Find A Christian Man

Category: Devotions

Christ-centered devotions for the everyday places where faith meets real life. Find biblical encouragement, practical wisdom, and reminders of God’s truth to help you grow in Christ, trust Him more deeply, and live out your faith wherever this season finds you.

  • Harmony of the Heart

    Harmony of the Heart

    A very good friend and sister-in-Christ told me that when a man truly loves a woman, peace in the relationship will follow. Her statement places an incredible amount of responsibility on the man, but still, I remember asking myself how in the world did she come to this realization. She was speaking from personal experience, and as I continued to reflect on her statement, I wondered what circumstances she experienced to ultimately have this kind of love and peace in her relationship. It wasn’t until I had gone through a few ups and downs in my own significant relationships that I realized how true her statement is.

    Truly loving
    Most women of God that have been praying to cross paths with their future husbands have heard Ephesians 5:25(NLT) and have placed on their checklist of expectations. In this verse, God commands, “Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;” This is God’s standard regarding the caliber of love a man should have for his wife. Fast forwarding into our modern times, we see something very different from what God expects playing out.

    It isn’t uncommon in today’s environment to see a woman putting all her heart into her significant relationship, but the man’s commitment and support doesn’t equal hers. She makes excuses for him, and she keeps telling herself and hoping that he’ll one day come around, but in many cases this doesn’t happen. It could be that he doesn’t understand God’s requirement. A person cannot rise above what they don’t know, so maybe this man has never had an up-close and personal visual of a truly loving relationship between a man and a woman, and he hasn’t yet learned to give of himself. It could be that he doesn’t have a big enough reservoir within himself to accommodate the love he should have for the significant woman in his life.

    The bottom line is that when it comes to good love, the kind that God expects that men will extend to His daughters, the man must have a will to love the woman. This is what I believe my friend was conveying. Truly loving a person requires more than affection, it requires a depth that is reached when their destinies meet.

    When God is in it

    The psalmist said in Psalm 73:24(NLT), “You guide me with your counsel, leading me to a glorious destiny.” Only God can set our destinies, and all our destinies are in Christ. Ephesians 1:3-6(NIV) tells us this. It states, “3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. 4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will—6 to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.”

    Destiny means that God is in it, and only He can lead us to it. Ephesians 1:3 tells us to celebrate God. He has lavished us with every spiritual blessing because of our union with Christ. He chose us! He made up His mind about who we should be and destined us to perfectly embody the blueprint of Christ. Our very lives are meant to be a celebration of God’s brilliance, walking hand in hand with Him every step of the way. His love for His Son is the same love He has for us, and His vision for us unfolds as we surrender everything to Him by faith.

    We shouldn’t allow anything or anyone to deter us from the vision God holds for us, but often we do, and this is the place where peace and tranquility are interrupted. It’s the place where we are often tricked into thinking that we have something of substance, when in truth, we are accepting something far less than our privilege.

    Sometimes we meet men that aren’t quite there in the love department. They haven’t yet learned to give quality love, because they haven’t received it, or they haven’t allowed God’s love into their hearts. If destiny isn’t involved, and we invest our time and energy into a relationship with this person, it can be disastrous. However, when God is in it, God can work through us. As women who celebrate Him and His love, we should be committed to walk in Christ. Our obedience to God reveals when and if we are destined to be the missing piece in the man’s life. If God says so and this is our destiny, we must be ever so careful to love and give like Christ, and to be the best ambassador for our Lord and Savior that we can be.

    Being true to our destiny in Christ will create a synchronicity and balance to our relationships. Loving God with all that we are yields peace in our relationships, without loving Him in the way He requires, we are lost and have no hope. To strive for a healthy relationship that leads to a healthy marriage is to be in harmony with God’s plan from start to finish. When this is our posture, the right man can’t help but to bring peace, and it will be a perfect and destined match for the peace of God that is already in our hearts. ■

    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.

    Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

    “A Heart of Harmony”, written for findchristianman.wordpress.com. Copyright©2024. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

  • The Prince of Peace

    The Prince of Peace

    God’s extraordinary prophecy in Isaiah 9:6(KJV) proclaims, “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” Undoubtedly, many of God’s people were taught this Old Testament scripture as it was passed down from generation to generation. The manifestation of it then landed in the Gospels, as the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, finally came! Mary, the woman who was engaged to Joseph, was a willing vessel. The angel, Gabriel, gave her the Good News that the Holy Spirit would come upon her and the power of the Most High would overshadow her. She would give birth to a son named Jesus, who would be very great and the Son of God. Luke 1:38(NLT) tells us that her response was, “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.”

