Tag: Protect

It Ain’t My Fault

Jeremiah 31:27-30

In our text, the people of God tried to blame His judgment on them, based on the sins of their fathers. Although one person’s sin does indeed affect the lives of others, according to Scripture, everyone is still held responsible for the sin in their own lives. Be mindful of those you keep company with, and monitor their actions, because their errors and mistakes could possibly affect your life, as well as their own. Also, be certain not to blame others for sin’s you committed, and simply own them. Confess your faults to the Lord, turn away from the mistakes of your past, and allow God to continue working through you progressively.

“Dwell not on the sins of yesterday, rather focus on present-day redemption.” – Ell

God Is With You

Isaiah 6:1-8

In the past few lessons, we were reminded of men who were humbled by their frailty, yet inspired by God to do great things. Moses was known to have a sort of speech impediment, and was asked of God to confront Pharoah on His behalf. While he could have wallowed in his natural insufficient state, he chose rather to trust that God would speak for him, and guide him to a promising end. Gideon’s weak faith, and understandable doubts weren’t enough to keep God’s power from working through him either. Despite feeling unequipped to handle such a great task given by God, his faith and trust was restored, after God proved to him, He was on his side. The prophet Isaiah was also a man with a humble spirit, and felt unworthy to spearhead a worthy task from the Father, but after being cleansed from his iniquities, and purged of his sin, the great prophet quickly answered the call of God, to go out and proclaim His words to the world. This year will have its inevitable struggles and times of suffering, but never think you have to take on the challenges of life alone. God is with those who love Him, and are true to His Word. Just as He revealed His power through the men of old, He will imbue the church of today with the same awesome power, to make His name glorious!

A True Friend

1 Samuel 19:1-7

Why do men hate you, simply for doing what’s right? Why is jealousy always associated with being blessed by God? Why can’t men appreciate you for who God made you to be, and focus their attention on becoming better persons themselves, rather than seek to tarnish your good reputation. I can safely assume, these are a few of many questions David asked within himself while being pursued by king Saul.

Thankfully for David, there was someone on the inside, who would stand in the gap on behalf of his safety. Jonathan and David had become an inseparable union, one that no man could tear apart, so when Saul gave an order to all his servants, including his son Jonathan, to kill David, this direct command didn’t sit well with the heir to the throne. Jonathan delighted much in David, and could not fathom the idea of seeing him killed, so he confronted his wicked father, and convinced him to retract his order to kill God’s chosen king.

Do you have people in your life, who will stand between you and your enemy, in order to seek peaceful resolution, or are all your friends as fickle as a flame, and wouldn’t hesitate to leave you in harm’s way? Give God praise for all those you can truly call friend, and make sure to take a moment to let them know how much you appreciate them.

“We live this life for purpose and reason, but not too long, for only a season.” – Ell

No Contest

1 Samuel 17:41-51

Throughout the Bible, there are instances when God would use divine intervention, to reveal Himself to the world. The purpose of the Lord doing this was to convince men that His power was indeed real, and false idol worship was senseless, useless, and extremely dangerous. When Israel failed to convince heathen nations of the power the true and living God holds, God would oftentimes manifest His amazing power and glory in ways that could never be imitated.

Our text mentions the fight between David and Goliath. Ironically, this fight was over, before it had even begun. The men of Israel’s army were afraid of the towering 13 ft beast of a man who opposed them, breathing threatening and blasphemous words toward their God. Goliath assumed the God of Israel was weak and frail, probably like the ones he and his men served, but David’s God was well-equipped to work through the young, faithful lad, and bring him the victory.

Although David had impressive combat experience, killing a bear and lion, while protecting his father’s flock, this fight with the “giant” required a different set of weapons… spiritual ones. “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds; Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:4-5). The arrogant and haughty Goliath, thought too highly of himself, not just because he was physically great in stature, but because he lacked the common knowledge of the God who backed the children of Israel. Had the giant known who David’s God really was, he probably would have kept his head attached to his neck. This is a prime example of how arrogance and pride can literally cause you to lose your head.

