Devotion: God Is A Genius

Have you ever wondered why man was created out of the dust, but the woman was created from the rib of man?

“And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; and the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man” (Genesis 2:21-22).

Over the years, man has created some interesting stories related to the creation of man.  There are even more interesting stories associated with the creation of woman from the rib of man.  Believe it or not, the answer has more to do with sin and salvation than anything else.

“And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation” (Acts 17:26).

According to this passage, God created from one blood all the nations of men living on the face of the earth.  This is why Eve was created in the fashion that she was created, so that there would be only one blood for all mankind.  Had Eve been created from the dust as man was, there would have been two bloods.  And with two bloods, the need for two saviors.  While there is much speculation on how the other people came to be on the earth, it appears that we all came from one man: one man, one blood, and one race; the human race and with that, the need for one savior.  How awesome is God?  God is a genius.

As always, we pray that today’s inspirational message 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: God Plays No Favorites

Recently, we referred to a study we did on “The Characteristics of God, his nature, his character, and his personality.”  In that commentary, we revealed the one thing we had discovered that completely summed God up in a nutshell, “God is a god of integrity.”  We defined “integrity” 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.”  We also mentioned that “the integrity thing” had absolutely nothing to do with God’s abilities or his capabilities.

We found that the sovereignty of God speaks to the abilities and capabilities of God but has little to do with the integrity of God.  And as we mentioned before, we do not make it a habit of speaking for God because God’s words speak for and interpret 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.  He has the ability to change anything that he chooses to change, especially his mind, if he chooses to change it, as well as the ability to lie, if he wants or chooses to.  God is fully capable of doing anything he so chooses, but the God that we serve, the sovereign God of all creation has chosen not to do any of the abovementioned things because he is “a god of integrity.”

Therefore, when you read in scripture “there is no iniquity with the Lord our God, nor respect of persons, nor taking of gifts” (II Chronicles 19:7), “God changes not” (Malachi 3:6), and “it is impossible for God to lie” (Hebrews 6:18), know that God has chosen these very traits to be part of “his nature, his character, and his personality.”  What God has said at the beginning and what he said in past times still holds true today and will continue in the future (Ezekiel 24:14).  What he gave at the beginning, he is still giving today and he will continue to give in the future (James 1:17).  Regardless of his abilities, God has chosen not to do certain things that would bring into question his integrity.  Many of the changes you see today are because man changed what God has said, not God changing what God has said.  Man has changed many things and then used God’s name to do so.  Man has done this so much throughout the years; he is now not able to distinguish the truth from the fiction.  God has not changed his mind about any one thing that he stated in the beginning or changed any one of those things that he put into place in the beginning.  God has never lied, not one time, past or present.  And God has never played nor does he play favorites.  This is why our God has chosen to be “the One of integrity;” that way, his children would recognize him over all others.

As you read today’s commentary, we pray that this 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: A Faith Fight

Most of us have an idea what faith means, but what we do not realize is just how much faith is involved in our everyday life.  The biblical definition of faith says that “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1 KJV).  Faith is the confident assurance that something we want is going to happen.  Faith is the certainty that what we hope for is waiting for us even though we cannot see it up ahead.  Faith has been around since the beginning of time.  Faith is trust in somebody or something, especially without logical proof.  It is having trust in somebody that you consider worthwhile and truthful.  It is also accepting that something exists when there is no physical proof of its existence or of its reality.  Explaining faith to those who doubt “the existence of faith” can be summed up similar to this, which surprisingly supports the existence of faith that can be found in everyone.

“A man (woman) agrees to take a job with a company.  The company tells the man that he will be paid every two weeks.  The man agrees to the terms and accepts the job.  The man reports to work the first day, works eight hours, and afterwards, he goes home.  The next day the man repeats what he did the first day.  The man does the exact same thing for one week straight.  Payday comes and the company gives the man his first paycheck.”

A careful examination of the above story reveals that faith actually plays a bigger role in our everyday life more than what many realize.  The man has placed his faith in the company, believing that the company is able to do all that the company says it can do.  In the man’s case, he believes or has taken on faith that he will be paid when he gets to the end of the pay period.  The strength of his faith and the evidence of his conviction is fully demonstrated in the fact that he goes to work each day without any form of compensation during the period.  Again, this speaks for the amount of faith the man has placed in the company.  Once payday comes and he gets his paycheck in his hand, he does not need faith anymore because the thing that he had hope for, the thing that he believed he was getting from the company is now a reality.  He has received that which he hoped for, the thing that was unseen until now.  This is a classic example of faith in action.  Moreover, this is a classic example of the strong kind of faith Abraham had (Romans 4:20-21) and the great faith of the Roman centurion (Matthew 8:5-10).

