Author: Joshua Maynard

Consider the scriptures

#6 – Proverbs 18:21

Proverbs 18:21

Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.

This scripture reminds us how powerful our words are. Our words shape the way that we think and act. By the power of our words, we either speak life or death.
Our words may seem innocent, but as we discuss things in our day to day lives, what meaning do our words have? What emotions drive those words? I’m reminded of this when my kids are disobedient. Am I encouraging them to change their behavior in a positive way with my words or am I simply venting my frustration and discouraging them?
In my day-to-day work, are the words I speak positive or negative? Have I become accustomed to pointing out possible negative outcomes so often that I am considered a negative person by coworkers?
When we look at the translation of this scripture in Hebrew, the word “power” is translated as “hand”. Specifically, it can mean a literal hand. It can also refer to putting something into the hand or out of the hand or putting something under someone else’s authority or being delivered from the control of another.
With our words, we are giving ourselves either over to fear or faith. We are giving ourselves under the control of good or evil. We are speaking deliverance or destruction.
Our words may only last what appears to be an insignificant moment when compared to the millions of moments we live, but our words exist long after they are spoken. Our words continue on in the minds of others and have a strong influence on our own ways of thinking and believing as well.
It is hard to think of these consequences and control our tongue in the heat of the moment.
We have to spend time with God and prepare our hearts so that the reactions that drive our words are positive even in the darkest of circumstances. We train and retrain ourselves as we renew our minds in time spent focused on God.
The second part of this scripture says, “they that love it will eat the fruit thereof.”
Here, “eat” means exactly what is says, to “consume”. We consume what we say and is has an effect on both us and everything around us.
This has sometimes been interpreted to mean that if you love to talk, you will eat your words.
We will consume the fruit; the results produced by our words, both edifying and idle and we either take in life or we take in death.
There isn’t any grey area here.
Every word is categorized into either life or death. Likewise, we cannot dabble in darkness while proclaiming to be in the light and expect good results. Let us make sure that we guard our hearts first by spending time with God and then we will be better prepared to speak life in our day-to-day conversations.

Consider the scriptures

#5 – Psalms‬ ‭3‬:‭4‬

Psalms‬ ‭3‬:‭4‬

“But you, Lord, are a shield around me; my glory, you keep my head high.”

This is a wonderful statement David made in his time of trouble.
Psalms chapter 3’s title is “A Psalm of David when he fled from his son Absalom.
Amnon, also a son of David had raped his own sister and then cast her away afterwards. Absalom was furious about this and so was David, but David didn’t do anything about it. If the stories were chronological, this would have occurred after David had fallen for Bathsheba and arranged for her husband to die in battle by sending him to the front lines.
What was David to do? Could he punish Amnon for sexual immorality, when David’s own sexual immorality had led to the arranged killing of Uriah?
How many lives did David’s sin destroy?
Could he choose to do nothing and keep this issue within the family and silently sweep it under the rug? David did choose to stay silent.
He chose not to render a punishment on Amnon.
Absalom held an event and invited Amnon. Absalom’s servants killed Amnon and David’s other sons fled.
In 2 Samuel, we read that David mourned for his son every day. Yet it was Absalom he mourned for, not Amnon.
You see, David didn’t kill Amnon, but after time had passed, he was comforted that Amnon was gone.
David wouldn’t kill his own son, but eventually was consoled that someone else had rendered the justice that he would not or could not have done.
It was Absalom that David longed to reconcile with.
David sent Joab to bring Absalom back to Jerusalem. After a few years, Absalom started rallying the people behind him and lied to them saying that the King would not see them, and they would not get justice.
This back story brings us to Psalm 3:4 where David is running from Absalom and his followers.
David writes, “my glory”. The word “glory” here can refer to brilliant light or splendor. Yet let us not forget that David is saying “my glory”; “my brilliant light”; “my honor”; “my respect”; “my reputation”; “my renown”; “my purity”.
This is the same David that prayed “create in me a clean heart”. David knew he had no purity aside from whatever God placed in him.
When his own son was trying to overthrow him and take the throne and the kingdom, David was reminding himself that his worth was found in what God thinks about him and not what man thinks about him.
“You keep my head high” means that God had shown David honor by giving him victory over his enemies.
David could hold his head high because he had no shame or disgrace.
If David had shame or disgrace over not dealing justice for the sins of Amnon, that shame was now gone.
He could have his head raised up by God.
It is important to note that David did not want his enemies dead, and he wanted to reconcile with Absalom. He loved Absalom and all of his children, no matter what they did.
David was on the run for his life. He had essentially arranged to bring Absalom back to live in Jerusalem with the kindest of intentions and yet Absalom used the time to plot against him.
I won’t detail the ending to this story, but Absalom died rather horribly and not by David’s order.
Despite all that happened, David still loved his enemies, even to a fault perhaps.
I think this is an early example of how Christ loves the sinner and how much our Heavenly Father loves all of His children.

Consider the scriptures

#4 – John‬ ‭10‬:‭7‬-‭9

John‬ ‭10‬:‭7‬-‭9 NASB

“So Jesus said to them again, “Truly, truly I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All those who came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.”

This parable has always fascinated me. There is so much to unpack from these scriptures and so much to talk about.
The listeners didn’t understand the parable before this that started in John 10:1, so Jesus gave them another parable.
“Truly truly” begins many of Christ’s sayings. Emphatically, He wants you to believe what He is saying and pay close attention.
“I am the door of the sheep.” Jesus is the gate or the entrance. “Sheep” refers to “little sheep”.
“All who came before me are thieves and robbers”. On the surface, these words appear interchangeable in English, but the word robbers here in Greek could also be interpreted as “booty”, or valuable stolen goods which are taken by the thief.
The sheep did not listen to them.
This implies that the sheep needed to listen to another voice than the shepherd in order for the thieves to be able to steal from them.
“Did not listen” can also be interpreted to mean that they refrained from hearing; could not hear. Indeed, in scriptures prior, Jesus explains that the sheep know the shepherd’s voice and do not know the voice of strangers.
They run away from the stranger.
“if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.”
“Go in and out” implies the freedom to enter and also the freedom to exit.
It also means entering in to rest and going out to spread or reach the world.
Finding “pasture” is a concept that relates closely to the theme of this parable involving sheep, the shepherd and the gate, but there is more to this word.
Pasture also can mean “that which is assigned”, law, laws or principles.
If we are entering through Christ, who is our gate, into laws and principles that He has assigned for us, then we can infer that the thieves who came before Christ, came bearing another law.
They came to entice us somewhere else where we did not have freedom and to put us under a set of principles that would steal from us.
Many Christians know the scripture that comes after verse 9.
John 10:10 tells us that “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”
Finding pasture through Jesus is resting in the law of love and then going out to spread the good News to others. We know our Shepherd’s voice.
We cannot and must not listen to the voice of those who seek to take away our freedom in Christ and allow the thief to steal, kill and destroy what God has given us.

Consider the scriptures

#3 – Galatians‬ ‭2‬‬:‭20‬

Galatians‬ ‭2‬‬:‭20‬ ‭NASB

Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.

