Tag: Daily Bread

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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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Empty Your Cup

Therefore, since we have such hope, we use great boldness of speech— unlike Moses, who put a veil over his face so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the end of what was passing away. But their minds were blinded. For until this day the same veil remains unlifted in the reading of the Old Testament, because the veil is taken away in Christ. But even to this day, when Moses is read, a veil lies on their heart. Nevertheless when one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. ~ II Corinthians 3:12-16 NKJV

8 Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. ~ Colossians 2:8 NKJV

I remember watching “Forbidden Kingdom” as a child, and one of the scenes Jackie Chan is trying to get the nation character to empty his spiritual Kung Fu cup. Why? Because he had watched so many Kung Fu movies that he thought he knew so much and therefore became a difficult student to teach. The Church today is much like that main character.

We have a lot of Church tradition knowledge, not necessarily Bible knowledge. Because of that, it’s difficult to actually learn what the Bible says and understand its true teachings. Paul said those under the Law have a blinder over their eyes until they come to Christ and the blinder is removed. Christians today have a doctrinal blinder over their eyes keeping them from understanding the Bible when they read it. Not because it’s too deep, too complex, too difficult to understand, but simply because they have a preconceived notion, idea, thought, belief in their mind that keeps them blinded. It keeps them from seeing the Truth of Scripture.

So, what are we to do? We have to empty our cup of doctrine and tradition, so that when we read our Bible, we comprehend, understand, and see what the Truth of God is. So that we aren’t blinded by the veil of doctrine or tradition. Here’s the thing, it doesn’t matter what a pastor, teacher, “prophet” or anyone of the sort says, it matters what the Bible says. We don’t need our beliefs grounded in what the early Church fathers taught, we need our beliefs grounded in the Bible. Can their teachings be helpful? Absolutely. But unless their teachings can be found in Scripture, then their teachings are no longer helpful, but harmful. Our faith and our beliefs should be grounded in Scripture, and nothing else, otherwise we are now putting our faith in man. It is now a man-made religion. It is no longer God-ordained.

Therefore, ground yourself in the Word of God. Read it. Learn it. You don’t need to chew on every single verse or you can’t read your Bible. That’s an excuse not to read. That’s an excuse to remain ignorant of Scripture. Yes, we need to study it to understand it. To understand the Deeper things, but we also need to read it to know what it says. Otherwise, anyone who has a little more knowledge than us can lead us astray. Any teaching can sound good and right, unless we read the Scriptures from cover to cover for ourselves.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Empty Your Cup.

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Throw Away The Frivolous

23 Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies; you know that they breed quarrels. 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 2:23-26

I recently met a couple who wouldn’t come to church because they didn’t like something the pastor said online a few years ago. To my surprise, it wasn’t false doctrine that upset them, or sinful speech, or anything of the sort. It was one video he did on aliens and the Bible. The pastor said online that there isn’t evidence for aliens in the Bible. He didn’t say there is no such thing as aliens. Or you’ll go to hell if you believe in aliens. Or anything of that nature. He said you can’t prove aliens exist using the Bible, which is a true statement. There are no planets in the Bible. There is no other intelligent design in the Bible. In the Bible, according to Genesis 1, everything was created around Earth. Heaven directly above. The sun, the moon, and the stars in between. There is no room for other planets, intelligent life forms, etc. in the Bible. None.

Think about how silly it is to keep your children from church, from learning about God, because the pastor said there aren’t aliens in the Bible. Paul warned against frivolous arguments causing division such as this. The moment we put science above Scripture and demand others do the same is the moment we replace God with Science. God is our source of Truth. His Word is how we know Him and His Truth. If we demand the Bible fit science, it’s no longer about God and His Truth. It’s now about man and what man has decided is truth.

Something as simple as whether or not the pastor believes in aliens should never keep us away from church. Ever. Is he teaching Truth? Is he using Scripture? Is it sound doctrine? Are you growing from his teachings? These are things that matter. These are the things that make going to church worth it. If the shepherd of the flock is blind, deaf, or mute, then the entire flock is in danger. The pastor is the shepherd of the flock in his church. His congregation. He is responsible for feeding them the Word of God, leading them into the presence of God, and teaching them sound doctrine. We use any and every little excuse to not come to church, when there are those in the underground Church willing to risk their lives just to hear someone talk about God. Talk about Jesus.

We let the simplest things separate us from God. Who cares whether aliens exist or not? What does that matter in the grand scheme of things? Nothing. It matters not. What matters is “Do you know the LORD?” “Do your children know the LORD?” Imagine standing before the LORD on Judgment Day and having to explain to Him that you refused to go to church because of your strong belief in aliens. Where is your strong belief in the LORD? Where is your strong desire to learn about the LORD and all that He has done for you?

