Category Archives: Wisdom

2019, Christianity, Holy Week 2019- Jesus is King, Inspiration, love, Salvation, Wisdom

Jesus is King: He is Risen!

Today is the day we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! It is marked on our calendar as ‘Easter Sunday’. Before I get into the scriptures for today, I think it is important that we have a historical understanding of Easter. The word Easter is a word of Saxon origin from the word Estra, which means goddess of the spring. Easter started as a Pagan holiday, however, in the eighth century, Anglo Saxons adopted the name Easter to designate Christ’s resurrection. Paganism represents people who practiced non-Christian religions and traditions. There are some Easter traditions that many people still practice today, and those include egg hunts, candy rabbits, and Easter baskets. The rabbit is a symbol of fertility and agility, sacred to Ostra. Now don’t get me wrong, I understand children enjoy Easter egg hunts, and people enjoy giving others Easter candy as gifts this time of year. But we really need to evaluate what is at the center of our ‘Easter Sunday’? Is the Easter bunny at the center of your ‘Easter Sunday’ or is it our Lord and Savior? Also, if we really want to be true Christians do we want to recognize Paganism and say Happy Easter, or should we say Happy Resurrection Sunday or He is Risen? This is not meant to be condemnation, but we really need to put this in perspective as Christians on what we represent. As I go through this teaching, I want you to really think of what Easter means to you, and what is at the center of your Easter Sunday.

Let’s look at Matthew 28:1-4 (NKJV) which tells us, “Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb.  And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it.  His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow.  And the guards shook for fear of him, and became like dead men.”. There is a good bit going on here in these four verses. First, it is early on Sunday morning, and there was a great earthquake, there was a fear the guards had when this heavenly sign took place, and there was an angelic appearance. I believe that the earthquake was the time when Jesus was raised from the dead, and the earthquake was a sign from heaven. There will be many signs that we will experience before the rapture and at the end of the seven-year tribulation period. Mark 13:8 (NKJV) warns us, “For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be earthquakes in various places, and there will be famines and troubles. These are the beginnings of sorrows.”. We have seen much of what is mentioned in Mark 13 as we are nearing the second coming of Jesus. Too often people are more concerned about what they see on the news or hearing certain ‘prophetic’ messages of when the day of the rapture will be. However, we must be reminded that no man will know the hour when Jesus returns, only God does. Matthew 24:36 (NKJV) tells us, “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only.”.  Too often Christians can be worried about what they see on the news and what the latest prophetic word is on when the rapture will be, we need to stop focusing on that and make sure that our hearts are ready for when it does happen.

I would now like to continue in the story of the Resurrection in the Gospel of John. If we look at John 20:1-2 (NKJV) it says, “Now the first day of the week Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb.  Then she ran and came to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him.””.  I would like to point out in verse two that the disciple who Jesus loved was John, I discussed that in my previous teaching on Good Friday when Jesus entrusted John to be Mary’s son. John 20:3-10 (NKJV) goes on to tell us, “Peter therefore went out, and the other disciple, and were going to the tomb.  So they both ran together, and the other disciple outran Peter and came to the tomb first.  And he, stooping down and looking in, saw the linen cloths lying there; yet he did not go in.  Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb; and he saw the linen cloths lying there, and the handkerchief that had been around His head, not lying with the linen cloths, but folded together in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who came to the tomb first, went in also; and he saw and believed. For as yet they did not know the Scripture, that He must rise again from the dead. Then the disciples went away again to their own homes.”.  In verse nine it tells us they did not know the scripture that Jesus must rise again. If you remember from one of my other teachings this week when I discussed the term Logos, in that teaching I also mentioned the eight I Am’s in the Gospel of John. One of those eight I Am’s is in John 11:25 (NKJV) where Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.”. Jesus told us in that scripture before His crucifixion that He is the resurrection and the life.

