The Urgent Imperative of Ministry: Stop Stalling, Start Serving - You have the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit has equipped you. the Holy Spirit is ready to move. Let's go!
Too many believers spend their whole lives figuring out their gift. Debating, pondering, considering, but never actually employing their gift/s in ministry to the brethren/church.
NO WILL BUT THINE - All that is opposed to Thee,
Howsoever dear it be,
From my heart the idol tear,
Thou shalt have no rival there,
Only Thou shalt fill the throne:
Saviour, let Thy will be done.
Holy Hospitality - The opportunity to help, to minister, to bless others, in any way, should always be welcomed. Welcomed because we want so much to serve God. But, in so many aspects of life, we prefer to serve only who, and when, and how we want. And, thus, we don't really serve at all, no matter what we decide to do. 
Has God Already Provided for your Taxes? - The children of God live in the Kingdom of God, therefore, no tax in any kingdom of man can stop/hinder the work of a child of God going about their Father's business in the Kingdom of God. God the Father had already provided for our earthly needs, so no earthly tax can stop you or me from doing the work of God here on earth.
Dear Lord Give me a Heart - A heart that’s cleansed from sin’s vile scourge
A dwelling place for Thee
A heart Thy precious blood did purge
A heart from sin set free
Glory to God Only Wise! - God’s wisdom and knowledge are infinite. Who knows enough to argue with God? Who is wise enough to give God counsel?
Jehovah’s Judgments | 5. Exploitation - We should never assume that God is comfortable with our sinfulness. Just because we don't see God moving doesn't mean He is standing still. Contrary to what the merchants of Judah thought, God does judge sin.
The Maker of the Universe - His holy fingers made the bough
which grew the thorns that crowned His brow.
The nails that pierced His hands were mined
in secret places He designed.
Igniting Idolatry: When Your Values Become Your God - Where the doctrines, teachings, principles of the Bible have been removed, God cannot be worshipped. If the god we worship is not The God of the Bible, then we are worshipping an idol of our own creation, an idol in our own image. If we do not know God as the Bible defines Him, we cannot worship Him. If the god we know is defined by false teachers or false doctrines, then we only know a false god.
Jehovah’s Judgments | 4. Defiance - The real issue that we face when we don't have authority is that we want it. And often we will do whatever it takes to get it or to resist it or to undermine it. However, it is God that bestows authority. No one can have authority unless God allows him/her to have it. Therefore, to rebel against authority is to rebel against God.
We’ll Get Through This - Lord, our troubles
Are so great,
We don't know what to do;
The price for our
Iniquity
Is finally coming due.
Abounding Grace - Where sin abounded, grace much more
Abounded by God's love.
When Jesus for our sakes came down,
And left the throne above.
What Christ Is To Us - The Source of my delight;
The Song to cheer the night;
The Thought that fills my mind;
The Best of All to find—is Jesus!
You’re Always There for Me - You listen to my prayers;
You hear my every plea;
I’m safe because I know
You’re always there for me.
Yours - We pray that as our Lord explores
Our dreadful sins, your mercy pours
And covers us for we are yours.
Jehovah’s Judgments | 3. Worldliness - Judah's elite were imitating the idolatrous cultures of the neighboring ungodly kingdoms. Why should God's people use God's blessings to imitate the lifestyles of those who hate God?
His Eyes - Now at the cross
was greater loss
with torture and with pain.
From crown of thorn
to nails and scorn,
would someone please explain?
Jehovah’s Judgments | 2. Pride - If I can live without God some of the time, then I can live without Him all of the time: Therefore, I don't need Him. That is the definition of pride. If I don't need God, then I am my own God. 
Cradle, Cross & Crown - He taught us truth, forgiveness, grace
He taught how gain was loss
Then demonstrated selfless love
By dying on the cross
Jehovah’s Judgments | 1. Idolatry - Idolatry has no place in the Body of Christ. We cannot lead anyone to Christ if we do not believe in His exclusive lordship over our lives. We cannot lead anyone to faith in Christ if our faith is compromised by idolatry. We cannot be priests of God and serve another "god". 
Sifting to Secure the Success of the Saved - Peter was to be sifted so that he could thereby be sanctified; and then become useful to help his fellow Believers grow stronger. What satan meant for evil would end up being a great blessing to many.
The Deception of Disobedience - Are God's blessings available to those living outside of God's will? Are God's blessings available to those who have no intention to obey His Word?
