Thoughts ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZONPRTOFF dateof comment Look Inside Data Conditions:Order: 1|2|3|4| Dateof Comment 11/20/2024 It is getting towards the end of November and the Thanksgiving Holiday is coming. I was curious what the bible has to say about thanksgiving. When you search scriptures there are 32 occurrences in the entire bible. The winners with no surprise to me was when Nehemiah mentioned it (5) times and the Psalms (8) times. David had a thankful heart and God did a miracle for Nehemiah getting that wall up quickly. Even the word "thanks" is mentioned in Nehemiah (8) times and in Psalm (35) times. These books are again the winners. These are just a few verses I listed: Psalm 26:6-7 NLT 6 I wash my hands to declare my innocence. I come to your altar, O Lord, 7 singing a song of thanksgiving and telling of all your wonders {Brag about our Kings accomplishments in our life} Psalm 69:30 NLT Then I will praise God’s name with singing, and I will honor him with thanksgiving. Psalm 100:4 NLT Enter his gates with thanksgiving; go into his courts with praise. Give thanks to him and praise his name. Do you think maybe David was the apple of God because of his thankful heart? He was not ashamed to glorify the name of God by demonstrating it publicly with praise and song. For this time of thanksgiving in 2024 lets "Enter his gates with thanksgiving; go into his church with praise. Give thanks to him and praise his name." We all know that God loves a truly thankful heart! Jesus Christ "The name where all blessings come from!" 11/09/2024 It sure sounds like Jesus Christ is narrating this verse in Isaiah: Isaiah 1:18 NLT “Come now, let’s settle this,” says the Lord. “Though your sins are like scarlet, I will make them as white as snow. Though they are red like crimson, I will make them as white as wool. When our King rose from the dead, he became that filter that displays us pure to the Father exactly how Isaiah described it. He is definitely pure himself: Daniel 7:9 I watched as thrones were put in place and the Ancient One sat down to judge. His clothing was as white as snow, his hair like purest wool. He sat on a fiery throne with wheels of blazing fire, Revelation 1:14 NLT His head and his hair were white like wool, as white as snow. And his eyes were like flames of fire. Jesus "King of kings" and "Lord over lords". 11/07/2024 I sure do like hearing this phrase, "President Donald Trump". I dedicate this verse to him because he is doing so many things world wide: Isaiah 14:26-27 NLT 26 I have a plan for the whole earth, a hand of judgment upon all the nations. 27 The Lord of Heaven’s Armies has spoken— who can change his plans? When his hand is raised, who can stop him? Lord, move this man like a freight train so your enemies will be crushed. I know that he loves you but he still needs your protection and enthusiasm to continue the fight. I am sure he likes this Motto for America. "One nation under God serving Jesus Christ". President Trump you sure have my support!! 11/06/2024 I have noticed how what has happened to us in the last four years has had repercussions on everyone. I do believe that God is removing the fence and is showing small signs of what America is doing to herself by separating from the true God. I firmly believe God is doing this as I write this: Ephesians 1:9-10 NLT God has now revealed to us his mysterious will regarding Christ—which is to fulfill his own good plan. And this is the plan: At the right time he will bring everything together under the authority of Christ—everything in heaven and on earth. No one in our past has ever seen anything like what God is about to do. The people who lived in Acts will say to God that we have never seen anything like this. God will reply, "I am saving the best till last." just a Jesus did with the wine. None of us have any idea what God is about to do. It will be done according to Ephesians 1:9-10. All I know is that the name of Jesus Christ is going to be exalted during this time. There will probably also be a great falling away when God destroys the fence. As for me "Jesus is Lord" and he will always be "King of Kings" to me. P.S. I really am getting impatient with God's plan coming together. God is always having to remind me that he wants no one to go to hell. His reason is to give more people time to turn to him and to expose what the enemy is doing to his people. President Trump has been reelected to destroy the enemy for what he has done. God is giving many another chance to repent. True love for people would make us want the same timing God does. 10/30/2024 If you really want to please our King do this: Romans 12:1 NLT And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. Even though praise is amazing this is what our King really wants from us. 10/19/2024 It is getting time to vote, and many Christians will not vote because they find faults in all the candidates and make excuses to not vote. Do they not realize that God used scum bags in scriptures to do amazing things. I know it is work to investigate a candidate but you have to measure the ideas of both and pick the scum bag whose values best represent Gods. Most Christians do not realize this but if you do not vote you endorse that candidate that gets in because you do not care. This is exactly how God sees it. Your vote is very important to him. Please do not waste your vote