Category Archives: Christianity

2020 Posts, Christianity

The Fear of God

The fear of the Lord is something that is not just missing in American leaders, it is something that the church has lost. There is no true fear of God in many churches. Most of the churches in America have little to zero reverence for the Lord. The average church in America has become more of a social club. Churches should NOT appeal to outsiders by offering the same things this dark world can offer you. True believers are called out from the things of this world. It is not about making yourself ‘feel at home’, come on the God I worship deserves more reverence than that.

While through Jesus Christ we are no longer under the Law, there are many principles the church should grab a hold of out of the Old Testament for today. In the passage of the burning bush in Exodus 3, God told Moses, “take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground”. Then look at Ecclesiastes 5:1 (ESV), “Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. To draw near to listen is better than to offer the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they are doing evil.”. Two Scriptures right here on the level of reverence we must give to the Lord when we are in His House.

There is a rising trend in many churches of a “me-centered gospel”. This falls right in line with what David Wilkerson said about the Gospel of Accommodation. There is a program that is plaguing many churches focusing on how to grow their congregation based on getting more people in the door via carnal means. Jesus did not tell us to fill up church pews or get people to say a short prayer. He commissioned the church to go out and make disciples. A disciple is not a casual Christian. Many people think they just need to say a prayer and attend church once a week and they are good to go, they can do as they please outside of that and take the same amount of repentance pills every single night. True Salvation always has fruit to show for itself, when one is truly born-again there is a change. When one is truly born again you should hate the sin you once loved. Jesus said in John 14:15 (ESV), “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.”.

The modern church has said that the Baptism or Filling of the Holy Spirit is not for today. One of the last things Satan would want is for believers to be filled with the Holy Spirit.  I would also go as far as to say that we are now beginning to see the power of the new birth being removed from the churches, and we will continue to see this on the rise. We will see the Great Falling Away of the modern church continue to pan-out, as we near the return of Jesus Christ.

William J. Seymour in September 1907, “Praise our God, He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Receive Him just now and He will fill you. Do not be discouraged but pray until you are filled, for the Lord says, “Men ought to always pray and not to faint”. Do not stop because you do not receive the baptism with the Holy Ghost at first but continue until you are filled. The Lord Jesus told His disciples to tarry until they were endued with power from on high. Many people today are willing to tarry just so long, and then they give up and fail to receive their personal Pentecost that would measure with the Bible. The Lord Jesus says, “Ye shall be filled.” He says to the person that hungers and thirsts after righteousness and He says they are blessed. So, if there is a hunger and a thirst in our souls for righteousness, we are blest of Him”.

2020 Posts, Christianity

Do You Actually Understand the Word of God?

I find it troubling how many people do not know Jesus; I also find it more troubling how many people do not properly know Jesus. There are many people who are not saved, and there are also many people who think they are saved, but truly are not. Many people might go to church once a week or even twice a week, but they lack a true understanding of God’s Word and who God truly is. Jesus did not call us to be casual Christians, if we want to follow Him then it requires a radical change in our life for His glory alone.

Let me give you an example of a casual Christian, one who’s Bible gets dusted off once or twice a week, or their Bible app only gets used twice a week. When was the last time you opened your Bible and asked Holy Spirit to teach you? What is your prayer schedule like, do you have one? We have a schedule for everything else in life, do we have one for prayer? Or do we just pray when we go through difficult times? Are the pages still sticking together in your Bible? Do you only go to church to receive a special blessing?

Where in the Bible does it say the power of God would cease or fade away? God is still on the move today according to His sovereign Will. He is supreme, even during trial and tragedy. You are in dangerous waters if you believe that there is no authority in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth for today. I am not talking about praying for your own personal gain, I am talking about a prayer life that is led by the Holy Spirit, and in accordance with God’s Will.

I see so many people concerned today about mental health. Let me tell you something, most people who have mental health issues such as anxiety and depression are under the oppression of the devil. Many people in churches suffer from these mental health issues and yet receive no prayer for it in their church. The tactics of the devil must flee in the name of Jesus Christ. The problem today is the church on average does not let the true Holy Spirit in, it wants to have worship and a sermon done in an hour. The other problem today is the church lets a spirit that might look and sound like, or better yet feel like the Holy Spirit, but it is not something of God. We have too much of dead Christianity today and too much of New Age in the church, that has worked its way in from years ago and now has been mainstream today.

