Bishop's Blog

Being in Christian ministry for close to fifteen years, I’ve seen a plethora of reasons that cause people to fall away from their devotion to God and lose their passion for serving God via the local church. More often than not, the reasons are an indicator and revelation that a person’s faith and zeal weren’t really for Jesus Christ, but for some self centered reason that was cloaked in spirituality. I want to warn you, today’s blog is going to be very pragmatic and very real! If you can’t handle it, you should probably stop reading it now.

It’s disingenuous for one to say that they are serving God and not serving in your local church. Jesus was faithful to attend worship gatherings (Luke 4:16). Think about that, Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, was faithful to attend weekly worship gatherings. If He was faithful, who are we to be wishy-washy? What could any one teach Him seeing as how He was the Word wrapped in flesh? Yet, He obviously submitted Himself to the leadership of another and was faithful.

Not only that, Jesus emphasized the importance of serving, which is when you use your life to better the lives of others (Mark 10:45, Matthew 10:28, Matthew 20:26)

The Scriptures are full of people that ran in to tough times while serving God and there were even times that they lost ‘their way.” In the 21st century, there are 3 reasons that I see very often:

1. A New Boo - Satan knows just who it takes to distract you from serving God faithfully and this is perhaps one of the top reasons that many people wane in their passion for God & His church. Ladies, you asked for 6 feet tall, 6 figure income, and a 6 pack of abs (that’s too many sixes!!) and now he’s pulled you from your God. Men, you asked for a Godly woman, but you seem to find the one that complains about the level of your devotion to God. 
2. Found What You Were Looking For - Most pastors never get the memo that talks about the invisible sign that accompanies many believers. The one that says “Insanity Sometimes Practiced” Let me be clear, I AM NOT, nor would I EVER speak anything negative or cynical over or about God’s people. I am a passionate believer that God can and will change anyone. HOWEVER, “insanity” means to repeat the same thing over and over again and expect a different result. Some people take the baggage from one bad experience and take it with them to the next and start unpacking it in a new place. As they unpack their OWN baggage, they begin to assign that baggage to people in a new place, making the new place just like the old place! Only to say, “I can’t believe this happened?” Why not? You caused it! If you’re looking for something wrong with a pastor or a church, you’re going to find it because God uses imperfect people to preach and demonstrate a perfect Gospel. Since you’re not perfect, it’s unreasonable to expect perfection form other people.
3. He’s “Just” the Savior - There is a difference between Jesus being your Savior and your Lord. If He’s Lord of your life, that means that you yield your will to His, but if He’s just savior, your will is first and His is last. If you’re committed to non-commitment when it comes to Jesus and the Church, He may be your Savior, but you’ve not made Him your Lord. That happens with prayer and a conscious decision to put God first in everything that you do.

While there are many other reasons, these are the 3 that are perhaps the most prevalent. You are important to God and important to the Church. Get planted and get serving and if you’ve fallen away, know that God has mercy and forgiveness for you. 

The Bible teaches that “death and life are in the power of the tongue” in Proverbs 18:21 and that Christ is the “High Priest of our confession” in Hebrews 4:14. Many times what we attribute to “the devil” is not really him at all. Instead, you are eating the fruit of negative confessions. Your words are spirits that will either bring life or death. Speaking and declaring the word or every aspect of your life on a daily basis is critical because the Word teaches in Proverbs 6:2 that “you are snared by the words of your own mouth.” Your tongue is a powerful weapon that must be used to usher in the things that God has ordained for your life. This section of our website will be updated often to provide you with Bible based daily confessions that you should speak and declare at least once each day. You can even print them out and share them with your friends, family members and co-workers. Notice that the confessions are in PRESENT tense. The tense in which you declare a thing is crucial because if you are always future tense oriented, nothing will ever manifest today! 

Remember this - you are today, what you spoke yesterday! 

Confession Prior to Receiving the Word
This is my bible, it is the living word of God. My mind is renewed and my spirit is prepared to receive the word, which produces faith and faith pleases God. I’m not just a hearer of the word, I’m a doer of the word. This word has given me life and life more abundantly. I am in my promised land.

