Ezra 9:1-6
Nehemiah 1:1-4
In the verses above, Ezra and Nehemiah find themselves in distress. Ezra has just been told by the leaders that the people of Israel have intermarried with neighboring people (v1-2); something the Lord commanded them not to do. Meanwhile, Nehemiah has been told by his brother, Hanani, that those who survived exile, returned to Jerusalem to find broken walls and burnt gates (v3).
Everyone has at one point in time gotten bad news or been asked the proverbial question "are you sitting down?" One minute life is flowing and the next minute it's been turned upside down.
Bad news doesn't always come in the form of death or sickness. No. For some it’s family drama, job loss, economic struggles, or as many of us are accustomed to, being put on financial hold.
So bad news happens yes but as the quote says, "It's not the situation...It's your reaction to the situation."
How will you react when a bad news bear visits you? Let's look at how Ezra and Nehemiah reacted.
Ezra was so appalled at the actions of his people, that he not only tore his cloak but pulled hair from his head and beard (v3). Nehemiah sat and mourned for days over their disobedience (v4).
Now you may think that tearing your clothes, pulling out your hair and crying for days is a lil over the top. But we react similarly. We have slumps of depression fueled by our desire to sleep. We skip class/work and stay home. We find ourselves hitting the ignore button on our cell phones. Or you can't get us to stay off the phone, rehashing the events of our day to every sister-girl or homeboy that will listen.
Now ask yourself. Self, is this how God would wants me to react? I don't think so but at one point or another we've all been guilty of pouting and moping. How instead should we react to bad news?
We should instead do as Ezra did in verse 5, fall on our knees before the Lord. Or as Nehemiah did. He mourned, fasted and prayed for days before the God of heaven (v4). Both Ezra and Nehemiah realized that God was the solution to their problems. He's the solution to our problems as well, no matter how great or small. So talk to him.
Communication with the Father aka prayer, which is a form of worship, causes us to focus on who God is and focus less on our own issues, problems, questions and concerns.
I dare you to try Him. Taste and see that the Lord is good! (Psalm 34:8) Wake up, get outta bed, hang up with sister-girl or homeboy and fall on your knees before the Lord your God, the creator of heaven and earth and pray. He orders your steps, (Psalm 37:23) so the God who brought you to it, can certainly bring you through it.
Bad news happens...remember to talk to author of the Good News.
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Monday, February 19, 2007
Devotional
False Prophets
“Then if anyone says to you, Look, here is the Christ! Or There! Do not believe it. For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive if possible, even the elect. See, I have told you beforehand.” (Matthew 24:23-25 NKJV) Amazingly, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ said this to His disciples over 2,000 years ago and here in 2007, the truth has not changed.
This past week, I have been bombarded with the rhetoric of false prophets, those claiming to be Jesus Christ and those who use His divine teachings for their worldly gains. Lets examine two examples of false prophets more closely.
This past week, on the Oprah Winfrey show, which is syndicated nationally and internationally, she debuted a second show discussing “The Secret.” On the show, a group of people discuss how one can have the life that they want. One of the panelists on the show identifies himself as a “reverend” and even on this show Oprah identifies herself as a Christian, but says that she prescribes to the tenants of “The Secret.” (She is a false prophet in its purest form) Some false teachings of “The Secret” are listed below:
Involves the laws of the universe and they, in turn, describe the nature of how God works. (“Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God.” I Corinthians 2:11b, NKJV)
Supports the great spiritual traditions of Jesus Christ “in a more modern form.”(“For I am the Lord, I do not change. Malachi 3:6 NKJV)
Instead of living a life preparing for some ultimate reward, you should live in the now. (“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Matthew 4:17 NKJV)
The “concepts” of heaven and hell are within us. (“It is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.” Matthew 5:30, NKJV)
This brings us to the subject of one Dr. Jose Luis De Jesus. He is the founder and leader of Growing in Grace. These are some of things that he and his over one million reported followers believe:
They do not believe in sin, Satan or hell. (“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.” I Peter 5:8, NKJV)
The Ten Commandments are good for society, but not for the church. (“Beware that you do not forget the Lord your God by not keeping His commandments, His judgments, and His statutes… Deuteronomy 8:11, NKJV)
The truth is not in the Gospels. (“Jesus said to him, I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” John 14:6, NKJV)
Luis claims that he is the Christ and has done greater things than Christ. (“Jesus said to them, Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM. John 8:58, NKJV) (And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. Amen.” John 21:25, NKJV)
As Christians, we have to be diligent in studying the Word of God so that we are able to discern the so-called teachings of false prophets. (“Then you shall again discern between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve Him.” Malachi 3:18, NKJV) There are three types of false prophets:
Heretics-they blatantly stand against the truth of God’s Word.
