Live The Way God Intended

Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, Execute true judgment, and show mercy and compassions every man to his brother: And oppress not the widow, nor the fatherless, the stranger, nor the poor; and let none of you imagine evil against his brother in your heart.

Zechariah 7:9-10 

The one thing that we must exercise as a Christian is love; in demonstrating this one word throughout our lives we encompass the desires of God for us and through us… The bible declares in 1 John 4 that God is love… We bring this passage into today’s devotional to make clear the command that God has for His people… When we walk in love, we are living as God has called us to live and therefore we are children of God by exercising this very being… Love keeps us from oppressing the widow and the fatherless; love opens up our door to a stranger and feeds the poor… This is why Jesus said the greatest commandment is that we love one another… The love you have for Christ is not a love that you speak, it is not declared by mere words but actions; notice that it is the Lord who spoke to Zechariah and has given him this message for the people… If you want to please the Lord, don’t speak of His goodness; demonstrate His goodness to others... This passage reminds us that we are to show mercy just as Christ has and is... The bible tells us to love your enemy and pray for those who despite-fully use you. You want to know a true child of God, see how they act around mixed company, examine the mercy they bestow and the compassion that they have on the weak, abused and confused of our societies! Christ died not because He had to, but because He chose too… The choice is yours and it’s shown by how you execute judgment, show mercy and display compassion…

ALL FOR HIS GLORY!

Love Builds Up

Knowledge puffs up but love builds up.  The man who thinks he knows something does not yet know as he ought to know.  But the man who loves God is known by God.

1 Corinthians 8:1-3

As we go through life accumulating knowledge on different subject matters; we are reminded today that the greatest thing we must learn to do is to love… The main difference between knowledge and love is that knowledge is shown predominately by what you say and love is something which is demonstrated by your actions… This is why our set of focus verses starts off by saying knowledge puffs up but love builds up…Knowledge centers around the individual whereas love centers around the individual’s ability to build themselves up through the building of another… We have to be about building up each other instead of trying to accumulate knowledge that we can use to better ourselves or our appearance to others… Knowledge is one of the most deceptive downfalls of a Christian, this is not to stay you are to be dumb, but that you must apply your knowledge in a way that God can use it and be exalted and not allow knowledge to lead you down a road of being conceited and separated from the will that God has devised for you… Paul writes this letter to the Church of Corinth speaking from his own experiences… It’s imperative that we remember who Paul was (originally Saul) and how he persecuted the church of “the way…” It was the knowledge that puffed up inside him and led him to conducting acts that were not of God… We must be careful of the things that serve as tools of motivation in our lives… Our hearts desire must be pleasing God; however, for many of us this desire takes root in trying to up one another through pride and ego’s… Jesus came to this earth and served mankind; make no mistake about it, He was better and superior to mankind but He still humbled Himself and fulfilled the need that mankind had… Today, take a lesson from Jesus and read these verses recorded in Paul’s letter, learn to humble yourself and serve the needs of others… 

ALL FOR HIS GLORY!

You Shall Receive Power

"But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth."

Acts 1:8

Within your own abilities and resources you are powerless; you couldn’t overcome, you couldn’t sustain and you couldn’t bear without the presences and power of God… I state this to reinforce the message from today’s focus verse… Jesus informs His disciples that they are to standby and wait for the arrival of the Holy Ghost before proclaiming the good news throughout the world… We need the Holy Ghost to share the good news to a loss and scattered generation; many have fallen into diverse temptations and have even lost sight of God’s promise and plan because we believed in our own power and were simply overpowered by the storm or circumstance that we faced…  You are called to witness and bring reconciliation between God and His creation; however, you cannot jump into action without first being equipped for duty… This is the grave mistake that we too often make, we have a zeal for God so much so that we move before His command and end up being rejected like Saul or running into the enemy’s territory like David… Jesus says ye shall be witnesses… You will have a story to tell, you will have a testimony to share and you will be given an opportunity to add your personal brick to the building of God’s kingdom; the thing you must understand is that there is a process that must be adhered to before you begin applying your bricks… The Holy Ghost is our guide, compass and power; we have to have the spirit of God living in us in order for the will of God to be carried out through us… 

ALL FOR HIS GLORY!

There Is Nothing To Hard For God

Ah Lord GOD! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee

Jeremiah 32:17

The very power of God was on display when this earth was formed and light was spoken into existence… It was the very power and authority of God that allowed man to be formed from the dust of the ground then to be destroyed by water… The power of God is unstoppable and as a child of God we can draw strength in recognizing His power… This is the message that we must receive through the words of this verse today; the same power of God that formed the earth is the same power of God that can form and mold you… You can be better than your former, you can overcome your past mistakes and you can accomplish more than people think you can… Jeremiah pens this during great oppression in the lives of the Israelites. Captivity, hardship and trials seem to be hovering over the children of God; however, instead of giving up in defeat and or becoming content, Jeremiah begin to refocus His attention on the abilities of God instead of the storm being endured right now… This message is very important for us to understand today, when we face trials and obstacles in life. Often times, the biggest mistake we make is trying to take on the problem within our own abilities… This is not to say that giving up is okay, this simply makes the point that giving up is you turning things over to God and realizing that you are not strong enough to do overcome this obstacle on your own… This is why Jeremiah focuses on the power of God in this verse and doesn’t focus on the power of the Israelites… The enemy will always win when battling you; especially, when you go into battle under your own abilities… He will win because your own abilities can accomplish nothing on this earth; in the bible, I challenge you to name a single man who was able to do anything upon this earth without the power and authority that only comes from God… I'll await your response!

