Sometimes as soon as your feet hit the floor it seems that trouble is waiting for you. It may carry over from the day before, or you can wake up in a great mood and helplessly see everything around you spiraling downward.

You feel helpless. As much as you struggle to get a handle on things, they slip right through your fingers.

Sometimes its even after you prayed for peace, for direction, for protection…for God to bless your day.

How could He allow such calamity when you just asked Him for peace.

Think about this. It’s easy to have peace in a peaceful situation, But, how can you know that God has given you true peace unless you see that you can maintain it when surrounded by trouble.

Sometimes God allows trouble to show you He answered your prayer for peace. To prove to you that your peace is established in Him, and not what’s going on around you…

John 14:27 (NKJV)

Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

So I encourage you, that when your day starts off ‘bad’…TRUST GOD through it…

1. Tell God that you love Him and you trust Him. The devil wants to manipulate the situation to make you doubt God. He wants to interrupt your prayer life and fellowship with God. He wants you to think God doesn’t hear you or care. There is power in telling God, in the face of the devil, that you love Him and trust Him.
2. Get out your bible, bible app, or whatever you use and turn to Psalms. Feed yourself with a book full of encouragement in adversity. Read several and meditate on them all day. Notice how the Psalms that begin in trouble always end in praise and trusting God.
3. Don’t let the trouble provoke you to step outside of God’s character. Don’t curse. Don’t blame. Don’t backslide. Don’t damage your testimony.
4. Find a way to give God glory in the situation. Sometimes it’s speaking peace into others who are troubled. Sometimes it’s allowing them to see your resolve in crisis.
5. Maintain God’s purpose. Sometimes trouble can lead you to give up or say who cares. Even a momentary lapse in your calling or purpose can cause catastrophic damage. Remember, that God promised through the Apostle Paul that ALL things work TOGETHER for the GOOD of those who LOVE Him and are CALLED according to HIS purpose.

Sorry if you were expecting some magic prayer or exercise to suddenly turn things around. We have to many people of spiritual influence doing that now.  That’s not how God works. In fact, that only turns your faith into superstition. God is developing us to conform into the image of His Son…and who’s day started out worse than Jesus’ did a little over 2000 years ago when He went to the cross for us.

Remember this…

Psalm 34:19 (NKJV)

¹⁹ Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
But the Lord delivers him out of them all.

BE BLESSTIFIED!

In the beginning, God breathed the breath of life into Adam and he became a living soul.

God has given us to breathe life into one another.

Think about it. You can’t speak without breathing.Yes, you can sign…you can write…you can type…but, you can’t speak without breathing into your environment.

Our words have incredible power.

Proverbs 18:21 (NKJV)

Death and life are in the power of the tongue,
And those who love it will eat its fruit.

You can breathe life into a room, a heart, a meeting, a situation…with kind words.

Proverbs 16:24 (NKJV)

 Pleasant words are like a honeycomb,
Sweetness to the soul and health to the bones.

 Kind, positive words are powerful. They can encourage the discouraged. They can make someone considering suicide reconsider. They can bless the brokenhearted.

Kind words can change the entire tone of a meeting. They can make a gossiper feel convicted. They can make inspire and make the hearer aspire for better, greater, Godlier.

Kind words can plant seeds that bless a lifetime.

Kind words are the voice of God. Kind words are His image.

Remember, when everyone else is pissed off, somebody has to keep a level head.

Take a moment to pray that God anoints you breathe life into every environment you enter today.

BE BLESSTIFIED!

Be consistent. Be faithful. Be patient.

And, the people who really matter will realize that you aren’t who you used to be.

But beware…

This is true for both good and bad character.
2 Corinthians 5:17 (NKJV)
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

BE BLESSTIFIED!

I think I can… I think I will.. I think I want to… I think I don’t need to… I think I won’t.

I won’t!

Sometimes the ‘The Little Train that Could’, should be the ‘The Train that Didn’t’…

Discipline. Control of one’s self. This is something that many of us struggle with our entire lives…at least in particular areas of our lives.

It’s possible to very disciplined in some areas, while being out of control in others.

Disciplined in one’s finances, but not in one’s diet.

Disciplined with one’s credit, but not with one’s relationships.

Disciplined with exercise, but not with one’s prayer life.

Disciplined with work, but not with worship.

Most of the time we say we need more ‘will power’…meaning discipline over one’s own will.

But, maybe we need more power over our ‘won’t power’ or our ‘want power’.

Too many times our problem is the fact that…

We will do it. We will say it. We will eat it. We will drink it. We will smoke it. We will watch it. We will, because we are driven by our wants. We let the power of wants (fleshly, carnal desires) overpower the power of our wills.

Maybe instead of praying for more will power, we should pray for more won’t power!

We won’t do it. We won’t say it. We won’t eat it. We won’t drink it. We won’t smoke it. We won’t watch it. We won’t because we aren’t driven by our wants.

