Category Archives: Word from God

2021, Christianity, Word from God, Word's of Wisdom

Worshiping into His Presence

It is without a doubt that there are many Spirit-filled believers who are pressing in for greater manifestations of God’s Glory in their lives this year. The time spent pressing in towards God will never be in vain, in fact, we should be at a place where we can never get enough of His Glory. Just as things appear dark and uncertain in a nation, there are those in the church who have seen and witnessed the Glory of God manifested in both their personal lives and collectively as believers. . 

For too long the church at large has been placated by a seeker-friendly movement. This has directly impacted how God is worshiped. People sadly become more captured by the flashy lights and smokey machines, rather than worshiping God and experiencing His Glory. I am not implying that people in churches with flashy lights are not hearing the Gospel, I am simply saying we need to ensure our focus and motives are in line with Scripture, and that we are not conformed to the spirit of the age (Romans 12:2).

With the coming Harvest Revival, there is going to be a shift in many churches to enter into a new season of worship. Some churches may already be doing this, but the Lord is calling us all to do this as His Spirit leads us. We are entering into a time where there will be more spontaneous worship and more prophetic worship. We will see a day when there will be a shift from singing songs written by other people to a blend of that along with our own spiritual songs from our hearts. 

Ephesians 5:18-19 (NLT) says, “Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, and making music to the Lord in your hearts.”. 

It will be during these worship services that fully yield to the Holy Spirit that we will see some of the greatest moves of God that this generation will witness. Done will be the days when people are attracted by the craftiness of man’s methods during worship, but coming are the days when the world will see the new thing the Lord is doing with spiritual songs that have never been sung before are being played and chains will be broken off people. 

Remember the church should be attractive to people because it offers something that this world cannot offer and that is Jesus Christ! While God uses each of us in this coming Harvest I pray that we all keep pure hearts and motives. I pray that not only are we yielding to the Holy Spirit to use our Spiritual Gifts but that there will also be an overflow of the Fruits of the Spirit in every believer’s life and in the churches. Let us always be reminded that we are not called to satisfy our selfish desires, but we are called to Glorify the King of Kings. 

Psalm 100:4-5 (AMP)

Enter His gates with a song of thanksgiving
And His courts with praise.
Be thankful to Him, bless and praise His name.
For the Lord is good;
His mercy and lovingkindness are everlasting,
His faithfulness [endures] to all generations.

2021, Wisdom, Word from God, Word's of Wisdom

Halloween and Christinaity

As a born-again believer, I am thankful for the work of Christ in my life. I am thankful that Jesus Christ has delivered me from the kingdom of darkness and birthed me into His Kingdom.

With that being said, I can never comprehend how people who call themselves Christians and maybe genuine with what they believe, can at the same time forfeit a day or weekend of the year to celebrate the devil’s holiday. You can call it what you want, but take any study at the roots of Halloween and you will see it is full of nothing but pagan and occultism. Ephesians 5:11 says, “Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them.”. I grant many Christians have been deceived due to powerless Christianity. This is due to us forfeiting the power behind the Gospel and the full working of the Holy Spirit for our own traditions and man-made Theological constructs.

At large many have settled for a type of Christianity that will make the outside look pretty one day a week, and the remaining days of the week blend in with the rest of the world. I don’t write this out of hate, my heart truly goes to those who are deceived. I’ve seen how the devil works to destroy people, families, and churches. It is time we bear the Light of the World every day of the week and don’t give ourselves over to the workings of the devil. Jesus said in Mark 16 that those who believe would cast out demons and the Kingdom of darkness, therefore we are not to entertain them for one season of the year! Don’t get distracted with the devil’s holiday, focus on the Kingdom of God!

2021, Apostolic, Baptism of Holy Spirit, BLogger, Christianity, Faith, Healing, Uncategorized, Wisdom, Word from God, Word's of Wisdom

Hold Fast to the Word of God

According to the Oxford dictionary, hold fast means to remain tightly secured. Are you tightly secured to the Word of God in your daily life? Philippians 2:14-16 (NKJV) tells us, “Do all things without complaining and disputing,  that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world,  holding fast the word of life, so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain or labored in vain.”.

