His Discipline Is For Your Good

...But He (disciplines us) for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness. Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.

Hebrews 12:10-11

Understand today that a punishment is only affective when the one being punish learns the errors of his/her ways and improves… There are many people who beat or whip their children, but have not actually reached their child in a means to correct them… It is important today to realize this because God disciplines us in many ways and forms; however, it is “…for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness…” The author of Hebrews reminds us today that God punishes us out of love and a desire to see us succeed; if we truly reaped what we have/had sown, then you and I would be in the midst of hell today; however, God punishes to teach us the right way and for us to come to know and understand that the path that we had choose originally was not the best path for us to walk… As a child when I was whipped I thought that I was enduring the most terrible feeling I could ever feel; however I never thought about how bad a feeling that I placed in the hearts of my parents by conducting myself in a manner that was not pleasing to them… I think we all can agree that there is no fun in being whipped, but when we learn from our mistakes and begin to reap the rewards of our transformation, then that unpleasant feeling is well worth it… Short lived pain is always worth it when you receive a lifetime of bliss… 

The author today wants you to know that the corrective measures God puts in place are not intended to harm you, these devices get you on the straight and narrow, they place you where He wants and needs you to be so that you can reach and become what He designed you for… The author acknowledges that “…no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous but grievous...” Discipline isn’t well received; it isn’t something we want to endure and it painful to accept; however the product that comes from it outweighs the pain that it inflects… Look at it from this perspective; the hardest season for a farmer is planting, but the most rewarding is the harvest... The planting season _takes endurance, discipline and a solid work ethic… Your season of planting in God’s eyes comes through adversity; it begins in tribulations and will test your faith and endurance… We accept trials and tribulations because we know that the harvest (entering His gates) will make that season worthwhile… When you go through adversity, God may very well be using these things to discipline you and keep you from falling by the wayside… We all have heard the saying, spare the rod and spoil the child; no one likes to be punished, no one likes to suffer the consequences of their actions, but we find in today’s scripture that the growing pains that we go through physically and spiritually are for our benefit. 

Your parents don’t want to have to yell or spank you; however if that will produce a good crop in you than that is what they will do… We have often heard the saying from parents that it hurts me more than it hurts you; let us realize the pain that the parents are focusing on is the feel of disappointment, the feeling of frustration, hoping that there loved one would walk the straight line. Punishment is used as a tool of correction; biblically it is used so that we may be partakers of His holiness. The holiness that is spoken of in this passage of scripture refers to the perfection of God, we were created in His image (Genesis 1:27) but through our own desires we fell out of His holiness. Through the growing pains we face, God wants to re-establish the relationship we first had. No chastening seems joyous, but push on; no punishments makes you smile at that time, but push on; no physical or spiritual whippings are fun to endure, but push on; knowing that maturation and the act of perfecting is taking place in you life, that correction breeds perfection, and the peaceable fruit of righteousness spoken of in these verses shall be yours to eat of! Paul said I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith; these words were spoken by a man that had been disciplined in the wilderness, blinded, stoned, imprisoned and rejected, He goes on to say henceforth there is laid up for me a crown (get the point)!

All For His Glory!

He Hasn't Forgotten About You

He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.

Micah 7:19

It is hard for me to face the errors of my ways… Daily I try to forget things or remove thoughts from my mind as I journey through this life… Through this passage taken from Micah I find hope for my lost soul… I find encouragement even though I know the mistakes I have made and the fact that a lot of things I deal with are a result of my actions… Micah provides evidence today that we can stand on when others try to keep us down and in the dumps… The passage calls for us to know that where we are isn’t where God wants us to be; however, despite our flaws “He will turn again; he will have compassion upon us…” Take courage in knowing today that trouble won’t last always(even if the trouble is a direct result of your decisions)… Even though you may be in a rut or feeling down and out; you should find peace in knowing that “He will turn again…” God loves you and He wants to see you succeed… His desire is for you to reach levels far above what the human eye can comprehend and for you to obtain a weight of glory which Paul says that our present suffering cannot compare with… The book of Lamentations, written by Jeremiah reminds us that God’s mercies fail not; that they are new every morning, Jeremiah then goes on to tell us that it is because of His compassion that we are not consumed and he concludes by saying great is thy faithfulness… 