Galatians 5:16-21 (NKJV)

¹⁶ I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. ¹⁷ For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. ¹⁸ But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. ¹⁹ Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery,^[a] fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, ²⁰ idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, ²¹ envy, murders,^[b]drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God

Did you know that God has provided a spiritual exercise to strengthen your ‘won’t power’? The problem is either we don’t take advantage of it enough, or we do it to manipulate blessings out of God to feed our ‘want power’.

The exercise is fasting.

Fasting is an exercise in putting our flesh and desires under subjection so we won’t be ruled by our carnal desires, or even needs.

Look at what the Apostle Paul said through the inspiration of God’s Holy Spirit…

1 Corinthians 9:27 (NKJV)

²⁷ But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.

 Now, look what God says about fasting in the book of Isaiah…

Isaiah 58:5 (NKJV)

⁵ Is it a fast that I have chosen,
A day for a man to afflict his soul?
Is it to bow down his head like a bulrush,
And to spread out sackcloth and ashes?
Would you call this a fast,
And an acceptable day to the Lord?

And, don’t forget about how Jesus told us we can release the faith to move mountains…even the mountains of our desires (our ‘wills’ and our ‘wants’)…

Matthew 17:20-21 (NKJV)

²⁰ So Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief;^[a] for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you. ²¹ However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.”^[b]

Every physical battle that you fight is a spiritual battle over your ‘will’, your ‘won’t and your ‘wants’.

I pray that God gives you the strength to overcome whatever seems impossible to you today in the name of Christ Jesus the Son of the Living God.

BE BLESSTIFIED.

Do you know anyone who seems to love drama? Dysfunction? Chaos?

Do you know anyone who confuses peace with boredom?

Some people can become so used to toxic environments, cultures and behaviors that they consider that to be normal. They are so used to negativity that they begin to unknowingly enjoy it. They enjoy creating it. They enjoy watching it. They enjoy talking about it….that’s why I think reality shows are so successful now.

They can create their own poison to what would be a good relationship…friendship…job. They sometimes aren’t even comfortable with peace within themselves because they anticipate something bad is going to happen.

I hope this is not you. We must be very careful that we don’t reject the very peace that God seeks to GIVE us. We must not be uncomfortable with the peace that God GIVES us through our Lord and Savior Christ Jesus. Not only does He give us peace…He gives us HIS peace…

John 14:27 (NKJV)

²⁷ Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

His peace is more powerful than any trouble or fear that we have the tendency to allow to overwhelm us.

Think about it. The enemy, just as he did in the book of Job roams around looking to disrupt the peace that God has given you…

Job 1:7 (NKJV)

⁷ And the Lord said to Satan, “From where do you come?” So Satan answered the Lord and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking back and forth on it.”

1 Peter 5:8 (NKJV)

⁸ Be sober, be vigilant; because^[a] your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.

 God has given you the power to ‘be the peace’ in any given situation.

Matthew 5:9 (NKJV)

⁹ Blessed are the peacemakers,
For they shall be called sons of God.

Claim your own peace. Be comfortable with it, and walk in the authority God has ordained for your life.

BE BLESSTIFIED!

It’s amazing how many lives we touch without even noticing it. When you profess faith in God through our LORD and Savior, Yeshua, Christ Jesus, people are watching you.

That being said, we have a responsibility to represent Him well. We are His ambassadors in this world compelling, sometimes without words, that everyone who is created in the image of God be reconciled to Him.

2 Corinthians 5:20 (NKJV)

²⁰ Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God.

We are to set the standard of behavior in how to approach the daily challenges in life, and it’s not always easy.

So, we are all teachers…

Your reaction is always a lesson. It’s always an impression. It’s always a seed intended to produce good fruit.

John 15:16 (NKJV)

¹⁶ You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Fatherin My name He may give you.

We’re teaching people the correct way to respond to…

Stress…

Criticism…

Disappointment…

Racism…

Negativity…

Victory…

Good fortune…

Panhandlers…

Disrespectful coworkers…

Bad drivers in traffic…

Bad service in a restaurant…

Those who disagree with us politically…

Those who disagree with us spiritually…

Your team’s loss…

Your team’s win…

Racism…

Negativity…

Victory…

Good fortune…

What we regard as foolishness…

Broken promises…

The unfairness of life.

Your reactions are a lesson. Your reactions are confirmation. Your reactions are a seed. Will they produce good fruit, or bad.

What are people learning from your reactions today? What did they learn from your reactions yesterday?

Remember, your circle of influence extends beyond those in your circle.

BE BLESSTIFIED!

We all have ‘night seasons’ in our lives. Seasons of struggles, trials, storms and pain. These seasons can seem to go on forever.

As we pray for God to change things in our lives, and walk and work in faith, we can sometimes sense a transition. We can sense that God is gradually changing things.

I have a quick word of encouragement for you.

I want to remind you that no matter how subtle, gradual or slow the transition change may seem that change is always sudden.

Think about the longest, darkest, stormiest night you’ve endured. I’m not using a metaphor here, I’m talking about a literal, long, dark stormy night. No matter how long that night was, when the morning light broke through…it was sudden.

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 ^[a]joy comes in the morning.

Think about a gradual 180 degree turn. No matter how gradual the change, when you finally begin to go straight is always sudden.

