Tag: Devotionals

Posted on

Empty To Fill

11 I have been a fool; you forced it on me. You ought to have commended me, since I am not in any way inferior to those “super-apostles,” even though I am nothing. 12 The signs of an apostle were performed with unfailing endurance among you, including signs and wonders and miracles. ~ 2 Corinthians 12:11-12CSB

Paul was writing to the Corinthian Church, warning them about the deceitful teachings of the “super-apostles” that had weaseled their way into the Church and disguised themselves as servants of Christ when they were, in fact, simply servants of Satan. Now, here’s what I find interesting, these servants of Satan are called “super-apostles”, but look at how Paul addresses that. He tells the people, “The signs of an apostle were performed with unfailing endurance among you, including signs and wonders and miracles.” Paul did signs and wonders, but he also performed the signs of an apostle with great endurance. So many, not every single one, but many today call themselves apostles but cannot perform a single sign or wonder. They have people referring to them as only apostle so and so, without performing a single miracle. No one goes to them and returns healed. Matter-a-fact much of these teachings that they bring forth aren’t sound doctrine. So why do they call themselves apostles?

I believe Satan has successfully infiltrated the Church through confusion and lack of understanding, coupling all these things with pride. Now, I want to be clear, I’m not saying each and every person who calls themselves apostle is evil, demonic, Satanic, possessed, or anything like, but I believe they are beguiled because they don’t walk in power. They have no signs, wonders, or miracles that they can perform. And so often, their doctrine doesn’t line up with Scripture.

Now, I believe that there are still apostles and prophets just like I believe there are still teachers and preachers, but I believe we lost the understanding of what those offices truly are and what they truly mean. To me, it seems as if each person calling themselves apostle so and so are doing so only out of pride. I have never read Paul referring to himself as Apostle Paul. Did Paul start his letter explaining who he was and what his position was in the Church? Absolutely, but he didn’t use it as a title per se. How can I be sure? When Peter mentions Paul, he refers to him as Brother Paul. When Paul mentions Peter, he refers to him as Cephas. They didn’t turn this office into a title for themselves and others to refer to them by. Paul started out his letters with his position so that his readers understood with what authority he said those things; that was it.

I personally believe we’ve lost so much knowledge and understanding that the early Church had. We’re more divided, confused, and weaker than any other generation of the Church. This isn’t by accident but by design. The Devil isn’t a toothless, defeated foe. The Devil is a roaring lion seeking someone to devour. He’s planning and scheming. And what has he done? Removed sound teaching and doctrine by introducing false humility and pride into the Church. False humility says, “There are no more apostles, prophets, miracles, signs, wonders, power, etc. because all we need and should want is a relationship with Jesus.” Pride says, “I am an apostle or prophet because I am influential, I have a following, people respect me and my opinion, my teachings go viral, therefore, I am an apostle.” Then, to top it all off, he introduced distractions that keep us from actually reading our Bible, studying it, and understanding it. If I can keep my enemy from reading, studying, and understanding, then I have conquered them before the battle has even begun. How can we overcome our enemy if we don’t know anything about our own salvation?

Salvation isn’t just about getting eternal life. It’s about building the body of Christ. How can we do that if we don’t know, understand, or care what part of the body we are? It can’t work. We have to throw off false humility, pride, distractions, slothfulness, and apathy and instead cling diligently to the Word of God, searching it daily, seeking Truth and understanding, emptying our cup so that God may fill it up, all in pursuit of only His Truth and Righteousness. Imagine if the Church just followed in the footsteps of the early Church… imagine the souls that would be saved… we need to get back to the basics and throw off prideful titles and false humility so that we might build on a strong, firm foundation.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Empty To Fill.

Like and Share This:
Posted on

Stay and Move In Obedience

39 When Moses reported these words to all the Israelites, the people were overcome with grief. 40 They got up early the next morning and went up the ridge of the hill country, saying, “Let’s go to the place the Lord promised, for we were wrong.” 41 But Moses responded, “Why are you going against the Lord’s command? It won’t succeed. 42 Don’t go, because the Lord is not among you and you will be defeated by your enemies. 43 The Amalekites and Canaanites are right in front of you, and you will fall by the sword. The Lord won’t be with you, since you have turned from following him.” 44 But they dared to go up the ridge of the hill country, even though the ark of the Lord’s covenant and Moses did not leave the camp. 45 Then the Amalekites and Canaanites who lived in that part of the hill country came down, attacked them, and routed them as far as Hormah. ~ Numbers 14:39-45CSB

The people of Israel were told to invade the land of Canaan and take it over because it was their inheritance as promised to their father Abraham. The LORD promised to go with them and even go before them, but the people refused to enter. Why? Because they sent in spies from each tribe and when those twelve spies returned, 10 of them gave a bad report of the land and incited the people to not enter the land.