What does the Bible say about a person who hears the Word of God, but does not understand and absorb it? Jesus said in Matthew 13:19 (ESV), “When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown along the path.”. I also like how The Message translation has it translated “Study this story of the farmer planting seed. When anyone hears news of the kingdom and does not take it in, it just remains on the surface, and so the Evil One comes along and plucks it right out of that person’s heart. This is the seed the farmer scatters on the road.”.

It is one thing to hear the Word of God twice a week. But we are called to study it and absorb it daily. I like how John Piper says it “swim in the Word of God”. Jesus said in John 14:26(WEB), “But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things, and will remind you of all that I said to you.”. Always when you are reading your Bible asking Holy Spirit to teach you. Make good notebooks.

2020 Posts, Bible Study, Book of Acts Series 2019, Christianity, Inspiration

Acts 21:1-36: What Do You Represent?

Introduction

In this blog post, I am going to discuss the majority of chapter 21 in the Book of Acts. As always, I encourage you to take the time to read this chapter in its entirety. In the first six verses of chapter 21, we see that Paul and his travel companions go to the following areas on their way to Jerusalem: Cos, Rhoades, Patara, Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Syria. They finally end up in Tyre. During Paul’s travel, he always sought out other believers. It is important that we find likeminded people to be around.

Insight from Holy Spirit

The believers in Trye determined by the Holy Spirit to tell Paul not to go to Jerusalem. They knew in their spirit that afflictions awaited Paul in Jerusalem. Acts 21:4 (ESV) tells us, “And having sought out the disciples, we stayed there for seven days. And through the Spirit, they were telling Paul not to go on to Jerusalem.”. The Message version translates this portion as “Their message to Paul, from insight given by the Spirit, was “Don’t go to Jerusalem.”. It is so important that we rely on the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Sometimes the Holy Spirit will give us insight regarding someone else. Maybe you feel the urge to call and/or pray for a person. When you feel this, seek God on how to follow through and be obedient.

Biblically Correct-Reverance

Paul knew that afflictions would await him when he traveled. I believe this is another reason as to why he sought out believers as he traveled. Acts 20:23 (ESV) tells us, “Except that the Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city that imprisonment and afflictions await me.”. Paul was clearly aware of this in chapter 21, and his fellow believers in Tyre confirmed this. At the end of his stay at Tyre we see in verses 5-6 (ESV), “When our days there were ended, we departed and went on our journey, and they all, with wives and children, accompanied us until we were outside the city. And kneeling down on the beach, we prayed and said farewell to one another. Then we went on board the ship, and they returned home.”. I would really like to draw your attention to where it says, ‘And kneeling down’. How often do you see that in the Protestant churches today? Look at Acts 20:36 (ESV), “And when he had said these things, he knelt down and prayed with them all.”. Did he form a prayer line with a catcher standing behind a person? No, not once do you see that in Scripture. Paul set an example; he gave reverence to the Lord. We need to learn to bring reverence back to the churches! When was the last time you were in church and knelt together as a body to pray for one another? It rarely happens much anymore. I am not trying to condemn any practices in the different church circles, I am just saying we really need to consider how Biblically correct we are. Jesus Christ is coming back for a pure bride, and part of being a pure bride involves reverence. Hebrews 12:28 (ESV) tells us, “Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe”. I could write a novel or two on how the church has lost reverence for the Lord, but I will save that for another time.

Paul in Caesarea

In verses seven thru sixteen, we see that they travel from Tyre to Ptolemais, which is a 20-mile journey. They then travel 40 miles to Caesarea, likely by ship. When Paul and his travel companions arrive at Caesarea they stay at the house of Philip, the evangelist. One fact about Philip is found that he is one of the seven from Acts 6:1-5. Additionally, we see that he had daughters who had the gift of prophecy. Then we see a Prophet by the name of Agabus come along who prophecies how Paul will be treated symbolically in Acts 21:11 (ESV), “And coming to us, he took Paul’s belt and bound his own feet and hands and said, “Thus says the Holy Spirit, ‘This is how the Jews at Jerusalem will bind the man who owns this belt and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.’””. Agabus is introduced to us in Acts 11:28 (ESV), which says, “And one of them named Agabus stood up and foretold by the Spirit that there would be a great famine over all the world (this took place in the days of Claudius).”.

