What is it that you’ve felt the Lord calling you to pursue? Are you actively and faithfully waiting on Him?
-Michael Thacker
Michael Thacker
“Investigating the evolution of consciousness through integrated symbolic, archaeological, and psychological research.”
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Category: devotional
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Scripture is very much practical in nature, and yet is much richer than that. To fully grasp what the word is articulating one must delve beneath the surface, break down the components into sub components, meditate on them, and then put them back together. Only at this moment can we comprehend and appreciate the full splendor that God’s word provides, for to completely grasp the practicality you must first understand the meaning and value behind it.
– Michael Thacker
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Criticism and encouragement go hand in hand. If a person provides too much criticism there will be only regression and the loss of self worth in the mind of the one being critiqued. The same applies to those that always encourage and yet never criticize for the individual who receives the continuous encouragement comes to believe they can do no wrong and growth is inhibited. Balance is essential within life, both in a negative and positive aspect and only in the balance can we find true growth and prosperity.
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Humans are complex creatures with no one size fits all solution. Each individual must delve deep within themselves to understand who they are and who God has created them to be. Only in the depths of being will you face your monsters and bring order out of chaos.
The Bible warns against simple mindedness, and what does that mean exactly? It means to not go about your life unaware of who you are, to never search the depths of your being and to be conscientious of what is going on around you as well as the choices you make.
As much as it makes us uncomfortable to search the chaotic depths of ourselves where we find many things we may not really like about our mode of being, we may also find things that we never knew we were capable of doing. Only there are we able to conquer those monsters while discovering new things like talents and gifts that were undiscovered before.
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Today is a day of celebration, a day of hope for all people on earth as Jesus rose from the dead. That if we only believe in Christ and are cleansed by His blood, we will be saved and be given eternal life. This astounding gift is set before all people and all we have to do is choose.
This same choice has been presented since the beginning at the time of the fall with the tree of life and the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Choices are apart of another great gift, that is freewill. The question we must all ask ourselves is, “In what manner are we executing our freewill?”
“And if it seems evil to you to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.””
Joshua 24:15 NKJV
We can choose to follow the path that leads to destruction, that is the ideologies of the world that are void of any truth or merit. Or we can follow the One who gives us an eternal hope and that has imparted the gift of freewill itself to us, Jesus Christ.
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”
John 3:16 NKJV
Let us celebrate by spending time with loved ones and praising the Lord for such great a gift as His death on the cross and rising the third day to cleanse us and give us eternal life and for the freewill to be able to choose it. Happy Easter!
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Time is precious and with it comes the dire necessity to utilize time correctly, and yet more times than often we neglect the necessity with futile passions and desires. Most of the time we are neglecting our time by scanning through our social media feed, searching frivolously on the web, or sitting on the pot while snap chatting. But what about when we do utilize time meticulously and yet nothing seems to be happening or changing for the better?
In our society of instant messaging and “overnight” success stories, it’s easy to get caught up in the idea that things should happen faster than what they do. Reality on the other hand tells a different story with most so called “overnight” successes really coming from years upon years of hard work and study. And, of course, anything worthwhile will be worth waiting for.
“But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.”
James 1:4 NKJVPatience and faith are essential when utilizing time correctly in hopes that things will grow and change. As long as we can feel the guidance of the Spirit leading us in the correct direction, we then have no need to fear the outcome or time. When we are heeding the call of God upon our lives, whether it be in ministry, business, etc., we can be rest assured that God is with us and will open the doors of opportunity in due time.
“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 faith.”
Isaiah 40:31It’s our job as faithful servants of the Lord to stay true to the calling and to no become discouraged, but rather to continue persevering even when things don’t seem to be happening as timely as we had thought. The anxiety and fear we feel from the length of time something is taking is typically rooted within the flesh. The desire to have things happen our way and in our time stems from a desire to appease our fleshly nature and a desire for control of our life.
The remedy here is to let go and give it all to God and know as well as trust in His perfect timing. Deny your flesh, be patient and wait on the Lord and He will exalt you in due time.
“Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.”
1 Peter 5:6,7Where do you stand today? Are you waiting for the big breakthrough, and yet feel hopeless? Give it your all while trusting and waiting on God, and know that all will be well as His timing is always perfect.
-Michael Thacker
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No pain, no gain has been a popular phrase among many athletes throughout the past few decades, but it is not just for athletes. Life here on earth is currently in a fallen state and will remain that way until the return of Jesus Christ. Till the day occurs we are set to reside in a fallen state where hardships and trials attack us on the daily, ranging from small to large scale and devastating. Since the fall of man this has been so:
“Cursed is the ground for your sake; in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life. Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, and you shall eat the herb of the field. In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for dust you are, and to dust you shall return.” (Genesis 3:17-19 NKJV)
There is no escape from the fallen state except by death or by the return of Christ, so do not go looking for heaven on earth because you will not find it. No matter how hard we try we will always run into trials and hard times, but the good news is that we can overcome these hard times by leaning upon God and His word. When we relying on the power of God to strengthen us and His wisdom to guide us we can then push through the hard times and come out victorious.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your paths.” (Proverbs 3:5-6)
Lets face it, it is very easy to get side tracked when pain and hurts come our way. When the seas of life begin to rage we begin to sink as we take our sights off Jesus and stare at the waves. The key here is to redirect our sights back on Jesus when we feel like we are sinking and just like Peter when he was walking on the water and began to sink and Jesus pulled him back up, so will He also do for us when we call on His name and set our sights back on Him.
One of the main factors of pain that I like to tell people is that pain is many times needed in order to grow in God as we journey through this life with Him, seeking to reach full maturity. Without pain we can become stagnate in our growth process and ultimately, more times than often, find ourselves drifting away from God as we feel no need for Him with the comforts of an easy life rocking us into a spiritual slumber.
“My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. (James 1:2-4)
I do not know where you stand today. I am not sure of what battles you are facing, but remember to ask God for wisdom and strength to guide you through the pain. Ask Him to reveal to you what He is doing through this battle and to continue to help you grow in Him more and more with each passing day. You are an overcomer in Christ, so move forward in faith to the victory that lies ahead! God bless!
Michael Thacker 