challenges – Cross Culture Church

Meditation: May 3

“God, my strength, my stronghold, my safe retreat when trouble descends:” (Jeremiah 16:19 MSG).

Trouble descends as a storm from above. Rain can be gentle and refreshing or it can come down as a deluge leading to a flood. The former is refreshing, producing growth and clearing the pollen. The latter overflows the river banks and destroys everything in its path. It is evident that there will be times of trouble as there are times of tranquility. A troubled people will live in a troubled world. The environment is not determined by the righteous alone. We are in today’s world and not the environment that we will one day attain. Yet while we are here, we have a refuge. God is our strength and our safe retreat. We are guarded by our Master who is also our Savior. We are safe as we find shelter under the covering of His grace. He refreshes us and protects us from the known dangers as well as those unseen. As danger descends, before it reaches us, we are protected even before the clouds gather and the forecast is given.

01 May 0Comments 0Likes

“The World Stands at Attention”

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“Blow the trumpet…. Sound the alarm!” (Joel 2:1) The whole world is currently hearing a singular sound. When the unexpected happens and shakes the entire planet earth, fera, doubts and questions grip peoples’ hearts. The insecurities were not created by the crisis, but more people became aware of them when the unexpected happens. What about the future, if there is to be a future? How widespread is this dilemma and are there other occurring tragedies to follow after this one? This pandemic, the coronavirus, has required the entire population of the planet to be quarantined. It is as if all the world has been placed on house arrest. When motion is restricted the economy suffers loss. When the economy suffers loss, necessities that sustain life are in limited supply. Where there is limited supply the demand is greater, crime increases. Safety and security are compromised, leaving people vulnerable to every vice known to man.

The alarm has been sounded. The prophetic Word of God is being fulfilled. The prophet Joel further says, “Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble; for the day of the Lord is coming, for it is at hand!” The quality of character is being exposed among both the righteous and the ungodly. When the Lord Jesus Christ was born, the prophetic words of Simeon were spoken over Him. He said to His mother Mary, “Behold, this Child is destined for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign which will be spoken against 35 (yes, a sword will pierce through your own soul also), that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.” (Luke 2:34-35) The closer we are to the return of Christ the clearer we see ourselves as we really are. The objective of the prophetic Word was to build confidence in the hearts of those who would believe on Jesus once He was presented to them. His objective in coming was to redeem them from their sins and direct them on the path leading to eternal life. The beginning of His journey was to fulfill the promises made to Abraham, the father of faith. Then from those who are of the seed of Abraham, every nation on the face of the earth was to be blessed. But the majority of those to whom He was sent rejected Him. They considered what they had already attained as being sufficient. Their hearts were filled with pride because of their possessions and their misunderstanding of God’s promises. His coming was a disruption of their peace. It was as a sword to them, an erupting disturbance that needed to be put in its place. Therefore, they put Him in His place. It is called the Cross.

The decisions and positions of this generation as a whole are no different or perhaps even worse than they were. At least in the past, many were religious, while today Christ, along with religion in many arenas, is completely rejected. Unbelief and disbelief do not change the Truth of God’s Word. There are those who do not know the Truth, and others who would not retain the Truth in their knowledge for the sake of expediency, often for social and poltiical reasons. The alarm is sounding to call the world to attention. It is a call to prepare for judgment. God, the Righteous Judge will judge all creatures both rich and poor, according to what resides within the heart. What we see today are merely the symptoms to alert us all that an adjustment towards correcting the error of humankind is inevitable. If the very purpose for which the Lord came as a Child to the earth is to be completely fulfilled, He will have to bring about radical changes first among those who are grafted in, then He will make known to the children of Abraham His original intent. The earth is trembling at the sound of His Word through the clarion call of the trumpet. The Lord is coming soon. May all the peoples of the earth make room for His return!

