A Good Man Falls And Gets Back Up

"The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the LORD upholdeth him with his hand." 

Psalm 37:23-24

From the time you are born until the time you die; your life will travel in whatever direction you choose… Even if you decide to remain where you are, you have chosen to travel in a stagnant direction which will produce lackluster results… The psalmist reminds us today that every man or woman will take steps in life (whether it is a step in the right or wrong direction is your choice)… The steps you take can produce many different outcomes; however, when your steps are ordered in the Lord, victory is a certain result… Despite how many hardships or storms you have encountered, you are charged to be encouraged today that even when you slip, even when you want to give up, even when you feel like you are at the end of your rope; “the Lord will uphold you with His hand…” God won’t let you fall too far, He won’t let your life spiral out of control beyond what you can stand and in the end, the stumbling blocks you overcome now will transform into stepping stones leading you to your divine destiny. The gospel of Matthew records in the 18^th chapter the very love that God has for His creation and the fact that even when you fall, He’s right there, “What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off...” If you are that wandering sheep today, know that God hasn’t given up on you and is searching to reclaim you in the lost and confused state that you are in… The psalmist says, “Though he fall…” The question is not if he/she falls but when. We all will make mistakes, we all fall short, but the difference between a man/woman and a good man/woman is that their heart is in the right place and they will do their best to right the wrongs or learn from their failures… 

ALL FOR HIS GLORY!

You Have To Make A Choice

No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

Matthew 6:24

The bible is clear on the fact that you cannot serve two masters. No matter how much effort you put forth, this cannot be done because the God you are involved with desires your full attention… Deuteronomy 6:15 says, “for the LORD your God in the midst of you is a jealous God; otherwise the anger of the LORD your God will be kindled against you, and He will wipe you off the face of the earth.” There are some of us who are wondering right now why it is that your prayers haven’t been answered, why it is that you have not been able to get out of the rut you are in or even why it seems like the ditch you are in keeps getting deeper and deeper… If you are that person today, the question I have for you is quite simple; is the shovel in your hands or God's…? Are you stuck because you are trying to figure your own way out or have you really turned it over to the Lord…? The bible declares in Jeremiah 29:13 that, “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” The only way for you to find God is to seek Him with all your heart; this, in turn, requires that you leave the other master spoken of in our focus verse from the book of Matthew alone… The problem in your life isn’t that God hasn’t heard or doesn’t hear your prayers; the problem is that you are so distracted by the things of this world and your peers that you cannot recognize the answer that He has placed right before you… This is why you feel like you’ve been praying all this time and haven’t gotten a response, this is why the walls keep closing in on you; you say you're waiting on God and the reality is that He is waiting on you… Y

ALL FOR HIS GLORY!

It's All Because of His Mercy

Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior.

Titus 3:5-6

Humility is a trait that is easily carried out when the things around us appear to be humbling; however, the true test of a Christian is your submission to the will of God whether you have little or have an abundance… It never ceases to amaze me how many people can blame God when they are dealing with misfortune, but they take the credit when they receive blessings or promotions… There is nothing that you can do on this earth to deserve a heavenly home… Today we are reminded that we must remember who has made Salvation possible for us and who has opened up doors in our lives that provide us opportunities to prosper and receive blessings from above… Without the offering that Jesus Christ poured out on the cross we would not be here, without the blood that ran down His side there would be no remission of sins and if it were not for His resurrection, we would not be able to overcome any obstacle that we face…Simply put, don’t get it twisted; you have done nothing to deserve the saving power that came through God’s beloved son. Don’t lose sight of the fact that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. God, through His mercy, gave us a clean slate and afforded us the opportunity to refocus our minds on Him by sending the comforter known as the Holy Ghost. All this was made possible because Christ thought it not robbery to leave his home in Glory, all this came into existence because the stone they rejected became the corner or capstone. Through the blood of Jesus we can inherit eternal life, through His poverty we can become rich, through His suffering we can go to a place where there will be no pain, by Him laying down his life we can live! It's all because of Christ!! 

ALL FOR HIS GLORY!

There's No God Like Thee

LORD God of Israel, there is no God like thee, in heaven above, or on earth beneath, who keepest covenant and mercy with thy servants that walk before thee with all their heart.

