Devotionals Archives

August 20, 2020August 19, 2020

Bring The First

“⁹And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ‘¹⁰Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When you come into the land that I give you and reap its harvest, you shall bring the sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest to the priest, ¹¹and he shall wave the sheaf before the Lord, so that you may be accepted. On the day after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it. ¹²And on the day when you wave the sheaf, you shall offer a male lamb a year old without blemish as a burnt offering to the Lord. ¹³And the grain offering with it shall be two tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil, a food offering to the Lord with a pleasing aroma, and the drink offering with it shall be of wine, a fourth of a hin. ¹⁴And you shall eat neither bread nor grain parched or fresh until this same day, until you have brought the offering of your God: it is a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.’” ~ Leviticus 23:9-14

How many of us have successful businesses? How many of us never worry about their income? I’m gonna go with less than half think like this. How many of us give the first fruits to God? Here’s what I mean. The very first paycheck you earn from that business or the very first amount you earn from the first product you sold. How many can say they give that to God? Probably even less. Why is that important?

Because by bringing the firsts, you are bringing your entire business before God so that He can bless it. So that it can be prosperous. So that it can reap more than you ever thought. Now I know that it sounds crazy to give the first to God. It sounds absolutely crazy, but it’s absolutely necessary. How can we expect God to bless our business, when we can’t even bring it to Him so that He may bless it.

When you sow into God, God blesses what you have sowed, so that you can reap. Ecclesiastes 11:1 tells us to “Cast your bread upon the waters, for you will find it after many days.” Sow into God, and God will bless what you have sown, and you will reap exponentially.

And the firsts are different than the tithe. Why? Because the tithe is a tenth of what you have earned. But the first is the entire first you have made. If it’s a restaurant, the first you make from selling to your first customer, that’s the first. The first you get from the first car you wash. That’s the first. It’s gonna take a lot of faith. It’s gonna take a lot of trust. And it’s gonna take overcoming Mammon. But God promises that when we give to Him, He will give to us. We expect God to bless us first, then we will bring an offering. But that’s not how it works. You have to set the offering down before God can burn it up and accept it. You have to first provide the sacrifice so that God can provide the fire. You have to first open up yourself so that God can fill you up. We have to meet God’s standards before He can bless us. God doesn’t lower His standards. Neither does He go back on His Word, but He watches over it to make sure it has done what He has spoken. Take a step out in faith and see what happens.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Bring Your Firsts.

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His Will

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. ²²On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ ²³And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’ ~ Matthew 7:21-23

Doing the will of the Father who is in Heaven is a lot more important than we think or teach. A lot of the time we’ll say we need to go to church to be saved. Or we need to read our bible. Or quiet time. Which yes they are all true. But what seems to be one of the most important, if not the most important, is “doing the will of the Father.”

How many of us can say we are doing God’s good and perfect will? How many of us can say that we are doing what God has called us to do? How many of us can say that “I am doing what God called me to do, every day of my life?” I’m sure not too many. Why? Simply, we weren’t taught how to. We were taught that we need to do God’s will, but not how to do that. Not how to find out our calling. Not how to hear His voice when He is speaking.

Are you where God wants you to be, or are you following in your parent’s footsteps because it’s the family business? Or maybe just doing it because it will bring security? Or maybe following your own selfish desires?

I’d urge each and every one of you to take a second and evaluate your plans. Are they following the will of God, specifically for your life? But how do you know? Spend time with God, and He will tell you. Jesus said, “My sheep know my voice.” As you build up your relationship with Him, the voice of God will become clearer and clearer every day.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and do His Will.

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Decide

¹ On one occasion, while the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he was standing by the lake of Gennesaret, ²and he saw two boats by the lake, but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. ³Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, he asked him to put out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the people from the boat. ⁴And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.”

⁵And Simon answered, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.” ⁶And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking. ⁷They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink.

