Monthly Archives: November 2014

Fight the Good Fight

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Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses 1 Timothy 6:12
Satan wants you to believe your losing the battle, that all your struggles and obstacle you’re facing are going to destroy you. However the real truth is the war is already won.
As Jesus said “It is Finished” (John 19:30) During that moment Jesus not only conquered death but also defeated Satan. There is nothing he can do against you that we can’t overcome thru Jesus Christ.
From Revelations 20:10 we know Satan’s destiny “ And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.”
Victory is ours thru Jesus Christ, don’t believe the lies and deceit of Satan and his followers. They are only buying their time because it’s becoming limited. Their destination is Hell our destination is eternal life in paradise.
With that said you would face trials and tribulations during your time here as Jesus said in John 16:33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.
But notice what Jesus said “ I have overcome the world” meaning the war is over and Satan has already lost. But don’t be mislead Satan isn’t going down without a fight. He plans on taking down as many souls as possible, that’s why you need to put on your Armour of God and keep fighting the good fight.
I admit somedays the battle seems greater than me but then I remember1 John 4:4 “Greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.” With Jesus we can’t be defeated.
So no matter what battle you are engaged with today, we need to be strong, stay in faith, and continue to “Fight the Good Fight”. For victory is our thru our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, if you believe Amen

Happy Thanksgiving

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Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift. 2 Corinthians 9:15
What are you thankful for today? Your family? Your health? Your turkey? These are all great gifts from God. But let also remember to be thankful for the greatest gift God gave us all Jesus
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John3:16)
Jesus paid the ultimate sacrifice for all of us, we need to always remember this and give thanks daily. Without him there would be no hope for any of us.
As it says in Ephesians 1:16 “Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers;” Never stop giving thanks and praise to our Messiah for his love endures forever. Be thankful every day for everything you have been giving and he provided.
Often during the holidays we get stressed out, family disputes, holiday traveling, ect. Let’s remember to focus on the blessing of the moment.
The fact you have a family to share Thanksgiving with is a blessing, let’s Thank God. The fact you have food to feed your family is a blessing. Thank God. You actually have a vehicle to travel, instead of complaining about gas prices, Thank God
I think Paul said it best in Philippians 4:11 “I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.” Learn to be Thankful and content with the life God has giving you.
So don’t waste this Thanksgiving being stressed out or disputing with you family, rejoice in God and be Thankful for all you have been giving including the love of Jesus Christ. Amen

Root of all Evil

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For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. 1 Timothy 6:10
Isn’t it amazing that even back in Biblical days, people were obsessed with money. What is it about money that people are literally willing to sell their soul? Is it the false sense of power? Is it the collection of material things? Whatever it is, Satan knows you want it and will use it to manipulate you.
Remember the story of the disciple Judas who betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver (Luke 22). Judas who was literally a disciple of Christ sold his soul for a few dollars. It didn’t end well for Judas either as the guilt overcame him or eventually he hung himself. I think Jesus said it best (Matthew 16:26) “For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?”
Consider what Jesus said about wealthy people in Mark 10:25 “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.”
Why is Jesus being so harsh on wealthy people? Is it a sin to become wealthy? To understand let’s examine what Jesus said in (Matthew 19:20-22) 20The young man said to Him, “All these things I have kept; what am I still lacking?” 21Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be complete, go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” 22But when the young man heard this statement, he went away grieving; for he was one who owned much property.…
Jesus was asked about the possession of wealth and he simply told the man to give it all to the poor, obviously the man was not happy. Why is it so difficult for us to be willing to give to others? In my opinion this is the main root why Jesus has a problem with wealth. In order to be wealthy you need to continually obtain money and possessions, most likely more than we need.
Therefor becoming wealthy essentially makes you selfish and greedy because you’re constantly wanting or withholding more from others. We probably heard the phrase “Share the Wealth” sometime in our life, this is exactly what we should be doing as Christians. In Jesus Name Amen

Citizens of Heaven

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But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, Philippians 3:20

 Do you ever feel out of place in this world? Well that’s because you are, your true home is in heaven.    The afterlife is a subject most of us don’t want to talk or think about; but it’s reality. The good news is that death is not the end for us thru Jesus Christ.

As Jesus promised in this scripture he has already prepared a place for us in (John 14:1-3 “”Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. 2“In My Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. 3“If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.

 What will this place be like? I think Revelations 21:4 sums it up best “He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”   Think about all disease and sin are gone, we can once again live in perfection again as God intended.  As we remember Jesus conquered death on the cross so we can have eternal life.

One story in the Bible always intrigued me, referred to as the transfiguration of Jesus (Matthew 17:1-9). During this story Jesus takes his disciples up the mountain. During this time Jesus becomes radiant and they meet Moses and Elijah. The reason I love this story is because it proves there is an afterlife with Moses and Elijah reappearing. During this time God also confirms Jesus is the “Son of God”

I also love the scripture from  2 Corinthians 5:6-8 So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord  While we are on this Earth we are away from our true home because we are “Citizens of Heaven”

 Remember what Jesus said to the sinner next to him on the cross. (Luke 23:43) Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”  Jesus not only promises him eternal life but describes heaven as paradise.

