This is word of admonition to those who call themselves to be believers.

The image of modern-day Christianity has been perverted by people who where pride as a necklace and their arrogance masquerades itself as confidence. Many of these people mean well, but they have been seduced by their passion against some obvious sins (namely abortion and homosexuality)…

1 Timothy 5:24-25 (NLT)

²⁴ Remember, the sins of some people are obvious, leading them to certain judgment. But there are others whose sins will not be revealed until later. ²⁵ In the same way, the good deeds of some people are obvious. And the good deeds done in secret will someday come to light.

…to excuse, justify and even indulge in the sins that aren’t as obvious or politicized such as pride, arrogance. They don’t share their faith in love. They are accused of hating those whose lifestyles they reject, while they themselves accuse others of hating the proud and arrogant personalities they support.

God used proud and arrogant nations ( namely Assyria and Babylon) to punish His people because of their idolatry, hypocrisy, assimilation, refusal of justice, violence and their arrogant leaders.

However, after using these clearly ungodly nations and ungodly rulers to punish His people, He later harshly punished Assyria and Babylon. Go back and read Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel through this context.

The problem with many people in America who call themselves Christians is that they never see America as Assyria or Babylon…only as either persecuted or victorious Israel.

God has made a promise to those who have succumbed to pride and arrogance…

Jeremiah 50:31-32 (NASB)

³¹ “Behold, I am against you, ^[a]arrogant one,”
Declares the Lord ^[b]God of armies,
“For your day has come,
The time ^[c]when I will punish you.
³² The ^[d]arrogant one will stumble and fall
With no one to raise him up;
And I will set fire to his cities,
And it will devour all his surroundings.”

Jeremiah 50:31-32 (NKJV)

³¹ “Behold, I am against you,
O most haughty one!” says the Lord God of hosts;
“For your day has come,
^[a]The time that I will punish you.
³² The most proud shall stumble and fall,
And no one will raise him up;
I will kindle a fire in his cities,
And it will devour all around him.”

You can’t fight against one sin by accepting and engaging in another.

Remember, pride is the first mentioned among the seven deadly sins because it is the parent sin to countless offspring sins.

Proverbs 6:16-19 (NKJV)

¹⁶ These six things the Lord hates,
Yes, seven are an abomination to ^[a]Him:
¹⁷ A^[b] proud look,
A lying tongue,
Hands that shed innocent blood,
¹⁸ A heart that devises wicked plans,
Feet that are swift in running to evil,
¹⁹ A false witness who speaks lies,
And one who sows discord among brethren.

Proverbs 16:18 (NKJV)

¹⁸ Pride goes before destruction,
And a haughty spirit before ^[a]a fall.

James 4:6 (NKJV)

⁶ But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: “God resists the proud,
But gives grace to the humble.”

Many of those who call themselves evangelicals do not represent the true image of Christ any more than the Scribes and Pharisees them. The fact is that Yeshua the Messiah, Jesus Christ warned to beware of their hypocrisy and teaching…

Luke 12:1 (NKJV)

In the meantime, when an innumerable multitude of people had gathered together, so that they trampled one another, He began to say to His disciples first of all, “Beware of the ^[a]leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.

Remember that the LORD’S scathing rebukes WERE NOT FOR THE ‘SINNERS’ but those who called themselves to be religious leaders!

Think about Jesus’ response when the woman was caught in adultery. Think about how He dined with ‘sinners’. Then think about His responses to those who called themselves to be ‘religious’…

Matthew 23:13-36 (NKJV)

¹³ “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither go in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in. ^14 [a]Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. Therefore you will receive greater condemnation.

¹⁵ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of ^[b]hell as yourselves.

¹⁶ “Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever swears by the temple, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple, he is obliged to perform it.’ ¹⁷ Fools and blind! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that ^[c]sanctifies the gold? ¹⁸ And, ‘Whoever swears by the altar, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gift that is on it, he is obliged to perform it.’ ¹⁹ Fools and blind! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that sanctifies the gift? ²⁰ Therefore he who ^[d]swears by the altar, swears by it and by all things on it. ²¹ He who swears by the temple, swears by it and by Him who ^[e]dwells in it. ²² And he who swears by heaven, swears by the throne of God and by Him who sits on it.

²³ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone. ²⁴ Blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!

²⁵ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and ^[f]self-indulgence. ²⁶ Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also.

²⁷ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. ²⁸ Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

²⁹ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because you build the tombs of the prophets and ^[g]adorn the monuments of the righteous, ³⁰ and say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.’

³¹ “Therefore you are witnesses against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. ³² Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers’ guilt. ³³ Serpents, brood^[h] of vipers! How can you escape the condemnation of hell? ³⁴ Therefore, indeed, I send you prophets, wise men, and scribes: some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to city, ³⁵ that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. ³⁶ Assuredly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.

BE BEBLESSIFIED!

Many people in America suffer from a spiritual epidemic of pride and refuse to acknowledge or address it.

One way this abomination manifests itself is through how history is perceived and presented.

Too many Americans feel they have the right to define which history is appropriate and which is not.

For example, when speaking of the Confederacy or the flag that represented that rebellious effort that fought against the United States…many will not only claim it’s history, but will boastfully say, IT’S HERITAGE NOT HATE. They will quickly tell you they don’t care WHO is offended by the Confederate flag or honoring that history. It doesn’t enter their mind that it’s in any way divisive or stirs up hatred.

However, when little-known history and atrocities committed by Americans is shared, such as the Tulsa Massacre of 1921, some of the same people consider this history to be ‘race-bating’, stirring up hatred, and divisive.

What?

Are you that hypocritical?

How arrogant, selfish and quite frankly entitled can you be?

One of the most beautiful things about the bible, both Old Testament and New Testament, is that it reports the SAME HISTORY from more than one perspective, From the prophets, to the synoptic Gospels compared to John. Study the bible and look at how prophets who were contemporaries conveyed the same story from different perspectives.

God doesn’t try to hide the ugly things Israel did, or paint them as glorious, but instead shows His anger at them, tells how He rebuked them, and left a lesson for generations to come.

Telling people that history they don’t prefer is inappropriate is a text-book attitude of entitlement and privilege. But, people aren’t that stupid. When they’re honest with themselves…they know that. These people get pissed off because they want complete control of the narrative of American history. You don’t get to define what’s HATRED and what’s HISTORY based on the history that you value.

I’m going to repeat the text below from a previous post of mine: WHY EVERY AMERICAN SHOULD CONSIDER WHERE HE OR SHE NEEDS TO REPENT…

“Too many people in America only see America as always the HERO or the ‘HOLY VICTIM’. I love America, but we (none of us) have not ALWAYS been the hero.

Too many people only see America as:

Israel and never Egypt…

Joseph and never his brothers who sold him into slavery…

Esther & Mordecai and never Haman…

Israel/Judah and never Assyria…

Israel/Judah and never Babylon…

Jesus and never Judas…

Jesus and never the Pharisees…

Jesus and never Herod…

Jesus and never Pilate…

Israel and never the Romans…

And, even when America sees itself as Israel, too many in America never see themselves as REBUKED ISRAEL which God is holding accountable for their sins, but only heroic, victorious or restored Israel.

The bible is full of accounts of Israel being rebuked for not only their sins, but not rejecting the sins of their ‘fathers’. Instead, too many sins of America’s past are celebrated as ‘history’ and ‘heritage’. God has proven that everything about our past should not only go uncelebrated, but should be confessed and repented…

Leviticus 26:39-42 (NKJV)

³⁹ And those of you who are left shall ^[a]waste away in their iniquity in your enemies’ lands; also in their fathers’ iniquities, which are with them, they shall waste away.

⁴⁰ ‘But if they confess their iniquity and the iniquity of their fathers, with their unfaithfulness in which they were unfaithful to Me, and that they also have walked contrary to Me,

⁴¹ and that I also have walked contrary to them and have brought them into the land of their enemies; if their uncircumcised hearts are humbled, and they accept their guilt—

⁴² then I will remember My covenant with Jacob, and My covenant with Isaac and My covenant with Abraham I will remember;

I will remember the land.

Remember this, for restoration, God called for those who call themselves to be His to repent, not the ‘overt’ sinners in the land…

2 Chronicles 7:14 (NKJV)

¹⁴ if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land

To many, so-called patriotism has become a form of idolatry. Pride will destroy American before anything else does.”

BE BLESSTIFIED!

THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM (OR CHURCH)

It’s impossible to ignore the presence of slavery in the bible. Many people wonder if slavery is evil, then why is it in the bible, both Old and Testaments. To fully explain this concept would take a series of lessons, which I do intend to publish soon, as I get time to responsibly put them together. I will however give you a brief answer for general understanding.

First and foremost, we in the 21st Century have the tendency to view things only from a 21st Century perspective, but Yahuah (God) exists outside of time and relates to us holistically throughout time, beyond time and the cultures we have created. Yahuah deals with us from and through the lens of HIS prospective. We must look at the many aspects of servitude throughout history.

