Colossians 2:11-15 – “In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, 12 buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. 13 And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, 14 having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. 15 Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.”  NKJV

If we were to ever truly understand what Jesus accomplished at the Cross, Resurrection and Ascension we would be incredibly bold and faith filled in our walk, word and work.  We were outside looking in but as a result of His sacrificial death on the Cross, subsequent resurrection and ascension to the Right Hand of the Throne of God we can be saved.  We have been translated from the kingdom, dominion and domain of darkness into the Kingdom of God.  We become members of the Body of Christ and ‘as He is so are we in this world.’  (1 John 4:17)

The apostle unveils a truth that we dare not miss or lessen its importance that Jesus DISARMED principalities and powers and made a PUBLIC SPECTACLE of them TRIUMPHING over them.  I have often questioned why we, the children of God, exhibit a fear of the devil and so many spend time worrying about what the devil is or might do to them.  He should be worrying about what we, as the children of God, are going to do to him and his kingdom.

I find the language here fascinating and wish to highlight a few things for your consideration:

• He DISARMED principalities and powers.

Disarmed goes hand in hand with the directive of Christ to the disciples that they had POWER over all the AUTHORITY of the devil.  We are told that the weapons of our warfare are MIGHTY THROUGH GOD to the pulling down of strongholds.  We are informed that the Gates of Hell cannot prevail against the church and gates, in Scripture, usually refer to authority or seats of authority.   Jesus has DISARMED the devil.  If that is true then the devil’s strongest weapons are FEAR and INTIMIDATION.  His success depends on our complicity with his deception.  The Bible clearly declares that we are MORE THAN CONQUERORS through Christ.  If that is true then we are the ones putting ten thousand to flight not being put to flight.  We are to be the head not the tail.  We are to be the victors not the victims.  Our enemy has been DISARMED by our King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

• He made a PUBLIC SPECTACLE of them.

At the Cross it appeared that the devil had succeeded in putting Jesus to open shame, the shame of dying the death of a criminal.  Had the Cross resulted solely in the death of Jesus it would have been a public victory for the devil but He didn’t stay dead.  He ROSE FROM THE DEAD and manifested Himself publicly at His ascension thereby making a PUBLIC SPECTACLE of the devil and all who were pawns of Lucifer.  He made them a laughing stock by rising from the dead and ascending to His rightful place at the Right Hand of the Father making intercession for His children.

• He TRIUMPHED over them.

The Triumph in Roman times was significant for it was the parade and ceremony in which a conquering general would parade the spoils of the conquered as well as the conquered generals and peoples led forth in chains for a public show.  The Victorious General was voted a TRIUMPH by the Senate and given honor and goods.  We are told we are ‘seated in heavenly places in Christ Jesus’ and ‘heirs of God and joint-heirs with Jesus.’  If it is Christ in us the hope of glory then His triumph is our triumph and His victory our victory.  He has given us HIS AUTHORITY over the POWER of the enemy.

Beloved let us begin acting like a conqueror and refuse to be relegated to a lesser life spiritually.  What He did He did for us and has invited us to share in His Triumph!

            God bless you as you go through your day!

Exodus 3:11-14 – “But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?”  12 So He said, “I will certainly be with you. And this shall be a sign to you that I have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.” 13 Then Moses said to God, “Indeed, when I come to the children of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they say to me, ‘What is His name?’ what shall I say to them?”

14 And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.”  NKJV

“Who Am I?” was the question Moses asked at the burning bush when God instructed him to deliver the people of Israel from Egyptian bondage.  One the one hand it is a valid and good question borne out of a sense of inadequacy and humility.  One the other it is inappropriate and smacks of being nothing more than an excuse to justify a lack of desire to obey.  Moses had been groomed for high ranking purposes in Pharaoh’s house but the pull of His heart and the plan of God caused him to become an outcast and outlaw in Egypt.  His self-esteem had been brought down a few pegs on the board of human ego and in many ways it appears he saw himself a failure not a future or potential leader of a nation of a few million people.

