Tag Archive: Proverbs

Prosperity Vs. Avarice

God's Plan versus My PlanJeremiah 29:11  For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (NIV)

Dearly Beloved:  May God’s love, grace and peace be upon you and may you prosper in the Lord.  Amen!
It seems today that everyone wants to be wealthy, but not everyone understands what that means.  You can be wealthy with material things, yet poor in the spirit.  Likewise, you can have an abundance of the Holy Spirit beyond measure and yet be physically dirt poor.  I would choose the latter over the former any day of the week and twice on Sunday.  For, what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world yet has not love?  God is love and love is God.  Without love, without God, it is pointless to exist and you shall forever feel empty and incomplete.  Now, let me be clear…God wants us to prosper both spiritually and sometimes financially.  He wants all of our needs met both physically and spiritually.  That is a fact.  Solomon and David are prime examples of the wealth God can lavish on His children.  When you are a child of God, you are meant to prosper.  Of course, there are times such as in the case of Job when suffering may be part of His plan.  In His infinitely divine wisdom, He sometimes allows folks to be physically poor.  Just as steel needs to be pounded and tempered, so too must God’s children in order to gain strength and wisdom. (more…)

Friends Don’t Let Friends Behave Badly

https://static.pexels.com/photos/5362/restaurant-hands-people-coffee.jpgProverbs 27:5-6  Open rebuke is better than love carefully concealed.  Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.

Dear Friends,  Peace, love, grace and the joy of Christ be upon you.  I want to ask you all to please pray for my dear brother, pastor, friend and mentor, Tom Shuford.  Tom has been in and out of the hospital lately.  Both Tom and those of us who love him so dearly could really use your prayers as this is very hard on all of us.  The above passage is very, very deep and as I have been sitting and praying for Tom, I realize how much it relates to he and I.  You see, Tom has always rebuked me, but it has always been non-judgmental and out of love.  And, only when I truly needed it.  I am so grateful for that.  You see, my old group of so-called friends rarely did that.  The ones who truly loved me did and my family did, but people that I associated with that were criminals never did, nor did my frienemies.  You know, the ones pretend to love you, but really hate you and want to see you fail.  Those types encouraged my poor choices.  Most used me for their own personal gain and discarded me when I had no more value to them.  Not a single one has ever written me or showed any love; Nor am I complaining.  You know the old adage: “With friends like that, who needs enemies?”  Only the ones who truly love me have been here for me.  Chief among them is Jesus.  He has never left or forsaken me.   (more…)

Man Up!

https://www.pexels.com/photo/black-and-white-people-bar-men-4417/1st Corinthians 13:11  “When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things.”

Dear Friends,  May God’s strength, power and light flow within you and guide you.  Amen!  It is always my intention to deliver the message to everyone.  And though I hope there is something to be gained by all in this one, I had a particular group in mind while writing this.  No offense ladies, but I am speaking directly to the men in this one.  Though, I do hope all the ladies learn from this as well.

Let us start by asking ourselves, “What makes a man?”  My earthly father always told me that men are built, not born.  You see, anyone can be born a male, but not every male becomes a man.  A man must be forged and wrought.  A man cannot be measured by physical strength or by his job or wealth.  In fact, I would be willing to wager that some of the wealthiest males on this planet are not truly men.  A man cannot be measured by how many women he slept with or how far he’s traveled; Nor can he be measured by his intelligence or worldly achievements.   (more…)

True Wealth

Randall Daluz - Proverbs 16:16Proverbs 13:7  There is one who makes himself rich, yet has nothing; And one who makes himself poor, yet has great riches.

