Today, I want to start with a verse that many misquote and often miss the point of the verse.
I Cor 10:13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.
It says that he will not allow us to be tempted about our threshold. God holds us in his hands, nothing comes as a surprise to him. He knows what we are capable of even when we don’t grasp our strength. God knows our threshold limits of tolerance is for every type situation. God has placed boundaries around us that the enemy cannot go through.
We, too, can pray a hedge of protection about us, our family, and all that God has given to us. We can draw a bloodline the enemy cannot cross. He will not allow us to be tempted beyond our ability to resist the enemy.
Exodus 12:13 The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are, and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt.
Unlike the Israelites, we do not have to physically put blood over our doors and on the side beams for protection. When Jesus died for us his blood was sufficient for our salvation and our protection. We have a blood covenant with God. The enemy has to flee when we remind him that we are covered by the blood.
As Jesus’ children, his blood has been applied to our lives and death cannot touch us until Jesus is ready to take us home. The enemy may try to get us to give up. He may try to get us to speak negative words that will harm us. But he can only touch us if God allows him. Look at Job; the enemy had to petition God to do anything to Job.
Job didn’t know how strong he was, but God did. God knew he would not curse him, no matter what the enemy did to him. God knows how much we can handle. Use that fact to give you strength to keep pressing on.
Any time the enemy comes and tells you that you can’t handle whatever you are facing. Tell him to get behind you, because he is a liar. You will not believe his lies or give in to his nonsense.
I ask the question again: Can you handle it? Now I am sure, you can confidently say Yes, I can, because God says I can.
The world is full of voices. Each one is distinct and unique. Our voices can be made beautiful or ugly by how we choose to use our voice. Some use their voices to teach others about Jesus and the things of God. These are the most beautiful voices in the world.
There are those who sing beautiful songs of praise. If they are truly connected to God, it doesn’t matter if they are technically precise, because the anointing comes forth and touches the hearts of those listening.
The most powerful voice is the voice of God. He spoke the world into existence; he spoke to everything to be created but man. Adam, God formed with his hands then breathed his breath into him. He created Eve with his hands and a rib from Adam. But everything else he spoke and it happened.
We can use our voice to further the gospel. We can encourage others to stay strong and to not give up. In the times in which we live, we have to use our voices to lead the way for people to come out of darkness.
Everyone has someone in their life that is so negative. Listening to them, nothing is right, nothing is good and they are miserable. If you listen to their voices for very long, it will drag you down to the bottom with them. They will tear down your self-esteem, your strength and your will to go on.
Then there are strong voices that have an opinion and will shout it from the roof top. Many think the louder the more right someone is, after all you wouldn’t be shouting so loud if you were wrong. This is not accurate, sometimes the loudest voices are the most wrong. They have to yell to get anyone to pay attention to what they are saying.
When it is all said and done, the only voice that matters most of the time is not loud, but a soft whisper in you spirit. God’s Spirit within us will lead us and guide us, if we stop listening to the noise and sit quietly so we can hear the whisper of God’s Spirit.
Being raised Pentecostal, I have seen people be loud and shout all over the church. But God was not in it. Before I start a debate with that comment listen to the end, not everyone that lifts their voice in praise and worship are doing it for the right reason. If people are doing it to be seen, then they have their reward, like the Pharisee that stands on the corner with great swelling words of prayer.
God wants us to lift our voice in sincere worship. But he also wants our private worship. You don’t have to wait until church service to give God praise. Either way, it is fine, as long as it is with the right attitude. The church service should not be like a funeral, so quiet you can hear the candy wrappers being opened.
We have a reason to shout, God redeemed us from sin. He saved us from a life of bondage. We should be thankful and lift our voices in praise to the most high God. If we praise, he will come down and be with us. What was the first thing the children of Israel did when they saw the enemy destroyed. They worshipped God.
Psalms 22:3 But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel.
He also inhabits the praise of his people today. He desires to spend time with us. He wants us to draw close to him. So lift up your voice and give God some praise. Listen for his voice and ignore the voices of the enemy that only wants to drag you down.
The title of today’s episode: GRACE FOR THE HUMBLE
I often speak about the wisdom of my grandfather. He taught me a lot about being a Christian. I pray someday I can be as wise and humble as him. With experience comes wisdom. He walked through a lot of difficult things. In doing so, he learned to stay humble and lean on God.
