Scripture: “But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that 'every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.'” –Matthew 18:16, NIV
About three months ago, one of my sisters from the church was in search for a job. However, God was blessing her with opportunities to interview for jobs. During this time, I told her that I would touch and agree with her that God would open up one of those doors for her to gain employment. Lo, and behold, about a month later, God blessed my sister from the church with a job. If truth were told, when you desire something bad enough, you pose a serious question to your fellow believers before praying with them: Can you agree with me? Within the Kingdom of God, the principle of agreement is so powerful. Agreement moves God in a special way. Today’s text reveals the power of when this act occurs.
As written on yesterday, today’s devotional is set in the Gospel account according to Matthew. Within this eighteenth chapter, Jesus began to minister His disciples when the question was posed, “Who’s the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?” As Jesus answered that question, He also gave the parable of the lost sheep, how to deal with a brother who sinned against you, and told the parable of the unmerciful servant. Today’s main scripture is located within the theme dealing with how to deal with a brother who sinned against you. Also, it provides the power/value of when agreement takes place.
The first portions of the text begin with Jesus saying, “But if he will not listen, take one or two others along”. There are many times where mediators are often crucial in settling a dispute or argument. Within this text, Jesus is saying to bring a mediator or two within this disagreement. If truth were told, we often need The Mediator to come in and help us with our disagreements among men and women. We often need the Mediator to send someone our way to help us out in our troubles. In the art of prayer, it is always important to have one or two to touch and agree with you on a matter. In other words, you ask them, “Can you agree with me?”
If one or two people can agree with you, then there’s value to that. The value is revealed when Jesus says, “so that every matter may be established by the testimony of two witnesses”. The value here is when agreement occurs, establishment occurs! When two or three gather in the name of Jesus agreeing that God will move, God will move! When you are looking for God to heal you, then touch and agree with one/two saints who have received it before and watch establishment occur! When you are looking for your family to follow God, touch and agree with one or two others and watch God establish the family following Him! When you are looking for a little peace on the job, touch and agree with someone and watch God move at your job! Whatever you stand in need of, pray, but touch and agree with one or two others and watch God establish it!
In closing, I told my sister that I would touch and agree with her for God to move on her behalf. Just like a man that does not lie, God fulfilled His Word through our agreement and established a position for her! Jesus even made this clear when He told His disciples that when you bring one or two others along to agree with you, everything would be established! Wherever you are on today, I want to touch, agree, and establish with you that what you desire of God on today, occurs! Whatever you need Him to do in your life that it will take place and that you will reach the level intended for you!
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
"Who's Your Intended Audience?"
Scripture: "Be careful not to do your 'acts of righteousness' before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven." -Matthew 6:1, NIV
One of the greatest novelties on American television today is the commercial. Commercials usually promote a certain product using a particular scheme. At the end of the day, when the thirty second commercial has ran its course, we often know who was the intended audience. In the case of a commercial promoting the recent Disney movie entitled "The Tooth Fairy" starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, it's understood that the intended audience are children 13 years old and under. In the case of a commercial promoting the UFC or Ultimate Fighting Championship, the intended audience is males ages 18 through 45. In the case of a commercial promoting the show entitled "The View", the intended audience is women of all ages. Within the Kingdom of God, we ought to be commercials for God with our target group being everyone. However, today's text wants you to examine who's your intended audience.
Our devotional setting for today is found in the first book of the New Testament, the Gospel account according to Matthew. Within this particular chapter, Jesus was continuing His preaching series on the Mount that began one chapter earlier in Chapter 5. As He continues to preach on the Mount in Chapter 6, Jesus deals with subjects such as giving to the needy (verses 1 - 4), prayer (verses 5 - 15), fasting (verses 16 - 18), treasures in Heaven (verses 19 - 24), and to stop worrying about things (verses 25 - 34). Our main scripture for today is located in the first subject dealing with giving to the needy. As we examine the opening verse of this chapter, Jesus wants you and I to examine our intended audience. How do I know?
I know because the text begins, "Be careful not to do your 'acts of righteousness' before men, to be seen by them." Ladies and gentlemen, as we do the "right things" as far as not giving to the needy, but blessing someone with some money in their clutch moments, or providing food to a friend's family, or buying someone's lunch, do not mess up your blessing because you want men to see you! When it comes to being blessed, men CANNOT bless you! God can use men to bless you! Man can appreciate you, but in the same breath, man can disappoint you! As you continue to bless the people of God or just people in general, just watch your intended audience!
The reason why you want to watch your intended audience and do your "acts of righteousness" before men to be seen, because Jesus says, "If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in Heaven". Do you realize the greatest blessings come from your Heavenly Father? No one can wake you up, but He can! No one can provide you extra time to pay a bill, but He can! No one can send you food in your barren state, but He can! No one can heal you, but He can! If you are do things to be validated by men, well that's your reward. God allows us to understand that what we do in secret, He will bless us openly! About two or three years ago, it was my Pastor's Pastoral Anniversary. We were hanging out and I had a ring that was bought for me and he loved it! He kept hinting at me that he wanted this particular ring. After praying about it, the Lord allowed me to release the ring to him. I placed it in his hand as my wife and I were leaving the church and the expression on his face was golden. Months after that, the blessings of God flowed within my home! The point I am making is that my intended audience for the ring was God, not everyone in the church. He blessed me like God can only bless you! Ladies and gentlemen, work as unto God, not man, not woman, not child, not husband/wife, not mother/father, not pastor/deacon/bishop/trustee, not anyone, but Him!
In closing, the art of the commercial is a thing of beauty. It targets an intended audience. As you work in the Kingdom of God, establish your intended audience! Allow it to be your Heavenly Father! With Him as your intended audience, He'll buy your product and make you rich! In the future, examine yourself before you do something for someone and ask yourself, "whose my intended audience?"
One of the greatest novelties on American television today is the commercial. Commercials usually promote a certain product using a particular scheme. At the end of the day, when the thirty second commercial has ran its course, we often know who was the intended audience. In the case of a commercial promoting the recent Disney movie entitled "The Tooth Fairy" starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, it's understood that the intended audience are children 13 years old and under. In the case of a commercial promoting the UFC or Ultimate Fighting Championship, the intended audience is males ages 18 through 45. In the case of a commercial promoting the show entitled "The View", the intended audience is women of all ages. Within the Kingdom of God, we ought to be commercials for God with our target group being everyone. However, today's text wants you to examine who's your intended audience.
Our devotional setting for today is found in the first book of the New Testament, the Gospel account according to Matthew. Within this particular chapter, Jesus was continuing His preaching series on the Mount that began one chapter earlier in Chapter 5. As He continues to preach on the Mount in Chapter 6, Jesus deals with subjects such as giving to the needy (verses 1 - 4), prayer (verses 5 - 15), fasting (verses 16 - 18), treasures in Heaven (verses 19 - 24), and to stop worrying about things (verses 25 - 34). Our main scripture for today is located in the first subject dealing with giving to the needy. As we examine the opening verse of this chapter, Jesus wants you and I to examine our intended audience. How do I know?
I know because the text begins, "Be careful not to do your 'acts of righteousness' before men, to be seen by them." Ladies and gentlemen, as we do the "right things" as far as not giving to the needy, but blessing someone with some money in their clutch moments, or providing food to a friend's family, or buying someone's lunch, do not mess up your blessing because you want men to see you! When it comes to being blessed, men CANNOT bless you! God can use men to bless you! Man can appreciate you, but in the same breath, man can disappoint you! As you continue to bless the people of God or just people in general, just watch your intended audience!
The reason why you want to watch your intended audience and do your "acts of righteousness" before men to be seen, because Jesus says, "If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in Heaven". Do you realize the greatest blessings come from your Heavenly Father? No one can wake you up, but He can! No one can provide you extra time to pay a bill, but He can! No one can send you food in your barren state, but He can! No one can heal you, but He can! If you are do things to be validated by men, well that's your reward. God allows us to understand that what we do in secret, He will bless us openly! About two or three years ago, it was my Pastor's Pastoral Anniversary. We were hanging out and I had a ring that was bought for me and he loved it! He kept hinting at me that he wanted this particular ring. After praying about it, the Lord allowed me to release the ring to him. I placed it in his hand as my wife and I were leaving the church and the expression on his face was golden. Months after that, the blessings of God flowed within my home! The point I am making is that my intended audience for the ring was God, not everyone in the church. He blessed me like God can only bless you! Ladies and gentlemen, work as unto God, not man, not woman, not child, not husband/wife, not mother/father, not pastor/deacon/bishop/trustee, not anyone, but Him!
In closing, the art of the commercial is a thing of beauty. It targets an intended audience. As you work in the Kingdom of God, establish your intended audience! Allow it to be your Heavenly Father! With Him as your intended audience, He'll buy your product and make you rich! In the future, examine yourself before you do something for someone and ask yourself, "whose my intended audience?"
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
"The Ultimate Problem Solver"
Scripture: "Ah, Sovereign LORD, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you." -Jeremiah 32:17
Many of us today live our lives where we strive to solve problems. For example, you get paid on a Friday with a set of bills due by next Wednesday and yet, the money you have made must be used to give God His 10%, take care of your family's needs, take care of your car's needs, and of course, the bills. With this being said, if a budget has not been laid out, then we find ourselves scratching our heads and wondering how we are going to pay these bills. Just as we may struggle in working out our bills, we often struggle with things on a spiritual realm as well. We deal with spirits from people on a daily basis and at times, it becomes taxing. We deal with our family members and their spirits on a daily basis and after while, that becomes taxing. We deal with emotional issues, that in turn, messes with us spiritually and we do not always have an answer to solve our problems. Let me re-introduce to each of you, the ultimate problem solver, our Heavenly Father. This statement can be made and validated through today's text.
Today's setting can be found in the book of Jeremiah. Jeremiah is the second of the Major Prophets within the Old Testament and is the second longest book within the Major Prophets (52 chapters), behind Isaiah (66 chapters). Within this book, we are introduced to the prophet Jeremiah, who prophesied from around 630 to 580 B.C. According to scholars, the Book of Jeremiah is primarily a message of judgment on Judah for rampant idolatry over the years. Within today's main scripture, Jeremiah has been tasked by God to purchase a field and throughout carrying this task, we understand why God is the ultimate problem solver.
Jeremiah begins the text in a mode of adoration by saying to God, "Ah, Sovereign LORD, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm". If truth were told, we ought to take a moment out of everyday lives to praise God, to bless God, to honor God, to adore God, for the things He has done in our lives. We ought to thank Him for life, health, and strength! We ought to praise Him for keeping us off the street! We ought to bless Him for allowing us to have money in our pockets! We ought to adore Him for creating the heavens and the earth! We ought to love on our God!
When you adore our God, praise our God, worship our God, honor our God for creating the heavens and the earth with His great power and outstretched arm, then you will realize that He is the ultimate problem solver. Jeremiah reflects this in the concluding part of the text. He tells us as He is talking to God that "nothing is too hard for you". Whenever you are overwhelmed with little money and a lot of bills, hand it over to the problem solver! When your child has got unruly and you can't take it anymore, hand it over to the problem solver! When you and your spouse cannot seem to get along, hand it over to the problem solver! When you are looking for a breakthrough on the job and there's none in sight, hand it over to the problem solver! Whatever you are dealing with on today, hand it over to the problem solver, that He may lead you and guide you and help you to solve your problems!
