Day-by-DayWord

Vol. 6

Mthobisi Dladla

Open Reward. Luke 6:4-5(AKJV) That your alms may be in secret: and your Father which sees in secret Himself shall REWARD YOU OPENLY.

The Omniscient nature of God is quite a mystery since it reflects the Greatness of His power, which itself is hard to COMPREHEND. Most of us have probably heard or been taught that angels report to God the things that they see happening in the world, and as true as that is, God doesn't need angels to report for Him to know because there is really nothing hidden in His sight. The bible says "NOTHING IN ALL CREATION IS HIDDEN FROM GOD'S SIGHT. EVERYTHING IS UNCOVERED AND LAID BARE BEFORE THE EYES of Him to whom we must give account."(Hebrews 4:13), meaning that there is really nothing that one can HIDE from God. He searches the minds and the hearts, He understands the intentions and the motives and that is how we are judged before God, by OUR MOTIVES, Paul puts it this way "He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and WILL EXPOSE THE MOTIVES OF THE HEART."(1 Corinthians 4:5).

In the world you find people who do GOOD for their society, for their communities however with wrong MOTIVES, the so-called SECRET AGENDAS and that is why we who have been saved from the perishing world, have also been given LOVE by God as Paul says "...GOD'S LOVE has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit"(Romans 5:5). God desires that our intentions should be sorely based on LOVE for others, He desires that we are COMPELLED by LOVE just as much as Jesus was, since He made us to be conformed to Him (Romans 8:29). The opening scripture calls God, "the Father which SEES in SECRET", unlike our natural fathers, God knows the GOOD things and the BAD things we do without us having to tell Him about them. That is why it doesn't make sense to boast before God; why boast to someone who knows exactly what it is you did and WHY YOU DID IT. The parable about the Pharisee and the Tax Collector is a very GOOD example of this, the Pharisee says "God, I thank you that I am not like other peoplerobbers, evildoers, adulterersor even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get."(Luke 18:11), the Pharisee thought he was just before God but Jesus says "I tell you that this man (the tax collector), rather than the other (the Pharisee), went home JUSTIFIED before God."(Luke 18:14).

The point of these things is to understand that whatever we do for God both openly and in secret, God sees, so that there really is no need for us to go out announcing what we have done for God - unless God commands us to. Whatever GOOD things we do for God out of LOVE He never forgets, the Hebrew writer writes "for God is not unjust TO FORGET YOUR WORK AND LABOR OF LOVE which you have shown toward His name..."(Hebrews 6:10). Let us look at Jesus, He would go out healing people and doing all these GOOD DEEDS but He would often say to those He ministered God's LOVE to "SEE THAT YOU DON'T TELL ANYONE. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift Moses commanded, as a testimony to them."(Matthew 8:4), He had some understanding of the ways of HUMILITY. It appears that it is a spiritual law, that whatever we do for God in secret He REWARDS us in public, OPENLY, for everyone to see since Jesus said it. If it is so then why don't we try and see if it is TRUE, but IT IS TRUE, why? Let's look at it. Paul says something too powerful to Timothy, he says "the sins of some are obvious, reaching the place of judgment ahead of them; the sins of others trail behind them. In the same way, GOOD DEEDS ARE OBVIOUS, AND EVEN THOSE THAT ARE NOT OBVIOUS CANNOT REMAIN HIDDEN FOREVER."(1 Timothy 5:24-25) - his telling us that even though GOOD

DEEDS are obvious, the ones that are not clearly seen in the eyes of others BEGIN to MANIFEST themselves also and I believe that happens when God rewards you PUBLICLY. A man's good deeds cannot remain HIDDEN forever; Paul says it, because when we move by LOVE, whether HIDDEN or OBVIOUS God blesses us. The best character in a person is the one that doesn't require praise from PEOPLE and doesn't require PEOPLE'S approval; Solomon says "if anyone LOUDLY blesses their neighbor early in the morning, it will be taken as a CURSE."(Proverbs 27:14). There's a reason Solomon spoke like that, it is not to say that there is anything wrong with blessing someone LOUDLY but the INTENTION of doing it, which is to MAKE SURE that everyone else hears your blessing; you want to be approved by men of your blessing. Jesus was right when He said "How can you believe when you accept each other's praise and DO NOT LOOK FOR THE PRAISE THAT COMES FROM THE ONLY GOD?"(John 5:44). How awesome will that day be when we are praised by the Highest Himself saying "Well done, good and faithful servant!"(Matthew 25:23). The good things that we do in God's name will always show up at some point in our lives to bless us, to testify for us, whether we still remember them or not. Let us look at Mordecai for instance, in one moment of his life he had exposed

Bigthana and Teresh, two of the kings officers who guarded the doorway, who had conspired to assassinate King Xerxes (Esther 6:2) and there came a night for the king that was different so that he could not even sleep and the king asked to have the book of the chronicles of the kings read to him, only to find out about the GOOD DEEDS of Mordecai. It was SUCH A CONVENIENT time because it was at that time that Haman conspired to slaughter the Jews and what ONE MAN did for the King some time ago, EVEN THOUGH HIDDEN but COULD NOT BE HIDDEN FOREVER, resulted in the SALVATION of the Jews, does it not even say "because one person disobeyed God, many became sinners. But because ONE other person obeyed God, many will be made righteous."(Romans 5:19). Here comes the part that's extraordinary, and then the King says of Mordecai let the robe and horse be entrusted to one of the kings most noble princes. Let them robe the man (Mordecai) the king delights to honor, and LEAD HIM ON THE HORSE THROUGH THE CITY STREETS, PROCLAIMING BEFORE HIM, THIS IS WHAT IS DONE FOR THE MAN THE KING DELIGHTS TO HONOR!(Esther 6:9) Mordecai was going to be lead PUBLICLY IN THE STREETS and honored, remember "your Father who sees in SECRET, will reward you PUBLICLY"(Luke 6:4-5).