08 Jul 0Comments 0Likes

Meditation: July 8

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“If Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not go beyond the word of the Lord, to do good or bad of my own will. What the Lord says, that I must speak’?” Num 24:13

Hearing and obeying the Word of the Lord is more important than the benefits of hard work and labor that would take us beyond it. There are those who ignore the standard established by God and wish to justify their position thinking that they are too busy or have risen above the instructions given. Their price is met through the fame, fortune, and acceptance of others who would reward them with tangible benefits or accolades affirming their significance to a particular cause. Yet if we are not speaking what God has spoken or doing what He has ordained, it is either blessing what God has cursed or cursing what God has blessed. We must not judge the Word of God has being optional but absolutely necessary in every endeavor. A transgression is going beyond the word whether it is for good or for bad. As ministers of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, we must speak what God is saying in order for the people to fully participate in what God is doing. We too will be judged if we preach ourselves or address topics of interest to us and others at the expense of what thus sayeth the Lord. The judgment of a godly word is not what we may feel about it, but how can it transform us into the image of the Son of God? I must speak what God is saying and we both must do what God has instructed. Only then will He be pleased with our efforts.

04 Jul 0Comments 0Likes

Meditation: July 4

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“The diligent find freedom in their work; the lazy are oppressed by work.” Proverbs 12:24 (MSG)

There is a freedom that allows us to fully cooperate with God in what He is doing. There is a bondage that can hold one back so that they are never able to accomplish or complete anything. It is the mental bondage of procrastination. It is when one thinks too intensely one the amount of work ahead rather than applying the effort necessary to take steps in completing it. The Holy Spirit will assist us but not force us to do anything. He awaits the decision on our part to move in the right direction. Then He supplies the energy and power for us to gain the impetus to continue moving forward. We have been graced to make a difference. Things we not intended to remain as they are. That is why God has allowed us to be born in this generation. What our forefathers completed was foundational for the task lying ahead of us. We must not allow the oppression of laziness to cripple our progress. Speak the truth even when nobody’s listening! Live the life and be the person God has called you to be even when it is not popular! Be steadfast in season and out of season. God will reward diligence because He pays attention to every effort made by those who strain to move in His direction.

02 Jul 0Comments 0Likes

Meditation: July 2

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“But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ.” Philippians 3:7

What a marvelous work must have taken place in the life of Apostle Paul to now be at a place of devaluing what once was the measure of his boasting. Now things had changed for him. Things that were measured as advantages had now become deficits. If they remained his central focus or if he took pride in any other thing, it would diminish the opportunity of knowing Christ as being far more superior to any other thing. It is a matter of prioritizing our lives where Christ becomes all and other things are subordinate to our seeking to know more of Him. This can only happen among those who once knew that they were boastful. Pride has many disguises. Some would say that they are proud of the fact that they are not proud. This oxymoron hides behind a thin veneer of humility. When we become aware of our pride, we then give the Holy Spirit opportunity to free us from it. The test of true humility is when we determine not to know anything but Christ and Him crucified. There we harness the energy used to project a positive image and radiate Christ as being our life. When we know Him by revelation, then His glory is revealed in and through us.

01 Jul 0Comments 0Likes

Meditation: July 1

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“But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty.” 1 Corinthians 1:27

God very often uses simplicity in order to convey complexity. One’s rationale may cause them to miss out on the most important and profound things in life. They are hidden in the mysteries of God. He discloses Himself among poor and the downtrodden. He may even be found among little children rather than professors of higher learning. If we are not careful, we may miss Him when He speaks of things pertaining to issues we would feel to be unimportant. God whispers His Word in the midst of the shouting voices of our day. His silent gaze may be the extent of His message among the fanfare and excitement drawing the attention of the masses. He has chosen foolish things and foolish people who do not make much sense to us. Their message is strange when we have more important things to do. Our wholeness may be sought with vigor, while the key to it rests within the simple act of solitude and surrender. When we are still before Him and not too busy seeking what we ourselves are able to find or achieve, God can then show us what we were incapable of seeing alone. The world is blind to this, but His children are the only ones who have been enabled by His Spirit to see and possess that which comes exclusively from Him.

