Proverbs 6:16-19 (ERV)

The Lord hates these seven things:
17 eyes that show pride,
tongues that tell lies,
hands that kill innocent people,
18 hearts that plan evil things to do,
feet that run to do evil,
19 witnesses in court who tell lies,
and anyone who causes family members to fight.

Proverbs 16:18

Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.

Pride

If we survey the list of things God hates, pride is right at the top of the list. God hates pride and arrogance above everything else. We need to guard our hearts against pride and arrogance. Many times when we see someone else's weaknesses we are in danger of falling into pride regarding our own strengths. We are in this together. If one falls as a result of their shortcomings we who are standing strong should rush to their rescue. However, many times we gloat in pride over the fact that we would never stoop to their level. Many times our prayers can be a manifestation of our spiritual pride. We can be gloating over the fact that we are not like those poor tormented souls who fall. What amazes me is that pride is on top of the list of things that God hates, even above hands that shed innocent blood. God considers pride worse than murder. This is something many Christians fall into. We have to take extra precaution to guard our hearts against this vicious vice. Take heed to God's warning "Pride comes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall" Guard your hearts and minds against falling into pride over our own super spirituality. Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God and He will lift you up.

Philippians 4:4

Rejoice in the Lord always; and again I say, “Rejoice!”

Philippians 4:4 (Phillips)

Delight yourselves in God, yes, find your joy in him at all times. Have a reputation for gentleness, and never forget the nearness of your Lord.

Nehemiah 8:10 (TLB)

it is a time to celebrate with a hearty meal and to send presents to those in need, for the joy of the Lord is your strength. You must not be dejected and sad!”

Colossians 3:16(CEV)

With thankful hearts, sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God.

Rejoice

It is truly a joy to serve the Lord. Sometimes Christians are considered boring people and Christianity is for those who abhor "fun". Although sin can bring temporal pleasure, true joy comes when we follow God's commands. Remember we are God's creation and knowing our creator brings us true satisfaction. Granted sometimes religious rituals such as burning incense or following some priest out there speaking a language we do not understand can be a drag, knowing Christ for who He is and what He has done for us is truly joyful. Only He can satisfy the longing of your soul. Having said that, it has to be noted that the Christian life has it's challenges and times of trial and hardship. When that happens we do as King David in 1 Samuel 30:6 ..."David encouraged himself in the Lord". Another example is found in the book of Acts when Paul and Silas were imprisoned for preaching the Gospel. Acts 16:25 But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns unto God, and the prisoners were listening to them; When we take our focus off our troubling circumstances and put our focus on the Lord and on what He has done for us we bring a breakthrough in our situation. Acts 16:26 "And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s bands were loosed." Singing praises to God when wrongfully imprisoned brought freedom not only to Paul and Silas but to the rest of the prisoners as well. Praise ushers in the presence of God and when God steps in satan's assaults must stop. In closing, if you are facing difficult situations or if everything is hunky dory Rejoice in the Lord, Sing praises to God the Father, Magnify the Most High God, for He indeed is worthy of all our love and adoration and He will step in and turn things around for good.Romans 8:28 "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose." Amen

1 Peter 4:8

And above all things be earnest in your love among yourselves, for love covers a multitude of sins.

Genesis 9:20-23

20 Noah, who was a farmer, was the first man to plant a vineyard. 21 After he drank some of the wine, he became drunk, took off his clothes, and lay naked in his tent. 22 When Ham, the father of Canaan, saw that his father was naked, he went out and told his two brothers. 23 Then Shem and Japheth took a robe and held it behind them on their shoulders. They walked backward into the tent and covered their father, keeping their faces turned away so as not to see him naked