I want to talk about the humbleness of his prayer. As a young man that was just starting to walk into his calling of preaching, he would go to the woods and spend time with God. He would pray and study the word, asking God for revelation. He understood the importance of being humble. He prayed never let me be exalted when you use me. Never let me feel less than who you made me to be, when you use someone else.
People can get caught up in things and become full of themselves when God uses them. They start to feel like they are more important than they actually are. Look at Elijah, after God used him to perform a major miracle of calling fire down from heaven, he was hiding in a cave.
I kgs 19:10 And he said, I have been very jealous for the Lord God of hosts: for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.
Elijah started to think he was the only person that God could use. God made known to him quickly that there were 7000 prophets that had not bowed to Baal. God always has a remnant of people that are going to stand for him no matter what. Not because of who they are or anything they have the ability to do. But because they fully put their trust in God.
Matt 23:11-12 But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant. 12 And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.
God may choose to use us and we could do mighty things under the anointing, but if we are not humble it means nothing. God can use anyone who he chooses, He even used a donkey once to speak to a prophet that was going down the wrong path.
It is not about titles so we can feel important. It is about us walking humbly. You can call yourself Bishop, Apostle, Prophet, Pastor with your chest stuck out in pride and what good will it do? We all know what happens to those who are prideful. Pride goes before the fall.
I want to remind you that the ground is level at the foot of the cross. We are all servants of the most high God who deserves all the credit for every good thing that happens. He is the one who deserves to be lifted up.
Being humble doesn’t mean that we are weak, but it is a sign of strength. It shows that we are willing to set aside our fleshly pride and yield to God’s plan. It show that we are willing to follow his leading.
We should never get caught up in what God has called us to be, but we need to just take life as it comes and handle what is in front of us. We should never try to convince people that we have been called by God for whatever task he has given us. Their opinion doesn’t matter. Only the opinion of God matters. If he has chosen us for a specific task, he knows what we are capable of handling. He placed within us all that we need to walk into and do what he has chosen us to do. This is why we must walk humbly before God, follow his leading and he will do the rest.
This world needs the light of God’s love. His word says some plants and some waters, but God gives the increase. We cannot get exalted when God allows us to be the one to see someone find Jesus. You can be sure that many others have planted and watered to make that harvest possible. It has very little to do with us and everything to do with Jesus.
James 4:6 But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.
The title of today’s episode: WHEN SLEEP ELUDES US
God often will wake us in the middle of the night to pray for someone or something. Many nights I have been awakened with a prayer on my lips and someone on my heart. After intercession for a little while, I feel released to return to sleep.
God often awakens me with an idea or a scripture verse for a blog. I get up and make notes. Then I feel like I can return to sleep.
Many down through Bible times were awakened by God for a purpose and plan.
Esther 6:1-3 On that night could not the king sleep, and he commanded to bring the book of records of the chronicles; and they were read before the king. 2 And it was found written, that Mordecai had told of Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king’s chamberlains, the keepers of the door, who sought to lay hand on the king Ahasuerus. 3 And the king said, What honour and dignity hath been done to Mordecai for this? Then said the king’s servants that ministered unto him, There is nothing done for him.
I love how God turns things around in a single night many times. Because the king couldn’t sleep, he found out that Mordecai had saved his life. This is how evil Haman had to swallow his pride and parade the man he hated most, through the streets saying, This man is one the king desires to honor.
How awesome is God that he not only turns things around, but he humiliates the enemy at the same time. Just when the enemy seems to have the advantage God flips the entire thing around in just 24 hours.
Paul and Silas were in prison; they were not sleeping. They sang praises to God and he rocked the jail. He made a way of escape and in the process saved a jailor and his family. What would have happened if they had fallen asleep?
There is nothing wrong with sleep if we have prepared for what God is going to do in our lives. Look at the parable of the ten virgins. All of them slept. Five had prepared ahead of time and were now resting. But for whatever reason the five foolish were just caught unprepared and asleep. There is a season for everything. A time to work and a time to rest.
Psalms 4:8 – I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, LORD, only makest me dwell in safety.
Just as God comes and interrupts our sleep so we can pray for someone. The enemy will try to interrupt our rest, so that we will not be as effective the next day. It is hard to be a good light when we are physically tired. But God will give us peace and rest.
