No Middle Ground

1 John 5:14-21

Those who reject walking in obedience to God, by default, align themselves with the will of satan. There are many people who have good intentions and oftentimes do good deeds, but all things done outside of the will of God, are equivalent to filthy rags. There’s no straddling the fence when it comes to Good vs. evil. Either God will be the source of one’s life choices and moral compass, or the devil will rule and abide in their hearts.

When God leads a man’s heart, living in a world of sin can become a bit easier to understand and navigate through. On the contrary, when we live outside of God’s will, we open ourselves up to all kinds of evil, and inevitable deception. The enemy hates mankind, and will do whatever is in his power to keep men from drawing close to God. Men and women all over the world, are distracted by things that seem appealing, but are strategically placed to turn their focus from the truth. God loves all men, and wishes that no one perish, but despite all the time, patience, and love He bestows to man, many will fail to enter God’s eternal kingdom.

The Darkness

Matthew 10

Why do some people choose darkness, rather than light? What causes men to gravitate toward things that cause chaos and division, rather than unity and order? Well, speaking the truth of God’s word is one sure way to turn the world against you. Jesus once told His disciples, they would face certain persecution, for speaking His truth to the world. The disciples were hated by countless men, who sought only to bring harm to them, simply for doing what Jesus instructed them to do. Even today, those who live contrary to the world, and its perverse culture, are seen as odd, or abnormal. Men today would rather hear lies, than truth. The word of God brings division. It separates those who yearn to grow in grace, and the knowledge of God’s wisdom, from those who have strong desires to please their flesh. Why do men love darkness over light? Because, their appetite for the world is far greater than their desire for the God who created it.

Joy Down In My Heart

3 John 1:1-4

“I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth” (vs. 4). Wow! What a feeling it must be, to have all your children living according to the righteousness of God, in this fallen and sin-sick world. Men and women today get overly excited and pumped up when their favorite sports team wins a game, or if their favorite actor wins a coveted award, but all the worldly things we get amped up for, pale in comparison to knowing that someone you love, has given their life to God. Do you remember the day when you gave your heart to God, and the warm, bubbly feeling you felt inside? It’s almost as if everything looked brand new from your eyes, and you developed a totally new take on life. Imagine how others feel, when they grow weary of living in shame and misery, then wisely submit to their intended purpose in God. While it’s nice to support a team or person of interest, when compared to living for God, all that stuff is counted as pure poo-poo. Take joy and delight in knowing that your eternity is safe and secure in God, because you made the choice to walk in truth, and shun those things that can do absolutely nothing to help you grow spiritually. Then, support those who have also committed their lives to God, and encourage them to stand firm, and fight well.

“Happiness fades, but joy lasts forever.” – Ell

Choose Wisely

1 John 2:28-3:10

If we don’t abide in God, when Christ returns, we’ll lack confidence in our eternal security, and be ashamed at His coming. If we are ignorant of God’s righteousness, then we’ll never understand the righteous works of those who are born of God, or committed to His purpose.

Have you ever really realized how much God loves us? Well, it was His intentions all along, for His created humans to be called His sons. So, how does a common man become royalty, without being born into the family line? According to man’s tradition, this is virtually impossible, but because of Jesus, all who accept the gift of salvation, can transform from common, to royal.

As sons of God, the world won’t understand they way we walk, talk, live, and believe, because their understanding of biblical doctrines is darkened. But, the hope we have in Christ makes us pure, regardless of what man labels us as. Being born of God, makes it possible for the redeemed to actually live a sinless life. Say what?! The Bible mentions in Romans 3:23, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;”, but it is doable to live sinless in the earth. Although believers slip here and there (with no intentions of abusing grace), the seed of righteousness is planted in everyone who is born of God, and if they consistently adhere to His Word, they can indeed resist the practice of, or temptation to commit sin.

Verse 8 reads, “He that committeth sin is of the devil, for the devil sinneth from the beginning.” While in Heaven, Lucifer allowed pride to cloud his judgment, thus causing him to rebel against God. His very nature is still influencing many today, but through the power and grace of God, anyone can overcome evil, and commit themselves to His holy will. All it takes to become royalty in Heaven is, a choice. “And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” (Joshua 24:15)

“If you ever made a mistake in your life, don’t judge someone else who falls.” – Ell

Sharp Truth

John 4:27-29, 39-42

When it comes to believing whether or not the Bible is true, there are two types of people groups usually involved. On the one hand, there are those who are willing, and on the other, there are those who are willingly ignorant. The Bible declares in 2 Peter 3:5, “For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water:” When the truth of the Gospel is preached to any man, undefiled and unadulterated, either that person is left pierced in the heart from conviction, then willingly surrender themselves to God, or they purposely reject the truth, in favor of their own lusts and sinful desires. When a person truly seeks change, they’ll not pass up the opportunity to receive help. On the contrary, when a man is comfortable in his sinful state, it’ll be a struggle to pry him away from the lusts that have him bound.

