This was one of my devotions today, It speaks directly to the reason why I pray TO GOD the Father, and End it with In JESUS Name.

There are times in the New Testament, I can think of one where the Three Parts of GOD, GOD the Father, JESUS the SON, and the HOLY SPIRIT are present AT THE SAME TIME in different forms. This is at the Baptism of JESUS. JESUS who taught the disciples directly, and us by extension Exactly the Format to pray. This is found in the Lord's Prayer, we are all familiar with it.

This in NO WAY is to say that we pray to three gods. It shouldn't be misinterperated that way, NOR misconstrued by persons who teach false doctrines. I do not care how learned a man may be on the scripture. If that person teaches a doctrine that is directly opposed to the words of JESUS, he or she is teaching a FALSE DOCTRINE and loses any and all credibilty with which they teach. Christ warned us and even in the Old Testament, we are warned of this. All verses supporting this issue of warnings against false teachers and false prophets are listed below the devotion. Please prayerfully consider this and teach it whenever someone tells you that we shouldn't pray to FATHER GOD in JESUS Name.

Blessings,

Michael

Editor's Note: Today marks the start of Prayer Week at Devotionals Daily and FaithGateway! We hope that you will join us this week as we offer devotions and encouragement surrounding prayer from John Eldredge, Jon Weece, Philip Yancey, Robert Morris, and other wonderful authors and pastors. We'll be examining different prayer topics and are looking forward to taking time this week to learn what Scripture has to say about the power of prayer and to come alongside each of you as you seek a deeper relationship with God.

The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. — James 5:16

Today's devotion is an exclusive excerpt from John Eldredge's new book, Moving Mountains: Praying with Passion, Confidence, and Authority - launching nationwide this week!
Moving Mountains: Praying with Bold Authority
by John Eldredge, from Moving Mountains


Why do we pray, “in Jesus’ name”?

The phrase gets tacked onto the end of many prayers, but I think it has about as much meaning to us as “amen.” Amen does not mean, “That’s it . . . I’m done now,” the little period at the end of my prayer. Amen (ah-mane) is an ancient Hebrew word that was transliterated (kept virtually intact) into New Testament Greek. It is a pronouncement, firm and authoritative: “Yes! So be it! Let this be done!”

Amen is a declaration; in that sense it is like a command. Or it once was; now it has the emotional force of “talk to you later” at the end of a phone call.

“In Jesus’ name” is even more of a command—far, far more declarative and final, like the drop of a judge’s gavel. We are using the authority of the ruler of all galaxies and realms to enforce the power of what we have just prayed. We have been exploring the way things work in effective prayer; as we look deeper into the spiritual realm, we discover that the whole thing runs on authority. It is the secret to the kingdom of God, and one of the essential secrets to prayer that works.



When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help. “Lord,” he said, “my servant lies at home paralyzed and in terrible suffering.” Jesus said to him, “I will go and heal him.” The centurion replied, “Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” When Jesus heard this, he was astonished and said to those following him, “I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith.” — Matthew 8:5–10

I’m guessing it took something pretty remarkable to “astonish” Jesus (he was astonished). Did you notice what it was? The centurion understood authority.

Just say the word from where you are, and my servant will be healed! I know, because I am under the authority of my superior officers and I have authority over my soldiers. I only need to say, “Go,” and they go, or “Come,” and they come. — Matthew 8:8–9 NLT

Remember—there is a way things work. If you run your hand along the grain of a 2x4, you’ll get a splinter. If you approach an elk upwind, you’ll spook him. If you turn a canoe sideways in the current, you’ll flip it. There is a way things work in the physical realm and we must learn to live with it; reality is one of the great tools of God to grow people up. (And he is deeply committed to growing us all up! Don’t forget that.) Children learn all the hard ways; the scraped knees, the burnt fingers. Wisdom is largely cultivated on encountering the laws of the physical world and adjusting our lives to accommodate. Better still, we learn to use those laws to our advantage—we cook with that heat; we build with that lumber.

The same holds true in the spiritual realm—there is a way things work. Like the children in a fairy tale, we have been thrust into a collision of kingdoms. Kingdoms are realms that are governed by a ruler (the king), and they operate on the basis of authority. Back in the story of Daniel and his three-week fast, the angel finally showed up and explained he would have been there sooner but he was blocked by the territorial spirit that held sway over the Persian kingdom. He eventually got through, but did you notice how? He brought in a higher-ranking angel:

“The prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, because I was detained there with the king of Persia. Now I have come . . .” — Daniel 10:13–14

The messenger got through the blockade because the mighty archangel Michael came and used his greater authority (and no doubt power). That is what we are doing when we use Jesus’ name—we are using his authority. A quick overview might help bring clarity:

God made the earth. He then gave it to Adam and Eve, along with authority to govern it:

The highest heavens belong to the Lord, but the earth he has given to man. —Psalm 115:16

