God is the Resolution

As a new year is beckoning us one can’t help but ponder the challenges, obstacles, twisting and winding roads that have met us. Some are still paralyzed perhaps, by this past year’s events. Maybe you have experienced a personal loss; whether it was the loss of a loved one, career, home or quite simply…hope. You may be tempted to carry into the new year the burdens of yesterday; a quite heavy load that oft times seem impossible to carry. Sometimes even wondering where was God through those sleepless nights and unbearable days.

According to Matthew 28:20 God says “…Lo I am with you always.” He was right there by your side! So I ask you, my brothers and sisters to perhaps think about your situations from a different perspective. Was there a common theme related to the pain, struggle, and hardship you endured this past year? Perhaps there was an area in your life God needed to bring to your attention. Maybe God allowed it to prune, refine, and complete you.

The theme that was a constant challenge in my life this past year was in the area of relationships. It seemed like I was being attacked on every side and in every aspect of my relationships; whether personal, family, or professional. After tirelessly, and frustratingly trying to work things out in my own strength I was humbled to my knees in prayer. God began to show me things about myself that I had not submitted to His will. In each relationship God used the other person to show me a mirror reflection of myself! The traits that I often had problems with in others were some of the same traits God was trying to perfect in me. Wow! And, on the other hand, I also struggled with character traits in others that were the extreme opposite of mine! Nonetheless, I could see how God allowed those situations to make me aware of my own behavior. When I realized the things that I was doing out of habit, stubbornness, or selfishness it was truly a wake up call! It wasn’t comfortable going through that season but I’m glad that I did! I learned a lot from those experiences and am very thankful God showed me what was in my own heart!

So I now ask you to revisit your trials and tests from the previous year. Now that you are looking at them through spiritual glasses, were there trying areas in your life where maybe God was building your character or maturing you spiritually? Spiritual growth often comes in the form of pain. It’s in those tough times that you learn how to depend on God. You strengthen your faith muscle when God delivers you out of trial after trial! Hallelujah! That’s how you get your spiritual wings and begin to fly! The more trials overcome, the closer you are to being free. Let’s go into the new year soaring!

~HaPpy NeW YeAr!

Will you go in disobedience or by faith?

In the book of Jonah, God called Jonah to go and deliver a prophetic message to the city of Nineveh; a great and wicked city. Jonah refused to go and fled to Tarshish. Jonah 1:3 says Jonah went down to Joppa and got on a ship, trying to flee from the presence of Lord. Because of his disobedience God brought great wrath and turbulence upon his life by way of a raging storm. But when Jonah cried out to the Lord (Jonah 2:1-9), God received his prayer (vs 2: 10).

When we willingly disobey God His covering will not be over us, therefore we become vulnerable to all kinds of curses, dark places, and torture from satan. In contrast, the great thing about God is that it is never too late to come to Him. Unfortunately, usually it is when we have come to the end of ourselves and realize we can’t make it on our own. Oh but how loving is our Father, with arms outstretched wide, He rescues us from the hands of our enemies. Verse 2:10 goes on to say, ” So the Lord spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.” In Galatians 5:17 it says, “For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the spirit against the flesh, and these two are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish.” Many times God may tell us to do something and we simply refuse.  The main root is disobedience which often arises out of fear, unbelief, and the most damming of them all–doubt! We doubt God can do what He sent us to do, and we doubt God’s ability to carry us through to the end. In the midst of life’s tide will come sharks, piranhas, and the proverbial whale. But, do we just let satan throw us overboard to be eaten alive because we selfishly don’t want to go through pain, hurt, and suffering that is often required to walk with God? Or, do we stand up, while inside the belly of the whale, and start praising and worshiping God; stirring up a commotion, agitating its loins, and upsetting its stomach so much so that it has no choice but to regurgitate us out? Light can not live inside of darkness. Either of two will happen: darkness will conform to light, or the light will be too powerful for the darkness and it will have to flee! Hallelujah! Will you heed the voice of God pertaining to your life? God may allow you to be overtaken by the enemy for a moment, but will retrieve you–despite your disobedience, so He can show you how faithful and merciful He is. It’s situations like these that God allows us to go through to increase our faith (1 peter 6,7). When you first started on this Christian journey your trials may have been small, but as you pass one faith test after another, you will begin to see that the level of faith required to go through the next situation will need to be of a higher magnitude. Will you walk bold like David did and face your Goliath, or will you do as James 1:23, 24 says and forget what kind of man you are? Intermittingly, we sometimes forget what God has already brought us through, forget who we are in Christ, and forget that Romans 8:37 says that we are more than conquers.