We’ve all heard this scripture probably in one form or another.
“We live by faith in the Son of God” in the Greek is “in” or “by”, so we live because of our faith in the Son of God, and we live by the means of that faith.
His faith, not ours. We only have faith because His faith has been given to us. We cannot boast in our own faith.
Faith had to come to us first by the hearing of the Gospel.
Jesus loved us and have Himself up for us.
“Loved” here more accurately means that we are His “beloved”.
“Giving Himself up for us” also means to turn Himself over, surrender, or taken into custody.
Think about what that means.
Jesus was arrested, but he gave Himself over to be taken into custody.
Then it says, “He gave Himself up for me.”
In the Greek this actually means on behalf of me or for the sake of me.
He did these things because He loves us so much. We are His beloved.
In His death on the cross it is as if we died with Him, and by His faith, we are given life to live each day.

Consider the scriptures

#2 – Romans 1:16–17

Romans 1:16–17 (NASB 95)

16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “But the righteous man shall live by faith.”

Several Bible translations have this verse saying the righteousness of God is revealed “from faith TO faith”. What does that really mean?
I like the ESV version which says, “from faith FOR faith”.
This is why having several Bible versions available can be helpful to understanding scripture.
But what does “from faith FOR faith” mean?
FROM, meaning “derived”, or “out of” among other things.
The first “faith” in this sentence in Greek is a Genitive Noun. This denotes that this “faith” has ownership. It is possessed by someone. In this case, God is the source of this faith.
Now we turn to the second “faith” in this sentence.
“FOR faith”. FOR means “into”, a point that has been reached or entered, or the “result.”
This is an Accusative Noun in Greek showing action or that the noun is being acted upon.
To paraphrase these scriptures with this understanding, “the Gospel is the power of God for salvation that reveals righteousness out of God’s faith into a resulting faith that is actively growing in us.”
Then the scripture goes on to say, “as it is written, the righteous shall live by faith.”
The word faith here is also Genitive showing ownership. One might assume that we are now the owners of this faith, but we do not live by our faith. We live by the faith of the Son of God.
There is this dynamic that we need to actively renew our faith in God by the power of His own faith that is imparted to us when we hear the Good News of the Gospel.
This is not a one-time event, but something that we must continue in, lest we find our faith shipwrecked or gone.
We don’t need to be saved again, and we are already made righteous, but by hearing the Good News of the Gospel, it gives us the power to live by His faith.
Continue in God’s truth to have overcoming power.

Consider the scriptures

#1 – 1 Peter 5:8-9

1 Peter‬ ‭5‬:‭8‬-‭9‬ KJV

“Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. So resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brothers and sisters who are in the world.”

“Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. So resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brothers and sisters who are in the world.” – ‭‭1 Peter‬ ‭5‬:‭8‬-‭9‬
1 Peter 5:8 is often quoted by preachers and teachers, but rarely have I ever heard verse 9 included.
They want you to be aware that the devil is always on the prowl looking for someone to devour but they don’t give you the next verse which is a key to overcoming.
It’s saying to be firm in your faith.
How can we be firm in our faith?
1 Peter 5:8 and 5:9 isn’t where this lesson begins.
Look at 1 Peter 5:6-7.
“Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, so that He may exalt you at the proper time, having cast all your anxiety on Him, because He cares about you.”
‭‭1 Peter‬ ‭5‬:‭6‬-‭7‬
Being humble before God is not some outward act of humbleness for all men to see. It isn’t even about serving God.
It is you acknowledging that you can do nothing apart from Him and recognizing that you can be free of worry and anxiety because you are assured that Jesus cares about you.
We can do nothing without Jesus, but we are never without Jesus because He is always with us.
We have the fullness of God’s Spirit in us.
Being sober in spirit means being sober of mind. While sober in cultural context could mean to abstain from drinking wine, this is about having a peace in your mind that stabilizes your mind from cares, worries and anxieties.
You can have a firmness of faith to resist the devil when you acknowledge the source of your faith is the Son of God Himself. We live by His faith.

30 Days of Truth

Day 1 – no condemnation

Romans 8:1-2 KJV

[1] There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. [2] For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.

There is NOW no Condemnation!

RIGHT NOW, in your life, people may condemn you. They may disagree with your decisions; they may take offense with you; they may condemn you because you believe differently than them; they may condemn you because you act differently than them; they may condemn you just because they are cowards and bullies but know this: GOD does not condemn you!

You might ask, “Doesn’t it say there is NOW no condemnation? What about in the future, or even after death?”

You’re covered.

John 5:24 KJV

[24] Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.

You therefore NOW have no condemnation, and you shall not COME INTO condemnation in the future!

This obviously only applies to those who are IN CHRIST.

So how do you know you are IN CRIST? Read John 5:24 again.

Believe it, receive it and you are IN CHRIST.

Now stop listening to and believing the condemning words of the haters around you and start believing what God says about you.

30 Days of Truth

Day 2 – god is not the accuser

1 John 3:20-21 KJV

[20] For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things. [21] Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God.

God knows that our heart/soul/mind will condemn us, but what God believes about us is greater than what we believe about ourselves.

When we condemn ourselves, we don’t have confidence towards God.

God ALWAYS has confidence in us and towards us. His confidence in us never changes and He always believes the best about us and who we are in Him.

Unfortunately, we don’t always have that same confidence in ourselves, and that has a direct effect on our confidence (faith) towards God.

Here we come to the root of an issue: If you don’t believe in yourself, and who you are in Christ, then you can’t have full confidence in the hope of Christ either; specifically, you don’t have confidence in what God says about you.

How do you put a stop to self-condemnation?

2 Corinthians 10:4-5 KJV

[4] (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) [5] Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;

Your imagination can be a powerful force for good in your life, but when it creates condemnation for yourself, it’s time to cast it down, and bring those thoughts into the obedience of Christ.

Your words are powerful and when you use them to speak against condemning thoughts, your heart will respond. Trying to merely “think good thoughts” to stop condemning thoughts doesn’t work.

You must use your words to combat these imaginations that exalt themselves above the knowledge of God, who you are in Him, and how God believes about you!

Don’t let yourself be condemned, because God isn’t condemning you for anything!

Satan is the accuser, not God!

30 Days of Truth

Day 3 – free from the law

Romans 10:3-4 KJV

[3] For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. [4] For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.

So many Christians today that preach grace to be saved, also tend to try and establish their own righteousness by preaching law to “stay” saved.

“Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believes”. We find two issues here: 1. They obviously don’t believe they are righteous according to the grace of God, or believe wholly on Jesus to save them. (His blood must not be good enough, compared with their sin.)

2. Preaching law doesn’t control sin. It directly causes more sin to manifest itself!

1 Corinthians 15:56 KJV

[56] The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.

When you believe on Jesus, and believe that He makes you righteous, you stop trying to make yourself righteous enough to earn His love, earn His gifts, earn His good will toward you.

Do you believe today in Jesus?

Do you truly believe He makes you righteous and free from sin?

Then you are also free from the law.

Freedom from the law isn’t the freedom to live any way you please with no consequences.

Freedom from the law is being obedient to the law of the spirit which is life, and that law IS LOVE!

Love yourself, love on others, and most importantly, receive God’s love for you!

30 Days of Truth

Day 4 – we are one with him

Ephesians 2:5-6 KJV

[5] Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) [6] And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:

For the born again believer in Christ, we exist in our temporal mortal bodies, while our spirit is connected at all times to God in Heaven.

We are one with Him.

It seems to follow logic that if we are one with God, our character and actions should always be aligned with God’s character and actions.

Unfortunately, that is not the case.

The issue is in our soul/mind.

