Proverbs 8:10-12

Proverbs 8:10-12

New International Version (NIV)

¹⁰ Choose my instruction instead of silver,
    knowledge rather than choice gold,
¹¹ for wisdom is more precious than rubies,
    and nothing you desire can compare with her.

We often think that as long as we have money or valuable things that we have the tools to get what we want when we want it…that’s true if you only operate by the rules of the world, but if you are a Christian and believe in the word of God, you could have nothing to your name and have all the power and wealth above all in the world.

Having the word of God is like having the power to shape shift any bad situation into a better one. In times where many are now living in lack financially the word of God will give you instructions on how to open the windows of heaven to pour out opportunities and favor that will lead to wealth. Not to say that you will become a filthy rich person, but you will have the keys to having more than enough without having to follow the world’s instructions to get wealth.

The Lord’s instruction is better than any amount of money that anyone in the world could ever offer. When you have the creator of the universe on your side it’s safe to say that you won’t lack for anything as long as you follow His lead.

Lately people are more concerned with how to get money fast, unlike how in the past people were more concerned with how to get the right degrees and experiences. Wisdom and instruction from the Lord are more valuable than any get rich quick scheme, the wisdom that the Holy Spirit can “download” into your spirit when you want it or need it is like having the professor whisper all the answers to His exam in your ear as you are taking it.

Don’t underestimate the power of the word and the instruction it can give you to get you out of any kind of lack, especially financially. 

Trespass Versus Sin

There is some confusion as to what a trespass is as well as what exactly is considered a sin and if they are essentially the same thing.

tres·pass/ˈtrespəs/

Verb:	Enter the owner's land or property without permission.
Noun:	A voluntary wrongful act against the person or property of another, esp. unlawful entry to a person's land or property without their...
Synonyms:	verb.  transgress - infringe - sin - offend noun.  transgression - offence - offense - sin - wrongdoing

Above is the internet definition of “Trespass” which uses sin as one of the synonyms. No wonder people are confused as to what the difference is, when the definition uses sin to help describe it.

Trespass in biblical terms refers to something such as being wronged by another person, saying or doing something rude to another and other minor offenses that would not constitute as something that God would deem a sin.

A sin would follow under those that are the opposites of the commandments and are those that God names directly as something He abhors.

sin/sin/

Noun:	An immoral act considered to be a transgression against divine law.
Verb:	Commit a sin.
Abbreviation:	Sine.
Synonyms:	noun.  trespass - guilt - offense - transgression - offence verb.  transgress - err - trespass - offend

It’s interesting how small of a definition “sin” is given. A sin could also be described as something that requires a major turnaround in lifestyle or behavior. A sin is something that is done intentionally, a lifestyle choice or choice of behavior such as lying, extramarital affairs, murder and so on. A sin can be as “small” as having a sexual thought about someone other than your partner or as “big” as murder. Of course God does not see any sin as being big or small, they are all the same and treated as the same, however for the sake of explanation I use “big” and “small” to relate to what we as humans think about things.

1 Corinthians 13:3-7

1 Corinthians 13:3-7

New International Version (NIV)

³ If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast,^[a] but do not have love, I gain nothing.

⁴ Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵ It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶ Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷ It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

The love of God is like no other.

Love in general can eliminate pain from any past, love will reaffirm that you are here for a reason and love can make even the low times seem insignificant. 

The love of God is so real and present that no one could ever deny that there is love. People naturally crave love from those around them because we are in the world were everything revolves around the physical things-the things that we can see and touch. If only more people knew that before anyone has ever told them “I love you”, God said it first.

I understand how it can hard to feel loved by someone who you can’t see or audibly hear, “I love you” from, but if you’re mother couldn’t audibly say “I love you” to you and embrace you in their arms, yet she gives birth to you, feeds you, wakes you up in the morning and watches you from a distance while you play in the yard, she still loves you. The love of God is like that of a mother times infinity because he loves us so much that if we did not fulfill what we were supposed to do because the enemy took us out, He could bring us back to life and complete what we were set out to do for His glory.

How to increase financially in God

Last night in bible study we discussed how to increase financially in God.

So many people find excuses to why they don’t have to tithe and give an offering to their church. They think it’s outdated and no longer required, however it is required if you want to increase your wealth supernaturally. It’s fine if you don’t want to tithe, however you will not have the favor of God financially that exceeds your expectations and you will continue to rob God of His tithe. Although that may sound harsh, it is in His word that those who do not tithe, give a tenth of their earnings, is robbing God. I have spoken on that particular verse before.

The tenth that you give as your tithe is the money that already belongs to God whether you believe in it or not, it is a blessing to even be able to work or generate any type of income so why not share it with Him spiritually and share it physically with your church.

It is funny how people can act “funny” when money is involved with anything especially when it requires them to give up some money without getting an immediate return in goods or services. They don’t realize that they are getting an immediate return when they give their tithe-they get protection physically and spiritually it insures that things around you don’t breakdown when you need it and rebukes the devourer for your sakes.

