You're In Good Hands With Christ

"I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand. I and the Father are one."

John 10:28-30

Your future is not tomorrow in the eyesight of God; your future is the place where you will spend eternity… This is important for us to understand because often times we expect things to happen in our immediate future, all of our good deeds appear to go unnoticed, our faith seems to be ineffective and we find ourselves wondering if we really are walking in the right direction. Jesus teaches us today that the true gift for our walk will be manifest in hearing God say, “well done thou good and faithful servant…” Today’s scriptures remind us of the assured deliverance that a person obtains when he or she has accepted Jesus Christ as their personal savior… Again, Jesus says, “I give them eternal life…”As a child of God we are under the grace that He dispensed through His son on the cross… It is because of His grace that we shall not perish. When we read this scripture it reminds us that we have not nor can we obtain anything in this life or grasp anything spiritually if Jesus is not the center focus within us…

 Jesus is clarifying some things for us today, the bible says, “It is not by any works of your hands lest you should boast…” Be careful to remember that Jesus has made every day of your life possible, know that He touched you this morning, clothed you in your right mind and started you on your way… Not only that, but let us remember that Eternal Life is only possible through Him… When we realize that Christ has made everything possible, we than see the promise of God revealed when Jesus says, “they shall never perish…” Notice that we must first understand or accept who has given Eternal Life in order that we shall not perish… To perish means to die, expire, depart, or take your last breathe! What Jesus is saying is that we shall find victory and deliverance in all that we encounter; there will be nothing that will stop us from obtaining the promises of God once we have aligned ourselves with His will… Jesus says that you will not die, but don’t let us get that confessed with hardships… You will indeed have some tough days ahead, you will suffer some persecutions in this lifetime, you will be cast down and rejected sometimes, and the key is that you will not perish… Everything that you face in this life will not be your end (I believe that we should praise God right now for that…) We all have made mistakes in life, we all have chased after vain things and found ourselves in perilous times; today we are reminded that as a child of God we shall not perish. Jesus says, “no one can snatch them out of my hand… My father, who has given them to me, is greater than all…” 

The devil will surely test you, he will tempt you everyday of your life and what Jesus is saying is that as long as you keep your faith in Him, as long as you trust in Him and lean not to your own understanding you will be delivered… It doesn’t matter what storms you face, it doesn’t matter what obstacles come your way, because God is “greater than all…” God is greater than the trial that you face right now, God is greater than the addiction that has plagued your family, and God is greater than the snare that has caught your loved one… All power resides within our father; Jesus was tempted by the devil and defeated him on the mountain top… He laid down His life on the cross and God raised Him up from the dead… You will not perish today; lay down your life in faith, knowing that God will raise you up in victory… 

Jesus and God are one; the same way Jesus was delivered up from the earth is the same way we will be delivered up from the earth… Hold fast to God’s unchanging hand, no that the devil will try, but he will not win… Continue to focus your life on the will of God, don’t get caught up in the ways of this world and remember that even when things don’t seem to be going your way, even when it feels like your house is falling apart, even when you feel like throwing in the towel, God has promised you that you will not perish… Paul said it best in Romans 8:38, 39 “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

ALL FOR HIS GLORY!

Sow Righteousness; Reap Mercy

"Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the LORD, till he come and rain righteousness upon you." 

Hosea 10:12

Even though you may appear to be in the vineyard alone, sow the seeds that you desire to reap in your harvest… As a child of God we are tested to think outside of the box, step out on faith and walking in the trust in belief that His desires will produce unimaginable results… Remember that when Jesus was speaking amongst His disciples He declared in Matthew 9:37 that “Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.” Galatians 6:7 says, “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.” Hosea was called by the Lord at a time in which the house of Judah was carrying on in disobedience… The Lord called Hosea to marry a promiscuous woman and have her to bare him a child; later on in the verse chapter the Lord compares the adulterous woman that Hosea married to the children of God… Make no mistake about it; even if we don’t see it immediately, the bible is clear that we reap what we sow… Hosea is calling for the children of God to sow seeds of righteousness… Righteousness is virtue, morality, decency and uprightness… 

