Category Archives: Inspiration

Book of Acts Series 2019, Christianity, Gifts of the Spirit, Healing, Inspiration, Salvation, Wisdom

A Promise Made, A Promise Kept

dove flying in blue sky

I recently discussed the promise of the Holy Spirit, and then some lessons we can learn from the disciples in the Upper Room as a part of my series in the Book of Acts. As I continue this series, I would like to begin teaching on Chapter Two, which shows us what happened on the Day of Pentecost. Some people often confuse the Day of Pentecost to only be historically significant to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, however, there is more to the Day of Pentecost. The disciples filling of the Holy Spirit just happened to occur on the Feast of Pentecost or also known as the Feast of Weeks. This was one of the three required feasts of the Jews. This celebrated the beginning of the early weeks of harvest. A historic event tied to the Feast of Pentecost was when Moses received the 10 Commandments from God. The Feast of Weeks or the Feast of Pentecost occurs this year on June 9, 2019, it usually occurs on our calendar at the end of May or beginning of June. If you would like to look further into the Feast of Pentecost in the Old Testament, I would like to encourage you to read into the following scriptures:

•    Exodus 34:22

•    Leviticus 23:15-22

•    Deuteronomy 16:16

•    2 Chronicles 8:13

Now that we have some Old Testament background on the Feast of Pentecost, we can now dive into what happened on the Day of Pentecost with the disciples. In Acts 2:1 (KJV) it says, “And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.”. The disciples were all gathered together in one place, based on what took place in the previous chapter, I believe the disciples were praying together. Acts 1:14 (KJV) tells us, “These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren.”. If you remember from my previous teaching, I discussed the importance of us praying together as followers of Christ. Continuing to Acts 2:2-4 (KJV) it tells us, “And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.”. There is so much here just in these three verses to digest. As the disciples were gathered together praying, they heard the sound of a strong wind from heaven that filled the whole room. Right, when this happened, they had tongues of fire, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. I would like to dig deeper into what happened in this scripture. First, the disciples were praying together, then all the sudden a sound of a powerful wind filled the room, and then they became filled with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit goes where He is invited, the disciples wanted the Holy Spirit and they wanted the moving of the Holy Spirit. We as the church need to truly invite the Holy Spirit into our church services, there are so many churches dry right now of the Holy Spirit. The enemy is succeeding at oppressing people with sickness, depression, anxiety, addiction, pride, and much more. We need the Holy Spirit flowing in our churches not only for people to be delivered but for people to receive the Holy Spirit in their lives too. Jesus said in John 14:16 (KJV) “And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever”. The Comforter Jesus is talking about is the Holy Spirit. Jesus promised His disciples that they would receive the Holy Spirit, I believe they were praying for this as they were gathered together. Jesus told them in Acts 1:8 (WEB) “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you. You will be witnesses to me in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the uttermost parts of the earth.”. Not only was the Holy Spirit promised by Jesus it was also prophesied in the Book of Joel. Joel 2:28 (KJV) tells us, “And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions”. In my next teaching, I will go more in-depth on the prophecies of the Holy Spirit.

Lastly, I would like to touch upon the Gift of Tongues, which are still available to us today! Acts 2:6 (KJV) says, “Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language.”. When the Jews saw this they were first confused because they heard each of the disciples speak in a language of the Jews who were all from different nations as mentioned in Acts 2:5. Reading further, Acts 2:7-8 (KJV) says, “And they were all amazed and marveled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galilaeans? And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born?”. The Jews were amazed to see the disciples speaking different languages that they clearly did not learn. The Jews were able to understand what the disciples were speaking, because each of the disciple’s gift of tongues from the Holy Spirit, was a language of the Jews. You might ask how did the disciples speak a language they did not learn? The answer is the Holy Spirit gave them utterance. Acts 2:4 (KJV) again says, “And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.”.  A reason why people have difficulty beginning with their Gift of Tongues is that they let their mind get in the way. We must realize that the Gift of Tongues is from God, and the Holy Spirit will give us what to say. The Type of Tongues the disciples had was the Tongues for Public Administration, which I will go into more detail on in one of my next teachings, along with the two other Types of Tongues that you can receive from the Holy Spirit.

I would like to encourage you to subscribe to my blog so you can be notified on when new teaching is posted. My next teaching will be on how the Jews responded to the Gift of Tongues. After that, I will break off shortly from the Book of Acts and we will take a look at the three Types of Tongues one can receive from the Holy Spirit, along with the other Spiritual Gifts as listed in the First Book of Corinthians.  

Christianity, Fruit of Spirit, Inspiration, Sin, Wisdom

Too Many Distractions?

busy and crowded airport

If you have been following my teachings lately you will see recently I had a teaching titled ‘Conformed to this World’. I would like to expand upon this based off some items that were revealed to me by God. The main scripture in my previous teaching was Romans 12:2 (NKJV), which says, “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”. We are in a period, where there is too much of the world not only in the church but also in many Christians lives. It is also sad to note, that we are so distracted to even realize these things, these distractions lead us to not fully accepting Christ in our life, and in our trials. So, my question to you is, are there too many distractions in the church and in your walk with God? Before I begin, I would like to point out that this teaching should be looked at as how we can improve as the Body of Christ and as individuals in our walk of faith. I myself am never 100 percent perfect, but there come times when we all need correction for our own growth.

