It’s amazing how a person can be born, educate his or her mind that not only God gave them, but God ‘activated’ and conclude there is no God.

Science explains the physical world…

Faith explains the spiritual world…

Even the greatest scientific mind that tries to deny the existence of God can not explain his/her own consciousness…

State of being…

His or her own essence of life.

Oh, he or she can explain what it is…but not how it is.

Yes they can explain that we have billions of neurons, but not how the brain makes us aware.

Why?

Because God makes the brain make us aware.

When He decides it’s time for it to stop working, there’s nothing science or medicine can do to make it alive again.

Notice that the chronology in Genesis is the same as science explains.

First, nothing…

Then water…

Then the creatures in the water…

Then the creatures on land…

And, finally humans!

I believe that faith doesn’t deny God’s existence, but proves it.

I believe that science gives a physical explanation for the spiritual.

God has ‘allowed’ humans to accomplish many things, but…

In all God has allowed man to accomplish…he can’t create a LIFE or make a DAY.

Psalm 139
You have searched me, Lord,
    and you know me.
2 You know when I sit and when I rise;
    you perceive my thoughts from afar.
3 You discern my going out and my lying down;
    you are familiar with all my ways.
4 Before a word is on my tongue
    you, Lord, know it completely.
5 You hem me in behind and before,
    and you lay your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
    too lofty for me to attain.
7 Where can I go from your Spirit?
    Where can I flee from your presence?
8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
    if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
    if I settle on the far side of the sea,
10 even there your hand will guide me,
    your right hand will hold me fast.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me
    and the light become night around me,”
12 even the darkness will not be dark to you;
    the night will shine like the day,
    for darkness is as light to you.
13 For you created my inmost being;
    you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
    your works are wonderful,
    I know that full well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you
    when I was made in the secret place,
    when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my unformed body;
    all the days ordained for me were written in your book
    before one of them came to be.
17 How precious to me are your thoughts, God!
    How vast is the sum of them!
18 Were I to count them,
    they would outnumber the grains of sand—
    when I awake, I am still with you.
19 If only you, God, would slay the wicked!
    Away from me, you who are bloodthirsty!
20 They speak of you with evil intent;
    your adversaries misuse your name.
21 Do I not hate those who hate you, Lord,
    and abhor those who are in rebellion against you?
22 I have nothing but hatred for them;
    I count them my enemies.
23 Search me, God, and know my heart;
    test me and know my anxious thoughts.
24 See if there is any offensive way in me,
    and lead me in the way everlasting.

BE BLESSTIFIED!

How real is God to you?

Are you able to leave some troubles and concerns with Him alone?

Many times we will pray about a concern and claim we are going to “Let go and let God”, only to not be truly satisfied until we have talked to a “real” person” about it.

There are some situations in which your spouse, parents, friends, counselor or pastor will not be able to give you the answer you NEED (not want), or give you peace in your heart.

When we are truly at peace after talking to God, that’s when He will sometimes send us confirmation through another person.

At times we must prove to ourselves that God is real, and that we have the true intimate relationship He seeks to have with us.

There are some burdens, situations and issues that were created for just you and God!

These are the times we need to truly take to the Lord and leave them there…don’t talk to anyone else about it…and still have peace in your heart that God has heard you and will respond in His timing.

Prove to yourself that God is real to you…leave it with Him.

1 Peter 5:7 (NKJV)

 Casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.

BE BLESSTIFIED!

When you think about it, our relationships here on earth horizontal examples of our vertical relationship with God.

Example: Parents, think about your relationship with your children. You brought them into the world. You love, provide for, and nurture them. You took care of them when they couldn’t take care of themselves.

How does it make you feel when your children don’t appreciate what you do or have done for them?

How much does it hurt you when your children only come to you when they want something?

But, how great does it make you feel when your children are truly grateful?

How does it make you feel when they tell you that they love you just because…

When they want your advice…

When they just want to talk to you…just want to be in your presence?

Think of how you feel when someone mistreats them. Sometimes you run to their rescue, but sometimes you teach them how to be strong for themselves.

