Tag: Spiritual

Posted on

A Forgiving Heart

27 But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. 29 To one who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from one who takes away your cloak do not withhold your tunic either. 30 Give to everyone who begs from you, and from one who takes away your goods do not demand them back. 31 And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them. 32 If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who do good to you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. 34 And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to get back the same amount. 35 But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for He is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. 36 Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful. ~ Luke 6:27-36

For the past year I have been selling items on eBay. For the most part it’s been good and I do enjoy doing it, but every now and then I have to deal with a scammer. People, who instead of getting a job and actually working hard try to scam hard working people out of their hard earned money.

It’s so easy to angry and want to wish bad things upon these kinds of people because they deserve it. Then I’m reminded of two things.

  1. I deserve Hell just as much as them because I sin constantly. My nature is evil. The only difference between me and them is Jesus Christ has delivered me, sanctified me, and changed my heart so that my conscience will not allow me to continue in my sin blatantly. Instead, when I do slip up, I repent, and strive to not do it again.
  2. No matter what evil I could with upon them, nothing can bring forth justice and vengeance like the LORD God, who says that vengeance is His. And He will repay. That says that He will defend us. That says that He is the final Judge whom all the world will have to stand before on that last day and give an account to.

It’s easy to become angry and want an immediate judgment against blatantly wicked people. Why? Because your flesh wants to get even. It wants to see those who have harmed you or tried to harm you put in their place. It’s filled with pride convincing you that the you are better than others, when in reality it’s not that you’re better than others, but that the God dwelling in you and through you is.

Dear LORD, please forgive me for speaking evil against those who are still in their wickedness being used by the devil. Please forgive me for wanting (or speaking) a curse of any kind against someone who has done evil to me. Please forgive me and change my heart. Give me a new heart that is soft and loving. One quick to forgive and understand. One that loves the way You love and is humble before You. I pray that You would renew a right spirit within me so that I might have a conscience guiding me into Your righteousness. I pray that You would have mercy on all whole have wronged me and soften their heart so that they might repent and turn from their evil ways and run to You. Keep me in Your arms and safe in the shadow of Your wings. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

Like and Share This:
Posted on

Seek Refuge In Him

1 God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. ~ Psalms 46:1

The Psalmist encourages us that no matter what is going on in our lives, we’re not alone because God is our refuge and strength. A lot of the time it may feel as if the entire world is crashing in on you and you can’t keep going. It may feel like all Hell has broken loose against you and you have no defense. It may feel like you have a target on your back and nowhere to hide. But these are just the feelings the Devil and his kingdom throw at you so that they can overcome you. Why?

Because if they can get you to believe you are defeated, then you’ll give up, give in, and allow them to win. The enemy has no victory over us unless we choose not to fight. Not to keep going. Not to try.

Each day is a new opportunity from God to try again. To keep going. To overcome. Don’t allow the enemy to discourage you. Don’t allow his lies to pollute, corrupt, and overwhelm your soul. Your God is for you, so who can be against you?

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Seek Refuge In Him.

Like and Share This:
Posted on

Begin To Work

13 For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified. ~ Romans 2:13

Rain doesn’t fall on empty ground and then magically bear fruit. Fruit only bears fruit after the rain falls on the prepared land … Revival doesn’t come to those who merely listen to good preaching. It comes to those who obey the voice of God.

Therefore, we must be doers of the word, and not hearers only, [and thus] deceive ourselves (James 1:22). It’s not enough to sit in a pew every Sunday and nod in agreement. It’s not enough to sing the songs and clap your hands. It’s not enough to ease your conscience with religious routines.

We can talk about revival with our mouths while resisting it in our hearts. We can sing about fire falling while keeping the altar of our lives cold and empty. But unless we humble ourselves, repent, and obey, revival will never come (2 Chronicles 7:14). We must yearn for it. Long for it. We must hunger and thirst after it. We must forsake our mediocre Christian life.

