Walking in Integrity

(Prov 20:10 NLT) False weights and unequal measures-the LORD detests double standards of every kind.

Here Solomon goes back to another reoccurring theme in his teachings: integrity in business. In Solomon's day the two main sources of income were flocks and fields. Most men were either farmers (working the fields) or herdsmen (working with animals); some did both. Scales and measures were used (and are still used today) in the marketplace. So in this type of business the scale/measure is a key tool, determining how much customers pay. It was a common practice for unscrupulous vendors to altar their scales or measuring tapes so that the customer would pay more for an item than they should, giving the vendor an unfair advantage and ill-gotten profit.

In Deuteronomy the Lord told the Israelites to avoid this practice, saying: "Don't try to cheat people by having two sets of weights or measures, one to get more when you are buying, and the other to give less when you are selling" (25:13,14).

In Leviticus the Lord says it again, but adds something at the end: "Don't cheat when measuring length, weight, or quantity. Use honest scales and weights and measures. I am GOD, your God. I brought you out of Egypt" (19:35,36).

What the Lord added at the end was a reminder of who He is and where He brought them OUT of. The Lord's point was that unscrupulous practices may have been accepted in Egypt, by a people who did not acknowledge Jehovah as Lord, but the Israelites were supposed to be different. The Lord had brought them OUT of Egypt, but He knew that some of His people were still doing what they had observed in their old land. In other words, it is one thing to bring someone out of Egypt, but it is something else to get Egypt OUT of them. The Father was saying, "I have moved you physically, but now you must move mentally and spiritually. When I look at you I don't want to see your old ways."

You may not have been delivered from Egypt, but you still had and old life that you need deliverance from. See, when we come to God we do so with a set of ideas, beliefs, values, convictions, and etc.; along with many years of formal and informal education. I would like to say that you we come to God with a clean slate, but that is simply not true. Our slate, by the time we come to Jesus, has been filled with knowledge, experiences, and decisions. When we accept Jesus as Lord we are Born Again. At that moment our spirit is regenerated by God's Spirit and it is a wonderful and everlasting experience. The problem is that we, like God, are tripartite beings. God is Father, Son, and Spirit, we are spirit, soul, and body. Once we are Born Again our spirit is "saved," but not our soul or our body. I like to say that our spirit was saved instantly, our soul must be saved progressively and our body will be saved eventually.

So if our spirit has already been saved and our body will eventually be saved, then what should be our focus today? You got it! The salvation of our soul. Our soul is comprised of our mind (the way we think), emotions (the way we feel), and will (the way we choose). When we come to God our soul is already conditioned to think, feel, and choose a certain way. Most of us came to God with a soul that was not conditioned to think, feel, or choose in ways that are pleasing to Him.

I would like to say it this way new man in an old body needs a new mind!

So what does this mean to you ? It means that cheating in business, fudging 'the numbers' on transactions, or omitting income on your taxes may have been acceptable before, but it cannot be acceptable now. You are a child of the Most High God. Walk upright before God and man and you will have a clear conscious and clean hands.
Father, I know You care about every area and aspect of my life. You brought me out of the world and now You want to get the world out of me. I declare, by faith, that my mind is being and shall continue to be renewed by the Word of God. I put Your Word in me so much that it becomes the overwhelming influence of my life. You are a God of integrity and I am Your child; therefore I am a person of integrity. I walk upright before You all the days of my life. I don't do anything, in business or otherwise, that will devalue, discount, or discredit Your name. I bring honor to You and Your name in all that I do. In Jesus' name. Amen!

A Sinner in Need of a Savior

(Prov 20:9 NIV) Who can say, "I have kept my heart pure; I am clean and without sin"?

Here Solomon poses a rhetorical question. Sure, people have said it, but no one (outside of Jesus) could ever make this statement and it be true. Every one of us was born a sinner in need of a savior.

Paul preaches this powerful message (the Gospel) in all his letters. In his letter to the church at Rome Paul made it clear that every human, unequivocally, has sinned and come short of the glory of God.

Why? Because we were all born with a sin nature, a sin conscious, and a sin-induced death sentence. In addition to the fact that Adam's sin left us an inheritance of iniquity (causing us to be born into sin), Adam's sin also transferred to us a sin nature. This means that we were all born with the tendency to do wrong. I heard a preacher once say, "I have lived all these years and I have never heard a baby say "yes" first." Why is that? Because of the inheritance of Adam.