I have asked that question before and found the Lord to be faithful in His call and provision.  I have encountered people who should have asked the question out of humility but engaged in self-promotion to the point of becoming odorous.  When God opens a new chapter in my life laying revealing a purpose and call my heart tends to ask, “Who Am I?” that you would want me to do this.  I am not trying to be falsely humble or self-effacing for I have always battled a certain amount of pride and ego and self-confidence but when encountering the Lord my natural tendency is to fall on my face and ask, “Who Am I?”

The response of the Lord to Moses is incredibly encouraging or should be.  God said, “I will be with you.”  That should have been enough but it wasn’t.  Moses pressed further offering another objection saying, in effect, “Well God when I get to Egypt and tell them the God of your fathers sent me they are going to want further confirmation and ask, ‘Okay, what is His name?'”  God said, “Tell them I AM WHO I AM.” 

The Who Am I just came face to face with the I AM and in the years to follow the revelation of God’s person, presence and character would become so ingrained in the heart of Moses that He lived and breathed I AM.  His Who Am I became I Can because of Whose I Am and that should be our view of the objective as well as the obstacle before us.  We are more than conquerors through our Lord Jesus Christ and we are children of the Most High God therefore I AM WHO I AM lives in us and works His will through us.  Therefore, if God is for us who can be against us or what difference does it make who is against us for they cannot prevail?

May the Lord be with you as you move from victory to victory today and every day of your life!

Genesis 2:7 – “And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.”   NKJV

The only thing that differentiates man from animals, trees and rocks is the ‘breath of life’ that God breathed into him making him a “living soul”.  That and that alone gives man significance and purpose.  It is what makes man a living creature with an immortal spiritual soul.  God infused Himself into Adam at creation and in doing so identified that our physical bodies should not be the focus of man but our spirits and souls.

Some are so captivated by the human body and/or their human bodies they spend fortunes tweaking them, honing them, nurturing them and idolizing them while omitting the most important.  The Bible’s declaration that we are made in the Image and Likeness of God has caused many to declare that God looks like mankind.  However, the Jesus declared in John 4:24, “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”  Therefore, I would suggest that the image and likeness refers more to the spirit and soul in man than the physical frame that houses the soul.

The part of us that is eternal is the part that truly relates to God.  The Bible tells us that our bodies are the temple of God and therefore not unimportant just not the most important.  I would suggest that since these bodies are the house in which our spirits live it is important to properly maintain the body.  If we spent as much time developing our souls as we do to caring for our physical bodies we would be spiritual dynamos and this world would be experience an incredible revival, renewal and restoration.

The Breath of Life or that which causes to live was given from God to Adam bringing into existence a creation that could fellowship with the creator.  God gave Adam responsibility and accountability thus allowing Him the privilege to make life choices.  His instructions regarding the Tree of Knowledge was given before Eve was created and he must shoulder a significant portion of the blame for their failure to follow God’s instructions.

Man was created to Live Forever and would have, in the flesh, were it not for the Fall of Man in the Garden.  Our physical bodies are a medical and scientific marvel still being understood by humans.  This body has the ability and capacity to heal itself if it is given the proper nutrients, fuel, care, exercise and attention.  The decay of the body through aging is the result of the Fall of Man in the Garden not because God intended us to wither away.  Physically we are nothing more than a “lump of clay” but when that dirt houses the Eternal Spirit that connects us to God it is a marvel.

I saw a report that declared the human body could be worth up to $45 million if you combined the value of bone marrow, DNA, organs and components.  That same report then took the chemical value of the human body and calculated it as coming in at a whopping $160.04 in chemical compound amounts and values.  As a living entity it is almost priceless but when you take the individual chemical components it is relatively insignificant in value.  So it is not the “Lump of Clay” that makes it valuable it is the Life that is in it that makes us valued.  We are valuable to God because His breath is in us and He gave His Son to redeem us.  We have been deemed by God as worth the Blood of Jesus and that makes us priceless.

May the Lord bless you as you go through your day!