In closing, life is overwhelming. We often do get tired and/or wondering what are we going to do in certain situations. Today, I come to you with a solution, the ultimate problem solver Himself, our Heavenly Father God, through His Son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. With Him as your problem solver, you'll always pass life's tests with flying colors and be ready to give Him praise, honor, and glory at the drop of a dime! Before you get good into your workday, take about 30 seconds and give God praise for being your ultimate problem solver!
Many of us today live our lives where we strive to solve problems. For example, you get paid on a Friday with a set of bills due by next Wednesday and yet, the money you have made must be used to give God His 10%, take care of your family's needs, take care of your car's needs, and of course, the bills. With this being said, if a budget has not been laid out, then we find ourselves scratching our heads and wondering how we are going to pay these bills. Just as we may struggle in working out our bills, we often struggle with things on a spiritual realm as well. We deal with spirits from people on a daily basis and at times, it becomes taxing. We deal with our family members and their spirits on a daily basis and after while, that becomes taxing. We deal with emotional issues, that in turn, messes with us spiritually and we do not always have an answer to solve our problems. Let me re-introduce to each of you, the ultimate problem solver, our Heavenly Father. This statement can be made and validated through today's text.
Today's setting can be found in the book of Jeremiah. Jeremiah is the second of the Major Prophets within the Old Testament and is the second longest book within the Major Prophets (52 chapters), behind Isaiah (66 chapters). Within this book, we are introduced to the prophet Jeremiah, who prophesied from around 630 to 580 B.C. According to scholars, the Book of Jeremiah is primarily a message of judgment on Judah for rampant idolatry over the years. Within today's main scripture, Jeremiah has been tasked by God to purchase a field and throughout carrying this task, we understand why God is the ultimate problem solver.
Jeremiah begins the text in a mode of adoration by saying to God, "Ah, Sovereign LORD, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm". If truth were told, we ought to take a moment out of everyday lives to praise God, to bless God, to honor God, to adore God, for the things He has done in our lives. We ought to thank Him for life, health, and strength! We ought to praise Him for keeping us off the street! We ought to bless Him for allowing us to have money in our pockets! We ought to adore Him for creating the heavens and the earth! We ought to love on our God!
When you adore our God, praise our God, worship our God, honor our God for creating the heavens and the earth with His great power and outstretched arm, then you will realize that He is the ultimate problem solver. Jeremiah reflects this in the concluding part of the text. He tells us as He is talking to God that "nothing is too hard for you". Whenever you are overwhelmed with little money and a lot of bills, hand it over to the problem solver! When your child has got unruly and you can't take it anymore, hand it over to the problem solver! When you and your spouse cannot seem to get along, hand it over to the problem solver! When you are looking for a breakthrough on the job and there's none in sight, hand it over to the problem solver! Whatever you are dealing with on today, hand it over to the problem solver, that He may lead you and guide you and help you to solve your problems!
In closing, life is overwhelming. We often do get tired and/or wondering what are we going to do in certain situations. Today, I come to you with a solution, the ultimate problem solver Himself, our Heavenly Father God, through His Son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. With Him as your problem solver, you'll always pass life's tests with flying colors and be ready to give Him praise, honor, and glory at the drop of a dime! Before you get good into your workday, take about 30 seconds and give God praise for being your ultimate problem solver!
Monday, January 25, 2010
"The Value of Friendship"
Scripture: "Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!" -Ecclesiastes 4:9-10, NIV
One of the greatest clichés that rings in my head is "No man is an island". This cliché implies that no man can live in this world completely by his or herself. It also implies that somewhere down the line, you are going to need help from someone. Case in point: Last year, I was driving in the rain, after getting out of church on a Wednesday night. Next thing I know, as I am about to enter the Capital Beltway, I hit a big pothole and next thing I know, I am hearing skidding and everything else. By the grace of God, I was able to drive up to an exit and find somewhere to park and get out of the way of traffic. I called one of my brothers from church and he came to help me out and waited until my insurance company sent someone to change my tire b/c I did not have a jack to change it myself. I value the friendship that my brother and I have because he came all the way from his home, to help me out. As men and women of God, we ought to have some friends, outside of the Heavenly Father, that can build us up, be critical of us in love, and help us to grow to what God has called us to be. Today's text further reveals the value of friendship.
The book of Ecclesiastes serves as our devotional setting for today. This book, written by King Solomon, is the fourth Poetic book of the Old Testament. Solomon deals with subjects such as things being vanity, wisdom, knowledge, and the value and knowing there's a time and season for everything. Within this particular chapter, Solomon talks about oppression, friendlessness, toil, and how advancement is meaningless. Within these negative sounding topics, Solomon has provided some "sunlight" in understanding the value of friendship.
He first begins today's text by saying, "Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work". Many of us know this statement to be fact, especially when it comes to moving furniture, placing a picture on the wall, painting something, etc. In the Kingdom of God, this statement holds true because when you are a child of God, and you are connected to God, then two is better than one. God and yourself can knock out any job you set your mind to! God and yourself can deliver you from past hurts! God and yourself can help you to become more financially stable! God and yourself can help you be the best husband for your wife and in turn, the best wife for your husband! With God continuously helping you out, it provides a good return for their work. When God is with you, no one or nothing can stop you from achieving what He has purposed for you! When two people are painting a wall, the wall can be completed faster! When two people are moving a chair, they can move the chair faster than one person! God wants you to pair up with Him, and in turn, pair up with someone who can help you gain a good return! Outside of this scripture, what's another reason why you should value friendship?
The last part of the text provides us the answer we desire. Solomon tells us that, "If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!" When you have a friend and a true friend at that, he/she can help you up when you have fallen! Your true friend will pray for you! Your true friend will bless you with money if that's necessary! Your true friend will minister to you when you are dead wrong in your mess! Your true friend will pick you up, dust you off, and help you! God is just like that with us! He picks us up! He ministers to us when we do not want to listen to anyone else! He dusts us off and tell us to try again on life! He provides us with what we need! Heck, He even provides with what we want! He desires that we have friends on Earth to help us grow! If we are His people and examples for this world, we need someone that can help us grow and blossom into awesome creatures in His Kingdom!
In closing, I thank God for allowing people to be there for me in critical situations. For those of you who can read this and have blessed me with your friendship, THANK YOU and God Bless You! Life is too important and too short to live it alone and not have some friends. Solomon taught us today the value of friendship. For those of you who have not told your friend Thank You for being there for you, you ought to text, call, or e-mail and let them know how much you appreciate them!
One of the greatest clichés that rings in my head is "No man is an island". This cliché implies that no man can live in this world completely by his or herself. It also implies that somewhere down the line, you are going to need help from someone. Case in point: Last year, I was driving in the rain, after getting out of church on a Wednesday night. Next thing I know, as I am about to enter the Capital Beltway, I hit a big pothole and next thing I know, I am hearing skidding and everything else. By the grace of God, I was able to drive up to an exit and find somewhere to park and get out of the way of traffic. I called one of my brothers from church and he came to help me out and waited until my insurance company sent someone to change my tire b/c I did not have a jack to change it myself. I value the friendship that my brother and I have because he came all the way from his home, to help me out. As men and women of God, we ought to have some friends, outside of the Heavenly Father, that can build us up, be critical of us in love, and help us to grow to what God has called us to be. Today's text further reveals the value of friendship.
The book of Ecclesiastes serves as our devotional setting for today. This book, written by King Solomon, is the fourth Poetic book of the Old Testament. Solomon deals with subjects such as things being vanity, wisdom, knowledge, and the value and knowing there's a time and season for everything. Within this particular chapter, Solomon talks about oppression, friendlessness, toil, and how advancement is meaningless. Within these negative sounding topics, Solomon has provided some "sunlight" in understanding the value of friendship.
He first begins today's text by saying, "Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work". Many of us know this statement to be fact, especially when it comes to moving furniture, placing a picture on the wall, painting something, etc. In the Kingdom of God, this statement holds true because when you are a child of God, and you are connected to God, then two is better than one. God and yourself can knock out any job you set your mind to! God and yourself can deliver you from past hurts! God and yourself can help you to become more financially stable! God and yourself can help you be the best husband for your wife and in turn, the best wife for your husband! With God continuously helping you out, it provides a good return for their work. When God is with you, no one or nothing can stop you from achieving what He has purposed for you! When two people are painting a wall, the wall can be completed faster! When two people are moving a chair, they can move the chair faster than one person! God wants you to pair up with Him, and in turn, pair up with someone who can help you gain a good return! Outside of this scripture, what's another reason why you should value friendship?
The last part of the text provides us the answer we desire. Solomon tells us that, "If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!" When you have a friend and a true friend at that, he/she can help you up when you have fallen! Your true friend will pray for you! Your true friend will bless you with money if that's necessary! Your true friend will minister to you when you are dead wrong in your mess! Your true friend will pick you up, dust you off, and help you! God is just like that with us! He picks us up! He ministers to us when we do not want to listen to anyone else! He dusts us off and tell us to try again on life! He provides us with what we need! Heck, He even provides with what we want! He desires that we have friends on Earth to help us grow! If we are His people and examples for this world, we need someone that can help us grow and blossom into awesome creatures in His Kingdom!
In closing, I thank God for allowing people to be there for me in critical situations. For those of you who can read this and have blessed me with your friendship, THANK YOU and God Bless You! Life is too important and too short to live it alone and not have some friends. Solomon taught us today the value of friendship. For those of you who have not told your friend Thank You for being there for you, you ought to text, call, or e-mail and let them know how much you appreciate them!
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
“The Way You Should Grow”
Scripture: “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. …” -2 Peter 3:18, NIV
Back in the 3rd grade during science class, we had a project dealing with growing plants using a seed provided to us. The seed was placed in a pint sized milk carton, with dirt, and watered on a daily basis. Some watered theirs every two days, but made sure it was in the sun. After seven to ten days, one could recognize the difference in the plants when one has been watered and in the sun and when one was not watered as much and did not receive as much sun. If we investigate this thing spiritually, we have often grown through various tracks of life. Some of us have grown through others’ mistakes, some of us have grown through our own life’s experiences, but God has provided you and me the way we should grow. This provision is found within today’s main scripture.
Today’s focal book is found in 2 Peter. According to my research, 2 Peter, written by Peter, explains that God has delayed His second coming so that more people will have the chance to reject evil and find salvation. Within this final chapter of 2 Peter, Peter discusses the day of the Lord. Within these eighteen verses of scripture, he provides us with the way we should grow when it comes to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
The text reveals the way we should grow. Peter writes, “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ …” If truth were told, Jesus provided the blue print for us throughout the New Testament of these things. When it came down to the woman who committed adultery, He showed her mercy and grace and no one stoned her. When people came up to Him desiring to be healed, He had mercy and grace over them and provided healing. If Jesus can provide grace and mercy upon His fellow man, what makes you or me different? Simple, it does not! If we are going to be the people that God is calling upon in these last and evil days, He needs us to have grace and mercy upon people. He wants us to understand that it is by His grace and mercy that we live today! It’s because of grace that you and I have a job, that you and me are able to live, and other things.
