August 2016 Article: “The Shaking of Kingdoms”

Heb 12:27-29 The phrase, “one last shaking,” means a thorough housecleaning, getting rid of all the historical and religious junk so that the unshakable essentials stand clear and uncluttered. (28) Do you see what we’ve got? An unshakable kingdom! And do you see how thankful we must be? Not only thankful, but brimming with worship, deeply reverent before God. For God is not an indifferent bystander. (29) He’s actively cleaning house, torching all that needs to burn, and he won’t quit until it’s all cleansed. God himself is Fire!” (The Message Paraphrase)

God’s established authority, having been compromised, gives rise to resulting calamities that expresses violence within the heart of the rebellious. Sin is rebellion and is practiced by those who contradict God’s Word and is offended by His standard of absolute righteousness. Since it is impossible to measure up to His standard independent of surrendering to His Son, Jesus Christ, the futile search for alternatives merely lead to further frustration of the heart. The essentials stand clear and uncluttered regardless of contrary opinions among those who consider themselves too intelligent to trust the simplicity of God’s Word. Jesus spoke of the ignorance among His own people when He said, “If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes.” (Luke 19:42b) The practice of sin blinds one from understanding or even having an interest in what works and produces a permanent resolve to the issues of our day. Therefore, more laws must be passed and further modified, increased military strength to regulate the inevitable, and a dependency upon the decisions of ungodly leaders leading to increased fears and ultimately hopelessness and despair. When His authority is violated, security and the people are threatened.

The closer we come to the return of Christ, the more the light of His glory exposes the intent of the hearts of mankind. The increase of warring factions is not coincidental. Injustice becomes the measure among those lacking an absolute standard. Unfortunately, most are not able to draw the line that connects decisions made on a personal and collective basis and the consequences that follow. God merely withdraws a small measure of His grace that allows people to have it their own way. Only God knows the end from the beginning. All of us have the right to choose what we will to do with our own bodies, what we wish to say, and where we wish to go, but we do not have the right to determine the consequences of our decisions. The prophetic Word is a warning to all; yet it is still be ignored today as it has throughout history!

There will come a time when there will be one last shaking. A shaking of our economy, a shaking of our educational, and economic systems, a shaking of our political system, a shaking among religious institutions; everything will be shaken. The shaking will take place as a means of exposing the futility of everything established where the Lord has been expelled. God is actively cleaning house! First, there must be the uprooting of the residue of rebellion that stands as a monument of man’s strength when he stands alone. Babel was incomplete and its structure was not secure—it represented confusion. However, God is erecting a Kingdom that cannot be shaken!  It is time for each one of us to examine ourselves and ask the question, “What are you building? Whose side are you really on?”  He is King of kings and Lord of lords, and the time is soon coming where are will eventually realize that the only thing that matters and will have a lasting effect are those things initiated and sustained by Him.

July 2016 Article: “Freedom Is A Choice”

“I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live.” Deuteronomy 30:19

 Although we are free to make choices, we are not free to determine the outcome or consequences of the choices that we make. Somewhere down the road we will meet the fruit of past decisions that will remind us of what we once thought and whether we were right or wrong. One writer mentioned that “The road to hell is paved with good intentions,” but we also know that the trail of tears left behind is moistened with regrets. If it were possible to hit the rewind button of life, how many mistakes would we delete? Even though we are the product of past choices, the road of possibility lies ahead to choose to live a better life.

Freedom in choosing ought to be preceded by a careful examination of the facts. Wisdom must be applied because facts alone can be deceiving. How those facts align themselves to absolute truth will determine the outcome of the decision. When words like absolute are used, it suggests that there is an established standard, and if there is an established standard, that standard must be unalterable with an existence that preceded the presentation of facts. Now what or who could this standard be? God alone is that standard and His Word has established it.

