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  • Our Unlimited Treasure

    Our Unlimited Treasure

    In his parable in Matthew 13:44(NLT), Jesus Christ said, “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure that a man discovered hidden in a field. In his excitement, he hid it again and sold everything he owned to get enough money to buy the field.” Can you imagine going out into a field and stumbling on a hidden treasure? If you’re a person of great wealth already, you might not be as thrilled to find this treasure as someone that is living paycheck to paycheck. But imagine that this treasure is more than monetary or financial blessings. It’s the treasure of your greatest heart’s desire. Perhaps it’s the spouse you’ve been waiting to meet, or the friends you’d like to have in your life. Maybe it’s good health or restoration of something precious that you’ve lost. Whatever the treasure is, it is beyond valuable to you, so much so that when you find it in a field, you’re beside yourself with joy. You can’t take this treasure with you because it’s too vast for your arms to carry, so you make sure it’s hidden away in the field, so that it’s well kept until you come back for it.

    A parable is a simple story that is used to illustrate a moral or spiritual lesson, and Jesus Christ often used them. They were easy to understand for those who were not quite able to grasp the deeper spiritual meaning. It was relatable and easy for people to envision someone being overjoyed about finding a treasure, because most of us would be ecstatic about this. But this parable requires us to go a little deeper than whats on the surface. In order to grasp what Jesus conveyed through first, the treasure; second, the fields; and third, what it took to secure them, we must seek to have a greater understanding, particularly for those who desire to know the secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven.

    In another verse, Matthew 6:21, Jesus Christ talked about treasure as well. He tells us that wherever our treasure is, our hearts will be there with it. This means that you and I go after what we treasure most. If we treasure material riches, we’ll pursue that. If we treasure relationships with others, we’ll pursue those. Jesus is pointing out to us that the Father sees us according to our hearts; this is what speaks the truth about who we are. In other words, God knows what we value most by what we treasure in our hearts.

    In Matthew 13:44, Jesus very clearly tells us that the Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure. In truth, the Kingdom of Heaven is far greater than any treasure you and I can imagine, because the Kingdom of Heaven can’t be limited by our human understanding. However, so that we can comprehend on some level the enormous and unlimited value of the Kingdom of Heaven, Jesus tells us it is LIKE a treasure. It is a treasure that has no equal, so when a man finds it in the field, he has stumbled upon something for which his excitement is unbridled.

    The question for us is whether we have this level of excitement for the things of the Kingdom, because God expects to see it. He tells us in 2Chronicles 16:9(NLT), “The eyes of the LORD search the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.”  The eyes of God continually and consistently probe the earth, looking to land on the person who has a heart that is loyal and committed to Him. When He finds a person with this kind of heart, His strength and power is unleashed on this person’s behalf.

    So many of us are wondering why we’re not witnessing a mighty move of God in our circumstances, yet, we get up every morning with a pessimistic view of our lives and everything in it. We’re complaining about one thing or another, and excitement about being a part of the Kingdom of Heaven is the furthest thing from our minds. So, when His eyes land upon us, He doesn’t see unbridled gratitude and excitement about being His child. Instead, for many of us He sees our choice to let dissatisfaction, worry, resentment, phobias, fears, grief, loneliness, and doubt consume our souls.

    1Corinthians 4:20(NLT) tells us, “For the Kingdom of God is not just a lot of talk; it is living by God’s power.” Many of us don’t get excited because we lack faith that God has empowered us to live with His power. We have the wrong vision of ourselves; and therefore, since we have the wrong vision of ourselves, we have the wrong vision of God. We must understand the impact of our feelings and thoughts; we must comprehend the colors they paint on the portrait of our faith.

    The Kingdom of Heaven is our unlimited treasure, and it is worth losing everything we own to obtain it. Understand that it isn’t enough to say that we think we know this; the evidence is at the very core of who we are. The way we truly feel about God’s Kingdom is evidenced in everything we do, think, feel, and say; there’s no faking this. So every day, you and I should make a commitment to ask the Lord Jesus Christ to help us in this area. We must grow in our understanding of the treasure we have within through our relationship with God through Christ. We must invite the Holy Spirit to do a work within, so we have a greater revelation of what God has given us, and a greater level of gratitude and excitement for being the recipients of His unlimited treasure.

    Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

    “Our Unlimited Treasure” written for findchristianman.wordpress.com. Copyright©2021. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

  • Forgetting the Things of the Past

    Forgetting the Things of the Past

    We should never judge a book by its cover. This is one of those golden rules, and it truly is one to live by. Judging something solely on the basis of what appears externally can be a costly mistake, and many single women can testify to this. A person can be pleasing to the eye, but what’s going on inside of them can tell a completely different story. When you’re dating someone like this, it can be the most disappointing thing. The person looked to have it all together, but after getting to know them a little better, something just isn’t quite right. Regardless of how a person looks, when there’s an incompatibility between souls, it leads to all kinds of complications. This is a lesson that should prompt us to look in the mirror, because many of us look the part of a woman that’s got it going on, but on the inside, we’re burdened and suffering. Many of us never stop to think that our refusal to let some things go may be blocking us from the blessings we are destined to receive.

    We all know women who hide behind their pain. Marilyn is one of them. The odd thing is that she’s someone that no one would ever suspect is unhappy. She’s 39 years old and married with two children. She’s been a high school teacher for many years, and all her students love her. Her husband adores her as well, and she is a very loving mother, but Marilyn is also a very sad woman on the inside. Her bathroom shower is her place of solace, and there she cries her heart out just about every night. She is very tired of feeling sad but doesn’t trust that anything can make it better.

    Thoughts of her past are tormenting. She copes with it during the day by keeping as busy as possible, but at night the memories come flooding back in. Something happened years ago that shook her to her core, and she refuses to allow anyone to see her pain, not even her husband of fourteen years.

    It is shocking to think that a person can function with this much pain and do everything within their power to keep it from everyone else. The truth is that many of us do this because we’ve never learned how not to do it. The Apostle Paul said in Philippians 3:13-14(NLT), “No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.” Whether we know it or not, God is giving us a strategy for handling a troubling past, and Paul proved that it works, because if anyone had a troubling past, it was him. Paul trusted Christ, and through God’s grace, he put his past behind him.

    He tells us that we have to focus, and this focus comes in two steps: forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead. Both of these work together, but sometimes we make a habit of looking back. The fear of looking forward has tripped many of us because we think we might be disappointed if we get our hopes up. It’s just like meeting a very attractive person and discovering they have a really yucky personality. It’s a let-down, but that doesn’t mean that every attractive person is this way. There are some people that are beautiful on the outside and inside. So, something horrible may have happened in the past, but we shouldn’t give the past so much power that it shapes and molds our futures.

    In 1Corinthians 3:10, Paul said that God had given him the grace to be a wise master builder, and because of this empowerment, he had laid a foundation. This is what you and I must do as well. We must build on the foundation laid by Jesus Christ, and the way to do this is to have faith that he will bless us and keep us surrounded in his safety. In John 10:10, Jesus Christ said that he left the throne of God and came to earth to make a more than abundant life available to us. It is up to you and I to walk in faith and manifest this abundance. We can have fulfillment, liberty, and love in our lives through Christ, and we must be sold out on the truth of this. We can do it, because God said it can be done. We don’t have to get stuck in the past because we are afraid to be happy in the present, but this is what Marilyn did. She was afraid of so many things, and she worried all the time. Nothing made her happy, and she expected to always be disappointed, no matter the situation. She would not allow her heart to trust Jesus Christ.

    Trusting Jesus Christ with our pain is the solution! We don’t have to walk around with a bad attitude and allow pain to paint our hearts with darkness and fear. We can choose to forget the past! Jesus Christ instructs us in Matthew 11:28-30(NIV), “28 Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” The rest that Jesus Christ gives us is spiritual. It’s supernatural, which means it bypasses our understanding. Our only responsibility is to simply surrender to his care.

    Meeting the special person that God has ordained for our lives is truly a blessing. We want them to be compatible with us, but we should honor the reality that they will want the same thing. Meeting someone that is one thing on the outside but something completely different on the inside isn’t anyone’s ideal soulmate, so we should do everything in our power not to be someone like that. Wear the love of Jesus Christ by accepting it totally and letting it saturate your heart. Don’t cling to the past, cling to him, because you can’t do both. Release your burdens to him, and trust in the blessings that God has in store for your life. You can do it because Jesus Christ says you can. Focus on trusting him and you’ll be amazed at the difference it will make in your life.

    Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

    “Forgetting the Things of the Past” written for findchristianman.wordpress.com. Copyright©2021. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

  • It’s Time to Get Off This Bumpy Ride

    It’s Time to Get Off This Bumpy Ride

    2Thessalonians 3:15(NLT) gives us a tremendous jewel of comfort. It says “Now may the Lord of peace himself give you his peace at all times and in every situation. The Lord be with you all.” This verse is so comforting that we might forget to absorb the wisdom of it. Heavenly Father is a God of peace. He reiterates this for us in 1Corinthians 14:33, which again tells us that He’s not the author of confusion or disorder but of peace. This aspect of God’s nature is very important to us because we are blessed when we bring forth His peace into chaotic situations and conditions. But sometimes, even though we try to be peace makers, people will reject the peace of God. They don’t want any part of His peace, because it will mean they have to accept the responsibility that comes with it. This rejection can be particularly hurtful, and potentially harmful, when the person who rejects God’s peace is the most significant person in your life.

