Pastor Asa's Blog

God Desires to Build and Fill Your House

2012-03-01T07:42:00.000-08:00

2 Corinthians 6: 16 - 18, What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: "I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people." "Therefore come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you." "I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty." NIV

"A Christian can say that they love Jesus, and continue to live in sin." The previous sentence goes against the teachings of Christ; however, in today's society, this contradiction is a real threat to the witness of Christianity in the world.

It's easy to love Jesus because He came to earth and paid the price for our sin debt. He never condemned people for their sins; He loved them in spite of their ways. We can love Jesus; but even so, we must also understand that He came to call us out of the darkness so that we can become salt and light to a lost world.

Jesus tells us in Matthew 16 that He will build His church on the revelation of His identity and who He is in us..., and the gates of hell will not be able to prevail against it. Jesus is the very foundation of love and holiness that we are to build our lives upon. Therefore, we must learn the identity of Christ before we can become a holy building or temple that is suitable for God to dwell in. This will require us to seek the Lord for ourselves, instead of trying to become the person that "men" say we are to be.

Much of what is incorrect in the body of Christ can be traced back to a lack of hunger and self-discipline to seek God. Israel was chastised many times by the Lord because they strayed away from God's ways and began to walk in the ways of the heathen. As new covenant believers, we MUST become hungry to be in the presence of God and to know Him for ourselves if we are ever to become the house that God's glory will abide.

Too many times, man will make excuses and exceptions for certain types of behavior, which don't line up with God's Word or character because of the sin in their own lives or the mistakes they have made in the past. We mustn't condemn them because we're all prone to fail on occasion; however, we need to know that our calling is to please God and not man. Therefore, we are to work out our own salvation with FEAR and trembling.

Developing a healthy sense of reverential fear or respect for the holiness of God is the only way for a believing human to live a holy life (Exodus 20). As I mentioned before, we can love Jesus all day long and fail to see any discrepancies with our lifestyle, even though it doesn't agree with God's Word. It's easier to justify sin or a lack of character if it is compared with the human nature in others, but we are instructed to keep our eyes on Jesus as our Example.

1 Peter 2: 1 - 5, Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good. As you come to him, the living Stone-rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him- you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. NIV

Throughout the New Testament, Christians are referred to as being the temple or the house of God that is being built up on Jesus as the foundation. It is essential that we build our house according to God's blueprint (Jesus) and not according to man's standard of holiness. As Paul stated in today's text from 1 Corinthians, the Day will reveal whether or not we have built our house according to the pattern of Christ.

If believers don't grow a healthy respect for God, the righteous Judge, then we can be under-developed in many areas of our lives. You may want to take some time and read the first three chapters of the book of the Revelation. It will show you some powerful insights about the churches of Asia. Over and again, the churches "felt" as though they were living a holy life that was pleasing to their Lord. However, as Jesus inspected each church, He would tell them about their strengths and would finish with revealing their weaknesses to them. Even though their weaknesses didn't please Jesus, the churches didn't seem to have a problem or notice an issue until after they had been inspected by the Lord.

Remember, He is the Light that reveals what has been kept secret or hidden in darkness or spiritual ignorance. Jesus has a purpose in the Kingdom of God, and that is to build us (the Church) up into a holy dwelling place for the glory of God to abide.

Hebrews 3: 1 - 6, Therefore, holy brothers, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, the apostle and high priest whom we confess. He was faithful to the one who appointed him, just as Moses was faithful in all God's house. Jesus has been found worthy of greater honor than Moses, just as the builder of a house has greater honor than the house itself. For every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything. Moses was faithful as a servant in all God's house, testifying to what would be said in the future. But Christ is faithful as a son over God's house. And we are his house, if we hold on to our courage and the hope of which we boast. NIV

So, how are we as individuals supposed to build our lives by faith, so that we are able to please the Father and be filled with His glory? It all begins with us learning how to become intimate with the Holy Spirit. He is our Teacher and Guide. He will teach us about the Father and will never lead us in a way that is displeasing to the Lord. The Holy Spirit will give us the ability to discern truth. Believers who can discern truth can also discern lies or half-truths. Equally important, He gives us the understanding that we all need to grasp the Word of God and apply its truths to our lives.

As we begin to place our trust in the Holy Spirit and listen to His voice, instead of relying on our personal convictions or values, He will guide us on the path of righteousness that leads us to a holy life. God works in our lives to make the spirits of just men and women perfect. The Father has given us the Holy Spirit to be our assurance or guarantee that we will be fully redeemed from sin and death. If we should ignore His voice and try to live according to man's standards and rules, then we won't have the power or wisdom to please our heavenly Father.

Ephesians 2: 8 - 10, For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. NKJV

If you truly desire to please your heavenly Father and have His glory abide in your temple, then you will seek Him with your whole heart. I'll explain this by using Moses and Noah as examples. God gave Moses and Noah very specific details about the structures that He wanted each one of them to build for Him. Both were totally different in every way, yet they served the same purpose. Noah and His entire family were saved simply because Noah wasn't afraid or too busy to listen to the voice of God. As a result of his obedience, he built an ark that was never tested, but never failed. It was filled with every type of animal and enough food to keep them all alive during the time that they were held on the ark. The ark represented salvation to Noah's family as well as the animals.

Moses was also given detailed instructions of how to build the tabernacle of God. This was the mobile temple, if you will, where the Priests entered and offered up sacrifices to God. Just like Noah, Moses followed God's spoken instructions to the letter. You see; it wasn't about Noah and Moses keeping a list of laws. It was their willingness to hear God's voice that saved them.

If you have placed faith in the work of Christ and His cross, then you have a big project to complete before you meet Jesus in person. You must follow the blueprint that God has laid out for you personally to fulfill. Don't worry if you don't know how to understand the blueprints because God has given you the Holy Spirit, and He will show you how to follow God's instruction guide.

If you should try to build your walk with Christ according to someone else's plans, then they will very possibly fail you. We know that God orders the steps of His righteous people. Allow the Lord to form in you a hunger for His holiness as well as His love so that you will live a life that is blessed and well pleasing to Him. At the end, when you stand before the righteous Judge, you won't be ashamed; instead, you will rejoice with exceeding great joy and possess your inheritance. Jesus is the Builder and you are the house, and God desires to fill you with His glory.

Hungry to Fulfill God's Plan,
Pastor Asa Dockery

Living in Freedom

2012-02-29T07:50:00.000-08:00

Romans 6: 7 - 14, For he who has died has been freed from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him. For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace. NKJV

Paul teaches us that as new covenant believers in Christ, we don't have to live in bondage to sin anymore. However, there are still two ways a believer can choose live their lives. They can be ruled by the lusts of the flesh nature and live for self... which goes against the teachings of Christ; or conversely, they can choose to live by faith and obey the Word of God. One road will hold us in bondage to self, and the other will liberate us from self to serve God without fear.

Once you choose to live your life for Christ, it will take time for the Word of God to transform you from a carnally minded believer into a spiritually minded one. Conversion doesn't happen overnight, but it WILL occur in your heart if you will hold on to your faith and live for God and not self. Now, self will try to persuade you that God's way isn't worth the pain that you have to endure in order to die to the flesh nature. However, there are millions of believers, including myself that will testify and tell you that God's way is the only way to be free.

"How bad do you want to be liberated from living a life of bondage to lusts, habits, addictions, and people?" Well, you have to love God and His Word even more than you want to have a life of freedom. There's a saying that is used in the world of physical fitness when addressing people who want to quit before they reap the benefits of working out or exercising; nevertheless, it is also perfect for our spiritual well-being: "No pain, no gain." We must suffer a little in order to die to our self nature and our bondage to fear; otherwise, we will live the rest of our lives bound.

If you make the commitment to serve the Lord and die to self with the hope of one-day walking out of "the pit," you will have to learn how never to tell God, "No." Living God's way will require you to take on a servant's heart and an attitude of gratitude toward the Lord. According to James, God gives grace to the humble, but He opposes the proud. Once we agree to suffer in our flesh so that we might obey and please our heavenly Father by faith, He will empower us with grace to face, endure, and pull down every stronghold and mountain that defies our faith.

However, beware of pitfalls along the way. Satan will constantly try to trip you up on your journey to spiritual transformation and liberation; so, you have to guard your heart. Whenever the Holy Spirit instructs you to obey His voice, but you realize that obedience will cost you something that you're not willing to give up, then you can be sure that Satan is moving in for an attack. Should we ever harden our hearts to the voice of God because we love something more than our commitment to Jesus, or we are afraid to face a giant, we will place ourselves back in bondage to our flesh nature. Remember, the flesh nature can't live free because it lives under the law; but we died to the flesh nature when we accepted Christ. Now we live under grace, and sin should no longer have dominion over us.

We mustn't ever tell God, "No," when He instructs us to obey Him, especially when it costs us something we love very dearly. Remember, God rewards those who diligently seek Him. If God asks you to give up something, it means that He has something better in the future for you. Nevertheless, if we should fall into Satan's trap of offense and fall from grace, we will become enslaved by the flesh nature once again. There are many people who confess to love Jesus every day; however, they have fallen into the trap of Satan and are in bondage.

If you are a believer, and you know in your heart that you're not living a life of freedom in the Spirit, but you desire to do so, then the Word today is especially for you. When we say, "No" to God, but confess that we still love Him and place our faith in Jesus to save us, we won't have the grace to be the witness of freedom that Christ died for us to possess. Just like you couldn't save yourself from your own sins, and you realized that you needed to believe on the Lord, neither can you live the saved life apart from remaining submitted to the Lordship of Jesus. Only when you and I submit to God, and we do what He instructs us to do will we have the power to resist the Devil and have him flee from us. Christians, who believe in Christ, but for some reason, aren't surrendered to Christ's ways, won't be able to obey Him for more than as long as their own "will power" will enable them. This is called cyclical Christianity or repeat offenders against God's Word. If this describes you, then know that you're trying to serve God in the flesh and not from your heart. You must go back and correct the offense by placing it on the altar unto the Lord. Once you have repented and changed your mind, you will be empowered with God's grace to walk by faith without fail.

If we could live the new life in Christ in our own power, then God missed it when He sent the Comforter to be with/in us. The Holy Spirit gives us the power of God to live continually for Him; we will not quit. This is why we are warned in scripture not to grieve or quench the Holy Spirit, by whom we have been sealed until the Day of Redemption.

Since you have read the entire devotion today, let me ask you a question. Do you have something or someone in your life that has caused you to stumble in your faith walk? Do you desire to be set free from bondage and to live the life that God intended for you to live? If so, then lay your "Isaac" on the altar like Abraham and allow God to bless you once again.

Grace is the Only Way to Live Free,
Pastor Asa Dockery

Why New Believers Struggle with Their Faith

2012-02-28T12:54:00.002-08:00

Galatians 5: 1 - 10, Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage. Indeed I, Paul, say to you that if you become circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing. And I testify again to every man who becomes circumcised that he is a debtor to keep the whole law. You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace. For we through the Spirit eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness by faith. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love. You ran well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth? This persuasion does not come from Him who calls you. A little leaven leavens the whole lump. I have confidence in you, in the Lord, that you will have no other mind; but he who troubles you shall bear his judgment, whoever he is. NKJV

The Apostle Paul is addressing the new converts in the church at Galatia. He has discovered that someone has caused them to fall from grace, and, consequently, they have gone back under the law. Instead of obeying the truth by faith and abiding in the new liberty they had received in Christ, they were persuaded to add the works of the law to their faith.

As Paul began his letter to the church, he exhorted them to stand fast to the liberty by which Christ had made them free. He was calling them back to their commitment to live by faith, and calling them away from the works of the law. So why did these new converts from Judaism to Christianity decide to return to their old ways and fall from grace? It was because they had been persuaded by non-believing Jews that they must add works to their faith. However, how could these non-believing Jews cause them to stumble and fall? Not all the Jews believed that Jesus was the Son of God; therefore, they also doubted that HE was the only way, truth, and life. They didn't believe that Jesus' teachings were the sole way to the Father. Consequently, they swayed these new believers into going back into bondage and giving up on the liberty they had gained in Christ.

Doesn't this illustration from scripture sound very similar to the kinds of situations that face brand new believers in our day? The voice of condemnation taunts new converts trying to get them to add something else to their faith in order to be "saved." The sacrifice of Christ on the cross fulfilled the law and appeased the wrath of God against mankind. If we place faith in Christ as our only way to the Father and the sole way to have eternal life, then the Father will forgive us and fill us with His Spirit.

New believers struggle with their faith because they haven't completely broken away from the old mindset of the flesh that ruled their hearts before Christ filled it. Now that you and I are born again and have been given a new nature, we must resist the temptations and accusations of the enemy that try to pull us back into bondage. This is the place in your walk where you will have to decide to make Jesus your Lord, not just your Savior. When we commit to the teachings of Christ, every bit of the old ways and the old thinking that we once walked in as sinners will be stirred within us. Continuing in this stale mind-set can cause old desires and thoughts to begin to pull us away from the narrow path of righteousness, but if we will resist the old man and crucify him through obedient faith, the grace of God will begin to remove the condemnation.

Another reason new believers struggle in their faith arises once they begin to follow their faith with obedience to Christ. Remember, the Jews that were saved in Galatia believed in Jesus, but struggled with obeying the truth. If we obey the truth every day, it will hold us personally responsible and will empower us to live by faith, therefore, pleasing our heavenly Father. Nevertheless, once the believers in Galatia tried to obey the truth, they were met by the resistance of non-believers.

After you have made a commitment to Christ, you must begin to live your new life according to His teachings. At this point, there will be a crossroad where you will meet a lot of resistance in your walk. Why does this happen to new converts? It is because they have decided to walk contrary to the ways of the world and their old nature; and this decision will challenge every opinion, relationship, belief, self-confidence and pride that they had before they became born again. This is why Jesus told us in Matthew that, if we desire to come after Him, we must deny self, take up our cross, and follow Him. You will have challenges that might try to convince you to give up, but hold on to the only faith that has the power to save- your faith in Christ.

If you struggle with walking by faith and living by the Word of God, then I want to leave some verses with you that will help you endure and overcome the condemning voices of the enemy.

Hebrews 10: 32 - 36, But recall the former days in which, after you were illuminated, you endured a great struggle with sufferings: partly while you were made a spectacle both by reproaches and tribulations, and partly while you became companions of those who were so treated; for you had compassion on me in my chains, and joyfully accepted the plundering of your goods, knowing that you have a better and an enduring possession for yourselves in heaven. Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise: NKJV

As you face the battles that arise when you pledge your loyalty to Christ, remember that your faith and commitment will empower you to defeat all of your adversaries along the way. Stand fast in the liberty that you have in Christ and endure your cross with the hope that God is making you free and will one-day reward you for your faithful endurance as a good soldier. God rewards those who endure their cross, and they become filled with His love and power. Hope waits until the promise comes to pass.

Waiting on the Promise,
Pastor Asa Dockery

Follow the Unseen God

2012-02-20T04:29:00.000-08:00

Hebrews 11 : 24 - 26, By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the reward. NKJV

When my sister was a child, our mother took her for piano lessons. However, after she had gone to a few sessions, the teacher told mom that giving my sister the lessons was a waste of money. It wasn't that my sister could not play the instrument. It was that God had given her a natural talent and ability that had its own way of manifesting. I use my sister's story here to share a principle with you that will encourage you to seek the Lord and His will more and more each day.

When Jeremiah was a young boy, God told him that He had known him even before Jeremiah had been formed in his mother's womb. God also revealed to Jeremiah that He had called and ordained him to be a prophet to Israel. Can you imagine being a very young boy and have the God of heaven and earth declare such a prophetic utterance over you? To say that Jeremiah was slightly intimidated would be a gross understatement.

I bring up these stories to prove to you that the unseen God has already mapped out your new life in Christ. Here's a very important key to discovering your purpose in Christ that many have failed to lay hold of: If you desire to live the life and fulfill the purpose God has for you, you must be willing to seek Him first. As we seek God by faith, He will begin to reward us for our diligence. This is the awesome part of seeking God. Once He sees us set our hearts on knowing and serving Him, He begins to unlock for us the treasure and the mystery of who we are in Christ.

There are people who have made fortunes seeking out and finding lost treasure. Even so, as we seek God, and in return discover the treasure that He has buried deep within our hearts, we become the new person that God intended us to become before we became sin conscious. This is part of the redemptive work of Christ that is released in our lives once we choose to follow God's path; it began on the cross, but is completed in each of us who believe in Jesus.

There are two schools of thought I know of which are used to discover and develop the hidden potential in each one of us. Many people in the Bible were raised and developed in a formal setting. Nevertheless, there are many others who had no formal training, yet seemed to have a natural ability to know just what to do and say. Just as we need teachers and mentors in our lives that can see our hidden potential, we also need to maintain a healthy communion with the Lord, so He can reveal to us our potential to serve His purpose.

You may feel as though God overlooked you when it comes to possessing great talents and abilities. However, let me remind you that God has a great purpose for every believer in Christ. Our roles may not seem considerable in man's eyes, but they are in God's, and in ours, if we will humble ourselves and accept our place. In Christ, God has already accepted us; nonetheless, when it comes to us accepting ourselves, there can be a huge struggle. This is why God gives to every person the measure of faith that Paul tells us about in Romans 12. It is our faith in Christ that empowers us to overcome what the world has called us; and it will also be our faith that will cause us to move on to become what Christ has ordained for us.

Through faith, Moses refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter. He didn't fit the "person or identity" that the world placed on him. Why and how did he know these things, since he was raised in Pharaoh's house? Remember, when he was a baby, Moses' mom placed him in a river and his sister watched over him until he arrived where Pharaoh's daughter was bathing.

Without Pharaoh and his daughter knowing what was happening, Moses' sister told them of a woman who could nurse the baby, who happened to be his own mother. God reunited the two in the house of Pharaoh, the enemy of Israel's new-born males. This time of nurturing was a great opportunity for Moses' mother to teach him about his Jewish heritage.

Once Moses came to the age of accountability, he began to accept his calling from the God of the Jews; he now knew what that had been buried deep inside his heart. He also knew that there would be a reward if he chose to fulfill his calling. Most of us have come up in life under very harsh circumstances, but God has been with us the entire way. He has waited on us to arrive at the place that we would accept Him and all that He has called you and me to fulfill in the earth.

If you're not fulfilling your heavenly calling and purpose in Christ, make a commitment to step out in faith today. Don't allow what the world has said and done to you hold you back from being all God has called for you to become. Like Moses, know that there is a better day coming, and when that day arrives, you will be greatly rewarded for breaking out of the mold and into God's liberty.

Following the Map of God's Will,
Pastor Asa Dockery

Living by Faith and Not by Need

2012-02-17T04:55:00.000-08:00

Deuteronomy 8 : 1 - 3, "Every commandment which I command you today you must be careful to observe, that you may live and multiply, and go in and possess the land of which the LORD swore to your fathers. And you shall remember that the LORD your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not. So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the LORD. NKJV

In this world, we are conditioned to believe that we must make our own way. Can I tell you that this mindset doesn't liberate people? Rather, it places us in bondage to man. At first glimpse, this lie seems to offer people their independence. Nevertheless, this is the very reason many of us fall prey to the idea of self-sufficiency. Let me remind you that this lie found its first victim in the Garden of Eden. Satan appeared to Eve as a serpent and seduced her into believing that she didn't need to obey God's voice or commands in order to live. However, once they bit into that lie, they soon realized that life was over for them as they had known it.

Since we have been told most of our lives that if we want anything out of this life, we must get out and earn it by the sweat of our brow, we have come to accept it as gospel. Nonetheless, any teaching that excludes God and placing faith in His love and grace will ultimately lead people into bondage of some type. Satan told Eve that life doesn't consist or stem from listening to God, but through the efforts of our flesh.

In the verses from Deuteronomy today, we read that if God's people desired to see good life and be blessed, they would need to listen to His voice and obey it. God went on to tell them that He humbled them by allowing them to hunger so that He might feed them with manna from heaven. It was through this process that God taught His people how to live by faith... not according to their needs.

Many people are more "need- minded" than they are "faith- minded." When a need- minded person comes to God, it is always based on what they desire; it is not based on God's desire for them. This way of thinking leads people to live a cyclical life. We have a term which defines this type of livelihood; it's called the "rat race." However, should we reduce us and our existence down to that of rodents? You may ask, "Who sits around and thinks up all these systems and establishes these terms in which to classify people in order to make them feel less than human?" Satan does!

God doesn't want you to be led around by Satan with a carrot dangling in front of you. God has a plan for your life and your families' lives; His plan is to prosper you and give you a hope. So when we come to God and begin to tell Him ALL about our need, if we stop long enough and listen, we will find God is speaking about something "other" than our need.

Does this mean that God isn't interested in our needs? No, it is just the opposite; He not only sees our needs, but Jesus tells us in Matthew 6 that God already knows that we have need of the things we seek Him for. However, He instructs us to seek the Kingdom of God and His righteousness first. Even so, why does God ask us to seek the Kingdom before we seek for our needs to be met? It is because He wants to break the vicious cycle that Satan has placed the world under through self-sufficiency; His desire is to release us to live by faith, thus pleasing God and not ourselves.

We have both a body and a soul. If our soul dies, our body will perish. Even so, if our soul is alive because we choose to live by faith in what God is telling us, then our body will also thrive. When Satan lied to Eve about the tree of knowledge, he simply caused her to get things out of proper order. This occurs when we place our needs (self) before God's Word and Will for our lives. Once we humble ourselves and begin to listen to His voice and fulfill His purpose, then the other stuff will begin to follow our righteous acts.

So the next time a problem or need arises, be careful not to slip into a "survival" mindset and begin demanding God to take care of you and your need. "Murmuring doesn't make for a good outcome with God." Instead, when you come to God believe that He has your best interest at heart; He already knows what is needed in your life. In essence, God is teaching us, as His children, to trust Him... not lean on our own understanding. As we acknowledge Him in our everyday lives, He will direct our steps. However, He won't lead us by dropping bread crumbs for us to follow; He will direct our paths by His Word and His Spirit. I pray this word builds hope, encouragement and faith in your hearts to trust God and begin to take Him at His Word today. He has your back.

Living Life by Faith,
Pastor Asa Dockery

Are We There Yet?

2012-02-16T06:09:00.000-08:00

Philippians 3: 12 - 14, Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. NKJV

Paul teaches us in the LOVE chapter found in his letter to the church at Corinth that knowledge vanishes. When it comes to having knowledge, there are two types that I'm aware of. First, there is the knowledge of man that we gain through our experiences and from one another. Secondly, there is the knowledge that comes from God. It is only through this knowledge that we are able to grow.

I've been a student of God's Word for a long time. There's something about it that is intriguing. The more we learn from the Word of God about God and His kingdom, the more we need to learn. The knowledge that we can glean from God's Word can never be exhausted.

So how is it that we can read and study the Bible and never arrive at a final destination in our quest to know God? Jesus gave us a key in the gospel of John. He said that the Words which He speaks, "They are Spirit, and they are life." Unlike man's knowledge or wisdom which evaporates likes fumes from fuel, the knowledge that we gain from studying and devouring God's Word contains life and causes us to grow into the image of Christ.

I have been teaching and writing almost every day of the week, and yet it only recently dawned on me: the more I learn from God's Word, the more I to want to learn. While I don't pretend to remember every truth that God has shown me, I can say that we have definitely grown from what we have learned as a body.

Is there spiritual growth in your life? If you have a steady diet of the Word of God, whether it is through reading or being taught, there should be growth as a result. Like Paul, we haven't obtained all that Christ has apprehended us for, but also like Paul, we are to press on toward the goal. No one will reach the place of tapping out the truth that is contained in the Word of God on this side of heaven. Consequently, we must continue to be committed students of the Bible. Knowledge will vanish, but the truth will give us life. If we have Life, living and dwelling in us, then we won't be as apt to seek death or its pleasures. O taste and see that the Lord is good.

Feeding from the Master's table,
Pastor Asa Dockery

The Gift

2012-02-15T05:00:00.000-08:00

Romans 6: 20 - 23, For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. What fruit did you have then in the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. NKJV

Hebrews 11: 6, But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. NKJV

Satan imprisons and punishes those who choose to pursue him; however, God loves, liberates and rewards those who follow Him. Please note that there is a difference between love and selfishness, and between holiness and evil. By no means am I comparing our great God to Satan. I am, however, pointing out some glaring distinctions between the nature and attributes of each.

God mustn't be compared with Satan because they are not equaled on any level. Nevertheless, when people have been deceived by the Serpent, they need to see that there is a vast difference between the Kingdom of God and the kingdoms of darkness. Satan rules over his domain with lies, manipulation, and fear tactics. He exploits the fallout that occurred when man decided to sin against the Lord God. The reason Satan understands how humans react to the rejection caused by the fall of man is because he, too, is a fallen created being.

From the very beginning of the Word of God, we see the conflict between Light and darkness, and Day and night. Satan, as I stated earlier, manipulates us through our most vulnerable areas, such as our emotions and desires. He speaks to us through our humanity during trauma, disappointment, loss, and pleasure. Through these diversions, he preys on our distracted attention. The Bible tells us that Satan is allowed to operate in our lives either under darkness or our own spiritual ignorance.

Once he gains access into our lives through the avenues that I mentioned, he begins to form a web in which to hold us captive. If we should find ourselves bound to a person or a situation and can't find the way to freedom, we will know that Satan has captured us through a point-of-entrance. It doesn't mean that Satan has possession of our souls; it only means that he has gained control over an area of our life. He will begin to utilize fully the ground that has been gained to launch an assault on the parts of our life that remain in freedom.

Just as infection enters our body through a cut or a virus and begins to spread throughout our entire body, Satan operates in much the same way. As the Apostle Peter said in his epistle, "Satan seeks those whom he may DEVOUR." Once Satan gains access and seeks to take complete control, if he isn't stopped through the power of God, he won't relent until he has his prey under total bondage to his lies. Afterwards, he will begin to punish his prisoner and wear them down in order to destroy their soul completely.

While Satan operates under a cloak of darkness and deception, God operates out in the open. He doesn't manipulate our emotions; He speaks directly to our hearts. From the very moment that a person who has been caught in Satan's web of deception decides to call on the Lord, God begins to free them. In the verses that I shared from Romans 6, Paul tells us that Satan's work in us requires wages. However, God's love is a gift. While Satan preys on our fallen mindset of needing to earn acceptance and love, God requires nothing of our flesh...only faith from our hearts. God has already paid the price for us to be free. All we have to do is accept it.

In order to set us free from the very nature that Satan exploits so that he can continue to hold us in bondage, God has circumvented our soul and requires us to follow Him by faith. As we walk by faith and not by sight, we override our emotions and desires. God has given us His Word and the Holy Spirit; together, they guide us on this path called Righteousness. Since our soul isn't charting the course and isn't in control of our decisions, we can come out of the prison where Satan once held us captive. In Romans 8, Paul teaches us that those who are LED by the Spirit of God are the sons and daughters of God.

Did you catch that? In Christ, you are no longer a slave to sin. You won't have to pay the wages of sin with your eternal soul. You are a child of God. Jesus has made us to be kings and priests unto our God. Here is the best part of living a life of faith: God rewards those who diligently seek Him. Instead of coming to the end of your life and losing your soul because you chose to serve Satan, God will reward you with life everlasting... plus an eternal reward that hasn't been revealed to us on this side of heaven. Nevertheless, we still must make the decision to have life. If we fail to make that decision, then we fail to have or inherit life. Once you choose Christ, you must choose each and every day to live His life.

Living the REAL LIFE,
Pastor Asa Dockery

The Father Desires to Commune with You

2012-02-14T04:01:00.000-08:00

Matthew 18: 11, For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost. NKJV

Have you ever thought of yourself as a "that"? Christians tend to think that Christ was sent to earth by His Father for the sole purpose of saving souls. However, according to this passage of scripture, Jesus was sent to fulfill more than just salvation. He literally paved the way for us to, once again, have fellowship with God. Christianity tends to focus only on the cross and salvation; but the Bible teaches us that these are also avenues that God has chosen to restore man's ability to hear the voice of God.

When Adam and Eve partook of the fruit of sin, it hardened their hearts to the voice of God. We see this illustrated in Genesis 3 when God asked Adam and Eve if they had eaten of the tree of knowledge, and they both passed the blame on to someone else. Moses records the fellowship between man and God with the account of the voice of the Lord God walking in the Garden in the cool of the day; however, this was before Adam and Eve sinned. We can't conclude that this was God's normal activity, but we can say that He did fellowship with Adam regularly. I draw that conclusion from where God and Adam worked together in Genesis 2.

Shortly after the fall, God drove man out of the garden and then placed cherubim with a flaming sword at the entrance. The very place God had created to have fellowship with man and to provide for his needs was now sealed in order to keep man from entering and partaking of the Tree of Life.

From the time of Adam until the time of Moses, God chose to speak to and to work through various men in order to carry out His will in the earth. By the time we get to the account of Moses' calling from God to lead His people out of Egypt, we can see the emergence of a new role that Moses was to fill on behalf of God. As a great prophet of God, it was Moses' duty to speak with God and to tell the children of Israel what He had conveyed on their behalf. It was during the era of Moses' leadership that God instituted another office called the priest.

The prophet's primary function was to go before God for instructions so that the children of Israel could hear them and live by God's commands; on the other hand, the priest had a different role. The priests were called to perform the duties of serving in His temple and to offer up sacrifices for the offenses of God's people. Unlike the prophet, who represented God to man, the priest would represent man and their offerings and prayers back to God. Once the office of the priest and High Priest were in full operation, the communication between God and man was somewhat restored. Although the children of Israel could hear God through a prophet and offer to God through a priest for their sins, they refused to hear the voice of God because of fear ( Exodus 20).

These things that I have shared with you today are what theologians and Bible scholars call, "types and shadows." Typology is a term that describes how God concealed the work of Christ under the old covenant with His people. In the New Testament, Jesus was the fulfillment of what was only being portrayed in the Old Testament. Jesus was, and still is forevermore, the Prophet and the High Priest of God. In Christ, we have total redemption and restoration of all that was lost due to the fall of man.

Through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, man's ability to enter the presence of God was restored; once again, they could commune with God without fear. The shed blood of Jesus was the payment for our sin debt; but it also made the WAY (through the work of the Holy Spirit) for God to enter man and for man to enter the presence of God. Now that we are spirit-beings who have been redeemed from the fall, we have access into the holiest place where God dwells.

In Christ, the flaming sword has been done away with, and the veil that prevented ordinary people from entering God's holy sanctuary has been abolished. If you have faith in Christ, you can enter the secret place where God dwells, and you can hear His voice. In the beginning, God's intention was for mankind to be able to commune with Him without having to go through a man to do so. However, since man sinned, God instituted another way in which He could communicate with His people until the Messiah came to earth and set things in proper order. Now, all people, through the blood of Jesus, can come to the Father for themselves. We are no longer required to go to a man in order for God to hear our prayers or petitions. Anyone can come to God in a time of need and find help in times of trouble in the name of Jesus. He is the WAY, the TRUTH, and the LIFE. No one comes to the Father, but by Him.

Through the Blood of Jesus,
Pastor Asa Dockery

Until Christ Is Formed in You

2012-02-13T04:53:00.001-08:00

Galatians 4: 19, My little children, for whom I labor in birth again until Christ is formed in you... NKJV

There's much more to being a Christian than just saying, "I'm saved." All who confess faith in Christ must also undergo the conversion process. Our transformation is manifest when Christ is formed in our hearts, and it becomes evident in our everyday lives. Now, we all know that this doesn't happen overnight. Nevertheless, does that mean we can wait until it's time for us to go to heaven before we commit to the process of being converted? No, it does not. As soon as you choose to accept Jesus as Savior, the Holy Spirit will immediately begin the work in your heart of converting you from "flesh-like" to "Christ-like."

Those of us who have placed our faith in Christ as the Son of God have, by faith, become the children of God. However, none of us have the kind of faith it takes to walk fully in what God intends for us to inherit; nonetheless, we are reaching for the goal. On the other hand, many people teach that, once we accept Jesus, we have "it" all, and in-part that is true. Jesus is ALL that we need in order to please the Father and become born again. Nevertheless, now that we're saved, we have an inheritance that must be given. There is a backlash that has come from teachings that tell believers they have "it" all at the moment of salvation. Believers will use that teaching or doctrine as an excuse to settle, instead of pursuing God for the rest. Therefore, we must begin to lay aside the old man and be renewed by putting on the new man... becoming more like Christ.

