Devotion: Change Your Name

Did you know to that “change” is defined as “to become different, or to make something or someone different?”  Did you know that man, more specifically Adam, changed the original creation, the original nature of mankind?  Yes, that be correct.  It was Adam and not God, who changed the nature of man.  We know that when Adam fell, he changed the course of mankind.  In truth, his disobedience changed the very nature of man, making him a new creation.  No longer was he morally and spiritually innocent.  He became a creature with a sin nature, knowing good but unable to do it and knowing evil but unable to resist it (Genesis 3:22).  He became sin conscience, morally corrupt, and spiritually dead.  He became alienated and separated from God.  Death came into the world because of what one man, Adam did (Romans 5:12).  Everyone dies because we are all related to Adam, all members of his sinful race and wherever there is sin, death is the result (I Corinthians 15:22).

But God had a redemption plan in place from the very beginning (Ephesians 1:3-5).  God knew from the beginning that those who came would have to conform to the likeness of the last Adam (Romans 8:29-30).  Like his counterpart, the first Adam, the last Adam (I Corinthians 15:45) had the government of mankind upon his shoulders (Isaiah 9:6).  Because of his obedience, the last Adam was able to restore all that was lost by the first Adam (Luke 19:10).  Because of what this other man, the last Adam, has done, there is now resurrection from the dead, for all who are related to the last Adam will rise again (I Corinthians 15:21-22).  Through his death and resurrection, the last Adam changed the nature of man, making him a new creation yet again.

It has been God’s plan, hidden since the beginning of time, to reconcile mankind back to him.  And it was God who reconciled his creation back to its original state, not a new state.  Actually, the truth is that God was in the last Adam, reconciling the world back unto himself (II Corinthians 5:19).  Yes, folks, that is stated correctly.  God was in Christ, restoring mankind back unto himself, even when we were yet still sinners (Romans 5:10).  Through what the last Adam did, God made peace and brought us back to himself (II Corinthians 5:18).  And in doing this, God gave us the ministry of reconciliation, entrusting us with his message of reconciliation.

Now, if a man be in Christ, he be a new creature, redeemed from his old sinful nature to a new nature for him, the nature of the original man, before the fall (II Corinthians 5:17-19).  You are no longer a part of Adam’s sinful race, a race that has a fixed moral nature in sin.  No, you are now part of a new race, a spiritual race, created solely by the last Adam, by Jesus Christ through his death and resurrection.  And this new spiritual race has a nature that is fixed in righteousness.  No longer do we know good and are unable to do it.  No longer do we know evil and are unable to resist it (Ephesians 2:1-3).  We have been given a second chance (Ephesians 2:4-6).  We have been delivered out of the dominion of darkness and transferred into the kingdom of Jesus (Colossians 1:13).  This be the ministry of reconciliation, the renewing of that relationship that existed with the original man before his fall from God’s grace.

So, if you be in Christ, then you be a new creature, a new creation.  You be changed.  You may also want to “change your name” in the process.  By that we mean, as a new creation in Christ, you have to start seeing yourself as God sees you.  As a new creation in Christ, you have to see yourself as “a child of God” (Galatians 3:26).  As a new creation in Christ, you have to see yourself “adopted into the family of God” (Ephesians 1:5).  You have to stop seeing yourself as you use to be and start seeing yourself as you have become.  You have to see yourself as a born-again child of the Most High God and as his righteousness.  Yes, that’s right, you now have a new identity, so consider calling yourself by your new identity and let go of the old one.  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

Devotion: God Is Not Your Problem

Read an interesting story the other day involving a good man who had an incredible reverence for God, so he stayed far away from evil.  He had a huge family consisting of seven sons and three daughters.  He was extremely well off because of the gigantic ranch that he had.  This ranch had all kinds of livestock; including cattle, sheep, and donkeys, just to name a few.  The ranch also employed a great number of people to help him tend to the needs of the ranch.  Some reported that he was the wealthiest man in the entire region.

During one of the many get-togethers that this man’s many children had, tragedy struck his ranch.  One of his employees came running to him and said, “While the fields were being plowed and all the cattle and the donkeys were feeding, a group of rustlers came and took them all away.  They also killed everyone around, except me, who was able to get away.”

And while he was dealing with the news of this tragedy, another of his employees came running to him and said, “Lighting came down from the heavens and struck the sheep and all of the men that were tending them.  It killed them all up except me, who was able to get away.”

And while he was dealing with the news of this tragedy, another of his employees came running to him and said, “Three groups of thieves came and took away all of the other livestock and killed everyone around except me, who was able to get away.”

And while dealing with the news of this tragedy, another of his employees came running to him and said, “While your sons and your daughters were feasting together at the oldest brother's house, a great wind came against the house and it collapsed, killing everyone except me, who was able to get away.”

