Tag: Spiritual

Posted on

Truly Repent

12 That is why the LORD says, “Turn to me now, while there is time. Give me your hearts. Come with fasting, weeping, and mourning. 13 Don’t tear your clothing in your grief, but tear your hearts instead.” Return to the LORD your God, for He is merciful and compassionate, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. He is eager to relent and not punish. ~ Joel 2:12-13

Oftentimes, when we think about repentance, we think about it in terms of saying I’m sorry to God, and that’s all. Nothing more. Nothing less. Some Christians will say that repentance is part saying I’m sorry to God and part turning 360°, but that’s actually not true. Yes, repentance is about saying you are sorry to God and confessing your sins to Him, but we aren’t to turn 360°. Why? Because 360° is starting at point A and turning a full circle to return to point A where you began. This does nothing for you. That means that there is no change. It needs to be a 180° turn so that you might turn away from your sin entirely.

See, repentance is more than just confessing your sins to God. It’s about turning your heart from those sins and to God. It’s about changing your identity from your flesh to Christ. Your desires to God’s desires. It’s about renewing your mind and softening your heart. Repentance isn’t just feeling sorry. Repentance is doing something about that feeling. It’s acting on that feeling.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Truly Repent.

Like and Share This:
Posted on

Prepare A Hedge

Then Satan answered the Lord and said, “Does Job fear God for no reason? Have you not put a hedge around him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land.” ~ Job 1:9-10ESV

Sometimes when you’re having victory after victory, and you’re not falling for the Devil’s usual schemes, he uses those around you to knock the joy right out of you. You don’t have to be a non-believer to be used by the Devil; Peter was arguably Jesus’ best friend, and he was used by Satan at the Last Supper. Judas was a follower of Jesus, and Satan entered him. You don’t have to be unsaved to be used by the enemy; he just simply needs an open door in your life to use you. And sometimes that’s what happens.

Paul tells us that we don’t wrestle against flesh and blood but against the spiritual realm. The unseen world. The enemy and his kingdom. Their goal is to separate you from God, but because they can’t do it themselves, they try to force you to do it through temptation and trials. When temptation doesn’t work, they use those around you to try to steal your joy, your peace, your love. They try to steal your fruit because if you aren’t producing fruit, then the Father will cut you off of the Vine, who is Christ Jesus. So, he goes after your fruit when temptation doesn’t work.

So, be on guard. Put up a hedge of protection around you. How? Through prayer. Through worship. Through speaking the Word of God over your life, your family, your household, your relationships, your job. Speak the Word of God over all that is in your life so that it might be covered and protected.

We are not unaware of the Devil’s schemes, so don’t play his game. Don’t allow him to steal your joy. Your peace. Your love. Once you’ve covered all in your life, cover yourself. Put on the full Armor of God. Be prepared for battle at all times. Don’t give him anything the LORD has promised you; He has promised all the fruit to those who follow Him and allow Him to transform us into a new creation.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Prepare A Hedge For The Attack.

Like and Share This:
Posted on

Blind Servant

Who is blind but My servant, Or so deaf as My messenger whom I send? Who is so blind as he that is at peace with Me, Or so blind as the servant of the Lord? ~ Isaiah 42:19NASB1995

If you think about this statement by the LORD, it is pretty frightening. He is not talking about the blindness or the deafness of the heathens, or those who hate Him. No, God is talking about His own people. His own servants. These people who are supposed to be working for Him. The ones who should have a close relationship with Him. But instead of closeness we find distance. Instead of intimacy, we find lukewarmness.

Just because we claim a relationship with the Almighty God does not mean we have one. God’s people, the ones who should know Him intimately and serve Him wholeheartedly, are the very ones who are trampling the blood of Jesus underfoot and making the name of His Holy One something common. That’s why God asks the question in Isaiah 1:5: “Why will you be struck anymore?”

