Sunday's Blessing - 11/01/2026 - Names of God - Bread of God

Sunday's Blessing - 11/01/2026 - Names of God - Bread of God

John 6:33 (ESV) 

For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” 

There are no wasted words in scripture. In The Names of God: Book I, we looked at Bread of Life – Jesus. However, Jesus referred to Himself as both the Bread of God and the Bread of Life. Perhaps there is a reason.

Before you are born again the Holy Spirit is at work to woo you, to draw you to Jesus. He places in front of you the Bread of God – that which is given by grace to reveal to you His goodness and to give you a desire for more. This is similar to the manna God gave Israel in the wilderness. He was developing a relationship with a people that had forgotten Him. Four hundred years in Egypt had cause their knowledge and love for the Creator to grow cold, indifferent.

After working their release from Pharaoh, God showed mercy in bringing them back to Himself by feeding them manna (Bread of God – Jesus), giving the water from a rock (The Rock – Jesus), providing shade from the intense heat (Cloud by Day), and warmth in the cool evenings (Fire by Night). All of this was done because God wanted to introduce Himself as the God of more than enough. He wanted to show Israel that He loved them and had a plan for them.

In like fashion, God comes to us who also are in a wilderness, separated from our Creator. Before we ever knew He existed the Holy Spirit was at work, drawing us toward Jesus. People were placed in our path to speak the Truth to us. Others demonstrated the love of God in order to show us how God intended for us to live. This is all the Bread of God, sent from Heaven to give us life.

Once you become a Christian you then begin the process of becoming like Christ. You develop a hunger for more than just manna (Bread of God). You begin to feast on the Bread of Life! You desire to know Him, to speak with Him, to walk with Him. In doing so, you become the Bread of God to others. When people see the transformation in your life it will begin to draw them to Jesus. And the cycle continues.

The primary difference is this: unlike Israel did with manna, we will never grow weary of a diet filled with the Bread of Life!

Sunday's Blessing - 10/25/2026 - Names of God - Beginning of the Creation of God (Jesus)

Sunday's Blessing - 10/25/2026 - Names of God - Beginning of the Creation of God (Jesus)

And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: “The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God’s creation.” Revelation 3:14 (ESV)

Each letter to the Seven Churches in Revelation begins with an introduction as to who is speaking. Each message came from Jesus, who is the Head of the Church. The writer was given specific names to use for each church. The message to Laodicea was not very encouraging. It was the last of the seven and ended with an invitation to be restored back into fellowship with Christ.

One of the names used for Jesus is “Beginning of the Creation of God.” This is very appropriate because of the state in which Laodicea is walking. They needed foundational change, and who better to bring it than The Word (preincarnate Jesus), who was there with God, the Father, and God, the Holy Spirit when the worlds were framed. The Creator has the privilege of correcting His creation, to bring it back into the place where it was originally designed to be.

This is what the “Beginning of the Creation of God” had to say to the church at Laodicea:

I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see. Revelation 3:18 (ESV)

The question becomes, “What is the currency of Heaven?” How can the church “buy” something which is priceless? It has been demonstrated many times throughout scripture that God always responds to faith. The “father of faith”, Abraham, was challenged with, “Go to the land which I will show you.” (Genesis 12:1) Abraham started walking and God was faithful to His promise. If the people of Laodicea would respond with faith, God would empty Heaven to do whatever was necessary to restore them.

This should give you faith to respond to the Lord. Seeing these examples of God’s character and nature reveals how we can trust Him in our times of crisis, because He will always respond. Even when facing circumstances which require foundational change, like Laodicea, we have a God who can change anything to bring us back to where He is. Place your trust in the Beginning of the Creation of God and start your journey back home!

Sunday's Blessing - 10/18/2026 - Names of God - Lion of the Tribe of Judah (Jesus)

Sunday's Blessing - 10/18/2026 - Names of God - Lion of the Tribe of Judah (Jesus)

And one of the elders said to me, “Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.” Revelation 5:5 (ESV)

King David was the most prolific and celebrated king over all of Israel. He united Judah with the rest of the tribes to bring the entire nation into unity. He ruled them all with equality and fairness.

David came from Judah. They were the first to recognize him as king after Saul died. In time, the rest of the tribes came to acknowledge his throne, which was appointed by God.

The name Judah means “praise”. One of the primary marks of David’s reign over Israel was the commitment to worshiping Almighty God. He forsook the Tabernacle of Moses when returning the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem. Instead, David built a new tabernacle focused on 24/7 worship in front of the Ark, which was in the open for all to see. David understood God’s heart which desired a restoration of fellowship with man like Adam had in the Garden of Eden where “God walked with Adam in the cool of the day.”

