“I am the Lord your God
And there is no other.
My people shall never be put to shame.” Joel 2:27

God devastated the nation of Israel because of their sins. The judgment was horrific and no one was spared.

However, the nature of God is to punish and then restore His people. This cycle is repeated over and again in the Bible.

This promise in Joel reflects the heart of God and His position of sovereignty in the universe. God has dominion over the heavens and earth and there is no other god. And, He will never allow His people to be put to shame.

God will severely test you to determine if you are loyal to Him and walking by faith. He will punish you for your sins but He will never allow you end up in shame.

This can’t happen because God keeps His Word. If you are a believer yielding to God and living by faith in His promises you will be delivered by the hand of God.

As human beings, we continue to fall into sin and misjudge the ways of the Lord. It is unavoidable because of our genetic engineering. You and I live for self and God lives to help others.

Time and again, we have to pick ourselves up from the floor and return to God with a heart of repentance. The good news is God will always be there willing to forgive and restore you to Himself.

Your only hope is Christ who lives in you. He will keep you on track when you understand and appropriate this oracle of God into your life each day; “The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set me free from the law of sin and death.”

Which law of God are you submitting to today?

 

“So teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” Psalm 90:12

Moses experienced more time with God than any human being since the existence of the world. The insights of Moses in Psalm 90 are priceless truths describing how God thinks and acts towards His people.

Moses understood the eternal nature of God. He existed before He formed the world. There is no power greater than God and His sovereignty will last forever.

Moses saw how God can destroy His people over their sins and then bring them back to Him. You and I are accountable to God for all our actions. You cannot escape the retribution of God.

Time is of no consequence to God. For a thousand years is like one day to God. He has no life span but our days are limited.

God is like a watchman at night and Moses uses the metaphor of sleep to explain our cycle of life. In the morning we are awake like the grass and are nourished and grow. God flourishes us during the day and in the evening we wither and are cut down.

Moses has witnessed the anger of the Lord and has been terrified by the fear of the Lord. He knows that God operates with retribution and blesses and curses. There is no one like Him! Who are you and I to question God?

Moses explains God sees all of our sins. Nothing is hidden from Him. The upmost purpose in life is to be right with God.

Moses speaks about life ranging between seventy and eighty years and when the end comes you can only boast of labor and sorrow. This is understanding the insignificance and frailty of man and the greatness of God. We are called to live for God not for self. This is where you will discover the transfigured Christ!

Moses didn’t try to figure out God. He was just obedient to the voice of God!

Moses challenges the Israelites; “Do you really understand the power of the wrath of God and where you will end up after your life comes to an end?” Your destiny is in the hands of God!

The admonition from Moses is to number (or treasure) each day in the sight of God and gain a heart of wisdom from Him.

Moses pleads with God to return to His people and have compassion on them even though they continually defy His ways.

Learning how to pray like Moses, the man of God!

Moses asks for the mercy of God so the Israelites can rejoice and be glad all of their days. Notice there is no mention of material blessings.

Moses asks God to give back to the Israelites the length of time He has afflicted them with an equal amount of time with gladness. Moses asks that God’s servants have the ability see His work and that their children can share in His glory.

Finally, Moses asks for the beauty of the Lord to fall upon His people and establish the work of their hands. You can gain an appreciation of the beauty of the Lord when you abandon yourself completely to Him and walk by faith trusting in His promises.

God will establish the work of your hands when you commit your life each day to Him and seek the wisdom and strength of your Maker.

He lives so you can live!

 

“There is a way that seems right to a man,
But its end is the way of death.” Proverbs 14:12

This is about the means you employ to justify your ends. We all set goals and implement plans to be successful.

The difficulty is human thinking can easily lead you astray of God. You may have a very logical and well thought out plan but if this plan is not in accord with God you are headed for trouble. Or, you might achieve your goal and then your life turns into shambles.

First of all, make your plans and share them with God. Seek His wisdom and guidance for your life.

Secondly, be flexible and willing to change your goals depending upon the leading of God. Remember, God does not like the predictable because it draws you away from the principle of faith.

God knows you better than you know yourself. He understands the depth of your personality and all your strengths and weaknesses. Do you think you can second guess your Creator?

God is omniscient and knows every detail of your life-past, present, and future. What a great reason to live under the canopy of His protection!

God has to be invested in all your plans or the outcome will be a disaster. God ways are contrary to the ways of the world. In fact, He tells you the wisdom of the world is foolishness to God.

Let’s get back to the means utilized to justify your ends. This begins with the gift of salvation. Without this, you have no hope for life. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life.

As a believer, the means (or tactics) are vital to your success. The most important priority is to come into a personal and vibrant relationship with the Living God. This will happen when you make a wholehearted decision to live for Jesus and invite the Holy Spirit to have authority over your life.

The means of a spiritual person will keep you tuned into God and and on track with His path for your life. This will not always relate to your goals.

Pray each day to God. Commit your works to God and ask Him to establish His thoughts in your mind. Remember, you have the mind of Christ.

