Philippians 1:21-26 – “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. 22 But if I am to live on in the flesh, this will mean fruitful labor for me; and I do not know which to choose. 23 But I am hard-pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is very much better; 24 yet to remain on in the flesh is more necessary for your sake. 25 Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all for your progress and joy in the faith, 26 so that your proud confidence in me may abound in Christ Jesus through my coming to you again.”  NASU

            Years ago as I traveled from place to place in itinerant ministry I would frequently hear a late night radio preacher saying, “You can’t lose with the stuff I use.”  In a sense that is what Paul is saying here.  He declares that if he lives in the flesh (natural) it is ‘in Christ’ and if he dies it is ‘gain’.  That is a NO LOSE situation.  He declares that if he lives in the flesh the result will be ‘fruitful labor’.  If he dies he receives his eternal promotion to heaven and being with the Lord.  It weighed heavily upon his heart.

             One of the messages conveyed here is – – We should live longingly for heaven but devotedly toward ministering to people.  That keeps the focus clear, our hearts right, and provides motivation to keep us engaged and involved.  Very few generals are needed in war.  We find that Paul served as a general but also a soldier.

            My life must not be about me but Him and people.  God has given to the church ministries to inspire and prepare believers to do the work of ministry.  The Great Commission is always a core tenant.  Building up one another always a function and seeking first the Kingdom of God and His Righteousness always a priority.  We do not live just to live we live with purpose and for a purpose.

            If you keep your focus on God you desire will be heaven and will live functionally to serve, equip, train, encourage, motivate, and bless others.  You will have a life that cannot lose!  So as the late night radio preacher of old said, “You Can’t Lose with the Stuff I Use!”  God be with you, go with God and He will go with you.  Blessings!

Acts 28:25-27 – – “And when they did not agree with one another, they began leaving after Paul had spoken one parting word, “The Holy Spirit rightly spoke through Isaiah the prophet to your fathers, 26 saying,

‘GO TO THIS PEOPLE AND SAY, “YOU WILL KEEP ON HEARING, BUT WILL NOT UNDERSTAND; AND YOU WILL KEEP ON SEEING, BUT WILL NOT PERCEIVE; 27 FOR THE HEART OF THIS PEOPLE HAS BECOME DULL, AND WITH THEIR EARS THEY SCARCELY HEAR, AND THEY HAVE CLOSED THEIR EYES; OTHERWISE THEY MIGHT SEE WITH THEIR EYES, AND HEAR WITH THEIR EARS, AND UNDERSTAND WITH THEIR HEART AND RETURN, AND I WOULD HEAL THEM.”‘  NASU

            When the Jewish Leaders came to Paul in Rome he poured out his heart but many rejected his message arguing amongst themselves resulting in Paul quoting Isaiah regarding the tragic condition of their hearts.  Isaiah’s words sound a warning that causes me to cry out, “Lord May It Never Be!!!” 

May it never be said of us: 

• We HEAR but do not UNDERSTAND.
• We SEE but do not PERCEIVE.
• Our HEARTS have become DULL.
• Our EARS scarcely HEAR.
• Our EYES have been CLOSED.

 Oh God, help us to hear and understand, see and perceive that which you are saying and doing in our world.  May we open our hearts to the voice of the Spirit of God and have ‘ears to hear’, ‘eyes to see’, and ‘hearts to believe’.  May we return to the Lord with a whole heart and experience His healing in our lives.

 My friends, God has never stopped reaching out and will not stop.  He extends His mercy and grace to us so may we never stop responding to Him.  May God be with you as you go through your day!  Be blessed and be a blessing!

Daniel 8:5-8 – “While I was observing, behold, a male goat was coming from the west over the surface of the whole earth without touching the ground; and the goat had a conspicuous horn between his eyes. 6 He came up to the ram that had the two horns, which I had seen standing in front of the canal, and rushed at him in his mighty wrath. 7 I saw him come beside the ram, and he was enraged at him; and he struck the ram and shattered his two horns, and the ram had no strength to withstand him. So he hurled him to the ground and trampled on him, and there was none to rescue the ram from his power. 8 Then the male goat magnified himself exceedingly. But as soon as he was mighty, the large horn was broken; and in its place there came up four conspicuous horns toward the four winds of heaven.”  NASU

            The Ram according to the Arch-Angel Gabriel was the Medo-Persian Empires and the Goat was Greece (vv. 20-21).  The Grecian Kingdom that followed the Medes and Persians was that of Alexander the Great.  Gabriel continues to inform us that the four horns that came up from the broken horn represented four kingdoms and history reveals that Alexander’s kingdom was divided between four generals.  Gabriel continues to reveal that out of those four one would rise empowered by the devil himself being the antichrist.