IT’S CLEAR AMERICAN SLAVERY WAS EVIL

Slavery and servitude have existed in numerous cultures, in many forms throughout history. Yes, slavery as it was in America was evil. In fact, Yahuah strictly forbade kidnapping people and selling them into slavery…(Exodus 21:16)… 16 “He who kidnaps a man and sells him, or if he is found in his hand, shall surely be put to death). It’s clear Yahuah forbade this and it was punishable by death. So, how do you explain Exodus 21 that outlines regulations for Hebrews who choose to buy a slave? Or how do you explain Ephesians 6:5-9? (5 Bondservants, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart, as you would Christ, 6 not by the way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, 7 rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man, 8 knowing that whatever good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether he is a bondservant or is free. 9 Masters, do the same to them, and stop your threatening, knowing that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and that there is no partiality with him)

As for Exodus 21, these were not SLAVES; the word is more properly translated servants. These people were not enslaved for life. They were indentured servants, who served a period of seven years and were then to be set free, unless he or she chose to stay with his or her ‘master’. Now, as crazy as this may seem to us in the 21^st Century, in ancient times there was no government support as we have in the recent past. Social structure and societal roles were strictly set in many cultures. If a family was poor or destitute, then it would most likely stay that way for generations. To some, servitude was a means of supporting families and sometimes preventing homelessness and starvation. If you read Exodus 21, there was no separation of families as took place in the southern United States. You will also notice in Deuteronomy 15:12-18 that God commanded that servants were not to be sent away empty-handed. This was a means for families to be lifted up from poverty and being destitute, unless they CHOSE to stay. This was not the equivalent to American slavery. (Deuteronomy 15:12-18) 12 “If your brother, a Hebrew man or a Hebrew woman, is sold to you, he shall serve you six years, and in the seventh year you shall let him go free from you.13 And when you let him go free from you, you shall not let him go empty-handed.14 You shall furnish him liberally out of your flock, out of your threshing floor, and out of your winepress. As the Lord your God has blessed you, you shall give to him. 15 You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God redeemed you; therefore I command you this today. 16 But if he says to you, ‘I will not go out from you,’ because he loves you and your household, since he is well off with you, 17 then you shall take an awl, and put it through his ear into the door, and he shall be your slave forever. And to your female slave you shall do the same. 18 It shall not seem hard to you when you let him go free from you, for at half the cost of a hired worker he has served you six years. So the Lord your God will bless you in all that you do.

There is however another aspect of slavery, the evil aspect. Sometimes during war, people would be captured and subjugated. And, yes sometimes people were and are kidnapped and sold into slavery. Remember, God allowed His own chosen people to be slaves in Egypt for 400 years. Remember in Exodus God said He hardened Pharaoh’s heart so He wouldn’t listen to Moses? (Exodus 9:12 But the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh, and he did not listen to them, as the Lord had spoken to Moses.) This was for the purpose that God could show His power to the Egyptians and for our example. In Isaiah 10:5-6 God tells how He used Assyria, a heathen nation, to punish His own people. (5 Ah, Assyria, the rod of my anger; the staff in their hands is my fury!) 6 Against a godless nation I send him, and against the people of my wrath I command him, to take spoil and seize plunder,). Remember that God allowed His people to be taken captive by the Babylonians, that at the time of Jesus Israel was under Roman rule and in A.D. 70 they destroyed Jerusalem. Remember also that God used the Romans, a pagan, non-believing nation, to crucify His only Son. Throughout the Old Testament, even though war is evil, God used to discipline His people, and as judgment on unbelievers…for our example.

GOD USES GOOD AND EVIL FOR HIS PURPOSE

My point is this…both good and evil exists in this world, and God used both good and evil for His ultimate purpose. It’s obvious God won’t use good people to do evil, so He even uses evil people to discipline, and execute judgment on both His people and unbelievers. Afterward, the evil people will be judged. It’s not that they’re cursed, as Jesus said in John 3:18 says they are already condemned due to they’re own unbelief. Notice in Isaiah 10 that God says even though He used Assyria as a rod of correction against His people, he will still punish them for their evil that were predisposed to do anyway.

The fact is that God often used the existence and reality of something as evil as slavery to discipline His people or judge unbelievers. In regard to Ephesians 6:5-9, God made provision for His people’s behavior if they happened to be servants. His Godly character and holiness must be maintained in all situations…good and bad.

Notice this, any group enslaved never remained enslaved. God always heard their cry and set them free…hopefully to show His power to the oppressor and love to the oppressed.

Also notice in the book of Philemon, that God encouraged his friend Onesimus to return to his ‘master’, but He also encouraged Philemon to do the right thing and set him free upon his return.

SO WHY DID MOSES INCLUDE IT IN THE OLD TESTAMENT?

One more thing is worth your consideration. In Matthew 19, the Pharisees confronted Jesus, asking Him is it lawful for a man to divorce His wife. Notice Jesus’ response in the NKJV… “4 “Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’ 5 and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’? 6 So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”

7 “Why then,” they asked, “did Moses command that a man give his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away?”

8 Jesus replied, “Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning. 9 I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery.” Isn’t interesting that even though the book of Deuteronomy 24:1-4 permits divorce, Jesus makes it clear that just because Moses put it in the law during that dispensation of history, that it was never God’s will. Malachi 2:16 confirms this in saying that God hates divorce. This slight departure from the topic is to prove that just like slavery, just because there was provision made in the law, doesn’t mean that God condones it in it’s most evil form. Remember the ‘servants’ in the New Testament were indentured, and Paul urged Philemon to release Onisemus was he returned. It’s possible that Onisemus decided to stay beyond his seven years…no one knows.

THERE’S MUCH MORE TO SAY…

This is definitely not an exhaustive summary of all the verses concerning slavery, and there’s still much more to be said, but I think it will give you an idea of the concept in the bible. I know there are many who will not agree with this analysis, which acknowledges the reality, of servitude, as well as harmonizes, Old and New Testaments. I welcome comments and thoughts. You may expand upon the content of this article, or express why you disagree. I only ask that all comments are positive and respectful.

BE BLESSTIFIED!

One of my greatest disappointments in ‘growing up’ was realizing how much we really don’t. You can look at some adults and sometimes easily tell who was the cry baby, the know it all, the spoiled child…the one who took their toys and went home when they didn’t get their way.

You can work in an office, school, store, restaurant, or even a church and you’ll find the same thing…proof that some of us never really grow up. Many work places aren’t much different from high school…

You have the so-called…

Popular/Cool kids

Nerds

Jocks

Preps

Bullies

Loners

You have those with aggravatingly high levels of ‘school spirit’ and those who ‘smoke in the bathroom’ and could care less…those who are ‘company people’ and those who spend most of their day in the designated smoking area.

You have those who ‘remind the teacher (boss) we have a test’…those who can’t wait to remind the boss of that meeting that no one wanted to have.

You have those who are always late for class and never have their assignments…those always late for work and hold up the process, the line…progress because they haven’t done their part.

You have the teacher’s pet…those who love ‘kissing the bosses behind’ trying to get noticed or get ahead, and you see it sometimes backfire on them at work just as it did in school.

You have those who keep their ‘desk’ in perfect condition…those whose desk is an organized mess…and those whose desk is a disaster area.

School should be a place where all children can go to learn in peace and safety…be challenged and enjoy rewarding friendships.

Our workplaces should be places where we can earn a living for ourselves or our families and be respected as adults.

Does any of this sound familiar to you?

Both school and workplaces are ruined by the same things…

Selfishness

Immaturity

Over Ambition

Arrogance

Untrustworthy

Cliques

People who forget the real reason they’re at WORK.

God’s word tells us that we should always be mindful to treat others not only as we want to be treated…

Matthew 7:12 (NKJV)

¹² Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.

But, also better than ourselves…

Philippians 2:3 (NKJV)

³ Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself.

God also expects us to do whatever it takes within us to get along with others…

Romans 12:18 (NKJV)

¹⁸ If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.

The bible teaches us that God expects us to be ‘perfect’. But, perfect in the bible does not mean without fault. It means ‘mature’ (according to Strong’s Concordance Greek teleios means mature or consummated).

Matthew 5:48 (NKJV)

⁴⁸ Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect

Philippians 3:15 (NKJV)

¹⁵ Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind; and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you.

When you’re in fourth grade, you should be at that proper level of development…intellectually, emotionally, behaviorally and socially. You aren’t expected to be in the fourth grade on an eight grade level…or vice versa. If you are on your appropriate level of development, according to the bible you are ‘perfect’ or mature.

The problem is that in our workplaces…too many people remained at the ‘forth grade’ level even though they have moved to ‘high school’. God expects us to grow up.

If we take God’s work serious enough in our homes to instill it within our children, we will find our schools much better places to learn, which will create adults who make our workplaces better places to work.

God’s word will make us grow up.

BE BLESSTIFIED!

The enemy doesn’t mind you going to church as long as you take him with you. He wants to distract and infect your worship. One way he achieves this is through division in the local church. Division in the Body of Christ is strictly forbidden, and is sin…

Galations 5:19-20

¹⁹ The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; ²⁰ idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, FACTIONS

1 Corinthians 1:10

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.

We as people tend to want to be in groups of people with either common interests, or people who can benefit us. Sometimes these groups can form in the church with an unwillingness to let others in…that’s a CLIQUE (FACTION) .

Church can become like high school – The Cool Kids, The Jocks, The Nerds…

Church can become like the outside world – The Haves and The Have Nots…

Church can become like the secular (or Christian) music industry – Pastor, his Entourage, his Groupies and Fans…

Are you in one of these CLIQUES?

These are all distractions from the enemy to make our churches carnal, unfruitful and unproductive.

Don’t let your small group, your ministry group, your choir, your circle of friends be a CLIQUE in disguise.

Clique- ‘ISH’ even tried to creep into the early church…

1 Corinthians 11:18-22

18 “For first of all, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you, and in part I believe it. 19 For there must also be factions among you, that those who are approved may be recognized among you. 20 Therefore when you come together in one place, it is not to eat the Lord’s Supper. 21 For in eating, each one takes his own supper ahead of others; and one is hungry and another is drunk. 22 What! Do you not have houses to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and shame those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you in this? I do not praise you.”

