Tag: Spiritual

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Keep An Eye On The Star

10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. 11 And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. ~ Matthew 2:10-11

The wise men had been following the star that led them westward for weeks, maybe months. But somehow, over Jerusalem, they got separated from the star and seem to have lost their way.

It would stand to reason that they did not know exactly where they were headed, only that they were on their way to Israel. So, they closely followed the star, but when they got to Jerusalem, they thought surely this is the place. They began asking around, “Where is He who is born king of the Jews?” But no one seemed to know.

Then the King, Herod, called them and told them the Messiah would be born somewhere in Bethlehem. And when they got back on the right track, they saw the star again and rejoiced greatly.

It’s the same with us. We believe we know exactly what we’re doing, and we don’t have to depend on our guiding light, Jesus, anymore, and we lose our way.

Isn’t that how it is with us? When we’re down and out with no hope and no way out, we lean on the everlasting arm of God, and as soon as He delivers us out of our mess and we begin to see the light at the end of our tunnel, we stop leaning on that strong and mighty arm. We don’t pray as hard as we did, and consequently, we stop hearing the voice of God.

But we get into another situation, and we are forced to return to seeking, and we begin to hear the voice of God again, and we rejoice greatly, just like the wise men did. This Christmas, let us not stop following the direction of the star and start relying on our own understanding.

Father, thank You for the gift of fellowship so that we can have close communication with You. In Jesus’ Name, amen.

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Christmas Favor

49 And He said to them, “Why were you looking for Me? Did you not know that I must be in My Father’s house?” 50 And they did not understand the saying that He spoke to them. 51 And He went down with them and came to Nazareth and was submissive to them. And His mother treasured up all these things in her heart. 52 And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man. ~ Luke 2:48-52

This is a part of the Christmas story that we don’t usually associate with Christmas. At the tender age of 12, Jesus was fully aware of His responsibilities and His calling. But it was not just downloaded to Him; He had to seek, He had to ask, and He had to study for Himself.

On this occasion, Jesus and His family had gone down to Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast of Passover. After the feast was over, His parents and the rest of the family packed up and headed back home, but Jesus stayed behind and went to the temple to find the most knowledgeable teachers of the Scriptures. For three days, He sat with them, listening, asking questions, and learning. Jesus was listening, learning, and developing His faith. The learned men were amazed at His understanding of Scripture and His answers to their questions.

But you might think, well, this isn’t about Christmas at all. Oh, but it is. What we must take away from this is, Jesus, the Son of God, the Word made flesh, had to learn Scripture, had to ask questions, and to seek God, and develop His faith. How much more do we? Jesus never stopped being God; He merely set aside His divine prerogative and emptied Himself so that He might fill Himself again, as we must do.

The beauty of this is, the LORD Jesus came as a human baby 2,000 years ago, born in the manger because there was no room for them in the inn, born an ordinary child so that we too can seek God for ourselves. That is the Christmas story: A Savior who is Christ the LORD has been born in Bethlehem to reconcile man back to our Heavenly Father.

Now we have the privilege, the authority, and the power to seek an all-loving, Almighty God. For without Jesus’ birth as a mere human on that first Christmas morning, we would be lost forever, and unable to find God. But Jesus, our Savior, did come and did show us the way to the Father, because He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and no one comes to the Father except through Him. Now, because of Jesus, we can increase in wisdom and in favor with our Heavenly Father.

Father, thank You for the gift of life through Your Son Jesus Christ. Thank You for salvation and for loving me, and thank You for the privilege to know You as Father, in Jesus’ Name, amen.

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Embrace Our Christian Religion

One of the most well-known Christmas songs of all time is Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas. Every time I hear it, one line really sticks out to me:

Through the years we all will be together
If the fates allow

The original version of this song, according to songwriter Hugh Martin, was actually “If the Lord allows,” but he later changed it to “If the fates allow.” Take a guess why. To remove the religious reference. Apparently, this change was reportedly made to align with the secular tone of the song’s release, although Martin claimed in a 2002 interview that the original version included the religious line and that it was purged for commercial reasons. I really want you to think about this for a second, people are offended by “if the LORD allows” but are perfectly fine with “if the fates allow.” The fates mentioned in these lyrics are the Fates of the ancient Greeks.

So, they have no desire to have religion pushed down their throat while wholeheartedly embracing a religion. See, the Fates of ancient Greece were three sister goddesses (Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos) who literally personified destiny and control the lives of mortals. They were believed to spin, measure, and cut the thread of every mortal’s life thus determining their fate from birth to death.

