Sift you as Wheat

           I have had the opportunity to go through the book of Job during this part of the year.  It is amazing to read the dialogue and how everything plays out in the life of Job.  Though not too many Christians are familiar with all that is spoken throughout the book, almost all believers know the basics of the story, which are contained in the first two chapters and last chapter of the book.  What happens at the beginning will throw a wrench in many people’s theology.  It starts out with God having a board meeting.  Yes, apparently God has meetings, and this is not the only time it is seen in the Bible (check out 1 Kings 22:19-23).  In this particular meeting, Satan shows up.  After God questions Lucifer and then brags a little about Job, Satan makes a challenge.  He claims that if everything were to be taken away from Job, he would lose his faith and curse God.  A little bit later, when this doesn’t work, Satan claims that if Job becomes cursed in his body then he will throw out his integrity and curse God.  What an intense sequence of events!  Job is on earth enjoying his riches and peace, with no idea that Satan is scheming to destroy everything he has.

             This is the only time we see this happen.  Looking at both sides of the situation, from the heavenly perspective and the earthly perspective, we realize the purpose and reasoning behind the situation.  However, in our own lives, will we ever know what is going on behind the scenes?  Jesus told Peter in Luke 22:31 that Satan was making the request to sift him as wheat.  Back in Jesus time, what it meant to sift wheat was to break it away from the chaff.  This involved laying it out on a hard surface and than beating it with a flail.  This was what Satan was requesting!  Sound familiar?  This is what happened with Job, when the Enemy wanted to bring down all those terrible things upon him.  Should we not believe that this still happens today?  Does Lucifer still make requests on our behalf, that he may have the power to bring down calamities and destruction?  This definitely happens today.  The enemy is after us, and there are times where he will be given the opportunity to have his way.  This sounds pretty terrible, especially when we see all that Job went through!  However, we can take heart, because that is not the end of the story.  In the end, Job comes out of this terrible situation.  But he does not simply just make it through.  He comes out the other side with twice as much as he had before!  That is one amazing comeback!  Job did his best to keep his integrity, and was in the end redeemed by God.  God knew how much Job could take.  God knows how much we can handle and that is why you will not be “tempted beyond what you can bear” (1 Corinthians 10:13).  Not only that, but we have been given the Holy Spirit and the love and salvation of our Lord Jesus Christ to help us endure.  So understand that trials will come, and bad things will happen.  God has not abandon you, and you are certainly not alone.  Let the peace of God be with you during whatever trial you are going through.  Let Jesus Christ be your strength to move on through whatever you are facing.  Go forth and Conquer!

I am still here

                This has been a long time coming.  A year ago I was super excited to start this website and was under the impression that it would be maintained and advanced just the same as the devotionals that came out in my book.  As all of you can see, with no posts in over a year, that isn’t quite what happened.  This tells me two things: first, even though we may have the best intentions for God’s kingdom with something, you will never have success if it has not been set forth by God himself.  Now, we usually can not tell if God is starting it or if we are trying to bring it out on our own strength.  So, on that note, I don’t what this to deter any of you from moving forward in something that is on your heart.  If it is not what God has for you in that time, He will redirect you.  Secondly, I have had the opportunity to see how this whole thing failed completely when I tried to do it by my own strength.  This gives me confidence that the devotionals in my book were definitely orchestrated by the Divine, because if they were from me then it would have had the same result: failure.  So, with all that has been said, where does this go from here?  In all truth and honesty, I do not know.  This may be something that is revived by the hand of the Almighty, or something that will need to be put on the shelf for a later time.  Either way, I do promise there will be some new posts in days to come.  There is so much that God is doing in our present age, and I believe we need to encourage and support each other at every opportunity.  Thank you all for the continuing support, and may God’s blessing be upon you and your family as you move on through today.  And as always, Go forth and Conquer!

Reason behind your relationships

“If everyone likes you, your not even saved!”  This saying seems to go to the severe extreme.  I heard this from a pastor several years ago, and it really hit me during my readings this morning.  It is one of those sayings that no one really wants to hear, but I think it is a truth that we need to realize, no matter how extreme you take it.  The point here is not that someone can lose their salvation if everyone likes them, but the intent is to recognize and see what the worth is in our relationships!