    In Luke 1:28, the angel, Gabriel, called Mary, highly favored one, blessed among women. Our Heavenly Father knew every detail of Mary’s and Joseph’s lives and future. He knew they would be good parents for His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, and He chose them for this esteemed honor. Our precious Lord and Savior left the throne of God to come to earth, and although he is deity, Jesus came as a human being. If our all-powerful, all-knowing God had wanted Jesus Christ to come to earth as a fully-grown man, then it would have been done this way, but that was not the case. Jesus was born from a mother’s womb like us. As a baby, he allowed himself to be one of the most vulnerable creatures on earth, and with a watchful eye, God entrusted his care to Mary and Joseph.

    A Son is given
    Before he left the throne of the Most High, Our blessed Redeemer, Jesus Christ, had not taken human form. He was indeed God’s Son, but our Heavenly Father’s plan for the redemption of humanity meant that His Son had to be given. He had to take on the form of a human being and become like us in order to save us. Hebrews 9:22(NLT) says, “In fact, according to the law of Moses, nearly everything was purified with blood. For without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness.” According to God’s Law, our sin makes us guilty, because our sin is rebellion against God and His Word. Romans 6:23 tells us that the penalty or cost of sin is death, and this was the weight and curse we carried before Christ came to the earth.

    Romans 5:12(NLT) says, “When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned.” Our sin made us enemies of God, and we desperately needed a Savior to restore our friendship with Heavenly Father and to rescue us from sin and death. We couldn’t do this for ourselves, so God sent His Son. 1John 4:10(NLT) declares, “This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.” Jesus came to the earth not as an angel, but as a man who shed his blood and died an agonizing death on the cross so that we could be made righteous and live eternally with God.

    The government shall be upon his shoulder
    When Adam sinned against God, he transferred everything God had given him to satan, including his dominion and authority in the earth. Ephesians 6:11-12(NLT) tells us, “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.” Wars, rumors of wars, poverty, violence, wickedness, crime, chaos, confusion, and cruelty, these and all other remnants of darkness and destruction are a result of satan’s influence over our world. Right now, the government isn’t upon the shoulder of our King, Jesus Christ, but one day it will be.

    Philippians 2:10-11(NLT) proclaims, “10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” In the world today, every knee has not bowed, and every tongue has not confessed that Jesus Christ is Lord, quite the contrary. In these modern times, people are finding new ways to rebel and reject God and His Word, but one day this will all cease. On that glorious day when our Lord and Master returns to the earth, he will set up his Kingdom, a Kingdom that will never end. The government will be on his shoulder, and it will be a government of his peace, love, joy, and power.

    Wonderful, Counsellor
    Jesus Christ is our wonderful counsellor, and he is so deserving of this title. There isn’t a detail about any aspect of our lives that he doesn’t know, and he wants to help us with any problems or obstacles we may face. Hebrews 4:14-15(NLT) tells us, “14 So then, since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe. 15 This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin.” Jesus Christ is our Mediator and Advocate, and he’s a member of the Most Holy Council of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. 

    So often we face situations in life that confound us. It seems that there isn’t a solution, but that is never the case. Jesus is the answer to all our problems. He invites us in Matthew 11:28-30(NLT), “28 Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.” Jesus paid the price for our sins because he loves us so much. He deserves to be the first resource we turn to, not the last. Whether it’s mental, emotional, physical or spiritual, through our faith in him, he will help us to overcome. 

    The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace
    Romans 5:1(NLT) tells us, “Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us.” We grossly underestimate the level of gratitude that our God deserves for rescuing us from death and darkness through His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. No one could do for us what God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to accomplish on the earth. The awe, majesty, honor, praise, and glory that we should have for the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit should far exceed the adoration and devotion we have for any other person or thing. Jesus Christ is the Prince of Peace, and because he is, our hope in him will never disappoint us, because he has all power and authority. He is King of kings and Lord of lords, and one day the whole world will know it!■

    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 Prince of Peace”, written for findchristianman.wordpress.com. Copyright©2023. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

  • Details of Your Destiny

    Details of Your Destiny

    Ecclesiastes 6:10-12(NLT) says, “10 Everything has already been decided. It was known long ago what each person would be. So there’s no use arguing with God about your destiny. 11 The more words you speak, the less they mean. So what good are they? 12 In the few days of our meaningless lives, who knows how our days can best be spent? Our lives are like a shadow. Who can tell what will happen on this earth after we are gone?” This passage puts our destiny in Christ upfront, in full-view, and in wide-screen high definition. No matter how much we might try to alter it or bump up against it, our destiny is unmovable. God has etched it in stone, so to speak, and we have no other choice but to accept this. The truth of this passage also gives us the lens from which to view our future marriages. God would not leave such an important part of our lives to chance. The person that will walk with us through life is our destiny partner, and God has included the details of our union in His plan.

