Guilty By Association Part 2

Last week we looked at good associations and good covenants. We saw how Joshua and Caleb walked into the promised land together because of there relentless faith in god's promise's. We saw the covenant relationship between Elijah and Elisha there faithfulness was rewarded with a double blessing.  And we saw Jesus sharing his heart with the one's he was closest too. All different covenant relationships, all beautiful to each parties. And beautiful to us as well.



But what about bad associations and bad covenants? We all have had them. A relationship with a man and a women, a wrong covenant between business associates and partners, Or just plain bad choices for people. We have all dealt with bad covenant s or associations, Lets take a look at some in the bible.

Cain and Abel:
Genesis 4:1-9
 ¹ Adam^[a] made love to his wife Eve, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain.^[b] She said, “With the help of the LORD I have brought forth^[c] a man.” ² Later she gave birth to his brother Abel.    Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil. ³ In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the LORD. ⁴ And Abel also brought an offering—fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering, ⁵ but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.
 ⁶ Then the LORD said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? ⁷ If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.”
 ⁸ Now Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go out to the field.”^[d] While they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.
 ⁹ Then the LORD said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?”
   “I don’t know,” he replied. “Am I my brother’s keeper?”

Cain brought the lord an offering, but Abel brought what he thought was best first and god honored it. Where as for Cains offering, god rejected it because it was not his best. Cain was angry, sad, and depressed. But for all the wrong reason's. Verse 8 said " Now Cain said to his brother Abel; "Lets go out into the field"  While they were in the field Cain attacked Abel and killed him." His brother was not the reason God rejected his offering, It was from Cain's lack of effort with his offering. God always wants us to do our best. Cain did not master his sin, but his sin mastered him. Cain let jealousy take over and destroy him. Maybe some of us have had relationships were we allowed jealousy to come in and take over. We blame the wrong person or don't take responsibility of our actions. We need to master our sin nefore we do something we regret.

Sampson and Delilah:
Judges 16:4-20 
⁴ Some time later, he fell in love with a woman in the Valley of Sorek whose name was Delilah. ⁵ The rulers of the Philistines went to her and said, “See if you can lure him into showing you the secret of his great strength and how we can overpower him so we may tie him up and subdue him. Each one of us will give you eleven hundred shekels^[a] of silver.”
 ⁶ So Delilah said to Samson, “Tell me the secret of your great strength and how you can be tied up and subdued.”
 ⁷ Samson answered her, “If anyone ties me with seven fresh bowstrings that have not been dried, I’ll become as weak as any other man.”
 ⁸ Then the rulers of the Philistines brought her seven fresh bowstrings that had not been dried, and she tied him with them. ⁹ With men hidden in the room, she called to him, “Samson, the Philistines are upon you!” But he snapped the bowstrings as easily as a piece of string snaps when it comes close to a flame. So the secret of his strength was not discovered.
 ¹⁰ Then Delilah said to Samson, “You have made a fool of me; you lied to me. Come now, tell me how you can be tied.”
 ¹¹ He said, “If anyone ties me securely with new ropes that have never been used, I’ll become as weak as any other man.”
 ¹² So Delilah took new ropes and tied him with them. Then, with men hidden in the room, she called to him, “Samson, the Philistines are upon you!” But he snapped the ropes off his arms as if they were threads.
 ¹³ Delilah then said to Samson, “All this time you have been making a fool of me and lying to me. Tell me how you can be tied.”
   He replied, “If you weave the seven braids of my head into the fabric on the loom and tighten it with the pin, I’ll become as weak as any other man.” So while he was sleeping, Delilah took the seven braids of his head, wove them into the fabric ¹⁴ and^[b] tightened it with the pin.
   Again she called to him, “Samson, the Philistines are upon you!” He awoke from his sleep and pulled up the pin and the loom, with the fabric.
 ¹⁵ Then she said to him, “How can you say, ‘I love you,’ when you won’t confide in me? This is the third time you have made a fool of me and haven’t told me the secret of your great strength.” ¹⁶ With such nagging she prodded him day after day until he was sick to death of it.
 ¹⁷ So he told her everything. “No razor has ever been used on my head,” he said, “because I have been a Nazirite dedicated to God from my mother’s womb. If my head were shaved, my strength would leave me, and I would become as weak as any other man.”
 ¹⁸ When Delilah saw that he had told her everything, she sent word to the rulers of the Philistines, “Come back once more; he has told me everything.” So the rulers of the Philistines returned with the silver in their hands. ¹⁹ After putting him to sleep on her lap, she called for someone to shave off the seven braids of his hair, and so began to subdue him.^[c] And his strength left him.
 ²⁰ Then she called, “Samson, the Philistines are upon you!”
   He awoke from his sleep and thought, “I’ll go out as before and shake myself free.” But he did not know that the LORD had left him.

