Category: Strength for Today

Hosea 10:12
“Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the LORD, till he come and rain righteousness upon you.”

The laws of sowing and reaping are very evident in the verse above. The patience of most Christians is very small when it comes to seeing God’s blessings for doing right; however, you can see that many things must happen between the time a person decides to do right and the actual blessings of God upon their lives.

As a young preacher boy, I used to look at the preachers I admired and wondered if somehow I could have what they had. I often talk to younger preachers who truly desire for God to use them in a great way, but they want everything now instead of waiting for God to rain righteousness upon them. Though I have not come close to the blessings of God upon my life as many of the preachers I admired, I still can say that the waiting process has been worth it. Let me show you the steps from turning to God to the point where you receive God’s blessings.

First, you must decide to do right. God says, “Sow to yourselves in righteousness…” Every person needs a point in their lives when they make a decision that they are going to serve God no matter what. Sowing in righteousness is more than choosing to do a couple of things right and expecting God to immediately bless, it is a choice that you are going to serve God even if He doesn’t bless.

Second, you begin to reap God’s mercy. The first harvest is not always going to be the blessings you expected, but mostly it will be receiving God’s mercy. In other words, God stops the spout of chastening to see what you will do. Christian, don’t waste God’s mercy, for it is a test to see if you are going to continue to do right.

Third, God’s mercy should motivate you to break up the dormant part of your life. Fallow ground is uncultivated ground. In other words, it is ground that has never been sown before. God is saying that when you receive His mercy, it should cause you to step out and do things for God that you have never done before. It is more than just getting back to where you used to be, but it is doing more for God. Notice though, you still have not received the blessings for which you were looking. God’s mercy is simply seeing if it will motivate you to want to do more for God.

Fourth, breaking up fallow ground should motivate you to seek God. In other words, God is saying that as you do more for Him you will seek Him in everything you do. Notice that the heart of the Christian is truly being turned to God. Notice that the Christian at this point is not thinking about anything or anyone else other than being sure that God is involved in every area of their life. Friend, before God truly blesses you, He wants to see if you will become so wrapped up in Him that you seek Him in everything you do. This is truly Matthew 6:33 being applied. It is coming to the point in your life that you want God to be first in everything you do.

Fifth, there will be a dry spell. This is interesting because after all these things are done God says, “…till he come…” In other words, you have yet to receive God’s blessings, but you continue to do all of these things by faith understanding that God will eventually come through. You may be in a dry spell, but hang on, God’s blessings are on the way.

Finally, God rains righteousness upon you. When God rains righteousness, He is literally pouring righteous acts upon you. In other words, If you will hang on, you will see God begin to open so many doors of opportunities to do right. In all reality, God is saying that when you get to the point that the only blessings you want are opportunities to do more for Him, then that is when He rains righteousness upon you. My challenge to you is don’t give up until you see God rain righteous acts upon your life.

Daniel 6:5
“Then said these men, We shall not find any occasion against this Daniel, except we find it against him concerning the law of his God.”

There are a few men in the Scriptures who God never showed their weaknesses. Daniel was one of those men. Certainly, Daniel was a sinner like anyone else, but his character was spotless. When it came to the king’s meat, he would not defile himself. When it came to finding the mind of God, there was no one who seemed to achieve this more than Daniel. He was certainly a man whom many should emulate.

What was the secret to Daniel’s spotless character? The secret was his walk with God. Three times a day Daniel got alone and walked with God in prayer. When Daniel’s enemies tried to find an occasion to accuse him before the king, they could find none. The only occasion they could find was his prayer life. After hiring private investigators to find something against the man, the only thing the private investigators could accuse him of was his daily time of prayer.

Imagine if a private investigator was hired to follow you. What would they find out? This thought would shake the mind of many Christians because of the lifestyle they live. These men who were trying to find an occasion against Daniel would not have to make a law against many Christians today because of the worldly lifestyles they live.

What occasion could be used against you if you were investigated? Friend, you never know who is watching you, and that is why you must always live a holy life. Every minute you live is an example to someone. There are some thoughts we can learn from this occasion in Daniel’s life.

