Author: Mr.ScottV.Black

When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built the altar there and laid the wood in order and bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son. – Genesis 22:9-10 ESV

Warrior;

God requires the PREMIER position in our lives.  He is to be the one on the throne of our lives.  He is the one who is to be our FIRST LOVE, our FIRST FOCUS and our FIRST PRIORITY! In the relationship that God had with His people during the EXODUS from Egypt where God went with them, HIS PRESENCE was with His people, He made it known how He felt about where He sits in the Hierarchy of our DESIRES: You must worship no other gods, for the LORD, whose very name is Jealous, is a God who is jealous about his relationship with you. (Exodus 34:14) And that is reaffirmed by HIS personal COMMAND in the TEN COMMANDMENTS, the very FIRST commandment, as He requires HIM to be our FIRST LOVE: Then God gave the people all these instructions. “I am the LORD your God, who rescued you from the land of Egypt, the place of your slavery. “You must not have any other god but me.” (Exodus 20:1-3)

Leader, in the book of Genesis, chapter 22, God asks Abraham to offer up his only son- a son He promised to give HIM, a son Abraham waited 25 years to be blessed with- the SON OF PROMISE- God then said I want you to KILL HIM, for me! We must stop and realize the tremendous sacrifice God is asking of Abraham. God promised to bless all the nations through Abraham. Through the line of Abraham, God would bring about the nation of Israel, His chosen people. God had miraculously provided Isaac to Abraham and Sarah. Now God was requesting that Isaac be offered as a sacrifice. What a great sacrifice! Abraham was willing to lay down his most treasured possession in sacrifice to God. Everything we have is God’s. Whether a material possession, a talent, or monetary wealth, all of it is the Lord’s. So when God asks us to sacrifice something for Him, we should be willing to give it to Him. After all, it is His anyway!

Conduit, when Jesus walked on this planet, He made statements that show that anything in between your relationship with God and you is to be discarded:
“If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. (Luke 14:26) God is NOT breaking his commandment to honor your mother and Father- “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you. (Exodus 20:12) God is saying our relationship with Him is to RULE SUPREME! Sometimes we can disobey God’s command to sacrifice because we fear letting go. We misrepresent God about what is to be where. Conduit, when you sacrifice something for God, He will bless you far beyond what you gave! God knows exactly what you need, and He will provide it for you. He is Jehovah Jireh, the God who provides.  He is the great I AM- He deserves to have TOP BILLING! “But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:19). Today, put God back where HE BELONGS on your throne!  He is NUMBER 1- everything else, is 2-1000. Amen!

“Let your waist be girded and your lamps burning; and you yourselves be like men who wait for their master, when he will return from the wedding, that when he comes and knocks they may open to him immediately. Blessed are those servants whom the master, when he comes, will find watching” – (Luke 12:35-36) NKJV

Warrior:

Are you ready?  The Time of the Gentiles is coming to an end (see Luke 21-24). The next great thing is the removal of the RESTRAINER.  According to God’s timetable, the Day of the Lord and the accompanying judgment will not start until a global rebellion occurs AND the Antichrist is revealed. Paul then mentions what is currently keeping the evil in check: And you know what is now restraining him, so that he may be revealed at the proper time. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work, but the one who now restrains it will continue until he is taken out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will slay with the breath of His mouth and annihilate by the majesty of His arrival. (2 Thessalonians 2:6-8)

Leader, So Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him. (Hebrews 9:28) Here is your SPIRITUAL TEMPERATURE: Are you waiting for him, are you WATCHING for HIS return, do you pray; “Come Jesus, come…NOW”? How important is it that we “watch”? Consider this: The biblical command to watch is several times coupled with the command to pray. Is prayer important? Extremely so! And so is the command to watch! When the New Testament commands us to “watch,” it is usually the translation of one of two Greek words which have similar meanings—to “stay awake” and to “be sleepless.” They are usually meant in the metaphorical and spiritual sense—to be vigilant and on guard, fully awake, aware, alert and intently focused—with several applications and implications. ARE YOU SLEEPING?

