THIS HEART IS NOT FOR SALE!

Heard this song by Michael Combs, "Not for Sale". What a song, what an anointing, and how it so ministered to me that I cried! I highly recommend this to all. Take a moment to listen and see if this does not minister to your whole being. As I listened, I thought on the words he sang, and how each area of the church was listed. What happened to that preacher who could preach so strongly about the Lord? What happened to the those who sang as of a heavenly choir? What happened to that one singer, well they went country!
He even sings about someone calling from California to give him a proposition for making lots of money and he told them, "NO"! Not for sale!
I thought how easy it is for some to "sale out" for the something of the world. My sister and brother-in-law told me to view this song on Youtube. And I am truly thankful this morning to have heard this beautiful singer singing praise to magnify God.

How do we know if we have sold out for the world? Good question and one that we can look at in the word of God!

Acts 8:4-25...............4 Therefore those who were scattered went everywhere preaching the word. 5 Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria and preached Christ to them. 6 And the multitudes with one accord heeded the things spoken by Philip, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did. 7 For unclean spirits, crying with a loud voice, came out of many who were possessed; and many who were paralyzed and lame were healed. 8 And there was great joy in that city.

9 But there was a certain man called Simon, who previously practiced sorcery in the city and astonished the people of Samaria, claiming that he was someone great, 10 to whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, "This man is the great power of God." 11 And they heeded him because he had astonished them with his sorceries for a long time. 12 But when they believed Philip as he preached the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptized. 13 Then Simon himself also believed; and when he was baptized he continued with Philip, and was amazed, seeing the miracles and signs which were done.

14 Now when the apostles who were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them, 15 who, when they had come down, prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit. 16 For as yet He had fallen upon none of them. They had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 17 Then they laid hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit. 18 And when Simon saw that through the laying on of the apostles' hands the Holy Spirit was given, he offered them money, 19 saying, "Give me this power also, that anyone on whom I lay hands may receive the Holy Spirit." 20 But Peter said to him, "Your money perish with you, because you thought that the gift of God could be purchased with money! 21 You have neither part nor portion in this matter, for your heart is not right in the sight of God. 22 Repent therefore of this your wickedness, and pray God if perhaps the thought of your heart may be forgiven you. 23 For I see that you are poisoned by bitterness and bound by iniquity." 24 Then Simon answered and said, "Pray to the Lord for me, that none of the things which you have spoken may come upon me." 25 So when they had testified and preached the word of the Lord, they returned to Jerusalem, preaching the gospel in many villages of the Samaritans. NKJV

Even Simon walked with Philip and saw those amazing things, those miracles and signs yet he thought that he could buy his way. Have we not seen that in "the church" as well? Have we seen someone desire to buy his way through, and get the thing he wants? Simon was told by Philip to repent for wickedness and pray. But even in verse 24, Simon wanted Philip to pray for him.
Simon liked being regarded as someone sent by God, yet he only used sorceries. He had hoodwinked a lot of people, from the least to the greatest in that place of Samaria.
It is what the heart desires, and what does our heart desire the most?
It takes more than a conversion, it takes a walk with God on a daily basis to learn of HIM and of His ways and truth!


1 Kings 8:56-61.....56 "Blessed be the LORD, who has given rest to His people Israel, according to all that He promised. There has not failed one word of all His good promise, which He promised through His servant Moses. 57 May the LORD our God be with us, as He was with our fathers. May He not leave us nor forsake us, 58 that He may incline our hearts to Himself, to walk in all His ways, and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His judgments, which He commanded our fathers. 59 And may these words of mine, with which I have made supplication before the LORD, be near the LORD our God day and night, that He may maintain the cause of His servant and the cause of His people Israel, as each day may require, 60 that all the peoples of the earth may know that the LORD is God; there is no other. 61 Let your heart therefore be loyal to the LORD our God, to walk in His statutes and keep His commandments, as at this day." NKJV

When Solomon blessed Israel, he prayed the blessing, a confession that their hearts would be loyal to the LORD our God. To walk in His statutes, and keep His commandments.

