Some scriptures I have been thinking on

 Some scriptures I have been thinking on

 

Galatians 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.

 

Galatians 5: 24 And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

 

1 John 3:4 Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness. 5 And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin. 6 Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him.

7 Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous. 8 He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. 9 Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God.

Did you know that these blessings are yours to walk in?

 Did you know that these blessings are yours to walk in?

Deut. 28:313 Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the country.

“Blessed shall be the fruit of your body, the produce of your ground and the increase of your herds, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flocks.

“Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. “Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out.

“The LORD will cause your enemies who rise against you to be defeated before your face; they shall come out against you one way and flee before you seven ways.

“The LORD will command the blessing on you in your storehouses and in all to which you set your hand, and He will bless you in the land which the LORD your God is giving you.

“The LORD will establish you as a holy people to Himself, just as He has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of the LORD your God and walk in His ways. Then all peoples of the earth shall see that you are called by the name of the LORD, and they shall be afraid of you And the LORD will grant you plenty of goods, in the fruit of your body, in the increase of your livestock, and in the produce of your ground, in the land of which the LORD swore to your fathers to give you. The LORD will open to you His good treasure, the heavens, to give the rain to your land in its season, and to bless all the work of your hand. You shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow. And the LORD will make you the head and not the tail; you shall be above only, and not be beneath, if you heed the commandments of the LORD your God, which I command you today, and are careful to observe them

Sadly many don’t so they don’t have faith for them and so let ignorance feed their unbelief. 

If we look at our lives and see that they are not blessed lives it ain’t God’s fault. It isn’t that He isn’t blessing, we are just not receiving.

Words have power.

 Words have power. 

YOUR words have power.  

One of the better-known scriptures concerning the power of words is Proverbs 18:21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit. Probably from your own life you have experienced this.  How someone spoke something over you when you were young that, positively or negatively, influenced the rest of your life. 

The question is now what words are you speaking over your life and the life of those around you?  Are you speaking life to things that need to become alive and are you speaking death to those things that need to die?  

The Vine and the Branches. John 15:5

Faith and Mustard Seed

 Faith and Mustard Seed

 

Sadly, one of the issues with some “Modern translations” of the Bible is that they get some things wrong and because people sometimes don’t use logic there can be confusion.  For instance, Matthew 17:20.

In the NIV this verse says He replied, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”

 

Now let us look at this logically.  The verse says because you have so little faith but then says if you have faith as small as a mustard seed nothing will be impossible.  This makes no sense especially seeing how mustard seed is one of the smallest seeds.  Also, you will never find Jesus complimenting someone’s little faith, actually every mention of Jesus speaking of little faith it is a gentle rebuke.

 

Now let us look at a more reliable translation. 

So Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.  NKJV

 

Now this makes more sense, doesn’t it?  For further explanation of why the second version is a more accurate translation we need to exam it in the context of the rest of scripture.  Let us go back and look at what Jesus has said about the mustard seed earlier.  

 

Matthew 13:31-32

³¹ Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field, ³² which indeed is the least of all the seeds; but when it is grown it is greater than the herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.”

 

In these 2 verses we see a couple of key points.  Mustard seed, though it is the least of all seeds, when it is planted grows into something that is greater than the herbs and becomes a tree large enough for birds to make nests in.  

 

So, when we put Matthew 17:20 into proper context of Matthew 13:31-32 we can see that faith may start small but is never meant to stay small.  It is meant to be planted into God and when we plant that faith in Him it GROWS and becomes great. Great enough to move mountains and where nothing is impossible for us.  

 

If our faith is still the size of a mustard seed THERE IS A PROBLEM.  As a farmer if I planted seed and it didn’t grow there were only two reasons.  Either the seed was bad or it was planted in the wrong place.  As a believer the problem isn’t the seed so it must be where it was planted.  

Love in Deed

Love in Deed

Have you ever had someone say that they loved you but you didn’t believe them or feel like it was the truth?  Have know that you were loved by someone who never said I love you but you knew that they did? What is the difference? 

Think about this. How do you know that God loves you or anyone? Was it simply because He said I love you, I love everyone OR did He demonstrate His love through action? 

As a Christian should we not love as God does?  Should we not use the same method that He does?  

Look at what God’s Word says about how He expresses loves.  

John 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

 

Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

In both of these verses we see that the Love of God is not just a simple phrase. Words are cheap and insincere without corresponding actions.  Love is not emotion, it is action that comes from a choice to love.  God hates sin and yet while we were in sin He sent Christ to pay the price for our sins by His dying in our place, taking our wrath and punishment upon Himself.  