In fact, the action of even gradually changing direction is still sudden. No matter how subtle the turn…you aren’t going straight any more.

I know we often hear the cliché, ‘a change is coming’. If you think about it, your change may not be coming, you may be in your season of change right now. And, though your transition may be slow the change is always sudden.

Please don’t give up in your season of turnaround. DON’T GIVE UP IN THE ‘TURN AROUND’!

Remember that everything that God predicted, declared or promised…no matter how long it took — always happened suddenly.

Isaiah 48:3 (NKJV)

³ “I have declared the former things from the beginning;
They went forth from My mouth, and I caused them to hear it.
Suddenly I did them, and they came to pass.

BE BLESSTIFIED!

No matter how old you are…

YOU WILL NEVER BE AS YOUNG AS YOU ARE TODAY!

Enjoy your youth youngster!

Psalm 103:5 (NKJV)

⁵ Who satisfies your mouth with good things,
So that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

BE BLESSTIFIED!

Sometimes it’s tempting to veer off the long, hard road to fulfilling your vision, especially when others can’t seem to see it.

But don’t give up. Don’t lose sight. Don’t lose hope…

If you keep your connection to God, and stay connected to your own vision…

God will connect you with people who share your vision, and whose vision you share – because your visions are connected.

So many times we can get caught up in how we expect our vision to come to pass, or the people that we think God should or will use to make it happen.

We can get so caught up in looking for those who we think have…

Position…

Prestige…

Or Power,

And miss those who share our own…

Passion.

Those who share our passion for God. Our passion for the process. Our passion for purpose.

If right now, as you read this, today, everything you’ve worked and prayed about so far seems to be falling apart, think about the fact that from God’s perspective they may be all falling in place. He may be strategically positioning you.

So, if you’re feeling discouraged today because no one else seems to see what you see, please don’t lose heart. There are others out there who think just like you.

Remember, the reason that some people haven’t let you inside their circle is because God is trying to build your own circle around you HERE’S THE REASON THEY WOULDN’T LET YOU IN ‘THEIR” CIRCLE….

Please, don’t lose sight of your own vision!

Habakkuk 2:2-3  (NKJV)

² Then the Lord answered me and said:

BE BLESSTIFIED!

Stand up for RIGHT even if you’re the only one LEFT…

God will ALWAYS be RIGHT there with you.

1 Kings 18:22 (NKJV)

Then Elijah said to the people, “I alone am left a prophet of the Lord; but Baal’s prophets are four hundred and fifty men.

BE BLESSTIFIED!

Serving God, especially through serving one another, can sometimes be thankless, unappreciated and quite frankly seem unrewarding.

Most of the good that we do may go unnoticed. This can be hard when your sacrifice your time, your money…even your reputation for the sake of God’s kingdom.

If we aren’t careful, we can find ourselves in our human moments regretting the good that we do or done, especially when we see those who could care less about God prospering and even mocking believers. Or, we see those who are looking at God as a genie in a bottle brag about their prosperity is due to their faithfulness, so what’s wrong with you.

God allows us the space to have brief human moments, and even ask Him as we would our parents…

“Why?”

“How Long?”

“Why me?”

“Why us?”

“Why do THEY deserve such good ‘fortune’?”

Notice what Psalm 73:12-14 says…

Behold, these are the ungodly,

Who are always at ease;
They increase in riches.
¹³ Surely I have cleansed my heart in vain,
And washed my hands in innocence.
¹⁴ For all day long I have been plagued,
And chastened every morning.

 The Psalmist laments saying in so many words, “Have I repented for nothing?” “I’m still troubled all the time!”

God knows we are flesh…dust…human and will feel weak sometimes (Psalm 103:14, Matthew 26:1)

 But, pay close attention to how strong Psalm 73 finishes. We are reminded that God will eventually deal with the ungodly. The Psalmist then repents and then…

TURNS HIS PITY PARTY INTO A PRAISE PARTY…

Psalm 73:18-28 (NKJV)

 Surely You set them in slippery places;
You cast them down to destruction.
¹⁹ Oh, how they are brought to desolation, as in a moment!
They are utterly consumed with terrors.
²⁰ As a dream when one awakes,
So, Lord, when You awake,
You shall despise their image.

²¹ Thus my heart was grieved,
And I was vexed in my mind.
²² I was so foolish and ignorant;
I was like a beast before You.
²³ Nevertheless I am continually with You;
You hold me by my right hand.
²⁴ You will guide me with Your counsel,
And afterward receive me to glory.

²⁵ Whom have I in heaven but You?
And there is none upon earth that I desire besides You.
²⁶ My flesh and my heart fail;
But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

²⁷ For indeed, those who are far from You shall perish;
You have destroyed all those who desert You for harlotry.
²⁸ But it is good for me to draw near to God;
I have put my trust in the Lord GOD,
That I may declare all Your works.

When you feel discouraged about the good you do, let me encourage you with the word of God…

Galatians 6:9 (NKJV)

⁹ And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.

BE BLESSTIFIED!