Luke 4:1-13.......4:1 Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, 2 being tempted for forty days by the devil. And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry. 3 And the devil said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread." 4 But Jesus answered him, saying, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.' " 5 Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. 6 And the devil said to Him, "All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. 7 Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours." 8 And Jesus answered and said to him, "Get behind Me, Satan! For it is written, 'You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.' " 9 Then he brought Him to Jerusalem, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here. 10 For it is written:

'He shall give His angels charge over You,
To keep You,'

11 "and,

'In their hands they shall bear you up,
Lest you dash your foot against a stone.' "

12 And Jesus answered and said to him, "It has been said, 'You shall not tempt the LORD your God.' " 13 Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time.
NKJV

No opportune time came as Jesus never sold out to the devil!

I think of Jesus and all the He gave of His life to hang on that rugged Cross. He was tortured and brutalized by man in the most horrific manner and He went to the cross, knowing the price that had to be paid to be the LAMB OF GOD for me and for you.

Now that was loyalty to His Father God. Now that is what a heart after God looks like.

What have we sacrificed today? What have we given up to serve the Father more effectively in our own lives?

We are to be like Jesus in every way! Is my life lining up in that manner today or do I need to make some corrections  here? As for me, I have some corrections to make today. My heart is not for sale at any price. Today my focus is to give love to my God and worship Him in spirit and in truth!


Father, today we seek to have our hearts as one with YOU! In Jesus' name we pray to take hold and not let go of Your truth. We see the total work of Jesus on the Cross. We may not understand everything He did there, but we know our future with You depends on a willing and faithful heart forever. For change to take place in us, we know we must be willing to let go of the world and anything that has a place in our hearts.
Father we know that You lead with love and purpose in mind. Today we pray for help in how to let go of stuff. We pray to be those who will receive correction and move forward in total commitment to YOU and YOUR plan for our lives.

Thank YOU for Jesus, and for showing us the path to walk. Today we desire to be those whose hearts that are "not for sale" ever. Thank YOU for hearing and we believe we receive YOUR help today. Amen.

You can also visit my Youtube channel The Voice of Prayer for more teaching at http://bit.ly/1tNyBhV 

Resting in the Lap of the World is Dangerous!

Judges 16:4-20   .............4 Afterward it happened that he loved a woman in the Valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah. 5 And the lords of the Philistines came up to her and said to her, "Entice him, and find out where his great strength lies, and by what means we may overpower him, that we may bind him to afflict him; and every one of us will give you eleven hundred pieces of silver."

6 So Delilah said to Samson, "Please tell me where your great strength lies, and with what you may be bound to afflict you." 7 And Samson said to her, "If they bind me with seven fresh bowstrings, not yet dried, then I shall become weak, and be like any other man." 8 So the lords of the Philistines brought up to her seven fresh bowstrings, not yet dried, and she bound him with them. 9 Now men were lying in wait, staying with her in the room. And she said to him, "The Philistines are upon you, Samson!" But he broke the bowstrings as a strand of yarn breaks when it touches fire. So the secret of his strength was not known.

10 Then Delilah said to Samson, "Look, you have mocked me and told me lies. Now, please tell me what you may be bound with." 11 So he said to her, "If they bind me securely with new ropes that have never been used, then I shall become weak, and be like any other man." 12 Therefore Delilah took new ropes and bound him with them, and said to him, "The Philistines are upon you, Samson!" And men were lying in wait, staying in the room. But he broke them off his arms like a thread.

13 Delilah said to Samson, "Until now you have mocked me and told me lies. Tell me what you may be bound with." And he said to her, "If you weave the seven locks of my head into the web of the loom"-- 14 So she wove it tightly with the batten of the loom, and said to him, "The Philistines are upon you, Samson!" But he awoke from his sleep, and pulled out the batten and the web from the loom.

15 Then she said to him, "How can you say, 'I love you,' when your heart is not with me? You have mocked me these three times, and have not told me where your great strength lies." 16 And it came to pass, when she pestered him daily with her words and pressed him, so that his soul was vexed to death, 17 that he told her all his heart, and said to her, "No razor has ever come upon my head, for I have been a Nazirite to God from my mother's womb. If I am shaven, then my strength will leave me, and I shall become weak, and be like any other man."

18 When Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and called for the lords of the Philistines, saying, "Come up once more, for he has told me all his heart." So the lords of the Philistines came up to her and brought the money in their hand. 19 Then she lulled him to sleep on her knees, and called for a man and had him shave off the seven locks of his head. Then she began to torment him, and his strength left him. 20 And she said, "The Philistines are upon you, Samson!" So he awoke from his sleep, and said, "I will go out as before, at other times, and shake myself free!" But he did not know that the LORD had departed from him.   NKJV

Resting  in the things of the world is a dangerous place to be! We can see from the scripture passage of Samson, that even though he was called and could do exploits, it was obeying God that caused Samson's strength.