Faith provides substance or assurance and then faith provides evidence, in the sense of proof that results in confidence.  There is not a lot of difference between assurance and evidence except for their qualifiers.  One involves hope and the other involves realities that are unseen.  While everything that you have learned has come through your five senses or through what is called “sense knowledge,” faith is not perceived by the senses because faith is the evidence of the thing hoped for and not the thing itself.  You do not need evidence to believe in something that you can physically see, taste, smell, hear, or touch.  The evidence speaks to the fact that the thing exist somewhere, otherwise you cannot have evidence for something that does not exist.

Whenever there is faith, there is also some type of action involved.  Everywhere you see faith expressed in the Bible, there is some type of action associated with that faith.  Faith is acting, which is the action, upon what you believe.  You have to start with something and that something is belief.  You first must believe, which is accepting that something can be true or that something is real.  Then you will need faith, which is believing or trusting that something is, especially when there is no logical proof that it exists.  Next, there is action, which is doing something in order to reach a goal.  Once you reach your goal, which is basically the end of the race, then there is no more need to have faith.  You do not need faith for something that you can physically see, that you can physically taste, that you can physically smell, that you can physically hear, or that you can physically touch.  Once you physically see it, taste it, smell it, hear it, or touch it, then you do not need faith, because now you actually have the thing that you had hoped for, so there is no need to continue hoping for it, you have it.

In our story, the man’s faith is tied to the belief, the well-ground assurance that he will be paid when he is supposed to be paid.  The evidence of his conviction is tied to him going to work every day, even though he cannot see the reality of the thing he hopes to get, which is the pay.  Once the man gets his paycheck, he does not need faith anymore because the thing that he had hope for, the thing that he believed he was getting from the company is now a reality.

There are many who fail to understand the power of faith and how it works.  We hope this example will help in your understanding of faith and hopefully help you in your faith fight.  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: What Is Sin?

“For all have sinned, and come (fall) short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).  What does this passage really mean?  How does one actually define the word “sin?”

According to the dictionary, “sin” is defined “as a transgression of theological principles.  It is an act, thought, or way of behaving that goes against the law or teachings of a religion, especially when the person who commits it is aware of this.”  In Christian theology, “sin” is defined “as the condition of being denied God's grace because of a sin or sins committed.”  According to Strong’s Concordance with Hebrew and Greek Lexicon, the word “sin” is defined as “to be without a share in; to miss the mark; to err, be mistaken; to miss or wander from the path of uprightness and honor, to do or go wrong; to wander from the law of God, violate God's law, sin; that which is done wrong, sin, an offence, a violation of the divine law in thought or in act; or collectively, the complex or aggregate of sins committed either by a single person or by many.”

When we think of sin, we usually define it as personal sin, which may be one of “commission” (doing something that is prohibited) or one of “omission” (failing to do what is required of you).  This sin may also express itself in either an act or attitude, for example, going astray like a wandering sheep doing one’s own thing, by transgressing or overstepping the law, or by trespassing.  These definitions bring to mind the following questions: What sin does a baby who is born, takes one breath, then dies commit?  What did the baby do that was prohibited?  What did the baby fail to do that was required of him or her?  What sin did this baby commit?  This is when it dawned on us that we may need to rethink the definition or meaning for this word “sin.”  Could there be an alternative definition?

Yes, it dawned on us that there could be another definition or meaning for the word “sin.”  We believe the phrase; “All have sinned” referred to a point in time when everyone sinned.  The only time that this could be referring to had to be back in the beginning, in the beginning of God’s creation.  The phrase actually points to the very moment when all were in one man, Adam.  You see, when Adam fell, the entire human race was “constituted or formally established as sinners.”  We know from scripture that it was “by one man’s disobedience that many were made sinners” (Romans 5:19).

Adam’s disobedience resulted in the human race being plunged into sin, leading to the imputation of sin.  The word “impute” is defined as “to attribute (especially, a fault or misconduct) to another; charge with; ascribe; to ascribe (goodness or guilt) to a person as coming from another.”  This imputation of sin took place when Adam sinned and the original sin was charged to every person’s account that came after him.

“Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned” (Romans 5:12).

Sin entered into the world by one man’s action, it entered into the world because of what Adam did.  It was this sin that was imputed or charged to “all” because we “all” are connected with Adam’s race.  And because of this act, death followed and was passed on to every man as well.  So, this brings us back to an earlier set of questions.  What sin does a baby who is born, takes one breath, then dies, commit?  What did the baby do that was prohibited?  What did the baby fail to do that was required of him or her?  What sin did this baby commit?  The very sad fact that infants sometimes die demonstrates that even infants are impacted by Adam’s sin, since physical and spiritual death were the results of Adam's original sin.  Therefore, the only sin that the baby in this case is guilty of is the sin that was passed down to him or her by Adam, the father of mankind.