on the demonic platforms. Our abortion candidates are supporting ungodly ideals. I swear they read the bible and do the opposite. The prolife people's ideas line up with more of what God wants. You should be on their side. Just as Jesus did, Christians need to get involved in politics because the enemy is heavily involved in politics. South Korea had Christians involved in politics and they have religious freedom today. You can talk about Jesus Christ without much persecution. Jesus said that you will always have some persecution when you live for me. North Korea did not have any competition from the Christians and the enemy has won there. There is massive persecution against Christians. Why don't you Christians who do not want to get involved in politics go and witness to these people. You will learn really quick why we need to be involved with politics. People need to have freedom to accept Jesus Christ. The enemy infiltrates us gradually to test the waters. When he discovers that Christians are politically gutless, he introduces more evil at each test. It is amazing how much he has gotten away with because we do not want to be bothered with the things that would honor God. 10/17/2024 I knew the Lord at a fairly young age but when I think back when I was in college that I never really talked to anybody about Jesus Christ. I was more there to get an education so I could get that bigger house or that better muscle car. But God had something to say about my thinking: Romans 12:2 NLT Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. I do believe that God wants to bless us, and he does not have any problems with us having things. The question is why we want those things. Instead of having a faster car than my neighbor then I think of muscle cars as necessary to take the hole shot between moving cars. I have learned not to be jealous about what others have and be grateful for what I do have. I could easily take everything I give to God and buy any muscle car out there. It is not God's will for me to burn the streets up every weekend. He has shown me how giving to people who are not as fortunate as I am not only changes their lives but restores their faith in God. We have to give glory to God anytime we can. He really likes it when we glorify him in front of people. Being totally unknown, I have even been called the "Robin Hood of the ghetto". This is definitely a cool title to have just because I am helping God with his desires Those same people are sharing what is going on with their neighbors and they too are asking questions about our King. The love of money prevents the world from investing in people who are in need. Paul talks about this more: 1 Corinthians 1:26-27 NLT 26 Remember, dear brothers and sisters, that few of you were wise in the world’s eyes or powerful or wealthy when God called you. 27 Instead, God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful. 1 Corinthians 1:28 God chose things despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important. We do have to read God's word to adjust our thinking. The Holy Spirit can fill the gaps to condition us in godly thinking. 10/13/2024 I am sure grateful that God shares things with people. I am even more grateful when they share things with us what is going on in their own life. They can be real encouraging. I had to put a lot of checkboxes by what this woman was saying. She happened to be in her closet when God gave her this message. God wanted her to share this message with the rest of us. God knows we're tired and he knows our troubles. He knows what we have been facing and he knows we are just downright over it and exhausted. We are both mentally and physically exhausted. We physically feel like we can sleep for a week. We are so freaking tired right now, but he also knows that we have been having this feeling that something is about to happen. It is going to happen big. God is saying even though you are tired, I know what you're capable of, so you need to keep going right now. I am going to come through but if you give up now and you just say, "I am too tired. I just want to give up." You will not see what is coming up in this season that you're in. Stay strong. It's OK that you are tired. You do not have to move fast. Just move and move closer to me. That is all I want right now. God is about to make some huge changes in your life and in my life. I had to check a lot of boxes off myself on what she's saying and hearing from God. I believe every word that she said about there are going to be big changes that we are going to see in our lives. The countdown I feel is in days. Let's be like the five maids who had their lamps full. 09/20/2024 I want to dedicate this to President Donald Trump: Isaiah 41:12-13 NLT 12 You will look in vain for those who tried to conquer you. Those who attack you will come to nothing. 13 For I hold you by your right hand— I, the Lord your God. And I say to you, ‘Don’t be afraid. I am here to help you. As Hammon tried to kill Mordeciah, I pray that the tables will turn on Trumps enemies in the same manner. 