4GIVEN

Father God, sometimes life can become unbearable to the point where it’s hard for us to keep up more less keep going. But, just when our flesh desires to throw in the towel, the Holy Spirit reminds us that greater is He who is in us! Father God, thank you for equipping us with perseverance, grit, and resilience because without these qualities working in and through us we would most likely yield to the calling of our flesh. Thank you for telling Joshua to be strong and of good courage! Thank you for telling the paralytic in Matthew 9:2 to be of good cheer and that his sins were forgiving. Thank You for telling Paul in Acts 23:11 to be of good cheer as well, even though his enemies were plotting to kill him. We are thanking you because if you did for them, we believe by faith those same words are applicable to us as well! You are truly an awesome God and we thank you for never giving up on us even when we desire to give up on ourselves. We love you Lord God and we bless your name! In Jesus’ life preserving name we pray, amen and amen!

The Pharisees were brilliant theologians. However, they failed to see God because of their own self-righteousness. Jesus condemned their self- righteous hypocrisy because it blinded them from seeing their need for repentance and a Savior (Matthew 23:25-28). They were too busy focused on the outward man and thus when the Son of Man stepped out of eternity and into carnality they failed to recognized who He was! There are plethora of people today who are blinded by this same self-righteous spirit. They look the part outwardly and they even possess a wealth of knowledge but the ‘Knowledge’ they refuse to acknowledge is the key to true and eternal wisdom. Jesus knew that the Pharisees weren’t righteous, but their pretense of righteousness kept them from accepting the only remedy for their condition — repentance and faith in Him. In reality, we are all sinners (Romans 3:23), both inwardly and outwardly. Although we may not be notorious “public sinners,” we all share a fallen nature and are often controlled by the “flesh” — the “sin principle” — within us (Romans 8). Jesus’ stern warnings to the hypocritical Pharisees make it clear that sin we ignore and deny is no less serious in its effects than the sin of the public sinner. In I Samuel 16:7 we are reminded that, “The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”

There’s always a common thread of truth in every disagreement. In lieu of focusing merely on your truth try to see the truth in the other person’s disposition. In doing so, you will increase the chances of landing on mutual understanding. In Luke 11:17, Mark 3:25, and Matthew 12:25 we learn that a house divided can’t stand. Now then, in each of these passages Jesus was responding to the Pharisees’ accusations that Jesus was using Satan’s power to cast out demons. However, this truth is eternally universal. Rhetorically speaking; who is the creator of division? If you look hard enough you can see the slithering path of the devil’s hand in just about every argument. God is the Father/Author of unity and as such, He commands unity among believers because, once conflict enters the midst of any assembly or entity, productivity and usefulness inevitably grind to a halt and the whole organization is weakened and becomes vulnerable to attack. In contrast, Jesus Christ is building His church (Matthew 16:18). His “house” will stand; “His kingdom will not be destroyed, / His dominion will never end” (Daniel 6:26).

Have you every felt like giving up or throwing in the towel? I can transparently say, I have!! Paul encouraged us in Galatians 6:9, “So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up.” I believe that David encouraged Paul when he penned Psalm 126:5, “Those who sow in tears will reap in Joy!” As a Christian, you are designed to sow the seed of the Word of God by sowing good deeds! You are called to plant the seeds that produces the fruit of the Spirit–love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. The panting reality is when we live for the will of God, your harvest will always bring joy after the pain, struggle, and difficultly. In addition, the reality is our tears are indeed real but our God stores every drop (Psalm 56:8). Of course, at times our tears make us want to quit life. But we got to keep on moving; there is a field to be sown (dishes to be washed, cars to be fixed, life to be live, or ___________FIB). Although our tears may wet our faces, we all have work that must get done! No matter our load, we must never forget that our Father never ends on a negative and when we begin to grasp the depth of this truth, we will live in the same confidence just as David lived!

A birthday is anniversary of birth and it’s typical a celebratory time to turn up…right? I wander how we would respond if we knew our actual death date. Most people who are given this prognosis become extremely generous, forgiving, and forbearing. Isn’t ironic that on our birthday we celebrate ourselves but when we learn that our life is expiring our desires shift to preserving time and selflessly celebrating others! It’s easy to get caught up in the little nuisances and annoyances of life and forget the big picture. We bicker and fuss over the littlest things that don’t even really matter. If we can just take the time to realize that life is extremely short in comparison to eternity and that tomorrow is never promised (James 4:13-14), maybe we can start loving life a little more and appreciating what we have before we leave this earth and those we love the most. Ecclesiastes 8:8 reminds us that, “None of us can hold back our spirit from departing. None of us has the power to prevent the day of our death…” There is no doubt that we all get caught up in the day-to-day busyness (minutia) of life. However, if we knew that our time left on this earth was drawing nearer, there’s no doubt our priorities would shift! My point today is not to provocate fear rather, to remind you that a life is best lived as a gift well spent. So today, live like you’re dying!

