Nehemiah could have enjoyed the pleasures and the comfort of living in a palace and had just stayed there, but that wasn’t enough for him. Sometimes, in order to follow the burden the Lord has placed on us, we must leave the comfort of our surroundings, friends, or position in order to go to the land unfamiliar but full of God’s harvest!!

A Leader Must Catch God’s Vision

Nehemiah began his journey to Jerusalem. When he arrived, he went at night, along with a few others to personally assess the damage and the work needed to rebuild the wall. Nehemiah had to catch the vision alone, without anyone’s input/opinion, before he could lead others in the work God had given him to do.

Later on Nehemiah communicated the vision of rebuilding the wall to the Israelites. They began the work by having the priests build the Sheep gate. All the other various gates and walls were built by other Jewish families, each in cooperation and along side of other families.  It was a beautiful picture of people who were willing to work with one another to complete the wall, starting with the priests. To rebuild/restore, God’s leaders must set the example for others!!

Opposition Does Not Dissuade a Leader

Hear, O our God, for we are despised; turn their reproach on their own heads, and give them as plunder to a land of captivity! Do not cover their iniquity, and do not let their sin be blotted out from before You; for they have provoked You to anger before the builders. Nehemiah 4:4-45

The opposition started to rise against the building project. On one hand, Nehemiah kept interceding on behalf of the people. On the other hand, he was encouraging those who were weary and afraid. Finally it was decided that they would have to hold a weapon with one hand and work at construction with other hand.

This is where a lot of leaders get discouraged because they think if this is the work God has given them, there shouldn’t be opposition to it. Nehemiah didn’t take any of the opposition personally, and neither did he become disillusioned or discouraged because of it. God had given him such a vision for the condition of the people and the ruined walls, that nothing was going to stop him from finishing the task!!

What are the burdens and/or tasks that God has given you? Have you been discouraged in fulfilling your assignment because there were too many barriers in your path? Do you still remember the vision God gave you concerning the situation? Does it still hold true? Would you recommit yourself to working on the task without losing heart? If it is God’s vision, He will do His part to bring the assignment to completion in His time!!

A Leader Is a Reconciler

When Nehemiah saw that the Jewish people were taking advantage of each other, he had to rebuke some of them and ask them to stop oppressing the poor among them.  A Godly leader who judges righteously, at some point will not be popular with his own because he will have to stand for righteousness over his own relationships. He has to remain impartial towards anyone or any group of people. To expect a man or woman of God to be partial towards us is not only foolish, but it is also sinful!! God has said that He hates differing scales. We must guard ourselves from partiality, and also not expect others to have differing scales because of our relationship with them.

God has given each of us the Ministry of Reconciliation. It doesn’t sound like a fancy task, but it is such a crucial assignment!! The majority of our life issues are relational issues. Our problems are either in relationship to the Lord or in relationship with others. As a result, it is important to realize the significance of this assignment as we help reconcile people to God, or to others. Nehemiah was able to settle the matters among the Jewish brothers, and they each promised to do their part to treat each other properly and follow the rules established by God.

A Leader Remains Sacrificial

One of the things that really touches me about Nehemiah was his sacrificial generosity. This man had left the comfort of a palace to be among the Jewish people. He rolled up his sleeves by getting in the dirt and mud, with a lot of tears, sweat, and prayers to rebuild the wall. He even put his own life in danger, but when it came to enjoying the benefits of being a governor, this is what he said:

Moreover, from the time that I was appointed to be their governor in the land of Judah, from the twentieth year until the thirty-second year of King Artaxerxes, twelve years, neither I nor my brothers ate the governor’s provisions. But the former governors who were before me laid burdens on the people, and took from them bread and wine, besides forty shekels of silver. Yes, even their servants bore rule over the people, but I did not do so, because of the fear of God. Indeed, I also continued the work on this wall, and we did not buy any land. All my servants were gathered there for the work. Nehemiah 5:14-16

What an example of sacrificial leadership!! His work was truly for God and unto God!! He did not come to this place for privileges, but he came to serve and help a group of helpless and hopeless people. He came to bring them to health and restoration. That is called dedication to the call of God, and love for his people!! He just blesses me.

Additionally, the scripture tells us that he fed 150 people every day at his table. This leader was an inclusive man. He wasn’t just around his group of friends. As a matter of fact, there is no mention of anyone being called a friend by Nehemiah while he spent 12 years there. If he had them, that wasn’t his focus. He was there for God’s assignment and nothing was going to derail him.

We will continue with this topic in the next devotional. It’s a good time to pause and evaluate the areas that need growth and change. Ask the Lord to help you with those areas. If we want to reflect the Lord’s leadership in people’s lives, we must conform to His ways of leading!!

