What are we taking on our journey with the Lord?

Tuesday Night Light

Topic: What are we taking on our journey?
Gen 22
Please read Gen 22 https://new.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis+22&version=NKJV

Part 1 of 3

Can we sacrifice the very thing we love most in this world if God asks? God asked Abraham to sacrifice his only son. When we trust God, we will do anything he asks. If God gave it to us we should know that he can give us even greater and God has a purpose.  

When Jesus takes us on a journey he desires to test us. God had taken Abraham on a journey. Abraham received his instructions and hastily responded to the call (Gen 22:2-3). His instructions were to go out of town and offer his only son as a sacrifice. He had to offer him upon one of the mountains as instructed.

Mountains represent obstacles or struggles in our lives. If Jesus sends us on a journey and he says:

1.      Give up what we love…

2.      Go through a few mountains (struggles, heart ache pain).

How do we respond? Abraham responded in faith.  

On his journey he had faith, discernment, wood, knife, fire, and string.

Stay with me as we see how the tools he carried with him brought him through his test to be a testimony for us.

His faith caused Abraham to trust God and not delay. He quickly answered the call. Abraham’s discernment or sensitivity to hearing the voice of the Lord provided him with the exact location for his destination. It is important to be in the right place at God’s appointed time by listening and obeying the voice of the Lord.

 Abraham arrived there on the 3rd day. On the 3rd day Abraham was able to “see” where God say go.

God created light on the third day. Gen 1:13-14

Jesus is light. John 8:12

Jesus rose on the third day, that we would have light and be able to “see” and never walk in darkness.

When Abraham’s eyes were lifted he discerned he had to take the rest of the journey on foot and alone. He had to leave his servants and donkey behind. He had to complete the journey alone, with his sacrifice, following the Lord’s instructions.

Often God has given us an assignment and we desire to take others along for comfort and support. God has assignments for us that we must complete alone. Our cross we must bear alone. God wants us alone so he can test our faith and teach us on to seek him for comfort and support. God also desires teach us how to listen to him and know his voice. He has to remove distractions so we can be totally dependent on him.

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Part 2 of 3

Abraham’s journey Cont’d

Abraham also had wood, knife, fire, and string. We should have the same items with us when we answer God's call.

Jesus said follow me, take up your cross. Matt 16:24 “Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me”. Abraham’s cross was offering up his son as represented by the wood. We each have a cross we have to bear and we should quickly answer the call and take up our cross. Yes it is sometimes hard but when we trust God we know no good thing would he withhold from us (Psa 84:11).

He also had a knife. We know what our knife is, it the word of God, and is sharper than any two edged sword. Hebrews 4:12 “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of the soul and spirit….”   When we embark on our journey with the Lord we need our two-edged sword.

Gen 22:10 “ And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son” At that moment he heard from the Lord. The only way we are going to hear from the Lord is when we use our two-edged sword and read the word of God. We need the word of God to minister to our hearts as we face our mountains. Remember Abraham had to journey up a mountain to offer up his son. There was some rough terrain he had to endure before he reached his destination. 

We often have to endure rough terrain as we face our mountains. Abraham went to worship and we can believe he was worshipping The Lord as he journeyed. When we face our mountains are we worshipping The Lord? 

Abraham also had fire. We know when we are baptized by Jesus it is with the Holy Spirit and fire (Matt 3:11). We need to be sure the Holy Spirit is leading and guiding us. God’s word is like fire shut up in our bones. We have to carry the fire with us on our journey. That fire will lead us and guide us to all truth. 

Abraham also had some type of string as he bound his son to the wood. Those things in our lives that God says "give to me", and we struggle with giving them up, we need to bind them up, tie them to our cross and place them on the altar. We need to trust that God will provide.

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Part 3 of 3

Abraham’s Journey cont’d

Often when we place our situation on the altar it begins to speak back to us. It begins to try our faith. Abraham’s situation began to speak back to him. Gen 22:7 ” And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son.

"And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?”

