Few people ever talk about the women who followed Jesus and supported Him financially, Not, just the women, but the ‘type’ of women…

Luke 8:1-3 (NKJV)

Now it came to pass, afterward, that He went through every city and village, preaching and ^[a]bringing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God. And the twelve were with Him, ² and certain women who had been healed of evil spirits and ^[b]infirmities—Mary called Magdalene, out of whom had come seven demons, ³ and Joanna the wife of Chuza, Herod’s steward, and Susanna, and many others who provided for ^[c]Him from their ^[d]substance.

So, you had a woman who many believed was a prostitute…

Wives of ‘important’ men…

And, many other women who were following the LORD and supporting Him financially.

We all know that would be beyond scandalous today.

We all know many of the people who claim to love Jesus would have criticized that.

How many men would co-sign on their wives following and giving money to a broke, uneducated, controversial traveling preacher?

It’s easy to be sitting pretty over 2,000 years later and judge the behavior of those living during Jesus’s earthly ministry — but we prove how we would have reacted if we lived then by how we react today.

Be honest with yourself.

This piece was an edited excerpt from my article 8 REASONS WHY MANY OF TODAY’S ‘CHRISTIANS’ WOULDN’T HAVE FOLLOWED ‘CHRIST’…

BE BLESSTIFIED!

Sometimes we can get frustrated when we share God’s truth or fresh revelation and people don’t respond the way we had hoped.

They may respond negatively…

They may even tell you that they don’t want to hear it…

They may tell you that you’re confused…

They may tell you that they just aren’t ready to change…

Once you plant a seed, you can’t force it to grow…We plant and water, but God gives the increase.

1 Corinthians 3:6-8 (NKJV)

I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. ⁷ So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase.

We must remember…we didn’t always immediate agree with everything we heard concerning God the first time.

We didn’t immediately take heed to every bit of good, sound spiritual advice we received.

We didn’t immediately stop sinful practices when someone warned us.

There were seeds planted in all of us that took some time to grow.

There were habits, behaviors and attitudes that we had to work through.

There were difficult truths that we weren’t immediately willing to accept…

In fact, there are still some spiritual truths that we have not yet accepted. Just because we haven’t accepted it yet doesn’t prevent it from being God’s truth.

Pray for an ear, heart, mind and attitude that you can be good soil for the good seed that’s planted in you as in the Parable of the Sower

Matthew 13:18-23 (NKJV)

 ¹⁸ “Therefore hear the parable of the sower: ¹⁹ When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is he who received seed by the wayside. ²⁰ But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; ²¹ yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles. ²² Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful. ²³ But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.”

Be patient when you share the word of God, or give spiritual advice to others…

Think about the fact that when Jesus was in His human form, his biological brothers (Mary’s other sons) did not believe in Him…

John 7:18 (NKJV)

 ³ His brothers therefore said to Him, “Depart from here and go into Judea, that Your disciples also may see the works that You are doing. ⁴ For no one does anything in secret while he himself seeks to be known openly. If You do these things, show Yourself to the world.” ⁵ For even His brothers did not believe in Him.

BUT,

Eventually they did believe. In fact, the letters of Jude and James are now part of the New Testament.

Give people time to change.

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).

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

BECAUSE IT HURTS GOD!

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!

The bible teaches us that it’s God that gives us the power, ability, knowledge and strength to get ‘wealth’, and that is very true…

Deuteronomy 8:18  (NKJV)

¹⁸ “And you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may ^[a]establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day.

But, how many times have you heard someone say, or said yourself,  “I deserved everything that I have because I worked hard for it!”

You planned…

You’ve worked hard…

You’ve sacrificed…

You’ve made good decisions.

You even had great faith.

Let me give you a quick reminder in humility and God’s grace and mercy…

Yes, you definitely ‘earned’ it, but be very careful before you say you deserve it.

Before you say that you deserve your success and influence because of your hard work and effort, think about all of the people who also planned, worked hard, sacrificed, made good decisions, and had great faith…and for whatever reason, things just didn’t work out.

Think about all of the businesses that fail every day.

Think about all of the relationships that fall apart every day.

There are plenty of people who have planned and worked…

Just as hard or harder…

Just as smart or smarter…

Sacrificed just as much and more…

Made decisions that were just as good or better…

And, things just didn’t work out in their favor.

From the macro-economic environment, to social conditions, unforeseen sicknesses and circumstances, there are innumerable reasons why sometimes hard work is not rewarded with success.

And let us not forget about those people who want to work but can’t because of a disability they can’t help.

All in all, it’s only by God’s grace and mercy and His plan for our lives that things, work out as we hope and plan.

Remember…

Proverbs 16:9  (NKJV)

It (1) takes (2) just (3) as (4) much (5) strength (6) to (7) ask (8) for (9) forgiveness (10) as (11) it (12) does (13) to (14) forgive (15).

Anyone who has ever hurt someone knows how difficult it is to sometimes admit that you were mean, unreasonable, impossible…that you were wrong.

Many times we assume that it takes more strength to forgive rather than to ask for forgiveness. But, both are selfless acts of denying ourselves and a total rejection of pride.

When we already know that someone has something against us, and we have given them a good reason to feel that way, then God places the responsibility on us to go to them and ask for forgiveness.

Matthew 5:23-24 (NKJV)

²³ Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, ²⁴ leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.

Sometimes the best way to say I LOVE YOU is saying I’M SORRY. Once you’ve done that in sincerity, the spiritual responsibility shifts from you. ARE YOU EASY TO APOLOGIZE TO…?

BE BLESSTIFIED!

So here’s my question. At what point does does workplace discipline, chewing out, or a sharp rebuke, become disrespectful?

So, here is my perspective. Here’s the Aldtric Johnson’s philosophy on discipline in the workplace…

There are some powerful, spiritual jewels in the bible that can greatly enrich our relationships with God. However, they can easily slip by us as cliche if we aren’t careful.

One such jewel is the blessing that God Himself instructed Moses to give to Aaron and his sons (the priests) to speak over the people…

Numbers 6:24-27 (NASB)

24 “The Lord (A)bless you and (B)keep you;
25 The Lord (C)make His face shine upon you,
And (D)be gracious to you;
26 (E)The Lord [a]lift up His countenance upon you,
And (F)give you peace.” ’

27 (G)“So they shall [b]put My name on the children of Israel, and (H)I will bless them.”

Notice that God says, “THEY SHALL PUT MY NAME ON THEM.”

We also know that God has Hebrew names that designate specific aspects of His character and attributes (who He is) and relationship with us.