Single Person Seeking a Spouse
Father, in the name of Jesus, I declare by faith that I am attracting the man/woman that you have ordained for my life. I believe and therefore I receive a person of character, faith, integrity, internal and external beauty. I declare that we are created for one another. We love one another and we are not distracted by circumstances, issues, or opinions. We are connected spiritually. The wife to be submits to the husband and the husband loves her as Christ loves the Church. Our families connect well and our goals align. We complement one another and cover each other’s weaknesses. We are the perfect team. While I am waiting, I declare that I am strong and equipped not to fornicate or involve myself with anything that would not represent You well. It is so, in Jesus’ name. Amen!

Confession Over Your Husband
Father, in the name of Jesus, I declare by faith that my husband is a mighty man of valor. He is submitted to You and to the spiritual father that you’ve ordained for his life. He is loving, affectionate, kind and a model of what a husband should be. I declare that his self esteem is lifted and that you teach and show me how to love him. He is a good provider and a mighty man of valor. He serves You with all of his heart, mind, and strength and is an incredible leader. He is not abusive in any way and in fact is my greatest supporter. He is a man of faith and of constant prayer. It is so, in Jesus’ name. Amen!

Confession Over Your Wife
Father, in the name of Jesus, I declare by faith that my wife is a woman of excellence and character. She submits to me and we are one. I know how to love her effectively and to bring the best out of her. (If applicable) She is a wonderful mother and an excellent wife. I declare that she loves and serves you with all of her heart, mind and strength. She brings out the best in me and I in her. She manages the affairs of the household well and is a model wife. When I am weak, she is strong. She doesn’t tear me down, she builds me up. She is wise, studious and successful in her own right. We are the perfect team. It is so, in Jesus’ name. Amen!

Confession Over Your Children
Father, in the name of Jesus, I declare by faith that my children shall serve You all the days of their lives. They will break every curse that the generations before them did not and walk in the fullness of the blessing every day of their lives. What stopped me in the past, shall not come near them. I declare that they have excellent friends that challenge them to be better and not to settle for less that what’s been ordained by You. They are smart and it reflects in their grades. Scholarships and favor track them down. They will not part from You in their life and will find a spouse that serves You.

Confession Over Your Finances
Father, in the name of Jesus, I declare by faith that my finances are in order. You secured that I would walk in the blessing on Calvary and because of that I have an everlasting covenant with You. Everyday I see financial increase. There is no lack. Everyday in the Kingdom, is a day of progress and increase. Since I give my tithes, offering and first fruits according to Your word, I am guaranteed a harvest. Everything that I lost in the past due to mismanagement and bad decisions, I declare that it shall return unto me one hundred fold according to Your word in Mark 10:27-31. I don’t make bad financial decisions nor am I so materialistic that debt consumes me. I am increase. I am choosing the blessing, this day! Debts that I do owe are being released. I have excellent credit. It is so. In Jesus’ name. Amen!

Philippians 4:19 And my God will liberally supply fill to the full your every need according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus

Is Christ your source or your job? We worry about things when we don’t have an understanding that Christ is our supply. We don’t have to worry about where our food, clothing, or livelihood will come from if we know that God is our super abundant supply. Worrying is different from planning. You do what you can do and let God do what only He can do.  

Want to know a secret about God and money? He has a lot of it. All of the gold is His and all of the silver is His. Heaven doesn’t lack anything and if you’re lacking something, pray that what’s happening is heaven would happen in your life. Jesus said “Thy Kingdom come and thy will be done in earth (your life) as it is in heaven.”

Isaiah 43:26 Put Me in remembrance [remind Me of your merits]; let us plead and argue together. Set forth your case, that you may be justified (proved right).

When you pray for something once, God heard you and He answers you. You must then stand on His word by putting Him in remembrance of what it is that He’s promised you and what it is that you’ve prayed for. It’s not that God forgets, but you must be diligent and consistent.

