The Diotrephes Syndrome- A strategy for using church discipline as a weapon

This blog was inspired by a Bible study I attended tonight about Diotrephes. The lesson was taught very beautifully by Dr. BJ Relefourd. Her lesson peaked my curiosity about Diotrephes so I'm going to share what I learned with you. By the way, you can find out more about Dr Relefourd on her website http://www.vision-of-life.org/ She holds bible study online every Tuesday at 7pm. Join us there...you'll be blessed! Here we go!

How do you stop the discerning faithful in the church from disrupting your plans to sneak in a false doctrine or two? Your biblical model is Diotrephes. He found an ideal mechanism to silence those whom opposed him and was even able to make it seem as though his approach was spiritual. Even grander, this approach can be used in personal relationships. We will explore how.

I wrote something to the church; but Diotrephes, who loves to be first among them, does not accept what we say. For this reason, if I come, I will call attention to his deeds which he does, unjustly accusing us with wicked words; and not satisfied with this, he himself does not receive the brethren, either, and he forbids those who desire to do so and puts them out of the church. Beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. The one who does good is of God; the one who does evil has not seen God. (3 John 1:9-11)

Ambition

It is unclear whether Diotrephes was the formal elder (overseer/pastor) of the church or whether he simply desired to be especially prominent. In reality, this is irrelevant because it is equally true of pastors or laymen that they can become "ambitious for the place of first distinction." Ambitious for preeminence in the church is entirely different than being desirous to do the work of shepherding/pastoring. Ambition for prestige and control is what leads to "lording it over the flock" (1 Peter 5:3), that is, to become the monarch of the flock and the object of adoration, and it might be added, some small amount of intimidating influence. Contrast that with being desirous to do the work of pastor, which is to dedicate oneself to service, to study, to counseling, and to openly debating and refuting doctrinal errors.

Poor Doctrine

Diotrephes did not accept the teaching of the apostles (v.9). Given his standing of prestige in the church it should be readily evident that he was likely a Christian, and maybe even the majority of his doctrine was "orthodox." Nonetheless, some aspect of Diotrephes’ doctrine, probably the specific "something" to which John refers when he says he "wrote to the church," was not aligned with the apostles’ teaching.

Now, the problem for Diotrephes is that he had run out of arguments and Scripture to justify his stance. Some do-gooder in the body was obviously pressing Diotrephes to give a biblically sound defense for his corrupted doctrine and he was unable to do so. In short, he was trapped. How do you shout down the discerning individuals who just will not shut up and who refuse to stop demanding an answer for the false hope you have articulated so well?

But a Really Good Strategy

Diotrephes used a wonderful and almost unassailable two-pronged attack. An almost perfect strategy. First he attacked the character of the apostles, not their doctrines or theology, but their character, "unjustly accusing us with wicked words." This is so precious. For it should be noted that Diotrephes was able to sidestep his real problem. He could not address the doctrines because he had no Scriptural leg to support him, so he attacked the character of those with good doctrine in order to discredit them and by association, everything they said.

How beautiful that strategy is. How do you counter a character assassination? He said, she said, someone said, all leaves impressions in the minds of the hearers and truth becomes secondary and ultimately lost. The focus is no longer doctrine but whether the person has a good reputation, which by the way was just defamed by the very accuser who is trying to hide his doctrinal failings in the first place.

Prong two is the stroke of genius to the master plan. Cut off fellowship between those who have true biblical discernment and those on whom you are trying to impose the erroneous doctrine. Once fellowship is broken, it becomes impossible for anyone to contradict you. Those who remain in fellowship are those whom you have already won to your point-of-view (who lack appropriate discernment) or are those who are too intimidated to invoke the Word of God against you or against your faulty doctrine. The result is that no one is left to raise any dissent or to contradict you, or worse, raise a valid biblical debate.

In other words, you win by default. You have silenced all your detractors and you win. You do not have to be right, because you win. And by winning, you do not mean that you have attained good doctrine but that you have retained control in spite of your lack of answers and in spite of your poor doctrine. You win, the others lose.

How do you break fellowship between the discerning and the deluded? This requires careful scheming and impeccable execution. You must "put them out of the church" just as Diotrephes did. The only known mechanism that has the appearance of Scriptural and ethical propriety is by using "church discipline." Not genuine "church discipline" however, but pseudo (fake / imitation) church discipline.

Genuine church discipline is all about bringing the sinner back into fellowship by encouraging his repentance from a sin. To encourage his repentance you must privately rebuke him, publicly rebuke him in front of the church, then ultimately treat him as you would any sinner on the street (Matthew 18). Of course, this means no longer inviting him to your breaking-of-bread church services, asking him to take on deacon duties, or allowing him to teach, pray, or read Scripture during meetings of the church. Every interaction will be polite, filled with quotations of Scripture that entreat him to confess his sins and turn from them, always inviting him back to fellowship with God and the church.