With as busy as we are in life, it should be no surprise that we will face distractions. Yet some of these distractions can hinder our walk of faith. So many people are busy with the many aspects of their everyday lives and they become blind to these distractions. 1 Corinthians 7:35 (NKJV) tells us, “And this I say for your own profit, not that I may put a leash on you, but for what is proper, and that you may serve the Lord without distraction.”. There are six common distractions I feel that many of us can fall short of in our own lives. The first distraction is not having any true joy in Jesus. Hebrews 12:2 (NKJV) tells us, “looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”. If our joy and happiness does not originate from having Jesus in our life, then we really need to work somethings out. The second distraction is being married to or even dating an unbeliever. When you enter a relationship whether that be in dating or in marriage, and you know the other person is an unbeliever or their beliefs conflict yours and you continue in that relationship without addressing it, you are welcoming in a distraction. I myself was with someone who was an unbeliever, I thought I could change her. The relationship lasted four years too long before the Lord intervened and ended it. I am glad He intervened in the way He did, because this relationship was blocking me from receiving what God truly had for me.  To all the people out their looking for a spouse, please take your time and look for someone who has the same beliefs as you do, don’t try wasting years to convert them. 2 Corinthians 6:14 (NKJV) tells us, “Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness?”. There are also some people who let themselves spend so much time finding joy in their relationship with their spouse first, rather than with God first. Both you and your spouse should find your joy in the Lord first and let that be a foundation to your marriage or relationship if you are dating.

A third distraction we can all lack at times, is a lack of discernment. We must discern what is truly of God, and what is not. Remember wolfs can appear in sheep’s clothing. 1 John 4:1 (NKJV) tells us, “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.”. Another distraction we might have personally is holding grudges. I have witnessed many families be torn apart over grudges. Ephesians 4:32 (NKJV) tells us, “And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.”.  Along with forgiveness of others we must forgive ourselves too and not let our past mistakes haunt us. Proverbs 4:25 (NKJV) instructs us, “Let your eyes look straight ahead, and your eyelids look right before you.”. One last reason we can become distracted as individuals is not properly managing our time. Ephesians 5:15-16 (NKJV) instructs us, “See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.” You might not be spending as much time with the Lord as you should be and claim you don’t have enough time. Maybe it is time to cut back on the TV or video games and spend more time in the Word and in prayer.

So, if we can be distracted personally, can the church be distracted? The answer is absolutely, and many are already distracted. One thing I would like to point out is the era of technology we are in. I realize that many people use a Bible app on their smartphone to follow along with the sermon. Whether we want to realize it or not, our phones can be a distraction. What if a notification pops up on your screen during the sermon while you are following along in your Bible app? Do you ignore the notification, or do you open it up, and end up looking through your news feed? I believe that technology can be useful in the church, if it is used correctly. But if it is not used correctly, it can lead to many people not actively listening to a sermon. A sermon is like a meal to our Spirit, if you aren’t fully paying attention you won’t absorb everything. Just like if you don’t eat your whole meal, you might miss out on some key nutrients.

These distractions in our church and in our own lives can prevent us from fully and truly receiving Christ. We need to spend more of our time focused on Jesus, rather than the world. Colossians 3:1-2 (NKJV) tells us, “If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.”.  God wants all of us, not just part of us. You cannot become born again and have one foot in the world and the other foot in the Kingdom of God. James 4:7 (NKJV) tells us, “Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.”.  I would really like to encourage you to take some time and really think about these distractions I mentioned, do any of these apply to you or the church you are in? If so then you need to seek God and ask Him for guidance on how to deal with these distractions appropriately so you can be in a more serious walk of faith.

Book of Acts Series 2019, Christianity, Fruit of Spirit, Gifts of the Spirit, Inspiration, Sin, Wisdom

Lessons from the Upper Room

bible opened on table with a notepad next to it and pencil.

As I continue my series in the Book of Acts, I would like to pick back up at Acts 1:9 and go all the way to the end of the first chapter. You can click here to read this section in the Bible online.  There are some lessons that can be learned from the disciples in the upper room but first, I would like to touch upon the ascension of Jesus Christ and His second coming. Acts 1:9 begins to tell us about the ascension of Jesus Christ. The scripture tells us, “Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight.”. The ascension of Jesus was already promised to the disciples in John 7:33-34 (NKJV) which says, “Then Jesus said to them, “I shall be with you a little while longer, and then I go to Him who sent Me.  You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you cannot come.””. We know that God was the one who sent Jesus to Earth, and as scripture says He will return to who sent Him, which is God. The Book of Acts tells us Jesus was received by a cloud, the cloud was the presence of God in this case. We also have examples in the Old Testament when God appeared as a cloud. Moses wrote in Exodus 13:21-22 (NKJV) “And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so as to go by day and night.  He did not take away the pillar of cloud by day or the pillar of fire by night from before the people.”.  We also know from the Book of Acts, that Jesus will one day return to us, Acts 1:11 (NKJV) tells us, “who also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.””. I believe today that we are in the last hours before the rapture. I do promise you that I will do a teaching series on the end times after my current series on the Book of Acts. It is also confirmed that Jesus will return in a cloud in Luke 21:27 (NIV), “At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.”.

