Tag: Devotionals

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Good Desires Are Not Always God Desires

8 However, the LORD said to my father David, “Since it was your desire to build a temple for my Name, you have done well to have this desire. 9 Yet, you are not the one to build the temple, but your son, your own offspring, will build the temple for my Name” CSB ~ 2 Chronicles 6:8-9

Solomon is referring to 2 Samuel chapter 7, where it states that after David had built himself a fine palace made out of cedar and God had given him rest from all his surrounding enemies, he considered where he was living and where the Ark of God dwelt. The Ark was actually in a tent, while David lived in a fine house. He was convicted of it because David loved the LORD.

So, David calls Nathan the prophet and explains what he was thinking. Basically, he wanted to build the Temple of God. Nathan hears and thinks to himself this is a noble desire and to be sure it is a noble desire. So, Nathan the prophet said to David the king, “Go, do all that is in your heart, for the Lord is with you” (2 Samuel 7:3). But that night, the Word of the LORD came to the prophet Nathan and basically said that it was not David’s job or assignment to build Him a house, or the Temple of God. He had too much blood on his hands, so God would raise up his son, Solomon, to build the Temple.

Here is the moral of the story. Good desires are not always God’s desires. No matter how noble the cause, or how Godly the outcome, a good desire is not always a God desire. Meaning that what was in David’s heart was indeed noble and Godly, but it was not placed there by God because God had reserved that job for someone else, namely, David’s son Solomon.

So, God told Nathan to go back to David and tell him that he did well to want to build the temple, but you are not the one to do it. Instead, here is what I will do for you. I will build you a lasting house, a dynasty that will last forever. The Promised Messiah will come through your lineage, and through Him, your throne, O David, will be established forever.

Here is the takeaway. If David had persisted on doing that good thing even though it was noble and righteous, he would have been out of God’s will, and therefore, he would be in blatant rebellion against God. Therefore, whatever we do, no matter how noble or how God-focused it may seem, take it to God in prayer. You may not be the one called to do that particular thing. God may have someone else slated for that job. The bottom line is, whatever you do, first, season it with prayer. Talk to God about it.

Heavenly Father, please help me to know Your good and perfect will. May I always remember to take my plans to You in prayer that I may be sure that I am in Your good and perfect will. Thank You that I can be a part of what You are doing in the Earth, and that You have chosen me as part of it. Help me to know my part and not falter nor fail in what You have called me to do; in Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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Trust And Obey

22 And the Philistines came up yet again and spread out in the Valley of Rephaim. 23 And when David inquired of the LORD, he said, “You shall not go up; go around to their rear, and come against them opposite the balsam trees. 24 And when you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, then rouse yourself, for then the LORD has gone out before you to strike down the army of the Philistines.” 25 And David did as the LORD commanded him, and struck down the Philistines from Geba to Gezer ~ 2 Samuel 5:22-25

When David was anointed king over Israel, the Philistines heard about it and went in search of him, apparently to execute him. Remember, David was actually living with the Philistines, the enemy of the Israelites, because King Saul was hunting him in order to kill him. The Philistines even gave him and his men the city of Ziklag (1 Samuel 27:6). It is likely that they even considered him their friend and ally because when he was anointed king of Judah, the Philistines stayed where they were because Abner, along with Israel, had anointed Saul’s son king of Israel. But as soon as Ish-bosheth was assassinated and David was anointed king of Israel, they went in search of him. David then inquired of the LORD, shall I go up and fight against the Philistines? And the LORD said go, and so he went and defeated the Philistines (2 Samuel 5:17-21).

The Philistines regrouped and tried again, according to 2 Samuel 5:22-25. This time, when David inquired of God whether he should go up and fight the Philistines, God answered no. Do not go up and fight, but go behind them and wait. Then, when you hear the sound of marching in the balsam trees, rouse yourself, for then you will know that your God has gone out before you to defeat your enemy, the Philistines. And David did as God instructed.

Remember that David is a warrior; his instincts are to get up and fight. Com’on men, strap on your swords; we got a fight in front of us. But God said no, not this time, don’t do what you do best, but rather, wait for me, and you will have victory. It’s difficult to just sit and wait, not knowing what is going on or how long you will have to wait. Especially right after having such a great victory as the one earlier against the same Philistines. The words, “I can do all things,” springs to attention in the mind in times like those.

You have to rest in the assurance that God can use anything and anyone. This time, He chose to have David wait, which is a lesson in trusting and obeying, even when it seems almost nonsensical. If the general of today’s army told his men that is what he was doing, waiting for a certain sound in the tops of certain trees, they would probably lose all confidence in their commanding officer. But, the Word of God says, …to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams (1 Samuel 15:22bNIV). For David, his full confidence was in God, and for his men, their confidence was in knowing that David had a relationship with God and heard from Him.