    Personally, I must admit that in the past, I argued with God about the direction my life had taken, but even though I argued with Him, He did not argue with me. His Will is perfect, and I had to get on board with His plan for my life. There were many things that I didn’t understand, and to be quite frank, some things I still don’t understand. But that’s why He tells us in 2Corinthians 5:7 to walk by faith and not by sight. This means that we can’t lean on what we see with our physical eyes and make our life’s choices and decisions based on that. We must have total faith in Him and what He says in His Word, so that our choices and decisions are grounded in His truth.

    God’s Word is the truth. His Word is reality. Things can seem and look to us to be very bleak, and sometimes our relationships with the significant person in our lives becomes very rocky. It can feel very much like a breakup is eminent. The person may even be interested in someone else, but faith dictates that we don’t re-act to what we see, nor should we act out or re-act according to the angst or anger we may feel.

    Some of us have been single for a while and there appears to be absolutely no movement. You’ve prayed and waited and done all that you know to do. You’re ready to throw in the towel because you’re not seeing movement with your physical eyes. The truth is that you have no idea what the Father is doing. You can’t see all the things He is moving and shaking up behind the scenes. So many singles make the mistake of self-sabotage due to impatience or emotional instability, and they prolong their blessing.

    King Solomon said in Ecclesiastes 6:11(NLT) “The more words you speak, the less they mean. So what good are they?” In other words, so often ‘people be talking just to be talking’. We say a lot of words, but they have no weight and don’t mean anything. God is letting us know that unless we speak what He speaks, we are not speaking life. And if we don’t speak life, it’s not going to produce the results we expect or want. We must get on board with our destinies and maximize our opportunities to move ourselves forward in God’s agenda. If you’re spending more time speaking negative than you are speaking the positives of God’s promises, you’re sabotaging your own efforts.

    Scripture makes it all crystal clear to us, our destiny, whatever it may be, has already been decided. This is not to minimize our free will choice, but the emphasis is on the truth that whatever decision we make, it’s all about God’s plan and purpose for our lives. Romans 8:28(KJV) takes us to school and teaches us, “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” This verse does not mean that God structures His blessings and purpose around our decisions and choices. It means that He has designed the universe to work towards our good when we get on board with His Will.

    If we want to know the details of our destiny, this is it. It is that we live according to His Will and Word so that we witness the blessings He has in store for us. Nothing good happens outside God’s Will. We can see this from the condition of the world today, but it is a totally different story indeed when we remain in His shelter. Psalm 91:1(NLT) declares, “Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty.” This is where we want to be.

    King Solomon was the wisest person that ever lived, and his frustration is palpable in Ecclesiastes 6:10-12. He explored the many facets of life during his existence, looking under every rock for the meaning of life. He was looking for that “Ah Hah! Moment” and thought it could be found outside the boundaries of God’s sovereignty and magnificence. He wanted every detail of his destiny revealed so he could be definitive about his journey forward. Many of us are this way when it comes to our destiny partners. We want all the details, but like Solomon, we will find that reality is faith in God. Destiny is the moment by moment decisions we make to strengthen our relationship with Him through Christ. So, whatever your situation might be, whether you are patiently waiting for marriage or praying for the restoration of one, stay close to God. Have faith in Him! Seek Him through prayer and continual dialogue. Instead of doing what you want, get committed to doing what He wants, and the details of your destiny will beautifully unfold.■

    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.

    “Details of Your Destiny”, written for findchristianman.wordpress.com. Copyright©2023. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

  • Do You Think About God Much?

    “And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing.  Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable.  Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.”

    Philippians 4:8(NLT)

    In Philippians 4:8, our Heavenly Father is providing us with valuable information that will help to shape and mold our lives. He has given us insight regarding the importance of our thoughts. Our minds are the grooming place of faith, and they produce the thoughts that help us move ourselves forward and upward in the things of God. This is one of the reasons the Father commands us in Ephesians 4:23 to be renewed in the spirit of our minds, because when we change our thoughts, we make a shift in the supernatural. This shift begins a manifestation process that can change our lives if we keep the faith and stay the course. When it comes to crossing paths with the person that will walk with us through life, we need to immediately arrest the negative. All doubt and anxiety must be replaced with promises of God’s Word.

    Think about what is true
    God’s Word is true! If God says something, then it must be so. We can’t have faith and doubt at the same time. One of them has to go. Jesus Christ said in Mark 11:23(NLT), “I tell you the truth, you can say to this mountain, ‘May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and it will happen. But you must really believe it will happen and have no doubt in your heart.” What is doubt? Very simplistically, doubt is the opposite of faith in every way. It is feelings and thoughts of uncertainty and not believing the Word that God has told us. Doubt demolishes the momentum of faith and therefore, doubt will not and cannot prove the perfect Will of God.