This, of course, will never do for your purposes. You goal is not restoration to fellowship, but to permanently sever it. You do not want the Bible-thumpers being lovingly confronted with Scripture because you have none to offer. And frankly, you are the sinner (introducing improper doctrine—remember?), so you do not want or need the discerning ones to repent from any sins, you just want them to go away and not come back. OK, you would also settle for them to just stay quiet and let you run things, but you know that someone who has sufficient discernment to know the Word also knows he is obligated to speak the truth in love, always and often, so you know they will not stay silent.

Executing an Evil Strategy Well

The solution is to level a charge that is improvable, and most importantly, is impossible from which to repent. Among church power brokers the favored charge is "factiousness" (Titus 3:10). Paul says that you should reject a factious man after one or two warnings. Issue these warnings generically from the pulpit, offer no names or specifics, just make generalized warnings—later you can refer to those warnings as already being issued and streamline the entire process.

Then defame and slander their character by adding the charge of anger because those who are passionate about the Word always express emotion sooner or later out of frustration at not being heard so you will always be able to point to some tangible public display of emotion. Oh, never mind that Titus 3 actually defines a factious man as being the one who is introducing destructive and error laden doctrines and who is dividing the fellowship of the church based on improper motives because almost no one is discerning enough in the church to look up the passage on their own, much less properly interpret it in context (hmm, the irony is that while you are falsely accusing the righteous man of being factious Titus 3 actually defines the real factious man as being you). The charge of factiousness itself is sufficient to win the day.

Then, out the door the trouble-making Bible-quoting discerners will go. Most will leave of their own accord anyway, having had enough of their characters being maligned. The few that stick around can easily be sent through a pseudo-church discipline meeting and they too will soon be gone. And since they have nothing they can repent from, they will never return to plague your fellowship again. In fact, this form of ungodly "discipline" might best be characterized by the term "shunning" because its sole goal is to irrevocably destroy fellowship. However, you must never use that term in public because it might draw attention to fact that what you are doing to these innocent individuals really is shunning which is strictly an illegitimate act; we are nowhere called to destroy fellowships but to restore them.

Only One Complication

There is one down side to the tactic. John calls the Diotrephes strategy both "wicked" and "evil." To implement such an approach in the church, in a personal relationship, or in a family setting requires that you leave your interest in obeying the Word of God behind, that you stop loving the victims (love is defined as doing things for their benefit not yours--1 Corinthians 13:5), and that you determine that you are willing to tolerate living in a state of perpetual sin. This is a hard thing for a true believer and follower of our Lord to do, but if you want to act on your ambition to become preeminent in the local church, able to implement whatever doctrine strikes your fancy, and not have to answer to those who insist on biblical accuracy, what choice do you really have?

Really, what choice do you have?

Beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. The one who does good is of God; the one who does evil has not seen God. (3 John 1:11)

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God's Glory

Words to live by for musicians and others!

These are just a few lessons that I have learned the hard way from playing music for over the past 12 years. I just wanted to share these things with you because many of you are beginning musicians. If you’re not a musician, some of these words of wisdom can and will apply in any area or field you explore. Your success or failure in ANYTHING is dependent upon the amount of dedication and time you’re willing to put into it or the lack there of. No time…No success….Much time….Much success!! It’s a simple as that. We must realize that God has not equipped everyone to do or be successful at everything. For example, some people can’t sing no matter how hard they try. Whereas, other people have been gifted with a beautiful voice and can sing anything. So don’t expect to be able to just do anything. Now let’s go into the words of wisdom.

1. If you’re going to do something….do it right!! Don’t half do ANYTHING!! Either you want to do something or you don’t. Many times we expect to just hit or miss when it comes to doing things for God but you don’t want him to do you like that do you? If you ask God to bless you with a car, you don’t want him to give you half a car…do you? NO!! So don’t half do anything for him. Many times we pick up music because the musician leaves the church or just as something to do. If you have just picked it up as something to keep you busy, this doesn’t apply to you. What I am saying applies to someone who is ministering music for their church. I know you may have a job, kids, etc. I am a very busy woman as well but whatever you do for the love must be done with all you’ve got. God knows very well what we do every day but he also knows that we have to priorities things also. The things of God MUST carry more weight than regular things. Colossians 3:23 says: And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men.

2. Don’t allow a few negative comments to deter you! It’s a shame, but some of the meanest most inconsiderate people can be found in the church. I don’t mean other musicians, I mean people who can’t play dead but yet they have the most to say about what you do or don’t do. Keep in mind, this doesn’t just apply to being a musician…you could be an usher, preacher, choir director, financial advisor, etc. Sometimes people just love to hate on people who are doing something. Why? Just because they can, I guess. Either way, you have to be determined to not allow these people to stop you from achieving your vision or goals. I have had people tell me that I might as well quit because I would never be good enough anyway. I’ve been called out in front of a group of people and been told all sorts of mean and hurtful things. The worse part about it was my leader allowed this person to do this in front of everyone even though he knew I was just starting out. I must admit that I basically quit after that because I felt that what this person was saying had to be true if he allowed it. I have since learned otherwise but you get the point, words can be very, very destructive but you have to find a way to keep going. There’s been plenty said since then, but I’m never going to allow that stuff to stop me again. I’ll relocate before I allow anyone to stop me from using my gift. Galatians 6:9 And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.