So, when the call came from the throne of God asking for someone worthy to open the scroll which John saw in the vision, there was only one option. Judah would be the tribe of origin. Someone from the lineage of David might qualify for the task, but only one did. His name was Jesus, the Christ, the Son of the Living God.

John wrote “The Revelation of Jesus Christ”, the book we now refer to as “Revelations”. However, the entire book is ONE Revelation. Everything in it reveals truth about Jesus Christ. Here is a list of names from Revelation used to refer to Jesus. Many of these are dealt with separately in other chapters of my book, The Names of God.

Jesus Christ – 1:1

Faithful Witness – 1:5

First Begotten of the Dead – 1:5

Prince of the Kings of the Earth – 1:5

Alpha and Omega – 1:8-13

First and Last – 1:8, 11, 13

Son of Man – 1:13

He that lives and was dead – 1:13, 18

He that holds the seven stars – 2:1

He who walks amid the golden candlesticks – 2:1

He who has the sharp double-edged sword – 2:12

Son of God – 2:18

He who tests minds and hearts – 2:23

He who holds the seven Spirits of God – 3:1

He who has the seven stars – 3:1

The holy and true One – 3:7

He who has the key of David – 3:7

He who opens what no man shutteth – 3:7

He that shuts what no man opens – 3:7

The Amen – 3:14

The faithful and true witness – 3:14

The beginning of the creation of God – 3:14

Lord – 4:11

Lion of the tribe of Judah – 5:5

The root of David – 5:5

The Standing Lamb – 5:6

The Lamb – 5:7; 19:7, 9

Lord of Lords – 17:14

King of Kings – 17:14

Trustworthy and true – 19:11

Rider of the white horse – 19:11

The Word of God – 19:13-16

Christ – 20:4

The Lord God of the Holy Prophets – 22:6

Beginning and the end – 22:13

The sprig from the root of David – 22:16

The bright morning star – 22:16

The One recognized as the ONLY person qualified to open the scrolls was none other than The Lion of the Tribe of Judah, the One seated at the right hand of God in Heaven, the One who was present when earth and man were created, the One who guided Noah in building an ark to save mankind, the One who came to Abram to deliver the promise, the One who guided Moses in bringing Israel out of Egypt, the One who led Joshua into the Promised Land, the One who directed Samuel to anoint David King over Israel, the One who was born of a virgin in a manger in Bethlehem, the One who lived by every word from the Father, the One who gave His life as a ransom to redeem man on a Cross at Calvary, the One whom God raised from the dead after He reclaimed the keys of death, hell, and the grave, and the One who ascended to the very throne which He now occupies making intercession for those who have been baptized into Christ by the Holy Spirit. He is the Lion of the Tribe of Judah!

Seated on His throne next to the Father, still bearing in His body the scars on His hands and feet, still gripping the keys of The Kingdom, He awaits the appointed time when the command from the Father is given.

In his first epistle, John wrote:

"Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is." 1 John 3:2 (ESV)

What a sight that will be! When we see Him we will be transformed into His image as “the Only Begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14)

We can place our faith in this One called the “Lion of the Tribe of Judah.” In Him, there is no fear, no hesitancy, and no anxiety. All praise be to God!

Sunday's Blessing - 10/11/2026 - Names of God - He Who Hath Anointed Us

Sunday's Blessing - 10/11/2026 - Names of God - He Who Hath Anointed Us

For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory. And it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has anointed us, and who has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee. 2 Corinthians 1:20-22 (ESV)

There are many sermons and teachings about Jesus being anointed. Jesus declared this of Himself when He stood in the synagogue and read from the scroll of Isaiah:

And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read. And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written, 

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” Luke 4:16-19 (ESV)

He has anointed me! Jesus knew that without a doubt. Here is the wonderful part for us: God is no respecter of persons. What He did for Jesus (a man born of a woman) He will do for everyone. One of the names used to refer to Jesus is “Christ”, which means, “anointed one”. Jesus promised before He ascended to Heaven after the resurrection that He would send the Holy Spirit who would dwell in us. The Holy Spirit would baptize us into Christ. This is the anointing He has given to us!

Before being sent as an ambassador to another country, the sending country confers on them the authority to carry out business as their representative. The same thing is true of the Christian. God has established anointing as the method of conferring on others the authority and ability to act in His behalf. This is the essence of being a Christian. When we identify with Christ through faith, the Holy Spirit baptizes (anoints) us into Christ. We now carry in us the same power Jesus has, and we now have the same authority Jesus operated in while on earth. 