Believers in Business: Three Tenets for Transactions - Business deals are not inherently wrong. But it is equally obvious that the worldly business practices of worldly men are worldly instead of godly. Thus, the goals of Believers are often diametrically opposed to those with whom they must do business.
How then can a Believer navigate the world of business in a way that honors God?
Consider HIM - When I track my weary way,
When fresh trials come each day,
When my faith and hope are dim,
Then, my soul, consider Him.
Foundations of Faith - When God calls on us, will we show up? Or will we be missing in action? Our responses to God reveal to us, and everyone watching, what we think of Him. Our responses will reveal if He really is our God. Our responses will reveal whether we believe He is good, fair, just, and worthy of our love.
Consider Your Ways: Four Obstacles to Fruitfulness - Many years have passed by and we haven’t accomplished much beyond the foundations of our faith.
It is time for us to evaluate our performance.
Have I done what God has called me to do? Have I even tried? God is well aware of the particular challenges each of us faces. But He still requires faithfulness.
‘Twas a sheep not a lamb - And so with the sheep we earnestly plead
For the sake of the lambs today,
For when sheep are lost, what a terrible cost
The lambs will have to pay!
From a List of Laws to the Love of The Lord - Both righteousness and sinfulness are results of our posture to God, our attitude to the Almighty. The depth of our desire to serve God determines whether we walk in righteousness or stumble in sinfulness. 
What to Do While Waiting for God - Waiting for God to respond to our urgent petitions is often a challenging experience. We pray to Him hoping for a quick answer. But things rarely happen as quickly as we would like. Therefore, we must wait.
Psalm 13 captures the emotional and spiritual strain that Believers often experience while waiting on God and gives us insight on how to cope.
Seven Reasons for Salvation - At this time, the Church is beset by easy “believism”: whereby we confess faith in a God of our own making. Some believe in a God that does not judge sin. Others believe God exists to give them whatever their lust desires. Still, others believe Jehovah is just one God of many.
Real salvation is available only from the real God of the Bible, not of our imaginations and idiosyncrasies.
Magnifying The Lord Means Minimizing Myself - Loving God and loving anything not-of-God are mutually exclusive: we can only do one or the other; we cannot do both. If we belong to God, we will magnify Him over everything else. And if we belong to the world, we will magnify the world over everything else.
Fruit Foundation - The difference between a good tree and a corrupt tree is the Holy Spirit. Those who are rooted in Christ have been given the Holy Spirit. Therefore, the fruit of the Spirit, the good fruit, can be manifested in their lives.
Fruit Fidelity - There is an innate assumption in the modern church that false prophets are hard to find. However... as easy as it is to know that grapes don’t come from thorns... so it is easy to see the absence of good fruit from the ministry of false prophets among us.
My Personal Walk with God Over The Years – by Lisa Rodney - As I grew spiritually I realized that I was created to worship God. Everything else is secondary and can wait. Life was never about me at all, it’s all about God. When I accepted that it’s not about me, I started to experience a true and genuine relationship with God. My life then became a life of prayer and worship.
The Three Steps of Discipleship - Your cross is not your sacrifice. Jesus was crucified ON a cross. Therefore, to take up your cross is to be ready for the world to crucify you for the sake of the gospel. Taking up my cross is the willingness to be rejected by the world.
A Word on Judging - Carnal Christians are not good at making judgments because self/flesh-centered biases, like beams in their eyes, make it impossible to see clearly. However, those that "are spiritual", those that are mature in Christ, have the light of God coming into their "eyes" and they can see what needs to be done.
The Proper Way for a Man to Pray - “Last year I fell in Hodgkin’s well
Head first,” said Cyrus Brown.
“With both my heels a’sticking up,
My head a’pointing down.
And I made a prayer right then and there,
Best prayer I ever said—
The prayerest prayer I ever prayed
Was standing on my head.”
God hath not promised… - God hath not promised skies always blue,
Flower–strewn pathways all our lives through;
God hath not promised sun without rain,
Joy without sorrow, peace without pain.
REMEMBER Your Redemption: Free at Last! - The first step needed to walk victoriously in the abundant life God has given us is to remember, remember, remember, that we are redeemed. Sin is no longer our master.
REMEMBER God is our Judge - God's judgments, God's corrective disciplinary actions, are not a terror to His children. When we are disciplined, we don't lose our salvation: we don't stop being children in the family of God, joint heirs with Jesus.
God’s No - And when in love and wisdom
[God] withholds my heart’s request
His “no” means “something better”.
He will give me what is best.
