Author: admin

God is a forgiving God. If He were not, no person could ever be saved.

Jesus forgave those who killed Him. Luke 23: 34

Stephen forgave those who killed him. Acts 7: 60

Erika Kirk, standing before the whole world, forgave the person who killed Charlie.

The apostle Paul dealt with a sin issue in the Corinthian church. In the conclusion of the matter, he said the person was to be forgiven “in the person of Christ; lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.” 1 Corinthians 5: 4-5; 2 Corinthians 2: 6-11

Forgiveness is of God. It opens the door to allow God to work in a situation. Unforgiveness is of Satan. It opens the door to allow Satan’s devices to operate.

Forgiveness releases you from the sin that person or organization has cast upon you. Unforgiveness keeps you tied and bound to that iniquity. David said the wicked “cast iniquity upon me” (Psalms 55:3). Forgiveness casts it off of you. That does not mean the offenders won’t have justice served on them. Vengeance is not yours. Vengeance is the Lord’s. He is the just Judge.

Forgiveness allows you to have closure so the wound can heal. Unforgiveness keeps the wound open with negative words and memories. There is no healing. The wound is open for the infection of bitterness, and like gangrene, bitterness can cause death if it goes unchecked—death to the anointing, death to relationships, and physical death.

Forgiveness is a spiritual transaction bringing God on the scene in love, grace, righteousness, redemption and restoration. Unforgiveness is a spiritual transaction that brings bitterness, hatred, malice, vengeance, gossiping and every evil work. It colors one’s whole outlook on life dark shades of negative, skeptical, hurt, and speaking evil.

Jesus taught us to carry the message of mercy and forgiveness to the world. He paid the price for every person to be forgiven, and for every person to forgive. Through the work of our Lord Jesus Christ all people can be set free. Sin’s power is broken. The power of death is broken. Forgiveness releases this power of God in the earth. “Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place to wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.” God is the just Judge. Romans 12: 17-21

We reap what we sow. Do we want to reap from forgiveness or from unforgiveness?

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I want to ask every born-again believer who is a follower of our Lord Jesus Christ (“Christ” meaning “Holy Spirit anointed Messiah”); I want to ask every preacher, everyone in leadership position, every person—do you speak in tongues? Why not? Please, ask yourself this question. Take some time and examine yourself. Be perfectly honest with yourself. Why have you not received the power of the Holy Spirit and spoken in tongues?  

Did not Jesus say, “And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils, they shall speak with new tongues”? Jesus said these signs, for all the unbelieving world to see, shall follow them that believe. Mark 16: 17 (italics mine)

Did not the apostle Paul agree with Jesus when he wrote to the Corinthians that tongues were a sign to the unbeliever, showing a supernatural God at work bringing light, life, liberty and power to the lives of people for the glory of the name of Jesus. Paul quoted a prophecy from Isaiah 28: 11-12 showing that this grace and sign was of God. 1 Corinthians 14: 20-22

Did not Peter stand up on the day of Pentecost and explain to the unbelievers that what they were hearing was the fulfillment of a prophecy from Joel 2: 28-32. He said, “These are not drunk, as you suppose…this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel.” The speakers were the people who believed the Word. The onlookers were the unbelievers. Acts 2: 15-21 NKJV

Acts is the recorded history of the early church in the Bible. Did not believers show this sign throughout the book of Acts? Acts 2, Acts 8, Acts 9, Acts 10, Acts 19—in every instance, covering a span of about the first twenty years of the church, the sign was given. Simon saw something in Acts 8. In Acts 9, it is not specifically stated that Paul spoke in tongues, but he told the Corinthians that he did speak in tongues, “more than you all. 1 Corinthians 14:18 NKJV

Let’s just reason together for a moment. If God has a supernatural means of power and communication that He wants to impart to all His children, do you really think He would then do away with it, withhold it, or offer it to just a few? Jesus clearly stated: “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!” Luke 11:13 NKJV

The Holy Spirit is not mute! He has His own language! He speaks through a vessel. We see this throughout the book of Acts. He groans in every believer to express the word and voice of God out into the world (Romans 8: 26, 27). Any vessel who believes, and opens their mouth wide, God will fill it (Psalms 81:10). He will express Himself in His own way and language.  Do I have any believers? Will you yield and receive God’s power? Why not?