He watches over us in the night and keeps us safe from harm and danger. It is a good idea to pray before going to sleep that the enemy will not invade our dreams and that only God will give us dreams. He is the lifter of our soul.
Prov 3:24 When thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid: yea, thou shalt lie down, and thy sleep shall be sweet.
When the whole world is quiet, the enemy loves to come at us with fear and stressful worry. He will some times try to cause us to be awake and not get rest. But God is the God of peace and he will give us peaceful rest if we ask him.
God has promised to supply what we need and that includes rest for our weary minds and bodies.
The title of today’s episode: THEN GOD SENT A PLAGUE
The Hebrews that were in bondage in Egypt had been there for generations. They knew as much about the gods of Egypt as they did their own God. I used to wonder why God sent so many plagues and how he chose each one. I recently came across an article of history that explained a little about the beliefs of the Egyptian people at that time.
God was trying to show His people as well as the Egyptians that he was the only God. All the gods of Egypt had no power and he proved it with each plague. Every plague was custom designed by God to defy one of the gods of Egypt.
God knew that Pharaoh would never believe he was the only God. They were too deep in their traditions and religion. Every time a plague would happen, Pharoah would temporarily seem to soften and make promises to let them go in different stages. But he would not allow them to completely leave until the last plague.
The first plague, the Nile River was turned to blood. Hapi (pronounce happy) was the god of the Nile, it was the god that the Egyptians believed gave them life and fertility. When the plague came the fish died and the river had a stench from death, not life and fertility. They believed the river was life and God turned it to death.
The second plague, Frogs—the Egyptian god Heqet-( Haget ) was a frog-headed goddess of fruitfulness. God sent the frogs upon the land. They covered everything. The Egyptians Heget was said to have the key of life beyond death, according to their beliefs. Egypt’s magician could reproduce this with their enchantments. When God stopped the plague, all the frogs died and they gathered them together in heaps and they stank. There was nothing fruitful about it.
The 3rd plague, Lice – The Egyptian god, Geb, was the god of the desert and foreigners. With this plague the Egyptians magicians could not duplicate this plague. They had to recognize that it was the work of God. Geb was the God of the earth. When God took the dust of the earth and turned it into lice to torment the Egyptians and their animals it proved that God’s power was greater than the belief of Geb.
The 4th plague Flies—Khepri (kepri) He was known as a scarab-faced God in ancient Egypt. He represented the rising and moving of the sun. His name means to come into existence.
This plague defied Kepri, because he was know as the god of order. The disorderly swarms of flies demonstrated that God was the only one who was truly the God of order.
The 5th plague—cattle—Hathor- cow-headed goddess of motherhood and childbirth. All the cattle died, as a defiance to Hathor. This undermined what the Egyptians believed about the goddess that she was the life giving nurturer of the Egyptians. When the cattle died it not only took away their food source but also their ability to worship. The god Hathor had no power to sustain them.
The 6th plague—Boils—Sekhmet—(sockomet) goddess of healing or medicine –
When all the Egyptians started breaking out in painful boils they realized that their goddess of healing was no match for the one true God. The Israelites did not have even one boil among them.
The 7th plague—Hail and Fire—Nut—goddess of the sky. The Egyptians believer that she swallowed the sun each evening and gave birth to it every morning. She controlled the weather. The 7th plague proved that Nut could not control weather when the hail started to fall from the sky and destroy things on the ground.
The 8th plague—Locust—Shu—god of the wind. They believed that their god Shu was the god of the air, atmosphere and light. His role was to separate the god Nut from the god Geb. This gave a space between the two for life to exist. So when God sent Locust into the air, it proved the Shu could not control the wind.
The 9th plague—Darkness—Ra—sun god, the king of the gods. Our God showed darkness to prove the sun god Ra was not the light. The darkness was so thick they could feel it. They didn’t leave their houses.
The 10th plague—death of first born of all of Egypt-Bes—father of mankind; protector of households. But Bes could not save Pharaoh’s son or any of the Egyptian first born.
Exodus 12:12 For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the Lord.
God proved to everyone that the idols of Egypt were no match for the one true and sovereign God. He proved that he was the one who broke chains and crushed lies of the enemy. This was for the benefit of the Israelites as well as the Egyptians.
