Spiritual Archives

January 19, 2023January 19, 2023

Confess In Court

¹⁶ For I will not contend forever, nor will I always be angry; for the spirit would grow faint before me, and the breath of life that I made. ¹⁷ Because of the iniquity of his unjust gain I was angry, I struck him; I hid my face and was angry, but he went on backsliding in the way of his own heart. ¹⁸ I have seen his ways, but I will heal him; I will lead him and restore comfort to him and his mourners, ¹⁹ creating the fruit of the lips. Peace, peace, to the far and to the near,” says the Lord, “and I will heal him. ~ Isaiah 57:16-19

God looks down on us and sees our hearts. He sees the filth we think about and the evil sins we commit. God sees what we do in secret that we’re ashamed of and what we do in public and are proud of. God sees it all, yet, God still loves us to the point of death. God bore our punishment on Himself so that we might be saved from our sins. None of us are deserving. None of us are worthy. None of us are better than the other. We are all flawed, and we are all filled with sin, but God’s love can penetrate that sin and cleanse you.

We may be red as crimson with our sin, but the love of God will cleanse us and make us white as snow. But we have to first confess our sins to God. Yes, He already knows them because He sees us committing them. We’re not confessing so that He can hear us. We’re confessing so that the Devil can hear that there is nothing He can hold against us. We’re confessing our sins so that we might bring them up in court, and the court might rule in our favor to have our record expunged. Because of the redeeming blood of Jesus and the molding of His Holy Spirit, we are no longer that person but a new creation.

LORD God, help me confess all of my sins before You so that the Devil may never use them against me again. Expunge my record and throw it into the Sea of Forgetfulness. Cleanse me of all of my sin, LORD God, that I might dwell in Your Holy presence. Thank You for redeeming me, even though I am so unworthy. Thank You for Your love and compassion. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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Remain

⁴Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. ⁵I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. ~ John 15:4–5

The main point of the lesson is Abide. Abide in me, and I in you. This word abide is the Greek word, μένω which means:

“To remain in a place,” “to tarry,” as opposed to going away.

But before you can remain in a place or tarry in a place, you have to get to that place or be in that place. Therefore, Jesus is also talking to us Christians, those of us who believe in Him and have accepted Him as LORD and Savior. Yes, His words were directed toward the disciples, but they are also meant for us.

We Christians cannot produce good fruit apart from Jesus, who is the Vine, and neither can we have the Holy Spirit, who is the Sap. All of the nutrients come through the Sap, which equates to power. No Spirit. No power.

LORD God, help me to remain in Your love. Help me to understand that there is nothing I can do apart from You. Lead me in the way that I should go, and teach me to follow You. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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Pray That He Might Relent

⁴Then the word of the Lord came to Isaiah: ⁵“Go and say to Hezekiah, Thus says the Lord, the God of David your father: I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. Behold, I will add fifteen years to your life. ⁶I will deliver you and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria, and will defend this city.” ~ Isaiah 38:4-6

Israel had just become overtaken by Assyria, and Judah was next. Hezekiah, king of Judah, was on his deathbed. The LORD had told him that he wouldn’t recover from his illness and that he was going to die. But Hezekiah didn’t take that as just words set in stone. Hezekiah pleaded for mercy from God, reminding God of the good things he had done in his life. Because of Hezekiah’s pleas to God, God relented His hand and spared not only Hezekiah’s life for another 15 years, but Judah wasn’t overtaken by Assyria. Hezekiah’s decision to plead for the mercy of God spared him and his people.

Today, many of us have been given death sentences. They may not be death sentences on our lives, but they’re on our dreams, our promises, our relationships, and our blessings. God has told us that these things shall die and they shall not recover, but if we humble ourselves before the Almighty in repentance and pleas for mercy and grace, the LORD will relent His hand as He did with Hezekiah.