The first man and woman—lord and lady of this earthly kingdom—forfeited their authority through their disobedience. That is how Satan became “the prince of this world” (John 14:30). When the evil one slithered up to Jesus in the wilderness and tried to tempt him out of the cross, he offered him the kingdoms of this world, as if they were his to give:

The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And he said to him, "I will give you all their authority and splendor, for it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. So if you worship me, it will all be yours.” — Luke 4:5–7

It was his to offer because we turned it over to him at the fall of man. “Prince” of this world means ruler of this world. And he has brought ruin and devastation through his malevolent reign, as Stalin did, as Pol Pot did. When an evil ruler comes into power, it allows evil into the kingdom. A man I knew was in Washington, DC during the inauguration of one of our less respectable presidents of the last century; he said that he could see demons rushing into the White House from all directions. Authority had shifted to darkness.

The epicenter of the tectonic shifts I keep alluding to was the coming of Jesus of Nazareth, Son of the living God—who became the Son of Man—to win it all back. He won it all back. Because the abdication of the throne occurred through the sin of Adam, it could only be undone through the atonement for those sins. Through his life of total obedience to the Father, through his perfect atonement for our sins by way of his cross and death, Jesus totally disarmed Satan and all those fallen angels like the Prince of the Persian kingdom:

[God] forgave us all our sins, having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross. — Colossians 2:13–15

God the Father, in partnership with God the Son, “disarmed the powers and authorities.” The Greek here for “powers and authorities” is arche and exousia—the exact words Paul used to refer to foul spirits of various rank:

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers [arche], against the authorities [exousia], against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. — Ephesians 6:12

By the cross our Father and Jesus caught the enemy totally off guard, undermined his claims, disarmed the authority of his stolen throne; the evil one and all his allies have lost their right to hold dominion, and that right has been given to Jesus:

[Who] humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. — Philippians 2:8–11

All of this—the victory, the overthrow of Satan’s right to rule, the transfer of authority, power, and dominion to the Son of God—this is what Jesus was referring to when after his resurrection he said,

All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. — Matthew 28:18

Let that sink in; the relief of it will lift a mighty weight off your shoulders. All authority in the “heavens”—the spiritual realms—and all authority on this planet has been handed over to Jesus Christ! Think of the redemption that can now take place because of that one fact.

“Yes—that is my point,” you might say. “I believe Jesus won. So why don’t prayers work better than they do? Isn’t Satan defeated?” Stay with me now, because this has staggering implications for you and the way you pray. The invasion of the kingdom of God is something that is still unfolding, right now, today. Jesus is not merely seated upon a throne somewhere up in the sky:

Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. . . . Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. — 1 Corinthians 15:20–21, 24–25 (emphasis added)

That “until” gives us a very different way of understanding how Jesus is reigning at the current moment (and why world events still seem so chaotic). Are all his enemies under his feet? Clearly not; the verse says not, and the evening news illustrates it. Jesus, Son of God, Lord of angel armies, is “reigning until” he has finished what he began. The image that comes to mind is the terrible battle for the South Pacific in World War II. Island by island, bunker by bunker, tunnel by tunnel, a bloody battle had to be waged until the enemy was thoroughly and completely rooted out. Yes—we took the beach at Iwo Jima, and the airstrip. The enemy was defeated, but still he fought on; subduing the entire island was an unspeakably savage undertaking.

Much as you see in the world today. Oh yes, Jesus has won. But his kingdom has—obviously—not fully come on this earth. Which brings us to the famous model for prayer, held high by the church down through the ages, the “Our Father,” the “Lord’s Prayer.”

We Invoke the Kingdom
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread. (Matthew 6:9–11)

Held high, repeated ritually, but rarely understood. Have you ever wondered why the Lord’s Prayer begins with us praying, “Your kingdom come . . .”? The man who knew best how to pray is telling us to invoke his kingdom. We are, after all, partners in this mission. And this is what he wants us to begin prayer with. The obvious implication is that his kingdom is not always come, his will is not always done on earth as it is done in heaven—or what a ridiculous thing to tell us to pray. Why would Jesus urge us to pray for something that has no meaning? He does not tell us to pray that the sun rises tomorrow; we are never urged to pray that the sun will rise again each day. God’s will is going to be done, every sunrise. You can rest on that one; nothing to pray about there. But you are told to invoke his kingdom, from heaven to earth.

Excerpted with permission from Moving Mountains by John Eldredge, copyright John Eldredge, 2016.


Forward to a Friend

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Your Turn
Have you ever considered why we say 'Amen' and 'In Jesus' Name' at the end of prayers? Does this explanation from John give you a fresh perspective? Join the conversation on our blog! We'd love to hear from you about the power of praying in His name! ~ Devotionals Daily

A Tree and its Fruit
15"Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 16"You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they?…
Cross References
1 Kings 13:18
The old prophet answered, "I too am a prophet, as you are. And an angel said to me by the word of the LORD: 'Bring him back with you to your house so that he may eat bread and drink water.'" (But he was lying to him.)