Acts 1:12 (NKJV) tells us, “Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey.”. The disciples have just returned to Jerusalem and if you read the first part of the next verse it mentioned they went to the upper room of the place they were staying at. I would like you to notice in verse 12 where it uses the term Sabbaths Day, which is the distance that Jews could walk on the Sabbath, which is roughly less than a mile. Verse 13 also provides a listing of all the current disciples in the upper room. In the next verse, there is an important lesson that we can learn from the disciples, and that is as Christians to come together with the same purpose, to seek God, and pray in the name of Jesus. Acts 1:14 (NKJV) says, “These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers.”. The disciples prayed together in the Name of Jesus, whatever your need is ask for it in the name of Jesus. Jesus told us in John 14:13 (NKJV), “And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.”.  Some synonyms for the word disciple are a follower, believer, and admirer. If you think about it every true Christian is a disciple, we need to come together and pray as one. I have been in several churches in my years of being a Christian, I recall one that had a prayer service every Sunday evening were people that came prayed together as a group. There were not many people that came, and sadly the attendance for that service dwindled down so much, that it got discontinued. Let me first say I understand that some people must work certain hours, and children have school activities that they participate in, but what about the Christians who do have the time to go to a church service, other than Sunday morning. I feel every church, regardless of denomination could benefit from having a prayer night throughout the week along with its Sunday and mid-week Bible Study service. Does Sunday football rank higher than God? Does your favorite TV Show rank higher than God? Do you put God first, or do you put entertainment from the world first? Did we not forget Romans 12:2 (KJV) which says, “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”. God should and must be our priority in our life, and everything else can follow and He will provide for us. Matthew 6:33 (GNT) reminds us, “Instead, be concerned above everything else with the Kingdom of God and with what he requires of you, and he will provide you with all these other things.”.

Continuing through Acts 1:15-26, the disciples had a decision to make, they had to find another person to join them and take the spot of Judas Iscariot. As many of you know Judas was the disciple who betrayed Jesus. Acts 1:17 (NKJV) tells us, “for he was numbered with us and obtained a part in this ministry.”. Because he betrayed Jesus, he was just a ‘member’ of the disciples, but he was not truly saved. We should really drill down on Judas as Christians. There are many people in the church who are ‘members’, but they are just going through the motions. There are many Christians who get saved and do not have the desire to discontinue their sinful life. They go up to the altar say the sinner’s prayer and go back to their sin, but they still attend church every week, and they might read their devotion sometimes, but they never get serious with God. I’m not saying that when you become born again that you will never sin again, but you should have a strong desire not to sin and should correct yourself when you do fall short and seek God continually. When you become born again as a follower (synonym for disciple) of Jesus Christ, and you go back to your sinful life you are betraying Jesus Christ as your savior. I say that boldly after taking some time to study the word betray. Some synonyms for the word betray are break faith, break a promise, and break trust. When you proclaim Jesus as Lord of your life that is a promise to Him, that is putting your faith in Him. When you go back to your sinful nature you are betraying him by breaking that faith you proclaimed when you gave your life to Jesus Christ. If you read Acts 1:18 you can see that Judas died a shameful death in which he hung himself. In this part of Acts, it talks about the disciples having to appoint to someone to take the spot of Judas. If you read verses 21 and 22 you will see whoever they pick must be a man who was with the disciples during Jesus’s earthly ministry. In verse 23 they proposed two men, Justus and Matthias. Another important lesson we can learn from the disciples is to turn to God for guidance in decision making. I have taught on several times before on the topic of making decisions, as Christians, we must turn to God in all the decisions that we make. Acts 1:24-26 (NKJV) tells us, “And they prayed and said, “You, O Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which of these two You have chosen  to take part in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place.” And they cast their lots, and the lot fell on Matthias. And he was numbered with the eleven apostles.”. The disciples knew that they had a decision to make, they looked to God and prayed and asked Him to reveal who was the one to pick to be among them as a disciple. If you notice in verse 26, it mentions that while they prayed, they cast lots. Casting lots was a custom of the Jews to put names on stones and place them in a container and shake it until one fell out, this was an acceptable method used to decide with prayer before the Holy Spirit came to them. Isn’t it great that we don’t need to cast lots like they had to?  We can pray in the Spirit and seek God on what the best decision is for us, and He will reveal His answer to us in a unique way for our own individual situation.

I would like to encourage you to follow these examples I have outlined from the disciples which are one to pray together as the church, and second to seek God in every decision you make by praying in the Holy Spirit. We must also keep in mind once we turn to Jesus Christ, and fully surrender our lives to Him, we must not go back to our old sinful nature. I would like to encourage you to click the subscribe button on this page so you can receive email alerts for when a new blog post is made available. My next teaching will be on the Day of Pentecost, please stay tuned for more!

Inspiration, Salvation, Sin, Wisdom, Word from God

Conformed with the Age?

large clock

I recently got a word from God that was for the United States and the churches. I felt led by the Lord to expand upon this some more. Let’s look at Romans 12:2 (NKJV) which tells us, “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”. ‘Do not be conformed to this world’, seems to be something people are lacking application of, even I myself am never perfect. I felt from God to really drill into the first part of that verse. So, I looked up the Greek translation of it and found the Greek word for world in this scripture is aiōni, which means a space of time or age. If you just read this scripture from the King James Bible you think it is talking about the overall customs of the world, however, when you dig deeper into it, we find it is talking about a space of time. If you look at the Christian Standard Bibles translation it says, “Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.”. So, may I ask you, are you conformed to the age?

Now I think it is fair to predict that I might ruffle a few feathers with this type of message, we are living in the last hours and God’s people need to be more and more equipped each day. I am not speaking this to offend, but to enlighten you on what we have accepted into Christianity today. When I was preparing one of my teachings for my series on the Book of Acts, I stumbled on a scripture. After reading this scripture, I felt strongly that I had to teach about it. Paul warned us of what we are experiencing today in 1 Timothy 4:1-3 (NKJV) which says, “Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons,  speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron,  forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth.”. It is safe to say that there are many who left the true faith and are now teaching a false Gospel. A false Gospel in which deems that sin is okay and lacks to even teach on the dangers of sin. Paul is warning us of false teachers.