A few days ago as I was on my way to work, I went around a lady who was driving a little slow in the fast lane. I was hoping to make traffic light before it changed. I missed it, and threw my head back in frustration. As I waited on the light I looked in the rear view mirror and the lady slowly raised her middle finger at me. She was in the way, but raises her finger at me.

Did it make me angry, at first? Yes! I wondered if she were a Christian. In fact, I looked around in my car for my bible to flash it in her face in hopes to convict her, but that may have been counter-productive. Plus was I doing it to make her angry, or convict her? Then I thought about what God’s word says…

1 Peter 3:9 (NKJV)

not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary blessing, knowing that you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing.

 Romans 12:21New King James Version (NKJV)

²Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

 So, I prayed for her as I drove off.

I prayed that God forgive her.

I prayed that God soften her heart.

I prayed that God grant her His peace and His spirit that He can be pleased in her and that she can bear good fruit for Him.

And, I asked God to forgive me for my initial anger and if I provoked her.

People don’t have to know you are praying for them for God to hear and answer. In fact, sometimes people can get angry that you’re praying for them…

“What are you trying to tell me?”

“I don’t need you praying for me!”

“What are you praying for me for?”

“You need to pray for yourself!”

And, sometimes they don’t even believe in God or prayer. But, the bible promises that the prayers of the righteous prevails much (James 5:16).

And, don’t forget the paralyzed man who was forgiven and healed not because of his faith, but because of the faith of the men who carried him…

Mark 2:1-5 (NKJV)

And again He entered Capernaum after some days, and it was heard that He was in the house. ² Immediately^[a] many gathered together, so that there was no longer room to receive them, not even near the door. And He preached the word to them. ³ Then they came to Him, bringing a paralytic who was carried by four men. ⁴ And when they could not come near Him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where He was. So when they had broken through, they let down the bed on which the paralytic was lying.

⁵ When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven you.”

The next time someone flips you off in public, or wherever…

Pray for them.

Bless them.

Forgive them.

Intercede to God on their behalf.

Whether you were right or wrong. Whether you unintentionally provoked it your were innocent…Pray for them.

He created them in His image too.

BE BLESSTIFIED!!!

History didn’t take place in black and white…

It wasn’t experienced in 8mm…

A lifetime wasn’t lived out in a chapter that records it.

The past can’t be contained in a book or scroll…

The past was it’s past’s future.

Those before us days and nights were just as long as ours.

They had hopes and dreams just as we do.

History was influenced by names we will never know, and countless others whose lived and died in anonymity, but were still important to those in their lives.

Today, you’re younger than you will ever be again….enjoy it.

Psalm 118:24 (NKJV)

This is the day the Lord has made;
We will rejoice and be glad in it.

Some people love titles. Many titles have been earned through years of hard work, and I respect that. However, sometimes titles can allow people to ‘smell themselves’ and believe their own press, or even be worshiped. That’s why God reminds us to humble ourselves and have a servant’s heart.

Matthew 23:11 (NKJV)

¹¹ But he who is greatest among you shall be your servant.

We must also remember that we are all human, and no one is as GREAT as their prefix or suffix…

President

Dr.

Pastor

Bishop

MBA

MA

SVP

CEO

Esq

Judge

Rev

General

Admiral

Chief

Prime Minister

King

Queen

Father

Pope

Yes, God expects us to submit to leadership (Hebrews 13:17, Romans 13:1). It’s easy to be impressed by those we call great. By their accomplishments…by their confidence…by their authority. But no matter how great or influential, EVERYONE has:

Weakness

Insecurities

Fears

Faults

Immaturity

Limitations

Temptations

Vices

Virtues

No matter how confident…sometimes they just don’t know.

How much authority…they’re just a person doing a job.

Don’t trust anyone anymore than you do yourself in your own greatest strength.

Psalm 146:3-7 (NIV)

³ Do not put your trust in princes,
    in human beings, who cannot save.
⁴ When their spirit departs, they return to the ground;
    on that very day their plans come to nothing.

Or, any less than you do yourself in your greatest weakness.

And, only follow ANYONE as they follow Christ.

1 Corinthians 11:1 (NKJV)

11 Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ.

Who’s the only one who lives up to His title?

His name is Yahweh/Elohim…His title is God.

His name is Yeshua/Jeush…His title is Christ.

BE BLESSTIFIED!

Romans 5:8 (NKJV)

 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

You can’t wait until the next time you hear his or her voice.

You spend an hour saying goodbye on the phone.

You get excited and nervous when you see they’ve sent you a text message.

You don’t care where you go or what you do as long as you’re together. Just the thought of him or her makes you smile.

You’re proud to have them by your side…falling and being in love feels great!

God wants us to fall in love with Him through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (Yeshua), just as He’s fallen in love with us.

He doesn’t want a one-sided relationship.

God wants you to look forward to and enjoy talking to Him. He wants you to get to know His heart in His word.

He wants intimate fellowship with you in worship and praise…

He wants you to long for His presence…

He wants you to gladly let the world know you belong to Him and He belongs to you.

And, He doesn’t want you to be ashamed of Him, but proud to have Him by your side.