Ask God to convict you of any thoughts or actions that are not pleasing to Him.

Pray for strength, wisdom, and protection. Ask the Lord to be a lamp unto your feet and a light unto your pathway.

Pray for your family, friends, and those who God brings to your mind.

Learn to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit and open to hear His voice.

Spend some time each day reading the Word and ask the Holy Spirit to show you how to appropriate the values of Jesus into your life.

Find a comfortable church and/or support group that teaches the truths of God.

Finally, it is not by might nor by power but by the Spirit of God. He lives so you can live!

 

“You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.” 1 John 4:4

Today, you live in an invisible war between Satan and God. You are a target of Satan.

This war launched by Satan is to draw you away from God and cause you conform to the ways of the world. Satan wants to diminish the influence of Jesus in your life. He works using deception and lies.

Satan wants to tempt you into taking actions that are contrary to God. Most of the time this will start with thoughts in your mind and then leads to sin. Or, Satan can work through others to attack you or tempt you into evil.

Satan wants to change your belief system to liberalize scripture to make it fit into the changing culture of our society.

This is where you need to strongly resist any teaching of the antichrist. Remember, God never changes and His Word will endure forever. Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

Satan wants to steal, kill, and destroy. He knows all your weaknesses and wants to exploit them to draw you into a web of sin.

Satan has infiltrated television and the movies, fashion, your mobile devices, and social media. You cannot avoid exposure to Satan living in this world.

The challenge is to stay strong in the Lord. This can only be accomplished by yielding to the Holy Spirit who dwells in you. The Spirit is your guardian against the tactics of Satan and will provide you with wisdom and protection. The Spirit will give you discernment to understand what is God and what are the lies of Satan.

Seek out God for protection from Satan and wisdom in dealing with His tactics. Put on the full armor of God and stand firmly living in the promises of God.

Don’t be afraid to confront Satan directly with the Word of God. Satan has been defeated by the blood of Christ and has no authority over you. He has to flee when you speak the name of Jesus.

 

“Do to others as you would have them do to you.” Luke 6:31

Jesus spoke the words of the Golden Rule during the Sermon on the Mount. This truth is about expressing respect for all those who are in your life. The instruction from Jesus is to esteem others higher than yourself.

The ability to do this comes from the humility of God. You meet the Living Christ and see His greatness and glory and you become humbled over your sinful condition and insignificance compared to almighty God.

The spiritual man understands God is His helper and has no need to boast about self or attempt to build up His reputation among others. He knows his inner worth comes from God and this allows him to walk with meekness and kindness towards others.

The spiritual man does not try to get revenge when injured by others. He forgives and asks God for healing and restoration.

The spiritual man sees others through the eyes of Jesus. He takes a genuine interest in their life and his words and actions are guided by the Holy Spirit.

The love of God has a powerful effect on others. The Living Water pouring out of your heart has a tremendous influence on those around you. This is the life of Jesus and is expressed with motives of concern and caring for others.

The Cross causes you to die to self and live for Christ. This is the only way you can treat others like you want to be treated. Pride disappears and is replaced by humility.

The calling from God is to be a light touching those living in darkness!

 

“If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” Matthew 16:24-25

This deals with the relationship between worship and the blessings of God.

The goal of Christ is to remove every deception alive in your heart, mind and soul about God. Jesus has to do this with a sharp sword piercing into your heart.

God is looking for your loyalty for who He is. This loyalty cannot be based on blessings from Him. The blessings will give you a false sense of security in God. They will undermine your motives in knowing Christ.

God has to deeply hurt you to show you what is really important in your life. At times, He will remove His goodness and protection from your life and replace it with deprivation and suffering.

This is designed to cause you to evaluate what is most important in your life. What are the real treasures in your heart? God wants to be in the center of your life even when you are surrounded by darkness, insecurity and desperation.

The spiritual man acknowledges the greatness and glory of God even when he is living in a state of poverty and God refuses to answer His prayers.

The purpose of the deep hurt is to draw you to Jesus without any conditions. The blessings of God should not figure into your relationship with Him. You value God for who He is and not for what He can do for you.

This is a hard lesson to learn but the outcome will give you a new perspective on Christ. You will be free to do the work of God operating with the pure motives of Christ Jesus!

 

“If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.” Matthew 16:24

First of all, don’t think about outcomes! This will always lead you astray from the heart of God. The purpose of God is for you to live in oneness with Jesus and to be like Him.

This cannot be achieved until you see your separation from God. This distance is caused because you are unholy and your motives are not in accord with God. You and I are self driven people and our underlying interest is in seeking the blessings of God and not the will of God.

Jesus died so you can be holy and reflect His personality in all aspects of life. This is the guiding principle in how God works to fulfill His purpose in your life. Are you conducting yourself with the values of Jesus?

Jesus challenges believers to look into their heart and honestly evaluate what they treasure most dearly. In most situations, this will relate to a self serving motive. This includes doing the work of ministry.

Your openness to God about sin should be your priority above all else. Where is my sin blocking the ability of God to change me into His likeness?