LORD God, please forgive me for turning away from You and opening a spiritual door in my life that has claimed my dreams, promises, relationships, blessings, and even my health. LORD, please have mercy on me. Please give me another chance to follow You with all of my heart, soul, mind, and strength. Please relent Your hand and close the spiritual doors that I’ve forced open with my sin and rebellion. Thank You, LORD God, for Your mercy, Your grace, and Your everlasting love. Thank You, LORD Jesus, for Your precious and Holy blood that redeems me from all of my sin, shame, and disease. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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Faithful As Joseph

³⁹Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has made all this known to you, there is no one so discerning and wise as you. ⁴⁰You shall be in charge of my palace, and all my people are to submit to your orders. Only with respect to the throne will I be greater than you.” ⁴¹So Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I hereby put you in charge of the whole land of Egypt.” ⁴²Then Pharaoh took his signet ring from his finger and put it on Joseph’s finger. He dressed him in robes of fine linen and put a gold chain around his neck. ~ Genesis 41:39-42

Joseph started in Egypt as a slave. His own brothers had sold him into slavery to his cousins (generations removed), who then sold him to an Egyptian. The story of Joseph is definitely a rollercoaster but look at the restoration the LORD gave to Joseph. Only Pharaoh was above him. He was given everything he never had. He was more than just restored. Joseph was elevated beyond belief. He was elevated to the second in command only to Pharaoh himself. In fact, Pharaoh, in verse 44, that he may be Pharaoh, but nothing will be done in Egypt without the permission of Joseph. Pharaoh gave Joseph his authority and power but not his throne. This is an extreme jump from being in prison to being in charge of an entire nation.

Sometimes our seasons feel like they will never end. Like they will never cease because they’re rough, they’re difficult, but the restoration comes in a moment. And when we are restored, we are restored to new heights. But only if we remain faithful to the LORD. The LORD only elevates those who are faithful during difficult times. Those who are faithful in a little because they will also be faithful in a lot. So, if you are going through a season that’s rough and difficult, remain faithful to the LORD. While in prison for a crime he didn’t commit, Joseph remained faithful to the LORD, and the LORD honored this. You have to act like Joseph to receive restoration like Joseph.

LORD God, please teach me to remain faithful to you when all things are going wrong. Help me to remain faithful to you when the world seems to be offering me an out to the hard season that I’m in. Transform me through the renewing of my mind and replace my heart of stone for a heart of flesh so that I might love You with everything in me. Be with me in all things, LORD God. Thank You for Your love, mercy, and goodness. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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Seek Also In The Valley

¹⁰And the Lord restored the fortunes of Job, when he had prayed for his friends. And the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before. ¹¹Then came to him all his brothers and sisters and all who had known him before, and ate bread with him in his house. And they showed him sympathy and comforted him for all the evil that the Lord had brought upon him. And each of them gave him a piece of money and a ring of gold. ¹²And the Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning. And he had 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 1,000 yoke of oxen, and 1,000 female donkeys. ¹³He had also seven sons and three daughters. ¹⁴And he called the name of the first daughter Jemimah, and the name of the second Keziah, and the name of the third Keren-happuch. ¹⁵And in all the land there were no women so beautiful as Job’s daughters. And their father gave them an inheritance among their brothers. ¹⁶And after this, Job lived 140 years, and saw his sons and sons’ sons, four generations. ¹⁷And Job died, an old man, and full of days. ~ Job 42:10-17

Job was a man of righteousness and faithfulness to the LORD. Job even sacrificed on behalf of his children just in case they sinned against the LORD. So, when the testing of the Devil came upon him, Job knew it wasn’t punishment from the LORD. Job knew his relationship with God. And because Job knew his relationship with God, Job knew God’s heart. He understood that there had to be another reason why he, an innocent man, was under spiritual attack. And because he knew his God, Job didn’t sin or speak against God during his test.