             As we continue to read in Daniel we find the King of the South and North coming against him.  He enters many countries and overflows them.  He occupies the land of Israel for a time committing acts of heretical tyranny.  Many fall but not all – – Edom, Moab, and the foremost sons of Ammon escape his rule. He conquers Egypt, Libya, and Ethiopia (11:40-42).  Rumors from the East trouble him and his overconfidence and arrogance help to bring him down.

            He and his followers will wage vehement war against anyone who disagrees with his ideology and oppose him including all who name the name of Christ, those who recognize the one true God Jehovah, all who reject his authority, religion or religious interpretation.  WHO IS HE?  Speculation has always been rampant and will continue to be so.  I have known people so adamant as to what they believe that they would almost come to blows with anyone who disagreed.  I personally believe, based on my understanding of scripture, that he is as the Bible calls him THE ASSYRIAN.  Assyria is a region of Iraq or ancient Persia.  I believe he is what the Muslims identify as the Twelfth Imam and his terror will be the final caliphate which God will ultimately destroy.  He does not control the entire world only a section of it as identified in the Bible but will impact the entire globe.

             We can fear him or trust God resting in God’s Perfect Peace.  The form of execution performed by this demonic individual and his followers will be ‘beheading’ and while this is a horrific image if we are God’s children it only last a moment and we say HELLO to our Lord in Eternity.  He is powerful but not all powerful.  He is the embodiment of evil but remember he is a follower of a defeated foe, the devil.  Jesus conquered the devil stripping him of his authority over man.  Therefore, rather than being filled with fear and angst about the future REST IN PEACE refusing to live in fear of the devil but in the faith of God. 

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

Nehemiah 1:4 – “So it was, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned for many days; I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven.”  NKJV

This verse in in reference to Nehemiah hearing the news about the disrepair of Jerusalem and it so broke his heart that it moved him to action.  In his situation it was action that could easily have cost him his life but he was so moved he could do nothing else.  That brings me to the thought that I want to address today.

When was the last time you were ‘so moved’ by the condition of our world, the church, or a life that it moved you that ‘prayer’ and ‘fasting’ was the immediate response and then you moved into action with the guidance of the Holy Spirit?  Sadly, I hear many talking about the NEED for ‘renewal’, ‘restoration’, and/or ‘revival’ but I do not see many that are so heartbroken over the condition of the world and the dying souls of men that they are driven into intercessory prayer and fasting.  Honestly, if it does not move us to the point that it breaks our hearts I doubt that we will give it much serious thought and as a result will not be compelled to do that which is needed to change the circumstances or situation.

I am reminded of the biblical record when Jesus came to Mary and Martha at their brother, Lazarus’ tomb.  Mary ran to Jesus weeping and whether it was intentional or not leveled an accusation toward Him saying, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.”  It was both a statement of faith and frustration.  He asked where they had buried Lazarus and as she led Him to the tomb Jesus wept.  He then moved into action that restored the life to Lazarus who had been dead three days.  A significant miracle by any standards!

I know a man who is so easily touched by the Spirit of God that while in a public place sharing a meal or a thought something will catch his eye and tears will fill his eyes, brokenhearted over the condition, situation, or life that he is observing.  He will then excuse himself and no one has to ask for we know that he is going to his prayer closet to intercede over whatever it was.  There have been many times days later he will have a testimony of something God has done in that very situation.  He becomes so brokenhearted that he acts in the most powerful way that we humans can act he reaches out to the Throne of Heaven.

