Psalm 127:1-2 – “Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it; unless the Lord guards the city, the watchman keeps awake in vain. ² It is vain for you to rise early, to retire late, to eat the bread of anxious labors— for He gives [blessings] to His beloved even in his sleep.”  Amplified

Jesus clearly stated regarding the Church that it was His and He was the chief builder. Paul identified himself and other apostles as ‘wise master builders’; we are told to be ‘laborers together with the Lord.’  Therefore, it is clear that we have a responsibility in the building, but the ultimate source is THE LORD!  Without Him, we can truly do nothing lasting. 

We can build houses, but they will be on shifting sand.  We can build ministries, but they become dependent on personality and whims.  We can build political alliances, but they wither in the heat of the battle unless the LORD is doing the building and we are following His instructions.  The key, for me, is Who is Building the House, Guarding the City, and Granting the Peace. 

In Proverbs 16, we find this addressed differently.  We read about the plans of the heart belonging to the individual and that most people believe their motives are pure, but when we come under God’s spotlight, He weighs our motives. Only as we commit our plans to Him can they become established positively. 

That chapter has an incredible promise: “When a man’s ways please the LORD, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.”  That is both encouraging and discouraging because we have all had times when we were genuinely attempting to follow the LORD, and our enemies were anything but at peace with us. 

In those times, I have done some serious introspection and examination of my heart, actions, and motives.  I also realize that the devil never makes a non-aggression pact that he keeps, so we dare not take an isolated passage and shape our entire doctrine, but we should take heart that if we are doing what God wants when God wants it, the way God wants it and with the right motives we can claim that passage and expect it to be a reality in our lives.

In America, we have been and are going through some strained times politically and relationally.  We are a divided nation and people; even among those who profess to be followers of the Lord Jesus Christ, there is political division.  The divide has caused people to form groups, sects, camps, and cliques and virtually go to war with each other and labor tirelessly to achieve their objectives. 

What we, believers, must never forget is the truth of this Psalm and recall the declaration of Daniel that it is God who ‘sets up kings and takes them down.’  I do not believe that all we are to do in life is WAIT for the Lord to do it for us.  I believe that faith without works is dead or non-productive. 

Yet, I believe that our first principle must be GOD! We must acknowledge His person, power, purpose, and presence, and then we Seek His Face to get our marching orders.  We find out what He wants, how He wants it when He wants it, and where He wants it.  Then we are to put on the Whole Armor of God and pull down the strongholds utilizing the spiritual weapons of warfare.  Incorporated in the spiritual battle, we will find that we must do things in the natural to ‘walk out’ His promises and purposes in our lives.  We are ‘laborers together’ with Him, not sitting as birds in the wilderness waiting to be fed. 

A young preacher once said, “I don’t study or prepare my sermons, I just open my mouth, and God fills it.”  I thought, “Yeah, with flies.”  In life, there is preparation and preparation always precedes blessing. 

Remember the directive of Elisha in 2 Kings 3, where he told Jehoshaphat and the others, “Make this valley full of ditches?”  The ditches were full of water the following day, but the enemy saw it as blood and thought they had an easy victory.  Had they not made the valley full of ditches, there would have been no water or perception by the enemy that led to victory.  Preparation preceded Blessing and Victory! 

We are to Acknowledge God first and foremost, then Seek His Face, and after we have heard from Him, we go into action.  We need to get our focus right, and then our actions can be in harmony with the purposes and plans of God, and He will establish them! 

God, bless you richly as you change your focus and receive your blessing!

Exodus 3:10-12 – “Therefore, come now, and I will send you to Pharaoh, so that you may bring My people, the sons of Israel, out of Egypt.” 11 But Moses said to God, ” Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the sons of Israel out of Egypt?” 12 And He said, “Certainly I will be with you, and this shall be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God at this mountain.”  NASB

The account of Moses is an incredible journey and reveals how intricately God works in our lives, preparing us for His purpose(s).  Moses, as you will recall, was born when Pharaoh issued an edict to kill all the male children born to the Hebrews. 

Moses’ mother hid him for three months and then placed him in a wicker basket in the Nile, where he was found by the daughter of Pharaoh, who had compassion for the child.  Moses’ sister Miriam was watching and suggested that she find a nurse to care for the child.  Moses was raised in the nurture and admonition of the LORD by his birth mother before entering Pharaoh’s house, where he was trained in multiple disciplines in Egypt. 