Micah echoes those same sentiments today; the second part of this verse says, “…he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities…” Despite what you have done, despite the decisions you have made, the love of God won’t allow you to be utterly cast down… Sure, you will deal with the consequences of your actions, you will face and reap what you have sown; however, you should be encouraged today to know that God“will subdue our iniquities…” Subdue means to restrain, control, pacify or hold back; iniquity is injustice, evil or wickedness… God will keep you from being overtaken by evil, He will restrain you from the sins you have committed so that you don’t allow them to corrupt or destroy your future… Sure you may experience ups and downs, but you will never receive the full measure of punishment you deserve… This is why Jesus came to this earth… All you sins, all you wickedness and all your evil was nailed to the cross… Jesus carried them for us; He paid the ransom and cancelled the debt upon our heads… This feat has already been accomplished through the nail-scarred hands of Jesus Christ… The enemy doesn’t want you to know this, but you need to know today that all of your past, present and future mistakes have already been cast “…into the depths of the sea…” At the time when Micah writes this letter; we, just like the Israelites have found ourselves putting a wall up or simply distancing ourselves from the way and will of the Lord… We have walked the wrong road, delighted in the wrong things and associated ourselves with the wrong kind of people… 

Make no mistake about it, the Israelites were facing a time when it appeared that God was distant (the reality was that dealing with the consequences of our actions may make us think He is distant simply because we want think we shouldn't be subject to reaping what we have sown)… This indeed is a time when there was no hope in sight and the enemy appeared to be triumphant over them! Micah says He will turn again, understand that God desires for us to walk according to His will, but will remove His hand when we desire to walk in our own footsteps! Micah is providing the children with hope today, saying that although you are facing trials, know that He will turn again, He will lift you up, He will suppress your enemy and He will bless you with victory… There will be times in our lives when we will feel the absences of God due to circumstances that we tried to control, it is at this point that we must humble ourselves and become dependent on God if we want Him to move on our behalf! Trials come to make us strong and prep us for the next level of God’s plan; not cause up to give up on our destiny… Micah says that He will cast all sins into the depths of the sea… Jesus came to save on His first mission, when He returns He will come to judge! Let us understand the words that Micah is saying today; God hasn’t forgotten about you, He hasn’t given up on you, but you must endure the hardships of life to be molded and prepared for Christ return…

ALL FOR HIS GLORY!

Ask, Seek & Knock (Three Keys To Victory)

Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you; For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.

Matthew 7:7-8

As a Christian these verses taken from the gospel of Matthew display how it is that we obtain the vision and will God has for our lives. To obtain what it is that God has for you, to walk in the will of God and to ensure your eternal resting place these three steps outlined below must be taken… First, you must ask God; this means that you inquire of Him and develop a relationship with Him knowing that He is the source of your being and happiness. Asking implies that there is a (n) answer you seek and Jesus is reminding us today that God has all the answers and we must indeed turn and ask the proper person to find the correct answer… The bible says we have not because we ask not!!! After asking God, the Second thing you must do is seek Him; a lot of times we take the first step but become frustrated and irritated with the second… The bible says that God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in many people quote this scripture to imply that God will give you everything you ask for at the drop of a hat; however the bible also says in Jeremiah 29:13 that, “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” Study God’s word, fast, and pray with earnest. 

The sword (word of God) is the only offensive weapon in the armor of God that can inflect wounds that are fatal! We are called to seek God’s answer by reading His word and piercing through the obstacles before us killing the life within them… When one seeks, they desire to have, they pursue, they endure; today let us understand that the answer lies in the word of God and it may not be visible immediately… After asking and seeking, the third thing we must do is knock; this is the most important decision that a Christian must make, to knock means that there is something separating you from where you want to be and where you are at the present time. When you knock on a door, you are awaiting the door to be opened and you stand in anticipation. We must knock on the door of heaven, but we must also knock down the obstacle that WILLbe placed in front of us as we seek to live within God’s will. There will be many things that come into our lives to distract us, but when we knock after asking and seeking; we are telling God these obstacle will not stop me from obtaining my Blessing and vision for my life. 