    In the beginning of a relationship, both people are usually on their best behaviors. You are learning each other’s mannerisms and quirks and trying to build a friendship that deepens as time progresses. Sometimes women are less patient with this process than their male counterparts. This is especially true if she has been without a partner for a while. I remember hearing a dear sister say that she’s never been the kind of woman that turns the heads of most men. She’s always been the one that they see as just a friend. So, when she first met her current boyfriend and he took notice of her, she threw caution to the wind and leaped into the relationship full force.

    The problem with this is that sometimes both people do not want the same things and haven’t come to a true understanding about this. As God’s daughters, naturally we want to be a blessing in our ministries as wives and mothers. And not only this, we want the promises of God to be manifested in our lives. He loves us, and we know that He desires our happiness more than we desire it for ourselves. We are dedicated to trusting that God will bless a marital union with someone that values us as a compatible, loyal, and committed life partner. This is our expectation, and it is a realistic one. However, it can potentially create disharmony in a relationship when the other person doesn’t want the same thing.

    Have you ever been on a roller-coaster ride? This is essentially what a relationship of disharmony feels like. It’s the feeling of creeping up to the top of the ride, plunging down the other side, turning upside down, and then back up again. This is what it feels like to be in a relationship that has no direction or destination. You’re flip-flopping. At times things feel okay, but deep down you always know they’re not. Often the peace of God is missing in a relationship like this, for God tells us in Amos 3:3(KJV), “Can two walk together, except they be agreed?” Heavenly Father wants us to receive the blessing of a beautiful marriage, and sometimes the person we’re with just isn’t willing or can’t offer this to us.

    Even though we don’t make it blatantly obvious, some of us carry resentment, and its because we won’t face reality. Just beneath the surface is anger because the person we love is refusing to cooperate with our agenda. It comes out in the relationship in many ways. You may continue to tell yourself that the relationship is worth hanging on to and that eventually he will want to get married, but Godly wisdom and perspective is necessary. We must be so careful that we have the courage to have a mind that desires God’s peace more than a piece of a relationship.

    God’s peace conveys confidence that we’ll meet a man that equals our capacity to give and love. When we meet him, we’ll know it deep within, and more importantly, he’ll know it too. It is beneath the privilege of God’s daughters to have to try and convince a man we’re worthy of a marriage commitment. At some point we should desire to get off the bumpy, unsteady ride of a relationship that isn’t grounded in the peace of common goals, common love, and common commitment to God and to one another. Want what God has for you, and don’t be afraid to release something that isn’t from Him.

    Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

    “It’s Time to Get Off This Bumpy Ride” written for findchristianman.wordpress.com. Copyright©2021. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

  • You Will Have It All Again!

    You Will Have It All Again!

    There is little in life that is more emotionally painful than going through divorce. For many people, it’s a tremendous loss. God tells us a little bit about how He deals with our losses in the encouragement of Joel 2:25-26(NLT). In this passage He said, “25 I will give you back what you lost to the swarming locusts, the hopping locusts, the stripping locusts, and the cutting locusts. It was I who sent this great destroying army against you. 26 Once again you will have all the food you want, and you will praise the LORD your God, who does these miracles for you. Never again will my people be disgraced.” The locusts in the verse are symbolic of the devil, for he is a thief who steals ruthlessly, taking all and leaving nothing behind. The latter part of verse 25, where God says that He sent the great destroying army, God is speaking from the perspective of His Permissive Will. We need to know what this means for us, so that new opportunities for love are greeted with a faith that isn’t held back by lingering remnants of fear.

    The first five words of this passage are “I will give you back…” This suggests to us that indeed something can be taken away. Loss is a terrible feeling, but there are times in life where we will experience it, and sometimes we wonder why. Why does God allow so much to be taken from us—things that are very important to our sense of well-being? We can become very resentful about this because we’re so sad and hurt. The truth is that when a marriage results in divorce, there were challenges within the marriage that we were not spiritually mature enough to handle. God didn’t fail us. We simply lacked the spiritual strength and knowledge to face our fears and overcome them through faith.

    God doesn’t want us to have a pity party and go into self-condemnation about what has transpired in our past. He wants to help us prepare for what is in our futures. The passage in 1Corinthians 13:4-8(NLT) tells us, “Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.” Fear will tell us that this is a standard we can’t meet, but the mind of Christ will press us to breach the walls of our comfort zones to love in greater ways. This is the lesson we should all learn from our previous relationships.

