A Daily Dose of Humility!

Micah 6:8 declares: “He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD requires of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?” It’s not extremely difficult for the Saints of God to be just or to love mercy. After all, isn’t that what we all want for ourselves? It’s easy to put ourselves in those shoes! However, when it comes to walking humbly with our God, we find it not so easy! The Devil and his emissaries put forth extensive effort and resources into stoking the embers of human pride in all of us, saints and sinners alike! We know that God hates human pride.

(Prov. 6:15-16) Therefore, it takes a daily dose of humility to counteract and combat the malignant effects of human pride even as it is constantly fueled by the enemy of our souls. One of the most universal things in the word is the pride of life. Everybody has some, everybody experiences it, and everybody needs help dealing with it! As servants of the LORD, we must constantly be on alert to detect this pride as it creeps into our spirit and psyche in almost everything we do. A daily dose of humility includes prayer and fasting as needed. It includes esteeming others more highly than ourselves, realizing that to whom much is given much is required and accepting that the last shall be first and the first shall be last! With a daily dose of humility, we won’t get as angry as we would otherwise get. If we acquiesce to this scourge of humanity called pride, then we only allowing ourselves to be set up for a crashing fall at the Devil’s bidding.

So, fight pride with a daily dose of humility and avoid excessive low self-esteem with the certain assurance that God places a unique value on every living soul that cannot be depreciated!

A Spiritual Word Diet!

Echoes of Mercy

Words of Encouragement From Around The World

In his celebrated novel, A Tale of Two Cities, set in London and Paris during the French Revolution, Charles Dickens opens it with these words: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.” These words published more than a century ago seem to more aptly fit our present day situations and circumstances than during the times when they were written! They detail an apparent dichotomy in a society in total disorder and disarray.

Despite the woes of our present moment, I still believe these are equally the worst of times as well as the best of times! Yes we are currently going through some tough times. As Dr. Martin Luther King Jr in his final public speech in April 3, 1968 said: “We’ve got some difficult days ahead…” However, I choose to subscribe to the words of Caleb in Numbers 13:3: “For we are well able to overcome it.” In fact, we are in actually being set up to succeed! Our current situation is no more than a set-up to success! It’s not going to be easy; anything worthwhile rarely is. However, if we can bring to bear everything we’ve learned and received all these many years upon what we are currently going through, we shall prevail! So let us gird ourselves up for the great work that is looming before us in spite of our current circumstances! Winston Churchill said it best with these words: “Let us therefore, brace ourselves for our duties and so bear ourselves that if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will still say, This was their finest hour.”

If Grace Church of All Nations is standing tall when Christ dramatically returns in the clouds of glory let us conduct ourselves now so as to cause men to say when they reflect back on our storied history: “This was our finest hour!” Again in his famous “Letter from Birmingham Jail, April 16, 1963 Dr. King succinctly put it this way: The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy. 1 John 4:4 declares: “…greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.” Ralph Waldo Emerson put it this way: ““What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.” Lastly, Jimmy Johnson says this: “The difference between ordinary and extraordinary is that little extra.” It is time to add that little extra the ordinary! Be blessed!

Exhumation of Buried Gifts and Talents

Matthew 25:25 records this response from the slothful servant: “…And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours. But his lord answered and said to him, “You wicked and lazy servant…”

Scripture leaves no doubt that God created us and endowed us with gifts and talents that we might manifest good works in the earth! Ephesians 2:10 testifies to this fact accordingly: ”For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” In light of this divine mandate why aren’t more people in the Church using their gifts, talents and resources for the work of the ministry and the furtherance of the Gospel of Jesus Christ? The reasons for this are many but perhaps one of the most compelling is that this is an area in which the devil spends considerable time, effort and resources at getting the saints to bury their gifts and talents in the grounds of apathy and indolence. But as we approach consummation of this age and the imminent return of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, God is doing a new thing in the Church today! This is also an area in which God is moving in these last days!

Romans 5:20 says where sin abounded grace did much more abound! So whatever the enemy is up to, God is up to so much more! Grace will always out-do evil and sin! Therefore, I’d like to sound the alarm that it’s time for all those slothful servants to go and exhume their dormant gifts and talents from the places whence they have been buried and get busy about our Father’s business. Because beloved, there is an accounting that we must give unto God for what we have done with what He has invested in us just like the wicked, slothful servant in our text.