3. Don’t allow a few positive comments to give you the big head! Allowing positive comments to get to you can be just as disastrous as allowing negative comments to get to you. Why? Because that is called the spirit of pride. Pride is when a person fails to give God all of the credit for their gifts or good deeds. You may think this sounds odd but I’m telling you…when people hear you play or do anything they tend to pat you on the back. The pats on the back themselves are not harmful, it’s how you receive them. Jesus was told all the time, how great he was but he always received those comments humbly. Even Jesus was humble…so what do you think about us. Jesus was able to turn water into wine before he went to the cross…he raised people from the dead before he went to the cross but yet he didn’t ignore the fact that God was the one working through him. We mustn’t forget this either. It’s all by the power of God that we even have our being. So don’t get too high or too low. Proverbs 16:18 Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.

4. Put time and dedication into your craft. This means you must invest practice. If you’re a musician, learn from other more seasoned musicians. Purchase materials that pertain to your craft. If you don’t have any money to spend, there are lots of tutorials on Youtube, my website http://www.chevonnereynolds.webs.com, as well as countless other websites such as LGM, Hearandplay, Gospelmusicians, etc. If you’re a preacher, learn from other more seasoned preachers. There are countless study websites and sermon search sites. Just put in the effort and God will bless your effort. 1 Corinthians 3:7-8 So then neither is he that planteth anything, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase. Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour. In other words, whatever you put in, is what you’ll get out. Nothing from nothing leaves nothing. I have listed some practice techniques on my website for beginning pianists, organist, or drummers. No matter how slow your learning may seem to progress…you have to make up your mind to keep going. Those seasoned musicians you hear playing had to start somewhere.

5. You must have patience!! Your skills may not come instantaneously but it will come if you continue to make an effort. It has taken me a longer period of time than others because of many things but God has still blessed my effort. When you pick up a cd, it can be very difficult for a beginning musician. It sounds like those musicians have 12 or 13 hands and double the amount of fingers, but they don’t! They have put in the time, effort, practice, and patience. Anyone who gets or receives anything easily, will not appreciate it as much in the long run. Look at kids who get cars just for turning 16 years old. They usually go right out and wreck their new car but those who work for their car, cherish that car and guard it with every fiber of their being. The same principle applies when it comes to earning the things of God. Ecclesiastes 5:3 [Amp] For a dream comes with much business and painful effort, and a fool's voice with many words.

6. Pray!! This should have been listed number one but for purposes of this post, I’ll list it here. Prayer is IMPERATIVE!! Before you make a goal of achieving anything, you must pray first. You may have a gift of doing a particular thing but that gift came from God. James 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. Prayer gives you power, patience, and determination you don’t even know you have. I’m not going to go too far into detail but prayer is a conversation between you and God. When you pray, you are telling God, “I can’t do this with my own strength, I NEED YOUR HELP”!!! The most basic thing that you can do as a Christian is BELIEVE! You have to believe God faithfully and without doubt. If he gave you the gift, he will see it through. 1 Thessalonians 5:17 Pray without ceasing. Psalm 138:8 The LORD will perfect that which concerneth me: thy mercy, O LORD, endureth forever: forsake not the works of thine own hands. So we have to remember to keep talking to God, not only about our gifts, but about EVERYTHING!! This is just a small list of things that you need to know as a musician or whatever you are, but if you put these things into practice, YOU WILL GROW and PROGRESS in whatever you do!! Not because I'm saying so, but because God say's so. If you include God in whatever you do, he will bless it!! Just keep in mind that things take times. Things are almost never going to come instantly and without great effort, but if you keep on keepin on, God will elevate you to heights you would never imagine.

More helpful scriptures:

Joshua 1:8-9 [Amp] This Book of the Law shall not depart out of your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, that you may observe and do according to all that is written in it. For then you shall make your way prosperous, and then you shall deal wisely and have good [b]success. Have not I commanded you? Be strong, vigorous, and very courageous. Be not afraid, neither be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.

Hebrews 13:5

Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

1 Corinthians 3:24-27 [English Standard Version]

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.

Phillippians 4:13

I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

Romans 12:1-2

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

John 15:16

Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.

Remain blessed

Why keep believing, when everything around you says otherwise?

How do you continue to believe when everything around you says otherwise. This particular question has been known to cause a lot of discord and really get people upset. Why? Because chances are they are trying to make a sinner believe in something they are too blind to understand. This question is also asked among believers as well. I found myself asking this question this week after the sudden sickness of my baby sister in law. But as a person who has been delivered from the impossible...I know better than to fool around like this. God has shown himself strong in my life a million or more times. Today I'm going to share with you some things that help me cope with impossible situations.