So, the next time you feel like running on ahead with a certain project or a certain way of doing things because you’re good at it, pray, listen, and wait for the LORD. He doesn’t always do things the same way every time. He is a God of variety and color. It does not matter how silly it seems to others or even to yourself, but if you get a word from God, follow that word and trust and obey, no matter how silly or how nonsensical it may sound to others or to you.

Heavenly Father, thank You that you can use anything and everything, anyone and everyone. Nothing is too difficult or too easy, but all things are possible for You. Thank You, Father, that you work everything to the good of those who love You. Teach me to wait on You. Teach me to trust and obey. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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Not One-Sided

7 Our hope for you is unshaken, for we know that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in our comfort. ~ 2 Corinthians 1:7

God did not promise us Christians a rose garden with continued sunshine, no rain, and no thorns. But Jesus plainly told us that in this life, we will have tribulation. There is no fine print that you need to scrutinize with a magnifying glass or have your lawyer read over. Jesus told us plain and straight that if we wanted to follow Him, we would have to pick up our cross daily and follow Him. It should not come as a surprise when we experience hardships for the kingdom of God. It’s not a one-time thing where we can hurry and get it over and done with and then breathe a sigh of relief, “Glad that’s over. Now clear skies and smooth sailing from here on out.”

On the contrary, if we want to share in the comfort, we must also be willing to share in the suffering. Christians cannot shrink back from persecution or from suffering. I believe the greater the suffering, the greater the reward. Now that is not to say that only those who suffer for the kingdom will receive a reward. Not at all, but what I am saying is that we must all be willing to share in the suffering and not shrink back or fully avoid it. Because Jesus is coming back soon, and the Bible says that His rewards are with Him.

Paul also was fully convinced that if Christians, not just the Corinthian Church, but if all Christians share in the suffering of Christ, they will also share in the comforts of Christ. He told them plain and straight that he did not want them unaware of the affliction that he and his companions experienced in Asia. He was not complaining; he was encouraging them that nothing they would experience here on this earth would be able to compare to the glories we would share with Jesus if we only held on to the very end and did not give.

So, I encourage you today, if you are going through a rough time or if you are being persecuted, however slight, just because you are a Christian, hold on; something better is on its way. Jesus is coming to get us to give us an inheritance that no eye has not seen, neither has ear heard nor has it entered into the imagination of man what He has in store for us.

So, let’s encourage each other as we hold on and wait for the redemption of our LORD Jesus. And remember, our faith and our suffering are not one-sided. We will be rewarded for what we have done and what we have gone through for the sake of the kingdom of God.

Heavenly Father, thank You that You do not forget what we have done, and neither do You withhold blessings from us. But You give to each one as he or she deserves and has earned. Thank You that sufferings and comforts are not one-sided but that You repay each one exactly what they have earned. Thank you, Father. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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Battle To Victory

2 Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is near Beth-aven, east of Bethel, and said to them, “Go up and spy out the land.” And the men went up and spied out Ai. 3 And they returned to Joshua and said to him, “Do not have all the people go up, but let about two or three thousand men go up and attack Ai. Do not make the whole people toil up there, for they are few.” 4 So about three thousand men went up there from the people. And they fled before the men of Ai, 5 and the men of Ai killed about thirty-six of their men and chased them before the gate as far as Shebarim and struck them at the descent. And the hearts of the people melted and became as water. ~ Joshua 7:2-5

The battle of AI is one that must be fought, sometimes every day. It is the first one after Jericho that we must win if we are to succeed in our spiritual walk. If we want to collect the spoils, we must defeat AI.

What is AI? AI is a type of spiritual battle that we will all have to fight on one level or another. The battle of AI is “A” Adultery and “I” Idolatry, which is Spiritual Adultery.

Some may say, “I don’t have a problem with Adultery,” but I want you to understand that when you make something an idol, be it your career, money, video games, social media, or even family. Anything that takes the place of God is an idol, and it is spiritual adultery. Do not deceive yourself into thinking that since you are saved, you have no more problems with such things.

The truth is, when you are saved, that is when the enemy attacks you even more so that he can conquer you and win you back. His desire is to destroy you spiritually. Therefore, be on guard. Don’t allow the enemy to defeat you in the battle of AI. Stand strong in the LORD and His might. Flee sexual immorality and stand strong against idolatry by staying in the Word of God and meditating on it daily.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Battle To Victory.