You might ask, where do you see a false Gospel being preached? You can easily identify it where a minister fails to acknowledge sin, fails to teach on sin, or fails to even properly answer the most basic biblical questions. You also are seeing many new artists coming out into the Christian media with many ‘Christian’ songs. But when it comes time for these individuals to be interviewed by people of the world, they fail to give any glory to God and fail to talk about the power of God. Rather they talk about the power of music. There are even some who even say they are just artists rather than Christian artists. Yet we still let these people’s songs be played during church worship. Yet people will give more praise to songs written by these types of artists who are not true Christian artists. Just because it is labeled Christian does not mean it is Christian. We not only need to evaluate the words but the fruit of that ‘Christian’ artist. Matthew 7:16 (CSB) tells us, “You’ll recognize them by their fruit. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes or figs from thistles?”. We are warned that Satan may not appear like a demon, he might appear as someone behind the pulpit, someone on a Christian station, or someone leading worship. Jesus told us in Matthews 7:15 (NKJV) “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.”.

Even we Christians fall short at times. When we give our lives to Jesus Christ, we must have a desire to sin no more. Yet many Christians are turning to these false teachings. Many Christians turn to Jesus Christ for the wrong reasons. Some people only show up to church when they are in a time of trouble. Some people only pray when they are in a time of trouble. Some people only read the Bible in a time of trouble. The church is not meant to only teach us how to cope with getting a flat tire, it is meant to correct us and keep us out of sin. But ministers are getting scared to teach on sin, afraid they might lose members. 2 Timothy 4:3-4 (NKJV) tells us, “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.”.

I encourage you to take some time and really look at your life. Are you where God wants you to be in your faith right now? Are you getting the teaching you need in the church you are in? And most importantly are you conformed to the age?

Book of Acts Series 2019, Christianity, Fruit of Spirit, Gifts of the Spirit, Healing, Inspiration, Salvation

The Promise of the Holy Spirit

acts 1:8 bible verse

New Series Intro: Book of Acts

I have been seeking God recently as to what my next series will be on, as I have just finished my teaching series on decision making. My last two posts dealt with a prophetic word I received from God. I don’t know about you, but I strongly believe the Gifts of the Spirit are available to all who ask for it today. I have felt led to start a new teaching series on the Book of Acts. Some people give this book the title of ‘The Acts of the Holy Spirit through the Apostles’. Officially the Book of Acts author is unknown, but many believe it was written by Luke. The main purpose of the Book of Acts is to show how God worked through the Holy Spirit in people who were truly devoted to Christ. If you want to have the Holy Spirit work in your life, and outpour in your life, then I suggest that you become truly devoted to Christ 100 percent.

Acts 1:1-8

In this teaching I am going to cover Acts 1:1-8, you can read the full text by clicking here. I would first like to point out a few items in verses 2-3 (KJV), which say: “Until the day in which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen: To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God”. Jesus gave instruction to his apostles through the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit was the power behind the earthly ministry of Jesus. In the King James Version of these two verses, it uses the word passion, if you dig deeper into this the passion it is talking about is when Jesus died on the cross. Why did Jesus die on the cross? To save us and give us eternal life. John 3:16 (NKJV) tells us, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”. Also, Romans 5:8 (NKJV) tells us, “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”. After Jesus arose from the dead, He stayed with the apostles for 40 days before he ascended to be with the Father. 

Acts 1:4 (NKJV) tells us, “And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have heard from Me;”. So what is it that God promised them? Let’s look back at John 14:16 (NKJV) where Jesus said to His disciples, “And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—”.  The word comforter comes from the Greek word Parakletos, which means an advocate or helper. Now let’s jump down a few verses to see what Jesus told His disciples in John 14:26(NKJV), “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.”. The Greek word Parakletos refers to the Holy Spirit which is our advocate, who tells us what is to come. The Holy Spirit is our helper who teaches us everything. If you are struggling to understand something in the Word of God, ask the Holy Spirit to guide you. The Holy Spirit is also the mediator that glorifies Christ.

If we read Acts 1:5 (NKJV) it says, “for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”. This scripture tells us about how John the Baptist baptized people with water, which was symbolic of repentance. Repentance is still important today, we all need to repent of our sins, and sin no more. However, we know Jesus baptized with the Holy Spirit. When we become born again the Holy Spirit makes our spiritual being new. We are to sin no more after our second birth when we become born again. However, going away from sin 100 percent is not an overnight process, and there is no quick way to do it. This requires us to spend time in the Word of God, in prayer, in church and fellowshipping with other Christians. Once we are born again our Spirit knows not to sin, but often our soul and body get in the way. Our soul is our mind, and our body is the flesh. We must renew our mind with the Word of God and apply it so that our newborn Spirit can overtake our soul (mind), and then our body (flesh). Romans 12:2 (ESV) tells us, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”.  Many people are religiously, and worldly brainwashed and do not accept the fact us having a Spirit, soul, and are inside a body. I would encourage those people to read 1 Thessalonians 5:23 (NKJV), which tells us, “Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