First thing we must realize is that what is impossible to man is ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS possible with God. There is no storm or trial that you face that is impossible for God to bring you through. I recall the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednigo. Before I go into them being thrown into the furnace let's look at Daniel 3:16-18 [NIV] ¹⁶ Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to him, “King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. ¹⁷ If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us^[c] from Your Majesty’s hand. ¹⁸ But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.” Notice what they said in verse 18 (my interpretation) Even if he doesn't deliver us....We will not give up. My God what faith these men must've had in the face of a dire situation!! We must have this same type of resolve when it comes to dealing with our daily tests.

Now in Daniel 3:19-25 [NIV] says: 19 Then Nebuchadnezzar was furious with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and his attitude toward them changed. He ordered the furnace heated seven times hotter than usual 20 and commanded some of the strongest soldiers in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and throw them into the blazing furnace. 21 So these men, wearing their robes, trousers, turbans and other clothes, were bound and thrown into the blazing furnace. 22 The king’s command was so urgent and the furnace so hot that the flames of the fire killed the soldiers who took up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, 23 and these three men, firmly tied, fell into the blazing furnace.

24 Then King Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet in amazement and asked his advisers, “Weren’t there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire?”

They replied, “Certainly, Your Majesty.”

25 He said, “Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.”

As you can see the King got mad and threw Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednigo into the furnace but God allowed them to come out without so much as a scent of smoke on them. That's the God we serve! A God who is able to do the absolute impossible...IF...we are willing to just believe him. Either you believe or you don't. Don't be the type of person who is what we call a fair weather Saint. Be all in or nothing. I KNOW that God is my only choice. Whether he gives me what I want or not....I'm not going anywhere because there is nowhere else to go. What am I going to do when trouble arises? Call the President? That won't help me. What am I going to do, call on a friend or family member? There are some situations in which God is the only one who can help you. This situation that my sister is dealing with, is one of those situations.

Why keep believing for her complete recovery when there are other members in the same family who have suffered the same thing, but still have not recovered. We're talking almost a decade or more with no healing! I'll tell you why. Because there is no other answer. I know that's simple and too light of an answer for some of you deep folks but I'm not deep....I'm saved and I believe that there is NOTHING too hard for my God. Many times if you're not careful, you can become too deep and end up over complicating the simplest things. Hebrews 11:1 which says...Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. The word NOW is highlighted because it is one of the most important words in this scripture. It means that one must have NOW FAITH...in other words, I believe right Now...I believe tomorrow...I believe in 10 years...I believe FOREVER!! My faith in God will never end!

Finally I want to share with you 2 Corinthians 4:18 While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal. We have to keep our eyes on Jesus. He will never fail...He can not lie....His word is eternal...It will not return unto him void or without affect. As long as we know that God is still sitting on the throne and that he still has all power in his hands....we have no choice but to continue to believe and trust in him. He knows what we don't know. Isaiah says that his ways are not our ways and his thoughts are not our thoughts. He is able to see what we can not yet see or understand. He already knows the outcomes of our lives and everyone in this world. God is Omnipotent...he's Omnipresent!! So whatever we face in life, understand that there's nothing I can do anyway. Worrying isn't going to make this situation better so I may as well rest in God. He'll do what needs to be done...and if he doesn't...I still believe and know that he can!!!

Remain blessed

Don't wait until the storm comes to build your house!

Let's just imagine for a minute....a huge, ferocious, violent storm. Imagine the winds blowing 150 mph and trees being uprooted from the ground. Now imagine a carpenter out in the middle of that storm trying to build a house. Sounds crazy doesn't it? Sounds down right INSANE doesn't it? Why? Because he should wait until the weather is fair to build a house. What if I told you that this type of thing happens all the time among Christians. We don't store up prayers and fasting in times of plenty and in times of success. Many Christians wait until the devastations of life come to begin to fast and pray. Today we're going to talk about this and how to keep laziness and complacency from taking a hold on us.

Genesis 41:47-49 and 53-55 (Amplified version) says:

47 In the seven abundant years the earth brought forth by handfuls [for each seed planted].

48 And he gathered up all the [surplus] food of the seven [good] years in the land of Egypt and stored up the food in the cities; he stored away in each city the food from the fields around it.

49 And Joseph gathered grain as the sand of the sea, very much, until he stopped counting, for it could not be measured.

53 When the seven years of plenty were ended in the land of Egypt,

54 The seven years of scarcity and famine began to come, as Joseph had said they would; the famine was in all [the surrounding] lands, but in all of Egypt there was food.

55 But when all the land of Egypt was weakened with hunger, the people [there] cried to Pharaoh for food; and Pharaoh said to [them] all, Go to Joseph; what he says to you, do.

Before I go any further, I think that it's important for me to explain what I mean when I say "storm". There are various types of storms such as: tornado, hurricane, tsunami, blizzard, etc. In this particular post we're not talking about those types of storms, we are talking about the storms of life. What are storms of life you may ask? A storm of life could be any of the following: job loss, death of a loved one, loss of health, children misbehaving, poverty, trouble in your marriage, and other related issues. Now that we have explained that let's go into the Word of God.