Allow me to give you a couple of stories from the Word of God that will help explain the term, "Becoming Christ-like." Abram had an encounter with the Lord in Genesis 12. During this visitation, God promised Abram that, in him, all the families of the earth would be blessed. As Abram walked with God, which is a type of us continuing in our faith by obeying God's Word and instructions, God promised Abram a son. The son whom God promised didn't automatically materialize in Sarai's womb, but, instead, began as a Word in Abram's heart. When Abram entered a covenant with God, God swore to Abraham that he would, indeed, have a son of his own. After twenty-five years, God fulfilled His promise to Abraham and Sarah, and she conceived their son of promise.

God waited until the bodies of Abraham, and Sarah were beyond the human ability to conceive and bring forth a baby before He allowed them to inherit their promise. Doesn't that sound a lot like us having to wait to inherit the promises of God until our old man is dead? Yes, it does.

The second story is about a virgin named Mary. God spoke to her about the promise of a Son, just as He did with Abraham. Isn't that interesting? God is making the same promise to a virgin woman in the New Testament that He had previously made in the Old Testament to a man. What is the significance of God repeating this principle? The Old Testament represents the flesh, and the New Testament represents the Spirit. Abraham believed God and had a son by a woman who was unable to be pregnant. Mary believed God and gave birth to the Son of God without the assistance of a man.

So what do these two stories have to do with us being Christians and the need to become Christ-like? When we're born again, we look more like the first Adam than the Last Adam. As we CONTINUE abiding in the Word of God and standing on the promises of God, the Word that has been hidden in our hearts begins the transformation in us. Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 15 that we have borne the image of the earthly man, Adam. However, as the Word grows in our hearts, we will become like the Last Adam. We start out in the flesh; nevertheless, as we grow in the faith, we will take on the attributes of Christ and be converted into spiritual beings.

Does this sound to you like we get "it all" at the moment of salvation? You have the remainder of your life to become Christ-like. Even so, that doesn't mean that you need to procrastinate. If we harden our hearts to the voice of God like the children of Israel did, it will prevent the Holy Spirit from performing God's will in our hearts and lives. None of us who have accepted Jesus as our Savior want to stand before Him naked and ashamed. We don't want Him to look at us with disappointment on the Day of Judgment, nor do we want to hear disapproval in His voice. For this reason, it is essential that all believers know that Christianity is more than a one-time experience.

We are to enter a covenant relationship with Christ, just like a man enters a covenant relationship with his wife. The two shall become one flesh. We must become one with Christ in order to inherit the promises of God. Our faithfulness to God's Word and His will assures us that Christ is being formed in our hearts and will transform our lives.

Walking the Talk,
Pastor Asa Dockery

Developing Godly Character

2012-02-09T04:33:00.001-08:00

Romans 5: 1 - 4, Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. NKJV

Possessing HOPE is essential if we, as believers, are to endure and to overcome the tests and the trappings of this world. If you and I have no hope, we will more easily succumb to worldly attacks and temptations. In today's devotion, let's look at the process of attaining the hope that we so desperately need. First of all, do you have faith in Christ as your personal Savior? If you answered yes to this question, then let me ask you one more question that is important to your life in Christ. Do you find it easy, or do you find it difficult to accept being wronged, persecuted, or rejected by people who oppose your faith? If you find it laborious to accept hardships that come because you're a Christian, then it only means you're human. Nevertheless, now that you're a born again (human) child of God, He wants you to grow up and become a mature son or daughter.

As children of God, Jesus expects us to enjoy the good in life. He also requires us to have the boldness and confidence to endure night seasons or hardships as a good soldier. Why does Jesus necessitate this for those who have committed their lives to His Lordship? God asks it of us because He knows we must possess fortitude in order to be built up in Christ to the fullness that is needed to be His ambassadors in the earth. We are to grow in Christ becoming true witnesses and reflections of Christ's humility and love toward others.

Jesus gives us some very "difficult to fill" commandments in Matthew 5 because He wants us to become ALL, that God has designed for us to be, in Christ. Therefore, we will have times and seasons when God allows us to be tested so that He can stretch, develop, and mature us. Jesus tells us in Matthew 5 that if we desire to enter the Kingdom of heaven, then our righteousness must exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees. He continues His lesson to us in the Sermon on the Mount by telling us that if we only love those who love us, subsequently, we will not truly reflect the nature and character of our heavenly Father. Jesus instructs us to love our enemies, bless those who curse us, do good to those who hate us, and pray for those who spitefully use us and persecute us, in order that we might be the children of our Father in heaven.

You see; we will only begin to develop godly character when we're in Christ, and we place faith in Him to bring us victoriously through the trials of this life. As Godly character begins to strengthen our spiritual hearts, we will then possess true hope. Hope will give us the perseverance that is needed to endure the sufferings, and it will empower us to do "the right thing"... which will bring Him glory and honor before all people. Without the process of loving like Christ and being obedient to the Father, we will remain weak. You will know you're spiritually feeble when it's easier for you to say, "Yes" to the world's pleasures when you find yourself under an attack or faced with a temptation.

You are saved by the Word of God that enters your ears and your heart. If the Seed of God's Word enters your ears, but gets choked out when persecution hits your life, then there can be no spiritual growth. Therefore, your walk will lack the strength needed to be a true reflection of Christ to your world. Endure hardship as a good soldier. Keep the faith! As a result, you will find favor with God, and He will openly reward you in due season.

It's Only a Test,
Pastor Asa Dockery

Firewall

2012-02-08T10:54:00.000-08:00

Hebrews 12: 28 - 29, Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. For our God is a consuming fire. NKJV

Exodus 3: 2 - 4, And the Angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of a bush. So he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, but the bush was not consumed. Then Moses said, "I will now turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush does not burn." So when the LORD saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, "Moses, Moses!" NKJV

There are many scriptures in the old testament that describe God as a consuming fire. In fact, God uses fire throughout scripture. Let's look at a couple of examples: Pharaoh pursued the Israelites down to the Red Sea, and God used a wall of fire to protect them from Pharaoh and his army all night; and as God led the children of Israel through the wilderness, there was a pillar of fire by night. However this protecting and guiding fire of God was also a very powerful force that man couldn't come near lest they be consumed.

Further, when God called Moses, He spoke to him from the flame that was in the midst of a burning bush. What is so amazing about the story of Moses' calling is that the bush was on fire, but it wasn't consumed. Let's take the principle of God being a consuming fire a little deeper. In the Most Holy Place behind the veil of the temple, the presence of God dwelt over the Ark of the Covenant and the mercy seat. Only the High Priest could enter that sacred room, and, even then, he had to have the blood of animals go before him. The priest had to be sure to follow every detail that God had laid out for them, or else His presence would consume them. If God found a priest unworthy, and His presence killed him, no one was allowed to enter and remove the body. So they devised a way to pull the dead priest out and not be consumed themselves. As a precaution, the High Priest would have a rope tied to His ankle. Maybe you're wondering why I'm telling you these stories about the consuming fire of God? Hang with me; we're going somewhere!

King David dishonored the Ark of the Covenant by placing it on a cart instead of having it carried on the shoulders of the priests. One day, as the cart was being pulled, a wheel hit an obstruction and the cart, along with the Ark, began to rock. Uzzah, one of David's men, saw that the Ark of the Covenant might fall and proceeded to steady it with his hand. God had previously warned David that if anyone should touch the Ark, they would die. Consequently, when Uzzah came in contact with the presence of God in his unclean flesh, he fell dead on the road.

Now let's fast-forward to the New Testament. Paul writes to us in Ephesians 2, and he says that we are saved by grace. However, when John spoke about Jesus coming after him, he said that Jesus would baptize us with the Holy Spirit and fire. On the Day of Pentecost, after the resurrection of Christ, and for the first time in history, Peter proclaims that the Holy Spirit was poured out on all flesh. It was on that very day that God began to dwell in earthen vessels.

Did you catch what I just wrote? The same presence that kept Pharaoh and his mighty army at bay and the same power that consumed any and every High Priest, who entered into the Holy place without proper preparation was now living and dwelling within man under the new covenant. You may be asking how it is possible for the fire of God to enter a fleshly being, and we not be consumed like those who came in contact with His presence in the Old Testament and died. It is because "by grace" you have been saved through faith. You have a FIREWALL, and it's called GRACE.

Under grace, we have the ability to be filled with the raw power of God's holiness and not be consumed. To show you how great God's grace really is, look at what happened to Uzzah when he, just once, touched the Ark with his hand. He died without mercy. Now how many times do you suppose a typical believer commits sin in one year? How is it that we can slip up and sin and still not be consumed by the fire that dwells within us? Some believe that when they sin and aren't consumed, it's God's grace telling them its okay, but they're deceived. Peter tells us in his epistle that God is long suffering, not willing that ANY should perish, but that ALL should come to repentance. God is LONG SUFFERING under the new covenant because He gives people a space to come to their senses and repent before they reap the fallout of their unrepentant sins. Now we can better understand why God spoke from a bush that was on fire, but wasn't consumed, when He called Moses away from his past sins.

In Romans 6, Paul addresses the issue of believers who seemed to think it was okay to sin because they were under grace. He asked them (and us), "How can those who are in Christ and died to sin, live any longer in it?" Grace wasn't given so that we could see how far away we could get from God's presence and still be saved; rather God gave us grace that we might enter His holy place and not be consumed. Therefore, when believers sin and think nothing about what they have done, they are trampling underfoot the grace of God and the blood of Jesus.

As I conclude the word today, let me draw your attention to 1 Corinthians 3:16 - 17. Here, Paul tells us that we are the temple of God, and the Spirit of God dwells within us. If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy them. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are. Consequently, when the children of Israel chose to rebel against God and decided, instead, to follow after idols and false gods, plagues broke out, and they began to die. When believers choose to live in sin while proclaiming to walk in God's grace and refuse to repent of their sin, they open the door for corruption to begin to consume their flesh. This may not be popular, and it might make some feel uncomfortable, but this is the Word of God. God will give us grace and space to repent. Nevertheless, if we refuse, we will pay a very high price. God requires us to live holy, even as He is holy. Remember, if it hadn't been for the GRACE of God, we would all have been consumed already. But God!

Thank God for His Grace,
Pastor Asa Dockery

Remember to Apply the Blood

2012-02-07T13:09:00.000-08:00

Matthew 27 : 50 - 53, And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit. Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split, and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; and coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many. NKJV

There isn't much said about the blood of Jesus at His crucifixion. However, we can certainly see the effects of it at Calvary when He had yielded up His Spirit. Two miracles of great significance occurred; one happened shortly after Jesus died, and the other one after He returned to earth in His glorified body.

The first miracle occurred when the veil of the temple was torn from top to bottom and the second when the graves of many burst open and those who were dead got up and walked through Jerusalem. Why did God allow these miracles to take place? They were manifested so that He could confirm from heaven that the blood of Jesus was sufficient for the sins of man. Now we can enter the holy place where God dwells in heaven; death no longer has dominion over believers in Christ.

The writer of Hebrews teaches us, without the shedding of blood, there can be no remission of sins. So if a person never confesses the name of Christ, or he chooses to reject the gift of His life on the cross, he won't have the power to experience God's forgiveness (even though in Christ, his sins are already forgiven) nor will he experience freedom in his heart from the bondages of sin and death.

The shed blood of Jesus purchased our salvation. God, through Christ has ransomed or redeemed us back from sin and from having to live under the dominion of Satan's lies. "Whom the Son of God sets free, they are free indeed." Let me ask you a couple of questions. Have you applied the blood of Jesus to your heart and life through faith in Christ? As a believer in Christ, do you have something that is trying to hold onto your life or robbing you of your abundant life in Christ? If so, it is a thieving spirit that has violated the blood-line of Christ, which was spilled for you, your family, and your life in this world.

Remember to apply the blood; remind the enemy, who is trying to rob you in the spirit realm, that the blood of Jesus is against him as well. You took a stand of faith for your soul's salvation, now you must take another for your freedom in the area that Satan has stolen from you. The blood of Jesus is our freedom from the curse brought on by the sin of Adam and Eve. In Christ, you are blessed! Satan can't do anything about it!

I Plead the Blood of Jesus,
Pastor Asa Dockery

The Righteous Shall Flourish

2012-02-06T13:36:00.000-08:00

Psalms 92 : 12 - 15, The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree, He shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Those who are planted in the house of the LORD shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall still bear fruit in old age; they shall be fresh and flourishing, to declare that the LORD is upright; He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him. NKJV

Ephesians 4 : 11 - 15, And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head - Christ... NKJV

Paul tells us that Satan can appear as an angel of light in order to deceive people. You will know when something or someone is having an influence in your life if something happens or is said that forces you to make a decision. However, ask yourself one question before you decide. "Will this decision draw me closer to Christ or move me away from Christ?" We're told in Proverbs to guard our hearts with all diligence. Satan loves to use people and situations to test our "root system." If we don't know what the Lord's will and purpose for our lives are, or we don't know what the Word of God says about such decisions, then we leave ourselves prey to be deceived and led astray.

Young trees have "root balls" that pull nourishment from the earth beneath them. Large trees will have roots that grow at least to the edge of its longest limbs. The roots that are buried deep in the earth do more than provide the nutrients; they also keep it from being moved in a wind storm. Paul teaches us that Christians have been planted in Christ and placed under the leadership of His church for their spiritual growth and protection. The Lord has provided a safe place for believers to come and thrive so that they can become strong enough to withstand the temptations and the lies of the enemy out in the world. Paul uses the term "wind of doctrine" in his writings. This suggests that Satan's lies and/or man's lies will try to sway or move us away from the safety of God's covering. Even so, we must remain planted in Christ.

Our heavenly Father has placed us in Christ just like He placed trees in the earth so that we might grow up in Him and live a life of abundance. Since we're in this world, but not of the world because we're in Christ, then we will be able to produce spiritual fruit; we should not produce works of the flesh in our walk with Christ. Throughout the Bible, we're instructed to dwell in the house of the Lord and to partake of His goodness, not of the world's sinful pleasures, in order that we might grow up. If we struggle to develop a "taste" for the Lord, we will fail to see His goodness, will remain weak and vulnerable to the doctrines of men, and will be swayed from the truth.

There is one final thought I want to share with you that is the very key to your spiritual growth and protection. Satan loves to prey on people who rely on their intuition or "gut instincts" when it comes to discerning people's motives and agendas. Guarding our hearts might protect us from people we don't trust. However, Jesus was betrayed and denied by those who were closest to Him. Therefore, we must invest time in God's presence and in His Word so that He might protect and keep us from greedy or vile people whose only motive is to rob us of our peace and faith in Christ.

Buried in Christ,
Pastor Asa Dockery

Having Peace with God through Christ

2012-02-03T06:45:00.001-08:00

Ephesians 2 : 13 - 16, But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity. NKJV

If religion is the solution to the issues that we are plagued with in the world, then how does one explain that religion has been the catalyst for the majority of history's conflicts and wars. The first murder in the Bible was over an offering unto the Lord between two brothers. The core reason for the violent act wasn't just over the offering. It was a result of God rejecting Cain's offering and accepting Abel's.

When man rejects God by refusing to honor His Word, it opens a huge door for Satan to attack. It's not that God rejected Cain or us; however, God tells us that it is us who reject Him when we choose to sin in His sight. The world and its systems or kingdoms have rejected God because they refuse to abide by His kingdom principles. As a result, those who are caught up in the world's system look only to themselves and not God when they find themselves in a conflict or feeling threatened.

When Jesus came to the earth as the embodiment of the Word, the world and the spirit of religion rejected Him. He was God incarnate or God in flesh. As God in the flesh, Jesus proved to us that it wasn't God the Father, who first rejected man, rather it was man, who had hardened their hearts toward Him. You see; Jesus wasn't born of the seed of a man. He was God's Seed in the earth. Therefore, He was truth incarnate and there was no sin in His heart or deceit in His mouth. Still, religion hated Him and sought many times to begin a conflict with Him in order to bring His life to an abrupt end. When God chose to wrap Himself in flesh, it took away the excuse man used to cover our sin.

Because Jesus had no sin in Him, religious zealots could find no fault in which to base a case against Him. This is the reason they became infuriated at Him- He was exposing them for the sinners and deceivers whom they truly were in their hearts, and this threatened them.

John 15 : 22 - 25, If I had not come and spoken to them, they would have no sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin. He who hates Me hates My Father also. If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would have no sin; but now they have seen and also hated both, Me and My Father. But this happened that the word might be fulfilled, which is written in their law, 'They hated Me without a cause.' NKJV

Had Jesus been just a "good Man" or another "great prophet of God," they (and us) would have continued to blame one another for our faults. However, Jesus, the Son of the living God, through the Word that He spoke on the earth has taken away man's excuse for their sin. It is at this point that I want to remind you of how Jesus never used His deity and purity of heart to condemn those who sought to condemn Him in order to destroy Him Instead, He showed sinners His greatest act of love on the cross, where he was hung without a cause. He said, "Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing." Jesus didn't condemn the world; instead, He used what Satan meant for evil and turned their violent act of war into the greatest act of love known to mankind and forgave us all.

When people reject God, who is our peace, they are choosing to live a life of war. Because they can't kill God, people will place blame and see other people as the source of their problems. Once this occurs, conflict usually follows. Jesus is the Prince of peace. Even so, He came to die for the sins of mankind so that we might have peace with God. Therefore, you can clearly see that Christianity isn't a religion; it is based on a relationship. Once we're in Christ, we have been reconciled with God and have peace with Him.

Do you have peace with God today? Please take some time and allow the Lord to reveal whether or not you really have peace with Him. If you discover that there is no peace in your heart, and you have lost most of your closest relationships while fighting for what you felt that you deserved, then ask the Prince of peace to forgive your sins and fill your heart with His presence and love. Now you can have love for your brothers and sisters and peace in your life.

He Is Our Peace,
Pastor Asa Dockery

Honoring the Goodness of God

2012-02-02T05:05:00.001-08:00

Romans 2 : 1 - 5, Therefore you are inexcusable, O man, whoever you are who judge, for in whatever you judge another you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things. But we know that the judgment of God is according to truth against those who practice such things. And do you think this, O man, you who judge those practicing such things, and doing the same, that you will escape the judgment of God? Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance? NKJV

How often do you take the time to recognize the goodness of the Lord in your life? Unfortunately, it's so easy for us to fall into a rut or routine and lose sight of His goodness. However, it is the goodness of God that makes our lives in this world enjoyable and, at times, even tolerable. Whenever life becomes trying or filled with pain, we can be reminded of and long for the days when life was better. Even so, let's learn something very important from this. It is when we recognize that our lives are filled with God's goodness that we most often forget to include Him in it. Further, when we forget God and then our lives take a turn for the worse, pain, and misfortune can grab our attention very quickly.

The purpose of this word today is to bring attention to the value that must be placed by believers on God's presence in our lives. I have heard it said that respect and honor must be earned, not given. However, that isn't the case...especially when it comes to God; we must become humble and give Him both respect and honor because of who He is. Even so, beyond that, God has sacrificed His Son, and Jesus gave His life for us while we were still sinners. Why did God pay such a high price for our soul's salvation? Through this one ACT of love, Jesus displayed the depth of His love for us in order that we might honor and respect God's goodness. Nevertheless, now that we are His people, it is incumbent upon us to honor His presence and not take for granted His goodness.

What exactly does His goodness do for those who have it on their lives? In Psalms 23, we see that goodness will follow those who place their complete trust in the Lord. They will be anointed with oil, which means God's presence will be smeared on their being. They will be filled with His divine nature and with the attributes that will attract overflow into their lives. He will cause them to have protection, provision, and the power to eat in the presence of their enemies. He will give them peace to lie down and nourishment to keep them built up both spiritually and physically.

Here's a lesson that Israel learned the hard way, and we would be smart to heed the wisdom they gained instead of making the same mistake. Israel saw the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. He brought them out of the land of bondage and through the Red Sea. He gave them water from the Rock and fed them with Manna from heaven. Nevertheless, they despised the goodness of the Lord in His sight because they chose to harden their hearts to the voice of God when He spoke to them concerning His commandments. They disdained the goodness of the Lord instead of honoring Him. As a result, they lost His goodness, which had held back sickness and disease. His presence had brought multiplied blessings upon them as the people of God. His presence had also kept the enemies of Israel at bay. One of the last points is probably the most important: When Israel chose to dishonor and rebel against the Lord, and showed contempt for His goodness, they lost His protection. The enemies of Israel took them into captivity because the spiritual protection of Israel was removed.

I really can't do justice in this short devotion on the goodness of God, but if you have breath today, then you have partaken of it already. The Lord isn't asking for much in comparison to what you will receive in return. All that He wants is for us to put Him first and to honor the gift of His goodness in our everyday lives. The goodness of God gives us the protection to live another day in the world, the ability to fulfill His purpose, and the opportunity to give Him the glory He so richly deserves. Oh how I love Jesus!

Thanking God for His Goodness,
Pastor Asa Dockery

By Invitation Only

2012-02-01T06:23:00.000-08:00

Matthew 6 : 9 - 10, In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. NKJV

What do I mean when I say, "By invitation only"? The Holy Spirit is very gentle and sensitive. He will not come unless he is invited. In fact, the Lord told John to look for the presence of the Holy Spirit descending in the form of a dove as the very evidence that Jesus was the Messiah. Therefore, how important is it that we position ourselves in a way that invites the presence of God is in our lives? Let's go back and take a look.

In the beginning, God created man in His image, blessed them, and gave them control over the earth. The Lord wanted them to rule the earth in the same manner that He ruled in heaven. Unfortunately, Adam rebelled against God's authority in his life and lost his own dominion over the world.

As a result of Adam's rebellion, all of mankind was placed in bondage to sin and Satan. Adam's sin grieved the presence of God, and His presence lifted off them, allowing them to see their own nakedness and shame. It was shortly after the fall of man that God instituted the plan of redemption. His first redemptive act was to kill an innocent animal in order to cover the shame of man's nakedness. This covering was a shadow of what the blood of Jesus would do for our sin-ridden conscious under the new covenant.

Through the knowledge of sin, man lost the presence of God because sin grieves His presence. Sin is not a suitable atmosphere for the Lord. Therefore, as believers we must guard our hearts from indulging in the pleasures of this world so that we don't grieve or quench the presence of the Holy Spirit. When Jesus gave us the model prayer, He began by honoring the Lord's presence. Hallowed means to set apart from all other names or gods and to exalt His name above all others. After He spoke of honoring the name of the Lord, Jesus went on to say that we are to invite His kingdom or rule of authority to be done on earth as it already is in heaven.

The body of Christ is in desperate need for the presence of God to return in great power. Therefore, we must first train ourselves to honor, revere, and esteem the name of the Lord in our lives through obedience to His Word and will. Secondly, we must create a pure and sacred place in which the presence of the Lord will feel welcomed. I used the word "feel" because He can be grieved and quenched. I have been in places with people where I was made to "feel" very unwelcome, and it wasn't comfortable for me.

Jesus gives us a clue in Matthew 5 as to how to become a vessel that honors and attracts the presence of God. He said, "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness for they shall be filled." We might not be perfect; we might not get everything right. Nevertheless, if we focus our heart's attention on hunger, then He has promised to fill our hunger and quench our thirst with His righteousness. Will you join with me in prayer that the hunger for God will return to the church, and His presence will once again fill the houses of worship in an unprecedented way?
"Holy Spirit, thou art welcome in this place."

Seeking the Presence of God,
Pastor Asa Dockery

Learning How to Honor Grace

2012-01-31T06:03:00.000-08:00

Ephesians 2 : 8 - 9, For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. NKJV

Since Adam and Eve fell in the garden, mankind has been performance based. Being performance based is rooted in the fact that, as sinners, we lost our spiritual identity and worth. Therefore, we struggle with not having an identity or value because sin stripped us of our spiritual inheritance. We have sought to earn or regain them through being good enough or by working hard enough (performance). It doesn't matter how many jobs we work or how many titles that men give to us; none of our works can match the value and worth of God's love for us.

I understand why the Lord had Paul write about GRACE being a gift that doesn't have to be earned because God knows how we struggle. However, the point that I want to discuss with you today isn't about performance, or trying to earn what has already been freely given. Instead, it is about the abuse of God's unmerited favor called "grace."

Abuse can occur when someone has been given a precious gift that cost them absolutely nothing. Paul explains the free gift of God's love in Romans 5 by teaching us that while we were yet sinners, God demonstrated His love for us by giving Jesus for our sins. The world didn't know or understand the work of the cross until after it was all over. Even so, God loved us, even though we were sinners and ignorant of His love, and of the grace that He had given on our behalf.

Since believers enter salvation and experience God's unmerited favor without any real, personal cost, there is a tendency for many to abuse or take grace for granted. Why do you suppose God would entrust such a precious and valuable gift of love to former sinners who might, at times, handle it with carelessness? The best way to teach someone how to be responsible is to give them responsibility. God requires us to be responsible for the free gift of His love and mercy called grace. The Bible says, "Where much is given, much will be required."

We might not start out treating God's grace as sacred, but let us go through some fiery trials because we walked away from His love for the pleasures of this world, and it will be the goodness of God that will recapture our attention. I'll explain.

Suppose a person has been gloriously saved. Nonetheless, they decide to use grace as an excuse to go back into sin. Now suppose that their sin causes them to get into trouble, and they face severe consequences. However, instead of God allowing that person to face the full brunt of their rebellion, He decides to give them another opportunity. That "second chance" shows them the goodness and longsuffering of God while under grace. When a person who abuses grace, but God allows them to experience mercy instead of judgment (they knew they deserved a lot worse), they will see the goodness of God. According to Romans 2, His goodness produces or brings about a truly repentant heart.

It will be the goodness of God that will humble our prideful self and cause us to begin to respect and esteem the value of God's gift of love. If you're a child of God, then you have experienced the unmerited/unearned favor of God. There may be times that this world will pull you out of the will of God. However, it will be His goodness in times of trouble that will bring you back...and with a broken and contrite heart. If this sounds familiar to you, it's because Jesus taught us about the grace and goodness of God in the story of the prodigal son. When the son found himself wallowing in filth and eating with the swine, he came to his senses and desired to return to his father's house as a servant, not as a son. He no longer felt worthy to be his father's son. Nevertheless, the father lavished his love on the son when he saw him coming home.

After a child of God waivers and falls into sin, it will be the goodness of God that restores him to the place of grace from which he has fallen. We have a loving and compassionate heavenly Father, who is longsuffering. Let us honor the free gift of God and save ourselves from hardships and heartaches.

Saved by Grace,
Pastor Asa Dockery

A Covenant of the Spirit

2012-01-30T06:42:00.001-08:00

John 4: 24, God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth." NKJV

Why did God, the Creator of man, create us with flesh instead of allowing us to be spirit beings... seeing that He is Spirit? After all, didn't He tell the Word (Christ) and the Holy Spirit (on earth), "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness?" Fortunately, for us the mystery can be solved by simply looking at the transformation of a seed. When a seed is planted into the ground, it begins to take on a metamorphosis. As the seed goes into the ground and dies, it gives life and way to the sprout, which becomes the new life above the ground. From that point on, the seed is never seen again. However, we know that it existed because we can see the fruit or evidence of the seed.

We know through the Word of God that God is Spirit, and that He created us as living beings with flesh. Even so, the flesh (us) is just a "temporary seed," if you will, that awaits the season in which the Farmer (the Father) plants it in the new Soil (Jesus) of His Kingdom. When man sinned and decided to partake of the Tree of Knowledge instead the Tree of Life, all of us were cut off from becoming partakers of God's life. Had Adam decided to eat of the Tree of Life, He would have given us the power to be transformed from flesh into spirit beings. However, since there was no life in us, but rather sin, we had no power to be transformed from living in the flesh into walking in the spirit.

Mankind lived in this fallen state until the Seed of God (Jesus) came and was buried in the earth for three days in order to redeem fallen man from sin. Jesus spent three days in the earth and rose again; this was a foreshadow of how He would afterwards enter the soil of man's heart and resurrect us into the "new creation" in Him, thus fulfilling God's original plan for those who believe.

Now that we have seen and known the disastrous results that stemmed from man's sin, let us not walk according to our fleshly desires, but let us walk after the Holy Spirit and live. To gain a fuller understanding of my final thoughts today, I encourage you to read Romans 5: 1 - 8: 5.

In these chapters, Paul takes us on a journey of how man died in sin, but has now been given the opportunity to choose life in Christ and become born again. Even though Paul is speaking to believers, both then and now, he exhorts us to walk according to the Spirit, not rely on or live after the lusts of our flesh.

In Romans 5 and 6, Paul gives us many analogies in which he shows what will happen to believers if we should decide to abuse saving grace for the opportunity to go back under the flesh and sin. When you read chapter 7, you will see that Paul tells us that if we don't choose to die (in Christ) to our old man and become alive unto God, we won't have the power to become changed into the image of Christ (the Seed buried in us). Finally, he tells us that if we continue to neglect Christ's life in us and His will for us to die to the flesh and sin, and we choose to live in our old ways, we will also live under the condemnation of the Law.

In Christ, we have died to the old man who was under the power and penalty of God's Law. When we choose to live by faith in Christ, the Law of God loses its hold on us because we are living in the spirit and not in our flesh. After we have chosen Christ as our savior, God (the Farmer) requires us to live by faith and die to self so that the life of Christ might transform us into His glorious image. If you're a believer in Christ, but remain in bondage to self and sin, yield your heart completely to God, and He will live His life through your humility.

My Life Is Hidden in Christ,
Pastor Asa Dockery

When Hard Labor Gives Way to Rest

2012-01-24T06:28:00.001-08:00

Genesis 2: 1 - 3, Thus the heavens and the earth, and all the host of them, were finished. And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made. NKJV

In the sixth day of creation, God made man, and when He had finished His work, He entered into the seventh day. God now began to rest from all His labors. Even so, at some point during this time, the Lord took the man and his wife and put them in the garden. As we know, the garden was filled with every source of nourishment that they would need. However, today, I want to bring your attention to what God was doing when He began fellowship with His creation. He was in His rest, and it was time for Him to enjoy both man, whom He had created, and the work of His hands.

Adam was created with the "REST of GOD" on his life because he had the presence of God as well. They were in perfect harmony, and it pleased the Lord. Any and everything that man needed, God saw to it that it was provided. In other words, God made life very easy for mankind. Up to this point, mankind had no sorrow, and no hard-labor; woman didn't know what pain was, nor did she know what it meant to have her husband rule over her. However, all of this changed the moment they sinned against God's command and ate of the tree of knowledge.

There are many people around the world that profess to have faith in Christ. However, they are not aligning themselves with His commandments. Just like Adam and Eve, when we choose to disobey God's Word and will for our lives, we will grieve the Holy Spirit, and He will lift His presence from our lives. (Explanation in next verse) Likewise, the moment the first couple partook of sin, the presence and the consciousness of God lifted from them; for the first time, they knew what sin was like. They also knew what life would be like apart from the presence of God.

Here is something that Satan and religion don't want you to know; however, God does, and He's greater than all else. You can confess faith in Christ and tell people you're born again, but if you sin against God's Word, His presence won't dwell with sin. You won't lose God's love or the saving power of the Holy Spirit, but you will lose His power to live victoriously because you have chosen to live in rebellion. It also means that you will have trouble, hardship, and be weighted down with heavy and grievous burdens. Sin produces death, and death produces failure, calamity, bondage, and heartbreak. However, the presence of the Lord produces life, joy, strength, hope, and freedom...just to mention a few.

When God brought Israel out of Egypt, His presence went before them. (Exodus 33) His presence manifested as the cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night. He provided all that was needed in order to sustain their lives while He tested their obedience. Nevertheless, continually, the people of God chose to sin and dishonor Him, even though His presence was with them. There came a time when they pursued other gods and began to put the creation before the Creator. Consequently, His presence lifted, and every one of them, age twenty and older, perished in the wilderness. God didn't allow them to enter into His rest that He had promised to those who would love Him more than this world.