Freedoms without boundaries collide and degenerate into chaos. If two are more people are free to do as they please, their pleasures would impose upon the freedoms of other free thinking people. It would require a world consisting of only one inhabitant if people were free to express whatever came to their mind. Trace history and you will see a parallel between what is happening today with the history of ancient Rome. They sought after freedom that was void of an established standard, which is similar to what we see in America today.

“Rome tolerated every abominable practice, embraced every foul idea in the name of freedom and the rights of the common man. Citizens no longer carried on deviant behavior in private, but pridefully displayed it in public. It was those with moral values who could no longer freely walk in a public park without having to witness a revolting display. What happened to the public censors who protected the majority of citizenry from moral decadence? Did freedom have to mean abolishing common decency? Did freedom mean anyone could do anything they wanted anytime they wanted, without consequences?” ― Francine Rivers, A Voice in the Wind

Our daily choices contribute to our final destiny. There are many opportunities ahead of each individual, and God will not completely constrain anyone from doing whatever comes to his or her mind. Yet His Word reminds us that there is a way that appears to be right but the consequences lead to death. To put it simply, life is contained within right decisions and death is contained within wrong decisions. The time will come when the nature of the choices made will completely manifest. And the destiny of the decision maker will be forever sealed! Choose life…choose God!

June 2016 Article: ” City Fathers”

There was a time when leadership was both honored and obeyed, and where men of renown would gather together at the city gates or the entryways to decide what was good for the well-being of communities. They would take the prophetic Word spoken by the prophets and interpret its truths so that every family could align him or herself with the will of God. They were usually the elders with years of experience in both life and judgments. Issues could then be easily settled and the people would move in one direction. Without the conveniences of modern technology, the spoken work connected to the fundamentals that governed behavior and were taught by every father and reinforced by every mother. If controversy arose, it was settled among the elders or fathers of the people.

The elders were men that administered justice, settled disputes, and guided the people under their charge. Even the king would consult the elders even though he had the authority to determine his own course of action. As we retrace the path of history, it is easy to see those points of departure that adversely affect society today. In order for elders to govern the affairs of the king, they must first govern their own households. Fathers had to be there as heads of the household with an eye towards future generations. What choices would be left for children who were under the rule of fathers setting the example for them? It is a matter of established authority and the lack thereof that will determine either the rise or fall of civilization. The disintegration of morals can be directly traced back to the relaxed morals of prior generations that left individuals to judge matters independent of an established standard. God would speak to the prophets and the prophets would convey the prophetic word to the elders. The message was not merely to inform, but with the intent that lives be conformed to the standard established by God Himself. If the prophets were not received as instruments sent by God, neither the king, the fathers, nor the elders would have received the message. The receptivity of the family was commensurate to the receptivity of the father. They were taught of the Lord through their fathers.

Today God speaks through His Son, Jesus Christ (Hebrews 1:1-2). Likewise, we are taught of the Lord through the ministry gifts given to the Body of Christ. Yet it is the fathers who have the primary responsibility to interpret the message so that his family may gain a clearer understanding. Although it expands beyond an intellectual understanding, the Word must be articulated in daily practice. How the Word of God is to be applied to every area of life will require aged men with maturity gained through experience. They not only speak of truth, but spare their children the pains of having to face life without a guide. Their successes and failures can be used as object lessons for the immature and inexperienced. Their tried and proven methods can be built upon from generation to generation.

Church fathers then can become city fathers. The Church was intended to be the center of the community as the gathering place for the instructions in knowledge and wisdom. Additionally, fathering is the derivative of being fathered. As Father, God set the criteria and model for every man that would ever occupy such a sacred position. Just as He spoke to the prophets of old to the fathers or elders, so He speaks today. To understand Christ’s earthly mission and to fully participate in work is our highest calling. Through Him we fulfill the role and carry out our mission. Let us not shortchange our children by giving them less than what they so desperately need. Guide them into knowing Christ through our godly example. Who will be our future city leaders? Those that we are training and leading today.