    Divorce is often an indication of how much the devil was able to use fear as a weapon against us. Sometimes people will say things like, “My Ex was too selfish…” or “We just weren’t ready for that kind of commitment.” We will even blame the other person. Time passes, the pain of the breakup subsides, and we begin to pray for new love. This is wonderful, but if we didn’t examine ourselves in an effort to make sure what happened in the past doesn’t happen in the future, we may lack the humility and growth to enter marriage again.

    2Timothy 1:7 tells us that God has not given us a spirit of fear; He’s given us a spirit of love, power, and sound mind. These are not just mere words; the spirit of love, power, and sound mind are eternal treasures on which the foundation of any relationship should be built. God has given us these spiritual goodies and we need to grow in them, because the devil will constantly test us to see if fear is present.

    Fear belongs to the devil. If it is present in our hearts and we act upon it, it gives the enemy a way to invade our marriages legally. Heavenly Father’s Permissive Will allows these attacks because His provision through Jesus Christ has already given us the armor to stand strong no matter what we face. He commands us to put on ALL the spiritual armor He has provided and keep it on. We must have the courage to ask God if we are fortified in the places we weren’t before. If we aren’t, He will let us know, and He will help strengthen us so that everything we lost in divorce, we can have it all again. ■

    Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

    “You Will Have It All Again” written for findchristianman.wordpress.com. Copyright©2021. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

  • What Are You Waiting For?

    What Are You Waiting For?

    The wisdom of Ecclesiastes 11:4-5(NLT) tells us, “Farmers who wait for perfect weather never plant. If they watch every cloud, they never harvest. 5 Just as you cannot understand the path of the wind or the mystery of a tiny baby growing in its mother’s womb, so you cannot understand the activity of God, who does all things.” I have always loved this passage because it can be easily and practically applied to daily living. The context of this passage pertains to those who sit back and wait for conditions to be perfect before they prepare their hearts and minds to take care of God’s business. We see this posture quite often in believers, and dare I be so bold as to say, we see it very prominently displayed in many single men. Some will say they must be more financially secure before they seek a wife, or they need to get all the ‘playerism’ out of their systems before they make that matrimonial move. It’s important for us to use the wisdom of God’s Word when this game is being played. Then we can put the ball in God’s court, so that we don’t end up on the sidelines when it comes to marriage and living the dream.

    Heavenly Father uses the practicality of a farmer in His Word because every human that is living, or who has ever lived, is on this earth to sow. If we fail to understand or engage this element of our responsibility as God’s children, we miss the whole ball of wax. There’s so much labor involved in farming, and it ain’t easy. It’s sometimes arduous work. Now, a farmer that’s NOT on the grind and isn’t about business will use any excuse to prolong the wait. He or she will not even go out into the fields until they think conditions are prime for it. A diligent farmer will rise early and get to work no matter the conditions. She or he has learned to be productive, rain or shine. They can make do whether the harvest is plentiful or small.

    The context of Ecclesiastes 11:4-5 also reveals something about our expectations. To sow is to invest. It is to plant something with the expectation that it will yield something greater. Sisters, this is a very important definition to consider. Sometimes, we give the best we have to offer to a man, including our bodies; and he’s not even the one. We make this overwhelming investment with no indication of yielding the return that such a hefty investment is due. We don’t get the courtship. We don’t get his time. We don’t get to know his loved ones. We don’t get sweet and sentimental gifts, and we don’t get a ring. We were farmers, but not on good ground.

    Good ground is ground with a track record of producing beneficial crops. So, the logical thing to do for anyone seeking to be a spouse is to make sure they are good ground, that they have done what is required of them by the Lord Jesus Christ. They’ve committed themselves to good deeds, because we know from James 2:14 that if we say we have faith but haven’t done the good works to back it up, then our faith is dead. What good to a marriage is dead faith?

    We are God’s children; this means that we already have all we need to be powerful and impactful human beings on this earth. We don’t have to wait on anything to get good deeds done – we just have to DO! Ephesians 2:10 tells us that we’re God’s workmanship, that He created us in Christ Jesus specifically to perform good works. So, we have to ask ourselves if we’re good ground according to God’s standard. If we are, then the right farmer will certainly recognize it.

    What are you waiting for? You’re waiting on God to bring your harvest! But this means you had to have planted some good seeds of good works. Heavenly Father designed things in such a way that we are both farmers at times, and good ground at others. As believers that desire a good and lasting marriage, we ought to be sowing seeds that please God. We’re not doing it solely for the benefit of finding a spouse. We should be doing it because that’s what Heavenly Father has asked us to do. The investments we make to share, give, and love others according to the example of Christ will set us up for future blessings. 

