What Will You Be When You Grow Up?

I usually write about a subject that has grabbed my attention during study but this one has rested in my spirit for a long time and I have so often been accused of saying offensive and rude things that I have kept it on the back burner.  The problem has to do with the “that’s not what you said 20 years ago” attitude that pervades America today.  While I don’t expect the world which God says will wax worse and worse (2 Timothy 3:13) to change for the better; I actually do expect the saints of God to do so.

In my early years I might well have been given a prize for most likely to remain a jerk or maybe even a fool.  Looking back on my life I would say it’s a toss-up.  Even today in the church there are people who have known me for 30 years who still believe I am who I was and no amount of change on my part will ever erase that first impression in their minds.  From a world standpoint I can accept this since in the world people rarely discover a new way of living and become saintly.  As someone who lives and ministers in the church I find this troubling at best and deadly to the world at the worst.

I can’t erase my youth; it is what it is.  While that might bother me in a far off way, it fills me with excitement in a much more immediate way.  If God has brought me from where I was to where I am, then how much more might He do in my life given my whole hearted cooperation. 

I have been reading a book by the rabbi Maimonides who quoted Isaiah 49:3 which says, “And [the Lord] said to me, You are My servant, Israel [you who strive with God and with men and prevail], in whom I will be glorified.”  His exegesis on that verse was enlightening. 

Maimonides, who lived in a Muslim country serving a Muslim Vizier as a court physician wrote extensively on the Laws of God and how men ought to live before God.  To paraphrase Maimonides,

If you are a well-known preacher or teacher or prophet or minister of God’s word and you begin to act in ways that cause men to speak badly about you, even if the things you do are not scriptural sins, you have desecrated the Name of God.  If you purchase an item and then argue with the person who sold it to you when you have the money in your pocket or bank account to pay for it because you want to wait a while to pay; or if you behave foolishly or hang around foolish and ungodly people, laughing at their jokes and stories, you have desecrated the Name of God.  If you speak rudely to others and treat them with contempt whether they have done something to deserve it or not, and you treat them with great disrespect, you have desecrated the Name of God.

He continued to say that the greater the anointing on your life the more holy and righteous you ought to be.  If you strive for a great anointing you may no longer consider yourself to have the right to be rude or disrespectful to those who are rude and disrespectful to you.  Remember, a Jew who did not have Matthew chapter 5 to tell you to take it with a good grace wrote this.  He was allowed an eye for an eye in the Hebrew Scriptures and wanted us to know that those who aspire for ministry must go beyond the basics of scriptural requirements to serve God.

He said if the leader is careful in his behavior, speaks pleasantly with others and receives them with a smiling face and pleasant words (even if they are not giving him the same courtesy); and if he does not spend a lot of time hanging around fools, liars and profane persons and is not a partaker of their attitudes, and if he is always seen doing the work of His God with love and grace, then that person actually fulfills Isaiah 49:3.  God is glorified THROUGH that person and the common man will honor God through YOU.

God is not honored by pastors who scribble an insult on a receipt over the amount of a tip and self-righteously say, “God only gets 10%, you don’t deserve 18%.”  God is not honored by those who insult the parents of homosexual children at their funerals and claim to be doing so in the name of God.  This dishonors God’s name.  God is hurting for those people; for their loss and for the fact that their son or daughter were not serving Him.  Those who do such things have literally added insult to injury with their Pharisaical conduct. 

Doesn’t the scripture say that who we forgive on Earth are forgiven in Heaven and whose sins we keep in mind are kept in Heaven (John 20:23)?  Is it our job as Christians to do Satan’s work and be the great accusers or is it our job to do Christ’s work and try to be the comforters, healers and redeemers?

I know that these things are done in fear.  We have the Book and know the end from the beginning.  I can see the signs and know that we are in the beginning of the end.  This country like all others will one day forsake Israel and our period of national grace will end.  Homosexuality is a sin but where does it say we should treat these human beings with hatred and contempt simply because they sin.  Do you hate yourself when you sin?  Do you hate me when I sin?  I have no illusions about my life.  I am fully and completely imperfect and the only hope I have is in the sacrifice of Christ Jesus my Lord. 

Beloved, if you get angry with the liars and mockers, the fools and stealers it isn’t them; it’s you.  You’re afraid.  God said the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds (2 Corinthians 10:4).  Where in that verse does it say we are supposed to fight the homosexual or cuss out the criminal?  Those are carnal actions and our weapons are not carnal.  When you do these things you are trying to fight Satan in his own forum.  Gay marriage will likely be the law in all 50 states.  Why?  Because we live in a fallen society and they will call good evil and evil good.  My problem with this isn’t that they might marry; my problem is that saints of God will throw up our hands and surrender when the fight hasn’t even been joined yet.

These actions are strongholds.  Satan will not give them up without a fight and we as God’s people are not fighting.  We are wringing our hands and rearing back in disgust while calling them names we should have been delivered from ever using again.  You can’t get these people saved by cursing them.  They are already cursed, already dead.  You can only win them by loving them and praying for them and asking God to save their souls. 

When you read about what some preacher did in the news and the responses are all virulently hostile and angry, it’s because we aren’t fighting correctly.  Satan hates you and you just entered his domain by acting in the flesh.  He can get his people to hate Israel or Christians at the drop of a hat because he appeals to their flesh.  You claim to be holy and then act badly and they shout HYPOCRITE!!  Nobody will care that you lost a loved one that week or just lost your job.  I’m sorry but that’s no excuse; not for me or for you.  You are required to be gracious at all times because THAT is what honors the name of God.