When they’ve done wrong think of how after you punish them and correct them, you quickly remind them of your love.

In our earthly relationships (horizontal), sometimes we are selfish and hurt the ones we love the most.

Sometimes we take advantage of their love.

But, sometimes love is so rich and wonderful; we wish the moment could go on forever.

Genesis 1:27 tells us we were made in God’s image.

We look like Him. But, how can we look like an invisible God?

God created us with the capacity and ability to love like Him…

To feel like Him…

To hurt like Him…

To have His character…

When we display the Fruit of the Spirit from Galatians 5:22 in our lives, (love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control) we are ‘looking like Him’.

The next time you get frustrated about the way that your children, husband, wife or those who are supposed to be closest to you treat you or make you feel(horizontal), be reminded of how God feels when we treat Him the same way (vertical).

What’s on your mind?

The preposition “on” implies making physical on contact with, as resting on the surface.

So, when I ask what’s ON your mind lately, I’m not talking about what passing thought you had, but what are you meditating on lately?

Proverbs 23:7 tells us, “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.”

Everything we do begins with a thought, our moods, temperament, behavior and character are all determined by what’s on our mind.

Whether we react spontaneously or after considering consequences, it still comes from our thoughts.

Our passions spring forth from our thoughts.

We are bombarded everyday with things fighting for room in our mind, to the point some of the stimuli we didn’t notice consciously will manifest in our dreams at night.

The devil only has limited influence in our lives, and that influence has to be surrendered to him.

That’s why he tries to send customized temptations, designed according to your personal desires to infect your thoughts…These can even be sometimes disguised as blessings.

When our thoughts are consumed with deceitful lusts and pleasures (Ephesians 4:22), the love of money (1 Timothy 6:10), revenge, jealousy, anger, envy, hate, or any of things manifested from the works of the flesh in Galatians 5: 19-21, we can find ourselves to be the enemy of God in our minds (Colossians 1:21) and not walking in the Spirit.

EVEN THOUGH YOU CAN’T CONTROL WHAT RUNS ACROSS YOUR MIND, YOU CAN CONTROL WHERE WHAT STAYS.

God told us, that we can have the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16).

We must first and foremost meditate on God’s word day and night as He said in Joshua Chapter 1.

We must always watch how we feed our senses…

We must always watch what we allow through our eye and ear gates.

We must always have an attitude of forgiveness, even if we haven’t received an apology, so we don’t meditate on how we’ve been hurt.

We must take personal responsibility for the current state of our lives so we don’t let blaming others lead to bitterness.

We can’t let our negative thoughts infect the thoughts of others.

AND,

We must always maintain a thankful attitude towards God because He always provides and protects us perfectly.

In short, we need to take heed to…

Philippians 4:8,

 “Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things”.

 Think about it…

BE BLESSTIFIED!

We hurt each other. Sometimes intentionally and sometimes unintentionally.

Sometimes we hurt the ones we love the most.

Why?

God tells us that we are to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. Maybe that’s the problem sometimes. Do we know how to love ourselves?

Do we love ourselves as we should?

Think of all of the things you have done…

All of the places you have gone…

All of the things you have said that weren’t good for you.

Think of all the things that people eat, drink, consume that aren’t good for them.

Think of all the situations people subject themselves to, fully knowing it’s not good for them.

We put ourselves in unhealthy relationships.

We hurt ourselves for instant gratification.

We subject ourselves to harm physically, emotionally and spiritually…no one else has to do it, we do it to ourselves.

Maybe that’s the problem. We hurt each other and don’t know how to love each other because WE DON’T FULLY KNOW HOW TO LOVE OURSELVES.

We can sometimes replace a healthy love of self with a form of idolatry, where we are arrogant, filled with pride, conceited and narcissistic.

That’s why we have to read God’s word and ask God to teach us to love ourselves the right way.

When you pray, how often do you ask God to teach you to love yourself?

How often do you ask God to help YOU LOVE YOU?

That’s not a selfish prayer because yes, we must LOVE GOD ABOVE ALL, but we can’t LOVE ONE ANOTHER properly, until we learn to LOVE OURSELVES first.