In fact…

Jeremiah 9:24 says, “but let the one who boasts boast about this: that they have the understanding to know me, that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,” declares the LORD.

However, Jesus also says in…

Mark 8:38, “8 For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.”

Jesus didn’t just say He loves us, He proved it for dying for our sins…

REAL LOVE ISN’T JUST STATED, IT’S DEMONSTRATED!

LOVE IS STRONGEST AS A VERB!

PEOPLE DON’T KNOW YOU LOVE THEM, UNTIL YOU SHOW YOU LOVE THEM!

He put Himself to open shame for us on the cross in the face of His enemy…that’s love!

He died for people He knew would never acknowledge or accept Him.

He keeps on loving us when we ‘cheat’ on Him daily, when we willingly choose the enemy over Him!

We, however, throw people away for little or nothing…

The Lord longs to have us in His presence forever…

Matthew 17:24a

²⁴ “Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am…”

Do you love Him?

Are you in love with Him?

Do you look forward to seeing Him when he returns?

Sometimes, after a while, couples have to fall back in love with one another.

I encourage you today, if you already haven’t, to fall in love with Jesus….

If your love has been a little ‘cold’…fall back in love with Him.

Most Christians claim to love Him, but don’t just say it…demonstrate it.

 BE BLESSTIFIED!

We all notice the unmistakable silence of Yeshua, Christ Jesus from 12 years of age until 30.

Luke 2:41-52 (NKJV)

⁴¹ His parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover. ⁴² And when He was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem according to the custom of the feast. ⁴³ When they had finished the days, as they returned, the Boy Jesus lingered behind in Jerusalem. And Joseph and His mother^[a] did not know it;⁴⁴ but supposing Him to have been in the company, they went a day’s journey, and sought Him among their relatives and acquaintances. ⁴⁵ So when they did not find Him, they returned to Jerusalem, seeking Him. ⁴⁶ Now so it was that after three days they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions. ⁴⁷ And all who heard Him were astonished at His understanding and answers. ⁴⁸ So when they saw Him, they were amazed; and His mother said to Him, “Son, why have You done this to us? Look, Your father and I have sought You anxiously.” ⁴⁹ And He said to them, “Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?” ⁵⁰ But they did not understand the statement which He spoke to them. ⁵¹ Then He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was subject to them, but His mother kept all these things in her heart. ⁵² And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.

I have heard and read much speculation and conjecture as to what happened during that time. There are even apocryphal accounts (Book of Thomas) of events that took place when Jesus was young. However, I think there is enough information given to us in Matthew 13 and John 2 to let us know that nothing miraculous happened. That, after amazing the teachers when He was twelve years old, Jesus went back to being an ‘apparently’ very good boy and young man. No Jesus didn’t sin. His ‘goodness’ ( much like Joseph in Genesis) could have led to His brothers’ initial unbelief and antagonism…

John 7:5-7 (NKJV)

⁵ For even His brothers did not believe in Him.

⁶ Then Jesus said to them, “My time has not yet come, but your time is always ready. ⁷ The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me because I testify of it that its works are evil.

Think about what is reported in Matthew 13 when Jesus was rejected in His hometown of Nazareth…

Matthew 13:53-58 (NKJV)

⁵³ Now it came to pass, when Jesus had finished these parables, that He departed from there. ⁵⁴ When He had come to His own country, He taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished and said, “Where did this Man get this wisdom and these mighty works? ⁵⁵ Is this not the carpenter’s son? Is not His mother called Mary? And His brothers James, Joses,^[a] Simon, and Judas? ⁵⁶ And His sisters, are they not all with us? Where then did this Man get all these things?” ⁵⁷ So they were offended at Him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own country and in his own house.” ⁵⁸ Now He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief.

…If Jesus had spent His youth sharing His wisdom and His supernatural powers, the people of His town would not have wondered ‘where did this man get this wisdom?’. They would have known He was unique among His half-brothers and sisters. They would have recognized Him beyond being ‘Joseph’s son’ and a carpenter. They were around Jesus every day as He grew and would not have been surprised at His wisdom if He had revealed that He was special after 12 years of age.

In fact, this implies to me that Jesus spent His teenage years and twenties doing the work of a carpenter while He and Mary held His divinity in their hearts.

As Jesus said at the wedding in Cana after His first miracle, His time had not yet come. And, yes John Chapter 2 confirms that turning the water to wine was Jesus’ first miracle. So no miracles could have happened before that.

The fact that Mary was anxious for Jesus to do something about the wine dilemma at the wedding could imply that she was ready for Him to ‘get the show started’.

She hadn’t even told her other children about their Holy brother. We all know how hard it can be to hold some things in our hearts. How hard it can be to keep a huge secret…especially one this big.