Over the course of our lives, we have built up bricks of unbelief, cinder blocks of lies, and sandbags of excuses, lest any truth of God’s Word try to escape from our spirit and manifest in our flesh.

We are exceedingly dedicated to trying to live out our Christian existence while simultaneously being dedicated to blocking what God wants to do in us and through us.

Despite all that I’ve just said, we must realize that from God’s perspective, it is finished.

Our perspective is limited to our knowledge of time and the passage of time, but God is timeless and exists beyond the limitations of our understanding.

From God’s perspective, we are ALREADY seated with Christ in heavenly places, and we will indeed BE seated with Him when our mortal bodies pass away.

This connection to the Almighty should encourage us and empower us to overcome.

No longer are we struggling to reach God; to get into God’s presence; to call down the Holy Spirit; to pray enough to move God into action.

We are connected to Him, and He to us.

There is nothing that we cannot do through Him, and nothing that He shouldn’t be able to do through us.

If you would just believe that right now, you are seated with Christ in heavenly places, how would it change your outlook on life?

How would it affect your faith?

This is the first step in renewing your mind, and not merely reading some random passages in your daily Bible study but realizing that you are connected to God all the time.

As we renew our mind daily, these walls we’ve built begin to fall. One by one, they come down, and faith opens the door of our soul to allow our spirit to flow out. Our spirit begins to change our character and our behavior to produce Christ-like fruit, and no longer are we bound by lies, excuses and unbelief.

30 Days of Truth

Day 5 – we are blessed

Ephesians 1:3 KJV

[3] Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:

Many Christians believe that this and other similar scriptures mean that we are blessed with every blessing written in the Bible, or that we are blessed with anything we could want in this world.

As good as that may sound, it isn’t the truth.

Fortunately, the truth is better than we can possibly imagine.

This scripture is a wonderful statement about our relationship with God.

Some who preach a prosperity-for-everyone message would disagree that we are not blessed to receive the best that this world offers us.

Make no mistake, I believe that God always wants the best things for us.

Yet, the best blessings are not those that this world offers, but those that God has already given us through Christ Jesus.

Spirit is spirit and Flesh is flesh.

When the scripture says we are blessed with all spiritual blessings, stop adding to it with things that it doesn’t say. We are not promised in this scripture to be blessed with a big-screen TV, blessed to win the lottery, blessed to get a Ferrari or blessed to get anything material, financial or anything else that is not spiritual.

I’m not saying that you cannot work hard and obtain material wealth or that God doesn’t prosper us.

I’m saying that God doesn’t promise material wealth in this scripture.

You cannot base a belief or a set of beliefs on a scripture that is taken out of context and expect God to honor your ignorance of His Word.

Now that I’ve talked about what we aren’t promised, what are some of the spiritual blessings that we ARE blessed with?

We are God’s children and have been adopted/grafted into the family of God.

We have been redeemed and are born again in the spiritual image of Christ.

Our sins and the sins of the world were dealt with once and for all at the cross.

We have received the down payment of our eternal inheritance which is the Holy Spirit.

We have been given the same power that raised Christ from the dead.

We have authority through the name of Jesus over all the power of Satan and his demons.

We have been promised an eternal salvation and everlasting life that begins as soon as we believe.

Material wealth is comfortable and nice, but it passes away.

What we have been promised and already blessed with will last forever.

While you can’t take spiritual blessings to the bank, you can surely bank on them.

God said it, and all you have to do is believe it and receive it.

30 Days of Truth

Day 6 – he lives so we live

Romans 10:9 KJV

[9] That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

Most Christians know this scripture, even if they don’t know the Book, Chapter or Verse reference that contains it.

Why is this belief essential to our new birth in Christ?

After all, before Christ died, some people were counted as being “saved”, but they could not become born again until after Christ sent the Holy Spirit.

These people did not need to believe that Christ would be raised from the dead in order to be saved, nor could they. They even found it difficult to believe that He would even allow Himself to die.

Are we held to a higher standard of belief than even the Apostles that witnessed these miraculous events firsthand?

I don’t believe that we are held to a higher standard of belief.

However, I do believe that the writer of Romans (and Hebrews, for that matter) wanted to impart a critical aspect of understanding the Object of our faith, so that our joy could be “made full”.

Without believing that God could raise His own Son from the dead, we are left believing in a God that left Jesus in the grave.

If we can’t believe that Christ rose from the dead, how can we believe in what He preached?

How can we have faith to believe in healing, or that Christ ever raised anyone else from the dead?

How can we even believe in His sinless life or His virgin birth?

When Christ died, our sin died with Him. It’s gone. It is forgiven and forgotten.

Because He lives, we can live eternally as well. We can be assured that He is not rotting in the grave like everyone else, but alive and giving life eternal to all that call upon Him.

The same God that raised Him from the dead, has given us the same power inside our born-again spirits.

If God never raised Christ up from the dead, then we have no power, no hope and no promise of eternal life.

I believe that He raised Christ from the dead. I choose to believe in our God of miracles.

Do you believe?

30 Days of Truth

Day 7 – sin is not counted

1 John 3:4 KJV

[4] Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.

Romans 5:13 KJV

[13] (For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law.

Sin is the transgression of the Law.

Where there is no Law, there is no imputing of sin.

We have no law, except for whatever law we make for ourselves that rejects faith in Christ.

People often confuse their individual sinful actions and behaviors with rejecting God, but they are two distinctly different things.

Jesus took care of all our individual sins at the cross, and they are both forgiven and forgotten.

Rejecting God isn’t a sin, it is just a seriously poor choice.

If our sins are taken care of, why do we continue to sin? Is it even considered “sin” if we aren’t under the law?

Paul talked about elsewhere in Romans that our flesh wars against our born-again spirit, and that sinful actions persist in the flesh, even though we delight in doing what is Godly and right in our spirit. This was not the image of a man that was perfect and holy in action, but a man that consistently failed to live up to the righteousness that longed to be expressed in him.

As long as we live, we will fail to be perfect.

Just because we are not under the law, doesn’t mean that transgressing the law is no longer considered sinful. Sin is anything that is not of faith. This means that our faith should always be in Christ and His once-for-all sacrifice for sin, no matter how we mess up. When we condemn ourselves and put guilt on ourselves, we are not placing our faith in Christ. Our flesh is not Holy and won’t be as long as we are on Earth. The sanctification of our flesh is a progressive experience.

The important thing to remember about anything that we call “sin”, is that God already forgave it and forgot it before we ever committed it.

Our individual sins are not counted against us.

God only asks that we accept the free gift of salvation through Christ Jesus, and He will gladly give us of His own Spirit to strengthen our resolve against the sinful tendencies within our flesh.

30 Days of Truth

Day 8 – relationship over ministry

If we study the Word, there is nothing that tells us that all believers were called to preach, or minister, or build congregations, or proselyte or anything but to let God love them and love others through them.

The modern church has assumed that the “great commission” applies to all of us, and yet evangelism has failed to do what it claims to do.

Christians are more powerless than ever, rotting in fruitless religious organizations that suck their emotions, spirits and finances dry.

People are “guilted” into ministry service that only serves their self-serving leadership.

One of best things you can do, as either a new or seasoned believer on Christ, is to seek God for His plan for your life.

People may try to tell you God’s plan for your life, but they can’t.

If they say that they can, they are a liar.

You aren’t being “tested” by God to give your “testimony” later.

There are people serving in ministry that have no business being in ministry.