Covering

In the passage above from Genesis we see Noah discovers alcohol and uncovers himself while drunk. Sin strips us off the covering. Earlier in the book of Genesis when Adam and Eve sinned, they realized they needed a covering. They made themselves a covering of fig leaves. God had to replace that covering with animal skins. Hebrews 9:22 In fact, according to the Torah, almost everything is purified with blood; indeed, without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins. In the old covenant the blood of an animal had to be shed to obtain forgiveness. Once the animals were killed, the penalty of sin was transferred to the animal which was killed and forgiveness was applied to us the guilty ones. However, Hebrews 10:4, Philips translation: The Law possessed only a dim outline of the benefits Christ would bring and did not actually reproduce them. Consequently it was incapable of perfecting the souls of those who offered their regular annual sacrifices. For if it had, surely the sacrifices would have been discontinued—on the grounds that the worshipers, having been really cleansed, would have had no further consciousness of sin. In practice, however, the sacrifices amounted to an annual reminder of sins; for the blood of bulls and goats cannot really remove the guilt of sin. Christ was the sacrificial lamb that took away the sin of the world. John 1:29. When Christ took away our sins He made us a covering of righteousness. While satan uses sin to strip us and expose our weakness, God uses Christ's sacrifice to make us a robe of righteousness. As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us. We as believers should do as Shem and Japheth did when we see a fellow christian in sin, cover it with the blood of Jesus. It is in satan's nature to tempt us to sin/fail and then gloat over our failures. However it's Christ's nature to forgive. This does not mean we condone or agree with disobedience however if someone falls then we are there to help them get back on their feet again. In the passage from Genesis above we see that Ham was cursed because he exposed his father and Shen and Japheth were blessed because they covered their father after he fell. Let us strive to cover and help each other in this journey of Faith. To all you drinkers out there it was Noah who discovered wine but Christ gives us the new wine, which is the Holy Spirit. Ephesians 5:18 And don’t get drunk with wine, which leads to reckless living, but be filled by the Spirit:.

1 Thessalonians 5:18

give thanks to God no matter what circumstances you find yourself in. (This is God’s will for all of you in Jesus the Anointed.)

Colossians 3:17

Whatever you do, in word or in deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father, through him.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving should be an attitude of our hearts every day of our lives. Psalm 92:1 It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord, and to sing praises unto Thy name, O Most High, There are innumerable verses in the Bible illustrating the importance of Thanksgiving. In the words of Madame Blueberry, veggie tales, a thankful heart is a happy heart. An old gospel song goes as follows: Count your blessings name them one by one, count your blessings see what God has done.
When upon life’s billows you are tempest-tossed,
When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost,
Count your many blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord has done.
Many of the challenges we face in life will be greatly alleviated when we have an attitude of gratitude. Being thankful for all our many blessings keeps our focus off the problems and places it on the fulfilled promises. Once we step back and take a look at all God has done for us and where He has brought us from, we realize that He can see us through what we are facing today. We need to remind ourselves that regardless of the problems we face today, God has not fallen off His throne. He still reigns and rules and He is never stumped. My focus should be on aligning my life to His will, outlined in the Bible, and let Him handle things too difficult for me to handle. God is good and His mercy endures forever. He will never leave me nor forsake me even until the end of time. In closing, keep things in the proper perspective. Give thanks for what God has brought you through and give thanks for what He will bring you through. Have an attitude of gratitude. Amen.

Psalm 51:10

Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.

Psalm 51:10 (GNT)

Create a pure heart in me, O God, and put a new and loyal spirit in me.

Jeremiah 31:33

But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel, After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts, and will be their God, and they shall be my people.

Ezekiel 36:26

A new heart also will I give you and a new spirit will I put within you; and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh.

Ezekiel 36:26 (CEV)

I will take away your stubborn heart and give you a new heart and a desire to be faithful. You will have only pure thoughts,

A new heart

We are all born with a nature to disobey God inherently and our heart is consequently hardened and calloused towards God. Jeremiah 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it? The natural heart(our thought pattern and our way of doing things, not the organ which pumps blood) is by default "desperately wicked" ad if we are honest with ourselves, we will agree with this statement. King David cried out to God in Psalm 51, after committing adultry and murder,"O God create in me a clean heart and put a loyal spirit within me. Contrary to popular belief sin does not originate from outside as a result of external temptations, it originates from a deceitful heart and spirit. However God promises in Jeremiah 33:3 He will put within us a new heart of flesh and will write His laws within our hearts. As long as we cry out to God, like King David, to create within us a clean heart, God promises to answer and will do as he promised in Jeremiah 31:33. This is not to say that once we cried out and accepted the forgiveness of Christ and have a new heart within us, we will never encounter temptation to sin. 1 Peter 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary the devil walketh about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. The devil always throws temptations across our paths and if we succumb to them he is pleased. However Psalm 46:1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Prior to succumbing to temptation we cry our to God for help who is always ready to come to our aid. And if after all this we still succumb to temptation and disobey God, then If we acknowledge our sins, he is faithful and just, to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.1 John 1:9. We do not need to beat ourselves up for messing up and be riddled with guilt and condemnation and feelings of unworthiness. We accept God's forgiveness and move on with our lives. In closing let the cry of heart be that of King David in Psalm 51:10 Create in me a clean heart O God, renew a right spirit within me...Cast me not away from thy presence O Lord, take not thine Holy Spirit from me" Amen

Psalm 1:3

And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither, and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

Deuteronomy 16:15

because the Lord your God will bless you in all your produce, and in all the works of your hands. Therefore, you will indeed rejoice.