In the above scriptures we can see that Joseph used foresight. He knew that according to Pharaoh's dream, there would be 7 years of plenty and 7 years of famine. Instead of overlooking the revelation that God gave him, he decided to put something back for the 7 years of famine. Many times Christians get that income tax check and go out and spend every last cent of it. I know because my husband and I have been guilty of this very thing. When tough times came we always ran into trouble simply because we didn't think about saving anything in our time of plenty.

People often ask me, why do you ask people to pray for your marriage when everything is still going fine? I tell them because I don't want to wait until things get bad before we get prayer. We want to store prayers up right now so that when we face problems, we will be able to withstand the enemy. Look around and see how many good people are ending up divorced and you'll completely understand why we have to get down to business with God when things are going well. Don't wait until the storm comes to build your house! 1 Thessalonians 5:17 (KJV) says: Pray without ceasing. No matter how good things are going in life, remember to stay prayerful. Don't wait until someone dies to pray...Don't wait until you lose your job to pray....Don't wait until another terrorist attack happens to pray....Now is the needed time.

Before I end this post let me also say that it's important that we not only invest prayers and fasting but we should also invest time. Not just time with God but also time with our loved ones. What usually happens is we get comfortable and complacent when it comes to spending time with our family, but when that person passes away we want to nut up and go crazy. We then start to regret that we didn't call or visit that person. I've been guilty of the same thing. I've been blessed with the best grandparents that any human being could ever have. They raised me from the age of 10 years old to the age of 23. They raised me in spite of the fact that they had already raised their kids to be productive adults. After I got married and had two kids of my own, I became so enveloped in them that I didn't give my grandparents the time they deserved. Now that God has brought this to my attention, I do all I can to spend more time with them. So it's important that we invest our time as well as our prayers into every area and aspect of our lives. Don't wait until the storm comes to build your house!!

Remain blessed

Chevonne Reynolds

God's Glory http://www.chevonnereynolds.webs.com

Pursue your dreams and goals!

I have been so blessed to have come into contact with people who have been willing to help me better myself with no strings attached. For quite a while it's been my vision to be able to someday give back what was so freely given to me. That time has finally come in the form of a new website God blessed me with called "God's Glory". It's not professional or anything like that but I just wanted to at least make a start. I began this site on April 28th and I must say that it has been very exciting and difficult at the same time. My mind's been going 100 miles per hour with new ideas that I believe would be an asset to Christians, musicians, singers, churches, businesses, etc. I realize that maintaining a website is a very tedious thing but I also believe that God will give me the strength, wisdom, and determination I need in order to maintain this site. The only real failure in life is the failure to try.

There are so many people out there who have dreams, goals, and visions but they've been told all their lives that they could never dream. They've been told that they just have to go with the flow and not think outside the box. I can't speak for any other race but as a black woman, I know that I have found more discouragement from my own race than anywhere else. For some reason, we grew up being told to never dream. Thank God that I have come into the knowledge of the truth. What is this truth I learned you ask? The truth is God has planted dreams and visions inside of each and ever person regardless of the sex, race, limitations, and creed. God wants us to dream! He wants us to see ourselves doing the impossible. Why? Because this gives him the opportunity to show himself strong. 2 Chronicles 16:9 says: For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him. Herein thou hast done foolishly: therefore from henceforth thou shalt have wars.

One of the best examples I've read in the Bible about pursuing the impossible is found in 1 Samuel the 30th chapter. If you get a chance read the entire chapter but for the sake of this post I will focus on verse 8 which says: 8 And David enquired at the LORD, saying, Shall I pursue after this troop? shall I overtake them? And he answered him, Pursue: for thou shalt surely overtake them, and without fail recover all. God told him to PURSUE! Why? Because this gave God the opportunity to reveal his power in an impossible situation. Don't be afraid be afraid to pursue your dreams! Don't allow anything or anyone to hinder or abort the dream God has placed inside of you. Will it be easy? NO! Will you face opposition? YES! But God wouldn't have given you a dream that he couldn't make come true. Luke 1:37 says: For with God nothing shall be impossible. All we have to do is believe and PURSUE!!

As a new site owner I welcome people's input, especially other site owners. So far people have really encouraged me but I have also been given the doomsday scenario of running and maintaining a site. I don't let it bother me because many times people tell me things like this because they have tried it and failed and they just don't want me to go through the same thing. I just can't allow myself to think negatively right now. I have to continue to pursue my dream because I want my dreams to become reality. They already are to tell the truth.

I can't close this post without sharing some of the features of my site and without inviting anyone who reads this post to check it out. You can click on this link to visit http://www.chevonnereynolds.webs.com . If you like it please feel free to join it's free! Please pray that God helps me see this thing through. There's a lot of work involved but I have confidence in God. Below is a clip of me demonstrating the features of "God's Glory"

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Matthew 28:1-17

1 After the sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary

Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb.

