1Kings 18:43
43"Go and look toward the sea," he told his servant. And he went up and looked. "There's nothing there," he said. Seven times Elijah said, "Go back."
Elijah challenged those who worshipped the god Baal. King Ahab worshipped Baal but actually wavered between opinions. Sometimes he served the Lord God and sometimes he served Baal. Elijah was sent to challenge the prophets of Baal to show them who the real GOD is. He challenged them using wood, an offering to the Lord and lots of water. Whichever burned up the sacrifice with supernatural fire would be considered the one true God. And the maker of heaven and earth, the Great I am, won the challenge. Now up until this time there had been a drought throughout the land because of the sin. Elijah had prayed and the rain on the land had stopped. Once the challenge was over and the God of Elijah, our God, showed himself strong, everyone confessed. Because of this, Elijah went to the top of Carmel and prayed that God would lift the curse of drought. Elijah believed and though his servant didn't see the rain cloud yet, it was on it's way. And just before the rain cloud burst open, the sky went black. Many have been waiting for the clouds to break and for the promises of God to pour out. The physical manifestation of what God was doing wasn't visible to the naked eye but it would be. Just like Elijah's servant, though we can't see them yet, they're already here. Continue to watch and pray as Elijah did with confidence that they're here. And before you know it, the sky will go black just before he pours them out. What are you waiting for? If the Lord promised it, it's already here. You just can't see it with the naked eye yet.
P.S. Remember to check out my man V of the Artist to Artist Show on www.Qliveone.com and listen for the Get Your JOY In The Morning segment!
Friday, February 3, 2012
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Strange Fruit
Matthew 7:21
21"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
Jesus said it himself. Everyone who calls Him by name is not going to heaven! We'd like to think that everyone goes to heaven but it is not so. Now it is not for us to determine who goes where but that decision belongs to Jesus on judgement day. Jesus educated the crowd on those who are not true. He said we would know them by their fruit. Everything about them is false. Some will claim they are prophets sent by God but are nothing more than those who seek to get our attention away from the Lord. To be known by one's fruit is one's life and the results. One who bears good fruit lives a godly life and it shows. One who says they are this or that, it will show without them having to say a word. We think of strange fruit when we cannot figure out the origin but the Holy Spirit ALWAYS knows the origin. Evidence of bad fruit, just as Jesus stated, starts in the form of lies. It goes down hill from there with deceit, untrustworthy, etc. Can these things be changed? Of course if one is willing to turn their life over to Jesus but the sincere desire for repentance must be present. If there's no evidence of true repentance and a desire to walk the right way, it's still bad fruit and must be cut down.
P.S. Check out my girl Stubbs on the Leap Of Faith Network at www.leapoffaithshow.com! A HUGE thank you to the Church Beat Radio family at www.churchbeatradio.com for their support in giving away copies of Get Your JOY In The Morning during the Top 10 Countdown!
21"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
Jesus said it himself. Everyone who calls Him by name is not going to heaven! We'd like to think that everyone goes to heaven but it is not so. Now it is not for us to determine who goes where but that decision belongs to Jesus on judgement day. Jesus educated the crowd on those who are not true. He said we would know them by their fruit. Everything about them is false. Some will claim they are prophets sent by God but are nothing more than those who seek to get our attention away from the Lord. To be known by one's fruit is one's life and the results. One who bears good fruit lives a godly life and it shows. One who says they are this or that, it will show without them having to say a word. We think of strange fruit when we cannot figure out the origin but the Holy Spirit ALWAYS knows the origin. Evidence of bad fruit, just as Jesus stated, starts in the form of lies. It goes down hill from there with deceit, untrustworthy, etc. Can these things be changed? Of course if one is willing to turn their life over to Jesus but the sincere desire for repentance must be present. If there's no evidence of true repentance and a desire to walk the right way, it's still bad fruit and must be cut down.
P.S. Check out my girl Stubbs on the Leap Of Faith Network at www.leapoffaithshow.com! A HUGE thank you to the Church Beat Radio family at www.churchbeatradio.com for their support in giving away copies of Get Your JOY In The Morning during the Top 10 Countdown!