    Jesus Christ has told us the truth in Mark 11:23, and it is our choice whether or not we will believe that through faith in him, we can do incredible things. Our faith in the Lord is what causes us to be led and guided by the Holy Spirit. Faith takes us out of the driver’s seat and places Jesus Christ in his rightful place as the head of our lives. So, when we think thoughts that are true, we ought to be thinking the same thoughts that Jesus Christ has. What are those? Jesus Christ said in John 8:29(NIV), “The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him.” Our Lord and Savior never did anything that did not please God. From the time he woke up in the morning until the time he laid his head down at night, he was either thinking or doing the Will of God. This is what is always on the mind of Christ. He is always thinking about ways in which he can please God. How about us?

    Think righteously
    The process of thinking the same thoughts, and not changing the way we think, is like watching the same movie over and over again. After we’ve seen the movie repeatedly, it is recorded and programmed in our minds. The outcome is the same every time, and it doesn’t change. The actors don’t change, the scenes don’t change, and the ending doesn’t change. So, if the movie is bad, the outcome is always going to be bad. If the movie is good, the outcome is always going to be pleasing to us. Many single women want different results, but they don’t change the movie that is playing in their heads and hearts. They keep doing the same things and hoping for different results. Life will not respond to this positively. God designed life to respond favorably to faith.

    Our thoughts are like seeds, once you plant them, ultimately that seed will produce a harvest. We, you and I, strengthen the plant based on how much we think the thoughts that seeded it. Our minds are a powerful tool – so much so, that our Heavenly Father has instructed us on what exactly we need to think in order that our minds are fertile soil for faith. He tells us to think on whatever is true, honorable, right, pure, lovely and admirable. This is what it means to think righteously.

    To have unrighteous or non-righteous thoughts is to think repeatedly about things that are not based on the truth. Some of us make the mistake of allowing our thoughts to be dominated by our lack of companionship or lack of a significant relationship with a good man. We think about how lonely we might be if we don’t have a man by a certain time. We think about the embarrassment of showing up at events without a partner, and we think about how much we dread feelings of loneliness. But what about thoughts of the righteousness of Christ and the hope we can have to measure up to God’s standard? Does this dominate our thoughts more than those of lack and loneliness? Are we allowing our minds to be breeding ground for more of the same? What about your blessed marital union and the things you’ll do as a couple to bless the body of Christ? Some of us don’t think of our lives in this way because we don’t plan on doing much more than what we’ve done. Yet we expect to be blessed for a harvest we haven’t even planted.

    Excellent and Worthy of Praise
    Psalm 100:4(NLT) tells us, “Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.”  This is how we are to enter the presence of our God. Only He is deserving of our praise. He deserves all the praise, honor, and glory that we can give Him. Thinking about this is what it means to think high-level thoughts. It’s keeping our minds and hearts continually in that high place. We should come before God trusting and believing He’s taking us higher, and we should be committed to using our thoughts, words, and deeds to meet Him in the place that is deserving of His majesty. We can’t bring God down to the level of doubt and fear. Trying to do this is admitting we either don’t know who He is, or we are refusing to have faith in who He is. But when we are committed to give Him our highest praise and thankfulness, we are partnering with all that is good to please Him.

    Gratitude and faith in God is the culture of heaven, and heaven is our home! It’s the place where our Father lives. We are God’s spiritual children, and we were born from His Spirit. His home is our home, and we need to represent home wherever we are. Whether it’s in the shower, in a classroom, at work, at church, at the hair or nail salon, in the grocery store, or at the dinner table. We ought to be thinking about God ALL the time, and we should be committed to having Him be pleased with our whole lives. If we continue to think like Christ, rest assured, marriage will come, and life will get better and better as we give God our whole lives and please Him with our thoughts and deeds.■

    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.

    “Do You Think About God Much?”, written for findchristianman.wordpress.com. Copyright©2023. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

  • Consistent and Unwavering

    Consistent and Unwavering

    I don’t know if any of you have ever had a conversation with someone that is truly disappointed with life, but I have. I know a person that has lost everything in life that was important. This woman became jobless, then homeless and car-less, then her children were taken away. As a single mom, she struggled to hold it together for as long as she could, but her every turn was met with more trouble, and without a firm foundation of faith, she gave up. It never occurred to her that God has a plan for her life. She wrongly believed that He was punishing her for a reason she couldn’t understand. Her mind had become so entrenched in this negative way of believing, that she would not even attempt to trust God. Instead, she was bitter and grew comfortable with a mind and heart of doubt.