Now the offering is above and beyond what you give as your tithe. The offering is what you pray over when you give it to your church in order to open a flow of financial blessings. The financial blessing can come in the form of some sort of money exchange or from an idea to create something or a job opportunity.

Don’t block your financial blessings by being caught up in the hoopla about not needing to tithe or give offering.

Mark 11:22-24

Mark 11:22-24

New International Version (NIV)

²² “Have faith in God,” Jesus answered. ²³ “Truly^[a] I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them. ²⁴ Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.

There is no greater promise of God, other than salvation, than being able to say something, believe and receive it!

The biggest hurdle that we have to overcome is to control our mind and tongue, which go hand in hand. The mind can produce thoughts of doubt that something is going to happen or caught up in how something is going to happen as logically as we can make it out to be. Whenever we doubt for a second that God is going to pull through you have to rebuke that thought and say to yourself that you have what you said you wanted and God will provide it.

One powerful request is to eliminate debt, debt is like a mountain in almost every sense of the word. If more Christians knew that they can remove their with their faith and their words there wouldn’t be any believers in debt and restricted financially and spiritually to accomplish bigger and better things which would then cause more people to want to have what they have and end up getting saved.

Don’t be in lack for anything…I have said this many times, but it is worth repeating and believing!

1 Peter 5:5

1 Peter 5:5

5 Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for

            “God resists the proud,

            But gives grace to the humble.”

One of those “four letter” words is ‘submissive’. Because all we have seen and heard of in relation to the word submissive have all been negative. Most women cringed when they hear the word submissive and are quick to either lash out at the person who says it or instead forms an negative opinion of the person.

The word when used in reference to respecting your elders can be equally off putting to hearer regardless of the gender and situation. We have all heard about respecting our elders by not talking back and opening doors for them or giving up a seat on the bus for an elderly person and so on. God wants us to submit to those who are older than us, especially as a young person because we have not yet gained the experience or knowledge that those older than us. We can avoid having to go through the trials that were originally laid in our path in the future had we chosen not to listen to someone who was placed in our path or in our families to help us heed the warning or lesson to avoid it.

We can’t be proud and think that we know it all when we know for a fact that if we placed in a specific situation we would not know what to do. We just run into more issues when we get caught up in pride and not submit to elders who we can learn from.

When we are humble and submit to those elders we receive grace and wisdom which thus makes our path clearer and removes pebbles that where once laying on our path that were meant to trip us up.

1 Peter 3:1

1 Peter 3:1

1 “Wives, likewise, be submissive to your own husbands, that even if some do not obey the word, they, without a word, may be won by the conduct of their wives…”

Like with young people submitting to elders so do wives need to submit to their husbands. It is not to say that you will be waiting on him hand and foot, but rather that you respect him as the head of the household and decision maker for the family. As a wife you have to balance both allowing your husband to be the head but also be involved in the decision in some form without you running him and handicapping him as a man.

This is a tough topic speak about, no matter how many times I have spoken about this before. I see some couples struggle to compromise with each other in their marriage when they have been influenced by the world’s idea that you have to independent and be strong enough to enforce your own rules and not settle…unfortunately that isn’t realistic in a successful marriage, which is why so many marriages today fail and a short period of time.

We are not to be independent…think about it, what good is it to be independent? Can you get everything you need and want without the help of others? Without God? 

In a marriage their has to be mutual respect amongst other things, but respect is what will allow the wives to be less concerned with getting their point across when they know their husband has the same point or interest already but just want to get their voice heard. Even if the husband makes the wrong decision in something, with their wives who gave them the room to make the decision will cover their mistakes because their wife did what they were supposed to do as partner and did not cause strife or push him into the decision.

James 1:19-20

James 1:19-20

New International Version (NIV)

Listening and Doing

¹⁹ My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, ²⁰ because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.

A hard thing to do is to shut up! Of course not everyone is a chatter box, yet in this day and age where the internet, talk shows, radio and old fashion chit chat amongst friends, we all have heard everyone’s business and feel like we know everything there is to know that’s relevant. Along with having everyone’s information comes misinterpretation of information which leads into heated debates and arguments over insignificant things.

It’s easier to achieve a level of anger and frustration yet it is so much harder to make ourselves happy and content….Why is that? It’s easier for us to get off track and get out of God’s will when we get angry which is why Satan tries to plant “bombs” in churches and friendships in order to break up good ties and harden hearts.

When we get angry you must have noticed that we tend to not hear what is going on outside of our own thoughts, which causes us to miss valuable things like…hearing God’s voice.

Human anger does not produce righteousness…..

To be continued…..

James 1:5-8

James 1:5-8

New International Version (NIV)

Trials and Temptations

⁵ If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. ⁶ But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. ⁷ That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. ⁸ Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.

I hear many people separate the things they ask God and what they ask other people. In reality all things can be asked of God, from wisdom on your job to making a major purchase that will affect you or others.

Some people say that they feel stupid for asking God for something that we have considered to be meaningless or insignificant. We have to remember that God is not like man, He does not judge you when you ask questions, even if they are out of line. The only difference is that God may not answer those silly questions and thus you’ll know that you asked amiss-He will not make you feel stupid and embarrass you like a person would.