Too often in today’s world, we can get caught up with the flow of complaining or walking in hate, rather than focusing on God. The people of this world will focus on the problems of life, rather than focusing on the Solution which is a life totally submitted to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. If we are a born-again believer, then we have no right to complain about your present circumstances, instead, we need to speak life to our circumstances according to the Will of God. How do you know what the Will of God is? By reading His Word! When you speak the Word of God into your life or the life of others with full unwavering faith you can expect things to change.

We need to hold fast to the Word of Life if we want to speak life into our lives and the lives of others. You cannot hold fast to the Word of Life by just going to church once or twice a week, there needs to be daily feeding upon the Word! When you speak God’s Word into your life or someone else’s it is not for your own personal gain but, it is to rather glorify God and expand the Kingdom of God. Jesus told us in Mark 11:23 (AMP), “I assure you and most solemnly say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea!’ and does not doubt in his heart [in God’s unlimited power], but believes that what he says is going to take place, it will be done for him [in accordance with God’s will].”. When we act in unwavering faith, we have the ability to change our circumstances only by the Power of God operating in our lives.

Romans 8:9 (AMP) tells us, “However, you are not [living] in the flesh [controlled by the sinful nature] but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God lives in you [directing and guiding you]. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him [and is not a child of God].”. We have the Spirit of the Living God inside of us, the God who does not change. When God created the Heavens and the Earth, everything was created by the words He spoke. When He created mankind, He spoke life into existence. It is only by us having the Spirit of God inside of us that we have the authority to speak life. It is only by us having the Spirit of God inside of us that we have the authority to speak His Will (healing, deliverance, and Salvation) into our lives and the lives of others. It is only by us having the Spirit of God inside of us that we can have the faith it takes to move mountains.

When we operate in the authority that He gave us as believers we do it to glorify Him and to expand the Kingdom. Too often this type of message gets out of balance and people become very self-centered, this is why everything we do must be done in love. 1 Corinthians 16:14 (AMP) tells us, “Let everything you do be done in love [motivated and inspired by God’s love for us]”. How do you know if you are walking in love? Read what Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 (AMP) “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.”. If how one operates in the authority of the believer is not done in love, then they have gotten out of balance and are not being led by the Spirit of God.

If the church wants to see revival, then we need to first hold fast to the Word of God. Revival will only come when the church knows who they are in Christ. Revival will only come when the church knows the authority she has and acts upon it. Most importantly we must have a revival that is led by the Spirit of God, rather than by carnality.

2021, Wisdom, Word from God, Word's of Wisdom

Have We Fully Surrendered?

This is going to be a different post than usual, not fully a teaching, but also a bit of a word mixed in the Lord has given me. I gave a teaching recently about the importance of surrendering the carnal mind. I do not know about you, but I am honestly sick of the casual and powerless Christianity. Go to church once or twice a week, and then blend in with the rest of the world the other days of the week. Are we sitting under preaching that is developed with man’s made methods or is the preaching we sit under led by the Holy Spirit?

So many profess to be Christian, but yet their lives do not reflect the working of the Holy Spirit. If we are new creations then why are we still in love with the things of this world, the things of which are passing away (1 John 2:17). We do not realize how much time we spend focusing on things that do not really matter. Do not get me wrong we all have various obligations in life such as school, work, and family. However, many of us and myself included have fed off carnality rather than spending more time feeding off the things of God.