In other words, why continue to rebel after He has redeemed you with His own blood, and now you’re receiving just punishment, punishment that He takes no pleasure in. It is not God’s will that anyone perish, but that all come to repentance. But we refuse to draw close to God because we love the pleasures of the world. Let us forsake evil and turn from feeding our lukewarmness and cling to God in pursuit of holiness.

Like and Share This:
Posted on

Test Your State

13 But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, 14 for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says, “Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” ~ Ephesians 5:13-14

11 Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. 12 The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. 13 Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. 14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires. ~ Romans 13:11-14

Spiritual slumber and spiritual death are two frightening states to be in. I’d say the most frightening, if I’m being honest. Why? Because in the state of spiritual slumber and spiritual death, you don’t even realize that you have fallen into that place. You’re unaware you’re asleep. You have no idea you’re dead. You think you’re okay. You think you’re good, but you’re asleep. You’re dead.

So, how do you test your spiritual temperature? You pay attention to your reaction to the LORD. To His Word. His Church. And even the World. Does the Word of God move you? When you worship, does the Presence of God fill the atmosphere? Do the things of God excite you? Are you falling asleep every time you’re in church? Do you become disinterested in a conversation when the things of God are brought up? Does God stir you?

When the Presence of God came down in the Old Testament, the ministers had to stop ministering. His Presence was just too much to continue. How much more should we, the Church, usher in the Presence of the LORD with our worship? We have the very Spirit of God dwelling in us. We are the Temple of the Living God. When the Spirit fell on the early Church in the New Testament, they were filled with power from on high and spoke in tongues. They were alive. They were awake. They were moving in the Spirit of God Almighty.

Today, so much of the Church is spiritually dead. Spiritually asleep. The Word of God has become just mere words, and worship has become just singing. What good is knowing the Scripture if it doesn’t change you? What good is worship if it doesn’t usher in the Presence of God? When we are spiritually asleep or spiritually dead, we make His Word void. We make His Presence cold. We remove the Power of God from our midst, and we allow darkness to reign in our lives, our homes, our communities, and our nation. It’s time the Church awakens from its deep sleep and rises out of the depths of its grave.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Test Your State.

Like and Share This:
Posted on

Wait For The Right Time

1 Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes, the leaders of the fathers’ houses of the people of Israel, before King Solomon in Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the covenant of the LORD out of the city of David, which is Zion. 2 And all the men of Israel assembled to King Solomon at the feast in the month Ethanim, which is the seventh month. 3 And all the elders of Israel came, and the priests took up the ark. 4 And they brought up the ark of the LORD, the tent of meeting, and all the holy vessels that were in the tent; the priests and the Levites brought them up. 5 And King Solomon and all the congregation of Israel, who had assembled before him, were with him before the ark, sacrificing so many sheep and oxen that they could not be counted or numbered. 6 Then the priests brought the ark of the covenant of the LORD to its place in the inner sanctuary of the house, in the Most Holy Place, underneath the wings of the cherubim. 7 For the cherubim spread out their wings over the place of the ark, so that the cherubim overshadowed the ark and its poles. 8 And the poles were so long that the ends of the poles were seen from the Holy Place before the inner sanctuary; but they could not be seen from outside. And they are there to this day. 9 There was nothing in the ark except the two tablets of stone that Moses put there at Horeb, where the LORD made a covenant with the people of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt. 10 And when the priests came out of the Holy Place, a cloud filled the house of the LORD, 11 so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the LORD filled the house of the LORD. ~ 1 Kings 8:1-11

It was during Sukkot (the Feast of Booths) that Solomon brought the Ark of the Covenant into the Holy of Holies in the newly built Temple. According to 1 Kings 6:38, the Temple of Solomon was finished in the eighth month. That means that King Solomon waited an entire year (eleven months to be exact) to bring the Ark of the Covenant into the Temple. Why? I think it was symbolic of the fact that the Feast of Booths foreshadowed not only the Millennial Reign of Christ but would be fulfilled in the LORD dwelling on Earth for all eternity with His people after creating a New Earth for His people to dwell with Him on.

