Devotionals

ISAIAH 58:8d …The glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard.

Lots of folks these days always tell each other “I’ve got your back” or ask “You got my back” in what ever situation they are in, whether it is to cover them in some scheme they are trying to pull off or maybe help them win some disagreement and they want you to back them up on their point of view. There are many ways this phrase is used today, it could mean to back you up in a fight or when playing a sport you might have your teammates back or whatever way you want someone to back you up. It is universal in terms of slang meanings and even jokingly to say to someone “You got my back”. It is also a way to show support for a friend to let them know you will always be there behind them in any situation. The list of different styles is endless in the way this phase is used. Friends always have each others back; they are watching one another’s back for a variety of reasons real and maybe not so real but always as a sign of loyalty, support and looking out for the best interest of their friend or friends. To protect their friend, to make sure they represent their friend in the best possible light of any given situation. When you have someone’s back you are doing what you would want them to do for you, the best you can possibly offer in terms that make a good reflection upon your friend with whatever comes up. It is always in their best interest you are covering their back.

We as believers in Christ can always have each others back through prayer for one another and when one of us calls another in a time of need, or trial or a stumble, it is especially a blessing to know that someone has your back when you may not be able to pray or are up against some over whelming situation. Also, through accountability of each other and holding each other accountable to God, telling a bro when he is wrong or in sin;

Proverbs 27:6

”Wounds from a friend are better than many kisses from an enemy.” Through fellowship we can cover each others back, sharing scripture that will minister to one another and helping to show each other how applicable it is at this time in our situation.

Taking time, to break bread with a bro, to use this blessing that the Lord gives us for refreshment and nourishment to our souls can also be a way to have a bros back by sharing this time of refreshment together. But even so with our bros covering our back, it’s not enough and will never replace the fact that we need the LORD as our rear Guard to cover us and watch our every move. Not to be compared to us or even on the same level but in awe and reverence to know that the Lord is always there for us. Bros not in any way do I mean to say that the Lord is in any way compared to a mere man because He is not and should never be compared to or used in comparison in an equal equation to us, He is God and we should always hold the Lord Jesus Christ in the highest esteem and utmost reverence. He is not our homeboy and never will be, He is Almighty God, so I mean this with all reverence to our Father God.  He has our back in every situation; He alone has our best interest always and foremost and can know and do things in such a marvelous way that we cannot comprehend or fathom how He does it and it always seems so simple and easy and He always has our back even when we think He might not. He never lets go or turns His back on us, but He backs us in all situations that we find ourselves in at this present time. He covers us, even more so He covers our sins with and by His blood that was shed on Calvary. So it’s more than just cool words that He has our back, He proved it beyond the shadow of a doubt by His great sacrifice that He has more than our back, He has our heart, soul, desires, and needs, He has forgiven us for sins, past, present and future, He has our whole lives covered forever, everything we could ever do or think or say is before Him and He will cover us always.

Psalm 46:1 “God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble.” He is available at every second of our lives, there is nothing that He will not do for us, He loves us that much and the magnificence of the LORD is our rear Guard forever, when our hope, faith, trust and belief is in Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior alone- you better believe He has you covered on all fronts, front and rear anything and everything in between that you are up against or ever will be confronted with forever and ever, Jesus has your back. You better believe it, no doubt about it, He said I will never leave you nor forsake you and I believe it, because He said it, Amen!

Mark 2:17 When Jesus heard it, He said to them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance."

I am sure that most of us are at that place where we have been impacted by the economy one way or another. We can now see there are a lot of things we do not need that we have thought we needed in the past to survive, to endure this harsh place where we live and felt that most things were not a luxury but a necessity that we have depended on in the past. It is amazing what we can do without or get by on when we don’t have it… Bros I can tell you we all live in excess when it comes right down to it we are so spoiled and have become so dependant on the way we have had everything that we have taken everything for granted. Please don’t get me wrong I know there are a lot of hurting folks out there, I just mean we have it so good here in the good old USA even when times are hard or at the worst we have it better than any other country or people around the world. When it comes down to it the only need we really have need of and that is Jesus Christ. He is our answer to everything, when we have Jesus what else or what other need is there. We need Jesus more than anything; we need Jesus Now, right Now. I Love You Jesus, I need You Jesus, I thank You Jesus and I praise You Jesus as the song says. Just maybe this Christmas we will all get the greatest gift ever given to mankind, I cannot think of anything we need more than Jesus, to get Jesus in our hearts and let Him reign there continually. Let us that have this gift already start sharing the gift of salvation with others in our family. I know some might not want to get anything started at the family get together’s but we didn’t get this gift to hoard it. Jesus said …“Freely you have received, freely give.” Matthew 10:8

Consider this if you were to make a list with pen and two sheets of paper in hand, on the one sheet write at the top “Things I am thankful and grateful to God for” write down everything you are thankful for and even grateful for big or small every little thing include them all that you want to thank the Lord for the blessing. Then on the other sheet of paper at the top write these words “Complaints to God”. I believe when you are finished with both sheets and by the way make sure you do the “Things I am thankful & grateful to God for” first and “Complaints to God” second, you will see that the one sheet will not have enough room to finish writing all the things you are thankful and grateful for, and on the other sheet it will be blank with just the “Complaints to God” heading on top. If you take a close look at the thankful sheet you will notice the only thing you will ever always have is the need for Jesus in your heart today- right now this second! You will see we only have need of Jesus; He satisfies us and all our needs totally, fully completely. Matthew 6:33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. 