Everyone who does nothing in the Church, who does not so much as lift a finger for the work of the LORD, is an inert member in the Body of Christ. In effect, they also have buried their gifts and talents deep in the aforementioned places! And what is more they are spiritually being carried along by those who use their gifts, talents and resources faithfully for the LORD! And if the truth be told those that do nothing are actually helping the enemy prevail! That is because the only thing that is required for the triumph of evil over good is that good men and good women do nothing! Although we know that the Devil loses in the end, for all those who sit back and do nothing he’s going to wreck havoc in their lives and in the lives of those who depend on them! If we don’t yield your gifts and talents for the work of the kingdom then God will raise up someone else to do what it was that you were ordained to do and the blessing and rewards will go to others! In every Church in this world there are graveyards of apathy, complacency and indifference! Some are small and sparse and others are vast and crowded! They harbor gifts and talents that have never been used before, gifts great and small, talents of phenomenal diversity and creativity! God is resurrecting those gifts and a talent in these last days in an all out effort to win a harvest of souls before Christ’s imminent return. There’s something that God has uniquely empowered each one of us to do in the Kingdom. What can you do?

God Knows

Hearing From God

I Don’t Know!

In John 9:21, when interrogated by the Pharisees, the parents of the man born blind answered with these words: “But by what means he now seeth, we know not; or who hath opened his eyes, we know not: he is of age; ask him: he shall speak for himself.” Both parents were in perfect agreement. They refused to answer the Pharisees questions; they both simply said: “I don’t know!

Sometimes, “I don’t know can be the best answer one can possibly give especially when you really don’t know. However, too many people fall into the trap of trying to impress others and they began to elucidate and pontificate on things that they have little or no knowledge of. Sometime in their prevarication, they have absolutely no idea what they are talking about! They become like Job in Job 38:2 as one who darkens counsel by words without knowledge.” When you have no idea what you are talking about it comes through loud and clear in your speech and in your choice of words. “For in our much speaking our hearts are seen and read of men.” As the ancient adage implies, it is indeed better to appear unlearned than to open one’s mouth and remove all doubt! There is no shame in not knowing! Acknowledging that you don’t know something is the first step in the learning process and helping oneself remain unentangled in one’s own mindless chatter. It takes courage sometimes to sit down and shut up or admit that you don’t something especially if you should already know it!

I confess that approaching the deadline for this article I didn’t know what to write about this week. However, God is faithful and the Holy Spirit reminded me of what I preached about this past Sunday: the parents of the man born blind admitting to the Pharisees that they didn’t know who gave their son sight.

If You Give It Up, You Can Have It All

In Christian thought there is the idea that “If You Give It Up. You Can Have It All!” That is to say that if you sacrifice anything and even everything for Christ’s sake then you will in no wise lose out! Matthew 6:33 promises: “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you”. Christian theology is replete with the promise of rewards for righteousness! Other religions don’t ask for too much saying give us some of your time, some of your support or some of your money. Yet they can promise only little in return especially in this life! God says give me your all! Luke 18:28-30 says this: “Then Peter said, Lo, we have left all, and followed thee. And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or parents, or brethren, or wife, or children, for the kingdom of God’s sake, Who shall not receive manifold more in this present time, and in the world to come life everlasting.”

We don’t lose anything by sacrificing for the Kingdom! Galatians 6:7 declares: “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.” 1 Corinthians 15:58 says: “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.” God sees your labor and your love for Him and it will not go unrequited! If no one sees your sacrifice and you never get acknowledged for anything you do, sacrifice and do good anyhow! Know that you are building up treasures on earth and in heaven! You have nothing worthwhile to lose and everything worthwhile to gain.

Yes, beloved, if you give it up you can indeed have it all! You have God’s Word on it!

In Search of Truth

Sometimes we fail to understand the truth because it doesn’t resemble anything like the truth we expect. What we need to realize is that oftentimes the truth comes buried beneath such mounds of absurdity, deception and incredulity that we can easily find it hard to believe, let alone even consider its alternative possibilities. Yes, truth can seem stranger than fiction! The truth can also escape us in its simplicity! The problem with twisting the truth for most deceivers is that truth stands alone whereas lies must be constantly interwoven into each other to keep them from unraveling! One lie leads to the need for another and another and so on. And that’s the trap! One can scarcely keep track of so many lies and cannot nearly work out the details for each lie so that they agree and support the deception especially when lies are offered impromptu or unplanned. What is also unfortunate for veterans of guile is that eventually all lies will start to contradict themselves! That’s the nature of untruth! That’s why professional investigators have long since discovered that “the Devil in in the details” as intense scrutiny will usually reveal. It is often the smallest detail, the slightest byte of data that betrays a lie and somehow points towards the truth. People who live their lives in truth don’t have to worry about what they say contradicting itself! Truth will never contradict itself so we can speak it with impunity and love.

