The True Blessings of Job

Job 1:11

 

11But now, stretch out Your hand and touch all that he has, and he will surely curse You to Your face!"

 

Many seek the book of Job when financial trouble hits. They see themselves as walking the road and in the shoes that Job had walked. But the entire premise of Job's trial was because he had been faithful to God, serving and doing what God had asked of him. The trial was not because Job had faltered, not because Job was proud and lacked humility, not because Job was disobedient. Job was a model of what God desires of us all in the body of Christ.  Satan attacked Job's character because in his deceitful eyes, Job was only serving God because God had blessed him immensely. Satan wanted to prove that if God allowed Satan to remove all that Job had been blessed with not just financially but the love of those he held dear, Job would no longer serve Him. Indeed, a character assassination, defamation of character, presumption and outright lie. God knew that no matter what, Job would still call Him God, Abba, Jehovah Jireh. Job's family was struck, his property, finances and his health, but Satan was not allowed to kill him. When God is under attack, you are part of His family so that means you also come under attack. It's a covenant, taking the bad along with the good. But if you really read the book of Job, for the majority of the book, Job is at the point of despair where he wishes God would just take him in order to spare him the pain. He would rather die than to curse the God whom he loves. Job spends the bulk of the book defending himself against the very ones who are supposed to comfort him. Again, the character assassinations and presumptions. During the scolding of Job by his friends and family, not once do you notice them seeking God on Job's behalf, interceding, or asking God how they are to comfort their friend Job. They are responding to Job's despair based on human factors and their own knowledge. Isaiah 55:8 says "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways, says the Lord."  Proverbs 3:5-6 says "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths." Job's friends and family did exactly the opposite. When God answered Job's questions to shed light, He reminded him that He has ALL power. In the end, Job forgave and prayed for those who hurt him during his trial. He still interceded out of love for them though they were speaking to Job in their arrogance. It takes a lot to pray for those who have hurt you. Because your prayer has to be from a place of love at all times for God to receive it. Many people want the blessing but don't want to take the trial that comes before the blessing. So with it I say, are you sure you want to know the true blessings of Job?

 

Thank you to my loving Pastor, Rev. Medric C. Mills, III  who recently preached on Job from a different place to shed light and to my loving Assistant Pastor, Prophetess Rev. Williams to shed light on what it means to take the cuts.

The Roughest Season

Ecclesiastes 3:1

 

1To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven:

 

A season is defined by Merriam-Webster's Dictionary as a period of the year marked by a particular activity, event or holiday. The United States, especially the Midwest, South and East Coast have been hit very severely this winter. It seems as though it's been the roughest winter in several years. It is has been long and drawn out.  But has the rough season of winter hit in your life somewhere? Does it seem as though you've shoveled much snow in an area or all areas of your life, and then hit with more? This is no coincidence. You are experiencing winter not just meteorologically. You are in the coldest period. However, where there is an extreme winter, know that there is a plentiful spring that gives birth to new and abundant life.

 

The good news is the season is almost over. That's right, it's just a season. Your new season full of life and bloom is on the way. Are you preparing for it? Are you making plans? Or are stuck because you can't see past the snow drifts that exist right now? Snow melts. Your drifts are not permanent.  As King Solomon said, to everything there is a season.  It will pass. God is still keeping you in this rough season. Hold on because you are about to pass your test of faith.

"Guess Who Loves You More?"

1John 4:9-10

 

9In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that we might live through Him. 10In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

 

"Guess Who Loves You More?" is the title of a song from the Love Experience CD by my former High Point High School Class of 93' Eagle mate, Raheem DeVaughn. Some of you may know the R&B/Neo-Soul artist from the Washington, DC area. His song focuses on a man who has carried a torch of love for a woman for a long time yet she has never known it. The word around town is that the woman has given her boyfriend his walking papers and Raheem is singing about stepping up to the plate. He explains just how much he loves the woman and all that he will do to show her.

 

We are in the "commercialized" season of love where love is declared by all types of tokens that usually involve a financial profit to some form of business. However, there is one who loves you more. It is not your significant other or spouse. Men, it is not the woman who follows you like a lost puppy dog who does what you tell her to do without using her own mind to earn the top spot of your affection.  It's not even your children who run to you when you open that front door. It's not your mother or father who loving brought you into this world. It's not your favorite aunt or grandmother who spoils you with your favorite meal when you come for a visit. It's not any of your friends who have been there through thick and thin. The Word says in Proverbs that there is "one who sticks closer than a brother." The cat or dog that waits in your window swishing their little tail, still cannot compare.

 

One of my ultimate favorite Christian love songs is by a group called Commissioned. And the song is dubbed, "More Than I". The group of men sing about all they desire to do for the woman they love and want to be with but the love they offer is just from an ordinary man with an ordinary heart. And that there is one who loves her more and can show her even greater. That one is God.