Some of us are going through a season of testing. We’re under attack by the enemy. Everything is being taken away from us. Finances. Relationships. Blessings. Health. Everything. During these seasons, it’s difficult for us to keep our mouths closed and not speak out against God. This is where Job and the Church today differentiate. So many of us speak against God as Bildad and his friends did. Very few of us refuse to give up. Very few of us turn to God and seek Him in these times. The majority of us blame God and become angry with Him. But look at your actions. Is this a test from God? Or is this an attack of the enemy because you let your walls down? You’ll know the answer by the actions you’ve made prior to this season. Were you faithful? Were you having a true relationship with God? Were you spending time with Him every day?

If you are faithful to the LORD in this season, regardless of how you got there, the LORD will be faithful to you and see you through it. When God restored Job’s fortunes, it wasn’t just the fortunes he had previously lost. God gave Job more than he lost. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, was poured into Job’s lap. Why? Because Job remained faithful to God. He refused to curse God and die. He refused to betray the LORD. He withstood the test, and the LORD restored and rewarded Job’s faithfulness.

So, if you’re in this season of testing, or even if you’re in a season of attack because you opened the door to the enemy, don’t be discouraged. Repent, close the door, and seek the LORD for restoration.

LORD God, please show me the season that I’m in. Show me whether I have opened a door to a spiritual attack or whether I am being tested. LORD, I know that I have sinned because I know that I haven’t yet been fully perfected, so LORD God, forgive me for each sin I’ve committed. Help me to close any door I’ve opened that isn’t of You. Teach me to seek Your face in the valley and in the mountain. Teach me to have a true relationship with You and not just a superficial one. Help me to trust You and love You the way that You deserve. Please help me to never take You for granted, so that when you take me through this season the restoration might also be of my soul and spirit. Thank You for Your love, mercy, and grace. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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Bring Your Appeals

¹ Now Elisha had said to the woman whose son he had restored to life, “Arise, and depart with your household, and sojourn wherever you can, for the Lord has called for a famine, and it will come upon the land for seven years.” ²So the woman arose and did according to the word of the man of God. She went with her household and sojourned in the land of the Philistines seven years. ³And at the end of the seven years, when the woman returned from the land of the Philistines, she went to appeal to the king for her house and her land. ⁴Now the king was talking with Gehazi the servant of the man of God, saying, “Tell me all the great things that Elisha has done.” ⁵And while he was telling the king how Elisha had restored the dead to life, behold, the woman whose son he had restored to life appealed to the king for her house and her land. And Gehazi said, “My lord, O king, here is the woman, and here is her son whom Elisha restored to life.” ⁶And when the king asked the woman, she told him. So the king appointed an official for her, saying, “Restore all that was hers, together with all the produce of the fields from the day that she left the land until now.” ~ 2 Kings 8:1-6

Elisha, the prophet, warned the Shunammite woman that a famine was coming, but when she returned after the famine, her home and land were no longer hers. The Shunammite woman was a wealthy woman, so leaving all of her land and her home behind to become a sojourner in the land of the Philistines for seven years wasn’t easy, but she wholeheartedly trusted the man of God. Now that the seven years of famine were over and she returned home, her home and her land weren’t even hers anymore.

This is how it is with us sometimes. The LORD sends us a warning, so we try to react to this warning, but maybe we make a mistake, and when we return, all we have left is gone. Or maybe we do exactly as the LORD tells us, and all we have left is still gone. But don’t be discouraged. Look what the Shunammite woman did. She didn’t gripe. She didn’t get angry. She didn’t get discouraged. She went to the king of Israel to appeal for her land, and her land was restored to her as she left, plus the seven years of production from the land while she was gone.

Sometimes when we follow God, the LORD allows for the enemy to swoop in and collect our land. Collect our home. Collect our job. Collect our blessing while we are away, but when we go before Him and appeal, the LORD has mercy and grace. Why? Look at who introduced the Shunammite woman to the king, Gehazi, the servant of Elisha, the man of God. The king might not have given the woman such a favorable response to her request if it were not for Gehazi explaining who she was to him. And just as Gehazi went before the Shunammite woman and, in a sense, spoke on her behalf, an even better spokesman speaks on our behalf.

