Love you all, praying for you,
I just love God’s Word. It is truth and life, for whatever stage of life you are in. It’s truth for the rest of your life. That book is living and active, sharper than any double-edged sword, it divides between truth and lie, good and evil, important and superfluous, even the motives of the heart. Are You Single? Are you open to getting married one day? Do you wish you were already married today? If you are single, and a woman, what should your focus be? If you are single and a man, what should your focus be? What should you be doing now in the meantime? I would encourage you to read the Relationship Topic - 11 Things You Need in a Husband – if you’re a man. So you can become what she needs by the time you meet her. If you do, it won’t be a hard sell, it’ll be easy. I pray that you will read the Relationship Topic - 11 Things You Need In A Wife – if you’re a woman. So you can become what He needs by the time you meet him. If you do, he’ll have no doubt, it will be a no-brainer. He’ll have to marry you. He’d be stupid not to! At least he’ll ask, and the choice is yours. Most people read these to find out what their spouse should be for them, rather than what they should be for their spouse. Which one would you read first? What you need, or what they need. Become one before you get one. Some people wonder why can’t I find a good woman? Or Why can’t I find a good man? The answer – is often in the mirror, become one, and you’ll get one. If you are preparing, you can trust God for the timing. If you aren’t preparing, you’re delaying His timing. He might be waiting on you? Don’t make them wait! And if God has you waiting now, in this season, know for sure - they will be worth the wait. So what if you are Single, and a woman? What should your focus be? #1 – Become Christlike – learn to hear and obey. Humble yourself. Kindness and a quiet gentle spirit – is powerful in life, and marriage. If you hear and obey now, it will be invaluable to your husband, who is learning the same. It will bring unity with ease, not struggle. God will lead both you easily. Do PiVAT before dinner walk with someone, learn to obey together. Do PRISM every day, be transformed in your mind, so you are an Esther in your generation. And the man of God that He has for you will be blessed form the day that you meet him, for the rest of his life. #2 – Become what your husband needs. Its probably not what you think. Take the time to learn and become what will be a lifelong blessing to your husband. #3 – Save for the future! For a wedding and a debt-free life – Debt-free house is a debt-free life. No mortgage, no rent. Now is your opportunity. Don’t waste money on stupid stuff, temporary things, you will need those resources for your life together more than your life apart, and what you saved to prepare for your future, you will never regret. Why struggle financially, when you could be like the ant, storing up in summer, because winter is coming. This is even better, store now for your marriage that will be here sooner than you think – as long as you’re not always thinking about it. You will be so glad to have saved for the coming needs of your family, rather than wish you hadn’t blown hundreds or thousands of dollars on fleeting pleasures with people who don’t really love you, who you won’t marry, and with whom you won’t have much contact if any, when you start your family. You will never regret saving for your family needs. It’s your husband’s job to provide, he isn’t marrying you for your career, he doesn’t need you to provide for the family, He does. But whatever you can bring to the table, hopefully savings, not debt. Whatever you can save, you’ll be so glad you did, and you’ll need it more later. So will be grateful that God gave you the wisdom to look ahead toward the future, rather than squander the opportunity to prepare today. So what does your husband need? 1. Sex – When he marries you, you’re his only option. If you don’t want to have sex with him every day for the rest of your life – do not marry him. God has someone for him who wants to, and who will, who values physical and spiritual unity and intimacy in marriage. It’s what God designed for your blessing! Save this precious gift for him. God designed it for marriage, you don’t need to practice, or see if you’re compatible – when God brings the man He created you for, and him for you – that won’t be a problem, it will be a joy. .2. Faithfulness – be faithful to your marriage vows. If you crave the attention of males, instead of being content with the attention of your husband. you’re not marriage material. Don’t screw up someone’s life. Be faithful to your husband – even now. 3. Respect – if you don’t respect him, do not marry him – God has someone else for him. Respect is given even before it’s fully earned. .4. Support – God has a helpmate for him who will believe in him, and support him in whatever God puts his hand to. If he knows you believe in him, he’ll gladly take on the world! And if you will come alongside him, he will be grateful forever. 5. Relationship Peace. – He contends all day long, he doesn’t want to come home and contend with you. Learn the beauty of humility, Godly submission, and great influence. 6. Home Peace - God’s Order brings peace. Learn to live in God’s order not disorder. Regular disposition, the methodical arrangement of things – your room, your car, and your house. 5 Steps of Stewardship. So he can come home to a house of peace, not confusion, chaos, disorder and every evil habit. If you do not know how to live in a house in God’s order, you will not be able to give him a house of peace. Humble yourself. Change. He doesn’t need you to make money. He doesn’t care how great a job you have, or how impressive your career is. (If God calls you to work outside the home, and you can create a home of peace, and children who thrive – he will support you. But he does not need you to have a great career. He needs a wife, not a roommate who will split the costs. He’s capable, and God is faithful. .7. Contentment – You have to love him, more than money. Not always wanting more, pressuring both of you to spend beyond your means. If you aren’t happy with a zero-money date, because you’d rather be with him, then spend money… Then you’re not ready for marriage, or he’s not the one. If you aren’t content now, you won’t be content then. Learn it now. Content isn’t complacent. It’s willing to sacrifice now, to benefit later. So if you’re a man, and you’re single, what should your focus be? #1 – Become Christlike – learn to hear and obey. Humble yourself. PiVAT before dinner, get God’s plans for you, not your plans for you. Because God’s plans are way more than you could ever come up with, and the wife God has for you – will be drawn like moth to the flame, to a man who knows how to hear and obey. That’s security. Money comes and goes, jobs come and go. You can be laid off in a minute – people less effective than you keep their jobs because they’re cheaper. Companies go out of business, war or manufactured civil crisis can eliminate them. But if you can hear God’s voice, and you know His plan for you, that’s the best security there is. She won’t marry you, if she feels unsure, insecure. If your confidence is in God, and His way for you, her confidence will be God in you. Because you listen and follow, you hear and obey. That is the best place she could ever be – pursing God’s purpose and plan with you together. #2 – Become what your wife needs – It’s probably not what you think. Take the time to learn to be what will be a blessing for the wife of a lifetime! #3 – Save for the future! For a wedding, a honeymoon, and a debtfree life – debt-free house is a debt-free life. No mortgage, no rent. You’ll be free to do what God calls you to do, and she’ll be free to do what God calls her to do, what she loves. You’ll be fulfilling your calling, and purpose, not the job you have to stay in to pay the bills. Don’t waste your money on single life with the boys. You’re not going to marry them, they’re gonna get married and focus on their family. Don’t waste your money on stupid stuff, temporary things. Save money to be able to provide for your wife and family. You’ll never regret it. If all she wants is money – that’s not the one for you. But if she is willing to stay with you for richer or poorer, why not save now, to bless her then. Be like the ant they save in the summer and eat well in the winter. You don’t have to be a millionaire to get married, she doesn’t expect that, but she will be grateful for what you have saved for your life together, and God’s purpose for your family. Whatever you think you need now, you’ll be so grateful that you sacrificed now, so you don’t struggle later needlessly. Money issues are the biggest cause for divorce – different priorities and values, the curse of debt, the love of money instead of God and your spouse. Learn to steward God’s money well, Get a 4C’s tool. Be faithful daily, know the condition of your flock, work diligently and let God bring the increase. You’ll need it then more than you need it now, and you will be so glad that you did! Read the Money Packet – know God’s Word on money – so you thrive financially. Just obey with it. God’s got you. He will provide. So what does your wife need? #1 Security – If you are unstable, she will feel the weight of responsibility that belongs on your shoulders. Be diligent – work as unto the LORD. Diligence is the precious possession of a man. It honors God, and it will make your wife proud of you. Learn to be stable emotionally. It doesn’t mean you will never feel down, and she will be with you in the low times. But learn like David, to encourage yourself in the LORD. You should be the strong one, she shouldn’t have to pick you up all the time. You should do that for her. She needs someone she can depend on, not that depends on her. Depend on God, walk with Him, put your faith and trust in Him, and she will feel secure in His love and yours. #2 Listen – If she feels heard, she will feel loved. Let her finish, don’t fix it. Just listening will make her feel loved. Sometimes a hug is what she needs, not a solution. Talk less, listen more. Share your heart, put your hope in God. #3 Be all about her, but not all about her. When you’re married, you’re shopping days are over, you give your entire attention to this one, and forsake all others til death do you part. Some guys get so used to shopping, they can’t stop. Stop looking for a wife, become who God has called you to be, a husband she dreams of - and God will bring her to you. Don’t give away intimate conversations and affections. You wouldn’t want her doing it, so don’t you do it. Stop dating women, you’re not going to marry them. Don’t waste time, money and affection on someone else’s wife. Save your attention for your own wife! But don’t be all about her. Some guys are so consumed with the girl, she wonders if they even have a life. She doesn’t really want to be with you 24/7. She wants to follow where you lead, not wonder when you’ll leave. Get a life, Get God’s plan. Be going somewhere! So she can follow! #4 – Love – She wants to be your first priority, your first thought. She needs someone who will lay down their life for her, she was made that way. Love always protects. Read the love chapter I Corinthians 13. Start with your family members. If you learn to love others, loving your wife will come naturally. Love is sacrificial in every area, time, conversation, intimacy. Learn her needs and ask God how - to help you meet them. Start with your family members, or the elderly neighbor. Ask God to help you see needs and fill them. Point them to Jesus, it’s the love of Christ that compels you. Learn to serve others, and serving your wife will be easy. She’ll notice, and appreciate it. Learn her love language, and ask God to help you fill them all. Start now with your friends. See what they need, and be there for them. #5 – Fun – learn to laugh, don’t take yourself too seriously, learn to do fun things, God is the best spontaneity planner, ask Him, He knows great date nights. Use your words wisely. Never tear down, always build. Your words make your life – and she will be stuck in the life your words create. If your words don’t create a life worth living in, who would want to marry you? Faith is a virtue, Hope is a magnet. Know God’s Word and God’s Promise, and see the hope that He gives, not the waves around you. Fun things don’t always require money. What makes things fun, is people who can enjoy them. Fun people always do fun things. She wants her life to be an adventure with you! #6 – Serve – Jesus said, I have come to serve, not to be served. If you have a humble and Godly wife, she will gladly serve you, but if you are to be the leader of your home, you will need to serve. It’s not her job to do everything around the house. I know you go to work, but she probably does too, at least until children come, and after they do come, she works harder than you no matter what job you have. Help her to carry her load. Give her breaks, take the kids, do the chores, wash the dishes, fold the laundry. One friend of ours said, ‘There’s nothing sexier than a man folding laundry.” Help her feel loved by the action you take. Tell her how valuable she is, and how miserable your life would be without her. So if you’re single – how do you work on this? Serve others. Value them, let them know. Find ways to communicate love to others, family members and friends, and you will learn to see opportunities to serve. #7 Be faithful. That starts now. Don’t spend your energy on women, but on what God is calling you to do and become. Show me a man skilled at his labor, he will stand before kings, he will not stand before mere men. Don’t chase women – chase success through obedience. Get God’s plans, trust him with the timing. Know God’s Word – PRISM every day – Get wisdom, so you’ll be respected at the city gate, not like the fool who has nothing to say. She will be proud of you, proud to be with you. Save all of your time energy, and attention for her. She’s coming, God can’t bring her, if you’re chasing anything that walks. That’s not for you. If you’re faithful now, you’ll be faithful then. Praying that you will love God while you are single. That you will become Christlike, learn to love your spouse by loving your family and those around you, and that you’ll save for the future. That you will love being single and the opportunity to prepare that it brings. Praying that you will love your husband and love your wife, even before you meet them. That you will be content in the waiting because you’re becoming! Love you all, dad
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Love you all, praying for you.
I just love God’s Word. It tells you what you wouldn’t have known or thought of. And it exposes what’s wrong that seems right. Have you ever noticed, the splash is not always the significant? The loudest voice is not always the wisest. The most concurred with - is not always what’s right. More often than not, it’s not. What many people accept as true, is not true. The more people that accept it as truth, the less it is challenged. The longer it goes unchallenged, the harder it becomes for the truth to be uncovered. And the few that seek it become persecuted. That’s why it’s so important to sift new information through God’s Word. Your New Information Filter: #1) Is It True? #2) Where is the Evidence? #3) What’s in it for them? #4) What does God say? God says the wicked become subject to a powerful delusion. Anytime there is bondage, or slavery, or oppression, or the loss of freedom, it is not the Spirit of God. Whether restricting God given rights of freedom or insisting on the right to sin in the name of freedom, both are the loss of freedom. It is for freedom that Christ has set you free. (Galatians 5:1) He whom the Son sets free is free indeed. (John 8:36) Galatians 5:13 You my brothers were called to be free, but do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh (carnal, sin nature) but rather, serve one another humbly in love. If it’s for freedom that Christ set you free, freedom is probably important. You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. (John 8:32) If you were called to be free, and it takes truth to be free, without truth there is no freedom. Jesus is the way the truth and the life, and whom Jesus sets free is really free… that means freedom is a big deal, not a sidenote. Freedom from what? Sin. Those enslaved by sin, will seek to enslave others. Those who have been set free are no longer under the yoke of oppression. Oppression cannot occur, unless someone thinks it’s right, or justifiable. And it only occurs when no one stands up against it. That’s why God said, resist the devil, don’t just succumb to his deception, and oppression. Seek truth, be bold, speak the truth in love, and don’t allow yourself to believe what anyone says, or what everyone says - without asking God what He says… and what you should do - or you’ll forfeit the grace that could be yours – and become bound again by the yoke of slavery. Sin isn’t worth it, what sin brings, and sinners try to oppress you with, is not worth it. James 1:25 – But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it, not forgetting what they heard, but doing it, they will be blessed in what they do. Here’s the deception. The devil always deceives people into thinking that the restraints of righteousness are bondage, and the bondage of sin is freedom. Did you get that? Some people think they are being controlled when being restrained by righteousness. When in reality, their desire is for freedom from the wrong thing. Be free from sin, not righteousness. Free to sin, isn’t freedom, it’s oppression, control, and death. Resist the devil, not righteousness. That’s why freedom is such a big deal. Praying that you will know what freedom is. And not give it up. Not in your country, but even more-so, not in your heart. Praying that you will never give in to oppression or slavery, that you’ll soak in His Word, use your new information filter, and make obedience your habit, so anything less than God’s best, will be obvious as the bondage it is. Praying that you will choose and stand for freedom, it’s a big deal. Love you all, dad Love you all, praying for you.
