Unlock The Shackles

Today’s blog was something I needed to hear this weekend and I think it applies to a lot of others that read this! My pastor talked about a huge theme that goes throughout the entire book of Exodus and it’s something people tend to overlook. God’s will in this book is to take the Israelites out of Egypt and out of slavery, and everything he does in the desert is to reflect that He is God and He’s is faithful. As we know the Israelites were put into slavery after the death of Joseph in Egypt. God calls ordinary Moses to set his captives free. By following the will of the Lord and by God making the way for his people, Moses leads them out of Egypt and slavery. God then leads Him to walk the Israelites through the desert where God takes his time to show them a little bit about Him and how to trust him.

In the desert God does some awesome things. God gives them water when they are thirsty. He gives them Manna from heaven when they are hungry. He gives them everything they need for each day. Every time he does he repeats a common saying that is reflected in the following verse.

“2 I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.” EXODUS 20:2

This verse has become huge to me! Don’t miss this! The God that talked to Moses in the burning bush, the God that made a promise to Abraham, the God the created the whole universe from nothing is the same God that brought you out of slavery. See this is a foreshadowing of what Christ did for us as his disciples. The slavery we go though may not be the physical type that the Israelites did, but we were in slavery! For some it you could be a slave to alcohol. To others it may be sexual impurity due to pornography or even the full physical type. To still others, it could be depression, anger, or stress. Whatever you WERE a slave to, let me remind you that God HAS SET YOU FREE from those.

You see the constant theme I’m talking about is a tough pill to swallow. Even though the Israelites saw the power and the faithfulness of God first hand, they sometimes wished they were back in Egypt. Back in slavery. In some points of their desert walk, slavery seemed more secure. Countless times they grumbled against Moses for leading them to their current place. A common saying we sometimes say today is, “If only I wasn't a Christian, so that I could…..” fill the blank. Or sometimes we grumble against God by flirting with our former way of living. It’s time we remember that our God sent his Son to die on a cross and raise to new life so that we can be set free! Set free here and now.

Let me challenge you with one more thought. There are times where we as Christians say that we are set free and yet we walk in our sin. Not only does Paul refute that thought in Romans 6, but it makes no sense. Since when did it ever make sense to call someone free when they are still standing in shackles? That’s an oxymoron! That’s hypocrisy!

“6 For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin 7 because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.” ROMANS 6:6-7

It’s time to take hold of our freedom and rest in God so that he can show himself faithful as he did with the Israelites!

IT’S TIME TO LEAVE EGYPT

High Hopes This Christmas

It’s been a while again, but time for another thought to ponder. I did this for a part of a three week series and found it to be very applicable to my life recently. There is a term we use a lot this season, and some could argue it’s a term that used quite loosely in our culture. This Blog I want to focus on the idea of Hope.  This word is mentioned all throughout Christmas. I hope for a new iPod. I hope that there will snow on Christmas day. I hope that I don’t have to work Christmas Eve. In fact some people even hope that their Parents would be able to be in the same room and get along this Christmas. With all this Hoping going on, I figure it might me a relevant topic to focus on why this is a season of Hope.

Over 2000 years ago there were thousands of young Jewish women who were Hoping that their son would be the Messiah, the Anointed One who would come and save the Israelite people from their bondage under the Romans. In the past, God would send prophets to speak on his behalf, but God had been silent to them now for over 400 years. Mary, known now as Jesus’ mother, was one of those women. 

“28 The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”  29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30 But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. 31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”  34 “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?” LUKE 1:28-34

This mighty angel shows up and tells Mary that she is highly favored and that the Lord is with her. Now I’m not here to elaborate on this, but I’m here to look at what happens next. Mary was afraid. We know this cause the angel asks her not to be. What he basically tells her next just blows her mind.  He tells her that out of all the women in the past generations, that she is going to give birth to the Son of the Most High. This seems almost foolish. First, Mary will give birth to God’s Son and on top of that, she is still a virgin. Mary questions God, but then is reassured by the word God speaks through the angel next.