You don’t have to pray for things more than once. Once you pray, you then thank God for what it is that you’ve prayed for by reminding Him of His Word to you. That’s what Jesus means when He says to knock and keep on knocking. The first knock is to establish the fact that you’re there. Every knock after that is a reminder, not an introduction. To pray from something more than once is unbelief. You pray once and everyday thereafter you thank God for it.

What does standing on God’s Word mean? It means that you send a reminder to the heavens and to every enemy that God will come through and if He said it, you must believe it, and that settles it.

Luke 10:19 AMP ¹⁹Behold! I have given you authority and power to trample upon serpents and scorpions, and [physical and mental strength and ability] over all the power that the enemy [possesses]; and nothing shall in any way harm you.

There is nothing happening in your life that God has not given you the authority over. When we are born again, we are not only saved from hell, but we are also covered by God and endowed with certain rights. To understand authority, you must think of a police officer standing in front of traffic at rush hour. They stand in front of the cars with nothing on but a uniform and they put their hand up to say stop. They didn’t have the physical power to stop the cars, but they did have the authority to do so. The police officer’s authority is not determined by who they are individually, but  by the city or county they work for and have an agreement with.

As is our authority as believers in Christ; it’s not dependent on us, but dependent on the One we serve and the agreement (covenant) we have with Him. You must have authority to have power. There are police officers that have lost their lives while being under cover because they tried to exercise power with no authority because they didn’t have on their uniform to identify who they worked for. As believers we must put on our uniform, which is the armor of the Lord found in Ephesians 6. When things are going crazy in your life, you may not have the physical power to stop them, but you do have the authority and when you have authority, it’s God’s power that will make things change. Notice that the verse says “nothing shall by any means harm us.” Many Christians get harmed in tough circumstances because they’re not using the authority God’s given them and they are trying to fix things in their own power and not in His.

Right now, wherever you are, pray to God and put your uniform on and when negative things come your way, put your hand up like the police officer and say STOP, I have authority over this and it shall not harm me, nor my family!!

There are so many things in life that can cause us stress. If you think hard enough, there’s always something that’s not going quite the way that you wish it was. Everybody says don’t worry and just put it in God’s hands, but the question is how do you really do that? 

Here are the steps:

First, pray and say” Lord, I release X [fill in your specific circumstances] situation to you.”

Second, adjust the situation by making whatever practical changes you can to remove stress. For example, if you are always running late work and you get stressed about that, then wake up earlier and leave home earlier. 

Lastly, relax. If you gave it to Him, then it’s no longer yours. It’s just like a car, when you sale it - it’s no longer your problem.

Relax… Relate… Release.

Matthew 8:18 Now Jesus, when He saw the great throngs around Him, gave orders to cross to the other side [of the lake].

Many of us don’t understand the purpose of storms in life. Storms are designed to get us from one side to the desired place or the ‘other side.” When the storm arose, the disciples were fearful because they thought that the storm was designed to take them out. They didn’t realize that the storm was designed to get them to the other side. Shortly after the Lord spoke peace to the storm, they found themselves in the desired place.

 When you make a petition to God concerning advancement in life, when a storm comes, don’t fear and don’t worry, it’s just there to get you to the other side. Storms will help you to get to the other side faster than just than usual. Whenever God accelerates your trials, He accelerates your destiny. Celebrate your storm because it’s taking you somewhere greater!

1 John 3:14-16 14 We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death. 15 Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in Him. 16 Hereby perceive we the love of God, because He laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.

The Bible calls hatred murder. Sometimes people can hurt you so badly that you can be tormented by the thought of them, tormented when you hear their name, and tormented by the thought that they might get away with what they did to you. When people hurt us, we must know that nothing happens that God hasn’t permitted. The book of Job teaches us that it doesn’t mean God necessarily causes all things to happen to us, but it can’t happen unless He approves it.

Secondly, we must know that we have to forgive people. You can be so angry with people that it ends up causing you to develop hatred against them. To hate is to murder. Not only do you murder yourself by losing joy and losing hope, but most people end up sharing their hatred of someone with others thus murdering their influence with others. God has forgiven you for great things and now you must turn around and do it for others. Forgiveness means that you release them from what they did to you and from your desire to punish them for it. It doesn’t mean a rekindling of a relationship or friendship and doesn’t even mean fellowship with that person.

