I was recently rewatching a football movie from the late 90’s starring Al pacino, and he gives a speech about football as a game of inches, and I thought to myselfy man if only life was a simple game of inches. And while dwelling on this I had an epiphany, maybe it is, maybe life is simply a matter of inches, you are either inching forward and getting better and improving, or you you are inching backwards and if you start to inch backwards maybe you need to reevaluate your life and find a way to turn it around. Often times we want some drastic change, some great miraculous rags to riches story about one aspect of our lives or another and we think that if one major event can take place our whole life will improve overnight. The reality is that life rarely allows from some overnight transformation from mediocrity to greatness, but rather it is gradual steps, like Eddison we must realize that failing is only a means to achieving the results we desire. The Bible talks to us plenty about a journey, or how God may show us a glimpse of what we are to achieve such as Joseph, only to then go through a path that seems so naturally opposed to what we were shown only to arrive where we are supposed to be, fully equipeed and with our experiences behind us to guide and direct our paths. In life if we want to truly make a difference, or even to find happiness we have to stop expecting things to come from an external source, we have to stop expecting everything to happen overnight, and we must be willing to press on through all trials and tribulations that we might come to face. If we do not like where our lives are heading than the only person who has the responsibility to change that is ourselves, it is about putting on your war paint and fighting for what we want, you want money and to be successful then fight for it, nobody is going to hand you anything, and it is not their responsibility to, you have to want it, and fight for it put in the work and the hours and make it important enough to you. You want to be an example, then show how you are an example, you want to be a true Christian and for people to see Christ through you, then fight for that, and it will not be easy, God knows it is not easy to do something great, but fight, for every inch you can get, until you finally find what it is you are looking for and you are able to hold it in your hands.

We live in interesting times, scary times, times in which churches are being torn down all around the world, America is censoring more and more online content, bibles are being banned in the United States and evil seems to be growing ever more present. It is a dark thing happening in America right now, our freedoms seem to be slipping further and further away from us as these corrupt politicians convince more and more of the younger generation to continue to sign away our God given rights, rights that helped America become the nation it is today. Gun rights are being stripped away left and right, and now with online censorship becoming an even more common place occurance, one might wonder what our future holds. In the coming years America will no longer be the nation of freedom it once was, and as the government continues to peel back our rights they will only be emboldened to take more until we are no longer a place of individual freedoms but another failed state of corrupt elitist rulers. From the banning of the Bible in California and its new law forcing even the churches to promote transgenderism, to the gun grabbing socialist left to the forced vaccinations of all citizens regardless of medical or religious exemptions it is all to set a precedent that our lives belong to the state, and not ourselves. America is on a slippery slope to communist slavery, a slope that can still be stopped but only if the American people will educate themselves and open their eyes to what is happening around them and in their nation.

The spirit is a word or term often used for so many different things about people, often becuase it is such an abstract concept, but also becuase it can mean so many different things. Spirit can refer to somebody’s morale or willingness to accomplish a task, but the spirit of a person is also something more than this, the spirit is who we truly are, it is more than our memories, our ideas and our beliefs. The spirit is the true self, the part of who we are that will live forever, and it is something that like our bodies or our minds needs to be nurtured, cared for, fed and needs to be used in order to grow. We care for our spirit by doing spiritual things, connecting to spiritual things, praying and meditating in order to allow the spirit it’s time to grow. A weak spirit can be easily influenced, it can be altered and seduced into darkness. When our spirit is weak, we begin to lose ourselves, many people in our world struggle with wondering who they are, what they want, or what can make them happy, they struggle with identity and with finding happiness and purpose, this is the result of a malnourished spirit, which can leave us feeling empty or that we have a hole to be filled. The spirit, the trueself, if weak or seemingly lost then we find ourselves falling further and further into a life of darkness, this darkness is what the enemy wants, it is why it is so important for christians to minister to others, and to use our time in prayer and reading the scriptures, becuase we must use our light to bring light to the world. Even Christians who read and pray can feel this emoty and sad feeling, this is from no longer fulfilling the purpose, which can only be fulfilled by seeking God and following His commandments. Strengthen the spirit, and let your light so shine before men that you may glorify God in heaven.