First, do right all the time because someone is watching some of the time. Every minute of your life is a testimony to someone. Are you displaying something to someone that they should not see. Your Christian life is always on display, and even when you don’t think someone is watching, someone is watching.

Second, your daily routines tell everything about your character. Daniel’s character was revealed by his daily walk with God. Show me what your time with God is like and I will show you what type of Christian you are. If you have an anemic walk with God, then your Christian character is anemic. It is so important to your Christian life to add godly daily routines to your schedule. They may not change you immediately, but they will eventually become a part of you.

Third, your reputation is made in your private life. We are so used to putting on a facade in front of people that we think our reputation is built on our public life. This is not true! Your reputation is built upon what you do in private. You may be able to build a temporary reputation from your public life, but eventually your private life will determine your reputation. If someone looked at your private life right now, what would they say about you?

Friend, your life is always on display. Is your life such that the only occasion your enemies could point their finger at is your walk with God? That should be your goal. You may not be perfect, but you should strive to let your walk with God eventually become the only thing your enemies can use against you. This is what separated Daniel from everyone else in his day, and this is what will separate you from everyone else in our world.

Daniel 1:6
“Now among these were of the children of Judah, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah:”

We often hear the warning about having bad friends, but how to look for the right friends is rarely discussed. In the verse above, there were four men who became close friends. The Scriptures do not tell us if these men grew up together, but one thing we know is that these four men became close friends. They didn’t become close friends because they sought each other out, but they discovered each other as they did right.

Godly friends are never sought out, but they are discovered. As I look through my life, I see that those who became my friends were discovered as I served the LORD. While I served the LORD, I looked around me at those who were serving with me, and they became by friends. Whenever you seek out friendship, you can be guaranteed to find the wrong friends. Godly friends are always discovered as you serve the LORD. There were five qualities about the men in the verse above that you should look for in every person whom you choose to make a friend.

First, they had purpose. The very first thing said about these men was that they purposed not to eat the king’s meat. Don’t yoke up in friendship with those who don’t have purpose in life or a purpose to serve the LORD. This doesn’t mean that you should be rude to those who don’t have purpose, it is only a quality you should look for in those with whom you choose to associate. Purpose will ultimately lead to destination; so, you had better be sure that your friends have the right purpose.

Second, they were proven. These men were proven as they all stood to say they would not eat the king’s meat. I wonder if this is not when they discovered each other. Don’t get close to those who have not proven they will stand and do right through tough times. Those who have proven they will do right when others won’t are the types of friend you should desire.

Third, they had the presence of God in their life. These men had God’s presence because they spent time with Him in prayer and in the Scriptures. Every close friend should be a person who has a regular walk with God. When you have friends who continually walk in the presence of God, then you have friends who will not tempt you to do wrong. You will know if a person walks in God’s presence because they will talk about God speaking to their heart in sermons or during their personal walk with God.

Fourth, they were men who praised God. These men were more apt to praise God than man. Godly friends will not lift up men, but the praise of God will continually come from their lips. People who continually praise men have their eyes on man and not God. I encourage you to be sure your friends are people who talk about God and praise Him continually.

Fifth, they were positioned men. All of these men did not change their positions when facing persecution. Your friends should be people who stand when no one else stands. Your friends should be people who are positioned in the principles of God’s Word. They should not base their beliefs upon what you or anyone else will do, but they should be based upon the Word of God.

I have two questions for you. First, are these five qualities in you? If you don’t have these five qualities in your life then you should immediately implement them into your life. Second, do your friends have these five qualities? These five qualities are imperative to the direction in which someone is going. You will find when you have these five qualities in your life that discovering others with these same qualities will not be difficult for they will be serving the LORD with you. Make these five qualities a key to close friendships.

Proverbs 19:11
“The discretion of a man deferreth his anger; and it is his glory to pass over a transgression.”

There is nothing more uncomfortable than being around someone who constantly loses their temper and blows up in anger. The tension it causes to an atmosphere is tremendous. Everyone around that person who is quickly angered walks on egg shells because they just don’t know when they are going to go off and become angry.

