“Hearing God’s teaching and doing nothing is like looking at your face in the mirror and doing nothing about what you saw…But when you look into God’s perfect law that sets people free, pay attention to it…” ~ James 1:23-25 (ERV) REFERENCE: James 1:23-25 The entrance door to our office has reflective glass. I have noticed that when anyone wants to enter the office, they glance at themselves. Mirrors do have that effect on people. However, how many people look at the mirror to pay attention to what it says about their looks and make adjustments? Many take a...
"They angered Him also at the waters of strife, so that it went ill with Moses on account of them." ~ Psalm 106:32 REFERENCE: Psalm 106:32-35 Every leader's nightmare is a 'people palaver' (trouble, nuisance, fuss). Any leader or business owner will tell you that one of the significant challenges they have to grapple with is people. Nobody ever puts on their resume that, "I am a gossip; I am very rude; I take what isn't mine; I cannot be trusted." These traits show up only after they join the team with their glowing resume. In Numbers 12:3, Moses is described...
“Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.” ~ Isaiah 53:4 REFERENCE: Isaiah 53:1-5 If you are a human being, I am sure you feel the effect of man’s fall in the Garden of Eden daily. When Adam ate the forbidden fruit, the whole of God’s creation was thrown out of balance, and corruption came into the created order—pain, sorrow, sickness, afflictions, fears, etc., was introduced into the world because of sin. These became the totality of man’s grief. Grief (Hebrew: Chǒlîy) is a pain like a...
“He sent a man before them—Joseph—who was sold as a slave.” ~ Psalm 105:17 REFERENCE: Psalm 105:16-22 How different would our attitude to life’s misfortunes be if we saw them through the eyes of God? We would see that things are not as they seem. In the most turbulent seasons of our lives, God is ever present, working a bigger purpose and setting the stage for a testimony of His goodness. The events in your life happening around you now are not happening by chance; God knows. From man’s eyes, Joseph went through an excruciating experience of betrayal; his...
"The battle became fierce against Saul. The archers hit him, and he was wounded by the archers." ~ I Chronicles 10:3 REFERENCE: I Chronicles 10:1-8 Nothing pleases God more than to be obeyed, and nothing displeases Him more than to be disobeyed. Obedience to God tells Him that we trust His good intentions and plans for our lives; it shows Him that there is only one Lord, and it is Him and not me. We often go against God's word and counsel because we are ignorant of the dangers of disobedience. Disobedience to God will cost a man more...
"Twelve lions stood there, one on each side of the six steps; nothing like this had been made for any other kingdom." ~ I Kings 10:20 REFERENCE: I Kings 10:16-25 We live in a world shaped by various innovations—the internet, social media, mobile phones, artificial intelligence, etc. The world has become accustomed to innovations, and the future belongs to innovators. People are constantly pushing the limits and discovering new things. To be relevant in the modern world, you need the grace for innovation. King Solomon was a man of great wisdom and innovation. When he built God's temple and...
“Jesus immediately stretched out His hand and lifted him up and said, “What little faith you have! Why would you let doubt win?” ~ Matthew 14:31 (TPT) REFERENCE: Matthew 14:22-33 We are in constant battle with doubt; doubt and faith try to get control over our lives, and I can tell you that doubt is an aggressive contender. It goes for the jugular; it aims to suffocate your faith and break your gaze from God. Doubt has many weapons in his arsenal – bad news, open-ended questions, painful experiences, stories of people’s failures, or adverse medical reports. When Peter...
"Then I set my face toward the Lord God to make request by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes." ~ Daniel 9:3 REFERENCE: Daniel 9:1-4 God has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in the heavenly places. God has finished everything you need, and it presently exists in the unseen or spiritual realm. That means that it is something you will need to secure from the spirit realm, or it is unseen because it is presently not in your possession but exists on earth. God has given us prayer as the vehicle to convey these blessings into...
"David went into the tent he had set up for the sacred chest. Then he sat there and prayed: Lord All-Powerful, my family and I don't deserve what you have already done for us, and yet you have promised to do even more. Is this the way you usually treat people?" ~ II Samuel 7:18-19 REFERENCE: II Samuel 7:8-19 Several years ago, while struggling as a young man, things were quite challenging; I was doing my best, but it seemed insufficient. I had told my fiancée (now wife) that we would marry that year, but… I leave the rest...
“For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” ~ Romans 10:10 REFERENCE: Romans 10:6-11 We often seek the transformation of our situation from sources outside ourselves; however, the enemy to contend with is the ‘inner-me.’ Many people are involuntarily the architects of their misfortune in life, marriage, children, or business; they have sabotaged their destiny with the words of their mouth. Our text shows that by confession, ‘there is salvation in your mouth.’ Moses introduced us to this principle in the Old Testament. He said to the Israelites, “It is not...