The Body of Christ is one body with many members (1 Corinthians 12:12) and EVERYBODY IS SOMEBODY!

Even though we as people have a tendency to be CLIQUE-‘ISH’…. we need to keep that CLIQUE-‘ISH’ out of God’s church.!

FOR THOSE WHO DON’T KNOW

ish

1. Slang term often used to replace “s**t.” Derived from the process of editing the vocals of rap-songs by revershing the curse words so said song could be played on radio or television.

“That’s the dope ish”

BE BLESSTIFIED!

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. One lady in particular at one of the nursing homes would say the same thing during every visit. She would sit in her wheelchair in the entrance to her room as I walked by…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 unFORTUNALTE…

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!

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!

Too many people who call themselves Christians have a perverted view of strength.

They equate being proud, angry, loud, aggressive, insulting, retaliatory, impulsive, impatient, mean, ruthless, hard-hearted, violent and unforgiving to being strong…

While equating being humble, meek, quiet, patient, kind, gentle, self-controlled, merciful, willing to yield, soft-hearted, forgiving and turning the other cheek to being weak.

Galatians 5:22-23 (NKJV)

²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ^23 [a]gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.

James 3:17 (NKJV)

¹⁷ But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy.

On social media and verbally, people brag about how easy it is for them to…

Cut people off…

Hold onto a grudge…

Revert back to their less patient, less forgiving, more hard-hearted and ready to ‘strike-back’ self.

They say, “You don’t know who I used to be” with pride rather than regret.

They boast, “I haven’t always been saved”.

They assert, “I can come down to your level.”

They lament about not being able to ‘cuss you out’, and brag about how they would have ‘back in the day’.

They infer that in some situations, they have to let Satan handle it instead of God through their behavior.

All-the-while these people who claim to be in the Body of Christ are impressed by people who ‘keep it real’ and say ‘just what’s on their mind’, even though the word of God prohibits that behavior…

Proverbs 29:11 (NKJV)

¹¹ A fool vents all his feelings,^[a]
But a wise man holds them back.

When called out on either engaging in or celebrating overly assertive behavior that clearly doesn’t meet God’s expectations, they quickly want to call out Yeshua the Messiah (Jesus Christ) turning over money changers in the temple…as if that was an example of strong behavior, but allowing Himself to be beaten and hung on the cross wasn’t.

But, even when the Lord was turning over money changers, He didn’t strike one person. New Testament Christians love to revert to the violent Old Testament to justify their visceral behavior rather than the New Testament that doesn’t give ONE example of Jesus allowing us to violently respond…

Matthew 5:38-40 (NLV)

³⁸ “You have heard that it has been said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ ³⁹ But I tell you, do not fight with the man who wants to fight. Whoever hits you on the right side of the face, turn so he can hit the other side also. ⁴⁰ If any person takes you to court to get your shirt, give him your coat also.

When challenging so-called ‘strong words’, too many people mention when Jesus was calling the Pharisees hypocrites, a brood of vipers and sharply rebuking them, as if remaining silent before Pilate wasn’t strength.

People brag, “MY CUT-OFF GAME IS SO STRONG!”

People are competitive about how assertive and aggressive they can be to ‘get ahead’ in the world.

What if people bragged, “MY FORGIVENESS AND KINDNESS GAME IS SO STRONG!”

What if people were competitive about how gentle and willing to yield they can be to ‘get ahead’ in the Kingdom of God?

God doesn’t conform to the demands of our culture and standards…

We conform to His.

Matthew 5:5 (NKJV)

⁵ Blessed are the meek,
For they shall inherit the ^[a]earth.

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!

Yehovah Yireh provides perfectly through our Lord and Savior Yeshua the Messiah, Jesus Christ.

We must always be careful that we never dishonor Him because we have our wants confused with our needs.

It didn’t take long for Israel to get tired of the ‘bread from heaven provided by God…

Numbers 11:1-20 (NKJV)

11 Now ^(A)when the people complained, it displeased the Lord; ^(B)for the Lord heard it, and His anger was aroused. So the ^(C)fire of the Lordburned among them, and consumed some in the outskirts of the camp. ² Then the people ^(D)cried out to Moses, and when Moses ^(E)prayed to the Lord, the fire was ^[a]quenched. ³ So he called the name of the place ^[b]Taberah, because the fire of the Lord had burned among them.

⁴ Now the ^(F)mixed multitude who were among them ^[c]yielded to ^(G)intense craving; so the children of Israel also wept again and said: ^(H)“Who will give us meat to eat? ^{5 (I)}We remember the fish which we ate freely in Egypt, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic; ⁶ but now ^(J)our whole being is dried up; there is nothing at all except this manna before our eyes!”

⁷ Now ^(K)the manna was like coriander seed, and its color like the color of bdellium. ⁸ The people went about and gathered it, ground it on millstones or beat it in the mortar, cooked it in pans, and made cakes of it; and ^(L)its taste was like the taste of pastry prepared with oil. ⁹ And ^(M)when the dew fell on the camp in the night, the manna fell on it.

¹⁰ Then Moses heard the people weeping throughout their families, everyone at the door of his tent; and ^(N)the anger of the Lord was greatly aroused; Moses also was displeased. ^{11 (O)}So Moses said to the Lord, “Why have You afflicted Your servant? And why have I not found favor in Your sight, that You have laid the ^[d]burden of all these people on me? ¹² Did I conceive all these people? Did I beget them, that You should say to me, ^(P)‘Carry them in your bosom, as a ^(Q)guardian carries a nursing child,’ to the land which You ^(R)swore^[e] to their fathers? ^{13 (S)}Where am I to get meat to give to all these people? For they weep all over me, saying, ‘Give us meat, that we may eat.’ ^{14 (T)}I am not able to bear all these people alone, because the burden is too heavy for me. ¹⁵ If You treat me like this, please kill me here and now—if I have found favor in Your sight—and ^(U)do not let me see my wretchedness!”

¹⁶ So the Lord said to Moses: “Gather to Me ^(V)seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom you know to be the elders of the people and ^(W)officers over them; bring them to the tabernacle of meeting, that they may stand there with you. ¹⁷ Then I will come down and talk with you there. ^(X)I will take of the Spirit that is upon you and will put the same upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with you, that you may not bear it yourself alone. ¹⁸ Then you shall say to the people, ^[f]‘Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, and you shall eat meat; for you have wept ^(Y)in the hearing of the Lord, saying, “Who will give us meat to eat? For it was well with us in Egypt.” Therefore the Lord will give you meat, and you shall eat. ¹⁹ You shall eat, not one day, nor two days, nor five days, nor ten days, nor twenty days, ^{20 (Z)}but for a whole month, until it comes out of your nostrils and becomes loathsome to you, because you have ^(AA)despised the Lord who is among you, and have wept before Him, saying, ^(AB)“Why did we ever come up out of Egypt?” ’ ”

How many times have you looked in the refrigerator, pantry or cabinet and said, “There’s nothing to eat” because it wasn’t what you wanted?

How many times have you complained about the job you prayed for and God is using to sustain your life this season?

How many times have you complained about the spouse, children or family that God gave you because they don’t always see eye-to-eye with you? Remember the children of Israel complained in the wilderness against Moses’ leadership over and over again.

Complaining is one of the sins that pisses Him off the most…

1 Corinthians 10:10 (NKJV)

¹⁰ nor complain, as ^(A)some of them also complained, and ^(B)were destroyed by ^(C)the destroyer.

Remember, complaining is the opposite of thanksgiving.

BE BLESSTIFIED!

The devil is a deceiver and the father of lies, and remember, that Yeshua the Messiah (Jesus Christ) proclaimed this not to the overt, perverse ‘sinners’ but to the ‘elite’, self-righteous, religious leaders of the time. This same ‘spirit’ lives on in many people who claim to be believers today…

John 8:44 (NKJV)

⁴⁴ You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.

The fact is that he has been doing his thing long before we got here, and quite frankly he is good at it.

But, God didn’t leave us defenseless against his schemes…

2 Corinthians 2:11 (NKJV)

¹¹ lest Satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices.

Leaders whose purpose is to deceive the saints WILL NOT ADMIT TO BE EVIL!

It’s our responsibility to recognize who the devil is working through. Just as we are created in God’s image, which means we have His attributes and character, those who are being led by the enemy have his attributes.

So, no matter what a leader may CLAIM to stand for, if their character hasn’t and doesn’t align with God’s character…beware. The fact is that the man of lawlessness will come with lying wonders that are designed to deceive the very elect…

Matthew 24:24 (NKJV)

²⁴ For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.

Remember, the Jews were expecting the Messiah (Christ) to be a political and military leader as well as spiritual.

But here’s the more grave admonition. If they share the attributes of the Adversary, don’t be fooled by their deception, so you won’t be a partaker of their sins. Here are a few from Holy scripture…

These signs pertain to ALL leaders, world, national, local, professional and spiritual!

1. BEWARE OF LEADERS WHO ARE CONSTANTLY ACCUSING & PLACING BLAME…

This is a direct attribute of the devil. One of his titles, given by God, is the Accuser of the ‘brethren’…

Revelation 12:10 (NKJV)

¹⁰ Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, “Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down.

I recommend that you don’t just beware of leaders who openly stand for evil, but for those who have the subtle attributes of the enemy. Beware of those whose character is to always accuse and never accept accountability. Be honest with yourself. Do you know any leaders that fit this description?