I just love God’s Word. It gives you truth and wisdom for life. Have you ever noticed a skill, habit, or character quality that you are missing? Why do people lack a skill or discipline? Humility. It’s easy to acquire a missing skill, habit or discipline. Ask someone who has it, how they got it, what they do to practice it – and just do what they do. The disciples asked Jesus – teach us to pray. Why did they ask Him? Because He was the best prayer they knew. If you have a weakness in your life, a missing skill or discipline. Ask God who to ask. Ask them what they did and do to learn and practice this skill? And do what they do. Why is this so difficult? Because people aren’t humble. They lack skills, disciplines or habits, because they like what they do - more. They think they know better. They would rather do what they do, than the person who possesses the skill, habit or discipline. They think they know better. Praying that you will put humility into practice. If you are going to get a different result, you have to change. The first change of any change, is a change of mind. You have to change your mind. Do you know what that really is? Repent. Metanoia – to think differently. My way isn’t working, and I’m going to change my thinking, so I can change my action, so I can change my way. The way I operate, the way I live my life. Short of that, you will never change. Praying that you will ask God, “What change do you want in me?” Who does that change well already (we all have strengths and weaknesses). You can learn from someone whose strength is one of your weaknesses. I never hear you cuss? Who don’t you? How do you do that? I notice you are always on time. Why is that? How do you do that? I notice, you never say anything negative about anybody. Why is that? How do you do that? I notice you don’t stress out financially, you seem to always have money for the things you need. Why is that? How do you do that? I notice that your car, your house or yard is immaculate – why is that? How do you do that? I notice that your client list is always growing. Why is that? How do you do that? I notice that your marriage seems happy, that your spouse is devoted to you. Why is that? How do you do that? I notice that your children are so well behaved. Why is that? How do you do that? Is there something that God wants you walking in that you’re not? Have you ever thought of asking somebody, and do what they do? Are you willing? Are you humble? What could happen if you did? Praying that you will ask God if there is someone who is skilled at what you lack, who to ask, and who to model. Doesn’t mean that everything that works for them will work for you… but it probably will. What change does God have for you? Are you willing? Are you humble? Love you all, dad Love you all, praying for you.
I just love God’s Word. It tells you qualities most admirable to possess. 11 Qualities To Have. #1 – Humility – the hallmark of Jesus. The beginning of wisdom, the requirement of obedience (the most important habit of all – this is love for God), and the prerequisite for God to exalt you – Humility. Humility is submitting to God, accepting His Word as truth, surrendering to His plan for your life, transforming your mind with His Word, and considering others more important than yourself. See the PRISM Topic – Humility, Humble, and How To Be Humble, and How To Treat People. His Word is powerful! Get it in you and it will change you! What you speak into your heart, becomes the overflow of it. Humility is the beginning. Start Here! #2 – Diligence – the precious possession of a man (male or female) is diligence. Do you have it? What is diligence? Speed and Incisiveness. Speed – urgency and continued effort, and Incisiveness – separating between the superficial and the real (measure twice, cut once). Diligence isn’t just working hard, it’s effort and consistency in that which is most important – that God tells you to do, not what you want to do. That’s what brings fruit that will last, significance not superfluous, and a deep satisfaction that increases your joy. See the PRISM Topic – Diligent. The number three quality to have… #3 – Kindness – it is the kindness of God that leads us to repentance. (Romans 2:4) Kindness to others is so rare. Many people are polite, nice, reciprocal, but not kind. Kindness is a deep sense of desire to benefit others. It delights in contributing to the happiness of others. It initiates, it’s proactive not reactive. It doesn’t depend on externals – it comes from inside you – from the Spirit of God. Be kind to one another – most people want others to be kind to them. See the PRISM Topic – Kindness. Let God grow you – in what characterizes Him! #4 – Unoffendability – Overlook offense, not take offense. See the best, believe the best, be quick to forgive – knowing that Christ forgave you. Proverbs 19:11 - A man’s wisdom gives him patience, it is to one’s glory to overlook an offense. Matt 6:14-15 – For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your sins. Mark 11:25 – And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins. The greatest danger of being wronged, is not what happened to you, but your response to it. Will you forgive? How will you respond when they eventually ask you to forgive them? Why not forgive now? Don’t hold anything against anyone – what you hold on to – keeps you from getting anything else. Holding on to offense – hurts you not them, they’re oblivious. The devil wants that root of bitterness to grow in you and defile many. Don’t give the devil a foothold, overlook this offense, be ready to overlook the next one that comes – and it will. Forgive already – decide beforehand that you will. So when they ask, you will respond graciously. And if they never ask, it doesn’t matter - you’ve let it go a long time ago! #5 – Benevolence – Magnanimity – A heart of giving. Givers never run out. God makes sure of it. Always give more than you receive. It is the key to God’s perpetual blessing in your life. The opposite of greed, a heart of giving, the grace of giving is the heart of God for his people, and his heart for the lost. See the Relationship Topic – 11 Things You Need To Know About Giving. #6 – Loyalty – defending and supporting those you love, and those you have relationship with. Quick to stay with someone, not quick to jump ship. Not believing what looks bad, believing the best, finding out where you can help, not why you should reject. Not using people for what they can give you, sticking with them through thick and thin. Imperfect is what people are. Loyalty honors those who have helped you. Disloyalty is quick to forget, dishonor and dismiss. There is no more loyal friend than Jesus. Every one of the disciples deserted him, but his loyalty to them, didn’t depend on their treatment of Him, or what someone else said about them. Faithful friends are loyal, no matter what. Doesn’t mean you accept wrongdoing in someone else. Sometimes love is confronting in love. But you stand with them to encourage and help them do what is right. #8 – Humor – humor is more what you think is funny, than the ability to make people laugh. Humor is not taking yourself too seriously, seeing humor in everyday things to lighten the mood, and lighten the load. Self-depricating humor makes you relatable – it’s humility that draws others. Willing to laugh at yourself, declining to laugh at others, only at what’s funny, not cruel. Humor is quick to smile, quick to laugh, quick to enjoy life, and see the best, quick to be thankful. #9 – Honesty – telling the truth, even if it hurts, or is disadvantageous to you. Not shading the truth for gain or obscuring it to avoid loss. Dealing justly, using honest scales, not taking advantage of others, seeking a win-win, over a win for you. Preferring loss over compromised integrity. God is a God of truth, there is no falsehood in him. See the Relationship Topic - Honesty – the power of God’s Word. It will compel you. #10 – Curiosity – A heart to search out truth, gain knowledge, reject deception. Curiosity is a heart to gain knowledge and wisdom. Not gullible, always learning, seeking truth and answers – seeking God first, and information that is available even if not readily. Putting in the effort to increase your knowledge and understanding of things you have yet to discover, truth you have yet to uncover, skills you have yet to acquire. Curiosity leads you somewhere. It’s one way God leads you in wisdom and in the plans He has for you. #11 – Hope. A positive outlook in every circumstance of life, words that build up, and never tear down – yourself or others. God’s Word of truth for faith and belief. Seeing the good in people, helping them see the hope available to them. The hope that Jesus gives, and the promise of His Word that makes it sure. See the PRISM - Topic Hope. Praying that you will pursue these Godly qualities – and others God reveals. The qualities you acquire add up over time. The more you grow them, the more you can respond with grace. The more Godly qualities you gain, the more you reflect the God who loves you, so He can love others through you. Love you all, dad Love you all, praying for you.
