The Spirit of God

What makes you alive? Is it an electrical current that runs through your brain? Is it an unidentified source of power we have yet to discover? I am not asking you what keeps your heart beating. I am asking you what has given you life?

Genesis 2:8 says, ‘Then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living person. ‘

Genesis 2:8

God breathed.

God breathed into man, and man became a living person. From the very beginning, we were introduced to and literally empowered by the Spirit of God. This is such a fascinating verse: Does God breathe? The answer is no. God does not need oxygen to live because he lives outside of the realm of our existence. The only reason He breathed into man was to give a lifeless lump of mud life. When God breathed into man, he gave humanity a living part of Himself. A transfer of existence occurred with that breath. A physical transformation occurred simultaneously with the power that initiated life.  

At that moment, the heart started beating, the lungs expanded, and blood flowed for the first time. The eyes saw perception. Feelings were released throughout the body’s sensors, and the senses became inflamed with the first experience. Life began, but it was inextricably connected with the source of life, the Spirit of God.  

This power of life given to Adam was enough to give us this life we cherish. The force of life that was given to Adam was enough to extend life throughout history. From Adam and Eve to every succeeding generation since. The Spirit of God that gives life is in you. Life, in all its fascinating expressions, would not exist if not for the Spirit of God. Life cannot exist apart from God because there is no other entity with the power to create life.

It is important that you understand that you are alive because the same spirit that brought Adam to life is the same spirit that lives in you today. Because without it, you would not be here to read this.

The spirit of life that follows through all of us is part of the living God who gave of Himself to give us life. When Adam was breathed into, He had the spirit of God living in him and had full access to God.  This means that Adam had a direct physical, emotional, and spiritual existence in the presence of God. Adam and Eve lived a complete life. Without need, they basked in the love of God. They enjoyed that relationship for an eternity and for a minute. The Bible does not define how long Adam and Eve lived in the Garden of Eden. It could have been an eternity or as short as a couple of weeks.

Spiritually Dead 

When Adam and Eve sinned, they were spiritually separated from God. In essence, they died spiritually. From their spiritual death, mankind was without the Holy Spirit of God. Humanity still had the Spirit of life, but we did not have the Holy Spirit of God. This facet of our existence was severed because of their sin.

Thousands of years later, Jesus was crucified for our sins, and the Holy Spirit of God was still with Him.

‘But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. ‘

Romans 8:11

Restoration 

The Holy Spirit of God is available to you now because of the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit of God that was with man at the creation of man is once made available to you through being born again.

‘Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. ‘

John 3:3

Adam was created fully intertwined with the Holy Spirit of God. That connection died with the advent of sin. The door to restoration of that connection was made available through the rebirth of that same Spirit.  Jesus refers to that Spirit when He answers Nicodemus.

‘Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. ‘ 

John 3:5

Being Born again means the Spirit of God returns to commune with you in daily life. We are called little children because we must grow into the greatness and awesomeness of God our Father.  

‘You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world. ‘

1 John 4:4

Overcomer 

Overcomer: God calls you an overcomer because of His spirit, which lives in you. God did not leave us alone to figure it out He deposited His holy Spirit in you to help you become victorious in this life. It is by His Spirit in you that your life will achieve the highest calling of God in you.    

To know God, you must reconnect with God in the same way Adam and Eve connected with God and that is through His Holy Spirit living in you.

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Divine Fragments

Let there be Light

‘And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. ‘

Genesis 1:3

https://www.bible.com/bible/1/GEN.1.3

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. And the earth was a formless and desolate emptiness, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters. Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness.’

Genesis 1:1-5

https://www.bible.com/bible/2692/GEN.1.1-5

The lightless explosion of creation happened when God created the heavens and the earth. Have you ever considered that when God created the heavens and the earth, He did it in total darkness? But what darkness?

 Isaiah 60:19 says, 19 “No longer will  you have the sun for light by day, Nor for brightness will the moon give you light; But you will have the LORD for an everlasting light, And your God for your glory.”

Can we say that God has always been light?  Has visible light always emanated from Him? There are at least two places in the Bible where this characteristic of God is mentioned: Isaiah 60:19 and Revelations 21:23. If this physical attribute of God was present at creation, why would he need to create light? And since the Bible clearly expresses this ability of God, why would He not have used it when He created the heavens and the earth? If God is light both metaphorically and physically, did this reality of Him exist at creation? We have no reason to believe that God developed or brought this capability into existence after the creation.

The Bible does not mention the creation of the celestial lights until day four of creation. Remembering that creation happened and existed in total darkness as an event, we must recognize that light as we have it now was not relevant to the Earth prehuman life.

What was the light God created on the first day? Let’s delve deeper into this. First, God did not need light to see. He created and described His creation before the advent of light. Second, nothing existed at that point that needed light. Third, darkness was not inherently bad. Before sin entered the picture, darkness was simply the absence of light, not a negative element. Fourth, as stated in Isaiah 60:19 and Revelations 21:23, God is described as superseding the sun, moon, and stars as far as light is concerned.

On day three, we created an interesting creation.