Jehoshaphat ( 1 Cor 17-20:37) was a good king in the eyes of the Lord.  He encouraged his people to worship the Lord and sent the Levites around to the towns of Jerusalem with copies of the Book of the Law to teach the people.  When the armies of three different nations were marching on Jerusalem, Jehoshaphat prayed for guidance from God before the assembly of his people.  God delivered his people, and Jehoshaphat kept a true heart towards God through his entire life.  Yet, there are two very specific examples of the major flaw that Jehoshaphat had upon his life.  I am not sure if it was for political reasons or because he wanted to get along with everyone.  Although he followed the Lord, Jehoshaphat became united with Ahab king of Israel.  If you have read the story of Elijah, you know how horribly evil this man was along with his wife Jezebel.  This man was one of the worst kings of Israel, and Jehoshaphat made it a point to unite with this man by giving his son to marry one of Ahab’s daughters.  When Ahab asked Jehoshaphat to go with him to war and reclaim Ramoth-gilead, Jehoshaphat replied, “You and I are as one, and my troops are your troops”(1 Cor 18:3).  He connected himself with a man that God was looking to destroy, and even after the death of Ahab he still continued working relations with Ahab’s son, Ahaziah, who was just as evil as his father.  Jehoshaphat only experienced loss and difficulty with his relationship to the house of Ahab.

So what can we take from this?  What does this show us about how we should live our lives?  Well, Jehoshaphat followed God whole-heartedly, but failed when it came to some of his relationships.  Now this is the question I want to ask.  Was his problem in the simple fact that he was in communication with Ahab?  Did the sin come from his desire to gain relation with Ahab?  I don’t think so.  You see, some of us look at this story and we concoct a simple solution: You cannot maintain relationship with sinners.  Seems like an easy enough equation, right?  It seems to be the answer to many Christians; to separate themselves from the people in the world and isolate themselves only to the things and people of God.  However, as CHRISTIANS, who is our example?  Jesus is our first and foremost example, and if you look at his life you will see that he was a friend to sinners.  What?  So we are able to hang out with sinners, but Jehoshaphat was condemned for being in relation with King Ahab?  What is the difference?  What makes the Jehoshaphat-to-Ahab relationship so wrong, and the Jesus-to-Sinner relationship so right and good?  Here is the key, my friends.  It is in the influence.  Who has the influence in the relationship?  When Jesus went with the sinners, did they draw him into the drinking and partying that they were doing?  Never!  Jesus began to draw them away from the things of the world and bring them towards the Kingdom of Righteousness.  Jesus was alway the influence in the situation.  Jehoshaphat would cling to his relationship with Ahab, and even when the prophet of the Lord proclaimed disaster on the battle with Ramoth-Gilead, he still went out to battle and even let Ahab talk him into dressing up in royal robes so that he would become the target for the army.  Jehoshaphat had a heart towards God, but this was never an influence upon Ahab and his family.  Jesus brought sinners towards God, while Jehoshaphat allowed himself to be pulled in by the treachery of Ahabs sinful family.

So, with all this said, can you be the influence today?  You don’t need to automatically condemn your relationships.  There may be some of them that require evaluation, because we may not always have the influence on every person.  Some won’t allow it.  But with each person you interact with today ask yourself, ‘Am I shining the light of Christ on this person’.  It could be through your love, your compassion, or even some correction that needs to be given.  No matter what, Jesus needs to be the strongest part of any relationship, and let him come through you if no one else lets him in.  Be that shining light, and don’t be worried about whether or not the world likes you.  Your God in heaven is completely in love with you, and that should be all that you need!  Go forth and Conquer!

Taking a look at the Love Chapter

I had the great privilege of presiding over my sister’s wedding this weekend.  It was an amazing time, and I made sure to make the love chapter (1 Cor 13) the centerpiece of the message.  Here is an excerpt from my book that expounds on a couple of the verses of 1 Cor 13.  Enjoy!

June 22nd

(1Co 13:4)  Love is patient and kind; it is not jealous or conceited or proud;

(1Co 13:5)  love is not ill-mannered or selfish or irritable; love does not keep a record of wrongs;

