In this lesson, we learn that healing is not only a gift from God, but it is the will of God for His children.

The case of Trayvon Martin is both curious and sad. The opinions on this matter fall into one of two camps: one sees Trayvon as a glaring milestone on the difficult road traveled by Black Americans; the other sees it as a man using the force at his disposal to avoid becoming a statistic of violent crime.

First, let me state emphatically that I abhor the shooting of this innocent youth. Having experienced, firsthand, the business-end of a number of weapons, I can say – without batting an eye – that Skittles and iced tea do not comprise any weapon of which I am aware. I’d like to further state, that as a Black man who is the father of Black sons, I acutely feel the pain of Tracy Martin and Sybrina Fulton. I cannot fathom the pain of having to bury a child – especially one, that by all accounts was a good kid.

It is because of cases like these that I over-emphasize the importance of flying “the straight-and-narrow” to my sons in all their dealings, both public and private. I teach my kids that God created us all equal in His sight but they must be acutely aware that the world does not see them as God does.

The sad part of this saga is that a human life was depreciated to zero in a relative blink of an eye. Trayvon Martin was arraigned, tried, convicted, and executed by a “yahoo” with a gun and a bad attitude. The human lust for power is one of the basest emotions known to man. And it is because of a twisted understanding of power that Trayvon Martin, and many other young Black men like him, are dying daily.

Genesis, chapter 1, verses 26-28 are what can be called God’s “dominion mandate.” It is here that God gives the charge to His children to rule and reign in the earth as He does in heaven. Unfortunately, due to the introduction of sin, and the perversion of the Word of God by the devil, the misunderstanding of power has led to a burning lust in mankind to rule and reign over one another.

Slavery, racism, homicide, rape, and abortion are all crimes against humanity, perpetrated by those who are desirous of exercising absolute power over another human being. Mankind, blinded by religion and religious teaching, has not been properly introduced to their Creator/King/Father; that is, that they were created to control the environment God created for them.

Lack of understanding of a concept invariably leads to abuse of the concept.

Jesus came to earth not to give us a ticket to heaven, but to restore His earthly Kingdom and to return mankind to its original position of authority in the earth. Jesus said that he came “to seek and to save that which was lost,” not who, whom or they. It is the persistent, errant teaching of what salvation really is that is the source of most of man’s maladies.

Salvation is the “Ellis Island” to the Kingdom of God! It is the door – a means to an end – not the end itself.

Allow me to elaborate: if mankind came to the knowledge that, by accepting Jesus as Lord and Savior and allowing the Holy Spirit to govern their hearts and minds, the same power that raised Jesus from the dead (Romans 8:11) abode within them, there would be no need to try to wield power over another human being. Period. Proper teaching of salvation will properly disciple God’s people and lead them into the abundant life promised by our Lord (John 10:10)

Now churches and ministries are out in force to cry out for justice. There are numerous events taking place to raise awareness of Trayvon’s murder and to bring his killer to trial. While this is a noble gesture, I think the Church can do far more every Sunday morning and every Wednesday evening.

Preach the Gospel of the Kingdom.

Re-introduce mankind to their original purpose and design. Teach folks how to represent and re-present the King of Glory to the world. Dispense with religious traditions, doctrine, and dogmas that do not reflect the Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This is the only teaching that will make a difference. Banging the drum of the Old Covenant and traditions of men will not minister healing to this sick and dying world.

Which brings me back to my original point. It shouldn’t have mattered that Trayvon was wearing a “hoodie” on that fateful night. It shouldn’t have mattered what was in his hands. It shouldn’t have mattered what was in his hands. And it shouldn’t have mattered that he was a Black man walking in a gated neighborhood. None of these should have mattered one whit…and, yet, they did.

Moreover, shooting a defenseless child, no matter how you slice, dice, or fry it is wrong. There is no justification for ending Trayvon Martin’s life. I don’t care what is said on the part of the defendant, any chance of justifying this heinous act must range from scarce to none.

That said, until mankind is quickened to the knowledge of God’s love and God’s government – that our desire for power can only be satisfied by operating within the will of He who is the source of all power, these things will continue to matter.

Sadly, none of these words, however powerful will bring Trayvon back. Hopefully, though, these words will raise consciousness to the point where these incidents will be few.

I pray that the peace that passes all understanding rest upon Trayvon’s family in this season of mourning.

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

Sadly, there are some that still believe that God is the author of calamity. The persistence of this belief results in some seriously schizophrenic Christianity. The truth is, God not only is not the author of sickness, pain, suffering, and calamity, He does not control every minutia of human life.

If God simply controls everything, then there was no point in giving mankind dominion and free will. The Lord wishes that none perish, but that all come to repentance – yet hundreds of thousands die unsaved daily.  If God simply controls everything, there is no point in doing anything. That reduces the Christian walk to a fatalistic – dare I say – Calvinistic, religious ritual. I think a lot of Scripture is abused for the purpose of perpetuating religious bondage.

What we need to do is look at the person of Jesus. He said if we see Him, we see the Father:

Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father? (John 14:9).

He said He only does what He sees the Father do:

Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise. (John 5:19).

The author of Hebrews says Jesus is the express image of the Father:

Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high; (Hebrews 1:3).

In this context, whom did Jesus make sick – or for that matter, allow to remain sick? None. And Jesus did not cause calamity, He calmed storms:

And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. (Mark 4:39).

He healed the sick, cleansed lepers, raised the dead, and preached Good News to the poor!

Indeed, when two of His disciples wanted to bring fire from heaven on to folks who rejected Jesus, He rebuked them

54 And when his disciples James and John saw this, they said, Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did? 55 But he turned, and rebuked them, and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of. (Luke 9:54-55)

Now, if God is causing these things (sickness, suffering, and calamity) and Jesus is providing the cure, then Jesus would be acting against the will of the Father, right?