After the Sabbath, on Sunday morning, Jesus rose from the dead. This fact led to

the disciples and early Christians meeting together weekly on “the first day of the

week” (see Mark 16:9; Acts 20:7; 1 Corinthians 16:2). They broke bread (perhaps

meaning they celebrated the Lord’s Supper) and perhaps received a collection

and probably heard the scriptures read (probably including the Old Testament,

gospel portions, and letters from the apostles) and taught or discussed the

scriptures. The women went to care for the entombed body of Jesus, not because

they expected to see Him raised from the dead.

2 And suddenly there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the

Lord, descending from heaven, came and rolled back the stone and

sat on it.

The earthquake was explained by the coming of the angel to roll away the stone

door in front of the tomb. The angel then sat on the stone, remaining at the tomb

entrance. The angel did not come to let Jesus out of the tomb (as Jesus had the

stone rolled away for Lazarus to come out of the tomb alive when He called

Lazarus to come out). Jesus passed through the stone walls, for the women found

the tomb empty and they did not see Jesus walk out of the tomb when the angel

rolled away the stone. Jesus later passed through walls or a closed door to appear

to His disciples who were fearfully hiding in a locked room (see John 20:19).

3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow.

The angel appeared to both the guards and the women. The women were not

confused about where Jesus was buried or the location of His tomb (see Matthew

27:61). The guards reacted with fear, similar to the guards’ terrified response

when Jesus died on the cross and there was an earthquake (see Matthew 27:54).

The Bible says we can entertain angels unawares (see Hebrews 13:2). In the case

of Jesus’ resurrection, both guards and women were aware of the angel coming to

the tomb and they were overwhelmed at his appearing.

4 For fear of him the guards shook and became like dead men.

The Roman guards had both a physical and mental reaction to the angel. Rather than bravely stand their ground as they had been taught and challenge the angel

over his actions, they shook with fear and fell to the ground. Perhaps they had

also learned from the guards at the crucifixion (or were the same guards) that

Jesus was the Son of God, so they expected immediate execution from an angry

God at the hands of the angel. The guards fell unconscious and the women

witnessed their response.

5 But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid; I know that you

are looking for Jesus who was crucified.

The angel disregarded the guards, and sought to comfort the women who had

come to honor Jesus by caring for his dead body according to their burial

practices. The angel reinforced the fact that Jesus had indeed been crucified; that

in fact He had died and had been buried at that exact location where he appeared.

The women were right to come there looking for Jesus, but they were not

accurate in their thinking because they expected to find Jesus still dead.

6 He is not here; for he has been raised, as he said. Come, see the

place where he lay.

The angel corrected their thinking and invited them to become witnesses

regarding the empty tomb. He declared they would not find Jesus’ body because

Jesus had been raised (though at one time Jesus had been laid in the empty

tomb, in which no other body had ever been laid). Jesus’ resurrection had

occurred sometime prior that day, prior to the opening of the tomb by the angel

and the earthquake. The angel’s perfect timing made it possible for the women to

see the guards guarding the tomb, experience the earthquake, and see the stone

rolled away before they entered the tomb. There could be no confusion or doubt

about someone having come to the tomb earlier to remove Jesus’ body.

7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He has been raised from the

dead, and indeed he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see

him.’ This is my message for you.”

After the women saw where Jesus had been laid and the angel once again

emphasized that Jesus had been dead and had been raised from the dead, the

angel told them that Jesus also had the ability to travel to Galilee (He had not just

been resuscitated, which would have required months of rehabilitation). Jesus

would later need to demonstrate His fully human resurrected powers by

appearing to them in a locked room to convince them that He was alive and well

and that they should travel to Galilee to see Him again.

8 So they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy, and ran to tell

his disciples.

The women believed the angel because he was no ordinary man and miracles

accompanied his appearing. They saw the guards fall in fear. They saw the empty tomb. They felt the earthquake and the earthquake’s perfect timing. They saw the

angel roll the stone away without the help of other angels or people. Presumably,

the disciples felt the great earthquake where they were in hiding, and the women

could explain the cause of the earthquake. The two women could give good and

sufficient reasons for the disciples to believe that Jesus had been raised from the

dead, but the disciples were foolish and slow to believe (see Luke 24:25-26).

9 Suddenly Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came to

him, took hold of his feet, and worshiped him.

The Bible teaches the need for two witnesses in case of a trial. Two witnesses to

an event should be believed in they are know to be trustworthy. The Hebrews

knew that witnesses would be held accountable by God for bearing false witness

or lying. In addition to the events surrounding Jesus’ resurrection, both the angel

and the living, resurrected Lord Jesus bore witness to the fact that Jesus had

been raised from the dead. At this point in time, the women worshiped Jesus as

would all those in the early Christian church. Jesus received their worship as was

He right as the Son of God. Angels and the apostles (no matter what miracles they

worked) always refused the worship of others, saying only God deserved to be

worshiped. Jesus did not refuse to be worshiped. He willingly received the

worship of others as God.

