Inseparable

Luke 9:57-62

Following in the footsteps of Jesus may require that we give up things we hold to dearly, so as not to be distracted by them once we begin to progress in His will. When Jesus gathered His disciples, they were all commanded to give up what they loved, to follow after Him. Jesus is in no way insensitive to others, but He was fully aware that the path He walked, wouldn’t be an easy one. In addition, holding on to their past could potentially distract the disciples from fulfilling the will God had set in place, and Jesus needed men by His side, who were willing to go the distance, and not give in to their past. Even today, there are countless things that distract God’s people from staying consistent to His will. We get drawn away from godliness by investing too much time in things like television, relationships, personal goals, or even our careers. But, we shouldn’t allow anything, including family, to separate us from the love of God. God’s will is priority, and it’s of the upmost importance that we strive to do our part, to see it fulfilled. We can’t allow the opinions of others, or our own desires to distract us from doing as we were commanded by the Father. “For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39).

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!

I’m Doing This, Because I Love You

Judges 6:1-16

Can you recall a time, when your parent or guardian advised you of the dangers of making a certain decision, yet you chose to ignore their warning, and made the decision out of ignorance anyway? After you made the mistake, and was left helpless, you cried out to your parent or guardian for help. One would think you would have learned your lesson after this instance, but you would later find yourself in the same cycle over and over. Surprisingly, your parent was always there to pull you out of trouble, and into a safe place. This was the relationship Israel had toward God, unfortunately.

In times of plenty, and being protected from their enemies, Israel would often find themselves doing evil in the sight of the Lord, thus forcing His hand to turn them over to those who would oppress them. While some may think it was harsh and cruel for God to deliver Israel to their enemies, His actions were justified because of their disobedience. If the people were to consistently obey God’s commands, He would bless them, but for their disobedience, they would suffer chastisement.

In our text, the children of Israel suffered greatly, as the Midianites, Amalekites, and the children of the east came against them and destroyed all their crops, so much until nothing was left for them to feed from. Israel was greatly impoverished, and finally realized that God was waiting on their cry for help. God loved His people unconditionally, but when they willingly strayed away from His leading, He had to allow pain and suffering to overtake them, in order to bring them back to right focus.

When we stray too far away from living for God, He won’t allow it to go unnoticed. He loves each and every one of us so much, that He’ll allow a season of pain and suffering, but only to help direct our attention back toward Him. Learn to appreciate hard seasons, because they may be scheduled to help keep your faith rooted in God.

Who Am I?

Exodus 3:1-12

God created all men special, and not one person deserves more esteem than another. From the least of mankind, to the greatest, all people were made fearfully and wonderfully by God, and are capable of doing amazing things through His power. Oftentimes, when in the presence of men and women who are considered famous or popular by worldly standards, some can become nervous, and feel unworthy to be amongst them. But, no matter who the world promotes as great, no man is greater than the almighty God.

While leading his father-in-law’s flock through a desert, Moses was unaware of the great responsibility that was moments away. As he approached Mount Horeb, the angel of the Lord appeared in a flame of fire, in the midst of a bush. This definitely caught Moses’ attention, and he turned to get a closer look. But, before he could take another step, God called unto him, and made known that he was on holy ground, and to remove his shoes. During this time, the children of Israel were being severely oppressed by the Egyptians, and God would not allow it to continue any longer. From the fiery bush, God told Moses He would send him unto Pharoah, so that he could bring His people out of Egypt. Humility is always revealed in the hearts of those who love God, and Moses proved this by asking God, “Who am I, that I should go unto Pharoah, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt” (vs.11). God assured the humble servant, He would certainly be with him as he carried out this task, and commanded him to return to the same place where he was standing, to reverence God after delivering the Israelites from the Egyptians. God knew His plan would work, and that Moses would do his part, so He wanted him to return to Mount Horeb, as he and Israel serve God from that point on.

Moses felt intimidated and unworthy to stand before the great Pharoah, but with God, he had all the confidence he needed, to do as God commanded. For every situation you face in life, whether great or small, don’t allow them to intimidate you, especially if God commanded you to go through it. God is all powerful, and He can equip you with all you need to be bold, no matter what you face in this life. Don’t let men and women shame or make you feel unworthy, because with God you are more than worthy!