The other part to asking God for wisdom is to believe that He will answer you and give you the right answer. When you doubt that God will answer you because you had never asked Him before will insure that you will not hear Him, you cannot doubt His power or His will and still expect to get what you need.

James 1:13-15

James 1:13-15

New International Version (NIV)

Trials and Temptations

¹³ When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; ¹⁴ but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. ¹⁵ Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.

Along with trials come temptations….the temptation a lot of the time is the trial that has to be overcome. Temptations like I have mentioned before in an old entry, is the easiest way for the enemy to catch us and knock us off our path that we were going down.

Many people on television say that if something was wrong to do or say why would God put it out there, so then it must be okay to partake in…. This is where they get off and unfortunately influence viewers to go down a wrong path-these things that may make us feel good does not mean it is okay, instead it is a temptation that Satan has placed in the world for many to fall victim to.

When something is laid in front of you that you know you are not supposed to take part in and yet it is open to you that’s how you know it is a trial that is coming your way if you don’t choose carefully and not part take in it and instead rebuke the interest/thought that is pulling you toward it.

Everyone will be tempted. Not everyone will be successful in resisting the temptation.

Just remember that if Christ cannot be tempted and can resist it so can you!

The easiest way to handle any situation-especially temptation and trials is to pull out the bible and ask the holy spirit to help you get what you need to know to get you through.

James 1:2-4

James 1:2-4

New International Version (NIV)

Trials and Temptations

² Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters,^[a] whenever you face trials of many kinds, ³ because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. ⁴ Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 

As a continuation of the trials and stumbles topic….

Because we all have to go through trials no matter who we are or how good we are in life, we all are subject to going through trials. The difference between our trials and those who are not saved trials is that we will bear good fruit when we go through the trial-that is if we go through it correctly.

The Lord tells us to be joyful when trials come our way because we are building our faith and bring us into our “own” in our walk with Him. He does not place trials in our lives to break us to the point of depression or anxiety, but to break off our old habits of handling situations. Some may say “why do we have to go through trials?” I have learned that it is necessary to go through tough times because it is how we learn to handle circumstances that someone else may be going through that you now have the answer to help them with. Everything we go through is a testimony that will help others come to Christ and learn to be Kingdom minded as well as helping other Christians with trials that they are going through.

Luke 17:1-4

Luke 17:1-4

New International Version (NIV)

Sin, Faith, Duty

17 Jesus said to his disciples: “Things that cause people to stumble are bound to come, but woe to anyone through whom they come. ² It would be better for them to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around their neck than to cause one of these little ones to stumble. ³ So watch yourselves.

“If your brother or sister^[a] sins against you, rebuke them; and if they repent, forgive them. ⁴ Even if they sin against you seven times in a day and seven times come back to you saying ‘I repent,’ you must forgive them.”

Every Christian will have to face an obstacle or trial that will be geared towards getting them off their walk. In some cases the hindrances may come from other Christians around us-this is why we have to guard our walk but still operate in the fruits of the Spirit.

If you are on the offending side-you must recognize that you have gone outside the will of God and repent of it. When I say the “offending side” I am referring to the ones that are the ne sayers and always doubt what you believe is going to pass is actually going to pass. They usually will make other Christians in some form, listen to their opinions and follow their lead when dealing with things.

Do not be easily influenced by man, that means that even your fellow Christians can’t lead you through your walk, they can’t lead you through your trials, however they can share their experiences, but you must always go to God for guidance.

No matter who trespasses against you, you cannot shut down, you cannot become offended and become stagnant or remove yourself from your walk; if you do so you will only have yourself to blame for your situation and not the person you let get to your core.

On the flip side, we all have to forgive those who sin against us, but rebuke whatever the sins committed towards you. Do not let the offense bear any fruit in your spirit, forgiving is important and so is rebuking the sins.

Ephesians 4:32

Ephesians 4:32

New International Version (NIV)

³² Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

Forgiveness is a topic that everybody both believers and non believers talk about. Everyone has been in a position where they had to choose to forgive someone for something, yet, not everyone has forgiven those who have harmed them or offended them in the past.

I have learned over the past couple years that you can’t be swayed by our emotions and assume that just because we feel a certain way that it means it is okay. It’s hard to bypass our emotions when we are still caught up in the situation. We have to recognize the fact that forgiving doesn’t mean that what was done is okay and that you condone it or welcome it to happen again, but instead forgiving is releasing you from the bonds that will keep you from progressing in your walk and block blessings. When we don’t forgive someone or a group of people, we usually recognize that things aren’t going right and we struggle to be happy or to forget the situation.

Forgiving is a choice not a feeling. If we simply functioned by our emotions we all would be miserable people and nothing would get solved because everyone has their highs and their lows yet we magnify our lows and look at them as if they are much bigger than anything in the world. Nothing that we go through is too hard for God and He will not let us wallow in our mess of emotions if we choose to forgive and keep pushing forward.

Don’t be hindered by unforgiveness-Forgive and give it all to God and He will take the hurt away and release you from the bonds of unforgiveness.