Joshua 1:8

This Book of the Law must not depart from your mouth. Meditate on it day and night so that you may act carefully according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way successful, and you will be wise.

Success

The above verses provide a few keys to success. The Lord's hand of blessing will be on us as long as we obey what he has outlined in the Bible. The biblical principles God instructs us with are not there to burden us or weigh us down but rather to guide us and to help us steer off the path to trouble. Jabez cried out to God in 1 Chronicles 4:10 Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, saying, “Oh that You would indeed bless me and enlarge my border [property], and that Your hand would be with me, and You would keep me from evil so that it does not hurt me!” And God granted his request. As long as our cry to God is to keep us from all evil, God will grant us our request. Having God's hand upon us ensures blessing, mercy, grace, protection, health and prosperity. We could all benefit from having God's hand on our lives. King David cried out in repentance in Psalm 51:11 Cast me not away from Thy presence, and take not Thy holy Spirit from me. As long as the Spirit of the Lord is upon us He will definitely bless the work of our hands and success will follow. Although God's measure of success does not coincide with man's definition of success, we will be blessed when we obey His commands. Biblical principles are there to guide us to victory through the storms of life. As the Psalmist says in Psalm 118, The Lord is good and His mercy endures forever. Also in Psalm 34:8 O taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man that trusteth in Him! We will be blessed if we continue to place our trust and hope in Him. In closing I pray that the Lord God of Abraham will bless the work of your hands and cause you to prosper in Biblical terms. 3 John 1:2 Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth. Amen

Proverbs 17: 22

A merry heart does good, like medicine, But a broken spirit dries the bones.

Psalm 51:11

Let me again experience the joy of your deliverance! Sustain me by giving me the desire to obey!

Nehemiah 8:10

Nehemiah said, “Go and enjoy the good food and sweet drinks. Give some food and drinks to those who didn’t prepare any food. Today is a special day to our Lord. Don’t be sad, because the joy of the Lord will make you strong.”

Joy

As we see in the verses above the Lord gives us joy and wants us to be joyful. Even at the birth of Jesus the angels announced We bring you good news of great joy. When we realize where we were headed prior to us accepting the forgiveness of Jesus and where we are headed now to the eternal city, it should make our hearts glad. Ecclesiastes 2:24 There is nothing better for people than to eat and drink, and to find enjoyment in their labor. This too, I perceived, is from the hand of God. We need God's hand of favour upon us in order to be able to enjoy our work and enjoy our food. Without God in our life there is an emptiness in our souls and even our laughter is hollow and lacks true pleasure. Since it was God who created us, He knows what's best for us and gives us instructions on how we are to run our lives. When we follow what laws God has outlined in His word we are able to enjoy our lives better. 1 Peter 1:8 Without having seen him, you love him. Without seeing him now, but trusting in him, you continue to be full of joy that is glorious beyond words. From the gospel song: It is joy unspeakable and full of glory,
Oh, the half has never yet been told.
I have found the pleasure I once craved,
It is joy and peace within;
Knowing Jesus brings joy and peace within. Externally we may have circumstances we all face but within we can experience peace and joy from God. In the words of the songwriter : I have found the joy no tongue can tell,
How its waves of glory roll;
It is like a great o’erflowing well,
Springing up within my soul.
Amen.

Matthew 9:9-13 (NTE)

9 As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax-office.
‘Follow me!’ he said to him. And he rose up and followed him.
10 When he was at home, sitting down to a meal, there were lots of tax-collectors and sinners there who had come to have dinner with Jesus and his disciples. 11 When the Pharisees saw it, they said to his disciples, ‘Why does your teacher eat with tax-collectors and sinners?’
12 Jesus heard them.
‘It isn’t the healthy who need a doctor,’ he said, ‘it’s the sick. 13 Go and learn what this saying means: “It’s mercy I want, not sacrifice.” My job isn’t to call upright people, but sinners.’

