Be Encouraged Today!

"For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the Power of God." — 1 Corinthians 1:18 "But to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the Power of God and the Wisdom of God." — 1 Corinthians 1:24 "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of Wisdom; all who follow His instructions have good insight." — Psalm 111:10 As I was reading Psalm 111:10 and reflecting on Paul's words in 1 Corinthians 1, a beautiful connection began to emerge. If the preaching of the Message of the Cross is the manifestation of the Power of God and the Wisdom of God, could it be said that the Message of the Cross is the Wisdom of God and the starting point for understanding and following the Lord's instructions? I believe the answer is yes. When we connect these passages together, we discover a clear spiritual progression that reveals how God brings His children into Wisdom, obedience, and sp...

In Ezekiel 47:1-5 (AMP) states: Then he [my guide] brought me back to the door of the house [the temple of the LORD]; and behold, water was flowing from under the threshold of the house (temple) toward the east, for the front of the temple was facing east. And the water was flowing down from under, from the right side of the house, from south of the altar. 2 Then he brought me out by way of the north gate and led me around on the outside to the outer gate by the way of the gate that faces east. And behold, water was spurting out from the south side [of the gate]. 3 When the man went out toward the east with a measuring line in his hand, he measured a thousand cubits, and he led me through the water, water that was ankle-deep. 4 Again he measured a thousand [cubits] and led me through the water, water that was knee-deep. Again he measured a thousand [cubits] and led me through the water, water reaching the hips. 5 Again he measured a thousand [cubits]; and it was a river that I cou...

When we came to Christ and accept what He accomplished on the Cross of Calvary for us, we were imputed His Righteousness. In Christ… Romans 6:3-4 (recommend you read the whole chapter) states: Or are you ignorant of the fact that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? 4 We have therefore been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory and power of the Father, we too might walk habitually in newness of life [abandoning our old ways]. In what Jesus has accomplished, for those who would believe, is everything we will ever need in life. We have been given Salvation, redemption, reconciliation, The Word of God and His righteousness. Now when God sees us, He no longer sees a sinful person, but the Righteousness of He who was slain – The Lamb of God. To be able to walk in the righteousness daily, we must have our Faith in the very thing that afforded us that righteousness. It was ...

I don’t think we know or will ever know the full ramifications of the disobedience (sin) in the Garden of Eden. Yes, they disobeyed, but it was so much deeper and more harmful than we tend to think. Let’s look at it a little. Yes, they ate of the fruit that they should not have eaten. A lot could be said about this, but that’s not why we are here. I will say that God does test us all, not only to see if we will obey or disobey what He has said, but I believe He also tests our Faith so that we can see if we are indeed operating in Faith and trusting Him. Sometimes we think we are in Faith and trusting Him, when we are actually looking to ourselves and trusting what we can do. But like said, that’s not why we are here. Yes, Adam and Eve disobeyed by eating the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. Some would think “Yeah, they ate something they shouldn’t have; just forgive them”. But it was so much more than that. When Adam disobeyed, he also gave away all of God’s Creation....

On Salvation and Present Condition A lot of people think that they can't lose their salvation. A lot of people believe that old adage, “once saved, always saved.” They believe in eternal security, but we can indeed lose our salvation. We can go from living a righteous life to living a life of sin, and we can lose our salvation. Now, I want to come from the book of Ezekiel, chapter 33, verses 12 through 20. I know a lot of people think that the Old Testament is not relevant—that it’s not something we need to be looking at or reading—but you definitely need to be reading the Old Testament. The Old Testament does have things that are specific to the Jewish people, because they are Jewish and we are Gentiles. However, the lessons they went through—when God told them to repent or to change and they didn’t—are lessons we need to learn so that we don’t repeat them and go through the same judgments they did. So, in Ezekiel chapter 33, verses 12 through 20, this is ...

I have greatly enjoyed and have learned a lot from studying The Message of the Cross . The studying indeed continues, and I believe that I may never know the full extent of what He accomplished for me (us) on the Cross. That which I have been privileged to know and understand I do believe. I am grateful for the opportunity to hear The Truth, know and understand Truth, and to have the Holy Spirit working at 100% of His Power, in my life. I do not and will not hinder His work. All that God has for us is in Christ Jesus, meaning His Finished Work (Death, Burial and Resurrection). Jesus is our EVERYTHING, and we get everything through the Cross. This means we need to be looking to the Cross which is the means to receive everything from our Lord and Savior! Once we exclusively believe, have our Faith, in the Jesus’ Finished Work, the Holy Spirit can begin the work that only He can do. John 7:37-39 states: Now on the last and most important day of the feast, Jesus stood and called out ...