08/25/2024 I know that each one of us has a different walk with our King. But one thing that I would bet on is that you still have those days where it seems you are just spinning your wheels and getting nowhere fast. In the midst of all of that doubt tries to creep up on us. King David who had a good walk with God even had those days and wrote about it: Psalm 94:18-19 (New Living Translation) I cried out, “I am slipping!” but your unfailing love, O Lord, supported me. When doubts filled my mind, your comfort gave me renewed hope and cheer. We serve the same God David served and he is here to support us also and to remove the doubt. When we pray for help, he does this: Psalm 116:1-2 (New Living Translation) I love the Lord because he hears my voice and my prayer for mercy. Because he bends down to listen, I will pray as long as I have breath! Paul even said to never cease praying: Romans 12:12 NLT Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble and keep on praying. 1 Thessalonians 5:17 NLT Never stop praying. 08/20/2024 I asked, "God why are you taking me through troubled waters." He replied, "Because your enemies can't swim." I then asked, "Why do I always feel like I am failing and struggling?" God answered, "Because your growth and accomplishments come from facing challenges and overcoming difficulties. Every failure is a stepping stone to success." I then asked, "Why do I feel like life is filled with pain and helplessness?" God responded, "In your weakest moments I am by your side. I use your pain to shape your character. Your helplessness is used to showcase my power." I continuing on and asked, "Why do I have to experience disappointment and setbacks?" God replied, "Because in disappointment you learn to trust. In setbacks you learn to persevere. I am with you every step of the way guiding you toward victory." Finally I asked, "Why do I always feel confused and lost?" God answered, "Because you overlook my plan for your life. When you focus on me I will smooth your path and provide you with clear direction. Trust me! Everything is within my control. President Donald Trump 08/19/2024 In our ministry we have college students, gang members, law enforcement, firemen, and the ghetto that is being blessed because I see how their lives are changing because of their relationship with Jesus Christ. As God blesses us with success it can be harmful by distracting us even if we are still serving God. Blessings are great but do not let them quench your fire for the King. He does not like it when our love diminishes for him and/or the people in the church: Revelation 2:2-5 NLT 2 “I know all the things you do. I have seen your hard work and your patient endurance. I know you don’t tolerate evil people. You have examined the claims of those who say they are apostles but are not. You have discovered they are liars. 3 You have patiently suffered for me without quitting. 4 “But I have this complaint against you. You don’t love me or each other as you did at first! 5 Look how far you have fallen! Turn back to me and do the works you did at first. If you don’t repent, I will come and remove your lampstand from its place among the churches. Our Lord is looking for those who are on fire for him. You all have kept my desire strong for Jesus, but I do have to admit that if I did not have you and this ministry that God gave me that I could see myself falling into this trap. Once a week we should all do a self-check and ask the question "Is my fire for my Lord improving or am I going downhill." Interacting with brothers and sisters in Christ and the Holy Spirit can relight the fire. I was in church today and a lady came forward to ask this question of the congregation. She was right on and the question needs to be answered by each one of us. When unbelievers come into the fold they need to see a church with people on fire for the Lord. We send a negative message to them when we are not. 07/29/2024 I am sure that most of you have heard about what happened at the opening ceremony of the Olympics in Paris. There is a painting of Jesus sitting with his twelve disciples (last supper) before he was going to be crucified. The enemy has replaced Jesus with a witch and his disciple have been substituted with trans, drag queens, homosexuals and everything else that's wrong today. We are definitely in a battle of good versus evil. Paul knew about these things and talked about it and how to prepare for it in the book of Ephesians. Ephesians 6:10-18 NLT The Whole Armor of God 10 A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. 12 For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. 14 Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. 15 For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared. 16 In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. 17 Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere. God does things through men: Amos 3:7 Indeed, the Sovereign Lord never does anything until he reveals his plans to his servants the prophets. The enemy also accomplishes his evil bidding through men. That is why Paul says we are in a spiritual battle. our heart defines which side we will be on. If you are big into fame, money and power you will give your heart to the enemy. That is how he gets control of so many people. Many famous people have physically traded their soul to get what the enemy has to offer. Many of those physically worship the enemy by doing sadistic things in worship like child sacrifice. Have you noticed how bold the enemy has become by openly committing atrocities. The reason this all started is the church's philosophy that showing love to these people is by letting them get away with it. Other people in the church are like