This bad covenant was based on lies and  deception. In verse 5 it says; "And the lord of the philistines came to her and said:" Entice him and see where his great strength lies." "So we may overpower, bind him and subdue him."

Delilah was willing to sellout her own houseband for pieces of silver.
Later Sampson was saved because he fully relied on god and kept pressing him day after day.

"If I am saved my strength shall go from me, And I shall become weak ad be like other men."


David and Saul: 
1 Samuel 18:5-16
 ⁵ Whatever mission Saul sent him on, David was so successful that Saul gave him a high rank in the army. This pleased all the troops, and Saul’s officers as well.
 ⁶ When the men were returning home after David had killed the Philistine, the women came out from all the towns of Israel to meet King Saul with singing and dancing, with joyful songs and with timbrels and lyres. ⁷ As they danced, they sang:
   “Saul has slain his thousands,
   and David his tens of thousands.”
 ⁸ Saul was very angry; this refrain displeased him greatly. “They have credited David with tens of thousands,” he thought, “but me with only thousands. What more can he get but the kingdom?” ⁹ And from that time on Saul kept a close eye on David.
 ¹⁰ The next day an evil^[a] spirit from God came forcefully on Saul. He was prophesying in his house, while David was playing the lyre, as he usually did. Saul had a spear in his hand ¹¹ and he hurled it, saying to himself, “I’ll pin David to the wall.” But David eluded him twice.
 ¹² Saul was afraid of David, because the LORD was with David but had departed from Saul. ¹³ So he sent David away from him and gave him command over a thousand men, and David led the troops in their campaigns. ¹⁴ In everything he did he had great success, because the LORD was with him. ¹⁵ When Saul saw how successful he was, he was afraid of him. ¹⁶ But all Israel and Judah loved David, because he led them in their campaigns.

Saul became jealous and angry of David, because the people loved David and god was with him. David never walked in anger toward Saul, but walked wisely.

Verse 13-15 says; "So he sent David away from him and gave him command over a thousand men, and David led the troops in there campaign. In everything he did he had great success, because the LORD was with him. When Saul saw how successful he was, He was afraid him.

1 Chronicles 16:22
"Touch not my anointed ones, And do my prophets no harm."

David Spared Saul:
1Samuel 24:3-10
³ He came to the sheep pens along the way; a cave was there, and Saul went in to relieve himself. David and his men were far back in the cave. ⁴ The men said, “This is the day the LORD spoke of when he said^[a] to you, ‘I will give your enemy into your hands for you to deal with as you wish.’” Then David crept up unnoticed and cut off a corner of Saul’s robe.  ⁵ Afterward, David was conscience-stricken for having cut off a corner of his robe. ⁶ He said to his men, “The LORD forbid that I should do such a thing to my master, the LORD’s anointed, or lay my hand on him; for he is the anointed of the LORD.” ⁷ With these words David sharply rebuked his men and did not allow them to attack Saul. And Saul left the cave and went his way.
 ⁸ Then David went out of the cave and called out to Saul, “My lord the king!” When Saul looked behind him, David bowed down and prostrated himself with his face to the ground. ⁹ He said to Saul, “Why do you listen when men say, ‘David is bent on harming you’? ¹⁰ This day you have seen with your own eyes how the LORD delivered you into my hands in the cave. Some urged me to kill you, but I spared you; I said, ‘I will not lay my hand on my lord, because he is the LORD’s anointed.’