Is Your Gratitude Showing?

In Luke 17:15-18 we read: “And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God, And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan. And Jesus answering said, “Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine?” “There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger.”

In this passage Jesus being very God asked a question. He says: “Where are the nine?” Any time God asks a question, a spiritual lesson will follow. Since he knows everything, He’s not looking for information! He’s not concerned about giving us a chance to show how much we know! When God asks a question then it is time to immediately take notes, pay close attention and listen intently! No doubt the lesson here is one of thankfulness or simple gratitude especially to God! Jesus also imitates here that gratitude is a public phenomenon and if sincere, it ought to be on display. Gratitude is such that it begs to be seen. If it’s not visible or evident then how genuine can it be? Thanksgiving or gratitude engenders continued good will by showing itself in open appreciation. The divine question is just as applicable to us today as it was over 2000 years ago when it was first uttered: “Where are the nine?” Where are those of us who are truly grateful for the manifold blessings of God? Where are the nine who whose gratitude should be on display? A failure to give thanks a.k.a. ”ingratitude” is notorious to all observers!

So, during this thanksgiving season let us endeavor to reverse the trend and let the nine return to give thanks instead of the one and in so doing let us display gratitude and thanksgiving before God and all the world!

It’s Crying Time!

Psalm: 34:6 declares: “This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles.” Also the Word of God tells us in John 11:35 that “Jesus wept.” Crying is one of the deepest responses of human emotion. Crying can be gut-wrenching or  heart-rending. It can be an expression great joy or even one of profound grief. Crying can be manipulative and insincere or it can be cleansing and redemptive. Crying can also be accompanied with or without tears. Everyone who’s smiling isn’t happy and everybody who’s crying isn’t sad. A person can also be laughing on the outside, but crying on the inside. Some people are too embarrassed to allow others to even see them so much as shed a solitary tear! Society has cast the act of crying in a bad light especially for men who mostly view it as a weakness!

However, nothing could be further from the truth. In reality crying is the language of affliction and contrition. It is the language of unutterable groaning’s of the human soul. It is the safety valve of the heart. Crying helps relieve tension and it helps us to manage negative feelings. In fact crying, if sincere, can powerfully affect every aspect of our being namely mind, body and soul. While many things can make us feel better, oftentimes nothing does the soul better than a good cry!

Haven’t we all felt the need to cry? Sometimes the only thing left to do is cry. The human soul simply needs to cry out to its creator sometimes in guttural, almost primordial, and barely coherent fashion. If ever there was a time that we need to cry out to God with un-restraint and emotional abandon that time is now! We need to cry out corporately and individually to God for restoration, for redemption and for release! Saints of God: “It’s crying time!” The Psalmist in Psalm 34 recognized the urgency of his own predicament just as we must recognize the urgency in the lateness of the hour! The Psalmist also recognized his own human limitations in the midst of his situation and he recognized the poverty of his own soul apart from God… all of which served to communicate to him in abundant fashion that it was crying time! Our best crying must come forth now as we approach the consummation of this age! If we want it done in this dispensation, then we must set our heart to praying. We must cry aloud, spare not and lift up our voices like trumpets in Zion!

Crying unto God is not an option; it’s a divine imperative! Our children aren’t all saved yet and time is running out. It’s time to take up a wailing for our homes, our churches, our Leaders, our country, and our world! It’s crying time! Let us not darken counsel by words without knowledge not knowing how to pray as we ought!

“It’s Crying Time!”