Jeremiah 23:16
This is what the LORD Almighty says: "Do not listen to what the prophets are prophesying to you; they fill you with false hopes. They speak visions from their own minds, not from the mouth of the LORD.

Ezekiel 22:27
Her officials within her are like wolves tearing their prey; they shed blood and kill people to make unjust gain.

Daniel 11:34
When they fall, they will receive a little help, and many who are not sincere will join them.

Matthew 7:14
But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

Matthew 24:11
and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people.

Matthew 24:24
For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.

Mark 13:22
For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.

Luke 6:26
Woe to you when everyone speaks well of you, for that is how their ancestors treated the false prophets.

John 10:12
The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it.

Acts 13:6
They traveled through the whole island until they came to Paphos. There they met a Jewish sorcerer and false prophet named Bar-Jesus,

Acts 20:29
I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock.

Romans 16:17
I urge you, brothers and sisters, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them.

2 Timothy 3:5
having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people.

2 Peter 2:1
But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them--bringing swift destruction on themselves.

1 John 4:1
Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.

Revelation 16:13
Then I saw three impure spirits that looked like frogs; they came out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet.

Revelation 19:20
But the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who had performed the signs on its behalf. With these signs he had deluded those who had received the mark of the beast and worshiped its image. The two of them were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur.

Revelation 20:10
And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

God Remembers Your Sins No More

My daily devoition today is  Joseph Prince's Devitional, a one year program available on YouVersion, my thoughts follow it, highlighted in yellow:

God Remembers Your Sins No More

Hebrews 10:17

17… “Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.”

I don’t know about you, but I would say that Hebrews 10:17 is good news. God sees all our sins — past, present and future — and says, “Your sins I remember no more!” The words “no more” are a strong double negative in the original Greek text. In other words, God is saying, “Your sins I will by no means ever remember!”

Has God lowered His standards? No, He is still perfectly holy. He did remember all our sins — 2,000 years ago at the cross. Every sin that we have committed or will commit has been punished to the full in the body of Jesus Christ at the cross. That is why today, God remembers our sins no more. We should, therefore, not be sin-conscious.

Each time we feel condemned for our past mistakes, God wants us to remember the cross and say, “Lord Jesus, you were sentenced for this sin I committed. You bore the judgment, so God will not judge me for this sin. You were condemned for this sin, so God will not condemn me for it.”

If you don’t look to the cross, you will become sin-conscious and you will walk around with a certain expectation of judgment. And that expectation of judgment will give the devil a chance to get you thinking that God has something against you because of your sin.

You must come to the place where you know and believe that all your sins are forgiven, that there is no sin that will ever disqualify you from God’s blessings, that you are saved eternally.

Hebrews 10:12, 14 says, “But this Man [Jesus], after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God… For by one offering He has perfected forever…”

You and I are perfected forever because of Jesus’ perfect work on the cross. We are perfected by God’s full acceptance and perfect delight in His Son’s work that has so glorified His holiness. Beloved, hear God say to you, “I will be merciful. Your sins and lawless deeds I will remember no more.”

Thought For The Day

Every sin that we have committed or will commit has been punished to the full in the body of Jesus Christ at the cross.

Think about this for a minute. Every sin that we have committed, past, present (if you happen to be sinning right now) and future is punished to the fullest extent of the "Law" to quote a common phrase that is often used today. Think about it, the "Law", God's Law, requires death for our sin, any sin we commit requires our death under God's law because he is holy, and cannot stand sin. "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is Eternal Life in Jesus Christ our Lord."  Romans 6:23 makes it perfectly clear that it is not punishment per se, this is something that sin earns us and that is important, very important. Think about this for a minute. You know your unsaved friend or co-worker who asks "Why would a loving God send me to hell?" Think about what Romans 6:23 says "The Wages of Sin" I especially like the NKJV or KJV translation, because it clarifies this for us. A wage is something we earn, right?  So when you think about it, and are trying to witness to someone and the question "Why would a Loving God send  me to hell?" comes up, bear this in mind, and use this verse as a teaching moment.  Possibly use vacation time as a comparative  illustration, you earn vacation time, right, it's not just given to you, you do something to earn it, you go to work every day that you are supposed to and it accumulates, if you don't go to work, what do you earn? Nothing. Let's look at the second part of that verse "but the GIFT OF GOD IS ETERNAL LIFE IN JESUS CHRIST OUR LORD"  so when the "Why would a...?" question comes up, use a comparative illustration like above, and then consider and use the second half of the verese.  This verse says God has a gift to give us. A gift is given for what? It is generally unmeritted favor, I mean in our culture we have gift giving all wrong, often we give a gift at say Christmas time, we expect that we will get a gift back, right? You do nothing to earn a gift. Think of your birthday, you are given gifts. Did you really do anything to earn that gift? No, it is given to you freely, no strings attached, unmeritted favor, and this is what the scripture teaches us that Eternal Life, or salvation is. Unmeritted favor. You've heard the old addage, Grace is getting what we don't deserve, Mercy is NOT getting what we do deserve. So stress this point when witnessing, it is effective, and true. This is stressed in the thought for the day above, but I will stress it again here:

Every sin that we have committed or will commit has been punished to the full in the body of Jesus Christ at the cross.
Every sin... that's a lot of sins...Every... you can't put a number on it. All we must do is what, reach out and take that gift, that unmeritted favor...accept it. Pretty powerful stuff, no? As believers, we are called to share this unmeritted favor, this gift with everyone around us...This is being a good neighbour as in the story of the good Samaratin, the disciples asked: "who is our neighbour?" Jesus then shared that parable...We MUST do this...we MUST share this...if we don't, how can we truly call ourselves followers of Christ?
-Michael

Faith without good deeds is dead? If so, Can you lose your Salvation?

Faith without good deeds is dead? If so, Can you lose your Salvation?

 Grace is when God gives us what we don't deserve and mercy is when God doesn't give us what we do deserve. -Unknown

Jas 2:14-26 NLT

Xref: Eph. 2:8-13, Heb. Ch. 11, Jhn 6:39, Jhn 10:28-29, 2 Tim. 4:8, 1 Cor. 9:25-27, James 1:12; Rev. 2:10; 1 Pt 5:2-4; Matt. 5:19, 1 Thess. 2:19, Daniel 12:3, Prov. 11:30, Rom. 8

14 What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don't show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone? 15 Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, 16 and you say, "Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well"--but then you don't give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do? 17 So you see, faith by itself isn't enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless. 18 Now someone may argue, "Some people have faith; others have good deeds." But I say, "How can you show me your faith if you don't have good deeds? I will show you my faith by my good deeds." 19 You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror. 20 How foolish! Can't you see that faith without good deeds is useless? 21 Don't you remember that our ancestor Abraham was shown to be right with God by his actions when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see, his faith and his actions worked together. His actions made his faith complete. 23 And so it happened just as the Scriptures say: "Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith." He was even called the friend of God. 24 So you see, we are shown to be right with God by what we do, not by faith alone. 25 Rahab the prostitute is another example. She was shown to be right with God by her actions when she hid those messengers and sent them safely away by a different road. 26 Just as the body is dead without breath, so also faith is dead without good works.

There are groups that teach that you can lose your salvation, and that you can walk away from your salvation. It is my firm conviction based on Biblical evidence listed in the Cross reference verses verses up above that you cannot. Nor can you walk away from your salvation. I am sure that if you research these verses on your own, you will find that scripture supports that if you think you can lose your salvation, you should really evaluate whether or not you have salvation in the first place. Salvation is a gift of God, a gift of Grace, and a gift of Mercy. It cannot be earned by works, (Lest any man should boast {KJV}) Works are important for the benefit of others as well as us. When we do good works, we show others Christ who we are to be a reflection of. We are a reflection of God the Father to the world when we do good works. When we do good works, we are “Working out our salvation with fear and trembling as found in Philippians 2:12-13. People use this to show that you must do good works to “Earn” your salvation. Look carefully at what these versions are saying. The NLT says it this way: 12 Dear friends, you always followed my instructions when I was with you. And now that I am away, it is even more important. Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear. 13 For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him. What are the results of these good works? Crowns. Crowns that we will throw at the feet of Jesus our king when we finally enter paradise. Here are what these rewards for our works will be:

Crowns of Reward in Heaven

By Rev. Michael L. White

(Copyright © 2010. All rights reserved.)

NOTE: The Scripture pop-up service used on this page is RefTagger.

When we all get to Heaven, we will stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ to be judged for our works done in this world, both good and bad. As believers, in order to enter Heaven, we will be counted as righteous because of our faith in Jesus, but we will then receive rewards and crowns for our faithfulness and good works in this world (1 Corinthians 3:8-15; 2 Corinthians 5:10-11; Romans 14:10-12; Revelation 11:18; Revelation 22:12). Listed below are the five types of crowns mentioned in Scripture, some warnings about protecting our crowns and rewards, and the joy of receiving crowns.

Five Crowns of Reward

1. Crown of Righteousness (a.k.a. the Watcher’s Crown) For loving (longing for) the Lord’s appearing (2 Timothy 4:8)

2. Crown of Victory (a.k.a. the Victor’s Crown) For spiritual discipline and self-control (1 Corinthians 9:25-27)

3. Crown of Life (a.k.a. the Martyr’s Crown) For patiently enduring trials and/or death (James 1:12; Revelation 2:10)

4. Crown of Glory (a.k.a. the Elder’s Crown) Godly leaders who were good examples to their flock (1 Peter 5:2-4; Matthew 5:19)

5. Crown of Rejoicing (a.k.a. the Soul-winner’s crown) For leading others to accept Christ by sharing the Gospel of repentance and salvation (1 Thessalonians 2:19; Daniel 12:3; Proverbs 11:30)

