁶ And he was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate, and no one gave him anything. ~ Luke 15:11-16

The youngest son took his inheritance and left his father’s house. This is the majority of us today. We accept the generational blessings that come from our ancestors, the spiritual gifts, and the natural talent God has given us, and then we leave His presence. So many of us want the blessings of God, we want the Kingdom of Heaven, but we want it while living in the world. This is the desire of the youngest son. He wants his father’s wealth but doesn’t want to dwell with his father.

So, the son leaves with the generational blessings, the spiritual gifts, and the natural talent and goes off living in the world. But all that the father gave to his son isn’t enough for his reckless living in the world. So many of us take out our inheritance, and we’re successful, we’re influential, and we’re happy, but we’re not joyful. Happiness is relative. It’s dependent on our situation, other people’s reactions and words, the news, etc. But joy is dependent on God, and He does not change.

Many of us are successful in the world, but spiritually we’re sleeping with the pigs. Spiritually we’re broke and broken. We’re struggling with emptiness, brokenness, and depression. We’re struggling with self-doubt, loneliness, anger, and stress. These things can only be filled, fixed, and restored by and with God. Our inheritance without God can only last so long. It can only do so much. God gives us out of the abundance He has, but He can only give out of His abundance if you’re with Him.

The world brings us emptiness and depression, but God brings us a cup that runs over. Those who drink never thirst again. Those who eat never hunger again. Those who come to Him are satisfied, restored, and overflowing with more than we could ever imagine.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Leave The Spiritual Pigs.

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² For He says, “In a favorable time I listened to you,  and in a day of salvation I have helped you.” Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation. ~ 2 Corinthians 6:2

As a child, I remember one of my friends explaining to me that his grandmother didn’t want him to get saved yet and become a Christian because he was too young. She said his whole life was still ahead of him, and she wanted him to be able to enjoy it, and that came with it. So, she told him to wait until he was older, after he’s already lived and enjoyed his life. How can the author of life and life more abundantly remove any enjoyment from our life? This is the problem with Christians today.

Christians don’t know the Word of God. Therefore, they don’t know the God whom they claim they serve. My childhood friend’s grandma, like many Christians today, didn’t take into consideration that to refuse to serve God is to willingly serve the Devil. It’s to willingly serve the author of sin and death. Jesus describes the Devil as the thief who comes to steal, kill, and destroy. This was whom this grandmother encouraged her 10-year-old grandson to follow because she didn’t want her grandson to be a slave to righteousness so early in life. Little did she realize, like many others, that she was encouraging him to be a slave to sin, which leads to death. We all serve a master. None of us are completely and entirely free.

This is where his grandmother made her fatal mistake. Your childhood dictates your adulthood. This isn’t even just a biblical belief; this is a scientific fact. What happens I’m your early years of development determines the way you will think the way you will act; it will even impact your sexual indulgences. It’s much easier to get saved the younger you are than it is the older you get. Proverbs even warns us to raise up a child in the ways of righteousness so that when he or she is older, he or she will not stray from it. I haven’t seen my childhood friend in over 6 years, but a mutual friend showed me some photos. And to my sadness, he seemingly has no desire to know the LORD. He looks like he’s fallen into the generational curse of drug addiction. He looks like he has become another statistic of growing up without God and continuing without Him in adulthood.

Procrastination is a virus that kills ambition, success, and even life. Don’t allow procrastination to keep you from anything, especially salvation. When it comes to procrastination, tomorrow never comes. Make the decision today whom you and your household will serve. Make the decision today to follow Christ Jesus, the author of life and life more abundantly.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Choose Life More Abundantly.