May 2016 Article: “Mother, the Womb that Incubates Potential”

It must be pointed out for one to fully realize how important a mother really is. When we take the time to cease from our daily efforts and ponder the value given to the second person of God’s creation, we cannot help but thank God for such as wonder. Yes, fathers originate the process. As God is our heavenly Father; Pater in Hebrew meaning, “brought forth from,” that which is produced must be developed if it is reach its destiny. The seed would remain impotent and eventually die unless it was not deposited into the womb. There it is nurtured and protected in order to be formed into the idea of its original design. Who but God could have thought of such a wondrous plan as to take two distinctly different people and use them as His instruments to bring forth life? Not only does God place this miracle within her physical body, but within her mind and soul is the passion and desire to see that life become all that God intended for it to be. Within the womb is God’s creative genius, and outside of the womb is the demonstration of His love. The continuous love of a mother provides an environment for a child to grow up knowing that he or she is cared for. The world is a vicious and violent place to live. People, not knowing who they are, will act out various roles of reality given to them by those that they admire. Their twisted thinking often lead them to violate the ethical code of humanity. They lose sight of their purpose and have no idea of life’s truest meaning. But the mother, from which nurture was first initiated serves as a reminder that there still remains a person that cares, therefore there must be a God that cares.

If love exists anywhere it reminds us of the fact that love still remains. If it remains, it must generate from its origin. Therefore, if there was no other indication that God is the same the dynamic of a mother and child would be enough to reveal to us of this truth. Jesus in His lamentation over Jerusalem expressed this love for His people. “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!” (Matt 23:37) Not only does a mother provide and protect her children but even in the animal world, that protective love is exhibited. You may threaten to rob a mother of her valuables, and even threaten to take her life, but woe be unto you if you threaten to do harm to her children. She will do whatever is necessary to protect that which was brought forth from her own womb. It is an extension of God’s love through Jesus Christ for His own. She is there regardless of the life altering decisions made by her children. She is willing to express her love but the only way to know it is when it is fully received.

When Jesus was being crucified; while He was hanging on the cross, He took time out of dying to speak to His disciple, John saying to him, “Behold Thy mother.” What He was saying to John was, “John, take care of mother and treat her has your own.” Why was this moment so special? Jesus was expressing His appreciation for the thirty-three years of nurture and love received from her. He was reminded of her value in His life and the encouragement He had received from her throughout the many years of life and ministry. He was saying to John; “treat her as I would treat her. The acts of kindness I had received, treat her as if it was you instead of Me.” Now as we celebrate our mothers, let us remember that God gave her to us as His gift. Love her as Jesus loved His mother. The potency of His love is expressed through her.

April 2016 Article: “From Death to Life”

God’s order is the opposite of our normal way of thinking. Human reasoning would have you to believe that death is the final act of nature, the ultimate sealing of one’s fate. Yet God looks at life differently and reveals Himself through nature. Contained within every created thing is the mystery of life, where one can clearly see His plan of redemption. First, death itself is redefined. The reality of death is sin; a life lived by those who are ignorant of life’s purpose. Sin is defined as “missing the mark.”  Their attempts to make life meaningful only add to their confusion and frustration. When life is lived arbitrarily without the knowledge of God’s original intent, nothing is left but to live life under the shadows of dreadful death. The fear of death becomes the obsession, since no one is able to fully describe what exists on the other side. Yet the magnetic pull of sin attracts one to what he fears the most and blinds him to the consequences. “The wages of sin is death.” Jesus beautifully illustrates salvation as an anticipated death. He first speaks of Himself and then how every human being might participate in His death.