Warnings About Crowns and Rewards

•           Do not let anyone take your crown (Revelation 3:11)

•           Do not let anyone deceive you into forfeiting your crown or reward (2 John 1:7-8)

•           Do not do your good deeds with wrong (self-centered or otherwise impure) motives (Matthew 6:2, 5, 16)

Joy of Receiving Crowns

Because Jesus is the King of kings and Lord of lords, He is worthy of our everlasting praise and worship! Therefore, we will have the joy of casting our crowns at Jesus’ feet when we get to Heaven (Revelation 4:10-11). However, if we have earned no crown, we will miss out on the joy of casting it (or them) at Jesus’ feet. What a shame that will be!

Reprinted in part with permission from Parson Place: http://www.parsonplace.com/crowns.html

A Warning against Predjudice

Today we will do a study on the first half of James Chapter 2 Which in the Life Recovery Bible (NLT) is Titled: 

A Warning against Prejudice

1 My dear brothers and sister, how can you claim to have faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ if you favor some people over others?
2 For example, suppose someone comes into your meeting dressed in fancy clothes and expensive jewelry, and another comes in who is poor and dressed in dirty clothes. 3 If you give special attention and a good seat to the rich person, but you say to the poor one, "You can stand over there, or else sit on the floor" --well,  4 doesn't this discrimination show that your judgments are guided by evil motives?
5 Listen to me, dear brothers and sisters. Hasn't God chosen the poor in this world to be rich in faith? Aren't they the ones who will inherit the Kingdom he promised to those who love him? 6 But you dishonor the poor! Isn't it the rich who oppress you and drag you into court? 7 Aren't they the ones who slander Jesus Christ, whose noble name you bear?
8 Yes indeed it is good when you obey the royal law as found in the Scriptures: "Love your neighbor as yourself." 9 But if you favor some people over others, you are committing a sin. You are guilty of breaking the law. 
10 For the person who keeps all of the laws except one is as guilty as a person who has broken all of God's laws. 11 For the same God who said, "You must not commit adultery," also said, "You must not murder." So if you murder someone but do not commit adultery, you have still broken the law.
12 So whatever you say or whatever you do, remember that you will be judged by the law that sets you free. (The Law of Grace and Mercy, the new covenant under Christ) emphasis mine. 13 There will be no mercy for those who have not shown mercy to others. But if you have been merciful, God will be merciful when he judges you.

Our discussion then began with talking about who was this target audience that James was reaching out to? Well, the book of James was written to the twelve tribes of Israel over all, and as we know, this book was written by James, the half-brother of Jesus, the only sibling of His that the Bible records as being a follower of Christ. So this chapter though appears to be addressed to his brother and sisters in Christ based on the very beginning of verse 1: My dear brothers and sisters. He again reiterates and reinforces this thought more forcefully in verse 5: Listen to me, dear brothers and sisters.

James then goes on to talk about how they would give preferential treatment to the rich, while essentially scorning and reviling the poor. The custom in these times, in synagogues, and it would appear in some of the early churches as well was that you would Pay for your seat. The more money you had, the more you could afford to pay, the better seat you got. This is a practice that continued well through the middle ages I believe. Meanwhile, if you were poor, and could not afford to pay for your seat, you were lucky if you got to stand, where you were told, if you were unlucky, you would be told to sit on the floor.

Imagine if you will, coming into church, you have been out of work for an extended period, as many in our church are, and being told by the ushers, that the seats were for those who could pay for them. And that since you weren't working, you could go sit in the back of the sanctuary on the floor. You couldn't see the leading elder very well, you may not be able to hear well (thankfully we have a great sound setup) but you definitely wouldn't be able to see Bernie as he preached. Thankfully you would have the benefit of our large screens that we project to, but depending on how far back you are you might have to turn around and look at the one in the back. Now imagine that when you had to do this, everyone staring at you, knowing that you weren't good enough, or rich enough to afford a seat. 

This is what the apostle was addressing. He then goes on to say that God has chosen the poor to be the one's who are rich in faith. Have you ever known anyone who was poor? I have. In fact, I have known many...Growing up for many years, my family was dirt poor. This principle that he is touching on has practical applications in the secular arena as well as the Christian one. I was tormented and bullied, verbally and physically from Kindergarten until about the 7th or 8th grade. At one time, in Kindergarten, I was actually thrown in a dumpster by older kids, this would have been an elementary school, and in the 70's, when I grew up, I would have been 4, maybe 5. And the elementary schools back then went to about grade 5. So I was thrown in a dumpster by these older kids, under the guise of "Hey kid, do you want to come play with us?" what Kindergartner wouldn't be thrilled to be asked if he wanted to come play with older kids if given the choice? They then proceeded, after throwing me in the dumpster, to throw eggs at me, and dump syrup on me as well as pouring milk and other food stuffs on me. 