Trust in God’s Sovereignty

Regardless of what others tell Paul, he still intends to go to Jerusalem. Paul responds in Acts 21:13-14 (ESV), “Then Paul answered, “What are you doing, weeping, and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be imprisoned but even to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.” And since he would not be persuaded, we ceased and said, “Let the will of the Lord be done.””. Paul fully trusted in God as he would face persecution for the sake of Jesus Christ. Paul trusted in God’s sovereign will 100-percent. How many of us today truly trust in God’s sovereign will for our lives? Psalm 115:3 (ESV) says, “Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases.”. We must fully trust in God’s sovereign will for our lives, too many people want to win favor with God to accomplish their own personal gain. We must have our mindset focused on God’s Will alone.

As we read on in Acts 21, we see Paul and his companions travel from Caesarea to Jerusalem, which is about a 65-mile journey. They stay at Mnasons home, likely about halfway through the journey.

Finally in Jerusalem

In verses 17-26 we see they finally reach Jerusalem and were gladly received by the brethren. Paul goes along with James and the elders and tells them all what God has done through his ministry thus far. As Paul talks to them, we see they are concerned as to how the people will respond to Paul since they know his stance on circumcision (referring to the law). So, they have Paul join a group of men who took a vow for purification, and he goes with them to the temple to complete the sacrifices the next day.

Paul is Attacked

In verses 27-36, we see that near the end of the purification days, some Jews from Ephesus who knew of Paul decided to yell in the Temple about Paul’s teachings regarding circumcision. These Jews cause a large commotion in the Temple and drag Paul out of the Temple and lock him out. We see that the people were trying to kill Paul, and this rapidly turned into a riot. The guards captain heard about this and went to the scene with some soldiers, and the people immediately backed off Paul. They wanted Paul to be chained but the captain could not get enough information on what the reason was, because of all the commotion. Paul is then carried by the soldiers to the barracks. In my next blog post, we will look at what takes place at the barracks.

Final Thoughts

I would really like to challenge you to examine yourself on how much reverence you give to God. Not only in church, but in your personal life. Do you tell unclean jokes, have vulgar language, addicted to something, or have anything in your life that goes against the Word of God? We must examine ourselves daily because we as Christians represent God. If we really appreciate the atonement for salvation on the Cross, then we should have a burning desire to lead a life that represents God with total reverence. How we live our lives as Christians is a testimony unto others. What kind of testimony are you giving?

2020 Posts, Bible Study, Book of Acts Series 2019, Christianity, Salvation

Acts Chapter 20: Foundational Truths

Introduction

As we have seen through the Book of Acts, there are many important lessons and principles found in this book of the Bible. We must note while the church may never exactly function the way it did in the Book of Acts, we still have many principles to apply from this book.

Acts 20:1-3: In It for Personal Gain?

In the first three verses of chapter twenty, we see Paul travels from Macedonia to Greece. He stays in Greece for three months and then the Jews plot against him. Paul then goes back through Macedonia. We must realize that the Apostle Paul faced much persecution, trials, and tribulations in his life. His life was by no means ‘his best life now’. 1 Corinthians 4:11-13 (KNJV) tells us, “To the present hour we both hunger and thirst, and we are poorly clothed, and beaten, and homeless. And we labor, working with our own hands. Being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we endure; being defamed, we entreat. We have been made as the filth of the world, the offscouring of all things until now.”. This Scripture tells us that as Christians we are not promised a problem-free life on earth. We will face tribulation, trials, and persecution. The Bible does not guarantee us a luxurious lifestyle on Earth. I really will never understand the basis of the people who get behind the pulpit and believe God for private jets. These ministers are false prophets because they want to use the Gospel as a means for a luxurious lifestyle for their gain. Paul also told us in 2 Corinthians 2:15-17 (NKJV), “For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. To the one we are the aroma of death leading to death, and to the other the aroma of life leading to life. And who is sufficient for these things? For we are not, as so many, peddling the word of God; but as of sincerity, but as from God, we speak in the sight of God in Christ.”. The words ‘many, peddling’ in this Scripture means false prophet. This Scripture is talking about false prophets who are only in the business for their gain. This just gives us a warning as to how the Gospel has become so Americanized.

