Complete Your Calling

A Healthy Craving

Just like a deer that craves streams of water, my whole being craves you, God (Psalm 42:1 CEB)

“Happy are people who are hungry and thirsty for righteousness, because they will be fed until they are full” (Matthew 5:6 CEB)

Dear Lord,

I thank you Father for Your greatness and faithfulness. You are true to Your Word and honorable in all things. Father, in these perilous times, let us draw near to You more deeply. Let us crave the secret place where we meet You intimately.

Let us examine our walk, ways, thoughts, and deeds. Let us use our time of worship and waiting as deeply rooted seeds. Let the soil of our hearts be fertile ground. Let us be freed of anything that is keeping us bound.

Tune our ears to Your frequency. Let us not grow weary, but live the life of a believer in Jesus Christ diligently. Let us not cower or become dull in spirit. Let us use the Word to uplift us all, to pick up our cross daily, and bear it.

Keep us in perfect peace as we settle in under Your wings. Protect our minds from unrighteous behaviors and all temptations. Let our desires be rooted in Your presence and Your divine essence. Let us live a life of repentance and reflect daily on Your undeserving mercy.

In Jesus name,

Amen

Stay Encouraged. Seek Him Obey the Call. Complete Your Assignment.

The Subtle Path to Betrayal

Then one of the Twelve, the man called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, “What are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?” So they weighed out thirty pieces of silver for him. And from that time he started looking for a good opportunity to betray him. Matthew 26:14-16 (CSB)

He replied, “The one who dipped his hand with me in the bowl—he will betray me. The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for him if he had not been born.” Judas, his betrayer, replied, “Surely not I, Rabbi?” “You have said it,” he told him. Matthew 26:23–25 (CSB)

While he was still speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, suddenly arrived. A large mob with swords and clubs was with him from the chief priests and elders of the people. His betrayer had given them a sign: “The one I kiss, he’s the one; arrest him.” So immediately he went up to Jesus and said, “Greetings, Rabbi!” and kissed him. “Friend,” Jesus asked him, “why have you come?” Then they came up, took hold of Jesus, and arrested him. Matthew 26:47–50 (CSB)

Then Judas, his betrayer, seeing that Jesus had been condemned, was full of remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders. “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood,” he said. “What’s that to us?” they said. “See to it yourself!” So he threw the silver into the temple and departed. Then he went and hanged himself. Matthew 27:3–5 (CSB)

I have to admit it- I wrestled with writing this because of the weightiness of the text. But, when Holy Spirit nudges and the conviction deepens, one must move in obedience quickly. The past few months have been very transformative for me to say the least. I went through a season of re-dedication to the Lord. This was followed by some very powerful shifts and moves from our most gracious and loving Father. Now, I am in a new place spiritually. I pray to God that this place only strengthens and deepens day by day.

I was in worship this morning followed by reading and meditating on my daily Bible passage. God began to highlight something to me in the Word as it is leading up to the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ (Yeshua Hamashiach). I started to think about Judas on a different level. I began to feel compassion for him and wondered what happened to him to want to betray our Savior. Then I realized it was very subtle.

Judas was consumed with money. He was known as a thief, and ironically was in charge of the money bag when walking with Jesus ( John 12:6). He was with Jesus and watched him perform many signs and wonders, and even walked with the other disciples, but he still would betray Jesus. Jesus always provided for them and protected them, but he would still hand him over to be killed. I began to think more deeply into this as my spirit became vexed and grieved.

As I read about Judas’ life and his untimely ending due to regret and remorse, I began to wonder how many times we have betrayed Jesus for what the world had to offer? I thought about my own life. I repented for times I knew I was not walking with God fully; betraying the Word made flesh to feed carnal desires. I sat and thought to myself: “who am I to judge anyone?”

I began to imagine the steps that led to Judas’ fate, which is estimated to have occurred in the span of hours. When Judas decided that money was more important than Jesus, he gave the devil open access. He allowed the enemy to use him in this way. Judas, like us, can become blinded by our sin so much so that we do not even evaluate the consequence until it is too late. As my BFF says, “if you cant say amen, say ouch”.

The action to betray Jesus, started first in the mind, then embedded into his will, which he then gave himself over to by yielding to that great deception. I cant imagine what he must have been going through in his mind after he betrayed Jesus, but something shifted. It is like he came back to himself and realized what he had done. I wonder if the enemy taunted him. I wonder if the accuser began to harass him and isolate him, like he does us when we do not allow our thoughts to be captivated by Jesus ( 2 Corinthians 10:5).

Judas grieved his decision, and was remorseful, but instead of repenting or finding wise counsel to confess to and confide in; he ended his life abruptly. And although that is his story, it does not have to be ours. We can come to Him with all of our baggage, our shame, our pride, our ego, and even our own self-deception and turn to Him.