2 Peter 2:4-11 – “For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment; 5 and did not spare the ancient world, but saved Noah, one of eight people, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood on the world of the ungodly; 6 and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them to destruction, making them an example to those who afterward would live ungodly; 7 and delivered righteous Lot, who was oppressed by the filthy conduct of the wicked 8(for that righteous man, dwelling among them, tormented his righteous soul from day to day by seeing and hearing their lawless deeds) —  9 then the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment, 10 and especially those who walk according to the flesh in the lust of uncleanness and despise authority. They are presumptuous, self-willed. They are not afraid to speak evil of dignitaries, 11 whereas angels, who are greater in power and might, do not bring a reviling accusation against them before the Lord.”  NKJV

In these modern times I have heard a number of nationally known ministers promote the doctrine of Christian Universalism where there is NO JUDGMENT.  I have not been able to square that with the written word of God and unless I can I must reject it as heretical and false.  When I come to passages such as the one above I find it crystal clear the attitude God has regarding sin and if God regards sin so how must we regard it?

We know from Scripture that one-third of the angelic creation rebelled against God being deceived by Lucifer the son of the morning known today as the devil.  If you consider that the angels SEE God and KNOW the reality, beauty, holiness, and power of God and we see it in our spirits by faith you should be concerned.  They see it firsthand without the veil and they succumbed to deception.  That is a frightening thought.  James tells us that God DID NOT SPARE THEM from Judgment.

We know the depravity of man in Noah’s day became so vile and corrupt that God rejected all but Noah and his family.  He judged the world and delivered Noah and his family to give mankind a second chance.  We know the vileness of Sodom and Gomorrah with their sinfulness and perversion and God reduced those cities to ashes in Judgment but spared Lot and his family who rejected the perversion.  Today there is an insistence that the same type of perversion is normal and even a desire to make God the culprit for the condition in which those who practice those deeds find themselves.

James informs us that God knows how to deliver the godly out of temptation and to bring judgment to individuals and even entire societies for wickedness.  He identifies that an especially repulsive condition to God is the ‘lust of the flesh’, ‘presumptuousness’ and ‘self-will.’  Conditions that are becoming more and more prevalent in today’s world and even in the world of Christendom.  We are seeing a world in which there is an overriding desire of many to become ‘a law unto themselves’ and not under any authority.  It is one thing to decry wicked rulers and another to throw off all restraint and do whatever one wants without regard to the moral, civil, social or spiritual.

In our present world we are competing with Sodom and Gomorrah and the world of Noah in the rejection of God and His principles.  We are rapidly becoming a world driven by the exaltation of self.  I wonder how long the patience of God will spare us similar judgment.  No, I do not wonder for He has detailed and declared in His world the state of the world and the ultimate conclusion of all things.  Judgment is coming for a wicked world as is deliverance for a righteous people.  The coming shaking and harvest is upon us and it is time to lift up your hearts to the Lord.  It is time for us to reaffirm our commitment to Him and determine in our hearts that having done all to stand we will stand.

            God bless you as you go through this day in the Lord!

1 Peter 5:5-7 – “Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for 

“God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.”  

6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, 7 casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.”  NKJV

I almost laugh when I hear someone being lauded for something they have done and their response is, “Well I want to be humble…”  Humility needs no declaration of humility for in calling attention to one’s personal humility is to virtually destroy it.  The Bible clearly reveals that ‘pride’ goes before ‘destruction’ and ‘haughtiness’ before a fall.  Humility is evident in its conduct and deportment and needs no proclamation.

It is easy to become prideful and begin the dangerous endeavor of ‘comparison’.  Too many times one can fall into the trap of the Pharisee and the Publican Jesus referred to and injure our arms patting ourselves on the back.  I have known people who seem to believe that saying from the Book of Pride: ‘He that tooteth not his own horn it will not be tooted.’  Proverbs 27:2 declares that we are to let praise come from others not ourselves.  It is one thing to say, “I’m humbled by that” and another to say, “I am humble.”

Jesus said in the Beatitudes that the “meek” would inherit the earth and I had a preacher tell me once, “Yea, they’ll get a mouthful it as people walk on them.”  He could not envision being anything but forceful and demanding, after all he was THE PASTOR.  That kind of pride has an odor about it that draws but not what one would desire.  If we are truly ‘humble’ we need no recognition of our deeds for we do them as unto the Lord.  I have had people tell me they wanted to make a donation of money or an item to the church and wanted no recognition.  Some meant that but others said it wanting to appear ‘humble’ but made it very clear that if you failed to recognize them they would be offended.  Then when recognized they would make a big deal over ‘being humble’ and not wanting praise.  I’m humble, can’t you tell?