Few things make relationships more intimate than calling one another by name. How many times has someone called you Mr. or Ms. and to let them know you have accepted them as more than an acquaintance, you told them, “Please call me YOUR NAME.”?

Personally, incorporating the names of God into the priestly blessing in Numbers 6:26-27 has exponentially enhanced my relationship with God and my prayer life. I can honestly say, I can actually recognize the power of who His names say He is working in my life every day. After all, didn’t God tell us that we are a nation of priests through faith in His Son, Yeshua the Messiah ( Jesus Christ)? So, it’s our responsibility to put God’s character and blessing, or ‘put His name on our families each day.

1 Peter 2:9 (NKJV)

⁹ But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of ^(A)darkness into His marvelous light;

So, here’s how I incorporate several of the names of God with Numbers 6:4-7 to bless my family ever day. If you haven’t already, do a dedicated study on the names of God. You will notice that I replaced the letter (J) with (Y) because there was no (J) in the English language before 1524. I like writing and saying the names as close to how they were written and said as possible.

“May The Lord God of Israel from Everlasting to Everlasting bless us and keep us.

May The Lord God of Israel from Everlasting to Everlasting make your face shine on us and be gracious to us.

May the Lord God of Israel from Everlasting to Everlasting lift your countenance upon us and give us your Shalom in the Name of Yeshua our Shalom.

In this way, I put YOUR name(s) on us, Yah, Adonai, El Elyon, Elohim, El Shaddai, El Roi, Yehovah Yirah, Yehovah Nissi, Yehovah Shabaoth, Yehovah Shalom, Yehovah Rapha, Yehovah Rah, Yehovah Shammah, Yehovah Yehovah Tsidkenu, Yehovah Makedesh. In this way, I put your NAMES ON US, SO THAT YOU WILL BLESS US.”

It is so.

Here’s a great link to study the names of God…

https://www.blueletterbible.org/study/misc/name_god.cfm

BE BLESSTIFIED!

Let me first say that I in no way mean any disrespect to anyone dealing with the pain of a loved one suffering from any form of dementia. However, God does have a reason for everything He does. This true story showed me how what we sometimes think of as a ‘curse’ can be a blessing in disguise for some.

Years ago I used to do nursing home ministry. I would visit two nursing homes, once each month. As I walked down through the halls I would see the same faces. There were some residents who had regular visits from family and friends, but unfortunately, there too many who never got a visitor…ever.

There were also varying levels of mental health. I would hear one lady in particular at one of the nursing homes say the same thing every time I visited. She would sit in her wheelchair in the entrance to her room as I walked by…she would smile and say,

“I’m going home today”.

No, she wasn’t going home. She was one of the residents who never had visitors, and her family had moved on with their lives. At first I felt sorry for her because her situation seemed so hopeless…but then God gave me an awesome revelation.

In her hopeless situation…her dementia was a blessing!

Blessing? How was her dementia a blessing?

In reality, she woke up every morning WITHOUT hope of going home.

But through her dementia, she woke up every morning WITH hope of going home.

God gave her a reason to smile EVERY DAY.

God gave her something to look forward to EVERY DAY.

God gave her HOPE in a HOPELESS situation.

She spent her last days with HOPE.

What many may think of as a CURSE, was actually a BLESSING to her.

God’s wisdom is amazing!

He can can pull HOPE out of HOPEless…

FORTUNE our of unFORTUNATE…

Stop and give God praise for His unfathomable wisdom. Paul was right in Romans 11…

Romans 11: 33-36
33 Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out! 34 “For who has known the mind of the Lord?
Or who has become His counselor?”
35 “Or who has first given to Him
And it shall be repaid to him?”
36 For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen.

BE BLESSTIFIED!

Spiritual maturity is realizing that there are some things that caused you so much pain — you’ll never get OVER them. It doesn’t mean you don’t forgive. It just means the thought will always hurt you.

Every time it comes to mind — the thought will hurt you.

Whenever something or someone reminds you of it — you will feel pain.

People spend years of energy trying to make a horrible memory— not hurt.

That’s wasted energy.

You will never get OVER it.

But, you CAN get past it.

You can control how the pain controls you, and how you react to it.

You can prevent IT from preventing YOU from moving on.

Even God Himself felt pain when He thought of how His chosen people consistently turned their backs on Him…

Notice how God sounds like a ‘hurt lover’ as He expresses His pain against how they have treated Him…

Micah 6:3-5 (NKJV)

³ “O My people, what have I done to you?
And how have I wearied you?
Testify against Me.
⁴ For I brought you up from the land of Egypt,
I redeemed you from the house of bondage;
And I sent before you Moses, Aaron, and Miriam.
⁵ O My people, remember now
What Balak king of Moab counseled,
And what Balaam the son of Beor answered him,
From ^[a]Acacia Grove to Gilgal,
That you may know the righteousness of the Lord.”

Remember, just because God said He will forget our sins doesn’t mean that He CAN’T remember them.

He is all powerful!

You will never remember something that our all powerful God can’t. It’s just a figurative way of saying that He will never hold our sins against us once we truly repent. WHEN GOD FORGETS, IT DOESN’T MEAN HE CAN’T REMEMBER…

I really believe this is going to set someone free…

Accept the fact that you will never get OVER some things.

Understand that some thoughts will ALWAYS cause you pain.

Ask God to help you get past the pain and move on.

Ask Him to help you to be strong enough to not let painful memories control you.

Ask God to help you move on, just like He moves on when we hurt Him.

BE BLESSTIFIED!

MORE THAN CONQUERORS (Romans 8:37)

Isn’t it funny how some of us can claim to be more than conquerors…

Be filled with the Holy Spirit…

Blessed and highly favored…

Testifying every time we can get a chance…

Claim, “I love everybody!”…

…And REFUSE to forgive!

We can serve as a deacon, preach every weekend, sing in the choir, give to the poor…BUT WON’T FORGIVE.

There are preachers who get up and preach to some members whose souls they are responsible…and are withholding forgiveness from some of them.

Too many of us are holding on to…

Anger…

Animosity…

Hatred…

Resentment…

Bitterness…

Wrath…

PAIN…

What ever emotions, moods and attitudes that prevent us from FORGIVING.

Withholding forgiveness is one of the enemy’s most successful distractions.

We can’t love like God expects us to when we don’t forgive.

The enemy doesn’t mind you going to church or even serving in the Kingdom of God if you don’t forgive because it dims the light of God in you.

WE ARE SUPPOSED TO BE THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD (Matthew 5:14)…We can’t be light if we are DISTRACTED! Being unforgiving is a distraction…

Think about this…

The SUN provides light & the MOON reflects…

Sometimes Moon blocks light from Sun…This is an eclipse.

