The Pastor's Pocket

2 Kings 5:1, “Now Naaman, captain of the host of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master, and honourable, because by him the Lord had given deliverance unto Syria: he was also a mighty man of valour, but he was a leper.”   Naaman had it all. A position of power and prestige as the captain of the Syrian forces, a large military armed with soldiers at his command. A great man by all accounts with favor from his superior. He had the reputation of being a fine soldier himself. Through his leadership many victories in battle went his way which led to an accumulation of great wealth. Here was a man with pretty much everything except for just one thing. He was a leper, and that was raining on his parade, spoiling his life in many ways. Naaman obeyed the instructions from a man of God, Elisha, the prophet in Israel. He experienced a miracle and was healed from that one thing.   Naaman’s physical condition pictures humanity’s spiritual condition. A sin nature, an empty spot in life,

When was the last time you made a move toward God? My thoughts today are about the woman with the issue of blood. The narrative is found in Mark 5:24-34. Jesus is on His way to minister to a little girl on her death bed. There was a throng of people around Him. At this point in His ministry, there was a crowd everywhere He went. On this day, a certain woman who had a real problem moves through the crowd to get to Jesus. She believes if she can just touch the hem of his garment, she will be healed of her serious illness. She has suffered twelve long years, had seen many doctors, but was still sick. She is desperate.   When the woman heard that Jesus was passing by, she made her move toward him. Because of her faith, she was healed, and saved. He called her “Daughter”. God always honors our reach in faith. I’ve been preaching the Word of God for over 40 years now. I’ve preached the gospel a lot of places, to a lot of people. Thousands have heard the good news from my mouth and yet so man

I was staying at a hotel recently with the window open. Several crows were up in the trees doing what crows do, “crowing” to each other. It made me wonder, what are they saying? I’m sure they understood each other. Will we someday, in the future, understand the language of the birds and animals? Perhaps.   All creatures have quite a sophisticated language by which they communicate with each other. Whales, elephants, lions, cows, and birds make distinct noises. We humans may not grasp what they are saying, but they are “talking”.   The Bible says that one day God will bring ALL things together in Christ. ALL things will be under His Lordship. He will gather as one universe, heaven and earth, and all of its creatures. In that grand scenario, why would we not understand each other?   You remember that the serpent spoke in such a way that Eve understood (Genesis 3:1). In Numbers 22, we are told that Balaam’s donkey spoke to him when the Lord opened its mouth (verse 28), then Balaam spoke t

God knows every detail of our life. He knows what we’re capable of and He knows what would destroy us. Whatever we encounter, whatever we go through, He knows about it. Remember this principle; if you can’t handle it, God won’t allow it.   In the first chapter of Job, we’re told of all that Job encountered. God knew the character of this man and he knew he could survive the test.  He said to Satan, “have you considered my servant Job?” (Job 1:8).   Life can seem hopeless at times. Many situations can bring on that sense of hopelessness. Satan is the master of robbing people of hope. Hope of -improvement, hope for change, hope for a better day, hope for a solution to the problem. The devil wants to get us down and keep us down. He will if we let him. When we are in despair, we must change our focus and look to God for strength. Change your focus, and you change your feelings.   In Psalm 42, the psalmist said that he would hope in God, praise Him, and he would remember all the times God

Have you ever surrendered your mouth to the Lordship of Jesus Christ? Most believers understand the concept of Lordship – meaning we are to be totally surrendered to Jesus. But few think of Lordship in regards to their mouth. If we examine the scriptures we find many verses that admonish us to use wisdom and discipline with regards to what we say.   Ephesians 4:29, “Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth”. Ephesians 5:4, “neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting”. Jesting means coarse, or harsh jabs at someone. Matthew 5:37, “let your communication be, yea, yea; nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.” Colossians 3:9, “Lie not to one another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds.” I Corinthians 10:10, “Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer.” I Thessalonians 5:18, “In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”   The average person th