When God has given us an assignment and we are looking for God to show up in our lives, our situation begins to speak to us. Isaac said you have the fire and the wood but where is the lamb.

“He said you have the Holy Spirit and he hasn’t provided a way out?”.

“You believe God, where is your provider, where is your lamb? As subtle and innocent as Isaac inquiry sounded; that is as subtle as it sounds in our day to day lives when we are faced with challenges. Where is God? You serve him, is he going to show up?

What will our response be when our situations that we have given to the Lord begin to speak back to us? Abraham’s response was: God will provide! He didn’t just say it he believed it! Do we believe God will provide? Are we in a situation praying for God to provide? Are we praying believing that he will? When God provided for Abraham he memorialized that moment so he would never forget. We need to journalize our prayers and when God answers we will see God provides daily, hourly, minute by minute, second by second. We pray for safe travels and he grants. We pray for protection and he grants. Even in our darkest moments we can still see God’s provision if we lift our eyes from the ground to the hills.

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Recap!

When Jesus calls what should we do and what should we bring?

Answer the call: Gen 22:1 “Here I am” Receive your instructions

Make haste in following the Lord’s instructions: Gen 22:3 “Abraham rose early in the morning…..and went to the place God told him”

Abraham was a worshiper, always pray before, during, and after your journey.

Pack your spiritual bag

Faith: Go believing God. Gen 22:4 “….Stay here with the donkey; I and the boy will go worship and come again to you”: Abraham believed God would provide. He didn’t complain he knew his cross was an act of worship. We should all view our pain as an act of worship!

Discernment: Gen 22:4 “Abraham lifted his eyes and saw” Discerning is an act of seeing and hearing God. God will give but we have to spend time with him.

Wood: Gen 22:6 “Abraham took the wood and laid it on Isaac his son”. Our cross is our wood. Our cross is denying ourselves and following Christ.

Knife: Abraham’s knife was a blade our knife is the bible, the word of God

Fire: Abraham’s fire was used for an burnt offering our offering of fire is allowing the Holy Spirit to lead us and offering up a sacrifice of praise, prayers & obedience. 

String: Abraham’s string was used to bind his son to the wood. Our string is our prayers to bind and loose the things we need to give up and the things we need to receive as divinely instructed by the Lord.

Answer the call, hastily respond, have faith in God, Discern, take up your cross trusting Jesus, read the word of God, submit to the Holy Spirit, pray, and give it all to the Lord!

 

God Bless you and be blessed!

 

 

Thursday's Prayer

Jesus is absolutely crazy about you!

Psalms 20 (ESV)

Trust in the Name of the Lord Our God

1 May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble!

May the name of the God of Jacob protect you!

2 May he send you help from the sanctuary and give you support from Zion!

3 May he remember all your offerings and regard with favor your burnt sacrifices! Selah

4 May he grant you your heart's desire and fulfill all your plans!

5 May we shout for joy over your salvation, and in the name of our God set up our banners!

May the Lord fulfill all your petitions!

6 Now I know that the Lord saves his anointed; he will answer is from his holy heaven with the saving might of his right hand.

7 Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.

8 They collapse and fall,

but we rise and stand upright.

9 O Lord, save each person that reads this!

May he answer us when we call. In Jesus name Amen. Be blessed. Jesus loves you. 

Sin & Grace

 

Thursday’s Awakening

Topic: Sin & Grace

Psalm 51, Rom 5:12-21, Eph 2:3-6,

When we intentionally sin, we sin against God,….. Psa 51:4 “Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight”. There are sins we commit unknowingly and there are deliberate sins. We live in a society that encourages sin. When we fill our lives with more worldly views and less godly views, we begin to rationalize our sin until we are comfortable in our sin. The bible is never outdated when we need a blessing, but frequently outdated when it conflicts with our lifestyle.

We were born in sin and shaped in iniquity (Psa 51:5) through grace we do not have to stay in sin. Sin came into the world through Adam. When Adam sinned he caused all of mankind to be born in sin and shaped in iniquity. Adam set in motion a complete shift in the way we think and act.

