Ok. Here’s the deal. If we call ourselves CHRISTIANS then we should be concerned primarily with the words and teachings of CHRIST, right? 

Here’s what Jesus has to say about “holiness:” NOTHING!

I have this – dare I say – revelation on teaching the Word of God:  the Gospels are the FOUNDATION for ALL teaching, followed by the remainder of the NT (which only ILLUMINATES the person and Word of Jesus, followed by Genesis (which is God’s MISSION STATEMENT), followed by the books of poetry (which are types and shadows of the LOVE and WISDOM of God), then the Prophets (who POINT TO Jesus and His Kingdom)’ followed by the law (what we’ve been DELIVERED FROM 
because Jesus FULFILLED IT).

That said, the Bible says “be ye holy for I (God) am oly. Here’s the bad news: YOU CAN’T BE HOLY AS GOD, NOT EVEN CLOSE. Your best efforts will frustrate you at best, and brand you as a hypocrite at worst! 

To get to the crux of this, we need to have a knowledge of what makes God, “GOD;” at least one we can wrap our peanut brains around.

Here’s one thing that we can wrap our finite minds around: one of the key attributes of God is that He and his Word are one, inseparable! 

Because the Entire universe is suspended by the Word of His Power, the moment He violates His Word, He ceases to be “GOD” and He ceases to be Holy!

So the ONLY way we can even emulate His Holiness is to emulate how He keeps His Word. We can NEVER be as good, pure, or clean as God, but we CAN be men and women of INTEGRITY; that is we say what we’ll do and do what we say IN ALIGNMENT WITH GOD.’S WORD!

Holiness does not equal righteousness. Righteousness is right standing with God made possible ONLY by the Blood of Jesus. Holiness is our conversation or LIFESTYLE. but to that end, we will never be as good as God and attempts to do so start us on a slippery slope to works, effectively nullifying grace.

Tis vain attempt to accomplish holiness trough works has resulted in the kind of religious schizophrenia that makes people run from “Christians” instead ofe running to Christ.

Y’all, this is how we BE holy. Trying to DO holy apart from this is doomed to fail.

© 2011 – Derrick Day (www.derrickday.com)

Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. (2 Corinthians 5:17)

We are approaching another New Year. Soon, 2011 will be but a memory and 2012 will unfold with promise. The question is, what will you be in this New Year?

The Apostle Paul, in the aforementioned scripture, reveals something that – if caught – will change your life. When we are in Christ, we are something entirely new – a species that, heretofore, did not exist. That means your old nature, along with your old spirit, died with and was reborn with Jesus!

You are no longer a creature of sin, rather, now you are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:21). As a new creature, we obtain a new consciousness – Righteousness Consciousness – and shed our old sin-consciousness!

What does that mean? Whatever a man is actively conscious of, that is what he does. For example, a carpenter spends most of his waking moments thinking of working with wood. An electrician spends his time thinking of wire and switches. A sinner thinks about sinning. But, when you become righteousness-conscious, you are immediately convicted and prompted to repent; that is, to change your mind, not confess your sin!

Which brings me to another mind-renewing point: if you are in Christ, you are no longer a sinner, you are a saint. Change your speech along with your mind!

So, as you go into this New Year, do not set your mind on carnal resolutions that you cannot keep.  Be not conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing (a constant process, not a one-time thing, by the way) of your mind! Set your mind on righteousness and you will assume a posture of righteousness. And this righteousness is not of our own doing, it is part of the finished work of Jesus Christ that is imparted to us in the New Birth!

Receive and appropriate what Jesus has done for you, saint! When you allow this to manifest in your spirit, it will change your life!

© 2011 – Derrick Day (www.derrickday.com)

The Magi (and there weren’t necessarily THREE) brought gold, frankincense, and myrrh; all of which were precious, costly commodities (Matthew 2:11).

I’m going somewhere with this…

Joseph went to Bethlehem to be counted in a census and TO PAY HIS TAXES; y’all hear me, you don’t pay taxes on nothing! The situation was not that there was no money for Mary and Joseph’s lodging, rather ALL THE HOTELS WERE BOOKED!

I’m gonna get there, y’all stay with me…

God told Joseph to take his wife and son into Egypt to hide from Herod (Matthew 2:12-13). Now, recalling from the Exodus, Egypt was about 8 days walk from Canaan – you need provision for the journey…and that costs MONEY.

And while Joseph, Mary, and Jesus were in Egypt, they needed sustenance until Joseph could get a job!

I submit to you, the cash value of the gifts of the Magi would have provided ample means to make all this possible. Remember, God does not give vision without sending provision!

Thanks for staying with me – we’ve hit our destination: Jesus wasn’t poor!

Jesus’ poverty was this: he came from Heaven and it’s infinite resources to finite earth. In that context, even if he came to earth as a billionaire, he’d have still became poor for our sakes (2 Corinthians 8-9)! Contrary to popular belief, Jesus was not a poor, vagabond, itinerant minister. He was acknowledged as a Rabbi or Teacher, and his garments were costly enough that Roman soldiers cast lots for them (Matthew 27:35).

Now don’t misunderstand me, We are here to minister (serve) as Jesus did. That’s so clear a blind man could see it! The point is that folks try to say Jesus was poor to equate poverty with piety – and that is absolute rubbish. Likewise wealth does not equate to sin. We need to change our traditional paradigms to line up with Scripture!

Bonus information: Joseph, Mary, and Jesus went into Egypt to hide from Herod. Herod sent soldiers into Egypt looking for the Christ child. In order to successfully hide, perhaps they had to look like the natives.

Give that a minute to sink in!

Merry CHRISTmas, y’all!