I just love God’s Word. It’s there if you want it. And He sends you what you need. Praying that PRISM will be a daily joy for you – those five things you can do in God’s Word. That’s Logos, His written word. The ultimate filter for any information you encounter. It’s either God’s way or man’s way. One way seems right, the other is right. God also speaks to you through His Holy Spirit into your spirit - if you’ve received Him. And He can even use information you hear, or conversations with others to grow you in maturity, understanding, knowledge and success. Never forget your New Information Filter – every time you hear something new. #1 Is it True? #2 Where’s the evidence? #3 What’s in it for them? and #4 What Does God say? In the information age we live in we are constantly inundated with an overload of information from a plethora of distributors – not all of which are honorable or honest. Most push agendas and philosophies that they demand everyone agree with. One thing to note: Anytime people are prevented from asking questions, that’s a BS indicator. Shutting down questions or alternate viewpoints – is a sure sign that they or someone has something to hide, and something to gain; usually money and power. Don’t let yourself be controlled by others. Let the Holy Spirit control you, and you will easily see right through what completely deceives others. Use your new information filter to let the Holy Spirit give you discernment between what is true and what is not. Another thing I would encourage - in every conversation you have, or everything new that you hear. Ask God, “Is this for me, or not? Is this something you want me to learn from? And specifically, what do you want me to learn from this?” Sometimes it’s what to do, other times it’s what not to do. God may have a needle in a haystack for you, or a gold nugget in a pile of dirt. Ask Him, and He will show you – just don’t spend a lot of time in the dirt. God promised the Holy Spirit will lead you in all truth. God said He will teach you and instruct you. Sometimes God brings truth in unexpected packages. Donkeys for example. “God is this for me? What Do You want me to learn from this?” “What should I accept, and what should I reject? What do you want me to search out further?” Always compare what you hear, with God’s Word. What does God say? The more you stay in it - PRISM every day, the quicker you can filter and sift between things God may have for you, and foolishness not worth considering. You can ask others for their counsel. Listening to others honors them, and you can gain insight from people’s experience. The best counselors are always obeyers. Praying that you will cultivate mature counsel. Praying that you will over time have a Daily Call with several different obeyers who seek God’s will and God’s way for their life. You can grow together! Sharpening will always bring growth. Hebrews 3:13 - Daily Calls are God’s secret weapon for your overcoming! Praying that you will welcome new information. Know which information to ignore. There are a lot of things that are a waste of your mental space and intellectual energy. If you allow a steady diet of deception, you get stupid. So be careful, consider the source. And review your standard. What sources do you trust, are they trustworthy? The Source that exposes all others – is God’s Word! Stay in PRISM daily, and your discernment will grow. Only listen to truth, don’t believe the fact checkers – they have agendas. Remember your New Information Filter. Ask the Holy Spirit to give you discernment. And always be open for God to show you things that will increase your knowledge and understanding, that will impact your doing, so you honor Him with your thoughts, your words and your life. God has good for you. Don’t be overwhelmed by information. Action is more significant than information. Get busy with what God told you to do in this hour. And He’ll lead you in all truth by His Spirit. You’ll get what you need, He’ll tell you what applies to you, so you honor God, grow in wisdom, and bless others. Love you all, dad Love you all, praying for you.
I just love God’s Word. It sets you free. Have you ever noticed the devil wants you bound? Have you ever been in bondage? Habits so strong you cannot break them? Theoretically good habits are as hard to break as bad habits. But like reputation that’s unfortunately not always so in practice. You can spend your whole life building your reputation, only to lose it in one day, in a moment, in a decision. Doesn’t seem fair, but an important thing to learn. Life’s not fair. It is a challenge. What are most people in bondage to? 11 Things The Devil Wants You Bound By - #1 Complaining – negativity, always something to complain about. Putting words to what’s wrong rather than what’s right, what’s bad rather than what’s good. Your perception becomes your reality – a self-fulfilling prophecy. God’s Word says it. Distorted perception becomes distorted reality. From the fruit of his lips a man is filled with good things, as surely as the work of his hands rewards him. - Proverbs 12:14 Your speech, and your work ethic. Good or bad, what you say is what you get. What you say is what you eat. Don’t be a complainer, or that’s what you’ll attract, life-speakers will avoid you, they select companions of like mind. #2 Criticism – a critical spirit. Seeing the bad in people, rather than the good, taking offense rather than overlooking it. Viewing others as not measuring up. When neither do you. Be critical of yourself not others. Willing to self-assess. What’s it your business to judge other people? #3 Dissing – cutting comments or jokes at someone else’s expense. Have you noticed some people’s humor is always making fun of others. Always jabbing… It’s a part of slander, it steals people’s reputation – influencing others to think less of them by attempting to put them in a bad light. Poking fun at their mistakes, words, looks, or actions. Always trying to embarrass them for a mistake made, or being different. God hates it. It’s the opposite of love – love always protects. How is it your business to comment regarding someone else? They belong to God, not you. God created them, not you. The delusion that putting another person down, builds yourself up - untrue. The people that will laugh at your jokes about others, will just as soon laugh at you, and they do. They can’t trust you, they know you’ll make fun of them the first chance you get. Putting people down brings you lower every time you do it, not them. God will defend them. God said we are to build up, never tear down, it’s not funny, it’s a character flaw, it exposes you, not them. Don’t diss people, defend them. #4 Cursing. People curse because of habit, they curse because of frustration, they curse to add emphasis – when they lack the vocabulary sufficient to convey meaning or emotion intelligently. #5 Anger – when something doesn’t go your way, happen like you wanted, or someone does something that slights you, disadvantages you, or disrespects you – or so you thought... Some people don’t believe the best, they interpret everything as offense. God said be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to become angry. God said avoid people who anger easily, or you will become like them. Anger doesn’t produce the righteousness of God. Check it, or it will become bondage. #6 Lust – we live in a culture that has lost all moral boundaries – lust is not God’s plan or God’s way. Love is the opposite of lust. God said love your spouse, not lust after