In 5th grade, now in another Town, Norton actually, One day at the bus stop (about 100 feet, if that) from my house, the tormenting continued. One day, I was beat up at the bus stop, again because we were poor. One fat kid sat on me, while 4 or 5 others beat the excuse the expression, "hell" out of me. The bus came along, and they all got on the bus, and the bus driver asked if I was coming to school that day, as blood is pouring out of my nose, and my clothes are in tatters... I waved her off, and struggled to get home that hundred feet and made it in the door where I promptly passed out on the floor from inhaling blood. I stopped breathing.

Right around the end of the 6th grade, my family moved back to Easton, another affluent community. Again, I was teased, and tormented. One day in the seventh or 8th grade, a "Zoof" or "Stoner" we called them, stood on his desk in Math class and kicked me in the head repeatedly with his steel toed boots on. When the Math teacher came in, and I told her, she told me that she didn't believe me, to go sit down. I was constantly preyed upon by the older kids, and in Easton at the time, Junior High school meant 7th, 8th, and 9th grade since the high school was too small to house the 9th graders.

One day, I had had enough. I went into one of the boy's rooms to use the bathroom, and a kid who was in the same grade as me happened to be in there, and this particular kid, while never bullying me, was friends with many of those who did. I cornered him, and smashed his head 30-40 times into the concrete wall to send a message. Although I deeply regret doing this, the message was well received. My days of being bullied were over.

I share these stories not for pity, but to give you greater insight into what the Apostle was talking about, and perhaps give you a greater glimpse into me and my life, and the things that have made me into the man I am today.

James then goes on to talk about the Law of God, at this point, He is speaking to the Mosaic Law, the 10 commandments. He says that if you favor some people over others, you are sinning. You are then guilty of breaking the Law, not only the 10 commandments, but we see that in Verse 8, he talks about the second great commandment that Christ gave us, "Love your neighbor as yourself", so you are breaking the law here that Christ gave us as well. You cannot keep all of the law, no one can, if we could, we wouldn't need Christ. He says that to keep all of the law, but break one, it is just as though you had broken them all. He also speaks to how one sin is no better, or worse than another sin, he uses the examples of Adultery and Murder in verse 11. So if you murder someone, but do not commit adultery, you have still broken the law. Sin is SIN, it doesn't matter if that sin is stealing, or lying, or murder, adultery, and I must be careful here, I don't want to offend you, my brothers in Christ, but homosexuality. In the church, we tend to treat sexual sin, especially the sins of homosexuality or lesbianism as those they are a special class of sin. They aren't. They are sin, just like lust, adultery, etc. 

James concludes this part of the passage by saying that whatever we say, or whatever we do, we must remember that we will be judged by the law that sets us free. This is the law of the new covenant, the law of Christ, Grace and Mercy. Remember that Grace is when God gives us something that we don't deserve, Mercy is when God doesn't give us what we do deserve. This is the reason Christ came to earth as a man, lived a sinless life, was crucified to show us both the ultimate act of Grace and Mercy, and show us how we are to act towards all others, then he resurrected, showing us that even when our physical bodies are no more, we will live again in the resurrection. Christ has told us that He will someday return again, and I believe whole heartedly that He will return in the clouds as He has said. Do you? Then let's begin to show it, but practicing Grace and Mercy with others, it isn't easy to do, but the more you practice it, the better you will get. And let's continue to show the world what it means to be followers of Jesus the Christ by not giving anyone preferential treatment over another. This is how we can act out the things that James and ultimately Christ has called us to do!

Next week, Part Two entitled: Faith without Good Deeds

Be Well, and continue to view life through the lens of the Scripture, it really is our guidebook to this life!
-Michael

Praying Over Your Children in the New Year

The Article herein is the Intellectual Propery of: HarperCollins Christian Publishing sent to me via FaithGateway Family <newsletter@e.faithgateway.com> My comments will appear below the Article.

