Joel 1:14-15 – “Consecrate a fast, proclaim a solemn assembly; gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land to the house of the LORD your God, and cry out to the LORD.  15 Alas for the day! For the day of the LORD is near, and it will come as destruction from the Almighty.”  NASB

Saying that we live in a troubled world is an understatement of understatements.  However, it is something we must acknowledge.  We need reminders, from time to time, of the times we live to prevent us from drifting into complacency or adopting a “Que, Sera, Sera” attitude.  We dare not think they will dissipate or disappear if we ignore the conditions.  They will not! 

When a lion is in the street ignoring, the lion won’t make the street safe.  When there is a wolf at the door, denying his existence and seeking to isolate ourselves inside won’t take away his threat.  When the world plunges into chaos, corruption, disruption, and evil raises its ugly head, the church’s silence only facilitates, empowers, and emboldens that evil. 

Paul advised us that we are in a spiritual battle, and to combat that foe; we must utilize spiritual weapons of war, which we have through Jesus.  In 1 Corinthians 10, the apostle tells us that these weapons are supernatural; through them, we can ‘pull down strongholds’ the enemy has and is erecting.  We are more than conquerors through our Lord Jesus Christ and in the power of the Holy Spirit.  We can do all things through our Lord Jesus Christ; nothing is impossible with God, and in Him, nothing is impossible.

As many of us have learned, the power of prayer is wonderfully evident and apparent in both the Bible and life.  It is not a desperate attempt to sway God from taking some action or get Him to take some action He is reluctant to do.  It conditions our hearts, develops our faith, emboldens our witness, and reminds us of God’s promises.  

Prayer, when effectual, inspires a change of heart and mind and propels into action to achieve what God, through His Word and Spirit, has and does promise.  It becomes a mighty weapon to combat the assault of the wicked, enabling us to bring every thought captive to the obedience of Christ and, having done all to stand, to stand firmly on God’s Promise and Person.

Fasting was a much-utilized weapon in the Old Testament and New Testament and has been a cornerstone of the church for centuries.  The diminishing of that weapon or practice is a more recent phenomenon, and we have allowed that weapon to be lost to our own hurt spiritually. 

Fasting is not simply abstaining from food for a specified period of time; it is an endeavor in which the Spirit of God takes control of the fleshly mind and desires and turns our focus singularly upon God and His Purposes and Plan.  It is a means whereby we can ‘humble ourselves’ before God.  It is a means whereby we can focus on God first and foremost.  It facilitates a renewed or new yieldedness in our lives and often produces a brokenness that moves us nearer to God and helps us realize our dependence upon Him.

In natural warfare, successful participants know their enemy, resources, weapons, and how to use them.  When we set aside time for ‘fasting and prayer’ for whatever reason, we engage in spiritual warfare.  Because of our world’s current condition, unrest, upheaval, and depravity, we must wake up and realize, this is War! 

In war, there are casualties, and there are victors and vanquished.  If we genuinely care about what is happening in America and worldwide and are Christians, we should be inspired, encouraged, and challenged to discover the root cause of this destruction.  We should desire to utilize our weapons most effectively and consistently.  We should be willing to die for the cause of God and Freedom. 

This call is for us if we love God, love people, and want to see as many salvaged and saved as possible.  We are being called to “National Fasting and Prayer.”  Let’s bring in 2023 with a commitment to intercession, proclamation, profession, and pursuing the Kingdom of God and His Righteousness.  

God bless you as you focus on Him and His Purposes for your life and world!

Proverbs 25:4-5 – “Take away the dross from the silver, and there comes out a vessel for the smith; 5 Take away the wicked before the king, and his throne will be established in righteousness.”  NASB

Many cry out for God to purify their hearts and then complain when He begins removing the dross from the silver of our lives.  The heat is uncomfortable, and we generally prefer ease to purification.  We want instant righteousness and resist the process of becoming righteous.

The silversmith places the raw silver in a vat, then turns up the heat, and as the silver is heated to the melting point, the impurities separate from the pure and float to the surface where they are skimmed off.  In life, God uses the heat to expose and remove the impurities in our hearts.  It is generally never a pleasant experience to be exposed, but afterward, it is joyous!

