Devotion: Tell Satan Where To Go

Let us continue our efforts to set the record straight about this misrepresentation surrounding “the sovereignty of God” perpetrated by the Church.  Again, the Church has redefined “the sovereignty of God” to mean, “God is in total control and that nothing happens but that which the will of God allows to happen.”  From our previous commentaries, we found that the devil, who is referred to as “the god of this world, the prince of this world, and the prince of the power of the air” (II Corinthians 4:4; John 12:31; John 14:30; Ephesians 2:2) is actually in control of this world’s system.  We also know that Adam delivered this control over to the devil (Luke 4:5-6).  The problem is that this misrepresentation has given many a false impression of God and has turned many away from God, all because they believe the redefined “sovereignty of God” definition.  We have even coined the phrase, “an act of God” to use whenever there is a tragedy, a disaster, or a catastrophic event that we cannot explain by any other means.

Because God is the creator of all things (Nehemiah 9:6), he is the supreme power or the reigning authority, matched by no other.  God is at the top, all by himself.  There is not one above him or on the same level as him.  There is no higher power or higher authority and none to equal him.  God has no competition.  This is the true definition of “the sovereignty of God.”

When man was created, God gave man authority or “dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth” (Genesis 1:26-28).  God told man to subdue the earth and have dominion over everything.  He was to reign over God’s creation.

“When I look up into the night skies and see the work of your fingers—the moon and the stars you have made—I cannot understand how you can bother with mere puny man, to pay any attention to him!  And yet you have made him only a little lower than the angels and placed a crown of glory and honor upon his head.  You have put him in charge of everything you made; everything is put under his authority: all sheep and oxen, and wild animals too, the birds and fish, and all the life in the sea” (Psalm 8:3-8 TLB).

According to this psalm from David, God placed man in charge of everything he had made as well as placing everything under his authority.  Man was truly in charge of everything God had created.  However, when man sinned, he allowed sin to enter into the world and with that sin came death, which would eventually spread to all things.

“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).

From that point forward, all mankind had a sin nature, becoming “slaves to sin” (John 8:34; Romans 6:20).  Now, the payment for this sin or “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23).  It is through sin that the devil has gained access to mankind and to the world’s system, because when Adam sinned, he actually gave the authority or dominion that God had given to him to the devil (Luke 4:5-6).  But all glory belongs to God because “the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10).  Because Jesus was innocent of any sin, yet death came to him, he was able to claim back the authority or dominion that Adam had lost.  Remember the payment for sin was death, but in Jesus’ case, death claimed one who had not sinned.  Because of his obedience, Jesus actually reversed what Adam had done in the beginning when he sinned.  This is why it says in the scriptures, “Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory” (I Corinthians 2:7).  In this case, “it” is in reference to God’s plan of redemption for mankind (Ephesians 1:9-11).  Jesus was able to get back for us what Adam had given to the devil, our authority and our dominion.

“And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth” (Matthew 28:18).

This power that Jesus is speaking of here is “the power, the authority, and the dominion” that was given originally to man by God.  Jesus got all of it back.

“Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you” (Luke 10:19).  “And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover” (Mark 16:17-18).

Instead of there being limits to what God allows that devil to do, it is us, the children of God, who have the power to limit what the devil can do (Matthew 18:18, just to list one of many empowering passages).  But instead of using this power, we continually pray to God for help with our adversary, the devil (I Peter 5:8).  The problem is that God has already answered this prayer request, but the devil has hidden this truth from the world, so not many know the truth.  The truth is that the devil can do no more than we, the children of God allow him to do.  We are in control because Jesus got back what God had originally given us, “the power, the authority, and the dominion” over all of his creation.

As always, we pray that our 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: Plug Into The Source Of All Truth

We know that in trying to set the record straight, we probably created more controversy than we actually resolved and more questions than we were able to answer.  We wanted to correct a misrepresentation involving “the nature of God” as well as the misunderstanding and confusion surrounding “the sovereignty of God” and “the will of God.”  We realized it would not be an easy task given the fact that the Church has perpetrated the misrepresentation so long that it has become a natural part of the religious culture and given the limitations of the formats we were using.  Social media is a great tool to reach the world with the good news of the gospel, but the limitations associated with many social media platforms limit the amount of information that can be conveyed at any single given instance.

