THE ONE AND ONLY!

 

 

 

 

 

 

(I Kings 18:20-24) So Ahab sent for all the children of Israel, and gathered the prophets together on Mount Carmel. And Elijah came to all the people, and said, “How long will you falter between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.” But the people answered him not a word. Then Elijah said to the people, “I alone am left a prophet of the Lord; but Baal’s prophets are four hundred and fifty men. Therefore let them give us two bulls; and let them choose one bull for themselves, cut it in pieces, and lay it on the wood, but put no fire under it; and I will prepare the other bull, and lay it on the wood, but put no fire under it. Then you call on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of the Lord; and the God who answers by fire, He is God! (Read the rest of the story at your leisure).  

 

It is amazing how people trust in a "god"  that does nothing for them, created or provides nothing for them or is not there for them when they call on them in time of trouble or emergencies. We live in a time where so many believe in there own types of gods. The real God is not a figmentation of one's imagination....HE is Real! . God is a spirit! Ahab and the prophets of Baal (an idol god) believed that this statue or physical representation of their god would answer the challenge imposed on them by Elijah. When you know that you know that you know that your God is real, you have no doubts in your mind that He will show up and show out. As the Hebrew men in one of my last posts declared to the king that even if their God chose not to deliver them or show up, they'd still not bow to the idol and would still believe and serve Him.

 

To believe in a God whom one has never seen, or never had a relationship or contact with., yet know He exists takes faith.  To look around us everyday and visualize the handiwork of the ONE AND ONLY, TRUE AND LIVING GOD baffles me why people don't believe that there is a God. The God who causes the seasons to change (without man's doing), causes your body to go to sleep without anesthesia and wakes you up each day, causes a life to be formed through an egg and a sperm, causes this same life to develop into a full grown person through process of time, causes the body to operate like a machine (pumping blood through the body like an automatic machine internally, filtering intakes of food, liquids to keep the body strong and health and expelling unnecessary wastes and foreign body from it as needed... THAT'S MY GOD! Tell me who else on this earth can do this...BUT GOD?

The prophets of Baal, King Ahab and those witnessing this event at Mount Carmel couldn't help but acknowledge that Elijah's God was and remains God. He is not dead, blind, deaf, dumb or so far away He can't reach us, hear us, talk to us, or help us. God is there no matter what picture or dialogue others who don't believe He exists try to paint...HE IS REAL!

Strangely how when we get in trouble or lately with the texting jargon,  the first word from our mouth is "Jesus or Oh My God (OMG)! Really? Is He really the God of your life? Do we really believe in Him? If so, are we serving him? Worshipping and living for Him? Are we sharing His love and our testimonies about how great He is? I choose to serve the God of Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Abraham, and Elijah and other biblical patriarchs of old who He  did so many miracles for and is still doing exploits even in our day. All we need to believe in God is faith! Faith requires you believing what you don't see but relying on what God has said. When this happen, God will become more real to you than what one has heard, read or tried to explain. God shows up not as a means to be tempted but to prove at times that there is nobody greater than Him! Will you choose  God or gods?

WHO IS YOUR MIDDLE MAN?

Psa. 23:4 -Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

Isa. 43:2 - When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.

Middle Man - one who is a "go-between" to handle things for you - An intermediary. 

          In the business or trade world there is such a person who acts as an intermediary between the buyer and the seller/the customer and the consumer. Their job is to negotiate and make business propositions which are acceptable to both parties so they won't have to. It eliminates a lot of stress from both parties. It frees you from dealing with transactions or confrontations. This is in the natural aspect. 
          However, spiritually speaking, we all can testify according to the scriptures, the many times God provided deliverance by becoming and providing a "middle man" for His people during times of despair, danger and trouble. We all need someone to stand in the middle for us when we are faced with danger on the left side and on the right side and there is no one or nothing to turn to but God. This is the time when that "middle man" is needed. He was there for the Israelites with Pharaoh's army behind them and the Red sea in front of them. God provided the "middle man" to create a way for them to escape this horrific peril by opening up the sea as they walked on dry land. 
          The video snippet above depicts the story of how God again stepped in and allowed the "middle man" to stand in the midst of this furnace, protecting the men from the fire so they couldn't burn up. Remember the position of Jesus' cross on Calvary? It was between the two thieves. He was the "middle man" for all of us by dying on the cross to save us from our sins and resurrected to give us eternal life. 
          I can't speak for you but I depend and rely on my "middle man." His name is Jesus. When trouble surrounds me or there seems to be no way out, I can call on him and he becomes my "go-between" person - my "middle man". He promised us in his word (as posted) that he would walk with us through the valley, through waters and through fire. Isn't it good to know that you have someone who will stand in the gap - in the middle for you so you don't have to? I'm grateful for my "Middle Man" (Jesus)! Who is your Middle Man?  

