Years ago I was working on my Master’s Degree.  One of the classes I took had me read a book called “Reaching Out” by Henri Nouwen.  Henri Nouwen was a Catholic priest and author.  The thing I appreciated most about Mr. Nouwen was his ability to bring things to our attention and offer it in such a way it causes the reader to step back and look at themselves.  In one portion of the book he began to talk about the topic of Hospitality.  We all think of hospitality in regards to inviting someone to our home and entertaining them.  It’s a choice we’ve made to allow someone we like to join us in our own personal and intimate setting.  Mr. Nouwen presents the definition of hospitality like this.  “Hospitality means primarily the creation of a free space where the stranger can enter and become a friend instead of an enemy [Notice he’s not classifying any specific type of person].  Hospitality is not to change people, but to offer them space where change can take place.  It is not to bring men and women over to our side, but to offer freedom not disturbed by dividing lines.  Hospitality is not a subtle invitation to adopt the life style of the host, but the gift of a chance for the guest to find his own.  This space then becomes a place where people can disarm themselves, to lay aside their occupations and preoccupations and to listen with attention and care to the voice speaking to their own center via the work of the Holy Spirit.”

As humans, we like to choose who we’re going to interact with based off their physical appearance, personality, race, similar backgrounds or any other number of things.  We give love but it tends to come with strings attached and given only to those we want to give it to.  If someone continues to act or present themselves in a way that benefits us, we will continue an interaction with them.  If it inconveniences us in some way, we choose to ignore or overlook that person from that point forward.  Matthew 22 finds Jesus speaking to a group of people.  When asked which is the greatest commandment verse 37 tells us, “Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’  This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’  If we are truly loving God with all our heart, soul, and mind [basically our entire being], our love for others will pour out freely to ourselves and those around regardless of who they are.  We will love them in spite of their past mistakes or their current situations.

Closing remarks and encouragement:  The goal isn’t to walk into every situation with intentions of changing those around us.  It’s about presenting ourselves as a safe place for others to experience the God in us and be led by the Holy Spirit to make a positive change for themselves.  Love doesn’t require us to condone a lifestyle or the personal choices someone has made—but love isn’t condemning them either—that’s not our job.  The Greek word used for neighbor (as Jesus used it in the above scripture) is defined as whomever we come in contact with.  Lets just love our neighbor to the best of our ability and allow God to do the work on the inside.

I pray you have a blessed week!!

As a society, we’ve always had this tendency to avoid people for one reason or another.  Anything that makes us uncomfortable can cause us to change our intended path out of a desire to simply circumvent dealing with certain situations.  It could be because of our dislike of a certain person.  Maybe we’re uncomfortable being around those that are different in some visible way (too short, too tall, too skinny, too fat, someone who is handicap, a person of another race/culture).  Maybe it’s because they have a strong and/or negative personality that we don’t care to be around.  If I’m being transparent, I’ve done it on numerous occasions.  It’s easier to avoid something than to deal with it, right?  Not really, but that’s the lie I’ve told myself.  Over the years, I have chosen to avoid certain people simply because I didn’t want to deal with the responsibility of righting a wrong, talking through an existing issue, or any number of reasons.  As a Christian (and a minister), I’m ashamed of those actions.  I have no excuse because I know better.  Regardless of how uncomfortable something may make me feel, it doesn’t give me an excuse to sidestep the road of reconciliation with someone, regardless of the circumstances.  Or even worse, choose not to minister to them in their moment of need.

If you look at the life of Jesus, He never left anything unsaid.  He dealt with issues head-on and fixed whatever was broken.  If someone was doing wrong, He didn’t point the finger of blame for His own personal gain.  He loved them through their wrongs and offered them another way– a better way.  Luke 19 tells us the story of a man of small stature who was a chief tax collector named Zacchaeus.  Most of us know him because of the little song we used to sing in Sunday School (you’re humming the tune in your head right now, aren’t you?  Ha, ha).  Tax collectors were viewed in those days as scoundrels and known to be crooked in their business dealings.  Rather than avoid the drama that surrounded him, Jesus sees him hanging in a tree and states, (vs 5) ““Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.”  During their time together, a change starts taking place in his heart.  In verses 8-10 he exclaims, ““Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.” Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham.  For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” Do you have enough Jesus in you to encourage a change in someone’s life?