    Jesus Christ said of himself in Revelations 3:8 that when he opens a door for us, no one can close it. By the same working of his mighty power, we must also understand that the door he closes, no one can open. The door he has closed for us was the one to darkness, fear, and doubt. We must reconcile in our minds and hearts that if Christ has closed it, and he has, we have no business trying to open it. If we do, we will not like what we find.

    In the preceding verse, Revelations 3:7, our Lord and Master tells us that he is the One that is holy and true. He’s the perfect One, our high priest that makes intercession for us before the Father’s throne. Jesus Christ tells us that he holds the key of David. This key reveals his sovereignty as a King of a Kingdom that has no end. He is the ruler of the universe, and ultimately every knee will bow before him. Hebrews 7:26(NLT) tells us, “He is the kind of high priest we need because he is holy and blameless, unstained by sin. He has been set apart from sinners and has been given the highest place of honor in heaven.”

    Our Lord is holy and set apart. He deserves glory and honor. He accomplished for us what we could not accomplish for ourselves, and he is able to do in us what no other can. He simply asks that we trust him, that we surrender our doubt, fear, and worry, and give all our burdens to him. He tells us in Matthew 11:29(NLT), “Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” This is who our loving Savior is. Compassion and caring are his nature. To meet him at this humble place of surrender, our faith is required.

    When our desires and the blessings we expect in life are delayed or destroyed, some people will wall themselves off from having faith in Jesus Christ. This is extremely detrimental. It keeps our faith stagnant; it can plant seeds of arrogance in our hearts, and it conveys that we have a sense of entitlement rather than gratitude. Trouble comes from the devil, but it doesn’t last always. Trouble can be incredibly uncomfortable, but it is also a sign that promotion is near. It is an indicator that we must grow spiritually to achieve the level of maturity that God is calling us to. So, the question isn’t so much about how long trouble will last. The question that we should be asking is how we can get to the door that Jesus Christ has opened for us.

    Human beings are not that complicated, and life can be very simple when we put it in the context of God’s Word. There are only two lanes we can travel in life, one inside the Will of God and the other, outside of it. Jesus Christ said in Mark 3:35(NLT) “Anyone who does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.” Furthermore, God tell us in Romans 12:2 that we must not be conformed to the culture and traditions of this world, but instead we are to be transformed by changing the way we think, then we will prove God’s Will. Often in life, our problems are on repeat because we haven’t lined up our thinking to the mind of Christ, so we lack the faith to prove God’s perfect Will. Our thinking patterns need to be changed, but we’re too stubborn to do it. We won’t ask God what we need to change, we won’t listen to His answer, and some of us have no intention of actually changing our ways.

    God is in the blessing business. 2Chronicles 16:9 says that His eyes search to and fro throughout the whole earth. He is looking for people who have hearts that are committed to Him, because this is the kind of heart that allows the strength of His power to do the miraculous. We don’t have to be perfect, but we must be consistent in our humility towards God, and we must have a desire to grow in an unwavering faith in Him. It’s not about all the things we want. It’s about trusting in God’s goodness and having confidence that He cannot fail. We know that the devil will throw many darts, but we are more than conquerors through Jesus Christ, and God has well equipped us to handle any trick or plot. It is not nearly as complicated as we make it. When we humble ourselves in faith and thankfulness, we’ll see that the door has already been opened for us by Christ, and all we have to do is walk through it.■

    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.

    “Consistent and Unwavering” , written for findchristianman.wordpress.com. Copyright©2022. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

  • Pray for All People

    Pray for All People

    None of us could have predicted such a time as what we’re facing, but it’s here. As with any challenge, this season is a reminder of how delicate and fragile life is. Circumstances and situations reveal that we are definitely not in control, and if there’s anyone that thought they could live without God’s grace and mercy, they are experiencing a wake-up call like no other. Through God’s Word, and through His Spirit as well as many truth speakers, God has warned us to get our houses in order. Now is the time to take a good hard look at where we are spiritually, so that we don’t have an existence marked by ungodliness and pandemonium but instead we are clothed in God’s provision and care.

    Times are perilous, and they’ve been this way for a long while. Whenever we face a crisis in these perilous times, God tells us how to approach it in Philippians 4:6(NLT). This verse says, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.” There can be no question that prayer is our first line of defense. Heavenly Father is all-knowing and all-powerful. He knows every detail of anything that has happened throughout the history of our existence, and He knew it well in advance. Regardless of what the situation is or how conditions look, He tells us to pray.