A true leader is a burden bearer. He/She must know and demonstrate the ability to serve before leading. There are many who desire to be leaders among us, but very few have what it takes to be a true leader; one who represents the Lord well and cares about the condition of people. Jesus is our ultimate example of leadership. He sets a high standard that we can use as a plumb line to evaluate ourselves and the leaders around us.

Nehemiah is one of my favorite Biblical leaders. While he never met Jesus, he lived out a life that was exemplary and effective for the Kingdom of God while facing much opposition.

Who is Nehemiah? Nehemiah was a Jewish cupbearer serving under the Persian Emperor Artaxerxes I Longimamus. Being a cupbearer was a trusted position. The king only took a cup from his cupbearer knowing that the drink has been tested before being given to the king. However, a cupbearer was the last person who has access to that drink before the king drinks it, so he has the opportunity to poison him if he wanted to. That shows the level of trust the king had towards Nehemiah.

King Artaxerxes had allowed the Jews to return to Jerusalem and rebuild its walls. This is where Nehemiah comes in.

Nehemiah the Intercessor

It came to pass in the month of Chislev, in the twentieth year, as I was in Shushan the citadel, that Hanani one of my brethren came with men from Judah; and I asked them concerning the Jews who had escaped, who had survived the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem. And they said to me, “The survivors who are left from the captivity in the province are there in great distress and reproach. The wall of Jerusalem is also broken down, and its gates are burned with fire.”

So it was, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned for many days; I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven. Nehemiah 1:1-4

Nehemiah cared enough to ask Hanani about the Jews’ condition in Jerusalem. When he heard that they were in distress, he became distressed. This is an example of great empathy. He could have just said, “Oh, that’s too bad. I’ll pray for them.” But he identified with their condition and it brought him to a place of mourning and crying out before God on their behalf. He even chose to fast for them. Nehemiah took ownership of the situation. He became a burden-bearer for people he didn’t know personally. They were just his fellow Jews!!

Are there times in your life when the Lord leads you to intercede on behalf of others who are not your family and friends? Have you fasted for situations that you didn’t have any control or power to change?

Nehemiah, in his prayer asks for forgiveness of sins when he prays “…we have sinned against you.” (Nehemiah 1:7b) He included himself in this prayer, and confessed that he along with the other Jews had sinned and were in need of forgiveness. That shows great humility on Nehemiah’s part. He could have just prayed for them, but he chose to identify with them.

A true leader intercedes on behalf of people by identifying with their condition. That’s the beautiful and delicate balance of leadership. On one hand the leader is close to the Father. He can pray, mourn, fast, and ask Him for mercy and forgiveness. On the other hand a leader is in pain for his people, when sin has brought so much devastation in their lives.  I don’t think Nehemiah at this point even thought of himself as a leader, but the condition of His heart was shaping him to be the leader when God had a need of him.

Intercession leads into a blueprint

In chapter 2, Nehemiah came before the King, and the King noticed his sad face. The King asked Nehemiah why he was so sad. Nehemiah explained the condition of Jerusalem. This time the King asked what Nehemiah’s request was.

When God gives us a burden for someone or a group of people, many times through that burden He shapes our hearts to become part of the solution. Nehemiah had been praying and fasting for four months. The Lord had been speaking to him during those times. He knew God had picked him for this burden that He had laid on him. There is nowhere in scripture where it tells us that Nehemiah was hesitant or excited about the opportunity. He kept doing what was before Him. When he came before the king, he didn’t barge in or make any demands. He was doing his ordinary work, and it was the king who noticed that Nehemiah was sad. The Lord opened the door to Nehemiah for the burden that He had placed on him.

Blueprint Leads into Action

When the King asked Nehemiah what His request was, Nehemiah was ready with a plan of action. All those days of intercession, mourning, and fasting had given him the opportunity to hear God and His plan of action for the Jews. He had seen the blueprint. Nehemiah asked to go to Jerusalem to help rebuild the walls. Nehemiah knew exactly the material required, the route he needed to travel on and the letters of permission he needed as he traveled through various territories. This was just a beginning of this journey that would last several years of Nehemiah’s life.

In our culture, we admire and adore the term “leader”. People have desires to be in leadership positions. However, when we look at the Bible, most leaders understood the weight of the responsibility so well, that it didn’t excite them or make them proud to be leaders. They were doing it because they loved God and wanted to be obedient to His request.

What is your view of leadership? Does being in leadership make you feel important and significant? Have you been faced with the weight and responsibility of leadership to the point you would willingly give it up if the Lord asked you to? Are you doing it just to please Him?

There is much to learn from Nehemiah and his leadership style. We will continue with this subject in the next devotional.

The scripture has much to say about debt. I did not grow up with credit cards and didn’t know what they were until I applied for a Macy’s credit card right after college. We are a debt-driven society!! Our taxation system even encourages debt in hope of a return at the end of the year. Most debts are discouraged in scripture with the exception of one debt! I will discuss financial debt and spiritual debt in this devotional.