What was their report? There were Nephilim in the land. Giants as tall as cedar trees that wreaked havoc on the people of the land. They were filled with fear at the sight of them, and when they returned, they filled the camp with fear as well. So, the people refused to enter. Only two of the twelve spies tried to remind the people that the LORD had promised to be with them and go before them. They tried to remind the people of God’s promise, but their words fell on deaf ears. The people would not listen.

So, what does God do? He rejects the people since they rejected Him with their unbelief and refusal to go into the land. When they’re told that God has now rejected them, they try to force His hand by refusing to stay in the camp and instead going to war. They probably think that the LORD will show up; He’ll have to. But God doesn’t show up, and they are destroyed at battle and have to flee.

So many of us are told to go forward go forward. Time after time, we reject God until He finally tells us “fine,” and He doesn’t move us forward. By the time we’re finally ready to move forward, it’s too late, and God has moved on to a willing heart. So, we try to force His hand by moving forward without Him. And what happens? We fail. The difference between us and the people of Israel is that we blame God for our failure when He told us to stay and not go.

When you miss the opportunity, you must remain where God has left you and seek Him until He returns. You don’t try to move on without Him; you always stay where He left you, lest you be overcome on your own.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Stay and Move In Obedience.

Like and Share This:
Posted on

Imitate The True God

22 The eye is the lamp of the body. 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. So if the light within you is darkness, how deep is that darkness! ~ Matthew 6:22-23CSB

A phrase I’m hearing more and more as a defense for “Christians” to live as the world without getting too much backlash from the Church is “Going to the party isn’t the problem. Even Jesus partied with sinners. You just gotta leave before the Devil shows up.” Is there any truth to this statement? I would say, no, not really. Jesus never partied with anyone. Jesus ate and drank with sinners, and that’s about it. The key, though, is actually paying attention to what Jesus did when He was around sinners. Jesus always found the opportunity to correct their way of living.

Jesus wasn’t out there getting drunk, dancing inappropriately, smoking weed, seeing others talking harder drugs, and having orgies in the back, all while listening to filthy, nasty music filled with cusswords, debauchery, and sexual immortality. No. Jesus sat and had dinner with people, and if He didn’t outright correct their behavior verbally, His presence alone convicted them enough that they repented directly to Him. Jesus never enabled darkness to continue; why?  Because while He was in the world, He was the Light of the World. Now, we have taken that same position that He left when He ascended on High. What does that mean for us?

We don’t justify our actions by twisting the Word of God in order to party and cater to our flesh. No. We stand firm on our faith and be the light of the world. Paul put it best when he said, “It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.” Therefore, we must emulate Christ and what He did. Where, when, how can we witness to anyone at a party? Who are we saving there? Let’s be honest; we’re there for our own fleshly desires and nothing more.

How can we leave a party before the Devil shows up if we don’t know what the Devil looks like? If we struggle with who Jesus is, how can we feel confident that we notice our enemy when he blatantly lies, deceives, and even transforms himself into an angel of light? It’s impossible. How can we reach the lost of we’re right next to them doing the same thing? We can’t. Darkness cannot drive out darkness. It will just lead to more darkness. We are called out of the world so that we might call others out of the world as well. I’ll leave you with this question, “If the light in you is truly darkness, how great is that darkness?” In other words, if you think you’re living a good life, but in reality, you are living a sinful life, how great is that sin within you?

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Imitate The True God.

Like and Share This:
Posted on

Never Just Take Their Word For It

10 As soon as it was night, the brothers and sisters sent Paul and Silas away to Berea. Upon arrival, they went into the synagogue of the Jews. 11 The people here were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, since they received the word with eagerness and examined the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so. ~ Acts 17:10-11CSB

When we think of Jesus or describe Him today, our thoughts and descriptions don’t truly line up with the Jesus of the Bible. Why is that? The majority of the times this because we don’t read our Bibles, so we don’t truly know who Jesus is, we only know what others tell us about Him. So, from the very beginning we have a false depiction of Christ and we don’t even know it.

Why don’t we study our Bibles for ourselves to find the Truth? Because a lot of the time, we’re too spiritually lazy to read our Bibles. We don’t want to deny our flesh pleasure and put it into subjection, so we just take people’s word for it. But think about this: how many of us would blindly take someone’s word when it comes to our finances, kids, health, home, or anything we deem important? Very few of us would blindly follow their advice. So, why do it with something as precious as your eternal soul?