In Galatians 6:14, the Apostle Paul wrote, “But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ,” Let’s pay close attention to what he said next, “ by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.” I see two crucifixions here: one in which the world was dead to Paul in his generation. Secondly, Paul was dead to the world.   Crucifixion in the first century meant death. There was no other outcome for those who were crucified. Paul uses crucifixion to indicate a death, a separation, and it was inevitable. As Paul preached the cross of Christ, His death and resurrection, the world wanted nothing to do with Paul. They made that clear many times.   But you know what? Paul was dead to the world. He cared nothing for its attractions, his only focus was to preach Christ to all who would listen. We as believers have divine instruction to not love the world and the things that are in the world (I John 2:15). As Christians, this world holds nothing for

We could all use some courage in these trying days we live in. Joshua was given the assignment of leading the Israelites across the Jordan River and into the land of promise after Moses had been their leader all those years in the wilderness. In Joshua 1:6, God said to Joshua, “Be strong and of good courage”. Verse 7, “Only be thou strong and very courageous”. Verse 9, “Have I not commanded the? Be strong and of good courage, be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed for the Lord thy God is with thee withersoever thou goest.”   Knowing that Joshua would need some courage after serving under Moses in the wilderness, the Lord commanded him to be strong and full of courage. In chapter three of Joshua, we read of how this bold and fearless leader, full of courage, led the people across the Jordan River, into the land of Canaan, the land full of milk and honey, yet filled with many unknowns and many challenges.   We too have big challenges ahead as we prepare for the coming of the Lord. Our w

We must consistently pursue the power of a pure heart out of which comes an effective prayer life (2 Timothy 2:22, Matthew 5:8).   Let’s face reality; sinful attitudes and activities are way too abundant in today’s church.   Yet the Christian is called to resist temptation and to go further. We are to hate sin, to reject it, and to love righteousness. If the church of today is to experience revival and to witness an outpouring of God’s glory and power, we must develop a heart for God.   We must want to live for God and to shun evil and iniquity.   The Lord will hear our prayers when we shun evil and wage war on iniquity in our lives.   The key to spiritual power is maintaining a pure heart.  Remember, Jesus has a bride, He doesn’t want girlfriends.  Our heart must not be divided.  We cannot love Jesus and love the things of this world too (Matthew 12:25, 15:8). I love the words to the song “Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus”.  “Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in His wonderful face. And

Lamentations 3:25 / Psalm 16:11 / Isaiah 40:28-31   We will only linger around something we love. Think about it. If we love the Lord, lingering in His presence should be our delight, our joy. Waiting upon the Lord has tremendous benefits if we are patient enough to linger in His presence.   Waiting is hurry’s enemy. Satan wants us to rush, rush and hurry through life, bypassing the joy that comes from enjoying the present moment we have with the Lord. Patience brings power, vision, motivation, and perseverance. True change occurs in the presence of God.   If we learn to linger long enough and wait upon the Lord, anger will subside, confusion will disappear, and the fear of man will die.  While we are waiting, we can hear His voice, hope can be birthed, our countenance will change, wounds can be healed, true joy will return, mistakes can be exposed, instruction and direction are given, a fresh anointing is imparted, love is reignited, and God gives renewed strength for tomorrow’s chall

The Blessing of the Bible In the prayer of Jesus to His Father, He said, “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.” John 17:17. Jesus is praying for His disciples, for their growth. How are they to grow and be sanctified? Through the truth, the Word of God.   For all of us, the truth is found in the Bible, the written revelation from God to man. What a blessing it is to have the Bible. Some of us have more than one, perhaps even many. The Bible is divine truth, absolute truth which makes it one of the most valuable gifts God could have given the world outside of Jesus, God’s Son.   It’s no wonder the Bible has been assaulted, de-valued and dismissed throughout the ages. It’s no wonder the devil battles the preacher who is committed to preaching it. It’s no wonder we face resistance when we determine to read it, to study it. The Bible is life-changing! The Bible is a blessing from God!   When was the last time you picked up your Bible or downloaded a Bible app and determined