⁸But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” ⁹For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken, ¹⁰and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.” ¹¹And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him. ~ Luke 5:1-11

Simon had come in from fishing was washing his nets. He hadn’t caught any fish, and a stranger steps into his boat and starts preaching. When He’s done preaching, He tells Simon to go out and lower his nets into the deep. Imagine you were out fishing all night, never caught anything, then this man gets into your boat starts preaching, then tells you to go fishing again. Would you listen to Him? Would you do what He tells you to do?

Before Jesus was even established as Savior or Christ, Simon knew there was something different about Him. So, Simon did as Jesus asked Him. It may not have made sense to him, but because Jesus asked him, he did it and received a greater reward than he could have ever imagined.

How often does God tell us to do something, and we respond with ‘we’ve already done that, and it didn’t work.’ We forget that without God, things may not work, but as soon as God steps into the picture, the miraculous happens. We can have confidence that God will not let us down. We can have confidence that God will not fail us. We can have confidence that God will not lead us astray.

Faith is believing and doing the miraculous. It’s by faith that miracles happen. It’s by faith that strongholds are broken. It’s by faith that the impossible is possible. It’s by faith that we are saved. Before Simon knew that Jesus was even the Messiah, he had faith that Jesus was more than just some nut preaching on his boat. Two thousand years later, we have the stories, the scriptures, the documentation, but do we have the faith? I guess it’s up to each of us to decide.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Decide.

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Build Eternal Treasure

¹⁶And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, ¹⁷and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ ¹⁸And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. ¹⁹And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.”’ ²⁰But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ ²¹So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.” ~ Luke 12:16-21

We see those who are rich, famous, wealthy and we envy them. They don’t have to struggle. They don’t have to worry about their bills. They don’t have to worry about not being able to afford presents for their family or themselves. They can do anything that they please. They have everything.

Ever notice that those people are constantly searching for more. They’re never satisfied. They keep building more and more wealth for themselves, but it’s never enough. It never satisfies them. They are constantly working for more when they already have everything. They aren’t satisfied.

We may not be the wealthiest. We may not be the richest, but we have Jesus. That hole that they’re trying to fill, we have that filled. The Holy Spirit fills us. He gives us Joy. Peace. Patience. Kindness. Goodness. Gentleness. Faithfulness. Self-Control. He satisfies us, but the wealthy who only seek to build themselves are without any of that. But most importantly, they are without eternal salvation. They are without freedom.

We build our riches up in Heaven, where moth does not devour, and the worm does not destroy. They build their treasures on Earth never once taking into account that that cannot go with them to eternity. The only thing going to eternity, is them. Their soul. That’s it. They can’t take their riches with them to the Judgment. They can’t bribe the Good Judge with their wealth. They go into eternity empty-handed and will have to stand before the throne of God with nothing to show for their life.

Tomorrow is promised to no man. Today is the day of Salvation. Choose today whom you shall follow, but you cannot serve both God and Mammon (money). Build up your riches in Heaven, for where your treasure is, so will your heart be.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Build Eternal Treasure.

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The One Who Overcomes

¹ So Moses continued to speak these words to all Israel. ²And he said to them, “I am 120 years old today. I am no longer able to go out and come in. The Lord has said to me, ‘You shall not go over this Jordan.’ ³The Lord your God himself will go over before you. He will destroy these nations before you, so that you shall dispossess them, and Joshua will go over at your head, as the Lord has spoken. ⁴And the Lord will do to them as he did to Sihon and Og, the kings of the Amorites, and to their land, when he destroyed them. ⁵And the Lord will give them over to you, and you shall do to them according to the whole commandment that I have commanded you. ⁶Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.” ~ Deuteronomy 31:1-6

Ever notice how even though the enemy was given into their hands, they still had to fight? They still had to show up. Even though they had the battle in their hands and God, Himself was going before them; they still had to fight. They still had to give it their all. Why do we, as Christians, feel as though we shouldn’t have to fight? We feel like we should just overcome without having to fight for it because Jesus said He overcame, so we’ll overcome… but that’s not how it works. If we’re in a spiritual war, then why would we think we don’t have to fight? Does the enemy in a physical war just give up because we say we’ll overcome them? No, of course not. The enemy fights to the death if necessary. So why don’t we think our spiritual enemies wouldn’t do the same?

