​1 Corinthians 3:2 “I gave you milk to drink, not solid food, since you were not yet ready for it…” ~CSB

We know that when a baby is born, it is born with no teeth developed. The digestive system of the infant has not been formed enough to digest solid foods. Therefore, we feed our babies liquid nourishment at the beginning of their lives, nourishment like milk.

In time, our babies’ digestive systems become stronger and when the teeth develop, they can gradually eat solid foods.  We start off with strained vegetables and fruits. This gives them a chance to practice chewing with their newly developed teeth.  And when they become toddlers, we can then cut up solid foods like meat, small enough, so they don’t have to chew that much.  Their digestive system is ready to digest these meats and the child can grow stronger with these foods.

​This is how we are as ‘new creations’ in Christ. We all come to that point where we say, “I have had enough of this. I’m going to give my life to God! I am going to do the right thing from here on!” We give ourselves to Christ and now we are ready to start our journey. What we don’t know is that we have lived so long being trained by the world in ‘what not to do’; that we now must be trained in the way of Christ. We must be 'reborn'.

We pick up the Bible, begin to read and our meditations start. But something happens, we lose focus. Our attention spans are not strong enough for us to maintain or even comprehend God’s Word as we read it. One of the reasons we have a hard time receiving God’s Word is because we forget that we are 'babies' in this new walk.

We are in a new phase as ‘new creations’. We have not yet developed the spiritual ‘teeth’ to chew on some of this new ‘meat’. Meat found in books like Revelations, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy. Just as we wouldn’t give a newborn a piece of ham, as a new Christian we shouldn’t bite off what we can’t chew.

We must start off with ‘Milk’. In my own opinion, the milk that helped me, started in the book of John. For me, the pieces of the other books come together when I know who the Son of God is. When I read the book of John, my relationship with the Father grows strong. This is where we find our forgiveness, our chance for acceptance with the Father and our place in the kingdom. We discover ourselves as heirs to the kingdom and learn the abilities we have, to claim God’s promises.

It is after we have established this relationship with Jesus, that we can have a relationship with the Father. Then we can be taught by the Holy Spirit how to live righteously. So that we may receive the powers, peace, and protection from God, in all the other books in the Bible. When we develop our spiritual ‘teeth’, we will begin to know Christ in a way that God will allow us to receive what He has for us. This will be in His Word through the other books of the Bible, in His time.

Let us receive the ‘Milk’ of the Lamb first, then, when our digestive system is formed and strong enough to receive the ‘meat’ from God, we will be ready.

May God bless and keep you in the power of His peace as you continue your journey in Jesus’ name.

​Amen

1 Timothy 4:4-5 “For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving since it is sanctified by the word of God and by prayer.” ~CSB

This week my wife and I took our children to a Memphis Grizzlies basketball game. Our son likes the team and has a favorite player on that team. It was so amazing for us to see our teenager, standing and passionately yelling for his team and player. I have seen him excited before, but not like this.  After the game he thanked his mother and I for taking him and asked, “…when are we coming back?”

I could see the joy in my wife’s heart as she loves giving to people and making their lives better. Especially her children. And to see the look on her face at how grateful her son was…priceless. This is how God is when we receive from Him and show Him gratitude in what He has done for us.

In the text above it says that ALL things created by God are ‘good’.  Then it says that we are to receive what God gives us in ‘thanksgiving’. No matter what it looks like to us, it is a blessing. No matter when it comes to us in our lives, it is a blessing. And even if it does not look like a gift, if it comes from God, it is good, and the results of it will be His will for our lives.

This is important to know because, the text continues to state that the gift from God is, “…sanctified by the word of God and by prayer…”  If we receive God’s gift, with thanksgiving in our hearts, that gift will be sanctified, because the Word and our prayers have fertilized it like a great crop to be harvested at the right time in our lives. This is how much God loves us.  Preparing us for the blessings He has already created for us!

We are to be grateful and thankful to God every day of the year. But at this time of year, let us reflect on the things God has done for us, put those reflections in a ‘mental gift bag’ and give it to the Lord in thanksgiving. Let the Joy of the Lord show in our hearts as we show God how much we appreciate and love Him. Knowing we could not have done what we have accomplished without Him. We would not be where we are today without Him. And we would not know how to love without knowing how much He loved us first!

May God continue to bless and keep you under His love and protection as you journey in Jesus’ name.