We are called to live according to the will of God and the seeds that we sow are evidence of the way in which we walk… Jesus tells us in Matthew 7:16, “By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?”The seed that you sow today is what you will indeed reap tomorrow… Hosea is reaching out to the people before it too late, several months pass before the season of harvest, today in spring we plant seeds to harvest a crop later in the year… Some of us that have children or even the people that we are around are receiving the seeds that we plant… Let us check the seed we are planting now (both in our lives and the lives of others), if it is corrupt talk, if it is malice, if it is anger dig up that seed now before it takes root… The bible says that the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, meekness, temperance against such there is no law… When you sow seeds of righteousness there are no chains that can withhold the blessings that God will pour out upon you… As you sow your seeds in humility we are reminded in Hosea today it’s far more important that you reap in that same humility… This is why Hosea says that we must “reap in mercy…” We must remain humble in our season of reaping; we must recognize that what we receive from the Lord is not what we deserve… There is no man on this earth that deserves the touch of God’s love or kindness, mercy is compassion, sympathy and understanding… Let us recognize the compassion God has shown toward us, let us sympathize with those around us (extend a hand of love and help) and let us understand that all good and perfect gifts come from above… 

Make no mistake about it, we all understand the seeds that we need to plant, but know that there is a lot of work involved in this process. Hosea says “break up your fallow ground…” If you want to be about the work of God and live according to His will than now is the time to go to the shed and pull out your shovel, pick axe and rakes… We must dig deep within our core and break apart the dirt to plant the seed… The fallow ground that Hosea is talking about is the stony heart that we have, the sinful nature that exist and the pride that we all embody… You must break it up and remove it in order to plant the seeds that God will give for your life to increase… David said, “…a broken and contrite heart thou will not despise…” When you heart is broken and contrite it is a soil that is ready to embrace, nurture and take care of the precious seed God has for your life… You must take hold now of the promises of God, you must take hold of the faith that can move mountains and you must maintain that faith until God shows up and shows out… Hosea says, “…for it is time to seek the LORD, till he come and rain righteousness upon you." Paul said some plant, some water but God provides the increase… Take the seed of God’s word, love it, nurture it and stand on it… You may be going through now, but when God shows up He will bless you in such a way that the good will indeed outweigh the bad and you will see the fruits of your labor…

ALL FOR HIS GLORY!

We Are One In Christ

For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.

Galatians 3:27-28

In Christ, there are no classifications or factions; your past doesn’t determine your standing or the group that you are associated with… It never ceases to amaze me that the most segregated time in our societies and communities is the time in which we go into the church to praise & worship…. Paul wants you to remember that the world classifies you on your abilities; however, in Christ you are classified through your acceptance of the offering that Christ extended from the cross… There is no difference between you or I in the body of Christ; yes we all have different gifts but your importance in the body of Christ is no less significant than anyone else… This is why Paul says,“There is neither Jew nor Greek…” The biggest stumble block found in churches is the people who attend them… You have people who think they are better than others, people who think they have the right to look down or despise others and Paul is trying to set the record straight… The bible records that “all have fallen short of the glory of God…” We all have a path we have traveled, we all have done things that we aren’t proud of and we should be thankful just to have the opportunity to enter His courts with praise… Jesus went to the cross for all mankind (even if you say He did for you than that just shows that you were in need of saving)…

 Paul’s letter to the church of Galatia shines a powerful light that needs to be seen by the men of yesterday and today… There is no color barrier between races in God’s kingdom; there is no hierarchy between males and females within the divine will of God as it pertains to His saving power and extension of grace. Traditions in the church have caused us to push God out of the church, we have said that you can’t do this (women can’t preach), or you have to come to church like this (no jeans and women can’t wear pants), Paul asked a question within this passage of scripture that is prevalent to today! Where does it say in the scriptures that this is how church is to be conducted? Where do we gain the authority to dictate how someone is accepted in the kingdom of God…? Jesus posed a question about a shepherd losing one sheep out of a hundred, in this passage Jesus asked “Will he not leave the ninety nine to go after the one…” In one lost soul tears are shed, in one soul being saved tears are shed… The desires of God are that “no man should perish…” Today we need to revaluate our lives; we need to stop following tradition and start following the will of God… Paul is charging the church that there is no racial profiling, no sexism within Gods house! He created man and created woman, there is no difference in nationality or ethnicity. 