REMEMBER God is our Provider - Remembering that God is our provider also means that we trust in His provision. Whether He gives us material wealth, physical health or the forgotten gift of suffering, we trust that God provides us with everything necessary for us to thrive BECAUSE He is The Good Father.
REMEMBER God is our Lord - If our steps are ordered in God’s Word, we will live by God’s rules. And if we live by God’s rules, then God is our King, our Lord.
Conversely, if our steps are ordered in the world's value-system, we will live the world’s rules. And, if we live by the world’s rules, then the world is our king, our lord.
REMEMBER God is our Protector - Believers must remember that God has a plan for each of us. Therefore, while we are walking in His will there is nothing that can prevent that mission from being accomplished. God protects us so that we can accomplish His purpose for us.
Unto Us A Son is Given - Sing to Him your songs of praises
Bring to Him your gifts of love
Give to Him your very finest
All the King is worthy of
Annunciation Appreciation | The Fundamentals of Faith - Physically, a virgin birth was impossible, but spiritually it was possible: God isn't limited by the laws of the physical universe. God is bigger than that. Mary, however, was limited and she needed God's intervention to live out God's will for her life.
Annunciation Appreciation | Glorifying Jesus - For us to accept Jesus as Saviour we must first see Jesus as King, rightly having the authority to offer us salvation on His terms. Sin came about when man rejected God's authority. Salvation comes about when man accepts God's authority: when we see Jesus as our King.
Annunciation Appreciation | God’s Favour Frees From Fear - Our problem is that we trust our senses more than we trust God. Our tendency is to walk by sight, i.e., to live by our senses and our own human logic. When our sensory experiences tell us that things are out of the norm, our minds conclude, based on that limited information, that we are in danger, that we should react in fear.
Take Up Thy Cross - Take up thy cross, the Saviour said,
If thou wouldst My disciple be;
Deny thyself, the world forsake,
And humbly follow after Me.
In His Hands - Lay hold of me with Thy strong grasp,
Let Thy almighty arm
In its embrace my weakness clasp,
And I shall fear no harm.
The Confrontation Conundrum - God still loves the fool. Even though the fool has rejected God, God desires to rescue the fool from His folly, so that he can know the Truth and be saved.
No Will but Thine - 'Tis my aim Jesus divine,
Hence to have no will but thine,
Let me covenant with thee,
Thine for evermore to be:
This my prayer, and this alone,
Saviour, let Thy will be done!
Me, A Betrayer - How oft have I betrayed my Lord
with feigns of love in deed and word
While in my cold and calloused heart
I held myself from Him apart
The Potter - The hands are strong, but gentle
The force is firm, but kind
The pressure from the Potter's touch
Brings changes over time.
Love’s Inscription - O unbelief, how strange a marvel thou art! We know not which most to wonder at, the faithfulness of God or the unbelief of His people. He keeps His promise a thousand times, and yet the next trial makes us doubt Him. 
The Exchange - Give me Christ and take my heart
Thy righteousness to me impart
Bring me under, bring me down
Bring me broken and duty bound.
A Stew, a Stew! My Kingdom for a Stew! - For Esau, The Birthright (the privilege of God working through him to establish a holy nation) was not priceless. There was a situation in which he would be willing to sell his Birthright.
For Esau, present physical need was more important than future spiritual gain.
I Prayed for Thee Today - I prayed for thee today,
To the God Who has all power
That He would keep thee close to Him
And strengthen Thee this hour,
The First Step to Salvation - ...the act of faith in accepting the prescription for salvation... in God's Word, must also mean full acceptance of ALL other prescriptions in His Word: Full acceptance of even those truths that we find uncomfortable.
Christians and Politics: A Few Questions to Consider - It is possible to be saved and be on the wrong side of many issues, BUT remain saved.
It is also possible to be unsaved and be on the right side of many issues, BUT remain condemned.
Salvation is infinitely more important than political/ideological orthodoxy.
There is no love without God - If God is love, then to be Godless is to also be loveless. If God is love, then wherever God is rejected, love is rejected as well.
VESTED with VALUE | All Lives Matter - It is God and not men that impute value to human life. And, in God's eyes, ALL lives matter. Whether you value my life or not, God does. How anyone (even me) values my life does NOT change my intrinsic God-derived value.
Real Knowledge Produces Real Humility - We must fight to maintain God’s truth in our local congregations. We must oppose those who would claim to have knowledge and authority beyond that which is given to us in the Bible.