The old testament is types and shadows of things to come. There are many, many lessons we can learn from the children of Israel. But the thing I want you to take away from today’s lesson is this: when we are in sin, we are in bondage. We are a slave to the enemy satan. God will fight to set us free. He will go before us to guide us.
I do not think it is a coincidence that the sea was known as the Red Sea. That can be a representation of the bloodline. Once we pass through the blood of Jesus. We are no longer slaves but are free. The enemy cannot come past the bloodline. He no longer has a hold on us. He has no authority.
God has given you a life. He has set you free from bondage. What will you do with it?
There are many in the bible that had God’s favor, some were even highly favored. When you walk in a place that you have God’s favor, the enemy tries even harder to take you out. He wants to destroy you because you have God’s favor on you life. He understands better than we do that God uses those he favors to tear down strongholds of the enemy.
The thought of being highly favored sounds like a good place to be, but before you sign up to be next think about it. There is a price to be paid for that favor. Gabriel told Mary she was highly favored. Mary suffered things that no other woman has ever suffered. She watched that baby grow up and become a man. Then she watched him be beaten beyond recognition. She watched him, who was innocent, nailed to a cross and she watched him die. Do you want to be highly favored?
John the Baptist was the forerunner of Christ. He was highly favored. Because he stood for truth and honesty, he ended up losing his head. But before the end he got to go out and tell people about Jesus. He had the privilege to be the one to baptize Jesus.
His life was full of adventure and miracles, he had many followers that went on to be followers of Jesus. Do you want to be highly favored?
There was a movement a few years ago that everyone was favored. They would say God will give you the best seats in the house. He will give you places of prestige and honor. But that was not exactly accurate. I am really about to blow up some of your theology. God will do things for one that he will not for another. Pause and let that sink in, God will do things for one that he will not for another. It doesn’t mean that he loves them more, but it is about relationship and trust.
Think about it this way, a man has several children. He loves them all. But will only allow certain ones to drive his car. Only the one he knows has the skills to drive and the proper license. He won’t turn the car over to his six year old. Because the six year old is not mature enough to handle it. But the eighteen year old that has always been obedient he will give the keys. But the sixteen year old that is always in trouble he is not so ready to turn over the keys.
If we want God’s favor in our lives we need to be obedient and follow his laws. When he shows us favor, we need to be prepared for those who God will not turn over the keys. They will be jealous and may try to stand in your way. Instead of acting with jealousy, they need to yield more fully to God. They must be obedient in order to find God’s favor.
It is not easy to be chosen and walk in favor. Look at the twelve disciples, out of the twelve, Jesus only let three into his inner circle. One of the remaining nine was a betrayer; Judas.
Eleven went on to be part of the original church, the one hundred and twenty that received the Holy Ghost. These original eleven suffered many things for the gospel. Yet they had God’s favor on their lives.
They spread the gospel across the ancient world. But in the process, angered a lot of people not willing to give up their money, power and position. They had false gods that served their purposes and didn’t want to know the truth. These people were often in charge of courts and governments. This is how most of them ended up dying for the gospel.
Let’s look at history, Peter went to Antioch and Rome. He was crucified upside down in Rome for the gospel. Andrew was crucified in Greece. James was martyred in Jerusalem. John is the only one who died naturally at an old age. But he was exiled to and island called Patmos where he couldn’t influence other people. Philip was crucified upside down at Phrygia. Bartholomew was martyred in India with a sword and beheaded. Thomas was pierced with spears and martyred in India. Matthew was stabbed to death in Ethopia for the truth of the gospel. The other James was thrown from the temple in Jerusalem. Thaddus travelled to Mesopotamia and was martyred in Beirut. Simon was killed in Persia. Methias who was the one that replace the betrayer, Judas, was stoned and beheaded in the Caspian region. These men along with others spread the gospel and paid a high price to tell someone about Jesus.
Today, we don’t want people to think we are weird or that we are uptight. We don’t want someone talking about us behind our backs. We have gotten too complacent, yet we want God’s favor.
To be favored of God doesn’t always mean that everything will be sunshine and rainbows. It often means you will walk through hard things. But it also means he will give you grace to face the hard things with his strength.
Job was favored by God, because he knew he could trust him with the attacks of the enemy. He knew Job would let his light shine. Do you want to be highly favored by God? If so I can promise your life will never be boring, but it will be full of obstacles that you can overcome as long as you keep your God Focus.
