Way of The Warrior- A Daily Devotional

Jesus answered, “If I glorify Myself, My glory means nothing. The One who glorifies Me is My Father, of whom you say ‘He is our God.’ You do not know Him, but I know Him. If I said I did not know Him, I would be a liar like you. But I do know Him, and I keep His word. Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see My day. He saw it and was glad.” Then the Jews said to Him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and You have seen Abraham?” “Truly, truly, I tell you,” Jesus declared, “before Abraham was born, I am!- John 8:54-58 BSB

Warrior;
Many Biblical skeptics and chosen atheists and agnostics argue that Jesus never claimed to be God. As like so many other arguments, they start with a lie. That is NOT true. I have heard the argument that Jesus was made God hundreds of years later by a church council in ways that are not supported in Scripture or history. However, if you just READ THE BIBLE, you will find the truth in a different light. In today’s verse if you follow the situation to its conclusion, the following verse, 59 says, “At this, they picked up stones to throw at Him.” Why? Because they knew He blasphemed, for they knew He was claiming to be God. And He was, but He did not blaspheme, because He is God. The religious leaders knew what Jesus was saying and if you study the Bible you will too! Jesus made a clear reference to Exodus 3:14, where God revealed His name to Moses as “I AM.” The reason the religious leaders wanted to kill Him was because Jesus claimed to be God. In Exodus 3, Moses comes upon a bush that is aflame but is not being consumed by the fire. He repents, turns to the bush and He is introduced to the God of the Universe. God tells Moses that He has heard the cries of His people in bondage and that God is going to use Moses to free His people from the chains of Pharaoh and the bonds of Egypt. Then Moses asked God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is His name?’ What should I tell them?” God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” (Exodus 3:13-14)

Leader, Jesus is our EVERYTHING. He is our Portion, He is our Purpose, HE IS OUR PROVISION. “LORD, you alone are my portion and my cup; you make my lot secure” (Psalm 16:5). King David, a man after GOD’S OWN HEART knew that God was everything. There are many passages in scripture that refer to God as “my portion” (Lamentations 3:24, Psalm 73:26, Psalm 142:5). Some translations render the Hebrew word for “portion” as “inheritance” in Psalm 16:5. The NASB also links the word portion to inheritance: “The LORD is the portion of my inheritance.” The “inheritance” is a reference to the allotment of land given to Israel when they entered the Promised Land (Numbers 26:52–56; Joshua 14:1–5). Jesus is ALL WE NEED, He is everything, this is where the I AM name comes from! God is everything we need HE IS…! In John’s Gospel, Jesus makes seven references to Himself using “I AM”, you should look those up and know them. A true follower of Jesus will know Jesus as THE: ONE who satisfies (bread of life), ONE who gives life (light), ONE who offers salvation (gate), ONE who died for us (good shepherd), the resurrection and the life, the way, truth, and life, and the true (real, legitimate) vine. When Jesus said I AM, He was telling us that HE ALONE fulfills the prophecies of the Old Testament regarding the Messiah, predicted His resurrection, and presents Himself as the only way of salvation. The key question for us all today is, WHAT IS JESUS TO ME? Is he a ticket to prosperity? Is He a social connection? Is Jesus another way, or another asset to a ‘Good Life’? We must decide WHAT\WHO is Jesus to me?

Conduit, Christian artist Zach Williams wrote a hit song about the GREAT I AM. It is called ‘Chain Breaker’. In the song Zach tells us that to him, Jesus has 4 other I AM’s! He says, “If you’ve got pain, He is a pain taker”. It is written; “Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows”. (Isaiah 53:4) He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” (Revelation 21:4) “If you feel lost, He’s a way maker”. It is written; “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6) Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. (Isaiah 43:19) “If you need freedom or saving, He’s a prison-shaking Savior.” It is written; “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free.” (Luke 4:18) Peter and Paul both know this role of Jesus from personal experience. “If you got chains, He’s a chain breaker”. It is written: He led them from the darkness and deepest gloom; he snapped their chains. Now I will break their yoke from your neck and tear your shackles away.” (Psalm 107:14, Nahum 1:13) Jesus is working for a relationship with each of us, waiting for the DESIRES of our HEARTS for HIM to be our I AM! Jesus is waiting for us to call out to him, so He can BE, and SAY- “HERE I AM”! Revelation 3:20 confirms this, IT IS WRITTEN, “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me”. Open the door to your heart and mind and be WILLING to let Jesus be your GREAT, I AM!

