Ephesians 3 : 20 - 21, Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen. NKJV
WITH GOD, ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE. Are you born again? Do you have the Holy Spirit dwelling in your heart? Can God be in your heart and not be with you? Throughout the Old Testament, we read where God was with Israel. However, they limited the Holy One of Israel with their unbelief. God lives in our hearts, and God is with us. You may be wondering why I have belabored these points in my opening comments. It is to show Christians that, as a Christian, our greatest battle has already been won. The sin that once owned us and was a stumbling block that kept us alienated from the life of God has been abolished through the power of Christ. Now that God is with us, we can do all things through Christ, which gives us strength. NO LIMITATIONS!
God has promised us that He would withhold no good thing from those who walk uprightly before Him. This requires that you and I walk in a way that is pleasing to the Lord. As we walk by faith, we gather the confidence that God is, indeed, with us because our carnal mind is being destroyed. The carnal mind is dominated by thoughts of condemnation and guilt, which tend to isolate the believer from experiencing the presence of God. When we feel separated from God's presence, it will greatly diminish our confidence to believe God to carry out His Word on our behalf. Consequently, our lack of confidence will give place to discouragement and unbelief.
Today, you may be facing what looks like impossible situations in the physical as well in the spirit. However, you don't have to struggle with a lack of confidence and assume that you're always going to have to live with limitations that seem to hold you back in your walk. The Apostle John tells us in his epistle, if our hearts condemn us, God is greater than our heart.
God lives in your heart through the Holy Spirit, so God is with you. If you don't have the confidence that God is with you, and you tend to assume that things are never going to change for the better, then you must step out in faith and ignore your feelings. Feelings will deceive us into believing that the Lord isn't with us, and if we fall prey to the feelings of our flesh nature, we will begin to believe that God isn't with us when, in reality, He is. If we believe anything that is contrary to God's Word, we are acting in unbelief. If you're faced with situations that seem to be insurmountable, then align your heart with God's promises from His Word in obedience and watch the power of God destroy the weaknesses of the flesh.
Once you overcome the feelings and step out in faith, you will realize that God was with you all along. However, Satan was preventing you from knowing it through the veil of your flesh nature. Go beyond the veil, enter into the Holy Place, and see the salvation of the Lord today. This is your day to seize what God has promised, but Satan has been prevented from occurring in your life and on your behalf. All things are possible to those who believe.
Believing God for Your Breakthrough,
Pastor Asa Dockery
Friday, September 30, 2011
Thursday, September 29, 2011
The Promise Lives
John 1 : 10 - 14, He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. NKJV
When God is ready to carry out His will in the earth, He sends His Word to execute it. God created man to co-labor with Him and to fulfill His purpose in the earth. We know this because of the words that God spoke over mankind in Genesis 1:26 - 28. Man chose to rebel against God in order to please "self." Consequently, God had to replace His perfect will for man with His intended will by sending the Word in the form of flesh to destroy the bondage of sin over those He would call out to serve Him and fulfill His purpose in the earth.
Since the fall of man, God has had to work against the will of man in order to restore the authority of His Kingdom on earth. Instead of Adam being obedient to the heavenly calling on his life, he gave way to the will of man or flesh, which produced sin and rebellion in the hearts of all mankind. Originally, God wanted man to walk in agreement with Him and in dominion over the earth. If man had obeyed, they would have fulfilled all that God had spoken over them in Genesis 1. God is at work now, not only to fulfill His original will, but to save those who are called to carry out His " divine will" from the will of man or the will of flesh.
Occasionally, when God calls someone to begin the work of fulfilling His purpose in their life, they begin to speak the will of man (or the will of flesh) and not God's will. When we respond to the calling of God on our lives by spewing out words of doubt and unbelief, it forces the Lord to begin shutting up the mouth of unbelief so that He can open the womb of faith.
John the Baptist was the forerunner of Christ. He was called by the Lord to bear witness of the Christ and to preach the gospel and call sinners to repentance. John was a mighty miracle of God. John's mother, Elizabeth was beyond the years of child bearing, yet God had caused her to become pregnant. In other words, God had opened her dead womb by faith to bring forth the voice of John in the earth. Whenever his father, Zacharias, heard about God's plan, unbelief began to speak through his mouth, and God had to shut that voice down. Zacharias wasn't allowed to speak until his son was born. There were three miracles that took place before God's plan could be fulfilled through John the Baptist. God had to open Elizabeth's womb, shut Zacharias' mouth, and bring forth the new life of John. Elizabeth was six months pregnant before she knew for certain that her baby was alive. The birth of this prophet of God was by faith, and unbelief could have no part in his arrival.