David cried, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me and know my anxious thoughts, and see if there be any hurtful way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”  (Psalm 139:23-24) Oh, how we need to be placed in the refiner’s vat under the Holy Spirit’s microscope and allow God to expose and remove all wickedness from our hearts. 

We want to be pure but do not want to go through purification.  We will either be vessels meet (fit) for the Master vessels of honor or vessels of dishonor. Death and life are before us, so let’s choose life!  We are instructed to seek first the Kingdom of God and His Righteousness…. That is not only the best place in life but also the only place!

God bless you as you go through your day!  Blessings!

Psalm 55:22 – “Cast your burden on the LORD, and He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved.”  NKJV

David said in Psalm 37:25 – “I have been young, and now am old; yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his descendants begging bread.”  In verse, speaking of the righteous, he said, “Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; for the LORD upholds him with His hand.”  I do not believe any conflict exists in the three passages cited here or the remainder of the biblical message. 

Is this a guarantee that we will not have problems?  Is it a guarantee that we will not become, as Paul described in 1 Corinthians 9:27, a castaway or disqualified?  Is this a guarantee that we will not or cannot, as described in Hebrews 10:35 – “…cast away our confidence…”?  Is it a compilation of the promise in Romans 8:28 that “all things” are working together for our good? 

I believe strongly that God has promised to keep us against that day, and nothing can separate us from His love!  However, I am very aware that circumstances, conditions, events, and assaults on our lives can bring us to the brink of despair that God has promised NEVER to leave or forsake us! This is descriptive: If we ‘cast our burden on the LORD,’ He will sustain us.  Do you see one small caveat or problem here?

The instruction is to cast our burden on the LORD.  That is the requisite for receiving the remainder of the promise.  If we refuse to gather under the shelter of his wings as Psalm 91 describes, and we trust the arm of flesh rather than coming to him, taking His yoke upon us, and allowing Him to be supreme in our lives, we place ourselves outside the scope of the promise of the second portion of the verse.  But, if we do cast our burdens on Him, then we are assured that He will not permit us to be moved!  That is a powerful promise!

If we believe the Bible, then would that not encourage us to be obedient and cast our burdens on the LORD?   If one believes that turning to the LORD, rolling our cares on Him, and allowing Him to engineer our lives according to His plan would afford security, safety, and victory, what sense would it make not to do so?  Could it be that a major reason we would not is that we do not genuinely believe the Bible or trust God’s promise?  I know that is a bit harsh and strongly stated but examine it before rejecting it.

When I consider the life of David, I can readily understand how he would have developed a mentality of trust toward the LORD.  God repeatedly demonstrated His faithfulness to David, and David either trusted or repented for failure and ran to the LORD.  Most of us, if not all of us, have experienced God’s faithfulness.  I know that in the times I have genuinely cast my burden on Him, He has proved His Promises!  It did not always transpire as I thought it should or even in the timeframe I had in mind, but God Never Failed, and He Never Will…

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

2 Peter 2:18-22 – “For when they speak great swelling words of emptiness, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through lewdness, the ones who have actually escaped from those who live in error. 19 While they promise them liberty, they themselves are slaves of corruption; for by whom a person is overcome, by him also he is brought into bondage. 20 For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning. 21 For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them. 22 But it has happened to them according to the true proverb: “A dog returns to his own vomit,” and, “a sow, having washed, to her wallowing in the mire.” NKJV

Peter was addressing false teachers and heresy.  He made some interesting analogies in this portion of scripture.  We have all known or known of preachers and teachers whose lives do not match their preaching and teaching.  Some of them are charlatans who live in the prison of their lust for money, power, position, lasciviousness, and the like.  They come promising the hearer liberty but are bound by corruption so that they can offer nothing spiritually that is liberating.  They offer words that are “empty” because their words are not backed up by their hearts.

Peter addressed the sad situation where one escapes the world’s pollution through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and then becomes entangled in those pollutions again.  He powerfully expressed that it would have been better for that person to have Never Known the way of Righteousness than to have experienced it and turned back.  His picture is that of the natural inclination of a sick dog or a cleaned-up pig returning to the mire.  

