Who is the least amongst us?

" I really only Love God as much as I love the person I love least." Dorothy Day

This quote has stuck in my heart, how much do I love those who hate us, or I consider the last people I want to be around, do I see them as Christ sees them? That He died for them as He did me? That they only walk in darkness because they do not see the light?

There are those who hate us as a people, but we are not called to be loved by all. There are those who would kill us instead of speak or live amongst us, are we not called to share Jesus with them?

Jesus walked among those who hated Him and shared the truth with them. The Apostles did the same and so did Daniel, Jonah, Jeremiah and the prophets of old.

We live in troubling times yes, but they have always been troubling the Bible says there is nothing new under the sun that has been will still be.

The question comes down to this how much do we love God, is it enough to share Him with those we only love or with everyone even those who hate us, the least of these?

For while we were still helpless, at the appointed moment, Christ died for the ungodly. For rarely will someone die for a just person — though for a good person perhaps someone might even dare to die. But God proves His own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us! Much more then, since we have now been declared righteous by His blood, we will be saved through Him from wrath.  For if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, then how much more, having been reconciled, will we be saved by His life!  And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ. We have now received this reconciliation through Him.

Romans 5:6-11

If I speak human or angelic languages but do not have love, I am a sounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith so that I can move mountains but do not have love, I am nothing. And if I donate all my goods to feed the poor, and if I give my body in order to boast but do not have love, I gain nothing. Love is patient, love is kind. Love does not envy, is not boastful, is not conceited, does not act improperly, is not selfish, is not provoked, and does not keep a record of wrongs. Love finds no joy in unrighteousness but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. But as for prophecies, they will come to an end; as for languages, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will come to an end. For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. But when the perfect comes, the partial will come to an end. When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put aside childish things.

1 Corinthians 13:1-11

The authority from God

From the very beginning God gave man the responsibility to work and watch over what God created, He gave Adam this responsibility because God had cast Lucifer and his followers out of heaven.

In giving Adam this authority God had entrusted man to be the keeper of His law from the beginning, mankind failed in Adam though as Adam watched Eve be deceived and eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil and sat silently as he partook of the same fruit and deception.

Mankind today still has this same responsibility to provide and protect what God has given to him, when we fail to do so we bring upon ourselves the dishonor of sinning against God. If as a man you refuse to provide and protect your family God says you are not worthy and are a vessel of dishonor.

Sadly in today's culture there are not many men of honor left, we are living in a time of weak and worthless men who bow their knees at the feet of government handouts and Lucifer's lies that all will be okay if you do what I say.

If you as a man are a child of God and you refuse to provide and protect for your family you need to get real with God, you need to fall on your face and repent and start taking care of what God has given to you it is time men get back to what God said and start leading from the front and stop lagging behind.

The Lord God took the man and placed him in the garden of Eden to work it and watch over it. And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree of the garden,  but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for on the day you eat from it, you will certainly die.”  Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper as his complement.”

Genesis 2:15-18 HCSB

Command this also, so they won’t be blamed. But if anyone does not provide for his own, that is his own household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.

1 Timothy 5:7-8 HCSB

He said to them, “I watched Satan fall from heaven like a lightning flash.  Look, I have given you the authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy; nothing will ever harm you.   However, don’t rejoice that   the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”

Luke 10:18-20 HCSB

Slavery today!

Do you know that there are 27 million people who are slaves in our modern times there are more people enslaved now than have ever been before in the history of mankind. Most of these children, women and men are involved in sex trafficking, and one third of them are used in pornography video's and pictures.

Every time that men and women click on pornography or purchase pornography you are directly involved in this trade of human life.

God calls you an abomination these people are kidnapped enslaved and sold for pennies. And they are not just in third world countries they are on our streets in small town USA and they need your prayers, your support and for you men and women to stop being a part of the problem.

The next time you think about pornographic pictures or videos think what if this was my child or my neighbors or my spouse who was stolen and sold or forced to do this?

Get off the pornography, repent before a Holy God and sin no more.

We know that the law is not meant for a righteous person, but for the lawless and rebellious, for the ungodly and sinful, for the unholy and irreverent, for those who kill their fathers and mothers, for murderers, for the sexually immoral and homosexuals, for kidnappers, liars, perjurers, and for whatever else is contrary to the sound teaching
1 Timothy 1:9-10 HCSB

When we can't recognize the problem, we should start by looking in the mirror.

I hear all the time , why does this happen to me? Why is this going on all around us ? Where is God when these things happen?

While these questions on the surface seem like they are legitimate, if we would stop and evaluate ourselves by looking intently in the mirror , we would see the problem: us.

We pray without seeking God, as if He sits ringing His hands waiting on us to talk with Him, 90 % of the time people pray in the course of tragedy, instead we should be in a constant state of prayer.

We preach without power because we do not ask the Holy Spirit to speak we only lean on our own wisdom.

We lie to each other and God, we steal, are angry and selfish, we lust and we put everyone and everything before God and then wonder why God doesn't hear is.