Not only do you grow in the grace of Jesus, but also grow in the knowledge of Jesus. The Bible makes mention that “we perish for the lack of knowledge” and if truth were told, some of greatest blessings are in Heaven because we have not tapped into the knowledge of Christ! To receive His blessings and live a life that God would be pleased with, we have to grow in His knowledge and we can do this by reading the Word, meditating on the Word, praying to our Father, asking for help with our everyday walk, and the list goes on and on! As you grow in the knowledge of Christ, He desires that you may impart that knowledge into others and as you do that, they will grow the right way and not the wrong way!
In closing, there is a right way and a wrong way to grow as a man/woman of God. Peter gave us the right prescription in order to grow by growing in the knowledge and grace of Christ. Now that you have the keys to grow, are you ready to get everything else God has for you in His Kingdom?
Back in the 3rd grade during science class, we had a project dealing with growing plants using a seed provided to us. The seed was placed in a pint sized milk carton, with dirt, and watered on a daily basis. Some watered theirs every two days, but made sure it was in the sun. After seven to ten days, one could recognize the difference in the plants when one has been watered and in the sun and when one was not watered as much and did not receive as much sun. If we investigate this thing spiritually, we have often grown through various tracks of life. Some of us have grown through others’ mistakes, some of us have grown through our own life’s experiences, but God has provided you and me the way we should grow. This provision is found within today’s main scripture.
Today’s focal book is found in 2 Peter. According to my research, 2 Peter, written by Peter, explains that God has delayed His second coming so that more people will have the chance to reject evil and find salvation. Within this final chapter of 2 Peter, Peter discusses the day of the Lord. Within these eighteen verses of scripture, he provides us with the way we should grow when it comes to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
The text reveals the way we should grow. Peter writes, “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ …” If truth were told, Jesus provided the blue print for us throughout the New Testament of these things. When it came down to the woman who committed adultery, He showed her mercy and grace and no one stoned her. When people came up to Him desiring to be healed, He had mercy and grace over them and provided healing. If Jesus can provide grace and mercy upon His fellow man, what makes you or me different? Simple, it does not! If we are going to be the people that God is calling upon in these last and evil days, He needs us to have grace and mercy upon people. He wants us to understand that it is by His grace and mercy that we live today! It’s because of grace that you and I have a job, that you and me are able to live, and other things.
Not only do you grow in the grace of Jesus, but also grow in the knowledge of Jesus. The Bible makes mention that “we perish for the lack of knowledge” and if truth were told, some of greatest blessings are in Heaven because we have not tapped into the knowledge of Christ! To receive His blessings and live a life that God would be pleased with, we have to grow in His knowledge and we can do this by reading the Word, meditating on the Word, praying to our Father, asking for help with our everyday walk, and the list goes on and on! As you grow in the knowledge of Christ, He desires that you may impart that knowledge into others and as you do that, they will grow the right way and not the wrong way!
In closing, there is a right way and a wrong way to grow as a man/woman of God. Peter gave us the right prescription in order to grow by growing in the knowledge and grace of Christ. Now that you have the keys to grow, are you ready to get everything else God has for you in His Kingdom?
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
"Passing Life's Tests with Flying Colors"
Scripture: "… when He has tested me, I will come forth as gold." -Job 23:10, NIV
Back in our school days and even workdays now, the barometer used to see if you understood a set of material was a test. Tests come in multiple forms, true-false, fill-in-the-blank, multiple choice, short answer, essay, and the list goes on and on. During my school days, the question was posed to me, "Did you pass today's test?" If I did okay, I would let them know that "I'm praying for an A or a B". On the other hand, when I knew I aced a test, I would say that "I passed that test with flying colors". Spiritually, God sends us tests on a daily basis. Just as I would say that I passed the test with flying colors because I studied and prepared, He wants us to echo those same sentiments. Today's text illustrates an example of this statement.
Today's devotional is set in the first Poetic book of the Old Testament, Job. Job was a man who was upright, hated evil, and loved God on a great and intense level. He loved his children so much that he sacrificed offerings on their behalf for their sins and wrongdoings. Throughout the duration of this book, we find God allowing the enemy to attack Job. Within the enemy's attack, he destroyed Job's family, Job's wealth, Job's body, but he did not take Job's soul because God told him he couldn't! Ladies and gentlemen, the enemy will attack you on all sides, but he cannot attack your soul! God has your soul protected and we can further protect it by reading and digesting His Word! Despite his various attacks, Job would not curse God (the enemy's intent), he kept on fighting and moving, and even had conversations with his "so-called" friends. Today's focal chapter, Chapter 23, serves as a response to his "friend" Eliphaz's comments, in Chapter 22.
Today's portion of the main scripture begins with this phrase from Job: "When He has tested me". God is the giver of these tests. God is the proctor, He is the test maker, and He is the teacher. You know what the blessing is about God being the test giver, the proctor, and test maker? He has given you the study material in order to pass the test! He has given you opportunity to ask questions before the test! He even gives you opportunity to ask questions during the test! Though Job was in great distress, he had enough integrity to know that it was God that allowed these trials and tribulations to occur in his life. When you are experience financial troubles, it's only a test! When you are experiencing physical ailments, it's only a test! When you are experiencing emotional issues, it's only a test! When your marriage is on the rocks, it's only a test! Because we know God created these tests, we can pass them with flying colors!
We know that we can pass life's tests with flying colors because Job made this declaration himself. He concludes today's main text by saying, "I will come forth as gold". Not only did he say that he would pass the test, but he showed a color that is proof of him passing the test. He said that he will come forth as GOLD. Ladies and gentlemen, the prettiest gold one wears come when it has experienced some heat to remove the impurities and other unnecessary junk involved. When you pass life's tests with flying colors, God places you through tests to clean out the impurity of jealousy, the impurity of hatred, the impurity of misunderstanding, the impurity of low self-esteem, the impurity of being defensive, the impurity of being offensive, the impurity of being a talker and not a listener, the impurity of selfishness, the impurity of greed, and others. As God placed these tests to purge these impurities out of you, realize and recognize that He has given you some "cheat sheets" in order to pass with flying colors! He has given you Jesus, He has given you the Holy Spirit, He has given you His Word, He has given you the ability to pray, and He has given you wisdom from family and friends in order to make it! As these impurities are cleansed from you, my brother, and my sister, then you can decree like Job that you will come forth as gold! You will be that 24K gold, shiny, and beautiful! You must allow God to place some fire on you in order to shine!
In closing, passing life's tests with flying colors is not an easy task. It takes work, prayer, fasting, and other things to make it happen. It also takes enduring the tests God places on you. Just as Job said, he knew that God was testing him, but he will come forth as gold. As we know, Job stood his ground and his life was truly golden indeed! Don't you want to pass life's tests with flying colors and be the "gold standard" around your office, home, and church?
Back in our school days and even workdays now, the barometer used to see if you understood a set of material was a test. Tests come in multiple forms, true-false, fill-in-the-blank, multiple choice, short answer, essay, and the list goes on and on. During my school days, the question was posed to me, "Did you pass today's test?" If I did okay, I would let them know that "I'm praying for an A or a B". On the other hand, when I knew I aced a test, I would say that "I passed that test with flying colors". Spiritually, God sends us tests on a daily basis. Just as I would say that I passed the test with flying colors because I studied and prepared, He wants us to echo those same sentiments. Today's text illustrates an example of this statement.
Today's devotional is set in the first Poetic book of the Old Testament, Job. Job was a man who was upright, hated evil, and loved God on a great and intense level. He loved his children so much that he sacrificed offerings on their behalf for their sins and wrongdoings. Throughout the duration of this book, we find God allowing the enemy to attack Job. Within the enemy's attack, he destroyed Job's family, Job's wealth, Job's body, but he did not take Job's soul because God told him he couldn't! Ladies and gentlemen, the enemy will attack you on all sides, but he cannot attack your soul! God has your soul protected and we can further protect it by reading and digesting His Word! Despite his various attacks, Job would not curse God (the enemy's intent), he kept on fighting and moving, and even had conversations with his "so-called" friends. Today's focal chapter, Chapter 23, serves as a response to his "friend" Eliphaz's comments, in Chapter 22.
Today's portion of the main scripture begins with this phrase from Job: "When He has tested me". God is the giver of these tests. God is the proctor, He is the test maker, and He is the teacher. You know what the blessing is about God being the test giver, the proctor, and test maker? He has given you the study material in order to pass the test! He has given you opportunity to ask questions before the test! He even gives you opportunity to ask questions during the test! Though Job was in great distress, he had enough integrity to know that it was God that allowed these trials and tribulations to occur in his life. When you are experience financial troubles, it's only a test! When you are experiencing physical ailments, it's only a test! When you are experiencing emotional issues, it's only a test! When your marriage is on the rocks, it's only a test! Because we know God created these tests, we can pass them with flying colors!
We know that we can pass life's tests with flying colors because Job made this declaration himself. He concludes today's main text by saying, "I will come forth as gold". Not only did he say that he would pass the test, but he showed a color that is proof of him passing the test. He said that he will come forth as GOLD. Ladies and gentlemen, the prettiest gold one wears come when it has experienced some heat to remove the impurities and other unnecessary junk involved. When you pass life's tests with flying colors, God places you through tests to clean out the impurity of jealousy, the impurity of hatred, the impurity of misunderstanding, the impurity of low self-esteem, the impurity of being defensive, the impurity of being offensive, the impurity of being a talker and not a listener, the impurity of selfishness, the impurity of greed, and others. As God placed these tests to purge these impurities out of you, realize and recognize that He has given you some "cheat sheets" in order to pass with flying colors! He has given you Jesus, He has given you the Holy Spirit, He has given you His Word, He has given you the ability to pray, and He has given you wisdom from family and friends in order to make it! As these impurities are cleansed from you, my brother, and my sister, then you can decree like Job that you will come forth as gold! You will be that 24K gold, shiny, and beautiful! You must allow God to place some fire on you in order to shine!
In closing, passing life's tests with flying colors is not an easy task. It takes work, prayer, fasting, and other things to make it happen. It also takes enduring the tests God places on you. Just as Job said, he knew that God was testing him, but he will come forth as gold. As we know, Job stood his ground and his life was truly golden indeed! Don't you want to pass life's tests with flying colors and be the "gold standard" around your office, home, and church?
Thursday, January 14, 2010
"Obedience to God Yields Awesome Blessings"
Scripture: "The LORD will open the heavens, the storehouse of his bounty, to send rain on your land in season and to bless all the work of your hands. You will lend to many nations but will borrow from none. The LORD will make you the head, not the tail. If you pay attention to the commands of the LORD your God that I give you this day and carefully follow them, you will always be at the top, never at the bottom." -Deuteronomy 28:12 - 13, NIV
Growing up as an only child, my mother was a big stickler when it came to good grades. When I mean good grades, I mean A's and B's, no C's, D's, and F's. Though my mother was a stickler about good grades, she rewarded me handsomely every time I brought good grades home on my report card. What my mother would do is make me "King for the Day". What this entailed was me watching TV on whatever station I wanted to, food being brought to me, and me relaxing on the sofa in the living room. Also, because of my good grades, it allowed me to be blessed with money from her as well. These things would not have came to me unless I was obedient to her call for good grades. If truth were told, God loves to share His awesome blessings with His people. However, He wants to do one thing for Him: obey Him. Today's text provides us the awesome blessings obedience to God yields.