I have watched people come to the Lord, receive a call of God on their lives and follow the directive of James from their heart.  Their humility was inspiring and infectious.  Some of them waited patiently for long periods of time before any recognition or promotion came.  They were content to ‘do all as unto the Lord’ and whatever their hand found to do they did it with their all.  They were genuinely humble and God rewarded them in His time.

I believe humility is a reflection of trust.  It is a demonstration of total confidence in the promises of God.   A truly humble person can, without reservation or hesitation, ‘cast all their care on the Lord’ for they are fully confident and secure in the knowledge that God ‘cares for them.’  If I know I am loved unconditionally and the God of all living is watching over me guiding and guarding my life I can TRUST.  It is out of a position of trust that I can walk in true humility.  Pride says, “I have to make you know what I’ve done and how valuable I am.”  Humility says, “I know God loves and cares for Him and I can trust Him.”

May God help you learn to trust to the point that you can walk in humility.   Blessings be upon you is my prayer and desire!

James 1:12-15 – “Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. 13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. 14 But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. 15 Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.”  NKJV

I have known some people who almost became Monkish in their lifestyle after responding to the Gospel message of salvation.  They had the idea that if they could isolate themselves from ‘temptation’ they would be able to live a godly life.  The flaw in that thinking is multiple but one particular flaw is we are commanded to ‘go into all the world’ not become ‘isolated from the world’.  We are told to ‘come out and be separate’ but that separation is not a physical isolation but a decided change in lifestyle and attitude.  It is to become so attached to and filled with God and His love that we are distinctively different from the world.

Temptation is something that can either make us stronger or shipwreck us and that is dependent upon our response.  James presents the idea that if we ‘endure’ or ‘overcome’ temptation refusing to give in to its lure we will find incredible benefit spiritually.  Some almost seem to blame God for temptation that comes to them and I suggest that it is an ‘inside job’ more than an external stimuli.

Notice what James says about temptation and the process:

• Temptation DRAWS away from the right path.

Temptation could have no appeal if there was not something ‘inside’ to which it could appeal.  It is an identification of a kink in the armor, a possible deficiency in character and an evidence that there is something not fully committed to Christ and crucified on the Cross.  I am not suggesting that the one tempted is not saved rather the one tempted has something that still needs to be brought to the Cross where the spiritual surgeon can remove it roots.  Therefore, temptation is truly an inside job and the outside stimuli used of the devil is what brings it to light.  Once in the light it should be presented at the altar not nurtured, justified or excused.  Saying, “Everyone is tempted sometime” is not a good approach.  We should say, “Lord this temptation is exposing a weakness in me and I ask you to make me strong through your grace.” \

• Temptation not dealt with PRODUCES death.

Notice how James takes the progression of temptation:  It springs from internal desires and when that desire is given life it gives birth to sin and when sin runs its course it produces death.  That death is both natural and spiritual in nature.  It all springs from a condition of the heart.  It is an indication that in that particular area of your life self is still king.  It could be physical gratification, greed, pride, a quest for power or position or ego.  Whatever cultivates the desire that gives rise to temptation if left unchecked will result in spiritual death!

Please hear me, being tempted is not sin but allowing temptation to go unchecked produces sin.  We should rejoice in those areas of our lives being exposed to the light of God’s holiness so we can overcome them and mature into a perfect man/woman in God.  If we understand that temptation is an inside job we will more readily respond rightly to it and find victory in the grace and mercy of our Lord!

            God bless you as you go through this day!

Acts 4:13-17 – “Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus. 14 And seeing the man who had been healed standing with them, they could say nothing against it. 15 But when they had commanded them to go aside out of the council, they conferred among themselves, 16 saying, “What shall we do to these men? For, indeed, that a notable miracle has been done through them is evident to all who dwell in Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it.  17 But so that it spreads no further among the people, let us severely threaten them, that from now on they speak to no man in this name.”  NKJV

The Politically Correct world and the world that is now catering to various violent religious factions seek to silence any person or persons who attempt to implement biblical guidelines in their lives.  Transformation of lives and even the miracles of God they cannot deny so rather than attempt to disprove them they seek to silence those practicing such.