I would now like to move on to discuss the reaction of Mary Magdalene at the tomb. John 20:11-13 (NKJV) goes onto say, “But Mary stood outside by the tomb weeping, and as she wept she stooped down and looked into the tomb. And she saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain. Then they said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him.””. Again, in this scripture, we see an angelic appearance just like we saw at the beginning of Matthew’s account. When the angels asked Mary why she was crying, she told them she was crying because the body of Jesus vanished, and she did not know where His body was. John 20:14-15 (NKJV) goes on to tell us, “Now when she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, and did not know that it was Jesus.  Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” She, supposing Him to be the gardener, said to Him, “Sir, if You have carried Him away, tell me where You have laid Him, and I will take Him away.””. Jesus was right here with her at the garden that was near the tomb, however, she did not recognize Jesus at first, she thought He was a gardener. When He asked her why she was crying she again expresses her concern of the body of Jesus vanishing. He also asked her who she was seeking, and she was seeking Jesus. Continuing John 20:16 (NKJV) tells us, “Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to Him, “Rabboni!” (which is to say, Teacher).”. Jesus called her by name when she realized who she thought was a gardener was Jesus risen from the dead. I would like us to think back to two of the eight I Am’s I mentioned in one of my previous teachings where Jesus said He was the Good Shepherd in John 10:11, He also told us that He is the Door in John 10:9. When you look at these two I Am’s you will find out that He calls his own sheep by name, Jesus told us in John 10:3 (NKJV), “To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.”. When Mary was weeping to Jesus, He called her by name and she recognized that He was Jesus.

John 20:19-20 (NKJV) goes on to tell us when the Disciples see Jesus and says, “Then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, “Peace be with you.”  When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord.”. The disciples were glad to see Jesus risen from the grave. The phrase ‘peace be with you’ was a common greeting among the Jews and it is still popular in use today. We know that Jesus brings us peace, Matthew 11:28 (AMP) tells us, “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavily burdened [by religious rituals that provide no peace], and I will give you rest [refreshing your souls with salvation] .”. Our religious rituals will not save us from spiritual death, only Jesus can save us from spiritual death by giving us eternal life. Continuing John 20:21-23 says, “So Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.”  And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.””. In these few verses, Jesus is talking about the disciples receiving the Holy Spirit which we will see take place on the Day of Pentecost in the Book of Acts. Jesus also talks about forgiveness of sins; Jesus is not giving the disciples the authority to have people go through them to be forgiven of sins but is giving them the authority to tell unbelievers that they do not have forgiveness of sins. We know that only Jesus has the authority to forgive people of their sins, and forgiveness of people’s sins is only through the blood of Jesus. One thing people of all denominations need to understand is Jesus is the one who should have the true authority over the House of God, people of the church need to look to Jesus rather than a pope or bishop. Revelation 3:7 (NKJV) confirms the authority of Jesus in the House of God, “ “And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write, ‘These things says He who is holy, He who is true, “He who has the key of David, He who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens”.

I would next like to talk about the disciple Thomas and his encounter with Jesus after His resurrection. John 20:24-29 (NKJV) tells us, “Now Thomas, called the Twin, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said to him, “We have seen the Lord.”So he said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.” And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, “Peace to you!” Then He said to Thomas, “Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.” And Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!””. Thomas was not there when Jesus first appeared to the disciples after His resurrection, but eight days later Jesus appeared again and when Thomas put his hands on the print of nails on Jesus’s resurrected body, he believed.  John 20:29 (NKJV) continues and tells us, “Jesus said to him, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.””. We who are truly born again believers in Jesus Christ, may not have seen Jesus but we still believe because we know His word is true and we know the power of the Holy Spirit is working today. Hebrews 13:8 (NKJV) tells us, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.”.

Lastly, I would like to discuss the Great Commission. Matthew 28:18-20 (NKJV) tells us, “And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,  teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.”.  From this scripture, we know that Jesus has an authority that is far greater than Satan’s when you are under attack from the enemy pray in the name of Jesus with authority. He also told us we are to bring people to Christ, Jesus told us in Mark 16:15 (NKJV) “And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.”. Jesus also told us about the importance of salvation, part of bringing people to Christ is to get them to be saved or born again.  Mark 16:16 (NKJV) tells us, “He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.”. Once one becomes born again, they should be encouraged to be baptized in water as an outward symbol of the old man dying and the new man through Jesus Christ coming forward, I discussed this further in one of my previous teachings on water baptism. Along with salvation and water baptism the baptism of the Holy Spirit should follow, where one received the gifts of the Holy Spirit as God gives them to us individually. In the Gospel of Mark the gift of tongues, miracles, and healing are mentioned, Mark 16:17-18 (NKJV) tells us, “And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues;  they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”. Therefore, we need our churches filled with the Holy Spirit today now more than ever before. The enemy is working very hard at putting people in bondage with sickness, depression, addiction, anxiety, and much more.