Amen

1 Samuel 15:22 “But Samuel replied, “What is more pleasing to the Lord: your burnt offerings and sacrifices or your obedience to His voice? Listen! Obedience is better than sacrifice...” ~NLT

My son is not to play video games or have access to his tablet during the week because of school. On school nights, he devotes his time strictly to studies and later he can watch some TV, but no video games. One week, he did well on a test and got his homework done for the week so I told him he could get his tablet and play on it for two hours. I ran an errand and when I came back, I noticed him playing on his video game. I said, “Didn’t I tell you to play on your ‘tablet’, not your video game?”

He responded, “You told me to play on my tablet, but you didn’t tell me ‘not’ to play on my video game.” My son took the statement I gave him and made it his own excuse to play his video game. In the book of First Samuel, King Saul took God’s words and sort of did the same thing.

​God told Saul to go, attack the Amalekites and “completely destroy” everything and everyone, (verse 3). God told him not to spare anyone or any livestock. But King Saul took it upon himself to amend God’s orders. He kept the opposing King alive and spared the best of the livestock, sheep, goats, cattle and choice animals, (verses 8-9). When told that he disobeyed God, His response, in verse 15, was that he spared the best sheep, goats, and cattle so that he can sacrifice them to the Lord.

This is when the prophet Samuel said to him, “What is more pleasing to the Lord: your sacrifice or your obedience?” In our lives, do we amend God’s orders? Do we turn God’s Word around to suit our needs instead of following his exact instructions? My son tried to get out of trouble from me by amending the order I gave him. He knew he wasn’t supposed to play his games during the week. He also knew I only gave him permission to play with his tablet. My order of the week still stood for his video game yet, he decided to play on it anyway.

King Saul attempted to make what he did right, but eventually realized that he did go against what God told him to do and paid the price with the throne, (verses 24-35). We must be very aware and see clearly what God is instructing us to do. We must follow our orders from him to the letter. Why? Because there is a miracle in the 'exact' direction given in God’s words.

I’ll use the example of picking up my son from football practice. Now, my son knows my Jeep. But I give him specific instructions to watch for me to roll my windows down so that he can see my face before coming to the vehicle. Those detailed instructions can save his life and prevent him from being abducted.

These rules are the same when it comes to us receiving our blessings and in our blessing to others. Let us stop living our lives dismissing God’s orders because it is so easy to do what we want to do. Let us allow ourselves His direction and begin to see the beauty of His blessings in our lives.

​May God continue to cover you in His peace as you journey in Jesus’ name.
 
Amen 

Psalm 34:19 “The righteous person faces many troubles, but the Lord comes to rescue each time.” ~NLT

A good running back on a football team disciplines himself to be good at what he does. He trains, he works out and he studies the plays given to him by his coach. As a result, he becomes the best running back in the league.

Other teams begin to study how to keep him from gaining yards or even stopping him from scoring on them. He has proven his strength as a running back. He has become and is known as a threat to the other teams they play.  Because of this, the other teams will build strategies on how to stop this running back from accomplishing his mission for his team.

The same situation exists for Christians.  God has created you for a purpose and that purpose will be done by walking the same mission of Christ.  As we grow as Christians, studying God’s Word and living that Word, we become strong in our faith. This faith is noticed in our walk as followers of Christ.

Have you noticed that the more you go to church, the more you study and live righteously, life seems to be harder at times? That is because the devil has a team together. His mission is to destroy the cause of Christ.  When you are that player that sits on the bench, doing nothing for God’s team, Satan doesn’t bother you.  As long as you’re not living for Christ, you are actually allowing Satan’s team to benefit from your stagnation.

In other words, God has much power He wants to flow through you. So, when you get off the bench and get into the game, God will surge this power through you and the world will begin to change. But the devil doesn’t want this.  This is why things seem to be going wrong in your life. The enemy will come at you with everything he has to prevent you from continuing your journey in Christ.

But know that you serve a God that loves you so much, He will step in and rescue you from all of it.  If something occurs in your life because of Satan, God will take those negative results and turn them into something beautiful.  You will be given a brand-new testimony about God moving in your life!

Stay the course in being a righteous person. No matter what life throws at you. Your mission, (should you choose to accept it), will go on and flourish like a blade of grass pushing through concrete.  God will reveal you as not only His child, but also His purpose for fertilizing the Garden of Eden.

​May God allow you peace as you continue your Journey in Jesus’ name.
 
Amen

2 Timothy 2:20-21 “Now in a large house there are not only gold and silver vessels, but also those of wood and clay; some for honorable use and some for dishonorable. So if anyone purifies himself from anything dishonorable, he will be a special instrument, set apart, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work.” ~ CSB

When I was growing up, my grandmother had our ‘everyday’ dishes for our daily meals.  But when we had company she would pull out the ‘good dishes’.  This would be a great impression on our ‘honorable guests’.  Sort of a way to present to others, who would visit, a taste of our best.  That is what God does with us.  When He has deemed us ‘ready’, He will present us as His best. 