Jesus is coming back, and He’ll be looking for something … You had better know what He is looking for. It’s not a game. And it’s not a joke. It’s not a vacation. It’s eternity! We are laborers in God’s vineyard. We are workers in His grain field. Therefore, we had better start laboring.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Begin To Work.

Like and Share This:
Posted on

Seek God’s Moral Standard

6 Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it. ~ Proverbs 22:6

Whenever I think about these wise words of Solomon, I usually think about them in terms of teaching your child the things of God, which I agree with, but I think it’s a little bit deeper than that. I often hear atheists claim that Christians actually have no morals because they only do what’s right because they’re afraid of a Hell. Honestly, I think this is quite a silly argument when you think about it.

If we remove God from the equation, we’ve now removed the standard for right and wrong. Morality will no longer be based on an immovable line, but on an ever-moving line. See, when we remove God, morality becomes subjective. Right and wrong are controlled by whoever is in charge, and no one can actually villainize another person because they’ve done something they believe is wrong. Because now it’s just opinions and no fact or Truth. Therefore, without God, there is no morality.

Christians don’t do good and avoid evil simply because they’re afraid of Hell, but because their hearts have been changed. The majority of people don’t come to Christ because of a fear of Hell, but because Christ has touched their hearts. The reason we even have a sense of morality is because God has written His Law on our hearts (Jeremiah 31:33). If we look throughout the world, we’ll see that cultures differ greatly, yet we feel deep within us that something is wrong. Why? Because the Law of God has been written on our hearts.

This is why it’s important to train up a child in the way he or she should go.

We’ve been taught right and wrong from a young age. Why? So that when we’ve grown up and we’re on our own, we’ll hear the conscience inside us and listen to it. God gave us a warning of Hell just as our parents gave us a warning of a time out or a spanking, and when we’re older, we are promised jail time if we break the law of the land.

Morality isn’t something subjective left up to each person. Morality is measured by an immovable standard, or it’s no longer morality, it’s now subjective opinions and propaganda. Therefore, without God, there is no morality.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Seek God’s Moral Standard.

Like and Share This:
Posted on

Build On The Rock

Matthew 7:24-27

[24]  Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. [25] And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. [26] And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. [27] And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.

Over the years I’ve debated many different belief with many different people. Each and every debate started with the other person telling me I was wrong. And each time ended with me showing them Scripture after Scripture of why I wasn’t wrong to which they, 90% of the time, get upset, deflect, or straight up insult me then refuse to believe what the Bible says. Now, I don’t say all of this to make myself sound more than I am but show that it’s more important to base your beliefs on the Word of God than on our own personal opinions and feelings.

When we argue and debate on options and feelings instead of the word of God, it’s now no longer seeking Truth but seeking to prove yourself right out of pride. No matter how wise, smart, knowledgeable, or a genius we think we are, we cannot even compare to God’s foolishness, let alone his wisdom.

Therefore, build your life on the Word of God in Jesus, not on yourself. You, just like all of humanity, is only dust. We one day use all stand before the Creator and Judge wiser beyond comprehension or understanding. How can we try to compare ourselves to the Creator of knowledge and wisdom, when we are like the flower, here today and gone tomorrow?

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Build On The Rock.

Like and Share This:
Posted on

A Leader Matters

[12] Then he continued, “Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them. [13] But the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, because I was detained there with the king of Persia. [14] Now I have come to explain to you what will happen to your people in the future, for the vision concerns a time yet to come.” ~ Daniel 10:12-14NIV

When Daniel was in the land of Persia under the reign of the pagan leader his prayers were held up by spiritual beings in the heavenly realms that had authority over the land because of the king. Paul tells us to pray for our leaders and those in authority over us so that we have peaceful lives living in all godliness and holiness (I Timothy 2:1-2).

Therefore, when there is a president or leader in office that aligns with your views, it’s not the time to back off or relax. It’s time to push in because it’s at that time that we have more opportunity to get our prayers answered.