‘Then God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees on the earth bearing fruit according to their kind with seed in them”; and it was so. The earth produced plants yielding seed according to their kind, and trees bearing fruit with seed in them, according to their kind; and God saw that it was good. ‘

Genesis 1:11-12

https://www.bible.com/bible/2692/GEN.1.11-12

Why is day three unique? God created vegetation before he created the sun and the stars. He created vegetation in the same manner He created the heavens and the earth—without prerequisites. He created and sustained plants without the need for the sun. He brought plant life to life before it existed. He did it without seeds, without light, without a preexisting nutrient. God was the source of necessary nutrients for the vegetation to exist. If God was the light as described in Iasah 60:19 and Revelations 21:23, it would answer the question of where the light source came from for the vegetation of the earth to exist.  When God created the universe and everything in it, He was the source of necessary nutrients for the creation of the universe.

The fact that God chose to create vegetation without the sun suggests that the need for sunlight was not necessary for the creation of vegetation, just as it was not necessary for the creation of the universe. Was it the Glory or the emanated light of God that supplied the necessary conditions for plant life to exist?

Some commentators suggest that the light created in verse one is the basis or the forerunner of what would become the sun, moon, and stars. I have some questions about that. First, why would God create the same thing twice when it was not necessary the first time? Second, in verse one, the creation is described as formless and void. In that state, where would the sun, moon, and stars be placed?   Thirdly and most significantly to me, in verse fourteen, God expressly explains the purpose of the sun, moon, and stars. “And let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: and let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so. “

In verse fourteen, God starts the clock on humanity. He begins the day cycle. He is describing the rotations of the earth, moon, and stars by which we now define time.  And it says specifically. “And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so.” Why would God say ”to give light upon the earth:” if light already existed?

The sun has a definite placement in the universe. If the earth were formless, meaning without a specific shape, where would the sun be, and why? Void is the other word used to describe creation. This means there was nothing other than the elements of the earth and the emptiness of space.

I think part of the problem we have understanding the light God created is because of verse 5.

‘God called the light “day,” and the darkness He called “night.” And there was evening and there was morning, one day. ‘

Genesis 1:5

https://www.bible.com/bible/2692/GEN.1.5

We automatically assume God is referring to a 24-hour day. However, that is not possible because the structure of the day is not instituted until day 4 of creation. When God called the light day and the dark night, He was establishing the day concept, but He was not using the day as a way to measure time. When he says, “And there was evening, and there was morning, one day.” He is not referring to a 24-hour period. Again, because the day as we know it wasn’t created until day four.  He uses the word day to encompass the events of creation within the boundaries of darkness and light, not time and space. Morning and evening, in this sense, are the bookends of the event of creation.

God begins creation before the advent of time, as we understand it. The first three days are without time. Days one, two, and three are the way God delineates creation. It is not an indication or measurement of time because the sun, moon, and stars are not in their place. Another fact Earth is not created till day three. “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. And the earth was a formless and desolate emptiness, and darkness was over the surface of the deep.” The earth, though created, was not yet made into the shape it would become to support life. In other words, for two days, the final composition of the earth has not happened. Without the composition of the earth, time cannot be calculated. Because the function of the stars, moon, and planets is an essential part of defining a day.

Morning and evening, day one, day two, and day three are not measurements of time; they are segments of eternity. They are the bookends that contain the specific actions of those events. The events that occurred on day one, two, or three could have taken an eternity or a second or twenty-four hours. Because time, as we understand it, did not exist.

What darkness was God referring to in verse one? Concurrently, we have to ask what was needed at the moment of creation?

When I think of the formless void of the beginning, I see a lifeless collection of disassociated elements—a lifeless emptiness with the basic building blocks of our physical experience. God is describing a dead universe. What was needed at that moment was life—not light, not visible light.

I believe the light God was referring to was the essence of and the source of Life, which originates from Him in the form of our existence as the source of our existence. The light is the spark of existence.

Nowhere in the creation account does God say to let there be life. Yet, we assume and accept that life was created when the universe was created. But maybe the assumption is premature. Maybe the beginning of life in the universe did not happen until God said let there be light. The source of life had to be introduced into the creation.  

Jesus said I am the Light of the world.

‘Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, “I am the Light of the world; the one who follows Me will not walk in the darkness but will have the Light of life.” ‘

John 8:12

https://www.bible.com/bible/2692/JHN.8.12

Light and darkness in this verse do not refer to physical or visible light and darkness. He is referring to eternal life—the life and Light of God or the emptiness and separation from God.  

Once A week By Divine Fragments

Get Out of the Boat.

‘Peter responded and said to Him, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.” And He said, “Come!” And Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water, and came toward Jesus. But seeing the wind, he became frightened, and when he began to sink, he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!” Immediately Jesus reached out with His hand and took hold of him, and said to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” When they got into the boat, the wind stopped. And those who were in the boat worshiped Him, saying, “You are truly God’s Son!”’

Matthew 14:28-33

What inspired Peter’s remarkable act of stepping out of the boat? At this juncture, Peter had been in close proximity to Jesus, witnessing His power firsthand. He had observed Jesus heal, preach, and perform countless miracles. He had embarked on a missionary journey, where he himself had performed miracles in Jesus’ name. That very evening, he had been part of the team that miraculously fed over five thousand people. Such experiences had undoubtedly bolstered his faith, enabling him to take this audacious step.

Peter had been in the presence of the power of creation, experiencing its might. One would assume that living such a life would make it easy for him to step out of the boat and walk on water. In fact, one might expect the other eleven disciples to follow suit.