Some may look at the text and see, ‘wood and clay’ and automatically say, “That’s me…I’m just regular, nothing special.  That is my place in the world.”  This is not true.  God made us all for a purpose.  And in that purpose, we all have a distinct separate value.  This value is in place to ‘set us apart’ from what the world may consider valuable.   

Birthed from a quote by Italian sculptor Michelangelo and his story out about a sculptor who was asked about his famous statue carved out of stone; “…The statue was always there, I just chipped away the unnecessary pieces.” This is God’s intent for us as we are going through that period in our lives where we ‘wait’ on Him.

We often fall into grief, depression, sorrow and our patience are tested during our ‘waiting season’.  Switch our perspective and use this time to ‘chip’ away all that is in us that is not of God.  If we claim to be ‘wood and clay’ then chip away at what is not needed in us so that we will become more valuable than gold and silver.

Chip away at our anger, addictions, sadness, doubt, worry, fear, selfishness, grief, unforgiveness and anything of us that is ‘dishonorable’ and not of the Kingdom.  When the time comes, God will present us to the world as the beautiful sculpture we have always been! He will set us apart and reveal us as His “…special instrument…”  No longer will we be hidden behind all the unnecessary personal and physical traits that were keeping us falling short.  We will be prepared for “…every good work…”

Prepare yourself for the special blessing God has just for you.  It’s yours and no one else’s, but God will not give it to you until you are ready.  So get ready, chip away, ‘purify’ yourself and become a valuable vessel for God and for the kingdom.  

​May God continue to allow His peace to surpass your thoughts and guard your heart and mind in Jesus’ name,

​Amen.

Matthew 7:24-25 “Therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a
wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain fell, the rivers rose, and the winds blew and pounded
the house. Yet it didn’t collapse, because its foundation was on the rock.” ~CSB
 
Jesus' Words set us up for spiritual success! The Bible shows us that He says, “Love God. Love your
neighbor as yourself. Forgive others who have wronged you. Love your enemies. Ask God for forgiveness of your sins.” Jesus is the Messiah and was given the authority to forgive. This is the foundation for us to stay focused on.
 
Jesus is telling His believers that our 'house' is our spiritual being. When we believe in the words of Christ, we act on it. We move on it. When we do this, our spiritual being becomes strong. This is
important as we live our lives daily.
 
With this spiritual strength, we can be prepared for the negative in people, in situations, in trials, and in tragedy, that may come at us in any moment. The words of Christ fuel us with a spirit of the ‘big picture’. Knowing why Christ died for us. Knowing that we now are graphed in as God’s children. Allowing us to be inheritors of all the promises of God.
 
The belief in this big picture is the ‘rock’ in the text above. With this in our hearts, the “…rain can fall,
the rivers can rise, and the wind can blow…” but we will be able to weather any storm knowing that
Jesus has the power to give us strength and guide us to the point of peace.
 
So, let’s be the best ‘hearer’ we can be, so that we can be the best ‘doer’ of his Word. In that very action, we will not collapse, because our foundation in God’s word, is solid as a rock!

May God continue to bless and keep you as you continue in Jesus’ name.

​Amen

Sometimes people tell me, “I know I’m supposed to believe, but I see this person that doesn’t go to church, and they have all this money. I see that person who doesn’t believe in God, and they have a big house and several cars.” The scripture in Psalm 37, verse 1 through verse 2, says, “Don’t worry about the wicked or envy those who do wrong. For like grass, they soon fade away. Like spring flowers, they soon wither.” ~NLT

We may see one version of another’s life, but it is God’s will for ours that we need to stay focused on.  First of all, we never know what others are going through. Second, we should never envy others in their blessings. We should know and understand that when God created us, He created us with our purpose, plan and prosperity. All these gifts are ready for us when we were ready to receive them.

The scripture continues in verses 3 and 4 where it says, “Trust in the Lord and do good. Then you will live safely in the land and prosper. Take delight in the Lord, and He will give you your heart’s desires.” ~NLT

Simply put, we must stay in meditation of God’s Word for our direction, as this will keep our focus on target. This will also help us stay within the fruits of the spirit, (Galatians 5:22-23), walking in godly ways. And when we feel good about working and moving in Jesus’ name, we begin to realize how much God loves us, and knows us as His children. At this point there is nothing we can think of in desire, that God has not already prepared for us. Prosperity more than we could ever imagine.

