Tag: Food For Growth

¹ When Saul returned from following the Philistines, he was told, “Behold, David is in the wilderness of Engedi.” ² Then Saul took three thousand chosen men out of all Israel and went to seek David and his men in front of the Wildgoats’ Rocks. ³ And he came to the sheepfolds by the way, where there was a cave, and Saul went in to relieve himself. Now David and his men were sitting in the innermost parts of the cave. ⁴ And the men of David said to him, “Here is the day of which the Lord said to you, ‘Behold, I will give your enemy into your hand, and you shall do to him as it shall seem good to you.’” Then David arose and stealthily cut off a corner of Saul’s robe. ⁵ And afterward David’s heart struck him, because he had cut off a corner of Saul’s robe. ⁶ He said to his men, “The Lord forbid that I should do this thing to my lord, the Lord’s anointed, to put out my hand against him, seeing he is the Lord’s anointed.” ~ 1 Samuel 24:6

¹ But I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. ² I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready, ³ for you are still of the flesh. For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way? ⁴ For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not being merely human? ⁵ What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. ⁶ I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. ~ 1 Corinthians 3:6

Just because you can do something and it wouldn’t technically be wrong to do so doesn’t make it right for you to do it. Just because something would be good doesn’t make it right. God has called each and every one of us to do a specific job. To fulfill a specific call. We’re the body of Christ made up of different members. Some are feet, some are hands, some are arms. We aren’t all created to do the same exact job. That’s what makes us all so special.

Taking out King Saul and David taking his rightful place as King of Israel would have been good, but not right. It wasn’t his place to do so. We each have a plan for our lives. The enemy doesn’t always get us to do something blatantly wrong, but something good that isn’t right for us to do.

Don’t get caught up in trying to do everything. In trying to be every member of the Body. Just because something is good doesn’t mean it’s right. In the words of one of my favorite childhood characters:

Zuko: … I know my own destiny. Taking you down is the Avatar’s destiny.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Know Your Own Destiny.

¹ I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. ² Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. ³ Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. ⁴ Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. ⁵ I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. ⁶ If anyone does not abide in me, he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. ⁷ If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. ⁸ By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. ~ John 15:1-8

I saw a video where a guy taught that the fruit that we are told to bear is words, not works. He condemned anyone who taught or believed otherwise. This is a prime example of teaching doctrine, not Bible. See, you have to not know Scripture in order to believe Jesus is speaking about words and not works.

Here’s the thing, you don’t have to be saved to say Jesus is LORD. You don’t have to be saved to say that The Father is God Almighty. You don’t have to be saved to say anything Christian or profess Christianity or its doctrines. Salvation is not mandatory for those things. That’s why God weeps over His people, saying:

⁸ This people honors me with their lips,
but their heart is far from me;
⁹ in vain do they worship me,
teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.

Matthew 15:8-9

God doesn’t desire lip service from us. He isn’t an egotistical god. He isn’t like the other gods. He’s not like Allah, who just wants your praise and honor, caring not about your actions and sin. No. The LORD despises sin. He is holy. Unrighteousness in His presence is an abomination to Him. This is why we are told to be transformed by the renewal of our mind. This is why we are told to keep His commands. This is why we are told to turn away from sin and sin no more.

It’s not about empty words, but your heart. From your heart come your thoughts, words, and actions. It’s about bearing the Fruit of the Spirit.

²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

Galatians 5:22-23

Unless you bear fruit, good fruit, the Fruit of the Spirit, you will be cut off from the Vine. Because it’s not about lip service. It is about the condition of your heart, which manifests not just in words, but thoughts and actions.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Bear His Good Fruit.

³⁴ A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. ³⁵ By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. ~ John 13:34-35

Yesterday, July 6^th, was Cristiano Ronaldo’s last World Cup game. He had led his national team, Portugal, to win three titles. Because of him, they were a household favorite for the World Cup and Euro Cup. He is, without a shadow of a doubt, one of the greatest players to ever play the sport, but I watched, with tears in my eyes, as he went home with no World Cup win. Why? His age? Wasn’t his day? No. Sadly, every pass his teammates made to him was as if they’d rather lose the game than for him to score. Each and every pass was either way too far ahead or way too far behind. I watched them pass good balls to each other, but poor balls to Ronaldo. It was heartbreaking, and I did cry as that final whistle blew.

It reminded me a lot of the Church today. Today, we look at those of us who are succeeding. Who have either financial success, a large platform, or a spiritual gift that we want, and we tear them down. We go out of our way to make them the villain. We, here in the West, are our own worst enemy. We’d rather tear each other down and have the entire world hate the Church, than to build each other up and support one another. We build platforms on badmouthing people and ‘exposing’ people, when it just comes across as hatred and jealousy, not as exposing darkness to let in the Light.

Jesus warned the Pharisees:

²⁵ Knowing their thoughts, He said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and no city or house divided against itself will stand.”

Matthew 12:25

We can’t have revival in the land until we unite as one body under Christ. One bride to Christ. One heir in Christ. We have to learn to love each other as Christ loved us. As He continues to love us. Paul encourages us that Christ is interceding for us in Romans 8:34. How often do we pray for our fellow Christians? Especially those in the spotlight that represent us to all who are watching and looking, instead of hoping and waiting for their downfall with excitement. We, just like the Portuguese National Football Team, cannot do anything great unless we come together as one.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Come Together As One.