Conduit, In Matthew 26:37-40, the meaning of “watch” is physical. Jesus was chiding the disciples for not remaining awake during the hour preceding His arrest. But what Jesus next said to Peter had a deeper, spiritual meaning: “Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak’” (Matthew 26:41). In other words: Your will power can’t accomplish this! It is spiritual watching; it is a DEEP DESIRE to BE and to SEE the LORD!  Do you hunger and thirst for HIS RETURN? “AWAKE to righteousness, and do not sin” (1 Corinthians 15:34). Being awake is equated with righteousness and not sinning. Paul was writing to the church at Corinth- Good Christians, TRUE CHRISTIANS!  Even true Christians can be spiritually asleep to varying degrees- WAKE UP! “And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed” (Romans 13:11) Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of Him. Even so. Amen. (Revelation 1:7) It is ALL about HIM!

Peter and John went to the Temple one afternoon to take part in the three o’clock prayer service. As they approached the Temple, a man lame from birth was being carried in. Each day he was put beside the Temple gate, the one called the Beautiful Gate, so he could beg from the people going into the Temple. When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for some money. Peter and John looked at him intently, and Peter said, “Look at us!” The lame man looked at them eagerly, expecting some money. But Peter said, “I don’t have any silver or gold for you. But I’ll give you what I have. In the name of Jesus Christ, the Nazarene, get up and walk!”- Acts 3:1-6 NLT

Warriors;

We must understand that we all have our UNIQUE cross to carry daily. Luke’s gospel quotes Jesus as giving His followers the imperative: Then he said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross daily, and follow me.” One of many CONDITIONAL statements Jesus gives about what it takes to be a follower of God! Just like we all have our own cross to bear we also have our unique TREASURE: resources, gifts, talents and abilities that are ON LOAN from God and given to us so we can give to others. We are called to be CONDUITS- pass through agents! All that we have is to be used for ALL THAT HE DOES!

Leader, we can get so wrapped up in what we DON’T have, what we CAN’T do- God is calling us to GIVE what we HAVE and trust that HE WILL PROVIDE our needs as JEHOVAH JIREH! God is calling HIS CHILDREN to AVAIL and COMMIT and to Keep It Simple SOLDIER- it’s not that complicated! Remember the enemy’s #1 WEAPON formed against us is CONFUSION. When we remove confusion and remember WHO we are and WHY we are here and WHOSE we are- then, we truly understand; SEE a NEED, MEET the NEED! Be available to people in need, treat them like they matter; acknowledge them, make eye contact with them and MEET their NEED to the best of your available gifts, talents and blessings! God says the same measure, the same gifting, the same compassion, the same MERCY, the same FORGIVENESS- you give to others that is the measure He will use toward you- you decide!

Conduit, remember: But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” (Matt 19:26) You have been blessed, so that you can be a blessing to others! Proverbs 11:25 tells us, “Whoever brings blessing will be enriched, and one who waters will himself be watered.” Your life casts a shadow on this earth and that shadow can be a blessing or a curse, it’s entirely up to you! And more than ever believers were added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women, so that they even carried out the sick into the streets and laid them on cots and mats, that as Peter came by at least his shadow might fall on some of them. (Acts 5:14-15) Remember, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” (Phil 4:13) Let God LIVE in your HEART and put “I CAN’T” in the bottomless pit! Let it be about God and HIS Blessings! If we want to be a blessing to others, we shall take our understanding from the life and mindset of John the Baptist. He knew the equation, “He must increase, but I must decrease.” Today, give what you have and trust JEHOVAH JIREH to RE-SUPPLY your needs according to HIS riches in Christ Jesus! Amen!

“Blessed are those slaves whom the master will find on the alert when he comes; truly I say to you, that he will gird himself to serve, and have them recline at the table, and will come up and wait on them.” – Luke 12:37 NASB

Warrior;

This is an incredible verse! The God of the universe, the ONE WHO PAID IT ALL, the only ONE WORTHY to open the scroll- the deed to planet earth- is the ONE WHO WILL SERVE, His good and faithful servants! Then I saw a scroll in the right hand of the one who was sitting on the throne. There was writing on the inside and the outside of the scroll, and it was sealed with seven seals. And I saw a strong angel, who shouted with a loud voice: “Who is worthy to break the seals on this scroll and open it?” But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll and read it. Then I began to weep bitterly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll and read it. But one of the twenty-four elders said to me, “Stop weeping! Look, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the heir to David’s throne, has won the victory. He is worthy to open the scroll and its seven seals.” (Revelation 5:1-5)

Leader, Jesus told us when He was on this planet before His death and resurrection- He told his followers; And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. And Paul tells us of the magnificent glory of what we will experience in that time;” No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.” (1 Cor 2:9) Before His arrest and crucifixion Jesus did something similar to what He will do again in heaven; He riseth from supper and laid aside his garments; and took a towel and girded himself. (John 13:4) Notice the consistency of our SAVIOR! HE IS WORTHY of all our PRAISE and our WATCHING and WANTING for HIS RETURN!