I would next like to skip to Acts 1:8 (NKJV) which says, “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”. When we receive the Holy Spirit, we receive a power inside of us, therefore we must allow the Holy Spirit to overflow in us so that we can receive which Gifts of the Spirit God has for you when you ask to receive them. Often, we become too busy to truly overflow with the Holy Spirit. We need to be constantly sensitive to the moving of the Holy Spirit. Often in church, you look back at the clock. We should not limit the Holy Spirit. Ministers should not be concerned about the timing. If a church service goes longer than expected, then it was meant to be, someone might have needed to hear a word or maybe someone needed prayer. We need the Holy Spirit to run our churches, not the world. When we let the Holy Spirit in our churches and in our lives, we can expect a breakthrough to happen in our lives, and in other people’s lives inside our churches. If we keep trying to run on a restrictive time schedule, then we put a limit on the Holy Spirit. It is wrong to limit the Holy Spirit because it is given without measure. John 3:34(NKJV) confirms this, “For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God does not give the Spirit by measure.”. I felt God tell me as I was writing this to not limit the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit knows how to do His job and He does His job perfectly. Furthermore, in Acts 1:8 it discusses the disciples being a witness of Jesus Christ to people all over the known world at that time. That applies to each of us today, we must take the Word of God to all the world. Mark 16:15 (NIV) tells us, “He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.”. God told me that someone will read this teaching and that God is calling you into going on the mission field. If God is calling you to do something, He will make a way for you to do it if you stay faithful to Him. Philippians 1:6 (NIV) reminds us, “being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”. However, you may not be able to go on a mission’s trip to another country, or that may not be your calling. But what about spreading the Word of God in your own town, city, state, our country. There are many people who live near you who need to hear the Good News!

As I close this teaching, I would encourage you if you have not done so already, to accept Jesus Christ as your savior. As you begin to develop a personal relationship with Him, you need to ask God to baptize you with the Holy Spirit as they were in the Book of Acts. Everyone will have their own unique gifts. Also, allow the Holy Spirit to overflow in your life, don’t try to manipulate the working of the Holy Spirit, otherwise you will get stuck in a rut. Not letting the Holy Spirit overflow is what causes constipated Christians, it lets the enemy put pebbles in living water that is flowing within us from Jesus Christ.

Christianity, decision making series 2019, Gifts of the Spirit, Inspiration, Salvation, Testimony, Wisdom, Word from God

The Realness of God

light on path road.

If you haven’t read my previous blog post, I encourage you to do so (click here to read it).I gave a prophetic word that I received from God, I am trusting in God to continue to give me more to share in the future. I would like to teach you about the importance of realizing how real God is to you as an individual person. 

As many of you know from some of my previous posts, I have begun to answer the call that the Lord has placed on my life. I have had multiple confirmations from people about this calling on my life. Four years ago, I was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. Since then, I have sought after God more than ever before in my life. You might ask why did you begin seeking the Lord more after this diagnosis? Many people would assume it would be for healing. While that is part of the reason, there is another reason that is more important to me than that. When I first saw my primary care doctor at that time, she misdiagnosed it as a virus. I took a day and rested. The next morning, I felt a little bit better and decided to go to work. About halfway through my shift, things took a turn for the worst. My mother ended up calling the doctor and the doctor told my mother that she would call an inhaler in for me to the pharmacy. As my parents were still at their work, I had one of my friends pick me up from work and take me to the pharmacy so I could pick up the inhaler. Something was telling me “no, you need to get to the hospital now”. I first ignored that feeling and proceeded to the counter. They told me that nothing was called in for me from my doctor. My friend then took me to urgent care that was right down the road. They did a urine test, which showed high amounts of ketones. This led them to check my blood sugar, which was too high for their meter to read. I ended up being taken to the hospital, they admitted me, got my blood sugar back in range, and showed me the basics of managing type 1 diabetes. Upon being discharged from the hospital, my mother went to the pharmacy to pick up all my insulin and diabetic supplies. She asked the pharmacist if they ever got that inhaler, and they told my mother they never saw that prescription come through. One of my doctors told me that if I would have gotten that inhaler, I would not have made it that night. From the beginning of this trial with Type 1 Diabetes, God has proved himself real to me. He was already at work from the beginning. He could have not intervened and could have let that prescription make it to the pharmacy, but He didn’t let that happen. God has bigger plans for me.

For God to start working in you, you need to realize how real God has been to you in your life. The story I have told you is what really showed me how God proved himself real in my life. Often in life, we become too busy to really realize what God has done for us individually. As Christian’s together we know God sent His only Son to save us and give us eternal life. Hebrews 11:6 (NKJV) tells us, “But without faith, it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.”. We must have faith to be able to draw near to God. Building our faith can come from reading the Word to praising God, to hearing other people’s testimonies, and going through trials in life. Each trial you go through and seek God will build your faith. As God continues to provide for us and work in our lives in different ways, we have more testimonies to back up how real God is to us. In order to seek God, we must believe he is real. How real is God to you? It’s a question we all should really ask ourselves because unbelievers will question us also. We can quote scriptures to unbelievers, but more importantly, we should be able to tell unbelievers what God has done for us in our lives. We are reminded in Mark 5:19 (NKJV), “However, Jesus did not permit him, but said to him, “Go home to your friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He has had compassion on you.””. Also 1 John 5:11 reminds us, “And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.”. You are only for real with God, as He is real to you.

If you read my previous post, which was a prophetic word, you will notice the importance of intimacy with God. When getting real with God, we must realize how real he has been to us. When we get to the place when we realize how real God has been to us in our own unique life, we will begin to truly seek God from our heart. Jeremiah 29:13 tells us, “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”. 

I would like to encourage you to take some time, and really look at how much God has done for you in your life. Once you realize that, give Him thanks and praise from the bottom of your heart. You can only seek God when you seek Him with all your heart. You can’t only just seek God when trouble comes, you need to be seeking God every day. As you do this you will build intimacy with Him, and you will become more equipped in your faith for when trouble comes knocking at your door.

