Tag: Spiritual

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Spiritual Blindness

The LORD told Isaiah that He would cause the people of Israel to hear but not understand, to see but not perceive. If God is good, why would He cause them to not be able to understand in their hearts so that they would not be healed? Why would God cause His own people to not understand Him or His ways if He is a good and just God? Join Reverend Kenny Yates as he opens our eyes to the Truth of God’s seemingly harsh actions in his message, Spiritual Blindness.

Isaiah 6:9-10
Isaiah 6:9-10 (NLT)
John 6:51
John 6:52
Matthew 9:12b-13
Ezekiel 3:16-21
Hosea 4:6
Jeremiah 5:21-25 (NLT)
John 3:16
Matthew 10:28
Jeremiah 5:28
Jeremiah 5:21-22
Romans 12:2

Spiritual Blindness

How Will You Spend Eternity?

9 And he said, “Go, and say to this people: ‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’ 10 Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and blind their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.”

Isaiah 6:9-10

21 Hear this, O foolish and senseless people, who have eyes, but see not, who have ears, but hear not. 22 Do you not fear me? declares the Lord. Do you not tremble before me? I placed the sand as the boundary for the sea, a perpetual barrier that it cannot pass; though the waves toss, they cannot prevail; though they roar, they cannot pass over it.

Jeremiah 5:21-22

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PDS

9 To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: 10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ 13  But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ 14 I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” ~ Luke 18:9-14NIV

When we’re raised in the church, it’s very easy for us to get Pharisee Disorder Syndrome. Here’s what I mean. It’s easy for us to think ourselves better than other people. We may not like the way they carry themselves or their past. We may feel they shouldn’t even be allowed in any church because of who they are and their sin. Church isn’t meant to be a place where self-righteous people go in order to make themselves feel good or superior to others. Church is meant to be a hospital. A place of learning. A place of growth. A place to meet with and meet God.

If you go to church every Sunday and feel you’re good where you’re at and have nothing that needs to be worked on or fixed in your life, then you need a new church. When we gather together, we should see growth. We should learn something new. We should see change. Church should be like a current helping the water flow through you, the stream. If you’re remaining stagnant and you go to church every Sunday, you and your church are spiritually asleep, maybe even spiritually dead.

When Jesus comes back, He’s not looking for self-righteous, churchgoing people. He’s looking for branches that have borne good fruit. He’s looking for faith, even as small as a mustard seed. He’s looking for evangelists who went into their areas (at the very least) and shared His Gospel. He’s looking for prayer warriors who spent time on their knees, not just seeking the kingdom for themselves but praying for the underground church. He’s looking for more than just a churchgoer. He’s looking for more than just a Pharisaical believer.

Belief alone will never get you into heaven. Faith will save your soul, but once you’re saved you have to begin to run the race set before you. Faith without action is dead.

So, I ask you, “What are you doing with your faith?”

Dear LORD, please forgive me for all the times I thought more of myself than I ought. Please forgive me for being an unjust judge and believing some aren’t worthy of even hearing about You. Please help me to love the world as You love the world. Help me to no longer hide my light under a basket. Instead, help me to shine it brightly so that all who come in contact with me see Your Light shining through me. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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Consider The Afterlife

19 Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. ~ Matthew 6:19-21

Religion has been around from the very beginning. From Adam to Noah to Abraham, there has always been religion. One thing that each of these religions agreed on was that there was indeed life after death. They all agreed that this life didn’t end here and then we cease to exist. Each ancient religion believed in some form of an afterlife. The ancient Egyptians would bury their Pharaohs with their worldly possessions so that they could enjoy them in the afterlife. They’d even bury them with golden tongues so that they could speak with the deities in the afterlife. The Greeks would bury their dead with gold coins so that they could pay the ferryman to give them safe passage to the other side. Each afterlife was rooted in works, and most believed in the ability to take what you’ve made on earth with you. Then came Christianity.

See, all of these ancient religions, including Judaism, were based on works, whereas Christianity blatantly says salvation cannot be obtained by works because mankind is too flawed to ever reach perfection.

In the song Elijah, Rich Mullins sings:

But the Jordan is waiting
Though I ain’t never seen the other side
Still they say you can’t take in the things you have here
So on the road to salvation
I stick out my thumb and He gives me a ride
And His music is already falling on my ears

True salvation can only be obtained through faith by grace. It is the grace of God coupled with our faith in Him that saves our soul from eternal damnation. So, on the road to salvation, we have nothing. We can’t buy our way in. We can’t bribe the doors when we get there. So what is there left to do but stick out our thumb and catch a ride from God?