Even when David had the opportunity to kill Saul he wouldn't do it. He knew that the office of king Saul stood in was anointed and holy.

If we think right, We will act right. Even when things go wrong, The lord is in it to help us get it right!

God loves you and so do I.


   

Guilty by Association: Genesis 17:1-9

Relationships are a vital part of our lives, But many of us don't get the best value God has for us in relationships. We see in the bible that God puts a heavy demand on relationships or associations, He calls them covenants. 

Covenant: Is a contract or agreement between two or more parties that do or do not do something specified. 

Abraham and God walked in a covenant relationship. God himself chose Abraham to have a committed relationship with him, And Abraham was blessed because of it. Genesis 22:16-18

¹⁶ and said, “I swear by myself, declares the LORD, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, ¹⁷ I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, ¹⁸ and through your offspring^[a] all nations on earth will be blessed,^[b] because you have obeyed me.

Because Abraham was willing to sacrifice his only son for the cause of the covenant, In turn God withheld nothing from Abraham. That's why we are blessed today. 

Let's look at some covenant relationships: 

Joshua and Caleb  

Numbers 13:30

³⁰ Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, “We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it. 

Numbers 14: 1-10

¹ That night all the members of the community raised their voices and wept aloud. ² All the Israelites grumbled against Moses and Aaron, and the whole assembly said to them, “If only we had died in Egypt! Or in this wilderness! ³ Why is the LORD bringing us to this land only to let us fall by the sword? Our wives and children will be taken as plunder. Wouldn’t it be better for us to go back to Egypt?” ⁴ And they said to each other, “We should choose a leader and go back to Egypt.”

 ⁵ Then Moses and Aaron fell facedown in front of the whole Israelite assembly gathered there. ⁶ Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had explored the land, tore their clothes ⁷ and said to the entire Israelite assembly, “The land we passed through and explored is exceedingly good. ⁸ If the LORD is pleased with us, he will lead us into that land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and will give it to us. ⁹ Only do not rebel against the LORD. And do not be afraid of the people of the land, because we will devour them. Their protection is gone, but the LORD is with us. Do not be afraid of them.”

 ¹⁰ But the whole assembly talked about stoning them. Then the glory of the LORD appeared at the tent of meeting to all the Israelites. 

Numbers 14: 6-14

⁶ Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had explored the land, tore their clothes ⁷ and said to the entire Israelite assembly, “The land we passed through and explored is exceedingly good. ⁸ If the LORD is pleased with us, he will lead us into that land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and will give it to us. ⁹ Only do not rebel against the LORD. And do not be afraid of the people of the land, because we will devour them. Their protection is gone, but the LORD is with us. Do not be afraid of them.”
 ¹⁰ But the whole assembly talked about stoning them. Then the glory of the LORD appeared at the tent of meeting to all the Israelites. ¹¹ The LORD said to Moses, “How long will these people treat me with contempt? How long will they refuse to believe in me, in spite of all the signs I have performed among them? ¹² I will strike them down with a plague and destroy them, but I will make you into a nation greater and stronger than they.”
 ¹³ Moses said to the LORD, “Then the Egyptians will hear about it! By your power you brought these people up from among them. ¹⁴ And they will tell the inhabitants of this land about it. They have already heard that you, LORD, are with these people and that you, LORD, have been seen face to face, that your cloud stays over them, and that you go before them in a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night.

David and Samuel:

1 Samuel 16: 19-23
 ¹⁹ Then Saul sent messengers to Jesse and said, “Send me your son David, who is with the sheep.” ²⁰ So Jesse took a donkey loaded with bread, a skin of wine and a young goat and sent them with his son David to Saul.
 ²¹ David came to Saul and entered his service. Saul liked him very much, and David became one of his armor-bearers. ²² Then Saul sent word to Jesse, saying, “Allow David to remain in my service, for I am pleased with him.”
 ²³ Whenever the spirit from God came on Saul, David would take up his lyre and play. Then relief would come to Saul; he would feel better, and the evil spirit would leave him.