Gifts of the Spirit, Healing, Inspiration, Wisdom, Word from God

A Word from God: To My Hurting People

clouds in blue sky

I usually have not made this type of blog post, but this is the first time I will be doing this. In my time with the Holy Spirit, the Lord gave me a word. I first thought the word was just intended for me, but I felt to share this on here. I strongly believe in the power of the Holy Spirit. The Gifts of the Spirit are available today, to those who seek and ask God for it. 1 Corinthians 12:8-10 (ESV) tells us, “ For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues.”.

The Lord spoke and inspired me to write this:
To my people hurting.
You are hurting in your bodies, minds, and souls.
You cry to me day and night, wondering when a breakthrough will come.
You ask, why am I still suffering?

You are asking is this not over with today?
Why am I not healed?
Why is my mind not restored?
Why is this hurt still haunting me?

You have Christ and the Holy Spirit in your life.
You pray daily.
You read my word daily.
But you are still sick and are still hurting.

You think your symptoms or diagnosis are the real problems, they are not really the problem.
You have some unfinished business to take care of.
This unfinished business has opened the door for the works of the enemy.
There is something deep down inside of you that is still hurting.

You have covered it up with your worldly habits, and may have forgotten about it.
You are still hurt from it, but you just can’t get yourself to truly deal with it.
It is like something in a box, that if you open up it will become the worst pain ever, unbearable to think about.
That is why you have it buried.

Why did you burry this problem?
Because you haven’t truly sought intimacy with me.
You think just by reading my word, praying, and singing along to worship songs is enough.
It’s not, singing along to other people’s words is where you got it all wrong.

You need to create the environment for my Holy Spirit to overflow in you.
Don’t worship with someone else’s words, but your words from your own heart.
Seek intimacy with Abba Father.
Get some quiet time and soak yourself in my presence.

Come to me empty handed my child.
Let’s heal your soul, so your new born Spirit can overtake your soul, and then overtake you on the outside.

James 4:8 (ESV) reminds us, “Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.”.

Christianity, Inspiration, Testimony, Wisdom

Crossroads in Life

street direction sign

As I continue in my series on decision making, I would like to discuss crossroads. I was unsure of what to teach upon next in my series, and then God revealed to me to teach on crossroad decisions. This required me to take some time for me to seek God on what to discuss regarding this subject. No matter your age, you will go through a crossroad at least once in your life, if not many. A crossroad is when one must decide between something of the world and something of God. This can be anything from a job, relationship, health, or finances. It is important to recognize when you are at a crossroad and seek God to make the best choice for your life.

Sometimes in life, we get to caught up in the excitement of what is trending, and we often forget to turn to God before making decisions, both big and small. We often want everything right away, at the push of a button, or the swipe of a credit card. We see something that is on sale and we think that we must buy it, or we see someone we are attracted to and think, I must get their number. If we turn to God’s word, we can find guidance for many of the decisions we make. Sometimes a decision will take some time, it might even take getting advice from someone else. You might have been faced with a diagnosis and might need a second opinion. Regardless of the situation or circumstances one thing never changes and that is God and His word.

When it comes to making any decision in life, we can often become distracted by fear of the unknown. Philippians 4:6-7 (NKJV) tells us, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”.  Regardless of whatever the circumstance is do not become worried, worrying does not accomplish anything. The time you spend worrying is more time lost to prayer and reading the Word of God. When praying for a need in your life or for wisdom in a decision, you must pray for your specific need with thanks to God for what you currently have, and His continued provisions for your life.  Regardless of the situation we know we have peace in God, we must allow that peace to guard our hearts and our minds.

Often when we are at a crossroad in life, it will be a difficult decision. We may not know what to do at first, or we might want to turn to what looks like the easiest route. James 1:5(ESV) tells us, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.”.  No matter what type of crossroad decision you have to make in life, turn to God for wisdom and it will be given. God’s wisdom might not be given to you right away, it might take consistent time in His Word and in prayer in the Holy Spirit.

When it comes to cross road decisions in our Christian life, there is one scripture I want to look at and that is Isaiah 30:21 (AMP), which says “Your ears will hear a word behind you, “This is the way, walk in it,” whenever you turn to the right or to the left.”. There are two paths we can walk in life, one is the path of the world which is full of darkness and leads to death. The second path is the path of godliness which leads us to life. God will bless those who walk in His path. Psalms 1:1-2 (NKJV) says, “Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; But his delight is in the law of the Lord, And in His law, he meditates day and night.”. There are two types of people in this world, the Godly and ungodly people, there is no in-between, and you cannot be both at the same time. If we read Psalms 1:1-2 from the Easy to Read Version it says, “Great blessings belong to those who don’t listen to evil advice, who don’t live like sinners, and who don’t join those who make fun of God. Instead, they love the Lord’s teachings and think about them day and night.”. If we want to be truly blessed by God we must love and follow His word, we must also meditate on it as much as we possibly can. We must also turn away from turning to advice from ungodly people. So many people follow the advice of mainstream media as to how they should live their lives. Yet much of the mainstream media is ungodly, but we still follow it to get the news on what is brewing in our government, or what the traffic or weather conditions will be like before you head into work or send your children off to school. While mainstream media can give us much useful information, we must discern with our spirit how much of the mainstream media we should let run our lives.

Many people might want to turn to talk show hosts on what they should do in their life. I could give a long list of ungodly talk show hosts that people follow but, that is not what is important. What is important is my question to any of you who follow these talk show hosts, is will any of these talk show host on TV get you into heaven? The answer is no, only knowing Jesus Christ as your savior and following the Word of God will get you into heaven. You must also ask yourself a similar question when you are at a crossroad in your life. Here is a list of crossroad questions that might match certain decisions you have to make now and in the future:

•    Is this job going to take away too much time from my relationship with Jesus Christ?

