“5 David was furious. ‘As surely as the Lord lives,’ he vowed, ‘any man who would do such a thing deserves to
die! 6 He must repay four lambs to the
poor man for the one he stole and for having no pity.’ 7 Then
Nathan said to David, ‘You are that man! The Lord, the God of
Israel, says: I anointed you king of Israel and saved you from the power of
Saul.” ~ 2 Samuel 12:5-7
David was King of Israel, had 3 wives already, and everything he could ever
dream of, yet he went after another man’s wife. He then killed the man, Uriah,
because he slept with Uriah’s wife, Bathsheba, and got her pregnant. The LORD
was angry about this, so He sent Nathan the Prophet to speak to David. When
David heard what Nathan had said, he didn’t know that it was him that Nathan
was speaking about, so he became furious with the man in the story.
When David found out that it was him that the story was about, he saw the
error of his ways and humbled himself before God. Sometimes we forget to look
in the mirror before we cast judgment upon another person. We sometimes forget
that we’ve committed that same sin, without repentance, while condemning
someone else. That’s what Jesus was speaking about in Matthew 7, take the plank
out of your own eye before you can take the speck out of another’s.
Repent, change, and then correct. Don’t forget to first be the example
before you try to correct another person’s faults.
“1 If you see your neighbor’s ox
or sheep or goat wandering away, don’t ignore your responsibility.Take
it back to its owner.2 If its
owner does not live nearby or you don’t know who the owner is, take it to your
place and keep it until the owner comes looking for it. Then you must return
it. 3 Do the same if you find your
neighbor’s donkey, clothing, or anything else your neighbor loses. Don’t ignore
your responsibility. 4 If you see that your neighbor’s donkey
or ox has collapsed on the road, do not look the other way. Go and help your
neighbor get it back on its feet!” ~ Deuteronomy 22:1-4NLT
As a Church, have we lost our compassion? How
often do we stop when we see someone in need? Or give the dollar the homeless
person is asking for? Or help the older woman struggling pump gas? How often do
we help our fellow man? Many excuses come to mind when these questions are
asked, but the bottom line (no matter the excuse or reason for not doing it)
is, where is your faith? If you have complete faith in God, then you will have
the faith that God will use you and all that you do and give. Jesus compared
not feeding the hungry or clothing the naked as not taking care of Him.
Peace. Love. Go Forth and Fulfill Your Responsibility.
“12 So Micah installed the Levite as his
personal priest, and he lived in Micah’s house. 13 ‘I know the Lord will bless
me now,’ Micah said, ‘because I have a Levite serving as my priest.’” ~ Judges 17:12-13
Micah was a man who wanted to be a High Priest but was not
a Levite. Micah wanted to be in a different area, then God had placed him. He wanted
more, which is why I believe his mother had the silver he stole from her,
turned into an idol for him. Micah desired to be everything he wasn’t, in doing
so, he rejected everything God called him to be.
Micah then tried to justify his rejection of God’s calling by
becoming religious. Because he wanted to be a High Priest, he felt that God
would accept his desires and pursuits because he now had an actual priest, a
Levite, serving with him. He justified his sin with religious reasoning.
Often times, we do this in today’s world as well. We see
what other people are doing and we desire their call more than we desire our
own. We want to follow what we want instead of what God wants, justifying it
with religious reasoning. Our own desires can’t compete with God’s ultimate plan
for our lives, He knows what’s for us. When we do it ourselves, we not only
deceive ourselves but also those around us. Micah’s sin deceived an entire tribe,
who has been deceived by your sin?
LORD God, I ask that you teach all of us how to follow Your
perfect will for each of our lives. I ask that You would forgive us for when we’ve
done things our way and polluted your call on our lives and led others astray.
Please help us to return to You whole-heartedly, humbling ourselves to Your
call and Your desire for our lives. In Jesus’ Name, I pray, Amen.
Peace. Love. Go Forth and Don’t Justify Rebellion With Religion.