No longer would the LORD dwell in just a tent, as the people of Israel had dwelt in tents as they wandered; now the LORD had a permanent dwelling place on Earth to be with His people. How beautiful is that? King Solomon waited for just the right moment to bring the Ark of the LORD, which symbolized the presence of the LORD, into the newly built Temple. There was no rushing. No, we gotta get this done now. No, the Temple is built; bring it in. No, King Solomon willingly waited almost an entire year before bringing the Ark of the Covenant into the Temple.

Could he have just brought it in when it was completed? Yes. Would it have been a sin? No. It would’ve been good, but it was better to wait. There are things in life that would be good to do now, but better to wait. So, don’t rush anything you do. Do all things to the glory of God and let it be done in His timing.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Wait For The Right Time.

Like and Share This:
Posted on

Live For An Eternal Dwelling

6 On that day there shall be no light, cold, or frost. 7 And there shall be a unique day, which is known to the LORD, neither day nor night, but at evening time there shall be light. 8 On that day living waters shall flow out from Jerusalem, half of them to the eastern sea and half of them to the western sea. It shall continue in summer as in winter. 9 And the LORD will be King over all the earth. On that day the LORD will be one and His name one. ~ Zechariah 14:6-9

Last night started the seven days of the Feast of Booths. And today, when the Jewish people meet to read their Scriptures together in unison, as one people, they will read Zechariah 14. And for me, personally, that blows my mind. I’ve been thinking about it since I found out about it. Why? Why is it plaguing my thoughts? Because Zechariah 14 is a Messianic Prophecy.

Zechariah isn’t talking about God the Father. He isn’t prophesying the return of God the Father. Zechariah is prophesying the Second Coming of Jesus, as well as His coming to reign on this earth for a thousand years. John saw this same event and recorded it in his book (Revelation 20:1-6).

Every single time they read Zechariah 14, they are reading of the Messiah. They are reading of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the World, whom they have rejected. Whom they have denied, whom they do not want nor acknowledge. That, to me, is mind-blowing. In other words, they are saying, “Come, LORD Jesus, come,” and they have no idea. They may be saying, “Come, Father God”; that may be their intention, but their intention cannot override God’s meaning of that Word. Their intention can’t just override the promise.

Many are the plans of man, but it is God’s plan that will come to fruition. It is God’s plan that will be fulfilled in the end. Even though they don’t acknowledge the LORD Jesus, even though they don’t believe that He is the Messiah, that He is the Almighty, even though they do not hold that belief, every time they read that verse, pray for it to be fulfilled, cling to it in hope, speak it out over their land, they are declaring and calling for the LORD Jesus to come. For the LORD Jesus to take His rightful place as King of the World.

That is what we, Christians, are looking forward to as well. But we say, “Come, LORD Jesus, Come.” We say it knowing what it means. Our eyes are no longer veiled when we read the Law and the Prophets. We can see Jesus in it. We can see the LORD Jesus clearly throughout Scripture. Therefore, how much more should we, at the very least, remember and look forward to the fulfillment of the Feasts God has given. The Feasts that prophesied our God fully and completely redeeming us from all unrighteousness. That we should be excited for. We should be praying for. We should be seeking out. These feasts aren’t just for Jews. They read and see with veiled eyes. Without understanding. Without fully grasping all that God has for us.

They keep these feasts and look for a fulfillment, especially the Feast of Booths. A Feast most of us Christians have never heard of, let alone sought to see it fulfilled one day. They don’t fully understand what they are seeking in its fulfillment, yet they do it. Each and every year. But we who know. Who have no veil. Who have the very Spirit of God dwelling in us overlook them. We don’t even know what they are, let alone what they look forward to. Shame on us for taking our religion, our faith, so lightly.

Therefore, this Feast of Booths. These next seven days, starting today, seek out the LORD. Make your heart ready for His return. Make sure that you are ready for His return so that when He comes back to get His people, you are one of them. So, you will be called up to be with Him forever. So that you might get to enjoy and see the fulfillment of the Feast of Booths. For one thousand years the LORD Jesus will reign on earth. And then after those thousand years, the Judgment will take place, and He will create a new earth. A new eternal home. No longer will we be dwelling in temporary tents but in eternal dwelling places.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Live For An Eternal Dwelling.