David says "You prepare a table before me, IN THE PRESENCE OF MY ENEMIES."(Psalm 23:5). God isn't going to prepare a TABLE for us while our enemies are away on a HOLIDAY, He's not afraid of our enemies. Remember the bible says "when He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, HE MADE A PUBLIC DISPLAY OF THEM, having triumphed over them through Him"(Colossians 2:15). Let us carry on to do good without looking for the praise of people, all that matters is what God says and thinks about us . For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to DO GOOD WORKS, which God prepared in advance for us to do (Ephesians 2:10).

God Bless You

Rejoice in the Spirit. Luke 10:21(ESV) In that same hour HE REJOICED IN THE HOLY SPIRIT and said, I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will.

The first principle in the will of God is for us to REJOICE ALWAYS. God wants us to always be HAPPY, to always be filled with JOY and laughter and every kind of gladness in our lives. We are charged by God, as though through a commandment to REJOICE ALWAYS, Paul says REJOICE IN THE LORD ALWAYS. I WILL SAY IT AGAIN: REJOICE!(Philippians 4:4) It is unctioned; it is charged, REJOICE ALWAYS IN THE LORD. One man once said 'if God said something twice that means He wants us to really get the point', the Spirit of God through Paul says it two times and its for a reason. However even though commanded we cannot promise that we will not have some troubles in the world that will try to steal our JOY in the Lord, but we can promise that there is a way that God wants us to remain in gladness even though we are facing trials of different sorts, even Jesus said "...IN

THE WORLD YOU WILL HAVE TRIBULATION; BUT BE OF GOOD CHEER, I have overcome the world.(John 16:33) - Glory to Him forever. In the opening scripture we find a very powerful statement "HE REJOICED IN THE HOLY SPIRIT", which, if you read from the simple translations of the bible like the NLT, actually means "JESUS WAS FILLED WITH THE JOY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT" - which is something that we will talk about a little bit more in this post. When a man has the Holy Spirit, the man has the Presence of God Himself and David says "in your PRESENCE THERE IS FULLNESS OF JOY..."(Psalm 16:11). It is that same David who connects the Presence and the Spirit as though interrelated when he says Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. (Psalm 51:11). Since the Holy Spirit stands for the Presence and in that Presence there is FULLNESS OF JOY then it means that a man cannot be in or contain the Presence of God and still find himself in a position of sadness; if he is aware of that Presence. The Spirit of God is in us therefore the Presence of God is also in us, if we carry His Presence in us we also carry the FULLNESS OF JOY within us, no wonder Paul says "but the fruit of the Spirit is love, JOY, peace..."(Galatians 5:22). Sometimes we feel so sad all the while POSSESSING the ability to turn that gloom into HAPPINESS, nonetheless we find ourselves always in

moments of despair. Paul says to Timothy "stir up the gift of God, which is in thee"(2 Timothy 1:6) and this socalled gift is really not one of the SPIRITUAL GIFTS of the Holy Spirit, even though we suppose Paul is talking about them (we will talk about that in our later posts), but he is actually talking about the Holy Spirit Himself. The only way we can get the manifested life of the Spirit within us is if we stir up that consciousness within. I realize that we who have the Spirit are hardly FULL of JOY without being FULL of THE SPIRIT also; the writer of Acts says something of that sort like this "AND THE BELIEVERS WERE FILLED WITH JOY AND WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT."(Acts 13:52) - How awesome is that? I believe that's what Jesus experienced in our opening Scripture, He was full of JOY through the Holy Spirit and we can attain that same experience as well, if we can get ourselves FULL OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. Thank God there's a way, and Paul says it when he writes to the Ephesians, he says to them "and don't get drunk with wine, which leads to reckless actions, BUT BE FILLED BY THE SPIRIT: SPEAKING TO YOURSELVES IN PSALMS, HYMNS, AND SPIRITUAL SONGS, SINGING AND MAKING MUSIC FROM YOUR HEART TO THE LORD, GIVING THANKS ALWAYS FOR EVERYTHING TO GOD THE FATHER IN THE NAME OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST, SUBMITTING TO ONE ANOTHER IN THE FEAR OF

CHRIST.(Ephesians 5:18-21), its just like that, as easy as that. If you've ever experienced the FULLNESS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT, you don't want to be in a different environment than that, all day every day. Paul gives us the steps or keys; 1). Speak to yourself in psalms, hymns and spiritual songs - making MUSIC in your heart to the Lord, 2). Giving THANKS ALWAYS for everything to God the Father in the name of Jesus 3). Submitting to one another in the fear of Christ, and these things brothers and sisters will get us FILLED WITH THE SPIRIT, and once we are FILLED WITH THE SPIRIT WE WILL AUTOMATICALLY BE FILLED WITH JOY. There's a deeper experience of JOY in the Holy Spirit, that this world and its FUN, DRUGS, PARTIES, MOVIES will never give us, its that JOY that is found in HEAVEN, it is that JOY that every son and daughter of the Kingdom of God should experience, Paul says "for the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and JOY IN THE HOLY SPIRIT,"(Romans 14:17). Some enter marriages hoping that in them they will find HAPPINESS, some fill their hearts with treasures of different sorts, providing themselves with every form of pleasure in the world but they still cannot attain to true HAPPINESS. There's a kind of HAPPINESS that money can't buy and that HAPPINESS is not found in this world system but it is