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
From Unexpected Places
1Samuel 3:12
12At that time I will carry out against Eli everything I spoke against his family--from beginning to end.
The young man Samuel, who would be known as a prophet, heard from the Lord for the first time. Who knows what it felt like to have to repeat a judgement that God declared against the very man who was teaching him. For Samuel, it took several times for him to understand that it was the Lord calling him to give him a word. It marked the start of Samuel's personal relationship with the Lord. Samuel could no longer rely on the priest Eli as intermediary with the Lord. He had to know the Lord for himself, especially because of what the Lord revealed. Eli received a confirming word from the young one whom he mentored. Eli first received word from a man of God just after he scolded his 2 sons for their behavior against God in His own place of worship. Eli allowed the scandalous behavior to go on so long before he confronted them. For his hesitation to correct their disobedience, God pronounced judgement. Samuel was given the same word to confirm for Eli that the Lord would do what He said He would. When we receive something from the Lord He sends a confirmation. For some of us He sends it multiple times because we have not yet received it. So the Lord may bring the same word around again and again until we are at a place to receive it. The confirmation is not for the Lord's sake but for our own. We must be ready for whatever the Lord deems and when we are not, He keeps saying it until we are. What has the Lord said to you over and over? Has he used multiple people to do so, including from unexpected places? God does not lie but Satan does so make sure you know it's the Lord voice speaking to you. Are you ready to believe it, receive it and prepare for it?
12At that time I will carry out against Eli everything I spoke against his family--from beginning to end.
The young man Samuel, who would be known as a prophet, heard from the Lord for the first time. Who knows what it felt like to have to repeat a judgement that God declared against the very man who was teaching him. For Samuel, it took several times for him to understand that it was the Lord calling him to give him a word. It marked the start of Samuel's personal relationship with the Lord. Samuel could no longer rely on the priest Eli as intermediary with the Lord. He had to know the Lord for himself, especially because of what the Lord revealed. Eli received a confirming word from the young one whom he mentored. Eli first received word from a man of God just after he scolded his 2 sons for their behavior against God in His own place of worship. Eli allowed the scandalous behavior to go on so long before he confronted them. For his hesitation to correct their disobedience, God pronounced judgement. Samuel was given the same word to confirm for Eli that the Lord would do what He said He would. When we receive something from the Lord He sends a confirmation. For some of us He sends it multiple times because we have not yet received it. So the Lord may bring the same word around again and again until we are at a place to receive it. The confirmation is not for the Lord's sake but for our own. We must be ready for whatever the Lord deems and when we are not, He keeps saying it until we are. What has the Lord said to you over and over? Has he used multiple people to do so, including from unexpected places? God does not lie but Satan does so make sure you know it's the Lord voice speaking to you. Are you ready to believe it, receive it and prepare for it?
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Are You Willing to Drink the Cup?
Mark 10:39
39"We can, they answered. Jesus said to them, "You will drink the cup I drink and be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with,
The sons of Zebedee, James and John, desired to sit at the right hand of Jesus. Jesus wouldn't guarantee them their wish but he did guarantee something else. It was rare for Jesus to not grant someone's desire but in this case, Jesus said the decision belonged solely to God the Father. To "drink the cup I drink" was a very familiar Jewish phrase for "be prepared to go through what I've gone through". Wanting a title, status, wisdom or other spiritual gifts someone has acquired seems ideal but we don't know the price paid to have them. As followers of Christ, Jesus said we would have trials and tribulations but He also said He overcame the world. It means there's a level of sacrifice we have to endure to walk with Him. But we also have to suffer some of the same hatred He endured as well. Jesus was and still is hated by some because He is the light. Who do you represent? When representing Jesus in spirit and in truth the light of Jesus can not be contained. But Jesus overcame in a way no one on earth could ever imagine. And that's the miracle of how He works in the lives of those who are truly willing to follow Him. Are you willing to drink the cup or do you only want the benefits?