Financial Debt

As it relates to financial debt, the scripture looks down upon the idea of borrowing and considers borrowing a form of slavery to another. Years ago, we used to lead Crown Financial Bible Studies, and one of the chapters covered the issue of debt.

One of the scriptures shared was:

“The rich rules over the poor, And the borrower is servant to the lender. “ Proverbs 22:7

We had a Filipino lady in our class. This lady was amazed at how the scripture was telling the story that she had seen played out before her eyes. She said that in my country if a person borrows money from someone and can’t pay them back, they become their servants for a time period until the debt is paid off.  She had seen a form of slavery due to unpaid debt!!

In our American culture, people can be in deep debt but not have it be visible to others. Their debt can be to a bank or other lending institutions, so as a result we don’t see the slavery in its true sense. Nevertheless, it still keeps people in bondage of paying off debt for years to come.

When it comes to financial debt, the scripture discourages all kinds of debt. If you borrow money for an investment with a hope of return on your investment, then that generally is a better reason to borrow.  However with the recent economic crisis we saw that even money borrowed for an investment such as a house, still needs to be done with great wisdom, moderation, and care. The person should be able to afford to pay the debt for the long haul and stay committed in paying it off. Borrowing should be done in moderation, not as a get rich quick or trying to obtain a dream house on a shoe lace budget!!

Besides purchasing investment properties, most debts are caused by overspending and impulsiveness. Credit cards or store credit cards are all ways that businesses encourage people to purchase items they can’t afford and do it impulsively. Then they are left with paying off the items along with high interest rates added to the original price. Those kinds of situations can keep people in perpetual debt. To the degree that is possible, and it is not an emergency situation, we are called to save for what we desire to purchase.  Steady plodding will eventually bring prosperity in the long run.  In the short term we will have money to pay for things rather than being compelled into borrowing. This also develops self-control and patience in our lives. I have found many times if I just walk away from something and decide to get it in a couple of days, the urge to purchase it goes away!!

The scripture discourages us to lend/cosign for someone because it puts us under a financial obligation if they can’t pay their debt. That’s why it is so important not to get into situations that could possibly affect our relationship with someone or put us in financial jeopardy because the other person can’t afford to pay the debt.

For further study on financial debt, I would recommend taking a Crown Financial Bible study in your area. Many churches offer this or they have similar Biblical financial principle classes that are very helpful in building our financial house on the Word of God.

Spiritual debt

And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. Matthew 6:12

When the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray, Jesus prayed a prayer that we now call “The Lord’s Prayer”. One of the things that He prayed was the above scripture. We recognize that we have a debt towards God due to our sin and rebellion before a holy God. Jesus took on our sins and became the sacrifice for the remission of our sins. This was a debt that we could not repay because the consequence of sin before a holy God was death. Jesus, the perfect one was the only qualified person to be able to die for our sins. He was sinless, so he had no debt to pay for His own sins.

Since we are tremendously blessed by the forgiveness of our sins and get to enjoy a fellowship with a Holy God, we in turn are called to forgive our debtors.

Debtor: one who owes another, one who has not yet made amends to whom he has injured.

A debtor is one who has sinned against us, offended us, hurt us, or owes us something. The scripture is clear that while this person may not make amends with us, we are still called to forgive the debt they owe us and release them from our grip.

Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law. Romans 13:8

The scripture adds to Matthew 6:12 by basically saying that not only we need to forgive our debtors, but also as a believer the only thing we should owe one another is love. We don’t owe someone hatred, revenge, or indifference.  When we think of people, we want to think about how we can express love towards them next time we see them. This would not happen if we haven’t already forgiven their offenses towards us. Forgiveness brings us to a position of giving rather than expecting something of people. The only debt that pleases God is to owe love towards  our brothers and sisters in Christ!!

This is a good time to examine our heart and our finances to see the areas that we owe others money, or an apology. It’s time to settle the matters or at least start working towards paying off the debt. If there are individuals who owe us something, it’s time to forgive them and put the past behind and start loving them. If they owe us money, while we may want/need our money back, we can still release them spiritually, so whether they pay or not, it won’t affect our relationship with them. We are also making a statement of trust that if this person doesn’t pay us back, We are trusting God’s provision for our needs.

We live in a culture that craves to create celebrities and be impressed by them!! We have celebrities in the body of Christ and out in the world who get a lot of attention and publicity from the crowd. However, as God’s people we are to look up and look around us to honor God and those God has placed in our lives. What a blessing for someone to know that we honor them for what they have meant in our lives!!