So remember heaven is awaiting you, don’t be discouraged or fearful of this world. As Jesus promised one day you will be a “Citizen of Heaven” in Jesus Name Amen

 

 

Your Time is Now

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Then Jesus said unto them, My time is not yet come: but your time is alway ready. John 7:6
Many times in life where always looking for a sign or reassurance to begin our destiny that God has called us to do but as Jesus told his disciples “The time is Now”
Often we worry about tomorrow or obstacles that we may face but as it says in Matthew 6:24 “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
Every day is its own entity, focus on your goals for today and deal with tomorrow as it comes. Often we turn a mole hill into a mountain by over thinking about tomorrow.
So what dream did God plant in your heart? We are all not the same, God has blessed us each with different talents and abilities as it says in 1 Corinthians” But each of you has your own gift from God; one has this gift, another has that.”
God has giving each one of us a special talent and it’s our responsibility to use it. If you read the parable in (Matthew 25:13-30) God rewards us based on how wisely we used our talents giving to us. What you reap is what you sow; if you decided to do nothing you won’t inherit anything.
The important thing to remember is whatever you do , do it to the Glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31) Don’t abuse your talents, if you’re a good singer, sing to praise God and not the world. Remember trees that bear bad fruit will be thrown in the fire (Matthew 7:19).
So what are you waiting for? Your Time is Now, you are equipped with talents that were meant to be used not stored on a shelf. A seed does nothing until it’s planted into the ground; it’s time for you to plant your dreams and reap the harvest.
You have a destiny that is greater than your fears, I pray that you follow Jesus commands that your Time is Now!..Amen

Love is Sacrifice

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Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; Ephesians 5:25
What does love mean to you? Have you ever been in love or in love now? Most people would say yes, but do you really know what love is? Do you love as Jesus loves us?
Jesus loved us unconditionally; he sacrificed himself to save us not knowing if we would even acknowledge him. This is true love to give of yourself without expecting anything in return.
Love is probably one of the most overused words in our society; people will say this on a daily basis but don’t even know what love entails.
I would bet most of us in this world love conditionally. When things are going good everyone is happy, but as soon as one partner has to sacrifice or give more than the other, then most people break up. This is why we live in a society with such a high divorce rate, majority of these people were never really in love to begin with. They were in lust with each other until the good times ended.
As it tells us in 1 Corinthians 13: 4Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, 5does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, 6does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth;…
You can generate a theme after reading these scriptures, Love is Sacrifice! There’s a reason why a lot of parents will say “I never knew love until I had my children” it’s because of the sacrifices they committed because they loved there children
Most of us today when we think of love, we think selfishly. We think about the needs we want fulfilled rather than the needs we can fulfill to your spouse.
1 Peter 4:8” Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins”. Another reason love fails is because people have unreal expectations of their spouse to be perfect. As it says in this scripture thru love we learn to accept each other as “works in progress”.
So when therefor when you truly understand the meaning and responsibilities of love; we can have a loving and successful marriage.
By following Jesus and studying the Gospel, we can learn and understand what true love is in Jesus name Amen

Man of God

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But you, Man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. 1 Timothy 6:11

 Recently I just finished reading the book “Man of God” by Dr. Charles Stanley. It’s a very inspirational book and I highly recommend it to anyone. It got me to reflect on myself and journey as a “Man of God”

What does it really mean or require to be a “Man of God”? I believe the qualities you would observe are integrity, accountability, compassion, courage, and humility.

The integrity of the upright shall guide them: but the perverseness of transgressors shall destroy them. Proverbs 11:3. To have integrity means to be blameless. Honest, and having strong morals. It’s important that your family and others can trust and respect you. Unless you have integrity this can’t be accomplished.

“So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God” Romans 14:12 To be Godly we must be accountable for our actions. When we make mistakes we confess them. We also need to accept our responsibilities as Christians, Spouses, and Parents.

Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble. 1 Peter 3:8  Having compassion towards each other is essential. We all have faults and make mistakes, we need to be patient and kind. As it says in Proverbs 10:12 “Hatred stirs up conflict, but love covers all wrongs”

Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong. 1 Corinthians 16:13 Being a “Man of God” is going to take courage. When you refuse to conform to the ways of the world, you will receive a lot of opposition. That’s why you must grow “deep roots” of faith and always trust in God. Then you will be a strong role model for your family.


 “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.” James 4:6  Pride can become our worst enemy. It can make us harden our hearts and resist knowledge. This is why God opposes pride, it’s a act of selfishness and vanity.

As you can see being a “Man of God” is no easy task. And we probably don’t posses all these qualities yet. But thru our journey we should strive to obtain these traits.