Sometimes Man blocks light from Son…This is a spiritual eclipse.

Distractions block eclipse our light from the SON…

Anger is a spiritual eclipse…

Bitterness is a spiritual eclipse…

Being unforgiving is a spiritual eclipse!

Our marriages, families…relationships CAN NOT exist WITHOUT forgiveness, but sometimes it’s so hard because of the pain…Because we are flesh.

Matthew 26:41 (NKJV)

⁴¹ Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

God understands we are flesh, but he also expects more from us. It is not God’s will for us to go day in and day out holding on to STUFF!

Matthew 18:21-22 (KJV)

²¹ Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? ²² Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.

FORGIVENESS CAN BE A STRUGGLE FOR MOST CHRISTIANS.

We can put effort into ‘conquering’ everything, but forginvenss….getting a house, car, job, promotion, man, woman, getting a closet full of shoes, purses, ties…our neighborhoods full of crime, immorality, poverty, while many Christians are worried about conquering the ‘good life’.

That’s why some of us give, just so we can get….to some giving is a BLE$$ING bill. That’s why sometimes cousins, sisters, brothers  and relatives keep coming asking for money cause that’s the only way God can get some people to spend money on someone besides themselves. Does anyone owe you money and you haven’t forgiven them?

The enemy knows God ONLY forgives us AS we forgive others…(Matthew 6:12)

That means if there is something that you haven’t forgiven someone for…your sin that you asked forgiveness for is still there.

Don’t let someone die before you let them know THEY ARE FORGIVEN!

Is anyone you refuse to forgive WORTH forfeiting your forgiveness over? Don’t let your feelings towards them come between you and God.

Remember, there’s someone out there that you have hurt too…

You may not know what you did, but most of the time you do!

THE ENEMY KNOWS WHAT’S HARDEST FOR YOU TO FORGIVE…

The enemy knows how to present the right situation to you…

The right person…

That one thing that he knows that’s most difficult for you to forgive…

That’s the thing that he will use.

It could be your wife, your husband, your sister or brother, mother or father, best friend…it could be a pastor, that job who fired you, that team that didn’t pick you….you know what it is.

Stop right now and think about that one thing you are still holding on to.

God WANTS…DESIRES…TO FORGIVE US!

Think about how much we hurt God and He forgives us…

Psalm 103:8-12 (NKJV)

8 The Lord is merciful and gracious,
Slow to anger, and abounding in mercy.
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;
12 As far as the east is from the west,
So far has He removed our transgressions from us.

We (his church) are the bride of Christ…we ‘cheat on God’ every time we sin/ That’s why I know we can even forgive infidelity.

Every shameful thing done in the presence of His angels supposed to be there to protect you

He is there when we are tempted

He is there when we think about the fact that this is wrong and we still decide to do it

He is there when we do it.

That same conversation that the enemy had with God about Job, he had about you…Consider my servant ____________ !

Job 1:8a (NKJV)

⁸ Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job…”

God witnesses us every time we cheat on Him…Every time we put Him to open shame…

He is willing to forgive us…

How could He be so willing to forgive? Because He WANTS to forgive us!

Isaiah 1:18

“Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool…

God is practically begging us to come to Him for forgiveness.

 God wants to forgive you! God gets angry, but He doesn’t stay angry!

Psalm 103:8-9 (KKJV)

The Lord is merciful and gracious,
Slow to anger, and abounding in mercy.
⁹ He will not always strive with us,
Nor will He keep His anger forever.

God can forgive us over and over because He DESIRES to do so! And He doesn’t WANT to stay angry.

God CHOOSES to forgive us!

Forgiveness is OUR CHOICE.

You can’t control how people treat you, but you can control how you react.

When we are honest with ourselves, we don’t forgive because WE DON’T WANT TO.. WE want to stay angry!

If we forgive…we take away our ‘excuse’ to be angry…

You can even hear the person who hurt you has made a change for the good, and it can make you angry…you don’t want them to do better. This can lead you to judge them saying, “They’re change isn’t sincere!” You can get to the point that you don’t even care about their salvation.

We don’t want to forgive due to our pain…

We don’t want to forgive because of our pride…

We don’t want to forgive because of our shame…

No matter how heavy it is, uncomfortable it is…we still hold on to it, because we want to do so! When our arms up…after a while we have to put it down, because they get too heavy

That’s what we have to do with our pain…put it down.

How?

Stop asking God to TAKE AWAY what He told you to PUT DOWN!

If your spouse is cheating, and you love them, do you want to make them stop, or for them to stop on their own?

Notice God Always tells you to put it down…

Colossians 3:8 (NKJV)

But now YOU YOURSELVES are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth.

Hebrews 12:1 (NKJV)

Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,

FORGIVENESS IS EASIER THAN YOU MAY THINK! AND WHEN IT HAPPENS…IT’S INSTANT!

No matter how slow or gradual any transition may seem…when you think about it, the change…the moment of change…the instant of change…no matter how minute the shift in thought or direction – THE CHANGE IS ALWAYS INSTANT!

MAKE UP YOUR MIND, AND IT WILL CHANGE!

This is simple but powerful…

TELL YOURSELF AND MAKE UP OUR MIND… “I DON’T WANT TO BE MAD ABOUT THAT ANYMORE!”

I’m tired of being angry…

I’m tired of being sad…

I’m tired of being bitter…

I’m tired of being resentful…

I’m tired of avoiding them…

I’m tired of wanting everybody else to be mad at them too…

I REFUSE TO FEEL THIS WAY ANYMORE!!!!!

Romans 12…Be transformed by the renewing of you MIND!

Refuse to let your emotions dictate how you feel and behave.

Controlling your EMOTIONS is the closest you can come to controlling your world.

Hebrews 12…How did Jesus react to Emotion? He “scorned” the shame of the cross for the “joy” thats set before him.

Once you make up your mind, and REFUSE to be angry….it will go away.

Once you make up your mind, and REFUSE to be angry….you can forgive.

Once you make up your mind, and REFUSE to be angry…you can forget.

Let me define forget…you will still think of it, but not the same way! You will forget that frame of mind…such as “What was I thinking when I dated him or her!”

Once you make up your mind, and REFUSE to be angry…you won’t even need an apology.

Why do you not need an apology? Because God still keeps showing you His love and kindness…even when you haven’t apologized or repented…

He keeps letting your heart beat…

He keeps feeding you and letting you live in the home He provided…

He keeps giving you strength to work…

He keeps on protecting you from harm…

He’s willing to forgive, even when He knows you will do it again.

One of the best exercises you can have in patience is to hold it together when you are being mistreated. Going on without an apology…showing character and patience of God will help you grow.

