The book of Song of Solomon is a picture of Jesus’ relationship with his bride.

I sleep, but my heart is awake; It is the voice of my beloved! He knocks, saying, “Open for me, my sister, my love, My dove, my perfect one; For my head is covered with dew, my locks with the drops of the night.” Song of Solomon 5:2

While the bride was sleeping, her heart was awake. This is an important aspect of our love relationship to God. At a natural level, love has an enamoring affect. Our heart leaps with joy when we get a phone call, or we get to see our loved one. In a similar manner, when God’s love touches us, we are overwhelmed and comforted with His love!

Our heart is always awakened because of love. That’s the kind of heart God is looking for. He doesn’t just want a functional bride that does a lot of work for Him, but He is looking for one whose heart is awakened by Him. He desires a bride that does not mind being interrupted with her routine life to do it differently today. He is looking for a bride whose heart is expectant and ready to receive his voice and his presence with great joy! 

Sadly, many churches struggle with having an awakened heart. Everything is controlled by a programs and a timeframe. The direction of what will happen on a Sunday service has all been worked out, and there is no room to listen to the voice of the beloved or possibly change from the original direction.

Today, keep an awakened and expectant heart. Make room for Him throughout the day and listen, so you can hear Him when He knocks. Allow Him to minister to you, love you, and direct your steps.

In the last devotional, I shared that fearing God is a healthy fear. Reverence to God brings blessing to our lives and produces a fountain of life. On the other hand, all other fears can be considered unhealthy fears because they are taxing on our souls and bodies.

Unhealthy fears cause anxiety, worry, strife, insecurity, loneliness, and rejection. One of the primary unhealthy fears is the fear of man.  This fear can be paralyzing, and it can completely change the direction of our lives and move us away from God’s purpose.

The fear of man brings a snare, But whoever trusts in the Lord shall be safe. Proverbs 29:25

Definition of Snare according to Strong’s H4170: “bait, lure, snare, by implication, a hook (for the nose):—be ensnared, gin, (is) snare(-d), trap.”

The enemy’s goal is for us to be ineffective as the children of God. Seeking the approval of others is a trap. This keeps us in bondage of other people’s opinion. As long as others have favorable opinion of us, life is good, and we are happy. However, as soon as, there is a change in opinion, we can go into a tailspin. We are trapped and obsessed with the fact that this problem needs to get corrected right away. We get angry, anxious, and frustrated, and then strife ensues because we are trying to gain the favor back.

In this tough predicament, people generally rely on perfectionism or compromise. The perfectionists will analyze themselves over and over again to find and correct every fault. The sad truth is that not every disapproval means that they are wrong.

Compromisers give up part of their values in order to regain favor. Compromising for the sake of gaining approval is an attack on our identity. Since this method is effective for gaining approval of others, people tend to repeat it over and over again to the point of losing themselves. They no longer know who they are and what is important to them. All they know is that they have “peace” because they are in “unity” with others. 

How can we avoid fear of man?

The above scripture gives us one of those ways. In the midst of fear, we need to call out to God and declare our trust in Him. People’s rejection will require us to have courage. We need to trust God for the consequences of being rejected, which may be loss of relationship, popularity, or position.

There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. 1John 4:18

When we recognize that God is the giver of perfect love, it takes us out of the position of slavery to man’s opinion. In addition, He expects us to give love away. We are no longer at the mercy of others’ opinion of us, but rather we are in a position to bless them with our love and acceptance.

Fear is an emotion that most of us have to face. Most fears are paralyzing and are unhealthy, but there is one fear that is healthy and has many benefits to us. The fear of God is a healthy fear that brings life to the believer.  

The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, To turn one away from the snares of death. Proverbs 14:27

The fear of God is about paying close attention to His ways and His will. To know His ways, we need to read the Word, pray, listen, and obey His instructions. The fear of God is about recognizing that He is the ultimate ruler, He is powerful, and He will do what He has said in His word. It is about taking Him seriously and not treating Him as an ordinary friend for He is Holy! The fear of God keeps us from hidden sins. It motivates us to be honest because we are accountable to God. The fear of God protects us from foolishness and bad decisions. The fear of God produces a fountain of life!

