Tag: Spiritual

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Look For The Connections

5 By awesome deeds You answer us with righteousness, O God of our salvation, the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas; 6 the one who by His strength established the mountains, being girded with might; 7 who stills the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves, the tumult of the peoples, 8 so that those who dwell at the ends of the earth are in awe at your signs. You make the going out of the morning and the evening to shout for joy. ~ Psalms 65:5-8

A lot of people read the Bible and find it extremely boring. They find it to be a difficult read, but I find it extremely interesting. Why? Because there are so many different connections and subtle quotes, references, etc., that each and every time you read it, you see something new that you never saw before. For instance, I was reading the book of Psalms for the hundredth time, and when I read this verse, I immediately went “Wait a second!”

See, this is a song of David declaring who the LORD is. The God of our Salvation. Our Savior. When the LORD Jesus was on this earth, He didn’t come declaring, “I am God.” No. Instead, He let His works testify for Him.

23 And when He got into the boat, His disciples followed Him. 24 And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but He was asleep. 25 And they went and woke Him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing.” 26 And He said to them, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” Then He rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. 27 And the men marveled, saying, “What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey Him?”

Matthew 8:23-27

See, this wasn’t just Jesus doing any ol’ sign. This was Jesus making a point of who He is. He’s not just another prophet. He’s not just another teacher. Not just another Rabbi. Not just another good man. He is the LORD of the Universe. The God of our Salvation.

See, talk is cheap. Talk isn’t what Jesus came for. He came to establish and build His Kingdom. And His Kingdom is not one of talk, but of power (1 Corinthians 4:19-20). Therefore, He led by example. He, the forerunner of faith (Hebrews 6:19-20), led the way by showing who He is. He didn’t say, “I am God,” and then act otherwise. No, He let His actions speak for themselves.

Today, the Church is quite the opposite. We go around saying we are Christians, but rarely do we act like it. A lot of the time, we look more like the world than the world does. We spew hatred instead of correcting in love. We mock those who disagree with us and speak all manner of evil against anyone who just annoys us. We no longer follow the way of the LORD. Instead, we’ve paved our own path that seems right but leads to death. It’s time we allow our actions to speak for us once again.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Look For The Connections.

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Prepare To Shed

Revelation 2:1-7

[1]  To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: ‘The words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands. [2]  I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false. [3] I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name’s sake, and you have not grown weary. [4] But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. [5] Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent. [6] Yet this you have: you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. [7] He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.’

There’s a fisherman I often watch videos of who explained that lobsters are biologically immortal. Once they get a certain size, they don’t have anymore predators. The only thing that can kill them is shedding. Once they reach a certain age, they no longer have any energy to shed. So, they’ll get stuck in their shell and they’ll end up starving to death. It made me think of Christians.

When we’ve been in church our entire lives, we often take it for granted. We don’t necessarily give into sin. We do our best to keep the commands of God, but we end up spiritually dying anyway. Why? We lose the love we had at first. Our love runs cold. Our love for God.

The passion we once had to search the Scriptures, learn new things, and grow in the Spirit slowly dies as time goes on. We become so complacent in our faith that we die to Christ, instead of living to Him. We’ve become that lobster. We’ve run out of energy to just keep going because we’ve stopped feeding our spirit. We stopped feeding our relationship with Christ.

Fasting, praying, worshipping, praising, reading and studying our bibles just come to a stop. And often times, it’s gradually, so we don’t even realize it’s happening. We become numb to it. Then we just lie down and starve to death. Our relationship with Christ just dwindles and He let’s us go.

It’s something that happens often in the Church, and the only way to avoid this fate, is to build up your spiritman. That is your source of life. Your relationship with Christ. The Father. The Spirit. It all depends on you reading and studying your Bible, praying, worshipping, fasting, and praising. It’s all about your quiet time. How you spend time with God matters.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Prepare To Shed.

