Uproot And Plant

10 Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. ~ Matthew 3:10

The Pharisees and Sadducees were all in the Church, so to speak, but they did not obey the LORD Jesus’ commandments. Therefore, John the Baptist told them that even now, the axe is laid to the root of the trees.

Listen, if you are not bearing good fruit, you will be cut down and thrown into the fire, the eternal fire and torment. And John did not leave it to misinterpretation or misunderstanding by saying fruit. No, he did not. He said good fruit, not just any old fruit.

We have to always honestly self-judge and self-evaluate so that we can be sure we’re bringing good fruit before the LORD. We have to make sure that we are willing to uproot any tree that doesn’t bear good fruit. See, many Christians just want to shave the tree down, but few are actually willing to uproot the entire tree that they might find total freedom.

We let the root of bitterness spring up which causes us troubles and thereby defiles us (Hebrews 12:15). Some people are satisfied to simply shave down some branches, but they never uproot the tree in order to get to the root cause of the problem altogether. In other words, the problem never gets rooted out.

I declare to you right now that you cannot live any old way you want. You cannot continue to live in sin and debauchery and expect the LORD Jesus to overlook your blatant disrespect and rebellion. God will only accept good fruit, so plant good seed. Water it. Nurture it. And uproot all trees that bear bad fruit.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Uproot and Plant.

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Break Generational Curses

You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments. ~ Exodus 20:4-6

Stanley Yelnats family has a generational curse. The curse went from generation to generation to generation. Even the story of the origin of the curse was passed down, but no one ever tried to send the curse. The curse was finally broken by the great great great grandson of the man who brought the curse upon his family. He didn’t even do it intentionally, but because he knew the past, he was able to make a better future.

See, many of us have generational curses passed down to us from no fault of our own. These generational curses keep us from wholly fulfilling the will of God because they keep us trapped in one place in our lives or another. We can see certain strongholds afflict generation after generation in certain families. One plagued with alcoholism, another with fear, and another with homelessness and poverty, another with the inability to finish anything. Generational Curses are passed down from generation to generation through the mindset of its victims.

Breaking generational curses starts with the acknowledgment and identifying of them. Some are broken with just repentance, while others may take intense fasting and praying to break. One thing is the same in each situation, every stronghold can be broken, and every open door can be closed in Jesus’ name.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Break Generational Curses.

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Forgiveness At Christmas Time

18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. 19 And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. ~ Matthew 1:18-19

The birth of Jesus came with many miracles and controversies. The biggest or greatest one being Mary becoming pregnant of the Holy Spirit. In other words, Mary was still a virgin when she became pregnant.

Now, Joseph, her fiancé, knew that he had never had sexual relations with her, and now she is pregnant. There was only one answer, Mary had been unfaithful to him. She had done what ought not to be done. But even though his pride was hurt, and his heart was broken, even though it felt like his whole world was crashing in on him because of Mary’s promiscuity, he did not lash out.

When people get their feelings hurt, these days, they want the person who is responsible to hurt just as bad, if not more. But not Joseph. Why? Because Joseph was a righteous man. The Scriptures call him a just man; therefore, he was unwilling to shame her as she had seemingly shamed him.

The lesson here is, do not unto them as they have done unto you. Act justly. Act righteously, and God will bless you. So, this Christmas season, forgive those who have sinned against you, and God will see it and bless you for it.

Father, forgive me as I forgive those who have hurt me and said and done all manner of evil against me. Help me to live just and righteous; in Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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Change You, Not God

17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. ~ 2 Corinthians 5:17

As a woman, it’s very easy to buy into the so-called struggle women have. Self-oppression is one of the most detrimental things we can do to ourselves. Why? Because it causes us to be our own worst enemy. When we are self-oppressed, we see oppression and hatred everywhere we look. We create obstacles that hold us back and keep us from fulfilling the call God has for our lives. We also begin to twist the world around us, even the Scriptures, in order to make ourselves feel better. To ease the wound that we’ve created in ourselves.

I’ve seen many women and feminist men who’ve bought into female oppression proclaim loudly that God is either both male and female or only female. I don’t understand this. I can’t relate. Are there times I feel like men look down on me because I’m a woman? Sure, but those times are few and far between. There’s always going to be people who don’t like us because of something that we can’t change about ourselves, whether it’s our race, sex, height, nationality. There’s always going to be haters, but their opinion doesn’t matter. We don’t try to change God in order to ease the wounds that we create or that others create in us. We allow God to change us. We invite God into our lives so that He can show us who we are in Him. God’s desire for us is for our good. Therefore, He’s the only voice that we can trust and believe when it comes to defining who we are and what our worth is.