It’s Later Than You Think

As we approach the consummation of this age and await the imminent return of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, we must be ever so vigilant in maintaining our watch as we continue to work out our soul salvation with fear and trembling! Time is far spent. It is later than you think! We don’t have years to get right with God! Time is winding down as we know it! Our world can change drastically from day to day, from minute to minute even! We are undoubtedly in the eleventh hour spiritually and Christ could come back at any time! No one can predict exactly when! Therefore, it behooves us to be safe and make our election sure! However, if you have a spiritual ear to hear and the slightest bit of discernment then you can almost hear the hoof beats of the four horsemen of the apocalypse racing the world towards the plains of Armageddon! Time is working against every sinner who is not ready and willing now to repent and receive God’s priceless gift of salvation! Also working against those unreconciled with their creator is the fact that our souls could be required of us at any time. All of our lives hang precariously in the balance of time and happenstance! Second Timothy 3:1 lets us know: “…that in the last days perilous times shall come.”

Our world is definitely a more dangerous place to live in these last days! Innocent people are dying at an alarming rate due to terrorism, natural disasters, accidents and murders just to name a few! No one is immune to the possibility of sudden violence from any source either at home or abroad! The faithful in Christ need not fret with worry and fear afraid to come out of their homes, attend crowed public events or board a plane to travel anywhere. One preacher coined it this way: “If I blow up, then I’ll just go up!” We cannot tell what a day may bring, but be assured that it is later than you think! Like the five wise virgins we must keep the wicks of our lamps trimmed and our oil containers full in anticipation of the Bridegroom’s return. In plain English it means that we must maintain a constant state of spiritual readiness! We must be quick to repent, quick to ask God for forgiveness, quick to believe God at his word, and quick to avenge all disobedience! It’s later than you think! Who wants to be still here struggling with the same old sin during the tribulation? Beloved, shouldn’t we plan on not being around for the tribulation! When we fail to plan, then we plan to fail! When we fail to accept salvation, then we plan to accept eternal punishment! It is later than you think! Don’t wait too late! For now, is our salvation nearer than when we believed.

Power To The People!

God’s design is to give power to his people. In Acts 1:8 he says: “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” Power to the people is not only biblical, but it is a founding precept of our country. Also, our democracy is based on these principles echoed at his famous Gettysburg Address by Abraham Lincoln that our government is: “a government of the people, by the people and for the people!” The road to uplifting the human condition is through individual empowerment! Any organization, company, Church or ministry that seeks to control their people and make them dependent on others is doomed to failure. If we give a hungry person a fish, then we can do a limited measure of good. Yet if we give them a fishing pole and teach them how to fish we can then empower them to help themselves!

Our job as ministers and leaders in the Church is to empower God’s people! Everything we do and say ought to be about empowering people and helping them to take control of their lives and their destinies! The enemy of our souls wants nothing more than to rendered everyone ineffective, disenfranchised, and helpless. Jesus said in John 8:36 that: “If the Son therefore shall make you free, he shall be free indeed.” Jesus came to set us free from everything that tries to keep us bound and to empower us to live a holy and acceptable life before the God of our salvation! Once he broke to back of sin in the flesh and secured our forgiveness through his atoning death, Jesus ascended back to heaven and sent us all the power we needed to live the life he exemplified while he walked this earth! The indwelling Holy Spirit in our ultimate source of power to the people. Anyone not filled with the Holy Spirit is not only living beneath their privilege as a child of God, but they are at serious risk to the power of sin and darkness encroaching upon their lives! Unfortunately, many power-hungry people want to hoard power to themselves and are more than happy to leave other people dependent and helpless. There are others who resist being empowered because it makes them responsible for their own lives.  2Peter 1:3 states that “His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness.” God wants to empower each of us so that we can fulfill our purpose in creation.

Somebody’s Watching You!

As Christians we are called to live our lives openly and honestly before God, the World and each other. Christ said ye shall be witness… In order for there to be a witness two things are required: (1) A public display “Something to watch” and (2) A public Beholder “Someone to see it”.  You can’t hide from God! 2 Chronicles 16:9 “For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him. Herein thou hast done foolishly: therefore from henceforth thou shalt have wars.”

Faith was meant to be on display! Luke 5:19-20 declares: “And when they could not find by what way they might bring him in because of the multitude, they went upon the housetop, and let him down through the tiling with his couch into the midst before Jesus. 20. And when he saw their faith, he said unto him, Man, thy sins are forgiven thee.” If no one sees it whatever it is, it doesn’t mean it didn’t happen. It simply means that it’s harder to validate that it happened and consequentially has less influence.

