Matthew 6:9-12 “Our Father in heaven, your name be honored as holy. 10 Your Kingdome come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us today our daily bread. 12 And forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors.” ~HCSB
 
We can go through a lifetime and wonder why God may have not answered some of our prayers. But if you really look at it, it may solely rest on HOW we may have prayed the prayer. For example, our children may ask us for a toy they don’t need. “Dad, I want some fireworks to set off!” We may respond, “Ok son, maybe one day.” With the intention of never giving them the fireworks.
 
The request was made with no real 'need' described.  Why would we buy our children something that explodes? The mere fact that it was possible to send my child to the hospital would be indication enough that they don’t need it. Did the child explain or describe how ‘fireworks’ would be a great addition to the family? You see this may seem a little funny looking at it from viewing a ‘fireworks’ situation, but now think about it when we request from God.
 
When we pray, do we weigh how our request will be good for the kingdom? Many of us don’t think about that. Most of the time we pray according to our own desires instead of our needs. This takes our focus away from concentrating on God’s intent and purpose for our lives; as it is lived in God’s will for control of this world.  I know, it seems a little deep, but it really isn’t. Prayer should be aligned with God’s will.  In other words, we should stick to praying for what is needed to live as a Christian in this world, instead of praying for what we want. Why? Because God knows what we want better than we do, and His ‘gift’ of our ‘wants’ is a whole lot better than anything we ‘think’ we want. 
 
So, how do we pray? There is really no set way to pray correctly because it is a prayer between us and God. But when we look at the Word of God and listen to Jesus as he tells us, Matthew 6 is a great blueprint in guidance. First, we want to acknowledge Who we are praying to. Our children come to us and say, “Daddy!”  “Mommy!”  And then they make their request known. We must do the same and say as verse 9 leads us, “Our Father in heaven, your name be honored as holy…” Allowing ourselves to show humility in gratefulness and thanksgiving by knowing that we are praying to God who will supply for all our needs.
 
Next, we acknowledge that our lives are lived in Jesus’ name and in His image. Verse 10 allows us to speak, what is done in heaven will be done on earth by us. Then we ask to supply for our needs in nutrition and life in verse 11.  In verse 12, ask that we be forgiven as we accept and forgive those who have wronged us. Living and acting in the image of Christ.
 
When we take these basic steps in our prayers before we even 'ask' in prayer, as Christians, it becomes hard to be selfish in that prayer. As we grow into the praying Christian we were created to be, this formula of prayer, taught to us by Jesus in this text, will become automatic in our lives. Watch, as the fruit of those prayers produce the promises that God promised Abraham.  And as heirs, we will inherit those promises.  Practice and grow in your prayers and watch God’s power work in you and through you.
 
May God continue to cover, guide, and heal you on your journey in Jesus’ name.
 
Amen 

​Genesis 1:26-27 “Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness. 27 So God created man in His own image; He created him in the image of God; He created them male and female.” ~CSB
 
Growing up we all had someone we looked up to and wanted to be like. It could have been a pro football player, gymnastic athlete, or our old high school coach or teacher. Whoever they were, they had the qualities we wanted in ourselves so that others would look, respect, and treat us the same way we did with them.
 
But little did we know that God already created us with the qualities and traits of Him. We were created by Him in the image of Him.  We need not look up to anyone else.  We do not become aware of this until we have become a new creature in Christ. This is when our idea of who we look up to changes. As we read the Word of God and build our relationship with Him, we want to walk more in His image and in His name.
 
When you walk in the image of God you take the ‘physical action’ to show others who He is. With all your heart, you stand and become that image of Christ, and God will do the rest. Understand, God has all the power to heal, and bring peace to others. He can use us if we place ourselves in position to be used by him to do this.  Others who cross our paths will benefit from this.
 
What God wants from us is to believe in Christ’s cause. This belief must be enough for us to make every effort to constantly live in the image of Him. No matter what we come in contact with. In other words, when faced with being insulted, or find ourselves in confrontation, we respond with love, kindness, gentleness, and forgiveness. This is how Christ lives in us.
 