Acts 20:4-12

In verse four through twelve Paul’s traveling companions meet him and they sail from Philippi after the Days of Unleavened Bread. After the feast, they end up in Troas and it was the first day of the week and they broke bread together. While Paul was gathered with disciples on the third floor of a building a man falls from the third story and dies. Paul then goes and prays over the man and goes back with the disciples to break bread. We then see the man who was dead rises back up. Paul and the disciples did not let this situation stop them from breaking bread.  

Acts 20:13-24: Not to Be Moved by Tribulation

In the next few verses, we see Paul travel from Troas to Miletus. Paul then wants to be in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost. As Paul goes to Ephesus, he speaks to the church elders and tells them how he served the Lord in humility and with many tears. Oh, how if the church today could get back to the call of anguish. There is a great teaching by David Wilkerson on anguish. We also see how Paul talks about how he faced tribulation in many cities he went to, but he was not moved by it. How come we become so easily moved by the situations in our lives or the world? We must not be moved as Paul tells us in verse twenty-four. Additionally, Paul says that his life on earth is worth nothing, he has this mentality because he is completely and fully surrendered to Jesus Christ. We must be like this, we should not want our lives, we should only focus on glorifying God more and more every single day. We must strive to finish what God has called us to do with our lives for His Glory alone.

Acts 20:25-31: Importance of Overseers

In verses, twenty-five through thirty-one Paul talks about the importance of overseers in the church and warns of false prophets. Paul warned us about false prophets because we will be in great danger if we believe a false gospel. In verse thirty-one he tells us he “did not cease to warn every one night and day with tears”. Here we go again it should hurt us inside when we see people falling false doctrines and false prophets. We need to see things the way Jesus sees them. Paul tells us to be watchful in this passage and 1 Corinthians 16:13 (NKJV) “Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong.”. He also tells us to be vigilant in Colossians 4:2 (NKJV), “Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving”.

Acts 20:32-36: Scripture and Grace Alone (5 Solas)

In the last few verses, we see the importance of the Word of God and Grace. We are complete in Christ as it is written in Colossians 2:10 (NKJV), “and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.”. Additionally, we are complete with Scripture also. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NKJV) tells us, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.”. It is very important to take this concept home of being made complete with Scripture and with Grace through Jesus Christ. Sadly, today many people will take a ‘prophecy’ spoken over them more seriously than the Word of God. Many people today will make it more of a priority to seek physical healing over true Salvation. I have seen too many healing services where nothing on the correct Gospel was taught. Sermons must all have a foundation of the Gospel and then built upon from there. Don’t get me wrong I believe our God is willing and able to do miraculous things far beyond our imaginations, while at the same time focusing on the foundation of the Gospel is our number one priority. In verse thirty-six we see before Paul departed that he knelt and prayed with the disciples. He didn’t have any prayer line, he knelt and prayed with them. Oh, how greatly we need to kneel in church services more and more and learn to give God reverence.

Final Thoughts

There were so many things I covered in this post, and I encourage you to go through this chapter on your own time and study it for yourself and meditate on it. I feel today we as a church need to get back to the foundation of the Gospel because there is so much distortion. We need to learn to take diligent time to meditate on Scripture, worship our God as a church and individually, and rely on the Holy Spirit in our prayer life.

2020 Posts, Apostolic, Baptism of Holy Spirit, Book of Acts Series 2019, Christianity, Gifts of the Spirit, Healing

Acts 19:1-20

Acts 19:1-7: Paul in Ephesus

In the first seven verses of Acts chapter 19, we see that Paul is in Ephesus and the disciples in that area only knew the baptism of John. Paul does correct them on their doctrine, and they all become converted and are then baptized with water and then receive the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. Notice in verse six tells us “And when Paul laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied”.