It is time to repent- to turn permanently to Him. There is an urgency in my spirit to plead with everyone reading this. Examine your heart and ways. Confirm with the Lord if you are in the faith before it is too late. God is drawing His people back to Himself. He desires that none of us perish (2 Peter 3:9). He wants us to be with Him and in Him is the only way to live. To God Be the Glory!

Stay in Prayer and Stay Encouraged.

Seek Him. Obey the Call. Complete Your Assignment.

Sound Familiar?

The Lord, the God of their ancestors, repeatedly sent his prophets to warn them, for he had compassion on his people and his Temple. But the people mocked these messengers of God and despised their words. They scoffed at the prophets until the Lord’s anger could no longer be restrained and nothing could be done. (2 Chronicles 36:15-16)

I read this verses recently and all I could think was this sounds all too familiar today. Everywhere you turn, mockers, and scoffers are either directly or indirectly impacting many believers. We are in a time of deep darkness and delusion that is being masked by superficial living and being.

During time in the word, God keeps directing me to the prophets of old and their many warnings about what would happen in their time and the time ahead. During the days of prophets such as Ezekiel and Jeremiah, the people of God would not listen to warnings about repentance and idolatry.

This is even more tangible now. All I can say is that we need to pray for each other. Not prayerless praying, but prayers that God will hear and not walk away from. Commit yourself to a life of repentance, ask God to reveal the truth that many in Christ are giving up. Do not be like the world.

Embalm yourself in the working of the Holy Spirit and free yourself from anything that may be separating you from Him. It is really time to become more serious about your walk with God before the time has expired to be in fellowship with Him.

Stay encouraged.

Seek Him. Obey the Call. Complete Your Assignment.

A Reed to A Rock

Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God”. Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it”. (Matthew 16: 16-18 NIV)

“Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.” (Luke 22: 31-32 NIV)

Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38 NKJV)

I could not wait to share this after reading and praying more into this. I was in my office one morning reading the book entitled The Fourth Dimension by Dr. David Yonggi Cho and I was blown away reading about Simon Peter’s name change. When studying about the meaning of a reed, it is known for being malleable, easily moved, and very bendable. On the contrast, a rock is sturdy, tough, and not easily moved.

Simon’s (a fisherman turned a fisher of men) name means reed and when Jesus gave him the distinction of being Peter, there was so much power in the spoken word that it literally changed Peter’s life. The name Peter literally means rock. Dr Cho notes in his book that “Peter became a strong rock of the Early Church. But before he was changed into this rock, Christ saw a vision of Peter as a rock in His heart, and then he became that rock”.

Christ never gave up on His reed turned rock disciple, even when He knew that Simon Peter would forsake Him. Just in reading the warning He gave Peter in Luke referring to his reed name shows you that there was still some of that malleability to the world still hidden deep in Peter that he was not even aware of.

But Peter as seen in Acts 2, becomes very resolute in his mission and call as a disciple, but he needed to believe and accept the call from God in faith. He also needed to be humbled and reminded of his shortcomings when he did forsake Jesus. This made me think “I wonder how many of us received our own new identity in Christ, but we keep waffling? We want to be a rock but our reeds have not been rooted out completely?”

Think on these questions, meditate on this blog, and ask God to sift you so that you too can be a true disciple, diligently.

Stay Encouraged. Seek Him. Obey the Call. Complete Your Assignment.

Don’t Wait to Repent

Seek the LORD, all you humble of the land, you who do what he commands. Seek righteousness, seek humility; perhaps you will be sheltered on the day of the LORD’s anger. Zeph 2:3

and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” Matthew 3:2

I remember a time, not that long ago when I would do something that I knew grieved the Holy Spirit and I would pretend that I did nothing wrong. I guess the only way I could rationalize it is if I did not bring it to light then it did not exist. It was not until I began to truly understand that I carry the Holy Spirit with me and that the actions I do throughout the day impact our relationship with each other.

I would wonder why I did not hear from God the way I wanted to. Why He felt so distant and why I felt so lonely. And I realized that it was me. The fleshly version running the show without the right audience. It was me causing a rift because I began to drift. It was me causing Him pain as I lived in vain.

I think one day as I sat with God, I could feel the tugging to come back. I learned the importance of humility and repentance and started on the journey of turning. When I would think about something I should not have, I would repent and turn. When I would do something, act out in carnality and sin, I would repent and turn. Slowly but surely this became a daily activity.

I am not sure what is up ahead. But there is something on the horizon. Our world is on shaky ground. We are upside down and inside out. And I don’t know about you, but I do not want to be on the wrong side of life in this time. I recommend repenting daily and quickly. We do not have any more time to waste. We must turn towards Him in haste.

Stay Encouraged. Seek Him, Obey the Call. Complete Your Assignment.