God quickly established order and man continued to fall. God then established law and man still continued to fall. God sent his son to rewrite the wrong of the first Adam. God sent Jesus to keep us from falling! God loves us so much, that he continues to look for ways to protect us. Glory to God! ^{Jude 1:24”}Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, And to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy,^{Jude 1:25} To God our Savior, who alone is wise, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever. Amen”.

God and God alone can keep us from falling. We cannot do it in our own strength. We cannot wait hoping we will correct ourselves. It is only God that can correct us and keep us from falling.

 Adam’s offense caused judgment to all men. Jesus life, death, and resurrection has given grace and righteousness to all that believe. Romans ^5:18 “Therefore, as through one man’s offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man’s righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life”.

God sent Jesus to give us the gift of grace that we would live and not die, for the wages of sin is death (Rom 6:23). ^{Rom 5:19} For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous.

We can rejoice, knowing we have a gift waiting for us each and every day. We have a free gift from the Lord.  We no longer have to die but we can live. We can put sin behind us and receive the gift of grace and become righteous. Grace does not mean we continue to sin. Grace does not mean we continue in disobedience. We should not continue in sin that grace may abound (Rom 6:1-9). When we accept Jesus we are dead to sin. Sin is behind us and we should walk in the newness of life.

Eph 2:2 “in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— ³ among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. ⁴ But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us ⁵ even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—”.

When we walk in the light and give our life to Christ, we live a life free of guilt and shame. We live a life of abundance, blessings, peace, and joy. We live a life of peace during the storm. We don’t have to worry about losing our mind when we face trials and tribulations. We have peace knowing we serve the most high God, and even our storm, has to fall subject Jesus. We have peace when we remove problems from our hands and place them into the master’s hands.

Following the prince of air (satan) gives us temporary gratification and long-term hurt and pain. There is only one way our heart can be at peace and that is when we are with the Lord. There is no way around it. Our soul longs to be with the Lord. We will always feel emptiness when we are without him. We can only serve one God. We have to choose. Will we serve the prince of air and die or serve the only one who is able to keep us from falling and live?

Be blessed!

Memory Verse

^{Jude 1:24”}Now to Him who is able to keep me from stumbling, And to present me faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, ^{Jude 1:25} To God our Savior, who alone is wise, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever. Amen”.

 

Pray

You are God Almighty, you cause the wind to blow and the rain to fall. You are everlasting, faithful, forgiving, and gracious. Your compassion continues to provide grace when we are undeserving. You are holy and you call us to be holy. Forgive us for following the prince of air, seeking fleshly desires and walking in disobedience. Forgive us for following desires of our mind and body and not seeking you and your righteousness. Give us a mind and a heart to seek first the kingdom of God and your righteousness. Help to unite with you and die to sin. Help us to walk in the newness of life and crucify our old self so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin in Jesus name. Amen  

 

 

God is a strengthener, where is he in your life?

Topic: Does God live in your life?
Psalms 18:46
The Lord liveth; and blessed be my rock; and let the God of my salvation be exalted!
It is one thing to know there is a God. The adversary knows that. To know that he liveth, is to know that he gives life, he revives, he is our source for ALL our needs. When we allow God to live in our lives we turn the driver seat over to him and begin to experience life in a more abundant way.
When we allow God to only be the passenger, the back seat driver or someone we visit as needed, we fail to live a fulfilled life.
Some of us are holding on to things that are preventing us from giving Jesus the keys. Those things we hold on to separate us from God and therefore become idols in our lives. Those people, things, or activities are holding us captive. God is a jealous God and he does not share Lordship. He is the most high God meaning there is no God higher than him. When there is interference between us and God we short circuit our blessing. We begin to blame God when we have not made him Lord in our lives.
"Blessed be my rock" is an act of adoration to The Lord. It's personal. It's to kneel in praise of our God. Its a deep love and respect to Jesus. It is worship and reverence to our King. We all know when we deeply love and respect someone we will do anything for them. Jesus is the only one with guaranteed benefits. He came that we would have life more abundantly.
"Let the God of my salvation be exalted"! This is personal, this is recognizing the one and only God that saved us, created us, breathed life into us, & turned our situation around, needs to be exalted. When we exalt we think and speak highly of Jesus, we place him on high, we make him Lord. When God lives in our lives we stop fighting him and we submit to him. A house divided cannot stand. "Greater is he that is in me than he that is in the world". As great as we think the things we are holding on to is not greater than what God has for us. Thank you Jesus! We have the confidence to give it up and let God have his way. Let us examine ourselves and remove what is keeping us from the promises God has for us. He will take us places above what we could think or imagine. Be blessed have a blessed weekend.

