June 9

We had an air conditioner repair man come to our house to check on our unit. He is someone we have a working relationship with because he also helps us with our rentals. He hadn’t seen our new house and Richard decided to show him around. I wasn’t really thinking about it, but when I went upstairs later, I saw that I had left some personal things sitting on the counter in the bathroom. Feeling embarrassed, I wanted to grab those things and put them away, but it was too late, he had already seen them! It was the same feeling I get when the Holy Spirit convicts my heart. Instead of letting sin go unchecked, repent often; don’t leave your personal things scattered about. Clean up after yourself, ask for the Lord to forgive you. When you go before Him in prayer, ask Him if you have any sin that needs to be confessed. He will bring to mind the things that are hindering your prayer so you can seek forgiveness. Don’t leave your sin scattered all over the place, clean it up!

If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. 1 John 1:8-10

June 8

We move about day by day not understanding that there is more to this life than what we see physically. The unseen world is real. My contemplation is not even considering the angelic and demonic forces, but of how the pieces of what we do in this life fits into the eternal life. Why do I think and deal with things that will have no impact on the life I will live in eternity? Why do I concern myself with the thoughts of others? My only concern should be Jesus and what He thinks of me, He is whom I will dwell with for eternity. When reading about the transfiguration, Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.” (Mat 17:4) He was so overwhelmed by what he saw that he wanted to stay there and would have been comfortable sleeping on the ground, being he didn’t even mention building a tent for himself. We should be doing the same thing! We should be more concerned about building a tabernacle for Jesus and less concerned about ourselves.

He was still speaking when, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.” When the disciples heard this, they fell on their faces and were terrified. But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Rise, and have no fear.” Matthew 17:5-7

June 7

Have you ever heard a message that you know came from the heart of God? The messenger was fluent and the words poured out like living water from a stream coming from the throne. Her message was to encourage us as we go through stressful situations. We often want to quit when we are suffering the consequences of following Jesus. We forget to count it all joy when we face trials of various kinds, it is the testing of our faith. In my own study of Matthew, I’m in the section where Peter rebuked Jesus after He told His disciples that He must suffer and be killed. Peter must have selective hearing like many of us do, because he missed the part where He said He would be raised on the third day. At that point Jesus called out Satan and told Peter He was setting his mind on the things of man rather than God. Satan will come in and try to derail God’s plan for us; it’s important that we stand strong in our faith and set our minds on the things of God, just as Jesus did.

But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.” Matthew 16:23

June 6

We live in an age where everything is at our fingertips. It’s possible to never leave the house if you are fortunate enough to have a computer based job. Uber can deliver food from just about anywhere locally, and Publix has a delivery service that can bring you groceries. Jesus had been teaching for three days and the people were hungry. He didn’t want to send them away because they might faint before finding adequate food. There were four thousand men plus women and children - that’s a lot of people to feed without Uber! But this was not the first time Jesus had fed a multitude, but the reaction of the disciples was the same! “Where are we to get enough bread in such a desolate place to feed so great a crowd?” How did they forget so quickly? How do we forget the things He does for us so quickly? We’ve all experienced God’s provision, but quickly forget, especially when we need that miracle again. Do not lose hope. Strengthen your faith by remembering the good He has done for you in the past.

he took the seven loaves and the fish, and having given thanks he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up seven baskets full of the broken pieces left over. Matthew 15:36-37

June 5

When you go outside at dusk here in Florida, you are likely to get carried away by mosquitoes. My dogs decided that it was the perfect time to go out. The minute that I stepped through the door, I had to begin swatting away those vicious little creatures. As I walked into an open area behind my home, I began to notice that the mosquitoes weren’t bothering me. That’s when I saw some tiny bats flitting all around me. They were eating the mosquitoes! Even the most vile creatures have a useful purpose. I am a person that associates fleshly things to beings that are unseen, and bats are creatures that I associate with the demonic. Do you know that I stood in that field and not one of them touched me? However, if they had, I could have easily defeated it because they were about the size of a mouse! If you are being tormented by evil, don’t forget that you have a powerful weapon, and just by using Jesus name, they will flee from you.

The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!” And he said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you. Luke 10:17-19

June 4

God has worked hard to help me become free from the roots of my captivity. Fear, unbelief, trauma, and rejection are products of the enemy and he works hard to keep you chained to them. Once you are free, you can pick up on clues from people who are not free. I’m very quick to point out the lies of the enemy, which can be quite a shock to the person who is still believing them. Once they realize they were being toyed with by the enemy, then they become angry at themselves for believing his lies, and at him for feeding them the lies. This is a good place to be. It’s a place where the fight for territory begins and where the enemy becomes defeated. When you take away his weapons, he loses! Jesus is waiting for you to relinquish to Him the things He went to the cross for. You no longer need to hold on to that garbage. Pray for God to help you let go of what’s keeping you from coming back to your original self. Then, rebuke the enemy as God reminds you of them so you can break those chains.

But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. Isaiah 53:5

June 3

Have you ever thought about why you do what you do? For instance, why do you close your eyes when you pray? This is not biblical. If I closed my eyes every time I prayed, I would wreck my car, walk into a wall, or stumble down the stairs! This was probably one of the first church traditions that I untangled myself from. There are churches that say you can’t dance or go to the movies and others that require a ritual to have your prayers answered or your sins forgiven. None of these rules are biblical! There are so many more! Carefully examine the things that you do and begin peeling off the traditions that do not match what is written in the word of God. Though some traditions cause no harm, others may become a stumbling block. Jesus ran into trouble because He followed what was written in the scriptures rather than man made rules, but He wasted no time calling out the Pharisees on their pointless laws.

He answered them, “And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition?.....You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said: “‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’” Matthew 15:3 & 15:7-9