Go back to Part 1 to get the full gist. John the Baptist: God Disrupts the Pattern This is one of the most fascinating parts of John’s life to me. John wasn’t from some random family. John was a Levite from Aaronic priestly lineage. His father, Zacharias, was a priest from the division of Abijah, which descended from the Aaronic priesthood (Luke 1:5; 1 Chronicles 24:10). His mother Elizabeth was described as being “of the daughters of Aaron” (Luke 1:5). John had priestly lineage on both sides. So naturally, you would expect John’s life to follow the established pattern of priesthood. His father served in the temple. In fact, Zacharias was inside the temple performing his priestly service when the angel appeared and announced John’s birth. Yet , God doesn’t place John in the temple. He sends him to the wilderness. Think about that contrast. John's lineage is priesthood. The normal pattern pointed toward the temple. But his assignment took him somewhere completely different. John wasn’t wearing traditional priestly garments. He was wearing camel’s hair. John wasn’t standing at the altar. He was standing at the Jordan River. John wasn’t receiving animals for sacrifice. He was crying: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” — Matthew 3:2 God was disrupting the normal understanding of priesthood through John’s life. And I don’t believe this was accidental. The priesthood had become corrupted. The high-priestly office had become entangled with political power. And God takes a man born from Aaronic priestly lineage and raises him outside the normal priestly system. Sometimes, God has to take you out of a system before He can send you back as the change agent it needs. John’s life itself became a statement: It will not be business as usual anymore. Something new is coming!!! John Was Doing the Heart of Priestly Work—Differently This is where it becomes even more powerful. Outside of offerings and sacrifices, what was a priest supposed to do? Bring people toward God. Teach God’s Law. Preserve knowledge. Live according to God’s Word. Teach it accurately. Malachi says: “For the lips of a priest should keep knowledge, And people should seek the law from his mouth; For he is the messenger of the LORD of hosts.”— Malachi 2:7 Notice that word: Messenger. Then God says: “Behold, I send My messenger, and he will prepare the way before Me.” — Malachi 3:1 The priest was called a messenger. John was called a messenger. But John’s ministry didn’t look like what everyone had become accustomed to. John’s prophetic assignment was that: He would turn many Israelites back to the Lord their God. He would “turn the hearts of the fathers to the children.” He would turn “the disobedient to the wisdom of the just.” And ultimately: “To make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”— Luke 1:17 Think about it. That is priestly work at its heart. Bringing people back toward God. Teaching righteousness. Preparing people to encounter God. John was doing it—just not according to the old pattern. That’s the first layer of John’s life. I believe John wasn’t only the forerunner of Jesus. His life was also disrupting people’s understanding of priesthood. The location changed. The clothing changed. The method changed. The pattern changed. But the purpose—turning people toward God—remained. And God was preparing everyone for an even greater disruption IN THE WAY OF PRIESTHOOD. Layer Two: John Introduces the Ultimate Priest John wasn’t the destination. John was preparing everyone for Jesus. And look at how John introduces Him:“Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” — John 1:29 NKJV Do you see the priesthood language? Lamb. Sin. Sacrifice. John came from a lineage associated with priests presenting sacrifices. But now John points at a Man and says: There is the Lamb. Something was changing. A shift is taking place in the priesthood—but this time, in an entirely different dimension. Jesus would become the ultimate High Priest. “Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God…”— Hebrews 4:14 NKJV The old priests offered sacrifices repeatedly. Jesus offered Himself once and for all. “But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God.”— Hebrews 10:12 NKJV And unlike earthly priests who died and had to be replaced, Jesus lives forever: “But He, because He continues forever, has an unchangeable priesthood.” — Hebrews 7:24 NKJV Jesus is the ultimate Priest. And through Him, something radical happens. Priesthood is no longer limited to the tribe of Levi. “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people…" — 1 Peter 2:9 NKJV. Through Jesus, we also become a royal priesthood. John stood between two eras. His lineage connected him to the old priesthood system His assignment introduced the new priesthood system. Now Connect John Back to Joshua And this is where everything comes together. Go back to Zechariah 3. Joshua was the high priest. Yet there he stood in filthy garments. Satan was accusing him. And Joshua couldn’t remove his own iniquity. Think about the picture. The priest who participated in a system dealing with the sins of Israel himself needed someone to cleanse him. That reveals the limitation of Levitical priesthood. But then John introduces Jesus. And he is different. Joshua needed his iniquity removed. Jesus had no iniquity. Joshua wore filthy garments. Jesus was without sin. Joshua stood while Satan accused. Jesus defeated the devil. Joshua belonged to a priesthood carried by imperfect human beings. Jesus possesses an eternal priesthood. Hebrews describes Him as: “holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners…” — Hebrews 7:26 And now we understand why the ultimate Priest had to come. Here’s something I found incredibly interesting.* Abraham is the first person Scripture explicitly calls a prophet—but Abraham lived before the twelve tribes of Israel were birthed. There was no tribe of Levi yet. But once the twelve tribes emerge, who is the first prophet we see God raise up? Moses—a Levite. Don’t miss that. The first prophet we encounter after the twelve tribes are established comes from the very tribe God would set apart for priestly service. Moses becomes the prophet God uses to introduce the Levitical priesthood. Through him, God gives its instructions, establishes its order, and consecrates Aaron and his sons to minister before Him. A Levite. A prophet. Moses was chosen to prepare the way for and introduce the Levitical priesthood. Then generations later, God is preparing to introduce something greater—a new covenant and a greater priesthood. And look at what God does. He follows the same pattern. Who appears immediately before Jesus? John the Baptist. Once again, a prophet from the tribe of Levi. And what was his assignment? Prepare the way for Jesus—our eternal High Priest, not according to the order of Aaron, but **according to the order of Melchizedek** (Hebrews 7). Do you see the pattern? When the Levitical priesthood was being introduced, a Levite prophet stood at the doorway. Moses. When the greater priesthood was about to be revealed, once again, a Levite prophet stood at the doorway. John the Baptist. Sometimes the details we read past are the very details that reveal just how intentional God is. Random Fun Fact: Biblical Priests Married 😂 Since we’re discussing priesthood, here’s a random fun fact. Did you know priests in the Bible married? Lol—I mean, how else would they have preserved the priestly lineage? 😂 The Bible never commanded priests to remain unmarried. Instead, God placed higher standards on whom priests could marry. “They shall not take a wife who is a harlot or a defiled woman, nor shall they take a woman divorced from her husband; for the priest is holy to his God.”— Leviticus 21:7 NKJV. And the high priest had an even stricter marriage requirement: “And he shall take a wife in her virginity.” — Leviticus 21:13 NKJV Zacharias himself proves the point. He was a priest. He was also Elizabeth’s husband. So the idea that biblical priesthood itself required priests to remain unmarried is simply not in the Bible. Mandatory celibacy became a discipline within the Latin Catholic priesthood; it is not a requirement established for the priesthood in Scripture. And choosing celibacy is different from being commanded to be celibate. Paul himself speaks about singleness as a gift and personal calling (1 Corinthians 7:7). This actually a perfect example of the difference between biblical truth and religious tradition. Something can become so normal within a religious system that people assume: “This must be biblical.” Then you actually read Scripture and realize… Uhhhn… where did God say that? 😂 Good food for thought. I digress back to the blog... In Summary Joshua shows us that cleansing doesn’t eliminate the need for obedience. His descendants show us how compromise can grow across generations and nationally. Malachi shows us what happens when corruption reaches the people who were supposed to lead others toward God. Then John appears. Priestly lineage—but wilderness training. Born from the old system—but called outside its normal pattern. A messenger calling people back to God while preparing them for something greater. And then John points: Jesus. The High Priest. The One whose priesthood cannot be corrupted, replaced or ended. The new priesthood system! Maybe that is what makes John’s life so powerful. God used someone born from the old priestly lineage to disrupt people’s understanding of priesthood and introduce the ultimate Priest who was about to change everything. John wasn’t the destination. John was the disruption. And Jesus was the revelation of the new priesthood. Music Time 🎶 Theophilus Sunday — “Now That We’re Married”