© 2011 – Derrick Day (www.derrickday.com)

The Kingdom of God is not merely about “pie-in-the-sky-in-the-sweet-by-and-by” it is about wholeness, completion, nothing broken, nothing lacking!

Beside salvation, Kingdom provision includes deliverance, healing, and material blessing. Do you actually believe God wants you to be in lack in your earthly life? If so, then I’ll pray fervently for you…and for all whom you teach!

Yes, we are not to look to the world for our supply or heap up treasure here, but we can have the earnest expectation of divine provision and earthly abundance that we may FLOW THROUGH to our brothers and sisters in need.

If you decide to opt out on any Kingdom benefit, that is your decision. However I will RELENTLESSLY teach that God has abundance for you, NOW, not just in heaven.

© 2011 – Derrick Day (www.derrickday.com)

There are many meanings that may be derived from the CHRISTmas holiday. The birth of the Savior, the fulfillment of prophecy, peace on earth, and goodwill towards men are all pertinent aspects. However, there is one more that deserves a more detailed treatment.

Emmanuel – God With Us. Isaiah 7:14 describes Him thusly:

Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

God With Us. Give that a minute to sink in! God was with man at creation but sin separated the two. For many generations, God was apart from man. Imagine the sorrow of a loving Father separated from His children! This was God’s great sorrow; He is a Holy God and cannot abide in the presence of sin. Therefore, God had to be separated from that which He loved the most so that His holiness would not be compelled to destroy His crowning creation.

God wrapped Himself in human flesh…but why? One reason was that Jesus needed to be the perfect sacrifice; He had to be conceived of seed that was not tainted by sin. An imperfect man could neither be the sacrifice nor a spirit being. The sacrifice had to be fully man – because man had (Genesis 1:26-28) and lost (Genesis 3) dominion – and fully God, for the perfection of the seed and the perfection of the saints.

But wait – as they say in infomercials – there’s more! For parents reading this, rewind to when your children were toddlers. You often gave instruction from a seated or standing posture, but when you really wanted them to understand your will – or for you to understand their perspective, you would kneel down to their level.

Jesus was God, Himself, kneeling down to our level! Through the Person of Jesus, God was tempted as we are, to know joy and sorrow as we do, and, most of all, to taste death as humans do. Like a loving Father, He stooped down to our level to instruct us and to gain our perspective!

What Love!

So in this Holiday season, remember that Jesus is, indeed, the reason for the season. But know that your Heavenly Father ordained the birth of His most precious gift to be given as a sacrifice so that mankind could be reconciled to Himself. It is through the chastisement of our peace (Isaiah 53:5) that peace on earth and goodwill toward men is possible because the conflict between sinful man and Holy God was reconciled once and for all in the Person of Jesus Christ

© 2011 – Derrick Day (www.derrickday.com)

Let me ask you a question, do you have any children? If so don’t you want the best for them? Isn’t their prosperity and health a reflection of your upbringing? If the answer is yes – and God is a better Father than you or I could ever be – surely God wants the best for us!

Religion has distorted Scripture to the point where prosperity is viewed as profane. In Mark, chapter 10, the Lord was not establishing a doctrine in telling the rich young ruler to sell all his possessions, he was speaking contextually to what the young man was yoked to; that is, his wealth. There is no instruction to take a vow of poverty or that wealth, in and of itself, is sinful.

Now, I’m not one of these pastors looking to fleece his flock; rather I’m blessed with a wonderful standard of living that is a blessing from God (I grew up poor – raised by a single mother with two siblings). And the Kingdom principles that God’s Word has imparted to me, I share with others, and EVERY one who has applied them ha seen an increase in their standard of living.

Bottom line, Poverty IS NOT God’s will for His children.

© 2011 – Derrick Day (www.derrickday.com)

The devil’s power ends with the Kingdom of God and the earthly dominion of man, which Jesus came to restore. Because we are His emissaries in the earth, we are to be equipped with all sufficiency (spiritual and natural) to accomplish every good work (2 Corinthians 9:8), to have the expectation of material blessing (Mark 10:29-30), and to have abundant life (John 10:10). Prosperity not taught is just as bad as prosperity out of context. Biblical prosperity is part of the Kingdom Citizen’s benefits package and MUST be taught in its proper context!

© 2011 – Derrick Day (www.derrickday.com)

The reality is that tithing is not commanded for New Testament Saints. Now the argument can be made that, because Abraham tithed, tithing was before the law. However, what Abraham tithed on was what could be construed as either a bonus on his income, or “hitting the lotto” (Genesis 14:16-20).

It was never stated that Abraham tithed on his income, even though he was a man of great substance (Genesis 13:2).

That said, the New Testament, Kingdom model for giving is illustrated in Luke 6:38…

Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.

…Acts 2:44…

And all that believed were together, and had all things common; And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need.

…and 2 Corinthians 9:7.

Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.

We need to give as our hearts purpose, not out of obligation. If we compel folks to tithe, we must compel them to uphold the law, thus nullifying the work of the cross and the grace of God. It should be noted, too, that the Lord Jesus did not compel any of His followers to tithe!

Now, if anyone chooses to tithe and does so with a cheerful heart, they will enjoy the blessing that comes along with New Testament Giving. However, if someone gives 80% and treats it like a monthly bill or other obligation, well, I doubt there would be a blessing attached to it.

As for me, I would like to emulate Pastors Rick Warren, Joel Osteen, or Francis Chan – individuals who practice “reverse tithing;” that is, they keep 10 percent of their income and give away 90 percent!

It’s all about love, not obligation; relationship, not religion!

© 2011 – Derrick Day (www.derrickday.com)