God will protect you, then send the healing power of peace to them through you. And they will begin the transformation to a new creature in Christ. They will notice this when they begin to question their negative actions. “Why was that person nice to me, when I was so mean to them?” “Why didn’t they want to fight me?” “How did they get to be so peaceful?”
 
As they continue to see us and other Christians like us, they will begin to understand that they can also have access to the same peace. They would not be able to witness this victory if we did not live in the calm and peace God provides us.  This is how and why we live in His image. To show others He exists and is the source in our lives!
 
When God says, “…Let US make man in our image…”, know that the Trinity, the Father, The Son and the Holy Spirit voted at that point to create all of us in their ‘image’ and ‘likeness’.  They voted this so that the Trinity may do its work in completion in this world. The cause intended by Christ to bring peace, love, and joy to a people created by God, loved by God and covered by God. Let all God’s people celebrate in praise!
 
May the Lord continue to bless you on your journey in Jesus’ name,
 
Amen

1 Peter 3:15 “But honor the Messiah as Lord in your hearts. Always be ready to give a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you.” ~HCSB
 
During my middle and high school years, we used to talk about each other’s ‘Mama’s’. Among close friends this could be funny and fun. But every now and then, even with close friends and family, you would have that one who wasn’t having it. If you said anything about their ‘Mama’, you would be in a fight! 
 
Now let us move away from the ‘joke’ perspective. Any of us would stand in defense and ready to fight if our mother’s mind, body, or reputation were at risk. We would do this because of our history with our mother. She took care of us, fed us, dressed us, cared for our wounds.  She made us feel safe at night when the storm was going on outside. And she always had a light when the power went off in the house. Guiding us through the darkness of our homes and leading us away from our fear with the tenderness of her voice, constantly telling us, “Everything will be alright.”
 
When and how we 'tell it' about our mothers, pretty much sums up how we feel about them. This is also the stand Christians must take in defense of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It starts by declaring and proclaiming that Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior. Believing that with all our hearts. We continue to declare that He hung, bled, and died for our sins. We tell the story of how the Father in heaven resurrected Jesus for our salvation. What Jesus did for us during that time, saved lives all the way up to our time. 

Because of Christ, we have been led through the darkness of this world. God provides for our every need. His Word is the voice that comforts us in our fears and allows us His peace in our storms. Just like we speak about our mothers and defend them because of what they have done for us, we speak and defend in the same way, the Son who gave His life for us.
 
Just as we speak of how our mothers loved and cared for us, we must continue to speak the same about how God loves and cares for us. We continue to talk about it. We continue to scream and shout about it because we should be grateful that He first loved us. The hope that is inside us, comes from our faith, our trust, and our belief that God is in control no matter what happens. We pass on the testimonies as a “…defense to anyone who asks you for a reason…” for that belief in you.
 
The Bible says in 1 Peter 3:16, “Keep your conscience clear. Then if people speak against you, they will be ashamed when they see what a good life you live because you belong to Christ.” ~NLT. Belonging to Christ means that we are in the hands of the Savior. There’s no place I’d rather be.

May God’s Word flow through you as you testify about the Son to those around you. In Jesus’ name,
 
Amen

1 Peter 2:11 “Dear friends, I warn you…to keep away from worldly desires that wage war against your very souls.” ~NLT
 
The way my cravings for alcohol pulled at my flesh, even when my mind spoke against it, was so strong that my flesh would always give in and feed that craving I desired. There was a pattern to my craving. I would wake up every morning saying I would not drink this week. But I could not pass a liquor store without stopping and buying a bottle.
 
After the Lord healed me of that craving for alcohol, I promised myself that nothing would ever get a hold of my flesh like that again. Then, something else crept into my flesh. Cookies. I began to eat cookies with a tall glass of milk with ice. I had been eating healthy for so long that it started out as one weekend a month. Then two weekends until I was eating cookies just about every night.
 
Now some may say, "Cookies are alright." But it's the pattern that's the problem. The pattern was the same. I would get up in the morning and say, “No cookies this week.” Then after work I couldn’t pass a grocery store without stopping to pick up some cookies. When I noticed this, I said, “No! Not today!” I made a promise not to allow myself to get into another position where my flesh would be stronger than my spirit.
 
