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| Today |  | July 19 - July 25 2026 |  |
Jul19
The Five Conditions Of Blessing & The Jealous God
Deut 28:9-10 | |
| 9 | "The Lord will establish you as a holy people to Himself, just as He has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of the Lord your God and walk in His ways. 10 Then all peoples of the earth shall see that you are called by the name of the Lord, and they shall be afraid of you. NKJV If you look at religion in the world, ‘a system of beliefs’ according to the dictionary, you will see people trying to work their way to heaven. Most are looking for a ticket to paradise. They are missing the complete point. We are not trying to work our way into heaven. We are developing our personal relationship with the Father of all creation, the only perfect being in existence; pure power, light, and love. As you read in Deuteronomy and throughout the Word of God, it is not just about repenting and turning to Jesus so you can get a ticket to heaven. It’s not just about going to church and singing songs or hearing a great message. Nor is it just about fellowing with other people who know Him. It is all about knowing Him! He wants to know you. As you read in Deuteronomy you can see some common themes in how to have a successful and deep relationship with God. Here are 5 points that we must all remember all the time. 1) Listen faithfully to God’s voice- Those who are led by the Spirit of God are the sons of God. Get filled with the Holy Spirit and make sure you are sensitive to Him guiding your spirit. 2) Observe and do all His commandments- Base your life on the Word of God not on how you feel or what you see. If you know His Word, you know His ways. 3) Walk In His Ways- Being a believer is not an award, it is a lifestyle. You do it everyday. What you say, how you act, where you go... it all shows if you are in The Way or not. 4) Don’t get side-tracked to the left or right- It comes at us from all sides, television, internet, mobile communications... distraction is the way the enemy will try to take you away from God. Keep going straight ahead with God and you will go higher 5) Don’t go after any other ‘gods’- There is nothing that compares to God. He is bigger than anything. But sometimes, we allow these distractions to become bigger than God in our own lives. People do it with cars, boats, a sweetheart they’re ‘dating’, money, business... these distractions become so important to them that they lose site of God and fail to hear His voice. Our Father is a jealous God. He says so Himself. Exodus 20:5 |
| 5 | you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, NKJV We can westernize things a bit and say not to let things come before God (as these things can become ‘gods’ to us, and this is true). However, if you have been to Asia you see idols all over the place. You see shrines, temples, god shelves, and all sorts of other things where people pray to some god or dead relative. You see shrines and temples sprinkled throughout Japan, shrines in front of houses in Indonesia, and temples throughout out Thailand. Before God these things are wrong. They are evil. If you have power or ownership over these things I should do what the kings of Israel did. They tore them down and it pleased God. If you don’t have ownership or authority of the physical property, then you take it to the spiritual side. You should curse it to be unproductive and bind the demonic powers behind it. |
Matthew 16:19 | |
| And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." NKJV God is not looking for your money, ritual, or tradition. He is looking for a free-will relationship with you, His child! Put your relationship with Him first thing today. | |
Jul20
Divine Elevation
Isaiah 43:19 | |
| 19 | Behold, I will do a new thing, Now it shall spring forth; Shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness And rivers in the desert. NKJV So many people look to their personal relationships, their human network, for promotion in life. They think that connection to that business associate, that friend of their father or mother, or some influential friend can take them up the ladder in life. In reality, this is not the case. Connections may help a bit, but the real connection you want to focus on is that connection to your heavenly Father, Jesus the Messiah, and the Holy Spirit. This is God. God can do what no human can do. Isaiah 43:19 talks about how God will do a new thing. He will make a road where there is nothing but wilderness. He can even make a river in the desert, where by humans standards, there is no way you could have a river there. How can this be? WIth faith, all things are possible to those who believe. God will lift you up when you lift Him up. The source of your promotion may look like its coming from here or there on the earth, through this connection or that. However, divine elevation comes from the Lord. Psalms 75 says, |
| 6 | For exaltation comes neither from the east Nor from the west nor from the south. |
| 7 | But God is the Judge: He puts down one, And exalts another. NKJV God is the source of your promotion. He is the one who is going to lift you up. He will give you the position. You see people in various positions, but we’ve got to remember they can be gone in a minute. I have seen 10 to 15 instances of where people came against me in business and because of that, they were set aside. Was it because I am something better? No! It is because I am serving God, and seeking Him with everything I’ve got. A daily choice. You can be assured that the revenue that comes into my business is going to be used for The Way, the Kingdom. Furthermore, my salary is going to be tithed to my church every month. It’s not my money in the first place, it’s His. You’ve got to be the same. You have to say, “I am going to serve God and give Him glory whether I am up or down. If things are down for me, my dependance on Him always brings me up. Hallelujah!” Check out Deuteronomy 28:13 which says, |
| 13 | And the Lord will make you the head and not the tail; you shall be above only, and not be beneath, if you heed the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you today, and are careful to observe them. NKJV God makes you the head, God puts you above... but there is something you’ve got to do. You’ve got to adhere to His Word, which is His power. If you want God’s promotion, His divine elevation in your life, you’ve got to be careful to follow His ways. He is The Way. Have you been hoping some individual would promote you? Were you hoping that some company or media appearance would give you that great break? Stop now. Realize that God uses people to accomplish His plans in your life. Begin expecting your divine elevation today, because you are all set with Him. |
Jul21
Watch Me!