We remember his flight into the desert, fleeing a vengeful Pharaoh, and there came into the house of Jethro, married Zipporah, and had children.  While attending to the flocks of Jethro, he saw a phenomenon in the desert a burning bush.  That was not unusual, and as the words of Moses reveal, it was not the burning bush that caught his attention but that the bush burned but was not consumed.  This was unusual; he wanted to find the reason and observe the strange occurrence.

As Moses approached the bush, God told him to remove his shoes because he was standing on Holy Ground.  It was holy because God’s presence was there!  God made it holy as He does wherever He is.  God revealed to Moses that He had heard the ‘groaning’ of the people of Israel in Egypt, and in honoring His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, God would deliver them. 

God then said to Moses, “Therefore, come now, and I will send you to Pharaoh, so that you may bring My people, the sons of Israel, out of Egypt.”  God had prepared Moses for such a time as this, but Moses’ mind was not sufficiently set free, and he resisted.  He asked the Wrong Question, saying, “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the sons of Israel out of Egypt?”   Who Am I? His question was the wrong question and posed a potential problem to shipwreck God’s Plan for Moses and Israel.

The question should be replaced by a more pertinent one.  We should ask, “Who Are You, LORD, rather than Who Am I?”  The success of God’s purpose(s) depends not on Who We Are but on Who He Is.  The focus should be on Who GOD Is and His sufficiency, not our insufficiency. 

We guarantee defeat if we focus on our insufficiency without focusing on His sufficiency.  We will succeed if we focus on His sufficiency and recognize that His strength is released powerfully in our weakness.  God responded to Moses’ question with a promise to God, but Moses still protested out of his limited mindset.  God’s response to Moses’ protest and question about Who GOD Is was powerful.  God said, “Tell them I AM.”  He said I AM WHO I AM! 

Moses, what do you need?  I AM that!  God tells Israel that the All-Sufficient, All-Powerful, All-Wise, and Eternal God has sent you, and whatever you need, I AM.  I will be with you, go before you, empower you, enable you, enlighten you, and anoint you to do what I have sent you to do.  SUFFICIENCY is with you!  

That is the message you and I need to become engraved in our hearts and at the forefront of our minds.  It does not matter our status in life, our age, our education, our finances, or our experience. Who GOD Is matters, and that is all that matters!  It is our willingness to obey His call and pursue His purpose(s).  He will NEVER leave us, nor will He FORSAKE us!

God, bless you richly is my prayer!

Zephaniah 1:1-6 – “The word of the LORD which came to Zephaniah son of Cushi, son of Gedaliah, son of Amariah, son of Hezekiah, in the days of Josiah son of Amon, king of Judah:

2 “I will completely remove all things From the face of the earth,” declares the LORD.  3 “I will remove man and beast; I will remove the birds of the sky and the fish of the sea, and the ruins along with the wicked; and I will cut off man from the face of the earth,” declares the LORD.

4 “So I will stretch out My hand against Judah and against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And I will cut off the remnant of Baal from this place, and the names of the idolatrous priests along with the priests. 5 “And those who bow down on the housetops to the host of heaven, and those who bow down and  swear to the LORD and yet swear by Milcom, 6 And those who have turned back from following the LORD, and those who have not sought the LORD or inquired of Him.” NASB

As I read this prophecy and warning of impending judgment through this prophet, I cannot help but relate it to our day in many ways.  We read, in numerous passages, that the patience of God is not unlimited.  There will come a time when He says, “Enough!”  I am not alone in my declaration that I truly believe, based on what I know of the Bible, through prayer and observation, that there is coming a ‘purge’ in Christendom and the world as a whole. 

Sadly, in our present world, and America in particular, we have severely tested the limits of God’s patience.  We have allowed the eviction of God and the Bible from all things public. We have allowed the insistence that praying in school or at government-sponsored events or activities should not be allowed.  We have determined that it is acceptable to force people to violate their convictions to accept a lifestyle or activity that they believe anti-biblical. 

We have allowed the slaughter of MILLIONS of babies in the womb.  We have allowed this nation to become so secularized and guided by Political Correctness that churches and ministers walk on eggshells fearing to let their voices be heard. 

In a real sense, the spirit of Baal is imposing its will on churches through the federal government’s edicts.  We have allowed worldliness to enter the church. In our pursuit of tolerance and acceptance, we have diluted the Gospel message and included teachings that are specifically and directly foreign to the Bible.  Many have been and are being led astray by diabolical ministers and well-meaning ministers alike. 