Moreover, when we finally accept God’s will for the thing that He has called us to do, when it does not go the way we think it should go do we start to murmur, judge and complain? We begin to usurp God’s authority and do His job for Him when all he simply told us to do was obey! The assignment He sent you on was for Nineveh’s (other person’s) deliverance, not you! But, you’re complaining, “why is this person in my life?” “Why am I going through this?” Some of you are even praying and wishing harm on the one that God sent to you to intercede for! Because you are subject to pain in the process, you get angry at God for not punishing the person (vs 4: 1,2). God had to show Jonah the mercy of His heart through a plant (vs 4: 9, 10). Just as Jonah was as passionate about that perishing plant, so was God about His perishing people (vs 4:11). Beloved, God will send us as laborers to the harvest when He is trying to reach unsaved sheep. It takes maturating in Christ not to look at a trial subjectively. It takes a selfless person to love another human being that is perishing in darkness; to suffer for that person so their soul can be saved       (1 corinthians 13:2). Instead most run away from Ninevah. We must have a willing heart and sensitive ear to listen to the voice of God and follow His direction for our life. Instead we let hurt, pain, and anger toward’s a person paralyze us, thus saying “no” to God and forfeiting the person’s salvation. Oftimes, God is already speaking to the person’s heart, calling them out of darkness. God needs you to be His physical body to reach out and embrace them. The people you are assigned to will most often react to you in anger and hatred because like you–before you surrendered to God–they are trying to run away from God’s calling on their lives. Beloved, don’t run away from God. Did He not tell us to, “pick up your cross and follow me?” Matthew 10:24. As Christians this life is not ours,    1 peter 4:2 says, “that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh for the lusts of men, but for the will of God.” Saints, we are ambassadors for Christ.

By Puja Nagual

God’s Love Letter

Beloved, I have heard the cries of your heart. Because of your recent tragedy you are now calling out to me. You have been asking where am I? But beloved, I pardon, where were you when I tried to call you unto me (Luke 5:32)? In bitter weeping I cried out to you to turn from your wicked ways. Where were you when I needed you to do my will? You turned your back on me when I tried to awake you at dawn to intercede in prayer? When I needed you to visit the sick you went out partying instead. When I called you to fast you celebrated in feasting and revelry. When I spoke to you through a homeless person; I begged you for food, yet you rose up in anger, called me a bum and told me to get a job. I commanded you to love, yet you walk in unforgiveness and judgment towards your earthly sisters and brothers (Mark 12:31). My heart bleeds at the arrogance and pride toward your fellow man. Instead of fellowshipping with me you watch TV or consume your time with friends. My child you take more pleasure in your worldly accomplishments and material possessions. Instead of bowing down to worship me you worship your car, house and job. Instead of me being the love of your life you have put a higher priority on romantic relationships. Don’t you know that the love I have for you is everlasting (John 3:16)? You have made these things the God of your life. You have pushed me aside for the pleasures and enticement of this world. Yet when tragedy happens you say where is my God? I then say I never knew you (Matthew 7:23)! Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord’, and not do the things which I say (Luke 6:46)? How right Isaiah was when he prophesied about you! You are hypocrites; you honor me with your words, but your heart is really far away from me (Mark 7:6).

Now because of this great disaster in your life you want to accuse me of not being a loving God, a faithful God, or a merciful God. I clearly warned you to stay away from idolatry, homosexuality, and perversion (Exodus 20:1-17). I am the same yesterday, today and forever more, (Hebrews 13:8) my words do not change. Have you not learned from the children of Israel? (Deu 11:26-28). And now that this bereavement has come upon you, you cry out to me in desperation. Haven’t I told you in Romans 14:11 that every knee shall bow before me, and every tongue will confess that I am God? Yet in your own self-reliance you cursed me and told the world that there is no God. You turned many souls away from me into the hands of my enemy. I now ask, are you willing to repent and seek me as the Lord of your life or do you just want me to fix this immediate problem? “Help me just one more time, this time I promise to serve you,” you have cried out to me before. Are you now willing to turn away from your rebelliousness and willful sin? Beloved, will you now pick up your cross and follow me? (1Peter 4:2,3)