 

Amen.

I recently watched Miracles, a disney film covering the 1980 winter olympics men’s hockey team for USA, it was a inspirational and moving film about a young group of college boys from all over the America who did not really know each other, trained together for only seven months, and then beat the best team in the world and went on to win the gold medal for hockey. There was something about this movie that helped me remember what it is about America that I love so much, why it is the greatest nation on Earth, and while many seek to destroy it form within and without, America must be saved. America is the only nation in which someone can rise from obscurity to greatness, America offers the right to all people to pursue life, liberty and happiness. America is not perfect, but then again nowhere really is, except for heaven, but that is not here on Earth, America is a place in which you have the power and the right to take ahold of and shape your own future, it is not about your circumstances of birth, but what you choose to do and become with your life that will determine what you accomplish with it. The only person to blame for your circumstances is yourself, which is hard, and reaching greatness in America is not guaranteed, but it is out there for anyone, if they have the courage to reach for it, but it is a fight, it is a struggle, and it takes more hard work and preserverence than many are willing to muster, but success or failure is only up to the individual, and there are starting to be many who do not desire to obtain greatness, but would rather have mediocrity handed to them, and this is causing America’s decline, we are faced with a single choice now as a nation: we must as a people, as individuals and a collective strive for greatness, the concept of American exceptionalism must retake hold in our hearts, we must take responsibility for our own choices and find the strength and courage to overcome them and retake our place as the truly greatest nation on Earth; or we can continue to blame others for our choices and expect an easy hand out and we shall fall into obscurity and be forgotten.

Distractions are everywhere nowadays, everywhere you turn there is something to keep you from using your God given talents to help your neighbors, so many of us often are so concerned about the latest trend, the latest video, the latest gossip, the latest technology or innovation, so distracted by our entertainment we forget to look elsewhere, we forget that we are about of a bigger purpose, that there is more to life than simply being entertained and doing things that are fun, turn away from the petty distractions, put the phones down and read your Bible, pray and have conversation with God, talk to your neighbors and enjoy their company, go out and get involved in your community and make an impact, be different, be true and be righteous through your faith in Christ. God calls us to more than entertainment, entertainment is not a bad thing, but it can keep us from seeking something better.

Amen.

Joab calls on David to finish the work that he had started in capturing the enemy territory, he does so in order that the glory might rest upon the king, and not in himself. This is how we as Christians ought to be in service to God, we need God to finish the work through us, that He May receive the glory, our job as servants of God are to honor and glorify Him. Just as Jesus is the author and the FINISHER of our faith, so to did joab seek David to finish the work of taking the cities of the ammonites. When we do things for God we do so not for ourselves or our own glory, but that all honor and glory point back to him, we are to advance the kingdom of God here on earth, and in order to do so we must focus on Him and glorifying His name, seek to be a humble servant showing love to your neighbors and glorify God in all you do.

Amen

October 2019 saw an unusal event transpire in the state of California, an event that does not happen in the United States, but rather in nations such as Venuzuela or Russia, but not America. California turned off the power to nearly 1 million people’s homes, this action, while guised under the premise of public safety in order to aid in the prevention of wildfires, smells more of a conditioning of the American people. In countries such as Russia and Venuzuela power is turned on and off at the whim of the ruling elite, it is a way for the elite to control resources, money and the population, and it would seem to be the direction of the California elite as well. This act will be the first of many, between this and the rising risk of disease as a result of immigration and homelessness, there will be many more potions of the California citizens rights and needs being taken away, not all at one time, not for awhile, but it will be a slow process to control resources under the guise of public safety. Be warned America, it will only get worse, unless we take a stand.