When we blindly follow others, we’re never truly growing. We’re never truly learning because how can we grow or learn without the Scriptures? Never take someone’s word for it, no matter who they are or how you support or respect them. Always go back to the Word of God and check it for yourselves to see if what is being said is Truth or false teaching. In that way, you will be able to make sure you are following the one true God and His one true path.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Never Just Take Their Word For It.

Like and Share This:
Posted on

The LORD, My Refuge

2 I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” 3 For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence. 4 He will cover you with His pinions, and under His wings you will find refuge; His faithfulness is a shield and buckler ~ Psalms 91:2-4

The Psalmist starts out with, “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.” We Christians do not wait until disaster is upon us before we start praying; no, we are in prayer continuously. Therefore, we abide permanently in the shelter of the Almighty. That means that we are always under His great protection.

Think about it this way. You are on the school playground, and bullies are coming toward you, and you know exactly what their intentions are. They are there to bully you and make your life a living nightmare. But as they come into range, your big brother, who is two or three times bigger than them, turns around and looks. He is so close to you that you are standing in his shadow. What do you think those bullies will do? They will turn around and leave without saying one word or making one move. They are out of there.

That is how it is with Jesus. He said that He will never leave us nor forsake us but will abide with us forever. It’s like the poem Footprints. A man was looking over his life and saw two sets of prints in the sand, and he knew that it was Jesus who was with him. But then he realized that in the hardest times of his life, there was only one set of prints. When he asked Jesus why this was, why He had left him in his most troubled times, Jesus replied, those were the times that I cared for you. That is a very comforting thought. Even when it seems like the whole world is against us, remember, God is with us. It is in those times that Jesus will carry us.

Heavenly Father, thank You that You are with us in the day and in the night. In the highs and in the lows. In the good times and in the bad. Thank You for carrying me in my most troubled times. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

Like and Share This:
Posted on

Be That Light

19 Pray also for me, that the message may be given to me when I open my mouth to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel. 20 For this I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I might be bold enough to speak about it as I should. ~ Ephesians 6:19-20CSB

So many times when we think about Paul, we just think about how great of a hero of the faith he was. We think about all the great miracles, the powerful signs and wonders that followed him, and the marvelous mysteries he revealed, but rarely do we ever think about the weakness of Paul. We almost elevate him as more than a man because we find it almost impossible to see him as struggling the same way we do today. Even though Paul did great things, he was still a man with flesh that he had to crucify daily, and spiritual warfare he had to fight daily.

When Paul struggled, he didn’t keep it to himself. He requested prayer for those things. He didn’t try to battle them alone. He understood the importance of prayer. So, he requested that they pray for his boldness. Imagine that Paul, the greatest Apostle to ever live, has to ask other people to pray for him to speak boldly. That doesn’t seem like the Paul we’re taught about, but it was the actions of the Paul of the Bible.

Paul never once tried to portray himself as perfect or without struggle. He constantly spoke about his weaknesses. He boasted in them. Something he struggled with was speaking boldly, but he didn’t let that stop him. He prayed about it and then asked others to pray about it for him., but he didn’t stop there. Paul, after praying, went out and spoke boldly. He put that prayer request into action.

James explained that prayer without action is useless. Therefore, what did Paul do? He did the very thing that he prayed about. He went out and spoke to the people and didn’t stop until his last breath. Paul didn’t preach because it was easy. Paul preached because that is the call. He understood it was better to speak and face the wrath of the world than to be silent and face the wrath of God.

Paul was a man just like us; the difference was that he was a man of prayer and action. We each have the call to tell others of the Good News of Christ, regardless of backlash, offense, or the wrath of the world. Our main general call is to be the light of the world while Christ is on His throne.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Be That Light.

Like and Share This:
Posted on

God Is Good

Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, for His steadfast love endures forever! ~ Psalms 107:1

God is good even when things are happening in your life that are out of your control. Even when you are suffering terribly and God seems to be far away. Understand this, His love is never far away, even in those instances, for His love is a steadfast love that is forever. There is nothing that can come between or separate you from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus.

Paul said in Romans 8:35, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?” Well, the short answer to these questions are a resounding NO. Nothing can or will separate us from the love of God because God is good, and He wants good for us, even when it does not seem like it. But even in trials and the tribulations, which are hard for us Christians who live in the West with all our freedoms that we enjoy to imagine, God is still good.

