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God Deserves Thanksgiving

11 Take care lest you forget the Lord your God by not keeping His commandments and His rules and His statutes, which I command you today, 12 lest, when you have eaten and are full and have built good houses and live in them, 13 and when your herds and flocks multiply and your silver and gold is multiplied and all that you have is multiplied, 14 then your heart be lifted up, and you forget the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, ~ Deuteronomy 8:12-14

God warned the Israelites to not forget the LORD their God after they had begun to prosper. This is still true for the Church today. Your business is finally beginning to bloom. Your clientele has grown substantially. You can hardly keep up with orders. You are selling, selling, selling. There is no need to beg the LORD to prosper your business anymore. Now, you don’t have time to gather in worship as a family. You just can’t find the time to pray.

So, you begin to justify your heart growing cold to God by making excuses. I have so much to do I can’t make it out to church today, maybe next week. For sure, I’m going to make it to at least one Christmas program this year.

Let me just tell you right here, God is not interested in your scraps. He is a mighty conqueror. He is an awesome king. He is LORD of Lords and King of kings. There is no one like Him, and there is none beside Him. He is the mighty God.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Always Give Thanks For What God Has Done For You.

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I Give You Thanks

16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. ~ 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

We are to serve Him with gladness. We are to come into His presence with singing because it was God who created us in His own image. We are not self-made people. We are the sheep of His pasture.

He loves us and cares for us, and He is faithful even when we are unfaithful, and all He wants is our obedience and our gratitude. Our thanks. Therefore, we should give thanks to God for all He has done for us and for who He is.

But you know what? God wants us to take it a step higher. He wants us to not only give thanks to Him but to live a life of gratitude. He wants us to live like we are thankful for life. Thankful for the things we enjoy. Thankful for the things we take for granted, like family and close friends. Thankful for the food we eat. Jesus never ate one bite of food without giving thanks. Should we do any less?

I read this quote by William Arthur Ward:

Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it. Dear LORD, please forgive me for not being more thankful. I’m sorry for all of the times I have complained and only saw my glass as half full. Thank You for all that You’ve done for me and given to me. Thank You for Your promises. Please help me to be more thankful and more grateful with each and every breath. Thank You for all the good plans You have for my life; help me to follow them. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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Nothing We Can Do

9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. 11 For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. 13 For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” ~ Romans 10:9-13

Paul makes it abundantly clear when he made the statement “that if we confess with our mouth, that Jesus is LORD, and believe in our heart we will be saved,” that it’s all about faith. We must believe, first of all, that Jesus came, died, and was raised to life again. In doing so, He paid the ultimate price for sin, and if we come to Him in prayer, believing that He hears us, we will be saved.

So, it’s Jesus’ grace through our faith in Him that saves us and nothing else. But there is absolutely nothing more that you can do to earn salvation; it’s all freely given to each and every one of us who asks and believes. This is what makes Christianity unique. There’s nothing we can do to save ourselves. Christ and only Christ can save us. It’s only by His name that we are saved. This is why we live each and every day thankful for the sacrifice our God gave on the cross for us.

Dear LORD, thank You for Your free gift of salvation. Thank You for Your sacrifice on the cross. I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God, and that You died for my sins and rose on the third day. Please help me to live my life for You all the days of my life. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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He’s Worth More

10 And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. 11 And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. ~ Matthew 24:10-11

Throughout the Scripture, there are prophecies after prophecies about how many will fall away and betray one another. Not only will they betray one another, but they will hate one another. This isn’t the world that these prophecies are about; this is the Church. Because these prophecies also tell us that many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. Is that the world they are leading astray? No, of course not. The world is already astray; it’s the Church that will be led astray.

And do you know why they are led astray? Because they don’t read the Bible for themselves. Christians have no clue what is in the Bible. Some have never ever read the Bible for themselves. This is why so many of us will be so easily led astray.

And as we are seeing even now, the false prophets who speak on behalf of God tell the Church that they can live any old way they want, and God will still accept them. Why will God accept whatever they give Him? Because they say that God is desperate for followers, so He has no choice but to take what He gets. He’s just a pushover who just loves and accepts everyone.

That is not the case at all. God demands that His Great Name be feared and respected. He is not a desperate housewife. He is Almighty God—a Mighty Warrior. God is a great King. He is God of all gods. He will not accept half-hearted worship and halfway sacrifices. Therefore, God will not accept our lukewarm worship.