I John 5:3 says that God’s “commandments are not grievous.”  In other words, they are not difficult to obey for those who love the Lord. Christianity is not just dos and don’ts.  However, commandments are in the Bible for our benefit.  God knows that certain boundaries are needed for our well-being.  Moral, physical, and spiritual boundaries are given so that we might live full and abundant lives.   The truth is, when we put God first, we are happier.   When we follow the restrictions found in God’s Word, the quality of our lives is much better overall.   The Book of Proverbs is filled with wisdom ready to be harvested.   The book is full of dos and don’ts.   For example: don’t envy the wicked (24:1). Don’t try to get even with people (24:29). Don’t boast of tomorrow (27:1). Don’t brag or praise yourself (27:2). Do fear the Lord (24:21). Do love your enemy (25:21). Do discipline your children (29:17). Proverbs contains a host of other instructions that indicate your wisdom if you follo

In Matthew 18:19, Jesus provides us with a powerful promise, “Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them by my Father which is in heaven.”   I believe the Lord is giving us a principle here; there is victory in prayer through partnership. Solomon also laid down this principle in Ecclesiastes 4:9, “Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labor.”   We see the benefits of a team effort or a partnership in several places.  In Acts 16, Paul and Silas prayed together and God gave them supernatural favor.  In Acts 3, Peter and John went to the temple to pray. A breakthrough came as they partnered together in prayer. They witnessed the healing of a lame man.   Why have a prayer partner? To help bear one another’s burdens (Galatians 6:20). To add your faith to another’s. Doubling the faith towards anything you might be praying about.   It is a scriptural principle (James 5:16). It bui

Allow me to encourage you with a thought: our prayers never die.  In Acts chapter 10 verse 2; Cornelius “prayed to God always” and God sent an angel to tell him, “thy prayers… are come up for a memorial before God” (verse 4). We must learn to continually be in communication with our Heavenly Father so that prayer becomes as constant as breathing (I Thessalonians 5:17). God remembers each prayer we pray throughout eternity – our prayers never die. Read Revelation 5:8. When John looked over into heaven, he saw golden bowls full of incense which are the prayers of saints. Also, in Revelation 8:3 there they are again “the prayers of all saints” before the throne of God.   Back to Cornelius in Acts chapter 10. It was through the faithful prayers of this devout Christian servant, that Peter was sent to him, was shown in a vision (the great sheet) that all peoples are loved by God and deserve to hear the gospel (Acts 10:34,35 & 45).  You could say that because of the faithful prayers of C

When God does something wonderful for you, you have a right to be happy about it. In Acts 3:1-10, consider the incredible miracle that this poor crippled man experienced.  His whole life up until that moment was filled with misery, humiliation, pain, and frustration, but by the power of God, his humiliation turned into jubilation.  For the first time in his life, he was overwhelmed with pure joy.  He was so happy that he just couldn’t hold it in. He entered the temple with Peter and John “walking, and leaping, and praising God” (Acts 3:8).   In most churches today, there is not enough rejoicing.  The sounds of happy Christians, clapping, shouting, singing, and testimonies of praise, are too often absent in our services.  It’s no wonder we don’t attract the lost. We’ve given the unsaved the impression that our salvation has made us miserable. May I remind you dear friend that the gospel is still “good news”.  God loves us, despite ourselves, and He still offers eternal life, forgiveness

The next to the last chapters in Matthew, Mark, and Luke, describe the crucifixion of Jesus. The last chapter of each book describes the resurrection of Jesus.   When Jesus was nailed to the cross, there was pain, weeping, and darkness. His blood flowed from the wounds on His head because of the crown of thorns, from the nails that were driven in His hands and feet, the spear that was thrust through His side, and the cuts from the whippings on His back. He suffered all of that for you and me.   But early one Sunday morning when the women went to the tomb the angel said, why are seeking the living among the dead? He is not here, He has risen. What is the title of this devotional?   Jesus – Master of Turnaround. Where there was death, now there was life.   Where there was darkness, now there was the light of a new day.   Hope was in the air.   Where there had been weeping and sorrow, now there was great joy and victory.     At the cross was misery, at the tomb, a miracle. So, what