I doubt we will have a David experience in our lives, because there aren’t 13 foot giants walking around threatening the children of God, but there are evil spirits that existed even during the days of king David, that lurk in our time, seeking whom they can influence to do their bidding. For every obstacle that comes to threaten your love for God, slay them with God’s Word. It matters not who, or what comes against us, we have the same power that worked through David, also working in us, through the Spirit of God, who enables us to overcome all evil. The enemy stands no chance against the children of God, because the battle isn’t ours, it’s the Lord’s.

“We live this life for purpose and reason, but not too long, for only a season.” – Ell

Serve And Protect

Genesis 44:27-34

One of the believer’s duties in service to God is, to protect those who also stand in agreement with their faith confession. The Bible teaches in the book of Romans, “We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let every one of us please his neighbour for his good to edification. For even Christ pleased not himself; but, as it is written, The reproaches of them that reproached thee fell on me” (Romans 15:1-3).

Some who follow after righteousness diligently, will at times, become weak in spirit, and will be unable to bear their burdens alone. It’s during these moments when the power of prayer and intercession become of great importance to those who are weak, and those who can help bear the burdens of others. A sure way to identify a real child of God, from those who only use God’s name for selfish purposes is, to monitor how far they go, to ensure that others are properly cared for. There are many who claim the name of Christ, and appear to perform good deeds, but their actions are only done to promote themselves, and gain relevance in the spotlight. True Christians do their alms in secret, intercede in their prayer closets, and desire only to help those in need, without seeking glory for themselves.

After you pledged your allegiance in service to God, and to protect His people, did you do so with the intentions of making your name great, or did you purposely intend to fulfill the Words Jesus spoke when He commanded, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment.  And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”? (Matt. 22:37-40)

“We live this life for purpose and reason, but not too long, for only a season.” – Ell

Protect Your Purpose

Matthew 2:13-15

Have you ever had a thought or idea, that seemed right in your own mind, but when you shared it with others, they made you lose interest in making your objective a reality? While God may not write our plans for life on stone walls or tablets, nor speak to us in the same way He did with Moses through a burning bush, the Spirit of God can plant seeds of purpose in our minds, that when properly protected and cultivated, can change our lives forever.

I ran across the term, “dream killers”, many moons ago, and understood it as a way to describe those who find pleasure in destroying the purpose of men and women, rather than support their dreams. The devil can do no more to us, than what God permits, but we are responsible for limiting negative speech which he uses against us, in efforts to put our visions to rest. It’s vital that we guard and protect the purpose the Lord sets in our hearts, so that we can prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God, in this life.

Not only is guarding our own purpose a priority, but protecting the purposes of others is also of great importance in the body of Christ. This was proven true in our text, as Joseph was tasked with keeping baby Jesus safe from the evil king Herod, who sought to destroy Christ, before His purpose was set in motion. An angel appeared to Joseph in a dream (as it did once before), to warn him of the king’s plan to destroy the young child, and to give him instruction on where to find a place of refuge. Joseph’s obedience to God was essential in keeping the dream killer from destroying a purpose that eventually changed life forever.

Has God placed you in the life of someone who is at the point of giving up on their dream? If so, be their strength, and support them in their purpose, because what God has placed in them, could possibly change our world forever.

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

Ell

Let the children come to Me

Luke 18:15-17

Children are awesome little creatures, and some often say the most off- the-wall things that make adults go hmm. Those innocent little rascals have hearts of pure gold and toothless smiles that can fill sad hearts with joy in an instant, but sometimes their behavior merits necessary discipline to keep them reminded of their position. Children are immature and always developing, therefore they require strong adults to steer them in the right direction. Jesus loves children, because it’s their humble and innocent behavior that adults must mimic when coming before the Lord.