Why do you suppose Elizabeth had to wait six months before God would confirm that her baby was alive, even though it was God's will that John be born? Look back at the mouth and doubt of Zacharias. His words had influence over this pregnancy, or God wouldn't have shut him up from speaking. Elizabeth had to live in anxiousness for six months because of the words of her husband... until the day that Mary greeted her with good news. When Mary cried out to Elizabeth, the faith of Mary, who had conceived the Christ without a man, caused John to leap in Elizabeth's womb and be filled with the Holy Spirit. The will of flesh and of man had been abolished through the faith of a woman who had heard the voice of God.
Be careful what you allow to come out your mouth or who you give heed to when you share what God has planned for your life. The will of man and of flesh has to be abolished through our unwavering faith in what God has shown us or has spoken to us in our prayer time. The promise of God in your life isn't dead. However, it may be dormant and waiting for faith to speak the Word of life over it. The promise lives, and it lives in those who place their faith in Christ and obey God's will.
Blessed with God's Will and Purpose,
Pastor Asa Dockery
When God is ready to carry out His will in the earth, He sends His Word to execute it. God created man to co-labor with Him and to fulfill His purpose in the earth. We know this because of the words that God spoke over mankind in Genesis 1:26 - 28. Man chose to rebel against God in order to please "self." Consequently, God had to replace His perfect will for man with His intended will by sending the Word in the form of flesh to destroy the bondage of sin over those He would call out to serve Him and fulfill His purpose in the earth.
Since the fall of man, God has had to work against the will of man in order to restore the authority of His Kingdom on earth. Instead of Adam being obedient to the heavenly calling on his life, he gave way to the will of man or flesh, which produced sin and rebellion in the hearts of all mankind. Originally, God wanted man to walk in agreement with Him and in dominion over the earth. If man had obeyed, they would have fulfilled all that God had spoken over them in Genesis 1. God is at work now, not only to fulfill His original will, but to save those who are called to carry out His " divine will" from the will of man or the will of flesh.
Occasionally, when God calls someone to begin the work of fulfilling His purpose in their life, they begin to speak the will of man (or the will of flesh) and not God's will. When we respond to the calling of God on our lives by spewing out words of doubt and unbelief, it forces the Lord to begin shutting up the mouth of unbelief so that He can open the womb of faith.
John the Baptist was the forerunner of Christ. He was called by the Lord to bear witness of the Christ and to preach the gospel and call sinners to repentance. John was a mighty miracle of God. John's mother, Elizabeth was beyond the years of child bearing, yet God had caused her to become pregnant. In other words, God had opened her dead womb by faith to bring forth the voice of John in the earth. Whenever his father, Zacharias, heard about God's plan, unbelief began to speak through his mouth, and God had to shut that voice down. Zacharias wasn't allowed to speak until his son was born. There were three miracles that took place before God's plan could be fulfilled through John the Baptist. God had to open Elizabeth's womb, shut Zacharias' mouth, and bring forth the new life of John. Elizabeth was six months pregnant before she knew for certain that her baby was alive. The birth of this prophet of God was by faith, and unbelief could have no part in his arrival.
Why do you suppose Elizabeth had to wait six months before God would confirm that her baby was alive, even though it was God's will that John be born? Look back at the mouth and doubt of Zacharias. His words had influence over this pregnancy, or God wouldn't have shut him up from speaking. Elizabeth had to live in anxiousness for six months because of the words of her husband... until the day that Mary greeted her with good news. When Mary cried out to Elizabeth, the faith of Mary, who had conceived the Christ without a man, caused John to leap in Elizabeth's womb and be filled with the Holy Spirit. The will of flesh and of man had been abolished through the faith of a woman who had heard the voice of God.
Be careful what you allow to come out your mouth or who you give heed to when you share what God has planned for your life. The will of man and of flesh has to be abolished through our unwavering faith in what God has shown us or has spoken to us in our prayer time. The promise of God in your life isn't dead. However, it may be dormant and waiting for faith to speak the Word of life over it. The promise lives, and it lives in those who place their faith in Christ and obey God's will.
