“So, I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one.” ~ Ezekiel 22:30 REFERENCE: Ezekiel 22:27-31 Bad leaders governed Israel. Their example plunged the land into idolatry, oppression, robbery, corruption, murders, and extortion. Her religious leaders compromised God’s word and produced weak saints. The land was doomed to punishment; God wished it wasn’t, but He could do nothing about it because justice demanded it. Hence, He sought a man who would plead for mercy...
"You will not need to fight in this battle. Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the LORD, who is with you, O Judah and Jerusalem!' Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them, for the LORD is with you." ~ II Chronicles 20:17 REFERENCE: II Chronicles 20:15-25 God fights our battles and gives us victories. Jesus defeated satan on the cross of Calvary; thus, all our spiritual battles are against a defeated foe. When the Bible says, "We wrestle not against flesh and blood…" some people stop at, "We wrestle not…" and think that we...
"Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, "One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven." ~ Mark 10:17-22 REFERENCE: Mark 10:17-22 The world may not agree, but religion has significantly influenced man's engagement with his society. In most cases, it has tamed his propensity for evil and appetite for the forbidden. This is even more accurate with life in Christ Jesus; Jesus came to make us new men with the nature of God. Giving is the most prominent expression of God's...
"He stripped all the spiritual tyrants in the universe of their sham authority at the Cross and marched them naked through the streets." ~ Colossians 2:15 (MSG) REFERENCE: Colossians 2:11-15 (MSG) The enemy of man, and especially believers, is the devil. He is the serpent of old that has hounded man from the Garden of Eden. He is responsible for many tears, pains, divorces, fears, failures, sicknesses, etc. Our fight is against him; for we wrestle not against flesh and blood but against principalities and power. When Jesus died on the cross, he gave us a complete victory. April is...
“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” ~ Matthew 5:27-28 REFERENCE: Matthew 5:21-22; 27-28; 31-35 & 43-44 God created the heavens and the earth with His spoken words. Genesis 1:3 says, “Then God said, “Let there be light…” verse 4 says, “And God saw the light….” The Almighty God shaped His world with words; He changed what was unpleasant to a beautiful sight with spoken words....
"The speech pleased the Lord, that Solomon had asked this thing." ~ I Kings 3:10 REFERENCE: I KINGS 3:4-13 Words matter and the right words matter. When we know the power of words, we will use them carefully and thoughtfully. Solomon said, "A fool's mouth calls for blows… Righteous lips are the delight of kings." God commended Him for a good speech because of suitable words. God appeared to Solomon in a dream and said, "Ask! What shall I give you?" The young king asked for an understanding heart to judge the people and to discern between good and evil. It...
"But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing." – James 1:4 REFERENCE: James 1:2-4 The Greek word for Patience, 'Hupomonē,' means hopeful endurance or constancy, patient enduring, sustaining, and perseverance. Webster says Patience is "to remain calm and not become annoyed when waiting for a long time or dealing with problems or difficult people." However, God uses Patience to qualify us for His higher purpose and mission for our lives; for this reason, we must let Patience have its perfect work. Patience is challenging; our nature recoils at it because we like things to happen...
“…that you also aspire to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you.” ~ I Thessalonians 4:11 REFERENCE I Thessalonians 4:9-11 God made Adam, placed him in a garden He planted eastward of Eden, and commanded him to tend and keep the garden. To tend in Hebrew is to labor as a servant over something, and to keep suggests to have charge, attend to, protect, and preserve. God gave Adam the business of nurturing, protecting, and attending to the garden to grow and multiply it. Adam gave...
"A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is perfectly trained will be like his teacher." – Luke 6:40 REFERENCE: LUKE 6:39-40 Our ultimate goal as believers is to become disciples of Jesus. A disciple is a disciplined student who trusts and follows the teaching and practices of his teacher. A disciple of Christ, therefore, is someone committed to following Jesus, not just in words but deeds. Getting saved is excellent, but there is more; being a part of a cell group is good, but that is not the goal; worship and giving are commendable, but discipleship is...
“For out of His fullness [the superabundance of His grace and truth] we have all received grace upon grace [spiritual blessing upon spiritual blessing, favor upon favor, and gift heaped upon gift].” – John 1:16 (AMP) REFERENCE: John 1:14-17 (AMP) We all run in the race of life, trying to achieve our goals and make ends meet. We have certain expectations that we lack the means to make happen. There are fitter, stronger, wealthier, more educated, and better-positioned people than you who are competing or looking for the same things you seek. That is the reason why you need a supernatural...