FOUND in the Holy Spirit. It is the will of God for us to always be in JOY, Paul says "REJOICE ALWAYS, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; FOR THIS IS THE WILL OF GOD IN CHRIST JESUS FOR YOU."(1 Thessalonians 5:16-18). O my God, how glorious You are, most Precious Jesus. Sometimes I think about how David danced WITH ALL HIS MIGHT before the Lord (1 Samuel 6:14), FILLED WITH JOY that could only be expressed in DANCE, in some moments we just need to start DANCING before God, FILLED WITH SPIRIT and see if that doesn't change our current state of mind. David says of God "you have turned for me MY MOURNING INTO DANCING ;"( Psalm 30:11) - dancing declares your situation's turn around by FAITH. It is the word of God that makes us FREE and freedom leads to happiness. Right now you could be in a bad space, you could have lost your job, your scholarship, your loved one, your house it doesn't matter what it is because we have a Comforter that comforts us and in His comfort there is a turning of SORROW to JOY and God says in Jeremiah "Then shall the virgin REJOICE IN THE DANCE , and the young men and the old, together; for I will turn their MOURNING TO JOY, WILL COMFORT THEM, and make them rejoice rather than sorrow."(Jeremiah 31:13). Let us learn to PRAISE God ALWAYS, you might be mute but the Psalmist says "Praise Him with the timbrel and

DANCE;..."(Psalm 150:4), if you can't speak it out, you can dance it out; PRAISING God fills us with JOY by the hope given by the Spirit of God, as said "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). JOY RESTORES LOST HOPE, AND VICE VERSA. Learn to shout for JOY, LAUGH a little, dance a little, sing a little, praise God more and be FREE IN THE SPIRIT and you'll ALWAYS FIND HAPPINESS, Solomon says "...the righteous SINGS AND REJOICES."(Proverbs 29:6) - In Christ there is always a reason to REJOICE and we NEED TO REJOICE ALWAYS. Clap your hands to God, shout a little, sometimes you just need to do that, there's nothing wrong with that, the Psalmist says "Oh, CLAP YOUR HANDS, all you peoples! SHOUT to God with the voice of triumph!"(Psalm 47:1). Oh how much God loves us, how much He desires that we are happy, if only we could see the way that He sees, we could move mountains with LAUGHTER, with JOY and for that reason we strive on, not losing heart that one day we may meet Him face to face and bow our heads and worship Him and thank Him for such JOY, He has in store for us. There's "a time to weep, and a time to LAUGH; a time to mourn, and a time to DANCE"(Ecclesiastes 3:4).

Let's pray a little, Precious Father, thank you, thank you once more for JOY unspeakable, inexpressible and full of GLORY, thank you FOR HOPE which does not disappoint, which is not LOST, which does not DISAPPEAR, thank you for LAUGHTER and GLADNESS and the smiles in our faces, the feeling of "GOOD CHEER" in our heart, thank you for your love THAT NEVER FAILS, that never ENDS, that which remains forever, thank you a 1000 times for that which you have done but has not yet manifested, reserved in heaven for us, thank you for that Precious Space in Your heart for us, thank you for the Son of your LOVE, the Author and Finisher of our faith, the Great Shepherd of the sheep and we thank you Father for Your Holy Spirit, we adore you, we love you and we magnify you, be forever EXALTED King of kings, in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior, Amen.

God Bless You.

Spiritual Alignment Psalm 85:13(KJV) Righteousness shall go before Him; AND SHALL SET US in the way of His steps.

There are things in this world that cannot be explained by mere philosophy and facts of nature. There are things of the SPIRITUAL NATURE, even things about us that are a part of the realm of the spirit - an invisible dimension of life. Where is one's spirit, one's soul, the heart, the mind? All these things are REAL & TRUE, however they cannot be related with on the PHYSICAL LEVEL. Therefore that means what is true is not true because it manifests PHYSICALLY but its true because of its STATE OF NATURE. God dwells in realms that are INVISIBLE to the physical eye, but just because we don't see Him doesn't mean He doesn't exist. He lives in a realm of glory, a realm of the spiritual - a realm natural for Him and other indwells of that realm. Don't you think that as it is natural for us to see the sun come up and the sun go down, its natural for the angels of God to behold the things of heaven. Angels have lived in heaven for almost eternity and they are so used to the heavenly experience that they CONSIDER it unnatural to

experience something else. Lets come back to the topic, Paul says something extraordinary to the Romans when he says "because the CARNAL MIND is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the LAW of God, neither indeed can be."(Romans 8:7), what Paul is talking about here is more than the law of commandments, it is the law of the spirit world, a law of spirituality; the way things work in the God-realm. These are things that the carnal and natural man cannot receive and Paul confirms it saying But THE NATURAL MAN DOES NOT RECEIVE THE THINGS OF THE SPIRIT OF GOD, FOR THEY ARE FOOLISHNESS TO HIM; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. (1 Corinthians 2:14). We will talk extensively about that realm on a later point and without a doubt that realm is real and in existence. There are things like prayer which is MORE SPIRITUAL than it is physical, the name of Jesus - it is spoken in the natural but has a greater impact on the spiritual. Even so, God wants us to live our lives from the SPIRITUAL SPHERE towards the PHYSICAL not from the PHYSICAL SPHERE towards the SPIRITUAL. Paul says "since, then, you have been raised with Christ, SET YOUR HEARTS ON THINGS ABOVE, WHERE CHRIST IS, SEATED AT THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD, SET YOUR MINDS ON THINGS ABOVE, not on earthly things."(Colossians 3:1-2) - you cannot SET your heart