Now if we do fight, we have to remember the rule to overcoming, to not be afraid. See, fear is like having a double agent whom you tell every one of your weaknesses to, and they inform the enemy. Now, you’re going to be easily overtaken. Why? Because not only has the double agent turned on you, but the enemy now also knows your weaknesses.

That’s how we’ve been fighting our battles, with fear. Fear is not our friend. Fear is a liar. But most importantly, fear is our enemy. It’s the one enemy who easily manipulates us into inviting him in and staying. He’s the one enemy you don’t fight, why because we’ve become accustomed to him. We say things like “oh, I worry because I care” or “you know we’re a worrying family.” In fact, we have taught our children how to invite fear in, so he doesn’t even need to manipulate them into letting him come in. We do this with superstitions.

If you don’t do exactly what you’re supposed to do, something bad will happen to you, so that that adult can keep their full control. For instance, we tell our children or grandchildren, “chicken merry, hawk near” or “if you going swimming on Sunday, you’ll drown” or “if you see an owl outside your house, that’s bad luck” or “if your outside too late at night (especially doing something you aren’t supposed to) a duppy will get you”… see fear doesn’t even chain us up, we do. Then once we’re chained, we chain up the next generation, then the next one, and the next one. Until our entire family is chained up and under a generational curse.

We place ourselves in chains. We place ourselves in cells. So why don’t we take the same key we used to lock ourselves in, and unlock the lock? Because we have become accustomed to that cell. Because we don’t know how to fight. First, you have to get rid of those superstitions. Why? Because that’s all they are, are superstitions. Lies of the enemy we have told ourselves and the generations after us. We have to change the way we think. If we do one thing wrong, God is not going to smite us from the Heavens and watch as we are overcome and destroyed. But instead, He creates a way out, so that we can escape before we are overcome. So that we can find our way back to Him.

God isn’t a God who wants to see us fail. He isn’t a God that He wants to hurt us. He is a God who wants to protect us. Who wants to keep us. So why would He send all of these bad things to happen to us, for no good reason? So in order to overcome fear, you have to learn who God is. He’s like a mother bear when her cubs are in danger because they put themselves in danger, she doesn’t just watch and say I told you so. She runs to their rescue and will fight to the death to save them. Now if a bear can do that, why wouldn’t our Heavenly Father, who formed each and every one of us, do that and more? So first, learn who God truly is. Then retrain your brain. Then unlock those chains and that cell door. Then overcome anything else that dares to stand in your way.

Peace. Love. Go forth and Fight.

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Search

“²¹But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison. ²²And the keeper of the prison put Joseph in charge of all the prisoners who were in the prison. Whatever was done there, he was the one who did it. ²³The keeper of the prison paid no attention to anything that was in Joseph’s charge, because the Lord was with him. And whatever he did, the Lord made it succeed.” ~ Genesis 39:21-23

Even when we’re in prison, God is with us. Even when we’re at the lowest of lowest, and we allow God to be with us, He will be there. In fact, He’ll do more than just be there; He’ll show you your destiny, your plan, your call if you let Him.

See everywhere Joseph went, he was in charge. In Potiphar’s house, in the prison, Joseph was in charge. His destiny, or call, was to be in charge of all of Egypt second only to Pharaoh. Even though he was in charge in the prison he still had the prison keeper before him, even though he was in charge at Potiphar’s house, he still had Potiphar before him. Everything Joseph did, or went through, mirrored his future.

Even when we’re at our lowest, God still shows us our highest, but it’s up to us to look for it. Sometimes it’ll take a little time to find the best in the worst situations, so I beseech you, search hard and don’t lose hope.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Search.