 

 

 

GREED VS. NEED!

 

 

Luke 12:15 - "And he said unto them, "Take heed; and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth".

Luke 12: 16b-21 - "The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou has much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee; then whose shall those things be which thou hast provided? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.          

Greed - A strong desire of acquiring or possessing. Need - A lack of something

In the above text, we are told a parable by Jesus of a man who had plenty. We could label him as having a spirit of Greed. He was not satisfied with just a little, but more. He had so much that he told himself he to make room for his overage. So, he built bigger barns to stockpile what he possessed. He could have divided and distributed his abundance to those in need. With all what his greed had brought to him, what would become of it after he died? It seems today that if you are not on the Top 10 list of having the best job, car, house, materialistic things, money, etc., you are looked down at. Just because someone has a lot of these things doesn't mean they are happy and fulfilled. If they have all these worldly goods and don't God and His peace within them, they are most miserable and needy.

With God, we can have Everything! Without God, we have Nothing! I choose to be in need of God and have Him than being greedy of things that doesn't bring me happiness or contentment. There is an old cliche' that says, "Don't let you eyes be bigger than your stomach". This simply means, just because you see it, doesn't mean you really need it. This is not just for food intake but other things in life as well. It is so important that we do not allow greed to overtake us when God blesses us abundantly. There are those who are among us whose eyes are full of greed, wanting more yet not satisfied unless they have the biggest and the best that life has to offer. Even after obtaining them, some are still unsatisfied until they receive more. As God provides and supplies our needs, let us always remember from whom our blessings flow and not allow the enemy to make our eyes began to have greed and lose it all. We have been blessed in America far beyond any other country in the world, yet some are still unthankful. Don't allow Greed to cause us to suffer Need!

WATCH YOUR SPEECH!

 

 

 

 

 

(Mark 14:69-70) "And a maid saw him again, and began to say to them that stood by, This is one of them. And he denied it again. And a little after, they that stood by said again to Peter, Surely thou art one of them: for thou art a Galilean, and thy speech agreeth thereto. "

Speech: An individual manner or style of speaking. Something that is spoken.

      It doesn't matter who you are or where you come from, we all have been given distinct and recognizable voices or speech patterns. Our speech, no matter what dialect or language we speak, is owned by us. Yes, we may have voice imitators who can mimic us but our speech is ours personally. A parent can recognize her children's voice or cry among a room filled with other children. The sound or voice pattern of that child distinguishes them from the rest.

      When we became Christians and old things in our lives became new, we inherited through the blood of Jesus, a new speech. We no longer should use the old pattern of our speech but must put on Christ's speech and a new way of talking. How we once talked, things we allowed to come out of our mouth should be different now. People who we once ran with or were buddies with should notice a change in us by our speech. Even if a person who once knew Christ and decide to not walk with him any longer still have Christ's mark upon him. They can try to fit in with the world, act like the world and do what the world do, but their speech will betray them.

      I have been among individuals and didn't know there backgrounds, church affiliations or lifestyle, but as soon as conversation (speech) was engaged, I could recognize somehow if they had once walked with the Lord or is walking with the Lord. It's a "knowing" by the spirit and by their conversation. Everyday, we must be careful how we talk, express ourselves and behave among others. Peter, one of Jesus' disciples who followed him closely, thought he could hide his identity after Jesus was arrested. He didn't realize that people had seen him with Jesus and what unmasked his identity more was his speech.