And with all of this tragedy, the man, who had an incredible reverence for God, fell to the ground, worshipped, and praised God saying, “I came naked from my mother's womb and I will be naked when I leave: the Lord gave me what I had, and the Lord has taken it all away, for they were his to take away.  Blessed be the name of the Lord.”  He never sinned nor did he blame God for anything that happened.

Some of you may recognize this story from the Bible, but if not, you can find it in “the first chapter of the book of Job.”  And regardless which of the many interpretations you have accepted as truth; know that Satan was able to call forth two semi-nomadic groups, the Sabeans and the Chaldaeans; and two natural disasters, the fire of God from heaven and a great wind from the wilderness, all in the same day.  But here is one important fact that you need to know pertaining to Job's famous “the Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away” statement.  God says, “his gifts and his call can never be withdrawn; he never goes back on his promises" (Romans 11:29).”  With this revelation, you may want to rethink who actually causes things to happen in your life because “God is not your problem,” but he is the answer.  Trust God.  If this message is a blessing to you, please share it so that others may be blessed by it as well.  Amen.

Enjoy your blessings. - KW

Devotion: Faith Is A Choice

“Got Faith?”  When was the last time you evaluated your faith?  We know that sounds a little silly, but it is probably one of the most important things you can do.  You see, some people believe that others have more faith than they have.  But this is not the case and it is certainly not close to being true.  Believe it or not, no one has been given more faith than anyone else; we are all given the same amount of faith.  According to scripture, “God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith” (Romans 12:3).  Now there are some translations that say, “God has dealt to every man a measure of faith,” which implies that God has dealt to everyone “a random or varied amount of faith.”  It was Jesus who said, “If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you” (Matthew 17:20).  Do you really think that mustard seeds come in “random or varied” sizes?  If they do, then you cannot tell with the naked eye.

We know that this all sounds like we are playing on or with the wording, but we assure you that we are not.  It is important that you understand the difference between the two translations because the difference will help you to understand the correct amount of faith you have been given, which will in turn help you to honestly evaluate your faith.  If everyone gets “the measure of faith,” that mustard seed amount, then the problem is not with the amount but with what we do with what we are given.

Faith appears to be a measurable quantity, measured by amount, by degree, or by condition, because it has been given to us by measure.  This leads us to believe that one cannot get more than the measure that has been dealt by God.  However, we see this measure as something that you are born with like your muscles.  You cannot get more muscles than those that you are born with.  However, you can build up those muscles, which is the only way to increase your muscles.  You do not get more muscles; you just develop the ones that you have.  Faith works the same way; you can only increase yours through exercise.  You do not get more faith; you sort of develop your faith by building it up.

Everything in your Christian life depends on your faith.  You can develop your faith through knowledge by knowing and understanding the word of God.  The greatest hindrance to your faith is your own human reasoning.  The greatest limitation to your faith is you yourself.  By evaluating your faith, you can develop a snapshot of where you are with your faith.  From there, you can determine the course that you need to take to get you where you want to be with your faith.  We hope today’s message will change your thinking about faith.  Just because someone appears to have more faith than you does not mean that is the case, his or her faith is just more developed.  What you do with the faith that you have been given is entirely up to you, but it is you that must grow it, it is you that must develop it, and it is you that must exercise it, because “Faith Is A Choice.”  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

Devotion: Enjoy Your Salvation

Salvation is a subject that is on the minds of many believers and some non-believers, with many wondering just what one must do to obtain salvation.  Depending on one’s religious affiliation, the information for obtaining salvation includes a range of steps that consist of anything from admitting being a sinner in need of a savior to repenting of one’s sin, confessing one’s sins to praying about receiving salvation, and working to earn salvation to performing some type of penance for salvation, just to list a few.  And no, we are not singling out any particular denomination or religious tradition, but the list of steps does appear to be endless.

Scripture tells us, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9).  Salvation is a gift and gifts are usually free, without exception.  Salvation is a free gift from God.  Free gifts normally do not come with stipulations or require anything from the recipient except for one thing, the recipient must “accept and receive the free gift.”  You can choose “to accept the free gifts of grace (forgiveness) and righteousness (acquittal) that Jesus provided for us” (Romans 5:15-19), “this gift of salvation” (Romans 10:9-10), which leads “to life everlasting” (John 3:16-17) or you can choose to reject the free gift.  The beauty is, you get to decide if salvation is something that you want or not.  No one else can decide for you, which is the beauty of this choice.

The method that God has instituted “to accept and receive the free gift of salvation” is very clear and very specific.  A person must “confess with his or her mouth, believe in his or her heart that God raised Jesus from the dead in order for that person to be saved” (Romans 10:9-10).  The scriptures go on to say that “it is with the heart that he or she believes unto righteousness and with the mouth that the confession is made unto salvation.”