John 2:1-12  (NKJV)

2 On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. ² Now both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding. ³ And when they ran out of wine, the mother of Jesus said to Him, “They have no wine.” ⁴ Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does your concern have to do with Me? My hour has not yet come.” ⁵ His mother said to the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do it.” ⁶ Now there were set there six waterpots of stone, according to the manner of purification of the Jews, containing twenty or thirty gallons apiece. ⁷ Jesus said to them, “Fill the waterpots with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. ⁸ And He said to them, “Draw some out now, and take it to the master of the feast.” And they took it. ⁹ When the master of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom. ¹⁰ And he said to him, “Every man at the beginning sets out the good wine, and when the guests have well drunk, then the inferior. You have kept the good wine until now!” ¹¹ This beginning of signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory; and His disciples believed in Him.

PROTECTED BY ANONYMITY?

We all know how the enemy used Herod to kill baby boys Jesus’ age killed trying to prevent the prophecy from being fulfilled. God very well could have been protecting Jesus in anonymity to protect Him and His identity until His time had come.

Matthew 2:16-18 (NKJV)

¹⁶ Then Herod, when he saw that he was deceived by the wise men, was exceedingly angry; and he sent forth and put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the wise men. ¹⁷ Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying:

¹⁸ “A voice was heard in Ramah,
Lamentation, weeping, and great mourning,
Rachel weeping for her children,
Refusing to be comforted,
Because they are no more.”^[a]

God’s wisdom goes beyond our desire to know what happened before Jesus began His earthly ministry. As I said earlier, we can speculate and guess, but that is all it is…guessing and speculation.

Besides, what’s most important is what happened after Jesus began His earthly ministry. His occupation was carpenter but His calling and purpose was SAVIOR.

Jesus’ silent years are one of the greatest lessons in the wisdom of God doing all things in HIS OWN TIMING. And, that we should relate this lesson to our own lives. Even the Son of God didn’t begin His purpose before it was time.

Ecclesiastes 3:1 (NKJV)

To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven:

BE BLESSTIFIED!

It’s easy to read the gospels and think, shame on the scribes, Pharisees, Saducees and religious establishment that so often confronted, questioned and even corrected Jesus. But, if we’re honest with ourselves, many of us would have done the same thing if we were living then.

How do I know? Because that’s what many of us do, sometimes unintentionally, today.

Allow me to use the wedding in Cana (John 2:1-12), you know where Jesus performed His first recorded public miracle, to give a hypothetical example.

What if there was a man or woman who planned to go to that wedding, but one of the ‘church people’ told him or her, “Well, I’m not going, and I would advise that you don’t go. I’ve heard they will be drinking there. Based on that ‘churchy’ advice, the man or woman did not go. We all know that when they ran out of wine, Jesus was the person who richly replenished the supply, rather than rebuking them for serving it.

They would have missed an opportunity, possibly their only opportunity to meet Jesus trying to be righteous.

We all know that when they ran out of wine, Jesus was the person who richly replenished the supply, rather than rebuking them for serving it. For more on this please read my post: PLEASE DON’T ‘TRIP’ OVER A GLASS OF WINE – ALL THINGS IN MODERATION…

Yes, we must do our best to live holy lives, especially while in the midst of those who don’t believe, but we must have balance and apply wisdom.

Remember this…

Ecclesiastes 7:16-17(NKJV)

¹⁶ Do not be overly righteous,
Nor be overly wise:
Why should you destroy yourself?
¹⁷ Do not be overly wicked,
Nor be foolish:
Why should you die before your time?

BE BLESSTIFIED!

Matthew 26:58  (NKJV)

⁵⁸ But Peter followed Him at a distance to the high priest’s courtyard. And he went in and sat with the servants to see the end.

Even though Peter followed from a distance…he still followed. Even though he denied Him, he didn’t forsake Him.

Be encouraged even if you aren’t where you should be in your relationship with God through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

If you have allowed distractions to create distance between you and God.

Even though you may be following from a distance…

Not praying as much as you should.

Not reading His Word as much as you should.

Not attending worship as much as you should.

Caught up in a distracting weakness.

Just discrouaged, but…

At least you haven’t forsaken Him.

Jesus restored Peter and He is anxious to restore you too.

John 21:15-17 (NKJV)

¹⁵ So when they had eaten breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of Jonah,^[a] do you love Me more than these?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He said to him, “Feed My lambs.” ¹⁶ He said to him again a second time, “Simon, son of Jonah,^[b] do you love Me?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He said to him, “Tend My sheep.” ¹⁷ He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of Jonah,^[c] do you love Me?” Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, “Do you love Me?” And he said to Him, “Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You.” Jesus said to him, “Feed My sheep.

God hasn’t moved…you have, and He’s ready for you to follow close behind Him

Today is a good day to come back close again.

Psalm 63:8 (NKJV)

⁸ My soul follows close behind You;
Your right hand upholds me.

BE BLESSTIFIED!

Prayer is a privilege of a real relationship with God through our Lord and Savior Christ Jesus. Prayer is a powerful weapon of spiritual warfare. But, unfortunately we can unintentionally or intentionally misuse prayer.

“I’m praying for you.” We need to very careful how, and why we say it. How many times have you said it without sincerity or out of malice as a retaliation in an argument? How many times have you heard it said out of arrogance rather than concern?

