"Who's Your Daddy?"

          "...And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, "Abba Father!"

                                                                              (Galatians 4:6)

Citizens in the Kingdom of God have no doubt about who their Father is. They know His Name, His Character and His Will. He is the One True God and the Ancient of Days. Paul has given us the revelation that as a son (one who is led by the Holy Spirit) has received the gift of the Holy Spirit and that same Spirit has the ability to cry out, "Abba Father!" "Abba" is a term of endearment; it is an intimate term like "Daddy" "Pops" or "Papi" and is a strong indicator of the closeness of the relationship.

You can't call a stranger "Dad" and that stranger won't receive you as his "son." Generations of fathers have created babies that were "mistakes" (bastards, illegitimate, out of wedlock children) and have devoured their inheritance because their children were not a part of their game plan. These "locusts" came into the earth realm and created devastation among the women and scattered families and corrupted God's most holy institution; marriage.

Wave after wave and swarm after swarm, these godless men destroyed the legacy of peace, love and joy that could have been there own. They wasted the opportunity to transfer the inheritance to their children and subsequently threw their children away like yesterday's trash without any guidance or direction. The inheritance they could have given to their sons was greater than silver and gold, land, or even a good name. They could have transferred Christ to us, but they couldn't because He wasn't in their hearts to give!

Along came the Holy Spirit for all the bastard sons and daughters who had been plucked from the hands of Satan and they were given a new name (sons) and a new family (the Body of Christ) and a new residence (the kingdom of God) and most of all, a new Father who loves, honors and protects them.

Your biological daddy is not your Father; your heavenly Father is your Daddy and He is awaiting your triumphant return home! Selah...

"Reproducing Christ in the Earth!"

           "Truly, Truly I say to you, unless the grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it abides alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit."
                                                                                  (John 12:24)

When we hear the word "reproduction" most often our minds go straight to sexual intercourse and making babies. Although that is a major aspect of our roles as humans, the more important role for Christians is their ability not only procreation but their inherent ability to "reproduce Christ" in the earth.

What does it mean to reproduce Christ in the earth? Jesus was the "seed" (the Word of God) that went into the ground and died and was resurrected as a full grown manifestation of God's Word. He was "replicated" by the Holy Spirit as a full portion of the Triune Godhead (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) who was charged with the responsibility of leading and guiding His sons into all truth and righteous.

To replicate something means to become an exact copy of something. There should be no deviation from the original model. As a born again Believer, everyone we engage should experience the fullness of Christ in love, peace and joy. They should be empowered by your grace, power and strength. They should be encouraged by your influence, witness and integrity. They should be enlightened by your wisdom, knowledge and humility. They should be enamored by your faith, patience and righteousness.

At the end of the day, reproducing Christ is simply seeking Him, "hearing" Him and obeying Him. Selah...

“Only One Guy Moved!”

        

       Do you remember when I wrote “faith is a verb and an action word?” Well, let’s go back in time and visit the scene where Jesus and the crew are engaged in the middle of the sea.

       We can see Jesus out on the water in the midst of the turbulent sea extending His hand to Peter. Even in the crisis of adversity, Christ could not avoid another “teaching moment” and He said to Peter, 

     

        “Be of good cheer; it is I. Do not be afraid. And Peter answered Him and said, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.” So He said, “Come.” And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!” And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. Then those who were in the boat came and worshiped Him, saying, “Truly You are the Son of God.”

                                                                         (Matthew 14:24-33)

       Jesus just got finished telling Peter that it was Him out on the water and not to be afraid. Then Peter did the unthinkable. He asked Jesus, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.”  Can you imagine Peter being so paralyzed with fear that He couldn’t even recognize Jesus’ voice? Only one guy moved when Jesus said, “Come.” Only one! If the others had any faith at all, they all would have jumped off the boat to meet Jesus in the sea. One of the many things we learned from this story is that the overwhelming majority of people can’t hear.