      When you know Christ and have allowed his character to become a part of your being, you cannot hide it. Peter denied who he was and he also denied the Christ. When we are among our family, friends, coworkers, strangers or whomever, we should let our light shine and allow God to use our speech to speak life, deliverance and salvation to them. God needs our voice to be His mouthpiece. Our speech should not consist of profanity, defaming or unkind comments, lies, deceit, bitter or abusive words. Speech from our lips should be godly, words filled with kindness, exhortation, encouragement, enlightenment, inspiration and full of faith. When we allow God to change our hearts and our lives, He changes everything about us including our speech. Someone is steadily watching us and "listening" to us. Let us WATCH OUR SPEECH and not be guilty of denying the Christ in us, the hope of Glory!

THE MASTER SORTER

(Matthew 13:36-43-NLT)

^"Then, leaving the crowds outside, Jesus went into the house. His disciples said, “Please explain to us the story of the weeds in the field.” Jesus replied, “The Son of Man is the farmer who plants the good seed. The field is the world, and the good seed represents the people of the Kingdom. The weeds are the people who belong to the evil one. The enemy who planted the weeds among the wheat is the devil. The harvest is the end of the world, and the harvesters are the angels. “Just as the weeds are sorted out and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the world. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will remove from his Kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. And the angels will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in their Father’s Kingdom. Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand!"

          Growing up, I had the opportunity of working in several fields (peach orchards, pea fields, pecan orchards, tomato fields and other vegetable patches). I remember so vividly hearing my dad telling us when we had to weed out the garden to be careful not to mistakenly pull the plant up because it looked so much like the weed. It was important that we remove the weeds because they would stunt the growth of the actual plant beside it. In this parable, Jesus shared how it was important that in our sorting that we avoid pulling out the good alongside the not so good.

          When these are bunched or bound together and look alike, we can so easily think the unreal is the real thing. To avoid this, Jesus asked that we let them grow together and in the end he would manage the sorting. In this world, we have all types of people gathering together in the same worship places. Some may be living double-standards, some may be living one-standard according to God's word. Do we pluck them out or throw them out because they have not reached the level of understanding or maturity level as others? Of course I know that there are hypocrites, pretenders and babes in Christ. They are standing near us or among us waiting to be developed and discipled. Let us as true believers not be so quick to sort them out of our "spiritual field." We can't stop weed from growing in a natural garden or field but we can prevent and control how we are growing. Let us allow the MASTER SORTER to do the separating as he sees fit in the end.

VALIDATED BY GOD

(Jer. 1:5a-Amp.) "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, {and} approved of you {as my chosen instrument}, and before you were born I separated and set you apart, consecrating you."

(John 15:16a-Amp) "You have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you and I have appointed you."

Validation - the process of approving or confirming.

          When we know who you are, whose we are and the direction our life is headed, we shouldn't require validation from others. Some people look to others to define who they are or what they can become if they are validated by certain "cliques".

          Some will even allow the definition of others and their validation to make them get stuck in their past and prevent them from moving forward. It is so important for us to seek the approval of God, first and foremost. I'm reminded of the situation with David as a young lad taking his brothers lunch to the battlefield one day after being anointed by Samuel (I Sam. Chapter 17). When he arrived on the scene, he saw how the army of the Lord had backed down because of the giant, Goliath. David had been validated by God. He took the challenge of taking on this Giant! They tried to put "unapproved" armor and battle attire on him before sending him out to fight. It didn't fit him and he told them the attire hadn't been approved or “validated”.

          David didn't need man's validation or their help to defeat the enemy. He had already been validated by God. Of course, you know the rest of the story. Yes, David killed the Giant!

          Whatever the world around may say about us shouldn't matter as long as we choose to go by what God has said about us. When God has validated us, nobody can change that. We become too blessed to be cursed! If there are areas in our lives which need fine-tuning, then let us do what's necessary to make those adjustments. Sometimes, when we stand too far away from the mirror, it's hard to see the spots or specks on us. We have to move in closer for a better view to examine what we didn't see due to the distance. Let us allow God to place us in front of His mirror (His Word) to show us what is needed to be who He wants us to be according to His plan and purpose. When we do this, we won't need the validation of others because we have been "God-approved" and His stamp on us is proof enough against anyone else.

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Just to let you know that SHARING THE WORD TO THE WORLD will resume next week. Been travelling lately but have settled back in. Thanks for your patience.