I just got an epiphany.  There are certain attributes that people try to gain as Christians.  These certain attributes and traits help us accomplish what we need to accomplish as Christians.  Let me give you an example.  We are supposed to forgive others, right?  Jesus himself taught on how we need to let go of our hurt and ill-will towards others.  Forgiveness is a big part of who we are as Christians, and everyone who has ever been to church knows this.  And what about charity and good will to others?  These are some of the very trademarks of Christianity, the very nature of Christ.  Often I see people pursuing these things in their Christian walk.  They always make it a point to forgive everyone, and they do their best to give and bless whenever they can.  To many, these seem to be necessary to our life in Christ, and they definitely are.  However, it seems like many people have a reluctant mindset when comes to these things.  They see these things as goals and necessities, having difficulty conjuring up the will to do them.  They will forgive, but say they only did it because the Bible says to.  They will give to the church and donate to the poor, but only as much as is asked and only at times when they are in a high state of emotion.  If these things were not seen as required items for Christian living, then many church regulars would probably never do them.  But why have such a problem with it?  What can be changed so that Christians would have no problem accomplishing any of these Biblical principles?  Well, this should be an absolutely rhetorical question, because the answer is in our scriptures for today.  What we need for all these things is LOVE.  That’s the bottom line.  Like I said, we can do all these things without love.  Someone can give to the poor, forgive everyone, and be an all around good Christian without love.  However, I am here to tell you that is the hard way to go.  Because honestly, if you are doing all these things without love, then you are pretty much faking it.  Forgiveness comes from the heart, and giving to others should be a motion of good-will.  If you do these things without love, then you are doing them to make yourself feel better.  If I was just doing these things because someone told me to, I would probably have a hard time too.  But if you have love, compassion, and grace for people, then you don’t even have to try to do these things.  They will come naturally.  Just like Jesus when he saw the crowds and was moved with compassion.  He didn’t need anyone to tell him to heal the sick or give hope to the lost.  He could have come down and done the bare minimum, because it may not have been necessary for him to do so many miracles.  But he did it because he had love and compassion for the people around him.  Love is a driving force.  It is the fuel that drives you into action with the things of God.  Like I said, you don’t need love to do these things.  But love will make it easy to start the task, carry it through, and give you complete satisfaction in the end.  It will take true love to give you the right motivation.  If you feel bad for something, or happen to get a motivational speech or teaching, you may show forgiveness and grace through the emotion of love.  Yet when love is just an emotion, it will not give the lasting results that you need to carry on.  What we need is the Agape love, like we talked about yesterday.  A love that is described in the verses for today: unselfish, kind, forgiving, patient, and keeping absolutely no records of wrongs.  Try to get that love for yourself today.  There may be some people in your day that need to see the love in you, whether through your words or actions.  Be a symbol of love today, and shine the compassion and grace of Christ in all that you do.  Go forth and Conquer!

What is the Old Nature again?

Let’s start with a little scenario.  Pretend you are a child again, whether you still are or not, and your parents are trying to tell you not to touch a large red button that is posted on the wall.  Now, here is the first parent trying to order their child, “Do you see this button?  Under no circumstances should you touch this button!  I know you see all the other children push it and it looks like they have so much fun with it, but don’t push it!  I can tell you why it’s bad, but even if it doesn’t make sense to you, I don’t care.  Have fun sitting here and staring at it all day long….”  How does that sound?  Could you imagine a child being told that?  I think you can guess what that child would want to do more than anything else in the world.  He would want to touch the button!  As adult’s we usually are not so different.  We are told something is bad, but we see everyone else having fun and enjoying it.  Why shouldn’t we be able to push the button like everyone else?

Now, lets see how the second parent does it, “Oh, I see you looking at that button on the wall.  Well, let me tell you, it is really not worth it.  And I hope that you would never push that button, because it makes me very sad everytime you do, and it hurts you every time you do it.  So, you can sit here and stare at this button all day, that isn’t even worth your time, or you can come with me and have some great adventures with me.  How does that sound?”  Now, which one sounds better?  The parent who just tells you that you cannot do it without giving you a cause or a reason not to, or the one who inspires you not too and takes you off to do other things?

You see, I was reading Romans 7 this morning, and it says: ‘⁵ When we were controlled by our old nature, sinful desires were at work within us, and the law aroused these evil desires that produced a harvest of sinful deeds, resulting in death’.  Have you noticed how many kids of strict christian parents will go the completely opposite direction?  Why is that?  When it happens, it is because the child was never inspired to follow Christ, and can only see christianity as a set of rules to be followed.  They only see a fun and precious button that they are not allowed to touch, and with all that penned up desire they end up leaping up to push it as soon as they are out of their parents house.  What is the cause, and how can we get our children (and even many adults around us) to become closer to God?  How can we show christianity to be a wonderful adventure instead of a set of rules to follow?