John 10:38 | |
| 38 | but if I do, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, that you may know and believe that the Father is in Me, and I in Him." NKJV When you go to some churches, they are as dead as a doorknob. They are no warmer than a concrete wall in the winter. They talk about Messiah Jesus, but they don’t seem to know Him. What is the difference? After a few visits to different churches I figured it out. The power of the Holy Spirit is the difference. I recently heard a foreign pastor of a church in Tokyo teaching on the Holy Spirit. He was saying that we all are filled with the Holy Spirit when we are saved. I thought, that sounds nice and good but that is a bit confusing. I see people that profess Jesus, but they are lacking in power. The reason is because repentance by the leading of the Spirit, and the baptism (or infilling) of the Spirit are two different acts. Jesus demonstrated that to us by getting the baptism and showing the Holy Spirit coming upon Him with John at the Jordan river. When you repent and turn to Jesus, that’s the first step. John 16:8 says the Holy Spirit brings us in to the Kingdom. |
| 8 | And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment. NKJV Just as when you are born into this earth. In John 3, Jesus describes the new birth of our spirit when we repent as being “born from above”. The Holy Spirit is with you, because He led you to salvation but you there is another step. I go to the gym a few days a week, but I have yet to see an infant on that weight bench pushing up weights. I have never seen a baby running on the cross trainer or swimming laps in the pool. They don’t have power. Just thinking about babies doing those things makes me chuckle. As a new “born from above” believer we are spiritual babies and have to get strong. You have to get empowered by the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is that empowerment. This is why we have dead, that’s right spiritually dead, D-E-A-D, churches. They don’t have the power of the Holy Spirit. They have either organized Him out of their services, outright blocked Him, or just don’t know Him like those believers in Acts. In John 10:38, King Jesus challenged the people around Him. He taught with power and authority, like no other to this day. Matthew 7:29 says |
| 29 | for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. NKJV King Jesus had power and anointing on His messages and Words. The Messiah could preach like no other. He confounded the wise. He knew the Word and He was led by the Spirit. He turned the tricky questions that were meant to entangle Him back around at the person who launched them. You can do the same thing. Further, by His teaching, it was clearly evident to all around that He was the Messiah (and He told people He was). That was just the talk. Anyone can ‘talk’ all they want, but when you realize that people are looking at your ‘walk’ (your daily actions) you realize you’ve got to have the talk and the walk. The Messiah’s challenge continues in John 10:38. He says, “If you can’t believe me for what I say, believe Me for what I do”. What a challenge! Can you say that to people? “If you don’t think I am a follower of Jesus and The Way, just watch me”. Do you want people to watch you? I don’t think anyone does, however once they hear you love and serve Jesus, they do. They watch what you are going to do in every situation. When you stub your toe on the door, when you lose that raise, when you see another person fail. People are watching you to see ‘how the believer reacts’. Don’t try to impress people by your own power. Be one with the Father. Those who are led by the Spirit of God are the sons of God. When the Spirit encourages you to pray for the sick, reach out and do it. When the Spirit speaks to you, giving you direction, as you read your Bible, write it down. When you are waiting on the Lord and He gives you a vision for what He wants to do, start making those connections with those who God will use to fulfill those plans He gave you. When action unites with faith, lives change. Put your faith to action and your action to your faith. When you start moving, things will start happening. Miracles will begin to take place in your life. You may not be a minister at your church, but you will very well be a minister in your neighborhood, in your shopping center, in your school, and anywhere else you may be. Show the love of the Messiah to people around you by what you say, but more importantly by what you do in faith. By faith you can say, “Watch me as I watch Jesus”. |
Jul22
Learning To Listen
Deuteronomy 4:1 | |