God created us with a great and powerful spirit. That spirit contains the fruits found in Galatians 5:22-23. But in life, before we are saved, before we know Christ as our Savior, the world strengthens our flesh so that it will out vote and out weight its influence in which we act and/or react to people and situations in our lives.  In other words, there is a war waged within us.
 
We know right from wrong. And if we ever stepped out of ourselves, we could give ourselves some real good advice. But within we always give into the fleshly desires. That is until we allow ourselves to get to know God and learn just how much He loves us! This is when the spirit in us grows stronger than our flesh. So, no matter how much the flesh wants to go one way, our spirit takes over and directs us in ‘Christ’s way’! 
 
I used myself as an example to show you that it was easy to give into the sugar and ice milk. But the spirit allowed me to see the many things I needed to stay healthy for. It allowed me to see the family members, the friends and anyone else the Lord placed in my life for Him to bless through me. The spirit allows us to stay focused on why we were created by God to do ‘His’ will, not ‘ours’.
 
The ‘…war waged against our very souls…’ is a never-ending attempt for the enemy to claim victory in a battle he has already lost to Jesus Christ. Jesus says in the Word that, “…I have come so that you may have life and have it in abundance…” (John 10:10).  His death on the cross and His resurrection sealed our ‘VIP’ ticket to a place in the kingdom.
 
Let us silence this war within ourselves. Pray for God’s peace as you embrace His love for you as His child and know that the enemy cannot touch you. The war in you does not exist unless you allow it to. The war that counted, is already won.
 
May God bless and keep you in his love as you continue your journey in Jesus’ name,
 
Amen

John 16:21 “It will be like a woman suffering the pains of labor. When her child is born, her anguish gives way to joy because she has bought a new baby into the world.” ~NLT
 
As a father I have been blessed to see three of my four children born. It is a miracle worth witnessing. It starts off great. We find out we are about to be parents and we begin to plan all the things we will do as a family. From taking turns rocking the baby after coming home from the hospital; to what collage they are going to.
 
This is how it is when God calls us to a ministry. We are excited! We begin planning everything, on paper, in our minds and hearts in preparation for the ministry we are called to. We get certain people together we think we can count on and prepare them to be ready for the call you have been given.
 
But as childbirth progresses, everything begins to get harder, and more painful. For the mother, the ‘uncomfortable’ sets in her mind and body. As her body changes it moves from uncomfortable to painful. The uncomfortable and painful feelings lead to her becoming impatient in areas where she would otherwise be patience. For the daddy, he must live with the fact that there is nothing he can do for the mother except, attempt to make everything as comfortable as he can for her.
 
Again, like childbirth, our calling may become uncomfortable. The pain hits you in the form of stress and anger. That feeling of impatience creeps into your flesh. We find that we are in a position where there is nothing we can do about where we are in our calling. We find ourselves asking God, “Why did you tell me to do this? This is harder than I thought it would be! Why?”
 
These are 'spiritual labor pains' that come with being impregnated with God’s calling in our lives. These pains come in the waiting period. This period is where God is works on us. Spiritually we need to be trained and groomed for the calling He has blessed us with. This training takes time, God's time.
 
Just as the woman lies in wait while pregnant, God is blessing and creating a new life in us as we go through our spiritual labor pains. The scripture says in John, “…when her child is born, her anguish gives way to joy because she has brought a new baby into the world.” The world will now see the blessing created by God that she bore.
 
This is the same concerning us and our endurance through our trials as we walk in our calling. During the times of your struggles and pain, God seeds you with the tools for your calling. So that you will want for nothing as God uses you as a vessel for the kingdom. The seeds of obedience, discipline, courage, wisdom, and guidance to fuel your faith in Him.
 
And in God’s time, that miracle of ministry through you will be born and God will do many wonderful things through you for the kingdom! So, remember, hang through the ‘contractions’ of your spiritual labor. Take peace in waiting on God’s time because only He knows when we will be ready to give birth to our gift from Him. When we do, we will hurt no more.
 