The Lord wants His people to take worship more seriously this year, and the years to come. This is both in corporate worship and private worship. Too often we have become too led by our man-made devices rather than by the Holy Spirit. In Leviticus 10 we see what happened to Nadab and Abihu when they brought strange incense to the Lord, they were consumed with fire and died. Why? Because they went against what the Lord had commanded them to do when it came to worship.  Nadab and Abihu brought innovation to God’s altar rather than what God had already ordained. How often do we get wrapped up in our man-made programs in the church rather than being totally led by the Spirit? Now I am not saying all church programs are bad, I am saying we really need to be careful not to get all wrapped up in programs and our own strength.

Too many people in church pews are more religiously developed than they are spiritually developed. Too many people know how to follow a dead religious system rather than the true leading of the Holy Spirit. Are we to be filled with religion or are we to be filled with the Holy Spirit? I think the New Testament makes that clear. (Ephesians 5:18)

Biblical Christianity as found in the Early Church was not about religion, it is about being in relationship with the Lord. When we are born again, we are put in right standing with God. This is only through the finished work of Jesus Christ. Go back to the Old Testament and look at all the rules that had to be followed with all the sacrifices. Thank God for sending His only Son to be the only final Sacrifice.

We must take the Sacrifice of Jesus Christ seriously. So many people do not understand the depth of what Jesus accomplished on the Cross and through His resurrection and ascension. He paid the penalty for our sins; without Him, we would be deserving of eternal death. Because of His finished work we have authority over sickness and demons. (Mark 3:15, Matthew 10:1, Mark 6:7, Luke 9:1, 1 John 2:13-14, Ephesians 6:11, and Romans 16:20)   When we get saved, we do not receive a hell insurance plan. When we get saved, we do not get a pass to live our life however we want, our life is not our own! (1 Corinthians 6:19-20) The Bible tells us to work out our Salvation with fear and trembling. (Philippians 2:12)

The Bible says when we get saved, we are a new creation. (2 Corinthians 5:17) This is spiritually speaking, we were once spiritually dead, but now we are alive. We must learn to surrender to the new creation we are through Jesus Christ, rather than continuing in the sickness of the old dead self we were before Christ.  This is why the Baptism of the Holy Spirit is so essential, we must continually be filled with the Holy Spirit. Not only is being filled with the Holy Spirit evidenced by your own private prayer language and other spiritual gifts as the Spirit wills, but it is also about walking in all the Fruits of the Spirit, holy living, and most importantly walking in the love of Christ.

It is time that the body of Christ as a whole and individually begins to surrender to the leading of the Holy Spirit.

2019, Christianity, Inspiration, Wisdom, Word from God

God’s Ways

walking path with sun shining on it in wooded area.

Here is something that God put on my heart to share with you! This is a very short message that was put on my heart from the Lord, but I feel strongly that many people need to hear this!

Often in life when we are asking God for a breakthrough, we are asking it with our human standards. We might want it to happen in a certain way, order, or time. Maybe you are asking for a financial breakthrough, and nothing has happened yet. Maybe God has a different plan for your breakthrough than what you are specifically asking for. Maybe He wants to teach you to better manage your finances first before the breakthrough comes.

Maybe you are asking for healing to take place. You might think it needs to happen instantly or in a certain way based off how the doctors explained your condition. Instead of asking God to heal you a certain way, ask Him to heal you in His way. The healing might not come instantly as we all would like it to. But it might take some time, and over that period God will reveal certain areas of your life that need correcting or even emotions that need healing first. Then as you are seeking Him you will see the healing manifest more and more.

It is time we stop asking God to meet our needs with human standards but in His ways. Isaiah 55:8-9 (NKJV) tells us, “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts.”.  As we are praying for a breakthrough, we must remember that our ways are not God’s ways. Gods ways are always better than our ways. In this life, we are so focused on everything happening instantly and in a certain way.

I encourage you to ask God to reveal to you any distractions in your life that need to be removed.  Distractions on this earth come to us in many forms from poor habits, negative people, and poor time management. Colossians 3:2 (NKJV) tells us, “Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.”. So, is your mindset more focused on the things of this earth or the things of God? If we want to see God working in our lives, we must set our minds on Him and Heaven and not this world.