2. BEWARE OF LEADERS WHO ARE FULL OF PRIDE…

This is another direct attribute of the enemy that can’t be ignored or discounted. The bible makes it clear that PRIDE which is the first mentioned among deadly sins, in fact, it’s mentioned just before ‘hands that shed innocent blood’ which in manifested one way through abortion. Pride is just as deadly and just as much an abomination as abortion. God does not permit us to be proud of ANYTHING! Our nation. Our race. Our children. Our accomplishments. Instead, He demands we be THANKFUL for these things. One of the enemy’s most acceptable strategies is convincing believers that pride is okay in some situations. Do you know of any leaders whose looks and mouths are full of pride? Beware!

3. BEWARE OF LEADERS WHO ARE CONSTANTLY BOASTING ABOUT THEMSELVES & ACCOMPLISHMENTS…

This attribute is a direct fruit of pride and God warns to watch for it in both the Old and New Testatments. God told us that the spirit of the antichrist was already at work even in the 1st Century…

John 4:3 (NASB)

³ and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world.

We prove what we ‘confess’ by our lifestyle and words. That’s why Jesus said many who call Him ‘Lord, Lord’ will not enter into His Kingdom.

Don’t ignore the scriptures about leaders whose mouths are full of boasting…

Daniel 7:8 (NASB)

⁸ While I was contemplating the horns, behold, another horn, a little one, came up among them, and three of the first horns were pulled out by the roots before it; and behold, ^[a]this horn possessed eyes like the eyes of a man and a mouth uttering great boasts.

Proverbs 27:2 (NKJV)

2 Thessalonians 2:9-11(NASB)

⁹ that is, the one whose ^[a]coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and ^[b]signs and false wonders, ¹⁰ and with ^[c]all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved. ¹¹ For this reason God ^[d]will send upon them ^[e]a deluding influence so that they will believe ^[f]what is false,

Revelation 13:5 (NIV)

⁵ The beast was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies and to exercise its authority for forty-two months.

Do you know of a leader whose mouth is full of boasting about him or herself? This person doesn’t have to be the anti-christ to be operating in the spirit of the antichrist to prepare hearts and minds for his coming.

4. BEWARE OF LEADERS WHO REFUSE TO ASK FOR FORGIVENESS, GIVE FORGIVENESS OR REPENT…

When you carefully read about King Saul and King David, the thing that made David ‘a man after God’s own heart’ was that he had a heart of repentance, while Saul did not. Repentance isn’t saying I’m sorry, but actually turning from your sin with Godly sorrow. David allowed the Prophet Nathan to hold him accountable for his sin, and he repented…

Psalm 51 (NKJV)

Have mercy upon me, O God,
According to Your lovingkindness;
According to the multitude of Your tender mercies,
Blot out my transgressions.
² Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
And cleanse me from my sin. ³ For I acknowledge my transgressions,
And my sin is always before me.
⁴ Against You, You only, have I sinned,
And done this evil in Your sight—
That You may be found just ^[a]when You speak,
And blameless when You judge. ⁵ Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,
And in sin my mother conceived me.
⁶ Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts,
And in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom. ⁷ Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
⁸ Make me hear joy and gladness,
That the bones You have broken may rejoice.
⁹ Hide Your face from my sins,
And blot out all my iniquities. ¹⁰ Create in me a clean heart, O God,
And renew a steadfast spirit within me.
¹¹ Do not cast me away from Your presence,
And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. ¹² Restore to me the joy of Your salvation,
And uphold me by Your generous Spirit.
¹³ Then I will teach transgressors Your ways,
And sinners shall be converted to You. ¹⁴ Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God,
The God of my salvation,
And my tongue shall sing aloud of Your righteousness.
¹⁵ O Lord, open my lips,
And my mouth shall show forth Your praise.
¹⁶ For You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it;
You do not delight in burnt offering.
¹⁷ The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit,
A broken and a contrite heart—
These, O God, You will not despise.

2 Corinthians 7:10 (NKJV)

¹⁰ For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death.

5. BEWARE OF LEADERS WHOSE CHARACTER DOESN’T ALIGN WITH WHAT THEY CLAIM TO STAND FOR…

No matter what we claim to ‘stand for’ we prove our faith in God through Yeshua the Messiah with our behavior. Are we perfect? No. But, it’s clear when someones overall character doesn’t align with what God commands. For example, I have seen one particular leader use profanity during speeches while crowds of people who claimed to be believers cheered, laughed and encouraged this behavior that God clearly forbids.

James 3:9-11 (NKJV)

⁹ With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the ^[a]similitude of God. ¹⁰ Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so. ¹¹ Does a spring send forth fresh water and bitter from the same opening?

I’ve seen believers make excuses for a leader who not only has never been known for his faith or integrity, but unrepentantly bragged about his past sinful exploits…rather than hold him accountable. This is enabling him just as much as enabling a dope addict by feeding his or her habit…

Ephesians 5:11 (NKJV)

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

When we don’t hold one another accountable, we become partakers of the same sins…

Ephesians 5:6-7 (NKJV)

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.

6. BEWARE OF LEADERS WHO CONSTANTLY HURL INSULTS…

We all insult one another sometimes, however, if we’re honest with ourselves, there are some people that have made hurling insults a part of their very character. This is of the devil, and Jesus Himself said it leads to hell fire…

Matthew 5:22 (NLT)

²² But I say, if you are even angry with someone,^[a] you are subject to judgment! If you call someone an idiot,^[b] you are in danger of being brought before the court. And if you curse someone,^[c] you are in danger of the fires of hell.^[d]

Remember, the enemy does not attempt to deceive believers by admitting to be evil, but disguising himself as an angel of light. Also remember that the wolf comes in sheep’s clothing…

Matthew 7:15 (KJV)

¹⁵ Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.

We are made in the image of our invisible God by displaying the Fruit of His Spirit, many of which our modern culture considers to be ‘weak’…

Galatians 5:22-23 (KJV)

²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, ²³ Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

Israel didn’t become exiled because of the overt ‘sinners’ in the land, but because of the spiritual compromise, pride, and hypocrisy of believers. That’s why God said…

2 Chronicles 7:14 (NKJV)

¹⁴ if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

This article is intended to be an admonition for believers. Most of the time, these admonitions were rejected in the bible. Be careful of any spirit that would provoke you to immediately reject it.

Don’t forget that Herod was a great builder and political leader who even like John the Baptist, but was an enemy of our Lord and Savior…

Mark 6:20 (NLT)

²⁰ for Herod respected John; and knowing that he was a good and holy man, he protected him. Herod was greatly disturbed whenever he talked with John, but even so, he liked to listen to him.

I intentionally didn’t call any names, so if the name of a particular leader comes to mind, maybe it’s because they fit they description.

Ephesians 6:12 (NKJV)

¹² For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of ^[a]the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.

Remember, these signs pertain to ALL leaders, world, national, local, professional and spiritual!

And let us always pray that they submit to God’s will, word, love, truth and salvation!

BE BLESSTIFIED!

I’m confident that I’m not the only one who can relate to the title of this piece. Both conservatives and liberals criticize me, mock me and feel that I’m as wrong as two left shoes.

I’m a Black man who as much as I’m concerned with social justice, equality and equity for my people still try to approach the world from a God’s Kingdom perspective. I feel that the Kingdom of God is a nation within a nation, so I make my decisions based on the leader of that ‘nation’, Yeshua the Messiah (Jesus Christ).

On one hand many of the efforts to champion the cause of social justice, equality and equity for Black people is intermingled with efforts to champion the LGBTQ movement, same-sex marriage and abortion.

On the other hand, I can’t support a leader who embodies the very character of the devil and predicted behavior of the antichrist… proud, boastful, unrepentant, unforgiving, arrogant, insulting, constantly accusing, blaming and never accepting accountability. These are all biblically quoted abominations, but conservatives condone, excuse, justify and enable his behavior because they choose his abominations over the abominations of abortion and homosexuality. I have seen crowds of Christians laugh and cheer as he hurls out profanities within his speeches. Mr. Trump has wrapped himself into the causes important to conservative evangelicals just as the devil disguises himself as an angel of light. Even though he is not the antichrist, he is using the very tactics that the bible predicts will be used by the antichrist…he will make things look great to many.

2 Corinthians 11:13-15 (NASB)

¹³ For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. ¹⁴ No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. ¹⁵ Therefore it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness, whose end will be according to their deeds.

Because of where I stand…

I’ve had many liberals tell me that I hate gay people (which I don’t) and that I am judging them when I point out that lifestyle as sin.

I’ve had many conservatives tell me that I hate the President (which I don’t) and that I am judging him when I point out his pride, insults, and ungodly behavior.

Notice that they both make the same accusations.

Liberals have criticized me for speaking out against abortion and conservatives have criticized me for reminding them God does not view abortion as a greater abomination than pride…

Proverbs 6:16-17 (NKJV)

¹⁶ These six things the Lord hates,
Yes, seven are an abomination to ^[a]Him:
¹⁷ A^[b] proud look,
A lying tongue,
Hands that shed innocent blood,

The fact is…

I’m not putting my faith in any man, Biden or Trump.

I’m not putting my faith in any party, Democrat or Republican

The fact is…

I’m not putting my faith in any man, Biden or Trump.

I’m not putting my faith in any party, Democrat or Republican.

The fact that both liberals and conservatives sometimes feel I’m on the wrong side confirms for me that I’m on the right side.

We must pray that all leaders submit to God’s word, will, love, truth and salvation.

And, both sides must stop condemning those who disagree, because there is no lesser of two evils.

BE BLESSTIFIED!

If you’ve grown up in church like me, you’ve heard the phrase, “It only takes a LITTLE faith.” Of course this is based on the scriptures about ‘mustard seed faith’, such as…

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.