 Copyright © 2014 HarperCollins Christian Publishing, All Rights Reserved.
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Praying Over Your Children in the New Year by Whitney Lett  With the New Year upon us, I begin to think about the things that I want to do in the next few months. Some of the ideas come quickly, and some require more thought. But there is one consistent commitment I make each year and that is to grow closer to the One to whom I've given my life. In order to have a relationship with my Savior, it is important that I read the love story that He has written to us on a daily basis. It is also important that I talk with Him throughout my day. I do that through prayer and meditation. I’ve learned to bring before Him the big things and the little things. One of the biggest things in my life is my family. As a momma, I am constantly in prayer for my children. As a boy momma, I’m consistently storming the gates of heaven pleading for mercy for those crazy kiddos with whom He’s blessed me. While praying recently I found myself asking God to reveal to me exactly how I should be praying for these beloved boys of mine. He took me to the sixth chapter of Mathew where He was instructing the disciples how to pray. We commonly refer to this section as The Lord’s Prayer. After reading through it again I realized that although Christ was physically speaking to His twelve closest followers, He means for each of us to pray in the same way. So here is how I am praying for my boys: Our Father in heaven, Your name be honored as holy. Father, may my boys come to know You as their Savior. May they learn to honor Your name and understand that You alone are holy. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Father, I beg that Your return would be soon, but until that day I ask that Your will be carried out in the lives of my boys. No matter what that entails, no matter where that takes them, and no matter if it makes any sense to me at all, may Your will be done. Give us today our daily bread. Thank You for each and every provision that You make in our lives. Help my children to understand that not one thing comes to us that doesn’t pass through Your Providential hands. Even the very breath that gives us continued life comes from You. May we always be grateful. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. Thank You for the cancellation of our debts through the atoning death of Your Son. May my sons come to know the depth of that sacrifice that was given for them. May they also become men that know how to forgive and extend grace and love to those in their path. And do not bring us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. I know that evil abounds in this world, but I ask Your protection over my boys. May they come to know that though the thief comes to steal and destroy and that darkness is prevalent, You are more powerful than all the forces of evil. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. Father, I thank You and praise You for all that You are. May our family always bow before the great I AM. May we continually look forward to the day when we will be in Your very presence. It is in Your holy name that I pray, Amen. However you choose to pray for your children, just know that when you do this, it is a sweet fragrance to the Lord. He loves to talk to you about your children. He is there in the struggles and He’s also there celebrating each milestone with you. Praying over your children has a benefit that lasts long into adulthood. From personal experience I can tell you that there is nothing more comforting than knowing that my momma and daddy are praying over my me and my husband as we raise our boys. In order to pass on your love of prayer to your children I have a great book suggestion for you. Max Lucado and his wife Denalyn have just come out with a delightful children’s book called Lucado Treasury of Bedtime Prayers: Prayers for Bedtime and Every Time of Day! Max and Denalyn believe that prayer is the foundation of a believer’s life. They offer this book as a wonderful resource to teach your children how to talk to God.  * * * What better way to begin the New Year? Making a commitment to Read the Holy Scriptures and pray for our children and families? As a long time believer, I have struggled to get into the Word on a daily basis, I still don't pray like I know that I should. Would you step out in faith and make a commitment with me to Our Father in Heaven to read His Word, and Pray daily for your families? It must be a deliberate thing. It doesn't matter when you do it, when you first get up, on your lunch break, before you go to bed, or better yet, when you get up, on your lunch break, and when you tuck the children in at night. A good prayer life is an important part of your Christian walk, as is daily reading of the Word. In fact, they are a great gift to give your family, as a legacy, something that you train your children to do, and as an active gift that you do. It is also a wonderful thing to be able to do together. This past Advent Season, I made a commitment to do nightly Advent readings from a booklet we got at our Church. It wasn't always easy. In fact, a few times, we fell behind, and had to play catch up, this tells me that I need to be more deliberate in it. At advent, it can be hard, because there are only two weeks in which to do this, it takes three weeks for something to become a habit, I hate using that word, because it has such a stigma associated with it. But there is great truth in it. That is why I am challenging myself, and you to commit to doing this so that by the time the Advent Season rolls around again I will be in the habit of doing this so that we don't fall behind. As to the scripture readings, I use both Our Daily Bread and Reading plans from YouVersion. These are very handy because you can share it with others which will encourage them to get into the habit as well as allow them to hold you accountable. It was great to see my children's eyes light up as we read through the scriptures and commentary readings. It was heartwarming to me to see their heads bowed and hands folded as we prayed together the simple prayers at the end of the readings. My Dad did these sort of things when we were growing up, and as I grew older, I fell into the routine of being too busy to continue in them. I realize now that I wasted a lot of time that I could have been learning more about the word, talking to my God and King, my Lord and Saviour. Doesn't he deserve that level of commitment from us after all as we see in Romans 5: 7-9 : Christ's Sacrifice for the Ungodly …7For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. 8But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 9Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. I feel like that warrants some commitment on my part, don't you? My brothers, we as men, are called to be the Spiritual leaders in our homes. We as men, in our society are not stepping up, myself included. Let's make the New Year that we do that. Let's not waste any more of our, or our family's valuable time, life is too short, and too precious a gift for us to let anyone be cast into the pit because we failed to do our part. God Bless you and keep you and yours in this New Year. -Michael

Warnings against consulting Mediums, Familiar Spirits, Necromancers, Tarot, Etc.

This is likely going to rub some people the wrong way, possibly even family members. But I really feel that it needs to be addressed. I am not sure if it will make any changes in behaviour in anyone who uses these types of "services" or not, but it is heavy on my heart just the same, and I believe that if the Lord is impressing it on my heart, it must be meant for someone.


Lev 20:6 ¶
And the soul that turneth after such as have familiar spirits, and after wizards, to go a whoring after them, I will even set my face against that soul, and will cut him off from among his people.


