Jesus has been speaking to me about mediocrity in the Body of Christ.

We are sinking into a pit of darkness and doing very little to fight off the darkness. Jesus is calling every believer to join in this war against Satan. 

The starting point is to be clean with the blood of Jesus and yielding to the Holy Spirit. Be filled with the Word of God and pray vigilantly against the darkness in your life and for the priorities of God.

Jesus does not care about your opinions or beliefs. He wants you to fight on His terms for the righteousness of God.

We cannot accept the values of the world or compromise with the darkness. This is not about public rallies or making a lot of noise.

This is a humble and meek movement of God’s people to change the course of history. 

Get right with God through prayer and be covered with His blood. Listen for His voice. Nothing can be standing between you and Jesus.

Ask Jesus to show you the darkness around you and take action to destroy the efforts of Satan through prayer and the Word of God. Make intercession to break the strongholds over the evils in our society.

The prayers of God’s righteous people will produce powerful results.

Don’t settle for mediocrity. Seek the excellence of Jesus. Pray for the renown, praise and glory of God to be in your thoughts, words and actions.

Jesus is a God of victory!

“Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak”. Matthew 26:41

We live in a world embroiled by Satan. The darkness has invaded every fiber of society. Christians are vulnerable to the temptations of the world and many fall when they are attracted by an evil action.

Temptation is not a sin. Everyone is tempted at times. We are weak people with an inner desire to live for self and many times respond to the desires of the flesh.

Satan knows all your weaknesses and temptation is a weapon he uses to destroy a believer.

We have to be alert and yielding to the Holy Spirit at all times. Pray vigilantly and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal any temptation in your thoughts or actions that are grieving the Holy Spirit. Then seek repentance and pray for the blood of Jesus to cover you.

God does not tempt people but provides a way of escape and the discipline to avoid temptation.

Temptation becomes a sin when we allow the evil thoughts to linger within our mind. 

The Bible teaches we are lured and enticed by Satan to pursue an evil desire. If we allow the desire to remain and grow within our inner being then sin is conceived. If left unattended the sin will be lived out and bring death. 

When temptation comes to a believer immediately pray to God to remove the evil from your mind. Flee from the temptation and pray for a shield of protection against any evil or wickedness.

Take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ Jesus. He will protect and guide a believer into His perfect will.

“Hypocrites! You can discern the face of the sky and of the earth, but how is it you do not discern this time? Luke 12:56

Jesus called the Israelites hypocrites because they could discern the weather by examining the sky but they were blinded to the seasons of God.

What is Jesus speaking to you about today and how is He guiding your decision making? Every Christian must be able to answer this question. 

The Christ follower requires the insight and counsel of Jesus to plan his future and make good decisions. He should be seeking the order and simplicity of Jesus.

The world is corrupt and getting worse. The darkness has invaded every fiber of society. We are living in the end times and there will never again be a predictable or normal lifestyle.

Satan is out to steal, kill and destroy believers. What is God speaking to you about repentance and change to protect yourself and family?

The believer can discern the season of God by prayer, reading the Bible and listening for the voice of God. Jesus desires to protect a believer but he cannot be oblivious to the future or lacking the omniscient wisdom of Jesus.

The most important purpose today for a believer is to seek the will of God for his life and family. The Lord desires to be a lamp unto your feet and a light unto your pathway. Commit your works each day to Jesus and pray for His thoughts to be established within you. The believer has the mind of Christ.

The advantage of a believer is the life of Jesus is sealed inside of him in the form of the Holy Spirit. Invite the Holy Spirit to have authority over your life and obey His instructions. He desires to protect and keep you away from evil. 

Jesus is the most important person in your life. Seek His will for your life above all else!

“These likewise are the ones sown on stony ground who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with gladness; and they have no root in themselves, and so endure only for a time.” Mark 4:16

Most  Christians fail in their walk with Jesus because they are not rooted in Him. Even mature believers stumble at times. We are all subjected to the darkness of the world.

The man or woman makes a decision for Jesus and becomes filled with joy and has an expectant heart for the goodness of Jesus. But the trials and adversity come and their faith is shattered and they fall away from Jesus.

Walking with Jesus is not easy. He asks a believer to live for him above all else. Jesus instructs His people to sever all ties with the world. The personal cost of discipleship is just too severe. He must sign over his rights to Jesus and let go of personal desires and worldly values.

This is caused because they have not been taught the reality of walking with Jesus and are unwilling to let go and surrender all to Jesus. They have accepted a “candy coded” version of Jesus and are not prepared for the crucified walk with Him.

The Cross is designed to die to self and live for Jesus. The believer should expect trials and attacks from Satan.