Forgiveness

In the above passage we see Jesus dining with tax collectors and other notorious sinners. This vexed the pharisees and the other religious people. Sometimes there is a conflict between religion and following in the footsteps of Jesus. Although we are not to participate in sinful activities such as extortion and other things which break the law of God we need to guard against self righteousness. Jesus' response to the pharisees: I did not come to ·invite [call] ·good people [the righteous; C meaning the “self-righteous” who feel no need to repent] but to invite [call] sinners [C those who recognize their need to repent].” God never turns away a repentant heart. Isaiah 57:15 says: I live in a high and holy place, but I also live with people who are humble and repentant, so that I can restore their confidence and hope. Psalm 34:18 The Lord is close to those who are of a broken heart and saves such as are crushed with sorrow for sin and are humbly and thoroughly penitent. A truly repentant person is close to Jesus' heart and He is a God of second chances. Psalm 103:12 As far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our sins from us. He does NOT keep a ledger of all our sins and transgressions so he can exact a punishment from us for each of our many failures. Isaiah 1:18 Come, let’s talk this over, says the Lord; no matter how deep the stain of your sins, I can take it out and make you as clean as freshly fallen snow. Even if you are stained as red as crimson, I can make you white as wool! God is in the business of restoration. Once we accept the forgiveness offered to all, as a result of Jesus' sacrifice on the cross, all our transgressions are wiped clean. A gospel song goes as follows: Jesus keep me near the cross, there a precious fountain, free to all a healing stream flows from Calvary's mountain. Jesus died to release us from Satan's clutches. Luke 7:34 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look at him! ·He eats too much and drinks too much wine [ A glutton and a drunkard], and he is a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Finally note that Jesus was accused of a lot of things by religious people and he is the one to offer forgiveness of sin to the whole world. John 3:17: God did not send his Son into the world to ·judge the world guilty [condemn the world], but to save the world through him.

2 Kings 6:13-17 (ERV)

13 The king of Aram said, “Find Elisha, and I will send men to catch him.”
The servants told the king of Aram, “Elisha is in Dothan.”
14 Then the king of Aram sent horses, chariots, and a large army to Dothan. They arrived at night and surrounded the city. 15 Elisha’s servant got up early that morning. When he went outside, he saw an army with horses and chariots all around the city.
The servant said to Elisha, “Oh, my master, what can we do?”
16 Elisha said, “Don’t be afraid. The army that fights for us is larger than the army that fights for Aram.”
17 Then Elisha prayed and said, “Lord, I ask you, open my servant’s eyes so that he can see.”
The Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and the servant saw the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire. They were all around Elisha.

Invisible Army

In the passage above we see Elisha, the prophet, surrounded by a vast army of Syrian soldiers. Many times we may find ourselves in similar situations, outnumbered by popular opinion, outnumbered by the circumstances against us, outnumbered by the "enemy's" onslaught against us. We may react to this like Gehazi did" What are we going to do now? we are in a pickle". However Elisha's reaction to that : In verse 16 Elisha informs Gehazi Elisha said, “Don’t be afraid. The army that fights for us is larger than the one against us. He saw in the spirit that there was an entire army fighting for them and that invisible angel army far outnumbered the visible Syrian army who came to capture them. Hebrews 11:1 Faith makes us sure of what we hope for and gives us proof of what we cannot see. We, as God's children, have an invisible army of angels fighting on our behalf. There is an army of fallen angels but God's holy angels outnumber the fallen angels 2 to 1. So when all hell breaks loose in our lives we need to do Colossians 3:2 Let heaven fill your thoughts; don’t spend your time worrying about things down here. When we seem to be overrun with a tide of adverse circumstances we calmly focus our attention on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our Faith. in closing in the words of James the apostle: My brothers and sisters, think of the various tests you encounter as occasions for joy. 3 After all, you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance. 4 Let this endurance complete its work so that you may be fully mature, complete, and lacking in nothing. James 1:2-4. Amen

1 Peter 4:12

Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you;

James 1:3 (GNT)

for you know that when your faith succeeds in facing such trials, the result is the ability to endure.

Ephesians 6:16 (TLB)

In every battle you will need faith as your shield to stop the fiery arrows aimed at you by Satan.