Fighting Temptation

Luke 4:1-13

The following is a brief excerpt from the Life Application Study Bible (King James Version)

Sometimes we feel that if the Holy Spirit leads us, it will always be “beside the still waters.” But that is not necessarily true. He led Jesus into the wilderness for a long and difficult time of testing, and he may also lead us into difficult situations. When facing trials, first make sure you haven’t brought them on yourself through sin or unwise choices. If you find no sin to confess or unwise behavior to change, then ask God to strengthen you for your test. Finally, be careful to follow faithfully where the Holy Spirit leads.

Temptation often comes after a high point in our spiritual lives or ministries. Remember that satan chooses the times for his attacks. We need to be on guard in times of victory just as much as in times of discouragement. Satan often tempts us when we are most vulnerable.

The devil, who tempted Adam and Eve in the Garden, also tempted Jesus in the wilderness. Satan is a real being, a created but rebellious fallen angel, not a symbol or an idea. He constantly fights against God and those who follow and obey God. Jesus was a prime target for his temptations. Satan succeeded with with Adam and Eve, and he hoped to succeed with Jesus too.

Knowing and obeying God’s Word is an effective weapon against temptation, the only offensive weapon provided in the Christian’s armor. Jesus used Scripture to counter satan’s attacks, and you can too. But to use it effectively you must have faith in God’s promises, because satan also knows Scripture and is adept at twisting it to suit his purpose. Obeying the Scriptures is more important than simply having a verse to quote, so read them daily and apply them to your life. Then your “sword” will always be sharp.

Year Of Jubile?!

Leviticus 25:8-17

The year 2020 was a year when countless men and women “prophets”, spoke openly about various things they predicted would take place during the year. While some ignorantly prophesied the generic miracles speech (many are still waiting to receive them), others made random claims that have yet to manifest. While God used men profoundly in Scripture, to share His words of warning and foretelling, men today embarrass God, by making claims the Lord never inspired them to speak.

All those money-hungry men who so easily hyped people into believing their falsehoods, couldn’t even predict that COVID-19 would devastate the entire world. Rather than make false claims, using God’s name to predict things to come in 2021, I strongly advise all “profits” to preach God’s Word, as it is plainly written in the Bible. Everyone knows this world is fading away, so it’s easy to make generic prophesies concerning hard times or tragic events, but it’s more beneficial for the church, if those who claim to be prophets, speak from what’s already written in Scripture.

People today already have so much to deal with, including job instability and corrupt government, so the last thing they need is the church working against them with lies and manipulation also. I’m no prophet, nor do I make claims to “hear from the Lord”, but I can confidently predict, in the year 2021, if you obey God and keep His commandments, He will bless you in ways no man can. While some look for answers to prayer in the form of dollars, God can also manifest things like favor with man, physical or mental healing, and deliverance from hard situations.

It’s 100 percent obvious, the coming year will present inevitable challenges, but by the grace of God, the body of Saints can trust more in His written Word, than the false prophesies of lustful men.

Remember Me?

Deuteronomy 8:1-11

What is prayer? Prayer is rendering to God sincere words of worship, praise, thanks, or petition. Why do men pray? Men pray for various reasons, but most importantly, to God in their hearts and minds. How can a person forget God, who is the great “I AM”, and creator of all things? To forget is to fail to remember, inadvertently neglect to do, bring, or mention something, and to put out of one’s mind, or cease to think of or consider. In this lesson, I’d like to focus on the latter description of the aforementioned term.

When God blesses His people, it’s only fitting that they return praise and thanks to Him for all He does, but history has its share of instances, when men allowed their success to supercede the source of their blessings. God loves to bless, and He is ready and willing to bestow good things to those who obey His commands. Unfortunately, men are susceptible to allowing all their good, to cloud their focus on the purpose for being blessed, which causes them to develop a bad habit of putting God out of their minds. For example, after God miraculously brought the children of Israel through the Red Sea, and on dry land, they were soon after found murmuring and complaining. Even after wandering through the wilderness 40 years, while God kept them fed, protected, and their clothes never got worn, the people were still found being ungrateful.