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Fight For Your Victory

12 For every man threw down his rod, and they became serpents. But Aaron’s rod swallowed up their rods. ~ Exodus 7:12 (NKJV)

Imagine the feeling of despair when Aaron and Moses saw Pharaoh’s magicians throw down their rods, and they were turned to serpents as well. I’m sure they felt fear, disappointment, and discouragement. But it didn’t stop there. That wasn’t the end of the story. Why? Because what looked like defeat. What looked like equality. Was quickly swallowed up! So, in the same way… Just like what happened there… Our God will swallow up every demonic counterfeit… And every demonic competition the enemy brings against us will get swallowed up.

Because these are the times when our God will show up and show out, and let the powers of darkness see and understand their inferiority—there’s no God like our God. We hear it all around us… The sound of the enemy encamping in our territory… coming in like sand upon the seashore because it’s harvest time… but nonetheless… God will grant us victory and our enemy defeat.

Because… when they come at us from one direction, they will flee from us in seven directions (Deuteronomy 28:7). A thousand may fall at our side, ten thousand at our right hand, but no plague, no mortal spiritual danger, will come near us! (Psalms 91:7, 11). We must let our mustard seed of faith, which should already be blooming and bearing fruit… burst out upon the enemy in glorious victory. Listen! The serpent of our God will eat up any and all serpents of the enemy. Whatever he does… whatever he mimics… will get eaten up!

You just have to have enough faith to keep going. To stand firm. To not accept defeat. The LORD will do the rest. He will fight for you. Through you. In you. You just have to show up in faith and refuse to stop. Refuse to quit.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Fight For Your Victory.

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Achieve Serpent-Level Wisdom

16  Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. ~ Matthew 10:16

I recently read a Sumerian Proverb that said, “He is altogether good, but he is clothed with darkness.” There was no other context or information, just this one line, but it caught my attention and got me thinking. Honestly, this could be taken in too different ways but ultimately meaning the same thing, looks can be deceiving.

On the surface we see what each person wants us to see, what they allow us to see. We see the good they do, their smiles, joy, etc., but they hide the darkness that clothes their soul. Now, whether that darkness represents evil or depression of some kind doesn’t change the message, looks can be deceiving. Jesus gives us a sort of call to action, be as wise as serpents.

Throughout Scripture, serpents aren’t just venomous, sly, evil creatures. They are wise, prudent, fulfill the commands of God, and are even allowed in His presence circling His throne room. In many ancient religions, serpents are wise, knowing even the future. This is a concept throughout the world, but why is it important? Because we are to be a wise as serpents. Not easily deceived. Seeing past what is on the surface and looking deeper. Seeing through the mask to the person behind it. We are to be wise and filled with discernment.

Therefore, seek those things. They’re not just empty words Jesus said to sound good. They’re commands for us for a reason. What reason? To overcome the world through Him, just as He overcame. We see through the disguises and we expose the darkness. Whether evil or depression or any other form of oppression we expose it. We rebuke it. We shine the Light of Christ until the darkness has no other choice but to flee.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Achieve Serpent-Level Wisdom.

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Don’t Be Cow Or Chicken

33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. ~ Matthew 6:33

I started watching Cow and Chicken the other day, because when I was a kid, my Daddy said we couldn’t watch it because it was too stupid. While I do definitely see that, it is an extremely stupid show, the more I watch, the more I realize humanity is just as stupid as these characters. See, they have a devil character in the show that constantly tricks Cow and Chicken into a mess for his own benefit and profit. At one point, he turns Cow into a slave for her milk and forces her to be a singer. In another, he tricks chicken into playing a virtual reality video game that’s damage in the game causes real damage to him in real life. The crazy part is he really isn’t even disguising himself. He’s just changing his name, yet the two (Cow and Chicken) never catch on that it’s the same guy. We as humans are exactly the same.

We don’t pay attention to who’s speaking to us. Who’s inviting us to do something. We simply focus on the “Do I want to do that thing?” “Is it something that interests me?” part. That’s why we’re constantly falling into the enemy’s trap, just like Cow and Chicken. We don’t pay attention to who’s trying to hurt us; we’re just focused on whether or not our flesh is satisfied. That’s the danger of the human nature. It’s selfish and self-serving. Its desire is what drives us to action.

This is why we are called to crucify the flesh. This is why we are called to follow in the footsteps of Jesus. This is why we are to seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, so that we won’t be deceived. So that we won’t be distracted. So that we will be able to see past the flesh and into the spirit.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Don’t Be Cow Or Chicken.