Bros pray for the unbelievers that will be reading this email right now as you are- please take a moment and lift them up as I offer this prayer for those who have never made a commitment of faith in Jesus Christ. If you believe and want to receive Jesus right now in your hearts please say this prayer and invite the Lord Jesus Christ into your hearts; “believe and receive”

Dear Lord Jesus, I believe You are the Son of God and died on the cross for my sins and rose on the third day. I want to confess I am a sinner and I need forgiveness for all my sins and only You can forgive my sins, please forgive me and make me whole and white as snow. I want to commit my life to You Lord Jesus from this day forward and ask that You would fill me and baptize me with Your Holy Spirit and help me to study Your Word the Bible everyday and find a Bible teaching church where I can become part of Your Body and grow more in love with You Lord Jesus. I pray all these things in Jesus name, Amen! If you prayed this prayer and mean it “Welcome to the family of God!”

For those who are believers but may have slipped from fellowship with the Lord Jesus and are back slider’s and want to get right with the Lord Jesus Christ right now and rededicate their lives, please take a moment and get right with God right now, don’t wait this might be your last chance, we don’t know the hour the Lord might take our very lives this moment might be our last, please bros if you have fallen away and need to get right the Lord is waiting for you and praying for you this very second He knows what’s going on in your life, He can change everything in the twinkling of an eye, but first you need to let Him change your heart. Rededicate your heart to Jesus, if you need help praying you might say a prayer something like this;

Dear Lord Jesus please help me I have fallen away from You and want to get right with You and confess my sins, I have put other things over You and in front of You Lord and I want to make You first in my life. Please Lord forgive me and cleanse me from all unrighteousness and all my sins and wash me and cleanse me and make me whole again. Lord Jesus I commit my heart and life to You Lord Jesus to have Your way with me, search my heart and see if there is any unclean way in me and lead me in the way of everlasting. I rededicate my life to You Lord Jesus and commit my heart fully over to You Lord Jesus. I thank You and Praise You in Jesus name- Amen! “Welcome back bro, we missed you!”

Ok bros, now everyone who is reading this should be saved or believed and received Jesus and or rededicated their lives to the Lord Jesus Christ I pray. Now take your gift that you received freely and give it to someone in your family, someone at that Christmas party, someone at work, someone at that Christmas dinner, someone in line standing next to you, that person that makes you that $3.00 coffee drink everyday for you, sitting right next to you on the bus or at work share about the love and the free gift of Jesus Christ, you have received the greatest gift to humankind this earth has ever known for free- it didn’t cost you anything but it cost Jesus a lot He paid the maximum price for you and me, He laid down His life on that cross so it wasn’t cheap, He gave His all for you, He gave His best for you, He said you were worth everything it cost Him to purchase you, this Christmas you can give the greatest and most expensive gift ever and your Savior picked up the tab and paid it in full for your soul and mine my friend so please don’t hoard this gift, but give it away and save a soul from hell today. …“Freely you have received, freely give.” You and I need Jesus and so does the whole world- including our families…

We need You Jesus and we want to thank You Jesus for saving us, come quickly Lord!

Numbers 21:7-9 Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, "We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and against you; pray to the Lord that He take away the serpents from us." So Moses prayed for the people. 8 Then the Lord said to Moses, "Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and it shall be that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, shall live." 9 So Moses made a bronze serpent, and put it on a pole; and so it was, if a serpent had bitten anyone, when he looked at the bronze serpent, he lived.

Bros it always is that way every time, nothing changes when you get bitten by the serpent of sin, you become toxic and poisoned speaking out against those who love and care for you most; sin it permeates throughout your whole life rendering you useless. Once you sin and continue on in it the poison seeps deep into every area of your life instantaneously, I believe in the twinkling of the eye, it comes on that fast. First and foremost it affects your relationship with the Lord, immediately you are separated from Him, it is like jumping out of His arms and immediately in front of a freight train of instant emotional, neurotic frenzied paranoid, angry, foolish, volatile irrational, ridiculously absurd thoughts and feelings and the instantly distantly broken hearted cutoff feeling of lowliness, guilt and separation that is almost indescribable and utterly unbearable. The Israelites had to feel this way, just like we do when we sin and worst. They not only spoke against the Lord but their leader chosen by God. Imagine that, they were complaining about Moses their boss, Gods chosen no less, that part we have probably all been guilty of complaining about our bosses, but thinking that He was chosen by God should automatically be a red flag of not going there, but complaining about God instead of thanking Him for their blessings they chose death- sin instead of life. It is hard when we are in a state of life (The present economy…) where things are hard and we find ourselves complaining about our boss and then we start murmuring about God how could He do this to us or allow these troubles to come on us and then the poison of sin starts to enter like an IV drip system slowly making its way into every area of our life and then we find ourselves not choosing life but choosing death. But bros do what Moses did at such a time as this, look at his example- he was the hated boss and for what because he was chosen by God and look what he did he had a heart and cared for the people and prayed for them. And God heard the prayer and said to Moses here is the answer to all their sins and troubles, the Perfect *Soulution. (*intentionally misspelled) A picture of the coming Savior our Lord Jesus Christ hung on a pole or a cross. So that anyone who had been bitten or overcome by sin could be forgiven and cleansed when they looked to Jesus. So choose life look to Christ Jesus and don’t complain about what you don’t have but thank the Lord Jesus Christ for what you do have a Perfect Savior a Perfect Soulution for forgiveness from all your sins and troubles and life abundantly forever!