Closing remarks and encouragement:  Rather than fall into the trap of doing what everyone else felt He should have done, Jesus chose to spend time with ole’ Zach and love on him for a little while.  That simple act made a huge difference.  Our opinions about others around us don’t matter in the grand scheme of things.  We can love the sinner without condoning the sin.  Isn’t that how God treats us?  What makes us think others aren’t worthy of the same treatment?  Rather than place ourselves in the judgment seat-which isn’t our job in the first place- lets choose to love other through their “stuff.”  I assure you, it will make a world of difference.

Recently, my cell phone battery died unexpectedly and I began to panic.  “What if someone calls and needs me…….what if someone sends an email that needs an immediate response…….what if……..”  After a few minutes of losing my mind over inability to use my phone, reality set in.  I remember my life before cell phones.  There was riding in the car in silence or choosing to listen to the radio.  While sitting in a church service, I didn’t have something on my side vibrating and screaming for my attention as I attempted to listen to the weekly sermon or enjoy a moment of worship.  To maintain relationships, I was required (and the other person involved) to set a date to spend time together face-to-face.  Don’t get me wrong, cell phones have yielded themselves as a great invention of the twentieth century–when used properly.  These cellular devices offer millions of uses at the press of a button. When my battery died I was forced to find an energy source to recharge it.  As I waited for the battery setting to change from red to green I found myself thinking, “THIS IS RIDICULOUS!”  What I viewed as a need really wasn’t a need at all.  It was more of a desire.  And that little piece of silicone and plastic had gained control of me, rather than the other way around.

Society has placed such an importance on these and other technological devices.  If these items were to become obsolete, our lives would still continue.  Maybe not as comfortably, but we would live.  John 15:5-8  “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.”  To charge a cell phone, you must have an energy source.  For the believer, God must become the Source of all we are.  Please don’t think I’m bashing cell phones.  I won’t be getting rid of mine any time soon.  Technological items are helpful and can be a wonderful addition to our lives– but we could survive without them.  If our batteries aren’t charged, we are nothing.  Apart from God, we’re helpless.  Like those devices I just spoke about, we must purpose stay plugged into the source of energy to maintain a charge.  Without it, our battery will become depleted and we will be of no use for the kingdom.

Closing remarks and encouragement:  We spend so much time placing our attention on things with no genuine value.  I have no doubt most of us would rush home after realizing we’d forgotten our phone at home.  How do we react when we realize our relationship with our Heavenly Father is lacking?  Is there an urgency to get into our word, pray, and spend moments of intimacy with Him?  There should be.  He’s the real source!  Let focus on what’s important, my friends.  Hundreds of things will scream for our attention every single day.  But what is really important?  Lets find our source and get plugged in today!

Have a blessed week, my friends!

I’ve never been much of an outdoorsman.  Most, if any, of my outdoor experience was limited to one camping trip (in an actual camper, safely away from the critters) and fishing on a few occasions.  I fondly remember fishing with my maternal grandfather a handful of times before his health deteriorated and prevented him from doing what he loved.  Though I don’t have much personal experience to draw from, I do remember specific things he taught during those outings.  On this one particular trip I noticed he instructed my brother and I to use one type of bait while he used something else.  When I inquired why, he informed me the bait used determined the type of fish I would catch.  Then I heard a 10-minute lecture on the use of chicken liver, night crawlers, minnows, worms, crickets, and more.  To me, a fish was a fish.  It stunk and wasn’t pleasing to my palette (and still isn’t) but I enjoyed the time spent with my Papaw.  He caught a few of one type of fish and switch over to another bait.  A short while later he had caught a few different kind of fish.  My catch, if I caught anything at all, consisted of a baby catfish.  Amazing how that same fish never grew and seemed to jump from lake to lake (ha, ha).  Part of my inability to really catch anything could have been because of my impatience to leave the line in the water long enough to catch something.  When my Papaw went fishing, he had something very specific in mind.  He would plan his course of action, prepare his gear, executed his plan, and wait for a bite.  When the bite finally came, he would be ready to reel it in.  More times than not, he always came away with a significant catch.