Our problem is that the average Christian (that’s most of us) doesn’t even consider themselves a witness for Christ! As a result they do things that a good witness wouldn’t do or that might compromise their witness. That’s why the bible says: “1 Thessalonians 5:22. Abstain from all appearance of evil. And in Romans 14:16 we admonished to: “Let not then your good be evil spoken of.” That’s also why bearing false witness is listed among the Ten Commandments. If you profess Christ then you are his witness whether you realize it or not! Remember: “Somebody’s always watching you. God, the Devil, Angels, demons, The souls saints that are gone on to their eternal reward ahead of us, men and women of this world, and surveillance cameras all are faithfully watching us all!

The Scope of “All Things”

Romans 8:28 (ESV) “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”

“All things” in this verse of Scripture is virtually unfathomable! Never has anyone seen “All,” heard “All,” experienced “All,” or even conceived “All things.” Yet, here the Apostle Paul asserts that if you truly love the LORD, if you come into covenant with him and submit yourself to His purpose and call upon your life, then you can expect “All things” to somehow, unexplainably work together for your good! That’s rich! The earth, the universe and all creation is colluding, working in tandem for the benefit of our good! We can’t fathom how that is possible in our human intellect, but it is nevertheless true! God’s divine providence does not require our adherence to some divine script. It is independent of our God-given free will yet it is inclusive of it. Whatever choices we make affect our personal destiny but they cannot defer, stymie, frustrate or circumvent the purposes of God! His will shall be done! We don’t have to second guess ourselves in everything we do as long as we’re sure it’s in the will of God! When we are fully persuaded of the later, then we can rest assured that whatever happens will work out for our good despite how it might appear! And there will be times when it won’t look like anything is working for your good! That’s where faith comes in, after all it is the evidence of things not seen.

Annie Johnson Flint, out of great personal tragedy penned these words entitled: “What God Hath Promised” and they have encouraged millions for years. It reads in part: “God hath not promised skies always blue, flower-strewn pathways all our lives through; God hath not promised sun without rain, joy without sorrow, peace without pain.” And the last verse says: “But God has promised strength for the day, rest for the labor, light for the way, Grace for the trials, help from above, undying sympathy, undying love.

Too Familiar With God

The old saying goes: “Familiarity breeds contempt.” I partly believe it although it’s not a given! If not outright contempt initially at least, then it most certainly breeds some subtle shades of disregard and paves the way for a lessening of respect. Some leaders, military and corporate for example, refrain from fraternizing with their rank and file because of this very syndrome. They feel that too much familiarity undermines their authority with their subordinates and erodes their respect. One of the greatest drawbacks of postmodern religion is that without gaining more knowledge of God we have become more familiar with God, perhaps too familiar!

Could it be that we have gotten too chummy with the Ancient of Days, too cordial with the Ever-living One? Israel’s reverence of God can be witnessed by the “Tetragrammaton. It is the Hebrew word for God transliterated from the word Yahweh and written as the four letter word, “YHWH.” The prefix Tetra means four and Gramma means letter. So Tetragrammaton reflects Israel’s reluctance even to speak or write The LORD’s name for fear of offending him! From that reluctance to our present day fearless cordiality with God, there has been a subtle consistent erosion of fear and reverence for The Almighty!

Israel saw God as both frightening and endearing! There is a correlation between our reverence for God and how we envision him. Some see God as a benign entity that created all things but is uninvolved in the affairs of mankind. Others see God as a distant Higher Power unconcerned with the everyday goings on in the lives of people. Still others see God as their “Homeboy,” their casual friend whom they talk irreverently with or as a totally loving and merciful heavenly Father. Yes God is loving and kind but he is also a terrible God!  Realistically, God must be revered to the highest degree! We must forever guard against becoming too familiar with God!

Let no man think that he is an authority on The LORD! Let no one presume to have The LORD figured out! According to German theologian Rudolf Otto, God is a “Mysterium Tremendum et fascinated” meaning, in his estimation, God is a mystery to which mankind is both repelled by and attracted to. Let us resolve to always render the utmost reverence to The LORD, our God and refuse to let the spirit of familiarity seduce us unwittingly into irreverence and dishonor towards The Most High!

What Do You See?

Numbers 13:30 records these words: “And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, let us go up at once, and possess it; (The Land) for we are well able to overcome it”. Moses sent out twelves spies or more precisely twelve sets of eyes to take a look in the Promised Land. Their only assignment was to go and see, spy out the land and return to report exactly what they saw! Ten saw giants and a land that was ready to gobble them up. Only two, Joshua and Caleb saw that they were well able to go up at once and possess the land despite its inhabitants. Their first priority was to see. Our first priority in life is to see. What one sees will determine how one responds to the world they live in! There is a selective component to seeing that says people will generally see what they want or expect to see. In the case of the ten spies who came back from the Promised Land with an evil report they saw a foreboding dreadful place full of giants and danger. They were looking through the eyes of fear. What people see affects them emotionally, psychologically and intellectually just to name a few and it can either discourage or encourage their hearts.