We have been given the ability to come boldly before the thrown of God, let us knock down the things in our lives that are separating us from the True Answers of Christ, let us knock down the walls that have been placed between us and salvation and let us knock down the barriers that are keeping us from obtaining the will of God and His precious gift of Salvation… Going deeper in this concept of knocking, let us understand that to knock on something it must be before us… We ask God for things, we seek Him and a lot of times we miss the door He has placed before us because it isn’t the door we expected… There are some doors God has opened and some that He is trying to close… Some of the doors in our lives are people (seek God to know whether it should be opened or closed), some of the obstacles are bad habits, some of the barriers are past failures and Jesus is saying that we must stop seeking vain glory, ask God for a breakthrough, become so tired of the bad habits that we seek and endure the nights of loneliness (the door before you) to receive a (n) answer and knock down the barrier to walk lockstep with the Lord!

SO, ASK, SEEK, and KNOCK!!!! Surely you will find what you stand in need of even if it isn’t what you expected!!!!

ALL FOR HIS GLORY!

Eternal Life Is Found In Knowing Christ

And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.

John 17:3

Eternal Life was deposited upon this earth in the form of God’s son, it was laid before you in His outstretched arms and all He endured on the cross… John reminds us today that Eternal Life is found in the “The Only True God…” There is only one God; there is only one prince of peace and one savior… A good friend of mine once told me that the distance between you and salvation is the same distance that your mouth is from your heart… Eternal Life is free, but it only comes through knowing (faith), acknowledging (mouth) and accepting (heart) the only True God… Some religions believe that good deeds are rewarded with eternal life, but my Bible tells me that Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the light, no man come to the father but by me…” This is life eternal, this is all that we have and all that we should cling too; that we may know the ONLY true God! 

There are many gods in this world, but notice this passage says to know thee only true God. After we have ventured the wrong way, sought the wrong things and turned to vain glory, we see that Christ still remains… When we have placed idols in our lives in the form of money, relationships and pride, we see that Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever… John reminds us today that there is only One true God and that salvation was made possible through the sacrifice of His beloved son! The story of Shadarach Meshach and Abednego tells us that they were called to fall down and worship other gods, when they said know they were to be thrown into the fiery furnace and burned to death… Upon falling into the furnace, Nebuchadnezzar was astonished when he saw that three men entered the fire, but four were loose walking around amidst the flames… Through this he realized that there was only one true God… Through your trials and tribulations, through the hardships of life we learn and come to realize that there is only one true God… 

When I think of Christ I think of one that died and rose again, I have never read or heard of another humbling themselves, thinking it not robbery and leaving their home in glory! I haven’t read of one who had compassion on mankind and sought to bring them back into the fold! I haven’t heard of one taking on the sins of the world and crying out in anguish after being separated from His father… I haven’t found any other scriptures that speak of another going down into the pits of hell to pay sins penalty, and I definitely haven’t seen or heard of another now seated at the right hand of The Only True God! There is only one who died and rose from the dead, there is only one who took the form of man, and there is only one who was clothed with imperfection, but perfected God’s will for us and His name is JESUS CHRIST! Eternal Life is knowing the Only True God, knowing that we all have sinned and fallen short, knowing that hell was our destiny, knowing that the ransom could never be paid by our hands, knowing that victory was unobtainable without Jesus intervening and interceding on our behalf… This is indeed our hope, this is indeed our glory, this is indeed our substance, and this is our Life Eternal!!!

ALL FOR HIS GLORY!

God's Given You The Power

Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.

Luke 10:19

What plagues this world that we live in is not sin; but that we have ignored the power that we have the ability to obtain as a child of God… Jesus says that He gives us all power; through Jesus we can obtain all the might that we need to overcome trials, endure hardships and move mountains… In light of this passage and the words that Jesus speaks today, the question I have is a simple one, why do you live as captives if you are free? Why do we settle for less when God has given us so much more? This passage declares that we have the power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy. Serpents and Scorpions are two of the most feared and dangerous creatures on this earth, we know the devil took the form of a serpent and deceived mankind; however, we are being told that we can overcome and face any challenge or obstacle in this life. Jesus uses these two reptiles to display the limitless power we receive as a child of God! 