Today, let’s ask God to help us love Him, and OURSELVES as we should.

Matthew 22:37-39 (NKJV)
37 Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’[d] 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’

When were your good ol’ days…the best days of your life?

When were you happiest?

Is it now? I hope so.

If not, was it because of a particular place? a person? people? things? a time? Or a combination of these?

How did you know you were happiest then? I’ve heard many people say “those were the best days of our lives and we didn’t know it”. Have you ever thought that or said that?

Sometimes they people say they were actually happier at a time when they had less. Why were they happier then?

Maybe it was their frame of mind.

You may not be able to relive or recapture the time but you can change your frame of mind today.

God tells us to be content in whatever state we are in.

In Philippians 4, the apostle Paul tells of how he had learned to be content in all situations.

The bible is full of verses on the power of contentment and a renewed mind. With contentment there is peace, with peace there is joy, and with joy there are good days.

God tells us Himself that he wants us to enjoy our days, that this is our gift from Him (Ecclesiastes 3:12-13) and that He plans better days for us ( Jeremiah 29:11).

But the key to our good days is our made up mind.

Psalm 118:24 should be our daily affirmation and declaration, “This is the day the Lord has made;”.

But, God is not going to force you to have a good day, the day is the gift from God, it’s up to you how you unwrap it.

BE BLESSTIFIED!

The apostle John was one of Jesus’ closest disciples. He was present throughout Jesus’ ministry on earth and authored the books of First, Second and Third John, as well as the Book of Revelation. But, how did he receive The Revelation? He wasn’t sitting in a His comfortable, climate controlled room typing into His laptop. He was exiled on the Greek Island of Patmos under Roman persecution for the Testimony of Yeshua, Jesus Christ.

Revelation 1:9

I, John, both your brother and companion in the tribulation and kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was on the island that is called Patmos for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.

Yes, John was there when Jesus performed his miracles, when He walked on water, when He healed and brought back people from the dead. He was there when Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper…when He was betrayed. Yes, John responded to Jesus call to…

Matthew 28:19 (NKJV)

¹⁹ 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,

…and answering that call is why he was exiled on the Island of Patmos. He was being persecuted for the Gospel. But, God allowed it…

But why? Why did God allow His servant to be exiled? Especially if he was busy about his Father’s business? Could he not have given John The Revelation at his house? Could he not have given it to him in a dream as he slept cozy in his bed?

Could it be that God had to move every other distraction out of the way for an experience and Revelation of this magnitude and importance. Did John need to be isolated, ‘sanctified’ or ‘set apart’ to this extreme so God could reveal His plan for our future?

Could it be that God made sure that not only John’s mind was clear, but that he left without any doubt…THAT WAS GOD!

I think so!

In fact, I think we have all of us in the Body of Christ have had our own Island of Patmos, even if we didn’t recognize it.

We can get so busy with our day-to-day lives that we aren’t taking the time to really hear from God. We can even be so busy working for the Kingdom, that we aren’t slowing down enough and emptying ourselves enough to receive…fresh revelation that God has for us and those in our circles of influence.

You may have had an accident or sickness that slowed you down.

You may have lost a job or relationship that was distracting you from your true purpose.

You too may have even been jailed or imprisoned for something you did not do. Why would God allow that?

I wrote this article after being inspired by a friend who told me he had foot surgery that caused him to be home from his job for six weeks. He said during that time he grew so much closer to God, and he was given fresh revelation from scriptures he has heard and read his entire life.

What’s unfortunate is that sometimes when God ‘exiles’ or us from our lives so that we can hear from Him, we don’t recognize it. We may see it as misfortune. We may use that time selfishly for ourselves, or may even use that time for the enemy.

Stop and think back on your life.

Has God tried to isolate you for His purpose? Did you make the most of that opportunity, or squander it?

Make sure you are making yourself available to God to speak to you. Disconnect yourself from the world, job, family…distractions and make yourself available to God.

I know that personally, I can take better advantage of the opportunity of fasting to empty myself and afflict my flesh so that God doesn’t have to do it for me.