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 connect with all the information at one time, a lot of it gets lost in the interim.  As we have stated in another commentary, we need to understand that the Bible is a mystery book with many secrets, hidden in plain sight just waiting to be found by God’s children.  As one person put it, “The Bible is a coded book, written as a kind of jigsaw puzzle creating a series of smaller pictures within an overall picture that only becomes clear in meaning when one properly piece together all passages on a subject.”  It is only when we find the keys that we able to unlock the mysteries or put together the puzzle pieces that allow us to understand the true word of God contained in the Bible.  Next, we need to trust that God has given instructions, that when followed, will allow us to find those keys that will help with our understanding of those divine revelations from God.  God has told us to seek wisdom and know-how (Proverbs 4:5-7), to listen carefully to his words and to pay close attention to what is being said (Proverbs 4:20-22), to meditate on them day and night (Joshua 1:8), and to study so that we can rightly divide the word of truth (II Timothy 2:15) as part of the things that we need to do.

We must open our mind and open our heart so that we may see and hear the truths that God is trying to reveal to us through his Spirit and his workers.  We may have to do a little work in order to find truth and understanding, like stepping outside of or climbing over the walls of traditionalism or denominationalism that have kept many in bondage, but in doing so, we can remove any confusion, enabling us to grasp the meaning of all of the things of God.  It has been said, “A closed mind can only grow within the limits of its enclosure; an open mind grows with endless possibilities.”  Not long ago, we discussed “The Characteristics of God, his nature, his character, and his personality.”  Among the many things mentioned in those commentaries, we were able to completely sum up God as “a god of integrity,” which we discovered had absolutely nothing to do with the capabilities of God, the abilities of God, or the sovereignty of God.

In those commentaries, we mentioned the following passages, “there is no iniquity with the Lord our God, nor respect of persons, nor taking of gifts” (II Chronicles 19:7), that “God changes not” (Malachi 3:6), and that “it is impossible for God to lie” (Hebrews 6:18).  We noted that these passages did not speak to or have anything to do with God’s capabilities, his abilities, or his sovereignty.  One cannot argue the fact that the God who created all things that are, surely has the ability to be unfair, immoral, unrighteous, and to do evil and bad things.  He also 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.”

As we asked before, imagine serving a god who was unfair, immoral, unrighteous, and did evil and bad things; or serving a god who had respect of person or whose favor could be brought for a price; or even 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 did any of these things, because you would not know what to do from day to day to have any kind of relationship with him.  Yet, there are some who have attributed these very traits to the God they claim to serve using the redefined “sovereignty of God” definition.  Regardless of his capabilities, his abilities, or his sovereignty, God has chosen not to do certain things that would bring into question his integrity.  This is why our God has chosen to be “the One of integrity.”  He wanted his children to be able to recognize him over all others purported by traditionalism, denominationalism, and the doctrines of man.

We forever give thanks to God for this avenue that he has given us to share his word.  We also thank God for this inspirational message he has provided to us and pray that they are a blessing to you.  We continually pray that the eyes of your understanding be enlightened so that you may know the hope to which God has called you.  If you are blessed by any of our devotionals, please share so that others may be blessed as well.  Amen.

Enjoy your blessings - KW

Devotion: God Is Not A Killer

We need to set the record straight.  We need to correct a misrepresentation involving “the nature of God” that has been perpetrated by the Church for so long that it has become a natural part of our religious culture.  What we are going to say, many amongst you will disagree with, will reject, or even label heresy, but the scriptures say, “you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32 TLB).  It is our prayer that those who have an ear to hear will hear this revelation and be set free.  Our revelation has to do with the misunderstanding and confusion surrounding “the sovereignty of God” and “the will of God.”