The believer must develop a discipline of prayer, reading the Bible, and listening for the voice of God.

The challenge is to be rooted in Jesus. This is achieved by unyielding faith and believing in the promises of Jesus and not what is seen with the eyes.

He must invite the Holy Spirit to have authority over his life and commit his works each day to Jesus.

Jesus knows a believer better than he knows himself. He is omniscient and sees every detail of your life from birth through the future. The counsel of Jesus is crucial for a believer.

The believer must live under the cover of the blood of Jesus confessing his sins and seeking forgiveness. He must ask Jesus every day to reveal anything he is thinking or doing that grieves the Holy Spirit. 

Seek the will of God through prayer and do not be consumed by the world but be transformed to prove what is the good, acceptable and perfect will of Jesus. 

Elijah said, “As the Lord Almighty lives, whom I serve, I will surely present myself to Ahab today.” 1 Kings 18:15

Elijah, the prophet, was anointed with a very strong prophetic gift and was loyal to the instructions of God. 

Elijah had a very difficult life following God and was constantly on the run from danger.

Elijah prayed for no rain for three years. This caused a famine and he was forced to flee for his life. He lived in the wilderness and was fed by ravens.

Elijah lived by faith. He trusted God during the brutal famine. He went to Zarephath at the direction of God and met a widower and her son. They were on the verge of death. God miraculously filled their jars of oil and flour until the famine ended.

The widower’s son died and Elijah prayed fervently and the boy was raised from death

Elijah confronted King Ahab and Jezebel, his wife, over the worship of the Baal gods.

God was very pleased with Elijah’s faith and obedience in demonstrating the weakness of the Baal gods and the power of almighty God. Elijah killed all the Baal prophets and caused the Israel nation to return to God. 

Elijah always brought glory to God in all his actions.

Elijah was instructed to go to Mount Horeb. God demonstrated His greatness by creating a strong wind, an earthquake and a raging fire. God was not present in these signs but He created them. Elijah was shaken by the gentle voice of God. 

Elijah was rewarded by God for His obedience and loyalty while living a perilous life facing death from his enemies.

The Christ follower lives an up and down life filled with trials. He is a participant in an invisible war fighting off the darkness of Satan. He needs the faith, courage and obedience of Elijah to meet the challenges of life. 

Pray vigilantly like Elijah and live by faith trusting Jesus for your every need. Be obedient to the instructions of Jesus regardless of the personal cost or lack of logic.

Jesus promises to keep your cup filled just like He did for the widower!

In Him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins.” Ephesians 1:7

The blood of Jesus is a living reality. The blood is the only way to build a personal relationship with God. The blood is holy and life changing.

The blood of Jesus transforms a believer into a new creature in Christ Jesus. 

The blood of Jesus is purifying and removes all shame and condemnation from your life. The believer can stand blameless before God.

The blood of Jesus gives a believer a new purpose and destiny. He will live with Jesus forever.

The blood of Jesus offers a personal and embracing relationship with the Son of God. The believer can hear the voice of Jesus and live in His presence.

The blood of Jesus transforms a believer into the values of Jesus.

The blood of Jesus gives a believer spiritual wisdom and guidance in making decisions.

The blood of Jesus shatters religion and brings the authenticity of Jesus into the life of a believer.

The blood of Jesus causes a believer to die to self and live for Jesus.

The blood of Jesus provides resurrected strength to accomplish all the challenges in life.

The blood of Jesus gives a believer the Holy Spirit. He is the life of Christ and is sealed within a believer.

The blood of Jesus anoints a believer with the Holy Spirit and equips him with the gifts of the Spirit.

The blood of Jesus fills believers with the unconditional love of God for all human beings.

The blood of Jesus brings victories and protection against the evil forces in the world. 

The blood of Jesus is a free gift. Ask and you shall receive.

Pray the blood of Jesus to cover all in your family.

Seek repentance and forgiveness of sins each day through the blood of Jesus.

The blood of Jesus will set a believer free from the bondage of sin and make him a powerful witness for Jesus.

In Him, we live and move and have our being!

“But this people has a defiant and rebellious heart; they have revolted and departed.” Jeremiah 5:23

The Holy Spirit spoke to me last night about defiance in the lives of believers. Defiance is defined as open resistance or disobedience to the truths of Jesus.

God explained this behavior is caused by those who have flawed thinking patterns. We are born with an inner nature to please self and we develop our own set of beliefs as we grow up. The beliefs are created from the influence of family, friends, and the world. 

Yesterday I was at church and during communion God showed me a vision of yellow construction tape posted around the communion table. So anyone coming up to take communion had to enter the construction zone to worship Jesus.