It’s been about three years since I’ve had a personal social media account. And when I left, I didn’t just deactivate—I deleted everything permanently. Instagram, Facebook, all of it. That’s actually crazy lol. I remember having this strong urge to completely step away from everything I had known. Looking back, I believe it was God’s way of saying, I need you to let go of the old because I’m creating something new. I know I’ll be back one day, but it won’t be the old me returning. It’ll be the version God has been working on all these years Until then lol… okay, back to the blog. Recently, some people reached out to check on me, almost like they were wondering if I was okay. They asked indirectly because I’m very private. I’m careful about where I lay my head and where I share my heart. And yes, that’s symbolic. Everyone doesn’t need access to your life just because they have a good heart. You need wise, spiritually mature, God-fearing people around you—people who hear from God and will point you back to Him. Otherwise, you can spend years going in circles with people who keep validating everything except what God is actually saying. Because not every piece of good advice is godly advice. But I couldn’t understand why people thought I wouldn’t be okay. The truth is, I’ve encountered God too deeply to pretend I haven’t. And I know some of the choices I make because of those encounters won’t make sense to everyone. A lil digression lol : A friend recently told me, “I’m proud of you, Whitney, for taking the road less traveled. You’ve inspired me to pursue my own journey of intimacy with God, even if people don’t understand it.” That stayed with me. Really made me so happy**** Back to the blog By God’s grace, I’ve experienced a depth of intimacy with Him that has completely changed the way I see things. That isn’t me bragging or saying I’m better than anyone. If anything, it has humbled me because I know I didn’t get here by my own strength. It has only been by His grace. And going deeper with God has taught me something important: Everything that looks like a blessing isn’t necessarily from God. Money doesn’t automatically mean God gave it. Marriage doesn’t automatically mean God ordained it. Influence doesn’t automatically mean God is behind it. Success doesn’t automatically mean God approves of it. Something can look good, feel good, and even produce good results—and still not be God. The kingdom of GOD is not about “good” but alignment. Remember, Satan tempted Jesus by offering Him the kingdoms of the world. That tells us the enemy can offer things too. And this brings me to someone I know. Something life-shattering happened to this person years ago, and I believe it was an opportunity for them to truly seek God and allow Him to do a deep work in them. God wanted to deal with their foundation. Their character. Generational patterns. Their spiritual sensitivity & maturity. Their idols. I believe He wanted to consecrate them, purify them, teach them His ways, and make them a generational pattern breaker. But instead, instead this person repeated the same cycle. They were still fornicating, looking for love in all the wrong places, lying, masturbating, and worldly living—and yet somehow God’s name kept being attached to the decisions being made. God will never use sin to execute His plan. You cannot continuously walk in rebellion and simply call it God. I believe this person wanted something so badly that it became an idol in their heart. And when you desperately want something, you have to be careful because your emotions can become louder than your spirit. Ezekiel 14 talks about people who had “set up their idols in their hearts.” And God said He would answer them according to the idols they had placed there. Think about how serious that is. They wanted something so deeply that it had taken God’s place in their hearts. God’s response in the verse, in essence: You’ve chosen your way over Mine, so I’ll allow you to experience the consequences of the path you insist on taking. Remember, an idol doesn’t have to be a statue. It can be marriage. A person. Success. The future you’ve imagined for yourself. Anything you desire so deeply that you’re willing to ignore God’s Word, His warnings, or His will to have it is an idol. And sometimes, the very thing we’re calling a blessing is something God never approved of in the first place . And when you refuse to surrender that thing, eventually you can start seeing everything connected to it as confirmation while ignoring every red flag. That’s what breaks my heart about this person. I believe they have convinced themselves that God is behind their decisions. Their lips keep saying God, but their heart and obedience tell another story. And yet— if you looked at social media, everything looks beautiful. That’s the point of this blog. You would think this person is happy. Winning. Moving forward. Blessed. But I know there is sadness. I know there is conflict. I know there has been confusion and turmoil. And that’s when I realized how deceptive social media can be. You are looking at what people choose to show you—not necessarily the truth of what they’re living. Sometimes people post because, deep down, they’re trying to prove something. They said I couldn’t do it. They thought this wouldn’t happen for me. Let me show them. But when you’re living to prove something to people, pride can keep you committed to decisions even to your detriment. And I believe this person will eventually have to face the consequences of some of these choices. That doesn’t make me happy. It breaks my heart. I genuinely pray for God’s mercy over them. The truth is, it takes time for God to make a person. And many people don’t want to wait. The broad road is quicker. The narrow road takes patience. Jesus said the broad road leads to destruction, while the narrow way leads to life. And this is where social media can deceive you. You’re watching somebody speed down the broad road while God has you slowly walking the narrow one—and you start thinking they’re winning. Don’t be fooled. I read Matthew 20:16 today: “The last will be first, and the first last.” Some people rush ahead only to eventually find themselves back at square one ( back in last place). Meanwhile, someone else waits. God works on them quietly. Nobody sees it. People may even feel sorry for them because it looks like nothing is happening. But then God beautifies their life in His time. So if you’re looking at other people’s marriages, houses, businesses, money, accomplishments, and announcements and wondering why God hasn’t done it for you yet: Stay rooted. Hebrews 6 reminds us that through faith and patience we inherit the promises. Don’t leave the narrow road because someone on the broad road appears to be moving faster. Don’t envy what you don’t know the story behind. And don’t assume something came from God simply because someone put His name on it. Not everyone calling God is walking with God. Let God take His time with you. Let Him build your character. Let Him break the patterns. Let Him remove the idols. Let Him make you. Because sometimes what looks like being behind is actually God protecting you from getting ahead of Him. Don’t be fooled by social media. A beautiful post doesn’t mean a beautiful reality. And I’d rather wait for God to beautify my life than rush to create something beautiful enough to post. Let that sink in…. Music Time 🎶 Marcus Rogers & Sharell — “Stand On It” That last verse is 🔥🔥🔥! My sis did her thing for the Lord! “A lot of sowing, don’t be jealous when you see reaping. I’m a zealot for the Kingdom, don’t think that I’m tweaking.” 🙌🏾

Today, we’re going deep into priesthood. I want us to look at it through two people: Joshua the High Priest and John the Baptist. Their stories carry two separate messages, but at the same time, they connect in a powerful way. Joshua’s story teaches us about obedience, generational responsibility, and the danger of compromise. John’s story shows us something different: God disrupting the old picture of priesthood and preparing the way for the ultimate Priest—Jesus Christ. And when you put both stories together, you begin to understand why we desperately needed a better priesthood. Joshua the High Priest: Your Family’s Victory Doesn’t Replace Your Obedience One of the first lessons we see through Joshua is simple but serious: Obedience is still required to walk with God—even if the generation before you secured a victory. Look at Joshua’s family line: Joshua the High Priest — cleansed in Zechariah 3 ↓ Joiakim ( His son) ↓ Eliashib ( His Grandson) — compromised through his association with Tobiah, he was also an Ammonite, from one of the nations Israel had historically been commanded to separate from (Nehemiah 13:4–9), an enemy who had opposed the rebuilding of Jerusalem walls ↓ Joiada ( Great Grand Son) ↓ Joiada’s son ( Great Great Grand Son) — married Sanballat’s daughter (Nehemiah 13:28), another enemy who had opposed the rebuilding of Jerusalem walls. Now put Zechariah 3 beside Nehemiah 13. The contrast is heavy. In Zechariah 3:1–5, Joshua the high priest stands before the Angel of the LORD wearing filthy garments while Satan stands there accusing him. Then God steps in. God rebukes Satan, removes Joshua’s filthy garments and declares: “See, I have removed your iniquity from you, and I will clothe you with rich robes.” — Zechariah 3:4 Joshua received mercy and cleansing. But notice what God tells him immediately afterward: “If you will walk in My ways, and if you will keep My command, then you shall also judge My house…” — Zechariah 3:7 Joshua was cleansed, but Joshua was still required to obey. Grace did not remove obedience. Mercy did not remove responsibility. And that responsibility to remain faithful to God did not disappear simply because his family belonged to the priesthood. Now watch what happens generations later. Eliashib, Joshua’s descendant, becomes associated with Tobiah and gives him a large room in the temple courts (Nehemiah 13:4–9). This wasn’t just some random spare bedroom. That room had been used for storing things connected to the worship of God—the grain offerings, frankincense, temple articles, tithes and offerings. Something sacred was displaced to make room for an enemy of God’s work. That is serious. This makes Eliashib’s compromise even more serious: Tobiah was an Ammonite who did not worship the God of Israel and had actively opposed the rebuilding of Jerusalem walls —yet Eliashib gave him sacred space inside the very house of God. Then the compromise goes further. Eliashib’s grandson marries Sanballat’s daughter (Nehemiah 13:28). Sanballat was another major enemy who had fought against the rebuilding of Jerusalem walls. Nehemiah words describes the severity of these actions: “Remember them, O my God, because they have defiled the priesthood and the covenant of the priesthood and the Levites.” — Nehemiah 13:29 Look at the progression. Joshua: God “I have removed your iniquity.” “Walk in My ways and keep My command.” ↓ Eliashib (grandson of Joshua the High Priest) Compromise with Tobiah—giving an enemy space connected to sacred things in God’s house. ↓ One of the sons of Joiada (Eliashib’s grandson and the great-great-grandson of Joshua the High Priest) : Compromise through marriage into Sanballat’s family. ↓ Nehemiah: “They have defiled the priesthood and the covenant.” That is sobering. Joshua’s cleansing did not automatically transfer to his descendants. God’s mercy toward one generation did not eliminate the responsibility of the next generation to obey Him. Every