Blessed with God's Will and Purpose,
Pastor Asa Dockery
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
This One Belongs to God
Revelation 12 : 10 - 12, Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, "Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death. NKJV
Do you still fight voices of accusation, even as a Christian? Does guilt have a stronghold on your mind to the point where you will draw back from seeking God or obeying Him in your walk? Anything that comes against a believer with the intentions of pulling them away from God is a lie of the enemy. If you hear a condemning voice in your mind or have a person in your life that beats you down and causes you to grow weary in serving God or in doing well, then know that it is an attack of Satan.
If the questions and the descriptions that I have written sound like my computer is in your living room, then God is speaking a word through me to you. If you struggle with any of the aforementioned items, you must first submit to God in prayer and resist the Devil's strategies that have been formed against you. As a Christian, you must know and understand that you don't derive your identity from your actions or your weaknesses, but from Christ. So when attacks of the enemy strike don't try to dig deeper in you, but rather dig deeper in Christ.
You're not the source of your righteousness; Christ is, and that is why we must go to the Rock of our salvation, run into the Refuge in times of conflict and find peace for our weary souls. As you train yourself to begin to recognize an attack as being just that, and you can stop giving completely over to its suggestions or its condemnation, then you have begun to overcome Satan's arsenal. The next step is to remember to "run to the Rock" or get your focus off the voices or storm and look to Jesus. He will empower you with His righteousness and show you how to respond properly to your attacker(s).
In today's passages, you will notice that after the accuser of the brethren was cast down, the Kingdom of God and the power of Christ was released. You see; you're in a battle, and you must remember not to take the conflict personally. This battle isn't over you or your righteousness, but over your faith in Jesus' blood and righteousness. Satan wants to make it about you; you are to remind your accuser it's all about Jesus. Once you arrive at the place in your faith walk where you're gaining understanding to overcome the lies and assaults, then you will begin to experience the power of Christ (confidence) in your heart. The Lord will begin to restore your focus on your future in Him and off of your past in sin. The Devil is a liar, but we must grow to the place where we no longer receive his lies as the "gospel truth."
You must exercise the gifts that God has given you as a believer, and one of those gifts is discernment. If something or someone speaks out something that seems to fit you, but causes you to begin to pull back away from God's will or His presence, then know that you need to discern this as being a voice of the accuser. Let the Lord fight this one. Jesus forewarned us that in this world, we would have tribulations. Nevertheless, He went on to say that we were to be of good cheer because He has already overcome this world. We're in Him and not of the world; therefore, we have also overcome. If God wants to correct us, He can do it. He doesn't need Satan to tell us what is wrong. Amen? I thought so!
You Belong to God,
Pastor Asa Dockery
Do you still fight voices of accusation, even as a Christian? Does guilt have a stronghold on your mind to the point where you will draw back from seeking God or obeying Him in your walk? Anything that comes against a believer with the intentions of pulling them away from God is a lie of the enemy. If you hear a condemning voice in your mind or have a person in your life that beats you down and causes you to grow weary in serving God or in doing well, then know that it is an attack of Satan.
If the questions and the descriptions that I have written sound like my computer is in your living room, then God is speaking a word through me to you. If you struggle with any of the aforementioned items, you must first submit to God in prayer and resist the Devil's strategies that have been formed against you. As a Christian, you must know and understand that you don't derive your identity from your actions or your weaknesses, but from Christ. So when attacks of the enemy strike don't try to dig deeper in you, but rather dig deeper in Christ.
You're not the source of your righteousness; Christ is, and that is why we must go to the Rock of our salvation, run into the Refuge in times of conflict and find peace for our weary souls. As you train yourself to begin to recognize an attack as being just that, and you can stop giving completely over to its suggestions or its condemnation, then you have begun to overcome Satan's arsenal. The next step is to remember to "run to the Rock" or get your focus off the voices or storm and look to Jesus. He will empower you with His righteousness and show you how to respond properly to your attacker(s).