Conduit, Jesus makes another powerful promise about those who ENDURE to the end: “Yes,” Jesus replied, “and I assure you that everyone who has given up house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or property, for my sake and for the Good News, will receive now in return a hundred times as many houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and property—along with persecution. And in the world to come that person will have eternal life. But many who are the greatest now will be least important then, and those who seem least important now will be the greatest then.” (Mark 10:29-31) So here is today’s LITMUS test: Out of all the things you are LOOKING FORWARD to, is the main one the RETURN OF CHRIST? This will tell you your SPIRITUAL temperature more than anything else! Are you ON ALERT, WATCHING, WANTING, preparing, LIVING as ONE WHO CRAVES, DESIRES HIS RETURN? Up Until NOW…! Focus- Amen!

And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. – Luke 2:17-19 ESV

Warrior;

What do you do when what you have been told by God and what you see, hear and feel with your FLESH as you walk in this world- is incongruent? Meaning what you have been told, is different than what you are seeing, hearing and feeling in the reality of the life you are living? When the WORD of GOD and the REALITY of LIFE, don’t say the same thing- what do you KEEP, HOLD ONTO, CLING TO, KNOW DEEP IN YOUR HEART?

Leader, the BIBLE says; For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Matthew 6:21). In the verse identified above different translations say Mary KEPT these things and pondered them in her heart. She remembered these things and thought deeply about them. She was thinking about all this and wondering what it meant. In the Bible when it speaks of our HEART, it is talking about what we focus on, what we think about regularly, what we HOLD ON TO! Then he returned to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. And his mother stored all these things in her heart. (Luke 2:51)

Conduit, the psalmist says GOD KNOWS OUR FRAME! Jesus is Emanuel, GOD WITH US. God walked in our shoes, He lived EMPATHY, so as HE could understand us, know our struggles and have WALKED IN OUR SHOES! He knows that whatever we think about on a regular basis, we believe, we become, we ACT AS IF! Proverbs 23:7 tells us; For as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he. We live in a world where people are keeping their POUND OF FLESH, keeping a RECORD OF WRONG and it is destroying our families, our communities, our relationships and our country. What we need is forgiveness, mercy and Grace- JESUS! THE TIME IS NOW, to quit condoning our own HATE and condemning others. It is time to quit JUSTIFYING our own hate while we are JUDGING others. The time is now- brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Time to REFOCUS on JESUS and the KINGDOM of GOD and let go of those things that Earth-Dwellers focus on! It’s all about Him!!

Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” – Gen 12:1-3 ESV

Warrior;

Abraham is the Father of our FAITH. He was a FRIEND of GOD, and HE was the CONDUIT of blessing for all the JEWISH people and, those IN CHRIST! Galatians 3:29 affirms this: If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise. God gave Abram three instructions: 1- Leave this place, Babylon. 2- Leave ALL your family, your Fathers house. 3- GO TO a specific place, the land that I will show you and then GIVE YOU! Abram DID NOT fully obey God, He KIND OF did, he ALMOST did what God told him. Partial OBEDIENCE is DISOBEDIENCE! For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it. (Galatians 3:29)

