Tag: Spiritual

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If You Can Use Anything

13 The Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14 In the temple He found those who were selling oxen and sheep and pigeons, and the money-changers sitting there. 15 And making a whip of cords, He drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and oxen. And he poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables. 16 And He told those who sold the pigeons, “Take these things away; do not make my Father’s house a house of trade.” ~ John 2:13-16

Money is important; without it, none can survive, but money shouldn’t be the main focus of the Church. Jesus flipped tables, poured out money, and even made a whip of chords to chase out the money changers. Why? Because they were focused on making money instead of ushering in the presence of God. Today’s churches are filled with coffee stands and even cafeterias where you can get all the drink and food you want, but the Church is still dying of dehydration and starvation. We go to church every Sunday, but we’re not getting fed. Our churches are filled with all the Starbucks you could ever want, but the well of Living Water has gone dry.

There’s nothing wrong with serving drinks and food at church. Jesus fed people as well, but Jesus made sure to Spiritually take care of their needs before He physically did. We have to make sure that we’re spiritually taking care of the people that come through those doors. Every song should usher in the presence of God. Every word spoken should be filled with power and authority from God. The Church should be full.

LORD, I may not be a leader in my church, but help me to be the change I want to see. If You can use anything and anyone, please use me. Awaken the sleeping spirit within me. Let revival start with me. Let the outpouring of Your Spirit start with me. Please mold me and make me so that I can be whatever vessel You need me to be. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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Blow A Trumpet

1 Blow a trumpet in Zion; sound an alarm on my holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, for the day of the Lord is coming; it is near, 2 a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness! Like blackness there is spread upon the mountains a great and powerful people; their like has never been before, nor will be again after them through the years of all generations. ~ Joel 2:1-2

Throughout the Old Testament, prophets constantly heard and, therefore, prophesied that the day of the LORD was a frightening day. A day of darkness and gloom, yet Paul says it’s our blessed hope (Titus 2:11-14). John is told in his revelation that the Spirit and the bride say come, as well as the one who hears (Revelation 22:17). Why? Because we have been perfected in His perfect love that casts out all fear. Fear has to do with punishment, and we, His people, shall not be punished for we have been redeemed (1 John 4:18).

God Himself paid our debt. He took our punishment upon Himself. Why? So that when that last trumpet blasts and Jesus returns, we’ll rejoice because He will take us to be with Him forever and ever (1 Corinthians 15:51-53). So, blow a trumpet of warning within your heart. Awaken your sleeping spirit. The day of the LORD is at hand. It’s closer now than ever has been before. There are more and more signs of the times every day. Don’t miss them. Don’t ignore them. They are here, and more will come regardless of whether we like it or not. So, prepare for His return. Be ready so that that day may be a day of rejoicing, not a day of fear and dread.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Blow A Trumpet.

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Be Satisfied In His Love

Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days. Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us, and for as many years as we have seen evil. Let your work be shown to your servants, and your glorious power to their children. Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands upon us; yes, establish the work of our hands! ~ Psalms 90:14-17

The love of God satisfies us. It’s the miracle grow that brings forth all of the other Fruit of the Spirit. Often time, we want the favor of the LORD and for Him to establish everything we do, but we don’t want to first be satisfied by His love. Without dwelling in His love, we can’t produce any fruit or receive His promises. We have to first dwell in His love and produce His love from our hearts.

In other words, the love of God has to change you. You have to have a desire for the things of God, enjoy the things of God, seek the things of God, and remain in the things of God. The things of the world are shiny, and they often distract us, but they don’t last. They, and the earth itself, will one day flee from the presence of God. One day, they will be no more, but the promises and the good things of God will never pass away. When you dwell in the things of God, they carry on into the next life because seeking the things of God prepares treasure for you in Heaven. And where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

LORD God, please help me to leave behind the things of this world. Help me to become attached only to You and Your kingdom. Let Your kingdom come, and Your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. Remove any desires from me that aren’t of You. Help me to be satisfied in Your love and to stop seeking out the world and its poison apples. Teach me to love You the way You deserve. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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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

4 Abide 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. 5 I 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

4 Then 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. 6 I 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

39 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has made all this known to you, there is no one so discerning and wise as you. 40 You 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.” 41 So Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I hereby put you in charge of the whole land of Egypt.” 42 Then 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

10 And 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. 11 Then 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. 12 And 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. 13 He had also seven sons and three daughters. 14 And he called the name of the first daughter Jemimah, and the name of the second Keziah, and the name of the third Keren-happuch. 15 And in all the land there were no women so beautiful as Job’s daughters. And their father gave them an inheritance among their brothers. 16 And after this, Job lived 140 years, and saw his sons and sons’ sons, four generations. 17 And 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.” 2 So 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. 3 And 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. 4 Now the king was talking with Gehazi the servant of the man of God, saying, “Tell me all the great things that Elisha has done.” 5 And 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.” 6 And 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

26 But 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

15 As 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.” 16 But 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. 17 And 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.” 18 And Lot said to them, “Oh, no, my lords. 19 Behold, 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. 20 Behold, 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!” 21 He said to him, “Behold, I grant you this favor also, that I will not overthrow the city of which you have spoken. 22 Escape there quickly, for I can do nothing till you arrive there.” Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar.

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

Genesis 19: 15–26

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