Then the king said, “What honor or dignity has been bestowed on Mordecai for this?” Esther 6:3

Honor: Hebrew word H3366 -price, value, preciousness, honor, splendor,

Honor is a humble recognition of someone. Mordecai was a man who saved the king’s life, and the Lord brought this to the king’s attention through the reading of the book of records.  While the king was a powerful man who didn’t need to recognize anyone, he understood that he still wouldn’t be alive if it wasn’t for the work Mordecai had done to expose an attempt to kill him. This was something that was honorable before the king, and he desired to acknowledge Mordecai for it.

Can you think of a person who did something for you that you could not repay? Every time you think of them, you can’t help but think of them with great honor and appreciation for what they did for you. Those kinds of people remind us of our history and give us the right perspective in life.  We know we wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for certain individuals who gave us a chance that we wouldn’t have had otherwise.  This could be a parent, a teacher, a mentor, or a friend.  Jesus is one that we can’t ever repay, but we can choose to live our lives by honoring Him.

When I left Iran at the age of 15, I could not speak any foreign language. My second cousin Ramina who could speak French was just granted  a visa by the United States Embassy in France. Since she knew that my Mother & I needed help with interpretation to go to a U.S. Emabassy, she extended her trip another 2-3 weeks, so she could help us out when we got there from Iran. That was a great help and a great sacrifice on her part since it cost her time and money to stay for that long in France for us.  After a couple of attempts in getting a visa, I was able to receive one form U.S. Embassy in Switzerland through her help. I was also able to fly with her to the U.S. from Europe after they denied my Mom an entry to the U.S.  I  honor her love and sacrifice, and I am very grateful for what she did for me.

Honor is important in marriages. The scripture tells husbands to honor their wives, and it tells the wives to be submitted and respectful to their husbands. Don’t you think our marriages would look a lot different if there was honor in relationships? Honor would even change the atmosphere of the house. The children’s attitude towards the parents and each other can even be changed because they see the parents honoring each other. Honor looks at someone and considers them precious. Honor puts weight and significance on the person as well their position. In human relationships, who do you honor the most in your life? Is your spouse on top of that list?

Honor all [men]. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king. 1Peter 2:17

Honor must be given to all men. Finally, the scripture tells us to honor all people. When we honor people, we choose to see them through God’s eyes rather than our own eyes. God created each of us in His image. He gave the task of stewardship to Adam and Eve before the fall which he didn’t take away after the fall. That means that every man/woman walking on the face of this earth has honor and dignity bestowed upon them by the creator. The honor we give someone cannot be dependent upon us liking or disliking the person, their socioeconomic status, education, beauty, talent, or benefit to us.

Honor is a long lasting attitude toward God and people. The more we walk in humility, the more we find ourselves honoring God and others because we come to appreciate and value who they are. We are able to see them through God’s eyes.

Are you a person who honors others regardless of who they are? If not, ask the Lord to show you what is hindering you in honoring others and valuing them. What is your honor dependent upon?

When the Lord led me to do a devotional on honor, I was surprised by the various words in Hebrews and Greek that are used to describe the word “honor”. Anytime you have different words to describe something, it shows the significance of that word in that culture. The scripture mentions honor many times, so we should pay atttention to it as much as we focus on the word “love”.

We live in a culture who loves to “love”!!  We love our God, family, dogs, house, shoes, football team, and so on. We generally think if we love God or someone, then it means we honor them as well. That’s not necessarily the case. Let’s take a look at a few scriptures that speak of honor.

Then it shall be to Me a name of joy, a praise, and an honor before all nations of the earth, who shall hear all the good that I do to them; they shall fear and tremble for all the goodness and all the prosperity that I provide for it.’ Jeremiah 33:9

Honor  (H-8597): beauty, splendor, glory

God is worthy of all honor. We can love God, but do we recognize and contemplate how beautiful, awesome, powerful, and glorious He is? We can love God and get casual with our attitude towards Him. We can run to Him with our  demands and run back to whatever we were doing before. We are dealing with the God of universe who holds everything in the palm of His hands. He has authority over every created thing. He can move mountains, shake governments, and change hearts. He is an all powerful God who stands outside of time. When we stand before Him, all boasting dissolves because He knows our very thoughts and the words we speak.

When we honor God, our vision becomes clearer by letting Him have His rightful place and seeing Him magnified for who He is. This is so important for our spiritual walk. We can rest in God knowing He is awesome!!

So they were offended at Him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own country and in his own house.” ⁵⁸ Now He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief. Matthew 13:57-58

Honor (G820): without honor, unhonored, dishonored 2) base, of less esteem

Honor is based on God’s choice not man’s popularity. When Jesus came on the scene, He didn’t look the part. He didn’t fit the religious group’s idea of the Son of God. As a result, people did not recognize Him and honor Him for who He was. People had a certain idea of who should be honored as a religious authority. In addition to the fact that Jesus seemed threatening to the relgious establishment of His day because He was so different. They weren’t accustomed to this. Jesus didn’t fit their picture!!