I have lost track of how many times strangers have teared up when I have prayed for them.  Trust me it wasn’t the eloquence of my words, it was the fact that I showed genuine care for them.  Folks there is a world that is separated from the Father which means that they are separated from true love.  There is not love apart from God for God is love.  Everything else that we call love is just a cheap imitation, lust, maybe affection at best but usually selfish and self centered.  God love is none of that.  It is the real deal and when you truly experience it you can’t help but be changed.  

So let us follow the instruction of 1 John 3:18 My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth.

If we do this we will change the world.

Messed Up Thinking

Messed Up Thinking

Have you ever had someone do you wrong?  I mean someone close to you, someone you trusted, you loved and they betrayed you?  It hurts right?  Of course it hurts.  It is in these times we need to be on extra guard against messed up thinking.  

What do I mean by messed up thinking?  The kind of thinking that takes joy in the person who hurt you being hurt.  Where if something good happens for them you get upset because what you really want is for them to “GET WHAT THEY DESERVE.”  The kind of thinking that leads you to being depressed if they are in anyway happy.  

Romans 12 has some very good instruction and how we are to think and act concerning those who have wronged us.

Romans 12:14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 

Romans 12:17 Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. 18 If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. 19 Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. 20 Therefore “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; If he is thirsty, give him a drink; For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.” 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Let us also remember that by the grace of God none of get the punishment that justice requires for all that we have done and we have done far worse towards God than anyone has ever done to us.  There is nothing wrong with wanting justice but let us not begrudge someone else receiving grace in place of judgement just as we have received or want to receive. 

Vines, Branches and Where you going to live.

Vines, Branches and Where you going to live. 

John 15:5 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.

 

This verse is so AWESOME.  First let us look at a good definition for Abides-to remain, to tarry, not depart, to continue to be present, to be held, kept continually, to last, endure not to perish, to live. Next let us breakdown the verse.  

Jesus is the vine, and as born-again believers we are the branches.  The vine isn’t dependent on the branches at all but the branches are totally dependent upon the vine.  He who abides, stop here and let the importance of this hit you.  We GET to abide in Jesus.  When we were sinners, we being what God hated, we were loved so much that Jesus came to pay for our sins and allow us to be forgiven. Now just having our sins forgiven so that we don’t go to hell is more than we deserve and is great on its own BUT WAIT that’s not all.  We are made the righteousness of God in Christ, we get adopted and become sons and daughters of the God most High, we also become joint heirs with Christ i.e. we are in the will, we get life now and that more abundantly, and not only do we get to come boldly into the throne room of God but we get to abide not just in His Prescence but literally in HIM.  Guess what it doesn’t stop as we keep reading, HE will Also abide in US.  From that we will bear much fruit because of us being in Him and Him being in us.

We don’t just get to stop by the throne room for a visit nor do we have to wait till heaven to live in His Prescence.  Right now, and every day we can choose to abide, remain, tarry, not depart, continue to be present in Him, to hold Him and be held by Him, to be kept continually, to endure, live every second so in Him that we don’t know where He starts and we end.  

HOW AWESOME IS THAT!!!

Imagine how different your life would be if you were really abiding in Him instead of just stopping by for a visit on Sunday morning, in a time of trouble or just during your morning devotion time? 

He has made the way for this to happen so don’t get it twisted and think that you have to earn it somehow or that you can earn it or achieve it.  This is simply making a choice to take advantage, receive what He has given us the opportunity to do. Salvation comes by grace through faith.  Abiding in Jesus comes by grace through faith.  Also healing, prosperity, abundance, miracles all comes by grace through faith.  

John 15:5 is not something impossible that only those super spiritual, special people can ever hope to obtain.  No!  It is for who soever will receive it.  

The Curse of Fatalistic Thinking

 The Curse of Fatalistic Thinking

“Hope for the Best but Prepare for the Worst”

“If it wasn’t for bad luck I would have no luck at all”

“Expect the Worst and if anything good happens you will be pleasantly surprised”

Have you ever heard someone say any of these phrases? I have. All my life. These were things said by my family for several generations and basically every time these were spoken we were cursing ourselves. They weren’t said knowing that they were curses but actually to try and avoid disappointment and pain. Sadly what this thinking caused was nothing but disappointment and pain for they are contrary to the Word of God.