Elijah and Elisha:

 2 Kings 2: 1-6
¹ When the LORD was about to take Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal. ²Bethel.”
   But Elisha said, “As surely as the LORD lives and as you live, I will not leave you.” So they went down to Bethel.
 ³ The company of the prophets at Bethel came out to Elisha and asked, “Do you know that the LORD is going to take your master from you today?”
   “Yes, I know,” Elisha replied, “so be quiet.”
 ⁴ Then Elijah said to him, “Stay here, Elisha; the LORD has sent me to Jericho.”
   And he replied, “As surely as the LORD lives and as you live, I will not leave you.” So they went to Jericho.
 ⁵ The company of the prophets at Jericho went up to Elisha and asked him, “Do you know that the LORD is going to take your master from you today?”
   “Yes, I know,” he replied, “so be quiet.”
 ⁶ Then Elijah said to him, “Stay here; the LORD has sent me to the Jordan.”
   And he replied, “As surely as the LORD lives and as you live, I will not leave you.” So the two of them walked on.


2 Kings 2: 9-15
⁹ When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, “Tell me, what can I do for you before I am taken from you?”
   “Let me inherit a double portion of your spirit,” Elisha replied.
 ¹⁰ “You have asked a difficult thing,” Elijah said, “yet if you see me when I am taken from you, it will be yours—otherwise, it will not.”
 ¹¹ As they were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind. ¹² Elisha saw this and cried out, “My father! My father! The chariots and horsemen of Israel!” And Elisha saw him no more. Then he took hold of his garment and tore it in two.
 ¹³ Elisha then picked up Elijah’s cloak that had fallen from him and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan. ¹⁴ He took the cloak that had fallen from Elijah and struck the water with it. “Where now is the LORD, the God of Elijah?” he asked. When he struck the water, it divided to the right and to the left, and he crossed over.
 ¹⁵ The company of the prophets from Jericho, who were watching, said, “The spirit of Elijah is resting on Elisha.” And they went to meet him and bowed to the ground before him.


 Matthew 17: 1-9
 ¹ After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. ² There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. ³ Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus.
 ⁴ Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.”
 ⁵ While he was still speaking, a bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!”
 ⁶ When the disciples heard this, they fell facedown to the ground, terrified. ⁷ But Jesus came and touched them. “Get up,” he said. “Don’t be afraid.” ⁸ When they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus.
 ⁹ As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus instructed them, “Don’t tell anyone what you have seen, until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.”

Now that you've seen a few covenant relationships, I hope you have a better understanding. 
Next week we will look at a few bad examples of covenant relationships.

Be Blessed! 
 

What You Don't Know "Will Hurt You"

I remember hearing people say things like, “What you don’t know won’t hurt you.”  The person usually saying that, was operating under the impression that they were looking out for the best interest of someone else that didn’t need to know the whole story or what was really going on.  Now my personal favorite was, “No news is good news.”  Meaning, if I didn’t hear news or information on something, good or bad, than I can assume that everything was alright or ok.  Now you may feel that theres a time and place for actions such as these.  Or maybe you want to get all spiritual on me and use part of a scripture that says, “Do not let the left hand know what the right hand is doing.”  First, the scripture doesn’t say that.  In Matthew 6:3-4 (NKJ), “But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing.  That your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly.”  This is clearly referring to being a blessing to people and not bragging about it.  This has nothing to do with deceiving others or yourself.  God wants us to know and have knowledge of, most importantly, Him.  So that we will be used of Him and walk in the blessing He has for us.  Hosea 4:6, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.”  So “what you don’t know, will hurt you.”