“3 Then Samuel
said to all the people of Israel, ‘If you want to return to the Lord with all your hearts, get rid of your foreign gods and your images
of Ashtoreth. Turn your hearts to the Lord and obey Him
alone; then He will rescue you from the Philistines.’ 4 So the Israelites got rid of their images of Baal
and Ashtoreth and worshiped only the Lord.” ~ 1 Samuel 7:3-4
The people of Israel were afraid of the Philistines because
the LORD was no longer with them. So, Samuel showed the people the way back to
the LORD. They had to get rid of all of their false gods, and then the LORD
would return to them. See some of us are under attack by the enemy and the LORD
is nowhere to be found because we’ve replaced Him with false gods and idols.
The only way to get out of the situation we’ve got ourselves into is to return
to the LORD fully by getting rid of our false gods.
“21 Woe
to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you
had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth
and ashes.22 But
I tell you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for Tyre and Sidon
than for you. 23 And you, Capernaum,
will you be exalted to heaven? You will be brought down to Hades. For if the
mighty works done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until
this day. 24 But I tell you that it will
be more tolerable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom than for you.” ~ Matthew 11:21-24
Can you learn anything from Sodom? It is better to live in sin, without knowing the Truth, than to hear the Truth and refuse to change.
Sodom was such a wicked city that God Himself went down to see if the cries of the people, against Sodom, were true. When they were found to be true, He sent two angels to destroy Sodom and everything in it.
Imagine how wicked Capernaum must have been to have seen the
miracles of Jesus, be face to face with God Himself, and yet refuse to repent.
When He compared them to Sodom, He said Sodom would have repented. Then He took
it a step further saying, Sodom would be better off on the day of judgment than
them.
So where do we stand? Are we those who have seen the Truth, know the Truth, witnessed the Truth, but refuse to repent because of our fleshly desires? Or are we like Sodom would have been, filled with wickedness, deserving complete destruction, but hear the Truth, See the Truth, Learn the Truth, know the Truth, and repent?
The things of this world will not last. For even the Earth,
skies, and seas will pass away, but our souls are eternal. We will spend
eternity in one place, either the New Earth or The Lake of Fire. Right now, we
can’t understand the pains of Hell, nor can we understand the renewal and peace
of The New Earth. And even more so we can’t fathom eternity. We can’t
understand a timeless place.
To put it into perspective, have you ever been burned? Have you ever felt the heat of fire on your skin? Imagine that pain that felt. The excruciating, nail-biting pain. Now imagine that pain lasting 30 seconds. Then 1 minute. 2 minutes. It becomes unbearable and if the flame is hot enough, you could pass out from the pain.
Those measly 2 minutes don’t even put a dent in eternity. Eternity has no end. Eternity there is no death. There is no passing out. There is taking a break. It’s like a constant fire that burns your entire body. You stay in constant torment. Your mouth thirsts for water, but it can’t have not one drop. What is a few years of giving up your fleshly desires that will never satisfy you, when it compares to eternity? Don’t give up your eternal peace, for a few moments of pleasure that won’t last. If Sodom were here during the time of grace, they would have repented when they heard the Truth.
Peace. Love. Go Forth and Be Like Sodom… Would Have Been.
“23 And whenever the harmful spirit from God was upon Saul, David took the lyre and played it with his hand. So Saul was refreshed and was well, and the harmful spirit departed from him.” ~ 1 Samuel 16:23
Music influences our souls. When our soul is in distress, pain, suffering, agony, the only thing that will bring us peace is worship. Worship isn’t for God; worship is for us. Worship is our way of connecting to God and revitalizing our souls. God doesn’t depend on our worship. God won’t grow weak if we stop worshiping Him. We were meant for relationship. We were meant to walk and talk with God, but when sin entered, it created a separation between us and God.
So now, we worship in order to reconnect to God. We worship so that we can revitalize our souls so that we can strengthen our Spirit Man in order to get back to where we were originally. But when we stop worshiping and something else replaces that worship, our Spirit Man is weakened, and another spirit begins to take over, a spirit of greed, sexuality, lust, anger, pride, rebellion, etc.