“But Jesus answered them, saying, “The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified.  (24) Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain.  (25) He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.  (26) If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor.”(John 12:23-26)

He came to die in order for death to occur in all of us. His original purpose for our original design is hidden in the seed that fell to the ground and died. Once we fully identify with His death as the needful act on God’s part for what we deserved, then His life can be made manifest in us. No longer living in a mummified state of existence of selfish ambition and gain, but freed from grave clothes that bind one of free expression. Freedom is not merely the ability to do as one pleases, but rather to do what pleases God and finding pleasure in pleasing Him. The seed does not remain alone but reproduces after its own kind. Christ is experienced and made known in graveyards of politics, business, entertainment, education, and religion. When we influence every sphere of life with the fragrance of Christ, we will produce a passion and desire in the heart for something more than the mere lifestyles of the rich and famous. Oh, if people only knew how much they are missing by engaging in the exercises of competitive living and hedonism, they would rush in the direction of the only truth that can set them free!

With the fear of death removed and replaced with the promise of eternal life, one is able to give himself or herself completely to God and come to know Him as Father. Anything less than this is merely a pacifier in the mouth of a crying baby who will soon discover that there is no nutrition in it. It was merely placed there to keep him from crying. We don’t have to merely imagine that there is a God. He is more than willing to reveal Himself to each and every one of us, but a polluted heart full of envy, jealousy, and pride will shroud His image. When one wills to die to his self-life, He will kill him so that He might be resurrected to spirit life.  There is life after death…and to be very frank, the only life worth living is preceded by death. Come and die! Come to Jesus and live!

March 2016 Article: “Friendship Really Matter”

Life’s most precious treasure is contained within individuals who await the exploration of one who is interested enough to find it. A casual conversation that leads to the revelation of the deep secrets of the heart that reaches the soul with mutual understanding is a breath of fresh air. Lasting relationships that can endure the test of time are birthed and established. One writer said, “A person’s wealth is not measured by the size of his bank account but by the friends he keeps.” This is not our genesis—children are born selfish but quickly learn the lesson that provisions come from sources beyond their own ability and reach. Even though all are directed towards themselves, they eventually respond with a smile or some indication to acknowledge the lives around them. But somewhere down the road, many grow to compete with others for what they want and separate themselves from the very hand that fed them. We need other people, whether we know it or not.

Within an impersonal crowd, the masses move in every direction. Although each individual has a motive and is in pursuit of a specific goal, there are those special ones that provide a kind of sanctuary. No longer a generalized blur of people whisking in a rush towards their assignments, but rather, they show interest in the things that interest you. The values that you hold dear are retained within their hearts. Before a man ever finds a wife, he must first find a friend. When he marries his friend, there is a foundation established for having all things in common. Our churches must be full of friends who worship God and enjoy His Presence together. We must work at converting strangers into becoming friends if we are to ever see them converted to Christ. Friends love unconditionally and expect nothing in return. Friends will correct in love because the correction can be well received if love is firmly established. Friends are more than willing to inconvenience themselves if it is for the others benefit. Even when a friend fails to do what is right, there is still someone that will do what is right on your behalf.

We all need friends more than we could ever know. There is a need to retain old friends and to always be about making new friends. Old friends are like expensive wine, refined over time. New friends are the new adventure awaiting exploration. As the years pass, how many friends have you gathered along the way? Review your list of acquaintances and ask the question, why have these people have crossed your path? Is it your responsibility to cultivate the relationship or was the purpose fulfilled in the exchange? If you are to search for a deeper meaning, prayerfully pursue that purpose. They may be able to see the message of Christ in you before they hear it from you. This could be the necessary bond for mutual enrichment. I have attended many funerals and in hearing the remarks and eulogy of the person that I thought I knew, I have often wondered why I never saw that side of the person being eulogized. At that moment I would wish to turn back the hands of time and relive with them what others had so warmly appreciated. There are things in all of us awaiting the right time and effort to bring it to the surface. God gives us what someone else needs and gives them what we need. Even when we are given an assignment, the first question ought to be who are the people given to me for its completion? His assignments are always greater than our abilities alone to complete. Instead of remaining alone, make friends; be a friend and start living!