BUT THINK ABOUT THIS…

Yeshua said, “As a grain of mustard seed.”

It takes GREAT FAITH for something as small as a grain of mustard seed to move mountains, not little faith. We must have faith as a grain of mustard seed would have to possess to grow.

NOW THINK ABOUT THIS…

Yeshua the Messiah (Jesus Christ) ALWAYS rebuked His disciples for having SMALL (LITTLE) faith…

Matthew 20:17 a

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

Matthew 8:25-26 (NKJV)

²⁵ Then His disciples came to Him and awoke Him, saying, “Lord, save us! We are perishing!”

²⁶ But He said to them, “Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?” Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.

Matthew 6:30 (NKJV)

³⁰ Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

Matthew 14:31

³¹ And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”

Every time the disciples faith was challenged and proven to be small, He REBUKED them for having ‘LITTLE’ FAITH. He never congratulated, confirmed, celebrated, approved of, or gave a ‘thumbs up’ to small faith.

NOW CONSIDER THIS…

The Lord was ALWAYS IMPRESSED by GREAT FAITH…

Matthew 8:10 (NKJV)

¹⁰ When Jesus heard it, He marveled, and said to those who followed, “Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!

Matthew 15:28 (NKJV)

²⁸ Then Jesus answered and said to her, “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed from that very hour.

Yeshua ALWAYS celebrated, congratulated, was impressed by, approved of, and REWARDED GREAT FAITH!

We must immediately STOP teaching that it ONLY TAKES A LITTLE faith to please God.

Carefully listen to this sermon by my Senior Pastor W. Michael Martin…

BE BLESSTIFIED!

Presented with a dilemma with eternal implications unknown to him, and with Jesus before Him, Pilate asked a poignant question…

John 18:38 (NKJV)

³⁸ Pilate said to Him, “What is truth?” And when he had said this, he went out again to the Jews, and said to them, “I find no fault in Him at all.

The TRUTH is absolute independent of how we view it… just like God.

We defile it…

We pervert it…

We skew it towards our own point of view or agenda.

We make the truth subjective.

This is why the key to finding truth when two people are using THE SAME SCRIPTURE to justify their perspective is totally removing how we WANT to view the scripture and seeking to see it as God intended. WE’RE BOTH USING SCRIPTURE SO…HOW TO TELL WHO’S ‘RIGHT’?

For example, Yeshua the Messiah clearly says we should “turn the other cheek” if someone strikes us, and He gave us that example just before He was crucified…

Matthew 5:39 (NKJV)

³⁹ But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also.

Luke 22:63-65 (NLT)

⁶³ The guards in charge of Jesus began mocking and beating him. ⁶⁴ They blindfolded him and said, “Prophesy to us! Who hit you that time?” ⁶⁵ And they hurled all sorts of terrible insults at him.

However, Christians read the truth in the above scripture, and then reason for themselves how it’s okay to strike someone back when it’s not in self defense. They see turning the other cheek as a sign of weakness. If your life isn’t truly in danger, striking someone back is pride.

In our heated social, historical and political climate, people ‘research’… ‘fact check’… read history and filter the absolute facts we find through our subjective perspectives.

In both the Old and New Testaments the bible makes it clear that homosexuality is a sin just the same as fornication and adultery. However, people who want to justify what they want to do, but also claim to be Christian will say, “That’s not what the scripture means.” WHY IT’S STILL A SIN EVEN IF YOU WERE, “BORN THAT WAY”…

Another example…Benedict Arnold led the British army in battle to the very men that he had previously commanded.

That’s a fact.

But, how history views him is subjective. America views him as a traitor, while people from Britain might not think so. Calling him either a traitor or a hero creates a narrative, so he truth is filtered through perspective.

One last example…a zebra is black and white, however subjectivity creates a narrative when say the zebra is ‘black with white stripes’ or ‘white with black stripes’. Science has determined that their skin is black and their stripes are white per the website LIVESCIENCE.COM…https://bit.ly/3xjAqeA.

We make the truth subjective through our perspective.

When people say they’re LIVING THEIR TRUTH, give them this gentle reminder… “The truth doesn’t belong to you.”

John 14:6 (NKJV)

⁶ Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

per·vertverb/pərˈvərt/

1. alter (something) from its original course, meaning, or state to a distortion or corruption of what was first intended.

BE BLESSTIFIED!

Because God loves gay people. God loves everyone.

Don’t get it twisted. This is not just a self-righteous, judgmental platitude…it’s biblical truth.

Why is God anti-gay?

Because God is anti-adultery, but not anti-adulterer.

He’s anti-fornication, but not anti-fornicator.

He’s anti-murder, but not anti-murderer

He’s anti-malice, but not anti-malicious.

He’s anti-hate, but not anti-hater.

He’s anti-lie, but not anti-liar.

He’s anti-foolishness, but not anti-fool.

He’s anti-pride, but not anti-proud person.

He’s anti-greed, but not anti-greedy person.

I think you get the picture. God is anti-sin, but He is not anti-sinner. Even though there are those trying to now establish that homosexuality is not a sin. It still is. Even though many people are trying to say that that’s not what Sodom and Gomorrah was about. It still was (Genesis 19). Even though many people are trying to say that Jesus never addressed homosexuality, He still did (Matthew 19:4-6) FOR THOSE WHO SAY JESUS NEVER ADDRESSED HOMOSEXUALITY…. And even though people are refuting what Paul said about it, it’s still truth (Romans 1:24-27).

But, it’s also true that there are multiple other sins that are equally as wrong as homosexuality (Romans 1:28-32, 2:1-3). GOD HATES MORE THAN HOMOSEXUALITY & ABORTION (DON’T CHERRY PICK SINS)…

Calling out homosexuality, as well as any other sins, is not hate…it’s our responsibility (Ezekiel 33:1-11, Romans 6:23). But, we must always remember…

To do so in love (1 Corinthians 16:14).

To remember that we are all sinners saved by grace (Ephesians 2:8).

We are all born with innate desires that we must overcome with the help of God’s Holy Spirit (Psalm 51:5). JUST BECAUSE SOMEONE’S ‘BORN THAT WAY’ DOESN’T MAKE IT OKAY…

So no matter what your sin may be, God still loves you!

God is anti-sin, but He is never anti-you!

1 Peter 3:9 (NKJV)

⁹ 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.

BE BLESSTIFIED!

Even though we may not all be Pastors, every disciple of Christ is a minister. We are all called to serve and represent the glory of God in everything that we do…

Proverbs 3:6  (NKJV)

⁶ In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall direct^[a] your paths.

Colossians 3:17  (NKJV)

¹⁷ And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

There are some things that God expects of every believer. We must remember that even though we aren’t always in church, we are always in worship…

Romans 12:1 (NKJV)

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.

 Acknowledging God and honoring Him in everything that we do is a ministry in which we serve Him and worship Him daily. Here are 4 ministries that we all share as believers…

1. MINISTRY OF RECONCILIATION

Anyone who loves his or her parent wants to see their siblings be in good relationship with their mother and father. If they have an estranged brother and sister, they will do all they can to convince them to be reconciled to their parent(s). That’s the responsibility that God gives us as disciples of Christ…to convince our brothers and sisters to be reconciled to our Heavenly Father through our Lord and Savior, Yeshua, Christ Jesus.

2 Corinthians 5:18-20 (NKJV)

¹⁸ Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, ¹⁹ that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. 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.

2. MINISTRY OF FAMILY

Our roles in our families could also be defined as our responsibilities in our families. God has defined our family responsibilities in His word…

Colossians 3:18-21 (NKJV)

¹⁸ Wives, submit to your own husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.

¹⁹ Husbands, love your wives and do not be bitter toward them.

²⁰ Children, obey your parents in all things, for this is well pleasing to the Lord.

²¹ Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged.

 1 Timothy 5:8  (NKJV)

⁸ But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.

God expects us to not only be led by Him in how we relate to and manage our family relationships, He wants us to define to those who don’t believe how families deal with both the good and bad situations and challenges of life.

3. MINISTRY OF WORK

The word lets us know from the Old Testament to the New, that God expects us to work to sustain our lives and families…

Genesis 3:19  (NKJV)

¹⁹ In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread
Till you return to the ground,
For out of it you were taken;
For dust you are,
And to dust you shall return.”

2 Thessalonians 3:10  (NKJV)

¹⁰ For even when we were with you, we commanded you this: If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat.

He goes on to let us know that we our to honor Him as we do our jobs. That we represent His very presence while we are there, and that we are to do our jobs as if we our serving Him…

Colossians 3:22-23 (NKJV)

²² Bondservants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh, not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but in sincerity of heart, fearing God. ²³ And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men,

Remember that the bible uses the term ‘servants’ interchangeably for both slaves and ‘hired servants’.

God expects us to define to unbelievers His integrity on the job. He expects us to define how to deal with the difficulties of the workday, office politics, unfairness in His Spirit and character without complaining of grumbling. It’s not always easy, but it’s possible…

Matthew 20:1-16  (NKJV)

 “For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. ² Now when he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard. ³ And he went out about the third hour and saw others standing idle in the marketplace, ⁴ and said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you.’ So they went. ⁵ Again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour, and did likewise.⁶ And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing idle,^[a] and said to them, ‘Why have you been standing here idle all day?’ ⁷ They said to him, ‘Because no one hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right you will receive.’^[b]

⁸ “So when evening had come, the owner of the vineyard said to his steward, ‘Call the laborers and give them their wages, beginning with the last to the first.’ ⁹ And when those came who were hired about the eleventh hour, they each received a denarius. ¹⁰ But when the first came, they supposed that they would receive more; and they likewise received each a denarius. ¹¹ And when they had received it, they complained against the landowner, ¹² saying, ‘These last men have worked only one hour, and you made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the heat of the day.’ ¹³ But he answered one of them and said, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? ¹⁴ Take what is yours and go your way. I wish to give to this last man the same as to you. ¹⁵ Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with my own things? Or is your eye evil because I am good?’¹⁶ So the last will be first, and the first last. For many are called, but few chosen.”