Acts 19:8-10: Paul Doing His Custom

In the next few verses, we will see that Paul continues to do his custom, which was to preach the Gospel and reason with people in the synagogues. Acts 17:2 (NKJV) tells us, “Then Paul, as his custom was, went into them, and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures”. Additionally, this was a custom Jesus had also as we see in Luke 4:16 (NKJV), “So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read.”. As we see in verse eight in Acts chapter 19 Paul spoke concerning the things of the Kingdom of God. I truly feel the church needs to focus back on the things regarding the Kingdom of God and that we need to become more Kingdom Minded in our everyday lives. Too many people want to sleep at the devil’s throne Monday-Saturday while only spending Sundays in the outer courts of Gods Throne. We also see in verses nine and ten that the people rejected Paul’s teaching, and this led to Paul going to the School of Tyrannus for 2 years. This school was in Asia and when Paul was there both Jews and Greeks heard the Word of God.

Acts 19:11-12: Unusual Miracles

In verses 11-20 we see that God worked ‘unusual miracles’ through Paul. Acts 19:12 (NKJV) says “so that even handkerchiefs or aprons were brought from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them, and the evil spirits went out of them.”. Paul was truly anointed by God; he was fully sold out for the things of God. Can we still anoint handkerchiefs and other pieces of fabric for today? Well yes, none of the Three People of the Godhead have changed, nor will They ever change. This move of God through Paul was very similar to what we see with Peter in Acts 5:15 (NKJV) “so that they brought the sick out into the streets and laid them on beds and couches, that at least the shadow of Peter passing by might fall on some of them.”.

Acts 19:13-20: Imitators and Magicians

As we go on in verses 13-17, we see that some Jewish exorcists tried to imitate Paul and it backfired on them drastically. So bad that the person who was demon-possessed jumped on them. The demonic spirit even spoke to them in verse 15 “And the evil spirit answered and said, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?”. Both Jesus and Paul were filled with the Holy Spirit, these Jewish exorcists were not. Two things Paul and Jesus had in common was that they were filled with the Holy Spirit. Now, of course, Jesus had the fullness of the Holy Spirit in Him. This just shows us that who we are in private is who we will be in public and when we do spiritual warfare. Also, we see in the remaining verses that many people believed and even people who practiced magic burned their books. Anything that is of the devil’s realm we should have nothing to do with.

Final Thoughts

I covered a lot of material in this blog post. It is my prayer that you seek God more diligently every day and get to know Him on a deeper level every day. We must learn to be more Kingdom Minded rather than earthly minded. I see far too many people who are in church and are earthly-minded and carnal than they are Kingdom Minded. It is so important we seek greater manifestations of the Holy Spirit in our daily lives for God’s glory. 

2020 Posts, Christianity, Fruit of Spirit, Inspiration, love, Old Testament, Prophetic Flow Teaching, Salvation, Sin, Wisdom, Word's of Wisdom

White as Snow

Two Phrases

As I was spending time with the Lord today the Holy Spirit put two phrases on my heart which were, ‘white as snow’ and ‘whiter than snow’. Both phrases are found in Scripture in Isaiah 1:18 and Psalm 51:7. I encourage you to read those passages when you get the opportunity. However, the Holy Spirit drew my attention to Psalm 51:7, and the context of this passage is talking about being cleansed of sin and being renewed with a steadfast spirit.

Jesus Cleanses Us

When one gets truly born again, they are cleansed of all sin and iniquity. 1 John 1:9 (NKJV) tells us, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”. There is so much power in the Blood of Jesus that it is often underappreciated in the church today.

Purification

Going back to Psalm 51:7 it tells us, “Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.”. Hyssop was a plant used by the ancient Hebrews for purification. In terms of the New Covenant, the Blood of Jesus is used for our purification. Even after we are truly born again, we will fall short from time to time. We may even have some habitual sins that might take some time to fully flee from. But may I raise a question to you, are you ‘as white as snow’ or ‘whiter than snow’?

White as Snow?

Today as I was writing this, we got about six inches of snow. When snow falls there is either a very small dusting or enough accumulation to cover the ground completely. Often many believers are not as ‘white as snow’ as they should be. Far too often we might have a small dusting of snow. Having a dusting of snow reveals the grass, and I would like to think of the grass as our sinful habits we are struggling to get rid of or even one’s secret sin. To be mighty men and women of God we must flee from the lust of the flesh and walk in our new nature. When we truly do this, we will begin to have more of an accumulation of snow, rather than just a dusting. We should strive each day to be purer. Remember He is coming back very soon for a pure bride, the hour is very late!