Are there more things that one has to do “to accept and receive the free gift of salvation?”  The answer is “No,” there is nothing else that one has to do “to accept and receive the free gift of salvation.”  Some believe that prayer or other religious rites or traditional ceremonies must be followed in order for one to receive salvation, but there is nothing scriptural to support such beliefs.  However, once you “accept and receive the free gift of salvation” there are other things that you will desire to do so that you can be all that God designed you to be.  Think of all of this in terms of baking a cake, which usually comes with a recipe that when followed exactly produces a finished and complete product.  We know that one has to start with the very first step in the process and “accepting and receiving the free gift of salvation” is that first step in a process to making one a finished and complete product of God.  And while there are shortcuts that can be taken when following recipes, this is not a recipe where one wants to take shortcuts.  Follow the recipe exactly as God has provided.  “Accepting and receiving the free gift of salvation” is the first step.  Once you complete the first step, learn to “Enjoy Your Salvation.”  Amen.

Salvation is such a controversial yet important topic that everyone has an opinion about.  Regardless of the source, you owe it to yourself to thoroughly examine and check out all information, especially on this particular topic, which includes this message.  Do not simply take our word about anything without verify the message for yourself.  As we continually say, “Words can be manipulated to say many things, just make sure the ones that you accept are those of God and not those of man.”  As always, if this message is a blessing to you, please share it so that others may be blessed by it as well.

Enjoy your blessings - KW

Devotion: God Cannot Lie

“Integrity” is defined as “the quality of possessing and steadfastly adhering to high moral principles or professional standards; uncompromising adherence to moral and ethical principles; soundness of moral character; honesty; or the state of being complete or undivided.”  If we had to sum up God’s nature in a word, “integrity” would definitely be at the forefront.  What words come to mind when you think of summing up the nature of God?  Regardless of the words selected, they only define the nature of God, those intrinsic qualities or characteristics that make God who he is.  Here are our top most important characteristics and the ones that are used as “the standard of measure” as we seek to discover the nature of the Most High God.  First, we found in scripture that “there is no iniquity with the Lord our God, nor respect of persons, nor taking of gifts” (II Chronicles 19:7).  We also found where God says, “For I am the Lord, I change not” (Malachi 3:6).  And we found where scripture says, “it is impossible for God to lie” (Hebrews 6:18).

But these wonderful characteristics should not be confused with the abilities of God, for he is fully capable of doing anything he so chooses.  Surely, those who are believers cannot question the sovereignty of God.  The same can be said about the abilities of the one who created all things that are.  Normally we do not make it a habit of speaking for God because God’s words speak for themselves.  However, there are times when the significance of those words gets lost in translation.  God has the ability to be unfair, immoral, unrighteous, and to do evil and bad things.  God also has the ability to change anything that he chooses to change, especially his mind, if he chooses to change it.  And God has the ability to lie as well, if he wants or chooses to.  But the God that we serve, the sovereign God of all creation has chosen not to do any of the abovementioned things because of integrity.  That’s right, we said because of integrity, for our God is one of integrity.

This is all about the nature or character of the God we serve and what he wants man to know about him.  Can you imagine serving a god who was unfair, immoral, unrighteous, and did evil and bad things?  What about serving a god who had respect of person or whose favor could be brought for a price?  How about serving a god who constantly changes his mind or one whose mind could be changed at all?  No, it would be very difficult to serve a god who does any of these things, because you would not know what to do from day to day.  Yet, there are some who have attributed these very traits to the God they claim to serve.  And then there are those who use these very traits as reasons for standing in opposition to God.  This is why our God has chosen to be the One of integrity; that way, his children would recognize him over all others.  Keep these characteristics in mind as you continue your Christian walk.  God wants his children to know and recognize him above all.  If this message is a blessing to you, please share it so that others may be blessed by it as well.

Enjoy your blessings. - KW

Devotion: Who Is Right?

God warns us that “there will come false Christs and false prophets who will give great signs and do great wonders, so much so that if it were possible, these things could turn the very elect from the true way” (Matthew 24:24; Mark 13:22).  This is a very illuminating and a very powerful passage.  The fact that the great signs and great wonders of the false Christs and the false prophets are so convincing, it is a little disturbing that these things could possible trick the very elect.  And while many believe they are the very elect, the possibility does exist that they may not be what they think they are.

The scriptures also tell us that “not everyone who says, Lord, Lord will enter into the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 7:21-23).  Yes, they will make claims of prophesying, casting out demons, and doing all sorts of wonderful works in Jesus’ name, but the Lord will say to them, “I never knew you, therefore, depart from me you that work iniquity.”  Does this mean that the many who claim to be are not what they profess to be?   Have they been deceived by following the wrong “so-called messenger of God?”  Here is the disturbing part, they, the many who make the claim believing they are, will not find out any of this until the end, when it will be too late.