If we truly believe that the church or our world is in need of ‘renewal’, ‘restoration’, and/or ‘revival’ why does it not crush our hearts?  I am not trying to be accusatory for I ask myself the same question and do not always like the answers I receive within my heart and mind.  God help us to never become so entangled with the affairs of this life that we lose contact with the Throne of Heaven and experience such a desensitization of our hearts that we are not shattered by the condition of the world.  Lord, I pray that you make our hearts so tender that we actually mourn over sin.

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

Ephesians 4:1-6 – “I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, 2 with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, 3 endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.”  NKJV

            Through all my Christian life I have watched sectarian bickering and pride prevent unity in the Body of Christ and at times the ‘war’ between sects was more vicious than the assault by any from outside the Church or Body of Christ.  The claims made by various groups while helping to identify their core theology has often been laughable as each seemed and seems to think they have ALL TRUTH incorporated in their doctrine.  Seriously?  Which of us does not ‘see in part’?  Which of us was there when the foundations of the world were laid?  Which of us participated in the plan of God for mankind?  How dare we think that we have ALL TRUTH in our particular brand or label.  How dare us so vilify others who name the name of Christ as being 2^nd class believers if believers at all.  They may not be true believers but that God will address on that day if not before. 

             Now before I alienate people in all sectors of Christianity I, like you, believe that what I believe is right but I do not believe that all I believe is infallible.  In my walk as a Christian I have found that some things I believed in the beginning were incomplete at best and wrong at worst and I have changed my theology and doctrine to accommodate God’s Word rather than attempting to use God’s word to validate my doctrinal beliefs.  There are some who identify themselves as Christians that believe things I cannot accept and believe they are not just wrong but heretical.  Because of our differences in belief we have little real basis for any fellowship and I pray for them as I suspect they do for me.

            Paul told the Ephesian believers that they should desire to live in humility, being long in patience, and saturated in love.  He also tells them that one of their prime objectives is to keep the ‘unity of the Spirit’ in the ‘bond of peace.’  Why?  Because there is ONE BODY or ONE CHURCH and that is the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ.  God did not divide it up into denominations, sects, groups, and divisions WE DID.  The fledgling church had differences and sects within but the apostles sought to tear down those walls and as Aquila and Priscilla did with Apollos in Acts 18 to teach the way more fully and clearly. 

             It is not so much that I have a problem with the sectarian divisions in the Body of Christ as they tend to allow people who believe certain things to gravitate to that group it is when we elevate ourselves as THE ONLY ONES with the ‘truth’ as I used to hear preachers declare.  If we truly seek to WALK IN LOVE we would realize that some things we believe are not essential to salvation and while they may or may not be correct they are somewhat peripheral not critical.  I am not suggesting that you compromise your convictions or water down your theology or doctrine to accommodate someone who believes differently only that before you, classify them as ‘outside’ the Family of God you might want to allow God’s love to determine your definitions.

            I told a prominent official in a church organization once that if he actually listened and/or talked to the ones he was viciously criticizing he might find as God said to me concerning a minister I had spoken badly of – – “If you would actually listen to him you would find more to applaud than to criticize.’  That arrested me and brought conviction to my heart so powerfully and made me realize that most of us have some truth and some error in what we believe.  I realize that some reading this will find that repulsive but if we are deeply honest we will realize that we are mortal and mortals make mistakes.  As a human grows and develops into maturity that individual is in a constant learning state and the same is true in Christianity.  All are not at the same level of understanding or maturity but if we are growing in grace we are developing.  Would it not be better for us to seek the development of others rather than developing a sectarian pride that prevents us for receiving other members of the Body who do not look, talk, or think like us?  Again, I do not suggest that you ever comprise your convictions!

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

Leviticus 26:3-4a, 14-16a  – “If you walk in My statutes and keep My commandments, and perform them, 4 then I will give you… 14 But if you do not obey Me, and do not observe all these commandments, 15 and if you despise My statutes, or if your soul abhors My judgments, so that you do not perform all My commandments, but break My covenant, 16 I also will do this to you:”  NKJV

            In the Old Testament we find some incredible promises and provisions of covenant between God and Israel and as we read the New Testament we find many incredible promises of God to believers.  In both groups there are often ‘conditional’ aspects to receiving the promises and blessings.  Unfortunately some in today’s church believe that they have unconditional rights to the promises of God regardless of their participation or lack thereof.  I would suggest that we would be better to err on the side of caution than to fail in presumption.

