This Ain't That!

2 Corinthians 10:3-5
New International Version (NIV)
³ For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. ⁴ The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. ⁵ We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
A lot of times when we get into fights or disagreements, what we are fighting about is not even the issue. This ain't that! There is a deeper issue or stronghold at work that causes people to be at odds. Our natural tendency is to want to fight against those people physically. We want to put our hands on somebody but this aint that!

1. Our weapons are not worldly but ours are spiritual and have divine power to demolish strongholds. We must make sure we are prayed up so that we can properly discern between this and that. Someone might be angry at you over some kind of interaction but that particular interaction is not “that” their jealousy is “this” stronghold that must be demolished through prayer.
2. We demolish arguments and every pretense. You can’t win arguments by arguing. You win by letting God have it and letting your actions of Love and maturity speak for you. This Ain’t that!
3. We take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. All day long we have to have our spiritual filters on to capture negative thoughts to make them obedient to Christ by reading God’s word and being led by the Spirit.

Dear God,

Help me to fight in the Spirit and not in my flesh. Give me the victory over dark powers and principalities without ruining relationships. Give me the discernment to know the difference between this and that.
In Jesus Name,

Amen

Watch God Do It!

1 Samuel 6:8-9
New International Version (NIV)
8 Take the ark of the Lord and put it on the cart, and in a chest beside it put the gold objects you are sending back to him as a guilt offering. Send it on its way, 9 but keep watching it. If it goes up to its own territory, toward Beth Shemesh, then the Lord has brought this great disaster on us. But if it does not, then we will know that it was not his hand that struck us but that it happened to us by chance.”

There is a connection to what we hold on to and what we release that determines what God decides to do in our lives. Sometimes, what we hold on to brings calamity and what we release can bring healing but you have to keep watching to see God move on your behalf.

The Philistines had taken that which did not belong to them. They had taken the Ark of the Covenant which represented the Presence of God for the people of Israel. The Ark was Holy and was only to be handled by the priests and the people who were in covenant with God. As a result of it being mishandled by the Philistines, God had infected the Philistines with a curse of Tumors and Rats.

When we mishandle the presence of God it can negatively impact our lives. When we treat the presence of God with contempt our lives can be cursed and not blessed.

The Philistines decided it was time to send the Ark of God back but they had to send back a gold guilt offering with it. They sent 5 gold rats and 5 gold tumors symbolic of what was eating at them and stealing their prosperity. What are some of the rats and tumors you need to release out of your life? What rat has been allowed to eat away at your self-esteem? What tumor is soaking up all of your Godly resources because it’s been allowed to set up inside you? If we are going to be healed then we have to release:

1. What does not belong to you. You can’t hold on to that which does not belong to you? God even warned the Israelites when they held onto that which is Holy to God, their tithe, and did not give it to him they would experience a curse. We can’t steal from God and be blessed.
2. We need to release grateful giver and not a guilty giver. The Philistines sent the Ark away with guilt offerings of 5 gold rats and tumors. Since Jesus came into our lives he removed our guilt. We don’t have to give guilt offerings but we should give offerings because we are grateful. 2 Corinthians 9:6-7 Remember: A stingy planter gets a stingy crop; a lavish planter gets a lavish crop. I want each of you to take plenty of time to think it over, and make up your own mind what you will give. That will protect you against sob stories and arm-twisting. God loves it when the giver delights in the giving.
3. Keep Watching your gift. The Philistines hitched the ark to Cows that had never plowed and had just given birth. They knew if these cows pulled this Ark back to the Israelites on their own then this had to be God. When you give your offering, just sit back and Watch God work. When you give for the right reason and to the right place your gift has to get to where it’s supposed to go.

2 Corinthians 9:12 This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of the Lord’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God.

Dear God,

I’m waiting and watching, knowing that which I’ve given to you will accomplish what I sent it out to do. It’s not by chance but it’s by faith that I release my gifts to you and I believe it will come back to me, pressed down, shaken together and running over.

In Jesus Name,
Amen

Don't Stop Believing

2 Corinthians 4:4 the god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

When Jesus was about to be crucified standing before Pontius Pilate, he had a chance to be released by Pilate. Jesus told him that he had been sent by God to reveal the truth and everyone on the side of truth would listen to his voice. Pilate asked Jesus, “What is the truth?” Pilate was standing in the face of the Son of God who is the way the, the Truth, and the life. He was looking at the Truth but could not see it. Pilate was so caught up in his occupation, pleasing the people, the cultural pull of Rome that he could not even see the truth standing before him.
It’s no different today. Google has made everyone an expert on their version of the truth. We have “Wicklepedia-ed “ our way to our own version of truth. In the times of Judges it says that every man did as he saw right in his own eyes because they had no king. We have dethroned Truth and have been tossed by every wind of new teaching and doctrine. Truth is not a fact to be found but a person to be known. 
One of the most educated of men, the Apostle Paul, was formerly a highly educated Pharisee who persecuted those who followed Jesus. He could not stand those that followed Jesus because he believed the early Christians to be a misguided cult, until he had an encounter with Jesus on the Road to Damascus to arrest more Christians. When the resurrected Jesus threw Saul off his “high horse of reason” Saul asked, “Who are you Lord?” Jesus said, “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting.” Saul was ordered to go to a street called straight and he waited there until Barnabas came to see him and something like scales fell from his eyes. Saul became Paul and one of the most successful Apostles writing 13 Epistles in the Bible.