The greatest insult I ever received is when I compared myself to other people. Bill Gates once quoted saying, “Don’t compare yourself with anyone in this world…if you do you’re insulting yourself.” How many of you reading this can relate? Competitively speaking, it has been ingrained in our brains that to be the best we have to compare ourselves to the best. Well, what if I told you that was a lie (((In my Morpheus voice))! David was confirmed in this conviction and he said in Psalm 139:14, “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” God did not make us on a mass production line. He took great care in making us who we were meant to be. He had a purpose in mind for us even before we came into being. I get it, you may not feel like a masterpiece. There are times when we feel anything but! Living life here on this planet is not always easy. But the Lord wants us to know how much He loves us and that He is with us even in times of despair and when we lack identity. We’re all different, and I suppose most of us have looked at someone who seemed more talented or personable than we were, and wished we were in their shoes. But of course we aren’t, and being envious of them never gets us anywhere. Job declared, “Resentment kills a fool, and envy slays the simple” (Job 5:2).

Natural and spiritual wounds have a tendency to leave scars. However, it’s important to note that in both cases, remnant scarring tells the story of our lives. Steve Maraboli said, “My scars tell a story. They are a reminder of times when life tried to break me, but failed. They are markings of where the structure of my character was welded.” I have learned that scarring doesn’t form on dead people! This simply implies…..it could have been worst!! In fact, our scars eventually become beacons of light for people who are treading the same waters that you once treaded. In other words, if allowed, our scars can transform us into God’s warriors on behalf of others. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with living beyond yourself! Scars remind us that we are amongst the living but more importantly they remind us of our need for a Physician. Only the Great Physician can turn our ugly wounds into a scars of beauty. Only He can heal the pain and sin in our past and make us whole again. David said in Psalm 147:3, “He heals the brokenhearted and bandages their wounds.” Our Lord is not only a Builder, but a Healer; he restores broken hearts as well as broken walls. Scars are merely life lessons that no longer need to bleed!

At my lowest 🅖🅞🅓 is my 🅗🅞🅟🅔. At my darkest 🅖🅞🅓 is my 🅛🅘🅖🅗🅣. At my weakest 🅖🅞🅓 is my 🅢🅣🅡🅔🅝🅖🅣🅗 and when I am at my saddest 🅖🅞🅓 is my 🅒🅞🅜🅕🅞🅡🅣, 🅢🅗🅘🅔🅛🅓, and 🅟🅔🅐🅒🅔! It is encouraging to know God is 🅐🅑🅛🅔 even when I am not. He has His eyes on all of us and He is waiting for me to show confidence in Him. Despite my circumstance and the numerous times I have fallen short, 🅕🅐🅘🅣🅗 opens the door for God’s greatness to be seen through my life, so I 🅒🅗🅞🅞🅢🅔 to trust Him and enjoy the peace and power of a 🅒🅞🅝🅕🅘🅓🅔🅝🅣 life secured and embedded in Christ and 🅒🅗🅡🅘🅢🅣 alone!

The enemy always fight the hardest when he learns that God has something good in stored for you! God has a plan for your life, but the devil has a plan for you too. As a result, I Peter 5:8 (AMPC) says, “Be well balanced (temperate, sober of mind), be vigilant and cautious at all times; for that enemy of yours, the devil, roams around like a lion roaring [in fierce hunger], seeking someone to seize upon and devour.)” Rule# 1: When you are under attack always ask God for wisdom. James 4:7 reminds us to resist and the devil will flee. However, James was referring to various temptations not spiritual warfare (Ephesians 6). I get it, the enemy’s threats may seem real and fierce, but he’s not all powerful. He wants to be. He pretends to be. In fact, his disposition is what got him deported in the first place. Only God possess the Omni(s)[potent, presence, and scient]. The enemy may try every scheme possible to distract, tempt, or lure you away with fear, lies, and manipulation, but as believers, he does not hold our future in his hands. Only God does that. And we are forever secure in His power, grace, and favor. The good news is whatever you face, God is with you (omnipresence), He knows you (omniscient), and He fights for you (omnipotent)! May God’s grace and strength fill you today, as you live aware of His constant covering and protection.

Prayer w/me: God, I choose Your plan, not the enemy’s. Show me the areas where he is attacking me and guide me in defeating him. In Jesus’ enemy defeating name, amen!

So what does God want from us?? Well, Amos 5:24 of the MSG Bible offers a vivid picture; “I can’t stand your religious meetings. I’m fed up with your conferences and conventions. I want nothing to do with your religion projects, your pretentious slogans and goals. I’m sick of your fund-raising schemes, your public relations and image making. I’ve had all I can take of your noisy ego-music. When was the last time you sang to me? Do you know what I want? I want justice—oceans of it. I want fairness—rivers of it. That’s what I want. That’s all I want.” God’s cry for justice is spoken through the prophet Amos. God saw beneath Israel’s external prosperity and power, internally the nation was corrupt to the core. The sins for which God through His prophet chastens the people stemmed from their neglect of His Word, idolatry, pagan worship, greed, corrupted leadership and oppression of the poor. Do you see any similarities in our church and state today?? Hence the need for us to heed to the words written in 2 Chronicles 7:14.