someone else. #7 Laziness – people think they work harder than they do. The lazy - in their own mind always compare themselves with those more lazy than they. Hard workers – they deem workaholics, a life out of balance. God said work hard, with all your heart, for the LORD (not men or money). Diligence is your precious possession. There are two things you work at: Your job – so you can buy things, and stewarding the things you have. Job: Work as unto the LORD, not for men (or money). Stewardship – God is a God of order, not disorder, He’s a God of peace, not confusion and every evil practice. There’s a time to work, and a time to rest, and they are not even close to being equal. A Godly nation that America once was – had laws and values that gave incentive to hard work. The wealth which those values and laws created is now being redistributed to those who don’t work. And borrowed through money creation – that will eventually, inevitably destroy currency and collapse economy. The current culture and government incents laziness. You are responsible for you. Examine yourself, Ask God, Get His plans and do them with all your heart. What else does the devil want you bound by? #8 Political Thought – half the nation are mental slaves to lies. Socialism, wealth redistribution, marginalized group victimhood. Equity is not from God. People have equal opportunity, but not forced outcome. God said, anyone who believes in him will not perish, it’s equal. If God were for equity, he wouldn’t have given the talents unequitably. People have different things based on priority, talent and work ethic. God commands those who are rich in this present age to do good and be willing to share – not make sure everyone has the same. Socialism is godless, all socialistic and fascist countries reject God and His Ways. These are all the same and lead to the same place in all of human history – a society of mass incarceration – of those who want freedom, not socialism, truth not lies, free speech not oppression. Politics is the new religion. Bondage to group think – has half the country calling up-down, black-white, men-women, women-men, good-evil, and evil-good. When you reject God, you reject truth, and you are easily deceived. And the end is mass persecution, and ultimately, mass murder. Entitlement is a colossal force that deceives the masses. It defies gravity. You cannot tax the rich enough to feed all the poor. Eventually the rich leave, or they are no longer rich. And then the least poor of the poor – become the hated rich. If you are confused politically – turn off the news. Seek God, view both parties’ platforms, and measure them according to God’s Word. Leave personality out, ask God about policy. What is Biblical, and what is not? The end doesn’t justify the means, no matter how virtuous it sounds. God said woe to those who call good evil, and evil good. You will either stand with God, or find yourself with those standing against Him. #9 Substance abuse. Alcohol, Cannabis, Caffeine – once you are hooked, you squander your resources to buy what you cannot do without. Justified by freedom of choice, when freedom has long vanished, you’re bound. #10 Get Rich Quick – The something for nothing pipe dream that thinks eventually your ship will come in – instead of putting in the time and effort to build one. #11 Pride – the false but deep seeded belief that you are better than someone else. Your ideas, views, opinions, lifestyle or life choices are right, and others’ are wrong. God says in the last days men will become lovers of themselves. These eleven are bondages that are incredibly difficult to break. That’s why so few escape or escape momentarily, only to fall again into the same trap. What is the solution if you are in bondage? Is there any hope? Jesus said I have come to set the captive free. He whom the Son sets free is free indeed (free completely, free permanently.) If you are bound, God wants you free. He’s paid for it - so you can be. To be free: #1 – Recognize – if you don’t know you’re in bondage, you can never be free. “ I just drink socially, when i want to, it doesn’t control me.” No, you’re a lush. “I just hate that politician, He’s a racist.” No hard evidence, just parroting popular opinion – you’re on the plantation. Whether you love someone or hate someone, if you can’t say why specifically, and don’t have hard evidence, only opinion – you’ve deceived yourself. Read what they stand for, and compare it to God’s Word. Don’t look at what they say, look at what they do, and the result of it. Most people don’t recognize they’re bound. “You can’t work all the time, you need to rest.” No, you rest more than you think, you should probably work once in a while. How many lazy people admit they’re lazy? Virtually none. “I don’t have an anger problem, they deserved it.” No, you’re out of control. No one can make you angry, it’s a personal choice, a character weakness. If you don’t recognize your bondage, you will never escape it. #2 Humble yourself. Ask God to reveal where you’re in bondage. And ask Him to change you. He will. See the PRISM Topic – What God Delivers You From #3 – Change. If you are ever going to escape bondage, you have to be willing to change. You have to think differently, and act differently. Change your habit before the first temptation. See it coming – and take a different path. Choose Grace. God gives you way out – take it. Sometimes its just building a habit that avoids it. Choose Grace. Establish a new path. Don’t go down that street at twilight. Consider others better than yourself, speak life, and you won’t be complaining. Soak in God’s Word – PRISM – PRISM Topics, prepare! So you see truth, and see through deception. Receive Jesus the Deliverer as your Savior, and the Holy Spirit He promised– so He can lead you in all truth and give you power to overcome. Repent, ask God to help you change. Confide in a friend, and walk together celebrating every victory. Keep going if you make a mistake. Resist the devil and He will flee from you, don’t resist him, and he will own you. Move your feet, don’t go where you fall, leave when it comes where you are – move your feet. That’s half the battle. You’ve been bought with a price already. The blood of Jesus is enough to overcome bondage. He’s the bondage breaker. He will give new habits of righteousness. PiVAT – get busy doing God’s plan for you today. This bad habit is not what God told you to do this hour. Get busy doing what He told you, and you will leave the bondages of the past behind. PRISM – soak in God’s Word, choose it first, and more than any other input in your life. Put it in your mouth and in your heart. And you will start to think like God thinks, not the culture around you, or what the devil wants you to think. Truth is required to expose bondage and break it. Have faith that God will answer your prayer, do whatever He tells you to do. Be willing to think differently, like God thinks, not like you think or the world thinks. Be willing to act differently. Do it – make a habit of it. Celebrate each victory – Believe that He will save you to the uttermost, and deliver you blameless on the day of his coming. It’s what He said. You can walk in victory! Just begin, He’ll give you grace and strength to continue – so your new bondage is righteousness, and your new reality is victory! You will be bound to Him, and bound to overcoming. He will do it! You just submit, and He will take over. His power – His grace is enough. He promised. Love you all, dad Love you all, praying for you.