In the day of Acts 4 the religious leaders were concerned about their lofted status, position and privilege and the ministry and message of the disciples of Jesus was disrupting their status quo.  They acknowledged that the fruit of the disciples’ ministry was undeniable so they sought to silence the message and messenger.  I see much the same happening by religious and political heads today.  The legislators or politicians have systematically followed the path of removal of God from the public arena.  Religious leaders are seeking to modify and adapt the message of the Bible to fit the politically correct narrative.

Appeasement is a common theme in much of today’s religious world except in the extremist of Islam where the desire is not appeasement but domination.  That is another issue but in those who claim to be followers of Christ there is a willingness and even sense of obligation to rewrite the Bible or reinterpret it to accommodate sinful lifestyles, corruption in politics and business, lasciviousness in relationships and redefining of Salvation.  The one thing missing from their effort is the Power of God which transforms lives from the inside rather than attempting to transform from the outward in.

The religious leaders of the Sanhedrin issued a decree that the Name of Jesus could not be invoked publicly and desired it to be banned privately as well.  I see signs in our modern politically correct world working with the approval of some religious leaders doing the same thing.  Some nationally recognized religious leaders have voiced that Jesus is not the only way to salvation contrary to the teachings of the Bible.  When we call evil good and good evil we are in a very dangerous place spiritually which will be walked out in the natural on the political, economic and social scene.

It seems that there is the theory that if you cannot actually and factually disprove something then censor it and remove it from the consciousness of the public.  I contend that today is the day when every believer in the Lord Jesus Christ must determine they will not be silenced but will speak the truth in love and be ‘forever faithful’.

            May God be with you as you go through your day!

Judges 5:2 – “When leaders lead in Israel, when the people willingly offer themselves, Bless the LORD!”  NKJV

The Song of Deborah considered it a great day when “leaders lead” and the “people are available.”  That is the time when the work of the Lord will advance mightily and revival will break out in the land.  It is a time of restoration and renewal.  It is a time of victory and overcoming.  It is a time when the Body of Christ functions as a Body rather than individual parts, sectarian entities, and isolated movements.  It is when the Church becomes the Building God is building and a Beacon on the Hill for all to see.

My experience has been when “leaders lead” and the “people are available” the entire community is touched by the Gospel of the Kingdom of God.  Lives are transformed and ministry performed on a daily basis from house to house and the mass gatherings become more of a celebration of reported victory than a religious preaching event.  While it is wonderful to gather in mass celebrations and church services it is more wonderful to see the Body of Christ function as the Body of Christ.

When I see leaders leading without protecting their place or turf but LEADING and people becoming the hands, feet, arms legs, eyes and ears of the Body it is a Great Day in the Kingdom.  I do not wonder that our Lord would tell His followers to “Pray to the Lord of Harvest that He send forth laborers into His harvest.”  No wonder He would further clarify that the “Harvest is large but the workers needed to do the harvesting few.”  Too many times the idea of leadership is being boss or head honcho rather than actually facilitating the effort, organizing, delegating, and releasing those who work in the trenches and elsewhere to do the work of ministry.  Being a leader is not sitting behind a desk or having a title after or before your name.  If that were leadership the church would have won the world by now.

It is a great day when leaders lead both in word and deed and the people WILLINGLY become available.  It is a sad day when the church resorts to manipulation, shame or intimidation to provide laborers for the various functions of the local congregation.  That is not leadership or willing offering of oneself.  It is not being the Body of Christ it is being an organization that exists to perpetuate itself rather than having a higher purpose.  Leaders seek to release as many people into service as possible insuring they are equipped for that service or ministry.  Leading involves recognition, preparation, delegation, authentication and examination.  It is not micromanaging as though the church or work belonged to them.  It is recognition that the Church is God’s, being built by the Lord Jesus through His workers and we are collectively the Body of Christ with unique and particular functions and roles.  A real leader is not insecure but confident in the Lord and therefore unafraid to allow people to function.

True dedication and commitment offers the self willingly for the cause of the Kingdom of God and when you combine genuine leadership and commitment you have the seedbed of revival, restoration and renewal.  God will utilize that condition and commitment.  I long for that day in the church of today and when I see it I say, “Now, that’s what I’m talking about…”

             God bless you as you go through this day!