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Earnestly Pray For Your Promise

[1] When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. [2] And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. ~ Acts 2:1-2

After the Resurrection, Jesus appeared to the apostles for forty days. Then He told them to wait for the Holy Spirit to come, and ascended into Heaven. So, the next ten days they spent devoted in prayer. See, the Holy Spirit didn’t come down as soon as Jesus ascended. No. It took them earnestly praying in one accord for ten days for the Holy Spirit to come down.

We are each given promises, but just because we’re given promises, doesn’t mean we no longer have any responsibility in the matter. We have to fight for our promises. They don’t always happen overnight, in fact, the majority of times it takes many days or even years.

If they had not prayed earnestly, I’m not so sure that the Spirit would have been poured out on all flesh. It takes someone to stand in the gap. It takes someone to pray, come LORD come. They spent ten days devoted in prayer, today we struggle to pray for ten minutes, and then wonder why we don’t see the same power they did. We even make excuses saying it just wasn’t for us, but for them alone.

The Church today has become lazy. We will stay up all night working for money, but not to see the glory of God. Not to be filled with His Holy Spirit. I’m not against money, I’m against putting everything into making it but putting nothing into the Kingdom of God. That is the difference between today’s Church and the first century Church. That is why we don’t see the same miracles, signs, and wonders. Because we’ve become lazy to point of death. Spiritual death.

There is only a few days left until Pentecost. Don’t let another Pentecost Sunday pass you by without seeking the LORD. Earnestly seeking Him.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Earnestly Pray For Your Promise.

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Choose The She-Bear

Proverbs 17:12,

12 Let a man meet a she-bear robbed of her cubs rather than a fool in his folly.

King Solomon, the wisest fully human who ever lived, wrote that it was better to meet a she-bear whose cubs had been taken than a fool in his folly. Why? I believe there could be multiple reasons. Solomon often wrote about the anger of the fool and how unhinged it was, so that could be a reason. But I think it might be more so that the fool in his folly is deceptive, as he also wrote.

See, when you don’t know the Truth or why you believe it, you can easily be less astray. You can easily be deceived. You can easily become Eve in the Garden of Eden. Ignorance is probably the biggest killer of souls in the Church today. We have the most and the easiest access to the Bible than any other generation before us, yet we read it the least. Our Bibles on our phones, tablets, computers, etc. even read to us, yet for some reason we still refuse to read it.

This makes us a perfect victim for the fool in his folly. The she-bear might take our life, but the fool in his folly might just take our soul. I know people who, though they were raised in a Christian household, have easily been led astray by foolishness that makes no sense. Why? Because they never read their Bibles. They still refuse to read it in its entirety. Instead, they chose to listen to the fool who cherry picks and half quotes Scripture.

Now, in they have become a fool in their folly. Consumed. Drenched in deception that can only be removed by the Holy Spirit. That can only be removed by the reading of the ENTIRE Scripture, and not just picking and choosing random verses out context.

The Scripture builds a shield around you, lest you be deceived. Lest you be spiritually killed by the fool in his folly. Therefore, read and study to show yourself approved. To show yourself righteous. To be safe from the deception that has destroyed so many in the Church.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Choose The She-Bear.

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Learn How To Save Life

30 And I sought for a man among them who should build up the wall and stand in the breach before me for the land, that I should not destroy it, but I found none. ~ Ezekiel 22:30

 A couple songs from my childhood have just been playing in my head for the past few days. One of the songs is “How To Save A Life” by The Fray. To me the lyrics just really make me think. They make me contemplate past life decisions, especially the chorus. It goes:

Where did I go wrong? I lost a friend

Somewhere along in the bitterness

And I would have stayed up with you all night

Had I known how to save a life

For me, these lyrics really hit hard. There’s one particular person that I just gave up on. I stopped praying and the moment I did, they fell into the very thing I had just stopped praying about. This has been several years ago, and I still think about it. Often. I think about how I just gave into the argument and said fine, if you want me to stop interfering with your life through praying, then that’s exactly what I’ll do.