While it is true, that God is sovereign, with supreme authority and supreme power, able to operate totally independent of any part of his creation, everything that happens does not happen because it is “God’s will” that such things should happen.  Religion has redefined “the sovereignty of God” to mean, “God is in total control and that nothing happens but that which the will of God allows to happen.”  If there is a tragedy, a disaster, a catastrophic event, or even death, we are quick to say that, “it was God’s will” that these events happened, but are these true statements.

“In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them” (II Corinthians 4:4).

“Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince (ruler) of this world be cast out” (John 12:31).

“Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince (ruler) of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me” (John 14:30).

“Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course (age) of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience” (Ephesians 2:2).

It would appear from these passages that the devil has control of this world’s system.  The scriptures refer to him as “the god of this world, the prince of this world, and the prince of the power of the air.”

“And the devil, taking him up into a high mountain, showed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.  And the devil said unto him, All this power (authority) will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it” (Luke 4:5-6).

It would appear, from this passage that this authority, this control over the world’s system, was delivered to the devil by Adam.  We know that many of you do not believe and have even rejected the notion that the power the devil offered to give to Jesus and the glory of them was not the devil’s to offer.  But, could it be possible that we may have gotten this part wrong?

“Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part (shared) of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;  and deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage (slavery)” (Hebrews 2:14-15).

And he has the power of death.  Wait one minute here.  What did that say about death?  Who has the power of death?  Let us look at this passage again just to make sure we interpreted correctly.  The passage says that since we are flesh and blood, he, being Jesus Christ, likewise took part of the same so that through his death he, again being Jesus Christ, might render powerless “him” who had the power of and over death, that him “being the devil.”  Wow, we really did read that right the first time.  It is “the devil that has the power of death,” not God.  It would seem pointless for the son of God to show up on the scene to render powerless the works of the devil and God be the one who has the power of death.  But this has been one of Satan’s greatest deceptions.  He continues to cast doubt on God’s word by blinding man’s ability to truly see God.  Maybe, if we redefine some of our redefined religious definitions, we just might be able to see “the true nature of God.”

May our commentary abundantly bless you and greatly inform you.  We pray that you will be the better for having read this message.  If blessed by today’s message, please share so that others may be blessed as well.  Amen.

Enjoy your blessings - KW

Devotion: The Joy Of The Lord Is Your Strength

Rejoice in the Lord.  The Lord is your strength and your defense.  I delight greatly in the Lord for my soul rejoices in him.  I will be joyful in God my Savior.  I will be happy in the God of my salvation.

“Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior” (Habakkuk 3:17-18).

“Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice.  Let your moderation be known unto all men.  The Lord is at hand.  Be careful (anxious) for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.  And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep (guard) your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:4-7).

“The Lord is my strength and my defense; he has become my salvation.  He is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him” (Exodus 15:2 NIV).

“I delight greatly in the Lord; my soul rejoices in my God.  For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of his righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.  For as the soil makes the sprout come up and a garden causes seeds to grow, so the Sovereign Lord will make righteousness and praise spring up before all nations” (Isaiah 61:10-11 NIV).

“Even though the fig trees are all destroyed, and there is neither blossom left nor fruit; though the olive crops all fail, and the fields lie barren; even if the flocks die in the fields and the cattle barns are empty, yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will be happy in the God of my salvation.  The Lord God is my strength; he will give me the speed of a deer and bring me safely over the mountains” (Habakkuk 3:17-18 TLB).

“Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me” (John 14:1).

“These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace.  In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).

“Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you.  Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (John 14:27).

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Romans 15:13 NIV).

We will rejoice in the Lord and we will not let our heart be troubled for he is our strength and our defense.  We will rejoice in the Lord and we will be joyful in God our Savior.

We always give thanks to God for the ability to share this inspirational message with you.  We constantly pray that you will be blessed as well as informed by this message and that you will be the better for having read it.  If you are blessed by this message, please share so that others may be blessed as well.  Amen.