 

Guess who loves you more? Yes, God. As the scripture stated above,  He loves you SO MUCH that HE gave up the only Son birthed through a woman and His Holy Spirit for you. Jesus is the model of love in that He took your place of death from sin. Not many would die for another, but Jesus did it for you and I. Guess who loves your more? So as you celebrate the Valentine's weekend or not, remember that there is one who loves you more and does so beyond a second, minute, hour, day, week, month or year.

 

P.S. I know you may be wondering when the messages will return to their daily schedule. That schedule has ALWAYS been subject to God. It is according to His time not mine. God Bless You for your faithful reading and acknowledgement.

God Has Spoken

Psalm 62:11

 

11God has spoken once, twice I have heard this: that power belongs to God.

 

In the psalm David recounts how much he relies on the Lord  and twice he says he will not be moved. His enemies were coming at him with swiftness but God is his defense and salvation. Power belongs to God. God has spoken. GOD has the FINAL say over anything that occurs in your life if you believe God, love God and love HIS Son, Jesus Christ. No matter what enemy attempts to do something evil toward you, God has the power to turn it around and make it work for HIS good which will give HIM glory and show everyone HIS power. God is still in control. It is sometimes hard to receive these words when you are getting hit left and right, as many are in the Kingdom right now. But God is still in control. God has spoken to you and for you. Jeremiah 29:11 says For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not evil, to give you a future and a hope. Power belongs to GOD and no devil in Hell or imp he attempts to use in the earthly realm can stop the one who created the world and everything in it.

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"Let's Talk About Sex!"

1Corinthians 6:19

 

19Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?

 

90's Hip Hop connoisseurs know the title of today's message from the female trio Salt N Pepa. It crossed over and hit pop charts in many countries and continents. The purpose of the song was to talk about "safe sex" and to mimic the taboos around sex. Sex was created by God for the enjoyment of man and woman in a covenant relationship and for procreation. Sex has quite a lengthy reference in the Old Testament book Song of Solomon or Song of Songs depending on what version of the Bible you have. In Song of Solomon, the references to courting, marriage, sex and intimacy between King Solomon and the Shulamite woman are also an allegory to the relationship God desires to have with each us, a very intimate one. In Corinthians the apostle Paul addressed those in the Corinthian church who tried very hard to justify their continued behavior of sex outside of marriage a.k.a. fornication, with the notion that they have freedom to do so even in Christ. Sidebar, the word fornicator is derived from the Greek word pornous which is where we get the word porn. And in Hebrews 13:4 the fornicator denoted in the scripture is not just referencing sex but anything that is immoral or outside of the relationship with God. The apostle Paul breaks it down for the Corinthians as to what "becoming one" means. Let's talk about the act of sex. Now many know that sex in the physical sense is the combining of two bodies becoming one in a rhythm for a time. But what you may not realize is that the oneness doesn't just occur in the natural or physically. It also occurs spiritually. So you, who house the Holy Spirit from God within you, have now taken into yourself, without the authority of God whose stamp is on you, another person's spirit which may not be of the Holy Spirit. And even if they do, they may not be delivered from other spirits that live within them whether it be from all the others they have slept with, generational issues or whatever they may be into that is not of God. Now, you, being a member of the Body of Christ have now just allowed those others spirits or deadness into your body, your mind and your spirit. There is transfer of a spirit just like bodily fluid. So when God begins to speak to you later through the Holy Spirit, guess what He now has to contend with? That's right, all the other spirits and deadness you have allowed to enter you besides what He knew was already there. So then there is confusion and turmoil within you and you are trying to discover who is speaking to you. Once you said yes, to God and His Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ, you agreed that Jesus would be Lord of your life and that means now that Christ, paid a price for you with His blood so you belong to Him, God the Father and God the Holy Spirit. By having sex with one that God did not ordain for you and/or at the improper time, you have now allowed yourself to be hacked and hinder the work the Holy Spirit desires to do in you and through you which is for the benefit of His glory and meant to bless others. You hinder not only your own progress but that of anything God wishes to do through you because He has to do a continuous spiritual virus scan, sweep and data dump of anything that is not of His spirit. That is why God doesn't want you to be unequally yoked or to be with an unbeliever. To knowingly do so puts you at risk for inner turmoil and other sufferings that you may not have had to endure had you followed Christ's example and God's desire for your life. Everything in your life is supposed to give God glory and praise. But it's hard to praise when you are loaded down with spiritual viruses and the manifestation of everything that you have allowed into you illegally. Stop the hackers in your body, mind and spirit and choose to honor the one whom you said you wanted to be Lord of your life.

An Indifferent Response

Revelation 3:15-16

 

15"I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. 16So then because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth.