Pray for wisdom and discernment to recognize if God has you on your own Island of Patmos’ to speak to you, and give you fresh revelation.

If you’re in that season right now…use it.

BE BLESSTIFIED!

John 21:1-14 (NKJV)

After these things Jesus showed Himself again to the disciples at the Sea of Tiberias, and in this way He showed Himself: ² Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin, Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of His disciples were together. ³ Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.”

They said to him, “We are going with you also.” They went out and immediately^[a]got into the boat, and that night they caught nothing. ⁴ But when the morning had now come, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. ⁵ Then Jesus said to them, “Children, have you any food?”

They answered Him, “No.”

⁶ And He said to them, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will findsome.” So they cast, and now they were not able to draw it in because of the multitude of fish.

⁷ Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment (for he had removed it), and plunged into the sea. ⁸ But the other disciples came in the little boat (for they were not far from land, but about two hundred cubits), dragging the net with fish. ⁹ Then, as soon as they had come to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid on it, and bread. ¹⁰ Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish which you have just caught.”

¹¹ Simon Peter went up and dragged the net to land, full of large fish, one hundred and fifty-three; and although there were so many, the net was not broken. ¹² Jesus said to them, “Come and eat breakfast.” Yet none of the disciples dared ask Him, “Who are You?”—knowing that it was the Lord. ¹³ Jesus then came and took the bread and gave it to them, and likewise the fish.

¹⁴ This is now the third time Jesus showed Himself to His disciples after He was raised from the dead.

Jesus let the disciples fish all night, and they caught nothing. He could have showed up sooner. He let them fish all night long. If they had given up and left, they would have missed the miracle…

Joseph’s long night (Genesis 37-45)…

Before he was sold into slavery, his brothers didn’t like him. In fact, they hated him. Think of how horrible it was for those closest to you, those who should have your back to want you dead. Joseph dealt with that before he was sold into slavery.

Joseph was the sold into slavery at age seventeen, but it wasn’t until he was thirty years old that he was given authority in Egypt. Again we can quickly read his story, but his days and nights were just as long as ours.

It was his faith, relationship and devotion to God that got him through his longs nights after being accused of sexual harassment and thrown into prison for years. Of, having hope of getting out of prison only to be forgotten and remaining an additional two years (Genesis 40-41).

 I could go on and on with examples in the bible of people enduring ‘long nights’

As we read through the bible it’s easy to read several chapters, which can cover hundreds or thousands of years in an afternoon.

We must remember, that these people who God chose to use in His word, were just like us. They had full lives. THEIR DAYS AND NIGHTS WERE JUST AS LONG AS OURS.

Jesus let them fish all night and they caught nothing. If they had given up and left, they would have missed the miracle…

If some things have worked out when you wanted…how you wanted…the way you wanted, you would have…

Missed your miracle…

Given credit and glory to yourself or someone else…

Missed an important page in ‘your story’…

Stay strong in the Lord and keep the faith as you go through the ‘long nights’ in your life. No matter how long or dark, remember God is still there. If you keep the faith, you can be sure that things all things will work together for your good…

Romans 8:28 (NKJV)

 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.

And, even if we brought our ‘long night’ ourselves. Remember that God has not forsaken or forgotten you.

Psalm 30:5 (NKJV)

 ⁵ For His anger is but for a moment,
His favor is for life;
Weeping may endure for a night,
But joy comes in the morning.

BE BLESSTIIFED!

Do you know anyone who you would describe as a MEAN PERSON?

Do they claim to be a Christian?

Do you know anyone who is stressful to be around?

Everyone one is mean sometimes, and no one is mean all the time, but unfortunately, some Christians are mean most of the time.

They may not even intend to be mean, or they may take pride in it. They may consider themselves to be passionate, or strong, or steadfast, or strict.

The truth is that mean Christians ARE NOT walking in the Spirit.

There’s a difference in being aggressive and assertive. There is a difference in being strict and mean….strict is diligence and the demand for adherence…”sticking to it”.

Mean is an unkind, hurtful and cruel attitude. A person can be assertive but respectful.

A person can be strict but, loving and kind.