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Look

“³⁵All his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted and said, ‘No, I shall go down to Sheol to my son, mourning.’ Thus his father wept for him.” ~ Genesis 37:35

We’re like Jacob. See, we only look at the evidence that the devil has brought before us and refuse to allow God to comfort us. We refuse to look at anything except the bloody coat the devil holds in front of us. We want to feel the pain, we don’t want relief. We constantly say that we don’t like the pain, we complain about the pain, but we refuse to do anything to fix the pain. We refuse to look at God and allow him to comfort us. Instead we demand to go to Sheol in mourning. Sometimes all we have to do is look away from the bloody coat so that we can get free of the mourning. So that we can move on, but we refuse.

Maybe part of us just doesn’t feel right moving on. Maybe part of us just feels like it’s the right thing to hold on to pain. Maybe part of us feels attached and connected to pain because it’s been there for so long. There’s a time for mourning, but at some point in time we have to look up and be comforted by God. Even though it’s hard, it’s the only thing we can do so that we can move forward. Because if we stand still while time moves, we’ll soon die. The only one that can set us free, is ourselves. We were given the key to let ourselves out of the cell of pain that we are in, we just have to know where to find the key we hid so long ago.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Look.

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Talk

^“1When the Philistines captured the ark of God, they brought it from Ebenezer to Ashdod. ²Then the Philistines took the ark of God and brought it into the house of Dagon and set it up beside Dagon. ³And when the people of Ashdod rose early the next day, behold, Dagon had fallen face downward on the ground before the ark of the Lord. So they took Dagon and put him back in his place. ⁴But when they rose early on the next morning, behold, Dagon had fallen face downward on the ground before the ark of the Lord, and the head of Dagon and both his hands were lying cut off on the threshold. Only the trunk of Dagon was left to him. ⁵This is why the priests of Dagon and all who enter the house of Dagon do not tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod to this day.

⁶The hand of the Lord was heavy against the people of Ashdod, and he terrified and afflicted them with tumors, both Ashdod and its territory. ⁷And when the men of Ashdod saw how things were, they said, ‘The ark of the God of Israel must not remain with us, for his hand is hard against us and against Dagon our god.’ ⁸So they sent and gathered together all the lords of the Philistines and said, ‘What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel?’ They answered, ‘Let the ark of the God of Israel be brought around to Gath.’ So they brought the ark of the God of Israel there.” ~ 1 Samuel 5:1-8

Notice how they saw that the God of Israel is greater than their god, they saw that the God of Israel is a greater God, yet the one thing they didn’t do is repent and beg forgiveness and try to serve the God of the Israelites. Isn’t that how we are in today’s world? We see that God is God. We see that there is none greater than Him. We know the truth, but instead of turning from our sinful ways and serving Him, we send Him away. We try to get rid of Him as soon as possible.

We refuse to give up the gods that we have grown accustomed to, even though we know they will lead us to death. We hold fast to these inferior false gods, even though we know that they cannot give us life. We cling to this feel-good, live how you want, everything you do is justified ideology, even though we cannot defend it. Even though we know our argument makes no sense. Even though we know our foundation has crack after crack, we still cling to it because we want to live the way that we want to live.

We refuse to learn/accept the truth by refusing to have a conversation about it, because we know that what we believe and the way we want to live is not okay. It isn’t right. And when we feel under attack, we throw up verses like ‘only God can judge me’ or ‘ye who is without sin.’ But what we fail to realize is that by doing this we are not only killing ourselves, but anyone who listens or looks up to us. We forget that on Judgment Day there are no more chances for forgiveness. On Judgment Day there is no redemption. On Judgment Day, that’s it. However, you chose to live your life will be set in stone. No matter if you believe or not, it doesn’t matter, because just as Dagon fell before God Almighty and was judged, so will all of us.