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¹ In the twenty-seventh year of Jeroboam king of Israel, Azariah the son of Amaziah, king of Judah, began to reign. ² He was sixteen years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty-two years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jecoliah of Jerusalem. ³ And he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, according to all that his father Amaziah had done. ⁴ Nevertheless, the high places were not taken away. The people still sacrificed and made offerings on the high places. ⁵ And the Lord touched the king, so that he was a leper to the day of his death, and he lived in a separate house. And Jotham the king’s son was over the household, governing the people of the land. ~ 2 Kings 15:1-5

Doing what is right in the eyes of the LORD only matters if you refuse to allow sin to abound around you. King Azariah had done a lot of good things. He followed God. He read his Bible. He prayed. But it wasn’t enough. Why? Because he supported sin. Now, you may be wondering where in those verses it says that King Azariah supported sin. You support it with your silence if you don’t speak out against something. When We no longer try to correct others and instead only focus on ourselves, we are now endorsing sin.

Maybe King Azariah was like many in the Church today and didn’t feel it was his place to judge anyone. Maybe he believed in tolerance and acceptance above all else, so he allowed the people in the land to live in sin without any form of correction. But God tells us that, at the very least, we must warn those who are openly living in sin. That we must warn those that are supporting sin. And if we don’t, and they die in their sin, then their blood will be on our hands. We, as Christians, are the only ones on earth that know the Truth of God and His Word. We are the only ones that have the light in us to break the darkness of this world. So, how can we live our lives for God and expect to be blessed by Him when we watch our friends, neighbors, and nation plummet deeper and deeper into darkness without saying a single word?

King Azariah was struck with leprosy because of his lack of stance on right and wrong. Even though he remained king, he remained king separated. At the end of days, at the final Judgment, many will stand before Jesus asking how Jesus could reject them after all the good they had done in His name. Jesus tells them that because they didn’t minister to others, they were wicked and would be thrown into Hell to be separated from God for all eternity. What good is it to have a crown and all people think you’re so nice and wonderful if you are separated from God in the process?

LORD God, please help us not only to worry about whether or not we are saved but whether or not those around us are saved. Give us the courage to stand up for righteousness. Please give us the wisdom, patience, and gentleness to correct others in love—help us to be brave like all who have walked before us, who stood for righteousness and truth. Guide and lead us in all we do. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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⁵ When the servants of King Hezekiah came to Isaiah, ⁶ Isaiah said to them, “Say to your master, ‘Thus says the Lord: Do not be afraid because of the words that you have heard, with which the young men of the king of Assyria have reviled me. ⁷ Behold, I will put a spirit in him, so that he shall hear a rumor and return to his own land, and I will make him fall by the sword in his own land.’” ⁸ The Rabshakeh returned, and found the king of Assyria fighting against Libnah, for he had heard that the king had left Lachish. ⁹ Now the king heard concerning Tirhakah king of Cush, “He has set out to fight against you.” And when he heard it, he sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying, ¹⁰ “Thus shall you speak to Hezekiah king of Judah: ‘Do not let your God in whom you trust deceive you by promising that Jerusalem will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria. ¹¹ Behold, you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands, devoting them to destruction. And shall you be delivered? ¹² Have the gods of the nations delivered them, the nations that my fathers destroyed, Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and the people of Eden who were in Telassar? ¹³ Where is the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, the king of the city of Sepharvaim, the king of Hena, or the king of Ivvah?’” ~ Isaiah 37:5-13

Sennacherib, king of Assyria, was a warlord like no other. Each nation he set out to destroy, he destroyed. War was his game, and he was undefeated. In fact, he was so confident in himself that he mocked the gods of any nation that the people of that nation put their trust in, for what god could save them from his hand? So, when he came against Israel and threatened them and mocked their God, they trembled in fear, but Isaiah came forward with a word from God.

Sennacherib never set foot in the land of Israel. In fact, the Angel of the LORD, who had led them into the promised land so many years ago, came to their rescue once more and slaughtered 185,000 Assyrian soldiers in their own camp. Hezekiah, King of Judah, though frightened and afraid, saved his people from destruction, for he took it to the LORD in prayer. He didn’t wallow in his fear; no, he overcame through believing the word spoken by Isaiah and through praying on his knees for the LORD’s divine intervention. This is what saved the people of Judah. This is what caused the Angel of the LORD to come to their rescue.

