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He must have seen the glory beaming out of the one named Adam. He had to see the sunrise and sunset, creativity and passion, strength and love in the muddy mixture. He must have seen the majesty of untold greatness and the beauty of wholeness in this unfamiliar work of creation. Lucifer, in all his anger, resentment and bitterness must have seen Adam as a reflection of Almighty God. He must have shook in fear as he watched the Creator from a distance form, mold and shape the mud into man. Questions and worry must have invaded his mind as God etched away all imperfections to create…  ( Click for more )

A movie I was watching featured a popular detective known for his ability to solve difficult cases. A street cop walks up with some pertinent information. The street cops says to the detective, “I love your work and would love to be on the ’Special Cases Task Force’.” The detective responds, “If you want to be on the ’Special Cases Task Force’, then go out and do something special.”

This is an effective principle to use in the work force or in the educational arena. It’s a principle that will help you get noticed by others…  ( Click for more )

Last week we discussed the expectations Jesus has for us if we are to follow Him. In Matthew 5:20 Jesus said, “For I tell you, unless your righteousness (your uprightness and your right standing with God) is more than that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” In addition He added to the requirement. In verses 21-22,27-28 He digs deeper into our spiritual pockets and makes it clear on what He expects of us concerning our heart and mind.

When Jesus brings in these additional verses, He is stating that we have the responsibility…  ( Click for more )

Jesus crucifixion started in the garden. The Father gave Him a vision. (Luke 22:41) Jesus died to His own will. (v42) Jesus accepted, visualized and internalized the Father’s plan. (v44) This sequence of steps was a defining moment for Jesus and for us. No, it was much more than that. It was the beginning of the final great battle that led Jesus to the victory that had been foretold for thousands of years. This was the established point in time for Jesus. The same point in time God gives to all of us. He gave His only begotten Son, our only chance, a vital, critical and crucial…  ( Click for more )

Sometimes I think the way Jesus presented His messages was a little unusual, . He would say these wonderful truths, then seemingly change the subject in a moments notice. For instance, the famous sermon on the mount in Matthew 5. Jesus starts out with the “Blessed are they” speech. It’s basically an “everything is beautiful” feel good message. (v3-v11) Then He says, (paraphrased) “Now that you know you are blessed because of God, don’t hide it. Let your light shine.” (v13-v16) After that it turns a little rigid. Jesus makes a…  ( Click for more )

Let your speech at all times be gracious (pleasant and winsome), seasoned [as it were] with salt, [so that you may never be at a loss] to know how you ought to answer anyone [who puts a question to you]. (Colossians 4:6 Amp)

My friend once told me a trick he used to help him avoid eating all the food on his plate lest he over eat. He would open the salt shaker and pour salt over the remaining food. I’m not so sure it was a good plan. It may have solved the issue at the moment but what about the discipline it takes to live a healthy lifestyle.

The apostle Paul wrote…  ( Click for more )

Isaiah 46:3-4 (NLT) "Listen to me, all you who are left in Israel. I created you and have cared for you since before you were born. I will be your God throughout your lifetime until your hair is white with age. I made you, and I will care for you. I will carry you along and save you.

1 Peter 5:6-7 (Amp) Therefore humble yourselves [demote, lower yourselves in your own estimation] under the mighty hand of God, that in due time He may exalt you, …  ( Click for more )

As a boy, I had several cuts, scratches and bruises just like most boys do. I remember one particular incident when I had a good sized scrape on my knee from a bike accident. After few weeks I had a full scab and was on my way to complete healing. Unfortunately for me, we had a friend of the family visit us. Somehow this “friend” convinced my parents to pour peroxide on my scab. In a panic I tried to talk my way out of the forced treatment but it was to no avail. As my parents held me down, I cried through the torture. I’m not sure what it was to accomplish. The…  ( Click for more )

Matthew 6:19-20 19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: 20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal

I admit it. I enjoy watching…  ( Click for more )

John 5:6-7 When Jesus noticed him lying there [helpless], knowing that he had already been a long time in that condition, He said to him, Do you want to become well? [Are you really in earnest about getting well?]

The invalid answered, Sir, I have nobody when the water is moving to put me into the pool; but while I am trying to come [into it] myself, somebody else steps down ahead of me.

Think about this man’s response to Jesus. His statement gives us a very revealing look at his spiritual state.

To better understand this, we must clarify the meaning of the…  ( Click for more )

Where does the time go?

Birthdays go from creep to leap as the years past.

Work weeks drag and vacations fly by.

Time is a ridiculously silly concept.

Who thought of it?

What good is it?

It seems to put stressful boundaries on us

and is a relentless taskmaster with our future.

It waits for nothing or no one.

It plays no favorites.

We can earn money, but time is allotted.

We make stupid statements about time.

"I've got time to kill."

"I've got all the time in the world."

"I'll have more time later." …  ( Click for more )

Psalm 42:7 (AMP)

[Roaring] deep calls to [roaring] deep at the thunder of Your waterspouts; all Your breakers and Your rolling waves have gone over me.

This is not a description of a gentle God. It sounds like God is trying to drown the writer with a mighty vengeance. I love this description and I need it to be true in my life. Let me try to explain why.

The apostle Paul prayed for the Ephesians to know the depth of God’s love. I’m sure I will never completely know this because God is Love. It’s too deep to comprehend. I can’t comprehend the depth…  ( Click for more )

What do you want?

John 5:12-13

They asked him, Who is the Man Who told you, Pick up your bed and walk? Now the invalid who had been healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had quietly gone away [had passed on unnoticed], since there was a crowd in the place.

I find it interesting that the man that was healed in this story didn’t know Who healed him. It is obvious to me that Jesus exerted visually His authority or the man likely would have told Jesus to leave him alone.

I was raised in a religion that believed in Jesus but did not know Him. They never talked…  ( Click for more )

There is a very interesting story in John 5:1-9. 1LATER ON there was a Jewish festival (feast) for which Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 2Now there is in Jerusalem a pool near the Sheep Gate. This pool in the Hebrew is called Bethesda, having five porches (alcoves, colonnades, doorways). 3In these lay a great number of sick folk--some blind, some crippled, and some paralyzed (shriveled up) waiting for the bubbling up of the water. 4For an angel of the Lord went down at appointed seasons into the pool and moved and stirred up the water; whoever then first, after the stirring up…  ( Click for more )

There is something terribly wrong", ringed the voice in my head as I laid in the shredded lawn. I was semi-conscious and quite unsure of the cause of the accident I was in. It was sudden, quick and caught me off guard. It was the turn. It was sharper than expected and my tires couldn't keep me on the road at the speed I was going. It was a simple misjudgment on my part that flung me from my car and took me to the edge of death.

Laying there in darkness, alone and shocked, I wondered if this was the end. I knew where I was going but the thought of death and living forever…  ( Click for more )

If you’ve ever been a snowstorm you may have experienced a whiteout. In my experience in a whiteout, I couldn’t see very far in front of me and lost my sense of direction. There was so much snow and cloud cover, I could only see vague outlines of dark objects. I was surrounded by so much “white”, I was uneasy and uncomfortable with my surroundings.

On the contrast I’ve also experienced a total blackout. During a tour of an underground cave, the tour guide shut off the only light we had in the cave. We were standing in total darkness. With our eyes…  ( Click for more )

Proverbs 4:24

Put away from you false and dishonest speech, and willful and contrary talk put far from you.

The last two weeks I talked about the strategies of the enemy after finding the call and purpose for your life. (You can find those two articles in the archives.) You will at some point realize the plans of God are not small in any sense of the word. He has a grand plan and purpose to complete on this earth. It is a plan greater than man can comprehend and visualize. But your part, to you, will also be grand and more than you can complete on your own power. After all,…  ( Click for more )

Last week I talked about the first strategy of the enemy after finding the call and purpose for your life. You will at some point realize the plans of God are not small in any sense of the word. He has a grand plan and purpose to complete on this earth. It is a plan greater than man can comprehend and visualize. But your part, to you, will also be grand and more than you can complete on your own power. After all, God's original plan was to have Mankind dominate the earth.

If you think about it long enough this thought ups the ante'. Dominate! What are you to dominate? It can…  ( Click for more )

The battle seemed a sure loss in his mind as the enemy receded to refortify its army. He laid his weary head uncomfortably on a stone to gather his thoughts and strategy for the next attack. As his eyes closed, retreat and surrender calmly invaded his internal perceptions and emotions of the battle at hand. They sang a melancholy song reminiscing the long past peaceful days. Its melody had a soft beat of propaganda, misinterpreting freedom and peace. The warrior’s memory walked him through his predestined life as the king’s only son. His three elder brothers died in the…  ( Click for more )

She walks with a painful limp, feet are blistered, legs burn with every step and her clothes are battle worn. Uncovered skin sluggishly bleeds from intruding jungle brush. Her weathered face and unkept hair paint a picture of unbridled determination. She holds two weapons; her machete to forge her own path and the memory of the voice who called her to greatness. In the brief moments of drifting into restless sleep she rewrites the definition of greatness in her mind and fights the desire to revert to the old life of mediocrity. With a sudden jolt from her heart she wakens to her bold…  ( Click for more )

Paul was a greedy thief. He was Bounty hunter paid to find Christians and take them to prison. Because of his testimony against them, they would be executed.He personally had the Apostle Stephen killed. The scales of injustice weighed heavily against him, yet, after his conversion, he wrote, “THEREFORE, [there is] now no condemnation (no adjudging guilty of wrong) for those who are in Christ Jesus, who live [and] walk not after the dictates of the flesh, but after the dictates of the Spirit.” I’m sure Paul was tempted to not write the letters he did because of his…  ( Click for more )

John 17:18 The MESSAGE

In the same way that you gave me a mission in the world, I give them a mission in the world.(Jesus)

Mission:

a. A special assignment given to a person or group

b. A combat operation assigned to a person or military unit.

It is clear. Jesus has given us an assignment, a mission or a call for our life.

If you don't know what it is, it is time to find out.

If we do not seek out and follow Gods plan, spiritually we slowly fade away into a slumber always living short of personal internal victories and never completing the will of God.…  ( Click for more )

The curse of all curses will seek you out, torture and humiliate you. It berates you publicly and entrances you into believing its' sinister story. Its’ ploy is to keep you prisoner within the falsity of your self-perception. It entices you to marry into its extended family; which includes baggage of a hellish, reoccurring nightmare. You eventually begin to think and speak as it thinks and speaks. Before you know it, you’ve lived a lifetime of self-approved and self-reinforced pain, misery, loneliness and despair.

Yes it's a dreadful curse spoken over you as a…  ( Click for more )

Disappointment and failure is all I felt as I thought back about 2014.

I kept trying to find some tangible evidence that I had a victorious year.

Did I set my goals to high? Did I ask for too much? Did I miss God on this one?

You see, I honestly felt 2014 would be my year so I declared it boldly on my Face Book header. It read; "2014Year of the Victor". I had a great picture to go with it that showed the intensity of my belief. This was the year my business would be started. This is the year I would be well on my way to financial independence. This is the…  ( Click for more )