God will not tolerate the perversion of His Gospel, and He is the one who sets up kings and takes them down also sets up Christian leaders and takes them down.  There is coming a shaking in the church and the world, and when it comes, it will be both terrible and wonderful.  It will be terrible because the shaking will cause such chaos and embolden many who hate the Bible, and perilous times will become more pronounced.  It will be wonderful that those God raises up to take the place of the fallen leadership will go with the spirit and power of Elijah and Elisha, as well as the diplomacy of Moses and the courage of Paul.  God will have a harvest in these last days, and the shaking or purging will open the door to a MIGHTY REVIVAL, which is coming soon.

God bless you, and may you find that when the shaking comes, you are on a solid foundation in Jesus with a pure heart and the right motive. 

Proverbs 12:11 – “Those who work their land will have abundant food, but those who chase fantasies have no sense.”

Occasionally, I have found myself daydreaming and fantasizing about many things.  Some of those dreams were God-birthed, and some were whimsical fantasies rooted in my selfishness and desire for self-sufficiency. 

I have talked to people who have achieved greatness spiritually, academically, financially, and athletically.  Each had the same theme; hard work, consistency, determination, and faith were all key factors.  Each of them had taken the route of seeking a quick shortcut to success, and each of them experienced failure. 

A definition would be in order and the distinction between a fantasy and a dream.  There is almost no difference unless the dream is God-inspired and tied to a work ethic to bring it to fruition.  Fantasies and dreams are products of our creative minds.  We can mentally create things that may or may not be possible to reproduce in reality.  Having a vivid imagination is not a sin but must be carefully guarded and brought into submission to the Holy Spirit. 

It is critical that in our dreams which may become fantasies, there is a righteous intent behind them, and as Philippians 4:8 instructs, think on things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, and praiseworthy.  Saying that we desire it for the glory of God, the benefit of others, and the advancement of the kingdom may sound noble, but if the root of the desire is self, it may be a fantasy, not a God-given dream.

Anything rooted in or linked to greed, lust, covetousness, jealousy, pride, or arrogance would not be blessed by God and would be equal to the warning of our text and relegate us to senselessness.  Proverbs 4:23 tells us, “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.”  Luke 21:34 warns, “Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and the anxieties of life….”

We are told in Psalm 139:1-3 – “You have searched me, Lord, and you know me.  ² You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar.  ³ You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways.”  God knows what is in our hearts and will reveal it to us.    In Psalm 94:11, we find, “The Lord knows all human plans;  He knows that they are futile.”

If you struggle with unwholesome and unhealthy fantasies that are shortcuts to success or rooted in lust, greed, envy, bitterness, pride, or anything outside the realm of God’s purposes, God wants to reveal that to you.  He wants to help you break free and pursue His purposes with diligence and through the channels He has prepared, which frequently, if not usually, require time and effort.  

God will always forgive the repentant heart and inspire dreams, not fantasies, that are birthed in heaven and set us free from evil thoughts.  God wants to Give us the Kingdom!  The wealth of the wicked is stored up for the righteous.  God owns the cattle on a thousand hills; we are His heirs. 

Beyond the financial aspect, every other dimension of life must be brought to Him, and His guidance sought.  If it is athletics, some things must be invested.  Some procedures and principles cannot be ignored or bypassed if it is business.  If it is academic, the process is time-consuming and detailed.  If it is in relationships, there are no shortcuts to perfection.  If it is relationships, time, energy, effort, and a certain level of self-effacement are required. The only shortcut in life is Jesus. However, He is not a shortcut but a pathway to fullness.

God warned me to stop chasing fantasies, do the labor He has called me to do, and trust Him for the Abundant Life He has promised!

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

Genesis 1:1 – ” In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” NASB

Good morning, Lord: I almost felt like saying, “Good Morning Vietnam!” because I have been in a war zone in many areas lately.  This is a great morning, wonderful solitude, a cup of coffee in hand, my bible in hand, and listening to the sounds of life and… the voice of the Lord. Some interesting thoughts were raised as I meditated on God.

WHAT IS THE FIRST STEP?

What first step am I talking about?

• The first step to believing.  
• The first step to a relationship with God.
• The first step to abundant life.
• The first step to a life of victory and overcoming.