2019, Announcements, Christianity, Salvation

Merry Christmas

‘Tis the Season’

I would first like to wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas. I was debating on how to write my Christmas post this year. I remember as a child always looking forward to Christmas Eve spent at my grandparent’s house, and then opening gifts on Christmas morning. This is the time of year when many great memories are made with loved ones. This is also a time of year to look back on memories made with loved ones who are no longer here. For some people, this year’s Christmas might be difficult, because of a loved one no longer being here. Or you might be spending Christmas at work. Regardless of our circumstances for this Christmas, we must remember the main reason behind the season. 

Why We Celebrate Christmas

What is the first thing you think of when you hear the word Christmas? I want you to be honest with yourself on this question. Do you think about the gifts, family, work parties, family gatherings, church services, music, movies, decorations, or just the time off from work or school? I think far too often people think of Christmas incorrectly. We get so focused on the worldly stuff rather than the true meaning of Christmas. The true meaning of Christmas is the celebration of the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 

Conformed to the World

I know many people who seem to get distracted by the things of this world during this time of year. Romans 12:2 (NASB) reminds us “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”. I find it amazing that we as the Body of Christ will exhort so much time, energy, and money into making sure our Christmas traditions are perfect. While I like Christmas traditions, why are we not giving this much attention to our personal discipleship? Why are we not spending all this time we find to shop for gifts, meditating in the Word during the rest of the year? 

Continuous Joy

Many people seem to be in a more joyous mood this time of year. Why do we get so excited for one day of the year for our traditions? Why are we not excited every day that a Savior was born that saved us from eternal death? We should be excited about that every day! Psalm 95:1 (NASB) tells us, “O come, let us sing for joy to the LORD, let us shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation.”. Additionally, in Acts 13:52 (NASB) “And the disciples were continually filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.”. If the disciples were filled continually with joy, then we should be too! We should continually have joy because we are saved, healed, and delivered by the Blood of the Lamb. We celebrate His birth this time of year. We shouldn’t just be filled with joy during the Christmas season, we should be filled with joy all the time.

Distortion 

Just like Christmas gets distorted by the world, so does the Gospel. It is not just Christmas that gets distorted by secular things, it is also the Gospel that is distorted. There are far too many ministers who preach another Christ. If a sermon is titled ‘Nine Steps to Happiness’, I would suggest running from that church! The Gospel is not about how to fix a flat tire, it is about the Blood that was shed at the Cross. More people are following prosperity gospel preachers today than ever before. God is not going to give people the desires of their unregenerate hearts, no matter how much you waste your voice “speaking it into existence”. The Gospel is not about fulfilling our lust of the flesh, God isn’t going to tell you to go out and purchase a luxury item. God will tell you to be a good steward of your finances. It always seems that the average church has yet install discerning filters to filter out the garbage of this dark world. The American dream was never meant to be tied in with Scripture. Just like Christmas was not meant to be a time of year when millions of people go in debt awaiting their tax refunds. 

Conclusion 

The key takeaway is to keep our eyes always focus on what the Bible says about everything our lives. If we can keep our focus in line with the things of God, our lives will be much easier. The world always distorts the true meaning of Christmas, just like it does the true Gospel. I encourage you to make incorporating Christ into each part of your life as best as you can. I also encourage you to make your Christmas focused on Christ rather than how this world tells you to celebrate it. Maybe instead of saying Merry Christmas to people, we should say “A Savior is Born”. 

2019, Christianity, Wisdom, Word's of Wisdom

Who is the King of Your Heart?

You claim that Jesus is the King of Your Heart, but is He really?
You claim to be a Christian, but you have been on milk all your life.
Why haven’t you gotten to the meat, if He is truly the King of Your Heart?

If He is truly the King of Your heart you should have a burning desire to know Him on new levels each day.
He has a burning desire for fellowship with you, but you ignore the invitation!
He has eyes of fire for a reason, it is a type of fire you do not mess with.

Too many people are stuck on milk and are not even close to ready for the meat.
You have to make a choice to invest time for the King of Kings!
The reason you can’t put aside the time for Him is because you have not yet made him the King of your heart!

Your worldly things are still the king of your heart, but you won’t admit it.
You are too worried about your finances, possessions, entertainment, and self-image!
Its time for pew warmers to get out of the bedroom with the enemy and get on their knees and repent.