So, in reality, people have no problem with religion, they have a problem with Jesus. Therefore, they have a problem with Christianity, just as Jesus warned the world would. Christmas is a celebration of the birth of Christ. Without Christ there would be no Christmas, so don’t give into the false statements that religion is offensive. The world doesn’t have a problem with religion. It has a problem with Light because it wants to dwell in darkness. This Christmas embrace the origin of Christmas, the birth of Christ. The birth of our LORD and Savior who came to redeem the whole world.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Embrace Our Christian Religion.

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A Good, Good God

21 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the L0RD, when King Zedekiah sent to Him Pashhur the son of Malchiah and Zephaniah the priest, the son of Maaseiah, saying, 2 “Inquire of the LORD for us, for Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon is making war against us. Perhaps the LORD will deal with us according to all His wonderful deeds and will make him withdraw from us.” ~ Jeremiah 21:1-2

Although King Zedekiah was not an openly wicked king who led Judah into blatant idolatry, nor was he violently hostile to God’s prophets, as some of Judah’s earlier kings were, he did continue the pattern of idolatry and disobedience established by the kings before him. His legacy was one of weak leadership and fear of his officials, leading him to disobey God. He feared people more than he feared God. And although he would not stand up for, nor defend Jeremiah, the prophet, he often consulted with him, and moved him to a better prison. He broke the covenant that he had made with Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, who had placed him on the throne, probably out of fear and intimidation of his officials. God considered Zedekiah’s covenant-breaking a grave offense against Him, as God considered it His covenant. Now, even though Jeremiah warned Zedekiah and his officials to surrender to the Babylonians so that they and the people might live, and they outright refused, God still let Zedekiah inquire of Him.

Isn’t that how it is with us? We rebel against God, wanting our own way, or because we don’t want people to think that we are weak, and having to depend on God. Sometimes we get so busy that we don’t pray as we ought because of one reason or another. Yet God is still a good, good God, not wanting any to perish, but to be obedient. Paul said in 2 Timothy 2:13 that “If we are faithless, He [God], remains faithful; for He cannot deny Himself.” That is good news for us, though we are selfish and unworthy of all of God’s love and goodness, still He chooses to lavish salvation on us, something that we cannot afford for ourselves, and He gives without measure, loves without ceasing, forgives without hesitation, and holds us fast, because of who He is— faithful, immutable, and unable to deny Himself. God is a good, good God.

Father, thank You for being so, so good to us, even when we do not deserve it. Even when we ignore You, You will never ignore us. Thank You for the free gift of salvation that You have lavished on us, not sparing Your Son, but giving even Your beloved Son as a sacrifice so that we might have life. Thank You Father for giving. Thank You, LORD Jesus, for coming and for dying for a lost and broken world, in Jesus’ Name, amen.

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Tear Your Clothes

36 And the angel of the Lord went out and struck down 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians. And when people arose early in the morning, behold, these were all dead bodies. ~ Isaiah 37:36

Israel was taken captive by Assyria under King Sennacherib. They had lost their stronghold of Samaria to the point that every last Israelite had been removed and people from the different nations King Sennacherib had conquered were moved in. And now the Kingdom of Judah was almost taken. They had lost many, if not the majority of, their cities. All that was left to conquer the nation of Judah was their capital, Jerusalem. And it was surrounded on every side. No way in, and no way out.

It had come to an end. Or so it seemed. Then, in desperation, King Sennacherib sought the LORD with all that was within him. That’s when God moved on their behalf. Literally. God Himself came to fight on behalf of Judah. In one night, the Angel of the LORD, Jesus, went into the Assyrian camp and killed 185,000 Assyrian soldiers in one night.

This event, in my opinion, is by far the best example of “8 We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed;” (2 Corinthians 4:8-9) it puts it into action and it plays out before our very eyes.

It may seem as if all is lost. As if it’s the end. You’re blocked in on every side. No escape. But if you cry out to God, He will fight for you. He didn’t send a random angel or even Michael, the archangel, to their rescue. He Himself got off of His throne and fought for the people of Judah. Just as He fought for them, He will fight for you.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Tear Your Clothes.

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Do Not Sleep

And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. ~ John 3:19

Darkness is not merely ignorance—it is willful rebellion against the light of Christ. Darkness is the domain from which the enemy operates.

In 2 Corinthians 4:4, Paul tells us that the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. But the darker the night, the brighter we Christians must shine.

See what Jesus said, “but while men slept…” (Matthew 13:25a KJV). The men mentioned in the parable are the workers in the field, who represent us, the Church. Therefore, that verse could read like this:

But as the Church slept, the devil came in and sowed weeds amongst the good seed.