Leader, Abram did NOT OBEY GOD! He took his father, Terra and his nephew Lot, with him. He did NOT LEAVE Babylon. Harran was on the outskirts of Babylon. Beyond Harran is the great WILDERNESS where the Israelites journeyed for 40 years. That DESERT must be endured to get to God’s promised, PROMISE LAND. The SUBURBS of disobedience is still in the land of DISOBEDIENCE! Thirdly, He never MADE IT to the “Land I will show you’. Abram came to THE LINE, but HE NEVER stepped over the LINE and FULLY committed to God’s plan! Like Israel’s first king, KING SAUL. Read 1 Samuel 15, when Saul kept the king of the Amalekites, Agag alive, as well as some of the sheep and cattle and HE LOST HIS covering and his blessing. The Lord sent you on a mission, instructing you, ‘Go, and put the sinful Amalekites under the ban. Fight against them until you’ve wiped them out.’ Why didn’t you obey the Lord? You did evil in the Lord’s eyes when you tore into the plunder!” (1 Samuel 18,19)

Conduit, when we fail to FULLY OBEY GOD- the result is we LOSE PRIVILEGED and we make it necessary for GOD to deal with us in a more SEVERE, painful way. Psalm 32:8-9; I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you. Be not like a horse or a mule, without understanding, which must be curbed with bit and bridle, or it will not stay near you. There are TRAGIC consequences for HALF-WAY obedience. We cannot PLEASE God with merging our feelings with GOD’s INSTRUCTION! The Hebrew meaning of Terra is DELAY, and the Hebrew meaning of Harran is Barrenness! Because of Abrams disobedience He was DELAYED in BARRENNESS. God never spoke to Abram in Harran and his father died in Harran. Terra was an idolater and Babylon is the source of ALL false religions. The study of Epigenetics tells us we are a community of 300 Trillion cells all driven by our environment! If you want to REALLY CHANGE then you must change your ENVIRONMENT and those you call FRIENDS, even FAMILY! If you are a child of GOD, He will use whatever is necessary to correct you and keep you on the NARROW PATH. And yes, PAIN can move even the most STUBBORN MULE! Don’t be an ASS, seek the LORD and HIS WILL and then DO HIS WILL, not your interpretation of it! Amen!!

Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, saying, “Rabbi, eat.” But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.” So the disciples said to one another, “Has anyone brought him something to eat?” Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work. – John 4:31-34 ESV

Warrior;

WHY ARE YOU HERE? What is your purpose? Why do you get up each day, do what you do and go to bed the next day? Why did the God of the universe breathe breath into you and give you the gift of life? You have been created for a time such as this! The book of Ecclesiastes tells us that we must know what TIME IT IS! There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing, a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.( Ecc 3:1-8)

Leader, when you know THE TIME, we live in then you LIVE with a sense of URGENCY! Planes crash, and people die in a wink of an eye- it’s a fact of life! What are you doing with your time on this planet before your time in the BOX? Rule #1 about being a Leader for God is, “It’s NOT about you!”. We need to get off ourselves and the FEEDING OF OUR EGO and EAT THE BREAD OF LIFE! If you understand the cycle of LIFE – then you will be FED by bringing others into FREEDOM that comes from being with the FATHER! The book of Hebrews tells us the cycle of life: Everyone must die once, and after that be judged by God. (Hebrews 9:27) We all fall short of the Glory of God and are in need of a SAVIOR! For the PRICE OF SIN IS DEATH! If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. (1 John 1:8-10)

Conduit, if we will trust in JEHOVAH JIREH He will provide all of our needs according to His riches and glory in Christ Jesus. (Phil 4:19) In the journey through the desert God provided MANNA, which translated means, ‘WHAT IS IT’. When GOD is our FOCUS and HIS WILL is our OUTCOME then HIS WORK is OUR WORK. We are on a rescue mission and GOD WILL FEED HIS SOLDIERS! Rescue those who are unjustly sentenced to die; save them as they stagger to their death. Don’t excuse yourself by saying, “Look, we didn’t know.” For God understands all hearts, and he sees you. He who guards your soul knows you knew. He will repay all people as their actions deserve. (Proverbs 24:11-12) The TIME IS NOW to consider, WHOSE ARE YOU and WHY ARE YOU HERE? Once you know the answers to those two questions then you can AVAIL and COMMIT! Jesus, knew WHY HE WAS HERE, do you? Jesus said, “The food that keeps me going is that I do the will of the One who sent me, finishing the work he started. As you look around right now, wouldn’t you say that in about four months it will be time to harvest? Well, I’m telling you to open your eyes and take a good look at what’s right in front of you. These Samaritan fields are ripe. It’s harvest time! (John 4:34-35 MSG) Amen!!