The title of today’s episode: GOD OF THE IMPOSSIBLE
Human beings have a lot of limitations. But our God is limitless. While something appears to us to be impossible or insurmountable, God says I’ve got this, do not worry. He is outside the box of our human capacity and understanding. Impossible is something that is beyond human capability, an obstacle that there is no way around.
Some say they don’t believe in miracles. Apparently, they haven’t had any need of one yet. But when you get a bad diagnosis from the doctor, you will hope that a miracle happens. When your teenager runs away from home and you do not have a clue where to begin to look for them, you will want a miracle. When depression closes in and the smothering darkness overwhelms you to the point you are suicidal, and the enemy says you don’t need to bother with prayer because God won’t answer. You better hope there are miracles.
Luke 1:37 For with God nothing shall be impossible.
This verse is often quoted and appears on Christian mugs, t-shirts, and bible covers. It comes from the story when Mary, the mother of Jesus, was visited by an angel. The angel of the Lord told Mary she was highly favored and that she would bring forth a son who would be conceived of the Holy Ghost. To the natural mind, that would seem impossible, but there is nothing impossible with God.
To the natural mind, Daniel would not survive the lion’s den. Those lions were not fed; they should have ripped him to shreds. But the God of the impossible, shut the mouths of the lions. They couldn’t harm Daniel.
It seemed that Pharaoh would never allow the children of Israel to go. But the God of the impossible worked things out. They experienced many things that would appear to be impossible. They saw their enemies destroyed by the same water God parted for them. God did the impossible to save his people by parting the water.
Genesis 18:13-14 And the Lord said unto Abraham, Wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I of a surety bear a child, which am old? 14 Is any thing too hard for the Lord? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.
God told Abraham he would be the father of many nations. Sarah couldn’t see beyond the natural; it seemed impossible to her since she was past childbearing years. But nothing is impossible with God.
We have to learn to ask Is anything too hard for the Lord? The answer is no. There is nothing too hard for God.
There are times we ask God for something and he says, “no” for our own good. He sees the big picture. He understands how answering a prayer may only appear to be for our good, but in the long term, it is not. Because he says no or not yet doesn’t mean it is impossible. It means he is looking out for good.
He wants what is best for us. At times, we realize that what we are asking is not the will of God. He is the God of the impossible, but he also is a God of perfect timing.
Another basic area of our faith foundation is peace. God is the God of peace. The older I get, the more important my peace becomes. Some thrive on drama, our world is full of chaos. Take one look at reality TV, and you will see the agenda of the enemy. Satan wants everyone to believe that life should be about throwing fits and having drama. This doesn’t sound like an abundant life.
Hebrews 12:14 Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:
We are to seek the peaceful route, even with difficult people. If we don’t walk in peace and holiness, we will not see the Lord. It doesn’t matter what they say or do; we can only control our actions. It is not always easy to take the high road and walk in peace. But finding a balance in life will keep our feet on the right path.
John 14:27 The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace. These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.
Jesus said that we would have tribulations in this world. Tribulation means a time of great trouble, distress or suffering resulting from oppression or persecution. But he has made a way for us to live in peace.
We have peace; Jesus gave it to us. There is no reason for us to lack peace if we are followers of Christ. With so much happening in our world, sometimes we have to fight for peace.
The enemy would love nothing more than to steal our peace. He will cause all sorts of things to happen. That is when we have to take a deep breath and turn our stress, anxiety and issues over to God. He will give us the peace we need.
There are many things the world does to find peace. Some do deep breathing and meditation. They tell you to look within. But I am telling you to look up. True peace only comes from a relationship with God. He is the giver of peace.
Is 26:3 Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.
Even in troubles and trials, our souls can have peace. We just have to keep our focus on God. When we keep our minds on him and allow him to have our worries and cares, we can walk in peace even when our world is in chaos. The enemy will not win or wear us down, as long as we can surrender our cares to Jesus.
Phil 4:6-7 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. 7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
If we are not anxious about things, but turn them over to God in prayer. He will give us peace in return for our worries. Verse seven says the peace of God goes beyond our understanding and that peace will keep our hearts and minds. Notice it is through Christ.
Phil 4:8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.
This verse tells us what we should allow our minds to dwell on. If we can dwell on the good things, it will help us to walk in peace and be thankful for all Jesus has done for us.