10 Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers

to go to Galilee; there they will see me.”

This was the second time that the women were told not to be afraid. Though

Jesus is the Son of God, He called His disciples “brothers” (see also Hebrews

2:11). He reaffirmed what the angel told the women, again we have two witnesses

to the command because the command was given to them twice by two different

persons. Obedience to this command would become a test for the disciples, and

they failed the test by remaining in the locked room until Jesus appeared to them

to convince them He was raised from the dead—which also gives us more good

reasons to believe that the facts presented regarding Jesus’ resurrection are true.

11 While they were going, some of the guard went into the city and

told the chief priests everything that had happened.

The women went to reveal the good news of Jesus’ resurrection to His disciples as

He commanded. The guards went to reveal the “bad news” (from their

perspective) to the people responsible for Jesus’ crucifixion and death. They felt

the earthquake, and presumably so did the chief priests and the Roman

authorities, for the earthquake was great. The guards saw the angel and the

empty tomb, and they reported all of this to the religious authorities.

12 After the priests had assembled with the elders, they devised a plan

to give a large sum of money to the soldiers,

The elders of the people were convinced by the facts the soldiers presented to

them, but just as they had lied and borne false witness to crucify Jesus, one who

was innocent, so they implicated the guards in bearing false witness again

regarding His resurrection. To avoid being held responsible for the death of the

Son of God, and for other reasons, they bribed the soldiers (another crime by

religious leaders) to join in their lying schemes.

13 telling them, “You must say, ‘His disciples came by night and stole

him away while we were asleep.’

The lie that the religious leaders devised is highly implausible. The disciples’

hopes were crushed. They went into hiding. They would not venture out of

hiding, but the women did go to Jesus’ grave. They were hiding in fear that they

would be found and crucified too, as rebels, to satisfy the blood lust of the

religious leaders. The women went to embalm Jesus’ body. None of Jesus’

followers had any reason to steal His body or try to concoct a fraud that would

lead to their deaths. All of this is plausible and consistent with the facts of

Scripture. They certainly would not have had the courage to steal Jesus’ body or

fight armed Roman guards, or take the chance of awakening the Roman guards

while they slept as they rolled away a heavy stone. How could the Roman guards

have stayed asleep while a stone was rolled away, especially since they would be

killed for failure to do their duty in securing Jesus’ body (see Acts 16:27)?

14 If this comes to the governor's ears, we will satisfy him and keep

you out of trouble.”

Everyone knew the guards would be punished for failure to do their duty, and the

story would have resulted in their execution, so the religious leaders determined

to achieve their fraud by plotting with the governor or lying to him. The guards

needed the leaders to protect them and explain the disappearance of Jesus’ body

for them. If they had not been bribed, to escape punishment for dereliction of

duty, the guards would have told the truth.

15 So they took the money and did as they were directed. And this

story is still told among the Jews to this day.

Even today, various atheists and other religious teachers promote the story

concocted by these religious leaders (or some variation of the story) in their

efforts to deny the fact of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead. This is another

prophecy that has been fulfilled. For almost 2,000 years since the gospel of

Matthew was written “this story is still told among the Jews to this day.” (I will

not promote any of these books here, but if you want to know an example you can

send an e-mail to me.)

16 Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which

Jesus had directed them.

Matthew wrote a shortened version of Jesus’ resurrection appearances and added

some facts some of the other gospel writers omitted (this is to be expected of any

biographer). From the other gospels we learn that the disciples did not

immediately believe the women and do what Jesus commanded them to do

through the women; however, the eleven did eventually go to Galilee as Jesus had

commanded them and as Matthew reported. They should have immediately

believed and obeyed what Jesus said through the women, but they did not (Jesus

called them foolish).

17 When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted.

Just as the women worshiped Jesus, some of the disciples also worshiped Jesus

when He appeared to them on the mountain. Rather than doubting His

resurrection (which they had become convinced of by Jesus himself), I believe

that some doubted whether they should worship Jesus as God. Jesus’ response

when He gave them the Great Commission answers the doubt about whether they

should worship Him as God, for Matthew wrote (beginning with verse 18) “And

Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been

given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in

the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching

them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with

you always, to the end of the age’” (Matthew 28:18-20). Notice: Jesus used

“name” in the singular when speaking of “the Father and of the Son and of the

Holy Spirit.” He declared clearly that worshiping Him as God was right and

permissible.

Remain blessed

God's mercy is new every morning!

For some reason or another, I have found myself waking up earlier and earlier in the morning. I finally figured out that God wanted to share some things with me concerning his mercy and grace. Many people don't understand that God gives us a do-over every day. Every day that I wake up is a chance for me to correct what I got wrong yesterday. Every day that I wake up is a chance for me to experience his undying love.

Lamentations 3:21-23 KJV says: This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope. It is of the LORD's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness!!