Fiery Trials

The Bible is full of verses which warn us ahead of time about trials we will all face. There is an old country and western song which goes as follows: I never promised you a rose garden. God did indeed place man in a garden, the garden of Eden, however as a result of Eve's disobedience we are no longer there. Now the enemy (Satan) is enraged against us and we need to actively resist him. He throws across our paths trials which are like flaming darts. In order for us to come through these trials victoriously we need to use the principles outlined in the Bible. We see in Ephesians 6:16 that we need to use our faith in God as a shield to deflect and out out the flaming darts. Also, we should expect this as Christians. We are now enlisted in God's Army. There is a gospel song which goes as follows: God's got an army marching through the land; Deliverance is their song and there's healing in their hands; Everlasting joy and gladness in their hearts; and in this army I've got a part. We do have a part in God's army. As soldiers for Christ we will be definitely a target for Satan and his stooges. Firstly, we should ensure that we are not caught by surprise when this happens. Secondly, we need to use our God given "weapons", faith, hope and love. We use faith as a shield knowing that what God has promised us in His book, He is capable of making it good. Thirdly, we need to be like Job, Job 23:10 Because he knows the road on which I travel, when he had tested me, I’ll come out like gold. Once we have gone through the "fiery trial" we will be like gold which has had all the impurities removed through the refiners fire. We all are like "diamonds in the rough". We need to go through a process of cleansing and refining before our beauty can be revealed. This process of refining happens when we go through trials.Joseph in the Bible said, What you have meant for evil, God has turned around for good. We may think that all hell is breaking loose and that the devil is doing a number on us, however, God uses the same circumstances to refine and polish our character and all the impurities are removed. 2 Corinthians 3: 18 But we Christians have no veil over our faces; we can be mirrors that brightly reflect the glory of the Lord. And as the Spirit of the Lord works within us, we become more and more like him. What the above verse means is this: The Holy Spirit changes us little by little till we become a reflection of the Lord's glory to the rest of the world. The Holy Spirit want's to make us more like Jesus and this transformation comes about as a result of us going through trials and coming out of them more and more like Jesus. Hebrews 12:4 In your struggle against sin, you haven’t resisted yet to the point of shedding blood, We all struggle against sin and many times succumb to sin and temptations, however we get our strength from the One who was victorious and cried out while hanging on the cross "Father forgive them, they don't know what they are doing." In closing,in the words of the Apostle Paul, 2 Corinthians 13:14 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen.

Matthew 2:2 (CEV)

They asked, “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We’ve seen his star in the east, and we’ve come to honor him.”

John 1:47-49 (NLT)

Jesus saw Nathanael coming to Him and said, “See! There is a true Jew. There is nothing false in him.” 48 Nathanael said to Jesus, “How do You know me?” Jesus answered him, “Before Philip talked to you, I saw you under the fig tree.” 49 Nathanael said to Him, “Teacher, You are the Son of God. You are the King of the Jews.”

Matthew 27:37

Above his head they placed the written notice stating the charge against him, THIS IS YESHUA THE KING OF THE JEWS

INRI

The acronym INRI represents the Latin inscription IESVS. NAZARENVS. REX. IVDÆORVM (Iesus Nazarenus, Rex Iudaeorum), in English reads as "Jesus the Nazarene, King of the Jews" (John 19:19). Jesus is the long anticipated Jewish Messiah. John 1:11 "He went to his own people, and his own people didn’t accept him." Jesus was a Jew and the only Jew who kept the law. Ephesians 2:15 He offered His body on the sacrificial altar to bring an end to the law’s ordinances and dictations that separated Jews from the outside nations. His desire was to create in His body one new humanity from the two opposing groups, thus creating peace. This does not mean that God's laws outlined in the Old Testament are invalid. Matthew 5:17-19Living Bible (TLB)
17 “Don’t misunderstand why I have come—it isn’t to cancel the laws of Moses and the warnings of the prophets. No, I came to fulfill them and to make them all come true. 18 With all the earnestness I have I say: Every law in the Book will continue until its purpose is achieved.[a] 19 And so if anyone breaks the least commandment and teaches others to, he shall be the least in the Kingdom of Heaven. But those who teach God’s laws and obey them shall be great in the Kingdom of Heaven.Matthew 5:17-19 says the law was completed in Jesus. We need to keep God's commandments however we need to realize that Salvation comes through the Jews, Yeshua (Hebrew name) or Jesus (Greek name). Christ's completed work on the cross is what enables us to keep the law. Eternal life is a gift from God and cannot be earned by our own goodness, however, once we have accepted the free gift of Salvation through Jesus we have the strength to keep God's laws. The 10 commandments are still to be kept today however the keeping of the law does not grant us an entry to heaven rather we need to put our trust in the One who fulfilled God's justice by dying on the cross for our sins. Trust Christ to bring you safely through all the trials of life to the other side, eternity in God's presence.

John 6:1-13

Later, Jesus went across Lake Galilee (also known as Lake Tiberias). 2 A great crowd of people followed him because they saw the miraculous signs he did in healing the sick. 3 Jesus went up on the side of the hill and sat there with his followers. 4 It was almost the time for the Jewish Passover festival.
5 Jesus looked up and saw a crowd of people coming toward him. He said to Philip, “Where can we buy enough bread for all these people to eat?” 6 He asked Philip this question to test him. Jesus already knew what he planned to do.
7 Philip answered, “We would all have to work a month to buy enough bread for each person here to have only a little piece!”
8 Another follower there was Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter. Andrew said, 9 “Here is a boy with five loaves of barley bread and two little fish. But that is not enough for so many people.”
10 Jesus said, “Tell everyone to sit down.” This was a place with a lot of grass, and about 5000 men sat down there. 11 Jesus took the loaves of bread and gave thanks for them. Then he gave them to the people who were waiting to eat. He did the same with the fish. He gave them as much as they wanted.
12 They all had plenty to eat. When they finished, Jesus said to his followers, “Gather the pieces of fish and bread that were not eaten. Don’t waste anything.” 13 So they gathered up the pieces that were left. The people had started eating with only five loaves of barley bread. But the followers filled twelve large baskets with the pieces of food that were left