Our focus book for today is the book of Deuteronomy. Deuteronomy is the last book of the Law Books written by Moses. If you examine the meaning of the word Deuteronomy, it means "second law". Within this book, Moses re-iterates the Ten Commandments given to him by God to the Israelites, before his eventual death and passing of the torch of leadership to Joshua. Within its 28th chapter, Moses pens God's blessings for obedience and God's curses for disobedience. Our main scripture falls into His blessings for obedience.
When you obey your Heavenly Father, Moses first writes that "The LORD will open the heavens, the storehouse of His bounty, to send rain on your land in season and to bless all the work of your hands". Wow! God wants to do all of that for you, and for me, just for obeying Him. If truth were told, there have been seasons where God has rained and rained and rained upon us and it was due to our obedience! There have been seasons where God open up the heavens and dug into His bounty and blessed you because of your obedience! God has blessed the work of your hands because of your obedience! Ladies and gentlemen, God has allowed you to do some remarkable things and it was NOT because of your education! It was NOT because of the family you came from! It was NOT because of the company you keep! It is because you were OBEDIENT! As I am writing on today, many of us have lost our "rainy" seasons because we stopped being obedient and God wants to call you, my brother, and you, my sister, to a new level of obedience!
Moses continues on and he lets us know that through our obedience, "you will lend to many nations but will borrow from none". We always hear in the church this being said as you being the lender and not the borrower. God has blessed us with seasons in our lives where we had so much that we could bless others and not miss it! Whether if it was money, food, sanity, prayer, encouragement, or whatever else, He blessed you because you were obedient! Here again, because we slipped into our seasons of disobedience, we are the ones borrowing from others! Again, God just wants you and I to be obedient and stay that way!
Another something we hear in the church is presented next when Moses says, "The LORD will make you the head, not the tail". When you are a child of God, you should NEVER think of yourself any less! You should NEVER place yourself at the bottom of the totem pole of life! You ought to look at yourself in the morning and know that God created you! Look at yourself and know that God gave you activities of your limbs! Look at yourself and know that God provided you the best He could! He did that because He loves you and He did that so you would know that you are better than what the enemy places in your head! If you allow the enemy to infiltrate your camp, then he has probably brought along disobedience! When you are the head and not the tail, you kick disobedience out the door and walk in the fullness of obedience!
Lastly, brothers and sisters, Moses gives us the key to receiving the blessings mentioned before. He writes "If you pay attention to the commands of the LORD your God that I give you this day and carefully follow them, you will always be at the top, never at the bottom." What a built-in promise for just a simple instruction. Moses was telling his people that all they had to do was follow God and His commands and they would never be at the bottom, but always on top. Ladies and gentlemen, don't you realize that God wants you to be on top in life? As your soul grows, He wants you to grow! He came that you may have life and have it more abundantly! In order to receive this life and built-in promise, you have to do Him one favor: Obey His Word and His commands. When God speaks to you, don't divert your attention to the left or the right, go straight ahead! Walk in boldness! Walk in confidence! Walk in the authority God gave you and the innate ability to listen and receive His commands! Mind you, His commands will not only come from Him, but they will come from your supervisor, your parents, your children at times, your pastors, and others.
In closing, I never would enjoy being "King for a Day" if I didn't obey my mother and make good grades. God has some rewards for you and all He wants is for you to bring Him some good grades - passing life's tests with flying colors by simply obeying Him and His commands! Are you ready to continuously receive God's blessings? If so, walk in obedience!
Growing up as an only child, my mother was a big stickler when it came to good grades. When I mean good grades, I mean A's and B's, no C's, D's, and F's. Though my mother was a stickler about good grades, she rewarded me handsomely every time I brought good grades home on my report card. What my mother would do is make me "King for the Day". What this entailed was me watching TV on whatever station I wanted to, food being brought to me, and me relaxing on the sofa in the living room. Also, because of my good grades, it allowed me to be blessed with money from her as well. These things would not have came to me unless I was obedient to her call for good grades. If truth were told, God loves to share His awesome blessings with His people. However, He wants to do one thing for Him: obey Him. Today's text provides us the awesome blessings obedience to God yields.
Our focus book for today is the book of Deuteronomy. Deuteronomy is the last book of the Law Books written by Moses. If you examine the meaning of the word Deuteronomy, it means "second law". Within this book, Moses re-iterates the Ten Commandments given to him by God to the Israelites, before his eventual death and passing of the torch of leadership to Joshua. Within its 28th chapter, Moses pens God's blessings for obedience and God's curses for disobedience. Our main scripture falls into His blessings for obedience.
When you obey your Heavenly Father, Moses first writes that "The LORD will open the heavens, the storehouse of His bounty, to send rain on your land in season and to bless all the work of your hands". Wow! God wants to do all of that for you, and for me, just for obeying Him. If truth were told, there have been seasons where God has rained and rained and rained upon us and it was due to our obedience! There have been seasons where God open up the heavens and dug into His bounty and blessed you because of your obedience! God has blessed the work of your hands because of your obedience! Ladies and gentlemen, God has allowed you to do some remarkable things and it was NOT because of your education! It was NOT because of the family you came from! It was NOT because of the company you keep! It is because you were OBEDIENT! As I am writing on today, many of us have lost our "rainy" seasons because we stopped being obedient and God wants to call you, my brother, and you, my sister, to a new level of obedience!
Moses continues on and he lets us know that through our obedience, "you will lend to many nations but will borrow from none". We always hear in the church this being said as you being the lender and not the borrower. God has blessed us with seasons in our lives where we had so much that we could bless others and not miss it! Whether if it was money, food, sanity, prayer, encouragement, or whatever else, He blessed you because you were obedient! Here again, because we slipped into our seasons of disobedience, we are the ones borrowing from others! Again, God just wants you and I to be obedient and stay that way!
Another something we hear in the church is presented next when Moses says, "The LORD will make you the head, not the tail". When you are a child of God, you should NEVER think of yourself any less! You should NEVER place yourself at the bottom of the totem pole of life! You ought to look at yourself in the morning and know that God created you! Look at yourself and know that God gave you activities of your limbs! Look at yourself and know that God provided you the best He could! He did that because He loves you and He did that so you would know that you are better than what the enemy places in your head! If you allow the enemy to infiltrate your camp, then he has probably brought along disobedience! When you are the head and not the tail, you kick disobedience out the door and walk in the fullness of obedience!
Lastly, brothers and sisters, Moses gives us the key to receiving the blessings mentioned before. He writes "If you pay attention to the commands of the LORD your God that I give you this day and carefully follow them, you will always be at the top, never at the bottom." What a built-in promise for just a simple instruction. Moses was telling his people that all they had to do was follow God and His commands and they would never be at the bottom, but always on top. Ladies and gentlemen, don't you realize that God wants you to be on top in life? As your soul grows, He wants you to grow! He came that you may have life and have it more abundantly! In order to receive this life and built-in promise, you have to do Him one favor: Obey His Word and His commands. When God speaks to you, don't divert your attention to the left or the right, go straight ahead! Walk in boldness! Walk in confidence! Walk in the authority God gave you and the innate ability to listen and receive His commands! Mind you, His commands will not only come from Him, but they will come from your supervisor, your parents, your children at times, your pastors, and others.
In closing, I never would enjoy being "King for a Day" if I didn't obey my mother and make good grades. God has some rewards for you and all He wants is for you to bring Him some good grades - passing life's tests with flying colors by simply obeying Him and His commands! Are you ready to continuously receive God's blessings? If so, walk in obedience!
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
"God's Secret Service for You"
Scripture: "For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways;" -Psalms 91:11, NIV
As we watch the news on a daily basis, our beloved President, President Barack Obama, has a set of men who watches out for his and the First Family's welfare. It can just be them going to a Wizards game against the Bulls, but the Secret Service will be there. It can just be them going to visit Ben's Chili Bowl on U Street in NW DC, but the Secret Service will be there. If we think about it, President Obama and the First Family are not the only ones who has Secret Servicemen. Guess who else has them? Yes, you guessed it, we do! God has provided us some secret service for you and for me. Today's text provides clarity about who are these secret servicemen provided by God.
Our main scripture for today falls in the book of Psalms. Within this particular chapter, Chapter 91, the writer talks about two critical themes: the safety of those who have God as their refuge (verses 1 - 8) and the favor that comes with God (verses 9 - 16). When you are a child of God, not only does He provide you refuge, but you have obtained a level of favor! As a reward for making God your choice, His favor has granted you some secret servicemen. Let's examine today's text to learn more.
Right off the bat, we find out who our secret service is. The text starts off by saying, "For He will command His angels". Ladies and gentlemen, your Secret Service and my Secret Service from God are His angels. Many instances in God's Word where God's angels have stepped in and provided relief (shutting the mouths of the lions for Daniel), brought great news (telling Joseph that Jesus would be his Son), and had the enemy singing the blues. Nevertheless, His angels are your Secret Service. How do we know that God's angels are really your Secret Servicemen?
The text is completed when the writer says that He will send His angels "concerning you to guard you in all your ways". Just as the Secret Service provide President Obama and the First Family protection, God's angels provide you with protection! When you are driving from home to work, God's angels are protecting you! When you are driving from home to church, God's angels are protecting you! When you are out and about among this world shopping and working, God's angels are protecting you! When you are in God's house praising and worshipping Him, God's angels are protecting you! When you are driving a long distance and it's raining and it's dark, God's angels are protecting you! No matter where you are, God's angels have your back! Nothing can get to you because God has His angels surrounding you!
In closing, there's no need to be envious of the President, the First Family, or anyone else who uses Secret Service. At the end of the day, God has provided each and every one of you Secret Service. This secret service does not walk with you physically or can be seen physically. However, their impact is felt no matter where you go. Thank God for His angels, your Secret Service, because they protect you and watch out for you! Aren't you glad that you are favored of God to have His angels?
As we watch the news on a daily basis, our beloved President, President Barack Obama, has a set of men who watches out for his and the First Family's welfare. It can just be them going to a Wizards game against the Bulls, but the Secret Service will be there. It can just be them going to visit Ben's Chili Bowl on U Street in NW DC, but the Secret Service will be there. If we think about it, President Obama and the First Family are not the only ones who has Secret Servicemen. Guess who else has them? Yes, you guessed it, we do! God has provided us some secret service for you and for me. Today's text provides clarity about who are these secret servicemen provided by God.
Our main scripture for today falls in the book of Psalms. Within this particular chapter, Chapter 91, the writer talks about two critical themes: the safety of those who have God as their refuge (verses 1 - 8) and the favor that comes with God (verses 9 - 16). When you are a child of God, not only does He provide you refuge, but you have obtained a level of favor! As a reward for making God your choice, His favor has granted you some secret servicemen. Let's examine today's text to learn more.
Right off the bat, we find out who our secret service is. The text starts off by saying, "For He will command His angels". Ladies and gentlemen, your Secret Service and my Secret Service from God are His angels. Many instances in God's Word where God's angels have stepped in and provided relief (shutting the mouths of the lions for Daniel), brought great news (telling Joseph that Jesus would be his Son), and had the enemy singing the blues. Nevertheless, His angels are your Secret Service. How do we know that God's angels are really your Secret Servicemen?