Part of the problem is that there is a lack of true training centers to equip mighty men and women of God to take the lead during this late hour.
There are too many social halls, rather than true churches today.
There are too many carnal worship services, rather than worship services that are in spirit and truth.
There are too many ministers obsessed with their own image, rather than submitting to the King of Kings!

The hour is late, just because you see people at church on Sunday does not mean you will see them in Heaven.
Just because you see someone standing behind a pulpit does not mean you will see them in Heaven.
Jesus warned us that not many people choose the one true path, because it is very narrow.

Get your heart right now! Stop procrastinating!
Wipe the dust off your Bible or sign into the Bible App for the first time.
Enroll in the classroom of the Holy Spirit, enrollment is always open. There are many empty seats!

2019, Book of Acts Series 2019, Christianity, Gifts of the Spirit

Yielding to the Holy Spirit

If Only We Would Yield

In this blog post, I am going to discuss a great example of yielding to the Holy Spirit. If only the average church would take the time to yield to the Holy Spirit today, things would be so much better. Sadly, most of the churches today are so theologically brainwashed by man’s philosophy. In Acts chapter sixteen we will see several things that result from Paul and Silas yielding to the Holy Spirit.

Timothy is Introduced

In Acts 16:1-5 we are first introduced to Timothy who is of good report, and his mother is a Jew and his father is a Greek. So, he has an interesting family background. If you read my previous blog post from my series on the Book of Acts, you will see Paul dealt with some major conflict regarding circumcision. For the sake of cultural issues, he takes Timothy to be circumcised. We do see that the churches they do minister to get strengthened and more people become converted.

Holy Spirit Leads Paul to Macedonia

Going on to verses six to ten we see that Paul and Silas attempt traveling to Asia and Bithynia; however, the Holy Spirit prohibits them. This is something very important here with yielding to the Holy Spirit. You might have something that you think you should do, but God tells you to hold off. We may not see the reason right away, but we will eventually see why. I never question God’s reasoning, because His reasoning is certainly better than mine will ever be. We then see Paul has a dream of someone in Macedonia telling him to come and help them. Paul now feels strongly led that he is to go to Macedonia. Sometimes God will communicate to us through dreams at times, which is important for us to discern our dreams. 

First Fruit in Philippi

Continuing to Acts 16:11-15 we see that they do end up in Philippi which is a part of Macedonia. As the Sabbath day comes, they come across a woman named Lydia, and they minister to her and she gets saved, and so does her whole household. Paul could have gone to Asia and Bithynia instead, but if he did this woman would never have gotten ministered to. God might change your plans to bring an answered prayer to someone else!

Paul Deals with Demonic Spirit

Moving on to verses sixteen to twenty-four we see another fruit of Paul yielding to the Holy Spirit. He encounters a girl with a spirit of divination. She is a fortune-teller who brings much profit to her masters. The spirit of divination includes wizards, witches, spiritists, magicians, astrologers, and false prophets. Deuteronomy 18:10-12 (NKJV) tells us, “There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, or one who practices witchcraft, or a soothsayer, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer,  or one who conjures spells, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead.  For all who do these things are an abomination to the Lord, and because of these abominations the Lord your God drives them out from before you.”. Sadly today we see many Christians who partake in this garbage by being involved with tarot cards and much more.

Paul and Silas are in Prison

As Paul encounters this demon-possessed girl, she follows him for a few days saying that he is a man of God. Paul eventually gets annoyed with the spirit behind her and cast it out. If you read the scripture closely it says he spoke to the spirit. This is very important because our war is not flesh and blood but principalities and rulers in the heavenly places. After the girl is delivered her masters find out that their hope of profit from her is gone. They get very angry with Paul and go to the authorities. Paul and Silas end up in prison because of Paul delivering a girl from a demonic spirit. This is another example of persecution here in the Book of Acts. I am not sure how any minister could tell you that your best life is to be now on earth.

Praise God Through the Storm

Lastly in verses twenty-five through forty we see that while they were in prison, they still praised God and prayed. Isn’t that an example for us, they could have spent that time complaining about what took place, instead they praised God. Even when you are going through a difficult time, God is still worthy of all praises. Do not ever let the enemy knock you down to the point you stop worshiping God and praying. As they were praying and worshiping, a great earthquake happens, and the prison doors open, and their chains are loosed. We then see the prison guard comes to see what is going on and he gets saved along with his family!

