Give Choices, Give Limits

by Bishop Keith A. Butler

Withhold not correction from the child: for if thou beatest him with
the rod, he shall not die. Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and
shalt deliver his soul from hell.
Proverbs 23:13,14

Children need a healthy balance of choices made within a few important
boundaries, but parents must be strong on both sides of the equation.
Parents must give children choices, and give children limits. If all
you give them are choices, they will spend the rest of their lives pressing against authority in all of its forms, seeking the limits they
instinctively know are there.

The younger the child, the greater the limits. As the child grows, the
more choices you give him or her while still maintaining God‘s
standards in your home until that child is able to make Word-informed
choices on their own before God…

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Praise comes naturally when you count your blessings

They shall be fresh and flourishing. —Psalm 92:14

In Psalm 92, the poet begins with a commendation of praise: “It is good to give thanks to the Lord.” Good for what? Good for you and me. It does our soul a world of good to turn from anxious thoughts and fill our days with prayerful praise; good to greet each morning with songs of thanksgiving, for such praise makes us glad. It lifts us out of gloom and replaces our sadness with cheerful songs at the “works of [His] hands” (v.4). And what is that work? The work He is doing in us!

Here’s one of my most cherished metaphors: “The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree, he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Those who are planted in the house of…

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We are the salt of the earth

Matthew 5:13, “Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.”

MATTHEW 5:13-16

What is it that will be cast out and trodden under foot of men? Is it the salt, or is it possible that Jesus is speaking about the world? If we as believers lose our preserving influence, then there is no other way for the Lord to save the world. It will be dominated by men.

God flows through His people. It is not our own power that changes people. It’s God’s power in us. But God will not do it without us. It’s a partnership.

Many people spend a lifetime praying for God to move…

Reminding people of their failures is not a way to help them

In the 4th chapter of John, Jesus found a woman beside a well. She was a Samaritan woman, and Jesus began to speak to her from the wisdom and knowledge of God. He asked her a question, “Where is your husband?” She answered, “I don’t have one.” Jesus replied, “That’s true. You’ve had five, and the one you are with now is not your husband.” Jesus knew where this woman was. Think of how many wrongs she had done according to our standard of righteousness. She was living with a man, committing adultery. But Jesus did not condemn her. He did not rehearse her sins or remind her of her failures. Reminding people of their failures is not a way to help. Jesus was there to save her, not condemn her. Jesus spoke to her, giving…

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The Holy Spirit

John 7:38 says: “He that believeth on Me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.”

We understand that this is speaking of the Holy Ghost. Jesus tells us that when we believe on Him, then the Holy Ghost comes into our lives and we are empowered. When it says, “out of his belly shall flow rivers…”, these are rivers of living water.

The rivers include enablement, measures of grace, the things that God enables and empowers us to do with the help of the Holy Ghost. It is not by our own strength, but it is the strength of the Holy Ghost. Jesus wants us to know that we as Christians, when we are born again, when we are saved, we are no longer our own, and it is not we who have to…

Do YouBelieve InChrist Jesus?

When Jesus then lifted up his eyes, and saw a great company come
unto him, he saith unto Philip, Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat? And this he said to prove him: for he himself knew
what he would do
John 6:5-6

When it was time for this great multitude to eat, notice that Jesus
didn’t say to Philip, “Where are we going to get the money to buy this bread?” He said, “Where are we going to buy the bread?” The only reason
He asked Philip was to test, to prove, Philip.

At times God will test believers. He doesn’t test you with sickness and
disease or by causing bad circumstances to come your way, but He will
test your faith so you can see what is in your heart. On what do you
rely when you are…

Allow the character of God to form in your life daily.

Proverbs 7:7-10 “I perceived among the youths, A young man devoid of understanding,

8 Passing along the street near her corner; And he took the path to her house

9 In the twilight, in the evening, In the black and dark night.

10 And there a woman met him, With the attire of a harlot, and a crafty heart.”
Young people especially are challenged today to remain pure and not get swept away by the

lusts of the flesh. The enemy has a clear strategy to draw men and women into fulfilling the

desires of the flesh instead of learning the value of putting their flesh on the altar daily and

allowing the character of God to form in their lives.