The text is completed when the writer says that He will send His angels "concerning you to guard you in all your ways". Just as the Secret Service provide President Obama and the First Family protection, God's angels provide you with protection! When you are driving from home to work, God's angels are protecting you! When you are driving from home to church, God's angels are protecting you! When you are out and about among this world shopping and working, God's angels are protecting you! When you are in God's house praising and worshipping Him, God's angels are protecting you! When you are driving a long distance and it's raining and it's dark, God's angels are protecting you! No matter where you are, God's angels have your back! Nothing can get to you because God has His angels surrounding you!
In closing, there's no need to be envious of the President, the First Family, or anyone else who uses Secret Service. At the end of the day, God has provided each and every one of you Secret Service. This secret service does not walk with you physically or can be seen physically. However, their impact is felt no matter where you go. Thank God for His angels, your Secret Service, because they protect you and watch out for you! Aren't you glad that you are favored of God to have His angels?
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
“How Should One Give?"
Scripture: "So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver." -2 Corinthians 9:7, NKJV
During my early 20's, I had some young brothers who I use to teach Sunday School to and mentor. These young brothers were actually blood brothers. One's name was Justin and the other's name was Dustin. From time to time, they would come to my house after church where my mother and I would feed them and we would play games on the then hottest game system to have - the PlayStation. One Sunday after church, the two brothers came to my house and this time, I decided to give them the PlayStation because I had a PS2 and I knew they could use it more than me. As I gave them this gaming system and the games, I saw their eyes light up and appreciation was visible from one ear to another. If truth were told, it is important for us to check the way we give things to God and our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. As our title has stated, how should one give? Well, today's main scripture will provide clarity and an answer to this question.
Today's devotional is set in the book of 2 Corinthians. This book, along with 1 Corinthians, was written by the Apostle Paul to the church at Corinth. According to scholars, 2 Corinthians reassures the people of Corinth will not have another painful visit but what he has to say is not to cause pain but to reassure them the love he has for them. Within this chapter, Paul addresses one major subject: giving and how one should give.
Paul starts out the text by saying, "so let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity". Ladies and gentlemen, as we go into God's house, there's about a 100% chance that we have already planned in our minds what we are giving during offering time. There are times where we know what we will give to our family and friends for their special days such as Christmas, Mother's Day, and Father's Day. With this being said, it's on you, my brother, and you, my sister, to check yourself in the way you are giving it and how you are giving it. It would be a crying shame to give someone a nice card and then told them "I had a tough time giving you this card because I liked it for myself or someone else". God does not appreciate us bringing our tithes and offering with a frown on our face! Heck, He doesn't appreciate it when you give because you were told to give! What I am asking each of you to do, myself included, is to watch the spirit you give things in because that spirit may linger on and because you may have deflated the blessing God had in store for you.
Closing out this particular scripture, Paul shows us the way we should give in saying, "for God loves a cheerful giver". When you bless God with His tithes and offering, give it to him cheerfully! When you bless others with a hug or a smile, give it to them cheerfully! When you bless others with a gift, give it to them cheerfully! When you bless others with your time in performing an effort, do it cheerfully! When you do things cheerfully, it reminds me of what Proverbs 17:22 say about happiness. It says, "A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones." As you give things to people in a cheerful spirit, it has a way of making them happy and allows them to know the trueness of your heart. When people and God see that, then He will use them to bless you in the future!
In closing, as God blessed me to give my young brothers Justin and Dustin that PlayStation in a cheerful spirit, we are to give God and His people things in the same manner. Think about it, would you want a gift that someone hated to give you? I wouldn't. Walk in love and give to God's people in love and watch He return His gifts to you in love! Have a great one!
During my early 20's, I had some young brothers who I use to teach Sunday School to and mentor. These young brothers were actually blood brothers. One's name was Justin and the other's name was Dustin. From time to time, they would come to my house after church where my mother and I would feed them and we would play games on the then hottest game system to have - the PlayStation. One Sunday after church, the two brothers came to my house and this time, I decided to give them the PlayStation because I had a PS2 and I knew they could use it more than me. As I gave them this gaming system and the games, I saw their eyes light up and appreciation was visible from one ear to another. If truth were told, it is important for us to check the way we give things to God and our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. As our title has stated, how should one give? Well, today's main scripture will provide clarity and an answer to this question.
Today's devotional is set in the book of 2 Corinthians. This book, along with 1 Corinthians, was written by the Apostle Paul to the church at Corinth. According to scholars, 2 Corinthians reassures the people of Corinth will not have another painful visit but what he has to say is not to cause pain but to reassure them the love he has for them. Within this chapter, Paul addresses one major subject: giving and how one should give.
Paul starts out the text by saying, "so let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity". Ladies and gentlemen, as we go into God's house, there's about a 100% chance that we have already planned in our minds what we are giving during offering time. There are times where we know what we will give to our family and friends for their special days such as Christmas, Mother's Day, and Father's Day. With this being said, it's on you, my brother, and you, my sister, to check yourself in the way you are giving it and how you are giving it. It would be a crying shame to give someone a nice card and then told them "I had a tough time giving you this card because I liked it for myself or someone else". God does not appreciate us bringing our tithes and offering with a frown on our face! Heck, He doesn't appreciate it when you give because you were told to give! What I am asking each of you to do, myself included, is to watch the spirit you give things in because that spirit may linger on and because you may have deflated the blessing God had in store for you.
Closing out this particular scripture, Paul shows us the way we should give in saying, "for God loves a cheerful giver". When you bless God with His tithes and offering, give it to him cheerfully! When you bless others with a hug or a smile, give it to them cheerfully! When you bless others with a gift, give it to them cheerfully! When you bless others with your time in performing an effort, do it cheerfully! When you do things cheerfully, it reminds me of what Proverbs 17:22 say about happiness. It says, "A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones." As you give things to people in a cheerful spirit, it has a way of making them happy and allows them to know the trueness of your heart. When people and God see that, then He will use them to bless you in the future!
In closing, as God blessed me to give my young brothers Justin and Dustin that PlayStation in a cheerful spirit, we are to give God and His people things in the same manner. Think about it, would you want a gift that someone hated to give you? I wouldn't. Walk in love and give to God's people in love and watch He return His gifts to you in love! Have a great one!
Monday, January 11, 2010
“How Do You Know God Cares?”
Scripture: "the LORD gives sight to the blind, the LORD lifts up those who are bowed down, the LORD loves the righteous." -Psalms 146:8, NIV
In 2009, Sandra Bullock played in a great movie depicting the biography of Michael Oher, a rookie offensive tackle for the Baltimore Ravens, entitled "The Blindside". Within this movie, Michael dealt with some hardships within his home life. His mother was on drugs, his father died, and the neighborhood he was around was drug infested and loaded with brothers who meant him no good. On the other hand, Sandra Bullock's character, Mrs. Leigh Ann Tuhoy, and her family, provided Oher with somewhere to stay, a truck, a bedroom, a laptop, and most importantly, a set of people who cared. For his gratitude towards his new family, Michael protected his mother anytime they went somewhere and saved his little brother from being injured when they were in a car accident. Within the spiritual realm, it's good to know that your Father cares. It's good to know that your brothers and sisters in Christ care when you are going through things and will help you the best way they can. Just in case you are not certain of the care God has for you, let today's text provide you clarity on some of the ways He cares for you.
Today's main scripture is found in the book of Psalms. Psalms is the second and longest book within the Poetry Books of the Old Testament. In this 146th chapter, the writer deals with two major topics: why you should not trust men (verses 1 - 4) and why you should trust God (verses 5 - 10). Our main scripture falls into the category why you should trust God. As we learn to trust Him, He also provides us rationale to how we know He cares.
The writer first tells us that "the LORD gives sight to the blind". If truth were told and we thought about this long and hard, God has given us all sight to see. Many of us have been blind in the relationship decisions we have made in life. Many of us have been blind in the financial decisions we have made in life. Many of us have been blind in the spiritual decisions we have made in life. Because God cares for you, and for me, aren't you glad to know that He will open up blinded eyes and allow you to see? Aren't you glad to be a part of the number who could sing the great hymn, "Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me, I once was lost, but now I am found, was blind, but now I see"! Wherever you are this morning, you ought to give God a praise for opening up your blinded eyes!
Secondly, the text reveals to us that He cares because "the LORD lifts up those who are bowed down". Life, ladies and gentlemen, has a way of dealing us all body shots in one form or another. If you ever watch boxing, you know that a body shot will make you go down to the canvas or bow down. We have experienced the body shot of marital issues. We have experienced the body shot of issues with our children. We have experienced the body shot of financial issues. We have experienced the body shot of church hurt. We have experienced many body shots, but the blessing is there is a God who will lift you up when you are bowed down. When you think about the bowed down position, that's the optimal position for prayer. He shares with us in His Word that "if we humbled ourselves before the Lord, He would exalt you". When life places you in the bowed down position, just pray to the Father in that humble position and watch God work it out for you!
Lastly, the writer discloses to us that God cares because "the LORD loves the righteous". David tells us within this same book of Psalms that "he was once, but now he is old and he never seen the righteous forsaken, nor His seed begging bread". Ladies and gentlemen, living righteous is hard, but if you continue to do so, God will NEVER leave you nor forsake you and He will never have you to be forsaken or having to beg for something to eat. When you live righteous, you are going to be an outcast, but that's okay as well, because you live in this world, but you are not of this world. As the enemy may try and throw darts at you, know that "no weapon formed against you shall prosper"! Just keep moving and live your life unto God righteously because He loves you!
In closing, once Oher understood that the Tuhoys cared for him, he began to display his care for them. God is a man who just loves His children. He wanted you to know that He cares for you through opening up your blinded eyes, lifting you up when you are bowed down, and loves His righteous people. Now that you know some of the ways God cares for you, aren't you going to care for Him that much more? I know I am!
In 2009, Sandra Bullock played in a great movie depicting the biography of Michael Oher, a rookie offensive tackle for the Baltimore Ravens, entitled "The Blindside". Within this movie, Michael dealt with some hardships within his home life. His mother was on drugs, his father died, and the neighborhood he was around was drug infested and loaded with brothers who meant him no good. On the other hand, Sandra Bullock's character, Mrs. Leigh Ann Tuhoy, and her family, provided Oher with somewhere to stay, a truck, a bedroom, a laptop, and most importantly, a set of people who cared. For his gratitude towards his new family, Michael protected his mother anytime they went somewhere and saved his little brother from being injured when they were in a car accident. Within the spiritual realm, it's good to know that your Father cares. It's good to know that your brothers and sisters in Christ care when you are going through things and will help you the best way they can. Just in case you are not certain of the care God has for you, let today's text provide you clarity on some of the ways He cares for you.
Today's main scripture is found in the book of Psalms. Psalms is the second and longest book within the Poetry Books of the Old Testament. In this 146th chapter, the writer deals with two major topics: why you should not trust men (verses 1 - 4) and why you should trust God (verses 5 - 10). Our main scripture falls into the category why you should trust God. As we learn to trust Him, He also provides us rationale to how we know He cares.