1 Kings 8:23

Elijah, a prophet of the Lord teaches us today that despite what we may hear or what people may do, there is no other God besides the Lord… This scripture is written at a time when the Israelites have forsaken the way of the Lord, the prophets of Baal have built alters to their gods and destroyed the alters of the Lord… Elijah in the next set of verses calls the people together and instructs the prophets of Baal to lay a sacrifice on their alter and call on their god for fire to consume it… Through morning until midday the prophets called and received no answer, they were mocked by Elijah who told them to shout louder and suggested that maybe their God was in deep thought… After failing to reach their god, Elijah resurrects the alter of the Lord and places the offering upon it, he orders the children to bring jars of water to soak the wood and the offering… At that time, Elijah calls on the Lord in front of the children and the 450 prophets of Baal and the Lord responds by consuming the soaked offering by fire and even drying up the trenches with the overflow (1 Kings 18: 16-38)… This passage teaches us today that there is no god like our God… Many today call on other things or place confidence in other places, but we are assured that in the heat of battle when the going gets tough when all eyes are on us that God will show up and show out… When you realize in life that all you have is Jesus, that’s when you realize that Jesus is all that you need… 

ALL FOR HIS GLORY!

Knowing Christ Matters Most

But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ.

Philippians 3:7-8

The riches we seek on earth cannot compare to the riches we will receive in heaven… Saul (Paul before his conversion) was held in a high company amongst his peers… He was an educated man who was a member of the counsel; however, we see that even the highest position in this world doesn’t bring true happiness nor contentment…  Saul was always seeking to appease the crowd, he was always seeking the accolades and the praise from his fellowman; however, when he heard the voice on the Damascus road and saw his life transformed; he would soon write to the church of Philippi “But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ…” This passage taken from Paul’s letter to the church of Philippi examines the element of sacrifice that one must have as a child of God. Paul states that the things he gained in and of the world he counted as a loss for Christ! Not only is it worth noting that nothing in this world can compare to the love and direction of God, but also we see hear that true happiness cannot be obtained nor is it defined by material prosperity... Today so many choose to seek vainglory and even if they obtain it they are left with a void that cannot be filled by man… Paul is saying that we must come to know and understand the fulfillment that we will have in doing the will of God… Paul was “living the dream,” but wasn’t actually living until Jesus appeared to him on the Damascus road… So many of us have dreams today, we have a model of success in our minds and we will stop at nothing to achieve it; however, what we learn today is if that model is not centered around Jesus Christ we will find out (one way or another) that it is truly meaningless and will leave us empty and void… 

ALL FOR HIS GLORY!

Seek Him With Your Whole Life

And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. And I will be found of you, saith the LORD: and I will turn away your captivity.

Jeremiah 29:13-14

There’s a song sung by Hezekiah Walking entitled “99 and ½”… The lyrics go as follows, “Lord I'm running trying to make 100 because 99 and a half won't do…”The words are sung in this song apply to our lives as Christians in that we must be totally under the authority of the living God… There are so many people who have been praying and seeking answers from the Lord; however, the prayers have gone unanswered and the things that have been sought haven’t been found simply because their search didn’t involve all of their hearts… We must come to the realization that we exist because Jesus sought our deliverance with His whole heart… So many of us are wondering why we can’t overcome, why we are in the same circumstances or why we have not advanced and the answer lies within you… You will never be promoted if you only show up to work once a week, you will never be trusted if you only tell the truth every blue moon and you will not be exalted by the Lord if you only serve Him Sunday mornings… Have you ever found yourself wondering why it seems that there are times in your life when God is not there? The Israelites pondered this very question while they were in captivity under the Babylonian kingdom… Jeremiah informs us today of the answer as to why we find ourselves in “hopeless” situations and feel as if our prayers have fallen on deaf ears…We feel at times as if God is not present not because He has abandoned us but because we have gone astray… The answer to the question of bondage, captivity and trials lie within you… The Lord is always present; however, the only way for you to feel His presences is when you are totally focused on His will… 

ALL FOR HIS GLORY!

Listen More And Talk Less

"Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.”

James 1:19-20

As a child of God; our number one focus is bringing souls to Christ… Despite how many various ways we accomplish this task, we all must first give an ear to the cries of the people with whom we come in contact… No matter how much we study the word of God, no matter how much time we spend in devotion to the Lord; the mission that we have will fail if we do not learn to listen to others… We can quote many scriptures from our hearts or minds; however, the scripture or the words which the person needs most to hear from you need to align with their current state. This is why James tells us in today's focus verse that we must be swift to hear… Every person you come in contact with has a story; every person you meet has a past and as a child of God you must respect the paths that we have all traveled so that lives can be touched and altered… People have turned away from God not because of His ways, but because of ours… We don't take the proper time to listen and understand what people are experiencing; instead, we focus on what we want to say whether it's appropriate or not. Another issue we as children of God encounter when speaking with others is knowing when anger or wrath is the foundation of our speech. When we allow wrath to rear its ugly head in our lives we can easily lose sight and so instead of showing our faith, we show how much we still need to learn and mature… 

ALL FOR HIS GLORY!