The above scripture is a reminder of Jesus declaring that He is the living water. Water is essential for our existence. When people fast, they are still supposed to drink water to ensure their bodies and organs continue to function appropriately. The fountain of life provides good clean water that quenches our thirst and keeps our spirit, soul, and body healthy. No other fountain can satisfy the desires of our hearts!

In our modern day, we take clean water for granted because it’s available to us in variety of ways. However, in poor third world countries, clean water is a luxury. Many have to live with polluted waters for drinking, bathing, and washing. They have no irrigation or no access to a well to draw clean water from. The problem is so severe, that many non-profit organizations raise money to build wells for poor people around the world.

As believers, sometimes we take for granted the fountain of life that quenches our thirst and keeps our souls and bodies healthy. At times, God’s fountain of life seems boring. We like the adventure of trying something new by going to unknown fountains and experiment with different waters to quench our thirst. After all, we have the freedom to choose anything we want! In the process, other fountains pollute and compromise our spiritual health. This is where the fear of God reminds us that we should stay close to the clean and unpolluted water and not drink from any fountain out there. 

There are many fountains that appear to provide living waters. Self-help gurus appeal to our flesh and tell us by thinking positively and taking care of number one, we can be healthy and confident adults. There are those in the Christian community, who focus on the grace and mercies of God without challenging the people to fear Him and stay within His boundaries. We cannot maintain spiritual health apart from regularly receiving from the fountain of life. 

The above scripture tells that the when we truly honor and revere God, it becomes the source of life and health in our lives. The fountain of life provides health and wholeness and keeps us from the snares of darkness and spiritual diseases. In turn, we become source of life to others because God’s life flows through us. 

When was the last time you heard a sermon about the fear of God? 

The baptism of the Holy Spirit was so important for carrying out the Great Commission that Jesus told His disciples to remain in Jerusalem until they received the promised Holy Spirit.

When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.  And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.  Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them.  And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. Acts 2:1-4

Obviously, the disciples had no idea what they were waiting for. There was no script for this plan. It was not something that they could make happen out of impatience, passion, or restlessness. All they knew was that Jesus had asked them to remain in Jerusalem for the promised Holy Spirit. They didn’t know how long they had to wait or what they were exactly waiting for. 

Isn’t this how God works with us sometimes!? He tells us to wait or to be patient, but we don’t know what we are waiting for or why we should be patient. Chances are that if we knew the reason, we would try to make something happen and solve it with natural means. That still doesn’t stop some of us from conjuring up natural reasons and developing solutions for imaginary problems! I am so thankful that the Lord patiently works with us and waits for our half-baked ideas to come to their own logical dead end, so we finally ask Him for help. 

The disciples must have thought they had learned everything they needed to know from Jesus until the Holy Spirit overwhelmed them.  They spoke with tongues that they were not familiar with, yet they didn’t feel awkward. Peter opened his mouth and gave the first gospel message, and, most likely, he surprised himself and his colleagues with the revelation he had just received.They found out that they were not in control of this spirit-filled meeting. This was a remarkable day!

The day of Pentecost ushered a new era for the disciples, and at the same time, it was the day that the new testament church was formed. For the first time, the disciples felt empowered to own the truth and retell it. Now they could clearly see why Jesus had to be crucified. The baton was passed from Jesus to the disciples through the person of the Holy Spirit.  Emanuel came to stay with them and anointed them for bold and courageous expansion of in the Kingdom of God on the earth!

Have you experienced the Baptism of the Holy Spirit? If you have, do you continually sense the leading and the revelation of  the Holy Spirit as you live your everyday life and try to reach others?