Prison Guard Gets Saved

Continuing on, Paul and Silas are released from the prison and depart from the area. Even though they suffered they were still able to bear fruit. A prison guard and his family got saved through this situation. It is always amazing how God works when we yield to His Spirit. If Paul would have not yielded to the Holy Spirit and would have gone to areas that he should not have gone to, these great things would not have taken place. This is an example that shows us the importance of yielding to the Holy Spirit in every aspect of our life.

Final Thoughts

To yield to the Holy Spirit, we must put away the works of the flesh, because of the conflict with the walk of the spirit. Galatians 5:16-18 (TPT) tells us, “As you yield freely and fully to the dynamic life and power of the Holy Spirit, you will abandon the cravings of your self-life. For your self-life craves the things that offend the Holy Spirit and hinder him from living free within you! And the Holy Spirit’s intense cravings hinder your old self – life from dominating you! So then, the two incompatible and conflicting forces within you are your self-life of the flesh and the new creation life of the Spirit. But when you are brought into the full freedom of the Spirit of grace, you will no longer be living under the domination of the law but soaring above it!”. I don’t usually use The Passion Translation, but I like how this scripture is translated here. I encourage you this week to take time and diligently seek God and ask the Holy Spirit to guide you in whatever is going on in your life right now!

2019, Christianity, Fruit of Spirit, Inspiration, love

Always Thankful

Happy Thanksgiving

With today being Thanksgiving I had to just have to write a short blog post! I would first like to wish you and your family a safe and Happy Thanksgiving! I myself find Thanksgiving to be my favorite holiday. In this post, I want to talk about what the Bible says about giving thanks. It seems to be always a tradition for people to reflect on what they are most thankful for during this time of the year. Then the day after today, people will go out and do some shopping. It seems like our society just wants us to be Thankful one day of the year, and the next day go out and splurge all our money.

What Does the Bible Say?

So, what does the Bible say about giving thanks? Are we only to be thankful just one day out of the full year? Paul told us in 1 Thessalonians 5:18 (AMP), “in every situation [no matter what the circumstances] be thankful and continually give thanks to God; for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus.”. So, are you always thankful in every situation? Are you always thankful no matter your circumstances? Are you still thankful when you are faced with a sickness? Are you still thankful during the death of a loved one? Are you thankful when things get stressful at work? I am sure we can all find areas of our lives where we need to be more thankful.

Focus on God

Psalms 107:1 (NKJV) tells us, “Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.”.  No matter what circumstances we are in, we will always have one thing to be consistently thankful for, and that is our salvation through Jesus Christ. When a trial comes your way, the devil wants to see you get knocked down and depressed. The devil wants you to lose your focus as a believer and focus all your attention and energy into the circumstances, rather than taking the time to go to your Heavenly Father in prayer. The more time you spend worrying and being depressed over your circumstances is more time you give to the enemy and your flesh.

The Flesh vs. The Spirit

When most people lose their focus on God, they always tend to blame it on an attack from the enemy. While certainly, this can happen, we must remember that the problem is often ourselves. Sometimes our flesh can get in the way of things, you know that thing we inherited from the fallen nature. When we are born again, we are to walk in the spirit. Galatians 5:16 (NKJV) tells us, “I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.”. This is all a part of putting on the new creation we are in Christ Jesus! A person who is born again should be giving less and less attention to their desires of the flesh and should be giving more attention to their spirit man inside of them.

Walk in the Spirit

So, if you are struggling with always being thankful and joyful, then I encourage you to take some time and begin to put on the spirit man that is inside of you more than ever before. The best way to do this is to get into the Word of God daily and let it transform your mind. God does not just want us to be thankful one day a year, He wants us to be thankful every day and worship Him always!

Challenge

I would like to leave you with a challenge, instead of reflecting on what you are thankful during this time of the year, I want you to journal one thing each day that you are thankful for. I would even encourage you to find something specific to each day as you do this for a whole year. I think this is a great habit for every Christian to get into. Walking in the spirit involves us changing our mindset, which means developing new habits, so why not start adopting one today!