God's Got This!

Matthew 10 : 29 – 31, Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father's will. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. NKJV

The creation of God is a wondrous sight to behold. The Lord has created so many types of creatures that it could take years to discover and learn about all of them. Nevertheless, our heavenly Father knows when one of His smallest creatures falls to the ground. God is so meticulous that He has numbered the very hairs on your head.

If you study creation and pay close attention to the smallest details, you can begin to appreciate the painstaking lengths that God has gone through in order to make sure that creation is not only beautiful, but functional as well. It wouldn’t be just (or right) for God to create so many creatures and then not be willing to watch over each and every one of them. This is the very message in Matthew 6 that Jesus conveyed to the people who were consumed with worrying over their lives.

I began this devotion with thoughts about God’s provision so that we might look at a graver issue with a deeper realization of God’s unsearchable love for you and me. Although God created the world to live in harmonious balance, man’s sin has disrupted it with acts of violence and wickedness. Even so, in spite of God’s plan being derailed from its original course, God has still managed to give life and to protect life.

The Lord has a plan for your life on earth. However, even though God has a plan for you and I to follow while living in this corrupt and sometimes violent world, we must be willing to suffer in order to fulfill it. I was speaking with someone the other day that has worked in the judicial branch of our local government for years. He began to tell me of a story about someone’s rights that had been violated by another person. The perpetrator was originally charged with three felony charges and four misdemeanors. After a couple of years of waiting for the trial, and in order to settle the case, those charges were reduced to only two misdemeanors and a fine. When I heard how these serious charges were reduced to much lesser ones, I became concerned for the rights of the victim.

I quickly asked if the person who had been violated could have any further recourse, seeing that the person who violated their rights got off with little repercussions. He told me that the person who has the grievance isn’t allowed to try the case. That statement is the very reason I am writing this word for Christians today.

Even though you may have a dispute between you and a relative, neighbor, or stranger, neither of you will be allowed to handle the process of justice except for the accused defending themselves. We must allow the retribution for wrongs or crimes against us to be carried out by someone other than ourselves in the judicial system.

The judicial process got me to thinking about what God has said many times in the Word about vengeance belonging to Him, and how HE will repay HIS adversaries. As Christians, we will have many offenses in this world; Satan will use people like weapons to try and hurt us or at least discourage us from moving on in our walk with the Lord. If and when this occurs, we must be willing to allow our heavenly Father to be our Judge and Jesus to be our Advocate.

If we should try to seek vengeance, then we negate the JUSTICE process of God, and this can cause us further grief and even greater loss. Paul teaches us in 2 Corinthians 10 that though we’re in the world, we don’t fight as the world. The weapons of our warfare are mighty through God. We must be willing to seek vengeance through our God, and He will repay.

If we should harden our hearts because of unforgiveness and pursue the person who has wronged us in order to satisfy the hurt in our lives, we are choosing to cross a line with God. You see. God has laid the punishment for our sins upon Jesus and has forgiven us, even though we hadn’t paid for our past sins. God doesn’t require us to go to hell before He forgives us of our sins. When we choose not to forgive others and allow God His proper place of getting vengeance on our behalf, then it reminds God of the sins that He has forgiven us.

This vengeful action can cause us, the victims of the original offence, to become violators of God’s law and bring us into judgment before God. It’s a fearful thing to fall into the hands of a living God as the writer of Hebrews tells us. If you want to learn more about the principle of forgiveness, you can read about it in Matthew 18 : 21 – 35.

Vengeance Belongs to God and Not Me,
Pastor Asa Dockery

Unraveled

Matthew 18 : 7, Woe to the world because of offenses! For offenses must come, but woe to that man by whom the offense comes! NKJV

1 Peter 4 : 12 – 13, 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

In Ephesians 2, Paul teaches us that we have been saved by grace through faith, not of works lest anyone should boast. Nevertheless, let’s take a more in-depth look at that principle through this word today. Even though we are Christians, we all periodically face trials and temptations. Peter teaches us not to think it strange when we’re faced with these fiery trials; we should know that these are a test of our faith, and we are only partaking in the sufferings of Christ.

Although we know that we have been saved by grace through faith, we don’t always know how to react when we are faced with fiery trials. However, if we will allow the Holy Spirit to teach us, He will give us greater insight into the truth as to why the enemy strikes out at us. If we truly understood the depth of being saved by God’s grace, then we wouldn’t struggle when faced with trials. Nevertheless, we do struggle occasionally, don’t we?

When we’re faced with temptations and trials, the struggle isn’t over the issue of salvation, but rather it is over our spiritual identity. When I speak about our spiritual identity, I am referring to how we view ourselves when we are brought under the microscope of Satan’s accusations. Have you noticed that your confidence can become shaken in your faith walk when Satan attacks you or your family?  If this has happened to you, you should not be alarmed; we all have moments of weakness during times of testing.

Satan intends for his planned attacks to take us under and cause us to give up when we are beginning our walk of faith and still immature in it. This simply means that we have not yet come to trust the God that we declare to have placed our faith in for salvation. When our faith is tried by an offense of Satan, we will begin to closely examine ourselves. We might ask, “What have I done wrong that has caused God to bring this upon me?” If you have said this, or something similar, then please notice on whom the attention is focused. Where does your attention go when life seems to come unraveled at the seams? If it is on you, then your confidence or trust is in “self” and this must be purged from your life.  

If your focus is set on Jesus, the Author and Finisher of your faith, then this is proof that you have already come through many trials which the Lord used to purge you from being self-confident. I’m not casting dispersions upon you because we all must go through the same process of becoming totally reliant on Christ and not self. If we should believe that we could change ourselves during a trial, then what is the need for Christ to be in our lives? I’ve been the victim of self-condemnation for many years, so I can recognize the signs of that particular characteristic. However, I have learned that when trouble comes, it’s too late for me to plead my case, so I turn to the Lord for help and ask Him for mercy and to avenge me of my adversary.

Now, instead of looking to myself when offenses come, I turn to the God of grace and ask Him to fight my battles for me... and I hold my peace. It wasn’t the trials that transformed me and my way of thinking; it was my faith in God as my Deliverer and Defender. We were created in the image and likeness of God, but Adam’s sin made us depend upon ourselves instead of our Designer. In the New Testament, God wants us to be transformed into the image of Christ, but we must first have our minds renewed. So present yourself as a living sacrifice unto God and allow Him to change you when Satan attacks your faith. I no longer just believe in God’s grace; I have experienced its wonder- working power in my life.  

If God be for Us,
Pastor Asa Dockery  

The Cost

Matthew 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

Pleased

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 for Christ’s sake. 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 

Caught Betwixt And Between

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 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

Potential Danger Ahead

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

Hurting

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 2 Corinthians 4 : 4 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