This was an in-depth teaching on what took place when Jesus conquered the grave. So, I must ask you what is at the center of your celebration on this Resurrection Sunday? Is it the Pagan traditions or is it Jesus Christ?  I think it is a no brainer after what I discussed in this teaching and my previous ones during Holy Week that we make Jesus Christ the center of our celebration today. Sure, it is okay to give the kids some plastic eggs with candy or have a basket of candy, but we should not let these pagan traditions blind us of the truth that is found in Jesus Christ.

2019, Christianity, Holy Week 2019- Jesus is King, Inspiration, Salvation, Wisdom

Jesus is King: The Concept of Logos

opened Bible to book of Isaiah with cup of coffee

In my current series this week that is focused on Jesus in the Gospels, I would like to discuss the concept of Logos. The word Logos in Greek means: word, speech, principle, or thought. The Gospel of John is a Spiritual account of Jesus, and it is the only Gospel to explain the concept of Logos. John 1:1 (NKJV) says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”. In the beginning, was the Word, God created by speaking. The Word was with God and was God. Jesus was with God from the beginning. Reading further John 1:2-3 (NKJV) says, “He was in the beginning with God.  All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.”. Without Jesus we have nothing.

John 1:14 (NKJV) goes on to say, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.”. This is a very powerful verse right here. The Word became flesh, this is something thought to be impossible by the Gentiles. There are three characteristics that Jesus brings with Him. The first characteristic is glory. Hebrews 1:3 (NKJV) tells us, “who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,”. The second characteristic Jesus brings with Him is grace, we know that we are saved by grace through Jesus Christ only. 2 Corinthians 12:8-9 (NKJV) says, “Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me.  And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore, most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”. The third characteristic that Jesus brings with Him that we find in John 1:14 is truth, we know the Word of God is true. 1 John 4:6 (NKJV) tells us, “We are of God. He who knows God hears us; he who is not of God does not hear us. By this, we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.”. Additionally, 2 Timothy 2:15 (NKJV) tells us, “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”. We need to constantly be in the Word and have our trust in Jesus Christ because He is the truth. We need to be equipped with the Word every day of our lives. Ephesians 6:14(NKJV) reminds us, “Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness,”.

Along with the concept of Logos there is something else about Jesus that you will find in the Gospel of John that I absolutely love and would like to share with you this week as we get close to Good Friday. In the Gospel of John, you will find eight I Am’s of Jesus. Here is the list along with the scripture, I encourage you to reflect and study each of these this week:

  1. The Bread of Life
    John 6:35 (NKJV): And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.
  2. The Light of the World
    John 8:12(NKJV): Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”
  3. From Above
    John 8:23 (NKJV): And He said to them, “You are from beneath; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world.
  4. Before Abraham Was
    John 8:58 (NKJV): Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.”
  5. The Door
    John 10:9 (NKJV): I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.
  6. The Good Shepherd
    John 10:11 (NKJV): “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.
  7. I Am
    John 10:36 (NKJV): do you say of Him whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’?
  8. The Resurrection and the Life
    John 11:25 (NKJV): Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.

Please take some time this week to reflect on the concept of Logos and reflect on these eight I Am’s of Jesus Christ. My next teaching will be on The Cross and will be posted on Good Friday.  Please be sure to subscribe to my blog!

