There Is A High Cost To Low Living

"Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, in the day of testing in the wilderness.” Hebrews 3:8

Heed the voice of the Holy Spirit and not your emotions. What is more important Holiness and right living in the eyes of God or happiness? That is one of the things I often hear when it comes to justifying same sex marriage,”well don’t you want them to be happy”  and yes I do but more importantly is being Holy before the eyes of the Lord. 

The Bible is the same it always has been. It has not changed to adapt to a sinful culture. All sin is sin by the way and all of us have fallen short of God’s glory. You can either believe the culture or believe God and He can and still does set people free from all the lies and deception the enemy throws at them. “But I can’t help how I feel” you might say.

Today if you can’t  be all in and accept the ‘new normal’ of society you are called a hater. Hate is not disagreeing or having another opinion. But yet this is pushed to the point that Christians are in danger of loss of free speech simply for believing God’s word. This ‘new normal’ causes much division and anger toward those who believe what the Bible says. So I guess I am saying love those in your life and don’t try to change anyone. Let God do that. If you are caught up in these feelings don’t be mad at your friends or family who can’t sincerely cheer you on. Keep praying, loving God, and run towards Jesus always, always. 

PRAYER: I hate Satan because he has lied, tricked, deceived, separated, and hurt so many good people and under the guise of a new normal has confused many people. Help all people know there is ALWAYS freedom in the cross of Christ. The culture is the culture and the word of God is the word of God. Help me show love to ALL people and press in to you and your word and knowing you better. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Stagnant Spiritual Water?

In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto Me, and drink. He that believeth on Me, as the Scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water." John 7:37-38

We’ve all probably seen streams or ponds where the water is putrid and stagnant looking and no one would even want to stick their toe in it or touch it. Yucky slimy moss has grown up and nothing living is found in the water. There is no source of life to make it fresh. 

Your spiritual life can become like that as well if it is left to sit and just exist. How can you get closer to God by just wishing it into existence? You have to be proactive. Believe me the enemy of your soul will do all he can to distract you and put roadblocks and enticements in your path to keep you as far away from God and loving Jesus as possible. 

If you know people close to you who seemingly have no desire to get close to God First don’t judge, as you don’t know their heart. Pray instead God would put people in their paths daily to draw them closer to Him. Nagging into submission never is the way to go and likely always backfires. Be loving and stay in prayer. And above all keep fervent in your love for the Lord so you do not become like stagnant water. 

PRAYER: Father I want you to be my living water flowing through me that would draw others to you. Let me stay away from things that would cause me to stagnate and help me recognize road hazards that would keep me from you.  In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Blowing Up Phones And Other Ways To Lose Friends

Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. Ephesians 4:32

I applaud those of you who are not 24-7 glued to your mobile device or feel the need for Facebook. In my life both have caused great pain in this new era of texting and posting, but no face to face talking. Quite sad. The tools designed to open up our world can be so hurtful and impersonal. 

Look around you at necks bent down staring at the small screen. Often young parents neglect their little ones while the small screen beckons them.  Text too much to an impatient person and you are accused of either needing a life or blowing up their phone. Both hurt.

What we need in the social media world are kind people. People who don’t slam you, block you, and Unfriend you. The real world is not Facebook anyway  and parents job is to let this generation of children being raised stay off the devices. If you have been hurt by someone on social media try to let it go and don’t add fuel to the already smoldering fire. Give hearts time to mend and heal and forgive.

PRAYER: Lord Jesus give me self control to not pester people too much but when I have give grace to those who want to lash out at me and self control as well realizing friendship is where it is at. Don’t allow Satan to divide through social media. In Jesus’ name. Amen. 

Taking Things For Granted

"But I have this complaint against you. You don't love me or each other as you did at first! Revelation 2:4

When you acquire new things normally the excitement level is such that you take very good care of what you have. This could be a new car, bicycle, furniture, spouse, friend, and other things. Initially the excitement is one of you will always cherish this item or person but then you get complacent. Things begin to gather dust, get cobwebs, or fall into disrepair.