There are self-proclaimed “prophets of God” that are reinforcing tired religious traditions and pronouncing negative, damaging curses upon people.

2 Peter 1:10 KJV

[10] Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall:

Service in ministry is good, if that is your calling. Be sure of your calling!

Relationship with God is all He really wants.

30 Days of Truth

Day 9 – be not sin-conscious

Hebrews 10:1-3 KJV

[1] For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect. [2] For then would they not have ceased to be offered? because that the worshippers once purged should have had no more conscience of sins. [3] But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance again made of sins every year.

This is a long portion of scripture to start off this article, but I believe it is critically important to discuss.

Every year, the High Priest would enter into the Holy of Holies in the Tabernacle or Temple to make the sacrifice for sins. But the sacrifice made every year could never take away sins. On the contrary, it REMINDED people of their sins.

Notice that the sacrifice doesn’t remind God about their sins, it is speaking about their conscience of their sins.

The remembrance of sins is one of the most harmful things that we Christian’s deal with today.

Do you see from these scriptures that once sin was purged and done away with by the sacrifice of Christ, that we should have had no more conscience concerning our sins?

God has already said that under the New Covenant that He would remember our sins and iniquities no more!!

The reason we deal with the remembrance of our sins is because both people and our own conscience constantly remind us of what we have done wrong.

People cannot easily forget, but God CAN forget, and He DOES forget.

He FORGIVES and he FORGETS!

We cannot control how other people remind us of our sins and mistakes, but because Christ’s righteous nature lives inside our born-again spirit, we can control our own conscience.

In order to have of conscience of sins, we must not remind ourselves of our mistakes but look towards God who has already forgiven and forgotten them.

We must renew our mind daily and remind ourselves of the righteousness we are by Christ Jesus! Not as a vain ritual, but because we deserve to be uplifted, encouraged and strengthened by God’s Word about us!

If your conscience reminds you of the sins, you’ve committed and condemns you, speak against it with your words!

Your words are powerful, and when you tell your conscience what God has done on your behalf in Christ Jesus and remind yourself of what Christ has done in your spirit, your conscience will quiet down and gradually fall in line with truth.

Words can overcome thought, and truth can overcome wrong thinking.

So, faith comes by hearing the Word of God.

30 Days of Truth

Day 10 – counselor not prosecutor

Hebrews 8:12 KJV

[12] For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.

Under the New Covenant, God has chosen to forget our sins and iniquities and not count them against us. All of them!

It is as if they haven’t happened and are not happening now and will not happen, ever!

If we look at this scripture more closely, we find that it covers everything. “Sins” are evil actions that violate divine law, and “iniquities” are evil behavioral patterns and thoughts.

Thoughts and actions are all covered by the sacrifice of Christ.

Matthew 5:28 KJV

[28] But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.

Jesus left no room for our boasting in keeping the law.

It doesn’t matter if we never actually act on our thoughts.

From God’s perspective, sins are not mere actions that we perform in the flesh but can also include iniquities of the heart that are acted upon in the realm of our spirit.

This is the depths of what man has been saved from; Not only our sinful acts, but our sinful nature and thoughts, including freedom from the guilt and condemnation associated with them.

We have never been capable of keeping the law in our actions, much less keeping it in the inner thoughts of our hearts.

Evil thoughts and negative emotions sometimes consume us, and even when they don’t, we can be filled with guilt and condemnation for even having those kinds of thoughts in the first place.

There is no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus!

Christ has sent us the Holy Spirit to strengthen us and help us to overcome wrong thoughts and actions that are not Godly.

The Holy Spirit doesn’t condemn us, convict us or punish us when we sin. He doesn’t take away things from us, put sickness on us or curse us.

He is our counselor, not a prosecutor!

He doesn’t take or salvation from us or fail to fellowship with us.

He gently reminds us of our righteousness by Christ Jesus.

He corrects our wrong thinking through the Word of God as we allow Him to.

Anything negative that is attributed to the work of the Holy Spirit is contrary to what the Bible says. He convicts the world of the sin of not believing on Jesus, but He convicts believers of their righteousness through faith in Jesus.

The next time you entertain an evil thought, place your trust in Christ, place your thoughts on His Word and allow the Holy Spirit to change your thinking patterns, and your actions will change with them.

30 Days of Truth

Day 11 – god wants you well

Matthew 8:16-17 KJV

[16] When the even was come, they brought unto him many that were possessed with devils: and he cast out the spirits with his word, and healed all that were sick: [17] That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses.

Jesus made the way for our physical healing, even before He went to the whipping post or the cross.

God’s willingness to heal was actually pre-New Covenant!

Jesus healed everyone that came to Him!

Jesus healed sinners!

No one was righteous.

It is commonly believed that Jesus healed these people so that they would spread the news of Him and the Kingdom of God, but there is no evidence of such a motive.

In fact, Jesus specifically told some of the people that He healed NOT to talk about their healing with others.

Some people today believe that God allows sickness to come upon us so that we can learn to have faith under pressure. Yet Jesus never put sickness on anyone.

Some today believe that God allows people to be sick so that when they are healed, they will have a testimony to preach about.

Again, Jesus never told anyone that their healing was for a testimony.

Why do we have to try and give sickness a divine purpose?

Why do we have to try and give divine healing an ulterior motive?

Why do we have to misinterpret Jesus and His actions and create doctrines that are untrue?

Can we not just accept that God wants us healed?

Can we not just believe that God would never make us sick or use sickness?

God’s willingness to heal has no hidden motive.

God loves us so much that He wants our bodies to be healed from sicknesses and diseases ALWAYS!

God does not use sickness and healing as teaching tools or for manipulation.

God healed us when we didn’t deserve healing.

Don’t ever believe that you are not being healed because you aren’t doing everything right.

God healed people that were doing everything wrong.

God wants us well, and it isn’t so that we will work for Him or have a testimony.

God wants us well because He loves us so much.

30 Days of Truth

Day 12 – focus on christ

Romans 2:14 KJV

[14] For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves:

Romans makes it clear that all people, under the law or otherwise are judged. No one is exempt, and no one has partiality with God.

Romans 2:14 teaches that the Gentiles have the law of God, (that is, the essential capacity for understanding right from wrong) written into their very nature.

A person’s mind either accuses or excuses their thoughts and actions.

The human conscience is bent towards self-condemnation, even when we are not condemned by God or by others.

Yet, despite our propensity to condemn ourselves, there is hope!

When we see our weakness in our flesh and focus on giving into that weakness, we will continue in it.

When we focus on Christ and the things of God, reminding ourselves (daily) how loved, perfect and holy we are to God, our weaknesses will transform into the strength to overcome.

Our self-condemnation can be turned into an unshakable confidence toward God, as we focus on and reveal His nature within us.

30 Days of Truth

Day 13 – renew your mind

Ephesians 4:22-25 KJV

[22] That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; [23] And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; [24] And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. [25] Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another.

“Renewing our mind daily.”

Perhaps you’ve heard this phrase before.

But what does it really mean?

You may read your daily scripture, or daily chapters (if you’re on a year-long Bible reading plan), but maybe you don’t find yourself changing all that much.

It isn’t “renewing your mind” to simply “read” scripture.

It isn’t even “renewing your mind” to hear the scripture.

“Renewing your mind” is about choosing daily to appropriate every good truth that God believes about you.

“Renewing your mind” is about changing your focus and your attention off the things that are remnants of who you were before and focusing on who you are now in Christ’s nature.