We have to let go of the old nature.  The old nature is what shows the laws of God to be a bunch of rules to follow, and it is also what makes us condemn ourselves when we end up breaking those rules.  When we take off the old nature and truly follow Christ, we realize that it is not all about a set of rules that we must strictly follow.  When we take the path set before us, instead of sitting there and desiring to sin, we become active in a Godly lifestyle and no longer have the time to worry about sin.  The point of following Christ is not to be sinless.  That is a product of following Christ.  The true reason is not sin, but life!  God wants to give us a life of adventure and relationship, and through that life we will fall further and further away from sin, and soon it will no longer be a problem in our lives.  But how do we accomplish this?  Going to church?  Understanding the laws and rules of Christianity?  Not at all.  We accomplish this by getting rid of the old nature and picking up the cause of Christ.  If you are having trouble with sin, stop worrying about it.  The more you sit and worry about sin, the more you will be stuck in the same cycle of desiring that sin.  Live for God, take up your cross daily, and you will find that sin is no longer an issue.  Get rid of the old nature today, and Go forth and Conquer!

Redemption is Possible

The word “Redemption” has such a powerful meaning to it.  It deals with recovering things that have been pawned or mortgaged.  It could be in reference to someone being delivered as payment for a ransom.  When you are able to pay off a loan and have been cleared of debt, that is redemption.  And if this word wasn’t loaded enough, we know as Christians that we can find the ultimate redeeming power on the Cross that was on Calvary.  I don’t think I need to go into any further explanation on that, as much as I would love to.  I would hope that you already understand the redeeming power that is able to save our souls and prepare us for heavenly occupation.  I think most Christians understand the big picture of redemption, but maybe not everyone is able to apply the same principle to actual events in their lives.  Redemption is possible.

I was hit by all of this while I was reading through my Bible this morning.  I found myself in 1 Chronicles 28, which was part of my reading-through-the-Bible routine.  The whole chapter was talking about David and how he was preparing his son, Solomon, to become the next ruler and to be the one to build the Holy Temple.  Reading all of this was super encouraging, and I would recommend for any of you to take a read through the chapter.  But what really awakened my mind wasn’t the exhortation that was going on in the chapter.  I found myself coming to a different realization as I read verse 5 ‘Of all my sons–and the LORD has given me many–he has chosen my son Solomon to sit on the throne of the kingdom of the LORD over Israel.’  Solomon was the chosen son to sit on the throne and become the next ruler over God’s people.  It even says in II Samuel 12:24 that God loved Solomon.  That is really amazing that the scripture tells of God’s love for Solomon, but I think the beginning of the verse makes it even more amazing.  It says that David comforted his wife and lay with her, and Bathsheba gave birth to Solomon.  Whoa, hold up!  Bathsheba was Solomon’s mother?  If you don’t know the story of David’s sin with this women, then this may not seem like a big deal.  But to understand that Bathsheba was the center-point of the terrible sin that David committed sheds a new light on this whole situation.  It was the relationship David had with Bathsheba that made him an adulterer, a murderer, a liar, and a thief.  He shed the blood of Uriah, one of his faithful soldiers, and stole his wife.  It was a terrible situation, and as a result the child that was borne to Bathsheba was struck with illness and died.  We look at this and we think, “How could anything good come out of this situation?”  Well, Saints of God, redemption is possible.

Solomon was born to Bathsheba.  He was brought into this world by the women who was the cause of King David’s greatest downfall.  And yet this is the same Solomon who was  visited by God in a dream and was told to ask for whatever he desired.  This is also the same Solomon that is part of the genealogy of Jesus (Matt 1:6-7).  We read about his amazing wisdom and all of his proverbs that are in the Bible.  We see in the scriptures about the success and the glory of the kingdom of Israel during his reign.  The blessing upon Solomon’s life is obvious, but there is a question with all of this.  Why was Solomon so blessed?  What could have turned the tide so that Solomon could become king, even when two of his brothers attempted to take the throne for themselves?  So much sin and despair was the outcome of David getting together with Bathsheba, and the blessing of Solomon was also a result of their relationship.  To the human mind this equation doesn’t make sense.  It is impossible with our understanding, but with God redemption is possible!