God lets us know through James that prayers is ineffective and unheard when we pray with the wrong motives in our hearts…

James 4:3  (NKJV)

³ You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.

Be careful when we pray for others, about others and with others that we are praying for God’s will to be accomplished in their lives and not our own.

Make sure we aren’t trying to get them to do what we think that should or want them to do. Think or act as we want them to but to submit to God’s will for their lives.

Be careful how you pray for your family members, coworkers, church members, rivals and enemies.

For example, it’s easy to be mistreated at work and pray to God out of your frustration or anger, rather than out of love. It’s easy for us to ask God to give people what we feel they deserve. SO YOU THINK THEY GOT WHAT THEY DESERVED…REALLY???

It’s easy to pray for God to ‘change’ your spouse, child, friend, rival or whomever to suit how you would like for them to be. I’m not talking about when we want them to be saved or conform to God’s will, but when we selfishly want to control how they are, who they are, what they do, who they see, etc. through prayer.

In short…when we use prayer as a weapon of personal warfare rather than spiritual warfare.

Yes, we can misuse prayer if we aren’t careful. I have done it. Have you?

1 Peter 3:12 (NKJV)

¹² For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
And His ears are open to their prayers;
But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”^[a]

BE BLESSTIFIED!

How much of your precious time have you lost to worrying? God has given us the cure in two simple verses. Nothing deep here, just God’s powerful word and our challenge and responsibility for us to put them into practice…

Matthew 6:34  (NKJV)

³⁴ Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

 Philippians 3:13  (NKJV)

¹³ Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do ,forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead,

And yes, I know that ‘forgetting the past’ can be easier said than done. Maybe this will help…FORGETTING THE PAST (HOW TO LOOK BACK)

BE BLESSTIFIED!

How many times have you been frustrated or disappointed when God says “No” to you? When those doors that you desperately want to enter but He seems to refuse to open.

None of us like it when God uses the ‘N-Word, WHEN GOD USES THE ‘N-WORD’……but we have to accept it.

But, if we stop and think about it, while we’re so focused on what WE want to do, many times people are ‘bugging’ us to do things in which we have no interest. A project…a task…a favor…an opportunity that we didn’t ask for. Many times we say…

“I don’t have time for that!” or,

“I don’t know how to do that!” or,

How about This? “That’s not in my job description!”

Could God be sending those unwanted ‘opportunities’ to us to set us up for a greater purpose…His purpose?

Something greater than us or what we want? Why is God saying, “Yes” to something I don’t want?

Think for a moment that Abraham, Noah, Moses, David, Joseph or any of the apostles asked or applied for their assignments. In fact both Moses (Exodus 4:7) and Paul (2  Corinthians 11:6) were NOT gifted speakers, but the core of what God said, “Yes” to in their lives involved speaking and writing.

Stop for a moment and think about what’s being requested of you right now. Is that God saying, “Yes”?

Don’t be so quick to say “No”, when you get unsolicited requests. Pray about it. Measure it against God’s word. Pray for discernment.

You may be saying, “No” to the next move in your purpose.

BE BLESSTIFIED!

Does everyone ALWAYS practice what they preach? Do we always hold true to our standards, values, morals, disciplines…all the time? Do we all sometimes have lapses in our character?

Yes!

The apostle Peter was with Jesus from the beginning of His earthly ministry. He was there when Jesus performed miracles. He was an intimate part of Jesus’ inner circle. We all know that he betrayed the Lord, but Jesus warned him beforehand and restored him afterward.

Luke 22:31-34 (NKJV)

³¹ And the Lord said,^[a] “Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. ³² But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren.” ³³ But he said to Him, “Lord, I am ready to go with You, both to prison and to death.” ³⁴ Then He said, “I tell you, Peter, the rooster shall not crow this day before you will deny three times that you know Me.”

John 21:17 (NKJV)

¹⁷ He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of Jonah,^[a] do you love Me?” Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, “Do you love Me?” And he said to Him, “Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You.” Jesus said to him, “Feed My sheep.

Peter went on to be used by God to help birth the church, spread the Gospel, perform miracles himself and co-author the New Testament. To say he was anointed and used by God would be an understatement, but he was also far from perfect…just like us.

In fact, Paul(as Saul), who didn’t walk with Jesus. Who wasn’t there for the miracles. Who may have even consented to His death at the cross was also eventually anointed and used mightily by God. Notice what happened when Peter would associate and eat with Gentile believers unless Jews were around…then he would separate himself from them fearing what they would say and how they would react.

Galatians 2:11-16 (NKJV)

¹¹ Now when Peter^[a] had come to Antioch, I withstood him to his face, because he was to be blamed; ¹² for before certain men came from James, he would eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing those who were of the circumcision. ¹³ And the rest of the Jews also played the hypocrite with him, so that even Barnabas was carried away with their hypocrisy. ¹⁴ But when I saw that they were not straightforward about the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter before them all, “If you, being a Jew, live in the manner of Gentiles and not as the Jews, why do you^[b] compel Gentiles to live as Jews?^[c]

Peter was being a hypocrite. Paul withstood Peter to his face, called him out and corrected him…publicly.