Dear LORD, please guide the hand of the leader of our nation and those who make the laws and judge our people. Please open their eyes to Your Truth and soften their hearts to things of Your Kingdom. Direct their paths that they might not seek evil but chase righteousness. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen. 

Like and Share This:
Posted on

Ignorance Destroyer

6 my people are destroyed from lack of knowledge. “Because you have rejected knowledge, I also reject you as my priests; because you have ignored the law of your God, I also will ignore your children.” ~ Hosea 4:6NIV

I heard a quote the other day that said, “The ignorance of the church is more dangerous for the culture than the decadence of the world” (Schaffer). God told the people of Hosea’s day that His people were destroyed because of a lack of knowledge. He went on to say that even though the number of priests increased in the land righteousness decreased. The people were engulfed and consumed with wickedness. They had given up the True God for idols of wood carved by their own hands. Today is no different.

The people of God today are consumed with other perversion, unforgiveness, hatred, fear, depression, and even the occult. Why? Apathy. The Church no longer cares about the Truth because if they acknowledge the Truth they’d have to change. They’d have to crucify their flesh. They’d have to I give up their own desires and truly follow the LORD God, so they embrace ignorance and allow apathy to control them. The religion that does not change you, cannot save you. Therefore, forsake your flesh and cling to the word of God.

Dear LORD, please forgive me for every time I’ve allowed my flesh to control me and numb me into apathy. Please be me to sacrifice my own desires for Your good and faithful plan for my life. Give me a desire for Truth, a hunger for knowledge, and a heart set solely on You. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen. 

Like and Share This:
Posted on

Build Eternal

1 In early autumn, when the Israelites had settled in their towns, all the people assembled in Jerusalem with a unified purpose. 2 Then Jeshua son of Jehozadak joined his fellow priests and Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel with his family in rebuilding the altar of the God of Israel. They wanted to sacrifice burnt offerings on it, as instructed in the Law of Moses, the man of God. 3 Even though the people were afraid of the local residents, they rebuilt the altar at its old site. Then they began to sacrifice burnt offerings on the altar to the Lord each morning and evening. ~ Ezra 3:1-3NLT

The Temple was destroyed and the land laid waste in 586 BC. It stayed that way until King Cyrus the Great of Persia liberated them in 538 BC in his first year of reign after defeating the Babylonian Empire. Seventy years the Jews had spent in exile, living in a foreign land not their own, serving a pagan king.

After King Cyrus’ proclamation, a group of over 42,000 Jews returned to Jerusalem under the leadership of Zerubbabel the governor and Joshua the high priest. Despite the mandate that King Cyrus had given the Jews living in all his kingdom to rebuild the Temple, they had not begun any work on the Temple thus far. Now, it may have been King Cyrus’ proclamation, but it was God’s mandate. The LORD God had mandated that the time had indeed come to rebuild His house. They had the finances. They had the skill. They had the help. They even had the Temple vessels for worship, because Cyrus had given them back. But still, no one was doing anything about it, including Zerubbabel the governor and Joshua the high priest.

They were all too busy building their own homes. Planting their own vineyards. Starting and running their own businesses. They had gotten caught up ‘in life.’ Yes, they had rebuilt the altar and were sacrificing on it. Yes, they were even celebrating the Feast of Booths in the seventh month, but the Temple … not so much. It hadn’t even been started.

Why? One word: Fear. Fear had gripped their hearts. Fear had stayed their hands. Fear kept them quiet. Fear stopped God’s work. The same is true with us today.

Why do we not witness? Because of fear of persecution. Why are we silent about issues that the Church should be involved in? Because of fear. Why do we not speak up about the insanity of so many different genders, although we know that it is not of God? We don’t speak up because of fear.

Although we know that the Scripture says that those who do such things will be condemned, still fear keeps our mouths shut. Listen, God said that He made man in His own image, male and female He created them, therefore, there is no other choice, it’s either male or female that is it, nothing else. You are either a man or you are a woman. You cannot be both, and you cannot change from one to the other, or to anything else for that matter. What you have is what you are.

