"The Results of DISOBEDIENCE!"

In the spiritual world there is a hierarchy of demons directly assigned to idols (idolatry) and sin. These sins include pride, envy, greed, sloth, lust, anger and gluttony. The demonic angels assigned to these spirits have names: Lucifer (pride), Asmodeus (lust), Satan (anger), Beelzebub (gluttony), Belphagor (sloth), Mammon (greed) and Leviathan (envy) and they all have a directive to keep the immature Christian bound in fear so that they can steal his faith!

The prevalence of sin is the result of disobedience!

To meet any need through dishonesty or trickery is lust. Lust is a sin and sin equates to disobedience of God's Word. Disobedience opens the unsuspecting Christian up to emotional wounds and "seducing spirits." These spirits can be either subtle or profound; many times the individual experiences both.

These seducing spirits include, but are not limited to:

• rebellion: witchcraft and sorcery, both literally and figuratively (i.e. manipulation of a weaker vessel through influence, fear and/or intimidation to get them to do your will).
• carnal state of mind or carnality: these spirits place their victims under siege at night even while they sleep with perverted thoughts, images and suggestions;
• unforgiveness: these is a very destructive and dangerous spirit because the spirit of unforgiveness cuts the individual off directly from fellowship with God;
• bitterness: cuts of the grace of God and His protection; it gives access to every demon in hell to invade your temple (physical body, mind, soul and spirit).

As you grow in faith and break the shackles of bondage to fear in order to navigate safely through the waters of the spirit realm, you will have to have the Holy Spirit leading and guiding your every step. These demons work in concert with your "deception" to manipulate and distort your present realities. The Lord God is your "present" help to help in your time of need. 

Don't allow the calamities of life to drive a wedge between you and the Lord. Much of the adversity we encounter in our lives is a direct result of our unrighteous choices; not God punishing us. God didn't hand you the crack pipe, place you on the street corner to deal drugs or hold a gun to your head to get you to rob that bank! It was you or your sphere of influence. Be wise about the company you keep and whom you call "friend."

Demons know exactly what you like and they have keen insight into the heart of mankind and possess the ability to manufacture any IDOL you want to worship...Selah.

"The COST of COMMITMENT!"

"...And a man's enemies will be those of his own household."  
                      
                                                                             (Matthew 10:36)

Make no mistake about it; "Christ brings division!" In the Kingdom of God, you cannot straddle the fence. You have to choose one side or the other. It is the nature of Christ to be confrontational; the gospel of peace is in reality a sword of judgment, tool of discernment and a wrecking ball of perdition.

Who could govern this rowdy, heartless and selfish generation of wickedness but the Spirit of Truth? No one but the Lord God!

As Christ comes, He is not seeking to pit you against your neighbor physically. He is not looking to get you to hate your wife or kids in the natural sense. In essence, it is His nature that is warring against the nature of the Prince of Darkness that resides in each of us. So the two factions collide in the "spirit realm" and the Savior seeks to root out and destroy any remnant of evil that lurks in the recesses of our heart, mind, body and soul.

The "enemy" He is referring to in the Gospel of Matthew is two-fold. It is the enemy that lives "within" the person and, also, the enemy that hovers "outside" the physical body. The enemy within and without is both spiritual and physical. These enemies are thoughts and deeds. They are spirits and doctrines. They are beliefs and fears and doubts and desires.

The "household" in this scripture is also exists within and without. It is your physical and spiritual household. In the life of a heathen it is a prison, but in the life of a Believer it is a mansion. Less we forget, Christ is the architect and you are the builder...if you build to specification, you will live but if you modify His plans you will die! This is the cost of commitment.

"...or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit that is in you, that you have from God, and you are not your own?"                   (1 Corinthians 6:19)

"DEEPER!...."

The Eternal Word...(1 John1:1-10)

What was heard, seen and touched by mankind is indelibly imprinted upon the heart, mind, body, soul and spirit of every Believer who has encountered the One True Living God! You cannot have fellowship with the Lord God and walk in darkness. If you say that you have fellowship with Him and willfully sin against Him, then you make God a liar!

The persistent quest of the Believer is to go "deeper" in Him; to gain access to His marvelous Light and to break the shackles of bondage to the flesh that so easily besets us.
If we diligently pursue:

A Deeper Joy

it will lead to...

A Deeper Love

which will lead to...

A Deeper Walk

which will create in you...

A Deeper Desire

to go into Him to find...

A Deeper Truth

that will manifest ...

A Deeper Cleanse

of unrighteousness and create...

A Deeper Certainty

that He is the King of Glory; the Lord God...Strong and Mighty!

"The CONTRADICTION of FAITH!"

"But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?"

                                                                                        (James 2:20)

Faith and works have a symbiotic relationship meaning they compliment one another; they go hand in hand. There must be a clear understanding that faith and works are indivisible. You see my friend, faith is a verb. It is an action word. It is a mobile, hostile and agile weapon against the "works" of the enemy. Faith is a living organism and is in direct opposition to the human experience which requires, no, demands "proof" for everything before it makes a move:

"Contradiction is defined as a combination of statements, ideas or features of a situation that are opposed to one another; a person, thing or situation in which inconsistent elements are present; and/or is a statement of a position opposite to one already made."

Works provide the individual with the mechanism to establish himself/herself as a Believer in the Word of God and confirms their faith in God before the evidence or "proof" shows up to confirm what they already know and believe. This is yet another contradiction. Why would you move in a direction to do something that would require a major sacrifice without proof? This is inconsistent with "normal" human behavior. 