Vengeance is the Lord’s, not yours and when you forgive someone you are releasing them and any “punishment” for what they did back to God.

Shalom Everybody,

We pray that your week was filled with joy!! God is doing so many great things through the Harvest Christian Center and we are in awe of how God has shaped such an incredible church right here in a place where it’s estimated that less that 5% of people in the state attend worship services on a regular basis. God has called Harvest to be an innovator and pioneer in so many ways and we’re always striving to further the culture of the Kingdom and we’re honored that God has chosen us for such a time as this!

They say that the greatest and highest form of a compliment is when someone imitates what you do… pioneers have to be careful not to get angry when they see people attempting to recreate or reproduce something they saw them do…it’s the highest form of flattery and it shows that God wants to use you in a way to blazes trails opposed to just follow them… that’s the whole reason for pioneers. You create paths for others to walk down with the wisdom you learned on how to handle the obstacles that you faced when first confronting the new territory.

Pioneers have to deal with challenges and may not even get “credit” for blazing the path BUT we must all remember that every creative idea or though originated with the master pioneer Himself and since there’s nothing new under the sun, just enjoy that God is using you to further His kingdom and to help others along the way!! AND if you’re a person that’s using a creative concept that you saw or learned from someone else and are applying it in your life, in your ministry or in any other realm, follow Galatians 6:6 and share in all good things. You can do this by sharing a testimony of how what you learned blessed you and it’s not a bad practice to sow financially into that person or ministry either. Everything that’s freely given wasn’t given freely. This just means that it may be a free idea to you, but you don’t know what sacrifice and what cost it had to the one you’re getting it from! The messages that you may hear that revolutionize your life may only cost you a few dollars to purchase the CD, but it may have cost your pastor years of his life to learn. 

Take Over!!

Bishop

The truth behind this story is that the prodigal son went seeking things that he already had at home, but tried to get them from other people. He wanted freedom and he had all of the freedom he could have. He wanted wealth, but all of that was in his father’s house. He wanted love and instead found false relationships built on things other than real love. The Bible says that he wasted everything he had with wasteful living and then he began to want and when he wanted the country he’d joined as a citizen couldn’t provide for him more than eating some pods with the swine. Whenever we leave or exchange God for a job or a relationship or for anything else, we will eventually always find ourselves disappointed.

Anything that takes you from your place of blessing is not from God and everything that looks like a blessing may not be from God. God would never bless you with something for it to take you away from Him. Because He gives us free will, many times we will think that anything “good” that happens is a blessing and unfortunately, that’s not always true. When God blesses us, He adds no sorrow to it, so He’d never give us something that would keep us from Him.

Sometimes that’s why our blessings take a long time to manifest because He has to make sure that when we get the things we’ve prayed for, that we’ve matured enough so that they don’t take us from Him. When we feel like giving up or throwing in the towel on the promises of God, we must be like the prodigal son and come back home through our praise, worship, and prayer. We only get weak when we leave the house, even if for a short period of time to seek things that the Father has already provided. When the son returned he received a robe - that represents the authority and identity of the father. The ring represents royalty and normally was a signet which had the crest of the family. We are born into God’s family and have new lineage.

The fatted calf represented abundance which can only be found, in the House.

1st Samuel 30:6 - And David was greatly distressed; for the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters: but David encouraged himself in the LORD his God.

Discouragement comes as a result of unmet expectations. If you expected a 3% raise and only received a 1% raise you can become discouraged. But you missed what happened …  you still received a raise!! Maybe you wanted a Lexus and got a Honda, but thank God you’re not still catching the bus. We must learn not to allow petty things to discourage us. Put your problems in perspective. When you complain about eating grilled cheese, think of those that don’t even have that to eat. Learn to be happy with where you are and make the most out of it. Courage is the strength and the fortitude to continue pressing forward. To be discouraged means to have misappropriated or misplaced courage. In other words, discouragement is being encouraged to go backward. 