the Pharisees. They want to be served, noticed and hear messages that do not convict the heart. We need to be thankful that God has other plans for America even with the large number of gutless churches that exist. I firmly believe that the spiritual battle that is going on today is being won by God anyway. The enemy in his desperate predicament will try anything to turn the tables. What happened in the Olympics had consequences: Deuteronomy 28:20 NLT 20 “The Lord himself will send on you curses, confusion, and frustration in everything you do, until at last you are completely destroyed for doing evil and abandoning me. Paris went completely dark except for a church on the hill that was fully lit up. Jesus would confront these people. Jesus was not a pacifist but a confronter as we should be. He even prepared his disciples to confront. Sometimes weapons are used to do battle: Luke 22:36-38 NLT 36 “But now,” he said, “take your money and a traveler’s bag. And if you don’t have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one! 37 For the time has come for this prophecy about me to be fulfilled: ‘He was counted among the rebels.’ Yes, everything written about me by the prophets will come true.” 38 “Look, Lord,” they replied, “we have two swords among us.” “That’s enough,” he said. Jesus could care less about collecting swords. They were to confront the enemy. The Holy Spirit can guide us in how to confront the enemy. I can tell you now that he does not want us to burn down every abortion clinic. But it angers him when we do nothing to confront the enemy. Jesus came to save the world, but he is also the model of how we should live. Jesus lived to do what his Father wanted and loved people so much that he was willing to forgive those who crucified him. Jesus also stood up against sin. He threw out the money changers in the temple at the beginning and end of his ministry. He sure could make those tables fly and spoke many unkind words in his anger while he did it. He even insulted the pharisees who traded honoring God for position and power. It is also our job to stand against those who push God out of our daily lives. Our King needs to be in everything. I firmly believe that this spiritual battle going on today is not new. Many times the battle is already being fought by angels in heavenly realm. The battles can last many days as Daniel discovered. Daniel 10 12 Then he said, “Don’t be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day you began to pray for understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your request has been heard in heaven. I have come in answer to your prayer. 13 But for twenty-one days the spirit prince of the kingdom of Persia blocked my way. Then Michael, one of the archangels, came to help me, and I left him there with the spirit prince of the kingdom of Persia. 14 Now I am here to explain what will happen to your people in the future, for this vision concerns a time yet to come.” What they did at the Olympics will be vindicated: Galatians 6:7 NLT 7 Don’t be misled—you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant. Put on the full armor OF GOD, so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. We are to pray for our enemies but "Lord, if they do not repent and serve you, I ask that you take them out by whatever means you deem fit." 05/28/2024 If we are honest with ourselves when we are going through trials, we probably are jealous when those around us seem to have it all together and having a good time. On the other side is we do not want to deal with other people's problems because it can get us down. This is not what the word of God says: Romans 12:15 (New Living Translation) Be happy with those who are happy, and weep with those who weep. If this is difficult it may be that we do not love others: Romans 12:9-10 9 Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. 10 Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other. {This is the secret to having compassion for others. Verse 15 will become an honor not a sacrifice.} It is even more difficult to do this: Romans 12:14 14 Bless those who persecute you. Don’t curse them; pray that God will bless them. God wants us to pray for those who are against us because people can change and come to Jesus. How many of us have come to Jesus because of the love and prayer of others? Paul wants us to do the same. But I am also not afraid to ask God to remove them if they hinder the message of Jesus Christ and force Satanic ideas on God's people. Our own inspired by God constitution has the death penalty on treason and crimes against humanity especially against his children. Romans 12 has a lot to say dealing with people Romans 12:11-18 11 Never be lazy but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically. 12 Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble and keep on praying. 13 When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality. 14 Bless those who persecute you. Don’t curse them; pray that God will bless them. 15 Be happy with those who are happy, and weep with those who weep. 16 Live in harmony with each other. Don’t be too proud to enjoy the company of ordinary people. And don’t think you know it all! {As one gets smarter, he learns about how much he does not know.