| 1 | "Now, O Israel, listen to the statutes and the judgments which I teach you to observe, that you may live, and go in and possess the land which the Lord God of your fathers is giving you. NKJV At 26 years old, Mike was pretty strong on computers. His father worked at an airline in the US maintaining the flight simulation systems, so technology and computers were a natural fit to him. He had been around computers all his life and was more knowledgeable than anyone in his high school and college. He was well-read on international issues and a good communicator... or so he thought. He was interviewed and offered a entry level sales job at a famous computer firm overseas. Before starting work, he asked the sales manager for advice on what to do while he was waiting for his visa, and was given books to read on “Solution Selling” and other sales-related topics. After 3 months, his visa finally came through and he headed abroad to take up that job he had been offered. He was excited as this was an opportunity to get to another country and learn a business. More importantly, it was a chance to show his parents that all his foot-dragging to get a good job had paid off. They had been pushing him for months to find a good job but he didn’t want to work at the local supermarket, gas station, or retailer because he knew that was what all his friends were doing and he was embarrassed. Mike arrived in his new country with the help of his new company. He got a temporary apartment and showed up to work that next Monday. He was so excited. At the new company, he was given training on the company, their operations, their way of business, and their culture. They spent a week training him on how to talk to customers, find opportunities, and make connections and become a great sales person. Two weeks into the job, his sales manager started asking why Mike wouldn’t apply himself. The manager asked him, “Why aren’t you calling the customers as I told you? Are you listening?” Each day he would have some type of excuse for why he wasn’t doing this part of his job or that. Mike was always blaming something or someone else. Finally, after two weeks the manager told him bluntly, “If you can’t do the job, then there is no reason for you to be here”. Later after lunch he left the office and did not return. He had given up but he blamed the company and the sales manager. He was ashamed to tell his parents he lost his job. What happened? Mike didn’t know how to listen. Have you ever met someone who doesn’t listen? The earth is filled with people who want to blab but are unwilling to stop and listen. This has been a problem with people since the times of Moses. They just don’t listen. Not knowing how to listen can be very dangerous. Part of being a prosperous believer is learning how to listen. Listening to God and His guidance through prayer and the Spirit. And listening to the Word, as Deuteronomy 4 talks about that. Read the Word, and listen to His commands. If you don’t listen, you become like Mike who quit his job and blamed his problems on the company, the manager, the office... anything besides himself. God wants you to listen to Him! Psalms 81:13 says |
| 13 | "Oh, that My people would listen to Me, That Israel would walk in My ways! NKJV You are His people if you love God and follow the Way of King Jesus. You are Israel as you are the children of Abraham if you believe God. Jesus said in John 8:43, |
| 43 | Why do you not understand My speech? Because you are not able to listen to My word. NKJV People don’t understand because they don’t listen. Those who listen are the ones who succeed. In school, there was a common trick teachers will play on their students on following directions. They would give them a set of directions for some type of assignment. The first direction on the list was to throughly read the who list of directions. The teachers would tell them the same thing. The list would be about a page and a half long. Most kids would tire halfway through reading the list and start following the directions because they didn’t listen. The last set of directions on the list is always, ‘please disregard all the above directions and put your pencil down’. The majority of these junior high students wouldn’t get it because they didn’t listen. Are you like that? Stop talking. Stop making excuses. Start listening to God, then you will have something to talk about. Teach yourself to listen. Teach your children to listen. |
Jul23
Three But One
John 9:37-38 | |
| 37 | And Jesus said to him, "You have both seen Him and it is He who is talking with you." 38 Then he said, "Lord, I believe!" And he worshiped Him. NKJV The more I read the Word, the more I learn about history, science, but most importantly the Almighty God; the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. He is three yet He is one. This day and age, people are so busy trying to think they understand everything. The closer I get to God, the more I realize how ‘deep’ He really is. I have so much to learn. God is good! He is so beautiful, awesome in power, mighty in presence, pure in love, unconditionally gracious, bountiful, protective of His people, our provider and source, the depths of wisdom. There is so much more that our human minds can’t completely understand. I have recently been thinking how God is the Father, yes we all believe that. But what we sometimes forget is that God is also the Son, and God is also the Holy Spirit. John 17:5 says, |
