When Nothing You Do Brings a Profit

“Bodily exercise profits little, but godliness is profitable unto all gain.” 1 Timothy 4:8

This verse is one of my most favorite verses. There are many more powerful and sacred verses that I love but, this one is important to me because it is so practical.

It speaks to the business of making a profit. For most businesses, one of their main objectives is this very same goal. Making a profit as well as the degree to which that profit increases over time is a core objective. Profit, by definition, means ‘a financial gain, especially the difference between the amount earned and the amount spent in buying, operating, or producing something.’ It’s a benchmark of success and the increase and consistency of such are of paramount importance.

This verse relates this very concept towards everyday life. It compares said physical activities, such as the work we do, schooling, socializing, exercising and so on, and measures it against living godly. By this measure used, the profit would be achieved by one’s godly living, rather than the alternative.

So the question to you and me is this – Are you making a profit with your life from God’s perspective? How would you measure your level of godliness? Is it at a profitable level? Or are you making a loss or barely breaking even?

As long as today is still called  ‘TODAY’ and now still called ‘NOW,’ I believe we owe it to the CEO of our lives to assess where we are in our daily living. I believe this should be important above all other plans, agendas, and objectives.

For if only in this life a profit is to be made then a grave loss it would be if the eternity in Heaven thereafter was never attained.

I believe this is the most sacred, most life-changing and eternity-saving opportunity for each of us to measure our life against the call to live godly before men and God. It must be done today, and even more importantly, it must be done honestly, humbly and consistently.

Let us sincerely measure our worth before Him, humbly confess to Him where our failings exist and be willing to give Him the Lordship of our lives, so that we may truly be empowered by His Holy Spirit to live Holy and godly before all, for His Glory.

Who’s Your Idol?

Thou shalt have no other gods before Me.

Exodus 20:3

Since recently, I have fallen back into the hustle and bustles of life, which had begun to take precedence over my relationship and time with the Lord. In essence, I began to place other things before Him. An ‘idol’ is described by the Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary as being an object of extreme devotion. Many of us, inclusive of myself in ignorance, may claim to have no other god or idol taking the place of Jesus in our lives, but if we really are honest with ourselves, the truth maybe quite the opposite.

• It may be very possible for important relationships be it family, friends or intimate ones to become idolatrous.
• It may also be possible for reasonable things such as work and what we do in our free time/social lives to become idolatrous as well.
• Finally, it may very be our addictions, weaknesses and habits that point to the place where our idols reside.

In all honesty, I have struggled gravely in this area. I have a very passionate personality, which causes me to become easily addicted or committed to the tasks at hand. As such, my past idols have ranged from a life of partying, to sexual addictions, to playing video games, to my job and overall, myself. I have made my needs, my desires and ambitions to become the thing that I seek to satisfy the most whilst simultaneously neglecting my relationship with the Lord Jesus.

The sad truth is that these needs, desires and ambitions have been placed in me and in us all, to some extent, by Him. We all want to feel that sense of achievement, love, success and importance, and as such, those factors become our springboard into our idolatrous living. I imagine God’s confusion as He watches us run ahead of His guiding hand in pursuit of our own happiness and dreams which cannot be achieved without Him. We may have some semblance of the achievement, but without His peace, joy and fulfillment added, the attainment of these goals, lead to feelings of emptiness and frustrations.

I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, all is vanity and vexation of spirit.

Ecclesiastes 1:14

So, I prayed and humbled myself before God and asked Him to tear down every idol, addiction and unholy practice. I gave Him precedence over all things in my life and the lordship to decide how my days, decisions and needs should be prioritized and sought after. The results, have and will continue to be life-changing, both in this life and especially in the one to come. I pray that like so many have already done, that you will also decide TODAY; to give the Lord Jesus the reigns of your life and watch and see how He will take the good, the bad and the ugly and turn it into a life of honor, glory and splendor. I am praying for your victory! You will be victorious, in Jesus’s Name. Amen!

 

 

 

Hidden in Plain Sight

The man she wanted was filled with words of wisdom that stimulated her intellect and further established her confidence. He properly guided her to a success that she herself thought could never be possible.

His words were the honied-dew kind that would remove strength from knees. They were like a heated knife melting through butter; romantic and yet filled with respect that solidified her inner-beauty and self-worth.

He showed her who she really was, not the reflection in the mirror but the finished, refined and perfected product of who she could be and was made to be. It’s as if he parted the curtains of time of revealed who she would eventually become.