Once you make up your mind, and REFUSE to be angry…you can actually feel sorry for the one who hurt you. GUESS what? You are doing what God does! You are learning to love and learning to forgive like GOD!

That’s how you can even feel sorry for your enemies.

Jesus died on the cross to give the opportunity of salvation to those He knew would not only ask appreciate it, ask Him for forgiveness, or even believe in Him.

Exercise in forgiveness…Pray for God’s Spirit and Get a picture or go to a place, whatever reminds you of your pain. And practice looking at it and telling yourself..I don’t want to be mad at you…I don’t want to be bitter…sad and tell yourself that you won’t…

That’s what God does to us.

Sometimes people will try you back acting like they DON’T APPRECIATE YOUR FORGIVENESS…Be strong, cause that’s how we treat God sometimes.

Let your light shine…Get back your peace….Forgive as God is willing to forgive you!

YOU CAN GET OVER ANYTHING…TODAY!

BE BLESSTIFIED!

Exodus 3:14 (NKJV)

¹⁴ And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And He said, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”

When God tells Moses who to say sent him when he goes into Egypt, He says tell them, “I AM”.

I AM is less about his name and what He’s called and more about His nature. Every time God says I AM, He let’s us know more about who He is…what He is…what He does.

Think about the fact that ‘AM’ is a ‘being’ verb…stating the ‘nature or essence of something’, and that’s how Adonai Yehovah describes Himself to Moses.

Look what God says behind, “I am”…

“I am your shield…”

“I am the Lord…”

“I am God…”

“I am the Lord your God…”

“I am the Lord who sanctifies you…”

“I am giving…”

“I am holy…”

“I am with you…”

“I am He who blots out…”

“I am the First and the Last…”

“I am He who comforts you…”

“I am merciful…”

“I am Holy…”

“I am the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob…”

“I am the Christ…”

“I am able…”

“I am the Son of God…”

“I am One…

“I am from above…

“I am the bread of life…”

“I am the living bread…”

“I am from Him , and He sent Me…”

“I am the Light of the World…”

“Before Abraham Was, I AM…”

“I am the door…”

“I am the good shepherd…”

“I am the resurrection and he life…”

“I am the way, the truth and the life…”

“I am in My Father and the Father in Me…”

“I am the vine…”

“I am not of this world…”

“I am the King…”

“I am the Alpha and he Omega, the First and the Last…”

“I am He who lives…”

“I am alive forevermore…”

“I am He who searches the hearts and minds…

“I am coming quickly!”

BEHIND every  “I AM” from the Lord…there is meaning, purpose…action!

BEHIND every “I AM”…He defines himself.

AND SO DO WE…

Remember what Jesus said…

Luke 6:45(NKJV)

⁴⁵ A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. FOR OUT OF THE ABUNDANCE OF THE HEART HIS MOUTH SPEAKS.

SO, Be careful how you define yourself!

Be very careful what you say behind your “I am!”

I am defeated!

I am depressed!

I am weak!

I am ugly!

I am helpless!

I am hopeless!

I am lost!

I am cursed!

I am victorious!

I am joyous!

I am strong!

I am saved!

I am empowered

I am beautiful!

I am hopeful!

I am blessed!

I am a child of the King!

I am BLESSTIFIED!

BE BLESSTIFIED!

If you knew…

Some of the things your Pastor thought you wouldn’t want to hear another sermon…

Some of the things the politician you respect most did, you wouldn’t vote again…

Some of the nasty things your doctor has done, you wouldn’t want him or her touching you again…

Some of the things your spouse thought you wouldn’t trust them again…

No matter who we are or what we do, we are all FAR from perfect.

Before you judge someone unworthy of your respect and love…

How much would YOU respect YOU, if YOUR secrets EVERYONE knew?

Romans 3:22-25 (NKJV)

 ²² even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all^[a] who believe. For there is no difference; ²³ for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

BE BLESSTIFIED!

We have all been the antagonist in at least one chapter of someone’s story.

We’re not always the hero.

We’re not always the victim.

SOMETIMES, WE WERE THE DARK SIDE!

Sometimes we were the monster.

OUR CULTURE SOMETIMES CREATES MONSTERS WHO THINK THEY’RE HEROES! WE FIND WAYS TO MAKE OURSELVES FEEL BETTER WHEN WE WERE WRONG.

How many people have you given a good reason to hate you?

How many people has the enemy used you as a stumbling block?

Sometimes we were Pharaoh.

Sometimes we were Peter.

Sometimes we were Judas.

Always be willing to forgive, even when you feel they do deserve it, because there’s always someone who feels we don’t. HOW TO MOVE FORWARD WITHOUT AN APOLOGY ( 8 TIPS)…

Think about all the times God watched us deny, and betray Him…yet He still is always ready to forgive us.

He expects us to do the same.

Ephesians 4:31-32 (CJB)

³¹ Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, violent assertiveness and slander, along with all spitefulness. ³² Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted; and forgive each other, just as in the Messiah God has also forgiven you.

SOME OF OUR ‘HATERS’ HATE US BECAUSE WE’VE GIVEN THEM A GOOD REASON…

Is there someone that you owe an apology? And, remember if the offense was public, the apology should be public as well.

WHY A PUBLIC EMBARRASSMENT DESERVES A PUBLIC APOLOGY…

BE BLESSTIFIED!

God answers prayers! I’m a witness that He has answered countless specific prayers, intercessions and supplications for me. However, there are situations when God rejects our prayers. We can’t ignore this.

God has given us examples in the Old Testament of the behaviors that causes Him to reject the prayers of His people. However, rejection and punishment always came with a promise.

Please go back and do a dedicated bible study from the perspective of what provoked God to ‘hide His face’ and reject the prayers of His people.

Remember, idols aren’t just made of stone or wood. The devil knows he can’t convince you to ‘bow down’ to a statue. Stop and think about the ‘modern-day’ works of our hands. “…and covetousness, which is idolatry” (Colossians 3:5).

Isaiah 2:7-8 (NKJV)

⁷ Their land is also full of silver and gold,
And there is no end to their treasures;
Their land is also full of horses,
And there is no end to their chariots.
⁸ Their land is also full of idols;
They worship the work of their own hands,
That which their own fingers have made.

Deuteronomy 32:20-22 (NKJV)

²⁰ And He said: ‘I will hide My face from them,
I will see what their end will be,
For they are a perverse generation,
Children in whom is no faith.
²¹ They have provoked Me to jealousy by what is not God;
They have moved Me to anger by their ^[a]foolish idols.
But I will provoke them to jealousy by those who are not a nation;
I will move them to anger by a foolish nation.
²² For a fire is kindled in My anger,
And shall burn to the ^[b]lowest ^[c]hell;
It shall consume the earth with her increase,
And set on fire the foundations of the mountains.