39"We can, they answered. Jesus said to them, "You will drink the cup I drink and be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with,
The sons of Zebedee, James and John, desired to sit at the right hand of Jesus. Jesus wouldn't guarantee them their wish but he did guarantee something else. It was rare for Jesus to not grant someone's desire but in this case, Jesus said the decision belonged solely to God the Father. To "drink the cup I drink" was a very familiar Jewish phrase for "be prepared to go through what I've gone through". Wanting a title, status, wisdom or other spiritual gifts someone has acquired seems ideal but we don't know the price paid to have them. As followers of Christ, Jesus said we would have trials and tribulations but He also said He overcame the world. It means there's a level of sacrifice we have to endure to walk with Him. But we also have to suffer some of the same hatred He endured as well. Jesus was and still is hated by some because He is the light. Who do you represent? When representing Jesus in spirit and in truth the light of Jesus can not be contained. But Jesus overcame in a way no one on earth could ever imagine. And that's the miracle of how He works in the lives of those who are truly willing to follow Him. Are you willing to drink the cup or do you only want the benefits?
Monday, January 30, 2012
Don't Look Back
Genesis 19:26
26But Lot's wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.
God was ready to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah. He gave Lot's family time to flee before he destroyed the cities. God destroyed the cities because there was so much wickedness. Lot picked the land that he and his family were to occupy. He did the opposite of his uncle Abraham who decided not to surround himself with the people of the plain but rather in the land of Canaan. Why is this important? As TRUE followers of Christ, we have to be willing not to surround ourselves with the wrong people. Even Lot's daughters had been affected by the bad company that Lot surrounded his family with. His daughters showed the same signs of wickedness after they left Sodom and Gomorrah. In other words, if we want to move forward with our Lord, don't look back. If we want to move forward in anything in life that GOD has directed us to do, DON'T LOOK BACK! Why? Looking back means we don't want to receive what God has for us ahead. Looking back instead of moving forward indicates we don't want to obey God. Looking back means we'd rather stay where we are then moving forward to the next level. We can say we want the next level until we're blue in the face but when God presents it and says move, there's no time to look back and second guess Him. When God says he's going to do something, He doesn't lie. When He says get away from something or you will be destroyed with it, you better believe you should jump ship. Lot's wife was turned to a pillar of salt because she was disobedient and hesitated when God said to move forward. So she remained stuck. Stuck means we can't go anywhere and we have to deal with whatever happens. Just as God wanted Lot's family to move away from Sodom and Gomorrah, what does God want you to move away from and move forward to? When God provides the way out, He's doing it for a reason. Take it. For Lot's wife, it was too late. Don't let it be you.
26But Lot's wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.
God was ready to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah. He gave Lot's family time to flee before he destroyed the cities. God destroyed the cities because there was so much wickedness. Lot picked the land that he and his family were to occupy. He did the opposite of his uncle Abraham who decided not to surround himself with the people of the plain but rather in the land of Canaan. Why is this important? As TRUE followers of Christ, we have to be willing not to surround ourselves with the wrong people. Even Lot's daughters had been affected by the bad company that Lot surrounded his family with. His daughters showed the same signs of wickedness after they left Sodom and Gomorrah. In other words, if we want to move forward with our Lord, don't look back. If we want to move forward in anything in life that GOD has directed us to do, DON'T LOOK BACK! Why? Looking back means we don't want to receive what God has for us ahead. Looking back instead of moving forward indicates we don't want to obey God. Looking back means we'd rather stay where we are then moving forward to the next level. We can say we want the next level until we're blue in the face but when God presents it and says move, there's no time to look back and second guess Him. When God says he's going to do something, He doesn't lie. When He says get away from something or you will be destroyed with it, you better believe you should jump ship. Lot's wife was turned to a pillar of salt because she was disobedient and hesitated when God said to move forward. So she remained stuck. Stuck means we can't go anywhere and we have to deal with whatever happens. Just as God wanted Lot's family to move away from Sodom and Gomorrah, what does God want you to move away from and move forward to? When God provides the way out, He's doing it for a reason. Take it. For Lot's wife, it was too late. Don't let it be you.
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