Can you imagine being around Jesus and not recognizing who is standing before you? It doesn’t take any risk to follow someone who already has a large following and is popular with the crowd. That’s easy. It’s happening all around us. Most people like to jump on the bandwagon of success because that gives them the feeling that they are successful too. However, it is a lot harder to stand with someone who is not honored, or recognized for who they are in the kingdom of God!!

When we take our eyes off of what we see naturally, the Lord can open our spiritual eyes to see what God sees. Many missed Jesus’ mighty works because they had unbelief and did not honor the Son of God who was sent to them to be a blessing in their midst!! Do we honor people based God’s choice and election or do we honor those we are comfortable with?

Honor is placing the right value on someone. Another aspect of the word “honor” is value. We are such a consumer based and affluent society that we value things based on their immediate benefit to us. So if I enjoy my new iphone,I may think I have the greatest thing, but it is just a matter of time before a new version of the  iphone is  released and now my version looks like a substandard version!! We do the same thing with sport or Hollywood celebrities. They are important and significant for a minute until a more talented or handsome one shows up on the scene. Value has a longer lasting affect because it has a greater significance in our lives than just the benefit it provides for us in the moment.

Honor your father and your mother, and, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ Matt 19:19

Honor ( G5091): to estimate, fix the value, for the value of something belonging to one’s self, to revere, venerate.

God expects us to honor our parents. The scripture is very clear on honoring our parents. That’s the place of recognizing the weight and the significance of the person for the long haul in our lives. The Bible doesn’t state that we should only honor our parents when we are young and living under their roof. It doesn’t assert that once we are married and leave our parents; we don’t need to honor them any longer. Neither does it mention that when they get really old and have no benefit to us, we can stop honoring them. The scripture doesn’t even tell us to honor them only if they were great parents. Honoring our parents is a lifelong attitude. It is something that God places great value on, and He is commanding us to do it.

Honor is not a popular word in our culture, but as believers we are called to be people who honor God and others. Do we honor others as the scripture prescribes? I will continue with the subject of honor in the next devotional.

God’s desire is for us to be changed into the image and likeness of His Son Jesus. For many of us this is a long and sometimes painful process. However, along the way there will be evidence of true internal change. Some will be noticed by others based on our lifestyle change or how we respond to situations. Many of them will be noticed by us because we know we are not in bondage to those things that used to control or define us anymore!

There are many evidences that can point to the fact that we are changed people. For example, we have a hunger to know the Word of God, we have a desire to put God first in all our affairs,or we want to see people reconciled to God and to each other, all of those are evidences that we are being transformed. There are many other evidences as well. I would like to highlight a couple of those areas.

For when one says, “I am of Paul,” and another, “I am of Apollos,” are you not carnal? 1Corinthians 3:4

Defintiion of Carnal: Greek 4559- governed by mere human nature not by the Spirit of God.

One of the major evidences of change is that we are moving away from carnality and allowing the Spirit of God to govern us. This is a lot more difficult that one may think! In the above scripture, Paul is not happy about the fact that people’s vision has gotten so small that they have to choose between their apostles and decide who they stand with. That’s actually a political spirit that tries to take sides and divide a church or a congregation. Jesus has to be first in each and every situation!!

The body of Christ is suffering from carnality, and we see church splits and various factions and divisions due greatly to man seeing through his natural eyes and taking sides. A transformed life is led by the Spirit of God and evaluates everything in the light of truth not in the light of one’s own personal relationships, preferences, or the benefit one may receive.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. Galatians 5:22-23

The evidence of a transformed life is the fruit of the Spirit being developed in the life of a believer. This is where the rubber meets the road!!  We can say, teach, preach, pray, prophesy, or do a lot of other things, but the question is, does our life contain the fruit of the spirit? Especially when we are squeezed under tough, stressful, or hurtful situations, can we say that those qualities are evident in our lives?

But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord. 2 Corinthians 3:18

Most of us will spend a lifetime walking with God and allowing Him to change us into His image. The question is not “Have we arrived?”, but “Do we recognize we haven’t arrived?”  I hear many people tell me that they were raised in a church but didn’t grow spiritually. Some of these people spent 20 or 30 year of their lives in their Bible believing churches. The church became a social, cultural, or ministry thing people did.

I didn’t grow up in a church because living in a Muslim nation it wasn’t easy to have access to a church, so it pains me greatly when I hear those kinds of stories. I know the kind of price some people pay in other nations to gather together to read the Word and worship God. Jesus didn’t come to just have a following!! He was looking for followers who are willing to be changed by His power and grace!!

If the church in America is going to have potency to be the light and salt of the world, that potency will come from transformed lives of each professed believer. This nation is not going to be changed by another new program a church offers. The believers need to leave the corporate ideas with corporate America. The church is not a place for self-promotion or creating a new “holy” social club!! The self needs to go!!