2019, Christianity, Holy Week 2019- Jesus is King, Inspiration, love, Old Testament, Salvation, Sin, Wisdom

Jesus is King: Water Baptism and Salvation

under water with sun reflection

As I continue my teaching series this week before Resurrection Sunday, I would like to teach on Jesus’ baptism and how it impacts us.   Before looking into the baptism of Jesus, I would like to discuss one important person and that is John the Baptist. There was a false teaching back in those days where people believed that John the Baptist would be greater than or equal to Jesus Christ. This false teaching or heresy was addressed in The Gospel of John. John 1:6-8 (NKJV) tells us, “There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.  This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe.  He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.”. Jesus is the true Light, and John the Baptist is a forerunner for Jesus. John the Baptist baptized people with water for the remission of sins, however, we know that Jesus baptizes with the Holy Spirit. Matthew 3:13-14 (NKJV) says, “Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. 14 And John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?””. John the Baptist wanted Jesus to baptize him because he knew who Jesus was. However, we will find out that Jesus wanted to be baptized by John the Baptist. We will also find out why Jesus got baptized by him.

So why did Jesus wanted to be baptized by John the Baptist? Jesus was clearly without sin so why was it necessary? Matthew 3:15 tells us, “But Jesus answered and said to him, “Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he allowed Him.”. Jesus got baptized so He could be identified with sinners. 2 Corinthians 5:21 (NKJV) says, “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”.  Reading further into the passage in Matthew, verse 16 goes on to say, “When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him.”. John the Baptist witnessed the Holy Spirit descend on Jesus, it appeared to be like a dove. John 1:32 (NKJV) says, “And John bore witness, saying, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him.” The Holy Spirit remained on Jesus during His earthly ministry, and we know that Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to the disciples after His ascension as you would read in the Book of Acts. John the Baptist also got confirmation from heaven that Jesus is the Son of God, Matthews 3:17 (NKJV) tells us, “And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.””.

So now that we know about what took place during the baptism of Jesus, let’s look at two key Old Testament scriptures. There are many Messianic scriptures found in the Old Testament that often get overlooked. First Isaiah 42:1 (NKJV) says, “Behold! My Servant whom I uphold, My Elect One in whom My soul delights! I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the Gentiles.”. Jesus is God’s Elect One, who He sent His Spirit upon. Matthew 3:17 is also confirmed in the Old Testament, look at Psalm 2:7 (NKJV) which says, ““I will declare the decree: The Lord has said to Me, ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You.”.

Now that we have a background on the story of Jesus’ baptism and why He got baptized let’s look at the difference between water baptism and salvation. First, salvation needs to come before water baptism. Romans 10:9-10 (NKJV) instructs us, “that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.  For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth, confession is made unto salvation.”.  Salvation is what is required of us to make it to Heaven when we die.  If water baptism was the way to heaven then we would be saying we are saved by works, which we know is false teaching. Ephesians 2:8-9 (NKJV) tells us, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,  not of works, lest anyone should boast.”. This would also cancel out the largely popular tradition of newly born babies being baptized in water. Pouring water over a newborn baby in a church is no greater than giving your baby a bath at home, except you don’t invite the whole family to watch your baby get a bath at home. Also, we cannot be forgiven by anyone except Jesus, and we can go directly to Jesus in prayer. We don’t need any priest, bishop, or pope to go to Jesus, simply come as you are to Him. 2 Timothy 2:5 (NKJV) says, “For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus,”. Once we are truly saved at salvation, water baptism is an outward expression of the old man dying and the new man coming forth. 2 Corinthians 5:17 (NKJV) says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”. I encourage you this week to reflect on the following questions:

  1. Think about how this scripture impacts your specifically: 2 Corinthians 5:21 (NKJV) says, “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”. 
  2. Read 2 Corinthians 5:17. Describe the transformation that took place in your life after your salvation?

I welcome you to feel free to share your comments to this post.

2019, Christianity, Healing, Holy Week 2019- Jesus is King, Inspiration, love, Salvation, Sin, Testimony, Wisdom

Jesus is King: Are You Bound Spiritually?

chains

As we are in the month of April it comes time to remember Jesus going to the cross and dying for our sins and conquering the grave. I will be giving a few teachings over the next few days about Jesus’ earthly ministry, crucifixion, and resurrection.  During His earthly ministry, He did many great things. One of the things Jesus did was preach because this was one of His purposes in His earthly ministry. Jesus said in Mark 1:38 (NKJV) “Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also, because for this purpose I have come forth.”. Jesus also performed many signs; He had several healings that we will find an account for in the Gospels. Many of His signs were related to healings, for example, when He healed the blind beggar, John 9:7 (NKJV) says, “And He said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which is translated, Sent). So he went and washed, and came back seeing.”. Another great sign Jesus performed was raising Lazarus from the dead.  As I was studying the story of Lazarus God put the word bondage on my heart, which is what I will be discussing in this teaching. In this teaching, we will not only look at the story of Lazarus but also why we need to be loosed from our bondage. Also, I am going to discuss eight common bondages many people, including Christians, deal with. And most importantly I will address how to be loosed from these bondages.