Today, the promise of a rest from God for His people is still available. Even so, we must choose to live by faith and denounce unbelief or rebellion. When we begin to seek the Lord and His righteousness first, He will begin to release His presence upon our lives. We will know the moment this occurs because life will immediately become easier. Instead of everything breaking down and people always failing you, you will begin to experience success and favor. When God promises us His rest, we need to snap to attention and heed what He is saying to us. If we do, it will go well for us, and we will also possess the authority that God has promised to us in the New Testament. I want to leave you with a scripture that reveals why God's presence lifted off Israel in the wilderness. Have a blessed and restful day.

Hebrews 3: 7 - 14, Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says: "Today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, in the day of trial in the wilderness, where your fathers tested Me, tried Me, and saw My works forty years. Therefore I was angry with that generation, and said, 'They always go astray in their heart, and they have not known My ways. 'So I swore in My wrath, 'They shall not enter My rest.'" Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; but exhort one another daily, while it is called "Today," lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end... NKJV

Pressing to Enter into His Rest,
Pastor Asa Dockery

Praying Beyond Our Human Limitations

2012-01-23T06:25:00.001-08:00

Mark 11 : 23 - 24, For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them. NKJV

Aren't you glad that God knows the end from the beginning? Since God is both omnipotent (all powerful) and omniscient (all knowing), He knows what we need before we even realize it. Paul tells us in Romans 12: 3 that God has dealt to every person the measure of faith. Through faith, we have the power and access in Christ to come boldly before the throne of God and obtain mercy and find help in times of need. Jesus instructs us to believe when we come before our heavenly Father so that we might receive the answer to our need.

Too many times, we can allow our human constraints to place limits on our God. Today, I want to encourage you to begin to seek God for more than just your everyday needs to be met, or your problems to be solved. Jesus tells us in Matthew 6: 25, "Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?"

Our purpose as Christians on the earth is to be ambassadors for God's Kingdom. Jesus challenged us in Matthew 6 to think and live higher than the heathen who don't have a covenant with the supernal God. Wasn't it God who gave us the ability to dream big dreams and to imagine the impossible? Well guess what. With God, all things are possible. So we must learn how to come into agreement or alignment with His perfect will and not lean too heavily on our flawed human limitations. Let me leave you with an example so that you might see how God operates in a believer's life in order to get them to believe Him for more, not settle for less.

Genesis 15: 1 - 5, After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, saying, "Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward." However, Abram said, "Lord GOD, what will You give me, seeing I go childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?" Then Abram said, "Look, You have given me no offspring; indeed, one born in my house is my heir!" And behold, the word of the LORD came to him, saying, "This one shall not be your heir, but one who will come from your own body shall be your heir." Then He brought him outside and said, "Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them." And He said to him, "So shall your descendants be." NKJV

Abraham is widely known as the "father of the faith" meaning that God used him to begin a new work in the earth and to establish a "seed" by faith. He was the father of the faith, yet we see him asking God why he remained childless; he even offered to take in someone else's son as an heir. However, we can pull back from the story and look at the entire time that Abraham was waiting on God for his own son and see more clearly that there was a disconnect with Abraham.

In the scripture from Genesis 15, we read where Abraham is talking to God about a SON, yet God is trying to convey to Abraham about a NATION that would span many generations. If the father of the faith struggled for twenty-five years to grasp and accept one of the first promises that God had spoken to him, then could it be that we might have our sight set too low? Could it be that God has promised you greatness, but life has beaten you down, and you have settled for far less than God's intended best? Perhaps it's time to begin to look back over the past years of your walk with the Lord and resurrect the old prophecies, visions, and dreams that He has declared over your life.

Dream BIG,
Pastor Asa Dockery

An Unanswered Prayer

2012-01-20T06:29:00.000-08:00

Matthew 26: 36 - 43, Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to the disciples, "Sit here while I go and pray over there." And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and He began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed. Then He said to them, "My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with Me." He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, "O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will." Then He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, "What! Could you not watch with Me one hour? Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." Again, a second time, He went away and prayed, saying, "O My Father, if this cup cannot pass away from Me unless I drink it, Your will be done." NKJV

I used this story about Jesus praying in the garden of Gethsemane as a way to encourage you today in your walk of faith and in your prayer life. Please note that Jesus was asking the Father to let the cup pass from Him. Even though, earlier in the Gospels, He had said that He was sent to suffer and die on the cross, we read here that Jesus still prayed for the cup of suffering to pass from Him.

Jesus was praying a prayer that diametrically opposed God's will...and He asked this request of God three times. However, after the third time He knew the answer. Jesus woke up His sleeping disciples and told them that His betrayer was at hand. Isn't it interesting that shortly after Jesus prays a prayer that God doesn't answer in the way Jesus requested, the betrayer shows up on the scene?

Over the years of being a pastor, I have had many occasions where people would ask about their unanswered prayers concerning an infirmed loved-one. You guessed it; their loved-one died. Consequently, this tragedy left the believer wondering where God was and why He allowed it to happen. The Lord gave me specific instructions to write this word for someone today. If you have prayed for a friend or family member, and the Lord took them into His presence, you could easily become discouraged, lose heart, and lose your faith in the power of prayer.

However, let's look at this principle from a different perspective. We have the desire to see everyone come through sickness and be made whole. I have seen or heard of many that were terminally ill, and God heard the prayers of the righteous and saved those who were at death's door. Nevertheless, there may be those times when you pray for someone, and it will appear as though God didn't even hear your prayers. God had a bigger picture in mind when Jesus prayed, and He may also have a bigger purpose in mind when your requests didn't seem to get past your mouth.

The Lord doesn't always let us know the outcome of certain prayers because there are things that He knows, but we can't handle or understand that information at the time. Therefore, He will give us the opportunity to trust in His will and judgment. Even so, if we should disagree with His answer, or if His answer doesn't fit our desire, the enemy will use that breech in our fellowship to bring in the betrayer. You will know he has arrived if you find very little or no desire to pray after the passing of someone you love.

When Jesus was about to depart from the disciples and return to heaven, He told them that He had many things to discuss with them, but they were not able, at that moment, to bear the news. He went on to tell them that the Holy Spirit would come and be with them and in them, and He would guide them into ALL truth. When God is silent concerning our unanswered prayers, we must rely on the Holy Spirit to empower us to one day face the truth. In the meantime, we must go on trusting our heavenly Father.

Jesus concluded His prayer with "Nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will." Ultimately, at the end of a prayer for a serious situation, we must leave the outcome in the hands of the Father, knowing that we have done everything we could for the person in need.

The Lord is my Rock,
Pastor Asa Dockery

Jesus Gives Us Life

2012-01-19T06:43:00.000-08:00

Genesis 2: 7, And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being. NKJV

John 10: 10, The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. NKJV

I find something very intriguing in what Jesus stated in John 10: 10. He said that He had come that we might have life. Maybe I'm strange, and you might agree, but weren't people already living when Jesus spoke this in their ears that day? There is as much difference between living and having life as there is between earth and heaven. Therefore, we can conclude that the only true way to experience the God-kind-of-life that Jesus was teaching about is to be included in the One who is life- Jesus.

I used the verse in Genesis 2: 7 to try and illustrate the difference between a living being and having life in Christ. When God breathed into man's nostrils, he became a living being, having breath. When Jesus breathed on the disciples shortly before His passion, He told them to receive the Holy Spirit. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, we not only receive life at that moment, but we also have eternal life. Jesus didn't stop at us having life; He desired that we have abundant life. The only way to have that kind of life is through abiding in the Vine.

Remember, we can only have a new life if we are in Christ. If we "confess" Christ, but "live" according to the world, we're not abiding in the true Vine. It doesn't matter what you and I confess if we don't follow through with obedience and the action that backs up what we say we believe. In the same way, if we don't look to Jesus and obey His will in our lives, then we deceive ourselves. We are only living; we are not walking in His life.

If you read about the pioneers of the faith such as Noah, Job, Sarah, Ruth, and the father of the faith, Abraham, you will notice that when they began walking with God, they possessed very little. However, eventually God increased them with greatness. It isn't about how much you possess, but how much of God's attributes you possess. We are required to come to know the God that we say we believe. Consequently, as we walk in faith with God, the life of God will begin to flow into our life through the Holy Spirit and bless us with God's character and characteristics.

The longer you and I walk in faith and obedience to God's will and maintain our fellowship with Him, the greater His life will increase in us. The Bible tells us that God never changes; it also teaches us that His kingdom and dominion on the earth are always increasing. Even so, how can it increase on the earth if it's not done through His people, who dwell on the earth? You are a people...this tells me you are a very good candidate for the life of God to shine through so that He can show the world His greatness in an earthen vessel.

Do you want to shine for God today? Do you want to be great for God today? A thousand-mile journey begins with the first step. If you're accustomed to just existing and getting by, then get better connected to the Vine and let His life and glory begin to increase both, you and your family. You can do all things through Christ, who strengthens you, but you must be willing to let His strength flow through you. It's all a matter of the heart.

Abiding in the Vine,
Pastor Asa Dockery

Overcoming the Obstacles

2012-01-18T06:41:00.000-08:00

Matthew 20 : 30 - 34, And behold, two blind men sitting by the road, when they heard that Jesus was passing by, cried out, saying, "Have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David!" Then the multitude warned them that they should be quiet; but they cried out all the more, saying, "Have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David!" So Jesus stood still and called them, and said, "What do you want Me to do for you?" They said to Him, "Lord, that our eyes may be opened." So Jesus had compassion and touched their eyes. And immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed Him. NKJV

There are so many accounts in the gospels where people were healed even though they put forth very little effort of their own. Many times Jesus would seek people out in order to heal them, or He would travel to them when He was asked. Then, once He made the connection with them, He did all that was needed to ensure that the person was made whole.

However, there are those like the story of the two blind men that I shared with you today. In this example, the person had to overcome some obstacles that stood in the way of their healing, EVEN THOUGH THEY HAD THE FAITH FOR A MIRACLE. I really wanted you to get that, did you?

These two men received their miracle once they got to Jesus, so that wasn't the issue. Nevertheless, the problem for believers sometimes is being able to make their way to Jesus. Do you remember the woman with an issue of blood? She had been plagued with that condition for twelve years. She had tremendous faith in her heart because Mark tells us in chapter 5 what she was thinking and believing as she pressed through the throng of people that surrounded Jesus. She also had to overcome the condemnation of the law which forbade such a person to be caught out in public. She was determined to make it through the crowd and get her miracle. However, before she could overcome and receive, she had to physically lower herself.

There's yet another story where a man was a paralytic. Jesus was in a house ministering, and it was filled with people. Nevertheless, this man had four friends who didn't allow this situation to deter their faith. They climbed upon the roof and began to tear it off. Then they lowered the man to where Jesus was, and he was healed.

Sometimes we need more than just the faith to be healed. There are times when we also need to add perseverance to our faith so that we overcome the obstacles that are in our way of reaching the Lord. Satan is very effective at placing roadblocks, hindrances, and people in the way of others who need a touch from Jesus. The Lord laid this word on my heart for somebody that perhaps has given up, or is about to give up on getting their miracle. Remember this, the Kingdom suffers violence, and the violent seize it by force.

Allow a righteous indignation to arise in your spirit because you know that Jesus has already paid the price for your miracle, and Satan is trying to rob it from you. Stand on God's Word, overcome anything or anyone through the prayer of faith, and you will touch the Healer. Seize your miracle or healing today!

You are the Healed of the Lord,
Pastor Asa Dockery

There Can Be No Hope Without Faith

2012-01-17T06:17:00.000-08:00

Hebrews 11: 1, Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. NKJV

Mark 16:9-15, Now when He rose early on the first day of the week, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom He had cast seven demons. She went and told those who had been with Him, as they mourned and wept. And when they heard that He was alive and had been seen by her, they did not believe. After that, He appeared in another form to two of them as they walked and went into the country. And they went and told it to the rest, but they did not believe them either. Later He appeared to the eleven as they sat at the table; and He rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen. NKJV

I am baffled by the unbelief and hardness of heart that the disciples walked in while following Jesus... yet they still followed Him. It seems that they were alright as long as Jesus was with them. However, the moment He was arrested, every one of them forsook their Lord. This scenario reminds of the principle written about by King Solomon in Proverbs 29. Where there is no vision or revelation, the people perish or cast off restraint.

When Jesus called the twelve men to lay everything down and follow Him, it seemed as though they had no problem with that degree of sacrifice. There had to have been something about being in the presence of Jesus that gave them the peace to lay down their livelihoods, forsake all, and follow Him. We can know that the power of His presence was the reason they walked with Jesus because the moment He was no longer leading them, they all forsook Him and returned to their old ways.

This brings me to the reason for today's word. Were the disciples walking by faith as they followed Jesus, or were they walking in unbelief? According to Hebrews 11, true faith is the substance which produces hope in the hearts of true believers. By this definition, the disciples didn't have faith in their hearts. Moreover, because of the principle I spoke of in Proverbs 29, we understand why the disciples threw off the restraints that originally caused them to sacrifice in order to follow Christ. Without faith, they had no hope to endure the night season.

Many confess faith in Christ. However, the Lord will prove those who are truly committed and expose those who only confess, but don't believe; He does this by fiery trials. Peter teaches us in his epistle not to consider it strange when we find our faith being tried by fire. James also teaches us to count it all joy when we're surrounded by various trials. Obviously, the disciples discovered something about Jesus in the time of separation that eventually solidified their faith, because you never read of them denying Him again. Jesus is just as PRESENT through our faith in His Word as He was when they were walking with Him physically.

Our faith must not waiver, even when it appears as though Jesus has forsaken us. When we enter a dark season, and we no longer FEEL as though God is with us, then that is the time for our faith to become energized. Faith will give us the hope that one day this will pass, just like an eclipse. You will sense His presence and experience His goodness once again. In the past five years, have you gone through some dark, depressing, and hopeless days? How did you respond to the trial when it looked as though God had turned His back on you? Did you go "a fishin'," or did you stand on God's Word until God said, "Let there be Light"?

It's time for hope to return to the church, and for those who have gone through the sifting of Satan to return to the Lord and strengthen one another with their testimonies. Through Christ, we are overcoming the lies of the enemy and realizing at a deeper level what the Lord was saying all along, "Greater is HE that is in you, than he that is in the world."

Luke 22:31-32, And the Lord said, "Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren." NKJV

Jesus prayed for Simon's faith, and Simon returned to Jesus after the sifting was over. Jesus is sitting at the right hand of our heavenly Father, and He lives forever to make intercession on our behalf as our High Priest.

One Day, We Will See Him Again,
Pastor Asa Dockery

Do I Have FAITH?

2012-01-16T06:41:00.001-08:00

Deuteronomy 8 : 1 - 4, "Every commandment which I command you today you must be careful to observe, that you may live and multiply, and go in and possess the land of which the LORD swore to your fathers. And you shall remember that the LORD your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not. So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the LORD. NKJV

I have discovered that when believers are hit with serious trails, they are more open to taking a closer look at themselves. There's something about having something go wrong in a person's life that causes us to evaluate our past conduct. However, too many times this can open the door for the enemy to bring us under condemnation. If you find yourself leaning toward self-doubt, condemnation, and guilt when you're surrounded by "shark-infested waters," take notice of what Jesus did when He was tempted in the wilderness by the Devil. He answered Satan's thoughts with, "It Is Written."

Jesus knew His spiritual identity. Nevertheless, many times Christians will turn to other sources to find help and strength when responding to spiritual assaults from their adversary, the Devil. This brings us to the teaching for today. Just as Jesus turned to His heavenly Father to draw His identity and power, we must be WILLING as His disciples to follow His example while under an attack of Satan.

Having faith in Christ means that your confidence is in Him; your faith is no longer in yourself, or the ways of the world. So when trials come that challenge your faith and cause you to begin to doubt God's faithfulness or the authority of His Word, then we must, at that point, decide where we will turn. It will be determined in the trial, not on a pew in church, whether or not our faith is genuine.

Jesus was out in the wilderness and had fasted for forty days when He found Himself being tempted by the Devil in every point that we will be tempted as Christians. He was tempted in the areas of provision, protection, and power. These areas are covered in the Apostle John's epistle who wrote, "All that is in the world is the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life."

How we choose to react to trouble, heartache, and disappointment will determine if we have true faith in Christ. True Biblical faith will produce hope. Hope is needed for those moments and times when it may seem as though God has abandoned us. The writer of Hebrews describes or defines faith as being the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things unseen. Therefore, if we have true faith and are born again, we will have a true hope in our hearts that God is faithful to His Word and us, even in a tragic or life-threatening situation.

Lest you get under momentary condemnation because you don't feel hope the very moment calamity hits your life, you must also remember that you and I are human. It's easy for us to become disoriented while being blind-sided by the Devil because we will be experiencing the raw emotions of our situation. The Lord not only understands this about us, but gives us time to heal and find our direction before He begins to push us in the direction of finding Him when the cloud of "dust and doubt" begins to settle.

The place that we must guard our hearts is when Satan tries to exploit our raw emotions to seek vengeance or go out on our own to find healing and comfort in the ways of the world. These would be classified as acts of the flesh responding to "a wrong." However, we must choose to remain submitted and committed to Christ. The Lord knows that our emotions will respond because He made us that way. We must process and judge what has occurred in our lives so that our hearts won't be overwhelmed. This is more of a process that it is a reaction of the will. Whew!

When God brought Israel out of Egypt, He didn't lead them directly into the land of promise. He was testing their obedience to see whether they had faith or unbelief in their hearts. It seemed that Israel as a nation walked with Moses and God until something "wrong" happened to them. You see, they repeatedly hardened their hearts against God and didn't choose to obey His Word whenever they came under a spiritual attack. Since they consistently chose for forty years to reject God and harden their hearts to the Holy Spirit, they had no hope that would carry them through the trials in the wilderness.

As a result, that generation all perished in the wilderness because they were filled with unbelief. We must be careful to guard our hearts from entertaining unbelief and departing from the living God when we find ourselves going through difficult situations in our walk. True faith will produce true hope, and hope will always bring us back to the Word of God as the final authority. Once we overcome the initial emotional process of hurt, loss, and disappointment, we will find renewed hope and strength. However, we must first decide in the fiery furnace to turn to the Lord as our eternal source for this temporal life.

God is faithful to His Word, and you will find that He will be faithful to you when you make a heart decision to trust and obey His Word always. God won't always come on the scene in our time. Nevertheless, He has given us the power of the Holy Spirit, and He gives us hope that doesn't make us ashamed. He won't let us hope in something that will never happen. Once He gives us hope, we can know that what we are hoping in, He will bring to pass. Abraham hoped even though everything in the natural screamed there is nothing to be hopeful about.

True hope will do just that in your life. Even so, you must make the decision to place your complete trust in the Lord. We all must make the decision to have hope, even after we have made the decision to have faith in Jesus. Why? Because we live in a world that is filled with tribulation that will challenge your faith.

Walking by faith and Not by Sight,
Pastor Asa Dockery

The Wisdom of God is Greater Than Satan

2012-01-13T06:46:00.000-08:00

1 Corinthians 2 : 7 - 8, But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory,8 which none of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. NKJV

Have you heard the old adage that says, "Ignorance is bliss?" Well, the Lord doesn't want His children to walk in darkness or spiritual ignorance, because it can cost us greatly. If we don't know the ways of God, we might tend to think that only Satan is in control in the earth, and then lose all hope and faith in the Lord...and that is exactly what Satan is shooting for with his fiery darts.

If we, as the body of Christ, don't know the ways of God, and we find ourselves in a "furnace situation," it can leave us feeling all alone and vulnerable to Satan's lies. The voice of Satan intensifies when we can't hear God or know what the Lord's plans are when we face the furnace of affliction. To me, this is the definition of isolation, and the reason why many believers choose give up in a heated battle over their faith. Satan will use our spiritual ignorance (of not knowing the ways of God) to lead us astray while he is pressing us with the threat of danger. Therefore, it is essential that you and I know the truth that is contained in the Word of God and that we continually seek God's face.

Paul gives us wonderful insights in his writings that allow us to understand and know the ways of God. What Satan doesn't know, but we can know (through the Word of God) is that Satan is ignorant of the ways of God. Satan believes in his heart that he is wiser in his ways than God is. If you will look at today's text, Paul shows us how God used Satan's ignorance against him to carry out the will of God to crucify the Lord of glory.

It's important that we understand the previous statement. Satan will use our ignorance of God and His Word to deceive us, but God's wisdom is greater than Satan. Let me put it this way; if Satan knew what he was really doing when he attacked you and me, he would leave us alone. How do we know this to be true? Just read Romans 8 : 28, where Paul is giving us the revelation that God has promised to those who love Him and are called according to His purpose...that He will turn around the trials that were meant to bring evil to us and use them for our good.

Have you ever done something that seemed like the right thing to do, and it got you into a bunch of trouble? It was a trap of Satan, and it worked to a degree, because you thought you were doing the right thing... but now you're in trouble. Generally, this is where we will call on the Lord and seek His face and His direction to lead us out in victory. As we do, through His wisdom, the Lord will begin to show us strategies that will conquer the enemy's lies. When we come out of that trial with the victory, we become more like Christ through our faith. Then, guess what? God just used the ignorance of Satan, through our faith, to turn an evil situation into a glorious victory that grows us in our faith walk with the Lord. God didn't set up our fall; it was our ignorance of the trap that set everything into motion... but, thankfully, God delivers us from all of our afflictions.

This is why God tells us to seek Him early... to call on Him, and He will answer us before we fall into the traps of ignorance. Isn't our God amazing? The cross in the natural looked like Jesus' defeat, but in the Spirit, it was the final act of God that sealed Satan's defeat and brought us victory over our own sin. WOW!

I Love the Lord,
Pastor Asa Dockery

The Victory Has Been Won

2012-01-12T06:29:00.001-08:00

Matthew 26 : 38 - 39, Then He said to them, "My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with Me." He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, "O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will." NKJV

After Jesus was baptized, He was led by the Spirit into the wilderness. There He fasted and prayed for forty days. And when His fasting had ended, He came out of the wilderness in the power of the Holy Spirit, entered the temple and began to teach. As He was teaching, a man with a demon began to manifest. Jesus took control of the situation, delivered the man and continued with His teaching.

If you study the gospels, you will find that Jesus regularly slipped away to be alone in prayer with the heavenly Father. Before Jesus went to the cross, He first went to the Garden of Gethsemane and prayed. Jesus knew His hour to suffer on the cross was upon Him; as He prayed, He asked the Father to let the cup of suffering pass from Him...three times Jesus prayed this request before His Father. He was bringing His flesh into subjection to the will of God; Jesus knew the sole purpose of coming to earth. He even told this to His disciples when He was alone with them earlier. He also told them that after 3 days, He would arise and meet them in Galilee. So we can see that Jesus wasn't trying to nail down what the Father's will was, but rather, He was subjecting His humanity to the suffering of the cross. Once He obtained complete submission in prayer, He knew that He would be able to endure the next three days.

Because Jesus had become sin, the Father had pulled away His Spirit (or presence) from Jesus. When His Father pulled away, Jesus spoke these words, "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?" Jesus was now a perfect man upon that cross. How do we know that? Then, as Jesus hung on the cross, He said, "It is finished" and gave up His ghost. When He said His final words upon the cross and died, the veil was torn from top to bottom. God had split the veil to reveal to all of mankind that He was pleased by the sacrifice of the "Last Adam".

The wrath of God against fallen man was appeased; the sin debt for all our sin was now paid. Because Jesus prayed and yielded His will to the Father's will in the garden, before He was hung upon the cross, He then had the grace to endure the suffering so that He could gain the victory for us.

Christians can have faith in Jesus and still have a war in their souls over the lust for sin in their lives. If you have sin in your heart that you want to be set free from, then do what Jesus did in the garden: He prayed until "His" will became the will of the Father. Here's the key to this prayer accomplishing victory in your heart. Jesus wasn't praying for God to take away sin; He was praying that He would submit to the Father's will. Although that was the way Jesus prayed, too many times we ask God to take away our burden (or sin), but we don't seek Him about His will after the deliverance. If we don't pray to be able to submit to the Father's will, then there's a good chance that we will go back into our old ways.

He didn't pray once, or twice, but three times. Man is a triune being, and, as such, Jesus was bringing His entire being into agreement with the Father's will. His victory over sin was won in the garden when He chose to submit to God. James tells us in chapter 4 that we must submit to God and resist the Devil, and he will flee from us.

If you have a war raging in your soul over sin, lust, habits, sickness, or disease, then go to the garden and get your will in subjection to the Father's will. Because Jesus submitted in prayer to the Father, He had the authority to enter Hades (hell) and take back the keys of death and hell. No longer does Satan have the authority, but all authority has been given to Jesus. Those who refuse to submit will have a constant battle within their soul. Jesus told us to come unto Him, and we would find rest for our weary souls.

Kneeling in the Garden,
Pastor Asa

Who Are You Building Your Eternal Hope On?

2012-01-11T07:56:00.001-08:00

Psalms 118 : 19 - 24, Open for me the gates of righteousness; I will enter and give thanks to the LORD. This is the gate of the LORD through which the righteous may enter. I will give you thanks, for you answered me; you have become my salvation. The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone; the LORD has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes. This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. NIV

In today's scripture, we can see that David is celebrating the goodness and the mercy of the Lord. Why is he celebrating? It is because in previous verses (not shown), David had been chastised by the Lord for his sin, but the Lord did not turn him over to death; the reason that God gave mercy and grace to David was because David's faith was in the Lord to be his righteousness...not in his own righteousness.

Today's Word shows us that the Lord was revealing the Day of Salvation to David; the Day of Salvation would be the day that the Jews' Messiah (Jesus) would come to earth. The above passage begins with David talking about entering the Lord's salvation through the gates of righteousness. It was a desire of David to build the Lord a temple for Him to dwell in, but because he had shed innocent blood, the Lord wouldn't allow it. So when David saw the Day of Salvation, it was in the scope of seeing a "building" more so than a "person".

In John 14, Jesus uses this metaphor that David depicts concerning Himself. Jesus declares that He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. He is the door, or in David's words, "the gate" that we must enter if we are to inherit salvation.

In the prophecy that David received from the Spirit of the Lord, he saw Jesus as the Messiah being rejected as the Capstone of the temple of God by the Jews. In other words, the Jews found righteousness in "self" and not in "Christ" so they rejected Him as their foundation of faith.

When Jesus came to earth as God in the flesh, He was the Day of Salvation sent to fallen man. He was the fulfillment of David's vision and was rejected by His own special people just like David prophesied. Romans 3: 23 says that "all have sinned," but God has not turned us over to destruction. He has loved us, and through His love given to us grace and truth and not punishment. So let us rejoice over the fulfillment of our salvation. David saw a temple with gates, but we see Jesus and celebrate His goodness in our hearts and lives. Let us build our lives on the Rock, Christ Jesus and live.

This Is the Day That the Lord Has Made,
Pastor Asa

When Man Alters God's Law

2012-01-10T05:47:00.000-08:00

Leviticus 20 : 10 - 11, 'The man who commits adultery with another man's wife, he who commits adultery with his neighbor's wife, the adulterer and the adulteress, shall surely be put to death. NKJV

Have you ever read something in the Bible that made you begin to think? I'm not sharing this word today because of people living in adultery. But rather, to share with you something that was revealed to me the other day when I was thinking on the story of the woman that was caught in the act of adultery and was brought before Jesus. Before I go any further, let's look at that story from John's perspective.

John 8 : 2 - 6, Now early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people came to Him; and He sat down and taught them. Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery. And when they had set her in the midst, they said to Him, "Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned. But what do You say?" This they said, testing Him, that they might have something of which to accuse Him. NKJV

While it was still early in the morning and not everyone had gotten up and out of bed, these self-righteous men apprehended a woman and brought her to the temple. They didn't bring her into the temple because they were obeying the Law of Moses; their intended purpose was to tempt Jesus...in order that they might find something to accuse Him. So you can plainly see that these so-called religious rulers were judgmental to say the least. In other words, they were just as corrupt as the woman that they were about to stone.

If you continue to read the story, you will see that Jesus doesn't answer their question, but ignores them and begins to write on the ground. Many people, including myself, have preached on His writing; but all we have to do is look at the text for today's word and know exactly what He wrote.

They only brought the woman; where was the man (adulterer)? Did they alter the Law of Moses that commanded them to stone both the man and the woman? If they weren't altering the Word to accommodate the sin in their own lives, then why didn't they grab the man out of bed and bring him to be condemned beside her? This is where we can see what Jesus wrote without being there. As He wrote the correct Law upon the ground, the men from the oldest to the youngest saw the truth written before their own eyes. Then Jesus made the statement that brought conviction on every one of the hearts of the men that were present. "He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first." When you look at the law in Leviticus and see the way these men went about serving justice... according to their own traditions... and Jesus' question to them, you can see that Jesus turned the tables on these men, and they had to forgive, or they would be condemned for their own sin of violating the Law.

They had taken the Law of God and twisted it so that they could break the law themselves and not be condemned. Please pray for our leaders in the body of Christ that have altered the truth to fit their sinful ways and led innocent people astray. Jesus came to set the captives free, not to condemn us. Jesus did not come to condone sin, so neither should it be condoned in the body of Christ.

Saved By Grace,
Pastor Asa

The Restorer of the Family

2012-01-09T06:11:00.000-08:00

Acts 16: 25 - 34, But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone's chains were loosed. And the keeper of the prison, awaking from sleep and seeing the prison doors open, supposing the prisoners had fled, drew his sword and was about to kill himself. But Paul called with a loud voice, saying, "Do yourself no harm, for we are all here." Then he called for a light, ran in, and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. And he brought them out and said, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" So they said, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household." Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their stripes. And immediately he and all his family were baptized. Now when he had brought them into his house, he set food before them; and he rejoiced, having believed in God with all his household. NKJV

Are you faced with a seemingly impossible situation in your family? Has Satan or sin brought division into your home? If so, the Lord has given me a Word from His Word to build your faith. As your faith is built up through God's Word, you will also be strengthened in your inner man. When we make a conscious decision to go before God by faith with an insoluble situation, God will, at that moment, begin to release His strength (GRACE) to empower us to hold on until the impossible becomes possible.
When we place faith in God's Word for a particular need, our faith takes the weight and the care off our shoulders and places them at His feet. Everything that doesn't align itself with the Word of God and His will for our lives must be brought into subjection to His authority. Now that you have given the Lord your need and are standing in faith, leave the situation on the ALTAR until the Holy Spirit can ALTER the situation.

The very moment faith entered the heart of the jailor in this portion of scripture; the Holy Spirit began to change lives. It began with the father, but quickly spread throughout his entire household. In what was possibly one of the worst nights of Paul and Silas' lives and ministry, God chose to bring salvation to a lost household. You must look to God and not the circumstances, if you are to remain strong and committed to the faith process.

God seems to perform His best work in some of the darkest periods and places of our lives in order to show us that He is God over everything. Remember, faith will move mountains, as long as you're standing on and speaking the Word of God over those mountains. Jesus tells us that all things are possible to those who believe. Believe today and see the salvation of the Lord in your families' lives.

Standing on God's Word,
Pastor Asa Dockery

Avoid the Pit of Condemnation

2012-01-06T06:10:00.000-08:00

1 Peter 4 : 12 - 14, Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ's sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy. NKJV

How do you respond to trouble when it knocks at your door? I have seen how many Christians (including me) respond to trouble. There is a tendency to ask, "What did I do wrong that caused this trouble?" But here is the danger in asking such a question: It places your attention on you and not on the righteousness of God. Do you remember what kind of a day scripture says that Job had when he lost his family, his livestock, and his health? He lived under the old covenant... before the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. But thankfully and unlike Job, we're under the new covenant (of grace by faith in Christ), and we do have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. The Father has given us the Holy Spirit to lead us into all truth and to convict us when we sin against the truth. God doesn't have to use fiery trials to break us of sin. But if we don't want to listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit, then He will let us reap the corruption of our flesh.

So when you face trouble in your life, do you struggle with self-condemnation? I have heard some teachers say that if a Christian has problems, it's because they lack faith. Peter contradicts that teaching and explains the correct purpose of the trials. We are partaking of Christ's sufferings when we are faced with trials in this life. Will we continue in faith or will we draw back in unbelief?

