Author: coachdkeith

God is good all the time. Read His Words and thank Him today…

Mark 13:9-31
9 “You must be on your guard. You will be handed over to the local councils and flogged in the synagogues. On account of me you will stand before governors and kings as witnesses to them. 10 And the gospel must first be preached to all nations. 11 Whenever you are arrested and brought to trial, do not worry beforehand about what to say. Just say whatever is given you at the time, for it is not you speaking, but the Holy Spirit.

12 “Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child. Children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death. 13 Everyone will hate you because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.

14 “When you see ‘the abomination that causes desolation’[a] standing where it[b] does not belong—let the reader understand—then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 15 Let no one on the housetop go down or enter the house to take anything out. 16 Let no one in the field go back to get their cloak. 17 How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! 18 Pray that this will not take place in winter, 19 because those will be days of distress unequaled from the beginning, when God created the world, until now—and never to be equaled again.

20 “If the Lord had not cut short those days, no one would survive. But for the sake of the elect, whom he has chosen, he has shortened them. 21 At that time if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah!’ or, ‘Look, there he is!’ do not believe it. 22 For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. 23 So be on your guard; I have told you everything ahead of time.

24 “But in those days, following that distress,

“‘the sun will be darkened,
    and the moon will not give its light;
25 the stars will fall from the sky,
    and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.’[c]
26 “At that time people will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. 27 And he will send his angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of the heavens.

28 “Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. 29 Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that it[d] is near, right at the door. 30 Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. 31 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

Jesus tells us it is coming. This world will pass, and the more we fight to hold on to its riches rather than the riches of God’s Word, the more we will suffer. It is necessary for us to no longer chase the victories of this world; rather, we should let the victory chase us.

Jesus tells us that we will be witnesses to Him in front of all those that are placed in high positions. What does that mean to you and me? We are His voice. We are the givers of truth through the Word of Jesus Christ. We are to speak His Gospel and no other. And we are to do it before others, not just to ourselves. 

This world will cease to exist one fateful day, but those who CHOOSE to believe in Jesus will be saved. Saved and brought into eternal life with God the Father. Eternal life with Jesus Christ in Heaven.

In two days we will celebrate the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is a day that we have chosen to signify the fact that God came to earth in the form of man. And when He did, He walked this earth living a perfect and blameless life. He walked the earth and taught us how to love Him. He would eventually  pick up our sins and carry them to the cross, where all sin was vanquished.

This Christmas, celebrate it differently. Choose to celebrate the birth of God as man. Give with an open and full heart in the name of Jesus. Say His name every morning and especially this Christmas morning, when Emmanuel came to be with us. #JesusSaves

Amen.
DK

The temporary world is beautiful, but only temporary. It pales in comparison to the beauty that is to come…

Mark 13:1-8
1 As Jesus was leaving the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Look, Teacher! What massive stones! What magnificent buildings!”

2 “Do you see all these great buildings?” replied Jesus. “Not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.”

3 As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John and Andrew asked him privately, 4 “Tell us, when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are all about to be fulfilled?”

5 Jesus said to them: “Watch out that no one deceives you. 6 Many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am he,’ and will deceive many. 7 When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. 8 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places, and famines. These are the beginning of birth pains.

A prophecy from the Creator on what is to come. This used to scare me quite a bit, but the more and more I get to know Jesus on a very personal level, I am no longer afraid. I have learned that one of the most powerful tools used by the evil one is fear. It may even be the most powerful tool.

So as we learn that this world will end, how do we not walk in fear? The first step toward eradicating fear from your life is to talk to the Holy Spirit that was left with each of us when Jesus ascended into Heaven. We can directly connect with the Holy Spirit and with that relationship comes magnificent abilities and spiritual gifts and growth. It is no secret. Jesus made it very clear that He left us with the same abilities that He had.

Begin today. Begin a strong and intimate relationship with the Holy Spirit by speaking to Him every day. It is time to move past the dry friendship that exists between you and Him. Our God is not a distant, uninvolved God. He is Emmanuel. He is “God with us!” Now that you know. Turn to Him and talk to Him. Talk to Him like you love Him. Then, love Him more than you love any person on this earth. He deserves it and wants it. You will be rewarded. #JesusSaves

Amen
DK

Mark 12:41-44
41 Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. 42 But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents.