Then the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died. And the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD and against you. Pray to the LORD, that he take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people. And the LORD said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.” So Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on a pole. And if a serpent bit anyone, he would look at the bronze serpent and live. So Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on a pole. And if a serpent bit anyone, he would look at the bronze serpent and live. – Numbers 21:6-9 ESV

Warrior;
What a great message. This is how we can be confirmed that GOD IS OMNI! God is OMNIPOTENT, OMNISCIENT and OMNIPRESENT. He is all POWERFUL, all KNOWING and all PRESENT-everywhere at all times. Many scholars believe that Psalm 139 was written by David, and David alluded to God’s omnipresence when he wrote, “Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,” even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you.” (Psalm 139:7-12) Why does that matter because God promised us, He will always be with us, we just need to LOOK TO HIM. When Moses was dying, and had to tell his traveling party that He would no longer lead them, that Joshua would take them over the Jordan, GOD wanted them to know that although Moses was leaving them, God would never! Then Moses summoned Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel, “Be strong and courageous, for you shall go with this people into the land that the LORD has sworn to their fathers to give them, and you shall put them in possession of it. It is the LORD who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.” (Deuteronomy 31:7-8)

Leader, Deuteronomy 31:6-8 is but one time, of many, that God spoke those words of encouragement. Almost 400 times in the Bible God implores us to trust Him to not fear, to not worry. In v 6 of Deuteronomy, he says it and he again tells them He will NOT FORSAKE THEM OR LEAVE THEM; Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the LORD your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you. God’s promise that “I will never leave you nor forsake you” is found in multiple books of the Bible, in both the Old and New Testaments. With this promise, we can be assured that He is always with us and encouraged to always be with God in faith and spirit. God says, I WILL NEVER LEAVE YOU! Which brings us back into the desert in Numbers and the snake on the pole. If you look at the request of the Israelites, and the deliverance of mercy, it was different than what was asked. I find it interesting They begged God to TAKE AWAY the serpents, but God had His own plan and did not remove that which was the consequence of their sin, instead, HE MADE A WAY! No matter the situation we must look to God, to Jesus, and the work He did lifted up on the TREE OF LIFE. God’s way is NOT to remove all that pains us and makes us uncomfortable, instead His way is for us to always be looking to JESUS on the CROSS- that is HIS way, not our way! Show me Your ways, O LORD; teach me Your paths. Guide me in Your truth and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation; all day long I wait for you. (Psalm 25:4-5)

Conduit, even the greatest Christian, outside of Christ, who walked this planet did what many of us do; He begged God to REMOVE things from him, BUT GOD had a different way, a different plan and He is omniscient; He has perfect knowledge. In other words, He knows what we need, to get us to where He wants to get us to- which is this place called DEPENDENCE! So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. (2 Corinthians 12:7-10) The sad reality is that we can never get to the city called DEPENDENCE without walking a mile on the PATH called DESPERATION! What we celebrate during the Christmas season is that Christ came into the world, as a Living, breathing Human being, AND FULLY GOD. He died one time, in fulfillment of the scriptures. Three days later He rose again, so that whoever believes IN HIM- whoever LOOKS TO HIM, shall not perish, but have everlasting life! This gift that we celebrate on Christmas, has its maximum value when we BELIEVE- cling to, have no other hope- so that we too shall only die one time and then be in the Presence of the Lamb of God who took away the sins of the world! What a great gift that will be, to PRAISE GOD forever – in HIS PRESENCE, in the new Jerusalem! We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne. (Hebrews 12:2) Joy to the world, the LORD HAS COME, and is coming back for HIS CHURCH. Let the church receive her GROOM! In these END TIMES, instead of looking down, or looking for the ANTICHRIST, we need to be LOOKING UP for THE CHRIST! Look Up, because for a CHILD OF GOD, that is where things are going…UP!

Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you; bind them around your neck; write them on the tablet of your heart. So you will find favor and good success in the sight of God and man. – Proverbs 3:3-4 ESV

Warrior;
The Book of Proverbs is packed with God’s wisdom, short spurts of wisdom- what some might call “T-shirt slogans”. These nuggets are easy to understand, and because they are simple in concept, the lack of confusion tends to lead to an easier sense of application to our life. Many of the eternal truths in the Bible have to be carefully mined, like gold, deep underground. However, the book of Proverbs is like a mountain stream littered with nuggets, just waiting to be picked up. Proverbs is sometimes called the ‘Book of Wisdom’. Ecclesiastes and the Song of Solomon, and even the book of Psalms can be considered to fall into the same category. In the New Testament, the NEW AGREEMENT, the book of James- considered the most practical book in the, “New Agreement”, should fall into the same category. The Book of Proverbs was to show the Jews the “Right Way to Live”, the “God way” to maneuver the complexities of life with simple concepts, a foundational moral\Spiritual code. Today it still serves as the same LIGHT unto our path, the way of the ‘Narrow Path’ talked about by Jesus Himself. (Matthew 7:13-14) The 3rd Chapter of Proverbs is one of the most instructional Proverbs on TRUSTING IN THE LORD. It has guidance for the young, and the old.

Leader, one of the most famous verses in the book of Proverbs is in Chapter 3, v 5-6, which comes right after today’s verse. “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths”. To the writer of this Proverb, it seems as though we cannot do verses 5-6, unless we first do verses 3-4. The writer of Proverbs 3 was King Solomon, and he was the wisest man to ever live according to God, and His Word. “Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you; bind them around your neck; write them on the tablet of your heart. This was similar to the SHEMA, a reminder to the Jewish People of God’s Love, Deliverance, Mercy and Calling on the Jewish People. “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. (Deuteronomy 6:4-9) Just like in today’s passage, when you put something on full display everywhere, it is NEVER FORGOTTEN, that means, this is REALLY IMPORTANT! We know that LOVE is important to God because HE IS LOVE! (1 John 4:8) The Bible is full of scripture about the defining characteristic of a TRUE follower of Jesus Christ is LOVE. (John 13:35)

Conduit, 1 Corinthians 13 is called the LOVE chapter and in this chapter we are told; Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love. (1 Corinthians 13:13) Notice what Solomon attached to this most important quality of a Christian, LOVE- FAITHFULNESS. To help with understanding the word, faithfulness, let us go backwards- which is a common theme in studying the Bible. Sometimes we need to go BACK to the Old Testament, to understand things in the New Testament. The Word ‘STEADFAST’ is attached to the verb LOVE. Understanding this word will help us understand faithfulness. Steadfast means to be firm and unwavering. That is the type of love that God tells us is to be combined with faithfulness and BIND THEM AROUND OUR NECK. Like a necklace, that we see every time we look at ourselves in a mirror. We feel the necklace around our neck and sometimes we can hear it as it moves around our neck with our movement in life. It is a CONSTANT REMINDER. The Hebrew word rendered “faithfulness” is emunah, which literally means “firmness,” figuratively means “security” and morally means “fidelity.” To be faithful is to be reliable, ‘steadfast’ and unwavering. Faithfulness is one of the characteristics of God’s ethical nature. It denotes the firmness or constancy of God in His relations with men, especially with His people. It is, accordingly, one aspect of God’s truth and of His unchangeableness- God is immutable! The third word in this verse that we need to understand is, FORSAKE. Forsake means to quit or leave entirely; to desert; to abandon; to depart from. God gives us this reassuring promise many times, again, showing us this is a molecular quality of God. Deuteronomy 31:6-8 God’s promise that “I will never leave you nor forsake you” is found in multiple books of the Bible, in both the Old and New Testaments. With this promise, we can be assured that He is always with us and encouraged to always be with God in faith and in spirit. In today’s verse we can see the constant message of our LORD and HIS character and the desire for GOD to IMPUTE those same qualities to those who choose to pick up their cross daily and follow HIM! Steadfast, Faithful, and WILL NEVER leave, renounce, or entirely turn away- that is our DADDY, this is our SAVIOR, these are the qualities of His Children! DO this, BE LIKE JESUS, so you will find FAVOR in the sight of GOD and MAN!