“Renewing your mind” is about choosing to outwardly express the character and personage of Christ living in you, instead of expressing an old sinful nature that is dead and gone.

Reading and listening to the Bible is important, useful and strengthening.

Hearing from the Holy Spirit living in you, and expressing His nature daily is life changing.

Don’t just read words on a page.

Renew your mind.

30 Days of Truth

Day 14 – heart over help

Romans 12:1 KJV

[1] I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

This scripture has been used by religion to teach that we are all expected to serve God in some capacity as our “reasonable service.”

Yet that is not exactly what this scripture is saying.

Paul is laying out the framework for how our conversion in Christ should change us. He is not ordering all believers to pick a form of service.

Teaching that we must all serve in a church or organization of ministry is destructive. Not all believers are called to such a service.

Not all are called to be pastors or teachers or evangelists, and these and other administrations are more than the sum of education or what can be taught.

Such administrations must be a calling of God on a person’s life.

The call of God upon every believer on Christ is to have relationship with the Father. Anything else is secondary.

God would rather have your heart than your service. Your heart is more important than your “help”.

If you do serve, be sure of your calling.

No man can tell you what God has called you to do. Only God can tell you what He has called you to do.

Every believer can love others and show God’s love to others.

Every believer can represent Christ in their day-to-day living.

Their life is their pulpit and the world around them is their congregation.

Is that not a “reasonable service”?

30 Days of Truth

Day 15 – comfortable being uncomfortable

Matthew 8:32-34 KJV

[32] And he said unto them, Go. And when they were come out, they went into the herd of swine: and, behold, the whole herd of swine ran violently down a steep place into the sea, and perished in the waters. [33] And they that kept them fled, and went their ways into the city, and told every thing, and what was befallen to the possessed of the devils. [34] And, behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus: and when they saw him, they besought him that he would depart out of their coasts.

When Jesus encounters two demon-possessed people, the demons ask to be be cast out into a herd of pigs.

When the demons enter into the pigs, the pigs run into the sea and drown.

When the keepers of the pigs tell those in the city what has happened, the whole city comes out to meet Jesus.

They don’t thank Him for healing the two demon-possessed people.

They don’t ask Him to heal their sick.

They aren’t grateful that the demon-possessed people are no longer scaring folks and blocking free travel.

They wanted Jesus to leave!

They wanted Him gone!

It’s important to note that the people of this region were Gentiles, not Jews, and they were well-rooted in their pagan beliefs.

For all we know, these demon-possessed men served a twisted purpose in the community.

The people of this region had become comfortable with their demons.

They were comfortable in their sins.

People can become comfortable with being uncomfortable.

We learn from another Gospel account of this story that the pigs numbered about two thousand.

These pigs were their food and their livelihood, and Jesus had indirectly caused them to drown themselves in the sea.

Their meat was spoiled, their hides were ruined, and their value was now worthless!

Thanks Jesus. (Sarcasm)

Like these people, Christians today also sometimes reject miracles.

They have a need, and they claim to want the miraculous, and they may even beg God for a miracle.

When the miracle comes, they don’t want any part of it.

They make excuses and reject the hand that heals.

They have become comfortable with sin or sickness.

Their sins or sickness has intruded upon the very thoughts of their heart and to them, it represents part of their identity. To them, it is part of who they are, and as much as they hate their sins/sickness, they can no more be rid of it than they could rid themselves of a body part.

Yet despite how entrenched this false belief is in who they are, it is truly FALSE BELIEF.

False belief can be overcome with truth, but a person must be willing to let go of their belief in WHO THEY ARE, WHO THEY ARE NOT, and BELIEVE in WHO CHRIST IS. Simply believing in who THEY are is not going to help their faith, because that points their focus back to themselves, their own sins, sicknesses or shortcomings.

We must have a firm faith and belief in who CHRIST IS and believe that who we are is the same as Him.

We are ONE with Him, plus nothing else.

Old things are passed away!

All things have become NEW!

30 Days of Truth

Day 16 – guard your heart

Proverbs 23:7 KJV

[7] For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee.

The literally translated scripture says, “For as he has measured in his soul, so is he.”

Our outward actions are a direct reflection of our spiritual condition.

This scripture is particularly a warning that some people may outwardly appear to be kind to you, but in their heart, they are thinking evil against you.

The Hebrew word for “thinks/measures” is Shā’ar.

Strongs Concordance gives this word an interesting meaning of “gate/gate keeper”.

The soul is truly the “gate” of our spirits. Nothing passes out of our spirit without first passing through the “gate” of our soul.

This word also means to “estimate, calculate, reckon or measure”.

Let’s look at the scripture again, in light of this expanded definition.

“To the measure, the estimate or the calculation that a man believes in his heart/soul/mind, so will that belief be manifest through the gate of his soul.”

Jesus said that there is nothing that enters into a man that defiles him. It is what comes out of him that defiles him.

This is confirmed by Proverbs 4:23 which says, “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.”

If the heart/soul is our “gate” between the outside world, our bodies and our spirit.

Because everything about us is contained in and filtered through it, I hope you can see how important it is to “guard” it.

We aren’t guarding our born-again spirit, which cannot be defiled, but our heart/soul, which is our will, memories, thoughts and emotions.

The heart/soul must be renewed by the Holy Spirit continually in order for our behavior and actions to change.

We guard our heart so that who we are in Christ is released from our spirit into our lives, and the corruption of this world with all of its negative and harmful experiences and beliefs will not continue to block and defile the “gate” of our soul.

30 Days of Truth

Day 17 – choose christ or sin

Genesis 4:7 KJV

[7] If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.

Cain was angry and he was about to make the biggest mistake of his life and kill his brother.

God came to Cain, asked him why he was angry and reminded him that if he would do what was right, God would find him acceptable as well. God told Cain that sin was waiting for the opportunity to take hold of him, but that Cain was to be master over sin.

Here, Sin is referred to as “he”.

“Sin” has a name, and that name is Satan.

Just as God IS Love, Satan IS Sin.

Satan is the author of sin, and when a person commits sin, they are acting under the influence of Satan’s nature and spirit.

God wasn’t angry with Cain, and God wasn’t even upset that Cain was angry. God was concerned because Cain was close to allowing sin to take over.

The double-meaning of this scripture is not only to say that “sin” was waiting at the door for Cain, but that also a “sin-offering” was at the door for Cain.

Cain could have chosen to bring the proper sin-offering like his brother, and he could have had mastery over sin’s desire for him.

Jesus has crucified our sin in His flesh and has raised us up to be sinless in our born-again spirit.

We don’t have to try and master sin, Jesus dealt with sin once and for all and placed it under His feet.

That doesn’t mean that our actions can’t be sinfully inspired, it just means that sin has lost its power over us.

So why do Christians continue to act sinfully?

We have been slaves to a sinful nature, and deep in our soul, we don’t know any other way to be.

We have to allow God’s word to each of us to live according to Christ’s nature in us, and not according to old or new habits of sin and it’s desire for us.

Ultimately, God’s standard of love is to be our guideline for everything we do.

Unconditional love keeps no record of sin.

God keeps no record of our sins, but He graciously compels us and empowers us to live free of sin.

We CAN choose to let Christ live through us, or we can choose to live according to sin. Sin leads to death.

God wants us to choose Life and continue choosing Life every day in everything we say and do.

