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It’s 2pm. You think about what’s in your refrigerator. You think about what’s in your pantry. So, you call your spouse or your mom, or whoever you share your meals with and ask…

“What are we going to eat tonight?” The burden of choices.

It’s 2pm. A man has been standing at an exit ramp with a cardboard sign that says, WILL WORK FOR FOOD since 6am. He’s tired and goes to the car that’s been home for his family since he lost his job. He collected judgmental looks, stares, disgust, pity, and $17. He looks at his wife and two kids and asks…

“What are we going to eat tonight?” The burden of no choices.

Same question, but two very different situations.

Never take for granted the blessing of having enough for today. Yeshua told us don’t worry about what we will eat tomorrow…

Matthew 6:31-34 (NKJV)

³¹ “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ³² For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. ³³ But ^(A)seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. ³⁴ Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

Never forget the parable of The Rich Man and Lazarus…

Luke 16:19-31 (NKJV)

¹⁹ “There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and ^[a]fared sumptuously every day. ²⁰ But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at his gate,²¹ desiring to be fed with ^[b]the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. ²² So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died and was buried.²³ And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.

²⁴ “Then he cried and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.’ ²⁵ But Abraham said, ‘Son,remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented. ²⁶ And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.’

²⁷ “Then he said, ‘I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father’s house, ²⁸ for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment.’ ²⁹ Abraham said to him, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.’ ³⁰ And he said, ‘No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ ³¹ But he said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.’ ”

Notice there was no discussion about what Lazarus did to get in this desperate situation. God expected the rich man to help him.

Be careful that you aren’t turning away Lazarus when confronted with a ‘beggar’. If they are trying to scam you, that’s between them and God. But, if they are truly in need, one meal can make you their hero.
7 REASONS IT’S A BLESSING TO BE APPROACHED BY A BEGGAR…

HAVE YOU TURNED AWAY LAZARUS?

BE BLESSTIFIED!

Them: When’s your birthday?

Me: September 26th.

Them: So you’re a Libra!

Me: Nope.

Have you ever heard anyone make this statement, or have made it yourself?

“You won’t go to Hell for doing it.”

Too many Christians feel as though as long as they are paying their tithes and going to church regularly that, ‘they’re good’.

Sometimes times there will be an issue or behavior that is questionable or vague, or maybe not even addressed directly in the bible. Many times there will be an issue or behavior that we really enjoy, but there is reason to believe it might be displeasing to God. Then there are issues that are addressed, but many people either don’t make the connection, or don’t care about how those issues relate to us today.

There are many Christians who don’t only define themselves as children of God, they also define themselves by ‘their’ zodiac sign.

How does God feel about someone asking, “What’s your sign?”

Zephaniah 1:5-6 (NKJV)

5.“Those who worship the host of heaven on the housetops; Those who worship and swear oaths by the LORD, But also swear by Milcom (or Molech) 6.Those who have turned back from following the LORD, And have not sought the LORD, nor inquired of Him.

“I’m a Gemini so you better watch our for me….”

“I’m a Pisces so you can trust me…”

You get the picture?

Most of us know that it became very popular in the latter part of the 20^th Century to refer to zodiac signs to determine if two people were compatible in relationships.

Some people will even check out their daily horoscope for guidance for the day. How many Christians have you seen post the daily horoscope on their timeline?

Have you ever taken the time to research the origin of zodiac signs. Think about this…zodiac signs are treated as proper nouns.

Check this out…

Deuteronomy 4:19 (NKJV)

And take heed, lest you lift up your eyes to heaven, and when you see the sun, the moon, and the stars, all the host of heaven, you feel driven to worship them and serve them, which the LORD your God has given to all the peoples under the whole heaven as a heritage.

Remember, worship is beyond ‘going to church’. Think about Romans 12:1…

Romans 12:1 (NIV)

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.

Our worship extends into how we live our lives on a daily basis. God expects us to get our guidance from Him and Him alone. He has given us His Holy Spirit to lead us, guide us, convict us, to help us make the right decisions.

Isaiah 47:13 (NKJV)

13 You are wearied in the multitude of your counsels;
Let now the astrologers, the stargazers,
And the monthly prognosticators
Stand up and save you
From what shall come upon you.

One of the beautiful things about the Old Testament is that it gave us extreme examples of what behavior God loves and what behavior He hates. Even though Jesus fulfilled the law, we can gain great insight looking at the behavior of ancient Israel and how God reacted to it.

Think about this. When Moses was given the task of going into Egypt to free the children of Israel, God told Moses to tell them, “I AM has sent me to you” (Exodus 3:14). I AM is God’s name. It’s who He is. It’s His essence. It’s what He does. And so are you. Be very careful what you say behind your, “I am”. Check this out…BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU SAY BEHIND YOUR, “I AM…”

“I am a Virgo.” “I am a Libra.” Do you feel comfortable defining yourself as something God has forbidden?