Ok, so I’m taking out my broken record again. I cannot express the importance of the Message of the Cross, the Cross of Christ, His Finished Work – His Death, Burial and His Resurrection. This is where our Faith should be placed. It is the Faith that Jesus will be looking for when He returns. The Cross of Christ is the one thing that began this life of Salvation in Christ Jesus for us. It is the sole reason for our Justification which is by Faith in His Precious Sacrifice on the Cross. Our Faith in what was accomplished for us on the Cross allows the Holy Spirit to help us live sanctified lives before God. Jesus’ Finished Work on the Cross is the foundation of our Salvation, Justification and Sanctification. We need to get back to the root – Jesus and Him Crucified. I believe that, for such a time as this, that the Message of the Cross is “resurfacing”. Satan has, unfortunately, been very successful in moving the Church’s Faith from the very object that ushered it into existence. Ha...

Jesus said in Luke 18:8 , “When the Son of Man returns, will I find Faith on the Earth?”   He did not say faiths as in more than one, but Faith – singular.  This tells me that we must have the right Faith or rather our faith in the right thing.  Faith is another word for trust, confidence, hope, and belief among many others.  So, this Faith that Jesus will be looking for must be something that we trust and can have confidence that it is ours and more importantly; that it worked/works.  Think about it...  What is the one thing, as far as our righteousness is concerned, that gave us right standing with God and that had to work for us to receive said righteousness?  The answer is Jesus dying on the Cross of Calvary.  What the Word of God says that He accomplished on the Cross for us HAD TO WORK!  We must trust and have confidence (Faith) that what Jesus died on the Cross for worked for us (personally).  In more simpler terms, you mu...

Decisions, decisions, decisions… We are presented with the Good News, and we must make the decision to accept or reject it. None of us will have an excuse, and if you decide “not to touch it,” it is a rejection. No matter the source of the Good News, it is never in vain. It is sent to present us with a wonderful gift, and we can either accept it or reject it. The Word of God tells us in Isaiah 55:11 : So will My word be which goes out of My mouth; It will not return to Me void (useless, without result), Without accomplishing what I desire, And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it. When the Word of the Lord comes forth, it is not in vain (fruitless or without success). It accomplishes what He desires and the purpose for which He sent it. The Word goes forth so that everyone can have an opportunity to hear the Gospel (the Good News). Upon hearing the Good News, we are then presented with a decision—acceptance or rejection of what we have heard. I will also s...

OK, so I have just been reading and studying something very interesting on my own. It connects directly with my cybersecurity education. I have been studying cyber threat intelligence and the MITRE ATT&CK framework, and it is very interesting. I would truly love to have a job doing this—even in the smallest capacity—just to be able to work in this field. In cyber threat intelligence, we use TTPs—tactics, techniques, and procedures. The MITRE ATT&CK framework uses tactics, techniques, and sub-techniques. Sub-techniques are essentially the same as procedures. All of this deals with bad actors—people who attempt to steal intellectual property, credentials, and many other things. They have motives. They use tactics. They apply techniques and procedures in order to accomplish what they want to do. As I was thinking about this this morning, it struck me that, in the very same way, Satan operates against all of us. So, first, we look at tactics—the “what” and the “why.” What...

***Forgive the repetition. Romans 6:3–4 is speaking about our position in the Cross of Christ. It tells us that we were baptized into Jesus’ death. Since we were baptized into His death, we were also baptized into His burial and into His resurrection, to walk in newness of life. We died in Christ. We were buried with Him. Our old man stayed in the ground, and we were resurrected into newness of life as a new creation. Old things passed away, and all things have become new. This is our position in the Cross of Christ. This is why we must have Faith in the Cross of Christ. When I speak of the Cross of Christ, or His Finished Work, I am speaking of Jesus’ death, His burial, and His resurrection. This is our position: we were baptized into His death, we were buried with Him, and our old man stayed in the ground. We were resurrected into newness of life as a new man—a new creation in Christ Jesus. The slate has been wiped clean. When God looks at us, He sees an innocent, blameless C...

Studying again in the book of Ezekiel , I’ve been reflecting on how the Holy Spirit, through the prophet, spoke of the destruction of Assyria and Egypt . In my reading of the Swaggart Commentary , considerable time is devoted to these nations—nations that had direct dealings with Israel, Judah, and Jerusalem . They had opportunity to know who the true God—the God of Israel—was, yet they rejected Him. The Pharaohs began to declare themselves gods. They continued in idol worship. Though they were given light, they chose darkness. And when light is rejected, eventually light is removed . As I considered this, my thoughts turned to America . We were once a great beacon of God’s light—spreading the Word of God throughout our nation and across the world. But look at where we are now. We are in a very dark place. We were given much light, yet that light has grown dim. Not only as a nation, but even within many churches, God’s light—His Word, His way—has been rejected. And God’s way is Jes...