Proverbs 23:7a

For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.

If you think/see yourself as failing, that something bad is always going to happen or that disappointment is just around the corner guess what you are right. With that heart even if something great happens you won’t fully recognize it because in your heart you only see disappointment.

Now if you renew your mind in Christ and put your hope in Him and by faith trust that you will receive what He has promised it won’t matter how many trials or hardships come your way. The negative things won’t stop you because you know that you are blessed and that nothing can stop God’s blessings from coming to you. They may be delayed but never stopped because you believe/see/think in your heart what God says about you. That you are the head and not the tail. You are blessed coming and going. You are a overcomer.

Our circumstances really don’t define us. It is what we think/see/believe in our hearts about ourselves that defines us and our level of success or failure.

What are you sowing?

 

New Youtube channel

I just added a new youtube channel where you can view longer videos. 

Evangelist Philip Jaycox

@EvangelistPhilipJaycox-so7sl

May 6, 2023 Warrenton, NC Part 11

 Because of file size limits I am having to break this down into several different parts. 

May 6, 2023 Warrenton, NC Part 10

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May 6,2023 Warrenton, NC Part 9

 

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May 6, 2023 Warrenton, NC Part 8

 

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May 6,2023 Warrenton, NC Part 7

 

Because of file size limits I am having to break this down into several different parts. 

May 6, 2023 Warrenton, NC Part 6

 

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May 6, 2023 Warrenton, NC Part 5

 

Because of file size limits I am having to break this down into several different parts. 

May 6,2023 Warrenton, NC Part 4

 

Because of file size limits I am having to break this down into several different parts. 

May 6,2023 Warrenton, NC Part 3

 

Because of file size limits I am having to break this down into several different parts. 

May 6,2023 Warrenton, NC Part 2

 

Because of file size limits I am having to break this down into several different parts. 

May 6,2023 Warrenton, NC Part 1

 

Because of file size limits I am having to break this down into several different parts. 

Activation

 Activation

the action or process of making something active or operative:

Kurt, I believe prophetically, has been using this word activation a lot recently. 

If one person obeyed the Lord and 1 disciple in a year there would be 2 and if the 2 in a year each made one disciple there would be 4. If the 4 in a year each made 1 disciple there would be 8 and if the 8 all made 1 there would be 16 and then the 16 becomes 32 the 32 becomes 64, 64 become 128, 128 becomes 256,, 256 becomes 532 and the 532 becomes 1064. In 10 years from 1 person being obedient to 1064. 

Matt 28:19-20 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.

The Lord is still looking for those who will say send me.
Isaiah 6:8
Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying:
“Whom shall I send,
And who will go for Us?”
Then I said, “Here am I! Send me.”

Matt 9:37-38

Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out

John 4:35
Do you not say, ‘There are still four months and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest!

Don’t miss out on the joy in the Journey

 Don’t miss out on the joy in the Journey

 

God wants us to walk in joy every step of the way.  Sadly, for many of us, we allow our joy to be stolen from us through improper vision/focus.  For some it is seeing what is out there and because we don’t have all of it right now, we are miserable.  We miss out on the joy and victories of what is happening right now because we don’t have, fully, what has been promised.  Like the child who can’t wait to grow up who misses out on the joy of childhood because the want to have and do what adults have and do. Then there are those who never progress into what has been promised because they don’t want to leave the familiar.  They don’t go for the joy that was set before them. They have gotten so used to being a child that they never want to grow into the joy of adulthood.  

We need to have a clear vision/focus and to walk in the joy of the right now as we are progressing into possessing what God has given to us already that we have yet to possess. 

Already Done

 Already Done

Ephesians 1:3

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,

I would like to point out 2 words from this verse. 

Has Blessed. 

Past tense. Already done.  You don’t have to wait for God to bless you because He already has. The blessing is waiting for you to come get. 

Look at this 

Deuteronomy 2:24

“ ‘Rise, take your journey, and cross over the River Arnon. Look, I have given into your hand Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and his land. Begin to possess it, and engage him in battle.

I have given. Before the battle the Lord told Israel that He had already given them Sihon and his land. It was their’s before the first battle.  

This doesn’t mean that we’re to do nothing because there is action required on our part.  We need to go possess and engage. 

Victory is your’s go possess and engage. Revival never stopped since it started when Christ came go possess and engage it. Healing, finances, favor, blessing, success, wisdom, love, etc is your’s go possess and engage. 