The only hope for this nation or any other nation is a group of transformed people who are not afraid to share the gospel and tell people the truth. At the same time, their lives must back up their claim to transformed life!! Each of us has a mandate from the Lord to do the work He desires for us in our homes, at work, in our churches, and in our communities. We have a responsibility to take those mandates very seriously and not just follow the crowd even if it’s the church crowd!!  It’s time for each of us to make a decision in the light of His marvelous work, and be a standard bearer for Jesus!!

I am continuing with the subject of transformation from my last devotional.  Galatians 5 is very direct about some of the issues that cause us to fall back into the bondage of sin, and it also gives us solution on how to stay free once we have tasted freedom through Jesus. If we are in bondage to any form of sin, we will be hindered from our spiritual growth and transformation.

Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies,envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. Galatians 5:19-21

4. The works of the flesh must have no room in a believer’s life. The scripture is unswerving that those who live to indulge their flesh will not inherit the kingdom of God. Each of us may have a different struggle as it relates to the works of the flesh listed above. However, the sobering fact is that we don’t have to be doing all of the above sins to get cut off from our inheritance. Each sin, if practiced regularly can cut off the life giving blood of Jesus and His transforming power in our lives!! We have a tendency to focus on, “big sins” such as adultery or murder, but the scripture lists contention and envy in the same category called “works of the flesh”.

Some of the above sins are connected to each other. For example, a person with selfish ambition may also have a problem with jealousy or envy, because they want to outshine others. Contention can lead to hatred or outbursts of wrath. Many of these sins can stay hidden for a long time in one’s heart and attitude before there is visible evidence of sin. That means we can easily deny their existence in our lives!

There is a fleshly satisfaction in giving into the “works of the flesh”. Every time, we get an enjoyment from sin, we feed and strengthen our flesh and weaken the control of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.  Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another. Galatians 5: 25

5. Walk in the Spirit. The Lord’s solution to the “works of the flesh” is to walk in the Spirit. The spirit must lead, not the flesh. We are called to lean on the Spirit. That means if the Lord says “wait”, then we wait. If He asks us to speak up, then we’ll do that. We must be willing to lay down what He asks us to lay down regardless of the cost to us. We choose to be in step with the Spirit. We’re not running ahead of God, but we’re not lagging behind Him either! It is in those quiet places where God changes us because we have chosen the Spirit over the flesh!! When we do this, we are allowing the Spirit man to grow, and we are starving our carnal nature!!

Galatians 5:25 also clearly states that we don’t want to provoke someone else to sin. That means if we know someone’s weakness, we don’t intentionally push their buttons to see if they will react to it. That’s not loving our neighbor as ourselves! We do our part as much as it depends on us not to provoke them.

To walk in the Spirit requires great determination. We need to stay on the potter’s wheel and allow God to overtake our internal world with His Kingdom.!! The enemy as well as our flesh will try to fight us and convince us why it’s foolish to obey the leading of the Spirit. We have to fight this battle and allow God to win every time. When the Israelites took over a territory, many times God would instruct them to destroy everything. The same is true with the landscape of our heart. Any territory that is still in control of the enemy is an occupied territory!!  The enemy will use that area to expand his control and bondage over our lives. Every sin, every wrong attitude, every wrong thinking must be annihilated!!

My brothers and sisters in Christ, transformation is so important for the life of a believer. We don’t have time to play any religious games and figure out who is mature, anointed, gifted, or whatever. Those things are all important, but being transformed by His power has a greater priority in a believer’s life than determining one’s anointing or gifting! We can’t afford to gather in our churches to impress each other nor does more activity in the church result in transformation.   There is a price each of us has to pay to be free from the yoke of bondage and experience true internal change. We need to keep ourselves at the altar of God and have Him continue to transform us.

In light of God’s mercy towards us, it is our reasonable response to allow His work in our lives to come into complete fruition!! The more we are transformed the better we reflect Jesus. People don’t care about how much we know, our church affiliation, or position in ministry. Believers and unbelievers want to see a life giving person who loves God and genuinely loves and cares for others.

Please pray and ask the Lord to show you one area that needs transformation!!

The next devotional is going to be on the evidence of a transformed life!!

Prayer: Lord, Jesus I pray and ask in your name that you would open our eyes to where the enemy has kept us in bondage. Free us from the chain of darkness and slavery that the enemy has put on us. Deliver us in Jesus’ name. We declare freedom by your power and authority!!

In my own personal life, there have been a few times when I’ve hit a wall spiritually. In those times, I had to seriously look at my life as a whole and examine the areas of my life that I wasn’t experiencing freedom or felt in bondage.