generation still had to decide: Will I walk in His ways? Your family’s victory cannot become your substitute for obedience. Your father’s obedience cannot become yours. Your mother’s encounter with God cannot become yours. Your grandparents may have walked with God deeply. Wonderful. You still have to choose God. When Compromise Becomes Corruption I believe the corruption we begin seeing within Joshua’s priestly descendants in Nehemiah continued to grow, and by the time we reach the book of Malachi, God is confronting corruption among the priests on a much broader level. And think about how dangerous this is. If the high priestly family is compromised, what happens to the priests underneath them? Priests were supposed to teach God’s Word, guard His instructions, intercede for the people and help lead Israel toward God. So what happens when the people ordained to show others the way to God are themselves walking contrary to Him? The impact becomes generational and national. By Malachi, God confronts the priests for: Despising God’s name — failing to give Him the honor due Him as Father and Master (Malachi 1:6). Offering defiled food — treating the LORD’s table as contemptible (Malachi 1:7). Offering unacceptable sacrifices — bringing blind, lame and sick animals contrary to God’s Law (Malachi 1:8, 13–14). Treating worship as a burden — saying, “Oh, what a weariness!” and sneering at their service (Malachi 1:13). Failing to honor God’s name — causing God to warn that their blessings would be cursed (Malachi 2:1–2). Corrupting the covenant of Levi instead of preserving it (Malachi 2:4–5, 8). Departing from God’s way (Malachi 2:8). Causing others to stumble at the Law through their teaching and conduct (Malachi 2:8). Showing partiality in applying God’s Law (Malachi 2:9). And this is what makes it so serious. The people who were supposed to help others know God were now causing people to stumble. Then Malachi ends. And approximately four centuries pass. But when the New Testament opens, priesthood hasn’t become healthier. The problem has become even more complicated. Four Hundred Years Later: The High Priesthood Is Entangled With Rome By the time of John the Baptist, Israel is under Roman rule. And even the high-priestly office had become entangled with political power. Annas had been appointed high priest by the Roman governor Quirinius. Later, Caiaphas, Annas’s son-in-law, was appointed. Pause there. When did pagan Rome start determining who occupied an office God established through Aaron? That alone tells us something about how far the system had shifted. The high priesthood had become deeply entangled with politics and power. Luke gives us a statement that becomes incredibly powerful when you understand this background: “While Annas and Caiaphas were high priests, the word of God came to John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness.” — Luke 3:2 NKJV Don’t rush past that. Annas and Caiaphas were connected to the high priesthood office. Yet where did the Word of God come? To John. And where was John? In the wilderness. Now the disruption begins. Part 2 goes even deeper into the disruption—what happens when God challenges the patterns, traditions, and systems. Stay tuned. 👀🔥 🎶 Music Time Diamond District Music — “Human Being, Not Human Race”

This blog came from a conversation I was having with someone. She is born again, genuinely seeking the Lord with her whole heart and faithfully following God. She had been praying intensely about something personal when God suddenly gave her a vision concerning her husband. The crazy part was—it had absolutely nothing to do with what she was praying about. At that stage, she didn't even really care about marriage. But then came a series of dreams and confirmations. Even trusted advisors began confirming the same thing without her asking them. There was only one problem. The man in question seemed completely impossible. There was bad blood, history, drama and issues from the past. Naturally, she couldn't understand how *this* could possibly be the person. But then again, God is the Master of restoration. The Bible is full of stories where God redeemed situations that looked completely dead and impossible. Then she asked me a profound question: What if he never comes to the revelation? What if he marries someone else? Does that mean I didn't hear God correctly?” Now that is where our conversation got interesting. Before we go deeper, let me explain: How Does the Will of God Actually Work? First, let's make this simple. The will of God is God's perfect plan and purpose for His people. And one of my favorite sayings will always be: The safest place to be is in the will of God. But God's will does not eliminate human free will (CHOICE). I told her: Can two walk together, unless they are agreed?” — Amos 3:3 God may reveal something, but when His will involves two people, both people still have to agree to walk in it. God does not force people into obedience. That would be control. So I told her, If God has truly spoken to you, then He is capable of speaking to him too. Maybe God has already been dealing with him and he isn't bold enough to pursue it OR Maybe his flesh is louder than his spirit AND he hasn't discerned what God is saying yet. But whatever the reason, he needs his own confirmation. She doesn't need to play God. She doesn't need to somehow make him discover what God told her. Her responsibility is to pray and intercede. God's responsibility is to deal with him. God Gives People Time to Align With His Will This was the next thing I explained to her. God is patient. The Lord is... longsuffering toward us...” — 2 Peter 3:9 We human beings are the ones with these NARROW timelines. God, it's been six months. God, it's been a year. God, why is it taking so long? Meanwhile, God is dealing with hearts, character, rebellion, fear, maturity and things we cannot see. Look at Jonah. God told Jonah to go to Nineveh. Jonah ran. God didn't immediately say, Well, Jonah missed it. Let me replace him. No. God dealt with Jonah. A storm came. Jonah ended up in the belly of a fish. God brought him back into alignment, and Jonah eventually carried out the instruction God originally gave him. God wasn't quick to replace Jonah because Jonah initially rebelled. That matters. God is patient enough to give someone time to discern, repent and obey His will. So I told her: give God room to deal with the man. Keep interceding for him. Let God bring him to his own revelation and his own obedience. But There Is Another Side to God's Will Now here comes the part people don't like. God is patient, but God's purpose AND WILL must continue. Let's say, for example, God's purpose for bringing these two people together was bigger than simply giving them a happy marriage. Maybe there were patterns in both bloodlines He intended to break. Maybe there was a generational purpose attached to their marriage. If that is God's purpose, the purpose itself doesn't suddenly disappear because one person refuses to cooperate. God may patiently deal with that person. He may warn them. Correct them. Give them time. Call them again. But if they continually choose rebellion, remain insensitive to His voice and ultimately refuse to walk in what God is asking of them, they can lose their place in what God intended to do. And Saul is one of the clearest examples. Saul wasn't removed after one act of disobedience. There was a **pattern**. Disobedience. Rebellion. Insensitivity. Excuses. Doing things his own way. Eventually Samuel told him: Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, He also has rejected you from being king.” — 1 Samuel 15:23 And then: The LORD has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today, and has given it to a neighbor of yours...” — 1 Samuel 15:28 Saul was replaced. But notice something: The throne wasn't cancelled. God's purpose continued. David stepped into the position Saul lost. That's the side of God's will we don't always want to embrace. God's Will Has Seasons The Bible says: To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven.” — Ecclesiastes 3:1** There are times and seasons attached to purpose. Yes, God redeems time. Absolutely. But there are levels to the redemption of time. Sometimes God restores you to something. Other times He restores *you*, but the opportunity you lost through disobedience has already moved forward. Saul is an uncomfortable reminder that God's patience should never make us casual about obedience. So going back to her question: What if the man never comes around? My answer was simple. Keep trusting God. Keep praying for him. Stay in God's will yourself. If he persistently chooses his own path instead of what God is revealing to him—whether knowingly through disobedience or unknowingly because he has failed to discern what God is saying. God's purpose for you does not have to die because he refused his part in it. God can raise someone else to fulfill the role that person refused. In order words he will be replaced. The purpose continues. The show must go on. And the person I would be most concerned about isn't HER, the one who remained surrendered to God's will? It's HIM I’m more concerned about , the person who walked away from Gods will KNOWINGLY OR UNKNOWINGLY. Because now he has chosen his own path rather than God's intended one—what we often describe as living in permissive will. And that is a dangerous place to be at. Not because God stops loving him, but because there is full protection in the will of God—and by choosing a path outside of that will, knowingly or unknowingly, he has stepped outside of that covering and protection. MY LAST ADVICE TO HER : Trust God More Than the Revelation This was ultimately what I told her: Don't become more attached to the revelation than you are to God. If God showed you something, trust Him with it. You don't need to manipulate it. You don't need to chase somebody down. You don't need to make God's will happen. And if someone God intended to use in that purpose continually refuses Him, God is sovereign enough to continue His will without them. God is patient. God restores. God gives people time to repent. But His will does not revolve around our emotions, desires or stubbornness. His purpose is bigger than us. So stay surrendered. Stay obedient. Stay prayerful. And above everything else, stay in His will. ALWAYS REMEMBER If someone continually refuses to obey God's will, best believe they can be replaced—because God's will does not stop because of one person's disobedience. His purpose must continue, with or without them. 🎶 Music Time TheGodWav — “His Plan” Because God has a plan for us.