Acts 13:22 …He raised up for them David as king, to whom also He gave testimony and said, 'I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart, who will do all My will.'

David was a man that was after Gods very own heart; in all he did he did so unto the glory of the Lord. David spent a lot of time with the Lord throughout his life, meditating on all His ways, seeking Him in Prayer, talking to Him, waiting on Him, resting in Him, confessing to Him and turning in repentance to Him. David gave his all to the Lord in everything, in word, in action, in deed and even when he found himself caught up in sin he poured out all his heart unto the Lord in seeking repentance, all his every day life or living experiences he turned completely over to the Lord. He tried to do all the Lords will in every area of his life and he failed miserably on some occasions as every man does. Surely David was chosen and God had prepared his heart, but what caused David to want to do all of Gods will? He was a mere man as you and I are, given free will choice. When David was chosen he was the least of Jesse’s sons, but called by God. But what sets David apart and makes us want to be men after Gods own heart like David was? Is it because he laid his heart bare before the Lord in everything and cried out with such great remorse and sorrow and grief when he did fail, fall and sin or was being chased or persecuted beyond measure is that what drove him to be a man after Gods own heart, is it because David did everything not in his own confidence but in the strength of the Lord, is it because of the trials, tribulations and persecutions he suffered, is it because of David’s humility, that humble spirit that he possessed as a shepherd- king, maybe because he was a shepherd boy at heart and grew up early in life tending to the sheep and developed a heart for their care and well being, did that make him who he was- because he was so responsive to Gods love for him that he responded with that same love and care as the Lord showed him… Gods call and anointing of His Spirit on any of our lives would be realized by the condition of our hearts and response of our hearts. David had a believing heart and David was an illustration of Gods grand plan of deliverance for you and me. We cannot follow God with only half our heart and seeking only half Gods heart, we have to give Him all of our heart. A quote from Alan Redpath says “Your body brings you to church, but where does your heart take you? Where do your affections lead you, into what kind of predicaments? What about your desires, your thoughts, your ambitions? What about the real you?” What is the desire of your heart today? What is the condition God will find you in today; will it be a man after His own heart that will do the entire His will? God knows, just like He knew David’s heart was a heart after Him, but not only that, David was willing to do ALL Gods will too. How far, are you from Gods will for your life? How far is your heart from God today? Is your heart chasing after the heart of God to do ALL His will? It is no small thing to do all of Gods will, much less be men after His own heart like David, but we know by reading about David’s life it starts in the heart; invite the Lord Jesus into the depth of your heart to do that work that needs to be done right now! Bro, don’t delay a man after Gods own heart starts right now this second, today in every thought, every desire, every ambition and every way that comes from a clean and pure and right heart before the Lord willing to do His will in everything...In the end we are reminded not only to be men after Gods own heart but really the not so secret of how to be able to be men after Gods own heart as it is summed up here by the wise words of king Solomon. Ecclesiastes 12:13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, For this is man's all.

That is all we have to do “Fear God and keep His commandments” no small thing, only by His strength “That’s all folks.”

In all His Strength and love,

Luke 17:18 Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?"

Who always catches us if we stumble and fall from grace? Who always catches us when we think no else will or Who always catches us when we start scheming and conniving. Who can know when we will fall and if we will fall and how far we will fall and Who can convict our hearts even before we ever fall or when we fall from Him who loves us or Who can convict us by using some thing or situation that may seem so small and trivial and insignificant and Who knows the exact thing it will take to bring about that change to catch us before we fall completely… Who is always there for us no matter what we are doing or where we are going or where we are at in our relationship with Him who loves us most. Who can bless you when you think you never ever should be blessed again because of where you are at in your walk with the Lord. Who can love you more than you could ever imagine or dream possible when you have fallen so deep back into the slimy miry pit that you feel like a filthy wretch that has let Him Who loves you down and feel like you cannot stop sinking or couldn’t sink any lower.