God expects us to recognize when our job or career is coming between us and Him, and to be able to choose which is most important. He expects us to not allow our jobs and responsibilities to our employers to provoke us to sin. DOES YOUR JOB PROVOKE YOU TO SIN?

  4. MINISTRY OF FUN

All lives need balance. God expects us to laugh and have fun. It is our responsibility to set the example of how to have fun.

Ecclesiastes 3:4  (NKJV)

⁴ A time to weep,
    And a time to laugh;
A time to mourn,
    And a time to dance;

But we have to be very careful of how we entertain ourselves and realize that we are setting the standard…

Ephesians 5:4  (NKJV)

⁴ neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks.

There’s nothing wrong with music that is not necessarily Gospel, but celebrates life and fun, as long as it’s doesn’t contain ungodly lyrics. There’s nothing wrong with romance as long as it is within God’s will… GODLY MARRIAGE: YOU CAN’T GET ROMANTIC WITH A HYMNAL… Again, we are setting the example to let the world know that you don’t have to give up laughter and fun to be a disciple of Christ.

Remember that when you leave the four walls of your church building, that worship doesn’t end, but the ministry of LIFE begins.

BE BLESSTIFIED!

Hymnals are an important and beloved part of the Christian tradition during worship service.

Many hymnals sung in churches were written centuries ago, but the lyrics are just as relevant today.

However, God raises up talented, creative and anointed psalmists for every generation. Yes, there’s plenty of meaningless, forgetful music out there intended to appeal to the senses and not the spirit, but there’s also tons of Christian songwriters and musicians who focus on honoring the scriptures with their music.

They write powerful, scriptural lyrics that live in specific genres to connect with believers all over the world.

Just as much as these ‘new hymnals’ are contemporary, those old songs were once ‘new school’ too.

The truth is, that as powerful and meaningful that, “Yield Not To Temptation” may be, the song and songs like it just won’t connect with some people in our generation or generations to come. However, all sincere believers have favorite spiritual songs that deliver the same message and help them connect with God.

None of the traditional songs that are so revered today (except for the Psalms) were written during ‘bible times.’ They’re spiritual but not scripture.

There are some Christians who will make you feel guilty about omitting classical hymnals during worship and using ‘bible apps’ instead of bound bibles.

They must be reminded that classical hymnals were once new, and bound bibles were ‘new technology’ after scrolls.

God DOES accept your worship as long as the songs are God-inspired and scriptural.

Traditional hymnals are a beautiful tradition, but they’re still just that…tradition NOT SCRIPTURE.

One day, the new songs written today will be Old School too.

Colossians 3:16 (NKJV)

¹⁶ Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another ^(A)in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.

BE BLESSTIFIED!

I may lose some readers and/or ‘followers’ for making this post, but it’s my prayer that God will gain some.

Okay, I know this is a morbid unpopular subject, and most people don’t like to talk about or preach about it any more, but as I read Matthew Chapter 7, I can’t read past verses 13 and 14 without drawing the conclusion…that most people will be cast into the lake of fire (Revelation 20:10-15).

Matthew 7:13-14 (NKJV)

¹³ “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are MANY who go in by it. ¹⁴ Because^[a] narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are FEW who find it.

The LORD says, “many go in by it” meaning the gate to destruction, and then He goes on to say, “ few are they who find it” in regard to those who find the way which leads to life. Jesus lets us know that the road that leads to life is difficult.

So, according to scripture, the truth is that MOST people will not enter into God’s Kingdom.

We all have loved ones who died without accepting the Christ Jesus as LORD and Savior. It’s a difficult thought to accept their eternal plight.

That’s why in Jesus’ parable of “The Rich Man and Lazarus”, the rich man who died asked for a message to be sent to his brothers so that they would not end up like Him.. Your loved ones who died outside of Christ would tell you the same thing if they could…

Luke 16:19-31  (NKJV)

¹⁹ “There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and 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 the crumbs which fell^[a] 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.’”

The awesome news is that if you’re able to read this post, God has given you grace and time to accept Yeshua, (Christ Jesus) as LORD and Savior of your life.

Romans 10:9  (NKJV)

⁹ that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

That’s how easy it is to avoid eternal separation from the presence of God. Now, I know there is much debate over whether it’s a literal Hell, Lake or Fire, whether you burn forever or are immediately consumed. I know there are those who say that the church ‘created’ Hell to control the masses, but all of that is another discussion….all I know is I don’t want to find out the hard way.

As much as I love to encourage you, I wouldn’t be responsible as a minister of God if I didn’t warn everyone of the ultimate consequences of sin…

So, even though it’s difficult, enter into and continue the narrow path. Even though most people ‘won’t make it in’, you can make sure that you do.

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!

Consider this…

You wake up, reach over and kiss your spouse. You then you turn on the television to check the weather and traffic. You go into the kitchen and grab a bite to eat and promptly brush, floss and take a shower so you can get out the door and be on time for work.

What’s wrong with this morning scenario?

You acknowledged your spouse…

You acknowledged the weather…

You acknowledged the traffic…

You acknowledged your hunger…

You acknowledged your hygiene (even your ‘low’giene:-)…

You acknowledged your job…

But did you acknowledge the One who made everything else you acknowledged possible?

Did you acknowledge God? Did you tell Him good morning? Did you tell Him thanks for protecting you and your family, while you were unconscious all night? Did you thank Him for waking you up? Did you thank Him for brand new mercies..

Lamentations 3:22-23  (NKJV)

This world is far too dangerous. Too unpredictable… Too evil for us to begin our day without acknowledging the God of our salvation.

Too many people say they are believers, but when they are honest with themselves, they live as if God isn’t even there.

We acknowledge, relate to and take seriously what is real to us.

I believe that beginning the day without acknowledging God first thing each and every morning is the ultimate ‘intentional’ act of arrogance and pride.

We are saying, (without saying )… “I’ve got this.” “I don’t need your protection.” “I don’t need your provision.” “I don’t need your guidance.” “I don’t need your wisdom.” “I don’t need your help.”

In as sense we are saying, “I don’t need you today!”

When you love someone…when you’re in love someone, you act like it. In fact, not only do we expect the love we give be reciprocated, we demand it of one another.

We prove how real God is to us, and how much we love Him by how we relate to Him. How we talk to Him. How we fellowship with Him in His word and prayer.

Have you talked to God today? If not, why not stop right now and…Tell Him you’re sorry. Tell Him you love Him. Thank Him for His grace and mercy. And make a commitment that God is the first Person that you talk to each morning.

Psalm 63:1 (NKJV)

BE BLESSTIFIED!

When it sometimes seems God is ‘TION’ing  (shunning) you…

Isaiah 54:7-8  (NKJV)

⁷ “For a mere moment I have forsaken you,
But with great mercies I will gather you.
⁸ With a little wrath I hid My face from you for a moment;
But with everlasting kindness I will have mercy on you,”
Says the Lord, your Redeemer.

On those days you may think God has turned His back on you.

Those days you think He is avoiding, ignoring or even rejecting you…

For the days you think God is ‘TION’ing (shunning) you…

Maybe He is trying to take you to a higher level of…

ConsecraTION and SactificaTION

Joshua 3:5  (NKJV)

⁵ And Joshua said to the people, “Sanctify yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.”

So you can refocus your…

ConcentraTION…

Colossians 3:2  (NKJV)

² Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.

On His gifts of…

JustificaTION…

Romans 5:1  (NKJV)

5 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have^[a] peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,

ReconciliaTION…

2 Corinthians 5:18-19  (NKJV)

¹⁸ Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, ¹⁹ that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.

RestorationTION…

Psalm 23:3  (NKJV)

³ He restores my soul;
He leads me in the paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake.

And, not take for granted His gift of…

SalvaTION.

Romans 10:9  (NKJV)

⁹ that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

And, maybe, just maybe,

You’ve been…

‘TION’ing Him.

Jeremiah 3:22  (NKJV)

²² “Return, you backsliding children,
And I will heal your backslidings.”

“Indeed we do come to You,
For You are the Lord our God

BE BLESSTIFIED!

I was ordained into the ministry back in 1996, and I take my assignment very seriously.

Even though I was ordained in a Baptist church I prefer to be simply referred to as a Disciple of Christ (Yeshua the Messiah, Jesus).

There are many titles by which people address ministers, one of which is Reverend. Personally, I prefer NOT to be called by that title. Here are 5 reasons why.

1. HOLY AND REVEREND IS ‘HIS’ NAME (IMPLYING TO BE EQUAL TO GOD IS BLASPHEMY)

Psalm 111:9 (KJV)

⁹ He sent redemption unto his people: he hath commanded his covenant for ever: holy and reverend is his name

Psalm number 119 in the King James Version states that God’s name is holy and ‘reverend’. The word reverend in the passage comes from the Hebrew word ‘Yare’, which means to fear, revere, be afraid, to stand in awe of, be awed. Neither I nor my name are not to be feared, revered, afraid or in awe of…that is reserved for God. I also know that one definition of blasphemy is putting oneself equal to God, of which is what the Pharisees often falsely accused the Lord. I prefer not for my name nor myself to be made in anyway imply equality to God…especially as a religious title.