Genesis 1:1 – “In the beginning God….” If I do not believe that as the foundation of everything, I believe I have no foundation to build. I either believe that in the dateless past (the beginning), there was God, and God created what I see before me, or I believe the explanation of the theories presented by the evolutionist. Which is more difficult to believe? To me, the answer is simple; the easier to believe is that God IS and CREATED this world as well as we human beings.

I had a lengthy conversation with a college professor who held a Ph.D. in Biology a few years ago. He assured me that he was both a devout evolutionist and a devout Christian, and the two did not conflict.  

His brand is not important, only his belief that somehow dismissing the Bible and still being a Christian was somehow compatible.  To him, it was ludicrous to believe that God spoke the world into existence.  He scoffed at the idea that all that exists is by divine design.  He could not embrace the idea that God took dirt, formed Adam, breathed the breath of life into him, took a rib from Adam, and created Eve.

Yet, he could believe that from a single-celled piece of slime, gradually, over millions of years, that piece of slime evolved into every species of creature, including humankind on the planet. That somehow all this just happened by random chance. Not to get political in my devotional, but if people really think like that in the realm of science and education and still believe that they are followers of Christ and see no conflict, no wonder we have so much diversity in the political arena.

If I dismiss God being the beginning point, dismiss the creation, dismiss the Garden of Eden, dismiss Adam & Eve and the fall of man, then I must dismiss the remainder of the Bible. That would include the virgin birth of Jesus, His sacrificial death on the Cross, resurrection, and ascension to Heaven.  

If I do not believe that God is the Creator, then I have no basis for believing anything that is in the Bible and thereby negate my foundation of faith.  I drift into nothingness in my belief system and become nothing more than a soulless animal creation.  

Moral character would dissipate in that state of mind, and there would be no restraints on my life.  If we are evolved creatures with no soul, then what law would there be other than my own desire to rule my life?  I would effectively become the god of my own world, and my world would exist so long as I was either cunning enough or powerful enough to keep it intact.  Nothing would be off-limits.

However, I choose to believe the report of Genesis 1.  I believe that GOD IS, and He CREATED the heavens, earth, man, and other creatures on it.  I believe He hung the stars in place and placed everything where it was to be with the gravitational pull precisely as He designed and desired.

I believe that man fell in the Garden of Eden and brought condemnation to the race.  I believe that Jesus came to set us free from that bondage, give us Life, and that Life more abundant!  I believe that when we die, we will stand before God.  I believe that if we have accepted Christ as our Savior, we will enter into the joys of the Lord, and if we have rejected Him, we will be cast into outer darkness (hell).

I believe that the final result is based on our choices to accept Him or reject Him, and it is not by random chance that I am here. If you believe that you came from monkeys, that is your choice. As some do, you may act like a soulless animal and live as though this life is all there is. I believe God is both a loving God and one who will ultimately judge us.

Therefore, the first step is to either accept or reject Genesis 1:1.   If you do, the Bible opens an incredible world to you; if you do not, then you are left in the darkness of the speculation of the theories about how we got here.

I choose God, not just some higher power, but the God of all creation as MY GOD, and I choose to follow HIM and His directives and guidance. At this point in my life, I have had too many personal encounters and experiences to discount and dismiss my belief and faith! So, I have taken the first step and believed, and now I take the remaining steps and walk out that life, step by step, until the day He calls me home, which I believe is a VERY REAL PLACE – – HEAVEN!

God bless you as you go through your day!

2 Corinthians 5:17 – “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” NKJV
Romans 6:1-4 – “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? 3 Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? 4 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.” NKJV

Philippians 1:21 – “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” NKJV

Three times in my life, I heard the devil say to me in what seemed to be an audible voice, “I’m going to kill you.” The Lord performed a miracle each of those times to prevent my death in situations where I could have and would have died had He not intervened. I have known all my life, in a very real way, that I am alive for a purpose, and I do not sense that I have fulfilled that purpose as of this date.

The devil tried to kill me almost from birth within the first two years of my life.  We spent a large amount of time in the doctor’s office as the medical personnel tried to determine what was making me sick. The doctors gave my family virtually no hope that I would live as a teen, but God intervened and gave my dad the wisdom to relocate, and I got completely well in the relocation.