In today's passages, you will notice that after the accuser of the brethren was cast down, the Kingdom of God and the power of Christ was released. You see; you're in a battle, and you must remember not to take the conflict personally. This battle isn't over you or your righteousness, but over your faith in Jesus' blood and righteousness. Satan wants to make it about you; you are to remind your accuser it's all about Jesus. Once you arrive at the place in your faith walk where you're gaining understanding to overcome the lies and assaults, then you will begin to experience the power of Christ (confidence) in your heart. The Lord will begin to restore your focus on your future in Him and off of your past in sin. The Devil is a liar, but we must grow to the place where we no longer receive his lies as the "gospel truth."
You must exercise the gifts that God has given you as a believer, and one of those gifts is discernment. If something or someone speaks out something that seems to fit you, but causes you to begin to pull back away from God's will or His presence, then know that you need to discern this as being a voice of the accuser. Let the Lord fight this one. Jesus forewarned us that in this world, we would have tribulations. Nevertheless, He went on to say that we were to be of good cheer because He has already overcome this world. We're in Him and not of the world; therefore, we have also overcome. If God wants to correct us, He can do it. He doesn't need Satan to tell us what is wrong. Amen? I thought so!
You Belong to God,
Pastor Asa Dockery
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Seventy Times Seven a Day
Luke 17: 1 - 5, Then He said to the disciples, "It is impossible that no offenses should come, but woe to him through whom they do come! It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones. Take heed to yourselves. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day returns to you, saying, 'I repent,' you shall forgive him." And the apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith." NKJV
Jesus commanded us to love God with all our hearts, minds, and souls. He also commanded us to love our neighbor as ourselves. Have you ever stopped to think about what we are saying when we say that we love God? God has given us life and through the death of His Son, He has paid our sin debt so that we might live free from sin and shame. What's not to love about God? Once we get beyond the initial experience of accepting God's gift of salvation, we soon discover that being a Christian can't be fulfilled in the weakness of our flesh nature. Before we came to Christ, we could show sympathy for people who hurt. We could show compassion and, at times, forgiveness to the people we love.
When God gave us His Holy Spirit, it was His way of telling us that we can't accomplish any spiritual task apart from Him. Even though we had the capacity to have sympathy and love for others, and we could, to a degree, forgive, we were wineskins that were old and rigid. Now that we've been made into new wineskins in Christ, we must develop our faith and the willingness to become larger containers of God's love in the earth. In the original Greek language of the Bible, there are three levels or categories of love mentioned. One level is friendship (phileo). The next level is the intimate love between a man and wife (eros), and the greatest level is God's love (agape). However, when Jesus commands us to love our enemies, He intends for us to love them with God's kind of love.
Look at the response of the disciples when Jesus told them to forgive their brother seven times a day. They admitted that they neither had the faith nor the capacity to forgive someone that much. Let's fast-forward two-thousand plus years to today. Have you ever made a mistake or committed a sin and the people who said they loved you suddenly forgot your name, or that they even knew you? Has someone offended you, and you removed them from your contact list and moved on without them? I bring this up to illustrate that we can be very rigid when being confronted with other people's offenses against ourselves, yet demand mercy when we're the one at fault. Jesus warned the disciples, and us, to take heed when someone offends us. We must be very careful how we respond to the wrong they have done against us, so that it isn't allowed to prevent us from loving them in the same way God loves us. The disciples responded in much the way that you and I would respond, "Lord, increase our faith or capacity to love." Since we are now the children of God, God allows opportunities for our new wineskin to be stretched and filled with more of His grace and love for others.
The Apostle John asks us a very penetrating and revealing question in his writings. He asked, "How we can say that we love God, whom we have not seen and not love our brother whom we have seen?" Obviously, God knew that as humans, we would struggle to love others to the same degree that He has loved us, so He has given us the Holy Spirit; it is through Him that the love of God has been dispersed.
Consequently, we must allow our minds to be changed or renewed because we're not limited to love others only with human love. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, we now have a greater capacity to love people. As we submit to the Lord to become willing to forgive and to love after the offense has occurred, God can stretch the new wineskin and fill it with more of His love.
God Stretches New Wineskins,
Pastor Asa Dockery
Jesus commanded us to love God with all our hearts, minds, and souls. He also commanded us to love our neighbor as ourselves. Have you ever stopped to think about what we are saying when we say that we love God? God has given us life and through the death of His Son, He has paid our sin debt so that we might live free from sin and shame. What's not to love about God? Once we get beyond the initial experience of accepting God's gift of salvation, we soon discover that being a Christian can't be fulfilled in the weakness of our flesh nature. Before we came to Christ, we could show sympathy for people who hurt. We could show compassion and, at times, forgiveness to the people we love.