I realize that some will totally disagree with me doctrinally or ideologically on this.  Yet, Peter was speaking about people who have escaped the world’s pollution through the knowledge of Jesus Christ.  They have moved out of darkness into light.  He then addressed the issue of the person then turning their backs on what they have received and returning to the way of the world, and he compares it to a dog’s nature or a pig’s nature. 

I say, “A pig cannot help being a pig but a person who comes to know Jesus has a “new nature” through the Blood of Jesus and does not have to return to the mire.”  Just because temptation comes does not mean you are obligated to yield to it. 

You are no longer a pig! Therefore, get it out of your head that you are somehow obligated to wallow in the mire just because you are human.  That would diminish the power of the Cross, and that is unacceptable to me.  If the Blood of Jesus can wash away my sin, then the Grace of God can keep me from sin and help me live the Christian life!  Of course, we may all and probably will stumble at times, but that doesn’t mean we return to the mire and allow the “old nature” to gain control.  No, we immediately repent and allow the Spirit of God to help us learn from our mistakes and mature. 

I have known people who kept succumbing to the same temptation time after time.  They would come to me in tears crying for help.  I had one person tell me once, “I can’t help it. It’s the way God made me.”  

As you might suspect, that did not sit well with me.  I am equally convinced that it did not with God either.  Once we receive the knowledge of the Lord and are born into the family of God, we are New Creations.  God did not make us subservient to our temptations. 

It is our responsibility to resist, and in resisting, the Bible tells us that the devil will flee!  Bullies only bully people who offer no resistance.  So, a pig is a pig, but you are not a pig. You are a child of the King and have been washed clean.  If you stumble, you have an advocate with the Father, the Lord Jesus Christ!  You may experience that failure but don’t have to take up permanent residence there.  God’s Grace is Greater than all our Sins!

May the Lord be with you as you go through your day!

Psalm 113:3 – “From the rising of the sun to its setting The name of the LORD is to be praised.” NASB

Any reasonable understanding of this passage tells us that we cannot praise God too much!   The Psalmist addressed the workday, not to exclude the night.  He suggested that we should make a conscious effort to Praise the Name of the Lord all the time and in all things.  Praise is a conscious choice, and if we do not focus our hearts upon the Lord, we will become too involved in the activities of life to offer genuine praise to the Lord of Hosts.

I find this passage to be in the same category as the directive of Paul in Thessalonians to “pray without ceasing.”  It may be impractical for us to engage in what most would consider prayer ‘without cessation,’ but we can always have an attitude of prayerfulness. 

Likewise, we can always have an attitude of praise without stopping what we are doing to do what most consider praise.  We pigeonhole and have predetermined ideas of what constitutes praise and prayer and fail to understand that God hears our hearts as well as our words spoken out loud. 

Remember that God hears the thoughts in our minds, not just the words that pass our lips.  We can and should develop an attitude of gratitude in which we consistently and continually commune with the Lord and offer Him praise and thanksgiving.  From the time we wake in the morning until we go to sleep at night, our hearts should be praising and thanking God. 

I had a minister who was holding a meeting in the church I was leading respond to the question, “When and How Much Do You Pray?“  He looked them squarely in the eye and said, “I am a walking prayer.”  They wanted him to be in the church for ‘x’ number of hours per day, engaging in what they deemed to be prayer.  They had not learned that prayer is as much a condition and attitude of the heart as it is time spent on your knees or prostrate before the Lord crying out aloud. 

The question, “Can You Praise God Too Much?”Should be answered, NO!  However, I would say the answer is Yes and No!  YES, if you shut down everything, you are responsible for doing what is commonly identified as Praise.  NO, if you develop a mindset and attitude of praise in your heart and allow your entire being and life to become continual praise to the Lord! 

If you neglect your duties and responsibilities to engage in the religious activity called ‘praise,’ then are you really praising the Lord?  If you fail to do what you know you are supposed to, are you bringing honor to His Name?  But, if your heart is filled with awe, love, and appreciation for Him at all times, and out of that attitude, you live, work, speak, and love, then you cannot praise too much!