Today’s blog is dealing with a sensitive subject: marriage. Something is happening in our generation. We are seeing marriages destroyed at an alarming rate. Divorce. Separation. Homes breaking apart. And especially within Nigerian households, things that previous generations barely spoke about openly are happening right in front of us. Some people are not even married for a year before everything falls apart. So what is going on? We can talk about communication. We can talk about compatibility. We can talk about finances, intimacy, trauma and therapy—and those conversations have their place. But I believe there is a side of marriage we are afraid to talk about: the spiritual side. The Bible says: “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world…” — Ephesians 6:12 Marriage is not merely physical. It is spiritual. The enemy hates what godly marriage represents because marriage is connected to families, generations, purpose and destiny. More importantly, marriage itself is used in Scripture as a picture of Christ and His Church—the Bridegroom and His bride (Ephesians 5:31–32). Yet sometimes we keep trying to solve spiritual problems exclusively with natural solutions. Your issue is spiritual and you think therapy will solve it 🙃 And I believe there are three uncomfortable reasons behind some of the broken marriages we are seeing today. 1. PEOPLE ARE MARRYING THE WRONG SPOUSE Yes. I said it. Some people simply married the wrong person. And sometimes the reason is even more uncomfortable: they married for the wrong reasons. I don’t want to be alone. All my friends are getting married. I’m getting older. I want to be a wife. I want to be a husband. What will people think? Sometimes it is loneliness. Sometimes pride. Sometimes pressure. Sometimes lust. Sometimes it is simply wanting the title of marriage more than wanting the will of God. And because people desperately want marriage, they settle. The scary part is that many people will still say: “God led me.” But when you look closely at how the relationship came together, there was very little seeking God and a whole lot of flesh. Their emotions led them. Their brokeness led them. Their flesh led them. Then God’s name was placed on the decision afterward. We have to be careful with this. Emotions rise and fall. What feels absolutely certain today can feel completely different tomorrow. You cannot build a lifelong covenant solely on a feeling. And this is where something else happens. People enter a marriage through fleshly decisions, warfare comes, and immediately say: “The enemy is attacking what God gave me.” But did God give it to you? That is a difficult question, but somebody has to ask it. Not every battle surrounding something automatically proves that God authored it. Sometimes what we call “warfare” is the consequence of decisions we made outside God’s direction. And knowing the difference matters. Because if you keep calling the consequences of your own decisions “the devil,” you may never humble yourself enough to repent and ask God: “How did I get here, and what do You want me to do now?” 2. SPIRITUAL MANIPULATION | WITCHCRAFT IS BEING USED TO GET PEOPLE INTO MARRIAGE Now this is where we are going deeper spiritually. This was something I never wanted to believe. There are people who USE witchcraft, spells and other forms of occult spiritual manipulation powers TO MARRY.. And within many African cultures, this is not even an unfamiliar conversation. People speak about individuals going to spiritual practitioners ( aka. HIGHER POWERS) because they desperately want a particular man or woman. And please, my generation, do not be fooled into thinking this is ancient history. We hear these stories and imagine they belong to our grandparents’ generation, some distant village, or another time entirely. They don’t. People in our generation are still doing this. I must marry this person. He must not leave me. She must choose me. And that desperation becomes something darker: control. Marriage was never designed to be built through control. And here is what makes this conversation even more uncomfortable: Most of these people using these diabolical means are CHRISTIANS Some people know Christian lingo. They attend church. They pray. They post Scriptures. They can tell you, “God said…” But what happens privately? What other sources of spiritual higher power are they consulting? What do they actually believe? What fruit does their life produce? Jesus said: “Ye shall know them by their fruits.” — Matthew 7:16 Not their church attendance. Not their Christian vocabulary. Their fruit. This is why discernment is critical when choosing a spouse. You cannot marry somebody simply because they say they are Christian. What fruit proves it? If a relationship was established through divination, spells, charms and control, something was already wrong with the foundation. You cannot manipulate somebody into covenant and then expect manipulation to somehow produce a healthy godly marriage. 3. THE ENEMY CAN USE RELATIONSHIPS TO HINDER DESTINY This is another one I never wanted to believe. But follow the thought carefully. Imagine a man with tremendous potential. There are things God desires to accomplish through his life. There is a GREAT purpose and destiny attached to him. And the enemy recognizes that, why would we assume every attack against that destiny would come in an obvious form? Sometimes warfare is subtle. Sometimes, in the spiritual reality I am describing, there can be a deliberate assignment against the man’s destiny—through covens OR cultic groups. I know. It sounds crazy. But stay with me. Imagine that instead of attacking the man directly, they send a woman into his life from a coven. And it works because the man is already ruled more by his flesh than by the Spirit. That is what makes the strategy so dangerous. The woman does not arrive looking dangerous. She has been primed for him. She is beautiful. Nice. Attractive. Church-going. She knows how to present herself. Everything looks right from the surface. And that is exactly the problem. He only knows how to judge by the surface. He cannot discern what is underneath. He sees beauty. He sees chemistry. He sees everything his flesh desires. But he does not see spiritually. And that is how subtle destruction can be. Because destruction does not always walk into your life looking destructive. Sometimes it walks in looking like your type. Read that again. The enemy knows what we like. And when a person continually lives according to the flesh instead of the Spirit, his fleshly desires becomes an easy doorway. Beauty can blind you. Charm can blind you. Sex can blind you. Loneliness can blind you. Pride can blind you. Desperation can blind you. And while everybody around you is saying: “Wow, you guys look amazing together.” Nobody is asking: What is this relationship producing spiritually? That question matters. Because not every person who enters your life is necessarily sent by God. And the wrong marriage can affect far more than your happiness. It can affect your prayer life. Your obedience. Your decisions. Your children. Your assignment. Your entire direction. It can affect your destiny. Here is the truth we often do not want to confront: Some relationships can absolutely destroy purpose, whether the person involved understands what they are doing or not. That is why discernment is not optional. You cannot afford to choose a spouse with your eyes alone when the consequences of that choice can reach far beyond what your eyes can see. MARRIAGE IS ABOUT DESTINY, NOT JUST COMPATIBILITY This is what I want my generation to understand. MARRIAGE IS MORE SPIRITUAL THAN PHYSICAL. Marriage is deeper than: Do we vibe? Do we have chemistry? Do we have similar interests and vision? Those things may matter. But marriage is spiritual. And I believe one reason people become vulnerable to destructive relationships is because their flesh has been trained more than their spirit. We know what we like. But do we know what God is saying? We recognize attraction. But can we recognize spiritual deception? We recognize chemistry. But can we recognize spiritual incompatibility? We recognize beauty. But can we recognize biblical fruit? We have trained our natural senses while neglecting spiritual discernment. And Scripture warns: “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge…” — Hosea 4:6 Ignorance is dangerous. And spiritual ignorance can be especially dangerous because you can be fighting something you do not even recognize. We have become so natural-minded that we forget Scripture repeatedly tells us there is a spiritual realm. KINGDOM MARRIAGES MUST RISE I believe God is raising a generation that will take marriage seriously again. Not people who merely claim Christianity. People who genuinely know Christ. And where people are trapped in bondage, manipulation, deception, destructive relationships by diabolical means I believe God will bring freedom, truth and clarity. Because we need godly families again. We need homes where Christ is actually Lord—not just mentioned. We need both men and women who know their identity deeply enough that they do not have to manipulate anyone into choosing them. We need marriages built on truth. Marriages built on obedience. Marriages built on Christ. Because marriage was never supposed to simply produce cute wedding pictures. Marriage produces generations. And when godly marriages rise, godly families can rise. And when families begin walking in the purposes of God, the kingdom advances. So yes, pray about who you marry. Fast. Seek God. Watch their fruit. Stop assuming somebody belongs to God simply because they know how to speak Christian. And above everything: Know God for yourself. Because marriage is too spiritual, too consequential and too connected to destiny for you to choose your spouse with your natural eyes alone. The wedding may last one day. The decision can affect generations. 🎶 Music time! Mouthpi3ce — “Talk Back” 🙏

Go back to Part 1 to get the full gist! 👀 We’re continuing our journey through the life of Abraham—the great pilgrim. 🔥 THEN GOD SAYS: WALK BEFORE ME I find what happens next fascinating. Abraham was 86 years old when Ishmael was born (Genesis 16:16). Genesis 17 opens when Abraham is 99. Approximately thirteen years have passed. And when God appears again to establish and expand the covenant, listen to His opening words: “I am Almighty God; walk before Me and be blameless.” — Genesis 17:1 God is now giving Abraham a command for how he is to live before Him—the standard God requires: “Walk before Me and be blameless.” — Genesis 17:1 I can’t help but see this as significant after the Hagar situation. Abraham needed to understand that promise and character cannot be separated. God wasn’t only interested in where Abraham was going. God was interested in who Abraham was becoming. Then God expands the covenant. Abram becomes Abraham. He will become the father of many nations. Kings will come from him. His descendants will inherit the land. And then God adds something even greater: “I will be their God.” — Genesis 17:8 The promise wasn’t ultimately just about land. It wasn’t just about children. It wasn’t just about nations. God Himself was part of the inheritance. Then God gives Abraham a covenant sign—circumcision—something Abraham and his descendants were responsible for obeying. Covenant wasn’t merely something Abraham received. It demanded a response. BUT WAIT… This part makes me laugh because look at God’s order. God talks about generations. Nations. Kings. Land. Covenant. Future descendants. And only now does He become extremely specific about the immediate problem sitting in Abraham’s house. Sarah is going to have the child. 😂 God was talking generations (BIG PICTURE) while Abraham was probably thinking: Okay…but HOW are we getting a baby?! That’s so like God. We obsess over the immediate. God speaks from the future. Finally , God gives Abraham the detail he has been missing (6 chapters later lol) : Isaac. Think about how wild this is. For years Abraham knew WHAT God had promised. But he didn’t know HOW God was going to accomplish it. Abraham knew the what before he knew the how. And maybe that’s where he went wrong with Hagar. He received the what and tried to manufacture the how. Somebody needs to hear that. Don’t turn God’s silence about the HOW into permission to create your own method. God may tell you what He’s going to do while intentionally withholding how He’s going to do it. THEN GOD GIVES HIM A DATE By Genesis 18, the revelation gets even more specific. It isn’t just: You’re going to have descendants. Then: Sarah will have the child. Then: His name will be Isaac. Now it becomes: “I will return to you according to the time of life, and behold, Sarah your wife shall have a son.” — Genesis 18:10 Essentially: This time next year. Can you see the progression? God didn’t download Abraham’s entire life in Genesis 12. He revealed it progressively. Genesis 12: Go. I’ll show you. Genesis 13: Look. This land belongs to your descendants. Genesis 15: Your descendants will be countless. Here’s what will happen to them generations from now. I establish My covenant with you. Genesis 17: Your name is Abraham. Sarah is part of this promise. Isaac is the covenant son. This is how you are to walk before Me. Genesis 18: Now here’s the timing. Every stage brought greater clarity. And between those revelations? Abraham had to walk. GOD REVEALS PURPOSE THROUGH RELATIONSHIP This may be one of my biggest takeaways from Abraham’s formative years: God doesn’t always reveal everything about our lives immediately. Sometimes we want the Genesis 18 details while we’re still standing in Genesis 12. Who? When? Where? How? What date? Can I get a PDF, Lord? Maybe a calendar invite? 