    Do yourself a great favor and continue to prepare for your harvest. Recognize that the good deeds you do for the Lord are adding up. As a farmer, you can’t expect that every seed will sprout at God’s appointed time. Jesus Christ said in Matthew 9:38 that God is in charge of the harvest. He will reward you with a spouse that is worthy of your investment. Until then, keep planting good deeds, and don’t let any lazy farmers play around with your good ground. ■

    Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

    “What Are You Waiting For?”, written for findchristianman.wordpress.com. Copyright©2021. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

  • Out of Darkness and into The Light

    Out of Darkness and into The Light

    Jesus Christ said in Mark 4:22(NIV), “For everything that is hidden will eventually be brought into the open, and every secret will be brought to light.”  In this verse, our blessed Lord and Savior is teaching about the Kingdom of God, because he wants us to know what the Kingdom of God is like. It’s all light, and as God’s children, we share in this light. Our Heavenly Father is fully transparent. Everything with Him is out in the open. God doesn’t do things in the dark, but the devil is the exact opposite; he does evil deeds in the dark, and so do some people. They don’t want anyone to know or see these things, but as children of the light, we can’t operate that way.

    In Mark 4:21, Jesus asked, “Should a candle be brought into a place to be put under a basket or under a bed and not to be set on a candlestick?” Of course not! We should never hide the glory of the Lord that is in our hearts. No one having right mind would hide a burning candle under anything. A candle is meant to illuminate and bring light so that things hidden are exposed and so that darkness is dispelled. Such a bright and glorious thing as light is never meant to be hidden, but rather it is placed out in the open so that others may see the glory of it and come into the light themselves.

    When I was a kid, like many youngsters, I didn’t like being in the dark at bedtime. So much so, that I would ask my older sister to sing me a song so that I would hurry off to sleep and not have to face the darkness. I was afraid as a little girl that anything could happen. The fact that I couldn’t physically see in the dark, couldn’t stop whatever was out to get me, and couldn’t defend myself against it just overwhelmed my young mind. I understood, even at a young age, that ultimately, darkness is powerlessness.

    In darkness, what isn’t there can be just as painful as what is. It is a terrible place to be and many people are hurting because they don’t realize that our God has a life-changing solution for darkness and powerlessness through the Lord Jesus Christ. It’s not just those who are lost and don’t know Jesus Christ that are feeling the torment of darkness. Many believers that have accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as their personal Savior are suffering in torment as well. They feel as though no one understands their pain. They are looking for something real and desperately want to experience the joy of the light of Christ in their lives. Jesus wants to shed his light in our dark places. He stands at the door of our hearts and continually knocks. The question before all of us is “will we let him in?”

    Darkness represents the absence of light. In Mark 4:22, Jesus Christ said the thing that is hidden is meant to be disclosed. Nothing can be hidden from our Heavenly Father. He knows everything, and He knows the deep things of our hearts. One of the reasons why we experience so much pain is that we want hidden things to remain that way, but healing comes when these things are exposed to the love of God. Jesus Christ said in John 8:12(NLT), “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.” Our blessed Lord isn’t going to put us on blast, that isn’t what he means when he tells us that hidden things will come to light. He is really extending an invitation for us to allow his light access to every part of our being, because he knows exactly what we need, and he wants us to be the lights God has made us to be.

    1Thessalonians 5:5(NLT) says, “For you are all children of the light and of the day; we don’t belong to darkness and night.” We are not without responsibility and duty as sons and daughters of God. We have an obligation as children of the light to walk in the light. When you walk in the sunshine on a beautiful sunny day, you allow yourself to soak it up and take it in. It is exactly the same with the Lord Jesus Christ, and in Mark 4:23-24, he tells us how to soak in his light. He commands us to listen and pay close attention to what we hear from him, because the closer we listen, the more understanding we’ll be given. In verse 25, he said that for those that are not listening, even what little understanding they have will be taken away from them. So, listening to God’s Word with an intention and attention to hear and understand is an important part of letting God’s love and light in our hearts.

    Colossians 1:13 tells us that God rescued us from the power of darkness and translated us into the Kingdom of His dear Son. We have already been rescued from darkness. No more wandering around, not knowing where to go or what to do. We serve a living God and a risen Savior, and his Spirit lives on the inside of us. Philippians 2:15(NLT) tells us to “Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people.” God would not tell us to do something that He didn’t equip us to do. We have to see ourselves as bright lights shining in a world of darkness and continue to follow God’s Word so that our lights never dim.■

    Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

    “Out of Darkness and into The Light” written for findchristianman.wordpress.com. Copyright©2021. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

  • Want What God Has for You!