Apostates-they know the truth, but turn their back on it. These people will teach “anti-truths” with the full knowledge of God’s truth.
Deceivers-they will not acknowledge the truth of God. They many times are subtle in their “teachings” and can be described as “super religious.” Unfortunately, they themselves are deceived regarding the truth of Christ.
Below, please find some ways to counteract the teachings of false prophets:
Read your Bible! (“Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” 2 Timothy 2:15, NKJV)
Pray! (“Pray without ceasing.” I Thessalonians 5:17, NKJV)
Ask the Holy Spirit for discernment. (“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.” John 14:26, NKJV)
Surround yourself with like-minded believers-join a church! (“And we will not neglect the house of God.” Nehemiah 10:39, NKJV)
“For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.” (I Thessalonians 4:16-18, NKJV)
“Then if anyone says to you, Look, here is the Christ! Or There! Do not believe it. For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive if possible, even the elect. See, I have told you beforehand.” (Matthew 24:23-25 NKJV) Amazingly, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ said this to His disciples over 2,000 years ago and here in 2007, the truth has not changed.
This past week, I have been bombarded with the rhetoric of false prophets, those claiming to be Jesus Christ and those who use His divine teachings for their worldly gains. Lets examine two examples of false prophets more closely.
This past week, on the Oprah Winfrey show, which is syndicated nationally and internationally, she debuted a second show discussing “The Secret.” On the show, a group of people discuss how one can have the life that they want. One of the panelists on the show identifies himself as a “reverend” and even on this show Oprah identifies herself as a Christian, but says that she prescribes to the tenants of “The Secret.” (She is a false prophet in its purest form) Some false teachings of “The Secret” are listed below:
Involves the laws of the universe and they, in turn, describe the nature of how God works. (“Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God.” I Corinthians 2:11b, NKJV)
Supports the great spiritual traditions of Jesus Christ “in a more modern form.”(“For I am the Lord, I do not change. Malachi 3:6 NKJV)
Instead of living a life preparing for some ultimate reward, you should live in the now. (“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Matthew 4:17 NKJV)
The “concepts” of heaven and hell are within us. (“It is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.” Matthew 5:30, NKJV)
This brings us to the subject of one Dr. Jose Luis De Jesus. He is the founder and leader of Growing in Grace. These are some of things that he and his over one million reported followers believe:
They do not believe in sin, Satan or hell. (“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.” I Peter 5:8, NKJV)
The Ten Commandments are good for society, but not for the church. (“Beware that you do not forget the Lord your God by not keeping His commandments, His judgments, and His statutes… Deuteronomy 8:11, NKJV)
The truth is not in the Gospels. (“Jesus said to him, I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” John 14:6, NKJV)
Luis claims that he is the Christ and has done greater things than Christ. (“Jesus said to them, Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM. John 8:58, NKJV) (And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. Amen.” John 21:25, NKJV)
As Christians, we have to be diligent in studying the Word of God so that we are able to discern the so-called teachings of false prophets. (“Then you shall again discern between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve Him.” Malachi 3:18, NKJV) There are three types of false prophets:
Heretics-they blatantly stand against the truth of God’s Word.
Apostates-they know the truth, but turn their back on it. These people will teach “anti-truths” with the full knowledge of God’s truth.
Deceivers-they will not acknowledge the truth of God. They many times are subtle in their “teachings” and can be described as “super religious.” Unfortunately, they themselves are deceived regarding the truth of Christ.
Below, please find some ways to counteract the teachings of false prophets:
Read your Bible! (“Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” 2 Timothy 2:15, NKJV)
Pray! (“Pray without ceasing.” I Thessalonians 5:17, NKJV)
Ask the Holy Spirit for discernment. (“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.” John 14:26, NKJV)
Surround yourself with like-minded believers-join a church! (“And we will not neglect the house of God.” Nehemiah 10:39, NKJV)
“For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.” (I Thessalonians 4:16-18, NKJV)
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Reconcilialtion Part 2
We have been alienated from God ever since because all of us have sinned. God is omniscient; he is all knowing. Nobody else may know what your doing or what you have done God knows. (Spirit) God cannot say that he does not have knowledge of our sins, so he says that he chooses to forget them. His reaction would ordinarily be one of outrage, or the pouring out of his wrath. But instead of sending his wrath he sent his Son. Jesus birth was a miracle, oh thank you God for his birth. His birth was not enough. We needed more. God gave us something holy, something sinless, and something blameless, he gave us grace, and he gave us mercy. He gave us his Son Jesus. Jesus lived in fully in righteousness with God. God made Jesus “to be sin” even though he “knew no sin”. (Spirit) While Jesus was being crucified God treated Jesus as if he were sin itself, banishing Jesus from his own holy presence. On the Cross he bore the ultimate penalty for sin, not just a painful human death, but spiritual separation from God the father.