When God gave us His Holy Spirit, it was His way of telling us that we can't accomplish any spiritual task apart from Him. Even though we had the capacity to have sympathy and love for others, and we could, to a degree, forgive, we were wineskins that were old and rigid. Now that we've been made into new wineskins in Christ, we must develop our faith and the willingness to become larger containers of God's love in the earth. In the original Greek language of the Bible, there are three levels or categories of love mentioned. One level is friendship (phileo). The next level is the intimate love between a man and wife (eros), and the greatest level is God's love (agape). However, when Jesus commands us to love our enemies, He intends for us to love them with God's kind of love.
Look at the response of the disciples when Jesus told them to forgive their brother seven times a day. They admitted that they neither had the faith nor the capacity to forgive someone that much. Let's fast-forward two-thousand plus years to today. Have you ever made a mistake or committed a sin and the people who said they loved you suddenly forgot your name, or that they even knew you? Has someone offended you, and you removed them from your contact list and moved on without them? I bring this up to illustrate that we can be very rigid when being confronted with other people's offenses against ourselves, yet demand mercy when we're the one at fault. Jesus warned the disciples, and us, to take heed when someone offends us. We must be very careful how we respond to the wrong they have done against us, so that it isn't allowed to prevent us from loving them in the same way God loves us. The disciples responded in much the way that you and I would respond, "Lord, increase our faith or capacity to love." Since we are now the children of God, God allows opportunities for our new wineskin to be stretched and filled with more of His grace and love for others.
The Apostle John asks us a very penetrating and revealing question in his writings. He asked, "How we can say that we love God, whom we have not seen and not love our brother whom we have seen?" Obviously, God knew that as humans, we would struggle to love others to the same degree that He has loved us, so He has given us the Holy Spirit; it is through Him that the love of God has been dispersed.
Consequently, we must allow our minds to be changed or renewed because we're not limited to love others only with human love. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, we now have a greater capacity to love people. As we submit to the Lord to become willing to forgive and to love after the offense has occurred, God can stretch the new wineskin and fill it with more of His love.
God Stretches New Wineskins,
Pastor Asa Dockery
Monday, September 26, 2011
Do Christians Have to Sin?
Romans 6: 1 - 4, What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. NKJV
Romans 6: 11 - 13: 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. NKJV
What does it mean to be a disciple of the teachings of Christ? Does it mean that we have salvation, and we're just waiting on the return of Jesus to take us out of this body of sin? Paul taught Timothy on the importance of rightly dividing the Word of God so that, as a minister, he wouldn't be put to shame. Anyone can twist the Word to fit just about any belief out there in the world. If someone should alter the Word of God to accommodate a lifestyle that isn't consistent with the entire gospel of Christ, then it ceases being truth and has no power to save a soul or change a person's heart.
Paul didn't mince words when it came to establishing the principles that God, through Christ, has set in His Word for the believer. Our old sin nature that was given to us by the sins of Adam cannot inherit the promise of eternal life. Therefore, God had to offer up a spotless Lamb to pay the price for man's sin debt so that we can be bought (or ransomed) from the rule of Satan over mankind's soul. When Jesus died on the cross, He stripped principalities and powers of their authority and made an open spectacle of them through the cross. He descended into hell and took back the keys of authority over hell and the grave. Now that Christ has ascended into heaven and shown Himself as the Lamb and the High Priest to the Father, we all have been given the opportunity to leave the domination of sin and die to our flesh nature and live a holy and righteous life before God.
Since Christ has died for all humans and redeemed us all from the curse of the law of sin and death, we no longer have to live our lives in bondage to Satan or sin. The key to living free from the sin nature, or the Adamic nature, is to surrender our hearts to Christ and make Him our Lord and Savior. If this is true, and the Word declares to us that it is, then why do so many Christians choose to live in sin and not walk in righteousness and holiness? The answer is found in Romans 6: 11 - 13: 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. As long as we choose to walk by faith in obedience to the voice of God and the Word of God, we won't fulfill the lusts of the flesh. If we die to our flesh through obedience to God's divine will, we will no longer be ruled by sin through the lusts of our flesh nature. So if we die to the flesh nature, we won't sin. The flesh nature gives place for sin to rule our hearts and ultimately, our lives. However, this does not have to occur in a believer's life.