You don’t have to believe me.  Study the scriptures yourself and you will see I’m right.  God didn’t call us to be pub-crawlers and backroom brawlers.  He called us to be ministers of light who swing a powerful spiritual sword that will separate these lost souls from their sin.  That sword may be sharp but it is made out of love and mercy, not hate.  Understand that now.  We are to cut sin out by love and grace, not anger and frustration.

I used to hate sinners.  They made me angry.  I used to begrudge a waiter or waitress their tip.  I used to do a lot of things that made my name stink to those around me.  I used to do these things in the church.  These days I like to think I have changed a bit and am beginning to become that example of the kingdom of God that Isaiah was alluding to.  When I see a saint tearing into someone else or lying or cheating or partying or playing the fool I used to get upset and angry but now I just pray that God might help that person along the road that I have begun to travel on; the road of mercy and grace.

My late Apostle, Joseph Sims was once a street fighter.  He loved to mix it up with others.  Somewhere along the line he got saved, started a church and invited Blacks, Mexicans, and until I showed up even a few white people.  This black man from Blythe California called me son and meant it.  He yelled at me and sent me home when I acted a fool just like he did all his other kids.  That was okay because he still called me son. 

He once told me after I in love and with much prayer used a harsh racial comment in a message, “Son, you can use shock words or do shocking things but at most you have these people’s attention for a limited period of time.  It took most of them ten minutes to decide that you didn’t insult anyone, made a valid point and get back with your message.  That’s ten minutes of influence for the Lord you will never get back.”  I’ve never forgotten those words.  God doesn’t need my strength because I have none.  He doesn’t need my holiness because I don’t have that in abundance either. 

God needs me to be His ambassador in Jesus’ name speaking the words that Jesus spoke.  It’s not easy to love the unlovable but since God was kind enough to start the process in my own life I guess I should just put on my big boy pants and man up.  Who knew that being a man meant being a lover and not a brawler.

Blessings,

Bishop J

Be Happy, Chill, Fear Not

Philippians 4:4  Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice.

I’ve said that one of my most difficult areas to grow in has been deliverance from FEAR.  It’s hard to rejoice or be calm when you have unreasoning fear clouding your horizons.  On the other hand we are supposed to fear God and while some say it just means we are to reverence God, I’m not exactly sure what their definition of reverence is.  The ancient rabbi Maimonides believed you ought to be afraid of God and if you are then you are just beginning to approach true revelation because only in a state of fear of the creator of the universe can you even attempt to serve Him as He is due and requires.

Verse 4 says we’re to rejoice in Christ always and that seems straight forward enough.  In another religion I can think of, you are to blindly obey god the unknowable one.  In our faith, you are to trust Him, don’t worry that serving Him seems counter intuitive (is your intuition that developed?)  It goes on to say He will direct your paths (Proverbs 3:5-6).  Our God has made Himself known.  The heavens declare His glory.  The stars speak His name.  All 66 books of our Christian Bible are centered around one theme, the redemption (buying us back from the bondage of sin) of mankind.

People who leave Christianity often do so because they really didn’t understand God and failed to learn of Him personally.  Sadly, they often followed us as we followed Christ and we led them astray.  How much will I have to answer for when I stand before Christ and see the replay of my life.  Not that could be a fear generating thought.

Back to my original thought.  If we are not to fear our life in Christ (though a healthy fear of our heavenly Father is warranted just as a healthy fear of our earthly one is), and the first chapter of Joshua seems to make that a foregone conclusion, then we need to know as much about our God as we can.  Last year was a making year in the Body of Christ.  Many people completely missed it and just thought things were hard.  This year is a entering in year but if you missed last years preparation phase, you will find it difficult to hear God and enter in.

One great way to solicit God’s assistance in this area is to rejoice in Him.  God inhabits the praises of His people.  He loves to hear our praise.  When we rejoice in Him we will have an audience in Heaven and probably an angelic choir or two offering accompaniment.  Have you missed the preparation season?  Don’t despair; ask God to forgive you and make the changes on the fly this year.  Yes, it might be exceedingly difficult, but you will reap the rewards if you don’t faint.  Consider this as well; every praise you utter and every prayer you speak is being offered against a tremendous tide of Satanic attack, spiritual sorceries and concentrated demonic lies and deception.  Just that fact that you are reaching out to God shows you are not a loser or a wimp.  It’s easy to sin; we’ve made the entire world a factory of it.  Doing the right thing is not so easy though.

Philippians 4:5  Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand.

I was listening to Joyce Meyers one day and she said, “Shhhhhhh.”  Shut up.  Listen and you might just recognize the voice of the Lord you have been longing to hear for so long.  We can get so frazzled and desperate for God’s input that we begin to cry aloud and spare not thinking God will be moved by our passion and many words.  Prayer is a scalpel and a sniper rifle; not a shotgun.  God is moved by the state of your heart.  When He said, “This people honor me with their lips but their heart is far from me;” he was speaking of just that sort of people.

God wants your heart to be turned to him and your lifestyle to be full of grace, holiness and truth.  Trying to squeeze a few extra bucks out of your taxes by fudging can cost you far more than the tax man will charge.  It will destroy your integrity before God and prevent you from entering in.  Your blessings come from God.  In all of history, no king or country ever prospered by neglecting God.  Even Babylon honored the God of Israel and when they finally became sure of their own greatness, God either made them crazy or allowed them to be destroyed. 

Philippians 4:6  Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.

Now finally, be at peace in Christ.  Be ANXIOUS for nothing.  The Bible says that in the last days men’s hearts will fail them for fear.  Fear can be a good thing if it motivates us to … “pray and offer supplication with thanksgiving to God.”  If it only terrifies you into immobility it has not had the desired effect.  God is not trying to ruin your life but to give you life more abundantly.  That is the main reason Christ came. 