Dear LORD, thank You for saving my soul. Thank You that You see a creation worthy of Your time in me. Thank You that my worth and identity aren’t found in the world or even in my own opinions of myself, but that my worth and identity are found in You. Because in You I’m a new creation, the old has passed away, and the new has come. Please help me to never lose sight of who I am in You. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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Freedom Through Love

For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete. ~ 2 Corinthians 10:4-6

I remember being a kid and watching the movie, Penelope. The movie was all about a rich family who had brought a curse on themselves because of how they mistreated a poor servant girl. The curse could only be broken if one of their own accepted the next daughter who was born into the family. The catch was that the daughter would be born with a face like a pig. Throughout the movie, the mother tries to find a high-society man to marry her daughter. Failure after failure, the movie finally ends with the girl accepting and loving herself and breaking the curse. The mother then comes to the realization that if she had just loved her daughter, the curse would’ve been broken from the moment she was born.

Many of us have generational curses that can be broken with the simple act of either forgiveness or love. So many of us are living our lives bound and in pain because of something that we ourselves didn’t even do. It’s true that where the Spirit of the LORD is, there is freedom, but not every single curse is broken at the moment of repentance and acceptance of Christ. Sometimes, there are things we have to deal with and address. Sometimes, there are spirits that we have to remove from our lives. When we start breaking down strongholds and tearing down words spoken over us in the name of Jesus, that’s when we begin to see a change in our lives, and we have freedom.

Dear LORD, please help me to tear down all of the strongholds in my life. Help me to break every generational curse that has kept me down. Tear down every evil word spoken about me and to me. Help me to find complete and total freedom in You. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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The Weight of Humility

4 For the Lord takes pleasure in His people; He adorns the humble with salvation. ~ Psalms 149:4

Humility is a difficult thing for most of us to grasp. It’s much more than just humbling ourselves before God and admitting that we’ve sinned and can’t save ourselves. It’s more than just saying we need God’s help in our everyday lives. Humility is also about how we interact with those around us. That’s why pride is probably one of the strongest strongholds gripping the Church today.

Rarely does the Church today try to crucify our flesh. Here’s what I mean: we’re quick to be offended but not quick to apologize. We want to get even. We want to be petty. And believe you me, I’m not excluded from this. I’m right there in that group of the Church that struggle with this. The other night, a simple conversation got heated between me and a friend for literally no reason. I said something truthful, and she was more than offended and then proceeded to say something hurtful. But I bit my tongue. I even apologized for the thing I said, even though I wasn’t the one in the wrong. But let me tell you, that humble pie kept me up all night.

I didn’t sleep that entire night because I was so upset that I had to apologize (conviction of the Holy Spirit, Matthew 5:23-24). In fact, I can’t even lie; I was kinda happy that she called me the next day at a time when I couldn’t answer the phone. Why? Because my flesh wasn’t happy with what my spirit did.

It’s extremely hard to be a Christian. I don’t understand the idea of telling people that serving God makes things easier. Because it doesn’t. Serving God means that you now have to pick up your cross and follow Him. You have to crucify your flesh daily. That’s not an easy task. It’s in our human nature to want to get even. It’s in our human nature to want to be petty, but we have to remember that we aren’t our own. We’ve been bought by a price. We belong to Christ. And if we belong to Christ, then vengeance, getting even, and putting people in check is no longer our right. It now belongs to Him.

Dear LORD, please help me to continue to crucify my flesh. Help me to grow my spirit man, so that when I force my flesh into submission, it will be obedient. Please continue to humble me and remove the spirit of pride from gripping me. Teach me to not return reviling with reviling, or anger with anger, or hurt with hurt, but help me to overcome all of these things with love. Teach me to turn the other cheek so that I might be a light in this dark world and point others back to You. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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The Troubling of Asaph

15 If I had spoken out like that, I would have betrayed your children. 16 When I tried to understand all this, it troubled me deeply 17 till I entered the sanctuary of God; then I understood their final destiny. 18 Surely you place them on slippery ground; you cast them down to ruin. 19 How suddenly are they destroyed, completely swept away by terrors! 20 They are like a dream when one awakes; when You arise, Lord, You will despise them as fantasies. 21 When my heart was grieved and my spirit embittered, 22 I was senseless and ignorant; I was a brute beast before You. 23 Yet I am always with You; You hold me by my right hand. 24 You guide me with Your counsel, and afterward You will take me into glory. 25 Whom have I in heaven but You? And earth has nothing I desire besides You. 26 My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. ~ Psalms 73:15-26NIV

Asaph looked at the wicked, and envy tried its best to creep into his heart. It showed him how they lacked the struggles he had. How carefree in life they are. How they seemingly had no burden to carry, and his soul was becoming distressed. Envy was starting to make its way into his mind and heart, then he entered the sanctuary of God, and everything changed.