It wasn’t the word that came from God but the reaction to that word. See, if Hezekiah hadn’t prayed, Judah would’ve been slaughtered. Judah would’ve been another victim of the Assyrian army. But because Hezekiah trusted in the word from God enough to pray about the deliverance of Judah, God’s word was able to come to pass.

See, each one of us has been given a word from the LORD. How we react to this word will determine whether the word is fulfilled or not. God doesn’t force His promises upon us; we have to claim them for ourselves. If God says I will do this if you do this, and we don’t do it, then the word will not come to pass. It’s easy to be afraid and terrified when facing a great warlord like Sennacherib, who mocks you and the LORD. Who tries to cause doubt by bringing up all who have failed before you, but you have to remember that these words, just like the words God has spoken, cannot come to pass unless you let them. The LORD has great plans for your life. Don’t allow Sennacherib to take them from you. Claim them, hold to them, put your trust in God, and pray for His word to come to pass. And just as the Angel of the LORD came to the rescue of Judah, so will He come to your rescue as well.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Choose Which Word Wisely.

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¹⁴ In righteousness you shall be established; you shall be far from oppression, for you shall not fear; and from terror, for it shall not come near you. ~Isaiah 54:14

The Devil cannot oppress you when you are dwelling in righteousness. Peter, James, John, Paul, etc., were all under physical and spiritual attack, but their faith was never shaken. Their joy was never turned into depression. They never saw the lack of the presence of God. They never lacked miracles, signs, or wonders. They were established in righteousness. They dwelt in the will of God. Today, the Church is distracted by everything. We even change Scripture in order by watering it down in order to not offend the world. We preach that God just wants us to be happy. We preach that God is love. Therefore, He won’t send anyone to Hell for just being themselves. We no longer dwell in righteousness. We no longer dwell in the will of God. This is why the Church looks no different than the world.

We have the same divorce rate, cancer statistics, diseases, depression, anxiety, and suicide as the rest of the world. We have love, joy, and peace, but nevertheless, we are no different from the world. Why? Could it be because we aren’t dwelling in the will of God, so we are no longer dwelling in righteousness? It’s only in righteousness that we are established where fear, oppression, and terror cannot touch us. The healing is the children’s bread, peace was purchased for us, and by His stripes, we are healed. God does not change. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Therefore, His Word does not change. His Word promises us life, not of the world, so you can’t try to dwell in or with the world and receive the promises of God. You have to come out of the world and dwell in the righteousness and will of God so that you may be established.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Watch Where You Dwell.

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⁴⁵ The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks. ~ Luke 6:45

How you see and perceive the world and God is based on what’s inside of you. This is because your heart controls everything about you, including your thoughts and opinions. Michal was David’s wife, and she loved him so much she betrayed her father by protecting him from her father, yet when it came to David dancing with all of his heart before the LORD, she saw it as a perverse and shameful act. The Pharisees all searched and studied the Scriptures. They were the teachers of the Law, yet they condemned John, saying he had a demon because he didn’t eat or drink like them. When they saw Jesus drinking and eating like them, they called Him a glutton and a drunk. Their hearts were perverse, so they saw the things of God as perverse.

Today is no different. We still condemn those that worship differently than us. We condemn those who seek more than us. We’re like Michal and the Pharisees, we have a form of godliness or love, but we don’t have a new heart, so our vision remains perverse. How do we fix this? We prophesy the gift of a new heart over us as God promised to us through the prophet Ezekiel. Then we pray for discernment that we might know the Truth and distinguish between good and evil. Then we fill our hearts with Christ and not the world. Then and only then will we rightly discern the actions of those around us. Only then will we truly know the will of the LORD. Only then will we be able to be a light in this present darkness.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Change The Abundance.

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¹⁹ I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live, ~ Deuteronomy 30:19

Today within the top 10 leading causes of death in the United States isn’t a virus, gun violence, or police brutality, but suicide has sadly made the cut. Suicide has skyrocketed in our society. It’s a growing pandemic that we can’t seem to get a handle on. The Spirit of Suicide preys on and claims victims of all ages, from elementary school children to grown adults in their late 40s and 50s. The further we push our society into darkness, the more rampant darkness will become. The more hopelessness, fear, anxiety, depression, and rejection will abound, all of which the Spirit of Suicide feeds off of.