Mission to the Masses: Feeding Sheep or Amusing Goats? - The need of the hour for today's ministry is believing scholarship joined with earnest spirituality, the one springing from the other as fruit from the root. The need is Biblical doctrine, so understood and felt, that it sets men on fire.
Gleanings from The Garden of Gethsemane - Bearing our sins on the Cross was such a burden that the Creator and Sustainer of the entire (physical AND spiritual) universe was almost overwhelmed.
Grace is NOT cheap.
Perspective on Prayer Projects - When prayer is all we can give, then it is a great gift indeed. But, if we can give more today, then we must do more than just pray.
If prayer is all we are willing to give, then we don’t really want a solution, we just want absolution.
Fingerprints of False Teachers and False Doctrines - False teachers/doctrine can be identified. The only remaining question is whether or not we care to identify them and contend for the faith. It is easier to go along with the status quo than to challenge it. And standing up for truth requires that we ourselves know the truth. However, to fail to contend for the faith is to be derelict in our service to Christ. 
Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh | Dedication, Worship, and Service - The example set by the wise men who brought gifts to Jesus has made the giving of gifts an integral part of celebrating Christmas: Jesus’ birth. However, the gifts we give each other, today, bear very little spiritual resemblance to those originally bestowed by the wise men.
The Conquerors - Jesus and Alexander died at thirty-three.
One lived and died for self; one died for you and me;
One led vast armies forth; the other walked alone.
One shed a whole world's blood; the other gave His own.
One won the world in life and lost it all in death;
The other lost His life to win the whole world's faith.
Six Principles of Salvation - ...since we are unable to come to God, God draws us, God invites us: This is God’s grace. To overcome our incapacity, our depravity and our impotence, God must use His infinite capacity, His singular purity and His almighty power to draw us to Himself.
The Hath and the Hath Nots - To those who sought God, He gave them understanding. And, as their faith grew, they had even more faith. As they understood Jesus’ Word, they could understand even more. As the served God, their service grew.
To those who had no faith in God, to those who were unwilling to serve Him, they lost everything, “their foolish hearts were darkened” and they lost their way.
Grappling with Grace - We must contend for our faith, by fighting for holiness, standing against false teaching and demonstrating, by the obedient lives we live, the truth of the Gospel: that it is possible for a man to live for God, it is possible to be holy.
Say Hello to Holiness - Mercy makes sanctification (holiness) possible, peace makes preservation possible, and love makes service/ministry (our calling) possible.
Will you Pass on the Faith Baton? - The test of Isaac's faith was whether he would pass on the "promissory note" to his children. We ONLY pass on the things we truly believe in.
Obedience Fashions the Foundation for Fortitude - The modern church does not suffer, primarily, from a lack of teaching: the modern church suffers from a lack of obedience. The failure of the church today is that Believers refuse to practice the teachings of Scripture: we make every excuse to do the opposite of what the Bible teaches. We will only be able to stand up to the fierce storms of life if we have a foundation built on OBEDIENCE to God’s Word.
Money can buy… - Money can buy:
Food, but not an appetite
A bed, but not sleep
Medicine, but not health
Books, but not brains
Faith: Obedience to Go, Where You do not Know (Because God told You So) - How many times have we quenched the Spirit with icy-cold waters of logic? How often have we felt God tug on our hearts... but calculated our way out of responding? "It doesn't 'add-up'?", we say. So we keep our feet firmly inside the boat, because we know no one can "walk on water".
The Last Christian Standing - When everyone else is compromising, will you be UNcompromising?
Are you willing to be the fuddy-duddy, the stick-in-the-mud, the square, the goody-two-shoes, the odd-man-out, the weirdo, the fanatic, the moron, the dinosaur, the last Christian standing?
Are you willing to suffer ALONE?
A Mate Meet for Ministry - Who chose (or is choosing or will choose) your wife??
Bad choice = Bad support.
God's choice = Godly support.
Before Dawn… - These peaceful moments before dawn are what remind me that there is more to life than my own little needs; that there is more to faith than what the eyes can see; that my life is not my own, and no matter how dark the day seems there is always good in Jesus, like the sun shining behind the clouds.
3 Days and 3 Nights | Accuracy & significance of the timeline for Jesus’ Death & Resurrection - Today there is a vocal minority of Christians who have made a tremendous issue out of the phrase "three days and three nights.” They insist that Jesus used the expression because He was to be in the grave exactly seventy-two hours, not a second more or second less. This conviction has led them to conclude that Christ was crucified on Wednesday afternoon and was resurrected at the same hour late Sabbath afternoon. In this way they account for the full seventy-two hours which they believe Christ spent in the tomb.