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Defeat The Three

47 And that servant who knew his master’s will but did not get ready or act according to his will, will receive a severe beating. 48 But the one who did not know, and did what deserved a beating, will receive a light beating. Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more. ~ Luke 12:47-48

Jesus said that the servant who knew his master’s will but refused to get ready or refused to act appropriately as per His master’s will would receive a severe beating. And that’s why you need to build your relationship with Him. It is not just what you know or who you know but what you have done with what you know.

There are three things that will keep you from operating in the supernatural, because they block the intimacy. The word intimacy speaks of closeness, familiarity, and great affection. Intimacy builds the confidence to be vulnerable, honest, and open. It expects a mutual commitment to the relationship free of secrets and free of deceit.

The three main blockers of spiritual intimacy with Christ are lack of prayer, lack of faith/trust, and division. Without prayer, we cannot grow close to God. Prayer is how we communicate with our LORD; if we remove prayer from our lives, we no longer have communication with God and, therefore, do not have a relationship with Him, period. Faith/trust is the foundation of our salvation. Without faith, it is impossible to please God. Without faith, it is impossible to be saved.

Therefore, faithlessness severs the connection between man and God. Lastly, division is the opposite of unity. Jesus made it very clear that united we stand, but divided we fall. If we are not united with Christ, then we are divided from Him. In other words, if we separate ourselves from the things of God and cling to the things of the world, then we will never be one with God. We will always be separated from Him. And if we choose separation from Him in this life, we will be separated from Him in eternity as well.

Each of these three blockers are intertwined with each other. Each needs the other in order to grow spiritually. You can’t have one without the other. All three are needed in order to grow spiritually in the LORD. Once you grow spiritually in Him, you will begin to see Him move in your life. His Holy Spirit will guide you and break down strongholds in your life in the name of Jesus. The spiritual war you are in will no longer be one-sided; with Christ, the victory is yours.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Defeat The Three.

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Be With The Strongest

13 Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists undertook to invoke the name of the LORD Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, “I adjure you by the Jesus whom Paul proclaims.” 14 Seven sons of a Jewish high priest named Sceva were doing this. ~ Acts 19:13-14

The seven sons of Sceva, the Jewish high priest, were not Christians; they were, in fact, followers of Judaism like their father, a high priest. Now, when someone combines ο pistis (the faith) with the Name of Jesus, demonic spirits must evacuate and release their stronghold on that person or that particular place. This, however, didn’t happen with the sons of Sceva this time around. Why?

The problem here, with the sons of Sceva, was that they did not know Jesus. They had only known of Him because they had witnessed the power of the name of Jesus through Paul. Now, the Scriptures say they were Jewish exorcists. This means that they were going throughout the land, casting out evil spirits in the name of Jesus. Here’s the problem, however, some spirits are stronger than others.

The seven sons of Sceva didn’t realize or understand that anyone could use the name of Jesus to cast out evil spirits because that name is so powerful, but not everyone has a right to do so. They were regularly casting out evil spirits, so much so that the Scripture refers to them as Jewish exorcists, but when they came against a strong evil spirit, things changed very quickly. Today is no different.

So, many people overcome little strongholds that it seems like they don’t actually have to follow Christ; they can just use His name. This, however, is an illusion sent by the enemy to confuse and trick people. Oftentimes, when we see little breakthroughs, we’ll sacrifice the big, important breakthroughs for our flesh. Why?

Because when we see those little breakthroughs, we believe the lie of the enemy that we’re good with God and we don’t need to change. We don’t need to fully follow Him. God is love. Therefore, God just wants me to be happy. No. God doesn’t just want us to be happy. God wants us to turn away from evil and follow Him. He wants us to seek Him and His righteousness so that when we face an evil spirit that is very strong, we can overcome it in the name of Jesus.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Be With The Strongest.

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Stay A Sheep

10 … Samaria was taken. 11 The king of Assyria carried the Israelites away to Assyria and put them in Halah, and on the Habor, the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes, ~ 2 Kings 18:10b-11

In those days, when a king conquered a land, territory, people, or another nation, he would remove the majority of the people from that country and replace them with people from other conquered countries. Sometimes, he would remove all the people from their homeland and deport them to another country.

Why would he do that? So that there would be no rebellion that he would have to deal with.
If the people were all in different lands, why would they rebel? Why would they want to rise up and take back a country that is not their own?

Then, their own home country would be repopulated with people from other conquered cities or countries. In so doing, the whole culture of that region would be changed forever. That is what happened to Samaria. When Assyria conquered them, they were all moved out of Samaria and into other countries.