We spend a lot of time building up treasures on this earth, which isn’t in itself a bad thing, but it should never be our main focus. Christ said seek the Kingdom of Heaven first and then all of those things will be added to you. As Christians, we should be storing up treasure in Heaven.

One day, this life will come to an end, and each one of us will have to stand before the throne of the living God. We will have to then give an account of our lives. We’ll be judged by our words and our actions. All things that we have built up in this life will be tested by fire. If our focus is just building up earthly treasure, it won’t pass the fire test but instead will be burned up. Why? Because this earth will not last forever. On that day, it will flee from the presence of God and will pass away, and with it, all of its treasures. But the Kingdom of God is an Everlasting kingdom and its treasures are eternal ones.

It’s easy to get caught up with the things of this world, but we must put our flesh in subjection to Christ. We must live to Christ and seek Him and His kingdom above all else, lest our treasures be burned up in the fire.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Consider The Afterlife.

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Get To Know Them

22 Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: “People of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. 23 For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: to an unknown god. So you are ignorant of the very thing you worship—and this is what I am going to proclaim to you.” ~ Acts 17:22-23 NIV

I want you to notice that before Paul spoke to the people of Athens he first walked around carefully looking at their objects of worship. Paul was literally studying their religion in order to explain the Gospel to them. He didn’t just randomly walk up to them and start preaching. He first learned about who their god(s) were and what their culture was. Why? So that he could better explain Christ to them.

Today, the majority of Christians don’t take the time to actually learn what other people believe so when they encounter others, they’re arrogant in their speech and usually misrepresent or misquote their beliefs. As Christians we have to be ready to give a defense for each of our beliefs. And as Christians, we have to go out into all the world and share the Gospel. When all we do is say this is the way. This is the way, but never explaining why this is the way and their way is not, then we fail to see people converting to the Truth.

Each letter Paul wrote was specific to that Church and the culture they were in. Paul didn’t do a “one-size-fits-all” kind of evangelism. No. Paul wrote specific things to specific people. He never changed the Gospel, that’s not what I’m saying. I’m saying Paul personalized his evangelism.

Jesus did the same thing, as did Peter. Jesus used the Law of Moses and the Prophets in order to show He was teaching Truth and that He really was (is) the Messiah. Peter did the same. As did James, John, and Jude. They tailored their writings to their audience. They knew whom they were speaking to. They knew the beliefs and culture they were talking to.

Why today do we just write off others’ beliefs and then tell them they’re wrong? How does this save souls? It doesn’t. When we get to know someone else’s beliefs and we don’t just discount them as fables and lies, but instead show them that there is error in these beliefs and then show them the Truth (Jesus, Peter, James, Jude, and Paul all did), we’ll begin to see a change. We’ll begin to see a revival in the world.

Dear LORD, please help me crucify my flesh and build my spirit daily so that I might grow in Your Word and in wisdom and understanding. Help me to have patience with the world so that I might be able to be the light of the world, as You called me to be. Teach me, LORD, to not just dismiss other people’s beliefs, but instead to be able to show them the error of those beliefs and the Truth of Your Word. I pray that You would be me with boldness and confidence. I pray that You would lead me, guide me, and watch over me. That I might not keep Your light hidden away in me, but that I might let it shine brightly for the world to see. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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Prepare For Battle

11 in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes. ~ 2 Corinthians 2:11NIV

I often hear the statement that the Devil is already defeated. That the Devil is just a toothless lion. But I want you to think about that for a second. The Devil is a defeated enemy, but woe to the earth and the seas, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath? The Devil is a toothless lion, but he’s also a roaring lion prowling around seeking someone to devour?

When we say things like “the Devil is already defeated,” we give ourselves a false sense of security. We let our guard down. We stop holding up that shield of faith that extinguishes all the fiery darts of the evil one. We stop praying and fasting, which causes demons to flee and strongholds to be broken. When we believe our enemy is already defeated, we stop fighting.

This is one of the best lies the enemy has told because it’s not out there destroying the world. No. It’s out here destroying the Church. The Church no longer prays, fasts, or worships the way it should, and why should it if there is no enemy to fight? So many of our Church leaders fall into sin because the enemy is already defeated, and what God has me, no one can take away. So what happens? We stop watching ourselves. We just start blindly talking. We just start blindly going. And if we are going blindly, we’ll fall into the pit.

This life for Christians is destined for trials, tribulations, and many attacks by the enemy. It’s not an easy, cushy life. It’s a hard life. A life that we must deny ourselves and pick up our cross every day. A life where we have to run the race set before with endurance. A life where we have to go to battle on behalf of ourselves and our loved ones. The life of a Christian is not an easy one. Why? Cause the enemy is still here. The enemy is still fighting us. The enemy is not yet defeated. Therefore, we must keep fighting. We must keep watching. We must keep seeking God. We must keep running the race set before us.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Prepare For Battle.

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Answer Truth

1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” ~ Genesis 3:1NIV

They say if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. No one embodies that quote better than Satan. The very first temptation started with the question, “Did God really say…?” Satan honestly hasn’t changed his approach. Today, it’s the same thing. Did God really say that? How do you know? Don’t you know the Bible has been changed and rewritten multiple times? Books have been taken out and added back. It can’t truly be trusted.

Satan didn’t ask this to Adam. Why? Adam was there when God gave the command. Eve, on the other hand, was not yet created when God gave this command. It’s the same with us today. When God breathed the Word of God to the authors of the Bible, we were not there. So, what does Satan do? He asks us the same question he asked the woman. Did God really say…?

So what are we to do? We are to build our faith. How do we do that? We study the Scriptures. We learn them inside and out so that they might be written on our hearts. So that when Satan uses someone to say, “Did God really say …?” We can not only confidently say what God has said, we can explain it and defend it.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Answer Truth.

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Be A Participant

17 For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? 18 And “If the righteous is scarcely saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?” ~ 1 Peter 4:17-18

Please note that he did not say that the righteous will not be saved. Or that the righteous cannot be saved. But instead, he said that they are scarcely saved. Meaning this is not a spectator’s sport. We are not here to sit on the bench and watch. We are expected to “work out” our salvation with fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12).

Jesus gave His Church a mandate to go into all the world and tell the Good News of His death and resurrection. And we are to baptize and make disciples of all who believe. There are no couch-potato-Christians. There are no armchair Christians. We are expected to get up, stand up, and win souls for the LORD before Eternity Comes Crashing In.

His coming will be like a thief in the night, you do not know on which night or at which hour He will come back. Therefore, we must watch and pray that we are not found slumbering or without oil to trim our lamps, as was the case with the Five Foolish Virgins.

You cannot say that they were not saved because they were. They even had on their wedding garments. They looked the part, but they had no oil with which to trim their lamps. They had no growth. They were only spectators and not participants.

Listen … Jesus is coming back for participants, and not spectators. Which one are you? Are you a participant? Or are you a spectator? Do you look the part only? Or are you being the part? I’m not trying to insult you. I’m not trying to scare you. I’m not trying to place doubts in your mind.

What I am suggesting, however, is to take an inventory of your life. Evaluate your actions. Assess your purpose for Jesus. Do not let that day catch you unawares or unprepared, with no real treasure stored up in eternity. You do not want to be broke here and be broke there… that’s if you make it in at all.

We are not saved by works, but we are certainly saved to work. Adam was placed in paradise, the Garden of Eden, to work it and to keep it according to Genesis 2:15. We are fellow workers, not general spectators. Therefore, get up and start working before Eternity comes Crashing In on you, and you are caught with no real treasure in eternity.

But it all starts with Jesus. There is no life. There is no hope. There is no future without Jesus being first in your life.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Be A Participant.

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Remain Sméagol

7 If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it. ~ Genesis 4:7

One of my favorite characters in The Lord of the Rings series (that’s including The Hobbit) is Gollum. Now, to many people, including my mother, that’s insane. She sees him as a horrible, creepy character, but honestly, I see him as a character that represents the majority of humanity. Gollum, for those of you who don’t know who he is, is the original owner of the ring; well, he’s the owner that Bilbo got the ring from. Anyways, Gollum is deformed and crazy, all because of this ring. So, this ring has created a dual personality within him. One of almost innocence, like a child, and one of pure evil and wickedness.

This ring gives anyone who wears it the ability to turn invisible to all. Now, the ring also causes the owner to be driven mad; the more you use it, the more you lose yourself to the ring. This is much like the world today. The more we give into sin, the more we lose ourselves to sin. The more we are deformed and driven farther and farther away from the person God created us to be. When we just look at the outside, it’s easy to dislike and want judgment for the wicked. It’s easy to look at Gollum and hate him, but if we take a moment to actually look at Gollum, we’d see he’s nothing more than a lost soul who has been corrupted by the thing he loves most. And because it corrupts him, he also hates it.

That is the same with us and sin. We love and hate it all at the same time. We struggle back and forth with it, yet ultimately give in the majority of the time. It becomes a never-ending struggle that we will be unable to overcome on our own. I think J.R.R. Tolkien (the author of both The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit) said it best:

He [Gollum] will never be rid of his need for it. He hates and loves the Ring, as he hates and loves himself. Sméagol’s [Gollum’s original name before he found the ring] life is a sad story. Yes, Sméagol he was once called. Before the Ring found him. Before it drove him mad.

Gollum was never intended to be a character to be despised but a character to be pitied, for he represents the dangers of giving into sin’s desires and not ruling over it. This will be a never-ending battle for the rest of our lives unless we submit to a new master. Unless we fully submit to Christ, we will all lose ourselves, just as Sméagol did.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Remain Sméagol.

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Proselytize

3 Even though the people were afraid of the local residents, they rebuilt the altar at its old site. ~ Ezra 3:3aNLT

The LORD God had mandated that the time had indeed come to rebuild His house. They had the finances. They had the skill. They had the help. They even had the Temple vessels for worship because Cyrus had given them back. But still, no one was doing anything about it, including Zerubbabel, the governor, and Joshua, the high priest. They were all too busy building their own homes, planting their own vineyards, starting and running their own businesses. They had gotten caught up ‘in life.’

Yes, they had rebuilt the altar and were sacrificing on it. Yes, they were even celebrating the Feast of Booths in the seventh month, but the Temple…not so much. It hadn’t even been started. Here is why. Fear! It was because of fear! Fear had gripped their hearts. Fear had stayed their hands. Fear kept them quiet. Fear stopped God’s work.

Why do we not witness? Because of fear of persecution. Why are we silent about issues that the Church should be involved in? Because of fear. Why do we not speak up about the insanity of so many different genders, although we know that it is not of God? We don’t speak up because of fear. Although we know that the Scripture says that those who do such things will be condemned; still, fear keeps our mouths shut.

Listen, God said that He made man in His own image, male and female He created them, therefore, there is no other choice, it’s either male or female that is it, nothing else. You are either a man or you are a woman. You cannot be both, and you cannot change from one to the other or to anything else, for that matter. What you have is what you are.

It’s not about your feelings; it’s about the Creator and Judge of the whole earth, and He’s coming back soon. And it’s His laws that we will be judged by, not man’s. Therefore, share the Gospel. Evangelize. Disciple. Lead through action. Let Christ live through you so that on that final day when we stand before the Throne of God, we will hear the words “Well done, my good and faithful servant.”

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Proselytize.

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Your Response

7 So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD and struck Job with loathsome sores from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. 8 And he took a piece of broken pottery with which to scrape himself while he sat in the ashes. ~ Job 2:7-8

I want you to understand that at this time, Job is already in the crucible; it’s already hot, but now the fire, or the heat, is turned up even hotter. Satan went out from the presence of God and struck Job with painful boils from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head. In other words, there was no part of Job’s body that did not have a painful boil with pus oozing from it.

He had sores from head to toe that hurt and itched, so much so that he sat in ashes and scraped himself with a piece of broken pottery, trying to get some relief from the itch and the pain. When Job’s three friends heard all that had happened to him, they came to visit him so that they might bring some comfort to him. But they did not expect what they saw. Job was barely skin and bones. His affliction was so grievous that they did not even recognize him.

When they did see him up close and saw how great his suffering was, they tore their robes, sprinkled dust on their heads, and lifted up their voices and wept for him. When Job’s friend realized how great his agony and his misery were, they couldn’t speak a word for seven days and seven nights. They just sat on the ground with him, hoping to comfort him in all of his grief.

It was so bad that earlier, Job’s wife had said to him, “Do you still hold fast to your integrity? Curse God and die!” (Job 2:9) But Job replied to her in verse 10:

10 … “You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?” In all this Job did not sin with his lips.

Job 2:10b NKJV

This is the proper response when in the crucible. “Shall we accept only good from God? Shall we not also accept the bad as well?” This was not something that Job just inadvertently came up with off the top of his head. No, he was prepared. He had decided beforehand that he was in it for the long haul. That no matter what, he had decided that he would follow God and be obedient to Him.

We have to understand and admit that a lot of life is lived in the crucible. The fire may not be turned up as hot as it was turned up for Job, but we live a lot of life in the crucible. The rent is due in three more days, and we just don’t have it. A loved one was just diagnosed with terminal cancer. An unfortunate accident just claimed the life of someone you held dear. These are some of life’s challenges. They’re not easy to deal with, but with God…it’s a different thing because Jesus changes everything.

We also have to acknowledge that there are many innocent people who have been brutally hurt or severely injured by malevolent people who have no respect for life, nor do they care about others in general.But as harsh as it sounds, you can overcome that. No matter what life throws at you, with the right attitude you can overcome. All things are possible for one who believes (Mark 9:23b).

These are the words of Jesus Himself, when a father had brought his son to Him to have a demon, that tried to kill the boy on several occasions, cast out. The father had said to Jesus, “…if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us (Mark 9:22b).” With Jesus in our life, we can do all things.

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