What you have not known: Deuteronomy 13:1-4 (KJV), ¹ “If there arises among you a prophet or a dreamer of dreams, and he gives you a sign or a wonder, ² and the sign or the wonder comes to pass, of which he spoke to you, saying, ‘Let us go after other gods’—which you have not known—‘and let us serve them,’ ³ you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams, for the LORD your God is testing you to know whether you love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. ⁴ You shall walk after the LORD your God and fear Him, and keep His commandments and obey His voice; you shall serve Him and hold fast to Him." The first mistake the word shows us here is listening to wrong information. Verse 2 'Let us go after other gods' - which you have not known-'and let us serve them'. Now lets not limit this to just another beflief or religion but things that take priority or value above God (job, relationships, family, material things) these are gods that you have not known , but some believers get caught up in pursuing them for a long time or chasing them the rest of thier lives, but God says in Exodus 20:3 "you shall have no other gods before me." Now why did he say that? Because God knows what we set our affections on, priorities on, or put our attention on, will become our god.

Secret entices: Deuteronomy 13:6-7 ⁶ “If your brother, the son of your mother, your son or your daughter, the wife of your bosom, or your friend who is as your own soul, secretly entices you, saying, ‘Let us go and serve other gods,’ which you have not known, neither you nor your fathers, ⁷ of the gods of the people which are all around you, near to you or far off from you, from one end of the earth to the other end of the earth," People who suffer with addictions fall victum to this most of the time. People entices them, running after them to serve thier gods of addiction, to become a slave to meth and crack and to be enslaved be alchohol and porn, the secret desire (wrong desires of thier hearts , that they haven't layed down to the Lord. So it lays dormant until someoone or something wakes it up. What are the secret entices that are dormant  but not dead in your life? Maybe its unforgiveness, gossip, anger, abuse, someone, back stabbing, or adultery.

Its a test to serve the one you love: Deuteronomy 13:3 "³ you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams, for the LORD your God is testing you to know whether you love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul." Noe the test is not for the purpose of tempting you. The devil is in the tempting business, not God. God is in the proving business. First thing he proves is that you are who he says you are (read 2 Corinthians 5:17 NKJV ) (read 1 Peter 2:9 NKJV)  then he proves ro to your enemy that you are who you said you are (read Phillipians 4:13 and 1 Peter 2:4-6.)

Victory in our love: Deuteronomy 13:4 "⁴ You shall walk after the LORD your God and fear Him, and keep His commandments and obey His voice; you shall serve Him and hold fast to Him." We show our love to God by walking after him and by having a relationship with him (read John 10: 4, 27.) We know his voice and he knows us, when we both know each other we dont worry about what to do, we just follow.

Fear the Lord (not like a terrorist): Reverence him excedingly. Deuteronomy 6:24 "²⁴ And the LORD commanded us to observe all these statutes, to fear the LORD our God, for our good always, that He might preserve us alive, as it is this day." Keep his word (read Ephesians 6:17 and Hebrew 4:12) when we follow after him , have a relationship with, reverence(him) and love him, God will destroy all false gods in your life, never to be constructed in your life again! Deuteronomy 13:16 ^"16 And you shall gather all its plunder into the middle of the street, and completely burn with fire the city and all its plunder, for the LORD your God. It shall be a heap forever; it shall not be built again."

God Loves you and so do I.