As Christ's disciples, we must not live this new life according to the old lusts of the carnal or flesh nature. We must submit to God, resist the Devil, and he will flee from us, just as he did with Jesus, who was submitted to God in the wilderness. If you find that today's word demands more than you're able to offer, then today can be the first day of the rest of your walk. Begin practicing your faith by obeying God and allowing Him to set you free from any habit, addiction, or relationships that might be holding you in bondage to the flesh nature. As you obey daily and seek God with your whole heart, He will do the work of setting you free from the old man and renewing you to become the person in Christ that He ordained from the foundation of the world. You can do it, and these devotions can help you succeed. Now place one foot in front of the other and begin to walk out your salvation. You can do all things through Christ, who strengthens you.
Walking It Out by Faith,
Pastor Asa Dockery
Romans 6: 11 - 13: 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. NKJV
What does it mean to be a disciple of the teachings of Christ? Does it mean that we have salvation, and we're just waiting on the return of Jesus to take us out of this body of sin? Paul taught Timothy on the importance of rightly dividing the Word of God so that, as a minister, he wouldn't be put to shame. Anyone can twist the Word to fit just about any belief out there in the world. If someone should alter the Word of God to accommodate a lifestyle that isn't consistent with the entire gospel of Christ, then it ceases being truth and has no power to save a soul or change a person's heart.
Paul didn't mince words when it came to establishing the principles that God, through Christ, has set in His Word for the believer. Our old sin nature that was given to us by the sins of Adam cannot inherit the promise of eternal life. Therefore, God had to offer up a spotless Lamb to pay the price for man's sin debt so that we can be bought (or ransomed) from the rule of Satan over mankind's soul. When Jesus died on the cross, He stripped principalities and powers of their authority and made an open spectacle of them through the cross. He descended into hell and took back the keys of authority over hell and the grave. Now that Christ has ascended into heaven and shown Himself as the Lamb and the High Priest to the Father, we all have been given the opportunity to leave the domination of sin and die to our flesh nature and live a holy and righteous life before God.
Since Christ has died for all humans and redeemed us all from the curse of the law of sin and death, we no longer have to live our lives in bondage to Satan or sin. The key to living free from the sin nature, or the Adamic nature, is to surrender our hearts to Christ and make Him our Lord and Savior. If this is true, and the Word declares to us that it is, then why do so many Christians choose to live in sin and not walk in righteousness and holiness? The answer is found in Romans 6: 11 - 13: 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. As long as we choose to walk by faith in obedience to the voice of God and the Word of God, we won't fulfill the lusts of the flesh. If we die to our flesh through obedience to God's divine will, we will no longer be ruled by sin through the lusts of our flesh nature. So if we die to the flesh nature, we won't sin. The flesh nature gives place for sin to rule our hearts and ultimately, our lives. However, this does not have to occur in a believer's life.
As Christ's disciples, we must not live this new life according to the old lusts of the carnal or flesh nature. We must submit to God, resist the Devil, and he will flee from us, just as he did with Jesus, who was submitted to God in the wilderness. If you find that today's word demands more than you're able to offer, then today can be the first day of the rest of your walk. Begin practicing your faith by obeying God and allowing Him to set you free from any habit, addiction, or relationships that might be holding you in bondage to the flesh nature. As you obey daily and seek God with your whole heart, He will do the work of setting you free from the old man and renewing you to become the person in Christ that He ordained from the foundation of the world. You can do it, and these devotions can help you succeed. Now place one foot in front of the other and begin to walk out your salvation. You can do all things through Christ, who strengthens you.
Walking It Out by Faith,
Pastor Asa Dockery
Friday, September 23, 2011
When Men Rewrite the Truth
Matthew 15: 1 - 6, Then the scribes and Pharisees who were from Jerusalem came to Jesus, saying, "Why do Your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread." He answered and said to them, "Why do you also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition? For God commanded, saying, 'Honor your father and your mother'; and, 'He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.' But you say, 'Whoever says to his father or mother, "Whatever profit you might have received from me is a gift to God" -- then he need not honor his father or mother.' Thus you have made the commandment of God of no effect by your tradition. NKJV
Where did the Pharisees come from? They are a sect of Jews, who were wealthy and who saw themselves as better than their fellow countrymen. The Hebrew word for Pharisee means: separatists or to be separated. They sought the accolades of man more than God. The entirety of their worship was the outward expression of certain customs and practices. The earliest record that I have found dates the emergence of this sect of Jews and their customs as far back as 150 years before the birth of Christ.