The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. “The LORD is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.”- Lamentations 3:22-24 ESV

Warrior;

This is an interesting book, Lamentations.  Lamentation(noun) is the act of bewailing; audible expression of sorrow; wailing; moaning. Lamentations is also a book of the Old Testament attributed to the prophet Jeremiah, and taking its name from the nature of its contents. The Book of Lamentations is a collection of poetic laments for the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BCE.  This is interesting because this is the time where the Babylonians, the first great empire, was ravaging Judah.  Three assaults, three times that captives were taken, and the third time was the total destruction of their cities.  This was not a good time.  Jeremiah was prophesying, and so where others.  There were others who were telling the people that God would protect them, and they were going to be ok, but Jeremiah was not interested in saying what people wanted to hear, instead He was sharing what God was saying.  Since the 2 were different, Jeremiah got thrown in prison as a traitor, possibly 2 times. (see Jeremiah 32) It was in these three attacks, and three times that captives were taken back to Babylon- that we read about Daniel and his three friends: Hanania, Mishael, and Azariah, who bore the Babylonian names Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego

Leader, this to me, corresponds to where we are at in America today. We might not have been captured and taken out of “The Land”, but we are definitely living in a foreign land. With the election of 2020, it looks like Christians are captive in a strange land. What to do? Why did God not answer all the prayers of his people and allow for a different outcome in this election? I believe we need go to the author’s other book, that bears his name to find the answer: “Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts: Because you have not obeyed my words, behold, I will send for all the tribes of the north, declares the Lord, and for Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and I will bring them against this land and its inhabitants, and against all these surrounding nations. I will devote them to destruction, and make them a horror, a hissing, and an everlasting desolation. This whole land shall become a ruin and a waste, and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years. Then after seventy years are completed, I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation, the land of the Chaldeans, for their iniquity, declares the Lord, making the land an everlasting waste. (Jeremiah 25:8-9, 11-12) We must remember, GOD IS GOOD! It was at this time, that God gave Jeremiah a word that many of you have heard and used to encourage others- but this is where God said it to the prophet: For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. (Jeremiah 29:11) God is at work! What looks like a closed door to you could be God’s pathway to blessing. What appears to be a nightmare can become His dream for your life. And what may seem like the worst news you could possibly receive can actually be the point of a new beginning. This is because whatever God allows to touch your life is part of His plan for your future.

Conduit, everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with gratitude. (1 Timothy 4:4). Such an important TRUTH to understand at this time of GIVING THANKS. It’s easy to think of God’s goodness, when everything seems to be going for us—a good job, a good relationship, health, a nice house and a new car, a good outcome in an election…. Life is good, rich, and full. But if we never learn to say “thank you” to the Lord, regardless of our circumstances, then we become a FAIR-WEATHER FOLLOWER. “Every good thing given, and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.” (James 1:17) Great Is Thy Faithfulness is a popular Christian hymn written by Thomas Chisholm (1866–1960). Notice the lyrics: Great is your faithfulness, O God my Father. There is no shadow of turning with thee. Thou changest not, Thy compassion they fail not. As Thou has been Thou forever will be. Chorus. Great is Thy faithfulness, Great is Thy faithfulness. Morning by morning new mercies I see. All I have needed Thy great hand hath provided. Great is thy faithfulness Lord unto me. What is a “shadow of turning?” This is what James was talking about when he said “there is no variation or shifting shadow. When we are walking in the sunshine, we have a shadow. Every action we take is reflected by our shadow. We turn a little to the right or left, and our shadow also turns. When Chisholm says “there is no shadow of turning with Thee” he is pointing out God’s consistency. God is steadily walking toward the light, toward Truth, and He invites us to follow. In whatever crisis we face, we can count on God. He will lead. He will provide. He will see us through. 100% of the time. There is no shift—not even a slight one– in God’s faithfulness to us. In whatever crisis we face, we can count on God. He will lead. He will provide. He will see us through. 100% of the time. There is no shift—not even a slight one– in God’s faithfulness to us. For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and self-control. No matter who you eat your Thanksgiving meal with, and no matter what is served- we must believe that God is our portion! For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and self-control. (2 Timothy 1:7) John 14:27 and Romans 8:15 confirm this. Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled; do not be afraid. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery that returns you to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us. – 1 John 4:7-12 ESV