            Consider what God is telling Israel here and then expand that principle to believers in the 21^st century.  He gives them both sides of the coin or equation:

• If You Walk In My Statutes and Keep My Commandments, and Perform them, THEN I WILL….

1. Rain in its season
2. The land will produce.
3. The produce of the land will last from harvest to harvest.
4. Divine Protection.
5. Peace in the land.
6. Evil beasts eradicated.
7. They would overpower their enemies and 5 would defeat 100 and 100 would defeat 10,000.
8. The presence of God would be real in their midst.

• But if you do not obey Me, and do not observe all these commandments, and if you despise My statues, or if your soul abhors My judgments, so that you do not perform all My commandments, but break My covenant, I also will do this to you…

1. Terror will come to the land with devastating disease and sorrow.
2. Crop failure.
3. God’s Face would be against them allowing their enemies to defeat them.
4. Seven-fold punishment for sin.
5. Pride would bring them low.
6. Drought.
7. Labor without realizing any real productivity.
8. Plagues will be seven-fold.
9. Wild beasts would overrun the land killing their children and livestock.
10. God’s presence would depart

            It is clear that God expects obedience and as I consider our present world I sometimes wonder how much what is now transpiring is the direct result of our disobedience and how much we would see if we were to ‘return to the Lord’ with a whole heart.  God will not and cannot wink at sin and disobedience and remain a Holy God.  He will never cease being the Holy God of all creation so I would call to all who name the name of Christ to cry out to God to reveal to each of us any and all areas in which we may have drifted from His covenant and purpose asking His mercy and seeking to be restored.

 God bless you as you go through your day!

1 Thessalonians 4:9-12 – “But concerning brotherly love you have no need that I should write to you, for you yourselves are taught by God to love one another; 10 and indeed you do so toward all the brethren who are in all Macedonia. But we urge you, brethren, that you increase more and more; 11 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, 12 that you may walk properly toward those who are outside, and that you may lack nothing.”  NKJV

            We all know that we are to ‘love one another’ and while we sometimes fail we know it is biblical.  It is easier to love some than others and often when we fail to demonstrate love we attempt to justify it and even deny that we have failed.  Paul’s counsel to the Thessalonian believers is certainly applicable for us today and is easily misunderstood and misapplied, in my view.

             He says that we should ASPIRE to lead a quiet life.  I had a person tell me that to accomplish that I had to cease virtually all socializing, sporting activities, and could never be involved in anything political.  Exactly how they arrived at that conclusion is still beyond my grasp but they did, were sincere and adamant that to lead a ‘quiet life’ we had to virtually become recluses and become so stoic in our view and approach to life that laughter and fun was somehow negative.  I suggested that may the next portion of the verse could be applied to their indictment and they did not appreciate that observation.  But I said it in love!   Well almost in love I was being very facetious and sarcastic and probably deviated from the love quotient.

             The Bible addresses ‘minding our own business’ by counseling against being ‘tattlers, gossips, trouble makers, and meddling in the affairs of others’.  That does not mean that we are to never insert our view, make a recommendation, or question some activity or action.  It does mean that we are to respect others realizing that their lives are largely between them and God and not our concern.  I stepped in once in a domestic dispute where there was physical violence and was told by both parties to ‘mind my own business’.  Yet, when I see someone in need it would not be minding my own business to ignore that.

             Paul says we are to ‘work with our own hands’ which is a clear and consistent directive that we are not to be moochers or willing to live on the dole.  In fact the Bible says that a person that ‘will not work’ should not be provided for even in giving them food.  The key is ‘will not’.  A person that is unable to work is a completely different story and someone the church is responsible for helping.

             He tells them and us that we are to walk or live properly before those outside or the unconverted or unbelievers.  As we walk circumspectly before them demonstrating a purity of life, civility, and Christian love we will find that we are better received and able to earn our livelihood with less hindrance and thereby find that we ‘lack nothing’.

             We are to manifest and represent Christ demonstrating His life to the church and the world.  My prayer is that as you go through this day you are able to lead a quiet life, not be viewed as meddlesome, productive, and be respected by those outside and inside the faith.  God bless and have a fantastic day!