ALL FOR HIS GLORY!

We All Shall Stand Before Him

But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.

Romans 14:10

Remember that Jesus said, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” These words were spoken by the savior in the 13^th chapter of the gospel of John after washing His disciples’ feet… The message from this passage is simple, you are known of God by the actions that you perform on this earth… We all abide by rules and regulations; however, Jesus encompasses all of these rules into one when He gives this command which is that we love one another… Not only did Jesus say that we must love one another, He also went on to say in the 12^th chapter of Mark, “The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these." Love is not only the very being of God; it promotes the very desires of God in and through us… It is of the utmost importance that we obtain the concepts outlined in today’s message; notice the questions that Paul posses in this verse; “but why dost thou judge they brother? Why dost thou set a nought thy brother? In reading these questions it is very easy for me to come to the realization that we are our own worst enemy… We pass judgment on our peers, we will step on others to get ahead and we will stop at nothing to reach our own personal goals even if they don’t align with the will of God… You have to dare to be different, you have to walk to the drum of Christ and not according to what the world says you need to do… Let people talk; don’t get tied into the minds of others nor allow yourself to be engaged in useless chatter… Paul writes to the Church of Rome teaching them the desires of God in how we should conduct ourselves on this earth… Romans 3:23 says “For we all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God…” I am no better than you and you are no better than I when we are living in this world… 

ALL FOR HIS GLORY!

God's Love Molds You

Yea, surely God will not do wickedly, neither will the Almighty pervert judgment.

Job 34:12

It is not of God that you should perish or suffer; the word of the Lord today declares to us that God will not do wickedly… There are so many people in this life that want to blame the Lord for things that occur in their life when in reality you are a living witness of what is known as sowing and reaping… If God were to have passed judgment on you then you and I would not even be able to read these words today let alone grow in the knowledge of Jesus Christ… These words are recorded from the mouth of Elihu (a friend of Job) who is speaking these words to 3 of Job’s peers who came to the conclusion that there must have been something going on in Job’s life for which he was being punished… Understand today not only the importance of having the right people around you, but also come to the realization that some people speak word that are untrue and should not be spoken… There were several negative comments hurled in Job’s direction as a result of his life being stripped and it is truly a testament to his faith and reliance on God that he did not adhere to the negative words surrounding him… When you go through trials and tribulations, the biggest test is not the storm it self, but the actions that you take amidst the advice or suggestions that people give you… So many times people have asked me to weigh in or give my opinion on different matters which they may be facing; and as a child of God my response is that I don’t know what it is that God is trying to show or accomplish through the storm which they are currently facing… I bring this into our devotion to make the same point which was made by God in the book of Isaiah which says, "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD.” 

We don’t know the full plan of God even in our own lives, so it is of the utmost importance that we refrain from speaking about someone else’s lives whom we could harm by our words… Whatever it is your going through right now; know that God sees your pain... He hears your cries and knows the circumstances that you face! He will not hold back the blessings that He has in store for you when you stand on faith! Job had to face his trials, but because he stood on faith God showed His faithfulness… You must accept your trials knowing that trials bring blessings, hardships bring peace and tears bring joy! God isn’t hurting you; He is preparing you for blessings and exaltation! If you show your faith and don’t waver, God will not waver on you… HE WILL NOT PERVERT JUDGMENT, He will lead you to exaltation and honor!!!! Every trial that comes your way is a step that God presents for you to be elevated and get closer to reaching your goal…

ALL FOR HIS GLORY!

Adversity displays the true character of an individual... You shouldn't judge a book by its cover; often times the ruff and ragged books are the best to open and read...

God's Approval Is All That Matters

Am I now trying to win the approval of men or of God?  Or am I trying to please men?  If I were still trying to please men I would not be a servant of Christ.

Galatians 1:10

While you live upon this earth, know today that you have a choice to make… This choice is not something that is decided verbally but is declared by actions and intentions… Paul reminds us today that we must get away from the thinking of trying to appease or appeal to our peers and focus on winning the approval of Christ… There is no one on this earth who has a say-so or can even decide where you will spend eternity; however, there are so many of us who spend valuable amounts of time trying to please people as if they have power over us… The message of today’s devotional is simple, adhere to the voice of God even if it means that you will lose friends and find yourself alone at times…Paul faced several doubters after his conversion, he could have very easily given into the peer pressure and walked away from the voice of the Lord; however, in walking by faith as he told the church of Corinth he continued to do what God desired of him and reaped the bountiful rewards because of his obedience… Not everyone will approve your transition or transformation, not everyone will be happy about the new you, so as you grow in Christ make the decision and stand by it that you will not be governed or restricted by man… We all must learn from prior knowledge or our very own experiences that we must strive to seek the approval of God verses the approval of men… 

ALL FOR HIS GLORY!