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I dreamed I got a heavy-duty draw string plastic garbage bag. At night I went to a hornet’s nest, put that garbage bag over it, drew it tight, and extracted it from its mooring. I don’t know what I did with it after I got it. And I don’t know if a hornet will bore through a plastic bag or not. If he can, that could be a problem. I have never done this, but I have taken a wide-mouthed clear jar, put about a table spoon of lacquer thinner in the bottom of it, and at night, when all the wasps are at home, ease that jar over the nest. I just hold it there for about forty-five seconds. You will see them drop off the nest into the jar, stone dead from the fumes. Or, if the nest is on a flat surface, you can drag that jar side-ways, and it will dislodge it and the nest and all will fall into the jar. If the nest is in an area that is not a flat surface, I have taken a little lacquer thinner in an open container and doused the nest with it. By the time the wasps hit the ground, they never move a muscle—dead! One more trick, while we are wasp hunting. In cold seasons, in older houses on days that it warms up, the wasps that are in the walls will make their way into the warm house. One time I was working in an older house, and on one of those warmer days, scores of wasps came inside (it wasn’t a tightly built old house). Well, I needed to work, and there were other occupants in the house. I took my little hand-held shop vac and went around and sucked ‘em all up! You just ease it up on one, and he doesn’t know what’s happening. He’s tryin’ to hold on. Then as you slowly get closer, poof! He’s gone! Then you gotta figure out what to do with them once you get them in your vacuum cleaner. If I remember right, I sucked up a little lacquer thinner and just let them sit there for a while. But you have to be careful with lacquer thinner. It can eat up certain plastics. Here’s the deal. We live in a physical world with spiritual forces working behind the scene. The Bible says we wrestle not with flesh and blood, but with unseen spiritual principalities and powers. Many times, what appears to be a person acting up, is nothing but a stinging demon influence being expressed through that person. A believer who is submitted to God is to be loving and truthful to the person, but in prayer, in the “night” of the prayer closet, we are to take authority over those spirits and bind them up and cast them out. We keep our focus on presenting Jesus to the world, but sometimes in the night, we need to deal with the wasps.

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I remember the days when you could pull up to a “filling station” and get full-service. You would get your windshield washed, tires checked, oil checked, transmission checked, your tank filled with gas, and all this with a friendly smile. Whatever needed to be done, you would have it done. Most of the time, the attendant would know your name. We had all this for what, about thirty or forty cents a gallon for the gas? Back then, it was known and expected that when you pulled into a “service station,” you were going to be served in this manner. You were going to be thoroughly checked over and equipped to safely roll on down the road for the long haul, to arrive at your destination. Nowadays it is quite different. If you want your windshield cleaned, you do it yourself—if there is water in the box. It’s called “self-serve.” Whatever you need, you gotta figure it out and go buy it and put it in. When the church first got started, it was a full-service church. When you pulled into this church, you would get your life checked over by the spirit of holiness. If something needed tending to, you can better believe, it would be tended to. At this church you would get your sins exposed and washed away by repentance and faith in the blood of Jesus. You would get totally immersed by water baptism, showing a total commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ, to do the will of God from that day forward. You would get an infilling with the Holy Spirit with a supernatural prayer language imparted to you by which you could drive on down the road in the supernatural power of God. By that same anointing oil of the Spirit, you could live smoothly, operating in the anointing of God even in the face of adversities. If one of your spiritual tires was low, or flat, slowing progress, there were spiritual-minded brethren who could help take care of it without spreading rumors all over town. When you pulled into the early church, you knew you were going to be served by the Lord Himself. You knew you would drive away fully supplied and fully equipped with the supernatural power of God. You knew He would take you down the road with His strength and ability. By Him, you would fulfill your purpose in life and safely arrive at your destination. The early church was not a boring program of dead religious rituals. It was God serving the people with life, power, protection, and preparation for what lay ahead. It was not a self-serve pick and choose what I like or what I don’t like. It was God manifested for the good of the people. If you wanted God, you went to church and submitted your life to Him, knowing, He will take care of you. Good News! Today, God is still available “full-service” to those who seek Him with all their heart.

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My recent “fender-bender” received an evaluation of “total loss” by my insurance company. Functionally, nothing is impaired. By the nature of the damage, and by the fact it is a 2008 vehicle, it was deemed “totaled.” I elected to keep the vehicle for the compensation offered, instead of surrendering it for the larger amount of money. One reason I did this, was because after a couple of estimates of repair with new parts and all that, I began to visualize what could be done to work with what I had. After the collision I picked up the pieces lying in the roadway and brought them home. So, when I got home, I got those pieces together and started holding them up in place and seeing how and where they fit. I thought, “Hmm! I think I can decently stitch this thing back together.” On a Sunday afternoon after church with my wife’s mechanically-minded nephew, Jeffrey, we put Humpty-Dumpty back together again. We drilled holes and “stitched” those parts back together with zip-ties. Even injuries on our bodies fixed up by professional doctors carry stitch marks. So, there is no shame in stitch marks. They just show we survived the battle. So, my “Jehu’s Chariot II” survived the battle with some stitch marks on a certain area of its body.  I have yet to paint it, but when it is painted, it will blend beautifully and carry its marks with dignity. Did you know that God uses imperfect vessels? If He did not, He could do nothing on earth because nobody is perfect except Jesus, and He is in heaven. We all have areas in our lives where we got banged up either by our own or by other people’s choices. God doesn’t bang people up. People’s poor choices, inattention, hasty actions and selfish ways cause life’s collisions. God is right there on the scene to starting fixing it up and transform and make the most with what we’ve got. We need never limit God by our own understanding. We can cooperate with Him and roll with Him in what we have. In due time, if it works out, a whole new bumper and hatch door can be purchased and installed. But right now, we can take what we have and roll on with God’s plan and purpose. Are we satisfied to remain in any sin and weakness in any way? Absolutely Not! But if we will submit who we are and what we have to the Master Mechanic, He can work in our life to keep things smoothly rolling down the road of His purpose. So, get up and trust Him to transform you the way only He knows how you need it. Don’t stop your journey with Him just because you got damaged. All God ever uses is damaged goods who have allowed Him to be their life and their strength. There is a harvest to be reaped. Entrust all your life to God, get up and get moving!

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“If I had just looked a split-second longer!” That is what I said to Barbara as I related how I backed into the path of an on-coming vehicle. At this location, I normally park in the parking lot beside the building, the reason being so I can pull out in the street going forward. This morning, I chose to park in an angular parking space along the street. When I got in the car to back out, I looked over my right shoulder down the street for any on-coming traffic, and with none in view, I proceeded to back out. Boom! In that moment, as it occurred, I thought, “I’m being hit by a car. I can’t believe this is happening! But it is! I’ve backed out in front of a car!” Well, I pulled back up into the parking space and shut the engine off and jumped out to check on the other driver. He was opening the door as I approached the vehicle, and I asked him if he was okay. He said he was shaken up. I apologized that I did not see him, explaining to him that I looked down the street, and apparently at the very instant he was in my blind spot. A 2008 Forerunner has about a foot wide roof support at the middle side window and about an eight- or ten-inch roof support on the right rear corner. At the instant I looked, the low-riding little car was hidden behind one of those supports or behind the sidewall of my car itself. The crash was a total surprise. I came away from the incident with a very practical lesson for me and for all. Jesus said to watch and pray lest you fall into temptation (“experience of evil, adversity”—Mark 14:38). He did not say to glance and pray. To watch is to hold a gaze on the situation and check it out thoroughly to make sure of what is going on. It is to really pay attention. In eternal spiritual matters, we don’t need to just give it a good religious glance then do our thing. We need to consider if we might have any “blind spots” in our life, so that things might not really be as they seem. Blind spots can cause unexpected crashes. We need to hold our gaze on our life in the light of the Word of God to see where we really stand with God. A religious blind spot of believing in God and Jesus Christ without having love and devotion to God and love toward our neighbor is a killer. If we have no love for the Word of God, we might be looking down life’s road without seeing the on-coming traffic. Sometimes we make bad choices, we follow the flesh, and we mess up. Sometimes we position ourselves to get blind-sided. We don’t stop driving just because we have an accident. Keep learning, repenting, making changes, and trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ.

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Coming through North Little Rock, a group of us family members decided to stop in at The Black Bear Diner in North Little Rock. I had never been there and discovered this to be an excellent choice for eating out. I highly recommend this restaurant to anyone. As I looked over the menu, I saw they offered a huckleberry milkshake or malt. “How unique!” I thought. I had hardly even thought about huckleberries since I was a kid, much less to find them offered on a menu. When I was a kid, Dad would take us out to open areas in the woods to pick huckleberries. They are sort of like a wild, smaller version of a blueberry. I remember we would come out of the woods with a Mrs. Tucker’s Shortening bucket full of blueberries, and with a body covered in chiggers. I remember seriously considering if the pleasure of eating the berries was worth the misery of the chigger bites. It worked out best if you just keep scratching while you enjoyed the pie or jam or whatever the huckleberries were made into. Back to the Black Bear Diner; I had a salmon dinner, which was good, and I sampled a bite of steak offered from another person at the table. It was thin-sliced and seasoned with garlic and some other herb or spice, and it, too, was uniquely delicious. So, I had never seen huckleberry offered on a menu, and I don’t think I had ever had steak with garlic and whatever herb on it. I determined we would have to make a return trip to sample some other items from their menu with their generous portions. When you find something good, it does not take a lot of effort to share it with others. After sixty years of being with the Lord, I have become convinced that the reason so many “Christians” do not freely share the Lord is because they have never really partaken of His love, forgiveness, healing and infilling with life and power. Reality: we can have religion without a relationship. Relationship comes with understanding combined with total commitment and surrender. My wife has this saying: You can sit in a hen house for twenty years, but that does not make you a chicken. Powerless religion stems from no personal relationship. We can be good but not truly connected with God. Connection with God comes by understanding our heart condition before God, and understanding that what Jesus Christ did for us on the cross is the only thing that makes us right with God. When we see this, and we turn to Him, surrendering our life to Him, surrendering our goodness and our badness to Him, we experience a change of heart. We become a partaker of the menu, not just an observer. When we become a partaker of the spiritual bread and wine of Jesus Christ, we realize how good it is, and we overflow, telling others about the Lord Jesus Christ.

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Believing God is a calm, joyful, confident knowing and expectation of Him performing in your life, and in the lives of others, that which is already accomplished by Jesus Christ His Son. Believing God is based on knowing the heart of the Father to do good to all, bringing about reconciliation, restoration, healing and provision in every way.

“The Lord is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy. The Lord is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works.” Psalms 145: 8-9

“Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the Lord his God: which made heaven, and earth, the sea, and all that therein is: which keepeth truth for ever: which executeth judgment for the oppressed: which giveth food to the hungry, The Lord looseth the prisoners: the Lord openeth the eyes of the blind: the Lord raiseth them that are bowed down: the Lord loveth the righteous: the Lord preserveth the strangers; he relieveth the fatherless and widow: but the way of the wicked he turneth upside down.” Psalms 146: 5-9

Believing God in prayer and in ministry is asking, declaring and operating in the Spirit to manifestly bring about that which is in the heart of the Father.

Believing God in prayer and in ministry is based on the finished work of His Son, Jesus Christ. God the Father has exalted Jesus Christ His Son so that every knee of sin, self, sickness and satanic oppression should bow to Him in heaven and in earth and under the earth, all to the glory of God the Father, who is greater than all.

Believing God in prayer and in ministry is operating in the anointing in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ (the anointed One and His anointing), all to the glory of God the Father, and His Son Jesus Christ.

John 13: 16; John 14: 28; Ephesians 4: 6; Philippians 2: 9-11; 1 John 2: 27

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Every version of the Bible makes its own unique contribution. Unique to the King James Version of the Bible is the phrase “faith of the Son of God.” When we run references on “faith” in the New Testament, we can see that we have been given the faith of Jesus Christ as a gift. Just as we refer to the righteousness of Jesus Christ imputed to us as a gift, and the love of God is a gift imparted to us by the Holy Spirit, we can also know that we have been given the gift of the faith of the Son of God.

I encourage you to read the references listed below in the KJV Bible, and let the Holy Spirit confirm this truth in your life. By putting these scriptures together, we can see that the phrase “the faith” refers to the personal faith of Jesus Christ. It is not just the body of truth that men have put together and call it “the faith.” By believing the Word concerning the truth that we have been given the faith of the Son of God, we can exercise great boldness in our prayers and in our ministry to others. Acts 3: 6-7

Beyond just looking at a particular version of the Bible, we can go back to the beginning and see Adam and Eve. Adam and Eve were created in the image of God: “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.” That means Adam and Eve had God’s life, God’s love, God’s righteousness and God’s faith. They were created in the image of God with the purpose of having dominion to rule and reign on the earth in righteousness. Genesis 1: 26-28

Paul taught by the inspiration of the Spirit that we are a new creation in Christ. Old things are passed away and all things have become new. He taught that the old man of sin was nailed to the cross with the death of Jesus, and we have been given the gift of righteousness by which we have dominion to reign in life. Romans 5: 5, 17; Romans 6

We have the righteousness of Christ imputed to us. We have the love of God shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost. We also need to know we have been given His faith by which to live and operate, unto His fruitfulness. Didn’t He say that if we believe, we will do the same works He did and greater? Romans 5: 5, 17; John 14: 12-14

Why is it important to understand and believe that we have been given the faith of the Son of God? So we will stop trying to believe, and just rest, and believe that we have His faith and operate accordingly. We are to understand that in Christ we never lack faith, His faith never fails, and we can be very bold in His faith. Acts 3: 6-7; Hebrews 4

You say, “Well, faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.” Yes! So! Hear God’s Word! It says you have the faith of the Son of God! Galatians 2:20; Galatians 3:22