The writer first tells us that "the LORD gives sight to the blind". If truth were told and we thought about this long and hard, God has given us all sight to see. Many of us have been blind in the relationship decisions we have made in life. Many of us have been blind in the financial decisions we have made in life. Many of us have been blind in the spiritual decisions we have made in life. Because God cares for you, and for me, aren't you glad to know that He will open up blinded eyes and allow you to see? Aren't you glad to be a part of the number who could sing the great hymn, "Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me, I once was lost, but now I am found, was blind, but now I see"! Wherever you are this morning, you ought to give God a praise for opening up your blinded eyes!
Secondly, the text reveals to us that He cares because "the LORD lifts up those who are bowed down". Life, ladies and gentlemen, has a way of dealing us all body shots in one form or another. If you ever watch boxing, you know that a body shot will make you go down to the canvas or bow down. We have experienced the body shot of marital issues. We have experienced the body shot of issues with our children. We have experienced the body shot of financial issues. We have experienced the body shot of church hurt. We have experienced many body shots, but the blessing is there is a God who will lift you up when you are bowed down. When you think about the bowed down position, that's the optimal position for prayer. He shares with us in His Word that "if we humbled ourselves before the Lord, He would exalt you". When life places you in the bowed down position, just pray to the Father in that humble position and watch God work it out for you!
Lastly, the writer discloses to us that God cares because "the LORD loves the righteous". David tells us within this same book of Psalms that "he was once, but now he is old and he never seen the righteous forsaken, nor His seed begging bread". Ladies and gentlemen, living righteous is hard, but if you continue to do so, God will NEVER leave you nor forsake you and He will never have you to be forsaken or having to beg for something to eat. When you live righteous, you are going to be an outcast, but that's okay as well, because you live in this world, but you are not of this world. As the enemy may try and throw darts at you, know that "no weapon formed against you shall prosper"! Just keep moving and live your life unto God righteously because He loves you!
In closing, once Oher understood that the Tuhoys cared for him, he began to display his care for them. God is a man who just loves His children. He wanted you to know that He cares for you through opening up your blinded eyes, lifting you up when you are bowed down, and loves His righteous people. Now that you know some of the ways God cares for you, aren't you going to care for Him that much more? I know I am!
Friday, January 8, 2010
“Checking Your Life’s Route”
Scripture: “This only have I found: God made mankind upright, but men have gone in search of many schemes." –Ecclesiastes 7:29, NIV
Within the past five years, GPS’s have really came into the mainstream. This particular tool has saved us from making many mistakes in our travels. GPS’s usually provides us the shortest route between your home and the place you want to go or vice versa. However, there are times where the GPS will take you somewhere and the somewhere does not exist; therefore, you may have to pull over and check the route your GPS is steering you towards. In our Christian walk, we have a set of GPS’s. Our set of GPS’s including our Heavenly Father, Jesus His Son, the Holy Spirit, and The Word. Through these GPS systems, they do what they can to steer us correctly. Just like a GPS in our vehicle, we must follow the route our Heavenly Father shows us. Today’s text clarifies the thought of checking your life’s route.
Our main scripture is found in the book of Ecclesiastes. This book, written by King Solomon as the wisest king of all-time, is the fourth book of Poetry within the Old Testament. Within today’s focal chapter, Chapter 7, the watch word is wisdom. Within this discussion of wisdom, Solomon displays his concern for his people and us when it comes down to checking your life’s route.
Solomon begins the text by saying, “This only have I found: God made mankind upright”. What a statement of truth and clarity! Before there was you and I, there was Adam and Eve. Adam and Eve had everything. God gave Adam dominion over this entire Earth. Though they were “naked”, God created Adam and Eve perfect. They had no worries in the world because their nourishment needs were met. There was no need for financial struggle. There was no need for spiritual struggle. If truth were told, God created you and I in the same manner. He made us upright, forthright, strong, mighty, smart, and able to do anything through Him, hated evil, and anything else. The way God created us is like the way you drive when there is no traffic on the highway: smooth. Just like Adam and Eve’s ride through paradise was disturbed, so was ours, because of the traffic known as the enemy.
Because the enemy brought traffic to our smooth ride, Solomon concludes our text by saying, “but men have gone in search of many schemes”. If truth were told, when traffic hits the highway, we often try to think of an alternative route. There are times where the alternative route worked; however, for the most part, we were re-directed back to the main road. As we continue to walk in the Kingdom of God, God knows that we are going to veer off from time-to-time because of the traffic of health problems, the traffic of financial problems, the traffic of marital problems, and other traffic issues. The blessing is He wants you to check your route through Him and His Word, your GPS system(s), so that you can find your way back on the main road, which is Him!
In closing, do not allow anyone or anything to deter your progress or stop you from traveling down the route God has for you. It will come with traffic, but you will get there eventually. I think about how I use to make the drive from MD to NC to visit my family. I would be tired because I worked a full day, but God blessed me to get on the highway, deal with the traffic of 95, suck up fatigue, and make it home! That’s the key today: no matter how treacherous and bad things get, remember with God, you will make it home and safe!
Within the past five years, GPS’s have really came into the mainstream. This particular tool has saved us from making many mistakes in our travels. GPS’s usually provides us the shortest route between your home and the place you want to go or vice versa. However, there are times where the GPS will take you somewhere and the somewhere does not exist; therefore, you may have to pull over and check the route your GPS is steering you towards. In our Christian walk, we have a set of GPS’s. Our set of GPS’s including our Heavenly Father, Jesus His Son, the Holy Spirit, and The Word. Through these GPS systems, they do what they can to steer us correctly. Just like a GPS in our vehicle, we must follow the route our Heavenly Father shows us. Today’s text clarifies the thought of checking your life’s route.
Our main scripture is found in the book of Ecclesiastes. This book, written by King Solomon as the wisest king of all-time, is the fourth book of Poetry within the Old Testament. Within today’s focal chapter, Chapter 7, the watch word is wisdom. Within this discussion of wisdom, Solomon displays his concern for his people and us when it comes down to checking your life’s route.
Solomon begins the text by saying, “This only have I found: God made mankind upright”. What a statement of truth and clarity! Before there was you and I, there was Adam and Eve. Adam and Eve had everything. God gave Adam dominion over this entire Earth. Though they were “naked”, God created Adam and Eve perfect. They had no worries in the world because their nourishment needs were met. There was no need for financial struggle. There was no need for spiritual struggle. If truth were told, God created you and I in the same manner. He made us upright, forthright, strong, mighty, smart, and able to do anything through Him, hated evil, and anything else. The way God created us is like the way you drive when there is no traffic on the highway: smooth. Just like Adam and Eve’s ride through paradise was disturbed, so was ours, because of the traffic known as the enemy.
Because the enemy brought traffic to our smooth ride, Solomon concludes our text by saying, “but men have gone in search of many schemes”. If truth were told, when traffic hits the highway, we often try to think of an alternative route. There are times where the alternative route worked; however, for the most part, we were re-directed back to the main road. As we continue to walk in the Kingdom of God, God knows that we are going to veer off from time-to-time because of the traffic of health problems, the traffic of financial problems, the traffic of marital problems, and other traffic issues. The blessing is He wants you to check your route through Him and His Word, your GPS system(s), so that you can find your way back on the main road, which is Him!
In closing, do not allow anyone or anything to deter your progress or stop you from traveling down the route God has for you. It will come with traffic, but you will get there eventually. I think about how I use to make the drive from MD to NC to visit my family. I would be tired because I worked a full day, but God blessed me to get on the highway, deal with the traffic of 95, suck up fatigue, and make it home! That’s the key today: no matter how treacherous and bad things get, remember with God, you will make it home and safe!
Thursday, January 7, 2010
“Where Does Your Delight Reside?”
Scripture: "But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night." -Psalms 1:2, NIV
There's more to us in this life than work, family, for others, school, and church. In my case, I begin my day at 5:45 am to get ready to come to work, leave the house about 6:10 - 6:15, ride to the Metro station, ride the Metro into work, catch my shuttle, and make it to the office. Once I am in the office, I work a nine hour day and afterwards, get on the shuttle to take me to the Metro station, ride the Metro home, await the arrival of my wife to get me, and then go home. I usually get in around 6:30 and when it is not a night to be at church or a meeting, I have some time before I retire for the evening to bed. Because of this time, I delight myself in playing on the computer, watching ESPN or a good game, spending quality time with my wife, and other things. Many of us have other delights such as playing game systems (Wii, XBox 360, PS3), hanging out with the guys/ladies, and shopping. In the spiritual realm, God is looking for us to delight ourselves in Him. He is looking for us to delight ourselves in the things of Him. Today, through today's main scripture, God wants to show us where our delight should reside.
Our main scripture for today is located in the book of Psalms. Psalms is not one of those books with a single author. It has multiple authors that include King David, Asaph, and Moses. Through God and these authors, Psalms contains 150 chapters and it is broken down into five books. Today's reading falls within Book I of the Psalms, which contains chapters 1 through 41. Within this introductory chapter, the writer talks about how a man is blessed. In the first verse, the writer says to us, "Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked (King James says ungodly), or stand in the way of sinners, or sit in the seat of mockers". Let this initial verse serve as a verse of self-inventory. If you do not hang around and talk with wicked people, block sinner's way or sit around people who mock others, then in the eyes of God, you are considered blessed! Within the next verse, our main scripture, God discusses where a blessed man/woman's delight should reside.
The text starts by saying, "But his delight is in the law of the LORD". The law of the Lord, of course, is what we consider to be our Word, our Sword, our Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth, the Bible! It is great to delight yourself in a good game on TV or on the Wii, but you would receive greater delight if it was in the Word! The pains we suffer and hurt from, we can find solace in God's Word! The answers we need to everyday life can be found in God's Word! The answers we need to deal with our struggling finances can be found in God's Word! The answers we crave in order to turn around our failing marriages/relationships can be found in God's Word! God wants you and I to be happy! He wants you and I to succeed; however, to do that, one of those ways for success to occur is through delighting ourselves in His Word!
Now that it's understood that our delight should reside in the Word of God, the writer provides a time frame for when we should delight and concentrate on God's Word. The text is concluded by saying, "and on his law he meditates day and night". As you delight yourself in the Word of God, take time to reflect upon it and think about how the Word could/should be applied to your life. I often find myself, after writing certain devotional messages, reflecting upon what God was saying to me and how that Word could help me. As I meditated and reflected upon His Word, He would give me the Word for someone else down the line or give me the Word I need to fend off the enemy! Brothers and sisters, do not take God's Word lightly or for granted! God has spent so much time, developing you, molding you, and setting you up for His purpose, and if you just give Him a little bit of His time that He gave to you, in order to meditate on His Word! If you take a moment to meditate on His Word, during the day and during the evening, I promise you that your life will be better!
In closing, we find delight in shopping, cooking, playing games, and other things. God wants your delight to reside in His Word. Not only for your delight to reside in His Word, but to meditate on it, day and night, so He can share with you the things you need to make it in this life.
There's more to us in this life than work, family, for others, school, and church. In my case, I begin my day at 5:45 am to get ready to come to work, leave the house about 6:10 - 6:15, ride to the Metro station, ride the Metro into work, catch my shuttle, and make it to the office. Once I am in the office, I work a nine hour day and afterwards, get on the shuttle to take me to the Metro station, ride the Metro home, await the arrival of my wife to get me, and then go home. I usually get in around 6:30 and when it is not a night to be at church or a meeting, I have some time before I retire for the evening to bed. Because of this time, I delight myself in playing on the computer, watching ESPN or a good game, spending quality time with my wife, and other things. Many of us have other delights such as playing game systems (Wii, XBox 360, PS3), hanging out with the guys/ladies, and shopping. In the spiritual realm, God is looking for us to delight ourselves in Him. He is looking for us to delight ourselves in the things of Him. Today, through today's main scripture, God wants to show us where our delight should reside.