The purpose of having faith isn't to keep us from having trials, but it is to be placed in Christ so that we might walk in the righteousness of God as His child. So when a trial visits your house or interrupts your life, look to the Lord to lead you through it; do not look to your own weaknesses. He has given you the measure of faith (Romans 12 : 3), and He promises to help us endure the trials by faith and to then overcome the trials while remaining in faith.

So if you have faith in Christ today, and you're faced with job termination, sickness, relational conflicts, etc., then know that God has already given you the power to overcome the trials of life. The key to having victory in your battles is in your faith. The Bible tells us in no uncertain terms that many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord, not us, will deliver us out of them all. He will be faithful, but we must remain faithful. Those who endure to the end will see their salvation.

Waiting on the Lord,
Pastor Asa

The Amazing Wisdom of God

2012-01-05T06:09:00.000-08:00

Proverbs 21 : 1 - 2, The king's heart is like a stream of water directed by the LORD; he turns it wherever he pleases. People may think they are doing what is right, but the LORD examines the heart. NLT

When Jesus was on the cross, He prayed something that we need to look more closely at today. He asked the Father to forgive those who had beaten and crucified Him; He said that the people who were doing this to Him did not know what they were doing. Paul gives us some insight into why they didn't know in 2 Corinthians 4. When people reject truth, or in this case, they rejected Jesus as the truth and treated Him as a blasphemer, it allows Satan to spiritually blind them.

In the countries of the world, you will find that governments rule over the affairs of the people, yet the government leaders may or may not know the Lord. But if some governments refuse to acknowledge God, it won't prevent Him from being Lord over the earth or His people. Many government leaders will do what they perceive is right according to the thoughts of their own hearts. Yet the Word tells us in Proverbs 29 that when the righteous are in authority the people rejoice, but when the wicked rule, the people mourn. We are instructed in God's word to pray for our leaders on a consistent basis; this empowers the Lord's will to be carried out in the earth over the will of man or governments.

When men and women in leadership don't place their faith in Jesus as their Savior, it allows Satan to blind them to God's will. But the church has a higher calling and authority than the government. If we will pray, then the Lord can turn the hearts of the kings and accomplish His will in the earth. Please pray with me and ask the Lord to place His wisdom and direction in the hearts of our leaders. In Genesis, there is a great example of Godly wisdom that led a heathen ruler during a famine. While Joseph was in prison, as the result of false accusations, Egypt was about to face a seven year famine. Joseph's hard times in prison were about to end, but for Egypt, they were about to begin. Here's the reason why we need to pray for God's wisdom to lead our officials:

The Lord knew that a famine was about to cover the land for seven years, but before the famine began, there would be seven years of plenty. So He gave Pharaoh a dream concerning the next fourteen years of his administration. This gave Joseph, the "dreamer," an opportunity to interpret the dream for the King. When Pharaoh heard the meaning of his own dream, he placed Joseph over the kingdom... even though he was not an Egyptian. The wisdom that God gave Joseph preserved the lives of Jews and gentiles alike. It doesn't matter what party is in office as long as we pray for Godly wisdom to rule that office. James teaches us that when we find ourselves in various trials or temptations, we should ask God for wisdom.

Why would James be directed by the Holy Spirit to tell us to ask for wisdom during trying times? Wouldn't it make better sense to ask for the trial to be over? This is why we shouldn't listen to man's wisdom, but rather seek God's direction. If God delivers us out of a trial, but we don't know what caused the trial, then there is a very good chance that we will slip back into the same trial again.

Like never before in my generation, we need the wisdom of God to lead us through these tough times. Who knows, there may be Godly wisdom and direction that comes out of this test that will astound the greatest minds in the earth today and win them to Christ. Now let's pray!

Lord We Come to You Today,
Pastor Asa

The Way of Suffering

2012-01-04T06:41:00.000-08:00

Philippians 2 : 8 - 11, 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. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, 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, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. NKJV

Since it's only you, this devotion, and the Lord here today, let me ask you a question. Do you consider yourself perfect? If you answered no, then ask yourself, "why?" What does perfection look like to you? Is perfection obtainable in the flesh? Doesn't the Word of God declare that Jesus was perfect and that He was also a man? Many would argue that fact and say that Jesus was God in the flesh... so it was impossible for Him to sin. Consider this also; James tells us that God can't be tempted with evil, but we read in Luke 4 that Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness and was tempted. If He was only God, and not man, then Satan would not have been able to tempt Him. If He were only God, then the writer of Hebrews misrepresented Him as our High Priest when he wrote that He could be touched with the feelings of our infirmities. Jesus, as the Son of man knows what it is like to be tempted, yet He resisted temptation, because He was submitted to God's will.

James tells us that if we will submit to God and resist the Devil, then the Devil will flee from us. So let me ask you again, what does perfection look like to you? Perfection is not according to our opinion, but rather perfection is based on God's Word and it being hidden in our hearts. God commands us to be holy, even as He is holy. He wouldn't ask something of us if it was impossible to obtain. Having stated these truths on perfection, let me add one more. Jesus was perfect in all His ways, yet the religious world called Him a winebibber, glutton, a friend of sinners, and last, but certainly not least, a blasphemer. When you hear their testimony as to what Jesus was, it doesn't quiet line up with God's testimony of Jesus does it?

So we can conclude that we're not called to live up to man's requirements or definitions of perfection; a perfection that is according to the leading of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God is where our calling is.

James 3 : 2, For in many things we offend all. If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body. KJV

James teaches us that if we can bridle our tongue and not offend in word, then we are perfect in the sight of God. Even as small as the tongue is, it is still hard to tame that little critter. The reason being, it vents what is hidden in our hearts. So we must begin with the heart if we want our tongues to remain silent. How did Jesus keep Himself from the pollution of this world and not offend in word?

The verses in our text for today teach us that Jesus was more than just obedient; He humbled Himself through submission. As a pastor, I have found that a lot of people will obey spiritual authority as long as they agree with it, but the moment they don't agree with authority, they rebel. This is why Christians can't tame the tongue. We sometimes refuse to obey when the suffering of our flesh man is involved. Yet Jesus humbled Himself and became obedient to the death of the cross. The Word declared that He "became" obedient. It was a process that He was willing to undergo that prepared Him for the suffering. It is that process of being "willing to be made willing" to suffer that we all must submit to if we want to be perfect before the Lord.

1 John 2:5-6, But if anyone obeys his word, God's love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did. NIV

There's a song that is sung during the celebration of Jesus' resurrection each year entitled "Via Dolorosa" which, when translated, means "The Way of Suffering." It talks about a person walking today where Jesus walked. I want to use that line to share one final thought: the Lord doesn't require us to walk the streets of Jerusalem to be like Christ, but He does require us to walk "the way" that Jesus walked, and Jesus walked humbly before the Father. Did He please the religious rulers, or did He seem to be humble to them? No. Was He still perfect? Absolutely! All the Father asks of us, as His children is that we place our faith in Christ and walk in humility before Him while we live in a fallen world. By the way, you are complete in Christ!

Learning How to Tame My Tongue,
Pastor Asa

The Heart of the Father Is Relationship

2012-01-03T06:25:00.000-08:00

John 17 : 1 - 3, Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said: "Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You, as You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him. And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. NKJV

John had a wonderful view of the relationship between Jesus and the Father. He also gives us insight into our Heavenly Father's love for us, His children (who used to be sinners). The purpose for Jesus coming to earth was to reconnect fallen man back to God as their heavenly Father... not just their Creator. There is a story in Luke that depicts the Father's heart toward us, whether we're in fellowship with Him or in rebellion against Him. The Holy Spirit instructed me to send this out as a devotion to let you know that God will always love you, but sin can separate you from His life.

Luke 15:11-14, "A certain man had two sons. And the younger of them said to his father, 'Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me.' So he divided to them his livelihood. And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country, and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living. NKJV

Just look at the heart of the father in comparison to his wayward son. Although his son was demanding, the father was very gracious and giving. The son was driven by lust and pride, but the father was moved by love. Even though the father knew what would happen to this young man's inheritance, he gave him the portion anyway.

Luke 15:20-24, "And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. And the son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.' "But the father said to his servants, 'Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet. And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' And they began to be merry. NKJV

As the prodigal son was returning home, his father met him and greeted him with love and affection; after they were reconciled, the father told the servants to prepare a feast for his son that was (dead), but now was alive.

Take notice how the father treated the son... both when his son was leaving and when he decided to return home. The father's love never changed, but the attitude of the son did. This story reveals the heart of our heavenly Father. He will lavish His love on us whether we're in pride like the prodigal, or headed back home.

Although the father never stopped loving his son, the sin that was in the son's heart separated him from his earthly father. John tells us in chapter 3 that God so loved the world that He gave His only Son. God never stopped loving mankind after the fall, but our sin separated us from having a relationship with Him. As Christians, if we choose to walk in sin, it will adversely affect our relationship with God. Sin severs the line of communication between us and our heavenly Father.

The father in the story never esteemed his riches over having a relationship with his sons. Likewise, the heavenly Father gets pleasure in the prosperity of His children, because He is all about intimate relationship. Is there a sin, or an iniquity in your heart today that has separated you from having true fellowship with your heavenly Father? If so, then confess your faults to Him, because He is faithful and just to forgive you and cleanse you from all unrighteousness. He cleanses us as well as forgives us so that we won't have the desire to go back into the sin or iniquity of the past.

Walking in Fellowship With the Father,
Pastor Asa

Established

2012-01-02T06:03:00.001-08:00

1 Peter 5 : 10 - 11, But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. To Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen. NKJV

In recent weeks, the Lord has led me to write to you on the subject of man being created in the image and likeness of God. Today, the Holy Spirit has laid a specific word on my heart for believers who find themselves surrounded with troubles. As a result of the fall, sin defiled the heart of man. "Self" became the replacement for the authority of God, and the mind of man took the place of the voice of God as the final word on wisdom. The perverted lusts of man became the compass and the basis for poor and immoral decisions.

Now that we have been redeemed by the precious blood of Jesus and made complete in Christ, we must begin to allow God to strip the old man and his ways from us and begin to be renewed, once again, into the image of the One who has created us. This transformation will require us to suffer many things as we lose the heart for the world and gain a new heart for the Lord and His Kingdom. While we are kept in Christ, God can transform us from the image of the first Adam and into the image of the Last Adam, Christ.

Since we are human, troubles cause us to fear because situations are out of our control. Therefore, we must train ourselves to rely on the strong arm of the Lord. Once a believer begins the conversion process of becoming Christ-like, it will shake us down to the very core of our being. Nevertheless, according to Jesus and the writers of the New Testament, these things must come to pass, if we are going to overcome the flesh nature, and, ultimately, the things of the world, through our faith in Christ.

Peter admonishes us in his epistle not to think it strange when we're faced with fiery trials. Even so, James tells us to count it all joy when we fall into various trials. IT IS IN THE SHAKING AND THE SIFTING THAT WE BECOME ESTABLISHED IN CHRIST. It is through the hard and terrible trials that we learn where we should be firmly planted. Hard times in and of themselves can't make us like Christ. However, our faith in Christ during the hard seasons of life will make us Christ-like.

As we learn and grow in our faith walk, we will become established firmly in the Lord. At this point, I can only speak from my own experiences; in the past few years, while the world has been shaking all around us, I have become more unsettled than ever before in my life. The unsettling came as a result of the shaking... this was a part of my maturation process. God wanted me to stop relying on and listening to the soulish part of my being, which was crying out to keep control. Today, I saw a picture in my mind of God wrapping His arms around His children while the "shaking to mature" was all around us. He constantly tells us by the Holy Spirit and in His Word that He has us in His care. Nevertheless, we must come into agreement with that truth before we can begin to experience the loving embrace of our heavenly Father while the storms are raging all around us.

When we "FEEL" out of control and become shaken, we will try to console our flesh and bury the feelings with self-help tactics. These futile attempts eventually give way to the sinking feeling in our heart as we realize that it will take God in His time to settle and establish us. The way I have found that I am overcoming the weaknesses of my flesh and being established in Christ is confirmed with a peace that doesn't make any sense. As the peace grows in my heart and "keeps me" so that shaking no longer moves me to fear or self-protection, I can begin to know that God has been doing "a good work" in my heart and life.

Jesus said that He would give us peace, but it would be in the midst of tribulations. How will any of us know whether we're rooted and grounded in Christ if God never allows us to suffer or be shaken? The cause of the shaking isn't good, but the results of the process will yield the peaceable fruit of righteousness and are good because God is good. So the next time trouble knocks at your door, remember the Words that God spoke to Moses at the banks of the Red Sea when they had no way of escape. Be still and see the salvation of the Lord. Let me leave you today with a perfect verse that sums up what I have tried to articulate.

Psalms 23: 4 - 5, Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; NKJV

Because God is with you, you can walk through death and not fear. Because the Lord is with you, you can eat in the presence of your enemies. Why? Because He has established you in Christ, and nothing shall pluck you up.

I Feel a Praise About To Erupt,
Pastor Asa

Work Through Me, Lord!

2011-12-30T06:37:00.001-08:00

Galatians 1 : 1 - 2, Paul, an apostle (not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised Him from the dead), NKJV

As a child of God and a minister of the Gospel, there's nothing that is as fulfilling as when the Lord flows through me to touch a person's heart and life. Paul tells us, in Corinthians, that we have this treasure in earthen vessels. He goes on to explain why the Lord has chosen to perform His will in this manner; it is so that the people will know that it is the power of God flowing through us.

I remember when R. W. Schambach, the famous evangelist, struggled with heart issues. For years this powerful man of God would lay hands on people and watch the power of God heal them. When he found out that his own heart was in need of a miracle, he sought the Lord, but the Lord chose to heal him another way; instead of an instant miracle, R.W. had to undergo heart surgery. I later heard him on television wrestling with his own theology over healing because he had needed surgery...He struggled with "why", when the Lord had used him to touch so many lives over the years.

This is what Paul is saying in our verse in today's word. It's not according to our will or man's will, but God will perform His mighty work through people who allow Him to flow. Paul was quick to let the Galatians know where his power to be an apostle of the faith came from.

According to 2 Corinthians 5 : 18, we all have been given the ministry of reconciliation (that includes you). You might be thinking, "God could never use me." He will use you, but you must allow Him to work through your heart. If you will remember, before Paul became a mighty man of God, he was Saul, a murderer. And like he wrote in 2 Corinthians 5, he, too was a new creature in Christ. Saul humbled himself and sought the Lord's will over his own desires in life, and God was able to use him. The Lord will do the same work through you, but you must be willing to submit to His voice.

"Work through me, Lord" is more than just you and me hearing the voice of the Lord. He can do far more than we could ever ask or think, if we will simply pray before we start our day or set out to accomplish His will; this is what I have discovered in my times of prayer. I no longer just seek to hear instructions from the Lord, but I press on in my prayer time to allow Him to fill my heart with His will. It's obvious that Paul had come to that truth in his own prayer life with the Holy Spirit. He had learned how to become and to accept the call of God that was on his life to become an apostle through his time in prayer with the Lord.

None of us has the power within our humanity to perform the wonders of the Lord, so we must take the time needed to prepare our hearts for Him to work through us. Prayer will determine if a minister is ordinary or extraordinary. Jesus always sought the Father in prayer and moved according to the leading of the Holy Spirit afterwards. At the end of His ministry on earth, He told the Jews one day. "The Father is always with me, because I always do those things that please Him." The result of a life of prayer and supplication is a life that pleases the Father in all that we say and do.

Thank You for Using Me Lord,
Pastor Asa

Can You Keep A Secret?

2011-12-29T06:57:00.002-08:00

Matthew 6: 1 - 4, "Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven. Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly. NKJV

Matthew 6: 5 - 6, "And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. NKJV

Matthew 6: 16 - 18, "Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, with a sad countenance. For they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you do not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. NKJV

When it comes to being a witness for Christ, our heavenly Father wants us to live out loud. Jesus commands us in Matthew 5 to be salt and light to the world. He instructs us to let our light shine in a way that brings glory to our heavenly Father. However, when it comes to our personal acts of worship and obedience to the Lord, Jesus commands that we keep them secret.

You will notice that in the areas of giving, praying, and fasting, our Lord doesn't give us an option. He only tells us "when" we respond to the leading of the Holy Spirit in these three areas, then we are to see to it that no one knows what we are doing because His desire is for our reward to come from God and not man.

The Lord doesn't want us to give any place for our flesh to participate in these areas so that we may receive a greater reward from the Father... who sees what we secretly do. Our secrecy will also challenge the motive behind what we do for Christ and the kingdom of God. If we can give, pray, and fast without recognition from man, then it shows the Lord that we have truly fulfilled these acts of worship solely for His pleasure from a heart of love and gratitude.

Scripture commands that the emphasis in these areas of personal worship and devotion before the Lord be made on the importance of doing them in secrecy before God and not on the acts themselves. Doesn't this principle remind you of what Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 13, the chapter on love? He admonishes us to carry out what we do for God from a heart of love. If we perform acts of worship for the accolades of man, not from love, Paul tells us that our worship will be in vain. Therefore, we will know that we have given, prayed, and fasted from a heart motivated by love when we do them all in secret before God.

Only God knows,
Pastor Asa Dockery

Faint Not

2011-12-28T06:30:00.001-08:00

2 Samuel 11 : 1 - 5, It happened in the spring of the year, at the time when kings go out to battle, that David sent Joab and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the people of Ammon and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem. Then it happened one evening that David arose from his bed and walked on the roof of the king's house. And from the roof he saw a woman bathing, and the woman was very beautiful to behold. So David sent and inquired about the woman. And someone said, "Is this not Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?" Then David sent messengers, and took her; and she came to him, and he lay with her, for she was cleansed from her impurity; and she returned to her house. And the woman conceived; so she sent and told David, and said, "I am with child." NKJV

God had given David a divine purpose. In fact, He has given every person a divine purpose on the earth. Some will fulfill their purpose, and some will choose to fulfill the lusts of their flesh. One spring, when the kings went out to battle, David sent Joab and his servants. Apparently David had grown weary in serving the Lord by choosing not to carry out his purpose that spring.

If you will read chapter 12 in 2 Samuel, you will see where God tells David that He would have given him more... if the blessings that he had already received were not enough. Obviously, there had come a separation in the communion between David and his Lord. Let's look at this story from a different perspective. We're told in Galatians 6 not to grow weary in well doing, for in due season, we will reap... if we don't faint.

David had fainted in doing the will of God that year, and it cost him dearly. Perhaps the enemy had convinced David that he had reached the top, and that he had gotten all that God was willing to offer him; after all, he "was" king over Israel. Something made him decide to remain in Jerusalem instead of carrying out the Lord's purpose for his life. Take careful notice of what can happen should we decide we're too tired to go out into battle (to the war that is against the lusts of our flesh) and decide to give in to them. It opened the door for Satan to tempt David with adultery, and then to the murder of Uriah to cover it up.

Are you tired of doing well? Have you decided to stay at home instead of going to battle against the enemy of your soul? This one occasion in the spring of the year brought a curse upon David's house, and it cost him the child that was conceived.

In chapter 12, God speaks through the prophet Nathan and tells the king that if what he had given him had not been enough, that He would have given him so much more. This tells us that David wasn't looking to God to supply his desires, but to himself. He chose the lust of his fleshly heart instead of the passion of his heart for the Lord. David had allowed Satan to blind him to the blessings that God would have given him had he continued to obey. And Satan used that season to rob David of future blessings and the security of the past blessings that he had already enjoyed.

Instead of peace, the sword was now in the king's house. You see, in the context of the passage in Galatians 6, we're told that if we sow to the flesh, we will reap corruption from our flesh. If Satan is lying to you about the blessings of God being dried up, and he's telling you that there is no reason in the natural why you should continue to go to battle and contend for the faith, beware. Jesus tells us in John 10 : 10 that the thief only hangs out with us so that he can steal, kill, and destroy the blessings of life that God has given to us. Lust will never give you anything other than a moment's pleasure, but will rob from you the blessings of peace, joy, and fulfillment. Delight yourself in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart.

Contending for the Faith,
Pastor Asa

Am I a Sinner or a Child of God?

2011-12-27T06:15:00.001-08:00

2 Corinthians 5 : 14 - 17, For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if one died for all, then all died; and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again. Therefore, from now on, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. NKJV

Do you know who you are in Christ? Who we are has been a mystery to mankind since our very creation. Wasn't Eve led astray by Satan and into sin over the mystery of her identity? Didn't Satan lie to her about the result of eating from the tree of knowledge; he told her that she would be LIKE God. By eating from the tree, Eve was rebellious, and we know that we can't become like God through disobedience. Satan made it appear as though God was keeping something back or hidden from Eve and convinced her that she could discover the mystery of her hidden identity by participating in sinful activity.

Why did the Lord God create us in His image and likeness and then leave us ignorant about who we were? Since the Bible declares that man, both male and female were created in the image and likeness of God, we now know Who to go to for the answers surrounding the mystery of our spiritual identity. Obviously, God didn't desire for mankind to be a "ROBOT." He created us in His image, but with a void of the knowledge of who He is and who we are in Him so that we might seek to know Him through a relationship. The Lord God's desire is for us to want to be intimate with Him. He wants us to desire Him, not just have knowledge about Him. By the Lord creating us with the void of knowing Him, He was giving mankind the freedom and the option to choose for ourselves to know Him. Unfortunately, man chose to "learn" about God outside the perimeters of God's provision and will. Instead of man becoming like God through Satan's lie, we became spiritually blinded to God's ways and lost our ability to know who we are or who we were to become.

It was unbelief that caused Adam and Eve to believe Satan's lies about God. If they had chosen God's way of knowing Him as Lord, they would have discovered their spiritual identity. So wouldn't it stand to reason that "faith," the opposite of unbelief, would be the way to know God and to know who we are spiritually? When we choose to walk by faith in Christ as Abraham, Sarah, and a host of other men and women of God have done, we have chosen the only path that will lead us to know God and discover our true identity. The path of righteousness is the only avenue that gives humans the liberty to be all that God has called us to be. Faith in Christ and obedience to His Word liberates us from the bondage of the flesh nature so that the new man can burst forth. To the degree that we can say we know God or His ways will be the degree that we will know our spiritual identity. Therefore, if we desire to know our true identity and seek to be free from this world, then we must form a deep desire and hunger for God and His righteousness. Jesus tells us in the Sermon on the Mount that if we hunger and thirst for Him, we shall be filled.

There's only one way to fill that void completely in our hearts and that is to seek God with all our hearts, souls, mind, and strength. As we diligently seek Him, He will reward us with the understanding of who we are in Christ. Any other way we choose to try and discover who we are, other than God's predetermined plan, will end up in disappointment and disaster. We have learned that lesson through the decisions of Adam and Eve. Let us choose to walk in the Light while He is with us so that we won't stumble in the dark and fall.

Discovering Who I Really Am,
Pastor Asa Dockery

My Christmas Prayer for You

2011-12-23T07:09:00.001-08:00

Luke 1: 30 - 38, Then the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name JESUS. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end." Then Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I do not know a man?" And the angel answered and said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy one who is to be born will be called the Son of God. Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren. For with God nothing will be impossible." Then Mary said, "Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word." NKJV

The very first story that is told in the Bible is the account of creation. God looked at His creation and saw that there was a void in the earth. Something catastrophic had occurred leaving the earth formless and void. However, if you read the story found in Genesis one, you will see that God was restoring and filling the earth with living vegetation and living creatures. Throughout the Word of God, we can see God at work restoring the earth and the lives that had been devastated by the evils of sin.

Since the fall of man, mankind has had a void in their hearts. The fall caused us to become separated from the very presence of God. As a result of that void, people have pierced themselves through with many sorrows in their effort to fill that void with something other than the presence and life of God. Although sin originally separated us from the life of God, it did not separate us from the love of God. The love of God overcame His wrath against sin and caused Him to send His Son to earth.

For God so loved the "world" that He sent us His only-begotten Son, that whosoever believes on Him would not perish, but have everlasting life. God created a void in heaven and filled the womb of a virgin on earth. What is so amazing and glorious about this virgin conceiving and giving birth to the Christ-child is the truth that she didn't need a man in order to obey God's will. When Mary heard the angel tell her about God's plan to allow her to bring forth the Christ into the world, she agreed with His Word instead of doubting it. As a result of her faith and willingness to agree with God, the Holy Spirit overshadowed Mary and the formation of Jesus began in her womb.

This event of Mary becoming the Mother of God is the greatest story of all time. Many traditions and forms of celebrations have arisen over the centuries to commemorate that joyous occasion. Over two-thousand years later, people celebrate the birth of Christ and remember how God filled the void in man by first filling the womb of a virgin without the aid of a man. The lesson that we need to learn from the method God used to send His Son to man is very important. God shows us through the immaculate conception of His Son that we don't need man to partake or to enjoy His goodness and life in our lives. In fact, the more we try to add "man's ways" to the gift of God's Son and the celebrations that surround this blessed event, the less we will be able to experience the liberty of His gift.

In what should be a fulfilling and heart-warming season, we are witnessing an upswing of anxiety, depression, and despair in more and more people because of the "frenzy" that is brought on by a world that overshadows and surrounds this sacred event. As Christmas, which is the celebration of the birth of Christ, becomes more and more about something else, disastrous results can occur. Anytime something is misused or misrepresented, such as Christmas has been by the world, it will also alter the intended purpose, and the results of the season that surrounds it.

Christ was sent to earth to fill the void that was caused by man turning his heart on God. If we should turn our hearts toward the world's view of Christmas at the expense of not having Christ as the focal point, then the season won't have the power to fill the void in our hearts. Remember, it was Satan convincing Eve that she could find fulfillment outside of God's will that formed the void to begin with.

The "Christmas" that the world portrays will leave you empty and hurting. However, the CHRIST-mas that is spoken of in Luke 1 will fill your hearts and lives with great joy, whether you have a worldly Christmas or not. Always remember that nothing can replace Christ and the joy that He gives to the human heart. It's good to share our love through gifts and Christmas get-togethers, but our love didn't empty heaven in order to fill the hearts of mankind. It was God's love that did that.

If you have to be away from your family and the ones who mean the most to you this Christmas, instead of looking at what you don't have, begin to thank God for the Christ that is always with you and allow Him to fill that void in your heart with His presence. Doesn't the Bible teach us that when we have Christ in us, we have the "HOPE OF GLORY?" Christmas and hard times come in seasons. Christ is year-round and will never forsake you, especially in your darkest valleys. If you are hurting this Christmas because of lack, separation, or the loss of a family member, then invite the Lord to fill that void with His comfort, peace and love.

I want to thank you personally for allowing this ministry to be a part of your life this past year. Today, I pray that God will heal the brokenness in your life and fill your heart with His comfort and joy. May the Holy Spirit surround you wherever you might be this week and cause you to know that He loves you. May the LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make His face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you; the LORD lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace.

Fill in the blank. MERRY _______________mas. It isn't the same without Christ.

Merry Christmas Y'all,
Pastor Asa Dockery

Hope Waits

2011-12-22T05:54:00.001-08:00

Romans 8 : 24 - 25, For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance. NKJV

Have you ever found yourself in a valley, and it seemed as though God was no where around? Even though we may "feel" forsaken, we know from His Word that He has not left us. In Romans 12: 3 we find that God has given every person the measure of faith. We're also told in Hebrews 11: 6, that without faith, it is impossible to please God. So if God has given us faith and requires us, as His children, to live and walk by it, then He might be telling us that there will be times in our relationship with Him where "things" will put it to the test. Since we know that God can't lie, and that He won't ever leave or forsake us, and since we also know His Word is truth from cover to cover, the only other component in this relationship is "us."

We all need something that is greater than our human abilities to help us stand, not fall, during trying times. We need something strong so when it looks like "its" over, we can know beyond a doubt that God is still with us, and we can lean on the everlasting ARM of the Lord and not faint. As long as we hold on to the faith that we have placed in Christ and the Word of God, then we will have the strength to keep our relationship intact, no matter what weapon Satan forms against us to try and separate us from walking with our heavenly Father.

One of the Old Testament names given to Jesus by the Father is Emmanuel. Emmanuel means, "God is with us." If we truly believe that He is with us, then we won't lose faith when something unexpected occurs. However, there are times when tragedy hits hard, and we can begin to struggle with our faith in God because we can't see the goodness of God anywhere. Whenever something adverse hits our faith walk, and we lose faith, and we lose all hope, it means that we don't see any positive in our situation or even how God could possibly work it out for our good. The human response to such a scenario is to feel as though God has forsaken us. If this should be the case, then our next reaction will be to quit moving forward. Once we stop moving forward in faith because we have given up on God, the tendency will arise to want to go back. Old ways can look inviting during a time of deep anguish and pain because of the familiarity of the past mixed with the uncertainty of the future.

Remember, we are talking about the principle of faith and how we are to lean on that faith when trouble comes against it. As Christians, we must learn effectively how to activate the power of faith so that we might overcome this world and continue moving forward in our relationship with the Lord. Whenever Israel came upon an unexpected trial in the wilderness, and it seemed all hope was gone, the natural, human response was to give up and want to go back into Egypt, the land of bondage. Consequently, God can now use the Israelites as an example to teach us how to respond correctly to hopeless situations.

The writer of Hebrews defines faith for us in a way that can help us to better understand it, and to utilize it more effectively against Satan's devices. Faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things unseen. As little children, we used to go out and look up at the sky at night and wish upon a star. This type of faith has no substance or true hope because a star can't supply our needs or desires. However, God can, and He will. When God makes us a promise that He will never leave or forsake us, then you can stand on that promise when hell lashes out against your faith in Christ.

We must understand that our faith is the substitute for our ears, eyes, and human abilities when all hope seems to be gone. True faith in God's Word will produce a valid witness, not the "blind faith," like a fairytale. If you should encounter an attack of the enemy that leaves you doubting the faithfulness of God, BE STILL. Wait until you can begin to sense the witness of God's presence in your heart surrounding you before you react. Generally, fear will try to seize your heart and cause you to feel alone at the moment something destructive occurs. Don't believe the lie of Satan or react. Instead, be still and wait until you can begin to see the salvation of the Lord.

I used the verses from Romans 8 about hope today to help you understand that faith sometimes has to wait. Instead of allowing fear and unbelief to fill your heart when tragedy occurs, just be still and wait through the hope that only comes from a life of walking by faith. After a season of working through your emotions, you will begin to experience the faithfulness of God once again, and then instead of sliding back, you will desire to continue moving forward.

So the next time you find yourself in a situation, and something tells you to go back, just remember, there's nothing back there. God is with you and in your future. God doesn't live in our past because unbelief hangs out there. If you're too weak spiritually to move forward, then let hope strengthen you to wait on God to remove the darkness and make a way of escape for you. True hope will wait on God until He can clear the way for us to continue moving forward in our relationship with Him. God hasn't forsaken you; you just got blindsided by Satan.

God Knows the Way Out of Here,
Pastor Asa Dockery

God's Amazing Love

2011-12-21T07:21:00.000-08:00

Romans 8 : 34 - 39, Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written: "For Your sake we are killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter." Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. NKJV

There's no possible way for us as humans to describe fully the love that God has for us. The purpose of today's thoughts isn't a veiled attempt to excuse sin, but rather to use what we, as former sinners, have gone through to illustrate further the experience and depths of God's love. The first account of God's love in the Bible is found in Genesis 2, where God provided the needs of Adam and Eve. All that mankind needed was supplied for them by the Lord God. Consequently, we can look at God's provision and better understand His love for us. Everything is fine until we get to the part in the story of God's love for us where man decided to take advantage of Him and His graciousness, and they chose to sin.

What would be the outcome of such a damnable decision? Would God choose to love mankind even after Adam and Eve ignored the goodness of God and decided to choose sin and its consequences over the bountiful blessings of the Lord? If you read the rest of the story in Genesis 3, you will see where God looked at the fallen state of man and made the choice to kill an innocent animal in order to cover the nakedness and shame of the fallen couple. This action was the first indication that God chose to continue displaying His love for the man whom He had created to be in His image and likeness. In order to justify and to cover the sins of the guilty, it required the life of an innocent animal. Where is the justice in this? Why did an innocent creature of God have to give its life so that a person who had consciously and deliberately chosen to sin could have his shame covered? We see now, that in order for God to love fallen man, it would come at a high price to God and creation, but it was a COST (CROSS) that God was willing to pay in order to show us the depth of His love for us, as sinners.