As I said before, we can understand the redeeming power of the Cross.  The good news directs us towards the redemption of our souls from the very start, but do we ever apply the redeeming power of God to our everyday situations?  We have all made mistakes, and many of us feel like we are forced to live with the consequences the rest of our lives.  We mess up and the curse comes upon us, and for some reason we latch on to the curse like we need to have it.  I have met people who have made their curse to become their testimony, and they will tell everyone that they were destined to be broken and destitute for Christ.  I do feel there are some people who need to pass through the fire, but I also believe that we were never meant to hold onto the curse.  Why was Solomon such a blessing after the curse of sin had killed his older brother?  Well, what did David do after the first son born to Bathsheba died?  The entire time the child was sick the king was in sackcloth and crying out to God for mercy.  When the miracle didn’t happen and David had experienced the consequences of his sin, did he hold onto it?  Did he continue to mope around as if he was being mistreated?  David’s first response, once he realized that his son had died, was worship.  He didn’t curse God and he didn’t blame God for bringing him into a terrible situation.  He washed his face, cleaned himself up, and went straight into worship with God.  Isn’t that awesome?  He did not allow the curse of his sin to stay on his mind or in his life.  He moved on and continued to be that man after God’s own heart.  And what was the result?  The next child that was born to Bathsheba was the child of promise, the one destined to build the Temple and granted supernatural wisdom that was incomparable to anyone of his time.  The result of David’s worship was the expulsion of the curse on his life and the restoration of blessing.

So honestly, what does that have to do with us?  How can we apply all of this to our own lives?  When we see David’s response to the situation, we see exactly how we should react to the mistakes and problems that happen in our own lives.  There are some people who have been through a divorce and have remarried, but feel like they are still under the curse for the mistakes they made in their previous marriage.  There are others that have made bad or sinful decisions at work or with friends, and there may be guilt and turmoil felt because of the people that were hurt in the process.  So many problems we face and mistakes we make in this world that can bring us down and take away our joy in Christ.  While there may be a time to deal with the consequences of our actions, we were never entitled to hold on to the lowly state of self-pity and sadness.  Get up, wash your face, clean yourself up, and get back into worship with God!  Don’t blame Him for the mistakes you made, and don’t feel condemned when you are in His presence.  Get some conviction on your life, make the decision that you will never mess up like that again, and get back into that right relationship with God.  If you hold on to your curse, your curse will stay with you.  It will be there as long as you hold on to it.  God has an amazing blessing that is waiting for you, but it is all dependent upon your response.  Drop that curse and put on the garments of praise today.  Go forth and Conquer!

So it begins…..Again?

This collection of devotionals will motivate, exhort, and bring you back to a place of adventure and excitement with your life in Christ. Five years in the making, and envisioned through a ministry that has traveled half the globe, prepare for a 365 day journey that will launch you further than ever in your walk with Christ.

This may be the first entry of this blog, but this is certainly not the beginning of these devotionals!  This is the epic return of a ministry that has had an enormous impact in the lives of people around the world.  Back in 2005 I was blessed with the opportunity to send devotionals out by email to about 60 people from all different walks of life.  This became a very effective ministry and many people were blessed by the simple messages of love and hope.  It was an amazing time, and it wasn’t until years later that I was able to begin the process of collecting them together to edit and build them into a published product.  Finally, in the fall of 2011, this vision came true and “The Perfect Devotional for People Who Aren’t” was put into production.  This 740 page, 1 year devotional book is full of messages dealing with church, family, work, fear, loneliness, and many other things that we all deal with in life.  There have already been over a hundred copies sold, and it has already made an amazing impact on many individual’s lives.  This collection is available at Xlibris.com, Barnes & Nobles, and Amazon, and is certainly a worthy buy for anyone who needs a daily message for their life.

So, after almost 6 years, these devotional messages will be starting once again.  It is kind of funny to think about, because when I started doing these so many years ago I had no idea how they would turn out or how they would really be formatted.  And now, after so many years of experience with writing and ministering, I still have no idea how these will go.  As it was back when these began, it is in God’s hands, and just like before it is going to be an adventure from beginning to end.  As it would seem, my present circumstances will not be any different from what they were when I first started writing these.  I will be just as busy and will probably end up writing many of these in the dark hours of the morning before heading to work.  Even so, there were awesome blessings that were able to flow through the difficult times when these were started.  Though they will not be the same, I guarantee that they will have the same intensity and sincerity as they did from the beginning.  I hope all of you are as excited about this as I am.

I am planning on writing a short biography for all of you in the next post.  I believe it is important for you to know about me.  It is important so that you understand where I am coming from.  I use a plethora of examples and a good amount of life experiences when I minister.  To understand the heart behind the message is to understand the person who is writing it.  I hope you will look forward to getting to  know me a little better, as I look forward to sharing what has been put on my heart with you.  With that, I think it is only fitting that I conclude this entry post by bringing back my old sign-off that I used for the devotionals years back: Go forth and Conquer!