All of us are born sinners. In Ecclesiastes Solomon made this message very clear by saying, "Not a single person on earth is always good and never sins" (7:20). Both Solomon and Paul taught this message, however, Paul had a message Solomon never heard and that is the message of the Gospel of Jesus the Christ. That is why Paul could go on to explain that God, by His grace, made a way for every human to receive salvation from sin and that is: through the saving power of God's Son, Jesus the Christ (see Romans 3:23,24).

Solomon was writing as he looked forward: in hopes of a coming Messiah. Paul was writing as he looked back: at a Messiah who had already come into the earth, had lived a sinless life, suffered all manner of suffering, experienced a crucifixion on Calvary's cross for a debt He did not owe, and conquered satan, hell and the grave by being raised from the dead with all power in His hand! That is the message we preach. Solomon's message was incomplete. Paul's message tells us the rest of the story.

John, like Paul, also preached the saving power of Jesus Christ. John's New Testament letters are chock-full of the gospel message. In his first letter John said, "This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all." If we stop there we feel like there is an un-crossable gulf between a holy God and fallen man. However, John goes on to say, "If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin." That tells us that we can have fellowship with God (in whom there is no darkness at all), just as long as we walk in the light and receive the cleansing power of Jesus' blood.

However, without understanding the whole of counsel of God's Word it sounds like we would have to be sinless to walk with God. So I am thankful that John goes on to say, "If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives" (see 1st John 1:5-10).

So yes we, as believers, still sin, but we quickly confess our sin, repent, and move forward by faith. It's not that we are sinless, but since we are committed to walking with God we definitely sin less!

So what does this mean to you? Simply put, it means that you were born a sinner in need of a Savior. The Father provided that Savior in His Son; Jesus is His name. Once you accept Jesus as Your Lord you are to walk in the light, as He is in the light, so you can shine as divine light in a dark, dying, and decaying world.

Father, I thank You for sending Jesus, Your Son, to die in my stead. Because of Adam I was born in sin and with a sin nature. Sin was common to me and I was in dire need of a Savior. I heard the gospel message that Your Son paid the price I could not pay for a debt He did not owe. Without Him and You I am nothing. I could not even breathe my next breath without You. I am forever grateful for Jesus and what He did to pay the penalty for my sin. I declare, by faith, that I will walk in the light, as You are in the light, and together we will shine in the midst of darkness and impact all those we come in contact with today! In Jesus' name. Amen!

Our Righteous Judge

(Prov 20:8 NLT) When a king sits in judgment, he weighs all the evidence, distinguishing the bad from the good.

Here Solomon teaches us about the importance of righteous judgment. Similar to our court system today - which allows for a case to be elevated to different levels - the court system in Solomon's day was hierarchal. If the case warranted it, it could actually be tried before the king himself (e.g., Solomon, 1 Kings 3:16-28). While a sitting king definitely had many matters of state to deal with, he still took it upon himself to personally oversee the administration of the law. And this was not just a practice during Biblical times. I am not sure if the court it is still exercised, but the British constitution does reserve a court for the king (or queen), called the King's Bench, where a sitting king (or queen) can hear a case.

Solomon tells us that when a king gets involved in a case he weighs all the evidence and he has a knack for distinguishing the bad (exaggerated, overstated, embellished) from the good. The English Standard Version translation of this verse brings the out; it reads: "A king who sits on the throne of judgment winnows all evil with his eyes." A just king could detect (or winnow / sift out; cross ref. Prov 20:26) evil motives and actions.

The point here is that a king's involvement brought fear to the guilty, because kings did not arrive at the throne by mistake and they were not easily fooled. This reminds me of the selection of David. When the Lord sent Samuel to Jesse's house to anoint one of his son's as the next king of Israel Jesse lined up seven of his eight boys before the prophet. David, Jesse's youngest, was still out tending to sheep. The prophet Samuel did not know that one of the boys was missing and while he was a prophet, he did not hear from God about the selection. Samuel's natural man took over and the prophet attempted to make the selection with his head and not his spirit. Samuel saw Jesse's eldest boy and since he was the oldest, handsome, and strong, he thought, "Surely this is the one." However, the Lord Himself stepped in and said to Samuel, "Pay no attention to how tall and handsome he is. I have rejected him, because I do not judge as people judge. They look at the outward appearance, but I look at the heart" (1st Sam 16:7). The Lord has a way of looking past our outward façade and seeing deep down into our heart; into whom we really are.

So what does this mean to you? A few things:
1. You serve a King - actually, the Kings of Kings - who is a righteous judge that personally gets involved in the cases of your life.
2. Your heavenly Father has a way of winnowing (sifting through) your outward façade and seeing the truth, whether you want to present it or not.
3. You may be able to fool others, but you will NEVER be able to fool God.
4. Bow before God (your King) today, ask Him for forgiveness and grace, and enter this day with the confidence of knowing that He is on you, in you, with you, and for you. God is not only there to judge you, but He will also judge every person that comes against you. He is on your side, so get excited about today!