The verse above deals with the person who is soon angry. God says that a man’s discretion will defer his anger. The word “deferreth” means to be postponed. In other words, God says a man who has discretion will postpone his anger. He will use his anger at a later time. Anger used at the right time will prevent future heartache, but uncontrolled anger will hurt people and damage the credibility of the one who lost it. The key comes down to learning to postpone your anger. Let me give you several helps on how to postpone your anger.

First, admit you have anger. Everyone has anger, and if you don’t admit you have an anger problem, then you will become prone to use anger wrongly. Admitting you have anger does not mean that you are a horrible person, for anger can be used for right. God became angry several times throughout the Scriptures and that did not make Him a sinner. If you realize you have anger and know what caused it to flare up, then you can learn how to postpone it when it should not be used.

Second, look ahead and learn what causes your anger. This is important to controlling anger. What may cause you to become angry may not be the same thing that causes me to become angry. Learn what causes your anger. Study yourself and learn what situations or actions cause you to become angry.

Third, be discreet enough to avoid that which causes anger. If a certain person causes you to become angry, then you’d be wise to avoid that person. If at a certain time you are prone to anger, then learn to avoid that time or be extra cautious during that time. For instance, I’ve learned about myself that when I’m tired I tend to get angry much easier. So, when I’m tired, I’ve learned to really watch my anger so that I don’t damage my testimony. You would be very wise to be careful during those times that cause you to be angry. Avoid them at all costs so that you can keep a good testimony for Christ.

Fourth, be wise enough to allow people to make a mistake. The verse above says, “…it is his glory to pass over a transgression.” People are going to make mistakes, so give them a chance not to be perfect. Parents who expect their children to be perfect are parents who will drive their children away. A parent who won’t allow their child to make a mistake is a parent who oftentimes becomes angry. Likewise, leaders must be very careful to allow followers to make a mistake. Leaders must realize that the reason God allowed them to lead people is because He had enough confidence in them that they would allow their followers to make mistakes without becoming angry. Your followers will never grow if you become angry every time they make a mistake. Allow people to make a mistake without getting angry.

Your testimony and the name of Christ is at stake with every action. If you learn to postpone your anger and allow people to grow, you will find that those around you will enjoy being with you and that they will grow more quickly in their weak areas. Daily ask God to help you to be a person who postpones anger and is wise enough to use it only when it is necessary.

Ezekiel 28:5
“By thy great wisdom and by thy traffick hast thou increased thy riches, and thine heart is lifted up because of thy riches:”

Most often tools were made to help someone do things for good. When you look at a mechanics toolbox, his tools are often used to make cars better. What would happen if one day the mechanic picked up the tool and the tool started talking back to the mechanic? What if the tool told the mechanic that it didn’t want to work on cars, but because it was such an important tool it would rather start a tool show to display its beauty or strength? This is certainly ridiculous, but this is what God’s people oftentimes do.

The verse above is showing the mindset of the Prince of Tyrus. Many think the Prince of Tyrus is Satan. Whether or not it is Satan, we can see that this Prince of Tyrus used the tools given to him for destruction. Many of these tools he did not acquire by himself, but they were tools given to him by God. Yet, the very tools God allowed him to have to be used for good became tools of destruction. There were five tools that were meant for good that he turned into tools of destruction.

First, his wisdom became a tool of destruction. The great wisdom he acquired was given to him by God. Yes, he had to study to get this wisdom, but God could have withheld this wisdom; yet, He did not. You always have to be careful about allowing your intelligence or wisdom to become a tool of personal destruction. Just because you know something that someone else does not know doesn’t make you better than God or anyone else. You should use your wisdom for the betterment of God’s work.

Second, his beauty became a tool of destruction. In verses 12-13, he became so wrapped up in his beauty that pride set into his heart. Friend, you have nothing to do with your personal beauty. If God blessed you with beauty, then use it to help others to see the beauty God has given to them.

Third, his location of where he was created became a tool of destruction. He was set in the Garden of Eden, and he allowed his ability to live in this garden to become a source of pride. If you were born into a great church, let me remind you that only God’s grace allowed that to happen. If you were born in a great country, it was of God’s grace. Just because you’ve had the opportunity to be brought up in a great location should not cause you to become prideful; instead, it should humble you that God was gracious enough to allow you to have that background.