We can see this today with those who ultimately follow to close to the world and find their extreme choice is to stop off at the lap of that which seduces and bring us closer to death than to the life God intends for His children to have today!
Resting when weary is important. But the scripture declares.........

Isaiah 40:28-31..............28 Have you not known?

Have you not heard?

The everlasting God, the LORD,

The Creator of the ends of the earth,

Neither faints nor is weary.

His understanding is unsearchable. 

29 He gives power to the weak,

And to those who have no might He increases strength. 

30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary,

And the young men shall utterly fall, 

31 But those who wait on the LORD 

Shall renew their strength;

They shall mount up with wings like eagles,

They shall run and not be weary,

They shall walk and not faint. NKJV

We look into the life of Samson and see a man destined for what God called him to do for Israel. It was in the fourteenth chapter we see that Samson was wanting to marry a Pagan woman. She was a daughter of those who oppressed Israel. But it was God who purposed this secret against the Philistines.

There were many exploits that he performed due to the anointing on him. He could stand against many men and prevail to victory, but it was his love for women that caused his downfall. He found in Delilah a love that he thought he could have or needed. But he was proved so wrong! Samson fell to his fleshly lust for a woman.  Her snares were such that she oppressed him with her mere words to gain information she needed to give to the princes of the Philistines.  If Delilah was not a prostitute at the time she met Samson, she certainly gave in to prostitute for money given by the princes of the Philistines to gain the answer for Samson's great strength.
With her conniving tricks of words to deceive to gain the answer, he also lied, not once, not twice but three times that made her boiling mad at the time.
It is not a good thing to make light of the anointing God has placed on any one person. When saved, we are the "anointed" with the oil of the Holy Spirit residing in us. We are to take seriously that He is a Person and not a thing to exploit in any manner. He resides in us to resurrect us daily to the life God planned.
I also believe that Samson became weary after his sad dissolution of marriage to that "one" woman he married. Yet, in all that transpired and the acts of her family, and the community, Samson lost his wife. In all his doings for the Lord, he came up short with his longing to be in and of the world as well.
We see that in his relationship with Delilah.

Proverbs 21:16................16 A man who wanders from the way of understanding
Will rest in the assembly of the dead. .NKJV

In verse 19 of Judges 16, we should take note that in all his going and activity, he did not go back to his parents or to the Lord, but into the lap of Delilah. He went to rest in the lap of the world and be tormented by the same world that oppresses and destroys.
He goes into Delilah and falls down at her feet to lay his head in her lap!

It is important to remember the world had nothing in Jesus and it should nothing in us.


Acts 17:24-28...................24 God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. 25 Nor is He worshiped with men's hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things. 26 And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, 27 so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; 28 for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, 'For we are also His offspring.'  NKJV

It is in Him we have life, and it is in Him we have our being!

God is our length of days. God is our protection against the bullies, the brutes, any who try to bring us down by the words that kill.
Our rest is to in the Lord!
Hebrews 4:11-13...................11 Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience. 12 For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. 13 And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.
NKJV

In verse 17 of Judges 16, he opened his heart and told her everything. He readily made the confession to this woman and God left him to do the foolish thing. We were told in Judges 13 and verse 5 that Samson's consecration was to God for his strength. Samson was to attend to God and His leading every step of the way ordained for his life. But he did not do that!

With all the deceit and lies flying, all the passion for the woman and lose his hair too, what a fallen condition to find yourself in the lap of the world and no power to go forward in it.

In a formidable condition as this, we see the man Samson removed from society to serve in grinding at the mill.  Indignity brought shame upon his head, but while his hair began to grow, his heart had to have grown repentant of serving the things of the world.

We can find in Judges 16:28 that Samson called unto the Lord. And his prayer was simple. O Lord GOD remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once, O God, that I may be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes.

It was a prayer that was accepted by God!

I believe Samson humbled himself under the mighty hand of God to prevail that day.