The words:

And I would have stayed up with you all night

Had I known how to save a life

If I had know how important and powerful my prayers were, and how the very thing I was praying against would’ve been kept at bay if I had just continued, that is what keeps me up. If I had just known how to save a life, I would’ve stayed up all night with them in spirit praying. Now, I just feel shame and regret. Because I was given a task and I failed. I was called to stand in the gap and I didn’t. I walked away.

We’re all called to stand in the gap for someone. You don’t have to be a pastor, teacher, scholar, theologian, or any of the sort. All you have to do is be called by God. And if you are saved, you have been called. To do what? Intercede for your lost loved ones. To stand in the gap interfering in their lives through prayer and fasting. That is the call of every single Christian.

Tomorrow isn’t promised to anyone. Don’t give yourself opportunities for disappointment and regret. Learn from the mistakes of others. Don’t let another day go by without standing in that gap. For all you know, that could be the difference between life and death for that person.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Learn How To Save Life.

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Don’t Hit Snooze

Jeremiah 8:20 ESV

20 “The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved.”

Look around at the condition of the Church— or the so-called Church: We have mega-church pastors championing a godless agenda, pushing racism, and defending the right to slaughter helpless unborn babies in their mothers’ wombs. We have “bishops” boldly stating that they “are of the opinion that we need a third Testament, because the Bible has become problematic.” The Church is in a mess and it’s as if we don’t even realize it.

We don’t recognize the times that we are in and when we do, we do nothing to prepare ourselves or others. The Church, we as a whole, has been lulled to sleep. It’s as if the alarm has gone off and we keep hitting snooze. The alarm may quiet for us in those few moments before sounding again (until it eventually stops all together) but the times continue. No matter how many times we hit snooze, time keeps propelling us forward at a high rate of speed.

The LORD said that the fields were white on to harvest. In other words, the fields are so ready to be harvested that it is at the point where the crop could go bad and be lost. Jeremiah and his people missed the harvest. They went into captivity because of their sin. Their transgression. Their slumber. The Church is no different.

A time is coming when there will be tribulation on the earth like never before. Man’s wrath on the Church let loose without restraint. All because we fall asleep in times of safety and prosperity. It’s in these times that we have to awaken and prepare. We have to get ourselves ready. We have to make sure our family is ready. We have to wake up and pay attention to the times. Because the end is right around the corner.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Don’t Hit Snooze.

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Who Will Go For Me?

16 Who will rise up for Me against the wicked? Who will take a stand for Me against evildoers? (Psalm 94:16).

This is a very pertinent question: God is asking, “Who will?” God has given us dominion over the earth. We have been commissioned to rule and to reign, to subdue, and to correct and to bring into submission to our God all inhabitants of the earth. Teaching what is right and correcting what is wrong by the Word of our God. We are the hands and the feet of Jesus, often referred to as His body. Now He is asking, “Who will rise up for Me against the Wicked?”

But instead of rising up, the Church has submitted its authority. We’ve compromised with the enemy and have gone to sleep on our watch. We no longer sound the alarm when the enemy is approaching. We no longer tell of the goodness of God. But why is that? Are we too busy trying to be like the world that we no longer are trying to save the world?

Church leaders are guilty of the same sins the world is guilty of, and some have taken it even further. God instructed His people, His Church, to come out from among them and touch no unclean thing. But the Church has stained her garments with the juices from the fruit of evil. Once in the book of Isaiah, God looked around for one man to stand in the gap to intercede for the nation so that He might not destroy it, but He found no one either willing or able. So, in Isaiah 6, He asks again, “Whom shall I send and who will go for us?”

God is always looking for someone to rise up, someone to stand up, and someone to go and tell. Is that someone you? Will you rise up? Will you stand up when no one else will? When all are satisfied slumbering, will you get up and seek the face of God on behalf of someone, maybe a close relation, or a good friend? Maybe for your country and your government leaders. Do you complain about what’s happening in the world and especially in your country, or are you seeking the LORD, are you standing in the gap for your country and calling upon His Name that He might not destroy or bring His wrath? Will you say, here am I, use me?

Father, here am I, if You can use anything, use me. I will go where You send me, and I will say what You tell me; only be close to me and help me hear and understand Your voice and instructions, in Jesus’ Name, amen.

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