So if we break this down and look at it in the Hebrew, the word soul is translated: soul, self, life, creature, person, appetite, mind, living being, desire, emotion, passion, the living man. The word for turneth should be quite obvious, it means to turn, to look to, to consult. Familiar spirits translates ghost, spirit of a dead one. This can be done via card readings, through mediums, many ways, and in any way the scripture says that it is wrong. It says that God will set his face against the person who does this.


Lev 19:31 ¶
Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek after wizards, to be defiled by them: I am the LORD your God.

God tells us here that we aren't to regard, or look to them that have or consult familiar spirits. That by doing so we make ourselves unclean or defile ourselves.


Deu 18:10
There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch,

Deu 18:11
Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer.

Deu 18:12
For all that do these things are an abomination unto the LORD: and because of these abominations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee.

Deu 18:13
Thou shalt be perfect with the LORD thy God

Again, we can see that God considers these things an abomination, and that HE will turn his face from you. He actually also says that HE will drive those that practice this, or consult those who practice this out of the Nation of Israel. There are several other places in the Old Testament where God condemns these practices, but before anyone can say, that is Old Testament Law, let's look at some Scripture in the New Testament where the same things are addressed. 

Act 16:16-19  16 And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying: 17 The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most high God, which shew unto us the way of salvation. 18 And this did she many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour. 19 And when her masters saw that the hope of their gains was gone, they caught Paul and Silas, and drew [them] into the marketplace unto the rulers,

So here we see that the Apostle Paul cast spirits of Diviniation (Fortune Telling) out of a woman. This woman brought her masters much gain (riches) by soothsaying, (again, telling the future). When her masters saw what Paul and Silas had done, they caught them and took them into the marketplace unto the rulers, presumably to stand trial.

Our next section that we are looking at we can see that the scripture tells us that we are not to believe every spirit. That we are test the spirits, whether they are of God. This would seem to imply that spirits do have the ability to communicate, but that there are spirits that have information that our loved ones may have had, but can be evil spirits. God does not reveal things to us by spirits of our deceased. He may send an angel in the guise of a loved one, that may comfort us, it is important to remember that this is a comforting angel, and is not the same as a spirit that you would consult at a medium. The test as to whether a spirit is of God, or of evil is that spirits that are not of God cannot confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh.

1Jo 4:1-3 KJV 1 Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. 2 Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: 3 And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that [spirit] of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.

So here you can see several instances both from the Old and New Testaments with warnings about consulting Mediums, Familiar Spirits, Necromancers (those who talk to the dead), Fortune Telling of any kind. As Christians we are not to do these things. We are to cut ourselves off from them as God does, and keep them out of our homes. When we do not do this, we are inviting those spirits into our houses, and into our lives to influence us. Is it any wonder that we live in such chaos when we bring these things into our homes and lives? Brothers and Sisters, cleanse your house of these things if you have them. Like the idols of old, using these things is serving satan, worshiping satan, there is no such thing as a good witch, or a white witch. Any power derived from witchcraft and these other types of things can only come from one source, satan.

Peace to you all  in the name of Jesus the Christ.

-Michael

The Christmas Season is once again upon us.

In my Our Daily Bread devoition this morning the Scripture reference was 1 Timothy 6:6-10 King James Version (KJV) (more of my thoughts on this below)

6 But godliness with contentment is great gain.
7 For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.
8 And having food and raiment let us be therewith content.
9 But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition.
10 For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.themselves with many griefs.

It amazes me that so many of my devotionals lately have been on contentment lately, as I have mentioned to you guys in the past, contentment is a discipline that I learned while I was wrongfully incarcerated. I firmly believe that God allowed me to go through that trial to teach me how to be content where ever I was, in whatever the situation that I found myself in as well as to strengthen my family relationships and prepare us both for future trials and to assist others who had been through or were going through similar trials, even also to reach out to those who were in prison, and likely belonged there. It seems appropriate to me that God would continue to impress this on our hearts, especially during this time of year when we are bombarded with advertising for the "Christmas Season". Think about it, our children are bombarded with ads for every kind of toy and video game out there, we are bombarded with ads for new cars, new furniture we should treat ourselves to. But so many, yes, even Christians forget the reason that we celebrate this blessed time of year. We give gifts to others in remembrance of the wonderful gift that was given to us. Don't get me wrong, I am not saying that it is wrong to receive gifts, or even to want nice things, the idea though is to not let those things become idols by allowing them to displace the things in our hearts that God wants our hearts to be filled with, Love for Him, Love for our families, Love for others. Those are the things that endure. 
Matthew 24:35 "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away." This includes all earthly possessions.

 
The things that won't pass away are found in 1 Corinthians 13
Love1 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. 

2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. 

3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.
4 Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, 5 Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; 

6 Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; 

7 Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.
8 Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away. 

9 For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. 

10 But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away. 

11 When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.
12 For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known. 

13 And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.
Love endures all. Remember that this Christmas Season!