Provision

After a busy time of preaching the friends of Jesus were being stressed out by the multitude of needs of the large crowd of people. They were getting frustrated and wanted to kick back and relax with Jesus. They asked Jesus to send the crowd away as they were tired of the crowd. So they said to Jesus " Please send this crowd away, we don't want to deal with this anymore, the people are hungry, we are exhausted, please let them go eat." Now Jesus' reply to their frustration and complaint was as follows: YOU FEED THEM. The disciples said "What???, we don't have anything ourselves. There's this boy with 2 small fish and 5 barley loaves. How is that going to help???" The boy was willing to give to Jesus all that he had. That's when the breakthrough came. Jesus saw the boy was not holding anything back. He gave his most important possession, (his lunch when he was starving himself). Sometimes Jesus does not require of us millions of dollars. He tests the condition of our hearts and sees if we are willing to meet the need of others when all we have for ourselves is so little. William Booth said (paraphrased) " it's not what we give that matters, it's what we have left over." As long as we surrender our minuscule possessions over to Jesus, He will multiply it to meet the needs of a multitude. Sometimes what we consider as nothing and insignificant may mean a lot to Jesus. We may not need a degree in food sciences or finance or law or anything like that. All He asks of us is the little we have, NOT in order to bankrupt us, however so that multitudes, INCLUDING ourselves will be satiated. There is a song in the world which goes as follows: I can't get no satisfaction". My response, come to Jesus and He will satisfy the longing in your soul.

Isaih 40:31

But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. KjV

But those who trust the Lord will find new strength. They will be strong like eagles soaring upward on wings; they will walk and run without getting tired. CEV

Strengthened

A songwriter says "Where do i go when I'm thirsty and dry, I go to the river and i shall find, rest for my soul and strength for my mind at the river" Many of us find ourselves in situations where we are thirsty and dry. We have given of ourselves for so long we have "run dry". So how do we refill ourselves? We do what is written by Isiah the prophet, we "wait on the Lord". A wise man said, waiting on the Lord is similar to a waitress waiting on a customer. We serve the Lord, see what He requires of us and then we do it. Sometimes all He may ask of us maybe to help a mother with her stroller off the bus or an elderly man pick up some change at a coffee shop. Other times he may want us to give up the extra piece of pie. At times he may require a far greater sacrifice. We need to read our Bibles and tune our hearts to hear instructions for our day. As long as we are actively serving the Lord He will strengthen us with power and might in the inner man.

Exodus 10:21-23 (GNT)

The Lord then said to Moses, “Raise your hand toward the sky, and a darkness thick enough to be felt will cover the land of Egypt.” 22 Moses raised his hand toward the sky, and there was total darkness throughout Egypt for three days. 23 The Egyptians could not see each other, and no one left his house during that time. But the Israelites had light where they were living.

Job 12:22 (VOICE)

Aspects of His deep wisdom that were hidden away, He shows in plain sight; darkness is brought into the light.

Daniel 2:22 (GNT)

He reveals things that are deep and secret; he knows what is hidden in darkness, and he himself is surrounded by light.