Jeremiah 32:28-32 (NKJV)

²⁸ Therefore thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the Chaldeans, into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he shall take it. ²⁹ And the Chaldeans who fight against this city shall come and set fire to this city and burn it, with the houses on whose roofs they have offered incense to Baal and poured out drink offerings to other gods, to provoke Me to anger; ³⁰ because the children of Israel and the children of Judah have done only evil before Me from their youth. For the children of Israel have provoked Me only to anger with the work of their hands,’ says the Lord. ³¹ ‘For this city has been to Me a provocation of My anger and My fury from the day that they built it, even to this day; so I will remove it from before My face ³² because of all the evil of the children of Israel and the children of Judah, which they have done to provoke Me to anger—they, their kings, their princes, their priests, their prophets, the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

Ezekiel 8:3-18 (NKJV)

³ He stretched out the form of a hand, and took me by a lock of my hair; and the Spirit lifted me up between earth and heaven, and brought me in visions of God to Jerusalem, to the door of the north gate of the inner court, where the seat of the image of jealousy was, which provokes^[a] to jealousy. ⁴ And behold, the glory of the God of Israel was there, like the vision that I saw in the plain.

⁵ Then He said to me, “Son of man, lift your eyes now toward the north.” So I lifted my eyes toward the north, and there, north of the altar gate, was this image of jealousy in the entrance.

⁶ Furthermore He said to me, “Son of man, do you see what they are doing, the great abominations that the house of Israel commits here, to make Me go far away from My sanctuary? Now turn again, you will see greater abominations.” ⁷ So He brought me to the door of the court; and when I looked, there was a hole in the wall. ⁸ Then He said to me, “Son of man, dig into the wall”; and when I dug into the wall, there was a door.

⁹ And He said to me, “Go in, and see the wicked abominations which they are doing there.” ¹⁰ So I went in and saw, and there—every sort of creeping thing, abominable beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel, ^[b]portrayed all around on the walls. ¹¹ And there stood before them seventy men of the elders of the house of Israel, and in their midst stood Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan. Each man had a censer in his hand, and a thick cloud of incense went up. ¹² Then He said to me, “Son of man, have you seen what the elders of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in the room of his idols? For they say, ‘The Lord does not see us, the Lord has forsaken the land.’ ”

¹³ And He said to me, “Turn again, and you will see greater abominations that they are doing.” ¹⁴ So He brought me to the door of the north gate of the Lord’s house; and to my dismay, women were sitting there weeping for ^[c]Tammuz.

¹⁵ Then He said to me, “Have you seen this, O son of man? Turn again, you will see greater abominations than these.” ¹⁶ So He brought me into the inner court of the Lord’s house; and there, at the door of the temple of the Lord, between the porch and the altar, were about twenty-five men with their backs toward the temple of the Lord and their faces toward the east, and they were worshiping the sun toward the east.

¹⁷ And He said to me, “Have you seen this, O son of man? Is it a trivial thing to the house of Judah to commit the abominations which they commit here? For they have filled the land with violence; then they have returned to provoke Me to anger. Indeed they put the branch to their nose. ¹⁸ Therefore I also will act in fury. My eye will not spare nor will I have pity; and though they cry in My ears with a loud voice, I will not hear them.”

Everything written in the Old Testament was for our example today…

1 Corinthians 10:6-11 (NKJV)

⁶ Now these things became our examples, to the intent that we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted. ⁷ And do not become idolaters as were some of them. As it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.” ⁸ Nor let us commit sexual immorality, as some of them did, and in one day twenty-three thousand fell; ⁹ nor let us ^[a]tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed by serpents; ¹⁰ nor complain, as some of them also complained, and were destroyed by the destroyer. ¹¹ Now ^[b]all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our ^[c]admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.

BE BLESSTIFIED!

The painting portrays the evening that the Lord ate the Passover meal and instituted the Lord’s Supper with His disciples before He was betrayed.

Remember, Jesus Himself told us that God is a spirit and demands to be worshipped in spirit and TRUTH…

John 4:24 (NKJV)

²⁴ God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

We also live in time when people claim to love THE TRUTH and reject FAKE NEWS.

So, with all that being said, what’s wrong with the famous painting, THE LORD’S SUPPER, based on these scriptures according to the Complete Jewish Bible translation…

Mark 14:18 (CJB)

¹⁸ As they were reclining and eating, Yeshua said, “Yes! I tell you that one of you is going to betray me.”

Matthew 26:20 (CJB)

²⁰ When evening came, Yeshua reclined with the twelve talmidim;

According to the scriptures as well as the context of culture and time…THEY WERE NOT SITTING. THEY WERE RECLINING.

Of course there will be some who say, “Why does this matter?”

Those of us who claim to be Christians can be the worst at sometimes deciding ‘that doesn’t matter’ when it threatens our traditions and what we choose to believe.

So, why does it matter?

Because the painting does not depict the way it happened, and that’s not truth.

Because every painting or picture intended to portray Jesus has influenced thought for centuries.

Because every painting and picture intended to portray Jesus has shaped what and how people believe and has had an influence on the faith.

Because it shapes the way people ‘experience’ their faith and what they think is correct and incorrect.

Do you want people publishing images of you depicting an event in your honor wrongly, falsely or inaccurately? Of course not. Why should our Lord and Savior be any different?

The fact is that when you present some people with the truth, they are reluctant to, or refuse to accept it because they have been influenced by art that very well MAY NOT have been commissioned by God.

Maybe this is why He clearly commanded in regard to likenesses of Him…

Exodus 20:4 (NKJV)

⁴ “You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth;

BE BLESSTIFIED!

It is clear what the bible says about adultery and fornication, it is strictly forbidden. God expects those who are married to forsake all others and be intimate only with one another…

1 Corinthians 7:1-2 (NKJV)

It is good for a man not to touch a woman. ² Nevertheless, because of sexual immorality, let each man have his own wife, and let each woman have her own husband. 

Most of us also enjoy a good movie, television show or play, and appreciate a great performance from a talented actor or actress. Some of the movies, shows or plays have love scenes. It could range from a kiss…to partially clothed making out…to fully nude, erotic love scenes. I’m not talking about porn, I’m talking about the movies that are accepted and even awarded by the mainstream population.

Sometimes these actors and actresses are not only married, but profess to be Christians. Let me be clear that I AM NOT JUDGING THEIR FAITH OR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD, but I do have a challenging question.