    There should be no doubt in any of our minds that prayer from a multitude of believers all over the world will turn things around. Through the Apostle Paul, God tells us in 1Timothy 2:1-2(NLT), “1 I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them. 2 Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity.” As God’s children, He instructs us to take on His nature. This means that we should practice the example of Jesus Christ daily. When it comes to actively living through God’s love, we should never assume the posture of sitting idly by with our hands tuck beneath our laps. As followers of Jesus Christ, we must get busy doing what the Father has commanded us to do.

    2Timothy 1:9(NLT) says, “For God saved us and called us to live a holy life. He did this, not because we deserved it, but because that was his plan from before the beginning of time—to show us his grace through Christ Jesus.” We have received a holy calling from our Dear Heavenly Father, and to walk in this calling is going to require some things of us, and prayer is chief among them. James 5:16 tells us that the prayers of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results. This is because of what the obedient believer carries in them. The Holy Spirit lives inside us, and we have been given the authority of Jesus Christ in the earth. With this authority comes the privilege and honor to partner with Heavenly Father by praying for others.

    We can look at the current times and see that as Christians we haven’t been as diligent as we should when it comes to praying for our country, its citizens, and its leaders. But Jude 1:17-21(NLT) encourages us to tighten up:

    17 But you, my dear friends, must remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ predicted. 18 They told you that in the last times there would be scoffers whose purpose in life is to satisfy their ungodly desires. 19 These people are the ones who are creating divisions among you. They follow their natural instincts because they do not have God’s Spirit in them. 20 But you, dear friends, must build each other up in your most holy faith, pray in the power of the Holy Spirit, 21 and await the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will bring you eternal life. In this way, you will keep yourselves safe in God’s love.

    This passage should ignite our renewed commitment and responsibility to live holy and pray often. We don’t know the day nor the hour when our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will return, but it’s our duty and call to keep our house in order, to remain alert and on guard, and to pray for all people. Then, we should seal our prayers with the deepest level of gratitude we can muster for how good God has been to each of us. Heavenly Father has brought us a mighty long way, and He will never leave or forsake us when our trust is firmly anchored in Him through Jesus Christ. ■

    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.

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

  • 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.

  • It’s At the Root

    It’s At the Root

    “As a face is reflected in water, so the heart reflects the real person.”
    Proverbs 27:19 (NLT)

    God knows our hearts, but it is impossible for anyone to know what is truly at the root of someone else’s heart. Heavenly Father didn’t give any of us the ability to look into another person’s core, and that’s a good thing. Most of us have a lot going on internally, some positive and some not so much. We’re works in progress. This means that as we notice things about ourselves that aren’t so pretty and that do not line up with the example of Christ, we address those things through prayer and by renewing our minds to God’s Word. There isn’t a word in the English language that can express how important it is that we address the not so pretty stuff inside, because not doing it can be blocking the blessing we desire most.

    When it comes to the man that we want to attract, some of us have some inner workings that could potentially cause him to be repelled rather than attracted to us. In Romans 12:2, God urges us not to be conformed to the customs and behaviors of the world, but to renew our minds by putting on the mind of Christ. This means that you and I must change the way we think. It is necessary so that we can be transformed into the men and women that Heavenly Father desires us to be. Without changing the way that we think, our hearts will not change.

    We are made in the image of God, which means we are spiritual beings, just as He is Spirit. We are His children and our very nature should always reflect His love. God isn’t telling us to take on His nature just because. He has a reason for this, and it is because He wants the best for us. The best things in life are magnetized to our existences when His love is the focus of our hearts and minds. It will ultimately cause nothing but goodness and sweetness to flow from our inside out. It is what makes folks want to recognize and connect with us. So it can’t be a secret to anyone that when something negative is trying to takeover our hearts, it can potentially be a hindrance to our blessings. Uprooting this negative behavior, attitude, mindset, or emotion from our lives should be a main goal of ours.

    Any of us that has been saved for a while knows that even if a person is a Christian, they can still be nasty, malicious, and cynical. This is because of what is operating at the root of their hearts. We can try and hide this, but after a while it will eventually be revealed, and someone will see who we really are because our actions, attitude, and feelings will expose us.

    Notice that Proverbs 27:19 uses the transparency of water to illustrate how the heart reflects the real person. Water is clear and reflective. It also moves and expands. This gives us great clues about where our hearts will take us if we are committed to saturating them with God’s love. Only the power of the Spirit that indwells us and the truth of God’s Word can change our reflection from one of discontent and doubt, to that of faith and joy. Submit to God with a mind-and-heart-set that is humble and ready to see what is at the root of your own heart. If it isn’t a good reflection, be committed to change it, so that you are spiritually prepared to receive what God has for you.

    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 At the Root”, written for findchristianman.wordpress.com. Copyright©2020. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord!