Many in our text were changed, and convinced that the way of holiness was right. Some were converted from hearing the testimony of a woman, whereas many others were changed from hearing the message of the Gospel from the mouth of Jesus. Men try hard to win the hearts and minds of others by using different strategies and cunning ideas, but the Bible alone is convincing enough to prick the heart of anyone seeking a better life. Trust that God’s Word can perform its intended work on all men, and there’s no need to spice or butter it up, in order to make it more appealing. “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12)

Keep your chin up… it’s easier to see Heaven that way,

Ell

Wayward Children

Hosea 11:3-6

How far would you go (or have already gone) to provide for children who are willingly ignorant, disrespectful, and disobedient to your parenting? Do you faithfully care for your sons and daughters, knowing that they are ungrateful for all the love you give to them? When your kids boldly do the opposite of what you command them to do, are they promised to have food and shelter the next day? Loving wayward people is extremely challenging, especially when those persons live under your roof, but take a moment to understand how God felt when the children of Israel consistently went against His commands in the Bible, and performed unpleasant acts in His sight.

God loved the children of Israel, even before they were chosen as His people, but despite continued efforts to guide them in the right direction, Israel respected the call of evil, more than the call of their heavenly Father. When they burned incense to graven images, God still provided healing, stress relief, and nourishment for them. Place yourself in God’s shoes, and allow His feelings to marinate in your soul for a moment. God is love, and gracious to all men, but although His love is forever, His patience eventually runs out.

Despite all of God’s efforts to gain the attention of Israel, their continued disobedience caused Him to eventually cut of His blessings for a season, until certain who were unwilling to repent, were no longer in the earth (and their branches, or offspring).

The next time you perform a self-evaluation, consider all those things that receive most of your attention. If those things bring glory and honor to the name of the Lord, then AWESOME, WOOPTIDOO! But, if you gain no spiritual enlightenment, or grow in the knowledge of God from those habits that consume majority of your time (me and video games… don’t judge me), then reconsider your activities, and commit your ways unto the Lord; trust also in Him, then He’ll bring to pass great things in your life.

Keep your chin up… it’s easier to see Heaven that way,

Ell

Conditional Blessings

Deuteronomy 28:1-6, 15-19

“There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it” (1 Corinthians 10:13 KJV). God will never place obstacles in your life, that are impossible to overcome. Whether you’re stricken with sickness, pain, hurt, debt, trapped between a rock and a hard place, or feel like you’re down in the dumps of life, God prefers to see you blessed, rather than suffer.

The average disciple knows, suffering comes as a package deal with salvation, because the war between good and evil persists, even today (it’s apparent that the victory is already ours, but we must endure to see it manifest). God wants His people blessed abundantly, so that they’ll be able to sustain a balanced life naturally, as well as spiritually. In addition, God blesses those who obey His Word, and our text lists in detail, how God promised conditional blessings to the ancient Israelites.

As long as the children of Israel obeyed the voice of the Lord, they would receive blessings no man could render, nor duplicate, but if they preferred to follow after disobedience, then they would receive curses, instead of blessings. If I promised to give you a debt-free house, car, yacht, paid in full car and yacht insurance, food for life, free health insurance, and free airline flights anywhere in the world, in exchange for a verbal agreement that you’ll be nice to everyone you meet in life, would you take that deal? That almost seems unfair to me, but it’s an offer I doubt anyone would turn down. God offered a similar proposal to Israel, of bountiful blessings and provisions, in exchange for their simple obedience, and He asks the same of us today. It’s obvious we’re not in the same position as the ancient Israelites were back then, but we can still receive God’s best, if we can endure life’s tests.

Keep your chin up… it’s easier to see Heaven that way,

Ell

Justified Conditions

Jeremiah 22:1-10

IF you obey the Word of God, THEN you will be blessed in this life, and the next. IF you live right, THEN you will be daily loaded with benefits. IF you love your neighbor as yourself, seek first God’s kingdom, love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you, THEN you will be granted unimaginable rewards when you enter into life eternal.

IF you disobey the Word of God, THEN you will not experience God’s love in its fullness. IF you choose to go after other gods, to serve them, THEN you will live in lack of the great things God had prepared for you. IF you hate your neighbor, and your enemies, place God’s business last on your agenda, curse those who curse you, do evil to them that hate you, and plot revenge on those which despitefully use and persecute you, THEN you will fail to inherit the beauty of the New Jerusalem.