I just love God’s Word, it tells it like it is. Are you going through some crap right now? Maybe a crappy boss, a crappy job, a crappy situation in your life right now? Things not what you dreamed, not what you’d prefer, not anything you even like? Why does God let crappy things happen? To get the crap out of you! God can’t grow you until your pressed, stretched. Until things don’t work, you won’t see the need for change? You won’t see the need to seek Him and ask for His ways over yours. Most people don’t ask God for anything – wisdom or gifts – they’re too busy doing what’s not working. A crappy boss – is not your job to fix. Your job is to help them succeed. God said honor those in authority over you. He didn’t qualify if they deserve it or not. If nothing else – God can teach you what not to be like when you become the boss one day. Sometimes God blesses you with a crappy job to learn to be diligent in what is not fun. Everyone is diligent in something they love. I’m diligent in eating ice cream, less diligent in eating spinach. But sometimes you need the spinach. If you can learn to give thanks in a crappy job, when God gives you a great job, you will really appreciate it, and you’ll be prepared to succeed in it. “In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus, concerning you!” – I Thes 5:18 One of my favorite stories… a loving and devoted wife waking her husband up to go to church on Sunday morning. “But I don’t wanna go?” “I know, honey”. But I don’t like that church?” Honey, I know. “I don’t like the carpet, I hate the music, I don’t even like the people!” “I know honey, but you’re the pastor, you have to go.” How do you learn to give thanks in a crappy job, or a crappy situation? By seeing the good, not the bad. Focus on the good and praise God for it. For most people, they haven’t learned to see the good and give thanks in every situation. Jobs that are actually pretty good are crap to them. Have you noticed, that some people always go through crap? It’s their perpetual state. Their address is actually on crap street, it’s where they live, they’ll never move, they’re stuck there. They’re always going through something, because that’s all they can see. They miss the silver lining, because they are focused on the bad, not the good. Every job, even the best job ever has some crappy parts to it. Every opportunity has some drawbacks, every relationship has some less than ideal parts – because people are less than ideal. I’ve only met One who is. I’d put my faith in Him if I were you. First for Salvation, and then to trust him in what you’re going through. Praying that you will see the blessing of crap. That you will see what God wants to teach you and be content with where He has you. Not complacent, content means diligent to see and do good. Doesn’t mean you have to like everything, but praise Him for it anyway. Ask Him to show you solutions and resolutions, ideas, and opportunities. God makes beauty from ashes, He can turn crap into crème brulee. Most things are how you see them. He’s faithful even in affliction. He’s letting you step in some stuff, and go through some things – so you can grow through some things. So you are prepared to succeed at higher levels. Just be faithful here, and God will bring you through – with not even a hint of the smell of what He brought you out of. God has good for you in this. Praying that you will learn to see it, until He can turn this crappy situation, into a blessing for you! Love you all, dad Love you all, praying for you.
I just love God’s Word. It reveals truth, and exposes lies. Have you ever met someone or maybe know someone who uses personality as an excuse? They are acting or behaving in a way that is less than honoring or honorable, and instead of admitting it, and considering a change, they pull out the personality card. “That’s just my personality.” Or “You’re just like that, I’m not built that way.” Character supersedes personality. You may be an introvert, or an extrovert, but saying “hello” when someone greets you – is character, not personality. It might come more naturally for some than others, but it’s a character requirement, not a personality trait. If you don’t do it, it’s not personality you lack, it's character. Do you know what many people struggle with that is far more important than they realize? Order versus disorder. Many people, maybe even most, live lives of disorder. Having never been trained when they were young, they live adult life with the unformed habits of a child or teenager. Most people love podcasts and blogs – until they hit a nerve. Have you ever had a friend that every time you went to their house, it was neat and clean, yard beautiful, toys in the toybox, kitchen sparkling. What did you think? Impressive? Or Impossible? You may have said to yourself, “They’re just neat freaks.” No, they value something that God values. They understand the difference between order and disorder, confusion and peace. Have you ever gone to a friend’s house that’s a wreck? The first thing they say, every time you enter their house, “Please excuse the mess, we have kids.” House in disarray, toys everywhere, dishes from breakfast and lunch still on the table, or piled up in the sink, while the kids are already on to watching a movie or playing video games. Coffee cup from this morning still on the end table… What do you think? Is it a personality issue? Or a character issue? It’s certainly a value issue. What we value, we do. What we don’t value, we don’t. Even a child is known by his actions, whether his conduct is good and right. (Proverbs 20:11) Parents. Do not let your child much less your teenager live in a messy room. It’s a God thing. What about you? Have you learned to steward the things God has entrusted to you – in a way that honors God – and draws His presence? Or do you live in disorder, and the chaos and confusion that comes with it? We’re not talking personality here, this is character. Luke 16:11 – Whoever is faithful with little, is faithful also with much, and whoever is unfaithful with little is also unfaithful (unrighteous) in much. If therefore, you have not been faithful in the use of worldly wealth (stewardship of physical possessions), who will entrust the true riches to you? There is a principle that God gives: Natural before Spiritual. How you steward the natural – is not unimportant, it’s not personality – its character. How you steward the natural reveals how trustworthy and capable you are to be entrusted with the spiritual. That’s why it’s difficult if not impossible to live in disorder in the natural, and have order in the spirit. “For God is not a God of disorder, but of peace.” “Let everything be done decently, and in order.” “The reason I left you behind in Crete, was to put things in order…” Order is not important to some people, but God is not one of those people. Even sacrifices had to be offered in order. What is order? Regular disposition. What is disposition – the methodical arrangement of things. So what is disorder? Want of order (lack of it). Irregular disposition, chaos, confusion, things out of place. Order pertains to more than physical possessions. There is moral order. Cheat on your spouse, it’s out of order, and outside of God’s blessing. There is civil order. Lack of it, brings chaos and rioting in the streets. There is meeting order – proper meeting protocol, civically Roberts Rules of Order for method and procedure of meeting. People talk of having your finances in order – in their proper place, knowing where they are, and directing them accordingly (better yet, have God direct them). God says He is a God of order. And He reveals He is not a god of disorder. “For where you have jealousy and self-interest, there you find disorder, and every evil practice.” – James 3:16 God states a shocking truth. Some things go together. They are inextricably linked. Disorder comes with every evil practice. Disorder is confusion, the lack of peace. What most people do not understand. Natural before spiritual. Living in order – stewarding well the things God has entrusted to you, is a spiritual exercise, a spiritual priority. Those who struggle with keeping a house in order – it’s a value issue, not a personality issue. What we value we do, what we don’t, we don’t. A powerful verse in Proverbs – about a wise man. What made him wise? He saw, He observed, He learned a lesson, and he applied his heart to it. “I went past the field of the sluggard, past the vineyard of the man who