Dear Readers,  Do you want to be wealthy?  Would you like to be admired for your wealth?  Sounds nice, doesn’t it?  If you answered “Yes” to any of those questions, you’re not alone.  We all want to be wealthy, don’t we?  I would like you to ask yourself something.  What does it mean to be truly wealthy?  You know, a lot of people already have wealth, but they are too blind to see it.  There are some people who believe they are wealthy, but they are lost, poor in spirit and lonely; For they know not the joy of Christ the King.  Now I am going to ask you again.  DO YOU WANT TO BE TRULY WEALTHY???  Shout “Amen!” if you do.  I’ve got awesome news for you, friends.  I can tell you a “foolproof” guaranteed plan to get really wealthy very quickly.  Yes, sir, I can.  It is not my plan, it is God’s plan.  But, I have been anointed and appointed to share it with you.  The plan is salvation, folks.  Salvation will bring you true wealth.  YES, SIR!!  Praise God!  Anyone can achieve salvation.  God’s wealth is free for all.   (more…)

The Ripple Effect

Matthew 7:13-14 “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it.  Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.

Randall Daluz shadow of a familyDear Readers:  I do not write about my children.  That is because I have tried to keep them protected from those who hate me.  I have done my best to shelter my family from the spotlight.  It is important to me, however, to share my experience with the world.  I have a son and daughters that I love very, very much.  They have always been and forever will be my heart and soul.  In 2011-2012, my family and I became homeless.  We were forced to live in a shelter.  For the first time in my life I could not provide for them.  We were destitute.  On more than one occasion, we ate watered-down soup.  I went without meals so that the kids could eat.  We had been struggling for a couple years.  I was working odd jobs wherever I could find them.  From time to time, I did things I am not proud of to make ends meet.  I did everything that I thought I could to keep from being a criminal.  When we landed in that shelter, I became desperate.  On top of being homeless, we lost our car.  I had not yet accepted the Lord.  Thus, I did not possess the mind I have now.  So, when I was offered a chance to make some quick money, I took it.  My intentions were pure and even noble in my own mind.  I did the wrong things for the right reasons.  I am not guilty of the crimes I have been wrongfully convicted of.  I am not a murderer. (more…)

Nothing + Nothing = Nothing

Randall Daluz sad depressedProverbs 22:24-25 Make no friendship with an angry man, And with a furious man do not go, Lest you learn his ways and set a snare for your soul.”

Dear Readers:
There are many sad and depressed people out there who believe in nothing.  They have faith in nothing.  The trust in nothing and thus they love nothing.  They are the consummate nihilists of the world.  They refer to those of us whom are Christians as “Jesus freaks.”  To them our faith is completely illogical and irrational.  To them the world is in a perpetual state of randomness.  By their logic, we randomly started from nothing.  They believe that there was a vast expanse of nothing, and suddenly, an unexplained explosion occurred, giving birth to the universe.  Even that belief is nothing, for it is only a theory and not a proven fact.  What an awful and sad state of being.  I shudder to think I once bought into such ridiculousness.  I thank the Lord for revealing Himself to me.  As someone who has witnessed the majesty of the Lord first-hand, I can assure you that everything started from something and that something is the God Head [or Father, Son and Holy Spirit].  Now that I have that assurance, life is sweet – even behind bars.  The very knowledge that there is a purpose to all of this warms the soul.  I have confidence, I have faith and I have joy; For I know my Lord is my keeper. (more…)

Love Your Enemies

Matthew 5:44 (NKJV)

But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you

Love your enemies.  To people who don’t know Jesus, that sounds crazy!  Even those of us who believe may struggle with that from time to time.  It took a while for me to understand how important it is to love and pray for my enemies.  There are still times when I have to read scripture to remind myself;  I have to love and pray for people who hate me.  But the more you do it, the better you feel.  When you love people who consider themselves enemies, you take away their power over you.  More importantly, you strip the devil of one of his greatest weapons – contention. (more…)

Anger

Psalm 37:8file3691295046962  Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil. (KJV)

Anger is the spawn of hurt and pain; all of which are the tools of the devil.  My father used to say, “Hurt people, hurt people.”  Pain, sadness, sorrow and anger are the gateways to evil.  If you do not seek the Lord to help you deal with them, then they will fester and take root in your heart.  Once that happens, the devil will begin to manipulate you.

We are constantly in a spiritual battle on a daily basis.  As true Christians, our hearts are good, but our flesh is poison.  We can never allow ourselves to believe that we can fight the devil alone.   (more…)