The Bone Collector

Sometimes I'll take the bus or train to work instead of driving.  Sometimes it's to save on gas, other times it's to get some exercise walking from the bus stop.  In the last 5+ years of this, I have seen an inner city culture that looks all too familiar to me.  Portland Ave South in Minneapolis, between Grant and Franklin Ave, remind me of my old neighborhood in Chicago.  People drunk laying in the street, drug dealers moving product on every other corner, women trying to sell their bodies for money or a fix for her addiction.  In the midst of all this, there are people trying to live everyday life, working, going to school, kids playing in the park, just doing everyday life.  Doing everyday life in the 'valley of dry bones.'  Now the dry bones, doesn't mean that the people that are doing wrong are bad people, they just made a series of bad choices that turn into bad habits, that turn into bad outcomes...addiction, homeless, jail or even death.
But there is one who has come to give life to the one in the valley of the 'dry bones.'  There is one who is the 'Bone Collector.'  Read Ezekiel 37:1-14, 1"The hand of the Lord came upon me and brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of the valley; and it was full of bones. 2 Then He caused me to pass by them all around and behold, there were very many in the open valley; and indeed they were very dry. 3 And He said to me, "Son of man, can these bones live?"  So I answered, "O Lord God, You know." 4 Again He said to me, "Prophesy to these bones, and say to them, 'O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! 5 Thus says the Lord God to these bones: "Surely I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live. 6 I will put sinews on you and bring flesh upon you, cover you with skin and put breath in you; and you shall live.  Then you shall know that I am the Lord. 7 So I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and suddenly a rattling; and the bones came together, bone to bone. 8 Indeed, as I looked, the sinews and the flesh came upon them, and the skin covered them; but there was no breath in them. 9 Also He said to me, "Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, 'Thus says the Lord God: "Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live" ' " 10 So I prophesied as He commanded me, and breath came into them, and they lived, and stood upon their feet, an exceedingly great army.  11 Then He said to me, "Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel.  They indeed say, 'Our bones are dry, our hope is lost, and we ourselves are cut off!' 12 Therefore prophesy and say to them, 'Thus says the Lord God: "Behold, O My people, I will open your graves and cause you to come up from your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. 13 Then you shall know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves, O My people, and brought you up from the graves. 14 I will put My Spirit in you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land.  Then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken it and performed it," says the Lord.' "

• It makes no difference the condition of your "dry bones," God knows.  Verse 11 states that "the condition of the bones are: dried up, all hope is lost, and are cut off."  Think about the tragedy and destruction that had taken place in their lives...hmmm.  Now think about your own personal tragedy that has happened in your life.  Foreclosure, broken dreams, death of a spouse or child, or even a natural disaster, tornado, hurricane.  Something that totally rips your whole life apart.  Shreds you mentally and emotionally so that all you want is to be alone, isolate and be by yourself in your own personal valley.  But God gives us a key to the restoration of our dry bones.  In verse 3, "And He said to me, son of man, can these bones live" And I answered, O Lord God, you know!"  The one the Lord calls the son of man showed great wisdom by not saying something that would make him sound like a bone head.  Something like, "No they can't live or I don't know," the son of man said, "O Lord you know."  You don't need to know the answer to the question as long as you know He knows.  He knows the answer before He asks the question.  So He has the answer to the problem of your dry bones before they become dry.

He will show you what to do with your dry bones.  Verse 4, "Again He said to me, prophesy to these bones and say to them, 'Oh dry bones, hear the word of the Lord!' " The second thing we need to do is, do what he said.  Whether it's the written Word or a Word in the Spirit, we must do it because it shows your obedience to your heavenly Father and it shows that you trust Him.  The next part of verse 4, "O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord."  Speak the Word of God to your bones.  The Word of God is the seed that starts the process of life for your dry bones.  Isaiah 55:11 (Amplified) "So shall My word be that goes forth out of My mouth: it shall not return to Me void [without producing any effect, useless], but it shall accomplish that which I please and purpose, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.

• God will breathe life into you and cause His plans for you to come out of the grave.  Verse 12, "Thus says the Lord God: "Behold, O my people, I will open your graves and cause you to come up from the graves and bring you into the land of Israel."  Visions and dreams that may have gone dormant in your life, goals that you might have let slip, for one reason or another, can now live again.

His Spirit is the water that makes everything bloom.  Verse 14, "I will put my Spirit in you, and you shall live." Joel 2:28, "And it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your old men shall dream dreams, Your young men shall see visions."

Let's declare today that God breathes life into our bones and will bring us out of the valley of dry bones.  The Lord has spoken it and will perform it!

God Loves You And So Do I

Don’t Be Another Brick In The Wall

After working in the addiction and recovery field for several years, I’ve noticed something very critical.  There is a place and time when the person who is in treatment begins to make progress in their recovery.  This comes when their mental and emotional being begins to heal, allowing them to start seeing the big picture of their life.  While in this process, they begin to come across obstacles, barriers, and obstructions that attempt to stop them from reaching the point of breakthrough.  Some, not all, may never push down the walls of their life.  Some, when things become too hard, quit and go back to what is easy, what they are used to, what they know.  Proverbs 26:11 KJV, “As a dog returns to his own vomit, so a fool repeats his folly.”