Father, I thank You for being my righteous judge. You sift through my external façade, the person I portray to others, and You know who I really am. I thank You for judging me, but for also applying the Blood of Jesus, Your Son, to my life. Because of Jesus You forgive me, cleanse me, and grace me daily. As I enter this day I do so with the confidence that You are on me, in me, with me, and for me. You are on my side, who can be against me? You correct me when I am wrong and protect me when I am right. Your involvement in my life is comforting and it gives me confidence. I am excited about today! Let's go make a difference together! In Jesus' name. Amen!

Generational Blessings and Cursings

(Prov 20:7 NLT) The godly walk with integrity; blessed are their children who follow them.


Here Solomon teaches us about the impact we can have on our children. Quite honestly, whether we know it or not, the decisions we make today can actually impact our grandchildren, whether we are alive or not.
This is the spiritual aspect of this verse. But before we get too deep in the spiritual, let's discuss the practical aspect.

The Message Bible paraphrase of this verse reads: "God-loyal people, living honest lives, make it much easier for their children." Okay, on a practical level, we all know that our children emulate us. Consciously or subconsciously, our children pickup on the things we do. So when we live lives that are godly, upright, with integrity, and striving towards righteousness, we are setting the right example for our children and our example WILL rub off on them. If you don't want you children to do what you are doing, then you probably should not do it, because your actions - even on a practical level - have a way of showing up in theirs.

Now let's get to the spiritual aspect of this verse. In Exodus chapter 20 the Lord, through Moses, when admonishing the Israelites to stay away from idol gods, said: "You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected-even children in the third and fourth generations of those who reject Me" (v.5). The Lord said something similar in Ex 34:7, Num 14:18, and Deut 5:9.

This is heavy stuff and it is real. Unbeknownst to me One of my family members committed many transgressions in life that I needed to be delivered from. This was definitely a spiritual thing, because this person has little practical influence on my life. As I grew up I realized that I had a natural inclination to do some of the things I later found out he was prone to doing. It was only after I was Born-Again that I asked my heavenly Father to fully deliver me from any negative spiritual (or otherwise) influences of the past, so that I could fully become the person He desired for me to be. Now, I run into people all the time who say that they don't believe in generational curses, but a failure to believe in something does not negate the fact that is real, and Biblical.

The good news is that while generational curses are real, so are generational blessings. The Lord, trough Solomon's father David, said, "But the love of the LORD remains forever with those who fear Him. His salvation extends to the children's children of those who are faithful to His covenant, of those who obey His commandments!" (Ps 103:17,18). The Lord said something similar in Gen 45:10, Prov 13:22, and Eze 37:25. If the decisions we make will affect our children and their children (and they will), why not make the decisions good ones? Just like cursings can be passed down, so can blessings. I have made a conscious choice to live right before God. The Blessing of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, and Jesus is flowing in my life and it SHALL flow in the lives of my descendants. I made a course correction in my family line that will have ripple effects long after I am gone!

So what does this mean to you ? It means that your decisions are VERY important. Not only do your decisions impact your future, but they will also have an impact on the lives of your born and unborn descendants. So live your life in such a way that you will:
1) be a practical example of righteousness for your children that is worthy of emulation and
2) leave a spiritual inheritance that will positively impact your children's children and beyond.

Father, I thank You for this revelation. I now realize the importance of my decisions and actions. The life that I live will still be impacting my descendants long after I am gone. Therefore, I declare, by faith, that my life will be a life of faith, love, peace, mercy, forgiveness, and divine adventure. I shall leave an inheritance of righteousness for my children and children's children that will give them a Godly advantage in life. They will not have to start where I started. They will have a head start because of the decisions I make and the path I take. The Blessing of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, and Jesus is on me and it SHALL be on my descendants. In Jesus' name. Amen!

Bringing Out the Best in Everyone!

(Prov 20:5 GNB) A person's thoughts are like water in a deep well, but someone with insight can draw them out.

This morning we continue in the book of Proverbs. Solomon paints a vivid picture for us in a form of a parable. He explains to us that a person's true self, their inner-man, is like water in a deep well. As a subconscious form of protection most people put up a barrier that only a select few are allowed past. This is the barrier to their soul, to their most inner self, to who they really are. While God searches the heart with relative ease that is not the case for humans. Only those with true wisdom can search deep into the heart of another, bringing out those things they guard as precious.