In the Midst of the Storm

Let me set the scene. It is the middle of the night. The apostles are in the middle of the sea in the midst of a storm. Jesus comes to them in the midst of the storm in the middle of the night, walking on the water. That’s when Peter asked Jesus if he could join Him on the sea.

Peter asks Jesus if He could join Him on the water during the worst time of the storm. When do we most intensely earnestly seek after Jesus? In the midst of the storm. Peter is doing exactly what we do in our storms. He is going to Jesus at the greatest moment of need.

Peter takes a few steps on the water, looks around, takes his eyes off Jesus, and begins to sink. This should not have been a problem, if you think about it, because Peter was a fisherman, which meant he should have been well acquainted with the sea. But he panics and cries out to Jesus to save him.

In the Boat

Are you in the boat? Over five thousand people had experienced the miracle that had just occurred in the evening, but there were only twelve in the boat. Where were the rest? At least Peter was in the boat.

The apostles had spent a considerable amount of time getting into a position where the possibility of blessing was within their reach. Being on the boat made it possible for their lives to be changed. The five thousand plus were either asleep or relaying the accounts of the miracle.

If you look around, you are in the boat. How many people have heard, seen, and felt the power of Christ but have chosen not to accept the invitation to be in the boat? To be asked to get out of the boat, you must be in the boat.

As followers of Christ, you may be asked to step out of the boat. You will put your foot over the edge of the boat, put both feet in the water, and you will not sink as long as you keep your eyes on Jesus. But will you doubt when you are in the water in the midst of the storm? With the wind blowing and the waves crashing, will you have faith, or will you begin to doubt?

We are in business or are professionals, and we are being asked to do the same thing that Peter was asked to do. You are being asked to trust Jesus with the wind and rain in the storm. The miracle you are looking for may be financing for the expansion. The miracle you may need is to develop a team that will help you accomplish the dream God has placed on your mind.

You Need Faith

The miracle you need may be a way to bring that product to market. Make the sale or solve the problem and go where you have never been. We read this story and look at its spiritual applications. And yes, there are some powerful spiritual implications in this story, but there are practical applications we need to extract from it as well.

We are constantly being asked to walk on new waters. God is the God of creation, and He is not just asking you to do the impossible; He is asking you to trust Him with the impossible. Let’s not condemn Peter for his doubt when we are still in the same place we were five years ago.

God is asking you to look back and take hold of His history in your life. Peter didn’t just take his eyes off Jesus. He lost sight of his own history with God. We need to look back on our own lives and remember and recite to ourselves, if to no one else, the majesty of God in our lives. Peter lost sight of God’s sovereignty and power to govern the elements.

Now, we are not professional fishermen, but we are professionals. And we must ask ourselves what must we step out of and into in Jesus’s name.

What needs faith in your business? Let’s get real here: We all have needs as we move through life. We can choose to be one of the five thousand and go home. Content and in awe of what Jesus has done. We can be one of the twelve who got in the boat, or we can be the one who stepped out of the boat.

Now look at this: When Peter began to doubt and sink, he cried out, and Jesus was there to save him. The worst that can happen is that you can cry out to Jesus, and He will save you. On the other hand, you can keep your eyes on Jesus and experience the glory of His blessing on your life.

The Worst That Can Happen

If Peter had kept his eyes on Jesus, what would the other eleven have done? Would there have been a line of apostles walking on water? If we are faithful in our business and endeavors, can we be the leaders who bring others along with us to Jesus? This story is not about walking on water; it is about our faith in following what Jesus tells us to do.

The rest of the world has, for one reason or another, not chosen to get in the boat. We are in the boat. We have been invited to be passengers on the boat, but there will be a time when Jesus says come out here with me. I have more for you. That is what He told Peter when He said to come. I have more for you if you keep the faith.

The eleven on the boat did not experience what Peter experienced. They saw it, and they were most probably astonished by it, but at best, they were spectators. You can’t have spectators in your business. You need people who will get out of the boat with you.

This interpretation is not so far off from reality. We all know that our businesses are built on faith. There are no guarantees. There are no promises. The success of the past does not guarantee success in the future, but we still have faith. Faith is the connection we need to move forward. The only difference between us and those in the world is that we don’t have faith in our abilities; we have faith in the God of all resources. We have had the deck stacked in our favor. If we are willing to exercise faith.

PSALMS 37

23 The steps of a man are established by the Lord,

And He delights in his way.

24 When he falls, he will not be hurled down,

Because the Lord is the One who holds his hand.

Provided by Divine Fragments

The Leadership of Jesus

This past Wednesday morning at the Faith Business Development Group meeting, we began our series on The Leadership of Jesus. We were discussing how Jesus handled risk. We tend to look at all that Jesus did and think it was easy for Him because He was the Son of God. However, the truth is that Jesus started His ministry permeated in risk. His message was not wanted, accepted, or supported by the populace of His day.

Jesus was controversial. His message was in direct opposition to the established norms of His day. He was at constant odds with His time’s religious and governmental leaders. His society had never heard anything like what He presented. With the introduction of new ideas and new truths, He risks His life continually. Reading the scripture concerning Jesus, you see His life was a constant battle. He was battling for the souls of men, and His would-be companions were His worst enemies.