Jesus, God incarnate, went before us into the Holy of Holies in the Temple of Heaven and spoke on our behalf. He tells the King who we are. We aren’t just someone He healed; we are the very children of God adopted in through His precious blood and His Holy Spirit. So, how much more would the King of kings give to His children? The king gave the woman all she left and all that was produced while she was gone, and he only knew of her because of the word of Gehazi. The King of kings knows who we are because He died for us and washed us in His precious and Holy blood. So, again I ask, how much more would the King of kings give to His children?

When the enemy swoops in to take something from you, it’s only for a season. Don’t be discouraged. Don’t become angry. Take it straight to the LORD. What has the enemy stolen from you? Lay it at the feet of Jesus. Bring an appeal to the LORD. Don’t waste any time, for you are more than just a common person. You are a child of Almighty God.

LORD God, help me return to my promised land so I can see what the enemy has taken. Please restore to me all that the enemy has taken from me. Finances. Assets. Investments. Jobs. Blessings. Be with me, LORD God, as I return to my promised land. Defend me as I bring forth my appeals. Teach me how to never give up. Teach me to be like the Shunammite woman and never become discouraged by my circumstances but always seek after You. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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Do Not Keep Looking Behind

²⁶But Lot’s wife, behind him, looked back, and she became a pillar of salt. ~ Genesis 19:26

Lot, along with his wife and two daughters, had made their home in a wicked and adulterous city. All the thoughts of their hearts were evil to the point that God had no option but to destroy the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. But Peter tells us that God saved Lot, who was greatly distressed by the sensual conduct of the wicked men living in the city. The account found in Genesis said that the angels told Lot to take his wife and his two daughters and leave quickly before they get swept away in the punishment of the city. But Lot lingered, and the angels had to take him and his family by the hand and lead them out. Then they instructed them, “Do Not Look Back! Do Not Stop.”

We Christians are not to linger in the world. We are not to look back or stop. We are to press forward toward the prize that is before us. This New Year, we must make a strong effort to focus on what God has for us and not linger, look back, or stop in the world. Lot’s wife looked back and lost all that God had for her. We are in a time of restoration. God is restoring to us all that the enemy has stolen from us.

Heavenly Father, we ask You to please help us to overcome so that You might restore to us all that was lost and all that was stolen. Please strengthen us that we might not yield to the temptation to look back or to stop but that we might continue pressing forward to gain the prize that You have set before us, in Jesus’ name, amen.

Scripture Reading

¹⁵As morning dawned, the angels urged Lot, saying, “Up! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you be swept away in the punishment of the city.” ¹⁶But he lingered. So the men seized him and his wife and his two daughters by the hand, the Lord being merciful to him, and they brought him out and set him outside the city. ¹⁷And as they brought them out, one said, “Escape for your life. Do not look back or stop anywhere in the valley. Escape to the hills, lest you be swept away.” ¹⁸And Lot said to them, “Oh, no, my lords. ¹⁹Behold, your servant has found favor in your sight, and you have shown me great kindness in saving my life. But I cannot escape to the hills, lest the disaster overtake me and I die. ²⁰Behold, this city is near enough to flee to, and it is a little one. Let me escape there—is it not a little one?—and my life will be saved!” ²¹He said to him, “Behold, I grant you this favor also, that I will not overthrow the city of which you have spoken. ²²Escape there quickly, for I can do nothing till you arrive there.” Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar.

²³The sun had risen on the earth when Lot came to Zoar. ²⁴Then the Lord rained on Sodom and Gomorrah sulfur and fire from the Lord out of heaven. ²⁵And he overthrew those cities, and all the valley, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground. ²⁶But Lot’s wife, behind him, looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.