30 Days of Truth

Day 18 – unforgiveness

Mark 11:25-26 KJV

[25] And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. [26] But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses.

These and similar scriptures have been used by religion to teach that if we have any unforgiveness towards anyone, we aren’t forgiven by God for our own sins.

Yet most Christians that have been told that they have unforgiveness by others, don’t necessarily have unforgiveness.

An unwillingness to associate with those that have severely hurt us is not unforgiveness.

An unwillingness to trust someone again that has lost our trust is not unforgiveness.

Unforgiveness is when we should have compassion towards another person’s error or weakness, but instead have no compassion or understanding for them.

Did you know that when someone hurts you, they are showing weakness?

It takes energy to get angry or to hurt someone else, but the stronger person is the one who forgives.

God is the source of our strength!

He gives us the strength to forgive.

Because we have been forgiven, we should have forgiveness for others.

God has forgiven the sins of the entire world, and He is not counting then against us. This scripture was written before the New Covenant was established, and we have the Holy Spirit as our assurance of God’s love for us.

Does this assurance of salvation mean that we can have unforgiveness and get away with it?

Like any sin, we never truly get away with it.

There are consequences to every sin. Some of those consequences lead to physical death. Others lead to less-permanent consequences.

God has not promised to take away the consequences of our sins while we are on the Earth, but He does assure us that we are forgiven.

It is easy to talk about forgiveness until you are actually faced with having to forgive someone.

How do you know of you have forgiven them?

None of us “earned” God’s love or forgiveness.

Neither can anyone “earn” our forgiveness.

If you cannot have compassion for someone that has hurt you, then you have not completely forgiven them.

What kind of compassion?

The kind that longs for them to see who they can be in Christ.

The kind that longs for them to understand how righteous they can be in Christ.

The kind that wouldn’t wish anything bad to happen to them. (I’m not talking about man’s justice for broken laws. We all must bear the consequences of laws that we break.) Yet we shouldn’t want people to suffer, receive some greater punishment from God or for anything evil to come upon them, including death.

Did you expect me to say that we should want them to be repaid for what they’ve done?

That is not compassion, and unfortunately, that is what many Christians are taught.

According to God, all of us have fallen short of His grace.

Yet God’s love reached down and saw us in our sin and had compassion for us.

He had compassion for us when were at our worst, not at our best.

Forgiveness is not just a one-time choice. We must forgive and forgive and forgive and forgive….

Jesus said that we must forgive our brother even 70 times 7!

That is 490 times!

Are you keeping score of those who offend you? God isn’t.

God isn’t repaying people for hurting you with judgment, because Christ died for their sins!

When you won’t forgive someone, you should know that God isn’t on “your side”.

Unforgiveness hurts YOU more than anyone else.

Yet, unforgiveness can create a condition in your heart that causes you to respond to those around you in negative ways, even when they aren’t the person that you are upset with.

Unforgiveness can become a root from which “bitter waters” flow in our soul, poisoning us and all those around is that we interact with.

God wants “living waters” to flow from us to others.

Forgiveness is already finished in Christ, but for us, it is a choice we must make.

You might say, “I could never forgive that person for what they’ve done to me”.

You say that you “can’t forgive them”, but God already has forgiven them.

Saying that you “can’t” forgive someone is not true. You CAN forgive, but you choose not to.

Your unforgiveness doesn’t hurt them, and it doesn’t hurt God, but it causes damage in your own soul.

Sometimes, when we won’t forgive, we are not really angry with the other person at all. We are angry at God and ourselves.

We must be willing to forgive ourselves and also realize that God never needs to be forgiven, since He did not cause the issue.

God doesn’t command us to trust those that have proven themselves untrustworthy to us.

God DOES command us to love one another as He has loved us.

John 15:12 KJV

[12] This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.

Forgiveness isn’t easy.

It can take time, but don’t let it poison your soul into bitterness.

Choose to be stronger than those that have hurt you.

If it seems too difficult to forgive, ask God to give you the strength.

Let His love and His righteousness build in your heart and leave no room for unforgiveness.

30 Days of Truth

Day 19 – life not death

Matthew 8:16 KJV

[16] When the even was come, they brought unto him many that were possessed with devils: and he cast out the spirits with his word, and healed all that were sick:

Matthew 12:15 KJV

[15] …and he healed them all;

Luke 6:19 KJV

[19] …and healed them all.

Jesus HEALED THEM ALL!

He has given us the same power that raised Him from the dead!

How can we say that God doesn’t heal?

How can we believe that God doesn’t want us well?

A popular song on the radio says, “What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise”

How can we believe this?

Is our God not better than Satan?

Jesus said in John 10:10, “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.”

Jesus came that we might have life, and not just life, but ABUNDANT LIFE!

Jesus came to bring us life that overflows out of us to others.

Life that leaves no room for sickness.

Life that is more than enough.

God can give us a way out of tragedies, but God doesn’t cause them.

God can give us grace to deal with the issues of life, but God doesn’t want us to have those issues.

God is not involved in the business of death.

God is in the LIFE business.

Repeat after me:

Satan and sin are Death.

Jesus is LIFE and LIFE more ABUNDANTLY!

Let us not confuse these truths any longer.

God does not always prevent evil from afflicting us. It isn’t because He doesn’t love us, it is because we were given dominion over the Earth and WE ALLOWED Satan to take it from us.

Evil prevails where good people do nothing to stop it.

We must be vigilant, because Satan wants to take our lives.

God wants us to live long and fruitful lives and so He has provided for our physical healing in Christ.

He has provided for our leadership by the Holy Spirit.

God has provided for everything we need to not only survive, but to thrive. But WE have to choose LIFE.

If we believe that God allowed trouble to come to us, or that He intentionally and purposefully brought trouble to us, then we cannot have faith in Him to be the solution.

I saw a bundle package in the store that contained both glue and hand wipes together. The glue necessitated the wipes to clean up its mess.

Just like that bundle, Christians tend to believe that God is bundling tragedy and pain with blessing and healing. That’s like a doctor that breaks your arm and then offers to heal it.

God doesn’t tempt us with sin, and He doesn’t test us.

Life brings about tests which our faith must overcome.

Why do we believe that there must be some “higher purpose” to tragedy?

Why must we believe that God has a plan in both our sicknesses and in our death?

It may be comforting to believe that God is in control of everything that happens on the Earth, but that is a lie of Satan.

If God were in control, millions of Jews wouldn’t have died at the hands of the Nazi’s.

God isn’t a murderer.

If God were in control, journalists and foreigners wouldn’t be getting beheaded in faraway countries by religious extremists.

God is not in control of everything, and He doesn’t cause the pain and suffering and death in this world!

I’ve heard it said by some that they believe God allowed them to go through hardship so they would have a testimony.

I don’t know about you, but I don’t need to be drug addict, a criminal, a victim, a sick or crippled person to HAVE a testimony.

I don’t believe for one second that God “allows” or causes people to go through hardship for a later “testimony”.

God is not the twisted or perverted God that most Christians believe that He is.

Frankly, we should be ashamed for believing that God has any part in evil, when He rejoices in righteousness and expects us to do no less.

God wants us to be more like Him in our beliefs and actions, not believe that He is more like us and Satan.

If you are believing for a healing, keep believing, because God wants you well!

Jesus healed everyone, and He did His Father’s will!

God wants us to live to proclaim His goodness, not to suffer for some “greater purpose”.