It’s not about your feelings, it’s about the Creator and Judge of the whole earth, and He’s coming back soon. And it’s His laws that we will be judged by, not man’s. So, fearlessly build His Kingdom regardless of what mankind has to say. God’s Kingdom is the only Kingdom that will remain forever and ever; therefore, focus on the eternal and not the temporal.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Build Eternal.

Like and Share This:
Posted on

LORD LORD

21 Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. ~ Matthew 7:21NIV

I’ve noticed throughout the years that the identity of Christ becomes more and more skewed. More and more people twist, manipulate, and straight up lie about the identity, personality, and person of Christ. Why? To ease their own minds.

Jesus is often portrayed as a chill, peaceful, hippy who loved everybody and just wanted everyone to be happy. Others portray Jesus as an outlaw, biker gang type man who surrounded himself with only other outlaws and whores. I can’t lie, whenever I hear anyone make either of these arguments it infuriates me to my core. Why? Because each of these false representations of Christ would be corrected if only the person opened up their Bible and read even one Gospel in its entirety.

There are Christians being beaten, imprisoned, persecuted, and even murdered for reading their Bibles. Whereas we, over here in the West, especially in America, a country built on Christianity, won’t even read our Bibles to make sure our idea of our LORD, Savior, and God is Biblically accurate and sound. That infuriates me. We have so much freedom here in the West, yet we use that freedom to spout absolute foolishness about Jesus on our extremely large and influential platform and never once open the Bible to check if what we are telling our millions of audience/followers is true or not. It upsets me that we waste our time pushing a Jesus that doesn’t change anybody. A Jesus that doesn’t demand that we pick up our cross and follow Him. A Jesus that hangs out with sinners and says, “No. No. Don’t bother changing. I love you as you are.”

We no longer know Christ in the Church because we no longer read His Word to get to know Him. Jesus didn’t embrace sinners dwelling and enjoying and pushing their sin. Not one single time did Jesus ever do that. Jesus embraced every sinner that ran to Him, fell at His feet, and sought mercy. Then what did He do? He told them to go and SIN NO MORE, yet we don’t talk about that. Why? Because then we wouldn’t be able to use Jesus to defend our sinful way of living.

One day, we will all have to stand before the throne of Christ. Very early on in His ministry He was very clear, just because you know His name and believe He is the Christ the Son of the Living God, does not mean you will enter into eternity with Him. How you live your life matters.

Dear LORD, I’m sorry for all the time I’ve wasted not getting to know You. I’m sorry for every time I’ve made an excuse for my own sinful ways and tried to justify it by falsely representing who You are. I’m sorry for any time I have refused to let go of something corrupting me. Please wash me clean. Give me a new heart and renew a right spirit within me. Hear my prayer, oh LORD, and reveal Yourself to me through Your Word. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen. 

Like and Share This:
Posted on

Crucify, Crucify

24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. ~ Galatians 5:24NIV

Yesterday, I got a massage with the massage gun for the first time in a very long time. As that pulsing gun hit my hamstring, I screamed, spun, pushed it away. I did anything I could to get away from it because it hurt. It was more than just unpleasant. Why? Because the massage guns break up muscle tension and knots. They even break down scar tissue and adhesions. So, when you haven’t felt that kind of pain in a while, it shocks your system and your brain screams “run,” which I did indeed try to obey.

This is much like crucifying the flesh. That first nail in the flesh causes it to scream and try to run away. It tries to convince you that it’s not necessary to do it. It’ll try anything to get you to stop, but just like the massage gun, the more you allow the pain to happen, the less it hurts.

The more we crucify our flesh, the easier it becomes. The more we crucify our flesh and then build up our spirit, the more we walk in the ways of the Spirit. Therefore, don’t stop at the first flinch. Don’t stop at the screams. Keep crucifying the flesh, so that the passions and desires of the flesh can no longer control you.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Crucify Crucify.

Like and Share This:
Proudly powered by WordPress