Imagine believing yourself to be a believer only to find out what you believed you were, you were not.  Imagine believing yourself to be a follower of Jesus only to find out that the one whom you claimed to follow was not the one that you needed to follow.  Imagine all that you believed was based in untruths, based in deception, based in lies, and based in fiction; all manufactured by the great deceiver himself, all for the sole purpose of taking you out of the kingdom of heaven.  Imagine not even being aware of any of this until it was too late.

Paul told us of such things.  He told us that it was “no great thing for men to appear as false apostles, workers of deceit who were able to transform themselves to appear as Apostles of Christ.”  He told us that even “Satan himself is able to transform into an angel of light, so it is nothing for his servants, his ministers to transform into ministers of righteousness” (II Corinthians 11:12-15).  And it is these servants of Satan, these ministers of righteousness that have deceived the many, the many who believe they are following Christ, who believe they are saved, and who believe they are part of the family.  But the question for us becomes, “With so much confusion in the Christian community, which ‘so-called messenger of God’ are we to believe?”

God warns us not to believe every spirit, which is great advice.  He tells us “to test the spirits to see whether they are of God but so few of us do so” (I John 4:1).  However, there is one major problem, a flaw, if you will with this testing of the spirits.  The testing of the spirits does absolutely nothing if the answers to the test are not available to the one performing the test.  A teacher who gives students test will already possess the correct answers before giving the test, which enables the teacher to determine if the answers from the students are correct or not.  In order to test, you must have some knowledge of the truth, for without it, you place yourself in a position where the wolves will devour you.  Knowledge is power and misinformation will lead to destruction.

God has warned us “to beware of these false prophets that come to us in sheep’s clothing because inwardly they are but greedy voracious predators” (Matthew 7:15).  But have we gotten things so mixed up that we listen to and believe, without question, the wolves in sheep’s clothing, and try our best to discredit the true men and women of God, that is, to not believe or not accept, as truth, the gospel that they speak.  So, “Who is right and whose teachings should we listen to?”  We will have to try to answer those question at another time. We just wanted to share a little revelation knowledge that we got from “studying the word of God” (II Timothy 2:15).  God has instructed us “to study his word to show ourselves approved unto him,” meaning he wants us to investigate, analyze, and question his word.  God wants us to find all that we can find about his word, which will help us “to rightly divide the word of truth.”  We were thinking that the last time we had to study in such a manner, in the manner that God requires us to study, was when we were in school.  Maybe it is time for us to go back to school.  If this message is a blessing to you, please share it so that others may be blessed by it as well.

Enjoy your blessings. - KW

Devotion: What Is The Kingdom Of God?

We hear a lot about the kingdom of God, but do we really know what it is?  Most are very familiar with the statement, “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God” (Matthew 19:24), which has been interpreted to mean that a person with riches cannot enter into the kingdom of God.  But as we read the same account in the book of Mark, we see that Jesus was actually referring to those who were controlled by their riches, “those who trusted in their wealth entering into the kingdom of God” (Mark 10:24).  We see from scripture that this young man “had great possessions” (Matthew 19:22), but the truth of the matter is that “his great possessions actually had him” and that is why it was hard for him to gain entrance into the kingdom of God.  Jesus knew that he valued his riches more than he valued entering into the kingdom of God.

We also see Jesus telling Nicodemus, “Except a man be born again (from above), he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3).  These are pretty strong words from Jesus telling us that he who is not born again cannot even “see the kingdom of God,” where “to see” is in the sense of “being aware” of the kingdom.  To be “born again” means “that you have been born anew, not from the seed of man but from the eternal seed of God,” a new birth, if you will, “born of water and of the Spirit” (John 3:5).  This new birth, this birth from above comes through “the word of the living and unchanging God, for his word lives and abides forever” (I Peter 1:23).

For those who are born anew, born of the Spirit, are “they who live by the way of the spirit and have given their mind to the things of the Spirit.”  However, those who are not born anew are “they who live by the way of the flesh and have given their mind to the things of the flesh” (Romans 8:5).  Scripture tells “the flesh desires to do those things against the spirit and the spirit desires to do those things against the flesh, for they are contrary to each other.”  According to scripture, “the works of the flesh are clear to see and understand, which include these things: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such things” (Galatians 5:17-21).  Scripture also tells us “not to be deceived because those who live by the way of the flesh will have no part in the kingdom of God.”  We are warned “not to be deceived or have any false ideas about this because no one who follows the desires of the flesh will inherit the kingdom of God” (I Corinthians 6:9-10).

While this commentary did not reveal what the kingdom of God is, we now know that unless we are “born again or born from above,” we cannot even see much less enter into the kingdom of God.  It does, however, make one think of the kingdom those who live by the way of the flesh and have given their mind to the things of the flesh will inherit.  If this message is a blessing to you, please share it so that others may be blessed by it as well.

Enjoy your blessings - KW