Pray for Leaders

Remove the wicked from the king’s presence, and his throne will be established in righteousness. (Proverbs 25:5 CEB)

I have a question for you: how often do you pray to God? And as a follow up, do you pray for your leaders? After I read this proverb a couple of days ago, I began thinking about my current prayer list which lists my current boss, former bosses, church, and political leaders. I was reminded about the importance of praying and interceding for our leaders locally and abroad because they have a lot on their plate.

Not only do leaders need to contend with their external environment, but they often are battling internal convictions, especially with decisions that must be made that have the potential to be groundbreaking. It was not until I was put in a position of leadership when I could fully relate to previous employers and all that they had to navigate.

The level of horizontal pressure can be undeniable, but imagine if leaders that we know do not have the right person to lean on or worse yet, have no belief in our heavenly Father? What if they are surrounded with corrupt individuals who do not value truth? And how will that impact us, others, the world? What if they do not have Christians praying for them?

I know it may seem like we are not in control and we are not. But what we do have control over is our one on one time with our Father which is more powerful than anything earthly. So let’s pray like we mean it. Our nations needs our prayers. Our community needs our prayers, and our leaders most definitely need our prayers. Instead of complaining, let’s get to praying.

Stay Encouraged and in Prayer.

Seek Him. Obey the Call. Complete Your Assignment.

Famine in the Land

“Look! The days are coming,”declares the Lord God, when I will send a famine throughout the land—not a famine of food or a thirst for water—but rather a famine of hearing the words of the Lord.People will stagger from sea to sea, from north to east.
They will run back and forth, searching for a message from the Lord, but they won’t find it.” (Amos 8: 11-13 ISV)

I remember when I read the book of Amos few years ago and thought that what is described here would be well after my lifetime. But honestly friends and family in Christ, I feel like we are approaching this exact scenario very rapidly. My heart has been heavy and burdened. I cannot even imagine how the Lord feels during this time. There is so much deception that we have to be so careful to not be caught off guard.

I even heard that there was a new AI bible that has changed up many things that are not even in the sacred word of God. It is appalling but not surprising unfortunately. I know we are given prophetic messages to prepare us, but I was not expecting the degree to which things are occurring on such a rapid and rampant pace.

I think this is why so many that I know are hungering for the word of God on a new level of intensity. I sense God is up to something and drawing His children closer and to those who eager for His word, we are storing it up for the famine in the land that is coming. This makes bible verses such as “I have hidden the word in my heart that I might not sin against You” (Psalm 119 :11 NIV) so relevant.

I pray we continue to hunger for His Word like natural food. That we meditate on His Word, apply it to our life daily, and be protected from deception. We are here for this time, right now. Take your walk with God seriously. In doing so He will prepare you for what is ahead and ensure that you are “seeing” clearly.

Stay Encouraged and Stay in His Word.

Seek Him. Obey the Call. Complete Your Assignment.

Profits & Loss Statement

For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? Matthew 16:26 ESV

Happy are those who find wisdom and those who gain understanding. Her profit is better than silver and her gain better than gold. Proverbs 3:35 CEB

Remember Lot’s wife! Who ever tries to preserve their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life will preserve it. Luke 17:32 CEB

According to wikipedia, a profit and loss statement is “an income statement with commentary that attributes or explains the daily fluctuation in the value of a portfolio of trades to the root causes of the changes”. After reading this definition, I started thinking about the daily decisions that we make each day that either draw us closer to God or further away. The subtle fluctuations in our subconscious that can lead to micro-drifts or memorable intimacy with the Holy Spirit. It then led me to read over these verses and acquire a wake up alarm call to my own spirit regarding the vital importance to intentionality to die daily.

Looking around, I am sure you can see and feel the changes happening that are creating more obstacles to be able to do the right thing, to live within the moral confines of our Creator and to walk the narrow path without constantly tripping or stumbling. The plethora of distractions from deliberate devotion with God our Father is so prevalent now that if we are not careful, we will be blurring the lines that at one time we were able to see and walk clearly on. In fact, it is hard just to watch television these days.

As the world continues to try and pull us in with the enemy’s crafty deception that is becoming even more inconspicuous now, I can see how easy it will become to fall away in these last days, if we are not hyper vigilant. And by hyper vigilant, I do not mean hyper-religious. In fact to be able to decipher accurately moving forward, we must become even more sensitive to Holy Spirits leading, lest we become deceived and fall into the enemy’s trap.

And in reading these verses above, I thought about Lots wife, her longing to linger, which created permanent bondage and death, losing her soul because of the desire to remain in the world, ultimately causing so many more issues for her family later on. I wondered what would have happened if she sought after God and listened to the angels message not to look back? What would have amassed for her and her family? Would we know her name instead of her title? Would she have been revered like other women in the Bible or perhaps thought of as a Proverbs 31 woman? I guess we will never know will we?