There’s a so much more that can be said on this topic but I will end with these words; GO POSSESS AND ENGAGE.

Oh Be careful little mouth what you say

 Oh Be careful little mouth what you say.

Why is it that we say that someone will never get it, or will never learn or will never change and then still be mad when the person doesn’t get it, doesn’t learn or doesn’t change?

After we have said of ourselves over and over that we are dumb, stupid or ignorant should we be surprised that we continue to do dumb, stupid or ignorant stuff?

Proverbs 18:21

Death and life are in the power of the tongue,

And those who love it will eat its fruit.

Words have power. Your words have power, especially over yourself. So be careful how you use

Plant the seed, reap the harvest

 I have never saw seed left on the shelf produce a crop. I have never seen a crop harvest itself and bring itself into the store house.

So why do Christians think that they are going to have a harvest when they don’t plant seed? Why do Christians keep hanging around the church waiting for the lost souls to just come in?

Biblically speaking we are to be sowing the seed of the Gospel out into the world and we are to be GOING OUT into the world to be witnesses for Jesus and to make disciples.

It would be more effective, and Biblical, if we stopped inviting people to church and instead invited them to Salvation by grace through faith in Jesus. You do that and the lost get found and they will have a desire to be where the rest of the body of Christ is.

Took me years to understand what I had been taught in church for most of my life about church growth was wrong. Jesus grows the church through us leading people to salvation. Not through the worship band, cute preaching,or give aways. Just the power of the gospel.

Matthew 28:19

Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

Acts 1:8

But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

YOU CAN ONLY LIVE IN THE RIGHT NOW!

 Remember this: YOU CAN ONLY LIVE IN THE RIGHT NOW!

You only exist in the right now and both your past and future will be determined by what you do in the right now. For today was yesterday’s future and tomorrow’s past.

To change the story of your past AND future depends upon your right now.

Isaiah 1:19

 Isaiah 1:19

If you are willing and obedient,
You shall eat the good of the land;

Proverbs 11:30

 Proverbs 11:30

The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life,

And he who wins souls is wise.

The Blessing is greater than the curse

 I have heard people use Exodus 20:5

You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me,

To back their belief in generational curses. What puzzles me the most is how verse 6 is missed or ignored.

Exodus 20:6

but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.

Why is it that for people to believe the cursing part but not the blessing part?

I am not saying that verse 6 cancels verse 5 but that people will focus and build a doctrine around verse 5 but virtually ignore verse 6.

Also, through Jesus we have been delivered from the curse of the law. So yes verse 5 is serious but through Christ we can be changed and delivered and also be positioned to live in the promise of verse 6.

Let us fully know and live our true identity in Christ. We have been adopted by God the Father into the family. We are in the will, joint heirs with Christ. We have been made the righteousness of God in Christ.

Search the scriptures, find out how loved by God you are and how nothing you did ir could ever do could earn that love. So stop striving, competing to earn the Father’s love that is already yours. Stop living for God and start living from God.

Temporary vs Eternal

Temporary vs Eternal

2 Corinthians 4:18

while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.

I have to confess that I have spent too much of my time looking at the temporary and not near enough time on the eternal. Sadly it is a easy thing to trick ourselves into thinking that we are focused upon eternal things when actually we’re not.

I have been teaching on the gifts of the Spirit from 1 Cor. 12 since the start of June. They are each wonderful things and yet so often they are only temporary things. Let me explain. Take the gifts of healings for an example. If someone is healed through this gift and they are not saved and the person who the gift was used through doesn’t use the opportunity afforded them via the healing to share the gospel what was the eternal impact? If someone is healed and still goes to hell the healing was a temporary thing.

Acts 1:8 tells us that the empowering of the Holy Spirit is for the purpose of being Jesus witnesses everywhere. It doesn’t matter what we do, what anointing we have, gifts that we possess if we’re not being witnesses for Jesus with the intention of making disciples it is all temporary things that are futile.

Examine the following.

1 Cor 13:1-3

Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.

Love, Biblical love, is eternal. If we love the Lord with our all we are going to love our neighbor and we are going to obey what the Lord tells us to do which is to be His witnesses and go make disciples of all nations. If I love others I am not going to sit back and just let them live in sin and separation from God with out doing something to warn them.

We have a choice in everything we do, in every relationship we have and in every encounter to choose if it will be temporary or eternal.

This post may lead you to some conviction and repentance, it did for me.