•    Is investing money in this worth it in the long run? Will it eat up the money I could be giving in tithes or to help those in need?

•    Will staying in this relationship hinder my relationship with Jesus Christ?

•    Will saying or doing this be of good fruit according to God’s Word?

I have been at a crossroad in my life before that was related to one of those questions. I was in a relationship with someone who was not on the same page with me biblically. I stayed in the relationship hoping I could guide them to Christ in time. It wasn’t until I was baptized in the Holy Spirit when I heard an audible voice tell me, ‘I am going to remove someone from your life’. I also knew from when I was baptized in the Holy Spirit that God had a calling on my life, but something was hindering me from moving into it and was keeping me from truly realizing there was a calling on my life. It just happened to be the day I was baptized in the Holy Spirit was the anniversary date of that relationship. Two weeks later the relationship ended mutually. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t hold anything negative against that young woman I was with, it was simply not who God wanted me to be with, and He was at work in the situation even before I was baptized in the Holy Spirit to put the relationship to an end before it progressed. And I thank God for doing that in my life.

A few final points I would like to make. When we are at crossroad decisions in our life it is often to test our faithfulness to God. I strongly believe that God honors us when we make the right choice. I would also like to point out that it is important to start seeking God first for as many decisions in your life. I believe when you start seeking God for anything in life, He will do a great work according to His will if you stay in His word with steadfast faith.

Christianity, Colossians 1:21-23, decision making series 2019, Inspiration, Salvation, Sin, Wisdom

Who Am I in Christ?

person holding bible

The subject of who we are in Christ is a question that all Christians should know both individually and collectively. I would like to teach on this subject as I continue my series in decision making. You might ask what knowing who you are in Christ has to do with the decisions you make? The simple answer is truly knowing who you are in Christ helps you in your decision making in life. When Christians do not know who they truly are in Christ, they will begin to believe lies on who they are. These lies will either come from the enemy or the world.

Back when Jesus came to start His ministry on earth there was a false belief that people had that John the Baptist was either greater than or equal to Jesus. Isaiah 40:3-5 (NKJV) tells us, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the Lord; Make straight in the desert A highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill brought low; The crooked places shall be made straight And the rough places smooth; The glory of the Lord shall be revealed, And all flesh shall see it together; For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.””.  This is prophesying that there will be a forerunner of Jesus Christ. If we look into John 1:19-28 (NIV) “Now this was John’s testimony when the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was. He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, “I am not the Messiah.” They asked him, “Then who are you? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” He answered, “No.” Finally, they said, “Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?” John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, “I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’” Now the Pharisees who had been sent questioned him, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”  “I baptize with water,” John replied, “but among you stands one you do not know.  He is the one who comes after me, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.” This all happened at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan, where John was baptizing.” In this example John the Baptist knew who he was in Christ, he knew he was the forerunner of Christ.  He could have believed lies on who he was in Christ, but he did not he stood firm in who he truly was in Christ.

When one becomes born again in Christ their past is gone and new things have come. The process of old sinful habits going away is not an overnight fix, it is a process. 2 Corinthians 5:17 (ESV) reminds us, “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”.  Once we are born again, we must put our best effort forth in living our life according to what God commands, and not to what the world says is the way to be. If you are struggling with an addiction to sin or are in a bad relationship you are in seek God on helping you with that. I would even encourage you to seek advice from another Christian. We as Christians should not be too quick to judge each other so critically, but we should help guide each other in our weaknesses. 1 John 2:29 (NKJV) reminds us, “If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone who practices righteousness is born of Him.”.

I would also like to touch upon the subject of the belief of ‘once saved, always saved’.  I have asked God to lead me to some scriptures in my studies to use on teaching on this matter. People can assume once saved always saved by how they interpret scriptures, and with how many scriptures they read. Jesus told us in John 10:28 (NKJV), “And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.”. Jesus did say no one can snatch us out of His hand, but can anyone put themselves outside of Jesus’ hand? I think we can answer that by looking at John 15:6 (NKJV) which Jesus said, “If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.”. So yes, someone can put themselves outside of Jesus’ hand. Therefore, we must know who we are in Christ. We must know the promises we have in the Word of God.  One of the most important things we have in Christ is everlasting life. John 3:16 (NKJV) tells us, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”.   So, what are you doing with your salvation, are you walking in your salvation with true faith, and making efforts to improve? Or are you abusing our salvation from the precious Blood of Jesus Christ? We all have a choice on this, God gave us a free-will. Jesus told us in John 15:5 (NKJV), “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.”. I want you to really evaluate what fruit you are bearing. Are you only bearing good fruit on Sunday mornings, or are you bearing good fruit 24/7?

Colossians 1:21-23 (ERV) tells us, “At one time you were separated from God. You were his enemies in your minds, because the evil you did was against him.  But now he has made you his friends again. He did this by the death Christ suffered while he was in his body. He did it so that he could present you to himself as people who are holy, blameless, and without anything that would make you guilty before him.  And that is what will happen if you continue to believe in the Good News you heard. You must remain strong and sure in your faith. You must not let anything cause you to give up the hope that became yours when you heard the Good News. That same Good News has been told to everyone on earth, and that’s the work that I, Paul, was given to do.”. Let’s think about this scripture…  I would have to paraphrase this scripture myself as, “Before we each accepted Christ, we were in sin, which is evil and against what God wants in our lives. We have become Children of God, through what Jesus Christ did on the cross. Jesus did this for us so we could present ourselves to God as holy. This will happen IF you continue to believe in, walk in, have faith in, and not let anything get in your way with your relationship with Jesus Christ.”. Notice both the scripture and my paraphrasing of it have a conditional word on it, and that conditional word is “IF”. The condition is we must walk in faith and remain in our faith and not let anything get in the way of our relationship with Jesus Christ. Our relationship with Jesus Christ is what makes us branches on His vine, and we know what happens when we don’t abide in Christ from John 15:6, we are thrown into the fire and burned. I have an illustration I have made of the condition in Colossians 1:21-23.