When Jesus went to the tomb that Lazarus was buried in there was a stone in the way. With this stone in the way there would be no way that Jesus could speak life to Lazarus, this is why He said: “Take away the stone” in John 11:39. Jesus could have called angels down to remove the stone, but He had the Jews remove the stone. Sometimes God will want us to remove the stone in our life before the breakthrough comes our way. If you look at the many miracles Jesus did in His earthly ministry you will see He wanted to get people involved in some way in their miracle. Maybe you might have to ask yourself what is He wanting me to do in my situation? If we read further into the scripture, we will find that when Lazarus was raised from the dead, He was still bound to the graveclothes. John 11:44 (NKJV) says, “And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with graveclothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Loose him, and let him go.””. There are many born again Christians who are still bound to something and need to come loose of it, or maybe you became bound to something after you got born again. Regardless of the situation there is one person who can make you be loosed of your bondage, and His name is Jesus and He is alive and working today!

As I was studying bondage, I then obviously came across the word ‘loose’, so I got my Strong’s Concordance and dug deeper into the word ‘loose’. Jesus told us in Matthew 16:19 (NKJV), “And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”. So, do you have something that needs to be loosed here on earth, before you make your way to heaven? God wants us to be loosened of our bondage because He desires us fully. Matthews 21:2-3 says, “saying to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Loose them and bring them to Me.  And if anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord has need of them,’ and immediately he will send them.”.  When we are fully loosened of our bondage God will do even greater works in our lives, therefore we need to really step back from our circumstances and look at the Spiritual roots of our circumstances and deal with the Spirit in the mighty name of Jesus!

I am going to go over eight common bondages that we could all be facing or could face. I must remind you that we live in a dark world and there are many demonic doors the enemy can use to enter our lives. Many of these problems will have a demonic spirit behind them. Therefore, we must deal with the spirit, and once we deal with the spirit the restoration can begin if we fully trust in God and His Word. I am going to warn you I am going to be to the point on these items, it is not to be offensive but to stress the importance of taking each of these to God. If we continue tolerating these things in our lives and churches, they will dominate us if they already haven’t.  I would also like to make the disclaimer that some of the problems we face can be self-inflicted also and may not have a spiritual root behind it. Therefore, it is important to seek God to properly deal with our problems in life and be open to hear His voice.  So here is my list of eight common bondages that have Spiritual roots behind them:

1.    Addiction

You might be addicted to drugs, alcohol, gaming, pornography, sexual immorality, or unhealthy food. Regardless of the addiction, it can be broken by putting your faith in Jesus and getting the Word in you daily. 1 Corinthians 10:13 (NKJV) says, “No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.”

2.    Depression

Let’s face it the Spirit of Depression is so common anymore, so many people turn to psychology and medications rather than focusing on God’s word. Don’t get me wrong it is important to follow your doctor’s recommendation, but God is above all things. If you fully put your trust in God on your depression you can be delivered, and even get off your anti-depressant (please consult with your doctor first before getting off any medications). Psalms 34:17-18 (NKJV) says, “The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears And delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, And saves such as have a contrite spirit.” If you are dealing with depression, I would encourage you to not only read but study the whole Book of Psalms.

3.    Anxiety

With as hectic as life can get, we can worry from time to time, but then some people have issues with chronic anxiety, they might even have panic attacks. When I was younger, I had issues with anxiety. I was on medication for it until one night at church I got delivered of it and never had the problem again and never needed any medication for anxiety. 1 Peter 5:7 (NKJV) says, “casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.”. Another word for care is anxiety, so cast your anxiety to the Lord.