Dear LORD, please forgive me for not spending time reading Your Word as I should. Please forgive me for not giving You the reverence, worship, honor, and glory that You deserve. Please teach me to love You the way that You deserve. Help me to dwell in Your love. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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Enjoy The Promises

19 If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. ~ John 15:19

Many people wonder who the Bible was written to. I believe Jesus clarifies it for us when He says that if we were of the world, we would be loved by the world. But as it is, we do not belong to this world; therefore, we are hated by this world. I want you to understand that neither Jesus nor the Bible are in the habit of talking to people who are unbelievers now but will be believers later. That is not how prophecy works.

By and large, the Bible is written to and for believers. The followers of Yeshua, Jesus, the Son of the Living God. Now, it does mention the end of the unbelievers, but even that is written to the saints of God as knowledge. So that we can warn the sinner to come to Jesus. In order to understand the Bible, you have to have the Holy Spirit within you guiding you through the Word of God. Why? Because Scripture is not up to each person’s own interpretation.

Thus, the Bible is written to believers, and until you are a believer, the Scriptures and its prophecies and promises do not belong to you. They can belong to you just by confessing with your mouth and believing in your heart that Jesus Christ came in the flesh, died, and rose again.

Dear LORD, please forgive me for all of my sins. Thank You for forgiving me and loving me. Thank You for Your sacrifice on the cross. I believe that You came in the flesh, that You died for my sins, and that You rose again on the third day. Thank You for grafting me into Your vine so I might dwell in Your love and receive Your promises. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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Freedom Through Love

4 For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. 5 We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, 6 being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete. ~ 2 Corinthians 10:4-6

I remember being a kid and watching the movie, Penelope. The movie was all about a rich family who had brought a curse on themselves because of how they mistreated a poor servant girl. The curse could only be broken if one of their own accepted the next daughter who was born into the family. The catch was that the daughter would be born with a face like a pig. Throughout the movie, the mother tries to find a high-society man to marry her daughter. Failure after failure, the movie finally ends with the girl accepting and loving herself and breaking the curse. The mother then comes to the realization that if she had just loved her daughter, the curse would’ve been broken from the moment she was born.

Many of us have generational curses that can be broken with the simple act of either forgiveness or love. So many of us are living our lives bound and in pain because of something that we ourselves didn’t even do. It’s true that where the Spirit of the LORD is, there is freedom, but not every single curse is broken at the moment of repentance and acceptance of Christ. Sometimes, there are things we have to deal with and address. Sometimes, there are spirits that we have to remove from our lives. When we start breaking down strongholds and tearing down words spoken over us in the name of Jesus, that’s when we begin to see a change in our lives, and we have freedom.

Dear LORD, please help me to tear down all of the strongholds in my life. Help me to break every generational curse that has kept me down. Tear down every evil word spoken about me and to me. Help me to find complete and total freedom in You. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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The Lack of Milk

11 About this we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. 12 For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, 13 for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. 14 But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil. ~ Hebrews 5:11-14

I recently went to a Christian play that incorporated acrobatics and ballet as it told the story of Jesus. The problem was the play, though written, produced, and performed by Christians, wasn’t Biblically accurate. Sure, I overlooked areas where they took a little bit of artistic liberty, the little things, if you will, but the big things just sent my heart rate up. And there were many. Let’s just say my heart rate didn’t drop below 94 for the full 2 ½ hour production. No one that I went with, family and friends, understood why it bothered me so much. My mom just kept saying, “Chew up the meat and spit out the bones.” My friend even had the audacity to call me an angry elf right after saying how much she was enjoying it.

Here’s the thing. It’s not like it was Disney or Dream Works or some other non-Christian Heathen company that created this production. No. It was believers. It was Christians. It was people who are called to witness to the world and bring the Gospel to all people. This is what upset me so much. The Church today refuses to read the Bible for themselves. They refuse to seek the Truth of God instead of their own Church Traditions that have been passed down from generation to generation.

How can we share the Gospel and train up disciples for Christ when we ourselves don’t even know the basics? Peter is not the rock that Christ built His Church on. Christ is the rock. Peter is named ‘little rock’. Peter Himself even says that Christ is the Cornerstone that the Church is built on, yet Christians refuse to study and read their Bible in order to know Truth. They just stick to whatever was taught. The Bereans checked Paul; why aren’t we checking those teaching us today, especially since all the authors of the New Testament warned us of coming false teachers? It doesn’t make sense. I don’t understand why teaching false beliefs doesn’t make the rest of my family uncomfortable and upset. I believe it should. If these are the people teaching the Word to baby Christians and those in the world, then they, more than anyone else, should be teaching the Truth and not just Church Tradition.