In life, we all come across hard times, challenges or obstacles.  It can be a bad report from the doctor, a failed marriage, job loss or financial trouble.  These are all walls that keep us from God’s best in our lives.  The word “wall” is defined as: to enclose, shut off, divide or border (limit your access to.)  So the wall comes to separate you from your goals and dreams of life.  But the good news is that God said that we can win and tear down every wall of life.  Mark 11:23 & 24, “For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, “be removed and be cast into the sea,” and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.  Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.”

The wall may separate you from you goal, but not the goal giver.  Genesis 39:19-21, “So it was, when his master heard the word which his wife spoke to him saying, “Your servant did to me after this manner” that his anger was aroused.  Then Joseph’s master took him and put him into prison, a place where the king’s prisoners were confined.  And he was there in the prison.  But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him mercy, and He gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison.”  The first thing is, when you’re behind the wall, you’re not alone.  God is with us.  He will show us mercy and favor in spite the wall.

Your wall is not “an American Idol.”  People love watching American Idol to see who the next big star is going to be.  They talk about it at work, they talk about it with friends, they text in their votes.  And when the idol is chosen, they buy their cd’s, go to their concerts and just talk about how much they love this idol.  People do the same thing with their walls.  They talk about the problem, not the solution.  Jesus only spoke the solution, Mark 11:13-14, 20-24, “And seeing a fig tree having leaves, He went to see if perhaps He would find something on it.  When He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs.  In response Jesus said to it, “Let no one eat fruit from you ever again.”  And His disciples heard it.”  Now in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots.  And Peter, remembering, said to Him, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree which You cursed has withered away.  So Jesus answered and said to them, “Have faith in God.  For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, “be removed and be cast into the sea,” and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.  Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.”  See, Jesus never idolized his problem, He only spoke the solution.  He never spoke about the wall, He spoke to the wall and got the desired results.


Your wall needs to hear your shout.  It amazes me how many of us will allow our thoughts to run our minds.  A mirage for negative and defeated thoughts that keep us from the victory on the other side of the wall.  When your wall begins to shout defeat to you, you shout your victory in Christ Jesus to that wall.  Joshua 6:5 & 20, “It shall come to pass, when they make a long blast with the ram’s horn, and when you hear the sound of the trumpet, that all the people shall shout with a great shout; then the wall of the city will fall down flat.  And the people shall go up every man straight before him.”  “So the people shouted when the priests blew the trumpets.  And it happened when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat.  Then the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city.”

When your wall is shouting at you, you shout back at your wall!

God loves you and so do I!

