Category Archives: Spiritual Growth
Lock It Down!
Gen.32:24 “…But Jacob said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” 28 “Your name will no longer be Jacob,” the man told him. “From now on you will be called Israel, because you have fought with God and with men and have won.””
How can a man wrestle with God and win? It is easy to read this and miss the weight of the exchange that happened and the statement that God made. The Lord is God, the God of all the earth. The One that gave boundaries to the proud waves of the sea; the same One that gives command to the lightening and marches out the stars every night. He is God, the One who humbles the proud and dispossesses mighty kings. The One whose breath laid bare the depths of the Red Sea. This same God wrestled with Jacob and Read the rest of this entry
Happenings I
Gen.32:9 “Then Jacob prayed, “O God of my grandfather Abraham, and God of my father, Isaac—O Lord, you told me, ‘Return to your own land and to your relatives.’ And you promised me, ‘I will treat you kindly.”
It is one thing to be blessed but it is another thing to fulfill your destiny. You can be blessed and still be pitiable. There are some people that are blessed physically but heaven pities them. May that not be your portion, in Jesus Name. This season is for those who will press forward into their destiny and into their next level. The truth remains that miracles happen outside your comfort zone. Three things happened to Jacob that show us that miracles do not happen in your comfort zone.
Knowing VIII
John 1:12 [RSV] “But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God”
God is more interested in your character than in your comfort. God is more interested in who you are becoming than in what you are acquiring. And God gives us a checklist in His Word. James 3:14-17 [NIV, emphasis added] “If you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition… such ‘wisdom’ is of the devil… The wisdom that comes from God is pure, peace loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy, impartial and sincere.” Be more like Christ.
I Must!
Hab.2:2 [TEV] “The Lord gave me this answer, ‘Write down clearly … what I reveal to you…’”
We continue in our lessons from Habakkuk and John the Baptist; lessons about fine-tuning.
Lesson #5. I must write: You need to record the ideas you receive from the Holy Spirit. Hab.2:2 [TEV, emphasis added] “The Lord gave me this answer, ‘Write down clearly … what I reveal to you…” [emphasis added]. I suggest you take notes when God is teaching you. Do it the old fashioned way, get a journal and pen it down. On each page, outline three columns: (1) The Question I Read the rest of this entry
Quiet Time
Luke 8:7 [MSG] “Other seed fell in the weeds; the weeds grew with it and strangled it.” [with emphasis]
To tune-in to God’s voice, the first thing you and I must do is, cultivate an open mind. The second thing we must do is, create time to listen. This cannot be over emphasized.
#3. The third thing we must do to tune-in to God’s voice is, eliminate distractions. Sometimes, even when we have blocked out time to be with God, the constant beeping of Read the rest of this entry
Be Prepared
“…in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor…, and Herod being tetrarch…, and his brother Philip tetrarch…, Annas and Caiaphas being the high priests, the word of God came unto John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness” Luke 3:1-2
The angel appeared to the shepherds [Luke 2:8-14 please read]. God wants you and I to know that the lack of spiritual status does not disqualify anyone from a spiritual experience or privilege. You cannot say that because you are not a pastor then you cannot find God or hear God. These men were shepherds; they were ordinary people with no status. In fact, in that culture they Read the rest of this entry
Commit
“Meanwhile, Zacchaeus stood there and said, ‘Lord, I will give half my wealth to the poor and if I have overcharged people on their taxes, I will give them back four times as much!’ Luke 19:8.
The truth is that a few years ago, many of us would not have even imagined that we would be where we are today. I once saw a cartoon of two caterpillars talking about a butterfly. And one caterpillar was telling the other that it could never do what the butterfly was doing. In just a few weeks down the line, it became a butterfly. For a lot of us, just five years ago, you would not have Read the rest of this entry
Time & Trouble
“Take the time and trouble to keep yourself spiritually fit” 1 Tim.4:7 [Ph, emphasis added].
“For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse” Rom.1:20. You and I are without excuse, because spiritual things are clearly revealed even in our daily living. Take physical fitness for instance, if you want to be physically fit it is going to take time and trouble. You have to take the trouble to wake up early to jog, to go to Read the rest of this entry
DIY
“Some people are like the seeds on rocky soil. They welcome the word with joy, whenever they hear it, but they don’t develop any roots. They believe for a while, but when their faith is tested, they abandon it.” Luke 8:13 [GWT, emphasis added].
I pray that your commitment will not be superficial. But you must also take steps to ensure it is not superficial. “Some people are like the seeds on rocky soil. They welcome the word with joy, whenever they hear it, but they don’t develop any roots. A lot of people are like this. They hear the Word, they become excited about it, and the Word even brought tears to their eyes. Thank God for the tears but please do what you have heard. Just do it! I understand this will make Read the rest of this entry