Gracious And Compassionate Is Our God

"The LORD is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy.  The LORD is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works." 

Psalm 145:8-9

The only thing you have ever deserved in this life is condemnation… The sooner you grasp this, the sooner you can open the door to experiencing God’s love and desires for your life… The bible records in Paul’s letter to the church of Ephesus in the second chapter the foundation by which we have life and success, in this passage, Paul proclaims, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.” No matter what you do on this earth, no matter how much you try to live peacefully in this life, you can only be saved and find you name in the book of life by the grace of God… Understand that Grace is something that you cannot obtain nor do you deserve… It is a gift based on a foundation of love which allows the giver to look beyond faults to fulfill needs… The grace that Jesus bestowed from the cross allowed Him to look beyond the ugly makeup that we presented before Him and fulfill the needs that we had which was the payment of sin’s ransom… Take note today that you are only here because of God’s grace and mercy… There are so many people today who act as if they never knew sin, they act as if God didn’t die for them because they are perfect; however, it is in the passage taken from the 145^th psalm that we find the love of God abounding beyond our valueless thoughts and silhouettes… “The Lord is gracious and full of compassion…” You didn’t deserve to wake up this morning, you didn’t deserve to sleep peacefully last night; however, the compassion of God moved on your behalf and despite how ugly your life may be, He still loves you and can’t just turn His back on you… This is why the Psalmist goes on to say that the Lord is “slow to anger…” If God really showed the full extent of His anger toward us we would be wiped from the face of the is earth… Anger is a fury, rage or resentment; God distills His anger and continues to discipline us which means that He desires to redirect our paths instead of annihilating us from the face of the earth… Don't confuse anger with grace or compassion. Yes you will be disciplined; however, that's because of the grace and compassion of God and His desires to see you excel, not because he's angry. You're here because of grace, and every moment on this other should reinforce that.

ALL FOR HIS GLORY!

Love Your Enemies

But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil. Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.

Luke 6:35-36

Love is a word that oftentimes is misused… Paul defined love in His 1 epistle to the church of Corinth; it is in the 13^th chapter that we find these words recorded, “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.” When we utter the word love to a close friend or relative it should be without conditions; we should be speaking to one whom we desire the very best for and will in no way change our desires or motives to serve… Love is a word that can be spoken very easily but carries a high standard that is very hard to live up to… The last part of this scripture says, “Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful…” I am sure that we can look at our lives and know that God has shown mercy in and through us, God has withheld punishment that we truly deserved and given us a second, third and even a fourth chance… Today remember the mercy that has been bestowed upon your life, remember the forgiveness that God has shown you and extend mercy to others… “When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, I used everything you gave me". 

ALL FOR HIS GLORY!

Keep Praying Over The Harvest

Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few;  Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.

Matthew 9:37-38

Jesus reminds us today that we should continually pray for the increase of labors in the vineyard of the Lord…Surely we can agree that there is a lot of wickedness in the world that we live in! One can simply look out of their windows to see kids having kids, the red and blue lights flashing throughout the night, and diseases spiraling out of control. There are many who have lost their sense of direction, there are many that have never known their direction, and there are many that have chosen the wrong direction. Whatever the case may be, Jesus has declared to His disciples (us) in the gospel of Matthew that the harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few. We don’t need to seek an opportunity to witness; the opportunity presents itself everywhere we look… It is so easy to find evil in this world, but very hard to find good… Jesus is telling us today to pray for people to take action, to stop living unfruitful lives and to turn to Him… This passage informs me of two things, one that there are a lot of souls to be saved and second, that there aren’t enough true laborers in the vineyard. Jesus said for us to pray for laborers. One of the biggest reasons that wickedness is continuing to rise in our societies is because we don’t have the commitment to witnessing from the church… Harvesting is more than just dropping a seed; it takes time, effort, and a sense of where to plant! This holds true to the fact that we must give the time in our societies, we must make an effort in our communities, and we must know when and where to plant the seeds of the gospel… 

ALL FOR HIS GLORY!