There are two important references in scripture which help us understand anointing. The first is use of oil to anoint an object in order to consecrate it. The very first time anointing with oil appears in the Bible is in Genesis 28:18. Jacob pours oil on a stone pillar at Bethel after waking from his dream of a ladder to heaven, marking the place as holy ground. The second reference comes from the commands given to Moses regarding the Tabernacle and its operations. The first person explicitly anointed in scripture is Aaron, when Moses pours oil on his head to consecrate him as high priest in Exodus 29:7. Anointing with oil is mentioned throughout scripture. For the New Testament Believer, the source of anointing is found in Christ Jesus and is used as a type of the Holy Spirit.

Without the anointing of the Holy Spirit, sent to us by The Anointed One, Jesus, we are like impostors trying to pass themselves off as representatives of the One they represent. It’s the spiritual version of scamming. Satan did this when he approached Jesus after the forty days of fasting which began when Jesus was baptized of John. Satan tried to get Jesus to turn away from the plan the Father had for His Only Begotten Son, but Jesus was the Word made flesh to dwell among us. Jesus responded to every temptation thrown at Him with a “word” from God.

Our mission is to do the same. Jesus made a way, legally in the spiritual sense, for us to be redeemed and brought back into right-standing with God. Jesus then sent us His anointing, in the form of the Holy Spirit, to help us serve as representatives of His in the earth, ambassadors from the Kingdom of Heaven, to be “ministers of reconciliation”, as Paul stated in 2 Corinthians 5:18. This does not mean we are to become “preachers”, but instead to become those who reveal Christ in the earth by demonstrating the love of God, the compassion of Christ, and the reflection of Jesus by following the Holy Spirit’s leading as He directs our paths. This is all accomplished by the anointing given by “He Who Hath Anointed Us”.

Sunday's Blessing - 10/04/2026 - Names of God - He Who Worketh All Things After the Counsel of His Own Will

Sunday's Blessing - 10/04/2026 - Names of God - He Who Worketh All Things After the Counsel of His Own Will

In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, Ephesians 1:11 (ESV)

Ephesians 1 and 2 are, in my opinion, two of the greatest chapters in the Bible. Paul lays out the foundation of all God did to prepare a way for us to be restored back into fellowship with our Creator.

There’s a word in this verse which gives many Christians problems with their faith in God. “Predestined” does not mean that God has already laid out your entire life, including who you will marry, the children you will have, the work which you perform, the places you will live, the church(es) you will attend, and most importantly, whether you will be saved or not. There is a much simpler and more accurate understanding of being “predestined.”

One of the first rules for interpreting the Bible is the Bible itself. If the question is already answered elsewhere in the Bible, then you do not need to look further. In this case, Paul himself answers what he meant by “predestined.”

For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. Romans 8:29 (ESV)

I love how simple this is. God does have a plan for every single human who has ever lived, is living, or will live on this planet. He wants every person from Adam until the last human birthed before the end of this existence “to be conformed to the image of His Son.” EVERY. SINGLE. ONE.

How did God come up with this plan which could apply to everyone? The Godhead (Father, The Word [Jesus], and the Holy Spirit) decided this would be the hope for every person. “Let us make man in Our image.” (Genesis 1:26 ESV) God gave each person a will so they could make choices to bring themselves into conformation to Jesus. God gave each person means by which they would have the power to be conformed to Jesus – the Holy Spirit –  who was placed inside every believer. But it all started with Abraham, where God gave access to faith by which everyone can be redeemed back into right-standing with God.

For when God made a promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater by whom to swear, he swore by himself, Hebrews 6:13 (ESV)

In all of scripture we see a single thread where God always does things according to His will, which is determined by taking counsel with Himself, because who else can God consult?

The final part of this particular “Name of God” has to do with “inheritance.” In today’s culture, an inheritance is something passed from one generation to the next. It usually consists of things pertaining to wealth (money, valuable objects, or real estate) but can include a business or trust where the recipient has to assume some sort of role to oversee the operations of the inheritance. The latter is the case here. God made us joint heirs with Christ (Romans 8:17) where we are to “rule and reign” with Him (2 Timothy 2:12).

Let’s recap what Paul is trying to convey in Ephesians 1. God has prepared an inheritance for us (His Kingdom), and to qualify us for the position has predestined all of us to be like Jesus, who is the King of this Kingdom, where we will rule and reign with Him. This whole plan was conceived by God Himself when He “took counsel of His own will.” That is certain is Good News! God’s wisdom is incredible.

Trust His process and embrace His plan. Enjoy the ride.

Sunday’s Blessing – 09/27/2026 – Thermostat or Engine?

Sunday’s Blessing – 09/27/2026 – Thermostat or Engine?

One of the least expensive parts in a car engine is the thermostat. An engine needs to be hot in order to run efficiently. However, if it gets too hot it will cause parts to warp and fail; complete engine failure. A thermostat costs about $15.00, if you can install it yourself. If not, it may cost an additional $100 - $200 based on make and model. On the other hand, a new engine runs about $2,500+, if you can install it yourself. If not, it may cost an additional $3,000 - $5,000. That’s a big difference!