} 17 Never pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable. 18 Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone. Matthew has some more people tips. These also honor God too: Matthew 5:4 God blesses those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Matthew 5:5 God blesses those who are humble, for they will inherit the whole earth. Matthew 5:6 God blesses those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they will be satisfied. Matthew 5:7 God blesses those who are merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Matthew 5:8 God blesses those whose hearts are pure, for they will see God. Matthew 5:9 God blesses those who work for peace, for they will be called the children of God. 05/26/2024 I am beginning to feel like we do not worship our King in the manner he deserves. When I see how the men and women in the ghetto worship God, I know there is a lot to learn. Let's first look at what the dictionary says about worship. It can be a noun or verb. I know that my God is a God of action and I feel that is the type of worship he is looking for is the verb. noun reverent honor and homage paid to God or a sacred personage, or to any object regarded as sacred. formal or ceremonious rendering of such honor and homage: They attended worship this morning. [The example sentence the dictionary used does not mean much if the heart is not in it.] adoring reverence or regard: excessive worship of business success. Synonyms: idolatry, adoration, homage, honor the object of adoring reverence or regard. verb (used with object) , wor·shiped, wor·ship·ing or wor·shipped, wor·ship·ping. to render religious reverence and homage to. to feel an adoring reverence or regard for (any person or thing). Synonyms: adulate, idolize, glorify, adore, revere, venerate, honor verb (used without object) , wor·shiped, wor·ship·ing or wor·shipped, wor·ship·ping. to render religious reverence and homage, as to a deity. to attend services of divine worship. to feel an adoring reverence or regard. I feel the latter verb is used too much by Christians. We attend worship services without God or the Holy Spirit in the mix. This is not the way our sovereign God designed worship. Paul talked about worship with Timothy: 1 Timothy 2:8 In every place of worship, I want men to pray with holy hands lifted up to God, free from anger and controversy. This means get your attitude right when worshiping the King. Paul also tells us what not to do in the next two verses with false worship: Colossians 3:5 So put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you. Have nothing to do with sexual immorality, impurity, lust, and evil desires. Don’t be greedy, for a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world. Ephesians 5:5 You can be sure that no immoral, impure, or greedy person will inherit the Kingdom of Christ and of God. For a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world. This is how the families do it in the ghetto. We need to model these three verses: John 4:23 But the time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship him that way. John 4:24 For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.” Philippians 3:3 For we who worship by the Spirit of God are the ones who are truly circumcised. We rely on what Christ Jesus has done for us. We put no confidence in human effort, Other than if the sun is shining in your eyes, it is a good idea to remove your hat. After all you are a crafted specimen created by God. Don't cover up his work. 1 Corinthians 11:7 A man should not wear anything on his head when worshiping, for man is made in God’s image and reflects God’s glory. And woman reflects man’s glory. Until we give our bodies unto him, we may never experience real worship. It will always be fake. Romans 12:1 A Living Sacrifice to God And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. Romans 14:6 Those who worship the Lord on a special day do it to honor him. Those who eat any kind of food do so to honor the Lord, since they give thanks to God before eating. And those who refuse to eat certain foods also want to please the Lord and give thanks to God. I have been given ministries by God. I would fail if he was not in the middle of it. I want to make sure that he gets the glory and the victory or else: Acts 12:23 Instantly, an angel of the Lord struck Herod with a sickness, because he accepted the people’s worship instead of giving the glory to God. So, he was consumed with worms and died. Always look into your past to make sure something is not hidden like unforgiveness or vows, or your worship will be like this: Malachi 2:14 You cry out, “Why doesn’t the Lord accept my worship?” I’ll tell you why! Because the Lord witnessed the vows you and your wife made when you were young. But you have been unfaithful to her, though she remained your faithful partner, the wife of your marriage vows. I really think God likes women because he keeps reminding me about how we need to behave to our wife. If Jesus Christ lived as example to us, we should do the same just because it is right. As we close remember that a synonym to worship is "honor". I firmly believe that anything that glorifies the name of our King is worship. Your heart reveals to God what type of worship you are giving him. The people in the ghetto spent over three hours worshiping God. All the families shared the wonders of what God is doing in their lives and asked for prayer. None were looking at their watch because they scheduled their Saturday for God. Now that is the heart of worship. 