May God continue to bless and keep you in His eternal peace in Jesus’ name,
 
Amen

John 17:20 “I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message.” ~NLT
 
We wake up in the morning and cannot find our keys. We have just experienced an unsettling evening with our children who won’t listen and refuse to heed our warnings despite our experience and knowledge. Maybe we are in that group where our day has just taken a turn for the worst because of a disagreement with our spouse.
 
Whatever the case, we must realize that no matter how terrible these circumstances my seem, they are just tactics by the evil influencer. Remember his job is to steal, kill and destroy, (John 10:10). We must understand that as Christians we have been given a task and giving into our personal feelings about any situation can take us off focus.
 
We should not forget that God fights our battles. The enemy has already lost but he is trying every day to convince us that he hasn’t. How? By attempting to destroy God’s plan through us. John 1:12 said that God has given all who have received the Son the right to be His children. So, we have to believe in our hearts that God is going to protect his children.
 
Just like a father tends to a cut on his child’s leg after falling and getting hurt. That father will treat and bandage the wound. So, when it heals, the child’s leg will be good as new. And the child can go play again, not fearing falling because they know, their father, will be right there.
 
We need that same feeling with God when we fall in the circumstances listed above. It doesn’t matter if the dog eats your favorite socks; it doesn’t matter if you can’t find your keys, or you and your spouse are not on the same page. Those situations are like ‘cuts on the leg’ to God. He can treat you, bandage you and send you on your way! Hallelujah!  If that doesn’t make you shout, read it again.
 
God created us so that He can deliver healing, guidance, His peace, and His love through us. We were all created with a unique ability so that our uniqueness can be used by Him to save other unique individuals. This is what Jesus was praying for in John 17.  He prayed for Himself, He prayed for His disciples and then He took His time out to pray to the Father for you and me.  He knew that the enemy would be on us every day, attempting to knock us off focus in what God is doing in us.
 
But fear not, there is nothing Satan can do that will keep God from His mission through us. It is up to us, however, to stay in obedience, trust God and endure all circumstances so that no matter what it looks like, we allow God to do that great work through us.
 
For every ‘one’ thing you think is going wrong in your life, there are ‘ten’ things that have been seeded in the Kingdom, by you in the name of Jesus! Because God’s work will be done in us. We just need to stay obedient and focused.
 
May God continue to give you the strength, courage, discipline and wisdom you need to walk in Jesus’ name,
 
Amen

Ephesians 4:22-24 “…to take off your former way of life, the old self that is corrupted by deceitful desires, to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, the one created according to God’s likeness in righteousness and purity of the truth.” ~CSB
 
Growing up, my dad used to tell me all about his younger days. The most interesting to me were his ‘fight’ stories. I knew the names of all his old friends because of those stories.  As I grew up, I wanted to be like my daddy. So, I got into fights. I tried to imitate and do everything he talked about in his early years growing up in North Nashville.
 
I got into some trouble because of it, but I must tell you, looking back on those years I realize God saved me from a lot of trouble I ‘could’ have been in. The kind of trouble that either follows you for life or ends it. One day God spoke to me through my father and said, “Son, should you ever have a son, don’t tell him about all the things you did. At least not until he’s 25 or 30 years old. Hopefully by then he will be his own man and won’t attempt to do any of the foolishness you tell him you did.” At this point, I began to see that I was living to imitate the wrong ‘father’.
 
This statement was seeded in me because years after he said that to me, (six years after he passed), my only son was born. As I watched our fourth child come into the world in the hospital that night, my dad’s statement, in a very clear voice in my head, repeated what he had told me. I remember holding my son one night thinking to myself, “I’ve got to get rid of some of these ‘old habits’ and develop some good new ones."
 
The world had taught me so much on how to give into, “…deceitful desires…”. I knew well how to lean heavily and easily to the things of this world that promoted against God’s will for my life. So, in order to “…put on my new self…”, I had to go to the Word of God for instructions. I went to Galatians 5:22-23 and wrote the list of ‘The Fruits’ on paper. My goal was to go through each ‘Fruit’, (beginning with the one I had the most ‘trouble’ with), and allow the strength of the Spirit God gave me, to build my character according to each ‘Fruit’.
 