Warrior;
What we need is love! It was sung decades ago by the Beatles, and it is an important trait in our walk as followers of Jesus Christ. All throughout scripture we are admonished to love, and told without love we are nothing but frauds, fakes, apostates, abominations. 1 John 4 goes into the importance of love as a MARKER for a child of the Kingdom of God. John was known as the apostle, JESUS LOVED. The Gospel of John is considered the Gospel of Love. John seemed to be all about LOVE, do you know why? Because Jesus was LOVE INCARNATE. To Jesus LOVE was practically everything. In John 13:35, Jesus makes this powerful statement: “All men will know that you are my disciples if you have love for one another.” The book of Wisdom, in the 3rd chapter, the chapter giving instructions on how to live we are told: Never let loving devotion or faithfulness leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. Then you will find favor and high regard in the sight of God and man. (Proverbs 3:3-4) Love leads the list of FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT: But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law. (Galatians 5:22-23) Jesus even created a NEW COMMANDMENT centered around LOVE: A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. (John 13:34) Then Jesus upped the ante and said that this was the GREATEST OF ALL COMMANDMENTS, and that LOVE wipes out sin! See Mark 12:28-30, Matthew 22:36-40, 1 Peter 4:8.

Leader, LOVE was always on the mind of Jesus, and He tells us it is in the TOP 3 of HIS VALUES LIST, and of the TOP 3, it is the MOST IMPORTANT. And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love; but the greatest of these is love. (1 Corinthians 13:13) Jesus is our example, He is our glory, He is our REASON FOR OUR SEASON- the entire purpose of our creation! If this thing called LOVE is SO IMPORTANT, what IS LOVE? The Apostle Paul knew how important this was to JESUS, and knew how confusing this nominalization, LOVE, is that He wrote a chapter describing it to the church in Corinth. It is one of the greatest dissertations on love in the known world. “Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. (1 Corinthians 13:4-7) In the original language of the New Testament, which was written in Greek, there are 4 words that we translate into Love: Phileo, Agape, Eros, Storge; brotherly, Godly, Sexual and Familia. An interesting side note is that ‘Eros”, sexual love, is not in the Bible. Could that be because EROS is a feeling, while God defines love as a VERB? Love is NOT a noun, it is a VERB! Jesus Himself said that; Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. (John 14:23) All throughout the Bible God ties LOVE to an ACTION. Even the most famous Bible verse, John 3:16 shows us that LOVE IS A VERB. For God so loved the world…that HE DID SOMETHING about it. For a husband so loves his wife, that He does something about it. For a veteran so loved his country, they did something about it. For an LEO so loved their community, that they did something about it. Jesus put an exclamation on this point in John 15:13, “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends”.

Conduit, we are told in the last days one of the signs will be the lack of love; And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. (Matthew 24:12) It is a sign of the end times, this LACK OF LOVE. Let us close by looking at Paul’s explanation of LOVE in the LOVE CHAPTER, 1 Corinthians 13. Paul finds that Love is so profound that it cannot be described or explained in one simple word. Paul has to use 15 different verbs to explain what love is, and then needs to tell us what LOVE is not. Paul, knowing the importance of getting the “love” point, goes to great lengths to help us understand this quality, this concept, this doctrine called LOVE. In Paul’s list about love, he uses seven verbs teach us what love is, and eight verbs teach us what love is not. Patient, kind; envy, boasting; arrogant, rude, self-serving; irritable, resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, rejoices with the truth, bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. The great thing about VERBS is that they can be learned! We can LEARN TO VERB. The best way to get to Carnegie Hall is also the BEST way to LEARN HOW TO LOVE, Practice, Practice, Practice! We can learn to love in a biblical way. We can learn to be patient, to be kind. We can learn not to be envious. We can learn not to be irritable or resentful. We can learn not to rejoice at wrongdoing. We can learn to rejoice with the truth. We can learn to bear all things, believe all things, hope all things, endure all things. In this time of plandemics, the god of government, and an apostate church in a dying world.… What the WORLD and the CHURCH need is LOVE, sweet love! We must show evidence that demands a verdict! If loving one another was a crime, would there be enough evidence to convict you? Or would it be a circumstantial case, a ‘he said, she said’? The TIME IS NOW to start with the people you interact with daily, the people that cross your path! We are called to See a need-meet a need! We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters. But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? (1 John 3:16-17) The time is now to BE LIKE JESUS and LOVE! Get your VERB ON!