Clarity

In the passage above from the book of Exodus in the Bible, we see that when God wanted to free the Israeltes from Egyptian slavery, He brought darkness over all of Egypt. However as we read there was light in the house hold of the Israelites within Egypt. The passage in the book of Exodus regarding the freedom of the Israelites from Egyptian slavery is analogous to how Christ freed us from slavery to sin and Satan. Now we see in the world around us, a plague of spiritual darkness. People are groping about in the darkness not knowing right from wrong. Isiah 5:20 says "Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!" Most people in the world out there cannot discern right from wrong. There is a spiritual blindness afflicted upon the world by Satan and His cohorts. 2 Corinthians 4 :4 The god who rules this world has blinded the minds of unbelievers. They cannot see the light, which is the good news about our glorious Christ, who shows what God is like. However for believers in Christ the light has been turned on. As we see above in Exodus 10:23 The Egyptians could not see each other, and no one left his house during that time. But the Israelites had light where they were living. The Israelites had light where they were dwelling. We as believers are able to see God's plan of redemption clearly. As it says in Job 12: 22 Aspects of His deep wisdom that were hidden away, He shows in plain sight; darkness is brought into the light. And in Daniel 2:22 He reveals things that are deep and secret; he knows what is hidden in darkness, and he himself is surrounded by light. There are innumerable scriptures in the bible that illustrate to us this concept of the light Christ shines down on people who have accepted His forgiveness offered to us. How we are now in on all of God's plans and we see clearly and understand what God wants from us. There is this whole plethora of treasures which are available uniquely to those who have made the decision to follow Christ which is hidden from those who reject Him. Pray that the Lord will open the eyes of your heart so so can see the riches of His love, grace, mercy, peace and the innumerable riches He has for us in His Word, the Bible. There is no need to be groping about in the darkness any more not knowing right from wrong. Let Christ illuminate the darkness that has enveloped your souls and enter into the realm of Christ's blessings upon us. i urge you to "Taste and see that the Lord is good". Amen.

Genesis 2:16-17 (VOICE)

16 He made certain demands of the man regarding life in the garden.
God: Eat freely from any and all trees in the garden; 17 I only require that you abstain from eating the fruit of one tree—the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Beware: the day you eat the fruit of this tree, you will certainly die.

Genesis 3:4,5 VOICE

Serpent: 4 Die? No, you’ll not die. God is playing games with you. 5 The truth is that God knows the day you eat the fruit from that tree you will awaken something powerful in you and become like Him: possessing knowledge of both good and evil.

Temptations

To summarize the above chapters from the Bible, God placed Adam and Eve in an ideal setting, the Garden of Eden, no work required, everything thy needed provided for them, unbroken fellowship with God, talking to God in the cool of the day, naked and not ashamed, at their disposal an array of fruits from every tree in the Garden, EXCEPT one. It could not get any better than that...an idyllic environment. What else could man desire? Nothing really. Enter Satan, the master of deception, corrupting everything that is pure and noble and discrediting God. "God is playing games with you" We hear the same lie resonating through the ages, discrediting God's love for mankind, making it seem like God is with holding pleasure from us, making us toss caution to the wind, and ultimately disobey God and bow our knees in subjection to Satan, who wants us all dead anyway. As a result of Adam and Eve's disobedience to God, after listening to Satan, mankind's genetic code now had disobedience set as a default. All men and women for all of time have within them a nature encoded to sin, or disobey God. However, God in His infinite Wisdom and boundless Mercy, rectified this situation by sending His Son WITHOUT the sin nature, who destroyed Satan's hold on mankind's soul, by taking the penalty of mankind's sin on himself. God's justice demanded that sin be punished. People with a sin nature intact CANNOT have fellowship with a Holy God. Sin and God are incompatible and one cannot coexist with the other. However, God did not want to lose all mankind in this process. He set it up so that mankind's punishment was attributed to Jesus and Jesus' righteousness was attributed to those who choose to acknowledge Christ as their Savior. Once we "surrender" our will to the will of God, our spirits are regenerated in the image of Christ. Slowly but surely we become Christlike inasmuch as we surrender our will over to him and live in conformity to His will for our lives. Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Eternal, “plans for peace, not evil, to give you a future and hope—never forget that.(VOICE) Sometimes all God is looking for is a childlike faith. He wants us to come to Him and simply say if God said it, that settles it, I know God is smarter than I am, and has a reason for requiring us to live a certain way, and it is only for my benefit. Satan however does not take his defeat lying down, he is ever active deceiving people, discrediting God and His love for us, restating the lie in the garden,"God is playing games with you" In order for us to spend eternity in God's presence we need to have our nature changed from the default sin nature, to one that is created in righteousness and true holiness. This only happens when, in accordance with God's plan, we surrender our will over to the will of God and accept Christ's sacrifice on the cross as an atonement for our sin. In closing a word of warning, do not let Satan pull the wool over your eyes, in blinding the truth of God's love and plan of salvation from you. Hebrews 12:2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith...Amen

Numbers 21: 4-9

But on the way the people lost their patience 5 and spoke against God and Moses. They complained, “Why did you bring us out of Egypt to die in this desert, where there is no food or water? We can't stand any more of this miserable food!” 6 Then the Lord sent poisonous snakes among the people, and many Israelites were bitten and died. 7 The people came to Moses and said, “We sinned when we spoke against the Lord and against you. Now pray to the Lord to take these snakes away.” So Moses prayed for the people. 8 Then the Lord told Moses to make a metal snake and put it on a pole, so that anyone who was bitten could look at it and be healed. 9 So Moses made a bronze snake and put it on a pole. Anyone who had been bitten would look at the bronze snake and be healed.