Regardless of my minimal outdoor experience, I consider myself a fisherman.  Though not the type you’d expect.  Matthew 4 tells the story of Jesus calling Simon Peter and Andrew, two experienced fishermen, to become His disciples.  To convince them to follow Him, He used terminology they would understand.  Verse 19 says, “And He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.”  I consider myself a “fisher of men,” as well.  The longer I work in the ministry, the more I realize fishing for men isn’t any easier than fishing for fish.  Just as my Papaw taught me, it’s necessary to create my course of action, prepare my gear, execute my plan, and wait.  A huge part of my success will always be based on the type of bait I use on my hook.  Have you been fishing lately?  Did you catch anything?  What kind of bait is on your hook?

Closing remarks and encouragement:  No doubt, Simon Peter and Andrew were intrigued as they had never fished for men before.  Christ’s fishing analogy was the bait that caught their attention.  In everything Jesus did, He was wise enough to bait His hook with the things that would be found attractive to the fish He was trying to catch.  As Christian’s, we will need to bait our hook with mercy, grace, understanding, concern, and above all else, love.  Once you’ve baited your hook, sit back and get ready for the catch!

Have a blessed week, my friends!

When I was in my senior year in high school I began praying the Lord would direct me where I was to go to college and what I should choose as my major.  After my decision had been made, and in the months leading up to it, I had conversations with my Dad about how I would pay for it.  My parents were honest with me about their inabilities to fund my college career and informed me they would only be able to help at a minimal level.  Leading up to move-in day I dealt with some mild anxiety about how I would secure the finances.  If asked, I had all the right “churchy” answers.  If you could have experienced my thoughts, you would have known I was struggling.  I remember the day I had to go to the business office to have a discussion and give them my decision how I would pay the funds for that semester.  I left the office and walked out whispering a prayer.  “Okay, God.  I have no clue where this money is coming from.  If it is truly Your will for me to attend, You’ll have to supply the funds.”  As the Lord is my witness (and I’ll spare you the long story), within an hour, the Lord had supplied the $1,800 for me to pay for the semester through two different avenues.  I was blown away at how quickly things happened!  This same scenario was repeated every semester until I graduated.  Sometimes the funds came in the “midnight hour” but God always provided.

Abraham was a man of great faith.  It was the extent of his faith in God that made him the greatest patriarch of our Christian faith.  He was forced to endure a wait of 100 years to receive the promise of a son, Isaac, with his wife Sarah.  Once he received his promise, God threw him another curveball.  Genesis 22:1-2 tells us, “Now it came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham, and said to him, “Abraham!”  And he said, “Here I am.” Then He said, “Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.”  Wait!  Take the life of my child?  Could you imagine the newspaper headlines of that day, “Man Kills His Son After Hearing from the Voice of God.”  This request from God seems so far outside of the realm of the logical.  I would have probably questioned if I were hearing from the enemy in that moment.  The Bible records that Abraham woke up the next morning, prepared, and set out to do what God told him.  This wasn’t some small feat as it required a three-day trip carrying food, drink, the essentials necessities for sacrifice, and more.  He had plenty of time to consider what he was being instructed to do.  Abraham was, no doubt, keenly aware the other promises he had received (that his lineage would be compared to the dust of the earth and the stars of the sky) all hinged on the life of Isaac.  As he was poised to kill the boy, an angel stopped him.  He then noticed a ram caught in the bushes.  Coincidence?  I highly doubt it!  Provision was supplied because of his willingness to follow the will of God.  Had he based his faith in God on his feelings, he would have stayed home and done nothing.  Faith doesn’t require your feelings.  It requires your feet.  That doesn’t mean it will be easy or even make sense at times.  But faith will always require something of you.

Closing remarks and encouragement:  God always provided for my needs–but it wouldn’t have happened if I hadn’t stepped out in faith.  My provision was linked directly to my step of faith.  Abraham lived a life of submission to God employing great faith and trust in God.  What is your promise?  Don’t assume you can sit back and do nothing and still receive your promise.  Your promises will require action on your part?  Are you willing to sacrifice the thing you love most?