But there are those living in our world who are not so fortunate. They suffer all of those things for God: persecution, tribulation, and even death, yet they believe in His goodness, and they trust in His steadfast love. Just yesterday, I read about an Egyptian Christian who was kidnapped, tortured, killed, and then mutilated until unrecognizable and then fed to the dogs. Even in horrific events like that, God is still good. His love is still a steadfast love.

We look at the temporal, but God considers the eternal, which is by far the best. Suffering in this world is not even a second in eternity. Paul said, for him to live is Christ, and to die is gain. Because no one can even imagine the good things that God has in store for everyone who loves Him and is obedient to His commands.

The very last verse (Psalms 107:43) says, “Whoever is wise, let him attend to these things; let them consider the steadfast love of the LORD.” So, let us consider, think, ponder, meditate on, and celebrate the goodness of God, for He alone is good.

Father, thank You that You are good, and Your steadfast love is forever. Help me to consider and understand Your goodness, even in times when it does not seem like You are around or that You even care. Help me to hold on and to never doubt Your goodness to me. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

Like and Share This:
Posted on

Embrace The Son

12 Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, and you perish in the way, for His wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in Him. ~ Psalms 2:12

Psalms chapter two is talking about God the Father and His Anointed, His One and Only begotten Son whom the nations rage against, the peoples plot in vain against, the kings of the earth set themselves against, and the rulers take counsel together against. His Name is Jesus.

The Holy and Anointed One. The One born of a virgin, who lived a sinless life. Who was crucified, died, and was buried for three days and three nights. Who rose again on the third day never to be killed, or to suffer, or to be abused ever again because He is seated at the right hand of power, and He is coming back to judge the living and the dead.

Yes, His name is Jesus. He is the first, and He is the last. He is the Alpha and the Omega. He is the Beginning and the End. The One and only true God. Therefore, kiss the Son. Cling to Him, for He alone can save you.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Embrace The Son.

Like and Share This:
Posted on

The Great Mercy of God

4 Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: 5 Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. 6 Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. 7 But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare. ~ Jeremiah 29:4-7.

This is the beginning of a letter that God had Jeremiah send to the Israelites in captivity to encourage them. Think about this. They were in punishment for abandoning their God. But listen to the letter. Build houses and enjoy your house. Plant gardens and enjoy the fruits of your labor. Go on and get married and have a family, and then let your children also get married and have families of their own. I don’t just want you to increase and not decrease, but I want you to multiply.

Understand that multiplication is way much more than addition. God’s mercy is so great that even when He punishes His people for wrongdoing, He can’t help Himself by blessing them because of His steadfast love. Please realize that God was very angry with them, yet in His anger, He remembered mercy, and in His wrath, He remembered to bless. That is mind-blowing. That would be like us putting our children in timeout because of their disobedience and bad behavior, then turning the TV set toward them so that while they are in timeout, they can watch a little TV while munching on their favorite snack on a nice soft cushion.

The letter goes on to say that after seventy years, I myself (the LORD God) will come and visit them and bring them back to the place He had promised them. Their own homeland of Jerusalem in Judah. He will give them back their land. It is amazing that even in punishment, God’s mercy is very, very great. You can never outlive or run away from God’s mercy. He doesn’t want them miserable in their punishment, He want them to have hope and be comforted in their hope. It’s just amazing.

Thank You, Father, for Your great mercy that does not end and for Your steadfast love that endures forever. Help me never to take advantage of Your great mercy and Your steadfast love. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

Like and Share This:
Posted on

Pay Attention To The War

11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. ~ Ephesians 6:11-13

We are facing a war for independence right now. A spiritual war of independence, but a war, nonetheless. Every one of us are all flawed with what theologians call, “original sin.” This was the purpose of Jesus coming to earth and being born of a virgin, so that He could die for the sins of the world.

Jesus died to wash us clean of that original sin, and He offers eternal life to whomsoever will. He is offering liberty right now. Your rights as a citizen may be taken from you. Your freedom can be eliminated. Your property can be confiscated. But do you know what they can never take from you? Your freedom in Christ. Jesus died on the cross over 2,000 years ago because we were all sinners and needed saving, and His shed blood was the only way for us to receive salvation.

So, Jesus had to die that we might live. Therefore, cling to your salvation. Cling to what they can never take from you. Jesus promised that if we seek first the Kingdom of God all other things will be given to us. Therefore, seek the LORD first and His righteousness, and He will take care of all your needs.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Pay Attention To The War.

Like and Share This:
Proudly powered by WordPress