The bible continues in Psalm verses 5 and 6 saying that we should commit “…everything…” we do to the Lord and trust Him with the outcome of it all. In that commitment, those around us will see Him and His works in us. Why? Because the non-believers and the believers with weak faith will see God’s existence in us! And this just might give them what they need to become aware of God’s purpose in their own lives for the cause of Christ!

Verse 7 says, “Be silent before the Lord and wait expectantly for Him…” ~ NLT

​Tony Evans says, “Our focus should be on God…We are to wait expectantly for him. Notice that we are not to merely wait but to wait with expectation.” We should not only pray but pray with ‘expectation’. We should not only work in the name of Jesus but work with ‘expectation’. We should not only wait patiently as we endure our trials, but we should wait with ‘expectation’ as we endure through our trials.

Our God is an awesome God and His love for us is powerful and complete! It contains all we need and has our desires, (those desires in the name of His Son), covered. If we feel we have not come into the blessings we have been promised by the Father, look within to see if we have followed past directions from Him. Look within to see if we have stepped into our callings. Look within and recognize the ‘LOVE’ that is only from God that can overtake any adversity in our lives. Once this is recognized, our unique blessings will rain down and be available to pass on to others.

​May God bless and keep you covered in his love and peace as you journey in Jesus’ name.
 
Amen

Luke 1:35 “The angel replied to her: “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore, the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.” ~CSB

In this text, Mary was engaged to a man named Joseph. Joseph was God-fearing as was Mary. Because they were engaged, they had not participated in sexual relations as this was not done until after marriage. So, we see the dilemma Mary was in as the angel told her that she would soon conceive and give birth to a son. In her mind she could only see the ‘world view’ of the situation presented to her.

She wasn’t married yet. Her future husband, Joseph would become upset because he would know the baby was not his. And the talk of all the people around them, friends, family, neighbors, church folk, would be so negative and demeaning.

But the angel told her in verse 30, “…Do not be afraid…for you have found favor with God…” This meant that yes, sometimes the world around us may not understand, but those who come to know God and His love for us, can accept and receive what His will is for our lives…even if we can’t figure it out.

We may receive a direction God wants us to go in our lives. Instead of trying to figure out, ‘what’s in it for me…’ we should just embrace God’s will for us and walk in it. Being a child of God, we should not need an explanation from Him. Knowing He favors us should be sufficient.

Yes, He gave Mary an explanation through the angel, but we do not necessarily need one. It is when the mission is complete when we find His blessing to us in it. It is hard to receive God’s blessing from him, because we do not first believe in the mission He sends us on. When He first comes to us with direction, we should believe in His favor in us by choosing us for such a difficult task. A task He will bless many others through us. As well as blessing us at the same time.

We must first believe, no matter what it looks like to others around us. We must first believe, no matter if we think we may embarrass ourselves. We must first believe, regardless of our family or close friends telling us we should not, simply because they do not understand or believe.  Because just like Mary’s situation, if our close friends or family believe as they should, they will see God’s ‘will’ in what they can’t see in the mission. Just like Joseph did.

In Matthew chapter 1, verse 20-23. The angel spelled it out for Joseph and in verse 24, he woke up the next day and did his part in carrying out God’s plan with Mary. Which would turn out to be the greatest story ever told!

Believing in God, and His favor of us, is the first step. That will lead to embracing and believing in His will and mission for our lives. Even when we cannot see the end game. Even when we don’t know His plan, our belief will make us a strong and willing participant in His plan for this unpredictable world we live in today.

May God continue to bless you with the wisdom, strength, and determination you need to walk in Jesus’ name.

Amen

Proverbs 22:4 “True humility and fear of the Lord lead to riches, honor and long life.”

I am reading a book about a famous actor named Danny Trejo entitled, “Trejo: My Life of Crime, Redemption, and Hollywood”.  You may know him from movies like ‘Machete’, ‘Spy Kids’, ‘Con Air’ and many more. This man has an amazing story. There is one that he shares with us I think goes well with this scripture.

Danny talks about how he and a friend had a lawncare business going. He and his friend would make money cutting yards for people in different neighborhoods.  In one neighborhood there lived a woman whose yard needed help. Danny knew this woman had fallen on really bad times. One of her son’s died while serving in the military. Another son passed from street violence and her husband committed suicide. 