So, then is there no hope? As long as hearts are beating, there is always hope. For the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. The darkness cannot be overcome unless we first shine light into that darkness. The light is the love of Jesus. We share this light by sharing the Truth. This is the only combat against the raging pandemic of suicide. There can be no light without Truth. The Truth is that there is a pandemic of suicide. There can be no light without Truth. The Truth is that God loves each of His creations. The Truth is that all who humble themselves before Christ will receive His shalom peace that passes all understanding.

The Truth is that suicide is a sin that leads to death, and without believing that Truth, I would’ve died many years ago. If suicide leads to peace with God, why would we stop anyone from committing suicide? Don’t believe the lies of the enemy. There is only peace found in Christ Jesus, not in taking the life He paid for on the cross with His own blood. If we aren’t our own, then would it not stand to reason that Christ would redeem and save all His people who call upon His name from their trials and tribulations, especially when He purchased peace for us by going through unthinkable chastisement?

Don’t believe the lies of the enemy. There is love in Christ. There is redemption in Christ. There is freedom from all oppression in Christ. There is peace that passes all understanding in Christ Jesus.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Believe Only The Truth.

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¹ Now Pashhur the priest, the son of Immer, who was chief officer in the house of the Lord, heard Jeremiah prophesying these things. ² Then Pashhur beat Jeremiah the prophet, and put him in the stocks that were in the upper Benjamin Gate of the house of the Lord. ³ The next day, when Pashhur released Jeremiah from the stocks, Jeremiah said to him, “The Lord does not call your name Pashhur, but Terror on Every Side. ⁴ For thus says the Lord: Behold, I will make you a terror to yourself and to all your friends. They shall fall by the sword of their enemies while you look on. And I will give all Judah into the hand of the king of Babylon. He shall carry them captive to Babylon, and shall strike them down with the sword. ⁵ Moreover, I will give all the wealth of the city, all its gains, all its prized belongings, and all the treasures of the kings of Judah into the hand of their enemies, who shall plunder them and seize them and carry them to Babylon. ⁶ And you, Pashhur, and all who dwell in your house, shall go into captivity. To Babylon you shall go, and there you shall die, and there you shall be buried, you and all your friends, to whom you have prophesied falsely.” ~ Jeremiah 20:1-6 ESV

When the Spirit of Discernment doesn’t dwell within the people of God, and they speak out against the people of God, God will remove them. Titles mean nothing to God, for He gives all men (and women) their titles and places them on the totem pole. It’s God who raises up kings and prophets. It’s God who establishes. While we agree with these two statements, we forget or maybe overlook the counterpart, which is just as important, if not more important. God raises up, but He also brings down. The kings of Judah and Israel weren’t immune to being humbled by God even though they were established by God, Himself, to lead the people of God. King Saul was the LORD’s anointed, yet the kingdom was ripped from underneath him, and all of his descendants, except for one, died. There is no person on this earth that is above the justice from the LORD.

Therefore, pray for discernment. Earnestly seek wisdom and understanding that you might test the spirit behind every word you hear. For even though Pashur was a priest, he lacked discernment. See, Pashur most likely became like Christians today, too caught up with their role in the Church and missing their role as the future bride of Christ. We are betrothed to the one who loves us more than any other. To the one who died for us, yet we miss out on a relationship with Him before the marriage supper because we’re too busy planning the wedding.

Here’s what I’m saying. Pashur was a priest, and I’m sure he did all of his priestly duties. His father was the chief officer of the house of the LORD. Pashur wasn’t like the sons of Eli. He didn’t blaspheme and sleep with women in the Temple. His sin was the sin that is overtaking the Church today, the sin of planning the wedding without the bridegroom. We’ve each been given different roles to play, and it’s important that we do those roles, but not at the cost of our relationship with Christ. What good is a planned wedding if there is no bridegroom for the bride? The wedding is now useless. This is the same in Christianity if we have no relationship with Christ. All that we’ve done and accomplished in His name is worthless and useless if we don’t have a relationship with Him. Because without a relationship with Christ, there is no discernment, and without discernment, we will miss the signs, wonders, and words of the LORD given to us by His people. Without discernment, we will falsely prophesy as Pashur did and, in doing so, condemn ourselves to captivity in Babylon, where we will die far away from the presence of God. So, seek the LORD. Seek His wisdom, understanding, and discernment.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Seek a Relationship with the Lover of Your Soul.