30 Days of Truth

Day 20 – faith connects

Acts 5:15-16 KJV

[15] Insomuch that they brought forth the sick into the streets, and laid them on beds and couches, that at the least the shadow of Peter passing by might overshadow some of them. [16] There came also a multitude out of the cities round about unto Jerusalem, bringing sick folks, and them which were vexed with unclean spirits: and they were healed every one.

The Apostles were baptized in the Holy Spirit and had received the same power that raised Jesus from the dead.

As believers, we have that same power inside of us!

People had such faith for healing that they believed that if Peter’s shadow would touch them, they would be healed.

Does this mean that Peter’s shadow had some healing ability?

I don’t believe so.

Neither do I believe that “prayer cloths” or “anointing oil” have any inherent spiritual healing ability.

Yet in several places in scripture, we see examples like these, of people making a “connection” by faith.

There are religious movements today that seek to take away some of these “points of connection” that people use to express their faith.

While sound doctrine must be taught so that people understand that these things are not “required” to receive anything from God, we must be careful not to shipwreck their faith by taking away their ability to “express” their faith or make a “faith connection”.

Let me give you an example:

There is a growing movement that teaches people that “Jesus” is not “Yeshua’s” real name, so we must stop using the name “Jesus” and pray only in the name of Yeshua.

The name of Jesus, which is the Latin form of the Greek name Lēsous, is the name by which many have learned to call our Lord and Saviour. It is the name that is a “connection point” for their faith.

If you tell them that they are wrong to pray in Jesus’ name or that Jesus isn’t the real name of their Saviour, you destroy a connection point for their faith.

It isn’t as simple as someone changing the meaning of a word in their mind.

The name of Jesus is rooted in their soul, and it is Spirit.

If they had learned Yeshua from the beginning, Yeshua would have been a dominating connection point of their faith.

We must not shipwreck someone’s faith!

If we seed “doubt” instead of “faith”, and tear down the connection points of faith, their faith can become shipwrecked.

These points of connection are not necessarily required for our faith to operate, but they are required to the extent that we “believe” they are required.

The release of our faith must pass through the filter of our mind and our beliefs can definitely get in the way of our faith operating the way that it should.

This is why we must renew our minds daily in the Word of God.

We must not let the problems of our daily living, and our negative experiences block the expression of our faith.

This begs the question; do we allow those who are ignorant of the truth to continue in empty or ritualistic expressions of faith?

We MUST teach the truth.

We CANNOT waver on truth.

Nevertheless, we must have discernment and rightly divide the Word of God.

It is important to show people that their faith is more than these expressions, without pulling the foundation of their faith out from under them.

I pray in the name of Jesus.

I don’t know Him by any other name.

30 Days of Truth

Day 21 – scriptures are for you

2 Timothy 3:15-17 KJV

[15] And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. [16] All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: [17] That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.

Many people quote verse 16 or verse 16 and 17, but rarely present these scriptures in context.

Verse 15 says, “And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures”.

Timothy is referring to those that were raised up in the teachings of the Old Testament.

It can only be guessed at how much, if any, of the New Testament scripture was available in Timothy’s time.

Timothy is reminding these people of what they have learned from their childhood, and then in verse 17, he concludes with the results of what the scriptures can do in a person’s life.

Verse 17 days, “That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.”

It says, “That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.”

I don’t know about you, but I don’t SEE myself as perfect.

I don’t FEEL perfect.

But thanks be to God that FAITH goes beyond what I can SEE or FEEL.

Hebrews 11:1 KJV

[1] Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Faith is evidence of things that are not seen.

By faith, we believe that in our spirit we ARE PERFECT, just as Christ IS PERFECT.

We reject the lies that say that Christ’s work was not completed for us or in us.

While Timothy was preaching to those that were raised from childhood in the scriptures of the Old Testament, many people today do not have the benefit of knowing the scriptures or being raised in church.

We are blessed to have the New Testament scriptures, because in them, we can see the fully-realized plan of God’s salvation in Christ Jesus.

The Old Testament testified of the Messiah to come, but in the New Testament, BELIEVERS have become the testimony of Jesus.

Even Timothy didn’t have this benefit.

Timothy says that the scriptures are “able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith…”

Did you know that having more “scripture” doesn’t equal “more faith”?

You might say, “If I can just learn more of the Bible, I’ll be stronger in the faith.” That isn’t true.

There are inherent benefits to knowing more scripture and understanding more about God, but “more scripture” doesn’t mean “more faith.”

There are those that have had less scriptures to read than any of us, and yet they have unshakable faith in who God is and who they are in Christ Jesus.

If a person had no Bible but heard about John 3:16 and believed what it said, it would be enough to save their soul.

You see, it has never been about just the words of scripture on paper.

It has always been about faith and revelation of the Holy Spirit.

Verse 16 days, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:”

This does not mean that believers should use scripture to indoctrinate, reprove, correct or instruct others. If you are called to teach, then teaching sound doctrine and instruction is required, but some believers have taken this scripture and used it as an excuse to manipulate and control others. Some believers have used this scripture to accuse and “correct” other believers when that was never the intention of this scripture.

Scripture is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that THE MAN of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.

The scriptures are given to indoctrinate YOU, to reprove YOU, to correct YOU, to instruct YOU, so that YOU in God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works!

People will often quote this and other scriptures as an excuse to try and speak correction into someone else’s life or to try and reprove someone else’s words or behavior.

Many times, this correction and reproof is wrong, and not according to the Spirit of God or the spirit of what these scriptures are communicating.

It isn’t that we are not supposed to reprove the works of darkness.

It isn’t that if we see our fellow brother in Christ stumbling in sin that we aren’t supposed to try and correct their path.

It is the manipulative, selfish nature of such correction and reproof in the body of Christ that must not be tolerated.

Using scriptures to defend and support your viewpoint when God requires no such defense from you.

People on Facebook and in churches are doing this sort of thing every day, sowing division and doubt instead of unity and faith.

The scriptures plainly speak and defend themselves.

You are merely defending your own ego.

Using scriptures to condemn those in sin is wrong, as though it is up to you to decide who should go to heaven.

These practices must stop.

The scriptures are given for YOU!

The scriptures are given for YOU to grow and mature and be fully equipped in this life for every good work!

30 Days of Truth

Day 22 – reconciled and restored

Colossians 1:19-22 KJV

[19] For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell; [20] And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say , whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven. [21] And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled [22] In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight:

Reconciliation is defined as the “restoration of friendly relations”.

Like most interactions with other people, true reconciliation requires both an offer and a response to that offer in order for any change to take place in a relationship.

If I offend you and you offer me forgiveness and I choose not to accept it, it doesn’t change the fact that I am forgiven of the offense.

However, it does change how I relate to you.

Forgiveness has the potential benefit of healing both the person that has been offended and the offender as well, but it only makes a change in the relationship if the offender accepts the forgiveness.

It doesn’t mean that the forgiver won’t continue to extend love and kindness to the offender.

God reconciled all things to Himself by the peace offering of Christ’s blood. Reconciliation was required for the entire world or there could be no peace and no chance of receiving salvation.

It has been taught that reconciliation only happens when we believe in Jesus, but reconciliation was a prerequisite to even receiving the offer of God’s salvation towards us.

The offer of reconciliation is fully accomplished on God’s end of the relationship because of what Christ already did and not because of anything we have to do (including belief).