lacked sense. Thorns had come up everywhere, the ground was covered with weeds, and the stone wall was in ruins. I applied my heart to what I observed and learned a lesson from what I saw: A little sleep a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, and poverty will come on you like a bandit, and scarcity like an armed man.” What was this verse about? The sluggard? No, it was about the wise man and what made him wise. He was willing to hear and change his ways. Does having a clean house get you to heaven? No. But if it’s the house God gave you, if it’s God’s house, and it is… it should reflect Him. Why do most people struggle in keeping their house or room or car clean? They don’t value order – they are content with disorder. What appalls the average person, they don’t even notice anymore. What they don’t realize is that God is a God of order not disorder. He’s a God of peace, not confusion. And if you want His peace in your home, it comes with God’s order. “But I’ve always lived this way, we’ve always had a messy house, my parents did, and their parents before them.” That is a curse that needs to be broken. God is a God of blessing, not curses. First repent. Think differently than you’ve thought -perhaps all your life. Like the wise man learn a lesson from what you see. If God is a God of order and peace… then for God’s peace to rest and remain on your home – your house must be in His order. It doesn’t matter if its moral order, civil order, family order – children obey your parents, husbands love your wives, wives submit to your loving husband who lays down his life for you. That’s God’s order. And your physical possessions – must also reflect the Order of God – so the Peace of God can remain on your house, and you prove trustworthy to be entrusted with Spiritual things. God’s word says be careful how you hear. If this makes you bristle, it may not be for you. You may not be ready yet. You may have excuses, or past issues or whatever. But if you will humble yourself, and like the wise man – be willing to change. The God of order, the God of peace, will rest on your house. And your children and children’s children will be blessed. The curse will be broken. Five Steps of Stewardship. #1 The Pre-Requisite - Everything has a place. For the possessions in your house, what place has God assigned it? Ask Him. If it doesn’t have a place, maybe you’re not the one who is to steward it. Give it to someone who has a place for it. God’s Order or Regular Disposition – means everything in it’s place. #2 The Standard - Every Surface Clean. Nothing on the surface except decoration, nothing on the floor except furniture. The standard of stewardship must be observable and doable. Every surface clean is black and white, no gray. #3 The Rule – Put it away before you do anything else. There should never be a dish in the sink – why? Wash it, dry it, and put it away. It takes so little time, and the habit of diligence propels you to get to the next thing God has for you – even if it’s rest! There should never be dirty or clean laundry in the laundry room. It’s either in the washer, in the dryer, or on a hanger in your closet. There should never be shoes on the floor – put them on the shelf, in your closet, or wherever shoes in your house belong. The only reason there is mess – disorder – irregular disposition - things not in their proper place is… people invert the rule! They do something else, before they put it away – instead of “put it away before you do anything else.” This is so simple it’s kind of embarrassing. Follow this rule – and your house will be in God’s order, and His peace will remain. #4 Clean Regularly – Steady Plodding – not all at once. Here is a secret: Half-Two – Half hour daily, 2 hours weekly. Once things are in place, the house still needs to be clean. But that’s easy! Dust & Vacuum daily, Weed the yard daily – takes 5-10 minutes tops. Scrub Bathrooms weekly. Get your list of daily, weekly, and monthly chores and just do them when it’s time. God said there is a proper time and procedure for every matter… Steady plodding brings prosperity. #5 – Accountablity. Intervals. To ensure you actually remain consistent. Until you learn. Do Intervals. Whoever is at home. Every 9am, 12:00 noon, 3pm, 6pm, and 9pm. Everyone do a run-through of the house. Not to clean. To identify anyone who left something not in it’s place. The one who didn’t put it away before they did anything else. That person, not mom, not dad, that person must now put it away before they do anything else. Three hours from now, they’ll be told again for the next thing they left out. So they might as well Put it away before you do anything else. Intervals – modify behavior permanently. Go every hour if you have to, eventually twice a day will suffice. Championship teams hold each other accountable. In order for you to no longer be the sluggard, with weeds everywhere – but the wise man, who learned a lesson from what He saw… you must change your habits which will change your behavior. Intervals apply God’s Word. Here’s what He said. Bear one another’s burdens. (Gal 6:2) But He also said each one must carry their own load. (Gal 6:5) Don’t clean up after people – or you’ll have to do it again. Dad and Mom lead the way, children will follow. Train them up in the way they should go, and when they are old they will not depart from it. You will either live in mess and stress, or in God’s peace. You will live in Order – not disorder – the regular disposition that God can bless that reflects God, the God of order – so His Peace will descend on your home. It will rest and remain. Change little habits. BRCBC – Bed, Room, Clothes, Bath, Clean. The moment you wake up, when your feet hit the floor - make your bed, even before you brush your teeth. Your bed will always be made. Have a cloth in your car. When you get in, dust the dashboard and console before you leave the driveway. Every time. And your car will always be excellent – it will reflect the owner. Not you, it’s God’s car – it will reflect him. When you come home from work, or anywhere, take everything from the car with you. And your car will always reflect the order and peace of God. It will be a place of worship, a place of excellence. Little steps bring permanent change. Know God’s place for everything in your house. Know the standard of God’s order. Every surface clean. Live by the one rule or Order. Put It Away Before You Do Anything Else. And to keep yourself and your family accountable – Do intervals every hour or two hours or three – until God’s Order is your habit. And God’s peace will rest on your home, and your life! You will prove yourself faithful to be entrusted with greater things. Your cars and your home, young person – your room, or your college dorm room – should reflect God’s order – not disorder which comes with every evil work. This is not personality, this is character. Your character should reflect God’s character, He’s a God of order. So be honest, are you even still listening to this? Or did you turn off the audio or stop reading long ago… Here’s a test. If you found yourself saying “But…” that horrible 3-letter word. “But I’ve got kids,” “But my work schedule is crazy,” “But this… But that…” If there’s always a but… your butt’s too big. This isn’t personality, this is character. For the God of order to rest on your home, you need to be like the wise man, learn a lesson, and change. Most people don’t, their pride keeps them from it. They make excuses, even theological ones. They will not do it. They will not change. They are comfortable in their disfunction. My prayer is that you will humble yourself, and accept the Word planted in you that can save you. God has good for you – but to get His good, you must walk in His ways. He is a God of order not disorder – He’s the God of peace. What you were, you no longer will be. The curse is broken, His grace is sufficient. You will never again say, “please excuse the mess,” No, you’ll have a testimony to overcome with! You will welcome people into your home, at any time - full of the peace of God. They will notice the difference. And when they comment… you can share the God who delivers! Who breaks generational curses, who gives grace, to establish your life in His ways! His order brings peace, every time. Don’t the devil lie to you. Jesus said, “My yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” He has good for you – for the wise and the willing. Love you all, dad Love you all, praying for you.