IS IT CONSIDERED CHEATING WHEN A MARRIED ACTOR OR ACTRESS DOES A LOVE SCENE?

The kisses are real.

The touching is real.

Sometimes, the nudity is real.

Even if they aren’t having intercourse, they are having sexual contact with someone other than their husband or wife.

If you aren’t an actor, how do feel about your spouse kissing or touching someone else? Most people say “No Way!”. Now, how do you feel about your spouse getting paid to have sexual contact with someone else…again a definite, “No!”

Now here’s the real challenging question for us as Christians. It their intimate contact is considered by God to be sin, does watching it and enjoying it make us partakers with them? Is it shameful for us to talk about the scenes in our daily conversation? Consider this…

Ephesians 5:5-10 (NKJV)

 ⁵ For this you know,^[a] that no fornicator, unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. ⁶ Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. ⁷ Therefore do not be partakers with them. ⁸ For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light ⁹ (for the fruit of the Spirit^[b] is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth), ¹⁰ finding out what is acceptable to the Lord. ¹¹ And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them. ¹² For it is shameful even to speak of those things which are done by them in secret. 

Does God change the rules just because of our occupation? Does the fact that they are ‘acting’ mean it’s not real contact? And, if God considers it to be wrong, do we share in the sin when we watch, enjoy and share what we watched?

Has this become the ‘accepted’ open relationship?

Think about it. Pray about it. Feel free to reply and tell me what you think.

BE BLESSTIFIED!

I’ve found the most intimate refreshing place to pray at my home. I love sitting in my chair on my front porch and enjoying quality time with God in prayer. When I’m out there, it’s like it’s just Him and me. Yes I pray everywhere. But, that place is special.

And yes, I said sitting.

You see, it’s good to get on your knees in submission to God, but contrary to what many may have been taught it’s not mandatory. That is not the exclusively acceptable prayer posture.

Your proper prayer posture isn’t the position of your body, but of your heart and spirit…

To a humble spirit… it’s about humility.

Psalm 51:17 (NKJV)

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit,
A broken and a contrite heart—
These, O God, You will not despise

1- On Your Knees

Ephesians 3:14 (NKJV)

For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,^[a]

 2 – In Your Bed

Psalm 4:4 (NKJV)

Be angry, and do not sin.
Meditate within your heart on your bed, and be still.

3 – Out Loud

Psalm 34:6 (NKJV)

This poor man cried out, and the Lord heard him,
And saved him out of all his troubles.

4 – Silently

1 Samuel 1:13 (NKJV)

¹³ Now Hannah spoke in her heart; only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard. Therefore Eli thought she was drunk.

5 – Hands Lifted

1 Timothy 2:8 (NKJV)

I desire therefore that the men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting;

6 – Eyes Open

John 17:1 (NKJV)

Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You,

7 – Head Bowed

Genesis 24:26 (NKJV)

²⁶ Then the man bowed down his head and worshiped the Lord.

8 – Prostrate

Matthew 26:39 (NKJV)

³⁹ He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.”

9 – Standing

Mark 11:25 (NKJV)

“And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses.

God just wants you to be humble. Many have even misunderstood “come boldly” in the book of Hebrews…

Hebrews 4:16 (NKJV)

Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

It’s not about ‘telling God what to do’, but direct access to Him. We don’t have to go through a priest, or a preacher to talk to Him…just submit to Him humbly in prayer through our Lord and Savior Yeshua, Jesus Christ.

So, bow your head, lie in your bed, fall on your knees, lift up your hands, as long as you’re sincere…God will hear.

BE BLESSTIFIED!

It’s one of the most abused and misused statements and deflections…

“You can’t judge me!”

“Judge much?”

“Only God can judge me!”

Identifying what the bible says is sin isn’t judging. To identify something is to recognize and name it.

Recognizing and naming sin is NOT judging. It’s our responsibility as disciples to hold one another accountable and to let ‘sinners’ (we are all sinners saved by grace) that they are falling short of God’s standards.

John 7:24 (NKJV)

²⁴ Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment.”

Ephesians 5:11 (NKJV)

¹¹ And have ^(A)no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather ^[a]expose them.

Disagreeing with a sinful lifestyle is not a phobia. For example, if I have a child that uses marijuana for recreational use, and disagree with their regular use of it, that doesn’t mean that I hate them or make me afraid of them. I’m not a ‘marijuana-phobe’. WHEN YOU’RE FALSELY ‘DIAGNOSED’ WITH HOMOPHOBIA…

However, assuming that you know what is inside someone else’s heart…

Assuming that you know their motives…

Or pronouncing condemnation on them…

Are all examples of judging.

Saying that the cup in the picture above is green is not judging it. But, assuming there is coffee inside of it is. Assuming it can only be used for coffee is. The fact is that it may prefer being called a mug.

“YOU’RE JUDGING ME!”… is often the response to an assumption or a conclusion based on someone’s established behavior, character and that’s not judging, that’s their fruit.

Matthew 7:20 (NKJV)

²⁰ Therefore by their fruits you will know them.

BE BLESSTIFIED!

Relationships are complicated and difficult, even good ones. But as we all know some relationships can slip into the category of ‘abusive’. And, abusive doesn’t always mean physical abuse.

When someone takes advantage of someone else’s love and mistreats them verbally or emotionally, that’s abusive.

When someone loves you enough to allow you to hurt them over and over again while always willing to forgive and move forward as if nothing happened, that’s abusive.

Micah 7:19 (NKJV)

¹⁹ He will again have compassion on us,
And will subdue our iniquities. You will cast all ^[a]our sins
Into the depths of the sea.

Isaiah 43:25-26 (NKJV)

²⁵ “I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake;
And I will not remember your sins.
²⁶ Put Me in remembrance;
Let us contend together;
State your case, that you may be ^[a]acquitted.

That’s how powerful God’s loves is for us.

How many times have we abused Him verbally by taking His name in vain, or simply not giving it proper reverence and respect? Remember, YOU DON’T HAVE TO SAY “GD” TO TAKE GOD’S NAME IN VAIN…

How many times have we taken advantage of His love by promising we wouldn’t do something again, only to do it again…numerous times?

Psalm 103:10-14 (NKJV)

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;
¹² As far as the east is from the west,
So far has He removed our transgressions from us.
¹³ As a father pities his children,
So the Lord pities those who fear Him.
¹⁴ For He ^[a]knows our frame;
He remembers that we are dust.

How many times have we hurt Him emotionally buy putting others and things before Him?

How many times have we provoked Him to jealously?

Psalm 78:58 (NKJV)

⁵⁸ For they provoked Him to anger with their high places,
And moved Him to jealousy with their carved images.