But what we can do moving forward is to examine our own profit and loss statement. What are we holding on to that we need to loose? What are we letting go that needs to be strengthened? What are we walking into that we need to run from? What are we looking back on that we need to forget?

Stay Encouraged.

Seek Him. Obey the Call. Complete Your Assignment.

The Plumb Line

This is what the Lord showed me: The Lord was standing by a wall, with a plumb line in his hand. The Lord said to me, “Amos, what do you see?”“A plumb line,” I said.Then the Lord said,
Then the Lord said, “See, I am setting a plumb line in the middle of my people Israel. I will never again forgive them. The shrines of Isaac will be made desolate, and the holy places of Israel will be laid waste, and I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.” (Amos 7:7-9) CEB

I will make justice the measuring line and righteousness the plumb line.
But hail will sweep away the hiding place of lies, and water will overflow the shelter. (Isaiah 28:17) CEB

vintage plumb bob isolated on white background

Have you ever seen one of these before? The reason why I ask is because I had no idea until I saw this word a couple of times in my Bible during my devotional time. Then, two days ago, I heard someone use it. Of course in that moment, I felt a draw that I was supposed to investigate further. And I wrestled with preparing this because of how weighty the topic. The pull from the Holy Spirit became more apparent and then I started to read about the practical and biblical use of the plumb line.

In practical terms, the plumb line is “a line (as of cord) that has at one end a weight (as a plumb bob) and is used especially to determine verticality”. In biblical terms, the plumb line ” is the image — the parable — of God’s holy and righteous standard for Israel. It served as a measuring line representing Israel’s failure, and how far they had fallen from God’s guiding principles”.

When I read these two scripture selections that addressed the plumb line and thought about both the practical and biblical definitions, I immediately questioned where we are as a generation today and how we too have so fallen away from the righteous standards of God’s principles. I began to look around and within and think, “Oh my how have we lost the true fear of the Lord and have become so distracted by what is occurring around us”.

I reflected on the verses in Matthew 7:13-14 that states “Go in through the narrow gate. The gate that leads to destruction is broad and the road wide, so many people enter through it. But the gate that leads to life is narrow and the road difficult, so few people find it. Taking all this in, provided understanding on the correlation between the plumb line and the narrow gate or path.

Our relationship with Him is a reflection of our inner and outward walk. When we follow His way, it is difficult because it takes a level of submission and dying to self that we cannot do on our own. And it is not too late to evaluate our plumb line and whether we are on the broad or narrow path. But will we allow Him to strengthen us vertically to be corrected and directed today? Or will we be so consumed by what the world has to offer and be led astray?

Stay Encouraged.

Seek Him. Obey the Call. Complete Your Assignment.

Hang On

Don’t suppress the Spirit. Don’t brush off Spirit-inspired messages, but examine everything carefully and hang on to what is good. Avoid every kind of evil. 1 Thessalonians 5:19-22 (CEB)

After recently ending a month of fasting, I recognized the importance of its significance early this morning. I normally try to sleep in a little extra on the weekends, but the tug to rise before daylight became unavoidable. I reached out to God this morning in my one on one time and heard the whisper to read 1st Thessalonians. I wondered why that was the text to read after my daily devotion and then I found these spirit filled words from the apostle Paul to believers in Thessalonica (north of modern Greece) that I know we can all grab onto today during these evil days.

I have been hearing from many believers and non-believers about how dark, perilous, and tumultuous this world has become in recent days. Do you notice it? Do you sense the shift in the atmosphere? It is almost like a spiritual earthquake with invisible tectonic plates, but the aftershocks are creating waves of dissonance, confusion, and darkness. That is the best way that I can describe it to myself. Honestly, it can be off putting, because as we toil day by day, we may feel like we are stepping into quick sand sometimes as the world around us provides increased pressure and decreased comfort.

And as I searched for solace, I found His peace. I saw these words which reminded me to stay close to the Holy Spirit in these times. During my fasting period, God was dealing with me on many levels. He was refining me more, purifying my heart, testing my resolve, my faith in Him, increasing my awareness of His presence, correcting my posture, and drawing me to messages and words that fed my spirit with the right food, no matter how convicting. He also blessed me with many dreams and interpretations, fortitude, and His love. He met me where I was and came alongside me as a gentle Father to assist me with understanding.

In all transparency, it has been difficult to continue to examine my ways because it has led to a deeper level of introspection that I was not ready for, but what God needs of me to be able to withstand and to conquer in this next season. So just like you, I am hanging on. I am hanging on to His Word and to Him which is the only thing in this world that is truly good. Thank God for His Word, for the leading of the Holy Spirit, and for His grace. Stay Tapped in! Let’s remain aware of His presence and commit ourselves to obedience in Him and covenant with Him.

Stay Encouraged and Hang On

Seek Him. Obey the Call. Complete Your Assignment.