When we think of being in a room with those creatures, we all would head for the hills and seek safety, Jesus is telling us today that our safety lies within His hand and He will “give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions…” We have the ability to succeed, we have the power to obtain victory; so why is it that we don’t? Maybe we really don’t believe what it is that God has declared unto His disciples in this verse and His Holy word! Know that these creatures are not deadly because of their appearance but because of the venom that flows from within! Taking this to another level we will understand that we are surrounded by serpents and scorpions (in the form of people) in every phase of our lives… Some of us encounter these venomous attacks on our jobs, in our homes, or even in the church… Some of us have venom stored up inside of us and spew it out in the form of attacking others… Jesus is saying that “if we abide in Him He will abide in us” and therefore gives us the ability to overcome any circumstance that we face! Venom that enters into the body must be removed before it enters the blood stream and kills the individual… 

There are some people in our lives that may be slowly killing our spiritual destiny, some bad habits that are robbing us of the spiritual height which the Lord has for us and God is calling you to remove the venom, deny the will of the enemy and trust in Him! No bite kills instantly, venom slowly and methodically takes life away… Today let us examine our lives, be in the mind of Christ so that we begin to live each and every day instead of dying! When you come to a point in your life where you can “brush the haters off”, smile in the midst of evil and extend a kind hand to one who has stabbed you in the back, you will know that the power that was poured out on the cross to overcome has been poured into your life and the venom of the sinful nature has been removed! The bible says you will be tried, you will have persecutions, but Jesus assures us today that no weapon formed against you shall prosper and that you will be victorious and all you do according to His name… You are surrounded by scorpions and serpents, but know that you can turn those stumbling blocks into stepping stones…

ALL FOR HIS GLORY!

Magnify The Lord With Me

O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together. I sought the LORD, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.

Psalm 34:3-4

Read this next line very carefully, when we try things on our own we will never experience what could be… These verses taken from the book of psalms reminds us of the grace and mercy that is accredited to us daily… David calls for us to “magnify the Lord” and “exalt his name”… You might ask the question why (as if you don’t know that God is deserving of all praise, honor confidence and love – Revelations 4:11); however, David proclaims this because God has made ways out of no way and has always delivered us even when we didn’t deserve it… It is important to note the time in which these verses were penned… Let us examine these verses written by King David in the 34 psalms and come to understand the period of time that David “sought the Lord…” This psalm is recorded while David was under attack by Saul and fled to the landof Gath… He ended up in the camp of Abimelech who was the King of Shechem and despised the Israelites… 

While living in the land of the enemy David decided to change his behavior and act crazy so that he would not be killed by the Philistines! It was a statue of tradition that they didn’t kill people who were insane, so Abimelech decided to drive him away, and David left. David was faced with opposition on both sides (Saul on one and Abimelech on the other) and although he fled to the enemy’s camp and caused more anguish on himself, God still showed up and delivered him out of his circumstances, this is why David finds complete joy in the Lord, so much so that he encourages you today and says “O Magnify the Lord with me!” In reading this psalm and knowing the background, we can draw a direct parallel to our lives… We have tried to handle situation on our own and face trials with our own agenda in mind and as a result made things worse… We have made the gap wider or the hole deeper and as a result we find ourselves in a worse position than we started off in… Even though we have walked a will that we decided, God still has shown mercy on our behalf and raised us up out of the pit we had dug… David is saying that we should all magnify the Lord with him, we should exalt His name together because of His Grace and Mercy, because of His faithfulness and Compassion and because He has delivered us from all our fears… 