“35 The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.” LUKE 1:35

Now at this point if I’m Mary I would most likely begin to think about what could happen through it all. She was betrothed to Joseph, which means she has legally pledged to marry him and she is about to give birth to a Son that is not his. For this, she could be put to death. She’s got to explain this to Joseph! Think about that conversation for a second! Remember, she’s still a virgin!  To be honest, I think I would have told God that this was a little more than I was Hoping for. I would have opted out! However, Mary stood firm.

38 “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her. LUKE 1:38

So what’s this mean to us today, this year? See I find myself hoping for a lot of things. One thing I hoped for was that I would get this big scholarship for next semester and my financial life for school would be made easy. God had a different plan, He kept the door open for school but just not full time. It’s in times like these that we as people tend to OPT OUT! I was reminded however or Mary’s statement. I’m the Lord’s servant, and as such I will be humble to him. 

So this Christmas when you have that one family member that drives you crazy over at your place, simply love on them and hangout with them. When things don’t go to plan, rest in the Lord! Maybe you don’t have as many gifts under the tree this year, place your hope in Him! Remember Beloved, God Already Gave Us The Greatest Gift Of All This Christmas, so celebrate that! It’s time we remember the Reason for the Season. It’s time we place our hope in Christ. The child that was born of a virgin, lived a perfect life, and died a brutal painful death that should have been ours. Remember this Christmas that when you place your hope in Jesus, you raise to new life with him!

Merry Christmas Beloved Brothers and Sisters

Dependable God

So it just so happens I have to write this post on a different computer than my own. That’s right, my computer has a virus! If you know anything about me, you know that for the past year my computer has caused me a lot of stress. I’m not here to start a debate about if Windows or a Mac is better, but I will say that my computer can be very unreliable at times. In fact so can all types of technology, all people, and basically anything of this world. Then God reminded me of something. He is always faithful and always with us as his Children.


“9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.” JOSHUA 1:9


“These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.” JOHN 16:33


“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change and though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea; though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains quake at its swelling pride. Selah. The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our stronghold. Selah.” PSALM 46:1-3,7

He shows us and tells us all the time in our life and in his word that He has never left our side. We must seek to remain in Him, trusting in Jesus. If we focus on the outside or on our lives, we are surely seeking after the temporary.

God will never leave your side,

He has overcome the world in your life,

And he is our refuge!

He Will Rock You

So the other day I decided to go back through my Rocky DVD Set and watch them all again. I got to about Rocky 3 and didn’t have time to finish it yet. It’s funny how God moves and uses things you’d never think of. I was sitting with some friends talking about dying to the flesh and God spoke to me about something. In Rocky 3, if you can remember, Apollo decides he is going to train Rocky for his next fight with Mr. T. He takes Rocky back to his old gym and when he walks in the place he says something that struck me. he said, “Rocky, you see that look in their eyes. They’re hungry, Rock. That’s that look you had when you fought me. That’s the look we need to get back. That’s the eye of the tiger.” You see what I’m getting at here? There are people who are reading this blog today who have lost that Hunger, like Rocky did. That will to fight the fight.

Some of us need to ask god

To help us get back our

Spiritual eye of the tiger!

Get this, God’s Word says something amazing about this. Check it out!

“6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.” MATTHEW 5:6

Did you catch that? When we Hunger for righteousness, we will be filled! When you ask God for that Eye Of The Tiger, JESUS WILL GIVE IT TO YOU AND FILL YOU WITH HIS HOLY SPIRIT! Think about that for a moment. We will be filled with His righteousness if we are truly hungry for it! WE WILL BE FILLED! I know there are some today that ask, “Bryan I want that, but I don’t know what steps to take. I don’t know what that looks like.” Let me show you something else.