1 Corinthians 2:1-5 – “And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God. 2 For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. 3 I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. 4 And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5 that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.”  NKJV

            I have had the pleasure of hearing men and women who exhibited incredible oratorical ability and could hold a crowd virtually spellbound for lengthy periods leaving them wanting more.  I have heard preaching and read the writings of some incredibly wise people regarding spiritual things.  Some seem to have such a depth of knowledge concerning the Word of God that it is inspiring and challenging.  Yet, orators and word smiths cannot substitute for the crucified Christ in transforming lives.  I am not diminishing either and value learned theologians, people with oratorical abilities, and the word smiths of our day and previous generations. They have offered and offer something valuable to the Body of Christ.

             I am convinced that there were few in Paul’s day that had a deeper knowledge of Scripture than he and yet when he spoke to the Corinthian church and others he did so with a humility that is refreshing.  Here he tells them that ‘excellence of speech or wisdom’ is not the most important Jesus’ work on the Cross is.  He pulled back the veil that many in ministry and leadership refuse and exposed his own weaknesses.  The Holy Spirit backed up Paul’s preaching and teaching with the Power of God and I would to God that we could somehow get back to the ‘Power of God’ rather than the ‘Wisdom of man’.

             I could have great theological knowledge, be an expert in Greek and Hebrew, able to teach with oratorical skills that could captivate audiences and write with such fluidity and clarity that people were instantly enlightened and that would pale in comparison to the demonstration of the Holy Spirit’s Power in lives.  If I am able to do anything I want to point to the Cross and the Resurrected Christ.  I know that dazzling people with speech can become nothing more than a tinkling cymbal or sounding brass and have the ultimate effect of rain on a tin roof but when the Holy Spirit moves in a life it is forever changed and that is what I desire!

             The Western church has had enough preaching to last three lifetimes and I am a preacher, enjoy preaching and believe it is valuable but I long for God’s presence in people’s lives more than I desire to preach.  My heart’s cry is for God to move through me and if necessary in spite of me in the Power of the Spirit of God and transform lives.  I am convinced that if we were to become what they were in the early church we would so radically transform this world that Sunday morning would become a ‘reporting time’ rather than a ‘preaching time.’

             Oh Lord God move in our midst and remind us of the Cross!  May God be with you as you go through your day!

Exodus 14:10-14 – “And when Pharaoh drew near, the children of Israel lifted their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians marched after them. So they were very afraid, and the children of Israel cried out to the LORD. 11 Then they said to Moses, “Because there were no graves in Egypt, have you taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you so dealt with us, to bring us up out of Egypt? 12 Is this not the word that we told you in Egypt, saying, ‘Let us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than that we should die in the wilderness.”

 13 And Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever. 14 The LORD will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace.” NKJV

            The children of Israel were no different than people today in that people have a tendency to trust what they see rather than what their heart declares.  We often trust our senses rather than our spirit.  God had miraculously delivered Israel and as Moses led them through the wilderness and came to the Red Sea Pharaoh closed in and the people saw the Egyptians and trembled.  They turned against Moses regretting they had ever listened when the the first sign of trouble or difficulty arose.  Is that really much different from today?

             The people were drifting with the current and Moses was standing in the middle of the river saying, “No upstream!”  Finally as they trembled and lamented having listened to Moses, the Lord through Moses gave a prophetic declaration – “Do not be afraid. Stand still and watch what God does.  This army you are looking at by the end of the day will be no more and you won’t see them again.  God is going to do this so just be quiet, quit shaking in your boots or sandals and observe!”  Understand God does not always fight our battles for us but sometimes empowers and equips us to fight the fight as Israel would learn later.  But the Covenant Keeping Living God had led them out to lead them in and He would not fail them.

             It is easy to trust your eyes or senses but not always easy to trust your faith and God’s promises.  Now I did not say that following what you see will necessarily be an easy road but that is the path of least resistance and one the devil encourages always!  If God has called us, and He has, then we can trust God to work His work in us, through us, around us, and for us.  He will not fail nor will He forsake us.

            So as you take the next step in your journey through this thing we call life, determine in your heart that you will trust your faith not your sight.  Determine that you will look to the author and finisher of your faith and trust Him to do what He has promised!  God can pull you through anything if you can stand the pull.

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