We are in danger of becoming Paul in reverse. The more we listen to the ‘gods’ of this age, reason, mythology, atheists …the more we are blinded to truth. The devil is the father of lies and he makes you believe the truth is a lie and that a lie is the truth. Jesus said, “you shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free.” The word Know implies relationship. The only way to know truth is to be in relationship with Jesus Christ.

1. Seek Jesus face not just his hands. It is only through prayer and spending time with Jesus that he reveals who he is.
2. Fast and pray. After Saul was knocked off his “high horse” he had to go lay in darkness without eating. It was there that he was enlightened. Some people think the more they read the more they are enlightened. The more you hunger and thirst for righteousness the more enlightened you will be by God. When Jesus was asked by his Disciples if he was hungry because he had not eaten, Jesus replied, “I have food that you know not of, my food is to do the will of my father.” Hunger for Jesus.
3. Don’t be tossed to and fro by every new teaching. You have to make sure that your anchor holds the solid rock, that rock is Jesus. Many people fall away from Christ because they do not hold close to him through a personal relationship. Hold to God’s unchanging hand.

Dear God,


I pray that you would keep your children from being deceived away from truth. Help us to know Jesus, to see him face to face. Jesus show yourself to us so that we will know the difference between the truth and a lie.


In Jesus Name,


Amen

Unveiled Faces

2 Corinthians 3:18
And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s Glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing Glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
When you are in Christ you don’t have anything to hide. Some people feel like they have to put up a front or wear a mask because they don’t want people to see who they really are, you are not really seen until you can remove your veil and be your authentic self in Christ Jesus.
God wants you to be who you “is” not who you “ain’t.
When Moses received the Ten Commandments from God he came down the Mountain with his face glowing. The people were so intimidated that he had to veil his face to make them comfortable. How many of us have had to cover up God’s Glory to make other people comfortable?
The light was a reminder of God’s Judgment and caused the people to fear God’s Glory but when we are in relationship with Jesus our glow is a reminder of his Grace. When you truly reflect the Glory of God and you have a relationship with Jesus your light actually draws people without intimidating them.

In order to adequately reflect his Grace on our face we should:

1. Unveil our faces. There’s no need to hide when our conscience is clear in Christ. Christians should be approachable and accessible. People should be able to see God in us.
2. Reflect the Lord’s Glory. The light that God gives us is a reflection of him and not us. If we are shining it’s because we are standing in the light of Jesus. We have no light of our own. Only what we do for Christ will last.
3. Be transformed into his likeness. The More time we spend with Jesus the more we should look like him and people recognize us less and less.
4. Be filled with the Spirit. The way that we continue to shine and live unveiled lives is when we are led and filled by the Holy Spirit. We have to make sure that we feed the Spirit more than we feed the flesh.

Dear God,

I pray that you would remove the veil from my face and let my authentic self shine through. Help me to decrease so that you can increase. This little light of mine I’m going to let shine everywhere I go. Please remove my veil even as you transform me into the likeness of my lord and savior.
In Jesus Name,
Amen

Can You Keep Up?

Galatians 5:25
Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.

When you are a leader and you look behind you to see if anyone is following and there isn’t, you are not leading you are just taking a long walk.

Whenever I am walking with my wife or children, I always make sure I adjust my pace so they can keep up. I have the tendency to walk fast because I want to be on time. When we all know what time it is it’s important for all of us to keep up with the leader even as he or she adjusts to help us keep up.

The Holy Spirit is our leader and he is trying to get us somewhere on time but we must keep up. How do we keep up?

1. Consecrate your mind so the Holy Spirit has a clear path. We have to get rid of the clutter and the mess so the Holy Spirit can function as he should in a clean temple.
2. Be obedient to what the Holy Spirit says. So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. Galatians 5:16 The Holy Spirit can “say” but we must “obey” to keep up.
3. Don’t get distracted while following. Yield not to temptation for yielding is sin. Keep your eyes on the prize and keep it moving.
4. Follow the Narrow Path. Don’t abuse your Freedom. You my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature rather, serve one another in love. Galatians 5:13

Dear God,

Help me to keep in step with you today. Lead me in the path of righteousness for your names sake.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

Don't Move That Boundary!