Does this interpretation harmonize with the full Bible record on the subject? Does it fit with the many other inspired accounts of the time element involved? Is there other information given in the Word of God which will make it clear exactly how the three days and three nights are to be understood?
Power Struggle | Thoughts on Romans Chapter 7 - In the end, the battle is fought on the grounds of FAITH: do we believe that Jesus did all for us, that He will manifest His righteousness in us despite all apparent evidence to the contrary? 
No Lust, No Sin, No Problem - As long as we try to tackle sinfulness by focusing solely on the sinful acts, rather than the lusts that produce them, we will live in frustration. The only way to stop a weed from sprouting is to kill it at the root. God provided us with the best (and only) sin killer available to man: His Word. God’s Word of truth will transform us inwardly so that our very desires will change. And when the root of a sin is gone, the sin goes with it: No root no sin, no problem.
The Friend I Needed - I know it is God who has been guiding my life, but I also know He sent a friend for me when I was a confused and lonely eleven year-old. And He used that friend and that friendship to rescue me. I will be forever grateful.
When We Do, We Will Know - Intellectuals often say, “When we know, we will do.” Jesus taught, “No, when you do you will know.” According to Jesus, when you apply His teaching to your life you will know by the way the truth He teaches changes your life that His teaching is not the teaching of a man but the very teachings of God.
Access to Grace - When some followers of Christ find themselves suffering, their immediate response is “Lord, deliver me from this, immediately!” He can and sometimes He does. But He often does not. When He does not it may be because it is His will to grow spiritual character in the life of His follower. 
The State of the Bible - This year's research reveals that skepticism toward the Bible continues to rise. For the first time since tracking began, Bible skepticism is tied with Bible engagement. The number of those who are skeptical or agnostic toward the Bible—who believe that the Bible is "just another book of teachings written by men that contains stories and advice"—has nearly doubled from 10% to 19% in just three years. This is now equal to the number of people who are Bible engaged—who read the Bible at least four times a week and believe it is the actual or inspired Word of God...
...Given the increase in Millennials who don’t believe the Bible is sacred and the decrease in Bible awareness among Millennials, Bible skepticism will likely continue to rise in the next five years.
We are Saved so that we can Love God and Love Each Other - We come to Christ for salvation so that we can love God and love others. The essential outworking of our faith is love.
There is no Faith when God is Optional - The truth about our faith comes during the storms of life, when things are desperate and it looks like Jesus is asleep.
Is God Your Hiding Place and Your Shield? - We can't legitimately call on God to hide and shield us if we won't listen to Him or obey Him.
No Room Made for Jesus while He Made Room for Us - If you are willing, in faith, to knock on the doors of Heaven, you will find there is room, lots of room, all because of Jesus.
Rejoicing in The Saviour Readies us for His Service - Mary rejoiced in The Lord her Saviour, therefore God could commission her to give birth to His Son.
Where do you find your joy? And what can God do with your life?
When God Calls Your Name – A Word for Moms - Could it be that God does take note of what we do as mothers?
How will God record your name, as a mother? Are you building into His kingdom?
“How do you know if what you are praying for is in God’s will?” - It is not that God has difficulty hearing us, it’s that we have difficulty hearing Him. Prayer is really a means by which God prepares our hearts and minds to "hear" Him, i.e., to perceive His will.
Annunciation Appreciation | Highly Favoured: Lowly Humbled - The priceless benefit of being "highly favored" by God is being able to have fellowship with Him, being blessed to live in His presence where there is fullness of joy.
Annunciation Appreciation: Jesus is The Only Answer - At Christmas time, and all the time, Believers ("men and women of God") are appointed to deliver God's message, to announce God's truth, to those whom we are sent; just like Gabriel did.
The Temptation of Jesus | Learning how to fight back under satan’s attack - ...on the authority of God and by our faith in His certainties, we have everything we need to withstand satanic attacks. Jesus set for us a new pattern: first, we rest in the strength of our relationship with God, knowing that He is immeasurably good and kind and trustworthy. 
The Upside of Down | Disappointment, Depression and Spiritual Growth - Rather than deny our disappointments with God, it is far more helpful to face them head on. Yes, even it means we complain, whine, and fuss just like a child would. We must confront the reality that our expectations of God often do not match the character of God.
Reflections in The WORD 