When we switch our music from mostly worship to rarely or never worship, we separate ourselves from God. We invite evil in, and we don’t even realize it. When we get rid of worship and we change our music, whatever spirit is attached to that music will attach itself to us. Music isn’t just a bunch of words connected with a nice beat. Music speaks to your soul. It affects your emotions and, by doing so, influences your actions.
Once you can influence actions, you can have control over someone’s soul. The state of a person’s soul is determined by that person’s actions. All-day long we can say we are a Christian, but if we have no action behind it, it is a pointless statement. It’s the same as someone saying they’ll help you, they’ll be there for you, but they never do. It’s all just empty talk.
Don’t be fooled into damning your soul for a nice beat and some rhyming words. Make a stand and choose where you want your soul to go. It’s not necessarily the journey that matters, but it’s the destination. You can have the time of your life on Earth, but what’s the point if you spend eternity in pain and suffering? Choose wisely how you spend your free time. Choose wisely what you feed your soul. Choose wisely how you worship. Choose wisely what you worship.
“All
the congregation of the people of Israel moved on from the wilderness of Sin by
stages, according to the commandment of the Lord, and camped at Rephidim, but
there was no water for the people to drink.” ~ Exodus 17:1
Notice how the people of Israel moved on from the wilderness
of Sin in stages? Why didn’t God just take them all out at one time, no stages?
Because He had to undo all that sin had done. He had to fix their thoughts,
their ideas, their faith, their belief, their customs, etc. There was no easy, one-step program back then, and there isn’t one
today.
Why? Because renewing your mind doesn’t happen overnight, just like falling into sin doesn’t
happen overnight. Sin doesn’t just sneak
up on us, we blink, and we’re overcome. Sin sneaks up, plants an idea, turns
into a thought, turns to a fantasy, turns to a want, turns to a desire,
turns to an action, turns to a habit,
turns to who we are. Just as sin comes in in stages so must it leave us in
stages.
We have to undo everything we’ve done, in order to be made new. So, after we’re taken
out of slavery, we have to walk through the wilderness of sin so God can make us new by the time we get
out of the wilderness. And depending on how willing we are to break old habits,
break old thoughts, and make new habits and new thoughts, we will either die in the wilderness or make it to paradise. So,
don’t allow what you have become used to, what you have deemed as normal,
separate you from what God has in store for you.
Peace. Love. Go Forth and Walk Through The Wilderness of Sin.
“Esau said, ‘Is he not rightly named
Jacob? For he has cheated me these two times. He took away my birthright, and
behold, now he has taken away my blessing.’ Then he said, ‘Have you not
reserved a blessing for me?’”
Genesis 27:36
Isn’t this interesting?
Esau, two chapters earlier sold his birthright
for some stew, and the bible says he
despised his birthright, but now suddenly
he was cheated out of it? Doesn’t that sound like us today? We say the Devil stole this from us and that from us when the majority of the time we sold it to
him at a weak point in our life. But what we sell to him isn’t the full
birthright and blessing at once; instead,
we sell not only the keys to the door, but we also sell the rights to the room
which enables him to not only claim but take whatever he wants.
See, when we do something (considered a small thing), we’re now making a contract with the devil. For instance, if we
allow horror movies filled with demonic activity and spells and witchcraft, we
are now making a contract with those
things in the spiritual, so that they have the right to be in our house. They
have the right to torture us. To take away our sleep. Our peace of mind. Our
shalom, that was promised to us by Jesus.
What many of us don’t understand is that everything we do
has either a consequence or a reward, no matter how big or small it may seem.
Now we know this to be true, but the majority of us don’t fully understand what
that means. And because we don’t understand, we don’t take heed to this.
For instance, we will allow movies/books filled with
sexually explicit jokes, scenes, etc. and then get shocked and wonder why we
are struggling with lust. See just like Esau, we unknowingly sell our
birthright not realizing that it also takes away the blessings that Jesus
promised us. That God promised us. Instead of making side contracts with the
devil, why don’t you try to stay true to the contract
you have with Christ. I know this is easier said than done, but it isn’t
impossible. Jesus promised that we would be able to overcome because he overcame.