😂 Meanwhile God says: GO. Because the next revelation may be waiting on the other side of today’s obedience. Abraham’s relationship with God became progressively deeper, and the revelation became progressively clearer. God started broad and became specific. That’s how relationships work. You don’t meet someone today and immediately know every intimate detail about them. Relationship unfolds through time, trust, communication and intimacy. Abraham’s journey shows us that purpose can work the same way. God may show you enough for your next step, not enough for your entire journey. And sometimes that’s intentional. Because if He gave us the entire map, we might fall in love with the destination and never learn to walk with the One leading us there. THE PILGRIM WAS BEING FORMED Abraham’s journey wasn’t only about reaching Canaan. Every instruction taught obedience. Every delay developed faith. Every encounter revealed another dimension of God. Every mistake exposed something Abraham still needed to learn. Every act of obedience positioned him for greater revelation. He started as a man who heard: “Go.” And he became a man Scripture would remember as the father of faith. That transformation happened on the road. So maybe you’re in a season where God has spoken, but you don’t have all the details. You know the what, but not the how. You have promise, but no timeline. Welcome to the pilgrim’s journey. Keep walking. Keep obeying. Keep believing. Keep knowing God. Sometimes God doesn’t reveal the whole map because the greatest revelation on the journey isn’t where you’re going—it’s discovering who He is while you’re getting there. 🎶 Music Time NEW SEASON — NO IFZ NO BUTZ X ZAA MUSIC FT. RENZO BA 🔥 That second verse is my favorite 😭🔥 “Mummy upset I’m not eating again, 9 days in and she’s questioning again… Mummy, just seeking Him again. Denying my flesh keeps me good to the end.” Yeahhhh 🔥 Highly recommend watching this podcast! It’s such a powerful and insightful conversation. 🙌🏾🔥 https://youtu.be/zlinWvzvNdw?is=FhaFdC0rYP8OJu9V

Hello fam! ❤️ Today we’re doing Bible study. I’ve been studying the formative years of Abraham’s calling, and there are so many profound truths buried in his journey. We often talk about Abraham as the father of faith and the father of nations—and rightfully so. But today, I want to take a different angle and look at the Abraham who was still learning God. The Abraham who obeyed—but not always completely. The Abraham who believed—but still had questions. The Abraham who received a promise—and then made a terrible decision trying to help God fulfill it. Because Abraham did not become Abraham overnight. He was formed on the journey.And maybe that’s what makes Abraham’s story so relatable and powerful. In my opinion he was the first generational breaker. He left his father’s house—a household shaped by idolatry. Scripture tells us that his father served other gods ( Joshua 24:2 ). He wasn’t simply walking into a promise; he was walking out of an old system. God was taking one man out of an old pattern and establishing something entirely new through him. Abraham was the beginning of a new bloodline, a new lineage, and a new legacy. Let’s unpack this… THE CALL: GOD DOESN’T GIVE ABRAHAM THE WHOLE MAP Genesis 12 begins with an instruction: “Get out of your country, from your family and from your father’s house, to a land that I will show you.” — Genesis 12:1 Notice something. God tells Abraham to GO, but He doesn’t tell him exactly where everything is going. No detailed itinerary. Just: Leave. Follow Me. I’ll show you. The calling was personal to Abraham. But then Genesis 12:5 casually tells us: Abraham took Lot, his nephew, with him. Sir??? 😂 I thought the instruction was to leave your relatives? Abraham obeyed… with a comma. 😂 He left his country. He left his father’s house. He started moving. But Lot came too. And I find this fascinating because sometimes we think obedience means, “Well, technically I did what God said.” Meanwhile, we’ve carried something with us that God told us to leave behind. THE PROMISE BEGINS TO UNFOLD When Abraham arrives in Canaan, God appears to him. Why? Because the first instruction was met with obedience to a degree lol (75% lol because he brought Lot) —and after obedience came the reward: “To your descendants I will give this land.” — Genesis 12:7 God is repeating one of the promises he told Abraham initially when he gave him the instructions to leave. At this stage, God emphasizes the land only. That’s important. Then Genesis 13 happens. Abraham and Lot have both become wealthy. Their possessions are so great that the land cannot support them together, and conflict breaks out between their herdsmen. Abraham basically tells Lot: We’re family. This fighting makes no sense. Choose where you want to go, and I’ll go the other way. Lot chooses the well-watered Jordan plain. And then Scripture says something I don’t want you to miss: “And the LORD said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him…” — Genesis 13:14 AFTER LOT LEFT.👀 God speaks again. He talks about the land again, but this time He expands the revelation. The land will belong to Abraham’s descendants forever, and his descendants will become as numerous as the dust of the earth. The promise becomes bigger. The details become clearer. And I can’t ignore the timing. God had originally told Abraham to leave his relatives as part of initial instruction , but Abraham brought Lot. Once Lot was finally separated from Abraham, now the obedience is met 100% God revealed the other layer of the promise. Lot wasn’t necessarily evil. But Lot represented something Abraham should have never had carried along. And sometimes the thing hindering you isn’t sinful. It just wasn’t supposed to come with you. There are dimensions of a promise we may never experience while holding onto something God told us to release. Once Lot left, Abraham’s obedience was complete, and God revealed the full promise. FROM PROMISE TO COVENANT Then we reach Genesis 15, and something shifts. The language moves from simply promise toward covenant. God tells Abraham: “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.” But Abraham essentially responds: Lord… what exactly are You going to give me? I still don’t have a child. I love the rawness of that conversation. Abraham has heard the promises. Descendants. Land. Future. Nations. But there is one tiny problem: SIR, I DON’T HAVE A SON. 😂 So God takes him outside. “Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them… So shall your descendants be.” And then one of the most powerful statements in Scripture appears: “And he believed in the LORD, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.” — Genesis 15:6 Abraham had no physical evidence. There was only a Word. And Abraham believed God. Faith is believing what God said when your present reality has absolutely no evidence that it is coming. But then Abraham asks another question: “How shall I know?” I love that. I believe You… but help me understand. And God doesn’t discard him for asking. Instead, God gives Abraham something deeper. He reveals details about the future of his descendants—including their affliction in another land, their eventual deliverance, and their return in the fourth generation. Then Genesis 15:18 says: “On the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram…” We have moved deeper. Calling → Promise → Covenant. Abraham is learning God. The relationship is growing DEEPER. God is progressively revealing himself and Abraham’s purpose . THEN ABRAHAM TRIES TO “HELP” GOD And here comes Genesis 16. Smh. After all the promises, the covenant, and Abraham’s growing relationship with God, something very interesting happens next… Sarai comes with a plan. She cannot have children, so she gives Hagar to Abraham and suggests that perhaps they can build their family through her. And Abraham agrees. Sir. God has been talking to you this entire time. Why didn’t you ask Him?! 😭 “Lord, Sarah has presented an interesting proposal. Is this what You meant?” One conversation could have changed everything. But Abraham doesn’t ask. And that makes me wonder whether Abraham was communicating everything God had told him to Sarai. Because God had repeatedly spoken to Abraham about descendants… was he sharing that info with her ? I believe the Hagar solution wasn’t culturally bizarre for their world. Using a servant as a surrogate-like means of producing an heir was practiced in the ancient world, and perhaps Abraham and Sarah were already familiar with this kind of arrangement from their old life in Ur of the Chaldeans. That’s my guess, but it could explain why the idea seemed completely reasonable to them. Remember, Abraham is coming out of an old system and being introduced to God’s system. He’s still learning—and unlearning. This is an area he had to learn the hard way…. Something can be culturally acceptable, logically reasonable, and still not be God’s method. Abraham had a promise. Abraham had a covenant. Abraham believed God. And Abraham still made a grievous mistake. How? I believe Abraham was still learning the ways and character of the God who called him. He knew what God had promised, but he was still discovering who God was. He had to learn that you cannot use a method contrary to God’s character to produce something God promised. Sin will never be God’s strategy for birthing His promise. Sometimes we know God’s promise before we fully understand God’s ways. And that gap can get us in trouble. Part 2: We continue the journey of the great pilgrim, Abraham. 🎶 Music Time No Flex, Just Faith — Diamond District 🔥

Go back to Part 1 to get the full gist, because in Part 2, we’re going deeper. We’re going to look at one of the most famous people in the Bible and let his life show us this truth: having a gift does not automatically mean you’re in alignment with God—or that you have a genuine relationship with Him. Solomon: The Wisest Man Making Foolish Decisions Solomon’s story really bothers me when I think deeply about it. God gave this man a gift, wisdom like nobody else. People traveled from nations just to hear him speak. Imagine that. Your gift becomes internationally known. People leave your presence saying: “Wow. God really gave this man wisdom.” And they weren’t wrong. God really did. But here’s the scary part: Solomon’s wisdom did not automatically make Solomon obedient. Long before Solomon became king, God gave Israel instructions concerning kings. Deuteronomy 17:16–17 says a king was not to: multiply horses, multiply wives, or greatly multiply silver and gold. Now read Solomon’s story. Horses? Multiplied. Gold? Multiplied. Wives? Lord have mercy. Multiplied. And then 1 Kings 11 tells us Solomon loved many foreign women from nations concerning which God had warned Israel. And eventually: his wives turned his heart after other gods. Do you see the irony? The wisest man in the world knew enough to advise everybody else but still disobeyed God himself. That is terrifying. Because your gift can make you excellent at helping other people while your own life is quietly falling apart. You can give somebody a prophetic word you desperately need to obey yourself. You can teach Scripture and stop living it. A gift does not force you to obey. Solomon still had to choose obedience. And he didn’t. Maybe Solomon Started Trusting His Wisdom Too Much This is my personal reflection when I read the story of Solomon. I sometimes wonder whether being the wisest man became part of his problem. Did his gift of wisdom become his problem ? When everybody constantly comes to you for answers… When everyone keeps confirming how wise you are… At what point do you stop asking God because you assume you already know? The Bible doesn’t explicitly say, “Solomon trusted his wisdom more than God,” so I won’t present that as Scripture. But his life certainly warns us about that possibility. Never become so gifted that you stop checking with God if you’re aligned with him. Because Solomon’s gift did not exempt him from God’s Word. And neither does yours. And After Everything, Listen to Solomon’s Conclusion Solomon experienced the extraordinary gift of wisdom, and that wisdom opened doors most people could only dream of. Through it, he gained: Money Power Influence Success Access to pleasure Recognition from nations Anything most human beings think will satisfy them, Solomon basically had access to it. And after everything, Solomon ends the book of Ecclesiastes with a powerful conclusion. After all the wisdom, he realized what actually mattered most: Fear God and keep His commandments, For this is man’s all.”