We are bound together by the blood of Jesus. We have to be careful the way we govern ourselves within the church, things have shifted from Gods will to our opinion. We have gone so far as to leave churches based on the WRONG perception we have as to how churches are to be lead. The other piece that Paul is addressing here is that we have to look past the outside of people! How often have you walked into a church and get the feeling that people don’t think you belong? How often have you looked at someone funny when they enter the church you go to because their skin may be lighter or darker than yours? Sadly, we have become so anti this and anti that, that there is no way that God dwells within the sanctuary that we claim to worship him in. The church is a place for sickness to be healed, confusion to be resolved and tears to be wiped away… There are many people who attend church with many different issues on there heart and it is in the body of Jesus Christ that healing, deliverance and direction is found… You are no better than me and I am no better than you, we need to join together in being grateful that God thought it not robbery to leave His home in glory…  It is because of politics and tradition that I believe churches are going astray, it’s because of these things that  people have lost faith in the church, and why the devil is actively taking over our church. Believe it or not, segregation is still alive in the entire world, (it is most obvious on Sunday mornings). We are to be about fellowship, we are to be about exaltation, we are to be about GOD, and in order to be about Christ, we must be able to look beyond self!

ALL FOR HIS GLORY!

God Always Fulfills His Promise

The secret of the LORD is with them that fear him; and he will show them his covenant.

Psalm 25:14

In times of despair we must learn to hold to God’s unchanging hand, knowing that through our fear (reverence, honor and admiration) of Him we will be kept and brought through whatever trial or hardship we face… The “secret” of this life lies in our relationship with the Most High God… It was the fear of the Lord which led Jesus to the cross and the defeat of sin and death… It was the fear of the Lord that allowed Peter to stand up and preach a word that saved 3,000 souls; it was the fear of the Lord that allowed David to pick up 5 smooth stones and defeat Goliath… When you are going through in this life, rely on the secret of God’s power… The enemy doesn’t know how to contend to fight against God so He tries to get you to denounce His authority over your life… The secret that Satan doesn’t want you to know is that he is powerless; the secret that the enemy doesn’t want you to know is that Christ has already freed you from the penalty of sin and bondage… 

You were made in perfection and clothed in the very image of God, when you call on the name of the Lord there is power and grace imparted to you that breaks strongholds, heals and redirects… The secret to living is found in your reverence of the Lord… This why the Psalmist says that when you fear, when you obtain this secret that“he will show them his covenant…” God will write the vision and make it plain for your life; He will give you the desires of your heart and wipe your slate clean… In order to understand the desires of God for your life, you must align yourself with His will… David’s psalm tells us today that the secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him… Often times we associate fear to be a (n) intimidating or compromising authority in one’s life; however, fear in this since is a genuine respect and reverence for God… David is saying that if we truly desire to understand the precious promises and secrets of our Father, than we first must devote our lives to living according to His good pleasure… Too often we talk boldly about seeking God’s will in the situations that we face, but soon after we rely upon our own abilities to solve problems… 

Too often we claim to trust the Lord, but once we are only we begin to calculate our plan of attack. David encountered many perilous times in His life and in this Psalm he demonstrates his respect for the Lord and prays that God will take charge of his life. David has realized that these struggles that he has faced can only be overcome by the power and might of God. David confesses his sins to the Lord and speaks to God about all aspects of his life… Let us learn from the Psalmist today, demonstrate your reverence for the Lord, confess your sins and entrust your well-being into His hands… The secret to obtaining all you can in life is to give up all your possessions on this earth!!! This passage today explains where happiness resides; it informs us of how we can obtain a level of comfort beyond what is in our bank account or on our backs! The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him; the things you search for, the things you are trying to find reside within you if you are walking the will of God. A true Christian is happy in knowing that this life is leading to a better home, a house not made by man’s hands… The secret of the Lord is that He wants you to be faithful, the secret is that He wants you to trust and believe in Him, the secret of the Lord is that He will never see the righteous forsaken (His son) nor His seed begging bread (us). 

If you fear the Lord, which means to revere Him, honor Him, and adore Him; He will open the windows of heaven unto you and pour out blessings upon you that you will not have room enough to receive. This passage says that the Lord will show his covenant, a covenant is a promise or agreement… The bible is filled with covenants and the covenant that we focus on today is that God said those who believe will be saved, the covenant we focus on today is that God promised to send a comforter and that Jesus will come back upon the clouds and we will be caught up in the air to meet Him… The covenant is that He has promised to save you; the covenant is that He has promised to deliver you, promised to guide your life to eternal bliss, but we must accept that, we must acknowledge that, we must remove self and allow God to fill the emptiness inside. The secret is with them that fear Him, if you walk with Him; the secret to life resides within you, so search yourself and know that if you are a child of God happiness lies within!

ALL FOR HIS GLORY!

Be At Peace And Let God Work

Acquaint now thyself with God, and be at peace: thereby good shall come unto thee.