Trips to the dentist office for us are like Forrest Gump’s box of chocolates.  You never really know what you’re going to get with our children.  My daughter has always done well at the dentist office.  Recently, when visiting for a regular cleaning and check-up, everything we encountered brought on a dramatic fit.  Something as simple as attempting to get x-ray’s left my daughter in a state of fear and trembling dealing with what could be clinically considered a panic attack.  Realizing she did have a small cavity that would require work, I knew this was something we would need to look at further and our current dentist office wasn’t going to be too helpful in this aspect.  To make things easier and more kid-friendly, we set up an appointment with a pediatric dentist who had arcade games, TV’s for the kids to watch during their cleanings, and more.  Basically all the things that would put a child at ease.  The appointment at the new office provided the same issues as before.  At one point I questioned her, “Baby, you’ve always enjoyed the dentist office.  Why are you scared?”  I was finally able to get her to admit she’d been talking to her friends at school who decided to get creative in their story telling.  Each story resembled something from a horror movie and became more far-fetched as she continued.  I knew from experience what they told her was untrue.  I asked, “Baby, has that stuff ever happened to you?  Do you trust Daddy?  Do you believe I won’t let anything bad happen to you?”  In the moment, I was upset.  Then the Holy Spirit said, “Woah, buddy! You do it too!”

I hung my head in shame recalling the times I had chosen to believe the enemy’s report over that of my Heavenly Father.  The enemy would plant seeds of fear or doubt and I would allow those things to take root in my mind.  Before I knew it, the fear had grown into something resembling Kudzu as it dominated my thoughts and permeated every available space in my mind.  We find the same types of responses from some in the Bible.  Moses sent out spies to survey the Promised Land.  Upon return, scripture states, “This is what they reported to Moses: “We went to the land where you sent us. It really is a land flowing with milk and honey. Here’s some of its fruit. But the people who live there are strong, and the cities have walls and are very large… Caleb told the people to be quiet and listen to Moses. Caleb said, “Let’s go now and take possession of the land. We should be more than able to conquer it.”  But the men who had gone with him said, “We can’t attack those people! They’re too strong for us!” So they began to spread lies among the Israelites about the land they had explored.  [Numbers 13:27-28, 30-32]  Each spy had seen the same land and observed the same issues.  Two of the men brought back reports of hope and expressed expectations of conquering the inhabitants to receive their promise.  The others were more controlled by their fears. Who will you believe today?  While the promise is exciting, it will still require something of you to see it come to fruition.  You can choose the easy route and miss out on your blessing.  Or you can believe the report that houses the receipt of your promises on the other end.

Closing remarks and encouragement:  Life is full of curveballs and can be unpredictable and frustrating.  When the enemy is presenting us with a report full of lies, we have proof from the word of God that all things will work together for our good!  We have a choice to make.  The next time something unexpected happens (and I assure it will), you will be faced with a choice.  Whose report will you believe?  I encourage you to believe, receive, and walk in His promises today!  Fruition of the promise may require something of you.  Are you willing to fight for what you know belongs to you?  Do you trust Daddy-God?

Have a blessed week, my friends!

When I watch the sibling relationship developing between my daughter and son, I’m reminded of my own childhood and my interactions with my younger brother. It’s very apparent that there is a genuine love between our children. My daughter, the oldest, is the teacher and boss. She wants to help her little brother do well and has high expectations for him. At times, I’m forced to remind her he’s younger and will not act or react in the ways she would like for him to.  She always wants to teach him valuable lessons and boss him around. While my son looks up to his big sister and wants to please her, he also has a mischievous side.  Unfortunately, that sneaky side of him brings out the worst in my daughter.  When her instructions become harsh directives rather than entertain his thoughts and opinions, he recourse of action it to do something to get on her nerves. One minute they are playing together. The next minute they are fighting like cats and dogs.  While pushing her buttons seems to be a funny pastime for him, it drives my daughter crazy.  As we were eating breakfast and preparing for school recently he had, yet again, done something to get under her skin. At one point, I said to her, “Baby, he can only make you as mad or as upset as you allow him to.  If you will ignore him, eventually, he will tire and move on to something else.” Instantly, I heard the Holy Spirit say, “Yes, he will!” But I knew the “he” God was referring to was not my son. The Holy Spirit’s response was directed at me regarding the enemy attacks on my own mind and life.