If you have not received the Holy Sprit, is there anything that holds you back? The scripture shows us that the initial evidence of the baptism of the Holy Spirit is speaking in tongues. The Holy Spirit has many others gifts that imparts to the believer for the purpose of equipping the saint for intercession and ministry. There is nothing spooky about it. It is God’s idea and God’s gift to empower the believer for the work commissioned by Him. If you desire it, begin praying for it and study the scriptures that reference the baptism of the Holy Spirit and the gifts of the Spirit. 

Jesus continued His conversation with Nicodemus by stating:

You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit. John 3:7-8

Jesus likened the new spiritual life to wind blowing. The wind is not seen, but it can be heard. We don’t know its starting or ending point, but we can still notice it and see its affect when it is blowing. The spiritual life is not something tangible that we can physically or mentally grasp. While we should read and know the Bible, we also need to rely on the Holy Spirit to give us revelation, inspiration, and understanding. Just as the wind has real and powerful affect, so does the Holy Spirit has a powerful spiritual impact.  We don’t have to understand everything about the work of the spirit to believe and appreciate its affect in our lives.

The natural wind is used to produced electricity and power, but it can also blow things away. The Holy Spirit has similar work spiritually. He empowers the believer, but He also blow away the dead things that do not produce life anymore.

The work of the Holy Spirit in the believer’s life is so important that following Jesus’ resurrection, He told His disciples not to leave Jerusalem until they receive it:

And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have heard from Me; for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” …. But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Acts (1:4-5, 8)

Jesus told them that they needed the baptism of the Holy Spirit to receive power for the work He had for them. Without the empowerment and the revelatory work of the Holy Spirit, His disciples would not have been equipped to do the challenging and courageous work that God had purposed for them. Jesus was calling them to be His witnesses in their own neighborhoods, to the Jewish nation, as well as the foreigners that they knew nothing about. The task was great, and they needed the empowerment of the dynamic Holy Spirit to enable them to do this work.

Everyone who is born again has a regenerated spirit and God breathes the Holy Spirit into their spirit man and gives them new and eternal life. However, in the above scripture, Jesus was speaking about the baptism of the Holy Spirit which the disciples had never experienced before or knew anything about.

I will share more about the baptism of the Holy Spirit in the next devotional and His powerful affect in the believers’ lives. 

As we begin the new year, it is important to go back to the starting point of our relationship with the Lord and evaluate our progress. In the last devotional I shared that in John 3, Jesus explained to Nicodemus that he needed to be born of water and the spirit.

Jesus emphasized the importance of baptism as another foundational step in our relationship with the Lord. In addition, He set the example and asked John the Baptist to baptize Him. God followed this decision by sending His Spirit and showing His pleasure with His son in getting baptized (See Matthew 3:16-18).  

Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Romans 6:3

Baptism is a testimony and outward expression of what happened to us spiritually. Our old nature is dead and is buried with Christ. We leave it behind and take on the newly resurrected nature that is governed by the spirit man. Baptism is an act of surrender of the old life.

Is your old nature dead? Do you give it opportunities to die or do you feed it and encourage it to remain strong? Sometimes we use cute or intellectual labels, such as sensitive, introvert, the only child, perfectionist, or type A, to justify not changing in certain areas. Anything that is not of God and is part of our old nature, will keep us in its grip and bondage. We must let the old self die in order to allow the spirit man to fully take control and flourish in our lives. If we rely too heavily on our personality rather than the person of Christ, we are still living with our old nature. Our personality should not inhibit or diminish the work of the Spirit in our lives. 

Baptism is a decision that follows accepting Christ and being born again. Some denominations baptize a baby/child, but the Biblical pattern shows  that the baptism of an individual follows their decision to accept Christ. 

The decision to be baptized is a public declaration to the world that we are in a covenant relationship with Christ, and that we are not ashamed of this relationship. Baptism is a step of obedience and is a demarkation point in a believer’s life. It puts the believer on the spiritual path of growth in their commitment before God. Have you been water baptized as a decision to publicly affirm your covenant and relationship with God?

I will continue with this subject in the next devotional. 