05/21/2024 I don't know if you are like me but sometime I just get tired of waiting for all of God's promises to come. I feel the whole world is against me. Even those of old had these feelings Psalm 119:84 How long must I wait? When will you punish those who persecute me? Thanks to all of your prayers I have never felt like this guy: Psalm 69:3 I am exhausted from crying for help; my throat is parched. My eyes are swollen with weeping, waiting for my God to help me. I bet you know what I am going to say next. Yep you are right it all has to deal with faith. Faith requires us to wait on God. As you begin to understand how God works you learn why things take time. It still sucks having to wait. I do know if we get to excited and get outside of Gods timing we can mess things up for ourselves and other people. It has been nearly 4 years with all the stupidity going on. This verse is interesting and still works today. I do believe it is getting close: Daniel 12:12 And blessed are those who wait and remain until the end of the 1,335 days! Psalms also talks positive about waiting: Psalm 27:14 Wait patiently for the Lord. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the Lord. This tells us that God is at work for those that wait: Isaiah 64:4 For since the world began, no ear has heard and no eye has seen a God like you, who works for those who wait for him! Waiting allows God to help us: Jeremiah 14:22 Can any of the worthless foreign gods send us rain? Does it fall from the sky by itself? No, you are the one, O Lord our God! Only you can do such things. So we will wait for you to help us. Lamentations 3:26 So it is good to wait quietly for salvation from the Lord This next verse shows how much God is waiting on us. He wanted to give people time to repent. Plus God would look stupid sending the rain before the boat was finished. It would have sunk. Imagine that 120 years for him to wait for someone to repent and they still did not. 1 Peter 3:20 those who disobeyed God long ago when God waited patiently while Noah was building his boat. Only eight people were saved from drowning in that terrible flood. Look at what Abraham did: Hebrews 6:15 NLT Then Abraham waited patiently, and he received what God had promised. Also remember what happen when Abraham did not wait on God as planned. God's word is designed to give us that hope and encouragement to wait. This does require us to read it to get the technique down: Romans 15:4 Such things were written in the Scriptures long ago to teach us. And the Scriptures give us hope and encouragement as we wait patiently for God’s promises to be fulfilled. While we are waiting on God's promises lets do this to distract ourselves: 1 Corinthians 1:10 (New Living Translation) I appeal to you, dear brothers and sisters, by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, to live in harmony with each other. Let there be no divisions in the church. Rather, be of one mind, united in thought and purpose. 05/07/2024 If you are like me, you come across verses that we need to work on. This is one of my verses: 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 NLT Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus. I cannot say that I am always in that joyful mood. Sometimes I am ready to let life just have it. I do have to admit that the people who pray for me help keep joy in my life. Jesus Christ himself is a good reason to have joy. Making a positive difference in the life of God's children also brings joy into my life. I guess if I would never talk to my wife, it would be doing the same thing to God if I did not pray frequently. Talking to your wife in an honorable way frequently builds relationship with her. So, it is with God if we want relationship with him, we need to talk to him frequently. I do have to admit that I am in most circumstances thankful but not all. Sometimes if things are not working right, it is more convenient to come up with four letter alternatives to use on the circumstance that is failing. This is why Paul said, "Never stop praying". This will develop a habit to instantly start praying when circumstances fail. 04/27/2024 I was watching Flashpoint the other night and I was appalled when I saw how the enemy has overtaken all the ivy schools in the United States. When the ivy school started, they taught biblical principles while giving the students an education. Over the years, the enemy has infiltrated the faculty who intern are indoctrinating the students to make them anti god. I watched as woke students were preventing a Jewish student from attending class by blocking his route. He tried to walk around them, but they moved as he moved. These same woke college students are also into pronouns, abortion, racism, and everything else that is contrary to God. I firmly believe that they read the Bible and do everything just the opposite of what it says. I do know that all colleges are not like this. I happen to minister to a college in Denver that's just off I-25 in the middle of town. Those students are meeting twice a week to talk about Jesus and encourage other students to come. They even do some laughing. I know some of the history of some of these students that they are bold. Some of them when they were in high school challenged their principle for not bringing his bible to school because he felt that was inappropriate. That student mentioned