A Discerning Heart

1Kings 3:9
9So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours?

How awesome is it to have a leader that seeks God? Isn't it wonderful to know that a leader such as the great King Solomon was humble enough to know he couldn't do it alone? King Solomon asked for a discerning heart. What does it mean to discern? Merriam Webster's Online Dictionary defines it as:

1a : to detect with the eyes <discerned a figure approaching through the fog> b : to detect with senses other than vision <discerned a strange odor>

2: to recognize or identify as separate and distinct : discriminate <discern right from wrong>

3: to come to know or recognize mentally discern his motives>

intransitive verb

: to see or understand the difference

To discern is to be able to separate right from wrong. God has given every man and woman the knowledge of right and wrong. However, there are to some, God has given a greater ability to see past what is said and what is done and to see the motive behind such. To see the spirit that is operating in a situation allows one to respond with wisdom. For it is this that King Solomon asked for. He wanted to be able to not only know right from wrong as common man but as a leader be able to see beyond what is said and done. God gave him such because he asked for it. Although discernment is a spiritual gifting, which God provides to whom He deems, we can also inquire of God and ask for it. Whatever we ask in His name and believe that He will give us, indeed He will. Like King Solomon, we can go to God. He will give us what we need. So if you are facing a situation that requires more than what you are currently equipped to handle like Solomon, ask God for a discerning heart. Let Him be your guide.

P.S. Join me on November 19th for the anniversary celebration of John 3:16 Christian Bookstore in Lanham, MD! I will be signing books, taking pictures and hugging babies from 1-4pm.

Beyond Boundaries

John 9:32-33
32"Nobody has ever heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind. 33If this man were not from God, he could do nothing."

There are some things that can only be explained as God. Jesus healed the man that had been born blind. It was assumed the man or his parents sinned in order for him to be blind. No one considered the fact that he was struck with an infirmity so that at the appointed time, Jesus could display the Glory of God. The Pharisees were more fixed on the idea that Jesus healed the man on the Sabbath. According to the law, it was unlawful to do such work on a sacred day. The Pharisees, though obviously curious of the miraculous sign, would rather overlook such a sign to stick to their traditions. The man once blind was questioned over and over. As he thought more about what happened to him and the same question being rephrased, he could only explain that Jesus had to be from God. We sometimes miss the miracle of what God is doing in and around us because we're hung up on technicalities. We attempt to put God in a box but God built the box so He very well can't fit in it. God is beyond boundaries of our minds. If it were so, most things in this world would not have been. God is about order yes, but His order, not ours. He's about expanding our minds to understand Him not shrinking himself to fit our minuscule compartmentalized boxes. When we open the box, we will see so much more. Miracles happen everyday. What miracles has God performed in your life that you've overlooked?

P.S. Remember to tune in on Saturday to my man V of the Artist to Artist Show on www.Qliveone.com at 8:30am CT, 2:30 & 8:30pm CT and catch the Get Your JOY In The Morning segment! Also tune in on Sunday to my girl Stubbs of the Leap of Faith Show at www.leapoffaithshow.com from 6-10am ET and catch the Get Your JOY In The Morning segment every hour on the hour as well as on Monday-Wednesday from 6-9am ET!

A Battle Lost

1Samuel 20:3
3But David took an oath and said, "Your father knows very well that I have found favor in your eyes, and he has said to himself, 'Jonathan must not know this or he will be grieved.' Yet surely as the Lord lives and as you live, there is only a step between me and death."

The evil spirit the Lord caused to fall upon King Saul for his disobedience was very well aware of the Lord's plan to have David succeed as king. David did not ask for it but God decided the kingship should be his because David would be more faithful. So it's plan was to kill David at every opportunity it received. It was a jealous spirit. For David did everything twice as good as Saul but David respected and served Saul regardless. David was aware of the attacks against him but getting Jonathan to see that his father meant him harm took a test. Jonathan felt his father shared everything with him so he would know of such a plot. But Jonathan later found out that what David said was true. King Saul had every intention of getting rid of David. Once King Saul knew he was being tested, he immediately attempted to kill Jonathan for siding with David and threatened Jonathan that David as king would take his succession. Jonathan's oath to David surpassed the threat. For he knew David did nothing wrong. It was solely the anointing and favor God placed on David that Saul was jealous of. Saul once had the favor of God on him but he lost it because he was disobedient. God bestows favor on whom He chooses. What Saul did was ensure his own death in the end. Saul continued to be disobedient and judgement was brought upon him. David did not harm Saul though he could have but he recognized that God had once appointed Saul and it was only God that should remove him. Saul attempted to blame David over something that would eventually happen because it was Saul's own disobedience that caused his downfall. How many of us know those that refuse to take responsibility for their actions? Could we be guilty of this? Saul failed to understand that God's will would be done. He lost his life finding out. We can only fight against God's will for so long before it becomes a battle lost for us.

What is it That Man Gives?