As we begin the new year, many of us will make new year resolutions and will make promises to ourselves to do better in 2017. I usually forget my new year resolutions within the first 2-3 weeks of the year, so I have learned not to make lofty resolutions! However, there is one resolution that we should always make.

The most significant resolution to make is to strengthen our relationship with the Lord. When we focus on developing our relationship with God, we act more like Jesus and less like our old self. We decrease and He increases. It makes us better spouses, parents, friends, employees, employers, and citizens. We develop the right perspective to handle people and circumstances,  and we become the influencers for the Kingdom rather than being influenced by worldliness. 

To start the new year with the right focus, we should go back to the basics of  our faith:

There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.” Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. John 3:1-6

Nicodemus was a knowledgable and religious man. As a religious leader, he admitted that the teachings of Jesus were divine and true! However, there was more that Nicodemus needed to know. When he tried to complement Jesus about His teachings, Jesus went to the heart of the matter. He told Nicodemus that unless one is born again, he will not see the Kingdom of God. Then He explained that one must be born of the spirit and of water.

Being a Christian is not about being raised in a Christian home neither is it just about a mental assent to the truth. Man’s spirit at the time of birth is dead and has no communication with God. It is only through the work of the Cross, that the chasm between us and God is closed, and He chooses to breathe into our spirit man His Holy Spirit and causes it to come alive spiritually for the first time.

This is the beginning of our journey and relationship with God. Now we have the opportunity to allow our spirit man to grow, mature, and become the ruler of our soul and body. In the past, our soul (emotions, mind, and will) was in charge, and it took its cues from the natural world. However, the spirit man communes with the Holy Spirit and is led by God. Therefore, it is not subject to the external forces. This is critical for our spiritual growth; we must allow the spirit man to grow and take charge and not remain an infant.

How is your spirit man doing? Does it rule your life under the leading of the Holy Spirit? Can you distinguish between your spirit man and your soul? Being a born again Christian is a lifelong commitment to nurturing the spirit man and communing with God!

I will continue with this subject in the next devotional.

Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us. Matthew 1:23

Emmanuel (According to Strong’s dictionary,  Greek 1694) means: God with us, a Savior according to Matthew. In orthodox interpretation, it denotes and references the personal union of the human nature and divine in Christ.

When Adam and Eve fell, they lost their union and their relationship with God. No longer humanity was able to commune with God as Adam and Eve had when they walked in the garden with God. After the fall, God picked certain priests, prophets, and special individuals to speak to His people. Sometimes He revealed Himself in a dream, in the fire, or in a cloud. Later God told Moses to build an ark for Him, so His presence can dwell with the Israelites. Although, only individuals like Moses and Joshua had the permission to enter the ark of the meeting and commune with God.

Then the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of the Lord to its place, into the inner sanctuary of the temple, to the Most Holy Place, under the wings of the cherubim. 1Kings 8:6

When Solomon built a temple, the ark was placed in the Most Holy Place (Holly of Holies), and only the priest had the privilege of entering in with the blood of a sacrificial lamb for the forgiveness of people’s sin. A thick curtain separated the Holy of Holies from the Holy Place in the temple.

People heard about God from God’s special agents, but they did not communicate with God personally. In addition, God did not always speak to His special people, but visited them when He desired to communicate about a certain matter.

The New Testament ushered a new age in the relationship between God and man. God sent His angel to proclaim the great news that God was going to come to dwell among His people! No longer was God going to visit the earth through a certain few, but through Jesus He was making a way for reconciliation of what was lost in the Garden of Eden. 

The scripture in John 1:14a in Message translation tells us:

The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood.
We saw the glory with our own eyes, the one-of-a-kind glory, like Father, like Son, generous inside and out, true from start to finish.

God moved into our neighborhoods through His son, Jesus. He chose to allow Jesus to die for us, and in the process the curtain between the Holy of Holies and the Holy Place was torn signifying a new era in God’s relationship to man (See Matthew 27:25). He restored His relationship to humanity by Jesus taking on the sin of humanity, and in the process, Jesus regained what was lost in the Garden. The Holy Spirit ( the third member of the trinity) dwells with those who have accepted Jesus and have become born again (See John 3:3-6).