WHO'S IN THE LEAD

Ok, I like Nascar. Not enough to call myself a fan, but I know most of the drivers and how the point system works. Now with last years' point system, if you had enough top 10 finishes, including wins, you stood a better chance of winning the overall championship than if you had winsbut no top 10 finishes. For example, last year, Denny Hamlin won more Spirit Cup races, 10 total, than any other driver. But Jimmy Johnson, who had the second most with 9, had more top 10 finishes in the series and playoff than Hamlin. Jimmy Johnson became a 5 time champion. Hamlin won more races, but johnson won the overall championship. So who was in the lead?     That's a question we need to ask ourselves every morning before we let our feet hit the floor. Every morning when I wake up, there a war going on inside of me, between God and the devil, both trying to gain influence in my thoughts, actions and emotions. But thank God, years ago I made Jesus christ the Lord and Savior of my life. So the devil may try to gain ground or win in areas of my life, but God the overall lead in my life. Psalm 5:8 "Lead me, O Lord, in your righteousness because of my enemies; make your way straight before my face." Giving God total access to your life lets him lead your life.  If you're in the lead postion of your life, you're heading for a crash. In Nascar, every driver has a crew chief. The crew chief leads the crew and sits up high off the track to see the overall race. It's gives him an advantage in seeing the whats going on on the track so he can relay information to the driver, keeping the driver from getting into trouble or crashing. So too,the Lord operates as the crew chief in our lives. He sits up high to see the big picture of the race of our lives. He leads us out of the dangers and obstacles of our life. Psalm 23:2 " He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters." If we don't let the crew chief, Jesus lead us in the race of our lives....crash and burn, our lives will be. If your running out of gas, don't panic. GET TO THE PIT! If a driver is in the race but begins to experience trouble with his car, he gets to the pit to see the "pit crew". The pit crew does everything to get the car restored and running right from gas to new tires to taking out the dents or even getting the driver something cold to drink. Jesus does the same thing for us. Psalm 23:3 " He restore my soul, He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name sake." Joel 2:25 "So I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the crawling locust, the consuming locust, and the chewing locust, and the chewing locust, my great army which I sent among you." God will fill you up and restore you so you can finish the race strong. When Jesus is in the lead of your life, you will always finish in victory lane. Every winning driver must drive to victory lane so he can officially be declared the winner. In victory lane he receive his prize, the trophy, money and congratulations from his team and well wishers. When God is the leader in the race of our lives, he will always put us in victory lane. When we trust Him with our lives, he will give us victory in our lives. 1 John 5:4 "For whatever is born of God overcometh the world; and this is the victory that overcometh the world even our faith." He gives us the victory to win the race every time.  The victory is always yours. But the glory for your victory must go to Him. Now this is where we must stay out of trouble. The victory and benefits of the victory belong to you. But the glory and praise belongs to Him. Wherever I pray for victory in an area of my life, I always ask Him for the victory and the benefit, but proclaim that he get all the praise and glory. When he gets the praise and the glory, people will be drawn to Him and not me. Our victory serves as a witness of His goodness. 2 Corinthains 2:14 "But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumph [as trophies of Chirst's victory] and though us spread and makes evident the fragrance of the knowledge of God everywhere."  When people see you winning every race in life, and doing it with God leading you all the way, they will want what you've got. And when they come to you, you can share with them about Jesus, WHO"S IN THE LEAD OF YOUR LIFE! God loves you and so do I.  Please read, meditate and pray these scriptures: Gensis 28:20-22, Romans 8:14, Psalm 23:2-3, Isaiah 48:17 and John 16:13.

The Driving Force of Consistency

Consistency – Steadfast adherence to the same principle, course, form,

a firmness in what you believe.

Every business, every leader, every organization, all have something that they do well.  Something they always do.  They walk in the principle of consistency.  What is consistency?

Abraham is called the father of many nations, and knew how to operate in consistency.  Let’s look at Hebrews 6:13-15,  Abraham received the promise of God by being consistent in what he believed.  He waited long and endured patiently. 

Now waiting long and enduring patiently is not like waiting for a long time, in a long line, at lunch time, at your favorite fast food joint.  Waiting while the 2 people behind the counter are more interested in discussing what their plans are for the weekend than taking your order.  No, the waiting here, means that while you are waiting for the promise, you are doing the will of God.  Calling someone that God told you to call and say God loves you.  Picking someone up for church or helping someone out who’s in a bind.  Buying food for someone who had a need.  Waiting on God is waiting on, or serving others. 

Former Super Bowl championship coach, and author of the book Uncommon, Tony Dungy, said, “Start with Matthew 6:33, Seek first His kingdom.”  Take a few moments to be quiet and spend time with God.  He will lessen your worries about tomorrow and release you from the breathless pace of the world’s urgent priorities.  Dedicating a few hours of your time for the priorities God has entrusted to you, may not seem significant right now.  But to those who need you, it could make all the difference in their lives, and yours.

Consistency does not give room for retreat, but creates room for advancement.  Hebrews 10:35-39, staying consistent in our conviction, our principle in God, builds our faith causing us to advance and see the promise of God in our lives.

Don’t lose your consistency!  Don’t let the little hidden things keep you from reaching you consistency and receiving the promise of God.  1 Corinthians 5:5-7

Clean out any and all sin that stops you from being consistent to cry out to God.  Ask Him to take them from you.  Cast down wrong thoughts, turn loose wrong desires, so you can be consistent in the things you do for God and others.

God loves you and so do I