The two spies who came back with a good report were looking through the eyes of faith! Fear and faith are opposites that are diametrically opposed to each other! Fear erodes faith and faith vanquishes fear depending on which is stronger or better fed. That’s why two people can look at the very same thing and see something totally different! That’s also why having live video footage in court of a crime committed does not guarantee a conviction by a jury of twelve.

We behold much with our eyes in this world, but we see on at least four different levels.  1) Literally,  2) Figuratively,  3) Spiritually,  4) Contextually:

Literally is to see what’s actually there as objectively as humanly possible.

Figuratively is to see conceptually in the mind.

Spiritually is to see supernaturally  beyond the material world.

And Contextually means to see according to our experiences, education, social upbringing and training.

It is when we see according to all levels that our sense of sight serves us best! Time and time again God asked people “What do you see?”

In Jeremiah 1:11 the LORD ask Jeremiah “What do you see?”

In Amos 7:8 the LORD asked Amos, “What do you see?”

In Zechariah 5:2 the LORD asked Zechariah “What do you see?”

So, the next time someone asks you what do you see, hesitate for a brief moment and consider what you’re looking from different levels.  Dare to imagine the possibilities, to see the invisible and touch the intangibles of reality!

What Have You Done For God Lately?

James 2:26 declares: “For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.” Have you ever asked yourself or thought about why more Saints of God, more saved people in the Church don’t do more for Christ or get involved more in ministry? And it doesn’t matter whether it’s a Mega Church or a Storefront Church… many professing Christians don’t get involved in the great work of human redemption! Too many people in the Church today are content with just being saved and going to Church every Sunday! They’re not concerned about using their gifts and talents for the Kingdom of God! In any given Church, there are some people or just a simple majority of folks who are sitting down on their gifts and talents and have effectively buried them like the unprofitable servant. Gifts and talents were given to us with an expectation that they would be used first and foremost in the service of the LORD! Too many saints of God have settled in their comfort zones and they are content in it until they are called home to Glory or until Jesus comes!

However; beloved, there is a Divine accounting that will take place in the judgment. I want to let everyone know that God didn’t just save us so that we could go to heaven! All of us who have been bought out of the darkness and delivered from shame were done so for God’s purposes! We were created for a purpose! Ephesians 2:19 says: “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” There is more! Scripture is replete with validating instructions! In 2 Corinthians 5:18 it reads: “And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;” We who have been saved and reconciled to God have a job, a responsibility to go help reconcile others! The best thing any of us can do in this flesh is to help uplift another human being or any fellow creature on the face of this earth! One songwriter said it best:

If I can help somebody, as I pass along…
If I can cheer somebody, with a word or song…
If I can show somebody, that he rs travelling wrong… Then my living shall not be in vain!

If I can do my duty, as a good Christian ought…
If I can bring salvation to a world once wrought…
If I can spread love’s message, as the Master taught… Then my living shall not be in vain!

We all have an obligation to reach out to others! It is a job that we were created for by God Himself! 2 Timothy 2:15 Lets us know that it is a job that we must study for! “Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” And finally, 1 Corinthians 15:58 lets us know that it is a job that we must be ever vigilant in! It reads: “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.”

These generations of Baby Boomers and Millennials have to repent not only for our actions but also our inactions… Not only for empty words but for our deafening silence on the issues that are raging around us! If we really do care about souls it’s not apparent to the world!

What Kind Of Love Is This!