This happens with spiritual things as well and why do we allow it to happen? You are sucked into a wrong belief system because of believing lies of the enemy perpetrated through the media. The newspaper or nightly news to some becomes more important than the word of God. Each of us has to check our heart and be truthful and see if this is happening in your life.

My friend the Bible is not intended to be a coffee table ornament or something just to rescue from your bedside table on Sunday morning to carry as a prop of sorts. But losing the desire is at the heart of the matter. Why did you let it happen in the first place? Maybe some in your family have allowed this lethargy towards all things Christian to creep in and seemingly no desire exists.

Usually it is because priorities are all out of place. Maybe there was no real born again experience in the first place or worst yet false teachers have infiltrated your mind or mind of a family member. Stand up and take authority against any demonic forces that have tried to capture those you love. Keep praying cause God hears you and in His time break through will happen!

PRAYER: I am ever so grateful for your word Lord and I pray for myself to always prioritize and keep the spiritual fire alive. I pray for those I know who don’t seem to get it and have no real relationship or desire to grow for whatever reason. I take any thought captive in  the lives of family who have lose their first love for you. Relight the spiritual fires and wake them up. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

You’re Pretty Awesome....I Needed That!

Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. Ephesians 4:31-32

Do you ever get what I call unexpected ‘God winks’ right when you most need them? An unexpected card or phone call. In my case a stamped message on the cardboard coffee sleeve from a local coffee establishment telling me “You’re Pretty Awesome!” 

Everyone likes to be made to feel special and wanted. Who knows if not just your kind comment or smile might change someone’s otherwise awful day into a joyful one. My son on a recent vacation together, kept asking me why I spoke to everyone almost like it embarrassed him. I just told him you never knew who needed a ‘hug’ and left it at that. 

Is there a person you need to be kind to and go the extra mile to make their otherwise gloomy day cheerful? Ponder that and go reach out and touch someone. 

PRAYER: Oh Lord I love sharing your kindness with others. I love when you give me opportunities to do so. Keep me creative in ways to reach out to those around me. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Rocket Booster Friends!!

I thank my God every time I remember you. Philippians  1:3

Actor Tyler Perry aka Madea was recently giving a message on Trinity Broadcasting where he spoke of friends in your life that are there for a reason and a season. He referred to them as ‘rocket booster friends’ which I love being a space enthusiast and resident close to Space Camp 25 miles away.

Of course the purpose of the solid rocket booster in the Space Shuttle era was to give an extra lift to the Shuttle to launch it out of Earth’s atmosphere. It took great speed and force and many smart people to work on this project.

There may have been friends in your life that are not there any more who helped teach you things or launch you but maybe were not meant to be there forever as they may hold you back from your destiny. There are those God keeps using as boosters cause they are vitally essential to your growth in the Lord.

Whatever the case,  stop and think back to those ‘rocket booster friends’ God used in your life and always give thanks for them. 

PRAYER: Father God I thank you for allowing me to have many friends in my path throughout the years. Some I was close to some not so much but each of them has a purpose and I lift each of them to you now that they would stay on the path you have for them. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

You Can't Fool Me Devil!

Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. Ephesians 5:17

Here we are again the day nationwide pranksters love to pull jokes on their unknowing subjects. I have been victim to a few. Creative ways people like to trick and mess with people in the name of good clean fun hopefully.

 But there is a real trickster out there and he is not a laughing matter yet many treat him as such. I am referring to satan with a little ‘s’ because he is puny, little, miserable, deceiving, lying, captivating, disgusting and he has tricked so many that you and I know into following him unknowingly. Today’s culture in our world of lies and accepting untruth is straight from him. Many compromise their beliefs due to being fair, tolerant, loving, and the rest. 

You may be reading this today and either know someone like I am referring to or perhaps the devil has you in his crosshairs confusing you with substituting cultural worldview for God’s worldview. If you have to leave a political party who has started accepting ungodliness do so. Run hard and fast back to the truth only found in the unchanging word of God. That is no fooling!! 

PRAYER: Father I thank you for humor but it is not humorous to see people I love being tricked into believing the lies of satan. Remove blinders from those I know and love and get them more excited about you and less about the foolery in this world. In Jesus’ name. Amen.