How many times has He witnessed us committing spiritual adultery right in front of Him only to stand with His arms wide open welcoming us back into His love?

Notice how sometimes in the bible, God sounded almost like a hurt lover before He got angry at Israel’s sin…

Judges 2 (NKJV)

2 Then the Angel of the Lord came up from Gilgal to Bochim, and said: “I led you up from Egypt and brought you to the land of which I swore to your fathers; and I said, ‘I will never break My covenant with you. ² And you shall make no ^[a]covenant with the inhabitants of this land; you shall tear down their altars.’ But you have not obeyed My voice. Why have you done this?

How many times have we put Him to open shame before His enemy and our adversary, choosing the devil over Him in our decisions.

How many times has the enemy had the same conversation with God about us that he had concerning Job? Have we always maintained God’s character through our trials?

Job 1:9-11 (NKJV)

⁹ So Satan answered the Lord and said, “Does Job fear God for nothing? ¹⁰ Have You not ^[a]made a hedge around him, around his household, and around all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. ¹¹ But now, stretch out Your hand and touch all that he has, and he will surely curse^[b] You to Your face!”

How many times have we physically abused the Lord?

Isaiah 53:5 (NKJV)

⁵ But He was wounded^[a] for our transgressions,
He was ^[b]bruised for our iniquities;
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
And by His stripes^[c] we are healed.

Hebrews 6:4-6 (NKJV)

⁴ For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, ⁵ and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, ^{6 [a]}if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame.

Have you crucified Christ again today?

The fact is that if this were a marriage (and our relationship with Him actually is) many of us would have ended it a long time ago.

2 Corinthians 11:2 (NKJV)

² For I am jealous for you with godly jealousy. For I have betrothed you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.

Isaiah 54:5 (NKJV)

⁵ For your Maker is your husband,
The Lord of hosts is His name;
And your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel;
He is called the God of the whole earth.

God loves us with a relentless love. He allows us to hurt Him over and over again. Quite frankly, that’s abuse.

Never take for granted God’s grace, mercy and faithfulness to us. He endures our ‘abuse’ every day and allows gives us brand new mercies every morning.

Lamentations 3:22-23 (NKJV)

²² Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed,
Because His compassions fail not.
²³ They are new every morning;
Great is Your faithfulness.

The first thing we tell people in abusive relationships is to GET OUT! Aren’t you glad that God hasn’t gotten out of His relationship with you?

BE BLESSTIFIED!

Most cake recipes call for a little salt. Many of us like to satisfy our sweet tooth with a good slice of cake. In fact, when it’s really good, one bite just makes you want another. The right amount of salt makes cakes taste just right…making you want more with each bite. However, too much salt will make us quickly spit it out of our mouth.

Colossians 4:6 tells us to let our speech be full of grace and seasoned with salt. Ecclesiastes 7:16 says, “Do not be overly righteous,” Nor be overly wise:..”

It’s good to have passion for the Kingdom of God, but when we are over-zealous, arrogant, mean-spirited  self-righteous, we can turn people away rather than attract them to Christ. All things in moderation. If we are trying to talk about the Lord in EVERY conversation, claim we never do anything wrong, or down people who are unbelievers, we can make people avoid us, dread seeing us coming and destroy any influence we may have. But, if we cleverly chose the right moments to ‘sprinkle the salt of the word’ when it’s applicable, people are more likely to listen, receive it, and even soften hardened hearts.

We need to ‘love out loud’ and ‘live out loud’ to let people see God in our character rather than beating them with the bible, making every conversation about God, or punctuating every sentence with a spiritual cliché. Wisely ‘sprinkling the salt’ of God’s word in conversations can make people hungry for more, and establish you as the go-to person on your job, your team, your school, your family when people want to know more about God. Being over zealous makes us seem crazy, and people can conclude, “I don’t want what they have.” God expects us to use wisdom and do everyone His Spirit of excellence. Notice how Paul reasoned with the Epicureans, Stoics, and people of Athens with respect and wisdom in Acts 17. He didn’t ‘beat them over the head’ or talk down to them. He wetted their appetite so that some wanted to hear more.

Psalm 19:10 proclaims God’s word is sweeter than honey in the comb. Yes it is! I love it. But if we don’t handle it wisely, people will spit it out, and we can do more harm than good.

BE BLESSTIFIED!

When you stop and take look, you can see God’s wisdom in everything…and I mean EVERYTHING!

God’s first institution established in His Kingdom was the family. He put man and woman together with a plan. He told us to be fruitful and multiply because God wasn’t going to continue creating men from dust or women from men’s ribs.

God gave us the gift of physical intimacy (sex) to bring children into the world, and to enhance our marriages. God wants us to enjoy one another just as much as he wants us to enjoy Him, and that’s very clear in the bible.

Proverbs 5:19 (NKJV)

As a loving deer and a graceful doe,
Let her breasts satisfy you at all times;
And always be enraptured with her love.

Hebrews 13:4 (NKJV)

4 Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled; but fornicators and adulterers God will judge.

He even told husbands and wives to ‘take care of each other’ intimately so that neither is tempted…

1 Corinthians 7: 1-5

Now concerning the things of which you wrote to me:

It is good for a man not to touch a woman. 2 Nevertheless, because of sexual immorality, let each man have his own wife, and let each woman have her own husband. 3 Let the husband render to his wife the affection due her, and likewise also the wife to her husband. 4 The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. And likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. 5 Do not deprive one another except with consent for a time, that you may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again so that Satan does not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.

God made sex a physical crescendo that builds to a climactic, brief culmination of intense pleasure sought after by both those who are married and unfortunately, unmarried….We will use the euphemism ‘THE BIG O’.  Everything God did has a holy purpose. It’s not God’s fault that we misuse His gift…and what a perfect gift!

Here’s where God’s wisdom comes in.

God knew…

If we were going to ‘be fruitful and multiply’…

If we were going to have long, healthy marriages…

Our gift would need to be something we look forward to…something we crave and not something we dread.

Few people want the physical crescendo without the ‘BIG O’…

And, few people want the ‘BIG O’ to come too soon…

But, dig this!

As much as we enjoy…

As much we anticipate the ‘BIG O’.

As much as we enjoy reaching that brief moment of euphoria…God was wise enough to make it brief.

It’s brief enough for us to look forward to it, but it’s short enough for us to enjoy it.

Think about it…no one would be able to withstand 5, 10, 15 uninterrupted minutes of the ‘BIG O’. I don’t even know if our bodies could take it.

If the ‘BIG O’ was too big or too long…we would dread it.

If the ‘BIG O’ was too big we would avoid it.

There would be no ‘be fruitful and multiply’.

