The Exchange

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Believe, Believers, bible, Blessings, Change, Character, Christianity, church, Cuba, Obedience, President Obama

The Exchange 12.23.14

Mark 8:36-37 says, “For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul? For what will a man give in exchange for his soul?”
Earlier this month the President of the United States exchanged some Cuban prisoners for some American prisoners with the President of Cuba. This exchange came as a result of a reconciliation between Cuba and the United States. Some people that commentate on the President of the United States decisions, said this was a terrible exchange, they even went on to say, we got the short end of the stick. A couple weeks later my mom told me that she went and exchanged her old pair of shoes that were falling apart for a brand new pair of shoes, at a very small cost to her. In America we understand the idea of being able to make an exchange. If you get a Christmas gift you don’t like this week, you can exchange it for something else, with usually very little hassle.

Other countries do not understand exchange in the sense of being able to return something to a store for a similar product or a cash refund. While I was in Malaysia, they would not return anything, once you bought it, it was yours, there is no return, nor exchange policy in that country. As an American who is used to being able to make a mistake and have it corrected by the store, I had to learn to think clearly before I bought anything, for there was no making an exchange, once I handed that money over to the clerk.

As Christians, we have been taught that the greatest exchange the world has ever known is the exchange of Jesus’ life for our sins. Romans 5:8 says, “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” God gave His life in exchange for our sins, this is the greatest exchange that was made for us and we have been taught this from before we were saved. However, there is another exchange, that is very rarely talked about, but needs to be addressed, it is the worst exchange.

As Christians, who are recipients of the greatest exchange, we make some of the worst exchanges. We exchange the kingdom of God for our religious traditions; we exchange our family members for our ministries or jobs; we exchange our health for food that tastes good; we exchange God’s thoughts for our thoughts; we exchange trust for independence; we exchange the glory of God for the approval of men; we exchange the love of God for immorality. The list could go on and on, but the reality is, we make exchanges that are costing us the very life Jesus gave us.

During this Christmas holiday and New Year, I pray you would begin to think about what you are exchanging for life. People exchange death for life everyday, because they do not want to listen, learn, obey, change. It is not always comfortable nor convenient to live, that is why most people choose chocolate over chick peas; or religion over relationship. Jesus said, “Repent, for the kingdom of God is here!” Repent is a call to change the way you think, it is an invitation to exchange your ways for His ways.
My prayer is that we together, would stop exchanging death for life, so we could embrace the kingdom of God that is here. It takes changing the way you think and that can only happen, by spending time in the word of God and spending time with the God of the word. Merry Christmas my friends!

Subtle But Significant Difference

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Character, dispose, expose, kingdom of God, miracles, motives, spiritual growth, Spiritual Maturity

Jesus did not do miracles, signs and wonders to be validated by people, He was not seeking to have a large ministry or become popular/famous. He actually did the miracles, signs and wonders to be obedient. John 5:19 says, “Therefore Jesus answered and was saying to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner.”

One of the lessons I have learned is the importance of asking questions of the Holy Spirit while reading my Bible if there is something I do not understand. For many years I would just read my Bible like any other book, just one story after the other. But the longer I am in this, the slower I read in order to hear more about what a story is saying. So, while reading this week, I noticed on more than one occasion Jesus would do a miracle and then tell the person healed to not tell anyone. At first I just took it at face value, but today I asked the Holy Spirit why Jesus said that. The answer I got has changed my life forever.

Jesus knew His Father validated Him as a Son, so He was not doing ministry or miracles to be validated. The miracles were not a source of validation for Jesus, they were a sign that He was already validated. If the ministry ended, the miracles ceased, the money ran out, it would not change Jesus’ understanding that He is validated by His Father in heaven.

I was convicted today about some prayers I have been praying, for they came out of a need to be validated. The Lord revealed to me the subtle deception of wanting something for validation vs. receiving something from validation. They can sound and look strikingly similar, but the difference is worlds apart.

The Lord is going to do jaw dropping miracles on earth, we are going to see debt cancellation, we will hear the voice of the mature sons and daughters of God, and the kingdom of God will be preached in truth. However, the Lord is going to expose faslse motives in order to dispose of them, so we do not make the miracles our source of validation, but rather they will be signs of our validation. It is a subtle but significant difference.

Cash Conversion Crisis

A seasoned prophet friend of mine that is a kingdom of God pioneer, posted a prophetic warning that has had me thinking for a week or more about what our very near future holds as nations of the world. One of the things he said is that an economic collapse is coming, it can be postponed, but it is coming. This confirms what Jonathan Kahn says in his book The Mystery of the Shemmiteh and is what our government is hinting at, but will not come out right and say. So, with multiple voices saying the same thing, I thought it necessary to take notice, pray and seek the Lord about this issue. Here is what I believe the Lord showed me.

Genesis 41 tells us two dreams that Pharoh, the king of Egypt at that time, had and the interpretation that Joseph gave to him, along with the solutions he suggested to Pharoh, so as to be prepared for what was coming. The Bible is very clear that we are to know the times and the seasons on which we live. So, in Joseph’s season they were about to experience a cattle and crops famine, so Joseph prepared storehouses that would house 20% of all the grain collected during the time of abundance, so they had bread during the time of famine.

As I asked the Lord about our coming collapse and how we should be preparing for it, He shared 2 key things with me. One, we as Christians are not to convert our cash into stuff. Stuff can’t buy airline tickets to go preach the gospel in another country, stuff can’t pay the school fees for someone called to attend a worship school, stuff can’t be generous on every occasion. Stuff actually makes us slaves, for we have to work for cash to pay for our stuff, so we can’t quit our job, if the Lord led us to do that, because we have stuff to pay for. Most people as soon as they get cash convert it into stuff that they don’t need.

The world’s system has programmed us to convert our cash into stuff, so we are always without cash, which is why we can be controlled so easily. Our government is the head of our nation and we have a major cash crisis on our hands, so now we are slaves to our stuff. But if Christ is our head, then we do not need to be converting our cash into stuff, because the way to alleviate a crisis is with contentment.

The second way to avoid the cash crisis is for the church to become a storehouse (Malachi 3:10) and to store up cash so when the famine comes there is food in in God’s house. This means the church needs to repent of converting cash into stuff too. Honestly we do not need more stuff, we need 2 Chronicles 7:14 (God’s people, who are called by God’s name to humble themselves, pray, seek God’s face, and turn from their wicked ways, the land would be healed.)

The world can convert their cash into stuff all they want, but we are the Light of the World, a city set on a hill, who is called to arise and shine, we can be a solution to the  to the cash conversion crisis, if we are not in the same crisis. Sell some stuff and start saving your cash, because an economic collapse is coming , but it does not have to effect you. What if this is how God is going to do the transfer of wealth He promised?