Hopefully, we all now have a better understanding on this thing called “sin.”  Previously, we mentioned that we are not sinners because we commit and/or practice sin; we are sinners because of the sin nature that was created and passed down by Adam when he fell.  And because we have this sin nature, we are also born to die, because death came as a result of the sin.  It is by accepting Jesus Christ as our Lord and savior, that we have a new nature that was created and passed down by Christ’s obedience.  It is having this new nature that brings life everlasting.  Just as our sin nature was given to us by Adam, a righteous nature is made available to “all” by Jesus Christ.

As always, we pray that our inspirational message will abundantly bless you, greatly inform you, and that you will be that much better for having read it.  If you are blessed by this message, please share so that others may be blessed as well.  Be a blessing to others.  Amen.

Enjoy your blessings - KW

Devotion: Prosperity Pleases God

We have talked numerous times about prosperity and the reason God gives us the power or the ability to get wealth.  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.

“Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will show thee: and I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: and I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed” (Genesis 12:1-3).

In this passage, God asked Abram, who would be later become known as “Abraham,” to leave all that he would inherit behind.  Back then, everything was tied to the land.  People were considered prosperous or wealthy based on how much land, cattle, sheep, other livestock, and other various things they owned.  People accumulated wealth and passed that wealth down from generation to generation.  But we see here, God asked Abram to leave all of this inheritance behind, to leave his country, his kindred, and his father’s house so that he could travel to this unknown land, unknown to Abram but not God, which God would guide him to.

God made several promises to Abram, should he choose to obey this command to leave everything behind.  God promised to make him “the father of a great nation and to make his name great and famous.”  God also promised to “bless all that blessed him and to curse all that cursed him.”  But the most important of all, was “the promise to bless him so that he could be a blessing to others,” for it would be through him that “the entire world would be blessed.”  Long story short, Abraham (Abram) did as God asked of him and because of his obedience; God did what he had promised.  He made Abraham the father of a great nation, made his name great and famous, and made him “to be very prosperous” (Genesis 12, 13, and 14).

“Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: that the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith” (Galatians 3:13-14).

Jesus, who redeemed us from the curse of the law, also gave us the privilege to become “a child of God” (John 1:12-13), so that all could share in “the blessing of Abraham and receive the promise of the Spirit through faith” (Galatians 3:14), which includes “the right to good health, wealth, and total life prosperity” (III John 1:2).  However, keep in mind that this blessing, this prosperity on Abraham had a purpose.  This prosperity on Abraham was so that he could be a blessing to others, which he was.  It was promised through Abraham, through his faith in God’s promises, that the entire world was to be blessed.  It was promised through Abraham that we, the children of God would prosper, so “that God may fulfill his promise, that agreement he made with our ancestors.”  It was promised through Abraham that “we would be blessed in this day to be a blessing to others.”

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

God wants his children to prosper and he enjoys helping us to prosper.  God wants his children to be givers.  God wants his children to be in a position to be a blessing to others.  Therefore, magnify the Lord by having the same faith in the promises of God as Abraham that you too can be a blessing to others.  Live your life to be a giver, continually giving to others, continually blessing others with the prosperity that God has promised, through Abraham, to bless you with.  Become a blessing to others, which is the true purpose for the prosperity, as God “fulfills the promise he made with our ancestors.”

We pray that this inspirational message will continue to add to your understanding and be a great source of revelation knowledge.  If you are blessed by this message, please share it so that others may be blessed as well.  Amen.

Enjoy your blessings - KW

Devotion: Get Answers To Prayer

And above all, remember to pray.  But whenever you pray, there are some things that you need to know about prayer.  First of all, you need to know how to pray.  Then when you pray, you should expect to have your prayers answered.  Contrary to popular beliefs and some teachings, if God did not want to answer all of your prayers, he would not have told you to pray and more importantly, he would not have told you how to pray.  Since most people are not familiar with the different types of prayer that God has made available, many of their prayers go unanswered.  In order to have your prayers answered, you must be aware of the many types of prayer, you must know the right type of prayer to use for your situation, and you must know the procedure for using that prayer.  Because we lack the needed knowledge about prayer and its purpose, more prayers go unanswered than get answered.

Some believe that when they pray, God hears them because they are sincere.  Others believe he hears them because they have a need.  And then there are some who believe he hears them because they have a pain or are suffering.  This is not true for any of these cases.  By hear, we do not mean he does not hear that audible words that one speaks when they pray, we mean to say that God does not respond to your prayers based on any of these reasons.  God only hears or responds to those prayers that conform to the principles set forth in his word.  God has set forth procedures that guarantees you receive the answers to your prayers.  Basically, you must pray according to his will.  Here is a novel thought, if each prayer prayed was according to his will, then there would be no need to include the phrase, “If it be thy will.”  All the prayers prayed would already “be in his will.”  This is just a thought.