Unity and Division

 Unity and Division

Biblically speaking, unity isn’t always good and division isn’t always bad.

God’s command: Genesis 9:1

So God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them: “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth.

Man’s response to this is one of the greatest examples of human unity: Genesis 11:1-4 Now the whole earth had one language and one speech. And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar, and they dwelt there. Then they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They had brick for stone, and they had asphalt for mortar. And they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in the heavens; let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.”

God’s response: Genesis 11:5-9 But the LORD came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built. And the LORD said, “Indeed the people are one and they all have one language, and this is what they begin to do; now nothing that they propose to do will be withheld from them. Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.” So the LORD scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth, and they ceased building the city. Therefore its name is called Babel, because there the LORD confused the language of all the earth; and from there the LORD scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth.

New Testament example

Jesus command: Acts 1:8

But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

Again man’s disobedience. Acts 2-7 we see that though people are being saved and miracles happening the disciples had not been obedient to the command of Jesus as in they hadn’t moved outside Jerusalem.

So what happens? Acts 8:1-5 Now Saul was consenting to his death.

At that time a great persecution arose against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. And devout men carried Stephen to his burial, and made great lamentation over him.

As for Saul, he made havoc of the church, entering every house, and dragging off men and women, committing them to prison. Therefore those who were scattered went everywhere preaching the word. Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria and preached Christ to them.

It wasn’t till intense persecution came to the church that they actually went and did what they were supposed to do.

Unity is only good if we are first unified with the Holy Spirit and that’s kind of impossible if we’re not walking in obedience.

Eph 4:1-6

I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

Division:

From the examples above we see that for there to be Kingdom growth dividing is apart of God’s math.

Now let’s look at a couple accounts of Jesus concerning division.

Luke 12:51-53 is accomplished! Do you suppose that I came to give peace on earth? I tell you, not at all, but rather division. For from now on five in one house will be divided: three against two, and two against three. Father will be divided against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.”

Matt. 10:34-39

“Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law’; and a man’s enemies will be those of his own household.’ He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.

What I take away from all this is that the most important thing about unity and division is that above all else I need to be unified with Father, Son and Holy Spirit. If I do that the proper unity with those I need to be in unity with will happen, and because my focus is upon God first I won’t fall in the trap of disobedient unity.

Humbling ourselves

 Humbling ourselves

In reading the Bible it important to pay attention to punctuation more than the verse markers. Sometimes a sentence is enclosed in two or more verses and we can lose part or the meaning if we don’t notice.

1 Peter 5:6-7

Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.

Verses 6-7 here are actually 1 sentence and if we read it as such we get a fuller meaning than if we break it apart.

By following the punctuation throughout we see that

We are to humble ourselves by casting all our cares upon Him and as we do this He exalts us in due time for He cares for us.

If we were to break this sentence by verse instead of seeing it as the one sentence there is a subtle change. Nothing that drastically changes the meaning but it can cause the reader to miss that humbling one’s-self involves the casting of ALL one’s cares upon the Lord. That means the “little” ones too.

Sadly I have heard countless people say that they are not going to bother God with something because it is “too small to bother God with”. What is missed is that this is a prideful attitude because it ALL is small compared to God.

Healing a runny nose is no bigger a problem for God than pancreatic cancer. To provide you with a dollar is no harder for God than to provide you with a billion dollars. There’s are no big problems for God.

The real problem is on our side of the equation starting with our pride which is a hindrance to our faith which is the conduit for grace to flow into and through our lives. Humility has a direct connection to our faith/trust in God. The more faith/trust we have the more humility we have the more grace that can flow.

Flip side the less faith/trust we have the more pride we have the less grace can flow plus also pride invites God’s resistance. Verse 5.

Romans 10:17

So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

Grow your faith/trust, grow your humility and grow in grace.

Keeping the main thing the main thing.

 Keeping the main thing the main thing.

In my few years on this earth I have found that the church and myself, especially Pentecostal/Charismatic ones and myself, tend to get to focused on secondary things.

This leads us to forget the great commission and what the power of the Holy Spirit is really for.

Ask yourself this, if you lay hands on a thousand people and they are all healed, you feed and clothe another thousand, you are able to drawl a crowd of a thousand people any time you want to speak, and you perform a thousand miracles BUT not one of those thousands ever became born again what’s the point?

One last question, if all you did was proclaim the gospel but never drew a crowd, never saw anyone healed, and never performed a miracle BUT one person was born again and became a disciple of Jesus would it have been worth it?