God Bless!

Zachary Murphy
Evangelical Blogger

2019, Christianity, Holy Week 2019- Jesus is King, Inspiration, love, Salvation, Sin, Word from God

Jesus is King: The Cross

cross at sunrise on beach-side

As you know today is Good Friday, so you can probably figure out I will be teaching on the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, our Lord, and Savior. Before I go any further, I want you to ask yourself one question, what does Good Friday really mean to me?  As I go through this teaching, I will be using scriptures from all four of the Gospels to help us get a good perspective on Good Friday. I encourage you to also take time to read the full story from all four Gospels when you have time because there is so much in these scriptures.

Let’s take a look at Matthew 27:3-9 (NKJV) which says, “Then Judas, His betrayer, seeing that He had been condemned, was remorseful and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” And they said, “What is that to us? You see to it!” Then he threw down the pieces of silver in the temple and departed, and went and hanged himself.”. Judas was the one disciple who betrayed Jesus, he was remorseful for what he did, he had a sense of guilt and then hung himself. As I go further into my teaching, I would like you to take this into perspective. When we come to Jesus for the first time, right before we repent, we have a sense of guilt that we have done wrong through our sins. But only because of Jesus we don’t have to live in guilt because our sins are washed in the blood of Jesus when we become born again. 1 John 1:9 (NKJV) says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”. Our sins are forgiven when we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior and confess our sins to Him. We also need to remember to forgive ourselves and truly receive the gift of salvation through Jesus Christ.

Let’s now look at the next part of the crucifixion story in Mark 15:2-5 (NKJV) which says, “Then Pilate asked Him, “Are You the King of the Jews?” He answered and said to him, “It is as you say.” And the chief priests accused Him of many things, but He answered nothing.  Then Pilate asked Him again, saying, “Do You answer nothing? See how many things they testify against You!”  But Jesus still answered nothing, so that Pilate marveled.”. One thing we must know is that Pilate did not really want to crucify Jesus Christ. He was shocked at Jesus’s silence to the accusations of the chief priests. Jesus could have tried to have given Pilate a satisfactory response to the accusations and could have been released, but Jesus just stayed silent. This shows the obedience Jesus had to His Father because Jesus knew He was to be crucified.

Mark 15:12-14 (NKJV) goes on to say, “Pilate answered and said to them again, “What then do you want me to do with Him whom you call the King of the Jews?” So they cried out again, “Crucify Him!” Then Pilate said to them, “Why, what evil has He done?” But they cried out all the more, “Crucify Him!””. Pilate asked the crowd of the Jews what they wanted to be done to Jesus, and they yelled for Him to be crucified. Pilate tried reasoning with the Jews by asking what evil Jesus has done, and they only responded with crucify. This shows us that Pilate did not truly want to crucify Jesus, he was simply satisfying the people in the crowd with what they wanted to have done to Jesus.

Mark 15:16 (KJV) continues and says, “And the soldiers led him away into the hall, called Praetorium; and they call together the whole band.”. I want you to notice the word band in this scripture, it is translated from the Greek equivalent of the Latin word ‘cohort’ which means 600 soldiers. When Mark wrote this in his Gospel it was not used technically, but to show there was a very large group of soldiers that mocked and beat Jesus. Mark 15:17-20 (NKJV) goes on to say, “And they clothed Him with purple; and they twisted a crown of thorns, put it on His head, and began to salute Him, “Hail, King of the Jews!”  Then they struck Him on the head with a reed and spat on Him; and bowing the knee, they worshiped Him. And when they had mocked Him, they took the purple off Him, put His own clothes on Him, and led Him out to crucify Him.”. To put it simply Jesus went through a lot of torment from these soldiers, just imagine what your Lord and Savior went through here for your sins.