I just love God’s Word. It tells the truth, the good, the bad, and the ugly. It doesn’t sugarcoat, it doesn’t need to. God is truth – and people make choices. The Bible tells it all. Just like all will be exposed on that day. An amazing story and God’s response are fascinating to me. God asked Solomon what He wanted from God - a blank check. What would you ask? Here is David’s son, David – the man after God’s own heart, who God told Him that this son would replace him on the throne. Not his oldest son, or any of his other sons. Solomon had just escaped sure death, as another brother assumed the throne, which would have ended his life. But God intervened and established Solomon as King over Israel. God asked him what He wanted. And Solomon asked for wisdom to rule God's people well. God was so pleased with Solomon, that He said, “I’ll answer that prayer, and I’ll give you what you didn’t ask for – riches and power. Your enemies will be subject to you, and you not only will be the wisest man to ever live, you will be the richest man who will ever live. And instantly God showed His power though the wisdom given to Solomon – who rendered judgments that inspired the awe and respect of the whole nation, and surrounding nations that soon heard of Solomon’s fame. But I don’t get it… how could the wisest man who ever lived. Be so foolish? Can you be wise and also foolish? I don’t think so. If you’re wise you aren’t foolish, and if you’re foolish, you’re not wise. But apparently you can have wisdom and ignore it – and choose folly. That means you have wisdom, but don’t operate in it. You can cease to be wise. Wisdom was given from God, but Solomon made choices. I always thought wisdom was ‘the right use of knowledge.’ But Solomon in all his wisdom, didn’t walk in it his whole life. He started well but ended abysmally. God didn’t reneg, He didn’t remove His wisdom, yet Solomon reaped the harvest of his foolishness, and it’s impact on others was devastating. God commanded the kings of Israel – Do not take for yourselves foreign wives, for they will surely turn your heart away from God. But Solomon’s Achilles heel was women. Beautiful women from the kingdoms around him, political marriages. Beautiful women who insisted on their own palace, and a temple for their gods. And Solomon obliged them. How stupid. By the end of his forty-year reign, the whole nation was steeped in sin. Worshipping many different god’s, sacrificing and offering incense on the high places to gods that didn’t even exist, created with their own hands. An affront, and an abomination before the God of all creation, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and the God of Solomon’s father, David. Solomon started well but crashed and burned at the end. A somber warning. You can have wisdom, but not walk in it. Women weren’t even his only mistake. He pursued wisdom, devoted himself to study and knowledge, the understanding of wisdom, but then he also pursued folly, He then pursued pleasure to see the extent of it. And the result – disillusionment. “Everything is meaningless.” No it’s not! You left the One who gives meaning to it. The secret to Solomon’s failure. Ecclesiastes 1:16 – I thought to myself… that's your problem. He thought in his heart, he didn’t ask God. He didn’t get God’s thoughts, he chose his own. Of course everything is meaningless if God is not in it, if God is not directing it. God never gave you wisdom to chase it! Certainly not pleasure, or folly – that’s just foolish. Wisdom is just to lead you and God’s people in righteousness. If Solomon had chased God like his father David did, instead of wisdom and folly and pleasure and women. He would have known the joy of the LORD. Instead, Solomon despite his wisdom, didn’t live by it, and chose foolishly – and sowed the seed of the destruction of the nation - the same people whom he asked God for wisdom to rule righteously. And because of him, the people eventually were vomited out of the land just like God warned would happen to them. They would be driven out just like their predecessors – if they followed in their sin. Solomon’s end of life was an abomination to God. Clearly Wisdom comes from God, you can know it, but not do it. So where does wisdom slip begin? You can tell by what you justify. Whatever God said not to do, if your first reaction is, I’m not, or it’s not that bad, or He didn’t mean this, or I’m not really doing it fully, or other people do it, or whatever your excuse – it’s a sure sign, you’ve left the path. Any time your mouth says anything different than what God says. It’s perverse. The very thing God hates - perverse lips. If when questioned, you come up with an excuse – you’ve left wisdom, and you’ve left God. There is no fear of God before your eyes. Wisdom doesn’t guarantee a heart after God. God said get wisdom above all else, but once you have it. Be sure that you heed it, that you don’t tire of obedience, that you don’t forfeit the grace or the blessing. God said He’ll keep you, He will fulfill the purpose He has for you. Keep your eyes on Him, get His plans, love His Word, get His thoughts, not your own, overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the word of your testimony. And let wisdom be a blessing that increases in you, not a passing phase that you walk away from. Keep your eyes on Jesus, don’t think other things in your heart. Fill your heart with His Word and His will, and rejoice in every step He leads you in. He will give you wisdom, knowledge and joy. Stay with God. He has better things to come. So your latter years will be even better than the former! He is faithful, He will do it. Just keep your eyes on Him, and stay on the path He has for your good! It gets better! Love you all, dad Love you all, praying for you.
I just love God’s Word. It surprises you. Have you ever considered the distinction most desirable? What would most set you apart if you had it? Intelligence, Money? If you had anything that separated you from the competition, from everyone else, what would it be? Strength? Cunning? Wisdom might be a frontrunner – God said above all else, get wisdom. Obedience is the best skill to have, but what would you most desire to distinguish you? Here’s what God thinks. Psalms 45:7-8 – You love righteousness and hate wickedness; therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy. Wow, that’s not the first thing I would have thought of. A definite distinction. Strength alone won’t do it, the wise take the city of the strong. Money comes and goes. The rich, intelligent, wise and strong often lack joy. Ecclesiastes 1:18 - Solomon said, with much wisdom comes much sorrow. The greatest billionaires of the past – many had miserable personal lives. The intelligence of the intelligent God frustrates. Nothing can succeed against God so what does He mark as distinction? What distinction does He want for you? Joy. It’s an anointing – that means you don’t produce it - it’s given to you. It’s not happiness – that’s situational. Happiness is a spark, have you noticed how long sparks last? Not long, they fizzle out. Joy is a pilot light, and a flame that doesn’t go out. Joy is deep. Joy – the passion or emotion excited by the acquisition or expectation of something good; that excitement of pleasurable feelings which is caused by success, good fortune, the gratification of desire or some good possessed, or by a rational prospect of possessing what we love or desire; gladness; exultation; exhilaration of spirits. Joy is the opposite of discouragement or despair, or having lost your way. Joy comes from the inside, and it is situationless. If you have it, the rest doesn’t matter, nothing else needed. God is bringing good, He promised. I’m in the center of His will, standing in faith – Joy is a distinction – that God has for you. So how do you get it? Without Jesus the author of Joy, you can’t get it. Situational happiness is the best you can hope for. Joy is that missing piece, that if you had everything else, but lacked joy, it would be meaningless. So how do you get it? Commit your life to Jesus – so your eternity in heaven is secure. You can’t have joy without that, only fear of judgment and eternal punishment. Not unfair, that’s just gravity. Sin and God cannot coexist – He’s Holy. Just like joy without God cannot exist. In His presence is fullness of joy, He fills you with joy in His presence. The humble get filled with joy, those who love righteousness and hate wickedness get joy, obeyers get joy, even trials can be joy if you count them as it, faithfulness brings joy. It’s an anointing from God, and a gift of the Holy Spirit – so be filled with the Holy Spirit, so you know what Joy is. Asking and receiving bring joy – so ask according to His will, so He hears you and you have what you asked. The God of hope fills you with Joy. Finishing your course – the plan that God has for your life – brings joy. So first - Get His plans for you today! Start there, and He’ll bring joy. He keeps you from falling, without fault, and with great joy. God’s Kingdom is righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. The righteous can shout with joy. Giving brings joy. God’s victories bring joy, His Word is joy – it makes your heart rejoice. He brings joy in the morning, He lets you hear joy and gladness – so don’t listen to the other stuff, and certainly don’t speak it. Salvation brings joy. If you are pleasing to God, He gives you wisdom, knowledge and joy. God gives you wisdom to give an appropriate response, a wise answer – and gives you joy with it. God turns your sorrow into joy, He increases your joy, He provides for your every need, so you can eat and drink with a joyful heart. God gives wealth – beyond just money, and keeps you occupied in the joy of your heart. God redeemed you, He crowns your head with joy, joy overtakes you. His presence brings joy, and His joy is your strength. Believing in Him, brings inexpressible and glorious joy. Joy is a choice, you can take it again, you can rejoice. That part is up to you – to use what He gave you. Know what He has promised, and your joy will be full. And if you walk in truth – you bring joy to God and others. God has joy for you. Praying that you will today for Meditate on the Word of your PRISM time, that you will review the PRISM Topic – Joy. It’s the anointing God has for you. A distinction He has reserved for you. If you have it. It will separate you from the rest, and draw people to you, so you can point them to Him! Do you have joy? Is it your distinction, Is it your anointing? Is it something that you may have forgotten to walk in? God wants to bring you back – with Joy! Love you all, dad |
AuthorKelly Kamentz - Jesus follower, husband, father, and friend, helping others surrender time, thoughts, money, and testimony, to fulfill their purpose! Archives
April 2024
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