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Topic: God is a strengthener
Psalms 18:32
It is God that girdeth me with strength, and maketh my way perfect.
God's word is amazing. Nothing in his word is an accident. God gives us strength. We can relate this naturally to see it spiritually. A gird is a belt or a band. It was used to protect abdominal muscles or the core region in battle. Our core muscles are the link connecting our upper and lower body. Almost every physical movement is determined by the strength of our core. With a weak core we are unable to stand straight, causing slouching or poor posture. A weak core will cause us to be unbalanced, easily losing our footing. Weakness in our core also causes back strain and inefficiencies in daily activities. When The Lord girds us and gives us strength he protects, binds and strengthens our core. That means we will stand tall in battle. When the enemy comes we will not slouch and hide we will be upright ready for battle. We will not lose our footing, with his strength he will give us balance. We will be agile and able to dodge daily offenses we encounter throughout our day. Praise God! We are no longer in a weakened state. Our core is girded, we are strengthened. The enemy sees us standing tall, firm in prayer, meditating on God's word, ready for battle, standing in the gap, sharing the gospel, trusting and believing the word of God!!! Hallelujah Be blessed believers of the Most high God!

Cleave & Submit

Topic: Cleave to The Lord
Joshua 23:8-11, Amos 3:3
Are we cleaving/clinging to Jesus? Before we answer let's think about it. To cling or cleave is to strongly adhere to Jesus. It means to strongly attach ourselves to him and everything he represents. It means to have persistent unshakable faith and remain completely attached to him regardless of the circumstances.
As we know oil and water do not mix. The Lord is holy and sovereign. He does not lower his standards because we want to do things our way. We cannot adhere to God if we are not willing to let go of unrighteousness.
Amos 3:3
Can two walk together, except they be agreed? We cannot walk with The Lord or cling to The Lord unless we agree with The Lord. Our actions are based on our agreements. When we agree with The Lord, we follow what The Lord says. When we walk with The Lord, we walk by faith, and we have a sound mind.
Are we cleaving to Jesus? When we cleave, we do so, due to deep love and affection. When we deeply love someone, we spend every moment we can with them. We begin to speak like them, think like them, and we can't get enough of them. That is what it should feel like when we think our Lord. When we hear Jesus, our faces should light up!
God literally gives us gifts everyday. Do we dismiss them, or do we recognize God working in our lives, and on or behalf? Do we blush and say thank you when we make it home safe, realizing, Jesus put a wall of protection around us?
God gave us taste buds.....so we could enjoy our food!! Humor so we could feel good for free! He is so thoughtful, are we clinging to Jesus?
Joshua 23:8...."you shall cling to the Lord your God....23:10-11....since it is the Lord your God who fights for you, just as he promised you. Be very careful, therefore, to love the Lord your God".
Let us truly cling to Jesus today, it is the absolute best relationship we will ever have. Be blessed. Jesus loves you.