He didn’t just get spat upon, no he didn’t just get whipped and beaten, no he didn’t just get a crown of thorns placed upon his head, no he didn’t just get hammered to the cross. He had to become sin!!!!! His teachings were not enough, all of the miracles, all of the healings; his sinless life was not enough. From God’s perspective, it wouldn’t be enough. Sin is such an offense to God and his holiness that it can’t be ignored or overlooked. Sin demands justice. We tend to minimize the vileness of sin. God does not do this, and neither should we. Oh I love how the Message translation puts it in Romans 5:10 If, when we were at our worst, we were put on friendly terms with God by the sacrificial death of his Son, now that we're at our best, just think of how our lives will expand and deepen by means of his resurrection life!
The great miracle of reconciliation is that God chose not to hold each of us accountable for our sin, but instead to lay the penalty for our sin on Jesus.
Have you ever been at a point in your relationships, that there is so much hurt, so much confusion, and so much bitterness that you just can’t see clearly. Every step you take is based on what you’re feeling. Everything is cloudy. You struggle with going home from work. You look forward to going to work. Or the communication is just out of wack. No matter what you say or do, you feel like your lighting a fuse. I am talking about struggling in your relationships. Oh you know what I am talking about, Or the flipside when everything is going smooth for a few weeks and everything is good. Things get rough then it gets smooth again. Then out of the blue it’s bad again. Its not out of the blue, yeah you may have forgiven each other. Yet things are still are not right, the same cycle takes place again and again. Then we start looking for different ways of fixing things. We search every avenue that we can think of from. Then we say its not me, I haven’t done nothing, they the ones who acting like they don’t know Jesus. Let me call so and so on the phone cause I need somebody to listen, (no what you want is somebody who is going to agree with you). We will call everybody and they Momma. If we don’t get the response we are looking for we keep looking. It is so difficult to reconcile with someone who is being stubborn, spiteful, disrespectful, rude, and selfish. It takes everything you have to do try to get things in where they are some what peaceful. We shouldn’t be surprised when our peace efforts fail us. We cannot expect our relationships down here on earth to go right if our relationship with God is not right. We have to look at our relationships upwards in order to have successful relationships down here.
He didn’t just get spat upon, no he didn’t just get whipped and beaten, no he didn’t just get a crown of thorns placed upon his head, no he didn’t just get hammered to the cross. He had to become sin!!!!! His teachings were not enough, all of the miracles, all of the healings; his sinless life was not enough. From God’s perspective, it wouldn’t be enough. Sin is such an offense to God and his holiness that it can’t be ignored or overlooked. Sin demands justice. We tend to minimize the vileness of sin. God does not do this, and neither should we. Oh I love how the Message translation puts it in Romans 5:10 If, when we were at our worst, we were put on friendly terms with God by the sacrificial death of his Son, now that we're at our best, just think of how our lives will expand and deepen by means of his resurrection life!
The great miracle of reconciliation is that God chose not to hold each of us accountable for our sin, but instead to lay the penalty for our sin on Jesus.
Have you ever been at a point in your relationships, that there is so much hurt, so much confusion, and so much bitterness that you just can’t see clearly. Every step you take is based on what you’re feeling. Everything is cloudy. You struggle with going home from work. You look forward to going to work. Or the communication is just out of wack. No matter what you say or do, you feel like your lighting a fuse. I am talking about struggling in your relationships. Oh you know what I am talking about, Or the flipside when everything is going smooth for a few weeks and everything is good. Things get rough then it gets smooth again. Then out of the blue it’s bad again. Its not out of the blue, yeah you may have forgiven each other. Yet things are still are not right, the same cycle takes place again and again. Then we start looking for different ways of fixing things. We search every avenue that we can think of from. Then we say its not me, I haven’t done nothing, they the ones who acting like they don’t know Jesus. Let me call so and so on the phone cause I need somebody to listen, (no what you want is somebody who is going to agree with you). We will call everybody and they Momma. If we don’t get the response we are looking for we keep looking. It is so difficult to reconcile with someone who is being stubborn, spiteful, disrespectful, rude, and selfish. It takes everything you have to do try to get things in where they are some what peaceful. We shouldn’t be surprised when our peace efforts fail us. We cannot expect our relationships down here on earth to go right if our relationship with God is not right. We have to look at our relationships upwards in order to have successful relationships down here.