God set conditions, not to cause His people to fall into temptation, but to allow them the opportunity to choose the path they deem worthy of walking. Many prefer to avoid the path of righteousness, because suffering, persecution, and all manner of evil awaits to make the way hard for the Saints. But, IF we trust God along our journey, THEN He’ll make sure to keep our feet firm, our faith focused, and our minds set on making it until the end. “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.” (2 Chronicles 7:14 KJV)

Keep your chin up… it’s easier to see Heaven that way,

Ell

‘Ain’t Nothing You Can Do About It’

Jeremiah 22:24-30

The single-most greatest creation God brought into existence (next to man) was, the woman. Women are undoubtedly AMAZING creations, and unlike men who are simple-minded and nonchalant most times concerning a thing, women are fascinated with details, and prefer to understand a thing fully, before moving on to another subject. Women even have the mental capacity to multi-task at levels beyond human comprehension. For example, I witnessed my mother raise seven children, and at times she would be holding one child in her arm, have one of us sitting on her lap, while cleaning and making dinner simultaneously! What a gal!

When operating in their “creation role”, and not trying to compete with men, women can actually accomplish things that make tremendous impacts in the world, but there’s one thing that makes women quite unique; when they are fed up, there’s nothing you can do to change their minds. I don’t often quote secular narratives in my writings, but there’s a song written by R. Kelly entitled, “When A Woman’s Fed Up”. This song sums up the truth, that when a woman is pushed to her limit concerning something, there’s nothing a man can do to influence, or change her thoughts. For this reason, men wisely do their best to keep women smiling and positive in most of their dealings, while trying to avoid pushing the wrong buttons.

Women are beautiful, elegant, and royal creations, but this trait of being fed up, is a characteristic our loving God, and Father shares as well. God has patience beyond our understanding, but when we consistently disobey His Words, while basking in our sin, His patience eventually runs out. God loved king Josiah, and the life he displayed on the earth, but despised the life of his son so much, until He made certain that no offspring of the wicked king Jehoiakim would ever sit on the throne again. Talk about fed up; God didn’t want any trace of evil to have the opportunity to corrupt the mind of anyone else leading His people. Although the eventual king David made a few noticeable mistakes, he never allowed his sin to consume him.

Children of God do sin and error, but they don’t allow their flaws to define who they are. Meditating and studying God’s Word keeps Saints from falling into the same trap over and over, and plants their feet firmly into the will of God. The closer you are to God, the better you’ll understand His will for your life, but the more you choose to trust in broken and despised idols, the more you’ll position yourself to eventually be cut off from God’s favor.

Keep your chin up… it’s easier to see Heaven that way,

Ell

Corrupt Kingdoms

Jeremiah 22:11-19

Self-righteousness has led to the demise of renowned men from ancient times, until today. When leaders prefer to abide by their own judgments, rather than place the needs of their people at the top of their agenda, they are inevitably set on a path that ultimately leads to death, destruction, or ruin. Throughout history, kings and those who have ruled, made certain to publish their own names throughout the lands, while striving to attain wealth and increase, on incalculable levels. Kings were originally set in place to judge their people according to right standards, maintain balance in providing provisions, and be the representation of their people, to other nations of the world.

In the past, God set judges to reside over His people, and this method worked very well, but the stiffnecked people preferred to be as others nations, and desired a king. God was totally against this request, but allowed the people to have what they yearned for. Things didn’t turn out well for their first king, because rather than lead by the hand of God, he allowed his pride and arrogance to supercede the standard he was purposed to obey. When leaders ignore God in place of their selfish motives, God schedules a time for their downfall. One of the reasons God takes the decisions leaders make so seriously is, every law or judgment they approve, has lasting effects on all the people under their watch. For this reason, it’s vital that leaders acknowledge God in all their ways, because He alone knows the consequences of every decision we make, even before the thought crosses our mind.

Our text mentions the downfall of the wicked king, Jehoiakim, the son of the great king Josiah. Although king Josiah was faithful to God, and ruled with a righteous hand, his son chose the opposite path, and sought to build his house by unrighteousness and wrong. Not only was the evil king prideful, but he would go so far as to abuse men for labor, without giving them wages.

Corrupt living never leads you closer to God, but draws you further away from Him. Many good leaders have died, and left great legacies for us to follow, but only when we live by God’s standard, will our leading offer any positive spiritual, or natural benefits to anyone.

Keep your chin up… it’s easier to see Heaven that way,

Ell