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Topic: Submit
Genesis 16
Sometimes we find ourselves running from a situation(s) and God is saying submit. There are blessings in our submission. It might not be the ideal situation but sometimes we have to go through to receive what God has. We have to look at ourselves and evaluate how we are contributing to our circumstance. If we are leaving on impulse because we are trying to do things our way, we need to step back, listen and hear what The Lord says. Leave when God says to leave. There are blessings in submission to The Lord.
Sarai was married to Abram and could not conceive. Hagar was Sarai's handmaid and Sarai allowed her husband to have a child with her as Sarai was old and did not believe she could conceive. Once Hagar conceived, Sarai became jealous. Sarai made life difficult for Hagar. Hagar was the faced with a difficult working and living arrangement during her pregnancy. She decided to runaway with nothing as she was still considered Sarai's maid (Gen 16). We often run from problems after we have an invested and we leave with nothing or less than what we had when we began. Hagar had a seed, stock, & bonds, she invested into the family and she left on impulse, prepared to die in the wilderness. Thankfully even in our impulsiveness and stubbornness God will still speak to us....but will we listen?

The Lord spoke to Hagar and instructed her to go back and submit to Sarai. Genesis 16:9
"And the angel of the Lord said unto her, Return to thy mistress, and submit thyself under her hands". God never sends us where he cannot protect or deliver. When he gives us instruction he always plans a blessing. Some of us want to leave our jobs and God is saying not right now. Some of us are in difficult situations and we want to runaway but God is saying not right now. God blessed Hagar's son to father 12 princes. She went from a slave to mother of a nation by waiting on The Lord. By waiting she left with an inheritance. She was a slave in an impossible situation but she waited on The Lord, prayed, and cried out to The Lord, and he heard her cry and he blessed.
Don't be a no call no show. Show up and watch God show out. Be blessed. Jesus loves you!

Topic: Are you a volunteer on a campaign or a branch connected to the Vine?

Tuesday Inspiration

Topic: Are you a volunteer on a campaign or a branch connected to the Vine?

John 15:5, 2 Cor 12:9, Matt 11:28-30

Are you busy working for God that you are missing God? Do you feel empty because you have poured out and have not been refilled. Is your relationship with God based on works? In 2016 the United States of America we will elect the next president. There are three possible parties; Republican, Democrat, and Independent. On each campaign they will have volunteers in each state that will work to mobilize voters. The role of the campaign volunteer is to speak directly to voters by making calls, knocking on doors, and registering individuals to vote.

They can also host parties to engage in political discussions, pass out fliers, and/or engage voters on social media. The time commitment is up to the volunteer. The volunteer can make up their own schedule and decide how they want to spend their time on the campaign. Some volunteers work tirelessly on a campaign and never actually meet the presidential candidate. Some may meet the candidate but never establish a relationship with the candidate. The volunteers think they know the candidate because of their time commitment and knowledge of the candidate’s policies and plans once in office.

 

We tend to treat Jesus as if we are a volunteer on his campaign.
We make our schedule of when we will serve, we use social media and other forms of communication to encourage and persuade believers and non believers. We sometimes spend many hours a week or only a few minutes a week serving based on what our schedule will allow. Similar to the campaign volunteer we know what the Lord stands for based on his word. We are continually trying to mobilize believers into action. Through all this great work that we are doing some of us never actually meet Jesus. We have not established a relationship with Jesus or we once had a relationship but we have not maintained it because we are busy working in his name.

We have created our own schedule of when we will serve the Lord instead of allowing Jesus to determine our schedule. We filled our schedules with time commitments of serving the Lord and have not stopped to ask the Master if that is what he wants us to do. It is similar to remodeling a house without asking the homeowners their style or preference.  When we execute our own designs we have failed to remember we are servants and we need to ask our Owner what he wants done. The Lord gave Noah, Moses, David, Joshua, etc very specific instructions because they were listening. We have to stop being busy and learn to listen and wait for instruction.

The job of a servant is to obey the master. If we are busy being busy we may be missing out on the most important part of serving which is to receive instruction. We can do all the good in the world but if we are not being obedient and allowing the Lord to use us as he sees fit we are just volunteers on a campaign.  John 15:5: I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and in him the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. When we are working without his guidance we are doing nothing.

To be a branch we must obey they vine. When we are burned out working for the Lord we have to evaluate who is dictating our schedule. Are we allowing Jesus to determine our schedule and our workload or are we doing things because we think that is what God wants us to do? 2 Cor 12:9 “….. My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness” If we are not receiving strength we may not be obedient to the vine, we may be working in our own strength. Matt 11:28-30, Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.