So, as you go through this day, go with a song in your heart and let your mind be filled with His awesomeness.  Let your heartstrings be strummed by the Holy Spirit offering a sweet aroma to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

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

Psalm 95:1-2 – “O come, let us sing for joy to the LORD, Let us shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation.  2 Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving, Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms.”  NASB

I love the Psalms!  They are filled with wonderful spiritual nuggets that lift my spirit and elevate my view far above the turmoil of this life.  Today I have been struggling with what is happening in our world and the condition of man’s heart as I see it.  Then in my reading, I turned to this Psalm and immediately heard the Holy Spirit ask, “Are you going to just read it, or do it?”  I made the Choice to Rejoice, and my spirit is soaring!

Consider what he said: 

• Let us sing for joy to the LORD – – (A definite decision for us to do something.)
• Let us shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation – – (I realize that might not be dignified, but I have been having a bit of a spell shouting to the Lord here alone in my house and feel good about it.)
• Let us come before His presence with Thanksgiving – – (As I sang to the LORD and shouted to the LORD, my heart was filled with thankfulness.)
• Let us shout joyfully to Him with Psalms. – – (Yep, that is just what I did!)

You have at least two choices every day and in every situation.  You can turn it all inward and become depressed or look outward and upward and choose to rejoice.  I have done both in life and can testify that the latter is the better of the two choices.

As we go through this day, let us Rejoice with singing to the LORD.  Let us Shout to the LORD, come before Him with a Thankful Heart!  We need to just let go and start singing and shouting the Psalms.  We might be amazed at how therapeutic that can be.

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

Genesis 1:1-3 – “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters. 3 Then God said…” NASB.

If I counted correctly nine (9) times in Genesis 1, we discover the phrase, “God said…”  Nine times he spoke something into existence, and almost that many times, the Bible tells us that “God saw…”  In these two descriptions, we have a clear revelation that God is Alive, Sees, and Speaks.  In the New Testament, we find the words of Jesus in John 10:27, where He declared that His sheep Hear His voice.  Yet, many today look at you as if you fell out of a well if you say, “God told me” or “God said to me.”  Can I ask one simple question, “When did God stop speaking?” 

Jesus told the disciples that the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, would come and teach them all that Jesus had said.  I do not know how He was to teach, but one of the most used teaching methods is Speaking.  I do believe that the Holy Spirit speaks to people today.  I am not telling you that I hear audible voices, but I hear God clearly in my heart and know that I am hearing God, not just me or someone else.  I have learned the voice of Jesus and the voice of the Spirit of God.  Any voice that contradicts Scripture is immediately rejected, but when God speaks, and I know it is God, I Listen!

Who would you rather teach you what is in the book, the author or a commentator, about what the author meant?  Who would you rather instruct, you in life, the one who sees the end from the beginning or man who sees the beginning from the end?  Who would you rather guide your life, the one who created all things or someone with limited experience, as do all humans? 

If God is the creator of all things and Omnipotent, Omniscient, and Omnipresent, why do we relegate Him to speaking only through the Bible or Preachers?  I do not suggest and would reject any notion that God would say anything contradictory to the written Word of God.  But, as Jesus said, “My sheep hear my voice and follow Me.”

I desire fellowship with God, and when I have fellowship with any human being, talking is involved.  Why would it be different with God?  In my prayer time, I talk, and I listen.  Sometimes I hear that still small voice in my deep inner man, and sometimes I hear a much bolder voice in my heart, but I Hear God!  You Hear God!  You probably hear much more than you think you do.  I contend that God is “always speaking,” but we are not “always listening,” so we need to learn to listen more and expect to hear more.

As you go through this day, expect to hear God speak to you in guidance, counseling, and comfort.  He wants to communicate with you and will guide you through the maze of life.  

Blessings as you go through your day!

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 – “But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope. 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. 15 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore comfort one another with these words.” NASB

I never thought about my mortality when I was in my teens and even in my twenties (after I returned from Vietnam).  I was ten feet tall and bulletproof; at least, that is how I lived.  Later as I had children of my own, and lost my grandfather and then my father, I began to realize that I was just passing through this life and will one day pass from this life. 

Some people resist planning, in advance, for their funeral, thinking it is too morbid. Some have told me that they don’t want to invite “bad karma” by doing so.  The Bible says it is appointed unto men “once to die and then the judgment.”  We will all depart this world via death should Jesus tarry His coming.