May Our God The Almighty prosper Nigeria and Israel and defend us from all our enemies in

Reminding people of their failures is not a way to help them

In the 4th chapter of John, Jesus found a woman beside a well. She was a Samaritan woman, and Jesus began to speak to her from the wisdom and knowledge of God. He asked her a question, “Where is your husband?” She answered, “I don’t have one.” Jesus replied, “That’s true. You’ve had five, and the one you are with now is not your husband.” Jesus knew where this woman was. Think of how many wrongs she had done according to our standard of righteousness. She was living with a man, committing adultery. But Jesus did not condemn her. He did not rehearse her sins or remind her of her failures. Reminding people of their failures is not a way to help. Jesus was there to save her, not condemn her. Jesus spoke to her, giving…

At the end of every trial – lies the blessing of God.

James 1:12 “Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.”

When temptations, trials and tribulations come into your life you need to be resolute, standing firm, knowing that at the end of every trial lies the blessing of God and the manifestation of His promises over your life.

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Ask and Watch God Arise

Matthew 8:6-7 says: “And saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented. And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him.” Here was a centurion, not even saved, not born again. It doesn’t even say he was a Jew, and yet he asked Jesus for help. He told Him he had someone dear to him who was not whole, someone who was not well. The servant was vexed, tormented, taken captive, and broken. Jesus immediately, without any questions or reservations said, “I will come and heal him.” Jesus wants to make people whole. He wants to come to your home and make you whole. I don’t know if you are broken financially, emotionally, relationally, in marriage, or in body, but Jesus is saying to you right now, “I will come and make you whole.” All…

How long will you slumber, O sluggard? It is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it

READ: Proverbs 6:6-11

How long will you slumber, O sluggard? —Proverbs 6:9

While studying the book of Proverbs in my small-group Bible study, our leader suggested that we change the description of a lazy person from a sluggard to a slacker (6:6,9). Ah, now he was speaking my lingo. I immediately started thinking of all the people I consider to be slackers.

Like the men and women who fail to teach and discipline their children. Or that guy who refuses to help around the house. Or those teenagers who neglect their studies and play Internet games day and night.

If we’re honest, we’re all susceptible to this. What about being a “prayer slacker” (1 Thess. 5:17-18), or a “Bible-reading slacker” (Ps. 119:103; 2 Tim. 3:16-17), or…

The key to success or failure lies in doing things at the word of Jesus

AT THY WORD

Luke 5:5, “And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net.”

LUKE 5:1-11

Peter and his companions had been working hard all night. Their efforts had not produced even one fish. They had given up and were headed home. But Jesus told them to try it just one more time.

It would have been easy for Peter to reject Jesus’ command. After all, Peter had been a fisherman all his life. Jesus was just a preacher. What did He know about fishing? Yet something, or rather someone, caused Peter to try just once more.

Many people are like Simon Peter and his partners. They have done all that they know to do and yet…

Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream…. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.

Jeremiah 17:7-9

We cannot separate actions from consequences. Why, then, do we allow our culture to tell us that we can plant seeds of one kind and bear fruits of another? The world tells us that we can plant seeds of promiscuity and carelessness and bear fruits of beauty, happiness and even love. But the results are disease, unwanted pregnancy and unhappiness.

Root and fruit are inevitably intertwined.

Isaiah 32:17 says, “The fruit of righteousness will be peace; the effect of righteousness will be quietness and confidence forever.”

One of the surest ways to change your life for the better is to…

The Wages of Sin

by Bishop Keith A. Butler

In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto

the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and

unto dust shalt thou return.

Genesis 3:19

This verse records the actual death sentence that doomed Adam and

Eve-and you and me-to physical death one day. Death, sickness, disease

and lack were never included as parts of God‘s perfect plan for man.