What does this have to do with blessing? This same principle applies to your spiritual life. You control the temperature of your spiritual life. The thermostat is designed to open and close to maintain optimum operating temperature for the engine. If it gets stuck open, the engine runs too cool. If it gets stuck closed, the engine overheats causing potentially fatal damage. In similar fashion, the life of the Spirit has two settings.

Craig Hill gave this illustration. The soul of man has two doors. One door opens to the Spirit of God, the other opens to the flesh. Only one door can be open at any given time. When you are operating in the flesh you cannot hear what the Spirit is saying. When you are open to the Spirit, the flesh has no control over you. Opening the door to the flesh is like running your engine with a bad thermostat. It will never end well. At the very least you will run inefficiently; worst case is total engine failure. Either way, you lose.

However, when you open the door to the Spirit, you will operate at peak efficiency. Following the leading of the Spirit, your paths will be illuminated so you can place your foot firmly in the direction you need to travel to walk in the purpose God placed within you. When you live your purpose, you are living the “abundant life” God intended. This should be the life of the Christian. Keep the door to the Spirit open and you will not fulfill the lusts of the flesh.

So, the question asked in the title of the article is “Thermostat or Engine”? Which are you willing replace? Replacing the thermostat opening the door to the Spirit. It does cost you something. Actually, it costs you everything. You have to give up your life, but in giving it up, you save it! If you choose the engine, you lose EVERYTHING. You lose the wonderful life you could have, being led by the Spirit. You also lose your life forever.

You have the choice which door is open. How you decide will make all the difference.

Sunday's Blessing - 09/20/2026 - Names of God: Habitation of Justice

Sunday's Blessing - 09/20/2026 - Names of God: Habitation of Justice

Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; As yet they shall use this speech in the land of Judah and in the cities thereof, when I shall bring again their captivity; The LORD bless thee, O habitation of justice, and mountain of holiness. Jeremiah 31:23 (KJV)

Everything has a beginning. At least, in the mind of humans. In all recorded history, every civilization, culture, and religion has a story of how we got to here. The story of creation found in the Bible begins with God. He was. from eternity past to eternity future, God! He is the beginning and source of everything. Spiritual justice came from Him and is adjudicated by Him.

In similar fashion, the civil justice system established a three-fold criteria for proving the innocence or guilt of individuals by answering the questions of motive, means, and opportunity. If a person can prove they do not meet the requirements for these, they are found to be not guilty. The American justice system assumes you are innocent until proven guilty. This is the bedrock from which we live in the US. Every person is assumed to be living within the confines of the laws which govern the citizens. It is a fundamental right given by the constitution. Justice must have a beginning place.

This is described in legal terms as “being cloaked with innocence.” During every phase of the process: of being accused, tried, and judged; that innocence remains. The only way it is removed is by a verdict of guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

The justice spoken of in scripture also has an origin. God! Jeremiah makes the declaration that God’s throne is the Habitation of Justice; literally from the Hebrew it’s called the abode of righteousness. The only way to mete out justice is to have a flawless judge. One of the names given to God is Jehovah Tsidkenu (the Lord Our Righteousness). He IS righteousness. He is the standard. As a matter of fact, it is only because He made us righteous at our conversion do we even become righteous.

Just as the early settlers of what is now called the United States of America determined, none of us are worthy of justice. Therefore, a list of laws were written and agreement was made that all citizens would follow them. As long as this was the case, every person would be presumed innocent until it could be proven someone violated one of these laws. This was and is the foundation for civil and criminal justice.

I’m so glad that spiritual justice for the Christian is not based on our ability to keep the Law of God. It has already been established that we cannot. Therefore, from the Habitation of Justice, righteousness is bestowed on anyone who would willing profess their dependence on The Righteous One, Jesus Christ. Through the Spirit’s baptizing us into Him, we are cloaked with a real presumption of innocence which cannot be taken from us. All God sees in the Christian is the righteousness of Jesus. All the enemy can see of us is the righteousness of Jesus. That is real justice founded on the unmovable Habitation of Justice, our Creator which will never fade or be altered.

So when satan, the accuser of the brethren, according to scripture, comes to God (the Righteous Judge) with an accusation against a Christian, Jesus (Our Advocate) testifies of our innocence because of His blood washing us clean, and the Jury (the Holy Spirit) bears witness of our innocence because He was the One who brought us into Christ. The only verdict which can be rendered is INNOCENCE! We now live in the Abode of Righteousness with the King in the Habitation of Justice!

Learn to live from this truth. It will free you to “be” instead of “do”, bringing peace to your soul and joy to your heart, and you will find rest.