    Want What God Has for You!

    Edna woke up and got ready for work, just as she does every day. She made her regular stop to grab a cup of coffee, but for some reason the drive-thru was extraordinarily long. She didn’t want to be late for work and decided she’d make out better by going inside to purchase her coffee. This would be a simple decision for most people, but Edna avoided placing herself in certain situations. She was very insecure about her smile and certain parts of her body. Most people considered her to be an attractive woman in her 50s, but she didn’t see herself this way. Not ever being married or even coming close to it had done a number on her self-esteem. She thought she might not ever meet someone who would appreciate her just as she was.

    Edna had been praying for God to bless her with a man that would see her and not her imperfect smile and large hips. We all know what it feels like when we want something so bad, we’d do just about anything to get it. You may stay on your knees all night and pray all day just to see a certain thing come to pass in your life. The truth of the matter is that every day presents us with an opportunity to do something different than the day before. Lamentations 3:23 tells us that God’s mercies are new every morning. This means we need to make sure our fellowship with Him is flourishing, so we can know and respond to what He’s up to in our lives.

    1 Corinthians 15:58 The Message (MSG) says, “With all this going for us, my dear, dear friends, stand your ground. And don’t hold back. Throw yourselves into the work of the Master, confident that nothing you do for him is a waste of time or effort.” Our Heavenly Father never changes, but we do. God tells us that we should be always growing and going higher in Christ. Because of the race we’re in down here on earth, this makes change a constant dynamic in the life of a believer.

    When Edna was in her late 30s, she became so desponded about not being married that she closed off parts of herself from everyone. She hardly ever switched up her routine and didn’t go places outside of those common to her. She wasn’t renewed in the spirit of her mind about the blessings of God or her responsibility to walk in His love. Instead, she became pessimistic about her existence. This is never helpful. It closes doors to the very opportunities we need to see.

    Colossians 3:12 (NLT) tells us, “Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.” Our God is brilliant! There’s a purpose and reason for everything that He tells us to do. We don’t always understand the transformation that believing His Word ignites, but things change for us when we are firmly committed to living for God through the Lord Jesus Christ. It took a while, but Edna humbled herself and begin to pray to receive only what God wanted for her. Pleasing Him became her primary motivation.

    Her day had started out like any other, but as Edna stood in line at her favorite coffee spot, the next gentleman in front of her asked if she wanted to go ahead of him; he was waiting on his order to be corrected. She obliged, and they began a conversation that led to an exchange of numbers. He phoned later that evening and they talked over an hour.

    God knows the doors that need to be open in our hearts so that we begin to attract the blessings we desire most and draw ourselves closer to them. He’s not in heaven moving us around like puppets. He created the universe in such a way that it responds favorably to our faith in Him. When we humble ourselves and take even the smallest step to put Jesus Christ in the driver’s seat of our lives, his light will guide us. He will make sure that we’re in the right place at the right time to receive what He has for us.

    Scripture taken from The Message. Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.

    Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

    “Want What God Has for You!” written for findchristianman.wordpress.com. Copyright©2021. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

  • The Promise of Victory

    The Promise of Victory

    1Corinthians 15:57 tells us to give thanks to God, for He gives us victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. This isn’t a victory that takes us to the half-way mark and drops us off. It’s overwhelming victory that applies to every aspect of your existence. It’s a huge arena, because the victory we have in Christ covers the expanse your entire life, every nook and cranny of it. So, underestimating the flexibility that God requires of us is a mistake. We have to walk by His divine guidance and direction every moment of every day, because spiritual training is never ending, but it’s the best thing that could ever happen to us, because victory in Christ is guaranteed. Again, this doesn’t apply to just one area of our lives; through Jesus Christ, we can have victory in every area. However, when it comes to victory in marital partnership, some of us are still warming up for the race. We’re learning how to maximize faith by beginning at a slower pace. Heavenly Father is making sure we don’t burn out in the middle of the race.

    Victory means that you’re going to be uncomfortable. For many of us, this discomfort comes from being patient longer than we’d like and not knowing exactly what we ought to be doing during the wait. Well, one of the things we must do during the wait is prepare for what a marital future will hold for us. In consideration of this, my pastor reminds me to make sure Romans 8:37 is firmly etched in my heart. It tells us that we are more than conquerors in the Lord Jesus Christ. This is one of those verses that demonstrates the exceedingly abundant way in which God delivers on His promises. Most of us would have been thrilled to pieces about just being a conqueror—being able to tackle a few hefty challenges in life, but Jesus Christ has made us more than this. He made us more than conquerors because we need to be.