Jesus tells us in John 8 that Satan was a murderer from the beginning. We know this by the account of man's choice to sin and die. Nevertheless, it was God, who took the first life. For the first time in the Word of God, we see the exchange of a life for souls. Does this mean that we can continue in sin and allow God to kill innocent lives to restore us... and through these continued sacrifices, witness the depths of God's love for us as sinners? I echo the words of the Apostle Paul, "Absolutely not!!!"

This is where repentance enters the story of God's love for fallen man. When God came to Adam and asked him if he had eaten of the forbidden tree, God was giving man an opportunity to confess his sins and "get right." Instead, Adam chose to deny his actions and blamed them on his wife. If we should deny that we have sin, the Apostle John tells us that the truth is not in us, and we are liars. However, he also says, if we confess our faults to God that He is faithful to forgive us and to cleanse us of all unrighteousness. Therefore, when you and I sin, we must look at God's love as a way OUT OF SIN and not the means to remain in sin, lest we perish in sin.

Does God love obedient children? Yes. Does that mean that God doesn't love disobedient children? No. Sin has cost God the life of His Son on earth. Consequently, because of sin, we, who didn't know the righteousness of God, have now become the righteous seed of God in the earth through Jesus. We have also become recipients of God's love at a much deeper level. Sin cost us everything. Even so, it cost God even more. We, who have chosen to REPENT of our past mistakes and failures, will never pay for one sin by going to HELL. Christ had to pay the price for us as the Last Adam, and through His life, God's wrath has been forever appeased.

By Grace through Faith Are We Now saved,
Pastor Asa Dockery

Trading Your Sorrow for Joy

2011-12-20T05:25:00.000-08:00

Colossians 3: 1 - 11, If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory. Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. Because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience, in which you yourselves once walked when you lived in them. But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth. Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him, where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all and in all. NKJV

According to scripture, Satan is his most effective when he is coming against the minds of believers. The reason for this is very simple. Our minds aren't based on truth; they are carnal and are not submitted to God's Word. Therefore, Satan can use our lack of knowledge of the truth to try and convince us of things that are based on his lies, and we will believe them, if we don't know who we are in Christ.

Since our unregenerate or carnal mind isn't submitted to truth, nor can it be, Satan will use situations of all types in an attempt to get us to react to his lies about us. If he can get us "to move" out of our position of authority because of something that he originated, then he knows that we don't have the knowledge of the truth in that area of our life and will proceed to use that ignorance or weakness to hurt us.

Satan embodied the serpent and was successful in his plan to deceive Eve because she was devoid of the truth concerning God and her identity in Him. Satan simply convinced Eve (though it was a lie) that she didn't have the things she desired when she obeyed God's will. He told her that she wouldn't die if she partook of the forbidden fruit, but rather she would be like God.

If everything that we are and have is wrapped up in Christ, then why would we desire to look to the world? This principle is very important, and all Christians need to be aware of the consequences of violating it. When we look to the Lord to be the source of all that we desire and all we do, He will keep us protected from the devouring spirit that operates through the deceitful lusts of the world. In Christ, we are kept, and in Him, we are complete. However, if we look to the world, it will show us what we lack and will try to provide that need for us. Nevertheless, it will cost us our liberty in Christ.

We must not look to the world to show us what we are in need of or lack as a child of God. Consequently, by doing so, we open ourselves up to be pierced through with many sorrows just as Adam and Eve were after the fall. The old flesh nature has to die in us, who have accepted Christ as our Savior and our only Source. When we die to the carnal (or flesh nature) that makes us view ourselves as incomplete, even though we're in Christ, we won't feel the need to look outside of Christ for our needs or desires to be met.

The world loves to tell us that we are incomplete, so that we will act in our own strength and attempt to fill that void which was created by the world. You can see that this will lead to a vicious cycle; we will never be fulfilled. It is for this very reason that we're told throughout the New Testament to put to death the deeds of our flesh and live to God. Keep your eyes and your desires focused on Christ and live a healthy, fulfilled, and blessed life filled peace and contentment. As we learn to delight ourselves in the Lord, He will give us the desires of our heart. When God gives us a desire, it also means that it was given without any strings attached.

There is a void in every person on earth. This void is the need to live in liberty. As long as we try to fill that void through carnal thinking, by viewing what the world has and basing our need on its values, we will live in bondage as believers. However, if we will die to the need to look outside of Christ to find freedom and liberty through people or "stuff," then we can have and maintain a life of fulfillment and peace.

Rich in the Blessings of God,
Pastor Asa Dockery

Grieve Not the Holy Spirit

2011-12-19T06:39:00.000-08:00

Ephesians 4: 29 - 32, Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you. NKJV

For a while, the Lord has been speaking to me about believers and the need for us to guard our hearts from the wiles or strategies of the Devil. I see two primary and effective ways that Satan works in order to cause a Christian to grieve the Holy Spirit. Satan will find entrance into our hearts so that he might gain power over our decisions when we act or react to temptation and/or offense.

Many times when Jesus made reference to the Holy Spirit being our Comforter, He also mentions that He is the Spirit of Truth. If we should allow anything (offense) or anyone (offender) to cause us to stumble from obeying the truth, then we, too, will grieve the Spirit of Truth.

When we're single and out on our own, it's easy to make a rash decision and do something on the spur-of-the-moment, but when you get married, there's another person who must be included in the decision-making process. When you and I were out in the world doing our own thing, it was all about self and what made us happy, but now that we're born again and married to Christ, we must first consider His will over our own. Doesn't Jesus instruct us in Matthew 6 to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness? Remember, "Father knows best."

As the Lord has been showing me specific principles and examples of what can happen once these principles are violated, I couldn't help but share these valuable truths with you today. When God called John the Baptist into the ministry, He told John how he would be able to recognize the Christ. Obviously, God had foretold to John that one day he would have the high honor of baptizing Israel's Messiah. John 1: 32 - 34 says, And John bore witness, saying, "I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him. I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, 'Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.' And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God." NKJV

Please notice that, even though Jesus and John were cousins, John didn't know Jesus was the Son of God until the Holy Spirit made Him manifest by descending upon Jesus. Once the Holy Spirit lighted upon Jesus, John knew for certain that, indeed, this was the Christ. At this moment, John was fully engaged in his calling to be the forerunner of Christ and to bear witness of Him. However, later in John's ministry, something transpired that caused John to fail to see Jesus as the Christ, and he began to question the calling and authority that rested upon Jesus.

Matthew 11: 2 - 3, And when John had heard in prison about the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples and said to Him, "Are You the Coming one, or do we look for another?" NKJV

You're probably wondering the same thing that came to my mind when I realized what John was actually doing in this passage. How could John, the forerunner and witness of Christ, suddenly doubt the VALIDITY of Jesus' calling and authority? What could Jesus have possibly done to John that caused him to doubt Jesus was the Christ and to forget all the times that God through the Holy Spirit had confirmed this to be true? Jesus did nothing against John, but rather John took an offense over something that had gone wrong in his own life or ministry.

Matthew 11: 4 - 6, Jesus answered and said to them, "Go and tell John the things which you hear and see: The blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them. And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me." NKJV

Let's take a moment to look at the spirit of offense in John's life. Notice that John's perception about Jesus changed when he came under the influence of offense. He began to see Jesus in a different way than the way that was revealed to him by the Holy Spirit. The spirit of offense had "so" blinded John that he began to question the very One that he-himself had confirmed to be the Christ. This also happened with Adam and Eve after they entered into temptation and offended the Law of God in the garden. They viewed God with a different understanding after their offense than they did before it. When they opened their hearts to sin and the spirit of offense, they became afraid of God for the first time. God didn't change. However, sin had changed their hearts, which distorted their perception. The same transformation had taken place in John's heart as well. He no longer stood in confirmation and agreement that Jesus was the Christ, but was in opposition to the point that he wanted Jesus to prove Himself to him.

John had allowed an offense to replace the influence of the Holy Spirit. He had begun to grieve the Holy Spirit by the new attitude he had developed...probably while he was in prison awaiting to be executed for the gospel's sake. Even though he confessed on the banks of the Jordan, "I must decrease and Christ must increase." Apparently, John wasn't in total agreement with the way God was allowing him to decrease. Maybe he didn't feel he deserved to be in prison. So beware how you handle an offense when something unexpected or tragic occurs in your walk with Christ. We cannot allow the spirit of offense to push the influence of the Holy Spirit completely out of our hearts and begin to disobey the will of God. John was going back on his calling when he made the decision to allow an offense to make him doubt the authority that was on Jesus' life. There's so much more than can be said about today's subject, but I realize this is a devotion and not a book. To protect your heart from taking on offense when faced with a seemingly impossible situation, ask the Lord to keep your heart. "Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from all evil." In Jesus' name, I pray.

Enduring the Test of My Faith,
Pastor Asa Dockery

Consistency

2011-12-16T04:39:00.000-08:00

Psalms 1 : 1 - 3, Oh, the joys of those who do not follow evil men's advice, who do not hang around with sinners, scoffing at the things of God. But they delight in doing everything God wants them to, and day and night are always meditating on his laws and thinking about ways to follow him more closely. They are like trees along a riverbank bearing luscious fruit each season without fail. Their leaves shall never wither, and all they do shall prosper. TLB

It's always refreshing when you can begin your day with some good news. I believe that is why the Lord has led me to share a portion of the first Psalm with you today. Please reread it until it begins to get deep into your spirit. Just look at the blessings that God has laid up for those who make the decision to remain planted by the river of living water.

As Christians, you and I have been called by our heavenly Father to undergo the conversion process of being made into the image of Christ. There are no shortcuts or detours; there is only faith and obedience through good times and difficult times. Now that we have been born again and have a glorious future in Christ, we realize and better understand the principle that apart from Christ, there is no life. In Christ, we move and live and are. We have accepted that truth and have chosen to conduct our lives according to the purpose and plan of our heavenly Father. We also know that this will require that we center our lives on Christ.

In other words, we must be willing to abide within the confines of the will of God in order that He might be allowed to transform us, through our cooperation, from being a carnal soul into a spirit-filled son or daughter of God. For many in Christendom, it might seem a little too demanding to have to give our "all" to Christ so that God can take what remains and change us into a person who continuously reflects the true nature and heart of Christ.

Once again, you may want to read the passage for today. In it, we're instructed to part company with the world and become planted in Christ. This will require us to be sold-out, committed, and consistent with the calling of God on our lives for as long as God allows us to live. Initially, committing to Christ at this level can be more than a little intimidating and can also seem impossible. However, it might seem this way because we are only focused on what we're being asked to give up. In today's scripture passage, we read that God has promised to reward those who make such a high commitment to Him with life, blessings, peace, and prosperity. When we allow God to transform us and to make us prosperous, it's not the same as the prosperity of the world which causes great sorrow. The blessing of God makes us rich and adds no sorrow to our lives.

The writer of Hebrews exhorts us not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together. This is a commandment of Christ, and we would do well to obey it. As we assemble ourselves together on a continual basis, the Lord will see that we are actively engaging in our own conversion process. Being in Christ means you have eternal life; however, serving Christ means that you have taken the next step in the process of allowing Him to live through you. As we continue engaging in His will while being planted like a tree by the water brook, God will cause us to begin to flourish, even in times or seasons of drought.

The word for today is CONSISTENCY. If you're not consistent as a child of God to the call of God, then your life can be compared to a farmer planting a tree or vine and going out every month and plucking it up. The results are disastrous. We're told in John 15 to abide in Christ, and as we remain connected to the vine, we will bear much fruit, and our fruit will remain. If you're not committed to your service to God in the way that God has had me lay it out for you today, I challenge you to take the next 12 months and commit to the Lord at a deeper level. Go to church, get involved in the work of the ministry where God would have you to serve, and stay rooted no matter what tries to pluck you up by the roots. At the end of the 12 months, you will see a difference in your life and walk. Others will also see the change and be blessed by the presence of God on your life.

Abiding in the Vine,
Pastor Asa Dockery

Grateful

2011-12-16T04:08:00.001-08:00

Job 1: 20 - 22, Then Job arose, tore his robe, and shaved his head; and he fell to the ground and worshiped. And he said: "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return there. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD." In all this Job did not sin nor charge God with wrong. NKJV

It seems that with each passing week, Jesus' prophecies concerning the last days are speaking louder and louder. We can see with our own eyes the unveiling of the final days and the fulfillment of Jesus' Words. However, we must also remember that Jesus warned His disciples what would happen before His return. He foretold end-time events to them (and to us) so that when these things come to pass, we wouldn't be offended by them.

The prophet, Hosea, tells us, in no uncertain terms, that God's people can be destroyed if they don't know the truth. Ignorance of Christ, what He requires of His disciples, and what it will cost to follow His teachings in a fallen world can prove to be disastrous. If we are ignorant of these truths, but we still seek to follow or obey Christ, then Satan will exploit our ignorance and bring an offense. Offense means: to stumble or cause to sin. Peter warns us in his epistle that Satan is going about as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. Therefore, it is incumbent on us to know what the Word of God says about being a true disciple of Christ and to know what Christ requires of us, lest we become offended and return to sin.

Furthermore, we must also realize the same truth that Job knew when he served God... we "own nothing." If we understand that God has allowed us to steward His possessions on earth in order that He might know whether we can be trusted with eternal riches and glory, then we will gain victory over the offenses of Satan. Job didn't charge God foolishly; neither did he sin against God because he had a good understanding that God had given him everything. Therefore, he could say without malice in his heart, "The Lord has given and the Lord has taken." Jesus told the disciples, "Freely you have received, freely you are to give." If we should love anything or anyone more than Christ, it will open up the door for Satan to bring an offense and cause us to stumble.

Satan knows his end is drawing closer with each passing day. Consequently, he is like a raging and roaring lion. His desire is to take out as many of God's warriors as he possibly can through the "door or avenue" of offense. We don't have to fall prey to Satan's devices because we have the Greater One living within us; we are not alone. John tells us in his epistle not to love the world, neither the things that are in it. If we love the world, then the love of the Father is not in us. He goes on to warn us that this world will pass away, and the lusts of it will also, but only those who do the will of God will live forever.

Our focus as Christians in these last days must be on what God has already done for us on the cross. We must not fall in love with this world to the point that we disobey God's will. What will it profit us if we were to gain the entire world, but have to forfeit our souls in the process? We must live by faith like never before. We must hold on to our faith and love God more than ever. By these, we will be able to keep the faith and overcome this world for Christ. Then we will have a great and eternal reward awaiting us in heaven. There's nothing as fulfilling as the goodness of God to a grateful heart.

Thankful for the Gift of Eternal Life,
Pastor Asa Dockery

Being Enlightened by the Holy Spirit

2011-12-14T04:41:00.001-08:00

Ephesians 1 : 15 - 21, Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers: that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. NKJV

Welcome to a new day to live out the plan of God for your life and to glorify your Lord. However, we don't always know what His plan is. Even so, not knowing is a good thing because it keeps us looking to God for wisdom and direction, especially when we encounter a trial or setback that wasn't expected. Have you had "the unexpected" happen in your life recently? Have you been blind-sided by a situation that has caused you to lose sight of the path for your life? If this describes where you are in your walk with Christ, then Paul has given us an answer in today's scripture that will assist us when we go through dark seasons and blinding tragedies in life. Nevertheless, first, let's lay some foundation so that you will have a better understanding of it.

If you read Genesis 3, where Adam and Eve partook of the tree of knowledge, you will discover that their eyes were opened, and they became self-conscious. Just as the serpent had predicted, they had gained an understanding of good-and-evil. I have always found this portion, "the eyes of them both were opened," of scripture interesting, since they could already see. Consequently, we know that Moses was alluding to the eyes of their understanding and not their physical sight. Once man had partaken of sin, we became aware of a fallen world, and in exchange, we lost God-consciousness, in the way that Adam and Eve had only known.

This brings us to the scripture for today's devotion found in Ephesians 1. When we rejected sin and believed on Jesus as our personal Savior and Lord, our heavenly Father gave us the Holy Spirit. Through Him, we have the ability once again to know God and learn about His ways and to see God without the use or benefit of our physical, human eyes for sight. Besides our eyesight, we also have what Paul described as "eyes of our understanding." When Adam and Eve sinned, mankind lost the understanding that allowed us to see or perceive God and to trust in Him even though He is invisible to the human eye.

You may be asking, "Why is this information important to me as a Christian?" As you face dark seasons in your life, where it seems as though the Light of God's presence has been extinguished, or you are blind-sided by tragedy, you don't have to allow yourself to feel isolated, lonely, or abandoned by God anymore. Since becoming a child of God and receiving the Holy Spirit, you now have someone who will remain with you through every season of your life. He will be there when this world goes "dark and cold" to reassure and comfort you.

It is during the trying times of life that humans can lose all hope. However, once we accept Christ and receive the Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit gives us enlightenment. He does this so that we will have hope in our heart to stand, when it appears that in the natural, physical realm, there is no hope to be found. We must, at that moment, decide to either look to God or look at our circumstances. If we will choose to take our eyes off what is seen and begin to trust in the unseen God, who dwells within us, then He can begin to enlighten our understanding and lead us on in our walk of faith. Through the truths that God has given, we all can learn to lean more on the God of hope during times of isolation and heartache. We can know that we have a hope and a future, even when it seems as though all hope is gone. Allow the Lord to enlighten your understanding and to lead you into greener pastures and a greater hope in Christ. Remember, this world is not our final destination. We're just passing through on our way to an eternal reward in Christ.

Seeing the Invisible through Eyes of Faith,
Pastor Asa

The Inheritance Is Given By Promise

2011-12-13T07:22:00.001-08:00

Galatians 3: 16 - 18, Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say, "And to seeds," as of many, but as of one, "And to your Seed," who is Christ. And this I say, that the law, which was four hundred and thirty years later, cannot annul the covenant that was confirmed before by God in Christ, that it should make the promise of no effect. For if the inheritance is of the law, it is no longer of promise; but God gave it to Abraham by promise. NKJV

If there was a law of God that we could keep in order to inherit eternal life, then there would be no need for faith. Please take a moment and meditate on that statement. There is no law or no good thing that we can do that would grant us access into heaven. If we really know this to be the truth, why do so many "believers" try to avoid operating by faith? Ignorance isn't a legitimate excuse in the Kingdom of God. In fact, the prophet Hosea wrote under the leading of God's Spirit, "The people of God are destroyed from a lack of knowledge." If we choose to plead ignorance as an excuse for not walking by faith, then we are only deceiving ourselves and opening a door that will allow us to be devoured by the enemy.

The writer of Hebrews tells us in chapter 11, "Without faith it is impossible to please God." Paul teaches us in Romans 10 that faith can only be released in our hearts when we hear God speaking to us through the Holy Spirit or through His Word. Therefore, we can conclude that the only way to please the Father and to inherit the promises of the Kingdom of God is to seek to learn and to obey His will. Some might try to say, "This sounds like you're adding works to salvation. After all, aren't we saved by faith in Christ alone?" To this I would ask, "Is there another way that I can walk by faith and be in complete agreement with the Father while I fulfill His purpose for my life on earth?" Paul has already taught us that the inheritance can't be given by keeping the Law.

We're told in Romans that the JUST shall live by faith. In Hebrews, we find the same statement. However, it is followed by this verse. "If any man draws back in unbelief, the Lord will have no pleasure in them." James also teaches us to add action or works to our faith. Well, we can't just do our own thing and call it God's will. So we can say then, that walking by faith means we listen for the voice of the Father, and we read His Word to train our spiritual ears to hear and our hearts to obey His commands. Just like there's only one Way to the Father, there is only one way to live by faith and in agreement with the Father once we accept Jesus as the Christ in our life. We had better understand now, through this principle, that those who continue to walk by faith after their initial commitment to Christ are walking in a relationship with the Father and not operating by works. Christianity is based on a relationship and not on our works. We can't commit to Christ as our Savior and afterwards live by the Law or do our own thing.

If we are truly saved by grace through faith, then we will add obedience to our faith, and do everything that God commands us to do. This will let the Lord see "through our actions" that we are living by faith. Then He can reward us with the fulfillment of His promises because we have chosen to "live" by faith and not just accept Jesus by faith. The question we must ask ourselves is this. "As God's child, am I living my life according to God's will or according to my will?" Allow the Holy Spirit to give you the answer. It's all based on a relationship by faith.

I Love the Lord,
Pastor Asa

Truth and Unity Walk Together

2011-12-12T17:11:00.000-08:00

Amos 3: 3, Can two walk together, unless they are agreed? NKJV
Psalms 133: 1 - 3, Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious oil upon the head, running down on the beard, the beard of Aaron, running down on the edge of his garments. It is like the dew of Hermon, descending upon the mountains of Zion; for there the LORD commanded the blessing --Life forevermore. NKJV

When Jesus established His church, He set it upon the foundation of who He is. He is TRUTH. Jesus didn't base it on man's opinions, conjectures, or philosophies.

Consequently, if divisions should arise in the church, they will stem from man's beliefs and not because of the truth. In Ephesians, Paul writes to us about the body of Christ coming to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. We must all grow in our faith, until we all come to the unity of the faith. Christ is the only way to the Father. He is the only- begotten Son of God. Until we become mature in our faith and understand this truth about Jesus, we will continue to be divided over what we choose to believe about Christ and the Word of God. All Christians, who are truly born again, already believe unanimously that He is the Christ, the Son of God. Nevertheless, the body remains largely divided by our personal beliefs about scripture and/or our personal interpretation of the Word.

Truth isn't divided, nor can it ever be. Therefore, if we walk in the truth and don't hold too closely to our opinions, then we will also walk in unity in the body of Christ. If all that I have written up to this point is, indeed, truth, how will we know when someone is walking in the truth, or just sharing a personal interpretation, or is operating under the influence of the spirit of error? This is where the Holy Spirit comes into the maturation process. When Jesus was preparing to return to His Father, He told His disciples that they would not be abandoned. They wouldn't be left to try and figure out everything that He had taught them concerning the Kingdom of God and the Father on their own. The Father sent the Holy Spirit, whom Jesus also called the Spirit of Truth.

Whenever truth is taught and when it is heard, it is the work of the Holy Spirit to bear witness or confirm to the hearers that it is truth. If someone should interject opinions, or conjecture, then the Holy Spirit won't bear witness to the truth. This brings up a very important question. How can a believer know when they have heard from the Holy Spirit? The Spirit of Truth will only speak from the Word of God and won't confirm man's beliefs as being the truth. Therefore, as a believer, it is your personal responsibility to be willing and ready to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit when He either confirms or rejects something that has been proclaimed as truth. If a person should harden their hearts to the voice of Truth, then it will open them up to be deceived by man's deceitful ways.

Divisions arise when something other than truth has been spoken to a body of believers as truth, but not confirmed by the Spirit of Truth. When division occurs, either in the body of Christ or a body of believers because someone has presented opinion or personal beliefs as truth, then know that some have heard the Holy Spirit, and some have not. The Apostle John teaches us in his epistle that this is the way we will know the Spirit of Truth and the spirit of error. If you're truly concerned about being deceived by a minister, and you don't know if they're really hearing from God, you must do as Proverbs 3 : 5 - 8 says, Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and depart from evil. It will be health to your flesh, and strength to your bones. NKJV

Jesus tells us plainly in Matthew 7 that if we, being evil know how to give good gifts to our children, how much more will the heavenly Father give good things to those who ask Him. Where there is truth, (if all are hearing from the Holy Spirit) there should also be unity, and where there is unity, there will also be the blessing of God-life forever.

Walking in Agreement with Truth,
Pastor Asa Dockery

Grace to Enter the Presence of God

2011-12-09T17:02:00.001-08:00

Hebrews 10: 16 - 23, "This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the LORD: I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them," then He adds, "Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more." Now where there is remission of these, there is no longer an offering for sin. Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, and having a High Priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. NKJV

I have had the privilege of visiting Africa on a few occasions and sharing the Gospel there. I was both humbled and blessed to see how the African people honor ministers who preach the "Good News." I never got the sense that the team that served us while we were there were man-pleasers, but rather they recognized the hand of God on us and showed great respect for the anointing. When you compare the respect of the African people for those in ministry to that of people here in America, you soon realize that not all Christians honor the gift or presence of God the same. The purpose for me sharing that brief story with you isn't an attempt to shame American believers, but to draw your attention to an even greater matter.

Jesus said, "If they have kept My saying, then they will keep yours also." When you witness to someone in the name of Christ, and they accept your testimony, you can know that they have first acknowledged and honored the presence of God on your life. If they reject your testimony, don't be offended at them because they haven't rejected you, but rather the Lord's presence that is on you. As humans, we can sometimes under-value the gift and favor of God. We do this when we misuse or misappropriate His gifts or His favor to benefit our flesh and not our walk. The purpose of Jesus coming to earth and shedding His blood was to fulfill God's desire to have mankind reconciled back to Him. Once Jesus accomplished God's will on the cross, the veil of the temple was torn from the top all the way to the bottom. At that moment, God was revealing to the world that "the way" had been made for us to come into the presence of the Holy God. Through the shed blood of Jesus, we can obtain mercy and find grace to help us in time of need.

As Christians, we can access the throne of Grace and become closer to God through the work of Christ. This is the intended purpose for God's grace being extended to sinful man. You already know that not everyone honors or appreciates the price that was paid or the significance of having the opportunity to be reconciled to God through Jesus. Some will attempt, as the believers in the church at Rome, to misappropriate or cloak grace in order to have a license to partake of the ways of this world. God didn't send His Son to suffer at the hands of evil man and to be hung on a Roman cross, just so we could have a license from Him to continue in sin. Anyone who misuses and abuses the blood of Christ and the grace of God to continue in sin or to justify a carnal lifestyle is treading on very dangerous ground. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of a living God. For God is a consuming fire (Hebrews 6).

I will conclude today's word with this last thought. If you are in need of salvation from sin, a deliverance from bondage, or a healing in your body, there is grace for you to obtain the help that you need today. Through God's mercy and grace, He has chosen to forgive us our sins without us having to pay the sin-debt ourselves. Why would we want to frustrate the grace and goodness of God by desiring sin instead of holiness? Apart from God's grace, no one would have the power to become holy, as He is holy. Even so, now, through His grace, we too can become holy as we leave the ways of the world behind us. Allow this word to be one of encouragement and one that will challenge you to access God's grace as a means to grow closer to God and to become more separated and distanced from the ways of the world.

Thanking God for His Grace,
Pastor Asa Dockery

Through It All, God Has Been There

2011-12-08T18:27:00.000-08:00

Psalms 139: 7 - 10, Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend into heaven, You are there; if I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there Your hand shall lead me, and Your right hand shall hold me. NKJV

The Bible has much to say about times and seasons. I have noticed over the years of being in ministry and counseling that oftentimes believers go through certain seasons or trials together. A term that is commonly used to describe this phenomenon is, "it comes in waves." You may not hear about a certain issue for a while, and then it seems that many people are hit "all at once" by the same type of opposition.

Unfortunately, Christians aren't immune to trials and tragedies just because we have faith in Christ for eternal life. Knowing this, we must remember that we are God's children, and our heavenly Father has given us the gift of the Holy Spirit. Through the Holy Spirit, we are empowered and comforted by His presence to face, confront, and overcome the fallout which is associated with pain and loss. Please pay close attention to what I'm about to share with you. Christians are still human. We have feelings and thoughts that arise during (and especially after) trials hit us. Whenever a person is hit with sudden pain, grief, or loss because of a tragedy or unexpected setback, the human nature demands a response. This "natural" response can cause a believer to feel rejected and alone, even in a crowd of other believers.

Since we know that this reaction can occur during a personal loss, we must be on guard with our faith. Recently, I've heard several people sharing their hearts about feeling lonely. Loneliness is yet another response of our emotions to experiencing loss or rejection, which can cause Christians to draw back from society and from fellowshipping with other believers. At this point, we must also realize and acknowledge that, even though sorrow and loss are a part of this season, God is still in control, and His presence is with us no matter the hardship.

Satan knows by observation that "saved humans" will wrestle with their faith when affliction enters their lives. So we must see him as a wolf whenever we have a season of suffering or grief. Wolves work very diligently to seek out weak or vulnerable sheep who have strayed away from the rest of the flock. The sheep who are isolated or separated from the rest of the sheep make an easy prey for the wolves to attack and devour.

As hard as it might be for you to see God as a loving, heavenly Father, who cares for you during a difficult season, you must, once again, see that God is with you, and that you're not alone. By your faith, you can silence the "voices of hurt, loss, rejection, and isolation" and turn your attention back to the goodness of the Lord. I can personally attest to this truth; "It works!" Whenever I have had to face dark seasons, I've learned to keep my eyes on Jesus and my ears attuned to His Word. Trials and personal tragedies must be met with the faith and determination that God is with us, and He has not forsaken us. Therefore, I don't have to believe my emotions or thoughts. Instead, I choose to stand on the truth of God's covenant Word with me and my family. You know what? My emotions and thoughts have failed me, but God and His Word have always carried me and our family through the darkest of times.

Jesus Is a Very Present Help,
Pastor Asa Dockery

Don't Forget the Lord

2011-12-07T15:32:00.001-08:00

Deuteronomy 8 : 7 - 17, For the LORD your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, that flow out of valleys and hills; a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive oil and honey; a land in which you will eat bread without scarcity, in which you will lack nothing; a land whose stones are iron and out of whose hills you can dig copper. When you have eaten and are full, then you shall bless the LORD your God for the good land which He has given you. "Beware that you do not forget the LORD your God by not keeping His commandments, His judgments, and His statutes which I command you today, lest -- when you have eaten and are full, and have built beautiful houses and dwell in them; and when your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver and your gold are multiplied, and all that you have is multiplied; when your heart is lifted up, and you forget the LORD your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage; who led you through that great and terrible wilderness, in which were fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty land where there was no water; who brought water for you out of the flinty rock; who fed you in the wilderness with manna, which your fathers did not know, that He might humble you and that He might test you, to do you good in the end -- then you say in your heart, 'My power and the might of my hand have gained me this wealth.' NKJV

God takes great delight in the prosperity of His people. Consequently, when God created man, He provided everything they needed. In fact, if you read Genesis 1 - 2, you'll see that God supplied all of man's need even before man realized there was a need. After man sinned in the garden, we see that it was God who sacrificed the first animal to cover the nakedness and shame of man. God was introducing the beginnings of the Levitical system of Priests and sin offerings for man's sin, and He did this before man had even the slightest clue of what it was all about. However, we won't fully understand all that God did for Adam and Eve, as it pertained to their sins and His killing of that first animal, until we read about the Pascal lamb in Exodus. Even after all that God had promised Adam and Eve and after God had provided their every need, before they knew they had one, they still turned their back on God.

I realize that the scripture for today's word is lengthy, but it is to prove a point. God warned Israel through Moses not to forget Him after He had blessed them with the fulfillment of every need in their lives. God not only provided for them, but in the wilderness where there were no grocery stores, or fast-food chains to get food, God provided them with manna, not from the earth, but from heaven. Is it not amazing how God first provided man with food from the ground, but in the wilderness, He brought bread down from heaven. God also provided them freedom from the bondages of man. If all this were not enough, God was about to give them their own land which they would possess. Although other inhabitants occupied the Promise Land, God was about to evict them from the premises because of His love for Israel. The Israelites were about to inherit houses they didn't build, vineyards they didn't have to plant, and wells that already existed. All of this, God did because He loved Israel.

God also warned Israel not to forget Him and all the goodness that He had deposited into their lives by ignoring His commandments. After we've seen all the examples that are offered in the Word of God where the Lord was so gracious toward both the nation of Israel and in individuals who had favor in His sight, you might tend to think that Christians wouldn't follow in the same footsteps of forgetting God or His Word.

Grace is the greatest gift that God has given to mankind. Through God's grace, we have been forgiven without going to hell. We have been redeemed without dying for our sins. We have been cleansed from sin and guilt without shedding one drop of our own blood. We have been given the Holy Spirit, who empowers us to live a holy life before God because apart from Him we can do nothing. All God asks of His people is that we keep His Word and hide it in our hearts that we might not sin against it. He asks us to keep His Word so that we won't forget that it is the Lord, who has given us the power to obtain the wealth. Even so, it seems in every generation, many forget the Lord and all of His goodness and begin to exalt "self" as God.

