Respect the Power of the Lord

I found a really bad movie about a man of God who made a deal with the devil over money. Occasionally, I watch movies online via netflix. I say this was a bad movie because it was poorly done and the picture was bad, LOL. However, the message of the movie still resonates with me.

At a crucial moment in the movie, the man of God was visited by an old friend who reminded him that he need to “respect the power of the Lord.” These words landed in my heart and have stayed. You should never test the Lord’s favor on your life.

“Respect the power of the Lord.”

There is no movie out there that can portray or out-do the power of God! If you think for one second that God is too busy for you, not strong enough to help you fight your battles, or uninterested, you are wrong. God is very interested in you, your life, and He wants to bless you. Sometimes He needs to heal you before He can bless you. Sometimes he needs to teach you some things about his word and from his word before he can bless you.

“Respect the power of the Lord.”

If only we all could see exactly how God takes good care of us! Every hair on our heads, every step we take does not go without God’s notice. Even when we are not in his will or way, He is taking care of us. God’s favor is on you today. How will you show respect for the power of the Lord? Will you avoid God at all costs and test his favor on your life? Will you take time to get to know him and see what his will is for your life? Maybe this is a step of faith for you, or maybe you need to stand still and listen for his voice.

“Respect the power of the Lord.”

Have you seen those super cool moves like The Matrix, or in any action film featuring super heroes? God is far better than that! He is far more powerful and is far greater and has been since forever! His weapons against the enemy, satan are better. It is a blessed adventure following the Lord! Be ready, be prayed up, stay in the Word of God, be in the Spirit. Allow God to use you, and always remember to respect the power of the Lord. Experience his grace and mercy!

Questions
Do you have doubts about God’s power? Is your faith in God weak today?

Prayer
Lord, increase my faith in you! Help my unbelief!

Read
Psalm 36, Isaiah 53

Song in my head
'It ain't over!' -Cece Winans

The Light of Christ

not too long ago, a milk commercial on tv just really made me laugh out loud. it’s a very ridiculous commercial that is probably more entertainment than truth. two girls sip milk from a flowing river of milk in a land called mootopia. a chorus of singers is heard overhead singing: “ahhh-ahhh.”
“Excuse me, the shine from your hair is hitting me in the eye.” says the girl with flowing blonde locks.
“the shine from your hair is hitting me in the eye!” says the brunette with equally flowing locks.
“stop it!” she says to the blonde angrily.
“You stop it!” the brunette replies.
the two continue to argue, the chorus begins singing “ahhh-ahhh” again as the voiceover explains:
“just another day in mootopiah!” LOL!

sadly, a lot of non-believers might see Christians this way. sometimes we are like a bunch of overly “enlightened” people who fight and bicker about who’s the brightest or who has the best theology. i wonder about this, because at times we may seem like children left unattended by a God who is too busy. we act less like believers and more like people lost in our own blissful world. we forget that we represent a loving and merciful and patient God. we forget that we are to allow the light of Jesus to shine through us at all times. it is true that people read us, not the Bible. people watch us more than anything. they aren’t just looking at the sky to see if Jesus is really coming back. people want evidence that Jesus really was here, that He lives, and that his work is still moving forward.

we have to be careful, because we as believers are the evidence of that risen Jesus! here’s an example of how I sometimes see believers: we are all like these beautiful marbles, but unless we let the light Jesus shine through us, we are just useless shards of glass. now, imagine all these marbles scattered all over the earth shining brightly with the light of Jesus Christ! what a witness to the faith, what proof of Jesus’ work here on earth!

how do we allow the light of Jesus shine through us?
first, you must confess with your mouth that he is Lord and that God has indeed raised Him from the dead. ask forgiveness of your sins. ask Jesus to become the Lord of your life. (romans 10:9-10).
read the Word of God begin with the book of st. john and learn about the love of God for us! most people have no idea how loving God is, how forgiving He is, but we have to make that step towards Him.

why do we refer to Jesus as light? because this is how he descried himself! (john 8:12). this world is very dark and disturbing, Jesus came to bring light and eternal life.

questions
how will you represent Jesus today? will you ask God to help you focus on things that are important to His work, and let the light of Jesus shine through you?

prayer
Lord Jesus, help me to represent You today. help me to follow you so closely that others will not see me, but You shining through me! in Your name i pray, amen.

read
the book of st. john and 1 john 1:5-10

song in my head
“come close listen to the story about a love more faithful than the morning. the Father gave His only Son just to save us…we were free and made alive the day that true love died.”
-phil wickham

Regarding the Jonah Story

Some say the book of Jonah is allegory, some say it is an actual story based on a real guy’s life. Been taking it to heart lately because there’s so much that can be learned from the book of Jonah about God and how much He loves us and will actively pursue us even when we mess up or run from Him. Regardless, Jonah's story is one that I have learned from and have come to really appreciate.I encourage you to read the book of Jonah as you read this blog.

What intrigues me the most about the prophet Jonah (from the book of Jonah, in the Bible), is this: Jonah knew God’s voice. He had a relationship with God and therefore, he knew exactly what God wanted him to do with his life. When God called Jonah to Nineveh, Jonah tried to run from God’s will and calling and ended up in some pretty life-threatening situations. Finally, Jonah did what God told him to do, but with great reluctance.