Fourth, in verse 15 his past became a tool of destruction. He was filled with pride because of what he had done in the past. Your past is past. Just because you did right yesterday does not mean you are doing right today. Don’t let the rich history of your past become a tool of destruction today. Continue doing right so that you can have a bright future tomorrow.

Fifth, in verse 16 his possessions became a tool of destruction. He looked at what he had and that became a tool that destroyed him. If God has given you many possessions in life, don’t let that become a tool that Satan uses to destroy you. Don’t become so focused on your possessions that you take your eyes off God.

Always remember that everything you have should be a tool used to serve the LORD. Don’t let the tools God has given you for good become a source of personal destruction. He gave them to you to use in His service. Don’t misappropriate the tools God has given you, because when you do they will become tools of destruction.

Ezekiel 18:23
“Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die? saith the Lord GOD: and not that he should return from his ways, and live?”

God is often misunderstood by most people. There are those who like to paint God as an angry person up in Heaven Who can’t wait to press a red button and send lightening to strike them dead because of their sin. Then there are those who paint God as a person in Heaven Who loves people so much that He never chastens or judges His children. Neither of these pictures are accurate.

God paints His own picture of Himself in the verse above. In Ezekiel 18, God talks about the sins of the nation of Israel. He shows how they left Him for sinful activities, and then He tells how He must judge them for their wickedness. Yet, God makes it very clear that though He must judge sin, He desires more that they would get right so that He can bless them; however, He also makes it very clear that He will judge them if they don’t get right. The verse above paints a clear picture of God’s desire towards us.

First, God’s first desire is that we would do right. It is clear that God would rather you and I do right so that He can bless us. Everything God does in our lives is to motivate us to do right. God’s focus is on His children obeying Him. Every blessing God sends our way is to motivate us to do right or continue doing right. God loves it when His children obey Him, because when they do He can send His blessings upon them.

Second, God is so merciful when we do wrong that He will withhold His judgment as long as He can to give us an opportunity to do right. Christians often mistake the mercy of God as a license to sin. Friend, God’s mercy is not a license to sin, but it is God’s last ditch effort to get us to turn from our wicked ways. Don’t waste God’s mercy, but use it to get right.

Third, God will judge our sin. God’s mercy does not mean that He will not judge us for what we have done. There are some who think that sin was judged at Calvary, and they are right, but God still punishes His children. Just because you are saved does not mean that God won’t punish you if you do wrong. Hebrews 12:6 says, “For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.” God will chasten the Christian who continues in sin.

Friend, the picture God paints of Himself should motivate you to want others to do right. I’m afraid we often cut our own off too quickly when they do wrong when we should be more willing to restore them back to usefulness. Sin does have consequences, but it should never cause us to make someone a castaway who can never be used again. God desired for Israel to get right so that He wouldn’t have to judge them, and we should have that same desire towards those who have sinned and want to get right.

Let me ask you, is there someone whose sin has hurt you and you won’t give them a chance to get right? That is not of God. When someone does wrong, your prayer should be that they get right. Your prayer should be that God gives you the opportunity to help them come back to Him. Your attitude should be one of remorse when God chastens them. Don’t rejoice in the chastening of God’s children, but be prayerful that they will come back to Him. This is the picture God painted of Himself, and we should try to emulate that picture.

Proverbs 16:2
“All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes; but the LORD weigheth the spirits.”

There was a boy when I was young who had the habit of pooching out his lip when he was told to do something. I can remember my siblings and I talking about what our parents would do if we pooched out our lip. We knew that our parents would not put up with such an attitude.

When my mother told us to do something, she not only expected us to immediately obey, but she also expected us to obey with a good attitude. Whenever we were doing something that she told us to do with a bad attitude, she would often say, “You had better pick up that lip before I help you pick it up.” It wasn’t that we were pooching our lip out, it was that our attitude was showing that we didn’t want to do what we were told to do.

In the verse above, God addressed the Christian who served Him with a disobedient spirit. God talked about the ways of a man being “clean in his own eyes.” In other words, man oftentimes looks at the actions, but God looks at both actions and attitude. The Christian can talk about their obedient actions, but God desires that our attitude matches our actions. Yes, you should serve God with your actions, but you might as well enjoy the ride while you are doing it. There are some things you should consider about obedience with a good spirit.

