"Those planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall still bear fruit in old age; They shall be fresh and flourishing…" ~ Psalm 92:13-14 REFERENCE: Psalm 92:12-15 Aging is a human phenomenon that places certain limitations on men, which God is not bound by. He is the ageless one, and 120 years are just to Him, like 120 days. For this reason, He does not place an age limit on when He can call and use a man for any assignment. That means you are not too old to start...
"Yet all this avails me nothing, so long as I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king's gate." Esther 5:13 SCRIPTURE REFERENCE Esther 5:7-13 The ability to focus is a potent skill. The power to focus on something, a job or assignment, ignoring every distraction until it is done, is a virtue worth celebrating. However, focus can be just as powerful negatively as it is positively. Haman was a great and favored man, but none of these 'blessings' meant anything to him because of Mordecai, the Jew who did not honor him. He was so focused on the...
“Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying: “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you; before you were born, I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations.” Then said I: “Ah, Lord God! Behold, I cannot speak, for I am a youth.” – Jeremiah 1:4-6 REFERENCE: Jeremiah 1:4-10 “You can: go ahead!” In essence, this was God’s response to Jeremiah’s excuse: “I cannot speak, for I am a youth.” God told him, “You shall go to all to whom I send you, and whatever I command you, you shall speak.” Jeremiah must understand...
"And He said to them, "Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father's business?" ~ Luke 2:49 REFERENCE: Luke 2:41-49 Victor Frankl said, "Life is never made unbearable by circumstances but only by lack of meaning and purpose." Living finds its meaning when you are living for something with meaning. You are here for a purpose; fulfilling it gives meaning to your life. To fulfill a purpose, you must pursue it like a business, with the same earnestness with which a businessman does his business. Jesus Christ could have told His parents 'that I must be...
"Then Hezekiah king of Judah sent to the king of Assyria at Lachish, saying, "I have done wrong; turn away from me; whatever you impose on me I will pay…" ~ II Kings 18:14 REFERENCE II Kings 18:1-16 William Shakespeare said that a coward dies a thousand times before his death, but the valiant taste of death but once. A person who lacks courage suffers the feared effects of death many times, while the valiant person doesn't think about death until it arrives. This talk is not about dying but about how King Hezekiah showed embarrassing cowardice in capitulating...
“Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.” – Proverbs 18:21 REFERENCE: Proverbs 18:20-21 In the tongue lies the power of life and death. The tongue can open doors of joy and prosperity; if misused, it can open the door of misfortune and losses. The tongue has started wars, broken marriages, destroyed great men and women, and led to scandals; it has also forged strong marriage bonds and great destinies. Man has diverse body parts, but the supremacy of the tongue is irrefutable. God created the world...
“Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place.” ~ II Corinthians 2:14 REFERENCE: II Corinthians 2:14-17 My late pastor used to say, “If you were the only bible someone had to read, would they follow Jesus?” He would often pray, “May your kind increase.” Anytime he prayed that, I went home and wondered what the church would be like if everyone was like me; it made me shape up. If someone copied everything you did, would they end up ‘at’ Jesus? You...
“Do you see a man who excels in his work? He will stand before kings; He will not stand before unknown men.”~ Proverbs 22:9 REFERENCE: Proverbs 22:29 You cannot write off a man ready to give himself wholeheartedly to his work. His commitment to excel in his work can make him bounce back from failure, revive his struggling business, restore his passion for life, and turn him into a prosperous man. A student who excels in work will move from failure to being on the honor roll, and an employee will become the boss. To excel in work...
“The LORD shall send the rod of Your strength out of Zion. Rule in the midst of Your enemies.” ~ Psalm 110:2 REFERENCE: Psalm 110:1-3 No king who rules without power. To walk in our dominion and authority over dark powers, we must dominate by power. The only language the devil understands is power, and the way to generate that power is through prevailing prayers. As a believer, you must prioritize power generation; if you don’t, you will be like a man who has a gun (authority) but is unable to pull the trigger. When God told Adam to...
“Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.” ~ Matthew 2:2 REFERENCE: Matthew 2:1-6 Merry Christmas! As the world celebrates Christmas, it is sad that for many, it is just another day to party, eat, give and receive gifts, etc. Others only see it as just any other day on the calendar. They do not understand that it is the celebration of the birth of the King of Kings. People like these were in Jerusalem when Jesus was born, it seems....