When we honor and keep the Word of God in our daily living, it will keep us rooted and grounded. Once a Christian turns from the Word as their source of life, they soon become prideful and begin to get lifted up because of the blessings in their lives that were the result of God's goodness. I don't know where you are reading this in the world today, but in America, many have forgotten and turned their backs on God as their source. Many have forgotten the Word of God and gone after other gods just as Israel did in the Old Testament.

Let me end this personal time of devotion with a question. Have you forgotten the Lord by ignoring and disobeying His Word? Grace can only work when we remain submitted to the Word of God. There is no other written document that can attract and release the power of God's grace but the Word of God. If we forsake God's Word because of the blessings of grace, then we, too, will go astray from God. Please pray today for the hearts of believers who have strayed away from the path of righteousness like the prodigal son, that God would grant them repentance. God is very much in the work of reconciliation and restoration of His people. The Lord blesses us when we're cast down, and He will restore us when we get lifted up and fall away. God is good.

Thank You, God,
Pastor Asa Dockery

Hold On to Your Dreams

2011-12-06T17:12:00.000-08:00

Jeremiah 29: 11, For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. NKJV

Paul teaches us that the just (or Christians) are to live by faith. In order to keep our souls alive and connected to the Lord, we must operate by faith. Do you have a vision or a dream that hasn't come to fruition yet? Are you feeling the desire to step out of the everyday norm and do something extraordinary? If this describes you, then continue reading today's word.

When God called Abram out of his father's country, He promised Abram and Sarai a land that would be their inheritance. God only required that they leave their families behind; He then invited them to walk with Him and hear His voice. In Romans, we're told that Abraham believed God, and it was accounted unto him as righteous. All Abraham had to do was be willing to hear God's commands and obey them, and he became blessed. It was God who gave Abraham the vision of inheriting his own land; this didn't come from Abraham's desires.

I tell you this about Abraham, because we all need to know that God will give us visions, dreams, and promises to lead us out of a barren land over into a fruitful one, but we must hear and obey. This is one way that God has chosen to bless us as His people. We're told every Sunday in church to obey the Word of God and our souls will live, but how many times are we reminded to live by stepping out in faith when we know that the Lord has placed a promise in our hearts to bless us.

If you travel to a third-world country, where the people aren't taught the Word of God or allowed to worship Jesus, you will see hopelessness and death all around the people. They're not living by faith, but by sight...so their souls are dead. This is very sad, but it's true. In America we are very blessed, but if we don't walk by faith as believers we, too, will begin to die. Our blessings will begin to deplete and diminish before our very eyes, and if we're not careful, we can slip into a pit of despair. The Lord desires that His people be blessed and prosperous, but He requires us to walk by faith so that we might inherit the promises.

If you know in your heart that the Lord wants you to step out in faith and do something that will be extraordinary, what is holding you back? Is it fear of the unknown? Once again, in America, fear has a death hold on the people. Our economy is in peril because many who have money won't release it... because of uncertainty in the business world. This is called hoarding, and hoarding is caused by unbelief. It's one thing for the world to be dominated by fear, but if we allow fear to hinder us from releasing our faith, then we are in sin before the Lord.

If you are sure that the Lord is leading you to step out in the face of great opposition, then know that He is with you... and with God, all things are possible. One thing you don't want to happen is that you miss your window of opportunity and then have live in regret because of it. Take that step of faith, walk on top of the water of unbelief, and see the power of God carry you into a new day or season in your life.

Lord, please help all of us who know that you have given us a promise, vision, idea, or opportunity to step out in faith and see your salvation. Let us not allow fear or doubts to cause us to miss our moment of destiny so that we live in regret the remainder of our lives on earth. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen!

Praying for Your Success,
Pastor Asa

Lord Help Me

2011-12-05T17:26:00.000-08:00

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

Even as Christians, we don't always understand the ways of God. As I was praying today, the Lord was speaking to me about people, saved and sinners alike, who struggle to believe that God is a very present HELP in a time of need. He let me see a person in their distress crying out to Him, "Why God, where were you?" However, we can't always lay the blame for "calamity and trials" at the Lord's doorstep and not be willing to assume some responsibility in the matter. Taking responsibility to do "our part" doesn't include getting under condemnation; it simply means that we are proactive rather than reactive to the devices of Satan. Allow me to share some keys that will assist in closing the door to Satan's lies, and in opening the door for God's presence to be your strength in times of trouble.

We can have as much or as little of the power and presence of God in our lives as we desire. However, we're the ones who have to initiate the release. If we tend to ignore God in good times, and, instead, we only desire to seek Him or feel His presence in times of desperation, then Satan can use that mindset to make us feel isolated and abandoned by the Lord. We're the ones who must invite the Lord into our heart, life, family, home, job, and church.

In Genesis, God gave man, both male and female dominion over the earth. They had been given the power to bind or loose whatever they desired. God left the decision up to them, but only after He let them know the boundaries and repercussions of wrong decisions. Unfortunately, they chose to use that liberty and authority to indulge in fleshly activity and not in obeying the Lord. As a result of their careless decisions, the door was opened for Satan to move in and separate them in their hearts and minds from the presence of God. Their decisions to neglect God's will for carnal desires ultimately caused man to feel abandoned by the Lord. Nevertheless, man made the initial decision to choose self over the Lord.

In the New Testament, Jesus has given us the authority to bind and loose, and to invite the presence of God into our lives on a moment-by-moment basis. God is always with us, but He doesn't always manifest on our behalf because we haven't invited Him or given Him that place in our life. If you're a parent of older children, you understand this principle very well. As Children mature past adolescence, they begin to seek their own identity and independence. While they are going through the process of becoming mature adults, you will discover they don't always seek your advice. However, they will accept your help when their decisions cause them distress. Unfortunately, Christians can be the same way with their heavenly Father.

If you're a child of God, but you have sometimes felt that God has abandoned you, or maybe in a time of need, you felt He wasn't there for you, then decide to allow His presence to fill your heart and life through a deeper hunger for Him. Through the fall of man, Satan has been given access to cause people trouble, but he can't be successful in separating us from the love of God in Christ. Make a commitment to allow the Holy Spirit to have greater influence and access in your life. As you draw nearer to God, God will draw nearer to you. Nothing will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus. We will make a choice based on how we treat our daily relationship and fellowship with the Lord; we will either have power over the enemy, or we will allow him to rule over us. Which will you choose?

Seeking the Lord Daily,
Pastor Asa Dockery

God's Grace

2011-12-02T18:29:00.000-08:00

Ephesians 2: 8 - 9, For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. NKJV

If you're a child of God, then God's grace has been at work in your life. However, which do you think is harder for God to accomplish, transforming a sinner into a child of God or transforming a child of God into the image of Christ? Both require our cooperation and faith in Christ. Without active faith, we can't please (or agree with) God. James tells us that faith alone cannot save. If we believe in Christ, then we will obey the Lord and seek to please Him.

The work of justification can only be released into a person's life after they act on God's will or Word. If we are saved by grace through faith, then we must also live by faith after becoming born again. Therefore, we must not live for our own pleasures and agenda, but rather for the pleasure of our heavenly Father. After all, it is God who works in us both to will and do His good pleasure. When the Holy Spirit, who dwells within all believers in Christ, speaks specific instructions to us, we must be willing to obey Him. In the text for today's devotion, Paul mentions the grace of God and the works of man. If God instructs us, then it will require our obedient faith. However, once we step out in faith, God will release His grace on us so that we can accomplish what He has required. This is a work of grace.

Let's look at an example of someone's faith and will being aligned with God's will and grace. A young virgin named Mary was asked to bring the Son of God into the world. When she heard from the angel, Gabriel, about the will of God, she was puzzled as to how this could happen, since she was not yet married. Gabriel told Mary about her cousin, Elizabeth, who was once barren, but was now six months into her pregnancy. Then he went on to tell Mary that she wouldn't need a man; the Holy Spirit would overshadow her, and she would conceive the holy Child of God. When she HEARD His instructions, Mary agreed with God's will and said, "Be it unto me according to your word." When she believed and SUBMITTED or ACCEPTED God's will, it released the power of God (GRACE) to bring about the manifestation of God's promise.

We sometimes have a tendency to dig our heels in the ground when we come upon something that is hard or appears to be impossible... even though God hasn't told us to stop doing it. However, once we cease walking forward by faith, we also forfeit God's grace, which empowers believers to move forward in their walk and maturity in Christ. Further, if we should allow an offense by someone or something to stop us from obeying or walking by faith, we will also stop the flow of God's grace.

In Galatians 5, Paul points out this very truth to the believers in the church of Galatia. They started out believing in Christ and walking by faith, but other non-believing Jews told them that they also had to be circumcised in order to be saved. After the Messianic Jews heard that they had to add circumcision to their faith, they reverted to the works of the law. Paul informed them that they were no longer living by faith and had FALLEN FROM GRACE. Yes, that is correct. You can read Galatians and see; that is exactly what Paul told the Jews, who had reverted to their old ways.

You don't need faith in Christ and something else. Nevertheless, once you have placed faith in Christ, you must then obey Him and walk by faith in order to grow and mature by God's grace. If we don't operate by faith as a New Testament believer in Christ, we will try "works" to measure up or try to replace the absence of God's grace on our lives.

Finally, we can see how our faith and God's grace work hand-in-hand (together) by the story of Peter walking on the water to reach Jesus. Jesus came to the disciples walking on the water during a storm. When Peter saw someone out on the water, he said, "Lord, if that is You bid me to come out on the water." Jesus told Simon to come. When Simon HEARD the Lord's command, faith arose in his heart, and he stepped out of the boat onto the water. As long as he obeyed the Lord's command and kept his eyes on Jesus, God gave him the grace to walk on top of the water. However, the moment Simon allowed the storm to distract him, and he took his eyes off Jesus, fear and doubt filled his heart. The Grace was gone. Consequently, Simon began to sink into the water. When faith no longer held Simon's attention on Jesus, the flow of grace was no longer allowed to be released...the very thing which empowered Simon to do the impossible.

Are you moving forward by faith or are you sinking deeper into something that you once had victory over when you were walking by faith? We all need God's grace, but He requires faith and agreement to flow from our hearts.

Walking Under the Grace of God,
Pastor Asa Dockery

What We Believe Does Matter

2011-12-01T16:12:00.000-08:00

1 John 5:4-5, For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world -- our faith. Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? NKJV

As children of God, who have been redeemed and made alive unto God in Christ, we must see ourselves as more than conquerors in every situation. Please note that it doesn't mean you will win every conflict or sail through every trial without hurt or loss. Remember the Words of Jesus in John 16: 33, "In this world you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer for I have overcome the world." The key in this verse isn't about how well we will fare in this world of hardship and heartbreak; it is in knowing that, through Christ, we have the power to overcome any obstacle, weapon, or offense formed against us. Consequently, we learn to never lose sight that we have already obtained the victory in Jesus.

According to John 3: 16, if we believe in Jesus as the only-begotten Son of God, we have eternal life. This foundational truth gives our heart and soul the assurance that when this life is over, we will bypass death, hell, and the grave. Since we have this hope concerning our eternal existence, we also have hope that no weapon formed against us in this present life will be able to separate us from the hope that we have in Christ.

Preachers and Christians alike seem to focus primarily on the subject of the eternal. However, today, I want to point out that Jesus includes our trials and tribulations in the victory that we have in Him while remaining in this world. If we believe that we are truly born again, then we will view ourselves as more than conquerors through Christ, who gave Himself for us. Jesus doesn't just want us to know that we have victory as God's children in the after-life; He also wants us to utilize the hope and comfort His has provided in order to strengthen and sustain us while we must live in the "nasty now-and-now".

Proverbs 23 tells us, as a man thinks or believes in his heart, so is he. Therefore, what we believe, and what we hold to be true in our hearts will affect our existence both today and tomorrow. We must see salvation as more than eternal life with God, and begin to embrace the truth which Jesus declared to us in today's passage: in Him, we have victory over the world and its tribulation. If we fail to see the connection between eternal life in Christ and in the victory we possess in order to live in this corrupt world as more than conquerors, we can take on a victim mindset, and then become open to an offense against God...the very One who saved us while we were yet sinners.

We can now see more clearly how our beliefs directly affect our attitudes as believers. If we don't see ourselves as "saved and victorious," then we can become weak in our faith and allow doubt to influence our point-of-view. Consequently, our Christian witness will be adversely affected. When the Holy Spirit saved us from the "old man," He did more than just give us victory for eternity. Through our salvation, we also have been given the victory that we need to overcome this world and to live victoriously. It is up to us to decide. The Lord told Israel through Moses, "Today, I set before you life and death, blessing and cursing, therefore, CHOOSE life, that both, you and your seed may live."

We have the faith, but we must put our faith to work. Through the Word of God, we can activate and implement our faith to overcome this world and its problems.

More Than a Conqueror in Christ,
Pastor Asa Dockery

"It's Not My Fault"

2011-11-30T15:42:00.001-08:00

1 Samuel 15: 8 - 12, He also took Agag king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword. But Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep, the oxen, the fatlings, the lambs, and all that was good, and were unwilling to utterly destroy them. But everything despised and worthless, that they utterly destroyed. Now the word of the LORD came to Samuel, saying, "I greatly regret that I have set up Saul as king, for he has turned back from following Me, and has not performed My commandments." And it grieved Samuel, and he cried out to the LORD all night. NKJV

As children of God in Christ, we have been made kings and priests unto the Lord. However, even though God has appointed the body of Christ to walk in Kingdom authority and to fulfill certain duties on the earth, there are times when we struggle to be obedient to His will. If you struggle to obey God, and you beat yourself over the head, so to speak, know that you're not the only one. Many Christians, if not all of us, struggle to obey God from time to time.

This isn't an attempt to justify self-justification, but rather a lesson on what it might cost us when we allow ourselves the liberty to disobey God's will. Let me say that partial-obedience is still disobedience in God's eyes, and we see this in today's passages. King Saul was commanded to destroy utterly all the Amalekites, as well as all the animals. Saul destroyed all the people, but he allowed the king and the best animals to continue living. This greatly displeased the Lord to the point that He regretted appointing Saul the king of Israel.

It doesn't require much faith to obey God when we already agree with His will. However, what do you do when God's will opposes your will in any given situation? Do you submit to His will, or do you respond to God with self-justification? This is where self-justification can begin to enter our hearts, adversely affect our faith-walk and greatly reduce our authority to carry out the will of God in the earth. I use King Saul's story today to illustrate what happens when children of God partially obey and use justification to prop up their disobedience. You see; if God takes the time and effort to order our steps, but we fail to see the value of His request, know that there is going to be severe repercussions for our disobedience.

Why does a child of God partially obey or justify disobedience before God when we know that He already knows what we're really telling Him is NO? We see the answer to this in today's passages on King Saul. He had an agenda in his heart that caused him to assess the situation differently than God. As a result of Saul's agenda, he overrode God's plan and sinned in God's sight. Had Saul yielded his plan to God's will through faith instead of acting out of fear, then God would have been pleased by his faith and given him greater dominion. Since Saul chose to act in fear of the people and please them rather than God, God chose to remove him as king of Israel.

When we seek to please ourselves or other people when God has given us specific instructions, as He did with King Saul, then we will forfeit our spiritual authority as well. Finally, when we seek to disobey God and justify our sin, we will also have to blame someone else in order to shift the blame from us. As you read the entire chapter on Saul's rejection of God's perfect will, you'll notice where the king had to blame the people whom he had previously used as an excuse to God for his sin.

1 Samuel 15: 13 - 15, Then Samuel went to Saul, and Saul said to him, "Blessed are you of the LORD! I have performed the commandment of the LORD." But Samuel said, "What then is this bleating of the sheep in my ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?" And Saul said, "They have brought them from the Amalekites; for the people spared the best of the sheep and the oxen, to sacrifice to the LORD your God; and the rest we have utterly destroyed." NKJV

King Saul declared to Samuel, the prophet, that he had fully obeyed the Lord and utterly destroyed the Amalekites, but Samuel could hear the sounds coming from the animals taken from Israel's enemies. Afterwards, Saul continued to justify his wrong deeds by placing the blame on the people that he was supposed to have ruled over. King Saul sought to please himself and man more than God, and it ultimately cost him the throne. Beware of partial obedience and self-justification because they will cost you far more than your fears threaten to take from you if you obey God. God told Samuel that He looks upon the heart... which was the very reason He chose David as King of Israel and rejected Saul. David was a man after the heart of God. He loved the law of God and hid it in his heart.

Seeking to Please the Father,
Pastor Asa Dockery

The Power Of God Is With You

2011-11-29T14:56:00.000-08:00

Philippians 2 : 12 - 15, Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure. Do all things without complaining and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation... NKJV

Throughout the Old Testament, we read that God moved upon men and women to do, what must have seemed like impossible, acts of faith. Noah was moved upon by God to build an ark and to gather every species of animal. This large vessel would be used to save his family and the animals from certain destruction. However, can you imagine how Noah must have felt when God spoke such a great word to him? There was much that Noah didn't know or understand about rain since it had never before rained. Noah didn't have a degree in engineering arks, nor did he have the understanding of the buoyancy of such a great floatation device. Nevertheless, one thing Noah did have, and apparently he did this one thing very well, was his ability to hear and OBEY the voice of God. As Noah obeyed the voice of God, the Spirit of God moved upon him giving him great abilities to complete the vision of God to build an ark.

The Bible is full of stories where God moved upon plain, ordinary people to accomplish extraordinary acts for His glory to be displayed in the earth. The longer God gives me the breath to serve Him, the more I realize and see where Christians struggle the most in their walk of faith. There is somewhat of a disconnect that occurs in believers between hearing the Word of God and being willing to obey or implement the Word that they have heard. So we must be willing to hear and obey the voice of God just like the saints of old.

It is here that you and I must realize that God told Noah to build an ark. He also told Abraham to leave his father's country and kindred, and He would give him the land of promise. It was God, who told the widow at Zarephath to give Elijah a cake to eat "first," and God blessed her. So we can conclude that they all had one thing in common. They all heard the voice of God speak specifically to them about His will that had to be accomplished in order that He might be able to bless and keep them from harm.
Does this mean that God will speak to our heart each time He is about to do something new in our lives, or that He will warn us of impending storms on the horizon? Paul addresses this question in Romans 10, which is used by ministers around the world to teach newborn believers on the concept and operation of faith. You must first hear, and then you must follow through with what you have heard. Obey God's will, and then He can pour His power through your obedient actions.

Jesus tells us plainly in John 10 that His sheep know His voice, and they won't follow another. So why does it seem as though there is a disconnection among many in the body of Christ between hearing the voice of God and obeying His will? It's very simple. We must be open or become willing to hear God's voice, and then we must begin to move forward as He reveals the details. If a "Christian" is not receptive to hearing God's voice, not to mention willing to step out in faith and obey His will, a disconnection will occur. We must be open in our hearts to hearing the voice of the Holy Spirit speak to us, whether He brings glad tidings or harsh warnings. When God speaks to us, it is always with the intention of bringing us into a stronger and closer walk with Him and to allow His power to be displayed through us. If God should show you a vision or give you a warning that seems more than you can bear... STOP, DROP, and PRAY!

Through prayer, Jesus was given the power to face and to endure the suffering of His crucifixion. It was also through prayer that Paul could accept and move forward in his ministry when God told him that His grace was sufficient. Prayer and a willing heart invite the grace of God onto our lives so that we are able fulfill the task that is set before us. Grace will empower us to the point that we will have joy fill our hearts, instead of an attitude of unwillingness filled with complaints. You see; when we go to God in prayer about the mountains that He wants us to remove through our faith and His grace, He empowers us with the Holy Spirit upon us to have the joy to overcome the weaknesses of our flesh man. It doesn't mean that we will "enjoy" what we have to confront, endure, and overcome. God's grace gives us the power to endure an impossible season in our life. The Holy Spirit will give us the ability to walk through that season with joy. And the result will be a life that gives honor and glory to God and denies self the right to complain. Victory is sweet in Jesus.

Rejoicing in Christ,
Pastor Asa Dockery

I Can't Hear You Over The Noise

2011-11-28T15:16:00.001-08:00

Hebrews 12: 1 - 2, Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. NKJV

Have you ever tried to talk with someone in a room that is filled with other people conversing? Restaurants in America seem to enjoy playing music at a very uncomfortable level. Consequently, when you have loud music and even louder voices in a closed room, it can become very distracting. I suppose you could stand up and shout for everyone to be quiet and ask the restaurant manager to turn off the music, but you might be asked to leave. Except for walking out of the loud room, I suppose the only other option at this point is to remain focused on the person you're talking with while turning a "deaf ear" to the other voices and noises.

As we seek to learn more about Jesus and to please Him with our lives, we will have to overcome the distractions of Satan. You might be able to walk out of a noisy restaurant, but you can't run away from the distractions of Satan. The only way to overcome distractions is to learn the principle of being focused on Jesus while living in a world filled with spiritual distractions. Our flesh nature, even as Christians can cause us to fall prey to distractions from time to time. So we must train ourselves to remain focused on Christ no matter what cries out for our attention.

We must guard our hearts when focusing on Jesus so that we don't allow fear to overcome our faith. If we allow this to happen, we will take our spiritual eyes off of Jesus and drown in our unbelief. Which would have been easier for Jesus, giving Simon the power to walk on water, or silencing the storm for Simon? You may be asking what that question has to do with Simon being distracted. Why is it? Simon had the faith in Jesus to walk on water, which is humanly impossible, but didn't have the faith that Jesus could have authority over the storm? Perhaps we can learn a very valuable lesson from Simon's story. It's easier to walk by faith when there are no storms or threats that oppose us while we're walking by faith. However, if our faith can't stand up to the fire of a trial, then what good is our faith?

This story perfectly illustrates just how important it is for Christians to maintain our spiritual focus on Jesus, especially when storms arise. We must keep our eyes on Jesus in order to continue walking above the weight and the sins of this world. We must ask ourselves one question, as it pertains to maintaining focus by overcoming distractions. Why doesn't Satan want us to keep our eyes on Jesus? He knows when Christians have their complete focus and heart's attention on Jesus, he has no power over them in which to stop them from reaching Jesus. Therefore, if you struggle with "spiritual attention disorder," and you allow fear to rule your walk and cause you to lose focus, then you must learn how to die to the flesh nature. Dying to the old nature, which vies for your attention, is a day-to-day process, but it is an obtainable goal. This is the victory that overcomes the world even our faith. Satan couldn't stop us from coming to faith in Christ because Christ originated our salvation, so he attempts to distract us from walking by faith so that he might cause us to go back into unbelief.

Walking in Victory Toward Jesus,
Pastor Asa Dockery

Happy Thanksgiving

2011-11-24T03:26:00.001-08:00

Psalms 128: 1 - 4, Blessed is everyone who fears the LORD, who walks in His ways. When you eat the labor of your hands, you shall be happy, and it shall be well with you. Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine in the very heart of your house, your children like olive plants all around your table. Behold, thus shall the man be blessed who fears the LORD. NKJV

Today is a very special day, and as you prepare to celebrate by giving thanks to our heavenly Father let me share this special message with you. It is just a simple reminder of the best blessings that the Father has bestowed upon us... and that is to have our families and/or friends with us to share in the blessings given to us by the Lord. As we train ourselves to fear the Lord and walk in His ways, it allows Him to release His blessing so that we are able to enjoy life with those we cherish.

One of the definitions of grace is divine influence upon the heart. God doesn't make a big "to do" over blessing us to draw attention to Himself, but it does give Him great pleasure when we live in a way that permits it. In subtle ways He empowers us to enjoy life, even though the world we live in isn't so kind to us. We can read in the Bible how that God blessed the clothing and the shoes of His people while they were in the wilderness for 40 years. His blessing just makes things work better and last longer. He also gives us a stronger harvest when we sow, because we have chosen to seek His kingdom and righteousness first.

Let us all give thanks unto the Lord, especially today, for His grace and His goodness; when they come from Him, they make us rich and add no sorrow. I pray God's richest rewards on you and your family on this very special day (and always). Happy Thanksgiving from the Dockerys!

I'm Hungry,
Pastor Asa

He Gives His Beloved Sleep

2011-11-22T15:47:00.001-08:00

Psalm 127: 1 - 2, Unless the LORD builds the house, they labor in vain who build it; unless the LORD guards the city, the watchman stays awake in vain. It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows; for so He gives His beloved sleep. NKJV

Do you have trouble sleeping at night? Do the concerns of the day keep playing over in your mind? The Psalmist gives us some insight into why this might be occurring in our lives. Let's look at what the Lord is saying to us today.

In Genesis 11, we read about a group of people that had a common goal; they wanted to build a tower so that they might make a name for themselves in the earth. They desired to build something that reached toward heaven and that would awe the people who would live after them. They trusted in this tower to be their honor and their legacy of greatness in the earth. There was one huge problem with this; although they were all unified in the building of this mega-tower, they didn't include the Lord in their plans. God has said that He will have no other gods before Him...they had made it a god by declaring that it would reach heaven. So this got God's attention, and He confounded their language so that they couldn't understand one another. As a result, the tower stood uncompleted, and acted as a reminder to the people that they should include God in their plans. It taught those who were involved in the planning and building of this huge undertaking that when you leave God out of your plans, you're plans are doomed to fail. Instead of being a structure that awed and impressed people, it has become a fixture in history that serves to remind us of man's limited abilities, of his shame, and of his dishonor. The Lord must be in the building process and in the plans, or those who labor will do so in vain.

The Psalmist also talked about the Lord being the watchman who guards the city. In America, we have 24/7 security guarding our most important resources and weaponry. When we begin to think it is our greatness that has kept us safe, at the cost of ignoring the Lord as our spiritual protection, it causes us to begin to think that we are above having a breach in our security. This will cause a false sense of ease (rest), if you will, and allow complacency to slip in unaware. Before September 11, 2001, America considered her borders safe; it was almost as though we thought they were impenetrable. But early that morning on the East coast of America, we watched in horror at what was unfolding before our very eyes; and I've heard it said by someone in government that they had never even considered the possibility that a commercial airplane would be used as a missile whose goal was to destroy human lives. America had become too independent of God and more dependent on our own reputation and skills. It cost this nation more than lives and money; the peace and the sense of safety that we once took for granted now has been replaced with homeland security and code alerts. Except the Lord is the Watchman, then our watchmen guard in vain.

What the Lord wants to convey through the Psalmist and through this devotion today is that we must place our complete faith and trust in Him in everything that we set our hands to do. We will never become so secure, so righteous, or so holy that we no longer need to look to and trust in the Lord's provision, protection, and power.

As a result of us placing our complete trust in the Lord to take care of us and our children, He will give His beloved sleep. Teach yourself the principles of this Psalm, and you will develop a trust in the Lord that will allow you to enter into His rest and have peace in your heart. (Even in a time of trouble) As a pastor, I have many occasions in which things trouble my spirit. Yet, I have learned how to lay those thoughts and feelings at His feet and ask for His rest to guard my heart. He is faithful to take those cares and give me sleep and rest. When you wake up from His sleep, you will be rested as well. So take whatever troubles that you have been carrying to bed with you...and tonight, give them to the Lord first; let Him have them...and then you enter into peaceful sleep and rest.

Encamped About by His Angels,
Pastor Asa

The Lord Requires Faith, Not Curiosity

2011-11-21T05:49:00.000-08:00

John 3: 1 - 4, 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?" NKJV

The writer of Hebrews tells us, "He that comes to God must believe that He is (exists), and that He rewards those who diligently seek Him." In today's verse, you read about a Pharisee, who was a ruler over the Jews, named Nicodemus. There was something different about this Pharisee that set him apart. He sought out Jesus... even though it was under the cloak of darkness. I suppose he came to Jesus at night so that the other men wouldn't know that he was curious to find out more about this Jesus.

It takes more than a suspicion or a curiosity to get to know Jesus as Savior and Lord. When you approach Him, you must believe that He is, indeed, who He says He is. Obviously, Nicodemus saw something in Jesus that other religious leaders didn't, and this drew him to Jesus. He saw the mighty works of Jesus and listened to the powerful messages that Jesus taught; he also recognized that Jesus was able to teach with great authority. This gave Nicodemus enough evidence that he was willing to admit that God was with Jesus, but He didn't say that Jesus was God.

So when Jesus was asked by this Pharisee about His authority, He wanted to lead him on into a faith relationship with Him. He told Nicodemus that he must be born again... if he wanted to see the kingdom of God. It's at this point that we see curiosity could only take him so far in his dialogue with Jesus. Once Jesus spoke to him in a spiritual context, this leader began to be bewildered. You see, Nicodemus was thinking naturally, and Jesus was speaking spiritually. This leader wanted to know how Jesus acquired His authority. The natural man can't receive the spiritual truths of God, and this is why we are required to come to God by faith. If we truly believe in Jesus as the only begotten Son of the living God, then the Father will give us understanding of spiritual truths.

Even though Jesus offered Nicodemus an opportunity, through faith, to see with spiritual eyes, he chose to hear and see only with his natural ability. As a believer, you will have many occasions to misunderstand your heavenly Father; it will be in those times that you will be tempted to ask Him, why? We have the right to ask the Father why, as long as we do so in faith and trust. If we do it in doubt... where we are questioning His character and His authority as God, then we cross over into tempting the Lord. We are required to remain humble in the sight of the Lord, and He will give us spiritual understanding in exchange.

So the next time something happens in your life and it begins to challenge your belief in the Lord and in His goodness, know that this will require trust from you. When you're faced with a hard season, a tough decision, or a tragedy that tests your confidence in God's character, then know that it is a temptation of the Devil. Before you can get clear understanding, you must first be willing to submit to the Lordship of the Father and trust Him, then you will have the power to resist the Devil's temptation to oppose the Father; then Satan will have to flee from you. You will know Satan has left you when you don't have negative thoughts or feelings about God... or feel pushed with the need to question His will for your life. Without faith, we can't please Him, but with faith, we can know Him personally. He is faithful.

Trusting Through the Test,
Pastor Asa

Better Not Let God Hear You

2011-11-18T06:12:00.001-08:00

Matthew 26 : 40 - 41, Then He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, "What! Could you not watch with Me one hour? Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." NKJV

There's a valuable lesson in the passage for today's devotion that I want to share with you. When we allow our flesh nature to rule our hearts and cause us to disregard our obedience to the Lord's command as the disciples did, it will cause us to enter into temptation. God has done everything within His power for us through Jesus Christ in order that we might be saved and obtain spiritual victory. Nevertheless, there are still some THINGS we must obey so we will be able to walk in victory over our flesh and over unbelief.

We know by what Jesus said to the disciples that none of the disciples "had" to enter into temptation. However, they chose to allow their flesh to rule their spirits. Instead of praying for God to strengthen them for the battle that was just ahead of them, they slept. They did this because of unbelief. Anytime we can hear the voice of God and ignore Him as the disciples did, it tells God that we don't believe His instructions. We also see this unbelief in operation with Adam in the garden. God told him not to eat the forbidden fruit, but he disobeyed and indulged anyway. We always talk about and preach on the sin of commission (doing something wrong), but did you know that there is also a sin of omission? James tells us, when we know the good that we should do and choose not to do it, to us, it is sin.

The thing that opened Adam and the disciples up to being tempted and sinning against the Lord was their lack of obedience to do what He had previously told them. God has promised to make a way of escape so that we won't have to enter into temptation because something is too hard for us to handle. Nevertheless, if we should choose not to heed His voice because of unbelief, then we will allow the enemy to tempt us into sinning against the Lord. Why is OBEDIENCE so important to the child of God as it pertains to living in victory over the Devil? To obey God is to walk or live by faith. When we choose to obey and live by faith, we are, at the same time, crucifying the flesh nature and living a victorious life over the wiles of the Devil. John teaches us in his epistle that our faith in Christ is our victory over the world. If we should allow unbelief to rule our hearts, and if we give place to our flesh instead of the voice of God, we are allowing ourselves to be placed in bondage to Satan's lies.