He was just a shadow of a greater Master, an Architect at work. He was a father reassuring her of his love. He was a mother, comforting her in her times of hurt. He was that best friend who could read her emotions beneath the smile. He was the spouse that was carved from all that would complete her and by which he too would be completed.

He was Jesus, reaching through every friend, family member and lover trying to get to you. Behind every good, every smile, every moment and even the pain;
Jesus was forever the lover who was behind the good that came.

All that she can and was ever made to be, could never be achieved, until to His love finally surrendered and bent the knee. His plan is perfect, pure and powerful and was designed even before her birth; the problem is that she now gives His praise to everything else which brings Him pure hurt.

 

18 Years After

18 years ago to this exact day a 16-year-old Jamaica College student went up to the front of a church in response to an altar call.

Little did he know how his life was going to be transformed. He neither knew 1 week later he would be filled with the Holy Spirit nor that 2 weeks after God would use him to heal someone and prophesy to a church.

All he knew that he was as sinful, cunning and evil as they came. On the surface, he was a seemingly decent young man, but deep down was a person that would weaken anyone’s relationship with the Lord.

From turning proper Christian-like girls to the most daring ambitious bad girls to influencing curious people to becoming the most hardcore partygoers.

How was he to know that Good Friday, would lead him to do the complete opposite of what he did previously.

Or that he would be a preacher on buses, a minister through social media, a mentor to a few, a full-time evangelist to a world that seems to be growing ever so further away from Jesus Christ.

Yet, here he is; 18 years after:

The road; a mess.
The walk; riddled with failure.
The struggles; many.
Those led to the Lord; around a thousand.
Greatest miracles; salvation and stage 4 cancer leukemia healing.
God; ever-present.
Fighting; always.
Loving; always.
His; always!
Humility; my number 1 ask of the Lord.

This is where I am after 18 years. Where will you be?

ALL or NOTHING

The Lord is not coming just for our:
¤ Tithe of 10%
¤ Day of Worship
¤ Few minutes of Prayer
¤ Random religious post
¤ Several respectable deeds

If we think He is, then we have been gravely deceived and immediate changes are recommended.

The Lord is coming for EVERYTHING!!!

He said to LOVE the LORD your GOD with ALL your HEART, ALL your SOUL & ALL your MIGHT; and finally, LOVE your NEIGHBOR as yourself (Luke 10:27).

He doesn’t want a portion, a day, an act, a moment. He wants ALL and in truth and in fact; deserves ALL.

That is:
¤ ALL our money
¤ ALL our energy
¤ ALL our talents
¤ ALL our focus
¤ ALL our attention
¤ ALL our affection
¤ ALL our minutes, days, weeks & years
¤ ALL our good, bad & ugly
¤ ALL our mess & messages
¤ ALL our sacrifices
¤ NO holding back
¤ NO reservation
¤ NO hesitation
¤ NO relenting

Then & ONLY then will we truly experience Ultimate Freedom & Victory in Jesus Christ.

Until that time, the devil will always have a bargaining chip; a tether by which he can reach us.

When we give it ALL up for Jesus, He will give it ALL up for us.

Faith Misplaced? A Serious Mistake

If you have made the mistake of using any other means for success, fame, power, health or wealth; other than to have placed it in Jesus Christ, you have not only been deceived and involved in the detestable sin of idolatry, but are also in danger of God’s wrath; as the wages of sin is?

This message is not one to be ignored, simply overlooked or disregarded. We have thrown away our faith that should have been placed in God, and decided to trust in self, trust in others, and some in groups and organizations some of which are even sworn to secrecy. God neither slumbers nor sleeps. Allegiance, that is, swearing to anything in heaven, on earth or under earth is from the devil himself as said by Jesus in Matthew 5:34-37. Be not deceived, for God is not mocked, what is sown shall be reaped.

Any other dependence other than God is a sin, point-blank. You should take this as a most sincere warning that if you continue on this path there will be certain and sudden destruction. God wants to be your source for all things and is able to provide all that you need that pertains to life and godliness. Yet, evading His plan and love will only be to find comfort in prepared path that leads only to eternal damnation.

There are not many who may love enough to be cut to the chase and tell you the plain truth as it is. As such, this is a letter of loving warning to all who take the time to read, and please, pass on to a friend, sister or brother. Place the entirety of your trust, life and being in God’s hands and watch Him do His best work in and through you. Amen!

Who Does Not Need Rest?

Rest according to the dictionary means to:
i. cease work or movement in order to relax, sleep, or recover strength.
ii. an instance or period of resting.
iii. an interval of silence of a specified duration.

What Does the Bible Say About Rest?
i. But they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; Isa. 40:31
ii. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. Ps. 23:2-3
iii. For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his. Heb. 4:10

Humans need rest, and without it we will most certainly die. It is also the most major component to health and fitness as well.

Every creature and even our machinery depends on periods of rest and without it, optimal performance will become diminished and later lead to serious malfunction.

Jesus’ death and resurrection was one that enabled us to be able to enter into His rest. Heaven is the final resting place, but the Lord wants for us to experience His rest while we are still here in this life.

He wants you to surrender your life to Him. For so long, we have been fighting our own battles, for success, for being upright people, for achieving a future for our family.

The worst part is that we have been doing it without any rest whatsoever, and if we continue will only continue to face diminishing returns along with failure, fears, insecurities, sadness, frustration and depression.

Jesus, has paved the path for you to finally rest and finally give Him the go ahead to fight and win these battles for you, whilst imparting the peace, the joy, contentment and great gain in all that you do.

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Matt. 11:28

A Message to the Deeply Rooted (continued):

Humility is –
+ the lowliness of spirit
+ the humbling of oneself
+ the denial of our flesh
+ considering the needs of others greater than our own
+ the brokenness of spirit
+ the utter dependence on God
+ the abolishing of all ‘self’ before God.

One may go to hell for doing all the wrong things and thus living sinfully which is pretty obvious.

But one may have done all the right acts, believed themselves to be a Christian and yet still find themselves in hell as well.

The key cause of this is PRIDE. This was the first sin to have ever been committed and was carried out by Lucifer, himself.

Thus, it goes without saying that this is his #1 play in all of humanity.

Pride is the reason many people reject Christ, why so many Christians are afraid to evangelize to their friends and so much more.

As such, it is of paramount importance that under the Holy Spirit’s empowerment, we examine our lives daily, so as to ascertain the motifs behind all our actions, decisions and so forth. The proper formation of this practice will not only curtail instances where pride raises its ugly head, but aid in safeguarding your salvation in Christ.

Each day pride has to be crucified along with lust of the eyes and flesh. I also suggest to make it your daily prayer for humility to be your #1 ask of the Lord.

For you who wish to dig even deeper, we may go one step further and afflict our souls with fasting, as this is the most potent form of humbling ourselves before God.

Fasting along with daily examining of ourselves are two integral practices that I believe each true believer in the Body of Christ needs to be doing.

This along with the expected prayer and reading of God’s Word of course.

I encourage you all as I do myself ” To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” Micah 6:8

 

A Message to the Deeply Rooted:

Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ Matthew 7:23

When your relationship with God is one-sided where you only seek Him for His benefits, beware!

It’s a slight yet most dangerous sin to crossover from worshipping God for who He is versus for what He has.

You could be anointed as the above followers were and able to perform miracles, yet still find yourself in hell.

Their sin was a sin of spiritual idolatry, where they were doing the work of the Lord whilst neglecting their intimacy and relationship with Him.

They forgot their First Love.

Is your ministry causing you to compromise your sacred times with the Lord? If so, take heed.

God gave me the key to ensure we don’t make this grave error – where we do mighty exploits for the Lord only to be banished from His presence.

The Ultimate Key is Humility.

Tune into the next few messages in the coming days as we delve into Humility; one of the major keys for us as Christians.

Question of Great Importance

And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul?
Matthew 16:26

Is it one more party? One more carnival season?

Is it worth one more day for immoral sex?

What is worth the risk of losing heaven for the purpose of gaining hell?

Is sin so great, so fulfilling and so good that you choose to risk today for a possible eternal suffering and sorrow tomorrow?

Is there a dollar value that will make hell worth the remorse and extremities that you will have to endure?

What has sin offered you that God, Himself couldn’t give you along with His promise of Heaven?

Is there a person, event, place or thing worth the value of your soul and the unbearable weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth?

The laws of life and probability dictate that each of us will all live our last day on earth.

Today, is the last day for at least 150,000 people world-wide.

Is it that you’re hoping that just before you die you’ll have the opportunity to give your life to the Lord.

Is that a risk that you are surely willing to take?

The Road to Hell is Paved with Good Intentions.

In other words, there are a lot of people in hell now that intended to give God their lives but, it was cut short before they could.

Risk not an eternity of suffering, for sin that was never fulfilling.

Rather, use plain logic and understand that serving Jesus is not only the most beneficial to life on earth, but also, eternity.