Study, pray, worship, cry aloud and spare not.  Let your integrity, your unwillingness to take the easy way out, begin to raise you to greater heights. 

Philippians 4:7  And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

There is a peace that passes all understand and human comprehension.  God says, “It will be great!  Trust Me!”  If you press in, there will come a time when Satan tries to attack you with fear and anxiety and you will shrug it off and say, “Not my will but thy will be done Lord.”  On that day you will rise above and say, “Greater is He that is in me than he that is in the world!”

Some of you may recognize this lesson.  I was going through some lessons and found this from two years ago.  It caught my eye because I have been under attack of the enemy lately in this very area and am persuaded that I am not alone.  If you ever get bored and have the great free bible program “E-Sword” or one of the other programs, do a study using “fear not” with the quotation marks.  The phrase “fear not” in the King James Version is found 63 times.  Of those, several have nothing to do with God’s provision but most do.  You can actually go through them and find out how many times God has admonished us to cease from fear and trust Him.

Though our God is not human and does not have our physical passions and problems, He cares enough for us to understand us and know what we are made of.  Through Jesus He can even be touched by our infirmities.  We are affected by upbringing, hormones (masculinity & femininity), sorrow, pain, joy and greed.  The deadly works of the flesh as found in Galatians 5:19 on are able to flow through us like water through a pipe.  It is only our born again spirit that is able through God to overcome this character weakness. 

We must die to self and awaken to discover that we are who we faith to be.  I know that Christ in me is my only hope of glory.  Where I am weak He is strong and I am weak everywhere.  This is why I must die to self and gain Christ.  This is why I must pray without ceasing.  This is why I can rejoice evermore in Him and fill Him with joy because He has made me accepted in the beloved (Ephesians 1:6).  My only hope is to rest and live in Him.  I have to keep busy by accomplishing whatever my hands find to do (and right now that is writing lessons and speaking into lives when I can).  I pray you will do the same.  Fear not!

Blessings my beloved.

Bishop J

I Know Therefore I Stand

Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen or personally experienced (Hebrews 11:1).  Faith works by love (Galatians 5:6).  There are so many different ways that God works in our lives and it always fascinates me to see Him show up.  The first two scriptures (or abstracts of them) tell us that faith is the substance of things hoped for and works by love.  This tells me there is no great faith without love.  Jesus’ disciples asked why the possessed man could not be delivered by them and Jesus’ answer was that this kind will only come out by prayer and fasting (Matthew 17:21).  This also means that fasting overcomes flesh by overcoming fear.  It continues to say that fear has torment and God tells us to fear not (Joshua 1:1-9).  The first passage goes on to say that with it several men in the Old Testament obtained good success (Hebrews 11.  Another says that without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6). 

Faith works by love.  Love empowers faith.  If love empowers your faith and faith without works is dead and we know that faith without works is dead then we must also assume that faith without love is dead...or powerless.  First Corinthians 13 says this very thing.  Faith without love is just a glorified noisemaker.  Attacking others because you do not agree with them rather than loving them into compliance (spiritual not carnal) is wrong.  If they refuse to repent and humble themselves under God’s hand you may turn them over for the destruction of flesh until they submit to God.  Vengeance is his and beating them over the head in rage is not warning them but cursing them.  God forbids our cursing with this tongue of ours.

Here’s a quandary.  Faith is empowered by love but supposing you did manage to have faith without love so you could move a mountain it would profit you not one whit.  In fact, it would make you a castaway.  It wouldn’t matter if you gave of yourself until you died or did everything for everyone.  If you do not love those you minister to then your work is in vain and your SALVATION is too.  One thing you seriously do not want to be of no effect is your salvation.

If faith is the substance of things hoped for then love is that hope and love will bring it to pass; either ours which is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit or His which was so strong that He gave His only begotten son.  His love empowered His faith to perform His action of sacrificing His only begotten son.  God’s son/ God’s love will bring it to pass.

On the one hand Jesus is the firstborn of many brethren but on the other, He is the ONLY BEGOTTEN SON.  No matter His experiences Jesus is unique from us.  We are redeemed and adopted by God due to our love for our big brother Jesus but He was always a son. 

One other point if I may.  Faith without reason is quite weak because one must know why one loves; furthermore, one must know in whom he believes and that He is able to keep what has been committed to Him for safekeeping (2 Timothy 1:12).  If I don’t know in whom I believe then I might be ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ (Romans 1:16, 2 Corinthians 7:14, 2 Timothy 1:12). 

Paul was likely a genius.  He was certainly highly intelligent and certain of the God and Messiah he had chosen to follow.  True, not all of it was by faith.  Jesus met him on the road, blinded him, had Ananias pray for him and then gave him back (most?) his sight.  Those experiences helped to turn his track toward the gospel but once the scripture had been wholly revealed to him he needed no further explanation.  He was sold, lock, stock and barrel (means the whole thing, and is identified by the parts of a flintlock rifle (the lock (firing mechanism) stock (part that fit against your shoulder) and barrel (the part that the bullets or lead ball came out of)).  I probably should have just let the phrase die.

God’s plan cannot be thwarted.  It will come to pass.  You need not worry that scientists will prove God does not exist.  They can’t even prove why man exists.  They just keep making up theories.  God will honor and fulfill His word.  Fear not.

I’ve said all this to say, “Study to show yourself approved to God a workman that needs not be ashamed.”  Do not allow the doubt of the world to creep into your mind and heart.  Continue to fast and pray and IT WILL COME TO PASS.

Bishop J

Says Who?