You see God will bless some with knowledge and some with wisdom, but understanding is for each of us to seek out, for there is glory in the seeking. Seeking is a journey, and all journeys help us to grow, and we grow more from the journey itself than we do from simply obtaining the goal we had in mind. God wants us all to be seekers, because He knows that when we seek we are changed by the process and by the journey, and that we are changed for the better. So why then does God want us to receive wisdom and knowledge, but to seek understanding? Well the reason is this, wisdom and knowledge gives us the information to act, but understanding gives us the why, and God lives in the why. With the gifts we can perform, but when we seek after understanding God, we become seekers of God, and God wants a people who are searching for Him. This seeking for understanding is what drives great men and women of God to become world changers, not because they sought to change the world, but because they sought out God.

Christians in America have often struggled with one key piece of the Christian faith, and that is the spiritual side of it. God is a spirit, and those that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth (John 4:24) those who follow him must be ready for that. This means that God is also going to demonstrate and interact with us in spiritual ways, such as praying in tongues, visions, dreams, prophecies, miracles, blessing us with knowledge and wisdom and more. There are many things that we in the west tend to shut ourselves off from, spiritual sides to the Christian walk, that when we do open our self up to them we can truly find a new level of intimacy with God. One such practice, and one of my favorites is the act of meditation. I do not mean Tibetan meditation, but Christian biblical meditation. While these two forms of meditation have some similarities, they are quite opposite of one another, the purpose of tibetan meditation is to achieve mindfulness by focusing on breathing or chanting of a mantra to help one connect to their spirit, christian meditation however is about contemplating and thinking heavily on scripture. When a Christian meditates it is not to empty themselves, but to fill themselves up with the knowledge of God. When you devote time to the study of the word of God, letting tthe word of God play over in your mind as you seek out the meaning and the knowledge, this is meditation, and this is what fills us with the knowledge of God. Some call this prayerfully reading the word of God, but to meditate on the scriptures, and to pray heavily in the spirit to God brings us to such a closeness that truly changes the heart of the believer. It is God’s will that we open ourselves to spiritual gifts, that we can move in the fullness of God’s power and the fullness of the church. God’s church is a church that moves in power and the annointing of the Holy Spirit, that uses the gifts to edify each other and to advance the kingdom. The West has always placed a greater emphasis on the mind than the spirit, but we know that the mind can imagine a vain thing, the mind can be tricked, but in the spirit is life. As Christians we must learn to not only seek God with our minds, but to seek Him with our spirit as well. When our whole spirit seeks out God and prays to him is when we live in the fullness of Christ. Apostle Paul tells us that praying in tongues is great for the believer to help edify and grow his own spirit and further his individual walk with God, and can even be useful to to edify the church if theire be one who can interpret tongues. These gifts were not written and given only for those in ancient times, but rather God is the same yesterday today and tomorrow, He does not change, and His plan for us does not change either. Visions and dreams are still given to this day, we simply lack the faith to receive these gifts, which not only hurts ourselves, but also those we have been sent to help.

Amen.

God is a merciful, forgiving God, and he is pateint with His people. Far more patient than any of us are with each other or with God, we are quick to blame Him for our sorrows and our woes, but we are slow to thank Him and in His great mercy He forgives us still. Like the people of Israel we have turned our bakcs on Him, we have turned from His commandments, and we have perverted His teachings, and now our nation is begining to feel the price. Our children turn away from God, they do not know him or what He has done for us, they turn unto false gods, and we are grown weak. God handed the nation of Israel over to Babylon as requsite for their continued sins, and how much more have we sinned now than they? As a nation we have turned our backs on God, we have denied His son our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and continue to do so at ever greater levels, how long shall he have mercy on us? Even now the name of God is blasphemed, the deeds of God are forgotten and praise is handed over to satan. The jaws of our enemy close ever stronger around our nations necks and our strong men do nothing. our nation is handed over to our enemy from underneath our feet. Even now as darkenss looms over our people we do not cry out to God, our prayers and our crying out is diminshed.  Turn to God and He shall repent of the coming punishment, but we will not turn to him, we will not seek Him. How long shall God allow man to walk the Earth when they do not acknowledge Him or give him thanks and praise. John 3:36 “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.” How far will God allow our nation to turn from Jesus and follow after satan before He will require it at our hands? Pray and the God of mercy shall answer us.

 

Amen.