Spiritual Archives

May 25, 2022May 28, 2022

Be Led By The Spirit of Truth

²⁴Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, ²⁵because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen. ²⁶For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; ²⁷and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error. ²⁸And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. ~ Romans 1:24-28

So many believe that we are to only show a love that doesn’t correct nor discipline, but is this the kind of love God has sent us to show the world? Look at the outcome of mankind suppressing the Truth about God. Their hearts were darkened; they became fools exchanging the glory of the immortal God for images. God then gave them up to their lusts because they exchanged Truth about God for a lie and worshiped the creature instead of the Creator. For this reason, God gave them up to dishonorable passions.

After the dishonorable passions were planted inside of them, they still didn’t see fit to acknowledge God. That root then began to then take root inside of, so God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. That’s when the floodgates of these other evil things seemed to take grow and bear fruits of unrighteousness and evil, for it says,

²⁹They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, ³⁰slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, ³¹foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. ³²Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.
Romans 1:29-32

Definitely sounds like the current state of the world that we’re living in. We have people and churches fighting to make these sins normal and acceptable before God, and if you don’t agree with them, then you’re a hater, bigot, and unkind. We’re to take the stance that we don’t want to partake in any of what they’re pushing. We take the stance to honor Him as the only one true God and give thanks to Him and worship Him so that our hearts won’t be darkened and turn to evil, as Paul warns here in this scripture. That’s why the Truth of God sets you free because only the light can shine into the darkness exposing the lies that we believe about who God is or isn’t. These lies that keep us in bondage and trapped in darkness can only be broken with Truth. Not our own deceiving truth that tickles our ears and never sets us free, but the one and only Truth that is the Word of God that shines the light of Jesus Himself into our lives as we are led by the very Spirit of Truth Himself.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Be Led By The Spirit of Truth.

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Let The Sins Go

²²For when Herodias’s daughter came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests. And the king said to the girl, “Ask me for whatever you wish, and I will give it to you.” ²³And he vowed to her, “Whatever you ask me, I will give you, up to half of my kingdom.” ~ Mark 6:22-23

King Herod had John the Baptist in prison. He wasn’t a follower nor a believer, but he knew that John was a righteous and holy man. So, King Herod refused to kill him and kept him safe, but because he wasn’t a believer and he didn’t have the Helmet of Salvation on his head to protect him, he was susceptible to the Spirit of Deceit.

Think about it. His niece danced for him, and King Herod was so amazed by this dance that he promised to give her anything she requested, even up to half of his kingdom. What dance is worth half of a man’s kingdom unless there is a spiritual aspect in this? This is how it is today.

When we don’t have our minds protected by the Helmet of Salvation, we are like sitting ducks in the middle of hunting season. We see this all over the world today. People who have the ideas of who God is are still being deceived by the ruler of this world. We are unable to see the deceiver before us when we don’t wear the Helmet of Salvation on our heads. We become like King Herod and get ourselves into the exact situation we were trying to avoid.

So, how do we avoid this? We humble ourselves before the LORD, and we build a relationship with Him by giving up the sins that were holding us back.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Let The Sins Go.

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Don’t Strike The Rock

²And he said to them, “I am 120 years old today. I am no longer able to go out and come in. The Lord has said to me, ‘You shall not go over this Jordan.’” ~ Deuteronomy 31:2

When Moses reached a certain age, he was no longer able to go in and come out. Even though Moses was constantly in the presence of God, he still fell into a spiritual slumber, unable to go in and come out. Moses became too focused on the people and lost focus of the LORD and His will for him and his people. In doing so, he allowed the quarreling of the congregation to cause him to fail to uphold the LORD as holy when he struck the rock instead of speaking to it. He allowed the confusion and rebellion of the people of Israel to stop his faith.

Even though Moses believed God and had faith in Him, because he allowed the people to get to him and he disobeyed the LORD, the LORD saw this as a lack of faith as well as Moses taking away from God’s Holiness in the sight of the people.

Today, it’s easy for us to allow the world to anger us and get under our skin, causing us to lose faith in the sight of God. Even if we have faith in our own eyes, disobedience, especially because of frustration with the world, will cause us to fall into a spiritual sleep. This will leave us unable to enter and exit the presence of God as we once did before. So, stay focused on the LORD and His plan. Don’t allow the world to distract you and take away your promises.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Don’t Strike The Rock.

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Try To Be The Salt of the Earth

¹³You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet. ~ Matthew 5:13-16

As Christians, we are called to be the salt of the earth, but what does that mean? Well, some people say that salt was so important in ancient times that it actually enabled society to expand; thus, salt came to actually represent great power and value. We are to be that kind of salt that is influential, powerful, and valuable.