       “O you of little faith” is a searing indictment against the individual. I submit to you that “little faith” is not synonymous with “no faith” but, rather, “little faith” is worse than having “no faith” at all.

        If you accept His Crown, you must accept His Cross!

"Don't Look Back: Remember LOT'S WIFE...!"

"...But his wife looked back behind him, and she became a pillar of salt."                                                                                      (Genesis 19:26)

"Pillar of Salt"...God's warning (memorial) to His people that He will not tolerate wickedness among His people. Edith (Lot's wife) lingered physically and spiritually in Sodom because she couldn't stand the thought of leaving the depravity of the city behind her. Her lingering made her a victim of God's wrath as the judgement rained down fire, brimstone and sulfur from heaven. No doubt, when she was stricken by the molten lava, it calcified upon her body and the salt-rich area of the Dead Sea where they lived manifested the mineral covering over her disobedient body for what we know today as the "pillar of salt."

There is always a certain calamity associated with "looking back." Most often, when you look back you can't see what's ahead of you, your feet stop moving forward and, in many cases, you're distracted. The simple message is: DON"T LOOK BACK!

The danger of losing focus in the Kingdom of God (KOG) can result in utter separation from God because the angel of the Lord is dragging you "kicking and screaming" into your destiny. Although they had been warned that the city would be destroyed, they didn't want to leave. They even debated with the angels on where God wanted them to go. Furthermore, after all that, they still needed to be led by the hand out of the city!

In this instance, it wasn't enough for God to send two angels to warn them of His plans to destroy a certain paradigm their your lives(in Lot's and Edith's [Lot's wife's name] case, it was the destruction of Sodom) or for Him to save them for themselves. The angels had been under siege by all of the men of Sodom who wanted to rape them (Genesis 19:5). The angels then struck all the men with blindness from the youngest to the oldest as punishment for their wickedness.

Once Lot was safe in Zoar, the entire valley was destroyed along with all of its inhabitants. What do we learn from the actions of Edith? She is not alone in longing for and living in the past. The past is a comfortable place for many people. It is comfortable because it is known, sure and, even if it was rocky, we know how it all turned out. Not so with the future. The unknown scares people. But it only scares people who don't have faith in God. 

Faith in God (trust in God) and fellowship with His Holy Spirit is a guarantee that your future is safe, secure and eternal. Amen...

"JESUS is NOT on the CROSS!"

If Joseph of Arimathea was alive today he would confirm my assertion that Jesus is no longer on the Cross (John 19:38-40)! He would tell you that he received permission from Pontius Pilate to take His body away and prepare it for burial. He would also tell you that they buried Jesus in the tomb he had reserved for himself and that He is no longer in the that tomb either!

It was never God's intent for Jesus to remain on the Cross. Christians spend way too much time driving another spike into His wrists and feet to keep Him there. Why? I suspect it is because they don't want to face the Christ. Christ is the revelation of God as the judge of mankind. His discernment for our innate trickery and deception is unparalleled. In short, you can't lie to God. You can't fool God. You can't cheat God!

Our fear of exposure, our lack of integrity and our failure to exemplify true discipleship are several reasons why many stay away. Think about it; aren't these reasons why we should press even closer to His bosom? In the Book of Acts, Paul rebukes the Athenians for worshipping an UNKNOWN GOD (Acts 17:23-25). You can't get much more carnal than that! What do you say to a God you don't know? What can he do for you if you don't know what his capabilities are? Carnal Christians are rooted in idolatry; worshipping things they don't know or understand.

Christians love Jesus being on the Cross because "it's a good story" and Christians love to have stories read to them because they believe the lack of interpersonal confrontation with Christ protects them from their sin. It doesn't! Christians love church because it is easy to hide in a crowd. They believe there is "safety" in numbers. It's not! Christians love to carry their bibles because it makes them look holy. In fact, you can't wash someones feet carrying a bible, or cut your neighbors lawn or help a single mother move into her new home with the book in your hands. Hide your bibles!