Danny spoke of this woman never coming out of her home.  One day Danny and his friend decided to cut her yard and fix it up on their own. Every time they cut yards in that neighborhood, they would cut hers for free. One day, two months later, Danny said they were cutting her yard and they heard the front door open and close.  He said that they went around to see what was going on and they found a crystal pitcher of Iced Tea and two crystal glasses.  He made a comment in his book about how the tea tasted drinking out of that crystal glass, from a woman that had been through so much. This was the blessing of the blessed. Now comes the trial.

Danny talks in his book about another situation that was birthed from this act of kindness he and his friend did for this woman. A man walked up to them one day. A tall man chewing tobacco approached Danny and said, “Paco, how much you chargin’ that lady to do her yard?” Danny said he was offended by the man calling him that name and he did not respond. The man asked again, “Paco, how much is she paying you?”

Instead of Danny becoming upset and allowing the situation to become racially motivated he responds, “Nothing.” Danny writes, that the man’s face changed after he said this. The man asked Danny and his friend to follow him to his home.  They get to the man’s house in front of his garage, and he opens it. To their amazement they see all types of lawn care equipment, most of them new. The man says, “I had a heart attack recently and my wife won’t let me do any work around the house. If you cut my yard, I’ll give you everything in here.”

Because Danny and his friend blessed a widow who had lost everything, they were shown appreciation in the form of cold iced tea on a hot day. And because Danny stayed humble in the face of insult, degradation and oppression, the Lord blessed him with new equipment for his lawn care business from a man he did not know and who did not know him.  Danny writes in his book that after that, the man never called him Paco again and they are friends to this day.

​We all have the opportunity that Danny Trejo had that day when we face racism, oppression, and humiliation. When we realize that God is bigger than all of that; and He has our gift of reward, riches, and honor in His hand ready to give us when we righteously represent Him. And because He created us with purpose, ‘eternal life’ is in store for all of us. This is the blessing He has promised us.

May God bless and keep you in His peace as you walk in Jesus’ name,

​Amen

1 Corinthians 15:58 “Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the Lord’s work, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” ~CSB
 
I attended the funeral of a great man this past Monday.  We were not biologically related but because he and my parents were so close in friendship, I always called him ‘Uncle’.  In my lifetime, I knew him as the ‘coolest’ man I’ve ever known.  From my middle school age to me being a grown man, he has always had the best advice.  He would let you know when you were wrong but in the calmest, coolest way possible.  He never got excited, and he always smiled.  He held any ‘man-position’ well in my eyes. Whether it be in the position of father, husband, brother, or friend, he was a master in being a man. Now, that is just my version of him.
 
Attending the funeral on Monday, I got to see how one man, that allowed God to use him in his life, affected so many people. The turnout of friends and family, in and out of town was amazing. Not to mention the testimonies of how he affected lives. And listening to all the love from his children, it was apparent he did not miss a beat in his spiritual walk. He was a man that had control of his spirituality so much so, that God’s presence in him was seen and felt by others around him.
 
My ‘Uncle’ is an extraordinary example of how we are all supposed to live. In 1 Corinthians 15, we find that there are changes we can make within ourselves while still living in the sinful flesh that attempts to steer us away from God’s will for our lives. In verse 53 the word says, “For this corruptible body must be clothed with incorruptibility…”
 
We must live our lives waking up every morning ready to meet the challenge of ‘living right’. Fighting the urges of confrontation with others because the flesh tells us to confront. Fighting the urges of not getting up when we fall, because we think we are at the end, and the struggle has defeated us. We must fight the urges of unforgiveness because the flesh continues to remind us of how we were hurt. This battle is already won when we say, “Lord, I can’t do this by myself. I need your healing to make me stronger.” This is when the flesh must bow down to a Higher Power and we spiritually transform from ‘corruptible’ to ‘incorruptible’.  This is how my ‘Uncle’ lived.
 
From this day on, spiritually move in God’s direction and allow him to help you to get your flesh in check. Hold on to verse 54 in realizing God’s promise of victory when it says, “…When this corruptible body is clothed with incorruptibility, and this mortal body is clothed with immortality, then the saying that is written will take place: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”
 
God has shown all of us in my ‘Uncle’, and in people like him, the promise of this victory. Because it is in their journey in Christ that we have witnessed them transform themselves. By allowing God to head their lives, changing their flesh from corruptible to incorruptible. And on Monday, his mortal was laid to rest, While God accepted him into immortality.   So let us learn from this great man of God to never quit in doing the Lord’s work. “…be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the Lord’s work, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.”
 
May God continue to bless you with his peace, love, and guidance, as you journey in Jesus’ name.
 
Amen