John 5:44
44How can you believe if you accept praise from one another, yet make no effort to obtain the praise that comes from the only God?

Jesus spoke to the Jewish leaders who studied the scriptures with such precision but didn't recognize Him for who he was. The leaders spent more time praising one another and were willing to accept anyone with a title. But they weren't as concerned with pleasing God. All the praise in the world from man still cannot compare to that from our heavenly father. There is nothing wrong being recognized by man but it must be kept in perspective. Our heavenly father can reward like no other. Our lives ought to be lived not just for seeking rewards from God but because we love Him. But if we, like the Jewish leaders, care nothing about what God thinks of the things we do, say and think, then clearly, God means nothing in our lives. What is in the heart is what comes out of our mouths, which has manifested in our thoughts and eventually turns into actions. When we care more about how man sees us than God, we subject ourselves to the everyday fickleness of man. Man is often double-minded when not routed in the Lord. Man is often looking at painted on masks and glass eyes when dealing with those who refuse to recognize God as the one who should be considered first in everything. What is that man gives that God can't if God created man? God supplies everything including the right people to use as His instruments. Surely, He is worth seeking praise.

Don't Forget God

2Chronicles 33:10-11
10The Lord spoke to Manasseh and his people, but they paid no attention. 11So the Lord brought against them the army commanders of the king of Assyria, who took Manasseh prisoner, put a hook in his nose, bound him with bronze shackles and took him to Babylon.

Manasseh was king of Judah. He became a king very young and soon after forgot the God of his fathers. Manasseh began serving the idols that the enemies worshiped. The Lord warned Manasseh but his failure to listen caused him to be bound by the enemy. He suffered greatly. But it was during his imprisonment by the enemy that he sought the Lord. And the Lord granted mercy and delivered him. Haven't we all been like Manasseh in some way? God blesses us and then we forget that God was the one who placed us in position to receive His favor (overflow of blessings). And then God has to remind us like Manasseh who's really in charge. Sometimes the Lord will allow our enemies to overtake us in an effort to bring us back to Him. If we're distressed, many of us will call on God because we know he can deliver us. Like Manasseh, our heartfelt plea can be heard if we confess to our mistake. Once we do, God will set the wheels in motion to turn things back in our favor like He did Manasseh. We don't have to stay in misery. We can REPENT AND SEEK GOD!


P.S. Tun into the Leap of Faith Show with Stubbs at www.leapoffaithshow.com and listen for the Get Your JOY In The Morning segment every hour on the hour from 6-9am Mon-Wed and Sun 6-10am

By Faith

Hebrews 11:30
30By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the people had marched around them for seven days.

Can you imagine a wall that surrounded a city falling after a nation of people marched around it seven times a day for seven days? Joshua had taken over the role as leader of the Israelites. God told him they were going to take possession of the land. Basically, God was going to give them the land after they followed a few short instructions. The Israelites and especially their leader, Joshua, had to believe that no matter how much sense it didn't make, it was necessary to follow God's instructions. The priests sounded the trumpet on that finally day and the wall came down. The walls back then were not like the flower water walls that are put up in a matter of days now. The walls of Jericho were solid. The miracle of the wall falling is great indeed but the example of moving in faith based on God's instructions is also great. The Israelites certainly wanted their promise but in order to get to their promise they had to be willing to follow God. They had to be willing to do something that seemed strange to a man's natural eye. But they didn't have to battle. All they had to do was march around it and the priests were to sound the trumpet. God moved out of their willingness to finally be attentive and walk in faith. When is the last time God told you to do something that didn't make sense to a man's natural eye? When is the last time you did anything by faith? What was the result?

God Does Not Forget

Jeremiah 9:4
4Beware of your friends;
do not trust your brothers.
For every brother is a deceiver,
and every friend a slanderer.

Jeremiah the prophet was distressed by the people. He was distressed because they lived in deceit. He echoed words that reflected Jacob's efforts to steal his brother Esau's birthright. Jacob deceived his father Issac because he desired to have the favor of Esau as first born. Brother deceived brother. Jacob did not get away with what he done. That was indeed Jeremiah's point. No one gets away with deception and slander. In the story of Jacob, Jacob is later deceived by one he bargained with. Jacob served for seven years to marry Rachel but their father deceived him while he was drunk and forced him to marry Leah. Jacob deceived his father against sibling and so in turn a father deceived Jacob with a sibling. My God, for his law of reaping and sowing is given. We must learn to treat each other well. We must learn that God does not delight in such acts. If one deceives or slanders, unless one is truly remorseful and seeks forgiveness, God does not forget. And God's punishment is just.

P.S. Remember to check out the Artist to Artist Show with my man V, Saturday on www.Qliveone.com at 8:30am CT, 2:30 and 8:30pm CT and listen for the Get Your JOY In The Morning segment. Also tune in on Sunday to Stubbs at www.leapoffaithshow.com from 6-10am ET and listen for the Get Your JOY In The Morning segment, every hour on the hour as well as Monday-Wednesday from 6-9am ET.