From a spiritual point of view, the purpose of God is different for each person. And, the purpose will always be changing!

However, the purpose will always relate to dying to self and living for Christ. If you are living for Jesus you will find yourself constantly under the conviction of the Spirit of God.

The Holy Spirit is at work to examine your thinking patterns and motives. What grieves God the most is when you place self seeking motives above the will of God. This usually relates to your material needs or the mistaken idea you can do something for God.

The question is “Are you willing to do the work of Christ and get nothing in return? The spiritual person operates with pure motives and does not seek notoriety, or blessings, or praise.

He is satisfied with the acknowledgement from Jesus “Well done good and faithful servant”.

Holiness will never come through your works! The holiness of God will come to those who recognize they have been “sold under sin” and can never get right with God.

The holy people of God will live by faith and have a zealous desire to understand and live compliant to the purpose of God.

 

“For the day of the Lord upon all the nations is near; As you have done, it shall be done to you” Obadiah 1:15

We are at a pivotal time in the heart of God. The judgment of God is upon all nations.

This prophesy relates to Jacob and Esau. Jacob inherited the promises God made to Abraham. Esau, his twin brother, founded the nation of Edom.

Jacob respected God and Esau lived a rebellious life. The people of Edom participated in the destruction of Israel and looted many of their valuables.

Today this prophesy is about the outcome of the seed of Jacob and those who live like the people of Edom.

It is important to delineate between the seed of Jacob and those who identify as Christians. There are many so called believers who are no different than the people of Edom.

The favor of God in this prophesy is directed to the holy ones who have laid down their lives for Christ. Where there has been affliction, suffering, and repression there will be deliverance by the hand of God.

The judgment of God will fall on all those who are arrogant, prideful, and live in rebellion against our mighty God.

On Mount Zion there will be deliverance and holiness. The seed of Jacob will possess the riches of the people of Edom just like what happened to the Israelites when they departed from Egypt.

Our amazing God will create a blazing fire in His people unlike anything before while the people of Edom will be destroyed.

Either you are for God or against Him. There is no middle ground!

“The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Matthew 26:41

Jesus asked His disciples to be watchful as He went into the garden to pray. They quickly fell asleep.

The disciples were ordinary people just like you and me. They had a desire to obey God but lacked spiritual discipline. The Spirit of God was not dwelling in them and they were void of the power and vigor of God.

If you are a believer you can avoid the dilemma of the weakness of your flesh. The Holy Spirit lives in you and He is the life of Jesus.

The truth in the words of Jesus is you cannot do the works of God out of your flesh. You will fail God every time!

This is why it is so important to live in oneness with Jesus through the Holy Spirit. Begin each day with God and pray He will fill you with His Spirit and guide you in His footsteps. Commit your works to God and ask Him to establish His thoughts in your mind.

The only way you can obey God is to walk consciously with Him through His Spirit. So when God speaks to you with instructions you will have the strength, wisdom, and endurance to fulfill His desires.

Today, you and I face all kinds of challenges. We live in an upside down world which is not a friend of Jesus and His teachings are contrary to the ways of the world.

You will suffocate and get drawn into earthly thinking and actions without the Holy Spirit. He is your connection to Truth and Life.

We are a set apart people designed to walk with God and reflect His renown, praise, and glory. This can only be accomplished by living through the eyes, the mind, and the strength of Christ who resides in you!

He will do for you what you can never do for yourself!

“That they may be one just as We are one” John 17:22

There is a big difference between making a decision to accept Jesus and merging your life with Him. It is choosing to enter through the narrow gate which leads to the life of Christ.

The miracle of salvation happens when you agree to live for Christ. This is a life changing moment. You become a new creature in Christ Jesus filled with the Holy Spirit. Your life changes from living for self to living for God. Old things pass away and all things become new.

God changes your thinking patterns and values in life. You see life through the eyes of Christ. The life of a disciple is about change. Every day is different as you understand the knowledge of God and grow in spiritual discernment with Jesus.

What role do you play in merging your life with Jesus? The calling from God is to live by faith in Christ. Your security is in Christ and never in the things of the world. Living by faith is trusting in the promises of God. They become your breath of life and are expressed in your thoughts, words and actions in all the aspects of life.

The disciple of Christ finds the efficacy (fullness) of life in God and self sufficiency fades away. This life changing epiphany is recognizing the greatness and glory of God and the insignificance of self.

You come into oneness with the Living Christ through opening your heart up to Him. All God is asking for is a willing heart! He will do the work of merging you into His personality.

God is a Spirit. You and I have to learn to worship Him through His Word and His Spirit. This is the key to discovering the transfigured life of Christ Jesus.

Jesus lives in you in the essence of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit takes what belongs to Christ and literally shares His life with you.

Jesus calls you to live by faith not by what you see with your eyes. You judge God by His Word and never by your experiences or emotions. The circumstances of life will have ups and downs but God never changes.

You will nourish your faith through prayer, dwelling in the Word, and listening for the voice of God.

Without faith you cannot please God!