Dear LORD, please help me to never stop seeking Your Truth and reading and studying Your Word for myself. Help me to reject anything that isn’t of You regardless of how long I have believed it or how long it has been taught. Teach me to only speak and teach Your Truth and never my own or anyone else’s. Teach me to have patience with and to love those who aren’t as knowledgeable as I am. Please have mercy on Your Church and overshadow us with Your mercy so that we might have an awakening throughout the world. So that we might reject all things that are false and move on from milk to meat. In Jesus name, I pray, amen.

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Not Another Sacrifice

20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 21 I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose. ~ Galatians 2:20-21

One of my favorite childhood shows was Avatar: The Last Airbender. In it, a young boy must save the world by taking the life of the antagonist of the show. This was difficult for him as he was a monk and was taught that all life was sacred, even the life of the enemy. Everyone told him he had to put those teachings aside. Even another monk told him that as avatar he had to sacrifice his spiritual well-being for the sake of the world. This teaching didn’t sit well with him, and as the show met its climatic end, he found another way to defeat his enemy.

There isn’t a time that two wrongs will make a right. There isn’t a time when you have to break the commands of God in order to bring people to Christ. God will never cause you to have to sacrifice your own soul for the soul of others. Why? Because Christ already made the ultimate sacrifice for all people. We don’t sacrifice our own souls and our own spiritual growth in order to save others. We live our lives to Christ, and it is His Light shining through us that saves others.

Dear LORD, help me to never sacrifice my own spiritual health for anything. I know that You made the ultimate sacrifice, and there is no other sacrifice needed from me. Help me to let Your light shine through me so that I might show as many people as possible the way to You. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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Love Your Waodoni

43 You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? 48 You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. ~ Matthew 5:43-48

There’s a true story of five men who went into the jungle of Ecuador in order to witness to the Waodoni people, who had never heard the good news of Jesus. Each of the five men left behind wives and children. They died at the hands of those they were witnesses to. Their wives and children then came to witness to those same people who had killed them. Those men who killed those five missionaries found Jesus. The son of one of the men became like a son to the man who killed his father. He explained that his father and the other four men didn’t get to enjoy their children or grandchildren, but for the first time in Waodoni history, there are many grandfathers. Those five men willingly gave their lives so that an entire people might hear and accept the good news of Jesus Christ.

How many of us are willing to give our lives to save another? Even more so, how many of us are willing to forgive someone for a small transgression, let alone taking the life of your parent or spouse? Many of us would find this nearly impossible to do, but this is what we are all called to do. We are all called to love. We are all called to forgive. We are all called to go into all the world and make disciples of all nations. That is the universal overall call of every single believer.

How many of us miss out on sharing the gospel with someone because they’ve offended us or they’ve mistreated us or someone we love? Turning the other cheek and loving our enemies is one of, if not the hardest, commands we are given to follow. It’s through this that they will know we are followers of Christ. By our love. Our life isn’t our own. We are now a vessel for God to use to save the world. For how can they know if someone doesn’t tell them?

Dear LORD, please forgive me for not sharing Your Gospel the way I should. Soften my heart so that I might love my neighbor as myself and even my enemy. Humble me and fill me with love so that I might turn the other cheek regardless of what is done to me. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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Evil For Light

22 The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, 23 but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! ~ Matthew 6:22-23

The enemy loves to try to dress up evil and make it innocent so that we don’t run from it but embrace it. We see it all throughout the Church today. Why? Because the Church has embraced the darkness because the Devil dressed it up enough that it doesn’t seem dark or evil. It now seems innocent. In fact, it can even be used to bring people to Christ.

People often speak about Trunk or Treat and how they brought a sermon after the Trunk or Treat and how people found God there. God isn’t in the midst of evil. You can’t partner good with evil in order to attract the world to be saved. You don’t try to mix light with darkness in order to bring people to the light. No. You boldly shine the light into the darkness so that you can light the way to Christ. Others are offended because we say we need to stay away from yoga because it’s a form of Buddhist prayer that opens your body up to spirits.

We can try to clean up darkness all we want, but darkness will always remain dark. Therefore, if the light within us is actually the darkness that we tried to clean up, then how great is that darkness? For there is no light. There is only darkness.

Dear LORD, please clean out the darkness within us. Show us what is in our lives that we have to remove. Show us what is of You and what is of the Devil. Give us a spirit of discernment that we might know the difference between Error and Truth. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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