First, the spirit shows the true attitude of the heart. One of the reasons God weighs the spirit is because it truly shows the obedience of the heart. When a person has a bad spirit about something, they are showing the true colors of their heart. For instance, one of the things I truly dislike is when people say that they have to go to church. I often say that I don’t have to go to church, but I get to go to church. I don’t have to tithe, but I get to tithe. I don’t have to go soul winning, but I get to go soul winning. Friend, your spirit shows what your heart is like. If you serve God with a bad spirit, then you are revealing that you have a bad heart.

Second, actions will eventually mirror the spirit. You show me someone who has a bad spirit about doing something, and I will show you someone who will eventually stop obeying in action. Obedience to God is good, and we ought to obey, but you need to obey in spirit so that you will continue obeying what God tells you to do.

Third, don’t give position to someone to change their spirit. This is one of the greatest mistakes I watch leaders make. They think giving someone a position will change their spirit only to find that they have just given someone power who can hurt them in a greater way. Position should only be given to those who obey in action and spirit. Don’t fall for the trap of giving position to better one’s spirit.

Fourth, don’t trust those who have a bad spirit. The spirit of a person shows how much a person is behind what you are doing. When people are consistently griping about what they have to do, then they are people who will eventually become disloyal in actions. Disloyalty starts in one’s spirit, and that is why you must weigh one’s spirit to determine their loyalty to a program.

Do your actions and spirit agree with what you do for the LORD? Are you doing what you do for the LORD because you have to or because you want to? Work on having a good spirit in all that you do. Pick up your spiritual lip and obey the LORD not only in action, but in spirit as well.

Jeremiah 48:7
“For because thou hast trusted in thy works and in thy treasures, thou shalt also be taken: and Chemosh shall go forth into captivity with his priests and his princes together.”

Jeremiah 48 is the prophecy of God’s judgment against Moab. Moab was known for the fortresses it built, and they were confident that their works from the past would secure their future, but they forgot to realize that present actions are what secure your future. Though they were strong enough in the past to build these great fortresses, their actions in the present were defiled because of their worship of Chemosh, the fish god.

Moab thought their past works were good enough to secure their future. They thought their riches and wealth would keep them from facing God’s judgment. They thought they could use their influence they achieved from the past and the wealth they had accomplished to keep Babylon from coming and taking them into captivity. Yet, like most people eventually come to realize, what you do in the present is truly the only thing that dictates your future. Moab was captured and taken into captivity all because they didn’t secure their future today.

Friend, your future is secured by today’s actions. What you did yesterday does not guarantee a great future tomorrow. Your present actions are the measuring stick God uses to dictate your future. Many people have relied on what they did yesterday to measure their Christianity today, only to realize that they were wrong. If you want a blessed future tomorrow, then you had better live and do right today.

Many churches live in the past of what God used to do through them only to hurt their future. I have sat in auditoriums that used to be filled with old-paths preaching, souls getting saved and lives being changed that now are relatively empty with the memories of the past as the only works of God they have to talk about. How sad! They trusted in the works of their past and that is what destroyed them.

There are many men of God who talk about God doing something through them in the past, but they have no works to talk about today. Their greatness is not in what they are doing now, but what they did yesterday, only to continually see their future slip away.

Many Christians live in the works of yesterday and talk about what they used to do thinking that is good enough to get them through life. They talk of how they used to fill bus routes and build Sunday school classes, but they do nothing now other than talk about their past. What these Christians don’t realize is that their present is what secures their spiritual influence tomorrow.

Are you trusting in your past works to secure your future spirituality? Your past cannot secure a spiritual future. Your financial stability cannot buy you spirituality. The present works are the only indicator of what your future will hold. I encourage you not to fall into the trap that Moab did by looking at your past or financial status and do something for God today. Start studying your Bible today like your future depends upon it. Start praying today like your future depends upon it. Start surrendering daily to God like your future depends upon it. Start fighting your sins today like your future depends upon it. Truly your future does depend upon what you do today. Your past can only give you what you have today, but what you do today will dictate what you will be in the future. What do your present actions say about your future?