February 2016 Article: “True Love”

Becoming spiritually awakened triggers areas of sensitivity that otherwise would not be recognized. Then one can experience the prompting of the Holy Spirit that draws him closer to the Lover of his soul. Love preexisted all of creation—The Eternal Father loved His Eternal Son with Eternal love. It was love eternal, love unconditional, and love everlasting. God is love, but to explain this is virtually impossible because there are no earthly references to unconditional love. Yet, He invites each one of us to enter into His relationship. However, experiencing it places the individual in an exclusive category where he can no longer settle for the mundane feelings of expressions that masquerade as authentic. Yes, the references to which it can be compared seem normal, but its aim is set too low and often leads to frustrations and disappointments. People are related to each other and often relate others on this basis. But once this level is experienced, regardless of how one may have felt toward others, himself, or things, he soon discovers that true love and devotion have a far greater range than the temporary experiences that the uninformed have embraced as mere romanticism.

Yet it encompasses all things including romance within the context of God’s original design. Sin is the allurement of Satan to draw individuals to a state of independence, thus living his life after his own choosing. People are related to each other and often relate others on this basis. But once this level is experienced, regardless of how one may have felt toward others, himself, or things, he soon discovers that true love and devotion have a far greater range than the temporary experiences that the uninformed have embraced that as mere romanticism. Yet it encompasses all things including romance within the context of God’s original design. The objective of the enemy is for each person to share in his rebellion at the expense of forfeiting the benefits provided by God. He blinds the mind and darkens the heart so that right seems wrong and wrong appears to be right.

A blind person feels his or her way through life. Yet feelings are so fragile. One’s mood has the tendency to swing in all directions. It is unstable and requires much work in order to compensate for what true love alone is able to establish. Feelings alone without purpose are void of a cause to remain in love. This is why so many fall in love. If you fall in love, what did you stumble over that caused you to be helpless? We should not be victims of circumstances who love without a purpose or a goal, but rather, trust God to fulfill His intentions through our mutual submission to Him. A fall requires correction while a decision engages the whole being, spirit, soul, and body. If you fell in love, you ought to be able to rise above the fall and eventually stand erect. True love requires both a decision and a commitment, and before we come to God, we must commit our love and devotion.

The questions that every individual must ask is who am I, why am I here, and where am I headed? The journey of life is too important for you to travel with companions that divert the path ordained as your destiny. The Bible says that “Bad companions ruin good character.” (1 Cor 15:33) Today’s English Version Our companions must be wisely selected. Many people have altered their destinies as result of being emotionally or sexually joined to people who cause them to detour from the road leading to fulfillment in life. The soul ties created by the forbidden desensitizes the person from hearing or even having an interest to hear the wisdom and instructions given to them by God. Lust is the instrument of the devil to blind the minds and heart. Moreover, lust attracts the individual like a magnet towards objects that are bent for his destruction. Not only is one desensitized from hearing the voice of God, but it also prohibits the person from possessing the ability to truly love. Then his life is filled with substitutes rather than what is real. Love for God will arrest lust for the forbidden and will both generate and reinforce the passion for what God has provided. Accept God’s love in order for Him to love through you. His love provides opportunities to give expression to a joyful and fulfilling life with rich rewards.

2016, The Year of Kingdom Advancement

Each year, we highlight a focus for our lives and this ministry. As we pursue our goals, we invite others to join us and challenge them to seek what we believe to be a God-inspired vision. With the advancement of evil in this world and the decline among those who have totally committed their lives to Christ, the wakeup call to true saints requires the advancement of the Kingdom. The battle weary take the last bit of strength left within them to stand, and with weapons in hand and an increasing number surmounting against them, the troops must rally against the enemy. Too much is at stake, for if we wave the white flag, then our surrender is a statement that our God is not able to deliver us. But when defeat appears to be inevitable, our God speaks His Word, and the very power of His Word is enough to overwhelm the strongest opposition!