Friday, February 9, 2007
Reconciliation Part 1
2 Corinthians 5:16-21
When I was studying this scripture it took me back to my childhood. As a child growing up in North Philadelphia, I loved the holidays. I would mark each day on the calendar. See I would eager wait for Easter, Christmas, and Thanksgiving. It was not the presents or the gifts I was looking forward too; it was not the new clothes; it was not seeing family I had not seen for along time; it was not the days off from school that had me so looking forward to these holidays. See I was not one of those kids who enjoyed missing school, because if I missed school I missed the breakfast and lunch. I loved these holidays simply for the food. See the holidays were the time of year where there was a guarantee of something to eat. We would all travel to some relative’s house whether it is a Grand mom’s or Aunt Pam’s. There would be tables of food all over the dining room. We would get our plates and go around to each table. Each table would have a group of a certain type of food; you would have a table with your greens, and string beans. Tables with different salads, potatoes, garden, coleslaw, you would have your table with all the breads and deserts. Then you would have the table with all my favorites…….. the meat. My plate would be full by this time so I would have to chose one meat and just come back later for some of the others.
Reconciliation
- As I was praying and asking God for a word, He gave me one, and only one that word was reconciliation. This morning as we look at our biblical text, I feel like I did on those holidays back in North Philadelphia, when I saw all of my favorite dishes. There is so much richness to this text that I simply can’t even begin to serve all of it to you. I am sure there is something here for you not only to chew on, but to also digest. I am going to skip the appetizers and get right to the main course. Jesus did not die just for our sins to be removed. According to the text we just read Jesus not only for the cleansing our sins, but also so that we may be reconciled to God. Reconciliation means the removal of hostility and the restoration of harmony in a relationship. It means that the wall separating the hostile parties has been broken down; the breach between them has been healed. Reconciliation is God’s way of bringing us back into right fellowship with him. Its God’s way of bringing us back to where we belong. We can say that when Adam sinned he declared WAR on God, because sin is rebellion and rebellion is like war. What was a relationship of harmony became a relationship of hostility.
When I was studying this scripture it took me back to my childhood. As a child growing up in North Philadelphia, I loved the holidays. I would mark each day on the calendar. See I would eager wait for Easter, Christmas, and Thanksgiving. It was not the presents or the gifts I was looking forward too; it was not the new clothes; it was not seeing family I had not seen for along time; it was not the days off from school that had me so looking forward to these holidays. See I was not one of those kids who enjoyed missing school, because if I missed school I missed the breakfast and lunch. I loved these holidays simply for the food. See the holidays were the time of year where there was a guarantee of something to eat. We would all travel to some relative’s house whether it is a Grand mom’s or Aunt Pam’s. There would be tables of food all over the dining room. We would get our plates and go around to each table. Each table would have a group of a certain type of food; you would have a table with your greens, and string beans. Tables with different salads, potatoes, garden, coleslaw, you would have your table with all the breads and deserts. Then you would have the table with all my favorites…….. the meat. My plate would be full by this time so I would have to chose one meat and just come back later for some of the others.
Reconciliation
- As I was praying and asking God for a word, He gave me one, and only one that word was reconciliation. This morning as we look at our biblical text, I feel like I did on those holidays back in North Philadelphia, when I saw all of my favorite dishes. There is so much richness to this text that I simply can’t even begin to serve all of it to you. I am sure there is something here for you not only to chew on, but to also digest. I am going to skip the appetizers and get right to the main course. Jesus did not die just for our sins to be removed. According to the text we just read Jesus not only for the cleansing our sins, but also so that we may be reconciled to God. Reconciliation means the removal of hostility and the restoration of harmony in a relationship. It means that the wall separating the hostile parties has been broken down; the breach between them has been healed. Reconciliation is God’s way of bringing us back into right fellowship with him. Its God’s way of bringing us back to where we belong. We can say that when Adam sinned he declared WAR on God, because sin is rebellion and rebellion is like war. What was a relationship of harmony became a relationship of hostility.
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