Yesterday in the news was a story heralded as a great leap forward in man’s nobility, his ability to take life on his own terms and spit in the eye of nature and even life itself.  The story takes place in Belgium and had to do with 45 year old twin men who were born deaf.  Both men who have good lives and tremendous rapport with one another had recently discovered they both have a degenerative disease which will leave them blind.  They were not ill and were in no pain other than the fact that in a very short time both would be unable to see one another and of course unable to hear one another.

The purpose of the story was to explain Belgium’s new law that allows someone to petition the court to end their lives by lethal injection.  This law which was originally written to allow those with painful life threatening diseases and physical problems to end their lives at a time and place of their own choosing with the help of trained medical professionals.  These men had no life threatening disease or painful physical condition, merely a painfully emotional one of losing one of the senses they have depended on all their lives.

First of all, I understand the emotional pain of aging and its debilitations.  I either must wear glasses to read or a special contact in one eye.  My eyesight used to be perfect.  I could focus as close as three inches or as far as our polluted air would allow.  I can still see fairly well at a distance but not close up.  As for hearing; I used to be able to walk down the street and tell you which house had television on by the high-pitched whine coming from the houses.  Now after raising three children and riding motorcycles for years I can barely hear someone talking to me in a soft voice.  This is disturbing in a background way but I cannot imagine after losing my eyesight and hearing that life would not be worth living any longer.  I know those who have very nearly lost both and while I feel bad for them I consider Helen Keller who lived such a full and rewarding life after meeting up with her dear mentor and friend Anne Sullivan.  It’s true that Helen was blessed with so true a friend who stuck to her side through thick and thin for more than 50 years. 

If you ever want to study a life of someone who has overcome tragedy to become known to kings and potentates just study Helen Keller’s life sometime. 

I know someone today who is a wonderful, vibrant and caring woman of God who has lost most of her hearing and eyesight and yet still lives a full life and adds an immeasurable blessing both to her family AND to all who know her including me.  Her occasional words of encouragement have brightened my life immeasurably.  Life is what you make it and it if has some rocks then in the eyes of the right person some of those rocks might just contain a diamond or two.  As much as I enjoy my eyes and ears and as difficult as it might be to learn braille and communicate in other ways, I still have a message worth telling to the world and the means to do it.

The story of these two men in Belgium continued, to end on a much more disturbing note.  It seems that many families have loved ones suffering from dementia or other age related problems. They were seriously discussing the idea of doing away with grandma or grandpa.  Now I’m sure their reasons were noble and meant to be best for the poor dears (sorry, had to clear my throat, had a coughing fit), but while it used to be something of a joke when my kids said they would put me in a home when I got old and cranky; now it adds a distinct chill to the air to find that my last days will be shortened by a needle because THEY might decide it’s better for ME this way.  After all, the point of the ending was that the kids had to decide for dear old dad or mom because they weren’t thinking too clearly these days.

So who is?

Ecclesiastes 1:3 What profit does man have left from all his toil at which he toils under the sun? [Is life worth living?]

What does it take to give value to life?  Some would say if you make lots of money or have fame.  I can think of one young woman whose sole claim to fame is people know who she is.  She produces nothing; believes in nothing that I have ever heard and lives for the touch of the spotlight.  Financially, I have been at a place in life where I had to budget a loaf of bread.  I am currently at a place where a laptop must be budgeted.  There are those whose finances look at a top of the line Macbook Air as if it’s a McDonalds dollar cheeseburger.  Is their life better than mine?  Some would say so; not me, but some.

Today I heard a wonderful message by Pastor Ruben Guitron in Riverside, California.  He spoke on the importance of finding your secret place with God, not for answered prayers but for the relationship.  When your relationship with the Almighty is right, all the surrounding ‘stuff’ is of little importance.  Pastor Barry E. Knight said the same thing a few weeks ago.  He said the most important thing in 2013 was to find and celebrate GOD!  Not to serve Him, that goes without saying; but to worship and adore Him as the most important person in your life.  Pastor Ruben said we should enter into our secret place like Moses did on the mountain where God didn’t even want sheep to intrude on their conversation.  Perhaps in that place we can find a bit of the ‘glow’ that Moses enjoyed.

The problem with the world we live in is that like Matthew 9:36; the multitudes have no shepherd.  Who do they answer to?  To whom can they reach out for mercy and love when there is no man or woman around who will offer this most precious of balms?  Without a God who actually exists, who can be trusted to keep His Word to the end of the world and beyond, there is no hope.  Apostle Paul said that if in this life only we have hope we are the most miserable of men.  Why?  Because the life of a Christian is one of warfare and assault.  Satan is the spiritual king of the demonic mafia.  He rules with an rusty iron fist through deceit, fear, deception and hopelessness. 

Since we human beings are bound by flesh to this world of ours there must be some other way for us to succeed and be victorious.  It is not enough to simply say, “The weapons of our warfare are not natural flesh and blood weapons but mighty through God to the pulling down of demonic spiritual strongholds.”  You must BELIEVE in God and be ASSURED within yourself that He understands your weaknesses and in spite of that will not allow you to fail or your life to collapse in a worthless heap. 

Does God know you are weak?  Of course.  Psalm 6:1  says, “O Lord, rebuke me not in thine anger, neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure. 2 Have mercy upon me, O Lord; for I am weak: O Lord, heal me; for my bones are vexed.”  He made David king of all Israel knowing full well that he was weak and would sin repeatedly through doubt, adultery; even using his position to commit murder.  David was the average person with a good heart who continued to try and do the right thing after repeated failures.  It’s even harder for a man like him than someone ordinary because the wealthy and famous have much more opportunities to miss God.  People tell them, “You’re the stuff!  You have what it takes!”  Some in the Bible have even listened to the praises of people when they were told, “You’re like a God!” 

That happened to Nebuchadnezzar and Herod who basked in the honor and God punished both of them.  It happened to Paul and Barnabas in Acts 14 and they rushed forward and stopped the people warning them that they were just ordinary men.  Because of this humility God continued to move them but because they refused to act like great men they were immediately persecuted.  You will pay dearly for doing the right thing but it does not cease being the right thing.

Proverbs 24:16 says, “A righteous man falleth seven times but rises up again.”  Why does he keep trying?  Because God’s mercy and grace will continue to bring opportunities to those who strive to do right but total failure for those who don’t even try.  Jesus said we ought to forgive seventy times seven.  Do you really believe God will not forgive you more than He expects of us if you ask?

If we are in Christ Jesus we are twice blessed because not only did He die for our sins but continues to sit at the right hand of the Father in a place of honor making intercession for us as the heavenly propitiation of our sins.  We are thrice blessed because if we human beings are to forgive those seventy times seven transgressions against us then how often will God forgive us while Christ sits at his side pleading our case?

It is God who makes opportunity.  It is God who forgives.  It is God who raises humble failures into great kings.  Who are we to say that my life is over simply because I have failed or it has become too hard or more likely, I cannot see a future.  Of course we cannot see.  God sees the end from the beginning and we cannot see farther than our own noses.  We are limited and He is not.  If you but trust in Him you will be saved, body, soul, spirit and even the life you live.

Eccl 1:4 One generation goes and another generation comes, but the earth remains forever.

1 Corinthians 3 says, “4 For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal? 5 Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man? 6 I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. 7 So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase.”  You will never be EVERYTHING in anyone’s life.  That is not a healthy relationship.  As much as you might love your mate or pastor or mother or father you have no way to meet their every need any more than they can meet all of yours.

Even God can’t meet all your needs.  Do you know why?  Because your heart and heart’s desires are out of whack.  You want what you want when you want it but God knows what you need and when you’ll need it.  I am reminded of a movie where a man created a machine that could see the future.  The evil person who hired him was trying to find and kill him but at every turn in the road he had an item that gave him direction.  Not one of the items made sense to him until he arrived at the point where they were needed. 

If God gave you a hundred thousand dollars right now or a million dollars right now so you would have it in five years for ministry work, there wouldn’t be a nickel left when the money was needed.  This is why he must first train you to handle money and restrain your impulses and then at just the proper moment provide you with just what you needed for the task at hand.  He is the great shepherd and it simply does not yet appear what we shall be but when He appears, when the moment we have been waiting for appears then we shall know Him and what He expects of Him because at that moment we shall be like Him (1 John 3:2).  You can’t live like a savior when you haven’t even learned to trust the Father yet.  Have you been there for your wife or children or family members in need?  No?  Have you failed in any of these relationships yet?  If so you aren’t ready for the next step and God won’t waste resources if you aren’t ready. 

Eccl 1:5 The sun also rises and the sun goes down, and hastens to the place where it rises.

I read a wonderful scripture lesson from a Rabbi the other day.  It said that the cycle of the sun and moon, night and day, seasons and generations are here for our admonition.  Mankind can’t live for even a day without the Spirit of God hovering over it.  The cycle of the sun and moon is an example to us of God’s unending love and grace.  He is letting us know that He will never leave us or forsake us.  He is letting us know that we may have broken every cycle He has sent our way from birth until now but because He loves us more than the life of His Son, He will keep sending opportunities along the way to His wayward children so they will one day do the right thing and begin to live by the Spirit and not the flesh.

Eccl 1:6 The wind goes to the south and circles about to the north; it circles and circles about continually, and on its circuit the wind returns again.

God’s Spirit circles the Earth and returns again to where it began.  The merry-go-round of life keeps bringing us to where we can reach out and grab the brass ring if we will but focus and try.  Yes you did wrong today.  Maybe someone in your life will not give you another chance or told you that you will never amount to anything; what of it?  “God has said,” carries much more weight than an enemy or even a friend who says you will never amount to anything.  Only His opinion counts.  He’s providing opportunities no matter how badly you have missed God.  Scripture says, “Let God be true and every other man on Earth a liar (Romans 3:4).  If you don’t quit the opportunities will continue to come around.  If you keep failing the tests will continue to come but once you start passing them you will rise up into the blessings of God.

Eccl 1:7 All the rivers run into the sea, yet the sea is not full. To the place from which the rivers come, to there and from there they return again.

This verse is telling us something vital.  You can’t keep hoarding your blessings and expect them to continue.  Scripture says that out of your belly will flow rivers of living water.  This living water is the Holy Spirit and it comes from God Himself.  It is also His blessings which also come from Him.  Trying to hoard His Spirit or His blessings is like robbing from your neighbor.  It was given to you to share, to pass it forward.  Unless you give it away it cannot grow.  This forces you to trust in God and believe that greed is your deadly financial enemy.  Give and it shall be given unto you, good measure, pressed down and shaken together shall men give unto your bosom.  Keep what you were give and God will take even that and give it to someone who is more worthy. 

Beloved, I hope this lesson has been a help in your life.  I have been blessed this week during the ETM prayer conference and hope you too will be blessed by a portion of this word.

Bishop J.

God Forbid!

I would have said the sanctity of God’s opinion but scripture says God, unlike scribes, Pharisees and Lawyers, does not have opinions; He has Said in CAPITOL letters and without ambiguity.  That we fail to follow His will or live up to His Word does not remove the importance of those directives.  Paul said in Romans 7:12-21…

12 Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good.

The Law is HOLY.  The Commandment is HOLY and JUST and GOOD and yet we cannot easily obey them.  Easily?  We can’t obey them fully while filled with encyclopedic memory, perfect teeth and an iron will (none of which I currently possess.)  Whether we are speaking of marriage, giving, worshipping, praising, loving or any of the 613 commandments contained in scripture, not one of them is unimportant to God.  Each of them is a life and death commandment. 

I’m not really trying to convict you (at least not excessively so), but I am writing so you know that all the laws and rules and ideals we read about in scripture are not simply nice ideas to be considered.  They aren’t cute allegories that direct us to a better way of life.  Each one of them will send you to Hell for the sin of omission or commission and even if one of them is (in our minds) of little import, they are of eternal significance to God whom we serve.  Chapter seven of Romans paints a bleak and sorry picture of our chances to get past Saint Peter and through the Pearly Gates by such rule following. 

The seventh chapter says you ought to obey and know you should.  You even realize that the rules are for your own good.  In spite of that knowledge you also know that you are more likely to spontaneously burst into flame than to obey all God’s laws.  If it weren’t for chapter eight you might as well just look up in exhaustion and say, “Lord, just shoot me now!” 

Yes, thank God for Romans eight.  We get to cry out, “Daddy, Father.”  We get to live … what?  Sloppy?  We get to have a temper and eat our cake too?  We get to stumble into lust or greed and still walk into the pulpit and say, “Thus saith the Lord?!”  Mmmmmm, not supposed to anyway.

In effect we do indeed get a pass to live sloppy.  We are forced to acknowledge that no matter how hard we try we can’t do it.  That is AWESOME but does that give us the right not to try?  I believe scripture says, “God forbid,” in this circumstance.

Joshua 22:29 God forbid that we should rebel against the Lord, and turn this day from following the Lord, to build an altar for burnt offerings, for meat offerings, or for sacrifices, beside the altar of the Lord our God that is before his tabernacle.

Even Joshua knew that there were rules that God absolutely forbad.  In this case you were not allowed to build an altar of sacrifice other than the one God had specifically ordained.  That’s like paying your tithes to the local movie theater because you like the show there better than at church.  Your obedience to God is always good for you but not always enjoyable or fun.  One reason for Joshua’s stand was that the sacrifices given in the name of God ultimately were a symbol for the sacrifice given by Jesus.  There could be ONLY ONE true sacrificial place in the Old Testament just like there could be only one true sacrifice in the New.

Joshua 24:16 And the people answered and said, God forbid that we should forsake the Lord, to serve other gods; 17 For the Lord our God, he it is that brought us up and our fathers out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, and which did those great signs in our sight, and preserved us in all the way wherein we went, and among all the people through whom we passed: 18 And the Lord drave out from before us all the people, even the Amorites which dwelt in the land: therefore will we also serve the Lord; for he is our God

The Lord our God is ONE Lord.  This is found in Deuteronomy 6:4-9 and is the daily statement of faith quoted by every observant Jew.  The other nations had different gods; gods for war and crops and fertility.  They would fight for victory, sacrifice for crops and fornicate for fertility.  I suppose the last one had some logic involved in it but not to the Lord.  His people were to be separate from the world and live as an example of victory through His Torah.  It didn’t always appear to make sense why God wanted obedience in specific areas but when they did they prospered.

1 Samuel 12:23 Moreover as for me, God forbid that I should sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you: but I will teach you the good and the right way: 24 Only fear the Lord, and serve him in truth with all your heart: for consider how great things he hath done for you.

Israel asked Samuel, who had faithfully judged them all his life, to give them a king.  They had some reason since like many ministers he had failed to raise his own children up to be as faithful and diligent as he was.  The fear of the people however was that Samuel might not pray for them in their sin.  Here we see that failing to pray for those who sin against God is itself a sin.  They acknowledged their sin and he acknowledged their hardheadedness but he also promised to pray and even said that woe be to him if he did not pray.

How about it, are you quick to pray for those who have despitefully used you and persecuted you and said all manner of evil against you?  Have you sought God diligently for their well being in spite of the fact that they have turned their backs on you?  It isn’t easy but God requires it of you.  We are to love you with the love of the Lord. 

Job 27: 3 All the while my breath is in me, and the spirit of God is in my nostrils; 4 My lips shall not speak wickedness, nor my tongue utter deceit. 5 God forbid that I should justify you: till I die I will not remove mine integrity from me. 6 My righteousness I hold fast, and will not let it go: my heart shall not reproach me so long as I live.

In addition to the assault of Satan, Job was besieged by the vain and politically correct intellectualisms of his contemporaries.  In other words, the pudding heads who came to fix him wanted him to fess up and admit that he had somehow sinned secretly against God.  Job insisted that his words had always been honest and his actions true.  He had not sinned against God nor had he done anything to deserve the punishment he had suffered.  Their response was rather like Job’s wife who told him to curse God and die, or Jesus when Satan said, “Worship me and all this is yours.”  It already belonged to Jesus when Satan afflicted Him.  Job was as righteous as any man living and had nothing to apologize for.  His life was upright and he would not recant.  In the end the only thing he had to repent of was not fully acknowledging God’s sovereignty in his circumstances.  In that he was like a lot of us. 

Luke 20:13 Then said the lord of the vineyard, What shall I do? I will send my beloved son: it may be they will reverence him when they see him. 14 But when the husbandmen saw him, they reasoned among themselves, saying, This is the heir: come, let us kill him, that the inheritance may be ours. 15 So they cast him out of the vineyard, and killed him. What therefore shall the lord of the vineyard do unto them? 16 He shall come and destroy these husbandmen, and shall give the vineyard to others. And when they heard it, they said, God forbid (that the thieves should do this).

God forbid that these thieves should do this.  God forbid that they should steal from the lord of the vineyard; and yet this is exactly what had happened.  Scripture says, “There is a way that seems right to a man but the end of that path is destruction.”  The Jews felt that they were faithful to God and awaited His conqueror to come put them back in power.  God came in humility to conquer sin.  They refused that person and still await the other.  How often do we await God’s move even after it has passed because it was not up to OUR standards or expectations.

I told someone the other day that I would love a big sign to appear over my head from time to time saying, “Start Here,” with a big arrow.  God rarely works this way however.  He says, “Whatsoever your hands find to do, do it heartily unto the Lord.”  Every task you do ought to be done to the honor and glory of God from cleaning a toilet to building a house to comforting someone in pain.  God Himself will tailor all these ‘opportunities’ to your growth curve and over time mold you into the ambassador for Christ you are called to be.

17 And he beheld them, and said, What is this then that is written, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner? 18 Whosoever shall fall upon that stone shall be broken; but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder. 19 And the chief priests and the scribes the same hour sought to lay hands on him; and they feared the people: for they perceived that he had spoken this parable against them.

This verse is one of the most powerful of those found in the Bible.  It is not comfortable and cannot be.  There is always a breaking in serving the Lord.  Either you allow God to break you and rearrange the pieces or He will destroy you and start from scratch.  Jesus is the corner stone.  The God who is the Torah, the living Word, the King of Israel, is also the stone of obedience upon who you must fall to be broken and made useful to God.  Paul in 1 Corinthians 15 said, “I die daily.”  He was a Pharisee, proud and haughty.  When Jesus reined him in he was destroying the church.  After his conversion he daily threw himself onto the Rock Christ Jesus and was broken again and again.  Christ Himself told the disciple Ananias, “I will show him what things he must suffer for My Name’s sake (Acts 9:10-16).

Romans 3:3 For what if some did not believe? shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect? 4 God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged.  10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: 11 There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. 12 They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. 13 Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips: 14 Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness: 15 Their feet are swift to shed blood: 16 Destruction and misery are in their ways: 17 And the way of peace have they not known: 18 There is no fear of God before their eyes.

I have often been told, “I don’t believe in your God.”  My answer is that God believes in Himself.  He does not need your obedience or belief; on the other hand, you absolutely need His love, grace and mercy.  God is righteous and through Christ, merciful.  You need Him because the very universe we live in is maintained moment by moment through the Word of God.  One day it will melt with fervent heat and on that day all science’s false theories will melt with it.  Sadly, people do not fear or even respect God and in the end they will discover how foolish those decisions were. 

Scripture says that because men did not choose to keep God in their consciousness he turned them over to vile affections (Romans 1:16-32).  This passage makes it very clear that false worship and vain imaginations are the foundation and basis of the most abominable practices and even homosexuality.  This is not a confusing passage that requires a degree in obfuscation to understand.  This is clear and concise.  In spite of this, many Christians have become champions of Gay and Lesbian rights to the detriment of our own spiritual walks.  We must certainly love these lost and wounded people, but that we ought to at least recognize that God has never been ambiguous about his disdain for homosexuality and many other sins that the world has embraced.  As Christians we are ambassadors for the Word of God.  What it says, we are supposed to say. 

What say you?

Romans 3: 31 Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law. 4:1 What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found? 2 For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God. 3 For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. 4 Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt.  5 But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. 6 Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works, 7 Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. 8 Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.

The law is just.  That it is impossible to obey is a symptom of our sinful nature and weaknesses, not of God’s perfection.  Since the Law is perfect then shouldn’t we hate it; after all we hate those who are better than we are don’t we?  Yes I’m speaking as a fool.  Let’s think about this.  How do you feel toward those who are smarter than you or more successful?  You can’t hate Jesus because we tell ourselves that He is God and of course God can do it.  Our problem is that Jesus was human in all respects and in ALL WAYS TEMPTED just like us.  That means that in spite of demonic oppression, Jesus obeyed God in all things.  The Law is perfect and if we heed and hear the Spirit of God we will find ourselves obeying the spirit of the law in all circumstances.  If obedience to the Spirit becomes our new nature then obeying God CAN come naturally.

Romans 6: 1 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? 2 God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? 3 Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? 4 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.  15 What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid. 16 Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness

But I have grace.  Why should I be forced to submit to the Word (LAW) if I have grace (as has been stated by multitudes over the years?) The reason we have so much difficulty with obedience is that we cater to our flesh and are not dead in Christ.  I’ve never had someone argue with me that they always fast, pray and seek God’s face but it’s just too hard to give up life in the flesh.  In reality the downward spiral into sin is a gradual thing caused by a lack of consecration in life.  The truth is that people make choices all the time and God requires that they submit to His will no matter what.  Submission is life and disobedience is death.  Christ, the Son of the Living God gave His life as a ransom for us when we were not worthy and were unlovable.  We have no excuse not to do the same.

Romans 7:7 What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet. 8 But sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence. For without the law sin was dead. 9 For I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died.  12 Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good. 13 Was then that which is good made death unto me? God forbid. But sin, that it might appear sin, working death in me by that which is good; that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful.

Lord, where are your path markers?  Who is your child?  How shall we know our hearts are safe and secure in you? 

Exodus 20:6 Son, I will show mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments. 

But Lord, you said we are free from the law…right? 

1 Kings 3:14 If thou wilt walk in my ways, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as your father David walked, then I will lengthen your days. 

But those are Old Testament scriptures Father. 

John 14:15 My Son said, if ye love me, keep my commandments. 

Love Lord?  You mean not out of fear but out of Love? 

John 15: 10 If you keep my commandments, you shall dwell in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love. 11 These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full. 

So you’re not saying out of fear or terror; and if we do you will love us back? 