By the time Jesus had arrived on the scene, this group of self-righteous men had found prominence in the eyes of both the Roman and Jewish leaders. Through their vain form of worship of God, they had greatly influenced the Jews and led them astray from the true meaning of God's Laws. They took upon themselves the role of interpreting and enforcing the Laws of Moses which they felt were applicable to their own philosophies. Today, we would call it "picking and choosing" the parts of God's Word that we desire to keep and being dismissive of the rest. It was amid all of this confusion that God sent Jesus to begin to preach "THE TRUTH" to His people.
God, through Jesus was calling His people back to Himself to worship Him in Spirit and in truth, so He could, once again, bless them. As Jesus went about preaching the truth, many times He would reference the "false beliefs and teachings" of the Pharisees and the scribes. Throughout the gospels, you can read where Jesus would dispute the teachings and the traditions of the elders, Pharisees, and scribes by preaching the truth according to the Law of Moses and the faith of their father Abraham. As Jesus' influence grew among the Jews and especially among the poor, the Pharisees watched as their power and influence began to erode. This "threat" caused them to begin to devise plots where they could trap Jesus in His own words. However, when their feeble attempts to discredit Jesus failed, they sought ways that they might destroy Him and bring an end to His earthly ministry.
The people of Jesus' day who listened to His teachings were set free, not only from their sins against God, but were also set free from demonic possession and oppression. Consequently, the people experienced the freedom that obeying the truth can provide. Through these encounters with the power of the living God, Israel began to be torn between the traditions of man and the truth of God. Today, that same battle is still being raged in the world, the battle between religion and the truth. Jesus tells us in John 8, if we will continue in His teachings, we will come to know, or recognize the truth, and the truth that we know will set us free from bondage. God desires for His people to be free to worship Him with their whole hearts... not according to man's traditions.
You Shall Know the Truth,
Pastor Asa Dockery
Where did the Pharisees come from? They are a sect of Jews, who were wealthy and who saw themselves as better than their fellow countrymen. The Hebrew word for Pharisee means: separatists or to be separated. They sought the accolades of man more than God. The entirety of their worship was the outward expression of certain customs and practices. The earliest record that I have found dates the emergence of this sect of Jews and their customs as far back as 150 years before the birth of Christ.
By the time Jesus had arrived on the scene, this group of self-righteous men had found prominence in the eyes of both the Roman and Jewish leaders. Through their vain form of worship of God, they had greatly influenced the Jews and led them astray from the true meaning of God's Laws. They took upon themselves the role of interpreting and enforcing the Laws of Moses which they felt were applicable to their own philosophies. Today, we would call it "picking and choosing" the parts of God's Word that we desire to keep and being dismissive of the rest. It was amid all of this confusion that God sent Jesus to begin to preach "THE TRUTH" to His people.
God, through Jesus was calling His people back to Himself to worship Him in Spirit and in truth, so He could, once again, bless them. As Jesus went about preaching the truth, many times He would reference the "false beliefs and teachings" of the Pharisees and the scribes. Throughout the gospels, you can read where Jesus would dispute the teachings and the traditions of the elders, Pharisees, and scribes by preaching the truth according to the Law of Moses and the faith of their father Abraham. As Jesus' influence grew among the Jews and especially among the poor, the Pharisees watched as their power and influence began to erode. This "threat" caused them to begin to devise plots where they could trap Jesus in His own words. However, when their feeble attempts to discredit Jesus failed, they sought ways that they might destroy Him and bring an end to His earthly ministry.
The people of Jesus' day who listened to His teachings were set free, not only from their sins against God, but were also set free from demonic possession and oppression. Consequently, the people experienced the freedom that obeying the truth can provide. Through these encounters with the power of the living God, Israel began to be torn between the traditions of man and the truth of God. Today, that same battle is still being raged in the world, the battle between religion and the truth. Jesus tells us in John 8, if we will continue in His teachings, we will come to know, or recognize the truth, and the truth that we know will set us free from bondage. God desires for His people to be free to worship Him with their whole hearts... not according to man's traditions.