Like and Share This:
Posted on

Search To Better Understand

42 You shall dwell in booths for seven days. All native Israelites shall dwell in booths, 43 that your generations may know that I made the people of Israel dwell in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God. ~ Leviticus 23:42-43

Tonight, at sunset, Sukkot (The Feast of Booths) will begin. A feast that looks back at Israel’s 40-year wandering in the wilderness after leaving the land of Egypt. Why were they wandering in the wilderness? So that none of those twenty and up who had seen the glory of God and His signs in Egypt and the wilderness yet still put Him to the test (ten times) and did not obey His voice would not see the Promised Land (Numbers 14:20-38). The children of those men and women, however, would enter the Promised Land after the forty years. For forty years they were to bear their iniquities. But for those who were zealous for God, such as Joshua and Caleb, their strength didn’t weaken; not even their clothes or shoes withered. He preserved them so that they might see His Promised Land.

This wasn’t just for no reason. This was foreshadowing a future event. The Millennial Reign of Christ. For one thousand years, the LORD Jesus Himself will reign on the Earth in all of His Glory after the Wrath of God is poured out on the World (Revelation 20), and all who did not die during His Wrath will come each year to Him to celebrate the Feast of Booths (Zechariah 14). So, what if the Millennial Reign is the opportunity for the children of those who went through the Wrath of God to come to Christ? To have an opportunity to enter His Promised Land, the New Earth?

The Old Testament isn’t just completed and done away with. It directly impacts us today. Christians shouldn’t just ignore the Old Testament because we’re under a New and Better Covenant. No. We should be studying the Old Testament to better understand our promises from the LORD God Himself. For the Law was just a shadow of the good things to come (Hebrews 8:5 & Hebrews 10:1). A shadow of the promises to the Children of God. Those who have faith in Him and are obedient to Him. Therefore, search the Law. Search the Prophets. Search the Old Testament that you might see more of the promises and better understand all that is to come.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Search To Better Understand.

Like and Share This:
Posted on

Ignore Intent

21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits. ~ Proverbs 18:21

King Solomon said that death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat of its fruits. Those who love their tongue, who use it, who speak, they will eat the fruit of whatever it is they have spoken. Whether blessing or curse. Life or death. Healing or sickness. It doesn’t matter. And here’s the thing: death and life aren’t bound to the life of the person who speaks it.

I was recently talking with a loved one, and they kept speaking words of death on America, her people, and me. And after each word they spoke, I, in turn, looked up to heaven and canceled their words in the name of Jesus. See, they weren’t speaking out of hatred towards America, her people, or me. They were speaking out of hopelessness and ignorance. Their words weren’t intended to be words of malice or death, but their intention is irrelevant.

Our intention may not be for wickedness, but our actions are not bound by our intention. Intent is irrelevant; what has been done is what matters. Our words are powerful. People’s words are powerful. They have the power to impact our lives if we let them. I could’ve just brushed it off as drunken talk and just moved on. But why take that chance? Why let those words linger in the atmosphere? What good would that do? None. So, I canceled those words in the name of Jesus. I brought them into submission to Christ. I didn’t allow the enemy a single foothold into my life or the outcome of my country or her people.

It’s time that Christians begin to stand up and cancel words of death and replace them with words of life. It’s time to stop overlooking words spoken and begin to take that proverb seriously. It’s time we stand up and take our rightful place as watchmen of our lives, homes, communities, and nations. It’s time to take back the power from the enemy and fight back in this war.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Ignore Intent.