The problem is not God, it is us.

When is the last time you repented ? Most believe they do not need to.

When is the last time you spent time in God's word?

God requires repentance and obedience, it is not an option.

If you think it is and have not come to repentance and obedience then go look in the mirror, for the person you see is the problem that needs to be fixed, and only God can do this.

My dearly loved brothers, understand this: Everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger,  for man’s anger does not accomplish God’s righteousness. Therefore, ridding yourselves of all moral filth and evil, humbly receive the implanted word, which is able to save you.  But be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. Because if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man looking at his own face in a mirror. For he looks at himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But the one who looks intently into the perfect law of freedom and perseveres in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but one who does good works — this person will be blessed in what he does. If anyone thinks he is religious without controlling his tongue, then his religion is useless and he deceives himself. Pure and undefiled religion before our God and Father is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself unstained by the world.

James 1:19-27

Prayer: What we must do!

When we come to God in prayer there are conditions that God has put on our prayers, yet we seem to come to God in our prayer lives on our terms, and then wonder why God does not answer us. To receive an answer to prayer as the Bible uses the term, 2 elements must take place.

" (1) We must pray in the will of God and (2) we must be on what old-fashioned Christians often call "praying ground"; that is, we must be living lives pleasing to God. It is futile to beg God to act contrary to His revealed purposes." ( A.W.Tozer)

 We seem to forget what the Bible says when we pray, we must align our will with the will of God, not the other way around which is what we usually do, and second we can in no way live our lives on our terms and then seek favor with God, living in a sinful lifestyle and defying God and His ways is an act of rebellion which the Bible calls witchcraft.

1 Samuel 15:23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, And stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, He also has rejected you from being king."

God has not placed Himself under obligation to honor the requests of worldly, carnal or disobedient Christians. He hears and answers the prayers only of those who walk in His way. "Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God. And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight . . . . If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you" (I John 3:21, 22; John 15:7).

God wants us to pray and He wants to answer our prayers, but we as His children must come before Him with clean hands and hearts and a willingness to submit to His authority.

There are consequences for disobedient and rebellion.

Follow Me! It's not a question

When Jesus called the Apostles they were working in their fields of labor, but He came upon them and said follow me, and they did.

The Apostles left their income and security and endured overwhelming circumstance, many died agonizing deaths but they kept focus on the mission given them trusting that God will supply their every need.

As believers we are given this same mission while on earth: to Follow Him to spread the gospel and love of Jesus Christ to a lost world through our words, our behavior, our service, and our lifestyle. This mission may cost us relationships, position, careers, reputation, and even our very lives. Believers may be persecuted, slandered, ostracized, imprisoned, or even killed for our faith. God asks us to trust Him with all of our needs. God asks us to believe that what we have right at this moment is enough to care out His mission. God asks us to endure in our circumstances, no matter how difficult, and to find joy no matter what because we have Him with us always.

What made the Apostles forsake it all and follow Him?

How about you are you following Him, or are you trying to lead?

In what circumstance are you doubting the Lord’s provision? Are you struggling to accept that where God has placed you and what He has in front of you is enough for today?

From then on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, because the kingdom of heaven has come near! ” As He was walking along the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon, who was called Peter, and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the sea, since they were fishermen. “Follow Me,” He told them, “and I will make you fish for   people! ”  Immediately they left their nets and followed Him. Going on from there, He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and his brother John. They were in a boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and He called them. Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed Him.

Matthew 4:17-22

Thank God for #StarbucksRedCup

We are given every opportunity to share the gospel by a Holy and Omnipotent God, we must learn to seize the opportunity instead of squander it.

Look at the Starbucks cup, red , green and white, Three colors to share the gospel message in under 5 minutes with any and everyone.

Red = for the precious blood of Jesus that was shed for you and I , His blood washes away the stain of our sins and cleanses us.

White = is now how God sees us cleansed and made new by the blood and sacrifice of Jesus for He took the penalty for each us.

Green = everlasting life that we are now given because of this gift of salvation we can receive because Jesus have His life on the cross and shed His blood so we may be saved and live with Him.

We must simply acknowledge our sins and repent before Him and ask Jesus to forgive us and come into our lives and change us, and save us from ourselves and from sin and death.

Look the world is the world, it has and will always reject the light, but still we are to shine the light, and go with Him wherever we  we go.

Let's not waste time protesting, let us start proclaiming the good news from the mountain tops, the coffee shops, our neighborhoods and the work places God has set before us.

“For God loved the world in this way: He gave His One and Only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.   For God did not send His Son into the world that He might condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. Anyone who believes in Him is not condemned, but anyone who does not believe is already condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the One and Only Son of God. “This, then, is the judgment: The light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil. For everyone who practices wicked things hates the light and avoids it,   so that his deeds may not be exposed. But anyone who lives by   the truth comes to the light, so that his works may be shown to be accomplished by God.”

John 3:16-21