In the last devotional, I wrote about the need to continually be transformed.  We can do all the right religious activity and not see a change or experience freedom in our lives.

Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage. Galatians 5:1

You ran well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth? Galatians 5:7

Why would a free person get entangled with the yoke of bondage again? What are the elements that hinder our transformation and progress with the Lord? In this devotional and the next one, I will speak on some of those elements that keep us in bondage and hinder transformation.

Behold, you desire truth in the inward parts, and in the hidden part you will make me to know wisdom. Psalm 51:6

1. Honesty invites change: One of the first important steps in seeking freedom and transformation is to be honest with our condition. We know what is going on in our internal world and the battles or wrestling that persist. The better trained we are, the less visible our struggles will be to the world around us. We will have the ability to hide them, deny them, or even blame others for our problems, blocking our progress in the transformation process.

2. The Mind must be renewed: Romans  12:2 which I shared in the last devotional is the key starting point to being transformed. We need to continually renew our minds with the truth of God’s word and confront our perspectives, thought process, and perceptions which have been formed over the years. Some of those patterns are so ingrained in us that we don’t even realize there is something wrong with them because in some fleshly way they have protected us or provided for us.

For example, if in our past we have been rejected deeply, that becomes a stronghold in our mind as to how we perceive the world around us when things don’t go the way we hoped. We can easily withdraw from a situation in fear of possible rejection, so we can protect ourselves from pain. That thought process seems to serve us well, but in reality it keeps us in bondage to the fear of rejection, and it hinders our transformation. In addition to the fact that we may lose a relationship unnecessarily because we made wrong assumptions about the person or the situation.

Some people could be selfish, controlling, deceptive, manipulative, or arugmentative. All those things in some twisted way worked in the past to give the flesh what it desired, but if one is to experience transformation, they must be crucified!!!

For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. Galatians 5:13

3. Liberty is not a license to sin: If we knew that the Lord would not tolerate one gossip out of our mouths would we do it? I would hope the answer is “no”. Since we have forgiveness available through Jesus, many of us fall into various sins such as gossip because we know we can be forgiven. Of course the Lord will forgive, but unless we have repented from that habit or character flaw, our transformation will be hindered by the gossiping we involve ourselves with. Forgiveness being available to us is not a permission to go back to the bondage of sin or bad habits.

One way we can stop misusing our liberty is by serving people. That keeps us in a place of humility. It puts feet to the words of love and allows us to go against what our nature desires, so our spirit is fed and we are being transformed.

But if you bite and devour one another, beware lest you be consumed by one another! Galatians 5:15

4. Avoid being consumed by each other: The above scripture tell us not to bite or devour each other. 1Peter 5:8 tells us, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.”

Recognizing this should keep us alert not to open doors to the enemy because of hurt, offense, pride, or fear. If the enemy can make us believe that another person is the source of our problem, then we come into agreement with the devil to bite and devour others. Biting and devouring someone could be how we speak about them with others or with ourselves. Biting and devouring each other could be shunning others and pushing them away rather than encouraging  them.   Those kinds of actions will keep us in the bondage of hatred, aloofness, and indifference, and they will not produce the transformation that Jesus desires in our souls.

The above scripture (Galatians 5:15) goes so far as to say that we can be consumed by each other. The devil sits back and laughs because we believed him and gave into our flesh by devouring someone rather than allowing God to change us. The transformation happens when we are willing to crucify the flesh and its desire to be unloving. The anger, bitterness, or indifference has to be expelled before there is any room for forgiveness and love. Once we choose to respond the right way, we are on our way to being transformed again by His power and grace!!

We will continue with this subject in the next devotional.

Recently I was at a conference and had an opportunity to meet a very nice lady. In the process of our conversation she asked me how I’ve learned to hear the Lord. Then she began to tell me about her spiritual journey. She said that for 15 years, she led women’s ministry in her church.  She continued by saying,” In the first 20 years of my Christian life, I was well trained, but not transformed. When you are in that mode, you don’t even know that you are not transformed because you’re doing the right things without having much internal change.” She was thankful that today she is in a different place in her life, and she has learned to walk with God and allow Him to transform her.

Every believer has to go through the process of discipleship. We need to learn the word of God, develop a hunger for it, and walk in obedience to it. That’s necessary for our walk with the Lord. However, transformation is a harder and more arduous work than being trained.  If we’re not careful we can start focusing more on the knowledge of the Bible than developing an understanding heart!  At the same time, one can get zealous for approval by continually conforming to others’ expectations.  After a while that’s not enough anymore. Then we want to move to another level. Now, we want to dissect the Word into its Hebrews or Greek counterpart or find it in various translations, so it can speak to us. Eventually,  we develop a good knowledge of the Word, but did it really transform us? We can impress others, but are we more intimate with the Lord?