Like and Share This:
Posted on

Take The Job Initiative

8 Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil?” 9 So Satan answered the Lord and said, “Does Job fear God for nothing? 10 Have You not made a hedge around him, around his household, and around all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. 11 But now, stretch out Your hand and touch all that he has, and he will surely curse You to Your face!” 12 And the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your power; only do not lay a hand on his person.” So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD. ~ Job 1:8-12NKJV

As Christians, we go through a lot of trials, tribulations, and hardships. Not because God isn’t faithful, or even because the World hates us or Satan is out to get us, but because we ourselves are not faithful. Job was a righteous, blameless man. Not because he never sinned or was perfect in every single thing he did, but because he never forgot God. He was weary of sin and would make sacrifices to the LORD, continually cleansing himself and his family. He’d do so, not just because he knew they’d sin, but just in case they did. So, would he do any less for himself? No. This is the reason for Satan’s complaint.

God didn’t build up a hedge of protection around Job just because He loved Job above all others. He did it because He honored Job’s sacrifices and diligence to do what is right. As Christians, we don’t believe we have anything to do with our own Salvation, let alone our own trials and tribulations. Paul, however, wrote to work out your Salvation with much fear and trembling. He wrote that he would afflict his flesh so that he might not be disqualified from this race after preaching and teaching to so many. We are in a Spiritual Battle, a long-distance marathon, racing against an enemy seeking to destroy us.

How many times a day do we take the time to pray for the forgiveness of our sins, the protection of our lives, and the protection of our family and all that we have? The enemy doesn’t just try to hurt us by going after us alone. It’s our family, specifically our children and spouses; it’s our finances, our jobs, and investments. It’s our homes and our cars. It’s everything. If I can just distract you from praying, worshipping, reading your Bible, then I can get a foothold in your life and then build that into a stronghold; then I’ve won. I’ve now gotten control in your life.

So, what are we to do? Take Job’s initiative. We go before God humbly, offering sacrifices of praise, Thanksgiving, worship, and fasting. And we couple that with prayer as we dedicate all that we have to Christ. And we build that spiritual wall of protection around ourselves, our family, and our finances. We build that hedge of protection around all that is ours, so that we are not the cause of any of our hardships. Any of our trials and tribulations. So that the enemy has no foothold in our lives.

Peace. Love. GO Forth and Take The Job Initiative.

Like and Share This:
Posted on

Stay Regardless Of Words

24 And the LORD’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, 25 correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, 26 and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will. ~ 2 Timothy 2:24-26ESV

I was recently speaking to someone who said to me, “Yo, sometimes I need a break from you cause you’re intense.” What made me intense? I correct him when he misquotes, misuses, or conflates Scriptures. I don’t let it slide. I correct it. He’ll send four to six voice messages at one time, each lasting between 30 seconds to 1 ½ minutes. Some can last up to 2 ½ minutes. In each message, he takes a random Scripture either out of context, misquoted, or poorly translated. So, I’ll go through each claim he’s made and correct it. The message I sent is one message that is about 4 minutes long (3 minutes and 55 seconds). This is what he claims is intense. But what is he really saying?

It’s too much Truth right now, and I can’t defend my belief, so I can’t handle much more. He once told me he could never leave his wife alone with me for a long period of time, lest I convert her to Christianity. His words were derogatory. You’re too intense to be around all the time, man. But his meaning was, you know too much Bible and can correct me, expose the flaws of the beliefs I refuse to let go of, so I need a break lest you convert me to Christianity and I am forced to change. He meant it as derogatory and a way to get me to back down a bit, but I took it as a victory. A sign that my words have been digging into him. That they’ve been working on him. That his conscience has been thinking about all that we’ve been discussing. Most importantly, he’s feeling conviction that he isn’t living his life the way God has called him to live.

The enemy will try to use the tongue of others in order to deflate you, make you feel some type of way, downcast, self-conscious, but that is a last resort for him. That means he’s losing his grip on that person. He’s losing his hold on them, and the blinders he’s placed on them are beginning to fall off. So, what’s left? What now? We pray. We go to spiritual war on their behalf. We bring them before the LORD night and day until that stronghold is broken. Until that light can break through and they can see the Truth.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Stay Regardless Of Words.

Like and Share This:
Proudly powered by WordPress