and mind on things that don't exist however they do and God wants to ALIGN US WITH THOSE THINGS. The REALITY of the physical is a dream compared to the REALITY of the spiritual. Solomon says "I have seen SLAVES ON HORSEBACK, WHILE PRINCES GO ON FOOT LIKE SLAVES."(Ecclesiastes 10:7) - what Solomon saw was shocking because by the nature of the order of things, slaves should be walking on foot and princes riding on horses but in this extreme case it was the other way around. Let's say this, SPIRITUALLY SPEAKING; children of God should be a success because Christ made us victors however not every child of God is SUCCESSFUL in fact truth be told most of us are NOT (well at least PHYSICALLY) while on the other hand CHILDREN OF THIS WORLD are successful beyond measure. True ALIGNMENT means having the SPIRITUAL STATE of our lives DISPLAY ITSELF ON THE PHYSICAL. What is happening in this present world is what Solomon saw, PRINCES which are children of God are walking on foot like slaves, while slaves which are children of the world, kept in captivity by Satan in the standard of this world, are riding on horses like princes. Jesus asks Peter "what do you think, Simon? from whom do the kings of the earth collect duty and taxes-from their own children or from others?" and Peter replied "from others, then Jesus said to him,

"THEREFORE THE SONS ARE FREE."(Matthew 17:25-26) - from what Jesus was saying we can learn a lot about the order of spiritual things and not until we are ALIGNED to God's WORD spiritually can we come to full access of what God has for us - while we are still princes walking on foot like slaves then we haven't come to FULL SPIRITUAL ALIGNMENT with the kingdom of Heaven. One of the reasons that Jesus died on the cross was so that we can be aligned with God by His righteousness, the bible says we "all have sinned and fell short of the glory of God..."(Romans 3:23) and the falling of that glory was the breaking of that alignment with God, but "by the GIFT OF RIGHTEOUSNESS" from Christ we were brought back into alignment with God. The opening scripture actually implies that the RIGHTEOUSNESS that will go before God, WILL SET US or ALIGN US in the way of His STEPS; His STEPS are HIS WAYS which Hosea speaks of to be as "prepared as the morning"(Hosea 6:3) and there is nothing more wonderful than to be ALIGNED with God's steps. When a man has been ALIGNED with God's steps for him, it becomes easier for him to discover what God has called him for and have that thing MANIFEST in the PHYSICAL, look at Paul for instance, on his way to Damascus, the Lord appears to him and converses with him and as he was astonished at the occurrence his question was

Lord, WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO DO?(Acts 9:6) what an amazing question from Paul and these are the kind of questions that align us with God spiritually, when we surrender our wills, and LET HIS WILL BE DONE. It is really sad to think of how much God thinks about us and here we are living lives that are totally different from God's perspective of ourselves. To align one's self spiritually is nothing more than to align one's self with the word of God, to see ourselves the way God sees us and to walk in the ways of God and with that revelation of who we are. David says in Psalm "who, then, are those who fear the LORD? HE WILL INSTRUCT THEM IN THE WAYS THEY SHOULD CHOOSE."(Psalm 25:12) imagine being instructed by God in decision making, Isaiah puts it this way "whether you turn to the right or to the left, YOUR EARS WILL HEAR A VOICE BEHIND YOU, saying, "THIS IS THE WAY; WALK IN IT."(Isaiah 30:21) - meaning God Himself will point out the way for you; I don't mean to discourage anyone, but if you've been hearing God in your heart or on your mind or spirit, you are not having the same experience because He said "your EARS" will hear a voice that means there is something DEEPER for us. When you receive this guidance, your choices will be ALIGNED and SYNCHRONIZED with the will of God for you, GLORY TO

GOD. Today take a moment to align yourself with God spiritually, as Paul did, ask God what it is He wants you to do and believe me if you asked in FAITH God will let you know.

God Bless You.

Man, the Head of The Wife. 1 Corinthians 11:3(NIV) But I want you to realize that the head of every man is Christ, AND THE HEAD OF THE WOMAN IS MAN, and the head of Christ is God.

Maybe what we need to point out first is the fact that every person or specifically gender is equal in the sight of God. Paul says "there is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, NOR IS THERE MALE AND FEMALE, FOR YOU ARE ALL ONE in Christ Jesus." (Galatians 3:28) - We are too focused on the CLASS and HIERARCHY of things rather than focusing on their nature. Many of us still battle with the mystery of godliness, trying to found out whos greater between the Father, the Word and the Holy Spirit, rather than LOOKING AT THE NATURE OF THEIR EXISTENCE. Even so, many of us still battle with what the opening scripture says, because we are more concerned about whos the HEAD and why is it that the person has that particular focus. First things first, God created first the MAN, and there is a reason behind that. Paul says "For Adam was formed FIRST, then Eve."(1 Timothy 2:13). Additionally, right before that verse he says to Timothy