A moment after teaching His audience a lesson in humility, parents begin to bring their babies before Christ, so that He could bless them, but the disciples saw this act, and quickly made an attempt to stop it. These men had serious issues, because who would want to restrict a child from receiving the blessing of Christ? It’s obvious that although the disciples walked with Jesus, they still didn’t fully understand His purpose. Rejecting children from coming to God, only pushes them toward enemy lines. You can see in movies and television shows from the early 60s until now, how children are usually the target of sacrifices, kidnapping, abuse, and other harmful activities. Satan tries hard to influence the minds of children, so that he can corrupt their thinking at an early age. His sole purpose is to turn children’s hearts away from God, and allow them to harden so that love will be unable to penetrate it. These are reasons why we must protect our babies, and keep them in the hands of the almighty God.

Our youth are being brainwashed and manipulated daily from school, tv, and the most influence comes from music. I see so many kids with those white bluetooth headphones in their ears, I wonder if their hearing will be affected before they reach their 20s. Mature saints must try hard to be a positive influence to our youth. Children are the future, and how we choose to live among them, will determine how they’ll live after us. Pray for children around the world daily, even those living in impoverished and unsafe countries, because life seems to be getting hard for adults, and I can only imagine how much our children will soon suffer.

“And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me. But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea”(Matthew 18:2-6). “And when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying in the temple, and saying, Hosanna to the son of David; they were sore displeased, And said unto him, Hearest thou what these say? And Jesus saith unto them, Yea; have ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise?” (Matthew 21:15-16). “I believe the children are our future, teach them well and let them lead the way” – Whitney Houston

Walk in love,

Ell

The Lord will help you

Isaiah 41:8-13

The more I meditate on the Word, the better I understand the structure of God’s operations. I oftentimes mention that everyone God created, He made to serve a unique purpose. From the days of Adam until now, God has chosen many whom He deemed worthy to fulfill special assignments in the earth. The great and mighty God even went so far as to call some, His friends. What greater honor could be given to anyone than God calling them a friend. What does God consider you to be? One fellow whom God considered a friend was Jacob. Jacob’s purpose was predestined, even before birth. Although his character had a shaky and not so humble beginning, he proved to be a great pioneer of the faith, whom God used to do great things. God had recognized Israel as His chosen people, and Jacob as their leader. Their purpose was to serve as a beacon of light in the midst of a wicked and perverse world. God knew that those who didn’t understand His message, would reject it, as well as those who delivered it, so God encouraged His chosen people by mentioning to them, “Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness” (vs. 10).

It’s natural to be afraid of the unknown, but when God tells you everything will be alright, you can rest assured He’ll follow through on His promise. All the obstacles and challenges the children of Israel faced, when they fully committed their hearts to God, He always pulled them out to safety. Even in moments when the people turned away from God’s direction and trusted in other gods, He allowed them to suffer a little while; long enough for them to come to their senses and realize they will never be safe and prosperous outside of His leading.

God not only promised to preserve His Word, according to Psalm 12, but He also promised to preserve His people. Believers today are God’s chosen people as well, and the sheep of His pasture. Just as God’s chosen nation of Israel were made strong to stand against principalities, powers, the rulers of the darkness of this world, and spiritual wickedness in high places, we require that same strength and power to stand firm as well. There’s absolutely no need for us to fear the enemy, nor his wicked devices, because our God promised that all who come against us will be put to shame, and they that strive, or quarrel against us shall perish. We make life harder on ourselves when we step outside of God’s will, and trust in our own understanding. These are the moments satan yearns for, so that he can inflict as much damage as he can to our hearts, minds, and souls, before we finally turn back to God broken and wounded. I advise all believers to stick to the structure God set in place to ensure your safety, protection, and prosperity. Seek first His kingdom and righteousness, walk in the Spirit, and you will not fulfill the lust of the flesh, be strong and very courageous, love your neighbor as yourself, seek peace and pursue it, in all your ways acknowledge God, and He will direct your paths. Be obedient to the Word of God, and trust in His power to keep you properly equipped to endure to a more perfect end.

Walk in love,

Ell