  • Punishing Ourselves for the Past

    The other day, I ran into a woman that I hadn’t seen in over 15 years. I didn’t see her at first, but she recognized me and immediately made her way to where I was standing. It was so good to see her. We hugged each other and the first words out of her mouth were “How do you stay looking so young?” As many of you can attest, running after little ones will keep you on your toes, but nothing keeps you feeling and looking youthful like the grace of God on your life. When you have a heart for God, and you choose to dedicate your life to pleasing Him, He will keep you if you want to be kept. Living according to His Will has restorative power and helps us age gracefully. I’m not saying that we don’t grow older in our appearance, but His ageless grace is apparent on our faces when pleasing Him is our priority.

    All of us have made mistakes and haven’t always done the things we know are right. Some individuals are carrying around the guilt of those things, and this keeps them from walking more fully in God’s extraordinary grace. Sometimes this guilt comes from things we’ve done, and sometimes it comes from things that have been done against us. In some ways, we may be punishing ourselves by continually feeling sad and hurt because our hearts were broken by someone we truly loved. There are other ways that guilt punishes us as well. Sometimes its through the fear that is still operating in our souls because someone violated us when we were powerless to defend ourselves. These are wounds that the enemy would like to keep open, so that he can continue to trap us in fear, sadness, shame, and self-condemnation.

    Many of us allow mistakes and pain from the past to affect us in the present. We do this by spending a lot of time thinking about the situations and focusing on the harm they caused. This shows us that we’re still hanging on to these emotions and thoughts. God wants us to wear the sweet perfume of His grace and this requires us to stop punishing ourselves by rehashing and reliving the past. We’re giving negativity space and weight in our lives, and Heavenly Father wants to help us release it.

    In Luke 7:36-39 (NLT), Jesus Christ demonstrates the liberty and grace he extends through the record of a woman who had made some serious mistakes. In this passage, one of the Pharisees, a group known to deplore him, invited Jesus to have dinner with him. Jesus accepted the invitation and as they were eating, a certain immoral woman from the city heard he would be eating there and brought a beautiful alabaster jar filled with expensive perfume. This woman had a bad reputation in town because of her deeds of the past. Understanding the times in which this takes place is crucial, because it wasn’t easy even for a woman with a good reputation, so you can imagine what it was like for a woman with a soiled one.

    Some believe she was a prostitute, a label given to many women that were forced to make a living on their own because they didn’t have a husband. She might have come from a poor family with no pedigree and fallen in love with someone who promised to be her rescuer, but only used her for his pleasure. Heartbroken, but naïve’, perhaps she fell into this trap repeatedly. Men in the town began to talk, and because no man would marry her, she was labeled immoral. She was ostracized from good society, and no doubt felt life was a vicious cycle of which she had no power and no redemption.

    She had heard reports of Jesus’ ministry and teaching, and an urgency to see him ignited her heart. When learning he would have dinner at Simon, the Pharisee’s house, she made it her business to see Jesus, and she did not come empty handed, but came ready to submit herself in the most humble way she knew. She brought an alabaster box filled with perfume, intent to perform a service that was typically relegated to the lowest servant in the house. Luke 7:38(NLT) tells us, “Then she knelt behind him at his feet, weeping. Her tears fell on his feet, and she wiped them off with her hair. Then she kept kissing his feet and putting perfume on them.”

    Again, we need to know a little bit more about the times to see the heart of what this woman did. Hospitality was greatly treasured back then. It was extremely important to the culture. It was customary to do things like have a servant standing by to attend the guest by presenting a basin of water and towel so they could wipe their feet. They wore sandals and their feet were always dusty, so this washing of the feet was a common courtesy. It was also customary to greet valued guests with a kiss on each cheek and to anoint their head with oil. Simon had been a poor host to say the least. He had performed none of these hospitable protocols for Jesus, the Son of the Living God.

    When at a dinner table back then, it was common for the feet to be postured off to the side, behind the body in a sitting position on the floor. It is possible that this is how Jesus was sitting when the woman came behind him to wash his feet. Simon was incredulous that Jesus had allowed this woman to touch him. She dared not kiss his head, knowing how she was viewed, but kissed his feet and anointed them with perfume. Jesus rebuked Simon for his neglect of common courtesies and in Luke 7:47-48 (NLT) said, “I tell you, her sins—and they are many—have been forgiven, so she has shown me much love. But a person who is forgiven little shows only little love. Then Jesus said to the woman, “Your sins are forgiven.””

    In Luke 7:50, Jesus told the woman that her faith had saved her, and to go in peace. This is the grace that he offers to all of us. We must stop punishing ourselves by rehashing old memories of hurtful situations in the past. By doing this, we are trying to keep dead things alive. Jesus took it all to the cross and we need to leave it there so we can walk in the liberty he freely offers.