Job 22:21 

Today’s devotion is centered around two very vital points which we must come to understand as we journey through this life. The first is that we must know God more intimately each and every day of our lives. This requires a desire to grow, mature and develop in the very will of God. To acquaint thyself with something is to open yourself up, expose your pass or submit to. God is waiting for you to open up to Him, He is waiting for you to expose the skeletons in your closet and He is waiting for you to submit to the divine plan that He has for your life…   We will face obstacles in life; however, when we are acquainted with the Lord we are able to trust Him, continue to worship Him and hold on to His unchanging hand… It is only through this acquaintance with the Lord that you mind, body and soul can be at peace… You can accept the challenges of life, you can face the most daunting of tasks and you can endure the severest of storms because you know who God is and more importantly you have grown in knowing what the scriptures say, “I will never leave you nor forsake you…” 

I challenge you today to find peace amidst your storms today, find peace within the relationships you have with and adversary, find peace in the most hostile of environments… The storms and struggles which you face today are a direct reflection of the growth and maturation that you have undergone in your intimate relationship with the Lord… Despite knowing that this scripture today is true, we must understand also today that we must be careful in listening to those who surround us in times of misfortune as this is the second point of today’s devotion. Job’s friends said that he must have erred in some way or fashion, but we say later in this poetical book that Job was called on to pray for his friends due to their lack of intimacy with the Lord… Today’s scripture has a twofold meaning that we need to apply to our lives as Christians… We all know the background of Job; He was a man of wealth and prosperity until Satan entered his life by God’s allowance and struck down his children, cattle and eventually his own health… Job was tested through and through and even his closest friends came to the conclusion that he had caused all this by some act which disobeyed God… This passage taken from the book of Job reminds us how we can be at peace within ourselves, but more importantly that we must be guarded with what we allow to enter our ears and thus our minds. 

Not everyone you encounter will understand the test that God has given you, some will come against you proclaiming things which simply are not true and it is through this intimate relationship with the Lord that you can fight the fiery darts of the enemy and overcome the temptations that often will come from the lips of those closest to you at your most vulnerable point. I often contend that the removal of Job’s family and cattle were pawn’s on Satan’s chess board; the real threat to Job came in the form of his wife who told him to curse God and die and his friends who accused him of acts which had not been committed… Eliphaz (Job’s friend) tells him that he must acquaint (submit, notify or tell) God of thyself. The passage is true but the application has false pretenses (this has the enemy written all over it)… Satan knows scripture, but the way he tries to apply it is not the way in which God has written it. Be careful to study the very word of God today to develop your relationship with Him; it is only through this acquaintance that you can cast down imaginations and refute unwholesome conversation which may often times come from the very mouth of those you call friends.  

ALL FOR HIS GLORY!

God Has The Power

...Thine is the kingdom, O LORD, and thou art exalted as head above all.  Both riches and honour come of thee, and thou reignest over all; and in thine hand is power and might; and in thine hand it is to make great, and to give strength unto all.

1 Chronicles 29:11b-12

Make no mistake about it; all power resides within the hands of the man above… When Jesus was mocked, beaten and whipped; He was nailed to the cross and pierced in His side… The bible says that when He gave up the ghost He hung His head and died, but we know that three days later he rose with all power in His hand… Matthew 28:18-20 says,“And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” We know that we do not have the ability unless it is provided to us through the grace and mercy of God… When Paul was afflicted with a thorn in the flesh he is recorded as saying that “three times” he prayed for it to be removed by God told him, “my grace is sufficient…” 

These verses taken from the book of Chronicles reminds us that we must have our priorities set in life; we must exalt the Lord above the earth as our head and center of our being… We must give God glory for every good and perfect gift (riches and honor) comes from above… Even when we are faced with times of despair, the writer reminds us that “thou reignest over all and in thin hand is power and might…” When you submit to God, He will deliver you and see that you have victory… Do you feel tired and weary? Are you unhappy or concerned about where you life is going? These are questions that are all too familiar with us and our walk as a Christian. Not a day goes by when we don’t feel like this journey is just too hard to travel or that there are just too many unknowns in our walk of faith. It is far too often that we begin to have doubts about what it is that God has in store, or how we can deal with the pressures of this world… First Chronicles reminds us that through thick and thin God is always in control, no matter what the situation seems to be at the moment, we need to be assured of the fact that God will always be exalted! He will never put more on you than you can bear, but will always make sure that His name is exalted through all that you face… When you praise God throughout your trials you are assured that you will life His name up and Jesus said that “when I be lifted up, I will draw all men unto me…” Praise God through all you face, knowing that He hears you and will lift you up as you lift Him up… 

We cling to the fact that He can make the rocks cry out, He will always be sovereign and will always have the praises and beauty of HIS HOLINESS rang out… This tells me that nothing will cause Him or us to falter, nothing will cause TOO MUCH pain or chaos in your life again let us remember what Jesus said, (if I be lifted up, I’ll draw all men unto me) this tells me that when He is exalted through the rough times so will you…This passage further reminds us that the Lord reigns over all and that power and might reside within his hand. This same hand that plucked you out of the miry clay, the same hand that wiped your tears away, the same hand that consoled you when no one else was around is the same hand that you can find your power and might! Power is authority and command, might is force and strength. We always confuse these words to mean the same thing; when in reality, God uses them separately to convey a separate meaning… God has the power or authority over all creation and He has the might or strength to deliver you in everything that you encounter… Remember that situations aren’t always what we see, but rather what God sees, so just walk by faith knowing in believing you will be exalted as you exalt Him and understanding that God has given the power and might to overcome and sustain you on this Christian journey… Just as Jesus endured the CROSS to sit at the right hand, we will endure to reach OUR heavenly goals, keep fighting, but more importantly keep praising and adoring His name!!!!!

ALL FOR HIS GLORY!

Power Comes When You Overcome

And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations.

Revelation 2:26

This first thing that a Christian must do in this journey is overcome the power of the natural desire to dwell in sin… The book of revelations is the foretelling of things to come… This book speaks to the return of Jesus Christ for His co-heirs and the deliverance from this earth unto the promised mansions of God… Today John reminds us of where God wants us to end up, but more importantly, he talks to the journey that we must endure to get there… The revelation that God provides to John is a revelation that we can live be as well. This revelation that is revealed unto John informs us of the gift that awaits those who endure. The verse of the day starts of by saying, “he that overcometh…” 

John sets the table for every trial that comes knocking to your door, this word prepares you for every obstacle that is thrust in your path and this message equips you for the snares that are set when you wake up in the morning… The bottom line is that we must overcome, there are no freebies when it comes to this spiritual war that we are fighting; every inch will be tough to go by and every step will draw sweat and blood from within… John knows a little about overcoming, this revelation that he is writing to us has been given to him as he sits on the island of Patmus exiled from his native land… John witness the evil plots against Jesus, he watched Jesus be strung up on the cross, now he himself has been persecuted and writes today to let us know that we (just like him) must overcome… Sure it’s very easy to take the clear path and walk the level ground, but we know that in becoming all that you can become there must be some hills and mountains that come into your journey… You must experience the lows of life to appreciate the highs of Christ and this is the journey that God knows will prepare you to appreciate His bountiful blessings… 

When the Israelites were brought out of Egypt, God took them the scenic route, not only to show His mighty hand, but also because the easier route would have brought the Israelites into war with the Philistines… Don’t walk by perception, sometimes the road God wants you on seems rough, but it’s the best course for your life so that you don’t fall into the trap of the enemy… John not only says that we must overcome, but states that we must keep Christ’s works unto the end and we will receive power over the nations… Stay true to the word of God, overcome your fears and keep your faith upon the promises of God… The word that I read says that no weapon formed against me shall prosper, the word that I keep says that “God shall setup a standard against the devil,” the word that I keep says that we are more than conquers through Christ, who gives me strength, the word that I have in my heart says, “my grace is sufficient for thee, for my power is made perfect in weakness,” the word that I live by says “I will never leave you nor forsake you” and that “you shall reap a harvest if you faint not…” Jesus overcame the agony in the Garden to drink the cup of wrath for us, then endured the mocking and beatings to fulfill Gods mission an ultimately His purpose, Now He sits at the right hand will all power! Paul had to overcome his efforts as Saul (and the hate people forced on him) to reach the destination of God’s glory and write a third of the New Testament. Peter had to overcome his denial and self-pity to preach the first sermon on the day of Pentecost which established Gods church and saved 3,000 souls. 

These examples show Gods faithfulness to a person or people who walk in faith, He never said it would be easy or that you won’t have hardships, but what He did say is, if you keep my word, and continue to press toward the mark; the door to victory will be opened, the keys to success will be handed to you, and your eternal reservations to heaven will be set in the lambs book of life!!!! It’s a tough road ahead, but hold to God’s hand, keep plowing, and know that all power was given unto Jesus. He has gone to prepare a place for you and will come back again to receive you unto His kingdom in glory… So continue to fight, don’t give up, your blessing, breakthrough and deliverance is INDEED on the way!!!!

ALL FOR HIS GLORY!