Let's advance this teaching to the reason for today's word. When we find ourselves living in unbelief as the disciples did, there's a tendency to begin to complain to God about the conditions that we have to live in. Look at how many times the disciples hardened their hearts and walked in fear when Jesus expected them to walk in faith. They did this over and again because they doubted the true identity of Jesus. Had they submitted to His Lordship and obeyed Him, they wouldn't have had any problems with unbelief.

We also see this principle of unbelief at work in the generation that God delivered out of Egypt. Every time the Holy Spirit spoke to that generation, they hardened their hearts because of unbelief. The only way to please God is by our faith, and that is demonstrated through our obedience. Therefore, when they chose to operate in unbelief, it prevented them from inheriting the promises of God. Consequently, they walked in lack. When they encountered lack, they began to murmur and grumble to Moses and God about the awful conditions of the wilderness. Unbelief had them blinded to the fact that the condition of lack wasn't caused by God, but, instead, by their own disobedience.

When Christians choose to walk in unbelief, we will be blinded. Moreover, our blindness will cause us to blame someone else for our lack of faith, as Adam blamed Eve. In conclusion, we know the unbelief that both the generation that was delivered in the wilderness, and the disciples of Jesus struggled with was caused by their unwillingness to surrender to the authority of God in their hearts. Therefore, whenever their unbelief got them into a desperate situation, they turned on God (Jesus). When we choose to ignore the voice of God because of a flesh-fit, and it opens the door for trouble, we must be careful not to murmur; instead, we should repent for our unbelief, lest we tempt God with it and force Him to become angry with us. God overlooked the sin and the weaknesses of Israel when He delivered them; He has looked beyond our faults as well. However, there is one thing God won't overlook, and that is a heart that murmurs against Him because it is filled with unbelief. If you find yourself murmuring against the Lord, you might want to check your heart with the Holy Spirit to see if you have missed an earlier command from the Lord.

Just sayin',
Pastor Asa Dockery

Distractions from the Enemy

2011-11-17T15:31:00.001-08:00

Nehemiah 6 : 1 - 3, Now it happened when Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem the Arab, and the rest of our enemies heard that I had rebuilt the wall, and that there were no breaks left in it(though at that time I had not hung the doors in the gates), that Sanballat and Geshem sent to me, saying, "Come, let us meet together among the villages in the plain of Ono." But they thought to do me harm. So I sent messengers to them, saying, "I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down. Why should the work cease while I leave it and go down to you?" NKJV

God has called you and me to do a great work in the earth. Therefore, there is no higher calling or mandate than to accept and to fulfill the purpose of God for our lives. There came a time when Nehemiah, the king's cupbearer, heard about the destruction of the wall that once protected the Jews from their enemies. When he received the news and realized the reproach that such an evil deed had brought upon his people, Nehemiah became very sad, and his countenance fell before the king. God gave him favor with the king, and Nehemiah was relieved of his duties, so he could go and rebuild the wall.

Occasionally, we are called upon by the Lord to lay aside one calling in exchange for a higher calling so that God might use us to rebuild walls and lives that have been torn apart by the enemy. If the Lord has moved you from one place to another, or released you from one purpose in order to prepare you for another, then you must be aware of the schemes Satan will try to use to distract you from serving God's will in a new place or new season. Satan has only a few weapons at his disposal, and one of the most effective of those is distractions. He works very diligently to capture our focus away from God's purpose for us so that he might cause us to leave off God's work.

Here is one of the main indicators that lets me know whether or not something is a distraction from Satan: He will use both situations in your life, and he will use the flesh of others to direct the focus of your attention to you. This is the ploy used by Sanballat and Geshem that we read about in today's passage. Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem used intimidation, threats, and manipulation like weapons to distract Nehemiah from fulfilling God's purpose through his continued obedience.

Please take the time to read the first five chapters of Nehemiah to get a full understanding of all that Nehemiah had to endure and to overcome just to remain committed to the rebuilding of the wall. God had called Nehemiah away from serving the king because there were many lives at stake. Likewise, isn't it interesting how Satan will use people, threats, intimidation, and seduction to try and pull us away from serving God in order to protect ourselves? Consequently, Nehemiah was an excellent example for us to model our prayer life after when faced with these types of attacks. Throughout his book, we read where Nehemiah would call on the Lord to provide strength, protect, and fight for him so that he could continue to rebuild the wall.

Satan loves to distract Christians so that lives are left unguarded from his lies and assaults. He will use lusts and fear to cause us to place our focus on "self" instead of serving the purposes of God in our life. Do you know without any doubt that you're in the center of God's will? If you answered "Yes," then you must guard your heart from becoming distracted. If your answer was "No," then you must be willing to seek God's face and allow Him to remove any distractions from your life, thus enabling you to focus clearly on His will and not your own. You will know when you receive a "mandate" from God because you won't be able to ignore it or run from it. Like Nehemiah, God's hand will rest upon you.

Staying Focused During the Storms,
Pastor Asa Dockery

Praise Your Way Out

2011-11-16T07:12:00.001-08:00

2 Chronicles 20: 21 - 22, And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed those who should sing to the LORD, and who should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army and were saying: "Praise the LORD, for His mercy endures forever." Now when they began to sing and to praise, the LORD set ambushes against the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; and they were defeated. NKJV

In the Old Testament, the people of God fought in the natural/physical realm, but under the New Testament covenant, believers war with spirits of darkness. These spirits war against our hearts and our minds trying to bring us into captivity and bondage. As Christians, we must be on guard and watchful when we find ourselves being controlled more by our emotions than by the leading of the Holy Spirit. Where the Spirit of the Lord is (in control), there is (or will be) liberty.

The Holy Spirit gave the instruction to write this devotion for someone, in particular. If this word resonates with you, then receive it as a word from the Lord for you today. Life is moving at such a rapid pace that it becomes a little overwhelming at times. What we might not realize about living in such a fast-paced world is this... our senses are stimulated by all the techno-gadgets, and this can "work" our emotions into a frenzy. If we don't keep a check on what is allowed to grab our attention, and we latch on to everything that comes along, we can quickly become emptied in our soul. Once we become weak or have an empty feeling in our hearts or emotions, we can be opened up to negative feelings.

You see. Our soul is not the source of our life, but rather it must be constantly filled by the presence of God. If all that feeds us during the day primarily comes through our senses and from this world, then eventually we will become depleted. Therefore, we must pull back from the world that is vying for our attention and begin to set our hearts on praising the Lord. As we praise God from our hearts, the presence of God will begin to be released through the anointing that comes from praise.

Your praise will invite God's presence into your heart and fill your emptied soul with light and life from the Holy Spirit. Doesn't the Word of God command us to put on the garments of praise for the spirit of heaviness? Heaviness can occur when we become either tired or weak with a lack of spiritual energy caused by being away from His presence.

One of the primary reasons we were created was to give God praise. Therefore, we must fulfill that function if we desire to be fulfilled in our soul. If we neglect the vital essentials that keep us strengthened and well, then the world can begin to tear down our defenses and make us susceptible to becoming emotionally driven. As sons and daughters of God, we're to be led by the Spirit of God and not by our emotions or desires. By maintaining a consistent focus on praise, prayer, and time in God's Word, we are feeding our soul with God's life.

Paul and Silas were thrown into prison, and at the midnight hour, they began to praise God. As they praised the Lord, His presence began to shake the foundations of what was holding them against their will. Likewise, when we choose to praise God in our place of bondage or pain, God's presence is released into our situation to break strongholds from our hearts, our souls, and our minds. Let your faith supersede your feelings and begin to attract the presence of God into your "prison" today.

Praising God,
Pastor Asa Dockery

Blessed But Barren

2011-11-15T06:28:00.000-08:00

Genesis 15 : 1 - 4, After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, saying, "Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward." But Abram said, "Lord GOD, what will You give me, seeing I go childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?" Then Abram said, "Look, You have given me no offspring; indeed one born in my house is my heir!" And behold, the word of the LORD came to him, saying, "This one shall not be your heir, but one who will come from your own body shall be your heir." NKJV

If you don't know the story of Abram's life up to this point, I invite you to read Genesis 12 - 15. When God spoke to Abraham, He told him to leave his kindred and to get away from his father's house. We know that Abraham obeyed God; however, he only partially obeyed. He came out and left all of his family behind, except for Lot, his brother's son.

While Abraham walked with God by faith, God blessed him with great possessions and favor. By the time we catch up with Abraham in Genesis 14, he has accumulated much wealth, cattle, and possessions, but he was yet to have an heir. It is here that we see Abraham confronting God about the barrenness in his life.
Although God had blessed Abraham with all the natural blessings he desired, Abraham was not content because his heart's desire and God's promise of giving him a son had not been fulfilled.

There is a vast difference between being blessed and in being fruitful. In the past, Christians have mistaken the meaning of having the blessings of God. We have taken them to mean that we are fruitful, but that just isn't the case. As we walk with God, His presence becomes so evident in our lives that we begin to receive favor from people. However, this is not a true indicator that we have been obedient to God's will, nor does it mean that we have become fruitful in the Spirit.

Blessings come from walking with God or walking by faith in Christ, but fruitfulness, can only occur one way- through obedient faith, or faith that is followed through with action. We know that Abraham came out, just like God commanded, but he brought Lot with him, and this was disobedience in God's sight.

You can be a born-again believer, not be obedient to the Lord, and still be blessed. We've already established this truth in the life and story of Abraham. While walking with God by faith, but in disobedience, the blessings flowed into Abraham's life. Even Lot was blessed tremendously because he walked with Abraham for twenty-five years. It is equally important that we see Abraham had a "problem" of lying when it came to his relationship with his wife, Sarah. So we know that, besides the fact that he was disobedient, Abraham also had character flaws.

None of Abraham's weaknesses or sins kept God from calling him out to live a blessed and fruitful life by faith. It really doesn't matter who we were when God called us or what weaknesses or character flaws we have when we come out of bondage to sin... all that matters to God is that we obey and leave behind what He tells us to leave.

Finally, Abraham has gotten to the point in his walk with God that he challenges the Lord about the previous promise He had made to him of having a son of his own. We too, must get to the place, if we're not fully cooperating with God's will, where we begin to apply pressure on God to keep His promise to us about being fruitful in our walk... not just blessed.

Once Abraham confronted God about the barrenness in life of not having the ability to have a son, God began the process of separating Abraham and Lot. One year after they finally separated, Sarah gave birth to Isaac, the son of promise. Through this story, we should get a glimpse of what it really means to be obedient to God and of the result of our obedience. You must know that fruit comes from obedient faith...not our works. Abraham tried to twist God's arm with the birth of Ishmael, but God rejected him because he wasn't the son of promise, but of works.

As I leave you for today, ask yourself this question, "Am I blessed and fruitful?" Now ask the Lord the same question? He will reveal to you whether or not you're being fruitful in the spirit. The Lord has truly blessed the body of Christ, but are we bearing the fruit of obedience?

Lord, Make Me Fruitful,
Pastor Asa Dockery

Even Though

2011-11-14T06:29:00.001-08:00

Hebrews 11 : 6, But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. NKJV

Even though God initially didn't give Abraham any details concerning the land that He had promised to give him and his descendants, it didn't keep Abraham from believing in God (Genesis 12).

Likewise, even though I don't know where God is taking my family and me, I choose to move forward in Christ. I may not know any details of the journey or the destination; nonetheless, I am not discouraged from continuing to walk on, through faith in God.

The New Testament believer is commanded to walk by faith and not by sight. Even so, what exactly does that mean to us who have placed our trust in Jesus? It simply means that we have chosen to surrender control of our lives to Christ on earth, both now and in our future, and to allow the Holy Spirit to guide our steps. What are we really giving up or surrendering when we finally yield our plans and desires to the Lord? Do we actually have the ability to determine just how long we live or how well our life will be in future years? We absolutely do not! We are not God; however, we can be rewarded if we will seek God first and please Him by faith.

When we're young and filled with zeal for life, it is normal to have visions of grandeur and high aspirations for ourselves. Even though we may have plans for our lives, we also know that life doesn't always go according to our plans. Depending on what time of day you opened this email, you may have already realized that today isn't cooperating with your schedule. However, we are learning to place our plans and our lives in God's control, and He will work all things for our good.

I bring up the issue of having plans to point out to you a deeper truth. Even though you have plans for your life, and though you may be on track to fulfill most, if not all, that you have purposed in your life, it doesn't mean that your life is pleasing to your heavenly Father. There is no eternal value in our plans unless we come into an agreement with God's plan and will for us.

The Word of God tells us that we have no promise of tomorrow. God only promises us today. "Today, if you will hear His voice and not harden your hearts..." Just having plans doesn't mean we will have a hope or a future, but when we surrender our agendas and dreams to include God's will, then He can guarantee us both fulfillment in this life and eternal bliss in the life to come. The great reward that I have learned from trusting the Lord and obeying His plans over my own plans is this: I don't have to sweat the details. I simply obey what He requires of me, and I leave the rest up to Him to work out for me and my family.

A life that is surrendered to the Lordship of Christ is one of peace, security, reward, and of hope for the life to come. "Won't it be wonderful there, having no burdens to bear?" When we enter His rest, we cease from our own labor.

Peace Beyond Comprehension,
Pastor Asa Dockery

Growing From Faith Into Love

2011-11-11T06:23:00.001-08:00

Mark 12: 30, And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.' This is the first commandment. NKJV

Recently, I was called on to deliver the eulogy at my brother-in-law's memorial service. As I was seeking the Lord for wisdom that would be a source of strength and comfort to the family, the Holy Spirit taught me something new about faith.

My brother-in-law's testimony included being a man who was once the prodigal son of a pastor, but was now a devoted follower of Christ. Rick had faith in Christ in his early years, but he struggled with giving his life completely over to Him. Approximately fourteen years ago, the Lord began to deal with his heart, and he made a solid commitment to obey... no matter the cost.

A few years ago, Rick was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease (ALS). As the disease began to take its toll on his health and his body, he grew from being just a man having faith in Christ into a man of God, who was determined to live in order to bring His Lord honor and glory. As difficult as life became for Rick, he never allowed the attacks of the adversary to discourage him from obeying and loving the Lord.

In today's scripture, Jesus is admonishing His disciples to do more than just have faith in Him. He commands us to love the Lord with all our hearts. In most parts of the world, it doesn't require much to confess or have faith in Christ. However, when it comes with a price of personal sacrifice, it can become very trying on us to demonstrate great faith.

In Matthew 6, Jesus instructs us to seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. As we move beyond the initial commitment of faith in Christ and begin to demonstrate our faith through love, we will no longer live for "self," but we will live, instead, for the glory and honor of our Lord. As a result of such love, we will exemplify a testimony of having Christ living in our hearts and ruling over our decisions.

There is so much more to being a disciple of Christ than just confessing faith in Him. If we will choose, like so many who have gone before us, to live our new lives to serve and honor Christ, then others will be able to see His strength, characteristics, and heart shining through our love for Him. Didn't Jesus also command us to let our lights so shine before men that they would see our "GOOD WORKS" and glorify the Father in heaven? We must decrease through personal sacrifice and, at times, choose to suffer so that we might obey God's will in order for others to see Christ in us.

As people of faith, we can either allow suffering and persecution to prevent us from obeying the Father's will, or we can choose to love the Lord more than ourselves, and through obedient faith, bring glory and honor to His holy name. The choice is ultimately up to you to decide.

I Must Decrease and He Must Increase,
Pastor Asa Dockery

Looking Good For the Race

2011-11-10T06:37:00.001-08:00

Hebrews 12 : 11 - 15, Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. Therefore strengthen the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be dislocated, but rather be healed. Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord: NKJV

You are in a race of faith. Your focus is either on "looking good" for the race or "finishing" the race. Today, you will learn how to avoid hitting the wall and on remaining in the race without being diverted by the distraction of self-justification.

Jesus died for sin, but self-justification sent Him the cross. Did that get your attention? It's true that Jesus was sent by the Father to become our sin offering and to redeem the soul of mankind from destruction. However, if you read the final chapters of the gospel of Matthew, you will learn that Jesus was crucified because some self-righteous people made up false charges against Him. They were threatened by His authority and fame that were growing daily.

Before coming to the knowledge of the truth in Christ, humans try to be good. Mankind has a "performance" mindset that drives us to base our worth on our accomplishments. We try to be justified in God's sight based on our good works. Even if we're not cognoscente of this in our lives, we still have a tendency to seek approval through good deeds because, after all, we're only human.

Even though the Jewish leaders sought to please God through self-justification, this didn't stop God from instituting the principle of faith. Under the new covenant, we must resist operating according to our works and decide to submit to God's will. Once we accept Jesus as our great Sacrifice for sin, then we must take the next step and begin a LIFE that is built on faith through obedience before the Father.

Sometimes, when we find ourselves in a fiery trial that challenges our spiritual identity, it can be easy to slip up and try to please the Father by being "good enough." As humans, we have, once again, attempted to perfect our flesh and resist the truth that all have sinned and come short of God's glory. However, God hasn't called us to perfect our flesh or to cover our human weaknesses with religious acts. He has called us to perfect our walk, and through our faith walk to become holy, even as He is holy.

If you seek to be good enough in your strength, then you have fallen into a place that will lead you to condemnation and defeat. However, if you seek both to obey the Father and to please Him by faith, then you will begin to live a victorious and holy life.

It seems there is always a struggle in Christians' lives between being "good enough" and obeying God by faith. Allow me to use an analogy to help you see where the Lord is taking us today. In the world of auto-racing, the main goal is being the first to cross the finish line so that you win the prize. However, when "Christian" humans endeavor to walk by faith, there is a tendency to focus too much on starting the race and not enough attention placed on finishing the race of faith.

Paul tells us in no uncertain terms, in Philippians 3 that he had arrived at the place in his walk of faith where he no longer looked at his past accomplishments or his present accomplishments. Instead, he was focused on finishing the race and wining the prize that was yet to come in his life. Let's look at this in another light. You may get a few things right along the way and feel really good about yourself. You may get a few things wrong along the way and feel awful about yourself, but neither of those is justification by faith. Basing whether or not we are successful in our faith walk on either of these would still mean our focus was on self-accomplishments and off of Jesus. The writer of Hebrews admonishes us to look unto Jesus, who is the Author and the Finisher of our faith while running the course in life. As we keep our eyes on Jesus, it will teach us to focus on winning the race and not being "good" while in the race. "Run, _____________, Run!"

So if you slip and blow it, repent; don't beat yourself up over it. You're not under the law, but grace; good sacrifices are no longer a requirement... only repentance and brokenness. Perfect your walk of faith, and God will do the rest of the work in you. Just listen and obey the Lord!

Resting and Winning,
Pastor Asa Dockery

To God Be All Glory

2011-11-09T06:41:00.001-08:00

Genesis 1 : 26, Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." NKJV

Did you know that worship, and dominion are interconnected? If we make the choice to worship God, then He has promised that we will walk in dominion in the earth. Whenever Lucifer was created by the Lord, He made him with timbrels, (tambourine) which is a sign of merriment in the Old Testament.

When Lucifer rebelled in his heart against the authority of God, it was for the sole purpose of glorifying himself over God. He desired to exalt his throne above God's throne, and this cost him his dominion as an Arch-angel. We see Satan make his first appearance in the New Testament when Jesus was led by the Spirit of God into the wilderness. Satan promised Jesus that he would give him great authority over his kingdoms and the glory of them if He would just worship him as "god." To this, Jesus quoted a portion of scripture from the Law of God, "You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve."

Satan will offer people this world's pleasures and fame as long as they make a commitment to worship their "self" nature and not God. Nonetheless, it is not hard to see that the price a person pays for listening to Satan far outweighs any short-term fame, wealth, or authority because they soon become enslaved to his lies. Jesus tells us in Mark 8, "What shall it PROFIT a man if he should gain the whole world, and lose his soul?" Once again, we can see that worship, and dominion are connected.

It is God, who has given us the right to have dominion over the earth, and it was Satan, who stole that right through man's sin. As man made the decision to worship self in the place of God, he has slipped deeper into bondage and depravity. The key to remaining faithful to God is to avoid hardening your heart to His voice. If you truly desire to live with authority, then you must see to it that God has the proper place of priority in your life over self.
The more a person or a people harden their hearts against God, the more they will turn their worship toward self...this will produce bondage in their lives. Instead of having dominion over the creatures that God promised us in the beginning, men will worship them as god.

Romans 1 : 18 - 23, For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man -- and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things. NKJV

They didn't worship or honor God because they rejected or suppressed the truth that God had revealed to them. As a result, they chose to worship the very thing that God had given man dominion over. Do you honor the Word of God in your heart? When the Holy Spirit speaks the truth into your life, do you listen? Each time we deny the authority of God to speak into our lives, we are giving our dominion over to Satan to hold us in bondage.

Worshiping God through Obedience,
Pastor Asa Dockery

Resisting the Lies of Satan

2011-11-08T06:27:00.000-08:00

Matthew 6 : 19 - 21, "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. NKJV

Have you noticed how the world is vying for our attention? We should all beware of the distractions of the world; they can cause us to stumble in our faith walk. Since the economy has worsened over recent years, it seems as though the voices in the world are trying to promote fear and intimidation as a constant diet. But as people of faith, we must resist the report of the enemy and only believe the report of the Lord. Let me qualify that statement: There is nothing at all wrong with listening to the news; it is a way to stay informed so that you might know how to pray for your country. There is something wrong with allowing the world to use fear and greed as a tactic to motivate people to act on what they are "selling".

The more we subject ourselves to the lies and deception of the world, the more we can become inclined to heed those lies and miss what the Lord is saying to the church. This has been revealed to us in the Genesis account with Eve and the serpent. Eve was fine until the serpent spoke against God's Word and shook her confidence in God. This caused her to become open to the spirit of deception and to believe a lie over the truth. If Satan can use the world to paint a very dismal picture that might suggest that God has somehow abandoned us, it can cause fear to rule our hearts... which will open us up to listening to his lies.

Jesus gives us the key to obtaining and walking in victory over the lies that might cause Christians to think that God has forsaken us in this world. He instructs us to focus on our eternal existence more so than our temporal existence on the earth. James tells us in his epistle that our life here is only a vapor. Therefore, we must discipline ourselves to prepare for our future life and not be bound to only surviving in this life. Everything about the Lord and His Word centers around us having and walking in faith. To the human mind, this is irrational, but that doesn't negate the truth that faith works and unbelief fails.

The world wants our attention so that it might cause us to listen with our minds and operate by our souls instead of listening with our hearts and operating out of our spirit man. The difference between the two methods of operation is that fear will hold a believer in bondage, and faith will cause a believer to live in freedom. You must not allow the old mindset of your past to dictate to you; it will tell you that you are in this world, so you must operate as this world operates. Resist that temptation lest you end up living in fear and being intimidated every time you hear a bad report coupled with the world's opinions. Instead, get into the Word of God and read what you must do as a child of God that He might be your provider, protector, and sustainer. When Jesus was tempted in the wilderness during a forty day fast, He answered every ploy of the Devil with the Word of God. I strongly believe that there is someone who is reading this today that the enemy has bound by fear, and you need this word to encourage you to break that stronghold and hear what the Lord is saying to His church.

Lay up your treasures in heaven. Look unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of your faith. As you practice the Word of God by putting it into action, you will begin to experience the liberty and freedom of faith in a very real and tangible way. We weren't created in the image of the world; we were created in the image of God. If we operate on the same level as the world, we are forced to live beneath God's best for us as His children. Please make a conscious decision and ask the Lord to help you to walk by faith and not by sight. Ask Him to help you to have the vision and fortitude to lay up for yourself treasures in heaven; these treasures can't be stolen or corrupted by the lusts of this world. Choose to live in freedom through your faith in God's Word, and then, if you haven't already begin to structure your life to receive a total transformation in the way you view the world and yourself as a Christian. We can do all things through Christ who gives us the strength. Let's turn this world upside down for the cause of Christ and reach a world that is shrouded in darkness with a hope that can't be extinguished!

Being a Light to Others,
Pastor Asa

I Believe That I Know God

2011-11-07T06:30:00.001-08:00

Romans 10: 1 - 4, Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved. For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. NKJV

Is there a test that a Christian can take that determines whether they're self-conscious or God-conscious? Even though the people of Israel were God's chosen people, they still didn't know the God that had chosen them. Had they known Him, they would have also known what God required of them as it pertained to them being righteous before Him.

The Jews in Jesus' day rejected Him as their Messiah because they believed they were correct in their service to God. There is a way that seems right unto a person, but its end is the way of death. We can see that Israel being chosen by God wasn't enough for them to inherit eternal life. According to scripture, they didn't know God or His ways. The very reason that God sent His Son, Jesus, is so that He might show Israel and the gentiles the WAY to know the Father. Even so, His chosen people rejected Jesus because they were convinced He was a fraud, and were convinced that their way would lead them to the Father.

Let me ask you a question before we continue. Were the Jews self-conscious or God-conscious? Satan had blinded them from seeing the Light of the gospel because they chose not to believe in Jesus as the Christ. When anyone rejects the truth of God's Word because they're convinced that they know the way to the Father, it gives Satan access to their mind to deceive them. Ultimately, without repentance, they will believe a lie and perish.

There's an old adage that goes something like this... "You can fool some of the people some of the time, but you can't fool all the people all the time." Today, I want to use that saying but with a twist. "You can fool people into believing that you are holy because they see your outward appearance, but God isn't fooled because He looks on your heart." Just because we may be accepted by people in "religious circles" doesn't mean that our righteous deeds are acceptable in God's sight. It is easy to learn what a certain group of people will accept and what they won't, simply by hanging (very quietly) around them for awhile. Once you find out their "likes" and "dislikes," all you have to do is perform in order to please them and be accepted.

Although you may have acceptance and can make the presentation of "self" look pleasing to people, are you living a life that is holy before the Lord? This is by no means a word intended to diminish anyone, but is only to be used to illustrate how easily we can be deceived by our own hearts. It has never been about pleasing people, but rather about pleasing God. If your focus is on pleasing self or people, then you are self-conscious. If the focus of your heart's desire is always to please the Father as Jesus did while on earth, then you are becoming God-conscious. When you boil down all that we've covered today, it comes to this one truth: the Jews were religious and self-righteous, but they were ignorant of God and His ways.

How can anyone please the Lord and not hang out with Him during their day? How can we know God or His ways so that we might please Him if we never seek His face with our heart or invest time in His Word? There must come a time in everyone's walk with the Lord when we must decide not to place any confidence in what we believe about God and begin to discover who He is through intimacy with Him. The Jews who rejected Jesus believed in God, but Jesus knew God as Father because He had been with Him. In the end, Jesus was accepted, and they were cut off. However, if they should ever turn to the Lord in faith, the veil that covers their hearts will be lifted.

But for the Grace of God,
Pastor Asa Dockery

In The Beginning- God

2011-11-04T05:54:00.000-07:00

Acts 17: 26 - 28, And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and have our being... NKJV

When testifying about their faith in Jesus, I often hear people say things like, "I just don't know where I would be today if the Lord hadn't saved me." However, before we address that statement, let's go back to the origin of all mankind. If it hadn't been for the Lord God, none of us would even be alive. Is it not amazing that, although man originated from God, only a small portion of people will dare to acknowledge God's existence, and even fewer will acknowledge their faith in Jesus?

If we only live, and move, and have our existence in God, then how much of our life or what we own should we be willing to attribute to Him? ALL OF IT! If this is true, and the scriptures bear it out that it is, then why don't more people give more honor and glory to God? When Satan caused man to sin against God, he accomplished far more than just getting them to eat a piece of fruit. Through sin, we also became separated from the life of God in our minds because of spiritual blindness. The Bible records that after they had eaten the forbidden fruit, the eyes of them were opened, and they knew they were naked? Sin does separate us from God, just like death separates us from life. Nevertheless, sin goes much deeper than separating us from God; it also separates our minds from knowing the mind of God.

If we don't know God or know how to walk in His ways, then how will be able to please Him? The writer of Hebrews reveals that without faith, it is impossible to please or agree with God. We must believe that He exists, and He rewards those who diligently seek Him. Here is where the problem lies: Because sin had separated us from life, the heart of man became darkened through the deceitfulness of sin. Consequently, we learned to lean on our own understanding and stopped seeking God.

Thus, man began to take the glory and honor for his or her accomplishments and denied the existence of the living God. We were blind and lost in the "pit of sin," without hope. But God! Had it not been for God and His infinite mercy, we all would be headed for an eternity of torment and pain. Now, we, who have been saved can also testify as to where we would be had it not been for the Lord saving us.

The Lord invites us to call upon Him while He is near and to seek Him while He may be found. It's not that man is reaching up to God, but rather God is reaching down to man. Salvation never began in the heart or mind of man; it began in the heart of God. He is, indeed, our heavenly Father. Even so, will man allow Him that place in their life? Even though man missed the will and destiny of God in the beginning, today, we can get back on track by humbling ourselves and seeking His face.

No one has the promise of life beyond the breath that you just breathed. Therefore, we should be willing to accept the gift of eternal life while we have the chance and acknowledge that life begins with God. After we accept this gift, we must also remember that God is the one who authored it, and it will be God, who will complete that work in us. As a result, our response to God should always be one of humility and brokenness along with a deep desire to know Him as our heavenly Father. God is not willing that any should perish, but all should come to repentance. The Lord gives grace to those who are humble before Him.

Seeking the Lord,
Pastor Asa Dockery

Through Faith We Receive Understanding

2011-11-03T06:32:00.001-07:00

Hebrews 11: 3, By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible. NKJV

Faith requires us first to trust God, and, in return, He will give us understanding of His ways. However, we can't know or understand God through man's knowledge. There is only one Way to understand the Father and this is accomplished through a relationship with Jesus, His only-begotten Son. If you're a believer in the Lord Jesus and know that He is, indeed, the Son of the living God, then you can rest in the assurance that you have been born again.

In today's devotion, you will discover that if a person tries to understand God through knowledge, they will eventually fall prey to the spirit of offense and walk away in spiritual darkness. There is only one way to know the Father or understand His ways and that is through faith in Jesus. After you place trust or confidence in Christ as your Savior, the Father will begin the process of revealing His ways to you.

The Scribes and Pharisees constantly persecuted Jesus and rejected His truth because they didn't understand Him. To come to faith doesn't mean that you understand God; it means that in spite of sometimes not understanding Him, you choose to trust Him. The Scribes and Pharisees sought understanding apart from faith in Jesus, and this caused them to stumble at His teachings. It wasn't because Jesus was speaking to them in a foreign language. They stumbled because they didn't believe He was the Son of God because, if they had believed He was the Christ, they would have understood and received His teachings.

In John 6, we read where Jesus was teaching some Jews about Him being THE BREAD from heaven. He told them that their fathers had eaten of the bread that God through Moses gave them, and they (their fathers) were dead. He went on to tell them that if they would eat His flesh and drink His blood, they would never die. When He told them to eat His flesh and drink His blood, they MISUNDERSTOOD Him and began to walk away. Remember, I said earlier that if we don't walk by faith, eventually we will take on the spirit of offense; this is the very thing that occurred with them. Between you and me, they were probably more offended that He had said they would never die than they were over Him commanding them to partake of His body...simply because they refused to believe that Jesus was the Christ.

Let's address the problem of unbelief. God is spirit, and we are carnally (fleshly) minded. Humans believe in what they can see, and God is invisible. The just are to walk by faith and not by sight in order to have eternal life. It is the same as someone from a foreign country coming to your homeland and trying to communicate to you in their native language. You wouldn't understand their words. So how do we come to understand the Word of God? Faith is our interpreter. The writer of Hebrews wrote under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit: By faith, we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.

If you truly desire to know the invisible God as your heavenly Father, you must first be fully willing to trust in Jesus as the Son of God. As you begin to implement this principle in your walk, the Holy Spirit will enlighten your understanding to be able to comprehend the hidden wisdom of God and to know His ways. By this, we will know that we have eternal life.

Understanding God through Faith in Jesus,
Pastor Asa Dockery

Silencing the Accuser's Voice

2011-11-02T06:20:00.001-07:00

John 8: 7 - 11, So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, "He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first." And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last. And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, "Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?" She said, "No one, Lord." And Jesus said to her, "Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more." NKJV

There is a time for every purpose under heaven. Jesus tells us in Acts 1 that we will know when it is the right season or timing to share either the Word of God or the love of God with someone. The Lord has called us to be witnesses of Him to a world that is trapped in spiritual darkness. As His witness, we have to know when to speak out and when to just "be there" for them when sin kicks them to the curb.