The place that God has reserved for you to hide the Word of God is in your heart. Hiding His Word in your heart requires fellowship with the Holy Spirit. No person can do that for you. You have to read, study and meditate on God's Word for yourself. 

As long as someone else reads the Word to you, Jesus will remain dead on the Cross. But when you read the Word for yourself and fellowship with the Master in your secret place, His Word will renew your spirit, mind, body and soul and He will come alive! 

You wanna see Christ? Hide His Word in your heart and serve His people in the marketplace! Other than that, you will remain THE UNKNOWN SERVANT!

"The EROSION of FAITH!"

"The Grand Canyon was once a little crack in a big rock!" 
                                                                                             Blackfoot Indian Proverb

Am I going deaf? That is the only way a Believer should lose faith in the natural. In the spirit realm, the Believer must always stay focused on the heart, mind, soul and spirit of the One True God. Faith is the currency of the Kingdom of God!

"So then faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God" (Romans 10:17). 

Erosion is the weakening of the foundation of something over time as a result of the introduction of some foreign substance (in this case, FEAR) or outside influence (in this case, ADVERSITY and Satan's angels). Eroding faith can also be impacted by false teachers of the Word of God who add to or take away for its content. The erosion of faith is subtle and in many instances invisible until it's too late. It doesn't always take something catastrophic to destroy faith if faith is left unattended or unguarded; these are the elements that can chip away at "little faith" (Matt. 8:26; 14:29-31; 17:20 and Luke 12:27-28).

In contrast, "strong faith" laughs in the face of the impossibilities of man. There is a symbiotic relationship between faith and works; faith and works are not enemies (James 2:20). Very few Christians will ever face the hard choice of life or death for accepting or rejecting their love for Christ. Most of us will be the victims of a daily deterioration of our passion, drive and commitment to the things of God because the pull of the world (temptation) is so strong and, quite frankly, enjoyable.

So what can we do? What options do we have to combat the wiles of the devil? The simple truth is that we have to want to stay connected to the Lord God by following the direction of the Holy Spirit. Faith rejects common sense. Common sense (natural realm) vehemently opposes faith (spiritual realm). Common sense is directed by impulse where faith is driven into the heart of the Believer through inspiration. Common sense relies on facts. Faith is the harbinger of truth. It is the power and intent of God to "educate our faith" because the nature of faith is to make its object real.

What is the straw that breaks the camel's back or the last drip, drip that causes the dam to break in a person's life? No one can tell for sure, but a lack of perception on the part of the Believer does not lessen the tragedy of a fall from God's grace through a loss of faith! Selah...

"The SPIRIT of CARNALITY!"

"...So Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus (Mars Hill), said, :Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious!"  (Acts 17:22)

The definition of idolatry (carnality), according to Webster, is "the worship of idols or excessive devotion to, or reverence for some person or thing." The most prevalent form of idol worship from ancient times until today is the worship of images of pagan deities, practices and rituals. We love our idols! Sports, entertainment, movies, mascots; it doesn't matter. We over indulge on what we like.

Paul was making an astute observation about the religious and political leadership in Athens. He was basically saying, "You brothers are full of crap and ya'll need to get your minds right!" He was telling them that there was a cost associated with their choices.

The correlation between idolatry and carnality is striking. Carnality is related to the pursuit of physical, especially sexually and sensual, appetites of the body for the express purpose of pleasure. It is often referred to as the "flesh" but, in reality, it is a "spirit."

Carnality, in essence, is too much time being spent on non-spiritual activities even if they are not sinful. 

The critical mistake that many Christians make is to associate carnality with lewd and sinful behavior exclusively. Many Believers are captivated with hours of non-productive time spent on Face book, Twitter, Instagram, Linkedin and other social media outlets. In addition, they spend hours watching Reality TV shows, surfing the Net and "channeling" Maury Povich and Iyanla Vanzant with all of their foolishness and witchcraft.

Don't get it twisted, you can do just as much damage to your spirit man by watching Jerry Springer as looking for pornography on your smart phone! Selah...