Faith destroys all the paradigms of "normal" human behavior, thought, reason and philosophy. Works is the means by which the Believer arrives at the destination of faith. Faith requires movement. Faith is ambulatory. Faith is dynamic, not static. Faith is the barrier to the non-Believer in spiritual exile because of the need for proof and "safety."

Faith will cripple and paralyze lazy Christians who want to hide behind their prayers and church meetings and titles while being vehemently opposed to moving out from being the church walls to serve God's people in the marketplace. In this space, this is where the contradictions become evil and wicked and dilute and corrupt the influence, integrity and witness of the institutional church and has given birth to several generations of fools!

Selah...

"The Word Discovers Our Condition!"

"Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience. For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account."
                                                                                          (Hebrews 4:11-13)

Many Christians and Believers wrestle daily with their humanity. The trials and tribulations of life and the unwillingness to submit to the power and authority of the Word of God (WOG) have prevented their safe passage into the bosom of the Creator. 

Since the "beginning" there has been a promise of "rest." The "rest" herein is the uncompromising Presence of God (His love, joy and peace). From of the seventh day of creation until this very moment there has been an appeal to mankind to enter into His rest. Moses and his crew decimated an entire generation because of disobedience and a lack of faith. Jesus' recruitment of disciples for the spreading of the gospel was plundered by fear and their carnal desire to be comfortable, popular and accepted.

However, the road to that rest has been laden with the pitfalls of unbelief, sin and hardened hearts and the stiff-necked Christians who were fortunate enough to enter in to that rest have yet to experience the fullness of God's rest because they don't read, study and meditate on His Word!

You can only experience that rest when you not only "know "His Word but "know" Him as well. The major stumbling block to a victorious Christian life is not rote memorization of the Bible (which is a book) but, rather, the immersion of oneself into the spirit and original intent of the WOG which is a living, breathing organism. The WOG is a beacon in darkness that hears the faint cries for help of the lost way off in the distance and presses forward through every manner of adversity to search and rescue that person from himself.

The conclusion of the matter is this: The WOG discovers our condition (clothed or naked) and meets us exactly where we are...whether we like it or not!

"My CUP Runneth Over!"

             "...saying, "Father, if it is Your will, take this cup from Me; nevertheless, not My will, but Yours, be done."                      

                                                                                (Luke 22:42)

David sings a song of praise in the midst of his trials as he ponders his future as the mighty King of Israel. Psalm 23 is a psalm of trust. The overriding theme of this song is that there is no fear under the wings of the Almighty! David asserts his total confidence (blessed assurance) that the Lord God is with Him and that his enemies are of no consequence to him. David's cup runneth over...with FAITH!

David is a "sheep" and the Lord God is his Sheperd. Likewise, David was also lord over Israel and was responsible for the spiritual development and maturity of his flock. King David, in the presence of King Jesus represents royalty of the highest order. This psalm is a song of "loyalty to royalty."  This psalm gives us the perfect description of the true nature and meaning of grace and mercy.

As Jesus labors in the Garden of Gethsemane with the anguish and turmoil of His fate of the Cross, His "humanity" is a war with His "deity." His humanity cannot see the absolute nature of this assignment to Calvary and frankly, "Does NOT want to do it!" Is that too hard to hear that Jesus the Man didn't want to go to the Cross? Too bad, because He states His position emphatically right there in the Gospel of Luke 22:42 in black and white!

But praise be to God for the Lord Jesus and the deity of Yahweh that suppresses our fleshly desires, selfish motives and carnal thoughts and deeds. Jesus was given the revelation that His "cup" was full to over flowing and that His time had come. In the Greek language "cup" is translated "poterion" (Strong's #4221) and it means draught; a lot (that has been drawn) and/or "fate." Jesus knew that unless His cup was emptied, no man would be saved and all would perish! He was fully persuaded that the Cross was His lot in life, His fate and His destiny! His cup runneth over...with LOVE!

Simply stated, it is the fate of a righteous man for him to submit his humanity to the deity of Jesus Christ so that he can fulfill his destiny, receive his fate and walk out his assignment in the earth in real time to the glory of God! Our afflictions are only a "playground" compared to the "battlefield" God is preparing to send us in to!

"Is your cup full or empty?" Selah...

"God's Presence Creates Distance!"

           There is no need to worry about the people in your life who are giving you the “blues;” God’s Presence will create distance between you and all the people, places and things that might cause you to fall from grace with the Father. Now I must warn you, this only applies to those Believers that are serious about the POG and desperately want His peace:

          “Where can I go from Your Spirit or where can I flee from Your Presence?” If I ascend into heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there Your hand shall lead me, and Your right hand shall hold me.”

                                                                   (Psalm 139:7-10)

          The POG in your life will cause your friends and family to look at you sideways and make them pull away from you as if you were doing something strange to them. Guilt is a quirky spirit; it has a mind of its own. I always say, “The guilty always tell on themselves if you are patient enough.” 

          Sure it stings a little and sometimes a lot when a friend or love one shuns you, but at the end of the day, you must be strong enough to know that adversity is part of the pruning process and that there is no getting away from it. The testing of your faith will be measured if you allow them to leave or if you cave in to fear and chase them only to be hurt once again.

          Radical faith offends the wicked (even those folks who don’t think they are wicked). Faith is a heat seeking missile that targets the things that are opposed to God for destruction. It is not the destruction of the individual that faith seeks to obliterate but, rather, the spirit inside the person that is creating distance between them and God.