Here are some pros and cons regarding Jonah’s story *:

Cons
Jonah had a temper.
Jonah was prideful.
Jonah was disobedient.
Jonah did not have compassion for others, but was self centered.
Jonah was running but he was not in a race, he was running from God.
Jonah was in a bad place mentally and spiritually since, he thought that he could run from God by jumping on a boat with some fishermen.
Jonah was unwilling to get out of his comfort zone to serve God.
Jonah experienced spiritual growth in the wrong direction!
The story of Jonah’s spiritual journey is evident by looking at where Jonah is physically:
From his home to turbulent waters to the belly of a fish to a desert place
Jonah had some unresolved personal issues with the Ninehvites that blocked his ministry and his relationship with God.
Jonah prayed one of those selfishly motivated bargaining prayers, but not until he was desperate.
Jonah prayed the right prayer, but with the wrong attitude.
Remember how bargaining is a stage of grief? Jonah was grieving for the loss of his comfort zone.
Jonah missed an obvious opportunity to witness to some fishermen who willingly acknowledged that Jonah’s God was bigger and more powerful than their gods!
The book of Jonah ends in despair and bitterness for the prophet.
The withered vine or gourd parallels Jonah’s focus on the wrong things in life and his short-lived time in ministry.
Jonah’s vision was so narrow that he missed the huge and amazingly overwhelming miracles when he sweated the small stuff. (Miracles like that one time when he survived in the belly of a fish for a few days, or that time when he didn’t drown after being thrown off a boat in the middle of a storm, or that one final time when he preached and the whole town came to repent and know God!)
Jonah did not have or seem to want God’s vision: he focused on everybody else’s sin, but vastly overlooked his own sin.

Pros
Jonah’s story is effective or noteworthy only after he uproots himself from his home Even as he ran from God we can learn from Jonah’s mistakes.
God used nature- turbulent waters and bad weather, and a beast- the big fish/whale to get Jonah’s attention! God loved Jonah and was giving him chance after chance to make it right!
Though quite reluctant, Jonah was a very effective prophet because the people repented!
The book of Jonah ends with repentance, prayer and fasting for the Ninehvites. God’s people and God’s work goes on in spite of the reluctant prophet.
I found three big miracles in the book of Jonah 2 involving his survival against nature and beast, and one regarding the repentance of the Ninehvites.
Jonah missed the one last smaller miracle: God gave him some instant shade from the desert sun. A vine grows out of nowhere, Jonah practically cursed it.

Finally, there is an important water theme in the book of Jonah that has to do with being immersed in God’s will. Jonah was immersed into turbulent waters. A small foreshadowing, if you will, of being immersed in the fountain of God’s love when Jesus died on the cross for our sins, while yet giving us the freewill to accept or reject His love. God tested Jonah, but because of his unforgiving and unwilling spirit, Jonah emerged from the turbulent waters by way of fish vomit. This is symbolic of Jonah’s rejection to being immersed in God’s will. The fact that he survived is symbolic of God’s love and mercy, but also a lesson in tough love.

Questions
Are you able to see your ministry through God’s eyes with compassion and vision for the future? What can be learned from Jonah’s ministry?

Prayer
Lord, give me the right vision for the future and help me to do your will with the right attitude and heart

Read
Jonah Chapters 1-4 NIV

Song in my head
‘For every time that you protected me when I didn’t know your name. Lord, I say: “thank you!” how you loved on me and cared for me when I didn’t return the same. Lord, I say: “thank you!” -Lisa Page Brooks

*Please note that my devotional blogs are commentaries based on biblical truths, and that I prayerfully, intend to inspire people to thirst and seek after the one and true living God!

Getting In Step With God

chances are, if you have been reading my blog, you may remember the musings in my very first blog. i jokingly stated that i will name my first daughter "vinaigerette." well, i've come up with a couple more names for my sons: "yakult" and "cocao". LOL! hmmm, why does it seem like i'm gonna be naming all of my children after random foods?

ohh, to be young again. it's like a dream my unique and wonderfully peculiar childhood.
funny what you remember about a movie that you watched over and over as a child. from disney's snow white and the seven dwarfs, the one scene that remains so vividly in my mind is where the little dwarf dopey, is wearing oversized clothes and he is trying to catch up with the other dwarves. his shoes are too big and he's skipping trying to get in step. he runs into the wall, but he gets back on track after a few seconds. very cute scene. dopey is a character somewhere between harpo marx and a kid on his first adventure in disneyland.

this scene from snow white reminds me of what it's like to follow in Jesus's footsteps. what a worthy adventure! it seems sometimes that i am chasing after God. a good thing to do. sometimes God moves too fast for me or too slow. this is my limited perception of God sometimes. the truth is, i might miss a step here and there and have to skip to catch up. either way i'm trying to catch up with Him! God's ways are pure, holy and always on time. it's me, i need to stay prayed up so that i won't miss a step. gotta stay prayed up in the Spirit always ready.

the thing about follwoing in the footsteps of Jesus is that i cannot look anywhere but at Him and where Jesus's feet have been. i cannot move unless He moves and i must place my feet exactly where he has already placed His feet. it's easy to skip ahead, look back and only see my footprints. easy, to also run into a wall like dopey the dwarf because i'm not looking directly at Jesus.

oops, where did You go, Lord? oh man, i got ahead of You there. let me go back and catch up to where You are...

i never want to miss a step with God. forever, i will be like little dopey in oversized clothes- doing God's work in ministry- chasing after God, always wanting more of Him in my life. i know that He is my protector, my heavenly Father, my source of life. without Him life is meaningless, empty, hopeless. without God life is so sad. this is why i cannot miss a step. no matter what i've gotta keep in step with God. it takes a quiet child-like trust to go where God is going.

questions
do you feel that following in Jesus's footsteps is an overwhelming task? that his footsteps are too big to fill?

food for thought
i cannot think of anyone better than Jesus's to follow!

prayer
Lord Jesus, give me the stregnth to follow in your footsteps, and if i trip and fall, please take me by the hand and set me back on the right path. bring Your words to my remeberance that i might not sin agaist you again. in Jesus's name, amen.

read
psalm 119:1-16, 1 peter 2:21

song in my head
'...God will make a way for me!' -wow gospel 2010