Jesus instructs us to take his yoke upon us which means to submit to him. In our submission he wants us to learn him. When we learn him we have to listen to him. We cannot listen if we are so busy being busy. To learn Jesus we have to experience Jesus. To learn Jesus we have to gain and expand our knowledge of him by allowing ourselves to be taught by the master. His yoke is easy and his burden is light. When we take Jesus yoke upon us it is not similar to the heavy yoke that is put on cattle used for bondage and slavery forcing animals into submission. Jesus yoke gives rest for our souls and if we are not receiving rest for our souls we may need to recalibrate and ask Jesus to dictate our schedule so we move from volunteers on a campaign to branches on the vine.

God Bless you!

Pray

Most high God, the great King over all the earth. Lord you reign over the heaven and the earth. Lord you sit upon the throne of holiness. You are great and greatly to be praised. We have thought of your loving-kindness and will praise you to the ends of the earth. Forgive us for working in your name and not seeking your guidance. Forgive us for working at times in our own strength. Help us to dwell in the secret place of the most High and abide under the shadow of the Almighty. Help us to trust you with everything and be a branch and allow you to be the vine. Teach us how to wait, listen and learn for your instruction. Teach us to please you and not men. Teach us to no longer do good works but serve you and not the cause. In Jesus name we pray. Amen

Are you worthy of Christ?

TGIF's Word

Are you worthy of Christ?

Matt 10:34-39

We often think about what Christ can do for us but we seldom speak about our worthiness to Christ. We often love the feel good message that God is love (1 John 4:8) and he loves everyone (John 3:16) but we should recognize that we have a responsibility in our relationship with Christ.

Those responsibilities are similar to what we have in any of our other relationships. Every relationship has rules and boundaries. We love people every day that we are not in relationship with but may still love them. God can love us but not know us (Matt 7:21-23) and if he does not know us we will not enter into the kingdom of heaven. He will not claim us if we are not in relationship with him. We want Christ to be in relationship with us and not love us from a distance. We want a personal, intimate relationship with Christ. We want to hide under his shadow of protection (Psa 17:8). We want to find refuge and strength in Christ (Psa 46:1 & 91:2).

If we only seek God when we need something we are not in relationship with him. If we only pray out of routine and we never meditate to hear from Jesus, we are not in relationship. If we put our parents or our children before Christ we are not in relationship. A relationship is being connected by blood or marriage. It comes from the root word related.  I would say Christ is connected to us both ways. The opposite of relationship is no connection, no bond, no relation. What is connecting us to Christ? Jesus has stipulations to be in relation with him.

Matthew 10:36-38

And a person's enemies will be those of his own household. Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.

And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.

To be in relation with Christ we need to love him enough to follow him wherever he leads.

Jesus is not our sugar daddy. Jesus is our father and he has a requirement of us. Some of us find the concept difficult to grasp. We find it difficult to love The Lord more than our parents or our children. We find it difficult to love the Lord more than we love ourselves. We love and will follow and obey those who can only provide superficial gratification. Yet, the one who can provide, protect, guide, love, give peace, wisdom, understanding, and joy, we struggle with loving him. Jesus said his yolk is easy and his burden is light (Matt 11:30).

We were created to love him. We were created to live for him. When we are doing anything contrary we are operating below our potential and therefore, we are living a less than fruitful life. When we experience a true relationship with Christ there is nothing and no one that can compare. All the money in the world cannot not compare to the love of Christ. His love provides peace that money or pills cannot provide. His love provides protection that is better than armed forces. Relationship with Jesus provides joy that is unexplainable.

If you are not experiencing Joy in Jesus consider a relationship with him today. If your relationship with Jesus has suffered a setback please consider recalibrating your relationship today. Establish a relationship where Jesus is your source and everything and everyone else is a resource.  

J=Jesus

O=Over

Y=You

Allow Jesus to be over you and experience Joy that you have never experienced before!