Our belief in Christ does not cause God to extend reconciliation to us, it was extended to the whole world when Christ died on the cross.

Now it is up to us to accept God’s offer of reconciliation.

This acceptance of reconciliation changes how we relate to God, NOT how God relates to us.

Verses 21 and 22 say, “And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight:”

I should make note here that verse 23 adds a requirement for being presented holy and unblameable and unreproveable to God, and it says: “If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister;”

We must remain grounded in faith and not move away from the Gospel. The promise and hope of the Gospel cannot be taken from us, but we can move away from it and reject it.

Referring back now to verses 21 and 22: Our wicked works (sins) alienate us from God in our minds, but not in reality.

This mindset of alienation convinces us that we are enemies of God and unfit for reconciliation, but that is not what the Gospel teaches and not what Jesus demonstrated when He walked the Earth in human flesh.

Under the Old Covenant there was a real separation of relationship from God because of sin, but we are not under the Old Covenant and neither has anyone on Earth been under the Old Covenant since Jesus died on the cross.

Our mind can deceive us into believing that God does not love us because we’ve sinned, or that He has grown weary of our mistakes and sin-inspired behavior, but that is not true.

Our conscience condemns us, but God does not.

Our conscience is subject to the truth of God’s Word, but only as much as we renew our mind by focusing on God’s love and forgiveness and who we are in Christ.

You CAN live free of self-condemnation!

30 Days of Truth

Day 23 – imitate god, not people

Have you ever heard someone cough in church, and it seems like several more people have to cough after them?

Have you ever seen someone yawn, or even heard them yawn over the phone and it makes you feel like yawning as well?

Have your ever followed the car in front of you, even when they don’t stay in the lane?

The human response system is designed to follow the examples of others, even to a fault.

Yet this response system is how we learn to walk, talk, read, write and believe.

However, beliefs about God and who we are in Christ must be individually chosen for ourselves and not based on the faith, experiences or beliefs of others.

Being so conditioned from birth to follow the example of others, it is not easy to think for ourselves in matters of faith.

As a result, the illusion of believing that we think for ourselves is everywhere in Christianity today.

Many Christians believe certain doctrines because they are convinced of them by others, but not because they have studied the Bible and have allowed the Holy Spirit to teach them.

They are so blinded by the illusion of their uniquely individual faith, that convincing them of the need to study what they believe and question the consensus of others is not easy.

Unfortunately, it is not possible to know who YOU are IN Christ, if all you know about Christ is what others have told you.

Job made this mistake, and he believed things about God that weren’t true.

Job 1:21 KJV

[21] And said, Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.”

On the surface, this scripture sounds like truth, except that the Lord took absolutely nothing away from Job.

Satan took everything that Job had, and yet Job attributed his loss to God.

God didn’t allow Satan to take from Job. Everything that Job had was within Satan’s dominion upon the Earth.

It was only by God’s mercy that Satan was commanded not to take Job’s life, because even Job’s life was under Satan’s dominion.

Job was wrong in accusing the Lord of taking away from Him, and he admitted to saying such things in ignorance.

Job 42:3-5 KJV

[3] Who is he that hideth counsel without knowledge? therefore have I uttered that I understood not; things too wonderful for me, which I knew not. [4] Hear, I beseech thee, and I will speak: I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me. [5] I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee.

Job only knew of what others had said about God, and so he had formed his own opinions of God’s character and nature without actually knowing God personally.

Christians are still making this mistake, even today!

We form our own opinions about who God is, how He operates and even who He loves and doesn’t love.

How arrogant for us to believe that God withholds His love from sinners, or to pass judgment on those for whom Christ died.

Without knowing God for ourselves and seeking out the truth of His nature and character, it is easy to form beliefs and attitudes that are not Christ-like.

Studying the Word of God can require study materials, and not everyone can afford those materials. Does this mean that they are incapable of understanding who they are in Christ?

No! It means that those who have the materials and understanding of scripture must share what they have learned and teach!

We don’t need preachers that repeat old traditions and surface-level interpretations of scripture.

We need teachers of the Word who will reveal the truth about God with inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

If you have learned about who God is and who you are in Christ, there is someone that God has placed in your path that you can share with.

For some of you, God has given you a larger sphere of influence, and you have the potential of leading many people into true discipleship with Christ.

If you don’t know of anyone that you can share your faith with, ask God to open up an opportunity for you, and then listen to the voice of the Lord to guide you into that opportunity.

Remember that you can’t give what you don’t have.

It is important that you know who you are in Christ before you try and tell others who they can be in Christ.

If you don’t have a revelation of who God is and who you are in Christ, you will be like Job, uttering words that you don’t understand, and talking about a God that you truly don’t know for yourself.

30 Days of Truth

Day 24 – words shape our destiny

Proverbs 18:21 KJV

[21] Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.

Many Christians and even non-Christians are coming to the realization that our words shape our lives and our destiny more than we ever thought possible.

When God gave us the ability to “speak”, He gave us the ability to create. He spoke everything into existence.

Our ability to create with our voice is not limited to the physical realm, but it enables us to create in the spiritual realm as well.

English is one of the most commonly spoken languages on Earth.

Yet many of us fail to realize that conversational and cultural usage of the English language has picked up many negative terms and phrases along the way.

So much negativity has been introduced into our everyday use of English that some of us speak negativity all the time without even realizing it.

Here are some examples of negative phrases we use:

“I’m afraid…”

Have you ever been waiting on hold when calling a company and they said, “I’m afraid all the operators are busy”?

Admitting that you are afraid can be considered a strength, but we overuse this term so much, that we have convinced ourselves that the word has no serious meaning anymore. That simply isn’t true.

The Devil wants us to be afraid because in fear, faith cannot function.

“I’m afraid it won’t…”

Adding “it won’t” or “it can’t” to “I’m afraid” is even worse than using “I’m afraid” by itself because now you have taken a generally negative statement and have specifically attached it to a situation that you are facing. You are not only stating that you are “afraid”, but now you are admitting unbelief.

How can your faith work?

“I fear…”

This one is used less commonly, but it is no better than “I’m afraid”.

“I don’t think…”

Does what you “think” change the truth of God’s Word?

Does it change the facts, or does it only affect how you interpret truth?

We don’t always think correctly, and we don’t always think truthfully, but God’s promises are true and He is always faithful, even when we “don’t think” we are good enough or that He will be faithful to us.

“There is no way…”

If you really believe there is “no way”, then there may not be.

We should always be willing to accept alternatives and believe that we could be wrong.

We don’t always see every angle of a situation, and there may be other options that we haven’t considered or refuse to consider out of arrogance or pride.

“I’ll never…”

You should never say “you’ll never”. There is always a chance you will…

This is especially true in matters of sin. Self-condemnation comes when we say we’ll never sin and then we inevitably give into it again.

“I can’t…”

The Bible says that you can do all things through Christ!

There is no “I can’t” in a believer’s vocabulary.

“I don’t believe…”

“I can’t believe…”

These are some of the most dangerous and damaging statements that a believer can make. You are canceling your faith out with these statements of unbelief.

When we use these kinds of statements, we are watering down their meanings in our minds.

We become accustomed to negativity, and we lose sight of the truth.

Practice avoiding these statements, and if you must use one, make sure you are using it in the proper context, without negating your faith and belief in the matter.

Sometimes, when these statements are all that we can say in a particular situation, it is better to just remain silent. Death and life is in the power of our tongue.