    Being a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ will cost you something—victory always does. You can’t be more than a conqueror without having something to conquer. We’re going to have to go through some things, and we don’t have the luxury of skimming the surface. There’s a cross to bear, and the Apostle Paul was talking about this in Romans 8. During the biblical time in which he lived, believers were always in life or death situations. Ephesians 6:12 (KJV) says, “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” Believers in Paul’s time were up against this in a very real way because they were constantly under attack. By inspiration of the Spirit of God, Paul had to remind them who they were; they were more than conquerors through Christ and so are we.

    Being a child of God means everything! If you weren’t a daughter of the Most High, you would probably choose a different kind of man, but because God has a plan for your life and your husband’s life, as a couple more is at stake. It is incredibly important that we demonstrate a pattern of making our relationship with God through Jesus Christ our number one priority. This guarantees that we’re increasing in spiritual strength. It means we can hear the directives God communicates regarding how to protect and maintain our marital unions.

    It is also essential that we elevate the ministry of marriage above our physical and emotional desire for companionship. The institution of marriage belongs to God. He established it for His purpose. If our thinking about marital partnership doesn’t jive with a primary desire to please God first, and please our spouses second, our hearts will send the wrong signal, and the wrong person will pick it up.

    God said in Isaiah 43:15-19(NLT), “I am the LORD, who opened a way through the waters, making a dry path through the sea. I called forth the mighty army of Egypt with all its chariots and horses. I drew them beneath the waves, and they drowned, their lives snuffed out like a smoldering candlewick. But forget all that—it is nothing compared to what I am going to do. For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it?”  This is the God we serve. He’s a God of promise! He is a God of victory! There’s nothing that compares to the plan He has for us and the victory He has already set in motion for our lives.

    Things will not always be easy. There are evil forces working against our happiness and plotting to intercept our future marriages as well, but God has already worked this out. He’s already begun a new work within us, and He is sure to finish what He started. Let’s not make the mistake of overlooking the obvious. It will take an elevated way of behaving, thinking, and being to continue warming up your faith muscles. Walk with it until you can run with it. Be patient as the Lord prepares you. Pray and ask Him to tell you what you need to strengthen, and what you need to release so that you walk in the victory that Christ has already won. And if you seek the Lord with all your heart, you’ll be able to help your future husband do the same.■

    Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

    “The Promise of Victory” written for findchristianman.wordpress.com. Copyright©2021. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

  • Don’t Let Your Excitement Dwindle

    Don’t Let Your Excitement Dwindle

    Hebrews 11:1 tells us that faith is the substance of things hoped for, and it is the evidence of things not seen. We can’t reach out and touch the substance of faith, but it is more powerful than anything you and I can imagine. Faith allows us to step into our destinies in the Will of God, and it opens the door by which His blessings flow into our lives. Jesus Christ said in Matthew 17:20 that all we need is faith the size of a mustard seed, and we can speak to a mountain and have it move. From this we can see that our minds and hearts create the environment for faith to flourish. This means that our thoughts and emotions play an important role. So, when we’re looking to further ourselves in our ambitions and goals, particularly those involving marriage, our thoughts and emotions can help propel us forward or bring us to an abrupt halt.

    Psalm 37:4(NKJV) tells us, “Delight yourself also in the LORD, And He shall give you the desires of your heart.” This verse is an invitation for us to delight ourselves in all that God’s Word says He is, but many of us don’t keep the fire that fuels this delight burning in our bellies. Not only have some of us allowed the quest for marital partnership to disappoint us, but we’ve allowed this disappointment to impact the way we view the goodness of God. When I think of this, I’m reminded of my daughter when she celebrated her last birthday. She made a calendar for the month and crossed off every day until she got to her big day. I’d never seen such an enthusiastic and excited child on her birthday than my daughter. It is a blessing to witness this child-like joy. It is exactly the kind of joy we must hold for our Dear Sweet Heavenly Father every day of our lives. He deserves this.

    We decorated her bedroom while she was asleep. That morning she woke up to birthday banners and streamers everywhere. She was so joyous and happy that I didn’t need to prod her at all for school that day. The next morning, I walked into her room, still decorated from the day before, and I asked her, “How’s the birthday girl the day after her big day?” She said, “Not as excited as I was yesterday.” Her excitement had dwindled because there was no anticipation of gifts and goodies the day after.

    As believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, we must know that God never ceases to give us goodies. However, we should also see very clearly that our faith in God can’t be only driven by what we receive from Him, but by who He is. Life will not hold much gratification from day to day if we are not thrilled beyond belief for the privilege of being His children. 1John 1:5 tells us that He is light, and in Him is no darkness at all. We are His very own, His children of light, because He rescued us from darkness through the Lord Jesus Christ.