Men ought to always pray, not only because of how great God is, but so that we can keep Him first in our hearts. Be mindful to always keep consistent communication with the Father. Thank Him for waking you up, bless His name for giving you salvation, praise Him for the strength He gives to move as you do, and honor Him for every breath you breath, and wholesome thought you think. When you find yourself getting close to brink of complaining, consider all the things God has done, is doing, and will do for you, then let praise and thanks flow from your lips in humble submission to His unmatched love.

Christmas Every Day

Matthew 17:9-13; Malachi 4:4-5

As we near the end of the Christmas holiday celebration, it’s important that we continue to teach the true meaning of the season; not only gift giving, but the greatest gift that was given to all mankind. Children in every corner of the world, are having their fill of joy and laughter from the presents they received, but imagine the effect, if that joy was directed toward God’s best gift to the world. Jesus is the reason for every season, not only during Christmas, and His message is relevant every day of the year. Man was born in sin, and in need of a savior. Jesus came to the earth, died for man’s sins, arose from the grave with all power, and sits at the right hand of the Father, awaiting His cue to return to the earth, to gather the Saints.

While everyone starts to remove all their beautiful lights, garland, snowmen, and other decorations from around their homes, apartments, and stores, the church should continue to let their lights shine bright, so that men can see God working through their lives continually. December 25th is only a day, but Christmas should be every day, for those who are in Christ Jesus.

Can You Hear Me Now?

Matthew 17:1-8

Hearing the voice of God has been misunderstood for ages, and many have taken advantage of others, by claiming to hear from God, while taking money in exchange for a “word from the Lord”. Throughout the Old Testament, God spoke to men in various ways; from a burning fiery bush, to even using a donkey to get a man’s attention. In the New Testament, God spoke though His Son, Jesus, and gave Him all the instructions required, to guide men back into the fold. Today, the Holy Ghost is in the hearts of those who have received God’s gift of salvation, to offer strength, comfort, and bring back to remembrance, the teachings of Christ.

God would never leave His people to traverse these perverse lands alone, so He made sure to give us His Spirit to keep us on the right track. Men who claim to hear from God on the behalf of others, typically have motives to manipulate them for selfish reasons. God doesn’t speak to men as He did in the past, so for those who yearn to know God’s plans for them, read His Word. Also, for those who want to hear the voice of God audibly, read the Word out loud lol (credit to Justin Peters).

The Bible entails all the instructions and tools the church needs to keep themselves occupied, until Christ returns, so I admonish all to be mindful of those who claim God gave them a Word for you, because everything God wanted you to know, is written in His Word. While God can bring people to your heart and mind, He will hardly ever tell someone what you need, without first revealing it to you.

Be strong, be vigilant, because the enemy is still trying to take us out before this year ends. We’ve had ups, and downs, but by the grace and mercy of God, we are still here. Continue to guard yourselves against the evil one, and keep your faith in the Lord. Study and meditate on the Word of God daily, so that you can prove to Him, your love and dedication to His will is solid.

Equal Opportunity

Galatians 3:25-29

Are all men created equal? I use to think so, until I witnessed some being born into the world with physical handicaps, or mental disabilities. Being born into sin has put man at a disadvantage in some respects. For example, one of the biggest issues concerning society today is race, and ethnic background. Some people are restricted from receiving certain jobs, simply because of the color of their skin, or their gender. Others are turned away for being born with a disability, that hurts their chances of being productive with a company or business. Are all men created equal? Not at all, but all men who are born again into the body of Christ, have equal blessings, and opportunity to become one in Christ Jesus.

Unlike the world, who sees your shortcomings, and refuses to extend a helping hand, God ensures that those who have faith in His Son, are treated with love, respect, and are positioned to receive all the promises associated with being His child. Despite how the world treats you as a believer, keep your faith, hope, and trust in the Lord, and continue to assume His character, while going through your daily lives, working together with your brothers and sisters in the Lord.

“Put on Christ, and allow Him to rule your life.” – Ell