Jesus said that the Holy Spirit will come upon us and give us the authority to be His witness to whomever He sends our way. However, authority isn't enough when it comes to knowing HOW to minister a word to someone who is in darkness or rebellion. We must ask the Lord for discernment. Allow me to explain further. When someone is in sin or has rebelled against God, it also means that they have hardened their hearts to the voice of God. Some people may need to hear a truth from God's Word that will awaken them from sin, but others may require that we show them grace first. For this, we need to ask the Holy Spirit for direction because He discerns the heart and knows the mind of the recipient.

Before I continue, let's bring this down to where you and I live for a moment. How do you feel when someone approaches you and tries to correct you with the Word, but seemingly has no love or compassion? You will probably want to erect emotional walls to protect your heart from being hurt even deeper. However, there are two approaches that the Lord has directed me to share with you today that will enable us to be a more effective witness for Christ.

Throughout the gospels, you can see that Jesus showed great compassion, mercy, love, and grace to the sinners. Nevertheless, when it came to those who thought they were "saved" but lived in religious rebellion, Jesus seemed always to speak the truth directly to their hearts. He never minced words when addressing wolves in sheep's clothing. However, we can see that Jesus used two totally different approaches because He knew the hearts of the people that He was ministering to with the word.

In John 8, Jesus addressed some people in another way... very differently than we might think. Early, one Sabbath morning, Jesus was ministering in the synagogue. As He was teaching the people, some scribes and Pharisees brought a woman to Him that had been caught in the very act of adultery. According to the Law of Moses, if she were to be found guilty, this woman was condemned to die. Consequently, since she was taken in the act of adultery, the evidence was overwhelmingly against her. However, instead of Jesus telling the men to stone her, He turned the tables on her accusers. Please note that Jesus didn't condemn her in front of her accusers. Instead of quoting the Law of Moses to her, Jesus directed the subject of sin to her accusers, and they became convicted in their hearts. He spoke the truth to them, but He extended grace to the accused woman.

After every man had departed from His presence, He asked the woman where her accusers were. She told Him that there were none, to which Jesus replied, "Neither do I condemn you, go and sin no more. After the accusers were gone, Jesus spoke the command to obey to the freed woman. He first gave her grace, while in the company of her accusers, and then He spoke the truth into her heart that she was required to obey. His love empowered her to receive the truth that she needed to live a life without immorality.

If our hearts are hardened because of the accuser, the Lord will show us grace so that we might experience His love, and then He will reveal the truth to our softened heart. What I am describing generally takes place during a difficult trial where you feel nothing but guilt and shame; that is when God's grace is released. If you respond correctly to His grace, then He will speak the truth so that you can begin to obey by faith and please the Lord.

Are you living under a cloud of condemnation that makes you feel guilty and ashamed? If so, then turn your heart to the Lord in humility and love, and allow the Holy Spirit to cleanse your conscience through His grace.

But for the Grace of God,
Pastor Asa Dockery

Unhappy with God

2011-11-01T06:23:00.000-07:00

Ephesians 4 : 17 - 19, This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart; NKJV

The Bible tells us that if we delight ourselves in the Lord, He will give us the desires of our heart. However, what happens when we become unhappy with God? Whether we like it or not, God has sent us to establish the work of His Kingdom in a world filled with sin and violence. In the book of John, Jesus tells us that we are in this world, but we are not of it. Consequently, we must not lose sight of that truth, lest we succumb to the schemes and lies of the Devil and get off focus.

Paul tells us in Corinthians that Satan is the god of this world. As such, he doesn't want a bunch of Christians running around spoiling his plans. Even so, the children of God don't have to concern themselves about Satan because Jesus has already defeated him on the cross. The only one that we need to be aware of and not give into is our "self." Self is that old nature that you and I used to live in agreement with while living in sin, but now we have been redeemed, and self is the one whom we must crucify daily. If we refuse to die to self, then he will get us entangled in the affairs of this world and engage us in a personal battle with Satan.

Should this occur, as it did in the Garden of Eden with Eve, Satan can then turn our hearts on God because we feel He isn't keeping us as safe and provided for as we think He ought. We are commanded to trust God, not place demands on Him. Remember, Satan tempted Jesus to cast himself off a mountain; however, Jesus reminded him that we are not to tempt the Lord God.

Satan lied to Eve about the character of God; he wanted to convince her that God was keeping her from being like Him by forbidding them to eat of the tree of knowledge. Consequently, they took an offense against the Lord. When this offense took over their hearts, they tempted the Lord with sin. Therefore, we must guard our hearts from being offended or getting defensive with God so that we don't become demanding of Him.

Jesus has told us in the book of John that, in this world, we would have tribulation. However, He also told us to be of good cheer because He had already overcome the world. If we should take our eyes off Jesus and look at how God is allowing this world to mistreat us, then our hearts will open up to hurt and to the possibility of an infection of bitterness and/or unbelief against God.

Once Eve heard that God had "rejected them" from being like Him by keeping them from that one tree, hurt filled their hearts against God. The spirit or mindset of rejection is a hard lie to overcome because we started life as a sinner. At times, it's difficult for us to forget our past, even though God has already sent Jesus to pay the price for our sin and has accepted us in Christ. This world has a way of making us FEEL like we did before God bathed us in His love.

After Adam and Eve discovered that they were naked, and were ashamed, they sewed fig leaves together and made aprons to cover themselves. The Lord revealed to me the other day what the significance of the outward covering meant. Since they were now blinded by sin, the leaves represented a hardness or callousness against God. The fig leaves also represented the works of man. It's easy for someone who feels rejected to fall into the pit of performance, and through works try to earn God's love and favor. This is the pit that God wants us to stay out of and is the reason for today's word.

If you experience a hardship or tragedy that causes you to become offended at God, it is not the time to turn away from Him. Satan meant it for evil, but if we remember why we're on earth and Who it is that we love and serve, then this can keep us from tempting the Lord with sin. If what the Lord has had me share with you seems hard to grasp, remember this... by grace you have been saved. In order to live victorious in this world, we must live by faith in Christ and walk humbly, by the grace of God.
Are there areas in your heart today where you hold anger against God because of something that has happened to you? Then you should know that Satan did this to cause an offense; however, no weapon of Satan can prosper against the righteous seed of God. You can simply humble yourself before the Lord right where you are, ask Him to take away the sting of Satan's attack, and allow God's love to heal the wound in your heart. Jesus came that we might have life in abundance. Delight yourself in Him.

Looking unto Jesus,
Pastor Asa Dockery

Kept from Things I Cannot See

2011-10-31T06:57:00.001-07:00

Matthew 26: 20 - 22, When evening had come, He sat down with the twelve. Now as they were eating, He said, "Assuredly, I say to you, one of you will betray Me." And they were exceedingly sorrowful, and each of them began to say to Him, "Lord, is it I?" NKJV

Is it possible for a Christian to know what they are capable of doing? God told Jeremiah that the heart of man was desperately wicked and deceitful above all things, and who can know it. God also told Jeremiah that He searches our hearts. According to today's passage, the disciples not only didn't know who the betrayer was, but each one wondered if it was him.

Likewise, when we get into desperate situations, it can cause us to panic and become defensive or territorial. If we should allow the power of lust to rule our hearts, it can drive us to commit unrighteous and evil acts. The key to overcoming the evil that is in our hearts (caused by the fall of man) is to trust God with our whole heart. As a husband, father, and pastor, I ask the Lord regularly to keep me from acting out of my heart in a sinful way against Him.

While studying God's Word, I have found that there is nothing wrong with telling other like-faith believers that you don't trust your own heart. In fact, the Bible tells us in Proverbs not to lean to our own understanding, but in all our ways, we are to acknowledge God. Peter tells us in his epistle that Satan is going about as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. How does he know who is a likely candidate, and who isn't? He sets us up in certain challenging situations, and when the test comes, he moves in with his lies with the hope that we won't turn to God, but, instead, listen only to him.

Remember, Jesus calls us sheep, and as such we are vulnerable to the wolves of the world. If we should stray from the protection of our Shepherd and the communion of the flock of God, we can become prey for Satan to attack us in our mind, emotions, and desires. If you feel that God has given me this word specifically for you, then know there is something you can do today to keep you from crossing certain lines that will place you at odds with the Lord.

Each disciple asked Jesus if they were the one He was speaking about that would betray Him. Likewise, we must also turn to the Lord and ask Him to keep us from listening to or trusting in our own hearts. This is called having integrity before the Lord. Once we give ownership of our hearts over to God, it is His responsibility to keep us from anyone or anything that might be a setup from Satan.

Satan preys on our spiritual ignorance and blind spots so that he might gain an upper- hand over us. Paul tells us in Timothy that Eve was deceived, but that Adam wasn't deceived. Therefore, we must give our entire heart over to the Lord and place our trust in Him. As we begin to practice this, the Holy Spirit can begin to lead us into all truth, keep us from temptation, and deliver us from evil.

When God called Abraham out of his father's country and away from his kindred, it's obvious that Abraham had some flesh issues in his heart. On occasion, when he would go into a new place, he would ask Sarah to tell a partial lie; he asked her to say she was his sister and not his wife. He did this because of fear that the men of that village or city would try to kill him in order to get Sarah, since she was very beautiful. Let me interject this thought: notice that Abraham totally excluded God from the situation and made an assumption, which ultimately got him into trouble with the king. He was leaning on his own understanding (Genesis 20).

One day Abraham entered Gerar, whose king was named Abimelech. To protect himself, Abraham asked his wife to lie. Because of this fabrication, the king took Sarah into his house that night. God appeared to the king while in a dream. In the dream, God told him that he was a dead man because he had taken another man's wife. Of course, you can imagine how this made the king feel, seeing that he had been lied to by Abraham. When the king told God that he had done this out of the integrity of his heart, God replied, "Yes, I know that you did this in the integrity of your heart. For I also withheld you from sinning against Me; therefore, I did not let you touch her.

I love this story because it shows how God will keep me when I have been set up by someone else's wrongs...wrongs that might cause me to believe a lie and sin against God. God will keep us from sin as long as we honor Him continually in our hearts, as He did with Abimelech. God didn't allow the king to commit a sin that would bring a curse on him and his people. The Lord doesn't want us to be pierced through with great sorrow because of sin that we committed out of our ignorance. He desires that we trust in Him and honor His Word so that He might keep us from entering into temptation. Fear and lust both want you to listen to them as you make daily decisions; listen to God instead.

Lord, is it I?
Pastor Asa Dockery

Free At Last

2011-10-28T06:51:00.000-07:00

Romans 8: 12 - 14, So, dear brothers, you have no obligations whatever to your old sinful nature to do what it begs you to do. For if you keep on following it you are lost and will perish, but if through the power of the Holy Spirit you crush it and its evil deeds, you shall live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. TLB

The Lord hates sin, and He hates it for a good reason; it destroys the souls and lives of those He has created and loves. We can see the love of God in the story of Israel's great exodus from the land of bondage. Pharaoh was an oppressive king over God's people. The taskmasters under Pharaoh were cruel to the children of Israel. If they didn't meet their daily quota of bricks and hard labor they would beat them. But after 400 years of that oppression, the Lord heard and answered the cries of His people because of their afflictions.

In much the same way, sin is a harsh taskmaster over God's fallen creation. So as He sent Moses to deliver Israel, He has also sent Jesus to deliver fallen man from the oppression of Satan over the world. Just as Egypt had cruel taskmasters, we too have the flesh nature to contend with on a daily basis. Although, we, who are born again have been made free from sin, we also know that the flesh nature which is rooted in bondage to the spirit of fear wants to oppress our lives with habits, lusts, and weaknesses of our flesh.

Even though you are a Christian that has experienced the saving grace of our heavenly Father, you may still be struggling with bondage to sins and to fear in your life today. This isn't the time to retreat in condemnation, but it is an opportunity to hear some "good news" about your plight. Jesus never came to condemn fallen man because of sin; He was sent to love us and give His life for our sin that we might become God's righteous children.

I will ask different people from time to time if they're being obedient, and they all seem to have the same answer: "I'm trying to obey, or I'm trying to quit doing wrong." The truth is, God never required us to "try" ... this is why He has given us His Holy Spirit. As we set our hearts to obey the Lord, the Holy Spirit gives us the power to overcome any struggle, offense, mountain, or fear that might try to stand in our way. Just as Paul wrote in the verse today, we are not obligated to obey our old sin nature and indulge in its evil desires, but we can, through the power of the Holy Spirit put to death the deeds of the sin nature and live in freedom. Our heavenly Father doesn't want us to live in bondage or put up with oppression from the Devil of our past. He has given us everything we need to live a fulfilled life of godliness.

Jesus said in John 10: 10 that He came so that we might have life in us and enjoy it to the full (or in abundance). We can only obtain that level of life in our soul by allowing the Holy Spirit to liberate us from the bondages of the flesh nature. If you struggle with a habit or sin and have felt as though you couldn't ever get free, then take these verses out of Romans 8 and meditate on them until you see the chains of oppression begin to fall off of your life. Each day when you wake up ask the Holy Spirit to empower you to live that day in total victory over the enemy of your soul. The key to total breakthrough is consistency. He or she that endures to the end shall be saved. The Lord wants us to walk in His life and experience His liberty in our hearts. My prayer for you is that this word today will become a reality in your life, and you will enjoy life as never before.

Walking in God's Power and Love,
Pastor Asa Dockery

My Hope Is In the Lord

2011-10-27T05:58:00.000-07:00

Matthew 9:36-38, But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, "The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest." NKJV

The Lord has given me a special word of hope for you today. Everyone needs hope in order to endure difficult times...times such as we're faced with in today's world. You can feel the heart of Jesus, our Good Shepherd, when He saw the multitudes (in the verse above) as sheep having no shepherd. There are many believers out in the world that just don't know where to turn right now for hope. I know we all have Jesus, but even God said it wasn't good for man to be alone... and that was before the fall. The truth is, we all need one another, and we all need the Lord. We need someone to lead us and protect us spiritually as well.

It grieves the heart of God when His people feel as though they have no one to reach out to for comfort, direction, and leadership. It's just heart- wrenching to hear all that families are being bombarded with from the enemy. This is why the Lord has given ministers to the body of Christ, men and women who you can go to and find encouragement and hope in troubling times.

The word gospel simply means the "Good News." Allow me to expound on why the gospel is good news.To the sinner, who is spiritually blind, and can't find his way to God, Jesus is the Savior of the world; He came to seek and save that which was lost. He tells us that we didn't choose Him, but He chose us, and that's good news! To the person who has just received a bad health report and doesn't know where to turn, Jesus is the Great Physician. Our healing was purchased by the stripes that were laid upon His back. I could write a book and not scratch the surface of all that Jesus is to His people that are in need. The problem is connecting His people with the correct wisdom that will allow them to receive all that God has in store for them.

This world was created and established upon the truth. God upholds all things through the word of His power. So when things in the world begin shaking and you don't know what to do, simply turn to the Lord and His Word and ask Him to reveal truth to you, and He will. Truth can't be shaken; so if we have faith in the Word of God, we can't be shaken either. We can find hope in that. What has your heart's attention in this season of your life? Are you gripped with anxiety or apprehension over the condition of the world? Focus your attention on the truth of God's Word and watch as it transforms your life and outlook. Truth establishes us like an anchor and prevents us from being tossed around by the winds that blow.

Jesus tells us in the book of John, chapter 8 that if we will continue, abide, dwell in the truth, we will know the truth and the truth we know will have the power to make us free. Just begin to listen, read, and place your trust only in the truth of God's Word and you'll see the Lord do a mighty work in your life. So the key to the problem of connecting people with the provision is getting to know the Word. He's more than just a book; He's a person. He is a Friend that sticks closer than a brother. As you meditate upon Him day and night, His truth will begin to set you free. Do you know someone in your life that feels lost in more ways than one? Send this word of encouragement to them and let's be a part of making a difference in someone's life.

The Lord Is Our Refuge,
Pastor Asa

Watch Out For the Trap of Offence

2011-10-26T06:19:00.000-07:00

Hebrews 2 : 9 - 11, But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone. For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. For both He who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of one, for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren. NKJV

At times it might seem as if God has forsaken you, especially during a trial or temptation, but you are not alone. Generally, when people are hit with very hard situations or alluring temptations, they will tend to withdraw from other people. The favorite phrase is, "You just won't understand." Perhaps you've used that one before. There is One who knows and understands exactly what you're dealing with in your heart. He is called the High Priest of our confession... Jesus.

The last thing Satan wants you to do is give honor to the Lord. In fact, he will set you up for an offense through disappointment, betrayal, or a missed opportunity for an expected blessing. Beware of hurts... that you don't allow them to fester in your heart and cause you to become cynical. Here's what you must be looking for from the deceiver. When life offers you an offensive situation, you can be sure that the enemy of your soul is going to be close behind ready to sow seeds of unbelief... that God not there for you. If you don't recognize these thoughts as being Satan's seeds, and you allow your heart to think on the possibility that God caused this hurt or disappointment, cynicism will seep into your heart. It will be so subtle that you won't even recognize it, but it still doesn't negate the fact that now your heart has become callous against God in this trial.

This isn't the end of the story. Once Satan gets you to agree with his deception about God, a wall will be erected between you and the voice of the Lord. As that wall remains unchallenged by truth, it grows with each new hurt and furthers the separation in your heart from the presence of God. Now the love of God that once flowed freely has diminished to a trickle. It isn't over yet, because Satan has not been confronted at this point. If you have allowed cynicism to build a wall of hurt that pulls you back in your love walk, you are falling into the trap of isolation.

The walls that keep others from hurting you can become prison walls that hold you in isolation... so that you feel alone and vulnerable in times of trouble. The Lord calls us the sheep of His pasture. Sheep and wolves don't get along at all. The wolf waits in silence as a sheep becomes separated from the rest of the flock. At that point, they are weaker and become vulnerable to its attacks. One on one the sheep is no match for the wolf. As the enemy traps you through offenses in his web of deceit, it isolates you. With a wall of offense built in your heart between you and the Lord's presence, it creates a sense of spiritual weakness...so that when you would want to step out in faith, the strangle hold that the enemy has on you can pull you back into remaining neutral.

Finally, the good part... the passage that we used today says that Jesus was made perfect through suffering. Jesus was already perfect and suffering added nothing to His character. However, as our High Priest, He had to experience what sin has done to us and to be touched with the feelings of our infirmities, yet without sin. As the Spotless Lamb, He was perfect... so that He might offer Himself as an offering on our behalf, but as the High Priest, He had to suffer...so that He might be our Kinsmen Redeemer. He can relate to our pain, suffering, disappointments, rejections, etc.

So the next time you get attacked through the spirit of offense, be sure and remind Satan, when he tries to be your "buddy," that you already have a Friend that sticks with you closer than a brother. Remind Satan of all that Christ did for you on the cross so that you wouldn't have to suffer for your own sins. This will silence those lies and keep your heart pure before the Lord. With no bitterness or cynicism, the Word will have the power to impact your heart and bring transformation in your life. It will give you the victory through your faith to overcome every trial and temptation that Satan sends your way.

Hebrews 2:18, For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted. NKJV

Keeping the Faith,
Pastor Asa

There Is a Difference

2011-10-25T05:57:00.000-07:00

John 14: 23 - 24, Jesus answered and said to him, "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father's who sent Me. NKJV

In today's passages, Jesus is instructing His disciples to demonstrate their love for Him by keeping and continuing the work of His Word in their walk. Please allow me a few moments of your day to make a distinction between love and trust. Do you have someone in your life that you love, but don't trust? They may be a relative or very close friend, but they have acted inappropriately toward you or violated your trust in some way, and this has strained your relationship with them. It's not that you don't love or care for them any longer; it is that your confidence in them has been shattered.

If any of those thoughts describes a relationship that you may have with someone, then let's look at this principle in a deeper way. God was displeased with man in Noah's day because of their hearts continually being filled with evil. Therefore, He made this statement about the flesh of man; He said, "My Spirit shall not always strive with man for he is flesh." Consequently, God shortened the lifespan of man to 120 years. Even though God has no confidence in man, God never stopped loving man.

In John 3, John writes about the love of God and declares that God so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son. In spite of the evil ways of man, and although God couldn't trust the flesh of mankind to fulfill His will in the earth, God still gave His best for our worst. Although our sins stopped His will from being obeyed in the earth, it didn't stop Jesus from dying for our sins so that we might be reconciled with the Father once again.

Through His love, God looked beyond the symptoms of our sins, such as disobedience and lack of character and dealt with the root cause, which was an evil heart of unbelief. Now, all that God asks of us is that we place faith in the work of Christ and believe on HIM for our salvation.

Here's the point of today's word: When we come to faith in Christ, it doesn't mean that we will be spared from ever again having loss or pain. In fact, there will be times where you may get hurt at God and stop obeying Him because "your trust has been violated." It is during these times that Satan can get into the battle and use our pain to stop us from demonstrating our love for God. Remember, Jesus said, "If you love me, then you will keep or honor my commands." We must understand that love, and trust is NOT the same thing. Even though God couldn't trust us as sinners, He never stopped loving us. If we should allow an offense to stop us from demonstrating our love and gratitude through our continued obedience to God, then we have made the decision to love ourselves, or the object of our affection that was lost, to pull back our love from God.

You can see how Satan is very subtle, but effective in the way that he fights the children of God. We may not always agree with the way that God has chosen to sanctify us from our old ways, but we must not allow the loss or pain of "our cross" to keep us from loving God. Jesus has gone before us to demonstrate how to endure, and through love, finish the race that has been set before us by the Father.

By the Grace of God,
Pastor Asa Dockery

When God Is with You

2011-10-24T06:09:00.001-07:00

2 Corinthians 12 : 7 - 10, And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong. NKJV

Are you presently experiencing a very trying season in your walk? Perhaps God has instructed you to step out in faith and doing so is very overwhelming to you. However, if you're like me, you have a heart to serve God and gladly accept His plan... that is, until you realize that fulfilling that plan has caused you to walk out on the water, which, by now, is way up over your head. There are times when we get out of the boat and step right into a commitment or a trial that tries our faith. It seems those are the times that we are most likely to ask God, "Where are you?"

The Apostle John tells us that our faith in Christ is the victory that overcomes this world. He also teaches us what things are in the world that we will gain victory over... the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh and the pride of life. When we find ourselves in a position or situation that demands we walk by faith in God, then we should know that God has strategically placed us there, not to fear, but to allow the power of God to flow through us.

God not only knows our how fragile we are. He also knows about our tendency to be self-sufficient. However, the middle ground for these two extremes is only found in the midst of trust. To borrow a phrase from Paul, we are usually caught betwixt and between two extremes. If God should push us beyond the breaking point of our humanity, there is a risk that we will revolt out of fear. Furthermore, if He should leave us in our comfort zone, there is a risk that we will run ahead of Him.

So why does God allow us to be in such hostile situations that we often wonder whether we will even make it through, and we question whether He is even with us? Paul found himself in this very place in his ministry and sought God so that He might remove this thorn...which was a messenger from Satan. God told Paul that His grace was sufficient for him; His strength was made perfect in weakness. If active faith in Christ flowing out of our hearts is the victory over this world, then this is where we need to reside, spiritually. After God instructed Paul of the importance of operating in the strength of His divine grace, his attitude was changed. He understood that God was working in him and with him through the adversity, and this gave Paul solace.

For the first time, Paul was willing to accept, not the thorn in the flesh, but God's will while resisting the temptation to give up because of the thorn. Now Paul was operating in the power of Christ like never before; he had gone to a higher level of resting in Christ and in trusting God with his life.

If this devotion has spoken to you about the present struggles in your walk, then allow me to share an important truth that I have come to know about God. When I have found myself betwixt and between and asked God, "Where are you and will you please remove me from this situation," He would begin to show me His hand at work. He didn't remove the situation, nor did He move me out of the experience. However, He would very lovingly show me signs of His presence all around me and that I was in the eye-of-the-storm. After showing Moses many signs to prove to the leaders of Israel and Egypt that God had called him, God told Moses, "You will know I am with you when you have led My people out."

The greatest sign God is with you is not that He has destroyed your enemies or kept you from the fiery trials, but that you have accomplished what He has called you to do while going through great adversity. Please allow this word to encourage you to continue obeying God in spite of the impossible situations because God is with you.

Walking by Faith and not by sight,
Pastor Asa Dockery

When It Costs to Obey God

2011-10-20T06:06:00.000-07:00

Matt 5:43-48, "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so? Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect. NKJV

In Matthew 5, Jesus begins teaching us on the principles of God's kingdom, not about the traditions or doctrines of men. You will notice that Jesus requires more of us under the New Covenant; He tells us that unless our righteousness exceeds that which is set by the scribes and Pharisees, we won't enter the kingdom of heaven.

The Pharisees had the reputation of "believing in God," but Jesus shows us through His teachings that they didn't have a record of "obeying" God, especially when it cost them to do so. It doesn't cost us anything to become born again because Jesus has done all of the suffering for us. The scriptures say, "He who knew no sin became sin's offering that we might become the righteousness of God in Christ."

However, now that we're saved and have been made righteous, Jesus requires us as His disciples to obey or keep His commands. Although it didn't cost us to believe in Jesus for salvation, it will now cost us (our flesh) to obey the Lord as His disciples. In Romans 4, we read where Abraham heard the promises of God, and God accounted his faith as righteous. Romans chapter 10 tells us to believe in Christ and confess Him as Lord, and we, too, shall be saved or righteous in God's sight.

God doesn't want us to remain just righteous; He desires for us to become mature or complete and blessed. After Abraham believed on God to fulfill what He had promised him, God instructed Abraham to take Isaac, his only son, and offer him on Mount Moriah. This act of obedience would cost Abraham his son, and it would cost Isaac his life, but in spite of the cost, Abraham still obeyed. If you will read Genesis 22: 16 - 18, you will notice that immediately after Abraham obeyed God's voice, God declared he and his descendants were blessed. Now, after obeying God, even though it cost him, Abraham is declared blessed.

You see, God doesn't just want us to be righteous, as I wrote before; now that we're righteous, God desires that the blessing of Abraham come on us through our sacrificial obedience to His voice, by faith. It cost Abel, Joseph, Job, and a host of others a lot to obey God's will, but they left this world blessed in the sight of God. The question that every Christian must answer with their lifestyle is this... "Do I love God more than this world or its pleasures?" Since becoming a believer, if you were to look back over the decisions you have made when God asked you to obey and it cost you, do your choices prove your love for God?

Blessed to be a Blessing,
Pastor Asa Dockery

The Curse of Sin Has Been Broken

2011-10-19T05:51:00.001-07:00

Isaiah 53: 10 - 11, Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief. When You make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in His hand. He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied. By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many, for He shall bear their iniquities. NKJV

Isaiah wrote, "It pleased the Lord to bruise Him." We know that Isaiah was speaking about Jesus, the Son of God. Nevertheless, if we were to read that statement with just a human understanding, it would almost sound as if God derived pleasure from the torture of His Son. However, that was not the case at all. Jesus had prayed while on earth that the will of the Father be fulfilled in His life through obedience.

Since Jesus was willing, obeyed every command of the Father, and chose to suffer and die for the sins of the world, His offering pleased the Father. While Isaiah was writing under the leading of the Holy Spirit, he declared that the Messiah would come as an innocent Lamb of God and upon Him God would lay the sins of the entire world. It is inconceivable for us as humans to fully comprehend what Jesus had to undergo and suffer in order to appease the wrath of God and please the Father.

It's inconceivable to us because Jesus was beaten and shamed like no other man. In addition to the things that we know through the written accounts of Jesus' public flogging, beating, crucifixion, and burial, He endured all of this while the weight of every person's sin and shame was upon Him. He was innocent of all false accusations and trumped-up charges, yet He accepted the punishment for our sin without revile or revenge.

Why is it so hard for us to fully understand the depth of love that Jesus had for His Father? Allow me to share some thoughts about the limitations of our humanity. As humans, we can only handle so much falsehood spoken against us and not want to defend ourselves. We are limited in our humanity as to the degree of suffering we can incur and endure without lashing out at the perpetrator. When you take both of those thoughts and add in the truth that we are the ones who were guilty, and He was innocent, this exceeds the realm of human love or strength. Lest you might tend to believe that He was God on the cross, and this gave Him the power to overcome sin, let me remind you of the scripture, "My God, My God why have You forsaken Me?" To me, this is the powerful thing about what Jesus was willing and empowered to do while on the cross. Since Jesus said "yes" to God in the Garden of Gethsemane, God empowered Him to suffer for our sins as an innocent Man. Please note that Jesus allowed, not the wrath of man, but the love of God to flow through His heart while He hung on the cross. He made a conscious decision to love, and God gave Him the power to love as "a Man" on the cross. I pray that this Word in some way helps you to better understand the depth of love that Jesus had for His Father, as well as the depth of love that the Father has for the world.

While Jesus was in His greatest moment of agony, He summoned enough strength and love to say, "Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing." When the Father heard these Words proceed out of His Son's mouth, it pleased the Father, and He has now forgiven all who have been found guilty before Him. All the Father requires is that we acknowledge the work that Jesus has already done on our behalf, believe on Jesus as the ONLY WAY to the Father, and turn from our sin; then, He will abundantly pardon us.

No Greater Love,
Pastor Asa

Broken but Loved

2011-10-18T05:59:00.001-07:00

John 3: 17, For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. NKJV

It's obvious when you look at creation as a whole that God loves diversity. Debbie and I have three sons, and each one of them is different from the other two. They're distinct in almost every way, even though they're brothers. It amazes me to watch each son become their own person, and as I watch the maturation process developing each of our children into the person in which they are to become according to God's plan, I realize that I am witnessing the vastness of God in their individuality. At the same time, even though they are very different from each other, I can see the connectedness of love.

In much the same way that God looked beyond our sins, weaknesses, and flawed behavioral patterns in order to love us back to Him, we are to grow in love toward each other. When God saved us, He didn't look at us, as though we would always remain the same; instead, He saw us as the people we would become when we chose to accept and embrace His love. As a pastor, I have the privilege of watching the children of our church over the years as they grow up and become young adults. It amazes me to watch as these young adults begin to walk in a new season in their lives and how they struggle to make sense of their beliefs and how to apply them to everyday life.

Paul tells us in Romans 3 that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. We are all broken vessels in need of God's love in our lives so that we might be transformed into the original masterpiece that was intended by our heavenly Father. Inevitably, each young person has to come to the place in their faith walk where they must decide whether they're going to depend on God and allow Him to love them through their struggles, or choose to rely on "self." Even though we sometimes choose to walk away from the Lord, it doesn't prevent God from continuing to love and protect us.

In spite of our flaws, God has made a commitment to mankind to love us through the hard seasons of life. We all struggle at times over our faith in God because we are faced with difficult decisions and fiery trials while living in this corrupt world. This is a normal part of maturing and of coming to know the God that Christians call "Abba Father." Just as God didn't condemn us as sinners, but sent His only-begotten Son into the world that we might be saved, God is still deeply in love with us, as He works in our hearts to cleanse and to mature us in His love.

Even though we taught our children beginning at a very early age about Jesus and salvation, each of them has their own belief system. This has taught me a very important principle. Sin has definitely had a major impact on all humans in the way we view God and how we each respond to God. Even though we were originally created in both the image and likeness of God, sin altered the image and changed the likeness in which we saw God. Therefore, we have a "world view" of God before we come to the knowledge of the truth. As sinners or fallen humans, we have our own way of thinking and believing... but not according to truth.

The Bible teaches us to train up our children in the way they are to go and when they're older, they won't depart from that path. God is our heavenly Father, who not only loved us while we were sinners, but continues to love us while He changes our hearts to see Him through eyes of truth. If you're a child of God, then you're on the same journey as me. Together, God is working through our mistakes, failures, and sins to bring us to the knowledge of the truth and to know His love, which surpasses knowledge. Through it all, God has never stopped loving us. Although He has loved us, He wouldn't allow us to remain the same as when He picked us up out of the miry clay. We may be broken, but we must never forget that we are deeply loved by our Creator and heavenly Father.

Covered by the Love of God,
Pastor Asa Dockery