The saying goes: “Talk is cheap.” However, I disagree because talk has precipitated many great achievements as well as a many unfortunate event. Unless it’s backed up by appropriate actions, then talk doesn’t mean as much as it might be intended. That’s why the old saying goes: “Put your money where your mouth is.” Take love, for instance. Likewise, love is just words like so much talk unless it backed up by serious action. You can tell me you love me and it might sound good or give me a warm and fuzzy feeling upon hearing it said, but I can’t be completely sure that it’s true or that you mean what you say unless you somehow show me! Actions really do speak louder than words John 3:16 gives us perhaps the loudest declaration of love in human history: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

There is no greater expression of love than someone dying for another! John 15:13 says it this way: “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” How great a love that God has bestowed upon us that yet while we were still in sin, Christ died for us! Is there anyone who can seriously doubt the love of God that is in Christ Jesus? In your most profound rejection, your deepest feelings of loneliness and in your abject feelings of lovelessness, know that God loves you and that is an irrefutable fact! No matter who loves you, God loves you best! That is the central message of the Bible. The most profoundest thought in all the world can be summed up in this simple child verse: “Jesus loves me; this I know. For the Bible tells me so!”

Power To The People

God’s design is to give power to his people. In Acts 1:8 He says: "But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in  Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth." Power to the people is not only biblical, but it is a founding precept of our country. Also, our democracy is based on these principles echoed at his famous Gettysburg Address by Abraham Lincoln that our government is: “a government of the people, by the people and for the people!”

The road to uplifting the human condition is through individual empowerment! Any organization, company, Church or ministry that seeks to control their people and make them dependent on others is doomed to failure. If we give a hungry person a fish, then we can do a limited measure of good. Yet if we give them a fishing pole and teach them how to fish we can then empower them to help themselves! Our job as ministers and  leaders in the Church is to empower God's people! Everything we do and say ought to be about empowering people and helping them to take control of their lives and their destinies! The enemy of our souls wants nothing more than to render everyone ineffective, disenfranchised, and helpless.

Jesus said in John 8:36 that: "If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed." Jesus came to set us free from everything that tries to keep us bound and to empower us to live a holy and acceptable life before the God of our salvation! Once He broke the back of sin in the flesh and secured our forgiveness through his atoning death, Jesus ascended back to heaven and sent us all the power we needed to live the life He exemplified while He walked this earth! The indwelling Holy Spirit is our ultimate source of power to the people. Anyone not filled with the Holy Spirit is not only living beneath their privilege as a child of God, but they are at serious risk to the power of sin and darkness encroaching upon their lives! Unfortunately, many power-hungry people want to hoard power to themselves and are more than happy to leave other people dependent and helpless. There are others who resist being empowered because it makes them responsible for their own lives.

2 Peter 1:3 states that "His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness." God wants to empower each of us so that we can fulfill our purpose in creation.

The Best Call Is to “Prayer"!

2 Chronicles 7:14 says: "If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land." God calls all his people to pray specifically to Him! The call to prayer has never been more pointed today as we see the need for it ever growing more evident and urgent!

We must realize that the vicissitudes of life, chance and happenstance are out of the realm of our control and that anything can happen to us at any time or anywhere! No matter what actions we take we are still subject to the unexpected and unfortunate! For the most part the best or all we can do is pray, not just hoping but fervently seeking the face of God for His protection, mercy and grace because He is the only remedy for the world's ills!

The best advice you can give anyone is to encourage them to: “Pray!”  The best thing that you do for someone is to pray for them! The best thing that you can teach someone is how to: “Pray!” The best witness is answered prayer! The best prayer  is the LORD’s Prayer! The best use of our precious time is the time we spend in Prayer!” The best message you can give anyone is one on the importance of “Prayer!”

Therefore, the best call is the call to “Prayer!”

Make Full Proof of Your Ministry

2 Timothy 4:5 declares: “But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.” When we lust after titles and positions in the Kingdom of God, we do err grievously in our hearts. Titles and positions are not inherently bad, but when they become empty sounding brasses and tingling cymbals or monuments to our self-centered worldly desires, they are useless to God! The Apostle Paul charges Timothy in this verse of Scripture to: “…watch in all things…” That also includes the desires of his own heart. We must all be careful of our motives!

In 1 Peter 5:6, the Apostle Peter echoes the same admonition. It says: “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time.” Whatever promotion God grants us in the Kingdom, comes by way of humility combined with a godly desire to please the LORD! Paul further instructs Timothy and us today to: “Make full proof of our ministries.” If God called you to whatever title or position you have in the Church of Jesus Christ, then He will hold you  accountable for doing exactly what it entails… by faithfully utilizing your God given gifts and talent that are commensurate with that responsibility. We must make full proof of our ministry. That means your title, your position or ministry should be dispatched with such fervor and effectiveness that it helps win souls for Christ. In all things, let love for God be your sole motivation and let the work of your ministry take precedence over all else!

Blessings!