The body of Christ has been slowly waking up. It is time to pray for God to awaken what he has placed within us. As we go forward to a time of enlightenment. Far too long the church sat quietly in the background. Allowing evil to be loud and in the spotlight. We have kept quiet while evil has all but extinguished the light of the church. But God is tired of his bride being pushed aside and ignored. It is time for her to shine. Once again it is time for God to be recognized in the earth.
Our enthusiasm and passion for following Jesus needs to be rekindled. If we are excited about following Jesus we will win more souls. If we get complacent and have an attitude like we are sleepwalking, no one will want to follow Jesus.
Romans 13:10-11 Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law. 11 And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.
Part of being awake is to be able to hear the leading of His Spirit. It is time we got plugged into our source and allowed ourselves to be led by the Holy Ghost. Ask God what he has place inside you that has been dormant. It is time that the gifts and talents he has given us are awakened.
It is time to rekindle the fire of God. It is time for the church to be on fire again. The only way we are going to draw the lost in is for us shine our light. They will never find Jesus, unless we are the on fire. We are supposed to be a light in this world.
Darkness of evil has covered the earth long enough. People usually sleep when it is dark. In order to awaken those who the enemy has lulled to sleep we need to let our light shine. It is the dawning of a new day.
2 Tim 1-6 Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands.
Paul told Timothy to stir up the gift of God that was within him. It is easy to get complacent and stagnated. Our lives are like rivers with ebbs and flow. Sometimes we allow life to creep in and slow down our connection of living water. When we find ourselves in this place, we have to stir up our gift which is the Holy Ghost. Spend more time in prayer and worship to draw closer to God once again.
God sent Ezekiel to prophesy to the dry bones. As the wind of God blew across the bones, they came together, and God raised up a great army. Those dry bones became something new. It doesn’t matter how dry we get, God can turn around the situation. He can breathe new life into each of us. We are his body and it is time for us to come together, just as the dry bones did. It is time for us to awaken and arise.
The enemy is preparing for battle, it is time we put on our armor and ran into battle. With God on our side, we cannot lose.
I Thes 5:4-8 But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. 5 Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. 6 Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober. 7 For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night. 8 But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation.
I have been feeling God press me to return to the basics. To encourage others to check the firmness of their foundation. This week I will be covering a few things to encourage you to check your foundation.
A shaking is coming, we have to be on a solid foundation. As we return to the basics of our foundation I want to discuss walking in love. As followers of Christ, we are to walk in love and not hate. God is love, the more of his spirit we have within us the easier it is to love and have compassion for others.
Hate leads to a bitter end. To hate means we lack the proper amount of God’s will in our lives. Yes people hurt us, yes they may talk about us, but we cannot allow the actions of others to cause us to not walk in the Love of God. As I discussed yesterday, we have to forgive and not allow hate to take root in our lives.
When we give our lives over to God, we are saying we don’t have all the answers. We yield our lives to a higher authority that does have all the answers. God is love and he only wants what is best for us.
Prov 8:13 The fear of the LORD is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate.”
We are to hate evil, but not the people that do evil. They are caught in a trap of the enemy. They need to be set free by the power of God. But it takes them yielding to the power of God, when he sends us to witness to them.
Ps 97:10 Ye that love the Lord, hate evil: he preserveth the souls of his saints; he delivereth them out of the hand of the wicked.
God preserves the souls of his saint that love him and hates evil. We cannot allow the enemy to infiltrate our lives with his evil. One verse says I will set no evil before my eyes. We should not spend time dwelling on the evil in this world or participating in it. We are called to be set apart from the world. We are in the world but are not of the world or we are not partakers of the evil around us.
Learning to walk in God’s ways and to walk in his love is a lifelong journey. The more we yield to God’s Spirit the more love he gives us to share. As we grow the fruit of the spirit, we gain compassion for the lost and the broken. We want to see everyone saved, even those who have treated us unfairly. If we are going to reach the final harvest, we must learn to walk in love and compassion.
Eph 5: 2 And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.
We need to reach the point where no sacrifice is too great to demonstrate God’s love to the world. We can be that beacon of hope if we allow the Spirit of God to lead us and guide us.
GOD FOCUS--Psalm 34:3 O magnify the Lord with me.... 