    We must grow to a point that the revelation of what God has done through Christ fuels our heart with joy continually. We can never know the degree to which this joy helps us to cross paths with our future spouses, but it makes all the difference. The genuine quality of our delight in God places us squarely on the path to His goodness. Every day should carry the joy of a birthday for the believer. We can wake up with excitement in our hearts because of what God has done for us through Christ, and what He will continue to do to bring blessings and abundance into our lives.■

    Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

    Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

    “Don’t Let Your Excitement Dwindle”, written for findchristianman.wordpress.com. Copyright©2021. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

  • Straighten It Out before Marriage, Or After?

    Straighten It Out before Marriage, Or After?

    Old habit patterns, bad attitudes, and negative ways of thinking can keep us from reaching our full potential in the Lord. These are the things that the devil uses to keep us stagnant, spinning our wheels, so that we lose out on the blessings God has for us. It is important that we know that Heavenly Father most assuredly has blessings He wants to give us. He desires to bring to manifestation the prayer request we’ve been praying about for a long time, but for some of us, our eyes are blind to what God is doing. We can’t see all the opportunities He’s placed within our paths. They are designed to strengthen us spiritually, but because we can’t see these opportunities to be strengthened in our inner man, we lack the spiritual strength to reach out and grab the blessings with our names on them. This is something that we absolutely must change.

    Regarding the complexities and challenges we endure in life, the Apostle Paul prayed this prayer in Ephesians 3:16(NLT), “I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit.” Paul is letting us know that we don’t have the strength on our own to endure the stuff the devil throws our way. Jesus Christ told us very plainly in John 15:5 that apart from him, we can’t do anything. Of course, we can accomplish lots of things in the earth through human effort, but Jesus Christ is letting us know that these things won’t amount to anything if he’s not in the equation. They won’t further God’s agenda, and if they don’t further God’s agenda in the earth, then they are not worth doing.

    Jesus Christ said in John 6:44(NLT), “For no one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them to me, and at the last day I will raise them up.” We don’t come to God on our own. He draws us! He chose us long before we knew about Him, and He’s given us a holy calling. God has something for us to do, and no one can do what He has called you to do quite the way you’ll do it. Your calling is unique just as you are unique. It is your purpose within the destiny God has ordained for your life. It is your identity and speaks to the very core of your existence. This is what you must be committed to do and seek as a follower of Christ.

    God also wants us to be clear that we can’t fulfill our purpose without the strength that He gives us. It’s impossible without His help. Paul prayed that believers would be filled with the Holy Spirit so that the Spirit would work within us to will and do of God’s good pleasure. We need the Spirit’s strength to overcome everything that is being thrown at us. It is God who empowers us to be a blessing, and without His empowerment, our lives will not be in alignment with His Will.

    Many single believers are struggling with the temptation of pre-marital sex and other sexual immoralities. There are sisters who have a deep yearning to be married to the right man, but they have sex with every man they date. God means it when He tells us not to engage in sexual sin. In 1Corinthians 6:15-18(NLT) He tells us, “Don’t you realize that your bodies are actually parts of Christ? Should a man take his body, which is part of Christ, and join it to a prostitute? Never! And don’t you realize that if a man joins himself to a prostitute, he becomes one body with her? For the Scriptures say, “The two are united into one.” But the person who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with him. Run from sexual sin! No other sin so clearly affects the body as this one does. For sexual immorality is a sin against your own body.”

    God knows this is a challenging area for many people, and this is why He tells us very plainly that we can’t rely on our own strength. Our strength won’t cut it. We must lean on His strength through the power of the Holy Spirit. We can’t effectively and earnestly pray for God to present us with the treasure of a marital spouse if we have no intention of trusting Him to help us abstain from sexual sin. That would be double-minded. It’s an unstable request. Our prayer must be to grow in the Holy Spirit so that we walk according to his directives and guidance. That should be our main priority.

    We can’t do anything without the strength of God in Christ. We need the faith that comes from witnessing the transformation in our lives from our full surrender to the Spirit. We need to see how God responds to our prayers when we ask Him to help us maintain Godliness. And we need the confidence that comes from knowing we can receive instruction from God about our purpose, as He helps us carry it forth like clockwork. So, understand that Heavenly Father isn’t looking for us to straighten our crooked paths before we get married, He’s looking for us to allow Him to do it from within. ■

    Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

    “Straighten It Out before Marriage, Or After?” written for findchristianman.wordpress.com. Copyright©2021. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord