Devotion: We Be A Kingdom Worker

Once, we were asked why we chose to do what we do.  We wanted to share, just in case someone else had the same question.

“After these things the Lord appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and (by) two before his face into every city and place, whither he himself would come (was about to go).  Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth laborers into his harvest.  Go your ways: behold, I send you forth as lambs among wolves.  Carry neither purse, nor scrip (bag), nor shoes (sandals): and salute (greet) no man by the way (along the road).  And into whatsoever house ye enter, first say, Peace be to this house.  And if the son of peace be there, your peace shall rest upon it: if not, it shall turn to you again.  And in the same house remain, eating and drinking such things as they give: for the laborer is worthy of his hire (wages).  Go not from house to house.  And into whatsoever city ye enter, and they receive you, eat such things as are set before you:  and heal the sick that are therein, and say unto them, The kingdom of God is come nigh unto (near to) you.  But into whatsoever city ye enter, and they receive you not, go your ways out into the streets of the same, and say, even the very dust of your city, which cleaveth on (clings to) us, we do wipe off against you: notwithstanding be ye sure of this, that the kingdom of God is come nigh unto (has come near) you” (Luke 10:1-11).

Devotion: God Gives Seed

Most of you are familiar with “The Parable Of The Sower.”  Jesus explains the parable to his disciples this way.

“And his disciples asked him, saying, What might this parable be?  And he said, Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to others in parables; that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand.  Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.  Those by the way side are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved.  They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away.  And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection.  But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience” (Luke 8:9-15).

Devotion: Prosperity God’s Way

Here we go once again, talking about prosperity and how it is God’s will for his children to prosper.  In the past, we have shared several passages of scripture that show it is God’s will for his children to prosper.

“But thou shalt remember the Lord thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day” (Deuteronomy 8:18).

We have continually used Deuteronomy 8:18 as the anchor to our message to make clear the specific purpose for this wealth, which is “that he may establish his covenant,” a covenant “which he sware unto thy fathers.”  God gives us the power to get wealth to fulfill his promise, that agreement he made with our ancestors.

“Let the Lord be magnified, which hath pleasure in the prosperity of his servant” (Psalm 35:27)

Devotion: Giving Is Planting Seed

In several of our recent commentaries, we have discussed prosperity.  We have continually used Deuteronomy 8:18 as the anchor to our message, which says that God gives us the power or the ability to get wealth, although it be for a very specific purpose.  We have expressed this purpose as being “that he may establish his covenant.”  We also mentioned that it is vital that we understand there is more to the message and the purpose than just giving or as some have put it, “sowing seed for a harvest” and expecting some kind of hundredfold return based on the amount a person gives.  While being a generous giver, being obedient, and walking in faith are important ingredients in the mixture, it was understanding the true purpose that was the key to receiving the revelation of the prosperity message from God’s point of view.

So many people view prosperity as something that increases their bottom line.  Because the world places such high value on things like cars, houses, and other tangible items, we are led to believe that by amassing as many of these items that we can, we make ourselves prosperous by varying degrees.  We are taught that the more such things or “assets” we amass, the more prosperous we are and the more prosperous we are, the more highly regarded, by man, we become.  Nevertheless, God’s way to prosperity is just a little different.

God wants to prosper us.  God does not want us to prosper so that our needs are barely met or even met with the barest of necessities.  God wants us to prosper so much so that we can actually be givers.  God wants us to give, to be in a position where we can be a blessing to others.  The reality of prosperity is that we should live to give and not live to get.

The Bible makes it clear that there is a right way or a godly way to prosperity and that there is a wrong way or an ungodly way to prosperity.  Most people use the world’s roadmap, which is tied to the world’s financial economy, to obtain their riches.  When we are the source of our financial prosperity, we worry about everything.  However, when God is the source of your prosperity, you do not have to worry about anything.  God’s roadmap is different from the world’s roadmap and is not subject to the ebbs and flows of the world’s financial economy.

“The blessing of the Lord, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it” (Proverbs 10:22).

According to this passage, it is “the blessing of the Lord” that makes a person rich.  When our prosperity comes this way, there is no sorrow added with it.  It appears that having “the blessing or favor of the Lord” is the key to receiving true prosperity God’s way.  With “the blessing or favor of the Lord,” we do not have the burden or the weight of producing and/or maintaining our own riches.  “The blessing or favor of the Lord” will bless all that we do and make us prosperous with no sorrow or bad success added, for the sole purpose of enabling us to be a blessing to others.  When correctly understood, prosperity is not for us, where we amass as much wealth as we can for ourselves.  The primary goal for the prosperity is for us to be a channel for money to flow through so that God can use us “that he may establish his covenant” and that we may be a blessing to others.  Our personal wealth is a by-product of having “the blessing or favor of the Lord” in our life and is not the primary goal for the prosperity.

Again, we know that this short commentary will not settle the on-going debate about prosperity, however, it just might give those who have that same “ear to hear,” as we do, a little different perspective and a clearer understanding into the true purpose for the prosperity, from God’s point of view.  As always, we pray that our commentary will abundantly bless you, greatly inform you, and that you will be the better for having read it.  If blessed by this message, please share so that others may be blessed as well.  Amen.

Enjoy your blessings - KW

Devotion: Offering Time

A lot of discussion in the body of Christ on this topic of “tithing” has left many questions as to what should and should not be given.  Webster defines “tithe” as “one tenth of the annual produce of one’s annual income, paid as a tax or contribution to support a church or its clergy; a tenth part.”  Tithing is the practice of giving ten percent of one’s income to the Lord.

“Honor the Lord with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase: so shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine” (Proverbs 3:9).

We are to give honor to God with our substance or our very wealth and possessions as well as with the firstfruits of our increase.  As you read the rest of this verse, you see that those who obeyed this command had an increase; they had their barns filled with plenty, and their presses burst with new wine.  While we do not trade in the same commodities or the same ways as they did in those days, the basic principle still applies to us today.  The giving of tithes and offerings is the process of giving from the income that you receive, while firstfruits is the process of giving from the increase in income that you receive

“Will a man rob God?  Surely not!  And yet you have robbed me.  What do you mean?  When did we ever rob you?  You have robbed me of the tithes and offerings due me.  And so the awesome curse of God is cursing you, for your whole nation has been robbing me.  Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so that there will be food enough in my Temple; if you do, I will open up the windows of heaven for you and pour out a blessing so great you won’t have room enough to take it in!  Try it!  Let me prove it to you” (Malachi 3:8-10 TLB)!

In order to rob someone of something would mean that the something that was taken must already have belonged to the person it is taken from.  No one can be robbed of something that doesn’t belong to him or her.  Therefore, these tithes and offerings that are spoken of here must already belong to God.  In addition, we see that basic principle being applied here, where those who obeyed this command had an increase even though we again do not trade in the same commodities or the same ways as they did in those days.

This basic principle we are talking about is the principle of “seedtime and harvest or sowing and reaping” a principle which God established that says, “For whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap” (Galatians 6:7).  We know that this principle applies to the words we speak as well as the things we do, where our words and actions are like seeds being planted in the ground that produces a crop from which we reap a harvest, be it good or be it bad, depending on what we have sown.

“But remember this—if you give little, you will get little.  A farmer who plants just a few seeds will get only a small crop, but if he plants much, he will reap much.  Everyone must make up his own mind as to how much he should give.  Don’t force anyone to give more than he really wants to, for cheerful givers are the ones God prizes.  God is able to make it up to you by giving you everything you need and more so that there will not only be enough for your own needs but plenty left over to give joyfully to others.  It is as the Scriptures say: “The godly man gives generously to the poor.  His good deeds will be an honor to him forever” (II Corinthians 9:6-9 TLB).

There are those that believe that if they give away their money, they won’t have anything left for themselves.  They have no faith in the scriptures, fearing that if they give away their money, they will not have enough to survive.  They struggle to make sense of what they see and what they think they know, believing that they have to take matters into their own hands.  Reality says that it is a major undertaking to make it through life with the money that they have, and they can’t believe that they are expected to give some away and are required to live on less.  Jesus validates this principle of giving in the following scripture.

“Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom.  For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you” (Luke 6:38 NKJV).

Jesus assures us that we can count on the principle of “sowing and reaping.”  This principle works, and it works the same way for everyone.  Give and you will receive.  Not only will you have enough for yourself, but the more you give, the more you'll be given.

“It is possible to give away and become richer!  It is also possible to hold on too tightly and lose everything.  Yes, the liberal man shall be rich!  By watering others, he waters himself” (Proverbs 11:24-25 TLB).

The more you sow into the kingdom of God the more you will reap from his kingdom.  Many don’t believe in the principle, but just because you don’t know about or believe in a thing has no bearing on how the thing works.  Many have problems with giving away their money and with tithing.  They find all kinds of excuses as to why they should not give their hard-earned money away.  To them, it makes no sense to give away what they consider theirs.  Look at it this way: We go out to eat and afterwards will give a total stranger (a waiter/waitress whose only job is to serve us our food), a fifteen (15) to twenty (20) percent tip because we don’t want them to think bad of us or it’s the politically correct thing to do, but we won’t give God the 10 percent or so that he is due.  He has never raised his rates.  They have remained the same since the beginning.  And to beat it all, when we are in trouble, we do not call on the name of that stranger (waiter/waitress) to help us, we will call on the Lord.  Now that is something to ponder.

But here is the most important thing to keep in mind about offering time. Giving an offering to God is a way of honoring and worshipping God by telling him, “I am trusting in and depending on you, God, to make it through and not myself or my money.”  Now that be a walk of faith, Amen.

We pray that our inspirational message will be a blessing to you as well as informative.  If blessed by this message, please share so that others may be blessed as well.  Amen.

Enjoy your blessings. - KW

Devotion: Harvest Is Coming

Most of you are familiar with the principle of “seedtime and harvest.”  You know that principle which God established that says, “For whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap” (Galatians 6:7).  With this principle, the words that we speak can produce a crop much like that of the farmer who planted seeds in a field and it is from this crop that we reap a harvest, be it good or be it bad.  The same applies to the things that we do, where our actions are also like seeds, producing a crop from which we reap a harvest, be it good or be it bad as well.  It is important to note that the crops we produce can be “good or bad,” depending on what we have sown.

Basically, we continually have a harvest ready to come in, always based on the things that we say and/or the things that we do.  While these crops can be good or they can be bad, it is amazing how quickly we will distance ourselves from “a bad crop,” even though we are the ones responsible.  We are the ones that planted them, but we are quick to blame others and/or even blame God for the bad crops that appear in our lives from time to time.  There is a harvest coming and it will come from the seeds that you have planted either by your words or by your actions in the past few days, weeks, months, or even years.  The question for you is “What kind of harvest will it be?”

As always, we pray that today’s inspirational message will bless you as well as inform you.  If blessed by this message, please share so that others may be blessed as well.  Amen.

Enjoy your blessings - KW

Devotion: What Is Bible Meditation?

Do you realize that the Bible is our source of knowledge about the things of God?  Scripture tells us “the whole Bible was given to us by inspiration from God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives; it straightens us out and helps us do what is right.  It is God’s way of making us well prepared at every point, fully equipped to do good to everyone” (II Timothy 3:16-17).  We know that some of the interpretations appear to “split hairs or be trivial” to most but if we do not seek full disclosure, are we doing God a disservice?  Jesus says, “they that worship him (God) must worship him in spirit and in truth” (John 4:24).  While it is important to know that God created the world; Jesus was born, crucified, died, and resurrected, have you ever wondered why these events were recorded in the way that they were?  If trivial things, those minor misinterpretations of the Scripture, those “lies,” that most believe warrant no attention can prevent one from worshiping God in spirit and “in truth, could they be more important than one might have thought?  After all these years, have we truly been worshiping God according to his instructions or have we been deceived?  Have you ever wondered what God’s plan for mankind is?  Or should we not ask such questions?  If this whole process is so simple, why do you have to “study to show thyself approved unto God, rightly dividing the word of truth” (II Timothy 2:15)?  The Bible is a mystery book until you find the keys that will unlock it and then it becomes a message.