The lover of your soul,

Jesus Christ

Gumbo religion

Many people today are deeply hurting, broken and unhappy with their lives. They are hopelessly trying to find a place of peace, rest, and acceptance from a hurting world, searching in vain for a spiritual paradigm to anchor their lives. Some, even Christians are borrowing from this religion or that spiritual practice or the latest new age book—promising to know God. They are trying to concoct their own secret formula, or a panacea for true peace and happiness. Many know God, but they think He is far away from them, unreachable. They think maybe if I go down this road, turn right on this lane; stop at this street or avenue maybe I will find God. I can imagine many saying “Maybe He will hear me if I go to this place, bless me if I say this chant, repeat affirmations everyday, stay positive, think positive, just maybe I can reach through to God.” There are also those who were never introduced to any form of God or religion for that matter, and know that there is more to life than what the physical senses ascertain, so they are desperately trying to find something to fill an empty space in their life. Maybe this person is you. Perhaps you are persuaded to study a family member’s religion, or maybe you saw a temporary change in a friend through his/or her spiritual discipline.  Or perhaps you read about the next “hot” new age trend and decided to give that a try. After years of “trying out,” you became exhausted and discouraged. The last religion that you tried was full of hopes and promises but, yet again you ended up being burned, resigning to the fact that there is no God. This merging of spiritual doctrines is what I call a gumbo religion: a lil’ Christianity here, a dash of Buddhism there, a sprig of yoga, a pinch of Hinduism.

As the ubiquitous quote by Peter Marshall states, “Unless we stand for something we shall fall for anything,” relates quite relatively in this text. Joshua 24:15 God says, “choose this day whom you will serve.” It’s time to stop straddling the fence. There is only one true and living God: Jesus Christ. Stop playing the harlot with other religions and get to know the SAVIOR. He’s the only one that can save your soul! You have tried the world’s way, now try God! Psalm 34:8 says, “Oh taste and see that the Lord is good.”  If you don’t know Jesus Christ and would like to accept Him in your life at this moment get a Bible and read aloud Romans 10:9, ask God to come into your heart. Beloved, the time is now to get serious about the things of God.

Revelation 3:16 says, “So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of my mouth.” Saints, I truly believe this is why many Christians are not hearing from God. God is calling us into a deeper relationship with him and to serve Him only.  Isaiah 43:11 says, “I alone am the Lord, the only one who can save you.” That is the truth coming directly out of the mouth of the Holy One. He commands His followers to “take up his cross and follow me,” just as He commanded the disciples in the New Testament (Mark 8:34). Saints, we are living in the days where the tides have turned back over to that of Babylon in the Old Testament. We are in the midst of spiritual warfare against an ungodly, idolatrous, perverted nation that has no reverence for the things of God. God is loudly blowing His Horn, grievingly calling soldiers in the kingdom to fight His holy war. God is petitioning us to put on the whole armor of God (Ephesians 6:11-18). Saints we are coming up against some perilous times and God needs soldiers who are going to press in, and fight through the darkness, pestilence, and demonic forces that are operating in the spiritual realm.

Many are verbally proclaiming to be walking with Christ, but Matthew 15:8 says, “These people draw near to me with their mouth, and honor me with their lips, but their heart is far from me (Vs.9) and in vain they worship me…” The resulting fruit is Christians who have no compassion, no love, no peace, are uncaring, and unloving.  And I tell you these are spiritually dead! Beloved, it’s time for a revival! It’s time to be on fire for the Lord!  Stop hiding behind the label “Christian” and ask God to come into your heart so you can have a deeper, more profound relationship with Him. You will never know God fully through a mediator (new age book, pastor, friend, counselor). Ask God to have a one on one relationship with you, and that you would be able to know Him intimately. Ask Him to speak to you, to walk with you daily. Saints it’s good to go to church, but you will only be victorious in Christianity when you have a personal relationship with God; when you know His voice, His promptings, and let Him lead your life. That’s when you find victory in Jesus, Amen! When you press in to get to know Him. When you walk with Him daily that’s when He’ll guide you and teach you and tell you His will for your life. When you become proficient in Hearing His voice and assiduously obey His commands for your life, that’s when you’ll enter into His Rest. Hallelujah! For He gives His beloved rest! (Matthew 11:28) Saints it’s a peace that surpasses all understanding, a resting place, a shelter from the pressures of this world. Try Jesus! He’s all you’ll ever need!