Virtually every time He did something, He was taking a risk. Why was Jesus so willing or prepared to continually take risks? The first thought might be that He was the Son of God, and therefore, He knew how things would turn out. After all, we have been taught that Jesus was one with God and that He, in fact, is God. (John 1.1)   However, that truth does not negate the reality of living as a human.

Jesus lived the life of a man, a human man, not the life of a God-man. Jesus cried, bled, hurt, rejoiced, slept, ate food, and needed rest. He was born, and He died. I want to point out that Jesus died on the cross. Christ did not die on the cross; Jesus did. God cannot die.

Since Jesus was a man, he experienced and had to deal with risk. How did Jesus deal with risk? He knew who He was.  ‘And He said to them, “Why is it that you were looking for Me? Did you not know that I had to be in My Father’s house?” ‘ Luke 2:49

Jesus, at the age of twelve, knew He was the Son of God. Jesus was totally cognizant of who he was and who His father was. Jesus was totally and constantly aware that He was God. God had predetermined that His human son would know who He was but would not have access to the power of the God Head. In other words, Jesus knew He was God but decided beforehand that he would not be omniscient. That he would not be all-powerful or all-knowing.   

In essence, God decided beforehand that Jesus would live by the limitations of humanity. The reasons for this are multiple, but the reason that concerns us is that Jesus the man becomes the model for human living we are to follow. He is 100% man, giving us the same access and power in our lives that Jesus had in His life. ‘But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. ‘Romans 8:11

Jesus knew He had access to the Father your Father and my Father by the spirit that lives in you and is still in Him. Jesus handled risk by knowing His father, your father, had the power to supply all His needs. Knowing who He was and knowing the source of all supply did not relieve Him of the need to take a risk.

The first thing He did was He knew Who He was: A child of God. The second thing He did was he prayed. We know that Jesus spent a lot of time praying. What did He pray for, and who did He pray to? He prayed to God, His Father, and our Father. He prayed for what was to come.

‘Now it was at this time that He went off to the mountain to pray, and He spent the whole night in prayer with God. And when day came, He called His disciples to Him and chose twelve of them, whom He also named as apostles: ‘ Luke 6:12-13

Jesus spent much time praying for what was to come. He prayed continually, and He was praying for the right people in the right places to do what he needed to be done to build the kingdom. The third thing Jesus did was to be in line with the will of God.

Jesus analyzed the risk and took action based on these three things. He knew who He was and prayed constantly. And he stayed in the will of God.

Jesus analyzed risk from a position of power. We analyze risk from a place of weakness. Jesus looked to His provider, had constant communication with His God, and continued in the will of God before He acted. We look at our meager resources and fail to act.

Let me sum this up. Because Jesus was 100% man, we have the same access as Jesus to a loving, all-powerful God. But to access that power, we must know who we are, we must pray constantly, and we must be walking in the will of God.

Risk will be minimized and manageable when we do the same thing Jesus did: know who we are, pray, and stay in the will of God.

Because of the Word of Their Testimony

‘And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death. ‘

Revelation 12:11

This verse is part of the end-time revelation. It is talking about the victory over Satan in the last days. Some of the verses in the Bible have dual applications. By that, I mean they are tied to a specific time and place while at the same time being relevant and pertinent to today.

This verse is prophetic in its use, but its reality exists on a cross two thousand years ago. God Himself, through Paul, is taking the shed blood of Jesus from two thousand years ago and projecting its effectiveness into our future as the payment for our sins. His shedding of blood is the manner of salvation at the cross and in the coming tribulation. This seminal event in human history transcends space and time. Its effectiveness remains in full effect throughout the life of humanity.  This event is not a singular occurrence. It is the only event in human history that is continually happening throughout History. The blood of Jesus is still saving. It is still covering the sins of Man, and it is as powerful today as it was when Jesus died on the cross. Every time someone accepts the sacrificial death of Jesus as payment for their sin, the blood of Jesus is the means of salvation.

I write this in hopes that you can understand the importance of the shed blood of Jesus. It is the means of our salvation. Throughout history past, and history still to happen, the blood of Jesus will continue to maintain the power of forgiveness and cleansing to salvation. The shed blood of Jesus is enough for all history’s past, and it is enough for all our future. The shed blood of Jesus is not locked into the prophetic use in this verse. The blood of Jesus is active and just as powerful today as it was on the cross, and it will be when this prophetic event happens in the future.

Shedding Christ’s blood on the cross is the doorway to eternal life. Without it, there is no access to forgiveness. The significance and the importance of the payment of our sins through the shedding of Christ’s blood cannot be overstated. Yet.

The blood of Jesus and the word of our testimony is used in the same sentence with the same weight and result. Read the verse. It is not an add-on to the blood of Jesus because the Crucifixion is a standalone event. You can’t add our testimony to the shedding of Jesus’s blood. Our testimony, the words of our mouths, sit alongside the shed blood of Jesus. Have we taken the word of our testimony too lightly? Have we not fully understood how important our testimony is?   

What is your testimony? Is it just the story of Christ saving, sanctifying you, and giving you eternal life? Is it about something that happened years ago? Do you have nothing to testify about what God has done in your life recently, yesterday, last week, or this morning?   

One of the popular things today is to tell the story of our pop icons. You can hear or read stories about any superstar of our time in any arena. They are often portrayed as people who have overcome great odds to become successful in their chosen profession. Now more than in the past, a lack of moral integrity does not disqualify you from media adulation.