Enjoy your blessings - KW

Devotion: Walk In Love

Louise Hay once said, “The act of forgiveness takes place in our mind.  It really has nothing to do with the other person.”  When you forgive someone who hurts you, you have decided to live with the pain that someone else has inflicted upon you.  Please understand that we are in no way saying that your forgiveness excuses someone else’s behavior, but that forgiveness will prevent someone else’s behavior from destroying your heart.  Forgiveness is the key to being forgiven.

“If ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses” (Matthew 6:14-15).

“And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.  But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses” (Mark 11:25-26).

“Forgive and you will be forgiven” (Luke 6:37).

“Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.  Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you” (Ephesians 4:31-32 NIV).

“Bear with each other and forgive one another if any if you has a grievance against someone.  Forgive as the Lord forgave you” (Colossians 3:13).

“And be ye be kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you” (Ephesians 4:32).

“Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.  And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.  And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body.  And be thankful.  Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.  And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him” (Colossians 3:12-17 ESV).

“Stop being mean, bad-tempered, and angry.  Quarreling, harsh words, and dislike of others should have no place in your lives.  Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God has forgiven you because you belong to Christ” (Ephesians 4:31-32 TLB).

“Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against a fellow Israelite, but love your neighbor as yourself.  I am the Lord” (Leviticus 19:18 NLT).

Forgiveness is the key to being forgiven and it will prevent someone else’s behavior from destroying your heart.  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: God Can Be Trusted

Getting back to this “wanting to know who this God that we had pledged our life to, that we had chose to follow, to obey, and to serve was” thing, we mentioned the fact that God says, “I am the Lord, I change not” (Malachi 3:6).  We went on to mention that what God is today is what he had to be in the days past, and even had to be in the beginning.  Could it be true that we have somewhere along the way, gotten a few things wrong about the God that we have pledged our lives to and who we have chose to follow, to obey, and to serve was?

Many have stated that as you read through the events of the Bible and the relationships God had with people, God is progressively revealing himself to man.  That appears to be great for man today, but what about all those back in the beginning.  Did he leave them short in their understanding of who he was?  Did he not impress upon them how he operates?  If this be the case, then God himself has given us an advantage over those who came before us.  And more importantly, God has shortchanged those who were back in the beginning by not giving them the same opportunity as us.

In order for the man to understand who God is and what he wants of him, God has to reveal himself to man.  In saying that, God had to reveal himself to the first man and then to all men following the first.  This is important because once we know who God is, from the beginning, then we will forever know who God is.  Remember, it was God who said, “I change not.”  If God changes one thing, even in the slightest, that he did from the very beginning, then he lied because he did in fact “change.”  According to scripture God “cannot lie” (Titus 1:2), for “it is impossible for God to lie” (Hebrews 6:18).  We also find in scripture that “there is no iniquity with the Lord our God, nor respect of persons, nor taking of gifts” (II Chronicles 19:7).

First of all, we see that God cannot lie.  Then we see that “there is absolutely no injustice, immorality, unrighteousness, or wrong doings with God.”  Next, we see that “there is no respect of persons with God.”  This means that there is no partiality or any unfair preferences for one person or group over another with God.  And finally, we see that God cannot be bribed with gifts, promises, or the like, “for there is no taking of gifts with God.”

“In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe” (Hebrews 1:1 NIV).  “These men of faith I have mentioned died without ever receiving all that God had promised them; but they saw it all awaiting them on ahead and were glad, for they agreed that this earth was not their real home but that they were just strangers visiting down here.  And quite obviously when they talked like that, they were looking forward to their real home in heaven” (Hebrews 11:13-14 TLB).

And though it may not appear to be so, we now see that God did in fact reveal himself to those before us in similar or like fashion.  We know that we can trust God, because he changes not, because he cannot lie, and because there is absolutely no injustice, immorality, unrighteousness, or wrong doings with God, nor is there any respect of persons or taking of gifts.  God is faithful in all that he does and his word is forever right and true (Psalm 33:4).  And just a closing note for those of you who have been following our commentaries, the reasons we know we can trust God are the fundamental building blocks used to support our entire belief system.  May they be used to strengthen your belief system and elevate you to the next level as well.