 

In the book of Revelation starting from chapter 1, the apostle John talks of the seven types of churches. These seven types of churches exist today. If you want to know which one you belong to,  you only need to read the Word and evaluate what you have witnessed and maybe partaken in. Rest assured that the Word of God reveals nothing new under the sun regarding who mankind was then and now. For every situation, there is an applicable word. In the NKJ Study Bible, the text reveals that the apostle John was addressing the church in Laodicea also known as Pamukkale. The city  was one of the wealthiest in Phrygia during Roman rule and was known for banking, it's medical school and textile industry as the study Bible reveals. The study Bible reveals that the cities only drawback was an inadequate water supply. Hmmm....a physical deficit that mirrors the spiritual one. Jesus says to the woman at the well that He is "living water." A place of great wealth as the apostle John quotes, 'I am rich, have become wealthy and have need of nothing'. And yet, the basic is missing. The works of the people and its church show that neither they desire God nor that they don't. In other words, complete indifference. The apostle Paul addresses Timothy in 2Timothy 2:12 with a 'faithful saying,' If we deny Him, He also will deny us. But to be lukewarm or indifferent is the same as neither claiming nor denying. Does this sound like a courtroom answer to you? A witness who will neither claim nor deny a statement for fear of incriminating themselves on the witness stand. But the point of being a witness is to give a first hand account or knowledge of something. However, an indifferent response to anything about the Lord whether word or deed shows absolutely nothing. And God's response is that He rebukes and chastens those He loves and He commands they be zealous and repent. Is God asking the same of you? Have you been indifferent with Him and anything concerning Him whether in word or deed? Have you been like the witness in the courtroom saying, "I will neither claim nor deny,"? All in attempts to keep from incriminating yourself one way or the other. You are in a new year and God wants a new you. God wants your heart more than whatever dollar amount you can present. God wants your heart to be so strong for Him that nothing can stand in the middle of you two without experiencing your strong bond together. But if you want to deny Him, do so and be done with it for at least it will be clear where you stand and you will see where He stands when your time comes. Make a decision as to whom you will serve and then do so.

"The Problem is Choice"

Genesis 2:16-17

 

16And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, "Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; 17but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die."

 

We know that Adam was the first human son of God however he was not born of woman and the Holy Spirit as Jesus. Jesus was begotten because he was produced as an effect or outgrowth and was fathered by the Holy Spirit.  Adam was created from dust and dirt which is what we shed each day.

 

Adam was given a directive by God in the Garden of Eden to stay away from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. But as Neo said to the Source in the film, The Matrix, "The problem is choice."  The problem was choice but so was the solution. The problem here wasn't that the serpent approached Eve as many would like to believe. The problem was choice. How so? God gave specific instructions for Adam and Eve not to touch that particular tree. Yes, the serpent provided conflicting information than what Adam and Eve had received. However, the problem was they allowed doubt to creep in and they chose to ignore the directive given by God though He already presented them with the consequence of making the wrong choice. The serpent, who is the enemy of our souls, doesn't stop there, he makes the obviously wrong choice look appealing. But the fact remains, as the NKJ Study Bible states, "Both the man and woman sinned through listening to another created being rather than to God." What is choice? Merriam-Webster's Dictionary defines it as 1)the act of choosing: selection 2) the power or opportunity of choosing: option 3) the best part 4) a person or thing selected 5) a variety offered for selection. We are the only living creatures God gave the ability to think and reason. We are the only ones to whom God gave the power of choice. For every choice there are rewards or consequences. Merriam-Webster's Dictionary defines rewards as 1)something given in return for good or evil done or received for some service or attainment 2) a stimulus that is administered to an organism after a response and that increases the probability of occurrence of the response. Our society refers to rewards as something good. So a reward for doing something right. But a consequence is often seen as something bad. Consequence as defined by Merriam-Webster's Dictionary is a 1) result 2)importance, effect, outcome or aftermath.

 

The question for you, "Have you been listening to God or to a created being?" Yes, God can speak through others but God speaks to you directly just as much but do you pay attention? Has God spoken to you directly on what to do or not to do? Did you make a choice to not listen to Him? Did you make a choice regardless of the consequences presented to you? Did you think you would be rewarded positively for your choice? Have you suffered negative consequences from your choices? What have you learned as a result? Or do you still not see the problem? Sometimes options are nothing more than diversions from God's truth? Sometimes the question of "did God really say that," is nothing more than the enemy creating doubt in your mind so you will be conflicted enough that you will cheat yourself out of your rewards and blessings just as Satan did. His main objective is to cheat you out of your inheritance as he lost his. Lucifer was once an angel of the Lord. He was the chief angel. He lost his inheritance to be in the kingdom of God and all God's glorious riches all because he wanted to show he was equal to or better than God. So if Satan can assist in opening the door so you will cheat yourself out of your inheritance the way he lost his, then he will have gained what he desired which is misery loves company or the crab in the barrel mentality. As you end the year, think about the choices you have made. Did  you listen to God or did you make the choice to be influenced by someone else? How's that working for you? Jesus is giving you another opportunity to move in the correct direction if you haven't previously because of His shed blood. Is it time for you to reconsider how you make choices?  The solution is also your choice.