The Lord Jesus Christ is the catcher of man whether you fall spiritually or physically, He will always be there if you fall or stumble. His heart is that you wouldn’t stumble or fall but if you do, He will always help you back to your feet, He won’t push you back or release His hold on you or leave you. He is waiting to catch you in His loving arms and grasp all your cares right now. And when He does catch us and save us so many times we do not give the Lord credit or the glory for how truly awesome and mighty He is, we down play miracles as ordinary things attributed to luck or circumstances, I think if we truly knew of all the calamities the Lord delivered us from and how He averted the affects from those stumbles and falls we took we would be astounded to say the least but the Lord is always there waiting to catch us and most times we don’t see Him but He never leaves us… Let’s thank the Lord that He says that in His word for us and He will never ever release His hold on us. God will always be our catcher hopefully we will always remember and acknowledge that fact of love that He has for us.

 I just read a story last week of an 18 month old baby that fell from a third floor window of an apartment in Brazil. The baby climbed up onto the couch that was in front of a window and somehow he managed to pull himself to the top part of the couch and then fell right off the top and went out the window behind the couch. This building had steel security spikes sticking out from it… The baby survived the fall, the police officer that was on the scene said first the diaper the baby was wearing saved him, he said it was a miracle because as the baby fell to the ground somehow his diaper got hooked onto one of these spikes sticking out from the building and broke his fall. The baby hung for a few seconds on the spike then the diaper gave way and he continued to fall the rest of the way to the ground. Miraculously the baby just got banged up a little. A newspaper reporter that wrote about this falling baby said that the spikes and diaper are what saved his life. The spikes stopped the baby and lessened his speed of hitting the ground so the reporter attributed that with saving the baby’s life. The reporter also said that it was a miracle because the baby could have been killed by one of the spikes. The baby was treated for minor fractures and was in stable condition. Notice how the police officer and the reporter gave the miracles credit to the diaper and the steel security spike, at the end of the article the father of the baby was quoted as saying “It wasn’t the diaper that saved him,” “It was God.” Bros consider it totally weird when folks see a miracle but do not see the catcher and only one acknowledges Who the catcher is and gives the glory to Him the Lord God. How easily we forget who is always catching us and ready when we fall to be there to catch us in his ever loving arms. Whether we fall, trip, or stumble because we look away instead of staying focused and aren’t keeping our gaze fixed on Him in our walk daily with the Lord Jesus Christ or we fall out a window you can be sure He is always there to catch us- Amen!

Glory to God

Jude 24 Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, And to present you faultless Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, 25 To God our Savior, Who alone is wise, Be glory and majesty, Dominion and power, Both now and forever. Amen.

Ephesians 3:17-19 that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the Width and Length and Depth and Height-- 19 to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

W x L x D x H= Undeserved Grace, Unbelievable Mercy, Endless deep nurturing Love, Longsuffering that can only come from a True Father, a True Friend willing to lay down His life for His beloved and treasured children, Uncountable Forgiveness, Eternal life a width and length and depth and height that cannot be measured. Do the math bro, even Einstein couldn’t find the total sum of our Fathers love there is more love than we can compute, no human can fully count the width and length and depth and height of His love for us!!

But let us look at this immeasurable, incalculable, inestimable, fathomless, infinite & never ending love that He has for us.

We can see the width of His love by the fact that Jesus is always ready to receive us into His love. Even when He went to His death on the cross we could see the width of His arms and how His hands were open for us in a position to receive us even in His death and even today bro they are open to receive us. In His suffering He was making Himself available to us and for us and even today when we grieve Him He would still suffer for us even in our worst sinful condition. There is a measurement of the width of His love for us by going to the cross on our behalf. The length of how long He loves us, His longsuffering towards us, even when we fall away He never moves away, He is steadfast in His love for us. His word says “Draw near me and I will draw near you”. The depth of His love which says He was willing to go to the pit hell for us if we made our bed there, behold You are there. He was willing to go to the depth of death not by our measure but His. Sacrifice His absolute perfection, for us, by allowing Himself to be separated from the Father for us on account of us…  He loves us to the height of heaven and eternity that is His height to which He loves us… He rose up from death to the heights of heaven to claim us and to claim victory for us that is how much He loves us. How can we ever get to the end of His love for us? His love for us goes for eternity. His love is the only answer to all our problems no matter where we find ourselves today and He is the only One who can answer us and deliver us in time of need. He is the only One who can forgive our sins and cleanse us from our sins because He loves us forever with a true love that cannot be measured… As Christ dwells in our hearts through faith, may we be filled with all the fullness that God has for us as His children being rooted having all of our needs supplied through His love for us and grounded in the foundation we have in our Lord and Savior Christ Jesus.

Proverbs 27:17 As iron sharpens iron, So a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.

Hebrews 3:13  "But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness." 