43 Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. 44 They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.”

Faith looks different for everyone. To try and qualify someone by what we see is impossible. It is through Jesus that we have all been qualified and empowered. Money cannot do it. Giving from what you have been given is the way, and there is no true set amount that will make you Holy or holier than someone else.

Our eyes deceive us consistently. It is one of the many trials and issues that we face as we walk this foreign land. Many of us can fall into a comfortable groove and be fooled into thinking that we are somehow finished without mission. Truth is, our mission on this earth does not end until we pass on to eternal life with Him. We must be pressed into trial so that we can get to know and love ourselves more. It is through these times of difficulty that our faith will shine brightest. #JesusSaves

Amen.
DK

Ouch… this obviously applies to all teachers of the law. So don’t teach law. Teach GRACE and unmerited favor. That is real…

Mark 12:38-40
38 As he taught, Jesus said, “Watch out for the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, 39 and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets. 40 They devour widows’ houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. These men will be punished most severely.”

To teach by law is restrictive and does not advance the Kingdom of God. In order to expand, grow, learn, and teach, love is required. Not law.

I once read somewhere that to restrict love as punishment is debilitating. However, to pour out love without restraint is invigorating and fulfilling. Let love be the deciding factor, not anger, frustration, hate, or disdain. For it is in those that we fall back on law.

Law leads to breaking of law. There is no success in strictly adhering to law. Ask the Jews of the Old Testament. After all, they all failed, which led to Jesus letting them know that all people would be saved. Even a Gentile like me…David Keith. (Saved in 2003, Surrendered, January 1st, 2014)

God is good, all the time. Even when I cannot see or feel Him, He is good. He watches over and takes care of me. He sent His Holy Spirit to watch over me until He returns. The Holy Spirit watches over me and loves on me like nothing I have ever known. It is eternal and overwhelming at times. He sends me blessings of smiles, hugs, and love. He sends me sunrises and sunsets. He sends me tears and laughter, hugs and shrugs, handshakes and avoidance. All so that I can learn how to love.

God bless you as you read this. Your eyes able to read. Your lungs able to breathe. Your heart able to beat. These are the blessings the Lord God has given us. Let us not overlook the fact that without fail, we have been given this daily bread.

Amen.
DK

Jesus is letting us know that to walk through life without wonder, without questions, without His knowledge and guidance, we are confused and lost…

Mark 12:35-37
35 While Jesus was teaching in the temple courts, he asked, “Why do the teachers of the law say that the Messiah is the son of David? 36 David himself, speaking by the Holy Spirit, declared:

“‘The Lord said to my Lord:
    “Sit at my right hand
until I put your enemies
    under your feet.”’[h]
37 David himself calls him ‘Lord.’ How then can he be his son?”

The large crowd listened to him with delight.

Something as simple as who He was is the question at hand. I don’t blame the teachers of the law. They had grown up in a world of tradition and movement without true understanding of who God was. Like many today, they assumed that if they walked a certain way, talked a certain way, prayed a certain way, that all things would be taken care of by the law. Confusion and a lack of a personal relationship with God were present. They didn’t know.

So, along comes the Savior, Creator, Deliverer, Messiah, and they can’t see Him. He tried to tell them, still they can’t see Him. He urged them, rebuked them, corrected them, loved them, but they refused to see past their own sight. They refused to rely on Faith. They refused pure and pristine and strong love from the Father. Instead they leaned on law. Law that is only destined to sink all of us and lead us straight to the evil one.

God knew this. He realized this, so He sent us His Son. The man that would live a perfect life. The man that would fulfill all prophecy and change not only people. The revelation and clarification that He brought would remove the thick boundaries between man and God…forever. He has given us one-to-one access to the most powerful, the Most High, the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End. We now walk in His protection, no longer afraid of death. For we are His now. We have been saved. #JesusSaves

Amen
DK