Dedicated to teaching God's Love and God's Government

I ASK YOU, in the Gospels, to whom did Jesus say, “I will not heal you because your sickness is perfecting you” and/or “I will not heal you because you aren’t saved” and/or “I will not heal you because My Father is getting glory through your sickness.” I’ll help you: NO ONE! So, if Jesus didn’t say any of these things, why do people say this today? Allow me to help you again: religious indoctrination. I will keep preaching this until you get this…whoever YOU are!

© 2012 – Derrick Day derrickday.com)

Whitney Houston died yesterday. Like many, I am saddened by her passing, as her music was part of the anthem of my early adulthood. Whitney had vocal power and range that belied her petite frame, catapulting her into legendary status early in her career. While barely out of her teens, she was spoken of in the same context as luminaries such as Aretha Franklin, Chaka Khan, and Diana Ross.

Now, she has had some ups and downs. Life problems. I will not recount them here; check out the tabloids for that. In the aftermath of her passing, there will be plenty of fingers of blame pointed in many directions. Rumor-mongers will be at full-throttle and in high-gear, churning out a range of product from idle speculation to damnable lies.

And the sad part about this is that many of these are so-called “Christians.”

I’m wondering how all the folks who wish to trash Whitney Houston would stand up to the scrutiny – in life AND death – that she’s had to and still maintain a modicum of dignity. As some folks spew their speculative negativity with virtual stones in your hands, Jesus is writing in the sands of time just as he did in John 8:6-8. And just like those folks scattered at the revelation of their own sin, so shall the folks that raise their voices, as they were, at Whitney Houston.

Whatever you THINK (because none of us KNOW) what happened to Whitney (or Zachery Tims or Michael Jackson, for that matter), you need to examine YOUR OWN life. This speculation and heresay is the fruit of a sin-conscious life and is proof that one hasn’t awakened to righteousness (1 Corinthians 15:34). If your soul is still operating in sin-consciousness, you will live your life either pointing out the sin in others or, even worse, using the sins of others as the yardstick for justifying why your life isn’t so bad.

I think that, instead of trying to assess the post-mortem of Whitney’s life, a little introspection is in order. Not to examine our own sin, but to understand why, as Christians, we haven’t grasped righteousness-consciousness (click here for supporting article). Only then will we get the idle-mindedness that leads to trading in rumors exchanged for mind of Christ. Understand this, rumor and speculation are not the hallmarks of Kingdom Citizenship.

Today we observe the birthday of a great American, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. It is clear the nation owes him a debt of gratitude for what his accomplishments in the realm of social justice and equality. However, I would like to speak briefly regarding Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., the man of God.

Dr. King understood something the Body of Christ misses today: that if you want to change the social fabric of a nation, you must first change the hearts and minds of that nation. He understood that what plagued America was a spiritual problem and that it required a spiritual solution.

There were other civil rights pioneers that proffered solutions to racial inequalities. Booker T. Washington believed that social change would follow addressing economic disparities. W.E.B. DuBois believed the path to change lie in education and political empowerment. Rosa Parks and Bayard Rustin thought that embracing socialism was the means to that end. All of these efforts were doomed to fail because they addressed symptoms without treating the root cause.

Dr. King studied the successful employment nonviolent resistance of Mahatma Gandhi in the liberation of India. Mr. Gandhi, in turn, derived his strategy by studying the life and teaching of Jesus Christ. The Lord Jesus, while a King in command of the heavenly army, withstood insults, beatings and, ultimately, crucifixion without resistance of any kind. As a result, Jesus changed the entire world!

Today, the country (indeed, the world) is plagued with all manner of social ills. In spite of Dr. King’s efforts, racial inequality is still an issue. There are violent political disagreements. Proposed changes to the social order (e.g., homosexual “marriage”) threaten the very fabric of our nation. Hunger, poverty, and physical illness still pose serious problems. But, like Dr. King, we must come to the realization that the root of the problems are spiritual and, likewise, the change must be spiritual.

The reason why the Civil Rights Movement was successful is that it had the Church as its power-base. It was only when the Church and its leadership stepped up and stepped in that the Movement gained traction.  Similarly, it is high time that the Church steps up and asserts itself to impact the world with the will, culture and intent of the Kingdom of God. Dr. King understood the Church was the world’s  spiritual trauma center and rehabilitation facility and sought to engage it to treat and correct social injustice.

Romans 8:19 declares that “For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.” In other words, the whole world is waiting for God’s people — the church — to stand up and speak out against the ailments of the world. Jesus, Himself, said it best:

For verily I say unto you , That whatsoever you shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that these things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. (Mark 11:23)

The problem today is that we — the Body of Christ — are reluctant to speak up. But it is when we speak God’s Word to the situations of the day — then standing in faith that we have what we speak — that we begin to see change!

Dr. King was a mighty drum major for justice but, first, he was a mighty man of God. He understood the power of speaking to the mountain. Today, we need to pick up where he left off — see the problem and then SPEAK GOD’S WORD  to the problem!

The hallmark of a great leader is that they not only leave organizations in BETTER shape than when they arrived but they leave the PEOPLE around them in better shape!

Good leaders equip and edify; poor leaders rob and tear down (John 10:10).

Having been a leader in both corporate America and in ministry, I submit the following:

Corporate America was at its zenith between 1935 and 1985. It was eminently successful because captains of industry were tested in the battlefields of WW1, WW2, Korea, and Vietnam. These folks understood the difference between leadership and management. Today, we have precious few leaders that have any combat-tested leaders in corporate boardrooms; just a bunch of B-school grads that fawn and swoon over numbers with no regard for human capital.

Likewise, in ministry, we are seeing the advent of pulpit managers instead of preaching leaders. In ministry, we’re seeing increased attention to monetary and material management without the manifestation of the power of God or the development and discipling of men. This is not an indictment of all ministerial leaders but it is an eerily growing trend.

I think corporate America would benefit from conscripted military service; indeed, there would be a fallout-benefit to the country at large. Likewise, the church needs to start reaching out to young people, engaging them in stewardship and service; thus equipping them to be leaders. Kingdom leadership begins with service and continues with stewardship.

In both cases, the leadership paradigm should be based on Jesus, who led and taught by example and, ultimately, laid down His life for those in His charge.

That’s my $.02…

© 2012 – Derrick Day (www.derrickday.com)

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)

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)

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)