There would be a strain on marriages due to lack of intimacy.

Even the most holy person can admit that a well-timed ‘BIG O’ is just the pressure release valve needed sometime to relieve us of the stresses of life.

God knew just how good to make it…Just how strong to make it…and just how long to make it.

I told you when you stop and look at it, you can see God’s wisdom in EVERYTHING.

It’s easy to see why the apostle Paul proclaimed…

Romans 11:33 (NKJV)

33 Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!

BE BLESSTIFIED!

Notice what Jesus prayed for before He went to the cross in John 17. Notice how many times He said,”ONE”.

John 17:20-23 (NKJV)

 20 “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; 21 that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. 22 And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: 23 I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.

Now, notice how many times He said I and my father are ONE.

John 10:30 (NKJV)

 ³⁰ I and My Father are one.”

Think about what who bears witness in heaven.

John 5:7 (NKJV)

 ⁷ For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one

What did Jesus Himself say about marriage?

Mark 10:8  (NKJV)

 8 and the two shall become one flesh’; [a] so then they are no longer two, but one flesh.

Notice that we’re told to speak the same thing and there be no divisions in our churches…

1 Corinthians 1:10 (NKJV)

 10 Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.

NOW…

Also notice something significant about the demons cast out of the man in Mark Chapter 5.

Mark 5:9 (NKJV)

9 Then He asked him, “What is your name?” And he answered, saying, “My name is Legion; for we are many.”

Take note in Matthew Chapter 12 what demons do when they find a comfortable dwelling.

Matthew 12:43-45 (NKJV)

 43 “When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none. 44 Then he says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when he comes, he finds it empty, swept, and put in order. 45 Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first. 

Notice what atrocities Hitler was able to accomplished by getting people to agree with His agenda.

Look at what the LBGT community has been able to accomplish contrary to the word of God by banding together in agreement.

Why?

Because no force other than God and His love is more powerful agreement.

Oneness. Agreement. Unity. Works for both GOOD and EVIL. RIGHT and WRONG.

Think about it…

Marriage…agreement.

Family…agreement.

Church…agreement.

Street gang…agreement.

Mob…agreement.

All are only successful through ONENESS. AGREEMENT. UNITY…a force so powerful, it works for good and evil.

Why do you think the devil works so hard at trying to divide people who love one another…people who have so much in common?

God is love, and satan is not (yes, lower case on purpose.)  Love covers all and conquers all…

1 Peter 4:8 (NKJV)

 ⁸ And above all things have fervent love for one another, for “love will cover a multitude of sins.”

God’s love is all powerful, but think about this…

UNITY, (AGREEMENT or ONENESS) is the only force and power that the enemy can use to try and RIVAL the power of God’s love on earth to accomplish his agenda.

That’s why in John Chapter 17, after praying for Himself, then praying for His disciples…He prayed for us (vs.20), and He prayed that we are ONE in Him and in one another.

Because other than love, there is nothing more powerful on this earth than UNITY.

So be very careful who and what you agree with!

BE BLESSTIFIED!

Atheists love to prove not only Christians to be wrong, but anyone who they consider to be a ‘theist’.

In their passion to discredit the God, the bible, and those of us who believe wrong, many go to two sources…

SCIENCE

THE BIBLE

The fact is that if you have had a conversation with atheists, or monitored/participated in an online or physical forum with them, they often quote scriptures from the bible…

Questioning them…

Belittling them…

Mocking them…

Trying to find contradictions in them…

Trying to disqualify them and anyone who believes them.

Many of them dig pretty deep and go as far as to STUDY the bible trying to look for evidence to make their case against it stronger.

However, this tactic is not new. Even the devil himself knows the bible and tried to use it against Yeshua (Jesus Christ) in the wilderness…

Matthew 4:1-11 (NKJV)

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. ² And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry. ³ Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” ⁴ But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’ ” ⁵ Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, ⁶ and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written: ‘He shall give His angels charge over you,’ and, ‘In their hands they shall bear you up,
Lest you dash your foot against a stone.’ ” ⁷ Jesus said to him, “It is written again, ‘You shall not ^[a]tempt the Lord your God.’ ” ⁸ Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. ⁹ And he said to Him, “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.” ¹⁰ Then Jesus said to him, ^[b]“Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’ ” ¹¹ Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him.

It’s unfortunate that many Christians are not equipped to contend against an atheist whose using the word of God because they don’t read and study it enough for themselves. It is essential that we in the Body of Christ study the work of God not only for our own relationship with God and spiritual maturity, but so we can be ready to give an answer to those who refute it…

2 Timothy 2:15 (NKJV)

¹⁵ Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

1 Peter 3:15 (NKJV)

¹⁵ But ^[a]sanctify ^[b]the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear;

Psalm 119:11 (NKJV)

¹¹ Your word I have hidden in my heart,
That I might not sin against You.

The word of God should be a part of our daily spiritual nourishment. Any Christian who goes days, weeks, months and even years without studying God’s word along with history, culture, biblical language and anthropology…is seriously spiritually malnourished. In many ways believers who don’t study God’s word do more harm to the Kingdom of God than good.

It’s a good practice to add to you prayer life prayers for atheists who read the bible trying to disprove it, that God will let what they read be ‘good seed in good soil’. Pray that God will actually give increase to the ‘seed of the word’ that they read so that they can believe in Him through Jesus Christ. Pray that God actually makes them laborers for His harvest, and give them a passion FOR Him that is even greater than the passion they had against them…

Matthew 9:38 (NKJV)

³⁸ Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.”

If Saul/Paul, a man who passionately worked to destroy the church can be converted…anyone can.

How often do you enjoy quality time with God in His word? PLEASE don’t dishonor God by allowing an atheist to know more about His word than you.

A ‘VERSE OF THE DAY’ is not enough!

BE BLESSTIFED!

SOME OF THE BIGGEST LIES WE TELL ARE…

Not intentionally (most of the time)…have any of these come from your mouth????

I love you…

I’ll pray for you…

I’ll call you back…

That’s okay…

I’m okay…

What’s wrong? “Nothing!”…

That’s hilarious…(and you don’t laugh)

Oh yeah, I remember that…

I don’t remember…

I don’t have it on me…(when asked for money)

That tastes great…

You look great…

I like that…

I’ve got your back…

I love everybody…

I don’t see color…

I’m doing this for you…

That didn’t bother me…

I don’t even care…

I’m over it…

It doesn’t matter…

Remember what Jesus said in Matthew Chapter 12…

 Matthew 12:36 (NKJV)

 36 But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment.

Take a moment and thank God for His grace and mercy for the lies we tell…intentional and unintentional.

 BE BLESSTIFIED!