I know you are saved and sanctified. I know that you love God. I know that you are devoted to God, but are you a hypocrite sometimes too?

When have you found yourself acting outside of your integrity?

Sometimes publicly.

Sometimes privately.

Sometimes no one knows about it but you and God…but you do know. Don’t you? You notice it. You think about it. You may even pray about it and ask forgiveness, or you may be comfortable as long as no one else knows.

I’m not going to go through a list of the possible areas in life that we are sometimes hypocrites, but it could be as simple as…you portray yourself or even brag about being a law abiding citizen, but you sometimes drive above the speed limit.

That’s why God’s grace and mercy should never be taken for granted, because it is impossible for us to totally avoid sin, and hypocrisy is a subtle manipulation from the enemy which we ALL fall for sometimes.

The truth is that even when someone you love or someone you know has a hypocritical moment, you still know their true character…

So, let’s make sure that any lapse in our character is just that…a lapse. Because enough lapses in your character becomes your character.

Let’s hold one another accountable in love.

BE BLESSTIFIED!

Genesis 1:3

3 “Then God said…”

God doesn’t need a language to speak.

What is HIS language?

Who was there when God ‘SAID’ “Let there be…”? There was no audience. Moses wasn’t there…the revelation of creation was given to him much later.

The Hebrew word for “said”, AMAR, according to The NAS Old Hebrew Lexicon means, to say, to answer, to say in one’s heart, to think, to command, to promise, to intend.

When God wills it…God says it.

God’s will is His words. He wills and it happens.

Jesus Christ, Yeshua, IS the living word. Jesus was there in the beginning as the Word and later became flesh. Just as your spirit, your essence of life, is invisible but your body is the image of your invisible spirit. God is a Spirit and Jesus Christ is not only the Word that was there in the beginning, He is the image of the invisible God.

Colossians 1:15 (NKJV)

15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.

John 1:1-3, 14

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. 14 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.

But what is ‘word’? The Greek words RHEMA and LOGOS are used as equivalents for the Hebrew word DABAR, as the Word of God or Divine Word.

God’s will is His words. He wills and it happens.

God can place His will, thoughts and desires inside of us, it is us that must use language to communicate. Language is for us, not God.

Language is what we use to communicate our thoughts, our intents…what’s in our hearts. We use language to communicate…God doesn’t have to. God is not limited to English, Igbo, Spanish, French, Portuguese or any other language.

His ways our not our ways and thoughts our not our thoughts. God can communicate with us through a thought. God knows your thoughts…does God hear them in a language? Or, does He just KNOW what’s in your heart.

Yes, we confess with our mouth, for the benefit of others, but we aren’t saved until we believe in our heart that God raised Jesus from the dead. How does God know you believe? Does He need a language to do that?

Many times people are critical when someone says, “The Lord told me”… And rightly so, because people tend to say that very loosely…too loosely. People will critically and sarcastically say, “What did God SAY to you?” Did you HEAR His voice?”

Yes God has spoken audibly at times for our benefit…Moses, The Mount of Transfiguration…but God doesn’t have to SPEAK audibly to SPEAK…

Nehemiah 2:12 (NKJV)

12 Then I arose in the night, I and a few men with me; I told no one what my God had put in my heart to do at Jerusalem; nor was there any animal with me, except the one on which I rode.

Jeremiah 31:33 (NKJV)

33 But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.

Matthew 16:17 (NKJV)

17 Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.

Hebrews 8:10 (NKJV)

10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.

Revelation 17:17 (NKJV)

17 For God has put it into their hearts to fulfill His purpose, to be of one mind, and to give their kingdom to the beast, until the words of God are fulfilled.

Remember. Those who rejected Jesus (Pharisees, Scribes etc.) heard Him with their ears… They heard Him speak in their language…but they didn’t hear Him in their heart.

BE BLESSTIFIED!

“There’s no such thing as a stupid question!”

People love saying this, but too many times they don’t mean it. In a recent meeting at my office, one of my co-workers shared an email from another co-worker in another department which had several questions. Other people in the meeting then began to laugh at, mock and make comment on how silly the questions were. Unfortunately, this went on for a while until I stated, “I thought there were no stupid questions”. After that was stated, comments transitioned to, “Maybe they’re new”, or “Maybe they just didn’t know”. Of course they didn’t know…that’s why they asked.

I’m pretty sure the person who sent that email would not have appreciated, or may have been hurt if he or she knew that their questions were being made fun of.

I can’t count the times that during a public Q & A session that I have waited to ask a question privately, and was sometimes even cautious about that.

It seems that belittling other people’s questions somehow makes others feel bigger.

It’s even more sad when people want to know more about God, His word, His will, or salvation and are afraid to ask because they think their question is stupid. Especially if the person is ‘older’ and thinks they should be expected to already know.

Let’s be very sensitive to how we respond to those who think enough of us to ask a question.

We can discourage someone who is serious and sincere about learning more about God by an inappropriate response to a question.

Remember what the word tells us…

Luke 6:31 (NKJV)

³¹ And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise.

BE BLESSTIFED!