Jesus is the focal point of all Scripture. All Scripture points to him and he is the living revelation of all Scripture. In order to truly understand the nature and character of God, we must center our studies on the Gospels.

It becomes clear that since Jesus did not bring about any of these things during His earthly ministry, and since the chastisement of our peace was upon Him, God isn’t bringing about calamity, either.

You’d have to pay someone to help you misunderstand this!

© 2012 – 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)

Get your copy of “satan, Let Me Refresh Your Memory” by Derrick and Angela Day, for only 99 cents at: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/46069

Enter code UF32U at checkout to get your discount. It blessed us while we wrote it and it will bless you while you’re reading it!

Satan, Let Me Refresh Your Memory (Reclaiming Your God-Given Power), an Ebook by Derrick and Angela Day

www.smashwords.com

This book was written to show Christians how to remind the devil of his fallen and defeated state. It will help the Disciple of Christ reclaim his or her God-given authority over the devil, his plans, and his devices.

What we know as The Rapture will happen ONLY when THE GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM is preached FULLY throughout the nations (Matthew 24:14). The FULL Gospel has neither been preached in its entirety, nor is it FULLY preached throughout the world. We need to be diligent about RENEWING our minds, BUSYING our hands, and MOBILIZING our feet…We have a lot of work to do!

In Ephesians 5:27, The Apostle Paul writes Jesus is coming for a church without spot (backbiting, gossip, leadership failure), wrinkle (denominations, musical disagreements, day-of-worship), or blemish (racism, cultural divides). In other words, we have a lot of washing and ironing to do before the wedding!

Why are we looking for the way out? Jesus came to restore the DOMINION originally given by God (Genesis 1:26-28) and lost by man. He gave us durable power of attorney (John 14:13-14, John 15:16, John 16:23-24,26) to be AGENTS of His AUTHORITY in the earth. Instad of looking to leave (fear-based) we need to be invading and influencing the earth with God’s will, culture, and intent (faith-based) — in other words, WE NEED A TAKEOVER MENTALITY!

If you’re saved and all you’re doing is trying to discern the signs of the Lord’s return, you’re not fulfilling the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20). Get off your Blessed Assurance and go forth INTO THE WORLD, winning souls AND making disciples in the name of Jesus!

I’m tired of hearing preaching on the exit strategy when Jesus clearly laid out a takeover strategy!

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

One thing every believer can agree upon is that God is just. But, if all there is to salvation is getting your ticket to heaven punched, then as soon as we accept, believe upon, and confess Jesus as Lord and Savior, we’d be raptured up immediately into heaven.

But we remain after the New Birth. What’s up with that?

The New Birth, contrary to popular belief, is not a religious experience, It is a change of citizenship into a new nation (Colossians 1:13), whose Government, Provision, and Protection CANNOT fail! You become a royal subject of the King of Kings, who delights in the prosperity of His servants (Psalm 35:27).

There are no illegal immigrants in the Kingdom of God. That’s why you have to be born (again) into it.

Along with your citizenship, you become an Ambassador of the Most High God (2 Corinthians 5:20), His Beloved Child (Romans 8:14, Ephesians 1:5), and a joint-heir with Jesus Christ (Romans 8:17). You are to have ALL sufficiency to ABOUND to EVERY good work (2 Corinthians 9:8).No earthly government dispatches ambassadors and emissaries into foreign lands without adequate provision. If you have forsaken all you know to obtain Kingdom citizenship, you have a promise of abundance in this lifetime AND eternal life in the world to come (Mark 10:29-30).

If you’re a citizen of the United States, it is in your best interest to have knowledge of the Constitution. If you’re a Citizen of the Kingdom of God, it behooves you to hide the Word of God in your heart (Psalm 119:1) and know your Covenant rights! As an Ambassador of the King of Kings, I know that when the enemy (satan) tries to oppress me, all I need to do is stand on the Word of God and declare DIPLOMATIC IMMUNITY!

As a citizen of the Kingdom of God, you have certain inalienable rights endowed by your Father/Creator and ratified with the Blood of His Son, Jesus. However, without full knowledge of your rights and benefits, the devil is more than happy to try and usurp them. That same devil is on a mission to steal from you, kill you, or destroy your life. But Jesus came that you may have life and have it more abundantly — IN  THE HERE-AND-NOW (John 10:10).

I say all this to say that religion teaches you that, after salvation, you are to simply await the Lord’s return. Now, Jesus is, indeed, coming — and we need to be ready. However, until Jesus’ return or the end or our mortal lives (whichever comes first) we are to influence this earth realm with the will, culture, and intent of our King. We are to have dominion in the earth, not sit timidly and idly waiting for the Savior’s return!

The kind of teaching that implies you are powerless while you are here is utter religious foolishness and a yoke on the necks of God’s people! Salvation is more than a ticket to heaven, it is a connection to the Divine Power Source. Folks are quick to proclaim they “…are waiting on a move of God,” when all creation is waiting for a move of man (Romans 8:19)!

The Bible teaches us that where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty (2 Corinthians 3:17). But if all you’re getting is rote religion, God sent me here to tell you, He ain’t in your religion. If you can’t say “Amen, say “oh my!”

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

Love, God’s Will, and Man’s Will – Lesson 9 of The Love Walk, a video teaching series by Bishop Derrick Read more

The third lesson (Love Is God’s Law) in the video teaching series, “The Love Walk,” by Bishop Derrick Day

Love and the Garden (Part 1) – Lesson 11 of The Love Walk, a video teaching series by Bishop Derrick Read more