Living Our Guaranteed Hope

Monday Morning! 

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Living Our Guaranteed Hope

“…I saw the Lord always in my presence; for He is at my right hand, so that I will not be shaken. Therefore, my heart was glad and my tongue exulted; moreover my flesh also will live in hope…” Acts 2:25-26 Psalm 16:8-9 NASB

King David knew he could be wicked and weak in his flesh, as he prophetically spoke regarding his hope and the hope to come. The peace David experienced was made possible from the completeness of divine accommodation.

Let us shift our focus on what that means for us today. This prophecy is about the Lord, the coming Messiah. There are some fundamental principles that David ministers to us who live in a time “knowing” (John 1:14) what David could only know through prophesy.

First, David says, “…I saw the Lord always…” not just at the moment, but “constantly," David lived life in the presence of the Lord!

Secondly, we should draw comfort from knowing Jesus is at our “right hand” also. Biblically means the place of honor, dignity, and a present help always (Matthew 28:20). Christ, at our salvation, became our dignity, and He cloaked us with the honor fit for a king. No one ever should be able to rob us of the power at our "right hand."

The Lord’s control of our lives (Gal. 2:20) is our confidence to say, “I will not be shaken." The term "shaken" means to be disturbed or waver in our faith by worldly thinking or our circumstances. David did not say life events would not shake him; he said because of Christ, he would be steadfast.

Thirdly, David said seeing Jesus in the prophecy that it caused him to rejoice! True deliverance causes genuine praise!

Finally, David said his flesh would "live in hope." The hope he speaks of is the hope that comes from God that is guaranteed. God informs us that we "hope" differently than those without hope (1Thess. 4:13).

Our Hope lives us, let us live in our Hope today!

Prayer
Dear Lord, I praise you with all my being because You are my hope, my rock, my deliverer. You are forever with me.

In Jesus Name, Amen.

Written by Pastor Milton Harding
Write Pastor Milton at milton@agapaisolutions.com

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You are my Steps

Sunday Morning! 😊

 

You are loved!

 

You Are My Steps

 

 “…for we walk by faith, not by sight…”  2 Corinthians 5:7

 

In our day to day walk with the Lord, many unrighteous opportunities to wander from the grip of God’s hand will be present.   The days are dark, and our present “cultural conditions” could hinder our ability to see our way in righteousness.  But the steady hand of the Lord extends security, comfort, and “shepherding” as our faith takes steps of love with God. 

 

In our faith, we must prepare to take the steps that God ordains (Ps. 37:23).   Faith is the source of our salvation (Ephesians 2:8) and our fellowship (1John 1:7) that moves the heart of God (Mark 11:21-23) so we must consistently feed our faith on the word of God. 

 

Hear the Spirit of God from King David, “…Make me know Your ways, O Lord; teach me Your paths, lead me in Your truth and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation; for You I wait all the day…” (Psalm 25:3-5).

 

 David gets it!  He understands that the word of God and the “paths” of God go together.   God’s “paths” are God’s “ways” and it is truth that sets our instruction along the way.  

 

Note the verbs David uses, “make me know”, “teach me”, and lead me”.  This is a process of discipline that should govern all of God’s children.  This is known as progressive sanctification.

 

 In a time when there are so many lies of darkness in our homes, churches, and for sure the culture, disciplined walking by truth is paramount. As the Apostle Paul says, “…I discipline my body and make it my slave…” (1 Cor. 9:27).

 

 Without discipline the paths of God become blurred and exercising our faith suffers from disobedience.  Truly the blessings are already ordained as we please God by living out our faith before Him and the world (Ephesians 1:3) and it ultimately brings God glory (Isaiah 49:3). 

 

Walk strong, Saints, our God leads us, and His paths are clearly seen!

 

Prayer:  Dear Lord our God, in these troubling times of unrest, thank You that You direct my steps.  Help me to be faithful in my walk with You and forever hold Your hand. 

 

In Jesus Name, Amen.

 

Written by Pastor Milton Harding

You can reach Pastor Milton at milton@agapaisolutions.com

 

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Have a Worshipful Sunday! 😊

 

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July 17th

Friday Morning! 😊

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The Illusion of “Inclusion”

Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever? 2 Corinthians 6:14-15

When the culture’s “broad brush” inclusion policy strokes mankind, God says, “wait, not so fast!” Being bound, partnering, and fellowshipping with non-believers is prohibited.

Be in the world but not of it! (John 17:9-11).