Divine Prescription

I the passage above we see in verse 8: Anyone who is bitten can look at it and live.” The serpent on the pole represents Christ on the cross. The serpent is a symbol of sin and on the cross Jesus became our sin personified and the punishment that was applied to Him was the punishment for the sin of the world. 2 Corinthians 5:21: God had Christ, who was sinless, take our sin so that we might receive God’s approval through him. The remedy to sickness and disease and all the affliction present in this world today is to look upon "the serpent on the pole" or Jesus on the cross. The punishment that was applied to Jesus on the cross was something that not only purchased our pardon and forgiveness of sins, but also purchased our healing. The symbol used in modern medicine represents the serpent on the pole or in other words Christ on the cross. By beholding or by focusing our attention on Christ on the cross we have the ability to not only have our sins forgiven but also have our sicknesses healed. As I frequently say, this world is no garden of Eden. We live in a fallen world riddled with sin, sickness, diseases and every evil work which originates from Satan. However we can live in a spiritual plane above all this by looking unto Jesus, who overcame this world for us. We are not subject to the "curse" this world is under. Galatians 3:13 The law says we are under a curse for not always obeying it. But Christ took away that curse. He changed places with us and put himself under that curse. (ERV) Galatians 3:14 This is what God had in mind all along: the blessing He gave to Abraham might extend to all nations through the Anointed One, Jesus; and we are the beneficiaries of this promise of the Spirit that comes only through faith.(VOICE) From the above verses we understand that once we receive the promised Holy Spirit, by faith, because of Jesus' work on the cross, we are above the worldly system. We are living in a new dimension. A heavenly dimension, where we are above the ravages of a sin smitten world. This does not mean we will never be attacked by sickness, anger, malice or any other work of Satan, however, when we are attacked, we can rise above the muck and mire and filth in this world, through the help of the Holy Spirit who now resides in us. Obviously, by looking around, we know that not everybody has the Holy Spirit residing within them to lead, guide, cheer and comfort. It is a special privilege extended only to those who have accepted the forgiveness available through Christ. Those that have beheld Christ on the cross and have had their sins forgiven by accepting what He has done, are the only ones who have access to the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit within us is the person who enables us to overcome the ravages of a sin stricken world and live in a different dimension, a heavenly dimension, overcoming sickness and every other work of the wicked one. In closing keep in mind Ephesians 6:16 At all times carry faith as a shield; for with it you will be able to put out all the burning arrows shot by the Evil One. (GNT) or in another version: In every battle you will need faith as your shield to stop the fiery arrows aimed at you by Satan.(TLB). Amen

Psalm 25:4 (ERV)

Lord, help me learn your ways. Show me how you want me to live.

Psalm 73:24 (GW)

With your advice you guide me, and in the end you will take me to glory.

Psalm 119:9 (GNT)

How can young people keep their lives pure? By obeying your commands.

Guidance

There is an old gospel song which goes as follows:
Guide me, O Thou great *Jehovah, [*Redeemer]
Pilgrim through this barren land;
I am weak, but Thou art mighty,
Hold me with Thy pow’rful hand.

As we journey through this life we need a source of guidance to help us navigate through the pitfalls and roadblocks that satan puts across our paths. Sometimes it seems like there are a multitude of options to choose from and we do not know the right road to choose. The Bible cautions us in Mathew 7:13 (GW) Enter in at the strait gate: for it is the wide gate, and broad way that leadeth to destruction: and many there be which go in thereat. Many times following popular opinion or the pathways of least resistance leads us down the "broad way to destruction" Many time we have to swim against the tide of societies norms and standards if we want to head in the right direction. In the book of Exodus when God lead the children of Israel out of Egypt, they followed His cloud by day and His pillar of fire by night. When the cloud moved they moved and when the cloud stayed they stayed. The Lord gives us the same guidance in His word. Like it says in Psalm 119:9 above we can keep our lives pure by obeying His commands. When we need a compass to navigate our lives through stormy seas God is there. He guides us by His word and His Spirit. Isaiah 30:21 Your ears will hear a word behind you, “This is the way, walk in it,” whenever you turn to the right or to the left.(AMP). Sometimes life can seem to lead us into a minefield and going the wrong direction could lead to an explosion of chaotic proportions. We need to tread carefully in our lives making sure we make Godly choices and in following the Morning Star and His pattern for our lives as outlined in the Bible which is our blueprint for living. In closing use the "Divine G.P..S", the Bible, when charting out the course of your life. Amen.