Our main scripture for today is located in the book of Psalms. Psalms is not one of those books with a single author. It has multiple authors that include King David, Asaph, and Moses. Through God and these authors, Psalms contains 150 chapters and it is broken down into five books. Today's reading falls within Book I of the Psalms, which contains chapters 1 through 41. Within this introductory chapter, the writer talks about how a man is blessed. In the first verse, the writer says to us, "Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked (King James says ungodly), or stand in the way of sinners, or sit in the seat of mockers". Let this initial verse serve as a verse of self-inventory. If you do not hang around and talk with wicked people, block sinner's way or sit around people who mock others, then in the eyes of God, you are considered blessed! Within the next verse, our main scripture, God discusses where a blessed man/woman's delight should reside.
The text starts by saying, "But his delight is in the law of the LORD". The law of the Lord, of course, is what we consider to be our Word, our Sword, our Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth, the Bible! It is great to delight yourself in a good game on TV or on the Wii, but you would receive greater delight if it was in the Word! The pains we suffer and hurt from, we can find solace in God's Word! The answers we need to everyday life can be found in God's Word! The answers we need to deal with our struggling finances can be found in God's Word! The answers we crave in order to turn around our failing marriages/relationships can be found in God's Word! God wants you and I to be happy! He wants you and I to succeed; however, to do that, one of those ways for success to occur is through delighting ourselves in His Word!
Now that it's understood that our delight should reside in the Word of God, the writer provides a time frame for when we should delight and concentrate on God's Word. The text is concluded by saying, "and on his law he meditates day and night". As you delight yourself in the Word of God, take time to reflect upon it and think about how the Word could/should be applied to your life. I often find myself, after writing certain devotional messages, reflecting upon what God was saying to me and how that Word could help me. As I meditated and reflected upon His Word, He would give me the Word for someone else down the line or give me the Word I need to fend off the enemy! Brothers and sisters, do not take God's Word lightly or for granted! God has spent so much time, developing you, molding you, and setting you up for His purpose, and if you just give Him a little bit of His time that He gave to you, in order to meditate on His Word! If you take a moment to meditate on His Word, during the day and during the evening, I promise you that your life will be better!
In closing, we find delight in shopping, cooking, playing games, and other things. God wants your delight to reside in His Word. Not only for your delight to reside in His Word, but to meditate on it, day and night, so He can share with you the things you need to make it in this life.
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
“Love, Patience, and Time”
Scripture:
1) "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud." - 1 Corinthians 13:4, NIV
2) "But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing." -James 1:4
3) "There is a time for everything …" - Ecclesiastes 3:1, NIV
Back in 2008, Eric Benet released, in my opinion, one of his best CDs ever entitled "Love and Life". This twelve track CD has an old school flavor, along with true R&B, and lyrics to make your bedroom experiences wonderful and your perspective on your relationships change. The introductory song to Benet's CD is where I received today's topic: Love, Patience, and Time. Within this song, Benet talks about how people have grown through these three aspects of life. Within our respective lives as men and women of God, these three things are critical within our growth and the way we live our lives. Today's scriptures will deal more with each one of these words and clarify its importance to you and I as we continue to live our lives.
Today's scriptures are found in 1 Corinthians, James, and Ecclesiastes. 1 Corinthians was written by the Apostle Paul, James was written by James, the brother of Jesus Christ, and Ecclesiastes was written by the wisest king of all-time, King Solomon. These three books, along with its writers, teaches one so many of life's lessons if we just take time to read what God said through them. Within the thirteenth chapter of 1 Corinthians, it is deemed "The Love Chapter", which discusses love and what it means. Within the first chapter of James, he discusses trials, temptations, listening, and doing. Within the themes of trials and temptations, he provides today's scripture on the importance of patience. Within the third chapter of Ecclesiastes, Solomon announces to you and I the importance of time.
Paul begins our scriptural discussion by telling us a little bit about love. He shares with us that "love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud". What a mouthful to say when it comes to this thing we call love. In relationships and marriages alike, it's important to experience love. As you experience love, you will learn that there are times where love forces you to be patient. Love forces you to be kind. If truth were told, many of you, myself inclusive, have had situations where love had to be exercised because of something wrong a person did to you. God gave you enough love not to go off the deep end. Love will teach you when to talk and when to listen. Love is something you do not have to air out publicly because when true love is in you, others can tell and see it for themselves. When you see love in action, do not be envious of it. If you are married and your spouse isn't crossing every t and dotting every I, exercise the patience in love and keep believing God that he/she will cross those t's, dot those I's, and love you the way you want to be loved.
James continues on with telling us about patience. As Paul stated in 1 Corinthians 13, love is patient. When you have love, you have the ability to "let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing". I can recall instances during my marriage where my wife wanted God to birth certain attributes out of me and vice versa. Through our consistent love and patience for one another, patience had her perfect work and birthed out the attributes she desired from me and the attributes I desired from her. God has been so patient with us. He was patient when we couldn't make up our minds who we would serve, Him or the enemy. He has been patient when it came for us to either give Him His 10% or see us spend it on other things. He has been patient when it came to us giving other parts of our lives more time than Him. If God can be patient with us, why can't we be patient with our fellowman?
Solomon concludes our scriptural discussion on today, telling us about time. He simply says, "There is a time for everything". Brothers and sisters, God has appointed times for appointed situations and things we are to do and that will come in our lives. There is a time to mourn. There is a time to be happy. There is a time to dance. There is a time to tear things down. There is a time to build things up. There is a time to keep it real with your spouse or mate. There is a time where you apologize when you are wrong and in turn, where others must apologize when they are wrong. Do not take time for granted because just as soon as it comes, it is gone. Make your times and opportunities count! Husbands, allow your wives to understand how much you love them! Wives, allow your husbands to understand how much they mean to you! Parents, allow your children to know how much they mean to you and how much you love them. Children, take time to let your parents know how much you love them! Ladies and gentlemen, allow your family and friends know how much they mean to you before time runs out.
In closing, Benet blessed me through the song. On today, I hope that this discussion on love, patience, and time has blessed you. God has exercised love, patience, and has given us time to become His own and continually work on being the best. Make your marriages work through love, patience, and time. Make your relationships work through love, patience and time. Make your friendships work through love, patience and time. Most importantly, continue to grow in God's love, allow patience to make you perfect, and remember there's a time and a season for everything!
1) "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud." - 1 Corinthians 13:4, NIV
2) "But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing." -James 1:4
3) "There is a time for everything …" - Ecclesiastes 3:1, NIV
Back in 2008, Eric Benet released, in my opinion, one of his best CDs ever entitled "Love and Life". This twelve track CD has an old school flavor, along with true R&B, and lyrics to make your bedroom experiences wonderful and your perspective on your relationships change. The introductory song to Benet's CD is where I received today's topic: Love, Patience, and Time. Within this song, Benet talks about how people have grown through these three aspects of life. Within our respective lives as men and women of God, these three things are critical within our growth and the way we live our lives. Today's scriptures will deal more with each one of these words and clarify its importance to you and I as we continue to live our lives.
Today's scriptures are found in 1 Corinthians, James, and Ecclesiastes. 1 Corinthians was written by the Apostle Paul, James was written by James, the brother of Jesus Christ, and Ecclesiastes was written by the wisest king of all-time, King Solomon. These three books, along with its writers, teaches one so many of life's lessons if we just take time to read what God said through them. Within the thirteenth chapter of 1 Corinthians, it is deemed "The Love Chapter", which discusses love and what it means. Within the first chapter of James, he discusses trials, temptations, listening, and doing. Within the themes of trials and temptations, he provides today's scripture on the importance of patience. Within the third chapter of Ecclesiastes, Solomon announces to you and I the importance of time.
Paul begins our scriptural discussion by telling us a little bit about love. He shares with us that "love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud". What a mouthful to say when it comes to this thing we call love. In relationships and marriages alike, it's important to experience love. As you experience love, you will learn that there are times where love forces you to be patient. Love forces you to be kind. If truth were told, many of you, myself inclusive, have had situations where love had to be exercised because of something wrong a person did to you. God gave you enough love not to go off the deep end. Love will teach you when to talk and when to listen. Love is something you do not have to air out publicly because when true love is in you, others can tell and see it for themselves. When you see love in action, do not be envious of it. If you are married and your spouse isn't crossing every t and dotting every I, exercise the patience in love and keep believing God that he/she will cross those t's, dot those I's, and love you the way you want to be loved.
James continues on with telling us about patience. As Paul stated in 1 Corinthians 13, love is patient. When you have love, you have the ability to "let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing". I can recall instances during my marriage where my wife wanted God to birth certain attributes out of me and vice versa. Through our consistent love and patience for one another, patience had her perfect work and birthed out the attributes she desired from me and the attributes I desired from her. God has been so patient with us. He was patient when we couldn't make up our minds who we would serve, Him or the enemy. He has been patient when it came for us to either give Him His 10% or see us spend it on other things. He has been patient when it came to us giving other parts of our lives more time than Him. If God can be patient with us, why can't we be patient with our fellowman?
Solomon concludes our scriptural discussion on today, telling us about time. He simply says, "There is a time for everything". Brothers and sisters, God has appointed times for appointed situations and things we are to do and that will come in our lives. There is a time to mourn. There is a time to be happy. There is a time to dance. There is a time to tear things down. There is a time to build things up. There is a time to keep it real with your spouse or mate. There is a time where you apologize when you are wrong and in turn, where others must apologize when they are wrong. Do not take time for granted because just as soon as it comes, it is gone. Make your times and opportunities count! Husbands, allow your wives to understand how much you love them! Wives, allow your husbands to understand how much they mean to you! Parents, allow your children to know how much they mean to you and how much you love them. Children, take time to let your parents know how much you love them! Ladies and gentlemen, allow your family and friends know how much they mean to you before time runs out.
In closing, Benet blessed me through the song. On today, I hope that this discussion on love, patience, and time has blessed you. God has exercised love, patience, and has given us time to become His own and continually work on being the best. Make your marriages work through love, patience, and time. Make your relationships work through love, patience and time. Make your friendships work through love, patience and time. Most importantly, continue to grow in God's love, allow patience to make you perfect, and remember there's a time and a season for everything!
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
“Examine Your Circle of Friends”
Scripture: "Do not be misled: "Bad company corrupts good character."" - 1 Corinthians 15:33, NIV
Over the years, God has allowed us to make friends whether if they were grade school friends, high school friends, college friends, church friends, or neighborhood friends. As you have these friends, you realize that some of your friends are more valuable than others. Think about the times when you have experienced death in your family, your true friends are there for you or they will place a call to you to see if you are okay and if you need anything. Think about the times when you have hit financial hardship, your true friends step up and help you in any way possible. On the other hand, there are "friends" who leech off of you and in turn, dries you up mentally, emotionally, and spiritually like a prune. I say all of these things to call for you, my brother, and my sister, to examine your circle of friends. Not only am I calling you to examine your circle of friends, God is calling you to examine your circle of friends. This statement can be made because of today's text.