God is with us in every moment and every part of our day. God came to move into our neighborhoods and to dwell with us and remain in us! His promise is to be with us in every situation and to never leave nor forsake us. We can get to know Him in a personal way. We can communicate with Him and hear His voice in our spirit man.This is something to celebrate! Merry Christmas!

The book of Matthew and Luke both contain the genealogy of Jesus, but most skim through portion of the scripture. While the lineage of Jesus does not seem relevant to the rest of the gospel, it is what ties the Old Testament prophecies to the New Testament fulfillment of those prophecies.

There were over hundred prophesies about the Messiah in the Old Testament, and then there was 400 years of silence. God did not communicate with His priests nor His prophets during that time. After centuries of silence, the Lord chose a humble and simple virgin to give birth to His son; He did not pick the wife of a priest or a prophet to bring His child to this world. The genealogy of Jesus proved that He fulfilled the prophecies spoken about His lineage. Below are just a few of those prophecies:

And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.” Genesis 3:15 

I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” Genesis 12:3 [Speaking of Abraham]

Of the increase of His government and peace There will be no end, Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, To order it and establish it with judgment and justice From that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this. Isaiah 9:7

Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel. Isaiah 7:14

God spoke about the birth of His son from the beginning. He foretold that the Messiah was going to be born of a woman. The Christ was going to come from the line of Abraham, from the tribe of Judah, and He was going to sit on the throne of David. A virgin was going to have a child. Jesus fulfilled all these prophesies along with many others.  The fulfillment of these requirements was so important that the Jews kept a record of the genealogies of people in order to ensure that if anyone claimed to be the Messiah, that they would have the records to prove his lineage pointing to all of the above requirements.

Interestingly, the temple in Jerusalem was destroyed in AD 70 following the birth of Jesus and the fulfillment of the genealogy by the Messiah. Now that Jesus was born and fulfilled those promises there was no need to keep the records any longer.  From that point in history, no one would be able to prove that they are the true Messiah. The Jewish people are still waiting for the Messiah to come, but they need to look to the one who came 2000 years ago! His name is Jesus, and He fulfilled the prophecies spoken about His genealogy, His birth, and His life!

Praise God for He is a promise-keeper!

The second group of people that God chose to announce the birth of His son were the wise men!

Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.” Matthew 2:1-2

The wise men were high ranking officials who were skilled in astrology, astronomy, and even divination. They were the scientists of their day. They came from the East which might have been Persia or somewhere in the orient. 

Why did God choose the wise men? These individuals were highly educated and intelligent people. God reached them in their realm of expertise and showed them the way. While the wise men came from the class of nobility, wealth, and education, they needed to find their savior just as the shepherds needed to know about Him. God is not a respecter of man.

These individuals basically risked their lives by going before King Herod and seeking for the King of the Jews. Israel was under the rulership of the Roman empire, and Judea and its surrounding was under the domain of King Herod. He could have become offended and angry that he was not recognized as the King of the Jews. Herod could have ordered the wise men to be killed immediately for their lack of honor in addition to their knowledge of this baby king! 

When you read the account of the wise men, you find that they did not find baby Jesus right away. By the time, the found Him, the scripture calls  Him a child (See Matthew 2:9-10)! Some historians and scholars believe it could have taken them 1-2 years before they found Jesus, but they did not give up! 

If you are an analytical and/or intellectual person, it may take you time to trust and believe in Jesus and His word. You may be looking for tangible signs and confirmation because you are not one to just simply believe. That’s ok. The wise men did not give up and kept following the star, and God did not give up on showing them the way despite the obstacles. God used His creation (the galaxies) along with their skill set to draw them to Him even though they were not from a Jewish decent.

God works with those who have simple faith as in the case of shepherds, and He also works with people like the wise men who are analytical and scientific minded . No one is beyond His reach and that is something to celebrate!