How Long Will You Wait?

Thursday Awakening

Topic How long will you wait?

Josh 18:2-3, Judg 18:5-10

How long are you going to wait to obtain what God has for you? God has given us an inheritance and it is ours for the taking, but Jesus is asking how long will we wait? How long will we dream or fantasize about our inheritance? How long will we sit in envy of the next person that has pursed what God had for them? How long will we complain about our circumstances? How long will we hope it will drop from heaven or appear in a lottery? It is waiting for us but are we slack in obtaining it.

Josh 18:2-3

Joshua had given out all the land to the children of Israel and there were seven tribes that had not received their inheritance. Joshua said to the seven tribes “How long are ye slack to go to possess the land, which the Lord God of your fathers have given you” Are we slack today in pursuing what Jesus has given us? Slack means slow or sluggish. Slack also means showing laziness or negligence in obtaining what God has given us.  

When we are negligent, we fail to properly use our talents and our gifts to obtain what Jesus has given us. If God has given us wood and the idea of a chair, the chair is not going to drop from heaven but he has given us the vision and the raw materials to make the chair. 

If Jesus has given us a talent and an idea, the idea will only become reality when we decide to use what Jesus has given us to create the vision he has placed in us. He will give us the people, the resources, and ability but we have to make a decision to take the idea out of our head in into reality. First ask the Lord where to go and what to do. Then go and do it!

Judg 18:5-10 ⁵ And they said to him, “Inquire of God, please, that we may know whether the journey on which we are setting out will succeed.” ⁶ And the priest said to them, “Go in peace. The journey on which you go is under the eye of the Lord.” ⁹ They said, “Arise, and let us go up against them, for we have seen the land, and behold, it is very good. And will you do nothing? Do not be slow to go, to enter in and possess the land.

We have to go and enter and posses what God has given us. Will we do nothing? Will we be slack? Do not be negligent with the talents and gifts God has given you. Do not compare your talents with others. Your talent is special and unique and Jesus has given you a vision, please do not discount it. If God has given you a song but you cannot sing write the song and he will lead you to the person that will sing it. If God has given you a vision but you don’t have the gifts to execute the vision, write the vision and seek the Lord and he will lead you to the people to help you create the vision.

Do not become slack or slow in executing what God has given you. Write the vision and make it plain (Hab 2:2)! Go and subdue. Go and possess! Remember to be strong and of good courage when you are going to pursue what Jesus has given you. Do not fear, do not be afraid for the Lord is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you (Deut 31:6).

God bless you! Jesus loves you so much. He wants you to receive all that he has promised you. 

 

 

 

 

 

Be careful where you move....Is Jesus there?

TGIF’s Word

Topic: Be careful where you decide to move.
Genesis 13-14

Before we leave a blessed place let’s make sure the new place is blessed and Jesus has ordered our steps.

We have to be careful when we move from where Jesus is blessing us to a new place. It is important to always wait on the Lord especially when moving from our blessings. We often know when it is time to move on, but we must be cautious where we move on. We are visual people and we will often move based on what we see and sometimes what we hear. We have to move based on where Jesus tells us to move! Until Jesus gives us the blessed location we need to humble ourselves and stay in our blessed place.

Lot and Abram were dwelling in the same land. Lot was Abram’s nephew and Abram protected Lot as family usually does. It came a time when their riches were too great to continue to live together. Lot’s herdsmen were fighting with Abram’s herdsman and it was clear they had outgrown the space and Abram suggested they separate. This happens often when individuals forget their role. Abram was the leader and Lot had been blessed because Abram was blessed. As we know blessings flow down. Lot and his herdsmen should have recognized where their blessings were flowing and humbled themselves.  I am sure there were quite a few alpha male moments. At that point Abram most likely felt he needed to take control of the situation and release Lot to his own territory (Gen 13:5-8). Clearly Lot failed to stay in his lane and recognize his position.  I am sure most of us can relate to team Abram or Team Lot.