“For the Lord grants wisdom.  His every word is a treasure of knowledge and understanding.  He grants good sense to the godly, his saints.  He is their shield, protecting them and guarding their pathway.  He shows how to distinguish right from wrong, how to find the right decisions every time.  For wisdom and truth will enter the very center of your being, filling your life with joy.  You will be given the sense to stay away from evil men who want you to be their partners in crime, men who turn away from God’s ways to walk down dark and evil paths” (Proverbs 2:6-12 TLB).

All things are important, no matter how trivial they appear to be.  There is so much information to tell, so much information to share, and still so much more information to find.  So much so that unless you can get all the information out at one time, a lot of it gets lost in the interim.  As we said, the Bible is a mystery book with many secrets, hidden in plain sight just waiting to be found.  The Bible also holds a double meaning, one by which his children can find the true will of God for their life and one that just confuses the naysayers.  There are answers for everyone in the Bible, but many take the Bible at face value, meaning they have some knowledge of the word of God but will accept only those things, which fit into their belief system.  They have not taken the time to truly seek God, to truly find out what he is trying to tell his children, or to truly find the meaning of the scriptures that they read.

God tells us “to attend to his words,” which holds little meaning for many because just carrying a Bible around with them somehow fulfills the commandment.  When we attend to his words, we learn that “they are life unto those that find them” (Proverbs 4:20-22), meaning, “God’s words are full, abundant life unto those that hunt for, look for, or seek those words.”  God wants us to know that there is more to knowing him, knowing about his plan for mankind, and knowing about the things of God then just opening the Bible, reading a verse or two, and coming out with an opinion or an answer about such things.  God wants us to immerse ourselves in his word; he wants us to hunt for, look for, and seek the answers that he has provided us through his instruction manual.  Once we follow these instructions, scripture tells us, “Then we will no longer be like children, forever changing our minds about what we believe because someone has told us something different, or has cleverly lied to us and made the lie sound like the truth” (Ephesians 4:14).

God wants us to meditate on his word.  God wants us to fill our minds with his word.  He wants us to fill our mouths with his word.  God wants his word to fill our very being.  Meditation will help with that, and it will also help us to see things the way God sees them.  Meditation will cause us to focus on God’s thoughts until his thoughts become our thoughts.  As you consider meditating on God’s word, remember to open your mind, open your heart, and to seek the wisdom of God that you may see the truth; the truth that he has been trying to reveal to mankind for many years.  Amen.

If this message is a blessing to you, please share it so that others may be blessed by it as well.  Blessings.

Enjoy your blessings - KW

Why We Be A Kingdom Worker

Once, we were asked why we chose to do what we do.  We wanted to share, just in case someone else had the same question.

After these things the Lord appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and (by) two before his face into every city and place, whither he himself would come (was about to go).  Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth laborers into his harvest.  Go your ways: behold, I send you forth as lambs among wolves.  Carry neither purse, nor scrip (bag), nor shoes (sandals): and salute (greet) no man by the way (along the road).  And into whatsoever house ye enter, first say, Peace be to this house.  And if the son of peace be there, your peace shall rest upon it: if not, it shall turn to you again.  And in the same house remain, eating and drinking such things as they give: for the laborer is worthy of his hire (wages).  Go not from house to house.  And into whatsoever city ye enter, and they receive you, eat such things as are set before you:  and heal the sick that are therein, and say unto them, The kingdom of God is come nigh unto (near to) you.  But into whatsoever city ye enter, and they receive you not, go your ways out into the streets of the same, and say, even the very dust of your city, which cleaveth on (clings to) us, we do wipe off against you: notwithstanding be ye sure of this, that the kingdom of God is come nigh unto (has come near) you (Luke 10:1-11).

In this passage, we see that the Lord chose seventy other disciples and sent them ahead in pairs to all the towns and villages he planned to visit later.  More importantly were the instructions that he gave to seventy other disciples.  We believe these instructions were given to us as well.