The first time I heard those words, “I’m going to kill you, or you are going to die,” was in Vietnam on the day of my arrival in country. God miraculously changed my orders and relocated me to a safe haven. Unfortunately, I learned that those who went where I was to be that day lost their lives. I was not a Christian then, but God’s mercy spared me for His purposes.

The next time, I was on a plane flying to Colorado from Austin, Texas, and had to change planes in Dallas. As we were coming into DFW, I heard those words so clearly that it startled me, and I looked around to see who had said them, but no one had been speaking to me. As we descended, I sensed something very wrong, and just as the wheels touched the ground, the engines roared, and we lifted off again, and as I looked down and back, I saw another plane crossing our runway.  I was going to a retreat with other ministers for spiritual renewal and came away energized with a new vision and a sense of purpose.

The third time I heard those words, I was diagnosed with Parathyroid Cancer a few months later. God miraculously used the surgeons and provided a healing touch that caused the surgeon to say as we went in for a second surgery, “Somebody much higher than me has been at work here.” He said that what had transpired does not happen medically and considered it a miracle. We rejoiced then and continue to rejoice in God’s mercy, grace, and power!

God asked me after the last time the question in the title – “How do you kill a dead man?”  Since then, my response to the devil has been, “And if you manage to kill me, what have you done? I will go home early, and someone will take my place and carry on the work I have been assigned. I am already dead, in Christ, so you can’t kill a dead man.”

I am not trying to be flippant nor disregard the seriousness of attacks of the enemy, but in Christ, we are more than conquerors, and He has overcome the evil one, and we are IN CHRIST. Therefore, we are overcomers! I want to live out the entire length of my days and accomplish all God has for me to do! I want it to be said of me as it was of David in Acts 13:36 that I fulfilled the purpose of God in my generation, and then I died. Not before, not until! My destiny is complete, my race run, my journey complete, and my fight won. THEN GO HOME!

You have a destiny and a purpose that God has designed and desired for you.  I sincerely pray that you fulfill every portion of it and live out the remainder of your days in abundant joy, grace, power, and love!

Blessings to each of you!

Psalm 34:4-7 – “I sought the LORD, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears. 5 They looked to Him and were radiant, and their faces were not ashamed.  6 This poor man cried out, and the LORD heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles. 7 The angel of the LORD encamps all around those who fear Him, and delivers them.” NKJV

In the first portion of this passage, the Psalmist identifies something that too often we refuse to admit – Fear!  If I were to go back to my time in Vietnam and tell you that I was never afraid, I would be a liar.  I experienced fear more than once and am not ashamed to admit it.  I did not want to be too close to people who claimed they never experienced fear because I found them careless too frequently, which got people hurt or killed. 

There were times in my childhood and adult life when I was gripped with fear.  Sometimes the threat was real, and at other times it was a phantom danger of which I was afraid.  Learning to know the difference is important, but the effect on your body and mind is the same, and often it will paralyze you so that you cannot function as you should.  When fear tried to grip our hearts in Vietnam, our training kicked in, and we reacted out of instinct. As the adrenaline kicked into high gear, we were oblivious to fear or pain and focused on the task at hand.

In life, we have fears, some more than others. Anxiety can come as a result of “guilt,” in those cases, it is essential to recognize that and run to the Lord for His mercy.  I like what the Psalmist said, “I sought the LORD, and HE HEARD ME and DELIVERED ME from ALL my fears.”  (Emphasis mine)  

Then in verse seven, he gives us an incredible hope to hang all our hopes – “The angel of the LORD encamps all around those who fear Him and delivers them.”  What a promise!  We have God’s angels setting up a barricade around us who fear the Lord, and they come to our defense as the enemy comes in.  No wonder Isaiah said, “When the enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of God shall lift up a standard against him.  (Isaiah 59:19b)

Being afraid is not the problem not dealing with it is.  Being afraid is not something you have to hang your head in shame over; refusing to admit it is.  I confess there is a certain amount of “fear” or “trepidation” in my heart concerning this nation, but at the same time, I am 100% confident in the LORD.  “I know in whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed to Him against that day.”  2 Timothy 1:12 We live in “perilous times.” Still, our LORD is King of Kings and Lord of Lords, and one day “every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess” that Jesus is Lord!

I want to conclude with this; do not allow fear to dominate your life because you are more than a conqueror through Christ.  Fear-like thoughts and temptations will come, but you do not have to give it a lodging place and can “resist the devil” and watch him flee.  Why – because of Christ in us!

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