This is the challenge of the pastors, counseling psychologists, mentors, and counselors in general. Having a one-on-one interaction with someone else, with the goal of searching deep inside of them and bringing out whatever is required at the time, takes tremendous skill. However, there is a difference between skill, gifting, and the anointing. The Father can certainly anoint someone - gracing them with supernatural ability - to be able to get out of a person whatever needs to be brought out at the time.

18th century theologian John Gill was so eloquent when commenting on this text that I decided to simply share with you what he said:

A person's thoughts are like water in a deep well: "Pure and undisturbed, but secret, hidden, and hard to be come at: such are the things of the spirit of a man, the thoughts of his mind, the devices of his heart; which, though easily known by the searcher of hearts, are not easily penetrated into by men; or it is not easily got out of them what is in them, especially in some men, who are very close and reserved. This is true of wicked men, who seek sleep to hide their counsel; and of good men, especially studious men, who have got a great deal of wisdom and knowledge in them, but not very communicative, being slow of speech, and silent in conversation."

But someone with insight can draw them out: "He will find ways and means to discover the secret designs of wicked men, whether against church or state; and, by asking proper questions, an understanding man will get out useful things from men of knowledge, the most reserved: some men must be pumped, and a good deal of pains must be taken with them, to get out anything of them, as in getting water out of a deep well, and which when got is very good; and so is that wisdom and knowledge which is gotten by an inquisitive man from another of superior knowledge, but not very diffusive of it."

So what does this mean to you? Simply put, it means that a person with divine insight can get the best out of anyone. Whether dealing with someone who is wicked or righteous, good intentioned or deceitfully conniving, a Godly graced person can go deep, like a miner, and bring out the golden nuggets the other person has buried in their soul. Are you that type of person? Can you see the good in anyone? And if you see it, can you bring it out? Can you get past a person's wayward ways long enough to help them bring out the best they have? If you have this grace, then use it, because it is much needed in the world.

Father, first of all I ask You to impart divine wisdom, insight, revelation and understanding (supernaturally) on me, so that I can see the best IN and bring the best OUT of others. I want to be an agent of positive change in the earth. You have put Your Kingdom in me. I now ask You to put me wherever You want, in order to bring about the change You desire. I look past outward failures and flaws in order to see the good every person has deep down inside of them. With Your grace I am able to bring it out so that they and others can see it, and so that true change can take place! In Jesus' name. Amen

A Faithful Man (Woman)

(Prov 20:6 KJV) Most men will proclaim every one his own goodness: but a faithful man who can find?

This morning we continue in the book of Proverbs My mother used to say, "Statements are taken based upon who said them." Her point was that you must take the person's background and perspective into account when considering what they had to say. When you read this verse you must consider the fact that Solomon was a sitting king. He dealt with other heads of state and a multitude of his own leaders on a regular basis. He knew that people were on their best behavior when they stood before a king, so he also knew that a good portion of what he heard was peppered with superfluities. Person after person would stand before Solomon and promise to delivery thus and so, but the reality is that only a portion of those who promise actually perform as promised. Further, many of those who promised and delivered only did so once or twice. Finding someone who promises and performs on a routine basis - day after day, month after month, year after year - is hard. Solomon was looking for leaders who would consistently and faithfully perform for the long haul.

Guess what? God is looking for the same thing. How many people stand before God claiming to be faithful? How many people get before God's presence and promise to do better? And of those people, how many actually deliver on those promises? Now, I am not talking about being faithful for a week, or a month, or even a year. I am talking about being faithful God to for the long haul. How many people do you know who were once fired up about God but have now lost their way? How many do you know who were once on-fire, but are now burned out? But let's not just talk about God, how many people do you know who promised to be there for you, forever, but now they won't even call? People can claim this or that, but at the end of the day, it is simply hard to find someone who is going to be faithful and loyal for the long haul.

I am by no means a perfect woman. But one thing I have strived to be is steady and faithful. Let's use Today's Word as an example. Back in December of 2004 the Father told me to get up every morning and write a devotional. I vowed to God that I would and that I would continue to do it until He told me to stop. Well, here we are, over 6 years later, and I can tell you that I have gotten up every morning, five days a week (Monday through Friday), for these past 7 years and have reported for duty. I get up, pray, get in front of the computer, and type whatever the Father tells me to type. I have done this regardless of where I have been what time I needed to be at work (sometimes very early in the morning), or whether or not I was on vacation. Why? Because I made a vow to the Lord and I have sought to be faithful to it.