David was fearful to say the least, death was thought to be certain and he knew that only God was able to rescue him! David says I sought the Lord, and He heard me… The word sought means to hunt or require; David would stop at nothing in seeking the answer and hunting down God’s provision and protection… David required God’s presences in his life, this wasn’t negotiable, David wasn’t going to give up on seeking the Lord and this is why David can go on to say “and he heard me…” No matter how far down the path of darkness you have traveled, no matter how twisted up in the life of sin you have become, when you cry out to the Lord He can hear you… David had tried every avenue of this earth, and he had gone down every path and had nowhere to turn… He sought God in the midst of his trials and tribulations, he sought the Lord when everyone else would have wrote him off, he sought the Lord as his enemy begin to close in on him and God still made a way out of no way… I believe that we all can magnify the Lord right now because he has made ways out of no way, he has turned darkness into day and he has turned obstacles into stepping stones… David sought God because he knew that all power resides within His hands, he knew that it was by God’s grace that we are not consumed… He later goes on to say, “Taste and see that the Lord is good!” Have you tasted God’s mercy today, have you tasted a sample of God’s grace today, have you sought the Lord and tasted his faithfulness today? If you have, you can join in with David and “magnify the Lord”; you can drop down on your knees and “exalt his name…”

ALL FOR HIS GLORY!

Peacemakers Are The Children Of God

Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.

Matthew 5:9

To be at peace, one is calm, quiet or walking in harmony with others… All these traits are very rarely displayed or obtained as we go throughout this journey of life… We find people who pluck our nerves, get under our skin or encounter situations that leave us disgusted and confused… Either way you look at it, the circumstances that we face daily in our lives make it very easy for us to showcase or display the exact opposite of what we are called to do and/or be in today’s focus verse… Make no mistake about it; the enemy wants you to do the things that are not pleasing to God… Satan doesn’t want you to be“called the children of God” as outlined in this verse, so he brings confusion, chaos and destruction as storms to wreck havoc in your everyday life and affairs… Matthew records in the fifth chapter the “beatitudes” of Christ or the blessings that Christ bestowed in His sermon on the mountain… In these words Christ describes the rewards that each child will receive when they walk in the uniqueness that they were created… Today we examine one verse in particular that speaks to the heart of a child of God! Jesus says, “blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.”One of the center focuses of Christianity is that we know how to control ourselves when dealing with flesh and anger… 

I am sure that we all, at one point in time have “lost our cool” or said things that we didn’t truly mean. Christ is calling for us to understand that we are to desire to become better each and every day of our lives; daily we must strive to learn to control our tongue and respect the feelings of others! The bible is replete with text speaking to the power of our tongue and the importance of reducing anger… James says that the tongue is unbridled and can speak venom causing immeasurable damage and Christ says today that the children of God are known by being peacemakers! Understand that a peacemaker means exactly what is says, a peacemaker is a person who dispenses or tries to produce peace… The interesting thing is how peace this is obtained; the Webster dictionary states that peace is harmony and tranquility with the absences of war… So we must strive to eliminate “war” in order to instill peace… In short, you can’t be a peacemaker (child of God) and cause destruction… To be in harmony means that we are on one accord, a music group sings different notes, but when they are singing harmoniously you hear a vibrant tone that pleases the ear… Today, we are called to be on one accord, we all have different task before us (different notes to sing, we are different limbs attached to the body of Christ); however, we must be in-tune with Christ and His disciples in order to walk in harmony and please Him… Understand the importance that is stated through the definition of a peacemaker when we read the absence of war… 

You can stir up war without raising a finger or batting a (n) eyebrow… A peacemaker works through all situations with a purpose of reaching a common ground or understanding… I state the fact of working trough all situations because we actually can create war when we keep our mouth closed instead of speaking in love… This is why Jesus says the peacemakers are blessed and shall be called the children of God!You will be rewarded for humbling yourself and not succumbing to your anger… You will be set apart by your actions when you deny the evil desires within and walk humbly before the Lord and more importantly you will be recognized as a child of God! This is not a (n) easy task and that is why we are told that when our enemy is hunger “feed him, when he is thirsty give him drink,” our desire is to walk according to the will of God and live by the example that Jesus sat before us… A peacemaker is one who can overcome evil with good, one who can make the best out of the worst and speak encouragement in times of despair… To be a peacemaker we must kill the uncontrolled emotions within, we must look beyond faults and see needs… We must see every trial as a measuring stick to gauge our progress within this Christian walk. As a peacemaker we literally must model Christ, after all, that’s the only way we can be called a “child of God!”

ALL FOR HIS GLORY!