Once again, we give thanks and glory to God for his wisdom and understanding.  We are so blessed to be able to share with you the reasons we know we can trust God and the fundamental building blocks used to support our entire belief system.  We continue to pray that this inspirational messages will be a blessing to each of you and that you will be the better for having read them.  If you are blessed by what has been provided, please feel free to share so that others may be blessed as well; for as freely as our Father has given this to us, we freely give so that others may share in the love and be blessed.  Amen.

Enjoy your blessings - KW

Devotion: What Is God Like?

For us, “We wanted to know who this God that we had pledged our life to, that we had chose to follow, to obey, and to serve, was?”  We believed in God, but there were so many conflicting descriptions that we were totally confused as to what kind of God we were serving and/or what we should be doing to please him.  One of the most confusing things for us was the idea that the God of the Old Testament was somehow different from the God of the New Testament.  We have been taught that the God of the Old Testament was “a God of wrath,” which is in stark contrast to the portrayal of the God of the New Testament as “a God of love.”  We will concede that there are many events in the Old Testament that appear to portray God as this “God of wrath,” but was this an accurate portrayal?

The Old Testament events have been used to show that God is this “angry tyrant,” who was always mad and full of wrath.  He is portrayed by these events as a God who sits around waiting for mankind to sin so that he can pass judgment on him, punish him, and then condemn him to hell.  According to some traditional teachings, committing any one sin was no different than committing any other sin, they were all treated the same regardless of how hard we tried to classify them based on severity.  You see, under this rule, lying was the same as committing murder and the punishment was the same, condemnation.  Because of this, many Christians believe that God demands that we live holy and do things righteous in order for us to receive anything from God or even to get God to move in our lives.  But again, is this an accurate portrayal?

“But we are children of God; that is why only those who have walked and talked with God will listen to us.  Others won’t.  That is another way to know whether a message is really from God; for if it is, the world won’t listen to it.  Dear friends, let us practice loving each other, for love comes from God and those who are loving and kind show that they are the children of God, and that they are getting to know him better.  But if a person isn’t loving and kind, it shows that he doesn’t know God—for God is love” (I John 4:6-8 TLB).

According to this New Testament passage, “love is of God, for God is love.”  It goes on to say that those who are loving and kind show that they are children of God and that they are getting to know God better because “love comes from God.”  Is this “God is love” portrayal a more accurate one?

“God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him.  This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.  Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other.  No one has ever seen God.  But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us.  And God has given us his Spirit as proof that we live in him and he in us” (I John 4:9-13 NLT).

The New Testament points out the fact that God loved us, the same people who earlier had earned his so-called wrath, so much that he sent his son, Jesus Christ into the world, so that we, the same people who earlier had earned his so-called wrath, could have eternal life through Jesus Christ.  This New Testament portrait of a loving God certainly contradicts the Old Testament God of wrath.  But which one is the accurate one?

We know from a previous discussion that God says, “I am the Lord, I change not” (Malachi 3:6) and we summed up this passage to mean God has not changed since the beginning nor will he ever change in the future, which we know to be contrary to many popular beliefs.  If our portrait of God portrays him as “a God of wrath,” then we need to ask, “When did he change?”  We can ask the same “when did he change question” about the portrait that portrays him as “a God of love.”  It would be more difficult to prove the Old Testament portrait of “a God of wrath” than the latter portrait, especially since we know that God ends up being this “God of love” and we know that God says, “he changes not.”  What God is today is what he had to be in the days past, and even had to be in the beginning.  This means that somewhere along the way, we got a few things wrong about the God that we have pledged our lives to and who we have chose to follow, to obey, and to serve was.  We hope that this commentary will help you with your portrait of God.  We do however wonder though, “Could there be more that we have gotten wrong along the way?”  This does make one ponder the possibilities.

We pray that this 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