Do you feel comfortable getting guidance from something God has forbidden?

Do you feel comfortable choosing a mate based on something God has forbidden?

Do you feel comfortable basing your personality on something God has forbidden?

Or, do you enjoy it so much that right now you are reasoning within yourself how I’m wrong and looking for verses or justification to keep doing it. That may be a ‘sign’ that you are too connected to it.

Well if God forbids it, why do the personality traits seem so on point sometimes? We all know that the enemy disguises himself as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14).

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But, here’s the number one reason I think that people of God should ignore the horoscope…

BECAUSE IT HURTS GOD!

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Even if He won’t send you to Hell for it. Even if you think it’s harmless. If God said don’t do it, that means it hurts Him. When you love someone, there’s some things you don’t do not because you think they will leave you, but because you know it hurts them.

Have you ever noticed that before God got angry, He was always hurt first? Have you noticed how God sometimes pleaded with and appealed to Israel like a hurt lover?

Micah 6 1:3 (NKJV)

“Oh My people, what have I done to you? And how have I wearied you? Testify against Me.”

The #1 reason we should ignore the horoscope is because it hurts the God of our Salvation.

Please think about this before you ask someone, “What is your sign?”

BE BLESSTIFIED!

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Be very careful to notice where God uses the word ‘AS’ in His word. It can be easily overlooked, but the comparisons are always very powerful and contain profound revelation into how God relates to us.

It is literally used to say ‘LIKE”.

For example, God isn’t saying it only takes a little faith in Matthew 17 verse 20. On the contrary, there are numerous occasions when Jesus rebuked His disciples for having ‘little’ faith and complimented others for having great faith. Link

He is saying that it takes great faith for something AS small as a grain of mustard seed to create something great…

Matthew 17:20 (NKJV)

²⁰ So Jesus said to them, “Because of your ^[a]unbelief; 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.

Click this link to read, “Why We Should Stop Saying It Only Takes A Little Faith” https://beblesstified.com/2018/10/15/why-we-should-stop-saying-it-only-takes-a-little-faith/

God forgives us AS we forgive others…

Matthew 6:12 (NLT)

¹² and forgive us our sins,
   AS we have forgiven those who sin against us.

God relates to us AS we relate to our children…

Psalm 103:13 (NKJV)

¹³ AS a father pities his children,
So the Lord pities those who fear Him.

So when you read God’s word, get your ‘AS’ right!

BE BLESSTIFIED!

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God is a forgiving God and He is willing to forgive us of all our sins as long as we truly repent and have a forgiving heart towards others.

But, sometimes we can wonder if we will ever recover from the consequences of our bad decisions.

Let me give you a quick reminder that God loves us and He is bigger than or bad decisions.

Any parent who has punished or disciplined their child will look on them in pity and remove the punishment or give them relief from the consequences if It’s in their power to do so.

God does the same thing…

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.

Psalm 103:9-11 (NKJV)

⁹ He will not always strive with us,
Nor will He keep His anger forever.
¹⁰ He has not dealt with us according to our sins,
Nor punished us according to our iniquities.

¹¹ For as the heavens are high above the earth,
So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him;

So if you’re living out the consequences or results of a bad decision and you have truly repented, pray that God deliver you from the consequences.

Pray that God gives you relief and peace. But, make sure you pray that He does so to his glory and for His names sake…

Psalm 25:10-11 (NKJV)

¹⁰ All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth,
To such as keep His covenant and His testimonies.
¹¹ For Your name’s sake, O Lord,
Pardon my iniquity, for it is great.

Psalm 143:11 (NKJV)

¹¹ Revive me, O Lord, for Your name’s sake!
For Your righteousness’ sake bring my soul out of trouble.

Isaiah 48:8-10 (NKJV)

⁸ Surely you did not hear,
Surely you did not know;
Surely from long ago your ear was not opened.
For I knew that you would deal very treacherously,
And were called a transgressor from the womb.

⁹ “For My name’s sake I will ^[a]defer My anger,
And for My praise I will restrain it from you,
So that I do not cut you off.
¹⁰ Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver;
I have tested you in the furnace of affliction.

Once I was driving at night and didn’t see a small ditch. I drove right into it! I had to drive IN the ditch for a while until I could find a place to drive OUY of it. Sometimes you have to remain in a ditch until you can find a place to be pulled out our pull yourself out.

Even though you may remain in a ‘ditch’ because of you’re a bad decision, God can pull you out.

BE BLESSTIFIED!