Today, they are trying to remove sheep from the sheepfold and replace them with goats. In other words, the desire of the world is to no longer have Christians, but a watered-down Gospel that cannot change anyone. That is why Christian spaces are being attacked and the world is trying to change them entirely. They want to completely snuff out the Light, so that darkness will reign.

Therefore, don’t allow the Devil to separate you from the LORD. Make a stand. Refuse to call evil good and good evil. Learn the Word of the LORD and build a strong relationship with God so that you won’t be able to be deceived and spiritually removed from the sheepfold.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Stay A Sheep.

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Spread The Good News

15 And He said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. 16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. 17 And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; 18 they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.” ~ Mark 16:15-18

This portion of Scripture is known to Christians as “The Great Commission” commanded by Jesus Himself to His disciples, and basically to all believers, then and now, just before He was taken up into heaven.

I want to make it clear that this command was not just for Jesus’ disciples. This command is for every Christian, and not just His twelve Apostles, but every single Christian is to proclaim the Gospel.

In other words, we are to tell others of the Good News, what Jesus has done for us.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Spread The Good News.

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Get Up And Witness

15 And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. 16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.” ~ Mark 16:15-16

This is called The Great Commission. Jesus instructs the believers to go into all the world and proclaim or preach the Gospel. In other words, go, tell the Good News, and tell all people how much God has done for you. Then, He explains the difference between the believers and non-believers. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved. Notice that He did not just leave it there with whoever believes. No, Jesus adds this little addendum, “…and is baptized…” they will be saved.

Therefore, it is safe to assume that it is not just a belief in who Jesus is but a belief coupled with action. Once you come to the realization of who Jesus is, then you must act. You must be baptized, which means you must not only be submerged in water, but you must actively live the life of a Christian and obey the commandments of Jesus, which includes witnessing or preaching the Good News.

Please understand that I am not advocating that unless you are baptized with water, you are not saved. I don’t believe that to be Biblical. If you do have the opportunity, you must, by all means, be baptized, but if there is no opportunity to be baptized after conversion and the person passes away, I believe that person has died in Christ and will be raised again at the last trump.

So, I challenge all armchair Christians who believe that their belief in a man named Jesus is enough; I challenge you to get up, shake the dust off, and begin to witness for Him. Share the Good News. Tell somebody about Jesus, for he who saves souls is wise, is what the proverb of Solomon says.

Heavenly Father, thank You for giving Your Son as a sacrifice for whomsoever will. I accept that free gift. Now, give me the boldness to witness, confidence to speak, and wisdom to share. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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Watch What They Say And Do

13 Now be it known to the king that if this city is rebuilt and the walls finished, they will not pay tribute, custom, or toll, and the royal revenue will be impaired. 14 Now because we eat the salt of the palace and it is not fitting for us to witness the king’s dishonor, therefore we send and inform the king, 15 in order that search may be made in the book of the records of your fathers. You will find in the book of the records and learn that this city is a rebellious city, hurtful to kings and provinces, and that sedition was stirred up in it from of old. That was why this city was laid waste. ~ Ezra 4:13-15

Rehum, the commander, and Shimshai, the scribe, wrote a letter against Jerusalem to Artaxerxes, the king. They were like, “What are you doing Persia? Look, because of our great concern for the king, because we eat his salt, we are telling you this. You might not realize it, but this is a very rebellious city. There will be no end to their rebellion if this city is rebuilt.

And who will suffer? You will, O’ King. If you don’t believe us, search for yourself and see. You will find that this city is a rebellious city, hurtful to kings and provinces, and that sedition was stirred up in it from of old. That was why this city was laid waste (Ezra 4:14-15).”

They knew that the Deportation and Resettlement Program worked because, more than likely, they themselves were the case-in-point example because they had been brought there from somewhere else. But know this, if this city is rebuilt, patriotism will flourish. If patriotism flourishes, those conquered people will not stay conquered for long.

Therefore, kill patriotism, burn their flag, forbid their worship, and take their weapons. That’s what the Philistines did in the days of Saul (1 Samuel 13:19-23). They didn’t even allow them to have a blacksmith for fear that they would make weapons.

So, on the day of battle, there was neither sword nor spear to be found in the hands of the people. The idea, take their guns. Keep them conquered. Does any of this sound a bit familiar? Have you seen it before? Is it kind of like a living déjà vu?

There is truly nothing new under the sun. Therefore, awaken from your spiritual slumber and carefully watch what those in charge are saying vs. what they are doing. Pay attention to how they are doing it vs. why they say they are doing it. Pay close attention to the world you are living in because if you don’t, you’ll have no say in the world you live in at all.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Watch What They Say And Do.

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