THE NEW MONEY CHANGERS: BEWARE OF THE NONI JUICE

Praise the Lord everybody! let everything that has breath praise His holy name. I can't thank God enough for His grace and His mercy, He has demonstrated it to me by waking me up this morning, one more time. He did it even though I didn't deserve it. I look forward to every day just to see what He has in store for me.

In my last post, I wrote about God's plan for anger management.
Today I would like to share what God has shared with me about something He was angry about when Jesus was here among us and is still angry about today. Jesus first addresses it in John 2: 13-16  13 And the Jews' Passover was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

14 And found in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers of money sitting:

15 And when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers' money, and overthrew the tables;

16 And said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my Father's house an house of merchandise.

Fundraising in the Church is one thing but Jesus was upset because some in the Temple was trying to turn a profit by selling "merchandise" in the form of sacrifices to their fellow Jews who had come to worship. In today's Church, the moneychangers have quietly crept in from the outer courts into the sanctuary itself. You may be asking yourself, "who are these moneychangers?"

They are our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. The first time I noticed was ten or twenty years ago or so, I started seeing little ads. on the church bulletin board describing this lifesaving drink that had healed many people and it was called "Noni juice" and all you had to do to get your "body right" was go and see sister or brother "Smith." They advertised their wares in the church bulletins and even the backs of the Sunday Programs.

Since "Noni Juice" The amount and the variety of "merchandise" has grown by leaps and bounds. I have been approached by my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ about everything from vitamins to "Christian" car insurance. All these things designed to line the pockets of the seller and all offered to you as if God was using them to bless you. Some even came with "testiphonies" from the seller.
God understands that some of us want to augment our salaries by selling Avon, Noni juice and whatever merchandise that is trending at the time. But what is not acceptable is selling things to other Christians whether they need them or not just to boost your sales and then adding insult to injury by telling them that "God put it in my spirit to offer this blessing to you." Don't be the cause of your sister or brother not being a "good steward" with God's money by talking him or her into buying something that either they don't need or something that doesn't live up to the hype.

If you want to be an entrepreneur, get a website, send out e-mails and stop shaming your brothers and sisters into buying your products while at church. If there is a specific need make that need known and God will make a way to meet that need.
LET US KEEP THE "HOUSE OF PRAYER A HOUSE OF PRAYER!
            God Bless You All, Brother Darrell, Speaking Off The Wall

IN THE CASE OF ANGER: SLOW IS GOOD!!

             
Praise the Lord everybody! Let everything that has breath praise His holy name. Again I can not begin to give God enough praise for what He is doing in my life. My wife and I are about to go through a three-week trial that I know will require much prayer and grace. But I know God will see us through.

I'd like to share with you an article I was asked to write for another site. I pray it blesses you.

 There are several things that I have found that can stunt our growth as Christian men and woman and one of those things is anger. Anger and unforgiveness are a deadly combination. Let’s focus on ANGER for now. The Bible tells us in Ephesians 4:26+27 26 “In your anger do not sin”[a]: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27 and do not give the devil a foothold.

 This lets us know that anger in of itself is not a sin. It is one of our God-given emotions. God is letting us know that there is a Godly or righteous anger that is acceptable to Him. God gave us our emotions to help us control and express our feelings, and not the other way around, as when Jesus threw the money-changers out of the temple in Matthew 21:12. Jesus was angered but did not sin. God warns us not to sin due to our anger and commit an act like disobedience or hurting someone physically. Moses struck the rock out of anger and because of his disobedience was not allowed into the promised land along with the Children of Israel. Read Numbers chapter 20.

The bible addresses anger also in James 1:19+20 19 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:
20 For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.

If we follow those instructions we will find that we will encounter fewer opportunities to get angry or sin in our anger. God is letting us know that man’s anger stems from the flesh and does not encompass the righteousness of God. If we are quick to listen, listen to what the Holy Spirit is trying to tell us when we find ourselves in various situations that can lead to frustration and anger. At the same time, we must be slow to speak, making sure we measure the impact of every word we speak and making sure that our every word is seasoned with salt and grace toward the hearer.(see Colossians 4:6) Then we must be slow to wrath or anger, examining the reason for our anger as to whether it is Godly righteous indignation or of the flesh.
Ephesians 4:29-32 states 29 Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.
30 And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.
31 Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:
32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.

This scripture puts it in a nutshell. As Christians, we must remember to do these things out of obedience and also in appreciation of what God has done for us. When feelings of anger begin to well up inside us think of these words always remembering also that we have the mind of Christ and the gift of the Holy Spirit to guide us.

God Bless You All, Brother Darrell, Speaking Off The Wall

CHRISTIANS AND MARRIAGE: HEAVEN OR HELL? IT'S UP TO YOU!

Praise the Lord everybody! Because He alone is worthy to be praised! I can't even begin to tell you how good God has been to me. Some who are watching my life from the outside might disagree, but they don't know like I know what God has done and is doing for me.
I have been a little slow when it comes to posting recently because God has been blessing me through my freelance writing business lately through a site called Fiverr.com. I'd like to share with you a teaching God blessed me to write for a client on Fiverr.

   HOPE FOR THE CHRISTIAN MARRIAGE

Praise the Lord everybody, for He alone is worthy to be praised.
I guess everybody knows by now that the divorce rate in the church has reached the point where it has drawn even with that of the World. Ever since Moses men have sought to get out of their marriages, Jesus was asked about this in Matthew 19:3-9  3 The Pharisees also came unto him, tempting him, and saying unto him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause?

4 And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female,
5 And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh?

6 Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.
7 They say unto him, Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away?

8 He saith unto them, Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so.  9 And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery.

Jesus makes an important point all married couples need to remember, and that is when a man and a woman come together in marriage the two become one flesh. A married couple can no longer see themselves as two separate entities, they are one being working together in love and in service to the Lord. No man or woman has the right to come between them. Fornication is the only grounds for divorce in Gods eyes, and He only allows that because of the hardness of men’s hearts.

The first step to a successful Christian marriage is this from 2nd Corinthians 6:14  14 Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?

This is the jumping off point to a good marriage. Make sure that you and your partner are both on the same page spiritually. If you are married to a nonbeliever then your first task is to get your partner saved.
Next Paul advises married couples in Ephesians 5: 21-25 21 Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.
22 Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.
23 For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.
24 Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing.
25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;

Husbands and wives must first submit themselves and their marriages to Christ and to the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and then to each other remembering that the man is the priest of his home with his wife serving beside him as helpmate.(see also Colossians 3:17-19)
If you find yourselves at odds with your partner, don’t let a day go by without addressing the situation, keep the lines of communication open at all times. Ephesians 4:26,27  26 Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath:
27 Neither give place to the devil.

God has ordained marriage and family from the beginning and the Devil has been on a mission to destroy marriages from the beginning. You must take timeout to pray together, study the word together and fast together in order to stay spiritually strong and leave no opening for the enemy to come in. If God is truly the Lord of both your lives, and you keep him first and foremost in everything you do, maintaining an obedient spirit toward Him you will find God will guide you safely through the trials and tribulations of life and marriage. Your marriage will be, and is, as strong as your faith.

         God bless you all, Brother Darrell, Speaking Off The Wall