The Spirit’s power is for us to make disciples. Every supernatural move of God in our lives is to enable us to be His witnesses to the world. Romans 10:14 How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?

Matt 28:18-20 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

Mark 16:14-20

Later He appeared to the eleven as they sat at the table; and He rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen. And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”So then, after the Lord had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God. And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs. Amen.

Acts 1:8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

Where are our eyes?

 Where are our eyes?

Having taught my children and now helping to teach my grandchildren how to ride bikes the number one obstacle that I noticed is where their eyes are. I tell them to pick a point way out ahead of them and to focus on that as they peddle. This will help them with balance and keep them from turning to sharply and falling.

I find myself telling them repeatedly to stop looking down and to look out ahead because when they look down that’s when they are falling.

Today this reminded me of Hebrews 12:2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

We need to keep our eyes on Jesus. When we look down at what is going on around us that is when we fall. It isn’t that we ignore what is going on around us or immediately in front of us. Just as when riding a bike when we look out way ahead of us we still see what is also right in front of us and to the sides. In both cases by looking at what we are supposed to be looking at, focus wise, it puts things into proper perspective and allows us to stay balanced.

So if it seems that you are out of balance and/or falling down try adjusting how far out you are looking and if you are fully looking/focused on Jesus.

Something also to consider. Something right in front of you can seem huge until you look at it as you are looking at something else in the distance then it doesn’t look as big. What was the difference? Perspective based upon what you were looking at and focused on.

Blessings

The part they didn’t tell you

 The part they didn’t tell you.

If you have attended church for any length of time you probably heard the first part of

Romans 8:17a. and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ,

Sadly for most you didn’t hear the whole verse which shows that the first part is conditional based upon the second part.

Romans 8:17b if indeed we SUFFER with Him, that we may also be glorified together.

I put the word suffer in capitals so it wouldn’t be missed because that’s the primary reason you didn’t hear it. We don’t like to hear about suffering or about how the Christian life involves suffering.

No we want to hear the 5 steps to prosperity, the 3 keys to freedom and how great life is after we give our life to Christ. Guess what that’s true as well. The Lord wants you to prosper, to live in freedom from sin and it is a truly great life in Christ but also involves suffering.

Now don’t get it twisted. The suffering is with Christ so this isn’t talking about any suffering that comes upon you because of sin, sickness or poor choices. The Lord gets no glory from that kind of suffering nor did He suffer because of any of those things. The suffering of the Christian is to be inline with the Suffering that Jesus endured.

Look at what it says in 1 Peter 3:13-18 And who is he who will harm you if you become followers of what is good? But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you are blessed. “And do not be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled.” But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear; having a good conscience, that when they defame you as evildoers, those who revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed. For it is better, if it is the will of God, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.

For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit,

And 1 Peter 4:1-5 Therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind, for he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh for the lusts of men, but for the will of God. For we have spent enough of our past lifetime in doing the will of the Gentiles—when we walked in lewdness, lusts, drunkenness, revelries, drinking parties, and abominable idolatries. In regard to these, they think it strange that you do not run with them in the same flood of dissipation, speaking evil of you. They will give an account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.

These are not all the verses in the New Testament that speak on this subject. I encourage you to look into for yourself. Your flesh will hate it but if we don’t get a understanding of what God says concerning this subject we will miss out on something very, very important. Again our inheritance is connected to our understanding and action on this matter.

Joy

 Joy

Nehemiah 8:10

Then he said to them, “Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet, and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord. Do not sorrow, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.”

Notice here that it is the joy of the LORD not the joy of what is happening.

If you don’t have joy right now there is nothing nor no one else that can give it to you except the Lord. Too often we chase after things or people believing that if we just had them we would have joy. Theses things may give you happiness but happiness is short lived and is based upon what is happening. Joy on the other hand is not based upon what is happening but upon the Lord. So joy is always present in the Lord.

There’s so much more to know about joy than what I have time to write here. Let me encourage you to go to the Bible and read more about it. It will change your life for the better if you do.

What if the church really read and understood these two verses?

 What if the church really read and understood these two verses?

What if the those called to be these gifts lived these two verses?

I wonder when this changed in the church from equipping the saints to entertaining the saints?

Why did it take me so long to really understand this and understand that our traditions of church has replaced what the church is to be. The body of Christ in action not just lip service.

Ephesians 4:11-12

And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ

Equipping is more than just giving information, it is putting those equipped into action.