Have you ever noticed when you are down or discouraged how a few words of encouragement shared with you can change your whole attitude and outlook? It can change your countenance in a split second and to be able to be someone who God has given the gift as an Encourager is so powerful and more so to be the receiver of those encouraging words. What an effect the words of an encourager can have upon us. I read a story about some amateur runners in a small town who were in a triathlon and a lot of them said that they wanted to quit running the race because they were so discouraged and did not think they could make it to the finish because it was so brutal on them, however most of them did finish and the reason they said they made the finish line was not because they were superb athletes, but because of encouragement they received from complete strangers standing along the route along the way. People were cheering them on telling them not to give up that they were so close to the finish line and that they were doing great and they could make it to keep going to cross that finish line. A lot of times in our lives in the struggles we go through, the trials we are facing, the financial strains- unpaid bills, escalading costs of everything, the troublesome relationships we might be in, the children that are giving our hearts grieve, job security or a boss who seems to not like you and has it in for you, not knowing or understanding what God is doing in your life right now, you want to quit every one of these races that are going on in your life those things that are pressing in on us and seem so unbearable we feel like those runners we are ready to quit, throw in the towel, walk away from it all, bail out and not look back, not even try an debate it in our mind let alone even consider praying but just stop and drop it like a bad transmission…even when we are so close to the finish line. I too have felt like that many times in my life. But God does not want us to give up so easily but to persevere, in fact if you look closely at your life you will see Him along the route of your life races He is there cheering you along with prayers and words of encouragement and love, in most cases you will find Him carrying you across that finish line in those times when you cried out for help, yeah that was the Lord that got you through that... You will see Him send encouragement through a friend or a perfect stranger that He sent to give you a message of encouragement a word to change your countenance and attitude to lift you up so you so you can run the race with endurance. Have you ever received that phone call from an old friend or ran into someone you have not spoken to in a long while and the first thing out of theirs mouths is great words of encouragement and comfort that you needed to hear to make it through the race towards the finish line, Gods cheerleaders along the route of our lives….   Proverbs 25:11 A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold In settings of silver.

Bros if you are discouraged right now, and feel a lot of the excess weights of life dragging you down, don’t be, the Lord Jesus Christ loves you and He knows your heart and how heavy it might be right now. If you are ever doubting that Jesus can love you and does love you right now or feeling so discouraged from the weight that has ensnared you as you are running the race towards our Lord Jesus Christ remember right now this second Jesus going to the Cross. Think of Jesus hanging on that Cross looking out into that small group that was gathered there before Him on Calvary as He was giving His life up for you and me. For us if that were to be one of us up on that cross we would be pretty discouraged because it would mean death our life was over, especially because without Jesus going to the cross in our place it would have been over... but because He did go in our place is the very reason we are able to be here today, so be encouraged. But also when Jesus died on that cross for you and me it meant life is just beginning for us, rejoice! His death meant life eternally for you and me we were going to live forever with Jesus, He died so we could live that’s how much He loves you bro. Picture yourself at the foot of the cross as Jesus was hanging there suffering for our sins, looking out at you and me in that small group gathered there knowing all of our struggles, thoughts, our hearts and the things we have done in our lives and remember and see how much He loves you bro. Be encouraged today as you remember our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and how committed He is to you and really how He showed that commitment of His love for you, how He persevered even to the

point of death. And even after dying and rising from the dead for us He is forever saying come with me, look to Me, follow Me, obey Me,  believe in Me and receive eternal life I will carry you, I will strengthen you when you are weak, I will comfort you and give you My peace that surpasses all understanding. “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29:11

Bros, I want to leave you with some scriptures that have encouraged me and I know they will be an encouragement to you as well as you meditate on what Jesus did for you and may you be encouraged and lifted up as the Lord ministers to you through His Holy Spirit and through His Word.

Psalm 23 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. 3 He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name's sake. 4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. 5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over. 6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me All the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the Lord Forever.

Psalm 42:6-11 O my God, my soul is cast down within me; Therefore I will remember You from the land of the Jordan, And from the heights of Hermon, From the Hill Mizar. 7 Deep calls unto deep at the noise of Your waterfalls; All Your waves and billows have gone over me. 8 The Lord will command His lovingkindness in the daytime, And in the night His song shall be with me-- A prayer to the God of my life. 9 I will say to God my Rock, "Why have You forgotten me? Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?" 10 As with a breaking of my bones, My enemies reproach me, While they say to me all day long, "Where is your God?" 11 Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; For I shall yet praise Him, The help of my countenance and my God.

Psalm 55:22 Cast your burden on the Lord, And He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved.

Matthew 5:11, 12 "Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. 12 Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

2 Corinthians 4:8-18  We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed-- 10 always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. 11 For we who live are always delivered to death for Jesus' sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. 12 So then death is working in us, but life in you. 13 And since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, "I believed and therefore I spoke," we also believe and therefore speak, 14 knowing that He who raised up the Lord Jesus will also raise us up with Jesus, and will present us with you. 15 For all things are for your sakes, that grace, having spread through the many, may cause thanksgiving to abound to the glory of God. 16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. 17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, 18 while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.

Philippians 4:4-7 Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. 6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Bros, I pray the Lord encourages and lifts you up right where you are at today through His Love for you and towards you and the love that is in you through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior forever- Amen!

Be encouraged because Jesus loves you Bro,

Galatians 5:22- 25  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. 24 And those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.