(in the verse right before it) And I do not permit A WOMAN TO TEACH OR TO HAVE AUTHORITY OVER A MAN, but to be in silence. (1 Timothy 2:12) - meaning that according to the spiritual principles the one that is CREATED first should be the one that holds highest authority and should be the HEAD. It is just that simple. This is seen in Christ who is called "the firstborn over all creation."(Colossians 1:15), and because He is the firstborn, He is also the HEAD of the church nonetheless we will not touch much on that subject here. The opening scripture positions the man to be the HEAD, but we need to also realize that Christ is the HEAD of the man and also God is the HEAD of Christ . Now the man receives INSTRUCTIONS from Christ and gives them down to the woman, according to the HIERARCHY. Paul also speaks in this way "women should remain silent in the churches...if they want to inquire about something, THEY SHOULD ASK THEIR OWN HUSBANDS AT HOME" (1 Corinthians 14:34-35) meaning that women receive their INSTRUCTIONS from MEN, by the Lord Jesus. Now these instructions have nothing to do with the womans personal relationship with the Lord but rather the family business the instructions pertain. God is by no means discrediting women but He understands how the marriage life works, since He is the one who established it. Let us

remember that Adam was the first to receive an instruction; God saying "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die."(Genesis 2:16-17) and since God had never spoken to Eve of that INSTRUCTION, Adam was the one who was supposed to tell his WIFE, Eve. If God allowed it to be so in the beginning He allows it to be so EVEN NOW. The head of the household has a very big responsibility from God, to the point that the HEAD of the family is almost accountable for the WHOLE FAMILY. Paul says anyone who does not provide for their relatives, and especially for their own household, HAS DENIED THE FAITH AND IS WORSE THAN AN UNBELIEVER.(1 Timothy 5:8). God respects this principle of the man being the head of the wife and the house so much to the point that He says in the Law, "Every VOW and every binding oath to humble herself (WIFE), HER HUSBAND MAY CONFIRM IT OR HER HUSBAND MAY ANNUL IT."(Numbers 30:13) - The word HUMBLE in the text actually means to FAST, so the husband has power to confirm or NULLIFY (cancel out, invalidate) the oath that the wife makes. God respects the principle of marriage to the maximum yet we take it lightly. For a woman to be submissive to her husband shows that she understands the spiritual things

of God, she understands that the HUSBAND receives instructions from Christ on how to make his marriage work. Christ is the husband or the groom of the church and we are His BRIDE. Because He is the groom He is by default the HEAD of the church, Paul joins the two this way "For the HUSBAND IS THE HEAD OF THE WIFE AS CHRIST IS THE HEAD OF THE CHURCH, his body, of which He is the Savior."(Ephesians 5:23) and also "He is the head of the body, the church ;..."( Colossians 1:18). Looking at woman of old like Sarah who were so submissive to their husbands that they even called them lord, showing the reverence that a woman had for her husband, understanding that he is the head. For a woman to be submissive to her OWN HUSBAND is fitting to God, Paul says "WIVES, SUBMIT YOURSELVES TO YOUR HUSBANDS, AS IS FITTING IN THE LORD."(Colossians 3:18). I urge every woman, especially those in Christ to understand this spiritual principle, SUBMISSION to your husband will be the best thing you do in the eyes of God, Peter says such woman have "the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight."(1 Peter 3:4).

God Bless You.

Missing the Calling. 1 Samuel 15:28(NIV) Samuel said to him, "The LORD HAS TORN THE KINGDOM OF ISRAEL FROM YOU TODAY AND HAS GIVEN IT TO ONE OF YOUR NEIGHBORS--to one better than you.

In this whole world, we are all called by God to do something for His kingdom whether we know it or not. God has pre-appointed our dwelling places and our times for that REASON. We are given assignments and missions differing according to God's will and they all have to do with bringing more souls to Christ and growing the church of God. We are all a part of God's MASTER PLAN, part of His eternal purpose and God has set DESTINY to be the primary function of our lives. Paul says "For those God FOREKNEW HE ALSO PREDESTINED..."(Romans 8:29); we are all a part of GOD'S PREDESTINATION. Ultimately we are all CALLED for a reason and that is to serve God's purpose in whatever generation God has set us in and even Peter says " when David HAD SERVED GOD'S PURPOSE IN HIS OWN GENERATION, he fell asleep..."(Acts 13:36). David was aware of DESTINY and that's why he says of God

"You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in Your book. EVERY MOMENT WAS LAID OUT BEFORE A SINGLE DAY HAD PASSED."(Psalm 139:16) - POWERFUL, and it's not just David, it's ALL OF US. It's as if every SINGLE day and every MOMENT of our lives has BEEN planned before we were EVER BORN, recorded in the books of glory. Whatever God wrote in the book of your life will never change because it is PERFECT, it is the way God wants it to be and God made NO MISTAKE in what He put down there about you, for "God is not human, that he should lie, not a human being, THAT HE SHOULD CHANGE HIS MIND..."(Numbers 23:19). This thing of one choosing their own destiny is a lie from hell; God set each and every one of our lives PERFECTLY according to His will, and Paul says He "works all things according to the counsel of his will."(Ephesians 1:11). Also what God has called us for can never change or be destroyed because even Paul says "FOR GOD'S GIFTS AND HIS CALL CAN NEVER BE WITHDRAWN."(Romans 11:29). Furthermore, as God did with King Hezekiah in adding more years to his life (2 Kings 20), He can do with us. Nonetheless the bible has taught us from certain individuals that it is possible for a man to MISS that which God called them to do, to fall from their calling. For instance, let us look at Judas Iscariot, a man chosen by Jesus to be among