    Take a piece of paper and write down all the negative things that have happened to you in the past that are still affecting you today. Be as honest and thorough as you can. Spill your heart openly to God on paper. Remember that the more you deliver over to Jesus—the more you ask and accept his forgiveness and restoration, the more love you’ll show him. Then, when you’ve written it all down, pray over it. Tell the Lord that you’re giving everything on that paper to Him, and that through his blood—the blood of Jesus Christ, you are released from them now! Tear the paper into the smallest bits possible and dispose of them in whatever way that causes you to have a new memory—one of being released from everything that has held you back or robbed you of joy. Go in peace. ■

    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.

    “Punishing Ourselves for the Past”, written for findchristianman.wordpress.com. Copyright©2020. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord!

  • Be Strong in God’s Grace

    God said in 2Corinthians 12:9(NLT), “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” He spoke these words to the Apostle Paul at a time when Paul was dealing with a troubling situation. He sought the Lord three times to remove this vexing problem, and 2Corinthians 12:9 is the spiritual strategy for success that God gave Paul. If we take some time to ponder this, we would see very clearly that Paul had a strategy in mind before he sought the Lord. He surmised in his thinking that removing the troubling thing from his life entirely was the way to go. And after he came up with this fix, he presented it to the Lord in prayer and hoped the Lord would cooperate. We can relate to this right? It’s often the approach many of us take about the issues we face. Well, as it turns out, the Lord had something better in mind, and as our problems persists, the strategy God gave Paul is the one we must put in place as well.

    The two-pronged spiritual strategy
    The spiritual strategy God gave Paul is two-pronged, and both prongs are instrumental to operating by faith. The first is that of God’s grace. To get a better understanding of God’s grace, we must look at the people God marked out as His own in Old Testament times. The Children of Israel were God’s chosen people. He didn’t choose them because they were so special, but because He is so special. His love is extraordinary, and through His relationship with the children of Israel, God demonstrates for us His unconditional love and grace.

    God’s grace is all we need
    The children of Israel broke their commitment to honor their covenant with God. Many of them disobeyed Heavenly Father and rejected His guidance and leadership. When Elijah the prophet began to complain about how far off the mark the Children of Israel had gone, Heavenly Father rebuked him. Elijah thought he was the only Israelite still honoring God, and this was not the case. God told Elijah there were 7,000 that hadn’t rejected Him and had not bowed to worship the idol god, baal. In the New Testament, in the Book of Romans, the Apostle Paul pointed to this Old Testament record. It shows us that we don’t always know the whole story and should stop speculating about things only God knows.

    In Romans 11:5-6(NLT), Paul said, “5 It is the same today, for a few of the people of Israel have remained faithful because of God’s grace—his undeserved kindness in choosing them. 6 And since it is through God’s kindness, then it is not by their good works. For in that case, God’s grace would not be what it really is—free and undeserved.” Romans 11:5-6 gives us a beautiful illustration and definition of God’s grace. It is His divine favor that is bestowed upon us although we didn’t deserve it and could never do anything to earn it. He bestows His grace on us because He loves us. God chose the Children of Israel to serve Him, just as He chose us to be His sons and daughters. It is always God who does the choosing. Everything is driven by His Will.

    Hebrews 4:16(NLT) tells us, “Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” Heavenly Father tells us to approach His throne of grace, not with our own plan, but with confidence that He knows what to do and how to do it—that He will not leave us defenseless but help us in our time of need. It’s HIS ability we must trust, not our own. He told Paul to shift his attention off the troubling situation and on to His grace, because His grace is all we need. It is one thing to hear the words, but another entirely to believe and trust them. Paul had to actually walk those words out in his life, and so do we.

    His Power works mightily in an atmosphere of humility
    A vehicle will not move if we have our foot on the brakes. The second prong is to remember that God’s power is unleashed through our humility, and humility requires us to take our foot off the brakes by recognizing we don’t have the answers. The Apostle Paul was able to boast in his weakness because this is when God was glorified through him. Let go and let God is a lifetime mantra. God knew what was necessary in order that Paul learned more fully to lean on Him. Paul had more to learn about the discipline of shifting to God’s grace and keeping it in high gear permanently.

    When we don’t trust God through our tough times, we run the risk of separating ourselves from Him when we should be drawing closer. This is especially true when we’re experiencing loneliness, impatience, emotional stress, and financial worries. The Lord God is mighty in battle! We must trust that He will fight for us, and that His grace is all we need. With Him on our sides, we cannot fail. ■

    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.

    “Be Strong in God’s Grace” written for findchristianman.wordpress.com. Copyright©2020. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord!