Life is filled with pressures. Some even feel as if they may crush us. Pressure serves a purpose.

For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.

As a butterfly emerges from a cacoon, removing the pressure prevents development. The same is true with a chick escaping an egg.

Our development requires pressure. However, the pressure we face is not always based on the size of external factors.

Size does not equal weight. Some ministries look flashing and grandiose but there is no weight of God's glory within them.

When you carry real weight, it takes time to gain momentum, and you must be aware of how you carry the load so you do not lose the load.

Romans 8: 24 For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? 25 But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.

I was at a tunnel in Trammel, VA. On this morning, you can see the other end of the tunnel. This tunnel is one of the longest tunnels on the CSX rail system. When this tunnel was constructed, the engineer over this project started from both sides of the mountain and tunneled towards each other. The day before the tunnel was completed, he convinced himself he had missed the mark. He shot and killed himself.

The next day they broke through, and the tunnel was perfectly straight. It was only 3/8 of an inch off.

Some days we can’t see the end of the tunnel. But we have hope that if we keep pressing towards the promise, God will line everything up for our good.

It has been a while since my last podcast. We are working to get things back into the production phase but for the time being, we are submitting this podcast for our listeners.

The Greek word for sin means missing the mark and forfeiting the prize. In the Olympics, you get disqualified if you run out of your lane. We are running a race to win a prize that is uniquely our own prize. If we get out of our lane and start running in somebody else’s lane, running after their prize, then we are in sin. We are missing the mark because we are not hitting for the mark of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus set before us. We forfeit that price by being out of place and running in the wrong race.

They are trying to compete for the same stage. They are trying to compete for the same position. Instead, we need to stop and ask, “Where do I need to position myself for God to maximize my influence and function in the body of Christ.”

If we unite in the unity of the faith into the full stature of Christ. If we lay aside ourselves. If we focus on what God has called us to do. If we humble ourselves to be positioned according to God’s purpose. Nothing is impossible to a church that is committed to unity for a single purpose.

We have become political and position oriented. We have lost sight of our lives being offered as sacrifices to the glory of God. We have focused on behavior modification. We try to get people to conform to our way of worship, our way of dress, our way, and our style of service.

Let us, therefore, come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

We can come boldly into his presence, each of us, individually. We do not need to put on a mask. We do not need to put on a façade. We do not need to compete with somebody else for a position in the throne room of God. We individually and personally have the opportunity to enter that throne room through grace.

When we are competing for earthly things and worldly positions, we step out of the realm of the heavenly. We stepped out of the Kingdom of Heaven and started competing for earthly realms. The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof. When competing for worldly things, we are competing against the one who overcame the world and now has dominion over everything.

If we stop competing for worldly titles and things and position ourselves before His thrown in unity. Seeking first the Kingdom of heaven and His righteousness, all these other things will be added to us.

The Kingdom of heaven is about standing before the throne of God with boldness, united together in love.

Many people use giving as a means to persuade individuals to support their cause.

When I worked in medical research, I had many colleges from foreign countries. One of the biggest complaints they all had about their native land was the excessive use of bribes to get things done.

And thou shalt take no gifts, for the gift blindeth the wise, and perverteth the words of the righteous.

Within the Kingdom of Heaven, we must be aware of people’s motives to sway our actions to align with their intent.

Our heart must be for the King at all times.

We must not allow gifts and bribes to influence our behavior and our opinion of others.

People use flattery, friendship, and numerous other tactics to change our perception and influence our behavior.

Understanding and acknowledging the influence these actions have on us is of paramount importance if we are to maintain our righteous nature.

The world is looking for a people who are not dissuaded from their stance by such tactics.

Our integrity and witness are pivoting on the degree of resistance to these influences.

We cannot let such things blind us from our purpose and mission.

I grew up in church. I have seen ministers and churches go through many phases.

Many of the kids I grew up with who had parents who were active in the ministry are today away from the Lord

How can someone grow up in a minister’s home and fall away from the church?

There are many reasons, but one that I found often occurred was neglect of the family for the ministry.

We mentioned in last week’s podcast a passage the disciple John wrote.

Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.

We have all been called into the Kingdom of God.

We all have an essential commission in this Kingdom.

But we must first learn to rule and minister within our own home before we can fully fulfill our commission.

If we forsake our duty to our family while persuing the ministry, we run the risk of a place of worship.

If we chase title and promotion within the ministry and lose our family what have, we gained.

The Kingdom is not about pursuing titles or accolades but about establishing a family.

And more than a family, a dynasty of the Kingdom within which our family abides.

In today’s world, the presence of graven idols is not commonplace.

In the days of the Biblical writers, there we many gods created by the hands of man.

Many of these gods were carved into images that were worshiped.

He was writing to a group in a church that had undergone a split because of a group of heretical prophets.

He closes his epistle with this once simple yet profound statement.

Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.

This Greek word for “idol” is “eidolon.” This word means “an image.”

Today the absence of graven images of false gods does not prevent us from worshiping images made by man.

The titles become their role, and they worship this image of themselves.

The genuine person they are is lost behind the role they play to fit the image of the title they desire.

Some even worship the person who holds the title they desire to achieve.

It is time we stop pursuing titles and worshiping at the foot of position.

It is time for us to find our identity in Christ and be transformed into His image.

It is commonplace for people to determine guilt based upon outcomes. If a person experiences devastation in their lives or great harm befalls them, they are judged to have done something to bring the catastrophe upon themselves.

Within the church, thins are much the same. People receive a windfall and they are judged to have been blessed by the Lord. If bankruptcy, disease, or disaster befalls them, they have sinned.

There were present at that season some that told him of the Galileans, whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices, And Jesus answering said unto them. Suppose ye that these Galileans were sinners above all the Galileans because they suffered such things? I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem? I tell you, Nay: but except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.

The story of the Galileans that were killed during an insurrection is interesting and gives great insight into the context of this event in the life of Jesus.

Because it would benefit the Jewish inhabits of the city, he felt the funds should come from the temple.

When the Jewish people heard that Pilate intended to use the temple money to build the aqueduct they were outraged. The temple money was Corban. Meaning it was consecrated to God.

When the rumor spread that the temple was to be pillaged by the Romans an uprising of the Jews commenced. Thousands stormed the Pilates complex in Caesarea. Pilate had hidden troops in the masses and the soldiers began to attack the Jews. People were left wounded in the streets.

The legionaries invaded the temple precincts and some poor pilgrims from Galilee were slaying their own sacrifices and were killed. Their blood mingled with the blood of the sacrifices they were preparing for the priest.

To the Jewish mindset of the time, this act of murder by the Romans was a reflection of the sin of those who were killed. If these people had been sinless or righteous, they would not have suffered such a terrible calamity.

It rains on the just and the unjust. Sin has consequences but not everyone who faces troubles in their life is because of sin.

We as citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven need to step away from condemnation and judgment based on the actions or the calamities that befall people.

Jesus did not come into the world to condemn the world, so must we repent of our judgment of others and change our minds regarding how we view people.