Tag Archives: God’s blessing

Waiting on the Night to Fall

Posted on December 27, 2014 by expressyourself4him

Like criminals, Satan plans out his attacks well in advance.  Although not everyone is successful, each serves a purpose, trying the wear individuals out.  Once a saint ventures out on their own without the armor of God, they become vulnerable regardless of how godly a man or woman may be.  Essentially, Lucifer is waiting on the night to fall.

Satan rose up against Israel and incited David to take a census of Israel. – 1 Chronicles 21:1

Exhibit A, take a successful leader of Israel like King David in 1 Chronicles 21:1.  Victorious in battle over a nation with giants, Philistine, David’s mind begins to ponder, “look what I’ve done.”  David mistook God’s blessing for his own success.  Instead of acknowledging the true source, Satan preyed on David’s thoughts, sowing seeds of pride.  According to this passage, this idea gave birth to sin, James 1:13-15, just like Adam and Eve in the Garden.

Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.” – Matthew 16:23

Exhibit B may even be more powerful, found in Matthew 16:13-23.  Peter goes from the hero of this passage to the goat in the course of a few minutes.  Perhaps, Peter’s mind also became corrupted, puffed up by the notion he was the only disciple who professed Jesus to be the Son of the Living God.  Peter’s failure is exactly why the apostle Paul adds 2 Corinthians 10:3-5, making sure that all believers take their thoughts captive since he knows the devil is waiting on the night to fall.

by Jay Mankus

 

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While God May Be Found

Posted on March 3, 2014 by expressyourself4him

If you listen to the national media, forgiveness is dependent upon your political affiliation, with democrats, liberals and socialists often receiving a pass for their transgressions.  As long as you align yourself with the right people, are willing to play the game and refrain from politically incorrect topics, your mistakes will be glanced over.  However, if you speak your mind, hold to conservative principles and believe in biblical teachings, your worldview doesn’t fit the new America being established today.

Despite what history unveils, revisionists are erasing the footsteps of God in America.  Somewhere underneath the rug, the truth is being held captive, replaced by a more accepting and tolerant culture.  Colleges, institutions and schools once founded to introduce the Bible to inquiring minds have been highjacked by post-modernists and progressives blazing a new trail for education.  If this trend continues, there’s a chance God will remove himself from this nation, abandoning it like citizens who have fled from the way, John 14:6.

In the midst of his greatest rebellion, Israel’s king says something profound following his affair with Bathsheba.  “Therefore let everyone who is godly pray to you while you may be found; Psalm 32:6.”  If David continued down the road of lust, sexual immorality and murder, his time to repent would have expired.  Something in his soul warned him, instilling a sense of urgency to confess his sin.  Perhaps, the time for Americans is nearing an end, with God close to removing his blessing from this land.  With this in mind, seek God while He may be found to secure a seat in heaven, 1 John 5:13.

by Jay Mankus

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When Hatred Erupts

Posted on August 30, 2013 by expressyourself4him

A volcano goes through a 3 step process before an eruption occurs.  First, magma which forms when part of the upper or lower mantle begins to melt, creating a buoyancy.  As this pressure from dissolved gases builds, a new batch of magma enters a chamber already filled to capacity.  The next stage involves melting rock inside the earth, where its mass remains the same, but the volume increases.  The lighter magma is forced to the top of the earth’s surface through buoyancy.  Finally, when the density of magma becomes less than the overlying and surrounding rocks, magma reaches the surface, erupting through a vent forming a volcano to explode.

Anthony (no last name available) looks over a memorial for his friend Eugene Clark, 25, who was shot and killed Saturday on July 22, 2013 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Hatred within the human soul takes a similar course.  However, the magma is equivalent to envy and or jealousy.  When envy or jealousy is conceived, hatred is born within the hearts and minds of individuals.  When the person or source of anger maintains daily contact with an afflicted soul, hatred expands, like buoyancy, rising to the surface in the form of discord, gossip and slander.  If the density of hate causes a conscience to rationalize retaliation, hatred will erupt, leaving behind an onslaught of crime and murder in its wake as demonstrated by the violent deaths among teenagers living in Chicago.

This pattern is also found in Genesis 37:1-11.  When Joseph’s brothers recognize they are not their father’s favorite, jealousy emerges.  As Joseph rubs salt into their wounds a verse later, Genesis 37:5, sharing a dream of God’s blessing on him, their hatred spreads.  Not knowing when to stop when he is ahead, Joseph continues to boast of God’s favor on him, resulting a plot to kill him in Genesis 37:18.  At least this story has a happened ending, when big brother Reuben persuades the clan to throw Joseph in an empty well to teach him a lesson.  However, Jesus taught us long ago that hatred is equal to murder during his Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5:21-22.  Therefore, don’t let anger dwell within you, Ephesians 4:26-27.  Let God flush your emotions before hatred erupts once again.

by Jay Mankus

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The Breath of the Lord

Posted on April 29, 2013 by expressyourself4him

Norway rat

During the dark days of the Black Plague, sneezing was an early indication of this disease.  Thus, the expression, “may God bless you,” was aptly spoken, hoping the individual who sneezed would not die.  This spoken prayer was the only line of defense people had, since scientists were initially baffled by this outbreak.

Breathing : asian woman breathing in thailand tropical beach

In the beginning of this world, God created Adam to live forever, breathing life into his body.  However, like the Black Plague, sin’s influences and presence after the fall, gradually sucked the life out of mankind.  The toll of this spiritual disease eventually forced God to limit human life to 120 years.

Today, there is a different kind of threat, the absence of the presence of God.  Just as in the decay of the nation of Israel in the Old Testament, America is experiencing a similar power outage of God’s blessing.  Disobedience, idols and worldliness has eliminated the breathe of the Lord in many regions of the world.  Like the words of the prophet Isaiah 40:7, America and other dying nations are overdue for the breathe of the Lord.  May desperate souls rise from the ashes, made whole again by the Holy Spirit!

by Jay Mankus

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