4.    Rejection

Some people might be dealing with rejection. Whether it stems from an abusive relationship, abusive parent, rejection from another person, or even self-rejection. Rejection may also lead to poor emotional health and may even lead to poor physical health. Your medical condition may not be caused by the Spirit of Infirmity but might be a result of rejection. Remember 1 Peter 2:4 (NKJV) says, “Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious,”.

5.    Infirmity

If you have sickness in your body, turn to Jesus. Healing might not be instant; it might be a process. More importantly, we should not let our sickness hinder our walk with God. The enemy can use infirmities to hinder or even destroy our faith. Luke 13:12-13 (NKJV) says, “But when Jesus saw her, He called her to Him and said to her, “Woman, you are loosed from your infirmity.”  And He laid His hands on her, and immediately she was made straight and glorified God.”. When you feel fatigued, get The Word into you. We need to get to a place when we are at our weakest, we turn to God and His Word first rather than the pill bottle. While God can use medicine and doctors to heal us, it important to always put God first in every situation even sickness.

6.    Trauma

Whether this is an emotional or physical trauma it must go in Jesus name. The bondage of trauma can come together with any of the previous five bondages I just listed. Maybe a trauma resulted in your self-rejection, or maybe a trauma resulted in anxiety or depression. Maybe a trauma resulted in arthritis, and you might have become addicted to pain medicine or alcohol. Or maybe you are suffering from arthritis because of a past injury. Regardless Jesus can heal us of both our physical and emotional traumas. Have you truly given your pain that you have buried away to Jesus? Or do you cope with it from something of this world?  Remember Mark 10:27 (CSB) says, “Looking at them, Jesus said, “With man, it is impossible, but not with God, because all things are possible with God.””.

7.    Generational Curse

You might have one of the six problems I just listed, and it might stem from a generational curse. You might have had a grandparent or great grandparent who suffered from addiction, depression, or anxiety. Or maybe someone in your bloodline had cancer or another disease that you are dealing with right now. Generational curses can run up to the third or fourth generation. Exodus 20:5 (NKJV) says, “you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me,”. When one becomes born again, they should not only ask for forgiveness of their own sins but also the sins of their ancestors that run in their bloodlines. John 8:36 (NKJV) says, “Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.”.

8.    Religious Spirits

Oh man, I can really go into this one! Christianity is not a religion; it is a personal relationship with Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. Many people get stuck on tradition and man-made doctrine and fail to truly accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. If you look back to Jesus’ earthly ministry you will see that the Jews did not accept Him because they were stuck in tradition and because they were looking at human standards.  A question I would like to challenge you on is why do the Catholics have mass at every service? Mass is the continued sacrifice of the cross, why are Catholics continuing to redo this sacrifice today? There is no need to because Jesus said, “It is finished”. I am calling on the Catholic Church in general because the Catholic Church is the largest seed planter of Religious Spirits that are straight from the pit of hell. Let me be clear I love all people of all denominations, but people need to wake up and read their Bible and realize the truth and be set free. Romans 10:3 (NKJV) says, “For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God.”.

I am hoping by me listing some common bondages you might be able to realize that you have some in your life, or maybe a loved one has them in their life. Regardless, these bondages can be broken in the name of Jesus.  Galatians 5:1 (NKJV) tells us, “Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.”. God loves you so much that is why He sent His only Son to save us, to heal us, to deliver us, and to set us free. He sent His Son to die on the cross for us, and His Son conquered the grave. 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.”. I encourage you to take some time in prayer and seek God to be delivered of any of these eight bondages I just discussed with you. Also ask God to reveal areas of your life that you need to correct so there can be fewer doors for the enemy to enter in through. Finally, be sure to be in The Word everyday of your life as much as you possibly can along with prayer and worship.

Book of Acts Series 2019, Christianity, Gifts of the Spirit, Inspiration, Wisdom, Word from God

The Jews Response and Peters Teaching

In my previous teaching in the Book of Acts we just learned about the powerful Filling of the Holy Spirit the disciples received. The Jews have just witnessed the powerful gift of Tongues. Now we are going to begin to look as to how the Jews reacted to this powerful movement of the Holy Spirit. My teaching is going to be based from Acts 2:12-36, I would encourage you to take some time after reading this teaching, and really dive into these scriptures yourself.