Paul addressed the reality of losing loved ones and friends in this passage; it has long been a comfort and encouragement to me.  He addressed our mortality and the Promise of the Lord to return for us.  He identified the scene of the Lord’s coming for those who are alive and remain. 

He tells us that the Lord will bring back those who have preceded us.  As He descends from heaven, He will shout with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and at that time, the dead in Christ will rise first.  Then those of us who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and that will begin our eternity with God.  He concludes by saying, “Comfort one another with these words.”

Mortality is a reality none of us can avoid.  You are not invincible in your mortal flesh.  Once you are born, you begin the process of dying.  You cannot change that.  You cannot take enough HGH or anti-aging creams, rubs, or pills to avoid the absolute eventuality of the end of your mortal existence on this planet. 

It Will Happen!  There is nothing that any of us can do to stop it.  What we can do is prepare for it spiritually and, if you so choose, financially for those you leave behind.  I have had friends who completely planned their memorial services, picked out their burial plots, and purchased their caskets.  I have largely done that.  Some have determined what clothes they would wear, and everything was settled long before they departed. 

Most of the loved ones in those situations have told me they appreciated it, but some have said they felt restricted in what they could do and the honor they could pay because of it.  That is a family thing, and I won’t touch it, but spiritual preparation is not an option. It is a requirement.  So, I do not hesitate to remind you that you are Mortal, and you should begin thinking about that reality today.  Today is the day of salvation!

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

Exodus 31:1-7 – “Now the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “See, I have called by name Bezalel, the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. 3 “I have filled him with the Spirit of God in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all kinds of craftsmanship, 4 to make artistic designs for work in gold, in silver, and in bronze, 5 and in the cutting of stones for settings, and in the carving of wood, that he may work in all kinds of craftsmanship. 6 “And behold, I Myself have appointed with him Oholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan; and in the hearts of all who are skillful I have put skill, that they may make all that I have commanded you:” NASB

The Anointing is not just for preaching; it is for everything!  In 2 Corinthians 1:21-22, we read, “Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and anointed us is God, 22 who also sealed us and gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a pledge.”  Remember John’s words in 1 John 2:20, “But you have an anointing from the Holy One….” 

Each of us has a gift, calling, talent, or gifts callings and talents that God has given or anointed us to function in.  That was the case in Exodus, where God said, “I have filled him with the Spirit of God in wisdom, understanding, knowledge, and all kinds of craftsmanship….”  I would remind everyone of the words of the apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 4:7, “…What do you have that you did not receive?”

If we were working on a team and one of us had the anointing for organizing, it would be foolish not to defer to that person and allow their gift and anointing to flow.  If a person with another gift attempted to take care of the organizational issues, it would result in chaos.   It would not produce the optimum results! 

I have observed pastors who found it impossible to release various gifts to function because they felt it was their job to take the lead in everything.  If your gift, talent, ability, and anointing are in an area where I know I am weak, I will gladly defer to you and follow your lead.  When we reach the point that my gift, talent, skill, ability, or anointing is required, I will step forward and ask you to move from the point and allow that gift to flow. 

We are The Body of Christ, and a human or spiritual body comprises differing parts.  We would die if the hand tried to do the heart’s job.  We would suffocate if the ears tried to do the lungs’ job.  If the feet attempted to assume the role of the eyes, we would stumble around, having the ability to move around without vision.  If the eyes see, the ears hear, the lungs breathe, and the heart pumps blood while the brain coordinates all the parts, we will function much better.  Each part is needed, and each part has a specific anointing.  

Some have an anointing for service and should serve.  Some have an anointing for decoration and should decorate.  If it is culinary, then find the kitchen.  If business and creating wealth, then turn your attention to it.  If it is preaching, then preach anywhere and everywhere. 

What are you good at?  What tugs at your heart?  What has God uniquely gifted you to do?  Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your all.  Rejoice in His gift and call and know that no matter what your gift is, that gift is valuable to the Body of Christ and the Kingdom of God.  Just don’t be like a person who said once, “My gift is irritating people.”  I’m not sure that is an anointing from God, but if we pursue His purposes, we will irritate some, but it is never with malice. 

God bless you as you enjoy this wonderful day in Him!