The Holy Spirit is continually at work constructing a new creature in Christ Jesus and this happens because of the Cross. Jesus died so we could be “born again” with a new identity.

Many reject the command of Jesus to die to self and live for Him. It is just too costly and threatening to a believer. So the believer accepts Jesus but resists letting go and abandoning himself entirely to Jesus.

This attitude causes a believer to live with flawed thinking patterns that are opposed to the precepts of Jesus. He is denied the fullness and powerful presence of Jesus. He lives with a minimum or reduced amount of the capacity of the Holy Spirit and stumbles through life.

Meet the Living Christ today and experience His reality and powerful presence. 

Surrender to Jesus and commit your works each day to Him. Invite the Holy Spirit to have authority over your life. This will give you the mind of Christ.

Jesus promises an abundant life filled with the goodness of God!

“But as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.” 1 Peter 1:15-16

God spoke this Bible verse to me last night and emphasized the importance of separating from the world.

This is a very difficult command from Jesus to appropriate into our lives.

Jesus is perfect and without any sin. He does not think or act like a human being.

We are mere mortals born with an inner nature to live for self and rebel against the ways of God. We have big egos and are self driven people. Jesus has no ego. 

We cannot keep the commands of God through discipline, intellect, or will power. And, God is opposed to those who try to become religious and do good works to appease Him.

The biblical concept of holiness does not appear in the ways of the world.

The values of the world are seeking prosperity and satisfying self.

The decision to commit your life to Jesus will not bring holiness unless you take Jesus seriously and are willing to change. 

The holiness of Jesus will come to a believer who submits to the work of the Cross. And, this is not easy. You have to die to self and live for Jesus. 

The new creature in Christ is a “set apart” believer and severs all ties to the world. He lives in the world but he is not of the world. 

He seeks the will of God through prayer, reading the Bible, and listening for the voice of God. He distances himself from all darkness 

The Christ follower submits to the Holy Spirit. He is the life of Jesus and knows you better than you know yourself. He will transform your thoughts, motives and decision making into the character of God.

The blood of Christ is vital to a believer. The blood cleanses a believer of all sin and makes him acceptable to God. 

Commit your works each day to Jesus and pray for His counsel and protection.

Be holy for I am holy by walking in oneness with Jesus anchored to the Holy Spirit!

“Where your fathers tested Me, tried Me, and saw My works forty years.” Hebrews 3:9

There is a common thread through the Bible of people who are stubborn and have spiritual blindness.

The Israelites are a perfect example. They personally witnessed the greatness and power of God to deliver them out of slavery in Egypt. 

They turned away from God and complained about their circumstances. They worshipped false gods and their stubbornness caused every adult to die in the wilderness and denied the freedom to enter the Promised Land. 

We are stubborn people who test God with our attitudes and rebel against the authority of God. This behavior makes God angry and He punishes believers for their resistance to God’s will. 

This happens because believers have a mistaken concept about God. They believe life with Jesus should be good and protected from adversity. So when the trials come they fall into unbelief. 

Walking with Jesus will bring trials and troubles. They are inevitable and engineered by God. The purpose is to strengthen your faith, learn to be patient while waiting on God and transforming a believer into the character of God. 

The trials are designed for a believer to personally experience the life of Jesus and His death on the Cross.

The only way a believer can identify with the reality of the Living Christ is through trials.

The decision for Jesus is a commitment to live for Him above all else and seek His will for your life. The believer is agreeing with Jesus “Not my will but Yours be done.” The will of Jesus will bring trials and adversities. 

Walk in oneness with Jesus by faith and commit your works each day to Him. Submit to the authority of the Holy Spirit and listen for the voice of Jesus. 

Jesus keeps His promises and will let you experience the goodness of God in the land of the living.

“Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. Husbands, love your wives, and do not be harsh with them.” Colossians 3:18

There is a worldly marriage without many stipulations or a marriage committed to Jesus. 

Worldly marriages don’t last very long because the partners do not submit to God or to each other. The easy way out is to get a divorce and start over.

The institution of marriage is to be a lifelong engagement between a man and a woman. The  marriage relationship should be patterned after Christ who sacrificed His life for the Body of Christ.

Jesus wants a marriage to be a rich and wholesome experience with each partner submitting to the other. 

“Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers.” 1 Peter 3:7

There should be mutual respect for each other and decision making should be shared and agreed upon by both parties. 

Do not make decisions if one partner disagrees. This will bring conflict and adversity. Wait upon God.

The married couple should pray together every day and value the godly wisdom coming from your spouse. The marriage should be built on faith and the Word of God.

The favor of God comes into a marriage when there is mutual respect and each partner submits to the wisdom and correction of the Holy Spirit.

Marriage is a two way street. Each couple must value and cherish the other.