And if you think that there is any sin Jesus was not tempted by, you are wrong.
Because the writer of Hebrews ensures us that “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with
our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we
are-yet he did not sin.” (Hebrews 4:15)
There isn’t a sin that
Jesus hasn’t overcome or hasn’t dealt with himself, so there is no need to feel
too dirty to bring your struggles before Him because He understands and
empathizes with us.
Now, just because He has empathy, does not mean He will give any of us a free
pass. He expects us to strive for perfection. To strive for excellence not just
settle for mediocrity. Which is what the majority of us strive for. The
majority of us will overlook the sin, close their eyes and sign the contract,
so that they feel better. That’s what we do when we make excuses for our sins,
we close our eyes then sign the contract as if that makes everything okay.
Our goal shouldn’t be a mediocre or less life, where we are
slaves to Lust of the Eyes, Lust of the Flesh, and Pride of Life, but instead
where conquer each and every sin that falls under these categories. Ensuring us
not only happiness but joy. For happiness is affected by our situation, but joy
nothing can steal and nothing can shake.
But how do we get past
the mediocre lifestyle we’ve come to enjoy and feel comfortable in?
We have to start with cleaning our inside. We have to read our bibles daily, we
have to pray more than just bedtime prayers, or
before meals, we have to seek God during quiet time, we have to spend time in
worship, and we have to take every thought captive. Once we have strengthened
ourselves, we can start to break every sinful
contract we have made. We can lock and close doors we should have never opened.
We can cast out every evil spirit that torments us.
But we have to first start with cleaning ourselves from the inside. Because as Christ followers, we have to do better. We have to deny our flesh so that we can overcome. Because once we overcome, we can help another person overcome, and so on. Just remember to keep God first, deny your flesh, and take every thought captive.
Probably one of the most deceitful things we allow ourselves to believe. We’re saying as long as I try to get some things right I’m good, I don’t have to get everything right. But that’s not biblical at all. At this point, you actually begin to reach a state of lukewarm-ness because you’re trying to hold on to a piece of the world and still hold on to God. But who cares right? Like, at least you’re trying. At least you’re going to church. And you read along in your bible at church. You even know where the books of The Bible are, you don’t have to ask where the Psalms are, you just know. I mean you are on your ‘A’ game. You can name like 7 of the 12 disciples. You’re a good Christian. That should be enough, right? I mean at least you acknowledge God on Sundays, some people don’t even go to church. So you’re better than them, right? I think this is a good time to explain the picture for this devotion. It’s a girl underwater, who’s drowning. What’s significant about this? This is after she tried to swim but now has given up. She tried, but she in the end failed, which will cost her, her life. That is exactly what we are doing when we say “at least we try.” Because unless we actually succeed to keep afloat and swim, we will drown. And when we drown, we will die.
Revelation 3:15-16 “‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.’” So, in reality, you’re no better than anyone. Actually, you’re worse because you refuse to choose a side. You live in sin yet still call yourself saved and a Christian. Which many think is okay and just fine and dandy, but in reality, it is quite dangerous. But why? Why is it so dangerous? Proverbs 21:27 “The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination; how much more when he brings it with evil intent.” Many will say they are not wicked, which is understandable according to our cultural definition of wicked. We have defined a wicked person as being a murderer, a rapist, a pedophile, etc., certainly not someone who is lukewarm. But the problem is this isn’t going based on our cultural definition, but God’s definition. Let’s just go through this verse and try to understand what it means according to God’s definition.
First is sacrifice. What is sacrifice? It is not bringing a lamb and killing it on a stone table. And no sacrifice is not done away with. Though Jesus was the final and ultimate sacrifice we still bring forth a sacrifice. A spiritual sacrifice. Romans 12:1 “I appeal to you, therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.” So we do still bring sacrifices, we just do them a little differently. You bring yourself as a sacrifice. By fasting. By worshipping instead of doing what you want to do. By giving up false idols that have taken the place of God. By praying. These are acts of sacrifice. Therefore anyone who calls themselves saved brings forth a sacrifice. Some feel that this is enough. That all they have to do is bring a sacrifice every once in a while and then just keep on sinning. That’s not at all how it works. Hebrews 1:26-27 “For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins,but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries.” When you continue to deliberately live in sin, but still continue to bring a sacrifice, that sacrifice loses meaning but instead becomes a judgment.