I started with ‘Self-control’. This is the fruit I needed to work on first. And as the Word of God strengthened my spirit in this ‘Fruit’, I continue, to this day, allowing God’s peace and guidance to work within me. And as a result, I gain strength in all the remaining ‘Fruit’.
 
We must all do this so that we may tap into the spirit God created in us to live and be in His, “…likeness in righteousness and purity of the truth.”  May God continue to bless, guide, and give strength to you as you journey in Jesus’ name,
 
Amen

​1 Peter 2:23 “He did not retaliate when He was insulted, nor threaten revenge when He suffered. He left His case in the hands of God, Who always judges fairly.” ~NLT
 
When I was little, I loved comic books. My favorite comic of a superhero was ‘Spider-man’. I had no idea why I liked that hero at the time but as I’ve grown, I realized I related to him as a boy growing up in this world. You see, Spider-man was unique. Not just his power, but him as a person.
 
Spider-man was a kid. He was 16 or 17 years old, in high school. He had to go to school and keep his grades up. His Uncle died so it was just him and his Aunt May. So now he had to get a job and help his aunt pay the bills.  And above all else, he was bitten by a radioactive spider that gave him superpowers. So, in addition to school, homework, and a job, he was saving the world as a masked superhero.
 
Now it’s the mask I want to talk about. He was doing good for all. Saving lives and putting bad guys in jail. But no one knew who he was. He was being bullied at school. Sometimes, because of his superhero job, he was late for work and often fired because of it. If only those who treated him so badly knew who he really was, he may have been treated kinder.
 
This is what living as a Christian is like. We wear the uniform God has given us every day, but to those who do not know Christ, they don’t see who we are. We tithe, we give our time, talent and money in the service of others, but the world still treats us badly. This treatment causes some Christians to give up. They give in to frustration and anger. As a result, they say things Christians shouldn’t say. They do things Christians should not do.
 
The bible says in first Peter chapter 3 verse 20, “But when you do what is good and suffer, if you endure it, this brings favor with God.” Unlike Spiderman, you are being watched. God is always watching you, when the world treats you kind, and when the world treats you cruel. Be grateful that God will take care of his children and there is nothing the world can do to us that He cannot heal.
 
Unlike Spider-man, we as Christians don’t wear a mask, it’s just that those who do not know God, do not see Him in us. But as we endure the trials of this world, God begins to show Himself to all around us and reveal His power through us as He reveals Himself to them. This result saves lives. We were called to this as it says in verse 21, “For you were called to this, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in His steps.” ~CSB
 
In His own way God called us to be superheroes in His name. But we must endure and follow the same steps as Christ. No matter what happens, we must not “…retaliate…” when insulted. We must not “…threaten revenge when we suffer…” We must be like Jesus and leave our case, “…in the hands of God, who always judges fairly.” 
 
In Jesus’ name, may God always bless and keep you embodied in His peace,
 
Amen

​1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 “Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.” ~NLT

Last Thursday, June 2nd, marked thirty-six years since I graduated from High School. I bring this up as an example of ‘time’ in our lives. I always hear people say, “You are not promised tomorrow!” My question, on the day of my anniversary, was, “What if I lived those 36 years with 'that' mind-set? What would have been wasted by me living and thinking with even the slightest notion of my life being over that next day?”

​Then, I began thinking about what I actually did during that time frame. What I did, and what I didn’t do. How many of those years did I waste, not spending time with my children? Not spending quality time with my wife. With my dad when he was alive? With my mother? Then I began to think about the day I was saved. And all those years before that, when I didn’t dedicate my life to God’s work in this world.

I have always been a God-fearing man. But I learned later in life that I wasn’t living my life according to God’s will for it. And then it hit me…my actions during those years contributed to the mission of the enemy. If I didn’t love my neighbor, If I didn’t maintain self-control, if I lacked patience, and gave into anger, I was contributing to the mission of the enemy.