Now we have just seen Jesus’s trial and torment from the soldiers, now let’s look at Jesus on the cross in the Gospel of John. John 19:17-18 (NKJV) says, “And He, bearing His cross, went out to a place called the Place of a Skull, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha,  where they crucified Him, and two others with Him, one on either side, and Jesus in the center.”. We will find that two other men are beside Jesus on the cross in Golgotha. Luke 23:32 (NKJV) tells us, “There were also two others, criminals, led with Him to be put to death.”. So, we know there are two other criminals beside Jesus being crucified.  What types of crime did these two people commit? The answer is in Matthew 27:38 (NKJV), “Then two robbers were crucified with Him, one on the right and another on the left.”. There were two other men crucified with Jesus because they were thieves. Jesus did not commit any crime; He simply gave His life for us and became sin for us so we can become saved. 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.”.

John 19:19-24 will go on to tell us about Jesus being given the title of ‘King of the Jews’ on His cross, and about the soldiers casting lots to divide His garments. I would like to skip to John 19:26-27 (NKJV) which says, “When Jesus therefore saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing by, He said to His mother, “Woman, behold your son!” Then He said to the disciple, “Behold your mother!” And from that hour that disciple took her to his own home.”.  This is where Jesus entrusted the Apostle John as Mary’s son, some people believe that this scripture gives Mary a level of authority like God, which we know is a false teaching from hell. Jesus could have designated any of His brothers, but He chose one of His disciples. If you read John 7:5 you will find out Jesus’s brothers did not believe He was the Son of God. John 7:5 (NKJV) tells us, “For even His brothers did not believe in Him.”.

John 19:28-29 (NKJV) continues and says, “After this, Jesus, knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said, “I thirst!” Now a vessel full of sour wine was sitting there; and they filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on hyssop, and put it to His mouth.”.  Jesus became thirsty and they gave Him sour vinegar on a sponge to sip on. This is portrayed in Psalms 22:15 (NKJV) which says, “My strength is dried up like a potsherd, And My tongue clings to My jaws; You have brought Me to the dust of death.”.  Additionally Psalms 69:21(NKJV) says, “They also gave me gall for my food, And for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.”. Jesus needed a drink so He could say His final words, this also shows the amount of suffering Jesus went through to die for our sins. John 19:30 (NKJV) says, “So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.”. Jesus told us ‘IT IS FINISHED’. The ultimate satisfice was finished. The prophet Isaiah talked about Jesus Christ a lot, you will find a lot of reference notes in the Gospels, that go back to Isaiah. Isaiah 53:12 (NKJV) tells us, “Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great, And He shall divide the spoil with the strong, Because He poured out His soul unto death, And He was numbered with the transgressors, And He bore the sin of many, And made intercession for the transgressors.”.

The end of the story for Good Friday takes us to the tomb, which John 19:42 (NKJV) tells us, “So there they laid Jesus, because of the Jews’ Preparation Day, for the tomb was nearby.”. There is so much more to the story of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ from the accounts we have in all four Gospels. So I encourage you to take some time and read them out of all four of the Gospels and reflect on it, what I have taught only scratches the surface of what you will find in your time of study in God’s Word. At the beginning of this teaching, I asked you to think to yourself what does Good Friday mean to you? Does Good Friday just mean that you get a day off work or school? For those of you who have religious spirits, does Good Friday mean it is the last Friday you can’t eat meat on during Lent? Or does it mean that the Son of God paid the ultimate price for your sins so that you could have eternal life? When one becomes born again you should have a strong desire to sin no more and seek God on corrections as you go along your walk with God. Just because you say the sinner’s prayer does not mean you can go back out and sin all you want without a care in the world. Just because you said the sinner’s prayer at an altar call does not give you a free pass to stay out of the word of God. Matthew 16:24-26 (NKJV) says, “Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.  For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?”. I again encourage you to take some time and read the accounts of Good Friday in all four of the Gospels and really reflect on what Good Friday means to you. This might be a good opportunity to rededicate your life to Christ or seek a more serious walk with Christ.

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.

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.

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.”.