If condition in Colossians 1:21-23 and John 15:6.

It is not only important to know who we are in Christ by knowing what the word of God says, but also by what fruit we are bearing. We must also know if we are truly abiding in Christ, or if we are letting something get in the way of our relationship with Jesus Christ. I challenge you to truly evaluate who you are in Christ based off what the Word of God says and determine if you are truly abiding in him. Also, examine your life for anything that could be hindering your relationship with Jesus Christ. It is so important to be sure and aware of how the decisions we make impact our identity in Christ.

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Christianity, decision making series 2019, Inspiration, Salvation, Sin, Wisdom

Christ or the World

cross

I hope you read my previous teaching on the most important decision one can make in their life, and that is to accept Christ as their savior. If you have not read that teaching, please CLICK HERE to read it! As I continue my series on decision making as a Christian, I would like to discuss what our decisions in life truly reflect. Are you making decisions in your life that reflect God’s words and commandments? Are you walking in God’s plan or your plan in life? Are you deciding off sinful desires or what God desires for you? I really want you to evaluate yourself with those questions, being a follower of Christ does not mean you are 100 percent perfect all the time, but you should constantly be seeking the Lord to improve in your weakness.

Are you living your life to benefit yourself, or are you living your life to give glory to God? Are you only giving time to God for two hours on Sunday or are you spending time with the Lord daily? We live in challenging times when some people might have to work more than forty hours a week to pay their bills and put food on the table. You might be working long hours, raising children, or have a spouse. You might be a college student and working a job at the same time. Finding time for God can be a challenge at times. When I was in college, I was taking a full-time load of classes while working full-time in fast food. Later, I got an internship and managed to work at my internship during the week, and in fast food on the weekend, while still taking classes online and at night. It was not easy balancing that, along with making time for God. I probably could have made more time for God back then. But to anyone who is struggling to make time with God, assess how much time you spend on everything each day. Maybe there is something you can cut back on, or maybe you are oversleeping and can wake up earlier to read the Bible, read a devotion, pray, or worship.

Matthew 6:33 (WEB) tells us, “But seek first God’s Kingdom, and his righteousness; and all these things will be given to you as well.”. Are you seeking God first, or are you seeking your own desires first?  I don’t know about you, but I would rather seek God first, than my own desires. Once we are born again, we are new in the Spirit.  2 Corinthians 5:17 (KJV) tells us, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”. Additionally, Ezekiel 36:26 (KJV) tells us, “A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.”. when we are born again, we should be living in the Spirit, and not of the flesh. The desires and works of the flesh lead to sin. Galatians 5:19-21 (NKJV) reminds us, “Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness,  idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies,  envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.”. Many of these items listed are things this world deems as okay or the way to be. Are there any of these items from Galatians 5:19-21 that you are tolerating in your life? If you are allowing sin to run any part of your life, how can you expect the blessings of God to overflow in your life? God wants no one to be in sin, but because of Adam and Eve, we have free will. If you are falling short to an item listed in Galatians 5:19-21, seek the Lord and repent. Also get out of the habit of that sin, it might not be easy, it may involve having to get guidance from another Christian. As Christians, we must stick together and build each other up.

It might be difficult to get out of a sinful habit, maybe because the world views it as okay. As true followers of Christ, we should not be concerned about what the world thinks, we should be concerned about what the word of God says. 1 John 2:15(KJV) tells us, “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.”. Additionally, Romans 12:2 (ESV) reminds us, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”. When you become less worldly and more like Christ, it is normal to expect the people of the world to turn against you because of your beliefs. Often this is when we can become tempted. With the culture war going on in not only America but the world, Christians are constantly having an agenda of sin pushed on them constantly. Christians in America are even being personally attacked for their beliefs. Some Christians are just accepting it as the way of the world. While yes, we are still to love one another, even the sinners, but why are people in the body of Christ, adapting to the sinful way of the world? I am about to say something extremely bold, but my Spirit is telling me it must be said, if the Body of Christ continues tolerating the world, the world will begin to dominate the body of Christ. As the saying goes, what we tolerate will dominate. Let’s start being more true followers of Christ in this year of 2019. The world might be against us, just like it was when Christ lived on earth. John 15:19(ESV) says, “If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.”. We should not be jealous of what the sinful people of the world have, they should be jealous of what we have in Christ.

As followers of Christ, we are to lead by example in all we do. While yes it can be hard. There is a spiritual battle between evil and the body of Christ, that has been brewing for far too long. The body of Christ is having stronger opposition from evil. We don’t have to fight back physically, we must fight back individually and together in prayer and with the word of God. Hebrews 4:12 (KJV) reminds us, “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”. Also, Matthews 24:14 (KJV) instructs us, “And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.”. You might not be able to travel the world and teach the Gospel to everyone, but why not the people in your neighborhood or surrounding communities, or other parts of your own country? With the many advancements in technology, it is now more possible than ever before to reach more people with the Gospel. I challenge you to not only lead by example as a follower of Christ but spread the Gospel in as many ways as you can. Also, pray for our leadership in our country, and also for an end to the wickedness in our country and world.