2. GOD WARNED US ABOUT RELIGIOUS TITLES

Yeshua hurled a long list of rebukes and woes at the religious leaders in Matthew 23, one of which directly addressed religious titles…

Matthew 23:6-11 (NKJV)

⁶ They love the ^[a]best places at feasts, the best seats in the synagogues, ⁷ greetings in the marketplaces, and to be called by men, ‘Rabbi, Rabbi.’ ⁸ But you, do not be called ‘Rabbi’; for One is your ^[b]Teacher, ^[c]the Christ, and you are all brethren. ⁹ Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. ¹⁰ And do not be called teachers; for One is your Teacher, the Christ. ¹¹ But he who is greatest among you shall be your servant.

The Lord clearly rebukes the religious leaders concerning being called RABBI, FATHER, or even TEACHER (which could be equated to Dr. today) however we know that even though REVEREND wasn’t a religious title of that day, but originated in the Catholic church that it is still within the context of that rebuke. I have heard some people contend, we call our male parents father, but that’s not a religious title. No matter how we may try to excuse or justify it, it’s still easier to just leave it alone.

3. THE APOSTLES ONLY REFERRED TO ONE ANOTHER BY NAME

When you read the letters of the Apostles, you will notice how they referred to themselves, one another and other elders and church leaders only by name. They didn’t refer to each other as Apostle, Rabbi, Father, Pope or any other title, but simply by name…

2 Peter 3:15 (NKJV)

¹⁵ and consider that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation—as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you,

James 1:1 (NKJV)

James, a bondservant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,

To the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad:

Greetings.

Timothy 1 (NKJV)

Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, by the commandment of God our Savior and the Lord Jesus Christ, our hope,

² To Timothy, a true son in the faith:

Grace, mercy, and peace from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord.

Titus 1:4 (NKJV)

⁴ To Titus, a true son in our common faith:

Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and ^[a]the Lord Jesus Christ our Savior.

Revelation 1:9 (NKJV)

⁹ I, John, ^[a]both your brother and companion in the tribulation and kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was on the island that is called Patmos for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.

I could go on and on, but I invite you to please go back and read through the epistles and notice how the apostles referred to one another and other church leaders…by name only, or brother.

4. THE APOSTLES REFUSED TO BE ‘WORSHIPED’

Acts 14:11-15 (NKJV)

¹¹ Now when the people saw what Paul had done, they raised their voices, saying in the Lycaonian language, “The gods have come down to us in the likeness of men!” ¹² And Barnabas they called ^[a]Zeus, and Paul, ^[b]Hermes, because he was the chief speaker. ¹³ Then the priest of Zeus, whose temple was in front of their city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates, intending to sacrifice with the multitudes.

¹⁴ But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard this, they tore their clothes and ran in among the multitude, crying out ¹⁵ and saying, “Men, why are you doing these things? We also are men with the same nature as you, and preach to you that you should turn from these useless things to the living God, who made the heaven, the earth, the sea, and all things that are in them,

Acts 10:25-26 (NKJV)

²⁵ As Peter was coming in, Cornelius met him and fell down at his feet and worshiped him. ²⁶ But Peter lifted him up, saying, “Stand up; I myself am also a man.”

Even though the bible says that honor should be given to those who are ministers of the Gospel, there is still a thin line between honor and worship. It’s very easy to allow people to ‘feed our egos’ if we aren’t careful. It’s easy for honor and respect to morph into worship.

5. THE ANGELS DIDN’T ALLOW MEN TO WORSHIP THEM

When John received The Revelation of Yeshua he was in such great awe of the angle that he attempted to bow down to him, but the angel quickly told him NO…

Revelation 19:10 (NKJV)

¹⁰ And I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, “See that you do not do that! I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren who have the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”

Revelation 22:9 (NKJV)

⁹ Then he said to me, “See that you do not do that. ^[a]For I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren the prophets, and of those who keep the words of this book. Worship God.”

Yes, the bible says that elders are worthy of double honor, but that doesn’t mean that we should accept that what is reserved for God.

1 Timothy 5:17 (NKJV)

¹⁷ Let the elders who rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in the word and doctrine.

As I said earlier, as much as some leaders can justify being called REVEREND or being put on a pedestal…I would rather just leave it alone.

When you put preachers, pastors, or any leader on a pedestal, you can be discouraged when we prove prove how human we are…when we prove we don’t have it all together. EVEN THE MOST EFFECTIVE LEADERS DON’T ‘HAVE IT ALL TOGETHER’…

What do you think?

BE BLESSTIFIED!

God uses imperfect people to carry out His perfect will. That being said, we know that the church is made up of those imperfect people. It’s unavoidable that the church has historically made some mistakes. What’s important is that we continue to learn from those mistakes…and change.

I feel that one of the most damaging mistakes that’s been made in many churches is about GIVING. I’m not talking about HOW MUCH. I’m talking about WHY?

Too many people have been taught to GIVE SELFISHLY. Too many people have been taught and are being taught to approach God and give carnally. The ‘prosperity’ movement has reduced giving to a selfless act, based on our culture of greed, as a ‘tool’ to get what you want out of life from God. This allows the idolatry (Colossians 3:5) of worshiping oneself to pervert faith. They believe God can do it, but the motivation is wrong.

This actually comes from a biblical truth in the concept of giving when the bible says…

Malachi 3:10-12 (NKJV)

Bring all the tithes into the storehouse,

That there may be food in My house,

And try Me now in this,”

Says the Lord of hosts,

“If I will not open for you the windows of heaven

And pour out for you such blessing That there will not be room enough to receive it. ¹¹ “And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes,

So that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground,

Nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the field,”

Says the Lord of hosts; ¹² “And all nations will call you blessed,

For you will be a delightful land,”

Says the Lord of hosts.

Again, this post isn’t about the AMOUNT, but about the WHY. Of course God can and will bless you for giving from the heart, but when they’re honest with themselves…too many people give so they can release the blessings of verses 10 through 12 into THEIR OWN LIVES, “open the windows of heaven”…”pour out a blessing that there will not be room to receive it”, “rebuke the devourer for your sakes”, “all the nations of the world will call you blessed”.

When they’re honest with themselves, many Christians only give so they can get. It is their BLE$$ING bill, their BLE$$ING note…no different than their utility bill, cell phone bill, mortgage, rent, car payment…that if they DON’T give God will cut off their blessings.

They prove this in their behavior. These same people who won’t get caught missing an opportunity to give don’t seem to have a problem with not reading regularly, not praying regularly, not sharing their faith with unbelievers, not being generous beyond what they think is the minimum, not helping those in need, and not even having a regular prayer life.

When we’re honest with ourselves, even when we help others sometimes, we aren’t doing it to be a blessing, but so we can feel good about ourselves, or so others can see what we’ve done. A good example…so many people rush to feed those in need in shelters during Thanksgiving, as if these people don’t need to eat 365 days per year. Jesus clearly tells us that when we do things for our own glory, that we have already received our reward…

Matthew 6:1-2 (NKJV)

“Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven. ² Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.

Does that mean that it’s always wrong to share when you’ve blessed someone? No, because we are told to let our light shine…however God also knows the reason why we shared it.

We must always be honest with ourselves of even why we do good.

God wants us to give unselfishly, wishing for nothing in return. He wants us to give to fund the growth of His Kingdom in the earth. He wants us to give to simply plant seeds of His love. He wants us to give to be A BLESSING and not ONLY TO BE BLESSED.

Look at some of the verses concerning unselfish giving, and think of how infrequently you hear some of them or all of them…

Luke 6:34-35 (NKJV)

³⁴ And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive back, what credit is that to you? For even sinners lend to sinners to receive as much back. ³⁵ But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is kind to the unthankful and evil.

 2 Corinthians 9:5-15 (NKJV)

 ⁵ Therefore I thought it necessary to exhort the brethren to go to you ahead of time, and prepare your generous gift beforehand, which you had previously promised, that it may be ready as a matter of generosity and not as a grudging obligation. ⁶ But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. ⁷ So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver. ⁸ And God I sable to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work. ⁹ As it is written:

“He has dispersed abroad,

He has given to the poor;

His righteousness endures forever.”^[b]

¹⁰ Now may^[c] He who supplies seed to the sower, and bread for food, supply and multiply the seed you have sown and increase the fruits of your righteousness, ¹¹ while you are enriched in everything for all liberality, which causes thanksgiving through us to God. ¹² For the administration of this service not only supplies the needs of the saints, but also is abounding through many thanksgivings to God, ¹³ while, through the proof of this ministry, they glorify God for the obedience of your confession to the gospel of Christ, and for your liberal sharing with them and all men, ¹⁴ and by their prayer for you, who long for you because of the exceeding grace of God in you. ¹⁵ Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!

 Ephesians 4:28 (NKJV)

 ²⁸ Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need.

1 John 3:17 (NKJV)

 ¹⁷ But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him?

There are many more verses where God makes it clear that we should give unselfishly.

Yes, we should always be obedient and give as God told us to do. We should be generous as God told us to be.

But, we must always be honest with ourselves as to why we’re giving or being generous…because He already knows.

BE BLESSTIFIED!

Anyone who reads my writing knows I love to clarify anything that can be misunderstood or twisted. Anyone who has read my writing or watched any of our #SONdayBlessing videos knows I love, cherish, respect and honor my wife. I consider us to be equals in our marriage and I am fully aware of God telling us in 1 Peter that we are to honor our wives, and not doing so can hinder our prayers…

1 Peter 3:7 (NKJV)

⁷ Husbands, likewise, dwell with them with understanding, giving honor to the wife, as to the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers may not be hindered.