We have not underestimated the strategies and strength of our enemy, nor are we ignorant of his devices. The influences of secular media have turned the tide of would-be worshipers of God into idols in the form of superstars and self. The technological advancements that could be used for good or bad, where knowledge parts from faith rather than knowledge rooted in faith, have caused many to question the very existence of God. The spread and popularity of false religions that appeal to those who are disappointed with diluted expressions of Christianity are now defecting to these more exotic expressions. Many of the proponents of false religion are honest, but misinformed. Often, their commitment is stronger than those who have a general knowledge of the truth. With a resolve to give their all to what they believe, if they could be convinced that there is something more, they would pour all of their energies and use their influence in defense of the Faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. Although the influence and strength of the enemy is diverse, far reaching, and great, we know that our God is greater!

The opportunity is greater than ever before for Christ’s witnesses to take their rightful stand. What has been entrusted to us is most needed as always, but now in an age of spiritual decline, we are able to take the lead. Peaceful negotiations are cautiously entered into with the potential of broken agreements and alliances with allies possibly turning into enemies. Who can we trust? What can we rely upon? What God has always said He is still saying… “Trust in the Lord and do not lean to your own understanding. Acknowledge Him in all your ways and He will direct your paths.” The expanse of His government and peace shall have no end. His Kingdom is established within the heart of individuals and not a system imposed upon the masses. The result influences existing governments, families, and wherever and however people may be joined together. As we put special effort into preaching the message of the Kingdom of God, it is with the intent that the conditions where we find ourselves in will cause many to reconsider what God is saying. My prayer is that we hear the right message so that we might be rightly joined together and grow up in Him in every area of our lives. Let’s do our best to advance the Kingdom!

December 2015 Article: “Let Every Heart Prepare Him Room”

Before the arrival of Jesus Christ, Earth had yet to receive the full expression of the Father’s heart. His requirements had been made known through the Lawgiver, Moses and His compassion had been expressed through the poetry and songs of David. Additionally, His disappointments and displeasure had been expressed through Malachi and many of the prophets. Yet none had ever known the full message of the Father towards mankind. While His heart was large enough to engulf the world and all of His creation, He willed to express more than glimpses of what was seen through creation. Then God sent One who throughout eternity reflected His full intentions. He, God in three Persons, was in full agreement with Himself. Not three numerically, but three in interaction in order for love to be complete with a witness. Love is not love without an object of expression. His love was complete before He created anything. When He said, “Let us make man,” He was speaking of the eternal preexisting love that proceeded from heaven to earth. It is not the same caliber of love for animals, plants, and other living creatures in this expression. He was in fact saying, “Let our love extend to an earthly creature that we might share with the created what we have exclusively known.

God loved Himself by having an eternal Son to love. He was not self-absorbed and selfish, but His eternal love preexisted and gave birth to all living things. Our dominion over His creation, ability and assignment to reproduce after our own kind occurs because we were made after His own likeness and image. We will care for His creation because we love and honor the Creator. We will reproduce and replenish the earth with a godly seed because we desire to see the earth filled with the expression of His divine intentions. No other reason for living life other than to glorify God and show forth His glory throughout the earth. Yet, the divide between God and man produced by the infraction of sin that blinded him from seeing that which was from the beginning. He then can live his life based upon what the world and his life became rather than God’s original purpose. Therefore, God sent the Son of His love to the earth so that all would be able to both hear and see the perfect will of God. That which was from the beginning has now been sent to the earth, with all of its hostility against God, to allow rebellious man to give expression to His fallen nature. Sin is not merely having one’s own way. It is the attitude expressed towards God and His gift to the world through His Son.