Real fruit of the Spirit is evident and comes by spending time in the Word of God and on our knees before the Lord Jesus Christ seeking His will for our lives, abiding in Him. Having a right relationship with Jesus and having that right relationship and being exposed to Gods tender love and mercy and grace. Following Him and being taught all His ways and precepts and walking in His truth and His word and led by the Holy Spirit. When we are walking in the Lord’s Will it will be evident in our walk there will be fruit it will be a natural occurrence and fruit bears fruit, but it is the fruit that comes from the Lord not of any of our own doing. You cannot fake the fruit of the Spirit; I know that there are some really good plastic fruits that are very realistic. In fact some look so real looking,  now you may have been over to someone’s house and they have this big bowl of fruit on their table and you look at it and it looks great and real but when you get a closer look you can see that it is not real fruit but plastic. But none the less it fooled you into thinking it was real fruit.

Fortunately, we cannot do that with God, we cannot fake the fruit of the Spirit. If we are being led by the Holy Spirit and walking with the Lord then as a direct result of being exposed to Jesus and His word and spending time with Him in prayer and meditating in and on His word we are being transformed into that same image from glory to glory, just as by the spirit of the Lord and walking in the fruit of the Spirit and bearing the kind of fruit Paul is talking about in Galatians 5:22-23 Also, remember when Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit in Acts chapter 4 he was preaching with boldness and when the Sanhedrin realized the boldness of Peter and John and perceived that they were uneducated and  untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus…. Totally obvious they were filled with the Spirit and walking in the Spirit now we see the fruit of the Spirit because they had spent time with Jesus and it was apparent to all to see and witness this fruit.   

If we are not spending time with Jesus it shows in our walk and talk that means we could have plastic fruit and when bros get close to us they will see and know it is not real but plastic- man made fruit, temporary actor…. Looks good from a distance but when we are around other bros and maybe we come into a time fellowship or just being accountable to one another so we can be pure and holy for the Lord or maybe we meet to break bread or we are asked to pray for another bro they will be able to see if the fruit is real, or if that fruit of the Spirit is really there or if there is even a hint of fruit in our lives, because when you spend time with Jesus it leaves an undeniable witness in your life, bros will be able to realize that you have been with Jesus. Also, they will be able to see if that love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control is real or plastic.

If it is real it will be evident and hold up and last, it will endure as we stay close to the Lord and walk in Him and abide in Him following Him with obedience, endurance and perseverance, trusting in Him, looking to Him, waiting on and in Him. But if it is man made plastic fruit first it is going to look to good to be true because it looks overly ripe and perfect and man always has a habit of over doing things when he is trying to do what only God can do, second it is going to fade away quickly, it will melt and burn as soon as it’s put to the real test to see if it is real fruit of the Spirit when the Son shines on it. He will expose it and not only will it not stand up to the Lord it will fall far away from the tree and it won’t meet the visual test to the bros but especially the spiritual test which will be evident by the real fruit of the Spirit that comes from only God not man. God knows His real fruit of the Spirit, and it will be evident to all who we come in to contact with as well they will notice that first about us, that we have been with Jesus, we may be fooled by plastic fruit in a bowl but no one will be impressed by fake fruit in our walk, nor will the Lord allow it. I am not saying we go around faking it, although it may be easy to impress for a few moments from a distance but upon an up close and personal inspection we can spot plastic fruit, may we all be filled with the Holy Spirit and walk in the fruit of the Spirit to make sure there is real fruit in our walk and knowing this can only come from the Lord and from spending time with Him it will be evident even to unbelievers just like the Sanhedrin realized that about Peter and John.

But we ought not to strive for that plastic fruit which looks beautiful and real and is easy to obtain at every store, that which can be bought with money or acted out with prideful phoniness but will burn up, but that which is real and does indeed come from the Lord Jesus Christ and has indeed been bought with a price by Christ Jesus for you and me. Plastic fruit cannot reproduce itself; man is the one that makes plastic fruit, only real fruit that comes from God can reproduce itself making more fruit, “fruit bears fruit”. Those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. So if we have crucified the flesh, got rid of the fake plastic fruit, now we can be His real fruit and walk in the fruit of the Spirit by Him and through Him our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Make time for Jesus today so bros will realize we have been with Jesus- Amen! You will know them by seeing the fruit of the Spirit, love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law…. Because this fruit cannot be manufactured by man but is a gift that is from God and comes from hanging out with Him and being filled with the Holy Spirit and this fruit is a result of that, spending time with Jesus…. How can you tell if it is plastic fruit?

Jesus said in Matthew 7:20 "Therefore by their fruits you will know them.” Make sure you have the real fruit bros you will know if you are walking in the fruit of the Spirit and if the fruit is real after you have spent time with Jesus it will be real fruit of the Spirit…. Jesus has that kind of influence on us and leaves that kind of impact on and in us, forever changed, forever longing for Him to be filled with His Spirit always walking in His fruit of the Spirit…

Matthew 6:31-34 "Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 32 For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

I think when we worry it’s almost as foolish as the look on Alfred E. Newman’s face is, you know that goofy “What Me Worry” look, I think the gap in his teeth accentuates this look even more, not that gaps are bad … But in reality it is foolish to worry- why do we doubt what Gods word says. We really ought to have that “What Me Worry” “attitude look” though, especially when we are fully trusting Jesus Christ. I once heard that worry is like paying interest on a loan you do not have, that is crazy, why pay interest if you don’t have a loan, the same should go with this then why worry about tomorrow if we don’t know and really haven’t been promised tomorrow, but He says all these things shall be added to you meaning our needs will be met if we do get tomorrow, if He does tarry.