I am fully aware and happily accept the husband’s responsibility to love our wives as Christ loves the church. This is the sacrificial love that’s is defined in Ephesians…

Ephesians 5:25-29 (NKJV)

²⁵ Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, ²⁶ that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, ²⁷ that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish. ²⁸ So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself. ²⁹ For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church.

That being said, now let us consider what the word of God says in 1 Corinthians Chapter 11…

1 Corinthians 11:8-9 (NKJV)

⁸ For man is not from woman, but woman from man. ⁹ Nor was man created for the woman, but woman for the man.

I feel that each husband should treat his wife as if she is his QUEEN, and vice versa. However, anyone who believes the bible is the word of God knows what God said before He created woman…

Genesis 2:18 (NKJV)

¹⁸ And the Lord God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.”

God created man to be the head. But, as my father-in-law Pastor Lonnie Black has said for years…

“God created man to be the head and not the headache.” Pastor Lonnie Black

We live in a society today that more and more behaves as if man was created for woman than woman for man. That the husband is to submit to his wife, rather than woman submit to her husband.

Even the popular cliche, HAPPY WIFE, HAPPY LIFE eludes to that.

We live in a society today where the husband is expected to ‘answer to his wife’…to go out of his way to make her happy…to work himself to the bone in order to get her whatever she wants…to submit to her when there is a disagreement…that if a woman allows her husband to ‘tell her what to do’ she is being weak. And, that if a husband isn’t giving his wife everything she desires, he is less than a husband.

Television, film, music and especially reality shows and social media support this (Think of all the “HOUSEWIVES” shows…there’s one to target various cultures). It’s art imitating life and art further shaping behavior and the narrative of male/female relationships.

In a sense, we have made our QUEENS…KINGS.

Marriage is not 50/50, it’s 100/100. It’s woman submitting to her husband’s authority in the home and enjoying his covering and protection. But, at the same time, marriage is the husband not abusing his authority, and considering his wife as an equal in all decisions. However, when decisions are made in the home, God will hold the husband (head) accountable…especially in regard to worship being established.

If you haven’t already, step back and take a look at what’s on television, movies and social media. Listen to much of the popular music these days. Listen to many of the conversations. Many people have gone beyond treating wives like QUEENS, to making them KINGS.

Husbands and wives…let’s be good to one another. Let’s love, trust, honor and support one another, but let’s not forget God’s order.

BE BLESSTIFIED.

Throughout the history of the world people have committed horrible atrocities to one another.

In His sovereignty and for His ultimate purpose, whether it be for example or judgement, if you believe in God, just as with Job, you have to accept that God allowed those atrocities that were provoked by the devil to happen.

The devil has to submit to God’s power, and he gets no access unless God allows it.

Job 1:12 NKJV

And the LORD said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your power; only do not lay a hand on his person.” So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD.

Even today, the most vile, evil and remorseless people are being influenced by the devil, the adversary…Satan.

There’s a world of evil, crime, oppression and opposition that many people like me only know about from the news or movies.

So, when we get upset at how the devil is allowed to frustrate our lives in many ways…our families… our jobs and careers… our finances… we must stop and thank God there are horrible levels of evil that God doesn’t permit the devil to release into our lives.

This isn’t meant to diminish any level of resistance someone may be facing right now, but for most of us… it could always be worse.

Stop right now and thank God for how He restrains the devil and His emissaries from your life.

Stop and thank God for YOUR angels who minister to you and fight for you in both the physical and spiritual worlds.

Hebrews 1:13-14 (NKJV)

¹³ But to which of the angels has He ever said:

^(A)“Sit at My right hand,
Till I make Your enemies Your footstool”?

^{14 (B)}Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will ^(C)inherit salvation?

And, remember to release prayers for those who are under a more severe level of attack than you.

1 Peter 5:8 (NKJV)

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

2 Thessalonians 2:7 (NKJV)

⁷ For ^(A)the ^[a]mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only ^[b]He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way.

1 Kings 12:24 (NKJV)

²⁴ ‘Thus says the Lord: “You shall not go up nor fight against your brethren the children of Israel. Let every man return to his house, for this thing is from Me.” ’ ” Therefore they obeyed the word of the Lord, and turned back, according to the word of the Lord.

The purpose of this article is to build up the Body of Christ, His church, purchased with His blood. It’s because so many people who claim to be disciples in Christ are passionate about celebrating a part of history that should be remembered, but NOT celebrated.

They celebrate a heritage and culture that thrived from…

The enslavement of Black people…

The institutionalized and accepted rape of Black women…

The separation of fathers, mothers and children who were sold away from one another…

Profiting from forced labor.

Yes, they said it was for ‘States Rights’, but we all know the underpinning right for which the so-called “War of Northern Aggression” was fought.

Many of the same people who complain about our flag and military being disrespected celebrate the violent protest that fought against that same flag and military because they arrogantly have judged their cause to be more noble.

The Confederacy was another country, with it’s own constitution, it’s own government, it’s own currency, it’s own flag, its’ own military…it was treason.

Many of these same people who revere everything above to the point of worship, claim to be Christians. How could they have missed this verse…

Exodus 21:16  (ESV)

¹⁶ “Whoever steals a man and sells him, and anyone found in possession of him, shall be put to death.

I encourage anyone who claims to love the God of our salvation, Yah, Adonai, our Elohim, the Father of our Lord and Savior, Yeshua the Messiah, the Lamb of God, the Son of God, the Living Word, Jesus Christ to carefully read through the Old Testament.

Notice that the Nation of Israel was split into two kingdoms because of the sin of Rehaboam, which was a heritage of his father, Solomon’s disobedience in his old age…

1 Kings 12:15  (NKJV)

¹⁵ So the king did not listen to the people; for the turn of events was from the Lord, that He might fulfill His word, which the Lord had spoken by Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat.

God forbade them to fight one another…

1 Kings 12:21-24  (NKJV)

²¹ And when Rehoboam came to Jerusalem, he assembled all the house of Judah with the tribe of Benjamin, one hundred and eighty thousand chosen men who were warriors, to fight against the house of Israel, that he might restore the kingdom to Rehoboam the son of Solomon. ²² But the word of God came to Shemaiah the man of God, saying, ²³ “Speak to Rehoboam the son of Solomon, king of Judah, to all the house of Judah and Benjamin, and to the rest of the people, saying, ²⁴ ‘Thus says the Lord: “You shall not go up nor fight against your brethren the children of Israel. Let every man return to his house, for this thing is from Me.” ’ ” Therefore they obeyed the word of the Lord, and turned back, according to the word of the Lord.

There were subsequently several battles between the northern and southern kingdoms during the reigns of the kings of both kingdoms. Here are a few of the verses…

1 Kings 15:1-6  (NKJV)

15 In the eighteenth year of King Jeroboam the son of Nebat, Abijam became king over Judah. ² He reigned three years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Maachah the granddaughter of Abishalom. ³ And he walked in all the sins of his father, which he had done before him; his heart was not ^[a]loyal to the Lord his God, as was the heart of his father David. ⁴ Nevertheless for David’s sake the Lord his God gave him a lamp in Jerusalem, by setting up his son after him and by establishing Jerusalem; ⁵ because David did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, and had not turned aside from anything that He commanded him all the days of his life, except in the matter of Uriah the Hittite. ⁶ And there was war between ^[b]Rehoboam and Jeroboam all the days of his life.

1 Kings 15:16 (NKJV)

¹⁶ Now there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days.

2 Kings 14:11-12 (NKJV)

¹¹ But Amaziah would not heed. Therefore Jehoash king of Israel went out; so he and Amaziah king of Judah faced one another at Beth Shemesh, which belongs to Judah. ¹² And Judah was defeated by Israel, and every man fled to his tent.

You will not find one verse in the bible CELEBRATING any of the civil wars between Israel and Judah! Are they documented? Yes. Are they celebrated? No. Are there statues and memorials? NO!

This is one of the reasons that God forbade graven images…

Exodus 20:4-5  (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; ⁵ you shall not bow down to them nor ^[a]serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting^[b] the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me,

Notice verse 4 says don’t make them. That’s one complete thought. Then, verse 5 says don’t worship them…that’s an extension of that thought. Don’t make them, then don’t worship them. Why?

Because God knows us. Too many times passion and respect unintentionally becomes worship. Especially when someone else doesn’t share your perspective or level of reverence.

God is sovereign. As a Black man, I’m thankful that the South did not win. Just as Israel was enslaved in Egypt for 400 years, so were Black people in what became the United States. When God chose, He released Israel from their bondage, and he did the same in America.

If you believe God is sovereign, then you have to accept the fact that IF GOD WANTED THE CONFEDERACY TO WIN, THEN THEY WOULD HAVE.

Again, this post is to equip and build up the Body of Christ. If it for some reason makes you angry, ask yourself which spirit is provoking your anger.

CELEBRATING WHAT WE SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF PART 1…THE CIVIL WAR.

THE HYPOCRISY IN WHICH ‘RIOTS’ ARE TO BE RESPECTED (IT’S ALL ABOUT THE NARRATIVE)…

WHAT THOSE WHO CELEBRATE THE CONFEDERACY HAVE IN COMMON WITH COLIN KAEPERNICK…

FUNNY HOW IT’S CONSIDERED ‘WHINING’ UNTIL IT’S SOMETHING IMPORTANT TO YOU…

FOR THOSE WHO SAYS THE BIBLE ‘JUSTIFIES’ SLAVERY…

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.

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!

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!