Acts 2:12-13 (KJV) says us “And they were all amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to another, What meaneth this? Others mocking said, these men are full of new wine.”. The Jews were confused, and they also thought that the disciples were drunk. They did not know how to take any of this, we know from Jesus’ time on earth that the Jews had a hard time understanding Jesus because He spoke in the Spirit, and they were stuck in the natural realm. The disciple Peter then takes time to explain Pentecost to the Jews. As Peter was speaking to the them, he quoted two prophets form the Old Testament, Joel and David. In Acts 2:16-21 (KJV) Peter said, “But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy: And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke: The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and notable day of the Lord come: And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”. This prophecy from Joel, can be found in Joel 2:28-32 in the Old Testament. If we look at Acts 2:19-20 we can see that the power of the Holy Spirit is still available to us today, until the return of Jesus Christ. We also know from what Joel tells us is that anyone who calls on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ will be saved. Romans 10:13 (KJV) tells us, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”. Joel wrote about salvation in Joel 2:32. Too often churches only focus on the New Testament, and we often forget the importance of the Old Testament. I would highly encourage a new born again Christian to read the four Gospels, and then start reading in order from the Old Testament and work your way up through the whole New Testament.

After Peter referred to the words of Joel, he then quoted the prophet David from what he wrote in Psalms 16:8-11. In Acts 2:25-28 (KJV), Peter spoke saying, “For David speaketh concerning him, I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved: Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad; moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope: Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. Thou hast made known to me the ways of life; thou shalt make me full of joy with thy countenance.”. Peter reminded the Jews of something the prophet David once wrote, and there is much in this scripture that is important to us today. There are four key things that David said in this passage, that every true believer needs to be reminded. First, we must know that we are to rejoice truly from our hearts. When you become born again as a true believer, you know that your joy comes from the Lord. Philippians 4:4 (KJV), “Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice.”. Secondly, we know that Jesus is our true hope, 1 Peter 3:15 (WEB) says, “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts; and always be ready to give an answer to everyone who asks you a reason concerning the hope that is in you, with humility and fear:”. Thirdly we know that the Word of God teaches us how to live our lives, Psalms 119:105 (WEB) reminds us, “Your word is a lamp to my feet, and a light for my path.”. When you are not sure on what to do in your life, turn to God in prayer and read His Word. Lastly, we know David told us that we will have full joy when we are in the presence of God. Therefore, we need to spend as much time as we possibly can in Gods presence. 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.”.

Peter then tells the Jews something very important, and that is in Acts 2:36 (KJV) which says, “Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made the same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.”. Peter told the Jews that Jesus is both Lord and Christ, this is something everyone needs to know truly in their hearts. Luke 2:11 (KJV) tells us, “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.”. Also, Romans 10:9 (KJV) instructs us, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.”. I would really like to dive into the word ‘saved’. If we investigate the Greek, we find the word saved comes from the Greek word sozo. Some definitions for the word sozo from the Thayer and Smith Greek Lexicon are:

  • To save, keep safe and sound, to rescue from danger or destruction.
  • To save a suffering one, one suffering from disease, to make well, to heal, restore to health.
  • To save from the evils which obstruct the reception of the Messianic deliverance.

Once we are true born-again believers and know the Word of God, we really need to drill down on what we have in Jesus Christ, through the promises in God’s Word. Most importantly we need to know how much God loves us. Some people suffer from a lot of buried emotional and physical wounds, I feel so strongly in my Spirit that many believers need to really know and accept how much God loves us. Some people have rejection in their life, and maybe self-rejection. John 3:16 (KJV) tells us, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”. Also Psalms 139:13-14 (ESV) reminds us, “For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.”. God loves you so much, that He took the time not only to form your physically but to make the plans for your life here on earth. God has a plan for each of our lives, you might have been born with a medical condition or a physical abnormality. Just remember that God never says oops.

My next teaching in this series will be on what Peter instructs the Jews to do. Before my next teaching I encourage you to take some quite time with God, and really soak into His presence, and begin to realize how much He loves you. Also take some time and ask God what barriers in your life are blocking you from receiving what He has in store for you.

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?

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.