We’re influential because our message changes lives, restores relationships, and gives hope to a hopeless world.

We are powerful because we are connected to the ultimate power, Jesus. He said, All authority in heaven and on earth is given onto Him, and He gives us access to that power and authority.

We are valuable because Jesus, God the Son, Himself, came and died to pay the price for us. So yes, we are valuable, if only to God, but who better to be valuable to?

We are more than just flesh and blood, we are the Temple of God Himself, and we each have a God-given call on our lives to be the salt of the world.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Try To Be The Salt of the Earth.

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Seek God’s Counsel

¹⁴So the men took some of their provisions, but did not ask counsel from the LORD. ¹⁵And Joshua made peace with them and made a covenant with them, to let them live, and the leaders of the congregation swore to them. ~ Joshua 9:14-15

Joshua had taken over as leader of the people of Israel, they had just entered the Promised Land, and they had just defeated Jericho and AI. The LORD was with Joshua wherever he went, and that’s where Joshua made his first mistake. Because Joshua knew the LORD was with him wherever he went, he became spiritually complacent and didn’t go to God with every matter. He began to lean on his own understanding and wisdom, and in doing so, he forgot to ask for the wisdom and understanding of God. This led to Joshua opening up the door to be deceived by the Gibeonites.

Today we fall into the same spiritual complacency that leads to spiritual slumber. When we know God is with us always, it’s easy for us to begin to lean on our own understanding and forget to seek God in all things. When we don’t lay everything before God, we miss the Gibeonite in our midst that’s deceiving us, and we make a spiritual pact with them. This gives the enemy the right to dwell in our lives, and if we’re not careful, we may never realize it.

While it’s easy to rely on our own understanding and wisdom to be able to discern what we hear and see, we have to make sure we always seek God’s counsel because the deceiver is always out there masquerading as light. Yes, God is with us everywhere we go, but He doesn’t cause every thought or feeling that comes to our hearts and minds. So, we can’t just put our trust in what we see or in what we hear or feel. We have to always seek God for confirmation regardless of how small the situation may seem to us.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Seek God’s Counsel.

Back to Spiritual Slumber?

Back to Daily Bread?

Destroy Your Midianite

¹⁷ Attack the Midianites and destroy them, ¹⁸ because they assaulted you with deceit and tricked you into worshiping Baal of Peor, and because of Cozbi, the daughter of a Midianite leader, who was killed at the time of the plague because of what happened at Peor. ~ Numbers 25:17-18^NLT

When we fall into temptation, it’s difficult to get back up, and usually, it’s because we don’t want to change our surroundings or those who surround us. The people of Israel fell into temptation because of the Midianites, and the only way for them to be able to move forward was to destroy the Midianites who led them astray. Today it’s no different. Today we still have Midianites leading us astray and causing us to worship false gods. They use our ever-changing culture as an excuse to draw us in. They indoctrinate us with lies that cause us to be unable to see ourselves growing sick and spiritually dying like them.

The only way we can truly overcome our sin is to remove the Midianite from our midst. I’m not saying you go out and destroy your tempter or temptation. I’m saying to destroy the friendship or relationship that is constantly dragging you to sin. You can’t hold on to the past as you try to step into the future, or you’ll only fall. You have to purge yourself of the sin around you so that you can move forward into the joy of the LORD.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Destroy Your Midianite.

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Unyoke From Baal of Peor

¹ While Israel lived in Shittim, the people began to whore with the daughters of Moab. ²These invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their gods. ³So Israel yoked himself to Baal of Peor. And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel. ⁴And the Lord said to Moses, “Take all the chiefs of the people and hang them in the sun before the Lord, that the fierce anger of the Lord may turn away from Israel.” ⁵And Moses said to the judges of Israel, “Each of you kill those of his men who have yoked themselves to Baal of Peor.” ~ Numbers 25:1-5

The people of Israel fell into temptation because of the Moabite women. They forgot the God whom they served because of the culture around them that caught their eye. This led to the death of everyone who fell into this temptation, and it’s no different today.

The culture around us is filled with exotic forbidden fruit that tempts us into spiritual death so that we don’t even notice that our culture no longer has a place for God. We fall into such a deep sleep after indulging in the forbidden fruit that we don’t even realize that our culture is filled with worshiping and sacrificing to other gods. In fact, we don’t even realize that we’ve joined in and bowed down to these false gods.

When we live in a physical world, it’s easy to forget that every physical action has a spiritual effect. What we do in our physical lives affects our spiritual lives, whether we think it’s a big deal or not. The only way to know if you’ve fallen prey to the gods of this world is to seek the God of the entire universe. Search through Scripture, ask God to wake up your sleeping spirit, and pray for discernment and guidance.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Unyoke From Baal of Peor.

Back to Spiritual Slumber?