Our main scripture for today is located in 1 Corinthians. This book, written by the Apostle Paul, was directed at the church at Corinth while he was residing in Ephesus. 1 Corinthians was written during the time frame from 53 to 57 AD. Within the chapter of focus, Chapter 15, it is entitled the "Doctrine of Resurrection". Within this doctrine, Paul covers the resurrection of Christ, the resurrection of the dead, and the resurrected body. Today's main scripture falls under the resurrection of the dead theme. Within this theme, Paul addresses why it is important to examine your circle of friends.
He begins the text with a warning to the Corinthian church by saying, "Do not be misled". Just as the Apostle Paul warned them, God wants to warn you, do not be misled. The people that smile in your face all the time, do not be misled because those may be the ones who hurt you the greatest. The people who tell you that you are doing a great job, do not be misled because in the background, they are jockeying for your position or fame. The people who say they love you every two seconds, do not be misled because they may be used by the enemy to do you harm. The people who wants to talk your head off 24/7, do not be misled because they may be stopping you from loving your mate, spouse, or family in the correct way. In all of your dealings with people, just allow God to minister to you and not be misled!
Paul places a cap on this scripture of examining your circle of friends by saying, "Bad company corrupts good character". In examining your circle of friends, be leery of those who always have something negative to say because they will corrupt your good character. Be leery of those who always want to talk about somebody because they want to corrupt your good character. Be leery of cliques because those cliques may corrupt your good character. The old cliché says, "One bad apple will spoil the whole barrel" and if you allow the "bad apple" known as the enemy to infiltrate your camp, he will bring bad company to corrupt your good character. The blessing is God loves you and I so much that He sends us this warning through His Word and not only that, He has left us the Holy Spirit to lead and guide us in all things. You can believe this: If the Holy Spirit is in your ear about something or someone, PLEASE LISTEN, because He's already examined that friend and will let you know if they are bad company and wants to corrupt your good character!
In closing, we have been blessed to make friends through our lives. However, some of them may be associates and some are genuine friends. God, through the Apostle Paul, has provided us warning and rationale to examine your circle of friends. He tells us not to be misled and remember that bad company corrupts good character. In 2010, God wants you to have the "right" people in your life that you may grow. Do you want that for yourself? If so, take inventory of your circle of friends!
Over the years, God has allowed us to make friends whether if they were grade school friends, high school friends, college friends, church friends, or neighborhood friends. As you have these friends, you realize that some of your friends are more valuable than others. Think about the times when you have experienced death in your family, your true friends are there for you or they will place a call to you to see if you are okay and if you need anything. Think about the times when you have hit financial hardship, your true friends step up and help you in any way possible. On the other hand, there are "friends" who leech off of you and in turn, dries you up mentally, emotionally, and spiritually like a prune. I say all of these things to call for you, my brother, and my sister, to examine your circle of friends. Not only am I calling you to examine your circle of friends, God is calling you to examine your circle of friends. This statement can be made because of today's text.
Our main scripture for today is located in 1 Corinthians. This book, written by the Apostle Paul, was directed at the church at Corinth while he was residing in Ephesus. 1 Corinthians was written during the time frame from 53 to 57 AD. Within the chapter of focus, Chapter 15, it is entitled the "Doctrine of Resurrection". Within this doctrine, Paul covers the resurrection of Christ, the resurrection of the dead, and the resurrected body. Today's main scripture falls under the resurrection of the dead theme. Within this theme, Paul addresses why it is important to examine your circle of friends.
He begins the text with a warning to the Corinthian church by saying, "Do not be misled". Just as the Apostle Paul warned them, God wants to warn you, do not be misled. The people that smile in your face all the time, do not be misled because those may be the ones who hurt you the greatest. The people who tell you that you are doing a great job, do not be misled because in the background, they are jockeying for your position or fame. The people who say they love you every two seconds, do not be misled because they may be used by the enemy to do you harm. The people who wants to talk your head off 24/7, do not be misled because they may be stopping you from loving your mate, spouse, or family in the correct way. In all of your dealings with people, just allow God to minister to you and not be misled!
Paul places a cap on this scripture of examining your circle of friends by saying, "Bad company corrupts good character". In examining your circle of friends, be leery of those who always have something negative to say because they will corrupt your good character. Be leery of those who always want to talk about somebody because they want to corrupt your good character. Be leery of cliques because those cliques may corrupt your good character. The old cliché says, "One bad apple will spoil the whole barrel" and if you allow the "bad apple" known as the enemy to infiltrate your camp, he will bring bad company to corrupt your good character. The blessing is God loves you and I so much that He sends us this warning through His Word and not only that, He has left us the Holy Spirit to lead and guide us in all things. You can believe this: If the Holy Spirit is in your ear about something or someone, PLEASE LISTEN, because He's already examined that friend and will let you know if they are bad company and wants to corrupt your good character!
In closing, we have been blessed to make friends through our lives. However, some of them may be associates and some are genuine friends. God, through the Apostle Paul, has provided us warning and rationale to examine your circle of friends. He tells us not to be misled and remember that bad company corrupts good character. In 2010, God wants you to have the "right" people in your life that you may grow. Do you want that for yourself? If so, take inventory of your circle of friends!
Monday, January 4, 2010
“God's Goal Line Defense Against the Enemy”
Scripture: " … When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard against him." -Isaiah 59:29
As the regular season of the NFL came to a close on last night, I am reminded of one of the game's toughest situations: an opposing defense playing goal defense against a proficient offensive team. During this season, I was watching a game between the Washington Redskins and the Detroit Lions and this situation of goal line defense came into play. It was early in the 1st quarter and Washington had drove the length of the field and was knocking on Detroit's door to get into the end zone for the first touchdown of the game. However, due to Detroit's stout defense, they stopped the Redskins's offense on four straight plays and did not allow them to enter the end zone. Because of that, the momentum went with the Lions and eventually led them to win their first game in almost two years. Brothers and sisters, there's someone who wants to enter your "end zone", who wants to enter your life and disrupt it any way he can and that's the enemy. The blessing is, we have someone in our corner that's greater than the enemy's offense and that's our Heavenly Father. How can I make such a proclamation? Let's examine today's text.
Today’s devotional, just like our previous devotional, is set in the Old Testament book of Isaiah. This book is said by scholars to mimic the breakdown of our Bible. The book of Isaiah, which is 66 chapters in length, is said to have its first 39 chapters resemble the Old Testament and the last 27 chapters to resemble the New Testament. Within today's chapter, the writer dealt with three key things: sin, confession, and redemption. Within this chapter, the author provides us with clarity on God's goal line defense for us against the enemy.
The text begins with Isaiah stating the enemy's offense coming at us. He does this by saying, "When the enemy shall come in like a flood". If you took a moment or two to think about your life, you know how the enemy has flooded you and yours. He has flooded you with bills. He has flooded you with ailments. He has flooded you with children acting bad. He has flooded you with relationship problems. He has flooded you with trouble on the workplace. He has flooded you with car breakdowns. When the enemy comes, he does not come with just one thing, he comes at you with multiple things, just like a potent offense in football comes at you with various plays that deviate from the playbook.
Even with the deviation in the playbook, God has the defense for the enemy on your behalf! The text is concluded by saying, "the Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard against him". Though, the enemy has hit you with the various "plays" of life through your health, finances, marriage, and anything else, the Spirit of the LORD has news for him! He has a standard that will be lifted up against him! With this "standard", no matter how hard the enemy tries to get into your end zone, God will not allow it to hurt you or penetrate you! Though you may have been sick, God's standard prevented your death! Though your marriage was on the rocks, God's standard protected it from falling apart! Though your finances were in shambles, God's standard stepped in and provided you help to make it! Though you had some bumps in the road with some family members, God's standard soothed the way for better involvement and reconciled feelings! Though you may be confused in your mind, God's standard will provide peace! Whatever defense you need God to play for you, His standard will step in and prevent the enemy from scoring in your end zone!
In closing, the enemy loves to try God's people and hurt them and things of that nature. Aren't you glad that though the enemy plays offense and is trying to score, that God plays defense and prevents the enemy from scoring on you? In 2010, don't give the enemy any room to intrude your goal line. If for some reason, he gets down to your goal line, remember that God is there to stop him!
As the regular season of the NFL came to a close on last night, I am reminded of one of the game's toughest situations: an opposing defense playing goal defense against a proficient offensive team. During this season, I was watching a game between the Washington Redskins and the Detroit Lions and this situation of goal line defense came into play. It was early in the 1st quarter and Washington had drove the length of the field and was knocking on Detroit's door to get into the end zone for the first touchdown of the game. However, due to Detroit's stout defense, they stopped the Redskins's offense on four straight plays and did not allow them to enter the end zone. Because of that, the momentum went with the Lions and eventually led them to win their first game in almost two years. Brothers and sisters, there's someone who wants to enter your "end zone", who wants to enter your life and disrupt it any way he can and that's the enemy. The blessing is, we have someone in our corner that's greater than the enemy's offense and that's our Heavenly Father. How can I make such a proclamation? Let's examine today's text.
Today’s devotional, just like our previous devotional, is set in the Old Testament book of Isaiah. This book is said by scholars to mimic the breakdown of our Bible. The book of Isaiah, which is 66 chapters in length, is said to have its first 39 chapters resemble the Old Testament and the last 27 chapters to resemble the New Testament. Within today's chapter, the writer dealt with three key things: sin, confession, and redemption. Within this chapter, the author provides us with clarity on God's goal line defense for us against the enemy.
The text begins with Isaiah stating the enemy's offense coming at us. He does this by saying, "When the enemy shall come in like a flood". If you took a moment or two to think about your life, you know how the enemy has flooded you and yours. He has flooded you with bills. He has flooded you with ailments. He has flooded you with children acting bad. He has flooded you with relationship problems. He has flooded you with trouble on the workplace. He has flooded you with car breakdowns. When the enemy comes, he does not come with just one thing, he comes at you with multiple things, just like a potent offense in football comes at you with various plays that deviate from the playbook.
Even with the deviation in the playbook, God has the defense for the enemy on your behalf! The text is concluded by saying, "the Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard against him". Though, the enemy has hit you with the various "plays" of life through your health, finances, marriage, and anything else, the Spirit of the LORD has news for him! He has a standard that will be lifted up against him! With this "standard", no matter how hard the enemy tries to get into your end zone, God will not allow it to hurt you or penetrate you! Though you may have been sick, God's standard prevented your death! Though your marriage was on the rocks, God's standard protected it from falling apart! Though your finances were in shambles, God's standard stepped in and provided you help to make it! Though you had some bumps in the road with some family members, God's standard soothed the way for better involvement and reconciled feelings! Though you may be confused in your mind, God's standard will provide peace! Whatever defense you need God to play for you, His standard will step in and prevent the enemy from scoring in your end zone!
In closing, the enemy loves to try God's people and hurt them and things of that nature. Aren't you glad that though the enemy plays offense and is trying to score, that God plays defense and prevents the enemy from scoring on you? In 2010, don't give the enemy any room to intrude your goal line. If for some reason, he gets down to your goal line, remember that God is there to stop him!
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