Before I go any further let me just say: I get tired of this entitlement mentality that has crept into Christians and prevails in American society today. This attitude that "I have a right to it" or "I am entitled to it" or "You owe it to me." This idea that we have no responsibilities, no obligations, no price to pay; that we don't have to work or put any effort into succeeding in life. Getting saved is the easy part but excelling in the faith will cost you something. It is a heretical notion that somehow the Lord owes us something. The Lord does not owe us anything: we owe Him everything!

Jeremiah tells us, it is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, then it follows that our salvation, our not being consumed, is entirely on God's terms. Again, taking the Bible as a whole, we see that the Lord does set the conditions on which we will be saved. Now, mind you, our meeting these conditions still doesn't entitle us to salvation. We still have not earned it. And we can never earn it (Matthew 19:26). We'll never be entitled or have a right to it -- at least not by anything we can ever say or do in and of ourselves. Paul tells us in Titus 3:5-7 (one of those anti-works proof-texts) "Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, by the washing of regeneration" (water baptism in Jesus' name) "and renewing of the Holy Ghost" (receiving the Holy Ghost); "which He shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior; that being justified by His grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life."

Verse 23 tells us, "They are new every morning: great is Thy faithfulness," like we sing in the old hymn. What are new every morning? God's compassion. They are fresh in our lives every day. They are in full strength. They do not deteriorate, spoil or go stale. We've heard throughout our Christian journey about how much the Lord loves us and cares for us. Here is yet another confirmation of this. And that's the whole point: it is HIS love, HIS care, HIS mercy, His compassion. It is of the Lord's mercies! It is of the Lord's mercies! It is of the Lord's mercies! Revelation 4:11 tells us, "Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for Thou hast created all things, and for Thy pleasure they are and were created." God isn't here for us, we're here for Him. We're here to honor Him, glorify Him, bring pleasure to Him; not the other way around. Any blessing or pleasure or honor we receive as a result of our serving Him, is entirely out of the goodness of His heart.

I believe that Christians can get a bit self-righteous and think they are more than what they are. Ephesians 2:8-9 tells us, "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. Everyday we must understand just how much of a mess we would be in without God's mercy. We may not speak wrong but we all have had wrong thoughts. Look at the many scriptures about thoughts and how powerful they are. I have thought of committing suicide in the past and even attempted it but THANK GOD FOR HIS MERCY!! We will never deserve the unfailing, undying, unmerited favor that God bestows upon us. So let us always remember this before we decide to bad mouth someone for the wrong they've done. If it wasn't for mercy you wouldn't be where you are.

Remain blessed

Praise your way out!

Did you know that your praise is one of your greatest weapons? Praise is a weapon that can be used to deliver us from any problem or situation. It takes absolutely nothing to praise God when things are going alright but something happens when you praise God in the face of adversity. You can praise your way out of any situation. Let's look at an example of this.

Acts 16:23-32 (KJV)

²³And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailor to keep them safely:

²⁴Who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks.

²⁵And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them.

²⁶And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one's bands were loosed.

²⁷And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled.

²⁸But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here.

²⁹Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas,

³⁰And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?

³¹And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.

³²And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house.

As you can see, Paul and Silas were beaten and thrown in jail for doing absolutely nothing wrong. Can you imagine doing your job and getting beaten and thrown in prison for it? Instead of Paul and Silas mumbling and complaining they begin to use their main weapon...praise. Even though, they had been beaten and humiliated they chose to praise the Lord. As we have said before, something happens when you praise God in the midst of your trials and tribulations.

We must realize that getting saved doesn't cost us anything but in order to go anywhere in Christ it comes with a great price. Paul and Silas had to pay for doing what thus says the Lord. If you notice something begin to happen when they praised God. There was an earthquake that took place. An earthquake that was so powerful that it loosed their shackles and set them free. Not only did their praise deliver them, but it delivered everyone else that was in jail that night. Notice that Paul and Silas could easily have escaped but they didn't. They stayed there in order to do the work of the Lord. And because of their obedience to God, the guard/keeper got saved that night. Why? Because praise is a powerful weapon. That guard knew that there was something different about these guys. He saw the impossible happen and wanted what Paul and Silas had. Christians should radiate the power of God so strongly that people know there's something different about us. People will marvel at you when you refuse to allow your situation to dictate your happiness.

No matter what you're facing today in your life, just like Paul and Silas praised their way out...you can praise your way out. We just have to make up our minds that we're not going to take our focus off of what really matters and that's living to please God. Has God ever failed you? No, so why would he fail you now. Understand that God is with us wherever we go, just waiting to show himself strong. All we have to do is trust him. When you praise God in the midst of your storm you are telling him, "God I trust you"..."God I know you're going to make a way out of no way"...."God I know that somehow, someway you're going to work this out in my favor". Things can not remain the same when you begin to praise God anyhow. So chose today not to mumble your way out, not to grumble your way out, not to worry your way out, but to Praise your way out!!!

Remain blessed