— Ecclesiastes 12:13 NKJV Imagine that. The man known for wisdom ends by telling us that the whole matter comes back to fearing God and obeying Him. Nothing to do with gifts ….. Fear God. Keep His commandments. Solomon’s own life proves the point of this entire message: You can be extremely gifted and still make choices completely outside God’s will. Jesus gave us the greatest commandment: “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.” — Matthew 22:37 NKJV Nothing there about gifts…And Jesus makes love practical: “If you love Me, keep My commandments.” — John 14:15 NKJV There it is again. Obedience. But here’s where I have a genuine question. We have all these people walking in gifts, barely reading their Bibles, yet believing the gift itself means they have a genuine relationship with God and are in alignment with Him. Interesting. 👀 How are you going to obey God if you don’t read His Word? How? If the only Bible you receive is whatever your pastor chooses to preach on Sunday, you’re living on somebody else’s revelation. You’re living on somebody else’s understanding of truth instead of knowing the Word for yourself. And that’s how you end up knowing only half-truths. I believe this is one of the reasons so many people can confuse having a gift with having a relationship with God—they’ve heard pieces of Scripture, but they haven’t searched the bible for the whole truth for themselves. Your pastor can teach you. Your pastor can guide you. But your pastor cannot know God for you. At some point, open the Bible for yourself. Genesis to Revelation. Read the beautiful parts. Read the uncomfortable parts. Read the verses nobody puts on mugs. Read until you understand His character—what He loves, what He hates, what pleases Him, and what grieves Him. The point? Read ALL of the bible. The whole counsel of Scripture won’t just comfort you—it will confront you, and the Holy Spirit will guide you into the whole truth. You cannot build deep intimacy with God while refusing to learn what God has revealed about himself through his word. In my opinion, if you consistently refuse to read the Bible for yourself, you cannot claim to truly know God or have a relationship with Him. How can you say you know Him when you don’t know His Word? You may know sermons about Him, and what other people have told you about Him—but knowing about God is not the same as knowing God for yourself. Work Out Your Salvation, Not Your Gift Philippians 2:12 says: “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.” It doesn’t say: Work out your gift with fear and trembling. But look at how obsessed Christianity can become with gifts. What’s my gift? Am I prophetic? How do I activate my gift? How do I grow my gift? Okay. But when was the last time you asked: God, is there anything in my life that is grieving You? When was the last time you prayed: Search me. When was the last time you read something in Scripture that offended your lifestyle—and changed your lifestyle instead of changing your interpretation? That’s where things get real. Because everybody wants God to reveal mysteries. Not everybody wants God to reveal themselves. I'll close with John the Baptist's Life John’s life destroys our obsession of gifts.. The Bible makes this almost shocking statement: “John performed no sign…” — John 10:41 NKJV No recorded miracle. No healing crusade. No spectacular sign. We aren’t given stories of John telling everybody his dreams. Yet Jesus said: “Among those born of women there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist…” — Matthew 11:11 NKJV Wait. No signs—but Jesus called him great? Exactly. Because Heaven’s measurement of alignment isn’t our measurement. John obeyed. John preached repentance. John prepared people for Jesus. John confronted sin even when it eventually cost him his life. And most importantly, John knew he wasn’t the main character. When Jesus came, John said: “He must increase, but I must decrease.”— John 3:30 NKJV Whew. That’s alignment . That’s someone who understands: My gift isn’t about building my identity My entire life is supposed to point toward Jesus. John performed no sign, yet Jesus praised him. Meanwhile, Matthew 7 shows people performing wonders whom Jesus says He never knew. If that doesn’t break our obsession with gifts, I don’t know what will. Please Don’t Let Your Gift Deceive You That’s really the heart of this message. I’m not telling you gifts are bad. They’re beautiful. Use them. Steward them. Thank God for them. But never use your gift to measure your relationship with God. If you dream accurately—wonderful. Do you obey Him? If you prophesy—wonderful. Do you know Him? If you speak in tongues—wonderful. What does your private life look like? Because the scariest thing about Matthew 7 is that those people were surprised. They thought their works and gifts proved something. Jesus exposed that they had been measuring the wrong thing. Don’t wait until judgement day to discover you’ve been using the wrong measuring stick. Because when everything is over, I would rather know God deeply than spend my entire life being celebrated for a gift while being a stranger to the God who gave it. Music Time 🎶 Marcus Rogers — “Alabaster Box”

Today we’re talking about something that might offend some people, but it needs to be said: Walking in a gift does not automatically mean you are walking in alignment with God—or that you have a genuine relationship with Him. Your gift can function while your heart is far from the Giver. Yeah. Read that again. You can dream. You can see visions. You can prophesy. You can speak in tongues. You can have incredible wisdom. You can heal. You can perform miracles. And none of those things automatically prove that you are living in obedience to God or true relationship with God. I know that sounds contradictory. Because naturally we think: If my dreams keep coming to pass, I must be close to God. If I can prophesy accurately, surely I’m in alignment. But where did the Bible actually say that? Matthew 7:21–23 is honestly one of the scariest passages in the Bible to me. Because Jesus said something very different. 21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name? 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’” Jesus says not everyone calling Him “Lord” will enter the Kingdom, but the person who does the will of His Father. Then the people start listing their spiritual résumé highlighting their gifts. Didn’t we prophesy in Your name? Didn’t we cast out demons? Didn’t we perform wonders? And Jesus tells them: “I never knew you.” That is heavy. Because these weren’t people saying: But Lord, I was an atheist. No. Their argument was: “Look at everything my spiritual gift did!” They were pointing to their gifts as evidence that they knew God. And Jesus basically brings them back to: But did you know Me? Did you do the will of My Father? That should shake us…. Because some of us are using the exact same evidence. I dream. I speak in tongues. God gives me revelation. People are blessed when I pray. Okay. But do you know Him intimately? Do you spend personal time with him? Because apparently, you can have spiritual activity happening around your life and still lack intimacy. And we forget something important: having a gift or spiritual experience is not exclusive to believers only. People who do not follow God can still have dreams and spiritual experiences. Pharaoh received prophetic dreams from God (Genesis 41), and King Nebuchadnezzar received dreams from God (Daniel 2; 4)—yet neither man was walking in covenant relationship with God when those dreams were given. So a gift or spiritual experience by itself is not proof of relationship or alignment with God. The real question is not simply, “What gift do you have?” but “Do you know God, and is your life surrendered to Him?” Next part, let's go back again what Jesus said: “I never knew you.” That’s relationship language. When Jesus says, “I never knew you,” He isn’t saying He didn’t know who they were. He is essentially saying, “We were never in a true relationship of closeness and fellowship together.” They knew how to operate in spiritual gifts and works, but they did not truly know Him to do the father's will. And He calls them workers of lawlessness. Meaning their lives were operating outside submission to God’s will. They were doing things according to their own will, desires, and way. That’s the danger. A gift can be functioning while your obedience is dying. And if you’re not careful, the gift can actually deceive you into thinking everything is okay. I Know This Personally I’m not writing this looking down at anybody. I know this because I’ve lived it. Even when I was lukewarm, I used to have dreams. And some of those dreams happened. So imagine if I had used that as my measuring stick. Well, I’m dreaming and things are happening, so obviously God and I are good. No. I wasn’t in alignment. I wasn’t walking with God the way I should have been. The dreams didn’t prove intimacy. They proved that I had spiritual experiences. There is a difference. And I think this is where some people are stuck. They’re waiting for the gift to stop functioning before they admit something is wrong spiritually. Maybe you’re thinking: If God wasn’t pleased with me, why am I still dreaming? Why can I still prophesy? But maybe that’s the wrong question. Maybe the real questions should be: Am I truly being transformed into the image of Christ? Is my life becoming more like Him? Am I actually obeying God? Because this is the goal. We do not enter the Kingdom of God because of our gifts, spiritual experiences, or what we were able to do in His name. As Jesus makes clear in Matthew 7:21, what matters is doing “the will of My Father in heaven.” Our gifts are not our ticket into the Kingdom—a life surrendered to Christ, transformed by Him, and walking in obedience to God is what matters. Because Matthew 7 already tells us that supernatural works are not enough evidence to make it to heaven. Let’s Get Uncomfortable for a Minute Because this is where Christianity can get weird. You speak in tongues on Sunday…then curse people out on Monday. You play worship music…then happily play worldly music celebrating the exact things God calls sinful. You prophesy…but you still deliberately keep yourself in environments you know are pulling you away from God. You post Scripture…but privately you are feeding appetites you would be embarrassed for anybody at church to know about. And because the gift still works, you tell yourself: “I’m okay.” Are you? I’m not asking whether you’re gifted. I’m asking whether you’re surrendered and in true relationship. Here’s a question I sometimes think exposes things quickly: If Jesus were physically sitting beside you would you play that song? Would you say that curse word? Would you watch that movie or TV show? Would you go there? Would you have that conversation? If your immediate answer is: “Absolutely not!” Then… why are we comfortable doing it now? Because Jesus isn’t physically visible? We say we believe the Holy Spirit lives in us. So why do we sometimes behave as though His presence disappears when church ends? That’s hypocrisy… Becoming comfortable with things that grieve God. Intimacy makes you conscious of God’s presence. The closer you become to God, the harder it becomes to casually enjoy things that grieve Him. Not because you’re trying to perform Christianity. Because you love Him, know his word and standard. The Truth... Some of Us Love the World More Than We Want to Admit There. I said it. Some prophetic Christians still love the world. Some tongue-speaking Christians still love the world. Some people with powerful dreams still love the world. And the biggest problem sometimes isn’t even that reality. It’s that we won’t admit it. Because admitting: “I actually love this thing more than I love God ” forces us to confront something uncomfortable. It makes us question everything we thought we knew. It exposes us and forces us to examine our foundation—because maybe some of what we believed about God wasn’t actually biblical. Maybe it was simply tradition, cultural norms, religious practices, or even lies we accepted as truth because no one ever taught us differently. Sometimes the hardest part isn’t letting go of the thing. It’s admitting that what we called normal may have never been God’s standard in the first place. But God can work with honesty. What becomes dangerous is when we use our gifts to hide from the actual condition of our hearts. Your gift is not your relationship. The beginning of real intimacy with God starts with honesty: “God, I’m not where I thought I was. ”Maybe I’m more excited about being gifted than being holy. Now we’re getting somewhere. Because you can’t repent from something you’re determined to pretend isn’t there. Part 2—we’re going deeper. Stay tuned. 👀 Music Time 🎧 K3ndrick — Power of My Own.

Go read Part 1 first because I came with receipts 😂. And trust me, Part 2 has even more to unpack. 3. Maybe He Wasn’t Afraid of Her Leadership. Maybe He Was Afraid of Her Surrender. The more I thought about that interview, the more I realized something. I don’t think this man’s problem was only leadership. I think he was intimidated by the level of commitment this woman had to God. Because an aligned life can be confronting to others. You can admire somebody’s devotion from a distance while simultaneously realizing: “If I get close to this person, I can’t keep living the way I’m living.” Her standards and the way she lived exposed his sin and confronted the truth that he wasn’t truly walking with God. Her devotion wasn’t the problem—it was the mirror. The closer he got to her, the harder it became to ignore the areas of his own life that weren’t surrendered. Maybe he still enjoyed certain things in the world. Maybe he wasn’t ready for full surrender. Maybe what he was really saying underneath all the leadership language was: “I’m not trying to go that deep with God, and being with her would force me to confront that.” And that’s the part nobody wants to say out loud. Some people want a godly spouse on paper ONLY. They want the "title" without the pruning. The character without the consecration. The Proverbs 31 woman but still worldly… And when they actually encounter someone whose life says, “No, for real—God gets everything,” suddenly it feels intimidating. I know of a man who married a woman who was spiritually more mature than he was at the time. He didn’t see her maturity as competition. He saw it as an invitation. He wanted the intimacy with God that she had. So he learned. He grew. He allowed himself to be challenged. And eventually, he matured into his calling. Today, he leads his family spiritually and carries the covering he was called to carry. But first, there was a season of learning. And the fact that some of that learning came through a woman didn’t make him less of a man. It helped equip him to become the man he was called to be. That’s the difference between ego and identity. When you know who you are, you don’t have to constantly prove who you are. I’m a man we know lol… 4. “I Can’t Be With a Woman Who Makes More Money Than Me.” Here we go. 😂 I’ve heard this from so many men: “I could never be with a woman who makes more money than me.” Why? Yes, Scripture teaches a man to take responsibility for his household. But somewhere along the way, we reduced biblical provision to mean ONLY money. Meanwhile, one of the clearest things God says about Abraham is: “For I have known him, in order that he may command his children and his household after him, that they keep the way of the LORD, to do righteousness and justice…” — Genesis 18:19, NKJV Look at God’s emphasis. Abraham would teach his household the way of the LORD. Men, provision matters. Work matters. Responsibility matters. But your family needs more than your money. They need your walk with God. Can you cover your home spiritually? Can you recognize when something is spiritually wrong? Can you teach your children Scripture? Can you model holiness? Can you pray? Can you hear God? Can your wife trust your spiritual judgment because she has watched your private life with God? Can your children learn righteousness by watching you? That’s leadership too. And that’s the most important leadership you will ever provide. The Bible doesn’t give us a commandment saying: “Thou shalt make more money than thy wife.” Because money isn’t the ultimate measure of manhood or anything in life. Money doesn’t follow us into eternity. And anybody can make money. Believers make money. Unbelievers make money. Good people make money. Corrupt people make money. So why have we made income one of the defining measurements of masculine identity? Sometimes I wonder if, because some men don’t feel confident in their spiritual leadership, they overcompensate through financial leadership. By makeing the minor the major because the major requires something deeper from them. Money can provide a house. But money cannot make that house holy and godly. 5. Culture Has Discipled Some Men More Than Scripture Has Watching that interview made me realize something uncomfortable. I’ve encountered this mentality, in some capacity, in all the men I’ve known and dated in the past—Christian men included. Men who appear confident, secure, and put together on the surface, but underneath are deeply insecure. Men whose egos constantly need to be reassured because their identity has been built around roles and possessions—husband, father, provider, money, status, what they own, what they can do for you. And hear me clearly: those things can absolutely be part of what defines you. Being a husband means something. Being a father means something. Being a provider carries responsibility. What you build and accomplish matters. But they cannot be your first identity. Before husband. Before father. Before provider. Before leader. Before the money, title, status, or success— your first identity has to be in Christ. And I’m not saying this to shame men. I’m saying it because I genuinely have a heart for godly men. I want men free. Free from having to pretend they know everything. Free from believing vulnerability makes them weak. Free from thinking receiving help diminishes their masculinity. Free from believing a strong godly woman threatens their identity. Free from confusing control with leadership. Free from believing they must carry everything alone. Free from cultural definitions of manhood that God never gave them. Because toxic masculinity doesn’t only hurt women. It hurts men too. It isolates them. Exhausts them. Makes them afraid to ask for help. Makes them compete with people God sent to complement them. Makes them reject wisdom because they don’t like who delivered it. And sometimes it makes them lose people who were actually sent to help them become everything God called them to be. My Prayer for Men My prayer is that God raises men who understand godly leadership. Men whose masculinity is rooted in God rather than culture. Men humble enough to be taught. Men spiritually mature enough to recognize when God is speaking—even when He uses somebody they didn’t expect. Men who understand that being a leader does not mean being everything. Because Scripture describes the body of Christ as many members of one body (1 Corinthians 12:12–27). One person was never designed to carry every strength. Sometimes leadership means stepping forward. Sometimes leadership means listening. Sometimes leadership means saying: “You understand this better than I do. Teach me.” That doesn’t strip you of your authority and role . That is wisdom. Men, don’t despise God’s method of training you. If God uses a woman to teach you something, learn. If your wife knows more about an area than you do, listen. If a woman’s discipline exposes an area where you need growth, grow. If somebody’s relationship with God challenges yours, don’t immediately run because your ego feels uncomfortable. Ask God: “What are You trying to teach me here?” Because you may be praying for God to make you into a leader while rejecting the very classroom He chose to train you in. Your role may be leadership. But your current season may be learning. And learning does not make you less of a man. Being teachable doesn’t make you inferior. And receiving wisdom from a woman does not reverse God’s order. It might simply be God’s way of preparing you to carry what you’ve been asking Him for. Don’t let ego make you lose your blessing. Sometimes the person you think is threatening your position is actually being used by God to prepare you for it. Music time 🎶🔥 Da Young Disciples — “Ball Game” Young boys on fire for God and the lyrics are actually FIRE too?!