Many years ago I remember driving an older vehicle that was in an accident and had severe damage to the front from one of the “flash blizzards” that Colorado can sometimes get. The engine was exposed and the car made annoying noises. Initially, I was discouraged and I was angry, but I had to realize that this was not the end of the world and that soon the car would be fixed and things back to normal. Once I did that, for the days I had the car before it was repaired, opposed to being angry and mad, I drove it around with the sun roof back and my music up. When people looked at me and wondered how I could be joyful when my car looked like something smashed from a Monster Truck show, I smiled and kept myself encouraged - you can do the same!!

When spring turns in to summer, a persons habits change, pools open, people are outdoors more, people tend to watch less TV, and theme parks open. The places that we go change based on the season we’re in. So is it with spiritual things. Your convictions determine your choices. Your choices determine your habits. Your habits determine your future.  

If you are convinced that God has good things in store for you, you must be observant of the places you go and the things that you do. For that matter, we have to be wise is any noun (person, place, thing, or idea) that we walk with. It’s not about being religious, but it’s about staying out of environments that could possibly cause you to make a choice that you’d regret. Choices, over time, turn into habits and habits determine your future. 

Nouns that don’t bring out the best in you would be good to stay away from. Nouns where you don’t find yourself encouraged and lifted up and future inhibitors.. You have a choice - don’t go there!!

Exodus 9:12 But the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh, making it strong and obstinate, and he did not listen to them or heed them, just as the Lord had told Moses.

God told Moses that he was to go unto Pharaoh and demand that the Children of Israel be released from over 400 years of bondage and slavery. The Lord warned Moses upfront that when he asked Pharaoh, that He (God) would harden Pharaoh’s heart in Exodus 7:3. In fact Moses had to go before Pharaoh several times before a release was granted. 

The process of going back and forth lasted for some time and I wondered why God didn’t allow them to be released after the first request? We must understand that God operates from the end to the beginning. In our natural senses we can only see what situation we’re in, but God can see where He’s taking us. God didn’t allow them to be released after the first appeal for three reasons:

1. He didn’t want man, including Pharaoh nor Moses, to get credit. He will never share His glory with us. Had Pharaoh released them after the first time, he would have taken credit for it.
    
2. Throughout this process, even the enemies of the Israelites began to know that Moses’ God was the only real God. When Pharaoh finally released them they knew that the god’s they worshiped were not real. God is using your situation as a witness to someone else.
    
3. Had they been released after the first appeal, they would have left poor and without anything. Instead, God used their enemies in order to enrich them. They were poor slaves on one day and then the very next day they were a rich nation leaving with the spoils and riches of Egypt. God is using your test to produce a testimony.

If you’re still in a messy situation, maybe it’s because God is setting you up so that your enemy will end up blessing you. Don’t give up on God!! He can do anything, BUT fail.

Hebrews 12:1 - Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us.

What are you waiting on before you start to actually enjoy your life? The fact that you are alive today proves that not only does God love and care for you, but that you have an assignment to fulfill here in the earth. So many people are waiting on something to happen before they start to enjoy their life.

We say things like, “when the kids move out” or “when I get this promotion” or “when I’m out of debt.” If you can’t enjoy it now, you won’t ever enjoy it because you’ll condition yourself to “punishing” yourself until something happens. Christ took the punishment for our sins and you’ll never be able to fulfill that cost - so stop trying! False humility can be deadly because it will make you take on cares that really doesn’t belong to you but to God.

Today, lay aside every weight that’s in your life and decide to enjoy your life. Maybe you don’t have much money and you think you’re a failure. The enemy is a liar! You may have made mistakes, but you’re not a failure. Stop waiting, live today. The truth is that the greatest enjoyment in life comes in helping and serving others.

If you’re single and can’t find a Godly mate then take yourself out to dinner and a movie. Maybe you don’t have the car you want, who cares? Dress up your ‘hoopty’, shine the tires up, and get an air freshener. Most people just exist - they breathe, but never live.