Father, today we seek to please YOU. It our faith that pleases YOU! We come to humble ourselves and pray and  TO ultimately submit to Your plan and Word that speaks..........yes, exposes, sifts, analyzes and judges the very thoughts and purposes of our hearts. We will test our own actions that we might have appropriate self-esteem, without comparing ourselves to anyone else. It is the security of Your guidance that allows us to carry our own load with energy and confidence.

Father we run to Your wisdom and incline our ears to hear You speak Your words of truth to us. Today we desire not to be like Samson , but to see his example that pride and arrogance would be stripped away from us. We desire to humble ourselves under Your mighty hand that in time You may exalt us.

It is in the name of Jesus today, that we cast away the whole of our care [anxieties, all worries, all our concerns for the future,, once and for all] on You, for You care for us affectionately and care about us watchfully. We expect a life of victory and awesome deeds because our actions are done on behalf of a spirit humbly submitted to Your truth and Your righteousness.We stand being confident of this, that YOU who has began a good work in us will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. 

As Your words of spirit and truth are in living and active in us, we take our place to stand in power of the Holy Spirit and see exploits done for Your glory. Have Your way in our lives today and we will give YOU all the honor, all the glory and all the praise. We are humble and expect YOUR move on our behalf as humility and fear of You brings wealth, and honor and life TO US. Amen.


You can also visit my Youtube channel The Voice of Prayer for more teaching at http://bit.ly/1tNyBhV 

On a Short Leash?

There are times we see ourselves losing momentum. There are times we seem to go no further than the end our nose can reach forward.
I remember as a child, I was the one that had to be kept on a short leash, so to speak. Yes, I was that child you read about who can be over a fence and down the road in less than five minutes or the child that can somehow turn on the water faucet outside and have a flooded garden in less than 2 minutes. Yes, and the faucet had a child-proof lock my dad had "to invent" to keep me from turning it on. Still, I had the "power" to turn it on with my little hands! Yes, I was the one child that somehow knew the city worker's had been digging a large hole less than a block from our home and were trying to repair a water line that had broken some two days....before.......but.................because of the turbulent rain for a 22 hour period, all that moisture had prevented them from working on it and  there were only three super large saw-horse type barriers that surrounded it. Yes, you guessed it, and a small child of 2 and 1/2 years could get through it quickly. That newly formed hole now held water to the brim and could drown a small child in a very short time. Yes, I was free, no leash on me and I was heading for trouble! My dad thought I was with my mom, and mom thought that I was still in bed napping...................yeah, right???
He had poured himself a cup of coffee by the kitchen sink, looked out the window and saw my short legs running quickly toward danger! He took off running out the front door and down the street just in time to reach me before the fall into the big super size hole that now was filled with a large volume of muddy water and debris. Yes, he spoke for years on that one story alone, but he said he never forgot the way his heart felt when he finally reached me!

But my dad figured out the solution. He had to travel some because of his business and that left my mother on a 24-hour duty to keep two children safe and one of them had this overwhelming desire for "freedom"! So he fashioned this halter that had a clip on the back of my shoulder blades..............fit comfortable under the arms and had this length of cord fastened to the clothes line. Again, you guessed it, I was safe in my backyard while hooked to this clothes line...............so my mother knew where I would be while she worked in the flooded garden or hung clothes on the line to dry. Yes, I was safe from turning their lives into a horror movie before their eyes.

In writing this, I was thinking of the scripture found in the book of Luke.

Luke 9:59-62......59 Then He said to another, "Follow Me." But he said, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father." 60 Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God." 61 And another also said, "Lord, I will follow You, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house." 62 But Jesus said to him, "No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God." NKJV

Being asked by Jesus, to follow HIM, and having some excuse for not doing so seems rather bold and self-involved in what they were doing and not seeing a way out of the mundane. Not following after "life, peace, love and joy" appears as a deficit to me! Taking a look at verse 59, is "let me first go and bury my father." And Jesus, replied, "let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God."

The verse does not mention that this person's father was ill and close to death. It just shows this man had an excuse ready to give about "why I cannot do what you ask". In that day and time.........when someone passed, they were wrapped in linen cloths with spices and placed in a tomb for about 1  year. Then they would take the bones and bury them in the family lot provided. In this, the man could have several years before following Jesus. Again, we have no time-line, but one thing was evident, the person had a reason not to follow. But Jesus told him to let the dead bury their own dead!