It is so easy to be consumed with the cares of this world and our personal lives and finances. We all are so involved and have such tremendous needs and responsibilities taking care of our families and all that goes with that ministry of love. At the same time most all of us are spoiled living right here in the good ol’ USA, some know this, but others haven’t realized how good we have it here, but we still all worry everyday about our families, jobs, food- where are we eating out tonight… or clothing, which shoes look good with these jeans… or what kind of drink do you want this time with your lunch…, then realizing you could have had a V-8… The world chases after all of these things trying to stay in style…

 But, seriously it does cost a lot of money just to live and get by, so this can be a big worry for anyone of us and usually is I am sure of that even with or without the cost of rising gas prices. But the Lord says not to worry, why we don’t listen to Him on this very important issue is a mystery, maybe not a mystery so much as a trust issue. I think we try in all earnestness to not worry and trust the Lord but when we are in the lack of any of these things or the thick of really fully trusting God when these items or needs to survive become a real issue in our lives, then and only then do we really look to Jesus and we either trust, wait and rest in Him or we worry ourselves silly or crazy which ever you prefer. He goes on to say He knows that we need all these things. Yet, we still worry and then worry some more about future needs and material things, Jesus goes on to say; “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added onto you.” When we do look to God really trusting and waiting on Him in faith, He always delivers, He is never late, He never waivers, He never lets go of us, we ask all according to His will and timing. He says in His word that His children will never have to beg for bread.  Something definitely happens when we look to His kingdom and His righteousness and become totally dependent on Him, it is in these times of waiting on the Lord that He strengthens us and encourages us and builds our faith stronger and teaches us to be fully dependent on Him and in Him and He adds all the things we need on top of everything else He is doing in our lives. He never fails or leaves us… My Pastor once reminded me the Bible is full of people just like me that keep asking the Lord “How Long Lord”… Will I wait…? Until, He answers…

2 Corinthians 4:7-10 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. 8 We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed-- 10 always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.

It’s what is inside of us in our hearts, not what we possess or not what we have physically but rather what we possess spiritually and eternally in our hearts. We don’t have to worry about what’s in front of us or what we see or don’t see- because we have this treasure in earthen vessels so that the excellence of His power might be inside of us and nothing of ourselves. There will always be temporary trials and afflictions- but there will also always be “Jesus Christ the same today, yesterday and forever” and praise the Lord for our Savior! So our choice should be easy; worry before or ahead of or during trials and afflictions or rest in Jesus. He is going to provide for us, all our needs according to His riches and glory- He promised. Seek His Kingdom and His Righteousness, be obedient, follow Him, and abide in Him. Look at what we have in our hearts “Treasure in earthen vessels”. So don’t worry, about what’s in front of you if we are filled with Jesus and His word in our hearts then He is our deliverer. If we are yielded to the Lord Jesus and led by His Holy Spirit then He can and will shine brightly from us. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal in Christ. Make a choice to let Jesus reign in your heart every second of the day instead of worry and the things of this world and let His light shine out of your heart that His Treasure might be seen in this dark world and let the worry’s of this day and this world fall away as you put your trust, faith and hope in Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior. May it be obvious to all those around us who our trust and hope and faith is in, may they see that manifested in our lives and how we respond to each and every trial and affliction and oh those so many daily worries that are all around us in every situation and every opportunity seeking and waiting for us to take hold of us to bring us to that place of despair and hopelessness, but may we though always take hold of Christ Jesus that One and sure trust, His word this Treasure we have in earthen vessels that will deliver us and meet all of our needs in the most intimate of ways because He already knows we have need of all these things to live on this earth, why because He is in us and we are in Him. He is not worried and says we should not worry either; let’s trust Him at His word.

Proverbs 3:11-12 My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, Nor detest His correction; 12 For whom the Lord loves He corrects, Just as a father the son in whom he delights.

As I was driving in a downtown area I was stopped at a signal light and as I waited for the light to change I noticed a street drunk hanging onto the fence about eight to ten feet away from me in my car. He was holding a clear liter Pepsi bottle that appeared to be half full of beer. I guess he thought he was so clever having his beer disguised in that bottle as he took a swill. I thought this guy is pitifully drunk as he smiled in a way that really made him seem like what he was doing was just totally normal as he hung onto that fence an weaved back an forth I thought any second he is going to fall over. My heart actually went out to him as I saw his condition as he stood staggering with that look of pride on his face; that he didn’t even realize that he was headed for eternal death and destruction as he was killing his physical body with booze while his spirit and soul had been stolen by the enemy unbeknownst to him. So I rolled down my window and said to him; “Jesus loves you” and without so much as a split second hesitation before I could finish those three words he utterly shot back “What about you?” This caused me to think as the light changed and I rolled away. I thought that is pretty witty for someone to shoot back like that in his drunken state and all, very clever I thought. Then I began to think yeah what about me, do I realize how very much Jesus does love me and were those three words from the Lord, maybe He wanted me to hear that and know that and meditate on this question this street drunk posed to me this day.  What would it take for God to reveal this to me and for me to know that He loves me, would it take a street drunk for me to realize this love He has for me?