You Shall Know the Truth,
Pastor Asa Dockery
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Water or Cola?
Psalms 42: 1 - 2, As the deer pants for the water brooks, so pants my soul for You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. NKJV
The Bible is filled with typology and symbolism. A dry and parched land is used throughout the Old Testament to illustrate to us what the absence of God's presence and sin does to the stray or the lost soul of man. Water is a very valuable resource to all humans, but it becomes very precious when that resource becomes scarce.
Life is filled with many pleasures and spiritual distractions that can lead us away from having and maintaining an intimate fellowship with our heavenly Father. Since we understand that Satan will use the pleasures of the world to lure us from the living water of God, we must continuously guard our hearts from his temptations.
When a person becomes thirsty after working or exercising, they can quench that thirst with various liquids that have been produced by man. When I am parched and need to be rehydrated, I grab some water and find that it takes care of the thirst very quickly. However, there are times when I'm in need of refreshment, and I will reach for a cola or sports drink and ignore water. When our bodies crave water, many times we allow our taste buds to override our thirst. Instead of drinking something natural, a lot of times, we will choose to drink something that has carbonation and flavors that enhance the experience.
Living in this world offers us a wide array of choices, but if we desire to quench the thirst of our parched souls, there's just one choice. Jesus tells us in John 14: 6 that He is the only way to the Father. Jesus came to earth so that we might have life and enjoy it to the full. The psalmist tells us that there is no lack for those who trust in the Lord. In this world, we will have lack because this world is not kind. However, the Kingdom of God supplies every spiritual need we will ever have because God is love, and love gives.
When your soul thirsts for spiritual refreshment, do you turn to the very Source of life, or do you allow your desires to cause you to look elsewhere? Like water, God will seem dull and even bland to the carnal appetites of the flesh, but our soul will die without His living waters. God is faithful to all who call on His name. He is faithful to those who are thirsty and only need Him when they're in trouble, and He is faithful to those who thirst for Him constantly.
Jesus told the woman who was thirsty that if she drank from Jacob's well, she would thirst again. He offered her living water that would flow out of her innermost being and would never run dry. As Christians, we can run to God, or we can run after God. Are you thirsty for God, or do you have a thirst for God?
Drinking from the Fountain of Life,
Pastor Asa Dockery
The Bible is filled with typology and symbolism. A dry and parched land is used throughout the Old Testament to illustrate to us what the absence of God's presence and sin does to the stray or the lost soul of man. Water is a very valuable resource to all humans, but it becomes very precious when that resource becomes scarce.
Life is filled with many pleasures and spiritual distractions that can lead us away from having and maintaining an intimate fellowship with our heavenly Father. Since we understand that Satan will use the pleasures of the world to lure us from the living water of God, we must continuously guard our hearts from his temptations.
When a person becomes thirsty after working or exercising, they can quench that thirst with various liquids that have been produced by man. When I am parched and need to be rehydrated, I grab some water and find that it takes care of the thirst very quickly. However, there are times when I'm in need of refreshment, and I will reach for a cola or sports drink and ignore water. When our bodies crave water, many times we allow our taste buds to override our thirst. Instead of drinking something natural, a lot of times, we will choose to drink something that has carbonation and flavors that enhance the experience.
Living in this world offers us a wide array of choices, but if we desire to quench the thirst of our parched souls, there's just one choice. Jesus tells us in John 14: 6 that He is the only way to the Father. Jesus came to earth so that we might have life and enjoy it to the full. The psalmist tells us that there is no lack for those who trust in the Lord. In this world, we will have lack because this world is not kind. However, the Kingdom of God supplies every spiritual need we will ever have because God is love, and love gives.
When your soul thirsts for spiritual refreshment, do you turn to the very Source of life, or do you allow your desires to cause you to look elsewhere? Like water, God will seem dull and even bland to the carnal appetites of the flesh, but our soul will die without His living waters. God is faithful to all who call on His name. He is faithful to those who are thirsty and only need Him when they're in trouble, and He is faithful to those who thirst for Him constantly.
Jesus told the woman who was thirsty that if she drank from Jacob's well, she would thirst again. He offered her living water that would flow out of her innermost being and would never run dry. As Christians, we can run to God, or we can run after God. Are you thirsty for God, or do you have a thirst for God?
Drinking from the Fountain of Life,
Pastor Asa Dockery
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