Following Jesus and studying the Word of God are good blueprints we can build on. It’s important for our families and ourselves that we make the commitment to become “ Men of God: In Jesus name. Amen

Teach your Children

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Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it. Proverbs 22:6
Being a parent is probably the toughest yet more rewarding thing you can ever do; It is important that we teach our children values, morals, and most importantly about God
If we don’t teach our Children about God, who will? The world? Most parts of the world including America you’re not even allowed to mention God.
Recently Arkansas State University football team was forced to remove the symbol of the Cross on the back of their helmets because lawyers determined it’s unconstitutional to display a Cross in public
http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf/2014/09/10/arkansas-state-removes-memorial-crosses-from-helmets/15402697/
Rick Santorum says 62% of all college students who enter with a faith leave as an Atheist. And it’s no surprise since Colleges are not allowed to talk about Creationism or Intelligent Design due to Atheist groups suing the Colleges. They teach Evolution and Big Bang Theory, forcing kids to follow there agendas.
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/rick-santorum-left-uses-college-for-indoctrination/
So we can’t expect the outside world to teach our Children about God, Morals, Values, Integrity, Family, this all needs to be done in our homes. This is our responsibility to build our Children’s foundations on “The Rock” so when they encounter storms they will still be standing.
As it says in Deuteronomy 6:6,7 “These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. 7You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up.
We should reflect on the story of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15: 11-32) The son became rebellious, wasted his fortune, lived a sinful lifestyle. But eventually after being stuck in the pit of life, which sin eventually leads us to. He returned his Father, and he welcomed him with open arms .
No matter how far the Son fell in his ways he did not depart from his family. Because even though he was making poor choices his foundation was built on “The Rock”. A lot of people like to complain about the younger generation but the only people to blame is ourselves. We are responsible for bringing up the next generation. We can’t expect them to just be born with knowledge.
I pray that parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, guardians, we all take the responsibility to teach our Children so they will not depart from God and know the truth thru the Word of God Amen

Return to God

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‘Return to me,’ declares the LORD Almighty, ‘and I will return to you,’ says the LORD Almighty. Zecheriah 1:3

Throughout history the nation of Israel has left God , then returned to him, then left him again, and so on. What we learn from the books of Isaiah and Jeremiah, is that God is very merciful however if you don’t want him in your life then he won’t be there.
God has giving us the not only the gift of life but also free will. As this was displayed with Adam and Eve. Even though they were told not to eat from the forbidden tree, they were able to by their choice.
It’s the same with us today, even though God is our creator nobody is required to follow him. If you choice to be an Atheist and disregard all of God’s commandments, you have the free will to do so.
However you can’t serve two masters. If you’re not following God then you’re following Satan. There really are no other options. Those who say there is no God and don’t follow any are then making themselves a God which is Satanic. Do you create yourself? How could you possibly be above your maker?
I believe America is in the trouble we are because the majority of America has left God. Past generations are living the good life and get complacent. When times are good most people forget God exists only when there is a tragedy.
So then Parents forgot to teach their children about God, and they don’t teach their children. Eventually you have a Godless nation. Without the Word of God there are no morals, no standards by which to live by. So Man begins to create their own standards and morals, which most likely are corrupted.
This is what we’re seeing today in America, most of Gods standards are out the window. Anything goes in America today. But just as we saw with the Greek Empire, and the Roman Empires, the Empires eventually fall apart. As I talked about in a previous post, a nation divided among itself will fail.
But there is hope. As God said to the prophets of Israel , return to him and he will return to you. Jesus paid the price for our sins, now we need to do our part, repent our sins and follow the Word of God.

Love your Enemy

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“Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.” Psalm 110:1
It’s easy to pray for your family and friends, but what about your enemies are you praying for them? Most likely were not which is understandable, however you might be doing yourself a disservice by not.
God tells us he will make our enemies our footstool, this is referenced several times in the Bible (Psalms, Luke, Acts, Matthew, Hebrews) but what does it actually mean?
As it says in Exodus 14:14 “The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.” We don’t need to fight our enemies, God will take care of them for us. He will either change their hearts or move them.
As God did for Moses and the Israelite, he hardened the hearts of the Egyptians until they finally released them from slavery without a fight. The when the Egyptians decided to attack them he saved them by parting the Red Sea. He made the Egyptians there footstool by just following him.
We need to remember God is in control; no force is greater as it says in Deuteronomy 3:22 Do not be afraid of them; the LORD your God himself will fight for you.”
What about forgiveness? It says in Matthew 6:14 “ For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.” Sometimes you need to learn to let things go and let God take over.
I think Romans 12:17-21 sums it up best Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Notice it says when you stay in peace with you enemy it just agitates them more; sometimes your best weapon against your enemy is to just love them.
As it says in the scripture we need to learn not to repay evil with evil. Let’s rise up and have Christ living thru us and show our enemies that they won’t and can’t break us in Jesus Name Amen