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¹⁶ Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you, filling you with vain hopes. They speak visions of their own minds, not from the mouth of the Lord. ¹⁷ They say continually to those who despise the word of the Lord, ‘It shall be well with you’; and to everyone who stubbornly follows his own heart, they say, ‘No disaster shall come upon you.’” ~ Jeremiah 23:16-17

Solomon states in Ecclesiastes 1:9 that there is nothing new under the sun. The more I read the Bible and compare it to the things I see and hear in the world today, the more I agree with him. During the time of Jeremiah, the prophets told the people who hated the Word of God and who refused to obey His commands that all would be well with them. In other words, they not only endorsed the sin of these people, but they convinced the people God did as well.

The leaders and shepherds of the Church today are no different. They shout arrogant statements to justify sin, such as, “My Jesus loves everybody.” And “You were born this way. God makes no mistakes.” And “Only God can judge.” And “I don’t need a Bible to have a relationship with God.” They tell their followers as well as the entire Church that we have no right to judge anyone. But I ask you unless you judge a tree by its fruit, how will you know if you are eating a lemon or an orange? We’ve corrupted not only the Church but the Word of God by which we aimlessly seek to defend and justify sin.

And just as the prophets of old brought vain hope, so do our shepherds and leaders today. Death has been warned from before Eve was even created. If you sin, then you will die. This isn’t a new radical belief. This is the Law of Nature established before Heaven and Earth were created on that first day. The idea of sin being who you are; therefore, you must accept it is a new radical belief resurfacing from ancient times. From the very first sin. For as the Serpent whispered into Eve’s ear, “You shall not die…” So did the Prophets say to the people, “You shall not die…” during the time of Jeremiah. And so have the leaders and shepherds of the Church shout and proclaim from the rooftops, “You shall not die..” But don’t believe their false hope. Don’t believe their lie. For sin doesn’t just lead to a physical death, but an everlasting spiritual one. A spiritual death that doesn’t cease nor ease, that only causes calamity and destruction upon its victim.

The straight and narrow path isn’t easy. It isn’t a relaxing walk. It’s a race. It’s an obstacle course that you run with all of your might, unable to stop in the middle lest you be disqualified, as you carry a cross and chase after the forerunner who has already completed the race. Jesus didn’t promise us an easy life. Nor did He promise us the world. Jesus promised us Eternal Life and rest if we follow Him. The world may look luring and inviting, but once you have the light to open your eyes in the darkness, the evil can no longer disguise itself as good. Cling to the Word of God and your relationship with Christ so that it might go well with you.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Don’t Believe Their False Hope.

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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. ~ John 3:16

John 3:16 is one of the most well-known and most beloved verses of all time. It plainly tells us that it is those who believe, meaning accept what Jesus did for them on Calvary, that will be saved. If you do not accept Jesus, you will perish. You cannot have it both ways. Either there is only one way, or there are several ways.

According to the creator of the entire universe, there is only one way to God. There is only one way to salvation. That’s Jesus. Why? Because Jesus is the only one that paid the price. Jesus is the only one that gave His life as a sacrifice. It’s only Jesus that took our sin upon Himself and overcame the entire world. To say that there are more ways would be to say that Jesus’ sacrifice wasn’t necessary and was, in fact, meaningless.

Jesus is the only way because He is the only one who took our sin upon Himself. Don’t take His sacrifice for granted. Don’t teach others to take His sacrifice for granted. None that takes Jesus’ sacrifice for granted will receive life. There’s no way to entire Heaven if you received to accept the ticket to enter.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Accept His Ticket.

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