the apostles, the famous 12; who after a long walk with the Lord is entered by Satan to conceive a plan to betray the Lord Jesus into the hands of evil men according to the scriptures. This man is a man the bible foretold of, THE BETRAYER, whom David says of "even my close friend, someone I trusted, one who shared my bread, has turned against me."(Psalm 41:9). The question that one might have is 'was Judas destined to BETRAY JESUS?', and why? But the Holy Spirit speaks wisdom through Paul when he says "Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it, 'WHY DID YOU MAKE ME LIKE THIS?'"(Romans 9:20). Nevertheless other wisdom comes from the Holy Spirit when Paul says "But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to HONOR, AND SOME TO DISHONOR. THOSE WHO CLEANSE THEMSELVES FROM THE LATTER WILL BE INSTRUMENTS FOR SPECIAL PURPOSES, MADE HOLY, USEFUL TO THE MASTER AND PREPARED TO DO ANY GOOD WORK."(2 Timothy 2:20-21), therefore if a man is CLEANSED he becomes a VESSEL of HONOR, USEFUL TO THE MASTER AND PREPARED TO DO ANY GOOD WORK Nevertheless, Judas was definitely a VESSEL OF DESTRUCION. However Judas was not cleansed because even Jesus says "Those who have had a bath need only to wash their feet; their whole body is clean. And you

are clean, THOUGH NOT EVERY ONE OF YOU."(John 13:18) and the bible lets us know that He was talking about His betrayer. Anyway when the disciples pray for a new member of the group of apostles (since Judas had died), they make a powerful prayer to God about Judas' replacement between the two men Joseph and Matthias whom they had chosen, they pray (reading from the New King James Version) "You, O Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which of these two You have chosen to take part in THIS MINISTRY AND APOSTLESHIP FROM WHICH JUDAS BY TRANSGRESSION FELL, that he might go to his own place."(Acts 1:24-25). They said JUDAS FELL FROM THE MINISTRY OF THE APOSTLES BY TRANSGRESSION. Judas was chosen that we know for sure, he was CALLED to be an apostle because Jesus chose him but he fell. The only thing I believe can cause a person to miss their calling is SIN. There are so many kinds of sins in the world and all of them seem to have that EFFECT. Sin is the one thing that makes a person ineffective in the things of God . Saul the king is also a man who missed what God wanted to achieve through him because of DISOBEDIENCE, and Samuel says "For REBELLION is as the SIN of witchcraft,..."(1 Samuel 15:23) but more painfully when he says "The LORD HAS TORN THE KINGDOM OF ISRAEL FROM YOU TODAY AND HAS

GIVEN IT TO ONE OF YOUR NEIGHBORS--to one better than you."(1 Samuel 15:28). Imagine such a fall; from being king to being nothing even though he was called of God. Jesus was right when He said "for many are CALLED, but few are CHOSEN."(Matthew 22:14). We are admonished and urged by Paul to live a life WORTHY OF THE CALLING WE HAVE RECEIVED.(Ephesians 4:1). When I think of Moses, a man so humbled (Numbers 12:3), how he MISSED the opportunity to see the Promise Land because he didn't BELIEVE God and HALLOW Him before the people, after he was told to SPEAK to the rock before their (children of Israel) eyes, and it will yield its water.(Numbers 20:8) but Moses stroke the rock twice with his rod and God says "Because you did not BELIEVE Me, to HALLOW Me in the eyes of the children of Israel, THEREFORE YOU SHALL NOT BRING THIS ASSEMBLY INTO THE LAND WHICH I HAVE GIVEN THEM."(Numbers 20:12). Sometimes I wonder if Moses was also included in those written about in the bible when it says "...they were not able to enter, because of their UNBELIEF."(Hebrews 3:19). Another man, Reuben, Jacob's first son who defiled his father's concubine the bible says of him "he was indeed the firstborn, BUT BECAUSE HE DEFILED HIS FATHERS BED, HIS BIRTHRIGHT WAS GIVEN TO THE SONS OF JOSEPH."(1 Chronicles 5:1). There are so many

to speak about, all of them called of God, in this manner and in that and it appears that their downfall was because of SIN of some sort. There is a disqualification from the things of God, even disqualification from Christ Himself, A HUGE FALL FROM GRACE because of stubbornness with regards to REPENTANCE. We are all CALLED and loved by God and His heart yearns for us, that's why Jude urges us to "REMAIN IN GOD'S LOVE..."(Jude 1:21). We have to make sure by all means that we are not disqualified from grace, because there is a DISQUALIFICATION, Paul says "examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you? unless indeed you are DISQUALIFIED."(2 Corinthians 13:5).

God Bless You.

The Spiritual Mirror. James 1:24-25(NIV) Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says IS LIKE SOMEONE WHO LOOKS AT HIS FACE IN A MIRROR, AND, AFTER LOOKING AT HIMSELF, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.

The scripture in James is one of the most powerful scriptures in the bible, because it captures more than just a mere definition of disobedience but it also brings a revelation of what the word of God is to us. These last couple of days, a brother and I have been sharing on the idea of Gods goodness and what God thinks about mankind, the precious words of David when He says WHAT IS MAN, THAT THOU ART MINDFUL OF HIM? And the son of man, that thou visitest him? (Psalm 8:4). Nonetheless, Paul says "now I commit you to God and TO THE WORD OF HIS GRACE, which can build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified."(Acts 20:32) - it is that word that has the ability to build us up and most importantly assures for us an inheritance in the heavens among all those who are sanctified by Christ. The word of God is far beyond what we can ever comprehend, it is far