Yet God has taught us that there is no inclusion relative to darkness and light, righteousness and lawlessness, or believers and unbeliever. There is no common ground. The gospel is “inclusive” but only at, “whosoever will” (John 3:16).

Those who are saved are not expected to embrace the philosophy and ideology of the world (Col.2:8). God told Israel not to learn the “…ways of the nations…” (Jer. 10:1).

The partnership offered by the “cultural worldview” would have us abandon Godly discernment in how we love unbelievers. We can love those who are like minded and we are commanded to (John 13:34-35) but those in darkness we must love them with the gospel (Rom. 10:15).

The difference between the two groups is “fellowship” (1 John1:3,7). We are instructed not to “love” or fellowship (in union) with the world (1 John 2:15-17). Too often the church seems to err on the side of using the cultural definition of “inclusive” at all cost.

God commanded that His sanctuary be kept holy (Lev. 19:30). Yes, we were all “included” in John 3:16 but from there, true fellowship with God and one another is reserved for “true believers.

God knows what is best for His creation and He has commanded us to be wise as serpents and harmless as doves (Matthew 10:16) Who are you bound to? Who are you in partnership with?

How dark is your light? (Matt. 6:23)

Prayer: O God, my God, Your name is holy, Your ways are holy. Examine me and see if the light in me is dark. Examine my close relationships and reveal the error of my ways for you have called me too to be holy.

In Jesus Name, Amen

Written by Pastor Milton Harding
Write Pastor Harding at milton@agapaisolutions.com

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Have a Fantastic Friday! 😊

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July 16th

Thursday morning! 😊

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True Deliverance Produces Real Worship

And He said, “Certainly I will be with you, and this shall be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God at this mountain.” Exodus 3:12

Salvation is synonymous with deliverance.

God delivers us “at” our salvation, and He continues to deliver us “in” our salvation. When Moses was unsure of the mission God was sending him on, Moses asked who he was that he should go to Pharaoh?

As we all often do when faced with what seems to be an impossible God given task, Moses placed too much expectation on himself rather than on God. But God affirmed and comforted Moses by assuring him, “I will be with you.”

God promises us that He is with us always (Matthew 28:20). When serving God, we think it is up to us to figure “it” out in our own strength and doubt begins to grow.

Always remember when God gives us a task to do, He has already provided for the outcome. Our job is to just obey! When we are sent by God we cannot fail, we only fail when we go it alone. It is the power of God that works in us steadily (Phil.2:13).

Then God said to Moses, I will give you a sign, so you know I am sending you. What a major spiritual nugget God gave to Moses and His people as well as us today! God said you will “worship God at this mountain.” Whenever our God delivers us, worship should be spontaneous because we know in our spirit that God did it! The joy of the Lord then becomes a strength for us (Nehemiah 8:10).

So, as we reflect on our walk with the Lord, let us be reminded that He loves it when we shower Him with the praise and worship that He so rightfully deserves.

Prayer: Dear Lord of Heaven and Earth,
It is to you I yield my life. I am your willing vessel. Thank you that you have delivered me and that you continue to deliver me.
I worship You.
In Jesus Name, Amen.

Extended Reading: Exodus 3:10-12

Written by Pastor Milton Harding
milton@agapaisolutions.com Let Pastor Milton know how much you appreciate him.

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July 15th

Wednesday Morning! 😊

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The Urgency to Repent

“Therefore, repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord…” Acts 3:19

The constant cry to God from Christians is for revival. Do we really understand what we are asking? If we can truly see God in these times of darkness, we will see that our prayers are being answered—His way (Isaiah 55:8).

The biblical flavor of “revive” is to spring forth, sprout up and grow green again! It is hard, I believe, to not understand the timing of this pandemic and ethnic unrest and the impact on the human spirit.

God does desire that we be revived. He loves His children too much to leave them wayward, in exile, in sin and away from Him.

Are you in any of those places right now?

Learning from Israel’s history, we will see God’s way of returning Israel to Himself (Rom. 15:13). Repeatedly when God wanted to get a repentant response from Israel because of disobedience, (as believers we have certainly been disobedient) God met rebellion with adversity but not before sending His prophets (His word) first (Amos 3:7).

This is what I hear the Lord saying to His church and to the whole world today, “…God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent” (Acts 17:30).

If we are willing to see Him through the eyes of His grace and mercy and not only His wrath, God is giving each believer and the church especially, and the whole world a chance to “repent” (stop moving away from Him and turn to Him), “return” (for forgiveness), and be “refreshed” (spiritual exuberance) by the presence of the Lord.