I urge each and every one of us to go out and seek the truth. Not the “truth” that tickles our ears. Not the “truth” that allows us to sin. Not the “truth” that feeds our flesh and crushes our spirit. But the actual full, Jesus stamp of approval TRUTH. This can only be achieved by conversation. This can only be achieved by submission. This can only be achieved by having a relationship with The Holy Spirit. Because without the absolute truth, you are now teaching others (even if you don’t realize it) and condoning others’ sins. By doing this, you have now just added their sin onto you. The Scripture says that “if I say to a wicked man you shall surely die and you don’t warn him or speak out to change his ways, then that wicked man will die for his sin and I will hold you accountable for his blood.” We can’t hide the truth in order to spare feelings to someone who doesn’t want to live the life of a Christ Follower. We cannot hide the truth from ourselves because we don’t want to live the life of a Christ Follower.

Sin tastes good in the beginning, but its end is a burning pain like no other. Eternity is forever, once you enter it, there is no going back. Once you take your last breath, there is no do-over. Don’t wait for God to judge you, let man judge you while you still have time to change, for iron sharpens iron.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Talk.

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Remember

²¹The governor again said to them, “Which of the two do you want me to release for you?” And they said, “Barabbas.” ²²Pilate said to them, “Then what shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?” They all said, “Let him be crucified!” ~ Matthew 27:21-22

2000 years ago, Jesus took the place of Barabbas, a notorious murderer, but who did Barabbas really represent? Jesus an innocent man, pure of heart and blessed by God, took the place of a rebellious murderer, us. Barabbas represents us. We were the rebellious murderer Jesus took the place for. We were the ones released from our prison of sin, forgiven of our debt, and set free in eternity.

Just like us, Barabbas didn’t deserve to be set free. Just like us Barabbas deserved his punishment, but thank God that Jesus has taken our place. Thank you, Jesus, for taking my yoke upon your shoulders. Thank you, Jesus, for taking my place on the cross. Thank you, Jesus, for shedding Your Holy and Precious blood so that we may be cleansed of all unrighteousness. We overlook Jesus taking the place of Barabbas because we don’t realize that Barabbas stood 2000 years representing us. We don’t realize the pain and suffering He went through for us. We don’t realize how much we don’t deserve to be free. We don’t realize the weight that was lifted off of us and put on Him.

Today as you remember the price that Jesus paid for us all, give Him the recognition He deserves. When you teach your children why we celebrate this day, don’t change the story. Don’t sugar coat it. As children, my sister and I were shown the Passion of The Christ, and every year we watch it as a family on this day to remember just what Jesus did for all of us. It wasn’t a few scratches and scrapes that He received. He was beaten until He was unrecognizable. He had to carry His cross to Golgotha (Calvary). He was spit upon and cursed. He was stripped naked. He was mocked and abused. A crown of thorns was pushed down onto His head. He was nailed to a tree. And He died. There is no easy way of saying this, and any less devolves just what He went through. Today I urge you all to take the time to truly remember what Jesus did for us and give Him the praise and the glory that He truly deserves.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Remember.

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Fulfill Your Promise

“¹⁵And the angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven ¹⁶and said, ‘By myself I have sworn, declares the Lord, because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, ¹⁷I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies, ¹⁸and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.’ ¹⁹So Abraham returned to his young men, and they arose and went together to Beersheba. And Abraham lived at Beersheba.” ~ Genesis 22:15-19

This promise was already promised to Abraham before Isaac was born. A lot of the time we assume that when God promises something to us that we don’t have to do anything to get it. We don’t have do anything to fulfill it, but in actuality, God has promised every one of us something, but only few of us actually see the actual promise fulfilled.

Why? It’s not because God is unwilling to fulfill His promise, but because we are unwilling to give up something. We are holding back something from God. We are placing something above God. If we hold on to other things that separate us from God, we will lose out on our promise. If we put something, even something good, above God, we will lose out on our promise.

For instance, if we are blessed with the gift of music, but we only use this gift to make us famous, or we use it for anything else than to glorify God, we will lose out on our promise. If we have been blessed with athletics, but put sports above spending time with God, we will lose out on our promise.

These things in themselves are not bad, but the way we use them will determine whether we will lose out on our promise or not.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Fulfill Your Promise.

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Tag: Devotionals

Bring The First

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