Our time left on this earth is very short. We don’t have much time left here to sacrifice our time of worship and gathering together as one body to learn about our God. We don’t have that much time left. So, what are you doing with that time? Are you making time for God? Are you making time to go to church and learn of Him? Are you making time to fast and pray? Are you making time to grow spiritually in Him and with Him? Don’t waste what little time you have left dividing yourselves with frivolous arguments and beliefs. The Church should never be divided unless one teaches another Gospel than Christ.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Throw Away The Frivolous.

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Feed Their Curiosity

6 And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. ~ Deuteronomy 6:6-7

5 He established a testimony in Jacob and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers to teach to their children, 6 that the next generation might know them, the children yet unborn, and arise and tell them to their children, 7 so that they should set their hope in God and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments; 8 and that they should not be like their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation whose heart was not steadfast, whose spirit was not faithful to God. ~ Psalms 78:5-8

As a child, I always thought it was strange and quite funny that our God was the only God referred to as God in the Bible. I thought it was strange that everyone else referred to their god by a name, whether Baal, Molech, Asherah, Dagon, etc., but when referring to our God, it was simply God. As I got older, I realized it’s not that our God has no name, or isn’t called by a name, or even that His Name is God, but that the name of God wasn’t emphasized or clearly translated in the Bibles we read. That my teachers at school, when I brought it up, were either ignorant of why or simply didn’t see it as important for me or my classmates to know or understand. We’re forced to take Bible class, learn random Bible verses, the kings of Israel and Judah in order, random Bible stories they deemed important, but we’re not actually pushed to understand the Bible. Not actually taught to study the Bible. Not actually raised to love the Bible.

Proverbs warns us that we have to raise up a child in the way they should go. How can we do that when we don’t take the time to even learn the Bible ourselves? We want our children to learn, study, and love the Bible, when we, adults in the Church, don’t do any of those things. How can we want and expect our children to do something that we ourselves don’t do? We lead our children by example. If we tell them the Bible is important. It’s holy. It’s key to our lives, but if we won’t take time to learn it or, at the very least, search for answers to their questions, then our children will see that we say it’s important, but our actions say otherwise. They’ll see we say one thing but do another.

This life is filled with so many distractions and temptations; the world doesn’t need any help with that. We only have a short time to influence our children. We only have a few short years where we can teach them and raise them in the ways of righteousness, so don’t waste them. Don’t waste those years; take advantage of each moment. Encourage them in their walk with the LORD, lead by example, and answer questions. Don’t just brush off their curiosity; fuel it. Stir it up within. There is nothing on this earth better for them to be curious about than the LORD and His Word. And if they ask a question you don’t know the answer to, research it. Pray about it. And be honest; it’s okay to not know every single thing, but it’s not okay to just give up and shut them down. God doesn’t ever demand blind faith. He always makes Himself known first. He sends prophets, teachers, apostles, etc., for the building of the Church so that we might know, understand, and grow in His Word. So, how can we do any less?

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Feed Their Curiosity.

15 God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘The LORD (YHWH, Yahweh, Jehovah), the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations.”

Exodus 3:15

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Be Proud Of Your God

18 For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. ~ 1 Corinthians 1:18

The oldest known depiction of Jesus on the cross isn’t in a Cathedral or sanctuary. It’s not a memorial place or Church. It’s graffiti on Rome’s Palatine Hill dating back to around 200 AD, mocking both a Christian and our LORD Jesus. The depiction is known as the Alexamenos Graffito with an ancient Greek inscription translating to “Alexamenos worships [his] God.’ It depicts a man worshipping one on the cross. The person on the cross? A man with a donkey’s head.

The artist attempted mockery. The goal to mock a Christian for worshipping a God who was crucified. Something they couldn’t fathom, something they saw as foolishness. So, they mocked him and his God. See, to the world, a God being crucified by His creation was absolute foolishness. How great could a God truly be if He allowed His own creation to crucify Him, the most gruesome, disparaging, humiliating, and shameful way to die? Today is no different. They can’t understand because it’s not of the World. It’s of the Spirit. God humbled Himself to save mankind. To save the creation He loves.

He took away the sting of death, the hold of the grave, and the power of Sin. Then He rose on the third day so that one day we will rise with Him. See, on that cross, the LORD cancelled every debt we had along with their legal demands. He did what no one else could. No human. No angel. No spiritual being in Heaven, on the Earth, or under the Earth. No one could accomplish what Christ did on the cross.

So, when you are mocked for your faith in Christ and your love for that old rugged cross, that is so shameful and despised, don’t feel any type of way because not only are you not alone, but the only feeling that you should be feeling is sadness for the one whose heart is hardened to God. Because regardless of what they believe, one day every knee will bow and every tongue will profess that Jesus Christ is LORD. Therefore, we don’t feel embarrassment, shame, or even anger or offense towards those who mock the cross; instead, we should feel sorry for them. We should pray that they won’t wait til’ that day comes to bow their knee and confess with their lips. Because that day there will be no more hope for them.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Be Proud Of Your God.

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