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Invest In Your Talents

¹²Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay each one for what he has done. ~ Revelation 22:12

Jesus warns us at least three times in Revelation chapter 22 alone that He is coming back very soon. He doesn’t want His return to sneak up on us. He doesn’t want us to be unaware of the signs of His coming. Nor Does He want it to “sneak up on us” like Christmas does.

You know, like how we watch the calendar tick down every year, and then two weeks before Christmas, we exclaim, “Wow! Christmas just snuck up on me.” No, Christmas didn’t just sneak up on you. You watched it crawl up. Well, these days, it runs up.

Jesus does not want us to be like that. He wants us to be ready. He wants us to use the gifts that we were given. The talents, the resources, the minas that He has blessed each and every one of us with.

God has blessed you so that you may be a blessing to others. If you aren’t being a blessing, you’re not investing your mina. So, use what the LORD has given you to further His kingdom and reach as many people as possible before His return. Don’t let Him come back and find you asleep and your talent unused. Use them for the glory of God, and He will come back with rewards for your good. Rewards that cannot be taken away, nor will they perish.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Invest In Your Talents.

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Seek Solid Food

¹ But I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. ²I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready, ³for you are still of the flesh. For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way? ~ 1 Corinthians 3:1-3

Many believe the longer you are in Christ, the more of an elder you are, but according to the Scripture, that isn’t what makes you an elder. As humans, it’s easy for our minds to think in an earthly manner, which is why Paul tells us he speaks to us in certain ways. For instance, we think of an elder in a physical sense. You are older in age. Therefore, you are wiser. The problem is that we don’t take into account the spiritual growth of the person in question. It’s not about the amount of years we’ve served Christ but about the amount we’ve grown spiritually in Christ.

Moses wasn’t the oldest Hebrew man alive; that’s not why God chose him to lead. Jacob was not the eldest brother, nor was Abraham. It has never been about physical age with God. God used young children to declare who Christ was upon the earth in the temple. It has always been and always will be about personal relationships and spiritual growth with God.

When we go just based on the physical, we give an opportunity to spiritual slumber to sneak in and sweep us away. We stop listening and growing because we feel we know it all. We stop seeking and searching for a closer relationship with God because we’ve had one with Him for so long. God isn’t interested in the length of time spent with Him but in what you do in that time. Peter wasn’t the first disciple Jesus called, yet He was a part of His inner circle and arguably His best friend. Paul was never a disciple of Jesus, yet it was Him Jesus to be the greatest apostle who ever lived. It wasn’t because these men were old in age but because they sought the Truth.

The truth of the matter is age, in this case, is just a number. The real elder in Christ is one who has the attributes and characteristics of Christ; love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, and self-control. Not those easily angered or filled with envy. Test your spiritual age by seeking God for true wisdom and asking Him to open your eyes to any ungodliness within you. When you do, your eyes will begin to awaken, and you will soon no longer need milk.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Seek Solid Food.

Back to Spiritual Slumber?

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The World’s Hatred

¹²He said therefore, “A nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and then return. ¹³Calling ten of his servants, he gave them ten minas, and said to them, ‘Engage in business until I come.’ ¹⁴But his citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We do not want this man to reign over us.’ ~ Luke 19:12-14

Jesus has physically left the earth, and the whole world is shouting, ‘We don’t want this man to reign over us.’ They even murder and persecute His followers because they want nothing of Jesus in their world. This hatred for Christ is becoming more and more prevalent to the point that the hatred of Christ is making its way into the Church itself. How is this possible? Because the Church has tried so hard to be accepted by the world that we’ve turned our back on our own God.

The lies of the enemy have lulled us into such a deep sleep that we don’t even realize that it’s us that is attacking and hurting Christ. It’s us, His own citizens, that is whipping Him and nailing Him to the cross. We’re now the ones shouting, ‘We don’t want this man to reign over us,’ and we don’t even realize it. We have become spiritually dead, unable to discern right from wrong or the voice of Shepherd from the voice of the Evil One. The enemy has tickled our ears with teachings that suit our desires, and we’ve declared Jesus to be a hater, liar, and unworthy of our praise. We’re so asleep we don’t even realize that we’ve turned our back on the Savior of the whole World.

So, wake up, for Jesus is coming back soon. And when He returns to get His children, there will be punishment on all who shouted, ‘We don’t want this man to reign over us’ regardless of the supposed good they’ve done in the world. Nothing we do is good, especially if we can’t even discern who the Good Shepherd is. There is only one who is good, and that is our God, who is above and who lives in those who love and follow Him. So, seek the Good Shepherd while He can still be found. Seek Him that He might awaken you from sleepwalking through your life.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Ask Him To Reign Over You.

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Tag: Spiritual

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