Some would second guess God’s intentions by saying, “If God loved us, He would love us in a way that we could completely understand.” They reconfigure a god after their own fallen nature and ill intent directing their attention towards an accommodating deity whose purpose falls short of holiness or perfection. Their reinterpretation of His Holy Word eliminates all portions that would convict of sin, but speaks of a debilitating love that cripples rather than transforms. Then it becomes much easier for disinterest and total rejection to occur among succeeding generations. Our children reject that to which they cannot completely commit. A diluted truth filters down to a level where truth itself becomes obsolete. His Son was crucified by a blind generation since His Presence was an intrusion within their activities and an obstruction to their intent. They could no longer do what they will to do without the reference of His coming to the earth. But He rose from the dead! His Spirit, or the power of creation, is now available to all. Let earth prepare Him room. Then heaven and all of nature will sing as result of earth’s release from the curse brought upon it through man’s rebellion. The relinquishment of his authority to care for the earth and the people as result of God’s love can now spread to every nation.

November 2015 Article: “Hours of Grateful Reflection”

“If I’m sleepless at midnight, I spend the hours in grateful reflection.” Psalm 63:6 (The Message Paraphrase)

God gives His children peaceful rest. They have the stamina to work diligently, but they also have the calm and contentment to rest peacefully. The reason behind both their rest and their peace is the knowledge that God is still in control. Oftentimes, it appears as if no options remain for those who wish for harmony within nature and among mankind. The current events projected on our television screens, along with the daily grind of day to day activities, appear to only lead to deeper levels of frustration. Every effort of peace is contested by greater conflict, and the soul is filled with discontent. The pursuit is for a better life and a better world. The prevailing question is “where can peace be found?” Just maybe the search is in the wrong direction. The question ought to be “where can truth be found?” Peace is located along the same path that truth has already paved. The unaltered and unadulterated truth contained with the One who sent it forth will always remain as the only way to effectively address the current crises of our day. Unfortunately, many are in search of an alternative reality at the expense of all things that would otherwise provide for their peace. The sleeplessness of the Psalmist was not as the result of his resolve. His commitment was to a Godly standard, even though his sinful nature, along with the world around him, would oppose it.

Needless is the effort and wasted are the opportunities of grace when time and energy are spent in worry. The stagnant posture of worry inhibits the growth of the individual and paralyzes his potential as one who could otherwise be a part of the solution rather than the problem (You are either on one side of the issue or the other).

Nighttime is intended for sleep and not restlessness. One’s occupation or preoccupation will influence the conscience when meditations are not deliberate. Even when the intent is to erase from the mind those things that fill it with thought, the more one tries to not think of a thing, the more of that thought invades the mind and holds it captive. Sleeplessness in the middle of the night is when the night has been far spent leaving little energy for tomorrow. The battle throughout the night is a phantom war against imaginary troops. If one is exhausted from the nightshift of worry, can that individual be relied upon to answer destiny’s call? The Psalmist spent his hours in grateful reflection. Instead of worry, he is reminded of God’s divine promise and strength. If He was the One who rescued him from the perils of the past, then He is able to handle the challenges that lie ahead. Instead of counting sheep, he is counting victories.

There were lessons learned through his temporary failures and temporary setbacks. Yet his God is faithful in using every situation for his ultimate good and for His own glory. When more time is spent in grateful reflections falling to sleep becomes easy. Confidence in God relaxes the mind and muscles, for it was never his efforts, but the power of God working through him mightily, that produces victory after victory. Sleeplessness tried to enter in but found no lasting abode. When doubt tried to enter in, he would reflect upon the fierceness and ferociousness of the lion and the bear. He initiated and offensive attack against them along with the taunting Philistine giant Goliath. They were no match to him as his God was present.

What do you have standing as a lion, bear, or giant before you? Did you face them with Godly courage or in timidity and fear? Only faith in God alone is sufficient to stand against the wiles of devil. Faithlessness robs one of the potential provided by God to overcome in battles set forth for our destruction. Without faith, God cannot be pleased through one’s life. Gratitude is easy when reflections and meditation on God’s goodness have become our way of life. Moreover, the rest at night will also provide strength in the daytime. Trusting God for our daily bread and strength will cause spiritual growth to occur so that when greater battles come and greater challenges occur, confidence in God will rise to such a level so that it would be a part of your nature to say, “What God has done, He is still able to do!”