The Church has fallen asleep so the enemy wreaks havoc wherever he pleases. We have a duty as Christians. That duty is to let our light shine. To spread the good news of Christ. We have to put the enemy in check by standing up for the Truth of the LORD.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Do Not Sleep.

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Build A Spirit of Defense

Luke 6:45 ESV

[45] The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.

Have you ever noticed yourself sometimes waking up with a song stuck in your head almost like you’re waking up singing it? Now what about a worship song? Sometimes it’s songs you haven’t even listened to in years but it’s just playing through your head as you wake up as if you had been listening to it nonstop. I believe these moments are your spirit at work when your body is asleep.

See, we are told to build up our spirit man and crucify our flesh. In fact, Jesus says that it is out of the abundance of our hearts that the mouth speaks. Our subconscious would have the same source. Our spirit would have the same source. So, when our heart is full of Christ and we have our eyes set on Him, our spirit man works in our defense even when our mind doesn’t know what’s happening because it is asleep.

It becomes like the watchmen of old. Sounding the alarm. Fighting off the enemy as we sleep. Defending our mind and keeping it safe from evil thoughts and dreams meant to tempt, correct, anger, and/or terrorize us. So, build up your spirit man. Build up your Spiritual defense.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Build A Spirit of Defense.

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Let Your Light Abound

The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field…

Our LORD Jesus explained this parable to His disciples. He said that the Sower who sowed the good seed in His field is Himself, Jesus, the Son of Man, and the field is the world.

The good seed is us Christians, the Church, which He called the sons of the kingdom. And the weeds are the sons of the evil one. The atheist. The haters. The one who has despised and rejected Christ. And the enemy is that old devil himself, and the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels.

Dark is the night when the moon is in its new stage, and the clouds blot out the light of the stars. But the darker the night, the brighter the flame of a candle will glow. It can be seen for miles.

Jesus said that we, His followers, are the light of the world (Matthew 5:14). We are to light the darkness around us with the saving knowledge of the light of our LORD Jesus Christ. Yes, many will be offended. Many will refuse to hear. Many will say, “We don’t need to hear that right now!” or, “We don’t need to be reminded of repentance!” or “Leave us alone!”

Indeed, the night is getting darker. But where darkness abounds, the light will much more abound if we Christians will only let it so shine.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Let Your Light Abound.

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Darker The Night

The Scriptures say that the World rejects Jesus, the Light, because they love darkness. Darkness is running rampant through our societies, homes, schools, and even our churches. Jesus said to work while it is day because darkness is coming when no one can work. Darkness is a significant enemy of the Church. Jesus said that we are the light of the world. So, what are we to do next? Join Reverend Kenny Yates as he shines some light on this present darkness infiltrating the Church in his message, Darker The Night.

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You Are Being Saved

Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. ~ 1 Corinthians 15:1-2

Paul said that he wanted to remind his readers, the Corinthian brothers, about the gospel that he had preached to them. He said that they had received the good news, that they were standing in that faith, and by grace they were being saved, if they would hold fast to that good news that he had preached to them.

In other words, they had not arrived; they were still being saved. It was not all said and done; they had an obligation to hold fast to the word that Paul had preached to them.

Imagine a man caught in a storm at sea, clinging to a lifebuoy thrown to him from a rescue ship. He is being pulled from the water, but he is not yet on the ship. The waves are still crashing, the wind is still howling, and the danger is not yet behind him. His only hope is to keep holding on to that lifebuoy until he is brought safely aboard.

That’s the picture Paul paints in 1 Corinthians 15:1-2. The gospel is the lifebuoy. We have received it, we are standing in it, and we are being saved by it—but only if we hold fast. Not because our grip earns our salvation, but because letting go would reveal that we never truly trusted the One who saves.

This is not about living in fear or uncertainty. It’s about perseverance in faith. Hebrews 3:14 echoes this truth: “For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end.” And Jesus Himself said, “The one who endures to the end will be saved” (Matthew 24:13).

So today, let us examine our hearts. Are we holding fast to the gospel in word and in deeds? Are we trusting in Christ alone—not just once, but daily? Salvation is not a one-time transaction; it is a lifelong transformation. And the good news is, the One who began a good work in us will bring it to completion (Philippians 1:6)—if we do not let go.

Heavenly Father, thank You for the gift of Your Son Jesus. Help me to live daily for You, and when I fall short, correct me and bring me back in alignment with Your Word. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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