Some seem to think that at some point this person came to serve the Lord. I am not certain of that for the Lord told him to let the dead bury their own dead. So the Lord, in His knowing probably saw some issues that this young person was tied to in the world.  If it were just the matter of an elderly aging father and being the only one to care for them, I believe Jesus would have given the word to go take care of business concerning the father and then come to follow Jesus. I also believe that there was to be an anointing on the young man to preach and teach the word of God and call sinners to salvation for Jesus told him to go and preach the kingdom of God. I believe whatever words this young man spoke at home fell on deaf ears, but I do believe the anointing held the power by the Holy Spirit to see many come to the Lord. The anointing I believe was that which would compel many to be saved and to serve the Lord with gladness in their hearts.

The other scripture verse is 61, "Lord, I will follow You, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house."  And Jesus, replied, "no one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God."

Yikes! What was going on at that house and who was always there? It was possibly a place where we got our way, did things our own way, and had a great time everyday! But anyone knows, especially those who have lived on or even near a farm can readily say that man on that tractor is keeping his focus on plowing that field and not looking back. He is intent with staying side by side with each row and as straight as possible for the next planting.

My question to you is this: " are we truly following Him or are we on a short leash"? Do we keep to the word and look straight before us or do we look back to something we ought to just leave behind? Is our way of thinking keeping us chained to the mundane when God wants to do a "new thing" in our lives?

We should have "godly counsel" on this always. We should not seek advice from tarot cards, the horoscope or psychic readings.  If we are to act on God's word then that Word should be that which is leading us. It should be God we hear, and His word that is before us to keep going in the direction of His life, peace, joy and love! 

Here lately, I write and teach on this scripture, for I believe the Lord is asking us to follow Him. I believe His heart is much like what my dad experienced that day in the rain when he ran a race with death and saved me from falling into that enormous mud hole. Is there a slippery slope that the Lord is trying to keep us safe from falling into concerning going back to just say"good-bye to our peeps and pals at home"? Are we using excuses not to serve the Lord because we feel that we would lose something and not really have a good life to look back on.

I had many adventures when I was a child, and then as a youth in middle school and high school. But the greatest adventures I have had are serving the Lord and writing this blog to tell others of the Goodness and Love of God! I believe the Lord speaks to us and gives us that scripture that should "captivate" and keep our attention. That word speaks and brings life to us, directing us on a path of His goodness always. Yes, correction will come at times and sometimes more than we think we need, but it is because He corrects those He loves.

Proverbs... 3:11-12

11 My son, do not despise the chastening of the LORD,

Nor detest His correction; 

12 For whom the LORD loves He corrects,

Just as a father the son in whom he delights. NKJV

My dad did what he needed and wanted to do, to keep me safe and out of harm's way. What is your Father trying to do to keep you out of that harm that may bring death to you or yours? It is so much better to follow the Lord and learn of Him who gives to us so generously as we saw when He gave us His Son!

Father, You are the Great I Am in our midst! In Jesus' name, I pray for the protection of Your children today that they are covered by the Blood of Jesus. I pray that no evil befalls them and that no weapon formed against them shall prosper. I pray that they have hearing ears, and seeing eyes and will know Your voice when YOU speak to them. Lord today, I thank You for Your correction. May we not despise it for whom You love YOU Lord will correct. We know this because a father corrects the son in whom he delights.

Holy Spirit have Your way in our lives today. We give YOU full  rein here in our lives, our home, ministry and in the work place. Show us where we need to watch our step so that we stay in line with YOU and not venture out in a dangerous place that can cause injury or death to us or our family members. We set our focus right before us and expect to hear YOU speak guiding us into a perfect freedom of Your life, peace, joy and love being strengthened day by day to follow the Lord of glory.

 Lord, continue Your love to those who know you, Your righteousness to the upright in heart. (Psalm 36:10-12) I pray that the foot of proud not come against us nor the hand of wicked shall not drive us away.

I pray today that each who read this will trust in the Lord and do good. That they will dwell in the land You bring them to and to enjoy safe pasture. As each delight in YOU the Lord of glory, may these have their hearts desire. I thank You today, that it is YOU that makes our righteousness shine like the dawn and the justice of Your cause like the noonday sun (Psalm 37:1-6) when we follow YOU and Your ways. Amen.

You can also visit my Youtube channel The Voice of Prayer for more teaching at (http://bit.ly/1tNyBhV)