You know bros this caused me a lot to think on, and meditate on, as I searched out the meaning of what this street drunk uttered that day, like maybe it had some profound meaning. I thought Lord what are you saying to me if anything at all, I tried to put it out of my mind but the Lord keep putting it on my heart. I began to examine myself before the Lord and say Lord what about me, I know you love me; you died for me on the cross at Calvary. I know I am saved by Your grace and not because of any wonderful thing that I might do or think of doing or could ever say or even think. And I know because you first loved me that is why I love You. And the fact that You forgave and continue to forgive me for all my sins and supply all my need according to Your riches in Glory by Christ Jesus.

Bros I want to share this with you; I can tell you these last few months have been a great trial for me, the Lord has allowed and continues to allow me to go through some very difficult and sometimes very painful times as of lately and as I have been praying and really just asking God to show me and teach me what it is He wants me to learn. And bros really that has been the heart of my prayer always Lord teach me all Your ways and precepts. This season I am currently in the midst of well let me say it has been a struggle but not one without an answer from the Lord, but the answer or learning was slow in coming to say the least. I felt like the Lord was not hearing my prayers and that He was not answering my calls as I petitioned to Him, as I cried out to Him morning, noon and night and then throughout the whole day I prayed to the Lord. Seeking some sort of an answer, some relief to all this suffering and why He was allowing me the trials week by week, day by day, hour by hour, moment by moment and finally every second it seemed this trial was lingering and not letting up one bit. I thought to myself Lord You have always delivered me even when I thought You weren’t going to make it You saved me at the eleventh hour, the very moment when I could not have lasted another second You came through in the twinkling of an eye and delivered me from whatever I was up against. But this time You were waiting and You waited for me to get it and I just could not get what You were trying to teach me even as the more I cried out the less I seemed to understand Your ways and why You would allow me this great suffering and trial in my life and not bring relief in some form as a response to my prayer. But You knew that I hadn’t got it yet and You allowed me to endure some more and finally that morning you woke me up before four AM and as I went to my prayer table and sought You my heart welled up with tears from the heaviness You had allowed me to have buildup during the preceding months and now fresh home from a weekend ministry outreach remembering before I left I had asked You Lord please use this time to reveal to me what it is You want me to learn. I went and served and came back and then as I wept before the Lord at my prayer table. Then and only then, suddenly did the Lord reveal to me in a way as only the Lord can reveal and bring to fruition that which He had been patiently waiting for me to receive and learn and only then would this all make sense to me and now even what the street drunk had said to me “what about you?” It was not that He was slow in answering me, but rather He was patient in waiting for me to learn so He could give me the answer….

The Lord showed me through His Word and Holy Spirit that as the harvesters thresh the wheat or beat the wheat to remove or separate it from the husks and then take the winnowing fork and toss it up in the air in the afternoon or evening breeze to remove the chaff or that which is worthless from the kernels of wheat so too was He doing that to me. He showed me sometimes it takes a beating to remove things from our heart, sometimes our flesh hangs onto things and we have to go through what we might consider a beating a threshing and when we finally receive it and learn from it and grow from it He takes away those things in our flesh just like the harvesters with the winnowing forks tossing up the kernels of wheat all the chaff or sins of the flesh blows away in the wind. You see as the chaff is the outer layer or shell that really covers the heart of the wheat kernel and sometimes we have a hardness of our flesh or covering just like that chaff that is not allowing the Lord to have full access to our hearts and sometimes this cover or layer has to be beat loose, it does not belong there it has to be removed it is worthless and acts as a shield so as not to allow the things of the Lord to penetrate deep into our hearts and once we allow the Lord to work in us and remove it by whatever means or give Him access to remove it, when He accomplishes His will in our hearts and lives then He just blows it away just like that and its gone like the chaff in the wind from glory to glory bros. Well that’s what He used this street drunk to tell me that day; that He loves me of course, but He doesn’t love my flesh in the condition it was in not to say that it is totally perfected today because it won’t be until I see Him. But He burnt some flesh away and maybe that is where you might find yourself today wondering “What about You” does Jesus Love you and the answer is yes and He will meet you right where you are at right now and He will show you and speak to your heart today even like He spoke to me in a most unusual way using a street drunk to utter those three words to convict and bring about change and it all makes sense to me now especially when His love is revealed to us in a very special but sometimes severe way. He wants to get our attention so we can know what area we are being corrected and He knows what it takes to get our focus fully on His ways, abiding in Him. The same way a father, chastens his children so too the same our Father in heaven chastens us and praise the Lord He does because even though painful for a season it shows how much he really does love me… And I can tell that street drunk today in love that yes Jesus does love me too, but, “What about you?”