These are the sad by-products of sin, of Adam’s fatal choice to seek

knowledge and identity outside of and separate from God’s plan.

God never intended for a single human being’s body to be put into the

ground. He created us to live eternally-every our physical bodies. As I

understand it, the cells of the human body appear to be designed to

live forever. Scientists have long been puzzled as…

Sons of God

You received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba,” Father.

Romans 8:15, NIV

What makes you and I  think we can do without a personal prayer life? It’s through prayer that we come into a personal, intimate relationship with our heavenly Father.

Do you long to have a closer relationship with God, but you don’t feel worthy? Are you convinced you are a nobody and therefore would never be accepted, much less welcomed, into His presence?

Praise God! Our entrance into His presence is not based on our own worthiness but on the worthiness of Jesus Christ! When we enter God’s presence in Jesus’ name, we are as accepted by God as Jesus is, because God counts us as His own dear children!

Jesus invites you and I, in His name, to come into His Father’s presence through prayer…

God is more than able to give you what you need and more. He is able to make you rich!

Follow the Directions

by Pastor Andre Butler

Notwithstanding, lest we should offend them, go thou to the sea, and

cast an hook, and take up the fish that first cometh up; and when

thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt find a piece of money: that

take, and give unto them for me and thee

Mathew 17:27

Look at this example of how God is able to provide with abundance, even

for paying tax. Jesus told Peter to take a hook, throw it in the

water, take the first fish that took the hook, open his mouth, and find

four days wages.

Notice two things. First, God gave this fish specific directions. The

fish had to go down to the bottom of the sea, eat the gold coin, swim

Don’t be drawn away by the lust of the flesh.

Proverbs 6:24-29 “To keep you from the evil woman, From the flattering tongue of a seductress.

25 Do not lust after her beauty in your heart, Nor let her allure you with her eyelids.

26 For by means of a harlot A man is reduced to a crust of bread; And an adulteress will prey upon his precious life.

27 Can a man take fire to his bosom, And his clothes not be burned?

28 Can one walk on hot coals, And his feet not be seared?

29 So is he who goes in to his neighbor’s wife;”

It has become the plague of the 21st century and the strategy by the devil to destroy the family. Marriage and the family is ridiculed and scorned on by the world and Children of God need to make a stand against…

“I lift up my eyes to the mountains— where does my help come from?  My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth. Psalm 121:1-2”

The Lord said to Moses, “Look, I’m going to rain down food from heaven for you.  Each day the people can go out and pick up as much food as they need for that day.  On the sixth day they’ll gather food, and when they prepare it, there will be twice as much as usual.”

God meets daily needs daily!

You look at tomorrow’s demands, next week’s bills, next month’s calendar.  Your future looks as barren as the Sinai Desert.  “How can I face my future?” you ask.

God tells you to look up!

Trust Him.  Make it your day changer.  Give your attention to what God is doing right now.  Don’t get worked up about what may or may…

God can do things that you never thought would happen

For I am the LORD: I will speak, and the word that I shall speak
shall come to pass; it shall be no more prolonged: for in your days,
O rebellious house, will I say the word, and will perform it, saith
the Lord GOD
Ezekiel 12:25

In Scripture, we see that God has many ways to prosper people
financially and to get wealth to them. God has used kings, lepers, and even fish. God has used waterpots, estranged family members and a boy’s
lunch. God has numerous ways to get your blessing to you. God can do
things that you never thought would happen. He can cause income to show
up in a way that you never knew could occur.

As a believer, it doesn’t make sense for you to try to figure out how
God is going to…

Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age

(Matthew 28:19-20, NKJV).

Jesus said that we are to go, and as we’re going, to make disciples. That involves walking with Him and sharing Him with others. Here are some tips to help you get started:

1. Understand that your own life is a great part of your witness. If my relationship with Christ isn’t vital, then I really don’t have a lot to share. People not only listen to your words, they look at your life. We still fail and aren’t always a good example, so our only hope is to come to God