⁹ Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. ¹⁰ Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. ¹¹ Give us this day our daily bread, ¹² and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.¹³ And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” ~ Matthew 6:9-13

If you grew up in church, you grew up saying the LORD’s prayer. If you’ve been in church for even a few months, you know the LORD’s prayer by heart. The LORD’s prayer is one of the first scriptures we learn as Christians, but I feel like maybe we just say it without thinking about what the words actually mean. For instance, the part of the prayer ‘Your Kingdom Come…’ never really clicked in my head until randomly one night. We’re not just praying for God’s will to be done on earth or for earth to be like Heaven. We’re praying for power.

Jesus said:

²⁸ But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.

Matthew 12:28

Jesus compared the power of the Holy Spirit, specifically the power to cast out demons, to the sign that the kingdom of God has come upon the people. So, it’s not just ‘Your will be done,’ it’s ‘let your power fall on us and flow through us. It’s signs, wonders, healings, miracles, and yes, casting out demons. Things that people say were just for a time. Things that people say aren’t for us in the Church today. If that’s so, then the LORD’s prayer isn’t for us.

We can’t cherry-pick things that we like and then ignore the meaning of them. We can’t exclude things that we deem to be too hard or controversial. It’s either all or nothing. Therefore, when you pray, pray for the power of the Holy Spirit to fill you, just as Jesus taught His disciples to pray. Just as Paul told the Corinthian Church:

¹ Pursue love, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy. ² For one who speaks in a tongue speaks not to men but to God; for no one understands him, but he utters mysteries in the Spirit. ³ On the other hand, the one who prophesies speaks to people for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation. ⁴ The one who speaks in a tongue builds up himself, but the one who prophesies builds up the church. ⁵ Now I want you all to speak in tongues, but even more to prophesy. The one who prophesies is greater than the one who speaks in tongues, unless someone interprets, so that the church may be built up.

1 Corinthians 14:1-5

²⁰ For the kingdom of God does not consist in talk but in power.

1 Corinthians 4:20

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Pray For His Kingdom.

⁸ But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. ~ 1 Timothy 5:8

One of my favorite childhood cartoons was “Code Name: Kids Next Door.” Throughout the show, a group of kids who are a part of a greater operation battle adult tyranny. The villains were all teenagers or adults who tried to harm children in one way or another. The Boss who kept parents at longer hours so they couldn’t go home to their kids. The scary cat lady down the street, whose cats are vicious like her. The grandma who tries to make you eat gross food like liver, mystery meat, etc. The spanking vampire, who spanks all naughty Children who break the rules. But the scariest villain of all was Father. I never really thought much of it as a kid, just that he was scary, but the other day, while watching the movie, it made sense.

Father was the scariest villain, not because all dads in the show are evil; in fact, all the dads in the show are loving and caring for their children. I believe Father was the scariest villain because if your Own father is against you, you truly have no safe place. It’s one thing to be afraid of Strangers, it’s another thing to be afraid of your own father, or for him to be against you. See, the Boss had children, and even he was a good dad to them, but Father was another story.

As a kid, it doesn’t matter who’s against you. It only matters if your parents are for you. If you’re scared, it’s Dad you go to to protect you, to defend you, to keep you safe. If your Dad is against you, then you no longer have a safe place.

Fathers, you have an obligation to your children to be their safe place. A place they can go to when they’re scared, nervous, or unsure. So many people struggle with the love of God because of their relationship with their fathers. You are a representation of our relationship with God, so don’t take your role lightly.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Be Their Safe Space.

¹² Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, ¹³ for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. ~ Philippians 2:12-13

I heard a well-known preacher say that another preacher was a heretic. Why? Because the one preacher did not subscribe to the belief that we have absolutely nothing to do with our salvation. See, he didn’t believe that if God wanted you saved, you’d be saved. He believed that you had to choose God. That you had to make the decision to follow Him, while the other preacher believed that if God wanted you saved, you’d be saved and unable to resist His pull. So, what’s wrong with believing that? Isn’t salvation a gift from God so that no one can boast?

It absolutely is. The issue, though, is that believing God will save you if He wants to means that He doesn’t want to save everyone. This line of thinking doesn’t line up with the Word of God. See, Salvation was purchased entirely by Christ for us. There is nothing that we can do to save ourselves; that is why there is no boasting. This doesn’t mean that we don’t have to choose Him. We do. He tells us to seek Him while He can still be found. To come to Him and He will give you rest. These aren’t the words of a God that only wants to save some while creating others specifically to burn in Hell for all eternity.

No, Paul tells us, “How will they believe, unless they hear? And how will they hear unless someone tells them?” This is Paul’s call to evangelism. To the spreading of the Word of God to all the nations. If we have absolutely no choice but to give in to God’s call, there would be no need to evangelize. No need to preach. Why? Because they’d have the call of God that they wouldn’t be able to resist, and they’d automatically follow regardless.

God promised that He would pour His Spirit out on all flesh, not some flesh, but all flesh. Therefore, He gave every single soul on earth the opportunity to be saved. He called, tugged on the heart of each and every single soul. Then He gives the final nail in the coffin, “anyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved.” These aren’t the words of someone who doesn’t desire all flesh to be saved. No. These are the words of a loving Creator that desires none to perish, but all come to acceptance.

⁹ The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.

2 Peter 3:9

Therefore, don’t just expect the LORD to change you without putting any work or effort into it. We are to work out our salvation with much fear and trembling. In other words, we are to humble ourselves before the Throne of Grace and crucify our flesh daily so that we might remain saved. So that we don’t lose this race set before us.

²⁴ Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. ²⁵ Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. ²⁶ So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. ²⁷ But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.

1 Corinthians 9:24-27

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Work Out Your Salvation.