beyond any intelligence or wisdom or insight this world can offer since "There is no wisdom nor understanding nor counsel against the LORD."(Proverbs 21:30). However, James seems to bring something more on the table. He seems to give us an idea that the WORD is our personal MIRROR and something we REFLECT upon; a place of introspection where we look upon ourselves FACE TO FACE. Solomon says "AS A FACE IS REFLECTED IN WATER, so the heart reflects the real person."(Proverbs 27:19); that is clear water can act as a good mirror because it reflects whatever glances upon it, so does the WORD of God. However the WORD seems to be a mirror that God made for us, a SPIRITUAL MIRROR that does not consider only the outward appearance but REFLECTS what God thinks about us A SPIRITUAL PESPECTIVE. One thing we cannot deny is that most of us need a natural mirror to look at ourselves on before we go out. We can take showers and baths and be clean but we still need a MIRROR to make sure that we look presentable to the outside world. Paul says to Timothy concerning the WORD, "all Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for TEACHING, REBUKING, CORRECTING AND TRAINING in righteousness, SO THAT THE MAN OF GOD MAY BE COMPLETE, thoroughly equipped for every good action." (2 Timothy 3:16-17) and when we receive Jesus

we wash our sins in His blood - that's the shower or bath. However we need the WORD as the MIRROR afterwards to BE COMPLETE, to make sure that we are presentable before God, Paul says the word IS USEFUL FOR TEACHING, REBUKING, CORRECTING AND TRAINING, and we need ALL these things to become mature in the things of God. David talks about the commandments of God saying MOREOVER BY THEM IS THY SERVANT WARNED: and in keeping of them there is great reward. (Psalm 19:11). When Jesus is fasting forty days and forty nights in the wilderness, he is afterwards tempted by the devil and the devil says something to Jesus and adds a quote from the book of Psalm (Psalm 91:11), he says "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, for it is written, He will command his angels concerning you, to guard you, and On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.(Luke 4:9-11). When Satan quotes the scripture, its as if that very scripture was written for Jesus, it REFLECTED what God thinks about Jesus and Satan knew it; Satan made it look PERSONAL and applied it to Jesus - yet without revelation.

These days Satan steals the word of God from Gods children and thats why their lives are filled with so much doubt and uncertainty, because THEY DONT UNDERSTAND THE WORD. The word of God it is supposed to be personal and it is supposed to be applicable to every individual born of God on earth BY REVELATION and the word of God speaks to every Christian directly. I look at Paul for instance and it appears to me that Paul began to discover the extent of his calling through the WORD of God even though Jesus had appeared to him a few times to let him know yet to the Romans he says "and thus I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, NOT WHERE CHRIST HAS ALREADY BEEN NAMED, lest I build on someone else's foundation, but as it is written, THOSE WHO HAVE NEVER BEEN TOLD OF HIM WILL SEE, AND THOSE WHO HAVE NEVER HEARD WILL UNDERSTAND.(Romans 15:20-21) - Paul had an understanding that the scripture he quoted (which is in Isaiah 52:15), spoke directly to him, he received direction and REVELATION about his calling from the Scriptures and I believe to some extent the rest of the apostles. In one of our coming posts we will talk about the PURPOSE OF GOD and we will discuss how God has put in His word a way for all of us to discover some portion of our callings.

The Holy Spirit spoke something powerful through Paul to the Romans and I thank God that we have an opportunity to know the things that the God was declaring to these chosen people that Paul delivered the message to. Paul says "for those God FOREKNEW HE ALSO PREDESTINED TO BE CONFORMED TO THE IMAGE OF HIS SON, that He might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters."(Romans 8:29); now the word "conformed" means to correspond in form or character; to be similar which means that God PREDESTINED US TO BE SIMILAR TO JESUS, HIS SON and God looks at us that very way, like Jesus. When we are looking at the SPIRITUAL MIRROR we are looking at Jesus as though we are seeing an image of ourselves; we are seeing Christ in ourselves AND Him REFLECTING from us - Oh blessed is His name, for He also says "But we all, with unveiled faces, BEHOLDING AS IN A MIRROR THE GLORY OF THE LORD, ARE BEING TRANSFORMED INTO THE SAME IMAGE FROM GLORY TO GLORY, just as by the Spirit of the Lord."(2 Corinthians 3:17). The Spirit is telling us that as we look into the MIRROR, we are seeing the GLORY OF THE LORD, that is Jesus Himself because He is called "the BRIGHTNESS OF GOD'S GLORY"(Hebrews 1:3). However if I'm looking in a MIRROR am I not supposed to see a REFLECTION of myself? Yet the Spirit carries on and says

"WE ARE BEING TRANSFORMED into that same IMAGE (the image reflected), from GLORY to GLORY". That same Jesus Christ is the WORD OF GOD (Revelation 19:13) and that image in the MIRROR and even the MIRROR itself that we look at is the WORD OF GOD and we are being TRANSFORMED to be what the WORD OF GOD is. It is the word of God that will bring us into FULL STATURE; it is the word that has power to build us up. I believe the people who have seen their SPIRITUAL SELVES or THEIR GLORIFIED SELVES through visions and dreams of the Spirit have had that experience by REVELATION and John also says "what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him."(1 John 3:2). However in the word of God, the Holy Spirit has given us GLIMPSES of ourselves, because the WORD serves as a SPIRITUAL MIRROR, Paul says this "For NOW WE SEE IN A MIRROR, DIMLY, BUT THEN FACE TO FACE. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known."(1 Corinthians 13:12). In the scripture he is talking about the WORD and the image the WORD of God is providing for us; a kind of DIM experience when compared to the one we will have at the APPEARING of Jesus, yet still FACE TO FACE - as we look into the MIRROR. Nonetheless he says but then I shall know just as I also am known. speaking the same thing John

spoke of about saying what we shall be like. We need the MIRROR of the WORD, not just to look at ourselves on but also to CHECK ourselves, Paul said to Timothy the Scriptures are good for CORRECTION and TRAINING, and as we mentioned before, we all need that.