Let me take a deep breath before I start this one. Because I watched a video that triggered me so badly I knew I had to write about it. And before anyone gets defensive, I genuinely have a heart for godly men. This is not an attack on men. This is a confrontation of some of the ideas we have handed men and called biblical when, in reality, some of them have far more culture in them than Christ. So, context. I watched an interview between a host and a “self-professed” Christian man. He was talking about a woman in his life, and apparently people kept asking him: “Why don’t you pursue her?” His answer? I wanted to lovingly knock him on his head. 😂 He basically said this woman was too aligned with God. Yes. You read that correctly. According to him, she genuinely obeyed God. She took the Word seriously. It showed in how she lived, how she dressed, how she spoke, how she carried herself. Basically, he was describing a Proverbs 31 woman. And I’m listening like… Sir. Isn’t that a GOOD thing?! But then he explained the real issue. He didn’t know if he could lead her. Because God already led her so well. Hold up. I thought the order was God → man → woman. So if a man is being led by God and a woman is being led by God, shouldn’t greater alignment with God make the relationship more compatible—not less? Then the host asked him what I thought was a brilliant question: If this woman is leading you somewhere good—somewhere you actually need to go—why does it matter who is leading in that particular moment? His answer was essentially that it did matter because men LEAD…. Even when they’re loud and wrong… LOL. Okay, I added that last part, but humor me. And that is when I realized: This conversation was never really about leadership. It was about ego. Let’s go deeper… 1. When Someone’s Obedience to God Threatens You Can we talk? If somebody’s obedience to God makes you feel less like a man, the problem is not their obedience. THE PROBLEM IS YOU.... We need to examine your definition of manhood. Because biblical masculinity should not be threatened by righteousness and godliness. It should recognize it. Honor it. Protect it. And learn from it when necessary. What if God placed that woman in his life because she carried something he needed? What if her discipline was supposed to challenge his? What if her hunger for God was supposed to awaken his? What if watching her obey God was supposed to expose the places where he was still negotiating with God? Sometimes the person God sends into your life will not simply comfort who you are. They will confront who you have refused to become. And that confrontation IS a gift. There is no biblical equation that says God must develop every man through another man, or every woman through another woman. God is God. He can use a prophet. A spouse. A child. A stranger. An enemy. A donkey, if necessary. Ask Balaam. 😂 God is not obligated to package your lesson in a form that protects your ego. And sometimes we miss blessings because we don’t like the packaging. I personally think this man may have been looking at a blessing in disguise, but couldn’t recognize it because of EGO… Maybe this woman was positioned in his life to pull him closer to God—not by becoming his spiritual head, but by provoking him toward greater surrender. Maybe she was supposed to challenge him in a healthy way so that he could eventually arise into the man God was calling him to become. But that requires humility. And culture has unfortunately taught many men: “If you’re the man, you must always be ahead.” No. Leadership does not mean you know everything. Leadership does not mean you have every answer. Leadership does not mean nobody can teach you. In fact, one mark of a mature leader is knowing when someone else knows more than you do. Great leaders know how to listen. Great leaders know how to learn. Great leaders know how to leverage the strengths of the people around them. Great leaders aren’t intimidated by strong people. And great leaders don’t need to be the smartest person in every room to know who they are. This distorted version of masculinity—I must know everything, carry everything, fix everything, never need help and always be ahead—is crushing men. Men are carrying burdens God never told them to carry. Some suffer silently because asking for help feels like weakness. Some cannot recognize when God has provided an escape route because they don’t like the package He sent it in. And some reject wisdom because receiving it from a woman makes their ego uncomfortable. That isn’t strength. That’s insecurity. And let me add something else this man said. He essentially admitted that he didn’t want to be with a woman who wouldn’t be intimate with him before marriage. So basically: “Please encourage my sin before I marry you.” Sir. We have bigger problems than who is leading whom. 😭 2. A Role Is Not the Same Thing as a Season This is where I think we desperately need to correct something. Yes, I believe Scripture gives men a leadership responsibility within marriage and family . But hear me carefully: Being assigned a role does not automatically mean you have been equipped for it. Calling does not equal maturity. Responsibility does not equal readiness. You still have to grow. We need to differentiate between a role and a season. Your role speaks to what you’re called to carry. Your season speaks to what God may currently be doing to prepare you to carry the role. The role is ordained; the season is temporary and is simply the pathway into the role. And sometimes your season is: Sit down and learn. That doesn’t cancel your calling or role. It prepares you for it. A man may be called to lead his family spiritually while simultaneously being in a season where God is teaching him how to become the kind of man capable of doing it. There is no shame in that. The danger comes when someone demands the authority of a role while rejecting the training required for it. We wouldn’t accept that anywhere else. You don’t walk into a hospital and say: “I’m called to be a surgeon. Hand me the knife.” Absolutely not. Roles requires preparation. And Scripture gives us an incredible principle: “Though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered.” — Hebrews 5:8, NKJV Even Jesus, in His human experience, learned obedience through what He suffered. Yet somehow some men have been taught: “I’m a man, therefore I automatically know how to lead.” No, sir. You have to learn. Learn how to hear God. Learn Scripture. Learn self-control. Learn sacrifice. Learn accountability. Learn how to communicate. Learn how to apologize. Learn how to serve. Learn how to steward authority without abusing it. Learn how to make decisions without needing your ego stroked. Leadership is not magic. It is formation. Part 2 loading… 👀😂 I’ve got some eye-opening points to unpack. Stay tuned! Music time 🎶 Big bro Marcus Rogers — “Makes Me Stronger.” This sounds like a song I would write 😂 Like sir, why are you in my notes?! 😭🔥

Go back and read Part 1 first so you can get the full gist. Intimacy requires relationship. Some people are more disturbed when they miss church than when they go days without opening their Bible. That’s a problem. Because while church is important, it’s that daily time in the Word that actually builds deeper intimacy with God. You can be consistent with church and still be inconsistent with God. And when religious activity becomes more important to you than actually having a relationship with God, that’s what we call a “religious spirit.” Church attendance is beautiful and biblical. But church was never designed to replace your personal relationship with God. Your Tears Are Cute…But Where Is the Obedience? I’m sorry 😭. But somebody needs to say it. Your tears are cute. Cry. Snot. Fall on the floor. Have your moment. But after you wipe your face… Are you going to obey? Because walking with God isn’t measured by how emotional you become in His presence. Jesus said: “If you love Me, keep My commandments.” — John 14:15 NKJV At some point, conviction must become action. Especially for men who desire to lead families. We desperately need godly men to rise. Not men who have mastered Christian vocabulary. We need Men who know God. Men who can discern. Men who can pray. Men who can repent. Men who can admit when they’re wrong. Men who can tell their friends, “I love you, but I cannot keep going where you’re going.” Men whose private lives agree with their public confession. Because families are suffering partly because people want the fruit of godly leadership without developing the roots required to sustain it. Let Me Tell You One Last Story I won’t disclose my source. Mind your business. 😂 A man met a woman. And he loved her deeply. There was a connection between them that he couldn’t quite explain. But eventually the relationship ended. Even after the breakup, that connection never completely disappeared. Eventually he started dating somebody else. But he couldn’t stop thinking about the first woman. Things hadn’t ended beautifully. And considering his history with women…let’s just say my brother had already lived a very colorful life. 😂 So instead of confronting what was really happening inside him, he decided: I’m tired of relationships. I’ll just settle down with the person I’m currently dating. Settling because you’re tired, frustrated, embarrassed or concerned about how people perceive you is a recipe for disaster. The truth.. The problem? Pride & Fear. He was scared to go back to the first woman. Deep down, he feared he had already ruined his chances with her. But something changed. He started genuinely seeking God. And through that process, he became convinced that the first woman he couldn’t shake wasn’t simply an emotional attachment—she was someone he believed God was leading him back toward as a wife. But here’s the part that really stood out to me: They met before either of them had the maturity to carry what the relationship required. Let’s paint a picture…. Think about an unripe fruit. It’s real fruit. Nothing fake about it. But bite into it too early? SOUR. Not because the fruit is counterfeit. Because it isn’t ready. Sometimes something can have potential and still become painful when two people don’t yet have the spiritual maturity, healing, wisdom or capacity required to steward it. And when neither person is truly walking with God, outside voices become incredibly LOUDER. Family says something. Friends say something. Culture says something. Pride says something. Fear says something. Everybody has advice. But nobody says: “Have you prayed?” “What does Scripture say?” “Have you sought God before making this decision?” Listen. If somebody who claims to love you gives you major life counsel and never points you toward prayer, Scripture or seeking God’s wisdom… please be careful with that counsel. Because advice that isn’t submitted to God can easily become emotional advice dressed up as wisdom. Thankfully, this man began taking his relationship with God seriously before making what he believed could become a destiny-altering mistake. And what I respect most is this: He understood that before he could build the mariage he desired, God needed to build him first. That’ll preach by itself. He needed to become the right man. He needed God to deal with his pride. His fears. His history. His patterns. His character. Because marriage doesn’t magically transform an undisciplined man into a godly husband. Marriage exposes whatever you refused to deal with while you were single. So Men…Man Up. And women—we’re not escaping this conversation either. Because this generation has produced men and women who claim to know God while consistently living against His Word. And we’ve normalized it. That’s the heartbreaking part. We want titles without transformation. Woman of God. Man of God. Prophet. Minister. Lover of Jesus. Okay. But forget the title for a second. Do you actually know God? Maybe today’s prayer doesn’t need to be deep. Maybe it simply needs to be honest: “God, I haven’t prioritized You. I don’t know You as deeply as I’ve convinced myself that I do. I have fed my flesh more than my spirit. I need help. Teach me how to know You.” That’s a prayer God can work with. Because pretending keeps you trapped. You cannot ask for directions while insisting you already know where you’re going. Jesus said: “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.” — Mark 2:17 NKJV And Scripture says: “A broken and a contrite heart—These, O God, You will not despise.” — Psalm 51:17 NKJV God is not intimidated by your honesty. Tell Him: I need help. Then start walking, he will guide you. Separate from environments consistently pulling you away from God. Create intentional time with God—even if you begin with 30 minutes. During that time open your Bible read 2 -3 chapters & Pray.. Fast when God leads you. Guard what enters your eyes and ears. Stop entertaining relationships God is telling you to leave. Stop allowing pride to make decisions for you. Stop calling emotional impulses “God.” Keep going. Ask God for grace to remain consistent. Because we don’t need another generation of men who sound spiritual. We need men who have been with God in the secret place. Men whose families can eat from the fruit of their intimacy with Him. Men whose wives don’t have to carry the entire spiritual weight of the home. Men whose children learn prayer because they watched Daddy pray. Men whose children love Scripture because they watched Daddy open his Bible. Men whose sons learn purity because Daddy modeled it. Men whose daughters understand godly love because Daddy demonstrated it. We need men who walk the talk. So yes… Your tears are cute. But brother? Get up. There’s a family structure that needs rebuilding. There’s a generation coming behind you. And before you ask God to give you everything you’re praying for… Become the man who can carry it. Music Time 🎶 Isaiah Robin — Radical This is my song! Fair warning: if you’re lukewarm, you might be offended. 😂 Bro was not playing on this one