As Christians, a seed of worry or doubt can pop into our heads and we allow that thought to grow like a fungus in the darkness of our minds.  Ignorantly, from time to time, we give the enemy credit for things he had no hand in doing.  Sometimes a bad day is just that; a bad day.  The word of God states, ““I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” [John 16:33] The word of God warns us we’re going to have trouble.  It’s going to rain on the just and the unjust, as referenced in Matthew 5:45.  But, even if the devil decides to attack us let him take his best shot.  He must go through our Heavenly Father before laying a hand on us.  We are the children of God.  Being a child of God comes with perks.  Be assured, no weapon formed against us will prosper……..EVER!!

Closing remarks and encouragement:  Allowing the enemy to slip in and torment us is like giving our peace of mind away. Rather than allowing him to live rent free in our minds, lets evict him like the terrible, non-paying tenant he is.  The scripture above reminds us, God has already overcome the world!  As His children, we’re given those same rights!  We’re overcomers!!!!!!!!

Have blessed week, my friends!!!

My brother and I grew up playing video games on our Atari and (later) Nintendo (yeah, I know, I’m dating myself here).  We would sit for hours with hopes to eventually beat the entire game.  As time went on we began to realize, with some games, there were codes that could be inputted that would advance us to other levels.  We thought this was the greatest thing in a world as we could simply skip ahead.  While it was exciting to secure this secret information and advance so quickly, I realized early on how negatively it affected us.  We would always begin each new level losing frequently because neither of us had experience to draw from.  Every new level presented problems neither of us could solve.  Skipping certain levels left us unable to conquer certain worlds or (in gamer’s terms) level up because we didn’t have any experience with certain issues to aid us in moving forward.  It wasn’t until I was older that I realized shortcuts aren’t always as valuable as they seem.

We all love a shortcut.  It’s always nice to benefit without having to do much work but it generally hurts us more than it helps us.  After a while we employ shortcuts out of laziness.  Why should we work hard when we can just skip ahead, right?  Recently, I was thinking about King David’s life and all that he endured.  He started out as a shepherd herding sheep.  Even after he had been called to his father’s house and was anointed king, rather than receive a celebration in his honor, he marched right back out to the field to continuing taking care of those smelly sheep.  Seems odd, right?  Not really.  It wasn’t his time to ascend to the throne.  There was someone still occupying that throne.  He didn’t realize it but, those experiences in the field taught him the importance of being faithful to what he had been called to do, regardless of what was going on around him.  It was the skills he learned while protecting his father’s sheep by killing the lion and bear that prepared him for Goliath.  It was lessons he learned working for the current king that later attempted to take his life that prepared him to one day lead an army and be king himself.  Where are you at right now?  Do you feel God has called you to do a mighty work for the kingdom but you’re being forced to work out in the field shoveling sheep poop?  Have you considered shoveling poop may be a preparation for what’s to come?  Zechariah 4:10 tells us, “ Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin….”  It may not feel like it but, poop shoveling seasons are not punishment nor a mistake on God’s part.  They’re preparation!

Closing remarks and encouragement:  It may seem like your current season is frustrating and tiresome but, there’s a wonderful purpose for everything you endure.  Your opposition isn’t there to weaken you, it’s there to strengthen you.  What you learn at this level will help you conquer the next level.  Don’t grow weary in your well-doing, my friends.  God is always up to something.  Today’s herding job is preparing you to kill tomorrow’s giant!

Have a blessed week, my friends!    

Growing up, my brother and I watched lots of cartoons together.  One of my favorites was Popeye.  Every animated show (and even the movies I watch as an adult) exhibit something special or different about the main character(s).  Popeye was your run-of-the-mill sailor.  He wore the proper clothing, had a tattoo on his arm of an anchor, and enjoyed sailing.  But the thing about Popeye was this, he was normal until he ate a can of spinach.  Though somewhat weak in his normal state, that can of spinach gave him extraordinary strength to fight his nemesis, Bluto.  Bluto was a bully who was always attempting to take his girl, Olive Oil.  Those two guys fought over her constantly.  The difference between the two was Bluto’s cartoon likeness was 4-5 times larger than that of Popeye.  Ordinarily, Popeye didn’t have a chance of overcoming him.  But all it took was one can of spinach to give Popeye that extra boost of strength that supplied him the ability to win against his enemy.  That spinach always gave him the upper hand.  He could walk around confidently knowing, if he could get his hands on the source of his strength, he could overcome anything.  It’s one thing to know your enemy, but’s it a totally different thing knowing how to fight and secure a win against him.