So what does this mean to you? It means that you should pause long enough to ask yourself this question: am I being faithful? Am I faithful God and to His purpose for my life? If you cannot answer these questions in the affirmative, then it is time to make some changes. James told us that life is a gift to those who stay the course; he taught us about staying power (see James 5:10,11). Most of us claim to be faithful and loyal, but are you really doing it? Are you staying the course, day after day, month after month, and year after year? Solomon asked, "A faithful man, who can find?" Today you should say, "Here I am Lord, look no further!"

Father, I thank You for Your grace and Your Spirit. I declare, by faith, that I will be faithful and loyal all the days of my life. I know there is no retirement plan for the believer. Therefore, I will be faithful to You and to Your plan for my life, until the day that I die. I refuse to die with my purpose still IN me. I am committed to dying empty. I WILL arrive at Your ultimate destination for my life; and I will get there by being faithful EVERY day and in EVERY way. Every day will take me incrementally closer to Your ultimate destiny. I don't take any days off. I am a believer 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, every year of my life! In Jesus' name. Amen!

Sowing and Reaping

(Prov 20:4 NLT) Those too lazy to plow in the right season will have no food at the harvest.

This morning we continue in the book of Proverbs. In the last chapter Solomon said, "Some people are too lazy to lift a hand to feed themselves" (19:24). This is not the first time Solomon spoke out against laziness. I have already shared an abundance of scriptures, from all throughout the Bible, that admonish us to be self-motivated, to work hard, and to represent God well in all that we do. Today, as we deal with the topic of laziness again, I will approach it from a slightly different angle. Today we will discuss sowing and reaping.

In Genesis chapter 8, after the flood that destroyed everything outside of Noah's Ark, the Lord vowed to "Never again curse the ground because of man." Looking forward from the flood the Lord said, "As long as the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease." Just like there is a cycle of summer and winter, a cycle of cold and heat, and a cycle of day and night, there is a cycle of seedtime and harvest that will not cease until the end of the earth (as we know it). This cycle of seedtime and harvest could also be expressed as seed, time, and harvest.

I separated the word "time" from seedtime to indicate the fact that there is normally a period of time required for a seed to germinate and fully develop into a harvest. The sad reality is that many believers sow what they believe to be good seed, but they somehow expect the harvest to come overnight. No, there is an unspecified period of time required for the harvest to come back to us, but if we are willing to endure, for the long haul, harvest time WILL come. So if what I sow today - in love, peace, harmony, forgiveness, mercy, tenderness, money, and etc. - will come back to me 'some day,' then the only way to ensure I am continually reaping a Godly harvest is to continually sow Godly seed.

This means that if expect to reap God's goodness every day, then I need to sow God's goodness every day. The seeds I sow today (good or bad) will produce a harvest in my future and the harvest I receive today (good or bad) will be a result of the seeds I have sown in my past. Amen?

Now, you may be thinking, "Wait a minute, how does that work? How is it that what I do will come back to me somehow?" Here is my quick answer: I DON'T KNOW! I am not God. But I do know what I have experienced and what God has said; and it is all throughout scripture. Jesus talked about this in Mark 4. Jesus said, "The Kingdom of God is like a farmer who scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, while he's asleep or awake, the seed sprouts and grows, but he does not understand how it happens." The farmer does need to know all the science behind how the process works. He just knows that if puts corn seed in the ground corn will come up. And while he may not understand how the whole thing works, if you keep reading Jesus explains that the farmer does have enough sense to get his sickle ready when harvest time comes. And the awesomeness of sowing and reaping is the fact that the harvest is always exponentially more than the seed sown. For example, Hosea told us that if we sow wind we would reap a whirlwind (Hosea 8:7).

So what does this mean to you ? It simply means that if you want a continual harvest you will have to be diligent in sowing continual seed. Don't allow laziness to keep you from sowing the right seed. If you do, you will be ruining your future.

I will close with the words of Paul: "Don't be misled... What a person plants, he will harvest. The person who plants selfishness, ignoring the needs of others-ignoring God!-harvests a crop of weeds... But the one who plants in response to God, letting God's Spirit do the growth work in him, harvests a crop of real life, eternal life. So let's not allow ourselves to get fatigued doing good. At the right time we will harvest a good crop if we don't give up, or quit" (Gal 6:7-9).

Father, You are the Lord of the Harvest. As Your child I am a faithful sower. I sow seeds of love, kindness, gentleness, goodness, faith, forgiveness, and finances and as I do, I expect a correspondent return. I have full confidence that I will reap what sow, and that confidence gives me extra motivation in sowing the right seed. I overcome every inkling of laziness. I sow continually and therefore I will reap continually. My future is bright because I have the right seed in the ground. In Jesus' name. Amen!