His eyes were opened, and he saw that everything on this earth is passing away. All the money and wealth the wicked stored up for themselves will only last a short time. The influence and power that they have here on this earth will one day be stripped away. All that the wicked store up for themselves is worth nothing, but what the righteous store up is worth everything.

We don’t store up treasures for ourselves on this earth where moths and locusts can come in and destroy, and the thief can come in and steal. No. We store up treasures in eternity. We store up crowns. We store up treasures that will last all of eternity. And where our treasures are, there our hearts will be also.

Yes, today, the wicked may seem as though they have not a care in the world and all is going well with them, but that won’t last forever. It’s only the righteous that will dwell in eternity with God. It’s only the righteous that God will wipe every tear from their eyes and call them His children. So, don’t worry about all that the wicked have. Don’t envy them, nor wish them ill. Instead, pray for their salvation, for their end is destruction, and as the young man whom Solomon saw sneak off in the night with the adulterous woman, they do not know (nor can they grasp) that it will cost them their lives.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Pray For The Wicked.

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Lay It Down

13 Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. ~ Colossians 3:13NIV

Forgiveness doesn’t mean that you completely forget the horrible things that were done to you. It doesn’t mean that you excuse the person for the wrongs they perpetrated against you. It doesn’t mean that you understand why they did what they did. It doesn’t even mean that you have to become besties with them.

What is truly required is: An intentional decision to let go of resentment and anger. An intentional decision to release the person who has hurt you so deeply from their obligation to pay for what they did. To let go of the desire for that person to hurt as badly as you have been hurt.

You cannot say I forgive you, but I hope and pray you get your comeuppance. That is not the spirit of forgiveness.

Forgiveness will be ushered in when you let go of the hate, the rage, and the need for the revenge you feel whenever that person’s name is mentioned or whenever those feelings are triggered.

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Unforgiveness Debt

12 Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, 13 bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. ~ Colossians 3:12-13

We are each required to forgive one another without being asked. It says if you have a complaint against another person. In other words, they don’t even need to ask. You just need to forgive. Jesus Himself said that we need to forgive as His Heavenly Father has forgiven us. This isn’t a new revelation from Brother Paul. No, Paul was only echoing what Jesus had already taught.

25 And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.

Mark 11:25

From the way it’s translated, it seems to me that God is patiently waiting for us to forgive others so that He can now forgive us. Jesus said forgive so that our Father in heaven may forgive you.

What is hindering our forgiveness? Our lack of forgiveness to others.

Now watch this. Jesus is inferring that unforgiveness is not only a precursor to your own forgiveness, but it seems to be a hindrance to answered prayers.

See what Jesus said?

WHEN YOU STAND PRAYING …

That word stand is a strong word meaning: Continue to be.

In other words, when you continue to be in prayer, not just some 3-minute prayer, but a continuous petition, and nothing is happening, check your forgiveness gauge. The Holy Spirit will bring it to your mind. Why? Because God is not going to answer your prayers if you are harboring unforgiveness in your heart. To whom much is given, much is required.

Dear LORD, please help to forgive those who have wronged me. Help me to let go of the pain and hurt that have gripped my heart. I know that I have been forgiven much, so help me to also forgive much. Help me to never hold someone accountable to their debt when You haven’t held me accountable to mine. As You have canceled my debt on the cross, help me to also cancel their debt on my cross, for I died with You in baptism, and I will rise with You on that Last Day. Thank You, LORD, for Your forgiveness, LORD God. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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Apathetic Slavery

5 Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the Lord Almighty: 6 The time will surely come when everything in your palace, and all that your predecessors have stored up until this day, will be carried off to Babylon. Nothing will be left, says the Lord. 7 And some of your descendants, your own flesh and blood who will be born to you, will be taken away, and they will become eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.” 8 “The word of the Lord you have spoken is good,” Hezekiah replied. For he thought, “There will be peace and security in my lifetime.” ~ Isaiah 39:5-8NIV

When Hezekiah’s life was on the line, he pleaded and begged. He sought God and repented of his sin. There was a change within him because it was his life that was directly affected, but when it came to his descendants being punished for his actions, he didn’t care. His actions would condemn his descendants, but because it wasn’t him, he believed it was a good word. Isn’t this us today?

The spirit and stronghold of apathy has gripped the Church, and it refuses to let go. We don’t care about an issue that’s banging down the doors of our fellow Christians because it isn’t directly affecting us. It isn’t banging down our door right now; we’re not concerned, so we don’t stand up and fight. There is nothing that will destroy the Church like apathy because, through apathy, anything can come in and enslave the Church.

Dear LORD, please give me a heart that cares. A heart that breaks for my fellow Christians. A heart that is never gripped by apathy. Please break my heart for what breaks Yours. Teach me to stand for what’s right, even if it doesn’t directly affect me. Help me to be a more faithful follower each and every day. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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