God is strict in what He demands of us, but loving. He doesn’t even MAKE us obey Him. He merely sets His standards and expectations.

But, being mean is being cruel, overly harsh, unkind and disrespectful. Too many Christians take pride in being mean and view kindness and meekness as weakness.

You can even be mean and nice at the same time (you can be nice to get into position to stab someone in the back), but you can’t be mean and kind at the same time (because kindness is a Fruit of the Spirit, not niceness).

Too many people enjoy hurting others, establish how ‘strong’ they are, or hide insecurity through being mean.

Too many try to hide their own inabilities and shortcomings by being mean. And worst of all, too many try to represent Christ by being mean.

They treat unbelievers, the lost, and even Christians who don’t believe EXACTLY as they do with contempt.

We can’t CONVERT anyone or bring anyone to Christ being mean-spirited!

God commands that we be tender-hearted, gentle and kind (Ephesians 4:32). Being mean is totally opposite to the Fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23).

 Too many Christians and churches have done more harm than good, and turned the weak away from the faith by being mean.

We must not let our passion for God and His Kingdom to give us an excuse to be mean.

Some people have a more natural mean disposition, and others have had life make them more harsh, but we can’t allow that to be an excuse to be mean if we claim to be of Christ.

We can’t just say, ‘that’s just the way I am!”

You aren’t obligated to excuse mean people. And, you can overcome a natural propensity to have a mean attitude.

That’s why the bible says…

Philippians 4:13

 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me”.

That’s why the bible says…

2 Corinthians 10:4-5

4 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, 5 casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.

Being mean is a STRONGHOLD, it is an aspect of PRIDE, and opposite of every FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT. Let us examine ourselves and our attitudes to make sure we aren’t hurting the cause of Christ by being mean…and pray for those who are.

BE BLESSTIFIED!

​

Is your family dysfunctional? 

Is there dysfunction on your job?

Is there dysfunction in your church?

Is dysfunction in churches your excuse for not joining and attending?

Dysfunction is an unfortunate ‘norm’ of our imperfect world.

Jesus told His disciples in…

John 6:70…

Did I not choose you, the twelve, and one of you is a devil?

The disciples were constantly bickering about which of them would be greater (Luke 9:46, Luke 22:44). 

Peter denied Christ…

Judas betrayed Him… 

Many other disciples left Him when they felt His words and expectations were too difficult John 6:60-66. 

In the early days of His earthy ministry, even Jesus’ brothers didn’t believe He was the Christ (John 7:5)…

Even Jesus’ group and family had dysfunction. 

Eve was the first one to allow an ‘outside influence’ come between her marriage. 

Adam and Eve’s son killed his brother.

Isaac loved Esau more, but Rebekah loved Jacob.

Jacob and Esau were at odds. 

Jacob loved Joseph more than his other sons. 

Those brothers hated Joseph so much that they sold him as a slave. 

David, a man after God’s own heart, had a dysfunctional family.

His son Amnon rapes his sister Tamar. 

Absalom, one of David’s other sons had his brother Amnon killed, and tried to kill his father David for his throne….I could go on and on.

If there is one thing that’s constant in the bible…it’s dysfunctional families. 

Yes you can be anointed and dysfunctional…

The greatest men and women used by God…the anointed of God, who He used as the pillars of our faith had dysfunctional families….But, they all went on to fulfill God’s purpose in their lives. 

They functioned in dysfunction.

Sometimes we feel bad about the dysfunction in our families, but when we read our bibles, we find out it’s more normal than abnormal. 

If your family has dysfunction, that makes you a prime candidate to be used by God. 

In fact, in…

Matthew 10:34-36, Jesus Himself said, 34 “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 For I have come to turn“‘a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law—36 a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’ 

Why is this? 

Because when Jesus is introduced to a family or household, everyone may not believe in Him at once. Sometimes there is division in families over spiritual things (choice of church, giving, etc.). 

Don’t be discouraged because there is dysfunction in your family, job or ministry. 

What matters is how you FUNCTION IN THE DYSFUNCTION. 