If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming. – Colossians 3:1-2,5-6 ESV

Warrior;

Are you of this world, or are you of the KINGDOM? It is time to choose.  The easiest way to identify who is OF THIS WORLD and who is OF THE KINGDOM, while still IN THIS WORLD- is based on their focus! If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world – the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life – is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.” (1 John 2:15) We forget what an AWESOME GOD we serve.  We seem to have lost the REVERENCE for God, we have forgotten to be in AWE of the CREATOR of the Universe! the LORD said to Moses, “Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their garments and be ready for the third day. For on the third day the LORD will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people. And you shall set limits for the people all around, saying, ‘Take care not to go up into the mountain or touch the edge of it. Whoever touches the mountain shall be put to death. No hand shall touch him, but he shall be stoned or shot; whether beast or man, he shall not live.’ When the trumpet sounds a long blast, they shall come up to the mountain.” (Exodus 19:10-13) Here in the desert, after saving these roughly 2 million people from captivity in Egypt, after walking with them and being Jehovah Jireh; the God who provides their food, their clothing, their shoes, their health, their water, their livelihood.  We would assume the people would look forward to being in the presence of Yahweh and thanking Him.  But, just like today, we pretend to love God and desire His presence, but the TRUTH is of a different light.

Leader, On the morning of the third day there were thunders and lightnings and a thick cloud on the mountain and a very loud trumpet blast, so that all the people in the camp trembled. Then Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they took their stand at the foot of the mountain. (Exodus 19:16-17) After this Moses went up to meet with God and God laid out the law, told them how His people are to act, to treat each other, and how to worship. Moses was getting instruction on what to do to be people of God and how they should act and treat other people. And while Moses was on the mountain of God, getting instructions from God, the people grew tired of waiting for the things that are NOT seen, and wanted to be satisfied by things that are seen. In a short few days after meeting God, after being saved by God, after a miraculous journey of being sustained by God, after calling themselves CHILDREN OF GOD, they got wrapped up in the world, the flesh and the things that can be seen! Which brings us to Exodus 32: When the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people gathered themselves together to Aaron and said to him, “Up, make us gods who shall go before us. As for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.” So Aaron said to them, “Take off the rings of gold that are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.” So all the people took off the rings of gold that were in their ears and brought them to Aaron. And he received the gold from their hand and fashioned it with a graving tool and made a golden calf. And they said, “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!” When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it. And Aaron made a proclamation and said, “Tomorrow shall be a feast to the LORD.” And they rose up early the next day and offered burnt offerings and brought peace offerings. And the people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play. (v1-6) Not much has changed, we are the same STIFF NECKED people serving God when it is convenient! However, when things don’t work out the way we want- creating our god, just like the world does!

Conduit, this is what we are doing today. We are fashioning God in our image. When things didn’t work out as quickly as they wanted, when they didn’t get what the rest of the world was getting, they became just like the world- Making a God out of stuff they value, instead of worshipping the God who made them valuable out of nothing. Today we seem to be treating God the same way. For many, the one who gives them stuff becomes their God. Many are their own God, providing for all their needs by worshipping their jobs, their families, their spouse, their government. “And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.” (Matthew 19:24) This was the criticism that Jesus had for the church in Laodicea: For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see. Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent. (Revelation 3:17-19) Our Focus is OFF CHURCH! We are wrapped up in the World’s obsession with COVETNOUSNESS. The whole WHITE PRIVILEGE, Black Lives Matter, keeping a pound of flesh, a ‘record of wrong’, being led by the SPIRIT OF OFFENSE—This is an abomination to JEHOVAH, it is LIKE IDOLATRY! The church is NO DIFFERENT THAN THE WORLD, with all this racial hatred and lies like, Critical Race Theory. Church, it is time to CHANGE OUR FOCUS! As we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. (2 Corinthians 4:18) We are OFF MISSION, just like the Israelites in the desert. The TIME IS NOW, repent and change your focus, your direction and get off the world’s agenda and get ON with the FATHER’S BUSINESS! The WRATH OF GOD is coming!