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Romans 12:2

The scripture clearly shows us that we need to stop conforming to the world, and that’s so important especially to a new believer who all he/she knows is the world. However, over time the conformity issue changes from the world to our surroundings. The Pharisees and Sadducees were well trained people. Their issue wasn’t that they were conformed to the world, but that they were conformed to their own religious group with all their rules and traditions. Unfortunately, their  knowledge kept their faith in a tight box with no room for God’s touch or transformation in their lives.

In Christian circles, if we love and obey God, most likely we are not in danger of conforming to the world. However, there can still be a danger to conforming to a man, a pastor, a priest, or a religion in the name of ”being trained” or “submitting to our authorities” while not getting transformed in the process. The problem gets more complex because those around us encourage the conformity and consider it as a sign of growth and maturity. We know the scripture well and now we can share it with others and get a few “amens”, but  it doesn’t translate into living a more victorious life than we lived a couple of years ago. Since those around us feel the same way, we all go about our life thinking we are doing pretty well as Christians!!

The boxes of religiosity create conformity but not transformation, and it sucks the life out of each person!! The sad thing is that if others are enjoying their relationship with God, we can get annoyed by questioning their obedience to God because they’re too happy with God’s love!!!

The Pharisees in Jesus’ time couldn’t even get excited for those who got healed on Sabbath!!  They were more concerned that Jesus was healing on Sabbath than seeing a person healed. They were so stuck on observing the Sabbath that they would lose their rest to ensure everybody else is really resting on Sabbath!! Isn’t that sad!?

Today, let’s make a commitment to just sit before God and give Him room to speak out of “the box” to us. The Bible should be our boundary when we’re listening to the Lord, not my religious denomination, my church affiliation, a person, or my position. Let’s open ourselves wholly to God and give Him permission to mess around with our tight theology. If you know the Word, it won’t confuse you. It will just free you!! If you don’t know the Word very well, examine what you hear and allow the Lord to confirm it through His scripture.

Jesus came to transform us over and over again!!! The Word of God should lead us to the personhood of God. He doesn’t want us to use His word to get into another religious rut, or sit in a dark box of trained religiosity. Jesus called some of those religious people white-washed tombs.  Tomb is where you find  a dead body not a life giving person!!!

As a parent, we enjoy our children in their different stages of life.  We relish every season of their development such as walking, babbling their first few words, reading for the first time, learning their multiplication tables, and so on. However, those are only pleasurable and cute at the right stage!! If your 13 year old can’t read more than a page, or your 15 year old is still trying to remember the multiplication table, you would be more concerned than joyful!!

Jesus desired His disciples to mature and do well at the right season!!

Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater [works] than these he will do, because I go to My Father. John 14:12

Jesus, the son of God, the perfect one is preparing the disciples for His departure. The disciples were going to move in a new season of life, and more maturity was required of them. Jesus had spent 3 ½ years teaching and developing His disciples. He showed them everything He was doing on earth. He then declared that they will do greater works than he had done!! What a statement of security, humility, and trust on Jesus’ part!!

Recently, I have been teaching my daughter how to drive. She is doing pretty well, but there are times that it’s unnerving to be in the car!! I’m taking a risk with my life and her life by letting her drive. I would prefer to be the driver and just give her rides everywhere.  This may work for a couple of years, but do I want to have a 20 year old who still needs a ride from her Mom? Not really!! That requires me to give her the opportunity to learn to drive in the hope that someday she will become a skilled driver. To let her grow up, I need to take a risk with her, and I also have to be secure enough that when she learns to drive, I’m ok with not being needed for rides anymore!!

Jesus did the same thing with us in much grander scale!! He chooses to trust us with His name. He chooses to trust us with people, because He was secure enough to say that you will do greater works than I have done. That doesn’t make me proud; it brings me to humilit!!. He trusted me with such an awesome task. Lord, can I love your children the way you want me to? Will I represent you well? Can I pass on what I have lived, learned, and know to the next group of Christians? Can I tell them someday, “You will do greater works, and I will be here to cheer you on?”

Jesus is modeling a lifestyle!! He is stretching us not to put our security in our gifting, in what we do, who we know, or how well we do it. The Lord wants us to use what we’ve been given for the season assigned to us. Train others in the process by taking a risk in them, and someday put ourselves out of work by giving our works over to someone else to continue. That could be our children, our friends, our coworkers, or fellow brothers and sisters in Christ!!

Jesus gave the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20) to His disciples who were still clueless as to who Jesus was and what He came to earth to do. Would you have trusted that group of disciples to carry your name and your mission on the earth?

Lord, help us in humility to consider others better than ourselves. Be willing to take risks with people. Help us trust them because we trust you. We want to be secure enough to pour into others’ lives, so they can mature and take their place, and possibly our place some day!! Give us the courage to be Kingdom minded!! Amen!