 

Whether our blessed place is church, work, home, school etc, we must be mindful of where and when we move. It may be time to move on but we must be sure we are moving with our spiritual eyes and not your carnal eyes. Lot and all his herdsmen had a covering. We should never buck up against our covering. Lot didn’t understand he was leaving his covering, his protection, his link with God. He was leaving the source from which his blessings were flowing. When we understand what we are leaving we can make an informed decision about where we are going. Sometimes in anger we make rash decisions and we do not think things through. The enemy will deceive us into believing our blessing weren’t connected to our covering. When we move from a blessed place to a spiritually barren place it can cause us to lose everything we have. If Lot recognized he was leaving his covering he would have made a spiritual decision but his carnal eyes deceived him. When we have a lot we tend to think no matter where we go we will always have a lot. When we have been blessed for so long we tend to think no matter where we go we will be blessed the same. If Jesus does not want us in a particular place and we go anyway he will still protect us because he is God but our blessings will change.

Abram asked Lot to choose the right and he would go left or the left and he would go right. It appears Lot did not choose the left or the right. The bible says Lot traveled east and Abram went toward Hebron, it seems Lot chose a different direction. He lifted his eyes a saw the plain of Jordan that was well watered all over and he chose to leave Abram and live in cities of the plain and he pitched his tent towards Sodom. We must be careful where we pitch our tents (Gen 13:9-13).

We often decide to leave our small church for a mega church because it’s bigger, looks prettier and ultimately we will have to do less work because we fall under the radar. Some of us leave our families, our jobs, because it looks better and easier when we lift our eyes. Some of us have our own plains of Jordan that appear watered everywhere. Please wait to hear from Jesus. When Lot says it was well watered he meant it didn’t require a lot of work, it was already established. It was an open plain, it didn’t require difficult travel. Never once did he consult his uncle, the man of God, his covering, on which direction he should travel. He didn’t consult the Lord on the direction he should pitch his tent. He allowed his flesh to make the decision. How often does that get us into trouble?

We have to be aware of our carnal decisions. We have to consult Jesus in all things even if it looks good, smells good, and sounds good, we have to be sure it is good in the sight of the Lord.

 

What Lot didn’t know was although it looked good there was a war brewing in that area and there was wickedness in that area, and due to the war Lot was captured. Abram was notified and he gathered his servants and the Lord delivered Lot’s captors into Abram’s hands and he rescued Lot (Gen 14:1-16). That would have been a good time for Lot to humble himself and return to his covering or seek council on where he should go. Instead he returned to the wicked place of Sodom that the Lord later destroyed (Gen 19:23-29). Abraham (no longer Abram) Lot’s covering interceded on his behalf again, to rescue him from destruction (Gen 18:22-33). There are things we cannot see and we have to consult Jesus on our decisions because he sees what we cannot see. He will protect us and shield us if we listen and obey. When we make a decision to leave a blessed place and move ourselves and or our family we have to hear from Jesus. There are certain places our blessed selves should avoid. We can pray from a distance, when there is true wickedness we need to relocate or avoid.  In the end all those riches his Lot’s herdsmen were fighting over he lost. He was rescued with the only the clothes on his back (Gen 19:15-22).

                                                                             

God Bless you and yours.

To read more about Lot’s story please click this link for an earlier post.

Pray

Almighty God Creator of the universe. You are the most High God. We bless and magnify you, for you are great and greatly to be praised. Who is like unto you? There is no one greater than you. You are breathtaking, astounding, and truly amazing. You have created the earth and everything in the earth. All kings bow before you. You are eternal and everlasting. We thank you for your mercy and your kindness you continue to show towards us. Please forgive us for making decisions without consulting you. Please forgive us for moving with our carnal eyes. Please forgive our sins and hear from heaven. Help us to be obedient to your voice and your direction. Please guide our steps and our heart. Help us to lean not to our understanding but to you and your direction. Thank you for leaning in on us and disrupting our thoughts and replacing them with your thoughts. Thank you for permanently damaging our ignorance. You are a loving Father that continues to extend mercy and grace towards us and we thank you. In Jesus name Amen.

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