Second is the wicked. Who are the wicked? According to God, every man and woman’s heart is wicked from a young age. Genesis 8:21 “And when the LORD smelled the pleasing aroma, the LORD said in his heart, ‘I will never again curse the ground because of man, for the intention of man’s heart is evil from his youth. Neither will I ever again strike down every living creature as I have done.’” So, every man and woman are evil without Jesus. Genesis 13:13 “Now the men of Sodom were wicked, great sinners against the LORD.” So we can see that God defines someone who sins are great before Him as being wicked. We have all committed sin worthy of hell’s fire. 1 Corinthians 9-10 “9 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, 10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.” Therefore, we are all wicked for we are all, at some point in time, great sinners before the LORD. Matthew 7:9-11 “Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!” They were evil because they were without Jesus. They were hypocrites without salvation.
And last is Abomination. What is an abomination? According to the Oxford Dictionary, an abomination is “a thing that causes disgust or hatred.” According to the Bible, the word abomination means “something abominable, something detestable, something despicable. Here’s an example of what an abomination is to the LORD. Proverbs 12:22 “Lying lips are an abomination to the LORD, but those who act faithfully are his delight.” Proverbs 3:32 “For the devious person is an abomination to the LORD, but the upright are in his confidence.” Proverbs 15:9 “The way of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD, but He loves him who pursues righteousness.” Those are just three of the countless verses that define an abomination before the LORD, and every one of us has committed or still commit at least one of them. So where do you think that those who commit abominations go? To the ghettos of Heaven? To a small little shack right outside the gates? No. They go to Hell. They are thrown into the eternal flame. Many will say “But I love Jesus,” but Jesus’ definition of love and our definition of love are two very different things. John 14:15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” Matthew 7:21 “‘Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.”
Don’t allow your sin to have power
over you and cause you to give up your salvation. Instead, take control of your sin,
deny your flesh daily. I’m not going to lie to you it will be difficult. It
will be painful. There may be tears, but each day slowly but surely it will
become easier. And you will have dominion over it. Mark 9:43“And if your hand
causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than
with two hands to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire.” Let me clarify, Jesus does NOT want you to cut off
your hand, but he is speaking about cutting off things that cause you to sin.
That can be anything from a TV show to a person. Don’t allow anything to stop
you from the glory and blessings of God.
“And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.” ~ John 3:19
All our lives we’ve been taught that if we see a bright light, run the opposite direction. Maybe we should run towards it instead…. here’s something to think about… When we sin, do we do it in the light or in the dark? When we cheat, sleep around, steal, lie, do drugs, etc. we do these things in the dark (in secret). The only time we share we did these things with others, is when they are in the dark right there with us. We don’t go willingly into the light and boast about these things, we feel uncomfortable, it feels wrong. We even refer to some things that are wrong as “coming out of the closet.”
Why? Because the closet is dark. We hide what we know as being wrong in the dark. We get easily offended, and we’re constantly on guard when we are living half in the dark and half in the light. It’s like we become vampires… vampires thrive in darkness, they can’t live without it. That’s what our flesh is, a vampire. If you want to kill a vampire you have to put it in the light. When you do it starts to burn, you act out irrationally, you’re in pain, it feels like you’re dying. When you bring your flesh into the light long enough, it will sooner or later die, just as the vampires would. But what is the light? Jesus said that we are the light of the world. But what does that have to do with anything?
James chapter 5 tells us to confess our sins to one another. In doing this, we become each other’s light. When your flesh is hiding in the dark, you have someone to shine in that darkness and help you kill your flesh. Proverbs tells us that iron sharpens iron. We are one body, and no one nerve, no organ, no single drop of blood can survive on its own. Find someone who will be your light when you are dark, and who you can be their light when they are dark.