Peter taught that by virtue of the new birth we have obtained the precious faith of the Son of God, and we are to add good character to that faith. 1 Peter 1: 23; 2 Peter 1: 1-11

Jude said we can build up ourselves on our most holy faith and keep ourselves in the love of God by praying in the Holy Ghost. By this, we can reach out with compassion to some people making a difference, and with others we can “save with fear, pulling them out of the fire.” As a born-again, new creation of God in Christ, we are to believe the Word that says we have been given the faith of the Son of God and think and act and operate accordingly. Jude 1: 20-23

Mark 11: 22 “Have faith in God” the margin reads “Have the faith of God”

Acts 3: 16 “the faith which is by him” the margin reads [the faith] “comes through Jesus”

Romans 3: 22 “which is by faith of Jesus Christ” unto and upon all them that believe

Romans 12: 3 “God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith”

1 Corinthians 16: 13 “stand fast in the faith…like men, be strong”

Galatians 2: 20 “I live by the faith of the Son of God”

Galatians 3: 22 the promise “by faith of Jesus Christ…given to them that believe.”

Ephesians 2: 8-9 “faith…not of yourselves…it is the gift of God.”

Ephesians 4: 5, 7, 13 “one faith” “the gift” “the faith”

Philippians 1: 27 “striving together for the faith of the gospel”

Philippians 3: 9 “righteousness…through the faith of Christ”

Colossians 1: 23 “continue in the faith grounded and settled”

Colossians 2: 12 “through the faith of the operation of God”

1 Timothy 1: 14 “grace…with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus”

1 Timothy 3: 13 “great boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus”

1 Timothy 6: 10, 21 “erred from the faith” ”erred concerning the faith”

2 Timothy 1: 13 “Hold fast…in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus”

2 Timothy 3: 8 / 4: 7 “reprobate concerning the faith” / “I have kept the faith”

Titus 1: 1, 4, 13 “the faith of God’s elect” “the common faith” “sound in the faith”

Titus 2: 2 “men…sound in faith”

James 2: 1 “have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ…with respect of persons”

1 Peter 5: 8-9 “the devil…whom resist steadfast in the faith”

2 Peter 1: 1, 5 “have obtained like precious faith” “add to your faith”

Jude 1: 3, 20 “earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints”

“building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost”

         

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The present trend of gray automobiles fascinates me. Colors, that in times past were reserved for the primer coat before the finish coat of a paint job, are now the trendy fashion color. Primer and gray painter’s putty were always colors that you knew would be covered up with a “pretty” color. So, who is to say what color is “pretty” and another color is “ugly”? It is all in personal perception, and personal perception is determined by one’s personal tutoring and experiences. What we are taught is what we walk. Negative influences impart negative perceptions. Positive influences impart positive perceptions. Life is fluid. Truth is absolute. Perceptions we have are true to us, but the next person’s perceptions are also true to them. The variables of life can leave us reeling with a deeply wrinkled brow and a scratching of the head. There might seem to be no absolutes—but there are. Another thing that requires my own personal adjustment is a metal roof on residence. For most of my life I have associated metal roofs with commercial buildings. The trend of houses having metal roofs has been going on for several years. I still must adjust my inward responses when I see a metal roof on a house. Because of the years of seeing houses with asphalt shingles and commercial buildings with metal roofs, to this day, somehow to me, a metal roof on a house “just does not look right.” It’s crazy. They look great! They are durable. But I recognize that I have a “prejudice,” a “pre-disposed idea,” of how certain roofs should look for certain buildings, at least in my brain. Maybe all that is just me. I don’t know. But I do know that our human outlook and attitudes are largely shaped by how we are taught and by our experiences and by our environment. This same type thing exists and operates in the spiritual realm, in the kingdom of God. How we are taught, or not taught, what we have experienced, or not experienced—these things along with our environment influences us greatly. This influence is either according to truth or only a part-truth. This is why it serves us well to come before the Lord and lay everything we have been taught, and all we have experienced, and all our environment—to lay it all down at His feet. Then, with our trust in the Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, allow Him to teach us His Word and His Way in Christ, the Spirit-anointed Jesus, as our Lord and Guide. Our perceptions and experiences might be in shades of gray with pre-formed ideas. But God’s Word and God’s Ways are absolute, established in “black and white.” The Way of God is embodied in the Spirit-anointed person of the Lord Jesus. To follow Him is to follow the absolute truth. Knowing Him intimately gives us God’s perspective in this life and in death with God’s way, God’s truth, and God’s life.

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