God Bless You.

Being Humble. James 4:6-7(NIV) But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: God opposes the proud but SHOWS FAVOR TO THE HUMBLE. SUBMIT YOURSELVES, THEN, TO GOD. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

In all sincerity there is not a concept that we as believers confuse as much as we confuse what BEING HUMBLED is. There is a behavior that a common Christian is expected to display outwardly which we name HUMILITY, which is actually not what HUMILITY is. The word that describes that behavior is MEEKNESS. Meekness basically means to be quiet, gentle, submissive, etc. and there is NOTHING wrong with that. However there is a problem with many of us Christians and that is when we see someone who is not MEEK, we ultimately conclude that they are not HUMBLE - have we not heard "do not judge according to OUTWARD APPEARANCE, but judge according to righteous judgment."(John 7:24) and also "the LORD does not look at the things people look at, people look at the OUTWARD APPEARANCE, but the LORD looks at the heart."(1 Samuel 16:7). A tree is known by its fruits and

a truly humble manor woman will bear the fruits of humility which are accompanied with grace. Moreover, in order for us to understand what HUMILITY is, we need to understand what is the opposite of HUMILITY (which is PRIDE) and also the way GOD DEFINES IT because at the end of the day its all about what God says something is. Paul defines our life connection to God this way "IN HIM WE LIVE AND MOVE AND HAVE OUR BEING."(Acts 17:28); therefore anyone whose life is not connected that way to God is defined as PROUD and David puts it this way "In his PRIDE the wicked man does not seek Him (God); in all his THOUGHTS THERE IS NO ROOM FOR GOD."(Psalm 10:4). A proud man only thinks about himself and he glorifies himself, he believes he is all sufficient in himself and he gives no glory to God; he believes he doesn't owe his existence to God. However this appears to be a man outside of God and you would expect such a way of thinking from an unbeliever - so then how does a believer of God or a born again person behave PROUDLY? The truth is a PROUD person in our Christian circle according to our Christian definition is someone WHO DOESN'T GIVE GLORY TO GOD or EVEN SOMEONE WHOSE BOASTFUL or THINK THAT THEY CAN DO THINGS ON THEIR OWN and DOESNT NEED ANYONE FROM THE CHURCH.

Now what does God define PRIDE to be in the church? That question can be answered by asking the question, 'what does God define HUMILITY to be in the church? In our opening scripture James seems to define BEING HUMBLE as to "SUBMIT TO GOD" and that is what God defines HUMILITY to be towards Him, nonetheless He also wants us to have HUMILITY among ourselves. To be HUMBLE is to be submissive to the plans of God and to be SUBMISSIVE AND OBEDIENT to His WORD; for us to be as children to Him and decrease so that he may increase in our lives. Even the bible speaks about Jesus this way "being found in appearance as a man, HE HUMBLED HIMSELF BY BECOMING OBEDIENT to death- even death on a cross!"(Philippians 2:8). His HUMILITY was expressed in His OBEDIENCE towards God - He SUBMITTED Himself to the will of the Father. The bible says Jesus was "in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, BUT MADE HIMSELF OF NO REPUTATION..."(Philippians 2:6-7). We still have so much to learn about God and so much to understand and we thank God that every day we grow. It is essential also that we are humble among each other and that God delights in greatly. The ONLY way we could allow HUMILITY to have its place among us, is if we are SUBMISSIVE to one another. This submission should not be done through FALSE HUMILITY but

through the fear of God, as Paul says "SUBMIT TO ONE ANOTHER OUT OF REVERENCE FOR CHRIST."(Ephesians 5:21). Submission is the best form of HUMILITY since it means to reckon yourself under the other person, as Paul even says "but in HUMILITY COUNT OTHERS MORE SIGNIFICANT THAN YOURSELVES."(Philippians 2:3). Isn't it amazing that Jesus said "the GREATEST among you will be your SERVANT"(Matthew 23:11) and also how even though He was Lord and King of all, allowed Himself to be baptized by John when John said "I should be baptized by You"(Matthew 3:14) but He said "let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness."(Matthew 3:15) and again how He washed the feet of the disciples, even though Peter said "you shall never wash my feet."(John 13:8). Oh how great is the wisdom of God in that He "put the body together, giving GREATER HONOR TO THE PARTS THAT LACKED IT"(1 Corinthians 12:24) and God has made all of us significant in one way or the other because we are the members of Christ's body, however He says in order for us to live in HUMILITY we must think of others more significant than ourselves. Humility is one of the outside expressions of LOVE; a person who is truly humble brings peace with him. God desires that we are humble, to Him and to each other, that we live a life of peace as he says "make EVERY EFFORT to live in

peace with everyone..."(Hebrews 12:14). We should always strive towards peace and HUMILITY can be our first step and remember that "God RESISTS the PROUD, but GIVES grace to the HUMBLE."(Proverbs 3:34), I love it in this one "...HUMILITY comes before HONOR."(Proverbs 15:33). God will always HONOR the HUMBLE soul; look at Moses for instance, the bible says "now Moses was a VERY HUMBLE MAN, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth."(Numbers 12:3), and God defended Moses' every cause and accusation and honored him in everything he did. Let us ask God to clothe us with HUMILITY by His Spirit. "In the same way, you who are younger, SUBMIT YOURSELVES TO YOUR ELDERS. All of you CLOTHE YOURSELVES WITH HUMILITY TOWARDS ONE ANOTHER, because, "God RESISTS the PROUD, but GIVES grace to the HUMBLE (1 Peter 5:5).

God Bless You.