He Hasn't Forgotten About You

"Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee." 

Hebrews 13:5

Are you truly content with the things that you have? This does not mean that you are satisfied with your standing, but that you appreciate everything in your life and don’t take things for granted… Today’s focus verse reminds us of the importance of being content with what we have or else we will become susceptible to coveting what our neighbor has… To covet means to desire, want, or long for; when you covet something all your focus turns to obtaining that particular position or object and leaves you vulnerable to losing what you already have… As a child of God, we stand in faith that “he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee…”We don’t covet the possessions of our neighbors simply because we believe in God and that He will supply all of our needs…  When one takes on the mindset of coveting, they really expose themselves to all the devices and snares of the enemy… The minute you turn to material things you lose sight of God; this is one of the very reasons why Moses received one of the Ten Commandments which spoke to coveting… "You shall not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.” God indeed is in the blessing business (as I often hear people say), but you must first take care of the little you have (be content) and allow God to provide the abundance… Just because He has not provided it now doesn't mean it isn't on the way. Keep the faith and know that Christ has not forgotten about you. 

ALL FOR HIS GLORY!

Grace Is Given To The Humble

But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.

James 4:6

James teaches us the truth about God’s grace and how we experience it through this journey we call life… Jesus taught His disciples that in order to find your life you must lose it for His sake… We each have a cross to bear and Christ will give us the power, grace, energy and endurance to bear it… James informs us today that if you want to live you must die, if you want be rich you must become poor and if you want to be exalted you must be humbled… God is a God of faithfulness and He demonstrates it by lifting you up when you fall… Every trial that you encounter serves a purpose in your life, every obstacle that you face was ordained and appointed by God and every storm that approaches your door teaches you to lean and depend on our heavenly Father… James says, “But he giveth more grace…” Grace is something that is given that isn’t deserved, a gift that is out of thoughtfulness, kindness and compassion… Even though you don’t deserve it, God gives you more, even when you mess up, He gives you another chance, when you walk through the wrong door (temptation), He opens another to get you back on track… God cares about you, God’s compassion was demonstrated when He sent His only begotten son to die for our sins… Today we are reminded that God is able to make all grace abound to you, one of my sisters once told me, “You never tell God how big your storm is, you simply tell the storm how big your God is…” There is a lot of substance in that statement, James starts off his book by telling us that we should consider it pure joy when we face trials and temptations… We can be joyful in storms not because of the rain, but because you have shelter and will see the sun shine again… You can be joyful in times of sorrow, not because of the tears that flow, but because of the happiness soon to come… God has promised that He will never leave us nor forsake us and the truth of the matter is the greater the hurdle in front of you, the more grace God is about to deposit into your life… 

ALL FOR HIS GLORY!

Beware Of Tradition

Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.

Colossians 2:8

We are tempted in many ways and forms to follow anything but the path that Jesus Christ paved for us through His bloodshed on the cross… Paul reminds us of that fact in today’s focus verses which sheds light on the many avenues in which we can be deceived… Today we focus on a letter that Paul writes to the church of Colosse about guarding yourself against the attacks of the devil and his evil intentions… Paul has laid the foundation for the Church of Colosse and as the people have begun to convert unto Christianity, there are some men who have began to try and infiltrate the church and deceive the congregation… Make no mistake about it, as soon as you make the choice to follow Christ; that’s the same time in which the devil turns his attack toward you… Often time we focus on the things of the world as being evil, but today Paul reminds us that our biggest adversary can be found within the church… I once heard a man say that the devil resides in the church, not because He wants to be religious, but because he has no cares about whoever is living according to the worldly standard… Paul teaches us today about the importance of surrounding yourself with the right kind of people and also establishing a sturdy foundation upon the word of God on your own…We live in a world where we have more and more people receiving their doctorate in theology, more and more people attending seminary and more and more people building churches; however, we see more and more corruption in the church, more and more thieves in the pulpit and more and more souls being lost… People have begun to follow men instead of following God and Paul reminds us today through his letter to the church of Colosse that we must beware and be vigilant… Understand that there are a lot of people in the church that aren’t of the church and will try to spoil the congregation… We often hear people say that they are looking for the perfect church and I once heard someone say that you will never find a perfect church because its perfection will be lost as soon as you join…There is a lot of truth in the fact that you will never find a perfect church; however, the key is knowing and understanding where the flaws are so that you aren’t ensnared by them…

ALL FOR HIS GLORY!