| 5 | And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was. NKJV God the Son, Jesus, has been around since before the world was. What was ‘before the world was’? Before the world was is before this earth was created. He’s been around forever! The Holy Spirit as well. Remember how He was hovering over the waters when the earth was created? How long have you been around? Twenty, forty, sixty or seventy years? I am going to 120 years old, but that still isn’t forever. Jesus God has been around forever. That is why His coming to be born into the earth as a human was such a sign of amazing love. Colossians 2:9 says, |
| 9 | For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; NKJV When you were talking to Jesus, you were talking to God. When you talk to God you are talking to Jesus. This union (as we understand it) of the Father, Son, & Holy Spirit is called the trinity. Trinity is not a word used in the Bible so some people discount it. I wonder what they are thinking? It seems unbelievers are always trying to discount that Jesus is God. He is God! |
Phil 2:5-11 | |
| 5 | Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, 7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. 9 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. NKJV God is a three-part being. We are made in His image. We are three-part beings, spirit, soul, and body. The more you learn about God, the more you learn about yourself. We need Jesus more than anything. As a matter of fact, Colossians 2:10 says the you are “complete in Him”. I am awed at the beauty of God. He is so good to you and I even through we definitely do not deserve His goodness. If you are I were God and had a chance to be born into the earth as a human I don’t think we would want to do that. Jesus loves you so much that He came to demonstrate to us how we are to live. He has made a way for us, so we could have a better life. We need to follow His Way. King Jesus is so beautiful, awesome in power, mighty in presence, pure in love, unconditionally gracious, bountiful, protective of His people, our provider and source, the depths of wisdom. Glory to His Name! Thank Jesus today for what He did for you on the cross. Thank Him for dying for you. Thank Him for loving you even through you don’t deserve it. |
Jul24
Deceptions On The Way
John 8:24 | |
| 24 | Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins." NKJV In American politics, to get elected, virtually everyone says they are a ‘Christian’. As you remember there are two types of people that call themselves Christian, those who are cultural that have no relationship with God or know Jesus as their Messiah, and those who are committed, those who are followers of Jesus the Messiah and all His ways. Recently, a western politician made a statement that showed what was really in his heart. For the electorate he talks about how he ‘relies on his Christian faith’. However this same politician cancelled the national day of prayer ceremonies for that nation. Months later, in an interview regarding religion and political turmoil he said, “And we may call God different names but we remain one nation.” What? Are the gods of the shrines, the mosques, the temples, the same gods as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob? Are there multiple ways to God? Well, that is exactly what this guy was saying. That is not a follower of Jesus, nor is it a follower of The Way! What did the Messiah say about the ways to get to God? |
| 6 | Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. John 14:6 NKJV If you are a committed Christian, you know this verse and there’s nothing to debate. There is only one way. If you are a cultural Christian and don’t know Jesus, you may debate saying, “Is Jesus really the only way to God?” Jesus is very clear and this is a theme that has been around since creation. Isaiah 35:8 says |
| 8 | A highway shall be there, and a road, And it shall be called the Highway of Holiness. The unclean shall not pass over it, But it shall be for others. Whoever walks the road, although a fool, Shall not go astray. NKJV Living the God Way is only something we can do through Jesus our King. It is a way of life, Isaiah talks about the Highway of Holiness. You and I need to get on that highway. Jesus is the only onramp to this highway. You’ve got to be clean, pure and righteous to get on His highway. And again, only Jesus can make you right before God to be able to get on this highway. Therefore, when someone tells you that everyone is worshipping the same God in different ways and with different names, you can be assured that it is a lie from the enemy. That person is deceived and deceiving others. Don’t believe that lie from hell! |
Acts 4:12 | |
| Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." NKJV I am praying for this politician. I am praying that he would repent and turn to God, or that he would be removed from office. There is no compromise, Jesus the Messiah didn’t compromise and neither should we. You and I are the salt and light on this earth. Without followers of Jesus, there would be no flavor in the world. Be salt and light and don’t fall for the lie that speaking the Word is intolerance. | |
Jul25
The Danger of Debt
Deuteronomy 15:6 | |
| 6 | For the Lord your God will bless you just as He promised you; you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow; you shall reign over many nations, but they shall not reign over you. NKJV When you are entering college there are various ways to finance that education. Those in American will have university students come into their school campuses to recruit them as students. Why are there university recruiters? Because they are selling their product, education. Education is a good thing but millions of Americans go into major debt because they take out loans to pay for those four years of schooling. Many graduate university with debts of 20, 30, even a 100,000 dollars. Probably not the best way to start your professional life. God’s plan for His people is that they be blessed. There is nothing wrong with borrowing money, if you can afford to pay it back. However, the best way of thinking regarding loans is “If you don’t have the money to pay it back, don’t take it.” My wife and I built a house in 2007, we took a loan even though we had the cash to pay for the house. We found we could use our money more for our business and pay the loan back anytime we wanted. After 3 years, we paid it off in full. Praise God we are debt free. God wants you to be debt free. Debt will limit you. If you do anything on an ‘impulse’ or as a splurge, then it is likely you will get in trouble. In Japan, until the recent past Kimono sales people would visit the homes of people. Many of the housewives are at home and the sales person proceeds to get them excited about buying a kimono dress. They are appealing and well-made, however the problem is that they are very expensive, in fact over-priced. The wife will get sold on the clothing and not have the budget to pay for the product without asking the husband about it. If the husband gets involved there is a chance that the sale will be killed. Therefore, the sales person usually then recommends they take a consumer loan (that has high interest rates) that she can pay back a little bit a time without the husband noticing. The wife is then strapped with a financial debt or burden she could have avoided if she wouldn’t have bought on impulse and discussed it with her husband rather than hiding the cost. When you read on in the Word you see in Deuteronomy 28:12, |
| 12 | The Lord will open to you His good treasure, the heavens, to give the rain to your land in its season, and to bless all the work of your hand. You shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow. NKJV When you borrow, you become servant to whom you have borrowed from. I know a guy who took over his father’s business in Asia. They manufacture parts for doors and windows. Most of this product has gone to China but apparently the company didn’t make quite make the transition from Japan production to China and racked up a $20m debt. That is a huge debt that caused the company to go bankrupt. The banks came to take everything from the company as well as him, since he was the personal cosigner for all of the loans. He stands to lose his house, car and all his savings. He may lose it all and not be able to even support his family. As a believer, you should avoid debt like you do a coughing person on the bus or train. Get away from it and avoid it. Proverbs 22:7 says, |
| 7 | The rich rules over the poor, And the borrower is servant to the lender. NKJV I don’t want to be a servant to anyone other than my Messiah and God King Jesus. There is no reason for you to be a servant to anyone else either. Carefully consider your situation before you borrow anything from anyone with it is money, a tool, or something else. The most fundamental part of finances for the believer is to make sure you are faithfully tithing a tenth of your income to your church. Most believers I’ve met with financial difficulties tithe either irregularly, or not at all to the House of God. God multiplies what we put in. Remember Jesus with the loaves and the fish? He fed thousands with virtually nothing to start. Be faithful with what you’ve got and God will multiple the finances, the properties, the business and everything else you set your hand to. You will be the lender and not the borrower. |
Luke 6:35-36 | |
| 35 | But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is kind to the unthankful and evil. 36 Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful. NKJV Today’s Reading- Hebrews 6-7 |
Proverbs 15 | |
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