As humans, we may have a certain level of intelligence, be able to impress others with our physical abilities, or even walk around with more muscles than we know what to do with.  But those things don’t necessarily make us strong.  The enemy we fight is one who plays dirty.  He’s a sneaky bully that takes joy in taunting us daily.  He’s smart enough to look for our weaknesses and capitalize on them.  If we’re going to fight him (and we will all fight the enemy sooner or later), we must know what is going to give us the strength to overcome him.  For believers, the Bible tells us in multiple places where the source of our strength comes from.  Philippians 4:13 says, “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.”  Psalms 46:1 tells us, “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in time of trouble.”  There are many other scriptures, but the point is this—GOD IS OUR SOURCE!  Recognizing such prevents us from having the carry the burden of securing the win on our own.  When the time comes, we must be armed and ready to fight.  But we must realize where the source of our strength is coming from.  Spoiler alert:  spinach won’t help you.

Closing remarks and encouragement:  It doesn’t matter where we are in our fight or struggles.  Whether preparing for battle, in the middle of an actual fight, or at the end and we almost have the victory.  If we’re going to fight the enemy today (or ever, for that matter) it’s important we recognize where the source of our strength comes from.  Attempting to do things in our own power will leave us stranded and needing to be rescued.  Recognizing our source also prevents us from becoming too cocky in our own strength and abilities.  Truth be told, we’re nothing to be afraid of.  But the God in us……now THAT is something to be feared by the enemy. And in case we have forgotten, the enemy isn’t nearly as strong as he would like for us to think.  He has his own set of weaknesses.  But that information is for another blog.   🙂

Have a blessed week, my friends!!

I have developed an admiration for the beauty of the different types of jewelry and precious stones over the years.  For me, the more intricate a piece of jewelry is, the more beautiful it becomes.  I’ve purchased quite a few items from the jewelry stores over the years and I’ve learned, there’s a big difference between the good and bad stuff.  On our one year anniversary, I decided to purchase a pair of diamond earrings for my wife.  There were a few different pairs to choose from.  After viewing each pair under different lighting throughout the store, I settled on the perfect pair for her.  Jewelers will tell you, one of the most important aspects of any jewelry store is lighting.  When designing a jewelry store, it is important to consider a few things.  Specifically, what types of ceilings the building will have.  Higher ceilings require more spotlights as opposed to lower ceilings that require more narrow flood lights.  Then one is required to decide on the types of bulbs to use.  Standard choices range from incandescent, to halogen, or even LED lights.  There are perks and drawbacks to each choice which include purchase costs, the necessity of greater climate control in a room (some bulbs give off more heat increasing your costs in the long run), and more.  There’s also a need to light the inside of the actual jewelry case.  It’s all an intricate balance to bring out the best presentation of each piece of jewelry so it will be purchased.  

I recently preached a sermon on the importance of knowing your enemy.  As believers, we can’t expect to overcome our enemy if we don’t know their weaknesses, the types of weapons they’ll use, and more.  Ezekiel 28:15-17 states, “You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created till wickedness was found in you. Through your widespread trade you were filled with violence, and you sinned. So I drove you in disgrace from the mount of God, and I expelled you, guardian cherub, from among the fiery stones. Your heart became proud on account of your beauty, and you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor.  So I threw you to the earth; I made a spectacle of you before kings.”  At one time, Lucifer (now known as Satan) was the brightest and most beautiful of all the angels and had been given unfettered access to God.  His proximity to God left him wanting for nothing……..except the praise, reverence, and worship that God received.  Satan knows about light.  At one time, he was a source of light.  The most beautiful source of light among all the angels.  As believers, we must know the difference between something that presents itself as being right when it’s actually a misrepresentation of the truth.  There is only One source of true Light.  Spending intimate time with the Master is one of the only ways to know the difference between the real thing or the knock-off version.  “Ain’t nothin’ like the real thang, baby!”

Closing remarks and encouragement:  We can’t expect to beat the enemy unless we know who he really is.  As believers, we must pay attention to the type of light illuminating things around us.  Paying attention to the wrong light will require more of you than you’re willing to pay and lead you down roads you didn’t intend to travel.  The real thing may cost more but it will become a priceless jewel to you.  Know your enemy, then stand up and fight the good fight!

Have a blessed week, my friends!