Make sure YOU are grounded in the Word of God. 

Work to be a peacemaker and a peace keeper (Matthew 5:9).

And most importantly pray for AGREEMENT and ONENESS in CHRIST just as He did in John 17:21-23. 

Make this your daily prayer during your quiet time with God, and pray with your spouse for agreement in your marriage. 

Call your family together and pray for agreement….EVERY DAY. 

Don’t feel that you are disqualified by God because of dysfunction in your family or group…just make a commitment through God to FUNCTION IN THE DYSFUNCTION! 

Peace and agreement to you and yours!

BE BLESSTIFIED! 

Sometimes we have people who don’t like us, just because they don’t want to like us.
Sometimes we have people who go as far as to work against us or undermine our efforts.

Sometimes people talk about us behind our backs, whether we do good or bad.

Many of these people don’t like us, even though we have done nothing to them…we call these people HATERS.

People even pray that God give them vindication from their haters…

Psalm 25:2(NKJV)

2 O my God, I trust in You;
Let me not be ashamed;
Let not my enemies triumph over me.

But, when we’re honest with ourselves, we have given some of our HATERS as good reason to dislike us.

Yes, God expects us to be loving, and God expects us to be forgiving, but God also commands that we don’t be an offender or a ’stumbling block’ to others (Matthew 18:6,1 Corinthians 8:9).

We all have let others down.

We all have hurt others.

We all have done things we are ashamed of…

We all have offended others. There are some people who feel they were better off if they hadn’t met us.

King David was a man after God’s on heart, and he killed for a man for his wife.

Paul was an apostle to the Gentiles..after he was well-known for persecuting the church and consented to the death of Christians.

You can be sure that even after they repented of their sin…even after there was far behind them, they still had people and haters who were affected by their sin.

Haters will hate, and even though they are wrong to hold a grudge, we must be sensitive to the way the feel…let’s be sensitive to the fact that we’re the source of their attitude or actions.

And, if need be we MUST seek their forgiveness. After that, it’s between them and God.

BE BLESSTIFIED!

In His darkest moment, those closest to Him abandoned Him…

Matthew 26:31(NKJV)

 Then Jesus said to them, “All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night, for it is written:

‘I will strike the Shepherd,
And the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’

But, I think that Jesus was cool with that. I know He wasn’t surprised. It was prophesied and He knew they would all scatter.

He knew Peter would follow, but far away. He knew he would deny Him three times to the point of cursing…

Matthew 26:74

Then he began to curse and swear, saying, “I do not know the Man!”

Many times, in the comfort and conveniences of our 21^st Century lifestyles, we will read about or hear in a sermon about the disciples scattering and deserting Jesus just before He went to the cross. We may even think to ourselves, “What a shame”.

We may wonder what we would have done had we been in that situation. I can quickly and confidently answer that…we would have done the same thing.

How do I know that?

Because it was God’s will that they scatter.

What could they have done to prevent Jesus’ crucifixion? Nothing…because it was God’s will.

What good would it have done if they had died with Him, because that’s exactly what would have happened had they stood with Him.

Had they stood with Jesus at that time and were crucified with Him, how would we have gotten the Gospels? Who would have told us of what they experienced while they were with Him?

He was preparing them to spread the Gospel, not to die with Him.

He was preparing them to GO….not DIE….at least not yet.

Matthew 28:19 (NKJV)

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,

Think about it like this…

Jesus could have stayed here longer. He could have put off the cross until His disciples were stronger…but He didn’t.

Jesus left them while they were WEAK enough to scatter and desert Him, but STRONG enough to get it back together and continue.

I believe that Christ was glad they scattered.

So, stop worrying about those who have…

Left you…

Abandoned you…

Deserted you…

Ignored you…or

Betrayed you.

Stop and look for God in it.

The next time that someone leaves you…look for God in it.

And, remember, that sometimes we must share in His sufferings…

Romans 8:17 (NKJV)

 And if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.

Yes, they scattered and deserted Him, but that’s not how the story ended…And, that’s why I believe that Jesus was glad they left Him alone.

BE BLESSTIFIED!