I think we all agree we are in need of a refreshing and the cost is repentance!

Remember, you cannot revive a dead person.

Will you repent today?

Prayer:
Dear God, our Creator,
I come now with an honest heart. I need to repent because I have been in rebellion and away from you. I have been living for myself. Please grant me repentance according to Your word. Search me and receive me now that I might enjoy Your time of refreshing.

In Jesus Name, Amen.

Written by Pastor Milton Harding
milton@agapaisolutions.com

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Have a Wonderful Wednesday! 😊

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July 14th

Tuesday Morning! 😊

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Make Samaria a Must

Extended Reading: John 4:4-42

“…And He had to pass through Samaria...” John 4:4 (NASB)

The human and spiritual needs of man are all the same—human! Since the fall of man, the active stain of sin has tainted how we view and treat one another starting with Adam and Eve. When questioned about his own sin, Adam went from being pure in his thinking and behavior to being prideful and self-preserving towards Eve (Gen.3:9).

The so called “racism “in our land today must be rightly defined by God and not man. God calls it SIN! There is no resolute narrative to be had for racism that will unite men’s hearts, but God’s love guarantees unity between like-mindedness of those who belong to Him!
JESUS is His name! (Acts 4:12).

Jesus’ purposed in His heart to go to and through Samaria (John 4:4), not for racial reconciliation but for eternal salvation; not for just a woman but for a village! The ministry of reconciliation (2 Cor. 5:18-19) must intentionally go through “racism” with the living water of eternal life that delivers and heals (1 Pet.2:24). “Systemic prejudice” (practicing preferential and partial treatment) and social injustices seen in society, are not new, and as Jesus did in Samaria, we too must go, through America and the world!

You cannot fix a sin problem with policies, laws, or movements, we must take the “Good News” of the “perfect law of liberty in Christ to a dying world (James 1:25)! Any nation consumed by a focus on “skin color”, white privilege, black lives matter, white supremacy, social injustices, etc. (1Cor. 3:19) must see the love of God in operation by those who know Him (John 13:34-35).

True believers must go into the divided, disconnected “Samaria” of home, church, community, state, nation, and the world being “light and salt”! We must light the path and preserve the way until hearts are drawn to Jesus, for He already said, “…if I be lifted up, from the earth, will draw all men to Myself…” John 12:32

Prayer: Dear Lord, help me to prepare my heart to be intentional with your word and purpose as you guide me to and through my “Samarias”.

In Jesus Name, Amen.

Written by Pastor Milton Harding
milton@agapaisolutions.com

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July 13th

Monday Morning! 😊

You are loved!

A Set Mind Is Our Mindset

Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. Colossians 3:2

The greatest hinderance to the body of Christ is the failure to have a “set mind” that is being rooted in Christ and the promises of God’s word. We become a stumbling block to the work of Jesus, ourselves, and others when we fulfill Satan’s priorities and not God’s.

This was evident when Jesus pointed it out to Peter, one of His own, falling into the trap of fleshly thinking and behavior (Matt. 16:23). Mindsets, be they heavenly or earthly, drive our behavior. One Old Testament believer I think exemplifies God’s expectations of a true believer was Ezra (Ezra 7:10). Ezra was a “student” of God’s word.

A true disciple is one whose mind is set intentionally on being taught, intentionally living what is taught and intentionally teaching what is taught.

Some key behaviors of Ezra’s walk were,

1) set his heart (mind) on studying the word. “Study” here means to seek and consult what God wanted,

2) to practice the word of God. This is where too many believers deceive themselves. We may get the knowledge of the word but fail to experience the supernatural work of truth exploding in our spirit. It is a hallmark of the progressive sanctification process (John 17:17), 3) to teach the word of God.

This phase is directly related to the call of the church today, “make disciples” (Matt. 28:19). We are to teach others the marvelous works of God from His word and from real time testimonial occurrences.

Teaching the word of God is not a classroom setting per se, but “washing with the water of the word (Eph. 5:26). We are to teach intellectually, interpersonally, and interactively with boldness and completely dependent on the Holy Spirit (Acts 14:3).

Brothers and sisters, I pray that you will take heed to the call to get your “mindset” right with God and that His mind be found in you, “…for we have the mind of Christ…” (1 Cor. 2:16).

Prayer: Dear Lord, Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my strength and my redeemer.

In Jesus Name, Amen.

Written by Pastor Milton Harding
milton@agapaisolutions.com

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Have a Marvelous Monday! 😊

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