Imagine, praying a prayer according to the will of God.  Is it possible to do that?  Do you think this type of prayer would ever work?  How do we know what God’s will is?  As the righteousness of God, we have the right to have our prayers answered.  As a child of God, you have the right to the inheritance of the new covenant, a better covenant, built with better promises.  Just because we have the right to these things does not mean that we will get our prayers answered without following the rules set forth by God.  Here is another way to look at it.  It would be like playing a football game with the rules used to govern a basketball game.  Somehow it just does not work.  The same applies to your prayers.  You have to pray according to the rules that God has set forth in order for your prayer to get answered.

People pray all the time, for many different reasons, for many different things, using many different methods.  Because we lack knowledge about praying God’s way, most people are not aware that each of the different types of prayer that God has made available to us are governed by their own set of spiritual laws or rules.  On the surface, these prayers seem to be identical to each other, share many similarities, which may account for the confusion by so many.  Because all of these prayers require the same tools, many times the spiritual laws that govern each of them are misused, misconstrued, and misapplied resulting in many unanswered prayers.

“Praying always with all prayer” (Ephesians 6:18) implies that there are different kinds or methods of prayer.  To get answers to your prayer, you must be aware of the different types of prayer and familiarize yourself with them.  So make sure you know how to pray, which goes way beyond opening your mouth and just throwing out some words that sound spiritual or godly.  Learn to pray God’s way, according to God’s will and get your prayers answered.

Again, we pray that our commentary will be a blessing to you and will be a great source of information.  If you are blessed by this message, please be sure to share so that others may be blessed as you have been.  Amen.

Enjoy your blessings. - KW

Devotion: Is Desiring To Be Rich Wrong?

Most of you are familiar with “the story of the rich young ruler” (Matthew 19:16-30; Mark 10:17-31; Luke 18:18-30).  He was the one who came to Jesus wanting to know what he must do that he might have eternal life?  In answering this question, Jesus, who “looked upon him and loved him,” ended up telling the young ruler, “One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me” (v. 21).  Scripture tells us that the young ruler was saddened by what Jesus had said and that “he went away grieved” (v. 22).

Jesus would go on to say to his disciples, “How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God” (v. 23).  Was having riches the primary reason why the rich young ruler could not enter into the kingdom of God?  Did Jesus, in answering the young ruler’s question, intend for us to follow these same instructions to sell all we possess and give to the poor so that we might have eternal life?  Is this that one thing that the rich young ruler lacked?  Most of the time when studying the word of God, we focus intently on the things that are actually written in the passages that we are looking at.  However, on occasion, it is important that we focus our efforts and our attention on what is not included in the passage of scripture so that we can get clarity and understanding of what God is truly trying to reveal to us with the passage.  For example, as we look at the list of commandments mentioned by Jesus, we find that he left out the most important one of all.

“Master, which is the great commandment in the law?  Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.  This is the first and great commandment” (Matthew 22:36-38).

Yes, that’s right; Jesus did not mention the greatest commandment of all in the list he gave to the young ruler.  The most important commandment of all, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind” was not even mentioned in the passage.  Could this be what Jesus was talking about when he told the rich young ruler that he lacked one thing?  If this be what Jesus was talking about, then it would appear that the young ruler did not love the Lord God with all his heart, with all his soul, and with all his mind.  It appears that the young ruler loved his riches more than he loved God and this is why he was saddened and went away grieved.  Even though he claimed to have observed from his youth all those commandments that were listed by Jesus, the one that Jesus did not list appears to be the one thing that the rich young ruler lacked, a love for God above all other things.  The rich young ruler did have “great possessions” (v. 22), but the truth of the matter was that he was unable to give up those possessions, even for the eternal life he sought, because “his possessions actually possessed him.”

At first glance, this story appears to be about having riches and how hard it will be for those who have such riches to enter into the kingdom of God.  However, Jesus would later say to his disciples, “Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God” (Mark 10:24).  This message is actually about those who “trust in their riches” and how hard it is for those who put their riches ahead of God to enter into the kingdom of God.  Those who “trust in their riches,” though they have great possessions, find it most difficult to part with their possessions, even for eternal life, because the truth of the matter is that “their possessions actually possesses them.”  This is what the story of the rich young ruler revealed and that is why he was saddened and went away grieved.  We are to “seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness” (Matthew 6:33), putting our love for God above everything else that we have in our life.  There is nothing found in scripture against having possessions as long as we are not “possessed by our possessions,” for this is when it becomes hard or most difficult for those with riches to enter into the kingdom of God.  Jesus went on to say that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man, who “trust in his riches” to enter into the kingdom of God (v. 25).

We forever pray that our inspirational message will abundantly bless 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