Tag: Spiritual

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Fight So He Will Fight

Genesis 29:31

31 When the LORD saw that Leah was hated, He opened her womb, but Rachel was barren.

When Jacob first met Rachel, Jacob weeps. He then willingly works 7 years for her, and because of how much he loves her, it feels like just a few days. When it comes time for Jacob to marry Rachel, her father, Laban, tricks him by giving him Leah instead. This now puts Leah in an uncomfortable situation. A very difficult one.

Now, we know the rest of the story. Jacob finishes his marriage week with Leah and then he receives Rachel, his one true love, as his second wife. The LORD saw the trickery take place. He saw the deceit and deception of Laban, and defended the innocent in his schemes.

See, sometimes, the enemy schemes against us and is successful. Sometimes, he puts us in a situation where we are unloved, unseen, or under appreciated. Now, granted, sometimes we do this to ourselves as well, we put ourselves in situations we shouldn’t have. Here’s the thing. God still sees you, even if others don’t.

Leah could have easily allowed resentment and anger fill her and consume her, but instead she chose to love, even when he (Jacob) didn’t love her. She chose to not give up, even when she saw her younger sister receiving all of the love and attention.

Leah’s story is a sad one. She really did nothing to deserve the hand she was dealt, but that’s life. We can’t always control what happens to us, but we can control how we react. Leah reacted with persistence and love. And the LORD saw her from above and blessed her.

Leah is blessed with seven children, none die during childbirth, and she doesn’t die during childbirth either. Jacob honors her in the end. She’s buried with him and his ancestors. In fact, the Messiah comes through her, but her sister.

Leah may not have been loved the way Rachel was, but the LORD wouldn’t allow her to be forgotten. He wouldn’t allow her to be overlooked and pushed to the side. God made sure she was honored as the wife of Jacob. And in the end, I do believe Jacob honored her as his wife, as well.

Sometimes we’re in difficult situations that make us want to give up, give in, and claim defeat, but when we fight for our marriage, God begins to fight with us. When we pray for our spouse and we love even when it’s hard, God sees. He steps in and does the heavy lifting that we can’t do on our own. He makes a way where there is no way, softens hearts, and changes minds. God does not overlook us.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Fight So He Will Fight.

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Love God Above All

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. 9 Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die.” 10 But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women would speak. Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?” In all this Job did not sin with his lips. ~ Job 2:7-10

Job’s wife gets a bad reputation. She’s often the butt of the joke. The hidden villain. But when we look at this in context, she really wasn’t the villain. At least, she wasn’t trying to be. Think about it. She’s now lost all of her children. Her husband’s wealth is all gone. The lifestyle she was used to vanished. In a single day. Now, her husband’s health is under attack.

His entire body was covered in loathsome sores. Job describes his skin as turning black and falling off (Job 30:30). He was in agonizing pain. And the crazy thing is, they both seem to understand that it was a spiritual attack. His wife is probably in fear that he will die. That she will lose her husband just like she lost her children. So, she’s telling him to curse God and die from this. I don’t believe she meant a physical death. Otherwise, she’d have nothing and no one. I think she’s referring to spiritual death. Similar to the death threatened in the Garden of Eden. A death that would separate him from God but end his suffering.

I genuinely don’t believe this was from a place of evil. I think Job’s wife couldn’t take anymore of the suffering she’d endured, and she’d seen her husband endure. We often talk about Job’s suffering but never his wife’s suffering. It was her children as well. It was her wealth as well. She carried and bore each and every one of those children. She nursed them. Raised them. Watch them grow up, and then in a single day, they were gone. All of them. Not a single one spared. Now her husband is under attack. Do you not think she was desperate to save him?

Sometimes, our love for others can make us arrogant towards God, even if we don’t intend it to be. Even if we don’t mean to do so. Yes, it may have been with good intentions, but what is wrong is still wrong regardless of intention. When we go through hardships, when we suffer loss, when we are struggling to watch our loved one go through a test, we have to make sure our love for God is never lowered below the love of them. We can’t sacrifice following Him for the sake of the physical comfort of another. God must come first. When He comes first, we learn true love for others.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Love God Above All.

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Unique Love

19 We love because He first loved us. ~ 1 John 4:19

Christianity is a unique religion. It’s the only religion in the world that makes it a point to say that God loves all of His creation. That He loves all of mankind. Not just those that follow Him. Not just those who are doing good and obeying the rules. Not just those who are worthy and pure, but all of His creation. Everyone.

That’s unique. That’s specific to Christianity. Why? Because no other God has gotten off of His throne to make a way for all of humanity to be saved. For each and every person, regardless of their past, to have an opportunity to be saved. That is why we can boldly say our God is love (1 John 4:8). Because He is love, He loves. And because He first loved us, we in turn can love.

This is the difference between our God and all other gods. We are fearfully and wonderfully made by a loving God. That is something to rejoice over. It is something to praise God for. We serve a God like no other.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Love Because He Does.

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Seek Revival

17 And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; 18 even on my male servants and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy. 19 And I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke; 20 the sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day. 21 And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. ~ Acts 2:17-21

The Church today seems to be more dead than any previous generation. It seems to be more in danger of being spit out of the mouth of Jesus than all of the generations before. So, what are we to do? Is there even hope for our generation of the Church? A lot of pastors say there will be a second outpouring of the Holy Spirit, but I’m not so convinced. We have the Holy Spirit now. He didn’t go anywhere. He didn’t vanish. He didn’t stop working. He didn’t change. So, what did? We did. We changed.

We became lazy. Complacent. Worldly. We forgot our first love. We lost the passion, the drive, the desire for the things of the LORD, and became distracted by the things of life and this world. So, does that mean we have no hope? No. As long as there is breath in our lungs, we have hope. The Holy Spirit is still here. He is still working in our midst. He’s just waiting for us to seek revival.

According to the late great Charles Grandison Finney (he’s one of my Dad’s heroes), especially in his classic work “Lectures on Revivals of Religion,” published in 1835, he advocated that revival is not mysterious or accidental but occurs when God’s people meet certain spiritual conditions. The top five causes of revival, according to Charles G. Finney, are:

1. Extraordinary Prayer

  • Finney taught that revival is always preceded by prevailing, united, and persistent prayer
  • Prayer that is specific, faith-filled, and burdened, and is often led by a few deeply convicted believers
  • In other words, “Revival is born in prayer.”

2. Deep Conviction of Sin

  • According to Charles G. Finney, one of the greatest revivalist preachers to ever live, outside of brother Paul and the LORD’s Apostles, and maybe others like Philip the Evangelist, said:
    • Revival requires a profound awareness of sin, both personal and corporate. Honest repentance, confession, and forsaking of sin are necessary.
  • A brokenness before God: “There can be no revival without deep conviction of sin.”

3. Bold, Clear Preaching of Truth

  • Finney also emphasized the necessity for plain, direct preaching that is aimed at the heart and confronts the conscience. Preaching that appeals to the will, not just emotions. Obedience to God is demanded, and sin is named clearly.
  • We have to get back to the old-time preaching if we want to see revival.

4. Immediate Obedience to God

  • Mr. Finney sincerely believed that people must respond now, not later. You cannot put off conviction.
  • No delay in repentance must be tolerated, or the conviction will pass, and that soul will be lost.
  • Public and decisive commitment to Christ was the first and foremost priority. “Sinners must be made to feel that now is God’s time.”

5. The Church Must Bear Responsibility for Revival

  • Mr. Finney also taught that revival depends largely on the spiritual condition of believers, not unbelievers. Lukewarm Christians hinder revival. Revival begins when God’s people humble themselves before Him.
  • He also taught that “A revival is no miracle… it is the result of the proper use of the appropriate means.”

    Unlike his predecessors, such as Jonathan Edwards, Charles G. Finney was deliberate and intentional about bringing about and promoting his revivals. He had a methodology that he adhered to—a system to follow and often said that revival came about by “using the right spiritual means.”

    He was deliberate… intentional… and focused… That’s what we’re missing in the Church today. Intentional, deliberate, focused seeking of the LORD. Seeking of His Spirit, so that He might turn this heart of stone to flesh once again. So that He might renew a right spirit in us. So that we might see the Church awaken from its deep spiritual slumber.

    Peace. Love. Go Forth and Seek Revival.

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    A Cold Flame

    The church in Ephesus had gotten into the “same old same old” routine. Jesus commends them for:

    • Their works
    • Their labor
    • Their enduring patience
    • Their resistance to evil
    • Their firm commitment to His Name

    But He also brought to their attention Their flaws. Their shortcomings. The church in Ephesus had settled into the “same old grind.”

    • They were busy
    • They were doctrinally sound
    • They were active
    • They were enduring

    But they had fallen from the heights they once soared at. In Jesus’ own words, they had abandoned their first love—the love they first had for Him.

    They had abandoned:

    • The passion
    • The drive
    • The desire
    • And the devotion they had at the beginning
    • They were going through the motions
    • They were having church as usual

    The danger with that is that your worship becomes stale, and outward—a thing to be seen and not experienced. Your song stirs the senses but never waters the thirsty soul. Your works are deeds that ease the conscience, but don’t fulfill the spirit.

    In time, your heart drifts. So, Jesus gives them the remedy: repent, and do the works you did at first. In other words, return to Me, and I will return to you. Remember what you used to do, not just what used to happen.

    Dear LORD, thank You for Your love, mercy, and grace. Thank You for being a forgiving God. Please forgive me for letting my love grow cold. Please forgive me for letting the fire die out and the flame quench. Please light the fire again. Please give me another chance to serve You with all that is within me. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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    Work Your Land

    Proverbs 28:19

    [19]  Whoever works his land will have plenty of bread, but he who follows worthless pursuits will have plenty of poverty.

    Solomon said that whoever works the land will have plenty of bread, but he who follows worthless pursuits will have plenty of poverty. What does that mean? Well, the word translated as “worthless” could be translated as “empty.” In other words, Solomon is talking about pointless, empty, vain pursuits that seem good, seem like it will reap a great reward, but instead it does the opposite.

    I don’t think Solomon is necessarily giving us financial advice, I feel like there’s a spiritual connection here. Imagine the land in this scenario is us. Mankind. Humanity. Each of us is a land, and if we don’t work our land so that it will bear fruit (Fruit of the Spirit), then we will be cut off the Vine and thrown into the fire (Hell).

    See, throughout the New Testament we are told to bear fruit. Water and tend to our faith. Uproot roots. We are told to treat ourselves like a field or land. And if we do, we will have pent of bread. We will have the Words of God feeling in us, sanctified and cleaning us. We will have treasure in heaven where moths nor worms can destroy. Eternal treasure.

    When we try to go through an easy way to get to God, a way that doesn’t include Christ, we are trying worthless or empty pursuits. When we try to do 5 step program to fix ourselves instead of going through Christ, we are chatting after world or empty pursuits. We are to follow Christ, and do the hard thing, which is work our land. Not find another way. Not find an easier path. We are to follow Christ, which means crucify the flesh.

    Peace. Love. Go Forth and Work Your Land.  

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    The Physical Stirs The Spiritual

    17 When Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand on the head of Ephraim, it displeased him, and he took his father’s hand to move it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head. 18 And Joseph said to his father, “Not this way, my father; since this one is the firstborn, put your right hand on his head.” 19 But his father refused and said, “I know, my son, I know. He also shall become a people, and he also shall be great. Nevertheless, his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his offspring shall become a multitude of nations.” ~ Genesis 48:17-19

    Jacob or Israel, as he was also called, was about to die, and Joseph brought his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, to be blessed by Jacob, his father. So, Joseph put Manasseh, his firstborn, on his left, facing his father’s right hand, and Ephraim on his right, facing his father’s left hand. But upon blessing them, Jacob crossed his hands and placed his right on Ephraim’s head and his left on Manasseh’s head, but Joseph was not pleased when he saw that. So, Joseph tried to switch Jacob’s hands by force so that his right was on Manasseh’s head and his left on Ephraim’s head. But Jacob told him no, because although Manasseh would be great, Ephraim would be greater. By doing so, Jacob put Ephraim ahead of Manasseh.

    It might seem like a small thing to us, but what happens in the physical world stirs or affects what happens in the spiritual world. That is why prayer can affect our circumstances. Scripture can change the atmosphere and tear down strongholds. Just having occult objects in your house can open spiritual doors that can cause supernatural activity in your home.

    Even when the Israelites brought their offerings, they were required to say certain things and to do specific actions, such as waving the offering before the LORD as a wave offering. It may seem as if it was a useless action, but we don’t know what it stirred in the spiritual world.

    The same would be true of other occult practices, such as yoga, and the different positions that accompany it. Many Christians practice yoga, not realizing that the positions are irrevocably linked to Hindu worship. These physical actions open spiritual doors. So, we must be conscious of what we do in the physical, because both worlds are inseparably intertwined.

    Father please close spiritual doors that we have unknowingly opened. Help us to understand that what we do here in the physical will affect the spiritual and protect us from inadvertently inviting unwanted spiritual activity in our lives, in Jesus’ Name, I pray, amen.

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    Let God Undo

    8 Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph. 9 And he said to his people, “Behold, the people of Israel are too many and too mighty for us. 10 Come, let us deal shrewdly with them, lest they multiply, and, if war breaks out, they join our enemies and fight against us and escape from the land.” 11 Therefore they set taskmasters over them to afflict them with heavy burdens. They built for Pharaoh store cities, Pithom and Raamses. ~ Exodus 1:8-11

    The Israelites had to build two store cities: Raamses and Pithom. What do these two cities have in common other than being built by the Israelite slaves under their Egyptian slave masters? They are both named after an Egyptian god. Raamses means “Ra has begotten him,” and Pithom means “House of Atum.”

    These two gods weren’t just two random gods; they were two of the most important gods in ancient Egypt. In fact, they even merged into Ra-Atum in later Egyptian beliefs. These two cities weren’t just regular cities; they were cities named for two of the most important gods of Egypt. This is how the oppression of the Israelites began: by building store cities for Pharaoh so that his power would continue to grow, and the cities were named after the gods of Egypt. Pharaoh started oppressing the people of Israel by enslaving them and forcing them to help build two cities to strengthen Egypt and, in a sense, strengthen Egypt’s gods and the Israelites’ connection to them.

    How can we be sure? Raamses, located in the Nile Delta, became a major royal capital and center of Egyptian power. Pithom, in eastern Egypt, was a storage city for grain and supplies for the army and the treasury. Some believe Pithom became Heliopolis, a major center of worship that God later pronounced judgment on in Jeremiah 43. These cities were not just ordinary settlements—they were built to strengthen Egypt’s power, influence, and connection to its gods.

    Now, fast-forward four hundred years: God has Aaron tell Pharaoh to let His people go so they might hold a feast and make a sacrifice to Him (Exodus 5:1). Their slavery started out with Pharaoh forcing a connection of the Israelites to the gods of Egypt, so when the LORD took them out of the land (and out of slavery), it was to break the connection they had formed with those gods and reconnect them with the God of their fathers (Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob).

    I think that’s kind of mind-blowing. God was undoing what the enemy had done. He wasn’t just physically freeing His people but spiritually freeing them as well. He brought punishment on those gods that had led his people astray and spiritually put a yoke around their necks (Exodus 12:12). Our God doesn’t play when it comes to us. He doesn’t just ignore our bondage. He doesn’t just ignore our pain and suffering. Nor does He ignore our oppressors, but vengeance is His. He will repay. He will right the wrong and deliver His people out of the hand of the enemy; we need only call on His name.

    Peace. Love. Go Forth and Let God Undo.

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    Let’s Rethink

    11 Then Jacob kissed Rachel and wept aloud. ~ Genesis 29:11

    In today’s world, we have an idea of what masculinity is. An idea that strong men should never cry, they should never show emotion, but when you read the Bible (both New and Old Testament), you see something different. Throughout Scripture, you see the men of the Bible weeping. They wept privately and publicly. In front of their wives, families, parents, friends, crowds. They wept.

    They didn’t hold in the pain, the suffering. They didn’t bottle it up and try to just ignore it, pretending it didn’t exist. Look at the statistics of the suicide of men in the US.

    Male suicide in the United States is at a significantly higher rate than those for women. For instance, in 2023, the suicide rate among men was approximately 23 per 100,000, nearly four times higher than the rate for women (about 6 per 100,000).  This disparity has persisted for decades, with men accounting for 79% to 80% of all suicide deaths in the U.S., despite making up only about half the population.

    Suicide rates are highest among men aged 75 and over, with a rate of 42.2 per 100,000 in 2021.  Rates have also risen sharply among younger men, particularly those aged 25-34, increasing by 30% since 2010. Men in certain occupations face elevated risk. Construction and extraction workers have the highest suicide rate (69 per 100,000), followed by those in installation, maintenance, and repair, protective services (e.g., policing), and farming, fishing, and forestry.

    The older men get, the higher at risk they are for suicide. The more “masculine” job they have, the higher at risk they are for suicide. Could it be that all of those years of bottling up their emotions, pain, struggles just becomes too much? Could it be that the feeling of never being “manly” enough or never reaching some pedestal we’ve set for them makes them feel less than?

    Ancient Israel didn’t struggle with suicide, but the US does. Ancient Israel mourned, wept, and openly expressed themselves, but the US does not. If we can change the way we see “masculinity” and how we treat our men in the US, maybe, just maybe we can stop this pandemic of suicide that is ravaging through our men.

    Peace. Love. Go Forth and Let’s Rethink It Together.

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    Test Your Soul

    10 The soul of the wicked desires evil; his neighbor finds no mercy in his eyes. ~ Proverbs 21:10

    Solomon said that the soul of the wicked desires evil. Its very being desires evil. What does that mean? Well, when you go back to the original Hebrew you find that you could actually translate this as “the soul of the guilty desires punishment, his neighbor (or friend or companion) finds no mercy in his eyes.”

    In other words, the guilty do not forgive. They lack the love of God that softens the hearts of His people. They lack the capability to forgive and show mercy like the unforgiving servant in the parable Jesus told.

    We forgive because He forgave us. We love because He first loved us. But the guilty aren’t saved. They aren’t forgiven because their hearts are hardened and ice cold. They do not love because they are not forgiven and the love of God has not changed them and restored them. Therefore, this is a good test to see if you have been saved, if you are dwelling in the love of God, ask yourself “Do I show mercy and forgive?”

    Peace. Love. Go Forth and Test Your Soul.

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