Genesis 19: 15–26

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Fight Only Your Enemies

¹ And David spoke to the Lord the words of this song on the day when the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul. ~ 2 Samuel 22:1

The Scriptures say that the LORD delivered David from his enemies and King Saul. King Saul wasn’t counted as one of David’s enemies. Not everyone that comes against us is one of our enemies. Sometimes they are just a pawn of the enemy trying to distract us, so we lose sight of the true battle. So that we lose sight of the true enemy. King Saul tried to kill David multiple times, he even gave his wife away to another man, yet David understood that King Saul wasn’t his enemy. King Saul was just a distraction.

Don’t allow the enemy to distract you with people in your life that try to bring you down or discourage you; then, the next minute, they’re singing your praises. Not everyone is your enemy. Not everyone is your friend. Some people in your life are being used by the enemy in order to stop you from reaching your God-given call.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Fight Only Your Enemies.

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Seek To See The Spiritual

³When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; ⁴and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. ⁵They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet: ⁶‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’” ~ Matthew 2:3-6

King Herod went to the chief priests and scribes to find out where the Messiah would be born. The chief priests and scribes knew the answer immediately; they didn’t have to search the Scriptures or discuss it amongst themselves. No. They knew it immediately and could even quote the prophecy by memory, yet they weren’t in the slightest way curious why these wise men traveled so far following a star because they were searching for the Messiah. They had been waiting so long that the hope of seeing the Messiah in their time that they had spiritually fallen asleep.

Never does the Scriptures say that these men went in search of the Messiah. It doesn’t even hint to it, yet they were the ones that advised the king of the prophecy. This is how the Church is today. We know the Scriptures. We can teach it and explain it, but we’re like them, who couldn’t recognize the spiritual signs around them. They missed the star. They missed the prophecies. They missed it all. Just knowing the Scriptures isn’t enough. You have to have a relationship with Jesus Himself. The Holy Spirit has to dwell in you for those Scriptures to mean anything to you.

This Christmas, let’s look past the surface level of the Scriptures and let us look at the Spiritual signs around us. The Christ has been born. We live in a time period like never before, when the Spirit of God has been poured out on all flesh, so anyone who calls on Him can be saved. The Savior of the world is just one step away. And now the times are changing again, for the Messiah is soon returning. The signs are all around us. We see prophecies that we know by heart are being fulfilled, yet they don’t mean anything to us. This Christmas, let’s seek the Spirit of the LORD, that He might open our spiritual eyes so that we might see the signs around us. So that we might not miss out on His second coming.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Seek To See The Spiritual.

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Go With Haste

¹⁰And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. ¹¹For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. ¹²And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” ¹³And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, ¹⁴“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” ¹⁵When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” ¹⁶And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. ~ Luke 2:10-16

The angel was, in fact, telling the shepherds, you need to go to Bethlehem and see this thing. This is the event you all have been waiting for your entire lives, and your parents before you, and their parents before them. The Messiah has been born. The shepherds could have missed the very event they were looking for their whole lives. Fear could have held them back. Disobedience and holding on to their earthly job could have kept them from seeing the birth of the Messiah. Instead, they left their posts and ran to find the Messiah.

So many of us today have been told of the Messiah. In fact, the Messiah Himself is knocking at the door of our hearts, but we refuse to leave behind the world. We refuse to leave behind the comfortable to get up and seek out the new. The shepherds had to go seek out the Messiah, but today, the Messiah comes to us. And yet, we still refuse to meet Him at the door. We’re so used to the many strongholds that keep us in chains that we don’t even realize we are imprisoned and that Christ has come to free us.

This Christmas, take a pause. Look around and assess your life. Is your life filled with the Joy and Hope of the LORD? Are you encouraged day by day? Is the love of the LORD perfecting you into a new Christian through the redeeming blood of Christ Jesus? Do you know the Messiah personally? Don’t let another Christmas come and go without being able to answer yes to all of these questions. Don’t let anything keep you from the Messiah.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Go With Haste.

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