Many of these icons say we overcame, and because of our success, we have opened doors to those who come after us, which sounds honorable and positive. But what is good about musicians that push the boundaries of acceptable righteous behavior? What is positive and admirable about politicians who subvert the law for their own personal desires? What is uplifting about pushing sexual or violent behaviors in our movies?  What is positive about our pop icons encouraging and fostering sinful ideologies in the name of success? In virtually every show or movie, the hero has to do something unjust to arrive at justice. What is positive and honorable about sports and entertainment figures making the dollar their God.?   

All these people are testifying to their personal experiences, and those who hold them in esteem are following in their footsteps and pushing sin to the next level. I don’t want you to get lost in thinking about how your icon is pushing the boundaries of God. Please think about how powerful their testimonies are. They are influencing people in ungodly ways for the purpose of making their ungodliness acceptable.

The reason that Revelation 12:11

Says, “because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony,” is because our testimony can bring life or death.  “The word of our testimony” and “the blood of the Lamb” are on par in this verse because they both can save the lost.

When you begin to think about this, that your testimony is on par with the blood of the lamb, it must shake your thinking. It must change your paradigm of thought. Notice it says, “the word of their testimony,” not the testimony of Jesus, not the testimony of Paul, Luke, Mark, Matthew, Wilson, Stephens, or Moses.

“The word of their testimony” God refers to is your testimony, not those of eons past. Because we cannot testify to the resurrection of Jesus, we can’t attest to the resurrection of Lazarus. We can’t testify to the parting of the Red Sea. We were not there. But we are here for what Jesus is doing today. You don’t need anyone’s permission to testify about what you have seen and experienced in your life, and no one can testify for you.

You are the one who will lay the foundation for those who follow you. It will be based on your testimony. It will be based on your story. You are the pop icon of the people in your sphere of influence. You are the one who can point to Jesus and say this is what He has done in my life, and this is why I believe in Him. The word of your testimony is on par with the blood of Jesus because it belongs there.

What is the worst thing that has happened to Christianity? You might say accepting abortion, redefining the meaning of marriage, assimilation of ungodly ideologies in the church, or sexual promiscuity.  All these things have been harmful to the church and society. But the most destructive thing that has happened to the church is the so-called separation of church and state doctrine. 

What the separation of church and state doctrine has accomplished is the silencing of your testimony. Because of this doctrine, we are no longer allowed to share the miracle of Christ with our co-workers, acquaintances, or strangers. Company policies have been constructed to ensure that your testimony is not shared. Isn’t it interesting that the word of God can be shared on the airwaves, but your testimony must be silenced in public? In the workplace, in the marketplace. This, that is being silenced, sits on par with the blood of the lamb. And it is being silenced by something that has no constitutional standing. By a lie. Author by the fathers of lies.

Your testimony is the most potent weapon in fighting the spiritual battle we are involved in. Share your testimony. It does not have to be a parting sea experience. It just needs to be your story of how God has changed your life. You are the icon of your sphere of influence. Your story, your testimony, sits alongside the blood of the lamb. It is intended by God to be powerful.

Christianity in the Workplace

Christianity in the Workplace

‘I am not asking You to take them out of the world but to keep them away from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Just as You sent Me into the world, I also sent them into the world. Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth. And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, so that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth. “I am not asking on behalf of these alone, but also for those who believe in Me through their word, that they may all be one; just as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me. ‘

John 17:15-21

“So, the world may believe that you sent me.” The whole purpose of us being in the world, or should I say for Christians being in the world, is “so that they may believe that you sent me’ (that God sent Jesus). That is the whole purpose of us being in the world.

Our mission in the world is not to create communities to which the rest of the world is excluded or denied entrance. When Jesus came to the world, he did not come to build a church that was exclusive of everyone; actually, his intent was for it to be inclusive of everyone. Of course, not at the price of Christianity but at the cost of sinfulness.

When you think about Jesus coming into the world, you realize he did not let the world influence him. He influenced the world. He did not make concessions to the worldliness that existed in his day. It was never his intent to allow man’s sinful nature to dictate his behavior, mentality, or thought process. He was in the world, but he was not of the world.

However, it is interesting that he did not come to the religious leaders of his time. He was displeased with the religious leaders. They had turned what was supposed to be holy and sacred into traditions and customs that benefited them. They turned it into a career.

So, Jesus intentionally came to the world for those outside their religious structure. He went to the common man in everyday occupations doing everyday work. These were the people that he came to minister to. This was the “world” that he came to serve.

Jesus came to fishermen and tax collectors. He came to prostitutes and businessmen and businesswomen. He went onto the highways and byways to find people to heal and save. He went into the marketplace to do his ministry. If you look at his life, you realize that he was in the world, but he was not of this world. He came not to be influenced by the world but to influence the world. So, when it says that we are not of this world and we take his example as to what that means, it means that we are to be in the world working to accomplish the same things that he accomplished. To reach the common man, his fellow citizen, a fellow worker, and fellow business partner.

Jesus came from perfection, complete righteousness, from absolute holiness to be in this world but not to be of this world. When you consider where He came from, you realize the world did not have a chance of influencing His purpose, mission, or goal. His is a better way. His is the way to salvation, victory, and complete wholeness and Holiness.

So how does this translate to us? How does being in the world and not of the world become a reality for us now? Does it mean we are supposed to expend all our energies preaching the gospel, chasing people down, and telling them about Jesus? Does it mean our primary focus, our only passion, should be preaching the gospel? I believe the best way we can be in the world and not of the world is to fulfill what God has created us to be. To use the gifts and abilities, he’s given us, that he’s endowed us with, to the best of our ability, to exemplify who Jesus is in our lives. So that our lives will be an example of what Jesus can do in the lives of those around us.

Our behavior or actions will determine if we succeed in the last part of verse 21, which says, “so the world may believe that you sent me.”

We are to be in the world because the world will not come to Jesus. If you and I, the businessman and the businesswoman, do not exemplify who Jesus is in the marketplace. They will never come inside the walls of the church.

There is a misconception or an assumption that is made, and that is that the church is failing. That the gospel of Jesus Christ is insufficient for the needs and problems of today. That the church is not capable of fulfilling the needs of the masses. But the truth is that the church has not failed. The truth is that business has failed. Just like when Jesus came, he did not allow the world to influence him. We cannot allow the businesses of the world to control us.

We have come into a post-Christian era not because Christianity has lost its power or validity. But because we are losing the war on the streets. Because Christian businesses have acquiesced to the demands of a secular society. When the Christian has lost his personal witness at work and in the marketplace, it is no wonder that the world doubts the value of Christianity. The public will not walk into the church and challenge Christianity’s authority or validity. They will walk into our businesses and places of employment and challenge our witness there. That is where the battle is being lost. And as a result, people are questioning whether the church is valid, is the church up to date, is the church influential, does the church have a purpose, does Christianity have value. Because when they walk into everyday situations where we are, and we don’t exemplify Christ, they have no reason to believe that there is any power in the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Christianity in the workplace is not about preaching or teaching or having visions or prophesying. It is about being an example of who Christ is in our lives and living it out without compromising the life we have been given through Jesus Christ.

The Lure

‘Lot raised his eyes and saw all the vicinity of the Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere— this was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah—like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt going toward Zoar. Abram settled in the land of Canaan, while Lot settled in the cities of the vicinity of the Jordan, and moved his tents as far as Sodom. Now the men of Sodom were exceedingly wicked sinners against the Lord. ‘

Genesis 13:10,12-13

https://my.bible.com/bible/2692/GEN.13.10,12-13

Lot was a successful businessman. If you read the preceding verses, you will learn that Abraham and Lot were so wealthy together that the land they were living in could not support their needs. Their flocks needed more grazing land, water, and more of everything. It got so bad that the employees of Lot were at odds with the employees of Abraham.

So, Abraham and Lot decided it would be better if they separated and went in different directions. Abraham gives Lot the first choice of where he can go. Abraham goes to Canaan.

Lot looks over the land, and he sees that the land in the vicinity of Jordan has ample resources to supply his needs. So, he decided to move into the land but moved his tents to Sodom.

Why did he move to Sodom? The end of verse 13 says, “Now the men of Sodom were exceedingly wicked sinners against the Lord.” Do you think Lot knew the spiritual conditions of Sodom? If you’re moving your enterprise to a new location, one of the things you are going to do is investigate the available resources in that area, which he did.

It is like if I were to move my business to another area, I would look into the area I’m moving into to determine if that area could support my business. As well as whether the area I was going to move into was a place I would like to live in. For instance, Atlanta could support my business, but I don’t like Atlanta, so I would never move there.

So, it is reasonable to assume that Lot was aware of the spiritual condition of Sodom. Let’s say he did not know the situation in Sodom. Would the spirit of God in him be able to identify the ungodliness of the place and have kept him out? When I go back to New York, there are places where I don’t need to know where I am to see that it is not a place I need to be. Because the spirit of God lets me know this is a dark spiritual place.

Even if the spirit of God did not immediately identify the sinful nature of the city to Lot, he would have figured it out. Sin is easily identifiable, especially when it is blatant. So why did lot move there, and why did he stay?

Was it the lure of fleshly desire? Was it the enticing allure of the temporal pleasures of sin? In the book of Romans, Paul recounts his battle with sin or our battle with sin. He talks about the struggle we have with doing the righteous thing.  

Romans 7 14 For we know that the Law is spiritual, but I am fleshly, sold into bondage to sin. 15 For I do not understand what I am doing; for I am not practicing what I want to do, but I do the very thing I hate. 16 However, if I do the very thing I do not want to do, I agree with the Law, that the Law is good. 17 But now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin that dwells in me. 18 For I know that good does not dwell in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. 19 For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. 20 But if I do the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin that dwells in me.

Lot was living Romans 7:14 -20

He knew the sin that existed in the city he had chosen to live in. He knew He should not be there. He knew with every fiber of His being that what was happening in that city was contrary to God, but he was drawn to it. He was in bondage to it. He was addicted to the idea of sin. He may not be actively participating in it, but he was on the borderline. He may not have entered the brothel, but he wanted to take a peek.

He knew what was righteous, but his desire was for what was evil.  He was living verse 15 of Romans, 15 For I do not understand what I am doing; for I am not practicing what I want to do, but I do the very thing I hate.