“8 Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Doesn’t she light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? 9 And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.” LUKE 7:8-9

This woman had ten coins. She lost one. Sounds kind of odd huh? She doesn’t want just Parts of her walk with the Lord, she wants every single bit of it! What does she do to get that, She does whatever it takes to find that coin. She does all she can in that moment to find it. Guess what? She finds it and SHE REJOICES AND SHARES IT WITH EVERYONE! She had that Spiritual Eye of the Tiger, and she found what was lost.

Let me challenge you today, if you have never realized the value of Christ in your life, take this moment to seek him with a sincere heart and you WILL find Him. If you have once had the Hunger for him, ask God to take you back to Your Spiritual roots and ask for that Eye Of The Tiger, that Hunger for righteousness! Today is the day that you don’t sit back and let The Kingdom pass you by!

I love you Beloved

What He Did

Today I had some free time while I was at school, so decided to go down to room where the ping-pong table and pool table is. While I was there I play pool against a guy I had never met before. Just from interacting with him, I found he was a very competitive person, more so than I am. This is a hard thing to do. I further noticed that he kept doing something else that would just not make sense to me. He would miss his shot and he would either say, “God D@!M” or “Jesus Christ.” In my opinion, this is an unnecessary thing to say. After he did it a few times, I said, “Why is He at fault?” again I added, “What did He ever do to deserve that?” he smiled, showing his apology, and stated, “Well, I guess He never really did do anything.” Now I know what he meant by that, but this opened the door in my heart to reflect on that today.

This is the perfect season to look at what He did for us. We’ve all heard the story. We’ve all seen the scene. The shepherds, the wise men, the animals, and…. The manger. We have gotten into the ritual of things in this case we sometimes don’t realize the sacrifice Jesus went through for us. Christmas isn’t just about the earthy birth of the God head. It’s about God’s ability to be trusted. It’s about God’s ability to Love the Unlovable, His ability to love us! Today I want you to think about what this season is all about. Lay your worries about gifts aside. Put away the thoughts of family gatherings. Think about the true meaning of Christmas.

“I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep.” - John 10:14-15

This season is about the start of Jesus sacrifice. It’s time to look at the beginning with the end in mind! The Cross, The Freedom, The Love, The wrath poured out on the righteous Son of God.

I love you Beloved.

The Heavenly Seeking

I simply Love the book of Philippians. It’s quite small but so rich. Today I want to focus on something that God has been driving into my heart. I was talking with my blessing of a girlfriend the other night about Philippians 3 and we stumbled upon something that has been sticking with me.

“²⁰ But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ…” PHILIPPIANS 3:20

Now most time I’ve heard this verse talked about it is brought into light in the setting that we are under a bigger authority and we are living in a higher kingdom. I totally agree. I want to, however, look at the latter part of the verse and pose a question God has been posing to me! 

Notice that we have citizenship in Heaven! That’s easy enough to tell, but look what come after. We are told that as Christians that we Eagerly await for a savior. Dictionary.com states that EAGER means to have an impatient longing for something. God asked me, “Bryan do you have an Impatient Longing for my Son?”  The great thing about it is that longing gets filled when we surrender our will to Christ’s!

Now pay attention to this next point. The verse says that that savior we long for is from THERE. From Heaven. God beat me up the other day. How many times do we seek a savior from this earth? To some it may be Alcohol. Some it may be Cocaine or Marijuana.  To some it may be Sex. And still to others it may Attention. Whatever it is, we as people seek an earthly Savior. My savior of choice used to be Alcohol and Sex. These things however never really help.

Instead of saving us,

They enslave us!

We have to start having the right focus! Christ is the Aim. Let us seek our Heavenly Savior and stop taking his name in Vain with our lives!

Lord Jesus I pray that you enter the heart of the reader and that you break their strongholds, there chains of bondage. Help them to seek you their HEAVENLY SAVIOR! Were your Holy Spirit is, there is freedom. We love you Lord. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen

God bless you Beloved