29 Jun 0Comments 0Likes

Meditation: June 29

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“But I want you to know, brethren, that the things which happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel.” Philippians 1:12

The trials of the Apostle Paul was sent to destroy him on the part of the enemy, but allowed to prove him on the part of God. Faith is not a mere idea of the mind, but a disposition of the heart. It is able to withstand the onslaught of challenges that would otherwise wear one down. When we are tried and pass the test, on the other side of that victory is a special grace useful in the furtherance of the gospel of Jesus Christ. We can then all the more identify with the price He paid by enduring much more than we could ever face in this life. There is a message preached by some who are void of experience that may stir the emotions and impress its hearers. But there is another message deeply rooted in experiences aligned with the sufferings of Christ. That message is able to make a deep impact upon its hearers because they not only hear it but see it. We live our message much louder than we speak it. There were things Paul wanted them to know. He wanted them to know that things that happen are not isolated incidences. Everything serves a purpose in the overall plan of God. He uses it all as a means of building within us a message that can reach and transform the hearts of others if we are totally committed to His purpose.

30 May 0Comments 0Likes

Meditation: May 30

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“In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, (7) that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ,” 1 Peter 1:6-7

Faith is placed on trial when you are given a seemingly legitimate reason to rebel against God as the result of current circumstances and the decisions of others. Logically the thing to do would be to disobey God and partake of the forbidden, or curse God for relief that does not seem to be on the horizon or even a part of the plan. One is for self-gratification and the other is to remedy the effect of constant misery. Faith rises in the midst of trials as being more precious than whatever the outcome would have been if you had relented in the midst of your greatest and most fierce battles. It is precious because in the end, God will prove Himself to be faithful. He will reward those who do not cave in under pressure, and will avenge them from their enemies. It is also the proof of character to further convince you of the Holy Spirit yet working in you in spite of the challenges you may be facing. You will see Jesus Christ in a way that would otherwise be impossible unless you had passed the test. It is worth it to maintain your focus in the midst of trials. There will be great rejoicing on the part of the faithful.

25 May 0Comments 0Likes

Meditation: May 25

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“Then Zedekiah the king sent and took him out. The king asked him secretly in his house, and said, “Is there any word from the Lord?” Jeremiah 37:17

When it appears as if everything is well, any word will do. Extracurricular activities and entertainment may occupy one’s time and attention. There would be a generalized approach towards Church, leadership, and life. Convicting messages appear to be too harsh and insensitive. An approach to reach common ground among all men is then the agenda of those where a distinct sound of warning is not heard. Then trouble comes! New questions and concerns are raised when we hear from Him. There is a quest for real answers that can navigate the lost soul to a safe harbor. “Is there any word from the Lord?” We want to know if there is a true message to be relied upon. We need more than what would otherwise tickle our ears. That would be the same as taking a drug to desensitize oneself from the pain and somehow thinking that we have escaped the pressure. God is speaking today, but not what many wish to hear. His truth challenges the very core of our being. It convicts us thus bringing us to the foot of the cross, repenting for our wrongs and embracing what is right. It is His absolute truth alone that has the power to liberate us from shackles of popular opinions and self will. He is true and His Word is truth.

11 May 0Comments 0Likes

Meditation: May 11

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“Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.” 1 John 4:11

God’s love obligates us without force. We are rather persuaded by His love if it is authentic. As we grow in knowledge of the dimensions of the love released from the Father through the Son to us, our confidence in Him increases. To know His love is to know that He has our best interest at heart. We are secure in Him with a positive expectation of the future. The present challenges are but temporary and momentary while God is working behind the scene for our good. The challenge to love others is usually stifled by our own insecurities. When there is a question regarding our own acceptance, we would have the tendency to hoard whatever we may have the opportunity to either possess or even manage. The knowledge of His love liberates us to love others. If we know that God so loved us, our response that His love is working in us ought to be translated into loving one another. If we cannot love one another, the question is not in relation to them but in relation to Him. To know His love is to release His love towards the objects of His affection.