When I idolized alcohol more than my worship of the Father, the enemy’s mission was being fulfilled. Choosing to give into my fleshly desires kept me from strengthening my spirit. Looking back with the Word, now on my heart, I know that the Lord did not create me to follow ‘me’; He created me to follow ‘Him’.

All those years made it hard to trust the ways of the Lord because I had ‘practiced’ doing things my way under my control. Now I needed to develop good new habits, that would strengthen my spirit and allow my heart to trust in the Lord and His way. I had to learn that we are all created to be like Jesus Christ.

Just as the Bible speaks of Isaiah announcing the coming of Christ as the savior, (Isaiah 9:6); and just as John spoke of how he was preparing others for the coming of the Messiah, (John 1:19-27); trust and know that God created each and every one of us to walk in the image of His Son.

To save lives. To teach others about God through our testimonies of what He has done for us and others in our lives. Let us not get caught up in the notion of, “We are not promised tomorrow”. Let us not waste any more of the time God allows us. Instead, let us always be joyful about Him being in our lives! Let us never stop praying to Him in good times and bad! And let us always be thankful in all circumstances as we know that God works out everything for the good of all who love Him!

Without question, “…this is God’s will…” for us. Let us take a hold of this Word of God, His Promise to us, and never let it go! Cherish the years of life and this day forward make it a point to serve the Lord as you live to serve others. May God keep you safe, strong, and healed as you continue your journey in Jesus’ name,

Amen

Proverbs 13:6 “Righteousness guards people of integrity, but wickedness undermines the sinner.” ~CSB

Let’s visualize this text using ‘Man 1’ and ‘Man 2’ as ‘Righteousness vs Wickedness’.  Man 1 is offended by something Man 2 said. Man 1 begins to get feelings of anger in his head. In his mind a voice is making many statements about what his reaction should be and why.

“You must take a stand as a man and defend what has just been said relating to you. You can’t just stand there, everyone around you heard what was said and they are now waiting for your response. If you do not respond, you will look weak.  As a man, you will look weak. As a father you will look like you cannot defend your children. As a husband you will NOT look like the man you wife wants as a protector, so you need to do something!”  This is what is going on in Man 1’s head.  And as a result, he walks over and slaps Man 2 for what he just said.

We cannot fault Man 1 for doing this because many of us give in to the voice of 'unreason'. This comes from wickedness.  As the scripture says, wickedness ‘undermines the sinner’. Think about it, everything that went through Man 1’s thoughts gave him the misunderstanding that if he responded the way he did, he would be able to look strong in front of those who stood as witnesses. He would look like he could defend his children and be the man his wife would be pleased and proud of.

But the results of his actions were just the opposite. Man 1 would look back on what happened and be ashamed. He was ‘undermined’ by wickedness because now, as a result of his actions, his wife would be ashamed of him. His children would be embarrassed. As men we need to be accountable for our actions 'before' we even act on them. If we live righteous and keep righteous thoughts, we will be guarded by the promises of those actions. Let’s now look at Man 2.

Man 2 could have responded by hitting Man 1 back, but he did not.  Instead, he did not think about how he may look in front of others who witnessed what happened to him. He didn’t see the situation as his, ‘manhood being tested’; he saw it as a ‘test of him being a Christian’. And he passed.  He passed because he allowed righteous thoughts to remain in control and in return, that righteousness guarded him and kept his integrity intact.

For Man 2, his family would be proud as they saw that the situation would move into a calm and resolute result. Man 2 may have been embarrassed. He may have had some angry thoughts go through his mind for a moment. And he may have wanted to react in a negative way. But he did not. He allowed his Spirit to control him instead of his flesh and allowed God to shine through him. When he did this, he showed others that it is alright to let some things in this world go. Because it is for the greater good of God’s plan for us.
 
We should never fear being righteous. Regardless of what wickedness tries to make look good in front of us.  It is not about what looks good, or better in front of others, it the righteousness in what looks pleasing to God. When we make Him our audience, we learn that He will fight our battles for us. And that will leave us the time, strength and wisdom to always do the right thing.

May God keep you under his umbrella of peace as you endure the trials of this world. In Jesus’ name,

Amen