It’s there for a Reason

Deuteronomy 19:14
Don’t move your neighbor’s boundary markers, the longstanding landmarks set up by your pioneer ancestors defining their property.

There has been much debate over the removal of the name of Nathan Bedford Forest’s name from city parks in Memphis. He was a confederate General who led a massacre of a surrendered fort consisting of mostly black Union soldiers 40 miles outside of Memphis. The Mississippi River ran red with blood of men who had surrendered but were shot, burnt, and even buried alive at the orders of Nathan Bedford Forest. Forest was also credited with founding the Ku Klux Klan, a terrorist organization that would continue the fight against free blacks after the war, lynching, burning, and murdering those that got out of place.

Moving that boundary stone has upset many on both sides. Some city council members wanted to add the name of Ida B. Wells to the sign of a land previously dedicated to a man that hated and murdered her people. Ida B. Wells grew up in Holly Springs, MS and came to Memphis to teach to take care of her siblings. She became an prolific investigative journalist who wrote about the atrocities of lynching after three of her friends were taken out of jail and lynched for defending their successful grocery store. She was so devastated that she wrote that blacks should leave Memphis because it would never be safe for black people. In the late 1800’s, 6,000 people including Wells left Memphis.

I don’t think they should move the landmark of Nathan Bedford Forest, let it be a reminder of what happened in Memphis. If you want to set up a new boundary in tribute to Ida B. Wells, establish new boundaries with a unified School district. When Ida B. Wells came to work as a school teacher in Memphis she did so because in Holly Springs where she taught, white teachers made $80 a month while black teachers made $30 a month. In Memphis she found “more” equitable opportunities to teach.

This School merger is a way for residents of Shelby County to show where their boundaries are or where their hearts are. You can change the name of a park but you can’t change the nature of a boundary.

What are we really saying with these new districts or boundaries some of these schools districts are proposing? Why haven’t we gone on a national search for a new superintendent instead of imposing a local “Master” over the new “unified” school board?

Don’t move it, lets see if the new boundary resembles the old ones. Let’s see if we have made progress or are we still laying siege to an already surrendered people whose blood is not in the Mississippi River but instead runs down the streets of Memphis because of poverty, lack of opportunities, and lack of education.

When you find an ancient boundary study it, learn from it, then govern yourself accordingly so that you will not repeat any massacres. It’s there for a reason.

Dear God,

Help us to deal with our old boundaries that cover up past atrocities. Help us to create new boundaries that speak to where we want to go. Heal our wounds of past offenses and help us to create a city that speaks to the unity and diversity of a people who have heeded their boundaries but created new ones.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

It's Time to Break Camp!

Deuteronomy 1:6
The Lord our God said to us at Horeb, “you have stayed long enough at this mountain, break camp and advance into the hill country of the Giants.

If you are not careful you can get comfortable camping out in a place of good enough and miss the place of Greater than. God has so much more in store for us but we’ve been camping out in a place that is just short of our potential. Our fear and disobedience in facing the challenges of our new place has caused us to camp out in the place of toxic contemplation and God has to remind us we’ve been here too long.

Israel should have been in the Promised Land by now but they let the negative reports of Giants and fortified cities make them feel inferior. It’s amazing how God can show us something and then we let the negative opinions of others sway us into a place of fear and second guessing. As a result of the fearful opinion of the ten spies and total disregard for the vision of Joshua and Caleb, the people decided to camp outside the Promised Land. God said, ‘since you won’t go, I’ll keep you out. God said, he would let a new generation go in. (Verses 39-40)

When the old generation decided to try and go fight anyway after the fact, they were defeated and came back licking their wounds and had to camp out. Moses tells the younger generation, ‘you’ve been here too long. We’ve been broke too long. Too many have been incarcerated in our inner cities too long, our children have been gunned down for too long, we’ve been talking about doing something in our community for too long!”
It’s time to…

1. Break Camp. When you break camp you pick up your tents, and start packing up what was supposed to be temporary to move on to what is permanent. When you break camp you leave your place of comfort in pursuit of that which is better and sustainable.
2. Advance. It’s time to go forward and stop being stagnant. God’s people should be making progress and not camping out. What is it that you should be doing but you know you’ve been camping? Is there a degree you need to finish? Is there a book you need to write? Is there a language you need to take?
3. Go Face your Giants. Sometimes, the challenges in front of us seem bigger than us but we must believe that the bigger they are the harder they fall. If God is for you then who can be against you?!

Dear God,

I’m ready to break Camp! I’m not afraid to advance and face my giants. Just go with me, give me favor, and the strength to fight. I believe you are going to give me what you promised me. It’s time to Break Camp.

In Jesus Name,
Amen