Romans 8: 15 For [the Spirit which] you have now received from me [is] not a spirit of slavery to put you once more in bondage to fear, but you have been touched and changed by the Spirit of adoption [the Spirit producing sonship.  In the joy of that adoption you cry out to me, Abba (Father)! I will say that you are My beloved son! 16 The Holy Spirit Himself [thus] testifies together with your own spirit, [assuring you] that you are my child.

Thank you Lord.  I receive this glorious gift and call you Abba, Father.

Thank YOU child.  I receive your love and faith.  I am honored and filled with joy to call you son.  I will never leave you nor forsake you.  I will not allow life or death or principalities or powers or spiritual enemies in high places to come between our love.  Your love and gift of faith is safe and secure in me.  I have spoken.

Romans 11:1 I say then, Hath God cast away his people? God forbid. For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. 2 God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew. Wot ye not what the scripture saith of Elias? how he maketh intercession to God against Israel, saying, 3 Lord, they have killed thy prophets, and digged down thine altars; and I am left alone, and they seek my life. 4 But what saith the answer of God unto him? I have reserved to myself seven thousand men, who have not bowed the knee to the image of Baal.

What about these Lord?  What about Israel?

If I will that they remain until I come back for you; what is that to you?  Do the works I have called you to do. 

Lord, I do believe you will return to complete the work in Israel and I will continue to walk before you in love and faith until the work you have begun is complete.  I trust you for me.  I trust you for them.  I trust you to have history laid out before you and future as well.  I believe you will manage my life and the life of your people Israel as well.  I faith until the truth of it comes to my eyes.

1 Corinthians 6:15 Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ? shall I then take the members of Christ, and make them the members of an harlot? God forbid. 16 What? know ye not that he which is joined to an harlot is one body? for two, saith he, shall be one flesh. 17 But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit. 18 Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body. 19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own.

Who are you sleeping with?  For the moment why don’t we forget the whole “anybody other than your husband or wife” and just look at the ramifications of being spiritually asleep with any group of sinners you might be connected with.  It is a basic truth that if you are not making a difference in someone else, they are making a difference in you.  Nobody remains static in life; either you are growing or dying, waxing (becoming stronger) or waning (becoming weaker.)  This is why scripture says to speak to one another in psalms, hymns and spiritual songs.  In this manner you build one another in your most holy faith.

The SOD (basic truth) of this scripture is that you ought not have sexual relations with a prostitute or anyone not married to you.  The deeper truth is that anyone you come into agreement with (especially in moral or ethical decisions) has been joined to you as in marriage.  Even in law this is recognized.  If a group of criminals commits a crime, say robbery, and while committing that crime one of the criminals rapes or murders one of the innocent customers in the bank or store (as so recently happened in a Nordstroms), then ALL members of that criminal conspiracy are guilty before the law of ALL the crimes even though only one might have committed the rape or murder.

In this manner, God Himself holds us responsible for the company we keep, the standards we uphold and the actions we commit.  Children of God are not allowed to get a pass simply because ‘everyone was doing it.’  Scripture tells us what we are allowed to do or not do, but God Himself will judge every decision.

Galatians 2:16 Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified. 17 But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is therefore Christ the minister of sin? God forbid. 18 For if I build again the things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor. 19 For I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God. 20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

The concept of faith supplanting law is very powerful in the Christian church even though obedience to the basic laws of grace and mercy absolutely remain.  Jews find our abandonment of Torah laws to be very uncomfortable, in fact it is this very abandonment of the most important laws, circumcision, observing Shabbat (sabbath), studying Torah, that cause Jews to consider Christianity to be a completely new religion not tied to Judaism. 

Mark 2: 25 And he said unto them, Have ye never read what David did, when he had need, and was an hungred, he, and they that were with him? 26 How he went into the house of God in the days of Abiathar the high priest, and did eat the shewbread, which is not lawful to eat but for the priests, and gave also to them which were with him? 27 And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath: 28 Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.

Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath.  He is also Lord of the Torah.  If we are in Him and He in us then we are complete in Torah as well.  A fault I find in Christians is that we tend to ignore or marginalize the laws found in the Old Testament as unimportant while the foundation they provide our understanding of the expectations of God is extremely important.  How else do we know what God expects?  Paul didn’t have his writings to decide what God expected; he took them from the Law and the Prophets.  We ought to know those resources.

We know because the Hebrew Scriptures tell us what He expected of them and provide a foundation.  The Ten Commandments alone let us know we can’t murder, steal or commit fornication.  My observation has been that Christians often live in grace so they might wallow in sin.  This itself is a sin and testing God to see just how forgiving He is.  Personally, I believe that continuing to sin in the face of God’s grace is a fool’s errand.  It is disrespectful to the King of the Universe, far more dangerous than spitting into a hurricane. 

I have the right to eat pork because the grace of God allows it; but science has proved that pork is not healthy to eat.  Some laws have been proven to make sense for good health and strong social standards.  Those laws ought to be considered for those who wish to have a healthy life and community.  Many of the laws held dear to Jews however serve only to keep the moment-by-moment experience of their spiritual walk alive.  Christians do not need this moment-by-moment observation of niggling laws to keep them in touch with God; His spirit dwelling within them serves this purpose very well. 

Beloved, our God has given us a great gift in our Lord and Savior Jesus.  He keeps our spiritual experience alive and affords us the unparalleled joy of walking in complete intimacy with him on a daily basis.  That said, God forbid that we should fail to live in a holy and upright manner before Him or have loose morals, which strain the bands of grace.  Our responsibility is that we die daily with Him and live eternally in Him. 

I pray this lesson will encourage you to strengthen your integrity and holiness before Him in love.

Bishop J