the fact that Jesus would ask him why he did not have his bible when he went to school. It made him think about “I am too embarrassed to take my bible to school. My King may be too embarrassed to represent me in front of the Father.” That challenge made him start bringing his Bible to school and he began to stand up for godly principles and God. You must be bold in an environment that has the tendency to look away from the things of God. It is a privilege for me to serve the students in this university. They are a dream of mine that has come true which is to love the older generation because of the stories that we have to talk about the things of God in our life that will encourage them. I love them too because of their youth which makes us feel younger just because they are young: 1 Timothy 4:12 Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity. Our youth will eventually be running this country and I want them to be able to run it better than my generation is. I may not be able to change the world, but I can start here with this generation of students. My prayer for these students, faculty members, and the future college students that will be coming is that God will continue to make them bold in the things of God and they will continue to want to bring other students into the Kingdom of God. And God as they bring glory and honor to your name that you bless them in their careers and marriages as they grow older. Continue to give me the words to encourage and train them in living a Christ like life. God continue to give me honorable material so I can make them laugh. I know that everyone likes a good mystery, but it would be cool to someday meet the coolest students on the planet. After all God would not have me here if you were not cool. 04/20/2024 I don't know if you've ever had one of these discussions with God where you say, “Lord things are just not working out. I am getting tired of struggling with finances. I am going to have to stop what I am doing until circumstances improve.” What do I mean by this? It seems like Malachi 3:10 effect just seems to die off. Malachi 3:10 NLT 10 Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so there will be enough food in my Temple. If you do,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, “I will open the windows of heaven for you. I will pour out a blessing so great you won’t have enough room to take it in! Try it! Put me to the test! When I first started doing things it seemed to work out. There was money to buy silver, spend on families and gangs. Even though I could not splurge on anything there was always excess money in reserve which I always acknowledged as the Malachi 3:10 effect. Now we have high inflation and lows prices which lowers my income coming in. The cash reserves are dwindling, and it's looks like it is becoming impossible to continue to support God's ministries. God had a humorous way of answering what was going through my mind. I like to listen to Kent Christmas because he talks about the things that God's doing in our corrupt and evil government to expose what's going on. I began to realize that his message would be more for me. Just like me, he started out at a certain place before experiencing Malachi 3:10. At first, he was working with a $40,000 in the checking account. God turned this into $5 million without asking for donations. The next thing he brought up is God is now looking for people with exemplary faith in what he is about to do. Kent’s goal is to affect Nashville Tennessee for Jesus Christ. To do this God is having him put up a bigger building for the people to come. He is planning on during construction phase that there will be times when the checking account will be empty. Like he said God is looking for people with exemplary faith. This requires us trusting in what God is going to do. The sad part about all of this is if our faith is not strong enough, we're ready to abandon ship even before that moment occurs. We all know that God is never late but very seldom is early either. But he always comes at the right time. So, we need to give God the time he needs to do what he wants. And we need to prove to him that we are willing to wait on him. Kent believes that God is going to provide all the financing through his people and the ungodly. God has revealed that this is coming: Proverbs 13:22 NLT 22 Good people leave an inheritance to their grandchildren, but the sinner’s wealth passes to the godly. We serve the God of the impossible. When it comes to our finances continue to put him to the test. Unless we gamble or spend our money foolishly, we will see Malachi 3:10 occur in our lives again. Even knowing what is going on it still is not fun to go through this. This is what God is looking for: Romans 5:4 NLT And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. 04/06/2024 I always like this verse because it looks like John 3:16 Part II. I really believe if we are developing a personal relationship with Jesus Christ that we will also develop a love for our brothers and sisters. John asks that we should want to lay our lives down for them: 1 John 3:16 NLT 16 We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters. If our relationship with Jesus Christ is weak, it will probably prevent us from even wanting to make a sacrifice for someone else. This verse confirms this: 1 John 4:19 We love each other because he loved us first.