Are you Lot? Are you living on the borderline of righteousness? Is the enticement of sin knocking on the door of your mind? Are you coveting that sin that ensnares? Are you cozying up to sin, coming right to the entrance of sin, looking in but not entering?  Are you deceiving yourself like Lot did, thinking I can come to the door of sin, and it will not burn me; I will not be scorched? 

Are you allowing the sin around you to influence your righteousness? When the angels visit Lot to warn him of the upcoming disaster, the city’s men surround his house and demand that Lot send out the two men so they can rape them. Lot offers his two virgin daughters instead. Was that the righteous thing to do? Lots made so many wrong choices. And they stem from being around sinful people and sinful influences.

The next day the angels tell Lot it is time to move. We are about to destroy this city, and still, Lot hesitated. The angels had to grab Lot, his wife, and his daughters by the hand and physically remove them from the city.

Now I ask you of what value is this story to us. One of this story’s values is not to get intimately involved in the sin culture. Lot could have picked the same land he had chosen and not entered Sodom.

You don’t have to live in the midst of sinful people among evil influences. You can choose to remove yourself from people that will bring about your destruction. Lot may have started out as a righteous person, but the influences around him devastated his life. He had to be physically removed from the city to survive.

As part of this story, before the devastation of Sodom and Gomorrah, Abraham pleads with God for the salvation of the righteous in these cities. He finally settles with God to spare the cities if ten righteous people are found in the city.

But listen to what it says in verse 29 of chapter 19 of Genesis. 29 So it came about, when God destroyed the cities of the surrounding area, that God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the destruction, when He overthrew the cities in which Lot had lived.

Lot was saved because God had compassion for Abraham, not because of Lot’s righteousness.

You can not survive as a Christian living in the midst of evil. You are just not strong enough. Lot was all but destroyed for choosing to live among the sinful. If you think you can, you will someday be surrounded by wicked people who want your soul.

If you are counting on a last-minute salvation waiting for God to send you some sign, someone to take you by the hand and save you, you will be caught in the destruction. The angels pull out Lot and his family from the clutches of sin and destruction, and still, the pull of sin is so strong that he loses his wife.

Lot entered the land as a wealthy businessman. He flees the Sodom as a homeless refugee. He lost everything, including his wife, because he surrounded himself with sinful people. The sin that covered him completely blinded him, so he could not make rational choices.  

You may not be a rich man with lots of livestock and employees, but the lure of sin can still destroy you. 

But here is the good news the love of God can bring you to salvation. If you hang around Godly people, you will receive the blessing of growing with God.  

Happy New Year 2023

Luke 4:19

“To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.”

Jesus is in Nazareth in His hometown; he has just completed reading some verses from the book of Isaiah. A couple of verses later, Jesus says, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

In short, when Jesus says, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” He is referring to the preceding verses of the same chapter, Luke 14:17-19.  

‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,
Because He has anointed Me
To preach the gospel to the poor;
He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives
And recovery of sight to the blind,
To set at liberty those who are oppressed;
To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.’.

Jesus is making His first public proclamation of being the Messiah of Israel. This proclamation is not received well. If you read the rest of the story, Jesus is taken to the edge of a cliff to be executed, but fortunately for us, that does not happen.

Though they rejected Him, it did not change the fact that it was indeed the year of the Lord. Jesus did do all that He proclaimed in that synagogue.

Here is the point Had the people in the synagogue received Him. They also would have received the favorable year of the Lord. They would have heard the gospel. He would have healed their broken hearts. He would have liberated the captives; He would have healed them of their blindness. He would have set their oppressed free.

All those people in Nazareth who were in the synagogue that day could have entered into the year of the Lord, but they chose not to. And Jesus never returned. 

The year of the Lord is not a place in time. It is not 30 BC or AD. It is the day, the year, when you receive the Lord.   

It is 2023. It is “the favorable year of the Lord” because Jesus is alive, and he is still doing all that he was anointed to do. I wish you a happy new year, but more than that, I want for you to experience “the favorable year of the Lord”

Risk and Faith

Risk and Faith

Throughout our lives, we analyze risk. We all make risk assessments. Most are small, not life-changing, or of very little importance, but we all do them. We evaluate the situation in terms of loss and gain. We consider if the effort is worth the reward. In reality, we are constantly making risk assessments.

Making risk assessments is wise. You must ask yourself, is this the best decision for me? You should consider the pros and cons and weigh the decision carefully before you execute it. You may ask a trusted advisor for their recommendation in your risk assessment. 

Every business in the world is constantly making a risk assessment, continually weighing the pros and cons, and looking for what is prudent and profitable. If it is a large business, they may seek outside counsel before making significant moves. Before companies make major moves, they devise a plan to mitigate the known obstacles and repercussions. They make sure they have thought about every possible ramification to ensure their decision is successful.

This is a wise practice. This is how all businesses, regardless of their industry, should operate. Before taking a new path or introducing a new product or service, we should take the time to evaluate the move from every angle. Then after doing our due diligence, we make our decision.

Jesus said,

‘For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it? Luke 14:28

In Luke 14:28. Jesus says the same thing, make an assessment and consider the risks, count the cost. This is the way the world does business. It evaluates risks, diminishes threats, and plans for every contingency.  

Every business, ministry, nonprofit, government agency, and all enterprise, religious or godless, have this one thing in common. They all operate on faith. They take action based on their belief that what they want to accomplish will come into existence. That is faith.

As Christians, we should do the same thing when we are in the decision-making process. But we have the opportunity to go further. We can employ faith.

The world does its due diligence, and they look at the decision from every angle and at the end of the day. That is as far as they can go. There is no more they can do because even if they know they have put their decision on the path of faith, they don’t recognize or realize the power of faith.

As Christians, we have the right to take our best plans and put them in the hands of God and ask and believe in His intervention and blessing. We can take the concept of faith and bring it to life by activating belief and the expectation of God’s goodwill.

While the world waits and hopes for good outcomes, we can rest in knowing that God is working on our side. This is what separates us from the rest of the world. We can continue to bring more to the challenge than earthly wisdom. After implementing our faith, we can receive God’s guidance and peace while moving forward.

Faith is not just belief. For us Christians, faith is more than belief. It is being locked into the supernatural influence of God the creator. It is the power of God working in our lives to accomplish what we cannot do on our own. It bridges the gap between due diligence and the supernatural provision of God. It is knowing that Romans 8:28 is true.  “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”

Faith is knowing that our faith is the unbreakable conduit that comes from the heart of God. With this, we remove the anguish of risk and replace it with the assurance of knowing God is with us.  

The world must take the risk, but Christians have the option of moving in faith, moving forward with the peace of God.  Next time you need to make a decision, big or small. Do your due diligence and do everything you can to ensure success in that decision but don’t take a risk. Instead, proceed in faith.

#ChristtheCEO #businessconnect  #connectgroups

Why not great?

Why not great?

I’ve never had anyone ask me why aren’t you great. I suppose that is because no one considers that to be an appropriate question. Or who has the right to ask that question? However, as a Christian, I will ask, why are you not great? The world cannot be great because there living on the losing side and operating with limited resources. They have no option but to be mediocre at best.  

As Christians, we have no excuse for being less than great. I am 65 years old and have just realized Christians have no reason to be average. We have been given all the tools we need to lead successfully in any endeavor.  

I will go; further. We have been designed for greatness. I am not going to add a caveat to that statement. I am not going to give us a way out because if I do, I am diminishing the promises of God. 

In Deuteronomy 28 1-14, it says

1 “Now it shall be, if you diligently obey the Lord your God, being careful to do all His commandments which I am commanding you today, that the Lord your God will put you high above all the nations of the earth. 2 And all these blessings will come to you and reach you if you obey the Lord your God:

3 “Blessed will you be in the city, and blessed will you be in the country…..

You can look up the rest of this passage. What you will find is an unrelenting bounty of blessings that are intended for you.

In Mathew 6:33 it says,

33 But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be provided to you.

The preceding verses in Matthew 33 talk about all of your needs. 

In Jeremiah 29:11 it says,

11 For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for prosperity and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. 

I could go on and on with the promises of God for us. What we have to grab hold of is this. God is bigger and has more resources for our good than we can imagine.

In Malachi 3:10, it says He will open the windows of heaven and pour out a blessing that will overflow.

In Revelations 12:11 it says,

11 And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even  when faced with death. 

In this verse in Revelations, do you think a mediocre testimony is what the writer is referring to?

Let’s go back to Genesis

 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Nothing existed before God created it, not even the emptiness of nothing. Before God created everything, time did not exist. God created time. This is the same God that has promised immeasurable blessings to all of us.

I know that what I am writing is not for the new believer. This is not Christianity 101, but for those who have been Christians for over 20 years, why are you not great? If you are not great, you need to be on your way to becoming great.

Why do we need to be great? Because God our Father is great, and we are His legacy. If we are not great, or in the pursuit of greatness, we are calling God a liar. The God who created everything in the universe has claimed us as His children, and are we merely mediocre? What does our mediocrity say about our Father? What kind of testimony is that?

I am not talking about perfection; I am talking about greatness. Abraham was great. David, Solomon, Esther, Moses, Jacob, Elijah, and Elisha were great. Jesus, Paul, Peter, John, and the other John, Mary, and the remaining apostles were great, and all but one were imperfect, but they were all great, and God worked through all of them in extraordinary ways.

God said He would always be with you. The creator of all that has ever existed or will exist is the one that is with you wherever you go. The definition of greatness is right next to you twenty-four hours a day. With the most intense desire to bless you with every spiritual blessing. But not just spiritual blessing but with blessing that will assist you in living to the standard of our Father, the sovereign God of all creation.

If we immerse ourselves in the life of God, in the living of God, and in intimacy with God, we will be great. Not because of our greatness but because we have associated with the God of all creation. We are great because of our being in His presence. We will be great because the greatness of God will be exuded through us. It is akin to the glory of God as when Moses came down from the mountain, the glory of God was physically shown on Moses’s face. It wasn’t Moses’s glory that the people saw, but the glory of God was seen through Moses.

By being great, we do not testify to our greatness, but we are witnesses of God’s greatness being exhibited through us. We are to be testimonials of the greatness of God. His greatness is not limited to His word. It encompasses every area of life. If there is no greatness in our lives, why would anyone want to know Jesus?

Mediocrity will never be the light that brings people to Jesus. Greatness will; when people see what God has done in your life, then you will be the light on the hill everyone searches for.

Matthew 56:16
Your light must shine before people in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven. (NASB)

If you use your God-given gifts and abilities, you will be great because God, your Father, is Great.